The psychotherapist's search for self-renewal. The role of psychotherapist carries with it special stresses to which many professionals react with depressive feelings, particularly in mid-life. Psychotherapists who participated in small group sessions at two annual institutes of the American Group Psychotherapy Association revealed their depressive feelings in a striking way. Some were able to relate these feelings to early family dynamics that motivated their choice of a caretaking career. The groups concluded that there is a continuing necessity for the caretaker to acknowledge and seek care for his emotional needs. Planners of continuing professional education for psychotherapists should make these needs a central concern.


Cocaine psychoses: a continuum model.

Cocaine psychoses: a continuum model. The author describes an orderly progression of clinical syndromes (euphoria, dysphoria, paranoid psychosis) with cocaine use that is related to dosage, chronicity, and genetic and experiential predispositions. That affective alternations are caused by a drug which also produces a schizophreniform psychosis suggests a continuum with implications for understanding the endogenous psychoses. The author emphasizes that alternations in the same neurotransmitter substances may be involved in these multiple psychiatric syndromes, which contrasts with previous "one illness, one transmitter" models.


A multidimensional problem-oriented review and evaluation system. The need for evaluation of psychiatric services is becoming more and more apparent as third-party coverage becomes more available. A variety of expensive and complex data and computer systems have been developed. Small institutions and programs, however, cannot afford them. The system described in this report uses diagnosis and a standardized problem list in order to define the treatment outcome of a variety of therapies delivered in an interdisciplinary setting. The system, which has been developed and is operating at low cost, satisfies a variety of needs.


Ethical issues in family planning for hospitalized psychiatric patients. The authors present guidelines based on their experience with a family planning program for patients in mental hospitals. They believe that informed consent for these patients should include an adequate knowledge base, the patients' competence to make decisions, and the absence of coercion. Among safeguards are the reversibility of contraceptive procedures, the separation of the family planning counselor from the treatment staff to avoid possible covert coercion, and careful choice of the stage of hospitalization at which counseling occurs. The authors examine the implications of a patient's refusal to use contraception, noting the impossibility of involuntary contraception and the ethical and legal problems regarding sterilization procedures.


Evaluation of a regional Indian alcohol program. The authors analyzed follow-up data collected by an Indian counselor and a psychiatrist on 83 American Indian alcoholic men. Follow-up status was judged by an interdisciplinary panel according to a six-step rating scale. The 44 percent improvement rate compares favorably with other treatment programs, especially in view of the selection process, which favored difficult patients. The authors suggest that the interdisciplinary rating panel is an approach that can prevent erroneous judgments of the drinking status of American Indians.


The future educational needs of psychiatrists. The author states the psychiatry must work at defining its boundaries as a discipline before the question of how to educate future practitioners can be answered. The medical student is presented with a bewildering array of approaches to psychiatric treatment and is pressured to choose quickly. The author calls for collaboration among the various parts of psychiatry--social psychiatry, community psychiatry, research, biochemistry, etc.--with other university faculties such as the humanities and basic sciences. The goal of this collaboration would be to produce a mature professional capable of dealing with the whole person. He also calls for a greater emphasis on research to equip psychiatry with the necessary knowledge to establish its role in our ever-changing contemporary society.


Emotional problems of residents in psychiatry. The authors used a questionnaire technique to determine the magnitude of the problem of emotional illness and poor performance during psychiatric residency, the procedures that are used to screen for or help disturbed residents, and characteristics that differentiate residents who are at risk. The data indicated that residents who have problems that lead to termination are rarely free of emotional disturbance. The general belief that women, foreign medical graduates, and minority group members are at higher risk for problems during residency was not supported; however, younger residents and transfers from other programs appeared to be at risk. A disturbing finding was the high rate of suicide reported. The authors stress the need for further work with the "marginal" resident and for research on screening and supportive procedures.


The affective experience of residency training in community psychiatry. The community setting arouses disturbing feelings (of anxiety, loneliness, anger, and disappointment) within the resident in a manner that is both unique and potentially constructive for his development as a clinician. The examination of these feelings in the supervisory setting and through peer supervision is crucial to the success of the resident's work in the community.


