Gene-centromere mapping of 312 loci in pink salmon by half-tetrad analysis.

We estimated recombination rates between 312 loci and their centromeres in gynogenetic diploid pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) that we produced by initiating development with irradiated sperm and blocking the maternal second meiotic division. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were significantly more centromeric than loci identified by three other techniques (allozymes, microsatellites, and PCR using primer sequences from interspersed nuclear elements). The near absence of AFLPs in distal regions could limit their utility in constructing linkage maps. A large proportion of loci had frequency of second division segregation (y) values approaching 1.0, indicating near complete crossover interference on many chromosome arms. As predicted from models of chromosomal evolution in salmonids based upon results with allozyme loci, all duplicated microsatellite loci that shared alleles (isoloci) had y values of nearly 1.0.

Clinical and morphological findings on mustard gas [bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide] poisoning.

In 1984 and 1985, a total of eleven Iranian patients were transferred to hospitals in Munich, Germany, after a reported gas attack in the Iran-Iraq war. The initial symptoms and pretreatment in Teheran, Iran, as well as the admittance examination data, the clinical courses of the patients, and the clinical laboratory data in Germany, are reported. The main injuries were to the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory tract. One patient stopped breathing suddenly on the third day of treatment (eight days after the exposure). A large piece of mucous membrane blocking a bronchus was removed during an immediate bronchoscopy, but attempts at resuscitation failed. The most important autopsy findings in this case were severe pseudomembranous inflammation of the trachea and the bronchial tubes. The histological findings are reported. Chemical proof of the poison (mustard gas) was established. A review of the history of chemical warfare, the physical and chemical properties of mustard gas, and a literature survey of clinical findings (including, especially, experiences from World Wars I and II) contribute to the understanding of the actual cases.

Metallothionein in human liver and kidney: relationship to age, sex, diseases and tobacco and alcohol use.

The content of metallothionein (MT) was determined in the livers (MT-L) and the kidneys (MT-K) of 145 deceased persons. The individual values showed marked variations; average levels (arithmetic means +/- S.D.) were 154.9 +/- 151.4 mg/kg liver wet wt. and 160.5 +/- 150.4 mg/kg total kidney wet wt. In contrast to MT-L, MT-K increased with age up to a maximum around mid-life and decreased at higher ages. Neither the MT-L nor the MT-K depend on sex. The MT content significantly correlates with the macroscopic and histopathologic status of the liver. As compared to normal tissue, livers with fatty degeneration, cirrhosis and brown atrophy show MT-L values of 40%, 25% and 233% respectively. Low MT-L of 40% of the control values are also observed in individuals with a history of alcohol abuse. This decline preceded visible macroscopic pathological findings. MT-L also responds to the cause of death. At suicidal overdose of drugs the MT-L is lowered to 62% and at "mechanical" suicides it is increased to 137%. Whereas MT-K is essentially independent of the kidney status, it is significantly increased to approximately 190% in male smokers.

Lead and sudden infant death. Investigations on blood samples of SID babies.

To investigate a potential relationship between an elevated lead burden and sudden infant death (SID), the lead concentrations (Pb-B) were determined in 41 blood samples from SID babies and compared with the Pb-B of 5 babies who died traumatically and 77 living control babies. Several factors that may influence the Pb-B were taken into consideration, especially a dependence of the Pb-B on age and social class. Moreover, a post-mortem water shift occurs in the blood. Even taking these factors into consideration the distribution of the Pb-B's of the SID group was found to differ on a highly significant level (greater than 99.9%) from the control group. Five Pb-B's of the SID group were higher than the highest lead concentration found in blood from the control babies. Negative influences of lead on the pre- and postnatal maturation of the brain are discussed in the search for a possible causal connection between an elevated lead burden and the occurrence of SID.

Concentrations of mustard gas [bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide] in the tissues of a victim of a vesicant exposure.

An Iranian soldier died at a toxicological intensive care unit at Munich seven days after a vesicant exposure. At the autopsy the typical symptoms of mustard gas intoxication were found. The vesicant was detected qualitatively by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in the abdominal fat and quantified in the tissues and in the body fluids by the following method: (1) extraction by dichloromethane, (2) cleanup of the extracts by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) on silica plates, (3) extractive derivatization with gold-chloride, and (4) quantitative determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS). The equal extracts, after heating, served for blanks. The following concentrations were found (milligrams of mustard gas/kilograms of tissue wet weight): brain 10.7, cerebrospinal fluid 1.9, liver 2.4, kidney 5.6; spleen 1.5, lung 0.8, muscle 3.9, fat 15.1, skin 8.4, skin with subcutaneous fatty tissue 11.8, liquid from a skin blister: below detection limit, blood 1.1, and urine: below detection limit.

Metallothionein, cadmium, copper and zinc levels of human and rat tissues.

Metallothionein (MT), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) were determined in 10 tissues (brain, heart, kidney cortex, liver, lung, muscle, pancreas, small intestine, spleen and stomach) from human autopsies (10 male individuals, mean age 43 +/- 9 years, all smokers) and Wistar rats. The mean tissue concentrations of MT in the human samples varied between 3.8 and 495 micrograms/g wet weight in spleen and kidney cortex, respectively. In most tissues human MT levels were high as compared to rats; particularly in liver and kidney cortex human MT levels exceeded those of rats about 25- and 10-fold, respectively. Positive linear relationships were observed between Zn or Cu and MT in human liver and between Cd and MT in human kidney cortex.