Anticonvulsant osteomalacia.

Drug-induced osteomalacia appears to be a relatively common disorder in patients receiving long-term anticonvulsant drug therapy. The severity of clinical manifestations in any given individual appears to be a function of the combined effects of a variety of factors including drug type and total drug dose, dietary vitamin D intake, sunlight exposure, and physical activity level. Aided by the recent development of sensitive techniques such as the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D assay and the photon absorption methods for bone mass determination, one can now detect abnormalities in vitamin D and bone metabolism with much greater precision. As a consequence, the incidence of  disordered mineral metabolism in patients receiving long-term anti-convulsant therapy can be determined with greater precision and therapeutic regimens instituted to prevent the associated morbidity.


A new information system for medical practice.

A data bank containing our clinical experience with more than 3,000 patients with suspected and documented ischemic heart disease is being used to expand our ability to care for patients. This report describes how the experience is documented, stored, and retrieved so that it can be used in patient management. Data acquisition is integrated with patient care by means of forms that are part of the patient record. Follow-up information is obtained at six months, one year, and yearly thereafter. All data are stored in a computer information system that allows the doctor to recall the experience of patients like his new patient. Prognostic information is available on each new patient both on-line and in the form of a printed laboratory report. The data bank represents an initial chapter of a computer textbook of medicine.


Increased salivary calcium levels as an indicator of digoxin intoxication.

One hundred ten individuals were divided into patients with digoxin intoxication; patients treated with digoxin; patients treated with digoxin and diuretics; patients treated with diuretics; and control subjects. Measurement of salivary potassium and calcium levels showed that 81% of the patients with digoxin intoxication had noticeable elevation of the salivary calcium level. In 22%, elevation of the salivary calcium level preceded clinical manifestations of intoxication. The high calcium level in the saliva was not accompanied by changes in serum or urinary calcium levels. The elevation of salivary calcium levels can be used not only as an additional indicator of digoxin intoxication but also for detecting impending intoxication in patients treated with this drug.


Analysis of in-hospital deaths from myocardial infarction after coronary care unit discharge.

Clinical records of 48 patients who died suddenly and unexpectedly following coronary care unit discharge were analyzed. Twenty-five had myocardial infarction as sole cause of death and 23 had other contributing entitles. Patients with moderate to severe congestive heart failure had a higher total incidence of specific dysrhythmias in the coronary care unit compared to others. Large infarctions involving the anterior wall, especially in patients with moderate to severe heart failure in the coronary care unit, were negative prognostic factors. Serious dysrhythmias occurred with greater frequency in patients with moderate to severe congestive heart failure compared to others. Degree of congestive heart failure was not related to death among patients with atrioventricular block in the coronary care unit. Monitoring after the coronary care unit (Intermediate coronary care unit) may further reduce mortality.


Toxic-therapeutic ratio of sodium cyanate.

Six patients with sickle cell anemia were treated with sodium cyanate (30 mg/kg/day). In four, treatment was stopped because of definite or suspected toxicity, and no improvement was seen in the other two. Most alarming was the sudden development of peripheral motor neuropathy in a patient whose red blood cells contained less than 0.6 mols NCO-/mol of hemoglobin: six months after treatment was stopped, function had not completely returned in this patient. Safe oral dosage regimens may not be effective, but extra-corporeal treatment of sickle cells with cyanate, or other compounds, might circumvent that problem.


Alcohol and dietary factors in cirrhosis. An epidemiological study of 304 alcoholic patients.

Alcohol intakes and dietary habits of 304 alcoholic, hospitalized patients were evaluated. There were 195 patients with hepatic cirrhosis, 40 precirrhotics, and 69 noncirrhotics. Alcohol contributed 50% to 58% of total calories. Two thirds of the patients drank excessively for more than 20 years. There were no statistically significant differences between the three groups in the duration or degree of alcohol excess. Dietary intakes were assessed for a period of at least two years before the presenting illness. Noncirrhotics had higher food caloric intakes and higher protein intakes than the cirrhotics (P less than .05). The findings suggest that dietary factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.


Abuse of antibiotics. A study of patients attending a university clinic.

Self-treatment with antibiotics was evaluated among patients at a university health service in an 18-month period. Sixty-two students ingested antibiotics, usually tetracycline (40%) or penicillin (21%), for varying intervals before seeking medical care. Respiratory symptoms were the most common reason (40%). The most frequent drug source was residual medication obtained by prescription from a private physician for a prior illness (43%). Although self-therapy was of short duration, the negative bacteriologic cultures obtained on our evaluation in all but four patients challenged precise diagnosis. The findings indicate that inappropriate use of antibiotics by patients would be curtailed by prescribing only the exact amount needed for a given illness and by emphasizing the need for completion of the course of therapy.


Inflammatory lesions localized with technetium Tc 99m-labeled leukocytes.

Canine leukocytes were labeled with a gamma-ray emitting isotope by permitting them to phagocytize technetium Tc 99m sulfur colloid particles in vitro and removing the unphagocytized particles by washing the cells. The labeled cells were reinfused intravenously into the donor dogs. Scintigraphic scans were performed 4 and 24 hours following the leukocyte infusion. In animals with sterile and infected intramuscular abscesses and pulmonary infections, it was possible to localize the lesions by scintigraphic scanning four hours following administration of labeled leukocytes. In one experiment, a positive scan was observed 24 hours after the leukocyte infusion. It was also shown that labeled leukocytes tend to concentrate in abscess fluid. These results suggest that technetium Tc 99m sulfur colloid-labeled leukocytes may be a useful diagnostic tool in localizing abscesses and inflammatory lesions in humans.


Serologic studies in suspected visceral candidiasis.

Twenty-six healthy controls and 45 patients with clinically suspected candidiasis were studied utilizing precipitin determination by double immunodiffusion, agglutinin titers, and presence of clumping factor by microscopy. The data are used to evaluate the specificity, reproducibility, and ease of performance of the procedures. Our results indicate that there is considerable overlap in agglutinin titers in patients with or without visceral candidiasis and that determination of clumping factor by microscopy only is inadequate for diagnosis. Precipitin tests were positive in 80% of patients with visceral candidiasis (exceptions were highly immunosuppressed hosts). This test is easily performed, reproducible, and can be applied in any general hospital laboratory. Neither agglutinin nor precipitin determination appears to be applicable to determining duration of therapy.


Water-insoluble paraproteins with anticoagulant properties.

A 78-year-old woman, who had received steroid therapy for four years, had strikingly prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT). The presumptive diagnosis was chronic hemolytic anemia. Platelet count and functions, fibrinogen, and factor XIII assays were all normal, but other factors assayed abnormally low; Sia water-dilution test was positive. When water-insoluble protein was removed by centrifugation, coagulation factors became normal. Dissolution of this precipitate in normal plasma caused marked prolongation of PT and PTT and lower factor assays. Serum electrophoresis showed a homogeneous M spike and an anomalous IgM, lambda-antigenic type in the gamma-globulin zone at point of origin. Ultracentrifugation of serum and of the precipitate showed 10% S17 and almost 100% S17 components, respectively. Five other patients with water-insoluble paraproteins were tested; two were clot-inhibitory.


Tuberous sclerosis with striking renal involvement in a family.

We describe five cases of tuberous sclerosis in members of one family, all having renal involvement but with differences in age of onset and mode of presentation. Clinical, laboratory, and pathologic features helpful in diagnosing this condition and in distinguishing it from polycystic kidney disease and renal neoplasms are stressed. Tuberous sclerosis should always be considered in differential diagnosis of patients with multiple cystic renal lesions, particularly when age of onset of symptoms ranges from infancy to adult life in different members of one family. Absence both of specific glomerular or tubular lesions in ultrastructure and of major abnormalities in renal tubular function supports the existing concept that replacement of nephrons by hamartomatous lesions is the cause of progressive renal failure.


Heart block and hyperthyroidism. Report of two cases.

In two patients with hyperthyroidism who had no signs of heart disease, first-degree heart block with tall and large P waves occurred. In one patient, a left bundle-branch block and transient complete heart block with Stokes-Adams episodes also occurred, although there was no verifiable evidence of acute inflammatory disease.


[Hypercoagulability in the nephrotic syndrome of children].

Several coagulation factors were studied in twenty children less than 16 years old, bearing nephrotic syndrome. Four of them were in remission. In nephrotic syndrome there is hypercoagulability. Coagulations factors such as fibrinogen, platelet factor III, prothrombin time, and factor V are markedly altered, and to a lesser degree, total number of platelets. Fibrin degradation products factors II, VII, X and VIII are also altered. During remission, all of them improve or become normal. In no case fibrin breakdown products were found in the blood. However, if found in urine, they would be considered as a pronostic index in nephropaties. Although etiologic factors remain unknown for most of the above-mentioned alterations, increased fibrinogen synthesis, decreased fibrinolytic plasms activity and renal damage have been demonstrated.


[ Exsanguination, extreme hemodilution and autologous retransfusion in cardiopulmonary bypass].

In ten dogs and seven patients undergoing open heart surgery, 94% of circulatory volume was replaced by electrolitic solutions; extracted blood was stored temporarily at 5degreesC. Usage of blood was avoided for replacement of extracorporeal fluid circuit and blood lost during surgery. After cardiopulmonar bypass, storage blood was transfused. In both experimental and clinical conditions neither renal, electrolitic nor blood alterations were observed.


[Quick radioimmunoassay method for the determination of estrogens].

The aim of this report is to describe a quick method for measuring plasma estrogens by radio immunoassay in one day. Briefly, 1000 cpm of estradiol-3-H were added to 0.1 to 1.5 ml of plasma or serum to calculate losses during the procedure. After ether extraction and without any purification step, aliquots for tracer recoveries and the radioimmunoassay were taken. The antiserum working dilution was 1:100,000. The incubation of the antiserum at 37degreesC with the tritiated and cold estradiol lasts one hour. The free and bound fractions were separated with charcoal/dextran. With this method, 95% of estradiol, 16% of estrone and 6% of estriol are quantified. Other steroids normally present in plasma produce no interference. The minimal detectable level is 10 pg. Pasma and water blanks are indistinguishable of zero (C.V. 1%). Intra-analysis coefficient of variation is 6.1%. Mass recovery of estradiol (5 ng), estrone (5 ng) and estriol (5ng) are 4.75, 0.83 and 0.31 ng, respectively. Tracer recoveries are 92.6%. When plasma levels of estradiol are determined during menstrual cycle, normal and/or pathological pregnancy, by either the method described herein or measured selectively, the results show no significant differences. Finally, practical usefulness of this method is stressed, inasmuch results are obtained in six hours and one person can easily perform 200 samples in one week.


