EVALUATION OF THE EXTIRPATED EQUINE EYE USING B-MODE ULTRASONOGRAPHY

B-mode ultrasonography using a 7.5 megahertz (MH^z) transducer was performed on 95 equine cadaver eyes submerged in a water bath. Identification and measurement of the anterior to posterior diameters of the intraocular structures and of the axis bulbi was done. The dorsal ventral axis of the eye was also measured. The eyes were then frozen, sectioned in a saggital plane and the same measurements were made using calipers. Two sets of measurements were then compared statistically.
With the exception of the cornea and the dorsal ventral axis measurements of male horses there was no statistically significant difference in the measurements obtained by the two methods.
The use of B-mode ultrasonography at a frequency of 7.5 MH^z to examine the architecture of the equine eye is suggested as a valuable clinical tool. Biometry of the intraocular structures at this frequency may be reasonably accurate.     

Biochemical identification of putative GABA/benzodiazepine receptors in house fly thorax muscles

[³H]Flunitrazepam ([³H]Flu) was used to identify benzodiazepine binding sites in house fly thorax muscle membranes using a filter assay. [³H]Flu bound to a finite number of sites in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, reaching equilibrium in 10 min. Scatchard plots of the binding indicated a high-affinity site at 0.2 pmol/mg protein (K_d 24.3 nM) and a low-affinity site at 8.2 pmol/mg protein (K_d994nM). Binding of [³H]Flu to the high-affinity binding site was inhibited by several benzodiazepine analogs, with Flu, diazepam, and Ro 5-4864 being more potent than β-CCE, Ro 5-3027, and Ro 5-2180. Clonazepam was least potent in inhibiting [³H]Flu binding. Thus, the drug specificity of these insect muscle benzodiazepine binding sites was quite different from both the mammalian central and peripheral benzodiazepine receptor sites, though closer to the peripheral ones. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) and its agonists enhanced the specific binding of [³H]Flu in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect was inhibited with the GABA antagonist bicuculline. The effect was biphasic since at high GABA concentrations this stimulation was reduced. The data suggest that house fly muscles have benzodiazepine receptors, which are coupled allosterically to GABA receptors, analogous to the GABA/benzodiazepine receptors of vertebrates, but with some differences in their drug specificities.     

Untersuchungen zum Einfluß von Konkurrenzbedingungen auf die Entwicklung der Bestandesstruktur von Sommerraps

Investigations on the effect of competition on stand structure of spring oilseed rape
On the basis of a field experiment with spring oilseed rape, frequency distributions of plant dry matter and plant height were investigated. Samples were taken at four developmental stages: rosette, begin of flowering, end of flowering, ripeness (harvest). To understand the effect of competition in a plant population on frequency distribution, distance of rows (16 cm, 32 cm) and number of plants (60, 90 and 120 plants/m²) were varied. Differences in frequency distribution were estimated by skewness and kurtosis.
The results show that with age of the plant population the skewness of the plant character dry matter decreases from a high positive value till ripeness to a low positive value; kurtosis also decreases during development and tends to a value of 0 at ripeness. The effect of competition as produced by number of plants for area is mirrored by a positive skewness increasing with increasing number of plants per area. The value for kurtosis also increases with the stronger competition as consequence of plant density. Row distance did not show specific effects of frequency distribution. Plant height did, generally speaking, not react to competition.     

Effect of chloropheniramine maleate on liver and kidney functions as well as blood count of guinea pigs

The present study aimed at exploring the effect of antihistamine chloropheniramine maleate (H1-blocker) on liver and kidney functions as well as on blood count. 60 mature guinea pigs were used. Histamine or chloropheniramine maleate was given, either alone or together, intramuscularly for 7 successive days. At the end of the experimental period, blood samples were collected for determination of blood counts and of the levels of urea, creatinine, GOT, GPT, and alkaline phosphatase in the sera of different groups. The results showed significant groupwise variations in blood count, liver function as well as kidney function.     

Improvement of the nutritional quality of Egyptian and Sudanese sorghum grains by the addition of phosphates

1. Male broilers (0 to 35 d) were given foods with two types of yellow sorghum substituted for maize in isonutrient diets. Sorghum-based foods were also supplemented with extra phosphorus, to provide a total P of about 8 g/kg; the P being from either orthophosphoric acid or food grade dicalcium phosphate. 2. Both sorghums depressed growth and food:gain ratio and increased the incidence of locomotor disorder to about 0.50 (maize control = 0). Sorghum from Sudan, with higher concentrations of both tannin and phytate, caused more severe anti-nutritive effects than sorghum from Egypt. 3. Within the limits of statistical significance the growth depressing effect of sorghum was completely reversed by extra P. With the more toxic Sudanese sorghum this amelioration was numerically less than complete (growth = 0.94, maize control = 1). Locomotor disorders were also virtually, but not completely, eliminated by phosphorus treatment. 4. Treatment of sorghum by dry-mixing with dicalcium phosphate could form the basis of a simple and economic method for extending the use of high-tannin sorghum in poultry foods. The mode of action of the treatment remains to be determined.