Inhibition of in vitro immune responses by a fraction from seminal plasma.

We studied the inhibitory effect of a fraction of bovine seminal plasma on in vitro lymphocyte responses to specific and nonspecific ligands. Seminal plasma was fractionated by Sephadex G-100 chromatography, and the inhibitory component was found to have a molecular weight of above 100,000 daltons. This fraction was devoid of lymphocytotoxicity and could inhibit, in a dose-dependent mode, both the primary antibody response of normal mouse spleen cells to the thymus-dependent antigen sheep erythrocytes and the one-way mixed lymphocyte reactions. Concanavalin A-induced proliferative T-cell responses were also inhibited by the same fraction. The inhibition of the T-lymphocyte responses to Con A was complete at suboptimal concentrations of the mitogen and could only partially be overcome at supraoptimal concentrations. Four other fractions in seminal plasma were also studied in this particular system, three being without effect and one being stimulatory. The inhibitory fraction was also found to inhibit the polyclonal B-cell responses induced by fetal calf serum. The importance of the present findings for the immunophysiology of reproduction are discussed.


[Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pericardial effusion].

The clinical, hemodynamic and radiologic signs of pericardial effusion are reviewed. From the symptomatic point of view low pressure (lax) pericardial effusion and compressive effusion (tamponade) are to be distinguished. Echocardiography is today the preferred method for study of patients with suspected pericardial effusion. This technique also provides insight into ventricular performance and is therefore helpful in the differential diagnosis of cardiomegaly due to pericardial effusion, heart failure or both. In our material uremic pericarditis, malignant tumors and leukemia were the predominant causes of pericardial effusion.


Laparoscopy in the investigation of infertility.

Gynaecological units in Great Britain are using the laparoscope increasingly frequently to investigate the infertile woman; in this paper the need for this form of investigation is emphasized. In the Professorial Unit at Glasgow Royral Infirmary, the findings (over a three years period), obtained by the laparoscopic investigation of the infertile woman, are given. It is found that laparoscopy frequently identifies a possible cause of infertility in women whose failure to conceive has remained unexplained by other methods of investigation.


The pitfalls in early diagnosis of childhood spinal compression.

Thirty-one children under the age of 13 years with spinal cord and cauda equina compression are presented. Some of these cases are used to illustrate the problems encountered in the early recognition of compressive lesions involving the spinal cord and cauda equina in the paediatric age group.


Rational management of uveitis.

Endogenous uveitis is an important cause of blindness in young adults. The need for a comprehensive search for an aetiological 'antigen' is stressed. A source of adjuvant, disturbance in host immunology and any associated syndromes are also sought. Treatment then involves elimination of 'antigen', suppression of host hypersensitivity and the enhanced vascular permeability, and improvement of host resistance. The value of antihistamine and antiserotonin drugs in successful treatment is emphasised.


The role of the peritoneum in the healing of abdominal incisions.

These results support the assumption that careful approximation of the gascial edges is one key in the repair of abdominal incisions. It is difficult to say how pertinent these observations are to the clinical situation in which nonabsorbable sutures are generally used. However, we believe that some of these factors are germane in both situations and that concentration on maintaining a meticulous, accurate and strong fascial approximation will result in a safer, faster and equally strong and less frustrating closure of the abdominal incision.


Quantitative ultrasonic blood flow measurement in Dacron grafts.

A quantitative directional Doppler system was used to determine blood flow in 8 mm. aortoaortic Dacron grafts in dogs. The Doppler was calibrated with frequency standards and the output was integrated for one minute intervals. With the probe held at an angle of 60 degrees to the flow axis, the average frequency of the Doppler shift was determined. Frequency was converted to velocity with the Doppler equation. Volume flow was calculated from the product of velocity and cross-sectional area of the graft. When compared with an electromagnetic flowmeter, the Doppler system was highly accurate with flow rates up to 900 c.c per minute. At flow rates above 900 c.c. per minute, there was a significant decrease in Doppler output which probably is due to the effects of turbulence and background noise on the Doppler signal.


Degeneration of knitted Dacron grafts.

This report describes three instances of severe deterioration in tensile strength of knitted Dacron grafts (Weaveknit) supplied prior to 1969. Similar deterioration has been encountered previously by us and other surgeons. All patients with this type of graft should be re-examined periodically and, if deterioration is detected at operation, the entire graft probably should be replaced. These experiences indicate that further investigation and, possibly, some alteration of the manufacturing process are warranted.


[Influence of roentgen rays on electrolyte changes and metabolism of the myocardium. VII. Radiation-induced inhibition of the sodium- and potassium--activated microscomal-trasport ATPase].

The behavior of a Mg2+-dependent microsomal ATPase, which may be activated by Na+ and K+, was investigated in the myocardium of Guinea pigs after local irradiation. The part which can be activated by Na+ and K+ (transport-ATPase) is already slightly inhibited thirty minutes after a dose of 250 R; the inhibition rate with 1500 R amounts to about 60%, the maximal inhibition effect with a dose of 3000 R was about 70%. Four hours after a local irradiation with 1500 R, a restitution of the inhibition effect occurs with overshoot reaction; 15 and 24 hours following irradiation, a significant inhibition of the transport-ATPase activity can again be verified. The k-strophanthidine and digitoxin are inhibiting within the concentration ranges analyzed (2 X 10(-5), 2.5 X 10(-7), 5 X 10(-7) M) the activity of the transport-ATPase. The above-mentioned radiation-induced inhibition effect upon the ATPase activated by Na+ and K+ is additively increased by adding k-strophanthidine (2 X 10(-5) M) and digitoxin (2.5 X 10(-7) M).


Suicide among attempted suicides: a 10-year follow-up.

A 10-year follow-up is presented of 484 patients who made serious suicide attempts. Of this group 23% had died, 9% from natural causes, 3% from accidents or from uncertain causes, and 11% from suicide. Suicide frequenzy is highest in the period immediately after the suicide attempt. Especially interesting is the distribution according to sex. During the first 5 years there is a preponderance of male suicides (which is in agreement with the findings of other investigators), but after 10 years this difference in sex disappears. Suicides are found especially among men from 50 to 60 years of age, disabled pensioners, and persons who have attempted suicide several times, and to a lesser degree among persons living alone and criminals.


[Experience with the electrocardiographic diagnosis of cardiac ventricular hypertrophy by the methods of mathematical statistical analysis].

A new index in the diagnostics of right ventricular hypertrophy: AQRS + 52 less than or equal to 235 is derived by means of the discriminant multifactorial analysis and processing the elements of 488 electrocardiograms in the 12 routine leads in 269 deceased. AQRS is the electric heart axis in the frontal plane, determined by Pis'menji tables; Z is the transitory zome in precordial leads, expressed with tenfold increased number of the lead, e.g. V1-10, V2-20 etc. In case of transitory zone between two leads, e.g. V4-V5-the interpolated value between 40 and 50 is indicated-i.e. 45. The new index as compared with selected 18 basic indices for right ventricular hypertrophy is with considerably better diagnostic qualities: sensitivity--84%, false positiveness 13% and diagnostic accuracy 86%.


[Deviation of the electrical cardiac axis to the left between -30 degrees and -90 degrees as an index of left ventricular hypertrophy].

The index of left ventricular hypertrophy A between --30 degrees and --90 degrees was established to be with low sensitivity (23 per cent) and high false positiveness (13 per cent) with the analysis of 448 electrocardiograms of 269 deceased, to 60 of them being applied the pathologoanatomical separating-gravimetric method of Fulton and to the rest--the classical methods. The disturbances of the intraventricular conductivity and especially the left anterior hemiblock contribute considerably. The left axial deviation in left ventricular hypertrophy was established not to be due mainly to the increased muscular mass but also to the accompanying or conditioned by it processes (coronary insufficeincy, sclerosis) leading to disturbances of the left ventricular conductivity.


[Laparoscopic photography on infra-red sensitive film].

Photographs taken on Ektachrome infrared IE 135-20 film during laparoscopy are distinguished by improved contrast. Details that can be recognized indistinctly or not at all on regular color film can be brought out. This film has proved to be particularly useful for the visualization of lymph vessels and close-ups of the surface.


Susceptibility of the resected stomach to experimental carcinogenesis.

The purpose of this study was to find whether gastric resection enhances the incidence of carcinoma in the remaining part of the stomach. 66 male Wistar rats were subjected to stomach resection according to the Billroth I or the Billroth II method. These rats, as well as control animals with intact stomachs, were fed the carcinogen N-Methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NG). -- 25 of 66 animals developed carcinomas in the gastric remnant. Precancerous lesions were seen in 18 rats. The tumours were characterized histologically as adenocarcinomas. They were almost exclusively localized in the region of the gastroenteral anastomosis. The process of tumour formation in the resected stomach was completed within 17-31 weeks on continuous administration of NG in a concentration of 120 mg/l in the drinking water. In contrast to these findings, the development of cancer in the intact stomach required on average 41 weeks under the same conditions of NG administration. However, with regard to the incidence of malignant changes, no significant difference was observed between animals undergoing the Billroth I method and those undergoing the Billroth II method.--The results suggest that the resected stomach of the rat is more susceptible to induction of cancer than the intac one. Exposure of the resected stomach to an oral carcinogen induces carcinogenesis predominantly in the anastomotic region.


Ultrastructure of hemangiopericytoma associated with paraneoplastic hypoglycemia.

A recurred and metastasized hemangiopericytoma of menigeal origin caused a terminal hypoglycemia syndrome in a 40 year old man. The disease had been observed over a period of 10 years. The total weight of the tumour metastases was 1800 g. Electron microscopical examination of the tumour cells revealed, in particular, a markedly developed ergastoplasm, prominent Golgi complexes surrounded by many microvesicles, round to ovoid electron dense bodies and fine fibrillar structures. Furthermore, large deposits of basement membrane-resembling material were found in the pericapillary and intercellular spaces. On the basis of the structural characteristics which indicate distinct synthesizing capacity of the cells, an excessive glucose consumption by the tumour is suggested to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of tumour hypoglycemia. The question whether the ultrastructure of the tumour also exhibits secretory processes, which may be related to the release of a presumed inhibitor of hepatic gluconeogenesis and/or glycogenolysis, remains open. Typical granules as in polypeptide hormon secreting cells were not observed. The possibility that the demonstrated electron dense membrane limited bodies represent atypical secretory granules is discussed.


