Influence of chronic renal failure on protein synthesis and albumin metabolism in rat liver. Chronic renal failure in rats leads to changes in hepatic protein synthesis and albumin metabolism at both the cellular and molecular level. In rats with chronic uremia (blood urea nitrogen  greater than 45 mg/100 ml 1 mo after surgical reduction in renal mass), cell-free protein synthesis is reduced 30--40% in liver membrane-bound polyribosomes. Albumin synthesis by membrane-bound polysomes in uremia is reduced even more than the reduction in total protein synthesis. Activity of free polysomes remains norma. There is also intracellular accumulation of albumin in liver of uremic rats and a concomitant decrease in serum albumin. In normal liver, most intracellular albumin is located in the microsomal fraction, whereas in liver from uremic animals the excess albumin is found in the free cytosol fraction. These results can be explained either by a defect in synthesis of albumin by membrane-bound polysomes with release of newly synthesized albumin into the cytosol or by a reduced ability of polysomes synthesizing albumin to associate with the membrane fraction in rats with chronic renal failure.


Hemodialysis leukopenia. Pulmonary vascular leukostasis resulting from complement activation by dialyzer cellophane membranes. Acute leukopenia occurs in all patients during the first hour of hemodialysis with cellophanemembrane equipment. This transient cytopenia specifically involves granulocytes and monocytes, cells which share plasma membrane reactivity towards activated complement components. The present studies document that complement is activated during exposure of plasma to dialyzer cellophane, and that upon reinfusion of this plasma into the venous circulation, granulocyte and monocyte entrapment in the pulmonary vasculature is induced. During early dialysis, conversion of both C3 and factor B can be demonstrated in plasma as it leaves the dialyzer. Moreover, simple incubation of human plasma with dialyzer cellophane causes conversion of C3 and factor B, accompanied by depletion of total hemolytic complement and C3 but sparing of hemolytic C1. Reinfusion of autologous, cellophane-incubated plasma into rabbits produces selective granulocytopenia and monocytopenia identical to that seen in dialyzed patients. Lungs from such animals reveal striking pulmonary vessel engorgement with granulocytes. The activated complement component(s) responsible for leukostasis has an approximate molecular weight of 7,000-20,000 daltons. Since it is generated in C2-deficient plasma and is associated with factor B conversion, it is suggested that activation of complement by dialysis is predominantly through the altermative pathway.


Factor IX antigen by radioimmunoassay. Abnormal factor IX protein in patients on warfarin therapy and with hemophilia B. Factor IX, isolated from normal human plasma, was homogenous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate. On the latter, it migrated as a single polypeptide chain with or without reducing agents and had an apparent mol wt of 62,000. After iodination by chloramine-T, a single peak of 125I was found on gels. Immunoelectrophoresis in agarose with rabbit antifactor IX sera gave a single arc against both isolated and partially purified factor IX preparations. The rabbit antibody was specific as it failed to inhibit the activities of prothrombin or factors VII or X in normal plasma. At an additional 20-fold dilution, factor IX activity was inhibited 50%. In a double-antibody radioimmunoassay, excess rabbit anti-human factor IX precipitated 90-95% of the 125I-human factor IX. Control without specific antibody gave 6-8%. Dilutions of a pool of normal human plasma paralleled dilutions of the isolated preparation and were used for the standard curve. Of 39 plasma samples from normal donors, the mean factor IX antigen level was 93% of that of a separate normal pool. The radioimmunoassay detected the abnormal factor IX produced in patients on warfarin therapy. After Al(OH)3 adsorption of warfarin treated patient's plasma, factor IX antigen, but not activity, was present in the supernate. Samples from 28 patients on warfarin gave a mean factor IX clotting activity of 27% with a mean antigen of 69%. The antigen level from the warfarin group was significantly lower than the antigen level of the normal group (P less than 0.001). The factor IX antigen level was then assessed in 36 patients from 29 pedigrees with hemophilia B. The median antigen level was 17% of normal. The distribution of the antigen level was wide with two patients around 100% of normal; only two had levels below the limits of resolution of the radioimmunoassay as currently performed (less than 2%). Within each of the five pedigrees in which more than one affected member was tested, activity and antigen levels were the same. The degree of neutralization of the antibody's inhibition of normal plasma by patient's plasma was highly correlated. Additional evidence for the detection of abnormal protein was provided by immunodiffusion of plasmas concentrated by lyophilization. Reactions of complete identity occurred between normal, a warfarin treated and a hemophilia B subject's plasmas.


Jejunal perfusion of simple and conjugated folates in celiac sprue. The intestinal absorption of [3H]-pteroylmonoglutamate (simple folic acid) and pteroyl-micron[14C]glutamyl-gamma-hexaglutamate ([14C]PG-7, conjugated folic acid) was assessed by the method of jejunal perfusion in five patients with proven celiac sprue who were studied after a gluten-containing or a gluten-free diet, and in nine normal subjects. The luminal disappearance of each folate was markedly impaired after exposure of the patients to dietary gluten and improved by gluten restriction, but not to within the range found in the normal subjects. The luminal disappearance of each folate was markedly impaired after exposure of the patients to dietary gluten and improved by gluten restriction, but not to within the range found in the normal subjects. In each experiment, column chromatography of the luminal aspirates revealed similar spectra of hydrolytic products of [14C]PG-7, whereas the fraction of the distal aspirate chromatogram appearing as pteroyl-micron[14C]glutamyl-gamma-monoglutamate ([14C]-PG-1) was similar in all three groups. By accounting for the variable effects of absorption on the luminal appearance of [14C]PG-1 and by correcting for mucosal hydrolysis which was not followed by release of [14C]PG-1 to the luminal contents, the calculated rate of in vivo hydrolysis of [14C]PG-7 to [14C]PG-1 was found impaired in both celiac sprue groups, with significant improvement on treatment. In mucosal biopsies from the sprue patients, the in vitro activity of folate conjugase in whole homogenates was higher and the activity of disaccharidase lower than in a group of 12 normal mucosal biopsies. These in vitro data suggest that the predominant cellular location of mucosal folate conjugase is different from that of disaccharidase, whereas comparison with the results of in vivo hydrolysis suggests that measurement of the enzyme in whole mucosal homogenates overestimates its significant digestive activity. The present studies indicate that (a) the mucosal lesion of celiac sprue significantly limits the intestinal absorption of both simple and conjugated folate, and (b) malabsorption of conjugated folate results from a combination of impaired hydrolysis and decreased mucosal uptake of hydrolytic product.


Calcium and phosphate transport in isolated segments of rabbit Henle's loop. Calcium and phosphate transport was examined in rabbit thin descending, thin ascending, and thick ascending limbs of Henle by in vitro perfusion of isolated tubular segments. Permeability coefficients for these segments with 45Ca and 32PO4 were determined for both lumen-to-bath and bath-to-lumen directions. Both the thin descending and thin ascending limbs were found to be relatively impermeable to both 45Ca and 32PO4. In neither segment were we able to show evidence for net transport of calcium or phosphate. In contrast, the thick ascending limb of Henle showed a decrease in calcium lumen-to-bath concentration from 0.97 +/- 0.02 to 0.88 +/- 0.02 when perfused at 4.8 nl min-1. 45Ca lumen-to-bath and bath-to-lumen fluxes were 19.96 +/- 1.05 and 9.89 +/- 0.02 peq-min-1-cm-1, respectively, and the potential difference was +3.8 +/- 0.3 mV (lumen positive). The observed calcium flux ratio was significantly higher than that predicted by Ussing's equation. When ouabain was added to the bath the potential difference fell to +1.1 +/- 0.3 mV, whereas the calcium efflux was only slightly diminished (29.5 +/- 5.3-23.7 +/- 5.1 peq-cm-1-min-1). Ouabain had no effect on the influx of Ca across the thick ascending limb of Henle. There was no net transport of phosphate across the thick ascending limb. Phosphate permeability was exceedingly low bidirectionally across the thick ascending limb. Our findings indicate: (a) all segments of Henle's loop are relatively impermeable to calcium and phosphate; (b) net transport of phosphate seems to be absent in Henle's loop; (c) net calcium reabsorption, which cannot be explained by passive mechanisms, occurs in the thick ascending limb.


Circulating immune complexes in subacute infective endocarditis and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Two out of five patients with subacute infective endocarditis and two patients with post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis had large amounts of soluble circulating immune complexes in their sera. The three others with endocarditis had less severe disease and minimal evidence of circulating immune complexes. Low serum complement was also found in two of the cases.


Halothane macrophage migration inhibtiion factor test in halothane-associated hepatitis. As an index of delayed hypersensitivity in vitro halothane macrophage migration inhibition factor tests (halothane-MIF tests) were performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes from five patients with halothane hepatitis. Twenty-two subjects exposed to halothane, but with no evidence of jaundice, five 'healthy' hospital anaesthetists, nine jaundiced subjects without halothane exposure, and 10 healthy subjects with no history of exposure to halothane were also tested. The halothane-MIF test was positive in four of the five patients with halothane-induced hepatitis; the negative result was in a patient on steroid treatment. The test was negative in all other subjects. Our findings suggest that the halothane-MIF test may be of value in the diagnosis of halothane-induced hepatitis and as a screeening procedure for the identification of susceptible subjects.


Centrifugation techniques and reagent strips in the assessment of microhaematuria. During a survey for bladder cancer in a healthy male population a surprisingly high incidence of significant microhaematuria was found and no urinary sample was completely free of blood. A study of the sensitivity of the different techniques for assessing microhaematuria seemed necessary. A semiquantitative centrifugation technique, developed for cytological purposes, was found to be the most sensitive. Blood could be detected in concentrations of less than 50 RBC/ml urine. With conventional analysis, performed carefully, the minimum detectable concentration was about 500 RBC/ml. Reagent strips, based on the orthotholidin peroxidase reaction and developed specifically for urine analysis, gave positive reactions in minimum concentrations of 1 000 000 RBC/ml (original Hemastix), 50 000 RBC/ml (new Hemastix), and 20 000 RBC/ml (Sangur-Test). Positive scores with lower concentrations could be obtained with the Sangur-Test strip when it was read with a magnifying glass. However, the degree of erythrocyturia that may be regarded as physiological and that which is pathological has yet to be defined.


