Maternal-fetal relation. Absence of an immunologic blocking factor from the serum of women with chronic abortions.

We investigated an immunologic mechanism that might explain the apparent "tolerant" state of the mother during pregnancy. Cellular-immune reactivity in vitro to paternal alloantigens was demonstrated in multigravid women by production of lymphocyte migration inhibitory factor. Serum from normal multigravid women contained a factor that blocked production of migration inhibitory factor by maternal lymphocytes to paternal antigens in a specific manner. The blocking factor was an IgG antibody whose activity was removed by absorption with paternal lymphocytes but not with pooled human platelets. We tested the biologic importance of this blocking factor in women who have difficulty maintaining a normal term pregnancy. Our observations indicate that women who experience idiopathic spontaneous abortions produce lymphocyte migration inhibitory factor to paternal alloantigens, but their serums lack the blocking factor. The presence of the serum blocking factor during pregnancy may contribute to the success of the fetus as an allograft.


Perfusion nephropathy in human transplants.

To determine whether perfusion preservation affected the structure and survival of kidney transplants, we correlated clinical and histologic data in 77 kidneys biopsied one hour after transplantation. Twenty-one of 36 perfusion-preserved kidneys had a glomerular capillary lesion suggestive of intravascular coagulation. None of 41 kidneys preserved by hypothermia alone had this lesion. Presence of the lesion did not correlate with donor or recipient characteristics, warm or cold ischemia time, HLA match, percentage of preformed lymphocytotoxic antibody titers or perfusion characteristics. Of 21 transplants with the lesion, nine required nephrectomy by one month, and one-month serum creatinine was less than 2.0 mg per deciliter in only three of the remaining 12 transplants. We conclude that perfusion preservation may cause pathologic changes that may adversely affect kidney-transplant function. The causes of the pathologic process remain unclear.


Lake sediments as indicators of heavy-metal pollution.

Heavy metals are one of the most toxic forms of environmental pollutants, constituting a threat both to aquatic life and the quality of drinking water. By analyzing lake sediments, it is possible to determine the provenance, distribution, extent, and also the possible hazards of metal contamination. Sedimentary cores, in particular, provide the means for evaluating the different influences from natural and civilizational sources; they represent a historical record of the metal accumulations which have taken place during the past decades as a result of population growth and industrial development.


Studies on specific humoral immunity in leukemia.

The paper concerns some results in studies on humoral immunity in human and animal leukemia obtained in author's laboratory (1970-1974). The data presented here disclose immunological mechanisms of mice viral leukemogenesis (cytotoxic and blocking antibodies interrelations). The existence of specific humoral immune response in acute leukemia patients was established (immunoglobulins with the properties of antibodies were revealed in 42.6% of patients). Different forms of specific humoral immunity manifestations in different types of leukemia were distinguished (areactive, nonspecific, cytotoxic, blocking and mixed forms.


Realization of genetic information programming the synthesis of pepsinogen-pepsin in the mucous membrane and tumors of the stomach in man.

Up to 19--20 fractions of separate RNA species and groups have been revealed in malignant tumors of the stomach and mucous membrane of patients with stomach cancer, ulcer and polyposis of the stomach by means of the method of analytical and preparative electrophoresis in 2.5% polyacrylamide gel. A more intensive incorporation of 14C uridine both into the nuclear and separate fractions of cytoplasmic RNA was observed in stomach tumors in comparison with the stomach mucous membrane of man. Pepsinogen-pepsin was synthesized by bound polysoms of the stomach mucous membrane. In stomach malignant tumors of man the polysomes were not capable of synthesizing this enzyme. Fractions of messenger RNA with sedimentation constants 16S-17S, possessing the ability to stimulate pepsinogen-pepsin synthesis in vitro, have been isolated from cytoplasmic RNA of a pig stomach mucous membrane.


[A case of hemangioblastoma associated with spina bifida occulta, persistent metopic suture, thyroid adenocarcinoma, vertebro-occipital anastomosis and erythrocytosis (author's transl)].

We presented a case of hemangioblastoma associated with spina bifida occulta, persistent metopic suture, thyroid adenocarcinoma, vertebro-occipital anastomosis and erythrocytosis. We have not found a hemangioblastoma with these associations, as far as we have seen in the literature. 36-year-old male was admitted with complaints of nausea, vomiting and ataxic gait in June, 1970. On admission, the examination revealed no evidence of increased intracranial pressure except for elevated CSF pressure by lumbar puncture and incoordination. The peripheral blood count disclosed slight erythrocythemia. Vertebral angiography revealed a vascular lesion of 2.0 cm in diameter situated almost in the midline of caudal cerebellum receiving its blood supply from the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery. In addition, a right vertebro-occipital anastomosis was visualized. Plain reoentgenograms showed persistent metopic suture and spina bifida occulta of C 5 - 6. After admission, installation of Ommaya reservoir and decompressive suboccipital craniectomy were performed, and a thyroid papillary adenocarcinoma was totally removed. After discharge, he had been well for two years until a month previously to the second admission, when he commenced to have again headache, nausea, and vomiting with ataxic gait. Vertebral angiography showed the tumor enlarged in size measuring 4.0 X 5.0 cm and the tumor stain was more irregular and less homogenous than 3 years before. Brain scan revealed an increased uptake in the midline of the posterior fossa. After readmission, in April, 1973, he gradually developed dysphagia, disturbance of articulation and inactivity of mentality and died from pneumonia in October, 1974. Autopsy revealed a vascular tumor originated from the medial portion of the right cerebellum and the tumor showed multiple cyst formation in the rostral part in contrast to the caudal solid mass. Histologically the tumor tissue was composed of capillaries supported by fine argyrophilic fibers, large clear interstitial cells containing lipid granules and hemosiderin pigment. Carcinoma of the right lobe of the thyroid was found with metastasis to the bone marrow, lungs and anterior cervical lymphnodes and lymphnodes at the left supraclavicular angle. Bone marrow showed marked erythropoiesis. The case reported here provides an evidence to suggest that there is more than a random relationship between hemangioblastoma, dysraphic state and thyroid carcinoma. The other association, the vertebrooccipital anastomosis may result from the enhanced demand of blood supply by hemangioblastoma but this speculation needs further examination.


Olfacto-genital dysplasia in the female.

The clinical syndrome of OGD in the female is displayed as hypogonadism and most commonly type I hyposmia ("anosmia"). The main pathologic findings are absence of the olfactory bulbs and tracts, hypoplasia of the hypothalamus, a normal pituitary gland, and normal appearing, although unstimulated, ovaries. The syndrome of OGD may be considered as an attenuated form of holoprosencephaly. Various facial abnormalities have been observed in patients with OGD and their families. Thorough neurologic examination may reveal other abnormalities. In the majority of cases the etiology of OGD is not known; however, among about one-fourth of the females, other members of the family exhibit either OGD or anosmia, implying a genetic basis. In this familial form of OGD some pedigrees suggest an X-chromosomal pattern and others, an autosomal inheritance pattern. Although hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is usually considered the only endocrinologic abnormality, stimulatory test of pituitary and hypothalamic function may reveal poor responses of growth hormone. ACTH, prolactin, and possibly MSH. The administration of LRH has shown varying pituitary gonadotropin responses, implying, in some instances, an associated pituitary malfunction. However, these observations may be the result of variations in technic and, therefore, further data are necessary to clarify this issue. Cyclic estrogen and progestin administration stimulates secondary sexual sex characteristics. Exogenous gonadotropins are capable of stimulating ovarian steroidogenesis and, in most patients, inducing ovulation. Thre pregnancies have been reported.


Rupture of the liver associated with pregnancy: a review of the literature and report of 2 cases.

Spontaneous rupture of the liver associated with pregnancy is a rare and grave complication. The maternal mortality is 59 per cent, the fetal mortality 62 per cent. The only hope of salvage is recognition of the characteristic signs and symptoms with prompt surgical intervention. Eighty-nine cases are reviewed and two cases are added, one in the puerperium who died, and a second, a primigravida who survived but who had residual hypertension.


Production of experimental toxemia in the pregnant dog.

The aortas of 14 pregnant bitches were treated 1 to 3 weeks before term, producing a stricture that reduced the lumen from an average normal of 7-11 mm to 2.1 mm in diameter. Nine animals developed hypertension, 3 had significant proteinuria, and 1 had fluid retention. Light microscopy revealed moderate or severe glomerular lesions in 9 animals characterized by endotlial cell swelling, mesangial cell proliferation, and focal basement membrane thickening; electron microscopy revealed mesangial enlargement and electron-dense deposits. Immunofluorescence with rabbit anti-dog fibrinogen showed glomerular deposition of fibrinogen or its breakdown products in 11 of 12 cases so studied. Focal necrosis was seen in the liver in 5 cases, and diffuse hemorrhagic infarction of the placenta was present in all animals. None of these changes was found in nonpregnant or in sham-operated controls.


On the characteristics of acetylene-oxygen flames used in dental casting.

In a specially designed casting and gas measuring equipment the melting process used in dentistry for Co-Cr alloys using the acetylene-oxygen flame as heating source were investigated. The influence of different gas mixtures in the flame and different crucible temperatures on: 1. The temperature increase in the alloy. 2. The melting time of the alloy. 3. The temperature in the alloy when all the metal has melted and forms the spherical shape--the Bull's eye stage. 4. The melting time when different amounts of alloy were used in the melt. 5. The temperature increase and melting time when flux are used. 6. Different distances between the torch and the alloy. were studied. The results showed that the melting process is mainly governed by the heating effect and the chemical character of the parts of the flame used and also on the initial temperature of the crucible.


Influence of different types of acetylene-oxygen flames on the carbon content of a dental Co-Cr alloy.

The influence of different acetylene-oxygen flames on the carbon content of a dental cobalt-chromium alloy, type A, was studied under standardised casting conditions. The alloy was cast, both immediately after the formation of the Bull's eye and after prolonging the melting time. Further, the effect of re-casting, varying the amount of alloy casted and using different  sections of the same acetylene-oxygen flame when melting was studied. The results showed on the one hand that the chemical character of the section of flame used and not the gasmixture as such determined the carbon content of the casting, and on the other that the acetylene-oxygen flames can increase but not decrease the carbon content in the casting. Increase of the carbon content of a cobalt-chromium alloy causes a considerable change in its microstructure.