The prognostic significance of first and second remission after first and second relapse radiotherapy in Hodgkin's disease.

New aspects concerning the prognostic importance of remission following first treatment and second relapse treatment have resulted from a retrospective study of 175 patients who received primary treatment for Hodgkin's disease between 1964 and 1971. By means of renewed radiotherapy 27 out of 66 (=41%) patients were again brought to full remission with 10 of the 66 (=15%) patients reaching partial remission. The prognosis of the second full remission is equal to that of the first full remission, the prospect of cure being retained. The prognosis of relapse patients following renewed radiotherapy is dependent on: 1. the type of the previous remission, whether full or partial, 2. the localization of the recidive, 3. the primary stage and the presence (or absence) of signs of activity B, 4. the histology, and 5. the age of the patient.


Influence of disulfiram on the organotropy of the carcinogenic effect of dimethylnitrosamine and diethylnitrosamine in rats.

In former studies in rats and mice it was shown that the acute toxicity of dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA) and diethylnitrosamine (DENA) is reduced by additional treatment with tetraethylthiuramdisulfide [(Disulfiram, Antabus (DSF)]. In long-term experiments in 40 rats given 500 mg/kg DSF/week the substance did not show carcinogenic effects, however, influenced the action of the nitrosamines. DENA, which was administered to 38 rats in a dosage of 20 mg/kg/week, induced liver tumors in 90% of the animals; in 29% besides some precancerous stages predominantly malignant carcinomas of the oesophagus were seen. DMNA when given to 31 rats in a dosage of 4 mg/kg/week induced liver tumours in 55% of the animals. 26 rats were treated with a combination of 500 mg/kg DSF/week and 20 mg/kg DENA/week. In only 31% of the animals of this group liver tumors were found, however, 81% of them besides some precancerous stages showed predominantly carcinomas of the oesophagus. The combination of 500 mg/kg DSF/week and 4 mg/kg DMNA/week induced only 1 liver tumor (=3%) out of a group of 29 animals, whereas 59% of them showed squamous cell carcinomas of the paranasal sinus that were not seen when DMNA was given alone.


[Morphology and clinical significance of the meningeal hemangiopericytoma (author's transl)].

Hemangiopericytomas of the meninges are rare tumors. Three tumors of this type with a course over more than 10 years each are reported. All three tumors were primary diagnosed as meningiomas (one: vascular, two angioblastic). The diagnosis was changed to hemangiopericytoma only then when recurrences and extracranial metastases had occurred. Morphologically, "angioblastic meningioma" and "hemangiopericytoma of the meninges" show striking common features. The principal pattern bases on the blastomatous increase of capillary blood vessels lined by a normal endothelium, extracapillary proliferation of pericyte-like mesenchymal cells and an intercellular network of reticulin fibres. Light- and electron microsopic findings do not demonstrate the characteristics of a meningioma. Furthermore, clinical data and growth pattern of "angioblastic meningioma" and "hemangiopericytoma of the meninges" are well comparable. Therefore, it seems to be justified to interpret these tumors as a tumor entity with identical histogenesis. It is well known that hemangiopericytomas frequently recur and metastasise. On the other hand, meningiomas are usually benign. For those reasons we suggest that these tumors should be uniformly classified as "hemangiopericytoma of the meninges" in order to stress the significance of these particular tumors of the meninges regarding their treatment and behaviour.


[In vitro assay for cyclophosphamide-sensitivity of human tumours: the effect of 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide on the incorporation of 3H-uridine into the nucleic acids of human tumour cells (author's transl)].

The utility of 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide for testing the selectivity of human tumours cells against cyclophosphamide in vitro was studied. 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide in aqueous solution spontaneously decomposes to 4-hydroxy-cyclophosphamide, the primary product of metabolic activation of cyclophosphamide thus representing a new form of "activated" cyclophosphamide. From 31 human tumours including 21 mammarian-, 4 ovarial-, 2 uterine-carcinomas, 2 seminomas, 1 hypernephroma and 1 rectum-carcinoma cell suspensions were made and the effect on the 3H-Uridine- and the 3H-Thymidine-incorporation into the nucleic acids after short time incubation with the effect of 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide and 4-hydroxy-cyclophosphamide. 7 malignomas showed high sensitivity both against 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide and against 4-hydroxy-cyclophosphamide. No additional inhibitory effect of the peroxyde function besides of that of the alkylating moiety of the molecule was found. Accordingly 4-hydro-peroxy-cyclophosphamide because of its better availibility and stability may be used as "activated" cyclophosphamide in screening tests for cyclophosphamide-sensivity of human tumours in vitro.


[Maximum velocity of load-free shortening Vmax, myocardial capacity and "contractility indices" in the hypertrophic myocardium].

Based upon literature and our own experimentation on Goldblatt rats, the significance of a decrease of the maximal shortening velocity of the myocardium at zero load (Vmax) in the hypertrophied, chronically pressure-loaded heart is discussed. In the hypertrophied myocardium with varying concentrations of the contractile structures, the developed tension under isometric conditions (sigma) and the maximum rate of tension development (d sigma/dtmax) can indicate significant deviations from the values of controls of the same age, without, however, making it possible to draw from these changes absolute conclusions about the elementary contractile process. With the enhanced concentration of contractile proteins, the mentioned isometric values, as well as the maximum instantaneous power (cross-sectionally related) of the myocardium can be increased during a stage of hypertrophy in which Vmax is already reduced. The decrease of Vmax shows a rough correlation with the reduction of the specific ATPase activity of actomyosin and is already observed at moderate degrees of hypertrophy (30 to 50%). The time course of the change of both parameters in experimental hypertrophy suggests a causal relation between the changes of those two parameters and the failure of the myocardium in later stages of a chronic overload. Under the condition of reliable estimation, Vmax allows for, also with changed actomyosin concentration, an assessment of the elementary contractile process. On the other hand, Vmax does not present a sufficient measure for the cross-sectionally related power capacity of the hypertrophied myocardium. The possible dissociation between the unloaded shortening velocity and the cross-sectionally related power capacity could, in certain cases, explain an unsatisfactory correlation between Vmax and the clinical state of the heart. The so-called empirical indices of contractility, which are not always clearly related to basic physiological characteristics of the myocardium, should be interpreted with particular reserve in relation to the hypertrophied cardiac muscle.


Effect of streptozotocin on the blood glucose level and histology of the principal islets of Channa punctatus (Bloch).

The effect of streptozotocin, an antibiotic and diabetogenic drug, has been studied on the blood glucose level and islet histology of a freshwater fish, Channa punctatus. The drug elicits a triphasic response in the blood glucose level, comprising an initial hyperglycemia followed by a transient fall, and restitution of normal values 3...4 days after the treatment. Significant degenerative changes occur in the islet beta cells. Severity of the beta cell damage is dose dependent and the drug has been found to be beta-cytotoxic to a considerable extent. Unlike mammals, Channa punctatus does not become diabetic following the streptozotocin administration, at doses varying 200-400 mg/kg b.wqnd over a period of 96 hours post-injection.


[Results of intramuscular injection of glycosamino-glycanpolysulfate (GAGPS) in experimental arthrosis of the knee in dogs (author's transl)].

Report on the action of GAGPS injected intramuscularly on experimental arthrosis of the knee-joint in dogs. In both hind-legs the lateral tibial joint-surface and the lateral meniscus were resected. This produces arthrotic changes similar to human arthrosis within 2 months. Of 27 dogs 13 received i.m. injections into the glutei of GAGPS (25 mg/kg). 14 dogs were not untreated controls. After the 7th postoperative day the injections were given on every third day on 10 occasions, thereafter every fourth day for another 10 occasions. The animals were killed 3 months after the start of the experiment. Loss of cartilage on the lateral condyle proved to be clearly less pronounced in the treated animals than in the controls, macroscopically, radiologically and histolocally. GAGPS, injected, intragluteally, limits loss of cartilage in experimental arthrosis of the knee in dogs.


[Prediction of foci of Crimean hemorrhagic fever by means of a computer].

Districts of the Osh region were classified by a number of signs with the aid of a computer for the purpose of epidemiological prognosis of the foci of Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF). The results obtained were compared with the data of virological study for CHF in these districts. This work showed that there were future prospects in using the computer program for prognostication of infections with natural nidality with the aid of a computer.


[Method of analysis of the annual dynamics of infectious morbidity].

Annual dynamics of an individual infection morbidity can be divided by forms of manifestation of the epidemic process in case of admission of a relative stability for the district (collective body) under study, the level of sporadic (interseasonal, all-year-round) morbidity. Obtaining the upper border of sporadic morbidity possible under the analysed conditions permitted to assess quantitatively the activity of the factors regulating the intensity of individual forms of manifestation of the epidemic process.


[The muscular syndrome in chronic polymyositis].

The authors conducted a clinico-neurological examination of 16 patients with a muscular syndrome which developed against the background of chronic polymyositis. The muscular bioptate demonstrated a combination of atrophical, dystrophical and necrobiotical processes. The prevalent atrophical processes had the character of denervational atrophy.


Monozygotic twins with concordance for Down's syndrome and congenital heart disease.

Cytogenetic, clinical, and other findings are presented on a pair of same-sex, monochorial MZ twins concordant for both trisomy 21 and congenital heart disease. The literature on Down's syndrome in twins and on congenital heart disease in twins is reviewed and the exceptional occurrence of concordant congenital heart disease in MZ twins is stressed.


A case of Mongolism in DZ female twins studied at 10 and then at 43 years of age.

A pair of female mongoloid twins was studied when they were ten years old and, again, some thirty years later. A careful comparison was made of the similarities and differences between them in features or traits which have proved to be useful in determining the zygosity of like-sexed twins. Though some of these characters can be, and frequently are, considerably modified in the presence of mongolism and so lose part of their value for that purpose, the differences noted in these twins, both as children and as middle-aged adults, are thought to outweigh their similarities and so warrant the conclusion that they are, indeed, dizygotic.


Lysolecithin fusion of cells from multiple sclerosis patients with Vero cells.