Effect of local exercise and vessel occlusion on fibrinolytic activity. Arterial occlusion of the upper limb did not affect the fibrinolytic activity in the venous blood of that limb; venous occlusion associated with venous distension resulted in a marked rise in activity. Local fibrinolytic activity was increased substantially by active exercise; passive exercise induced a smaller increase. Active exercise undertaken during arterial occlusion did not result in a rise in activator level. It is concluded from these results that blood flow into the venous system rather than accumulation of metabolites is responsible for the increased release of activator into the blood during local exercise and vessel occlusion.


Maintenance and use of cumulative haematology files on a laboratory computer. A system is described for the maintenance of cumulative haematology records for selected patients using a laboratory minicomputer with limited storage capacity. Records are indexed by the patient's name and location since, as in the majority of hospital laboratories, there is no unique numbering scheme which covers all patients. The computer system imitates the procedures of manual filing, listing uncertain record matches for human decision. Applications include the production of a regularly updated printing of of cumulative files, the preparation of graphs from cumulative blood count records, and the provision of a summary and follow-up service for general practitioners.


Evaluation of a semi-automated platelet-counting system. Coulter Electronics Ltd have produced a semi-automated platelet-counting system. Platelet-rich plasma may be obtained either by tube sedimentation or by means of the Thrombo-fuge, the latter being an instrument designed to produce accelerated sedimentation. The instrument is linear over the entire range of platelet counts, and machine reproducibility is good. Comparison of machine-rated with visual counts satisfied statistical evaluation. The technique can be handled by one operator and platelet counts can be achieved at the rate of 30 per hour by both methods although individual counts on the Thrombo-fuge may be obtained in approximately one-quarter of the time required for tube sedimentation. The throughput using the Thrombo-fuge could certainly be doubled were two sample plates supplied. Few problems were encountered during the evaluation and most could be avoided by meticulous technique. Visual counts must be performed when the sample haematocrit is greater than 50%-Discrepant counts have been obtained in patients with white cell counts exceeding 50 X 10(9)/1 and in patients with giant platelets. ESR elevation for any reason does not lead to serious discrepancy in results. The incidence of platelet clumping due to the presence of platelet agglutinins and of microclot formation due to inadequate mixing is probably much higher than is commonly thought, and certainly peripheral blood film scrutiny should never be omitted in patients with low counts. Careful examination of peripheral blood films must be combined with instrument counting for some time lest further causes of discrepant counting emerge.


A regional quality control trial of folate assays. A regional quality control trial of folate assays is described. It is concluded that the trial is practical and useful in allowing inter-laboratory comparison of results, promoting discussion, and improving precision but it is impossible to assess accuracy. It was of no use in the comparison of assay methods, probably on account of the small number of laboratories participating.


An autoradiographic study of the development of the entorhinal and commissural afferents to the dentate gyrus of the rat. The development of the entorhinal, ipsilateral associational, and commissural afferents to the dentate gyrus have been studied autoradiographically, following the injection of small amounts of tritiated proline into the medial and lateral parts of the entorhinal cortex, and into fields CA3c and CA4 of the hippocampus, in a series of rats, on the third, sixth, and twelfth postnatal days. Clear labeling of the entorhinal afferents were found at the third postnatal day, and from the earliest stage studied the afferents from the two parts of the entorhinal cortex appear to be spatially segregated within the stratum moleculare of the dentate gyrus: the fibers from the lateral entorhinal area occupying the outermost one-third, or so, of this stratum, while those from the medial entorhinal cortex occupy its middle zone. The ipsilateral hippocampo-dentate associational pathway is present at the third postnatal day, but the commissural projection (which shares with it the inner part of the stratum moleculare) could not be labeled until the sixth postnatal day. By the twelfth day the characteristic adult pattern of distribution of the terminals of the two hippocampo-dentate pathways is established. Although this pattern is best accounted for on the basis of a temporal competition for the available synaptic sites on the proximal parts of the dendrites of the granule cells, the spatial segregation of these two fiber systems from those arising in the entorhinal cortex, is probably due to the selective fasciculation of fibers in each group of afferents and to their early cytochemical specificity.


Anatomy of the retina of the mink (Mustela vison). The retina of the normal pigmented mink has been studied by light and electron microscopy. This retina resembles the typical vertebrate retinia in its patterns of lamination and synaptic interconnectivity. Rod and cone outer segments and receptor spherule and pedicle endings are found. At least two different types of horizontal cell processes are seen with the electron microscope, suggestive of rabbit A and B types. Ribbon and conventional synapses are found in both plexiform layers; conventional synapses are also present in the inner nuclear layer. Quantitative studies of the inner plexiform layer revealed amacrine:bipolar synapse ratios (3.3:1) similar to those of the cat and monkey. Other quantitative parameters also resembled those previously reported for species with retinas that predominantly contain concentric-type receptive fields.


Development of the geniculocortical pathway in rats. Most cell of the dorsal laterial geniculate nucleus of rats are generated on fetal days 12 to 14. Their axons invade the telencephalon on fetal day 16 and run in the intermediate zone just below the cortical plate, reaching the visual area of fetal day 18. The axons do not invade the cortical plate significantly until close to birth (day 22 of gestation) and reach  their zone of terminal distribution between postnatal days 1 and 4. In subsequent days the projection becomes progressively more heavily distrubuted in layers IV and I, and synapses of thalamic origin can be identified in these layers. While cells destined for layers IV cross the intermediate zone at the time that thalamic axons first arrive, this coincidence of growth does not seem to be a factor which determines the specificity of patterns of thalamocortical connections since the cells reach layer IV several days before the axons. It is unclear why the axons should wait several days in the region immediately below the cortical plate before invading; although there is a parallel in previous studies on the development of the chick retinotectal pathway (Crossland et al., '75).


Retinotectal projection of the adult winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). The winter flounder shifts the orinetation of its body 90 degrees at metamorphosis so that its left side is functionally ventral and its right side functionally dorsal. Concomitantly the left eye migrates onto the right side. The net result of these complex metamorphic changes is that the dorsoventral axes of the visual fields are perpendicular to the body rather than parallel as in most other teleosts. The developing flatfish may provide a resource for studying the formation of neural connections, for the change in orientation may necessitate some shift in connections in visuomotor pathways. As a baseline for developmental studies, we have established the retinotectal projection in adult winter flounder by means of anatomical tracing techniques (autoradiography and degeneration staining) and electrophysiological mapping techniques. The histological pattern of retinal afferents to the tectum is similar to that of other teleosts; afferents are confined to the superficial white and gray zone, with a few fibers coursing in the deep white zone. Electrophysiological mapping shows that the visuotectal projection is complete over the entire extent of the tectum, symmetrical for right and left fields and patterned normally.


The development of monamine-containing neurons in the brain and spinal cord of the salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum. The distribution of monoamine-containing neurons in the CNS of the developing and adult axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, has been investigated using the histochemical fluorescence technique of Falck and Hillarp combined with microspectrofluorimetry. The earliest catecholamine-containing neurons to be detected are located in the ventral ependymal zone of the spinal cord at the time of hatching (Stage 41). Between stages 43 and 46, catecholamine fluorescence can be detected in neurons in the following regions: nucleus preopticus, the hypothalamic-infundibular region, and the brain stem reticular formation. 5-HT-containing neurons are only observed in the midbrain raphe region and are first detected at stage 44. In contrast to these early monoamine fluorescing groups, catecholamine-containing neurons are not routinely detectable in the  nucleus interpeduncularis until six months of age. All monoamine-containing neuronal groups detected in developing axolotls are also present in both sexes of the adult. However, the fluorescence intensity is less in monoamine-containing neurons observed in adults than in early developing subjects. All catecholamine-containing neuronal groups, with the exception of those located in the midbrain region (nucleus interpeduncularis, reticular zone) have fluorescent processes that contact the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The presence of CSF-contacting processes in the hypothalamic and spinal cord regions suggest that the CSF may act as a medium through which bioactive substances are transported from one brain region to another. Intense catecholamine fluorescence is observed in cells of the notochord prior to the detection of the monoamine-containing neurons in the CNS. A possible involvement of catecholamines in the inductive effects of the notochord during development is discussed.


Descending inputs to the octopus cell area of the cat cochlear nucleus: an electron microscopic study. Large, unilateral lesions of the superior olivary complex (SOC) were made in 18 adult cats. Terminal degeneration was studied electron micrsocopically in the octopus cell area (OCA) of the caudal cochlear nuclei both ipsilateral and contralateral to lesions, after 1 to 14 postoperative days. Three synaptic types (OCA types 1, 2, and 3) have been previously described upon octopus cell somas and dendrites and types 1 and 2 identified as cochlear in origin. The present study shows a new synaptic ending (OCA type 4) on small octopus cell dendrites as well as dendrodendritic contacts. Following SOC ablations, type 4 endings degenerated in the OCA ipsilateral to the lesion. In the COA contralateral to the same lesion, however, degeneration was found in type 3 terminals ending upon more proximal octopus cell dendrities and upon somas. Ipsilateral terminal degeneration occurred between two and four postoperative days, was rare by seven days, and was gone by 14 days after these lesions. However, contralateral terminal degeneration was rare until four days, was most abundant after seven days, and was still present after 14 postoperative days. The different synaptic types and time courses of degeneration in the ipsilateral versus the contralateral OCA, suggested that type 4 endings originate from an ipsilateral source, such as the lesioned periolivary region, while type 3 endings originate from the contralateral SOC or from higher contralateral nuclei. Other evidence for these sources and possible functions of these descending inputs are briefly discussed.