The neuron of the fast conducting system in hirudo medicinalis: identification and synaptic connections with primary afferent neurons.

A single neuron, located in the center of each segmental ganglion of H. medicinalis is antidromically activated by electrical stimulation of the ventral cord anteriorly and posteriorly to the ganglion, at the same threshold as the fast conducting system (FCS) and with a latency equal to the FCS conduction time. This neuron is activated trans-synaptically by tactile and photic stimulation of the skin and by stimulation of high-threshold fibres running along the cord. A spike evoked by intracellular stimulation of this neuron propagates along the FCS. Intracellular  staining shows that this neuron sends two axonal branches in the anterior and posterior median connectives. Direct electrical stimulation of touch cells (T cells), as well as mechanical stimulation of the skin, lowers the threshold of and may eventually fire, the FCS neurons, not only at the level of the ganglion to which they belong, but also at the level of the neighbouring ganglia. This effect is mediated by bilateral pathwasy located in the lateral connectives. It is concluded that the FCS consists of a chain of single neurons, located in each ganglion and electrotonically coupled to each other. Touch cells project with excitatory synapses on the FCS neurons.


The proprioceptive activation of stretch tension in pretibial flexor muscles induced by stimulation of antagonistic muscle afferents.

1. The effect of tetanic stimulation of ipsilateral group I afferents from the GS muscle on a synchronous stretch of the flexor EDL/TA muscles has been investigated in precollicular decerebrate cats. 2. The stretch-induced tension of the EDL/TA muscles increases remarkably during simultaneous stimulation of the GS nerve with maximal intensities corresponding to 1.5 times the threshold for the group 1 afferents. This increas appears above all in the dynamic part of stretch. 3. Under our experimental conditions there is no activation fo flexor-alpha-motoneurones during tetanic stimulation of the GS afferents without muscle stretch, as measured by the resting tension of the EDL/TA muscles. 4. Desptie an increase in the stretch-induced tension during fusimotor stimulation of antagonistic group I afferents, a transmission loss in the excitation via the psi-loop to the flexor-alpha-motoneurones occurs. This could be demonstrated by the ratio: increase in the tension T /increase in the number of Ia spikes. This is explained by snychronous convergence of the discharges of Ia inhibitory interneurones to the flexor-alpha-motoneurones. 5. The system studied demonstrates an input-output relation of the stretch reflex during conditions in which both reciprocal inhibition and autogenetic excitation via the psi-loop occur. It appears however, that the reciprocal inhibition is partly overwhelmed by the autogenetic excitation which results from the increase in the Ia discharge rate during fusimotor reflex. 6. It is postulated that static rather than dynamic psi-moto-neurones are involved in the investigated reflex arc.


Convergence of afferent impulses from individual semicircular canals of pontine reticular units.

The effect of afferent impulses on single pontine RF units was recorded by means of tungsten microelectrodes in 22 curarized guinea pigs followed thermic stimulation of individual semicircular canals. The labyrinthine stimulation consisted of short-lasting circumscribed heating (45 degrees C) of the canals through a silver thermode. Unitary response to labyrinthine stimulation was characterized by excitation and inhibition of rest discharge rate. Out of 86 units, 66 received bilateral labyrinthine influences responding in greatest number (20 units) to four semicircular canals. Only two units were unaffected. No significant difference in RF responses was noticed between concordant and antagonistic canals. Reticular formation units showed great degree of facilitation of response and convergence of impulses from the single six semicircular canals.


Energy metabolism of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. I. Energy production, ATP pool, energy charge.

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, strain Bd. 109 Sa, generates ATP mainly by oxidative phosphorylation during electron transport. During exponential growth the ATP pool is constant (9 mmoles/100 mugN) indicating that energy-producing and energy-consuming reactions are well balanced. The ratio of substrate respiration/endogenous respiration is approx. 2.5/1. Energy charge is constant both in endogenous and substrate respiration at values of 0.62 to 0.64. During endogenous respiration (starvation) the ATP pool oscillates at regular intervals. ATP over-production is started after the ATP pool has decreased to a minimum level of 6 nmoles/100 mug N. The alternating over- and under-production of ATP is interpreted as a special regulation which enables the organism to make economic use of its own cellular materials. Addition of substrate (glutamate) to starving cells does not influence the type of ATP pool oscillation as observed in endogenous respiration. The parasitic strain Bd. 109 Pa exhibits the same periodicity of ATP overproduction as does it saprophytic derivative, Bd. 109 Sa. Decrease of viability during starvation is paralleled by a decrease of the ATP pool.


Determination of the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation in continuous cultures of Aerobacter aerogenes.

For anaerobic glucose-limited chemostat cultures of Aerobacter aerogenes a values of 14.0 g/mole was found for Ymax/ATP and a value of 6.8 mmoles ATP/g dry weight/hr for the maintenance coefficient. Both values are much lower than those previously determined for tryptophan-limited anaerobic chemostat cultures. It is concluded that generally the largest part of the maintenance energy is not used for true maintenance processes. For aerobic glucose-limited chemostat cultures two phases could be differentiated. Acetate production started at mu values higher than 0.53. The slopes of the curves relating the specific rates of glucose- and oxygen consumption with mu became higher and lower respectively above the mu value of 0.53. Using the YATP values obtained in the anaerobic experiment a P/O ratio of about 1.3 could be calculated for glucose- and tryptophan-limited chemostat cultures. In sulfate-limited chemostat cultures acetate was produced at all growth rates. At high growth rates also pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate were produced. With the YATP values obtained in the anaerobic experiment a P/O ratio of about 0.4 was calculated for sulfate-limited chemostat cultures.


Development of microbodies in candida tropicalis during incubation in a n-alkane medium.

Development of microbodies in Candida tropicalis pK 233 was studied mainly by electron microscopical observation. The yeast cells, precultured on malt extract, scarcely contained microbodies and showed very low catalase activity. When the precultured cells were transferred to a n-alkane medium and incubated with shaking, the number of microbodies increased and concomitantly the activity of catalase was enhanced. That is, both the area ratio of microbodies in the cell and the ratio of microbodies to cytoplasm in area increased significantly during the utilization of n-alkanes for 8 hrs. Localization of catalase in the microbodies was demonstrated cytochemically by use of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine, but other organella in the cell, except for vacuoles appearing in the early growth phase and mitochondria, were not stained with this reagent. Microbodies seemed to grow by division. Biogenesis of microbodies in the yeast cells is also discussed.


Physiological and biochemical contributions to the taxonomy of the genus Chlorella. X. Products of glucose fermentation.

The products of glucose fermentation were studied in 87 strains of the genus Chlorella. Lactic acid, acetic acid, formic acid, glycerol, ethanol, H2 and CO2 were identified. The lactic acid was shown to be D(minus)lactic acid. The pattern of fermentation produces is species-specific and can therefore be used as a taxonomic character. Lactic acid was found in C. fusca (varieties vacuolata, fusca, and rubescens), C. zofingiensis, C. vulgaris (var. vulgaris and f.tertia), and C. protothecoides. Formic acid and H2 appeared in those species which contain hydrogenase. Rather large amounts of glycerol were produced only by the most salt-tolerant species C. luteoviridis, C. saccharophila, and C. protothecoides.


The chloroplastic DNA of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (Emerson strain): heterogeneity and complexity.

The heterogeneity and the complexity of Emerson strain Chlorella pyrenoidosa chloroplastic DNA have been investigated by means of thermal denaturation and renaturation kinetics, and the results have been compared with those of the strain 211/8b of the same alga. The thermal denaturation properties are very close to those of the other strain: the Tm of 65 degrees C in 0.1 standard saline citrate, the maximal hyperchromicity of 41%, and the dispersion coefficent delta 2/3 of 6.65 degrees C. The first derivated curves of the melting profiles show also five components. Denatured chloroplastic DNA renatures rapidly. Two fractions are found; their kinetic complexities have been estimated: 1.5 times 10(7) daltons for the fast renaturing fraction; 2x 10(8) daltons for the low d (G + C) content of the chloroplastic DNA: 1.24 times 10(8) daltons). The unique nucleotide sequence is present in about 19 copies per chloroplastic genome. This report confirms the homogeneity of the chloroplastic genome of algae.


Ribosomal proteins in plastids of a Mendelian and a nonmendelian streptomycin-resistant mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardii determined by two-dimensional gel-electrophoresis.

The pattern of ribosomal proteins in plastids of a nonmendelian streptomycin resistant mutant does not differ from that of wildtype cells when compared by two-dimensional gel-electrophoresis. The protein pattern of a mendelian resistance mutant is changes, however. Since the resistance in this mendelian mutant is probably caused by a change in the ribosomal proteins, the resistance in the nonmendelian mutant must be considered as a change of the ribosomal RNA.


Histochemical and biochemical evidence for the presence of microbodies in phytophthora palmivora.

Using the diaminobenzidine (DAB) reaction catalase activity could be demonstrated histochemically in cytoplasmic structures of Phytophthora palmivora bearing general ultrastructural features of microbodies. These socalled U-bodies sediment together with the catalase activity in Ficoll-Sorbitol-Sucrose gradients following prior purification by differential centrifugation.


Aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in Alcaligenes eutrophus H16. II. The isolation and characterization of mutants auxotrophic for phenylalanine and tyrosine.

