Combined influences of ambient temperature and graded work on cardiopulmonary functions. Several cardiopulmonary items were measured in eight adult females who had performed stationary ergometer cycling of 75-450 kgm/min in air temperature between 14 degrees and 35 degreesC. The experiments were designed on the basis of the Latin square method and the results were analyzed by computing the analysis of variance and multiple regression equations for each item linked with work rate and air temperature. In view of the degree of affinity of the effect of work rate and that of air temperature, the items could be divided into three groups. The first group consisted of items of pulmonary functions closely related with work rate but independent of air temperature, such as pulmonary ventilation, oxygen intake, carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange ratio, and ratio of oxygen removal. The second group characterized by linear dependency on air temperature included mean skin temperature and mean innermost air temperature. The third group consisting of heart rate, pulse sum during work, and work pulse sum was intermediate. In spite of the confusion in the literature about the attitude of oxygen intake or mean skin temperature during work in heat, the former was the most stable in relation to change in air temperature and the latter was independent of work intensity.


Cardiorespiratory mobilization and endurance performance. Twenty subjects performed for 11 min on a bicycle ergometer 30 sec following 5 min of prior exercise (PE) at each of four different intensities. PE was adjusted to maintain a heart rate of 110, 140, and 170 beats/min. The 4th treatment was no PE. Heart rate was an estimate of the mobilization of the cardiorespiratory system during exercise. The criterion task (CT) included cycling for 10 min against 3 kg resistance at 68 rpm followed by 1 min of an all-out work bout where subjects tried to complete as many rpm's as possible against 3 kg. The 11th minute was used to assure the complete exhaustion of energy reserves following the paced part of the task. Overall performance following PE-170 was significantly worse than that following no PE, PE-110, and PE-140, which was probably due to a build up of anaerobic metabolites such as lactate during the PE. Total work appeared to be greatest following PE-110, which showed a slight tendency toward better performance especially after the 6th minute. However, no clear cut evidence was produced to support the hypothesis that light to moderate PE would sufficiently improve performance by mobilizing the cardiorespiratory system, thereby reducing the initial oxygen deficit in the CT and thus allowing more work to be performed.


Influence of castration and testosterone on pineal multi-unit activity in quail. Pineal multiple unit electrical activity was recorded in unanaesthetized quail maintained under a short or long daily photoperiod. Both spontaneous and flash-induced multiple unit firing were recorded in intact, castrated or superior cervical ganglionectomized birds. The effects of testosterone administration were tested in each experimental group. 10 Whereas orchidectomy led to a substantial rise in pineal multi-unit activity (MUA), testosterone propionate injection resulted in a markedly decreased MUA in castrates. A smaller decrease in MUA was caused by androgen treatment in intact or ganglionectomized birds. Androgen treatment of controls and ganglionectomized quail was not so effective in reducing pineal activity as was lengthening the photoperiod from 6L-18D to 18L-6D. 20 Repetitive photic stimulations resulted in a significant suppression of pineal MUA in all intact, castrated and ganglionectomized quail, whether or not testosterone was administered.


[Diet influence on growth-characteristics of the shrimp Crangon Crangon L., estimated by the evolution of nucleic acid content (author's transl)]. 1. Young sand-shrimps having an initial weight of 63 mg were reared for 4 months with a natural diet (A) and a compounded diet (B). 2. Growth is studied, both by the evolution of the fresh weight and the variation of cell-number and cell-size; these are estimated from total DNA and fresh-weight/DNA ratio evolution. 3. With diet A, the mean weight increment is a linear function of time, the daily weight-gain being equal to 2.8 mg/day. The increase in total DNA content per shrimp is a linear function of fresh weight; its value goes up from 187 to 1020 micromoles. The fresh-weight/DNA ratio, initially equal to 337.9 (mg/micromoles) ,remains constant. For the whole experiment, growth is only a result of cellular multiplication. 4. With diet B, the weight gain is inferior to that observed with diet A. The fresh weight gain curves show two visibly homogenous steps, each with a distinct growth-rate; the mean daily weight gain is equal to 1.7 mg/day during the first two months, and equal to 2.6 mg/day for the two following months (fig. 1). In reality, from the total DNA and fresh-weight/DNA ratio evolution, 3 successive steps can be discerned (fig. 2, fig. 3). During the first month, total DNA increases from 187 to 418 micromoles and fresh-weight/DNA ratio falls down to 273.9, a-19% decrease. For this period, growth is only the result of cellular multiplication, and the decrease of the weight-gain in comparison with diet A is attributed to a decrease in cellular size. During the second month, as the fresh weight increases from 114.5 to 161.2 mg, total DNA increases from 418 to 519 micromoles and the fresh-weight/DNA ratio returns to its initial value. Two thirds of the growth is the result of cellular multiplication, and the rest being due to cell-size enlarging. For the last two months, as the mean fresh weight increases from 161.2 to 296.7 mg, the DNA per shrimp, hence the cell-number, remains constant; but the fresh weight/DNA ratio, or the cell-size, is multiplied by 1.93. 5. By the method used for this study, it is possible to evidence influence of diet on the growth mechanisms themselves (cellular multiplication and cell enlarging). 6. The influence of diet on the growth of the shrimp could be explained by, either a diet qualitative deficiency, or a food-intake decrease. The possibility of a hormonal control has been suggested.


Carotid sinus, aortic and subclavian baroreceptor activities during cardiopulmonary bypass in rabbits. 10Carotid sinus (SIN), aortic (AO) and subclavian (SUB) baroreceptor activities were recorded from intact nerves during experiments using cardiopulmonary bypass in 11 rabbits. These activities (number of impulses/second) were expressed as a percentage of basal activity observed before artificial circulation (AC). The preparation remained in a relative, "stable period" for up to 45 minutes. Then, a progressive decrease occurred in maximal arterial pressure (AP max) in the 11 experiments (fig. 2,4). 20 According to the level of arterial pressure the "stable period", our experiments can be divided into two groups: a) Group I (6 rabbits) with AP max greater than or equal 90 mm Hg; in this group, the correlation coefficients between pressure levels and nervous activities calculated during the period 0-70 min after the onset of AC, were positive (fig. 3) and statistically significant, as we could expect (AO, p less than 0.02; SIN, p less than 0.01; SUB, p less than 0.01). b) Group II (5 rabbits) with AP max less than 90 mm Hg; surprisingly, in this group no positive correlation was found between levels and nervous activities, which were generally very high (fig. 5). 30 Experiments were performed in 18 other rabbits in order to check the nature of the higher activities recorded in group II. These high activities were not of chemoreceptor or efferent origin, and, thus, were thought to be indeed really from baroreceptive fibres. 40 Ten experiments under AC were carried out to test the reactivity of baroreceptors in response to induced increase and decrease of pressure. The responses were qualitatively normal (i.e. an increase of pressure produced an increase in the nervous discharge), but in group II, the operative point was set at a higher level (fig. 6). 50 A possible, time-dependent, shift in the baroreceptor response curve under AC can account for these findings by giving, in some cases the illusion of a negative correlation between baroreceptor activity and arterial pressure (fig. 8). 60 The above mentioned shift in the baroreceptor response curve could be related to a change in sympathetic control of baroreceptors,resulting in a higher activity, and initiating and/or maintaining hypotension.


[Connections between inspiratory medullary neurons and phrenic or intercostal motoneurones (author's transl)]. 10 The activity of 107 medullary inspiratory neurones has been recorded extracellularly in anesthetized cats (urethane-chloralose). According to their localization in the medulla and to their axonal pathways (tested by antidromic activation), these neurones were classified as: bulbo-spinal neurones (NBSI) which send their axons to the spinal cord; they are located in the dorsal or the ventral respiratory nucleus; propriobulbar neurons (NPBI) whose axons are probably entirely located within the medulla; they are found only in the ventral nucleus. 20 Summation of gross discharges from phrenic (C5 ventral root) or inspiratory intercostal (from T4 to T10) nerves was triggered by spikes from medullary respiratory neurones. If the studied neurone controls the activity of the recorded motor fibres, after sommation of a great number of sweeps (3,000 to 5,000), the summed nerve activity displays a short delay excitatory wave, indicating that the activity of the motoneurones is increased after the onset of the medullary potential. On the other hand, there is a flat summed nerve activity if the nerve discharge is not directly dependent on the medullary recorded activity. 30 The dorsal nucleus NBSIs send their axon to the contralateral phrenic motoneurones (as it is revealed by the excitatory wave noted on the summed phrenic nerve activity, fig. 1 and 4) and not to the intercostal motoneurones (fig. 4). 40 The ventral nucleus NBSIs control contralateral intercostal motoneurones (fig. 5). Some of them send their axons only to these motoneurones, but the majority also act on phrenic motoneurones (fig. 2 and 5). 50 Connections between NBSIs and phrenic motoneurones are monosynaptic and probably also those between NBSIs and intercostal motoneurones. 60 No excitatory wave has been observed on phrenic or intercostal summed activity when summation was triggered by NPBI spikes (fig. 3). This confirms the accuracy of the "antidromic stimulation test" used to classify medullary respiratory neurons.


Thoughts on love, sex, and commitment.

Thoughts on love, sex, and commitment. The effort is made to delineate some of the key issues involved in the interaction of love, sex, and commitment. Coupling is viewed from an ethological perspective that suggests that, in addition to the developmental contribution of the parent-child experience, peer-peer relating is a major determinant of adult hetrosexual relatedness. Couples are next considered as responding to social and economic forces that influence powerfully what types and duration of relationships have survival value. Finally, the nature of the inner experience of couples, their existential awareness of themselves and the other, and the meaning that they attribute to it is discussed. Being a member of a couple is participating in a story, sometimes a "love story," and whether or not it is seen as a good story depends on one's critical vantage point. Finally, the analysis of relationships is contrasted with the experience of a relationship as a gestalt, a whole; not as the sum of its parts.


