[Role of the mesothelium of the parietal peritoneum in the process of absorption of true solutions and india ink suspension from the abdominal cavity]. The method of electron microscopy was applied to the study of absorption from the abdominal cavity of hypotoanic, physiological, hypertonic solutions and of the Indi-ink suspension on physiological saline. Quantitative assessment of pynocytosis was conducted on electron microphotographs. Passage through the mesothelium of true solutions was realized by way of diffusion through the cytoplasm of its cells and by the intercellular spaces; as to the India ink suspension, it passed only by way of the open intercellular spaces. Pynocytosis in the mesothelial cells coursed from their basal portion to the apical one and was directed to the balancing of the concentration of the protein and salt composition in the serous fluid.


[Healing of experimental wounds under the effect of x-ray irradiation at high altitude]. Experiments were conducted on 969 mature rabbits; combined radiation injury (in general irradiation with 500 r and even more so in local irradiation with 2000 r) inflicated during the first two adaptation phases (particularly the first one) to the high altitide (3379 and 3640 m above the sea level) led to more profound morphological changes in the tissues and to the greater delay in the healing of the penetrating wounds on the pinna than in the valley (820 m above the sea level).


[The Budd-Chiari syndrome: clinical case reports]. Two cases of Budd-Chiari's Syndrome are presented. These refer to two women aged 34 and 33 years respectively. The aetiology of the first case is linked to polycythaemia rubra and the use of oral contraceptives; that of the second case to a fibrous perihepatitis involving the outlet of the suprahepatic veins, with a tenacious action of stenosis. The surgical therapy used was a latero-terminal left porto-renal shunt in the first case, and a decapsulation and ligature of the common hepatic artery in the second case. In the discussion the aetiopathogenetic, diagnostic and therapeutic problems inherent in the Syndrome are analysed, also on the basis of the most recent experiences reported in the relevant literature.


[Usefulness of the early study of intrathoracic digestive anastomoses]. The appearance of a dehiscence after an operation of oesophageal resection and reconstruction with stomach, jejunum or colon, constitutes a highly serious event frequently leading to the patient's death. Early recognition of dehiscence is therefore important for the purpose of starting adequate therapy as quickly as possible and preventing the rise and establishment of those lesions which condition an irreversible trend of the clinical condition. In this note the means today available for early diagnosis fo fistula, with particular reference to early radiological examination, are discussed. Early diagnosis and adequate prompt treatment may, in our opinion, lead to an improvement in the poor results reported by a number of surgical schools.


[Recent aspects of pulmonary tuberculosis in thoracic surgery]. Pulmonary tuberculosis--although appreciable reduced as regards number of cases--is still far from being wiped out and even today constitutes a real problem in the field of thoracico-pulmonary surgical pathology. Infection with Koch's bacillus can from this point of view arise basically according to two procedures: a) as superimposed element--unexpected guest--on a pulmonary disease of surgical interest, sometimes being mistaken for it (e.g. a tubercular inflammation of slow evolution mistaken for a cancer of the lung) or b) taking the form of pulmonary relics of an earlier and apparently extinguished Kochian infection, the starting point of an always possible revival of the infection during the postoperative period. In the former case the so-called attack therapy must be adopted without delay in accordance with well tested doses and schedules; in the latter case by means of a chemoprophylaxis, carried out in with rifampicin (600/1200 mg/day) in the cases reported and also continued in the postoperative period.


[Indications and limitations of bronchography in surgery of carcinoma of the lung]. Starting from a consecutive series of 53 bronchographies performed under local anesthesia, in subjects with carcinoma of the lung ascertained by operation, the Authors analyse both the bronchographical aspects which most frequently come under the surgeon's observation, and the usefulness of this investigation in formulating the operating plan. As regards carcinomas of the large and medium bronchi, the bronchographic aspects they found most frequently are occlusion (82%) both in the form of sudden arrest and in the form of a cone image and stenosis (18%). In peripheral carcinomas, on the other hand, most characteristic bronchographic signs are identified as occlusion (58%) (amputation and stenosis) and dislocation (38%) with rigidity of one or more small calibre bronchi (rigid impairment). On the basis of their experience the Authors conclude that bronchography constitutes an almost indispensable examination for diagnostic purposes in malignant neoplasias, especially in the initial stage, when located outside the field of action of bronchoscopy, and can supply elements indispensable in the preoperative operatability judgement. In fact it not only gives very reliable information on the anatomical situation of the bronchus, as well as on the site and presumed starting-point of the neoplasia, but also supplies more approximate elements with regard to the extent of the neoplasia and any presence of lymphoglandular metastases.


[Emergency surgical treatment of diverticular disease of the colon (personal cases and review)]. After a critical review of the indications, techniques and results recorded in literature, there is a description of experiences in emergency surgical treatment of 24 cases of diverticulum disease of the colon. In the light of personal results and in agreement with the majority of cases reported in literature, the conviction is expressed that in this surgery the processes graduated in stages (Mickulicz, Hartman, colostomy on transverse - resection) may frequently be indicated, especially in serious and weak patients.


[Primary malignant neoplasms of the duodenum. Considerations on 4 cases]. Starting from four primitive malignant neoplasias of the duodenum observed during the course of the last two years, the Authors briefly outline the clinical aetiopathological and especially the radiological characteristics of duodenal primitive malignant neoplasias. They stress the importance of the radiological investigation for early diagnosis of such disturbances, as can clearly by deduced from illustration of the radiological pictures concerning the four cases, all male patients aged from 55 to 68 years. A localisation in the duodenal bulb, with ulceration, is to be considered very rare; the other localisations were two at the 2nd and one at the 1st duodenal portion.


[Revascularization of the aorto-femoral axis by means of a by-pass. Remote results]. The Authors report their experience in 73 patients wit aorto-iliaco-femoral chronic obliteration, subjected to revascularisation. In 49 cases a bilateral by-pass was performed, in 22 a monolateral by-pass, and in two a thromboendarterioectomy. The results obtained were classified as successes or failures according to the perviousness or otherwise of the substituted or disobliterated arterial segments, and as immediate or longterm according to whether they were evaluated at the time of the patient's discharge or during a period lying betwee six months and seven years from the operation. Immediate successes were obtained in 95.9% of cases with bilateral by-pass, and in 90.9% of the monolateral by-passes. Aggregate mortality was 2.7%. In the long-term chick-ups, the previousness of the bilateral by-passes was 82.9%, that of the monolateral by-passes 72.2%. On the basis of the results obtained the Authors therfore reiterate their preference for by-passes, and for bilateral by-passes in particular (70% of cases). Monolateral bridging were in fact performed only in those cases where the contralateral vascular district was unharmed, in patients with serious ganrenous lesions and those with a high operative risk.


[Pathogenetic and clinico-diagnostic considerations on a case of non-parasitic cyst of the spleen]. A rare case of non-parasitic cyst of endothelial type, recently observed in the spleen, is illustrated. The relevant literature is reviewed, Fowler's classification stressed, and the aetiopathogenetic and histopathological characteristics of such cysts are discussed in critical spirit. The diagnostic means are also fully described. With stress on the utility of the scintiscanning examination.


[Problems of anesthesia and resuscitation in drepanocytic anemia]. A study was made of anesthesiological and resuscitation problems in 18 patients suffering from drepanocytic anemia. An examination of the results showed that the anesthesiological problems do not so much concern selection of the anesthetic as a knowledge of the physiopathology of this disease, i.e. the tendency to bronchopulmonary complications as a result of the increased viscosity of the blood, the increased mechanical fragility of the erythrocytes, and erythrostasis, with consequent rise of ischaemic necrosis and damage to the various parenchymas. It was also observed that pulmonary complications occurred more frequently in preoperatively transfused patients.


[Renal resistance in ethrane anesthesia]. The indices of renal functionality are studied during the course of ether anesthesia in order to ascertain the behaviour of the kidney subjected to narcosis with this drug. A sharp reduction in the minute volume of F.G. and P.R.E. is evidenced, together with an increase in renal resistances, especially as regards the efferent sector. These changes, which are established at the start of anesthesiological treatment, tend to decrease in intensity as narcosis continues. This picture is interpreted as being due to the concomitant action of two factors: a decrease in cardiac output on the one hand, and an increased incretion of catecholamines leading to renal arteriolar vasoconstriction on the other.


[Circulatory flow during anesthesia with enflurane]. The rebreathing technique was used to study the behaviour of the circulatory flow in patients operated under ether anesthesia. It was observed that during ether narcosis the circulatory flow values show a fair drop at the readings made 30' and 45' after the inductive period. 60' after the start of ether narcosis the circulatory flow values show a tendency to increase, and these observations are accentuated in the readings taken at 75' and 90'.


[Principles of treatment of patients with multiple injuries]. Treatment of the seriously multi-traumatised patient in accordance with the principles in use at the Unfallkrankenhaus at Linz is illustrated. The different moments of the diagnostic and therapeutic measures, the main aim of which must be the re-establishment of the vital functions (respiration and circulation), are indicated. The article gives diagrams of the classes of priority of the urgent measures to be undertaken in the multi-traumatised patient, drawing attention to all the devices of modern resuscitation. In conclusion there are some observations on organisation of collection of serious multi-traumatised cases.


[Injurious action of ultrasonics].

[Injurious action of ultrasonics]. It was felt to be advisable to insist on the harmful action of ultrasounds, since their use in the field of medical therapy is relatively recent and, after causing exaggerated enthusiasm, they now appear to be relagated to the rank of useless accessories. The truth is more tempered and this physical agent must be numbered among the most interesting ones, provided that the technique of its application is perfect and that account is taken of the possibility of incidents or accidents which can be caused by incomplete knowledge thereof.


[Traumatic hypovolemic shock].

[Traumatic hypovolemic shock]. The physiopathological aspects of traumatic hypovolemic shock (T.H.S.) are described. On the basis of clinical and biochemical diagnostics, suitable T.H.S. resuscitation and therapeutic measures can be undertaken. The principles of treatment of T.H.S., as applied at the U.K.H. of Linz are then set out. Intense cooperation between anesthetist and traumatologist, as shown by this short note, is the clearest demonstration of what medicine can do today in the field of traumatology.


