Evaluation of a serological test for tuberculosis.

The agglutination test of Nicholls was found to be ineffective in diagnosing active tuberculosis. A positive result (titre of 1/125 or more) was found in the serum of 74 (70%) out of 105 patients with newly diagnosed, smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis; 61 (62%) out of 98 healthy family contacts; and 19 (63%) out of 30 patients with non-tuberculous conditions. These findings were not due to faulty technique since the results obtained at Hammersmith were similar to those obtained by Nicholls's laboratory in the same serum samples. Twenty-seven of the tuberculous patients who had a negative result before treatment were retested two months after the start of chemotherapy but showed no evidence of a rising titre.


Lack of intralaminar sprouting of retinal axons in monkey LGN.

In the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the adult cat there is no evidence for translaminar sprouting of retinal axons to fill sites freed of retinal endings from the other eye. We tested the possibility that retinal axons will sprout to fill denervated retinal sites within laminae of the monkey LGN. In 4 monkeys, retinal ganglion cell axons from either the upper or lower half of the retina were destroyed. To maximize the potential for sprouting in the LGN, on one side of the brain the LGN cells to which the remaining retinal axons normally project were removed by ablation of the appropriate portion of the striate cortex. Three months later the eye receiving the retinal lesion was injected with  [3H]proline and the retinal projection to the LGN on both sides of the brain was studied using autoradiography. We found no evidence of intralaminar sprouting of retinal axons either in the normal LGN or in the LGN in which the usual targets of retinal axons had been removed.


The role of mesencephalic structures in thirst induced by centrally administered angiotensin II.

(1) In 27 animals microinjection of 25--100 ng of angiotensin II through chronic cannulae implanted in the preoptic region initiated drinking and in subsequent acute experiments influenced the spontaneous discharge rate of single neurons in the ipsi-lateral mesencephalon. Of 148 neurons for which recordings were made, 52 (35%) increased their frequency of spike potentials following administration of angiotensin II, 2 (1%) showed inhibition and 94 (64%) showed no change in firing rate. (2) In another series of 44 animals, unilateral or bilateral lesions of the midbrain ventral tegmentum or reticular formation were found to have little or no effect on water intake elicited by the microinjection of angiotensin II into the preoptic region. (3) In contrast to the effects of tegmental and reticular lesions, unilateral lesions located dorsally and laterally to the mammillary peduncle, in the area of passage of the medial forebrain bundle, significantly attenuated the dipsogenic response to either contralateral or ipsilateral injections of angiotensin II into the preoptic region. With bilateral lesions this effect was permanent. (4) Since the more caudal lesions were relatively ineffective in disrupting the elicited drinking, it is suggested that signals from angiotensin II receptors in the preoptic region are transmitted along pathways which diverge in the midbrain. (5) The possibility of a forebrain-hypothalamus-midbrain circuit mediating thirst initiated by activation of the renin-angiotensin system is discussed.


Prefrontal neuronal activity during gazing at a light spot in the monkey.

We trained monkeys to make rapid key-release when a tiny light spot dimmed, so that they gazed at the spot until it dimmed. While the animal was performing the gaze task, we recorded unit activity in the prefrontal cortex and found that many neurons increased in discharge rate during the gaze trial (G neuron) with a variety of discharge patterns: many units were activated continuously during the gaze period; others were activated phasically only in an earlier portion of the gaze period. The activation of the G neurons was little influenced by stimulus parameters, such as the size, intensity and position of the light spot. However, it was dependent on behavioral state of the animal: error trials with delayed key-release showed a weak activation while extinction procedure induced enhanced activation in the initial several trials. The dependence of the activation on the behavioral state may suggest that the activation is at least involved in attentional process during gazing at a behavioral cue.


An autoradiographic study of the projections of the pretectum in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta): evidence for sensorimotor links to the thalamus and oculomotor nuclei.

Autordiographic tracing methods were used to determine the differential projections of the pretectal nuclei, in the rhesus monkey, in relation to their inputs. The sublentiform (SL) and olivary (ON) nuclei receive projections from the visual cortex, superior colliculus (SC) and equal bilateral projection from the retina. The nucleus of the posterior commissure (NPC) and its subdivisions do not receive any of these inputs. The projections of the pretectum involve a number of structures within the thalamus and brain stem and there are differences in the projection targets of the pretectal region which receives direct visual input (i.e., SL and ON) and the region which does not (i.e., nucleus of the posterior commissure, NPC). For example, while all pretectal regions project within the pretectum and to the SC, accessory oculomotor nuclei, reticular formation, intralaminar nuclei and hypothalamus, it is only the retinorecipient zone which projects to rostral regions such as the visceral oculomotor nuclei, the lateral pulvinar, the border between the lateral pulvinar and medial pulvinar, the oral pulvinar as well as to the thalamic reticular nucleus, ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, zona incerta and other structures. It is concluded that the retina, SC and cortex which influence the visceral oculomotor nuclei can only do so by virtue of their projections to the pretectum, and that any consideration of accommodative and pupillary reflexes must view the pretectum as an obligatory link through which various structures can influence the intrinsic musculature of the eye. In contrast to the SC, the pretectum does not project to any of the visual relay nuclei of the thalamus, such as the inferior pulvinar, which project to the visual cortices. Instead, the pretectum projects directly to visuomotor, visceromotor and arousal systems.


Whole mount electron microscopy of the nucleolus in salivary gland cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

The nucleolus of Drosophila melanogaster salivary gland cells, examined by whole mount electron microscopy, consists of a fibrillar core region and a peripheral region containing both fibres and granules. These regions appear to correspond to the fibrillar and granular components, respectively, seen in thin sections. Most of the nucleoli were attached to the chromocenter region of the polytene chromosomes, containing the nucleolar organizer. Bundles of relatively straight chromatin fibres, 13 nm in diameter, extended from the chromocenter into the core region of the nucleolus, however it was not possible to trace the path of these chromatin fibres through the nucleolus since they were obscured within the mass of nucleolar fibres. The nucleolar fibres in both the core and peripheral regions were irregular and knobby, with a diameter of about 15 nm. In the core region, the fibres appeared to be of considerable length and were characteristically clustered together to form small interconnected masses. The fibres in the peripheral region were relatively short and some appeared to blend with amorphous, poorly-defined pools of material. Electron dense granules 15-20 nm in diameter were also associated with this amorphous substance. It is hypothesized that the formation and subsequent packaging of the 28s rRNA may be represented by a morphological transition of the peripheral fibres, via an amorphous pool-like intermediate stage, into the nucleolar granules. The results of this study indicate that whole mount electron microscopy may be a useful alternative to thin sectioning in high resolution studies of the nucleolus.


The bovine immune response to Brucella abortus I. A water soluble antigen precipitated by sera of some naturally infected cattle.

Selected sera from cattle naturally infected with Brucella abortus precipitate water soluble antigens extracted by sonication from B. abortus. One of these antigens resembles antigen E (Baughn and Freeman) as it is excluded from Sephadex G-200 gels, migrates anodally when electrophoresed at pH 8.6, resists heating at 100 degrees C for ten minutes and appears to be susceptible to papain digestion. Precipitins specific for this antigen remained in sera from which all detectable Brucella agglutinating antibody had been removed by adsorption with live or heat killed B. abortus. The antigen has been extracted from smooth and rough strains of B abortus. Precipitins specific for this antigen have been detected in antisera produced against Brucella canis.


One third of a million days of care at home, 1959 to 1975.

Although articles on studies of organized home care programs are numerous, reports of long-term effectiveness of these programs are scanty. While government spokesmen appear to advocate more widespread use of alternatives to hospitalization, there has been serious criticism of the efficiency and accomplishments of home care services. A medically oriented home care program in Saskatoon (population, less than 150 000) has grown steadily over a 16-year period and is now serving a daily average of 200 individuals. All patients have required "hospital-like care" at home and most have not ordinarily been sufficiently mobile during their time in the program to attend hospital outpatient services. Many have required "concentrated care" through daily visits of professional health personnel. The program is designed for the physically ill and disabled and is administered by the major teaching hospital in the city, although it provides services to the whole community. Over one third of the patients referred in recent years had been at home. Almost one half of the patients have undergone satisfactory rehabilitation at home. The program has also proven to be an acceptable alternative to long-term institutional care for the permanently seriously disabled, a large number of whom are elderly. The program has been able to operate at considerably less cost to the public than inpatient (hospital or institutional) services would have entailed.


Carcinogen-induced repair and binding in the DNA of chronic lymphocytic leukemic lymphocytes.

Unscheduled DNA synthesis (repair) of carcinogen induced damage of the DNA of lymphocytes from 16 normal and 16 chronic lymphocytic leukemic (CLL) subjects was determined quantitatively for a standard dose of 10 micronM N-acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (NA-AAF). Essentially all the CLL cases (15 of 16) had lower NA-AAF induced repair synthesis values than the normal subjects. Concurrent measurements for the levels of 3H-labeled 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a)anthracene (DMBA) to the DNAs of the normal and CLL lymphocytes after 18 h of culturing in 5 micronM DMBA have shown that 14 of 16 CLL cases had reduced levels of DNA bound carcinogen when compared to the normal individuals. Together these results suggest that CLL lymphocytes have a reduced repair synthesis because there is disproportionately less initial carcinogen-induced damage, and thereby, less substrate stimulation of repair enzymatic activity.


A primate model for study of methotrexate pharmacokinetics in the central nervous system.

A new technique enabling repetitive sampling of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in unanesthetized rhesus monkeys was developed to study the pharmacokinetics of methotrexate (MTX) in the CSF. CSF and plasma MTX levels were monitored following intraventricular and intravenous MTX administration. CSF and plasma MTX disappearance curves in the monkey were virtually identical to curves generated in humans, suggesting that the mechanisms of transport between the CSF and plasma compartments are similar in both species. These observations validate this experimental primate model and indicate its potential application to the pharmacological study of CNS chemotherapeutic agents in man.


Effect of carcinogens on chicken atherosclerosis.

Weekly i.m. injections of the polycyclic hydrocarbon carcinogens, 7,12-dimethylbenz(a,h)anthracene (DMBA; 25 mg/kg/injection) and benzo(a)pyrene (50 mg/kg/injection) were given for a period of up to 22 weeks to chickens (SC strain) beginning at age 4 weeks. Atherosclerotic lesions of the abdominal aorta occurred more frequently and were larger in the DMBA- and benzo(a)pyrene-treated birds than in controls. These lesions were proliferative in character as indicated by a higher [3H]thymidine autoradiographic labeling index compared to the underlying medial cells of the aorta. Measurements of serum cholesterol in DMBA-treated birds showed no differences from controls. Although both carcinogens accelerated the development of atherosclerotic plaques, DMBA was more potent than benzo(a)pyrene.


