Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], together with other serum lipoproteins have an important role in coronary heart disease and peripheral atherosclerosis. In the present study, the relation between serum levels of Lp(a), lipids and other lipoproteins are compared with the severity of coronary lesions and the number of involved vessels.
In this study, 212 patients with suspected coronary artery disease undergoing coronary angiography and 200 apparently healthy individuals were used as the control group for comparative studies. Serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides were measured by standard colorimetric methods. Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) values were estimated immuno-turbidimetrically using Cobas autoanalyzer.
In the patient group, the increased serum level of Lp(a) was correlated with the number of involved vessels and the severity of coronary lesions. However, no significant correlation was found between serum levels of lipids and other lipoproteins with the number of involved vessels or with the severity of coronary lesions. Apart from the hypertension and history of myocardial infarction, no correlation was observed between serum levels of Lp(a) and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
It may be concluded that in spite of increase in serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins in atherosclerosis, Lp(a) is an independent risk factor. In this study, the relation observed between the serum levels of Lp(a) and the extension of atherosclerotic lesions can be regarded as an index for the relation of Lp(a) to the early, still clinically asymptomatic steps of the pathogenesis of coronary disease.

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Two major fundamental questions are suggested to clarify understanding of cell signalling between trophoblast and uterine epithelium.
1. Is there a pseudosymbiotic recognition reducible to simplify the sum of different implant cell (trophoblast), to receipt cell (uterine epithelium)?
2. Are the recognition signals responsible for these mutually compatible friend cell functions? Are these restricted periods of cellular invasion completely devoid of correlation between the two different types of cells involved in 'compatible interactions'? The studies in pseudosymbiotic systems between implantive tissues, which recognize and control the substance transfer as well as morphogenesis are only different aspects suggested by an interactive phenomenon.
The cytological features of trophoblast cells suggest that the blastocystic ring cells consist of different trophoblastic types according which they have been structurally organized. Probably the functional specialization of trophoblast cells perform: i) supporting, preventing and feeding functions; ii) signalization, polarization, depolarization functions between blastocyst and uterine epithelium; iii) immunological, accepting or rejecting and secretory functions.
According to the ultrastructural evidences, the blastocyst trophoblast cells, showing different features, suggest that structural changes occur in relation to their functions. We believe that the development of these functional properties, during the pre-implantation stage of blastocyst, will be protected as a glaze for new investigations. The trophoblastic cells in different regions of the ring can not only maintain different cytoplasmic contents of small ions and substantial molecules but they can also use the same molecules for different purposes.

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Estrogen plays a role in maintaining body weight, since ovariectomy in rats, resulting in hypoestrogenemia, also results in significant weight gain. Vitamin E, an antioxidant found in many natural food sources, has been found to be beneficial in certain disease conditions. The effects of vitamin E deficiency and supplementation on body weight in intact and ovariectomised female rats were studied. 30 and 60 mg/kg body weights of palm oil-derived vitamin E, as well as 30 mg/kg body weight of pure -tocopherol, were used. To induce vitamin E deficiency, the rats were fed vitamin E deficient and 50% vitamin E deficient diets. The control diet was normal rat chow. For the intact animals, ody weights in the three vitamin E supplemented groups respectively did not differ significantly from the normal rat chow group throughout the ten-month study period. However, animals on the total and partial vitamin E deficient diets had significantly lower body weights, evident from the first month and persisting throughout the study period. Ovariectomy significantly increased body weights of the rats on the normal rat chow diet and the three vitamin E supplemented diets. However, ovariectomy failed to increase body weights of the total and partial vitamin E deficient diet groups, which did not differ significantly from their intact controls. Thus, vitamin E deficiency impaired weight gain in both estrogenrepleted and estrogen-depleted states. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved.

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A comparative study of avian respiratory phagocytes (ARPs) was conducted in four different strains of commercial layer chicks. The birds were raised to 12-14 weeks of age and were used as source of ARPs. Respiratory phagocytic cells harvested 42 hours post-inoculation of 3% Sephadex G-50 into the abdominal air-sacs were assayed for their viability, substrate adherence potential and percentage of macrophages in ARPs. The mean percentage values of viable cells after Sephadex G-50 stimulation were higher in groups B and D compared to groups A and C. Group D showed the maximum while group A the lowest value of substrate adherence potential of ARPs. Group B produced the maximum percentage of macrophages in ARPs. The results of present study suggest that different genetic strains vary in their phagocytic cell characteristics.

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