The potential use of bFGF immortalized cells as hosts for delivering foreign genes into nervous tissue led us to examine the effect of maintaining, E-18 hippocampal neurons for extended periods in bFGF culture prior to transfer into a standard, serum-containing, medium. We found: (1) many, if not mo...

The possibility that neurons cultured in basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are heterogeneous raises concerns about their subsequent use in gene transfection and transplantation studies. We have examined the fate of embryonic hippocampal neurons in bFGF culture, and now conclude that these cells ...

A viable cell-free extract of the marine tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata has been generated that is capable of transforming amino acids into the ecteinascidin antitumor alkaloids. Tyrosine and cysteine were identified as two building blocks used in ecteinascidin production. The enzyme preparations ...

Bryostatin 1, a natural product anticancer agent isolated from a marine bryozoan, has been shown in tissue culture to activate protein kinase C. This agent has recently undergone Phase I testing in humans given either as a bolus i.v. injection or a continuous infusion. To understand how bryostatin 1...

Gorgonian corals continue to provide a wealth of novel structures, many of which exhibit potentially useful biological activity. Notably, the families Briareidae, Gorgoniidae and Plexauridae have been demonstrated to contain a wide variety of natural products including steroids, acetogenins, sesquit...

Immunological (ovalbumin) and non-immunological (calcium ionophore A23187) stimulation of guinea pig trachea induces a prolonged contraction that is enhanced by indomethacin (8.5 microM) and inhibited by nordihydroguaiaretic acid (50 microM) pretreatment of the tissue. The mediator released by the a...

We report the transmittance of Antarctic snow as a function of the thickness of snow layers, in the range between 350 and 900 nm. Samples were studied near Scott Base, Ross Island, and data are presented for measurements made in early December 1996. The transmittance followed the two flux theoretica...

The morphology and the histochemistry from the mucus of the posterior esophagus of the winter flounder and the yellowtail flounder were examined using light and electron microscopy. The esophageal mucosa of both species was organized into elaborate branching folds. The epithelium consisted of a stra...

Background: The proportion of geriatric horses within the equine population has increased in the past decade, but there is limited information on the immune function of these animals. Hypothesis: Aged horses will have a lesser increase in serum antibody response to vaccination. Animals: Thirty-four ...

While large numbers of hatchery reared salmonids have been stocked into the Great Lakes, few of these introduced populations have become self-substaining. Many salmonid populations are contaminated by organochlorine chemicals, and some experience embryonic and fry mortality when reared in hatcheries...

The responses of shortfin eel (Anguilla australis) to discharges from two pulp and paper mills, municipal wastewater, and a geothermal power plant wastewater were examined. Eels were caged at 3 sites along the Tarawera River, North Island, New Zealand, to explore effects of a 3-wk exposure down a co...

A retrospective cross-sectional survey of dog-owning veterinary clients was undertaken in 1996 in three Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) to generate a population of dogs for future use in a more detailed survey on canine behaviour. The questionnaire was desig...

Preliminary evidence shows that ethyl-eicosapentaenoate (E-EPA) has a marked clinical effect when used as an adjunct in therapy-refractory depression. EPA belongs to the class of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. The mechanism of its action in depression is not fully understood. There are two rel...

The fat body of Periplaneta americana usually contains trophocytes, urocytes and mycetocytes. The fat body showed some marked changes in insects injected with a sublethal concentration of Pongamia glabra [P. pinnata] leaf extract (0.05 ml of 5% concentration) through the intra-peritoneal membrane. I...