Consumptive coagulopathy as biochemical mechanism in oxygen toxicity and its enhancement by lead(II) ions.

Consumptive coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation can be observed in rats exposed to 4 ata of oxygen. These events clearly precede the death of the animal and appear to be initiated by an activation of coagulation factor XII (Hageman). The onset and the extent of consumptive coagulapathy are greatly enhanced by a single and low intravenous dose of lead acetate. Mechanisms of activation of the intrinsic coagulation system and its role in oxygen toxicity are being discussed.


Encoding specificity: retrieval asymmetry in the recognition failure paradigm.

The paradigm producing recognition failure of recallable words was investigated in a series of three experiments. Results indicate that retrieval asymmetry: (a) exists in the recognition failure paradigm directly following list study, (b) increases significantly following a free-association task aimed at generation of the target words from the study list, and (c) can be used as a reasonably good predictor of the magnitude of recognition failure. Retrieval asymmetry and recognition failure are reliably related even when adjusted for the level of recognition probability, which has previously been shown by Tulving and Wiseman to be a good predictor of recognition failure.


Congenital hypothyroidism: clues to an early clinical diagnosis.

Congenital hypothyroidism is clinically difficult to diagnose early in life. A review of the common signs and symptoms of this treatable disease is presented, and a case diagnosed on the third day of life is discussed. Until neonatal thyroid screening is generally available it behooves all physicians caring for newborns and young infants to have a high index of suspicion for this disease.


Compulsive water drinking: a review with report of an additional case.

Symptomatic compulsive water drinking is uncommon. The pathophysiology of compulsive water drinking is essentially that of an acute organic brain syndrome from cerebral edema. The syndrome does not occur clinically unless there is an impairment of water excretion, since normal renal function allows up to 20 liters per day excess intake without accumulation. It has been reported that about 80 percent of cases are neurotic middleaged females. In almost all cases there is at least a history of neurotic symptoms or maladaptive symptoms if the history is probed. In most reported cases the patients were psychotic. When symptoms and laboratory aberration are mild, the sole treatment is water restriction. In moderate but very symptomatic cases, treatment includes both intravenous saline and water restriction. In severe cases treatment includes water restriction, intravenous hypertonic saline, diuretics, and anticonvulsants. After the acute phase, patient education may suffice as in the above case, but if psychosis is present, appropriate therapy is indicated accompanined by frequent checks of serum electrolytes to detect early aberration.


Adolescent care.

The very nature of growing up and experiencing adolescence is perplexing to each individual as well as to his/her family. Any physician dealing with adolescents needs to be keenly aware of the importance of developing a quality physician-patient relationship. This takes an understanding of the physical and emotional components of the individual, showing concern for the patient, allowing for confidentiality to enhance trust in the relationship, and getting the adolescent involved in his/her own care. The use of a questionnaire for adolescent patients can be helpful in developing those aspects of care that often lead to a quality relationship.


Psychophysiology of pain: diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Pain problems occupy muct of the time and therapeutic efforts of physicians. Nonmedical practitioners and cultists have likewise attracted many people seeking pain relief. In many cases the cultists seem to do as well as the ethical practitioner. A realistic view of pain takes into account the significance of the pain to the individual, the degree of anxiety and/or depression that contributes to the aggravation and prepetuation of the pain, and finally the manipulative  and defensive value that the pain may have to the individual. A purely mechanistic approach which would attempt to distinguish "real pain", ie, pain associated with a demonstrable lesion, and "imagined pain" will prove counterproductive. Likewise accusations of consciously pretended pain or malingering tend to be nontherapeutic. A sound therapeutic approach is to regard all pain as real, realizing that the pain of depression may be the most unendurable type of pain. Major psychotropic drugs for relief of anxiety and for treatment of depression have appplication in the management of selected pain problems.


Screening during routine health assessment.

Medical charts of 189 patients receiving routine health examination were reviewed. Of the 15 evaluative procedures included, two (the physical examination and stool for occult blood) were performed by physicians; the remaining 13 were delegated to paramedical personnel and/or outside facilities. A total of 330 of 1,497 (22 percent) were found to be abnormal. Of abnormalities only 144 (44 percent) received follow-up as determined by chart audit. Physician-performed tests yielded 62 of 330 abnormal results. The rate of follow-up for physician-detected abnormalities was 58.1 percent compared to 40 percent for abnormalities found by other providers. To improve follow-up rate it is suggested that only those procedures be performed in which early detection significantly alters morbidity and/or mortality and that a structured definition of follow-up role be established or paramedical personnel.


The family as the object of care in family practice.

Family practice as a specialty is based upon the continuing and comprehensive care of families. Much emphasis has been placed upon care of the "whole-person" and the family, but actual practice still reflects a predominant focus on the individual, rather than the family, as the object care. There is an important conceptual and practical difference between caring for the individual in the context of the family and caring for the family itself as the patient. Both approaches are required for family medicine to realize its potential in the ongoing care of families. This paper outlines some useful concepts and principles which can help to increase the capability of family physicians to deal with the common problems of individuals and their families.


An evaluation of primary care preceptorships.

Participants and nonparticipants in a primary care preceptorship experience were compared on self-reported competencies in basic skills and performance of clinical procedures. A pre--post analysis of participating students was done, documenting the effect of the preceptorship experience on the students' career choices, practice site selections, and competencies in basic skills and in performance of clinical procedures. The experience tended to give precepting students more than nonprecepting students a feeling of confidence in skill areas and in performance of clinical procedures.


The use of video-tape techniques in the psychiatric training of family physicians.

This paper describes the use of video-tape techniques in the training of family physicians. Some general objectives for the psychiatric curriculum for family medicine training programs are enumerated. The implementation of these goals include (1) development of a library of video recordings which contain illustrative examples of psychiatric syndromes and management problems that appear frequently in family practices; and (2) use of video-tape recordings of the trainee during routine medical encounters and during counseling sessions for later review with supervising faculty. Some specific examples are cited of what to look for in the medical encounters and of how the video tape allows faculty to be more concrete in their instruction.


Personal medical reference files for family physicians.

Family practice has firmly accepted a leadership role in the establishment of practice indexing and control mechanisms for primary care practices and in the continuing education of primary care physicians. These independent programs logically interrelate if the International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care (ICHPPC) mobidity coding index is adapted to the maintenance of personal reference and bibliographic files. The literature data base so developed then was direct and specific application to patient care situations, and to continuing education oriented around active case material, teaching, and research. Experience demonstrates a high degree of student responsiveness to such a reference resourse. Yet most receive no exposure to this basic tool throughout their entire medical school and specialty training. An inexpensive, simple system is proposed which can be expanded conveniently to any level of detail, cross-reference capability, and content. This has been found useful in teaching and practice and is well accepted by family medicine residents at the Geisinger Medical Center.


Processing time related to patient attitude in a family practice residency model office.

This paper presents a time-motion study of patient processing in the Ball Memorial Family Practice Residency Model Office during a one-month time period. Time intervals including patient waiting time and patient processing time, ie, length of patient time spent in attendance by various health-care office personnel, were calculated. An assessment intended to reveal patients' attitudes in the context of their visits was performed. Correlation statistical analysis of the time-motion and attitude studies indicates that relatively negative patient attitudes are related to the length of time that the patient spends waiting for the doctor, the length of patient waiting time in the office, and the total time that the patient spends in the office.


A new look at the consultation continuum.

The purpose of this paper is to bring into sharp focus the intricate and vital linkages among the active participants in the consultation process (Figure 1). For too long the profession has been locked into a ritualistic, buck-passing processing frequently resulting in unorganized efforts on behalf of objects rather than subjects. The essential overriding concern then could well be represented by the center diagram (the patient and his family) and the supporting persons - communicating before, during, and after the consultation - completing a process which could bring about improvement in the quality of life for the patient, the referring physician, and the family. Through the added efforts to give feedback to the specialist we could conceivably improve the consultant's quality of life too.


Nystatin as a probe for investigating the electrical properties of a tight epithelium.

We show how the antibiotic nystatin may be used in conjunction with microelectrodes to resolve transepithelial conductance Gt into its components: Ga, apical membrane conductance; Gbl, basolateral membrane conductance; and Gj, junctional conductance. Mucosal addition of nystatin to rabbit urinary bladder in Na+-containing solutions caused Gt to increase severalfold to ca. 460 micrometerho/muF, and caused the transepithelial voltage Vt to approach +50 mV regardless of its initial value. From measurements of Gt and the voltage-divider ratio as a function of time after addition or removal of nystatin, values for Ga, Gbl, and Gj of untreated bladder could be obtained. Nystatin proved to have no direct effect on Gbl or Gj but to increase Ga by about two orders of magnitude, so that the basolateral membrane then provided almost all of the electrical resistance in the transcellular pathway. The nystatin channel in the apical membrane was more permeable to cations than to anions. The dose-response curve for nystatin had a slope of 4.6. Use of nystatin permitted assessment of whether microelectrode impalement introduced a significant shunt conductance into the untreated apical membrane, with the conclusion that such a shunt was negligible in the present experiments. Nystatin caused a hyperpolarization of the basolateral membrane potential in Na+-containing solutions. This may indicate that the Na+ pump in this membrane is electrogenic.


Lability of the prolonged depolarizing afterpotential in Balanus photoreceptors.

A large cell to cell variability of the prolonged depolarizing afterpotential (PDA) decay time constant (tau) has been measured in Balanus eberneus lateral ocelli. While 25% of the cells had PDA's of long duration, tau greater than 10 min. 45% of the cells tested showed either weak (tau less than 60 s) PDA or none at all. The variability was not reflected in the late receptor potential. All the cells showed normal light-coincident responses. The variability was not due to some alteration of the thermal stability of the pigment states, since after monochromatic adaptation the amplitude of the early receptor potential remained unchanged for at least 30 min. In addition, in some cells that initially showed PDAs of long duration, the decay time was either shortened or abolished after exposure to anoxia. Again, the late receptor potential and the stability of the pigments remained unaffected. These results indicate that the mechanisms which give rise to the PDA are not always tightly coupled to the direct chain of events that lead to the light-coincident response.


Inhibition by hypertonic solutions of Ca-dependent electrogenesis in single crab muscle fibers.

