[Prolonging the life of an implanted pacemaker by reducing impulse duration (author's transl)].

The current drain of a pacemaker depends on the electrical charge delivered to the heart during stimulation, the energy being determined by amplitude and width of the stimulating pulse. On investigating how far pulse duration can be shortened without jeopardizing reliability of cardiac stimulation, how much the current drain can be reduced and how this might influence pacemaker life, it was found that pulse width could be reduced to 0.3 ms in over 80% of cases with an increase in pacemaker life, if powered by conventional mercury batteries, to about 60 months.


[Fibrinolytic treatment of peripheral artery disease and phlebothrombosis (author's transl)].

Standardised streptokinase-heparin treatment was used in 30 patients with stenoses or occlusions of the large arteries and phlebothrombosis. Apart from three cases of occlusion of the popliteal artery it was possible to revascularise all occluded vessels and markedly widen any haemodynamically effective stenoses.


[Nail changes and loss of hair: cardinal signs of mercury poisoning from hair bleaches (author's transl)].

In the German Federal Republic it has recently become known that generalised disorders of chronic mercury poisoning (loss of weight, stomatitis, hearing and sensory loss, emotional disturbances) have accompanied the cardinal signs of nail discolouration and loss of hair. The mercury content of nails in such patients was extremely high (1720 mg/l). The urinary level of mercury after dimercaprol injection was 1.97 mg/l, about 400 times above the upper limit of normal (0.005 mg/l). The poisoning was apparently caused by the use of mercury-containing bleaches (about 5% and 6% Hg) which do not require prescription and are marketed without any statement about composition or possible side-effects. The cases are a warning against uncontrolled use of external application of mercury-containing preparations.


[Blood-sugar determination with the Reflomat (author's transl)].

A total of 710 blood samples was tested with the new Reflomat apparatus. There was a good correlation with the GOD-Perid method (correlation coefficient for serum r = 0.993; for whole blood r = 0.983). In two thirds of the cases deviation from the reference value was less than +/- 7 mg/dl for serum, less than +/- 14 mg/dl in 95%, the corresponding values for whole blood +/- 11 mg/dl and +/- 22 mg/dl, respectively. The percentage deviation from the reference value was below +/- 13% for serum, and under +/- 22% for whole blood in 95% of measurements. In the range under 100 mg/dl variations were much more marked for whole blood than at the higher levels (100-350 mg/dl). The accuracy of the Reflotest¿ system and the accuracy from day to day proved to be exceptionally good. In the range 100-200 mg/dl the variation coefficient was between 1 and 2%.


[The effect of prindolol on the blood-pressure profile of hypertensives (with special consideration of response to exercise and plasma-renin activity) (author's transl)].

Using microcatheter blood pressure telemetry, the pressure-lowering effect of prindolol (Visken), a beta-blocking drug, was tested at a dose of 10 mg three time daily by mouth in eight patients with essential hypertension (WHO stage II) and low to normal plasma-renin activities. After about ten days of treatment, the hypertensive reaction to everyday physical exercise (walking, climbing stairs, bicycle ergometry) was especially favourably affected. The average blood-pressure reduction at rest was 18.6/12.1 (systolic/diastolic), on stair climbing 41.5/17.2 mm Hg.


[Treatment of vulvo-vaginal candidiasis with econazole (author's transl)].

In 2103 women with vulvo-vaginal candidiasis proved by culture, econazole (an antimycotic drug, also effective against gram-positive bacteria) was administered as vaginal cream (1077 patients) or in ovules (1026 patients). The cure rate for each method was about 90% one week after the end of treatment. Although each of the methods of administration contained the same amount of effective substance, the cure rate four weeks after end of treatment was higher for the ovules (90.3%) than the vaginal cream (86.5%).


[Serum concentration of glycosides and digitalis intoxication(author's transl)].

Serum glycoside concentration was 2.3 ng/ml or more in 299 patients digitalised with digoxin or digoxin derivatives. Mean serum glycoside concentration was 3.4 +/- 1.3 ng/ml (range 2.3-11.00 ng per ml). Usually, high serum concentrations were associated with advanced den or digoxin-derivative overdosage occurred in only 10% of patients. Almost three quarters of those with intoxication had impaired renal function. There was some evidence that low body-weight increased the potential risk of intoxication.


[Plasma-androgens following oral administration of testosterone. Influence of sex, age, and liver function (author's transl)].

The influence of sex, age, and liver function on the androgenmetabolizing capacity of the liver was investigated. To that end, testosterone was administered orally to healthy men, women and prepubertal boys as well as to men with liver dysfunction. While normal men (n = 17) and men with fatty liver (n = 9) showed no rise in circulating plasma testosterone levels and only a slight increase in androstenedione, a steep increase in both steroids was observed in men with liver cirrhosis (n = 7). Unlike adult men, boys (n = 7) and women (n = 6) also showed elevated testosterone levels after oral administration of this steroid. It is concluded that the hepatic capacity to metabolize testosterone is influenced by sex, stage of development, and liver function. It seems possible that peripheral concentration of testosterone after its oral administration can serve as a clinical test for liver function.


[Effect of somatostatin on betazole-stimulated gastric secretion and carbachol-stimulated pancreatic secretion and gall bladder contraction in man(author's transl)].

The effect of somatostatin on betazole-stimulated gastric secretion and carbachol-stimulated pancreatic secretion and gall bladder contraction has been studied in seven healthy volunteers. Somatostatin (150 and 250 mug/h) inhibited dose-dependently volume of gastric juice and acid output stimulated by 16 mg betazole. Acid concentration was little affected. 500 mug/h were not more effective than 250 mug/h. Pancreatic secretion stimulated by 250 mug carbachol has been reduced by 80-90% and gall bladder contraction abolished by somatostatin infusion (200 mug/h).


[Surgical treatment of cerebrovascular insufficiency due to extracranial obstruction of the carotid artery(author's transl)].

Reconstruction of the carotid artery was performed in 41 patients (between 1967 and 1974). All had had signs of cerebrovascular insufficiency. There was angiographic evidence of obliterating arteriosclerotic lesions in the carotid artery of 32 patients, carotid aneurysm in two, kinking of the internal carotid artery in four, and acute thromboses of the carotid artery in three. Early and late results indicate that best chances of success exist for stage II and III a cases. The high mortality rate in stages III b and IV (five of twelve patients) clearly shows that in these reconstruction of the carotid artery should be embarked on with caution, especially in the early stages.


[Peripheral arterial disease and diabetes mellitus(author's transl)].

Among a group of 286 patients with atherosclerotic arterial disease 35.3% had normal carbohydrate tolerance, 28% asymptomatic (biochemical or latent), and 36.7% overt diabetes mellitus. There was a tendency towards peripheral artery involvement and a greater incidence of coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction, changes in ST-T segment) among patients with asymptomatic or overt diabetes, figures being comparable for men and women. Most of the patients with atherosclerotic arterial disease without diabetes mellitus were in stage II, while in diabetics there was a shift towards stages I and IV. There was no significant correlation between incidence, symptoms, and location of atherosclerotic arterial disease, on the one hand, and duration of overt diabetes, on the other.


[Psychological tests of patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis(author's transl)].

27 women with rheumatoid arthritis had elevated depression and social introversion scores in the Minnesota multiple phasic personality inventory (MMPI) tests, whereas their somatic activity appeared reduced. Age of the patient at time of investigation apparently had no influence on the degree of psychological changes, but was reflected in an increased social introversion. Most important for the degree of psychological impairment was the height of the ARA index, which correlated positively with the neurotic triad as well as the psychasthenia scale in the MMPI. An elevation of the neurotic triad is common in many somatic disease. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had an additional, introversion and depression, and decreased somatic activity.


[Attempted murder with phenprocoumon (marcumar)(author's transl)].

The first known case of attempted murder by means of a coumarine-containing drug, administered by a nurse to her husband, is reported. Small doses of phenprocoumon were regularly added to his food or drinks. He was admitted to hospital with a severe haemorrhagic diathesis which, at first, was thought to be a familial haemorrhagic disease, his mother having died of recurrent hypoprothrombinaemia a few years earlier, the cause of her bleeding trouble never having been established. The wife was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.


[Alimentary iodine deficiency in the Federal Republic of Germany (author's transl)].

Urinary iodine excretion of 1945 schoolchildren aged 13 to 15-years from 24 cities throughout the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was measured. For comparison, urinary excretion of 5678 adults from 20 cities was calculated from the 24-hour radio-iodine uptake (RIU) by the method of Oddie. On the average the schoolchildren excreted 25.1 mug iodine per g creatinine: by WHO criteria this can be classified as a grade II iodine deficiency. There was a significant decline of urinary iodine excretion from North to South of the FRG. Urinary iodine excretion of children with thyroid enlargement (21.9 mug/g) was significantly less than that of normal children (26.1 mug/g creatinine; P less th that 0.0005). Urinary iodine excretion of adults averaged 25 to 35 mug/g creatinine, values calculated from RIU agreeing well with those determined chemically. Alimentary iodine intake was found to vary between 30 and 70 mug/d throughout the FRG, which is less than 30% of WHO recommended figures for optimal goitre prevention (150-200 mug iodine per day). Alimentary iodine deficiency has been demonstrated throughout the FRG, increasing from North to South in parallel with an increase in goitre rate. Goitre prevention through compulsory iodinization of salt is recommended.


[Gastric mucosal dysplasias: what is their clinical significance (author's transl)].

Using criteria of proliferation kinetics, karyometry, histology and histochemistry, the attempt at a definition of normal and dysplastic surface epithelium of the gastric mucosa is made. Instead of using such terms as surface carcinoma, intra-epithelial carcinoma and carcinoma-in-situ, the term dysplasia III of the surface epithelium is suggested, because serial biopsies of gastric mucosa over periods ranging from one month to two years have demonstrated reversibility or persistence of such changes without transition into early carcinoma. Results of such studies in 8 262 patients demonstrate that even proliferation-kinetic, karyometric and histochemical methods do not make it possible to judge from single tests the prospective potency of certain changes of the gastric surface mucosa as "precancerous" or even "intra-epithelial carcinoma".


[Clinical and haemodynamic results with intra-aortic counterpulsation (author's transl)].