Investigations were performed on cell cultures derived from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to trace a possible virus infection as a cause of the disease. Cell cultures were established from one brain autopsy specimen and four lymph node biopsies from MS patients. Lymphocytes from 28 MS patients and six healthy controls were used for fusion or cocultivation experiments, either immediately after isolation or after mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC). Lysolecithin fusion and cocultivation experiments were made with Vero cells and with, respectively: cultured brain cells, lymph node cells and lymphocytes from MS patients. Electron microscopical examination revealed intranuclear filamentous structures in 5 per cent of the cells in primary cultures of MS brain and lymph node and in control skin organ cultures. Multinucleated cells were found in six out of 19 cocultures of Vero cells and MS lymphocytes preincubated for 2 days at 37 degrees C. The cultures were tested for the presence of viruses, i.e. measles virus and virus producing hemadsorption with human type O and/or guinea pig erythrocytes and virus against which the MS patients showed serum FA-antibodies. No virus antigen could be demonstrated in the cells.


Peritoneography in spigelian hernias.

Twelve patients with a minor Spigelian hernia not involving the intestines have been examined by combined peritoneography and herniography. The particular pathology of this hernia does not lend itself to be detected by these procedures.


Immunological potential of yolk sac cells.

Mouse yolk sac cells on day 9 of gestation were found to elicit a GVH response, measured by enlargement of the local popliteal lymph nodes. The response cannot be attributed to contaminating maternal cells, since F1 (Balb/c x C57B1) yolk sac cells did not cause a reaction in F1 (Balb/c x C57B1) hosts. On the other hand, yolk sac cells did not elicit a detectable MLC reaction, nor did they respond to PHA or Con A. Hence, mouse yolk sac cells have the potential to express a certain limited array of immunological reactivities, before the development of embryonic thymus and liver.


Mitral valve early diastolic closing velocity in the echocardiogram: relation to sequential diastolic flow and ventricular compliance.

Uncertainty exists regarding the determinants of mitral valve early diastolic closing velocity (E-F slope) in the echocardiogram. Accordingly, the mitral E-F slope, sequential atrioventricular flow in each third of diastole in the cineangiogram and an index of ventricular compliance (delta volume/delta pressure normalized by end-diastolic volume) were obtained in 10 normal subjects, 10 patients with coronary artery disease and marked dyssynergy and 9 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The E-F slope of 103 +/- 20 mm/sec (mean +/- standard deviation) in normal subjects was greatly reduced in patients with coronary artery disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (54 +/- 22 and 27 +/- 16 mm/sec, respectively, P less than 0.001). Transmitral flow of 52 +/- 25 cc during the initial third of diastole in normal subjects represented 48 +/- 10 percent of total flow and was diminished in patients with coronary artery disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: 23 +/- 16 cc (25 +/- 24 percent) and 24 +/- 20 cc (20 +/- 11 percent), respectively (both P less than 0.001). The ventricular compliance index in normal subjects of 0.064 +/- 0.02 was also decreased identically in patients with coronary artery disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: 0.029 (both P less than 0.001). The E-F slope was correlated with transmitral flow during the first third of diastole (r = 0.87) but was decreased to a slightly greater extent for any given reduction in flow in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than in patients with coronary artery disease. Although the E-F slope could not be related to compliance in individual patients, patients with an E-F slope of less than 75 mm/sec nearly always had diminished compliance. Thus, mitral E-F slope is primarily related to transmitral flow in the initial third of diastole. Reduced ventricular diastolic compliance usually results in diminished flow, and thus a decreased E-F slope, in patients with coronary artery disease or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The greater reduction in E-F slope for any decrement of flow in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than in coronary disease may be due either to interference with vortex streaming or to alterations in the relation of the papillary muscles to the mitral valve induced by altered ventricular geometry; the finding indicates that factors in addition to flow may influence the E-F slope.


Favorable effects of orally administered digoxin on left heart size and ventricular wall motion in patients with previous myocardial infarction.

The effects of maintenance oral digoxin therapy on segmental left ventricular wall motion (wall motion videotracking) and left heart size (radiographic left heart dimension) were evaluated in 14 patients with a prior myocardial infarction but without clinical signs or symptoms of congestive heart failure. The left heart dimension decreased in all six patients with cardiomegaly from an average of 55.0 +/- 1.6 (standard deviation) to 52.2 +/- 2.7 mm/m2 body surface area (P less than 0.01) during digoxin therapy. However, there was no significant change in the eight patients with normal heart size. In the resting state, the average extent of shortening in normal segments increased significantly from 3.1 +/- 0.8 to 4.2 +/- 1.2 mm during digoxin therapy. During submaximal handgrip exercise, the extent of shortening averaged 4.0 +/- 1.3 mm and increased further with digoxin therapy to 5.1 +/- 2.1 mm. The effects of digoxin therapy on the maximal velocity of shortening in normal segments at rest and during handgrip exercise were similar. In all 14 patients, there was a decrease in the number of segments with abnormal wall motion at rest or with handgrip exercise during digoxin therapy. With therapy, the number of abnormal sites decreased from 52 to 35 in the resting state and from 84 to 49 during handgrip exercise. Thus, in patients 6 or more months after transmural myocardial infarction, orally administered digoxin decreases cardiomegaly, increases the extent and maximal velocity of shortening in normal left ventricular segments and often reduces the extent of abnormal wall motion at rest or during isometric exercise.


Transient bacteremia in pediatric patients after dental extraction.

The incidence of bacteremia in a group of well children undergoing dental extraction of both normal and abscessed teeth was determined. Blood samples were obtained from each child before and immediately after dental instrumentation and then cultured aerobically and anaerobically. Eleven of 36 (30%) of the postextraction cultures were positive, and Streptococcus viridans grew from all of them. Bacteremia was more common after the extraction of diseased teeth, and there was no relationship between bacteremia and the number or species of teeth removed.


A physiologic model of the dehydroepiandrosterone to estrogen conversion system in the fetoplacental unit. I. Development.

A physiologic model of the dynamics of fetoplacental unit dehydroepiandrosterone (HDEA) to estrogen conversion is presented. A mathematical representation of this model is included. The model is used in Part II to determine the rate constant of DHEA to estrogen conversion and to successfully identify those fetuses in jeopardy from placental insufficiency within the population studied. This presentation permits critical comprehension of the model without extensive mathematical background.


A physiologic model of the dehydroepiandrosterone to estrogen conversion system in the fetoplacental unit. II. Preliminary clinical application--the dehydroepiandrosterone loading test.

A dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) loading test (DLT) is described. The results of 19 DHEA loading tests in as many third-trimester obstetric patients are presented. Analysis involves inspection of the raw data and the application of the physiologic model of the DHEA to estrogen conversion system described in the preceding paper (Part I). The DLT results show that within the population studied, the conversion rate of DHEA to estrogens is lower in patients with placental insufficiency than in normal patients (N = 5, p = 0.002) or in patients with various complications of pregnancy who deliver normally grown, undistressed infants (N = 6, p = 0.001). Routine clinical application must await more extensive evaluation to preclude the existence of forms of placental insufficiency not detected by this means, or normal states resulting in "false-positive" tests. These initial clinical results are intended primarily to demonstrate the potential clinical applicability of the physiologic model described in Part I.


National policy and situated meaning: the case of Head Start and the handicapped.

Recent amendments to the Economic Opportunity Act required Head Start programs to increase the number of "handicapped" children to ten percent of those served. Using an interactionist perspective and participant observation data from 30 programs, this paper discusses the effect of the legislation on local programs, the process by which official rates of deviance are produced, and the manner in which mandates from the national level alter situated meaning. Implications for theory and policy are suggested.


The value of integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped preschool children.

A conceptual and empirical framework is suggested to promote the development of handicapped preschool children through involvement with nonhandicapped peers. The need for systematically designed interaction is stressed, and related to research on peers as agents of change. Two studies are offered as examples of the effectiveness of nonhandicapped children as educational and therapeutic resources. A framework for future research is discussed, and relevant variables are identified.


Control of energy metabolism in fish white muscle.

Concentrations of key metabolites were determined in carp white muscle before exercise and after maximal activity. It was found that the concentration of ATP decreases by about 65%, ADP decreases slightly, and AMP remains unchanged. Consequently, the level of the free adenylate pool decreases. Simultaneously there is an increase in the concentration of IMP and NH4+. The increase in IMP level and the decrease in adenylate pool are essentially in 1:1 stoichiometry, a result showing that the adenylate pool is decreased by the reaction catalyzed by 5'-AMP deaminase (EC 3.5.4.6.). During exercise there is an increase in levels of glucose-6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate, and fructose 1,6-diphosphate that, along with the decrease in ATP levels, can account for the increase in glycolytic flux by activation of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase.


Ground substance mucopolysaccharides and plasma proteins: their role in capillary water balance.

The osmotic interaction of mucopolysaccharides and plasma proteins, normally present in the interstitium, has been investigated. It has been found that hyaluronate-plasma protein mixtures may be treated as a two-phase system and that the two phases are in osmotic equilibrium. The osmotic pressures exerted by these mixtures are higher than the algebraic sum of the two components. At concentrations normally present in the interstitium of skin and muscle (0.6% mucopolysaccharides and 2% protein), the osmotic pressure exerted by the mixture is on the order of 10 mmHg, which is in agreement with predictions from earlier computer-simulation studies. The partition of fluid between the gel-like mucopolysaccharide compartment and the free-fluid containing the protein is approximately 50% in the "gel" phase at concentrations found in the interstitium. The volume exclusion effects of the interstitial mucopolysaccharides are significant, both in terms of selection of tracer molecules for interstitial volume measurements and also as an osmotic buffering mechanism which aids in maintaining the partition of fluid between the circulation and the interstitial space.


Siblings as therapists: a behavioral approach.

Although many family therapy programs have taught behavior modification techniques to parents, few have involved siblings as therapeutic agents in the treatment of retarded, emotionally disturbed, or physically handicapped children. The authors describe their experiences with two families in which siblings were taught to use simple procedures to encourage desired behaviors in a disturbed brother or sister. They conclude that further investigation is needed to refine sibling training techniques and suggest that involvement in treatment programs may have beneficial influences on the normal siblings of disturbed children.


Comparison of the bronchodilating effects of SCH 1000 with isoproterenol in patients with bronchial asthma.