This study describes the effect of hypertonic solutions on isolated muscle fibers of Callinectes danae. Solutions of twice normal tonicity (2.0 T) inhibit both the normal graded membrane responses and the spikes induced by procaine, tetraethylammonium, or barium. The inhibition is maintained throughout exposure to hypertonic solutions prepared by addition of impermeant solutes such as NaCl, sucrose, or Tris-propionate, but is reversible on their withdrawal. In the presence of permeant solutes such as glycerol or acetamide, the inhibition is transient. In both cases the onset of inhibition of the depolarizing Ca electrogenesis is correlated with shrinkage of the fiber. In the case of permeant solutes, the time course of recovery of the graded responses or the spikes follows the recovery of the fiber volume. Changes in the passive electrical characteristics of the fibers due to hypertonic solutions were unrelated to the blockade of membrane Ca activation. The current-voltage relationship in hypertonic sollution revealed no increase in depolarizing K activation. Inhibition of the graded membrane responses and spikes appears to be associated with depression of Ca conductance. Hypertonic solutions might affect the activation of Ca conductance through reduction of the electric field generated by fixed negative surface charges and/or morphological changes in the T tubules. Membrane depolarization elicited little or no tension in 2.0 T solutions while caffeine contracture (10 mM) with an ampliture of 76% of the maximal contractile ability could still be elicited. This indicates that direct effects of hypertonic solutions on the contractile apparatus were not responsible for loss of tension. The latter is attributed to the inhibition of the transmembrane Ca currents.


Two naturally occurring transposons indistinguishable from Tn7.

Two plasmids from different sources, determining trimethoprim and streptomycin resistances, harbour transposons which we designate Tn71 and Tn72. These transposons are indistinguishable from Tn7 in the resistances determined, in their molecular masses and in the number and relative positions of their sites susceptible to the restriction enzymes EcoRI, HindIII and BamHI. We conclude that Tn7 has been naturally spread among plasmids.


Occurrence and patterns of waxes in Neisseriaceae.

Forty-five strains classified in the family Neisseriaceae were analysed for wax esters by gas-liquid chromatography. The amounts and types of waxes varied between the taxa. Waxes were not detected in 16 strains of 'true neisseriae' (genus Neisseria) or in two strains of Kingella, but they were found in all 'false neisseriae', in all species of Moraxella except Moraxella phenylpyrouvica, in five out of 10 strains of Acintobacter, and in all strains of a group of psychrophilic, oxidase-positive organisms. The chain lengths of the wax esters ranged from C24 to C42, with C36 predominating. In all taxa, esters with even numbers of carbon atoms constituted 70 to 100% of the total. Saturated, mono-unsaturated and diunsaturated waxes were found. Acinetobacter strains were characterized by large amounts (30 to 98%) of di-unsaturated wax esters; such waxes did not exceed 8% in the 'false neisseriae' or Moraxella spp. Waxes of strains belonging to the psychrophilic, oxidase-positive group generally resembled those found in Moraxella. Wax esters with odd numbers of carbon atoms were abundant in M. lacunata (29%), M. atlantae (15%) and in the psychorophilic group (19 to 28%); long-chain esters (C40 or above) were characteristic of M. atlantae (30%) and one strain of M. osloensis (26%).


Streptococcus pleomorphus sp.nov.: an anaerobic streptococcus isolated mainly from the caeca of birds.

A new species Streptococcus pleomorphus is described. It is obligately anaerobic and classified in the genus Streptococcus because it is a Gram-positive coccus growing in pairs and chains, with a homolactic fermentation of glucose producing L-lactic acid. The GC content of the DNA is 39 mol%. The organism has been mainly isolated from chickens, turkeys and ducks.


Correlation of serological and biochemical groupings of Yersinia enterocolitica with the beta-lactamases of the strains.

The beta-lactamase isoelectric focusing patterns of 37 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica from various serological and biochemical groups were examined. Strains of different serological groups generally had different patterns, but those of serological groups 1, 2, 3 and 9 were identical.


Peptide mapping of 125I-labelled influenza virus proteins. Matrix proteins as markers in recombination.

We have examined the matrix proteins of A/Okuda/57, A/Finland/4/74 and A/New Jersey/8/76 viruses and several recombinant strains by radioiodination of the purified polypeptides followed by tryptic peptide mapping. The method is rapid and requires only small amounts of material. Reproducible differences were detected between the matrix proteins of the above parents and allowed origin of the matrix proteins of the recombinant viruses to be determined. The possible use of matrix protein identity as a marker in recombination work is discussed.


A study of events in chick cells infected with human adenovirus type 5 and their relationship to the induction of interferon.

In an attempt to define the molecular events involved in induction of interferon, various parameters of chick cells infected with human adenovirus type 5 were analysed. It was shown by digestion with various proteolytic enzymes and by disruption of the purified virus that induction of interferon requires the interaction of infectious virus with the chick cells. Analysis of adenovirus-infected chick cells by immunological and biochemical techniques indicated that most of the cells produce some virus-specific components, and that temperature sensitive mutants which fail to induce interferon at the restrictive temperature fail to synthesize late components at that temperature. However, since it has been shown that interferon can be induced in the absence of DNA synthesis, these studies conclude that interferon induction results from an early interaction between virus (or virus product) and chick cells and moreover that this interaction is also necessary for the synthesis of virus DNA in this system.


Internal proteins of influenza virus: 35S-methionine peptide maps as genetic markers.

Methods are described for the preparation in vivo of 35S-methionine-labelled influenza viruses, the purifiction of the nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix (M) proteins and the separation of peptides obtained by protease digestion by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. The maps of the M proteins of A/Okuda/57(H2N2) and A/Finland/4/74(H3N2) were very similar overall but differed in three peptides. Hence they could be clearly distinguished. Maps of the NP proteins of the same strains showed a greater number of differences. A recombinant strain having the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase of the A/Finland/4/74 parent and the virulence of the A/Okuda/57 parent was shown to have the M and P proteins of A/okuda/57.


Comparative studies of wild-type and 'cold-mutant' (temperature sensitive) influenza viruses: geneology of the matrix (M) and non-structural (NS) proteins in recombinant cold-adapted H3N2 viruses.

The matrix (M) protein of the H2N2 virus A/Ann Arbor/6/60 may be distinguished from M protein of several H3N2 viruses and A/New Jersey/76 (HSWINI) by SDS acrylamide gel electrophoresis using a discontinuous buffer system. The smallest RNA (RNA 8) of the A/Ann Arbor/6/60 virus may be distinguished from RNA 8 of several H3N2 viruses by acrylamide gel electrophoresis in 3% or 3-6% gels in the absence of urea, if electrophoresis is done at 30 to 36 degrees C or 20 degrees C respectively. Ten clones of conditionally-lethal temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants were studied, which derived their cold-adaption and ts genes from mutant A/Ann Arbor/6/60, and their haemagglutinin from the H3N2 virus A/Scotland/840/74. Each clone was found to derive its M protein from A/Ann Arbor/6/60 mutant, and its RNA 8 from A/Scotland/840/74. The only assignment of genes 7 and 8 consistent with these findings for the recombinants is that in each parent virus (and in the recombinants) gene 7 codes for M protein, and gene 8 for NS protein. Furthermore, it may be concluded from the results that the biologically important ts lesions in the A/Ann Arbor/6/60 mutant parent are not present in the NS gene. In addition to the recombinants of A/Ann Arbor/6/60 and A/Scotland/840/74, five independent ts/cold-adapted recombinants of A/Ann Arbor/6/60 mutant with H3N2 and HSWINI wild-type viruses were examined, and all were found to contain the M protein of the A/Ann Arbor/6/60 mutant parent. This is suggestive that M protein may be at least partially responsible for the cold-adaptation and/or ts properties of the A/Ann Arbor/6/60 mutant and the recombinants.


Molecular weight of double-stranded RNA: a re-examination of Aspergillus foetidus virus S RNA components.

The mol. wt of the three double-stranded RNA (ds-RNA) components of Aspergillus foetidus virus S have been re-determined by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (a) of native ds-RNA with ds-RNA standards and (b) of denatured ds-RNA with single-stranded RNA standards. Good agreement between the two methods and confirmation that the relationship between log mol. wt. and electrophoretic mobility of ds-RNA is not linear were obtained. The new mol. wt. values (4-0 to 4-2 x 10(6); 2-5 to 2-7 x 10(6) and 0-26 to 0-28 x 10(6), resepectively) are significantly higher than those determined previously by linear extrapolation from reovirus ds-RNA standards.


Repeated 'superinduction' of interferon in human diploid fibroblast cultures.

Human diploid fibroblast cultures induced to make interferon by the combination of polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic adic, cycloheximide and actinomycin D degenerate thereafter, owing to the irreversible nature of the inhibition induced by actinomycin D. However, cultures superinduced with the DNA-dependent RNA synthesis inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-I-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimadazole (DRB) survive, owing to the reversible nature of the inhibition induced by DRB, and can again be superinduced on several occasions.


Effect of respiratory syncytial virus infection of HeLa-cell macromolecular synthesis.

Cells infected with respiratory syncytial (RS) virus eventually die but there appears to be no specific mechanism for shutting off cellular synthesis of macromolecules. DNA and RNA synthesis, as measured by the incorporation of labelled thymidine or uridine, do not begin to shut down until some time between 11 and 18 h after infection. By 18 h their rates of synthesis are reduced to approx. 50% for DNA and 35% for RNA. Protein synthesis continues throughout the course of infection at approximately the same rate. Synthesis of most of the cellular polypeptides also continues, but the distribution of polypeptides of high and low mol. wt. shifts. The increase in the proportion of those of high mol. wt. includes a peak that represents one of the seven previously identified virion polypeptides. Another consequence of RS virus infection is an increase in glucosamine incorporation, beginning near the end of the virus eclipse period (12 h after infection), which may be associated with virion glycoprotein synthesis. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of glucosamine-labelled cells reveals that at 18 h after infection two of the three previously identified virion glycoproteins are present.


Age-dependent and strain-related differences of virulence of Semliki Forest virus in mice.

