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The system of nuptiality probabilities for never married males and females, the "marriage regime," is viewed as a population transformation, which operates on a population thereby changing the composition. The marriage regime has many properties common to other population transformations, but embodies a constraint such that, in general, the marriage regime cannot be strictly stable over time. The approach is applied to study the "marriage squeeze," the alteration in marriage patterns that results from an imbalance in the "marriage market" or numbers of never married males and females at the usual marriage ages. Using data on age at first marriage for the 1960 American white population, nuptiality probabilities by single year of age and sex are estimated for the years 1915-58. Annual estimates also are made of the relative number of eligible mates (never married of the usual marriage ages) for never married persons of a given age and sex. No close correspondence is found between annual fluctuations in the marriage market and in the nuptiality probability, possibly because of the crudeness of the estimates. Alternatively, response to the imbalance may take another form such as marriage postponement or a redefinition of eligibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural research has traditionally focused on staple crops, while relatively little attention has been given to minor crops. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the nutrient contents and some anti-nutritional factors in the seeds of common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.) and the variation of phenotypic and morphological traits in field studies of 44 European accessions, originating from Russia, Ukraine, Poland (east and east-central Europe), the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary (south-central Europe), and Germany (west-central Europe) and grown in the same soil-climate conditions. A three-year field study was conducted from 2010 to 2012. Accessions originating from west-central Europe flowered three days earlier than those from south-central Europe. They also had the lowest seed number per pod (5.9) but the highest thousand seed weight (58 g) ( p < 0.05). Vetch lines coming from south-central Europe contained the highest level of crude protein in comparison with vetch seeds originating from west-central Europe (353 vs. 324 g kg -1 , respectively) ( p < 0.05), but the latter had the highest essential amino acid index value (75 vs. 71 in west-central Europe and south-central Europe, respectively) ( p < 0.05). The highest protein level was noted in the seeds of Slovak origin (average 358 g kg -1 ), whereas the lowest protein level (324 g kg -1 ) was determined in the Russian and German lines. Vetch grain fat was rich in linoleic (53%) and linolenic (14%) acids. The best n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio (4) and the highest α-linolenic acid level were exhibited by the Slovak and Polish accessions ( p < 0.05). The seeds of vetch accessions from east, east-central, and south-central Europe contained higher levels of ( p < 0.05) iron than those originating from west-central Europe. The concentration of tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and hydrogen cyanide reached on average 8, 3, and 81 mg kg -1 , respectively. The highest hydrogen cyanide (HCN) levels was determined in the accessions of German and Russian origin (126 and 119 mg kg -1 , respectively), and the lowest values were noted in the Slovak and Polish lines (50 and 67 mg HCN kg -1 , respectively). Furthermore, the Polish accessions contained the lowest levels of tannins and trypsin inhibitors. Common vetch seeds may be valuable protein feed/food stuff, but their nutritional usefulness is limited by the presence of anti-nutritional factors, especially HCN, which is difficult to remove. Further selection in this direction may be postulated.

Many psychopathological symptoms, including schizophrenia, can be associated with magnesium metabolism disturbances. In the literature, contradictory data exist regarding magnesium levels in patients with this disorder. However, this situation might be caused by determination of extracellular concentration of magnesium; although, this is mainly an intracellular ion. There are no data concerning determination of the ionized fraction of magnesium in patients with schizophrenia, while the ionized fraction represents 67% of the total pool of magnesium in healthy people. Also, the mechanism of magnesium action-the effect of magnesium ions on NMDA and GABA receptors-has not yet been fully investigated. There are preliminary studies aimed at increasing the effectiveness of schizophrenia pharmacotherapy via magnesium supplementation. Multidirectional activity of magnesium can significantly increase its therapeutic effect in psychiatry. This observation is confirmed by recent studies conducted by various research teams. However, further studies on the role of magnesium supplementation in patients with schizophrenia are needed., (Copyright © 2017 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.)

A double blind, placebo-controlled phase II study revealed that the antihistamine, Dimebon® (dimebolin, latrepirdine) improved cognition in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients compared to placebo controls. However, the Phase III CONNECTION trial failed to demonstrate significant differences between dimebon and placebo treatments. Despite the controversial therapeutic outcomes in the treatment of AD, dimebon's mechanism(s) of action within the brain remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of dimebon upon β-amyloid (Aβ), tau and astrocytes in the hippocampus of triple transgenic (3xTg-AD) mice, which develop AD-like pathology in an age-dependent manner. At age 6.5 months, prior to the development of Aβ plaques in the hippocampus, male and female 3xTg-AD mice, received a daily intraperitoneal injection of 0.1 % dimebon or saline for 1.5 months. At 8 months, quantitative immunohistochemistry revealed a significant reduction in hippocampal/subicular APP/Aβ in dimebon-treated mice, whereas protein bioassay found no change in full length APP, soluble Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42), Aβ oligomers, BACE1 and GFAP levels between groups. Interestingly, the number of the hippocampal APP/Aβ plaques in female and male dimebon-treated mice was higher compared to gender-matched control mice. Dimebon did not alter hippocampal tau levels. Furthermore, dimebon protects SH-SY5Y neurons against Aβ toxicity and promotes GFAP expression in primary mouse astrocyte cultures. Our findings demonstrate that dimebon in vivo modifies hippocampal APP/Aβ pathology and in vitro protects against Aβ toxicity promoting cell survival and activates astrocytes.

Individual trees growing in five populations of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in the Sudety Mountains were investigated in respect of variability of peroxidases (2 loci) and malate dehydrogenase (1 locus). Differences between populations were illustrated by a dendrogram constructed on the basis of Hedrick's (1974) genetic distances. The mean GST coefficient (=0.0333) value demonstrated the higher level of intra-population variability, as compared to the inter-population (DST = 0.0149) variability.

Unlabelled: Previous studies have suggested that decrease of acidity of gastric juice leads to microbial overgrowth in gastric juice., Aim of the Study: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of upper respiratory tract and gastric juice microflora depending on the change of gastric juice pH, which occurred during treatment with pantoprazole and eradication therapy., Material and Methods: 40 patients suffering from duodenal ulcer or reflux esophagitis have been examined. Group 1, patients without infection of H. pylori have received pantoprazole 40 mg/d for 4 weeks. Group 2, patients with infection of H. pylori have received 7-day eradication therapy (pantoprazole, amoxicillin, clarithromycin) and then pantoprazole 40 mg/d for 3 weeks. The samples of gastric juice have been taken twice: before treatment and in the 4th week of treatment. The assessment of gastric juice included pH measurement and bacteriological analysis., Results: The mean values of gastric juice pH in the group 1 were as following--1.7 (SD +/- 0.53) before and 5.2 (SD +/- 2.26) during the treatment. Mean microbial counts were: 0.47 (SD +/- 1.01) logCFU/ml before, and 1.77 (SD +/- 1.48) logCFU/ml during the treatment. In group 2 the increase of approximate amount of gastric juice from 1.8 (SD +/- 0.77) before treatment to 3.8 (SD +/- 2.43) during the treatment was noticed. The average titer of gastric juice microflora increased from 0.5 logCFU/ml (SD +/- 0.83) to 1.39 logCFU/ml (SD +/- 1.52). Similarity between microflora isolated from gastric juice and tonsil swabs was noticed among most of the patients., Conclusions: The increase of gastric juice pH during the treatment with pantoprazole can lead to microflora growth in gastric juice. Microorganisms isolated from gastric juice among patients treated with antisecretive drugs mainly derived from the upper respiratory tract. Mostly isolated strains were: S. aureus, E. coli, Candida albicans.