The effect of SCH 1000 and isoproterenol was evaluated in 10 patients with extrinsic asthma. The onset of action for the SCH 1000 dose compared to the baseline response occurred at or before 15 minutes (FEV1 and MEFR). The onset of action for the isoproterenol dose occurred at or before one minute for all three pulmonary function variables. At the 1-, 3-, 6- and 15-minute intervals the response to the isoproterenol dose was significantly greater than the response to the SCH 1000 dose for FEV1, FVC and MEFR. At 30 and 60 minutes, however, the response to SCH 1000 was progressively increasing, whereas the response to isoproterenol was decreasing. The maximum improvement in FEV1 for isoproterenol was 49% at three and six minutes, whereas for SCH 1000 was 28% at 60 minutes. In patients with chronic bronchitis or bronchial asthma SCH 1000 may be considered as a therapeutic alternative to beta-adrenergic bronchodilators and in patients who also have cardiac arrythmias or angina pectoris and are adversely affected by sympathomimetic drugs.


Scanning electron microscopy of the lesions of swine dysentery.

Thirty weanling pigs were examined by scanning electron microscopy at various time intervals after oral inoculation with crude colon contents from pigs affected with dysentery. The earliest recognizable change was a corrugated appearance of the mucosal surface of the large intestine. Large spirochetes, morphologically similar to Treponema hyodysenteriae, were first observed within the crypts of Lieberkühn where they seemed to proliferate onto the luminal surface. Then mucus, fibrin,  erythrocytes, and disrupted epithelium appeared. Large spirochetes were always abundant in those lesions, but variable numbers of other mixed bacterial forms were also present. The earliest changes could be correlated with the appearance of large spirochetes in the feces and with early clinical signs, but not with a specific postinoculation time. Once bloody diarrhea was present, no consistent pattern was observed in development, location, or form of the lesions. With time, the lesions merely came to involve an increasingly greater surface area of the large intestine.


Successful repair of a primary aortoduodenal fistula.

Successful repair of a primary aortoduodenal fistula with a Dacron graft is reported. Diagnostic and therapeutic considerations are discussed.


[Alakaline phosphatase levels in down's syndrome (author's transl)].

Levels of serum alkaline phosphatase activity were determined in a sample of 110 individuals affected by Down's syndrome, and in a sample of 299 healthy persons, males and females. The age of both populations was from 6 to 28. They were located in Madrid, but hailing from several Spanish provinces. Levels are higher for all age groups than those in the control population. Differences between both populations are statistically significant in the following age groups: from 6 to 8, 11 to 13 and 14 to 16. Other studies on alkaline phosphatase in various tissues were examined and the possible significance of this finding is discussed.


[Study of the effect of tetracycline carboxamide derivatives on the cardiovascular and urinary systems].

The effect of tetracycline carboxamide derivatives, such as morphocycline, glycocycline and reverin on the cardio-vascular and urinary systems was studied on 24 rabbits using clinico-physiological and pathomorphological methods. The experiment was accounted for 7 days. When the drugs were administered in doses of 5 mg/kg, the changes in the indices of hemodynamics, respiration and bioelectric activity of the myocardium were rather of the same type. They were evident from decreased arterial pressure, slower rate of the pulse and respiration, lower voltage of peaks R and T, prolongation of intervals T--P and R--P, shifts in segment S--T from the isoelectric line. The changes took place by the 2nd and 5th minutes after the drug administration. Beginning from the 10th minute the hemodynamic indices returned to the initial values. By the level of the drugs effect on the above indices the antibiotics may be arranged in the following order: morphocycline, glycocycline and reverin. No effect of the antibiotics on the urinary system was noted.


Secretory otitis media. An immune complex disease.

The purpose of our paper is to propose a possible mechanism involving an immune-mediated disease process. A microbiological, biochemical and immunological approach to substantiate such a mechanism is presented.


[Effectiveness of the antibacterial therapy of patients with various forms of dysentery].

The analysis of the efficacy of various methods of antibacterial therapy in 1382 patients with obliterated, light and moderately severe forms of dysentery as compared to the patients subjected only to patholgenic therapy showed that broad spectrum antibiotics lost their role in treatment of such patients. Furazolidon proved to be one of the most active drugs. The authors suppose that treatment of patients with obliterated forms of dysentery with antibacterial drugs is not obligatory and is indicated only in cases with repeated isolation of the causative agent.


[Combination of novoimanine with antibiotics with a different mechanism of action].

Ampicillin, kanamycin, fusidic acid and rifocin significantly increased the effect of novoimanin on Staph. aureus 209. Histon F1 and spectinomycin did not influence the effect of novoimanin. Inefficiency of novoimanin combination with histon F1 provided a supposition that their effect may be directed to the same cell structures and most probably to the membranes. This was confirmed by the data of electron microscopy. The most effective combinations were recommended for the studies on their possible clinical use.


Salinomycin effects on mitochondrial ion translocation and respiration.

The effects of salinomycin on alkali cation transport and membrane functions in rat liver mitochondria have been investigated. After potassium uptake, stimulated by valinomycin or monazomycin in the presence of adenosine 5'-triphosphate, salinomycin caused rapid release of K(+) from mitochondria. Salinomycin reversed valinomycin- or monazomycin-induced oscillatory swelling of mitochondria preloaded with K(+), Rb(+), and Na(+) but was without effect on Li(+) or Cs(+) preloaded mitochondria. Salinomycin blocked the retention of K(+) more effectively than the retention of Rb(+) or Na(+). Salinomycin inhibited both coupled and uncoupled respiration with strict substrate specificity in medium of low but not in high K(+) concentration. The oxidation of glutamate, alpha-ketoglutarate, and malate plus pyruvate was inhibited by salinomycin, but that of beta-hydroxybutyrate or succinate was not significantly affected. Salinomycin inhibited adenosine triphosphatase activity of mitochondria induced by valinomycin or monazomycin in K(+) and Rb(+) medium without significantly affecting adenosine triphosphatase activity in Li(+), Na(+), or Cs(+) medium. Oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria was inhibited by salinomycin but the inhibitory effect of salinomycin lacked the substrate specificity observed for respiration. It is proposed that salinomycin perturbs mitochondrial functions by acting as a mobile carrier for alkali cations through membranes.


Increased antibiotic resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Korea.

There has been a marked increase in the resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in Korea to penicillin, ampicillin, and tetracycline. In contrast, there has been no increased resistance to spectinomycin.


Exopolymer production and flocculation by zoogloea mp6.

Flocculation by Zoogloea MP6 was accompanied by the production of a mucopolysaccharide exopolymer. Polymer formation was initiated in mid-logarithmic growth phase, and the quantity produced appeared to be influenced by the level of carbon and nitrogen in the culture medium.


High-dose tetracycline therapy in severe acne.

High daily doses of tetracycline (in most instances 2,000 mg) were administered over periods of 3 to 33 months to 31 patients suffering from unusually severe, disfiguring, and treatment-resistant forms of acne (papulopustular, cystic, and conglobated). The acne cleared in 14 patients, improved greatly in 13, improved only insignificantly in 3, and failed to improve in 1. Side-effects occurred in 15 of the 31 patients but necessitated cessation of treatment in only three.


Acne and serum androgens during puberty.

Mean concentrations of testosterone in sera collected from pubertal boys at the onset of acne were significantly higher than levels from stage-matched control pubertal boys who did not develop acne (P less than .0025). This longitudinal study indicated that acne occurred when other androgen-produced pubertal changes began. Androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone levels did not differ between the two groups.


Barbers' interdigital hair sinus.

A dog groomer developed extensive interdigital sinus formation. Results of examination of 11 other dog groomers suggest that the disease is uncommon in this profession.


Generalized exfoliative dermatitis from ethylenediamine.

A patient with a history of allergic reaction to an antibiotic cream (Mycolog [mixture of nystatin, neomycin sulfate, gramicidin, and triamcinolone acetonide]) was treated with aminophylline. A generalized exfoliative dermatitis resulted. The reaction was attributable to ethylenediamine hydrochloride, which is a component of both agents. Recognition of the potential for systemic medications to induce similar reactions in patients who are allergic to related topical preparations is important when prescribing systemic agents.


Cardiac echinococcosis: report of 3 cases and review of the literature.

Three patients who underwent successful surgical treatment of cardiac hydatid disease are discussed. The nonspecificity of diagnostic measures and the importance of keeping this diagnosis in mind when faced with a patient coming from an area where hydatidosis is endemic are stressed. We propose the use of cardiopulmonary bypass in the surgical treatment of this problem.


[Protein-losing enteropathy during chronic liquid pericarditis].

Severe hypo-albuminemia associated with a decrease in P.B.I., gamma-globulins and plasmatic ceruloplasmin occurred in a 2 1/2 year old girl with chronic pericarditis since the age of 8 months. This was related to a protein-losing enteropathy which was confirmed by histological examination. Venous hypertension, secondary to the chronic pericarditis may explain the enteropathy.


Immune-complex disease with unilateral renal vein thrombosis.

The sequence of events in the relationship between membranous nephropathy and renal vein thrombosis is controversial. We postulate that occasionally, the thrombosis may precede the nephropathy and that release of autologous antigens from renal tissue damaged by occlusion of the vein may incite an autologous immune-complex disease. In a case of membranous nephropathy associated with renal vein thrombosis, renal tubular epithelial antigen (RTE) was localized in the glomerulus, along with the host immunoglobulins and complement components. Cryoproteins isolated from the serum contained RTE and anti-RTE. In addition, immunoglobulin eluted from the diseased glomeruli showed antibody activity to RTE. The membranous nephropathy was demonstrated to be secondary to an autologous immune-complex nephritis. Although the sequence of events is inconclusive, it is possible that the renal vein thrombosis preceded and was involved in the etiopathogenesis of the autologous immune-deposit nephropathy.


Functional status measurement and medical rehabilitation outcomes.

An on-stream method for describing patients' functional abilities is used to develop analyses of medical rehabilitation outcomes. Outcomes are the changes in status between admission, discharge and follow-up. Standardized observation and reporting make it possible to compare one date with another, one case with another or one agency or facility with another to determine program characteristics,  effectiveness and efficiency.


Locus of evaluation and adjustment to experimentally induced failure and success among disabled adolescents.

