Physostigmine: effects on fear or defense responses in the rat. Previous research had shown that the anticholinergic drug, scopolamine, decreased innate defensive responses of rats to a live cat or mechanical robot, and that the effects of scopolamine were attributable to actions of the drug on the central nervous system. In the present research, the anticholinesterase, physostigmine, which increases central cholinergic activity, caused an increase in the defense responses of male hooded rats. Physostigmine caused significantly more freezing and significantly more suppression of feeding and suppression of time near the aversive stimulus (ROBOT). Dose-response curves showed a positive, linear relationship between dose (0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) of physostigmine and defense responses. The present results could not be attributed to general response suppression since the effects of physostigmine were situation-specific, i.e., the drug had no significant effect on behavior in the non-aversive or NO ROBOT condition. The present results were taken as further evidence of the involvement of cholinergic activity in the mediation of defense responses. The effects of cholinergic and anticholinergic drugs on the observable defense response of freezing were thought to have important implications for the large literature relating these drugs and avoidance responding.


Increased weight gain as a morphine withdrawal response in rats. Adult male Wistar rats injected daily with 20 or 200 mg/kg morphine-SO4 for 35 days suffered a dose-dependent weight loss over the first 3 days of morphine withdrawal. However, during the next 28 days they gained weight more rapidly than controls, the rates being related to the previous morphine dosage. These findings were replicated in Sprague-Dawley rats treated for 26 days with 60 mg/kg morphine. Food-restricted controls suffering weight losses equal to those of the morphine-treated or morphine-withdrawn groups did not subsequently gain weight as rapidly as the latter groups. Therefore the rapid post-withdrawal weight gain may be a true adaptive response to the weight suppressing effects of morphine. Also, comparisons of weight changes during treatment in the two experiments indicated possible strain differences for tolerance to morphine's direct weight-reducing effect.


Time course of dopaminergic hypersensitivity following chronic narcotic treatment. Guinea pigs were injected SC for 3 weeks with 3 different dosage schedules of morphine or methadone, or with saline. For 8 weeks thereafter they were challenged weekly with the dopamine agonist apomorphine. Hypersensitivity was manifested in more intense stereotypies, as compared to the saline group, by all morphine and methadone groups. Hypersensitivity persisted longer after the termination of methadone treatment (maximum of 8 weeks) than after morphine administration (maximum of 3 weeks). The degree of hypersensitivity, and its duration after treatment, was positively related to methadone dosage. In some groups a period of hyposensitivity was seen following hypersensitivity. These data are interpreted with reference to the hypothesized mechanism underlying the development of hypersensitivity, the different durations of action of morphine and methadone, and the retention of methadone in brain following treatment.


Amphetamine: effects on defensive flight or avoidance in the rat. Treatment with a moderately high dose of amphetamine caused rats to retreat from a stimulus they would normally approach and explore (mechanical robot or live white rabbit). While saline-treated rats spent approximately equal amounts of time in the area of the apparatus near the stimulus, amphetamine-treated rats spent a high percentage of trial time in the area of the apparatus farthest from the stimulus. The drug effects were dose related (range: 1.75, 3.5 and 7.0 mg/kg) with higher avoidance time at higher doses, and significant linear trends accounting for much of the variance. The highest dose of amphetamine elicited response stereotypy. However, control conditions ruled out the possibility that the present results could be explained by competing motor responses of stereotypy or increased activity. Thus, apart from its actions on motor behavior, amphetamine treatment resulted in rats avoiding or retreating from an otherwise neutral stimulus.


Diurnal profiles of serum insulin, C-peptide and blood intermediary metabolites in insulin treated diabetics, their relationship to the control of diabetes and the role of endogenous insulin secretion. The 24-hour profiles of blood metabolites, serum free and total insulin, and C-peptide were measured in 16 insulin dependent diabetics, and then analysed in order to compare the effects of the presence or absence of residual endogenous insulin secretion and the presence of good or bad diabetic control as judged by the levels of blood glucose or total ketone bodies. Retention of endogenous insulin secretion, responsive to meals, and changes in the level of blood glucose and serum free insulin, were detected in nine patients, its presence having important effects in maintaining metabolic regulation closer towards normal. Despite the fact that apparently well controlled diabetics were selected for the study, the diurnal changes of the levels of blood metabolites, serum free and total insulin and their interrelationships were all grossly abnormal. The levels of both the blood total ketone bodies and the blood glucose were found to be a poor guide to the presence or absence of other metabolic abnormalities of diabetes. High levels of blood total ketone bodies appeared to have a protein sparing effect.


Effect of negative pions, relative to 140 kV -- 29 MeV photons and 20 MeV electrons, on proliferation of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells. The effect of negative pions (peak and plateau), photons (140 kV and 29 MeV), and 20 MeV electrons on the proliferative capacity of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells was investigated. Proliferative survival curves plotted for the modalities employed are presented. Under the experimental conditions used, the peak pions were more effective than plateau pions by a factor of about 1.4. For 50% survival, 140 kV X-rays had the same effect as peak pions but the latter was more effective (factor 1.2) at 10% survival level. When 140 kV X-rays were taken as the standard, following are the RBE values calculated as 50% survival level: plateau pions --0.73; peak pions --about 1.0; 29 MeV photons --0.73 and 20 MeV electrons --0.6. The results obtained are compared with those reported on other tumor systems and biological test objects.


[Angiomyolipoma, a precursor of hypernephroma? (author's transl)]. Presentation of an eleven year follow-up of a case of angioblastoma of the cerebellar hemisphere and multiple bilateral renal hamartomas in a female patients. Malignant degeneration of these hamartomas was detected early due to regular and careful follow-up examinations.


Effects of PGE1 or PGE2 on luteal function in pseudopregnant rats. Effects of PGE1 or PGE2 on luteal function were studied in 163 pseudopregnant rats. PGE1 (10, 100, or 300 micrograms) given intrauterine every 6 hr did not shorten pseudopregnancy (P greater than 0.05), however, the same doses of PGE2 given intrauterine every 6 hr advanced luteolysis (P less than 0.05). PGE1 (100 or 300 micrograms) given every 4 hr intramuscular maintained levels of progesterone in peripheral blood above controls (P less than 0.05) while 100 or 300 micrograms of PGE2 hastened the decline in progesterone (P less than 0.05). The antiluteolytic effect of PGE1 was not via an inhibition of PGF secretion (P greater than 0.05) by the uterus or by induction of ovulation in treated animals. Moreover, PGE1 (100, 200, or 500 micrograms) given intramuscular every 4 hr from day 4 of pseudopregnancy until the next proestrus delayed luteal regression around 3 days (P less than 0.05). PGE2 at doses of 100, 200, or 500 micrograms every 4 hr given intramuscular consistently shortened pseudopregnancy (P less than 0.05). Lower doses were without effect (P greater than 0.05). Based on the above data it is concluded that PGE2 is consistently luteolytic whereas PGE1 is not luteolytic in pseudopregnant rats and that PGE1 may be an antiluteolysin.


Effect of fasting on circulating glucose, ketone bodies and insulin levels in the suckling rat. Suckling rats from 5 to 30 days of age were subjected to fasting in a 37 degrees C chamber to avoid possible metabolic effects from low environmental temperature. The percentage of body weight loss in 24 h fasting increased along with the age of the rats. Blood glucose levels were the same in 5, 10, 20 and 30 day old animals when fed, whereas fasting produced a fall in all the groups which was minimal in the 20 day old animals. Plasma insulin levels were rather low in 10-day-old fed animals; the maximal decrease in this parameter was reached by 5-day-old rats under fasting. Both beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate levels were higher in animals of 5 and 10 days of age than in those of 30 days, but fasting did not produce any changes in the former while those parameters augmented in the 20 and 30-day-old animals. The results are discussed in relation to the high fat content in the mother's milk, which affects the metabolic situation of the suckling rats when fed and their response to the fasting situation.


The actions of the beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents propranolol and metoprolol in the maximally exercised horse. The effects of two beta-adrenoceptor antagonists, propranolol (0.2 mg/kg) and metoprolol (0.2 mg/kg) on some physiological and metabolic changes produced by maximal exercise in the horse were investigated. Both drugs reduced the elevation in heart rate seen immediately following exercise and reduced performance as was seen by the increased time taken to perform each gallop. The rise in plasma glucose, glycerol and lactate, and the fall in blood pH seen following exercise were attenuated by both drugs. However, a greater increase in plasma free fatty acids occurred. Exercise produced a nine- to 12-fold increase in plasma noradrenaline levels. Neither drug had any effect on resting levels of noradrenaline but after metoprolol the levels during exercise were increased.


Genetic factors in canine narcolepsy.

Genetic factors in canine narcolepsy. The mating of narcopleptic Doberman pinschers yielded 30 puppies in five litters, all of which developed the disease between 1 and 4 months of age. Pedigrees of the Doberman probands are indicative of an autosomal recessive mode of transmission. An analysis of the pedigree of five affected Labrador retriever littermates suggests a similar mode of transmission. Crosses of affected dogs in two other breeds (miniature poodles and beagles) have resulted in all-unaffected F1 generations, thus allowing rejection of the simplest genetic hypothesis of a fully penetrant autosomal or sex-linked dominant or recessive gene.


Experimental phenylketonuria: replacement of carboxyl terminal tyrosine by phenylalanine in infant rat brain tubulin. In the brains of newborn rats, about half of the tubulin molecules are modified posttranslationally by the addition of an aromatic amino acid at the carboxyl terminus of the alpha chain. Of the added residues, 96 percent are tyrosine and 4 percent are phenylalanine. After induction of hyperphenylalaninemia, the proportion of tubulin molecules containing carboxyl terminal phenylalanine increases up to eightfold and the pool of tyrosine-containing molecules decreases by an equivalent amount.


Chlorpromazine and its metabolites alter polymerization and gelation of actin. Hepatic hydroxylated metabolites of chlorpromazine (10(-5)M to 10(-4)M), a frequently used phenothiazine tranquilizer, produce solid gel formation with filamentous actin, but the less toxic chlorpromazine sulfoxide metabolite does not. At higher concentrations (5 x 10(-4)M) chlorpromazine inhibits actin polymerization. These dose-response relationships parallel the drug's hepatic toxicity in vivo and suggest that interactions between chloropromazine or chlorpromazine metabolites and actin could be an underlying mechanism of cell injury.


