[Hepatitis risk to dentists. Studies on the frequency of hepatitis in dentists in the Munich region and in the district of Upper Bavaria].

Dentists have a particular risk of acquiring viral hepatitis because of their close contact with blood and saliva during dental manipulations--especially as the majority of dentists do not use gloves during work and often have small cuts and abrasions on their hands. On the other hand personnel in the dentist's office offers several potential modes of parenteral and oral-intestinal transmission of hepatitis. In order to find out the risk of dentists exposing themselves to hepatitis-infection (especially hepatitis B-infection) we performed a questionnaire-study among practicing dentists all over Oberbayern. 858 replies were received after distribution of 1030 questionnaires (participation: 83.3%) and could by analyzed. 116 dentists had had a hepatitis during their professional work (13.5%). The frequency of hepatitis among the younger colleagues--who were practicing from 1 to 14 years--was about 5%. The number of hepatitis-infections increased continually up to 33% after 35--39 years of professional activity. In a second study blood samples were taken from 773 dentists and were tested for HB3Ag by radioimmunoassay. Of these 773 blood samples taken 25 (3.5%) were found to be antigen-positive. Compared to the general population the risk of infection is 6- to 30 times higher in dentists. The challenge of hepatitis-virus-infection can at present be met only-and at least in part-by scrupulous attention to prophylactic measures, such as using disposable gloves, needles and syringes and in autoclaving all non-disposable equipment. Besides dental personnel and patients should be screened at regular intervals for the presence of HBsAG.


[Tonsillectomy in patients with bleeding disorders].

When injury of a major vessel can be ruled out as the cause of bleeding after tonsillectomy, a discrete disturbance of hemostasis must be considered. These are mainly slight thrombopathies or a pathologically increased fibrinolysis, which were not detected by routine tests and the past history. In former times severe bleeding disorders were a strict contra-indication for tonsillectomy. Under the supposition of an exact coagulogram and the substitution of highly purified factor concentrates the risk of severe post-tonsillectomy hemorrhages in such patients today is nearly the same as in patients with a normal hemostase.


[Studies on the effect of thrombocytopenia on the rate of fibrin stabilization].

Severe thrombozytopenia, and therefore a lack of phospholipids, delays not only the thrombin formation rate but also, because of retarded factor XIII activation the fibrin stabilizing process. The other clotting factors, especially factor XIII, being within the normal range, this effect is only noted when the platelet count drops below 30 000/mm3.


[Differential diagnostic problems in pulmonary embolism caused by x-ray findings].

Using two case-histories it is shown that atypical radiological findings caused the delay in diagnosis of pulmonary embolism depsite clinical signs (such as fever and intermittent dyspnoea; cyanosis, haemoptoe and cough reflex were absent). The exact diagnosis was finally established after having excluded all diseases, which were of greater probability on the grounds of the x-ray findings.


[Medical therapy of the metastasizing breast neoplasm].

For the metastasized breast cancer the indication for the ablative and additive hormonal treatment and/or for the combination chemotherapy is clearly outlined. The hormonal treatment should always be used first because of its good compatibility unless the prognostic assumptions are unfavorable, such as short intervals between primary treatment and recidivation or appearance of metastases and a visceral metastatic formation. In these cases a combination chemotherapy or a combined hormonal/cytostatic treatment should be applied. Various combination chemotherapy schedules are discussed and compared in regard to effectiveness, compatibility, side effects and dispensation. A final judgement for an additional immunological therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy of the pretreated breast cancer cannot be given.


[Tilidine as an analgesic in combination anesthesia].

In 2446 "insufflation anesthesias" the usefulness of Tilidine as an analgesic has been established. The preferred combinations were with Methohexital, Dehydrobenzperidol, Nitrous oxide, Succinyl and Diallyl-Nortoxiferine.


Regional release of glucagon-like immunoreactivity from the intestine of the cat.

Immunoassay of gut extracts showed the presence of glucagon-like immunoreactivity (GLI) from the stomach to the colon of the cat with maximal concentrations in the ileum and colon. Twenty percent glucose perfused through the lumen of the jejunum, ileum, or colon produced an increase in GLI concentration in the venous effluent of the segment only in the case of the colon. The amount of GLI released was not sufficient to alter peripheral plasma concentrations.


Inhibition of vagally induced gastrin release by somatostatin in cats.

The effect of somatostatin was tested on gastrin release induced by electrical vagal stimulation in anaesthetized cats. The antral release of gastrin was determined in the gastric venous outflow by simultaneous recording of gastrin concentration and blood flow. Repeated vagal stimulation at the same frequency and duration caused release of similar amounts of gastrin within the same cat. Infusion of somatostatin, at a rate of 0.5 microng/kg/min, reduced the vagally induced gastrin release to about 40%. Similarly, basal gastrin output was depressed to about 40% of the control values.


Effects of adrenalectomy on body weight and hyperglycemia in five months old Ob/Ob mice.

Observation on body weight gain, blood glucose levels, and responses to a glucose challenge in ob/ob mice adrenalectomized at five months of age, demonstrate that removal of the adrenals of older mice retains the potential to lower serum glucose levels and depress body weight gain seen in young ob/ob mice adrenalectomized at two months of age. These findings suggest that the adrenals continue to play a role in body weight gain and hyperglycemia of the ob/ob mouse up to five months of age.


The influence of the thyroid and parathyroid glands on the variations in magnesemia in fed and fasted rats.

Rats fed and libitum were adapted to alternating 12 hr periods of light and dark. A number of animals were parathyroidectomized (PTX) or thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) and then supplemented with thyroxine. The PTX and TPTX animals showed hypomagnesemia. If food was not supplied during darkness, the normal feeding period, hypermagnesemia was found in normal rat after 12 hr fasting but not in PTX animals. In normally fed rats the level of magnesium increased during darkness and then dropped significantly at the end of the night. In contrast in TPTX animals the magnesemia continued to rise significantly after the end of the dark period. In rats lack of parathormone or of calcitonin modifed the variations in magnesemia during the night or after a short period of fasting. These hormones may thus play a physiological role in the regulation of magnesemia.


The interactions between a low molecular weight protease inhibitor of bronchial mucus and chymotrypsin-like cationic proteins of granulocytes.

The proteolytic activity of the chymotrypsin-like cationic proteins of human granulocytes is inhibited by complex formation with the acid-stable low molecular weight protease inhibitor of human bronchial mucus (Ki = 1.0 x 10(7)M). The molar combining ratio is 1:1.


Human alkaline phosphatases. I. Purification and some structural properties of the enzyme from human liver.

Alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) from human liver was purified to homogeneity. It is a glycoprotein of about 136000 molecular weight. Analysis of the subunit structure by sedimentation equilibrium in 6M urea and by dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the denatured enzyme indicated molecular weights of about 35000 and 32000, respectively. Thus, the human liver alkaline phosphatase seems to be a tetramer composed of identical or very similar subunits. The purified enzyme has a specific activity of 1360 mumol/(min x mg prot.), corresponding to a molecular activity of 3170s-1. The enzyme retains full activity in 1% sodium dodecylsulfate for several hours. The isoelectric point of the native enzyme is 4.2. After treatment with neuraminidase the isoelectric point increases to 6.5.


Inhibition of three porcine glandular kallikreins by chloromethyl ketones.

In accordance with its lack of inhibitory activity against pig pancreatic kallikrein, Tos-LysCH2C1 has been shown also not to inhibit the porcine kallikreins from submandibular glands and from urine. Peptidyl-lysyl-chloromethanes, however, have been demonstrated to be irreversible inhibitors of all three enzymes. The rates of inhibition increase with increasing size of the amino acid residue in position P2 of the inhibitors. As expected from the known primary specificity of the pancreatic kallikrein, Gly-Val-ArgCH2C1 was found to be the most potent of the inhibitors studies. Kinetic constants for the inhibiton of the three porcine glandular kallikreins have been determined for two of the compounds. All data obtained suggest a close similarity of the three glandular kallikreins of the pig and even a possible identity of the enzymes from submandibular glands and from urine.


An endogenous inhibitor of amine oxidase (flavine-containing) in the carotid body of the cat.

The activity of amine oxidase (flavine-containing) was measured in various organs. No activity could be detected in homogenates of the carotid body of the cat. Mixing experiments with this homogenate and rat liver mitochondria showed the presence of an inhibitor of amine oxidase activity in the carotid body. This inhibitor is inactivated by boiling. No inhibitor activity was found in the ganglion superior cervicale of the cat.


The structure of a new phospholipid from the koilin-glandular layer of chicken gizzard.

A new phospholipid (Mr = 653; C32H64NO10P; [alpha]22D: - 24) was isolated from the keratinoidal layer of chicken gizzard. After acid hydrolysis the following products were identified: a C22-saturated aldehyde, sn-glycerol 3-phosphate, ethanolamine and D(-)-ribose. The substance is stable to alkali, it has saturated character, and after hydrolysis with CH3OH/HCI, yields only C22-dimethyl acetal. It contains a free NH2 group, and methylation produces 2,3,4-tri-O-methyl-D-ribose. The probable structure of the isolated phospholipid is proposed as 1,2-O-do-cosylidene-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1 inch-ribosyl)-ethanolamine.


[5-Isothiocyanato-1,8-naphthalenedicarbox-4-methylphenylimide, a new fluorescence reagent for compounds containing amino groups (author's transl)].

5-Isothiocyanato-1,3-dioxo-2-p-tolyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-benz[de]isoquinoline (= 5-isothio-cyanato-1,8-naphthalenedicarbox-4-methylphenylimide, compd.5) was synthesized from 1H,3H-naphtho(1,8-cd)pyran-1,3-dione (= 1,8-naphtha-lenedicarboxylic anhydride, compd.1) through nitration, condensation with p-toluidine, reduction with tin(II)-chloride yielding 5-amino-1,3-dioxo-2-p-tolyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-benz(de)isoquino-line (4) as intermediate, and condensation with thiophosgene. Compd. 5 can be used for qualitative and quantitative analyses of compounds containing amino groups.