The organization of the pulvinar in the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). I. Cytoarchitecture and connections. The posterior neocortex in the grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, includes an extensive region which receives projections from the pulvinar. Previous studies have demonstrated that this cortical region can be subdivided on the basis of differences in cytoarchitecture and electrophysiologically defined representations of the visual field. The main purpose of the present paper was to determine whether these cortical subdivisions could be related to corresponding subdivisions in the pulvinar. The methods used to trace connections included anterograde degeneration, anterograde axonal transport of tritiated amino acids and the retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase. The results indicate that the pulvinar in this species contains at least three main subdivisions which can be distinguished by their cytoarchitecture and their patterns of connections. A caudal subdivision contains large, evenly-spaced  neurons and receives bilateral input from the superficial, retinal-recipient layers of the superior colliculus. This caudal subdivision has reciprocal interconnections with a cytoarchitectonically distinct area in the temporal cortex. A rostro-lateral subdivision contains smaller, more lightly stained neurons which tend to form clusters. This subdivision receives only ipsilateral tectal input and projects to occipital area 18. This subdivision does not receive input from areas 17, 18, and 19, or from the temporal cortex. Finally, a rostro-medial subdivision is cytoarchitectonically similar to the rostro-lateral subdivision but receives little, if any, input from the superior colliculus. This rostro-medial area does, however, receive corticofugal projections from occipital areas 17, 18, and 19, and projects to area 19. These patterns of connections suggest that each of these subdivisions has close associations with the visual system. The question of whether similar subdivision are present in the visual thalamus of other species is discussed.


Distinct auditory and lateral line nuclei in the midbrain catfishes. The catfish torus semicircularis (TS) comprises two major nuclei, which are specialized to process separately inputs of three acousticolateral modalities: VIII nerve acoustic input in one, and lateral line mechanoreceptive and electroreceptive input in the other. Electrophysiological recording and mapping experiments demonstrate a medial auditory region, a lateral electroreceptive region, and an intercalated mechanoreceptive region in the TS Nissl and Golgi-Cox preparations distinguished two rostrocaudally elongate, nuclear divisions, which correlate, one with the auditory and the other with the mechano- and electroreceptive regions. The medially positioned auditory nucleus is here called the nucleus centralis. The nucleus centralis appears as a rostrally flattened cylinder of uniformly packed cells, covered dorsally and laterally by a fiber rind. Cells within this nucleus conform to one of three general cell types based upon somatic and dendritic morphology: type 1 cells, which are the most abundant" have a single major primary dendrite and an axon typically arising from the same somatic pole; type 2 cells have two major primary dendrites and an axon, which issues from a third distinct somatic pole; and type 3 cells have several major primary dendrites and their axons are associated with one of the major somatic poles. No systematic orientation of dendrites could be found in the nucleus centralis. The laterally positioned lateral line nucleus, to be called the nucleus lateralis, includes two subdivisions: a large pars lateralis containing predominantly electroreceptive units, and a smaller, ventromedial pars medialis encompassing predominantly mechanoreceptive units. Each subdivision is found to be somatotopically organized, inputs from the head projecting to rostral areas and inputs from the tail to caudal areas. Although the cell types resemble those described for the nucleus centralis, a greater degree of cytoarchitectural orderliness is discernible: (a) cells in the nucleus lateralis group into four, alternating cell-poor cell-rich, layers; and (b) the dendritic fields of many type 1 and type 2 cells located in layer II tend to orient in a rostrodorsal-caudoventral attitude, perpendicular to the laminar planes. Fink-Heimer preparations of brains with unilateral, lateral line lobe lesions demonstrate heavy fiber and terminal degeneration confined to the nucleus lateralis on both sides. Lateral line fibers ascend bilaterally in the lateral halves of the lateral lemnisci. At the level of the dorsal oculomotor nucleus the lemniscal fibers in this portion split into two fascicles, one proceeding rostrally to innervate the rostral portion of the nucleus lateralis, and the other arching back dorsolaterally to innervate the caudal portions of the nucleus.


A study of aging in the human abducens nucleus. As part of a continuing study of the relationship between age and neuronal number within the human brainstem, the abducens nucleus was examined in a total of 20 brains. While the nucleus almost doubles in length between birth and adulthood; there is no significant change in cell number after birth. With the exception of some specimens which may indicate an individual variation, the average number of cells in this nucleus for all specimens examined was found to be 6,454. Approximately the same number is found in the nucleus of the newborn (6,500); confined within a length of 1.5 mm. With maturity, the nucleus enlarges to 3.0 mm but since the cell number does not significantly change, the cell density in any one section of the nucleus is considerably decreased, thus emphasizing the importance of absolute counts in such studies. At least among the brainstem nuclei already examined by various investigators it appears that neuronal loss is not a concomitant of aging as has been described for the cerebral and cerebellar cortices.


Postnatal maturation of neurons in the rabbit superior colliculus. The superior colliculi of Dutch-belted rabbits aged 1 to 30 days were prepared according to Nissl and Golgi techniques and examined in comparison to the neuronal populations in the adult. It was found that the laminar dimensions of the adult are attained at 15 to 20 days, presumably due to glial and dendritic enlargement. The largest neuron in the superficial gray, the vertical cell, was found to mature earliest and to display the least evidence of dendritic development postnatally. Its dendrites do elongate from 0 to 15 days, but there are no growth cones or other unusual dendritic configurations. The intrinsic neurons of the superficial gray, the piriform and stellate cells show more evidence of postnatal dendritic development. Particularly in the case of stellate cells, there are dendritic growth cones present at birth, and early in development spines are found on the soma and large dendrites. Only at 15 to 20 days do the dendritic arbors of these cells assume normal adult shapes and sizes. These and other observations suggest that there are two phases of postnatal cellular maturation in the upper layers of the superior colliculus, one involving the smaller "interneurons." This phased maturation is compared with the known sequence of physiological maturation as studied by the method of receptive-field mapping.


An ultrastructural analysis of neurites in the basal lamina of capillaries in the chinchilla cochlear nucleus. In an ultrastructural study of the chinchilla anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN), we found innervated capillaries in the layer of granule cells that comprises the dorsolateral portion of the AVCN and forms a cap over the principal portion of the nucleus. In 66% of 215 capillaries we examined in the granule cell layer of various levels of the AVCN, we found structures having ultrastructural features of axons that (1) were within the brain parenchyma and were in direct contact with the pericapillary basal lamina, or (2) were separate fro, the adjacent neuropil and, often in the company of astrocytic processes, were completely enveloped by the pericapillary basal lamina. An analysis of serial sections confirmed that neurites within the pericapillary basal lamina were in continuity with neurites in the brain parenchyma. Most neurites within the basal lamina of capillaries were next to pericytes, but some neurites were next to endothelial cells. None of the neurites adjoining capillaries had the abundance of synaptic vesicles typical of autonomic vasomotor nerve endings and synaptic terminals. Consequently, they may be sensory, responding perhaps to changes in hydrostatic pressure or chemical composition of the blood or cerebrospinal fluid. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that neurites which accompany capillaries in the AVCN terminate elsewhere. In the AVCN the innervation of capillaries is restricted to the superficial layer of granule cells. In none of 177 capillaries of the principal portion of the AVCN did we find an example of a neurite in contact with the pericapillary basal lamina, a pericyte, or an endothelial cell, although it was sometimes necessary to examine specimens at various angles of tilt to confirm that the pericapillary glial sleeve was continuous. Furthermore, we found no innervated blood vessels among 266 capillaries examined in the granular and molecular layers of the cerebellar cortex.


Anatomy of interhemispheric connections in the visual system of Boston Siamese and ordinary cats. In Siamese cats, previous studies have shown that a genetic mutation causes retinogeniculate fibers in each eye which arise from the temporal retina representing the 20 degrees of ipsilateral visual field adjacent to the vertical meridian to cross aberrantly in the optic chiasm, thereby terminating in the wrong lateral geniculate nucleus. The abnormality is expressed subsequently at the level of the visual cortex. This paper presents anatomical evidence that the pattern of commissural visual connections in the "Boston" variety of Siamese cat also is highly abnormal in comparison to that of ordinary cats. The topographical distribution of neurons supplying visual fibers to the splenium of the corpus callosum was studied in Boston Siamese and ordinary cats using the method of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) following localized cortical injections made through a recording micropipette. In ordinary cats, after an HRP injection at the border between cortical areas 17 and 18, which represents the vertical meridian of the visual field, HRP-labeled cells in areas 17 and 18 of the opposite hemisphere were found only immediately adjacent to the 17-18 border, thus confirming the results of previous investigations. In Boston Siamese cats, the border represents a region in the ipsilateral visual field roughly 20 degrees away from the vertical meridian, and the vertical meridian representation is displaced to sites within areas 17 and 18 proper. When HRP was injected at the 17-18 border, labeled cells in the opposite hemisphere were located well within area 17 near the suprasplenial sulcus, and also well within area 18; few labeled cells were found at the 17-18 border. When an HRP injection was placed at the vertical meridian representation, again few HRP-labeled cells were found at the opposite 17-18 border, but instead most were found in area 17 slightly medial to the border, and in area 18 slightly lateral to it. Thee findings were complemented in an autoradiographic study in which orthograde transport of tritiated proline after a localized cortical injection was used to demonstrate the distribution of callosal terminals. Thus the pattern of callosal connections revealed in Boston Siamese cats, although anatomically different from that of ordinary cats, was nevertheless consistent with the proposal that cortical sites representing similar visual field coordinates in each hemisphere are appropriately interconnected via the corpus callosum. The laminar distribution of callosal connections was examined briefly. Layer III pyramidal cells of areas 17 and 18 supplied the majority of terminals to the opposite 17-18 border. Pyramidal cells of Layers II and VI, and Layer IVa in area 18, made a smaller contribution. In areas 17 and 18, the same cortical layers (II, III, and VI; and IVa in 18) were again the major sites of callosal termination. A clear projection to the base of layer I was also noted. The laminar distribution of callosal connections in ordinary and Boston Siamese cats were not substantially different.