Factors that influence the virulence of Semliki Forest virus for mice have been studied. In vivo experiments showed that maximum brain infectivities following i.p. inoculation of adult mice with a virus strain of low virulence were less than those found in mice showing clinical signs in virulent infections. The virulent strains generally caused death before antibody could be detected in brain tissue; the less virulent strain caused an infection that was neuroinvasive, but infectivity increased less rapidly in the brain and allowed antibody to intervene before clinical signs were apparent. IgG3 antibody was first detected in brain tissue coincident with the beginning of the decline of brain infectivities in avirulent infections; other sub-classes of IgG antibody were not detected until later. In vitro experiments showed differences in abilities of SFV strains to replicate in tissue culture and adult mouse brain tissue, and differences in susceptibility to infection of brain tissue from mice of various ages. These in vitro results could provide a basis for differences of virulence.


[Three families with pericentric inversion of chromosome 9].

The authors describe three unrelated families who had a pericentric inversion of chromosome 9. Three female patients and 9 out of 16 members of their families were heterozygous carriers of the same chromosomal recombination. This anomaly has been found with a frequency of about 1% in our laboratory. The different clinical and cytogenetic implications are briefly discussed.


A new translocation involving chromosomes no. 5 and no. 12 t(5;12) (5q15;12p13).

A new case of translocation between chromosomes No. 5 and No. 12 is described. The translocation t(5;12) (5q15;12p13) is apparently balanced and was found in a child aged 3 1/2 years who was affected with severe psychomotor retardation. On the basis of the clinical picture it is suggested that the phenotype could be not dependent on the chromosomal alteration.


[Genetic counselling (results of ten years experience). III. Evaluation of risk (author's transl)].

Among 924 consultations for definite or probable genetic disorders, two persons out of five seeking counselling run a high risk (10% or more) of having an affected child, one in five a risk varying between 1% and 9%, and two out of five a negligeable risk (less than 1%). In most cases (three out of four) individuals with affected relatives could be completely reassured, whilst one out of two affected persons seeking counselling ran a high risk of having a child who would suffer the same handicap. Among the normal parents with affected children, one out of three could be completely reassured, but on the other hand the same proportion ran a high risk of having another affected child. The calculated risks were compared in prenuptial, pre-pregnancy and prenatal counselling. The evaluation of the risk is only the first step in the counselling and certain special situations were chosen to demonstrate the factors which can modify the risk. The authors stress that genetic counselling, which is rarely simply indicative, should often be directive. In some cases, the prenatal diagnosis converts the theoretical risk into a certainty.


Cytogenetic findings in 125 patients with Turner's syndrome and abnormal karyotypes.

A total of 186 girls with clinical signs of Turner's syndrome were cytogenetically studied. From this total, 125 (67.20%) had abnormal and 61 (32.80%) normal karyotypes. Among the patients with abnormal karyotypes, 68 had negative sex chromatin (54.40%) and 57 positive sex chromatin (45.60%). Chromosomal studies in chromatin-negative patients allowed us to detect 44 karyotypes 45,X, 20 structural X anomalies (14 rings, 4 deletions for the long arm, 2 deletions for the short arm) and 4 patients with 45,X/46,XY mosaics, while chromosomal studies in chromatin-positive patients revealed 57 abnormal and 61 normal karyotypes. The isochromosome for the long X arm was more frequent, either in pure line or in mosaicism, than the 45,X/46,XX mosaic. From the 61 patients with normal karyotypes, 21 had significative short stature (under the 3rd percentile) as the main feature, with the bone age equal to, or advanced for chronological age. The remaining 40 patients had, in addition, other typical features of Turner's syndrome. Although the possibility of a not detected mosaic cannot be discarded, its absence would suggest a genetic etiology.


The cognitive style dimension of reflectivity-impulsivity in normal and emotionally disturbed adolescents.

Thirty-two emotionally disturbed and 23 normal adolescents were given two test of cognitive style developed by Kagan (Matching Familiar Figures and the Haptic-Visual Tests). The results were analyzed to evaluate two major hypotheses: (a) that emotionally disturbed adolescents perform differently on the tests than normal adolescents; and (b) that members of both groups reveal a high degree of stability among various subtest scores, both within the same test and across different tests. In testing the first hypothesis, the authors discovered minimal differences in mean scores for the different samples on each of the five subtests involved. However, a more complex analysis was carried out on the basis of the assumption that extreme scores on the various items were a more meaningful indicator of performance than simple means. This analysis yielded the conclusion that these emotionally disturbed adolescents were more impulsive (i.e., answered more quickly and made more errors) than their counterparts in public schools. An analysis of the intercorrelations between different tests and within tests in testing the second hypothesis revealed 19 out of 40 significant correlations, with an additional 14 out of the remaining 21 in the predicted direction. Finally, nine out of the 10 correlations combining the subgroups were statistically significant.


Problem-solving rigidity of children on perceptual tasks as a function of parental authoritarianism.

The effect of parental authoritarianism on the rigid problem-solving behavior of 25 10- to 12-year-old children was examined. Children were tested on three perceptually ambiguous tasks in an experimentally induced ego-involving situation. Authoritarianism in one parent was associated with authoritarianism in the other. Children's greater difficulty on all three tasks was associated with higher parental authoritarianism; opposite sex correlations betweens sons' and mothers' and between daughters' and fathers' scores are stronger than same sex correlations. Children were consistent across all three tasks on rigid problem-solving behavior. It is suggested that rigid problem-solving behavior may mediate the transmission of authoritarianism from parent to child.


Sufism and psychiatry.

The questions, "What is the purpose of living?" and "Why do I exist?" haunt modern Western civilization and the absence of an adequate answer to them has given rise to the "illness" of meaninglessness or anomie. Psychiatrists, themselves, are afflicted with the same illness, partly because the problem of the meaning of life is solved by a special type of perception rather than by logic--psychiatry is trapped by its commitment to rationalism. Sufism, on the other hand, is a tradition devoted to the development of the higher intuitive capacity needed to deal with this issue. By taking advantage of the special science of the Sufis, Western civilization may be able to extricate itself from its dilemma and contribute to the development of man's full capacities.


Neuropsychological correlates of chronic alcoholism and aging.

Independent investigations of alcoholism and aging have demonstrated significant parallels between the two phenomena suggesting the possibility of "premature aging" as a result of alcoholism. To test this hypothesis a cross-sectional design was utilized with three groups of 20 male subjects: young normal (mean age 31 years), young alcoholics (mean age 33 years), and elderly normal (mean age 71 years). Eleven objective measures, selected from a battery of sensory and perceptual motor tests routinely used to evaluate cerebral dysfunction in hospitalized patients, were compared for the three groups. The results indicated a definite general decline in neuropsychological functioning with aging and suggested a similar trend with alcoholism. The tendency seen with alcoholism was least apparent with regard to fundamental sensory-motor functions and the perceptual functions of vision and audition and most apparent with regard to short term memory and abstract reasoning, i.e., higher mental processes. The results provided support for the hypothesis that chronic alcoholism causes premature aging of neuropsychological functions and possibly the brain.


Autofellatio: a power and dependency conflict.

The literature concerning autofellatio is reviewed, and two additional cases are reported. A third case of a neurotic patient in whom there was a reversal of an autofellatio fantasy is presented. These cases seem to involve narcissism, dependency, and power conflicts as have those cases previously reported in the literature.


Maintenance antipsychotic pharmacotherapy, relapse, and length of stay out of the hospital in chronic schizophrenics in Greece.

A retrospective study of 820 rehospitalization of chronic schizophrenics in Greece showed no significant difference in the discharge-rehospitalization, discharge-relapse, and relapse-rehospitalization time intervals, between the patients who continued to receive their medication after discharge regularly, and the patients who discontinued their medication upon discharge. Furthermore, there seemed to be an increased social adaptability or tolerance of the psychotic behavior of the patients who had discontinued their medication, suggested by their longer relapse-rehospitalization time interval.


Effect of injecting 5-methoxy indoles, pineal compounds, on testicular weight of white leghorn  cockerels (Gallus domesticus L.).

White leghorn cockerels of the same age with combs of about equal size and raised under identical conditions were injected with melatonin, 5-methoxytryptophol, or with 5-methoxytryptophol in combination with melatonin. Melatonin, injected in animals with small comb sizes, has no effect on testicular growth, whereas an inhibiting effect is noticed in animals with larger comb sizes. The 5-methoxytryptophol treated animals demonstrated stimulated testicular growth, which can be interpreted as an acceleration of the rhythm of growth. The stimulatory effect on testicular growth is more distinct if 5-methoxytryptophol is injected in combination with melatonin.


Dopamine formation from phenylalanine: independent existence in caudate nucleus synaptosomes.

Dopa and dopamine formations from phenylalanine and tyrosine in rat caudate nucleus synaptosomal preparation were studied. Phenylalanine and tyrosine, labelled with either 14C or 3H, were employed as cosubstrates leading to the formations of double labelled Dopa and dopamine. The ratio of the two isotopes in dopamine was found to be significantly different from that in Dopa. The results suggest that Dopa formed from the cosubstrates are compartmented.


Correlation of anxiety and related symptoms with cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in depressed women.

Cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels were determined in 31 women with unipolar involutional depression using the probenecid technique. Values were found to be lower in depression as compared to controls, but they did not correlate with the severity of the clinical picture. Anxiety, insomnia and drug response however showed significant correlation with pretreatment 5-HIAA level. Some possible interpretations are discussed.


An improved fluorimetric method for assay of dopa in urine and tissues and its use for determination of urinary dopa, at endogenous level, in different species.

An optimized fluorimetric method is presented which permits the analysis of DOPA in urine or tissues, at endogenous levels. A wide variety of eluates can be analyzed by applying the manual or the automated schedule. The automated manifold, developed for DOPA assay, may be used to estimate norepinephrine (NE) in other samples, by only changing the nature of reagents to be pumped. Amounts of DOPA as low as 0.3 ng/ml of eluate can be detected. Determinations of endogenous DOPA are reported in urinary samples of Humans, Rats, Dogs and Sheeps, and in brain of Rats. The pattern of changes in DOPA urinary excretion has been investigated as a function of time in Rats. Dietary influences have been studied in Man, Rat and Dog. It is concluded that the greatest part of free and conjugated DOPA excreted in urine of these animals has an endogenous origin.


