This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of prostaglandin $E_1(PGE_1)$ upon the activity of carbonic anhydrase and upon the inhibitory action of acetazolamide on carbonic anhydrase. The heparinized blood was sampled by cardiac puncture from Sprague-Dawley strain rats under ether anesthesia and was hemolysed by adding distilled water 1,000 times the amount of the blood. The activity of carbonic anhydrase of 0.1 ml of the hemolysate was measured by Maren's simplified micro-method. In the first experiment, the 7 rats were used, and the activity was measured by adding 0.1 ml of various concentrations of $PGE_1$(0.5, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, 10 and $20\;{\mu}g/ml$). In the second experiment, the 6 rats were used and the activity was measured by adding 0.1 ml of $PGE_1(5\;{\mu}g/ml)$ and 0.1 ml of acetazolamide$(6{\times}10^{-7}M/l)$ respectively or simultaneously. Obtained results were as follows: 1) The activity of carbonic anhydrase was significantly inhibited by $PGE_1$ at doses of $0.5{\sim}10\;{\mu}g/ml$, maximally at a dose of $2.5\;{\mu}g/ml$, but inhibition was no more observed at a dose of $20\;{\mu}g/ml$. 2) The activity of the acetazolamide group was significantly less than that of the control group. 3) The activity of the $PGE_1+acetazolamide$ group was significantly less than those of the $PGE_1$ group and the acetazolamide group. It is inferred from the above results that the $PGE_1$ inhibits the activity of carbonic anhydrase dose-dependently and strengthens the inhibitory effect of acetazolamide on carbonic anhydrase.

The effects of various inotropic interventions on the shape of the steady state length tension relation and the length-dependent activation process in cardiac muscle were studied. The influence of inotropic interventions upon the action potential was also observed. The range of varying muscle length was from the optimal length$(l_{max})$, where the active tension production is maximal, to 0.85 $l_{max}$. Changes in stimulus frequency or in external bathing Ca concentration constituted the inotropic interventions in this experiment. The papillary muscles were isolated from the rabbit right ventricles and perfused with $HCO-_3\;-buffered$ normal Tyrode solution which was aerated with $3%\;CO_2-97%\;O_2$ mixed gas and kept at $35^{\circ}C$. Resting Passive tension at $l_{max}$ was approximately 30% of the total tension and appeared from the muscle length of 0.90 $l_{max}$. The effect of stimulus frequency on the steady state level of developed tension was: As the stimulus frequency was increased from 0.1 to 0.5 Hz, there was little change in developed tension. As the frequency was increased further, to a value of about 3 Hz, tension increased steeply. Further increase of the frequency to 5 Hz had little additional effect on the developed tension. The length-tension curves for isometric peak tension became more steeper with the degree of potentiation by inotropic interventions. The relative steepness of the normalized length-tension curves where tension production was expressed as a percentage of maximal tension developed at $l_{max}$, varied inversely with the level of inotropic state and these curves were not superimposable one another. Thus at the stimulus frequency of 2 Hz or at the external Ca concentration of 8 mM, the relative decline in the developed tension for a given change in muscle length was considerably less than the decline observed at the frequency of 0.5 Hz or at the concentration of 2 mM Ca. Action potential duration was prolonged significantly as the frequency increased from 0.2 to 2 Hz, and this change in action potential duration was not observable on the changes in muscle length. There was a tendency of the hyperpolarization of membrane potential when the muscle length was shortened from $l_{max}$ to 0.95 $l_{max}$. These results support the hypothesis that there is a length-dependence of the activation process.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the acidosis on the gastric acid secretion in the isolated whole stomach of the rat and the effect of prostaglandin $E_1$ on the gastric acid secretion influenced by the acidosis. Twenty-two male albino rats(Sprague-Dawley strain) were used. The isolated whole stomach from each rat was introduced into the Kreb's solution which was continuously gassed with $95%O_2-5%CO_2$ for 1 hour, after irrigation of the lumen with cold physiological saline$(4^{\circ}C)$. Thereafter, each stomach was irrigated again with 5% dextrose solution (pH 7.4, $37^{\circ}C$), and filled with the dextrose solution. All the stomachs with the dextrose solution were divided into 4 groups according to the Kreb's solutions in which each stomach was incubated for 30 min: 1) control group, in the pH 7.4 solution, 2) $PGE_1$ group, in the pH 7.4 solution containing $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of $PGE_1$, 3) acid group, in the pH 7.0 solution, and 4) $acid+PGE_1$ group, in the pH 7.0 solution containing $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ of $PGE_1$. After incubatory period, the contents of each stomach were collected and centrifuged(1,500 rpm, room temperature) for 15 min. The acid output in the supernatant was determined with 0.012 N NaOH by means of autotitrator(Dosimat, Metrohm Herisau Co.) at pH 7.4. Results obtained were as follows: 1) The acid output of the acid group increased significantly in comparison with the control value. 2) The acid output of the $acid+PGE_1$ group decreased significantly in comparison with the acid group. It is inferred from the above results that the acidosis facilitates the gastric acid secretion and $PGE_1$ inhibits the gastric acid secretion induced by the acidosis.

In order to investigate the effect of cholinergic substance on the electrical and the mechanical activities of the stomach muscle, 10 isolated cat stomachs were studied. At various sites of a stomach muscle preparation, the electrical activity was monopolarly recorded by using capillary electrodes containing chlorided silver wires, and the isometric contractile activity was recorded simultaneously at the terminal portion of the antrum in Krebs solution$(36^{\circ}C)$ which was aerated with a gas mixture consisting of 95% $O_2$ and 5% $CO_2$. The recording of these activities were performed before (control period) and after acetylcholine$(10^{-5}M)$ and atropine $(10^{-6}M)$ administrations serially. Following results were obtained: 1) The mean frequency of the slow wave was $4.36{\pm}0.22\;cycles/min$ at all the various sites of the cat stomach. The slow wave was propagated caudad in sequence and its velosity of propagation increased as the slow wave approached the pylorus in normal Krebs solution. 2) After acetylcholine administration, the frequency of the slow wave increased transiently and the increase of slow wave frequency was followed by the isometric contraction of antral muscle in association with the second potential which succeeded the slow wave. 3) By atropine administration, the stimulatory effect of acetylcholine on the antral muscle contraction was abolished completely, and the frequency of the slow wave decreased significantly compared with that of the control period, which tendency was more prominent in the antrum. The above results suggest that the transient increase in the frequency of gastric slow wave by acetylcholine may have some influence upon the contraction mechanism of the cat antral muscle.