The projection from the lateral geniculate nucleus onto the visual cortex in the cat. A quantitative study with horseradish-peroxidase. Horseradish-peroxidase (HRP) was injected (9-18 microng in 0.03-0.06 micronl) into cortical areas 17, 18 or 19 of 11 adult cats. After survival times of 17 hours to 7 days, the thalamus was examined for retrogradely HRP labelled nerve cells in serial transverse sections. From these sections, the percentage of labelled cells occurring in each subdivision of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) was calculated for each animal. One case each for injections in areas 17, 18, and 19 was then chosen for nerve cell size measurements in each LGNd subdivision. The perikaryal area of each labelled cell (N=689), and of representative samples of unlabelled cells (N=1137), was measured by planimetry. Size distribution histograms, mean values, standard deviation, and statistical significance levels were obtained by computer. It was found that area 17 receives a projection almost exclusively from laminae A and Al, and that the projecting cells belong to all cell size classes. Area 18 receives a projection mainly from laminae C and Al, and from the medial interlaminar nucleus (MIN). The projecting cells belong mainly to the large cell size classes. Area 19 receives a projection largely from MIN, and also from the C-laminae and extrageniculate cell groups. The projecting cells belong to all cell size classes, with some emphasis on the large cells of lamina C. A significant projection was found to exist from the parvocellular laminae of LGNd onto area 19 and, to a lesser degree, area 18. In conclusion, as one goes from area 17 and 18 and to 19 the projection source shifts from the A-lamine through the C-laminae on to MIN and extrageniculate cell groups. The cells which project to area 18 are on the whole larger than those which project to areas 17 and 19. A significant proportion of the contralateral visual input to area 18 is relayed via lamina C. These results provide a quantitative confirmation and extension of previous anatomical findings, and are in close relationship with physiological results regarding parallel channel processing in the visual system.


Corticocortical fiber connections of the rabbit visual cortex: a fiber degeneration study. Corticocortical fiber projections of the striate and occipital cortex of the rabbit, as degined by Rose ("31), have been determined by fiber degeneration methods following the production of cortical lesions within each of 24 rabbits. We have assumed that the striate and occipital cortices correspond respectively to the visual cortical areas 1 and 2 (VI and V2) which have been demarcated electrophysiologically by Thompson et al. ("50). A study of the ipsilateral fiber projections of the striate and occipital cortex of the rabbit reveals three distinct sets of associational corticocortical connections. (1) Neurons located in layers I-III of all regions of the striate cortex and the occipital cortex send fibers to terminate prodominantly in layer V, but also in layers IV and VI, immediately beneath the cells of origin; however, the cells in the supragranular layers have not been found to send fibers to any other region of cerebral cortex. (2) The binocular portions of VI and V2 appear to be interconnected ipsilaterally since cells in layers IV-VI of the lateral striate cortex have been shown to project to all layers of a restricted, adjacent portion of the medial occipital cortex; and the cells in layers  IV-VI of medial occipital cortex send a similar, restricted projection to the adjacent lateral striate cortex. (3) Nerve cells in layers IV-VI of the lateral striate cortex (binocular VI) send a restricted projection to the lateral portion of the occipital cortex. (4) After all lesions of the striate and/or occipital cortices, degenerating fibers are seen radiating away from the lesion in layer I; the origin of these degenerating fibers could not be determined. The following observations have been made concerning the origins and terminations of commissural corticortical fibers. (1) after ablation of most of the visual cortex of one side, commissural fibers are seen to terminate in all cortical layers in two narrow bands of visual cortex: one band occupies both sides of the striate-occipital boundary; the second band is found in the lateral portion of occipital cortex. (2) More punctate lesions reveal that commissural fibers arise from layers IV-VI of the lateral striate cortex and medial occipital cortex (binocular portions of V1 and V2 respectively) and end in homotopic areas of the contralateral cortex.


Relationships between blood composition and fertility in dairy cows--a field study. Three hundred and fifty-one lactating dairy cows, which were between 40 and 100 d post-calving, were selected from cows sampled during metabolic profile testing of 21 herds. Blood samples were analysed for packed cell volume (PCV), blood glucose and haemoglobin, and serum urea-N, albumin, total protein, inorganic phosphate, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cu and Fe. After adjusting for herd and date of sampling and each cow's age, stage of lactation, milk yield and interval from calving to first service, concentrations of albumin and K (P less than 0-01) and PCV (P less than 0-05) were inversely related and concentrantions of globulins (derived as the difference between total protein and albumin) directly related (P less than 0-05) to the number of services required for conception. Conception rates to first service were inversely related to lactation number but not to milk yield on day of sampling.


A method of diagnosing intramammary infection in dairy cows for large experiments. Diagnosis of microbial infections in the udders of cows in commercial dairy farms for large experiments cannot be without error. Limitations of sampling method and routine prevent collection of the necessary information for sure diagnosis. However, with an organized method of repeated bacteriological examinations using consistent and proven methods of aseptic sampling the errors were shown to be very low. A method based on bacteriological tests on aseptic milk samples was used in 32 herds (approximately 2000 cows) for a 3-year period. This is described and examined in terms of other criteria to validate its use in experimental work. With this method it was not difficult to differentiate between those quarters which regularly shed pathogens and those which did not. Other evidence indicated that it was reasonable to assume that this classification accurately distinguished between infected and uninfected quarters. The errors using this method were quite small: when measuring the state of infection of all quarters in the herds the errors did not exceed 1%. Some small modifications to the method described are suggested to improve further its diagnostic accuracy.


Disinfection properties of some bovine teat dips. The efficacy of 18 disinfectant teat dips was tested on teats artificially contaminated with a milk suspension of Staphylococcus aureus. A solution of Na hypochlorite with 40 g/l available chlorine was significantly more bactericidal than one containing 1 g/1 available chlorine and than most other disinfectants tested. The method was not able to distinguish differences in efficacy between solution containing 40g/1 and 10g/1 available chlorine nor between these and some of the iodophors containing 5 g/1 available iodine. The additon of 190-416 g/1 (15-33% v/v) glycerol significantly reduced the bactericidal properties of 3 iodophors (5 g/1 available iodine), but soluble lanolin at approximately 20 g/1 did not appear to lower the efficiency of NaOC1 (45 g/1 available chlorine) or of an iodophor (5 g/1 available iodine).


Fractionation of whole casein on hydroxyapatite. Application to a study of buffalo kappa-casein. When whole caseins from cow and Italian buffalo (Bubalus arnee) were fractionated by chromatography on a column of hydroxyapatite they behaved in a similar manner. kappa-Casein was eluted with 5 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6-8, containing 0-2 M-KCl, 4-5 M-urea and 2 mM-2-mercaptoethanol, but beta- and alphas-caseins were retained and could be eluted successively by a linear gradient from 5 mM to 250 mM-phosphate buffer. Buffalo kappa-casein preparations, obtained from bulk milk or from milks of individual animals by chromatography on hydroxyapatite, produced identical electrophoretic patterns at pH 8-6. By further fractionation of these kappa-caseins on DEAE-cellulose, in each case, at least 7 components were purified; they had different electrophoretic mobilities but were all sensitive towards chymosin. The major fraction migrated like component 1 of bovine kappa-casein B.


Partial characterization of in vivo chemotactic activity: comparison to human C5a. Spontaneous eosinophil chemotactic activity (SECA) can mediate the directed movement of human eosinophils and neutrophils. Preliminary characterization of SECA has been carried out. SECA is nondialyzable and heat-stable (56 degrees C, 30 min). Chromatography on Sephadex G-75 demonstrated that SECA had elutional and functional properties similar to C5a (prepared from endotoxin-activated normal sera). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) with the use of 15% bisacrylamide gels of lyophilized, chemotactically active column fractions demonstrated a single protein band of identical electrophoretic mobility from either SECA or C5a preparations. Enzymatic hydrolysis with carboxypeptidase B, a known inhibitor of C5a activity, significantly decreased chemotactic activities of C5a and SECA. The addition of purified anti-C5 to either SECA or C5a significantly inhibited chemotactic activity. SECA is naturally occurring chemotactic activity identical to human C5a. Thus C5a may be an important source of in vivo chemotactic activity in various inflammatory disorders.


Allergens in Hymenoptera venoms. IV. Comparison of venom and venom sac extracts. Honeybee venom sac extract is compared with pure venom. All five known allergens of venom are present in venom sac extract. Enzyme analyses indicate that the sac extracts contain 11% to 16% venom. At least 10 additional components, several of which are proteins, are present in venom sac extract. Radioallergosorbent test (RAST) studies of yellow jacket venom and venom sac extract yielded a correlation of r = 0.94, with only some weakly reactive sera positive to only one preparation. A few sera were substantially more reactive with venom sac extract. Venom sac extracts appear to be suitable for in vitro diagnostic use, but the extraneous proteins and peptides may make them less suitable than pure venoms for use in immunotherapy.


Nutritional implications of renal disease. II. The dietitian's key role in studies of dialysis therapy. As research develops better dialysis techniques, the dietitian's input in the management of patients with renal disease is vital, for their protein status must be "fine tuned" with individualized treatment and counseling. Her pivotal role is being demonstrated in the National Cooperative Dialysis Study of the National Institutes of Health, one phase of which is being conducted by three hospitals in San Francisco. In that study, close monitoring of the protein catabolic rate (PCR) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in predialysis patients, coupled with adjustments in therapeutic dietary regimens and counseling as indicated, shows promise of bringing such patients into good control, targeted at 80+/-10 per cent bun with a PCR of 1.1+/-0.3 gm. per kilogram per 24 hr. Various dietary techniques, either singly or in combination, are being employed in an attempt to control dietary intake.


Dietary management of children with uremia. To a large extent,the principles of dietary management of children and adults with chronic renal failure are similar. Certainly, both require some degree of protein restriction to prevent the adverse effects that occur when uremic manifestations are present; the need for calories--to allow for adequate growth--is extremely important to uremic children. It is of lesser importance to adults. However, its strategic importance to children cannot be overemphasized and needs to be fully appreciated by dietitians who are increasingly being called on to care for uremic children referred to adult dialysis units.


