Solutions to a degenerate system of parabolic equations from marine biology.

A system of parabolic and ordinary differential equations ut = a2 uxx + F(u,v,w), vt = a2 vxx + G(u,v,w), wx = -k(u) w is studied which has been proposed by Radach and Maier-Reimer for the dynamics of phytoplankton and nutrient in dependence of light intensity. It is shown that there is a unique solution to this system satisfying given initial and boundary conditions. The solution depends continuously on the data. For specific nonlinearities F, G, and k bounds for the solutions are given.


[Partial "de novo" trisomy 10q (author's transl)].

A partial 10q trisomy due to a de novo t(10;22) translocation is reported. The comparison with other published cases of partial 10q trisomy leads to the description of a particular syndrome essentially due to a trisomy for bands 10q24 to 10q26.


Familial macroglossia-omphalocele syndrome.

A kindred is reported in which 8 infants were affected with the macroglossia-omphalocele syndrome. Their characteristics varied from an almost complete clinical picture to nodular hyperplasia with cytomegaly of the adrenals as the only manifestation of the disease. Chromosome analysis was normal. This syndrome appears to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, with a high proportion of incomplete clinical forms. The index patient also has signs of the Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome. The simultaneous occurrence of these two syndromes is probably a fortuitous event.


[Genetic counselling. I. Definition and present status (author's transl)].

Genetic counselling is a medical action which must be carried out by a M.D. specialized in genetics. Genetic counselling is peculiar in that couples rather than individuals are involved. Furthermore it is not concerned with the health of the consultants but with that of their expected children. Genetic counselling is not restricted to the statistical estimation of a risk; it raises important problems of psychology and behaviour. Finally, eugenic considerations about the diffusion of deleterious genes should not be taken into account in genetic counselling, which is given in the interest of individuals, not of the society. The increasing demand for genetic counselling is due to the change of the reproductive pattern. People do not want only to fix the size of their family, but also to avoid any accident of procreation.


[A clinical and cytogenetic investigation carried out in a special institution for mentally retarded patients: preliminary results concerning 82 cases of oligophrenia (author's transl)].

A clinical and cytogenetic investigation carried out in a special institution for mentally retarded patients revealed 82 cases of oligophrenia, amongst whom were found 56 normal karyotypes (68.3%). Out of 25 karyotypes with chromosome anomalies or variants there were 18 cases of trisomy 21 and 7 others: one case of mosaicism with balanced translocation, 46,XX/46,XX,6p+,17q-; one case of partial trisomy, 46,XX,11q+; one case of pericentric inversion, 46,XY,inv(1) (p13,q21); one case with 8% chromosome breaks; three cases of marker chromosomes, of which one was of karyotype 46,XX,1qh+, and two (oligophrenic sisters) 46,XX,21p+. Moreover, there was an interesting case of testicular feminisation in a 9-year-old girl with karyotype 46,XY. The authors' results corroborate those obtained in several important previous studies based on much larger numbers of patients. Amongst the 56 cases where the karyotype was shown to be normal, there were 15 for whom a probably exogenic cause of the oligophrenia could be established, occurring mainly during the perinatal period. The authors were also able to confirm that the genetic factor plays an important role in the incidence of mental retardation, since in 22 examined patients, i.e. 26.8% of all cases, the condition was of familial type. Some interesting observations of idiopathic oligophrenia are reported, as well as several cases with well-known syndromes (Crouzon's and Cornelia de Lange's syndromes, hypothyroidism). Two cases of incest between father and daughter, which had produced children with serious oligophrenia associated, in one case, with deaf-mutism, microphthalmia, microcephaly and sclerocornea, are also discussed. The data show that mental retardation can frequently have a genetic cause, either of mendelian, chromosomal or multifactorial origin.


Effects of tetraacetyl-bis-dehydroascorbic acid, a derivative of ascorbic acid, on Ehrlich cells and HeLa cells (human carcinoma cells).

Derivatives of ascorbic acid were synthesized, and the studies were made on their effects in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells, in regard to the inhibition and the prolongation of survival time as well as on the morphological degeneration in HeLa cells. In a model infection study carried out by using tetraacetyl-bis-dehydroascorbic acid in dd mice infected with Ehrlich cells, it was proved that the prolongation of survival time was nearly double in comparison to the control group mice. Also, it was noted that hypertrophy due to abdominal dropsy and body weight were reduced much more than in the control group. From these results, the inhibiting effect of tetraacetyl-bis-dehydroascorbic acid was confirmed. While in the case of DHA and other derivatives, almost no inhibition and prolongation of survival time were observed. As for HeLa cells in a tissue culture, tetraacetyl-bis-DHA, in a dosage of 125-250 mug/ml, demonstrated definitely its morphological degeration. After 125 mug/ml of tetraacetyl-bis-DHA was added to a tissue culture solution of HeLa cells, the cells were washed and recultured. No growth of the cells was observed. Consequently, this substance was confirmed to be anti-HeLa substance with a low toxicity.


Proteins of chick duodenal brush borders during developmental changes.

Duodenal brush border membrane proteins were studied in chicks at different developmental stages. The protein pattern obtained from polyacrylamide gels with 2-day-old chick preparations was distinctly different from that obtained with 20-day embryos. The most remarkable changes were seen in the region of a protein with an Rf of 0.25, an area with high sucrase and maltase maltase activity, and in the region of a protein with an Rf of 0.28, which was characterized by alkaline phosphatase activity. These proteins reacted strongly with carbohydrate stain after hatching.


Nitrogen source primarily supplied by amino acids and the efficacy for maximal growth of rats.

The effect of osmotic pressure of diets on be food intake of young rats was investigated by comparing the nutritional effect of casein with the corresponding amino acid mixture at 3.2% nitrogen level. Changes in the osmolarity of diets due to the type of dietary carbohydrate had a little effect on food intake, whereas partial substitution of casein for amino acids resulted in significant increase in food intake. Weight gain and food intake of rats fed the 25% replaced amino acid diet were compared with those of rats fed the casein diet. Food intake was lower at 12.5% replacement than at 25% replacement. These observation suggest that a well-balanced amino acid mixture supported maximal growth of rats when 25% of the amino acid mixture was replace with casein. This suggestion could be experimentally confirmed by using an amino acid mixture based on the amino acid composition of whole-egg protein.


Immunoglobulin G complex interactions with rheumatoid factor and neutrophils: 51CrCl3 labelling and 14CO2 hexose monophosphate shunt studies.

The interactions of soluble and insoluble IgG complexes with macromolecular rheumatoid factor (RF) and neutrophils have been examined in an in vitro system allowing the separate assay of the biologic activities of these elements in the rheumatoid inflammatory process. Studies utilizing soluble and insoluble 51CrCl3 labelled human IgG complexes have demonstrated uptake of only the insoluble complexes by human neutrophils. A burst of hexose monophosphate shunt activity, as evidenced by increased oxidation of glucose-l-14C to 14CO2, has been shown to occur only when neutrophils are exposed to these insoluble complexes. High titer RF sera added to the insoluble complexes prior to their incubation with neutrophils did not affect either the uptake of the complexes or the magnitude of hexose monophosphate shunt activity. Native IgG and soluble IgG complexes were not taken up by the neutrophils and did not stimulate hexose monophosphate shunt activity in the presence or absence of rheumatoid sera. The addition of high titer RF sera to soluble IgG complexes produced precipitation of RF-IgG complexes which were capable of stimulating hexose monophosphate shunt activity in normal neutrophils. RF thus has been shown to change functionally inactive soluble complexes into functionally active insoluble complexes capable of stimulating normal neutrophils. Neutrophil stimulation by insoluble complexes may be important in the continuing inflammatory process occurring in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.


Antibodies to UV light denatured DNA in systemic lupus erythematosus: detection by filter radioimmunoassay and clinical correlations.

Antibodies to ultraviolet light denatured DNA (UV DNA) have been measured in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and normal subjects, using a millipore filter radioimmunoassay. High levels of UV DNA binding were only found in patients with SLE. The presence of UV DNA antibodies correlated well with the presence of native DNA antibodies, although immunodiffusion studies and inhibition techniques showed these antibodies to be immunologically distinct in many cases. Forty-one per cent of the SLE patients had had photosensitivity at some stage of their disease, but there was a poor correlation between this symptom and the presence of UV DNA antibodies. Although UV DNA is known to be a potent immunogen, none of the results from this study suggests that antibodies to UV DNA are more than another example of the broad spectrum of antinuclear antibodies seen in SLE.


Penicillamine in rheumatoid arthritis. Connective tissue changes and alterations in serum copper and phase reactants in relation to clinical improvement.

Thirteen patients, aged 27 to 70 years, with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis were treated with penicillamine for six months. Skin biopsies and blood samples were compared with a clinical evaluation before and after therapy. The analyses of the skin included determinations of total collagen, thermal reaction of collagen, salt soluble collagen, in vitro uptake of 14C-proline and synthesis of 14C-hydroxyproline, as well as determinations of nucleic acids and proteoglycans. Serum concentrations of acute phase reactants, immunoglobulins, complement C3 and C4, rheumatoid factor, and iron, copper, and zinc were also determined. A positive correlation was found between clinical improvement and a fall in the number of granulocytes, a decrease in the concentration of acute phase reactants and serum copper, and an increase in salt soluble collagen of the skin. The total skin collagen decreased during treatment with penicillamine. The changes in skin collagen may reflect a generalized effect of penicillamine on collagen. These alterations may be part of an anti-inflammatory action of penicillamine.


The effect of hydrocortisone acetate on adult human articular cartilage.

Living adult human articular cartilage has been maintained in tissue culture for eight days. Cartilage explants were cultured in one of three concentrations of hydrocortisone acetate or as control explants without this drug. The concentrations of hydrocortisone used were 0.01 microng/ml, 0.1 microng/ml and 1.0 mg/ml. The amount of proteoglycan shed into the medium was measured and no significant difference was found between the explants exposed to hydrocortisone and those that were not. These results suggest that hydrocortisone does not have a catabolic effect on the proteoglycan of articular cartilage. The widely held view that intra-articular corticosteroid injection causes cartilage damage, must remain in doubt.


Pneumococcal arthritis.