Controversies in psychiatric education: a survey of residents' attitudes. The authors administered a questionnaire including statements regarding controversies in psychiatric education to 86 residents in six programs in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Md., area. The residents were asked for their opinions on educational policies, ideological issues in psychiatry, their identification with traditional areas of medicine, and future regulatory practices for psychiatry. The data gathered show some shifts in attitudes among first-second-, and third-year residents. They also show a marked inclination toward dynamic-analytically oriented psychotherapy. The authors conclude that substantial changes will be required in the core curriculum of residency education if the prediction that tomorrow's psychiatrist will be a complete psychobiologist is to be fulfilled.


Attitudes of psychiatric residents toward the necessity of internship. The authors note that the elimination of the internship requirement for board certification has engendered much discussion and has called attention to the need for further study of training in psychiatry. To help clarify the issue, they investigated demographic and career choice factors, individual internship decisions, and perceptions and feelings about these decisions in 57 psychiatric residents. The results indicate that the career plans of students have a strong influence on their training choices--those who are oriented toward inpatient psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine view the internship as more relevant than those who plan to concentrate in other areas. The authors suggest further research on the relation between career choice and training preferences.


Career decisions in the early postresidency years. The author notes that the end of the postresidency military obligation necessitates earlier career decision making for the senior psychiatric resident. This problem is seen to be exacerbated by the eclectic nature of most psychiatric training. Issues for residents include the problem of role models and the "senior resident syndrome," the decision of whether to maintain their university affiliation, the role of private practice, questions of clinical maturity, etc. The author believes that programs must be developed to systematically and objectively present to residents the data that now exist regarding multiple career options.


Improvement of Parkinsonism in depressed patients treated with ECT. Two patients with severe Parkinson's disease were treated with electroconvulsive therapy for a supervening depression. Not only did the symptoms of depression clear up after only four treatments, but the parkinsonian signs also showed striking and sustained improvement. This may be related to ECT-induced changes in dopamine and norepinephrine metabolism. Parkinsonism does not appear to be a contraindication to ECT. On the contrary, ECT may be the treatment of choice for certain patients with Parkinson's disease, whether nor not it is complicated by intractable depression.


Classification of suicidal behaviors: I. Quantifying intent and medical lethality. Previous studies of attempted suicide have cast doubt on the value of assessing psychological intent. By identifying a moderating variable, namely, the attempter's preconceptions about the lethality of his act, the authors were able to solve the puzzle of the low correlations between intent and lethality. Suicidal intent correlates highly with medical lethality when the attempter has sufficient knowledge to assess properly the probable outcome of his attempt. The authors conclude that suicidal intent and medical lethality are useful dimensions in classifying suicidal behavior.


Hormonal relationships in homosexual men. The authors note that previous data on the role of biological factors in homosexuality have been suggestive rather than definitive. They investigated hormonal metabolism in heterosexual and homosexual men and found no indication of disturbed functioning in the homosexual subjects. The authors discuss problems with research in this area, suggesting the need for larger samples, attention to the factor of diurnal variations in hormonal secretion, and methodological refinements.


Recertification of psychiatrists: the time to act is now. Because of the predictions of partial obsolescence for psychiatry as a profession and because of the increasing pressures of government, third-party payers, and a patient population that will no longer blindly follow physicians, psychiatrists must face the demands for professional accountability. The author suggests that to maintain high-quality care and continuing self-governance, psychiatrists must participate actively in self-assessment and continuing education programs.


The treatment of night terrors associated with The posttraumatic syndrome. The author describes three cases in which the frequency and intensity of night terrors associated with the posttraumatic syndrome were greatly lessened by administration of imipramine; in one case, the night terrors disappeared completely. Possible explanationss for this effect of imipramine are discussed, including the drug's arousal-preventing action. The author believes that the study of sleep EEGs of patients suffering posttraumatic syndrome will prove fruitful.