[Origin of invaginations and vacuoles in liposomes under the effect of endocytosis inducers including oxidants]. The action of various substances on the morphology of multilayer membranes made of lipids of egg yolk was studied. It has been shown that electroneutral and anionic compounds scaresly affected liposomes, whereas substances with pronounced basic properties, i.e. peroxidase, hemoglobin, cytochrome c, and RNAase, as well as lanthanium ions, induced the formation of invaginations, vesicles and aggregation of liposomes. Metals with variable valency: Cu2+, Cu4+, Ru6+, including lipid oxidants Fe3+ and UO+, produced similar morphological changes more intensely and moreover destroyed liposomal membranes. The activator of lipid peroxidation, namely ascorbic acid, intensified while antioxidizers such as alpha-tocopherylacetate and ionol removed the action of Fe3+ on liposomes. A protective effect was displayed by Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions and due to an increase in pH medium. Since many tested substances with the basic properties stimulate endocytosis of cells the processes of lipid peroxidation and electrostatic interactions are supposed to be part of endocytosis mechanism which does not involve the metabolic energy. It is also assumed that endocytosis may arise at the stage of protocells in terms of evolutions.


[Enzymatic status of leukocytes in pyo-inflammatory diseases of the soft tissues and their changes caused by pyrimidine derivatives]. It has been established that data of cytochemical investigation of leukocytes can show the severity of the pathological process and contribute to prognosing further development of pyo-inflammatory disease. Pyrimidine derivatives have a pronounced normalizing effect on the enzyme activity of leukocytes.


Impotence in the bull: (2) occlusion of the longitudinal canals of the corpus cavernosum penis. Lack of penile erection was diagnosed in nine bulls (Poll Hereford three; Aberdeen Angus two; Friesian two; horned Hereford; Sussex). Five had previously served successfully but four had proved impotent when first put to use. In each bull, the dorsal longitudinal canal of the corpus cavernosum penis (ccp) was occluded by fibrous tissue and this was considered to be the immediate cause of impotence. The ventral canals were also occluded in four bulls. In every case, the lesions were so extensive that treatment would not have been likely to succeed. In two bulls the dorsal canal and the tunica albuginea were ruptured proximal to the sigmoid flexure. Radiography of the cavernous spaces and veins during life, and anatomical injections of post mortem specimens, showed that in four bulls the ccp was drained by the dorsal venous system at or distal to the sigmoid flexure. The aetiology and the diagnosis are discussed and the possible physiological implications of occlusions of the canals are considered in terms of the functional anatomy of the ccp.


The effects of changes in the body-weight of cows on the composition of their milk. Ninety-six cows (48 Ayrshires and 48 Friesians) were weighed at seven day intervals. Forty-six cows gained weight and showed significant average increases in milk yield and solids-not-fat (SNF) percentage and non-significant rises in protein percentage and freezing point. The fat percentage was significantly lowered. The other 50 cows lost weight and a significant drop in SNF percentage was recorded. The other parameters showed non-significant falls.


[Total lipids and cholesterol in the serum of clinically healthy and ketotic cows]. The total lipids and cholesterin were determined in the serum of 26 normal cows in an advanced lactvery. It was found that the rise of the total lipids in the diseased cows was negligible and was statistically significant only with regard to those that have recently calved, which showed the lowest values. No conceivable differences were established after recovery. The drop of the total cholesterin in the fresh and ketosis-affected animals was not accompanied by substantial changes in the coefficient of esterification; these variations disappeared with recovery. Anologous were the changes in the ester cholesterin the rise of which was visible after recovery although statistically insignificant. The changes observed were characteristic of the glucose deficiency present in ketosis-affected cows.


[Subclinical mastitis in sheep milked mechanically]. Studied were the occurrence and the etiologic structure of subclinical mastitis of ewes with which mechanical milking was practiced. It was found that as many as 21,9 per cent of the animals responded positively after the Bernburg test. Eight per cent out of the 875 ewes studied were affected with subclinical mastitis. Etiologically, Staphylococcus aureus and Staph. epidermidis were found to take part in the incidence of the disease. Predisposing factors contributing to the outbreak of this type of mastitis were the traumatic injuries of the udder due to the so-called blind milking and the individual deviations in the morphology of the mammary gland. Secretory troubles were found in 11.7 per cent of the sheep.


Decrease in cerebral protein synthesis on a low protein diet. When rats are put on a diet that is low in protein or contains no protein, decrease in brain weight can be observed. Changes in adults are minimal. In the young there is a 10--30% decrease in cell number and protein content; the cell size (protein per cell) does not change significantly. The change is greater, the earlier the diet is started and the more severe the protein dificiency is. The longer the malnutrition period lasts, the smaller is the recovery to normal values on subsequent control diets. Amino acid incorporation in the brain decreased 10--30% under these experimental conditions; it seems the decrease was to a great extent in the more slowly metabolized protein pool. Changes in other organs were greater; for example, in liver the decrease was up to 75% under similar conditions. The changes in the brain were heterogeneous; there were regional differences, and not all proteins were affected to the same degree; choline acetyltransferase was not affected. Cellular amino acid transport as studied with incubated slices of brain was not altered under these conditions.


[Role of GABA and its derivatives in regulating cerebral circulation]. GABA, its derivative -- gamma-hydroxybuturic acid and metabolite --succinic acid have a pronounced dilatatory activity on cerebral circulation in various brain parts. GABA increases cerebral circulation by 25.3%, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid by 35.9% and sucinic acid by 20.4%. In ischaemia of the brain a relationship has been established between cerebral circulation, changes in the GABA system in brain and in the walls of cerebral arteries. The content of GABA increases following enhancement of GAD activity and inhibition of GABA-T. The increase of endogenous GABA level in brain during hypoxia of the brain brings to an improvement of blood circulation through increasing collateral vessels. Experiments with GABA-T inhibition by aminooxyacetic acid give direct evidence about the role of the GABA system in cerebral blood circulation. This mechanism is evaluated by us as an example of an autoregulatory system that is realized by a feed-back mechanism providing the adaptability and compensatory function of cerebral haemodynamics to changing conditions.


[Adaptive changes in brain metabolism during chronic alcoholic intoxication]. Chronically alcoholized intoxication (1.5--2 months) induces adaptation of cerebral neurones to changing equilibrium states of biochemical processes by altering the activity of enzymes of GABA metabolism, reduction of alanine and aspartate transaminase activity and increase of LDH and succinate dehydrogenase activity. In the cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres during alcohol abstinacy the activity of GABA-T, succinate dehydrogenase and aspartate transaminase was reduced while that of LDH and alanine transaminase was increased. The administration of fusarinic acid (100 mg/kg i. p.) to control animals induced a sharp increase of GAD activity in both structures of the brain. The stimulatory effects of fusarinic acid were not observed when it was administered to animals receiving alcohol chronically. Motor activity or rats was markedly reduced during chronical alcoholism and the first days of alcohol abstinacy (24--48 h), as well as following injection fusarinic acid and homopantothenic acid. The increase of locomotion and the vertical component of motor activity was observed only following one week or one month after alcohol abstinacy.


[Sarcoidosis of the nervous system. Clinical and neuropathological findings in three cases (author's transl)]. Three cases of neurosarcoidosis are reported, which demonstrate almost the complete spectrum of known neurological symptoms in this disease. Furthermore, extensive neuropathological findings are reported in one case. It is emphasized that recognition of neurosarcoidosis presents almost insuperable difficulties in those cases in which sarcoidosis is not obvious in other organs.


[Diagnosis and therapy of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura]. To the diagnostics of the idiopathic thrombopenia caused by autoantibodies belong: 1. the clinical findings such as type of haemorrhage and the controls of the capillary function. 2. the proof of antibodies, in which case positive findings are proving, but negative ones do not exclude the immune thrombopenia, 3. smear of the sternal marrow with judgment of the megakaryocytes and formation of thrombocytes, 4. isotopic control of the survival time of the thrombocytes, which is reserved to special insitutions. As therapy essentially three forms have developed: 1. Therapy with glucocorticoids, 2. Immunosuppressive drugs, 3. Splenectomy. In own observations of 48 patients the glucocorticoids bring an actual improvement only for 7 patients, the others fail in therapy or show only a partial remission. The least prospects are in the immunosuppressive drugs, being equal whether preceding or accompanying a glucocorticoid therapy was performed. Most successes (11 out of 16 patients) are to be stated in splenectomy. Following an after-control of all therapeutic methods together a successful therapy results only in one third, in the next two thirds the therapy either fails or at most evokes a partial remission.


[Changes in the phagocytic activity of the peritoneal macrophages of white mice caused by alcoholic intoxication]. Observations made on white mice showed that doses of alcohol had a stimulating effect on the indices of macrophage acitivity (pagocytic number and phagocytic index), while longer administration of 40% ethyl alcohol solution (in doses of 0,1 ml for 21--30 days) suppressed the functional activity of macrophages. In vitro experiments in which macrophages were subjected to the action of ethyl alcohol showed that alcohol, depending on its concentration, had a direct effect on the cells of the microphage system.


Muscle strength and muscle characteristics in monozygous and dizygous twins. Muscle strength and electrical activity were investigated on 31 pairs of young male and female monozygous (MZ) and dizygous (DZ) twins. The measurements included leg forces, force-time, running velocity, muscular power, maximal integrated electromyographic activity (IEMG) and chronaximetry of the quadriceps muscle group. In each parameter the intrapair variance was computed and the differences were tested between the MZ and DZ twins. The variance ratio (MZ vs. DZ) was statistically significant only for muscular power confirming an earlier finding which has demonstrated a genetic component for the variable. In addition to the various performance variables several key enzymes involved in ATP turnover during muscle contraction and in glucose residue metabolism were analyzed from the muscle biopsy samples (m. vastus lateralis). A genetic component could not be observed in any of their activities or their relationships to performance variables.


