The mass spectra of vitamin A alcohol and related compounds were investigated in a dehydrated food system using a Karto mass spectrometer. Upon electron impact, each compound gave its molecular ion, m/e=M+ and peaks showing the loss of its functional group, thereby providing a quick and unambiguous method of identification. The molecular ions, m/e 328 and m/e 284 were the base peaks for retinyl acetate and vitamin A aldehyde respectively. The molecular ion (m/e 286) was the base peak for vitamin A alcohol and its isomers, which were found more complex and similar to each other. The occurrence of m/e=M+-18 or fragment derived from this ion, predicted the presence of the hydroxyl group. Approximately 1 ug of pure compound was needed for measurable identification.

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Makrofol-E polycarbonate plastic detector has been exposed to 13254Xe-ion from cyclotron beam at JINR, Dubna, USSR. The bulk etch rate and tack etch rate are measured for different etching temperatures and hence the activation energies are determined. The maximum etched track length is compared with the theoretically computed range. The experimental results show that the track etch rate, Vt along the particle trajectory depends on the etching temperature, T but the normalized track etch rate, V= Vt/Vb is independent of T. From the response curve it is evident that Vt depends on energy-loss, dE/dx as well as on T while V depends only on dE/dx and not on T. Moreover, the experimental data are presented for the influence of different annealing conditions on bulk etch rate, track diameter, track etch rate, and etchable range of 132 54 Xe-ion in Makrofol-E detector.

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99mTc-dextran was evaluated for the scintigraphic visualization of abscesses in comparison to 99mTc-HIG. Twenty-four mice were injected with 50 l turpentine in left thigh muscle. Six days later they were injected with either radio pharmaceutical (RP) containing 15 MBq 99mTc. They were sacrificed at 1, 3, 6 and 24 h and scintigrams were obtained. All the organs, the whole abscess, some blood and urine were removed, weighed and counted in a gamma counter. % injected dose/g and the concentration ratios were calculated. Blood clearance of both RP's was determined in 10 normal rabbits. The biodistribution and blood clearance studies showed similarities between the two RP's. The highest accumulation was observed in the blood, liver and kidneys with some excretion in the urine. The maximum abscess/muscle ratios were 5.37±0.67 and 5.98±1.17 at 24 h with 99mTc-dextran and 99mTc-HIG, respectively. Both RP's had prolonged blood clearance. The abscesses were well visualized with both RP's but high blood background was evident. The localization mechanism of 99mTc-dextran was thought to be due to increased capillary permeability, possible binding to proteins at the site of inflammation and difficulty in back-diffusion into blood due to high molecular weight. It is preferred to 99mTc-HIG due to lower cost and easy in-house preparation.

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The pattern of food and feeding habits of Euryglossa orientalis were studied during the period April 1987 to June 1988. The food mainly consisted of annelids (2.82%), crustaceans (14.23%), molluscs (17.85%), platy-helminthes (4.16%), nematohelminthes (4.70%), fish (3.09%), sand grains (30.07%) and miscellaneous food items such as unidentified material, semi-digested parts of fish, crustaceans, and shells etc. (56.51%). The food and feeding habits vary with reference to season.

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Sixty-three isolates of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium, isolated from corn grains and sunflower seeds, were screened qualitatively for production of mycotoxins. Eighteen isolates of Aspergillus (out of 28), 18 isolates of Penicillium (out of 26) and 6 isolates of Fusarium (out of 9) proved to be toxic and produced mycotoxins. Eleven different known mycotoxins were detected in the chloroform extracts of the different isolates tested and these are aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin A, citrinin, Penicillic acid, rubratoxin B, diacetoxyscripenol and zearalenone.

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Penicillium expansum link was grown on 1% rice husk fine powder (40 mesh) medium and along with 1% glucose, sucrose, raffinose, maltose, molasses and cornsteep liquor for the production of protease. Production of protease was found to be higher in the rice husk mineral medium and rice husk incorporated with cornsteep liquor as compared to other media. Pure sugars used as carbon and energy sources promoted the growth of Penicillium expansum to varying degrees in comparison to protease production.