Mental impairment in the elderly: medical-legal assessment. As life expectancy has lengthened, research has been increasingly directed toward improving the quality of life in old age. Social agencies work in the field of socioeconomic factors, and medical research seeks the causes and remedies for mental deterioration. It is time to review the legal status of the mentally impaired elderly and to ensure that our lawmakers are cognizant of the changing situation. Before any characterization of mental capacity is made, a comprehensive investigation should be carried out to make sure that no potentially correctable physical disorder underlies perceived mental disabilities. In the past, the law has taken a global view of mental capacity. A person was adjudged either competent for all purposes or incompetent on a similar universal basis. A system is suggested to change this outdated approach and to assess separately the divisible components of mental capability. This would permit the courts to delineate their judgments and allow persons with partial mental incapacities to live a fuller life than if they had been declared totally incompetent.


Serum enzyme alterations in hypothyroidism before and after treatment. Recognition of a pattern of elevations in commonly measured serum enzymes [creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and glutamate oxalacetate transaminase (SGOT)] can facilitate the diagnosis of hypothyroidism, especially when muscle weakness is a symptom. Elevated levels of serum cholesterol, total protein, and albumin further contribute to a chemical profile of hypothyroidism, which can be observed in a routine chemistry screening test such as that obtained with the SMA 12/60 AutoAnalyzer. An illustrative case concerns a 50-year-old man who presented with angina pectoris and leg weakness. Subsequently he was found to have severe hypothyroidism. Special attention is given to the serum enzyme values which initially were elevated and fell to normal levels during thyroid replacement therapy. Isoenzyme fractionation of LDH and CPK indicated skeletal muscle as the source of the elevated enzyme activity. The literature on enzyme abnormalities in hypothyroidism is reviewed, with special reference to hypothyroid myopathy.


Free radical theory of aging: effect of age, sex and dietary precursors on rat-brain docosahexanoic acid. Increasing the peroxidizability of dietary fat has an adverse effect on the function of the central nervous system (CNS) in the rat. This effect may be influenced by the level of docosahexanoic acid, a highly unsaturated fatty acid, selectively concentrated in the phospholipids of brain membranes. This study was aimed at determining the influence of age, sex, and the nature of a dietary lipid supplement - linolenic acid (18:3w3), docosahexanoic acid (22:6w3), or the same amount of 22:6w3 in the form of menhaden oil triglycerides - on the rate of increase in the percentage of 22:6w3 in the whole-brain fatty acids of rats between the ages of 1 and 12 months. The dietary lipid supplements were reflected in linear increases in the brain 22:6w3 of female rats throughout the study. Between 6 and 12 months of age, the rate of incorporation of dietary 22:6w3 and its precursors into the brain 22:6w3 of male rats dropped. At 12 months it was about half that for females in the case of 22:6w3 and menhaden oil, and about zero for 18:3w3. It is suggested that dietary 22:6w3 and its precursors may modify CNS function by altering membrane function and peroxidizability through changes in the concentration of 22:6w3 in membrane phospholipids.


Cataract: current concepts, signs and symptomatology--part I. One of the most commonly encountered pathologies in all settings of optometric practice is cataract. The cataract patient generally has many misconceptions concerning his visual status and the difficulty of the situation is compounded by the astronomical amount of material, often outdated, which exists on the subject. This paper is the first of a two-part series presented with the purpose of providing the optometrist with an overview of lens structure, cataract formation, classification, and clinical implications. Part I is comprised of a discussion of lens architecture, the physiology of cataract formation and a classification (with illustrations) of the more commonly encountered cataract types.


Does this patient have primary open angle glaucoma? An overview on the literature on primary open angle glaucoma that has appeared in the optometric and ophthalmological journals during the past ten years indicates a continuing reevaluation, and perhaps at times a seeming disagreement, regarding the parameters of this disease. Opinions have varied, and still do, on such matters as to whether or not the diagnosis of glaucoma is contingent upon a field defect, the existence of low tension glaucoma, the ramifications of ocular hypertension, what constitutes a glaucomatous appearance of the disc, field defects versus the appearance of the disc, field defects versus the appearance of the disc, and what constitutes an early glaucomatous field defect. Voices have been raised in some quarters that claim that waiting for a field defect to develop may not be in the best interest of the patient, and that the glaucoma suspect should be identified as early as possible. Treatment before the development of a field defect is enjoying support from some glaucoma authorities. Good clinical practice will permit the conscientious optometrist to identify those patients who have very early signs of this disease.


Mydriatic angle-closure glaucoma--mechanism, evaluation and reversal. Ocular mydriatics are diagnostic agents that generally facilitate a preferable ophthalmoscopic examination. However, the optometrist should be aware of certain iatrogenic side effects including the precipitation of an acute angle-closure. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the mechanism of mydriatic angle-closure glaucoma. In addition, a shallow anterior chamber is a fundamental ocular variable which should be evaluated before inducing mydriasis and/or cycloplegia. The technical procedures for the oblique illumination shadow test and the van Herick slit lamp test are presented, both of which provide an accurate estimation of the anterior chamber angle. The risk of precipitating an attack after reasonable circumspection by such evaluations approaches zero. However, should an attack occur, the procedures to rapidly lower the intraocular pressure and open the chamber angle are discussed.


Optic disc topography in glaucoma.

Optic disc topography in glaucoma. An optic disc with glaucomatous cupping is said to be characterized by its extensive excavation, pallor and displacement of disc vessels. All of these features, however, can occur in normal discs. The factors which influence these features in normal eyes are reviewed and an attempt is made to define the differential diagnostic features of the disc in glaucoma.


A clinical evaluation of the non-contact tonometer. Paired non-contact tonometer readings were taken on patients at the Boston City Hospital Eye Clinic before and after routine vision care that included Goldmann tonometry. The variability of NCT readings was determined and comparisons made between readings obtained with the NCT and Goldmann instruments. The regression equation relating the pre-Goldmann NCT findings (N1), to the Goldmann (G), was N1 = 1.01G + 1.97; and the equation relating the post-Goldmann NCT findings (N2), to the Goldman was N2 = .94G + 1.70. The N1 mean was 2.06 mm. higher than the mean G, while the N2 mean was .58 mm. higher than the mean G. The correlation coefficients and standard deviation of the differences for the two comparisons were, .88, 3.91, and .93, 3.07, respectively. The Goldmann findings therefore were seen to agree more closely with the NCT findings taken after them. The linear regression and correlation coefficients between the NCT and the Goldmann were generally in good agreement with those of prior studies, although the standard deviations of the differences between findings were larger in this study. This result is not surprising since no attempt was made to train Goldmann operators to criterion or to limit variability induced by differing observer criteria or by the use of only one Goldmann operator. The operators of the Goldmann tonometer had varying degrees of training as residents in ophthalmology. Interestingly, the agreement between pre-Goldmann NCT and post-Goldmann NCT findings was not good. This suggested that the taking of the Goldmann findings themselves may have had a significant effect on the tonometric readings and that the considerable time that frequently took place between the two sets of NCT readings could have affected the value. The standard deviation of the differences between pre- and post-Goldmann readings on the same patient was 3.27 as compared to that for paired readings which was 2.28. The data also showed a much better agreement between the NCT and the rechecked Goldmann findings than between the initial Goldmann findings and the rechecked Goldmann findings, indicating that where discrepancies existed, it was more likely that they were due to the Goldmann instrument.


[Ethanol perfusions during threatened premature labor. Special study of oxytocinase activity]. The anti-oxytocic effect of perfusions of ethanol have been studied in 19 cases of threatened premature labour. Ethanol has a muscle-relaxing action on the uterus which was demonstrated in 8 out of the 19 cases. Blood alcohol levels equal at least to 1 gm per litre seem to be necessary to have any chance of success and furthermore action has to be rapid and given in loading doses. There are secondary effects from ethanol perfusions which, the authors consider, considerably limit the use of this product in threatened premature labour. Furthermore, when levels of the ocytocinase effect on the serum was studied in 10 cases before and after transfusing the ethanol, the results showed that there was little likelihood that overactivity of ocytocinase could explain the lowering in the levels of oxytocins brought about by the use of ethanol.


[Practical and psychological aspects of sperm collection]. The present study was made on 480 men who consulted in our laboratory for a sperm exam. Semen were collected by masturbation. Only in very few cases (3 p. 100) ejaculation could not be obtained. In most cases ejaculation was obtained after a few minutes. Earlier or usual practice of masturbation does not seem to be of any influence on the result of semen collection or on the time necessary until ejaculation. 75 p. 100 of the patients attached much importance to the exterior aspect of the collection room. Actually, apprehension or eventual difficulties seem to be linked with a lack of sufficient information on the physician's part before semen collection. This study gives evidence that semen collection could be systematically made in the laboratory itself. It allows better sperm exam conditions.


[Prolonged ovarian pregnancy associated with an intrauterine pregnancy. Apropos of a case]. Case of advanced ovarian pregnancy are exceptional because ovarian pregnancy itself is very rare. The authors describe a case of prolonged ovarian pregnancy with retention of the dead fetus for more than a year and associated with an intra-uterine pregnancy. Usually ovarian pregnancy finishes in rupture which occurs before the end of the first trimester. It is then difficult to make out the intergrity of the organs and in particular of the tube and indeed to recognize them. On the other hand when the mass persists intact with the development of the pregnancy in a retort shape, it is easy to see how confusion is possible and arises between it and an intra-uterine pregnancy. In this case, however, the different anatomical forms are clear and an almost definite diagnosis can be made at the time of operation (the three first criteria of Spiegelbery).  The diagnosis of ovarian pregnancy is never made before operation. At the very best one can say, when things happen early, that an extra-uterine pregnancy has ruptured, or in certain particular circumstances like in the case we are reporting lithopedian. The presence of ovarian tissue in the wall of the sac--which is the fourth criterion of Spiegelberg-is easier to recognize in early accidents than in advanced cases of ovarian pregnancy in which the parenchyma of the ovary is compressed, distended and laminated by the increasing development of the fetus and the adnexae. The absence of the placenta being adherent to other organs than the ovary can then be kept as a worthwhile criterion of ovarian pregnancy.


