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A lattice arrangement of the actin filaments in the myoid cell appear at around 30 days, before the completion of spermatogenesis. A hexagonal pattern of the filaments in the junctional regions of Sertoli cells has already developed at this age. Cryptorchidism affects the actin filaments of the both cells.

Frozen sections of the rat and mouse testes were stained with either FITC-phalloidin or NBD-phallacidin and viewed with conventional fluorescence and confocal laser microscopes in order to demonstrate the arrangement of actin-filament bundles in myoid cells, Sertoli cells and tunica albuginea. Myoid cells are rich in actin-filament bundles crossing at right angles. These bundles running in different directions can also be visualized by means of electron microscopy. Nerve fibers occur in the vicinity of myoid cells, suggesting a neural control of the cell. At Sertoli cell junctions actin filaments occur at the circumference of the cell, where they show a honeycomb pattern. The ratio of the number of Sertoli cells per myoid cell can be calculated by means of confocal microscopy; this technique may provide a new parameter for determining spermatogenic activity. In the tunica albuginea of the juvenile mouse testis, actin filaments are arranged in an alternate fashion.

Lithium as well as major chemical constituents, and stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios in 30 saline spring waters (Cl>5,000 mg/Q) in Japan were determined to clarify the genesis of the waters. The relationship between log (Na/Li) and the temperature estimated by geothermometers revealed that the lithium content of saline spring waters are not usually controlled at the present-day temperatures of the hydrothermal systems. Taking into account the values of the deviation coefficient of lithium to seawater, CLi = (Li/Cl) sample/(Li/Cl) seawater, and the regions from which the spring waters were collected, the spring waters can be classified into the following four groups: Group 1, representing saline waters from coastal line (CLi = 1.2 22), Group 2 those from greentuff region (CLi = 17 110), Group 3 those from Osaka Basin (CLi = 160 220), and Group 4 those from the outer part of Median Tectonic Line (CLi = 250 440). The genetic features of the respective groups are discussed in detail.

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