Objectivation of latent psychoses.

A method--the flicker-frequency-analysis (FFA)--is reported by which it is possible to differentiate latent psychoses with neurotic sensation- and behaviour-disorders and "neuroses". The consecutive early treatment prevents irreversible lesions.


Differentiation of communicating hydrocephalus and presenile dementia by continuous recording of cerebrospinal fluid pressure.

Continuous monitoring of the cerebrospinal fluid pressure and observation of the pressure during intrathecal infusion of normal saline at two rates were performed in patients with communicating hydrocephalus and cerebral atrophy of other causes. Constant or temporarily increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure was observed only in communicating hydrocephalus. Reduction of intracranial pressure by a ventriculoatrial shunt was associated with clinical improvement. The intrathecal infusion test was capable of detecting reduced absorption of cerebrospinal fluid if more than one infusion rate was employed. Using both tests it is easier to determine which patients with communicating hydrocephalus should be treated with a shunt operation.


Trigeminal sensory symptoms associated with hydrocephalus.

In three patients, trigeminal sensory symptoms remitted with treatment of associated hydrocephalus, two with facial pain resembling trigeminal neuralgia, and one with facial paraesthesiae. The pathological basis of these phenomena and their relationship to idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia are discussed.


Evidence of silent cerebral embolism in patients with amaurosis fugax.

In 34 patients who presented with attacks of amaurosis fugax with no evidence of cerebral involvement, EEG, angiographic, and regional cerebral blood flow studies were carried out. Six of 23 EEGs, one of 21 angiograms, and five of six regional blood flow studies were thought to provide evidence of silent cerebral embolism. The implications for the management of patients who present with isolated amaurosis fugax are discussed.


Cerebrospinal fluid enzymes in acute brain injury. 1. Dynamics of changes in CSF enzyme activity after acute experimental brain injury.

Changes in CSF enzyme activity were studied after brain trauma for their prognostic value. Raised values of CPK and HBDH were demonstrated in the CSF of patients with severe brain injuries. Standardised cold lesions of the brain were induced in cats. The activities of the enzymes CPK, HBDH, LDH, GOT, GPT, and pseudocholinesterase were studied at half hour intervals in the cerebrospinal fluid and at hourly intervals in the serum. A statistically highly significant increase of all enzymes studied developed in the CSF. The greatest changes occurred within four hours of freezing. Large increases could occur in half an hour. Isoenzyme studies demonstrated that CPK and LDH were of cerebral origin. No consistently significant changes could be shown in the serum enzyme activity. It is concluded that after brain injuries, enzymes are released into the extracellular fluid of the brain and transported to the CSF. The limited value of a single enzyme estimation is emphasised. The results described seem to provide indirect evidence for transependymal flow of extracellular fluid in brain oedema.


Cerebrospinal fluid enzymes in acute brain injury. 2. Relation of CSF enzyme activity to extent of brain injury.

The value of CSF enzyme estimations as indices of the extent of brain damage was studied in the experimental situation. Standard cold lesions of different severity were induced in cats. The activities of the enzymes CPK, HBDH, LDH, GOT, AND ChE were studied at half hour intervals in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The ventricular and cisternal fluid pressure, and the arterial blood pressure were monitored continuously. Significantly higher enzyme levels were found in the animals with more severe injuries of the brain.


Long-term effect of glucocorticosteroids on neuromuscular blocking in mice.

The effect of dexamethasone, given thrice weekly, on neuromuscular blocking by D-tubocurarine was studied in mice. Dexamethasone antagonised the effect of D-tubocurarine. This antagonism developed gradually during the first two weeks of treatment. The possible relationship between this finding and the beneficial effect of glucocorticosteroids in patients with myasthenia gravis is discussed.


Antagonist muscle activity during rapid arm movements: central versus proprioceptive influences.

Seven normal subjects were instructed to adduct the arm as fast as possible. On some trials the movement was prevented mechanically. For each movement or attempted movement, the EMG response in the antagonist muscle was measured. On trials in which no movement occurred, the respones were significantly smaller than those obtained during free, ballistic movement. The results demonstrate the role of proprioceptive influences on the contraction of the antagonist muscle.


Paroxysmal choreoathetosis as a presenting symptom in idiopathic hypoparathyroidism.

A patient with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism presenting with spells of paroxysmal choreoathetosis is described. The possible mechanisms by which hypoparathyroidism induces choreoathetosis and other extrapyramidal motor dyfunctions are discussed. The need for screening patients with extrapyramidal disease for hypoparathyroidism is stressed.


Verbal learning dysfunction with combined centre median and amygdala lesions.

Stereotaxic lesions in either or both amygdala did not impair verbal learning ability (presented by ear as a paired-associates test). Centre median lesions alone did not impair this form of learning; however, when combined with a left amygdala lesion a significant decrease in scores occurred which persisted for up to two years after operation. The data support a hypothesis that medial thalamic structures have alerting functions in learning mechanisms.


Neurological stuttering-a clinical entity?

Stuttering associated with neurological pathology in normal adult speakers is uncommon, has no consistent clinicopathological picture, and its significance is too easily dismissed. A case is reported showing that stuttering may be a presenting symptom of progressive neurological disease, and another case demonstrates that a speech disorder which is indistinguishable from common stuttering may follow cerebral follow injury in adulthood.


Teased fibre study of early nerve lesions in leprosy and in contacts, with electrophysiological correlates.

A teased fibre technique was used to study 19 biopsies of the index finger branch of the radial cutaneous nerve of leprosy patients and contacts. These were compared with four normal nerves. Five nerves were from patients with preclinical nerve lesions, five from leprosy patients with minimal sensory nerve impairment, and five from contacts of lepromatous leprosy. The extent of demyelination in preclinical nerve lesions in leprosy and in contacts of leprosy is recorded. The usefulness of nerve conduction velocity studies in early leprosy patients and in contacts is discussed.


Does cross-innervation occur after facial palsy?

When the unaffected facial nerve was stimulated in 30 patients with facial palsy, evoked action potentials could be recorded from the contralateral (paralysed) perioral muscles. Similarly, in four normal subjects responses were evoked contralateral to the stimulated facial nerve. The latency of these responses in the patients remained unchanged over several months, and they were conducted at a rate compatible with conduction along muscle fibres. The contralateral responses are suggested to be due to conduction along muscle fibres crossing the midline rather than to cross-innervation.


Encephaloceles in Nigerian Igbos.

A survey of surgical specimens submitted to a central laboratory suggests that the Igbos of Nigeria are a further ethnic group in whom the anterior encephalocele is comparatively common.


Electron-microscopic X-ray microanalysis of normal and diseased human muscle.

Electron-microscopic X-ray microanalysis has been used to compare elemental concentrations in specific organelles in normal and diseased human muscle. An elevated calcium to phosphorus ratio has been found in both myonuclei and interstitial cell nuclei in diseased muscle compared with controls. Preliminary observations also suggest that differences in elemental concentrations may be associated with structural abnormalities such as internal nuclei, and loss of myofibrils.


Blood flow in peripheral nerves. Normal and post severance flow rates.

Regional blood flow has been measured in the sciatic nerve of cats utilizing the method of hydrogen polarography. The mean baseline flow of the sciatic nerve in cats was found to be 43 ml/100 g/min +/- 1.6 SD. Flow rates were somewhat erratic in both the proximal and distal segments of the nerve following nerve severance. The erratic flows were observed over the first 30 min following nerve cutting and by 1 hr had essentially stabilized at approximately the pre-severance flow level.


Absence of autoregulation in peripheral nerve blood flow.

Blood flow was measured in the sciatic nerve of cats utilizing the method of hydrogen polarography. The mean baseline blood flow for all animals was found to be 47.1 ml/100 g/min +/- 14.9 SD. The flow changes produced by lowering the blood pressure by exsanguination and elevation by the use of angiotensin were then evaluated. The highest (normal) levels of blood flow were observed between the mean blood pressures of 80-110 mm Hg. At mean systemic arterial pressures of less than 85, there was a marked decrease in peripheral nerve blood flow with no detectable flow being measured below mean systemic pressures of 50 mm Hg. Above 105 mm Hg mean arterial pressure, there was a very gradual and progressive decline in blood flow to the levels measured at 200 mm Hg. These findings indicate a complete absence of vascular autoregulation in the peripheral nerve trunks.


Acrylamide autonomic neuropathy in the cat. Part 1. Neurophysiological and histological studies.

Neurophysiological and histological studies have been performed on the sympathetic nervous system of cats poisoned with acrylamide. The neurophysiological studies indicate that the large and small diameter myelinated fibres are damaged in the sympathetic nervous system in association with damage to the fibres of the peripheral nervous system. Quantative histological studies confirmed and extended the neurophysiological findings; there was a loss of myelinated fibres of all diameters from the sympathetic, parasympathetic and peripheral nervous system.


Acrylamide autonomic neuropathy in the cat. Part 2. Effects on mesenteric vascular control.

Mesenteric blood flow has been studied in cats poisoned with acrylamide. In severely poisoned animals, there is impairment of the neural control of the mesenteric vascular bed. The diminished response of the mesenteric bed to tyramine administration, the increased response to phenylephrine and noradrenaline and the failure of the nerve endings to take up exogenous noradrenaline are indicative of damage to the postganglionic unmyelinated fibres. The studies support the view that disturbance of blood pressure control in autonomic neuropathy is related to the impaired vasomotor control of the splanchnic bed.


Automatic analysis of the electromyogram in healthy subjects of different ages.

The technique of automatic analysis of the electromyogram is reviewed in detail. Observations on new series of healthy subjects which may serve as a control series for comparisons with subjects with neuromuscular disease are reported. The advantages to clinical practice of using fixed standard loads for the examination are stressed. Increase in the mean amplitude of the interference pattern wasfound with increasing age in biceps brachii and tibialis anterior (but not in vastus medialis). There was no corresponding increase in mean turns count. It is suggested that this change is due to increasing mild chronic partial denervation in these 2 muscles with advancing age.