Anger, sexuality, and the growth of the ego. This paper examines the long-term issues of sexual dysfunction in terms of normal psychosexual development. Human sexual development and ego growth take simultaneous origin within the symbiotic relationship of the child and its first nurturant caretaker, usually the mother. Infantile sexuality, the pleasure of the total body, is equivalent to love and dependent upon sameness and continuity, tending toward fusion. Adult sexuality depends for its emotional impetus upon separateness and difference between lovers. Once established, adult sexual relationships drift inexorably toward the symbiotic unity implicit in loving. Genital sexuality may be sacrificed in the preference for more global satisfactions reminiscent of the infantile sexual experience. Essential to the adult sexual relationship then is the capacity to bear and express conflict and anger as a means of breaking the symbiotic tie; a continuous restructuring of ego boundaries is necessary for the maintenance of a functioning sexual relationship of long duration.


Guidelines for evaluating sex therapy.

Guidelines for evaluating sex therapy. Clinical advances in the treatment of human sexual dysfunctions must be documented by objective and scientific assessments of changes in patients as a result of the therapy. The principle guidelines for evaluating such changes include (1) the use of standard methods of interviewing patients and recording information obtained, both before and after treatment, (2) careful specification of treatment technique(s) used, standardized when applied to any group of patients, (3) assessment of patients' psychosocial as well as sexual functioning, (4) clearly defined criteria for diagnosis and outcome, (5) use of control or comparison groups, and (6) methodical in-person follow-up contacts. The procedures can be applied by clinicians in their individual practice as well as by independent evaluation programs. These guidelines, presented in this paper, provide a framework for reliable investigations to determine which treatments work best for which patients with which sexual dysfunctions.


Central auditory dysfunction.

Central auditory dysfunction. The numerous tests applicable to the assessment of central deafness are briefly reviewed. It is likely that the more specific verbal and non-verbal tests, which assess more complex auditory function, will prove to be most useful in the assessment of these problems. We believe that the concept of a spectrum of clinical-anatomical types of central deafness is useful, namely, cortical, brainstem and more peripheral forms; a detailed study of an example of a predominantly brainstem type of central deafness is presented. An interdisciplinary approach which applies the methods of the audiologist, otolaryngologist, and neurologist to these patients is required to localize the site of the lesion, to detect and describe the deafness and to establish its etiology.


Experiments on the mechanism of Ménière attacks. The pattern of response decline following semicircular canal stimulation corresponds to a mechanical process. This process is the elastic recoil of the hairs of the sensory cells. The response decline is the same, whether the endolymph-cupula system is patent or mechanically maintained in a displaced position. The role of the bending of the entire cupula as the principle factor is excluded for the response and its decline. Repeated endolymph displacements immediately after each decline of response always result in an equal response and its decline. This rules out the depletion of a chemical mediator as a cause for the response decline. Indentations of the sidewalks of the ampulla result in reactions suggesting that the ampulla is filled with a loose gel secreted by the planum semilunatum cells.


British Columbia ear bank.

British Columbia ear bank. The B.C. Ear Bank was established in 1974 as a temporal bone laboratory devoted to the study of hearing loss and histological examination of temporal bones. It expanded its activities to the collection and preservation of homograft otologic tissue needed for the ever expanding field of ear surgery. The function of the ear bank in these two fields is discussed in detail.


Evoked potential audiometry.

Evoked potential audiometry. A large number of different components of the auditory evoked potential can be recorded from the human scalp using averaging techniques. It is now possible to evaluate with such evoked potential measurements the functioning of the entire human auditory system from the hair cell receptors to the association areas of cortex. This multiplicity of evoked potential components is important clinically since any one component measurement may be the most appropriate for a certain subject at a certain time, and also because the replication of objective audiological findings using more than one testing method allows greater confidence in the results. As well as providing an accurate means of determining the extent of a hearing loss, evoked potential studies can also provide information concerning the type and location of such a defect.


Killing effect of normal peritoneal exudate cells in guinea pigs on microfilariae of Dirofilaria immitis evoked by passive transfer of immune humoral factor. Parasiticidal activity of normal peritoneal exudate cells on microfilariae of Dirofilaria immitis in diffusion chambers implanted into normal guinea pigs was evoked by intraperitoneal passive transfer of anti-D. immitis serum. The immune serum was fractionated into supernatant and sediment by ammonium sulfate precipitation. The parasiticidal effect was reproduced with the supernatant and, to a less extent, with the sediment. Anti-D. immitis serum from the animals sensitized 5 days before was also effective in this respect. From these results it can be concluded that the factor responsible for the phenomenon is some other factor(s) than the antibody. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity test demonstrated an enhanced Mf-killing activity of sensitized peritoneal exudate cells by adding with anti-D. immitis serum.


Comparison of frequency characteristics of photopic and scotopic S-potentials in the carp. Frequency characteristics of photopic and scotopic L-type S-potentials were studied in the carp retina, using either an impulse or a sinusoidal light input superimposed on a steady background light of various intensities. The photopic type responses were faster than the scotopic responses if their frequency characteristics were compared without background illumination. However, the difference was not absolute. Both types of responses became faster in the presence of background illumination. The stronger the background, the faster was the response. At relatively high background intensities, the response to a flash became diphasic due to the rebound effect which corresponds to a low frequency attenuation in the gain characteristics. The main difference between the two types of responses was found in the phase relation; the scotopic units showed more phase lag indicating an extra delay even under a condition in which the time course of their response was faster than that of the photopic units.


Maximum capacity of ventilation and efficiency of gas exchange during liquid breathing in guinea pigs. Mechanical characteristics of liquid breathing were studied in isolated lungs of guinea pigs filled with fluorocarbons FC-75 and 77. It was found that compliance increased to 2-2.5 times, resistance increased to 20 times, and maximum expiratory flow decreased to 1/20-1/25 times the corresponding values observed in air-filled lungs. The maximum volume of ventilation during liquid breathing was then predicted to be 50 ml/min from parameters mentioned above, and about 80% of such ventilation was actually observed in anesthetized animals. Measurements on O2-uptake and CO2-output as well as gas analysis of arterial blood showed that the ventilation volume was insufficient to maintain the normal gas exchange in the animal unless body temperature was lowered. An increase in physiological dead space observed during liquid breathing suggested that slow diffusion rate of gases through the liquid was responsible for the deficiency of the gas exchange.


Mechanisms underlying cessation of rabbit sinoatrial node pacemaker activity in high potassium solutions. To determine the effect of high extracellular potassium concentration ([K]o) on the membrane current of the sinoatrial node cell, voltage clamp experiments were conducted using the double microelectrode technique. When depolarizing clamp pulses were applied, a transient inward current was followed by an outward current and an outward current tail flowed after the pulse. The amplitude of both the transient inward current and the outward current tail were markedly reduced with increasing [K]o, but the magnitude of the outward current during depolarization scarcely changed. The inward current during hyperpolarizing clamp pulses increased in magnitude at higher [K]o and the reversal potential for the inward current change decreased with increasing [K]o. From these results it was concluded that the suppression of the sinoatrial node automaticity at higher [K]o was due to the decrease in magnitude of both the transient inward current and the outward current tail. As the cause of the depression of the transient inward current, its inactivation through depolarization, increased outward leak current and some direct inhibitory effect of K were proposed. The reduction of the outward current tail was attributed to the decrease in the driving force of the K current.


Prostaglandin action on the main pulmonary artery and portal vein of the rabbit. The effects of prostaglandins on electrical and mechanical properties of the rabbit pulmonary artery and portal vein were investigated and compared with those recorded from the guinea pig. In the pulmonary artery, PGE1 and PGE2 (10(-9)-10(-6) g/ml) had no effect on mechanical properties, but PGF2alpha (10(-8) g/ml) produced tonic contraction, while in the portal vein, PGE1 and PGE2 caused relaxation of the tissues. When the tissue of the pulmonary artery contracted from pretreatment with noradrenaline (10(-7) g/ml), PGE1 and PGE2 experienced partial, incomplete, relaxation, while PGF2alpha enhanced the mechanical response produced by noradrenaline. At concentrations of 10(-7) g/ml, PGE1 and PGE2 hyperpolarized the membranes in both smooth muscle tissues while PGF2alpha depolarized them. These agents decreased membrane resistance at all membrane potential levels to values below those measured in Krebs solution. PGF2alpha (10(-6) g/ml) applied simultaneously with procaine (1.4-2.7 x 10(-3) g/ml) markedly enhanced the mechanical responses of both tissues beyond the effects evoked by PGF2alpha alone. However, noradrenaline (10(-8) and 10(-7) g/ml) applied simultaneously with procaine (1.4 x 10(-3) g/ml) markedly suppressed the mechanical responses evoked by noradrenaline alone. It is concluded that PGE1 and PGE2 brought about relaxation of both tissues (vasodilation), while PGF2alpha brought about contraction (vasoconstriction). The excitatory action of PGF2alpha (10(-5) g/ml) and noradrenaline (10(-7) g/ml) on the electrical and mechanical responses appear as the same phenomena, i.e., depolarized membrane, decreased membrane resistance and contraction, although the mechanisms producing the above phenomena differ.


[Kidney function after reconstructive operations on the renal arteries in renovascular hypertension]. A total of 117 patients with renovascular hypertension operated upon by employing reconstructive surgery upon renal arteries for producing hypotensive effect and restoration of renal functions were examined. Examination was made before surgery, in the near (up to 6 months) and remote post-operative periods (after a lapse of up to 10 years time). Soon after the operation persistent normalization of the arterial pressure was recorded in 78 (67 per cent) of 117 patients, improvement supervened in 12 per cent of the cases, and a positive hypotensive effect could be achieved in 92 or 79 per cent of the patients. The immediate normalization and improvement in the evolution of arterial hypertension continue, as a rule, also late after surgery. Following reconstructive operations on the renal arteries with normalized arterial pressure or its improvement the great majority of the patients demonstrated re-establishment or a significant improvement of both the summary (filtration, concentration and even nitrogen-excretory) and individual renal functions (as shown by the results of radioisotope renography with I131 hippuranium and excretory urography. In patients with malignant course of arterial hypertension successful reconstructive surgery was followed by a tendency toward retrograde development of the arterial hypertension malignancy.