Genetic studies in inbred rats. VIII. The production of xenoantisera against Ag-B histocompatibility antigens. Rabbit anti-rat xenoantisera were raised by intravenous injection of splenic lymphocytes. After absorption with the appropriate rat red blood cells for removal of 'species-specific' antibodies, many agglutinating specificities remained which were quite similar to the corresponding alloantisera with the exception of the Ag-B5 haplotype. In attempts to produce specific Ag-B xeno-antisera, two groups of histocompatibility antigens were discovered: one consisting of Ag-B1, Ag-B3, Ag-B4, Ag-B7 and Ag-B8 to which specific Ag-B antisera could be produced, and another comprised of Ag-B2, Ag-B5 and Ag-B6 to which specific Ag-B antisera could not be made by any of several methods. Xenoantisera produced by a rapid hyperimmunization technique and all alloantisera tested were cytotoxic, whereas no cytotoxic antibodies could be detected in the xenoantisera produced by a longer course of immunization.


Clinical and immunologic evaluation of neuraminidase-specific influenza A virus vaccine in humans. Groups of schoolchildren were immunized with an inactivated recombinant influenza virus vaccine specific for the neuraminidase antigen of Port Chalmers influenza A virus (Heq1N2Ch), a conventional biphasic Port Chalmers strain of influenza virus vaccine (H3ChN2Ch), or a placebo. Immunization with either virus vaccine was found to be safe and had no major adverse effects. Immunization with the Heq1N2Ch vaccine resulted in no specific hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody response to H3Ch antigen, although a specific neuraminidase antibody response to N2Ch antigen was observed in greater than 90% of the vaccinees. A subsequent natural outbreak of influenza virus resulted in serologically proven infection with H3Ch virus in 26% of vaccinees receiving H3ChN2Ch virus vaccine, 47% of those receiving Heq1N2Ch virus vaccine, and 44% of those receiving a placebo. However, the protective efficacy against illness was 74.3% for the H3ChN2Ch vaccine and only 51.4% for the Heq1N2Ch vaccine. Regardless of the type of vaccine employed, vaccinees with serologic evidence of infection and clinical illness were found to have very low titers of hemagglutination-inhibiting and neuraminidase antibody. However, vaccinees with serologically proved infection but without clinical illness were found to have titers of antibody to neuraminidase before infection that were four- to eightfold higher than titers in vaccinees who were infected and who had clinical illness.


Antigenicity of cholera toxoid in humans. A cholera toxoid was produced by heating of a purified cholera toxin and treatment of the resulting toxoid procholeragenoid with a formaldehyde solution. When given subcutaneously and intramuscularly to volunteers in doses of 3-100 microng, the toxoid produced no noteworthy side effects, but the injections produced a dose-dependent rise in level of toxin-neutralizing antibodies in serum. Administration of toxoid in combination with whole-cell vaccine induced antitoxin levels that seemed to be higher than those induced by toxoid alone, but statistical analysis revealed a significant difference only between titers after administration of 10 microng of toxoid alone and those after administration of 10 microng of toxoid in combination with whole-cell vaccine.


Possible endotoxemia in rabbits after intravenous injection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B. Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) administered intravenously may exert its toxicity by damaging capillary endothelium in the large intestine and, thereby, permit absorption of endotoxin into the circulation. To investigate this possibility, we measured an index of the level of plasma endotoxin. This index was the ability of plasma to cause gelation of limulus amebocyte lysate (GLAL), before and after intravenous administration of SEB (800-1,000 microng/kg of body weight) to 13 rabbits. All samples taken before administration of SEB were negative for GLAL, but GLAL activity was detectable in the plasma of 10 of the rabbits 12 hr after SEB was injected. Only rabbits that developed GLAL activity died; the levels of GLAL in plasma were comparable to those detected by other workers after administration of an intravenous, lethal dose of endotoxin to rabbits.


Sucrose teepol tellurite agar: a new selective indicator medium for isolation of Vibrio species. Sucrose teepol tellurite (STT) agar is a more successful medium in positive-recognition palting procedures than thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar because STT agar yields higher isolation of typical colonies of Vibrio cholerae, which directly agglutinate in antiserum to V. cholerae, from patients and contacts infected with this organism. STT agar has a simple composition and, like TCBS agar, needs no sterilization. STT agar is highly selective for V. cholerae, nonagglutinating vibrios, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Growth of these bacteria from diarrhetic stool, from rectal swabs, and from stock cultures was compared on different media.


Second attacks of pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Long-term surveillance of pneumonia in a group that received prepaid medical care disclosed five cases of pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae that recurred in immunocompetent persons after a lapse of two and one-half to 10 years. Diagnosis was confirmed by isolation of M. pneumoniae, by observation of changes in titer of antibody, and by chest films. In addition, a patient with a variable immunodeficiency syndrome that affected the bone marrow-derived (B-) cell system had recurrent infection with M. pneumoniae within a one-year interval. Naturally acquired immunity to infection with M. pneumoniae appears to be of limited duration.


The styloid process syndrome: aetiological factors and surgical management. The literature on the syndromes associated with the styloid process is reviewed. The anatomy and embryology of the styloid apparatus are then discussed in relation to the development of these conditions; attention is drawn to the significance of elongation of the process. Eighty styloids measured at post-mortem examination enabled a mean length to be determined as well as a range of normals. The possible aetiological factors are then listed. Four cases of elongated styloid process are described, three treated by excision via an external approach and the fourth presenting as an asymptomatic lump in the neck, not requiring treatment. The authors' preference for the external approach is explained.


Sudden deafness and vaccination.

Sudden deafness and vaccination. A 16-year-old female developed sudden unilateral deafness and acute vertigo two days after routine revaccination against tetanus and diphtheria. Eight other cases culled from the literature are reviewed, and the symptoms and findings from the VIIIth cranial nerve discussed. It is postulated that a local hypersensitivity reaction may account for this and some other forms of sudden sensorineural deafness.


Equilibrial disturbances caused by hearing aids in hard of hearing children. To 22 hard-of-hearing school pupils a 2 sec. tone pip of 1500 Hz was presented at 120 to 130 dB SPL's (equals 113-123 dB ISO) to both (=44) ears. In 32 of the ears (?) the sound stimulus elicited an ENG change and thus a possible disturbance of equilibrium, 2 cases of type A, 3-10 sec. nystagmus; I case of type B, with continuing nystagmus; 3 cases of type C, with strengthening nystagmus; and I case of type D, with direction-changing nystagmus, were found. We conclude that, in perceptive hearing defects, the maximum output of hearing aids should be limited to 120 dB, not only because of the effect on hearing thresholds. but also on the equilibrial sense. Again we recommend that hearing aids should not be used in those surroundings where loss of equilibrium is dangerous.


Steroidogenesis in human follicles approaching ovulation as judged from assays of follicular fluid. Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) was given to patients at mid-cycle before the endogenous LH surge. Graafian follicles were aspirated 32-33 h later, before ovulation was expected, and the levels of several steroids in follicular fluid and in matching serum samples were measured by radioimmunoassay. Two types of Graafian follicle were identified at laparoscopy , based on the nature of the oocyte, granulosa cells and follicular fluid withdrawn from the follicles. Some were large, preovulatory and presumably becoming luteinized while others were generally smaller, non-ovulatory and still growing. The concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and 17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone (delta5 intermediates), androstenedione and testosterone were higher in non-ovulatory follicles, whereas large follicles usually contained high levels of progesterone, 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, pregnenolone and oestradiol-17beta. A cluster analysis of these data grouped follicles into two distinct clusters, which accorded with their identification as ovulatory or non-ovulatory at laparoscopy. Levels of progesterone, 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and oestradiol-17beta in follicular fluid were high in preovulatory follicles in comparison with plasma. Results in two patients indicated that plasma levels of these steroids were determined by the preovulatory follicle. Levels of plasma delta5 steroids were closer to follicular fluid concentrations, whereas DHEA was higher in plasma. The role of the theca and granulosa is discussed in relation to the synthesis of progesterone and oestradiol-17beta in follicles as ovulation approaches.


Effect of methallibure on gonadotrophic content, ovarian 32P uptake and gonadosomatic index in the freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch). Gonadotrophin content in the pituitary gland and blood serum as well as ovarian 32P uptake were studied in response to methallibure treatment in H. fossilis. There was a marked reduction in the gonadotrophic activity of the pituitary gland and blood serum within 3 weeks of methallibure treatment (100 microng/g). A simultaneous significant reduction was also recorded in the ovarian activity of these fish. The fall in ovarian activity caused by methallibure could not be prevented by the administration of LH, FSH or LH+FSH. After cessation of methallibure treatment, LH+FSH (50 microng each) administration restored ovarian activity. It is evident from these results that methallibure alters the secretion of gonadotrophin, and also prevents its action on the ovary.


Seasonal and circadian changes in the episodic release of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and testosterone in rams exposed to artificial photoperiods. Six rams of an ancient breed of domesticated sheep (SOAY) were subjected to an artificial light régime of alternating periods of long days (16 h light: 8 h darkness) and short days (8 h light: 16 h darkness) which induced seasonal development and regression of the testes during a period of 36 weeks. Over 2000 blood samples were taken, and the changes in plasma levels of FSH, LH and testosterone were related to the cycle of testicular activity. During long days plasma levels of gonadotrophins became very low and the testes regressed to about 20% of their maximum size; there was a corresponding reduction in plasma testosterone levels. When the rams were returned to short days reproductive development was again stimulated after 2-3 weeks with a progressive increase in plasma FSH and LH levels and consequent hypertrophy of the testes. It took about 16 weeks of short days for testicular activity to become maximal. Blood samples collected at hourly intervals for 24 h on ten occasions during the study revealed transitory peaks in plasma FSH and LH levels indicative of episodic release. Changes in gonadotrophin secretion were modulated primarily by alterations in the frequency of episodic releas; less than 1 spike per 24 h during long days increased to a maximum of 10 spikes/24 h under short daylengths. The peaks of FSH release were of smaller amplitude than those of LH, although during periods of frequent episodic release basal levels of fsh were increased to a greater extent than those of LH. A circadian rhythm was observed in the plasma levels of FSH, LH and testosterone, which was related to increased gonadotrophin release during the dark phase of the 24 h cycle; changes in blood haematocrit were also observed. The circadian changes appeared to be correlated with the activity cycle of the animals which in turn was dictated by daylight. A possible interrelationship between the circadian cycle and the seasonal cycle is discussed.