Twelve patients with pneumococcal arthritis are described. Seven of the 12 patients had underlying diseases which predisposed them to pneumococcal infections; five were alcoholics and two had hypogammaglobulinemia. Five patients had pre-existing joint disease prior to the onset of septic arthritis. Seven patients had co-existent pneumococcal infection, including meningitis and/or endocarditis in five. The other five patients had pneumococcal arthritis without evidence of other foci of pneumococcal infection. With penicillin therapy and drainage of the purulent joint fluid (by needle aspiration in four and surgical drainage in seven), the function of the involved joint returned to normal or to the previous baseline level in all but one patient.


"Ankylosing spondylitis" without sacroiliitis in a woman without the HLA B27 antigen.

An elderly woman with otherwise typical ankylosing spondylitis for 45 years lacked radiologic evidence of sacroiliitis and the HLA B27 antigen. The illness was complicated by renal tuberculosis requiring a left nephrectomy 23 years after the onset of low back pain, and 20 years after an episode of severe iritis. After the eradication of the tuberculosis by surgery and chemotherapy, she has continued to have symptomatic spondylitis. The case seems to be an exception to the rule that sacroiliitis is a sine qua non for ankylosing spondylitis. Women with ankylosing spondylitis tend to have milder disease with an apparently lower frequency of roentgenographic changes in sacroiliac joints.


[First and second derivatives of central pulse curves in bloodless methods of study of the force and rate of myocardial contractions].

An original technique was developed for the analysis of volume sphygmograms of the central pulse and of their derivatives that permit an indirect judgement of the maximum speed of aortic pressure growth and maximum acceleration. The technique of the examination, the methods of calculations, their substantiation and normal limits are presented. Examples are given of the employment of the technique in cases of functional and pharmacological tests. The method may be widely used under clinical conditions for the study of the functional state of the myocardium and of the individual effect of drugs (cardiac glycosides, alpha-and beta-adrenergic receptors blockers, etc.).


[Determination of the pre-clinical stage of circulatory insufficiency in mitral valve defect].

The determination of the value of the threshold physical exercise and of the central haemodynamic indices by means of radiocardiography permitted to prove the existence of a preclinical stage of circulatory insufficiency in patients with mitral valve disease. As early as at this stage the cardiac output is reduced at rest and the period of pulmonary circulation and filling of the left heart is increased. Under physical exercises the level of the threshold tolerance is decreased. Under such conditions the pre-clinical and Stage I of circulatory insufficiency can be easier differentiated by the direction of the haemodynamic changes.


[Carotid artery pulse (analysis of the sphygmograph)].

On the basis of an analysis of carotid sphygmograms recorded in 79 patients with different parameters of blood flow through the aortic valve, and on the basis of 6 experiments it was found that the pulse of the carotid arteries has a segmental structure. Each segment reflects a certain phase of blood ejection into the aorta. An analysis of 5 constant and of 1 additional (anacrotic) segments is given. The changes in the second segment and the appearance of the anacrotic segment determine the peculiarities of the sphygmograms that are typical for aortic stenosis.


[Comparative evaluation of the methods of treatment of embolism of the main arteries of the arm].

The paper presents an analysis of the results of treatment of 260 acute embolic occlusions in the arteries of the upper extremities of 256 patients observed in S.I. Spasokukotsky Clinic of Facultative Surgery. In 92.58% of the cases the embolic episode was caused by cardiac pathology. The optimum method of treatment consisted in embolectomy with the aid of the Fogarty catheter from the ulnar fossa that permitted to achieve full restoration of the circulation in 91.59% of the cases. The mortality was approximately the same in all groups of patients. The total mortality comprised 21.1%. The most frequently observed causes of mortality were embolism of the cerebral and mesenteric arteries, as well acute cardiac insufficiency.


[Indications for reconstructive vascular surgery in gangrenous changes in the leg].

Proceeding from an experience in the treatment of 195 patients with obliterative athrosclerosis of the bifurcation of the abdominal aorta and the arteries of the lower extremities in the pre-gangrene or gangrene stage (reconstructive procedures on the vessels were performed in 151 patients), the authors conclude that such interventions should be considered procedures of choice. Amputation of the extremity may be considered in such patients only after an angiographic examination that is the main method that permits to determine the possibilities of performing a reconstructive vascular operation. Good immediate results of vascular interventions were achieved in 80% of the patients with stage III--IV ischaemia.


[Possibilities of early functional diagnosis of arteriosclerosis obliterans of the main arteries of the leg].

The dynamics of blood flow volume was studied in the leg (by way of venous occlusive pletysmography), as well as the systolic pressure in the leg (by way of Winsor's volumetric determination), and the oscillometric index in the leg (by way of arterial oscillography with a sensitive optic recording system), these studies being conducted in 103 patients during reactive and work hyperenia corresponding in terms of the severity of the involvement of the major arteries to the initial, clinincally latent, stage of obliterative atherosclerosis. At the beginning of hyperemia diagnostically valuable and statistically significant shifts of the above parameters of blood supply to the leg were revealed in the patients, as compared to the normal individuals. Of diagnostic importance was not only the absolute degree of the changes in the beginning of hyperemia, but also the period of restoration of tthe initial level of the parameter in question. Some of the obtained quantitative criteria demonstrating the patency disorders in the major arteries of the extremities are recommended for early detection of persons with clinically latent obliterative atherosclerosis.


[Diagnosis of nonspecific aortitis of thoraco-abdominal localization].

The examination was conducted in 88 patients with aortitis in one or several segments of the thoracoabdominal aorta. Modern instrumental, radio-isotopic and radio-contrast methods of examination of the vascular system were employed. A method of making the diagnosis based on a routine physical and instrumental examination was developed.


[Indications and contraindications for surgical treatment of abdominal-aortic aneurysm].

An analysis of 176 patients with aneurysms of the abdominal aorta is presented, 125 of these patients having been operated on (the average age was 60 years). The presence of an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta, irrespective of its dimentions and nature of clinical manifestations, serves as an indication for surgery, provided the following contraindications are absent: severe state of the patient, fresh myocardial infarction, cardiac lesions with circulatory insufficiency of stage II B or III, fresh haemorrhage to the brain, hepatic and renal lesions with azotemia, atherosclerotic occlusion of vessels in the lower extremities with a complete block of all major vessels.


[Syndrome of chronic obstruction of the abdominal aorta and its surgical treatment].

The surgical management of 53 patients with high chronic occlusion of the abdominal aorta is reported. The authors unite this pathology under the term "chronic abdominal aorta obstruction syndrome". In 10 patients eversion endarterectomy was performed, in 22--aortofemoral bypass, in 21--prosthetic replacement of the aorta and of the iliac arteries with synthetic grafts. An original techinque of "milking" the thrombus down from the proximal aorta is described; it simplifies the operative procedure and prevents grave complications during surgery in patients with high occlusions of the abdominal aorta. Good results in the immediate postoperative period were achieved in 85% of the cases. Postoperative mortality comprised 12%. Late results were followed-up in 35 patients during 1 to 5 years. In 28 patients the results of surgery proved good.


[Repeated plastic operations on the abdominal aorta and main arteries of the pelvis and lower limbs in arteriosclerotic occlusion].

Among 600 patients operated on primarily for atherosclerotic lesions of the aorto-iliac-femoral zone (various plastic operations) secondary interventions were undertaken in 140 persons with re-occlusions of the operated segments. All patients were subjected to secondary reconstructive-plastic operations that gave good results--elimination of ischaemia and preservation of the extremity--in 77.2% of the cases. In 12.8% of them the extremity was amputated. Postoperative mortality comprised 10%.


[Comparative characteristics of arteriosclerosis of the aorta and arteries of the limbs (epidemiological study)].

In accordance with the WHO programme, the peculiarities of age dynamics of atherosclerosis of the aorta and of the peripheral arteries of the extremities were studied in male residents of Riga, aged 50-64 years. By way of the visual-planimetric method an assessment was made of 310 sets of aorta, common iliac, external iliac, femoral, innominate, subclavian, axillary and brachial arteries stained with Sudan IV. The age dynamics of atherosclerosis in all the studied arteries was represented by growing lesions with a simultaneous slight reduction of the lipoidosis area. The progress of atherosclerosis was irregular with the deceleration of the augmentation tempo in the beginning of the 7th decade of life. The atherosclerotic lesions of the arteries of the upper extremities were characterized by a considerable area of changes represented by flat fibrous plaques, and therefore by rare severe stenoses and absence of occlusions. The highest incidence and area of complicated lesions is found in the aorta. In the arteries of the lower extremities the area of atherocalcinosis was greater, and the incidence of stenoses and occlusions was high. Medium degree correlation was established between the indices of atherosclerosis prevalence in the aorta and the arteries of the extremities. The area of aortic lesions, however does not permit to judge the incidence of stenotic and occlusive lesions of the arteries of the extremities.


[Arterial diseases and their surgical treatment].

The paper is based on the analysis of 926 operations for atherosclerotic lesions of the abdominal aorta and arteries of the lower extremities, of 125 operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms, of 77 operations for chronic disorders in visceral circulation, of 405 operations for renovascular hypertension, of over 300 interventions for pathology of the aortic arch branches, of over 100 operations for non-specific aortitis, and of 506 operations for coarctation of the aorta. Emphasis is made on the diagnosis of these lesions in the course of a clinical examination of the patients. The successs of treatment largely depends on early referral of the patients to specialized surgical instituions for operative management, as well as on correct primary diagnosis of the vascular lesion by general practitioners.


[Fibrous dysplasia of renal arteries (terminology, classification, clinical aspects and diagnosis)].

The examination was conducted in 72 patients with renovascular hypertension caused by fibromuscle dysplasia of the renal arteries. According to the authors, fibromuscle dysplasia of the renal arteries stands third after atherosclerosis and non-specific aorto-arteritis. Among the preliminary diagnostic measures of importance are such as intravenous urography, isotope renography, scintigraphy, but their value is much lower than in cases of atherosclerotic stenosis or stenosis due to non-specific aorto-arteritis, which is attributed to a good collateral circulation in the kidney. The diagnosis is made on the basis of serial angiography data. Of importance is also the method of selective renal angiography with functional tests with acetylcholoine and adrenalin. To characterize the form of renal artery pathology, three types of stenosis are distinguished: monofocal, multifocal, tubular. The terminology and classification are discussed, and a new term is suggested: "fibrous dysplasia of renal arteries".