[Adaptive changes in the cardiac automatism of the sea otter Enhydra lutris]. Electrographic investigations in sea otters reveal acute decrease in the heart rate (to 1/2--1/8 of the normal rate) during diving. The longer the dive, the more intense the bradycardia. Each partial exhalation under water causes further decrease in the heart rate. The duration of cardiac cycles (R--R) increases mainly at the expense of the prolongation of diastole (T--P). Variations in the heart rate during submersion result from the increased vagal tone. Atropine injections abolish diving bradycardia. On surfacing, the animals exhibit a pronounced recovery tachycardia.


Methionine fortification of a soy protein formula fed to infants. Data from study of nine normal full-term infants fed a soy isolate-based formula unsupplemented with methionine were compared with similar data from study of 10 similar infants fed the same formula supplemented with L-methionine and with data from previous studies of larger groups of infants receiving various other feedings. Food intake, growth, and serum chemical values were studied from 8 through 111 days of age. In addition, nitrogen balance studies were carried out. Statistically significant differences were as follows: lesser weight gain per 100 kcal by infants fed the unsupplemented soy isolate-based formula than by infants fed milk-based or other soy isolate-based formulas; lesser serum concentrations of albumin at age 28 days by infants fed the unsupplemented soy isolate-based formula than by breast-fed infants; greater serum concentrations of urea nitrogen by infants receiving the unsupplemented soy isolate-based formula than by those receiving the same formula supplemented with L-methionine. A number of other differences was noted but were not statistically significant. The results suggest that normal infants fed a formula providing 2.25 /100 kcal of a soy protein isolate not fortified with methionine performed less well during the first 6 weeks of life than did breast-fed infants and infants fed milk-based formulas or other soy isolate-based formulas fortified with methionine. The limiting nutrient appears to have been methionine.


Plants and hypotensive, antiatheromatous and coronarodilatating action. However great the success in the therapy of hypertension, atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease has been gained today by recent efficient drugs, the definite healing of patients is not yet attained. The late discovery of reserpine, such an efficient drug of plant origin against hypertension, convinced so far reluctant scientists to consider the chemical compounds of the plant world. With respect to this traditional medical knowledge, it seems necessary to define more accurately the specificity of these healings-sometimes recommended unspecifically for a whole branch of medicine. This experimental verification should not use inconsiderately the present-day classification of diseases; there should be an awareness that conventional experimental methods in pharmacology are often unsuitable for revealing the real biological activity of one or another medicinal plant. The interest in the millennial empirical field of health care is acknowledged by the World Health Organization which promotes research and development of traditional medicine, along with investigations into its psychosocial and ethnographic aspects. These studies cover a number of plants growing in Bulgaria that have a healing effect in hypertension, atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease according to the data of traditional medicine. Using screening methods, extracts and chemically pure substances were investigated; extraction was done with solvents such as water, ether, chloroform, dichloretan, ethanol, methanol, and acetone. Most of the experiments were carried out on anesthetized cats, rabbits and dogs. The substances tested were applied mainly intravenously, and in some experiments orally. Chronic experiments were also carried out on wakeful dogs with induced hypertension, on animals fed on an atherogenic diet, and on animals with induced arrhythmia and coronary spasm. Data are presented of clinical examination of some plants or of active substances isolated from them. Major results of these studies are presented for the following plants: Garlic, Geranium; Hellebore; Mistletoe; Olive; Valerian; Hawthorn; Pseucedanum arenarium; Periwinkle; Fumitory. For another 50 plants growing in Bulgaria and in other countries the author presents his and other investigators' experimental and clinical data about hypotensive, antiatheromatous and coronarodilatating action.


The influence of electro-acupuncture on naloxone-induced morphine withdrawal. II. Elevation of immunoassayable beta-endorphin activity in the brain but not the blood. The effect of electro-acupuncture in the treatment of naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal in mice was studied. Thirty minutes of acupuncture was enough to suppress withdrawal behaviors by more than 60%. Concomitant to the decrease of withdrawal behavior, there was a significant increase of brain beta-endorphin level in the acupunctured animals. Plasma beta-endorphin level of the treated and untreated group was not significantly different.


Bovine plasma as a reference standard for the factor VIII assay. Definition of one unit of factor VIII procoagulant activity may be imprecise, for a number of reasons. Levels in individual normal plasmas differ sufficiently that small pools do not have equivalent activities. Large pools cannot be prepared without loss of activity because of the lability of factor VIII. Human factor VIII may not be stable at --20 C. Lyophilized standards may vary in activity because of difficulties in dissolving the materials. The authors have prepared standards that are stable at --20 C for years using beef plasma diluted in outdated human blood bank plasma. The level of activity of this working standard is verified by repeated assays of lyophilized national standards and of small pools of normal donor plasma. The standard is equally applicable to one- or two-stage assays for factor VIII.


Acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in children. Acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) characteristically follows a viral illness in preschool children. The exact role of viruses in the pathogenesis of this disorder remains uncertain, but the finding of markedly elevated levels of platelet-associated IgG serves to distinguish it from the chronic form of the disease and permits speculation on the mechanisms of platelet destruction. Although the spleen is important in both antibody production and platelet destruction, bone marrow synthesis of IgG has also been shown to be increased. The clinical course may be alarming, but mortality is low and prognosis excellent. Controversy has surrounded the role of steroids in the management of acute childhood ITP in retrospective studies. Controlled studies, however, indicate that thrombocytopenia is reversed sooner in treated patients. New assays for platelet-associated IgG offer new insights into this disorder and will allow delineation of acute and chronic disease at the time of diagnosis.


Human male infertility, probably genetically determined, due to defective meiosis and spermatogenic arrest. A family is reported in which infertility affected three men related through their mothers. The propositus, from testicular tissue was obtained, exhibited desynapsis, lack of chiasmata, and degeneration of spermatocytes during the first meiotic division. These observations lead us to postulate that a gene for meiotic disturbance, spermatogenic arrest, and azoospermia is segregating in this family; its mode of inheritance conforms to either an X-linked recessive or a sex-limited autosomal dominant transmission.


Fascia lata urethrovesical suspension for recurrent stress urinary incontinence. Although the physiologic mechanisms of normal micturition in the female subject are not fully understood, it is generally believed that urinary continence is maintained by a competent urethrovesical neck. Unfortunately, the patient who has had multiple operations for recurrent stress urinary incontinence often has a urethra that is shortened and fixed in scar tissue. In such patients, anterior colporrhaphy with operative release of the periurethral fibrosis and plication of the endopelvic fascia to create a functionally more normal urethrovesical junction will increase the chances for good results. A fascia lata support of the proximal 1 to 2 cm of the urethra ensures continued elevation of the urethra and with stress the sling provides a pulling-up effect. Fifty patients with a suburethral sling procedure are presented in detail. Forty-seven of these patients had a total of 121 prior operative procedures for stress urinary incontinence. Urologic studies are outlined. Forty-two patients (84%) were continent postoperatively, five were improved, and three had failures. Operative technique and complications are discussed.


A practical approach for the evaluation of women with abnormal polytomography or elevated prolactin levels. Based upon the experience gained in the evaluation of 60 patients with abnormal polytomography and/or elevated prolactin levels, the following observations can be made: Patients with amenorrhea, amenorrhea and galactorrhea, galactorrhea alone, or anovulatory cycles and infertility may or may not have pituitary tumors. Clinical symptoms do not always correlate with the prolactin level, and patients with normal prolactins may have pituitary tumors. The incidence of empty sella is significant (15.8% in this series). Visual field examination is not a useful screening procedure, but evaluation of thyroid function is important to detect the occasional patient with hypothyroidism (3.5% in this series). The insulin tolerance test is not helpful in detecting the presence of pituitary tumors or in guiding management decisions, and the CT scan contributes little and should be omitted from the evaluation process. A straightforward, economical, and efficient approach to this clinical problem is presented.


Lepromatous iridocyclitis diagnosed by anterior chamber paracentesis. A 34-year-old man with a three-month history of intraocular inflammation after ocular trauma with a fir branch, had an acute unilateral fulminant iridocyclitis. The iris had a thick, gray, cheesy membrane composed of nodular lepromata. The patient denied a history of Hansen's disease, despite the dermatologic and facial features that suggested the diagnosis. Anterior chamber paracentesis and scleral nodule biopsy demonstrated Mycobacterium lepra. The iridocyclitis resolved after treatment with dapsone, corticosteroids, and rifampin.


Solitary choroidal hemangioma.

Solitary choroidal hemangioma. An unusual instance of a choroidal hemangioma occurred adjacent to a chorioretinal inflammatory scar in a 67-year-old white man. The hemangioma was treated with argon laser photocoagulation, which resulted in improved visual acuity and reattachment of the retina. We speculated on the potential role of the chorioretinal scar in altering local hemodynamics as an hypothesis for choroidal hemangioma development.


Psychosocial concomitants of biological maturation in preadolescence. The authors studied 8 sets of healthy twins, ranging in physical maturity from prepubertal to late pubertal, and their parents to assess psychological changes in early adolescence. Interview and questionnaire data suggested that self-doubt, avoidance of responsiblity, resentment of parents, and anxiety about social relationships peaked in early puberty; emotional upset peaked in early puberty to mid-puberty. The results support a hypothesis of phase-specific psychosocial regression correlated with the biological onset of puberty. Children in all pubertal stages were shifting their interests away from parents and toward peers.


Repeat abortions: blaming the victims.

Repeat abortions: blaming the victims. A study of 1,505 women obtaining abortions in a freestanding abortion clinic in Western New York state revealed that women having repeat abortions were more likely to be using contraception at the time of conception than women having first abortions. However, nearly one-half the non-contracepting repeaters were not contracepting at the time of the repeat pregnancy. Repeaters who were not contracepting at the time of the repeat pregnancy listed medical contraindications or lack of supplies as the major reasons for not contracepting at the time of the present conception--indicating that they had tried one or more methods since their first abortion. Repeaters were sexually more active than first timers, thus increasing their statistical risk of unwanted pregnancy even as they contracepted more than first timers. The data indicate that both first timers and repeaters overwhelmingly reject the premise that abortion is a primary or even a back-up birth control method. The essential difficulty for repeaters appears to be that they are victims of technological, organizational, and logistical inadequacies as well as statistical probabilities rather than being motivationally deficient or indifferent to the dangers of unprotected sexual intercourse.


