Effect of exercise on the responses of rats to DDT.

Two groups of 30 male weanling rats were maintained on a nutritionally adequate diet containing 45% carbohydrate, 16% fat, and 29% protein with or without 1 ppm added DDT. At 100 days of age the two groups were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test. The groups were then subdivided and half of each group was forced to run 1/16 mi/30 min-day on a treadmill. At 190 days of age the glucose tolerance test was repeated. The animals were killed at 200 days of age, and the lipid content of the serum, liver, and carcass was determined. Serum insulin levels and the DDT levels in the adipose tissue reflected the DDT content of the diet, and no differences in these levels were demonstrated with the addition of the exercise treatment. DDT treatment resulted in lower serum and liver cholesterol and serum insulin levels in sedentary rats. Exercise lowered liver cholesterol and serum insulin in non-DDT-treated rats. When both treatments were imposed, serum insulin cholesterol levels rose. Significant DDT-exercise interaction effects were observed on the glucose tolerance, serum and liver cholesterol, and serum insulin levels.


Dominant lethal mutagenicity study on hair dyes.

A dominant lethal mutagenicity study was performed in rats with the following chemicals that may be used to dye hair: 2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine, 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine, m-phenylenediamine, o-phenylenediamine, p-phenylenediamine, p-toluenediamine, 2,4-diaminoanisole, 2,5-diaminoanisole, 2-amino-4-nitrophenol, 2-amino-5-nitrophenol, and 4-amino-2-nitrophenol. The compounds were administered intraperitoneally three times weekly for 8 weeks to groups of 20 sexually mature Charles River CD male rats at a dose of 20 mg/kg. This amount of dye is an enormous exaggeration of the human exposure from brief montly topical application of a hair color product containing 2 g (40 mg/kg) or less total dye. There was no evidence of an increase in postimplantation fetal loss which could indicate a dominant lethal effect. Included are data on the acute toxicity of the dyes by various routes of administration in different vehicles.


Ozone: a possible cause of hemolytic anemia in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient individuals.

A theoretical model is described that predicts that individuals with a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency may experience acute hemolysis on exposure to ozone at levels reached in certain urban centers.


Intermediate-duration toxicity study of patulin in rats.

The toxicity of patulin was studied in two generations of Sprague-Dawley rats over a period of approximately 10 months. Patulin in 1 mM citrate buffer was administered by gavage to FO generation rats at a dose level of 0, 1.5, 7.5, or 15.0 mg/kg a body weight five times a week for 10-14 wk; females were treated seven times a week during pregnancy. High mortality and insufficient progeny in the groups given 7.5 and 15.0 mg/kg made it impossible to continue those two regimens into the second generation. The study was continued for 20-23 wk with F1A generation animals given 1.5 mg/kg and controls. The only lesion found at necropsy that could be attributed to patulin administration was gaseous distention of the gastrointestinal tract, which was probably the result of the antibiotic effect of this mycotoxin on the normal intestinal flora. A decreased weight gain in male rats of the FO generation was dose-related. An impairment in growth rates of F1A and F2A progeny of both sexes was statistically significant at the 1.5 mg/kg dose level. Fetuses taken from patulin-treated females on day 20 of pregnancy were noticeably smaller than controls fetuses and the difference was significant for F2A males. No other teratological abnormalities related to patulin dosing at the 1.5 mg/kg level were observed consistently in either F1A or F2A fetuses. Patulin did not appear to produce dominant lethal effects at dose levels up to 15.0 mg/kg when given by gavage to the males five times a week for 10 or 11 wk.


The use of the pedal venous pressure (P.V.P.) as a guide in evaluating the patency of venous repairs.

Obstruction of the deep veins by thrombi causes the P.V.P. to become elevated. Monitoring this pressure can serve as an invaluable guide in evaluating the patency or obstruction of venous repairs.


Primary operative fixation of long bone fractures in patients with multiple injuries.

Early mobilization is essential for patients with multiple long bone fractures associated with other injuries in order to avoid complications. Therefore, in 1969 we adopted a policy of rigid internal fixation of long bone fractures in such cases. To assess the results of this active treatment a number of consecutive patients were followed. The following conditions were necessary for the case to be included in this series: multiple injuries; treatment at the intensive care unit; and at least two long-bone fractures treated with internal fixation. During the period from 1969 to 1974 47 patients met all requirements. With primary operative fixation of long bone fractures of patients with multiple injuries it was possible to mobilize on crutches 29 patients out of 47 within 2 1/2 months of the accident, and 32 were allowed to leave the hospital within 3 months. With the exception of the death of an 80-year-old woman, no severe complications attributed to the operative treatment of these fractures occurred and 32 out of 47 patients returned to work within 16 months. The results in these 47 cases show that in patients with multiple injuries associated with several long bone fractures, primary internal fixation is preferable to the more conventional conservative methods.


Snowblower injuries.

A study was made over two winters in Chittenden County, Vermont of 15 persons injured by snowblowers and 17 neighbors who owned such machines but had not been injured. Twelve of the 15 injuries involved amputation, fracture, or laceration of fingers from contact with an impeller blade in inadequately guarded chutes. Injured persons commonly had less experience (but not significantly so) with their machines than did uninjured owners, but both reported extensive safety-related and other problems with their machines. Better design standards could probably avoid such problems. Safety education and instructions for operators are recommended. A minimum injury rate of 5.3/1,000 machines annually and 4.1/10,000 times used was estimated in this study, but the true rate probably is somewhat higher.


The risk of neurologic damage with fractures of the vertebrae.

The incidence of spinal cord injury with spine fractures and dislocations is approximately 14% of the total as ascertained from a survey of these injuries in Northern California, and 17% of traumatic spinal cord injuries gave no overt radiographic evidence of vertebral injury. Patients sustaining fractures of the vertebral bodies and posterior elements with some degree of malalignment of the spine had a 61% incidence of neurologic deficit. Injuries to the cervical spine most often produced neurologic damage, the incidence of neurologic deficit being 39%. Motor vehicle collisons continue to be the major cause of these injuries and the victim is usually a young adult male.


Psychiatric complications of burned adults: a classification.

The psychiatric complications occurring in a group of adult burn patients were correlated with pertinent data in the literature and a classification constructed, based on the three stages of the acute grief response to injury: psychiatric complications occur when the process of mourning is arrested in a regressive episode. Thirty-five adult patients with burns of greater than 7% body surface area were studied. It was found that Body Surface Area burned, the presence of a Premorbid Psychiatric Diagnosis, and Age are all significantly correlated with the occurrence of psychiatric complications following burn injuries and account for 61% of the variance in the sample. The implications of these findings and possibilities for further research are discussed.


Delayed appearance of popliteal cyst caused by a bullet.

A unique case of popliteal cyst apparently caused by a bullet that penetrated the knee joint 30 years previously was recently encountered. No similar case was found in the English-language literature (3, 9, 12). Removal of bullets adjacent to joints is recommended.


Gunshot wound of the abdomen with cerebral embolization.

A distinctly rare case of a bullet embolus to the internal carotid artery following an abdominal gunshot wound is reported. Unusual aspects of the case are discussed with references to the literature. Pathways the bullet may have traversed to reach its final location are proposed.


Traumatic ventricular septal defect and delayed post-pericardiotomy ventricular herniation.

A knife wound of the heart produced a ventricular septal defect. Surgical repair of a myocardial laceration and pericardiotomy for relief of cardiac tamponade were performed. Progressive exercise intolerance developed over an 8-year period. In addition, the patient experienced intermittent partial cardiac herniation resulting in angina-like chest pain. The patient is now asymptomatic after correction of the pericardial defect and closure of the ventricular septal defect.


Sequential aortic and inferior vena caval clamping for control of suprarenal vena caval injuries: case report.

A successful repair of a massive upper abdominal injury from a gunshot wound in a child is presented. The technique of sequentially clamping the aorta at the diaphragmatic hiatus and the inferior vena cava within the pericardium stabilized the patient for further repairs. This patient is apparently recovered, 1 year after the procedure.


The surgical treatment of traumatic rupture of the aortic valve: report of a case after blunt chest trauma.

An elderly patient with traumatic aortic valvular insufficiency was treated surgically with valve replacement, the preferred method of treatment, since prognosis is poor without timely surgical therapy. Further emphasis should be given to early diagnosis of this lesion.


Treatment of ankle sprains with joint aspiration, xylocaine infiltration, and early mobilization. Ankle sprains treated with xylocaine infiltration and early mobilization.

Ninety-nine ankle sprains were arbitrarily divided into a control (54 patients) and a study (45 patients) group. Both groups were treated with elevation, ice compression wraps crutches, and early mobilization. In addition, the study group underwent ankle joint aspiration and local injection of the involved ligaments with 4-10 cc of 1% xylocaine. The difference between recovery times in the control group (mean, 10.7 days) and in the study group (mean, 4.4 days) reached statistical significance at p less than 0.001 by Wilcoxon two-sample test. Because there are inherent risks in this treatment, it is not recommended for all patients. However, for those requiring early remission of symptoms to allow early return to pre-injury activities, this treatment is suggested by the author.


The management of tibial shaft fractures by early weight bearing in a patella tendon bearing cast: a comparative study.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the author's personal experiences in using the Patella Tendon Bearing Cast (P.T.B.) as described by Sarmiento (6), in the management of tibial shaft fractures. In all patients weight-bearing was instituted in a P.T.B. cast 4 weeks from the date of the fracture. The results obtained were compared with those of conventional methods used in the treatment of tibial shaft fractures. Analysis revealed that when the P.T.B. cast was used for treatment of tibial shaft fractures, the time taken for fracture healing was significantly reduced and the functional results were superior to those of conventional methods.


Regional lung function in pulmonary hypertension.

Utilizing 133-xenon gas and a scintillation camera, we examined the distributional relation between ventillation (V) and perfusion (Q) in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) comprising mitral stenosis (MS) and left to right shunt disease (shunt). In the case of MS, Q decreased at the dependent part of lung in proportion to the degree of PH, but preserved normal V and resulted in high V/Q value at this region, which was estimated to cause and physiological dead space effect on the gas exchange function. In the case of shunt disease, even with a high degree of PH, reduction of Q at the dependent lung region was not observed with normal preservation of V, thus obviating any type of the V/Q imbalance. Since the washout of xenon gas by resting tidal volume ventilation was observed to be delayed from the dependent lung region, latent ventilatory impairment in this region due to small airway closure at tidal breathing was also suspected.