[Characteristics of energy metabolism in different regions of the heart, liver and kidneys in myocardial infarct after administration of prednisolone]. The effect of therapeutic doses of Prednisolone (1 mg/kg) on the indices of energy metabolism in different regions of the heart, liver and kidneys was studied in 70 dogs within the initial 10 days after the ligation of the left coronary artery. The administration of such doses of Prednisolone was found to increase the respiration of the mytochondria and especially the binding of the inorganic phosphate in the zone of the infarction, to switch over from the poorly effective oxidation in the nondamaged area of the left ventricle to the one firmly conjugated with phosphorylation, to level the balance between the respiration and phosphorylation of the mytochondria in the right ventricle, liver and kidneys. The beneficial effect of Prednisolone upon the energy metabolism in the tissues during myocardial infarction manifested itself in growing depots of ATP and creatinephosphate in all regions of the heart. This effect of Prednisolone is most clearly expressed during the initial 5 days of its administration, and is less demonstrative when given for 10 days.


[Cerebral hemodynamics in neurocirculatory hypotension]. Data are presented on the state of cerebral haemodynamics in patients with neuro-circulatory hypotension that was studied by measuring the arterial pressure in various zones of blood supply (the central retinal artery, superficial temporal artery and the brachial artery), by studying the ocular fundus and by rheoencephalography. The cerebral haemodynamic disorders were revealed in the form of regional cerebral hypertension in 13.4% and regional cerebral hypotension in 29.4%, against the background of a general fall of the arterial pressure. In regional cerebral hypertension the vessels of the ocular fundus were narrowed, in regional cerebral hypotension--vice versa. The reduction of the pulse pressure during neuro-circulatory hypotension also attracts attention, and it can be considered a sign of impaired blood supply to the brain.


[Comparison of the electrocardiographic, clinical and coronarographic data in ischemic heart disease after physical exertion]. A comparison of the clinical data and those of ECG under physical exercises with the results of coronary angiography is presented for 130 patients with the ischaemic heart disease, aged 28 to 68 years; 63 of them had survived myocardial infarction, 63 had angina of effort, 65--angina at rest and angina of effort, 2 presented no complaints. The comparison of the clinical and coronarographic data demonstrated a high correlation in cases of angina; in 85.3% of the patients with typical angina pectoris coronary angiography revealed anatomic changes in the coronaries. Having compared the data to the positive exercise test with the results of coronary angiography, the authors found that 87.9% of the examined patients have--with a positive exercise test--coronary lesions and the S--T segment depression during physicial exercises 1 mm below the iso-electric line, which permits to diagnose anatomic changes in the coronaries. According to the authors, an acute onset of the disease, a brief history (up to 1 year) and a prompt restoration of the ECG following physical exercises are typical rather for local lesions of one coronary branch.


[Circulation time of 125I-labeled fibrinogen in patients with ischemic heart disease with different types of hyperlipoproteinemia]. In 31 patients with ischaemic heart disease and different types of hyperlipoproteinemia the Takeda method was used for determining the duration of 125I-labelled fibrinogen circulation. The half-life period of labelled fibrinogen was found to be twice shorter in the patients than in the normal individuals. Two types of curves of plasma radioactivity reduction were distinguished in patients with ischaemic heart disease. The briefest circulataion period of the labelled fibrinogen was found in patients with type II hyperlioproteinemia. In patients with ischaemic heart disease and normal blood lipids content the period of circulation of the labelled fibrinogen comprised 2.07 +/- 0.27 days and was higher than in those with hyperlipoproteinemia.


[Rheologic properties of blood in patients with complicated and uncomplicated course of acute myocardial infarct]. The examination was conducted in 77 patients with a varying course of acute myocardial infarction, in 10 normal individuals, 10 patients with angina pectoris, and 20 patients with post-infarction cardiosclerosis. The patients with acute myocardial infarction demonstrated a higher, than in the control group, blood viscosity, fibrinogen, hematocrit level and erythrocytes aggregation rate. The most significant changes in the rheologic properties of blood were observed in the cases of complicated myocardial infarction. Patients with severe coronary shock displayed both high and low levels of blood viscosity, fibrinogen and hematocrit, which may be due to the different stages of the coronary shock.


[Dynamics of bundle-branch block in the acute period of myocardial infarct]. On the basis of a randomized analysis of ECG of 200 patients in the acute phase of myocardial infarction the relative incidence of partial blocks was demonstrated: 33% among the survivors, and 54% among the hospital mortality cases. The prognostic value of the development of blocks was supported by the fact that it corresponded to further aggravation of the clinical course--increased cardiac pains, manifestations of cardiac insufficiency, development of arrhythmias. The bundle of His branch block may mask the infarction changes of ECG. Signs of incomplete blocking were revealed that include a leftward deviation of the axis, increase of R-wave amplitude in the 1 and aVL leads, appearance of enhancement of the S-wave in the II and V5-6 leads that preceed a complete blocking of the appropriate branch. The obtained data indicate the necessity of tracing the intraventricular conduction in the course of ECG monitoring during the acute period of myocardial infarction.


[Hemodynamic research and physiopathologic remarks on "vibration angiopathy" with Raynaud's phenomenon (author's transl)]. A hemodynamic research was carried out by the authors in ten patients affected with upper limb "vibration angiopathy", as well as in ten healthy control subjects. Digital artery flow and systolic, diastolic and mean pressures were measured, and vascular resistances and the so-called "systolic index" calculated, both in basal condition and following hand warming. In patients with "vibration angiopathy" fingers were examined, which on a previous arteriographic study showed the most and the least severe arterial lesions, respectively. No statistically significant differences were detected between the mean values of the hemodynamic indices obtained from the most and the least involved fingers, respectively, as well as between such values and the control subject ones. These results would suggest--even with due reservation on account of the relatively small number of cases and of their different features--that digital artery lesions, as shown by arteriography, have no definite hemodynamic significance. The lack of a statistically significant decrease of the digital artery mean pressure, compared to control subjects, supports the hypothesis that Raynaud's phenomenon in "vibration angiopathy" is not due to a transmural pressure fall. Finally, the lack of correlation between the severity of arterial lesions and Raynaud's phenomenon site suggests that the vasomotion impairment which causes the phenomenon is not related to such lesions.


[Remarks on the nervous disturbances observed during an occupational medicine survey in workmen employed in a metal container manufacturing plant (author's transl)]. The authors report the results of a survey carried out in order to investigate psychic disturbances in subjects working in a metal container manufacturing industry. The manufacturing process is described and an attempt made to analyse the relationships among its evolution, work organisation--mainly referring to working group composition--and work division levels reached. The possible influences of noxious environmental factors on the onset of the psychic disturbances observed are examined. The obtained data are analysed and the psychic disturbances classified as: 1) anxious, 2) depressive, and 3) psychosomatic in nature; hypotheses are formulated in order to explain the higher frequency of almost all reported disturbances in female compared to male workers. Data are reported concerning psychotropic drug treatment as well as psychiatric hospitalization in the examined subjects; and their higher prevalence in comparison with the mean general population data is underlined. Finally, some remarks are made on methodology problems, and a correct setting up of the technician/homogeneous working group relationship is said to be the fundamental support for a profitable survey such as the one performed by the authors.


[Disinfection chambers: Classification and terminology]. To draw up a scientifically-grounded classification of and terminology for the chamber-type  disinfection equipment a classificational scheme of notions has been worked out, the most essential characteristics were laid at its basis, such as operational conditions, the shape of the working chamber, the method of charging and disinfection, as well as heating the chamber.


[Sterilization of the pumping units of the apparatus for artificial circulation AIK-5 and AIK-5M]. Materials on clinical application in cardiosurgery of Soviet-made apparatus for extracorporeal circulation, models (formula: see text) and (formula: see text) are presented. Modification of these apparatus aimed at securing separate sterilization of its pumping units and setting them in place as a complete aggregate is described. This is achieved by providing the pumping assembly with articulated lock bolts and locating grips diametrically on the faceplate of the pump over which, to temporarily fix the cover with distributing valves and the pump's diaphragms, a rubber plait is hooked on.


[Certain technical aspects of assisted circulation]. The paper treats of issues concerned with the control, designing of the drive and operating mechanisms of the equipment for assisted circulation, working on the principle of an oriented presure change in the cardio-vascular system. Problems relating to the cardiosynchronization of the therapeutic action, constructing a drive based on the use of a linear direct current motor and to the demands placed on the actuating mechanisms are discussed.


[Sensitometric characteristics of medical roentgenographic and fluorographic films. Sensitivity of the amplifying screens combined with a film]. Factors affecting the degree of sensitivity of roentgenographic and radiofluorographic films and of their combinations with fluorescent screens are considered. A method of films exposure with a roentgenosensitometer permitting it to determine the sensitivity in conditions closely approaching the ones used in practice and corresponding to the minimum of the isoopaque is suggested. A way for determining the sensitivity of films in m2-mJ1 and lx-1-c-1 is indicated. Numerical values for the sensitivity of the films and their combinations with the screens are given. It is shown that with Eef = 38 keV, T = 20 degrees C, exposure time of 0.4--1 sec and optical density 1.00 over general focusing the lower limit of the X-ray RM-1film sensitivity to the light of CaWO4-screens is 38 m2-mJ-1 and of the fluorographic film Pphi-3 to the light of the Zn0-68Cd0-32S--Ag-screens -- 14.6 m2-mJ-1 or 30 lx-1-c-1.


[New construction of an orthotopic heart prosthesis made of fluorosiloxane rubber]. A new design of orthopedic heart prosthesis with artificial ventricles of the saccular type -- model (see text) is described and results of its test-trials are reported. All the components of the heart prosthesis are made of fluorosiloxan rubber.


[Diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide in a stationary membrane oxygenator]. Univariate diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide through a selective membrane of a stationary membranous oxygenator (SMO) and moving blood film is considered. Through the use of a precise exponential approximation of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve [S (p)=1--ae-bp] a partial oxygen pressure distribution [p (x)] along the SMO membrane and a transcedental equation for estimating the value for partial pressure (pa) of the arterialized blood and the SMO efficiency with reference to oxygen have been obtained. A somewhat less exact logarithmic approximation of the summary blood oxygen concentration [C1=a1+b1ln(p--po)] enables it to arrive at an analytical expression for calculating the SMO efficiency with reference to oxygen in a positively definite form. On the other hand, by using logarithmic approximation of the summary carbon dioxide concentration proceeding from the partial CO2 pressure in the blood a partial CO2 pressure distribution along the membrane, as well as an analytical expression for estimating the SMO efficiency with reference to carbon dioxide could be obtained.


[Appliance for linear pressure changes in the tourniquet of the apparatus for automatic measurement of arterial pressure]. A linearizer allowing it to reduce the deviation from linearity down to not more than 5 per cent during pressure measurement from 300 to 20 mm Hg has been designed for indirect measurement of arterial pressure. The resulting estimated relation between pressure changes in the cuff and the paying out time makes it possible to construct linearizers for various maximal pressure values in the cuff with the due regard for the environmental conditions.


[Physiotherapeutic apparatus as a source of air ionization in the rooms]. The extent of the air ionization in rooms accomodating physiotherapeutic apparatus is assessed. Subject to determination are main characteristics of ionization, such as: the unipolarity coefficient, the ionic air pollution factor, the life time of ions. Formulas for calculating mean concentration of ions and of the ionization energy liberation are cited. Recommendations for reducing the ions concentration are given.


[Automatic regulator of venous pressure and venous outflow in the perfusion system]. A scheme for automatic regulation of the venous pressure and venous blood outflow during extracorporeal circulation is proposed. The system consists of a photoelectric sensor placed on a tube led out of the major venous trunkline, a converter and an electromechanical eccentric clamp that compresses the venous trunkline, all of which secures stabilization of the controlled values.


[Signaling indicator of ventricular fibrillation]. The purpose of the work was to design an appliance for reliable detection of ventricular fibrillation. Frequency-amplitude spectrum of electrocardiograms taken in dogs with normal rhythm and fibrillation, as well as the impulse ratio in normalcy, tachycardia and in fibrillation were investigated. An appliance for automatic separation of ventricular fibrillation by referring to pulse ratio is described. The designed device is shown to have a high degree of discrimination and noise-immunity.


[Air flow rate converter errors depending on the manufacturing precision]. Among the most promising converters of air (gas) flow rate into pressure differential employed in systems for the respiration parameters measurement should be counted the ones based on the viscous friction resistance, made in the shape of plane-parallel channels formed by packs of plates, with pressure take-off along sections of the laminary flow from each channel via orifices and collectors Individual converters of the same type and size may differ substantially from one another in their conversion ratio, depending upon the degree of precision with which the instruments are made, and then mainly due to deviations in the thickness of the plates (the height of channels). In order to exclude such variations and to obtain a standard signal it is recommended that the making of the instruments  should include a tuning operation of the clear opening area in the resistance, or correction of the distance between the pressure take-off points. This will make it possible to utilize standard secondary convertes and thus cut down the cost of measuring systems incorporating such devices.


[Protective measures against increase of the potential of a "grounded" passive electrode of the electrosurgical apparatus]. Causes accounting for the occurrence of high-frequency induced burns, one of the most common types of damage inflicted on patients during electrosurgical interventions, are considered. Different variants of circuits indicating the emergence of a leakage current passing to the ground via the patient's body when this comes in contact with a grounded object are analyzed. Recommendations for the protection of patients are listed.


[Cryoprobes in the treatment of vascular occlusive diseases]. Application of cryosurgical methods offers good promise in the clinic of general surgery and especially in that of vascular surgery. In tests conducted on 20 dogs the authors showed that on the third-seventh day after reproduction in test animals of an acute or arterial thrombosis the thromb could be completely removed from the blood vessel, on its being fixed by freezing to a special cooled rod (cryothrombectomy). By means of a cooled rod to which the vein is being fixed by freezing cryovenectomy can be performed. The method merits further elaboration and clinical investigations.


[Instrument for cryogenic surgery of subatrophic and atrophic rhinitis and pharyngitis]. To treat cryogenically the nasal and pharyngeal mucosa an instrument has been devised in which the supply of cold carrier is regulated by changing pressure in the reservoir and by using interchageable needles of different diameter. The direction of the cold carried stream is changed depending upon the needle chamfer angle and the arrangement of holes in its wall. The procedure used in applying cryogenic action is simple and may be used in treating outpatients.


Reflective and impulsive children: strategies of information processing underlying differences in problem solving. The hypothesis that impulsive children differ from reflective children in their preferred strategy of information processing, based on extent of stimulus analysis, was investigated. The experiments employed different age groups and a variety of tasks, including matching, grouping, recall, and concept attainment. Stimuli were presented both visually and auditorily and included both visually and aduitorily and included both verbal and pictorial matrials. The tasks required verbal and nonverbal responses and varied in the level of stimulus analysis necessary for successful performance. The subjects' strategy was assessed by the quality of their performance on tasks requiring detail versus global processing, and by the strategy they chose to adopt in tasks where either detail or global processing led to successful performance. While reflective children performed better on tasks requiring detail analysis than on tasks requiring global analysis, impulsive children showed the reverse trend. Furthermore, when successful solutions could be reached via either a global- or a detail-processing strategy, impulsive children who adopted the former were equally as successful as reflective children who adopted the latter strategy. It was concluded that, contrary to existing views, impulsive children are not inferior to reflective children in general potential or problem-solving ability. Rather, the inferior performance of impulsive children frequently reported in the literature may be due to incompatibility between their preferred global-processing strategy and the detail analysis typically required for successful performance.


[Use of cryogenic technic for the treatment of tumors of the oral cavity and pharynx]. To achieve cryodestruction of neoplastic tissues or preliminary freezing tumours for reducing bleedings cryogenic technique was employed in the treatment of 60 patients with buccal and pharyngeal neoplasms. Cryogenic action on the buccal and pharyngeal newgrowths is a promising method of therapy, and for it most suitable is cryoprobe. Recommendations for further improvement of cryogenic instruments are given.


Spontaneous regression of hematologic cancers. Spontaneous regression of hematologic cancer is extremely rare. Data gleaned from the literature and from previously unreported cases allow certain interesting general conclusions. Spontaneous remission of acute leukemia is associated with bacterial infection and is of short duration, weeks to months. Spontaneous regression of lymphoma or plasma cell dyscrasia is often of substantial duration, months or years, and frequently is associated with viral infections. Spontaneous regression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is also of significant duration and has been associated with the occurence of a new primary carcinoma in one-third of the cases.


[Improved model of cryosprayer].

[Improved model of cryosprayer]. For local congelation of pathologically altered sections of the tissue the design of an earlier devised cryosprayer has been improved. The newly constructed model is convenient in handling, reliable in operation, has low weight and overall dimensions and ensures good visual view of the operation field. The new model of the cryosprayer is recommended for use in the stomatological practice, for treatment precarcinous affections of the buccal mucosa and dental pulp.


[Rheographic method of examination during conduction of functional tests with physical exertion]. In most of the rheographic procedures in use the hemodynamics is studied at rest with retained breathing at expiration. The rheographic method of examination may furnish a wealth of new and extremely valuable information when employed during institution of functional load tests (physical loads, in particular). A design of an electrode is proposed whose use with an integral method of the information readout enables it to obtain a high-standard rheographic curve with the examinee performing physical work on a veloergometer.


Spontaneous regression of neuroblastoma. Case of spontaneous regression of neuroblastoma continue to occur in the present multimodal therapy era at institutions where physicians are prepared to withhold treatment on certain patients with residual primary or metastatic disease. From a survey of the 22 member institutions of Children's Cancer Study Group, seven hospitals submitted data on 24 neuroblastoma patients whose disease underwent regression after minimal, unusual, or no treatment. An analysis of these patients and of 33 patients form two large series in the literature shows that the majority of patients are infants with Stage II or Stage IVS disease. The spontaneous regression usually consists of complete disappearance of the disease, but in some neuroblastomas, maturation to ganglioneuroma takes place. The various factors that may influence regression are discussed.


Latent carcinoma and carcinoma in situ.

Latent carcinoma and carcinoma in situ. Lesions exist in the cervix that are diagnosed as carcinoma in situ; some may progress to invasive carcinoma and some may regress. Many are probably overdiagnosed, may represent effects of promoting agents rather than intiating agents, and may entail risk for the patient in that the lesion may be an unusualy good target in carcinogenesis. Latent carcinomas are small foci of initated cells unable to express their malignant phenotype because of environmental controls. Latent cells are produced in experimental carcinogenesis and occur in spontaneous tumors as G-O stem cells.


[Complex apparatus for remote study of external respiration]. A complex set of instruments ensuring telerecording of the basic ventilation and gas exchange values is described. The set provides for the possibility of delivering various gas mixtures to the examinee. The set was mounted, tested and operated with a centrifuge under radial overloads of up to 12Gx. A six-year experience of its operation demonstrated its reliability, accuracy and reproducibility of the results obtained.


[Accuracy of reproducing images of objects in electro-roentgenographic examination of various organs]. Most characteristic distortions of electroroentgenographic and electroroentgenotomographic images obtained with the help of Soviet-made (see article) and (see article) units are reviewed. Images of different nature (positive, negative) are compared. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of distortions is give. An electroentgenographic image is contrasted against an analogous image on a PM-1 film. The dependance of the object's structure discernability on its localization on the electrooentgenographic layer is investigated.