Clinical observations on 3,009 cases of ciguatera (fish poisoning) in the South Pacific. Clinical observations on ciguatera were collected between 1964 and 1977 on 3,009 patients from several South Pacific island groups. Patients generally presented with neurologic symptoms such as parasthesia, vertigo, and ataxia, in addition to gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Patients with this illness usually became symptomatic less than 24 hours after ingestion of the fish and most patients (76.8%) developed symptoms in less than 12 hours. Significant differences in certain symptoms were noted between Melanesian and Polynesian ethnic groups, suggesting a susceptibility difference, or a difference in the nature of the toxin found in different areas of the Pacific. Being poisoned multiple times appeared to result in a clinically more severe illness than disease observed in patients experiencing ciguatera for the first time.


Naegleria fowleri in chick embryos. Effects of embryo age and incubation temperature, and the infectivity of embryo-derived amebae for mice. Chick embryos were infected with Naegleria fowleri which was initially isolated from an ultimately fatal human case. Following inoculation of equivalent numbers of amebae on the chorioallantoic membrane, younger embryos died earlier than older embryos infected at the same time. Incubation of infected embryos at 32 degrees C prolonged survival only slightly in comparison with those at 37 degrees C. N. fowleri maintained for more than 25 serial passages in chick embryos retained infectivity for mice and the ability to convert to the biflagellate form in vitro.


An intracavitary fungus ball composed of syncephalastrum. A case of a pulmonary intracavitary fungus ball composed of Syncephalastrum sp., a member of the class Zygomycetes not previously reported in association with human disease, is presented. The fungus was cultured preoperatively from bronchial secretions as well as from the fungal mass from the resected lung. This fungus appeared to behave in a saprophytic manner similar to that of the more common Aspergillus fungus ball.


Neonatal myasthenia gravis in the infant of a myasthenic mother in remission. A 26-year-old woman was in spontaneous clinical remission from myasthenia gravis (MG) for six months, yet gave birth to a full-term infant with typical neonatal MG. It is believed that transplacental transfer of anti-acetylcholine (ACh) receptor antibodies is responsible for neonatal MG; therefore, neonatal MG represents an in vivo assay of the pathogenic potential of anti-ACh receptor antibodies in 2 human individuals. Anti-ACh receptor antibodies were present in both mother and infant (titers 12.3 X 10(-9) and 4.4 X 10(-9) moles per liter, respectively) at the time of birth, and both mother's and infant's sera accelerated the degradation of ACh receptors in myotube cultures. This case suggests that "host factors" unique to the individual appear to modify or even determine whether the presence of anti-ACh receptor antibodies will result in clinical myasthenia.


Isolation and nature of intracellular alpha-aminoadipic acid-containing peptides from Paecilomyces persicinus P-10. Small intracellular peptides containing alpha-aminoadipic acid, cysteine, and a valine moiety were obtained from mycelia of Paecilomyces persicinus P-10 by ethanol or trichloroacetic acid extraction. After performic acid oxidation and ion-exchange chromatography, analysis of the peptide fractions by two-dimensional thin-layer electrophoresis and chromatography revealed the presence of three related peptides, as sulfonic acid derivatives, each containing alpha-aminoadipic acid. Each peptide was isolated in chromatographically pure form by semipreparative thin-layer electrophoresis and chromatography. The purified peptides were subjected to differential hydrolysis, dansylation, and combined dansylation-phenylisothiocyanate sequence analysis. Based on these studies, the structures of the isolated peptides were determined to be (i) glycl-delta-(alpha-aminoadipyl)-cysteinyl-beta-hydroxyvaline, (ii) glycyl-delta-(alpha-aminoadipyl)-cysteinylvaline, and (iii) delta-(alpha-aminoadipyl)-cysteinylvaline. The peptides isolated from Paecilomyces are similar to the alpha-aminoadipic acid-cysteine-valine moiety complex peptides isolated from Cephalosporium.


Fever patterns. Their lack of clinical significance. Fever patterns were studied prospectively in 200 consecutive patients referred for infectious disease consultation and retrospectively in 204 patients with selected infectious or noninfectious diseases. Most patients had remittent or intermittent fever, which, when due to infection, usually followed diurnal variation. Hectic fever occurred less commonly but was observed in patients with all categories of infectious or noninfectious diseases. Although hectic fevers were seen more frequently in patients who had documented bacteremia, there were many nonbacteremic subjects who had this pattern and others without this pattern who had bacteremia. Sustained fever nearly always occurred in patients with Gram-negative pneumonia or CNS damage, although some patients with these diseases had other patterns as well. Our data suggest that, with the possible exception of sustained fever in Gram-negative pneumonia or CNS damage, the fever pattern is not likely to be helpful diagnostically.


[Consistometric study of meat and meat products. 6. Comparative determination of raw sausage consistency during curing]. Comparative consistometric tests, using two different measuring methods, were applied to raw sausages in a random sampling process over a somewhat extended period of time. A close relationship (r= -0.819) was found to exist between the data obtained from a modified Höppler consistometer, on the one hand, and those measured by means of a penetrometer, on the other. The penetrometer proved to be suitable for measurement under practice conditions, while more specific strength parameters (S/2, tan alpha) were successfully measured by means of the modified Häppler consistometer.


[Reducing the proportion of animal protein in feed for rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). 2. Supplementation of methionine and lysine]. Continuing previous investigations, two test feedstuffs whose fishmeal content had been reduced to 5% and which were supplemented with 4.5 g methionine and 5.0 g lysine per kg resp. 6 g methionine and 6 g lysine per kg were proofed in comparison with a fattening feed for trout as customary in trade and with a fish meal content of 35%. The content of animal protein in the control feed was at least 75% (crude protein content 41%), in test feed I at most 35% (crude protein content 35.4%), in test feed II at most 17% (crude protein content 33.9%). All feedstuffs had the same energy content. The tests were made with rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) of 80...100 g at the beginning and at water temperatures of 11...12 degrees C. They were conducted over a period of 112 days. After giving the same amount of feed, growth of and feed expenditure for the fish feed with the test feedstuffs were less suitable than of those fish which had received the control feed. Concerning the protein efficiency ratio, the productive protein value and the energetic expenditure too, the best results were achieved with the control feed.


Tumour incidence, growth, reproduction and longevity in female C3H mice fed polyunsaturated ruminant-derived foodstuffs. Earlier studies with the random-bred Quackenbush mouse strain showed that human-type diets based on linoleic acid-enriched foodstuffs derived from ruminants fed protected polyunsaturated oils have no detrimental effects on growth, reproduction or longevity. Tumour incidence and time of onset of tumour development have now been studied in the inbred, tumour-prone mouse strain C3H, in addition to growth, reproduction and longevity. Mice were fed a polyunsaturated human diet, a conventional human diet, or mouse cubes. The results with C3H mice tended to confirm those with Quackenbush strain mice-growth rates and reproductive productivities were very similar in the two groups eating human diets. Mice on the conventional human diet tended to survive better to about 60 weeks of age than mice on the polyunsaturated diet or the cube diet, after which the mortality rates of the mice on the three diets were similar. The degree of unsaturation of the dietary fat had no significant effect on the incidence of tumours. The tumour incidence was about 40% which, taken in conjunction with the average age of onset (about 80 weeks), suggested that the NIV virus rather than the MMTV virus was responsible. It would appear that the high-fat human diets had no effect on the incidence of mammary tumours caused by this virus.


Histological and histochemical modifications of the uterine and vaginal mucosa of the mouse during the oestrus cycle. The Authors have studied by histological and histochemical methods the morphological modifications of the uterine and vaginal mucosa which take place during the oestrus cycle in the mouse. The data has underlined numerous previously undescribed differences in the behaviour of the uterine and vaginal mucosa. The keratinization of the uterine epithelium is noticeably delayed in comparison with that of the vagina. The latter is already completely cornified in late oestrus, while this occurs in the uterine mucosa only in full oestrus. In contrast, the exfoliation of the cornified layers takes place in the uterus before the vagina. Analogous differences are observed in two organs for mitotic behaviour: the vaginal mucosa shows a mitotic peak during late dioestrus, while in the uterus the peak occurs only during full oestrus.


Employment of bis-intercalating dyes for the "in situ" study of DNA composition. Spectrofluorometric characteristics of DNA-RO4 complexes have been studied in order to evaluate the possibility of employment of RO4 (a bis-intercalating dye) for the determination of the DNA base composition. The results have shown the usefulness of this compound for DNA with AT percentage between 30% and 60%. RO4 has been also applied to the study of the chromosome banding mechanism.


Studies on the biosynthesis of hepatic pyruvate kinase and its correlation with enhanced hepatic lipogenesis in meal-trained rats. Metabolic and enzymic changes were measured in meal-trained rats fed on high-carbohydrate diet. Rates of hepatic fatty acid synthesis are probably greater than rates of gluconeogenesis throughout the 24 h day provided that animals are fed. The daily enhancement of fatty acid synthesis on meal feeding coincided with the maximum activation of hepatic pyruvate kinase. Maximum activation of this enzyme was reflected in increased total catalytic activity (Vmax.), increased activity at 0.5 MM-phosphoenolpyruvate (V0.5), decreased Vmax./V0.5 ratio and a decrease in co-operativity of phosphoenolpyruvate binding as measured by the Hill coefficient (h). The latter changes are consistent with a decrease in enzyme phosphorylation during activation of the enzyme. To estimate changes in enzyme protein, quantitative enzyme precipitation with rabbit antisera was used. Giving a high-carbohydrate diet to meal-trained animals induced enzyme synthesis within a few hours. Adaptations in diet that enhanced fatty acid synthesis (chow to high carbohydrate; starved to high carbohydrate) led to an increased steady-state concentration of pyruvate kinase protein. An approximate estimate of the half-life of hepatic pyruvate kinase was 56 h. Whenever pyruvate kinase specific activity was measured in liver tissue extracts it was always considerably less (20--100 mumol/min per mg of protein, depending on dietary status) than the specific activity of pure pyruvate kinase (200 mumol/min per mg of protein). Antigenically active, catalytically inactive protein was removed during enzyme purification from cytosol at the stage of (NH4)2SO4 fractionation. The fraction precipitated by 30--45%-satd. (NH4)2SO4 was enzymically active, antigenically reacting protein was identified in the remaining (NH4)2SO4 fractions (0--30%- and 45--85%-satd.) and this contained no enzyme activity. These may correspond to inactive proteolytic fragments of pyruvate kinase. The rate-determining step in adjusting enzyme concentration seems to be proteolysis.