Ultrastructure of the myocardium in acute febrile mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome.

A fine structure of the myocardium was examined in the acute febrile mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, which was recently prevailing in Japan. The right ventricular myocardial cells in ten cases were observed through endomyocardial biopsies. On light microscopy, accumulation of histiocytes was demonstrated in some cases. Electron microscopic examinations revealed myofibrillar changes, increased glycogen contents and other degenerative changes. On the myocardium of a case in which a biopsy was performed during the active phase of the disease, these changes were prominent. However, these changes were also observed for some months to some degree.


A trial of phono-cardio-scan (PCS) for the detection of the heart disease in preschool and school children [proceedings].

An attempt of PCS was performed for the first time in Japan. Eighteen hundred twenty-six preschool and school children were examined and the result was compared with other studies (physician's auscultation and PCG). The time requirement for a single child is approximately 1.5 min. in primary school. It took longer time in kindergarten. The heart murmur detection rate is high and the sensitivity is fairly good, although it is not so good as well-trained physician's heart murmur detection rate. PCS is not perfect, but is fairly good tool for screening. It can be used only by technician. PCS may be able to save the physician's time.


Sex and age differences in normal P loops in the Frank lead vectorcardiogram.

Noise-free and enlarged P loops of the Frank lead system were obtained from 164 normal Japanese males and 137 females (mean age: 34.4 and 33.2 years, respectively) with computer-averaging technique of 8 consecutive beats. Automated measurements concerning 17 parameters of the P loop (P durations, magnitudes, and directions of 3 planar, spatial maximal, and mean polar P vector) were carried out. At the same time, sex and age differences were statistically analyzed. I. Sex differences: Significant sex differences were found in 5 items in the first age group (20-29 years), 3 items in the second (30-39 years), and 7 items in the third (40-49 years). II. Age differences: In males, the effect of aging was observed in 5 parameters out of 17, in time durations extended and maximal vectors displaced posteriorly. In females, changes with advancing age were observed in 13 items out of 17, thus leaving only 4-parameter, including frontal maximal P vectors and directions of mean polar P vectors as unaffected.


Responses of plasma renin to sodium load in two types of experimental renal hypertension.

A sodium-rich diet was given 20 rabbits with 2-kidney hypertension (clipping of one renal artery with an intact contralateral kidney), 19 rabbits with 1-kidney hypertension (clipping of one renal artery with contralateral nephrectomy), and 13 normal rabbits. Sodium content of the diet was twice as much as the regular diet. The sodium load was started 10 weeks after clipping of the renal artery and lasted for 2 weeks. During the sodium load blood pressure did not show any significant changes but hematocrit was reduced in all 3 groups. Plasma renin activity (PRA) was clearly suppressed in 10 of 19 animals with 1-kidney hypertension and in 6 of 13 normal animals, but only in 4 of 20 animals with 2-kidney hypertension (p less than 0.04). The results indicate that PRA was more easily suppressed in animals with 1-kidney hypertension than in those with 2-kidney hypertension by a sodium-rich diet and the suppressive response is not associated with alterations in blood pressure.


Cardiohemodynamic effects of SK&F 24260, D 600, diltiazem, dilazep, and trimetazidine in the dog.

The cardiohemodynamic effects of a hypotensive agent, SK&F 24260, and coronary vasodilators, diltiazem, dilazep, and trimetazidine, and D 600 were studied in anesthetized open-chest dogs. The systemic blood pressure, cardiac output (pulmonary arterial flow), venous return (sum of the inferior and superior caval flow) right atrial pressure and heart rate were measured. All 5 drugs decreased the systemic blood pressure and heart rate and increased the right atrial pressure. The venous return and the cardiac output were reduced by higher doses of all the 5 drugs. However, SK&F 24260 in a wide range of doses greatly and diltiazem slightly but clearly increased the venous return and cardiac output. It appears that SK&F 24260 afects predominantly blood vessels whereas the other drugs affect rather the heart to produce a negative inotropic action.


Effects of ATP on Rb86 clearance of the various organs in rats.

Thirty-seven normal rats were used to investigate the effect of ATP on Rb86 clearance of the various organs. Blood pressure was decreased by intravenous bolus injection of 10 or 50 mug ATP/Kg body weight (b.w.). In 10 mug ATP/Kg b.w. infusion, Rb86 clearance of the heart, liver, and pancreas was increased by 43, 29, and 27% respectively. In 50 mug ATP/Kg b.w. infusion which reduced the arterial blood pressure strikingly, Rb86 clearance of the liver and pancreas was increased; and that of the kidney was decreased significantly. The present study may suggest that the effective nutritional blood flow of the heart, liver, and pancreas is increased by intravenous infusion of 10 mug ATP/Kg b.w.


Echocardiographic detection of pulmonic valve vegetation.

A patient with pulmonic valve vegetation is presented. The presence of vegetation was suggested echocardiographically by abnormal thick echoes on the pulmonic valve in diastole and it was confirmed by operation.


Echocardiogram before and after subtotal thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism.

Myocardial contractility was estimated in 27 patients with hyperthyroidism (10 men and 17 women, aged from 16 to 38) by echocardiography. Echocardiographic examination was performed before and on the 7th day after the subtotal thyroidectomy. Thyroid functions (PBI, T3, and T4) decreased significantly after the operation (p less than 0.01). Heart rate and systolic blood pressure showed a slight decrease (N.S.), while diastolic blood pressure showed a slight increase (N.S.), while diastolic blood pressure showed a slight increase (N.S.). Mean AWVs decreased from 35.8 +/- 7.0 mm/sec to 27.6 +/- 5.7 mm/sec and correlated wtih T3 (r=0.4008, p less than 0.05). Mean PWV's also decreased from 53.2 +/- 12.2 mm/sec to 45.2 +/- 11.4 mm/aec and correlated with T3 (r=0.5237, p less than 0.02). DDR decreased from 108.0 +/- 36.8 mm/sec to 85.7 +/- 31.7 mm/sec and correlated wtih T3 (r=0.4008, p less than 0.05). Above results suggest that enhanced myocardial contractility and elevated rate of ventricular filling in hyperthyroidism are suppressed after the operation, and that echocardiography is useful for the evaluation of the clinical course after the operation.


Reappraisal of jugular phlebogram in the diagnosis of tricuspid regurgitation. Relationship between echocardiographic interventricular septal motion and jugular phlebogram.

Little information is available concerning the relationship between the pattern of the jugular phlebogram and interventricular septal motion. We studied 250 patients with various conditons. Abnormal septal motion was observed in only 33% of the patients with tricuspid regurgitation. All the patients having abnormal septal motion and 66% of those having normal septal motion had the jugular pattern of tricuspid regurgitation. After cardiac operation with the incision of cardiac chambers and pericardiotomy, abnormal septal motion was seen from 40 to 89% at early postoperative period. Of the patients studied approximately 1 year after operation, there was reduced incidence of septal abnormality. Septal motion was normal in all the patients who had ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus and who underwent Blalock's operation. Of these, all having paradoxical motion which occurred in the mid-septum at least had the jugular pattern of tricuspid regurgitation. On the other hand, only 20 to 30% of the patients whose septal motion was normal had the jugular pattern of tricuspid regurgitation. Furthermore, all of the 3 patients with coronary artery disease having paradoxical motion of the entire septum had the jugular pattern of tricuspid regurgitation, as well. We conclude that the jugular pattern of tricuspid regurgitation and echocardiographic septal motion abnormality are related to each other and that tricuspid regurgitation should not be diagnosed by jugular phlebogram unless echocardiographic septal motion is examined.


A clinicopathological study on cardiac lesions in 64 cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was made in 64 cases (16.2%) among a total of 395 autopsy cases. There were 31 men and 33 women. Their ages ranged from 31 to 91 years (mean 76.3). Underlying diseases were mainly malignancy and sepsis. Fresh cardiac lesions were found in 40 cases (62.5%). Coronary thrombosis was found in 13 cases (20.3%) and myocardial necrosis in 24 cases (37.5%), with acute myocardial infarction in 9 and focal necrosis in 15. Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis was found in 17 cases (26.6%), mural thrombi in 11 (17.2%), and bleeding of the heart in 11 (17.2%). Platelet count, fibrinogen and euglobulin lysis time were not correlated with myocardial necrosis nor coronary thrombosis. Increase of fibrin degradation products correlated with the presence of coronary thrombosis with or without myocardial necrosis. DIC was found with a high incidence in the aged, and many of them were complicated with fresh cardiac lesions. Development of acute myocardial infarction depends on the small thrombi in the severe stenosis of the main coronary arteries or on the multiple microthrombi in the peripheral coronary branches.


Instantaneous assessments of left ventricular dimensions by ultrasonic analogue conversion system. I. An experimental study.

A new time-to-voltage analogue converter of ultrasound echo was made. The converter samples the echoes from the septal endocardium and the endocardium of the posterior wall of the left ventricle. The converter also enables automatic calculates left ventricular minor axis, volume, and work. In fixed human hearts, the left ventricular minor axis and volume calculated by the converter were close to the actual ones. In anesthetized dogs, left ventricular minor axis, volume, ejection fraction and stroke work calculated by the converter were close to those calculated by cineventriculography. The results indicate applicability of the ultrasonic analogue converter for instantaneous assessments of left ventricular dimensions and function.


On the function of the aortic valve and the mechanism of the first and second sounds.