[Aneurysm of the membraneous portion of the ventricular septum].

The presented analysis is based on the observations of 13 cases of rare congenital pathology--aneurysms of the membranous portion of the ventricular septum, as well as on the pertinent literature. The majority of the patients were subjected to intracardiac methods of examination; in 5 cases autopsy data are available. The anatomy of such aneurysms is described, the possible causes of its development are discussed, the haemodynamics is studied, as well as the heart diseases the aneurysm was accompanying. Special emphasis is given to the diagnosis of this pathology by way of angiocardiography, preference being given to left cineventriculography. The surgical implication of this pathology are reflected.


[Distribution of creatine phosphokinase isoenzymes (EC 2.7.3.2) in cardiac cells].

The distribution of the creatinephosphokinase isoenzymes in the cardiac cells was studied by way of fractional extraction combined with an electrophoretic analysis of each of the received fractions. At the same time, the content of the creatinephosphokinase isoenzymes was studied in carefully purified preparations of myofibrils and mitochondria. The results of the conducted analysis indicate a heterogenic distribution of the creatinephosphokinase isoenzymes within the cells: about 30% of the cellular activity of the enzyme is contained in the mitochondria (the mitochondrial isoenzyme) 50% is comprised by the fraction dissolved in the cytoplasm (isoenzymes MM, MB and BB), and about 20%--in the myofibrils (isoenzyme MM), 5% of them being extracted only by a 0.9 M KCl solution. The myofibril preparation freed of the mitochondria also contains some important creatinephosphokinase activity (isoenzyme MM) comparable with their ATP-ase activity. The mitochondrial isoenzymes is found only in these structures of the cell.


[Oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria of various parts of the myocardium in patients with combined mitral valve defects].

The oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria of the left auriculum and the papillary muscles of the left ventricle was studied in 73 patients with combined mitral valve defects subjected to mitral valve prosthetic replacement. The examination was conducted polarographically by Chance's technique, the oxidation substrate being 10 mm alpha-ketoglutarate. The rate of oxidation in various metabolic states and the rate of phosphorylation were demonstrated to decrease along with the increasing course of the disease, the activeness of the rheumatic process, and the predominance of stenosis. In cases of distinct calcification of mitral valve the respiration rate increases in the 4th state, while the respiratory control--decreases. Nitrous oxide anaesthesia, in contrast to ether, results in a decreasing efficacy and rate of phosphorylation. The possible mechanisms of these changes are discussed.


[Certain nitrogen-containing components of the heart, of the coronary-sinus blood and of the aorta in experimental myocardial infarct].

Forty-two dogs were subjected to studies of nitrogen-containing metabolites in the blood of the aorta, coronary sinus and in various parts of the heart under normal conditions and 1, 24 hours and 3 days following the induction of myocardial infarction. In normal dogs the myocardium usually retains from the in-flowing blood such components as urea, glutamine, RNA, non-organic phosphates, while the arterio-venous gradient of ammonium, DNA and nucleases is close to zero. The ligation of the coronary sinus is followed by a deceleration of urea formation in the liver, the amount of urea formation in the liver, the amount of urea in the arterial blood and myocardium decreases, the latter, instead of retaining it, throwing it out into the coronary sinus. Like in normal cases, in this pathology the heart muscle is capable of synthesizing urea from ammonium. The infarctized heart actively retains glutamine from blood using it in situ, and does not increase the secretion of free ammonium into the coronary sinus. The level of nucleic acids and the activity of the nucleases significantly increase in the diseased tissue, undergoing no important changes in the blood circulating in the cardiac vessels.


[Growth hormone and carbohydrate metabolism in myocardial infarct].

The indices of somatotropin were determined in myocardial infarction patients by means of immunological techniques, and those of blood sugar by the Hagedorn--Jensen technique. Single growth hormone determinations were conducted in 40 myocardial infarction patients, aged 45 to 80 years, with different periods from the onset of the disease. In 23 patients the somatotropin and blood sugar indices were studied dynamically on the 1st--3rd and 7th--10th days of the infarction. An equal number of patients was subjected on the 28th--30th day of the disease to determinations of growth hormones secretion in conjunction with the glucose-tolerance test (on an empty stomach, and 1 and 3 hours following the administration of 100 g of glucose). The conducted investigation demonstrates that single determinations of somatotropin fail to give grounds for conclusions as to its secretion due to the wide individual variations of this parameter. The dynamics of somatotropin content depends on the severity of the myocardial infarction in the given patient and does not correlate with the changes in the blood sugar level. Five types of somatotropin secretion were distinguished with the glucose-tolerance test. Patients with decreased tolerance of the carbohydrates tend to have a torpid and perverted types of somatotropin secretion.


[Viscosity of blood, plasma and serum, in the vessels of the lesser and greater circulation in rheumatic mitral heart defect].

The study was conducted in 44 patients with rheumatic mitral and combined mitral valve disease in its inactive phase with circulatory insufficiency of Stage II, III or IV, according to the classification by A. N. Bakulev and E. A. Damir, and in 30 normal individuals. The viscosity of blood and serum flowing in different organs and tissues was found to undergo no changes and to be not dependent on the severity of circulatory insufficiency. It was concluded that the viscosity of blood in a peripheral vein may be used for judging its ability to flow in various points of the vascular bed. The viscosity of plasma was found to alter when passing through the brain, muscle tissue, splanchnic organs and the lungs.


A trial of long-acting sulphonamide R.O. 4-4393 (fanasil) in treatment of cases of lepromatous leprosy with repeated E.N.L.

A trial of long-acting Sulphonamide RO.4-4393 (Fanasil) in the treatment of Lepromatous Leprosy patients with repeated E.N.L. is reported in this paper. There were 9 patients treated with Fanasil in this trial for a period of 2 years. The results of the trial have shown that the treatment with Fanasil helps to prevent the occurrence of E.N.L. under treatment with D.D.S. In addition, even after the completion of treatment with Fanasil, these patients seem to be stabilised and are able to tolerate D.D.S. But, the clinical and Bacteriological progress under Fanasil therapy is not satisfactory.


Study of early nerve lesions in mice infected with M. leprae.

The present study is of quantitative histology in immunologically intact mice inoculated with M. leprae. Total twelve sciatic nerves are studied. The fibres are grouped as large, medium and small sized fibres. Initially there is loss of small size fibres. At later stages there is involvement of all sized fibres and ultimately Wallerian type of degeneration sets in. The process of regeneration is more active than that of human leprosy of tuberculoid type. This study adds a new dimension in understanding the pathogenesis of leprosy.


Modified Zancolli's operation in claw hand in leprosy.

The operative technique of the Modified Zancolli's operation in claw hand is easy. Re-education is easier in Zancolli's capsulorrhaphy than any other operations. Results of this operation are encouraging. It is particularly required when quick turnover of cases is needed and when adequate facilities for physiotherapy is not available. In cases operated by Zancolli's capsulorrhaphy active flexion of metacarpophalangeal joint is possible. Complications are few e.g. pulling of capsulorrhaphy and development of flexion contracture.


Pilocarpine test in assessment of therapeutic efficacy in maculoanaesthetic leprosy.

Pilocarpine test has been used since long to study the functional status of sweat glands. This article deals with its use in the assessment of Maculoanaesthetic patches of leprosy before and after therapy. This being an objective method it eliminates the possible pitfalls in subjective testing of sensations over the affected areas. Therefore, it is recommended that this test should be routinely employed in field work as its technique is simple. The test should be repeated at an interval of six months.


Congestive heart failure in two patients of lepromatous leprosy.

Two cases of lepromatous leprosy are presented with heart disease, one with cardiomegaly and the other with ischaemic heart disease. It is very difficult to say whether heart disease was due to any other cause associated with leprosy or due to leprous affection of myocardium. As there are no references in the literature regarding these, two cases are presented as problem cases.


A study of mono-neuritic lesions in a leprosy clinic.

An analysis of 11,581 leprosy patients registered at the Acworth Leprosy Hospital clinic showed that 494 cases (4.3%) had primary polyneuritic leprosy and 143 (1.2%) localised cutaneous anaesthetic lesions (or non-visible anaesthetic lesions), accounting for 5.5% who had no evidence of obvious skin lesions.


Classification of leprosy from the clinical point of view.

While, according to some, classification of leprosy is primarily clinical, there should be no objection to the application of the advances made in the last decade in understanding the immunological and histopathological aspects of the disease, provided thereby the clinical classification can be made with more accuracy. Unlike most other diseases, the bulk of the process of attempts at diagnosis and classification of this disease is still in the hands of para-medical personnel in the field, and hence it is important that at the same time, an easily understood, uniformly accepted clinical classification should be recommended for field workers. While tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy of the polar types can be diagnosed with accuracy even under field conditions, confusion generally arises with reference to the diagnosis or indeterminate maculoanaesthetic and borderline forms, and to identify some reacting lesions. Certain terminologies in vogue add further to the confusion. Reacting lesions are confused with active lesions. The importance of recognition of varieties of reacting lesions is stressed since the therapeutic management in such cases is entirely different. It is suggested that the early forms of leprosy characterised by paucity of cardinal features of the disease should be separated from the more established types and grouped under the term indeterminate leprosy. The diagnostic points to be taken into consideration in these lesions are discussed. The importance of investigating thoroughly before classifying patients who report rarely with neuritic symptoms without any evidence of skin lesion is stressed.


Transformation from lepromatous to borderline leprosy under clofazimine therapy.

Patients of lepromatous leprosy who have evolved from the borderline type of disease are known to revert to the borderline state through a reactionary phenomenon under anti-leprosy chemotherapy with Dapsone. We present here the case report of a reversal from a reactional lepromatous disease to the borderline type under Clofazimine.


Reactive episodes in borderline lepromatous leprosy--a case report.

A thirtyseven years old Hindu male of borderline lepromatous leprosy with reactions in the form of silvery white scales all over the body with scarring at places and greasy crusted lesion on the cheek further developed pustular reaction, after giving dapsone for a week, is reported.


