Dh Davies

Hepatic metallothionein levels in roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) continuously exposed to water-borne cadmium

Abstract 1. The molecular weight of roach metallothionein was determined to be 6340 (±838) dallons by SDS-PAGE. 2. Hepatic metallothionein and cadmium concentrations both increased during the period of exposure and were found to be positively correlated. 3. The rate of increase of hepatic metallothionein concentration was quantified and was more rapid than that previously recorded for cadmium sensitive species.

Reproducibility of measurements of inspiratory work capacity in cystic fibrosis patients.

The evaluation of respiratory muscle endurance (RME) is regarded as being clinically relevant to the assessment of respiratory muscle function. The reproducibility of a non-invasive measure of assessing RME was determined by measuring inspiratory work capacity (IWC) (using a computerised system). Measurements were obtained on two occasions in 20 adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients (22.7+/-3.4 years, mean+/-S.D.) and 20 age (23.4+/-4.4 years) and gender (10 male, 10 female in each group) matched healthy controls. The coefficients of reliability (CR), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and limits of agreement (bias+/-2 S.D.) were determined. CR values for the CF patients and controls were above 90% and with ICC of 0.99 in both CF patients and controls. The differences in IWC between study days were within +/-2 S.D. of the mean difference in all but one CF and one control subject. These data suggest that measures of IWC may be considered reliable when used to assess RM function in both controls and in patients with CF.

Evolutionary relationships of a “Primitive” shark (Heterodontus) assessed by micro-complement fixation of serum transferrin

SummaryThe evolutionary relationships of six sharks were investigated by comparing their transferrins using the micro-complement fixation method. The immunological distances observed were used to build a tree that confirms that the squaloid and galeoid species examined belong to two separate groups and thatHeterodontus, a genus of hitherto uncertain position, belongs with the galeoids. The divergence time estimated from the transferrin comparisons is roughly 240±65 million years betweenHeterodontus and galeoids.