Rural medical care: an experimental delivery system. The experimental medical care delivery system has been operational since February, 1969. An average of over 200 patient visits per month were managed at the clinic during the past year. The average visit cost is $23.00, which is competitive with cost rates at neighborhood health centers. The average time per patient visit has been approximately 1 hr and 20 min. Of persons using the clinic, the largest number are women of childbearing age. Elderly patients have visited the clinic most frequently. Illness problems have accounted for the majority of patient visits. The program represents a cooperative effort between a rural community and a university to solve a problem of national interest. The implementation of this program has provided the opportunity to operationalize the family nurse practitioner concept in a system of medical care delivery. The feasibility of providing high quality medical care in a rural community by extending medical resources concentrated in an urban area has been demonstrated. This type of delivery system does provide a viable alternative for extending medical care to rural communities. A clinic manned by paramedical personnel offers the urban medical center along with concerned physicians the opportunity to extend their resources to rural areas which have been unable to attract and retain physicians.


Planning health care delivery systems.

Planning health care delivery systems. The increasing concern and interest in the health delivery system in the United States has placed the health system planners in a difficult position. They are inadequately prepared, in many cases, to deal with the management techniques that have been designed for use with system problems. This situation has been compounded by the failure, until recently, of educational programs to train new health professionals in these techniques. Computer simulation is a technique that allows the planners dynamic feedback on his proposed plans. This same technique provides the planning student with a better understanding of the systems planning process.


A new development in the provision of comprehensive medical care in Australia. A description of the Southern Memorial Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria. An example is presented of a government-sponsored hospital in Australia working in cooperation with private general practitioners to provide them access to the total hospital facilities and to develop a health center that provides paramedical services not previously available in the community.


Some trends in schools of public health. Some of the recent changes in the schools of public health include: an increasing number of schools and of graduates; a decrease in both the awarding of the MPH degree as compared with other masters degrees, and the DrPH degree as compared with the PhD; a trend toward lengthening the time for achieving the MPH degree; an increase in part-time study for graduate degrees; institution of undergraduate programs and external masters degree programs; a thrust toward greater continuing education activities; and a broadened base for the student population in terms of the heterogeneity of professional backgrounds and prior experience, a wider age range with more younger students, more women students, fewer foreign students, and an increase in minority representation.


A radiologic study of tuberculosis of the abdomen (gastrointestinal tract). The roentgenologic features of 160 cases of tuberculosis of the abdomen are reviewed. The 3 standard examinations of the gastrointestinal tract (plain film abdominal roentgenography, barium meal and follow-through studies, and barium enema examinations) are required to provide useful pointers towards the diagnosis. In plain film roentgenography of the abdomen, the triad of ascites, absence of gas shadows in the right iliac fossa, and segmental dilatation of the terminal ileum demonstrates features which are very suspicious of intestinal tuberculosis. In the barium meal studies showing disordered small bowel patterns, tuberculosis of the abdomen should be considered when this pattern is associated with fixation of bowel loops on supine and erect roentgenograms, spiculation and the presence of multiple strictures in the small bowel. Although the duodenojejunal and ileocecal regions are the commonest sites involved, lesions are not confined to these sites alone, but may also involve any part of the alimentary canal such as the esophagus and the small and large bowel. However, no anorectal lesions were encountered in this study.


Retrograde pancreatography in autopsy specimens. Sixty-two pancreases were dissected at autopsy. In 55 of them, the pancreatic ducts were filled with 50 per cent Hypaqje and roentgenograms were made prior to dissection. Clinical information (available in every case) was correlated with the gross and microscopic findings and findings on the pancreatograms. The anatomically and functionally predominant duct was considered the "main pancreatic duct" regardless of its embryologic development. The common bile and main pancreatic duct opened independently into the duodenum in 8 of the 62 cases (13 per cent). The accessory pancreatic duct had a patent orifice into the duodenum in 12 of 57 cases (21 per cent). The ampulla of Vater was well developed in only 4 of the 62 cases (6 per cent), but an ampullary dilatation was present twice as often at the end of the acessory pancreatic duct, in both those that ended blindly and those that opened into the duodenum. The orifices for the accessory duct were often tiny pinhole openings. There were 2 primary carcinomas of the pancreas, one in the head and one in the tail. The pancreatic duct was almost completely obstructed in each case. Both tumors were undifferentiated adenocarcinomas, and extravasation occurred into each one of them. Extravasation also occurred into a necrotic lymphoma involving the tail of the pancreas, and into two areas of abscess formation in another case. Diffuse, dense, fluffy opacification of pancreatic parenchyma, due to alteration in cell membrane permeability, was demonstrated in acute pancreatitis, infarction, autolysis, and overfilling of the ducts by vigorous injection. Three pancreases showed microscopic changes of chronic pancreatitis. The pancreatogram on one was normal, but the microscopic changes were minimal, and pancreatitis was not suspected clinically. The other 2 cases were symptomatic, and their pancreatograms showed strictures and irregularities of the main pancreatic duct as well as saccular ectasia was present in three additional pancreases, two of which showed squamous metaplasia of ductal epithelium without other microscopic stigmata of chronic pancreatitis and no clinical features to suggest pancreatitis. The possibilities exist that ectasia of secondary ducts and squamous metaplasia of ductal epithelium are manifestations of low-grade injury and that "subclinical pancreatitis" may be common in the general population.