Parenteral nutrition techniques in cancer patients.

If a patient is expected to respond optimally to one or more forms of oncologic therapy, he should simultaneously be in the best possible nutritional and metabolic condition. When the alimentary tract cannot be used effectively for feeding cancer patients, parenteral nutrition can be lifesaving. Moreover, patients who are poor candidates or noncandidates for any antineoplastic therapy because of their debility or cachexia can be converted to reasonable candidates following a course of i.v. hyperalimentation. This i.v. hyperalimentation can significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancer patients without stimulating tumor growth when applied conscientiously according to the established principles and techniques and when integrated with specific tumor therapy. With the use of ambulatory or home hyperalimentation techniques, normal nutritional status can be restored or maintained during prolonged periods of antineoplastic therapy on a practical and relatively economical outpatient basis. It is anticipated that specific nutrient substrate formulas and parenteral therapy techniques will be developed to maintain optimal host nutrition while adversely affecting the neoplasm.


Nutritional therapy in children with cancer.

The special biology and behavior of the child make nutrition an even more important adjunct to cancer therapy than is true for the adult. The time has come to add nutritional therapy routinely to our other modes of therapy: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. But it should be done in the same way other modalities are added, i.e., with continued prospective and retrospective review of the data to optimize the approach to the child.


Analytical characterization of lipopolysaccharide antigens from seven strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Lipopolysaccharide antigens from seven different serotype strains (antigen immunotypes Nos. 1-7 in the classification of Fisher et al.3) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been analyzed for neutral carbohydrate, amino sugars, lipid, protein, 3-deoxy-manno-octulosonic acid, and phosphorus. The individual amino sugars were determined for each antigen type; all contained 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose and -D-galactose, together with 2-amino-2,6-dideoxygalactose; the latter as isolated from the type 2 antigen was identified as the DL form. In addition, 2-amino-2,6-dideoxy-D-glucose was present in the types 3, 4, and 5 antigens. Mild, acid hydrolysis of the antigens gave the lipid A component containing all of the lipid and 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose, together with lipid A-free polysaccharides that contained principally carbohydrate. The lipid A-free polysaccharides all contained L-rhamnose and D-glucose, together with 2-amino-2,6-dideoxygalactose in all except those from types 1, 5, and 7; that from type 6 also contained D-xylose.


Association of microperoxisomes with the endoplasmic reticulum in the granulosa lutein cells of the Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

Aldehyde fixed tissue from monkey (Macaca mulatta) corpus luteum was incubated in alkaline 3,3inch-diaminobenzidine (DAB), and prepared for electron microscopic histochemical observations. The association of microperoxisomes with the granular (GER) or agranular (AER) endoplasmic reticulum was reconstructed from serially sectioned tissues and by tilting of specimens in the microscope. Out of 107 microperoxisomes, 106 were directly associated with the AER. Two different forms of attachment were found between microperoxisomes  and the AER and that of the microperoxisome are confluent. In the second, lingulate type of connection, a blunt-end structure either is inserted into an invagination of the AER, or penetrates into the lumen of the AER. The lumen of the lingula is confluent with the microperoxisome, but not with the AER. In addition to these connections, fine thread-like structures were observed extending between AER and adjacent microperoxisomes.


Abnormalities in the glycosylation of immunoglobulin heavy chain and an h-2 transplantation antigen in a mouse myeloma mutant.

Two mutant cell lines derived from the MPC-11 mouse myeloma synthesize immunoglobulin with abnormal heavy chains and normal light chains. The defective heavy chains have molecular weights of 38,000-42,000 (M3.11) and 50,000 daltons (ICR 11.19) as compared to 55,000 daltons of the wild-type. The glycosylation of the defective heavy chains demostrated several unusual features: first, 30-50% of the M3.11 heavy chain contained no carbonydrate, while 100% of the wildtype and ICR 11.19 heavy chains were glycosylated; second, the glycopeptides of the M3.11 heavy chains revealed an altered gel filtration pattern when compared with the wild-type; and third, digestion with an endoglycosidase indicated that the heterogeneity of the wild-type and M3.11 glycopeptides involved structural changes in the core region of the oligosaccharide. Examination of two other glycoproteins (the major histocompatibility complex antigens) in these cell lines showed that in M3.11, the H-2D but not the H-2K product was abnormally glycosylated and contained a smaller glycopeptide. However, in a subclone of M3.11 that had lost the ability to produce immunoglobulin heavy chains, the H-2D glycopeptide had returned to wild-type size. We concluded from these studies that the defective M3.11 immunoglobulin heavy chain interfered both with its own glycosylation and the glycosylation of another protein, H-2D.


[The endocranial parietal vascular traces in the hominid line].

The study of the grooves traced by the middle meningeal veins on the parietal bone or the endocast of Hominid fossils shows different patterns which correspond to each evolutive stage. Height types are characterised among the Hominids (Australopithecines, Archanthropines, Paleanthropines and Neanthropines): I, robust Australopithecine type; II, gracile Australopithecine type; III, earliest Pithecanthropine type; IV, evolved Pithecanthropine type; V, Preneandertal type; VI, neandertal type; VII, Neanthropine type; VIII, modern type.


[Neurosecretory cells of the globuli I and the protocephalic neurosecretory pathway of the myriapods, diplodods. Preliminary observations on the Polydesmida, Platyrrhacidae, the Nematophora Lysiopetalidae, the Spirostreptida and the Spirobolida].

The Diplopods studied by the author and more particularly Platyrrhacidae, Lysiopetalidae, Spirostreptida and Spirobolida, show neurosecretory cells near the globuli I. The whole of his observations induces the author to admit a structural plan common to all the Diplopods: neurosecretory cells of globuli I--(NOG) nerve--neurohemal organ (Gabe's organ). Moreover he makes an attempt to compare his observations with those concerning another group of Myriapods: the Chilopods.


[Kinetics of the irreversible degradation in vivo of free L-threonine during lysine deficiency].

In adult fully grown rats deficient in L-Lysine, the speed of the irreversible degradation of free L-threonine equals 1.60 mmol/24 h/g as calculated for 1 mmol/kg administered. This speed is 23 per cent slower than that determined in non lysine deficient animals. This fact explains at least partially, the paradoxical resistance of the adult rat to the lysine deficiency.


[Plasma, testicular, and adrenal cortex levels of androgens in the perinatal period and determination of neonatal hypertestosteronemia in guinea pigs].

The perinatal period is characterized in the male faetus and new-born Guinea-Pig by a prenatal increase in testis testosterone and by a neonatal peak in plasma testosterone. This transient rise in plasma testosterone is testis dependent and light dependent at birth.


[The sexual cycle of the pelagic tunicate Doliolum nationalis, Borg. 1893, with a first description of the oozoid stage].

The reality of the sexual long cycle concerning Doliolum nationalis in Mediterranean waters off Villefranche (Ligurian Sea) is confirmed with the description of unknown stages for this particular species. A new type of gonophorozoïd is identified and the fecundity of the gonophorozoïd is proved by breeding the larva from the egg to its fully grown stage as an oozoïd, unknown until now. Its description shows us the total similarity between the oozoïds of different species of the Doliolum genus (cryptic species for this stage).


[Consequences of experimental triploidy on the fertility and sexual differentiation of a normally amphigonic and diploid lombrician, Eisenia foetida Sav].

The fertility of experimental triploid worms has been studied in Eisenia foetida Sav. This study has led us to the conclusion that the female germ line is abortive while the male germ line may as an exception take part in fertilization. Histological controls have confirmed the differentiating ability of the male line and the break in the development of the female line.


[Germ cell population of chick embryos incubated 5 1/2 days after ultraviolet irradiation of young blastoderms].

Chick blastoderms, incubated for 5 hrs., were wholly irradiated with ultraviolet light (2 537 A). With ultraviolet doses of 14,400 and 16,200 erg/mm2, the embryos, ofter morphologically abnormal, which developed from these blastoderms, were shown to contain, at 5 1/2 days of incubation, very few or no germ cells in the region of their primordia.


[The intersubgeneric crossing of Chrysocarabus (s. str.) auronitens Fabr. X Chrysocarabus (Chrysotribax) hispanus Fabr. (Coleoptera, Carab.)].

In the limits of the intersubgeneric crossing Chrysocarabus (s. str.) auronitens Fabr. X Chrysocarabus (Chrysotribax) hispanus Fabr., the results change with the subspecies of Cc. auronitens: positive only up to F1, but very little productive with a. festivus Dej. and a. auronitens Fabr., negative with a. subfestivus Oberth. and a. cupreonitens Chevr.


["Milk aflatoxin" and transfer of toxicity].

Diet including 20 p. 100 of lyophilised milk produced by Goat who consumes peanut meals containing 1,530, 79 and 54 microng/kg aflatoxins with 1,136, 64 and 54 microng/kg aflatoxin B1, is given to duckling during 23 days. There is no influence of this diet on growth, feed efficiency and liver or kidney histology. In contrast, direct consummation of Peanut meal, with the highest level of aflatoxins, produces 18 p. 100 mortality and characteristic injuries of aflatoxiocsis.


[Mode of action at the cellular level of new thiopyrimidines with antimitotic properties].

New thiopyrimidine derivatives have been synthesized. Among them, several inhibit the multiplication of Chick embryo cells cultivated in vitro: they provoke strong nucleolar alterations, prevent the cells from entering into mitosis and can give rise to cell polyploidisation as to DNA.


[Lymphoid cells of the intestinal mucosa with double kappa and lambda specificity in normal man].

The presence of lymphoid cells possessing both kappa and lambda specificities has been observed in the intestinal mucosa of normal subjects. The variability in the number of such cells in different sections of the same sample and in different subjects seems to be a characteristic of this cell population and may reflect the high activity of the immune system in the small intestine.


[X-ray sensitivity of human cultivated lymphoblastic cells in media enriched in nickel sulfate].

Human leukaemic cells of the established line REH, cultured in media supplemented by nickel suplhate have been irradiated by X-Rays. The nickel sulphage and the X-rays have toxic effects that appear as independent or interdependent effects according to the X-ray doses, the nickel sulphate concentration and the nickel sulphate action endurances.