Dietary fibre and regional large-bowel cancer mortality in Britain. The relationship between food intake and cancer of the large bowel was assessed by calculating the average intakes of foods, nutrients and dietary fibre in the different regions of Great Britain and relating these to the regional pattern of death from colon and rectal cancers between 1969 and 1973. No significant associations were found with the consumption of fat, animal protein or beer, nor with current estimates of total dietary fibre intake. Average intakes of the pentose fraction of total dietary fibres, and of vegetables other than potatoes, were negatively correlated with the truncated age- and sex-standardized death rates from colon cancer (r = -0.960 and -0.940). Specific components of dietary fibre may therefore inhibit colon carcinogenesis.


Cycles of agglutination-disagglutination induced by ristocetin in thrombasthenic platelets. An oscillatory pattern of platelet agglutination-disagglutination in response to Ristocetin (R) at narrow concentration ranges was observed in citrated platelet rich plasma (PRP) of 10 patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. The cyclic pattern decreased in intensity over time, was reproducible, and was not pH dependent. Formalin-fixed thrombasthenic platelets agglutinated with R but did not show a cyclic pattern. Incubation with 2.5 microM ADP inhibited R oscillation response, but small increases in R dose overcame this inhibition. The addition of ATP or creatine phosphate/creatine phosphokinase to thrombasthenic platelets inhibited by ADP restored the R oscillation response. In the platelets of a single patient, intracellular levels of ADP and ATP were shown to diminish during an oscillation response to R. There was an increase in AMP levels during the same period of time. The changes in these three intracellular nucleotides were gradual over time and did not vary with phases of the oscillation. Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA), at concentrations shown to block cyclooxygenase activity in control platelets, enabled thrombasthenic platelets to respond to R with full agglutination without oscillations. Lower concentrations of ASA in the PRP gave a return of the oscillation response. Our data suggest that the disagglutination phase of the R response of thrombasthenic platelets is not a function of the known glycoprotein membrane defect, but depends on materials originating in the platelet whose release is blocked by ASA.


Significance of the ultrasound location of placental site in early pregnancy. The placenta was located by routine ultrasound scanning before 24 weeks gestation in 615 consecutive obstetric patients. A 'low lying' placenta was present in 175 (28 per cent) of the total group; the incidence decreasing from 32 per cent at 16 weeks gestation to 18 per cent at 24 weeks. Of 94 women with an initial 'low lying' placenta who were selected for rescanning, only five had a placenta praevia persisting beyond the 34th week. Patients with an early 'low lying' placenta had a significantly higher incidence of small-for-dates babies than those in whom the placenta remained clear of the internal cervical os on ultrasound scanning.


A comparative histopathological study of argon and krypton laser irradiations of the human retina. A series of comparative exposures to both argon and krypton lasers have been made at 3 locations in a human retina--the fovea, the macula, and intraretinal vessels. In the fovea argon irradiations resulted in damage to both the inner and outer retinal layers as a result of absorption within the pigment epithelium and the macular pigment, while krypton exposures damaged the outer retina and the choroid. In the macula both systems resulted in damage to the outer retina, and again sufficient krypton radiation passed into the choroid to induce blood vessel occlusion, haemorrhage, and oedema. When intraretinal vessels were irradiated, only with argon was sufficient energy absorbed within the vessels to damage them or their surroundings in the inner retina. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the therapeutic uses of lasers.


Photocoagulation of disciform macular lesions with krypton laser. Ten vascular disciform mucular lesions were treated by krypton laser photocoagulation. In 8 the lesion resolved after therapy, and in 7 the retina remained flat for 6 months. On those patients treated successfully 6 had a visual acuity of 6/12 or better. The morphology of the laser lesion differed from that of the argon lesion in that there is no evidence of thermal coagulation of the inner retina near the foveola.


Argon laser photocoagulation in the treatment of central serous retinopathy. In a prospective randomised trial of argon laser photocoagulation in the management of central serous retinopathy it was confirmed that this treatment hastens resolution of the serous detachment. No evidence was found to suggest that treatment influences the final visual outcome in eyes with initial visual acuity of 6/12 or better.


Determination of protein and reactive lysine in leaf-protein concentrates by dye-binding. 1. Twenty leaf-protein concentrates (LPC), were produced from different crops and by different processes, the latter being designed to retain maximum nutritional value of the samples. 2. The establishment of conditions for the use of CI ACid Orange 12 in a commercial dye-buffer reagent for the determination of protein and reactive (available) lysine in LPC was investigated. 3. Values for protein by dye-binding correlated well with those for tungstic-acid-precipitated nitrogen (x6.25). 4. Some LPC samples showed a loss of reactive lysine, the greatest loss being associated with the most severe processing conditions. 5. For the LPC samples studied, dye-binding provided a convenient method for the concurrent determination of protein and reactive lysine.


The effect of formaldehyde treatment before ensiling on the digestion of wilted grass silage by sheep. 1. Wilted perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Endura) was ensiled without additive or after addition of a mixture of equal volumes of formic acid (850 g/kg) and formalin (380 g formaldehyde/kg) applied at a rate of 35 g formaldehyde/kg herbage crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25). The digestion of the two silages and the effect of supplemental N as urea or urea plus soya-bean meal on the digestion of the treated silage was studied using sheep fitted with a rumen cannula and re-entrant cannulas in the proximal duodenum and distal ileum. 2. The additive markedly reduced carbohydrate fermentation and protein degradation in the silo. 3. There were no significant differences between diets in rumen pH, dilution rate, volatile fatty acid production and the molar proportions of acetate, propionate and butyrate. However, rumen ammonia levels and the apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM), gross energy (GE) and cellulose in the stomach were significantly depressed (P less than 0.05) by the additive. It also reduced (P less than 0.05) the extent to which the N of the silage was degraded in the rumen and, with the treated silage, more microbial N was synthesized in the rumen than food N degraded, resulting in a net grain of N between mouth and duodenum, as compared to a net loss with the untreated silage. 4. Supplementation of the treated silage with urea or urea plus soya-bean meal significantly increased (P less than 0.05) the amount of food N degraded in the rumen and rumen ammonia levels but had no effect on the apparent digestibility of OM, GE and cellulose in the stomach or on the amount of microbial N reaching the duodenum. 5. The quantity of microbial amino acids entering the small intestine and the apparent digestibility of amino acids in the small intestine were similar for all four diets. However, the quantity of food amino acids reaching the small intestine was significantly higher with the three diets containing the treated silage and consequently the apparent absorption of amino acids from the small intestine was substantially higher with these diets than with the untreated silage.


Characterization of vitamin A transport system from goat plasma. Retinol-binding protein and its complex with prealbumin were isolated from goat serum by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, gel filtration and immuno-affinity chromatography on antigoat-serum albumin-Sepharose 4B. The homogeneous prealbumin-retinol-binding protein complex had a molecular weight of 75 000. Both on electrophoresis and in the presence of 2 M urea, the complex dissociated into retinol-binding protein and prealbumin. The molecular weight, electrophoretic behaviour, ultraviolet and fluorescence spectra of goat retinol-binding protein were similar to those isolated from other sources. On sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis, goat prealbumin (molecular weight approximately 55 000) exhibited two bands corresponding to molecular weights 26 000 and 13 000. This suggests that either goat prealbumin consists of two non-identical sub-units or perhaps complete dissociation might not have occurred. Goat prealbumin was able to bind L-thyroxine and retinol-binding protein.


Dynamic analysis of the structure and function of sarcomeres. We attempted to analyze the relationships between the steric structure of the sarcomere and its physiological functions by the use of a sarcomere model of muscle contraction, which includes the geometric arrangement of the thick and thin filaments of the sarcomere, as well as of the cross-bridges and actin sites. Motions of both cross-bridges and myofilaments were considered in terms of our three-state model of the elementary cycle under constraints caused by the steric structure of the sarcomere proposed by Huxley and Brown. Each cross-bridge moves in a molecular potential of our three-state model under the influence of the sliding motions of myofilaments. The sarcomere model described well the tension-velocity relation and isotonic transient processes quantitatively and consistently. In addition, it allowed independence of the no-load shortening velocity upon the overlap of the thick and thin filaments, although the motions of cross-bridges were not independent. Effects of the helical periodicities of the thick and thin filaments and of the number of cross-bridges upon muscle contraction were studied, and the conditions for smooth and efficient contraction of muscle were obtained.


[Fractionation of DNA containing single-stranded regions on a column with benzoylated DEAE-cellulose]. A possible use of a previously described method of fractionation of highly polymeric DNAs on a column with benzoylated DEAE-cellulose is discussed. The method can be used for separation of renaturated and hybrid DNA molecules as well as for detection of single-stranded structures within the DNA. Using the method in question it was shown that the DNA of hepatoma 27 contains about 6% of single-stranded DNA structures.


The influence of availability of free school milk on the height of children in England and Scotland. The effect is investigated of availability of free school milk on height gain in one year of six- and seven-year-old primary schoolchildren in England and Scotland, using data collected annually from 1972 to 1976. The height gain of children for whom milk was available for the whole year of observation was compared with that of children who had no milk. Out of 16 sex-country-year-specific analyses for children from manual social classes only, 13 showed no significant evidence of greater height gain in children who had milk. Comparison of children from Social Classes IV and V (semi-skilled and unskilled) showed no greater increase in height for those who had milk, nor was there a difference in height gain between manual social class children according to the number of glasses of milk they drank a day at home or at school. We concluded that, given the standard of living at the time of the survey, the drinking of free school milk did not increase the growth rate of six- and seven-year-old children.


The CT scanner in posterior fossa tumours of childhood. Eighty-five consecutive posterior fossa tumours occurring in children and detected by computed tomography (CT) were submitted to detailed analysis. There was only one false positive diagnosis, which would have been avoided with present knowledge, and no known false negative diagnoses during the same period. In most cases the histological type of the tumour could be reliably predicted. CT was less accurate for determining the anatomical extent of the lesions but tumours arising in the brainstem could always be distinguished from those predominantly affecting the fourth ventricle and cerebellum.