1. Mutants derived from the hydrogen bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus strain H 16 auxotrophic for phenylalanine and tyrosine were isolated employing mutagenic agents (EMS, nitrite), the colistine counterselection technique and the "pin-point" isolation method. Three different types of mutants were found: (1) Mutants, requiring phenylalanine or phenylpyruvate for growth, were affected in chorismate mutase as well as prephenate dehydratase. Both activities were regained by reversion to prototrophy. The auxotrophic strains accumulated chorismic acid. (2) Strains with a growth response similar to that of the first group lacked only prephenate dehydratase activity which was partially regained by reversion. Chorismate mutase and prephenate dehydrogenase were derepressed up to two-fold. Mutants grown in minimal medium excreted prephenic acid. (3) The third type of mutants required phenylalanine or phenylpyruvate and grew slowly when supplemented with chorismate or prephenate. The enzymes involved in the specific pathway of phenylalanine and tyrosine were found to be present. Some of them were even more active than in the wild-type. 2. Mutants accumulating chorismic acid or prepheric acid were able to grow on minimal medium when incubated long enough. The chemical instability of the excretion products resulted in their nonenzymatic conversion to subsequent intermediates which were taken up by the cells, allowing growth. 3. A method is described for preparing barium prephenate using the auxotrophic mutant 6B-1 derived from A.eutrophus H 16. Prephenic acid, excreted by this strain, was obtained from the culture filtrate with a purity of at least 70% and a yield of approximately 180 mg per 21 of medium.


Effect of external factors on phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. I. Light.

1. A fully automated phototaxis monitoring device is described for measuring photo-topotactic responses of flagellated organisms. 2. Photokinesis can be demonstrated in Chlamydomonas cells only after a dark period of about 72 hrs. 3. Pre-darkening of a few hours duration raises the phototactic disposition, whereas pre-illumination has no significant effect. 4. Circadian rhythms can be initiated by only one period of darkness or lower light intensity, whereas a period of higher intensity does not induce rhythms. The period length of the circadian rhythms is about 24 hrs.


Oxalate accumulation from citrate by Aspergillus niger. I. Biosynthesis of oxalate from its ultimate precursor.

Carbon-14 was incorporated from citrate-1,5-14C, glyoxylate-14C(U), or glyoxylate-1-14C into oxalate by cultures of Aspergillus niger pregrown on a medium with glucose as the sole source of carbon. Glyoxylate-14C(U) was superior to glyoxylate-1-14C and citrate-1,5-14C as a source of incorporation. By addition of a great amount of citrate the accumulation of oxalate was accelerated and its maximum yield increased. In a cell-free extract from mycelium forming oxalate from citrate the enzyme oxaloacetate hydrolase (EC3.7.1.1) was identified. Its in vitro activity per flask exceeded the rate of in vivo accumulation of oxalate. Glyoxylate oxidizing enzymes (glycolate oxidase, EC1.1.3.1; glyoxylate oxidase, EC1.2.3.5;NAD(P)-dependent glyoxylate dehydrogenase; glyoxylate dehydrogenase, CoA-oxalylating, EC1.2.1.7) could not be detected in cell-free extracts. It is concluded that in cultures accumulating oxalate from citrate after pregrowth on glucose, oxalate arises by hydrolytic cleavage of oxaloacetate but not by oxidation of glyoxylate.


A comparison of cryptophytan phycocyanins.

The spectroscopically different phycocyanins present in the type strain of Hemiselmis virescens, Millport 64, and in a second strain of this cryptophytan species, Plymouth 157, have been purified and compared.  They are similar in native molecular weight and in subunit structure, both containing alpha and beta subunits with molecular weights of approximately 10000 and 19000 respectively. However, they do not have the same chromophore composition.  Both subunits of the phycocyanin of Plymouth 157 contain two bilins with absorption maxima at 600 and 660 nm, respectively.  Only the beta subunit of Milllport 64 carries these chromophores; its alpha subunit bears another chromophore, with absorption maxima at 368 and 694 nm.  The spectroscopic differences between the two native phycocyanins can be entirely accounted for by their differing chromophore compositions.  The phycocyanin of Millport 64 is the only biliprotein so far described which contains three chemically different chromophores.


Age-related changes associated with the induction of o-pyrocatechuic acid carboxylase in Aspergillus ornatus.

Mycelial mats of Aspergillus ornatus grown on cellulose xanthate membranes placed on a defined agar medium showed o-pyrocatechuic acid carboxyalse activity which could be induced to over six times its basal level by the addition of 0.1% L-tryptophan to the medium.  Exposure of mature mycelial mats to cyclohexamide prior to induction indicated that de novo protein synthesis was required for this induction to occur.  The effect of age of this enzyme adaptation process was investigated by transferring membranes and mats of variuos ages from defined medium to fresh defined medium plus 0.1% L-tryptophan With increasing mycelial age, the basal enzyme activity level remained relatively unchanged while the level to which the enzyme could be induced decreased significantly.  This decrease was linear when plotted against the mean cell age of mycelium, conforming to a general model of  age-dependent modifications of the enzyme adaptation process proposed by Adelman.  Several possible explanations of this phenomenon are discussed.


Some phylogenetic implications of action spectra for photoreactivation of ultraviolet-inactivated yeasts.

Action spectra for photoreactivation of ultraviolet-inactivated cells of representative species of five genera of yeasts indicate that the spectral requirements for photoreactivation are characteristic for individual genera and may be useful data in analyses of the systematics of yeasts.


Formation of reaction centers and light-harvesting bacteriochlorophyll-protein complexes in Rhodopseudomonas capsulata.

Formation of the photosynthetic apparatus was induced in aerobically grown dark cultures of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata by lowering of the oxygen tension. Besides the wild type strain the carotenoid-less mutant strain A1a+ was investigated. Both strains exhibited initially a decrease of the molar ratio of total bacteriochlorophyll (Bchl) to reaction center (RC) Bchl, followed by an increase. Synthesis of RC-Bchl preceded the synthesis of light-harvesting (LH) Bchl. Activities of photophosphorylation in membrane preparations, isolated from cultures after different periods of incubation at low aeration, decreased on the basis of total Bchl from about 9 to 2 mumole ATP/mumole total Bchl-min, whereas the rate on the basis of RC-Bchl remained constant (about 500 mumole ATP/mumole RC-Bchl-min). Under the same conditions the membrane proteins were labelled with U-14C-protein hydrolysate. Corresponding to RC-Bchl the synthesis of RC-proteins dominated during the first 30 min of incubation at PO2 below 3 mm Hg. After 45-60 min of membrane formation at low aeration the synthesis of LH-complex proteins exceeded the synthesis of RC proteins. The correlations between protein and Bchl synthesis in the sequential formation of RC- and LH-complexes are discussed.


Dual pathways of glycerol assimilation in Klebsiella aerogenes NCIB418: their regulation and possible functional significance.

Klebsiella aerogenes NCIB 418 assimilates glycerol via alternative pathways: one involves a glycerol kinase with a high affinity for glycerol (apparent Km = 1-2x10(-6)M), and the second a glycerol dehydrogenase with a much lower affinity for its substrate (apparent Km=2-4x10(-2)M).  In variously-limited chemostat cultures, one or the other pathway predominated.  Thus, aerobic carbon-limited organisms contained only the glycerol kinase pathway whereas aerobic sulphate-limited or ammonia-limited organisms (grown on glycerol) used only the glycerol dehydrogenase pathway.  Anaerobic cultures invariably contained glycerol dehydrogenase, and glycerol kinase was absent.  Washed suspensions of aerobically-grown organisms oxidized glycerol with kinetics similar to that of the particular enzyme (the primary enzyme of the assimilatory pathway) which they possessed, thus indicating a close association between these two enzymes and the uptake process.  But a supply of exogenous glycerol was not a prerequisite for the synthesis of either glycerol kinase or glycerol dehydrogenase, and nor was molecular oxygen the key factor in effecting modulation between the alternative pathways of glycerol metabolism, as had been previously suggested.  The physiological significance of dual pathways of glycerol assimilation is discussed.


Studies on an unstable phenotype induced by UV irradiation: the lysine excreting (lex(-)) phenotype of the yeast Saccharomycosis lipolytica.

Unstable clones excreting L-lysine into their growth medium are obtained at a very high frequency following UV irradiation in both haploid and diploid strains of Saccharomycopsis lipolytica, provided they carry a mutation affecting the first enzyme of the lysine pathway and confering resistance to end product inhibition.  The phenotype can be stabilized in some sublines; it appears as dominant and coupled with a decrease in spore viability.  Excretion in batch cultures is confined to the end of the exponential phase, and seems not to consist in a simple release of the lysine pool content.


In vivo biosynthesis of peptidophosphogalactomannan in Penicillium charlesii.

The major exocellular glycopeptide (peptidophosphogalactomannan) produced by Penicillum charlesii first appears in the culture filtrate when the growth medium is nearly depleted of NH4+. The extent of incorporation of exogenously supplied radioactive precursors (D-[U-14C] GLUCOSE, L-[U-14C]threonine and NaH2(32)PO4) into peptidophosphogalactomannan suggests that approximately 20% of the total quantity of peptidophosphogalactomannan is assembled from constituents taken from the growth medium before NH4+ starvation and that the remainder is assembled from constituents in the medium during NH4" starvation. In the absence of NH4+, an increase in dry weight continues until the medium is depleted of glucose. However, peptidophosphogalactomannan accumulation proceeds until after glucose is depleted and growth is halted. These data suggest that peptidophosphogalactomannan is a product of cellular turnover.


Oxalate accumulation from citrate by Aspergillus niger. II. Involvement of the tricarboxylic acid cyclase.

Carbon-14 was incorporated into oxalate and CO2 from either citrate-1,5-14C, succinate-1,4-14C, or fumarate-1,4-14C by cultures of Aspergillus niger pregrown on a medium which contained glucose as the sole carbon source and which did not allow citrate accumulation. In cell-free extracts of mycelium forming oxalate and CO2 from added citrate the following enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were identified: citrate synthase CE 4.1.3.7), aconitate hydratase (EC4.2.1.3), NAD and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41, 1.1.1.42), (alpha-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.2), succinate dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.99.1), fumarate hydratase (EC 4.2.1.2), and malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37). The in vitro activity of aconitate hydratase and of NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase was shown to be almost identical to the rate of in vivo degradation of citrate or to exceed this rate. The degradation of citrate to oxalate was inhibited completely by 9 mM fluoroacetate. It is concluded that the TCA cycle is involved in the formation of oxalate from citrate.


Electron microscopic characterization of Rhizobium bacteriophage 16-6-12 and its isolated deoxyribonucleic acid.

