[Parenteral nutrition in management of sick low birth weight infant (under 2,000 g.) (author's transl)]. A serie accounting for 32 newborn sick infants with a mean weight of 1,324 g. and gestational age of 30.6 weeks in whom parenteral nutrition was applied alone or as supplementation of oral alimentation is presented. The mean duration was of ten days, and mean weight increment of 14.6 g. Infectious complication were the most frequent (25%). Mortality was 46% due in part to the important associated pathology. The general lines for management of these infant are given. Finally it is pointed out that, intravenous nutrition is only justified by the failure to use oral feeding.


[Infectious complications of parenteral nutrition in infants (author's transl)]. Infectious complications found in twenty five infants with parenteral nutrition secondary to gastrointestinal problems are presented. The mean age was of 3.5 months, being mean duration of treatment 39 days/infant and mean weight increment of 19.3 g./day. In two infants a central catheter was used and peripheric veins in the rest using the three elemental nutrients. Clinical, analytic and bacteriologic studies were made during parenteral nutrition. Hemocultives, five of nutrients rests and in four catheters were positive. Three of septicemias were in direct relation with parenteral nutrition, two via central catheter and one by peripheric vein. Finally some rules to avoid infectious complications are pointed out.


[Virulence of human and environmental strains of "pseudomonas aeruginosa" in mice (author's transl)]. The virulence of 21 clinical isolates and 10 environmental strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied by intraperitoneal challenge in mice. The LD50 values of human strains ranged from 10(7),(0) to 10(8),(5) viable cells per mouse (average: 10(7),(7)(2)). The LD50 of environmental strains ranged from 10(7),(2) to 10(8),(1) (average: 10(7),(59)). These results are not significantly different. Experimental virulence for mice of P. aeruginosa strains found in hospital environment allows no prediction on their level of pathogenicity for in-patients. Furthermore, this study proved no relationship between letal effect of P. aeruginosa for mice and following characters of strains: O serogroup, untypability and productivity of specific pigments, pyocyanin and pyorubrin.


Imbalance of k/lambda ratios associated with high measles antibody titers in fractionated serum immunoglobulins of patients affected with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a neurological disease which is characterized not only by the appearance of oligoclonal immunoglobulins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum but also by high measles antibody titers and disturbed k/lambda ratios, as well in serum as in CSF. These findings lead to the hypothesis that specific immunoglobulins are produced by hyperimmunisation against measles and/or measles-like virus. Therefore the serum IgG from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis patients were fractionated by column isoelectric focusing and the k/lambda light chain ratio and the measles antibody titer of each fration were determined. The highest k/lambda ratios and the highest measles antibody titers were found mainly in two fractions at a pH ranging from 8.94-8.51 for the first and 8.88-8.24 for the second.


Sectoral retinal pigmentation in neurofibromatosis. Sector retinitis pigmentosa of Bietti has not been studied histopathologically and has not been reported as occurring in a patient with neurofibromatosis. This report describes a patients with neurofibromatosis and biopsy-proven optic nerve glioma who was noted before death to have bilateral sectoral retinal pigmentary disturbances that appeared histopathologically to be areas of retinitis pigmentosa.


Intraocular pressure control with twice-daily pilocarpine in two vehicle solutions. In a double-blind study no significant difference was found in intraocular pressure control, mean pressure or comparative binocular intraocular pressure difference between pilocarpine in Adsorbobase compared to pilocarpine in 0.5% hydroxypropl-methylcellulose solution. Intraocular pressure control was achieved on fewer than 60% of visits using pilocarpine twice daily in either of the 2 vehicles. While pilocarpine retained some residual hypotensive effect 12 hours after application, twice-daily dosage with the solutions tested gave inadequate control for clinical usefulness.


Effects of the auditory prosthesis on postural stability. To assess vestibular function in all 13 of the subjects, including two with external otitis who could not be stimulated calorically, postural stability was measured by means of computerized posturography. Testing was conducted both with eyes opened and closed and with the prosthesis off (no electrical stimulation) and with the prosthesis activated. All subjects demonstrated evidence of abnormal postural instability, particularly when visually deprived. Activation of the prostheses disrupted the subjects' postural stability, and upon visual deprivation, additional postural instability occurred. These findings suggest that the cochlear stimulators deliver a galvanic stimulus to the vestibular nerve or nuclei.


Electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve and auditory prostheses: a review of the literature. The literature dealing with implanted auditory prostheses is reviewed in terms of experimental studies in men and animals.


Subject acceptance of implanted auditory prosthesis. Each of the 13 subjects was interviewed, in a structured context, to determine their estimate of the value of the prosthesis to their daily life. The subjects who used their prostheses eight or more hours a day reported it to be more valuable in their daily living than did those who used it less than eight hours a day. The fulltime users reported that the prosthesis is most helpful to them as an adjunct to lipreading. All of them thought the prosthesis valuable in terms of "hearing" environmental sounds. While all of them reported noisy environments to be bothersome, the fulltime users did not turn off their stimulators in noise. Only two subjects, both infrequent users of their prostheses, reported that they would not undergo implant surgery again.


Research plan for evaluating subjects presently fitted with implanted auditory prostheses. The basic research plan for this evaluation is presented here along with a description of the logistics of transporting the subjects from their homes to the laboratory for evaluation.


Present otologic status of subjects implanted with auditory prostheses. Thirteen persons who had functioning cochlear prostheses underwent medical evaluation. The nine males and four females ranged in age from 26 to 67 years at the time of the evaluation. Their mean age was 48.1 years. The etiology of deafness had been determined prior to implant surgical procedures in 6 of the 13 subjects. Of the remaining seven subjects, four had acquired hearing losses of unknown causes and three had congenital hearing deficits of unknown cause. All subjects participating in the study gave histories or findings compatible with severe loss or absence of vestibular function. All subjects had well-healed postauricular scars. The implant hardware was physically well-tolerated by the subjects and did not disrupt middle ear function. The implanted subcutaneous coil appeared to be well-tolerated and firmly anchored to the skull in every patient. There was no evidence of irritation to the skin or surrounding tissue. The skin surrounding a percutaneous plus which had been in place for six years in one subject showed no evidence of rejection. However, one subject who had electrode leads implanted beneath external auditory canal skin exhibited chronic external otitis. With this exception, the implant devices were clinically well-tolerated.


Auditory prostheses in perspective.

Auditory prostheses in perspective. The results of the evaluation of subjects presently fitted with internal auditory prostheses are summarized. Based on these results, the role of single-channel prostheses as a treatment for acquired deafness is discussed in terms of the auditory expectation for a single channel and of subject selection.


Present audiologic status of subjects implanted with auditory prostheses. Audiological testing indicated that all of the subjects had profound sensorineural hearing losses. In 12 of the 13 subjects, this profound hearing loss was bilateral. The 13th subject, however, had useable hearing in his unimplanted ear. Tympanometric testing gave no evidence that implant surgery had disrupted middle ear function.


Present vestibular status of subjects implanted with auditory prostheses. Electronstagmographic studies were performed on all 13 patients with the caloric stimulus series, omitted in two subjects with external otitis. Eleven of the 13 subjects exhibited normal eye movement screening tests. Of the remaining nine subjects who could be evaluated, all demonstrated markedly reduced or absent caloric-induced nystagmus responses. These results confirmed preoperative vestibular test findings performed by implant surgery teams and indicated that the vestibular systems of the patients were severly damaged.


Present neuropsychological status of subjects implanted with auditory prostheses. To assess the subject's cognitive and conceptual function, an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests were administered to each subject. Of the 13 subjects, 11 showed normal to superior cognitive and conceptual abilities; however, two of the subjects presented evidence of impaired cognitive and conceptual functioning. Subjects with right-ear implants showed asymmetry in the measures of peripheral flicker-fusion thresholds.


Electroacoustic measures of present prostheses. To determine the electrical nature of the signals delivered to the electrode implanted in scala tympani, extensive electroacoustic measures were made on a House-Urban stimulator, both in a closed, acoustic system (hearing-aid box) and in the sound field. For these measures, the external coil was separated from the internal coil by plexiglass, and the internal coil was loaded resistively. Illustrations of the signal delivered to the electrode are provided.


Sound-field hearing tests.

Sound-field hearing tests. Facilities for sound-field testing of hearing and calibration procedures are described.


Hearing performance with the auditory prosthesis. With their prostheses activated 12 of 13 subjects were able to respond to sound (bands of noise) at intensities (35-65 dB SPL) that typically arise in the normal acoustic environment. While this "hearing" did allow them to be aware of speech, it did not permit them to understand speech. On the other hand, this "hearing" does seem to help them with identification of common environmental sounds and with lipreading, within the context that those abilities were tested here.


Psychoacoustic evaluation of present prostheses. A battery of psychoacoustic tests, designed to specify auditory discriminations possible with present, single-channel auditory prostheses, was administered successfully to 12 of the 13 subjects. While no subject was able to perform all discriminations required by this battery of tests, there was no discrimination that at least one subject did not perform successfully. The typical subject could 1) discriminate intensity differences within normal limits for frequencies below 1000 Hz; 2) discriminate frequency differences quite normally at 125 and 250 Hz, but not at all at 1000 or 2000 Hz; 3) discriminate differences in signal duration, temporal patterning (rhythm), and spectrum (e.g., tone vs narrow-band noise); and 4) discriminate between pairs of synthesized vowel-like sounds. The results of masking experiments could only be interpreted in terms of intensity discrimination. Several subjects were able to relate stimulus intensity to loudness for low-frequency sounds; and they could relate stimulus frequency to pitch for signals below 25 Hz. The intelligibility of the subjects' speech was found to improve when their prostheses were activated.


Diurnal changes in concentration of rumen ciliates and in occurrence of dividing forms in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalus) fed once daily. When buffalo were fed once daily, significant diurnal variations in concentration of rumen ciliates and occurrence of dividing protozoa were found. Differences in proportions of dividing Entodinium- and Diplodinium-type ciliates were also observed. Results obtained suggest that the range of diurnal fluctuations in rumen protozoa concentration may be related to the percentage of dividing cells in populaitons of these organisms.