Forty-eight adolescents with a physical, intellectual or emotional disability participated in this study, while enrolled in a work adjustment program. A variable designated as "locus of evaluation" was hypothesized to have a significant effect upon how subjects regarded themselves and how experimentally induced success or failure feedback might change this level of regard. The experimental procedure, designed as an analogue to the psychological stress of a disabling condition, involved simulated feedback regarding one's competence relative to an immediate social reference group. Subjects who utilized a locus of evaluation based upon social acceptance and social status were hypothesized to show greater sensitivity to experimentally induced feedback and less self-regard than subjects who less frequently endorsed such locus of evaluation statements. The hypotheses were partially confirmed. Subjects who utilized standards based upon social acceptance and social status (1) revealed lower self-regard, (2) did not consistently raise or lower self-regard after experimentally induced success or failure feedback, (3) revealed a greater shift in self-regard, in either a positive or negative direction after such feedback, compared to subjects who endorsed extrinsically phrased locus of evaluation statements less frequently.


Oral health services: a Delphi technique estimation of their role in adult inpatient rehabilitation programs.

This report presents the results of an investigation into one possible administrative route that would increase the accessibility and availability of dental services for the handicapped. Specifically, this paper assesses the desirability of, perceived level of need for, and feasibility of incorporating a dental service into the total hospital rehabilitation program for adults. The Delphi technique, a method of gathering the opinions of experts through a sequentially designed set of questionnaires, was used to ascertain the views of ten chairpersons of physical medicine and rehabilitation units. The results of this discussion indicate that the perceived need is great, that access to care is difficult, and that a feasible solution would be to establish a hospital-based dental service, preferably convenient to the rehabilitation dormitory, which would provide a full range of dental services.


Phycomycotic gangrenous cellulitis. A report of two cases and a review of the literature.

Progressive gangrenous cellulitis due to Rhizopus arrhizus following colostomy destroyed the entire abdominal wall of a young woman and caused her death. A similar infection in an 11-year-old kidney transplant recipient was diagnosed more promptly and treated successfully with extensive debridement and amphotericin B. Nine similar cases found in the literature were reviewed. All 11 patients appeared to have had prior tissue injury at the original site of infection, and seven had diabetes mellitus. The disease was initially misdiagnosed in most of the patients, progressed rapidly in eight, and was fatal in four. Phycomycotic gangrenous cellulitis should be included in the differential diagnosis of progressive necrotizing lesions of the skin, especially in diabetic patients, but it can be identified promptly only by histologic examination of the infected tissue. Urgent radical excision and amphotericin therapy are recommended.


[Morphological manifestations and principles of the differential diagnosis of chromosome diseases caused by changes in the autosome system].

On the basis of analysis of pathologoanatomic findings on 1533 children with various chromosome diseases and on the author's own 80 observations, the main morphological manifestations of the 12 chromosome syndromes (syndromes 8+, 13+, 18+, 21+, 4p-, 5p-, +(p9), 13q -, 18p-, 18q-, 21- and triplodia) are set forth. It was shown that 1.9% of the children perished during the perinatal period had chromosomal diseases including Patau's syndrome (1:101), Down's syndrome (1:154) and Edwards' syndrome (1:463).


[Stargardt's disease and fundus flavimaculatus].

From their sixty two personnal observations and a study of literature cases, the authors demonstrate that the ophthalmoscopic fluoroscopic and functionnal aspects of macular lesions are strictly identical in Stargardt disease and in Fundus Flavimaculatus. Their transmission is also identical, generally autosomal and recessive, more rarely dominant. Flavimaculate lesions situated in perimacular or inperipheric area may coexist in the same family, and certainly correspond to variable forms of expressivity of a unique gene. The authors discuss the nosologic problems brought by these two affections and other juvenile macular degenerations. Their conclusions are as follows: The same disease may present three different forms: -- Pure Stargardt disease; -- Stargardt disease with perimacular flavimaculate crown; -- Stargardt disease with peripheric Fundus Flavimaculatus.


[Repeated Keratoplasties and graft rejection].

It is always difficult to estimate the risk of recurrence of maladie due greffon in repeat grafts, and the intricate factors in these cases are open to complex analysis. A number of grafts have been divided into those which were repeated on the same eye and those on the two eyes of the same subject. In the majority of cases the grafts were penetrating (105 out of 118 cases), and the overall analysis of the results is dependent on the following factors: -- Grafts performed as primary procedures in one eye or both eyes: if they develop maladie due greffon, it is usually the 'endothelial' form which appears between the first and third month; the prognosis is good (53-66 p. 100 cure with steroid therapy). It was noticed that when grafts were performed on both eyes, there was a risk of developing maladie due greffon on the eye with the first graft simultaneously if it developed in the second eye. -- Repeated grafts on the same eye caused maladie due greffon of varying types (endothelial, stromal and mixed) with a much earlier occurrence. The prognosis is worse (6 p. 100 cure, 33 p. 100 semi-failure and 60 p. 100 failure). -- Finally repeated grafts on severe leucomas (burns, leucoma adherens, inflammatory keratopathies with active neovascularisation, etc.): these practically all end in failure due either to immunological reactions or inflammatory or cicatrical changes. A table of visual acuities obtained after treatment in cases of cure, incomplete cure and failure is given at the end of this paper.


[29 cases of retinal detachment caused by a macular hole].

A report on 22 cases of re-attachment of the retina in 29 patients with retinal detachment from a macular hole operated on by a localised silicon sponge indentation with cryotherapy.


[Orbital localization of lymphocytic macrophagic histiocyosis (Rosai's sinusal histiocytosis].

The authors report the fifth case in the literature of an orbital presentation of macrophagic lymphocytic histiocytosis or sinusal histiocytosis. This disease which usually presents in the ganglia is accompanied by a characteristic histological appearance dominated by the taking up of blood cells (lymphocytes, plasmocytes, erythrocytes) by macrophages. Its evolution is benign but its aetiology remains unknown and its treatment uncertain.


[Intracorneal suture].

The placing of a continuous suture with a monofilament completely enclosed in the corneal stroma for the closing of a keratotomy offers many advantages. Description of a technique.


[Changes in various constituents of glycolysis with age in the normal human crystalline lens].

In spite of the great dispersion of the values -- which is not uncommon in studies of the normal human lens -- it appears that: -- the glucose utilisation decreases after the age of 40; -- the mean of the energy reserves remains unchanged in the adult and in old people.


Ischemic papilledema in giant-cell arteritis. Mucopolysaccharide deposition with normal intraocular pressure.

A 68-year-old man died 18 days after the onset of ischemic optic neuropathy caused by histologically proven giant-cell arteritis. On histopathologic study of the eye, ischemic necrosis of the prelaminar and retrolaminar optic nerve was seen, along with the massive presence of acid mucopolysaccharides sensitive to testicular hyaluronidase. This finding was interpreted as an intrusion of vitreal material resulting from breaks in the internal limiting membrane and the pressure gradient from intraocular to extraocular tissues, an analogy to Schnabel degeneration in acute glaucoma.


The fundus in mongolism.

The fundus in 63 eyes of 32 karyotyped patients with mongolism (Down syndrome) was examined by indirect ophthalmoscopy. Common features included a rosy disc associated with a greater than normal number of retinal blood vessels, a generalized attenuation of fundus pigmentation regardless of iris coloration, peripapillary and patchy peripheral areas of pigment epithelial atrophy, and choroidal vascular "sclerosis." These findings are believed to be suggestive but not pathognomonic of mongolism. Eleven eyes of six additional patients were found to have retinal detachment. Eight of these were due to a retinal dialysis and only two could be surgically reattached. Trauma was thought to be an important predisposing factor. Several suggestions for prevention and early diagnosis of this complication are briefly presented.


Histochemistry of normal middle ear mucosa.

Mucosal biopsy specimens were taken from the middle ear in 19 patients with otosclerosis and stained by Alcan blue and PAS. They were also stained for hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes. In additon, 11 temporal bones from patients without any previous ear disease were serially sectioned for mucopolysaccharides. In otosclerosis, both acid and neutral mucopolysaccharides were present in the mucosa, but not to the same extent as in the temporal bone specimens. Acid phosphatase, lactate malate dehydrogenases, and nonspecific esterase were demonstrated even in very thin epithelium, providing a potential basis for the appearance of these enzymes in large amounts in various inflammatory middle ear diseases.


The "munich beer heart"--revisited.

This is a historical review of "idiopathic cardiac hypertrophy with dilatation", or as it was called by Bollinger "alcoholic-plethoric beer heart". Some of the sources are not readily accessible, as they had only been published in "Veröffentlichungen" or Contributions from the Pathological Institute, Munich. The condition later became known as "Munich Beer Heart" and apparently constituted quite a medical problem for young to middle aged men in Munich at the end of the 19th century. As evidenced by this review, a substantial number of the patients reported by Bollinger and his contemporaries, nowadays, would be considered to have alcoholic cardiomyopathy or Beriberi heart disease.


Coronary vasodilation by fatty acids.

Fatty acids increase the coronary flow rate of rat hearts, perfused according to the Langendorff technique. Long-chain and medium-chain fatty acids are more effective vasodilators than short-chain fatty acids. The vasodilatation by fatty acids does not proceed through the intermediate formation of the vasodilator adenosine, nor by stimulation of adenylcyclase activity. Since at low Ca2+ concentrations fatty acids not only stimulate the coronary flow rate but also cardiac contractility, it is suggested that especially the lipophilic fatty acids have calcium ionophoric properties leading to increased Ca2+ removal from smooth muscle cytosol and hence to vasodilatation. Preliminary experiments, moreover, indicate that both medium- and long-chain fatty acids, like prostaglandin E1 and Ca2+, inhibit membrane ATPase(s) of aorta smooth muscle cells, suggesting increased Ca2+ binding to vascular smooth muscle cell membranes.


Electrocardiographic detection of left atrial enlargement. Correlation of P wave with left atrial dimension by echocardiography.

The validity of various electrocardiographic P wave measurements was tested in 48 patients by comparing them to left atrial dimensions determined by echocardiography (echo), a proved method of left atrial size estimation. Of all the measurements considered, only the width of the P wave (PW), the P terminal force in lead V1 (PV1), and the PW/PR segment ratio (PW/PR) showed statistically significant correlations with left atrial size measurements by echo, with r values of 0-746, 0-491, and 0-479, respectively. The results indicated that P widths in excess of 105 ms were present in all the patients who had left atria equal to or greater than 3-8 cm by echo and in 11 per cent of patients without atrial enlargement (false positives), and that when measurements were less than 105 ms left atrial enlargement was unlikely.