Bacteriophage 16-6-12 of Rhizobium lupini has a long, non-contractile tail and a head which is hexagonal in outline. The tail is 140 nm in length, 11 nm in diameter, and carries a short term fiber. Analysis of the tail structure by optical diffraction indicates that it is of the helical "stacked disc" type. After phenol-extraction from purified particles, the DNA of phage 16-6-12 can circularize in vitro. No significant difference in contour length was observed between the linear (14.34 plus or minus 0.28 mum) and  circular (14.44 plus or minus 0.24 mum) forms of molecules. After partial denaturation with alkali an AT-GC-map was constructed, which shows an asymmetric distribution of AT- and GC-rich regions. It is concluded that this phage DNA can circularize due to the presence of cohesive ends and that it is not circularly permuted.


Growth dynamics of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in chemostat cultures limited by carbon source and mineral nutrients.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens was grown in a chemostat in a chemically-defined medium which hs alpha-methyl D-glucoside, magnesium, manganese, phosphate or urea as the growth-limiting nutrient. Steady-state biomass concentrations were dependent on the specific growth rate of the organism when alpha-methyl D-glucoside, manganese or phosphate were growth-limiting nutrients. During magnesium-limited growth, large undamped oscillations in biomass concentration occurred. In all chemostat cultures a variant organism was selected which had lost the ability to grow in the medium supplied, bur survived on products of carbon metabolism derived from the wild-type.


Discriminating symptoms in schizophrenia. A report from the international pilot study of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is recognized by the presence of one or more clinical syndromes, but there is disagreement as to how far the boundaries of the concept should be extended. During the course of a World Health Organization study, using the Present State Examination and a computerized classification program, a nuclear schizophrenic syndrome was nearly always (95.1%) associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenic or paranoid psychosis. The only substantial exception was that 13 out of 79 patients diagnosed as manic were said to show the nuclear syndrome. The computer classification was concordant with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenic or paranoid psychosis, manic psychosis, or depressive disorder, in 90% of cases. If appropriate precautions are taken, many of the sources of noncomparability in epidemiological, therapeutic, and prognostic studies can be brought under control.


Beta-glucanases of the yeast Pichia polymorpha.

Fractionation of proteins secreted into the culture medium by intact cells and protoplasts of Pichia polymorpha showing enzyme activity against laminarin, pustulan or p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside has been performed, and the results compared with those obtained with cell-free extracts and lysed protoplasts. Fractionation with DEAE Sephadex A50 has proved to be the best method, yielding at least three fractions which hydrolyse laminarin. One of these fractions was active on both laminarin and pustulan. Filtration on Sephadex G-100 column only yielded one active preparation. Evidence supporting the conclusion that there are three different beta-glucanases located in the periplasmic space is presented.


Acute mania. Clinical and genetic study of responders and nonresponders to treatments.

We examined the relationships among family history of psychiatric illness, demographic and historical variables, clinical course and presentation, and treatment response for 58 patients satisfying research criteria for mania. Nearly two thirds of the group had excellent responses to somatic treatment, particularly lithium ion, while one third had poor responses to lithium carbonate, neuroleptics, or electric convulsive therapy. Responders frequently exhibited euphoric moods, grandiose delusions, and tended to have cyclothymic premorbid personalities. Nonresponders were rarely euphoric, frequently exhibited incomplete auditory hallucinations, and tended to hve formal thought disorder and depressive-withdrawn premorbid personalities. Responders tended (nonsignificant) to have greater genetic loading for affective illness and alcoholism. We could not distinguish the two groups by their age at illness onset, duration of illness, or number of illness episodes per ill patient year.


Are there two types of unipolar depression?

Personality traits and clinical characteristics in psychiatric outpatients with affective disorder were examined. Two groups of unipolar patients, divided on the basis of treatment response to tricyclic antidepressants, were compared to a bipolar group. While the unipolar-T (tricyclic responder) group showed premorbid personality traits of chronic anxiety and obsessiveness, neither the bipolar nor unipolar-L (tricyclic nonresponder, lithium carbonate responder) groups showed such findings. In fact, the unipolar-L and bipolar groups were similar not only with regard to personality variables, but also in terms of both drug response and certain family history features. These findings cast doubt on the homogeneity of unipolar depression and suggest the possibility of a subtype of unipolar depression with psychobiologic and personality features resembling bipolar disorder.


Self-regulated methadone detoxification of heroin addicts. An improved technique in an inpatient setting.

We used a method of detoxifying heroin addicts involving a self-regulated schedule of methadone hydrochloride detoxification in an inpatient setting. This method allows the addict to receive methadone on an "as needed" basis within specified guidelines, thus permitting him to regulate his own detoxification. For this study, 30 chronic heroin addicts were detoxified using this self-regulated detoxification procedure. Measures of length of stay, amount of methadone required, and degree of patient satisfaction indicate that this is a practical means of withdrawing chronic heroin addicts that may have advantages over fixed withdrawal schedules.


Sequence and stages in patterns of adolescent drug use.

Two prospective longitudinal surveys based on New York State high school students indicate well-defined steps underlying adolescent progression and regression in drug use. At least four stages of involvement with drugs can be identified: (1) beer or wine; (2) cigarettes or hard liquor; (3) marijuana; and (4) other illcit drugs. Two stages of legal drugs are necessary intermediates between nonuse and marijuana. Very few youths progress to other illicit drugs without prior experience with marijuana. This sequence is found in each year of high school in the year following graduation. Progression to a higher-ranked drug is directly related to intensity of use at the prior stage. The identification of stages in drug behavior has implications regarding the optimum strategy for studying factors that predict, differentiate, or result from drug use.


Predictions of therapeutic process and progress in conjoint family therapy.

Following initial diagnostic interviews with 20 families in an outpatient psychiatric clinic, a group of therapists made predictions of the anticipated responses of the families to therapy.  Changes in family structure, organization, and transactional patterns were predicted with use of the Family Category Schema.  The families' responses to the process of therapy was predicted in a questionnaire.  The results showed poor predictions of response to process.  However, a normative response picture of a family in therapy did emerge.  Also, all predictions erred in the direction of underrating the overall effectiveness of conjoint family therapy.


Psychotherapy in psychosomatic disorders.

Published controlled studies of various psychotherapeutic techniques in psychosomatic disorders with adequate designs have formed the basis for the following conclusions: Psychotherapeutic techniques are effective in some patients with psychosomatic disorders.  Some psychosomatic disorders, for example, bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer, and migraine headaches are perhaps more amenable to psychotherapy than others, for example, hypertension and ulcerative colitis.  There is evidence to suggest that there are differences between the effectiveness of various psychotherapeutic techniques; a few patients differ perhaps from the rest in that they are helped most by the technique that is less effective for the majority.


Lobotomy in private practice.

In a follow-up of 43 private psychiatric patients referred for open bimedial prefrontal lobotomies between 1948 and 1970, patients were rated by personal interviews and review of medical records for symptom improvement and organic brain syndromes.  Initial diagnoses were obsessive-compulsive neurotic (27), hypochondriacal neurotic (five), manic-deprresive (depressed) (one), and schizophrenic (ten).  All had been severely impaired by illness intractable to extensive previous treatment.  Thirty-five were found to be virtually free of symptoms that prompted operation, six had some improvement, and two were unimproved. Six had moderate to severe organic brain syndromes; three had seizure disorders necessitating treatment; and 17 incurred substantial weight gains.  Best results were for hypochondriacal and obsessive-compulsive neurotic patients with phobic symptoms: poorest results were for paranoid schizophrenic subjects.  This study was undertaken to provide some increment of data that could aid ongoing efforts to evaluate the consequences of this treatment.


Dopamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase in human caudate nucleus.  A study in control subjects and schizophrenic patients.

Striatal adenylyl cyclase activity from autopsied human brain is selectively stimulated by low concentrations of dopamine.  Under the experimental conditions used, norepinephrine was about three times less potent than dopamine.  Histamine and serotonin were ineffective.  The stimulation by dopamine was competitively inhibited by haloperidol.  There was no difference between the basal adenylyl cyclase activity or its level after dopamine stimulation between nine control subjects without a psychiatric history and seven patients with chronic schizophrenia.


Cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites in acute schizophrenia.

The metabolites of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol (MHPG), respectively, were studied in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with acute schizophrenia. Base line levels of these metabolites were not significantly different from those in normal, neurological, and affectively ill controls. Accumulations of 5HIAA and HVA following probenecid administration, which provide a measure of serotonin and dopamine turnover, were also not significantly different in patients with acute schizophrenia and affective illness. After patients had recovered from their acute schizophrenic illness, HVA accumulations were significantly reduced. We discuss results in relation to amine hypotheses of schizophrenia and the suggestion that altered dopamine metabolism may reflect a biological change predisposing to acute schizophrenia.


Narcotic use in southeast Asia and afterward.  An interview study of 898 Vietnam returnees.

From all US Army enlistees leaving Vietnam in September 1971, a random sample of 943 men was selected.  Of these, 470 represented a "general" sample of all enlistees returning at that time, and 495 represented a "drug positive" sample whose urine samples had been positive for opiates at the time of departure.  We attempted to locate and personally interview all of the men in the samples.  Results indicate that before arrival, hard drug use was largely casual, and less than 1% had ever been addicted to narcotics.  In Vietnam, almost half of the general sample tried narcotics and 20% reported opiate addiction.  After return, usage and addiction essentially decreased to pre-Vietnam levels.  We discuss the use of nonnarcotic drugs, predictors and correlates of drug use in the samples, and the relationship of drugs to post-Vietnam social adjustment.


Measuring depressive symptomatology in a general population.

Three hundred twenty respondents in selected geographic areas were interviewed with a structured questionnaire that included the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Dimensional analysis indicates that some items are not pure measures of the constructs they were originally intended to assess. Moreover, some of the dimensions within the scale apparently convey different meanings to different segments in the population. In addition, different dimensions within the scale have varying demographic correlates. The analysis suggests that in order for the scale to be a truly useful device for assessing depressive symptomatology in a general population, additional items need to be added and some questions need to be followed by probes to clarify the exact frame of reference of the respondents.


Depressive symptomatology and role function in a general population.