[Case of giant intra-petrous and intra-cavernous internal carotid aneurysm in a child]. The authors report the case of an eight-year-old girl hospitalised for severe headache with paroxysmal left otalgia, vomiting, aprexia, paralysis of the left 6 th cranial nerve and slight left facial weakness. Left carotid arteriography revealed a very large aneurysm of the internal carotid, involving its entire intra-petrous and intra-cavernous course. Treatment consisted of ligation of the internal carotid in the neck. Postoperative angiographic studies showed complete exclusion of the aneurysm, and it was unecessary to carry out "trapping" by ligation of the supra-cavernous carotid, as had initially been envisaged. The postoperative course was uneventful : immediate disappearance of otalgia, secondary complete recovery of the oculo-motor involvement and facial paresis. The absence of any infections or traumatic past history, together with the young age of the patient, represent arguments in favour of the congenital origin of this intra-petrous carotid aneurysm.


[General anesthesia during neurosurgery in sitting position]. Sitting position during surgery of the posterior fossa is very convenient for the neurosurgeon but can be dangerous, specially concerning the risk of air-embolism. We discuss the major problems of this special position, and the modifications of respiratory and hemodynamic functions from our experience on 84 cases. We study the monitoring of these patients during surgery, with special emphasis on prevention and detection of air-embolism with the capnograph. With the protocol suggested we can avoid major risk in this position.


Effects of estrogen on the electrical activity of identified and unidentified hypothalamic units. Experiments performed on unanesthetized ovariectomized female rabbits demonstrated the effects of estradiol benzoate (EB; 20 microng i.v.) on the electrical activity of hypothalamic units which send their axons to the median eminence. Of a total of 1,840 cells recorded in hypothalamic and preoptic areas, 46 (2.5%) were antidromically activated by stimulating the median eminence. Under the present experimental conditions, EB induced a progressive diminution in the mean firing rate of these cells observed throughout the recording period (30-120 min). In addition to cells projecting to the median eminence, neurons which could not be antidromically invaded using our techniques were observed to be sensitive to estrogen. Estrogen administration produced a long-lasting inhibition of antidromically activated cells and a depression of much shorter duration (15-20 min) of unidentified nonstimulated units. These data suggest the existence of two types of hypothalamic neurons sensitive to estrogen.


Neuroendocrine and electroencephalographic sleep changes due to acute amphetamine ingestion in human beings. Amphetamine, a clinically used sympathomimetic central-acting drug, was administered in Spansule capsules in a blind schedule to 8 normal obse volunteers in a daily (8 a.m.) single 15 dose for 7 days. The study, conducted in the metabolic ward, included two 7 day placebo periods (pre- and post-drug). During the 1st placebo period, all subjects exhibited within the 1st 2 h of sleep a clear and significant nocturnal increase of growth hormone (GH) closely related with sleep stages 3 and 4. Thyrotropin (TSH) increase was observed between 01.00 to 04.00 h and was accompanied by a reduction of thyroxine (T4) levels. Cortisol levels presented their characteristic rhythm, clearly associated with paradoxical sleep (REM). Amphetamine significantly reduced stages 3 and 4, as well as REM sleep, and increased stage 2. GH and cortisol circadian profiles were preserved, although their magnitude was diminished. The extent of nocturnal TSH and T4 changes was significantly reduced. Drug withdrawal was accompanied by a rebound of REM sleep and a trend to recover the pretreatment TSH and T4 temporal profile. These results suggest that adrenergic neurotrasmitters may be a significant modulating system for TSH and cortisol, whereas GH nocturnal secretion may be influenced by different mechanisms.


[Contribution of the "limulus test" to the diagnosis of endotoxemias and meningitis due to gram negative bacteria]. The "limulus test" may be used to detect the endotoxins of Gram negative organisms. Applied to the cerebrospinal fluid (79 specimens from 64 patients) it proved itself to be a very important contribution to the differential diagnosis of purulent meningitis (95% positive results, no false positives). However it can be used on the plasma only in patients with shock of suspected endotoxic origin.


[Modification of properties of drugs combined with polymers. I]. The article reviews the papers on modifying the properties of drugs by their administration in the form of a mixture with polymers, or combination of the drugs and polymers using coordinative or ionic bonds. In many cases the combination of drugs and polymers by chemical means or preparation of a mixture of drugs and polymers prolongs and increases the effectivity of drugs, increases their solubility, decreases their toxicity, and modifies their distribution in the organs.


Growth hormone and prolactin in the fetus. Growth hormone is released from pituitary glands maintained in tissue culture as early as 5 weeks after conception. It has been identified in the fetal anterior pituitary gland by immunologic and biologic techniques between 7 and 15 weeks of gestation. Immunoreactive pituitary GH levels increase rapidly between 10 and 14 weeks of gestation to maximal levels at 30-34 weeks. Serum GH levels are detectable by 10-weeks postconception and reach maximal values at 20-24 weeks declining thereafter until term. Pospartum GH concentrations decline over several weeks to lower values, GH levels remaining higher in preterm than in term infants. The biologic role of pituitary GH in the fetus is unknown. Although birth-weights and lengths are reported to be normal in infants with anencephaly, aplasia, or hypoplasia of the pituitary gland and in isolated deficiency of growth hormone, in whom pituitary and serum GH levels are low, careful inspection of large series of such infants reveals that their birthweights may indeed be low and that cell numbers in many organs may be subnormal. In experimental animals prenatal administration of GH increases maternal weight and gestational length. Reported effects on neuronal growth and adult intelligence of animals treated prenatally may reflect these phenomena rather than a direct transplacental effect of GH. Prolactin is also elaborated by the pituitary gland of very young human fetuses. It has been identified immunologically by 10-weeks gestation and biologically at 18 weeks. Pituitary content of immunoreactive prolactin remains low until 16.5-weeks gestation and then increases steadily until term. The plasma concentration of prolactin is low until 30-weeks gestation and increases thereafter until term. In anencephalic fetuses prolactin levels are normal and respond to appropriate stimuli. Very high concentrations of (possibly fetal) prolactin are found in the amniotic fluid. The role of prolactin in the fetus is also unknown. It has been suggested that prolactin may be important for growth of the fetal adrenal cortex and/or for suppression of the immune response during pregnancy. It is apparent that a great deal of additional work is necessary before the importance of either growth hormone of prolactin for normal fetal growth and development will be known.


Blood pressure, edema and proteinuria in pregnancy. 4. Blood pressure relationships. The significance of these and related data will be discussed in greater detail during the subsequent course of this workshop. For now, we can sum up our findings with the following general statements concerning this analysis: 1. Blood pressure elevation occuring alone during the course of pregnancy, in the absence of edema and/or proteinuria, affects perinatal survival adversely. 2. This relationship is most marked among nulliparas in the age range 20-34 years and is less pronounced, but still evident, in young nulliparas and in multiparas of comparable age. 3. The effect is greater among black patients than among white patients in the median-aged nulliparas and multiparas, but this difference is not mirrored in the young nulliparas studied. 4. Blood pressure elevations during weeks 20-28 of pregnancy result in much higher subsequent perinatal losses in white nulliparas (both median and young age groups) than comparable elevations earlier or later in pregnancy. 5. Among black nulliparas of median age, maximal blood pressure effect on outcome is encountered at the sixteenth week (the earliest available data), with continuing significant increases until the twenty-eighth week, and there is another increment at term. In younger black patients, the results from 20 through 28 weeks parallel those seen in white patients, but with an additional peak at term. 6. among multiparas, maximal effect occurs at 24-28 weeks in both black and white groups. 7. The critical blood pressure levels are significantly lower in early pregnancy than in late pregnancy. 8. Critical levels of blood pressure with advancing pregnancy appear to parallel the trend in mean blood pressures determined to exist for this series. 9. Utilizing blood pressure distribution data to set limits statistically, we find very meaningful increments in perinatal mortality rates for nulliparas presenting blood pressure elevations beyond the 95 percentile point. This holds also for diastolic or systolic levels when these are examined independently because neither alone yielded more convincing data than blood pressure combinations condidered together.


Blood pressure, edema and proteinuria in pregnancy. 6. Proteinuria relationships. 1. The blood pressures of pregnant patients with proteinuria seem to be no higher than the levels of blood pressure in patients with no proteinuria. The presence of proteinuria and pregnancy in the absence of blood pressure elevation increases perinatal mortality above the values where blood pressure elevation occurs alone. This relationship is most prominent among nulliparous median-age pregnant patients. Even though the number of patients is small, the highest rates occur in the young white nullipara from the sixteenth to twenty-third week of pregnancy. Attempts to compare black and white median-aged nulliparas are meaningless because of the tremendous variability of data. 2. The findings in all cohorts with proteinuria were essentially the same as those in Cohorts I, II and III. Proteinuria of 2+ or greater occurs more frequently in black than in white gravidas. 3. Our observations indicate that perinatal mortality rates in patients with proteinuria are, for the most part, at least twice the rates of patients without proteinuria. 4. The volume of data available is insufficient to determine whether proteinuria influences prematurity rates or mean birth weights. However, our data suggest that some vascular or renal lesion must be affecting perinatal mortality. 5. The small number of patients in the proteinuria study group does not permit meaningful comparisons with the patient group presenting no edema or proteinuria. 6. Adherence to suitable criteria for discovering and measuring proteinuria is necessary to make the diagnosis of preeclampsia. These criteria include careful collection of urine in the clinic or hospital, utilization of acceptable standard testing methods, and the application of uniform principles of medical practice to the overall care of obstetric patients. 7. The data are presented, not interpreted. However, we cannot discount the value of the present data in suggesting the urgent need to restudy more of the current data available. It also seems desirable to initiate another program to investigate a smaller group of patients made up of the same sequential cohorts where it may be possible and more practical to apply strict supervision of statistical design, patient care, personnel, laboratory testing, data recording, data processing and reporting and statistical analysis.