Echocardiographic spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Echocardiographic patterns in 15 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were compared with those in 30 healthy persons. Correlations with angiocardiographic data indicated that most of the anatomical abnormalities in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be assessed reliably by echocardiography. These include abnormal mitral valve motion, a reduction of the anteroposterior dimension of the left ventricular outflow tract and of the left and right ventricular cavities, increased thickness of the interventricular septum and the posterior left ventricular wall. Comparision of the haemodynamic and echocardiographic data showed that some degree of abnormal mitral valve motion during systole may occur in the absence of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. On the other hand, it need not always be present with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Other, hitherto unrecognized, abnormalities in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy detected by this technique were: (1) Aortic valve regurgitation in three out of nine patients with evidence of left ventricular cutflow tract obstruction at cardiac catheterization. (2) Left ventricular inflow tract obstruction at the mitral valve level associated with gross septal hypertrophy (five cases). (3) Abnormal forward displacement of the posterior mitral valve leaflet and of the chordae tendineae during systole in 10 patients, in seven of whom there was confirmatory angiocardiographic evidence. Seven patients with miscellaneous cardiac disorders are described in whom asymmetric septal hypertrophy was revealed by echocardiography. In one of these patients coexisting hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was excluded histologically; thus asymmetrical septal hypertrophy is not confined to patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.


Total correction of type I truncus arteriosus in a 6-month-old infant.

A successful correction of type I truncus arteriosus using a 12 mm 'dacron' conduit containing a porcine aortic valve (Hancock) between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery in a 6-month-old infant is reported. The rationale for the treatment of truncus arteriosus in infancy is discussed.


Endomyocardial fibrosis. Problems in differential diagnosis.

The clinical and angiographic findings in 5 consecutive patients with congestive cardiac failure are presented to illustrate the pitfalls in the clinical diagnosis of endomyocardial fibrosis. In one patient the clinical diagnosis was confirmed at angiography while another patient who had angiographic evidence of early right ventricular endomyocardial fibrosis was diagnosed clinically as mitral stenosis. In 2 patients the clinical diagnosis was erroneous, there being no evidence of endomyocardial fibrosis on angiography. The fifth patient, who had angiographic evidence of idiopathic cardiomegaly, was diagnosed clinically as either idiopathic cardiomegaly or advanced left ventricular endomyocardial fibrosis. In tropical countries, where endomyocardial fibrosis, rheumatic heart disease, and idiopathic cardiomegaly are common, accurate clinical diagnosis of endomyocardial fibrosis is often difficult and angiographic studies are essential for confirmation.


Relation between craniocerebral injury and subsequent myocardial fibrosis and heart failure. Report of 3 cases.

The findings at necropsy in three cases of severe craniocerebral injury associated with unconsciousness are reported with special reference to the histopathological findings in the myocardium. In the first case, death occurred 3 days after the trauma, in the second case 21 days after, and in the third case, 7 years after. Necropsy showed myocardial lesions of recent origin in the first case, stromal condensation in the myocardium in the second, and cardiac hypertrophy with coexisting patchy fibrosis of the myocardium in the third. The relation between craniocerebral injury and subsequent myocardial fibrosis is discussed.


Familial centronuclear myopathy associated with 'cardiomyopathy'.

Two cases of familial centronuclear myopathy are described. Both presented features of 'cardiomyopathy and one had signs of slight congenital aortic stenosis. The 'cardiomyopathy' was fatal in one case. The clinical histological, and necropsy findings are presented and discussed.


Prognostic value of the electrocardiogram in endocardial fibroelastosis.

Nine children with endocardial fibroelastosis were followed from the time of admission with congestive heart failure until either death or discharge. Review of multiple clinical features showed that only the electrocardiographic pattern could be correlated with death or survival. The presence of a delayed transition zone with anterior force loss on the initial electrocardiogram ('infarct pattern') was noted in all the children who died. Progression of these changes with a pattern of anterolateral 'infarct' in two and inferior wall 'infarct' in two occurred before death. Necropsy on three of the four children confirmed the diagnosis of endocardial fibroelastosis. There was extensive fibrosis and thinning of the left ventricular myocardium as well as involvement of the mitral valve structures. Review of published cases supports the view that an 'infarct' pattern in a child with endocardial fibroelastosis is usually associated with death and that this pattern is a negative prognostic sign for survival.


Cardiac abnormalities in chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia.

This report describes heart disease in a 32-year-old man with the syndrome of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO). The surface electrocardiogram showed first degree AV block and left bundle-branch block and there was HV prolongation on the His bundle electrogram. Endomyocardial biopsy showed the changes of hypertrophy on light microscopy, and on electron microscopy there were increased numbers of mitochondria which appeared structurally normal. A permanent demand pacemaker was inserted because these patients are prone to develop complete heart block.


Anti-tumour efficacy of calusterone against DMBA-induced rat mammary adenocarcinoma in vivo and in organ culture.

The effect of calusterone (7beta,17alpha-dimethyltestosterone) on rat mammary DMBA-induced adenocarcinoma was studied both in vivo and in organ culture. In vivo all 8 tumours with a diameter of less than 30 mm regressed following calusterone injection (10 mg/day for 2-3 weeks). In organ culture calusterone (20 mug/ml medium) inhibited the synthesis of DNA and RNA in all 7 cases examined. Testosterone also inhibited the synthesis of DNA and RNA in organ culture in 12 out of 14 and 10 out of 14 tumours respectively. Oestradiol-17beta on the other hand had no effect on DNA and RNA synthesis in organ culture although 70% of the tumours examined were ovarian dependent, i.e. regressed following castration. This could be explained by the direct effect of calusterone on rat adenocarcinoma compared with the indirect effect of oestradiol-17beta which probably exerts its action by activating the secretion of prolactin which acts on the tumour.


Increased sensitivity of in vivo platelet aggregation in rabbits after alloxan or streptozotocin.

In 14 rabbits previously injected intravenously with alloxan (dose 75-150 mg/kg) with subsequent hyperglycaemia, intra-arteriolar aggregation of platelets at the sites of small standardized electrical injuries to cerebral cortical vessels showed an increased sensitivity (P is less than 0.001) to application of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) in animals anaesthetized with either urethane or Pentothal. Intravenous injection of streptozotocin (10 rabbits, dose 30-200 mg/kg) was not followed so regularly by hyperglycaemia but even so many of these animals also showed increased sensitivity to ADP. After neither alloxan nor streptozotocin did the increased sensitivity correlate with the dose of agent used, the time between its injection and ADP testing, or changes in the rabbit's body weight. Again, ADP sensitivity did not correlate with the degree of hyperglycaemia, hyperketonaemia or hyperlactacidaemia. There was no rapid change in ADP sensitivity after i.v. injection of glucose to produce hyperglycaemia in normal rabbits, nor after parenteral or topical administration of insulin. Use of a removable skull capsule allowed serial observations on individual animals and these, together with observations on rabbits injected first with alloxan and later with daily insulin, showed reversibility of the increased ADP sensitivity by regular insulin injection for at least 5 days; this effect did not depend upon return of blood glucose levels to normal. In cross-perfusion experiments the increased ADP sensitivity was found to be dependent upon a blood factor for such sensitivity was shown by the head of a normal rabbit perfused with blood from a diabetic trunk. The results did not exclude a contribution of a mural factor to the results in intact animals after alloxan. The results are in keeping with in vitro observations of increased sensitivity to ADP of platelet aggregation in diabetic patients and demonstrate that such an effect holds within living blood vessels, as well as providing a model for further experiment.


Pilo-sebaceous duct physiology. 2. The effect of keratin hydration on sebum excretion rate.

Sebum excretion rate was measured before and after occlusions of the skin in eleven subjects. The sebum excretion rate rose significantly following occlusion, confirming the view that there is an obstruction to the outflow of sebum with keratin hydration.


The place of intralesional steroid therapy in dermatology.

Intralesional steroid therapy has a definite, if small, place in dermatology and triamcinolone acetonide is the preparation in most common use. Such therapy may be used, particularly in nail disorders, keloids and hypertrophic scars, cystic acne, and to speed regrowth of hair in localized alopecia areata. Other conditions in which it has a place include cutaneous lupus erythematosus and sarcoidosis. There are some conditions where use is occasionally indicated and yet others where further trial is merited.


Influence of thymoxamine on changes in pupil diameter and accommodation produced by homatropine and ephedrine.

Local instillation of thymoxamine eye drops (0-1%) completely reversed the mydriasis produced by ephedrine (5%) but not that produced by ephedrine (5%) together with homatropine (0-5%). Small but significant changes in accomodation were found with ephedrine and with thymoxamine, as well as the larger expected changes with homatropine.


Reaction free energy surfaces in myosin-actin-ATP systems.

If we select for consideration any reaction M1 in equilibrium M2 in the myosin-ATPase cycle, the question arises as to the relations between the rate constants for (1) M1 equilibrium M2, (2) AM1 in equilibrium AM2 (A = actin), (3) A + M1 in equilibrium AM1, and (4) A + M2 equilibrium AM2, with actin and myosin either (a) in solution or (b) in the myofilament structure. It is shown here, by means of examples, that a single so-called potential of mean force, W, and structural free energy, Am, suffice to determine the reaction free energy surfaces for all of these transitions (W for the solution case, W + Am for the structured case). In fact, Am is the same for all reactions in the myosin-ATPase cycle. Of course, though indispensable as the starting point and adequate for qualitative understanding, the reaction free energy surface does not provide (without additional theory) the actual values of the rate constants or of the corresponding basic free energy changes in the myosin states involved. These rate constants and free energies are discussed, in a preliminary way, in two other papers.


Beef muscle troponin: evidence for multiple forms of troponin-T.

A method is described for the purification of troponin from beef skeletal muscle. The resultant preparation differs from the troponin of rabbit skeletal muscle in that it contains at least two forms of the tropomyosin-binding component, Troponin-T: these are designated as the 37 000 and 40 000 dalton forms of Troponin-T on the basis of sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis. Either of these Troponin-T forms may be used to reconstitute troponin by mixing with the appropriate amounts of the calcium-binding (Troponin-C) and and actomyosin ATPase-inhibitory (Troponin-I) components. These reconstituted troponins are shown to interact with tropomyosin and also to confer full calcium sensitivity on actomyosin ATPase. Despite the existence of proteolysis in troponin preparations, the experimental evidence indicates that the smaller form of Troponin-T is not derived from the 40 000 dalton species by limited degradation. Although both species of Troponin-T have been found routinely in troponin from beef skeletal muscle, only the larger form is detected in troponin preparations from beef cardiac muscle. Further studies are required in order to clarify the functional significance and differential distribution of these multiple forms of Troponin-T.