Depressive symptomatology, marital satisfaction and functioning, job satisfaction, and social relationships were investigated in 320 respondents comprising 160 married couples.  Responses to the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale indicated that 13% of the respondents had scores similar to those obtained by patients with diagnosed depressions and an additional 27% had scores comparable to those of persons with other psychiatric problems.  Responses to a variety of questions about the respondents' social life, job satisfaction, and marital function indicate that increased depressive symptomatology in this general population is associated with a decline in satisfaction and functioning in these areas.  The data suggest that this association is not solely due to response bias but is associated with a real decline in function, particularly in the area of child rearing.


[Spectrophotometric investigations on aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin G1 (author's transl)].

UV-spectrophotometric and fluorescence-spectrophotometric investigations have been performed on the aflatoxins B1 and G1 with the aim of their unequivocal identification and quantitative estimation in the routine examination. The lower limits of the quantitative and semiquantitative estimations have been found to be 0,4 ng (thin layer chromatography, semiquantitative), Imug/ml (UV-spectroscopy) and 10 ng/ml (fluorescence spectroscopy) for the aflatoxin B1 and 0,3 ng (TLC, semiquantitative), 1 mug/ml (UV-spectroscopy) and 1 ng/ml (fluorescence spectroscopy). Quinine sulfate in 0.1 n sulfuric acid was successfully utilized as a convenient standard substance for quantitative fluorescence spectroscopic estimations of the aflatoxins B1 and G1. In an extensive series of estimations the fluorescence intensity of aflatoxin B1 in chloroform in the range of 0,01-10 mug/ml has been compared with that of equally concentrated solutions of quinine sulfate in sulfuric acid. The ratio of the intensities was 0.5 : 1(0.509 : 1). Similar comparative estimations of aflatoxin G1 in chloroform in the range of 0.001 bis 1 mug/ml and quinine sulfate in sulfuric acid resulted in a ratio of 5 : 1 (4.99 : 1). These ratios have been found using a fluorescence spectrophotometer Beckman SF 1078.


[On the mode of action of heterologous antileukemic sera. Growth of syngeneically transplanted leukemias in serum-treated sublethally irradiated mice (author's transl)].

Heterologous antisera against mouse leukemias prevented the outgrowth of syngeneically transplanted leukemia cells only in non irradiated but not in sublethally irradiated animals. Mice irradiated with 500 R and controls were subcutaneously injected with 50000 leukemia cells at the day following irradiation. They were given 5 injections each of 0,1 ml of heterologous antiserum. Whilst 22 out of 27 irradiated mice developed tumors non-irradiated controls were protected, only 2 out of 30 animals developed a tumor. Cytotoxicity tests with leukemia cells as targets and mouse serum as complement source showed that the complement activity of mouse serum had not been suppressed by the whole body irradiation. We suppose a cooperation between heterologous antiserum and a radiosensitive host cell as responsible for the antileukemic effect.


[On cancer mortality in the German Democratic Republic. Regional differences and time trends of mortality of malignant neoplasms of stomach, colon, rectum, breast, and uterus, 1960--1969].

Mortality of maligant neoplasms of stomach (ICD 151; 84 529 deaths), colon (ICD 153; 13237 deaths), rectum (ICD 154; 13687 deaths), breast (ICD 174; 24400 deaths), and uterus (ICD 180--182; 25308 deaths) in the GDR in the years from 1960 to 1969 is described. There are regional differences of mortality which cannot be explained by demographic and diagnostic factors solely but suggest that there exist real differences of cancer risk. Mortality of stomach cancer is relatively low in the middle regions (Berlin, Frankfurt, Potsdam, Cottbus) and in the region of Erfurt and remakably high in the regions of Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Gera, Leipzig and Karl-Max-Stadt. Mortality of colonic cancer is highest in Berlin, lowest in Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Gera. Mortality of rectum cancer shows minor regional differences and another distribution than colonic ancer. Mortality of breast cancer is extremely high in Berlin and very low in Suhl. Mortality of cancer of the uterus reaches high levels in Neubrandenburg and is very low in the region of Karl-Marx-Stadt. In the period 1960--1969, mortality of stomach cancer has decreased whereas mortality of colonic cancer has increased. Mortality of rectum neoplasm remained constant. The time trend of mortality of breast cancer demonstrates regional differences and has increased somewhat in th GDR. Mortality of uterus cancer has slightly decreased. Regional differences and time trends of cancer mortality in the GDR suggest the influence of environmental factors.


[The extent of the atypical squamous epithelium of the cervix uteri (author's transl)].

210 cone biopsies were examined. In 27 cases a dysplasia of low degree and in 30 cases a dysplasia of higher degree was found to be the maximal epithelial lesion; a carcinoma in situ was found in 87 cases and an early stromal invasion in 66 cases. The examinations were performed in sagittal sections of the central areas of cone specimens. In each section the lengths of all atypical epithelial extensions were measured. In cases with different atypical epithelial in the same section, e.g. different dysplasias or carcinomata in situ, the extent of the atypical epithelium was defined as the total sum of all respective epithelial lengths. Moreove,the sum of these lengths is considered as a parameter of the surface area of an atypial field and is expressed as a percentage of the total epithelial cone surface. It was observed that in any given lesion, the higher the maximal epithelial atypia, the more frequent the coincidence of different types of atypia. The coincidence was most frequent in early stromal invasion. These results are in conflict with the present theory that carcinoma in situ orginates from dysplasia: under that assumption the dysplasias would have to become less frequent with the occurence of a carcinoma in situ. The average surface area of an atypical epithelium is greatest in cases of early stromal invasion; it is significantly greater in cases of carcinomata in situ than in dysplasias. The extent of the atypical epithelial fields can be attributed to two factors: On the one hand, the coincidence of different types of atypical epithelium is directly proportional of the degree at atypia; on the other hand, areas of carcinomata in situ were in themselves more extensive than areas of dysplasias. Expansion variations were also shown in different types of dysplasias. However, no differences in expansion could be observed in carcinomata in situ with and without stromal invasion. In early stromal invasion the significant increase in surface-area was almost exclusively due to the coincidence of carcinomata in situ with dysplasias. It is evident that a positive correlation exists between the tendency toward invasive growth and the extent of the atypical epithelium. Finally, the degree of the epithelial atypia appears to be a function of the extent of the atypical epithelium on the surface of the cervix.


Bone metabolism in quadriplegia: dissociation between calciuria and hydroxyprolinuria.

Relationships between duration of paralysis, recumbency, muscular activity, and urinary loss of calcium (Cau), phosphorus (Pu), and hydroxyproline (OHPu) were studied daily in 32 traumatic quadriplegic patients during comprehensive rehabilitation and randomly in those readmitted for treatment. Within days after onset, quadriplegic patients had increases in Pu, then OHPu, and finally, Cau. Patients actively engaged in rehabilitation exercises showed a steady fall in OHPu, whereas CAU remained high for up to 18 months. Patients paralyzed for over 18 months (late) had low Cau, Pu and OHPu; but if the patients were kept in bed, OHPu increased rapidly. Patients with early quadriplegia have an increased bone remodeling, suggesting that the excess OHPu and Cau are derived from resorbed bone. Patients with late quadriplegia have little bone remodeling, therefore the excess OHPu occurring during recumbency may be derived from the resorption of new collagen produced during the removal of weight bearing without further change in muscular activity. Resorbed new collagen is excreted in part as large, OHP-containing polypeptides; these were found in the urine of quadriplegic patients, and therefore were present in blood and may play a role in initiating ectopic bone and renal calculi. The presence of OHP in 11 bladder calculi from quadriplegic patients tends to support this hypothesis. These studies indicate that muscular activity and weight bearing influence the bone metabolism of quadriplegic patients and suggest that the presence in body fluids of increased catabolic products from bone may have a role in bone-related complications.


Serial nerve conduction and electromyographic studies in experimental allergic neuritis.

Experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) was produced in ten guinea pigs by intradermal injection of peripheral nerve antigen and complete Freund's adjuvant. Six additional animals were injected with adjuvant only, and three control animals received saline. Slowing of motor nerve conduction velocity occurred in all animals ijected with antigen. Velocities progressively decreased through the first six weeks, at which time they started increasing, returning to the normal range in the third month. Six of the animals--generally those having received the greatest amount of antigen and adjuvant--developed severe encephalomyelitis and died early in the study. These animals also developed more severe peripheral nerve involvement, and conduction velocities decreased more than in mildly affected animals. Abnormal electromyographic findings were observed in all EAN animals surviving through the third week. Two of the six animals injected with complete adjuvant without antigen showed some minimal electromyographic changes. Several developed slight slowing of nerve conduction velocity during the first few weeks. Saline control animals had normal nerve conductions and electromyographic studies throughout the course of observation.


Aerobic power prediction in patients recovering from limb injury.

Procedures for the prediction of one-leg and two-leg maximal aerobic power output (VO2 max) have been examined in a group of 15 young men having had fracture of one leg and consequent immobilization resulting in muscle atrophy. Extrapolation of the submaximal cardiac frequency (FH) and oxygen intake (VO2) responses to an assumed FH amx of 175 in one-leg and 195 in two-leg work resulted in a systematic overestimation of VO2 max. This overestimation could be removed by applying the appropriate regression equations, but the overall accuracy of the extrapolation method was limited to +/- 15% in the case of the injured leg and +/- 8% for either the uninjured leg or both legs combined. Prediction of VO2 max from leg muscle (plus bone) volume gave the same order of accuracy. However, it was shown that the VO2 max of the injured leg could be predicted with an accuracy of +/- 5%, if the observed VO2 max data of the uninjured leg and two legs were combined and utilized in the following formula: VO2 max (injured leg) = (A X 2) - VO2 max (uninjured leg), where A is the mean one-leg VO2 max predicted from the two-leg VO2 max observed. It was concluded that wherever possible the one-leg and two-leg VO2 max of patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy should be measured directly. If the patient is unable to pedal the bicycle ergometer with his injured leg alone then the VO2 max of this limb may be predicted from leg volume measurements or from the observed uninjured and two-leg VO2 max with an accuracy of approximately 8%.


Heterotopic bone formation about the hip and unilateral decubitus ulcers in spinal cord injury.