Immunocompetence of pinealectomized and simultaneously pinealectomized and thymectomized rats.

The cellular and antibody-mediated immune responsiveness was studied in adult rats which had the pineal and/or the thymus gland removed within 36 hours after birth. The immunolgical parameters measured were: Skin graft rejection, haemolytic plaque formation, and haemagglutinating antibody formation in response to sheep red blood cells and the stimulation of lymphoid cells from the spleen by phytohaemagglutinin in lipopolysaccharide. The removal of the pineal gland had little effect on the degree of immunocompetence in normal or immunosuppressed animals. In some of the immunological tests an accelerated response was observed, which suggests that lymphoid cells from pinealectomized or pinealectomized-thymectomized animals proliferate more rapidly upon contact with antigen or mitogen. This accelerated cell proliferation, unlike the immunodepression of the host, could explain the enhanced growth of transplantable tumors observed in pinealectomized animals.


Possible mechanisms of combination effects in chemical carcinogenesis.

In order to understand variations in thresholds to chemical carcinogens, it is important to appreciate, besides the genetic determinants, those many environmental factors which are at play, at all times, modifying the thresholds for chemical carcinogenesis. An understanding of the mechanisms of action of these factors may make it possible to tackle the difficult problem of determining human threshold levels.


Cancer in humans: exposures and responses in a real world.

Cancer causation in humans is at least a three-dimensional problem too often viewed from only two dimensions, especially as far as the two-dimensional results (dose versus response) of cancer induction tests in animals are viewed. The expression of a cancer represents a critical convergence of additional factors in the third dimension which include metabolic variables, many of which may involve secondary mechanisms. Many of these mechanisms are involved in the causation pattern of cancer in humans and can be expected to operate within the dose-response considerations observed in the fields of toxicology and pharmacology. The expression of critical reactions of cells in relatively unprotected tissues may occur more readily after exposures involving fewer molecules of one "carcinogen" as compared to another "carcinogen". Results from animal tests may have limited human relevance in some instances and detract us from consideration of the more fundamental factors involved in the etiology of human cancer. A precipitous rush to "zero tolerances" for all animal carcinogens may impair our efforts to prevent the worst "causes" of cancer induction in humans.


Brass intraocular foreign body: early intervention and combined surgical approach.

The rapid development of suppurative reaction in response to a copper-containing intraocular foreign body disposes the eye to a poor prognosis. An intraocular brass foreign body case involving cornea, iris, lens, vitreous and retina was satisfactorily managed by early foreign body removal and corneal transplantation followed by scleral buckling for retinal detachment. Early intervention is advocated as alternative management with expectation of improvement in the prognosis for recovery of useful visual function.


The salivary secretions in health and disease.

The potential usefulness of analysis of the salivary secretions in diagnosis and prognosis is beginning to be explored in depth. The preliminary work already undertaken indicates that modern methods applied to this secretion may provide information that is different from that obtained in other body fluids. Saliva is collected at the point of its manufacture and, therefore, is unaffected by collection or storage in the body. It is the product both of protein synthesis within the glands and of most of the known water and electrolyte exchange mechanisms. Salivary composition is affected by both autonomic and hormonal stimuli. As the specific influence of each of these factors is better understood, studies of this fluid will provide important clues to the understanding of disease and the evaluation of therapy. There are few places in the body where it is possible directly, utilizing a non-invasive technique, to examine the product of a large number of important biological processes. It is obvious that careful handling of collection and analytic techniques are essential if these secretions are to be utilized. Future investigations in clinical situations should take full advantage of the strong base of knowledge of the physiology of these glands. Development of this field depends on careful clinical investigations designed to make full use of our current knowledge.


Reticulum-cell sarcoma of the mandible.

A case of reticulum-cell sarcoma of the mandible is presented. This case is of interest because a secondary primary malignancy was diagnosed in a patient with Hodgkin's disease and a localized osteomyelitis. If reticulum-cell sarcoma of bone, which is highly radiosensitive, is diagnosed at an early stage, the 5-year survival rate has been reported at 73 per cent when treated by irradiation; radical surgery is not indicated.


[Acute urological management of children with myelomeningocele (author's transl)].

A summary on the possibilities of urological investigations of patients with myelomeningocele during the first days of life shows, that the i.v. Pyelography, the mictiurationcystourethrogram and the cystosphincteromanography are suitable techniques for early detection of obstructive uropathy. From these investigations the indecations for proper operative techniques can be derived.


[Dynamic study of osmotic resistance of red cells in sickle cell anemia (author's transl)].

A study of the osmotic resistance of red cells from normal subjects (AA), patients with the sickle cell trait (heterozygous subjects) (AS) and homozygous subjects (SS) was carried out using a dynamic automatic micro-method: Danon's fragiligraph, permitting one to obtain simultaneous recording of cumulative and derivative curves of the hemolytic process. 15 samples of red cells of each of the three categories were studied. Fragiligrams obtained from SS red cells showed that they became hemolysed later and in a more progressive fashion than the normal red cells AA. The AS red cells occupied an intermediate position. 5 samples of each category of red cells were studied after various times of incubation in the presence of a reducing substance (sodium metabisulphite). It was shown that the red cells containing hemoglobin S were still more resistant to osmotic hemolysis when hemoglobin was in the deoxygenated form and this proportional to the quantity of deoxygenated hemoglobin, without the brutal process of sickling producing any special modification in the shape of the curve. The role of the membrane is considered.


[Pancreatic secretion in rats. A comparative study of basal and stimulated secretions in acute and chronic fistula conditions (author's transl)].

Two types of pancreatic fistulas were directly compared in Wistar rats, to define more accurately the differences between collecting pancreatic juice under anesthesia (acute fistula) and in awake restrained animals (chronic fistula). Basal outputs of water, bicarbonate and total protein were about then times larger in chronic than in acute animals; they could be larger than the maximal secretory rate in anaesthetized rats. As a corollary, the chronic preparation was less sensitive to ecbolic and hydrelatic stimulations, with respect to basal levels. It is concluded that chronic fistula rats display a highly stimulated state of pancreatic secretion, probably due to the potentiation of several neurohumoral factors. Whatever this stimulation originates from, it renders the model less suitable for studies on ancreatic stimulating agents. On the contrary, anaesthetized rats displayed a low secretion more responsive to stimulating agents.


[Transient acanthocytosis in a patient with liver cirrhosis. Study of red cell and plasma lipids (author's transl)].

The authors report a case of major acanthocytosis which regressed spontaneously in a cirrhotic patient. The usual lipid abnormalities: considerable rise in free red cell cholesterol and lesser rise in phospholipid, regressed concommitantly to the disappearance of acanthocytes. No change in the main liver function tests was, however, observed. The etiological mechanisms of acanthocytosis in cirrhosis are probably multiple, and their interactions are compplex. The exchange of abnormal lipoproteins between the plasma and the red cell membrane is the last theory to be considered. On the other hand, no argument could explain the disappearance of the acanthocytosis, this phenomenon is considered up to now irreversible and a sign of the gravity of hepatic lesions.


[Cytological classification of adult acute leukemia (author's transl)].

134 cases of acute leukemia in adults were classified according a "double blind" cytological diagnosis, a cytochemical study, and lysozyme assay. Each type has distinct characters, allowing a good nosological definition. The histochemical methods, as well as lysozyme assay are usually unnecessary, particularly in well differenciated myeloblastic, promyelocytic or myelo-monocytic acute leukemia. They are, on the contrary, frequently useful in poorly differenciated myeloblastic or monoblastic leukemia. But, they cannot help to solve every problem in cytological diagnosis: there are still 10% of undifferenciated acute leukemia, the lymphoblastic acute leukemia are not clearly defined and 4% of cases of acute leukemia have atypical characters leading to difficulties in cytological classification. The need for new methods and markers is emphasized.


[Action of pyridinol carbamate on hetero-immune Masugi nephritis in the rat (author's transl)].

Pyridinol-carbamate (P.C.) is a new substance with various properties including an anti-inflammatory (anti-kinin) and an antiplatelet aggregation activity. Since a coagulation process has been demonstrated in Masugi nephritis in Rats, we investigated the effect of P.C. in this experimental model. P.C. (150 mg/kg/day) was given orally from day 1 to day 28. It prevented partially the G.N.: proteinuria was significantly lower than in nephritic untreated animals with a reduction of seromucoid blood levels and B.U.N. Histological examination revealed that glomerular injury was limited in treated animals specially with regards to G.B.M. alterations and deposits.


[Analysis of radio-isotope tests "in vivo" and "in vitro" in the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Statistical study of parameters obtained from routine investigations in normal and hyperthyroid subjects (author's transl].

Considering recent progress which permits routine direct estimation of circulating iodinated hormones, classical investigations based on plasma iodine fractions (PBI 127, BEI 127, 127 IH) must be considered out of date for the routine diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. The best possible approach for the detection of hyperthyroidism by radio-isotope tests in vitro consists of associating a determination of the free thyroxine index and tri-iodothyronine. Certain types of hyperthyroidism, mainly in the goup of toxic adenomas, escape this detection in vitro, and justify the use of conventional in vivo tests whenever this diagnosis is suspected.


[The role of thrombosis in renal allograft rejection (author's transl)].

Platelets and intravascular coagulation are involed in the pathogenesis of renal allotransplant rejection phenomena: fibrin deposition is a prominent feature of hyperacute rejection; arteriolar microthromboses when they are present, worsen the prognosis of an acute reversible rejection; the organisation of platelets and fibrin deposits on the intima may lead to the "endarteritis obilterans" of chronic bascular rejection. The interactions between endothelium, platelets, coagulation, fibrinolysis and cellular or humoral effectors of the immune respone were studied and special reference was made to their role in vascular rejection. The poor prognosis in vasuclar lesions justifies therapeutic trials with drugs inhibiting the early events of thrombogenesis.