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Estimation of the renal size is often required especially for differential diagnosis of renal diseases. In this study to estimate the normal range of kidney length of the healthy Turkish Population, 673 subjects among 9 to 59 years of age were studied by ultrasonography which is accepted to be the most suitable noninvasive technique for the estimation of kidney length.
In this present study, it has been noticed that there is a positive and significant correlation between kidney length and body mass index in age 9-19 years. Our data also showed that kidneys reach to their mature sizes at the 3rd decade of life and remain without significant changes until 60 years of age. No significant changes in the length of left and right kidney and no difference relation to sex were observed.
Our results also indicated that the estimation of renal size using our approach obtained in this study are more accurate than the values which are procured by the equations given in the literature.

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The effects of aspirin metabolites on reduced glutathione (GSH), methemoglobin (MHb) and MHb reduction were studied in erythrocytes from glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-normal (G6PD-normal) and G6PD-deficient volunteers. The aspirin metabolites used in various concentrations were sodium salts of salicylic acid (Na-SA), salicyluric acid (Na-SU) and gentisic acid (Na-GA). While Na-GA decreased GSH level appreciably, only slight lowering of GSH level was observed with Na-SA and Na-SU. Similarly, Na-GA, even at low concentration of 0.03 mM, showed effect on MHb formation and the effect was increased significantly with increasing concentration. But, no effect on MHb formation was observed with Na-SA and Na-SU. However, Na-SA and Na-SU showed significant inhibitory effects on the reduction of MHb which was far more prominent with Na-GA. These findings led to the notion that neither SA nor SU can produce any appreciable oxidative damage to Hb, while GA is the main metabolite to effect oxidation of Hb. However, SA and SU showed their ability to inhibit MHb reduction and can interfere with the regeneration of Hb. These effects of aspirin metabolites were more pronounced in G6PD-deficient erythrocytes as compared to G6PD-normal erythrocytes implicating the importance of G6PD in aspirin toxicity. Thus, the present study indicates that aspirin metabolites act at different sites of GSH and Hb metabolic pathways, ultimately producing increased erythrocyte fragility with consequent hemolysis. However, the fragility of cellular plasma membrane is dependent on the integrity of the physiological antioxidant systems. Therefore, further studies are warranted in these areas to understand fully the mechanisms of toxicity of aspirin metabolites in human erythrocytes.

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This study, performed on 40 rats, has been carried out to evaluate the wound healing effect of lyophilized amniotic membrane, which is a biological material.
Full thickness wounds were produced on the dorsal regions of rats. The membrane was applied to one half of the experimental population whereas the other group was left uncovered. The histopathological effect of the membrane on the wound surfaces was examined following biopsies taken from the wound sites on the 7, 14, 21 28th day. The study has shown both microscopically and histopathologically that the graft has an accelerating effect on epithelization and that the membrane is biodegradable.

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In this review four different methods which have been used for cultivating new breeds of fish of agricultural importance are discussed. They are; 1. Natural and artificial selection, 2. Artificial sexual hybridization, 3. Nuclear transplantation and 4. Gene transfer. Among them, natural and artificial selections and sexual hybridization are traditional, sexual and non-biotechnical methods. They are popularly and successfully used in fish farming practice in the history. But their further application is limited because of the difficulties of composition of sexual combinations between distantly related species. Furthermore identification and composition of the characteristics which are to appear in the hybrid fish presents many problems. Nuclear transplantation and gene transfer are two newly developed methods for attempting to cultivate new breeds of fish. Biotechnology thus offers the chance of transferring genetic materials or molecules between different fish species. It is expected that these two methods will ultimately replace the sexual methods for obtaining more stable, predictable hybrid fishes. Because no species-specific limitation will appear in those genetic transfer combinations and the target genes which were the newly developed fish in unique ways. Some important approaches have already been made in those research areas, but some special problems, theoretically or technically, have to be solved before those biotechnical methods can successfully be applied to fish culture on commercial scales.

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