Of 131 patients having spinal cord injury who were admitted to the hospital for chronic symptoms over a two-year period, 62 (47 percent) developed heterotopic ossifications in hip muscles. Of these 62 cases, 51 were unilateral. In 83 (63 percent) of the 131 patients, decubitus ulcers developed and these were unilateral in 71 cases. A high correlation between ulceration and heterotopic ossification was observed (phi = 0.69, P less than 0.001). Because heterotopy in the absence of ulceration was infrequent (less than 1 percent of cases), it appears that ossification and reduced mobility of a limb predipose to the development of the decubitus ulcer.


[Relations between blood lipids and some eye diseases associated with arteriosclerosis].

Blood lipids, their alterations and methods of determination are reviewed. Serum values are compared in a series consisting of 20 cases of eye disease not caused by arteriosclerosis, 16 of chronic glaucoma, 14 of diabetes mellitus without retinopathy, 13 of occlusion of the central retinal artery, 16 of the retinal haemorrhage, 21 of retinal vein thrombosis, and 24 of sclerosis of the retinal fundus. Abnormal pictures, particularly with respect to the beta-alphaprotein ratio, were observed and it is suggested that their recognition and correction can serve as a guide in the prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis and its ocular complications.


[Retroperitoneal rupture of the duodenum caused by closed abdominal injury].

Preoperative diagnosis of retroperitoneal rupture of the duodenum is very difficult. Radiographical observation of air surrounding the right kidney or psoas muscle is of great assistance in this respect, but may only be expected in 30% of cases. Examination of the first segment of the digestive tract with the aid of "gastropgrafin" is advised. With the abdomen open, the presence of air, haematoma or bile in the transverse mesocolon or mesentery of the small intestine may be noted. In most cases, the breach can be closed with a double layer, leaving a drainage tube in the retroperitoneum. Measures than can be taken when suturing is unfeasable are also described.


The surgical aspects of hyperparathyroidism.

We followed up 250 patients surgically treated for hyperparathyroidism. Selective venous catheterization with radioimmunoassay was an effective method of preoperative localization, but its greatest contribution was in patients needing reexploration of the neck. Because of a 15 percent incidence of multiple gland involvement, we tried to identify all glands, if possible. If more than one gland was abnormal, it also was removed. If three or four glands were abnormal, a subtotal parathyroidectomy was done. Five patients showed persistent hyperparathyroidism because of failure to find or remove all hyperfunction tissue: two patients were successfully treated at a third operation; one has not undergone reexploration, and two have parathyromatosis. Only one patient developed late recurrent hyperparathyroidism. The removal of a single adenoma is adequate providing the remaining glands are grossly and histologically normal. Hypoparathyroidism is a potential, although uncommon, risk following subtotal parathyroidectomy.


Gastric secretion and serum gastrin in human small bowel bypass.

Jejunolieal bypass (JIB) patients provide a unique opportunity to study the relationship between small bowel loss and gastric secretory function. Preoperatively, and approximately one year postoperatively, measurements of gastric secretion were taken in 37 patients who underwent JIB for massive obesity. Basal acid output increased by 0.52 plus or minus 0.35 mEq/hr (P greater than.2), and peak stimulated acid output increased by 1.99 plus or minus 0.96 mEq/30 min (P smaller than .05). A separate group of 26 postoperative and 17 preoperative (control) JIB patients had fasting serum gastrin levels measured by radioimmunoassay. Postoperative patients had levels of 37 plus or minus 5 pg/ml, and control patients had levels of 36 plus or minus 4 pg/ml (P greater than .5). We conclude that following JIB for obesity, there is no significant change in basal acid secretion or in serum gastrin. There is a small, but statistically significant, increase in peak stimulated acid output. We currently find no clinical correlation with this change.


Complications of jejunoileal bypass for morbid obesity.

Fifty-two patients had jejunoileal bypass surgery. End-to-end (Scott) or end-to-side (Payne) shunts were randomly selected for each patient; 31 standard length shunts and 21 shortened bypasses were performed. Only 22 patients had an acceptable result, whereas 30 patients had inadequate weight loss (less than 2.3 kg [5 lb] per month per year) or had gastrointestinal tract, metabolic, or surgical complications judged severe enough to render the outcome less than adequate. There was one death, and four patients required reanastomosis of the bypass. The primary deteriminant of success was age, ie, younger patients had clearly better results than older patients. In general, shorter shunts produced more weight loss than standard bypass procedures, but were associated with an increased complication rate. Three new complications of jejunolieal bypass are reported: acute comonic dilation with necrosis, beriberi, and lupus erythematosus.


Biliary and urinary calculi: pathogenesis following small bowel bypass for obesity.

Of 93 patients with small bowel bypass for massive exogenous obesity, three developed calcium oxalate urinary calculi, four stones in their gallbladder, and one developed both gallstones and urinary calculi during a mean follow-up period of 17.6 plus or minus 9.0 months. The urinary oxalate excretion increased from 21.6 to 67.8 mg/24 hours (P smaller than .001); simultaneously, the urinary output decreased from 1,775 to 1,101 ml/24 hours (P smaller than .001). Postoperatively, there was a significant increase in the rate of bile salt synthesis from 1.6 to 4.9 gm/day (P smaller than .02) and in the bile sale glycine/taurine ratio from 4.6 to 6.8 (P smaller than .05). It is suggested that the postbypass increase in the biliary glycine/taurine ratio, with its consequent decrease in the zeta potential of the micelles in bile, is at least partly responsible for the increased incidence of cholelithlasis. The pathogenic basis for the increased incidence of urinary calculi is hyperoxaluria, which is probably related to an increased bile salt and glycine synthesis.


Gastrin determinations in symptomatic patients before and after standard ulcer operations.

Whereas 67 patients with duodenal ulcer had fasting and 30-minute postprandial mean serum gastrin levels not substantially different from 32 normal subjects, they had substantially higher fasting and histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion. The increased acid secretion found in patients with duodenal ulcer is not caused by increased serum gastrin levels. Ten patients with recurrent ulcer, after incomplete vagotomy and gastric resection, had high gastric acid secretion and normal serum gastrin levels. Three patients with recurrent ulcer following complete vagotomy and gastric resection, but with retained antrum, had both high gastric acid secretion and high fasting and postprandial secrum gastrin levels. Three patients with Zollinger-Ellison tumors had even higher basal acid outputs and serum gastrin levels. The combination of basic gastric acid secretory studies and serum gastrin determinations may identify three causes of recurrent ulcer: incomplete vagotomy, retained antrum, and Zollinger-Ellison tumor.


Implantable pacemakers in children.

Permanent pacemakers were implanted in 12 children, ages 2 weeks to 6 years. The cause of the arrhythmia was congenital in three, postoperative in six, viral in one, and unknown in two. One operative death occurred on the second postoperative day. Two late deaths occurred five and 10-1/2 years postoperatively. The late deaths were in patients with good cardiac capture in whom the block followed repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Ventricular arrhythmias were believed to be the cause of death. Reoperation was required 37 times: for pacemaker exhaustion, 17; electrode problems, 15; wound problems, four; and arrhythmia, one. Nine of 12 patients are alive nine months to ten years eight months postoperatively. The remaining three survived for eight to ten years. Frequent reoperation and dilligent correction of defective pacing is rewarded with long, active lives in children requiring implantable pacemakers.


Malignant melanoma: the patient with an unknown site of primary origin.

Four percent of 2,446 patients with malignant melanoma did not have a known site of primary origin. More than half were admitted with nodal disease only, and were treated with regional node dissections. Thirty-three percent of this group lived five years, and 22 percent lived ten years following treatment. One third were admitted with visceral metastases, many of which were amenable to surgery, and this group experienced a 5 percent five-year survival rate. Cutaneous dissemination carried a lethal prognosis. Recurrences following treatment tended toward the same region of the body as the original metastasis, and 50 percent of these recurrences occurred within six months of therapy. The sex ratio, age incidence, family history, and survival rates in these patients with unknown primary tumors are consistent with an unnoticed cutaneous lesion as the site of origin for the metastatic disease. It must be supposed that this lesion had undergone spontaneous regression.


Chemotherapy, BCG, and serum from tumor-bearing mice: comparative effects on growth and spread of mouse Lewis lung cancer.

In 101 mice, Lewis lung tumor (25 mg apiece) was implanted subcutaneously in the right hind limb and the mice separated into various groups and protocols to test treatment with immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic agents. In those treated intralesionally with BCG, the growth of primary tumor was retarded (P smaller than or equal to .05). Tumor growth in animals treated with systemic BCG and serum from tumor-bearing mice was not different from controls. In 14 of 20 mice treated with chemotherapy (semustine and cyclophosphamide), there was no primary or metastatic growth (P smaller than or equal to .01). The observations show that this sort of systemic immunotherapy had no effect on mouse Lewis lung tumor, that intralesionally there was a retarding effect of BCG (although it did not influence metastases), and that this protocol of chemotherapy was strikingly effective.


Prognosis in colon cancer: a pathologic reassessment.

One hundred forty-eight cases of colon carcinoma were subjected to further pathologic study. Survival was correlated with stage and grade of the tumor and with the number of involved lymph nodes. In addition, cases were assessed as to the extent of local chronic inflammatory reaction about the lesion and the degree of sinus histiocytosis in draining lymph nodes. A correlation was possible between grading, staging, extent of lymph node involvement, and survival. A substantial difference in five-year survival was shown when local inflammatory reaction was present and when sinus histiocytosis was observed. The presence of both of these factors further improved survival. An adequate evaluation of these factors, both individually and in combination, should improve our ability to assess prognosis in colon cancer.


Renovascular hypertension secondary to arterial fibrodysplasia in adults: criteria for operation and results of surgical therapy.

One hundred thirteen patients (106 women, seven men), 18 to 64 years in age, with hypertension as a consequence of renal artery fibrodysplasia underwent operation during a 13-year period. Renal-systemic renin indexes confirming ischemic kidney hypersecretion with contralateral suppression, and demonstration of collateral vessels circumventing hemodynamically significant stenoses proved reliable predictive indicators of surgical curability. One hundred fifty-eight surgical procedures were performed, including bilateral operations in 18 patients. Most common of 129 primary operations were 98 autogenous saphenous vein aortorenal grafts. Initial nephrectomy was undertaken on three occasions. Ninety-five percent of patients benefited from operation. Sixty-two patients were cured of hypertension; 45 were noticeably improved; and six were surgical failures. No operative deaths occurred. Proper patient selection is the most important determinant of operative curability in patients with renovascular hypertension.


