Inhibitory effect of analogous electro-acupuncture on experimental arrhythmia

Rabbits were used to study the inhibitory effect of analogous electro-acupuncture on the experimental arrhythmias, i.e. hypothalamic stimulation-induced ventricular extrasystole (HVE). The result revealed that HVE, which was due to an increased cardiac sympathetic activity, could be inhibited by deep peroneal nerve stimulation with an electrical current of low frequency and low intensity. Such effect is related to endogenous opioid peptides and serotonin in the arcuatus area, the periaqueductal gray and and the medial medulla. The acupuncture correction of arrhythmias may have the same mechanism.

Structural proteins and lipids in a virus, PBCV-1, which replicates in a Chlorella-like alga

PBCV-1, a large dsDNA-containing virus which replicates in a Chlorella-like green alga, is composed of approximately 64% protein, 25% DNA, and 5-10% lipid on a weight basis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the dissociated virus particle resolves 50 to 60 proteins which range in apparent molecular weight from 10,000 to 135,000. Two of these proteins are glycoproteins and at least four are located on the viral surface. The major lipids are phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and an unidentified component. The effect of organic solvents, surfactants, and chelating and reducing agents on viral infectivity and ultrastructure are reported. Inhibitor studies established that PBCV-1 protein synthesis occurs on cytoplasmic ribosomes.