Studies are reported on the exact timing of the aortic component of the second sound in relationship to aortic pressure and flow velocity, and also to aortic valve closure. These studies were performed in animals by means of catheter-tip probes and an electric contact introduced into the aortic valve. They were supplemented by echocardiographic stuides of the aortic valve, and impedance cardiograms in man. Opening of the aortic valve and its relationship to the first heart sound were also studied. It was observed that the second component of the first heart sound grossly coincides with the opening of the aortic valve. The aortic component of the second sound starts a few milliseconds after aortic valve closure. It starts after the incisura of the aortic pressure tracing and the drop of the velocity curve to the zero line; it then increases attaining its maximum at the peak of the rapid rebound of the aortic pressure, which coincides with the trough of the velocity tracing. The final interpretation on the mechanism of the second sound agrees in principle with the studies of Luciani, Wiggers, and Rushmer attributing the sound vibrations to release of the energy stored in the aortic wall, which accelerates the flow and causes deceleration of numerous structures (aortic and valvar) as well as of the blood. Studies of the rate of change of acceleration of pressure confirm this interpretation.


Effects of oral neomycin and kanamycin in chronic uremic patients: I. Urea metabolism.

The fate of portal ammonia derived from intestinal urea degradation was examined in 15 experiments in patients with chronic renal failure. The kinetics of labelled urea metabolism were studied before and again during the administration of oral neomycin or kanamycin. Detectable absorption of both drugs generally occurred, but urea clearance and estimated glomerular filtration rate did not significantly change during antibiotic administration. In seven experiments a significant fall in urea degradation (65% to 95%) occurred during antibiotic administration. Analysis of the effect of antibiotics was confined to these seven experiments. In the control periods, there were no differences in urea metabolism or renal function between these patients and those in whom urea degradation was not suppressed. If ammonia derived from urea degradation is converted back to urea in the liver, then suppression of degradation would lead to an equal decrease in urea production, and the difference between production and degradation ("appearance") would remain constant. However, if urea-derived ammonia is used for protein synthesis, suppression of degradation would permit the formerly degraded urea to appear in urine and body fluids and thus to increase urea appearance. In these seven experiments, we found no change in urea appearance during antibiotic administration. We conclude that portal ammonia is reincorporated into urea in chronic renal failure and is not utilized significantly for protein synthesis.


Effects of oral neomycin and kanamycin in chronic uremic patients: II. Nitrogen balance.

Nitrogen balance was studied for five to seven days before and during oral administration of neomycin or kanamycin to 14 patients with severe chronic renal failure who were receiving long-term nutritional therapy consisting of protein restriction and supplements of essential amino acids or their nitrogen-free analogues. There was a significant improvement in nitrogen balance during the antibiotic period when compared to the control period, averaging +0.80 g of N per day (P less than 0.005). There was no significant change in average dietary nitrogen, fecal nitrogen, the excretion of non-urea urinary nitrogen, or urea appearance (defined as the sum of urinary urea and the change in the urea pool) during the antibiotic period. However, total nitrogen intake increased by 0.47 g per day owing to nitrogen contained in the drugs. The lack of a change in fecal nitrogen implies that fecal nitrogen not attributable to the drug must have fallen substantially. We conclude that oral neomycin and kanamycin may improve nitrogen balance in patients with severe chronic renal failure by diminishing endogenous fecal nitrogen.


Aldosterone production during dietary sodium restriction and beta-adrenergic blockade.

The role of the renin-angiotensin system in mediating the aldosterone response to sodium depletion was examined by administration of propranolol during dietary sodium restriction. The beta-adrenergic antagonist prevented the expected increase of plasma renin activity in response to sodium restriction in six of twelve studies. Plasma angiotensin II concentration failed to increase in four of five subjects in whom the renin response was abolished. Despite unchanged or decreased plasma renin activity and plasma angiotensin II concentration, plasma aldosterone concentration increased significantly in response to dietary sodium restriction. The increase in aldosterone production could not be attributed to changes in plasma sodium or potassium concentration or increased ACTH secretion. It is suggested that the aldosterone response to sodium restriction is mediated not only by increased plasma renin activity and angiotensin II concentration, but also another mechanism, possibly related to increased adrenal sensitivity to angiotensin during sodium depletion.


Alterations in the dog renal tubular epithelium during normothermic ischemia.

Dog kidneys were subjected to one, two, or three hours' normothermic ischemia in situ and were then excised for biochemical and histological evaluation. The uptake of para-aminohippurate (PAH) by cortical slices progressively decreased with prolongation of the ischemia, but active transport was never abolished. Glycine uptake and oxygen consumption were only reduced to a modest extent by the ischemia. The intracellular ion levels were drastically altered, with loss of potassium and gain of sodium and chloride, and considerable increases in tissue water were observed. Acid phosphatase was liberated by the whole organ into the venous blood and by the incubated slices into the incubation medium, but both biochemical and histochemical techniques showed that the total quantity of the enzyme in the cells was hardly changed. The histochemical reaction product was localized exclusively in the lysosomes. Morphological damage was slight after one or two hours' ischemia, but more pronounced after three hours, when some cells were seen to be detached from the basement membrane. These relatively minor changes seem insufficient to predict the ultimate fate of the organ after ischemia.


Urine-reinfusion natriuresis: evidence for potent natriuretic factors in rat urine.

In awake rats the entire urine output was continuously reinfused i.v. Urine-reinfusion (UR) consistently led to the appearance, within one to two hours, of massive, sustained natriuresis and diuresis, suggesting the existence of potent natriuretic factors in the urine. At the time of maximal natriuresis, mean sodium excretion rate and urine flow rate were 25 and 15 times their respective values in control rats. Ths "urine-reinfusion natriuresis" could be demonstrated despite treatment with desoxycorticosterone acetate, blockage of prostaglandin synthesis by indomethacin or meclofenamate, reduction of plasma urea by pretreatment with a protein-free diet, or heating the urine to 100 degrees C. The natriuresis was not prevented by the absence of vasopressin (in Brattleboro rats) and was augmented by vasopressin infusion. In the Brattleboro rats, a marked increase in (CH2O + CNa)/GFR with only a slight rise in CH2O/GFR during UR suggests inhibition of both proximal and distal tubular reabsorption. Renal blood flow and plasma flow increased markedly during UR with a lesser rise in GFR, consistent with post-glomerular vasodilatation. Thus, the phenomenon of urine-reinfusion natriuresis suggests the presence in rat urine of potent, heat stable natriuretic factors, whose action is largely independent of changes in mineralocorticoids, prostaglandins, urea, or vasopressin. Renal vasodilatation with decreased sodium reabsorption at both proximal and distal nephron sites, appears to play an important role in the natriuresis.


Renin synthesis, storage, and release in the rat: a morphological and biochemical study.

When a marked stimulation of the reninangiotensin system induced in the rat by bilateral adrenalectomy and salt-depletion is abruptly blocked by a 48-hr substitution treatment which desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and saltload, one observes: 1) an absolute increase of a form of renin revealed only after prior acidification (pH, 2.5) of kidney extract before usual incubation at the optimum pH of 6.5 and 2) the simultaneous appearance of many granules containing crystalline cores in the epithelioid cells of the juxtaglomerular apparatus. These observations are compatible with the existence of two forms of renal renin and show that after renin-depletion of the kidney, newly synthesized renin is mainly in the acid-activated form. Storage of this renin the epitheloid cells may possibly take the form of secretory granules with crystalline cores. It is speculated that the acid-activated from of renin may be either a renin proenzyme or a protein-bound form.


Evidence that alterations in distal sodium delivery and distal sodium avidity affect the rate of excretion of an acute HCl load.

In these experiments, two groups of animals were studies to evaluate the effect of altering renal tubular sodium-handling on the excretion of acute HCl load. In group, I, normal salt animals hypotonically expanded with antidiuretic hormone (ADH) (using a protocol known to stimulate aldosterone) presented large amounts of sodium to the distal tubule and excreted an acute HCl load much more efficiently than did animals pretreated with either a normal (NL) or low (LO) salt diet alone. In group II, 24 hr after acid-loading, the plasma bicarbonate concentrations were significantly lower in animals pretreated with sodium restriction plus furosemide (F) than in those maintained on a normal (NL) or high (HI) salt diet alone. Acid excretion was maximized (ADH) when distal sodium avidity was stimulated in the presence of adequate distal sodium delivery and minimized (F) when distal sodium delivery was limited (despite possible augmentation of distal sodium avidity). Alterations in urinary sodium excretion alone (LO, NL, HI) did not affect the rate of acid excretion. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that the excretion of an acute HCl load is mediated by existing levels of distal sodium delivery and distal sodium avidity.


Individual renal clearances determined at renal vein catheterization.

Renal para-aminohippurate (PAH) clearances were predicted in 16 kidneys of eight hypertensive patients with renal artery stenosis, pyelonephritis, or obstructive nephropathy, without individual ureteral catheterization. Predictions of left or right kidney clearance (CL or CR) were based on roentgenographic renal frontal areas (A), on total PAH clearances (CT), and on individual PAH extractions (E) measured at renal vein catheterization according to the formula (formula: see text). When these patients underwent ureteral catheterization for diagnostic reasons, individual PAH clearances were measured and ranged from 22 to 286 cm3/min. After correction for differences in total PAH clearance on the two occasions, predicted and individually measured values corresponded closely along a line of identity. The 95% confidence limit (+/- 2 SEM) for predictions of individual PAH clearance was approximately +/- 38 cm3/min and for percet of total PAH clearance distributed to left or right kidney, +/- 6%. Individual renal PAH clearances can therefore be predicted at renal vein catheterization with acceptable error. Thus, the substantially invasive procedure of ureteral catheterization is not required to ascertain left and right kidney PAH clearance in patients already at risk from renal disease.


Angiotensin II blockade in normal man: interaction of renin and sodium in maintaining blood pressure.

Nine normotensive volunteers underwent six days of sodium-depletion followed by six days of sodium-repletion. On days six and twelve, the angiotensin II inhibitor, sar1-ala8-angiotensin II (saralasin), was infused i.v. and the blood pressure monitored with the subjects first in supine and then in upright position. The degree of induced sodium-depletion was varied over a considerable range in order to determine the level of sodium balance which is critical for maintaining blood pressure in the absence of the pressor action of angiotensin II. Five subjects had a cumulative sodium loss of more than 200 mEq, mainly because of more vigorous diuretic treatment; upon infusion of saralasin, four exhibited marked hypotension in the erect position. The fifth became deeply hypotensive while still supine and was unable to stand up. Hypotension occurred in spite of clinical evidence of catecholamine oversecretion. In the four patients who had urinary sodium losses of less than 200 mEq, infusion of the inhibitor did not reduce their blood pressure. Following sodium-repletion, none of the nine subjects exhibited a blood pressure response to the inhibitor. These results suggest that angiotensin II plays an active role in sustaining normal blood pressure only under conditions of considerable sodium-depletion.