[Subcutaneous rupture of the extensor tendon of the fingers and its treatment]. The process used in 47 cases for treatment of subcutaneous rupture of the extensor tendon at the level of the third phalanx is described. This process of mixed type consists in making a temporary fixation of the third phalanx in slight extension on the second by means of the endomedullary infibulum, to which is added a plaster guardian with 60 degrees flexion of the interphalangeal for six weeks. After illustration of the method, a full set of cases is presented in demonstration of the perfect efficiency of the method through the good results obtained.


[Betamethasone acetate in the therapy of epicondylitis]. The advantages of cortisone therapy in the particular pathology of the elbow are evaluated, with special reference to humeral epicondylitis. After an outline of the mechanism of action of steroids, consideration is given to the advantages arising from use of a delayed action cortisone product. Reference is made to the relevant literature on the subject, together with a report on personal cases.


[Compression of the posterior branch of the radial nerve]. Some compressions of the posterior branch of the radial nerve (posterior interosseous nerve) may be caused either by transverse fibrous formations in the front of the articular capsule of the elbow or by the anterior edge of the 2nd radial, as well as by Froshe's arch or the surface end ot the short supinator. Such damage may be due to repeated dorsal bending movements of the wrist, hyperextension of the elbow and, above all, pronosupination of the forearm.


Myoclonic disorders of spinal origin.

Myoclonic disorders of spinal origin. Data in the literature on spinal myoclonic disorders are still scanty; little has been done to ensure an adequate classification; little is known about the pathophysiology of these disorders. Three patients with spinal myoclonic jerks are described, with detailed reference to electromyographic findings. On the basis of the case reports so far available, a classification into five subgroups is suggested of spinal myoclonic jerks: 1) after cord injuries; 2) associated with intramedullary cord tumours; 3) associated with intramedullary or extramedullary cysts; 4) associated with radiculomyelitis or myelopathy; 5) associated with affections of the alpha motoneurons. A number of hypotheses on the pathogenesis of this disorder are briefly discussed: peripheral or intraspinal sprouting, degeneration of alpha motoneurons or interneurons, reduction of the dendritic tree size, and involvement of the gamma system.


Torkildsen's ventriculocisternostomy: some complications and their prevention. Torkildsen's ventriculocisternostomy retains a certain usefulness despite the recent popularity of newer procedures. Despite many modifications and suggestions for improving the procedure, certain hazards and complications remain. We report instances of myelopathy from contact with and impalement by the cervical end of the tube, acute quadriplegia, unsuspected kinking of the catheter and late ventricular catheter malposition together with certain suggestions for modifications of technique which we believe will make Torkildsen's shunting more reliable and safe.


Further observation on the possible relationship between migraine and serum ammonia levels. Although patients diagnosed as having migraine, have been studied extensively, there is no definite proof of a primary biochemical abnormality which is of significance in the pathogenesis of migraine. Several authors have suggested that increased serum ammonia levels may play a decisive role in the pathogenesis of migraine. This possibility was first put forth by Russell, who studied a single family with ornithine carbamyl transferase deficiency and 8 juveniles with migraine, RUSSELL'S finding was supported by a preliminary study carried out by one of the authors in which hyperammo-naemia was found in 22 adults during migraine attacks. In order to etknd these earlier findings, serum ammonia levels were determined in 35 adults with either classic or complicated migraine and in 20 healthy adults. No significant difference was found between the patients (44 microgram/100 ml +/- 13.9) and the controls (74 microgram/100 ml +/- 9.5). Ammonia level was determined in 10 patients within two hours of the onset of an acute migraine and was unchanged (65 microgram/100 ml). This study suggests that alterations in serum ammonia level are not important in the pathogenesis of migraine in adults.


Differential effects of simple and choice reaction after closed head injury. Simple and choice reaction time to visual signals were recorded in persons having sustained a closed head injury. The results show a disproportional effect of task complexity in comparison to the performance of a normal group. Moreover, an interaction was demonstrated between complexity of the reaction task and length of coma after the injury. Finally it was shown that this interaction was still visible 22 months after the concussion. At that time, there is no longer a difference in simple reaction time between groups with different lengths of coma, while there is still a significant difference in the choice reaction task.


Effect of moderate arterial hypotension combined with repeated withdrawal of cerebrospinal fluid on the development of increased ventricular fluid pressure after cold injuries in cats. The influence of Trimetaphan induced hypotension was studied on the development of increased ventricular fluid pressure after induction of cold injuries of the brain in cats. Hypotension was induced in two series of animals: in one immediately after freezing and in another series after a delay of three quarters of an hour. In the animals not treated with hypotension ventricular fluid pressure increased considerably according to three types of response. In both series treated with hypotension the ventricular fluid pressure and elastance were significantly lower than in the animals not treated; also brain stem herniation tended to occur less frequently in the animals treated. No deleterious effect of the hypotension was seen on cerebral metabolism as measured by the lactate content in the cerebrospinal fluid.


Model role for bacteriorhodopsin for solar energy utilization by primordial organisms. Enzymes similar in function to contemporary bacteriorhodopsin could have been active in primordial living organisms for the utilization of solar energy to produce ATP. The energy-conversion system, which depends on a light-driven proton pump, is enzymatically simple, insensitive to cyanide inhibition and functional under highly lipid conditions in an anaerobic atmosphere.


Electron microscopic study of the differentiation and development of trophocytes and oocytes in Gerris najas (Heteroptera). The differentiation of oogonia and oocytes, and of trophocytes, from undifferentiated germ line cells has been studied in Gerris najas, a pond skater, from the fourth instar to the adult animal. For the first time criteria have been obtained which allow the distinction between poorly differentiated early oogonia and nurse cells. The most important criteria are the size, shape, and structure of nuclei and mucleoli. This is consistent with the different function of these cell types, which is primarily a different nuclear function: meiosis in the oocytes, and RNA synthesis to support the trophic core and the oocytes in the trophocytes.


Electron microscopic study of concanavalin A binding to membranes of the Golgi complex. Binding of Concanavalin A to the Golgi complex and the resultant effect on intramembrane particles and enzyme activity has been studied with Golgi-rich fractions isolated from rat liver. Con A binds mainly to the tubular network of the Golgi complex and, to a lesser extent, the peripheral regions of the cisternae. Interaction of Con A with Golgi membranes is accompanied by aggregation of intramembrane particles reflecting increased membrane fluidity. Enhancement of galactosyl transferase, membrane bound in the Golgi complex, also occurs with Con A binding.


Histological study of the effects of hycanthone on the frog's ventricle in the presence of a soluble sodium salt of prednisolone hemisuccinate. The histological picture of the ventricle of frog's heart exposed to the action of Hycanthone in Ringer's solution in concentration of 1:1 was compared with that of the ventricle of frog's heart exposed to Ringer's solution devoid of the drug and with that of frog's heart exposed to Ringer's solution containing Hycanthone in concentration of 1:1 in addition to a soluble sodium salt of prednisolone hemisuccinate in concentration 1:1. It was found that the structure of the ventricle of the heart exposed to the action of Hycanthone in the presence of the soluble sodium salt of prednisolone hemisuccinate was close in pattern to the structure of the ventricle of the heart exposed to Ringer's solution alone, while the ventricle of the heart exposed to Hycanthone alone in Ringer's solution in concentration of 1:1 was different in that the muscle fibres swollen, the cytoplasm was paler with less marked striations, the nuclei were swollen and paler, the epicardial cells were swollen and the connective tissue pattern was distorted. This denoted that the morphological changes that occurred in response to Hycanthone in the presence of the soluble sodium salt of prednisolone hemisuccinate was less marked than those which occurred in its absence.


Hycanthone in the treatment of Egyptian bilharzial patients. Hycanthone has a schistosomicidal effect against S. haematobium and S. mansoni present singly or combined in the patient. It is effective in all age groups but better in old and adults than in children and better in females than in males. It gave a cure rate of 60.6% after single intramuscular dose of 3 mg/kg body weight. Second dose after three months gave 94.4% cure rate and a third injection after further two months gave 100% cure rate. So, the drug cannot be used in the treatment of bilharziasis as a single dose course.


The chemistry of schistosomicides.

The chemistry of schistosomicides. The chemistry of the different compounds applied in the field of schistosomicides has been reviewed in detail. On the basis of their chemical constitution, these compounds have been classified into: organotrivalent antimonials; Xanthones and related compounds "xanthones, chromones and mirasans"; Nitroheterocyclic compounds "nitroquinolines, nitrofurans and nitrothiazoles"; Miscellaneous compounds "phenoxy compounds, piperazines, naphthylazo compounds, phosphorous compounds, carbanilides, rosanilines, salicyclic acid derivatives and natural products". On consideration of biochemical and pharmacological investigations, studies concerned with mechanism of action, metabolic changes and comparative toxic effects of some groups of these compounds are reported. Investigations on the relation between constitution and action among variety of these compounds are included.


Bilharziasis of the central nervous system in human beings and experimental animals. The investigator studied schistosomiasis of central nervous system in human cadavers and hamsters. He found out that 13.3% of the spinal cords of the human cadavers were infected by Schistosoma ova. The lesion was confined to the lumbosacral region of the cord in cases of advanced bilharziasis. The cords of infected Hamsters showed only diffuse cell infilterate without ova. The possible pathways of ova from the final habitats of the parasites to the cord are pelvivertebral and portovertebral connections as shown from the discovered pathological changes in the blood vessels of these areas.


The structure of tartar-emetic.

The structure of tartar-emetic. Evaluation of the validity of the different formulae assigned to tarar-emetic is reviewed. According to the recent and most valid structure, tartar emetic is defined as potassium hydroxytartratoantimonite hemihydrate which is a derivative of the antimonite ion [Sb(OH)4]-.