The AVCO balloon pump (model 7) was used on 13 patients with cardiogenic shock and for circulatory support after open-heart surgery. Twelve patients survived, but one patient died of a cerebral embolism which had occurred before the use of the balloon pump. Mean systemic arterial pressure, mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary wedge pressure and heart rate were measured in all patients, while cardiac index and arterio-venous oxygen difference were measured in seven. Average duration of counterpulsation was four days. Vasopressor treatment was reduced or discontinued in all patients, urinary output increased markedly and the clinical state improved. Although systolic pressure did not change significantly, MAP increased significantly by 25 mm Hg (P less than 0.005), with a mean diastolic pressure increase to 104 mm Hg. The pulmonary artery pressure, the pulmonary wedge pressure and the mean pulse rate all decreased significantly by 25 mm Hg, 16 mm Hg and 24 beats/min, respectively. A fall in arterio-venous oxygen difference of 2.6 ml/100 ml (P less than 0.025) was associated with a significant increase in cardiac index by 0.62 l/min-m2 (P less than 0.025). It is concluded from these results that intra-aortic balloon counter-pulsation may be an effective means of providing circulatory support in cardiogenic shock and after open-heart surgery.


[Clinical and morphological findings in a case of malignant hyperthermia (author's transl)].

A 32-year-old man survived malignant hyperthermia which developed in conjunction with laparotomy. Muscles biopsy indicated acute necrosis of muscle fibers as well as changes consistent with a latent myopathy. Clinical, laboratory and morphological studies of the relatives revealed familial subclinical myopathy. The hyperthermia resulting from the anaesthesia is thought to be casually related to the myopathy, and members of the family have been warned against this potential risk.


[Effect of nitroglycerin in acute myocardial infarction. III. Isosorbide dinitrate in patients with or without left-heart failure (author's transl)].

The oral effectiveness of isosorbide dinitrate (Isoket) was tested in 21 pateints with acute myocardial infarction. Patients were divided into two groups according to thier initial left-ventricular filling pressure (more or less than 20 mm Hg). In both groups there was a highly significant decrease in pulmonary artery pressure. In group I (less than 20 mm Hg) the left-ventricular filling pressure fell from 13.6 +/- 4.0 to 7.1 +/- 2.6 mm Hg, while in group II it fell from 26.9 +/- 4.6 to 19.0 +/- 3.6 mm Hg (P less than 0.001). The cardiac output fell in group I from 5.1 +/- 1.0 to 4.5 +/- 0.9 l/min, while in group II there was a significant rise from a low value (3.5 +/- 0.8 l/min) to 4.1 +/- 0.9 l/min (P less than 0.001). In both groups there was a slight but not significant fall in arterial blood pressure, while heart rate remained constant.


[Effectiveness of subcutaneous heparin in the prevention of thrombo-embolism after major hip operations (author's transl)].

Low doses of heparin were administered subcutaneously to 103 patients starting the evening before major hip operations, while a further 95 were given calcium heparinate, starting the night after operation in conventional high doses. No anticoagulants were given to 27 patients who served as controls. In none of the patients given anticoagulants was there an increased incidence of postoperative wound complications. But the rate of thrombo-embolism was significantly reduced among those on conventional high doses of heparin. The rate of thromboembolism was also reduced among those on the lower dosage (compared with the control subjects), but this form of prophylaxis was not as effective for patients especially at risk.


[Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), an important disease not only in the tropics (author's transl)].

A 39-year-old woman contracted visceral leishmaniasis on a 14-day visit to southern Italy and died of staphylococcal septicaemia before specific treatment could be effective, diagnostic efforts over four months having failed to make the diagnosis until four weeks before death. Eight further cases reported in German-speaking medical journals illustrate similar diagnostic difficulties. The disease is accompanied by septic temperatures, frequently with two daily spikes, hepato- and splenomegaly, normochromic anaemia and leucocytopenia. But diagnosis can only be made by specific tests. The organisms can be discovered in sternal puncture and organ biopsies only if the Giemsa stain is used. Complement-fixation reaction for leishmania should be tried repeatedly, in case the disease is suspected.


[Chromosomal aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes of patients with multiple sclerosis (author's transl)].

In chromosomes of peripheral lymphocytes of 35 patients with multiple sclerosis treated with azathioprine, antilymphocytic globulin or thoracic-duct drainage structural aberrations (breaks and gaps) were found at a significantly high rate. The aberration rates were increased in another ten untreated patients as well, but less so. Patients previously treated had a high aberration rate, too. The B- and C-chromosomes of patients treated with azathioprine were more frequently involved than those of control subjects. The terminal segment of the long arm of chromosome 1 was mostly affected in these patients, while in all groups there was an increase of aberrations in the centre of the long arm of the C-chromosome. The clinical significance of these chromosomal aberrations is not yet clear.


[In-vitro testing of the sensitivity of mammary carcinoma cells to cytostatic drugs (author's transl)].

In-vitro sensitivity to cystostatic agents was tested in 137 cases of breast carcinoma, with 125 tests being analysable. Inhibition of in-vitro incorporation of 3H-uridine or 3H-thymidine into RNA or DNA of the original tumour cells after incubation with antineoplastic substances was used as the index for the in-vivo sensitivity of the tumour. 30% of the carcinoma cells were sensitive in-vitro, 70% resistant. About 75% of sensitive cancers were sensitive against several agents. Cyclophosphamide proved to be most effective in-vitro: it was tested via 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide or 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide. There was a correlation between histological type and in-vitro sensitivity of the cancer, as well as between proliferative activity and in-vitro sensitivity in that proliferation-active tumours were more frequently sensitive in-vitro than proliferation-poor ones. Primary tumours and metastases of the same patient frequently showed different sensitivity. In some cases the development of resistance against cytostatic drugs was demonstrated during treatment. Testing tumours against combinations of cytostatic drugs demonstrated an additive effect of the antineoplastic substances in-vitro.


Increases in number and size of osteoclasts in response to calcium or phosphorus deficiency in the rat.

In this study, the two determinants of the rate of osteoclastic bone resorption, cell number and cell activity, were evaluated to characterize the response to two chronic resorptive stimuli, a calcium-deficient diet and a phosphorus-deficient diet, fed to rats for 8 days. The number of osteoclast nuclei was determined directly and the resorptive activity of osteoclasts indirectly from cell size. In our sampling site in the tibial diaphysis, there were marked increases in osteoclast layer width (i.e., cell size) and in the number of osteoclasts and osteoclast nuclei in both test groups. Also, in both test groups the increase in the number of osteoclast nuclei was greater than the increase in osteoclast width, emphasizing the importance of osteoclast stem cell activity in the resorptive response. When the data on the control and test animals were pooled, there was a strong correlation between the width of the osteoclast layer and the number of osteoclast nuclei (r = 0.87, P less than 0.001). Thus, these two resoprtive stimuli produced proportional changes in osteoclast cell number and probably activity, raising the possibility that the resorptive response is sterotyped. These results also suggest the existence of a control mechanism which coupled the proliferative activity of osteoclast stem cells and the resorptive activity of osteoclasts. Despite the fact that the rats were subjected to chronic resorptive stimuli, forming surface and the total number of osteoblasts were also increased. Moreover, in data pooled from control and test rats, there was a strong correlation between the number of osteoclast nuclei and the number of osteoblasts (r = 0.92, P less than 0.001). This implies that chronic resorptive stimuli directly or indirectly stimulate osteogenic stem cells to increase production of osteoblasts as well as osteoclasts. The observed coupling of differentiated cell number probably contributes to the established phenomenon of coupling between the rates of bone accretion and resorption.


Radioimmunoassay of serum LH and testosterone in male rabbits actively immunized against testosterone.

Five male rabbits were actively immunized against testosterone to determine if this procedure could permanently inactivate circulating testosterone. To assess the response to immunization, serum LH, serum testosterone and antitestosterone titer (titer) were measured by radioimmunoassay at various times after immunization. All rabbits produced antisera to testosterone and developed serum LH levels similar to those measured in castrated males. The rise in serum LH was particularly pronounced after a booster immunization but these elevated levels were not maintained which suggests that biological neutralization was only transient. Serum testosterone rose dramatically after immunization and was directly correlated with titer. High serum testosterone concentrations were associated with both high and low serum LH. No correlation existed between titer ans serum LH. It is concluded that active immunization against testosterone does not necessarily result in a permanent neutralization of circulating testosterone and that titer alone is an inadequate criterion of neutralization.


Changes in plasma thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and TSH during adaptation to iodine deficiency in the rat.

We have measured plasma thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), and TSH with specific radioimmunoassays in rats during adaptation to severe iodine deficiency after they had previously received regimens supplying various quantities of iodine. Rats were maintained on a high-iodine diet (HID) containing 3 mg iodine/kg or a low-iodine diet (LID) containing 30 mug iodine/kg supplemented with 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mug iodine/ml of drinking water before swtiching to KID alone. Frequent serial blood samples were obtained up to 3 months, using 6 or more animals for each time interval. In animals originally fed HID, T4 remained at 4-6 mug/100 ml unitl the tenth day of LID, then rapidly decreased to a value of less than 0.4 mug/100 ml at 1 month. TSH was initially 50 muU/ml and increased linearly to 165 muU/ml on day 16. Thence there was a much more rapid rate of rise to 640 muU/ml at 38 days. The rats changed to LID alone after having been fed LID with iodine supplementation underwent similar qualitative hormonal changes. However, the decrease in plasma T4 and the increase in plasma TSH occurred sooner in the rats which had drunk water containing only 0.1 or 0.2 mug iodine/ml than in the previous experiment. Rats which had received 0.4 mug iodine/ml showed a pattern essentially identical to that of the animals which had been fed HID. plasma T3 did not change significantly in any of the experiments, remaining at 60-90 ng/100 ml, although there was a tendency for the values to be somewhat lower after several weeks of LID. There was a highly significant negative correlation of plasma T4 with plasma TSH. There was no significant correlation of plasma T3 with either plasma T4 or plasma TSH. It is concluded that the combined physiologic effect of plasma T4 and T3 concentration is more important in determining TSH secretion through negative feedback effects on the hypothalamus and/or pituitary than is the concentration of plasma T3.


