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The ability of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid to suppress ethanol withdrawal syndrome was tested in male rats rendered physically dependent on ethanol by several intragastric administrations of ethanol (9-15 g/kg daily for 7 days). Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 g/kg i.p.), administered 8 hr after the last ethanol dose, produced a dose-dependent inhibition of withdrawal signs such as tremors and audiogenically-induced seizures; the highest dose tested suppressed all ethanol withdrawal symptoms.

The 2-day-old rat is known to be susceptible to infection by ip route with the XJ strain of Junin virus but resists inoculation with XJC13 strain (85% vs 15% mortality). In order to determine whether peritoneal macrophages play a role in modulating the course of infection, viral replication in adherent peritoneal cells infected with either strain was studied. XJ was found to replicate 30-fold as regards XJC13 at day 3 pi. Besides, silica blockage of peritoneal macrophages was also evaluated. Following silica treatment, 60% survival was recorded for XJ-infected animals vs 15% for untreated infected controls. No significant differences were recorded for silica-treated XJC13-infected rats vs untreated infected controls. These preliminary findings indicate that, upon replication within the host's macrophages at the peritoneal inoculation site, virus spreads readily to reach the target organs. Effective silica blockage lends support to this pathway, as shown by significantly greater survival in XJ-infected rats.

An acoustooptic technique was used to design and construct a prototype of a processor capable of multiplying a 128 x 128 complex-element matrix by a 128 complex-element vector. The device was specified to execute 10(5) matrix-vector products per second with 8-bit resolution. The performance of each component of the prototype was evaluated, as was the impact of component performance on system performance.

Dihydroergotoxine (DHET) decreased voluntary ethanol intake in rats selected for their stable ethanol preference (mean daily ethanol intake 8 g/kg). DHET inhibition was markedly potentiated by thioridazine. The potentiation is explained with a synergistic inhibitory effect on dopaminergic transmission: that is, DHET acting on dopamine (DA) autoreceptors and thioridazine preferentially inhibiting postsynaptic DA receptors.