Influence of diet on breeding and infectivity in mass cultivation of Biomphalaria glabrata. Under well defined laboratory conditions as troughs, room temperature, humidity, water and air supply Biomphalaria glabrata was bred and kept. In  feeding trials powder of pellets for mice and commercial fish food were used as high protein diet in comparison to poor protein diet consisting of lettuce only. The high protein diet resulted in more clutches and eggs per snail than the lettuce diet. Also the yield of cercariae in the rish protein group was much higher than in the group fed on on lettuce alone. The optimal amount of snails could be obtained by feeding pellet powder, fish food and lettuce.


Influence of diet on breeding and infectivity in mass cultivation of Bulinus truncatus. Under well defined laboratory conditions as troughs, room temperature, humidity, water, and air supply Bulinus truncatus was bred and kept. In a feeding trial high protein diet consisting of powdered mice pellets, commercial tropical fish food and lettuce was compared to poor protein diet of lettuce alone. Higher yield of clutches, eggs and cercariae were observed in the rich protein diet group, Bulinus and Biomphalaria Snail seem to be influenced by diet in the same way.


Stereo-scan observations on the cercaria of Schistosoma haematobium. The scanning electron microscope was employed to observe the hinge region and excretory canal of the cercaria of Schistosoma haematobium.


Assessment of left ventricular function in schistosomiasis. Inspite of the fact that the haemodynamic changes in the right ventricle in schistosomal disease received proper attention, left ventricular changes were not equally assessed. That the left ventricle could suffer in bilharzial disease is a possibility, probably due to the development of shunts and toxic myocarditis. In this wor5, left ventricular functions were studied using the rate of maximum rise of intraventricular pressure (kp/dt) as an index of contractility. The study included 10 normal controls, 5 cases with bilharzial liver fibrosis and no ascites or cor pulmonale, 10 cases with BLF, and ascites but no cor pulmonale, and 10 cases with bilharzial cor pulmonale. Diminished dp/dt values were obtained in 8 out of the 10 cases of bilharzial cor pulmonale, in whom the left ventricular pressure curve also showed distortion and delay in the descending limb of the isometric relaxation phase, denoting defective contractility of the left ventricle, and probably a diastolic volume overload in these cases. In BLF with or without ascites, the dp/dt values were surprisingly increased possibly due to increased catecholamines in these cases secondary to ineffective destruction in the liver suffering from parenchymatous disease. The left ventricle is thus shown to suffer in bilharzial disease particularly in cases with bilharzial cor pulmonale.


The effects of dyphylline [7-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) theophylline] on the toxicity of hycanthone on the frog's heart. The effects of the topical application of Dyphylline in concentrations of 1.0 mg/1.0 ml and 10 mg/1.0 ml Ringer's solution and 25 mg/1.0 ml, 0.065% NaCl solution (the content of ampoules in clinical use) were investigated on frog's heart in situ. Dyphylline in all of the above concentrations had a stimulatory effect on the frog's heart. Hycanthone methanesulphonate in concentration of 1.0 ml/1.0 ml when topically applied to the frog's heart had a depressant effect on both of the contractility and rhythmicity. The depressant effects of Hycanthone in concentration of 1:1 were compared before and after the topical application of Dyphylline in the above mentioned concentrations. It was found that Dyphylline in concentration of 1.0 mg/1.0 ml could partially antagonize the depressant effect of Hycanthone on the heart rate but not on the force of contraction. Dyphylline in concentration of 10 mg/1.0 ml could partially antagonize the depressant effects of Hycanthone on both of the heart rate and the force of contraction. Dyphylline in concentration of 25 mg/1.0 ml could completely antagonize the depressant effects of hycanthone on both of the heart rate and the force of contraction.


Clinical features and treatment of urinary calculi in childhood. During the period 1926-1975, 94 children with urinary calculi were treated. The incidence, causation, localisation, symptomatology and diagnosis of urolithiasis in children are discussed. The therapeutic possibilities are also outlined. Particular emphasis is laid on therapeutic programmes for the prevention of recurrence in all varieties of urinary calculi, by means of which the recurrence rate in our own series was reduced to around 16%.


Renal cell carcinoma--invasion of veins. Out of 188 operatively removed renal cell carcinomas 49% showed macroscopic evidence of vein invasion and in 28% of the cases only histologically provable vein invasion. The uncorrected 5-year survival rates amounted to 40.8% in macroscopic vein invasion, 60.6% in histologically provable vein invasion and 75.6% in the absence of vein invasion. The term 'vein invasion' should therefore always be defined more precisely. Hence suggest to modify the V classification of 1974 of the UICC.


Influence of plastic splints in the production of epithelial tubes from buried skin strips. An experimental study. Based on the practice of the Browne technique for hypospadias, epithelial skin strips were splinted with polyvinyl tubes. In an experimental study the well-known excellent tissue tolerance of the polyvinyl material was demonstrated. Definite enlarged diameter of the splinted epithelialized tubes was observed in comparing it with unsplinted controls.


Acute retention of urine due to prolapsed ectopic ureterocele in an adult male. A case is presented of prolapsed ectopic ureterocele which produced severe urinary retention in a 31-year-old male patient. The usefulness of lumbar transcutaneous puncture is emphasized in a case associated with a non-functioning upper pole of a duplex kidney.


[Results of 8 years' research on the toxicologic evaluation of animal food additives by the so-called relay toxicity method]. The authors report the underlying principles of the new methodological approach called "relay toxicity" which they proposed eight years ago for the toxicological evaluation of animal feed additives. They stress its value either as a possible criterion of rejection or as a criterion of acceptability. In the latter case, the limiting factor is the difficulty of applying an adequate safety factor when food products destined for human consumption and obtained from animals receiving the additives to be evaluated are administered to laboratory animals. Amongst the examples of the additives which have been subjected to toxicological evaluation using the authors' new method, the following are examined: as growth factor, carbadox, anabolising agents and, in particular, diethylstilboestrol, and steroids used as egglaying potentializers. The results obtained are discussed.


[Determination of lead in foodstuffs and tobacco]. A large variety of food containing lead, food is for us an important source of contamination. The average quantity of lead contained in food and tobacco has been established yet. Thanks to these results, we known the exact quantity absorbed by men in normal conditions of living. We are working to establish its dosage with atomic absorption spectrophotometry.


[Effect of subacute fluorine poisoning in the rabbit on fluorine and phosphorus-calcium metabolism and on radiography of the skeleton]. Rabbit subacute fluoride intoxication effects (21,4 mg a day for 10 months) are researched on fluor, calcium and phosphorus metabolism and on skeletal radiology. Fluoremy increase (p less than 0.05) and there is a strong fluor retention (p less than 0.01), due to fluor digestive utilization coefficient increase (p less than 0.05), in spite of relative hyperfluorury (p less than 0.05). Calcemy decreases (p less than 0.01), but phosphatemy and alkaline phosphatasemy do not vary but a little. Calcium and phosphorus balances become negative (p less than 0.05), due to calcium digestive utilization coefficient inversion (p less than 0.05) and phosphorus digestive utilization coefficient decrease (p less than 0.05) and hypercalciury (p less than 0.05) and hyperphosphatury (p less than 0.05) with phosphorus renal reabsorption coefficient decrease (p less than 0.05). Some skeletal radiological abnormalities appear on rachis and limbs.


[Risks of mercury poisoning in the dental laboratory]. We present the results of an inquiry about the hydrargyric risk run by the staff of an odonto-stomatological laboratory. A second laboratory in which mercury was not used, served as a control. It would appear that the staff in the laboratory where the practician uses amalgam have a level of mercury higher than that of the staff working in the control laboratory. This level reaches the maximum in the middle of the day and returns to the same level as that of the controls after the nights rest outside the polluted atmosphere. These results are discussed in the light of our findings and of facts obtained from literature.


[A new synthesis of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol]. The authors effected the synthesis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) by first preparing the raw materials: olivetol and p-menthadiene-2.8 ol-1. Then these two reactants were put into contact in the presence of p-toluene sulphonic acid to give the isomer delta8-THC which was converted into the isomer delta9-THC.


Role of complement components on cells and in cell interactions. The complement system, though complex, is relatively easy to study both in terms of its reaction pathways, its distribution and its genetics. There is reason to believe that the complement system is involved in cell surface events and interactions at a variety of levels and we may hope that the knowledge of the system in the blood plasma will provide relatively easy insights into the more difficult areas with cells.


The effects of dark isolation on the performance of a white-black discrimination task in the rat. Four experiments were performed on rats using a white-black discrimination task. In Exp. 1 the animals that were isolated in darkness for four hours after each learning trial performed with fewer errors than the animals that spent the same posttrial periods in enriched environments in groups. In Exp. 2 training was carried further and retention after 10 days was investigated. The isolated animals again performed with fewer errors. In Exp. 3 a control was added to the Isolated and Enriched conditions. Animals in the control group were returned to their home cages after each training trial. No difference was found between Enriched and Control animals. In Exp 4 Dark-Isolated, Light-Isolated, Dark-Crowded and Light-Crowded groups were used. The performance of the two Dark-treated groups was superior to that of the Light-treated groups. The findings are discussed with reference to interference and consolidation theory.


Alteration of escape from rewarding electrical brain stimulation by D-amphetamine. Rats were trained both to barpress for and escape from locus coeruleus, midbrain periaqueductal gray and hypothalamic stimulation. Rate-intensity functions for intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) behavior and latency-intensity functions for escape behavior were obtained for each electrode site in each animal. Following baseline, d-amphetamine was administered and responding was compared with the saline condition for both rate-intensity and latency-intensity functions. ICSS response rates were enhanced by d-amphetamine at all loci, particularly at threshold intensities, while escape responding was biphasically affected by d-amphetamine at all loci. D-amphetamine increased escape latencies at intensities which, under saline, elicited short escape latencies, while decreasing escape latencies at intensities which, under saline, elicited long escape latencies. A significant correspondence was noted between intensities which, under the influence of d-amphetamine, both elicited longer escape latencies and higher ICSS response rates, suggesting that in both ICSS and escape paradigms, animals were titrating the duration of the stimulus train. No site-specific effects of d-amphetamine upon escape behavior were noted.