Mania and milieu: treatment of manics in a therapeutic community.

The authors observed the management of 35 manic patients admitted to a 32-bed general hospital unit that emphasized milieu treatment. They concluded that the principles of treatment derived from the therapeutic community model--democratization and permissiveness--are generally incompatible with the effective treatment of manic patients, who can be a strong disruptive force on the patient and staff community. The authors describe approaches to managing manic patients in four phases--preadmission evaluation, and the postadmission, middle, and termination phases of inpatient treatment. They stress that milieu modifications are necessary to meet individual treatment needs.


The therapeutic community in theory and practice.

To obtain an operational description of the therapeutic community, the authors reviewed recent literature and composed a 40-item questionnaire describing aspects of the therapeutic community. The questionnaire was mailed to authors of recently published articles or books on the subject, 27 of whom responded with ratings of the degree to which each item was characteristic of a therapeutic community. The validated questionnaire was then completed by 22 staff members on four psychiatric wards of a university-affiliated municipal hospital, who rated the items in terms of real and ideal conditions on the ward. Comparisons of the real and ideal ratings are discussed.


Outpatient group psychotherapy for the elderly: an alternative to institutionalization.

Two case studies illustrate the positive effects of group psychotherapy for elderly outpatients of a municipal hospital in an industrial community of Baltimore. Most of the outpatients were depressed about physical, mental, or social losses. A total of five brief therapy groups were established. Each group had a maximum of 12 members and met in the hospital for an hour and a half once a week for 12 consecutive weeks. Members could continue in subsequent 12-week sessions if they desired. As a result of their participation in groups, many members became involved in volunteer or part-time work, renewed contact with family and friends, and were better able to deal with life's stresses.


The use of groups in brief inpatient treatment of adolescents.

The authors describe a short-term inpatient program for adolescents that uses a variety of group sessions to help them deal with their immediate problems and, when necessary, prepare them for outpatient treatment. No attempt at complete ego reconstruction is made. The program includes family therapy and sessions on practical living skills, such as job hunting, productive use of leisure time, transportation, food planning, and renting and leasing. Assertiveness techniques are taught in small groups, and their use is encouraged on the unit, where staff attempt to create an acceptable social environment and provide a model for group decision-making.


Mini-groups: maximizing the therapeutic milieu on an acute psychiatric unit.

The authors have found small groups (called mini-groups) an effective way to work with patients who are too regressed or disturbed to benefit from individual psychotherapy and who find larger groups overwhelming and confusing. Mini-groups were formed in 1974 on a 20-bed acute inpatient service of a private psychiatric hospital, where traditional treatment approaches have been altered because of a more disturbed patient population and a shorter length of stay. A high staff-to-patient ratio, sometimes almost one to one, lends stability to the groups.


Obtaining state legislation for insurance coverage of day hospitalization.

Whether a patient receives treatment in a 24-hour inpatient setting or a less restrictive day hospital program often depends strongly on what kinds of care the patient's health insurance policy covers. In 1974 advocates of partial hospitalization programs in Maryland began working for a state law requiring third-party payers to provide day hospital benefits to all policyholders. After realizing that the bill as drafted would not pass the legislature, its advocates negotiated with insurance carriers, legislators, and others. The bill was rewritten so that day hospital coverage must be offered as an option in group policies only, and at an adjusted premium if necessary. It was enacted into law in 1976 and became effective in January 1977.


Good marketing helps a hospital grow.

The marketing objective of Children's has been to educate its target markets--physicians, donors, and the community at large--about the services and facilities of the hospital. In all activities, the marketing effort has sought to publicize the hospital as a tertiary care institution, which works as a supplement to the services provided in a community hospital. If marketing involves an exchange of values, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offers the following value to its tarket markets: a regional referral center that seeks to meet the changing needs of both physicians and patients.


Postmenopausal gyn problems.

The conservative use of estrogens for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis is discussed. The author stresses the importance of thorough pelvic examination to detect inflammatory processes, possible generative tract prolapses, and/or growths.


Current concepts in management of lupus nephritis.

Since prognosis seems to vary according to which of several possible types of disease is present, the first step is renal biopsy and histologic classification. Management options thereafter-both conventional (steroid therapy) and investigational (cytotoxic agents plus steroids, thymic hormone replacement, steroid "pulse" therapy)-are discussed in terms of recent clincal results and theoretical mechanisms of action.


A Ternary-associating system of genes.

A significant association is described between genes of the erythrocyte acid phosphatase (ACP1B), erythrocyte adenosine deaminase (ADA2) and plasma haptoglobin (Hp2) systems. Most of the heterogeneity is shown to reside in the ADA2-Hp2 association and in the ACP1B-Hp2 association among persons of type ADA 1.


Use of normal daughters' and sisters' creatine kinase levels in estimating heterozygosity in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A modification is given of the original density function formula of EMERY and MORTON for estimating heterozygosity in X-linked Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This modification takes into account SCK levels in both normal sisters and normal daughters of a suspected carrier in families where there is only one affected male.


An ectodermal dysplasia syndrome of alopecia, onychodysplasia, hypohidrosis, hyperkeratosis, deafness and other manifestations.

A girl is reported with a hitherto apparently undescribed ectodermal dysplasia syndrome. The main findings include: alopecia, onychodysplasia, hypohidrosis, sensorineural deafness, skin with a tan color and hyperkeratosis (involving also plams and soles), unusual facies (with slight auricle and nose abnormalities), pectus excavatum, severe hyperopia, EEG abnormalities, and retarded bone age. The patient also presents mongoloid palpebral slanting, narrow palpebral fissures, bilateral esotropia, photophobia and dermatoglyphics with extensive ridge dissociation. The etiology is unknown but presumed to be genetic, possibly due to the homozygous state of an autosomal recessive mutation.


Congenital hypomegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia associated with bilateral absence of the radius - the TAR syndrome.

A case of the TAR syndrome is described which presented bilateral absence of the radius and pronounced thrombocytopenia at birth; when seen at the age of 6, growth and development was within normal limits, except for the upper extremities, and no signs of an haemorrhagic diathesis were seen. A careful family study brought 2 additional cases to light: a female second cousin was found to have bilateral absent radius, but no haematological abnormalities when seen at the age of 10. Her younger brother had died at the age of 3 months with severe thrombocytopenia and heavily malformed, flipper-like upper extremities. The broad clinical variation of the syndrome should be kept in mind in genetic studies and counselling.


The use of the FST statistic of Wright for estimating the effects of genetic drift, selection and migration populations, with special reference to Ireland.

The Fst of Wright has been used to examine the available blood group, serum protein and enzyme data for the world, NW Europe and the counties of Ireland. These include the ABO, secretor, Lewis, MNSs, Rh, Kell, Duffy, Lutheran, Kidd, P, Diego, haptoglobin, Gc, Lp, Ag, adenosine deaminase, adenylate kinase, acid phosphatase, 6-phosphogluconate, phosphoglucomutase and transferrin systems. The highest value was found for the Fy gene. Much lower values than those calculated for world data were found for NW Europe and Ireland with the exception of the Lpa antigen which had high values in Ireland. sigma2p was used to estimate rates of genetic drift in an Irish population and it was estimated that a migration rate of 4% would counter genetic drift in Ireland.


A mapping function for man.

Assuming a perfect correspondence between the site of crossing-over and an observed chiasma, data on meiosis in the human male are used to estimate a mapping parameter which on average turns out to be intermediate between the Kosambi and Carter-Falconer values, but smaller for acrocentrics. A table is given for converting recombination frequencies to map distances.


Isolation and structural properties of murine SAA--the acute phase serum precursor of amyloid AA.

The murine serum protein SAA, has been found to have a structure similar to human SAA, the precursor of human secondary amyloid fibril protein AA. SAA is detected by its cross-reaction in radioimmunoassay with antibodies raised to denatured amyloid fibrils of protein AA isolated from tissues of mice with amyloidosis. Murine SAA exists in the native state as a 160,000 molecular weight species, and can be isolated as a 12,500 molecular weight moiety, SAAL, by gel filtration in 10% formic acid. The quaternary structure of SAA is such that its AA determinants are relatively inaccessible for immunoreaction. Unfolding of these determinants can occur spontaneously; however, it is promoted by dissociation of SAA to SAAL.


Temperature effects on lymphocyte transformation invitro.

Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced transformation of normal rat peripheral lymphocytes has been studied at a wide range of culture temperatures (4 degrees C to 42 degrees C). Lymphocyte transformation was maximum at 37 degrees C while insignificant stimulation was observed between 4 degrees C and 30 degrees C. Temperatures above 37 degrees C produced sub=optimal transformation as measured by synthesis of DNA and protein, and appearance of lymphoblasts. Binding studies using 125I-PHA indicate that the low temperature inhibition of lymphocyte transformation could be a result of excess lectin (being available as a result of low temperature) bound to the cell surface, preventing the initiation of the molecular events associated with transformation.


Identification and quantitation of solubilized I blood group substance by wheat germ agglutinin using quantitative immunoelectrophoresis.

Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) has been shown to react specifically with solubilized I blood group substance, purified from papain treated human erythrocyte membranes. WGA and I react to form an affinity precipitate in immunodiffusion gels, a reaction which can be blocked by the incorporation of N-acetyl glucosamine into the gel. The I material was a strong inhibitor of both anti-I cold hemagglutination and WGA hemagglutination reactions. Utilizing the techniques of crossed immunoelectrophoresis we have clearly established that WGA and anti-I IgM cold antibody are reacting with the same membrane macromolecule (I antigen). WGA was then used in a rocket affinoelectrophoretic assay system to quantitate I substance. The limits of detection in this system was 25 ng.


The effects of halothane anaesthesia on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in rats.