Ergotism.

Severe extremity ischemia developed in four patients who had ingested methysergide maleate or ergot for the relief of headache. Symptoms involved the upper extremity in two patients and the lower extremity in two. Spontaneous reversal of the ischemic picture was obtained by simple discontinuation of ergot in most instances, although intra-arterial vasodilators were used in one case. Angliography disclosed arterial spasm and was a useful adjunct in confirming the cause of ischemia in each of the patients. It was especially useful when a history or ergot ingestion was not immediately available.


Accuracy of ultrasound in diagnosing abdominal masses.

B-mode ultrasonography was performed in 246 patients with suspected abdominal masses over a seven-year period. In 105 (40 percent), the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis was evaluated surgically. Sonography was proven correct in 60 (57 percent) patients who had undergone operation. Among 141 patients who had not undergone operation and whose diagnoses were established by other means, ultrasonography agreed with the clinical diagnosis in 69 (31 percent). Ultrasound accuracy, as confirmed by operation, was highest for splenic masses (100 percent) and for aortic aneurysm (88 percent). Liver masses were correctly identified in 56 percent of patients and gallbladder lesions in 38 percent. While only a 48 percent accuracy was obtained in diagnosing pancreatic disease, 64 percent of all pseudocysts were localized. Ultrasonography correlated positively with operative findings in 56 percent of renal masses. Intraperitoneal abscess was accurately diagnosed in 61 percent of patients but retroperitoneal adenopathy in only 33 percent. Abdominal ultrasonography, while accurately diagnosing splenic and aortic masses, failed to identify approximately half of other mass lesions. Improved techniques hold promise of improving this diagnostic accuracy.


The application of ultrasound to the study of thyroid enlargement: management of 450 cases.

Four hundred fifty cases of thyroid enlargement were studied by B-mode ultrasonography. Specific ultrasonographic patterns could be established for cyst, solid tumors, multinodular goiter, cystadenoma, and thyroiditis. Benign and malignant tissue could not be differentiated. In 155 cases, tissue diagnosis was established usually by operation but also by aspiration cytology. One hundred forty-two were hypofunctioning solitary nodules. The reliability of ultrasonographic diagnosis was 94 percent. It permitted safe aspiration of cysts, early operation of solid lesions, and avoidance of radiation hazard in the management of pregnant and pediatric patients. Our operative series showed the following incidences: cancer 16 percent, cyst 20 percent, and neoplasm 62 percent.


Ultrasound evaluation of microanastomosis.

The Doppler ultrasound flowmeter with a pencil probe, emitting at a frequency of 10 megacycles/second, was used to making recordings along intact and repaired digital arteries and veins. In normal digital arteries, the flow averaged 3.78 ml/min. The ability of the method to appraise the condition of an anastamosis was evaluated in five patients with partial or complete digit, hand, or arm replants, and found quite satisfactory. Beginnings were made in developing criteria for satisfactory flow in these small arteries.


Rectal myectomy in Hirschsprung disease: a decade of experience.

Short-segment aganglionosis is becoming more frequently recognized in view of more sophisticated diagnostic techniques, as well as the greater clinical awareness of the entity. A series of 37 patients who underwent rectal myectomy during a ten-year period was reviewed. Selected patients with short-segment aganglionosis, proved by muscle biopsy, responded well to a single transanal operation that required an overnight hospital stay. The complications were minimal, and the cure or marked improvement has persisted for as long as 11 years. When major surgery of an abdominoperineal pull-through type was required after the myectomy (four patients), no technical difficulties were encountered. Within the limits of its applicability, rectal myectomy has a definite place in the treatment of short-segment Hirschsprung disease.


Retinal artery emboli. Indications for angiography and carotid endarterectomy.

Six patients with ocular symptoms were referred by the Eye Service to the Vascular Service because of the presence of cholesterol emboli on fundoscopic examination of the retinal arteries. None of the six patients had classic intermittent retinal or cerebral ischemic attacks. Four-vessel aortic arch arteriogram was suggested and significant ipsilateral carotid disease was found in all patients. Four patients underwent carotid endarterectomy, with removal of ulcerated plaques from the carotid bifurcation. Two patients had total occlusion of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery and therefore were not operative candidates. The presence of retinal cholesterol emboli is an indication for extracranial arteriography. When ipsilateral ulcerative disease is found, carotid endarterectomy is indicated regardless of the symptoms.


Subclavian artery patch angioplasty. Treatment of infants and young children with aorta coarctation.

Repair of thoracic aorta coarctation in infants has had a high recurrence rate in most series. Recurrence is the result of several factors, but the type and growth of anastomosis are of primary importance. Subclavian artery patch angioplasty was used consecutively in eight children under the age of 5 years. There are six long-term survivors who have been observed for an average of 22 months. Body surface area during this time increased from a mean of 0.22 sq m preoperatively to a mean of 0.54 sq m at present. Blood pressure in the arms and legs were recorded at recent examination using an ultrasound pressure recorder. Only one patient had a substantial gradient (30 mm Hg). All survivors are asymptomatic. Use of the subclavian artery appears to allow for growth at the repair site.


Rupture of the thoracic aorta following blung trauma.

Six patients underwent emergency surgery for descending aortic injury following blunt trauma to the chest; three survived. Associated injury was a critical factor in two of the three patients who died. In the third patient, prolonged ischemia of the lower half of the body due to total aortic distraction with a distal aortic flap produced irreversible changes that were manifest during reperfusion of the body. Angiography is recommended if the patient's condition is stable and other injuries demanding immediate surgical attention are not present. If, however, there are other serious injuries and adequate distal perfusion, then these other injuries should be corrected before aortic repair is undertaken.


Colitis proximal to obstructing colonic carcinoma.

Nonspecific colitis proximal to an obstructing colonic carcinoma has appeared in the surgical literature for over 20 years, but it remains an uncommon and difficult clinical problem. This report details the case histories of five patients with this entity who have been admitted to the surgical service of Presbyterian Hospital since 1967. The colitis described is clearly related to the obstructive lesion and does not represent chronic inflammatory colitis in association with a carcinoma. The patients may initially have symptoms secondary to the obstructing lesion or fulminant peritoneal signs secondary to the colitis. The roentgenographic appearance is typical and closely resembles that seen in colonic ischemia. The pathologic process varies from fibrosis and stricture formation to transmural necrosis and perforation.


Serum prognostic indicators in experimental Bacteroides peritonitis.

Serum lysozyme and hemolytic complement (CH100) levels were measured in dogs with experimental Bacteroides peritonitis. The CH100 levels showed little change in surviving animals. Nonsurvivors showed a moderate decrease in complement levels shortly after contamination. Both surviving and nonsurviving animals showed a slight initial decrease in lysozyme levels shortly after contamination. In surviving dogs this was followed by an increase to normal levels. In nonsurvivors, levels continued to increase, reaching a threefold magnification just prior to death. As a result of antibiotic therapy, CH100 levels exhibited no major changes; however, dogs deprived of antibiotic showed noticeable and persistent increases in lysozyme levels while treated animals showed only a mild elevation in lysozyme levels. The changes in the level of serum lysozyme may be a good indicator of antibiotic efficacy and approaching death from Bacteroides peritonitis.


Posttraumatic renal artery stenosis. Cure of hypertension by late revascularization.

Renal artery stenosis causing hypertension may be the sequel of blunt nonpenetrating abdominal trauma. Early recognition of such renal artery injury is essential. In the case reported, late recognition of unilateral traumatic renal artery stenosis led to surgical correction of the lesion and lasting cure of hypertension.


[Use of roentgen-television film for the analysis of physical exercises].

Biochemical investigation of movements of man is based on precise registration of movements of body links in space and time. The popular method of filming is almost unsuitable for studying exact movements in small joints, rotation movements and movements performed simultaneously in several joints. The use of rentgen-television filming of movement in the joints broadens the possibilities of biomechanical investigations of movements of man.


[Ultrastructural characteristics of the capillary basement membrane of the cerebral cortex in normal state and in severe focal diseases].

The capillary basal membranes of the cerebral cortex in adult rats and man have similarultrastructure in normality. The same formation of capillaries of the cerebral cortex of 1 day old rats is characterized by a not uniform structure and relatively low electron-optical density. The capillary basal membrane of the cortex of patients not older than 30 with severe focal lesions of the brain has increased thickness in some portions where it iscomposed of a homogenous substance, osmophilic granules, light cavities of different size and shape, vesicles restricted with a sheath and rare dense bodies. In elderly patients older that 40 the capillary basal membrane in thicker zones appears to be more electron dense and homogeneous than in younger patients.


[Density of distribution of nerve cells in the nuclei of the cat's trigeminal complex].

The results of calculation of nerve cells density in each of the four nuclei composing the nuclear complex of the trigeminal nerve are presented. The quantitative data were processed by non-parametrical statistical method. It was established that the whole rostral half of the trigeminal complex of the nuclei had greater density of cell distribution, than the caudal one. Especially pronounced was the difference in the density of disposition of cells between the nuclei occupying the extreme-caudal and rostral position in the general complex of nuclei. Comparison of the obtained facts with the literature data and the author's previous investigations has shown that the revealed distinctions are in agreement with pecularities of the structural functional organizations of the trigeminal complex, according to which the structure is changed from the caudal to rostral end to be more isolated from the reticular formation, and the function is changed to conduct more delicate differentiated stimuli.


[Autoradiographic study of cellular structure of the epithelium of the duct of testicular epididymis of rats].