Blood pressure, edema and proteinuria in pregnancy. 7. Edema-plus-proteinuria relationships. 1. A total of 488 pregnancies had the combination of two-plus or more proteinuria and edema of the hands and face. Of these, 208 were white and 280 were black gravidas. In the white gravidas, 8 fetal and neonatal deaths occurred with a perinatal mortality of 38.5 per 1,000. There were 13 perinatal deaths in the black subgroup with a perinatal mortality rate of 46.4 per 1,000. The overall perinatal mortality rate was 43.0 per 1,000, which could be compared to the overall perinatal mortality rate of 32.8 per 1,000 for the segment of the study population without edema or proteinuria. This underscored the implication of increased hazard to fetal outcome of these clinical signs in combination. 2. The analysis of the matrix data showed scattered rates throughout gestation in white median-age nulliparas. Their black counterparts had comparable increased mortality rates. In the white multiparas of ages 20 to 34 years, the highest rates were found at relatively low blood pressure levels. The black median-age multiparas had rates associated with higher pressure readings, especially at or above 125/75. In teenage mulliparas with edema and proteinuria, perinatal mortality rates were similar for both subgroups and were found in somewhat lower blood pressures. 3. The incremental analysis was remarkable in that rates were scattered widely in the white subgroups, but tightly clustered in the black subgroups. The black median-age nulliparas had perinatal mortality concentrated about 115 to 134 mm. Hg systolic and 65 to 84 mm. Hg diastolic. The overall mortality rates of this subgroup were the highest of the subgroups studied. The black 20 to 34 year old multiparas had highest coassociated deaths in the 134-154 mm. Hg systolic levels throughout pregnancy. The clustering effect was most pronounced in black teenage nulliparas in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure groups at much lower levels. 4. The use of a critical cut-off blood pressure level of 125 mm. Hg systolic and 75 mm. Hg diastolic emphasized the combination factor effect, especially by the increased perinatal mortality rates in the black median-age subgroups of both nulliparas and multiparas. In the white median-age subgroups the rates were not uniformly affected. The teenage nulliparas as a group showed increased mortality rates with lower pressure levels in general. This was seen when the diastolic level was above 75 mm. Hg. 5. Perinatal mortality rates of nulliparas were increased by proteinuria and edema. This increase was great in the case of the 20 to 34 year old black nulliparas, particularly in association with increased blood pressure. Trends are not so apparent for the white median-age nulliparas. Nulliparas of 19 years of age or less have higher perinatal loss with edema and proteinuria, but this is not necessarily augmented with blood pressure elevation. This is notably so in teenage black nulliparas in the early periods of gestation and at term.


Blood pressure, edema and proteinuria in pregnancy. 8. Evaluation of criteria. We have reviewed some of the potential sources of errors in our study data with regard to the criteria used clinically to diagnose toxemia. The constraints imposed are rather clear. Despite these limitations (or perhaps because of them), we are impressed that the trends noted in the foregoing studies reported in this workshop relating to gestational progression and perinatal outcome have been encountered. Because such relationships have been uncovered using relatively coarse study parameters, we are tempted to infer that they are likely to be correct. If indeed such trends were spurious or weak relationships, the indelicate clinical signs at our disposal (in terms of their reliability and reproducibility) should not have been expected to demonstrate them so cogently. At the same time it should be made clear that more subtle correlations may exist, other than those herein shown, which perforce cannot be demonstrated or proved because of the restrictive unreliability of the clinical observations.


Blood pressure, edema and proteinuria in pregnancy. 9. Proposal for classification. The frequency distributions of blood pressures in large populations fail to show two groups, one normotensive and the other hypertensive. In the spectrum of pressures, some people merely have higher levels than others and division of abnormal from normal is artificial and arbitrary, although it is useful for prognosis. The blood pressure of 140/90 as the conventional dividing line does not seem to be appropriate in pregnant women. From the standpoint of fetal prognosis, a level of 125/75 before the thirty-second week and 125/85 thereafter seems more reasonable. Moreover, those levels are close to the 120/80 that Robinson and Brucer specified as the upper limit of normal for all adults and are close to the 130/70 and 120/80 that the eminent British authority, F.J. Browne, used successively in the diagnosis of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. If the standard of 125/75 were adopted, however, a quarter of all pregnant women would be hypertensive in the second trimester and half in the last month, which are disturbingly high proportions. For the diagnosis of preeclampsia, a rise in blood pressure probably is more significant than an arbitrary level. The usual blood pressure in midpregnancy merely defines the patient's place in the spectrum. Figure 9-1 indicates that in white nulliparas the diastolic pressure rises an average of 10 mm. Hg in the middle of the third trimester. If the mean and median are close together, greater increases would occur in half of the women. The classification of the American Committee on Maternal Welfare and of the Committee on Terminology of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists specify increases of 30 mm. Hg or more in the systolic or 15 mm. Hg or more in the diastolic pressures as criteria of preeclamptic hypertension. pperhaps the rise in diastolic pressure should be set at some greater value. Our analysis of data made thus far cannot decide that issue. The next phase of the study will include analyses in individual women of the times, magnitudes, persistence or transience, and the like of changes in blood pressure, edema, and proteinuria. Such data will afford much more information than can be derived from the preliminary studies reported here. Although edema of the hands and face may be more common in preeclamptic than in normal women, such edema is so common in normal pregnancy as to suggest that it usually is normal. In our data, edema seems to bear no relation to hypertension or proteinuria. The triad of signs -- hypertension, proteinuria, and edema -- is generally accepted as characteristic, though far from specific for preeclampsia. Our data support Hytten's conclusion that edema should by dropped from the triad. There is some indication, however, that some edema is abnormal and that it is associated with an adverse effect when it coincides with proteinuria late in pregnancy.


Humoral control of cell proliferation: the role of fibroblast growth factor in regeneration, angiogenesis, wound healing, and neoplastic growth. The Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) is a mitogenic agent in the brain and pituitary of mammals. Recent investigations of the effect of FGF on diverse cell types has shown that FGF stimulates the division of cells from a wide variety of tissues of mesodermal origin including fibroblasts, chondrocytes, myoblasts, smooth muscle cells, glial cells, normal adrenal cells, and the Y1 adrenal cell line. Cell types of endodermal or ectodermal origin do not appear to be sensitive to FGF. Since FGF can be found in neural tissues and since it induces the proliferation of two cell types involved in the formation of regeneration blastemas (chondrocytes and myoblasts), we have investigated the possibility that FGF could be similar or identical to the neurotrophic factors present in nerve and responsible for the regeneration of limbs in lower vertebrates. Our results have shown that FGF could indeed substitute for the neurotropic factor and replace the nerves in inducing blastema formation and sustaining proliferation of mesenchymal cells which can differentiate into chrondrocytes and myoblasts. Since the blastema has been described as a benign tumor, the role of FGF in the formation of blastemas and benign tumors is currently under investigation. In addition to stimulating fibroblasts, FGF also has a striking growth-promoting effect on primary cultures of vascular endothelial cells. This suggests that FGF could be an angiogenesis factor. Thus, FGF, one of the most potent mitogenic agents found in tissue extracts has two properties expected of an agent which could induce tumors: it can induce blastema formation (direct mitogenic effect) and, through its mitogenic effect on endothelial cells, it could induce formation of capillaries (amplification step), permitting unlimited growth. Repair processes under FGF control will, under normal circumstances, lead to wound healing. In contrast, if cells become transplanted to the wrong environment (hormonal imbalance), growth factors such as FGF could make them proliferate in an anarchic way since negative feedback from surrounding cells will be lacking.


Immunogenicity of tumor cells modified by trinitrobenzene suflonic acid (TNBS). The ability of trinitrophenylated tumor cells to stimulate syngeneic antitumor response has been tested in 3 different tumor-host systems: A. Trinitrophenylated and inactivated Moloney induced YAC tumor cells (YAC-TNP) were able to induce the production of cytotoxic antibodies in low responding A/J mice, while inactivated YAC tumor cells (YAC-In) failed to induce such a response. Furthermore, A mice which were injected with YAC-TNP rejected 103 viable YAC tumor cells at a higher frequency than those injected with YAC-In. B. Trinitrophenylated and inactivated Gross virus induced G-35 tumor cells or Monoloney induced LSTRA cells (both syngeneic in BALB/c mice) were as immunogenic as nonmodified inactivated tumor cells. About 50% of the immunized mice survived indefinitely after injection of 103 viable tumors. Fruthermore, spleen cells from mice primed with either modified or nonomodified G-35 cells responded in vitro to G-35 in a mixed leukocyte tumor interaction and generated specific cell-mediated cytotoxic activity to 51Cr-G-35 syngeneic tumors. However, the donors of the primed cells did not produce detectable cytotoxic antibodies to G-35. C. In vitro sensitization of C57B1 spleen cells by trinitrophenylated Mitomycin C treated syngeneic EL-4 generated a stronger cytotoxic response to EL-4 cells than obtained by sensitization with Mitomycin C treated EL-4 cells alone, The superiority of the sensitizing capacity of trinitrophenylated EL-4 was readily demonstrated in conditions which were suboptimal for nonmodified Mitomycin C treated tumor. Both theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.