Lymphocytes from rats killed while anaesthetized with 1-5 per cent halothane showed a significantly reduced capacity to induce lysis of antibody-coated target cells compared with those from untreated rats. This effect was short-lived however, being no longer apparent in lymphoid cells taken from rats 2 h after their recovery from such anaesthesia. Surgical procedures were not effective in extending the duration of reduced ADCC activity. The implication of these findings is that the post-operative depression of this in vitro assay of immunocompetence results from the influence of the anaesthetic agent per se or its metabolities with surgical trauma having little role.


Radioassay of soluble immune complexes using their uptake by macrophage Fc receptors.

Sera from patients were tested for the presence of soluble immune complexes (IC) by a method based on the observation that IC inhibit uptake of aggregated IgG by the Fc receptors of macrophages. From the saturation curve of macrophages with 125I-labelled aggregates the optimal inhibitory effect of a measured amount of IC was determined. This radioassay is highly sensitive, being capable of detecting 20 ng of IC, is reproducible and covers a wide range of measurement (20-2000 ng).


The immunoglobulin class of anti-hapten antibody secreted during secondary responses in vitro and in vivo.

A comparison has been made of the in vitro and in vivo response of primed mouse spleen cells to the hapten DNP. The responses were analysed in terms of six classes (sub-classes) of humoral antibody directed against the cross-reacting hapten TNP. By comparison with the response in intact mice the adoptive secondary response is delayed by 3 days in addition to being somewhat lesser in magnitude. The timing of the response in vitro is similar to that observed in intact mice. The preponderant class in all three responses was gammaG1 with gammaA and gammaG3 secreting cells consistently comprising the smallest proportion of the total of antibody-secreting cells.


The relative frequencies and distribution of immunoglobulin-bearing cells in the intestinal mucosa of neonatal and weaned pigs and their significance in the development of secretory immunity.

A comparative immunohistochemical study has been made of cells containing immunoglobulins IgM; IgA and IgG in the intestines of pigs varying in age from 2 days to 12 weeks. Cells with cytoplasmic IgM appeared in the lamina propria earlier than those containing either IgA or IgG. The duodenum appeared to be the preferred site of infiltration, the numbers of cells occurring in duodenal mucosa were consistently higher than at other levels of intestine irrespective of immunoglobulin class. Igm cells formed the majority of immunoglobulin contained cells in the lamina propria of the small bowel in suckling pigs upto 4 weeks of age. But in the weaned animal the proportion of IgM cells gradually declined with maturity until by the time the pigs were 12 weeks old nearly 90 per cent of the cells contained IgA.


Inheritance of lipopolysaccharide-enhanced nonspecific resistance to infection and of susceptibility to endotoxic shock in lipopolysaccharide low-responder mice.

In a previous study, we demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and other bacterial immunostimulants, in contrast to their activity in a closely related high-responder subline, failed to elicit nonspecific resistance in LPS low-responder mice against Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. To investigate the type of inheritance controlling the LPS-induced nonspecific resistance to infection, the present study was performed in low- and high-responder C3H sublines and in F1 and F2 hybrids. In addition, F1 mice were backcrossed to each parental type. Inheritance of susceptibility to endotoxin was also tested in both sublines and their hybrids and backcross progeny. For these latter assays, mice were previously adrenalectomized because removal of this gland considerably enhances their sensitivity. Our present findings are consistent with the hypothesis that LPS enhances nonspecific resistance to infection and that susceptibility to endotoxin shock in the absence of corticoids may be determined by a single autosomal dominant gene.


Solid-phase radioimmunoassay for the detection of rotavirus.

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay method has been developed for the detection of rotavirus in the form of a purified antigen and in stool. The parameters of the radioimmunoassay were examined and optimized to give high sensitivity and same-day results. Compared with electron microscopy, the assay is up to 10 times as sensitive for detection of the virus in stool and up to 128 times as sensitive for detection of a purified virus antigen. In a field  study on stool specimens it was at least as efficient as electron microscopy.


Stable and unstable forms of human fibroblast interferon.

There is a minor fraction of human fibroblast interferon that resembles human leukocyte interferon in being renaturable after treatment with guanidine hydrochloride. However, antigenically and in its low activity on heterologous cells, it resembles the bulk of human fibroblast interferon. Since the production of this stable interferon fraction is not greatly inhibited by glucosamine at concentrations that significantly reduce total interferon production, it is suggested that it differs from the bulk of human fibroblast interferon in the extent or nature of glycosylation.


Environmental origin of natural antibodies to teichoic acid.

In an effort to determine the origin of natural antibodies to teichoic acid, rats were fed a sterile liquid diet free of detectable teichoic acid and virtually free of gram-positive bacteria. Both germ-free and conventional Sprague-Dawley rats raised on this diet failed to produce antibodies to polyglycerophosphate, whereas 100% of their counterparts fed the usual teichoic acid-containing diet did produce these antibodies. The intestinal flora was similar in both groups of animals. When the test animals were immunized intraperitoneally or orally with gram-positive bacteria, 100% displayed immunocompetency by producing significant levels of antibody. These results demonstrate the environmental nature of the antigenic stimulus for these antibodies and suggest the importance of food as the major source of stimulation. The experimental model described here furnishes a valuable tool for studies of immunologic responses where a single known specificity and a controlled system would be advantageous.


Immunological responses of mice to lipopolysaccharide: lack of secondary responsiveness by C3H/HeJ mice.

Mice of the C3H/HeJ strain, which were unresponsive to the biological effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), could not be induced to make specific secondary immunological responses to LPS; they responded to two doses of LPS with a primary response. This lack of secondary responsiveness by C3H/HeJ mice was due to a defect in a single, autosomal, dominant gene. Thus, further evidence was provided that an intact second immunological signal and responsiveness thereto were required to trigger secondary antibody responses in primed animals.


Cell-mediated immunity after oral immunization with ribonucleic acid-protein fractions of Vibrio cholerae L-form lysates.

Oral administration of a single dose of ribonucleic acid-protein fraction of lysates of Vibrio cholerae subtype Ogawa L-forms induced an increase in cell-mediated immunity in rabbits. This was demonstrated by an increase in leukocyte migration inhibition in peripheral blood leukocytes, in macrophages migration inhibition, and in microbicidal activity against Listeria monocytogenes in peritoneal macrophages obtained from orally immunized rabbits. Increased cell-mediated immunity was induced mainly with V. cholerae Ogawa and ribonucleic acid-protein fractions. It appeared in 20 days and persisted for at least 90 days.


Trypanosoma musculi infections in normocomplementemic, C5-deficient, and C3-depleted mice.

The role of complement in host resistance to infection with Trypanosoma musculi was studied in normal, C5-deficient, and C3-depleted mice. Infections in normocomplementemic strains (CBA and B10.D2/n) were generally similar to those in strains genetically deficient in C5 (A and B10.D2/o). There were no differences in inhibition of reproduction, duration of infection, persistence of parasites in the kidneys, or resistance to reinfection. However, peak parasitemias in B10.D2/o mice were slightly greater than in B10.D2/n mice. In addition, B10.D2/o mice had slightly decreased serum levels of C1 early in the course of infection and of C3 early during the elimination of adult forms. These components were unchanged or increased in infections of B10.D2/n. Depletion of C3 and late-acting components in B10.D2/n mice by treatment with cobra venom factor during the reproductive stage of infection resulted in an increase of reproductive forms before the apparent development of ablastic immunity as well as slightly greater peak parasitemias when compared with those of untreated controls. Cobra venom factor treatment of B10.D2/o mice during the reproductive stage did not alter the course of infection. Cobra venom factor treatment of C3H mice during the adult stage prolonged infections by interfering with parasite elimination. It is concluded that complement-mediated lysis is not involved in control of T. musculi. It is not clear whether a C3-dependent function such as phagocytosis may facilitate elimination of the parasites. The major difference in degree of parasitemias among the various strains of mice studied is due to genetic factors rather than the levels of C3, C5, or late-acting complement components.


Properties of a variant of Streptococcus mutans altered in its ability to interact with glucans.

After continuous subculture of Streptococcus mutans GS-5, the resultant organism, GS-5var, was found to be altered in its ability to undergo dextran- and sucrose-induced cell agglutination and to adhere to smooth surfaces in the presence of sucrose. Both GS-5 and GS-5var cells possessed the serotype c polysaccharide antigen, displayed similar growth kinetics, appeared to have similar metabolic and biosynthetic capabilities, and produced similar amounts of cell-associated and extracellular glucosyltransferase activity in chemically defined medium. GS-5 cells which had bound exogenous glucosyltransferase enzymes from either cell type were able to undergo sucrose-dependent adherence to smooth surfaces, whereas GS-5var cells which had bound comparable levels of glucosyltransferase activity were unable to adhere. In contrast to GS-5var cells, GS-5 cells were also able to adhere to preformed glucan deposits. In addition, [(14)C]glucan binding studies demonstrated that GS-5 cells were able to bind fourfold-greater levels of [(14)C]glucan relative to GS-5var cells having similar cell-associated glucosyltransferase activity. Further study of GS-5 cells also suggested the existence of a glucan binding site, distinct from the cell-associated glucosyltransferase activity, which is important in dextran-induced agglutination and sucrose-dependent adherence to smooth surfaces. These results are discussed in terms of the alteration of the GS-5var cells and their possible relationship to the putative receptors for glucosyltransferase enzymes and glucans on the cell surface of S. mutans.


Local immunity against Newcastle disease virus in the newly hatched chicken's respiratory tract.

Inoculation of 200 mean egg infectious doses (EID(50)) of lentogenic Newcastle disease virus strain B1 (NDV-B1) into the air sac of 4-day-old specific-pathogen-free chicks provided significant protection against challenge of the air sac with 100 chicken mean lethal doses (LD(50)) of velogenic NDV-H but no protection against reinfection when the challenge was by the eye. Conversely, inoculation of the eye with 200 EID(50) of NDV-B1 provided significant protection against challenge of the eye but not of the air sac with 100 chicken LD(50) of NDV-H. Birds that received both antiserum and intraocular immunization were subsequently protected against both eye and air-sac challenge. On the other hand, birds that received antiserum and air-sac immunization were protected only against air-sac challenge but not against ocular challenge. Low levels of passively administered antibody did not prevent infection of the eye or air sac but greatly reduced the mortality rate after inoculation of either the vaccine or the challenge viruses. Passively administered antibody also suppressed hemagglutination-inhibiting and virus-neutralizing antibody formation stimulated by air-sac infection but not antibody formation stimulated by ocular infection. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that local immunity is responsible for prevention of infection, since birds were immune to reinfection at one site and simultaneously susceptible at the other site of infection.