[Mechanical and chemical patterns in the completion of isolated cell division]. Bicellular complex of a divided oocyte of the mollusc Lymnea stagnalis is chosen as a "testing machine" for studying mechanical and biochemical properties of the membranes of interblastomere wall. The membrane material is described by a standard rheological body. Rheological and kinetic problems are considered. Their solution allows an experimental solution of elastic, viscose and relaxation constants and chemical-mechanical parameter of the balance of the membrane synthesis and its deformations. A relationship (of the logistic type) between the growth of the wall area and time is found.


Sensory neglect after lesions of substantia nigra or lateral hypothalamus: differential severity and recovery of function. Sensory neglect was studied in cats after unilateral lesions of: lateral hypothalamus (LH); internal capsule (IC) adjacent to the LH; substantia nigra (SN) or the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Special behavioral tests were employed to yield quantifiable data and also to exclude any confounding due to simple movement deficits. Lesions of SN or IC produced severe and enduring contralateral visual and somesthetic deficits and a facilitation of ipsilateral visual responsiveness. In contrast, LH lesions sparing the adjacent IC produced only weak and transient deficits and VMH lesions had no effects on sensory function. This suggests that lesions of the SN or its forebrain connections are important for producing sensory neglect and that sensory deficits after LH lesions are due to infringement on fibers of passage to or from the SN. Lesions which produced neglect often suppressed the amplitude of flash evoked responses in the ipsilateral caudate nucleus and visual and association cortex. However, these evoked potential effects were transient. There was no effect on the spontaneous EEG and this fails to support the hypothesis of a lack of hemispheric arousal in sensory neglect. The results are discussed in relation to nigrotectal projections and the process of attention. This lesion-behavior model is suggested for studies of recovery of function.


Drug-induced stereotypes and asymmetric behaviour after substantia nigra pars posterior (SNPP) lesions in cats. Apomorphine- (Apo) and amphetamine- (Amph) induced behavioural phenomena were studied in cats which received either 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) or electrothermic lesions of the posterior part of the substantia nigra (SNPP). In this species, as in rats, both drugs evoked sterotypies (sniffing and head nodding) and an enhancement of locomotor activity. However, distinct differences between the reactions of cats and rats to both drugs were found, the most evident effect being the lack of sterotyped gnawing and licking. By correlating the data on behaviour, the histological examination showing the size and location of the lesions, and the dopamine (DA) content of the corresponding caudate nuclei, it is concluded that the fewer DA-specific neurons lesioned in the SNPP, the more pronounced was the ipsilateral asymmetric behaviour. We suggest, therefore, that the ipsilateral asymmetric behaviour in cats following APO- and AMPH-treatment is due to the destruction of a non-catecholaminergic output.


The relationship between dendritic growth of cortical neurons and the ontogeny of conditioned and unconditioned reflex control. Suppression of an infantile reflex (circling behavior) to electric shock in a straight-alley escape problem increased as a function of age and trials in male Swiss-Webster mice trained at 7, 9, or 11 days of age and retested 24 h later. Twenty-four hours retention of prior training, indicated by the superior performance of trained subjects relative to yoked-shock and age controls, was not evident until 9 days of age. Analyses of Golgi--Cox preparations of parieto-temporo-preoccipital cortices, taken immediately following testing, revealed that behavioral development was paralleled by age-related changes in apical, oblique, and basilar dendritic networks and number of apical dendritic spines of layer V pyramidal cells. Correlations between behavioral and histological measures, indicated no consistent association of retention capacity with any of the physiological measures. However, basilar dendritic growth was significantly correlated with unconditioned reflex control as well as initial learning ability.


Ontogeny of catecholamine turnover rates in limbic and hypothalamic structures in relation to serum prolactin and gonadotropin levels. Norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) concentrations and turnover rates have been studied in the n. accumbens, medial preoptic area (MPO) and anterior and posterior parts of the mediobasal hypothalamus of developing rats. Turnover rates are determined by injection of alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine 30 and 90 min prior to decapitation. NE concentrations and turnover in the n. accumbens were low in all age groups with slightly increased values between days 20 and 35 after birth whereas DA concentrations and turnover rates were low at day 15 and 20 and at high adult values by day 25 after birth. Medial preoptic and anterior mediobasal hypothalamic catecholamines exhibited a rather unique pattern. Concentrations and turnover rates were low in 15-day-old animals and increased between days 20 and 30 to very high values. Such high values were never observed in adult diestrous animals. The same pattern was also observed in the posterior mediobasal hypothalamus for NE concentrations and turnover rates whereas the respective values for DA showed relatively large fluctuations. On the basis of catecholamine measurements 30 and 90 min after blockade of tyrosine hydroxylase an attempt was also made to differentiate turnover rates of the functional and of the storage pool. Serum LH levels in the 15-day-old animals showed large fluctuations. FSH levels were high and prolactin levels were low. At the time of increased preoptic and hypothalamic NE and DA turnover rates, serum prolactin levels were also high whereas serum LH levels were lowest between days 20 and 30 and then slightly increased. Serum FSH levels were uniformly low. The possibility is discussed that high NE turnover may stimulate pituitary LH and prolactin release by hypothalamic mechanisms. Hihgh serum prolactin levels may stimulate DA turnover which is inhibitory to pituitary LH release, thus counteracting the stimulatory effect of NE on LH-RH release. The dopaminergic inhibition of LH may be relieved at the time of puberty partially because the DA receptors become desensitized to the action of DA.


Influence of dose of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea on the induction of urinary bladder cancer in rats. N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) was instilled by a urethral catheter into the urinary bladders of female Wistar rats in weekly doses of 0.5 mg for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. At 75 weeks after the initial dose of MNU, the incidences of bladder cancer were 0, 7, 50 and 64% for the total doses of MNU of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg, respectively. Control rats instilled with 0.9% NaCl only for 1--4 weeks did not develop bladder cancer by 75 weeks. Higher doses of MNU of 4.0 and 6.0 mg, given weekly in 0.5 mg amounts for 8 and 12 weeks, respectively, induced a higher incidence (nearly 90%) of urinary bladder cancer in rats at 22--28 weeks. However, it was shown that control rats given 12 weekly installations of solvent only developed a significant number (33%) of bladder cancers by 22--28 weeks.


Hypertrophic smooth muscle. IV. Myofilaments, intermediate filaments and some mechanical properties. The ultrastructure of filaments is studied in the hypertrophic musculature of the small intestine of the guinea pig oral to an experimental stenosis. No structural change is observed in the thin and the thick myofilaments. However, there is a remarkable and consistent increase in the number of intermediate (10 nm) filaments; they are the predominant type of filament in many hypertrophic muscle cells. Experiments, in which the force developed in vitro by strips of control and hypertrophic musculature upon stimulation with carbachol, indicate that the force per unit sectional area is slightly less in the hypertrophic muscle than in the control tissue.


Ultrastructural observations on the oogenesis of Triops cancriformis (Crustacea, Notostraca). II. Early developmental states of the oocyte. The first stages of the oogenesis of Triops cancriformis have been studied. At the outset the oocyte is smaller than the nurse cells. Meiosis begins with typical synaptonemal complexes. The significance of these complexes and of some other peculiar structures of germ cells, i.e., pore complexes and annuli within the nucleus, and annulate lamellae within the cytoplasm are discussed. The morphofunctional uniformity of some cytoplasmic structures (annulate lamellae, concentrically arranged ER, and yolk globules) in the oocyte as well as its nurse cells is also discussed.


A dense-cored filamentous body in Leydig cells of the golden hamster. A unique cytoplasmic structure has been observed in Leydig cells of the golden hamster. It consists of a laminar core made up of electron dense material surrounded by a filamentous matrix of lower density, and is tentatively called a dense-cored filamentous body (DCFB). DCFBs vary in overall size and in configuration of the centrally disposed dense lamina. They are typically located in the vicinity of the centrosome and the Golgi complex. The body has no limiting membrane, and may be in contact with virtually every type of organelle. The DCFB is well developed in active Leydig cells, whereas it is small in the quiescent stage of the secretory cell. It is likely that the DCFB is a constant organelle in the hamster Leydig cell and may be involved in the physiological function of the Leydig cell, which remains to be specified.


Studies on fish scale formation and resorption. III. Fine structure and calcification of the fibrillary plates of the scales in Carassius auratus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). Electron microscopic investigation of scales of the goldfish Carassius auratus revealed that the lamellae of fibrillary plates contain sheet-like structures composed of vertically oriented collagen fibers embedded in an organic matrix. The fibers (TC fibers) are smaller in diameter (35-45 nm) than those of the lamellae and the matrix is stained intensely with lead citrate. The sheet-like structures as well as the lamellae are formed by fibroblasts located beneath the lamellae. The orientation of collagen fibers of the sheets and the lamellae seems to be controlled by the orientation of the ridges and invaginations of the surface of the fibroblasts. The fibrillary plate of C. auratus was found to be partially calcified. Calcification was initiated by the deposition of needle-like or flaky crystals of hydroxyapatite in the organic matrix of the sheet-like structure and proceeded into the TC fibers and the matric region of the lamellae. The potassium pyroantimonate-osmium tetroxide method showed a heavy concentration of calcium in the osteoblasts, fibroblasts, and in the matrix regions of the fibrillary plate. Calcium-containing precipitates were also present in the "hole zone" of the collagen fibers in the lamellae, but the significance of this location in calcification remains to be elucidated.


The ultrastructure of the striated muscle of the tail of Cercaria chackai, nadakal et al., 1969. The electron microscopic study of the tail of Cercaria chackai reveals that it contains four sets of striated muscle bundles located central to the nonstriated circular and longitudinal muscles. The striated muscle consists of longitudinally oriented lamellar myofibres. Each myofibre contains a single "U" shaped myofibril. The banding pattern is analogous to that of vertebrate striated muscle. The sarcolemma is a simple surface membrane. There are no transverse tubular extensions of sarcolemma. The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is very well developed with cisternae, tubules, and vesicles. SR cisternae form dyadic couplings with the sarcolemma. There is a set of flattened tubules of SR origin traversing the myofibril exactly at the Z region. These tubules are unique to the striated muscle of the cercarian tail and may have functional significance. A diagrammatic reconstruction of the myofibre is presented.