Affinity chromatography of heavy meromyosin subfragment-1 reacted with thiol reagents.

Separation of heavy meromyosin subfragment-1 treated with N-ethyl maleimide (MalNEt) into native -SH1- and -(SH1, SH2)-blocked protein populations could be achieved by affinity chromatography on agarose-ATP columns in the presence of Mg2+ or Ca2+. Covalent bridging of the two -SH groups by p-phenylenedimaleimide gave a product which has the same affinity of binding to ATP columns as the doubly blocked MalNEt preparation. Treatment with p-phenylenedimaleimide abolished binding to immobilized F-actin columns, whereas modifications by MalNEt did not affect adsorption by this chromatographic medium. Affinity chromatography on immobilized nucleotide and actin columns is suggested as an analytical tool in the study of the involvement of thiol groups in the myosin active site and its conformation.


Substrate sites for the (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase.

Kinetic studies on a rat brain (Na+ + K+)-dependent ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) preparation demonstrated high-affinity sites for ATP, with a Km near 1 mum, and low affinity sites for ATP, with a Km near 0.5 mM. In addition, the dissociation constant for ATP at the low affinity sites was approached through the ability of ATP to modify the rate of photo-oxidation of the enzyme in the presence of methylene blue; a value of 0.4 mM was obtained. The temperature dependence of the Km values in these two concentration ranges also differed markedly, and the estimated entropy of binding was +27 cal/degree per mol at the high affinity sites, whereas it was -20 cal/degree per mol at the low affinity sites. Moreover, the relative affinities of various congeners of ATP as of the K+ -dependent phosphatase reaction of the enzyme indicated an interaction at the low-affinity sites for ATP: ATP, ADP, CTP, and the [beta-gamma] -imido analog of ATP all competed with Ki values near those for the ATPase reaction at the low affinity sites. Conversely, the Km for nitrophenyl phosphate as a substrate for the phosphatase reaction was near its Ki as a competitor at the low-affinity sites of the ATPase reaction. These observations are incorporated into a reaction scheme with two classes of substrate sites on a dimeric enzyme, manifesting idverse enzymatic and transport characteristics.


Me2+-(13 S) ATPase from Micrococcus sp. ATCC 398E. The effect of trypsin on the purified enzyme.

By trypsin treatment of highly purified ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) from Micrococcus sp. ATCC 398E, two enzyme modifications have been obtained. (i) ATPase Ta, which has about the same activity as untreated ATPase. (ii) A protein complex Ti, which lacks ATPase activity, but nevertheless binds ATP as shown by affinity chromatography. Trypsin primarily shortens the alpha-chains of the "native" enzyme to alpha-chains and removes the gamma-subunit, thus yielding ATPase Ta. The formation of the protein complex Ti appears to be due to additional cleavage of one alpha-chain into at least two more fractions.


Effects of alkali metal cations on phospho-enzyme levels and [3H] ouabain binding to (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.

The effects of several alkali metal cations on the relationship between steady state phospho-enzyme levels and initial velocity and equilibrium levels of [3H]-ouabain binding to (Na+ + K+)-ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase EC 3.6.1.3.) were examined. Only Na+ increased both phospho-enzyme and [3H] ouabain binding levels above those observed in the presence of Mg2+ alone. While Na+ stimulated phosphorylation with an apparent Km of about 1 mM, its stimulation of [3H] ouabain binding was biphasic, the lower Km for stimulation corresponding to the Km for formation of phospho-enzyme. Among the other alkali metal cations, potassium, rubidium and lithium were at least eight times more effect in reducing phospho-enzyme levels than in reducing [3H] ouabain binding. This discrepancy is not due to the stability of the enzyme-ouabain complex, nor to any action on the rates of formation or dissociation of the enzyme-ouabain complex. The data thus suggest that [3H] ouabain interacts with the K+, Rb+ or Li+ -enzyme complexes. For Li+, this hypothesis is further supported by the observation that Li+ can cirectly increase the equilibrium level of [3H] ouabain binding to this enzyme under certain conditions.


Immunological studies in Rockland mice infected with T. cruzi. Development of antinuclear antibodies.

The existence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and their relationship with anti-Trypanosoma cruzi specific agglutinins was studied in Rockland mice inoculated with 10(5), 10(4) or 10(3) epimastigotes and 2 X 10(5) trypomastigotes of T. cruzi. ANA and anti-T. cruzi agglutinins were detected at the same time in groups of mice receiving 10(5) culture forms, while in those groups of mice receiving 10(4) parasites agglutinins were established earlier than ANA which were present only at low titres. Positive serology and ANA were also detected in mice infected with trypomastigotes. Neither specific agglutinins nor ANA were found in groups of mice receiving 10(3) parasites probably because the number of parasites inoculated was too low to infect them. ANA were not found in not infected mice. ANA induced in mice by T. cruzi infection seem to be related to the amount of parasites inoculated and thus with the degree of the subsequent infection. Immunopathologic studies carried out in mice infected with trypomastigotes showed the presence of nodular deposits of gamma globulin in the kidneys, suggesting the possibility of an immune complex disease : the light and electron microscopic studies of the kidneys showed in the glomeruli an increase of the mesangium, hypercellularity and thickened basement membranes.


[Mechanochemical interactions in enzymes. IV. Mechanochemical properties of immobilized preparations of F-actin].

Oriented immobilized F-actin (IA) threads were prepared by extrusion of the concentrated F-actin solutions through a capillar into an aceton-water mixture containing glutaraldehyde. Myosin ATP-ase activity was activated by IA in the presence of Mg+2 and inhibited in the presence of EDTA. ATPase activity of IA at high temperature (55) was about 0.054 min(-1) and was not affected by a deformation of threads. Mechanical properties of IA threads were changed when treated by reagnets influencing intra- and inter-molecular interactions of actin molecules, and these changes themselves were highly dependent on IA threads deformation.


[Proton transfer from water to octane coupled with the reaction of ATP hydrolysis by soluble ATPase from chloroplasts].

It has been shown that soluble ATPase from chloroplasts adsorbed at the octane/water interface generates an ATP hydrolysis coupled potential charge (deltapi) at the interphase. This process occurs in the presence of a lipid-soluble proton acceptor, in the capacity of which 2,4-dinitrophenol is used. The dependence of deltapi, generated by ATPase, on the concentration of the enzyme. ATP and dinitrophenol, has been studied.


[Lymph node pathology during dermatoses with circulating Sézary cells].

The authors reported 12 cases of patients with cutaneous involvment associated with the presence of Sezary cells in the peripheral blood and specific lymph node involvment. They classify these cases as partial, early segmentary types, advanced types and diffuse types. either leukemic or sarcomatous. This study, once again, suggests the possibility that the Sezary syndrome and mycosis fu ngoïdes are different expressions, either predominantly leukemic, or predominantly sarcomatous, of the same chronic malignant hemopathy of "T" lymphocytes.


[Structural and functional changes in myosin in chronic coronary insufficiency].

A study of myosin extracted from dog's cardiac muscle at different stages of chronic heart failure (from 1 week to 1 year) was carried out. A decrease of UV-luminescence intensity, flow birefringence and ATPase activity (to 70%) was observed. The electron microscopic investigation of myosin and LMM structure shows the loss of ability to form typical paracrystals by LMM, the electron microscopic appearance of the whole myosin being unchanged.


Steroid phosphorus compounds. V--Mass spectrometry of phosphinic esters of monohydroxy steroids.

The mass spectra of the dimethylphosphinic, dimethylthiophosphinic and dimethylphosphinous ester derivatives of several monohydroxy steroids are reported. The fragmentations of the derivatized steroids largely depend on the nature of the phosphorus-containing ester group. Phenolic ester derivatives exhibit the base peak at the molecular ion, whereas the spectra of the secondary phosphinic esters are dominated by very intense protonated phosphinic acid ions [Me2P(XH)(OH)]+ at m/e 95 (X =O) or at m/e 111 (x = s). The present results also indicate the low ionization potential for the phosphinic ester group. Due to their good gas chromatographic properties, these steroid derivatives appear to be particularly suitable for gas chromatographic mass spectrometric analysis of biochemical materials.


Immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of vinyl chloride disease.

Vinyl chloride (VC) disease is a multisystem disorder incorporating Raynaud's phenomenon, acro-osteolysis, thrombocytopenia, portal fibrosis, and hepatic and pulmonary dysfunction. Immunological and immunochemical investigations showed the presence of circulating immune complexes in 19 out of 28 patients with the disease and in a further two out of 30 workers exposed to VC. The immunological data were reviewed in relation to the clinical picture of the disease and to the available evidence on the metabolism of VC. The results suggest that VC disease is an immune complex disorder and that the immune response is initiated by the adsorption of VC or a metabolite on to tissue or plasma protein.


In the golden triangle with a handful of dollars.

The only way of reaching this part of the world, which is on the borders of northern Thailand, Burma and Laos, is by helicopter. It is a mountainous region, mostly covered by forest and inhabited by a tribal population estimated at 300,000 to 500,000 persons who live in some 3,000 villages. The people, who are seminomadic move about with their personal property and weapons, without any form of control. They have been cultivating the opium poppy since the beginning of the century and this single crop provides all that is needed for the livelihood of the families. In an area where all transport is by back-pack, opium provides a good return for a low weight. The opium is used to supply the international market and is also the source of regional drug addiction, which can perhaps be better described as the local therapy for the pains of illness and old age. To consider banning poppy cultivation or destruction of the plantations is a pipe-dream in this inaccessible, uncontrollable area, which has no administrative infrastructure. Consequently, repressive action is directed only against traffickers. Because of the geographical position of the "Golden Triangle", there is substantial cross-frontier traffic. The boundary lines are tortuous, mountainous and frostcovered, and surveillance is therefore quite impossible. Police tactics are therefore to let traffickers proceed sufficiently far into the country so that they can be attacked without their being able to escape across the frontier. The over all enforcement activity throughout Thailand has yielded results and statistics are available to prove it. What is now needed is to find a substitute for opium poppy cultivation and start on this has been made with the help of the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control (UNFDAC). This very ambitious plan consists in completely transforming the economic life of the tribes. The people will be induced to abandon their nomadic life and become sedentary and to switch over from a single-crop system to mixed farming. The first stage of the plan is scheduled to operate until 1977. An agronomy station has been set up to carry out trials and tests of crop varieties that might be adapted to the region. At the same time, five "pilot" villages have been chosen to carry out the experiment. By force of example, the experience of these five villages will be applied by 30 other so-called "satellites". Later, there is no reason why there should not be 300 and then 1,000. But this small group of experts must be given support, because there is still a great deal to be done.


