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Oberflachennahes Grundwasser unterliegt unterschiedlich starken Einflussen durch Oberflachengewasser. Dies konnen z. B. Fliesgewasser oder naturliche und kunstliche Seen wie etwa Baggerseen sein. Die Starke dieser Einflusse kann haufig mittels hydrologischer oder hydrochemischer Methoden aufgezeigt werden. Bislang ist unklar, ob im Bereich von Baggerseen – an denen die Grundwasseroberflache ungeschutzt frei liegt – eine Beeinflussung des Grundwassers auch anhand der Zusammensetzung der Lebensgemeinschaften sowie ihrer Besiedlungsdichten im Untergrund nachgewiesen werden kann. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden im Jahr 2009 am Burkheimer Baggersee, zwischen Kaiserstuhl und Rhein gelegen, insgesamt 14 Grundwassermessstellen drei- bis viermal hydrochemisch und faunistisch untersucht. Mithilfe der Grundwasserfauna konnten hydrogeologische Muster im Umfeld des Baggersees nachgewiesen werden. Uber vier verschiedenartige faunistische Gruppen spiegelt sich die komplexe Hydrogeologie im Untersuchungsgebiet wider. Allerdings uberlagern die ortlichen hydrologischen Austauschprozesse mogliche Effekte des Baggersees auf das Grundwasser im Seeabstrombereich. Die faunistischen Gruppen umfassen „Gestresste Messstellen“ mit einer sehr verarmten Fauna, „Alluviale Messstellen“ mit einer artenreichen Oberflachenwassereinfluss anzeigenden Fauna, „Aufsteigendes Grundwasser“ mit einer individuen- und artenreichen Grundwasserfauna und „Rhein“, eine einzelne in Rheinnahe gelegene Messstelle, mit einer sehr stabilen, arten- und individuenarmen Grundwasserfauna. Ahnliche Einteilungen wurden auch in anderen Studien gefunden. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass hydrologische Austauschprozesse anhand der Fauna indiziert werden konnen. Ein direkter Nachweis von Baggerseeeffekten auf die Grundwasserfauna konnte in diesem Fall nicht erbracht werden.

Im Rahmen eines Pilotprogramms wurden in Rheinland-Pfalz funf Standorte mit Altlasten unterschiedlicher Herkunft auf das Auftreten und die Verteilung von Grundwassermeiofauna untersucht. Ziel dieser Vorstudie war es, erste Daten zur Verteilung der Grundwassermeiofauna in Altlaststandorten zu sammeln. Die Ergebnisse eines Standortes, hier bezeichnet als militarische Altlastflache C, werden im Detail vorgestellt. Trotz des vorlaufigen Charakters der Ergebnisse konnten fur einzelne Organismengruppen deutliche Verteilungsmuster gefunden werden. Wahrend die Crustacea (Krebstiere) mit LCKW (leichtfluchtige chlorierte Kohlenwasserstoffe) belastete Bereiche mieden, traten v. a. Nematoda und Oligochaeta flachendeckend und teilweise in hohen Abundanzen in allen untersuchten Bereichen auf. Diese beobachteten Verteilungen scheinen nicht nur arten- oder taxaabhangig zu sein, sondern moglicherweise auch abhangig von der Art des Schadstoffs. Langfristig ist anzustreben, die Grundwassermeiofauna auf ihre Eignung als Bioindikator zu testen. Bisher praktizierten physikochemischen Analysemethoden soll damit ein kostengunstiges, faunistisch begrundetes Monitoringsystem beigestellt werden, wie es sich in Oberflachengewassern seit Jahrzehnten bewahrt hat.

Medicinal plants are an important element of Ethiopian traditional medicine. This questionnaire survey examined the extent and type of medicinal plants used in self-care by rural Ethiopian community. Six hundred mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The prevalence of the use of herbal drugs in self-care was found to be 12.5%. Twenty-five plant species belonging to 21 families were reported, each with local names, methods of preparation and parts used. This study showed that self-care using medicinal plants is a major part of health care options in Butajira community.