On time space and the cerebral hemispheres: a theoretical note. The two well know dichotomies in hemispheric functions--temporal-spatial, and analysis-synthesis (extraction-integration)--are combined in a unified theory of cerebral dominance. The two dichotomies are first considered within the framework of a two-stage model of information processing, and subsequently reduced to the extraction and integration operations performed at each of the two stages. At the first stage, the respective operations of extraction and integration applied on the sensory stream yield the spatiotemporal organization of events. At the second stage, these operations are expressed in progressively more complex organizations such as verbal coding and pictorial imagery. The model is finally generalized into a multiple-stage model. Some empirical consequences are derived.


Lateralization of language and spatial functions in left-handed populations. The level of performance in the execution of a tactual-linguistic task was studied in two left-handed populations, one with language lateralized to the left and the other with language lateralized to the right hemisphere, according to Kimura's dichotic digit test. The results showed that left-handers with speech most likely lateralized to the left hemisphere performed significantly better in the tactual-linguistic task with the left hand, while the ones with speech probably lateralized to the right hemisphere, did better with the right hand. The data suggest that integration of functions asymmetrically represented is facilitated by their differential lateralization.


Neuronal circuits involved in learning: the use of modifiable synapses in the simulation of behavior. Our present knowledge of brain structure and function requires that any model of neuronal circuitry designed to account for learning must satisfy three conditions. It must (1) meet economy restrictions on the number of cells in the brain, (2) use the same set of cells to account for a number of different behaviors, and (3) not require a detailed embryological specification of its connections. Previously published models have failed to meet one or more of these conditions. In this paper, a model is presented which does satisfy them, and in doing so accounts in detail for classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and other learning tasks. The model employs the types of synapses proposed by Burke and Hebb in simple modular circuits as a means of providing independent storage of information at each modifiable synapse.


On the subjectivity of personality theory. Every theorist of personality views the human condition from the unique perspective of his own individuality. As a consequence, personality theories are strongly influenced by personal and subjective factors. These influences are partially responsible for the present day lack of consensus in psychology as to basic conceptual frameworks for the study of man. The science of human personality can achieve a greater degree of consensus and generality only if it begins to turn back on itself and question its own psychological foundations. The role of subjective and personal factors in this field can be studied and made more explicit by means of a psychobiographical method which interprets the major ideas of personality theories in the light of the formative experiences in the respective theorists' lives. This method is briefly illustrated by an examination of the influence of personal experiences on theoretical concepts in the work of Carl Jung, Carl Rogers, Wilhelm Reich, and Gordon Allport. The subjective factors disclosed by psychobiographical analysis can bee seen to interact with influences stemming from the intellectual and historical context within which the theorist work. The psychobiographical study of personality theory is only one part of a larger discipline, the psychology of knowledge, which would study the role of subjective and personal factors in the structure of man's knowledge in general.


The need for accuracy in historiography. Historiographers must be especially accurate in their citations and references. An article by Wettersten contained numerous incorrect references and citations, and factual errors. Corrections are provided.


Haemoglobin changes, diet and anthropometric measurements in adolescent male detainees. A fall in haemoglobin noted in detainees in a Detention Centre in 1972 prompted a more detailed study to find possible reasons for this change. A significant fall in haemoglobin occurred between the first and third day after arrival, and no further fall had taken place eight weeks later. There was no evidence to suggest dehydration on arrival, or of any dietary deficiency during their stay. The fall in haemoglobin concentration occurred in non-smokers and smokers alike. It is suggested that the initial haemoglobin was higher than normal, possibly due to a physiological response to stress, and that it returned to normal by the third day when the boys had become accustomed to their new environment.


Cold-sensitive variants of Staphylococcus aureus and their stimulation by penicillins and cephalosporins. Cold-sensitive (Cs) variants were obtained from ageing broth cultures of the Oxford strain of Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC 6571) and other penicillin-sensitive strains of this species. Growth of all strains was severely retarded on certain media at 30 degrees C but was stimulated by the addition of penicillins and cephalosporins. Revertants were derived which behaved as the parent cells did with respect to growth temperature requirements and response to these antibiotics.


A qualitative and quantitative study of the fatty acid composition of selected micro-organisms. Fatty acid content was found to be an important parameter in the identification and numerical taxonomy of many micro-organisms. Isolates of the same species and genus as well as members of many well defined groups, such as the Enterobacteriaceae, were included in the study. A direct methylation procedure of the bacteria was found to be accurate, efficient and rapid. Fatty acids were found to be reliable indicators of micro-organisms in group, generic, specific and strain identification. Other biochemical tests were especially valuable when used in conjunction with fatty acid profiles in identification and classification of the bacteria studied.


Monoiodotyrosine: effects on tissue amines and cold survival. The effects of monoiodotyrosine (MIT) on cold survival and levels of tissue amines in rats were studied. MIT was found to impair cold suvival and to lower levels of norepinephrine (NE). These experiments confirm previous pharmacologic evidence that MIT has an anti-adrenergic effect. Cold stress lowered brain NE levels but failed to lower brain dopamine levels, a finding consistent with current views of the role of brain mechanisms in temperature regulation.


Habituation of visually evoked responses in man: a study of its time course. Twelve subjects were tested in a study of short-and long-term habituation of visually evoked responses to flashes with fixed and random interstimulus intervals. Long-term habituation was evalutated using blocks of 64 responses, and 'sliding' averages were calculated for estimation of the short-term habituation. Two measures of averaged evoked responses amplitude were used: N1-P2 amplitude and mean level of responses between 70 and 220 msec. A gradual decrease of amplitude of the vertex responses was observed during the first 3 min of stimulation, the greater part of this decrement occurring during the first 15 sec, with fixed interstimulus intervals. No decrement was observed with random interstimulus intervals. As the time course of long-term habituation may be influenced by fluctuations in the levels of arousal and attention, a decrement of the responses in a short period of stimulation is more likely to represent true habituation. The procedure of 'sliding' average presents some advantages over the averaging by ordinal positions used in some studies and is more satisfactory in investigations of such noncooperative subjects as psychiatric patients.


Bioavailabiltity and side effects of different lithium carbonate products. Among the three lithium preparations tested, no significant difference was found in the bioavailability, as expressed in serum and erythrocyte lithium concentrations and urinary lithium output. The side effect reports, however, varied significantly among the types of lithium under study. The slower the absorption of a particular preparation, the fewer the side effects. The results of this study support the view that preference should be given to lithium preparations with slow-release properites, particularly in side-effect-prone subjects.


Glucose-insulin metabolism in herion addicts. The insulinemic and glycemic response to a glucose load (100 g per os) was studied in 21 heroin addicts, 16 males and 5 females, age 16-28 years, history of addiction lasting from 6 months to 4 years with heroin alone (from 0.5 to 1.5 g/day i.v.). Nine normal sujects, from the hospital staff, 4 females and 5 males matched for age were use as control. The insulinemic and glycemic response to a glucose load was examined immediately after hospitalization, while the patients were still on heroin, 48 h later off drugs, and in 10 of the 21 cases 5 days later still off drugs. From the results obtained, it appears that in heroin addicts the glycemic response to the glucose load shows a delayed peak time. The insulin curves show increased insulin peaks, delayed peak time and prolonged hyperinsulinemia. The pathomechanism of heroin in inducing the above-metioned impairments is discussed, taking also in cosideration the possible influence of the drug on the neurotransmitter regulation of insulin.


Application of factor analytic procedures to complex evoked potential measurements in psychiatric research. Several factor analytic procedures were applied to data gathered with a modified somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) recovery function prodecure in 56 non-patients and 224 psychiatric inpatients. The data were analyzed for each option reflected in three main issues. (1) Which group should be used for calculating the basic factor structure--normals only or all subjects? (2) Should measurements be preadjusted for covariance with variables known to obscure events of interest? (3) Should varimax rotation be used, or are principal components sufficient? Using two criteria, interpretability of factors in relation to experimental design, and their ability to discriminate clinical groups, it appeared that: (1) choice of either population yielded similar results; (2) when measurements were pre-adjusted for covariance more interpretable factors, which also yielded clinical discriminations, were obtained by varimax rotations than by principal components, and (3) when data were not adjusted by covariance, principal component analysis produced a factor which, although less interpretable in relation to experimental design than the varimax factors, provided equivalent clinical discriminations.


Effect of dietary iron level on efficiency of converting food iron into hemoglobin by the anemic rat. The effects of varying the dietary levels of ferrous sulfate or ferric orthophosphate on the efficiency of the conversion of dietary iron into hemoglobin iron, was evaluated with the anemic rat. Weanling male rats were made anemic by feeding a semipurified diet containing 8.4 mg iron/kg, and by bleeding. They were divided into nine groups so that hemoglobin levels and body weights were similar. The rats were fed the basal diet or basal diet plus 12, 24, 36 and 48 mg iron/kg diet provided as ferrous sulfate or ferric orthophosphate. The rats were fed 10 g daily of the respective diets for 10 consecutive days. The efficiency of the conversion of dietary iron into hemoglobin iron was not significantly affected by dietary level of either iron salt. It was determined that ferric orthophosphate was 51% as efficient as ferrous sulfate for hemoglobin regeneration in the anemic rat.


Regulation of blood pyridoxal phosphate in riboflavin deficiency in man. Synthesis and breakdown of pyridoxal phosphate by erythrocytes were studied in subjects with oral lesions before and after treatment with riboflavin. In vivo conversion of pyridoxine to pyridoxal phosphate as well as in vitro synthesis of pyridoxal phosphate by erythrocytes were lower in subjects with lesions of the mouth and improved markedly after treatment with riboflavin. Erythrocyte phosphatase activity, with pyridoxal phosphate as substrate, was lower in riboflavin-deficient subjects and showed an increase after treatment with riboflavin.