Volume-dependent parameters in essential hypertension.

Blood pressure, renal blood flow, total blood volume (TBV), plasma renin activity, and vascular reactivities to angiotensin and norepinephrine were studied in 48 normotensive subjects and 106 essential, sustained, hypertensive patients with normal renal function, balanced sodium intake, and urinary output. A significant negative pressure-volume relationship was observed in normal subjects. Among the hypertensive patients, some were inside the 95% confidence limits of the normal curve and the others were above, indicating a disturbance in the pressure-volume relationship. A quantitative evaluation of the pressure-volume disturbance was proposed and discussed. The blood pressure of each hypertensive patient corresponded to two different blood volume values: the renal valve and the theoretical value extrapolated from the normal curve. The difference between the two values was called deltaTBV and was positive in hypertensive patients. The deltaTBV value was negatively correlated with the renal blood flow, the creatinine clearance, the plasma renin activity, and the vascular reactivities to angiotensin and norepinephrine (P less than 0.0001). The parameters were not correlated with the real blood volume. This study demonstrates quantitatively a pressure-volume disturbance in essential hypertension. This disturbance is strongly correlated with the renal function and the renin-angiotensin system changes.


Activity of creatine kinase isoenzyme MB in serum and red cell acetylcholinesterase variants in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Activity of creatine kinase isoenzyme MB in serum and variants of red cell acetylcholinesterase were determined in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in other forms of Dystrophy and in family members of Duchenne patients and healthy controls. Creatine kinase isoenzyme MB was observed only in all cases of DMD as well as variants of red cell acetylcholinesterase characterized by so-called inhibitor numbers. Carriers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy can be distinguished from Duchenne patients and healthy controls by estimation of Acetylcholinesterase variants.


Neuraminidase and tumor immunotherapy.

Preliminary results of first clinical studies with the enzyme neuraminidase call attention to a new kind of cancer treatment. This promising approach to tumor immunotherapy was entered into the clinical phase as a consequence of successful experimental studies in tumor-bearing mice, rats and dogs. In this review, the presently known and essential results of experimental and clinical studies on tumor immunotherapy by means of neuraminidase are presented as well as some necessary and critical considerations in this context. Moreover, out of a broad variety of results of biochemical and biological in vitro studies, it was attempted to select the more essential knowledge which could contribute to a better understanding of the still rather unclear in vivo mode of action of the enzyme neuraminidase. In a first brief paragraph (1.0), the biochemically characteristic data of the enzyme neuraminidase is presented. In the second section (2.0), the basic knowledge about the effects of neuraminidase on cell behavior is rather amply contained. Here, on the one hand, the biophysical and biochemical alterations are mentioned, the so-called ""unmasking'' effects are reconsidered and, on the other hand, the effects on the immunologically responding cell are discussed. In a third section (3.0), the diverse findings from animal experiments using neuraminidase-treated tumor cells are confronted, whereby tumor transplantation experiments and tumor therapy experiments are dealt with separately. The last section (4.0) reports about the first clinical studies with neuraminidase-treated autologous as well as homologous tumor cells, which partly brought about rather surprising and astonishing success. On the basis of recent findings by the study group of the authors, the more prior and sometimes discrepant results of various groups are critically considered. The problems of alteration of antigenicity and of other properties of cells through splitting off membrane-bound neuraminic acid, the facts of adjuvanticity of neuraminidase itself, the relation of successful therapy to dose dependency as well as the relation of undesirable methods for tumor mass reduction to the immunological responsiveness of the tumor bearer were especially looked into.


[Plasma concentrations after injection or infusion of phenytoin (author's transl)].

Intravenous injection of 3 mg/kg phenytoin produced plasma concentrations of 4.2 mug/ml in five volunteers, which were below the concentration of 10-20 mjg/ml necessary for effective antiarrhythmic and antiepileptic treatment. Intravenous injection of 250 mg phenytoin followed by infusion of 750 mg phenytoin in a mean dosage of 1.7 mg/kg x h in nine patients with epilepsy produced plasma concentrations of 10.2 resp. 15.1 mug/ml after 4 resp. 8h. An oral maintenance therapy of 5-6 mg/kg is suggested. Therapeutic plasma concentrations were rapidly reached with this regimen.


[Lysozyme levels in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (author's transl)].

Lysozyme concentrations in serum and urine were determined in 101 patients with Crohn's disease and 26 patients with ulcerative colitis. Lysozyme was assayed according to the lysoplate method of Osserman against a standard of humam lysozyme. The mean serum lysozyme concentrations (+/- S.E.M.) for each group were as follows: controls 8.4 +/- 1.8 (n equals 38), Crohn's disease 8.2+/-2.6 (n equals 101), ulcerative colitis 8.7+/-3.0 (n equals 26). No significant differences were found in serum lysozyme levels of the various groups of patients (2p is greater 0.05). There existed no correlation (r equals 0.12, n equals  129, p is greater than 0.05) with the activity of the disease. Serum lysozyme levels were significantly higher in patients affected by Crohn's disease of the small and the large bowel than in patients with involvement of the small intestine only and operated patients (2p is less than 0.05). The discriminative value of these findings with respect to the clinical course of such patients is limited because no significant differences are found between the levels of patients with Crohn's disease and controls. Neither in case of Crohn's disease nor ulcerative colitis were the mean urine lysozyme concentrations increased. These findings show that the determination of serum and urine lysozyme levels is unsuitable in respect of the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease as well as of the assessment of activity and extent of the disease.


[Frequency and valuation of epitheloid cell granulomas of the spleen in morbus Hodgkin (author's transl)].

Macroscopic and microscopic examination of 154 spleens from patients with lymphogranulomatosis revealed focal alterations in 71 (46%) specimens, 55 ( equals 36%) of which showed typical Hodgkin granuloma while in 16 cases ( equals 10%) the granulomas present were composed of epitheloid cells only. In casu, both Hodkin and epitheloid cell granulomas were macroscopically visible and occurred in normal-sized as well as in enlarged (is greater than 250 g) spleens. However, unspecific alterations had led to splenomegaly, too. The presence of epitheloid cell granulomas in spleens in M. Hodgkin proves that the granulomas indeed are causal pathogenetically linked with lymphogranulomatosis, but are to separate from it  substantially. Epitheloid cell granulomas are interpreted as a reaction of the mononuclear phagocyte system in lymogranulomatosis and not as a manifestation of lymphogranulomatosis itself. This should be considered in clinical staging.


[Respiratory gas exchange and glucose uptake by the human spleen in situ (author's transl)].

Blood samples were taken from the splenic artery, vein and pulp of 16 patients suffering from lymphoproliferative diseases, essential thrombocytopenia or hereditary spherocytosis and undergoing early splenectomy. The relevant parameters of the respiratory gas exchange as well as glucose and lactate concentrations were determined in these samples. In no case did the thorough examination of the splenic tissue reveal any histopathologic aspects. Taking into account a mean splenic blood flow of 100 ml/100 g/min during anaesthesia, the mean oxygen consumption of the splenic tissue attains 1.1 ml/100 g/min. The glucose uptake and the lactate release show to be 9 mg/100 g/min and 5.2 mg/100 g/min, respectively. Despite high glucose uptake rates and pronounced glycolytic activities there is no evidence of the existence of low pH values, a glucose depletion or hypoxia in the normal spleen. In the normal spleen, therefore, the intrasplenic sequestration of red blood cells cannot be explained by unfavourable metabolic conditions.


[Thin layer chromatography of riboflavin in urine (author's transl)].

A method is described for determining riboflavin excretion in urine by thin-Layer chromatography. The sample will be preliminarily purified on Permutit T with subsequent separation of riboflavin by thin-layer chromatography on Kieselgel HR with pyridine--acetic acid--water as an eluant. Substances interfering with the fluorescence of riboflavin can be eliminated through the procedure. Riboflavin remission is measured by a chromatogram-spectralphotometer with fluorescence equipment. Between 0.02 to 0.5 mug riboflavin intensity of fluorescence is proportional to the concentration of riboflavin.


Plasma digoxin levels in anuric patients and normal subjects taking digitoxin.

Plasma digoxin suspected to be elevated in anuric patients taking digitoxin was determined by radioimmunoassay in 15 anuric patients and 15 normal persons subjected to 0.1 mg digitoxin therapy per day. All plasma digoxin values from the anuric patients and the normal subjects were far below the lower limit of the therapeutic range of plasma digoxin. There existed no difference between the digoxin values determined in anuric patients and subjects with normal renal function; in both groups there was a scatter of digoxin values about the cross reaction line between digitoxin and digoxin antibody. It is concluded from the results that digoxin retention in anuric patients taking digitoxin plays an insignificant role; thus, the pharmacological effect is mediated by digitoxin itself.


Effect of hypertension on the in vitro incorporation of [1-14C]-oleate into phospholipid and cholesterol ester in the aortae of normal-fed and cholesterol-fed rabbits.

The effect of prior hypertension on the in vitro incorporation of [1-14C]-oleate into phospholipid and cholesterol ester in aortae from cholesterol-fed and normal fed rabbits was studied. Incorporation of [1-14C]-oleate into phospholipid was not increased in aortae from either hypertensive normal-fed or hypertensive cholesterol-fed rabbits when compared to the appropriate normotensive controls. In the normal-fed rabbits, incorporation of [1-14C]-oleate into cholesterol ester was increased by hypertension in all aortic regions. In cholesterol-fed rabbits cholesterol esterification was found to be proportional to the intimal cholesterol concentration, irrespective of the prior blood pressure or the particular aortic region studied. It is concluded that the increased lipid synthesis in atherosclerotic vessels from hypertensive rabbits is a consequence of the increased lipid accumulation produced by hypertension and not the result of hypertension directly stimulating arterial wall metabolism.