Growth and cell volume of Euglena gracilis in different media. It is necessary to propagate Euglena gracilis cells for several days after transfer from one medium to another to establish the steady state of balanced growth. Steady-state growth was established in minimal and in complex medium. Specific growth rates and cell volume distributions were computed for each culture medium. Mean cell volume of E. gracilis is not uniquely correlated with the specific growth rate.


Energetics of streptococcal growth inhibition by hydrostatic pressure. Growth of Streptococcus faecalis in complex media with various fuel sources appeared to be limited by the rate of supply of adenosine-5' -triphosphate (ATP) at 1 atm and also under 408 atm of hydrostatic pressure. Growth under pressure was energetically inefficient, as indicated by an average cell yield for exponentially growing cultures of only 10.7 g (dry weight) per mol of ATP produced compared with a 1-atm value of 15.6. Use of ATP for pressure-volume work or for turnover of protein, peptidoglycan, or stable ribonucleic acid (RNA) did not appear to be significant causes of growth inefficiency under pressure. In addition, there did not seem to be an increased ATP requirement for ion uptake because cells growing at 408 atm had significantly lower internal K(+) levels than did those growing at 1 atm. Pressure did stimulate the membrane adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) or S. faecalis at ATP concentrations greater than 0.5 mM. Intracellular ATP levels were found to vary during the culture cycle from about 2.5 mumol/ml of cytoplasmic water for lag-phase or stationary-phase cells to maxima for exponentially growing cells of about 7.5 mumol/ml at 1 atm and 5.5 mumol/ml at 408 atm. N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide at a 10 muM concentration improved growth efficiency under pressure, as did Mg(2+) or Ca(2+) ions at 50 mM concentration. These agents also enhanced ATP pooling, and it seemed that at least part of the growth inefficiency under pressure was due to increased ATPase activity. In all, it appeared that S. faecalis growing under pressure has somewhat reduced ATP supply but significantly increased demand and that the inhibitory effects of pressure can be interpreted largely in terms of ATP supply and demand.


Improved procedure for crystallization of Clostridium botulinum type A toxic complexes. A modified protocol for the preparation of botulinum type A toxic crystals is decribed. The essential change was the substitution of chromatography on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex for the step in which toxin was precipitated with ethanol. Colored materials and nucleic acids were removed by the chromatography so that crystal lots of greater uniformity could be produced. Significantly more of toxin in the starting culture was recovered as crystals. The lots of crystals obtained initially by either the original or the modified method contained an antigen that was eliminated when the lots were recrystallized.


Simple, effective method for purifying the AS-1 cyanophage. Highly infectious, purified AS-1 virus was obtained by treating virus-induced culture lysates with bentonite followed by rotary evaporation concentration and density gradient centrifugation.


Linkage of mercury, cadmium, and arsenate and drug resistance in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of the 787 isolates, 99.8% were metal resistant, with most (99.5%) showing multiple resistance. Fifty-three percent of the isolates were both metal and drug resistant, whereas only 19% were metal resistant and drug sensitive.


Construction of a kit of reference strains for rapid genetic mapping in Bacillus subtilis 168. A set of nine reference strains bringing convenient markers in the genetic background of Bacillus subtilis Marburg 168 has been prepared to allow rapid mapping of new markers.


Tissue distribution of PCB components in swine and sheep fed three different rations containing Aroclors 1242 and 1254. Growing swine and sheep were fed three dietary variations containing 20 ppm of Aroclors 1242 or 1254 for 13 to 15 weeks. Generally, Aroclor 1254 residues were higher; higher 1242 residues in swine blood, spleen, and ovary are attributed to persistent major components of this Aroclors. Some minor differences in total PCB were observed with varying diets, but peak composition did not vary. Some lower chlorinated components maintained higher levels in the blood relative to other components; other components were selectively accumulated in tissues such as fat and muscle. Blood and fat residues in sheep declined during the last weeks of feeding. Microsomal oxidase levels were elevated in response to PCB and diet in both species, but the response was greater in sheep. Sheep liver microsomes were capable of metabolizing pure analogs and components of Aroclor 1242. Major differences in Aroclor profiles can be demonstrated between swine and sheep residues and total residues can be estimated by measuring selected peaks in blood and backfat. The peaks which provide the most reliable estimate of total PCB residue vary with species and Aroclor.


Translocation of polychlorobiphenyls in soil into plants: a study by a method of culture of soybean sprouts. PCB translocation from soil into a plant through its roots was investigated by a method of culture of soybean sprouts on sand contaminated with Aroclor 1242 or 1254. A preliminary culture was carried out on clean sand in a cage with small holes in the bottom and then followed by a main culture on contaminated sand after the preliminary culture cage was placed upon a box filled with the contaminated sand. Consequently, roots of soybean sprouts were allowed to penetrate through the holes at the botton of the upper cage into the contaminated sand. Rates of transference of PCBs were found to be different among chlorobiphenyl isomers; low chlorobiphenyls were much more preferentially absorbed by sprouts that were the high chlorobiphenyls. This seemed to depend mostly on different water solubilities of the isomers and probably not on selective absorption of the isomers by sprouts. The usefulness of the method employed of the two-steps sprout culture on doubly layered soil, in investigations of translocation mechanisms of toxic chemicals in a soil-plant ecosystem, is also discussed.


A study of the effects of methyl mercury, cadmium, arsenic, selenium, and a PCB, (Aroclor 1254) on adrenal and testicular steroidogeneses in vitro, by the gray seal Halichoerus grypus. An in vitro study on the effects of the contaminants polychlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1254) (PCB), methyl mercury (MeHg), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and selenium (Se) on the biosynthesis of steroid hormones in the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) indicated altered steroid biosynthesis. Biotransformed delta4-androstene-3, 17-dione (delta 4A), dehydroepiandrosterone, 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), and testosterone (T) were detected in all seal testicular incubates. Yields of 11-KT were greatly increased in the presence of Aroclor 1254. All contaminants except As and Se stimulated the in vitro biosyntheses of T, with the greatest increase in production of T being in the Cd-treated tissue. Cortisol (F), corticosterone (B), aldosterone (ALDO) but no cortisone (E), were biosynthesized by the seal adrenal tissue. Corticosterone (B) was the principal transformation product in all incubations with less B produced by the treated adrenals than by the control. The lowest yeild of B was achieved by the Se-treated adrenal. The yeild of ALDO was also lower in all contaminant treated incubations, with Se and Cd giving the greatest inhibition. More F was biosynthesized by all the treated adrenals than by the control. The greatest increase of production of F(6-fold) from progesterone was by the As-treated adrenal.


Electrophoresis of glucose-6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenases in erythrocytes from malaria-infected animals. Electrophoresis of red-cell extracts from control and malaria-infected animals on 'Cellogel' demonstrated the absence of G-6-PD activity of 'parasite' origin, although 6-PGD activity was present. An identical 6-PGD isoenzyme was found in mice, rats and hamsters infected with the same strain of Plasmodium berghei indicating the parasite as the source of the enzyme. A similar 6-PGD isoenzyme was also found in a few preliminary experiments with P. knowlesi-infected monkey erythrocytes. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and also to the status of the pentose phosphate pathway in plasmodial metabolism.


The treatment of esophageal perforation with delayed recognition and continuing sepsis. Five patients, recently treated for esophageal ruptures, provided a spectrum of "late" perforations. Treatment was individualized for each patient and ranged from suture closure of the perforation to esophagectomy. Four of the 5 patients survived and now have no dietary restrictions. The goals of treatment should be: (1) elimination of sources of chemical and bacterial soilage; (2) drainage of infected areas; (3) augmentation of host defenses by antibiotics; and (4) provision of adequate nutrition. Several treatment adjuncts, alone or in combination, may be used to accomplish these goals. The selection of treatment methods should be influenced by the site of perforation, the extent of local inflammation, the status of the residual esophagus, the overall status of the patient, and the chronicity of the perforation. As the risk of uncontrolled sepsis increases, the surgeon should take more aggressive and definitive steps, up to and including esophagectomy in certain cases, to prevent further soilage.


Hypotensive activity of sodium nitroprusside and structurally related complexes of sodium pentacyanoamine ferrate with amylnitrite, butylnitrite and n-octylamine. Complexes of sodium pentacyanoamine ferrate (TPF) with amylnitrite and with butylnitrite showed hypotensive activity equal to that of sodium nitroprusside, as tested intravenously, in unanesthetized , instrumented Rhesus, monkeys. The complex with n-octylamine, on the other hand, had significantly lower activity. These complexes produced only marginal hypotensive effects when administered orally in a dose of 10 mg/kg to spontaneously hypertensive rats.


Chronic methylmercury exposure in the monkey (Macaca mulatta). Behavioral test of peripheral vision, signs of neurotoxicity, and blood concentration in relation to dose and time. Small daily doses of methylmercury hydroxide were administered to rhesus monkeys for periods of up to 17 months. Behavioral tests of peripheral vision and of the accuracy and rapidity of hand movements did not disclose any early subtle deficits preceding the onset of obvious signs of neurotoxicity. These signs appeared suddenly and involved reduced food intake (anorexia), clumsiness of jumping, loss of fine control of the digits, and uncoordinated mastication. With a constant daily dose of 0.1 mg/kg or less, blood concentration of mercury reached a peak after about 2 months, and then decreased to about half the peak value. Subsequently, increasing the daily dose level above 0.1 mg/kg (range of 0.12-0.21 mg/kg) produced an increase of blood concentration which tended to stabilize in the range of 2.0-2.5 ppm. After several months at these elevated concentrations all animals exhibited signs of neurotoxicity.


Analgesic studies with nefopam hydrochloride. Nefopam hydrochloride[3] is a novel analgesic agent possessing an activity profile distinct from that of narcotic, narcotic agonist-antagonist and analgesic antiinflammatory agents. Analgesic activity is demonstrated in a variety of laboratory procedures with rodents, cats and monkeys. The analgesic potency of nefopam hydrochloride is generally similar to that of codeine phosphate. The compound lacks potential for tolerance development and does not exhibit cross-tolerance with morphine sulfate.