Indirect immunofluorescent identification of Acanthamoeba causing meningoencephalitis.

The majority of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis cases in man have been caused by Naegleria, although three new cases have been identified due to Acanthamoeba. These cases showed a somewhat chronic course and death occurred 2 to 6 weeks after onset. The etiological agent in two cases was identified as belonging to the group of A. castellanii and the third case was identified as due to A. culbertsoni. The identification was performed post-mortem.


[Kinetic study of human lymphocytes transformation in culture by lectin from Pisum sativum (author's transl)].

Some vegetable extract have haemagglutinating activity and are able to transform lymphocytes in culture. The comparative activities of lectin from Pisum sativum and other lectins already used (phytohaere shown. This lectin can be isolated in a highly purified form which is described. Purification of the human blood lymphocytes is obtained through nylon columns and measurement of transformation and proliferation by means of 3 H thymidine incorporation. Normal lymphocyte stimulation can be obtained within a range of concentrations of stimulants can be obtained within a range of concentrations of stimulants and the curves with PHA or lectin from Pisum show a peak of blastogenic activity. The activity of lectin from Pisum sativum was studied in this way on blood cultures of 8 chronic lymphocytic leukaemias and 5 immunodeficient patients. It appeared that lectin from Pisum and PHA have the same activity. The response of human peripheral lymphocytes to various mitogenic agents in vitro does not point out the proliferative abnormal cell and may not be used to detect different populations of human lymphocytes.


[Degree of granularity of the atrial cardiocytes. Morphometric study in rats subjected to different types of water and sodium load (author's transl)].

Morphometric analysis was applied to the evaluation of the atrial cardiocytes specific granules, in rats subjected to different types of water and sodium load. In control animals, the right atrium is more granulated than the left one and the interauricular septum. Ipsilateral atrium and auricle have the same index of granularity. Five types of water and sodium load were tested - I. Full water restriction - II. Sodium restriction with normal water intake - III. Controls - IV. Sodium overloading - V. Sodium and Doca overloading. From groups I to V, the index of granularity decreases progressively. The same phenomenon does not appear in the left atrium, except for the group II (sodium restriction) whose index is higher (p less than 0.001) than in the other groups. These data are not incompatible with the existence of a relationship between the presence of atrial specific granules and the atrial volosensitivity. An analogy between these cells and the myopithelioid cells of the juxtaglomerular apparatus is then suggested.


Positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) and right to left shunting in immature goats.

Immature fetal goats were exteriorized by caesarean section and catheters were placed in a pulmonary vein (PV), carotid artery (CA), femoral artery (FA), and the main pulmonary artery (PA). The goats were ventilated at 7.5 and 15 cm H20 positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) between control periods at 0 PEEP. Right to left shunting (Qs/Qt) was calculated for three anatomic sites: lung, foramen ovale, and ductus arteriosus, and for two summation shunts: preductal and total. Total Qs/Qt increased in 8 of 14 animals at 7.5 cm H2O PEEP and in 7 of 12 animals at 15 cm H2O PEEP. Intrapulmonary shunting increased in only one experiment. The increase in total Qs/Qt resulted from elevated extrapulmonary shunting, always including the ductus arteriosus. The variation in response to PEEP was from animal to animal and not from one level to another within one animal. Changes in total Qs/Qt on PEEP did not correlate with the size of control Qs/Qt at any site.


The paradoxical effect of adrenergic and methylxanthine drugs in cystic fibrosis.

This study examined the effect of aerosolized isoproterenol and oral theophylline on pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis (CF) to determine how often these drugs are beneficial and whether there is a correlation between response to isoproterenol and response to oral theophylline. After obtaining baseline pulmonary function tests before and after isoproterenol aerosol, 12 patients with CF were put on a double-blind trial of high-dosage theophylline (10 mg/kg three times per day) or placebo for four weeks and were then switched to the alternate regimen for the next four weeks. Patients had weekly evaluations of pulmonary function and plasma theophylline determinations. Gastrointestinal side effects were common with theophylline. The responses to aerosolized bronchodilators were inconsistent from week to week. After aerosolized bronchodilator, five of 12 patients had an average increase of 10% or more in FEF45%-55% and FEF70%-80%. While taking oral theophylline, five patients had a 10% or more decrease in FEF 45%-55% and six patients had a decrease in FEF70%-80%. We conclude that there was no concordance between response to isoproterenol and theophylline, and that adrenergic and methylxanthine drugs must be used with caution in patients with CF.


Anxiety and perceptual articulation.

The study investigated Witkin's suggestion that low manifest anxiety is associated with relatively high perceptual articulation, whereas high anxiety is associated with relatively low perceptual articulation. Previous research typically has not provided adequate control for subjects' IQ; therefore, results may have been confounded by differences in subjects' ability. The study attempted to clarify the relationship between state and trait anxiety and perceptual articulation when IQ was controlled for 60 female subjects, who fell within a predetermined IQ range and were blocked into low, moderate and high A-Trait groups. Half of each group was assigned to either low or high ego-involving conditions. All subjects completed the Embedded-figures Test, Gestalt Completion and Concealed Words Test. Contrary to Witkin, the study yielded no significant relationship between anxiety and perceptual articulation.


Effects of imipramine and methylphenidate on perceptual-motor performance of hyperactive children.

Perceptual-motor effects of imipramine and methylphenidate were evaluated in a double-blind study of 47 hyperactive children. No effects were found for imipramine, although methylphenidate improved performance on several tests. Improvement due to methylphenidate was not related to base-line scores. A discriminant function was computed to compare baseline perceptual-motor scores of the hyperactive and 41 normal children. Only half of the hyperactive children were clearly discriminated from normal children by the discriminant function. The digit-span test, which was not sensitive to methylphenidate, effectively discriminated hyperactive from normal children.


Anxiety reduction associated with meditation: home study.

The effects of a new meditation technique were investigated; 159 A.R.E. members were randomly assigned either to a treatment or control group with the former learning the new technique using a home-study workbook manual and the latter continuing their customary meditational techniques. Analysis of variance (repeated measures) was used to compare group means of the scale scores yielded by two instruments, the IPAT Anxiety Scale (Self-analysis Form) and the Mooney Problem Check List, Adult Form (Mooney & Gordon, 1950). Unlike the control group, the treatment group reported highly significant reduction on the IPAT Anxiety Scale scores after 28 days of meditating with the new approach but no significant differences were found on the check list variables for either the treatment or control group. Implications of the findings for mental health professionals (psychiatrists, clinical and counseling psychologists) are briefly discussed.


Field-dependence and stability of self-view.

Contrary to Witkin's opinion, field-dependent individuals are expected to show higher stability of self-view than field-independent individuals. 73 Belgian second-year university students were submitted to the Group Embedded Figures Test. The Five Personality Factor Test measuring extraversion, friendliness, emotional instability, conscientiousness and general culture, was administered to each student for self-description (self-report) and to both parents for description of the student (mother's report and father's report). The decrease of correlation between self-report and parent's report as a function of the degree of student's field-independence supports the author's hypothesis. Results are interpreted in terms of closer attention of field-independent individuals to relevant cues.


Effects of transcendental meditation on fine motor skill.

46 college female volunteers were given 66 10-sec. trials on the pursuit rotor task in 3 practice sessions (18, 30, and 18 trials/sessions). After the first 18 trials, the 23 subjects who were practiced Transcendental Meditators mediated for a 20-min. period followed by a 5-min. "waking" phase prior to the performance of a further 30 trials on the rotor. A 4-min. rest was taken before resuming practice for the final 18 trials. The other 23 subjects, who were not meditators, followed the same procedures except instead of mediating they sat quietly with closed eyes. In terms of performance, learning, reminiscence and intra-individual variability, the two groups were similar. These results were not in accordance with the expectations that these parameters would reflect the facilitative effects of Transcendental Meditation on alertness, awareness, consistency, and resistance to stress. After the meditation session, inter-individual variability was increased for the mediation group. While the conclusion that the practice of Transcendental Meditation does not benefit acquisition of fine perceptual-motor skill appears strong, further investigation would assist in obtaining a more complete understanding of such effects on perceptual-motor behavior.


The occurrence of a "SME"-defect-like abnormality in the head of spermatozoa from a Norwegian Landrace boar.

A spermhead-defect appearing in 15-20 per cent of the spermatozoa from a Norwegian Landrace boar with a slightly impaired fertility was studied in light and electron microscope. The defect had the shape of a circumferential, somewhat elevated area containing a cystic structure located within the nucleus. In some of the sections observed in electron microscope a communication could be found between the cyst and the acrosome, indicating that a deviating development of the latter could be involved in the formation of the defect. In some spermatozoa the occurrence of the cyst was combined with the presence of an apical defect of the acrosome. From ultrastructural studies of spermatids the development of the cystic defect was found to have reached a rather advanced stage early in the acrosome-phase of the spermateliosis. As a whole the observations correspond very well with those made in connection with the socalled "SME"-defect first found in a Danish Landrace boar.


Differences between enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from neonatal E. coli diarrhoea (N.C.D.) and post weaning diarrhoea (P.W.D.) in pigs.

Significant differences have been proved between strains of E. coli isolated from neonatal E. coli diarrhoea (N.C.D.) and post weaning diarrhoea (P.W.D.). The biochemical differences were pronounced in the criteria sucrose, dulcitol, adonitol and urease when comparing the total number of strains from the two syndromes. However, adonitol positive strains were only found among strains of the serogroup O 149:K91(B) of which all the N.C.D.. strains were positive and only 8 of the 86 P.W.D. strains were adonitol fermenters. The dominant fermentation pattern of the N.C.D. strains were sucrose--, dulcitol--, urease--. Contrary the P.W.D. strains were sucrose +, dulcitol +, and 56.6 per cent urease + (Table III). In the possible plasmid determined characters significant differences were found in the ability to produce the K88 antigen and the colicins. The K88 antigen was demonstrated in 97.9 per cent of the N.C.D. strains and 6.2 per cent of the P.W.D. strains whereas 40.6 and 79.6% respectively were colicinogenic. In the serogroup O 149:K91(B) 90.7% of the P.W.D. strains and 47.6% of the N.C.D. strains produced colicins (Table V). The impairment of these features in the pathogenesis of neonatal E. coli diarrhoea, post weaning diarrhoea and the possible causality of the domination of the serogroup O 149:K91(B) is discussed. Furthermore it seems justified to relate the syndrome designation to the serotype of porcine enteropathogenic E. coli strains as it will be difficult to compare strains described from different research workers.