Defective thyroglobulin synthesis in an experimental rat thyroid tumor: iodination and thyroid hormone synthesis in isolated tumor thyroglobulin.

Purified rat tumor thyroglobulin from the experimental rat thyroid tumor, line 1-1C2, was studied for its thyroid hormone content after in vivo and in vitro iodination and compared with normal and desialylated normal rat thyroglobulin. Tumor thyroglobulin had a very low sialic acid and iodine content; after in vivo iodination it contained only small amounts of triiodothyronine (T3) and no detectable thyroxine (T4). After in vitro iodination with 125I it showed a distribution of T3 and T4 very similar to that of normal and desialylated normal thyroglobulin iodinated in vitro. In vitro iodination dissociated tumor and desialylated normal thyroglobulin to a greater extent than normal thyroglobulin. Tumor tissue, on the other hand, showed considerable iodinating activity in the 105,000 X g pellet when studied with exogenous acceptors. These results are compatible with a role for sialic acid in the maturation and migration of thyroglobulin to the iodination site, rpovided that the intracellular distribution of the iodinating enzymes are normal.


Potentiation of the adrenergic beta-receptor-mediated insulin secretion in pertussis-sensitized rats.

The increase in blood insulin level induced by adrenergic beta-stimulants, glucose and tolbutamide was strongly exaggerated in pertussis-sensitized rats. Moreover, the decrease in blood insulin caused by the alpha-receptor-mediated action of epinephrine in glucose- or tolbutamide-treated rats was effectively reversed by pertussis sensitization. The rise of blood insulin concentration due to adrenergic alpha-blockade was also enhanced by pertussis sensitization. It is concluded that the secretion of insulin resulting from the stimulation of adrenergic bate-receptor is enhanced by pertussis sensitization, probably due to activation of a process occurring in the chain of events leading to the discharge of insulin from the pancreatic beta-cell.


Evidence of a role of adrogens in follicular maturation.

In hypophysectomized immature female rats (HIFR), the ovarian weight response to subcutaneously implanted diethylstilbestrol capsules (DESC) is inhibited by small doses of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This effect, reproduced by equivalent doses of interstitial cell stimulating hormone (ICSH) but not by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), is inhibited by treatment with antiandrogens. These data implicate gonadotropic stimulation of interstitial cell androgen production in the control of follicular maturation in rats.


Sexual differentiation of the mechanism controlling the preovulatory discharge of luteinizing hormone in sheep.

Silastic capsules containing estradiol-17beta were implanted subcutaneously into male and female sheep which had been gonadectomized as adults, In both sexes, this treatment resulted in a prompt decrease in serum LH concentrations reflecting a negative feedback suppression of tonic LH secretion. In females but not males, this decrease was followed, within 24 h, by an LH surge after which circulating LH declined to low levels resembling those in intact ewes during the luteal phase of the estrous cycle. In males, only a sustained reduction in circulating LH was observed. Three weeks after placement of the initial estradiol implants, while serum LH levels were low and stable, additional estradiol implants were inserted. This additional treatment effected step-like increments in circulating estradiol to approximately 20 or 55 pg/ml (depending on the number of implants) and elicited single or multiple LH discharges in females but failed to induce LH surges in males. These findings lead to the conclusion that the mechanism which governs the cyclic mode of LH secretion in sheep, as in rats, undergoes sexual differentiation. Further, the presence of multiple LH surges in some females suggests that an increment and sustained elevation in circulating estradiol can induce the occurrence, or permit the expression, of consecutive signals for the LH surge in the ovariectomized ewe.


Increased metabolism of iodothyronines in the rat after short-term cold adaptation.

The effect of 2 weeks of continuous exposure to 4C on the metabolism of iodothyronines in the rat was studied. Metabolic clearances of [131I]triiodothyronine ([131]t3) and [125I[-thyroxine ([125I]T4) were increased in exposed animals. Estimated absolute turnover of T4 was increased approximately 2-fold as a result of cold exposure. Urinary and fecal clearances of labeled hormones were elevated. Intracellular total radioiodine and iodothyronine radioiodine concentrations were reduced in liver and kidney 24 h after a single injection of tracer hromones. Plasma hormonal binding was not altered. Expanded tissue spaces of [125I]T4 (liver, 52.4%, kidney, 66,7%) were measured by analysis of composite plasma and tissue disappearance curves in subgroups of animals sacrificed 6-24 h after dose injection. Enlarged tissue spaces ot [131I]T4 (liver 8.3%, kidney 26.2%) were observed in the cold-adapted groups. Fractional disappearance rates of labeled iodothyronines from the total rat were accelerated as determined in individual exposed animals and by composite disappearance curve analysis. These investigations suggest that the observed altered kinetic parameters of iodothyronine disappearance from plasma, tissue and total body pools are due to increased hormone flux, owing to increased deiodinative and fecal hormone disposition. Moreover, the data demonstrate that alterations in the peripheral metabolism of T3 and T4 become manifest early in the adaptation process to cold.


Radioiodinated human pituitary and amniotic fluid prolactins with preserved molecular integrity;.

Human pituitary prolactin (hPRL) contains a single major component. Upon iodination by a lactoperoxidase procedure approximately 50% of this component remains ulaltered in molecular size and net charge by the criteria of quantitative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Aminiotic fluid hPRL contains two components which remained ulaltered after iodination by the lactoperoxidase procedure used. Unaltered iodinated products can also be obtained from both sources by a stoichiometric chloramine T procedure, but in vastly diminished yield.


Calcium-dependent intracellular degradation of parathyroid hormone: a possible mechanism for the regulation of hormone stores.

The dynamics of parathyroid hormone (PTH) biosynthesis, storage, and secretion in bovine parathyroid slices in vitro in response to alterations in the concentrations of extracellular calcium were studied. Hormone biosynthesis was evaluated by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to measure incorporation of [3H]leucine into newly synthesized PTH and proparathyroid hormone (ProPTH) during short (35 min) incubations. Amounts of newly synthesized PTH stored in and secreted from the tissue slices were determined by electrophoretic analysis of [3H]PTH in extracts of tissue and media. Total PTH and ProPTH is slices and media were measured by specific radioimmunoassays. PTH secretion rates changes 5-fold when calcium was lowered from 2mM to 1mM. Secretion of some PTH continued despite high concentrations of calcium (5 mM). Biosynthesis of ProPTH was changed only slightly, and conversion of ProPTH to PTH was independent of the extracellular calcium concentration. Tissue stores of PTH increased during incubation of parathyroid slices in medium containing high amounts of calcium. The increase in stores was much less, however, than predicted by the findings of marked suppression of secretion and little change in rates of PTH biosynthesis. In high concentrations of calcium, a large fraction (up to 50%) of newly synthesized PTH was degraded within the tissue, whereas in low concentrations of calcium, little (less than 10%) of the PTH was degraded. No fragments of PTH or ProPTH were identified in either extracts of tissue or media, suggesting that degradation occurred rapidly by general proteolysis rather than by limited, specific endopeptidase activity. The data suggest that the parathyroid cell contains a calcium-sensitive degradative pathway for PTH and that this pathway may be involved in the regulation of hormone production and secretion.


Metabolic clearance rates (MCR) and production rates (PR) plasma progesterone in pregnant and pseudopregnant rabbits.

Our studies were designed to determine whether changing peripheral progesterone levels in rabbits reflected changing metabolic clearance rates (MCR) or changing production rates (PR), or both. Plasma progesterone concentrations rise from nonpregnancy levels to peak values at the end of the first third of gestation and at midpseudopregnancy. In the pregnant rabbit, these decline slowly during the second third of gestation and then more rapidly until near nonpregnancy values are reached at term. Progesterone levels decline sharply during the second half of pseudopregnancy. During pregnancy and pseudopregnancy, we found only small variations in MCRs which cannot account for the approximately 10-fold increase in plasma progesterone concentrations. The increases can, however, be accounted for by changes in PRs which rose sharply after conception of hCG injection to 14-fold the nonpregnancy level on day 16 of gestation and 11-fold on day 7 of pseudopregnancy. These results indicate that changes in ovarian PRs are the major factor for the variations in peripheral progesterone levels during pregnancy and pseudopregnancy. The rabbit differs in this respect from the guinea pig, in which changing progesterone concentrations during pregnancy were shown to reflect sharply reduced MCRs. After a single injection of progesterone in 20-day pregnant rabbits, the disappearance of the steroid from the circulation consisted of two components; an initial phase during which progesterone disappeared rapidly (t1/2 = 2.4 +/- 0.2 min) followed by a slower rate of disappearance (t1/2 = 21.5 +/- 2.2 min).


Serum prolactin and LH responses to photoperiod in bull calves.

Two bull calves were subjected to changes in daily illumination over a 12-week interval, with ambient temperature maintained at 22 C. When photoperiod was shortened from 16 to 8 h, serum prolactin decreased from a maximum of 57 mg/ml to a minimum of 8 ng/ml. Conversely, with another 4 bulls, increasing the photoperiod from 8 to 16 h of light caused serum prolactin concentrations to increase from 25 to 100 ng/ml. The increase in serum prolactin in response to increasing photoperiod was delayed approximately 7 weeks, whereas the response to decreasing photoperiod was delayed only about 1 week. Changes in photoperiod had no effect on serum LH concentrations. We conclude that changes in photoperiod account, at least partially, for the seasonal changes in serum prolactin previously noted in cattle.


The effects of castration on histamine levels and 24-hour rhythm in the male rat hypothalamus.

Holtzman male rats were castrated or sham-operated at 22 days of age and raised in a 12 h light: 12 h dark illumination cycle. At age 63 days they were sacrificed by decapitation at six different times during the light:dark (L:D) cycle, and hypothalamic histamine (H) concentrations were measured using a modified single isotope-enzyme microassay. Hypothalamic H was significantly elevated in the castrated rats at all but two of the six times sampled during the L:D cycle, when compared with the sham-operated controls. Both surgical groups had similar 24-h rhythms of hypothalamic H concentrations, with the peak concentration occurring during the light phase followed by a rapid drop to the minimum 2-3 h later. However, the castrated rats appeared to attain both maximal and minimal concentrations somewhat earlier in the day. These results provide circumstantial evidence that hypothalamic H may have a role in the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis in the male rat.