Das Grundwasser ist von einer artenreichen, hochangepasten Tierwelt besiedelt, die zur Offenhaltung der Porenraume beitragt und die Selbstreinigungskraft der Grundwasserleiter fordert. Grundwasserabsenkungen und Schadstoffeintrage gefahrden diesen unterirdischen Lebensraum zunehmend. Die Auswirkungen stofflicher Eintrage auf die Grundwasserfauna sind noch unklar. Bei Grundwasserabsenkungen oder zustromendem Oberflachenwasser verandern sich die Lebensgemeinschaften dagegen in charakteristischer Weise, indem Grundwasserarten durch grundwasserfremde Tiere verdrangt werden. Damit erscheint eine faunistisch begrundete Eingriffsbewertung, die fur den Grundwasserraum bislang nicht stattfindet, moglich. Die Entwicklung geeigneter Standards fur ein faunistisch begrundetes Biomonitoring ist anzustreben.

The presence of C-peptide, proinsulin, insulin-A-chain, and glicentin in human fetal pancreatic cells by using the PAP-technique was investigated and the results obtained compared with the occurrence of insulin or glucagon immunoreactive cells. In pancreatic sections obtained from 10 weeks old human fetuses we could identify cells reacting with antibodies directed against C-peptide, proinsulin, and insulin-A-chain. The majority of the cells were found in the duct epithelium and their number increased from the 10th to 14th week forming clusters near the ducts. The number and localization of the cells correspond exactly to the insulin positive cells. The presence of proinsulin and insulin-A-chains is a further proof of biological activity already in an early step of fetal development. The presence of glicentin-positive cells in the 10th week of gestational age as well as cells reacting with glucagon antibodies provide evidence for active glucagon biosynthesis. The number of these cells increased markedly in the 14th week of gestational age.

Objective To study the utilization patterns of herbal drug use in urban Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted in Addis Ababa capital city of Ethiopia using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to 600 heads of households largely mothers selected using a multi-stage systematic random sampling technique where the final sampling units were households. Results The prevalence of herbal drugs use was found to be 37%. The main reasons given for choosing herbal medicine as the first line medication option were: dissatisfaction with the services of modern health institutions due to their time consuming nature cost considerations and perceived efficacy. Conclusion This study showed that in spite of the geographic accessibility of modern health institutions in urban areas the use of traditional medicine particularly herbal drugs remains a major form of health care option. Hence health planners should give appropriate consideration to this sector. (authors)

Key informant interviews of herbalists were conducted to document the traditional management of malaria in Ethiopia. The perceptions of the cause and symptoms of malaria, the use of plants, their preparation and administration were recorded. Interviews were performed in rural Butajira and Addis Ababa (the main city). The result showed that 33 (75%) of the interviewed healers treat malaria using herbal drugs. Sixteen plants were reported to have been used of which eight were used as a single remedy and the rest as composite remedies with other plants. The ethnopharmacological data generated in this study on antimalarial plants is useful for further evaluations of the traditional claims of antimalarial plants in Ethiopia.

Objective: To assess herbalist’s mode of service delivery and describe their traditional pharmaceutical practices. Methods: In-depth interviews of herbalists were conducted in Addis Ababa and Butajira, using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the healers was 53.7 and most of the healers practised traditional medicine on part-time basis. The average number of patients seen per week by the healers was 7. Most of the healers do not have fixed payment rate for their services. The analysis of traditional prescriptions revealed that the predominant dosage forms were liquid preparations and the average number of plants per prescription was 1.16. Conclusions: Healers treat a wide range of health problems using medicinal plants in various dosage forms. In the process of evaluation and standardisation of these dosage forms, formulations tested should be made in accordance with the method used traditionally. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2002;16(2):191-197]

By means of collagenase digestion and the Ficoll gradient separation technique, viable islets of Langerhans were isolated from canine pancreas. These islets were transplanted into the livers of diabetic dogs. Experimental diabetes was induced by subtotal pancreatectomy and two injections of 25 mg streptozotocin/kg body wt. Five recipients received islets from weakly histocompatible donors and were immunosuppressed by administration of azathioprine and anti-thymocyte serum. Diabetes was ameliorated over a period of 1 year. Glucose tolerance test curves and immunoreactive insulin concentrations in the portal and superior vena cava were significantly impaired in comparison to the diabetic control dogs. No signs of portal hypertension or of disturbances of liver function were observed in recipient dogs during the duration of the experiment.