Streptococcus mutans dextransucrase: functioning of primer dextran and endogenous dextranase in water-soluble and water-insoluble glucan synthesis.

The extracellular enzyme activities of Streptococcus mutans 6715 that synthesize glucans from sucrose were concentrated and partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel permeation column chromatography. Polyacrylamide gel analysis demonstrated that all of the major proteins precipitated by ammonium sulfate were quantitatively recovered in the high-molecular-weight, enzyme-containing aggregates found in the void volume of the gel column. Anion-exchange column chromatography was used to fractionate the aggregates into preparations, alpha and beta, which produced water-insoluble and water-soluble glucans, respectively. Polyacrylamide gel analysis showed that alpha and beta contained unique proteins and dextransucrase (EC 2.4.1.5) activities. Studies on the time course of glucan synthesis by alpha demonstrated that this enzyme preparation contained dextranase activity, which partially degraded nascent alcohol-insoluble glucan into alcohol-soluble products that were subsequently reincorporated into insoluble product. The beta enzyme preparation contained no detectable dextranase activity. Mixing experiments in the absence of primer dextran demonstrated that the dextranase activity present in alpha could modify glucan production by beta. CsCl density gradient analysis of product glucans demonstrated that exogenous primer dextrans were used as acceptor molecules by both the alpha and beta enzyme preparations, and that water-soluble glucans synthesized by beta could be converted into water-insoluble glucans by alpha. It is proposed that the structural heterogeneity of the native glucans produced from sucrose by S. mutans is a result of the concerted action of glucan-forming dextransucrases and endohydrolytic dextranase activity.


Low sucrose levels promote extensive Streptococcus mutans-induced dental caries.

One-tenth percent sucrose significantly promotes dental caries induced by Streptococcus mutans in young gnotobiotic rats. Maximum caries activity was observed in rats provided a purified diet containing 3% sucrose.


Chronic infection with Trypanosoma musculi in congenitally athymic nude mice.

Trypanosoma musculi produces a chronic infection with a consistently elevated parasitemia in nude mice. Thymic reconstitution of nude mice restores immunity to the infection.


Sensitivity to intravenous injections of histamine and serotonin in inbred mouse strains.

A large panel of inbred strains of mice and some of their Fl hybrids were tested on their sensitivity to the hemoconcentrating effects of intravenous injections of histamine alone, serotonin alone, or histamine-serotonin mixtures. Major differences in susceptibility were observed. Crosses and backcrosses were made between susceptible (SJL/J) and less susceptible (RF/J, C57BL/6J) strains; it was found that the sensitivity to vasoactive amines is, at least partially, inheritable.


Mitogen-induced lymphocyte and cutaneous reactions in dogs.

The lymphocyte response of dogs to mitogens was determined using separated lymphocyte and whole blood lymphocyte proliferation techniques. Reactivity to optimal doses of the following mitogens was demonstrated in decreasing order of intensity: phytohemagglutinin, Pokeweed mitogen, conconavalin A and sodium periodate. The canine cutaneous reactivity to these mitogens was also determined. Grossly, erythema and induration with all mitogens was maximal at 24 h. Microscopically, lesions using all mitogens consisted of edema, hyperemia and diffuse dermal infiltration with polymorphonuclear leukocytes and mononuclear cells. These mitogen-induced lesions may represent a specific lymphocyte-mediated inflammatory response, although a nonspecific reaction cannot be excluded.


Influence of levamisole on the immune response of old people.

Fifteen healthy people, over 70 years old, have been treated during 1 month with Levamisole at the dose of 150 mg a day, twice a week. They have been compared to 15 controls matched for age and sex. At the start of the study, each subject was injected with 0.2 ml of a diphtheria-tetanus vaccine. Levamisole had no effect on the following immune parameters known to be altered in old age: serum IgE concentration, specific IgE and IgG antibody response to diphtheria toxin, lymphocyte response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). There was a slight and transitory effect of Levamisole on the isohemagglutinin titer. In vitro, Levamisole was weakly mitogenic for the peripheral blood lymphocytes from old and young control subjects but there was no influence on the response to PHA.


Suppression of delayed type hypersensitivity induction to sheep red blood cells by concanavalin A in mice.

An examination was carried out on the in vivo effect of concanavalin A (Con A) on the induction of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to heterologous erythrocytes in mice. DTH induction was suppressed by an intravenous injection of 100 microng of Con A 1 day before, or simultaneously with immunization. This suppression was mediated by Con-A-activated spleen cells, and also by their cell-free extracts. However, this suppressive effect was abrogated by absorption of cell-free extracts with immunoadsorbent composed of rabbit anti-mouse thymocyte serum (ATS), indicating that suppressive factors for DTH induction make up one of the components extractable from Con-A-activated T cell population.


Allergenic structure of allergen M from cod. II. Allergenicity of the limited tryptic hydrolysis peptides of fragment TM 2.

The peptides P1B3 (amino acid residues No. 88-113) and LT3N1 (residues No. 88-108), obtained from the limited tryptic hydrolysis of fragment TM 2 from codfish allergen M inhibited the interaction between allergen M and reaginic IgE antibodies both in vitro (87 and 62% RAST inhibition, respectively) and in vivo (total PK test inhibition). The peptide A7B1 (residues No. 97-113) overlapping the former at the COOH-terminus, was inactive in PK test inhibition experiments and produced only a minor inhibition of RAST (15%). The findings suggest that the nonapeptide residue No. 88-96 is partially indispensible for the allergenic activity of fragment TM 2, and is likely to incorporate allergenic determinant(s).


Prognostic value of HLA-A 3, BW 35, B 7, and B 12 in ocular hypertension.

The prevalences of HLA-A 3, BW 35, B 7 and B 12 in 80 Caucasian patients with ocular hypertension were intermediate between values found in ocular normotensives and in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. The presence of HLA-B 7 or B 12 had significant predictive value for the development of glaucomatous damage to the optic nerve in patients with ocular hypertension. The HLA-A 3 antigen by itself, or in combination with B 7 and B 12 did not improve the prognostic value of the B 7 and B 12 antigens. Only one of the 20 white ocular hypertensives in this series with  HLA BW 35 antigen developed glaucomatous visual field loss.


Rheumatoid-like joint lesions in rabbits injected intravenously with bovine serum.

Rheumatoid-like synovial lesions have been produced experimentally in 21% of rabbits receiving intravenous injections of bovine serum by various regimens. They were characterized by lining cell hyperplasia, accumulations, often follicular, of lymphocytes and plasma cells just under the lining layer, sometimes with extensive fibroplasia and pannus formation with cartilage erosion.


Human skin burns induced by defibrillator default current: a mathematical simulation model.

A preliminary model was prepared for the development of superficial burns which can result from the interaction of faulty defibrillator and other electrical operating room equipment. A thermal model previously used to predict retinal coagulation was adapted to give temperature rise history of the skin. Skin resistance is assumed to decrease rapidly due to the instability of a small volume near the surface. Heating due to dissipation of the defibrillator capacitor energy in this skin volume is shown to be high enough to cause burns. A sensitivity analysis is included to isolate the dominant input parameters. Recommendations are made for future research.


Real-time record management in general practice.

The primary objectives of the Exeter Community Health Services Computer Project ('the Project') are to help provide better patient care and improved efficiency in both administrative and clinical procedures and to make available facilities for management and research. These objectives are achieved by a computer system that creates a community based Integrated Patient Record (IPR) which satisfies the needs of doctors, nurses and administrative staff both in hospitals and Health Centres. The IPR is accessed and maintained by all these users via visual display units (ICL Mark II VDU) and hard copy printers (Termiprinters) linked to a real-time communications network. This paper concentrates on the applications of the Project used in Health Centres, where General Practitioners share premises with District Nurses, Health Visitors, Social Workers and other members of the Community Health Care Team.


Epidemiology of hodgkin's disease in the young.

Many features of Hodgkin's disease (HD) among adolescents and young adults suggest that it has an infectious etiology. However, the proposal that HD is a contagious disease which can be transmitted by patients or their close contacts has not been substantiated. An alternative infectious disease model is suggested by analogy with paralytic poliomyelitis (PP). For both diseases, the peak age of incidence is delayed as living conditions improve. For both, increased risk is associated with higher social class and small family size. Like PP, HD may be a rare manifestation of a common infection with the probability of disease development increasing as age at infection is delayed. This analogy is supported by the report that the risk of HD is higher for persons who had a low frequency of childhood infectious diseases. If this model is valid, HD patients represent no hazard to their contacts. However, the incidence of HD among young adults may increase in the coming decade because of the current high standard of living and small family size.


Fibrinolysis associated with human neoplasia: production of plasminogen activator by human tumours.

The plasminogen-dependent fibrinolytic activity of several human tumours has been studied. The following neoplastic tissues, which were obtained from cancer patients by either surgery or biopsies, were examined: cervical, mammary, prostatic, ovarian, lung carcinomas, melanoma, basalioma. Fibrinolysis was measured in lysates either of tumour tissue specimens or of respective cell cultures. This measurement was based on release of radioactivity from 125I-fibrin-coated Petri dishes. All examined tumours showed elevated levels of plasminogen-dependent fibrinolytic activity. However, normal control tissues had little or no activity. These results indicate that the fibrinolysis might be useful in differentiating between malignant and normal tissues.


Morphological transformation of early passage golden Syrian hamster embryo cells derived from cryopreserved primary cultures as a reliable in vitro bioassay for identifying diverse carcinogens.