Serum progesterone and estrogens in elephants.

Serum progesterone and estrogens were measured by radioimmunoassay in the serum of immature, mature, and pregnant African and Asian elephants. Progesterone was elevated from 26 to 215 pg/ml in nonpregnant animals and up to 480 pg/ml in late pregnancy animals. No relationship to reproductive state was evident for the low levels of estrogens which ranged from 9 to 37 pg/ml.


Masculine-liky hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the androgen-insensitive genetically male rat pseudohermaphrodite.

The hypothalamic-pituitary sex of the androgen insensitive, genetically male rat pseudohermaphrodite was studied by examining its vaginal cytology, response to ovarian transplants and urinary steroidal excretion patterns. More than half the pseudohermaphrodites studied were in constant vaginal estrus, while the remaining rats displayed either persistent diestrus or irregular cyclicity tending towards lengthened estrus. Following gonadectomy and ovarian transplantation, normal females displayed regular 14-day cycles while pseudohermaphrodites remained in constant vaginal estrus. In pseudohermaphrodites with ovarian transplants, only C19 steroids were detected in the urine while females excreted both C21 and C19 steroids. Indicative of the urinary findings, transplants in females had corpora lutea and maturing follicles while grafts from pseudohermaphrodites and males contained follicular cysts and luteinized theca. In addition, distribution and activity of histochemical 3beta-hydroxy-delta5 steroid oxidoreductase were similar in the grafts from pseudohermaphrodites and males, but unlike the females. Although previous reports have shown that much of the sex-dependent differentiation of the genetic male rat pseudohermaphrodite is phenotypically female, our results suggest that the phenotype of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis of this animal is, at least in certain respects, male.


Ovarian control of prolactin secretion during late pregnancy in the rat.

The involvement of the ovaries during late pregnancy in the rat upon serum prolactin was investigated. Ovariectomy on day 17 or day 21 of pregnancy prevented the dramatic rise of prolactin found in sham-ovariectomized animals between days 21 and 23 of pregnancy. While animals ovariectomized on day 17 of pregnancy failed to carry viable fetuses beyond day 19 of pregnancy, rats ovariectomized on day 21 of pregnancy had viable pups in utero on day 23 of pregnancy. These data suggest that the rise in serum prolactin during late pregnancy is stimulated by ovarian factors.


Desulfurization of gasoline.

Although gasoline blending streams exhibit widely varying sulfur concentrations, significant quantities of low-sulfur motor gasoline cannot be manufactured by reallocation of existing components without substantial sacrifices in the useful properties of the remaining fuels having normal sulfur levels. To meet the anticipated demand for low-sulfur unleaded gasoline which may be required for catalyst-equipped automobiles it will be necessary to install process equipment based on known hydrotreating technology. The effects which this construction program would exert on the activities, abilities and needs of one petroleum refiner are sketched for two degrees of sulfur removal. The impacts of installing the process facilities which would be necessary are discussed in terms of time requirements, capital needs, and added energy expenditures.


The EPA National Fuels Surveillance Network. I. Trace constituents in gasoline and commercial gasoline fuel additives.

A National Fuels Surveillance Network has been established to collect gasoline and other fuels through the 10 regional offices of the Environmental Protection Agency. Physical, chemical, and trace element analytical determinations are made on the collected fuel samples to detect components which may present an air pollution hazard or poison exhaust catalytic control devices. A summary of trace elemental constituents in over 50 gasoline samples and 18 commercially marketed consumer purchased gasoline additives is presented. Quantities of Mn, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Sb, B, Mg, Pb, and S were found in most regular and premium gasoline. Environmental implications of trace constituents in gasoline are discussed.


Trace metals in occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed individuals.

An epidemiological survey was conducted in Houston, Texas on five trace metals in policemen, parking garage attendants, women living near freeways and three control groups of subjects. The controls were matched with the exposed groups for covariate information such as age, sex, smoking habits, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, hair color, and education. Each subject was sampled four times for blood, urine, hair, and feces, and these samples were analyzed for lead, cadmium, zinc, manganese, and copper. Lead and cadmium were correlated with airborne exposures but zinc, manganese and copper were not. The second part of this paper deals with a market study of platinum and palladium markets and a design of an epidemiology survey of individuals occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed to these two metals. The market survey shows that although the catalytic muffler will have a major impact on the market, it is predicted that producers can meet these demands.


Quest for long-term solutions for old problems.

Examples of repercussions from well-intentioned controls are cited in connection with lead in gasoline, sulfur in fuel, high industrial stacks, reduction of atmospheric particulates. The importance of tradeoffs is emphasized, and the current energy crisis cited as an example. The danger of overemphasis of past errors is that the drive for control may be weakened.


Effects of time and height on behavior of emissions.

The effect of the two parameters is reviewed. Variability with time is discussed in relation to stability and other atmospheric conditions. The magnitude of ground level concentrations from elevated release is discussed as an interaction between rate of emission release, physical height of stack, and thermal conditions. The point is made that plant effluent rates have increased in proportion to stack height.


Meteorological effects of environmental controls.

The solution of the continuity equation in practical applications is examined, and the values needed for approximate solutions are indicated. Models are adequate for investigating what could happen, but are less satisfactory for predicting what will happen. An example is given in relation to the distribution of SO2 over Connecticut. More knowledge is needed about atmospheric chemistry before better predictions can be expected. The effect of particulates on atmospheric opacity is reviewed.


Biological consequences of environmental control through housing.

Housing was originally devised as a control of the thermal environment, but numerous other functions have been added with resulting competition and confusion. Current design gives insufficient attention to thermal factors and relies upon supplementary heating and cooling to compensate for faults. These are wasteful of energy, and the exhaust from air conditioners adds to the heat island conditions in city cores. The impact of consumerism on domestic space and the importance of personal space and privacy are reviewed.


Guidelines of the Council on Environmental Quality for the preparation of environmental impact statements.

Definitions and the seven principles of ecology are listed. NEPA expresses or implies all seven. Section 101 is quoted in illustration. CEQ Guidelines implement Sec. 102(2)(C). The reasons for initial delays in implementation are reviewed; these are now largely resolved. The policy involves action through integrating engineering, economics and ecology. Alternative actions must be considered, and short-term effects weighed against the long-term goals. Twelve modes of approach are advocated.


Biological consequences of land use.

The primary goals of land-use planning are enunciated. A plea is made for consideration of the total biosphere and not just its separate components. The environmental impact statement process is reviewed and some suggestions made for its strengthening. Moves for international adoption of this process are noted, as well as the concept of eco-development currently under examination by UN agencies.


Land use and transportation issues in environmental control.

Analyses have been made of the effects of environmental controls and planning at regional, subarea, and project levels. The results obtained at the regional level are reviewed for a proposed highway development around Baltimore, Md. The findings for both short-term and long-term effects of alternative transport policies are summarized in respect of population and employment, economic indicators, traffic and travel, air quality, water and solid waste, noise, and environmentally sensitive areas. Problems at subarea and project levels are briefly considered.


Environmental fate and biodegradability of benzene derivatives as studied in a model aquatic ecosystem.

A model aquatic ecosystem is devised for studying relatively volatile organic compounds and simulating direct discharge of chemical wastes into aquatic ecosystems. Six simple benzene derivatives (aniline, anisole, benzoic acid, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, and phthalic anhydride) and other important specialty chemicals: hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorophenol, 2,6-diethylaniline, and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol were also chosen for study of environmental behavior and fate in the model aquatic ecosystem. Quantitative relationships of the intrinsic molecular properties of the environmental micropollutants with biological responses are established, e.g., water solubility, partition coefficient, pi constant, sigma constant, ecological magnification, biodegradability index, and comparative detoxication mechanisms, respectively. Water solubility, pi constant, and sigma constant are the most significant factors and control the biological responses of the food chain members. Water solubility and pi constant control the degree of bioaccumulation, and sigma constant limits the metabolism of the xenobiotics via microsomal detoxication enzymes. These highly significant correlations should be useful for predicting environmental fate of organic chemicals.


Effects of suspended sulfates on human health.

Recent evidence from epidemiologic studies conducted in several areas of the United States shows an association of excess risk of asthmatic attacks with elevated levels of suspended sulfates within specific temperature ranges. These findings are disscussed in the context of experimental animal studies which tend to support these observations.


Method development and subsequent survey analysis of biological tissues for platinum, lead, and manganese content.

An emission spectrochemical method is described for the determination of trace quantities of platinum, lead, and manganese in biological tissues. Total energy burns in an argon-oxygen atmosphere are employed. Sample preparation, conditions of analysis, and preparation of standards are discussed. The precision of the method is consistently better than +/- 15%, and comparative analyses indicate comparable accuracies. Data obtained for experimental rat tissues and for selected autopsy tissues are presented.


Studies on the evaluation of the toxicity of various salts of lead, manganese, platinum, and palladium.

Preliminary studies have been conducted on various parameters in order to assess the possible and relative toxicities of a number of metallic salts. Upon oral administration in lethal-dose experiments, two soluble Pt4+ salts were more toxic than the other salts tested. Following intraperiotneal injection in lethal-dose experiments, PbCl2 was less toxic than several of the soluble or partially soluble salts of Pt4+, Pd2+, and Mn2+. An intake of a total of approximately 250 mg of Pt4+ per rat in the drinking fluid over a 30-day interval did not affect the activities of aniline hydroxylase and aminopyrine demethylase in rat liver microsomes. In rats receiving soluble Pt4+ salts in the drinking fluid, the highest concentration of Pt was found in the kidney and an appreciiable concentration was found in the liver.


Some serological reactions to "brucella" antigen in the horse.

Seventy-three samples of serum, from 69 horses and one zebra, were subjected to the Rose Bengal Plate, serum tube agglutination, complement fixation, and anti-equine globulin (Coombs') tests for brucellosis. Fifty-one of the samples, from 48 horses, were submitted by practising veterinary surgeons; of these, 22 samples were associated with clinical conditions which might have been due to brucellosis. Fourteen samples were from healthy horses known to have been in contact with infected cattle, and six were from horses which were known not to have been exposed to brucellosis. More reactions at accepted diagnostic levels were obtained to the anti-globulin and complement fixation tests than to the agglutination test. Two horses showed no reactions, other than inconclusive titres to the antiglobulin test, and these titres could have resulted from exposure to Brucella. Eight of nine positive Rose Bengal tests were confirmed by a reaction at diagnostic level in at least one of the other tests, but two sera showing a reaction at diagnostic level to the other tests gave a negative Rose Bengal result.