Heel ulcers in leprosy patients.

The incidence, causes, clinical presentation and management of ulcers of heel in the insensitive feet of leprosy patients are described. It is pointed out that heel ulcers usually arise as the result of injury and infection and are eminently preventable. Various surgical and non-surgical measures needed for preventing recurrence of the ulcer are also discussed.


Epidemiological and clinical pattern of leprosy in Goa.

A review of 1,053 patients of leprosy revealed its prevalence in the hospital population as 2.4 per thousand. The commonly affected age group was 20-39 in both sexes; males predominating females in 1.8 : 1. The sequence of frequency of clinical types of leprosy was tuberculoid, borderline, neuritic and lepromatous. Mostly the patients report in the course of 2 years of awareness of the disease. The clinical features were classical and type specific.


Biochemical aspects of reactional states in leprosy.

Sequential biochemical investigations conducted in cases of lepromatous leprosy in the reactive as well as subsided phases indicated elevated serum levels of mucoproteins and sialic acids and skin levels of hydroxy-proline and hexosamine in the reactive phase of lepromatous leprosy. Elevation of the urinary excretion of hydroxy-proline and certain other amino acids was also noticed during 'lepra reaction'. Enhancement of serum levels of Aldolase, CPK, LDH and transaminases was observed in the reactive phase of lepromatous leprosy. These findings taken as a whole suggest a generalised tissue breakdown in lepra reaction.


[Respiratory disease in foundry workers. An epidemiologic survey in three foundries (author's transl)].

The authors report the results of a survey performed in three cast iron foundries, with particular emphasis on the impairment of respiratory system in the involved workers. The results obtained showed a high prevalence of pneumoconiosis, which, as for roentgenologic and clinical features, appears to be different from usual silicotic pneumoconiosis. The highest prevalence of chronic bronchitis -- either associated or not with pneumoconiosis -- in the foundry workers examined is stressed, as well as the prevalence of squamous metaplasia of the bronchial epithelium. An important role in this aspect is supposed to be played not only by dusts, but even by tobacco smoke in favouring the onset of the above mentioned alterations is also confirmed.


[Assessment of working capacity in a group of subjects affected with obstructive respiratory disease (author's transl)].

Ventilatory function was studied by the authors in 43 subjects affected with obstructive respiratory disease. The research was performed both at rest and during two exercise tests -- 60 and 100 watts, respectively. The subjects were divided into three groups on the basis of tidal volume (at 30 1 ventilation) / vital capacity ratio. It was found that during muscular effort subjects with major impairment of spirometric indexes hypoventilated, whereas the opposite occurred in patients with lesser impairment. Moreover, subjects hyperventilating during muscular work were found to have brandypnea, whereas the opposite occurred in hyperventilating patients. It is suggested that progressing and worsening of obstructive emphysema lead to a relative hypoventilation during muscular work, which is due to an "inability" to increase the frequency of breathing.


Transient cycloheximide resistance in a tobacco cell line.

Cylcoheximide-resistant cell lines have been recovered from tissue cultures of haploid Nicotiana tabacum at the usual mutant frequency (10(-6)). One such line, CR 4/6 was studied in detail. Resistance is based on the potential of the callus to inactive cycloheximide. The transient nature of the resistance and its association with differentiated cells indicate that the new phenotype is not due to a mutation, but rather to an alteration in gene expression.


Probabilities of transversions and transitions.

The values of the mean relative probabilities of transversions and transitions have been refined on the basis of the data collected by Jukes and found to be equal to 0.34 and 0.66, respectively. Evolutionary factors increase the probability of transversions to 0.44. The relative probabilities of individual substitutions have been determined, and a detailed classification of the nonsense mutations has been given. Such mutations are especially probable in the UGG (Trp) codon. The highest probability of AG, GA transitions correlates with the lowest mean change in the hydrophobic nature of the amino acids coded.


Influence of base sequence on the stability of the double helix of DNA.

On the basis of published measurements of the melting transitions of synthetic polydeoxyribonucleotides with known sequences we have determined the parameters of the interplane (stacking) interactions of base pairs in DNA over the range of ionic strengths from 0.01 to 0.1 M Na+. We found that deviations of the stacking-interaction energy from the mean value of 7-8 kcal/mole were extremely small and did not exceed 0.2 kcal/mole. We report an analysis of the influence of the heterogeneity of the stacking interactions on the melting parameters of polynucleotides with random sequences (models of natural DNA's). Inclusion of this effect does not significantly distort the linear dependence of the melting temperature on the relative content of G-C pairs and insignificantly affects the width of the helix-coil transition in DNA under normal conditions. However it is the heterogeneity of the stacking interactions that plays the crucial role in the melting of DNA under conditions where the difference between the relative stabilities of the A-T and G-C pairs tends to zero, as in concentrated solutions of tetraethylammonium and tetramethylammonium salts.


Reliability of elements and systems in enzymology.

The applications of the elements of reliability to the description of the stability and aging processes of enzymes and polyenzyme systems have been considered. The inactivation of individual enzymes or polyenzyme systems whose activity varies on the molecular level according to the "all-or-nothing" principle is described by an exponential reliability law. Systems of enzymes which are inactivated according to an exponential law have been considered. It has been shown that in the case of enzymes functioning in parallel, the value of the mean time of continuous operation is determined by the most stable enzyme, while in the case of sequentially functioning enzymes, this value is determined by the most labile. Systems whose aging process is related to the accumulation of "latent errors" and whose inactivation is characterized by gradual breakdowns are described by a normal reliability law. Systems with a combination of exponential and normal reliability laws have been considered. The use of a series of rigid quantitative criteria, such as the mean time for continuous functioning has been proposed for characterizing the stability of enzymes and polyenzyme systems. The theoretical points have been illustrated by experimental data on the stability of enzymes with hydrogenase activities, isolated chloroplasts, and cells of microscopic blue-green algae.


Electron-microscopic study of the serological affinity between the antigenic components of phages T4 and DDVI.

In an investigation of the antigenic fine structure of phages T4 and DDVI with the use of the neutralization reaction and electron-microscopic observation of the phage-antibody complexes, it has been possible to establish that the head of phage T4 consists of proteins which have antigenic determinants of two types: The first type is identical to the antigens of the head of phage DDVI, and the second type is apparently absent in phage DDVI. The phage DDVI head contains mostly determinants which are common to the phage T4 head, since it was not possible to detect antigenically specific components in the phage DDVI head. The tail sheaths of phage T4 and DDVI appear to be identical in the antigenic respect. A difference has been observed in the fibers and the base plates of the phages investigated. The presence of the following three types of antigens has been established: 1) common to phages T2, T4, and DDVI, 2) common to phages T4 and DDVI, and 3) specific for each phage investigated.


Isolation of a hybrid between rat ribosomal RNA and DNA.

A procedure for the isolation and purification of a specific hybrid between rat 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA's and nucleolar DNA is described. The method employed includes the following steps: 1) isolation of the nucleolar DNA, 2) hybridization of [14C]rRNA with the nucleolar DNA, and 3) isolation and purification of the rRNA-DNA hybrid complex by chromatography on hydroxylapatite and centrifugation in a CsCl density gradient. In the isolated hybrid complex the RNA:DNA ratio is close to 1:1, and the degree of enrichment of the DNA by the rRNA cistrons is about 1500 times. The hybrid obtained has a sedimentation constant on the order of 20S, is resistant to the action of pancreatic RNase and RNase T1 and sheep brain DNase, and is characterized by high thermostability. Acording to the physicochemical tests used, the rRNA-DNA hybrid complex is a double-stranded poly-nucleotide with an ordered secondary structure.


Influence of antibodies against DNA on the renaturation of DNA.

The treatment of denatured T4 phage DNA with antiserum for the DNA of this phage, containing antibodies against glucosylated 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, decreases the ability of DNA for renaturation. The greatest inhibiting activity is possessed by antiserum for T4 phage DNA irradiated with UV light, which contains antibodies not only against glucosylated 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, but also against the usual nitrogen bases. Antiserum against E. coli DNA, containing antibodies to the usual nitrogen bases, in equal dilutions with the antisera indicated above, shows less inhibitory activity on the renaturation of T4 phage DNA.


DNA replication and head assembly in bacteriophage T4.

Phage DNA was accumulated in cells of E. coli B, infected with the phage T4DtsLB3 (gene 42), without the synthesis of late proteins (in the presence of chloramphenicol). Then (stage II), chloramphenicol was removed and further replication of the phage DNA suppressed with hydroxyurea and by simultaneously raising the temperature to 40 degrees. The media M9 or M9 with 1% amino acid were used; the times of addition of chloramphenicol and the hydroxyurea concentration were also varied. It was also shown that in medium M9, at stage II, chiefly early proteins were synthesized. In the medium containing amino acids, at stage II the following was observed: 1) DNA synthesis was entirely suppressed and a degradation of DNA occurred; 2) both early and late proteins were synthesized, with a predominance of the latter; 3) an assembly of the elements of the phage tails and capsids occurred without the neck and flagellum, and a small number of phage particles were also found; 4) the capsids, isolated in a sucrose density gradient after lysis with chloroform, contained the proteins Palt, P20, P23, P24, several unidentified proteins, and did not contain Pwac, P23, and P22, 5) the yield of viable phage varied from 0.05 to 15% per cell. Thus, the entire morphogenesis of T4 phage can occur without accompanying replication of phage DNA.


Structure of animal mitochondrial DNA: nucleotide composition, pyrimidine clusters, and methylation character.