Distribution patterns of formaldehyde-induced fluorescence of hypothalamic monoamines. In a circumscribed area of the preoptic periventricular nucleus of a male rat, formaldehyde-induced monoamine fluorophores modified by treatment with HCl vapors were investigated microfluorometrically (measurement of excitation peak ratio 370 : 320 nm) in all fluorescent terminals and preterminals. Microfluorometric recordings of an individual fluorescent structure were performed without UV irradiation of neighboring fluorophores. Recorded data were sampled and corrected by a microcomputer (Wang PCS II). 19 neuronal processes (axons) contained noradrenaline fluorophores; 11 contained dopamine fluorophores; 6 exhibited uncharacteristic excitation peak ratios; and in 19 recordings technical problems did not allow identification of the fluorophore content.


Junctional structures in the metamorphosing midgut of Aeshna cyanea (Insecta, Odonata). The metamorphosing midgut of Aeshna cyanea is characterized by the successive development of two tissues: the reticulated tissue and the imaginal epithelium. These tissues supply information concerning contacts between cells diverging in their developmental pathways although arising from the same stem cell population. In addition to small desmosomes, which bind reticulated to imaginal cells, the reticulated cells form invaginations into the apex of imaginal epithelial cells. The projections of the reticulated cells have enlarged tips, and numerous microfilaments run longitudinally along the length of these processes. It is suggested that the anchoring projections of these cells delay the casting off of the reticulated tissue into the lumen, and thus allow the development of the imaginal microvilli. These project into the dilated intercellular space filled with a glycoprotein material that separates imaginal and reticulated cells (Andries, 1972).


Neuraminidase activity in the mucolipidoses (types I, II and III) and the cherry-red spot myoclonus syndrome. Two neuraminidase (EC 3.2.1.18) comonents, A and B, were distinguished in cultured skin fibroblasts on the basis of thermolability at 37 degrees C. The more labile component (A) t1/2 = 4.7--5.3 min at 37 degrees C, comprises 66--90% of total neuraminidase activity when determined using sodium (4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminate) (MU-alpha-N) as substrate. Activity was assayed at 0 degrees C for 18 h instead of 37 degrees C to fully determine both thermolabile and thermostable components. Diminished activity was noted in cultured fibroblasts from mucolipidoses I, II and III (MLI, MLII, MLIII) and the cherry-red spot myoclonus syndrome (CRSM) patients when assayed at both 0 and 37 degrees C with either MU-alpha-N or each of a series alpha (2 leads to 3)- and alpha (2 leads to 6)-linked N-acetylneuraminyloligosaccharides. Increased sensitivity and rapidity of analyses were achieved using MJ-alpha-N as substrate in determining neuraminidase activity. Results from two obligate heterozygote MLI cell lines (14.5 and 8.0% of control activity) indicate that the MU-alpha-N substrate could be useful for heterozygote detection.


"Cytogenetic" studies of spermatids of mice carrying Cattanach's translocation by flow cytometry. The DNA content of spermatids of mice carrying Cattanach's translocation has been measured with high precision by flow cytometry. The observation that the two peaks of DNA content in the haploid region of the DNA histograms represent X- and Y-bearing spermatids was tested and confirmed. Using flow cytometry, the difference in DNA content between the X and Y chromosomes in these mice was measured to be 5.2 +/- 0.1% of the total haploid genome as compared to 3.4 +/- 0.1% in normal mice. These results demonstrated the precision of flow cytometry for cytogenetic studies. Additional information on spermatogenesis in mice bearing Cattanach's translocation was obtained and showed a gradual loss of cells during spermatogenesis in those bearing the balanced form of the translocation.


BrdU-dye characterization of late replication and meiotic recombination in Armenian hamster germ cells. In vivo BrdU-dye methodology is used to reveal patterns of replication kinetics and meiotic recombination in male germ cells of the Armenian hamster. Analogue substitution over a fraction of the DNA synthesis period results in distinctive 33258 Hoechst fluorescence staining of late replicating chromatin, detectable at spermatogonial or spermatocyte I and II stages. Spermatogonial cells which are extensively substituted with BrdU over the penultimate synthesis period reveal sister chromatid differentiation in all chromosomes of primary or secondary spermatocytes. In chiasmatic regions, exchanges between unlike-stained non-sister chromatids are indicated by isolatelled segments, while those occurring between like-stained non-sister chromatids are not directly detected. In sex chromosomes from young animals, these alternative images occur in a ratio of 1:1, which supports the concept that homologue non-sister chromatid regions are randomly broken and re-united in the process of chiasma formation. Deviations from randomness appeared to occur in older animals. Sex bivalent chiasmata are either coincident with points of visible exchange, or they appear to have variable degrees of terminalization. Secondary spermatocytes display sharp chromatid contrast, and aid in mapping the positions and frequencies of homologue exchanges.


Development of cellular tolerance to lethality and analgesia concurrent with physical dependence following repeated oral administration of LAAM. Following the repeated oral administration of l-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM) employing a dose (28 mg/kg per day) shown to induce its own metabolism by three- to four-fold, mice exhibited a rapid development of cellular tolerance and physical dependence which correlated on a temporal basis with this self-induction of LAAM metabolism. Evidence of cellular tolerance included significant elevations in the LAAM oral LD50, LAAM ICV (intracerebroventricular) LD50, LAAM oral AD50 and the LAAM ICV AD50 following repeated administration of this narcotic. Since the ICV parameters and the morphine AD50 were elevated over water control values, cellular tolerance appeared to play an important role in explaining the elevations noted for the oral parameters because the former were not influenced by changes in the rate of LAAM metabolism. Moreover, SKF-525A, a microsomal enzyme inhibitor, had little effect on the LAAM oral LD50 and the LAAM oral AD50, further indicating a minor role for dispositional tolerance. It is concluded that the induction noted for repeated oral LAAM administration most likely is responsible for generating more potent metabolites which in turn act to produce the cellular tolerance and physical dependence in these mice through constant exposure of the CNS.


Suppression of oestrus-inducing pheromone production in the Indian field mouse, Mus booduga Gray, by treatment with an antiandrogen. The effect of cyproterone acetate (CA) on the production of the male-originating oestrus-inducing pheromone in the Indian field mouse, Mus booduga Gray was investigated. The anoestrus induced in regularly cycling females by unisexual grouping was reversed by exposure to intact males. The majority of male-exposed females returned to oestrus within seven days, with a peak on the fourth-day. By contrast, exposure to CA-treated males failed to induce oestrus in grouped females. Since CA is a potent antiandrogen, the inability of CA-treated males to induce oestrus in females is interpreted as due to the depression of the production of the androgen-dependent pheromone. The results provide evidence in favour of the concept that the oestrus-inducing pheromone in the Indian field mouse is associated with androgens either directly or indirectly through some androgen-dependent gland.


Investigation by 360-MHz 1H-nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy and methylation analysis of the single glycan chain of chicken ovotransferrin. The primary structure of two glycopeptides obtained by pronase digestion of chicken ovotransferrin has been investigated by 360-MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and methylation analysis. The two glycopeptides differ in amino acid composition but contain the same carbohydrate moiety, viz: (formula: see text). Using the NMR data of some reference compounds the chemical shifts of the anomeric protons and mannose H-2 protons could be predicted with an accuracy of 0.01 ppm.


Comparison of poly(A)-containing RNAs in different cell types of the lower eukaryote Schizophyllum commune. Poly(A)-containing RNAs were isolated from morphologically different cells of the fungus Schizophyllum commune. Using mRNA markers the number-average length of poly(A)-containing RNA in total RNA and in purified poly(A)-containing RNA was estimated as 1100 nucleotides. Number-average length of poly(A)-tracts was 33 nucleotides. 2.5% of total RNA is poly(A)-containing RNA and probably up to 7.5% are non-polyadenylated polydisperse RNA sequences. Saturation hybridization of poly(A)-containing RNA to gap-translated [3H]DNA resulted in 16% of the reactive single-copy DNA to become S1 nuclease resistant. It was found that purified poly(A)-containing RNA represented the entire RNA complexity, i.e. 10 000 different RNA sequences in S. commune. RNA sequences isolated from morphologically different mycelia and from fruiting and non-fruiting mycelia were identical for at least 90%.


Modulation of dopamine-mediated behavioural responses by antidepressants: effects of single and repeated treatment. The study concerned the effects of maprotiline, imipramine, clomipramine and amitriptyline on the stereotyped and turning behaviour induced by apomorphine in rats. At either single or repeated doses of 25 mg/kg i.p. neither maprotiline nor imipramine changed the stereotyped responses induced by apomorphine. Clomipramine showed in contrast an inhibitory effect which increased after 7 daily injections of the drug. Moderate suppression of stereotypies was also observed after repeated administration of amitriptyline. In rats with unilateral 6-OHDA lesions of the s.nigra apomorphine-induced contralateral turning was markedly suppressed (70%) after a single 25 mg/kg i.p. injection of maprotiline. A tolerance to this effect developed after 7 daily injections of the drug. Clomipramine and amitriptyline caused an inhibition of turning which was markedly increased after repeated treatment. These results suggest that antidepressants do not uniformly affect the behavioural responses mediated by dopamine. Clomipramine and amitriptyline appear to possess dopamine receptor blocking properties which may become more pronounced after chronic treatment. In contrast, the dopamine receptor blockade by maprotiline diminished and disappeared under such conditions. Among the drugs investigated imipramine was the one which seemed to have the weakest influence on dopaminergic receptors.


Genetics and ethanol tolerance.

Genetics and ethanol tolerance. This paper reviews some of the research on genetic bases of individual differences in ethanol tolerance of mice conducted at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics and at its predecessor laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Tolerance is, of course, a complex concept. Theoretical distinctions are made between tachyphylaxis and more slowly acquired tolerance and between dispositional and tissue tolerance. Pragmatically, a variety of measures (such as locomotor activity, sleep time, hypothermia) can be used to define these processes, and the different indices may yield quite different results even when they presumably indicate the same process. It is clear that an understanding of genetic influence in "ethanol tolerance" will require wide sampling of this complex domain. The work described here represents only a beginning, but it may illustrate the general approaches that are available for addressing the issue.