The cells of equine blood and their development.

Based on morphologie studies on bone marrow, lymphnode and blood preparations the cells of equine blood and their developmental stages are described and illustrated with 32 coloured photographs.


The relation of infection to infertility in the mare and stallion.

Many normally fertile stallions harbour bacteria in and on the genital organs. Many mares served by such stallions are unaffected by the bacteria to which they are thus exposed; however, some mares so exposed will become infected and diseased. Presumably, the genital defenses of such mares had been compromised. Strain differences in pathogenicity of bacteria do exist. Some mares affected with pyometra had irregular ovarian activity and some had normal ovarian cycles. In the former group, destruction of the endometrium many have prevented the production of endogenous luteolysin. The leukopenia which occurs in both groups is due to neurtropenia.


The influence of exercise on serum enzyme levels in the horse.

A group of clinically normal horses was subjected to controlled strenuous exercise. Elevated serum concentrations of lactic dehydrogenase, aldolase and creatine kinase were observed after exercise but no significant change in serum glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase was noted. These changes were reduced by repeated exposure to exercise suggesting that measurement of serum enzyme elevations, particularly creatine kinase, might be a useful index of fitness in the horse. Administration of prednisolone prior to exercise also reduced these changes. Since the serum enzyme concentrations had returned to normal within 72 hours of exercise, and since the cytoplasmic enzyme glutamic oxalacetic transaminase was not released from the tissues this supported the hypothesis that efflux of intracellular enzymes into the circulation was due to a temporary selective change in cell membrane permeability rather than to tissue necrosis.


Recent advances in the field of doping detection.

Patterns of doping in Britain have on the whole changed from the use of CNS stimulants and depressants to therapeutic substances, or to accidental doping by feeding contaminated food or food supplements. Progress in detection and identification is largely a result of improvements in separation and isolation, especially by gas chromatography, together with the introduction of mass spectrometry. Radiommunoassay and high performance liquid chromatography promise to be important techniques in the future, especially in detection of anabolic steroids and corticosteroids.


The palmo-mental reflex. An electrophysiological study.

Repeated electric stimulation of the ulnar nerve fibers was applied at the wrist in 7 normal and 32 pathological subjects; the response reflexes were simultaneously recorded in the chin muscles and at the upper limb, on the flexor carpi ulnaris. Although it is possible to obtain two distinct polysynaptic reflexes by cutaneous stimulation of the limb, the palmo-mental reflex causes a unique response, the latency of which may diminish to 35 msec. This response occurs most often at the threshold which elicits a nociceptive reflex of the upper limb. The palmo-mental reflex is almost always bilateral for a unilateral stimulation and in numerous instances is characterized by a wide receptive field. These findings suggest that the palmo-mental reflex is an early event in a general nociceptive response. In the normal subject this fragment of a general response to a painful stimulus is highly suppressed as are the local reflexes by suprasegmental control. The palmo-mental reflex is liberated and augmented in the event of habitually bilateral lesions of the pyramidal tract or the extra-pyramidal formations.


Automatic digital analysis of the EMG during standardized flexion and extension of the foot.

An analysis was made of parameters of the EMG contraction pattern of the soleus and the tibialis anterior muscle in normal test subjects. Constant isometric contractions were consecutively executed with both muscles during 60 sec under standardized conditions. The EMG was derived with surface electrodes, then converted analogue to digital and analyzed with the aid of a PDP 8/I computer. Values measured were tension, integrated amplitude, peak-to-peak amplitude and number of peaks. The fluctuations in tension exerted (coefficient of variation) were more marked in the tibialis anterior than in the soleus muscle. The difference between males and females in tension exerted was different for different muscles. The EMG pattern showed significant intermuscular differences, as did the fatigue phenomena. One of the causes is the ratio between tonic and phasic motor units. The same applies to intermuscular differences in fatiguability. Different muscles may dominant in different individuals. The above observations can explain the great range of variation in normal values. Comparative clinical studies will require a cataloguing of normal values for all muscles. This study can contribute to this.


Electrophysiological parameters in the evaluation of occipital apoplexy.

Visual evoked responses (VER) in four cases of occipital apoplexy supplemented perimetric diagnosis with new electrophysiologic parameters. These included diagnosis of (1) optic radiation involvement by delay in the initial VER component; (2) stirate cortical involvement by obliteration of the initial and late VER components; (3) suprastriate involvement by selective loss of the late VER components, and (4) recovery at one or more of the above levels in the visual process by follow-up examination.


Pattern of CSF glucose concentration after induced hyperglycaemia in patients with acute meningitis and evidence of cerebrospinal canal obstruction.

The pattern of glucose CSF concentration after induced hyperglycaemia was studied in 14 patients suffering from acute meningitis and 10 having meningism, as judged by normal CSF. Four out of the first group of patients had symptoms and signs likely to be due to cerebrospinal canal obstruction after the acute phase of the disease was over. When the patterns of CSF glucose concentration of the two groups were compared it was noted that patients suffering from acute meningitis showed generally a quicker and more profound rise of glucose levels after induced hyperglycaemia than patients with meningism. In four cases CSF glucose levels showed a partial or complete failure to rise, despite adequate increase of blood glucose concentration. Subsequent investigation revealed permanent obstruction of the cerebrospinal canal in three of the cases. The usefulness of serial CSF glucose estimations after induced hyperglycaemia as an early screening test for cases with possible obstruction is discussed.


Role of pyloric reflux in experimental stress ulceration during haemorrhagic shock.

The significance of pyloric reflux of bile and duodenal juice in experimental gastric stress ulceration was studied using a swine shock ulcer model. Following a haemorrhagic shock of 3 h duration, nine of the ten control piglets (90%) with normal bile flow have gastric mucosal lesions. None of the five piglets with permanent bile diversion (ligation of common bile duct; cholecystojejunostomy) has gastric lesions. Intragastric instillation of pure bile prior to the shock in piglets with permanent bile diversion induced gastric lesions in only one of the five test animals (20%). If duodenal juice was used instead, four of the six test animals (67%) have lesions. The results indicate that, in the pig, an uninterrupted flow of bile into the duodenum is a prerequisite for the development of gastric mucosal lesions following haemorrhagic shock. They also suggest that duodenal juice containing both bile and pancreatic juice has a stronger ulcerogenic influence on shocked porcine gastric mucosa than bile alone.


Metabolic and structural recovery of left ventricular canine myocardium from regional complete ischemia.

The capacity for recovery of the normothermic left ventricular myocardium from a regional complete ischemia (RCI) was investigated using changes in the myocardial metabolic status (ATP, ADP, AMP, creatine phosphate (CrP), free creatine, glycogen, glucose, lactate) and alterations of the morphology as parameters. In dogs, an area of the anterior wall of the left ventricular myocardium was temporarily deprived completely of its blood supply by 5--7 overlapping ligatures extending into the heart cavity. The metabolites of the adenylic acid-CrP system returned to normal tissue levels after 30 and 60 min of RCI within 14 and 35 days of recovery, respectively; restoration averaged 82% after 100 min, 74% after 140 min, and 38% after 180 min of RCI after 5 weeks of recovery. At the same time glycogen amounted to 163% after 100 min, 114% min, and 65% after 180 min of RCI. The biochemical data correlated well with the structural changes in the affected myocardium, especially with the amount of de- and regenerating heart muscle cells. These obviously were functionally defect and were not comparable with normal structured and functioning heart muscle cells.


Force velocity characteristics of oesophageal muscle: interaction of isoproterenol and calcium.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interaction of isoproterenol and calcium upon the force velocity characteristics of opposum oesophageal circular muscle, in vitro. Isotonic and isometric recordings were used to determine the velocity of shortening and force, respectively. All muscle was studied at its length of optimal tension development (Lo). To determine the effect of isoproterenol upon muscle contractility, studies were performed at 2.5 mM calcium Kreb's solution. The maximal velocity of shortening (V max) and the peak force (Po) of oesophageal muscle were 6.2 plus or minus 0.3 mm/s and 16.8 plus or minus 1.0 gm, respectively, at 2.5 mM calcium. Isoproterenol (10--5 M) decreased the V max to 4.9 plus or minus 0.6 mm/s and the Po to 9.8 plus or minus 1.3 gm (P less than .01). Increased calcium (5.0 mM), alone, did not alter either V max or Po. However, at 5.0 mM calcium, 10--5 isoproterenol reduced the V max to 6.0 plus or minus 0.6 mm/s (P less than .05) and the Po to 13.9 plus or minus 0.8 gm (P less than .05). These studies indicate that isoproterenol significantly reduces the V max and Po of oesophageal smooth muscle during the neural mediated "off response". This effect of isoproterenol is reversed, in part, by an increase in calcium concentration.


Erythroid progenitors in mouse bone marrow detected by macroscopic colony formation in culture.

Methods for the cultivation of erythroid colonies in vitro are expected to allow selective assay of the earliest committed erythropoietic progenitors in the hemopoietic tissues of man and other species. In the present study, factors affecting erythroid colony formation were examined in methyl cellulose cultures of mouse bone marrow. Efficiency of colony formation observed after 2 days of culture was increased as much as 5-fold (to an average of 325 colonies/10-5 nucleated marrow cells) by the addition of thiol (either beta-mercaptoethanol or alphal-thioglycerol) at a final concentration of 10 minus 4 M. Optimum efficiency required 0.5 erythropoietin units/ml and was influenced by the purity of the preparation. When cultures contained thiol and high doses (3 units/ml) of purified erythropoietin, a second population of erythroid colonies became apparent after 5 days of culture, and increased in size to macroscopic dimensions by the tenth day, when they contained as many as 10-4 cells. Feeding was not required. These colonies, thought to be analogous to the "bursts" reported by Axelrad and coworkers in plasma clot cultures, were observed here at a 6-fold higher frequency (25/10-5 marrow cells) and were linearly related to the number of marrow cells plated, down to limiting numbers of colonies. On the basis of their impressive proliferative potential exhibited in culture, the cells originating these colonies are thought to represent a class of very early erythropoietin-responsive red cell progenitors.