Automatic analysis of the electromyogram in patients with chronic partial denervation.

The technique of automatic analysis of the electromyogram has been applied to patients with chronic partial denervation due to a wide variety of causes. Elevation of the mean amplitude more than 2 SD above the control group mean without significant change in the mean turns count was a consistent index of chronic partial denervation. The degree of elevation was linked to the severity of the weakness in motor neurone disease. Elevation of mean amplitude of comparable degree was found in patients with motor neuropathies of long duration. The elevation of mean amplitude is considered to be due to increase in the density of muscle fibres in the motor units due to reinnervation.


Anatomo-clinical correlations in normotensive hydrocephalus. Reports on three cases.

The brains of 3 adult subjects suffering from normotensive hydrocephalus have been examined pathologically. The diagnosis of normotensive hydrocephalus was based on clinical symptoms, pneumoencephalography and isotope cisternography, in 1 case integrated with the results of the constant-infusion manometric test. Part of the neuropathological findings were common to the 3 patients: leptomeningeal non-obstructive fibrosis, ventricular ependymal disruption, subependymal glial reaction, periventricular demyelination and spongiosis. Other neuropathological abnormalities were peculiar to each patient: leptomeningeal signs of previous subarachnoid haemorrhage; arteriosclerosis and multiple brain cystic infarcts; Alzheimer's plaques in the gray matter. The possible pathogenetic significance of the neuropathological findings summarized above in relation to the development of normotensive hydrocephalus is discussed.


Acute viral polymyositis with predominant diaphragm involvement.

A 20-month-old mentally retarded girl developed an acute upper respiratory infection, followed by breathing difficulties, leading to death. Picorna virus-like particles were demonstrated in a mildly affected quadriceps femoris muscle biopsy, while the necropsy findings demonstrated an acute polymyositis with predominant diaphragm involvement. The mental retardation was due to micropolygyria of the brain. Initial respiratory difficulties are an unknown feature of polymyositis. In this case the upper respiratory infection, possibly caused by a Coxsackie B2, is evoked as responsible for this unusual distribution of the acute viral polymyositis.


Is there acetylcholine receptor in human thymus?

Recent studies have suggested that thymus tissue of the calf may bear nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The presence of similar receptors in thymus tissue of man could thereby serve as a source of antigen for the production of antibody to the acetylcholine receptor in patients with myasthenia gravis. In the present experiments, human thymus tissue was examined for the presence of acetylcholine receptor. Both [125I] alpha-bungarotoxin binding and antiserum to the human acetylcholine receptor were used in tests for acetylcholine receptor in thymus glands from normal individuals and from patients with myasthenia gravis. Neither normal nor myasthenic thymus tissue were found to possess the [125I] alpha-bungarotoxin binding or the antigenic properties of the acetylcholine receptor.


[Lissencephaly: agyria. A study using the Golgi technic].

A case of lissencephaly (agyria) is reported in which the Golgi stain was used to study the fronto-parietal cortex. The external cellular layer, the so-called true cortex, was shown to be made up of neurons from the 5th and 6th layers of the normal cortex. The neurons in the much less cellular layer were shown to be large pyramidal cells with well-developed dendritic branching and spines. The deeper cellular layer was a neuronal pool without well-defined layering. All the neural forms from the normal cortex were represented. In this layer the inner neurons showed a less advanced stage of development than did those in the outer groups. In the external cellular layer there was a disorganization of neuronal disposition as well. Otherwise typical large and medium-sized pyramidal cells from the outer third showed apical dendrites directed towards deeper structures, and the basal dendrites ran through the marginal layer. Neurons with doulbe dendritic branching and fusiform neurons were present in an abnormal rotated position. In both cases, the axons always showed a descending direction. These findings add to existing knowledge concerning the anatomy of the lissencephalic cortex, although the exact interpretation of the abnormalities found in the external cellular layer remains speculative.


The identification of mossy fibres and their cells of origin in the normal and Lurcher mutant mouse.

The behavioural mutant mouse Lurcher survives to adult life as the heterozygote (Lc/+) and shows a disorder of gait. The neurological lesion has been shown to involve degeneration of Purkinje cells and inferior olivary neurones (Caddy and Biscoe 1976). It follows that the climbing fibre input is reduced and we wished to know if the mossy fibre input was also affected. Heterozygote Lurcher mutants were compared with the wild type in all experiments. Mossy fibre glomeruli were identified in the cerebellum of the mutant mouse by electron microscopy. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected into the cerebellum and was found in the cells of Clarke's column in the spinal cord. Electrophysiological experiments showed that following stimulation of the sciatic nerve evoked responses could be recorded in the cerebellum. It is concluded that the mossy fibre input to the cerebellum is intact in the Lurcher mutant mouse.


Satellite cells and muscle regeneration in diseased human skeletal muscles.

By virtue of the lanthanum nitrate staining technique applied to biopsied muscle we are able to demonstrate interaction between satellite cells and parent myofibers, as well as development of premyocytes from activated satellite cells. The process of regeneration in diseased muscle appears to differ from that described in experimental myogenesis. Transformation of activated satellite cells to two types of premyocytes in the process of muscle regeneration seems to rely primarily on the state of innervation and recovery rate of the parent cell after injury. Activated satellite cells are characterized morphologically by proliferation of caveolae, first on the parent fiber side, and early T-tubule and myofilament formation and central displacement. In diseased human muscle the satellite cells appear to play significant roles in muscle regeneration both as a source of reinforcement for failing metabolism in the parent cell and as potential replacements for the necrotic segment of the parent cell. This study also demonstrates that the satellite cells are capable of developing into independent myocytes which may fuse with or replace the parent cell, dependent upon the type and extent of the injury sustained. Abnormal fusion among premyocytes or with their parent fiber, resulting in formation of split-or ring-fibers, becomes conceivable when both innervation and recovery from the injury of the parent cell are delayed. Thus, myotube formation, characteristic of usual myogenesis, seldom takes place in the regenerative process instituted by satellite cells in diseased human skeletal muscles.


The cytoarchitecture of the inferior colliculus in the cat. A stereological approach.

The present study gives an histometric analysis of cells in the different subdivisions of the inferior colliculus. The use of principles and methods of stereology allows the definition of various cellular parameters, i.e. nuclear and cell volume, nuclear and cell profile areas, nuclear diameter, volume proportion of perikaryon, nuclear/cytoplasmic volume ratio and nuclear packing density. Our data confirm the existence of at least 3 parts in the inferior colliculus of the cat, namely: the ventral, the dorso-medial and the lateral parts. We furnish the various parameters which permit the characterisation of cells in these different parts. The dorso medial part or region appears to be composed of numerous cells characterized by their small volume and their high nuclear/cytoplasmic volume ratio. The ventral region seems to be distinguished by its scattered cells, characterized by their large volume and their low nuclear/cytoplasmic volume ratio, whereas the lateral region appears as an intermediate one with scattered cells of low volume. It seems notable that these cytoarchitectonic subdivisions fit well with the functional subdivision since the dorsomedial region receives cortical fibres, the ventral region receives cochlear fibres and the lateral region receives both cortical and cochlear fibres.


Neuromuscular paralysis caused by tick envenomation.

The Australian scrub-tick Ixodes holocyclus causes a series of significant toxic effects in its victims. The most important feature of tick envenomation is neuromuscular paralysis. Children poisoned by ticks may manifest only local motoneural effects, usually facial paralysis. Progressive ascending flaccid paralysis occurs if the removal of an embedded tick is delayed. The specific neurological features of tick-bite are discussed in the light of a series of 6 children who all showed signs of tick paralysis. Tick venom is known to slow nerve conduction, and may have a botulinum-like effect at the neuromuscular junction. The literature on the neurological effects of tick-envenomation is reviewed.


Computerized image recognition for morphometry of nerve attribute of shape of sampled transverse sections of myelinated fibers which best estimates their average diameter.

A computerized image recognition method was used to measure various attributes of shape of cross-sections of myelinated nerve fibers. Measurements were made at intervals over 1/2 internode of each fiber on 20 fibers from each of 4 sural nerves from rats. Diameters were computed in 6 different ways from the computer measurements and compared for bias, precision, and accuracy between sections and to the diameter of an idealized cylinder reconstructed for each fiber from multiple actual cross sections. The diameter computed from cross-sectional areas of transversely sectioned myelinated fibers, converted into a circle, showed the highest precision, greatest accuracy and least bias. Fibers were classified by shape and the frequency was determined in defined regions (I1 = paranodal, I3= nuclear and I2=region between I1 and I3) of the 1/2 internode. A crenated shape is highly characteristic of the I1 region. The boomerang shape was found most frequently in I3 whereas the circular shape was found most frequently in I2. Epileptical and boomerang shapes of myelinated fibers within fascicles which have been orientated carefully to obtain transverse sections, are not due to obliquity of section. Therefore, using the minor axis to determine the diameter of such profiles, as we had done previously in our laboratory, is in error. We conclude from these studies, that in carefully orientated transverse sections of nerve trucks, the diameter calculated from measurement of area converted to a circular shape is the best among the various estimates of myelinated fiber diameter and is the most suitable one for use in computerized image recognition systems for nerve morphometry. It seems reasonable to extrapolate this general conclusion to myelinated fibers of man.


Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in the guinea pig. Failure to suppress with crude human chorionic gonadotrophin.

A single intraperitoneal dose of 3000 IU of crude human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), of proven in vitro immunosuppressive activity, gave only marginal effect on the clinical and histopathological course of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in guinea pigs, which did not reach statistical significance. Treatment 7 and 11 days after immunization significantly reduced the Mantoux reaction concomitant with decreased perivascular inflammation, but with unaltered or (when treated at onset) slightly enhanced clinical disease, with in vitro lymphocyte reactivity increased in accord. Much earlier treatment gave the opposite effect of a marginal improvement. HCG in vitro immunosuppressive potency was dependent on its concentration, intensity of immune response and sequence of addition. While the action of HCG on EAE does not point to an effective therapy for multiple sclerosis, as suggested by the influence of pregnancy on this disease, non-HCG fractions of urine during pregnancy may yet contain highly efficacious immunosuppressants.


Age-related changes in occurrence of Marchi-positive granules and Marchi-positive myelinoid bodies in postnatally developing feline white matter.