[Proof, by a double-blind study, of the efficacy of synoviorthesis by erbium-169 in rheumatoid arthritis of the fingers].

A double-blind study (201 metacarpo and interphalangeal joints) on the effectiveness of the synoviorthesis shows the significant value of the 169-Erbium, compared with intra-articular placebo or corticotherapy. The treatment gives an improvement in 58% of the cases (p less than 0.01) (stade 1:80,7%), by destruction of the rheumatoid pannus, begins after 3 months and develops for one year and more.


[Sexual receptivity of the female and insemination power of the male Culex pipiens autogenicus (Diptera, Culicidae). The cases of strict monogamy and occasional polygamy].

Females of Culex pipiens autogenicus generally have two refractory periods: post-emergence refractory period (during the first 48 hrs. after emergence) and post-insemination refractory period. Males of Culex pipiens autogenicus can inseminate 2 to 3 females. After the 4th insemination he can no longer completely fulfill his reproductory role. Therefore the female can inseminated by another male.


[Chemical analysis of the integument and digestive gland of Crangon crangon (Linné) (Crustacea, Decapoda) by x ray spectography. Quantitative variations in the elements of calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, and magnesium during the intermolt cycle].

Electron probe microanalysis is a very suitable method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of calcium, phosphorus, sulfur and magnesium occurring within integument and digestive gland; variations related to intermolt cycle can be compared.


[Preliminary ultrastructural observations on the venom glands of Asilides (Diptera-Brachycera)].

The venom gland epithelium of the Asilidae is apparently made up of two types of cells which are differentiated by the structure of some components. The two types of cells exhibit an extensive protein synthesis and the secretory process seems to be apocrine. The significance of these two types of cell is discussed.


[Light and electron microscopic localization of cholinesterase activity in a marine invertebrate (Nereis pelagica L., Annelida, Polychaeta)].

High specific and nonspecific cholinesterase activities have been demonstrated in the whole nervous system of Nereis. These might reveal the existence of a cholinergic nervous system whose control would be exerted in different sites (central nervous centers, muscular junctions...).


[Autoradiographic analysis of the primary visual projections of a diurnal predator (Buteo buteo L.)].

Radioautographic analysis of the optic system of a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo L.) show hypothalamic (Meier's areas 1, 2 and 3), thalamic (nuclei lateralis anterior, geniculatus lateralis ventralis, dorsolateralis anterior), pretactal (nuclei geniculatus lateralis pretectalis--or Kuhlenbeck's geniculatus lateralis dorsalis--superficialis synencephali, griseus tectalis and area pretectalis), tegmental (nucleus ectomammillaris) and tectal visual projections. A general survey of Common Buzzard optic structures suggest a certain preponderancy of tectofugal system on thalamofugal system. Centrifugal visual system is reduced.


[Effect of DDT on the gonadal germ cell population of 5 successive generations of quail embryos].

The gonadic germ deficit induced by DDT in Quail embryos issued from eggs only treated at the first generation, partially decreases at the second generation and completely at the third. When the DDT treatment is repeated for each generation, the reduced effect slightly increases.


[Infertility of the hamster oocyte having matured in vitro].

The comparative study of fertilization, with the same sperm sample, of in vitro matured oocytes and freshly ovulated ones, shows a new aspect of mammalian oocyte maturation. While 80% of freshly ovulated oocytes are fertilized, in vitro matured eggs are not fertilizable. They present the ability to be penetrated by spermatozoa 4 to 6 hrs. only after HCG injection. This is therefore not on tubal influence but depends on an oocyte specific factor which appears during the end of intrafollicular maturation.


[Thermoperiodic information and the induction of diapause in Pieris brassicae L].

When exposed their whole larval life to a 24 h. thermoperiodic cycle in constant darkness, individuals of Pieris brassicae L. give diapausing or non-diapausing pupae according to the length of the cold and warm sequences. The curve of thermoperiodic induction is similar to the photoperiodic curve.


[Identification of catecholamines and serotonin in the notochords of chick embryos].

The neurotransmitter amines, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonine have been isolated from Chick notochords. Cholinergic agents produce important modifications in the amount of these amines and of one of their metabolites. The results demonstrate the presence, at a very early stage of development, between the second and the third day of incubation, of biogenic amines and cholinergic receptors.


[Weight changes in the eggs of Leucophaea maderae Fabr. (Insecta, Dictyoptera)].

Eggs in Leucophaea maderae are present in an ootheca which remains in the broodsac until hatching of the larvae. During incubation, the water content of the eggs increases from 36 to 77%, the dry weight remaining constant. Water is possibly provided by the mother.


[Phenotypic expression of the locus acute in Drosophila melanogaster].

The number of the long thoracic chaetae of heterozygote females born from crosses between a scute stock and various wild strains can be less than eight. Penetrance and dominance vary according to the wild strain considered. The phenomenon is probably connected with an anomaly of the development.


[High affinity binding of 5-hydroxytryptamine to some membrane preparations from cattle brain. Relationship to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)].

5 hydroxytryptamine binds to crude brain membrane preparations with two different affinities (KD = 1 to 2 X 10(-9) M for the highest, 1 to 2 X 10(-8) M for the lowest). LSD also binds with two affinities (KD = 3 to 4 X 10(-9) M and KD = 2 to 3 X 10(-8) M). Subcellular distribution of these sites shows that binding involves the two binding affinities in microsomal membranes but solely the high affinity binding sites are present in purified synaptosomal membranes. High affinity sites for 5 HT and for LSD are different as no direct competitive inhibition is observed in that case. On microsomal membranes, direct relationship occurs between low affinity binding for 5 HT and high affinity binding for LSD.


[Experimental study in rats to reduce carbon monoxide in the blood induced by cigarette smoke, by inhaling oxygen at atmospheric pressure].

When animals are exposed to cigarette smoke, the concentration of carbon monoxide in blood is rapidly increased, so that intensive inhalation tests cannot be carried out. A simple apparatus is described to expose Rats alternatively to cigarette smoke and to oxygen in order to reduce the concentration of carbon monoxide in the blood. This method makes it possible to increase the daily administration of smoke considerably; nevertheless, under such conditions, lung tumors were not observed.


[Inhibition of lymphocyte blastogenesis by diazepam, meprobamate, and other psychotropic drugs].

Imipramine, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, and meprobamate inhibit incorporation of 3H-thymidine in human lymphocytes in culture. For the first three drugs, 50% inhibition occurs at a concentration of 5 X 10(-5) M, and for meprobamate at a concentration of 10(-3 M. Ethanol has no action up to 10(-1) M.


[Establishment and characterization of 3 human cell lines derived from intracerebral metastatic tumors].

Twelve human tumors were cultivated in vitro by the trypsinization technique and 3 cell lines were established. Each of these 3 lines showed individual characteristics which were maintained during passages. After inoculation into nude mice, 2 lines induced tumors which possessed the histologic features of the original human tumors (melanoma and carcinoma of stomach), the other line derived from a breast carcinoma was rejected.


[Exocrine secretion of pancreatic carcinomas induced by immunologic effects: persistence of the specificity of the cancerous ascitic pancreatic cells].

Pancreatic carcinomas electively induced by immunological mechanism [(1), (2)] keep their exocrine secretory specificity along the various stages of their evolution: (a) during the transformation phase from adenoma to carcinoma; (b) in the evolved carcinoma; (c) in its metastasis; (d) in the ascitic carcinomatous cells formed. They are called: immuno-inducted carcinoma. The carcinomatous cells of the constantly deadly ascites cease their production of secretion granules after passages by intraperitoneal graft; but this secretion reappears in the solid carcinomas they induce by subcutaneous graft and contains trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen, even after the 92nd passage, at the 757 day. Besides, the antisera (1) enhance the growth and the affinity for pancreas and adipose tissue of the carcinomatous ascitic strains they induced. They, sometimes, produce nodular hepatic carcinomas.


[The existance of a winter diapause revealed by the effects of hormone treatment in the spider Pisaura mirabilis Cl. (Pisauridae)].

In the same experimental conditions, injections of ecdysterone induce moulting phenomena appearing after significantly different times according to whether the nymphs of Pisaura have been captured in October or January. The variable sensibility of the spiders towards an equal amount of hormones allows us to confirm the occurrence of winter-diapause in this Arachnid.


[Activity of the corpora allata of diapausing females of Tetrix undulata (SWRB) (Orthoptera-Tetrigidae)].

The implantation of one or two pairs of corpora allata of diapausing females in another diapausing females (two weeks old) induces vitellogenesis and laying of one, two or three egg-pods in a great number of females. The denervation of the corpora-allata of a diapausing female also induced vitellogenesis. These results suggeste that corpora-allata of diapausing females are not active. The denervation induces the break of the inhibition "travelling" by the corpora-allata-cardiaca nerves or stimulates the corpora-allata.


[Demonstration of high affinity binding of estradiol in adrenal cortex tissue].

Evidence is presented demonstrating the presence of a high affinity (Ka10(8)M-1), limited capacity (3-4 pmoles/mg protein) estradiol binder in the soluble fraction of the Bovine, Rat and Human adrenal cortex. The binding appears specific to the estrogen structure whereas C19 and C21 steroids do not bind. Upon sucrose density gradient centrifugation, the estradiol binder sedimented at 9 S at low ionic strength and was shifted to 4.5 S in the presence of 0.5 M KCl. This demonstration of a receptor-like moiety for estradiol in the adrenal cortex lends biochemical support to previous observations suggesting that adrenal cortex functions may be modulated by a direct effect of gonadal steroid hormones.


[Stimulation of the secretion of LH and FSH and increase in testicular weight at birth in rats].

The evolutions of serum LH and FSH concentrations and of testicular weight have been measured in the newborn Rat before, during and up to 24 hrs. after birth. A sudden and transient increase of LH and FSH is observed at birth. The testicular weight rises rapidly between 2 and 4 hrs.


[Study of the cortical field potentials produced by weak light stimulation in adult rabbits].

On a chronic preparation of an adult Rabbit, the cortical visual evoked response, produced by a weak luminous stimulation activating only the scotopic system is characterized by the suppression of the early surface-positive phase and by a lengthening of the latencies of the following deflection. The profile of the fields of potential corresponding to the various defletions in relation to the depth, has been investigated.


[Selective representation of vibrissa at the level of cerebellar Purkinje cells by way of climbing fibers in rats].