Effects of a fat-reduced diet on the faecal excretion of radioactivity following administration of 14C-cholic acid and on the duodenal concentration of bile salts in patients with ileal disease. The fraction of faecal radioactivity excreted after intravenous administration of 14C-labelled cholic acid decreased in most patients with ileopathy and bile salt malabsorption when the dietary daily fat content was reduced from 100 to 40 g. The decreased faecal cholic acid loss might be due to increased bile salt absorption and decreased emptying of the gall-bladder on the fat-reduced diet. A simplified method to determine the corrected 24-hour excretion of radiologically labelled bile salts is described.


The effect of ventromedial hypothalamic lesions on metabolism and insulin secretion in rats on a controlled feeding regimen. The metabolic effect of ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions, which are known to cause hyperphagia and obesity, has been studied in rats kept on a controlled light and food regimen. The animals were sacrificed at 4 different times during the second postoperative day. A feeding-induced hypersecretion of insulin was found to the VMH-lesioned animals. It was accompanied by a marked hypoglycemia as compared to the control groups during the feeding period. The glycogen content of liver and diaphragm in the lesioned groups is increased as compared to the controls during the same period. The VMH-lesioned animals showed hypertriglyceridemia both in the fed and fasted state, whereas the postabsorptive plasma levels of free fatty acids and glycerol were decreased. An increased level of urea was observed in all lesioned groups. This is in accordance with the demonstrated protein catabolism which follows VMH lesions.


Thymic weight in pantothenic acid deficiency. The purpose of this note is to emphasize the significant effects of nutritional factors, in this case pantothenic acid, on growth and development of rat thymus. Low antibody titers against various infectious agents in pantothenic acid deficiency and skin graft tolerance in pyridoxine deficiency warrant an assessment of the effects of vitamins on the growth and development of the thymus and consequently on the immune response.


Erythropoietic response of anemic rats to enriched white bread and bread ash. Iron-deficient rats were rehabilitated with diets supplying iron from white wheat bread, bread ash or ferrous sulfate as a standard. The relative biological value of iron in bread or its ash was greater when evaluated from red blood cell count than when estimated from hemoglobin concentration. Ash obtained by heating bread in a muffle furnace and reduced with hydrogen was more effective in stimulating blood cell production than could be accounted for by its iron content alone.


Influence of litter size on lipid composition in infant mice. The amount of milk available to each member of the litter was varied by adjusting the number of mice pups to 4, 8 or 12 per dam. The total fatty acid content of the carcass of the young increased for 2 weeks, and there was more in the well-fed groups. The fatty acid contents decreased thereafter transiently in all groups until weaning. The milk diet contributed major quantities of lauric and myristic acids to peripheral tissues but not to the liver. Undernourishment during neonatal life was associated with a relative reduction in palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic acids in lipids of the carcass. In contrast the carcass of the progeny subjected to overall dietary abundance showed relative increase in palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic acids at the expense of stearic acid.


The influence of interrrupted vitamin D metabolism on acute low calcium adaptation in the rat. The small intestine of animals place on a low calcium diet adapts to the dietary restriction by transporting calcium more efficiently. Adaptation has been observed in most mammalian species; however, the mechanism of adaptation has not been well defined. Recent evidence indicates that 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)2-D3], the active metabolite of vitamin D, may be involved in the process of adaptation. The present study was designed to examine the inflluence of experimental interruption of vitamin D metabolism on acute low calcium adaptation. Partial hepatectomy, cortisone treatment and dietary strontium supplements were used to inhibit the production of 1,25(OH)2-D3. In separate experiments partial hepatectomy produced a 38% reduction in adaptation; cortisone treatment (5 mg/day, s.c.) caused a 88% reduction and dietary strontium abolished adaptation completely. The possible roles of parathyroid hormone and 1,25(OH)2-D3 and their relationships in the process of adaptation are discussed.


Effect of protracted intermittent fasting on the activities of enzymes involved in energy metabolism, and on the concentrations of glycogen, protein and DNA in skeletal muscle of obese women. In the quadriceps femoris muscle of obese women the glycogen concentration was significantly lower than in the control group, while protein and DNA values showed no significant differences. After 37 days of intermittent fasting, which consisted of repeated 5-day fasts alternating with 3-day intervals on 500 KCal/day with 60 g protein, in a group of 21 obese women a significant decline of the hexokinase activity in skeletal muscle was found. Other enzymes: triosophosphate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, malate dehydrogenase and hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase showed no significant changes. There was a significant fall in concentration of DNA and and glycogen, but the protein concentration did not change.


Body lipids of guinea pigs exposed to different dietary fats from mid-gestation to 3 months of age. Pregnant guinea pigs were fed one of three diets: a control low-fat diet, or a high-fat diet containing maize oil or beef dripping. At birth some animals were killed and the remainder reared on the same diet as their mothers till 3 months old. Body weight, weight of various adipose tissue depots, size and number of fat cells were measured. Animals fed high-fat diets were fatter than control animals. On all diets females were fatter than males. In both instances the increase in adipose tissue mass was attributable to enlargement of fat cells. The composition of dietary fat had little influence on the cellularity of adipose tissue.


Body lipids of guinea pigs exposed to different dietary fats from mid-gestation to 3 months of age. II. The fatty acid composition of the lipids of liver, plasma, adipose tissue, muscle and red cell membranes at birth. Pregnant guinea pigs were fed one of three diets: a commercial low-fat diet, or a high-fat diet containing maize oil or beef dripping. The young were killed at birth and the fatty acid composition of the lipids of the liver, plasma, adipose tissue, quadriceps muscle and red cell membranes was determined. Compared with those fed the commercial diet the tissue of the young of mothers fed maize oil had an increased percentage of linoleic acid whereas in those of the young of mothers fed beef dripping, the percentage of oleic acid was significantly higher. These changes occurred both in the triglycerides and in the membrane phospholipids (with the exceptin of sphingomyelins) of all tissues examined. These results demonstrate that the fatty acid composition of the tissue lipids of the newborn guinea pig can be influenced by the fatty acid composition of the maternal diet. Changes in the fatty acid composition of membrane phospholipids can be as great as those in storage lipids. This raises the question of long-term physiological significance for the animal.


Body lipids of guinea pigs exposed to different dietary fats from mid-gestation to 3 months of age. III. The fatty acid composition of the lipids of plasma, adipose tissue, liver and muscle at 3 months of age. Pregnant guinea pigs were fed one of three diets: a 'control' low-fat diet, or a high-fat diet containing maize oil or beef dripping. Offspring were reared on the same diet as their mothers and when they were 3 months old, fatty acid compositions of the lipids of the adipose tissue, blood plasma, liver and muscle were analysed. The proportion of linoleic acid was elevated in both the storage triglycerides and the tissue phosphoglycerides of animals fed 'maize' diet whereas in the 'beef' group the proportion of oleic acid was significantly elevated compared with controls. A substantial part of these diet-induced changes in tissue fatty acid composition had occurred by the time animal was born; only minor changes took place in the subsequent 3 months of feeding.


[Variability of parameters in enzyme kinetics. 1. Intermethod oscillations]. Kinetic parameters of urease activity have been determined by five different methods, namely: Henry, Lineweaver-Burk, Hofstee, Woolf and Cornish-Eisenthal. In no instance different methods yielded the same values for the set of parameters (Km and Vmáx).


The estimation of blood flow to hemodialyzers by bubble time. Reliable estimation of blood flow to hemodialyzers is essential to the accurate prescription of therapy. Customarily an air bubble is timed as it traverses a racetrack of known volume and blood flow is calculated from the formula Qb (ml/min) = (volume/BT) (60 sec/min). The linearity of this relationship has recently been questioned. Air bubble velocities were statistically fit to measured blood flows over 6 hematocrit values. From the resulting relationship, Qb (ml/min) = 62 (vol/L) (L/BT)0.96, one can generate a table relating velocity to flow for clinical use.


Performance and clinical use of a convertible hemodialysis (HD) - ultrafiltration (UF) system. A hemodialysis-ultrafiltration system has been developed and evaluated. It may be used either as a conventional hemodialyzer or as a nondialytic ultrafilter. When used as a dialyzer an ultrafiltration controller is required to fix ultrafiltration rate at the desired level. Rates of low molecular solute removal are compatible with those observed in commercially available artificial kidney systems, higher clearances are obtained for middle molecules, and the rate of ultrafiltration can be controlled within narrowly prescribed limits.


Nutritional intake, somatomedin activity and linear growth in children undergoing hemodialysis. Reduced somatomedin activity was uniformly present pre-dialysis in 7 children with end-stage renal disease. Somatomedin activity improved in 6 of the 7 patients following a single 5 hr hemodialysis. Percent normal growth correlated with post-dialysis somatomedin activity in 6 of the 7 children. No correlation was present between percent normal growth and calorie or protein intake. Reduced somatomedin activity in children with end-stage renal disease appears to be due to a circulating uremic inhibitor(s). Somatomedin activity may be a useful in vitro test for adequacy of dialysis in children. Further efforts are necessary to identify the inhibitor(s) of somatomedin activity in uremia.


Nonpercutaneous transmission of hepatitis B to the families of hemodialysis patients. 1. Fifteen percent of the hemodialysis patients were carriers of HBsAg. 2. Thirty-one percent of the carriers' contacts had HBAb in their blood. 3. Spouse of carriers had a higher prevalence of positive HBAb than any other family contact. 4. Only 6 out of 17 patients transmitted the virus to their contacts. 5. None of the contacts of the staff, with history of hepatitis B, had evidence of hepatitis. 6. Contacts with positive HBAb had no evidence of active liver disease.


Acetate levels in human plasma.