The occurrence of clusters of Marchi-positive granules and of Marchi-positive myelinoid bodies at different postnatal developmental stages was examined lightmicroscopically in Vibratome sections from the cervical lateral funiculus of the cat, after perfusion-fixation with glutaraldehyde. The findings show that clusters of Marchi-positive granules are most common at birth and rapidly decrease in number with development, being largely absent in animals older than 1 month. The pattern of change resembles the postnatal changes in content of esterified cholesterol in the cervical lateral funiculus and is compatible with the view that the clusters of Marchi-positive granules may result from spontaneous myelin sheath disintegration occurring early postnatally. The incidence of Marchi-positive myelinoid bodies increases 7 times during the first 4 months after birth to a peak and declines about 40% during late maturation. The size spectrum of the Marchi-positve bodies shifts markedly towards larger sizes with development and presents a close to mature picture from 120 days on. Comparisons between the Marchi-positive myelinoid bodies and the myelin sheaths in the same region, with respect to postnatal change in occurrence and size spectrum, suggest that the Marchi-positive bodies are related to myelin sheaths of large fibres or fibres destined to become large.


Oxidation products of N-methyl-2,2,7,8-tetramethyl-6-amino-chroman, a model compound of N-methyl-gamma-tocopheramine with potassium ferricyanide.

N-Methyl-2,2,7,8-tetramethyl-6-amino-chroman, a model compound of N-methyl-gamma-tocopheramine, was submitted to an oxidation study with alkaline potassium ferricyanide. As oxidative products, 2,2,7,8-tetramethyl-6-amino-chroman and dimeric (VI) were identified. Also, a trace of compound C which might be a azochroman was detected. It was concluded that an N radical formation is necessary to take the role of a biological antioxidant of N-methyl-gamma-tocopheramine.


Some characteristics of cytosol binding protein for 1alpha,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in rat intestinal mucosa.

Cytosol binding protein for 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 and 25-OHD3 was demonstrated in rat intestinal mucosa using sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation analysis, Sephadex G-200 column chromatography and polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. The binding protein has a sedimentation constant of 5-6S, a molecular weight of 100,000-120,000 daltons and a mobility in electrophoresis of Rf 0.42. Further analysis of binding behavior by DEAE-cellulose filter assays revealed that the bindig protein had a higher affinity for 25-OHD3 than for 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3, and that 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 competed with 25-OHD3 for the same binding site on the protein. The apparent dissociation constant for 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 and 25-OHD3 was 9.2 X 10(-9) M and 1.5 X 10(-9) M, respectively. The binding capacity was 3.1 pmoles/mg protein for both 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 and 25-OHD3. The order of binding affinity was 25-OHD3 greater than 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 greater than D3 = 1alpha-OHD3.


Influence of intestinal microbes on heat production in germ-free, gnotobiotic and conventional mice.

To observe the influence of intestinal microbes on energy metabolism, male ICR strain germ-free (GF) mice, gnotobiotic (GB) mice, produced from GF mice monocontaminated with Staphylococcus epidermidis (Staph.) at three weeks of age, and conventional (CV) mice were used. Metabolizable energy, heat production and net energy (gain) per mouse were measured for three weeks when the mice were given 5 Mrad 60Co irradiated purified whole-egg protein diet from 5 to 8 weeks of age. With respect to metabolizable energy and heat production per mouse or per kg of metabolic body size for three weeks, CV mice gave the highest values, followed by GB and GF mice. GV mice showed the highest net energy (gain) followed by GF mice, with GB mice having the lowest value.


The influence of increased hepatic sequestration after splenectomy on the survival and osmotic fragility of red cells in rats, with reference to protein levels in diets.

The sequestration of erythrocytes in rats was studied using an isologous 51Cr-labeled population of either normal or N-ethyl-maleimide (NEM) treated red cells. The spleen sequestered the damaged red cells selectively, while the liver compensated and overshot the sequestration for spleen after splenectomy. The sequestering response in liver increased gradually reaching a maximum level around 8 weeks after splenectomy and then declining toward the control level. These compensatory responses in liver were not observed in rats fed a low-protein diet, which indicated that the proliferative response imposed on liver by an extra work after splenectomy was not stimulated in the rats fed a low-protein diet. Splenectomy prolonged erythrocyte survival and reduced the osmotic fragility of normal red cells, but the compensatory increase in sequestration of damaged red cells in liver did not alter the survival and osmotic fragility of normal red cells of the rat. This fact indicates that the increased sequestration of reticuloendothelial cells in liver is basically reparative, and it is impossible to compensate for the absence of the spleen because of an inability to duplicate certain anatomic features peculiary to the spleen.


Effects of selenium deficiency on vitamin E metabolism in rats.

The metabolism of radioactive vitamine E in selenium deficient rats has been compared to the metabolism of this vitamin in rats supplemented with 0.1 ppm selenium as sodium selenite in the diet. After dosing with tritiated alpha tocopherol, the plasma level of radioactivity remained elevated through 48 hours in deficient rats. In contrast, a decline to nearly background levels occurred within 12 hours in the supplemented rats. The uptake and release of radioactivity in the erythrocytes and liver were found to be more rapid in deficient rats than in supplemented ones. A 65% greater increase in excretion of radioactivity occurred in the urine from deficient rats as compared to supplemented ones. These data indicate that vitamin E is metabolized more rapidly in selenium deficient rats than in supplemented ones.


Vitamin B12 levels of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with a variety of neurological disorders.

The vitamin B12 levels of cerebrospinal fluid were assayed microbiologically (Lactobacillus leichmannii method) using samples from 44 patients with various neurological disorders, 4 patients with megaloblastic anemia and 34 controls. Twenty-seven controls that did not receive vitamin B12 showed a mean cerebrospinal fluid vitamin B12 level of 21.5 pg/ml (range: 0-60). No decrease in cerebrospinal fluid vitamin B12 level was seen in patients with subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy (SMON). High levels of cerebrospinal fluid vitamin B12 were observed only in the patients receiving long term administration of the vitamin. Intrathecal administration of vitamin B12 caused only a slight increase in serum vitamin B12 level after four hours. The existence of blood brain barrier for vitamin B12 was suggested.


Anserine and carnosine contents in muscular tissue of rat and rabbit.

The effect of various muscle conditions on anserine and carnosine contents suggests that these peptides have some physiological role in muscular functions. These conditions are: 1) Although the anserine content in rat gastrocnemius muscle was not changed by ischiamic denervation, the carnosine content was significantly decreased. Carnosinase activity in the denerved gastrocnemius muscle was two times stronger than that of intact gastrocnemius muscle. 2) Carnosine content in rat gastrocnemius muscle was also decreased by forced swimming exercise. 3) Neither anserine nor carnosine was detected in sarcoma and granuloma. 4) In rabbit, anserine and carnosine contents in white muscle fibers were 12-17 and 1-2 mumole/g of wet tissue and were approximately 10 and 2 times more than those in red muscle fibers, respectively.


Effect of histidine-free and -excess diets on anserine and carnosine contents in rat gastrocnemius muscle.

Anserine and carnosine contents were determined in muscle of rats subjected to histidine depletion or excessive supplement. The contents of anserine and carnosine were reduced in the gastrocnemius muscle of rats fed a histidine-free diet. The diet showed especially a remarkable decrease of carnosine content. After rehabilitation for one week, the muscle anserine and carnosine contents in histidine-deficient rat returned to the normal level. The body and gastrocnemius muscle weight were decreased in rats fed a histidine-excess diet. However, anserine and carnosine content in muscle of rats fed a histidine-excess diet were twice of that of control rats. Urinary excretion of Npi-methylhistidine and Npi-methylhistidine was increased in rats fed a histidine-excess diet.


Growth and liver lipids of casein-fed rats incubated in the presence of glucose and lipid.

The effect of casein that has reacted with glucose and/or lipid on the growth and hepatic lipids of rats was studied. A mixture of casein-ethyl linoleate-glucose was kept at 50 degrees C and RH 80.4% for 14 days and defatted with ethyl ether and acetone. When the casein that had reacted with glucose and lipid was fed at at 10% dietary level for 14 days, the growth of rats was markedly depressed. Not only levels of hepatic lipids but also of plasma lipids were specifically modified. The accumulation of hepatic lipids was primarily due to the increase in triglyceride. When casein was reacted with glucose alone, similar but considerably lesser changes in the growth and liver lipid components were observed. These data indicate that casein characteristically deteriorates with glucose and/or lipid, but the effect of oxidation of the latter is very remarkable.


Mortality of a cohort exposed to chrysotile asbestos.

A 30-year historical cohort mortality study was made of 264 men hired during 1935-45 who worked in a chrysotile asbestos products factory for one year or more and were alive January 1, 1945. Follow-up was 94% complete. The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was only 0.61 while the SMR for all cancers was 0.75, for lung cancer 0.93, and for gastrointestinal cancer 1.05. Two men died of asbestosis.  The overall SMR was higher for men who worked five years or more than for men who worked one to four years but the 30-year mortality rates were the same after age adjustment. For asbestos-related diseases the differences in work duration had no effect on mortality. The data show a favorable mortality experience  for men exposed to chrysotile alone.


A retrospective epidemiological study of mortality at a large western copper smelter.

In comparing the smelter with the mine, concentrator, and State of Utah, it was found that they were very similar in the percentage of deaths due to all causes except lung cancer; 7.0% of all deaths at the smelter were due to lung cancer compared to 2.2% for the mine, 2.2% for the concentrator, and 2.7% for the state. The excess at the smelter was statistically significant. Approximate age-adjusted death rates were obtained for various causes of death. The rates for the smelter are higher than for the mine and the state for lung cancer and for all causes combined. The average age at death for smelter workers is nearly the same  as for mine employees, even for those who died of lung cancer. Smoking data was examined and there was no indication of a smoking synergism. Cumulative exposure indices for SO2, H2SO4 mist, As, Pb, and Cu were computed for each deceased smelter worker based n the length of time he worked in each of 12 major areas. Those who died of lung cancer had the highest average exposure index for all five constituents. Stack emission data showed much higher levels of As and SO2 prior to 1959.