A shortcut method for estimation of Escherichia coli in Sewage and receiving water.

A simplified method not yet widespread in Scandinavia for the assessment of E. coli in sewage and recipients with McConkey broth for 24 hours at 44 degrees C is recommended. 87 pairs of samples were examined at 37 degrees C and later at 44 degrees C, and directly at 44 degrees C. Also the reduction of the incubation time from 48 to 24 hours was studied. Direct incubation gave a loss of half a tube per sample, while shortening of the incubation period from 48 to 24 hours gave a smaller loss. The proposed alteration of the procedure for the examination of sewage and recipients means a slight loss of precision but this is more than compensated for by the possibility of examining more samples. The survey of the recipients can therefore be better and the control more effective.


[Isolation of Campylobacter fetus in two herds of sheep in Sweden (author's transl)].

In two herds of sheep with numerous abortions Campylobacter fetus subspecies intestinalis was isolated from fetuses, fetal membranes, and faecal specimens. In herd A, with good hygiene, 12 ewes out of 250 aborted. In herd B, with poor hygiene, 54 out of 171 ewes aborted and 14 of them died; for a further 9 ewes the lambs died postnatally. The clinical course in both herds shows that proper supervision and possibilities of prompt isolation of aborting ewes can substantially reduce the spread of infection within the herd. The isolated strains of C. fetus subsp. intestinalis were catalase-positive, did not grow in deep culture on 0.5% semisolid agar, reduced nitrate, did not grow in 3,5% NaCl, but grew in 1% ox bile and 1% glycine. All the strains were negative with respect to H2S production on TSI but positive on lead-acetate strips. In serological tests, positive agglutination titres were demonstrated only in aborting ewes from herd B. Positive titres were also demonstrated in a ram from the same herd.


[Cyclophosphamide-vincristine-prednisone combination in the treatment of lympho- and reticulosarcomas in adults (60 cases)].

60 patients with non Hodgkin's lymphomas were treated with a CVP induction regimen, either alone (stage IV) or in combination with radiotherapy (stages I, II, III). The response rates for lymphocytic and histiocytic lymphomas were 80 and 86%. The complete remission rates were 68 and 71% with a median duration respectively of 13 and 5.5 months. Nodular types did respond better than diffuse both in lymphocytic (CR rate 85% vs 44%; median duration 24 months +, vs 2.5) and histiocytic lymphoma (CR rate 100% vs 0%). In lymphocytic lymphomas, survival in the responding group was 90% at 24 months, vs 20% only in the non responding group (median survival 14.5 months). In the group with nodular lymphocytic lymphoma responding to therapy, there was a 100% survival rate at 24 months. The median survival for patients treated with chemotherapy alone (stage IV) and not responding to therapy, was 22 months, vs 14.5 months in the whole non responder group (stages I, II, III, IV) suggesting a detrimental effect of radiotherapy in the non responding group. In histiocytic lymphomas, the median survivals were respectively 19 months and 3 months in the responding and non responding groups. These results corroborate the excellent efficacy of the CVP regimen. They also indicate that, faced to a CVP induction, 2 major prognosis factors are the histologic type and the nature of the response to therapy.


[Polycystic kidney treated by iterative hemodialysis and kidney transplantation. 25 cases].

Between January 1968 and December 1975, 25 patients (13 men and 12 women) were treated in the dialysis and transplantation unit of the Brugmann Hospital for terminal renal insufficiency secondary to polycystic disease. Nine patients (36%) underwent repeated surgery in order to ensure adequate successful vascular access for haemodialysis, whilst only 14.1% of patients suffering from renal insifficiency of another cause had to undergo operation on more than one occasion in order to be treated. In the majority of cases vasospasm was responsible for the obliteration of internal or external arterio-venous shunts. It was particularly common in women with a normal or low blood pressure. In this group, 3/4 of the patients needed several operations in order to make dialysis possible. Fourteen patients underwent bilateral nephrectomy. One death occurred in a patient who had received a renal transplant during the same operation. Fifteen kidney grafts were carried out and percentages of functional transplants at one and two years were 45.4 and 37.8% respectively. These poor results may be explained by the fact that 13 of our 15 patients were aged more than 40 years.


Psychiatric aspects of chronic renal disease.

Life-extending treatment for end-stage renal disease is now accepted standard procedure when feasible. The spectrum of treatable patients is expanding to include many with serious emotional problems. This expansion places an added burden on staff and patient alike, as the stresses produced often cause significiant dysphoria even in the patient who is well integrated emotionally. Psychiatric morbidity must be expected and managed as well as circumstacnes will allow. As in most other human endeavors, patients who are likely to be successful are the fortunate few who can adapt to difficult and chronic stresses, undergo positive emotional experiences, and have a supportive family, satisfying work, solid identity, and comfortable self-esteem--in short, those with good mental health. The discussion speculates on personality or life-experience variables that might have prognostic usefulness.


Urinary tract infections in children and adolescents.

Recent advances in the understanding of urinary tract anatomy, function, and disease should lead to a reassessment of the clinical approach to urinary tract infection. Many traditional concepts must be seriously questioned in light of new information. These include the belief that pyuria or "typical" signs and symtoms are diagnostic. Diagnosis depends on detection of persistent bacteriuria by careful screening and culture of properly collected uring specimens. Once diagnosis is confirmed, oral administration of a single antibiotic for ten days is usually effective. Patients with suspected pyelonephritis or with recurrent or unresponsive urinary tract infection should be treated with two antibiotics. Success of treatment must always be confirmed by culture after discontinuance of therapy. In all cases, follow-up every one to two months should continue until the patients have remained free of infection for a period of one year. Refractory cases may require radiologic study and referral to a urologist.


Betahistine hydrochloride in Méniére's disease.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical trial was performed to assess the effect of betahistine hydrochloride (Serc) in Ménière's disease. The diagnosis was based on paroxysmal attacks of rotational vertigo, with tinnitus, and a fluctuating sensori-neural deafness, together with the results of auditory and vestigular tests. Twenty-eight patients were admitted to the trial over 3 years. Twenty-two patients completed the trial. In total, they received betahistine 32 mg daily, for a period of 16 weeks, and placebo also for the same length of time, preceded in every case by a 4-week pre-treatment period. Daily symptom score cards were kept. There was a statistically significant improvement in favour of the drug with regard to vertigo, tinnitus and deafness. Vertigo was the most responsive symptom. No adverse reactions were observed.


The involvement of serotonin in the mechanism of central action of apomorphine.

The paper reviews and summarizes the results obtained in a series of experimental papers on the action of apomorphine on central serotonin mechanisms. Apomorphine accelerates utilization of serotonin in the central nervous system, this effect being a consequence of stimulation of central dopamine receptors. The activation of serotonergic mechanisms may be responsible for the hypothermizing action of apomorphine in rats and mice, pi modulates the locomotor stimulation produced by apomorphine in the rat, and does not influence the apomorphine-induced stereotypy in the rat.


[Pulmonary, pleural and pericardial manifestations of rickettsiosis].

The authors report four observations of rickettsioses with R. conori (3 cases) or R. mooseri (1 case) with pericardial, pleural or pulmonary manifestations (2 cases). On this occasion, they recall that diagnosis of rickettsiosis can only be made on precise conditions: compatible clinical syndrome, significantly increasing then decreasing antibodies level, negative bacteriological and viral investigations and effectiveness of particular antibiotics. They also recall the main characteristics of pericardites, pleurisies, and pneumopathies produced by rickettsiae, probably more frequently than previously thought.


A double blind trial of gefarnate and placebo in the treatment of gastric ulcer.

Forty-five patients with chronic gastric ulcers were treated as out-patients in a double-blind comparison of gefarnate (geranyl farnesylacetate), 50 mg four times daily, with the same number of dummy capsules daily for five weeks. The mean percentage reduction in ulcer size assessed by radiography was 70-4 per cent in the gefarnate patients compared with 27-8 per cent in those receiving placebo capsules. This difference is statistically significant (p less than 0-05, with a two-tailed test). No change in the electrolyte balance occurred in any of the patients and no side-effects were reported. These results suggest that gefarnate promotes the healing of gastric ulcers in ambulant patients. Its apparent absence of side-effects makes it a safe ans useful drug.


Evaluation of an oral contraceptive containing only progestogen.

In the results from this series ethynodiol diacetate ("Femulen") was found to be a reliable and acceptable oral contraceptive with a decreased risk of severe side-effects. A review of oral contraception (Jackson, 1973) supports the view that the progestogen-only pill has a useful part to play in modern oral contraception.


[Control of cross infection in intensive care units].

Quantitative determinations of antibiotic susceptibility established that infections occurring in intensive care units were predominantly exogenous cross infections. The most frequently isolated strains were: Klebsiella, Enterobacteriaceae, Serratia marcescens and Proteus mirabilis. The majority of the strains showed multiple resistance. Despite adequate antibiotic therapy a number of patients died of the infection. Many of the methods of disinfection were found to be inadequate, especially as regarded washbasins, face flannels, ultrasound inhalers, respirators and other apparatus. The fact that many of the isolated strains are capable of multiplying in water is not receiving sufficient attention.


[Disinfection of the inspired and expired air during artificial respiration with humified gases].

The water in the nebulizer of respirators is a potential source of infection for patients receiving artificial respiration. Interposition of a special equipment that will produce ozone-free ultraviolet radiation will prevent infection of the patient by the inspired humidified air, even if the bacterial count in the nebulizer fluid is very high. Interposition of the same equipment on the expiratory side is also recommended to minimize the risk of infection of the environment by bacteria in the expired air.


Insulin release and phosphate ion efflux from rat pancreatic islets induced by L-leucine and its nonmetabolizable analogue, 2-aminobicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-carboxylic acid.