A quantitative bioassay for erythropoietin using mouse fetal liver cells.

The conditions under which mouse fetal liver cells in vitro are most sensitive to erythropoietin have been investigated with the object of establishing a rapid and sensitive bioassay for this hormone. Fetal liver age and incubation times are shown to be relatively unimportant. Of the commercially available media studied, Eagles Minimal Essential Medium plus 5 percent Fetal Calf Serum is superior to other media used to study erythropoiesis in mouse fetal liver cells. The number of cells per 1 ml culture is important since some evidence was obtained for cell cooperation occurring above 10-6 cells per culture. To minimize this possibility 5 x 10-5 cells are used. If (59Fe) ferric citrate is used to assess heme synthesis, no significant advantage is observed by prior binding of the isotope to mouse serum transferrin. Butan-2-one is preferred to cyclohexanone for extracting heme. Using the conditions described in this report the mouse fetal liver cell assay for erythropoietin is capable of detecting erythropoietin concentrations as low as 0.001 unit culture. Preliminary results using normal human sera show that it is sufficiently sensitive to detect erythropoietin over a range of serum concentrations. This allows a full dose-response relationship to the sera to be determined and, by a comparison with an erythropoietin standard, detailed quantitative results can be obtained. Therefore the technique seems to fulfill the need for a rapid and sensitive erythropoietin bioassay for routine clinical use.


Infleuence of a neonatal spleen transplant on hematopoiesis of hereditarily asplenic mice.

Hereditarily asplenic mice and normal litternates were transplanted subcatneously with 20x10(6) congenic spleen cells at birth. Eighty per cent of the recipients developed subcutaneous nodules closely resembling the spleen structure seen ia a normal mouse. The growth of the graft was associated with hyperplasis of the majority of the bone marrow cellseries and an increased number of stem cells (CFU-spleen) and agar colony forming cells (CFC) per femoral shaft. Particularly noticeable was the hyperplasia of the granulocytic series which paralleled the increase of CFC number and of serum colony stimulating factor. The presence of the graft did not modify the erthrocytic seroes and the leukocytics of asplenic mice but reduced the average platelet count. It is xonxluded that the growth of the transplant was associated with the hematopoietic alteration described. These results would also indicate humoral or cellular influences of the spleen on the release of or production of marrow cells.


Sterols of the lobster (Homarus americanus) and the shrimp (Pandalus borealis).

In this study we have analyzed the sterol compositions of two continental shelf species of crustacea, the lobster (Homarus americanus) and the shrimp (Pandalus borealis). Cholesterol was found to be the most abundant sterol in these two species with smaller amounts of desmosterol, 24-methylcholesterol, 24-ethylcholesterol, 24-methylenecholesterol and 22-dehydrocholesterol.


The identification of dansyl sarcosine and its occurrence in molluscs.

An unknown dansyl derivative was identified as dansyl sarcosine. In molluscs, sarcosine was found to be largely localized to the nervous system. Examination of individual snail neurones, regions of the octopus brain and the squid giant synapse showed dramatic variations in sarcosine levels.


[Action of leucine aminopeptidase 1 and 2 (Aspergillus oryzae 410) on various synthetic peptides (author's transl)].

By use of di- or tripeptides as substrates, LAP 1 and LAP 2, 2 fractions from Aspergillus oryzae hydrolyze oligopeptides that possess leucine as N-terminal amino acid. LAP 1 fraction also hydrolyzes the histidyl bond. Both fractions have no activity towards peptides as glutathion, gly-pro-ala; they have low or no activity towards tyrosyl and tryptophanyl bond.


In vitro metabolism of ethionine, N-acetyl-ethionine and N-acetylmethionine by rat liver microsomes.

Rat liver microsomes deacetylated N-acetylethionine and N-acetyl-methionine to ethionine and methionine. The deacetylation of N-acetylmethionine was more rapid than the deacetylation of N-acetylethionine. Ethionine was slowly converted to ethionine sulfoxide by the microsomal preparations. N-Acetylethionine and N-acetylmethionine were not oxidized by the microsomes.


Monoamine oxidase activity of the hypothalamus and pituitary: alterations after pinealectomy, changes in photoperiod, or additions of melatonin in vitro.

Rat pituitary MAO activity was reduced by constant darkness and by additions of melatonin in vitro and was increased by constant light and by pinealectomy. Hypothalamic MAO activity followed the same pattern but was less dramatically affected. The data suggest that MAO may be a target enzyme for melatonin.


A possible age-related decrement in the conduction velocity of Aplysia neuron R2.

In late winter and in spring, the conduction velocity of the R2 axon of Aplysia californica is 0.48 m/sec or more in all specimens. However, in the summer, fall and early winter, some sexually mature animals exhibit markedly diminished R2 conduction rates (as low as 0.24 m/sec). It is possible that this reduced velocity is a reflection of the age of the specimen from which the axon is taken.


Intracellular recording of secretory potentials in a "mixed" salivary gland.

Secretory potentials evoked by nerve stimulation have been recorded from both types of cell (peripheral and central) present in the acini of cockroach salivary glands.


Limulus chromatophorotropin: action on isolated Uca legs and in various crustaceans.

Limulus CNS chromatophorotropin causes melanin dispersion in isolated legs of Uca. Theophylline potentiation of extract activity suggests that the material may act through the adenylate cyclase-cAMP system. The extracts are also active on the chromatophores of 7 decapod species from 6 families.


Morphological duality of the retinal pattern in flies.

In compound eyes of flies, a morphological duality of the retinal structure has been found. The retinal patterns based on this property and their possible evolutionary trends are described.


Ureteral pacemaker potentials recorded with the sucrose gap technique.

Ureteral contractions occur at intervals which are integral multiples of the period of pacemaker potentials recorded in vitro from the renal pelvis with a sucrose gap, suggesting that a gating mechanism in the pyeloureter regulates the rate at which the pacemaker initiates contractions.


Energetics of locomotion in a monotreme, the echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus.

The steady state oxygen consumption of two echidnas was measured during locomotion on a treadmill. The change in power input with change in velocity is similar to that found in other mammals, but the total energy requirement for locomotion is less. The significance of these findings in an animal with low basal metabolism and distally heavy limbs is discussed.


Inhibition of diuresis in the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans) by ouabain and acetazolamide.

Acetazolamide and ouabain, metabolic inhibitors which interfere with certain membrane transport systems, reduce the rate of water elimination by male Glossina morsitans morsitans. The results suggest that water is transported across membranes during diuresis and that a ouabain sensitive Na+K+ATPase and an acetazolamide-sensitive carbonic anhydrase are involved in diuresis.


Seasonal variations in mitosis in the frog: a field study.

Field studies have shown that there is a seasonal variation in mitosis of lens and corneal epithelium (high in May and June, low during the rest of the year). This phenomenon can be reproduced in the laboratory by temperature manipulation. The response in the lens depends on the presence of the pituitary gland while the corneal one seems to be independent of it.


Neurochemical correlates of alloxan diabetes: I. Ribonucleic acid and protein levels of amphibian brain.

The levels of RNA and protein were higher in the brain of alloxan-administered frogs. It is possible that alloxan is responsible for the protein changes in the brain as the protein levels were higher 48 h after alloxan injection than after 96 h.


New observations on the representation of the eye muscle proprioception within the descending trigeminal nucleus.

Units responding to stretch of single extraocular muscles were found in the bulbar and cervical portion of the descending trigeminal nucleus of the lamb. The electrolysis of these bulbar sites provoked degeneration of nervous fibres which could be followed till the first cervical segment of the spinal cord.


Elevated left ventricular stiffness by noradrenaline in myocardial ischaemia.

Infusion of noradrenaline (1.0 mug/kg/min body weight, i.v.) brings about an increase of the diastolic wall stiffness in the ischaemic canine heart. Similar effect is not elicitable in the normal heart.


Fine structural characterization of microbodies and Woronin bodies in Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

Microbodies and Woronin bodies, organelles surrounded by a single unit membrane, were identified in the hyphal cells of Trichophyton mentagrophytes by employing a fixative containing TAPO. The fine structure of the organelles is described and their possible significance discussed.


The effect of cannabinol delta1-tetrahydro-cannabinol clearance from the blood.

The co-administration of cannabinol with delta1-tetrahydrocannabinol accelerates the rate of clearance of delta1-tetrahydrocannabinol from rat blood. This increased rate of clearance appears to follow that of cannabinol. The implications of these findings are discussed.


A central nervous system depressant-antidepressant.

A new tricyclic agent with an allenyl side chain experimentally shows antidepressant activity similar to amitriptyline and imipramine but also exerts marked CNS depression. Such dual activity should be of clinical interest for treatment of mixed anxiety and depression.


A new glandular organ in some toxic caterpillars.

The nodes formed by the mid-ventral tracheal anastomoses in abdominal segments 3-6 are modified into conspicuous glandular organs in larvae of certain Lepidoptera. They comprise clusters of extremely large cells penetrated by an extensive lacunar system opening onto the tracheal wall. These cells appear to sequester substances from the haemolymph which may be conjugated with a lipoid synthesized within them and the product excreted into the lacunar system, ultimately passing into the tracheal lumen.


Glycogen in epidermal nerve terminals of Lacerta sicula (squamata: reptilia).

Proof is given that the granula occuring in the epidermal discoid nerve terminals of Lacerta sicula consist of glycogen. Staining with PA-PbCi shows 300 A sized alpha-particles and 70 A sized beta-particles. The electron-dense boundary appearing after digestion with alpha-amylase consists of limit-dextrins.


[On the pigmentation pattern of the human area striata (author's transl)].

Pigment-architecturally, within the area striata of man, IVcbeta differs considerably from bright adjacent layers because of the presence of deeply staining lipofuscin granules.


Ultrastructural evidence of a secretory process in the rat pineal gland.