Mature rats were given intraperitoneal injections of H-3-thymidine (1 mkk/g 1-32 hours before being killed. Labelled and non-labelled mitoses and interphase cells of different types were counted in each zone of the epididymis autographs. The diurnal fluctuatiof the mitoticindex (Im) was found: form 0,19% in the day-time to 0.33% in the night at and morning hours (psmaller than 0.05). The average diurnal Im was equal to .23%-0.03. The fist wave of labelled mitoses of the epithelial cells was observed during 32 hours, tg-2 (3-5 hours) and ts(13-14 hours) were graphically calculated. The time tg-2-tm-ts was equal to 19-20 hours. Therprietal (0.87%), basal (1.87%) and oreolar (2.20%) cells of the epidermis duct labelled 1 hour after ijection of H-3-thymidine. The apical cells (3.%) were labelled 8 hours later, while the light ones were not labelled during the whole period of observation. On these grounds, the parietal, basal and oreolar cells are considered to be proliferative cells, while the light and apical ones-to be their derivatives in the epidemis epithelium. Besides, the oreolar cells may be regareded as a foreign element in the epidermis according to their morphological features and ability to migrate throughout the total depth of the epithelial layer.


[Comparative study of formation of the frontal cortex of the brain of monkeys and man in ontogenesis].

The development of the fields of the frontal zone (8, 3, 10, 11, 12) were compared in the pre- and postnatal periods oflife in the nacaque-rhesus and man. The cyto-mielcarchitectonical and guantitative methods wereused. The square surfaces of the above fields were measured, their per cent  ratios to thesquare surface of all the cortex, new cortex and frontal zone were calculated. The work hasrevealed the following: 1. General regularities in the development of frontal zones in monkeysand man: a) shorter terms for the formation of  philogenetically  old  fields-11, 12, 8 andlonger terms for the new ones-9 and 10:b) predominant development of the frontal  zone at theexpense of progressive young fields 9 and 10: c) predominat formation of the frontal zone bothkinds of primates in the postnatal period. 2. The specific features for each field (the termsfor isolation of the fields, the rate and direction of their  development). 3. Substantial difference: more rapid maturation of the frontal zone in macaques (by the 6th -12th months of life)and more prolonged one in humans-by 12 years. A considerable  growth of philogenetically newstructures (fields 9 and 10) in the system of all the cortex and  the frontal zone wasshown in man as compared with monkey. The experimental ontogentical material is interpreted.


[Roentgen anatomy of the arteries of the gallbladder (according to intravital angiography)].

Examiniation of 163 series of coeliacograms and 10 series of angiograms of the superior mesentery  artery has established  thatby a conventional method the gallbladder artery is revealed in 79.1% of observations. The gall-bladder is blood supplied by a solitary or a double artery , or by numerous small vessels (scattered type of blood supply). Distinctive features of the gall-bladder arteries are:the site of their origination, the type of branching, irregular sinous course and false enlargements of the lumen as well as the disposition of arteries and their branches coinciding withthe topographs of the bladder determined in the parenchymatous phase. The main causes preventing determination of the gall-bladder arteries are both insufficiently contrast angiograms andpoor accumulation of the contrast substance in the bladder wall. Superposition of theshade of the enlarged liver is one of the obstacles in determinating the gall-bladder arteries. The author's experience show that the sourses of the gall baldder blood supply can be revealedin most cases in ordinary coeliacograms.


[Development of the caudate nucleus of rats in postnatal ontogenesis and formation of cholinergic mediation in it].

Morphological maturation of the rat's caudate nucleus and formation of cholinergic system in it were studied in postnatal ontogenesis. Under investigation were newborn rats, 7, 14, 21 day old rats and adult animals. The growth and maturation of the caudate nucleys were most intesne during the first two postnatal weeks, it was somewhat descreased by the beginning of the third week and continued in later terms as well. The structure of dendrites and axons became complicated during the first two weeks, the axo-dendritic contacts being also formed. The neuron structure in 14 days old rats was similar to that of adult animals. The activity of acetylcholinesterase in the caudate nucleus of 7 and 14 days rats was not great. It sharply increased by the 17th day and reached the level of adults with 3 weeks after birth. Possible correlations of the morpho-chemical maturation of the caudate nucleus and formation of motor activity in rats is discussed.


[Neuronal organization of the large-cell segment of the cat's red nucleus].

When studying the neuronal organization of the large-cell part of the red nucleus in cats by the Golgi and Golgi-Kopsch methods three types of neurons have been revealed: large (50-90 mu), medium-sized (20-50 mu) and small cells (8-20 mu). long axon and short-axon neurons were found as well as long-dendrite cells with few thorns (the length of the dendrites form 600-900 mu) and short-dendrite cells (up to 400 mu). On basis ofanalysis of neuronal groups found in the large-cell part of the red nucleus of the cat a neuronal map of this part of the central nervous sytem is composed.


[Endothelium of the jugular vein of domestic chicken at the remote periods after injury].

Detailed analysis of changes in the endothelial layer at late  terms after injury revealed that in one month after cauterization with a 0,25%solution of silver nitrate the recovered epithelium was not substatially different from the initial state by most features and retained its  specific properties. From the normal state itdistinguished by the cell size, their orientation with respect to the longitudinal  axis ofthe vessel, but the signs characterizing the lining as a whole, such as correct arrangement of the layer, the shape of the cells, gave evidence that the endothelium had recovered retainingits specific properties as a highly sensitive system with intrinsic signs of a tissue type. A significant amount of binuclear cells at late terms as well as greater amount of nuclei with centromeres as compared with the normal state pointed out that the traces of the reactive processretained for a very long time.


[Microcirculatory bed in the capsules of certain glands].

The capsules of the thyroid, submaxillary salivary, pancreatic gland of adults and the thymus of children were studed. The preparation were impregnated with silver nitrate after  Kuprijanov and stained with haematoxiline-eosin. Different constructions of them microcirculatory bed depending on the character of the tissue and the functional activity of the organ were found. The value of the total cross section of the vessels of the microcirculatroy bed calculated in the capillary link allowed a comparisonof the degree of blood supply of the sheaths. The vascular bed of the sheaths served as anadditional way for the blood supply of the organ, a distribution  basin and the site ofcollection of the blood, flowing from the parenchyma through collateral vessels.


[Changes in the ultrastructure of the chloride cells of sturgeon during adaptation to a hypertonic medium].

Alterations in the ultrastructure of chloride cells of young sturgeons Acipenser guldenstadti Brandt in the process of adaptation to hypertonic medium (S=105%) were under study. In the process of this adaptation thread-shaped long mitochondria became shorter, their random position was substituted by orientation in parallel to the axis of the cell. The amount of mitochrondria increased. A great number of vacuoles appeared in the cytoplasm. The character of the endoplasmic reticulum changed. The obtained data on the ultrastructure of chloride cells of the sturgeon confirm and supplement earlier light microscopy investigations of chloride cells of the sturgeon. The changes of the ultrastructure of chloride cells are interpreted as functional and adaptational ones.


[Method of live microscopy of the neurons of the cat brain].

Method of microscopic study of living nervous elements of the brain stained with vital dyes in the falling light was developed. Investigation of the morphology of neurons, glial cells and vasculo-nervous relations in the cat's cerebral cortex in living state in situ became possible thanks to the proposed method. Conditions were made to observe the patterns of dynamic changes in these structures under effects of different stimuli.


[Morphological changes in the follicular epithelium in oogenesis of the Peking duck (Anas boschas domestica) and other poultry].

The morphology of the follicular epithelium during the course of oogenesis in poultry (duck goose, hen, turkey) and at the first stages of oocyte growth in some wild birds (finch, totmit, wood-pecker, pigeon) was studied. The general patterns of the follicular epithelium changings are similar in the both groups of birds. In the process of the oocyte growth the flat follicular epithelial monolayer changes to cubic, prismatic, pseudostratified epithelium. It leads sometimes to the impression of multi-layerness owing to its irregular structure. During the oocyte rapid growth the surface of the oocyte increases causing tension on the epithelium layer. This process again turns the pseudostratified epithelium into primatic, cubic and flat epithelium. Pseudostratified structure of the follilicular epithelium is regarded as adaptation to the necessity of the rapid tension during rapid oocyte growth. Correlations of the follicular epithelium morphology with the oocyte diameter are established. Existance of a temporary multilayer stage is discussed with arguments against the interpretation of this stage as a real multilayer.


[Ultrastructural characteristics of axon terminals of the posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus in the cat].

Two kinds of axon terminals: fine M-terminals with the diameter up to 2 mkm and large K-terminals with the diameter up to 6 mkm were found in electron microscopic study of the posterior lateral nucleus of the cat's thalamus. M-terminals comprising 88% of the total amount of the axon terminations under analysis are characterized by a great amount of densely packed light round synaptic vesicles and solitary mitochondria. These terminals form asymmetrical type of contacts in which the post-synaptic network is distinguished with a high degree of osmiophilia. The K-terminals contain a few rarely distributed round light synaptic vesicles and many mitochondria which are disposed in the central part of the termination. These terminals form a symmetrical type of synaptic contacts with poorly pronounced active zones in these formations. In axo-axonal contacts between the described kinds of terminals the K-terminals always serve as a presynapse. After extirpation of the sincipital cortex M-terminals underwent degeneration.


[Reparative regeneration of muscle fibers of the skeletal type and reasons for its delay in local x-ray irradiation].

Under study was the reparative regeneration of the frog's tibial muscle and the reason of its delay under local X-ray irradiation in dosage of 800 and 3000 r. The irradiated animals were shown to have the same type of regeneration as non-irradiated animals. Both pale proper muscle nuclei and dark subsarcolemma nuclei belonging, to the author's mind, to cell-satellites, took part in it. The buds and "primary" myosymplasts playing mainly a subsidiary supporting role developed from the formers (which were not labeled with H-3-thymidine and did not divide mitotically). From the latters (labeled with H-3-thymidine and dividing mitotically) developed myoblasts and "secondary" myosymplasts forming young muscle fibres when merging with one another and then differentiating. At early stages of the process the delay in the muscle fibres regeneration was related with their radiation damage, at later stages - with a damage of the connective tissue.


[State of the receptors in the wall of the large arteries and veins following the action of impulse acceleration in the organism].

The state of receptors in the wall of the vena cava and pulmonary veins, the pulmonary trunk and the aorta arc was studied in cats subjected to single impulse accelerations within the limits of 8-70 gravitation units during 20-25 msec. Myelinated nerve fibres underwent reactive changes in the form of increased argirophilia, swelling, varicosities. In bushy receptors there appeared the same reactive changes in their preterminal part as well as an excessive growth of terminals. A small part of myelinated fibres and bushy receptors regenerated. Regeneration of the receptor terminals was noted.