Cryopreserved primary cultures of golden Syrian hamster embryo cells were used as the source of target and feeder cells for establishing an in vitro carcinogenesis bioassay. The primary culture giving the best overall response in a pretest before freezing gave positive results in 20 consecutive experiments when retested with 3-methylcholanthrene after cryopreservation, indicating that pretested cryopreserved cultures can serve as a source of susceptible target cells in an in vitro carcinogenesis bioassay. Similarly prepared and cryopreserved cultures served satisfactorily as feeder cells. Susceptible positive cultures were used to test a large number of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic chemicals in this system. The results showed a very high positive correlation (90.8%) between morphological transformation and the reported carcinogenic activity of the chemicals. Transformation was not observed when cells were tested with a few carcinogens that may not be metabolized to their active forms by early passage hamster embryo cells. N-2-acetylaminofluorene transformed cells only when tested in the presence of hamster liver microsomes. No false positive results were obtained when non-carcinogens were bioassayed, nor was spontaneous transformation observed in control cultures treated with medium alone, 0.2% dimethylsulfoxide or other solvents. Cultures derived from morphologically transformed colonies arising after treatment of cells with several known carcinogens were tumorigenic in vivo, confirming the correlation of morphological transformation with tumorigenicity and the validity of altered morphology as an in vitro criterion for carcinogenicity in vivo.


Cell kinetics and immunoegenicity of lymphoma cells treated with 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno) imidazole-4-carboxamide (DIC) in vivo.

A cycle of treatment with antineoplastic compounds may alter the immunologic properties of experimental tumors leading to an increased survival of syngeneic hosts as compared to that observed with the original parental tumors. However, a loss of growth potential in drug-treated tumors might account for this preferential rejection by syngeneic or by allogeneic animals. In the present study the cell cycle kinetics of parental (L1210 and L5178Y) and DIC-altered leukemic cells (L1210/DIC; L5178Y/DIC) has been evaluated by the establishment of labelled mitosis curves. The in vitro DNA synthesis and cell loss were also investigated. The experimental results indicate that no significant differences in the above properties were present for parental and corresponding drug-treated leukemic sublines. Immuno-depressed allogeneic mice were more resistant to lymphoma challenge when inoculated with the DIC-sublines than with the parental lines. On adoptive transfer of immune lymphocytes there was increased survival of allogeneic animals challenged with DIC cells, attributable to an additional immune response to DIC-induced antigens. Thus, parental or DIC-tumors showed similar tumorigenic characteristics, and the increased allogeneic host survival to DIC-cell challenge may be attributed to an additional immune response of the animal DIC-induced antigens.


An analysis of the factors allowing promotion (rather than inhibition) of tumour growth by Corynebacterium parvum.

The following factors were found to determine whether C. parvum (CP) treatment promoted rather than inhibited the growth of methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma cells injected into CBA mice. (1) The dose of tumour cells. Promotion occurred only with low doses, around the TD50. (2) The route of injection of CP. Greater promotion was caused by intravenous (IV) than by subcutaneous (SC) administration. Addition of irradiated tumour cells to SC CP resulted in tumour inhibition. (3) The dose of CP. Promotion increased with increasing dose of either SC or IV CP. (4) The time of CP injection relative to tumour challenge. Promotion only occurred when CP was given before tumour cells, except when using IV CP and very few tumour cells. With increasing doses of tumour cells, first post-treatment with IV CP and then pre-treatment became inhibitory. The effect of CP on established immunity to tumour cells was also studied. Mice were immunized by tumour amputation. The resistance to tumour challenge thus generated could be abrogated by CP given before challenge, most effectively by a high dose IV. The data are interpreted according to the following hypothesis. (1) CP suppresses the expression of cell-mediated immunity to tumour antigens. (2) This is caused by trapping of anti-tumour effector cells at the site of CP deposition. (3) Promotion can only occur when CP is given before effector cells have reached the tumor site.


Primary tumor immunity in nude mice.

Tumor implants grew better in radiated or in newborn nu/nu mice than in adult nu/nu controls when, and only when, the tumors were demonstrably immunogenic in normal mice. This result suggests primary immunity. No evidence of immunological memory was found by immunization-challenge type experiments in the nude mice.


Immunologic responses to a murine mammary adenocarcinoma. II. Monocyte effector activation by humoral factors.

Sera from DBA/2 mice bearing a syngeneic T1699 mammary adenocarcinoma not only induced specific antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated by monocytes (and/or macrophages) but also armed (activated) such effector cells into specific killer cells in vitro. Removal of specific antitumor antibody (IgG2a subclass) by absorption with T1699 cells abolished ADCC activity at the level of target cell coating but did not alter the level of effector-arming activity. Fractionation on Sephadex G-20 indicated more than one factor capable of inducing specific monocyte-mediated lysis of target cells in vitro, including immune complexes, free IgG2a 7S antibody (ADCC), and another factor(s) with a molecular weight very close to that of 7S immunoglobulins.


Carcinogenicity of DDT (dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane) in pure inbred Swiss mice.

Inbred Swiss mice were treated with technical DDT (1) orally with the diet or by intubation; (2) subcutaneously and (3) by skin painting. The total duration of the experiment was 80 weeks. There was no difference in body growth and mortality between the experimental and control groups. Toxic manifestations of DDT were observed in treated mice in the form of tremor, convulsions and corneal opacity usually after 40 weeks. Oral and subcutaneous DDT treatment resulted in a significant increase in the incidence of tumours mainly of lymphoid tissues, lung and liver. The highest tumour incidence was recorded in the group of mice receiving DDT by subcutaneous injections. Males and females were equally susceptible. No evidence of carcinogenicity was observed in the painted group.


Interpersonal expectations for marijuana behavior.

Interpersonal expectations for marijuana behavior were investigated by means of open-ended questions. Users and nonusers were asked how the use and nonuse of marijuana affect people's relationships, and their spontaneous replies were assembled into 22 categories. These categories were then cross-tabulated with behavioral, social, experiential, and attitudinal variables. The findings indicated that frequency of marijuana use and favorableness in drug attitude are the key variables that influence the degree to which different categories of interpersonal expectations are mentioned. Current users most often believe that social improvement is a consequence of use but have few specific expectations for nonuse. Former users and nonusers with unfavorable drug attitudes emphasize that social impairment and personal impairment follow from use and mainly expect user rejection for nonuse. Nonusers favorable to marijuana tend to anticipate no change in relationships as a result of use and see social impairment and personal impairment as important outcomes of nonuse. The findings are discussed in terms of interpersonal data from other marijuana studies.


Self-concept of white, middle socioeconomic status addicts: a controlled study.

Commonalities in the developmental patterns of both narcotic addiction and negative self-attitudes motivated this controlled study of 70 White, middle socioeconomic status (WMSES) addicts and 70 WMSES nonaddicts. The hypothesis that measures of self-attitudes would distinguish addicts from nonaddicts was confirmed with highly significant differences. The hypothesis that antecedent conditions purported to result in positive self-attitudes would distinguish addicts from controls was also supported. Developmental conditions posited as indices of early self-attitudes further discriminated the two groups. A self-reported profile of the WMSES addict was compiled describing drug-use patterns and childhood situations.


Use of employment criteria for measuring the effectiveness of methadone maintenance programs.

If employment is to be considered a criteria of success in the treatments of drug abuse, it is necessary to obtain an understanding of the differences in results produced by various measures of employment and the implications of each for evaluating program effectiveness. This article compares three measures by which to analyze chronological employment data for the same cohort of clients across the same time period. It discusses the merits and limitations of these measures as evaluation tools. The findings derive from a study of male clients who were maintained for 2 or more years without interruption in a methadone maintenance program.


Treatment of polydrug abuse and addiction by covert sensitization: some contraindications.

Three polydrug abusers undergoing treatment at a drug-free residential facility were administered covert sensitization as an alternative procedure to aversive counterconditioning with faradic stimulation. The clients were able to relax extremely well but experienced difficulties imagining aversive scenes subsequent to the first presentation. Hypnosis was induced and clients were able to imagine every presentation clearly and exhibited some behavioral reactions to suggestions. Two of the three clients remained drug-free for 1 1/2 years and 3 years; and the third relapsed after 1 1/2 years but returned for treatment and is now drug-free. It is suggested that covert sensitization with hypnosis may be a more effective procedure with such recalcitrant behavior disorders as polydrug abuse and addiction.


Social rehabilitation of addicts: a two-year evaluation.

This paper points out the relationship that exists between treatment approaches with drug addicts and sociodemographic characteristics of the communities affected. It has been shown that while poor and middle class communities show good results with methadone maintenance approaches, in the area of secondary drug abuse they show marked dissimilarities. Also, the reasons for discharge are markedly different. It is speculated that the different attitudes existing at the two clinics studied provide contrasting environments that are selectively detrimental to program dropouts.


The addict odyssey: from experimentation to addiction.

This study explores the "honeymoon" period in the addict's life, extending from his first use of narcotics to the point of his addiction. Retrospective interviews with 30 addicts in treatment programs suggest that the process of becoming an addict can be characterized as consisting of at least three elements: (1) increasing physical, psychological, and social rewards from involvement in the street addict life-sytle; (2) increasing commitment to one reference group; and (3) devaluation of any possible negative rewards in the drug life.


Addicts' demographic characteristics and ward behaviors in a community-like hospital setting.

The relationship between demographic variables and ward behaviors was explored for 196 institutionalized addicts. The extent of the relationship was tested by the multivariate F statistics. Six of the 10 variables investigated were found to be significant predictors; namely, race, sex, times married, frequency of primary drug use, times arrested on nondrug charges, and school grade.


Changing patterns of substance use on campus: a four-year follow-up study.