The role of exertion as a determinant of carboxyhemoglobin accumulation in firefighters.

The firefighter's exposure to carbon monoxide represents a relatively contant occupational hazard. Unfortunately, attempts to predict the level of this exposure in work situations have failed to be of practical benefit. This study was designed to examine the several determinants of carbon monoxide uptake  by firefighters in a controlled situation. Twenty firefighters were monitored for heart rate and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels during a search-and rescue drill in a smokefilled building. Carbon monoxide levels were maintained at 200 to 1000 ppm. Heart rates increased to 90% of maximum for age within minutes, and COHb levels increased at more than 1% per minute. The use of breathing apparatus provided full protection from uptake of COHb but was associated with significantly increased heart rates. The results show that exertional levels and, therefore, ventilatory rates may be so great during firefighting that even in moderate or low levels of atmospheric carbon monoxide the COHb can rise to dangerous levels within minutes. These findings suggest that no firefighter should be allowed to work in a burning or smoke-filled structure without the protection of breathing apparatus.


Ischemic heart disease and work stress in West German sea pilots.

A mortality study of sea pilots operating in the Federal Republic of Germany was undertaken following a similar study in Britain. An excess mortality from cardiac disease in this occupational group compared with the male population of Hamburg was noted--a finding similar to the previous British study. This excess is most noticeable in the 31 to 50 year old group in which the pilots experienced 22 cardiac deaths while only four would have been expected, based on Hamburgs males mortality experience. Furthermore, in the decade 1950-59, the pilots experienced 30 cardiac deaths compared to an expected ten. Present estimates suggest that the pilots' mortality is now similar to the general population rate. Although this excess cardiac mortality is probably related to established coronary artery disease risk factors, occupational stress may also be involved. There was a statistically significant rise in catecholamines during three pilotage operations for each of five volunteer pilots (p less than 0.01). A detailed work load study is required to clarify the role of stress and close occupational surveillance of pilots is needed.


End-expired air technic for determining occupational carbon monoxide exposure.

Fluctuating carbon monoxide (CO) levels in the ambient air and recent smoking can lower the accuracy of the end-expired air sampling technic in COHB estimation, which involves the calculation of a regression equation relating measured carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels to CO levels in end-expired air after breathholding. Data collected under both laboratory and field conditions using this technic are presented in this study to suggest that, for increased accuracy of COHb estimation, researches should allow volunteers who have just smoked or are working in an atmosphere of fluctuating ambient CO levels to breathe a low CO atmosphere (less than 10 ppm) for at least two minutes before sampling, preferably an atmosphere close in CO level to that in which originally the blood and breath samples were collected to establish the regression equation.


Tritanopic purity-difference function to describe the properties of minimally distinct borders.

Tansley and Boynton have recently demonstrated that color stimuli whose chromaticities all fall on a particular triptanopic confusion line in the CIE (x,y) diagram do not form distinct borders with each other. A tritanopic purity-difference function, involving only r- and g-cone contributions, is demonstrated to provide (i) a prediction of which chromatic stimuli have equivalent border-forming properties, and (ii) a description of the distinctness of minimally distinct borders (MDB) in terms of an equivalent luminance contrast. The tritanopic purity-difference concept is demonstrated to account for all available data on the assessment of the distinctness of borders at the MDB point.


Measurement of the rotation of a disk from its elliptical projection, with an application to eye movements.

The elliptical projection of a circular disk, such as the pupil of the eye, on the plane face of a video camera can be used to measure rotation of the disk about a diameter, independently of any translational movements. The algorithm uses the intersections of any three equispaced video lines with the ellipse. Errors and system design are discussed.


Failure of altered macrophage surface to lead to the formation of polykaryons.

Experiments have been performed which were designed to test the hypothesis of Mariano and Spector (1974), that the granulomatous environment leads to changes on the macrophage surface which result in fusion with normal incoming macrophages. Macrophages of different species were cultured together and it was observed that there was no apparent interaction between the xenogeneic cells, and no fusion resulted. Macrophages were cultured both in vivo and in vitro for varying periods of time before exposing them to a population of fresh macrophages. Again, no fusion was noted. Finally, an alternative hypothesis, which would account for the findings of Mariano and Spector was tested. Macrophages were cultured in inflammatory exudates, both in vitro and in diffusion chambers already containing exudate, in vivo. Inflammatory exudates were found to have no effect on macrophage fusion, either in vivo or in vitro. On the basis of previous work it is suggested that macrophage fusion depends on simultaneous endocytosis and that this in turn depends upon a supply of fresh macrophages.


The value of multifactorial screening for anti-inflammatory activity as shown by coumarin.

Different types of acute inflammatory pleural reactions have been used as a means of detecting the anti-inflammatory potential of a particular drug coumarin. The latter had some type of activity in all the reactions. However, whereas coumarin inhibited leucocyte accumulation induced by dextran it had no effect on the volume of fluid exudate. Conversely, coumarin reduced the volume of exudate in the Arthus reaction whereas the cellular infiltrate remained unaltered. Leucocytes from dextran-induced exudate (predominantly polymorphs) removed from animals pretreated with coumarin showed marked inhibition of migration in vitro. This correlated well with the suppression by coumarin of the dextran-induced leucocyte response in vivo. Coumarin administered in vivo was also shown to stimulate phagocytosis of latex by mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro. These findings are discussed with respect to the evaluation of anti-inflammatory drug activity and to the mode of action of coumarin.


Ultrastructure of chromophobe adenoma of the human pituitary gland.

Sixteen specimens of pituitary adenoma were studied by electron microscopy. Twelve of them were "non-functioning" tumours and four were associated with acromegaly. All the tumours showed the light-microscopic appearance of classical chromophobe adenoma. Though electron microscopy revealed varying degrees of granularity in the majority of the cells in all the tumours, two distinct morphological types of chromophobe tumours were observed. In one type, secretory granules were frequently seen in moderate or large numbers and the cells were poor in RER and Golgi apparatus. These cells are considered to be secretorily inactive storage cells and they were the predominant cells in eight cases of "non-functioning" adenomas. The other type was noted in four cases of "non-functioning" adenomas and in all the four cases of adenoma with acromegaly. In this type, the tumour cells were generally poor in secretory granules but were rich in RER and Golgi apparatus, suggesting secretory activity. In acromegaly these features appear to indicate active hormone synthesis and its discharge into the circulation but the reason for the morphological evidence of active secretion in the four cases of "non-functioning" adenoma is not clearly understood.


Human cancer and other transplants in the "nude" mouse.

In the Nude mouse: 1. Xenografts of human tumours often grew successfully. 2. There was very little growth in allografts of actively-growing normal tissue from Swiss mice. 3. Transplants of mature tissue from the toad failed to grow.


Mixed crystal deposition in an osteoarthritic joint.

The case of a 72-yr-old woman with osteoarthritis of the shoulder, is described. A mixture of crystals of hydroxyapatite and calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate was identified in the joint tissues using analytical electron microscopy and infra-red spectroscopy.


Phagocytic potential of macrophages from within delayed hypersensitivity-mediated granulomata.

The phagocytic potential of macrophages from within granulomas associated with delayed hypersensitivity was studied in guinea-pigs sensitised with FCA and challenged either with PPD or live M. tuberculosis. The results show that FCA treatment induces a 30 percent increase in phagocytosis of IgG coated erythrocytes by macrophages which migrate into a foreign body granuloma. PPD treatment enhances this index to about 70 per cent. When live M. tuberculosis was used as antigen the phagocytic index of macrophages from lesions induced in sensitised animals was about 50 per cent. higher than in controls. The increase in phagocytosis by macrophages  was maximal at 4 days and decreased 8 and 16 days after challenge, in both sensitised and non-sensitised animals. The results show that in granulomas associated with delayed hypersensitivity, macrophages have a transitory increase in their phagocytic activity. Later the older cells in the centre of the granuloma lose this property, thereby facilitating antigen persistence and chronicity.


Human chronic Mansonian schistosomiasis-cell proliferation and fibre formation in the hepatic sinusoidal wall: a morphometric, light and electron-microscopy study.

A morphometric, light and electron-microscopy study of the sinusoids in human Mansonian schistosomiasis with and without portal hypertension showed a sequence of events beginning with an increased number of cell nuclei, particularly evident at the centrolobular region. This is followed by deposition of reticulin fibres along the perisinusoidal space. Later, increased numbers of cells and reticulin fibres are seen throughout the lobule. Other findings, such as reduplication of the sinusoidal lining and the focal appearance beneath the cell layer of the thin discontinuous membrane, were also reported. This perisinusoidal fibrosis probably adds an element of heightened intrasinusoidal pressure to the perisinusoidal hypertension already described in this disease. Its pathogenic mechanism is obscure. The hepatic sinusoids in Mansonian schistosomiasis receive mainly arterial blood. High intraluminal pressure could be one explanation of the perisinusoidal fibrosis in these cases. However, as possibly occurs in primary sinusoidal portal hypertension, chronic immunological stimulation leading to proliferation of Küpffer cells and lipocytes could be an alternative mechanism.


Irreversible glomerular damage following heterologous serum albumin overload.

Rats injected intraperitoneally with 1 g of bovine serum albumin (BSA) daily for 5 days develop heavy proteinuria and there is swelling and loss of the foot processes of the glomerular epithelial cells. Initially the urinary protein consists of about 55 per cent. BSA and about 40 per cent. rat serum albumin. Proteinuria persists when the injections of BSA are stopped. BSA disappears from the urine and 80-90 per cent. of the urinary protein is rat serum albumin. The persisting proteinuria is caused by glomerular damage resulting from disruption and necrosis of the glomerular epithelial cells leading to complete sclerosis of glomeruli. This damage does not appear to be immunologically determined.


Fusion of hamster macrophages induced by lectins.

The fusion of hamster peritoneal macrophages by lectins is described. The conditions under which this occurs are very similar to those previously reported using glutaraldehyde-fixed red cells and anti-hamster macrophage serum. Under conditions in which macrophages are brought into contact before interiorisation of surface-bound lectin, fusion results. It is suggested again that in granulomas, binding of endocytosable material to more than one macrophage results in giant cell formation by a mechanism of simultaneous interiorisation.