Effect of norethisterone-acetate on salt excretion and of the renin-aldosterone system in man.

The mechanism of a previously described rise in the excretion rate of aldosterone-18-glucuronide under the influence of norethisterone-acetate was further investigated in 10 male volunteers. Oral administration of 30 mg norethisterone-acetate daily for 1 week caused a significant natriuresis and a rise in the excretion rate of aldosterone-18-glucuronide. Aldosterone secretion rate rose slightly but insignificantly. Plasma aldosterone, renin activity, and angiotensin II remained unaltered while plasma renin substrate increased markedly. Norethisterone-acetate, or one of its metabolites, may directly stimulate aldosterone secretion and metabolism rendering plasma aldosterone levels unaltered. The rise in renin substrate is obviously due to estrogenic properties of the compound studied. The mechanism of natriuresis remains unexplained.


Renin-like (angiotensinogenase) activity in sweat of patients with cystic fibrosis and controls.

Using bioassay method (rat blood pressure technique) as well as the radioimmunoassay, renin-like activity (RLA) was measured in eccrine sweat of patients with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas (CF) and of controls. Sweat-formation was induced by pilocarpine-iontophoresis or by local injection of carbamylcholine (Doryl). RLA-values between O (not measurable) and 460 ng/ml.h were measured. With increasing sweat flow-rate a tendency to lower RLA-values was detected. No significant difference was observed between CF and controls. From the observation that RLA of sweat is up to 30 times higher than that of plasma, it is concluded that RLA is probably released not from plasma but from the sweat glands themselves, where it is stored or synthesized.


Membrane phenomena accompanying erythrophagocytosis. A scanning electron microscope study.

Mouse peritoneal macrophages phagocytose opsonized sheep red blood cells in two distinct ways. The unflattened macrophage with its highly folded plasma membrane envelops erythrocytes by multiple pseudopodia that are frequently of unequal size and have overlapping margins. The flat macrophage with a smooth surface, acquired as a result of spreading on an artificial substrate or from engulfing several erythrocytes, internalizes erythrocytes by a single cuplike or funnel-like pseudopod. Both patterns are observed in in situ and in vitro preparations of macrophages from A and C3H/HeN strain mice, that are normal, sensitized to sheep red blood cells, or treated with pyran. These membrane patterns are observed on macrophages engulfing erythrocytes that had been coated with antibody from A strain mice, or with rabbit antisheep erythrocyte antibody. The factor that appears to determine the membrane pattern is the number of discrete points of contact made by the erythrocyte as it attaches to the folded or smooth surface of a macrophage.


The fine structure of granuloma annulare.

The necrobiotic disease granuloma annulare was studied with the electron microscope in an effort to develop a theory for the mechanism of development of necrobiotic connective tissue. That mechanism must provide for the disappearance of nuclei, the tinctorial change in collagen, and the retention of connective tissue outlines characteristic of necrobiosis. Our observations suggest that necrosis of histiocytes and fibroblasts with release of lysosomal enzymes is an important early event in the development of necrobiosis. Increased quantities of extracellular hyaluronic acid are also present in the earliest recognizable lesions. The combination of lysosomal enzymes and abundant hyaluronic acid in the interstitium results in swelling of collagen. Necrotic cellular debris is deposited about many collagen fibrils. This material seems to protect collagen from further destruction and may account for the preservation of connective tissue outlines observed at the light microscopic level. Some collagen fibrils not protected by cellular debris appear to be disrupted into constituent filaments. Crossbanded filamentous aggregates that resemble fibrous long spaced collagen were also observed and may represent an abnormal reassembly of disrupted collagen.


Failure of certain antiplatelet drugs to affect myointimal thickening following arterial endothelial injury in the rat.

The effect of aspirin, reserpine, and flurbiprofen on in vivo platelet function and intimal smooth muscle cell hyperplasia in rat carotid arteries subjected to endothelial injury was investigated and related to the effect of these drugs on in vitro platelet aggregation. Endothelial injury was achieved by infusing air briefly into a segment of right common carotid artery. Beginning before or after surgery, experimental animals were given sufficient drug to suppress platelet aggregation in vitro in response to collagen, adenosine diphosphate, or thrombin. The carotid arteries were fixed by perfusion at 5 and 14 days after injury and examined by light, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy for platelet activity and intimal smooth muscle cell proliferation in the denuded segment. Platelets in platelet-rich plasma from control animals aggregated in response to collagen, adenosine diphosphate, and thrombin; platelets from aspirin-, flurbiprofen- and reserpine-treated rats showed markedly diminished aggregation in response to collagen and normal or slightly diminished aggregation in response to ADP and thrombin. At 5 days, platelets from control animals formed a dense layer in the denuded segment: at 14 days, marked intimal thickening due to smooth muscle cell hyperplasia was observed. In experimental animals, the platelets were morphologically identical with controls and covered the denuded segment; serotonin granules were missing in platelets of reserpine-treated rats. Intimal thickening at 14 days was the same as controls. We conclude that in the rat no correlation may be made between the effect of aspirin, reserpine, and flurbiprofen on in vitro platelet aggregation and the effect of these drugs on the function of platelets on an arterial wall denuded of endothelium, as judged by morphology; furthermore, even when these drugs are used in sufficient dose to inhibit in vitro aggregation of platelets, myointimal thickening is not inhibited.


Intelligibility of time-altered speech in relation to chronological aging.

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number 6 (NU-6) measure of speech discrimination was time compressed and presented to four age groups ranging from 54 to 84 years of age. Experimental stimuli were presented at sensation levels of 24, 32, and 40 dB to an equal number of right and left ears and male and female subjects. Results indicated that intelligibility decreased as a function of increasing time compression and age and decreasing sensation level. Changes in speech intelligibility associated with the aging process appear to be closely allied to changes in the temporal resolving power of the central auditory processing system.


Dichotic ear preference in aphasia.

A dichotic listening test, composed at 30 CVC-word pairs, was administered to 20 adults with aphasia and 20 normal adults. The subjects with aphasia were selected for inclusion in one of four experimental groups which differed according to intitial severity of aphasia and time post onset. All experimental subjects were given a diagnostic language test within the first four weeks following aphasia onset and again at the time of dichotic testing. Difference scores provided a quantitative estimate of language improvement. Data analysis revealed a strong left-ear preference (-0.363) for the experimental subjects which differed significantly from a right-ear preference (+0.290) obtained from the normal control subjects. Further, initial severity of aphasia was found to be a significant variable, capable of influencing the magnitude of ear preference. Multiple regression and partial correlational methods revealed significant, positive relationships between the magnitude of ear preference and initial severity of aphasia and between the former and the magnitude of language improvement. Time post aphasia onset was not shown to be a significant variable. The theoretical and potential clinical relevance of the results are discussed.


Effects of training on the visual recognition of consonants.

Visual recognition of consonants was studied in 31 hearing-impaired adults before and after 14 hours of concentrated, individualized, spechreading training. Confusions were analyzed via a hierarchical clustering technique to derive categories of visual contrast among the consonants. Pretraining and posttraining results were compared to reveal the effects of the training program. Training caused an increase in the number of visemes consistently recognized and an increase in the percentage of within-viseme responses. Analysis of the responses made revealed that most changes in consonant recognition occurred during the first few hours of training.


Validity of the Sklar Aphasia Scale.

A German version of the Sklar Aphasia Scale (SAS) was administered to groups of fluent aphasics, nonfluent aphasics, and three control groups (brain-damaged patients without aphasia, schizophrenics, and normal subjects). The SAS discriminated fluent and nonfluent aphasics from schizophrenic brain-damaged, and normal control subjects with a high level of confidence; 91.8% of the aphasic and 81.5% of the brain-damaged patients without aphasia were correctly classified. However, the SAS did not discriminate between fluent and nonfluent aphasics. A factor analysis, which also included the subtests of the Token Test and eight other variables, showed the SAS and the Token Test to load mainly on the same general factor, which represents the severity of language disorders or the impairment of those left-hemisphere functions that might be basic to language. Subtests II and IV of the SAS also had loadings on a memory factor, but none of the subtests had variance on the third factor which represented the sensory-motor or fluency/nonfluencey dimension.


Auditory reaction times for functional and nonfunctional hearing loss.

Differences in decision processes as measured by auditory reaction times of simulated or actual functional hearing-loss subjects and nonfunctional subjects were investigated. Sensation level data are presented that reflect marked differences between such individuals with regard to probability of response, and means and standard deviations of auditory reaction times. Means and standard deviations of auditory reaction times for nonfunctional subjects are greatly reduced when compared with results obtained by simulated or actual functional subjects. Probability of response data was less effective in differentiating functional from nonfunctional subjects. Individuals who were trained to simulate hearing loss responded in a manner similar to functional patients. The results of this study suggest that auditory reaction time measures can be employed to determine the existence or nonexistence of functional hearing loss with considerable accuracy.


Effect of vicarious punishment on stuttering frequency.

This investigation explored the effect of vicarious response-contingent stimulation on the frequency of stuttering. Twenty adult stutterers spoke for 20 minutes, then observed a speaker on a videotape for 10 minutes, and then spoke for an additional 20 minutes. In one condition the speaker on the videotape was a severe stutterer who experienced a dramatic reduction in stuttering under a contingent time-out procedure. In a second condition, the videotape speaker was a severe stutterer who received no experimental manipulations. In the third condition, the videotape speaker was a normal talker who received no experimental manipulations. All subjects participated in all three conditions. Twenty of the stutterers experienced a significant decrease in stuttering as a result of watching the videotape model who received contingent time-out. The subjects did not exhibit significant changes in stuttering after watching the severe stutterer who received no treatment or the normal talker.


Observer bias as a factor in neonatal hearing screening.

To evaluate observer bias as a possible factor influencing neonatal hearing testing, two trained observers were asked to evaluate the behavior of 200 neonates at a moment the observers thought a stimulus was being presented. Observers were receiving masking noise, and when the stimulus button was pressed a stimulus might or might not be delivered to the child. Results suggest that observer bias is not a factor when arousal is the only acceptable response and is clearly defined, and the observers are limited to a yes-no decision. Sequential analysis of infant response patterns is presented and a specific test scoring protocol is outlined.