In 1969 and 1973, 598 and 474 randomly selected students at a large midwestern university reported their present and past use, and extent of use of substances taken without medical prescription. Ten of the 18 substances showed a significant increase in percentage of users over time with greatest increases for marijuana, hashish, and alcohol. These three plus tobacco are those substances most used by students and used most frequently. Other substances are used by less than 7 per cent presently and by less than 4 per cent on an often or regular basis. The percentage of tobacco users has not diminished, but smokers report lower frequencies of use in 1973. Single undergraduates reported highest percentage of substance users, and sex differences were not evident. Methodological issues in survey research on substance use are discussed as well as implications for substance educational programming.


Drug use surveys: method and madness.

There are many measurement problems inherent in the drug survey field, e.g., defining dosages and choosing user categories. This paper discusses the pros and cons of interview techniques, mailed questionnaires, and group-administered questionnaires. The particular importance of the social psychology of the data gathering process is noted, including the provision of anonymity for the respondents and the establishment of credibility for the investigators. Means for dealing with these and also for improving reliability and validity are discussed, along with reasons for performing a survey, the nature and intent of the questions asked, and some other political and ethical issues.


Pustular blastomycosis.

A 53-year-old Negro man had North American blastomycosis with acute onset of widespread pustular eruptions. Several tests suggested that the patient might have had a deficiency of delayed hypersensitivity.


Role of sociocultural and environmental factors in the cause of scabies.

A house-to-house survey for scabies was done in a semiurban area with a population of 1727 from 273 families in 253 households, to  study the sociocultural and environmental factors in families with scabies. It was found that sleeping habits, overcrowding for sleeping space and sharing of clothes, towel, etc, were significantly associated with scabies. There was no significant correlation between the size of family and the number of persons infected with scabies per family. The prevalence of scabies within the families was almost the same either with good hygiene, satisfactory hygiene or unsatisfactory hygiene. The factors significantly associated with the disease were observed to be more frequent among Christian families than among Hindus and were thought to be responsible for higher prevalence of the disease within the Christian families.


Principles of fluorescein angiography.

There are two barriers between the blood and retina--one in the retinal circulation at the endothelial cell lining with its tight junctions in the retinal capillaries, and the second involving the choroidal circulation at the zonula occludens between adjacent retinal pigment epithelial cells. Damage to either of these barriers results in a leakage of fluid into or beneath the sensory retina. Serous detachment of the retinal pigment epithelium is a special situation in which both barriers remain intact but fluid accumulates in the space between the detached pigment epithelial cells and Bruch's membrane. It is convenient to analyze the fluorescein angiographic findings in relation to these two barriers, as a large number of retinal disorders affect either the retinal vascular system or the choriocapillaris-Bruch's membrane-pigment epithelium layers.


Fluorescein angiography in sickle-cell retinopathy and von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Fundus involvement in sickle-cell-hemoglobin C disease and von Hippel-Lindau disease was ascertained by clinical observation with the benefit of indirect ophthalmoscopy. Fluorescein angiography, however, has added new dimensions to our understanding of early lesions in these entities, the morphology of full-blown lesions, and the evaluation of therapeutic efforts to obliterate them. Like so many adjunct studies available to us today in medicine, it does not replace clinical acumen, but enhances evaluation.


The management of choroidal tumors.

TWe have outlined a systematic approach to the management of choroidal lesions which might appear to be choroidal melanoma: 1. When a solid, elevated mass is suspected of being a malignancy, first complete a thorough examination of both eyes, including a detailed history. Arrange for a general medical evaluation to detect sources of metastatic lesions or early metastases from the eye. 2. Eliminate the possibility of flat choroidal lesions by slit-lamp and indirect ophthalmoscopic examination. These are considered benign and can be followed at routine intervals with simple sketches or color fundus photographs. Fluorescein angiography is not essential, but can confirm the benign appearance and help in following overlying secondary changes such as pigment epithelial defects. 3. Rule out serous or cystic lesions by the use of slit lamp and fundus contact lens, and indirect ophthalmoscope with transillumination. Fluorescein angiography again can help confirm the benign nature of these lesions, but the serial fundus examinations are definitive in 99 percent cases. 4. Document the appearance of the lesion with drawings, stereo-photographs, and stereo angiography. Follow the evolution of the lesion with these modalities for a sufficient time to be certain of the diagnosis. 5. Follow lesions in the peripapillary area with particular care.


Fluorescein angiography: techniques and toxicity.

Fluorescein angiography is a safe, well-standardized procedure for establishing fundus abnormalities. It facilitates documentation of the finest detail of the fundus, allows estimation of the blood flow through the retina, and permits the doctor to evaluate the integrity of the retinal vessels. When there is good communication between doctor and patient, and between doctor and photographer, it is an especially useful procedure.


Ocular histoplasmosis syndrome.

Ocular histoplasmosis syndrome is prevalent among persons living in the vicinity of the Ohio River Valley. Only a small proportion of patients with ophthalmoscopic evidence of prior Histoplasma capsulatum infection ever develop visual symptoms. Visual morbidity usually follows the development of a macular choroidal neovascular membrane which causes serous or hemorrhagic detachment, or both, of pigment epithelium and sensory retina. Fluorescein angiography is useful in documenting the choroidal neovascular membrane and in demonstrating its precise location with respect to the retinal capillary-free zone. tthe fluorescein angiographic appearance and location are used to determine whether or not such membranes are amenable to argon laser photocoagulation. The true role of photocoagulation in the management of histoplasmic maculopathy awaits the results of a randomized clinical trial.


Culture change and mental illness.

A study of the relationship of culture change to the frequency of mental illness in the outpatient clinic in the city of Cairo indicates that rapid industrialisation tends to produce significantly higher rates of patients who were judged to have serious symptoms of depression especially among village migrants who moved from their villages to work in the city's factories. A suggestive explanation is that the higher rates of depression are a factor of the social disorganisation associated with moving from the village to the city.


Religious ideas and psychiatric disorders.

The evidence presented above points to the need for considering factors other than purely religious ones in determining the role of religious ideas in psychiatric disorders. The occurrence of religious ideas as part of the content of individual delusional systems in psychiatric patients can be explained on the basis of exposure to religious ideas through the social environment. It may be also related to the prominence of religion, vis-a-vis other belief systems, in the social envirnment. When considering psychopathological explanations for intense religious experiences, one has to be conscious again of the social factors involved. When an unusual experience having religious content becomes normative in a certain group (for whatever reasons), trying to explain its appearance on the basis of individual psychodynamics or psychopathology becomes very difficult. There seems to be an inverse relationship between the social nature of a religious experience and its psychopathological nature, i.e., there is more psychopathology in individuals reporting solitary religious experiences, or individual religious ideas. Thus the solitary experience seems to be more influenced by disturbed individual dynamics, but in other cases social factors seem to be crucial. Our overall conclusion is that a psychiatric analysis of the role of religious factors in psychopathology has to be first a social-psychiatric analysis. An individual presenting psychiatric symptoms and religious ideas has to be evaluated in light of his social background, since the specific content of psychiatric symptoms seems to be determined by social background factors. Individual psychodynamics determine the appearance of symptoms, but their particular form will be the result of these background factors, one of which is religion.


The mental health gatekeeper role: a paradigm for conceptual pretest. Proposal for a preliminary test of potential effectiveness.

Two of the major themes in the community psychiatry movement have been the employment of new and different types of persons in service roles and the maintenance of clients in the community, whenever possible, with avoidance of institutionalisation. A logical outcome of the combination of these two themes has been an increasing interest in the role of persons with fixed social roles within the community as gatekeepers for actual direct service or appropriate referrals into the mental health service system. Police, clergy and bartenders are among the social roles that have received serious consideration and, in some cases, actual use as points of entry and actual service. Careful analysis of the likely requirements of the gatekeeper role will show, however, that many existing social roles that appear fertile ground for the mental health gatekeeper function are in fact lacking in certain features necessary to such a role. This paper presents five criteria considered important or essential to any conclusion that a given role should be seriously considered for the gatekeeper function. These criteria may serve for a shortcut prior to the investment of money and time and may thus have false and expensive steps in our enthusiastic but often hasty search for innovation.


A cross-cultural comparison of aggression in dreams: Zapotecs and Americans.

Because it is frequent and variable by sex, age and culture, manifest aggression in dreams appears to be an important research area. A comparison was made between dreamed aggressions for Americans (Hall and Domhoff 1963) and for Zapotecs, collected and analysed by the writers. Similarities and differences revealed in the comparison, suggest the importance of cultural factors in manifest dreamed aggression, along with sex and age. Multivariate analyses of carefully collected cross-cultural data will be necessary before adequate assessments can be made of the relative importance of these variables in dreams, more clearly establishing relationships between wakeful and dreamed experiences.


Anthropology and affect: a consideration of the idiosyncratic dimension of human behaviour.

In this paper a theoretical perspective is presented in which affect occupies a central position and behaviour is viewed in terms of different degrees of affective expression. Such behaviour is conceptualized in terms of three models: a structural model, a rational model and a psychological model. While the first two models are frequently encountered in the literature, the psychological model has not received explicit formulation, although, as shown here, it is crucial in understanding certain forms of idiosyncratic behaviour that have political and social relevance.


Pathways to mental health delivery-systems in Nigeria.

This study investigated the referral sources and pathways of treated psychiatric patients to two therapeutic facilities in Nigeria. The centres are: Aro Mental Hospital; and Aro Community Village Programme. The result indicates that next of kin are the primary referral source for treated schizophrenic patients. Secondly there is a hierarchy in the pathways to the facilities. Patients often seek care from native healers, then syncretic churches before making any contact with modern psychiatric facilities. The interplay between traditional healers and modern psychiatric centres is revealed in the study.


Suicide by fire: a contemporary method of political protest.

Suicide by fire (self-incineration)for the purpose of political protest has appeared in several countries during the previous decade. In this paper, the history of this form of suicide has been explored. The authors examined all cases of suicide by fire reported in the London Times and New York Times between 1790 and 1972. Seventy-one per cent of these reported suicides occurred during the most recent decade, 1963 to 1972, with all cases of political self-incineration occurring during this period. The socio-cultural context in which this form of protest may occur, and the psychological factors in individuals who choose this method of suicide are both discussed. It is suggested that the occurrence of self-incineration as a means of political protest may be yielding to more aggressive acts of terrorism as popular methods of forcing political change.