Poecilancistrium caryophyllum and other trypanophynch cestode plerocercoids from the musculature of Cynoscion nebulosus and other sciaenid fishes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Examination of over 3,000 fish, all sciaenids, has shown that plerocercoids of Poecilancistrium caryophyllum infect Cynoscion nebulosus, Bairdiella chrysura, Sciaenops ocellata, C. arenarius, Micropogonias undulatus, and Pogonias cromis in Mississippi Sound. In addition to P. caryophyllum, a pseudophyllidean-like trypanorhynch also infected C. nebulosus and M. undulatus. Pseudogrillotia pleistacantha selectively infected large P. cromis, Pterobothrium heteracanthum infected M. undulatus, and Pterobothrium lintoni infected Menticirrhus americanus. Prevalence and intensity of infections of P. caryophyllum in C. nebulosus from Mississippi, roughly 40% of the fish each possessing an average of about two worms, compare with infections observed in fish from Texas and Louisiana. However, values for fish from Apalachee Bay, but not Tampa Bay, Florida, are about twice as high. Extensive seasonal sampling in Mississippi Sound indicates fluctuations but no clear-cut seasonal trends other than a possible relationship between infections and salinity. As C. nebulosus increases in length, the prevalence of infections, but not the intensity, increases. This finding suggests an immune response to challenge infections. No fish less than 140 mm SL and relatively few less than 250 mm SL revealed infections, suggesting either the unavailability of the intermediate host to young fish or the ultimate death of most young infected individuals. Based on condition coefficients and liver-weight analysis, no apparent detrimental effect on infected, moderately-heavy adult fish occurred. Infections primarily involve the middle of a fillet or the region adjacent to the vertebral column below the dorsal fins and cause an esthetically displeasing product and consequently depress economically the trout fishery. Relatively more male than female fish harbored worms, but the significance of that finding is questioned.


Monoecocestus thomasi sp. n. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw), in Oregon.

Monoecocestus thomasi sp. n. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae), from the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw), in Oregon, is described and distinguished from its congeners. Monoecocestus thomasi is the sixth species of Monoecocestus to be described from nearctic rodents, and the first from a member of the family Sciuridae. Our comparisons of taxonomic characters of the nominal species of Monoecocestus in North American rodents have shown that M. giganticus Buhler 1970 is a synonym of M. americanus (Stiles 1895), both from the porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum (Linnaeus). Insemination in Monoecocestus ssp. is discussed, with the conclusion that it takes place only by way of the vagina in early immature segments.


Chloride-sensitive glucose transport in Hymenolepis diminuta.

The maximal rate of glucose influx in Hymenolepis diminuta decreased when CL- in the incubation medium was replaced with acetate, benzoate, bicarbonate, formate, hippurate, iodide, lactate, mandelate, or nitrate. The effect of Cl- deletion on glucose influx using any of these anions was reversed when worms were incubated in Krebs-Ringer saline for 15 min. Glucose in the incubation medium increased 36Cl- influx in worms, while in Na+-free media the presence of glucose had no effect on 36Cl- influx. Influx of 10 mM 36Cl- in H. diminuta was inhibited by unlabeled Cl- in the incubation medium. Hymenolepis diminuta accumulated glucose aginst an apparent concentration differnce when Cl- in the incubation media was replaced with acetate, bicarbonate, or nitrate. The influx of Cl- appears couples with the influxes of Na+ and glucose, but the data do not show whether the influxex of these molecules are mediated through a common "carrier."


New species of Gyrodactylus and Dactylogyrus (Trematoda: Monogenea) from fishes of Nebraska.

Six new monogenetic trematodes are described from Nebraska fishes: Gyrodactylus bulbacanthus sp. n. from Fundulus kansae (Garman); G. callawayensis sp. n. from Notropis lutrensis (Baird and Girard); G. eos sp. n. from Phoxinus eos (Cope); G. nebraskensis from Phoxinus neogaeus (Cope); G. planensis from Notropis dorsalis (Agassiz); and Dactylogyrus pectenatus from Pimephales promelas (Rafinesque). This is the second report of monogeneans from Nebraska fishes.


Marine aspidogastrids (Trematoda) from fishes in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Of the aspidogastrids Multicalyx cristata, Lobatostoma ringens, Cotylogaster basiri, and C. dinosoides sp. n., the last two had not been previously known from the Gulf of Mexico. The latter differs from other members of its genus by having relatively large equatorial marginal alveoli in comparison to those at the anterior and posterior ends of the holdfast. It also possesses extensive transverse musculature connecting opposed lateral alveoli. New host records are included for all four species, and we report preadults of what appear to be the first two species.


Rejection of mouse-derived Schistosoma japonicum and serum lethality of host immunized with mouse globulin or mouse erythrocytes.

Fourteen-day-old, mouse-derived Schistosoma japonicum schistosomula survived, matured, and deposited viable eggs following surgical transfer to the hepatic portal system of rabbits. The survival of such schistosomula is essentially eliminated in rabbits immunized with either mouse erythrocytes or mouse gamma globulin. Sera from rabbits immunized with either mouse erthrocytes or mouse gamma globulin in the presence of normal leukocytes is lethal for mouse-derived schistosomula 14 days of age or older. These sera have no significant effect on newly transformed schistosomula or those derived from rabbits. It is suggested that these results give additional evidence that immunological enhancement is one of the mechanisms involved in parasite survival.


Histochemical and thin layer chromatographic analyses of neutral lipids in metracercarial and adult Cotylurus sp. (Trematoda: Strigeidae).

Histochemical and thin layer chromatographic studies were made on neutral lipids of Cotylurus sp. (Trematoda) metacercariae obtained from Physa heterostropha snails and from adults grown in the upper ileum of the domestic chick. Oil Red O staining demonstrated neutral lipids in the intestinal lumina, eggs and vitellaria of adults, and the excretory system of metarcercariae. As determined by TLC, excysted metacercariae incubated in a non-nutrient salt solution excreted free fatty acids, sterols, and sterol esters into the medium. TLC analysis detected free sterols, free fatty acids and sterol esters in metacercariae and adullts, and triglycerides detected in adults were not found in metacercariae.


Stereoscan studies of cercariae, metacercariae, and adults of Cryptocotyle lingua (Creplin 1825) Fischoeder 1903 (Trematoda: Heterophyidae).

The cercaria of Cryptocotyle lingua has simple pointed spines all over the body. Four pointed modified spines occur dorsally in the mouth, and similar spines surround the openings of the penetration glands. The modified spines are shed shortly after penetration and encystment in the fish host. Less than a week after encystment, cytoplasmic folds develop all over the tegument. After about 4 weeks the cytoplasmic folds have disappeared and the spines are now flattened and serrated. The external surface of adults from herring gulls is very similar to that of mature metacercariae. It is provided with scalelike serrated spines which are especially well developed ventrally on the anterior end.


Two new zoogonid digenea from deep-sea fishes in the Gulf of Panama.

Panopula cavernossa gen. et. sp. n. from the intestine of the brotulid Enchelybrotula (?) paucidens differs from other members of the Steganodermatinae by having testes near the anterior of the acetabulum, a posttesticular ovary, and a postequatorial acetabulum. Two related species are transferred to the genus Brachyenteron as B. pycnorganum comb. n. and B. spinosum comb. n. Neosteganoderma gillissi sp. n. from the synaphobranchid eel Synaphobranchus bathybius differs from N. glandulosum and N. polymixiae, the most similar species, because conspicuous glandular cells envelop the esophagus and pharynx, others about the genital atrium occur in elongated sacs, epithelium is lacking at the cecal bifurcation, and the cirrus sac is straight. We establish N. infundibulum comb. n. and expand Steganodermatinae to include Brevicreadium congeri and Hudsonia agassizi.


Henneguya sp. (Cnidospora:Myxosporida) parasitic in the heart of the bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix.

A myxosporidan parasite, Henneguya sp., was discovered in the bulbus and truncus arteriosus of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix. Infected fish were captured from the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, Raritan Bay, New Jersey, and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Comparative features of mature spores showed that they were similar to those of Henneguya sebasta Moser and Love 1975, from the bulbus arteriosus of seven species of California rockfish, Sebastes. Studies on growth stages of the parasite from both host species are necessary before a definite identification of the bluefish parasite can be made.


Myxosoma funduli Kudo 1918 (Protozoa: Myxosporida) in Fundulus kansae: summer epizootiology.

The occurrence and distribution of the myxosporida Myxosoma funduli on the gills of the plains killifish (Fundulus kansae) were investigated; Fundulus kansae is reported as a new host. Host samples from various sites on the South Platte River, Nebraska, were collected during the summer months of 1975 and 1976. The protozoan parasite population was shown to be overdispersed within the host population, and this distribution was similar to that described by the negative binomial equation. Demographic characteristics of the infected fish subpopulation were virtually identical to those of the whole fish population. Infection intensity was independent of gill bar number or side. The frequency of bilateral infections was 0.54, of left only infections was 0.23, and of right only infections was 0.22. Distribution of immature and mature plasmodia indicated that a pre-existing infection did not preclude a new infection, and suggested a prepatent period of less than two months.


Establishment of an experimental field population of Theileria lawrencei-infected ticks maintained by African buffalo (Syncerus Caffer).

A population of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks infected with buffalo-derived Theileria lawrencei was established in a paddock. Two infected buffalo had been introduced into this paddock which contained a small population of Theileria-free R. appendiculatus. At intervals, successive groups of Theileria-susceptible cattle were grazed with the buffalo. Transmission of T. lawrencei from buffalo to cattle was first noted 7 to 8 months after the introduction of the buffalo, this delay being accounted for by the slow buildup of the tick population and low infection rates in ticks. A T. lawrencei challenge lethal for cattle was finally achieved 10 months after the introduction of the buffalo. The paddock was then seeded with engorged R. appendiculatus female ticks and an increase in tick population occurred. The lethal challenge was observed for a further 3 years, death of exposed cattle becoming progressively more rapid as the tick population increased. The T. lawrencei challenge establsihed in the paddock may be suitable for testing the efficacy of various T. lawrencei-immunization procedures for cattle.