The nucleotide composition, relative concentration of pyrimidine clusters, and the degree of methylation of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA's of various vertebrates and the protozoan Crithidia oncopelti have been studied. With respect to the relative concentration of GC pairs, the mtDNA of animals (bull, rat) does not differ from the corresponding nDNA. The relative concentration of GC pairs in the mtDNA of certain fish and birds is 1.5-2.5 mole% higher than in the respective nDNA. The kinetoplast DNA of the protozoan C. oncopelti (where the relative concentration of the GC pairs is 42.9 mole %) differs very sharply in composition from the nDNA (where the relative concentration of GC pairs is 51.3 mole %). The mtDNA's and kDNA's studied are distinguished from the respective nDNA'S by a lower degree of clustering of pyrimidine nucleotides. The proportion of mono- and dipyrimidine fragments in the mtDNA and kDNA is 30 mole %, while in the nDNA it does not exceed 23 mole %. The relative concentration of long pyrimidine clusters (hexapyrimidine clusters of larger) in the mtDNA is smaller than in the nDNA by a factor of 2-5. The low degree of clustering of the pyrimidine nucleotides is apparently characteristic of all the known mtDNA's and may support the fact that they have a single type of organization and are of a single origin. All the vertebrate mtDNA's studied contain 5-methylcytosine as a minor base (1.5-3.15 mole %), and their level of methylation is 1.5-2 times greater than that in the respective nDNA's. It has been shown that animals display species specificity with respect to the 5-methylcytosine content in the mtDNA. Its distribution among the pyrimidine clusters in the bovine heart mtDNA differs substantially from that in the nDNA. This suggests that the methylation specificities of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA are different. A DNA methylase, which effects the in vitro methylation of cytosine residues both in the homologous mtDNA and in different heterologous DNA's, has been found in rat liver and bovine heart mitochondria. The specificity of the in vitro methylation of the cytosine residues in the same heterologous Escherichia coli B DNA by the nuclear and mitochondrial enzymes is different: The mitochondrial enzyme methylates predominantly in monopyrimidine fragments, and the nuclear enzyme methylates mostly in di- and tripyrimidine fragments. They, therefore, recognize different nucleotide sequences.


Stereochemical analysis of the secondary structure of polypeptide chains with the aid of Courtauld three-dimensional models. II. Hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds.

Sterically permissible hydrogen bonds between side chains and the backbone, which fix a small number of angles of internal rotation have been identified. The hydrogen bonds on the ends and within the secondary structures, as well as the most important bonds in the alpha helix and in irregular structures, have been considered.


Study of the relationship between the subfraction composition of histone F1 and the type of tissue in birds.

The subfraction composition of lysine-rich histone has been studied with the aid of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The subfraction compositions of the histone F1 of several tissues from the chicken, pigeon, and titmouse have been compared. The histone F1 from the tissues investigated consists of four or five subfractions of similar number and electrophoretic mobility (1, 1a, 2, 3, and 4). In the different avian species each subfraction varied its mobility independently of the others. The chicken tissues investigated can be divided into two classes, depending on the relative concentration of subfractions 2 and 3 (A and B): Class A (subfraction 2 is smaller than 3) includes the brain, liver, skeletal muscle, heart, muscular layer of the stomach, and pancreas, and class B (subfraction 2 is larger than 3) includes the intestinal mucosa, thymus, and testes, as well as the liver, heart, and pancreas from a 21-day embryo. Such a division of the tissues corresponds to the varying rate of their cellular renewal. In a parallel examination of the relative concentrations of the individual subfractions in the same tissues from the three avian species it has been found that the relative concentration of subfractions 3 and 2 is increased in the skeletal muscles, heart, brain, and liver, that subfraction 2 is increased in the intestinal mucosa, that subfractions 4 and 3 are increased in the pancreas, and that subfractions 1, 1a, and 4 are increased in the erythrocytes. The results obtained may be interpreted as a consequence of some relationship between the subfraction composition of histone F1 and the type of tissue of the source.


Structure of nuclear pre-mRNA. VIII. Isolation and characterization of complementary sequences.

After the annealing of pre-mRNA at high Cot values, up to 20% of the material becomes resistant to the action of ribonuclease. This has been attributed to the presence of self-complementary sequences (scRNA) in the pre-mRNA. The most important properties of scRNA, which was isolated in preparative amounts, have been studied. The approximate dimensions of the complementary segments are 45-50 nucleotides. Hybridization experiments have shown that scRNA is transcribed from repeated segments of the genome. It may be postulated that the rapidly hybridizing pre-mRNA fraction consists mainly of self-complementary sequences.


Differences in AT- and GC-base pair ratios in DNA of the paracentromeric heterochromatin of chromosome 1 in two human cell types. I. Autoradiographic analysis of the incorporation of 3H-labeled thymidine and 3H-labeled deoxycytidine.

The distribution of AT- and GC-base pairs in DNA along chromosomes 1 and 2 has been studied in primary cultures of human embryo fibroblasts and peripheral blood leukocytes by an autoradiographic method using 3H-labeled thymidine and 3H-labeled deoxycytidine. The two cell types differed in their relative contents of DNA and in the ratio of AT and GC pairs at the centromere and the adjacent region of heterochromatin in chromosome 1. The DNA content of this section was higher in fibroblasts than in leukocytes, mainly because of AT pairs. In both cell types, the telomere in the short arm of this chromosome had a higher content of GC pairs than AT pairs. No differences were observed in base pair distribution along chromosome 2 in the two types. This phenomenon may be due to incomplete replication, or to loss by some means of part of the genetic material during the development and differentiation of the cellular systems.


[DNA synthesis in the antimesometrial and mesometrial regions of rat decidual tissue].

DNA synthesis in the decidual tissue of rats on the 9-10th day of pregnancy has been studied in intact rats and under the effect of chloridin by means of radioautography and biochemical methods. The decidual cells of antimesometral and mesometral regions were shown to differ both by morphological features and intensity of 3H-thymidine utilization and activity of thymidylate synthetase and thymidine kinase. Under the conditions of the block of dihydropholate reductase, differences between the antimesometral and mesometral regions of deciduoma manifest themselves still more markedly. The decidual tissue consists of a heterogenous population of cells which differ by the ratio of different ways of thymidylate synthesis. An estimate is given for the ratio of two ways of thymidine monophosphate synthesis in the antimesometral regions of the decidual tissue.


[Electrophoretic study of water-soluble retinal proteins of chickens at early stages of embryogenesis].

The water-soluble proteins of chick retina were studied during the formation of eye cup and at the early stages of histological differentiation of retina by the micro-method of electrophoresis in 20% polyacrilamide gel. The retina of embryos at the stages under study contains a range of proteins forming over 20 fractions in electrophoresis. The most fractions are formed by the proteins which electrophoretic mobilities exceed that of serum albumin. The early stages of retina development are characterized by the definite changes in its protein composition. These changes manifest themselves in the disappearance of the most anodic fractions beginning from the stage of contact between the optic vesicle and presumptive lens ectoderm. During the subsequent development, these proteins are detected again in the retina, the corresponding anodic fractions being most distinct at the stage of completed eye cup. Their content in the retina decreases repeatedly with the beginning of histogenesis up to their complete disappearance.


[Heat stability of cholinesterase and non-specific esterases during development of hybrids of the sea urchins Stongylocentrotus droebachiensis and S. intermedius].

Acetylcholine esterase (AchE) and non-specific esterases were studied during the development of sea urchins Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis and S. intermedius and their hybrids by means of electrophoresis and measurements of enzyme thermostability. Two AchE fractions were found which differed by thermostability. At the late gastrula stage, the therolabile form predominated and at the mid-pluteus stage the thermostable one. Non-specific esterases in both the species of sea urchins are represented by complex isozyme systems. Their changes during development are accompanied by the changes in thermostability and electrophoretic patterns. The thermostability of esterases at the pluteus stage in the hybrids is higher than in the maternal species, apparently, due to the appearance of the thermostable enzyme which appears in the paternal species provisionally at the prism stage.


[Development of hypothalamic control over thyrotropin secretion during human prenatal life].

It was shown in the tissue culture experiments that the human hypophysis secreted autonomously the thyrotrophin during the last three fourths of the prenatal life. The intensity of secretion is the highest in the end of the first third of this period, then it decreases, but during the last third it increases reliably again. During the second half of development the level of thyrotrophin in female foetuses in reliably higher than in the male ones. In the beginning of the second third of prenatal life, the hypothalamic factors decrease the autonomous thyrotrophin secretion twice in foetuses of both the sexes. In the end of the second third, sexual differences appear in their effect; they decrease reliably the autonomous thyrotrophin secretion in the male foetuses, whereas no such effect is observed in the female ones. The stimulating effect of the hypothalamic thyrotrophin releasing hormone manifests itself during the last third of prenatal life in foetuses of both the sexes. During the second half of prenatal life, the thyrotrophin concentration in blood of female foetuses is also reliably higher than in male foetuses. There is a positive correlation in female foetuses between the thyrotrophin concentration in blood and the level of hypophysial secretion under the effect of hypothalamic factors. Thyrotrophin is found in the cranial fluid of foetuses. In some cases its concentration in the cranial fluid is higher than in the blood. No correlation was found between the levels of the hormone in fluid and blood in female foetuses; a positive correlation was found in male foteuses.


[Thyroid hormones in the early postnatal development of the CNS: effect of hyperthyroidism on proliferative activity of white matter cells of rat cerebellum].

The effect of triiodothyronin on the proliferative activity of the white matter cells has been studied by means of radioautography in the cerebellum vermis and hemisphere of developing rats. The index of labelled nuclei and the mitotic index of the white matter glial elements in both the cerebellum regions of 7 and 10 days old hyperthyroid animals are markedly reduced. Besides, the general tendency was found towards the increase of the mitotic cycle duration in the white matter cells due to the lengthening of S and G2 + 1/2 M periods. The data obtained are discussed with respect to the importance of thyroid hormones for the CNS development.


[Compensatory hypertrophy of golden hamster ovaries during early postnatal ontogenesis].

The right-side ovariectomy in the golden hamster females during the prepubertate period resulted in the compensatory hypertrophy of the rest paired organ. The morphological rearrangement of the hypertrophied ovary represented the shift in the quantitative distribution of follicles by the maturation stages towards the predominance of mature forms. The accelerated growth and differentiation along the path of normal postnatal ontogenesis led to the earlier ovulations in the hypertrophied ovary.


[Role of Bruch's membrane in the process of metaplasia of the ocular pigmented epithelium of Xenopus laevis].