When isolated rat pancreatic islets that had been labeled with 32P were exposed to 10mM L-leucine in a microperifusion system, there was a transitory, immediate heightened efflux of [32P]phosphate ions. Commencement of the phosphate flush coincided with the first release of insulin, and it occurred in the absence or presence of nonstimulatory levels of glucose (0.5 mg/ml). The effects of leucine upon phosphate efflux were not inhibited by D-mannoheptulose, whereas glucose-induced stimulations were suppressed. The phosphate flush could be induced also by the nonmetabolizable analogue of leucine, 2-aminobicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-carboxylic acid. Like insulin release, the effect was stereospecific, with only one of the four stereoisomers, (-)-b-aminobicycloheptane carboxylic acid, being active. Analogue-induced phosphate and insulin release were totally suppressed in a medium containing D2O, but on reversion to H2O the efflux of both hormone and anion occured. It is concluded that insulin secretion from islet beta cells and the release of phosphate ions showed the same specificity for nutrient secretagogues and that both can be triggered even in the absence of exogenous oxidizable fuels. However, the partial dissociation of the dose-response curves for the two phenomena lends support to the contention that the phosphate flush reflects an earlier event in the sequence of stimulus-secretion coupling.


Conversion of beta-galactosidase to a membrane-bound state by gene fusion.

We have isolated a series of strains in which the lacZ gene has been fused to one of the maltose operons, such that the synthesis of beta-galactosidase (beta-D-galactoside galactohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.23) is inducible by maltose. The most frequent event that generates such fusions results in strains in which an intact lacZ gene has become a part of the malE,F operon. By using a special selection procedure, we have detected much rarer fusion events resulting in an altered beta-galactosidase molecule. In these strains, we presume that there is a hybrid protein molecule produced, comprised of an NH2-terminal amino acid sequence from a maltose transport protein (malF) and a COOH-terminal amino acid sequence from beta-galactosidase. The hybrid protein, which still retains some beta-galactosidase activity, is found in the cytoplasmic membrane. These results provide information on the component of the malF gene essential for incorporation of its product into the membrane.


lac repressor: 3-fluorotyrosine substitution for nuclear magnetic resonance studies.

This paper describes the isolation of 3-fluorotyrosine-substituted lac repressor, and its 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum. From the spectrum, one can conclude that for each of the four identical subunits of the repressor there are four or five surface tyrosines, two buried or internal tyrosines, and one tyrosine with an phenolic group ionized or involved in a hydrogen bond. Conditions are described that can be used for the 3-fluorotyrosine substitution of a variety of Escherichia coli proteins for 19F nuclear magnetic resonance studies.


Amplification in Escherichia coli of enzymes involved in genetic recombination: construction of hybrid ColE1 plasmids carrying the structural gene for exonuclease I.

Endo-R-HindIII restriction endonuclease fragments obtained from F30 and pMB9 plasmid DNAs were ligated in vitro and used to transform a recB21 recC22 sbcB15 strain of E. coli K-12. The inability of this strain to stably maintain pMB9 alone permitted the isolation of transformants that carried hybrid plasmids containing the sbcB+ allele. These transformants became sensitive to ultraviolet light and recombination defieient and showed a 25-fold increase in the level of exonuclease I activity. The stability of the sbcB hybrid plasmids and their effects on exonuclease I activity have also been determined in wild-type and recA1 genetic backgrounds. The presence of the plasmids results in a 7-fold increase in the level of exonuclease I in a wild-type strain and 15-fold increase in a recA1 strain. The increased activity in the recA1 mutant appears to be a result of increased plasmid stability in this genetic background.


Regulation of ornithine decarboxylase activity by guanine nucleotides: in vivo test in potassium-depleted Escherichia coli.

The observation that guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) is an activator and guanosine 5'-diphosphate-3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) is an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (L-ornithine carboxy-lyase, EC 4.1.1.17) of Escherichia coli [E. Hölttä et al. (1974) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 59, 1104-1111] has been confirmed. The hypothesis that synthesis of both polyamine and RNA in E. coli is regulated in vivo by these nucleotides was tested in E. coli B-207. On transfer of this K+-requiring, amino-acid-deficient strigent strain from K+-medium to Na+-medium, the organism stops protein synthesis, maintains a high rate of RNA synthesis, and increases putrescine synthesis from ornithine manyfold. Under these conditions, the cells do not markedly change their contents of GTP and ppGpp. The proposed mechanism of regulation of RNA and putrescine synthesis by guanine nucleotides does not appear to explain the metabolic phenomena observed in this organism during K+ deficiency. Nevertheless, amino acid depletion in K+-medium does result in a marked increase in ppGpp.


Mechanism of DNA elongation catalyzed by Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III, dnaZ protein, and DNA elongation factors I and III.

Elongation of a primed single-stranded DNA template catalyzed by E. coli DNA polymerase III (DNA nucleotidyltransferase, deoxynucleosidetriphosphate:DNA deoxynucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.7) requires dnaZ protein and two other protein factors, DNA elongation factors I and III. The reaction occurs by the following mechanism: (i) dnaZ protein and DNA elongation factor III together catalyze the transfer of DNA elongation factor I to a primed DNA template. This transfer reaction requires ATP or dATP in addition to dnaZ protein, DNA elongation factors I and III, and primed template; it does not require DNA polymerase III. (ii) DNA polymerase III binds to the complex of DNA elongation factor I with primed template; it does not bind to primed template which is not complexed with DNA elongation factor I. This binding reaction proceeds in the absence of ATP or dATP as cofactor, dnaZ protein, and DNA elongation factor III and without additional DNA elongation factor I. (iii) The complex of DNA polymerase III, DNA elongation factor I, and primed template catalyzes DNA synthesis upon the addition of dNTPs.


The functional repressor parts of a tetrameric lac repressor-beta-galactosidase chimaera are organized as dimers.

The chimaeric protein repressor-galactosidase, in which fully active lac repressor is covalently linked to the active enzyme beta-galactosidase, was used as a system for probing the quaternary structure of lac repressor. Electron micrographs revealed repressor-galactosidase to be a tetrameric aggregate. When lac repressor, alone, was crosslinked with dimethyl suberimidate, dimers, trimers, tetramers, and oligomers of the protein subunit were produced, whereas crosslinking of the tetrameric repressor-galactosidase resulted in the production of only dimers of the chimaera. Treatment of lac repressor with iodine resulted in the formation of protein dimers; the same result was obtained with repressor-galactosidase. After limited proteolysis of lac repressor, no crosslinking was obtained after treatment with dimethyl suberimidate, whereas iodine still produced a covalent linkage. These results are interpreted as evidence that the lac repressor parts of the tetrameric repressor-galactosidase-chimaera are organized as dimers on the tetrameric-beta-galactosidase core. Because this chimaera has been previously shown to have normal repressor activity [B. Müller-Hill and J. Kania (1974) Nature, 249,561-563], we conclude that lac repressor still is biologically active as a dimeric aggregate.


A mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective for nuclear fusion.

A mutant unable to fuse nuclei during mating has been isolated from standard wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Tetrad analysis of the mutation responsible for this defect (kar1-1) shows that it segregates as a single Mendelian factor. The defect kn kaf1-1 appears to be nuclear limited. Cytological and genetic evidence shows that in this mutant the events associated with zygote formation are normal until the point of nuclear fusion. The consequence of this defect is the formation of a multinucleate zygote which in subsequent divisions can segregate heterokaryons and haploid heterplasmons.


Polyclonal activation of bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes from human peripheral blood measured by a direct plaque-forming cell assay.

A culture and assay system for the stimulation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes with polyclonal activators of bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes (B cells), such as pokeweed mitogen and Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, and subsequent measurement of single cell antibody production by a hemolysis-in-bel direct plaque-forming cell assay against sheep erythrocytes has been established. The critical culture requirements have been delineated and a new highly sensitive ultrathin gel assay method has been described. Under these conditions a substantial and highly reproducible plaque-forming cell response was detected in normal human peripheral blood. This system can be readily used to explore the complex events associated with activation of human B cells.


Prophage lambda induction of Escherichia coli K12 envA uvrB: a highly sensitive test for potential carcinogens.

A simple, inexpensive, and sensitive test for potential carcinogens based upon the property of carcinogens to induce prophage lambda is described. By using chemicals activated with microsomal enzymes and E. coli K12 permeable (envA) tester bacteria also deficient in DNA repair (uvrB), the range of carcinogens detected in a lysogenic induction test (inductest) has been extended. We have provided the evidence that, after activation, carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons such as benzo[a5pyrene and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene induce prophage lambda. Three variants of the test have been developed (inductests I, II, and III), which are as sensitive as the mutagenicity test of Ames et al. [Ames, B. N., McCann, J. and Yamasaki, E. (1975) Mutat. Res. 31, 347-364]. Inductests II and III provide a quantitative estimation of the inducing activity of a carcinogen. With the latter test, one can determine: (i) the cellular toxic effect of a carcinogen and (ii) the kinetics of appearance and disappearance of active metabolites. For two series of chemicals, aflatoxins and benz[a]anthracenes, there is a good correlation between their carcinogenic activity in rodents and their prophage inducing activity in bacteria. The fact that the majority of the cell population is induced makes it possible to test the inducing activity of carcinogens at the biochemical level, e.g., by measuring lambda repressor inactivation.


Changes in the metabolism of hypothalamic norepinephrine associated with the onset of maternal behavior in the nulliparous rat.

Both norepinephrine (NE) and its major metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), were assayed both in the hypothalamus of nulliparous rats that had behaved maternally toward foster young and in the hypothalamus of those that had failed to behave maternally. It was found that the maternally-behaving animals had both lower concentrations of NE and higher concentrations of MHPG as compared with their nonresponding counterparts. These data parallel those reported for the puerperal female and suggest that the onset of maternal behavior may be mediated by increased transmission across hypothalamic noradrenergic synapses.


Relationship between antidepressant effect and plasma level of nortriptyline. Clinical studies.