In the Rat peripheral information from snout vibrissae are transmitted to cerebellar Purkinje cells of Crus I and II by both mossy and climbing fibers. The climbing fiber pathway is organized in a very precise manner, a particular Purkinje cell being preferentially activated by a single vibrissa.


[Model of the effect of 4-aminopyridine at the level of potassium channels of the giant axon of the squid, Logigo forbesi L].

Most of the effects of 4-aminopyridine on the potassium conductance of the giant axon of the Squid can be explained in terms of a simple model based on the physicochemical properties of the molecule and what is known about the structure of the potassium "channels".


[Implication of GABA in the spatial organization of the receptive fields of retinal ganglia cells of frogs].

An histoautoradiographic study of the Chicken and Frog retinae was made following an intravitreal injection if tritiated GABA. This amino acid was especially fixed at the amacrine and horizontal cell level. It has been suggested (Werblin, 1974) that horizontal cells might be responsible for the spatial organization of the receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells. GABA could thus be involved in bringing about of the centre-surround arrangement of the latter receptive fields. We have shown that picrotoxin, a specific GABA-antagonist, does indeed provoke marked changes in the activity of retinal ganglion cells. It provokes a decrease in the response threshold, a facilitation of spontaneous activities, and a marked increase in the receptive field area of the ON-OFF ganglion cells: from 12 at the start, it reaches 24 under the effect of picrotoxin.


[Autoradiographic localization of RNA synthesis in vitro during oogenesis in Parascaris equorum].

Technical elaboration of in vitro incubation of Parascaris equorum gonads with 3H-Uridine has permitted, for the first time, the study of RNA synthesis during oogenesis along the whole gonadic tube. In germ cells, oocytes in diakinesis (oviduct) and in division of maturation (uterus) show no label. On the contrary oogonia and growing oocytes in ovary are labelled. RNA synthesis is always detected in all parietal cells but is more active in oviduct and uterus where the gonadic wall is particularly developed.


[Mutants of Escherichia coli deficient in 4-thiouridine in which growth is insensitive to illumination at 365 nm].

Thirteen different mutants of E coli K12 selected for a reduced near ultra-violet induced growth delay have been isolated. The t-RNAs extracted from these clones have all a depressed content of 4-thiouridine. One of these mutants, called Nop has an almost negligible growth delay and completely lacks 4-thiouridine in its t-RNAs. Thus we provide genetic proofs that 4-thiouridine is the chromophore for growth delay.


[The effects of 4 detergents on the respiration of mitochondria isolated from rat liver].

The effects of these four detergents (two non-ionic: Titron X100 and Tween 80, two ionic: sodium cholate and sodium dedeoxycholate) upon the respiratory intensities of mitochondria and upon the ADP/0 and respiratory control ratios were observed. At low concentrations and in the absence of exogenous ADP, non ionic as well as ionic detergents provoked a threefold (or fourfold) increase of the respiratory intensities of mitochondria. At higher concentrations, the four detergents were inhibitory for mitochondrial oxidations in the order: Triton X 100 greater than DOC greater than cholate greater than Tween 80. At increasing doses, the four detergents progressively decreased the phosphorylating capacities of mitochondria.


[Behavior and catecholamine levels: comparative study of gregarious insects, solitary insects, and those treated with carbon dioxide in Locusta migratoria (Insecta, Orthoptera)].

The dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) was measured in Locusta migratoria for 3 groups of individuals showing differences in their motility: gregarious are very active, solitary and animals in chronic treatment by CO2 (1 mn/day) show a very low motility. NA is present in small amounts (0,120-0,250 microng/g) in the 3 groups without significant differences. On the contrary, the quantity of DA is 5 times greater in gregarious than in the 2 other groups (1,78 and 0,31-0,39 microng/g). Thus it is suggested that DA is related to motility and must play its own role of a neurochormone, distinct from that of a metabolic intermediary between DOPA and NA. The question of a relationship between the metabolism of catecholamine and melanization is open.


[Unilateral change in color produced by ablation of the eyestalk of the crustacean Processa edulis (Decapoda, Natantia)].

A difference of expansion of erythrophores is observed between the left and right side of P. edulis after the removal of only one Eyestalk. It is the first time, in the Crustacea, that experiments lead to the conclusion that a sympathetic-like constrictor nervous action can exist in colour-change control; colour changes are particularly fast in this species.


[First attempts to synchronize cell division in the diatom Navicula ostrearia (Gaillon) Bory in axenic culture].

The diatom Navicula ostrearia, grown under small quantities, was synchronized in diurnally intermittent illuminations of 16 hour light and 8 hour dark. Under these experimental conditions, the doubling of the population only occurs during the dark period and the fission time is about 6 hours.


[Effects of injections of ecdysterone on the molt and regeneration in the crab Carcinus maenas (L.)].

Two successives injections of 10 microng/g of ecdysterone induce precocious ecdysis in 66% of Crabs. This induction of precocious ecdysis is always accompanied by an inhibiting effect on regeneration: tiny abnormal regenerates or none are obtained. A majority of recipients of ecdysterone underwent successful ecdysis. Experimental results are discussed; a morphological and cytological study of ecdysterone effects on regeneration is announced.


[Study by a rapid mixing method of the interaction between a fluorescent cholinergic agonist and membrane fragments rich in cholinergic receptors from Torpedo marmorata].

The analysis by stopped-flow of the interaction of fluorescent agonist (C5DACho1) with the acetylcholine receptor in its membrane-bound form reveals several kinetic steps: a fast one, in the millisecond range, associated with the binding of C5DACho1 to a high affinity state and a "medium" and "slow" one, the last one representing possibly an isomerisation of the receptor molecule towards the high affinity state.


[Mineralogy of calcium deposits observed on duodenal cannulae in dogs].

Spontaneous precipitation of deposits on duodenal cannulae were observed in laboratory dogs. X ray diffraction study demonstrated that apatite was always present, while other calcium salts, such as gypsum and brushite, were sometimes present. Moreover another, not yet identified, crystalline substance was also documented.


[Iclusion proteins and viral proteins of the baculovirus of the dipteran Tipula paludosa (Meigen)].

Examination of the polyhedron protein by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows only one polypeptide with a molecular weight of 25,500 +/- 500 daltons, while that of virion proteins reveals 13 polypeptides. No antigenic community could be demonstrated between the polyhedron protein of the Baculovirus of T. paludosa and the polyhedron protein of several other Baculoviruses.


[The effect of actinomycin D on the production of viruses by the protoplasts of Chinese cabbage infected in vitro by the yellow mosaic virus of turnips].

Chinese Cabbage (Brassica sinensis L. var. Cantonner) protoplasts were infected by Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) and inoculated in the presence or absence of actinomycin D. Virus production was determined 40 hrs. after inoculation, the time required for the virus replication cycle to be terminated. While actinomycin D had no effect on TYMV production when present at a concentration of 1 microng/ml, a 50 to 80% inhibition of virus production was noticed at concentrations of the order of 5 to 10 microng/ml, and the inhibition reached 90% with 25 microng/ml.


Isolation and purification of Rh(e) antigen.

Rh(e) antigen from the human erythrocyte membrane has been isolated. The method of preparation was as follows: Red cell membrane was solubilized using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid followed by sodium chloride. The solubilized components were separated using molecular ultrafilters. The molecular weight class between 20 000 and 30 000 had Rh(e) antigen activity. The Rh(e) antigen was eluted as a single component using isoelectric focusing in a pH gradient of 6 to 8. This Rh(e) antigen inhibits the agglutination of antibody-coated Rh(e) positive cells. This also gives a high titer of antibody when injected into guinea pigs.


The analysis of free tryptophan in human blood with the Ultrafiltrator: a comparison with other methods.

Recently, the Ultrafiltrator has been described, in the literature, which allows the ultrafiltration of small molecules in minute blood samples under anaerobic conditions with filters of any pore size. This apparatus has been tested for the separation of free tryptophan in heparinised and EDTA-plasma and in whole blood. At the same time, free tryptophan has been analysed after ultrafiltration with CF-50 A and CF-25 membrane cones (Centriflo). The results obtained by these two techniques are compared. Finally, a comprehensive review of other methods reported in the literature, concerning the isolation of free tryptophan, is presented.


The mutual clonal origin of the lymphoplasmocytic and lymphoma cell in alpha-heavy chain disease.

Biosynthetic studies in alpha-heavy chain disease were performed on the gut tumour which was composed mainly of lymphoplasmocytic cells and on the mesenteric lymph node tumour composed mainly of immunoblasts. The gut tumour cells synthesised alpha-heavy chains and secreted them during 2-5 hr culture, whereas the lymph node tumour cells synthesized alpha-heavy chains which were shed into the culture medium only after 20 hr. These chains were shown to be present on the surface of the immunoblastic tumour cells by enzymatic radioiodination. Both the surface and the secreted alpha-heavy chain of the lymph node and gut tumour were found to be smaller than the alpha-heavy chain of myeloma proteins. These results suggest that the lymphoblasmocytic and the immunoblastic tumour cells originate from the same defective clone.


Levamisole augments the cytotoxic T-cell response depending on the dose of drugs and antigen administered.

The effects of levamisole on the immune of cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocytes were studied. An optimum relative dose of antigen and and lavamisole appears to be crucial for levamisole to augment development of cytotoxic cells.


Listericidal activity of non-stimulated and stimulated human macrophages in vitro.

An in vitro biological assay system has been described to quantify the listericidal activity of human macrophages grown from peripheral blood monocytes. Within 15 min after in vitro infection, the activated macrophages showed a faster and higher degree in killing capacity as compared to the nonactivated ones; the killing process early and was of short duration.


Low molecular weight (7S) IgM and free light chains in the sera of patients with the tropical splenomegaly syndrome.

The presence of naturally occurring LMW (7S) IgM was suspected on Sephadex G-200 filtration of a serum pool from patients with tropical splenomegaly syndrome (TSS). It was found in nineteen out of thirty-one sera from these patients using a polyacrylamide/agarose gel-diffusion  method, and in fifteen of the sera after precipitation of the 19S IgM with 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG). Free K-light chains was detected in twenty-five out of thirty-one sera from patients with the TSS while free lambda-light chains was detected in four. The presence of 7S IgM and free light chains in sera of these patients is in keeping with our hypothesis that there is a disorder of control of immunoglobulin production in the tropical splenomegaly syndrome.