[The mitral apparatus and surgery of sub-valvular aortic stenosis]. The authors present three eases of subvalvular aortic stenosis caused by an abnormality of the mitral valve mechanism which required placement of a prosthetic valve. They describe the types of mitral valve abnormality which are reported in the literature to have caused obstruction to the aortic outflow tract. They analyse the criteria for diagnosis of this condition, and the surgical treatment. The placement of a prosthetic mitral valve does not always remove the obstruction to the aortic outflow, especially if there is an abnormality in the position of the mitral ring.


[Study of the association between aortic coarctation and congenital mitral insufficiency (excluding atrioventricular canals)]. Coarctation of the aorta is accompanied by congenital mitral incompetence in 3% of cases, and this combination worsens the prognosis. A series of 23 cases is reported, and the treatment analysed. In 6 cases only medical treatment was used, either because death was rapid or, on the contrary, satisfactory progress made it possible to wait for the normal age for resection and suture of the coarctation. In one case the severity of the mitral incompetence required early valvular replacement, while the minimal coarctation was ignored. Usually (16 cases) a Crafoord operation is carried out as a first stage, and of the 13 children still alive, 8 had their mitral incompetence improved or stabilised; but in 5 it became worse, requiring mitral valve surgery from 1 to 7 years later. Post mortem study showed the multiplicity of mitral lesions present, and explains the difficulty of mitral 'plasty' operations, which are the best solution in children.


[Value of dacron aortoplasty in the treatment of coarctation of the aorta during the 1st six months of life]. Between September 1st 1974 and June 1st 1976, 12 infants under the age of 6 months have been operated on by a dacron patch aortoplasty for coarctation of the aorta. The associated lesions were a patent ductus arteriosus in each case, a VSD in 8 cases, and a trans-position of the great arteries in 5 cases. A pulmonary artery banding was performed with the aortoplasty in 8 cases, and a Blalock-Hanlon operation in one instance. There were two operative deaths (17 p. 100), amongst them one in a 1400 g premature infant, and a late death (3rd month). Two infants have a clinical aspect of recoarctation. In four infants, the post-operative hemodynamic and angiographic study carried out before the treatment of associated intra-cardiac lesions, shows a good result of the coarctation repair. This particular technique, although not performed as a routine in the infant with coarctation of the aorta, seems to be of interest in the most severe forms of the disease, with diffuse isthmus narrowing and intra-cardiac defects.


[Choice of surgical method in the child or adult (excluding infants) suffering from coarctation of the aorta and severe cardiopathy]. A study of a serie of 45 cases of coarctation of the aorta associated with a severe cardiac lesion or malformation, and treated at a single operative session (18 cases) or in two consecutive stages (27 cases) has produced the following conclusions: --Treatment at a single operation is possible, usually at the cost of two consecutive surgical approaches, thus making the operation rather long. This plan, which has given good results in the 18 cases studied (only one death and no serious complications) should be adopted only for young patients who are well-balanced psychologically, and whose cardiac defect is well-compensated. --Treatment in two stages is a more reasonable course for the remainder of the patients, but it must be decided which lesion to treat first: this could be the coarctation if it is a difficult or poorly tolerated one and if the cardiac defect (especially when an aortic valve lesion) is well compensated. It will be the cardiac lesion if, by contrast, the coarctation is simple and well-tolerated, and the cardiac lesion is severe and decompensated (especially a mitral malformation with shunts and major pulmonary hypertension). Current techniques of open heart surgery allow us to employ extracorporeal circulation easily and safely with the coarctation still in place; this will then be treated later. In every case in which a two-stage treatment plan has been chosen, it should be carried out as a planned procedure so that the second stage of the operation is not put off unduly.


[Interventricular communications with aortic insufficiency surgical considerations]. The authors report a series of 11 patients with ventricular septal defect associated with aortic incompetence who underwent surgery between 1963 and March 1976. Separate consideration is given to the operations performed before and after 1972. 5 patients were operated on during the first period, with only mediocre results. At this time, the technique of valvuloplasty did not appear to be the right one. During the second period, 6 patients were operated on. In five of them the technique of Plauth, Frater, Spencer and Trusler was used. All these patients have a satisfactory result. The last of the series had an abnormally low commissure, and the adjacent valves were protuberant, and thickened, so that a valvular replacement was carried out. The operation of choice for a ventricular septal defect associated with aortic incompetence is valvuloplasty with closure of the defect. The following criteria are necessary indications for this type of surgery: --the aortic incompetence must be secondary to the prolapse of a valve; --the aortic valve must have three cusps. An early operation makes the valvuloplasty easier, and avoids the problems of damage to the left ventricle from a persistant and progressive aortic incompetence.


[Unexpected findings during surgery for interventricular communication and for banding of the pulmonary artery in the infant and child]. While the authors recognise the difficulty of obtaining a complete picture of the lesion in certain types of ventricular shunt with pulmonary hypertension, they emphasise the importance of a precise diagnosis, which may modify the medical treatment and the decision to operate. Conditions may nevertheless be found by surprise at operation, and lead to a modification of the planned action.


[Surgical treatment of the double outlet right ventricle with pulmonary stenosis. Apropos of 7 cases]. The double outlet right ventricle is a rare malformation, and its surgical correction has been well defined. The authors present seven cases of double outflow of the right ventricle and stenosis of the pulmonary outflow. If the technical problems of those variants with a subaortic septal defect seem to have been overcome, those with a subpulmonary ventricular septal defect present a much more difficult problem. Of the seven cases presented, the authors report the death of one patient who had a right ventricle with a double outlet associated with pulmonary stenosis and a sub-pulmonary ventricular septal defect. The post-operative course of the other 6 patients, who had a subaortic ventricular septal defect, was simple. One patient suffered secondary dehiscence of the repaired septal defect, and was reoperated on. The maximum follow-up period has been 7 years.


[Long term results (5 years) of the first 50 consecutive operations following Mustard's technique for simple transposition of the great vessels]. The long-term results of Mustard's operation for simple transposition of the great vessels have been studied in a homogenous series of the first 50 consecutive cases operated on by G. Lemoine. The overall mortality was 20% over the 5 year follow-up period. Serious arrhythmias or conduction defects can usually be picked up immediately postoperatively; on the other hand, stenosis of the venae cavae or of the pulmonary venous channels may come on very late and unexpectedly as growth takes place. Reoperation must be carried out to remove these stenoses when they are troublesome.


[Atypical pulmonary stenosis in certain polymalformative syndromes. Prevalence of associated hypertrophique myocardiopathy]. Certain pulmonary stenoses differ markedly from the usual types of isolated valvular stenosis in their clinical features (maximal murmur situated lower down), their radiological signs (absence of a prominent median arc), the electrocardiograph (atypical electrical axis), the haemodynamic findings (usually a poor gradient), and especially the angiocardiography (valvular dysplasia, lack of a post-stenotic dilatation). They are encountered especially in the multiple malformations, as shown by this series of 23 cases comprising the syndrome of Noonan (9), of Gorlin or 'leopard' (7), of Watson or 'café-au-lait spots' (3), or those defying classification, but always having a disorder of facial structure and mental deficiency, sometimes with deafness (4). The frequent finding of a gradually progressive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a feature of these syndromes, and usually accounts for the abnormal ECG findings. It leads to a discussion of the pathogenesis, and of the place of these syndromes in a wider context, alongside the phacomatoses and the hereditary forms of neuromuscular degeneration.


[Right juxtaposition of the atria. Apropos of one case without associated trunco-conal abnormalities]. A child of 7 had coarctation of the aorta and an atrial septal defect. In the course of surgery to close the septal defect, she was found to have a right-sided juxtaposition of the appendages. This is a very rare abnormality, with no symptoms of its own, but usually associated with severe cardiac malformations especially of the truncus and conus. This case report is most unusual because of the right-sided disposition of the appendages and the absence of any serious associated cardiac lesion.


[Ostium primum and mitral cleft and aortic subvalvular stenosis. Apropos of 2 operated cases]. The two case reports are of children of 10 and 8 years of age with an ostium primum defect, with a mitral cleft and a stenotic fibrous ring below the aortic orifice. In the first case, the cause of the obstruction to left ventricular ejection was found at catheterisation, and in the second case it was an operative finding. In both cases there were large gradients, about 100 mmHg. The subaortic blockage was resected in both cases. A review of the literature has not revealed any similar case.


[Lack of attachment of the superior vena cava to the mediastinum. Apropos of 2 cases]. Two cases in which the superior venae cavae ran an extramediastinal course are presented. This abnormality, which was discovered on catheterisation, had no haemodynamic consequences. It consisted of two superior venae cavae with little or no intermediate trunk; this explains the lack of attachment' of the superior venae cavae to the mediastinum.


[Double mitral orifice with a single atrium. Apropos of a case with functionally normal mitral valve]. The authors report a case with a double mitral orifice associated with a single auricle; it was operated on successfully. It was unnecessary to carry out any surgical procedure on the mitral valve itself, as it was functioning normally. A review of the literature follows.


[Pulmonary stenosis with tricuspid insufficiency in the child]. The authors report 3 cases of pulmonary stenosis with an intact interventricular septum and tricuspid incompetence. The tricuspid regurgitation was corrected in all 3 cases. After recalling the clinical features, they emphasize the importance of seeking for this condition and correcting it in every case if the immediate and long-term results are to be satisfactory.


[Cellular immunity in protein-caloric malnutrition]. In order to have a clearer idea on the relationship between infectious diseases and malnutrition, cellular immunity is studied in 3 to 18 months old malnourished and healthy infants. Nutritional status is evaluated by the food intake the anthropologic measurements and some biological parameters like transferrin. Cellular immunity is investigated by skin tests to tuberculin, monilia, P.H.A. and DNCB. Absolute number of peripheral lymphocytes and percentage of T cells are studied too. The results show that there is a cellular immunity deficiency: frequent non-response to antigens, weak sensitization to DNCB. Some patients have a low percentage of spontaneous rosettes. The transferrin titering is useful to appreciate the nutritional status and the iron therapy opportunity, the prognostic and the immunitary possibilities.