Influence of oxygen tension on somatomedin activity in vitro. Somatomedins are the intermediaries through which growth hormone acts on the epiphyseal growth plate to effect linear skeletal growth. Rat epiphyseal chondrocytes were isolated and cultured in vitro in the presence of somatomedin. Two sources of somatomedin were used, foetal calf serum and rat liver perfusates. The chondrocytes proliferated and synthesized sulphated glycosaminoglycans when grown in the presence of somatomedin from either source, but were not metabolically active in chemically defined medium alone. Some differences in the growth patterns in response to serum or liver somatomedins are reported and discussed. Chondrocyte metabolic activity in the presence of somatomedin in vitro showed a graded response to alterations in the atmospheric oxygen, being greatest at low oxygen pressure, and almost completely inhibited at 95% oxygen. A gradient of local oxygen tension has been reported to exist across the epiphyseal plate in vivo. The effects of somatomedin combined with changing oxygen levels may help to explain the divergence of cell proliferation and matrix synthesis seen in the various regions of the growth plate.


In-vitro metabolism of [3H]testosterone by scalp and back skin: conversion of testosterone into 5alpha-androstane-3beta, 17beta-diol. The in-vitro metabolism of [3H]testosterone by human scalp and back skin was examined for possible differences in enzyme activity in skin from these two areas, both of which contain large sebaceous glands but only one of which, the back, is prone to develop acne. Punch biopsy specimens of skin, obtained from the scalp and back of adult men, were minced and incubated with [3H]testosterone. The metabolic products were diluted with carrier steroids, then separated and measured by thin-layer chromatography and by gas chromatography on an instrument equipped with a splitter. The results showed that of the 5alpha-reduced metabolites identified, a major one in both the scalp and back skin incubations was 5alpha-androstane-3beta,17beta-diol. Formation of the androstanediol was especially pronounced in scalp skin where it accounted for up to 50% of the 5alpha-reduced metabolites produced. This finding that 5alpha-androstane-3beta,17beta-diol is a major product of testosterone metabolism in vitro by human skin containing sebaceous glands, supports the possibility, previously suggested by studies in the rat, that this steroid can stimulate sebum secretion.


Polydipsia induced in rats by second-order schedules of reinforcement. Three rats were exposed to a second-order schedule in which fixed-interval components ended either with food or with a brief stimulus that was never paired with food. Food and the brief stimulus occurred in a random sequence (variable-ratio 2 overall schedule). Another three rats were exposed to a similar second-order schedule, the only difference being that the food or the stimulus was presented independently of operant behavior (fixed-time components). The three rats exposed to the fixed-interval components licked at a water spout after each food presentation. These rats also licked in the intervals after the brief stimulus. Although the discriminative properties of food and of the brief stimulus were identical in relation to subsequent reinforcement, licking after the stimulus was less than after food. The three rats exposed to the second-order schedules with fixed-time components also licked at the water spout after food, but these rats did not lick consistently after brief stimulus presentations.


Illness-alone exposure as a source of interference with the acquisition and retention of a taste aversion. Four studies were conducted to explore the effects of unpaired lithium chloride (LiCl) injections, the unconditioned stimulus (US), on the acquisition and retention of a taste aversion. In Experiment 1, subjects were preexposed to a US; for one group the US was paired with a distinctive taste, whereas for a second group it was not. Following this preparation, both groups received the US paired with a novel taste. Only the US-alone group showed a retardation of subsequent taste-aversion conditioning. Experiment 2 indicated that an exposure to LiCl without a specific gustatory cue will interfere with the avoidance of a specific taste, regardless of whether the US experience occurs before or after a single taste-LiCl pairing. Following sucrose-LiCl pairings in Experiment 3A, LiCl-alone exposures retroactively interfered with the retention of the prior aversion to sucrose, with the level of post-US interference becoming an increasing function of the number of US-alone experiences. In Experiment 3B, the association of sucrose with LiCl did not interfere with the development of an almond aversion, whereas LiCl-alone exposures following the acquisition of a sucrose aversion proactively interfered with the development of a second taste aversion (almond). It is suggested that a physiological explanation will not adequately account for the present results of these experiments. The results are discussed within the framework of alternative associative models.


Temporary transvenous cardiac pacemaking in rural family practice. Interested family physicians with proper training and minimal extra equipment can now employ transvenous pacemaking. Some cardiac centers have developed training programs for general internists and family physicians. We believe that this valuable procedure can, with proper physician training, be offered to patients in rural areas as well as in cardiac centers. While the number of patients in this rural family practice who require this procedure has not been great (ten patients in four years), the need is often urgent when it does occur. Use of this treatment modality with consultation in a 44-bed hospital was found to be safe and practical, although sometimes technically difficult. This paper describes the training, techniques used, results, and complications in a rural community in southeastern Nebraska. It is suggested that every hospital caring for seriously ill cardiac patients should have at least one physician trained to perform this emergency procedure.


The family physician as a "therapeutic instrument". The doctor-patient relationship is the matrix of the family physician's diagnostic-therapeutic activity. To enhance the curative potential inherent in this relationship, the physician has to be able to make contact with the person in the patient. To achieve this, the physician must develop his potential for empathic observation, empathic listening, and introspective self-awareness. The use of these skills in a non-judgmental, non-condemning, and non-manipulative climate creates an optimum therapeutic setting. Rather than focusing upon the body of knowledge available in the behavioral sciences, or upon the pursuit of learning "psychiatry" or "psychotherapy," the family physician should first develop his own personal skills. He should then apply them to his own patients, in his own setting, in order to discover the therapeutic approaches appropriate to this patients and their problems. The psychiatrist, psychologist, or any other behavioral scientist can be most helpful to the family physician if he is prepared to aid him in his own discoveries rather than attempt to teach him the accumulated knowledge from his own field.


The effect of the organization and status of family practice undergraduate programs on residency selection. Family practice, as a medical specialty, is designed to help fill the void in primary care availability. In order to expose medical students to family practice and provide a basis for choosing a residency in the field, many medical schools have developed undergraduate programs in family practice. This paper reports the results of a survey conducted in March 1975 on the status of undergraduate programs with particular focus on the relationships between administrative status, size of program, faculty size, and type of undergraduate curricula to the number of graduates choosing family practice as a specialty. The data indicate that there is a relationship between the commitment of the school to family practice, the size of the program, and the presence of required courses in the curriculum to the success of the program, as measured by the proportion of students in each school who choose family practice residencies.


Resident self-awareness through group process. Too frequently the behavioral sciences have been conceived as another specialty from which will be derived new techniques to extend the physician's armamentarium. The doctor/patient relationship as well as referrals and consultations have been assumed to be reducible to ritualized protocols and treatments. The personality of the physician and his interpersonal style both with patients and colleagues have often been ignored as being beyond the purview of professional concern. Yet the person of the physician is subject to the influence of colleagues and patients as well as their factual reports. Traditionally, the physician has not received training to allow him/her more objectively to understand the dynamic social processes through which health care planning is formulated, delivered, and received. With such social skills training the physician is in a better position to understand the dynamic processes within the family itself. Both health-care teams and families exhibit similar problems with parental authority, sibling rivalry, differential learning styles, and different career priorities. It is, therefore, essential that an adequate behavioral science program be structured to include learning experiences in which the physician can gain a greater awareness of self, interpersonal style, professional role, and group dynamic processes. Simulated health-care team exercises and encounter groups are two avenues through which such learning can be approached.


Faculty evaluation by residents in a family medicine residency program. Accountability in graduate medical education is dependent on the willingness of the residents and faculty to make their expectations and commitments explicit and to be held reponsible for fulfilling their commitments. In an effort to encourage accountability, residents in the University of Oklahoma Family Practice Residency Program evaluated the effectiveness of faculty members as learning facilitators. Several dimensions of the learning facilitator role were examined at a resident retreat and the results of the initial evaluations were discussed individually with each faculty member. A subsequent evaluation was conducted one year later, and a comparison of the results of the two evaluations suggests that such efforts can serve to stimulate modification of selected behaviors and thereby improve the quality of teaching in family practice residencies.


Patient simulators in teaching patient education skills to family practice residents. The University of Texas Medical Branch Family Medicine Residency includes in its curriculum the use of interviews with simulated patients for the teaching of patient education skills. Success with simulated cases requires careful programming of the stimulator, realistic situations, and objective evaluation and feedback for the residents. This paper describes the "patient education guidelines" which we used in programming a simulated patient, as well as specific objectives for the content of the residents' interviews and a rating form for evaluating the educational process used by the residents. The interviews with a simulated patient were video taped for review by faculty and residents, using the content objectives and the rating form as aids in the feedback session.


Magnesium efflux in dialyzed squid axons. The efflux of Mg++ from squid axons subject to internal solute control by dialysis is a function of ionized [Mg], [Na], [ATP], and [Na]o. The efflux of Mg++ from an axon with physiological concentrations of ATP, Na, and Mg inside into seawater is of the order of 2-4 pmol/cm2s but this efflux is strongly inhibited by increases in [Na]i, by decreases in [ATP]i, or by decreases in [Na]o. The efflux of Mg++ is largely independent of [Mg]i when ATP is at physiological levels, but in the absence of ATP reaches half the value of Mg efflux in be presence of ATP when [Mg]i is about 4 mM and [Na] 40 mM. Half-maximum responses to ATP occur at about 350 micronM ATP into seawater with Na either present or absent. The Mg efflux mechanism has many similarities to the Ca efflux system in squid axons especially with respect to the effects of ATP, Nao, and Na on the flux. The concentrations of free Mg and Ca in axoplasm differ, however, by a factor of 10(5) while the observed fluxes differ by a factor of 10(2).