Blood lymphocytes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and Hodgkin's disease: Immunological features and enzymes of nucleoside metabolism.

Purified lymphocytes from venous blood of sixteen healthy adult subjects, eight patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and ten with Hodgkin's disease (HD), were examined for adenosine deaminase (ADA), cytidine deaminase (CDA), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNPase) and adenosine monophosphate deaminese (AMPA), after thawing and homogenization. The same cells were examined for the capacity to form E rosettes and to respond to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation. In CLL a significant reduction (P less than 0-001) of AMPA, PNPase and ADA activities was observed without variation of CDA. In contrast in HD PNPase, AMPA and CDA were increased (P less than 0-01) while ADA was in the normal range. The E-rosette forming cells were significantly reduced in both diseases and the capacity to respond to PHA-stimulation was strongly impaired in CLL. By this experimental approach it seems possible to demonstrate different states of functional activity of the lymphocytic cells in two diseases characterized by reduced T-cell-mediated immunity.


Fetal evaluation by real-time imaging.

The application of real-time imaging to the study of fetal morphology and function is an exciting advance. Rapid accurate study of fetal dynamics is possible with this apparently safe, noninvasive technique. Animal studies have revealed the general physiology of fetal breathing movements, which are now under extensive investigation with real-time imaging in the human. There is evidence for circadian rhythm of human fetal breathing movements as well as a relationship to maternal substrate loading. The presence of fetal breathing movements of the rapid irregular type may be a reassuring sign in the presence of other indicators of fetal compromise. Using real-time B-scan imaging, we have found long periods of apnea in pregnancies with normal perinatal outcome. As suggested in the animal studies, changes in fetal breathing patterns prior to fetal death may be more complex than originally thought. The techique of real-time B-scan imaging with precise definition of apnea, general movements, and fetal breathing will provide valuable information on which to base our evaluation of the clinical usefulness of fetal breathing movement studies in the management of pregnancy.


Lead poisoning from ingestion of Chinese herbal medicine.

A 4-month-old infant was proven to have acute plumbism attributed to the ingestion of lead-containing Chinese herbal medicines. The analyses of 11 brands of Chinese herbal medicines by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry revealed that one of the medicines, Po Ying Tan, made by company A, had a mean lead content of 7.5 mg per unit dose; the other 10 brands had lower but still significant lead contents. In Chinese communities, these medicines are used very frequently, without prescription, for many minor ailments. This practice places a large number of individuals at risk for acute and chronic lead poisoning.


A computer program for long term anticoagulation control.

A computer program is described which calculates suggested daily anticoagulant dose schedules for long term patients. This program is a part of the real-time Information System for Thrombosis Centres. The program requires only the most recent information on the patient from the Information System's data base. This information consists of the latest two measured coagulation times, the previous dose schedule, the target and limiting values set by the physician to the coagulation time, and a very limited number of parameters accounting for the patient's anticoagulation history. A simple dose-response model is used to simulate and predict a coagulation time. By comparing this prediction with the measured coagulation time the program computes the necessary adjustment in the average dose and the appointment period. It gives remarks, if necessary. The Information System is used successfully for the majority of patients of Leiden Thrombosis Centre, where it operates as a part of a real-time Hospital Information System.


Immunochemical analysis of the N-acetyl hexosaminidases in human-mouse hybrids made using a double selective system.

A human-mouse hybrid, DUR 4 (Solomon et al., 1976), containing a human X/15 translocation chromosome and also chromosome 5, among other human chromosomes, was used in a double selection system to obtain hybrids of four different types: X/15+ 5+, X/15- 5+, X/15+, 5-. Standard positive and negative selection systems were used for the X chromosome, and negative selection for chromosome 5 was done with diphtheria toxin. The assignment of HEXB and presently only when both the X/15 chromosome and chromosome 5 were present. A "HEXA-like" band segregated with chromosome 15 (or X/15) but independently of chromosome 5. This component, unlike HEXA, does not contain human HEXbeta antigen.


Beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol in the treatment of steroid-dependent asthmatic patients. An assessment of 18 months of therapy.

Twenty-nine of 33 steroid-dependent asthmatic patients received 18 months of therapy with beclomethasone dipropionate. Only four of 29 subjects required concurrent oral therapy with steroids. Twenty-six of 29 patients noted a marked improvement in their asthma; three of 29 described an indeterminate response. A statistically significant improvement in many of the symptoms, the plasma cortisol level, the first-second forced expiratory volume, and the forced expiratory flow at 50 percent of the observed forced vital capacity was present only at the end of three months of therapy with beclomethasone dipropionate. Steroid-withdrawal symptoms, particularly those related to the nose and sinuses, were initially troublesome but decreased with the passage of time. No oropharyngeal fungal infections were observed. At a dose below the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal suppressive level, therapy with beclomethasone dipropionate appears to be safe and effective for treating patients with steroid-dependent asthma.


Bactericidal activity of amikacin and gentamicin.

Using the membrane filtration method bactericidal activity of amikacin and gentamicin as a function of time and concentrations was determined. Amikacin was bactericidal against all Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 7) and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains (n = 8) tested. In 5 of the 7 P. aeruginosa and 3 of the 8 K. pneumoniae strains we saw a secondary regrowth at 24h. There was no difference between amikacin and gentamicin. The experiments to determine the effect of concentration on bactericidal activity showed that higher concentrations lead to a faster kill rate.


Electro-clinical follow-up of shunted hydrocephalic children.

In a survey of 29 hydrocephalic children treated by ventriculoatrial shunt (Holter valve) with a follow-up of 4 years, EEG records before the operation and at least once a year thereafter, the authors can support the view that an epileptogenic focus has developed around the place of insertion of the ventricular catheter in 19 cases, leading to epileptic seizures in 17 up to now. Thus the incidence of convulsions in this particular group of patients is 0.59 (17/29), the limits of confidence 95% being 0.39-0.76. The irritative abnormalities occur usually during the second year after the operation and the delay for the onset of clinical seizures is variable. The age at operation seems to influence the occurrence of the epileptogenic scar. The type of hydrocephalus and especially the presence of an associated cerebral focal lesion can be of importance in the development of clinical seizures.


[Esophageal-aortic fistula as a complication of a traction diverticulum].

After massive hematemesis esophageal varices were found by radiography and endoscopy in a 79-year-old woman. Two episodes of bleeding could be stopped with the Sengstaken-Blakemore-tube. The patient, however, died after heavy vomitting of arterial blood, although the tube was in the proper position. Atopsy shows a fistula between a tractiondiverticulum of the esophagus and the aorta. A flaringup of an old tuberculosis, demonstrated by histology, caused the colliquating of the wall of the diverticulum and also the arrosion of the aorta.


The effect of prostaglandins on the isolated internal muscles of the mammalian eye, including man.

The effects of PG's on the isolated intraocular muscles were determined in cat, rabbit, monkey and man, as well as their interactions with cholinergic agents and with catecholamines; the effects of PG antagonists; the effects of PG synthetase inhibitors; and the effects of cholinergic and adrenergic blockade and depletion. It is speculated that PG's may be involved in the regulation of the pupil and accommodation.


Potentiation of PG effects on the intraocular muscles of the cat by inhibition of PG synthesis.

Various PG synthesis inhibitors potentiate the effects of PGE1, E2 and F2 alpha on isolated sphincter, dilator and ciliary muscles of the cat when added to the bath or injected intravenously. Potentiation depends on dose and type of PG synthetase inhibitor. A hypothesis for the potentiation is discussed.


[Prophylaxis of Rh-sensitisation by intravenous IgG anti-D (author's transl)].

During 1971 and 1972 1109 rh-negative mothers with an Rh-positive child were treated with an intravenous standard dose of 80-120 microng of IgG anti-D. To achieve complete elimination of fetal erythrocytes within 72 hours after the first immunoglobulin injection this standard dose had to be increased in 14% of the women. In 1973 and 1974 1138 rh-negative mothers of Rh-positive children were treated with an intravenous standard dose of 240 microng of IgG anti-D. This dose was insufficient in only 1.2% of the rh-negative mothers. More than 98.8% of all women are protected by a standard intravenous dose of 240 microng of IgG anti-D and a single erythrocyte elimination control 72 hours after the birth. It appears that the results after intravenous immunoglobulin are as a whole significantly better than after intramuscular IgG anti-D.


[Composite filling materials in animal experiments].

The pulp tolerance of the composites "Estic" (Kulzer) and "Compocap" (Vivadent) and the polyacrylatecement "Bondal" (Vivadent) was tested in a total of 97 cervical cavities in rhesus monkeys. "Bondal" was well tolerated by the pulp. Both composites when used without cement base provoked slight to moderate reactions. This could be avoided by using "Bondal" cement bases.


[Biochemistry and metabolism of sugar substitutes].

The metabolisms of the sugar substitutes fructose, sorbitol and xylitol and their interdependence with the metabolism of glucose are demonstrated. The metabolic characteristics of these substitutes are discussed with regard to therapeutical utilization. Differences between oral and parenteral administration are shown and finally dosage guidelines for parenteral administration are established on the basis of the different metabolic effects depending on the administered dose.


[The use of sugar substitutes in parenteral feeding].

Parenteral administration of hydrocarbons is particularly indicated after heavy trauma or operations. In this case, fructose and the sugar substitutes sorbitol and xylitol play an important role as they can be metabolized independently from insulin. In this comprehensive review, the objectives and goals of parenteral nutrition as well as the metabolic processes of sugar substitutes in the human organism and their effects and the tolerances are discussed.


[The phenomenon of synchronization in the status epilepticus produced by penicillin and its changes after Clonazepam (author's transl)].

The purpose of this series of experiments was to understand how Clonazepam changes the mechanisms of synchronization in seizures. Penicillin was applied to the rabbits cortex. Interictal spikes and seizures were recorded with multiple electrodes from both the cortical surface and intracortically. The spatio-temporal relationships during these electrical events were studied by topographical methods. Moreover, power spectrum and coherence estimates were performed. A most characteristic feature seen with low doses of Clonazepam is a regularization of the spatio-temporal behaviour of both spikes and seizures. The number of tonic phases considerably increases at the cost of clonic phases. The seizures take more time to become generalized. The generator-zones become larger. This is explained by a decrease of the number of neurones--by Clonazepam--which are still left to produce "paroxysmal depolarization shifts". The findings confirm the increase of postsynaptic cortical inhibition under Clonazepam, as demonstrated by various authors.