[Continuous enteral feeding in children. Technic and indications in 170 cases from 1969 to 1975]. 170 children with severe undernutrition of whom 153 were babies, received continuous gastrointestinal infusion from a minimum of 3 weeks to a maximum of 18 months. Eighteen died as a result of the primary disease: results were considered very satisfactory in 148 children whilst 4 were still dependent on the technique 24 months later. In 65% of cases it was necessary to precede this intestinal infusion by intravenous feeding through a caval catheter. The authors discuss the choice of site of the infusion and the composition of the infusate according to the nature of the underlying intestinal disorder. The general and gastrointestinal indications both medical and surgical, are discussed in detail.


[Cytological structure of the thymus gland in mature monkeys]. Histological sections of the thymus were studied morphometrically in 5 rhesus monkeys and 3 hamadryas baboons. The ratio of square surfaces of the cortical and cerebral substance, the percentage of Hassall's corpuscles and cellular elements (lymphocytes, stromal elements, blasts etc.) were established in the organ. Individual and species peculiarities of the structure of thymus elements were found. Less amount of parenchyma and growth of the stroma in baboons and a greater mitotic complex in rhesus monkeys show more pronounced involution processes in baboons.


Hormonal basis of proceptivity and receptivity in female primates. The role played by steroid hormones in regulating the sexual behavior of female primates is reviewed, with emphasis placed on experiments using nonhuman species. A distinction is made between the effects of hormones on female proceptivity (i.e., behaviors which incite mounting activity in the male) and receptivity (i.e., willingness to accept male mounting attempts). The rationale for distinguishing between proceptivity and receptivity is discussed, and the methods used for measuring each are described. Evidence shows that estrogen of ovarian origin facilitates sexual interaction primarily by stimulating the emission of non-behavioral cues which increase the female's sexual attractivity (i.e., the value of a female as a sexual stimulant for a male). Evidence is presented suggesting that ostrogen may enhance proceptivity by acting on the female's central nervous system; however, there is no clear demonstration that estrogen affects neural mechanisms controlling receptivity. Experiments show that proceptivity and to a lesser extent receptivity are modulated by adrenal androgens, and the possibility is raised that adrenal androgens may act synergistically with estrogen to facilitate sexual behavior. A disruptive effect of progesterone on sexual interaction is described, and evidence is presented suggesting that this effect of progesterone results primarily from a reduction in sexual attractivity caused by the action of the hormone in the female's vagina. Other literature indicates that proceptivity is often maximal at the periovulatory period of the female primate's menstrual cycle whereas cyclic variations in receptivity occur infrequently. Most hormone-dependent changes in sexual interaction associated with the menstrual cycle seem to result from fluctuations in nonbehavioral attributes of female sexual attractivity. The problem of distinguishing between the effects of steroid hormones on proceptivity and receptivity in human females is discussed.


Listeria monocytogenes endophthalmitis.

Listeria monocytogenes endophthalmitis. Listeria monocytogenes and a staphylococcus organism caused a catastrophic endophthalmitis in a patient despite appropriate local and systemic antimicrobial chemotherapy. Although L monocytogenes is widespread in nature and has produced a variety of clinical illnesses, it has only one previously been reported to cause endophthalmitis. If appropriate microbiologic techniques are not employed, the organism may go unrecognized as an ocular pathogen.


Effect of age and of screening pigment mutations on the phototactic behavior of Drosophila melanogaster. Five different eye color mutations of Drosophila melanogaster have been tested for their effect on phototactic behavior. All five mutations seem to cause flies to be less photonegative than Canton-S control flies. The mutation sepia was found to produce this effect when heterozygous as well. It was also found that wild-type flies from highly photopositive and photonegative strains seem to be more photoneutral with age.


A mutation which changes courtship song in Drosophila melanogaster. A mutant Drosophila melanogaster with an aberrant courtship song has been isolated. The interval between pulses and the length of the pulses are increased. The pulses are polycyclic rather than monocyclic. Flight wingbeat and sine song frequency remain unchanged. The mutation is mapped and fate-mapped. The results from the latter investigation are inconclusive.


Immune responses of chickens fed the androgen analog mibolerone. Mibolerone, an androgen analog (17 beta-hydroxy-7-alpha, 17-dimethylestr-4-en-3-one), induces a slow but progressive involution of the bursa of Fabricius when fed to chickens at microng levels during the first 7 weeks of life. Chickens receiving mibolerone remained immunologically competent, evidenced by: 1) their antibody response to nonreplicating antigens and infectious antigens; 2) the number of antibody-producing cells in their spleens; 3) the stimulation of their peripheral leukocytes with the plant mitogen phytohemagglutinin; and 4) their capacity to resist challenge with Marek's disease virus and Newcastle disease virus after vaccinations with turkey herpes-virus and the B-1 LaSota strain. This, coupled with the fact that it prevents experimental lymphoid leukosis, makes mibolerone a potential agent to be used under field conditions for the control of lymphoid leukosis.


Origin of alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase isozymes in Drosophila melanogaster and their functional relationship in the alpha-glycerophosphate cycle. The basis for the differentiation of L-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPDH) into larval and adult isozymes in Drosophila melanogaster was investigated by the correlation of a lack of appearance of each isozyme during development within Drosophila bearing alpha-GPDH "null" alleles and by the study of a putative conversion factor. Conversion studies indicate the presence of a heat-labile RNase-resistant conversion factor present in crude larval extracts with the ability to convert GPDH-1 to GPDH-2 and GPDH-3 but not vice versa. In addition, "null" mutations at the Gpdh locus obliterate all isozymatic species of alpha-GPDH in all developmental stages. These observations suggest that all alpha-GPDH isozymes are the product of a single structural gene and that the multiple forms of this enzyme arise during successive developmental stages through an epigenetic modification of the primary Gpdh+ polypeptide. Finally, observations are reported which bear on the functional divergence of the alpha-glycerophosphate cycle in the adult and larval stage of development.


Isolation and characterization of pteridines from heads of Drosophila melanogaster by a modified thin-layer chromatography procedure. An improved thin-layer chromatography technique is described for the separation of fluorescent compounds found in extracts of heads of Drosophila melanogaster. Eighteen to twenty fluorescent spots are resolved, two of which are xanthurenic acid and 3-hydroxykynurenine, and the remaining spots are presumably pteridines. Of these, nine have been identified and quantitated directly on the chromatograms with a fluorometer. One of the spots present on the chromatogram apparently has not been described previous to this work. Characteristics of this substance, termed "quench spot," are presented, several of which indicate that it may be a pteridine or pteridine derivative.


Mechanism of suppression in Drosophila. V. Localization of the purple mutant of Drosophila melanogaster in the pteridine biosynthetic pathway. The suppressible eye color mutant purple (pr) of Drosophila melanogaster is known to be unable to synthesize a wild-type complement of pteridine eye pigments. This study measures the reduced levels of drosopterins, sepiapterin, and an unidentified presumed pteridine in pr and prbw. Pteridine analyses in double mutants combining pr with one of three other eye color mutants sepia, Henna-recessive3, and prune2, suggest that the metabolic block in pr occurs prior to sepiapterin biosynthesis. Measurements of GTP and GTP cyclohydrolase in pr showed wild-type levels and indicate the metabolic block in pr to be at one of the steps converting dihydroneopterin triphosphate to sepiapterin. Quantitation of pteridines in suppressed purple [su(s)2; pr and pr; su(pr)e3] shows restoration of pteridines to wild-type or nearly wild-type levels.


Mapping of nucleoside phosphorylase (Np-1) and esterase 10 (Es-10) on mouse chromosome 14. A method for detecting two alleles at Np-1 (nucleoside phosphorylase) and three alleles at Es-10 (esterase 10) from mouse blood by cellulose acetate electrophoresis is described. The allelic constitution at these loci for 44 inbred strains and stocks was determined. The location of Np-1 on chromosome 14 was established by backcross experiments in which alleles at Np-1 and Robertsonian translocations were segregating. Es-10 was shown to be linked to Np-1, and the following genetic map of Chr 14 was constructed: centromere-(8.9 +/- 4.0 cM)-[Np-1, Wc]-(10.2 +/- 1.9 cM)-Es-10-(15.5 +/- 3.7 cM)-s. The homologous human loci, NP and ES-D, are not linked.


Proteoglycan populations of baboon (Papio papio) articular cartilage. 1. Gel electrophoresis of proteoglycans extracted with use of 4 M-guanidinium chloride from baboon (Papio papio) articular cartilage and purified on DEAE-cellulose in 8 M-urea yielded three bands on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide/agarose gels: two wide bands close together (I and II) and a third, thinner and more rapidly moving band (III). 2. Gel electrophoresis of fractions from direct 'dissociative' gradients showed that these bands were partially separated (buoyant density of I greater than II greater than III). 3. Reduction and alkylation of proteoglycans did not alter either the gel-electrophoretic pattern or the distribution of the bands in the fractions of the gradient. 4. Band III was found in the upper third of 'associative' gradients but not in the bottom fraction, which yielded after dissociation only bands I and II. 5. The third band was completely extracted for 24h with an iso-osmotic solution, but was contaminated with bands I and II. The second extraction step with 4M-guanidinium chloride yielded only bands I and II. 6. The data strongly suggest the presence in the articular cartilage of several populations of dissociated proteoglycans differing in gel-electrophoretic migration, buoyant density and aggregation capacity.


The phospholipid-dependence of uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase. Phospholipid depletion and re-activation of guinea-pig liver microsomal enzyme. More than 80% of the phospholipid component of guinea-pig liver microsomal membranes (prepared with 154mM-KCl) was removed by treatment with phospholipase A followed by extraction of the lysophosphatides and fatty acids produced with albumin. Delipidation strongly inactivated the highly active UDP-glucuronyltransferase of these preparations and activity was restored by mixtures of phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylchlone. However, small quantities of lysophosphatides were still associated with the delipidated fractions after extraction with albumin and might have influenced the inactivation and re-activation observed. To eliminate these uncertainties, microsomal proteins and phospholipids were separated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-150 in the presence of cholate. This technique also strongly inactivated the enzyme but did not generate membrane-active phospholipid degradation products. High transferase activity was again restored to the delipidated protein by choline glycerophosphatides. These results confirm the view that the fully active form of microsomal UDP-glucuronyltransferase is phospholipid-dependent.