Routine preoperative chest radiography in non-cardiopulmonary surgery.

Preoperative radiography was performed on 667 consecutive patients undergoing elective non-cardiopulmonary surgery in a large hospital in Wales. Of all significant findings reported 54% were due to cardiomegaly and 19% to chronic respiratory disease, and no appreciable abnormality was found in any patient under 30. Out of a subsample of 152 examined prospectively, 38% had received a chest radiograph within the last year, and the maximum marrow dose had been exceeded in 12-5%. It is concluded that the procedure, as presently practised, is not only being considerably overused but is also exposing many recipients to the potentially harmful effects of over-irradiation. The findings provide further evidence in support of the Royal College of Radiologists' proposal that a national multicentre study of diagnostic radiology should be set up with some urgency.


[Use of methyl-3 hydroxy-6 quinazoline dione-2-4 to study effect of other compounds on mitosis duration in root meristems: application to phenylurethane].

Methyl-3 hydroxy-6 quinazolin dione-2-4 inhibits plant cell cytokinesis while modifying neither the duration of the cell cycle nor the duration of mitosis. Adding it to a solution of another compound enables one to determine the influence exerted by this compound on the duration of mitosis. This method, applied to phenylurethane, leads to see a slowing down of mitosis followed by a somewhat quick adaptation of the cells.


[Effect of thioglycolic acid on Allium sativum L. root meristems].

Thioglycolic acid is, in the Allium test, somewhat less cytotoxic than mercaptoethanol but the characteristics of cytotoxicity are the same in both cases : the mitoclasic effect cannot be separated from a strong mitodepressive effect and is quickly followed by a lethal effect.


[Compensatory renal hypertrophy in rats. II. Possible regulatory role of renal inhibitory substance].

Clear supernatant from kidney homogenate injected to an uninephrectomized rat inhibits specifically the incorporation of tritiated thymidine by compensating kidney. This result agrees with the speculation of autoregulation of kidney growth.


[Change in blood lactate decrease after submaximal exercise, after stay at moderate altitude].

The study of blood lactate concentration after a submaximum and steadfast exercise shows a lesser rise after three weeks at middle altitude. This can be related with an increase of maximum working capacity as previously demonstrated. The obtained modifications result in part from an increase in oxydative metabolism activity and perhaps from an enhancement of lactate oxydation.


[Effect of changes in sympathetic vasomotor tonus on vasodilatatory effect of catecholamines].

The study of resistances modifications in the femoral vascular bed during bilateral carotide occlusion supports the hypothesis of an inhibitory action of isoprenaline on norepinephrine release by the sympathetic post-ganglionnic fibres. This action explain the relations between isoprenaline vasodilator potency and sympathetic activity level.


[Electrophysiological analysis of facial reflex in monkeys: trigemino-naso-labial reflex].

Electrical stimulation of the awake monkey's supra orbital nerve, elicits two successive reflex discharge in both naso-labialis muscles (NL). The responses have a similar high threshold. Similar responses are also elicited on electrical stimulation of the facial skin, whereas flash, click or tapping on the muscle belly are ineffective. These responses bear some resemblances to those obtained in orbicularis oculi muscles ; but the higher threshold and the different organization of the NL responses would suggest that such reflexes may serve a different function from that of the blink reflex.


[Effect of succinyldicholine on central nervous system].

Succinyldicholine injected to unanaesthetized mice and rats has a convulsant action, distinct from its curarelike effect on muscle.


[Indole alkaloids induction of tremors: effect on photosensible epilepsy in Papiopapio].

Harmaline and ibogaine i.v. administration induced in the photosensitive baboon restlesness and tremor (8-12 Hz). The former increased the EEG frequency particularly in central regions with appearance of bursts at 20-24 c/s and blocked by somatic movement. The latter produced a slight enhancement of frontal fast rhythms. Both drugs blocked the spontaneous paroxysmal activity with little effect on photosensitivity. These effects lasted for 2-4 hrs. Vincamine produced agitation during 15 min. post-i.v.-administration and showed an "hypervigilant" EEG. Nor vincamine or Hydergine altered the degree of photosensitivity. Cerebellar involvement in the action of harmaline and ibogaïne is discussed.


[Pituitary function of dysgenesic femal rats. Studies with grafting method].

Misulban administered to pregnant rats on the 15th day of gestation provoked gonadal dysgenesia in the offspring. Study of the pituitary function of dysgenesic female rats, realized by grafting method, showed gonadotrophic hypersecretion.


[Dysgenesic rat ovaries subjected to gonadotrope stimulation].

Dysgenesia of the ovaries was produced by the destruction of the germinal cells during the foetal life by injecting the pregnant rat with Misulban. In the absence of ovocytes, follicular organization did not take place and cordal structure were observed in the ovary. The post-puberal evolution of these gonads led to polymorphous structures according to age and individual cases. Study of dysgenesic ovaries of rats treated by stilboestrol before puberty, showed mainly that the ovarian stroma was affected in response to the inhibition of the pituitary gonadotropic activity. It is concluded that the development of these ovaries is under the control of the hypothalamo=pituitary axis.


[Experimental rat deciduoma: histoenzymology].

The modifications of enzymatics activities which involved dehydrogenases (LDH, MDH and G6PDH) alkalines phosphatases (Ph. Alc., ATP/as at Ph 7,2 and Ph 9,4) and hydrolases (Ph Ac. and beta Glu) were studied during the experimental deciduomata evolution in the Rat from the 5th to the 9th day. One the 5th day the uterus were used as control. Dehydrogenases and alkalines phosphatases activites appeared in isolated cells of sub-epithelial and middle antimesometrial stroma on the 5th day. Then, on the 6th day, they distributed themselves in strings of 8 to 10 cells. On the 7th day, they were regulary arranged in the decidual area. The growing decidual tissue was always surrounded by an hydrolysis activity.


[Some aspects of humoral immunization syndrome].

The authors have studied the hyperlipaemia, which occurs 24 hours after immunisation. This hyperlipaemia is related to the stress induce by the immunisation process, associated with an increase of serum of glycoproteins. this glycoproteins inhibit the clearing factor and prevent the hydrolysis of triglycerides, which acumulate in blood. A similar increase of glycosaminoglycans is observed in urine (type IV chondroitine sulfate).


[Relationship between amplitude and latency in human monosynaptic reflexes. II. H and M responses].

Relationship between amplitude and latency of H reflex and M response were studied in normal man by recruitment method and Jendrassik manoeuvre. An increase of amplitude was accompanied by a decrease of latency in both responses. This effect was chiefly ascribed to a larger recruitment of muscle fibres.


[Identification of two cell types in rat brown fat by electron microscopy].

In the Rat brown adipose tissue, the authors have observed by electron microscopy two different cellular aspects : some cells are more dark, they contain numerous glycogen granules, their mitochondrias are pressed close together and the mitochondrial matrix is darker then the cristae ; in the light cells, the mitochondrias are more sparse and moderately electron dense. The two cellular aspects are also observed on thick sections.


[Changes in blood constituents in rats at 1,800 m altitude and effect on periodontium].

Continuous exposure to an altitude of 1 800 m resulted the same degenerative periodontal changes than mastication want in the Rat. These different experimental animals had comparable hyperglycemia and lymphocytosis.


[Permeability of sublingual mucosa to organic molecules. Limited role of sublingual absorption in aerosol vaccinations].

131I labelled tetanus anatoxin was placed in vivo, in the sublingual area in the rat. The radioactivity appearing in blood was insignificant, even after that the disappearance rate in reference animal had been taken into account. It is concluded that immunisation with aerosols is fundamentally carried out through the respiratory tract.


[Amniotic fluid arginase in women at term].

Study on 34 cases. A considerable arginasic activity is observed in amniotic fluid in women at the end of pregnancy. This activity is weak, but increased by Mn2+ (about 5 to 8 times). The total amniotic fluid is more active than the surpernatant, the deposit of which has been eliminated. An important part of arginasic activity results from the elements of the deposit (amniotic cells, foetal cells and eventualy erythrocytes in hemorragic amniotic fluid).


[Development of germ cells in chick ovarian medulla].

Ovaries from chick embryos and chicken have been investigated with a view to the evolution of germ cells in the medullary. They can enter meiosis and reach pachytene. They seem to be eliminated by the way of the lacunas. Some observations can be utilized in a discussion about the initiation of the meiosis and the evolution of the ovocytes.


[Study on teratogenic effect of ultrasonics. I. Effect on pregnant mice].

An experimental study in pregnant mice shows no statistically significative teratogenic influence of ultrasounds.


[Quinic and isochlorogenic acids in sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus Lin.)].

Quinic and isochlorogenic acids have been identified in sunflower's seeds (Helianthus annuus Lin.) by paper chromatography in presence of various solvents. Quinic acid has been detected by color reaction and isochlorogenic by ultra-violet light.


[Sleen enhancement reactions in chick embryo after spleen homografting: autohistoradiography after labeling of graft with tritiated thymidine].

The use as a graft involving an embryonic spleen enhancement of the spleen of an embryo previously grafted (with adult spleen) allowed a very high labelling (3H-thymidine) of the graft and therefore the study of ingrafted cells behaviour: a) on the chorioallantois membrane, b) on the host spleen. In the last case, only a very little number of labelled cells was observed and the whole results confirm the hypothesis of an active participation of the embryo in the case of such an haemopoietic spleen reaction.


[Development of heart innervation in Xenopux tadpole and relationship with organ function].

Cardial innervation is studied through specific techniques. It is set up in 9 to 18 mm tadpoles. The rhythm of the aneural heart progressively increases. The initial automatic working is of ventricular type. The ventricular action potential acquires its typical form after the establishment of innervation. At the same time, cardial rhythm settles down at 110 beatings/minute.