Strong evidence has been found for the assumption that NT inhibits its own antidepressive effect at high, but non toxic plasma levels in patients suffering from endogenous depression. Based on three investigations we will recommend an optimal therapeutic plasma range for NT between 50 and 150 ng NT/ml.


[New diagnostic strategies in psychiatry by means of video-technique. I. The use of time-blind video analysis for the evaluation of antidepressant drug trials (author's transl)].

The use of audio-video methods allowed the decrease of subjective factors influencing ratings of psychopathological phenomina. TV-stored interviews, recorded at separate days, may be compared almost simultaneously. In this study a rating of severity of depression was made of patients under antidepressive medication on days 0, 10, 20. (Mianserin was compared with Amitriptyline in a double-blind-trial). This method rendered it possible to detect significant differences between therapeutic profiles over time. The same result was reached independently by both investigators. The judgement of depression was based on a global impression and not on the evaluation of isolated psychopathological symptoms. No absolute measurement of depression was possible. The described method of a time-blind-analysis of TV-stored interviews constitutes a considerable progress in the assessment of a drug's profile in time, particularly if rating-scales are used in the same manner.


Lithium in tardive dyskinesia.

A single blind trial and a placebo controlled double blind trial of lithium were carried out in elderly patients with tardive dyskinesia. In the pilot study, neuroleptics were continued: in the controlled trial, neuroleptics were discontinued. The results of both studies were essentially negative. Thus, the suppression effect of neuroleptics is much more dramatic than anything seen in the two studies. Several reasons for this were discussed namely, the severity and chronicity of the symptoms.


A double blind comparison of lithium carbonate and ludiomil in the prophylaxis of unipolar affective illness.

A double-blind prospective study was carried out comparing the prophylactic effect of maprotiline and lithium carbonate over a period of 1 year in patients suffering from recurrent affective disorders. The average Affective Morbidity Index was lower, but not significantly so, in patients treated with lithium. A further analysis based on dividing patients into those with no affective morbidity and those who showed some affective morbidity during the study, demonstrated lithium carbonate to be significantly superior to maprotiline in both the group as a whole and in unipolar depressives.


The initiation of long-term pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia: dosage and side effect comparisons between oral and depot fluphenazine.

This report focuses on two comparisons between oral and depot fluphenazine specifically FPZ decanoate: 1) can equivalent dosages for the two drugs be established and do these equivalencies change over six months of treatment; 2) what are the side effects seen with the two drugs during the early weeks of administration. Patients in the study receive either oral or depot FPZ as the active treatment but in order to preserve double blind conditions, they are also given the other treatment in placebo form. No dosage equivalence is established by the protocol, however, if dosage is adjusted, both forms must be changed and in the same direction. During the first weeks of treatment there is a linear relationship between the two dosage forms but a range of relatively low dosages of the oral compound (5-20 mg) is associated with a single dose (25 mg/q 3 weeks) of FPZ decanoate. At higher dosages of the oral drug the relationship is linear. Side effects of some kind are noted in over 60 percent of patients in both treatment groups after four weeks of treatment, while symptoms of at least moderate severity occur in almost 40 percent. Only symptoms involving the extrapyramidal system and sleep disturbance are observed in more than 20 percent of the patients. Benztropine was prescribed only if needed and was administered to 65% of patients. In general, those receiving benztropine had more side effects than those who did not. These differences reached significance for extrapyramidal symptoms and depression. Based on these data, we conclude that at the dosages used in this study there are no side effect differences between these two forms of fluphenazine in the early weeks of administration. Dosage equivalence between the two drugs can be set within the range of 5-60 mg/day oral and 12.5-100 mg/three weeks depot.


Monitoring plasma concentrations of neuroleptics.

Among the neuroleptics chlorpromazine has been the most extensively studied despite its complex metabolic pathways. Several metabolites, in particular 7-hydroxychlorpromazine, are psychotropically active. Oral phenothiazines are extensively metabolised "first-pass" through the liver. The relationship between clinical response and plasma concentrations of neuroleptics is tenous. The reasons for the lack of correlation include spontaneous remission in some patients, problems with flexible dosage schedules, the type of patient studied, differences in metabolic patterns, induction of metabolism in the liver, interactions with other drugs, and variations in plasma protein binding. Alternative research strategies might be to study metabolically less complex drugs such as haloperidol or to relate clinical response to autonomic, extrapyramidal, EEG, biochemical or endocrine measures.


Silver impregnation method for neurons and myelinated axons of acult central nervous system.

A new method has been developed for silver impregnation of neurons and myelinated axons in the cerebral cortex of the adult dog. By this method principal types of neurons including pyramidal, stellate, fusiform, horizontal neurons of Layer I, and special auditory neurons are colored black with a clear background, while myelinated fibers in the same piece of tissue are colored yellow. The yellow hue appears limited to the myelin sheath. Meyelinated axons of all sizes in the molecular layer, radial bundles, and deep tangential strata accept the stain. Comparison with data from other experiments indicates that osmium tetroxide inhibits the yellow staining of the myelinated axons, and that formaldehyde promotes such staining in conjunction with ammonium ions and sucrose.


In vivo synchronization of murine sarcoma 37 ascites tumor cells by use of hydroxyurea.

Synchrony of DNA synthesis in mouse sarcoma 37 ascites cells was achieved in vivo by injection of 0.75 mg hydroxyurea per gram weight of mouse. DNA synthesis was gauged by comparing 3H-labeled thymidine incorporation, under defined conditions, to total DNA measured colorimetrically. DNA synthesis in the sarcoma 37 cells fell to negligible levels 4 hours after injection and remained at or below levels observed in randomly dividing cells up to 18 hours after injection. A sharp increase in DNA synthesis occurred at 20 hours, followed by a decline again at 22 hours after hydroxyurea injection. DNA synthesis in the intestine remained below control values at 20 hours.


Biological ion exchanger resins; IX. Isolation and partial identification of a potassium sensitive contractile-like protein from E. coli.

A protein fraction with actin-like characteristics has been isolated from E. coli. The fraction (referred to as A-L fraction) undergoes reversible increases in molecular weight under the same catalytic conditions that polymerize actin, exhibits a distinct peak on SDS electrophoresis at the characteristic molecular weight for actin, depends primarily on potassium for its polymerization, and is not "polymerized" by sodium. A-L fraction in the monomeric form was eluted  in the void volume of a Sepharose 6B column, suggesting a large Stoke's radius and a molecular weight in excess of 400,000. The fraction contained 30% RNA by weight that proved refractory to experimental efforts at removal.


Uterine luteolytic hormone: a physiological role for prostaglandin F2alpha.

To summarize luteal function during pregnancy briefly, there are physiological processes initiated by the embryo and/or conceptus in early pregnancy that serve to prolong the life-span of the corpus luteum. Some of these processes are well defined, but others remain more obscure. The corpus luteum is maintained in a functional state throughout pregnancy (at least in those species described in this review), even though in several species progesterone production by the corpus luteum is not required after the first third of the gestational period. The cessation of secretory function by the corpus luteum of pregnancy at the end of gestation is apparently actively induced. There is evidence in some species (especially the goat) that this is due to PGF2alpha released from the uterus or placenta. It is concluded that the occurrence of luteal regression in several species of mammal can be attributed to the physiological release of PGF2alpha from both the pregnant and nonpregnant uterus.


Free dorsalis pedis sensory flap to the hand, with microneurovascular anastomoses.

Since 1973 we have transferred various kinds of free flaps by microvascular surgery. In hand reconstruction, the free flap is less often required than in repairs of other sites, such as the leg. However, the importance of restoring sensibility in the hand is evident. Recently, we have transferred thin dorsalis pedis flaps as sensory free flaps in 5 cases of hand reconstruction, and we describe our experiences with them.


The intimal healing of microvascular anastomoses.

Examination with the S.E.M. shows that 5 days after surgery the microanastomoses area is covered with pseudointima, and the regeneration of the intima is completed within two weeks. Comparing the two different suture techniques (large bites and small bites), there are no differences between them in the resultant patency rates. The large bites produce less immediate leakages. There were no significant differences in the process of intimal healing.


Liquid holding recovery in stationary and log phase cultures of diploid yeast exposed to gamma and alpha radiations.

The kinetics of liquid-holding recovery (LHR) in diploid yeast after gamma and alpha irradiation is studied. In case of stationary phase culture the rate and extent of LHR is found to be greater for gamma-ray-induced damage than for alpha-ray-induced damage. At 10% survival level, the half-time for recovery is 5.2 h for gamma-ray damage and 12 h for alpha-ray damage. Further, while the recovery factor for alpha damage reaches saturation at 5% survival level, that for gamma damage continues to increase as survival level decreases. Oxygen is required for the recovery process during LH after gamma irradiation. The cells can recover to the same extent from both oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent components of damage. Log phase cells containing a high per cent of budding cells, however, exhibit negative liquid holding effect after gamma irradiation.


Physical and radiobiological bases of the use of 125I in the management of thyrotoxicosis.

Increasing interest is recently shown in the use of 125I as an alternative isotope to 131I for the management of thyrotoxicosis based on the postulate that there is a relative sparing of the reproductive integrity of the thyroid follicular cell and a consequent possibility of smaller incidence of hypothyroidism after therapy. A review of the dosimetric, radiobiological anc clinical aspects of the use of 125I are presented here. For the same activity though 125I gives smaller mean gland dose than 131I, the dose computations at microscopic level have revealed that there is a preferential irradiation of the apical membrane compared to the nucleus of the follicular cell. The ratio of the dose to the apical membrane and that to the nucleus increases with the decrease of the percentage colloid mass of the gland. Radiobiological significance of this non-uniform dose distribution across a follicular cell, with 125I , is brought out using rat thyroid as the biological system. For the same mean gland dose the follicular cell survival is larger with 125I than with 131I. 24 H radioiodine uptake is reduced in case of 131I treatment whereas it is not affected with 125I. Pilot clinical trials using 125I for the management of thyrotoxicosis are underway in some centres. Preliminary results from centres using doses 3--4 times that of the conventional 131I dose are not very different from those with conventional 131I therapy. Centres that used doses same as or less than the conventional 131I doses, reported smaller incidence of hypothyroidism.