Measurement of lateral transport on cell surfaces. This paper describes the principles and recent applications of two new methods for measuring rates of macroscopic lateral transport of fluorescent-labeled particles on the surface of individual cells. Both methods are based on microfluorimetric measurements of fluorescence intensity from a small open region (greater than or equal to 1 micronm radius) on the cell surface. Transport rates are measured from the rates at which the measured fluorescence intensity changes due to entrance or departure of fluorophores from the region. One method, "Fluorescence Photobleach Recovery" (FPR), uses a brief intense pulse of light to create an initial concentration gradient over the spot by irreversible photochemical destruction of fluorophores. The rate of fluorescence recovery due to transport of unbleached fluorophores into the observation region is the primary experimental datum. The other method, "Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy" (FCS), is based on a statistical analysis of spontaneous fluctuations of numbers of fluorophores in the observation region and does not require a perturbation to generate an initial concentration gradient. FCS is mainly useful to measure relatively fast processes (D greater than or equal to 10(-9) cm 2/sec) in stable systems; FPR can be used to measure both slow and fast transport in less stable systems. Using both FCS and FPR, the diffusion coefficient of a fluorescent lipid probe in rat myoblast plasma membranes was measured to be D = (9 +/- 4) X 10(-9) cm2/sec over a range of at least 4 micronm. FPR was used to measure the lateral mobility of the fluorescent labeled lectin concanavalin A complexed to myoblast plasma membrane "receptors." A fraction of the complexes were immobile on the time scale of the experiment (D less than 8 x 10(-12) cm2/sec). The remainder of the complexes had effective diffusion coefficients far smaller than expected from the measurements on the lipid probe (8 x 10(-12) less than or equal to D less than or equal to 3.3 x 10(-11) cm2/sec). Moreover the mobility depended on the valence, dose, and time of occupancy of the lectin on the membrane, suggesting that an aggregation of complexes was occurring during the experiment. Cytochalasin B decreased the mobility of complexes, suggesting an influence of microfilaments on the transport process. Neither azide nor colchine affected measured transport rates. These results indicate the operation of constraints on the mobility of the lectin-receptor complexes beyond that exerted by the viscous resistance of the lipid bilayer membrane matrix. The two types of interactions revealed by our current experiments - interactions of the complexes with microfilaments and with each other (aggregation) - seem insufficient to account entirely for the low observed mobility.


Direct observation of membrane movement by electron microscopy. Motions of wet lipid bilayer membranes and plasma membranes of human erythrocytes were observed directly in an electron microscope, using the techniques of selective area diffraction, diffraction contrast imaging and electron opaque markers. The motions are measured as functions of temperature. At the liquidus state of the membrane, the lateral diffusion coefficient is deduced from the Brownian motion of the labeling particles. The coefficient is measured to be 1.1 x 10(-10) cm2/sec. for a bilayer of an equimolar mixture of cholesterol and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine at 20 degrees C. The value for human erythrocyte membrane at 37 degrees C is similar. At the temperature where phase separation occurs, motion is detected as the solidus domains floating on a liquidus medium. Below the transition temperature, the solidus domains move relative to one another along the domain boundaries, the drift velocity being 3 x 10(-6) cm/sec. for the above mentioned bilayer, at 4 degrees C. Together with specific labeling technique, the electron optical method may be used to study the movement of specific sites relative to the membrane, on a scale beyond the resolving power of light microscopy. The use of scanning electron microscopy is discussed.


Crosslinking of lectins and receptors in membranes with hetero-bifunctional crosslinking reagents. 125I-Con A was reacted with the imidoester group of methyl 4-azidobenzoimidate and isolated from excess reagents on a Sephadex G-25 column. The hetero-bifunctional crosslinking reagent has two dissimilar functional groups, imidoester and arylazide, instead of two identical functional groups found in conventional homo-bifunctional crosslinking reagents. The two functional groups react under different conditions and it is possible to react one first and to activate the other later. Here the reagents were attached to the lectins by the imidoester reactions, and the arylazides now attached to the lectins were intended for the later use to crosslink the lectins and receptors. Human erythrocyte ghosts were incubated with the activated lectins, unbound lectins removed, and irradiated with UV to photolyze arylazides, thus crosslinking the lectins to the receptors in membranes. Upon the solubilization and subsequent electrophoresis of the sample, a new band appeared on the gel. 125I-Con A was detected in band A, the new band, and band 3, one of the membrane glycoproteins, diminished in parallel to the appearance of band A. The concurrent appearance of band A accompanied by 125I-Con A and decrease of band 3 were significantly reduced, when ghosts were incubated with the activated lectins but were not irradiated, ghosts were incubated with nonactivated 125I-Con A and irradiated, or ghosts were incubated with the activated concanavalin A in the presence of alpha-methylmannoside, the lectin inhibitor, and irradiated. The inhibitor removed a significant amount of the activated lectins bound to membranes, but failed to do so the activated lectins crosslinked into band A.


Identification of a high molecular weight trans-membrane protein in mouse L cells. We have developed a new method for identifying proteins which span the plasma membrane ("trans-membrane" proteins) of mammalian cells grown in tissue culture. The method involves labeling proteins exposed on the cell surface with 125I by the lactoperoxidase technique and then preparing sealed, "inside-out" membrane vesicles (phagosomes) from the labeled cells using the polystyrene latex bead procedure. These inside-out vesicles are then treated briefly with trypsin and analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for the presence of 125I-labeled protein species which were degraded by proteolytic attack. Such proteins must be exposed on both the outer and inner membrane surfaces and, therefore, they must pass through the lipid barrier. This method is a general one in the sense that it is suitable for use with a wide variety of cell types, and here we show how it has been employed to prove that a particular high molecular weight polypeptide, called band 1, spans the plasma membrane of mouse L cells. Further studies of the band 1 polypeptide have demonstrated that it is preferentially exposed on the L cell surface during G1 phase of the cell cycle. Progression of cells from G1 to S is accompanied by a marked decrease in the availability of band 1 to iodination and it remains unavailable until cells re-enter G1. It is suggested that the band 1 polypeptide may be functionally involved in the regulation of cell proliferation.


The role of drug delivery systems in cancer chemotherapy. One approach to effective cancer chemotherapy is to maximize the exposure of tumor cells to cytotoxic drugs while minimizing the exposure of sensitive normal cells to such agents. This implies the need for control of the pharmacodynamics of anti-tumor drugs in terms of blood clearance kinetics, disposition in tissues, passage across membrane barriers, and interaction with metabolic pathways. A promising approach to pharmacodynamic control is the microencapsulation of drugs within liposomes. The clearance kinetics and tissue disposition of the drug is then dictated by the pharmacokinetic behavior of the liposomal carrier. The blood clearance rates and tissue uptake of liposomes themselves depend upon physical characteristics such as particle size and surface charge. It is also possible to promote specific interaction between cells and liposomes in vitro by preparing liposomes containing biological macromolecules such as lectin receptors. The potentialities of microencapsulation as an adjunct to chemotherapy are discussed.


Biochemical analysis of cell adhesion to a substratum and its possible relevance to cell metastasis. The evidence is reviewed that two types of cell attachment occur, depending upon the presence or absence of serum in the medium. In the absence of serum, attachment has many characteristics of a nonphysiological process. In the presence of serum, attachment occurs as a series of steps: adsorption of serum components onto the substratum, contact between the cell and substratum, initial attachment, and progressive attachments leading to cell spreading. Although there is a close interdependence of these events, they could be experimentally distinguished. Studies are reported indicating that cell spreading requires the adsorption of a specific serum glycoprotein onto the substratum surface. The relationship between cell adhesiveness and the altered behavior of malignant cells is discussed.


Isolation and preliminary characterization of that part of the plasma membrane which is apposed to the substratum. We have developed a membrane isolation technique which allows us to isolate that part of the plasma membrane which is apposed to the solid substratum (LPM) to which cells in vitro attach free of the remainder of the plasma membrane (UPM). Our evidence suggests that the UPM is essentially free of contaminating cellular organelles while the LPM may be somewhat contaminated with endoplasmic reticulum fixed to it during the isolation procedure. Characterization of the peptides of the UPM and LPM suggests that some membrane components are nonrandomly distributed to one or the other membrane fraction while the bulk of the membrane peptides appear to be present in both membrane fractions; Membrane components labeled with 3H-fucose or 3H-glucosamine show a 3--5-fold higher specific activity in the LPM than in the UPM. A number of iodineateable surface components, in particular the LETS protein, show a preferential localization to the LPM. The development of this membrane isolation procedure should allow us to begin investigating the molecular basis of differences in cell-substratum adhesion and cell motility, two functions assigned operationally to the LPM.


Patching, microvilli, and the agglutination of normal and transformed cells. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy were used to study possible structural correlates in the process of agglutination of several types of normal and transformed cells by Concanavalin A. In parallel studies we found that post-confluence inhibition of cell division and agglutiniability of cells by Concanavalin A were not correlated with patching of surface bound lectin molecules as determined with a hemocyanin marker. Transformed cells growing in monolayer cultures were found to have many more microvilli than the corresponding normal cells. However, when cells were brought into suspension with EDTA, all cells developed numerous microvilli and we were not able to distinguish between agglutinable and nonagglutinable cells on the basis of morphological appearance. Cells agglutinated by Concanavalin A had numerous interdigitated microvilli at points of cell-cell contact. The appearance of spontaneously agglutinated cells and lectin agglutinated cells was very similar with respect to the involvement of microvilli in cell-cell attachments, and labeling studies with hemocyanin indicated that Concanavalin A bound to microvilli is rapidly cleared from these surface specializations in a manner analogous to that observed with patching of surface bound lectin. Several lines of SV-40 transformed fibroblasts were shown to be considerably more spontaneously agglutinable than untransformed cells. These results indicate that Concanavalin A may amplify an intrinsic membrane property common to many transformed cells that is expressed as an increase in the rate of adhesion of suspended cells. It is proposed that the membrane change detected by the agglutination reaction may also be involved in the loss of post-confluence inhibition of cell division and growth of transformed cells in semisolid media, due to a surface interaction that allows transformed cells to use each other as growth substrata.


Therapeutic relationships between DNA synthesis and repair, membrane differentiation, and organ-specific immunotherapy in neuroblastoma. The mouse neuroblastoma cell system (MNB) is of interest to both neurobiologists and cancer researchers because of its capacity to differentiate, with the consequent loss of some properties classically associated with malignancy. The effects of chemotherapeutic agents on MNB cells are variable; in general, cell cycle-specific agents will frequently induce differentiation, leaving viable surviving cells, while cell cycle nonspecific agents are toxic to both dividing and nondividing MNB cells. X-rays appear intermediate in that they are toxic to both cell populations, but survivors tend to resemble cells treated with cell cycle-specific drugs. Differentiated MNB cells apparently lose their capacity to repair some forms of DNA damage and this loss may be associated with their sensitivity to DNA damaging compounds. MNB cells are also susceptible to immunological lysis, particularly antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Integration of these diverse modes of MNB cell killing is of great interest because of the close resemblance of this murine tumor to human cancers in which cell differentiation is also partially membrane-mediated an indepth study of MNB cell surface receptors may have general relevance in the theoretical approach to cancer treatment.