Enzyme instability and proteolysis during the purification of an alcohol dehydrogenase from Drosophila melanogaster. The alcohol dehydrogenase of the Drosophila melanogaster adhUF allele (alloenzyme with ultra-fast electrophoretic mobility) was unstable in crude or partially purified preparations. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated that inactivation was porbably due to proteolytic degradation, and new method of purification of the enzyme was developed. After three steps, namely salmine sulphate precipitation, hydroxyapatite chromatography and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, a 10-fold purified preparation was obtained. The enzyme produced was relatively stable compared with alcohol dehydrogenase purified by other methods, and was shown to be proteinase-free. The enzyme had a subunit mol.wt. of 24000 and had a single thiol residue per subunit available for titration with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The amino acid composition and C-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme were determined. The substrate specificity of this alcohol dehydrogenase was also characterized. These results are discussed in relation to experiments on the evolutionary significance of thermostability at the adh locus.


[New aspects of treatment of hemodynamic complications in acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]. Following a description of hemodynamic and metabolic effects of an acute myocardial infarction, indications for a therapy with furosemide, isosorbiddinitrate, digitalis, canrenoate-potassium, and dopamine and the results thereof are discussed. Special consideration is given to the question of vasodilatory treatment with nitroprusside, phentolamine, and nitroglycerin infusion.


Cardiac arrest temperature: the effect of ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide on baboons. The effect of high inspired carbon dioxide concentrations and i.v. ethyl alcohol on the temperature at which cardiac arrest occurred was studied in chacma baboons. Alcohol-treated baboons developed cardiac arrest at a temperature of 24.3 degrees C (SD +/- 0.85) and control animals at 27 degrees C (SD +/- 1.30). There were no signs of cardiac failure before the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation.


Metabolism of 7,12,-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene by normal and regenerating rat livers. The in vitro metabolisms of [14C]7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) by post-mitochondrial supernates and microsomes from intact and regenerating rat livers were compared. Both cell fractions from regenerating livers at 48, 72, and 96 h after partial hepatectomy metabolized less [14C]DMBA than similar fractions from intact livers. Prior in vivo treatment with DMBA enhanced metabolism by the cell fractions from both groups, but specific activities of cell fractions from regenerating livers were always about 60% or less of those from intact livers. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis of metabolites formed in incubations using either cell fraction failed to reveal distinct differences between ether-soluble or water-soluble products of similar fractions from intact and regenerating livers. However, highly reproducible differences were found between chromatograms of water-soluble metabolites formed by microsomes and post-mitochondrial supernates in both intact and regenerating livers. Extrapolations from these studies indicate large differences in the metabolic capacity of intact and regenerating livers when expressed on a whole-liver basis, but it is suggested that there may be additional factors contributing to the increased retention of DMBA by regenerating livers.


Two-stage carcinogenesis with rat embryo cells in tissue culture. Transformation of rat embryo fibroblasts in vitro has been investigated using initiation with either benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), 7,12-dimethylbena(a)anthracent (DMBA) or benzo(e)pyrene (BeP) and promotion with either phorbol ester (TPA) or croton oil (Cr.Oil). The criteria used to assess in vitro transformation were (a) the efficiency of cloning in liquid medium, (b) abnormal cellular morphology and (c) the development of malignant tumours following s.c. inoculation of newborn rats. The results show that the cloning efficiency, which remained low in the control cells, was increased to a variable extent in the treated groups. Transformation occurred in all groups, but occurred earliest in cells that were initiated and promoted. Initiation with DMBA or BaP and promotion with TPA or Cr.Oil led to the earliest acquisition of malignancy. Correlations were found between the transformation of cells in vitro and the acquisition of malignant potential, and between the carcinogenic action of the compounds in vitro and their action in vivo, but cloning efficiency was not a reliable indicator of in vitro transformation or of malignancy. In most cases in vitro transformation appeared to precede the acquisition of malignancy, but in two cases it occurred later. The studies also show that BeP, which is a tumour initiator in vivo, also acts in this way in vitro. The conclusion drawn from a discussion of these results and of two-stage carcinogenesis in vivo is that two-stage carcinogenesis can be reproduced in tissue culture; this model may be useful in studies of those mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis that involve the processes of initiation and promotion.


A severe necrotic enterotoxin produced by certain food, food poisoning and other clinical isolates of Bacillus cereus. The ability of certain strains of Bacillus cereus consistently to elaborate a filterable non-dialysable toxin capable of causing severe disruption and necrosis of the intestinal mucosa and submucosa is confirmed. This property is not universal to all B. cereus strains and different degrees of production of this toxin are exhibited by the different strains which produce it. The necrotic effect is produced by whole-cell cultures of the toxin producing strains in broth and in boiled rice. Some characteristics of this necrotic toxin are described and its relationship with the diarrhoeal and other known B. cereus toxins is discussed.


Immunofluorescence studies in primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis. Immunofluorescence studies were carried out on 47 patients with primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis. The majority had the macular, maculopapular or papular forms of lichen amyloidosus, although 3 patients had the nodular type. All biopsies fluoresced positively for immunoglobulins or complement, particularly IgM and C3. Staining for kappa and lambda light chains was positive. The consistent immunofluorescent patterns observed were similar in some respects to lichen planus, suggesting that colloid bodies and amyloid may share similar properties in acting as a filamentous sponge on to which immunoglobulins and complement are absorbed. The pathogenesis of lichen amyloidosus is compared with that of lichen planus.


Acquired zinc deficiency disease of skin. Two patients, who were on long term parenteral hyperalimentation, developed skin lesions similar to those seen in acrodermatitis enteropathica. Both patients were treated with oral zinc sulphate and their skin lesions cleared completely. These patients are presented as an acquired zinc deficiency syndrome.


Immune haemolytic anaemia and renal failure induced by streptomycin. A case of acute immune haemolytic anaemia and renal failure induced by streptomycin, is reported. The clinical features are similar to those in a case previously reported in which no in vitro proof of antibodies was obtained. In this case, streptomycin-specific IgG antibodies, with both k and lambda light chains, could be demonstrated. The streptomycin bound strongly to the red cell membrane, apparently through chemical groups related to the M antigen and possibly also to the D antigen. Complement-fixation by the drug-specific IgG antibodies, after reaction with the streptomycin-coated red cells, could also be demonstrated. On the basis of these findings, our conclusion is that a complement-fixing hapten-cell mechanism was the main cause of the intravascular haemolytic episode suffered by the patient on exposure to streptomycin. This drug had been prescribed 15 years earlier for pulmonary tuberculosis and he had since injected himself with it whenever he felt "flu" symptoms, without harmful effects, until now.


Reticulum fibres in relation to retinal vessels. Argyrophilic perivascular and intervascular fibres in the mammalian retina are shown by specific antireticulin immunofluorescence to consist of reticulin. The possible significance of these findings is briefly discussed.


Immunochemical characterization of a polyclonal human antibody to factor IX. Inhibitors of clotting factors occuring in humans are often antibody molecules synthesized in response to exogeneous proteins used in replacement therapy. Extensive studies of inhibitors to factor VIII indicate such antibodies may be monoclonal or polyclonal in nature. To date, only one factor IX inhibitor has been subjected to detailed immunochemical analysis and it appears to be a monoclonal IgGA lambda antibody. We have discovered a second inhibitor of factor IX in a patient with severe hemophilia B and have subjected it to immunochemical analysis. Studies on this second inhibitor have been carried out before and after an anamnestic response. Column chromatography, preparative zone electrophoresis, and specific inhibitor neutralization assays using monospecific heterologous antisera to human immunoglobulin classes, subclasses, and light-chain types indicate that the antibody is of the IgG class and contains both kappa and lambda light chains and probably all four IgG subclasses. Thus, the inhibitor appears to be polyclonal by immunochemical and structural criteria. In addition, preparative isoelectric focusing of pre- and postanamnestic inhibitor samples indicates that recruitment of new clones of IgG antibody occurs as a result of anamnesis. It is conceivable that an antibody initially restricted in immunoglobulin subclass became polyclonal following an anamnestic response.


Comparative studies on monotypic IgM lambda and IgG kappa from an individual patient. IV. Immunofluorescent evidence for a common clonal synthesis. Previous studies have presented evidence of shared idiotypic antigenic determinants located within the variable (VH) region of the heavy chains of monotypic IgMlambda and IgGkappa isolated from the serum of an individual patient, Bro, with Waldenström macroglobulinemia. Comparative N-terminal VH sequence analyses have demonstrated that the respective micron and gamma chains belong to separate VH subgroups. The entire VH sequence of the Bro micron chain has been reported, but the VH sequence of the Bro gamma chain still awaits completion. We report the results of an immunofluorescent analysis of cytoplasmic Ig of lymphoid cells isolated from the patient's peripheral blood and bone marrow. Between 6% and 9% of the cytoplasmic Ig-positive lymphoid cells exhibited fluorescent evidence for the dual presence of kappa and lambda chains are well as micron and gamma chains. These results strongly suggest that the idiotypically related Bro IgMlambda and IgGkappa paraproteins are derived from a common clonal origin. Moreover, these findings extend the results of a previous study that has demonstrated the dual presence of IgGkappa and IgGlambda paraproteins within individual myeloma plasma cells. Collectively, these studies suggest that a single neoplastic lymphoid clone may not necessarily be restricted to the synthesis of Ig proteins of the identical light chain class. These findings may have a broad implication for the understanding of surface and cytoplasmic Ig markers of neoplastic lymphoid cells in certain other lymphoproliferative disorders.


An unusual case of leukemia with high fetal hemoglobin: demonstration of abnormal hemoglobin synthesis localized in a red cell clone. A high level of fetal hemoglobin was found in an 8-yr-old boy without any hematologic disorders except for a moderate anemia. The absence of hemoglobin abnormalities in the parents led us to suspect a latent malignant disease that, on follow-up, was confirmed to be myelomonocytic leukemia. Hemoglobin biosynthetic studies provided evidence of unbalanced synthesis of globin subunits by reticulocytes, while the production of non-alpha chains was equal to that of alpha chains in bone marrow cells. The expression of red cell antigen i was increased, while those of I, A, and A1 antigens were found to decrease progressively. Two populations of erythrocytes, A-positive and A-negative, were distinguished and could be separated by differential agglutination. Unbalanced globin chain synthesis, increased fetal hemoglobin, and antigenic changes of the membrane were shown to be restricted to the A-negative population. The biologic data were not entirely consistent with a genuine reversion to fetal erythropoiesis. The question remains of a polychromosomal lesion of either quiescent F cells or adult stem cells.