Acetate levels in human plasma. We have developed a gas liquid chromatographic assay for plasma acetate which detects 0.01 mM and has a standard deviation of less than 16% of the mean at 0.05 mM. The acetate concentration of venous blood obtained from normal subjects was 0.025 +/- 0.002 mM. The value was not significantly different from the venous acetate concentration of dialysis patients, prior to a dialysis treatment. The acetate concentration of arterial plasma obtained from dialysis patients prior to a hemodialysis treatment was 0.048 +/- 0.006 mM. This was significantly greater than the venous concentration of 0.027 +/- 0.002 (p less than 0.01). This arteriovenous difference suggests that acetate is utilized peripherally. At the onset of hemodialysis, acetate concentrations rapidly rose and, in all but one case, reached a steady state value in the range of 1.5-5.1 mM. At the termination of dialysis, acetate concentrations fell rapidly, usually achieving baseline values within one hr. The rate of decrease was not a simple logarithmic function, suggesting that acetate metabolism is not solely a first order function. Furthermore, acetate disappearance was more rapid in the dialysis patients than in the normal subjects. We wish to emphasize that the present data, which were obtained on a small number of subjects are preliminary and should be interpreted with caution.


Long-term minoxidil therapy in patients with refractory hypertension and renal disease. Minoxidil, an orally effective vasodilator, was successful in lowering blood pressure in 22 patients, followed up for up to 3 yrs, with hypertension refractory to medical management, including both antihypertensive drug combinations and ultrafiltration. In nondialysis patients renal function was preserved and in dialysis patients bilateral nephrectomy was avoided. Although sodium retention and reflex tachycardia were common, they were managed by beta-adrenergic blockade with propranolol and diuresis with furosemide.


Studies on the mechanism of the anemia of renal insufficiency. 1. The present studies have demonstrated that the titers of erythropoietin may be elevated to varying degrees in patients with anemia associated with end-stage renal disease. However, the increase in erythropoietin titers was apparently not sufficient to meet the increase in demand for new red blood cells created by their shortened life span and the inhibitors of heme synthesis and/or erythroid colony forming cells (CFU-E). 2. Inhibitors of heme synthesis were demonstrated in the plasma of some but not all patients with anemia associated with renal disease and in rabbits 72 hrs following bilateral nephrectomy. 3. CFU-E were both increased and decreased in the bone marrows of the chronic anemic uremic rabbits, when compared with that of sham operated controls, 14 and 21 days after 5/6th nephrectomy and depended on the rate of regeneration of the renal erythropoietic and excretory functions. CFU-E in marrows of 5/6th nephrectomy rabbits were decreased after 35 days. 4. An inhibitor of CFU-E was increased in the sera from chronic anemic uremic rabbits, when compared with that of the sham-operated controls, 35 days after 5/6th nephrectomy. 5. It is possible that in the anemia of uremia in addition to inadequate production of erythropoietin there is a defect in the differentiation of the CFU-E into the heme synthesizing erythroid series due to the presence of a specific inhibitor of CFU-E and/or heme synthesis.


The renal escape from the sodium retaining effect of mineralocorticoids in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The effects of mineralocorticoids on urine and electrolyte excretion were studied in spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats of Okamoto-Aoki strain and in normotensive white albino wistar strain rats. Sodium excretion fell from 0.568 meq/day to 0.336 meq/day a reduction of 40%, on the 4th day of steroid administration in the SH rats whilst a 30% reduction was observed on the 6th day in normotensive rats whilst urine volumes were not significantly altered in both groups. Similarly, the phase of acute sodium retention was reversed (renal escape) earlier in the SH rats on the 7th experimental day when further administration of mineralocorticoids resulted in a two-fold increased in sodium excretion. Urine volumes were significantly increased during this phase. The pattern of response in SH rats differ significantly in time and magnitude from the normotensive controls. As the renal escape phenomenon is linked with extracellular volume regulation these results highlight the exaggerated sensitivity to increases in blood volume associated with genetic spontaneous hypertension.


Biochemical studies of acetylcholine esterase inhibitor present in Eugenia caryophyllus. Water, saline and ethanol extracts of Eugenia caryophyllus inhibited brain acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity. Inhibitory action of the saline extract was greater than that of other extracts. The most active fraction of the saline extract obtained by chromatography through Sephadex G25 and DEAE cellulose columns and elution with tris and phosphate buffers (pH. 7.1) exhibited reactions characteristic of phenols, amino compounds and uronic acid. It is, therefore, suggested that the active inhibitor is a complex glycoside containing phenol and uronic acid part structure.


Biological assay of Cassia podocarpa: a plant related to senna. Leaves of the plant, Cassia podocarpa, were collected from Opah village near Accra, and dried. A suspension of the powdered leaf was given by gavage to groups of ten mice. A record was kept of the number of wet faeces passed in 24 hours. There was a linear relationship between the log dose of leaf and the number of wet faeces. The effect was maximal between 6 and 24 hours of administration and was larger than has been noted with senna.


Peripheral nerve injuries from intramuscular injection of drugs. 17 patients who were treated at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital for peripheral nerve paralysis resulting from intramuscular injection of drugs are analyzed. Ten of them were below the age of 5 years. Sciatic nerve was affected in 16 patients and only one patient had median nerve paralysis. Penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, paraldehyde and optalgin were some of the offending drugs. The prognosis was poor as only three patients achieved a partial recovery of function in the paralyzed nerves. With determination and public education, this iatrogenic tragedy could be eradicated.


Nivaquine and urethral pain.

Nivaquine and urethral pain. Two patients, one Jewish and the other Nigerian, were investigated for pain in the urethra. They were both fully treated along the usual lines without any change in the pain. The Jewish patient was later found to be sensitive to chloroquine. When ingestion of this drug was discontinued, his urethral pain disappeared after about four months. The Nigerian patient was advised along the same lines when it was found that he too took chloroquine for malarial attacks regularly. He had total symptomatic relief. The probable relationship between chloroquine and urethral pain is discussed.


Increase of electrocardiogram voltage and contractile force of the frog's heart induced by chloroquine. The increase in the amplitude of the E.C.G. and ventricular contractile force induced by chloroquine sulphate was studied in frogs. It was shown that changes originated in the midbrain and were mediated through the sympathetic nervous system. The transmitter was recognized as a beta-adrenergic agent. The possible mechanism of action of chloroquine on the CNS responsible for the phenomenon observed was discussed.


The effect of allyloestrenol on human chorionic somatomammotropin synthesis of the placenta during normal pregnancy. The effect of allyloestrenol on human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS) level in healthy pregnant women in the fifth to eighth months of gestation has been studied by radioimmune techniques. The HCS level showed a significant increase within 10 to 12 days. According to the results, allyloestrenol exerts a stimulating effect on the placental steroids as well as on HCS production.


Fatal BCG vaccination.

Fatal BCG vaccination. A female baby 7 weeks of age developed a fatal tuberculous disease following BCG vaccination. The infant had Swiss type agammaglobulinaemia, associated with oral thrush, pneumonitis, umbilical infection and chronic enteritis not responding to any treatment. Post mortem revealed an aplasia of the thymus, hypoplasia of the lymph system, miliary tuberculous foci in the lymph nodes, liver and spleen.


Mucoviscidosis: total amylase activity of serum and mixed saliva in homozygous and heterozygous subjects. Total amylase activity of serum and mixed saliva was studied in homozygotes and heterozygotes for mucoviscidosis and in healthy subjects. Mean serum total activity was 269.0 +/- 113.7 U/l in the homozygotes, exceeding in nearly 50% of the cases the values given in the literature and those observed in the normal controls. The difference against the control group was significant (P less than 0.05). Mean serum total amylase activity of heterozygotes agreed with the mean value for the healthy group (203.5 +/- 79.5 U/l) without a significant difference. Total amylase activity in the saliva of homozygotes (148.700 +/- 65.700  U/l) was higher than in the heterozygotes /118.300 +/- 74.200 U/l) of the healthy children (51.700 +/- 26.500 U/l). The difference between the homozygous and healthy groups was strongly significant (P less than 0.01), and that between the heterozygous group and the combined healthy children and adult groups was also significant (P less than 0.05). In the heterozygotes, salivary amylase activity was slightly elevated but not significantly different from the control group and did not result in a change in serum total amylase activity.


Antepartum glucocorticoid treatment: the effect of prednisolone on umbilical blood glucose, plasma free fatty acids and individual free amino acid levels. Blood glucose, plasma free fatty acid and individual free amino acid levels were measured in the cord blood of preterm newborns whose mothers had received prednisolone treatment to prevent RDS. No significant differences were found in either of the metabolites between the prednisolone treated and the control group of comparable gestational age and birth weight. The results suggest that corticosteroid treatment has no gross adverse effect on fuel homeostasis.


Prevention of respiratory distress syndrome by antenatal maternal steroid treatment. A total of 107 women at risk of premature delivery received antepartum 45 to 60 mg prednisolone medication. Their babies were matched with comparable neonates of untreated mothers. The frequency of respiratory distress syndrome was 6/107 in the steroid-treated, and 33/107 in the control group. No maternal complications were seen. Neonatal mortality was lower in the pretreated group in which, however, a higher number of bronchopneumonia was observed. In 58 prednisolone-treated women labour could be delayed, and their infants were born at term. No stillbirth or intrauterine growth retardation occurred among them.


Chloride ion concentration in vaginal discharge and urine during puberty. In 27 prepubertal-pubertal girls the chloride ion concentration in vaginal discharge and urine was estimated four times during the menstrual cycle by means of a direct new micromethod using a Cl-selective electrode. In pubertal girls the chloride content showed changes both in vaginal discharge and in urine; the latter changed practically parallel with the vaginal value. A sharp rise in chloride content characteristic of normal ovulation was observed in 5 patients free from hormonal disturbances, while there were significant differences during ovulation 5 times and in the premenstrual phase 6 times in the girls with hormonal disturbances.