Pericapillar spaces of the rat pineal gland belong to the most active sites of this organ. Neighborhood of sympathetic nerve endings, capillaries and pinealocyte processes facilitates possibly the synthesis and the secretion of methoxyindoles. Lipid droplets migrate through the pinealocyte cellular processes towards the terminal enlargement or poles, where they are secreted into the pericapillar space, and the possibility that indoleamines are included in the lipid droplets has been discussed.


Local haemostasis in brain tumours.

The thromboplastic activity and the fibrinolytic activity were examined in 7 human meningiomas and 6 gliomas obtained at neurosurgery. Two different haemostatic patterns emerged, meningiomas having lower thromboplastic and higher fibrinolytic activity than that of gliomas. This difference might help to explain the better haemostatic capacity of gliomas during and after operation than that of meningiomas.


Time-dependence of estradiol effects on protein synthesis in the rat neurohypophysis.

The incorporation of 3H-leucine into neurohypophyseal proteins was measured in vitro, 24 h after the administration of a single dose of estradiol (0.3 mug) to castrated female rats. Estradiol treatment caused a significant increase of 3H-leucine incorporation into proteins of the posterior lobe. The effects of estradiol depended largely upon time injection. Rats injected at 06.00 h, i.e., at the end of the dark period exhibited a 74% increase in protein synthesis, whereas rat injected at 14.00 h, i.e., at the middle of the light period only showed a 30% of increase.


Simple apparatus for perfusion fixation for electron microscopy.

Control on duration of application and pressure of fixative is achieved with an apparatus of simple construction. This allows optimal fixation of laboratory animals for morphological and cytochemical studies.


[Action on the isolated guinea-pig ileum and toxicity of some derivatives of 1,5-bis-(3,4-methylendioxyphenyl)-n. pentane].

The acute toxicity and the activity on isolated guinea pig ileum of some derivatives of 1,5-bis-(3,4-methylendioxyphenyl)-n.pentane are reported. The majority of such compounds showed clear antagonist activity towards BaCl2, acetylcholine, histamine and 5-HT contracting responses, generally greater than that of papaverine. In almost all cases the therapeutic index of these compounds, calculated as the ratio between mouse i.v. LD50 and ileum ED50, was greater than the therapeutic index of papaverine.


[Bicyclic analogs of piperazine. XIII (1). Derivatives of 3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane with potential anti-inflammatory activity].

The Authors describe the synthesis of some 8-acyl-3-methyl-3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and 3-acyl-8-methyl-3,8-diazabicylo[3.2.1] octanes. The compounds were prepared by acylation of the corresponding methyl derivatives with the purpose of obtaining antiinflammatory compounds. The synthesis of some 3-alkyl-8-propionyl-3,8-diazabicylo[3.2.1]octanes is also described. These compounds were prepared in analogy with some 8-pripionyl-3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes endowed with high analgesic and antiinflammatory activity.


[Synthesis of derivatives of 4,9-dimethoxy-5-methyl-7H-furo-(3,2-g)-1-benzopyrano-6-carboxy-7-one].

Compounds of the 7H-furo-[3,2-g]-1-benzopyran system are prepared by condensation of kellinone with malonic acid derivatives. The 4,9-dimethoxy-5-methyl-7-H-furo-[3,2g]-1-benzopyran-7-one-6-carboxylic acid chloride reacts with aliphatic and heterocyclic amines and with aliphatic aminoalcohols giving amides that could have pharmacological interest.


[Synthesis and antibacterial activity in vitro of some penicillins containing the phenylcyclohexanie residue].

Some penicillins with structures similar to that of ampicillin and cyclacillin bearing the phenylcyclohexane grouping were prepared. In vitro tests of antibacterial activity showed that the introduction of this residue led to reduced activity in comparison with that of the parent compound.


[Molecular weight of a membrane receptor of UDP-glucose].

Rat liver microsomal membranes have been shown to contain an UDP-glucose binding protein. Its mol. wt was estimated to be 120 000 by gel filtration and by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient. The receptor activity was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G200 and analysed by gel-electrofocusing.


[Competitive inhibition of Phe: tRNA ligase of sheep embryos by aurintricarboxylic acid].

Aurin tricarboxylic acid (A.T.A.), an inhibitor of protein biosynthesis (initiation and elongation steps), acts also as a competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine, in the ATP-PPi exchange and tRNAPhe aminoacylation reactions catalysed by cytoplasmic wheat germ phenylalanine:tRNA ligase.


Hypothalamic substance P as a candidate for transmitter of primary afferent neurons.

A peptide that exerts a depolarizing action on frog spinal motoneurons was found in the dorsal root of bovine spinal nerve. Pharmacological, chemical, and immunological properties of this motoneuron-depolarizing peptide were investigated and the results indicated that the peptide is identical with an undecapeptide, substance P, recently isolated from bovine hypothalamus by M.M. Chang and S.E.Leeman. The amount of hypothalamic substance P in bovine dorsal root determined by bioassay or radioimmunoassay was 24-130 pmole/g wet wt, whereas that in the ventral root was 9-27 times less. The effects of synthetic hypothalamic substance P on the isolated spinal cord of the frog and the newborn rat were studied. The peptide exerted a powerful depolarizing action on the motoneurons, its potency being about 200 times higher than that of L-glutamate. Distribution of substance P in the cat spinal cord was studied. The concentration of the peptide was highest in the dorsal part of dy lowered. When the dorsal root of the cat was ligated, substance P accumulated in a high concentration on the ganglion side of the ligature. These results, taken together, support the hypothesis that hypothalamic substance P is an excitatory transmitter of primary afferent neurons.


Role of calcium in postjunctional supersensitivity.

Several hours to days after an animal is given reserpine its cardiovascular system becomes supersensitive to catecholamines. This phenomenon can be demonstrated for vascular tissue by in vitro experiments. This type of supersensitivity has been termed "nonspecific" because the tissue is supersensitive to varied agonists, including acetylcholine, calcium, potassium, and the catecholamines. Animals that have been treated with reserpine have been found to have a transient decrease in the calcium content of their vascular tissue. The responses to norepinephrine of aortic strips from reserpine-treated rabbits, even though of greater magnitude than those of untreated aortic strips, were less dependent on extracellular calcium than responses of strips from untreated rabbits. On the other hand, the responses to potassium were more dependent on extracellular calcium. In addition, when aortic strips from reserpine-pretreated animals are subjected to potassium in a calcium-free medium, they are not supersensitive to the ion. When aortic strips are placed in a calcium-free, depolarizing medium they are still supersensitive to norepinephrine and isoproterenol but not to acetylcholine. Tension decline and 45Ca efflux studies suggest that reserpine-treated tissues retain longer than untreated tissues a calcium fraction involved in contraction. It is concluded that reserpine alters binding or movement of calcium in at least two sites. The lack of supersensitivity to acetylcholine and potassium in a calcium-free medium indicates an effect of reserpine (or the loss of adrenergic transmitter) on the utilization of extracellular calcium, while some other site must be involved in at least part of the supersensitivity to the catecholamines.


Electrophysiological correlations with postjunctional supersensitivity.

Several lines of evidence have been found which suggest that a partial depolarization is an important event in the development of postjunctional (nondeviation) supersensitivity in the vas deferens and atrium. In the vas deferens of the guinea pig, experiments with microelectrodes indicate that a depolarization of approximately 10 mV occurs after denervation or decentralization. The time course of the depolarization is the same as the time course of the development of supersensitivity found 7 days after denervation in the rat vas deferens. An analysis of the magnitude of junction potentials in the vas deferens supports the conclusion that changes in adrenergic receptors are not a significant factor in postjunctional supersensitivity. An analysis of membrane potential in guinea pig atria demonstrates a high correlation between the appearance of supersensitivity and a partial depolarization in that tissue alsomit is suggested that chronic interruption of the innervation to smooth or cardiac muscle leads to an alteration in the binding of calcium to the cell membrane and a consequent depolarization. The result is a resting membrane potential closer to the threshold for excitation.


Morphological and biochemical changes in supersensitive smooth muscle.

The effect of postganglionic denervation on the incidence of nexal contacts in the smooth muscle of the rat vas deferens was investigated. The chronically denervated tissue exhibited twice as many nexuses as control. This increase in the incidence of cell contacts may contribute to the supersensitivity and/or the increase in maximum response of the denervated vas deferens. The effects of denervation, decentralization, and pretreatment with reserpine on the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in vasa deferentia of rats and guinea pigs were also investigated. One day after denervation there was a substantial decrease in the endogenous norepinephrine and ATP concentrations. The norepinephrine concentration remained low (less than 10% of control) throughout subsequent days (up to 14 days) whereas the ATP concentration, after the first postoperative day, rose significantly. The rise in ATP concentration was temporally correlated with the development of postjunctional supersensitivity. Decentralization and pretreatment with reserpine both resulted in a significant increase in ATP concentration which preceded by 2 to 3 days a significant increase in sensitivity of the vas deferens. It appears that a change in the tissue concentration of ATP may be one of the initial events that occurs following interruption of the neural contact to the smooth muscle of the vas deferens.


Vaso-epididymal anastomosis.

Our experiences with 343 vaso-epididymal anastomosis operations carried out for the relief of obstructive azoospermia in the past 20 years were reported. The etiologic factors in obstructive azoospermia were discussed. Smallpox was the single most common factor responsible for the obstructive lesion in our series. Obstructive azoospermia due to congenital anomalies was very infrequent. The pathologic physiology of obstructive azoospermia was reviewed. In 37 patients vaso-epididymostomy could not be carried out because of some genital pathology or congenital abnormality. Vaso-epididymal anastomosis was performed in the remaining 281 patients. The operation was succesful in 137 patients (48.75%), and pregnancies occurred in 40 instances (14.23%). However, even after successful operations, the postoperative sperm counts were above 20 million/ml in only 56 patients (19.93%). Persistent necrospermia resistant to treatment was noted in 48 patients (35.04%). In 71 patients (51.83%), spermatozoa appeared in the semen within the first 3 months after operation, but, in 17 patients (12.41%), the appearance of spermatozoa in the semen was delayed for 1 year or more. Twenty patients (7.11%) again became azoospermic after a variable length of time. In this series, bilateral operations were performed on 185 patients and unilateral operations were performed on 96 patients. Our results indicated beyond doubt that bilateral operation is the method of choice. In addition, an analysis of our data showed that operations performed with an internal nylon splint yield more satisfactory results.