Treatment of atopic eczema in children: clinical trial of 10% sodium cromoglycate ointment. In a double-blind randomised group-comparative trial 21 children with chronic atopic eczema were treated twice daily for up to 12 weeks with an ointment containing 10% sodium cromoglycate (SCG) in white soft paraffin. A similar group of 21 children was treated for up to 12 weeks with a placebo ointment consisting of the white soft-paraffin base only. The number of patients who withdrew from the trial because treatment was ineffective was significantly greater in the placebo group (16) than in the SCG group (four). Comparison between the two groups also showed significant improvement in inflammation, lichenification, and cracking and the symptoms of itching and sleep disturbance among those on SCG treatment. At the end of treatment significantly more patients in the SCG group (16) had benefited from treatment compared with only two patients in the placebo group. No patients experienced side effects. I conclude that SCG ointment may be a safe alternative to topical steroids in the treatment of atopic eczema in children.


Unnecessary polypharmacy for epilepsy.

Unnecessary polypharmacy for epilepsy. A retrospective survey of 50 adult epileptic outpatients who were taking two anticonvulsants drugs showed that seizure control had improved in the six months after the introduction of the second drug in only 36%. When blood concentrations of the two anticonvulsants were subsequently measured improvement in seizure control was found to be significantly related to the presence of optimum blood concentrations of at least one drug. Much unnecessary polypharmacy in the treatment of epilepsy could be avoided by ensuring an optimum blood concentration of one drug before considering the addition of a second.


Primary amenorrhoea: the ambiguous non-entity. Hypothalamic-pituitary activity was investigated in 20 women with primary amenorrhoea, in whom gonadal dysgenesis and lower Müllerian duct anomalies had been excluded. There was no specific or uniform pattern of response to luteinising hormone-releasing hormone and no evidence of a common defect at pituitary-hypothalamic level to account for the absence of spontaneous menstruation. Six women had hyperprolactinaemia; of these five had radiological evidence of pituitary enlargement. The conventional distinction between "primary" and "secondary" amenorrhoea should be abandoned, and, in common with current practice for other endocrine glands, primary amenorrhoea should indicate an abnormality of the gonad itself and secondary amenorrhoea an abnormality that results from hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction.


Menstruation and control of diabetes.

Menstruation and control of diabetes. Seventy per cent of the patients aged 45 years or under and suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis who were seen in one diabetic clinic over five years were women. The association of menstruation with ketoacidosis was assessed over two and a half years, and it was found that menstruation was associated with ketoacidosis more often than would be expected by chance (P less than 0-01). Two hundred women were interviewed and 76 observed that menstruation changed their diabetic control. Fifty-three found that control deteriorated and hyperglycaemia occurred, while 23 found that control improved and hypoglycaemia was a common problem. Menstruation appears to be an important factor in influencing control of diabetes. The mechanism of the changes observed has not yet been determined, but it seems to be a subject worthy of further investigation.


Detection and identification of gonococcal L-Forms using a direct immunofluorescence test. A fluorescent antibody test was used to identify L-Forms of N. gonorrhoeae induced in vitro. It was possible to differentiate the Large Bodies of the L-Forms from parent gonococci and the fluorescent reaction remained specific in the presence of tissue culture cells. A possible method to identify L-Forms of gonococci from patients presenting with postgonococcal urethritis is described.


Problems posed by potential gonococcal vaccines viewed from the vantage point of a control agency. Progress in the characterisation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and other bacterial pathogens has suggested that immunoprophylaxis for gonorrhoea may be possible despite the well-known propensity for reinfection. Pili, outer membrane proteins, a capsular polysaccharide, and the lipopolysaccharide may be important gonococcal virulence factors, and immune components (probably antibodies) to more than one of these antigens may be required to confer immunity. A study of antigenic polymorphism of these structures should identify disease isolates more precisely and provide information about the relationship between variants of these gonococcal structures and gonococcal virulence.


Form deprivation without light deprivation produces the visual deprivation syndrome in Macaca mulatta. The previously reported arrest of cell growth in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) following unilateral lid suture during visual immaturity in cats, dogs and monkeys could be caused by deprivation of light or form vision, binocular interaction or a combination of these factors. The lens was surgically removed from one eye of 3 macaques during the first month of life. Quantitative histologic comparison between LGN laminae connected with the phakic and aphakic eye revealed reductions of cell sizes in the monocular and binocular LGN segments receiving input from the aphakic eye of a magnitude comparable to that obtained by the lid suture technique. Since the amount of light stimulating the retina through an aphakic pupil is not reduced, we conclude that light deprivation can be excluded as a cause for arrest of cell growth in the LGN.


Goitres in rats fed polychlorinated biphenyls. Rats fed a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixture in a high- or low-iodine diet (HID or LID respectively) for 15 days had thyroid enlargement, low serum thyroxine (T4), and high serum thyrotropin concentrations. Although binding of thyroid hormones to serum proteins was reduced in PCB-fed animals, the free T4 index (reflecting free T4 in serum) was less in these rats. Both serum triiodothyronine (T3) and the free T3 index were elevated in rats fed PCB in HID. LID-maintained rats elevated serum T3 concentrations but the free T3 index was similar to that in HID-fed rats, owing to enhanced binding of thyroid hormone to serum proteins. Addition of PCB to LID reduced serum T3 levels but did not alter the free T3 index because binding was less. In rats fed HID containing PCB, thyroid 131I uptake was increased.


Similar C-phycocyanins from two strains of thermotolerant cyanophyte Mastigocladus laminousus. C-phycocyanin from two strains of the thermotolerant blue-green alga, Mastigocladus laminosus (NZ-DB2-m and I-30-m), that grow within different temperature ranges have been characterized with respect to aggregation, immunologic properties, subunit composition, and thermodenaturation. The critical thermal-denaturation temperature for phycocyanin from both strains of M. laminosus phycocyanin is 60 degrees C which is higher than that for mesophilic phyococyanin. Immunodiffusion studied have shown that these two strains of M. laminosus exhibit no antigenic differences and are closely related to the mesophilic Plectonema calothricoides and the thermophilic Synechococcus lividus (strains 3). Neither phenol nor alpha-naphthol has any effect on phycocyanin aggregation in these two strains of M. laminosus. There is also no enhancement of formation of large aggregates at their elevated temperature of cultivation. Furthermore, the phycocyanin of both strains of M. laminosus does not demonstrate any large amount of 19S or higher aggregates at any pH value. These observations suggest that the mode of adaptation of M. laminosus phycocyanin to high temperature is differnet from the previously encountered. It is also important to note that phycocyanin is essentially unchanged whether it is extracted from the same strain, M. laminosus (NZ-DBS-m), grown at either 50 degrees C or 37 degrees C.


Allantoinase and allantoicase synthesis in Pseudomonas aerguinosa. Allantoinase (allantoin amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.2.5.) and allanoicase (allantoate amidinohydrolase, EC 3.5.3.4) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are inducible enzymes, whose syntheses are enhanced by the presence of allantoin, allantoate, ureidoglycolate, N-carbamoyl-L-asparagine, N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate, hydantoate, and diureidomethane. For each compound a specific ratio between the activities of allantoinase and allantoicase was obtained. The synthesis of these enzymes is not coordinately controlled. N-Carbamoyl-L-aspartate, hydantoate, and diureidomethane are gratuitous inducers.


Natural occurrence of sterigmatocystin in in-shell pecans. The natural occurrence of sterigmatocystin (S) in in-shell pecans is reported. Aspergillus versicolor was not isolated from contaminated samples. Incidence of A. flavus and A. glaucus, species known to produce sterigmatocystin under laboratory conditions, was high (43 and 35%, respectively). Isolation data suggest sterigmatocystin may have been produced by one or both of these species.


The nature of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO bacteriophage receptors. Receptors for phages specific to Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO were studied. Phages 16, 44, 109, F8, and PBI are lipopolysaccharide (LPS) specific as shown by neutralization tests. The PhI50's of the LPS, adsorption rate constants with strain PAO and the plaque morphologies of these five phages were quite similar. Phages 1214 and 7 also appear to be LPS-specific on the basis of host-range studies. Phage 73 is pilus-specific, while phages 21 and 68 fall into a group which does not attach to pili, flagella, or LPS. A theoretical approach to the interpretation of phage-cell interactions is presented.


Antagonistic interactions of phylloplane bacteria with Drechslera dictyoides (Drechslera) Shoemaker. Strains of Listeria denitrificans (E2), Pseudomonas fluorescens (C37 and C92), and Xanthomonas campestris (D119), isolated from the phylloplane of Lolium perenne (S24), were antagonistic to Drechslera dictyoides (Drechslera) Shoemaker. From in vitro and in vivo experiments it was deduced that their mode of activity included an initial inhibition of spore germination, a retardation in the rate of germ-tube elongation, and ultimately lysis of the hyphae. The effects were expressed on the plant in terms of reduced levels of disease symptoms and sporulation.


[Destruction of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in milk by spray-drying. I. Selective count of surviving bacteria]. In this paper a method which allows the measure of microbial death rate during spray-drying by means of a streptomycin-resistant mutant that can be grown on a streptomycin-containing agar is described. Plate counts of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus recovered from skim milk powders were done on plate count agar in the presence and absence of streptomycin and on various selective media. The powders were produced from evaporated milk previously inoculated with those organisms. Our results showed that the proposed method allows the recovery of 78% of M. lacticum, 61% of E. coli, and 100% of S. aureus that survived spray-drying. Recoveries of surviving E. coli on violet bile agar and brilliant green bile 2% were 34% and 29% respectively. Baird-Parker and mannitol salt agar media allow the recovery of all surviving S. aureus, thus showing that S. aureus cells did not lose their ability to grow in media containig 7.5% NaCl. Our results show that physiological injury of the cells during spray-drying differs from injury due to heating only.