The effect of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) on the ultrastructure of the gastric and jejunal mucosa was investigated in patients undergoing gastric surgery and in guinea pigs. The drug caused various degrees of damage to the surface mucous cells in both species perceptible as general signs of cytolysis in situ or as desquamation. In patients pretreated with aspirin, an increase of secondary lysosomes was noted in the gastric parietal cells but not in the animals. In the intestinal epithelial cells of both species there was a marked increase of secondary lysosomes, probably representing autophagolysosomes. The simultaneous increase of multi vesicular bodies and the occurrence of transitional stages between the two organoids suggest a functional interrelationship. Since no specific alteration of any cellular organoid was detected, the drug-induced injury is assumed to occur on a molecular level in the cytoplasm. It is concluded that the intracellular concentrations of aspirin in gastrointestinal mucosal cells during absorption cause cellular injury that can usually be restored by cellular repair mechanisms but that high drug concentrations may lead to irreversible cell damage.

The regional and cellular distribution of insulin-like immunoreactivity throughout the CNS of three rodent species were investigated using an immunofluorescence technique. No principal differences in the content and distribution of insulin-like material were revealed between lean animals and mice suffering from a genetically determined diabetes mellitus.

Investigation of glucagon secretion in isolated Wistar rat islets was carried out to elucidate further the regulatory function of glucose and arginine on pancreatic A-cells. The suppressive effect of D -glucose could also be demonstrated with L -glucose, D -mannose, D -fructose, D -galactose, D -glyceraldehyde and DL -dihyroxyacetone, but not in the presence of 3-O-methylglucose or mannitol. Sugars other than D -glucose inhibited glucagon secretion only at much higher concentrations than those at which D -glucose was effective. Furthermore, although 7.5 mM D -glucose caused up to 80% inhibition, the effects of other sugars appeared to level off at only 50–60% inhibition. The inhibitory action of D -glucose or D -glyceraldehyde on glucagon secretion could not be overcome by L -arginine, but 3-O-methylglucose, mannoheptulose, 2-deoxy- D -glucose, iodoacetamide, theophylline, epinephrine and acetylcholine were effective. The insulin secretion in response to glucose was inhibited by the metabolic inhibitors used, whereas the B-cell response in the presence of glyceraldehyde was diminished by iodoacetamide only. Like D -glucose, a variety of other sugars markedly reduced the stimulatory effect of L -arginine in glucagon release. The results show that the suppression of glucagon secretion is not specific for D -glucose and not strongly connected on a stimulated insulin secretion.

By means of collagenase digestion and the Ficoll gradient separation technique, viable islets of Langerhans could be isolated from dog pancreata. The isolated islets were capable of secreting insulin after glucose stimulation. These islets of Langerhans were transplanted into the livers of diabetic dogs. We transplanted islets isolated from I donor pancreas for 1 kg body wt of the recipients. The dogs were made diabetic by subtotal pancreatectomy (80%) and two injections of 25 mg streptozotocin/kg body wt. In our experiments, we selected donor-recipient pairs by means of the mixed lymphocyte reaction macrophage electrophoretic migration inhibition (MLR-EM) test. In the group with a depression in the MLR-EM test of more than 15% (strong histoincompatibility), the mean survival time of the transplanted dogs was 46 ± 16 days. Another group of recipients with a depression of macrophage migration of less than 8% (weak histocompatibility) had a mean survival time of 135 ± 49 days after intraportal islet transplantation, and the blood glucose values could be normalized in this group for a period of 70 days. We found significant differences between both the groups in the glucose tolerance tests and in the IRI concentrations in the portal vein and in the vena cava superior. In the recipients, which received weakly histoincompatible islets, the IRI concentration in the superior vena cava was 64% of the normal value in the vena cava superior 4 weeks after intrahepatic islet transplantation. By means of the MLR-EM test, we were able to correlate inhibition with signs of rejection of the transplanted islets. Our experiments demonstrated that an allogeneic islet transplantation in diabetic dogs across a weakly histocompatible barrier can improve the results in comparison to the islet transplantation across a strongly histocompatible barrier. However, this typing maneuver alone is not able to prevent the islet rejection.

Summary Using immunofluorescence technique a positive reaction to insulin antiserum could be revealed in different parts of the CNS of Wistar rats and sand rats. The functional concept that nervous tissue is insulin-insensitive was called in question by investigations showing an influence of insulin on blood plasma glucose levels after an application of the hormone to the CNS ( Szabo and Szabo 1972). Recently, the presence of specific insulin receptors in the brain was demonstrated by radiochemical ( Havkankova et al. 1978) and immunocytochemical ( Pansky and Hatfield 1978) means. No data, however, are yet available concerning the occurrence of the hormone itself in the CNS. We present evidence for the existence in the rat CNS of a substance giving an immunological reaction with insulin-antiserum.