Brainwashing, LSD, and CIA: historical and ethical perspective.

The history of various attempts at thought control and chemical warfare is briefly reviewed. Brainwashing, thought control, industrial and national espionage, and covert activities are becoming more sophisticated. These issues have been revived and accentuated by the Vietnam war, the Middle East Crisis, Watergate, the CIA investigations and the Patty Hearst trial. Historical perspective and the ethical implications of these activities are explored. It is suggested that there is a growing level of individual and international mistrust amounting to paranoia and complicating the issues of individual freedom, civil rights and human experimentation.


The ocular hypotensive effect of epinephrine in high and low corticosteroid responders.

Nonglaucomatous individuals were classified by their intraocular pressure response to 6 weeks of topical dexamethasone, 0.1%, four times daily. Twenty GG responders (over 31 mm. Hg after dexamethasone) and 20 NN responders (below 20 mm. Hg after dexamethasone) of similar age, sex, race, initial intraocular pressure, and facility of outflow were selected. After 24 hr. of treatment (two doses) with 1% epinephrine HCl, the GG subjects demonstrated a mean (+/-sigma) corrected decrease in intraocular pressure of 4.2 mm. Hg (+/- 2.5) as opposed to 1.8 mm. Hg (+/- 2.1) in the NN subjects (p less than 0.005). The relationship between increased responsiveness to corticosteroids, to epinephrine, and to theophylline suggested cyclic nucleotides as a possible common pathway.


The effects of ketamine sedation and ketamine-pentobarbital anesthesia upon the intraocular pressure of the rabbit.

The effect of ketamine sedation and ketamine-pentobarbital anesthesia upon the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the rabbit was studied by applanation pneumatonography. Peak values of IOP during both ketamine sedation and ketamine-pentobarbital anesthesia were reached 3 to 5 minutes after administration of the drug(s). The peak IOP increase during ketamine sedation (10 mg./kg. IM) was 2.2 +/- 0.4 mm. Hg. The peak IOP increase with ketamine-pentobarbital anesthesia (50 mg./kg. ketamine IM + 30 mg./kg. pentobarbital IM) was 7.1 +/- 0.8 mm. Hg. Atropine premedication did not prevent the increase in IOP seen with ketamine sedation or ketamine-pentobarbital anesthesia.


Sensory recording from the isolated cornea.

A technique of recording from single units of the isolated rat cornea is described. The corneal surface is stimulated by a jet of fluid, which allows continuously graded pressure and thermal or chemical stimuli to be applied at the same point. Some units respond to stimulation anywhere in a field of about one-third the corneal area, and others only to point stimulation.


Effect of vidarabine and related compounds on corneal endothelium.

The endothelial surface of rabbit corneas was perfused with vidarabine monophosphate (with and without adenosine deaminase inhibitor), vidarabine (with and without adenosine deaminase inhibitor), and ara-Hx. In concentrations 10 times to 1,500 times higher than those that have been obtained in the aqueous humor following topical, subconjunctival, or systemic administration, none of the compounds had any effect on corneal endothelial cell function or ultrastructure for the duration of the experimental model.


Resistance to reinfection with a chlamydial agent (guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis agent).

Although most chlamydial infections are chronic or recurrent, infection of the guinea pig's eye with guinea pig inclusion conjunctivitis (GPIC) agent induces a marked resistance to reinfection. To characterize this resistance to GPIC agent, we compared the disease and infection in previously infected guinea pigs with that in animals infected for the first time. In animals experiencing primary infection, even the lowest dose (10 egg-lethal doses [ELD50]) produced the disease and chlamydial inclusions in conjunctival smears, but the incubation period became progressively shorter with the highest inocula (10(4) and 10(5) ELD50). In animals with previous infection only these two highest inocula produced disease and infection, but the disease was short-lived, and replication of the agent was severely limited. The mechanism of this resistance may be due to secretory antibody in the tears, cellular immunity, or other local factors.


A controlled comparison of two therapeutic soft lenses in a clinical model.

Laboratory data of a new, highly hydrated contact lens (Weicon 72) indicated that it might be therapeutically superior to the known Weicon 38. The great variability of therapeutic contact lens cases, however, makes a sound clinical evaluation difficult. Therefore the two lenses were tested in a clinical model using patients with traumatic superficial corneal defects. The results were statistically significant, the Weicon 72 proving to be superior to the Weicon 38.


Extraocular muscle fibers: ultrastructural identification of iontophoretically labeled fibers contracting in response to succinylcholine.

Cat extraocular muscle fibers (from the superior rectus or inferior oblique) were penetrated in vivo with Procion red-filled glass microelectrodes. When stable penetrations were obtained, succinylcholine (Sch), 8 to 20 microng, was injected into the femoral vein. In some fibers, a depolarization-repolarization response was obtained with the same time course (2 min.) as the total muscle contraction. The depolarizing fibers were labeled iontophoretically. The ultrastructural characteristics of five depolarizing fibers and three control (nondepolarizing) fibers were then studied. The fibers that did not depolarize to Sch had the characteristics of singly innervated cells, whereas those sensitive to Sch had morphological characteristics of multi-innervated fibers.


Hydraulic flow conductivity of the vitreous gel.

The hydraulic flow conductivity of rabbit and bovine vitreous gel has been measured by a method that gives better results than the one previously used. The vitreous gel has a hydraulic flow conductivity that would be expected for a highly hydrated connective tissue. The "pore" size (the spaces availabel for water flow) are estimated to be about 4,000 A in diameter.


Autoregulation of blood flow in the capillaries of the human macula.

The entoptic phenomenon by which one can observe leukocytes flowing in one's own parafoveal capillaries has been used to study the effect of changes in perfusion pressure on blood flow. Our measurements in humans with normal ocular fundi indicate that the retinal circulation of the parafovea is autoregulated in relation to perfusion pressure. The average time lag between a change in blood flow and the beginning of the autoregulatory response was about 46 sec., and the average duration of this response was about 48 sec. At the end of the autoregulatory response, the vascular resistance of the parafoveal segment was about 50% lower than that at normal intraocular pressure.


Choroidal and cerebral blood flow in baboons measured by the external monitoring of radioactive inert gases.

Quantitative measurements of blood flow using xenon-133 to measure cerebral blood flow and krypton-85 to measure choroidal blood flow were made in 12 anesthetized baboons (Papio anubis). Analysis of the clearance curves of krypton from the eye and studies of the diffusion of krypton in the eye show that the inert gas-clearance method measures choroidal blood flow only. The mean choroidal blood flow at normocapnia in this group of baboons is 463 +/- 44 ml./100 mg./min., and the mean cerebral blood flow is 46 +/- 5 ml./100 mg./min. (mean +/- 1 S.D.).


The response of the choroidal and cerebral circulations to changing arterial PCO2 and acetazolamide in the baboon.

Having established control values for choroidal and cerebral blood flow in twelve baboons, the response of both circulations to changing arterial PCO2 and intravenous acetazolamide was studied. The blood flow in both circulations varied directly with the PACO2, the magnitude of the response being very similar. There was a 3.6 percent change in both choroidal and cerebral blood flow per millimeter of mercury change in PACO2. Intravenous acetazolamide (25 mg./kg.) produced an increase in flow lasting approximately 50 minutes in both cerebral and choroidal circulations.


Ocular measurement by simple gravimetric methods.

A rapid, precise, and easy method for measuring ocular volume would be useful in estimating the theoretical tension changes involved in the relation of pressure and volume changes and in estimating areas of different membranes of the eye. Rabbit eyes were weighed in air and then in water, and the mass and volume of each eye was calculated. For eyes between 2.4 and 3.4 gm. the volume of the eye was given by (mass X 0.97 - 0.02) ml. The difference between paired eyes was always less than 1%, (i.e., less than 100 mg.). If a spherical eye is assumed, the "mean radius" could be calculated to 0.1 mm. from the volume (for tension calculations). From the depth of various segments of the eye, areas could be calculated. If a destructive experiment were to be performed on one live eye, the other could be used as a control for measurement after the conclusion of the experiment.


Hemodynamic effects of superior mesenteric arterial and intravenous vasopressin infusions in patients with portal hypertension.

Administration of vasopressin (0.4 units/minute) via the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) resulted in a mean 25% reduction in corrected hepatic venous wedge pressure (CHWP) in 9 stable non-bleeding patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. There was wide variation of response in individual patients with two of nine showing no decrease in CHWP to vasopressin. Selective intra-arterial infusion did not protect against the systemic effects of vasopressin and resulted in significant elevations in blood pressure (21%) and systemic vascular resistance (39%). A slight decrease in cardiac output (11%) was also observed. In 6 of these patients, vasopressin (0.4 units/minute) was also given intravenously. The resultant decreases in CHWP were similar to those observed with SMA administration.


Computerized tomography of ischemic myocardium: quantitation of extent and severity of edema in an in vitro canine model.

The capacity of computerized tomography to assess myocardial edema resulting from acute coronary occlusion was investigated in 19 arrested and 2 beating canine hearts. Edematous myocardium was consistently detected as areas of decreased attenuation values. The magnitude of the decrease in attenuation value was linearly related to the severity of the edema. The anatomic definition and tomographic information in the arrested hearts provided the capability for localization and quantitation of the extent of the lesion. The results of these in vitro investigations indicate that CT scanning is a technique which will contribute important pathophysiologic information about the evolution of myocardial ischemia.


Regional and total lung function in patients following pulmonary irradiation.

Regional and total lung function measurements and chest radiographs were obtained from 18 patients with cancer of the breast from 3 months to 6.7 years after the start of treatment. A control group of 20 patients was studied before radiotherapy but after mastectomy. The functional parameter most affected by radiation was blood flow. In some cases in which the radiographic changes were mild the functional measurements indicated severe vascular damage. The radiation appears to reduce the number and efficiency of functioning lung units within the irradiated region.