The metaplasia of pigmented epithelium into retina with the formation of nuclear and reticular layers took place in the experiments with wrapping a sheet of pigmented epithelium from tadpoles up in the Bruch's membrane of adult frogs X. laevis. The implant with de novo formed retina resembled the inverted eye. In those experiments where the Bruch's membrane of tadpoles came into contact with that of adults only depigmentation of the pigmented epithelium cells was observed. The pigmented epithelium metaplasia suggests that the Bruch's membrane is permeable not only for low molecular weight substances, but also for inducing agents. The adult Bruch's membrane serves in the process of metaplasia in the experiments described as a new and limiting system which ensures more orderly formation of new retina.


[Viability at different stages of development and early embryogenesis of Drosophila virilis and D. littoralis and their hybrids].

The low percentage of larval hatching both in the initial lines and the hybrids of direct and back crosses was shown to be due to the low fertilizability of eggs. A study of early embryogenesis, up to the gastrulation, has shown that the F1 hybrids (female D. virilis x male D. littoralis) develop at a lesser rate than both the parental species. Some embryos of these latter attain the stage of blastoderm syncytium for 2 hrs whereas the hybrid embryos attain only the stage of polynuclear syncytium.


[Proliferative potentials of Xenopus laevis tadpole and toad optic thalamus nerve tissue cells following injury].

After the injury of the thalamus right hemisphere in tadpoles and young frogs X. laevis, 3H-thymidine incorporated in the cells of the thalamus ventricular zone, but not in the middle and large neurons of the type of neurons of the trigeminal nerve mesencephalic nucleus and the large ganglion cells of VI and VIII layers of the thalamus cortex. The brain trauma in tadpoles resulted in the activation of cell proliferation in the ventricular zone, whereas in young frogs the proliferation of glyocytes was activated. The relation of the proliferative reaction of certain types of brain cells to the trauma to the loss of ability for brain regeneration is discussed.


[Pituitary somatotropic function of newborn infants].

The content of the hypophysial somatotrophic hormone was studied in the blood of cord vessels at parturition and in the peripheral blood of newborn infants during the first 2 hrs and 1-9 days of life. The hormone level by the periods of 2 hrs was markedly lower than in the foetuses, it sharply increased by the end of the first day and gradually decreased during the subsequent days. The functioning of the hypothalamic-hypophysial system in humans during this period is discussed.


[Concentration and comparison of adenylic nucleotides in the eye tissues of rabbits during ontogenesis].

The ATP content in the rabbit eye tissues increases from birth till the time of sight appearance (12-15th day after birth). The ADP and AMP content did not increase during the period of sight appearance. After this period, the ATP content decreased down to the level of newborn tissues. The ADP and AMP content increased in the eye tissues of 2 months old and adult rabbits.


Wilson's disease (hepatolenticular degeneration).

Wilson's disease, or hepatolenticular degeneration, is a rare inherited disorder of copper metabolism which usually affects young people. Excess copper accumulates in the tissues, primarily in the liver, brain, and cornea. This copper deposition results in a wide range of hepatic and neurological symptoms, and may produce psychiatric illness. Hepatic involvement often occurs in childhood, while neurological deficits generally are detected at a later age. The disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. Ocular findings are of particular importance because the corneal copper deposition, forming the Kayser-Fleischer ring,is the only pathognomonic sign of the disease. The structure of the ring and the presence of copper have been well established. An anterior capsular deposition of copper in the lens results in a characteristic sunflower cataract in some of these patients. Other ocular abnormalities have been described but are much less common. The pathogenesis of the disease and the basic genetic defect remain obscure. It is clear that there is excess copper in the tissues, but the mechanism of its deposition is unknown. It is in some way associated with a failure to synthesize the serum copper protein ceruloplasmin normally. Another theory suggests that an abnormal protein with a high affinity for copper may bind the metal in the tissues. The diagnosis may be suggested by the clinical manifestations and confirmed by the presence of a Kayser-Fleischer ring. In the absence of these findings biochemical determinations are necessary. The most important of these are the serum ceruloplasmin, the urinary copper, and the hepatic copper concentration on biopsy. Treatment consists in the administration of the copper chelating agent, penicillamine, and the avoidance of a high copper intake. This usually results in marked clinical improvement if irreversible tissue damage has not occurred. Maintenance therapy for life is necessary in order to continue the negative copper balance. The detection and prophylactic treatment of asymptomatic individuals with the disease is especially important. Seven cases of Wilson's disease have been presented in order to illustrate many of the features which have been discussed, with emphasis on the ocular findings.


A gel electrophoretic study of the protein and nucleic acid components of African horsesickness virus.

The physico-chemical structure of African horsesickness virus (AHSV) is compared with that of some of the other members of the Reoviridae, and in particular with that of bluetongue virus (BTV), the type strain of the orbivirus genus. This study adduces evidence of a great similarity between the gel electrophoretic patterns of the polypeptides of AHSV and BTV. The molecular mass values of the 7 AHSV polypeptides range between 0,30 x 10(5) and 1,46 x 10(5) dalton, a variation similar to that of BTV. The close relation between AHSV and BTV is further affirmed by the gel electrophoretic resolution of the AHSV double-stranded RNA genome into 10 segments.


Experimental intraspinal trypanosoma equiperdum infection in a horse.

To establish the ability of Trypanosoma equiperdum to cross the blood-brain-barrier in the horse, a susceptible stallion was infected via the cerebrospinal fluid of the subarachnoid space by lumbosacral puncture. Cerebrospinal fluid with low detectable levels of trypanosomes removed from a dourine-infected mare by lumbosacral puncture was used for infecting the animal. The parasite was detected in blood smears of the recipient 13 days after infection and the subsequent parasitaemia and clinical course of the disease followed that of naturally infected horses.


Acid-labile amino acid precursors in the Murchison meteorite. 1: Chromatographic fractionation.

The amino acid content of a hot water extract of the Murchison meteorite can be increased by over 100 per cent by subjecting the extract to acid hydrolysis. The acid-labile compounds in the extract that account for this increase were fractionated by column chromatography on a cation exchange resin. Seventy mole per cent behaved as neutral or acidic compounds and were eluted from the column with an initial water wash. The remaining 30 mole per cent (basic precursors) were retained on the column and were eluted with the free amino acids by aqueous NH4OH. The acid-labile amino acid precursors in the water eluate could be retained and further fractionated on an anion exchange column, indicating that they are acidic compounds.


Acid-labile amino acid precursors in the Murchison meteorite. II: A search for peptides and amino acyl amides.

The basic fraction of the acid-labile amino acid precursors found in hot water extracts of the Murchison meteorite was treated with ninhydrin under conditions that give destruction of free amino acids but allow nearly complete recovery to peptides and amino acylamides. After this treatment and a subsequent acid hydrolysis, the amount of amino acids found corresponded to less than 30 per cent of the precursor content of the basic fraction. Since only 30 percent of the total extract precursors are found in the basic fraction, these results indicate that such compounds, if present, account for no more than 9 mole per cent of the total acid-labile amino acid precursors of the meteorite hot water extract.


Chemical evolution: effect of high energy radiation.

Quantitative estimation - based on extrapolated data of radioactivity and reasonable assumptions about the radiolytic effect of beta-particles on amino acids- shows that an assymmetry greater than the statistical fluctuation in the number of L-, and D-amino acid molecules could have been produced by beta-decay during chemical evolution.


Clays as possible catalysts for peptide formation in the prebiotic era.

From the point of view of prebiotic synthesis, clays might have performed functions of concentration, catalysis, and protection of molecules. The degree of polymerization obtained when amino acid adenylates are added to montmorillonite suspensions in water, are much iigher than those obtained by polymerization in the absence of such a clay. In addition, they are of a discrete spectrum, usually multiplies of 6 or 7, and reach values of up to 40 mers. In the absence of clay a continuous spectrum of degrees of polymerization is obtained, and usually up to 4-6 mers only. Copolymerization in the absence of clays yields mostly random copolymers in their presence mostly block copolymers are obtained. Optical density measurements show that after adsorption has taken place on the clay, stacking of its layers occurs. Polymerization starts only after these stacked layers have been formed. The distance between the layers - as measured by X-rays - increase during polymerization, probably because the resulting polymers settle in their interspace, while the adsorption site of the active monomers is at the edges of the clay.


Polarized bremsstrahlung not the source of optical activity.

An evaluation is made of the previously proposed scheme (polarized beta-particles leads to circularly polarized bremsstrahlung leads to optically active molecules) by which dissymmetry at the elementary particle level may be transmitted to the molecular level. The calculations suggest that much too small a fraction of the total energy of the electron appears as light, capable of causing photochemical resolution, to explain results obtained in the laboratory on the preferential radiation-induced decomposition one enantiomer of chiral amino acids.


A speculation on the origin of protein synthesis.

It is suggested that protein sythesis may have begun without even a primitive ribosome if the primitive tRNA could take up two configuration and could bind to the messenger RNA with five base-pairs instead of the present three. This idea would impose base sequence restriction on the early messages and on the early genetic code such that the first four amino acids coded were glycine, serine, aspartic acid and aspargine. A possible mechanism is suggested for the polymerization of the early message.


Prebiotic phosphorylation of nucleosides in formamide.

A possible prebiotic phosphorylation method has been investigated in which formamide served as the reaction medium. Nucleotides and nucleotide derivatives were formed when nucleosides were allowed to react with different orthophosphate, hydrogen phosphate or dihydrogen phosphate salts or with different condensed phosphate salts. The reaction products obtained from the phosphorylation of adenosine were 2'3' and 5'-AMPs, 2',5' and 3',5'-ADPs and 2',3'-cyclic AMP. The extent of phosphorylation in formamide exceeded 50% under favorable conditions after 15 days at 70 degrees. The acidic dihydrogen phosphates and condensed hydrogen phosphates proved to be the best phosphorylating agents. The presence of water in the medium decreased the yield of nucleotide derivatives, but some phosphorylation of adenosine was detected using dihydrogen phosphate in formamide containing water. The phosphorylation reactions were also observed for deoxynucleosides. Little decompression of the nucleosides was detected during the reaction time needed to form nucleotide derivatives. The facility with which phosphorylation takes place in formamide under very mild conditions may justify further studies both of prebiotic phosphorylation and synthetic phosphorylation using this solvent.


Scavenging of soluble organic matter from the prebiotic oceans.