In vivo opiate binding unchanged in tolerant/dependent mice. The in vivo receptor binding was measured for an opiate agonist and antagonist in the brains of naive mice and of mice made tolerant to and dependent on opiates by morphine pretreatment. There was significant differences between the receptor binding of these substances in the naive and in the tolerant/dependent animals. However, these differences disappeared 8 h after interruption of the morphine supply, although tolerance showed no decline. Therefore, the differences in the binding were obviously not produced by changes in the opiate receptors related to tolerance. Rather, the differences were probably caused by morphine in the brain of the tolerant/dependent mice pretreated with morphine and disappeared because the concentration of the morphine in the brains of these animals dropped during abrupt withdrawal. The fact that tolerance persisted for hours beyond this time indicated that tolerance is a time-dependent phenomenon, not directly dependent on receptor occupation by an agonist.


Studies on the ultrastructure of the term amnion in pathological pregnancy. The ultrastructure of the amniotic epithelium at term was examined in cases of intrauterine growth retardation of the fetus and compared with amnions obtained from women with a clinically unremarkable pregnancy. In uterine growth retardation the amniotic cells exhibit a general deficiency of a series of functionally significant cell organelles. The RER is insufficiently developed, there is a diminution of the normally numerous free ribosomes as well as of those cell organelles which are involved in secretory function. A further atypical finding is the common lack of intercellular canals playing an important role in the transamniotic exchange of material. Besides this, a very poor development or a complete disintegration of the microfilamentous cytoskelet is generally noticed. The present findings give once again evidence for a very close relation between the structural appearance of the intercellular diffusion canals and the microfilamentous system. The results presented are suggestive of an amnion which is in a state of reduced secretory activity, additionally, due to the common lack of intercellular canals an inhibition of the interepithelial passage between the maternal and amniotic compartment cannot be excluded.


Influence of photoinduction on aminotransferase activity in biloxi soybean, Glycine max. L., Merr. Increasing number of photoinductive cycles markedly influenced the activity of 5 different aminotransferase systems as compared to non-inductive cycles. The activity was related to the requirement of the corresponding aminoacid synthesised during the process of photoinduction in the leaves.


Analysis of human spermatozoal fertilizing ability using zona-free ova. An in vitro fertilization assay employing zona-free hamster eggs was used to analyze human spermatozoal fertilizing ability. Human spermatozoa were preincubated for 18 to 20 hours in Biggers, Whitten, and Whittingham's medium (1971) at a concentration of 1 X 10(7) sperm/ml prior to the addition of zona-free superovulated hamster eggs. Eggs were examined microscopically 2 hours later for evidence of swelling or decondensing sperm heads in the cytoplasm. A total of 6266 eggs were examined in assays for both suspected fertile and infertile donors; 50 eggs/sample were examined. The percentage fertilization was found to range from 14% to 100% in the suspected fertile group with an average of 56.3%. The sperm concentration in this fertile group ranged from 22 to 303 million/ml with an average of 114. The suspected infertile samples yielded fertilization rates of 10% or less and an average count of 50.6 million/ml. These data suggest that human spermatozoa fuse with the vitelline membrane of zona-free hamster eggs and decondense with varying efficiencies. The percentage of fertilization in this cross-species system did not show a significant correlation with sperm concentration or motility. However, suspected infertile samples always yielded 10% or less fertilization in this assay. This method may have potential value as a diagnostic tool in evaluating human spermatozoal fertilizing capacity which avoids the ethical and logistcal problems associated with fertilization of human eggs in vitro.


Sperm antibody activity in human fallopian tube fluid. Fallopian tube fluid and sera from 33 fertile and 48 infertile patients were investigated for spermatozoal antibodies by gelatin agglutination, immobilization, and indirect immunofluorescence tests. Oviductal fluids were obtained as washings after tubal catheterization. The incidences of antisperm activity in oviductal washings ranged from 9% to 58.3% depending on the tests used. These incidences were higher in infertile patients. Only immunoglobulin (Ig) A antisperm antibody was significantly more common in infertile patients than in fertile patients (P less than 0.01). Gelatin agglutination and antisperm IgG activity in the oviductal washings could be correlated to that in the sera. No relationship was seen between antisperm activity in the oviductal washings and that in the sera for sperm immobilization antibodies and IgA antisperm antibodies.


Determining the impact of sex preferences on fertility: a consideration of parity progression ratio, dominance, and stopping rule measures. The two methods commonly used to assess the effect of sex preferences on fertility are inadequate to the task. Parity progression ratio analyses suffer from logical problems stemming from the heterogeneity of sex preferences and the riskiness of fertility decisions. While conjoint measurement-dominance procedures overcome these logical problems, they cannot yield quantitative estimates of the impact of sex preferences on fertility. A stopping rule measure which overcomes these limitations is proposed and described and its potential for determining the effect of sex predetermination methods on population is discussed.


A note on the analysis of parity progression ratios. Contingency table modeling procedures are proposed to examine the effects of independent variables on parity progression ratios. The methodology is outlined and an incremental-factorial linear model is developed.


Aqueductal stenosis in X-linked hydrocephalus: a secondary phenomenon? Two cases of x-linked hydrocephalus are reported. One underwent postmortem examination: serial sections of the brain stem failed to show stenosis of the aqueduct, the mean and minimal cross-sectional areas of which were normal. However, there were some morphological changes which were compatible with a mechanical compression of the brain stem. It is postulated that in the Bickers and Adams syndrome of x-linked hereditary hydrocephalus the primary defect is a communicating hydrocephalus leading usually, but not always, to aqueductal stenosis. The importance of electrophysiological investigations for the correct diagnosis of the characteristic clasped-thumb deformity is also indicated.


Mixed bacterial and fungal meningitis in a neonate. Mixed infections of the central nervous system occurring in children without underlying neurological disease may be more frequent than previously suspected. In this case report, a neonate whose cerebrospinal fluid culture at 24 hours showed group B streptococcus only, was found on postmortem examination at six days of age to have disseminated candidiasis with cerebral abscesses. The degree of systemic involvement in this newborn suggested intra-uterine acquired candidiasis. Early diagnosis of polymicrobic infections is difficult, but this case suggests it should be considered in patients not responding to antibiotic therapy.


[Heterologous artificial insemination (author's transl)]. The indications for insemination, the selection of donor, consultation with the recipient parent and the technique will be described, based on our four-year experience. A description of the examination before the insemination and the results from a small collection of cases will be discussed.


[Sulfalene pharmacogenetics. I. The genetic determination of the pharmacokinetic indices]. Genetic determination of pharmacokinetics of sulfalen, a new antibacterial drug, has been studied in 28 twin pairs of Moscow Russian population. In order to determine the degree of heritability of such pharmacokinetic parameters of sulfalen as t 1/2 (half-life); Vd and delta (apparent and specific volumes of distribution) and Co (apparent initial concentration) Holtsinger H-statistics values have been calculated, which are 0.891, 0.866, 0.766 and 0.797 respectively. Possible causes of discrepancies between these values and the coefficients of genetic determination G, calculated by decomposition of general phenotypical dispercion of the parameters via the main equation of quantitative traits of genetics are given (0.913, 0.762, 0.828, 0.856 in that order). The data obtained make it possible to assume that genetic determination t 1/2 of sulfalen is carried out within the system of monogenous interaction (HD = 0.91, HA = 0), that of Vd and Co--within the system of additive-polygenous interaction, while linear and non-linear effects contribute to delta determination (HD = 0.232, HA = 0.596).


Degradation of organic nitrogenous wastes by a soil streptomycete. A soil streptomycete degraded hair, silk, wool, feather and leather which were collected from solid wastes. The organism was identified taxonomically and designated Streptomyces sp. A956. It degraded leather to the maximum extent and solubilized 35.9% of the total nitrogen, 2.32 mg of glycine equivalent amino nitrogen could be obtained by degradation of 100 mg leather.


Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza and nodulation in soybean. Dual infections of Glycine max with VA endophytes and Rhizobium, compared with Rhizobium alone, increased the number and weight of nodules significantly in natural field soil and obviated the need of phosphate application for successful nodulation.


[Correlations between pre, peri, and postnatal risk factors and the psychomotor development during the 1st half year of life]. Data from 1288 illustrated questionnaires were analysed with regard to the correlation of pre-, peri- and postnatal complications and infant psychomotor development. The information on the infants' case history was obtained through the parents retrospectively. Data on psychomotor development were gained prospectively by means of continuous parental observation. Statistical evaluation showed that correlations among many risk factors in our sample and developmental items decrease already during the first six months of life. That is to say, depending on the length of time subsequent to their pre- and perinatal effects many obstetric complications lose their significance for a given state of psychomotor development as well as for prognosis. Furthermore, one should consider that even prediction through recent and current risk factors may often only be of short-term value.


[Efficacy and tolerance of Uroflux, a bladder and kidney tea, in the treatment of urinary tract infections, especially in diabetes mellitus]. In an open study the use of Uroflux tea and sugar coated tablets individually and in combination with chemotherapeutic or antibiotic therapy in 52 patients is described. Urine analysis showed improvement rates of 92 and 93 per cent respectively. A blind trial was carried out separately in diabetic patients over a period of 14 days in order to evaluate the effects on daily blood sugar levels of Uroflux tea against a comparative product. It was clearly shown, that the patients on Uroflux tea showed no changes in daily blood sugar profiles. Contrary to this is was noteworthy that blood sugar concentrations in patients receiving the comparative product were elevated in the morning before breakfast as well as one hour after the midday meal. There were no side effects observed with any of the Uroflux dosage forms; even patients complaining of "sensitive stomach" reported excellent tolerance.


[Synthesis of (LysA13)bovine insulin A chain fragments using the S-tert-butylmercapto residue for thiol protection (author's transl)]. The synthesis of the peptide derivatives A1-8 and [LysA13]A9-15 as well as A1-7 and [LysA13]A8-15, belonging to the [LysA13]-bovine insulin A chain is described. The S-tert-butylmercapto group was used for thiol protection.