Selective catheterization for magnification angiography of internal spermatic and proper hepatic arteries in rabbits.

A method is presented for selective catheterization and filming of the small internal spermatic and proper hepatic arteries in rabbits. The angiograms thus obtained afford clear delineation of the vessels and their branches and can enhance radiographic investigation of a variety of experimental disease models.


Long term follow-up of transcatheter embolization with autologous clot, oxycel and gelfoam in domestic swine.

Transcatheter embolization of the distal gastrosplenic artery as well as the distal right renal artery or one of its bifurcational branches was performed in 9 domestic swine. The animals were embolized with fresh autologous clot, oxycel or gelfoam in groups of 3. The embolic material was opacified with tantalum in several animals. At 4 months, none of the initial occlusions was sustained and recanalization without residuals was found in the left gastroepipolic artery with only one minor exception. Organized thrombi as sole vascular residuals regardless of embolic substance were found in both the terminal splenic artery as well as in the right renal artery distribution in various degrees together with infarcts in both organs. No trace of either oxycel or gelfoam remained, nor tissue reaction against either material. All 3 agents are therefore regarded equivalent in their long term effects and are not suitable for permanent vascular occlusion.


The renal collecting system after medullary damage.

The micromorphology of the renal collecting system after unilateral papillectomy in rabbits was investigated. Two weeks to six months after papillectomy, tubular micropuncture studies were performed. Cleared specimens were studied by light microscopy and microradiography. Histologic and physiologic correlations were made. At two to four weeks, the papillectomized kidneys were smaller and had smooth, mottled surfaces. At one to six months, there was cortical scarring with decreased concentrating ability. Ductal micropuncture revealed dilated collecting tubules and ducts which were obstructed at the papillectomy site. It is concluded that obstructed collecting ducts may be responsible for the cortical atrophy and are the primary cause of renal cortical damage after papillectomy in our model.


The plantar compartments of the foot: a roentgen approach I. Experimental observations.

The integrity of the plantar muscle compartments of the human foot were studied utilizing radiographic and anatomic techniques in an attempt to determine potential pathways for spread of soft tissue infection. One of three major plantar muscle compartments--medial, intermediate or lateral--in 24 unembalmed cadaveric feet was injected percutaneously under fluoroscopy with radiopaque Methyl-methacrylate using both manual and automatic injection techniques with pressure callibration. Following freezing, specimens were sectioned, radiographed, and dissected or partially macerated. Frequency and patterns of extravasation of contrast material were documented and recorded. The results obtained support the concepts that: a) there are three distinct plantar muscle compartments that are maintained by intermuscular septae; and b) there are potential communicating pathways provided by specific anatomic structures.


Relationship between renal lymph flow and changes in kidney size during urography.

Using direct cannulation of renal lymphatic vessels and simultaneous photography of the exposed dog kidney during urography, the time schedule of variations in lymph flow and kidney size was established. The intravenous contrast injection produced heavy increase of renal lymph flow during the first 8 minutes of urography. Peak values were observed 3--4 minutes after injection. From 8 to 11 minutes after injection the lymph flow was depressed below the baseline, followed by a tendency of reestablishment. Generally after 25 minutes the lymph flow returned to its baseline level. The earliest response of kidney size upon intravenous contrast injection was a rapid, short-lived decreased, followed by a distension during the first 3 minutes. Thereafter a tendency to return to the preurographic size was observed. However none of the kidneys returned entirely to the baseline size during one hour of observation. The possible physiologic explanations of the observations are discussed.


Why does kidney size change during I.V. urography?

Meglumine iothalamate (280 ml I/ml) and sodium iothalamate (400 mg I/ml) in doses of 700 mg I/kg bw, were injected i.v. as a bolus in dogs. Renal size, urine flow rate, arterial pressure, renal blood flow and mean transit time and renal blood volume were measured before and after injection. All changes were qualitatively and quantitatively identical for both drugs. They produced a small transient renal shrinkage followed by a greater and prolonged renal enlargement. During the period of renal enlargement, urine flow increased. The time course of the enlargement paralleled the increase of urine flow rate. Renal blood flow also increased but both the mean transit time and renal vascular volume decreased. Therefore, the kidney size increase after i.v. injection of large doses of urographic contrast media cannot be attributed to an increased volume of the vessels. Most likely it is caused by diuresis-induced increase in the volume of the tubules.


Combined cholangiography and cholecystography using sodium iopanoate.

Cholangiography and cholecystography were performed in fasted dogs and human subjects using sodium iopanoate given intraduodenally in doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg. The same studies were performed after intraduodenal administration of fat or after intravenous administration of cholecystokinin (CCK) in dogs and after a fatty meal, to stimulate endogenous release of CCK, in human subjects. In both the animals and human subjects, peak blood iodine concentrations were reached by 30 minutes after iopanoate administration. At a dose of 10 mg/kg, radiographic visualization of both bile ducts and gallbladder was inconsistent. At 20 mg/kg (one-half the clinical dose for standard oral cholecystography,) the common bile duct was visualized within 60 minutes and the gallbladder within 90 minutes. Gallbladder density increased over the next 6 hours. Prior administration of fat or CCK led to earlier and denser gallbladder opacification. The common bile ducts opacified with the use of iopanoate were small in caliber, averaging only 3 mm. This probably reflects the fact that, unlike iodipamide, iopanoate has little or no choleretic effect. Therefore, because it would not increase the volume of bile in the duct, iopanoate would not increase duct size.


Tantalum oxide and alveolar macrophage function.

The alveolar macrophage (AM) has been cited as a potential source for clearing tantalum from the lungs following bronchography. We studied the short term effects of tantalum oxide on rabbit AM viability and metabolism in vitro. AM phagocytosed tantalum oxide particles without cytotoxicity  and with a significant rise in glucoxe oxidation. These results suggest that the AM represents an important vehicle for clearance of tantalum particles from airways in vivo.


Electron microscopic demonstration of glycogen and phosphorylase activity in rat hepatocytes.

The effect of fixation with a bicarbonate-buffered solution of paraformaldehyde and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) on the ultrastructural demonstration of glycogen and phosphorylase activity in rat hepatocytes has been studied. Phosphorylase was demonstrated by the precipitation of liberated phosphate ions with ferrous ions. 7.5% PVP was included in all steps in the procedure before post-fixaiton in osmium tetroxide. Glycogen particles were well preserved. Structures connecting membranes and glycogen particles were also evident. Phosphorylase activity was rapidly inhibited by the fixative; the fixation time was, therefore, kept very short. The final reaction product was localized on glycogen particles and on endoplasmic membranes in association with glycogen particles. The results support the view that endoplasmic membranes are involved in the metabolism of glycogen in hepatocytes.


Comparison of two techniques for the quantitative measurement of acid phosphatase in normal and regenerating epithelium of the female hairless hamster.

Two methods have been employed for measuring acid phosphatase activity in normal and regenerating epithelium of the female hairless hamster. The first method entails histochemical preparation followed by television scanning microdensitometric measurements using a Quantimet 72OD. The second method involves incubation of freeze-dried epidermis in a suitable substrate medium followed by measurement of the fluorescence of the released product by a spectrophotofluorometer. The results were compared against each other by performing best-fit polynomial regression line analysis to the data produced by both methods. A correlation coefficient of 0.99 was obtained when interpolated data from the two 'best-fit' curves were compared with each other. This indicates that the histochemical technique and the subsequent measurement using television scanning microdensitometry is 'quantitative' and can, therefore, be employed in quantitative histochemistry.


Wafer embedding: specimen selction in electron microscopic cytochemistry with osmiophilic polymers.

A new wafer embedding procedure is described that permits light microscopic screening of embedded tissue prior to ultrathin sectioning. It is particularly valuable when used on specimens obtained with an automatic sectioner and treated cytochemically to obtain visible intermediate or visible and electron opaque final reaction products. Aldehyde-fixed tissues are cut into sections with an automatic sectioner, incubated cytochemically osmication if required, then embedded in epoxy resin between fluorocarbon coverglasses which are supported by a platform specially designed for this purpose. The resultant wafter, less than 0.2 mm thick, is examined by light microscopy for optimal areas of cytochemical reaction and desirable structural features. Such areas are cut out and glued to blank blocks with fast curing cyanoacrylate cement for subsequent ultrathin sectioning. The usefulness of this technique is demonstrated by the location of: (1) esterase-positive lysosomes in kidney and trigeminal ganglia; (2) palatal sensory endings stained for acetylcholinesterase; and (3) phagosomes arising from the resorption of horseradish peroxidase tracer by the cuboidal parietal epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule in the male mouse.


Acetylcholinesterase in blood vessels of the guinea-pig ovary during different phases of the reproductive cycle.

The distribution of acetylcholinesterase-containing blood vessels in the ovary has been investigated histochemically during the reproductive cycle of the guinea-pig. Whole mounts as well as frozen sections have been studied. Stained vessels were found in the stroma throughout the oestrous cycle and pregnancy. In the corpus luteum the vascular reaction varied at different stages of the oestrous cycle; while never very pronounced, it was more marked in lactating than in non-lactating animals. A feregnancy advanced an increasing number of vessels were strongly stained. At the end of pregnancy, stained vessels were less prominent. Acetylcholinesterase appeared to be localized prinicipally in the vessels themselves (possibly in muscle cells) rather than in associated nerves. Experiments in which ovaries were injected, via their arterial or venous supply, with starch or coloured gelatine suggested that most stained vessels were arterioles but a reaction also occurred in some vessels which were probably arteries and others which could have been the postulated arterio-venous shunts. Capillaries were unstained; whether the veins were also totally unreactive could not be established. The significance of the changes in acetylcholinesterase staining in varying functional states remains obscure; they may or may not reflect the emergence of certain types of vessel at different stages.