[Prognostic value of the EEG in pre-term and full-term babies (author's transl)].

Looking for long-term prognostic value of the neonatal EEG, 545 records from 125 children in the pre-term and full-term period have been checked for special criterias: 1. Periods of electrocerebral inactivity (with usual amplifier gain) 2. Relative amplitude reduction over one of the hemispheres or localized 3. Focal changes 4. Epileptic activity: focal, multifocal and generalized. 5. Unspecific rhythm of alpha- and epsilon-frequency, which can not be classified as epileptic seizure pattern. According to the pronounciation of these criterias the EEG records were classified as severely, medium, severely, moderately abnormal and as normal. Comparison was done with the results of the last control EEG and the last clinical control examination. The principal results are: 1. Children with severe EEG abnormalities have a high mortality rate (about 70%). Long periods of electrocerebral inactivity are more unfavourable quoad vitam than epileptic discharges. 2. Late sequelae as cerebral palsy, psychomotor retardation and epilepsy are to be expected in all children with severe EEG abnormalities remaining alive and in many children with medium severe EEG abnormalities. 3. The rate of normal psychomotor development increases with the decrease of EEG abnormalities. It is important to mention: 1. EEG records in the first hours and days after birth give the best information regarding a long-term prognosis. 2. In children remaining alive and not developing hypsarrhythmia the observation interval must be more than one year for an estimation of probable electroencephalographic and clinical outcome.


[Systematic follow up study of posttraumatic EEG-abnormalities in children (author's transl)].

A systematic follow up study of EEG in 116 children, who after head injury were admitted to a surgical ward and examined within 3 days, the following day and the 30., 90., and 180. day after the trauma gave the following results; 1. EEG examinations indicate traumatic cerebral disturbances (foci 38%, general slowing 47%) nearly twice as often (53%) as neurological examination (30%). 2. 45% of the cases with general slowing may be detected by repeated examinations only because of the variability of the EEG in infancy. 3. Focal signs consisted mainly in delta-foci, in 74% of temporal localisation. S.c. reduction foci without slowing were not found. 4. Skull fractures were mostly combined with EEG changes (10 from 11). 5. Variations in vigilance were significantly more frequent in contusions in the initial stages, hyperventilation changes in the later stages. The reduction of amplitudes was without diagnostic relevance. 6. Normalization of slowing preceeded that of foci in only 23% although focal abnormalities persisted for more than 6 months in 14% and slowing only in 4%. 7. In 60% of the patients with traumatic EEG changes amnesia had not lasted longer than 10 minutes. Amnesias lasting more than 2 hours were always accompanied by EEG abnormalities. 8. Traumatic EEG abnormalities are not missed, if recordings are performed within 3 days and controlled 3 months after the trauma. The problem of the diagnostic classification is discussed and it is recommended, that the notion of contusion is used in a broader sense.


[Electrodiagnostic procedures: special problems in infants and children (author's transl)].

Electrodiagnostic procedures like elektromyography, studies of nerve conduction velocity, neuromuscular transmission and special reflexes may be performed from the first day of life. The diagnostic value of these investigations in childhood depends especially on the consideration of technical, psychological and developmental particularities. The choice of suitable electrodes according to the age, control of temperature, a rapid and child-adapted course of examination as well as a founded differential diagnosis before starting special procedures are as important as the knowledge of normal values in different age groups. Results of electrodiagnostic studies may be limited not only by lack of cooperation of young patients but also by the state and localization of a disease.


[Analysis of action potentials of muscles by a small general purpose computer (author's transl)].

To measure the duration of action potentials by a computer, the following steps are necessary: 1. automatic selection of suitable potentials from the EMG 2. identification of equal potentials (action potentials of the single motor unit) 3. measuring the durations of potentials, defined by the distance between first and last deviation from the base line. We noticed that the automatic evaluation of durations of single potentials is greatly deteriorated by base-line fluctuations. Therefore we average about 16 action potentials, stored in the computer, of the same single motor unit and measure the duration of the averaged potential.


[Electromyographical and clinical follow up study of brachial plexus lesions (author's transl)].

21 cases of brachial plexus lesions were reexamined clinically and electromyographically after a posttraumatic interval of 3 to 11 years. In accordance with Brooks (1) recovery--as judged by muscle strength, sensation and amount of EMG activity during volontary action--was relatively good in upper plexus lesions, fair in middle plexus lesions and very poor in lower plexus lesions (Fig. 1 A, B). Even in cases of incomplete lower plexus lesions with small residual innervation initially, recovery was only moderate (Fig. 1 C). The tendency for reinnervation decreased with increasing distance of target muscles from the lesion site in the plexus (Fig. 2). Motor and sensory deficits in corresponding dermaresp. myotomes were either congruent or more frequently incongruent with prevalence of motor deficits (Fig. 3). Earliest electromyographical signs of reinnervation were observed after 4 to 9 months (upper and middle plexus lesion). Reinnervation of proximal muscles was completed after 11 months to 2 years (Fig. 4). Posttraumatically regenerated nerve fibers had often decreased conduction velocities (some values as low as 7 m/sec) and showed sometimes abnormal target muscles leading to paradoxical innervation and synkinesias between antagonistic muscles.


The distribution of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in the hypothalamus of the rhesus monkey. Light microscopic studies using immunoperoxidase technique.

Neural structures containing LHRH were characterized in the hypothalamus of the rhesus monkey by four different antisera to the hormone and an immunoperoxidase technique. Immunoreactive perikarya were present in a continuum from the septal-preoptic region anteriorly to the premammillary nucleus posteriorly. These cells were more concentrated in the pericommissural and tubero-infundibular regions. Reactive axons in the median eminence appeared to originate from the positive perikarya in the medial basal hypothalamus; this projection forms a tubero-infundibular tract containing LHRH. In addition, substantial numbers of fibers which entered the median eminence continued down the infundibular stalk and into the posterior pituitary. Other axons appeared to originate in the pericommisural region and projected to the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis. Scattered positive fibers were also present in other hypothalamic areas, especially in the periventricular zone and medical mammillary nucleus.


Immunological and biological characteristics of a new TRF analogue, L-pyroglutamyl-L-histidyl-L-pipecolic acid amide.

The immunological and biological potencies of a new synthetic TRF analogue, L-pyroglutamyl-L-histidyl-L-pipecolic acid amide, were compared with those of TRF. In a radioimmunoassay system for TRF, parallel inhibition curves were obtained with TRF and the analogue, the immunological potency of the latter being approximately 50 per cent of the former. In vitro and in vivo TSH-releasing activities of the analogue were almost equal to those of TRF. As was observed with TRF, the in vitro TSH-releasing effect of the analogue was reduced in the presence of T4, and the analogue was inactivated by incubation with rat serum. The data suggest that the pyrrolidine ring of TRF can be replaced with piperidine ring without significant loss of the biological activity.


Radiographical and endoscopical studies on two cases of intraluminal diverticulum of the duodenum.

Case report of two intraluminal diverticula of the duodenum. It is a rare congenital lesion characterized by a double layered mucosal sac lying in the duodenal lumen near the ampulla of Vater. Clinical features and laboratory findings are uncharacteristic. X-ray examination is the diagnostic method of choice, endoscopy will give further information about inflammation, haemorrhage and localisation of the ampulla. Treatment of choice is either surgical excision or endoscopical splitting of the diverticulum.


Juxtaminorpapillary diverticulum associated with chronic pancreatitis.

A 69-years-old male with a juxtaminorpapillary diverticulum of Santorini in the duodenum and chronic pancreatitis is described. The patient had suffered from attacks of epigastric pain during the last 35 years. At recent admission to hospital he had also an elevated urinary amylase activity and a juxtaminorpapillary diverticulum, demonstrated by duodenoscopy and X-ray examination after administration of a contrast medium. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) showed changes of the pancreatic duct system compatible with chronic pancreatitis, a diagnosis which was confirmed by explorative laparotomy.


Demonstration of a liver abscess by ERC.

In a patient with septic fever and elevated alkaline phosphatase an ERC was conducted to explore the biliary system. Contrast media could be demonstrated within the hepatic parenchyma, establishing the diagnosis of a liver abscess in communication with the intrahepatic biliary system.


Death following fiberoptic gastroscopy caused by pheochromocytoma.

A 45-year-old woman was admitted to hospital for investigation of weight loss, sciatica and excess sweating. On examination, whe was found to have a tachycardia and the stigmata of von Recklinghausen's disease. Her investigations included a barium meal and gastroscopy. Following the gastroscopy, she developed ventricular tachycardia and died. An autopsy revealed a pheochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland.


The stereochemistry of beta-lactam formation in penicillin biosynthesis.

1. (2R,3S)-[U-14C,3-3H1]- and (2R,3R)-[U-14C,2,3-3H2] Cysteine hydrochlorides have been separately synthesised. The latter compound has been shown to have uniform distributions of tritium between C-2 and C-3. 2. The abvoe cysteines and (2R)-[U-14C,3,3,3',3'-3H4]cystine have been converted to samples of penicillin G by Penicillium chrysogenum. 3. Incorporation results indicate that all but 14% of the tritium is lost from the (2R,3S)-[3-3H1]isomer; that 42% of tritium is retained by the non-stereospecifically C-3 tritiated cystine; and that 58% of tritium is retained by the (2R,3R)-[2,3-3H2]isomer on conversion to penicillin G. 4. Degradation of the penicillin G derived from (2R,3R)-[U-14C,2,3-3H2]cysteine hydrochloride has indicated that in fact about 87% of the original C-3 tritium of cysteine is retained at C-5 of penicillin G. 5. The results indicate stereospecificity in the cyclisation giving rise to the beta-lactam ring in penicillin G in nature with loss of the 3-pro-S-hydrogen and rentention of the 3-pro-R-hydrogen of cysteine. Thus there is net retention of stereochemistry in the cyclisation.


Purification of prealbumin from human and canine serum using a two-step affinity chromatographic procedure.

1. A two-step-method is described by which human and canine prealbumin have been isolated from serum in good yield and high purity. The first step involves binding and release of prealbumin by a thiol-disulfide interchange reaction with thiol-Sepharose 4B. The second step consists of reversible binding of prealbumin to retinol-binding protein covalently linked to Sepharose 4B. 2. The canine prealbumin was immunochemically identified as an alpha2-globulin. Like human prealbumin it is a tetramer with some 10% smaller subunits than human prealbumin. Both proteins are devoid of carbohydrate and both bind thyroxin.