Effects of thyroid-stimulating hormone upon the regulation of serum insulin levels and on the blood sugar and serum free fatty acid responses to insulin [author's transl]. The effect of a chronic treatment with thyroid-stimulating hormone on the blood sugar, serum insulin and free fatty acid responses to exogenous insulin in dogs was studied comparatively. Either before or after thyroid-stimulating hormone treatment, the blood sugar levels were significantly below- and serum immunoreactive insulin above- their respective base line throughout the test. The blood sugar basal value was raised by the treatment, while the blood sugar levels at any time during the test were not affected. Neither were their respective serum insulin values, nor serum insulin base line. The rate of disappearance of exogenous insulin from blood was not affected either, and insulin space was hardly, significantly increased. Hypoglycaemia induced a mobilization of free fatty acids from lipid stores, which was more intense and prolonged after thyroid-stimulating treatment. These results are discussed, emphasizing the weak lipomobilizing effect of thyroid-stimulating hormone in this species, as well as taking into consideration the mild participation of an extra-pancreatic mechanism such as insulin space in the regulation of serum insulin levels in normal dogs as modified by thyroid-stimulating hormone.


Steroid metabolism in rat submaxillary glands. The ability of rat submaxillary gland to metabolize C21 steroids was studied by culturing explants with labeled progesterone, pregnenolone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone. The metabolites isolated were identified by paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography and combined gas liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The radiochemical purity of certain metabolites was confirmed by recrystallization to constant specific activity. The capability of this gland to reduce C21 steroids was confirmed with the isolation of 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one and 5 alpha-pregnane-3 alpha, 20 beta-diol. The presence of delta 5, 3 beta hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase was shown by the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone. Only in the incubations with 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone a compound with a molecular weight 290 was detected.


A depressant cortical reaction induced by afferent stimulation. A depressant reaction of the electrocortical activity of the brain cortex is described. The changes consist in decrease in the amplitude and frequency of the basal waves of the electrocorticogram together with the appearance of slow waves similar to those of the sleep state. The results are more clear upon the dendritic action potentials induced by the topical application of strychnine or mescaline. They include a rise in the threshold to the electrical stimulation applied to elicit these potentials together with a lengthening of their latencies. The depressant effects were obtained by low threshold vagal, carotid sinus, low threshold sciatic and tactile afferent stimulation. Similar depressant effects were produced by serotonin (5-HT) topically applied. The effects of afferent stimulation were reduced in magnitude by an intracisternal injection of 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine. A serotonergic mechanism acting in a diffuse, humoral, way is postulated. The methodological importance of studying the strychnine or mescaline spikes is emphasized.


Effect of hypobaric hypoxia on erythrocytic glycolysis and 2,3 - DPG in rodents. Glycolytic activity of red cells was determined in mice, rats and rabbits submitted to 4 700 and/or 6 000 m simulated altitude for variable periods of time and in controls at sea level. In all the species studied, glycolysis was found to be increased by the third week of exposure. 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) content was measured in rats submitted to simulated altitude for 4 to 66 days. A highly significant increase, which was higher at 4 700 than at 6 000 m, was found from the first days of exposure and throughout the whole experimental period. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that variable DPG changes in different degrees of hypoxia are related to its ability to increase oxygen release to the tissues and negatively correlated with hematocrit increase. The data show that the increase in red cell glycolysis is only a temporary effect of relatively severe hypoxia, not related with changes in DPG concentration.


Programmed stimulator for threshold of action potential. A programmed digital stimulator is described, in which the pulse generator can be regulated in frequency and duration. The output pulses amplitude increases automatically by increments under 5% of the previous step, sequence which allows a much better approximation to the threshold value of action potential. A photographic camera is synchronized for recording. The power supplies, pulse duration generator, binary counter, converter, pulse control, and detector circuits are given in detail.


Spectral changes of nucleic acids and nucleotide solutions at the 190-220nm region. Nucleic acids and nucleotide solutions have between 190 and 220 nm an hypo-bathochromic effect electrostatistically induced by acylic groups or by effective binding of several substances. In the former case, with DNA or RNA, the effect reverts through gel filtration and dialysis. In the latter case no reversion occurs. This is proposed as a probe for complex formation with the nucleic acid bases. Thermal denaturation of DNA solutions gives to the above mentioned maximum, an hyperchromicity somewhat different from the usually obtained at 260 nm.


Genetic variation in two natural populations of Biomphalaria tenagophila: esterases and alcohol dehydrogenase. The polymorphism of two natural populations of snails, Biomphalaria tenagophila, from São José dos Campos, São Paulo State (SJ) and from Núcleo Bandeirante, Distrito Federal (BN), was studied with respect to esterase and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) zymograms. The two population zymograms do not differ qualitatively. However the high frequency of esterase a and b bands in SJ and of e,f and h in NB, is a diagnostic mark. Moreover, frequency of band e alone can be used to distinguish the two populations. The high frequency of 3-banded ADH phenotype is a diagnostic mark of the SJ population.


The role of the glucose-6-phosphate in the phosphorylase b kinase activation found in perfused rat hearts treated by dinitrophenol. In order to explain the phosphorylase b kinase activation found in perfused rat hearts treated by dinitrophenol, the glucose-6-phosphate levels and the enzyme activity were determined. Experiments were also done to determine the phosphorylase b kinase inhibition by the ester. The low glucose-6-phosphate levels and the enzyme inhibition found, suggested that the phosphorylase b kinase is activated by a mechanism that involves phosphofructokinase.


[Denitrification of waters on the way from surface to underground levels in a karstic area]. The failure of the biological processes of waters' recycling in their passing through the soil occurs more and more frequently in calcareous areas. This led us to consider the problem of conditions necessary to the good development of the biological activity. This uses enzymatic reactions activated by chemical elements in very low concentrations: the oligo-elements. The experimental study, in drainage basin in a calcareous area, consisted in finding the percentage of oligo-elements in the waters, in the soils and in the parent rocks. This allowed us to draw a map of the probable lack of oligo-elements and thus to foresee the vulnerability of phreatic waters.


[Nitrate accumulating capability of some market garden vegetables]. Nitrate accumulation in plant is essentially function of the amount of nitrate nitrogen present in the substrate. That can be provided by mineral fertilizers or by organic manure. Due to the amount of nitrogen fertilizers needed in order to obtain sufficient yields the presence of nitrate is a general phenomenon in vegetable. Nevertheless the distribution of nitrate ions in the different parts of the plant influences the importance of the accumulation in the different kinds of vegetable. The experiments reported showed that leaves contain more nitrate ions than roots and roots more than fruit. The results obtained in soilless culture on lettuces, tomatoes and egg-plant demonstrated that the amount of accumulated nitrate is also dependent on the equilibrium between the different ions in the nutrient solution. Ammonium, potassium, sulfate and molybdenum have been shown to influence the rate of nitrate accumulation in the different species. It appears that it is not possible to obtain vegetable without nitrate, but it is possible, by an equilibrated fertilization, to reduce the amount accumulated in the tissue.


[Occurence of nitrates in pomes and stone fruits]. Ionometric determinations indicate that nitrate accumulation does not reach very high levels in pears, apples, cherries and peaches. The examination of samples taken from various experimental plots has shown some variations in nitrate contents of fruits, in relation with the uptake by trees of nitrogen, magnesium and calcium. Other factors liable to affect the nitrate content of fruits have also been examined: maturation level of fruits, application of a growth retardant, types of cultivars. Because of their low nitrate content, the fruits here studied are representative of a class of products well suited to human food requirements.


[Cooking in water and nitrate content of some vegetables. Simultaneous changes in other nutritive components]. The author relates 2 limited studies concerning carrots and spinachs. For carrots, 9 samples each divided in 4 groups showed a lower nitrates content, from a mean value of 229 mg/kg to 29 mg/kg. The cooking water contained only 40 p. 100 of the nitrates of the fresh vegetable. For spinachs, vitamin C and nitrates have approximatively the same sensibility to boiling, while magnesium diminishes slower, and iron seems very resistant to water extraction. The findings need complementary studies but suggest that as it was frequently proposed, boiling is a good way to eliminate contaminants, rather less aggressive against nutritional factors than one could dread.


[Nitrates in canned spinach. Effects of technological treatments]. During the last twenty years, the nitrate content of spinach has regularly increased along with the use of nitragenous fertilizers. A study made in the center of Britain (France) shows that along with this growing nitrate content, the quantity of raw harvested spinach has practically doubled in twenty years. But for the same quantity of raw harvested spinach, the yield of canned spinach has noticeably lowered. In a cannery trials made to lower the nitrate levels (preheating, blanching, renewing water blanching) led to a loss of about 45% of nitrate (on a dry matter basis). However nitrate levels stay about the same in one kg of raw spinach and in one kg of processed spinach coming from the same batch. The only answer seems to be able and come from better agricultural practices.


[Effect of nitrate content in the preparation of canned puree of spinach, complications which can result, precautions to avoid them]. The author reports studies made by the laboratories of the Institut Appert on the occasion of failures in the canning of chopped spinach caused by the presence of a large amount of nitrate. On the basis of technical and practical data, he indicates the precautions that must be taken to avoid the reocurrence of such failures.


[How to reduce the nitrate content in baby foods]. Nitrates content in baby food must not exceed 50 mg/kg according to the new french legislation. The amount found in fresh vegetable are often higher. Technological methods to reduce this amount eliminate also vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates. For this reason, we are looking for agronomics methods to get lower quantities of nitrates.


[Residual nitrite and nitrate content in French cooked hams and shoulders]. The test laboratory of the "Centre technique de la salaison, de la charcuterie et des conserves de viandes" has evaluated the nitrite and nitrate salts contents of 1 468 cooked hams and shoulders. 90,5 p. 100 of sample have a sodium nitrite content of less than 150 mg/kg. 81,5 p. 100 have a potassium nitrate content of less than 500 mg/kg. The measured contents show a wide scattering. The nitrite mean content is of 61 mg/kg with a standard deviation of 95. The nitrate mean content is of 292 mg/kg with a standard deviation of 382. There were no significant variations between the various categories of cooked hams and shoulders.