[Destruction of Microbacterium lacticum, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in milk by sprayedrying. II. Effect of drying conditions]. Bacterial death during spray drying of skim milk is essentially related to the outlet temperature of the spray drier and the type of bacteria. Under industrial spray drying conditions, survival rates of Microbacterium lacticum, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were 50, 2, and 0.002%, respectively. These rates may vary by a 10(4) factor for outlet temperatures between 65 and 105 degrees C. No simple mathematical equation could be derived to describe the relation between bacterial death rates and outlet temperature. Our results suggest that bacterial death is due in most cases to a heating effect during the last stages of drying when the temperature of the powder particle approaches that of the air at the outlet.


The orthonitrophenyl-beta-D-galactoside hydrolase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0: 11 serotypes) is a superficial enzyme. About 95% fo the 0: 11 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was able to hydrolyze orthonitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG), but was unable to use lactose. The ONPG-hydrolyzing enzyme was located essentially in the periplasm, as seen by biochemical and ultrastructural studies.


Experimental pulmonary infection of mice by tracheal intubation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: the use of antineoplastic agents to overcome natural resistance. Tracheal intubation of viable Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 19660 into the lungs of mice had no significant effect on the animals even with administration of organisms as high as 5.0 X 10(9) CFU. Animals treated with a single injection of an antineoplastic drug were, however, susceptible to bacterial challenge into the lungs. LD50 values of 4.1 X 10(7), 4.8 X 10(7), and 1.0 X 10(8) CFU were obtained when animals were simultaneously infected and treated with methotrexate, vincristine sulfate, or cytosine arabinoside, respectively.


Plasma exchange in the long-term management of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. Two patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), which had become resistant to cytotoxic drugs, were treated for features of the hyperviscosity syndrome by repeated plasma exchange with the continuous-flow blood-cell separator over periods of 36 and 28 months, respectively. After four initial weekly plasma exchanges the procedure was carried out every 4 to 6 weeks and both patients tolerated it well. Relative viscosity of the serum was maintained within the normal range in one patient, and both patients remained free of symptoms of the hyperviscosity syndrome. The results suggest that treatment of WM by long-term "maintenance" plasma exchange alone should be considered in any patient with complications due to chemotherapy or whose disease fails to respond to chemotherapy.


Clinical and laboratory study of tobramycin in the treatment of infections due to gram-negative organisms. Tobramycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, was used to treat 52 infections due to gram-negative organisms in 51 patients. Complicated urinary tract infections, bacteremia and pyelonephritis accounted for 80% of the infections. The rate of immediate satisfactory response was 79%. During therapy with tobramycin, resistant organisms emerged in four patients--two Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two Escherichia coli strains. There were four superinfections with tobramycin-resistant Providencia sp. In four seriously ill patients the serum creatinine concentration increased 1 mg/dL or more; in three the increase was transient. No auditory toxicity was noted in the 19 patients in whom serial audiograms were made. In vitro testing of isolates from these patients showed that tobramycin and gentamicin had equal activity against Enterobacteriaceae. Tobramycin was two to four times more active against susceptible P. aeruginosa.


Megaloblastic anemia in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition without folic acid or vitamin B12 supplementation. Pancytopenia developed in four patients receiving postoperatively total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Symptoms and signs were related mainly to underlying bowel disease. Hematologic abnormalities, first noted from 4 to 7 weeks following institution of TPN, consisted of normocytic anemia (mean decrease in hemoglobin value, 2.2 g/dL), occasional macrocytes being noted, leukopenia (range of leukocyte counts, 1.2 to 3.6 X 10(9) L), some hypersegmented neutrophils being detected, and clinically significant thrombocytopenia (range of platelet counts, 25 to 52 X 10(9)/L). In all patients the bone marrow showed megaloblastic changes, with ring sideroblasts, although pyridoxine was included in the TPN regimens. Serum vitamin B12 values were normal in one patient and at the lower limit of normal in the other two patients in whom it was measured, while serum or erythrocyte folate values, or both, were reduced in three patients. Full hematologic response was observed in the four patients after folic acid replacement therapy; leukocytosis and thrombocytosis were noted in three. Thus, folic acid and possibly vitamin B12 should be added routinely to TPN regimens to prevent deficiency of either substance.


Parenteral nutritional support in children with cancer. Acute and chronic starvation is often associated with childhood cancer. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) with 20% glucose and 3.0% amino acids, and minerals and vitamins was instituted to treat or prevent malnutrition in 41 children with cancer, ages three months to 18 years. TPN was required for anorexia, vomiting and diarrhea associated with anti-cancer therapy in 33 patients for intestinal complications or surgery in nine, and for preoperative correction of malnutrition in two. During TPN, general nutrition and appearance improved in all patients. Weight gain was noted in most. Despite gastrointestinal complications which usually require the interruption of chemotherapy and irradiation, in 21 children treatment could be continued at full dose with nutritional support by TPN. TPN was discontinued in six patients when blood cultures became positive. Sepsis was treated successfully by removal of the central venous catheter in all six and administration of antibiotics in three. No metabolic complications were noted. TPN appears to be a safe and effective means of combating the malnutrition which may occur with cancer and its therapy.


Influence of oral contraceptives on breast diseases. Three sources of information are available pertaining to the effect of oral contraceptive hormones on the breast: 1) toxicity experiments in animals; 2) histologic examinations of breast tissue from women taking hormones; and 3) epidemiologic studies of women using hormones. Animals treated with hormones at doses equivalent to the human contraceptive level have not developed cancer of the breast at a greater than expected frequency. Monkeys, the one experimental animal with a reproductive cycle similar to humans, have not developed cancer during long-term hormone administration except for a single animal which likely represents a chance occurrence. In humans, histologic studies of breast tissue have failed to identify abnormalities which could be attributed to hormones with rare exceptions of secretory change indistinguishable from normal lactating breast. Epidemiologic studies have usually shown a decreased frequency of benign breast disease and neither an increase nor a decrease in carcinoma of the breast. The one exception to the latter statement is a possible increased risk of cancer in long-term users who have had previous surgery for benign breast disease.


Treatment of carcinoma of the breast by radiation therapy. One hundred and fifty patients with carcinoma of the breast were treated by radiation therapy without mastectomy. Seventy-seven patients had excisional biopsy of the breast mass while the remainder had incisional biopsy or needle biopsy. There has been 100% local control in patients with Stage I or Stage II disease. The local control rate in Stage III is 67.5%. Those patients who had excisional biopsy had a significantly lower incidence of local recurrence than did those in whom the tumor was left in situ. The cumulative survival probability at five years is 100% for Stage I, 65% for Stage II and 26% for Stage III. Recommendations are made concerning axillary node sampling and adjuvant chemotherapy for patients treated by this technique.


Clinical observations on sixty-nine cases of in situ carcinoma of the urinary bladder. In the course of screening 35,000 urological outpatients with urine cytological examinations, cytological indication of cancer was found in 106 patients in the absence of a cystoscopically visible bladder tumor. Sixty-nine of the 106 patients have biopsy-proven in situ carcinoma of the bladder, all transitional in type and anaplastic. Follow-up data on effects of therapy are available on 58 patients treated by various means, including total cystectomy, partial cystectomy, transurethral fulguration, intravesical thiotepa, and external radiation. The duration of symptoms before diagnosis was remarkably long, and the prolonged course of the in situ lesion was also noteworthy. Differences in the observed behavior of in situ bladder carcinoma may be due, in addition to differences in host resistance, to the existence of two pathogenetic forms of bladder cancer, one arising in an extensive field of abnormal epithelium and the other developing in a focal area of abnormality.


The role of intravesical thiotepa in the management of superficial bladder cancer. National Bladder Cancer Collaborative Group A. This report describes and presents some preliminary results from a prospective clinical investigation to determine the ablative effect of thiotepa (N,N',N''-triethylene phosphoramide) on superficial low-stage bladder cancer and the effectiveness of this agent in the prevention of recurrent or new tumors. In the small group of cases studied thus far, therapeutic thiotepa has destroyed superficial cancers in 33 to 36% of the cases, about the same results as those reported by others. It is too early in the study to assess the benefit from the prophylactic use of thiotepa.


Control of shape and pattern during the assembly of a large microtubule bundle. Evidence for a microtubule-nucleating-template. Microtubules are packed and linked together in a well defined hexagonal arrangement in the cytopharyngeal microtubule bundles of the ciliate Nassula. Early stages in the morphogenesis of these bundles have been examined. Elements which nucleate assembly of bundle microtubules are apparently closely associated before tubule assembly commences. These nucleating elements seem to be bound together in highly ordered arrays to form microtubule-nucleating-templetes. Each array of elements is attached to the proximal end of a basal body and appears to establish the pattern of tubule packing and cross-sectional shape of a tubule bundle. A self-assembly procedure which accounts for the anisometric growth and shaping of a template and its microtubule bundle is proposed.


Culture of mammalian prostatic cells.

Culture of mammalian prostatic cells. Preliminary experimental data and concepts oriented toward the achievement of certified primary prostatic cell cultures, normal and/or malignant, for mass distribution are presented. Such monolayer cultures would be established as subcultures from the microcarrier, spin-filter (steady-state) system. The suspension culture of primary cells directly derived from the tissue of origin would be propagated at high cell populations for extended periods of time. The ease of complete monitoring on a sequential basis for conformity to specifications is apparent. The feasibility of the approach appears to have been established. Problems relating to the reduction to practice are detailed.


New agents for prostatic cancer activated specifically by prostatic acid phosphatase. Potential cytotoxic compounds (spindle poisons) are being designed for the treatment of prostatic carcinoma, using the structural requirements of the substrates for prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). Colchicine has been modified in ring C to give colchiceinamides of substituted ethanolamines and ethanolaminephosphates. Another new series of compounds modifying ring B of thiocolchicine have been prepared. Three O-phosphates of the thiocolchicine series have also been made. One has been examined for its specificity toward PAP. Some toxicity data of these compounds in mice have also been reported. Colchiceinamide-(L)-ephedrinephosphate has been examined in stumptail monkeys and some preliminary results are reported here.