Thermoregulation of the human testis.

Intrascrotal temperature was compared with oral body temperature in six subjects with fever. When the body temperature reached 37.6 to 37.9 degrees C, the testicular thermoregulatory mechanism appeared to fail and the intrascrotal temperature rose.


Spermiophage cells in man.

The morphologic characteristics, occurrence, origin, and significance of spermiophage cells were reported. In the majority of patients with obstructive azoospermia and after ligation of the vas deferens, spermatogenesis continued normally and the spermatozoa so formed were eliminated by epididymal macrophages. The spermiophage cells are most probably derived from the monocytes of blood and tissue histiocytes. In order of frequency they were found in the epididymides of patients with obstructive azoospermia, rarely in the damaged seminiferous tubules of the testes, and in semen and prostatic secretions before and after vaso-epididymostomy or vaso-vasostomy. The occurrence of spermiophage cells in the prostatic secretions was documented for the first time. The ingested sperm heads, or the products of sperm disintegration along with some antigenic components, may be carried by macrophages to the basal capillaries; such a situation may favor the formation of autoantibodies against spermatozoa. This hypothesis is substantiated by the findings of various investigators.


Effects of alpha-chlorohydrin on the testes and epididymides of dog: a preliminary study.

Chronic administration of alpha-chlorohydrin (8 mg/kg for 30 days, caused lesions in the testis of dog. Seminiferous tubules presented marked degenerative changes. Leydig cell hypertrophy was conspicous. Epididymal epithelium was regressed and the lumen was devoid of spermatozoa. Obstruction of the epididymal lumen was not seen. Alpha-Chlorohydrin inhibited the synthesis of RNA and sialic acid in the testis, caput epidiymis, corpus epididymis, and cauda epididymis. The total cholesterol per gram of testis was increased significantly after alpha-chlorohydrin administration. The anti-androgenic nature of alpha-chlorohydrin is suggested.


Sixteen years' experience with therapeutic donor insemination.

Therapeutic donor insemination was performed in 107 "normal" patients, using an intracervical technique and two inseminations per cycle on alternate days. Seventy-seven patients became pregnant (71.9%), and 103 conceptions occurred. Of these pregnancies, 72.8% occurred in the first 3 months of treatment and 95.2% occurred within 6 months. The spontaneous abortion rate was 18.4% The number of females born was slightly higher (54%) than the number of males (46%). There was one complication in this series (acute pelvic inflammatory disease), most probably due to inadvertent intrauterine (endometrial) insemination.


Comparison of chromosome breakages in lymphocytes and fibroblasts from control women and women taking oral contraceptives.

To determine whether exposure to synthetic hormones resulted in increased chromosome damage in cells other than lymphocytes, we evaluated series of lymphocyte and fibroblast cultures from five control women and five women taking oral contraceptives (OC). The results of this study showed: (1) no difference in chromosome breakages between lymphocytes and fibroblasts; (2) no differences in breakages in replicate fibroblast cultures exposed to fetal calf serum, autologous serum, homologous serum, or homologous serum from OC users; (3) no difference in breakage between lymphocyte and fibroblast cultures from OC users, compared with lymphocyte and fibroblast cultures from control women; and (4) no increase in the frequency of cytogenetically aberrant stem-lines in fibroblast cultures from women taking OC. These findings suggest that synthetic hormones do not cause increased chromosome breakages in fibroblasts from women taking OC.


The effect of a copper intrauterine device during the early stages of pregnancy in the rabbit.

Copper wire intrauterine devices (CuIUD) were surgically inserted into mature female rabbits 15 days prior to artificial insemination. Gold wire intrauterine devices and sham surgery served as controls. Animals were autopsied 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 192 hours after artificial insemination. At autopsies performed 48 to 144 hours after insemination, the reproductive tract was flushed and the embryos were examined. At 192 hours, implantation sites were counted and measured. A significant (P less than 0.05) loss of copper from the devices was observed when the devices were weighed after autopsy. The CuIUD had no effect on ovulation, fertilization, or embryo transport up to 120 hours after artificial insemination. The presence of a CuIUD resulted in a slight, but not statistically significant, increase in embryonic degeneration by 120 hours, almost total absence of blastocysts from the uterus by 144 hours, and complete absence of implantation sites 192 hours after insemination. The antifertility effect of a copper intrauterine device appears to occur in the late preimplantation stage of pregnancy in the rabbit.


Effects of U. S. immigration law on manpower characteristics of immigrants.

Changes in the national-origins quota system, the preference system, labor certification and adjustment-of-status provisions led to changes in the size and composition of immigration. Within a context of increasing size and changing area of origin, the proportion of immigrants with a stated occupation increased, and the occupational composition of total immigration and of immigration by continent of origin changed. Europe and the Americas generally switched to lower-skilled levels, and Asia, Africa and Oceania, to white-collar, especially professional, levels. The composition of occupational groups also changed, with Asia generally increasing its contribution and most noticeably so in the professional group. Adjustment of status has generally increased, but it has not become mainly a subterfuge for foreign students and exchange visitors to remain in the country. Relatives and refugees dominate the adjustee group.


Volume, characteristics and consequences of internal migration in Colombia.

More than one-third of the Colombian population can be classified as migrants. The prevailing direction of movements is urbanwards, yet it is significant that better than a third of all movements are to rural destinations. Nationwide comparisons of migrants and residents on demographic characteristics would indicate that all streams are selective of the younger and unmarried population, with women predominating in urbanwards movements and men in those to rural areas. However, when compared in terms of socioeconomic characteristics, migrants are more sharply differentiated among themselves than they are from the resident population at each of their respective destinations. Within the migrant population, a natural funneling of the more able migrants to the largest centers suggests itself. Migrants have consistently higher activity rates than the remainder of the population and, in the case of men at least, appear capable of competing for jobs on an equal basis with residents at their respective destinations. Female migrants, however, are consistently overrepresented in lower-status activities, particularly in domestic services.


California's experience with non-adversary divorce.

California's Family Law Act of 1969, effective January 1, 1970, instituted non-adversary proceedings for divorce, suggested a more equal division of community property and reduced the minimum waiting time for a final divorce decree. A rapid increase in the number of divorces granted in California followed. Analysis revealed that the 1969 Law did not lead to any real increase in marital dissolution among Californians or produce any significant changes in the characteristics of the population filing for divorce. What was seen were certain modifications in behavior on the part of divorcing persons to take advantage of the Law's new provisions.


Convenience of work and the job constraint of children.

This paper investigates whether convenient working conditions reduce the constraint of children on married women working. It is assumed that convenient working conditions are most important for women with heavy child-care responsibilities. Therefore, differentials in participation rates, by presence and age of children, are expected to be less pronounced in those occupations where a high proportion of jobs have convenient working conditions. Data are selected from the 1960 1/1000 Public Use Sample of the United States population. Those studied comprise white married women living with their husbands. The paper involves a comparison of differential participation rates of women by presence of children, between occupations grouped according to measures of convenience, using a multivariate analysis. The results indicate that differentials are least pronounced in those occupational groupings which have the highest percentage of convenience factors.


Puzzles and further explorations in the interrelationships of successive births with husband's income, spouses' education and race.

When fertility is examined in the detail of individual parity progressions and birth-order transitions, important interactions between the effects of income and education are seen. Among the findings are: the negative effect of education on fertility is stronger at all parities for less educated compared to more highly educated women. Additional income has a more positive effect for more highly educated than for less educated women. For women with 0-8 years of education the effect of more income is positive when the family has no children but negative thereafter, but for college-educated women the effect of more income is positive. And additional income has a less positive (more negative) effect on fertility among nonwhites than among whites.


The equivalence of United States census data for persons of Russian stock or descent with American Jews: an evaluation.

While the U.S. Bureau of the Census has had a long-standing policy of abstaining from enumerating the religious beliefs or backgrounds of the American people, at least two-thirds of the Jewish population of the United States has been enumerated in decennial censuses and sample surveys in the guise of persons of Russian stock or origin. This has come about through the migration policy of the old Russian Empire and the statistical categories utilized by American immigration authorities and by the U. S. Bureau of the Census for immigrants and their children. Comparisons between the returns from an ethnic survey and a survey on the religious composition demonstrate the close congruence between persons of Russian stock or descent and American Jews on the national level.


Estimates of fecundability from a truncated distribution of conception times.

A population consisting of women who have conceived before a time t ignores all women whose conception time exceeds t. Such a population is considered as a truncated population, and the samples are called truncated samples. Under the assumption that fecundability among women varies according to a Beta distribution (with parameters a and b), the distribution of conception times in a truncated population can be considered as truncated Type I geometric. This paper presents an algorithm to obtain the moment and maximum likelihood estimates of a and b from the truncated samples. Large sample properties of the estimators are also studied. Examples using the Hutterite and the Princeton Fertility Survey data are given.


A general method of correction for age misreporting in census populations.

The paper provides a general method for estimating age-reporting errors from two consecutive census populations along the lines suggested by Demeny and Shorter (1968). When the true age structures in the two censuses are the same, the general method and the Demeny-Shorter method give identical results. However, the latter method faces increasingly the problem of inconsistency of the results with the underlying sssumptions as the disparity between the age structures becomes more and more significant. The present method is more general in the sense that it always gives consitent results irrespective of the populations under consideration.


Constructing increment-decrement life tables.

A life table model which can recognize increments (or entrants) as well as decrements has proven to be of considerable value in the analysis of marital status patterns, labor force participation patterns, and other areas of substantive interest. Nonetheless, relatively little work has been done on the methodology of increment-decrement (or combined) life tables. The present paper reviews the general, recursive solution of Schoen and Nelson (1974), develops explicit solutions for three cases of particular interest, and compares alternative approaches to the construction of increment-decrement tables.


A technique for measuring the effect of economic base on opportunity for blacks.

An assessment of the occupational opportunities for selected groups of in-migrants (i.e., Negroes) requires a technique which controls for effects of both national and local employment patterns. We suggest a measure based upon the location quotient and referred to as the "differential opportunity ratio" as a method which provides the necessary controls. It is applicable in the comparative studies of cities and in analyses of other population groups for which data are available.