Independent control of the expression of several membrane-associated antigens of murine leukemia cells: metabolism and response to specific antiserum. The effect of specific antisera on the metabolic rates of thymus-leukemia (TL), H-2a, and tumor-associated antigens of ASL-1 and RADA-1 cells, two murine leukemia cell lines, were determined. The metabolic half-life of each antigen was distinct from the others examined. The half-life of TL antigens was 18 hr; in cells exposed to TL antiserum, it changed to 9 hr. In RADA-1 cells, the half-life of TL antigens was 16 hr; in the presence of TL antiserum it became 4 hr. The half-lives of H-2a antigens and the tumor-associated antigen were unaffected by specific antiserum. Somatic hybrids of ASL-1 or RADA-1 cells were formed with LM(TK)-cells, a thymidine kinase deficient mutant of mouse L cells. Hybrid cells formed TL antigens, but unlike their parental cells their half-life of expression, approximately 30 hr, was unaffected by TL antiserum. Hybrid cells failed to undergo antigenic modulation under conditions more stringent than required to stimulate the modulation of ASL-1 or RADA-1 cells. The hybrids formed the tumor-associated antigen of their murine leukemia parental cells; however, the metabolic rate of the tumor antigen in hybrid cells was defferent than the metabolic rate of the analogous antigen in parental cells. Hybrid cells formed H-2 antigens of both parental sources, and possessed a hybrid karyotype. The half-life of H-2 antigens, approximately 26 hr, was the same both in parental and hybrid cells. H-2a antiserum had no detectable effect upon the metabolism of TL antigens in hybrid or parental cells; nor did TL antiserum have an effect upon the metabolism of H-2a antigens.


[Platelets aggregation employing ADP and cephalin. Comparative tests (author's transl)]. The AA. have carried out researches into the results of the platelets aggregation test (PAT) on 375 people by use of the Born method; they have employed ADP and a commercial available cephalin (Thrombofax, Ortho). In the first case the parameters taken into consideration are: the minimum dose of ADP able to cause a "double wave aggregation", the slope and the maximum increase in light transmission; in the second case the parameters considered are: the latency period, the maximum speed and the maximum amplitude. The normal values, in 75 persons, are: --6 +/- 2 X 10(-7)M (min dose wor "double wave"); --15,5 +/- 4,9 UT/min (slope); -- 46,3 +/- 6,8 UT (max increase in light transmission); regarding ADP aggregation. --90 +/- 40 sec (latency period); -- 30 +/- 15 UT/min (max speed); -- 52 +/- 4,63 UT (max amplitude); relating to Thrombofax aggregation. Analyses of PAT, by parallel using both aggregating agents, have been made on 260 women undergoina an oestrogen-progestative therapy, on 25 daibetic subjects and on 15 subjects undergoing an anti-aggregation oral therapy (Ageroplas, Serono, Roma). The AA. stress on the validity of ADP as an aggregation agent in routine tests, while Trombofax has revealed itself to be not very sensitive in all the cases with hyperaggregation. However it is to be noted that use of cephalin results interesting in tests made on subjects undergoing an anti-aggregation therapy, as the PAT parameters seen proportional to the quantity of the drug given to the patient, which is just the opposite of what happens with ADP.


[Consideration on the King-Armstrong method and on the kinetic method for the measurement of the alkaline phosphatase activity in serum (author's transl)]. The comparative study of a determined time method, according to King-Armstrong, for the measurement of the alkaline phosphatase activity in serum and of a kinetic method consents us to make the following points: 1) the reagents used in the King-Armstrong method are easily prepared and are stable for months, with the sole addition of cloroform to the substrate and to the buffer to avoid the growth of moulds. 2) The substrate used for the kinetic method undergoes spontaneous Xydrolysis in acqueous solution, which makes it possible to keep it refrigerated for a limited number of days. Freezing at - 20 degrees C does not improve the situation. 3) The degree of precision within the series and between the series is the same for the two methods, and very good. 4) From the working point of view the method of "determined time" is advantageous for few samples, while the kinetic method becomes preferable when the number of samples goes over 20 and 30 a day, provided that it is linked with the suitable automatic apparatus. 5) The results of the measurement of the enzyme activity found with the two methods on 120 sera of normal and pathological subjects have shown good correlation, confirming the clinical diagnostic value of the results obtained by the kinetic method, which uses a transphosphorilant buffer and their congruency with those obtained by the classical King-Armstrong method.


[Salmonella strains recently widespread in Italy and its sensitivity to some common antibiotics (author's transl)]. A study has been carried out in order to evaluate the sensitivity of a group of some 517 strains of salmonella identified by the Pathogenic Enterobacteria Centre of Central Italy in the biennium 1974-75 to various antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents. As far as the average percentage of sensitivity to the drugs by the strains tested is concerned, the results obtained are indicative of a situation which may be optimistically looked upon as far as our regions are concerned. Some widely used drugs such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin, streptomycin and kanamycin showed a high percentage of activity in vitro towards Salmonellae with the exception of S. wien, whereas gentamicin, co-trimoxazole, nalidixic acid, furoxone and cephradine were more widely active, No substantial differences were found between strains normally present in our regions which are, at present, characterized by a stationary epidemiological situation (S. typhi, S. paratyphi B, S. enteritidis, S. typhi-murium) and sertypes which, having been present in Italy for a long time, appear today to have an increasing diffusion (S. infantis, S. newport, S blockley and S. thompson). As for the Salmonellae of recent appearance and diffusion in Italy (S. panama, S. agona, S. wien) a more resistant pattern of behaviour to various drugs was found; this was particularly remarkable for S. wien which is the last in order of appearance in our population. Finally, the probable reasons for this  difference in behaviour are discussed in view of our present knowledge on drug-resistance and on the role played by antibiotics as selective agents at an environmental level.


[Researches on cholesterolemia "normal values" (author's transl]. The AA. have carried out a statistical analysis regarding the frequency of distribution of two series of laboratory data relative to blood cholesterol. The data were obtained by the "direct" method from two populations; healthy blood donors and out-patients of an INAM laboratory. The two distributions resulted to be heterogeneous and it was possible to identify three elementary Gaussian components, one of which indicates normal subjects (values between 140 and 240 mg%). The other two components may be tentatively defined (taking into account the position of the three components) by separating three distinct value levels: less than 210 mg% (normal values); 210-270 mg% (pre-disease); larger than 270 mg% (pathological values).


[Use of the islamic penal code and its effects on the prevention of delinquency (field research)]. The Authors maintain that modern countries, despite their economic and social development, have not been able to find a efficient way to combat crime. In fact, the improvement of the material conditions of human and social life is accompanied by a regression in moral conditions and an increase in crime. But Saudi-Arabia has established a system which has proved itself extremely efficient, both for the improvement of the moral condition of the community, and for the limitation of crime to a minimal level. A comparison of statistical data, in fact, shows that the level of criminality in Saudi-Arabia is lower than that of any other country in the world. This is due to the wisdom and farsightedness of King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, who, to reorganize the Saudi-Arabian people and establish his sovereignty, adopted the divine law of the Koran, the Sharia, as the only law applicable to control all individual and social relationships and to combat crime. By means of research conducted on the basis of statistical analyses and of interviews with experts chosen amongst the more elderly citizens, the Authors lend proof to their statements. In particular, the subjects interviewed have provided information based on memories of their own personal experience, which has been used to make a comparison between the situation as it was before the establishment of the sovereignty (for which no statistic data are available) and as it is now.


[Economic crime].

[Economic crime]. Economic crime, often also referred to as white collar crime, is one of the most incidious and predatory of offenses. Unlike street crime, for which there may well be some protection, the average citizen is completely at the mercy of the perpetrators of economic crimes. The concept of white collar crime was first identified by Edwin H. Sutherland. He dealt with the problem as a violation of trust involving either or both misrepresentation and duplicity. He argued for the use of criminal sanctions rather than civil remedies as a means of dealing with white collar offenses. Sutherland's views were attacked by the legal profession, by sociologists and criminologists and by public opinion specialists. They contended that an act treated in civil court is not a crime; that criminals are those persons who are defined as such and white collar criminals are neither so defined nor do they define themselves as criminals and, finally, that economic crime is universal. Can anyone be criminal, then, ask the critics? A number of studies by Clinard, Quinney, Black, Ball, Cressey, Newman and others have translated the interest in white collar crime into empirical terms. The last thirty-five years have also witnessed the elaboration and alteration of the theory itself. Geis' work has been particularly important in this respect. His "street" versus "suite" crime is a useful dichotomy. Most important, however, have been the monograph and papers by Herbert Edelhertz who has conceptualized the issues on various levels - from consumer fraud to the illegal activities of the multinational corporation. This article is concerned with the exposition of the theory and research in the field. Most significant, the paper raises serious doubts whether the problem of economic crime can be researched and studied; it raises even more difficult issues concerning the legal and sociological implications of economic crime and of its prevention, management and control.


Production of hypercalcemia in the chick embryo by an extract of Solanum malacoxylon. White Leghorn eggs were injected on the 15th day of incubation with various doses of an acqueous extract of Solanum malacoxylon (SME). Most of the embryos died after the injection of 0.2 ml but the dose of 0.1 ml was well tolerated. The concentration of calcium in the sera from 15-day embryos injected with 0.1 ml SME was determined. Three hr after the injection the concentration of calcium had increased significantly; this increase lasted for at least 3 hr more but had disappeared 12 hr after the injection. It is suggested that this hypercalcemia may be produced by a water-soluble analog of 1,25-(OH)2D3 the presence of which has been demonstrated in the SME by other authors. It is also assumed that the mortality produced by the higher doses may be related to the hypercalcemia.