Double immunoglobulin production in cloned somatic cell hybrids between two human lymphoid cell lines. Several clones of independently established somatic cell hybrids between two human lymphoid cell lines, Raji and Namalwa, were examined for surface immunoglobulin expression. Double-antibody radioimmunoassays were established for kappa and lambda light chains. Immunoglobulins were detergent-extrated by Triton X-100 and quantified by radioimmunoassay. The Raji parent expressed small amounts of kappa chains on its surface, and the Namalwa parent a 10 fold greater amount of lambda chains. We show that the majority of the hybrid clones co-express both parental phenotypes.


Chemotherapy of human tumors in T-lymphocyte-deficient mice. Human lung, ovarian, colonic, and renal carcinomas have been grown in mice artificially deprived of T-lymphocytes. All grew slowly and were shown to have a human karyotype even after several transplant generations. Their responses to chemotherapy were similar to the expected clinical response with the important exception of hexamethylmelamine which caused complete regression of two lung carcinomas (even when weighing up to 2.5 g at the start of treatment) and a renal carcinoma, while completely inhibiting the growth of an ovarian carcinoma and another lung carcinoma. Measurement of plasma carcinoembryonic antigen levels proved to be of value in assessing drug efficacy.


The influence of Gomphosphaeria aponina on the growth of Gymnodinium breve and the effect of aponin on the ichthyotoxicity of Gymnodinium breve. Cells of the marine blue-green alga Gomphosphaeria aponina survive in mixed culture with the marine dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve (the Florida red tide organism), but G. breve cells lysed within 4-7 days. It has been established that the cytolytic effect of G. aponina, not nutrient competition, is responsible for the decrease in number of cells. The material elaborated by G. aponina has been termed aponin and has been extracted from the cells. The effect of aponin on the ichthyotoxicity of G. breve cultures was measured using Poecilia sphenops, adapted to sea water, as the assay organism. Aponin is not ichthyotoxic toward P. sphenops, though this material, when incubated with G. breve cultures does destroy the cells and increases the ichthyotoxicity of the cultures. At certain concentrations of aponin, the ichthyotoxicity of G. breve cultures appeared to be mitigate d.


[Monoamine oxidase activity of the brain of Locusta migratoria in normal conditions and after intoxication by two insecticides: chlordimeform and dieldrin]. Our investigations have shown up an MAO activity in locust brain, by the use of a radio-isotopic method, as much at larval as at adult stage. This MAO activity is in a sample of 34,3 dpm/mg of brain tissue (wet weight). Investigations have also been undertaken on effects of dieldrin and chlordimeform poisoning on this MAO activity. Even at sublethal dosages, chlordimeform causes a significant inhibition of MAO activity in vivo. This finding is in accordance with Beeman and Matsumura's work in vitro. Moreover, acute poisoning by dieldrin produces more than 60% of inhibition of MAO, 3 hours after administration of 115 microng of this insecticide by injection in the hoemocelian cavity.


[Excitatory effect of the superior colliculus on the motor neurons of extra-ocular muscles of cats]. The synaptic actions which might underline the caccadic eye movements induced by stimulation of the superior colliculus have been studied in the unanesthetized cat "encéphale isolé". Intracellular recordings of extraocular muscle medial rectus motoneurons have revealed a minimally disynaptic excitatory projection from the superior colliculus to the ipsilateral medial rectus motoneurons (latency 1.3 to 2.6 msec).


[The effects of diverse agents (Ca++ and K++  ionophores, organomercurials, dithiols, colchicine, and cytochalasin B) on the maturation and differentiation without cleavage in Chaetopterus eggs]. Induction of maturation in Chaetopterus oocytes requires the presence of Ca++ ions in the medium, but differentiation without cleavage can proceed in the absence of this cation. The Ca++ ionophore A 23187 induces both maturation and the cortical reaction provided that Ca++ ions are present in the medium differentiation without cleavage may follow. Valinomycin slowly induces germinal vesicle breakdown, which is followed by a sharp segregation between hyaloplasm and yolk. PHMPS, but not DTT, induces maturation. Differentiation without cleavage is more sensitive to colchicin than to cytochalasin B.


[Fluorogenic amines in the notochords of chick embryos treated by cholinergics]. The investigation of 3 day old notochords by the fluorescence method of Falck and Owman showed an increase of the fluorescence after treatment of  the chick embryos at 48 hrs of incubation, with nicotine sulfate or carbachol. The addition of norepinephrine or L-Dopa emphasized the formaldehyde induced fluorescence. The simultaneous treatment with a cholinergic agent and atropine, propranolol or reserpine decreased or suppressed the fluorescence. These results demonstrate the existence of a relationship between the treatment with a cholinergic agent and the amount of chordal biogenic amines.


[X-ray diffraction of the collagen contained in blood vessels]. An X-ray diffraction study has been undertaken on Human and Rabbit blood-vessels. Vessels are stretched 500% and the diagrams present a great analogy with those obtained from collagen. Thus, it appears, that it  is possible to determine by X-Rays some pathological anomalies of the collagen in vessels.


[Attempt to express the spontaneous global bacteriolytic power of water]. The utilization of a technique for the determination of spontaneous bacteriolytic power in surface waters has led us to propose a new way of expressing the spontaneous bacteriolytic power of water: PBSG. PBSG allows us to evaluate the intensity of global spontaneous bacteriolysis and to compare the global spontaneous bacteriolytic powers of different water samples.


[Titration of the hemolytic activity of human complement after radial diffusion]. The hemolytic activity of human complement is evaluated after diffusion in agarose containing sensitized erythrocytes. The results show a linear relation between hemolysis area and logarithm of concentration.


[Variations of non conjugated steroids in the amniotic fluid during the last weeks of pregnancy]. Levels of cortisol, estradiol and progesterone were measured in 172 amniotic fluid samples collected by amniocentesis during late pregnancy. An increase in cortisol and estradiol levels was observed three weeks before vaginal delivery of term and premature infants; in both types of delivery, onset of labor was spontaneous. In contrast progesterone levels were only slightly decreased in these cases.


[Variations in the hydrothermic contraction of the rat skin as a function of the age of the animals]. The tension developed in Rat skin by hydrothermal shrinkage is modified with ageing of the animals: the temperature of maximum tension decreases from birth to 1 month, then very slowly increases with age. At higher temperatures than that of maximum tension a relaxation occurs very rapidly in young Rats and in not yet senescent adult skins. These modifications appeared to be related to those of the nature of the intermolecular collagen cross-links with ageing.


[Organization in "barrels" of layer-IV cells of the S1 cortex in the mouse: effects of lesions or deprivation of the mystacial vibrissa]. In newborn mice the mystacial pads of the upper lips were submitted to different destructive or functionally reducing procedures. The effects on the barrels of the somato-sensory cortex were judged in mature animals and classified into 3 categories: 1. the barrels were present and normal; 2. the cortex was devoid of barrel structures; 3. the barrels were disorganized. Only procedures which involved peripheral lesions, and not those which reduced only the functional level, produced effects as deep as absence or disorganization of the barrels.


[Role of granular cells in the placement and distribution of synapses between ascending fibers and Purkinje cells of the rat cerebellum]. The study of rats irradiated during development shows that the establishment of the one-to-one relationship in the adult between climbing fibers and Purkinje cells which follows the immature multiply innervated stage mainly depends on granule cells formed before day 8. Climbing fibers ending upon a multiply innervated cell are intermingled on the same dendritic segments.


[Secretion of insulin and of glucagon by the perfused pancreas of newborn rats: effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide Vip]. A method is described for perifusion of the splenic part of the pancreas from 48-64 hour-old rat. In different basal conditions, the secretion of insulin and glucagon is stable and reproducible for 90 mn. The addition of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) to these perifusion media, at a concentration as low as 2 ng/ml, determines a remarkable increase of insulin and of glucagon secretion. These results suggest the possibility of a VIP action in the physiology of endocrine pancreas.


[Odontogenesis, organogenetic model in teratomas: crown formation]. Using the technique of 3 dimensional reconstruction, the various steps involved in the formation and growth of the crown of a tooth primordium observed in a complex ovarian teratoma have been compared with that occurring in dermoid cysts and in the normal dental system. Inside dermoid cysts, the characteristic form of the tooth is established during the production of the dentine and enamel and the process is often similar to that occurring during normal tooth development. In teratomas, however, organogenesis and morphogenesis take place within a system undergoing multidirectional development. They are dissociated during both the embryonic stage and that of a structural formation. Morphogenesis is the most disturbed and the role of the environment is presumably therefore very important.


[Correlation between the intensity of spontaneous bacteriolysis and bacterial pollution in superficial waters]. A study on the determination of the intensity of spontaneous bacteriolysis in different samples of water from the hydrographic basin of Lorraine, has led us to propose a new way of expressing the spontaneous bacteriolytic power: PBSG. Its utilization has permitted us to establish correlations between the intensity of spontaneous bacteriolytic power and the degree of bacteriological pollution found in different places in the two rivers, the Moselle and the Meurthe. A very strong correlation has been shown between the rate of global spontaneous bacteriolysis after 6 days and the number of coliforms in the water.


[Immune phenomena during experimental schistosomiasis in the rat: role of specific and non specific factors]. Partial immunity to Schistosoma mansoni in the rat can be obtained by injection of a bilharzian antigen together with Freund's complete adjuvant. The results are the same no matter what form of the parasite is used (infecting cercariae or adult). This immunity is the result of both specific and non-specific mechanisms, as is proved by the fact that a lesser but still quite clear degree of resistance to infestation can be obtained by injection of Freund's adjuvant alone.


[Attempt to induce, in the rat, a hepatitis of cirrhotic origin, using amino steroids: holaphyllaminol or amino 3-beta hydroxy-20-beta pregnene-5]. Holaphyllaminol, or Amino-3 beta-Hydroxy-20-beta Pregnene-5, was administered by gastric tube to male Wistar rats at dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/24 hr respectively, during 10, 20, 40 and 80 days. This substance provokes hepatic lesions beginning at the periportal region, the characteristics of which are a cholestasis, a canalar proliferation and a fibrosis. The interest of these alterations lies in the fact that they present the same features as certain human chronic hepatitis; their progression, a function of the dose of the toxin and the duration of treatment, may make possible to realisation of a model of experimental chronic hepatitis.