Using the PAP technique, we investigated the presence of neuron-specific enolase in the human fetal pancreas of 10, 12, and 14 weeks of gestational age. Neuron-specific enolase is present in the islet cells in the 10th week. Positive cells are situated mainly in duct epithelium. The number of cells with a positive reaction increases from the 12th to the 14th week. In the 14th week, they are clustered either near the ducts or between the acini. The numbers and localizations of the cells correspond to those obtained in previous studies with 4 basic islet cell types in the same material. The present results are a further proof that islet cells are biologically active during early fetal development.

Summary The hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic distribution of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) was investigated in fed adult sand rats ( Psammomys obesus ) of both sexes using the immunofluorescence technique. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations were determined in these animals prior to decapitation. In a blind study, the amount of immunofluorescence of certain CNS areas and the glucose: Insulin ratio were compared and found to be connected: High amounts of SLI were detected in the dorsal hippocampus, in some hypothalamic nuclei and the median eminence of rats displaying low glucose levels. Sand rats with high blood glucose values did not show SLI in the hippocampal formation and the immunofluorescence of the circumventricular (hypothalamic) regions and the Emmentia mediana was drastically reduced. A possible correlation of SLI with insulin concentrations in the blood could not be revealed. The data obtained are discussed as a possible expression of a CNS influence on glucoregulation in this species.

Summary C-peptide/C-peptide-like immunoreactivity was shown to be present in the cytoplasm of the soma and the proximal part of apical dendrites of some pyramidal cells in the Neocortex (Gyrus precentralis) and Hippocampus of man. C-peptide (connecting peptide) is a metabolic product in insulin biosynthesis and its localization in neurons is a proof for extrapancreating insulin production.

Summary Glukagon-like immunoreactivity was demonstrated in different parts of rat and sand rat central nervous system by the indirect immunofluorescence method. In hyperglycemic animals the level of immunoreactive material was reduced to a great extent.

Twenty partially inbred German shepherd dogs were made diabetic by intravenous administration of streptozotocin (25 mg/kg) 1 and 3 days after partial pancreatectomy. Ten diabetic dogs received intraportal transplants of allogeneic islets of Langerhans isolated by collagenase digestion and Ficon gradient separation. After transplantation the mean fasting serum glucose level fell from 368 ± 74 to 108 ± 52 mg/dl. Normal glycemia was maintained for at least 3 weeks before rejection occurred. The mean survival time of the 10 recipients was 76 ± 30 days, while the 10 diabetic control dogs had a mean survival time of 30 ± 7 days. Intravenous glucose tolerance test curves were clearly better in recipient dogs than in the diabetic control dogs for at least 4 weeks after islet transplantation. Concentrations of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) in the portal vein in the superior vena cava were also significantly higher than in the diabetic control dogs 4 weeks after islet transplantation. The mean peak concentration of IRI in the superior vena cava of transplanted dogs after glucose administration was higher than that in the portal vein, indicating that the transplanted islets secreted insulin in response to glucose stimulation. Portal hypertension or disturbance of liver function did not occur after transplantation of isolated islets. These results show that the intrahepatic site is appropriate for transplantation of isolated islets in a large animal model of diabetes, and provide a basis for future application in man.

Summary The presence of glucagon-like immunoreactivity in nerve cells of different parts of the human brain was demonstrated by the indirect immunofluorescence technique. A bright fluorescent reaction was observed in the pyramidal cells of lamina V of the Neocortex. Less prominent concentrations of the glucagon-like material were detected in a few pyramidal cells of the Hippocampus and in some neurons of the Presubiculum and Subiculum. Within the Corpus amygdaloi-deum, only a few magnocellular neurons showed a positive reaction. The Hypothalamus was evidenced by a moderate, but widely distributed, reaction in magnocellular and medium-sized nerve cells in different nuclei (especially Nuc. ventromedialis and Nuc. arcuatus). A strong immunofluorescence was localized to some neurocytes in the Nuc. amibigus, and Nuc. n. hypoglossi. The Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex were free from immunoreactive material, but fluorescence occurred in some very small nerve cells of the Cerebellum (probably granular cells). A dependence of the strength of immunofluorescence of the time delay between autopsy and death is shown.