A study of releasable Ca fractions in smooth muscle cells of the rabbit aorta. The distribution of Ca in the cellular compartment of smooth muscle cells of the rabbit aorta has been studied by analyzing the effect of norepinephrine, caffeine, and DNP on 45Ca exchange and on the pattern of tension development. These three substances increase the release of 45Ca from the tissue, but DNP acts more slowly than norepinephrine or caffeine. Also, the effect of norepinephrine and caffeine on tension development occurs almost immediately, while that of DNP appears only after a delay of 5 min. Study of the effect of these substances on the Ca efflux has shown that norepinephrine and caffeine act probably on the same Ca compartment, while DNP seems to act on a different compartment with a slower exchange rate. The difference between these two pools could be further demonstrated by studying Ca release after loading the tissues with tracer in either K-rich solution or in a solution with reduced [Ca]o. The K depolarization results in an excessive loading of the cells with 45Ca. Exposing these cells during the efflux procedure to a solution containing DNP causes a much larger release of 45Ca than that observed after a loading procedure in normal solution. In contrast, the release of 45Ca elicited in such tissues by norepinephrine or caffeine disappears. This disappearance is due to the prolonged increase of the Ca exchangeability induced by K depolarization. During initial exposure to PSS the increased exchangeability causes an accelerated loss of tracer from the tissue compartment on which norepinephrine and caffeine act, while the DNP sensitive compartment is not affected. It is suggested that noradrenaline and caffeine act on the same calcium pool close to the membrane and that DNP acts mainly on the mitochondria.


A numerical taxonomic survey of Listeria and related bacteria. A numerical taxonomic study was performed on named strains of Listeria, Erysipelothrix, Microbacterium thermosphactum, Lactobacillus, Streptococus, Propionibacterium, Kurthia and some possibly related bacteria using I43 unit characters covering a wide range of properties. The strains fell into six main clusters: (A) Listeria; (B) Microbacterium thermosphactum, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus; (C) Gemella, Erysipelothrix; (D) Kurthia and mainly aerobic corynebacteria; (E) Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus; (F) mainly Cellulomonas. The genus Listeria contained three subgroups corresponding to (I) Listeria monocytogenes, (2) Listeria grayi and (3) non-haemolytic listeria strains. Listeria murrayi did not appear to be sufficiently distinct from Listeria grayi to warrant separate species status. The genus Erysipelothrix was quite separate from the genus Listeria. Microbacterium thermosphactum was related to both the genera Listeria and Lactobacillus but formed a separate phenon that could appropriately be given generic rank. There were four distinct subgroups amongst the streptococci examined. Gemella strains appeared as a distinct phenon related to Erysipelothrix and the streptococci. The lactobacilli grouped into four phena largely corresponding to the subgenera Betabacterium, Streptobacterium and Thermobacterium and to the species Lactobacillus mali. Custers A, B, and C displayed a relatively close association to each other and it is recommended that all be included in the family Lactobacillaceae.


Chloramphenicol acetylransferase-independent chloramphenicol resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and S. lividans 66, which lack chloramphenicol acetyltraferase, gave rise to vhloramphenicol-sensitive (CmlS) variants spontaneously at frequencies of 0-5 to 2%. The fertility type of S. coelicolor in respect of the SCPI plasmid (SCPI+, SCPI- or NF) had no effect on chloramphenicol sensitivity or on the frequency at which CmlS variants arose. CmlS isolates spontaneously reverted to CmlR at frequencies one to three orders of magnitude lower than the frequency with which CmlS strains arose from CmlR. CmlR revertants obtained spontaneously from CmlS clones again produced CmlS isolates at the normal frequency of several per cent. Therefore, CmlS and CmlR are reversible phenotypes. In crosses between marked CmlR and CmlS S. coelicolor strains, transfer of chloramphenicol resistance into the sensitive strain apparently occurred independently of chromosomal recombination. Mapping experiments excluded the possibility that segregation of a chromosomal locus determines CmlR versus CmlS phenotype. In crosses between SCPI- strains, fertility was not significantly different in CmlR x CmlS, CmlR x CmlR and CmlS x CmlS combinations. Covalently closed circular DNA from CmlS and CmlR strains of S. coelicolor was indistinguishable in molecular weight and restriction endonuclease cleavage pattern. It is suggested that chloramphenicol resistance in S. coelicolor A3(2)  is affected by some kind of transposable genetic element that may be capable of extra-chromosomal existence.


Relationships between electrophoretic patterns of esterases from Salmonella. Esterases of 85strains of the four biochemically-defined subgenera of Salmonella, when analysed by the acrylamide-agarose zymogram technique using several synthetic substrates, gave four principal bands (E1, E2, E3, E4) and two minor ones. The E1 esterase band hydrolysed alphs-naphthyl acetate, whereas the E2 band hydrolysed beta-naphthyl acetate. These bands were resistant to di-isofluoropropyl phosphate (DFP) and their electrophoretic distribution among the strains occurred within a relatively small MF range, MF being the distance moved by the esterase band as a percentage of the distance moved by the dye front. The E3 band hydrolysed alpha-naphthyl acetate and alpha-naphthyl napbuyyrate and, to a lesser degree, beta-naphthyl esters, whereas the E4 band hydrolysed alpha-naphthyl acetate. These bands were sensitive to DFP and their electrophoretic distribution among the strains occurred in a wide MF range. ALL Salmonella strains were closely related in terms of their esterase profiles. However, the divergences in electrophoretic distribution of bands E3 and E4 were sufficient to recognize the subgenera of most of the Salmonella strains analysed.


Distinctive electrophoretic patterns of Esterases from Levinea malonatica, Levinea amalonatica and Citrobacter. Esterases of 42 strains of Levinea malonatica, Levinea amalonatica and Citrobacter were analysed by horizontal slab electrophoresis in polyacrylamide-agarosegel using several synthetic substrates. On the basis of esterase zymograms a distinctive pattern was established for each of the three species. Levinea malonatica was characterized by two major bands: one hydrolysing acetate esters but not butyrate esters; and the other hydrolysing alpha-naphthyl acetate and reacting weakly with alpha-naphthyl butyrate and beta-naphthyl acetate. Levinea amalonatica showed one prominent band that hydrolysed alpha-naphthyl esters and reacter weakly with beta-naphthyl esters. Citrobacter strains showed one major band that hydrolysed alpha-naphthyl esters and appeared slightly more towards beta-naphthyl esters than that of L. amalonatica. Considerable variations in electrophoretic mobility were observed among Citrobacter strains. Levinea amalonatica was less variable. In addition, one minor anodal band reacting with beta-naphthyl acetate was observed in both L. malonatica and Citrobacter. The relative molecular sizes of the major esterase bands were determined by disc electrophoresis with gels of different acrylamide concentrations. The molecular size of the major band of Citrobacter appeared to be smaller than that of the corresponding esterase band of L. amalonatica.


A mechanism for the induction and regulation of human fibroblastoid interferon genetic expression. Some commonly used inducers such as viruses and double-stranded RNA are known to inhibit cellular protein synthesis. We have now shown that conventional inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis such as cycloheximide, 2-(4-methyl-2, 6-dinitroanilino)-N-methyl propionamide (MDMP) and I-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) can induce the production of significant amounts of interferon in human fibroblastoid cell lines. The interferon-inducing activity of these inhibitors depends on the concentration as well as the time of treatment with the inhibitors. These findings lead to the suggestion that the induction of human interferon may be mediated by a reduction in the critical concentration of a rapidly turning over repressor(s) which normally represses the interferon gene(s) in uninduced cells.


Sensitivity of macrophages from different species to African swine fever (ASF) virus. The swine white blood cells sensitive to African swine fever (ASF) virus are monocytes differentiated in vitro to macrophages. These cells have been characterized by their morphology, phagocytic capacity and the presence of receptors for swine immunoglobulin G in their membranes. ASF virus does not produce any detectable effect on macrophages from humans, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or rats, whereas ASF virus-infected chicken macrophages show an enhancement of cellular DNA synthesis and an intense cytopathic effect. ASF virus, adapted to grow in VERO cells, produces a strong cytopathic effect in human macrophages leading to cell destruction. This effect is not associated with the synthesis of infectious virus, cellular or virus DNA nor with the formation of detectable virus-related structures.


Relationships between sons' feelings of being understood by their fathers and measures of the sons' psychological functioning. Factor analysis of a questionnaire designed to measure a son's feeling of being understood by his father is reported. The questionnaire, which contained 12 paragraphs each purporting to be an aspect of the son's feeling of being understood by his father, was administered in small groups to a sample of 413 male college students along with three indices of son's level of general functioning--a self-concept scale, a somatic complaints inventory, and the degree of help-seeking behavior. Five interpretable factors were extracted from the data. The meaningfulness of the factors was substantiated by their significant correlations with certain of the other measures administered to the sample. Three of the factors were correlated positively (p less than .01) with Ss' self-concept, while two were correlated negatively (p less than .01) with the number of somatic complaints by the Ss'.


Primitive nervous systems: peripheral habituation in decerebrate polyclad flatworms. The response to a vibration stimulus recorded from the cords of the ventral submuscular plexus of the polyclad flatworm, Notoplana acticola, consists of a burst of action potentials. The response can be abolished by the application of MgCl2 to the sea water bathing the preparation. With repeated application of the stimulus, decreasing numbers of action potentials can be measured. This waning responsiveness can be dishabituated by applying a more intense vibration stimulus or with electrical shocks applied directly to the ventral nerve plexus. With electrical stimuli a number of shocks have to be applied before the response can be dishabituated. Changes in responsiveness can be measured simultaneously in a number of sites in the plexus even after the nerves between recording sites have been served. With different interstimulus intervals the extent of habituation changesmas interstimulus intervals increase from 1 to 5 sec, there appears to be a decrease in responsiveness which recovers when interstimulus intervals become longer than 5 sec.