Small-angle X-ray studies of the human immunoglobulin molecule Kol.

The conformation of the human immunoglobulin molecul Kol [IgG I, kappa2 gamma2, Gm(f)+] was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering in 0.15 M NaCl solution. The radius of gyration was found to be 5.84 +/- 0.04 nm, the volume 329 +/- 15 nm3 and the molecular weight 150 000 +/- 10 000. Information on the overall shape was obtained by comparing the experimental scattering curve with the calculated curves for various models. The models were obtained by arranging the models found for the Fab and Fc fragments of the same immunoglobulin molecule in a different manner. A model which fits all the date and the form of the experimental scattering curve is presented.


Interactions between beta-lactam antibiotics and isolated membranes of Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790.

The DD-carboxypeptidase-exchange membrane-bound enzyme in Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790 reacts with beta-lactam antibiotics to form complexes with rather long half-lives. Depending upon the antibiotic, the second-order rate constants for complex formation range from 0.75-560 M-1 S-1 (at 37 degrees C and in water) and the first-order rate constants for complex breakdown range from 1.3 to 26 x 10(-5) s-1 (at 37 degrees C and in 5 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.5). There are about 30 pmol of DD-carboxypeptidase-exchange enzyme per mg of membrane protein. The degradation products arising from benzylpenicillin are phenylacetylglycine and probably N-formyl-D-penicillamine. Isolated membranes also contain other penicillin binding sites (about 70 pmol/mg membrane protein). That part of benzylpenicillin which reacts with at least some of these latter sites is slowly degraded into penicilloic acid. Normal functioning of the DD-carboxypeptidase-exchange membrane-bound enzyme is important, if not essential, for cell growth. With the beta-lactam antibiotics tested inhibition of cell growth is mainly related to the rates of formation of the inactive enzyme-antibiotic complexes. The relationship, however, is not a direct one probably due to the competitive effect exerted by the other penicillin binding sites.


Secondary methylation of yeast ribosomal precursor RNA.

The timing of methylation of the ribosomal sequences of ribosomal precursor RNA (pre-rRNA) from the yeast Saccharomyces carlsbergensis was investigated by fingerprint analysis of the methylated oligonucleotides derived from the various precursors. From the total of 37 ribose and 6 base-methyl groups found in 26-S rRNA, the two copies of the base-methylated nucleoside m3U as well as the doubly methylated sequence Um-Gm psi are not yet present in 37-S RNA, the predominant common precursor of 26-S and 17-S rRNA. Introduction of these methyl groups into the ribosomal sequences appears to take place at the level of 29-S pre-rRNA, the immediate precursor to 26-S rRNA. From the total of 18 ribose-methylated and 6 base-methylated nucleosides found in 17-S rRNA, the latter group (one copy of m7G, the m62A-m62A- sequence and the hypermodified methylated nucleoside "mX") is completely missing in 37-S pre-rRNA. The methyl group of m7G is introduced into 18-S pre-rRNA, the direct precursor of 17-S rRNA, in the nucleus. The -m62A-m62A- sequence is methylated after transport of the 18-S pre-rRNA to the cytoplasm prior to the final maturation into 17-S rRNA.


Synthesis of exported proteins by membrane-bound polysomes from Escherichia coli.

A membrane-bound fraction of polysomes of Escherichia coli has been isolated after lysis of cells without the use of lysozyme. Protein-synthesis studies in vitro show that membrane-bound and free polysomes are different in the following respects. 1. Membrane-bound polysomes synthesize proteins which are exported from the cell. The products include proteins of the outer membrane and a secreted periplasmic protein, the maltose-binding protein. 2. The major product synthesized by free polysomes is elongation factor Tu, a soluble cytoplasmic protein. 3. The activity of membrane-bound polysomes in vitro is more resistant to puromycin than is the activity of free polysomes. In addition, the mRNA associated with membrane-bound polysomes is more stable than the bulk of cellular mRNA as revealed by studies with rifampicin.


Effect of in vivo stimulation of mice on the secretion of factor B of the alternate complement pathway by peritoneal macrophages.

After in vivo treatment of mice with thioglycollate medium, the amount of native factor B which could be detected in vitro in culture supernatants of peritoneal macrophages was much lower than that found in supernatants of macrophages taken from untreated mice. However, when the macrophages from thioglycollate medium-treated mice were cultured on a plastic surface covered with glutardialdehyde-linked bovine serum albumin, the culture supernatants contained larger quantities of native factor B than culture supernatants of macrophages from untreated mice under the same conditions. Thus, the effect of in vivo thioglycollate medium treatment on the in vitro secretion of factor B by peritoneal macrophages could be modulated by the culture conditions. Factor B in culture supernatants of macrophages obtained from both untreated and thioglycollate medium-treated mice was stable. It remained functionally active, and therfore uncleaved over a long incubation period at 37 degrees C. In addition, factor D activity was never detected in any culture supernatant.


Mouse immunoglobulin receptors on lymphocytes: identification of IgM and IgD molecules by tryptic cleavage and a postulated role for cell surface IgD.

The two mouse immunoglobulin receptors on lymphocytes (IgM and IgD-like) were individually digested by trypsin. The tryptic susceptibility, and the products released, were similar to those of their human counterparts. Evidence for a structural homology between human IgD and its presumed mouse conterpart has been provided by the ramarkably similar profile of fragments resulting from digestion. More definitive homology awaits sequence determination. The extreme susceptibility of surface IgD to proteolysis contrasted with the resistance of surface IgM. We therefore propose that the major role of IgD is to release a fragment (Fabdelata) following exposure to antigen and then elicit a regulatory anti-idiotype response which acts through recognition of the protease-resistant IgM idiotype remaining on the cell surface.


Cell surface components of carcinogen-induced lymphoid tumors in SJL/J mice.

Preleukemic cells could be detected in the bone marrow cell population of SJL/J mice within several days after induction of leukemia by repeated feedings with a chemical carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). Bone marrow cells collected 7, 30 or 60 days following carcinogenic treatment, developed lymphoid tumors upon transplantation into syngeneic irradiated recipients. The incidence of these tumors varied between 40--45% when the bone marrow cells were collected and transferred 7--30 days after feeding with DMBA, and raised to an incidence of 80% when transferred 60 days after carcinogen administration (compared to 50% incidence in the DMBA-treated bone marrow donors). A survey of several cell surface components on the lymphoid tumor cells, obtained after transplantation of preleukemic cells, indicated that most of the tumor lines bore both the Thy-1.2 antigen (weak) and the Fc receptor, whereas the rest were positive only for the Fc receptor. None of these tumor cell lines would yield a significant amount of cell-bound immunoglobulin.


Calcium dependence of rat brain tryptophan hydroxylase.

The effects of various concentrations of ionized Ca were examined on the activity of rat brain tryptophan hydroxylase previously treated with EGTA. Within the range of ionized Ca-concentrations though to be physiologically important (10(-8) to 10(-5) M), no significant activation of the enzyme occurred, although activation was observed at higher concentrations of the metal.


Lethal effect of tetracycline on tsetse flies following damage to bacterioid symbionts.

High mortality was observed in tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans morsitans, that had had a single blood meal on rabbits which had previously been administered tetracycline complex salts. The death of the flies was apparently effected by the killing of the fly symbionts and the destruction of the mycetomes of the gut. It is suggested that tetracycline complex salts in the food or drink of livestock may be tried for the control of tsetse flies.


Are shape and morphogenesis independent phenomena?

Amphibian embryos can develop inspite of dramatic deformations produced by constraints in the surrounding medium, and can even ultimately recover a normal morphology. Consequently, no sequential change of shape is necessary for normal morphogenesis and the form of the embryo appears to be determined by cell activities intrinsic to each stage.


Occurrence of immunoreactive thyroglobulin in the parafollicular cells of dogs.

When the canine thyroid gland was stained by immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase methods using undiluted thyroglobulin antiserum, a considerably stronger immunoreactivity was revealed in the parafollicular cells than in the colloid droplets and follicular cells. After induced hypercalcemia and antithyroid drug treatment, the immunoreactivity of the parafollicular cells coinciding with the movement of secretory granules containing calcitonin was conspicuously decreased. An application of diluted serum (above 1:10) produced a strong reaction in the colloid.


Some characteristics of urokinase released in organ culture of human kidney.

Plasminogen activator produced in organ culture of human kidney, i.e. in the histotypical arrangement of the tissue, was partially purified by affinity chromatography on para-aminobenzamidine coupled to Sepharose by a 6-carbon spacer, followed by gel chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The molecular weight of 2 active peaks were 27,000 and 52,000 daltons respectively. It was inhibited by DFP and by IgG antiurokinase.


Pharmacology and function of the myoepithelial cell in the eccrine sweat gland.

Both acetylcholine and a Ca-ionophore, A23187, are comparatively strong stimulants of eccrine sweat secretion in vitro. Nevertheless, the contraction of the secretory coil was seen only after stimulation with acetylcholine but not with alpha or beta adrenergic drugs or with A23187. It was thus inferred that the myoepithelial contraction may not be playing an indispensable role in the overall process of eccrine sweat secretion.


Androgenic control of epididymal function in rhesus monkey and rabbit.

The effects of castration and testosterone replacement therapy on the histology and biochemical composition (RNA, DNA, total protein, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, hyaluronidase, sialic acid, glycogen, phospholipids, and glycerylphosphorylcholine [GPC]) of the epididymis of the rabbit and rhesus monkey were investigated. Castration produced marked ponderal, histologic, and biochemical changes in the epididymis. In the androgen-deficient state the tubular diameter and epithelial cell height were reduced and there was an increase in interbular stroma. The levels of RNA, DNA, phospholipids, and GPC were also reduced in castrated animals. Testosterone treatment restored the histologic features and the levels of various biochemical constituents to a great extent but not to the intact control level. The importance of endocrine and exocrine factors of the testis in relation to epididymal function is discussed.


Changes in the sialic acid concentration in the major cervical glycoprotein from the bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata) during a hormonally induced cycle.

The major macromolecular component of monkey cervical mucus has been purified from crude monkey cervical mucus at various times during a hormonally induced estrous cycle. The major component, a high-molecular weight glycoprotein, was secreted in large amounts in midcycle mucus. The glycoprotein exhibited human blood group B activity and contained the same concentration of L-fucose, D-galactose, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine during the cycle. There were no changes in the amino acid composition or in the number of carbohydrate side chains. There was a significant increase in the amount of sialic acid in the glycoprotein purified from midcycle mucus. Changes in the specific viscosity and the far ultraviolet circular dichroic spectra were also observed. The possible control of sperm penetration by the glycoprotein is discussed.


