0000000000383628
AUTHOR
E. I. Jokinen
Effects of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent (BKME) on Physiology and Biochemistry of the Roach (Rutilus rutilus L.)
The effects of bleached kraft pulp and paper mill effluent (BKME) on the roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) were studied under experimental and natural field conditions. In the acute experiment (72 h exposure to the concentrated BKME), the roach suffered from a general stress syndrome, characterized by a significant increase of cortisol and blood glucose, as well as a significant decrease of leucocrit and total plasma protein. In three weeks' exposure in a polluted and an unpolluted lake and in fish caught from the same lakes, the more specific effects of BKME treatments appeared. During the three weeks' exposure, slight hyperglycaemia as well as a decrease in a transaminase activity (GPT) and incr…
PREDICTION OF SEVERE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS USING EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS
One of the immunological abnormalities in patients with RA is increased synthesis of immunoglobulins (Ig) in cultures of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-) stimulated lymphocytes. We set out to investigate whether this feature, seen early in the disease, associated with later severe RA. We studied prospectively 45 patients with recent onset RA and, 41 healthy individuals. From 0-6 months after admission, blood lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of EBV for 4 weeks and Ig in the supernatants were assayed. To assess the severity of disease, clinical, laboratory and radiological evaluations were performed every 6 months for 2 yr. The association of increased Ig production with the severity of RA …
Effects of testosterone and β-glucan on immune functions in tench
A hormone manipulation was performed to examine the effects of testosterone on basal and β-glucan-induced immune functions in wild-caught male and female tench Tinca tinca. Testosterone administration elevated testosterone concentration in plasma, but did not suppress lytic activity of plasma or the chemiluminescence response of blood or head kidney phagocytes in any of the three successive samples or in any of the treatment groups. Both testosterone and β-glucan administrations had a negative effect on the relative mass of the spleen, and testosterone-treated fish lost more mass than control fish. Males had a relatively larger spleen than females, but there were no gender differences in im…
Gender- and season-dependent relationships between testosterone, oestradiol and immune functions in wild roach
Plasma testosterone and 17β-oestradiol concentrations, differential leukocyte counts and proportion of dead Rhipidocotyle campanula gill parasites (parasite resistance) were determined five times during a year in two populations of roach Rutilus rutilus and analysed for seasonal and gender differences. In addition to the above immune variables, plasma Immunoglobulin M (IgM) concentration, chemiluminescence and migration differential of head kidney phagocytes, size of the spleen, haematocrit and total leukocyte count were correlated with sex hormones for each population, sampling time and sex separately, using condition factor as a partial correlate. There were no clear gender differences in…