Cardiovascular nuclear medicine: a new look at an old problem. Noninvasive approaches to the evaluation of coronary heart disease: new horizons for radiologists lecture.

Radioactive tracers were first used to investigate cardiovascular physiology in 1927. Since that time, many procedures have been developed to measure perfusion to the myocardium and the function of the heart. The site and extent of both fixed and transient changes in regional perfusion can be detected noninvasively with monovalent cationic tracers. In addition, both the total function of the heart, such as cardiac output, and ejection fraction of both ventricles and the regional function such as wall motion measurements can be readily performed following intravenous administration of tracers. These tests are useful in evaluating patients with suspected or proved coronary artery disease.


Arterial calcifications in severe chronic renal disease and their relationship to dialysis treatment, renal transplant, and parathyroidectomy.

The incidence, distribution, and progression of arterial calcification in severe chronic renal disease were studied from 364 skeletal survey examinations in 152 patients (ages 15-60). The incidence increased from 30% in the 15-30 age group to 50% in the 40-50 group. The earliest and commonest site of calcification was the ankles, followed in frequency by the abdominal aorta, feet, pelvis, and hands and wrists. Progression occurred in 36% of the nondialyzed, 19% of the peritoneally dialyzed, 13% of the post-transplant, and 8% of the hemodialyzed patients.


Pitfalls in the measurement of cerebral blood volume with computed tomography.

The use of contrast material and computed tomography (CT) to measure cerebral blood volume (CBV) is valid only if the agent does not egress into cerebral tissue. Since disruption of the blood/brain barrier is common in cerebral disease states, this raises serious doubt as to the validity of this technique. Studies in experimental animals and patients with cerebral lesions demonstrate that contrast material does egress into the extravascular space. In normal brain tissue, contrast enhancement is comparable to the error in CT. Contrast material also causes transient changes in autoregulation, blood pressure, cerebral blood flow, and CBV.


Metrizoic acid (Isopaque coronar) used in man for cardiac angiography.

Isopaque Coronar, a radiopaque agent, was given (10,000 injections) to 2,028 patients during angiocardiographic studies done over a three-year period. With two exceptions, all complications occurred during right coronary artery injection. Seven cases of ventricular fibrilation, and 5 of marked bradycardia/asystole, were associated with injection of the medium. Isopaque Coronar is well tolerated by patients during cardiac examinations. Factors which may help to explain the low complication rate are discussed.


Cardiovascular adjustments to exercise: hemodynamics and mechanisms.

The integrated response to severe exercise involves fourfold to fivefold increases in cardiac output, which are due primarily to increases in cardiac rate and to a lesser extent to augmentation of stroke volume. The increase in stroke volume is partly due to an increase in end-diastolic cardiac size (Frank-Starling mechanism) and secondarily due to a reduction in end-systolic cardiac size. The full role of the Frank-Starling mechanism is masked by the concomitant tachycardia.  The reduction in end-systolic dimensions can be related to increased contractility, mediated by beta adrenergic stimulation. Beta adrenergic blockade prevents the inotropic response, the decrease in end-systolic dimensions, and approximately 50% of the tachycardia of exercise. The enhanced cardiac output is distributed preferentially to the exercising muscles including the heart. Blood flow to the heart increases fourfold to fivefold as well, mainly reflecting the augmented metabolic requirements of the myocardium due to near maximal increases in cardiac rate and contractility. Blood flow to the inactive viscera (e.g., kidney and gastrointestinal tract) is maintained during severe exercise in the normal dog. It is suggested that local autoregulatory mechanisms are responsible for maintained visceral flow in the face of neural and hormonal autonomic drive, which acts to constrict renal and mesenteric vessels and to reduce blood flow. However, in the presence of circulatory impairment, where oxygen delivery to the exercising muscles is impaired as occurs to complete heart block where normal heart rate increases during exercise are prevented, or in congestive right heart failure, where normal stroke volume increases during exercise are impaired, or in the presence of severe anemia, where oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is limited, visceral blood flows are reduced drastically and blood is diverted to the exercising musculature.  Thus,, visceral flow is normally maintained during severe exercise as long as all other compensatory mechanisms remain intact.  However, when any other compensatory mechanism is disrupted (even the elimination of splenic reserve in the dog), reduction and diversion of visceral flow occur.


The effect of probenecid on the free and conjugaed 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid.

Free and conjugated lumbar cerebrospinal fluid 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) was measured before and after probenecid treatment in 12 schizophrenic patients by a gas liquid chromatography-mass fragmentographic procedure. Neither the free nor conjugated MHPG was appreciably altered by probenecid. Total MHPG was statistically increased by probenecid but not to the point that the probenecid test would be clinically useful for estimating norepinephrine turnover from probenecid-induced changes in MHPG concentrations.


[Shigellosis in Tucumán].

In 731 diarrhea cases studied from January 1971 to June 1973 in Tucumán a significant increase of shigellosis in eutrophic children was observed. The frequency of Shigella isolations, considering all the enteropathogens found, were: 15,5 %; 13 % and 21,3 % in 1971, 1972 and 1973, respectively (Table 1). All the strains of Shigella isolated belonged to the Shigella flexneri B or Shigella sonnei D groups, being the percentage for the former 78 % in 1971; 93 % in 1972 and 77 % in 1973 (Table 2). The age distribution of patients with shigellosis is shown in Table 3, the 87,7 % occurring within the first 3 years of life. S. flexneri B and S. sonnei D strains showed similar sensitivity to nalidixic acid, cephalosporines, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim plus sulfametoxazol; S. flexneri B was more susceptible to rifampicin, although this antibiotic was not used for therapeutics. A different sensitivity to kanamicin was observed being S. flexneri B, less susceptible than S. sonnei D, (Table 4). Fifty five percent of the cases showed clinical improvement after 48 h. of starting antibiotic treatment; 80 % after 72 h. and only 20 % required 96 or more for significant recovery. Although the number of patients with some degree of malnutrition was small, 7 out of the 8 cases studied required 72 h. or more for recovery.


Lysis of a temperature conditional thiamineless mutant of Salmonella typhimurium by glucose and other hexoses.

The SM-3 mutant of Salmonella typhimurium was isolated as streptomycin resistant and temperature conditional thiamine auxotroph. At 37 C it required thiamine, although it behaves as a leaky mutant at this temperature in minimal liquid medium. At 30 degrees C it was able to growth without thiamine. In minimal-glucose-aminoacids at 37 C after an initial growth, cellular lysis occurred. The same happened with other hexoses, but it was not observable when glycerol or lactate were used as carbon source. Microscopic examination showed clumps of cellular debris, empty bagshapes and swelling of microorganisms, suggesting a cell wall defect. Sucrose 0.5 M protected SM-3 cells from osmotic fragility. At 30 C growth was normal and at 37 C in presence of exogenous thiamine full growth without bacteriolysis was obtained. Preliminary experiments of bacterial conjugation allowed the identification of a new locus involved in thiamine biosynthesis which was tentatively mapped in the pur A - pro B region of the chromosomal map of S. typhimurium.


Influence of ionizing sterilization on the permeability of human chorio-amniotic, dermo-epidermal and fascial grafts.

It was demonstrated that the irradiation with a dose of 2.5 Mrad of gamma-rays did not cause any significant change in the permeability of the tested rehydrated freeze-dried chorio-amniotic, dermo-epidermal and fascial grafts prepared for clinical use.


Effect of heparin on insulin secretion in vivo and in vitro.

The effect of heparin of therapeutic dose on the basal insulin secretion and on that of induced by glucose stimulation was studied in dogs and in Langerhans islets in vitro model. The effect of heparin, given intraarterially (a. pancreaticoduodenalis sup.) and injected i.v. before i.v. glucose load, on the immuno-reactive insulin concentration of the pancreatic and peripheral venous blood as well as the blood sugar and free fatty acid levels of the peripheral venous blood was investigated. Heparin inhibited significantly both the basal insulin secretion and that of following glucose stimulation. After the injection of heparin the glucose assimilation coefficient decreased significantly. The inhibitory effect of heparin on the basal insulin secretion and the glucose stimulated insulin secretion was observed in Langerhans islets in vitro model, too. This suggests that heparin, at least partly, inhibits insulin secretion directly through its influence on the beta cells.


[Long-term graft survival in the xenogeneic system wolf-dog (author's transl)].

In contrast to the zoological definition that wolf and dog belong to different species, it is shown by this study that in terms of immunology both species appear to be even closer related than DL-A compatible and MLC negative unrelated dogs. However, this close relationship is not expressed in DL-A or MLC tissue typing. Wolf skin-graft survival time in untreated dogs was 12,5, in ALG-treated dogs 85,6 days. The survival time in this system may be less dpendent on DL-A or MLC histocompatibility than on other genetic systems, which are hitherto not sufficiently defined. An accidental, speciesspecific accordance in these systems may explain the obviously weak histocompatbility barrier between wolf and dog. It is concluded that in certain species-combinations xenotransplantation could be more successful than random allotransplantation. The availability of a xenogeneic species related to man similar as wolf to dog would markedly facilitate clinical xenotransplantation.


[Renal blood flow investigations with 133xenon and the Anger scintillation camera in the hyperacute xenograft rejection of the rabbit kidney (author's transl)].

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the advantage and validity of 133Xe-washout externally monitored by the scintillation camera. Until now there were no reports on quantitative blood flow studies in Hyperacute rejection of transplanted kidneys using a scintillation camera. Within 35 minutes after e-vivo hemoperfusion of rabbit kidneys by cats we found a simultaneous progressive decrease of renal blood flow, renal cortical blood flow as well as of the intrarenal distribution of renal cortical blood flow in all cases. The hyperacute rejection of xenografts could be verified in every case histologically. Using the scintillation camera we were able to detect regional perfusion defects caused by artifical air embolism as well as by preexisting cortical infarction.


Effects of L-thyroxine in acute renal failure.

Eight pediatric patients presenting with acute renal failure (shock kidney, anuria continuing for three to five days) were treated with L-thyroxine (p.o. 5-6 mug per kg per day). Dialysis was not used. Diuresis started within 34 to 46 hours. Serum levels of urea and creatinine normalized within a very short time. The results are discussed on the basis of a new hypothesis concerning the RPF- and GFR-raising action of thyroid hormone in the normal situation and in acute renal failure.