Effect of adjacency on the distribution of new stutterings in two successive readings.

The consistency with which stuttering tends to occur on the same words in successive readings of a passage, though high enough to warrant the assumption that stuttering is a response to stimuli, is generally far from perfect. It was hypothesized that this is partly because stuttering sometimes occurs adjacent to previously stuttered words rather than on them, as a result of a type of adjacency effect. Ten stutterers read a 300-word passage twice in succession. The words stuttered for the first time in the second reading were analyzed to determine whether an unusually large proportion of them were adjacent to words stuttered in the first reading. No such tendency was found.


Overt and covert aspects of adult speech perception.

The relationship between verbal report and cardiac orienting response measures of speech discrimination in adult listeners was examined in two experiments using stimuli and paradigms previously employed in studies of infant speech perception. The results of Experiment I revealed that all listeners, those who reported discrimination of a synthetic [ba-ga] change (Group D) as well as those who did not (Group ND), demonstrated cardiac discrimination of the stimulus shift. However, this pattern of cardiac activity, both at stimulus onset and the shift, was found to be different in these two groups of listeners. Experiment II replicated the Group D results using a slightly different cardiac paradigm and quasinatural speech syllables. The implications of these findings for developmental research on speech perception with older infants, children, and populations with language disorders are discussed.


Criteria for assessing therapy outcome in speech pathology and audiology.

Speech pathologists and audiologists function as both producers and consumers of information concerning therapy outcome. In both roles they have to know the questions that need to be answered to adequately evaluate a therapy method and the factors that have to be considered when interpreting answers to such questions. An approach (in the form of a work sheet) is described here that can be used for both identifying and systematically evaluating the validity, reliability, and generality of information regarding impacts of therapy methods on persons who have communicative disorders and for identifying additional information needed to complete such an evaluation. The approach is used to assess the impacts of a therapy method.


Timing control accuracy in normal speakers and stutterers.

This study attempted to assess the abilities of 10 normal speakers, five stutterers in therapy, and five stutterers no longer in therapy, to control the time program of repeated utterances. The speech sample comprised repeated sentences, paragraphs, and nursery rhymes, and a finger-tapping task was included as a control. Temporal accuracy was measured. Results suggest that (1) there is a wide range of timing abilities, even among the normal speakers, with considerable overlap between the different groups of speakers; (2) on most of the experimental tasks, normal speakers are more accurate timers than are stutterers; (3) stutterers released from therapy are more accurate timers than are stutterers still in therapy, whenever these groups differ; and (4) subjects' speech timing scores correlate moderately with their tapping scores. These results are discussed in terms of (1) theoretical timing control processes, such as a neural clock for controlling speech segment durations, and a speech motor output buffer, whose capacity may be limited in stutterers, and (2) known effects of rhythmic constraints and respiratory irregularity on fluency.


An extension of a familiar index of observer agreement.

A popular index of observer agreement is a/(a + d) in which a and d represent the number of agreements and disagreements. This article provides a rationale for the extension of the index to the multiple-observer case, a comparison with another frequently used index, a description of situations for which the index is appropriate, and an analysis of factors related to interpreting the magnitude of the index.


Effects of stimulus frequency and intensity on the middle componenets of the averaged auditory eletroencephalic response.

Middle components (latency 8-50 msec) of the averaged auditory electroencephalic response (AAER), evoked by brief duration tone bursts, were recorded from 11 normal-hearing subjects. Latency and amplitude measurements were made on five peaks (Na, Pa, Nb, Pb, and Nc) of the AAER waveforms recorded for 27 experimental conditions: three conditions of stimulus frequency (250, 1000, and 4000 Hz) at each of nine conditions of signal intensity (a no-stimulus control and 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 dB fe: group thresholds). Latency for each peak decreased with increased stimulus frequency, and it tended to decrease slightly with increases in stimulus intensity. Amplitude input-output characteristics varied with stimulus frequency and response peak. In general, the most linear input-output characteristics occurred for the early peaks and high stimulus frequencies. Characteristics for later peaks and lower frequencies tended to asymptote at moderate stimulus intensities. Between-subject variability was not much greater than within-subject variability for the single event auditory evoked potential (AEP). The variance of the AEP, however, was nearly as great (as much as two-thirds) as the variance of the background EEG, despite the large difference between AEP and background EEG amplitude.


Influence of certain language and communication environments in early childhood on the development of language in deaf individuals.

Four groups of deaf subjects between the age of 10-0 and 18-11 years were tested, employing the Test of Syntactic Ability, and the language subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test, in a study of the influence of early language and communication environment on later syntactic language ability. The groups, 18 subjects in each, were dichotomized by whether the parents were hearing or deaf and further subgrouped by the language ability of the parents if the parents were deaf, and by the amount and intensity of oral preschool training provided by the parents if the parents were hearing. The groups were labeled by the type of language used with them in infancy and early childhood: manual English, average manual, intensive oral, and average oral. Results showed significant superiority of the manual English group over the two oral groups on five of the six major test structures of the Test of Syntactic Ability. On the Stanford Achievement Test, the manual English group performed significantly better than the other three groups on all four subtests. The two manual groups performed significantly better than the two oral groups on every test measure employed.


Haemophilus endocarditis. Report of 14 patients.

From 1963 through December 1976, 14 patients with Haemophilus endocarditis were seen, 10 since January 1972. Four different species representing 15 isolates were cultured from the 14 patients: H. influenzae (1), H. aphrophilus (5), H. PARAPHROPHILUS (5), and H. parainfluenzae (4). One patient had infection with both H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of 12 of the tested 14 strains with ampicillin were 1.25 mug/ml or less. Tube dilution tests were not possible for minimal bactericidal concentrations (7 times) or serum bactericidal titers (5 times) of the 12 tested strains. The clinical picture varied from an insidious onset and mild uncomplicated disease to abrupt onset with severe multisystem disease. Twelve patients had murmurs on admission; congestive heart failure was absent in all 14 but embolization occurred in 6. Treatment periods of 3 to 7 weeks consisted of penicillin G or ampicillin plus aminoglycoside in nine patients and ampicillin alone in five. All 14 patients were cured; no relapses occurred. Value surgery was not needed for bacteriologic cure but was necessary 15 days after therapy in one patient and in four others from 12 to 22 months after therapy. We believe that ampicillin, 12 g/day alone for 3 weeks, is adequate treatment for Haemophilus endocarditis.


Coryneform bacterial endocarditis: difficulties in diagnosis and treatment, presentation of three cases, and review of literature.

Three patients who had coryneform bacterial endocarditis affecting a prosthetic valve are presented and 64 case reports are reviewed. Diagnostic difficulties occur because coryneform bacteria often are fastidiuos, with long incubation periods, and often contaminate blood cultures. Although some coryneform bacteria are killed by penicillin G, many are resistant to most of the commonly used antibiotics. Vancomycin is bactericidal in resistant strains studied. Treatment with vancomycin is indicated until in vitro bactericidal data are available. Coryneform endocarditis often occurs on prosthetic valves, thus making therapy and its evaluation even more difficult.


Prolonged follow-up in diabetic retinopathy treated by sectioning the pituitary stalk.

Because no complete long-term follow-up of visual status after pituitary ablation has been reported, records were reviewed on all 40 patients undergoing sectioning of the pituitary stalk for diabetic retinopathy at the Mayo Clinic from 1961 through 1968. One patient died and another was blind immediately postoperatively. One patient was lost to follow-up after 125 months. Twenty-seven patients have died after a follow-up interval of 7 to 120 months (mean, 63 months). The last available evaluation of these patients indicated stable or improved visual acuity in 20 patients. Eleven patients remain alive. Seven of these have stable or improved visual acuity and retinopathy. We conclude that although late post-operative mortality is high, in carefully selected patients with florid retinopathy but no fibrosis, pituitary ablation is an effective method for maintaining visual acuity.


Quantitative bleeding time (hemorrhagometry). A review.

Accurately determining the amount of blood lost during bleeding time tests has been little exploited. Equipment is now available for measuring both the time and volume automatically--a technique called hemorrhagometry. This quantitative procedure has generated a number of interesting and unsuspected observations. Bleeding times lengthen and blood loss is exaggerated as the skin is cooled. This is particularly true of patients who have hemostatic defects, such as hemophilia A; Not only is the hemophiliac different from normal in this regard but, in Sutor's preliminary observations, the asymptomatic carrier of hemophilia A also seems to be distinguishable from the noncarrier on this basis. The test seems potentially useful in evaluating the effect of drugs on platelet function and in assessing mild bleeding diatheses. Variations induced by either warming or cooling the skin may well have clinical applicability.


Hepatotoxicity in acetaminophen poisoning.

Evidence of severe liver damage was found in a young women who ingested an overdose of acetaminophen in a suicide attempt. Clinical features included prolonged nausea and vomiting and pain and tenderness over the liver. Biochemical findings included an SGOT value of over 3,000 and a prolonged prothrombin time, with normal alkaline phosphatase and near normal serum bilirubin. Spontaneous recovery was complete.


Myxoma of bone. Report of three cases.

Three cases of myxomas of bone are presented. No similar tumor, except in bones of the jaw, was found in a study of more than 6,000 bone tumors in the files of the Mayo Clinic to Jan. 1, 1976. These three tumors were found in a series of about 5,000 lesions of bone in patients sent to the Mayo Clinic for consultation. All three of these tumors affected the femur. Care was taken to exclude lesions such as chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, chondromyxoid fibroma, and ganglia of bone, all of which may contain prominently myxoid zones.


Effect of metoclopramide on the lower oesophageal sphincter. An experimental study in dogs.

Oesophageal, lower oesophageal sphincter and gastric fundal pressures were measured with a triple lumen, open tip-infused catheter in dogs before and after intravenous injection of metoclopramide. The mean basal value of the lower oesophageal sphincter pressure was 5.3+/-2.7 mmHg. Metoclopramide injection caused a significant increase in this pressure. The effect of metoclopramide started immediately and disappeared about one hour after intravenous injection.