The existence of hot or cold "nutrient broth" or "primeval soup" is challenged on the basis of the recent geochemistry of soluble organic carbon in the oceans. Most of the dissolved organic carbon is recycled quickly by organisms, but the residual, biologically refractive, organic matter is efficiently scavenged from the oceans (residence time of 1000 to 3500 years) by nonbiologically mediated chemical and physical processes, such as adsorption on sinking minerals, polymerization and aggregation to humic type polymers or by aggregation to particulate matter through bubbling and sinking of this material to the ocean bottom. Since there is no reason to believe that such nonbiological scavenging was not operative in the prebiotic oceans as well, then the prolonged existence of "organic soup" is very doubtful. The question of the origin of life is thus assumed to be related to solid-liquid interfacial activity, and the answer may be associated with sediment-water interaction rather than with solution chemistry.


[Perspectives of the control of Opisthorchis invasion by the method of treating the molluskan population].

Sanitation of the mollusk population with highly effective cercaricide preparations can be used for the control of opisthorchosous infection. Low concentrations of molluskocides which are sublethal for non-infected mollusks have turned to be lethal for hyperinfected individuals. All tested molluskocides display a cercaricide effect in concentrations which are considerably lower than molluskocide ones. Low concentrations of cercaricides are toxic both for cercariae and parthenites from the liver of mollusks and for freely swimming cercariae. Disastrously affecting the freely swimming cercariae microdoses of cercaricides prevent the infection of the second intermediate hosts. Microdoses of cercaricides which are lethal for cercariae are not toxic for the majority of hydrobionts including fishes of all age groups. As far as the dynamics of the infection level of Bithynia with O. felineus is characterized by a one-peak curve with a distinct peak in the middle-end of July the treatment of water bodies with microdoses of cercaricides should be carried out just in this period.


[Morphology and biology of cystophorous cercariae from the Bering sea].

Three new species of cystophorous cercariae, Cercaria appendiculata Pelseneer, 1906, C. octocauda Tschubrik, 1952 and C. saccocaudata Tschubrik, 1966, are described from the gastropod Tectonatica clausa (Broderip et Sowerby). C. saccocaudata is a larva of trematodes of the genus Lecithaster. The development of parthenites of this species carries out within one summer season. Parthenites of C. appendiculata and C. octocauda are capable to survive unfavourable winter conditions and produce cercariae in the next summer. The above three species were found to eject cercariae through the ejaculatory tube which is an important adaptation of chemiurids to the infection of the second intermediate hosts.


[Feeding behavior of Trichinella as a leading factor of adaptation to the body of the mammals].

Studies were carried out of the permeability of the cuticle of Trichinella spiralis (Owen, 1835) for fluorochromes and histidine, the filling of the mid-gut and the amino-acids contents in it. The quantity of glicogene in different organs was estimated. A conclusion has been grown that a larva consumes food through the integuments of its body; intestinal Trichinella use within the first 20 hours of their development the reserves of glicogene and later consume food monomeres and oxygen from the host's mucous membrane through their integuments. The mode of feeding of Trichinella was formed during their evolution as an adaptation to parasitism on the mucous membrane of the host.


[Characteristics of acquired resistance of lambs to mature ticks Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum (experimental studies)].

A new method was employed for studies of parasite-host relationships between ixodid ticks and their hosts. It has been established that ixodid ticks are able to desensibilize the reactive sensibility of the host and to satiate themselves without unhibiting the latter. Every day and long parasitism of the ticks on cattle (in nature) and increasing doses of secretion of the ticks' saliva (sensibilizer) lead apparently to the weakening of the host's organism (desensitization). However, under laboratory conditions in hosts a resistence to bites of ixodid ticks can appear.


[Role of gamasids in the epizootiology of tularemia].

10 strains of Francisella tularensis were isolated from 4 species of gamasid mites, Laelaps muris, L. multispinosus, Hyperlaelaps amphibius and Haemolaelaps glasgowi, in natural nidi of tularemia in the Tumen district. Under experimental conditions L. muris is often infected with tularemia agent on sick animals but preserves it at an indoor temperature not more than a week and does not transmit it transovarially. Haemogamasus ambulans preserve the agent within the same period. L. muris and Hirstionyssus isabellinus do not transmit the tularemia agent to healthy animals through a bite.


[Crystals in the epithelial nuclei of the midgut of fleas].

On studying the changes in the epithelium of the midgut of Ceratophyllus tesquorum, C. laeviceps and Leptopsylla segnis intranuclear crystals were found during the process of digestion. They were recorded both from young and adult insects. The crystals were absent from nuclei of cells of regeneration nests, epithelium of the fore-intestine, any other organs or from nuclei of epithelial cells of the stomach of young non-feeding individuals. They were found neither in young nor in adult individuals of Xenopsylla conformis and Neopsylla setosa.


[Effect of the bacterial preparation, insectin, on the fleas Xenopsylla cheopis].

The effect of 0.2-2 mg/g of insectine (Bacillus insectus) upon the Ist-IInd stage larvae of X. cheopis is very negligible but it manifests itself in the subsequent low (9 to 30%) development and hatching of imagos. The III stage larvae are more resistent and after the effect of 10 mg/g of the preparation 9% of larvae formed cocoons which later developed into imagos. Adult fleas poorly responded to 0.2-2 mg/g of insectine. However, 10-30 mg/g of insectine caused in four days a mass death of fleas and their population decreased to 70% as compared to control.


[Uneven degree of aging of intestinal epithelium of hungry ticks Ixodes persulcatus].

Adult individuals of I. persulcatus are characterized by uneven assimilation of nutrients in digestive cells of the mid-gut. In the mid-gut of females and males exist simultaneously parts with different degrees of exhaustion. Physiological age of a hungry individual is determined by three items: "main" physiological age; degrees of exhaustion "accompanying" it; and, in addition, by different degrees of exhaustion of individual digestive cells in the limits of one portion of the mid-gut. Calculation of the area of the portions of the "main" and "accompanying" degrees of exhaustion has shown that the former is always maximum one. This suggests the availability of different food resources in hungry ticks of different physiological ages.


[Characteristics of digestion of blood of different animals by the flea Xenopsylla cheopis].

Under experimental conditions fleas X. cheopis engorged and assimilated blood of 4 species of rodents, man, pigeon and two species of reptiles. Histological investigations have shown that the structure of food clot, destruction rate of blood  cells and general duration of digestion are changed considerably depending on the host's blood. In females the digestion of white mice blood to haematin at 23-24 degrees lasted not over 12 hours, the digestion of blood of hamsters and man - 12 to 20 hours, of guinea pigs and reptiles - 18 to 25 hours and of white rats and pigeons - from 20 to 30 hours. In males the digestion carries out somewhat slower. The above differences in blood digestion can apparently create unequal conditions for pathogenic microbes in the intestine of fleas that affects the preservation and reproduction of the agent in the organisms of these carriers.


[Study of heat denaturation of collagen dispersions by a method of IR-spectroscopy].

Infrared spectroscopy was used to examine the kinetics of deuterium exchange in collagen films prepared from its 0.5% dispersions obtained from cattle tendons and healed at 25--100 degrees C for 30 min. The temperature relationships to the denaturation degree and time of deuterium exchange suggested that an almost complete heat denaturation of dispersions can be achieved at 31.5 degrees C. The temperature of semi-denaturation of dispersions was 28.5--29.0 degrees. The occurrence of intact supermolecular aggregates of collagen molecules in its dispersions had no effect on the system resistance to heat denaturation.


[Erythrocytometric indicators of peripheral blood in hypothyroidism before and after treatment].

In studying the erythrocytometric peripheral blood indices in patients with hypothyroidism there was revealed an increase of the mean diameter, mean volume and thickness of the red blood cells. There was revealed that in the process of 4-week replacement therapy with lyothyronine-2-hydrochloride the patients with mild and moderately severe affection displayed an increase of the mean diameter of erythrocytes, a reduction of their thickness and volume and a fall of microcyte count. As to the patients with severe hypothyroidism--they show no significant dynamics of the erythrocytometric indices after one month of treatment.


[Osteoarticular changes in the feet in diabetes mellitus according to the data of roentgenological examination].

In roentgenological examination of 40 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus bone and articular changes were revealed in 65% of cases. They were equally incident in patients of both sexes. These changes did not depend directly on the severity and duration of diabetes mellitus, although they were more frequent in persons with the widespread micro- and macroangiopathies and other complications of this disease. A case of osteoarthropathy occurring in a young patient given no antidiabetic treatment for a period of several years is presented.


[Gastrointestinal tract in diseases of the adrenal cortex].

Clinico-roentgenological study of the gastrointestinal tract was carried out in 86 patients with diseases of the adrenal cortex. A hyperplastic relief of the gastric mucosa was revealed in the adreno-genital syndrome, Itsenko-Cushing's disease, androsteroma and glucosteroma; the relief was hypoplastic in Addison's disease. Ulcerative lesions found in Addison's disease were erosive and associated with the corticosteroid therapy instituted. Functional changes in small intestine in Itsenko--Cushing's disease, glucosteroma and Addison's disease were chiefly hypomotor-hypotonic in character, and in the adreno-genital syndrome and androsteromas--hypermotor-normotonic. Electrogastrography revealed different disturbances in the rhythm and amplitude of oscillations in the gastric biopotentials pointing to the changes in the vegetative innervation.


[State of the muscular blood circulation in diabetes mellitus].

With the aid of Xe133 injected into the anterior tibial muscle a study was made of the state of muscular circulation in 50 patients with decompensated diabetes mellitus and in 23 patients after the compensation of the disease was reached. There was a marked reduction of the muscular circulation in the majority of the patients at rest and also a fall of the adaptive possibilities of the vessels in response to the physical loading under conditions of artificially induced ischemia. Compensation of diabetes against the background of complex therapy (vasodilating, antisclerotic, lipotropic agents, polyvitamins, potassium salts) promoted but an insignificant improvement of the circulation at rest. The extent of disturbances of the muscular circulation depended on the severity, the character of the course of the disease, the patient's age, and the presence of vascular affections. Adaptive possiblities of the vessels in diabetic patients became more pronounced with the development of hypertension. The character of diabetes treatment produced no significant influence on the extent of the circulatory disturbances in the muscles.