[Trial routine dections of malaria. Experimentation of 1,500 blood donors].

The aim of our research was to look for specific malaria antibodies in a randomized sample of 1.500 blood donors. We used the indirect immunofluorescence technique. During this project we have noticed the lack of validity of the "the five years rule" usually followed in France to prevent transfusion malaria. We have also evaluated the help brought by an "oriented investigation" allowing firstly a selection of potentially dangerous donors, secondly, the use of their blood bottles according to serology results. This work finally shows that total security can only be achieved by systematic research on all blood donors.


[Comparison of angiographic and bioptic findings in transplanted kidneys (author's transl)].

Comparison of angiographic, clinical and bioptic findings after kidney transplantation permits the following statements: Angiography is indicated with the appearance of a hypertony after transplantation and in clinically unclear reduction of function; it is the method of choice for proof or exclusion of a vascular complication. Recognizable vascular alterations and an extended arterial wash-out time during previous crises tend to indicate severe damage which affects the whole organ. On the other hand, the same alterations in chronic rejection do not permit a conclusive evaluation of the ability of the transplant to function. Isolated cortical ischemia in regard to rejection occurs relatively early and is prognostically an unfavourable sign. Differentiation of low grade rejection: tubular necrosis is hardly possible on the basis of the angiogram. As a result, the value of angiography for the diagnosis of rejection in the clinically important, but less pronounced, stages is limited. The most important of the informative diagnostic measures is renal sequence scintigraphy. This technique not only makes an early diagnosis possible but also an observation of the course of the reaction.


[Introduction to x-ray diagnosis of primary malignant bone tumor (author's transl)].

Diagnosis of primary malignant bone tumors is based on a synopsis of X-ray findings, clinical symptoms, gross pathology and histology. Osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma and myelogenic sarcomas have a typical symptomatology and can be diagnosed in the radiograph by localisation, mode of extension, alterations of bone and periosteum.


[Dietotherapy in the diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in infancy (author's transl)].

The AA are proposing a dietotherapy in the diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in infancy, characterized from acute diarrhoea. A slow hydrolysis product of casein is used for this purpose. The AA after description of the very good results obtained, are calling the attention on the fact that the advantage was realized only with a food product and not with drugs.


[Fatty acids with an odd number of carbon atoms: metabolic and nutritional aspects].

Odd-numbered fatty acids are present in natural sources of animal or vegetable origin. Their concentration is generally not higher than 5% of the total fatty acids. In some cases, however, like in the mullet or Euglena gracilis, the value reaches 20% of the total fatty acids. Higher concentrations, up to 80%, have been found in some hydrocarbon-grown microorganisms. In the animal organisms metabolic pathways for the synthesis or degradation of the odd-numbered fatty acids are present, but the adaptive capacity and the regulation of the different pathways are not known. The consequences of feeding animals or human beings on these unusual fatty acids in large amount are uncertain, because the composition of the fat depots, of the lipid structures and the circulating lipids can be affected, possibily influencing the membrane functions and, particularly the nervous system functions. The literature sighted shows the scarcity of specific studies in this field and indicates the need for further and more detailed researches.


[Post-salmonellosis rheumatism].

Reports of forty-six cases of aseptic polyarthritis following intestinal Salmonlla infections have been published. The organism involved is always a "minor" Salmonella either typhimurium or enteritidis. The interval separating the diarrhoea from the joint manifestations is usually one or two weeks. Post-salmonellosis rheumatism is most frequently polyarthritis involving the large joints accompanied by fever that is sometimes high. The sedimentation rate is increased and hyperleucytosis and discrete anaemia may also be present. Salmonella infection is established by the presence of the organism in the stools and a positive sero-diagnosis. In all cases the polyarthritis is cured by anti-inflammatory treatment in 1-6 months. HLA W27 antigen is present in the majority of the patients although spondylarthritis is not seen during the evolution. Although the number of cases of post-salmonellosis rheumatism is very small and the connection between the salmonellosis and the rheumatism has not been demonstrated, it is valuable, in cases of acute polyarthritis following enteritis, to carry out coproculture and serodiagnosis of salmonellosis.


Respiratory sinus arrhythmia in man: relation to right ventricular output.

The respiratory effects on heart rate (HR), right ventricular stroke volume (SVRV), and the pulmonary arterial flow (PAF) have been studied beat-by-beat in 7 conscious, healthy subjects. Tidal volumes (VT) of 1.0 and 2.0 liters at a breathing rate of 6 cXmin-1 were used as controls. With identical VT and respiratory rate intrathoracic pressure was affected by (A) negative inspiratory pressure (NIP) of 5 cm of water and (B) with intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV). In the control experiments all subjects exhibited an inspiratory increase in HR (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) as well as in SVRV. With VT of 1.0 liter, NIP augmented the inspiratory increase in SVRV and the respiratory oscillations of PAF. IPPV decreased SVRV and HR during inspiration. It is concluded that NIP and IPPV affect the SVRV and the right heart blood flow. The similar effects on HR and SVRV suggest a relationship which might be explained by heart-rate-regulating reflexes from the heart.


Determination of urinary fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products by radioimmunoassay.

Glomerular fibrin/fibrinogen related material is often found in the early stage of especially proliferative types of glomerulonephritis and during rejection of renal grafts after transplantation. The presence and concentration of urinary fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) have been found to be correlated to the extent of glomerular fibrin deposits. Most methods for FDP determination hitherto available are not sensitive enough to detect such small amounts of the fibrin/fibrinogen related material in the urine as are found in early glomerulonephritis. A radioimmunoassay for determining urinary FDP is described, in which the high molecular weight degradation products (HMWDP) are first converted into end degradation products (D and E) by addition of plasminogen and streptokinase to the urine sample. In the test an antiserum against purified D-products is used, which avoids the influence of varying binding properties and therefore makes the method more specific.


Effect of toothbrushing with chlorhexidine gel on salivary microflora, oral hygiene, and caries.

The effect of daily toothbrushing with 0.5% chlorhexidine-containing gel for 12 months was evaluated in a double-blind study in 37 dental students. The active gel did not markedly influence plaque formation, gingival conditions, or caries as compared with placebo gel treatment. Salivary bacterial counts were performed on subgroups of six subjects using chlorhexidine gel and on six using placebo gel. No differences in the effect of treatment on the microorganisms studied in the two subgroups could be detected except for S. sanguis. The percentage of this species decrease in the placebo group and increased in the chlorhexidine group. The difference became significant after 2 weeks. A tendency to a greater reduction of S. mutans noted in the chlorhexidine group was most marked in individuals who had high initial counts of this species. The proportion of S. sanguis, which could grow on chlorhexidinei-containing mitis salivarius medium, increased and after 12 months of chlorhexidine treatment averaged 34% of cultivable S. sanguis compared with 0.002% prior to treatment. The number of less sensitive S. sanguis decreased in the 12 months following termination of treatment. There was no observed tendency for the selection or proliferation of other streptococci, gram-negative rods, yeasts, or staphylococci.


Clinical evaluation of amalgam restorations.

The good reproducibility of a clinical evaluation system for restorations was confirmed, but the system was not considered suitable for detection of minor differences between amalgam restorations. A modified system for evaluation was therefore developed. It was based on the same principles but included more characteristics. The modified system was evaluated in practice on 246 amalgam restorations. The level of agreement between two examiners reached about 70% after an initial training period. The results demonstrate the need for calibration of examiners and the importance of a detailed definition of criteria.


Short-term tissue culture of two nonsecretory human myelomas. A morphological and functional study.

Bone marrow cells from two patients without detectable monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) in serum and urine but with the clinical picture of plasma cell myeloma were cultivated in vitro. Immunofluorescence studies of cultured living and fixed bone marrow cells showed no signs of Ig production in one of the cases, whereas in the other case cytoplasmic kappa chains were detected, which, however, were not expressed at the surface of living cells. Cells from the later patient were also subjected to kinetic, ultrastructural, and functional studies in vitro. The fraction of myeloma cells incorporating tritiated thymidine in vitro decreased gradually during prolonged culture, indicating a continuous cell death. The morphological characterization revealed many similarities between this nonsecretory myeloma and classical myeloma, although the frequency of cells with cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum distended by a granular material was unusually high, as was the frequency of "flaming" myeloma cells. "Flaming" cells were not labeled by tritiated thymidine, suggesting that they are nonproliferative end cells. Studies of the Ig synthesis by gel diffusion analyses of supernatant and cell lysates from [14C]leucine-labeled cultures agreed with the immunofluorescence studies that the myeloma cells were nonsecretory.


Characterization of anti-lymphocyte antibodies in inflammatory bowel disease.

Sera from patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) showing broad lymphocytotoxic or lymphocyte-binding activity were subjected to additional analysis to further characterize their properties. Lymphocytotoxins appear to be antibodies predominantly of IgM class as determined by [1] 2-mercaptoethanol sensitivity, [2] serum fractionation by sucrose density gradient sedimentation, Sephadex G-200 filtration, and DEAE ion exchange chromatography, and [3] absorption by anti-Ig immunoadsorbent columns. Lymphocyte-binding antibody was found to be IgG, IgA, and IgM, as determined by indirect immunofluorescent staining of acetone-fixed lymphocytes. Individual IBD sera showed marked variability in occurrence of cytotoxic and binding antibodies when tested against the same donor panel of lymphocytes. These studies emphasize the marked heterogeneity of anti-lymphocyte antibodies occurring in IBD.


Production of monospecific antisera against antigenic componentsof Mycobacterium bovis (BCG).

Monospecific antisera against four different antigenic components of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) were produced by immunization of rabbits with precipitates cut out of gels after crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE). An important feature is to use a semipurified mycobacterial antigenic preparation, or a cross-reactive antigen, to obtain a simpler pattern in CIE so that a clean precipitate, free from contaminating antigens, can be obtained for immunization. The findings with one particular antigen are shown, and the use of such antisera is discussed.