Further evidence on the relative performance of proprietary and nonprofit hospitals.

Proposed implementation of health systems agencies (HSA) gives potentially large roles to consurers and local government officials. The paper argues that there will be a tendency for HSAs to discriminate against proprietary hospitals. It is important, therefore, to have information on whether proprietaries belong in an efficient hospital system. The paper discusses and extends the empirical evidence on the relative dynamic efficiency of proprietary and nonprofit hospitals in responding to changes in the economic environment. It is shown that the models used by Lave and Lave and by Steinwald and Neuhauser to generate empirical evidence can give different policy recommendations depending on the relative size of the proprietary and nonprofit bed stocks. An alternative model is devised which produces unambiguous policy recommendations. The empirical model is applied to four six-year cross sections for the years 1954-1971. Some of the conclusions reached are 1) that proprietary bed stocks are proportionally more responsive than nonprofit stocks to population changes, 2) that the nonprofit stocks show a larger absolute response, and 3) that income growth is not strongly associated with conversion to nonprofit status. A more complex model is estimated including some variables to capture the effect of the Hill-Burton program. The 1964 program shift away from a rural emphasis is expected to show in the growth pattern of hospital stocks. Analysis of the data, however, fails to show significantly different behavior before and after the shift. Based on the similarity of the regression equations, new equations are run on pooled data. The pooled regressions explain 90 per cent of the variation in nonprofit bed stock growth, but the explanation of proprietary behavior remains meager. Based on analysis of the pooled data, proprietaries responded positively to population growth while the nonprofit bed stock showed a negative association. An explanation is that the Hill-Burton program caused beds to be built where population was declining. Proprietary and nonprofit stocks grew with ability to pay and the proprietary stocks were proportionately more responsive. Both types of bed stocks showed an adjustment to bed shortages with the proportional responses being insignificantly different. Overall, it is concluded that proprietary bed stocks are more responsive to population changes and changes in ability to pay than nonprofit stocks. No numbers when the ability to pay increases. The lack of significantly different patterns before and after 1964 suggests that the shift in Hill-Burton emphasis made little or no difference in proportional bed stock changes. Short-run expansion of nonprofits in bed shortage areas was proportionally no greater than the expansion of the unsubsidized proprietaries. The central conclusion is that proprietary hospitals have a significant role in an efficient hospital system. Planning and regulating agencies must take care to guard the proprietary role against pressures inherent in their own structures...


The Wholistic Health Center Project: an action-research model for providing preventive, whole-person health care at the primary level.

The Wholistic Health Center action-research project is designed to stimulate new approaches for rectifying a variety of maladies present in the nation's primary health care delivery system. In response to the call for an increase in health education programs, for availability of care in early stages of illness, for care focused on life stress factors, and for better coordination of care-the church-based Wholistic Health Centers utilize a unique multidisciplinary teamwork approach for diagnosis and treatment planning. The patient is involved as an active participant in this process. In conjunction with the University of Illinois, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, the project has developed from its inception as a free clinic in Springfield, Ohio, to the establishment of two potentially self-supporting centers in middle and upper-income suburbs west of Chicago, Illinois.


Restoration of ability to reject xenografts and clear carbon after hypophysectomy of adult rats.

Earlier work suggested that a new pituitary function might account for the decline of minimal O2 consumption with age by decreasing peripheral tissue responsiveness to thyroxine and triiodothyronine. It was of interest to see if removal of the pituitary from adult rats could restore juvenile competence in other systems of the body by reversing the postulated age-associated end-organ hypothyroidism. Four and 64 week old intact rats reject xenografts in 6 and 13.8 days, respectively. After hypophysectomy and thyroxine replacement, 64 week old rats reject xenografts in 6.5 days. Four and 64 week old intact rats have a Vmax of colloidal carbon clearance of 18.9 and 2.5 mg/kg fat free body weight, respectively. After hypophysectomy and thyroxine replacement 60 week old rats have a Vmax of 15.5 mg. Corticosterone was the only other hormone given to the hypophysectomized rats and at the various doses tested it did not appear to affect the rates of the two functions studied.


Biochemical studies of chick brain development and maturation: I. Alterations in the macromolecule content and cell-free protein synthesis.

Changes in macromolecule content (DNA, RNA, and protein) and cell-free protein synthetic activity in chick brain developing from 9-day-old embryos to 1 1/2-year-old adults were studied in three brain regions: cerebrum, cerebellum, and optic lobes. The accumulation of DNA, RNA, and protein in three brain regions occurred each in its own characteristic pattern although three distinct phases could be observed. The most rapid accumulation always occurred during embryonic development followed by a slower accumulation from hatching to 3-mo. with very little or no change in the brain macromolecule content thereafter. In all three brain regions, the cell-free protein synthetic activity increased during embryonic development, reaching maximum around hatching then decreased substantially (50-70%) after hatching. Comparison of 18-day-old embryonic and 1 1/2-year-old adult brain tissue showed that there was no significant alteration in the relative proportion of membrane-bound and free ribosomes. When the products of cell-free protein synthesis by embryonic and adult brain preparations were compared by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it was found that the percentage of various proteins synthesized by embryonic brain tissue was very similar to that of the adult. It is concluded that the decrease in cell-free protein synthesis is due to a general decrease in the synthesis of all types of proteins rather than a decrease in a specific group or groups of proteins.


Capitation in dentistry: a quasi-experimental evaluation.

Two matched samples of 245 patients were drawn from solo dental practices which contained both capitation and fee-for-service components. All services rendered to patients during their entire time under care of the practice were recorded and analyzed. Results indicate different styles of care under the two payment mechanisms. An improved preventive style was associated with capitation, as well as fewer fillings. Outcome measured by a modification of the DMF (decayed-missing-filled) Index was also more favorable under capitation.


The mysteries of prescription pricing in retail pharmacies.

A sample of 13,314 prescriptions filled in 20 pharmacies during a two-week period is analyzed to identify price variations both among and within pharmacies. The results reaffirm previous reports of inter-pharmacy price variation by finding that prices among pharmacies vary by as much as 200 per cent. What is surprising, however, is that the data show that within a two-week period, the price of the same quantity of the same dosage form of the same drug in the same pharmacy also varies by as much as 130 per cent. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis of anti-competitive pricing which, by denying consistent price information to the consumer, makes rational purchasing behavior impossible.


Biochemical studies of chick brain development and maturation: II. Alterations in the mechanisms of cell-free protein synthesis.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the decreased cell-free protein synthetic activity of chicken brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, and optic lobes) from the late embryonic stage to the adult stage were investigated. The changes in polyribosome content closely paralleled changes in cell-free protein synthetic activity; both increased during late embryonic development, reached a maximum around hatching,and thereafter decreased to the level found in the adult. Both cell sap and microsomal or ribosomal fractions from the adult brain tissue were less active in protein synthesis; however, the microsomal or ribosomal fractions contributed more to the decreased protein synthesis than did the cell sap. The lower activity of adult cell sap in protein synthesis was primarily due to a decreased activity in the aminoacylation of tRNA with no apparent change in the ability of the cell sap to catalyze the elongation of polyphenylalanine synthesis. Ribosomal particles (80 S) from adult and embryonic brain tissue had similar biological activities and fidelity in the translation of polyuridylic acid; however, the cell-free protein synthetic activity of the embryonic post-mitochondrial supernatant preparation was more sensitive to inhibitors of the initiation of protein synthesis (aurintricarboxylic acid and polyinosinic acid) than adult post-mitochondrial supernatant, indicating a decreased initiation capacity in adult brain post-mitochondrial supernatant compared to embryonic brain post-mitochondrial supernatant.


[Resorbable calcium phosphate ceramics under load (author's transl)].

Cylindrical implants with 45% by volume continuous open tubular pores were prepared from ceramic materials based on tricalcium and tetracalcium phosphate and used to replace 7 mm thick bone segments in the tibiae of dogs. The treated limbs of the experimental animals were fixed for 12 weeks, after which time the dogs were allowed to move freely so that the limbs were physiologically loaded. The histological examination showed that primary bone healing had taken place between the bone and the ceramic material. After 10 months the tricalcium-phosphate-based ceramic material was resorbed and replaced by bone tissue to a large extent. The ceramic material on the bases of tetracalcium phosphate on the other hand, had remained completely unchanged, and its pores were filled with lamellar bone tissue which was in direct contact with the implant without connective tissue. The bond between natural bone and implant was mechanically stable. The ceramic materials investigated were found to be tissue-compatible, and in our opinion they can be substituted for part of the bone transplants used today. Considering its varying strength properties, the tricalcium phosphate ceramic material can be used only in cases where no high stress is expected; the tetracalciumphosphate-based ceramic material, however, has a higher mechanical strength and can therefore be used also for larger permanent implants which have to bear high mechanical stress.


[Analysis of postoperative deaths in colon and rectal cancer (author's transl)].

Analysis of the clinical and autopsy reports of 200 deaths following surgery for colorectal cancer from 1956 to 1974, at the Dept. of Surgery, University of Heidelberg, revealed that pneumonia (24.5%) was the most common cause of death followed by peritonitis (22%), pulmonary embolism (15.5%), advanced tumor disease (14%), cardiac failure (9.5%), ileus (5.5%), and others (9%). The explanation for the postoperative mortality rate of 12% (cancer of colon) and 13.2% (cancer of rectum) lies in the fact that 82.5% of those who died postoperatively were beyond the age of 60, and 40.5% beyond 70 years at the time of surgery. Moreover, in 50.5% advanced tumors with regional and/or distant metastases were found. In 55.5% severe preoperative complications (ileus: 38%, peritonitis: 11%, abscess formation or hemorrhage: 6.5%) required an emergency operation. Only 38.5% of the procedures were considered for cure. Besides the need for early recognition of the cancer, intensification of pre- and postoper treatment appears to be the predominant task in the effort to decrease postoperative mortality.


[Risk of combined surgical procedures in operations of colon and rectum (author's transl)].