[Nitrates and nitrites in some commercial delicatessen products]. After a study published in 1974 on nitrate and nitrite contents of 105 cooked ham samples, we undertook in 1975 and 1976 another investigation of 166 samples of various meat products. The results are better than those of 1974: the permissible nitrate and nitrite levels of hams are more respected. But in some other meat products (sausage meat for instance) the levels are sometimes very high. Taking into account the quantity of meat products which can be normally consumed daily, nitrate and nitrite amounts absorbed only by this way are very near, if not exceeding, the daily acceptable intake recommended by the International Committee on Food Additives of the World Health Organization. It seems necessary to reexamine the safety margin left in some cases, to the consumer.


[Binding of nitrite to muscle proteins]. The toxicity of nitrite and especially of nitrosamines lay down an important problem. The assessment of dangers for the man depends for a great part of the knowledge of the form of nitrite in the diet. The estimate of the part of "free nitrite" and "bound nitrite" in the cured meat products is a first access of this problem.


[Structure of nitroso pigments in meats]. The study is concerned with the nitrosopigments formed during curing time. It concludes that a reductant nitrosohaem is formed, with a breakdown of the bond between haem and histidine, and it gives the accurate sequence of the reactions. This study has been conducted by measurement of the iron-dried material ratio, electrophoresis on acetonic extracts of pigments formed with ascorbate or cystein, measurement, during the photodecomposition of this extract, of photometric spectra, of ionised iron, and characterization of pyrroles functions.


[State of nitrite in meat products].

[State of nitrite in meat products]. The authors search the form under which nitrite is in cured products. Nitrate formation found by official methods is not confirmed by qualitative characterization. The calculations, according to the chemical equations, show the total breakdown of nitrite in nitroge oxide: NO, bound by many substances which are in meats. The distillation experiments confirm the calculations, the characteristic photometric spectra get in sulfitic medium and the modified Zambelli's reaction. These results lead to estimate that both technologic and toxicologic actions impute to nitrite is dominated by the idea of NO more or less bound, according to the medium composition.


[Formation of nitrites from nitrates in the digestive tract]. The authors performed in vitro incubations of gastrointestinal mucosae and contents in the rat, under anaerobiosis, in the presence of nitrates. Nitrate disappearance and nitrite appearance amounts were measured in the different incubation media. From these works it follows that a certain quantity of nitrates are actually reduced to nitrites specifically by the ileo-caecal microflora of rats and perhaps, to a lower degree, by the action of a nitrate-reductase which may occur in the digestive mucosae. Moreover, the authors carried out in situ perfusions into the small intestine of rats, by adding nitrates to the perfusion liquid at a concentration of 400 mg per litre. It was thus demonstrated that the nitrate-absorbing kinetics is very rapid but those nitrates do not gather in the blood; besides, the presence of nitrites in the perfusion medium indicates a possible nitrate reduction in the intestinal gut.


[Methemoglobinemias caused by ingestion of nitrites and nitrates]. Nitrites and nitrates are often responsible for methemoglobinemy. Infants, on account of their greater sensibility to oxidizing agents, are particularly liable to poison by nitrates and nitrites. Sodium nitrite can be responsible for poisoning after accidental ingestion or owing to an overdose when preparing salt provisions, or because it has been mistaken for another product. Then it is often a case of collective poisoning. Nitrates generally produce methenoglobinemy when they are changed into nitrites under the influence of a bacterial proliferation or of a reductase held in plants. It happens with spinach and carrot soup. Nitrates can pollute municipal water supply and chiefly well water. As regards therapy, cases of methemoglobinemy have been noted after an overdose of potassium nitrate and especially of bismuth subnitrate. The treatment of methemoglobinemy caused by nitrates and nitrites is not specific: suppression of the oxidizing agents, oxygenation, prescription of reducing agents.


[Various toxic effects of nitrates and nitrites]. The main features of the long-term toxicity of nitrates and/or nitrites in man and experimental animals are reviewed; the possible formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines is dealt with in another paper of this series. It appears that the allowable daily intake of nitrates and nitrites for the healthy adult man has been evaluated chiefly from the no-effect levels in rats. First, the no-effect levels in rats are questionable, since some experiments have pointed out adverse effects of nitrates and nitrites with dosages near, or lower than, the so-called no-effect levels. Second, there is a risk that the allowable daily intake is outpassed in the diet of a man. Third, nutritional conditions, such as the vitamin A or C, or the iodine content of the diet, as well as other factors which are discussed, might alter theno-effect levels. From the cell metabolism viewpoint, nitrites are inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation and of microsomal enzymes. Our present lack of knowledge does not yet allow us to explain the long-term toxicity of nitrates and nitrites in terms of cell metabolic disturbances.


[Carcinogenicity of N-nitroso compounds]. The toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of N-nitroso compounds are briefly discussed with reference to recent reviews. These adverse biological effects are discussed in relation to the necessity of metabolic activation by microsomal enzymes for the nitrosamins but not for the nitrosamides.


Clinical telemetry of EMG and temporal information during gait. Multichannel telemetry has formed an integral part of the clinical assessment of children's walking problems. EMG signals and temporal information from foot switches are transmitted from a small belt-pack unit which provides almost complete freedom of movement for the child. Although patients with various crippling diseases have been studied, the investigation of problems resulting from cerebral palsy has been most valuable clinically. The effects of orthopaedic surgery to release or transfer muscles can be asssessed more positively and the causes of some unexplained gait patterns can be investigated more thoroughly.


[Usual arrangement and nomenclature of the coronary arteries]. The usual distribution of the coronary arteries of the heart as its appears from the study of 60 casts of these vessels is the following:--the right coronary artery gives three right atrial branches, the superior (sinus node artery) medium and inferior branches and three kinds of right ventricular branches : anterior, marginal and inferior. It divides into the posterior descending branch and the posterior left ventricular branch. Its territory is postero-septal.--the left coronary artery divides into 2 branches. The anterior descending artery gives right ventricular, left ventricular (diagonal) and septal branches for the antero-septal territory. The left circumflex gives three left atrial branches, the superior, medium and inferior branches and 1 or 2 left ventricular (lateral) branches for the corresponding lateral territory of the left ventricule.


[Does the phrenico-gastric ligament exist?]. On thirty cadaveric dissections, we studied the so-called "phreno-gastric" ligament. In fact, it appears that there is an adhesion between the fundus and the posterior wall in only 60 % of the cases. This adhesion is always very loose, easily cleaved and in no case is there a real fibrous suspensory ligament. Moreover, in 40 % of the cases, the posterior surface of the fundus is entirely covered by peritoneum and is free in the bursa omentalis. In that case, the posterior surface of the stomach is connected with the diaphragm by a very short meso extending on the right to the meso esophagus and on the left to the gastrosplenic ligament.


[Anastomoses of the terminal branches of the facial nerve and of the trigeminal nerve]. Study of peripheric anastomoses between facial et trijeminal nerves based on 18 dissections of 13 adults and 5 foetuses. Macroscopic study shows that those anastomoses are similar in all cases on any comparable levels of the face. Semi-macroscopic study on foetuses (coloration by means of gold chlorid) and histological study on anastomoses (by means of longitudinal sections) reveal that either motor and sensitive fibres grow together and join the appropriate muscles, or proprioceptor fibres follow the facial nerve in the opposite direction and then leave it, forming recurrent branches. Cutaneous endings of muscles present a great number of Pacinian corpuscules.


[Autonomic corticofugal fibers].

[Autonomic corticofugal fibers]. Lesions affecting the neocortex have been carried out in 16 cats. Wallerian degeneration projects to the vegetative effector nuclei (nucleus of the vagus nerve and the nuclei intermedio-lateralis and intermedio-medialis of the spinal cord). The methods of silver impregnation used were those of Nauta, Fink-Heimer and Velayos-Ullán. Corticofugal fibers which show an intercalary formation, such as the nuclei reticularis parvocellularis, lateralis and dorsalis, and the nucleus of the solitary tract, are more numerous. There are also direct fibers for the intermediate zone (intermedio-lateralis and intermedio-medialis nuclei) of the thoracic and sacral spinal cord.


[Functional consequences of crossing of articular ligaments]. The movements occurring at joints with fully congruent articular surfaces, such as ball-and-socket joints and hinge joints, can be roughly infered from the geometrical forms of their articular surfaces. In these cases pure sliding occurs between the moving surfaces. But this is no longer true for incongruent joints, and in such joints the ligaments play an important role in determining the frequently complex nature of the movements these joints produce : with combinations of sliding and rolling between their moving surfaces. Finally, the instantaneous velocity of these moving surfaces is also strongly influenced by the arrangement of the ligaments.


[The cubito-carpal region in gibbons].

[The cubito-carpal region in gibbons]. As a continuation of our studies concerning the structure and fetal development of the human carpal articular disc (KAUER, 1968, 1975, 1976) we have investigated the disc-homologue in the Gibbon. For this purpose we have used the serial sectioned hand of a late-fetal specimen. The stratigraphical position of the os Daubentonii has been established comparing the situation in the Gibbon with that of the human ulno-carpal region. The homology presumed by others of the os Daubentonii with the cartilaginous primordium frequently found in the developing carpal articular disc in man, was found questionable. We have tried to give the os Daubentonii a functional interpretation as a sesamoid bone supporting the mechanical loaded pronation and supination of the hand in the Gibbon.


[Anatomic variation of the aortic coronary openings (apropos of 80 dissections)]. A series of 80 heart dissections, compared with a survey of the literature shows that:--both coronary ostia are usually in the right anterior and in the left posterior position, in the commissural plane, at the level of the corresponding sinus of Valsalva (the left one being often superior in size to the right one).--anatomic variations of the coronary ostia (especially variations of the left coronary ostium) may be summed up into 3 patterns: Variations in number : sometimes, there is only one aortic coronary ostium, usually owing to a left coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery; a common aortic ostium for a single coronary artery is not frequent. Multiple ostia are the most common variations : an accessory artery may arise from a separate ostium (often the "third coronary artery" from the right aortic sinus; sometimes the anterior descending and the circumflex arteries may originate from separated orifices). Variations in origin remain few, affecting most often the left ostium. Variations in size reflect the corresponding coronary plexus preponderance.