[LH, FSH and progesterone level in the blood plasma of women with normal menstrual cycle].

Luteinizing hormone (LH), folliculostimulating hormone (FSH) and progesterone were studied by the radioimmunoassay in a group of 10 women throughout a normal menstrual cycle. The LH and the FSH peak occurs at the middle of the cycle. At the early follicular phase the FSH level was higher than that of the LH. During the follicular and the lutein phases the plasma progesterone level was 0.65 +/- 0.12 ng/ml and 12.4 +/- 2.3 ng/ml, respectively. The laboratory criteria of the normal ovular cycle are: a) a mid-cycle LH peak; b) plasma progesterone level at the lutein phase were 10-15 times greater than at the follicular one; c) progesterone peak at the mid-lutein phase; d) the duration of the lutein phase of 12-15 days.


[Change in calorimetric indicators of energy metabolism and thermoregulation reaction in obese albino rats].

A study was made of the changes in the calorimetric indices of the energy metabolism (heat emission, "direct" thermoproduction and body temperature) in albino rats with adiposity due to overfeeding and ovariectomy. From the age of 4 months an additional feeding of highly caloric food to normal and ovariectomized animals led to a marked and significant gain in weight. There were marked quantitative changes in the calorimetric indices and the reaction of thermoregulation expressed both in a significant reduction of the initial values of thermal emission, heat production and body temperature, and in the chnages of the reactive peculiarities of heat exchange: reduction of heat emission, diminished accretion of heat production and of the rate of restoration of body temperature after functional "cold" test--in comparison with such in normal animals.


[Immunoreactive insulin in the blood of pregnant women with different disorders of glucose tolerance].

The authors studied the content of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) during the glucose tolerance test (GTT) in 57 pregnant women at various periods of pregnancy and in 10 nonpregnant women at the same age. There proved to be a significant increase in IRI in the blood on fasting stomach and during the GTT in all the pregnant women examined. In the pregnant women with doubtful GTT results and latent diabetes the IRI content was significantly greater than in healthy nonpregnant women and in the diabetic women. There was a tendency to the increase of IRI content in the blood of pregnant women with an excessive weight in comparison with the pregnant women with a normal weight.


[Determination of Stokes' radii of the cytoplasmic receptor molecules for estradiol in various organs of rats].

A method of gel-filtration of Sepharose 6B was used; Stoke's radii (a) of some forms of cytoplasmic receptors of estrogens of the uterus, kidneys, and the liver of male and female rats were determined. In the initial cytozol in elution with buffer of low ionic strength estrogenic uterine receptors were presented chiefly by the form with a congruent to 70A, and the receptors of the male and female kidneys--by the form with a congruent to 30 A; receptors of the liver of males and females were represented by both forms, in females the content of the form with a congruent to 70 A somewhat exceeded the content of the form with a congruent to 30 A. At the same time in the males the form with a congruent to 30 A prevailed. In elution with a buffer of a high ionic strength the receptors of all the organs under study eluated with a congruent to 20--26 A. Formation of a form with a congruent 20--26 A in case of receptors of the liver of males and the uterus was reversible under the action of a high salt concentration. Receptors of all the organs under study were capable of forming Ca2+-stabilized form with a congruent to 35 A in elution with a buffer of low ionic power and a congruent to 21-26 A in elution with a buffer of high ionic strength.


[Effect of epiphysectomy on the circadian rhythm of the glucocorticoid, androgen, estrogen and gestagen functions of the endocrine organs].

Investigations were carried out on intact, pseudoectomized and epiphysectomized Wistar rats (male and female) with the following illumination regimen: light--10 hours, darkness--14 hours. By the method of competitive protein binding and by fluorimetry a determination was made of the blood content of corticosterone, estrogens, androgens and gestagens. The peripheral blood content of the hormones under study in the intact animals corresponded to literature data. In comparison with the intact animals epiphysectomy changed the circadian rhythm of the blood corticosterone (11-OCS) level. In comparison with the pseudoepiphysectomized animals, in the epiphysectomized animals the progesterone content fell significantly at 6 a.m., at noon, and at 6 p.m. In comparison with the intact group, under the effect of epiphysectomy estrogen and androgen content increased at almost all the observation hours.


[Humoral factors in the regulation of the natriuretic function of the kidneys].

Acute experiments were conducted on dogs. Intravenous injection of adrenalin (1--2 Mg/kg/min) caused an increase in the blood renin content and a reduction of the renal excretion of sodium, potassium and water. Noradrenaline (1--2 Mg/kg/min) produced the contrary changes in the renin secretion and diuresis, this being associated with a different activity of catecholamines in respect to tha alpha- and beta-adrenoreceptors. It is supposed that in acute hemodynamic shifts renin could play the role of intrarenal mediator of the natriuretic reaction.


The natural history of prostatic cancer.

There are inner and outer gland groups in the human prostate. Benign nodular hyperplasia develops from the inner group of glands. Cancer develops from the outer gland group and consequently spreads beyond the prostate at an early stage in the disease. The biological malignancy of prostatic cancer varies from patient to patient and from part to part of the same tumor. Some tumors remain biologically inactive or latent so that there must be some naturally-occurring factor which controls tumor growth in these cases. Prostatic cancer patients may be divided into groups which differ in their response to endocrine treatment. These differences in response may be due to changes in the host or in the tumor cells. The temporary state of tumor retardation or latency follows endocrine treatment - generally anti-androgenic - in about 70 - 80% of all cases of prostatic cancer, but whatever form of treatment is used, about 75% of all cases die within 3 years. Even in tumors which show a marked response, endocrine treatment does not destroy all tumor cells. Hormone sensitivity therefore is not a property of the tumor as a whole but may vary from part to part of the same tumor. We need adequate well controlled clinical trials before we can decide which method of teatment is best but before we can do this satisfactorily we need methods to allow us to assess the stage and biological activity of individual tumors, before treatment begins.


Radiotherapy of prostatic cancer.

The methods of treatment and the general guidelines in the treatment of prostatic cancer are discussed. Emphasis is placed upon treatment planning with the help of ultrasonography and the use of high energy photons.


Evaluation of prostatic cytology in primary diagnosis and clinical course of prostatic carcinoma.

Franzén's method of transrectal aspiration biopsy, capable of being performed without narcosis or hospitalization of the patient, is an ideal method of early recognition of prostatic carcinoma, and its reliability is equal to the more elaborate transrectal or transperineal needle biopsy. For the appraisal of the local therapy-effect, transrectal aspiration biopsy can be successfully used if no high-voltage radiation treatment of the primary tumour has been administered. For local progress-checks on radiologically treated prostatic carcinomas, however, needle biopsy with the Tru-Cut needle is clearly superior to aspiration biopsy. Cytologic and histologic progress-checks reveal that the local therapy-effect of the measures were applied were directly dependent on the primary degree of differentiation. No improvement in the therapy-effect is to be achieved by the use of high-voltage radiation, especially in cases of undifferentiated carcinoma of the prostate. The clinical course is also largely determined by the primary degree of differentiation, and 20 % of stage C patients tend, with or without radiation-treatment, to rapid metastasisation, although the local tumour may have partically disappeared after such treatment. The plasmatestosterone level could be related neither to the local therapy-effect nor to the clinical course, whereas the enzyme-status in numerous cases coincided with the clinical history, though not with the cytologically or histologically determined therapy-effect. We could not establish any radiologically induced typical therapy-effect on the prostatic carcinoma either by cytological or histologic means.


Effects of food restriction and mutation on central catecholamine levels in genetically obese mice.

Norepinephrine (NE) levels in the hypothalamus and telencephalon of genetically obese mice with the OBOB and DBDB mutations are significantly higher than those of their lean littermates. Obese mice with the viable yellow mutation failed to show this increase. Restricting the diets of OBOB animals to prevent excessive weight gain does not affect NE levels in the hypothalamus, telencephalon or brainstem.


Actions of repeated injections of LSD and apomorphine on the copulatory response of female rats.

LSD, a serotonin receptor stimulating agent, inhibits copulatory behavior (lordosis response) in the ovariectomized and estrogen + progesterone treated female rat. The same effect is obtained by apomorphine, a dopamine receptor stimulating compounds. The lordosis has been shown to be dependent on serotonin, but also dopamine has been implicated in its mediation. Tolerance develops to certain responses after repeated injections of LSD and in the present study the influence of apomorphine and LSD was compared, when given in repeated doses. Possible cross-tolerance between the two compounds was also tested on the frequency of lordosis responding in ovariectomized and hormone treated female rats. Tolerance to LSD develops over seven days, while the suppressing influence of apomorphine on lordosis in seven repeated doses is not significantly altered from that of a single dose. No cross-tolerance was observed on the lordosis response with either order of treatments. Repeated doses of LSD did not influence locomotor activity differently from a single dose, while repeated doses of apomorphine enhanced this response in comparison with the effect of an acute dose. These results indicate differential sensitivity to the repeated treatments and further support an interpretation of the LSD effects on lordosis responding to be primarily on serotonergic rather than dopaminergic receptors.


Drinking induced by parenteral injections of pilocarpine.

Parenteral (IP) injections of pilocarpine, in doses from 3.75 - 30 mg/kg, reliably produced drinking in water-satiated rats. This effect was not diminished by pretreatment with either centrally active (scopolaime, atropine) or peripherally active (methyl scopolamine, methyl atropine) cholinergic blocking agents, suggesting that pilocarpine does not induce drinking via a cholingergic meachnism. Repated injections of low doses, but not high doses, of pilocarpine augments drinking over trials.


Marijuana and memory impairment: the effect of retrieval cues on free recall.

In an attempt to ascertain the effect of retrieval cues on recall deficits which occur following intoxication with marijuana, 40 male volunteers were presented with word lists following the smoking of a single one gram marijuana (0.94% delta 9 -THC) or placebo cigarette and then were required to recall these words immediately after presentation. Recall occurred under a condition in which cues representative of to-be-remembered words were present or in an uncued condition. Results indicated that recall was depressed following marijuana administration under both cued and uncued conditions with cues being only mildly effective in reversing the recall deficit. There was no increase in the number of internal intrusions under marijuana, but the number of external intrusions was significantly elevated under the cued conditions.