In a period of 4 years in the Clinic of Abdominal- and Transplantationsurgery of the Medical School Hannover 63 combined surgical procedures were performed in 56 patients with operations of colon and rectum. In comparison with a group of patients, who were treated with similar operations as a single procedure, the increase of risk was studied. Small combined procedures like appendectomia, herniotomia, exstirpation of cysts or removal of diverticula indicate no elevation of the operative risk. Cholecystectomy or prostatectomy, though increasing the entire trauma of operation, did not elevate the rate of complications significantly. In accordance with our results outlines regarding the performance and indication of operations in combination with colon- and rectum surgery are discribed.


[Animal experiments concerning oesophagogastrostomy in oesophageal replacement of the stomach (author's transl)].

After resection of the esophagus, the transposition of stomach should be preferred to the interposed colon, because it is technically simpler, can be performed in a shorter time and is only seldom followed by reflux. If the fundus is to be used for the anastomosis with the esophageal stump, a good blood circulation of this gastric part is needed for uncomplicated healing. This is warranted by preserving the right gastric and gastroepiploic arteries, which supply the vascular arcades of the lesser and greater curvature. Additionally to former morphological investigations, the postoperative course after resection of the esophagus and esophagogastrostomies in dogs was studied. In the first animal group only the right gastroepiploic artery, in the second group additionally the right gastric artery were preserved. As result it was found that the vascular arcades along the greater curvature alone are insufficient for the blood supply of the gastric fundus. The findings and their clinical value are discussed.


[Carcinoma of colostomies. Investigation on Wistar rats and clinical observations (author's transl)].

48 surviving male Wistar rats, which achieved a double loop colostomy at the descending colon, developed spontaneous adeno-cardinomas at the proximal orifice of the stoma within 120-200 days. To differentiate the importance of fecal passage and eversion of the colon, the descending colon was separated from the fecal stream by a colostomy at the ascending colon, splitted longitudinally and inserted in the abdominal wall. Adeno-carcinoma arose in both positions, mainly within 120 days. Colonic mucosa, thus exposed, predominates to maligne transformation. The preferred development of cancer at colostomies, as seen systemically induced colonic cancer, is therefore explained to be of syncarcinogenic type. Similar lesions were found at human colostomies. The rareness of original carcinoma at human colostomies is caused by a more-years time of induction in relation to the high average age of patients getting a colostomy. In fact we regard this type of cancer as a biological phenomena comparable to the cancer of the gastric stump.


[Reversal of small bowel segments to delay intestinal passage after total colectomy (author's transl)].

Five female mini-pigs underwent total colectomy including resection of the ileocecal valve. Sparing the terminal rectum, we reformed an end-to-end anastomosis between terminal ileum and remaining rectal cuff. In a second series 8 female mini-pigs have been colectomized using the same model. To delay intestinal passage, in addition a 10-12 cm long reversed segment of terminal ileum has been inserted between small bowel and rectal stump. Both groups were compared with a group of normal unoperated mini-pigs in a study up to 1 year, observing intestinal transit time, blood chemistry and general development of the animals. It could be proved that the reversal of a small bowel segment in colectomized animals leads to a prolongation of the intestinal transit time, to normalization of electrolytes and general appearance. Colectomy was only survived by animals with a reversed segment. The clinical application of a reversed small bowel segment following total colectomy in 1 patient was successful.


Effect of a diet rich in sunflower oil on aspects of lipid metabolism in the genetically-obese rat.

Aspects of the lipid metabolism of male, obese and lean Zucker rats were compared using animals which had been fed ad libitum for 32 days on a diet (HS) which contained 200 g sunflowerseed oil/kg or one (LS) which contained 50 g/kg of the oil. When compared with the LS diet, the HS diet decreased the characteristic lipid accretion in the liver of obses rats from 126 mg (LS) to 81 mg (HS)/g wet weight; corresponding values for the lean rats were 39 mg and 56 mg/g wet weight of liver, respectively. The HS diet depressed lipid synthesis de novo by liver homogenates and decreased the delta9-desaturase activity of liver microsomes from obese and lean rats by about 50%. delta9-Desaturase activity in vitro was also depressed by the addition of linoleic acid to liver microsomes from both obese and lean rats fed ad libitum on a standard laboratory diet. Depressed delta9-desaturase activity, due to ingestion of the HS diet, was reflected in lower ratios of 16:1/16:0 and 18:1/18:0 fatty acids in tissue lipids from obese and lean rats. Ingestion of the HS compared with the LS diet resulted in increased proportions of 18:2omega6 in liver lipids and adipose tissue triacylglycerols of obese and lean rats. The HS diet also increased the proportions of 20:4omega6 in adipose triacylglycerols of obese and lean rats and in liver lipids of obese animals but not in their lean littermates.


Plasma cholesterol levels in suckling and weaned kittens, puppies, and guinea pigs.

Plasma cholesterol levels in kittens and puppies were low at birth, rose during the suckling period, and then decreased at about the time of weaning. The increase during the suckling period was much greater in puppies than in kittens. No significant differences in plasma cholesterol levels were observed in puppies fed two different types of diet, horse meat or dog chow, after weaning. Guinea pigs had lower plasma cholesterols than either kittens or puppies. The level was highest on the first day after birth, decreased during the next 3 wk, and then remained fairly constant after the animals were weaned.


A comparative in vivo study of intestinal absorption of biliary phosphatidylcholines and micellar phosphatidylcholines in the rat.

An in vivo study was performed using rats with the purpose of comparing the absorption of native biliary and purified phosphatidylcholines. The latter were purified from bile and solubilized in the form of mixed micelles of bile salts-phosphatidylcholines-cholesterol. The animals all bore bile duct diversions, and were divided into two groups: one had a normal pancreatic secretion while in the other group the pancreatic duct was ligated. Animals with normal pancreatic secretion showed comparable rates of absorption of micellar and biliary phosphatidylcholines. In the absence of normal pancreatic secretion, the rate of absorption of biliary phosphatidylcholines was unchanged, whereas that of micellar phosphatidylcholines markedly decreased. The results are consistent with the concept that some biliary phosphatidylcholines are absorbed independently of pancreatic secretion in an unhydrolyzed form.


Hypertriglyceridemia in Ehrlich ascites carcinomatous mice: tumor and mouse strain differences.

Ehrlich ascites carcinoma growth in mice induces hypertriglyceridemia. The degree of hypertriglyceridemia found in one laboratory (Spector's) was much greater than we observed in our laboratory. Moreover, major differences were reported with respect to fasting (no effect on tumor extracellular fluid triglyceride levels in Spector's tumor-bearing mice; marked decrease in ours). We have obtained tumorous CBA mice from Spector's laboratory and have studied them simultaneously with our Swiss-Webster mice. Triglyceride levels of the above two groups and from two controlled crossover groups, included to evaluate the influence of mouse and tumor strains on hypertriglyceridemia, were determined. The CBA mice had intense hypertriglyceridemia and high triglyceride levels in tumor extracellular fluid regardless of the subline source of ascites tumor. On the other hand, only mild hyperlipidemia was induced with both strains of tumor in Swiss-Webster mice. Thus, the variations in plasma and tumor extracellular fluid triglyceride levels probably arise from the mouse strains and not from variations in the tumor subline. Fasting caused a decrease in both plasma and tumor extracellular fluid triglyceride concentrations in CBA, as well as in Swiss-Webster mice. A mouse strain difference was also evident from a significant decrease in wet weights of adipose tissues like epididymal fat, inguinal fat, and intermuscular fat with tumor growth in the CBA strain which was not observed in the Swiss-Webster strain at the corresponding stage of tumor growth. Study of these strain diffeences may lead to an understanding of factors that regulate hyperlipidemia.


Changes in the acyl and alkenyl group composition of cardiac phospholipids in boars fed corn oil or rapeseed oil.

Boars fed diets containing rapeseed oil for 8 weeks showed significantly higher levels of neutral lipids and similar levels of phospholipids, compared to those fed corn oil. Erucic and eicosenoic acids were found to be high in ethanolamine phosphoglycerides, and in particular alkenyl acyl-ethanolamine phosphoglyceride. Furthermore, both long chain monoenes were incorporated preferentially in position 2 of the choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides. The alkenyl group composition of the cardiac lipids of pigs was influenced by dietary fatty acids. When rapeseed oil was fed, small amounts of 20:1 and 22:1 alkenyl constituents were detected.


Lipid and fatty acyl composition of rat brain capillary endothelia isolated by a new technique.

A method is described for the isolation of pure capillary endothelia from rat brain and the phosphlipid composition of these cells is reported. This method is rapid and requires only a small amount of starting material. It involves: (a) tissue disruption by high speed homogenization, (b) separation of the capillary endothelia from other brain structures using sucrose gradients, and (c) a final purification using a glass bead column. Choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides were found to be the predominant lipid classes of these cells amounting to 31.9% and 24.4%, respectively, of total phospholipids. The choline phosphoglycerides consisted almost exclusively of 1,2-diacyl glycerophosphorylcholine, whereas the ethanolamine phosphoglycerides consisted of approximately equal amounts of 1,2-diacyl and 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl glycerophosphorylethanolamine. The composition of the constituent fatty acids of both choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides and the alk-1-enyl composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides is reported. Saturated fatty acids accounted for 45% of the total fatty acids in choline phosphoglycerides and for 53% in ethanolamine phosphoglycerides. Arachidonic acid accounted for approximately 48% of the total fatty acids in alk-1-enyl ethanolamine phosphoglyceride.


Potential for employing the distribution of anomalous non-methylene-interrupted dienoic fatty acids in several marine invertebrates as part of food web studies.

A group of homologous, nonmethylene-interrupted dienoic fatty acids (NMID) recently reported in oysters has been found in several other shellfish species and also in other marine phyla. The distribution of most other "normal" fatty acids among several species of shellfish is basically similar but mantle lipids from two other molluscan species, both squid, differ radically. The squid mantle fatty acids do not include NMID, suggesting that in molluscs NMID may accumula-e primarily in filter-feeders or herbovores. The distribution of these anomalous fatty acid components in higher species suggests that they reflect invertebrates in the diet and are biochemically inert.