[Neisseria gonorrhoeae culture: development of an easy method].

An easy and cheap method for culturing Neisseria is developed. The medium for gonococci is prepared as proposed by the producer (BBL, Oxoid, Hoechst). About 8 ml of the medium are poured in sterile air-tight stool tubes of 25 ml volume. Materials to be examined for gonococci are taken from the cervix, ureter or anus and are inoculated on the medium. A small piece (20-30 mg) of the GasPak tablet (BBL) is then deposited in the tube and closed immediately. The GasPak tablet consists of sodium bicarbonate and citric acid which, if they come in contact with humidity, produce CO2 gas. The inoculated tube is then put in an incubator at 37 degrees C for 14-24 h. This method gives a good microbiological result. With the aid of the oxidase reaction the colonies take a brown-black color. For further differentiation of the species the sugar fermentation method is necessary.


The measurement of depression.

Some of the problems inherent in the measurement of mood are considered. Various physician rating and patient self-rating instruments are described which may have practical application in general practitioner trials. The need for continuing research in the area of the measurement of mood disturbance in the setting of general practice is stressed.


Absence of self-recognition in a monkey (Macaca fascicularis) following prolonged exposure to a mirror.

To date only chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans have been found capable of recognizing themselves in mirrors. In an attempt to provide a more definitive test of the capacity for self-recognition in monkeys. I gave a preadolescent crab-eating macaque 2400 hr of mirror exposure. However, patterns of self-directed behavior never developed and a more explicit test of self-recognition yielded negative results. The data indicate possible differences between great apes and monkeys in self-awareness.


The controversy concerning counterregulatory hormone secretion. A hypothesis for the prevention of diabetic ketoacidosis?

Diabetic ketoacidosis is characterized by an excess secretion of counterregulatory hormones (glucagon, catecholamines, cortisol, and growth hormone). Experimental evidence obtained in both diabetic man and animals suggests that elevation of the plasma concentration of these hormones is necessary to initiate excess hepatic production of ketone bodies. This increase in hepatic ketogenesis in concert with inability of peripheral tissues to completely utilize ketone bodies results in clinical ketoacidosis. This hypothesis would suggest that pharmacologic control of excess counterregulatory hormone secretion would be a rational therapeutic modality to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis.


Establishment and characteristics of three mouse cell lines from embryos of different inbred strains.

Three cell lines were established from embryos of DDD, AKR, and C3H mouse strains based on "3T3" transfer schedule. These cell lines were designated as Y-DD, Y-AK, and Y-CH, Y-DD and Y-CH showed a gradually increasing growth rate during the course of their establishment, whereas Y-ak indicated a constant growth rate, a low level of saturation density, and a tetraploid range of chromosome mode. In transformation experiment, control cultures of Y-DD and Y-CH already lost a density-dependent inhibition, but Y-AK was found to be very sensitive to density-dependent inhibition. Y-AK showed a higher activity in benzo[a]pyrene metabolism (4100 pmol/10(6) cells/24 hr) than Y-DD and Y-CH (700 and 2600 pmol/10(6) cells/24 hr).


Mitochondrial membrane-linked reactions in carcinogenesis: change in steroselective uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by aliphatic dicarbonyls and in the Arrhenius plot of NADH-indophenol reductase.

The previously observed alterations in the energy transducing system of rat liver mitochondria during 3'-methyl-4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene (3'-Me-DAB) carcinogenesis were investigated using aliphatic dicarbonyl compounds as molecular probes and the effect of temperature on the membrane-linked NADH-indophenol reductase. The vicinal diketone, diacetyl, uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in normal rat liver mitochondria while the higher diketones, acetylacetone and acetonylacetone, are increasingly less effective in that order; diacetyl totally abolishes respiratory control with substrates the oxidation of which involves the NADH leads to CoQ segment, but only partially with succinate which bypasses this segment. Diacetyl, likewise, uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in liver mitochondria from rats fed 3'-Me-DAB, but the mitochondria are most resistant to this uncoupling  (in terms of the P/O ratio) at the time period when the respiratory control index (determined in the absence of diacetyl) is at the dye-induced minmum. This time period is at 3 to 4 weeks of dye administration, representing the cumulative dose for tumorigenesis threshold. At this threshold period of feeding 3'-Me-DAB, discontinuities in the Arrhenius plot of the mitochondrial membrane-localized NADH-indophenol reductase appear, with a return toward the control state (no break) at 8 weeks, only to reappear in the plot of the enzyme from tumor mitochondria, suggesting sequential membrane phase transitions in the mitochondria during azo dye carcinogenesis.


Bacteriological studies in a patient with antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis.

Detailed aerobic and anaerobic bacteriological studies on the operative specimen from a patient with antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis revealed approximately 10(11) facultatively anaerobic bacteria, but less than 10(5) obligate anaerobes per g of involved colonic tissue. Fourteen isolates of Escherichia coli, three isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and two isolates of Streptococcus fecalis were identified. The majority of the organisms were resistant to most of the antibiotics that the patient had received. Examinations of E. coli for heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins and tissue invasiveness were negative, and enterotoxin tests on the P. aeruginosa isolates were negative. Inoculation of mice with the bacterial isolates revealed no unusual pathogenicity. These findings suggest that antibiotic-associated colitis is associated with a marked loss in anaerobic colonic flora, but the colitis could not be explained by the presence of enterotoxins, tissue invasiveness, and pathogenicity of remaining microorganisms.


Mutagen specificity in the induction of chromosomal aberrations in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

The distribution of chromosomal aberrations between and within chromosomes of male D, melanogaster somatic cells after treatment with UV has been analyzed. -- Distribution of the breaks between chromosomes was largely nonrandom since we found a higher aberration frequency than that expected on the Y chromosome. Moreover, within the chromosomes the aberrations are clustered in the pericentromeric heterochromatic regions. The above distribution is compared with that of the breaks induced by X rays and methyl-methane-sulphonate (MMS) which were distributed in a different pattern.


Developmental genetics of the Drosophila egg. I. Identification of 59 sex-linked cistrons with maternal effects on embryonic development.

Sex-linked mutations to recessive female sterility were induced, sorted for egg-laying, mapped within broad regions and grouped by complementation tests into cistrons. The mutations have also been partially characterized for their temperature sensitivity and pleiotropic effects. Altogether 59 cistrons have been identified, including five ellelic with previously known loci: cin, fs(1)N, mk, sn, and r. All of the genes make maternal contributions to developing embryos. In some instances mutant defects are recognized in the egg envelopes; in the remainder the defects are presumably in the egg cytoplasm. For mutations in twenty-two genes, including cin, mk, and r alleles, the lethality of the maternal effect is reversed and the embryo is "rescued" by the action of a wild-type, paternal allele. The mutant strains are potentially important material for the study of developing egg envelopes and for furthering the analysis of causation in embryogenesis and its origins in oogenesis.


Enzyme and chromosome polymorphisms in Japanese natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

Collections of D. melanogaster from Japanese populations were analyzed for enzyme and chromosomal polymorphisms. Allelic frequencies at the Adh and alphaGpd loci were compared with polymorphic inversion (In(2L)B, In(2R)C) frequencies in the second chromosome. There was a significant positive correlation between the frequencies of AdhS and In(2L)B, caused by linkage. On the other hand, inversion-free cage populations maintained in the laboratory for a long time showed considerably larger variation in the frequencies of these enzyme alleles, which seem very likely to be a consequence of random drift. Two fitness components of these enzyme and chromosomal variants were measured in two different environmental conditions; neither of the two loci showed heterozygote superiority in viability or productivity, while the inversion heterozygotes showed a superior productivity compared to the corresponding homozygotes in the fluctuating environment. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that polymorphic isozyme genes are maintained by random drift of neutral genes in natural populations, and that association with linked inversions is a historical accident.


Lack of dosage compensation for an autosomal gene relocated to the X chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster.

Aldehyde oxidase activity has been measured in flies with the structural gene for this enzyme translocated to the X chromosome. These measurements are presented as experimental evidence that, in Drosophila melanogaster, an autosomal gene relocated to the X chromosome is not dosage compensated.


The cytogenetics of a recessive visible mutant associated with a deficiency adjacent to the notch locus in Drosophila melanogaster.

The recessive visible faswb allele in Drosophila is an interband deletion between salivary band 3C5, 6 and 7. Heterozygosity for the deletion does not suppress recombination between faswb and mutant sites at Notch adjacent to it.--Df(1)w67k30, deficient for salivary bands 3C2 to 6, is the left of faswb. By crossing over within the homologous bit of interband retained in w67k30 and faswb, the two deficiencies can be linked. Cytologically, 3C7, "fused" to 3C5,6 in faswb, becomes "fused" to 3C1 when the two are coupled. In the double deletion, the recessive visible phenotype of the faswb "allele* is suppressed. Both w67k30 and faswb can be recovered by uncoupling the two deficiencies.--The data suggest that the mutant faswb does not represent a lesion at Notch; the entire gene or locus seems to be present. The interband deletion in faswb has secondarily moved an intact Notch locus to a foreign environment that interferes with its normal function. When faswb is linked to w67k30, the interference is eliminated and normal Notch functions resume.--The position of Notch on the salivary gland chromosome is reviewed in relation to the information obtained in these experiments.


A method for fate mapping the foci of lethal and behavioral mutants in Drosophila melanogaster.

A new method of mosaic fate mapping, called focusing, is introduced. Its advantages are that it allows a mapping, on the blastoderm surface, of the site of action of functions defined by either pre-adult lethal or behavioral mutations. Moreover, it does not require that the mosaics used be 50% of one genotype and 50% of the other. Methods for quantitative evaluation of the results of focusing, and a comparison of this method with others, are discussed.--Focusing is applied to the analysis of a new mutant, doomed (symbol: dmd), a distally located X-linked recessive in D. melanogaster, that causes the deaths of males and females around the time of eclosion. The dmd phenotype among eclosing flies is first seen as the loss of thoracic motor coordination and as ether sensitivity. Fate mapping by the method of focusing places the site of action of the dmd+ function in the same region of the map as that of the thoracic neural ganglia primordia, but not that of muscle, suggesting the possibility that the effect of dmd is on a thoracic neural function rather than a muscular one.