The spheroid sign: a new sign for accurate differentiation of intramural from extramural masses. Barium-column defects with estimated centers lying within or outside the projected luminal contour of the bowel are likely to be intramural or extramural masses, respectively.  Those with centers lying along the luminal contour are likely to be intramural.  Wehn a mass is viewed partially face-on, 2 defects in the barium column appear.  If either of these has an estimated center lying outside the luminal contour of the bowel, the origin of the mass is extramural.  If both estimated centers lie within the projected luminal contour, the mass arises intramurally.  This "spheroid" sign was tested in a blind study and found to be highly reliable.


Atmospheric pollution with halothane in operating theatres. A clinical study using activated charcoal. Considerable reductions of halothane pollution in the operating theatre environment can be achieved with canisters containing activated charcoal attached to the expiratory limb of the anaesthetic circuit. This study indicates that the efficiency is greatest with cases requiring endotracheal intubation. If the facemask is employed, it is essential to achieve a tight seal with the contours of the face to eliminate unnecessary pollution.


Pregnancy and anaethetic practice in India. A survey was conducted among married anaesthetists with regard to the incidence of spontaneous abortion, Caesarean section and the birth and growth of their children, taking other physicians as controls. Female anaesthetists were found to have a higher incidence of abortion than female physicians. The incidence of Caesarean section was also significantly higher in anaesthetists. The non medical wives of male anaesthetists had a greater number of female babies; the male:female ratio was 0.9:1.


Human placental transfer of AH8165.

Human placental transfer of AH8165. The human placental transfer of AH8165 (0times50times9 mg/kg) was studied in ten patients undergoing elective Caesarean section. There was no adverse effect on foetal movement attributable to placental transfer of the neuromuscular blocking drug. Bioassay of umbilical vein blood indicated that little AH8165 crossed the placenta. Studies using 3HAH8165 in two patients undergoing termination hysterectomy demonstrated transfer of only minute amounts of radioactivity to the foetus.


Intubating conditions with AH 8165 and suxamethoniun. Intubating conditions after AH 8165, 1times25 mg/kg, have been compared with those after suxamethonium 1 mg/kg in 240 patients. Patients were matched for physical fitness and intubating conditions were studied in different groups at 30, 45, 60 and 75 seconds after the relaxant. At all times suxamethonium produced a higher incidence of good relaxation of the vocal cords and the incidence of excellent overall intubating conditions was significantly higher with suxamethonium. It proved impossible to intubate eleven patients with AH 8165 at the chosen time but all patients receiving suxamethonium could be intubated.


Anaesthesia and the epileptic pateint. A review. A review is presented of some of the problems that may arise in association with anaesthesia for epileptic patients. There is the possibility of precipitating anticonvulsant drug toxicity. Numerous drug interactions are possible with some anticonvulsant agents, such as phenobarbitone and phenytoin, which affect hepatic microsomal enzyme systems. There is the risk of convulsions occurring in susceptible patients following the use of the new anaesthetic agents which are capable of inducing CNS excitability.


Tracheal cuffs. A review and dynamic pressure study. The sequelae following prolonged tracheal intubation are reviewed. The virtues of large volume low pressure cuffs are confirmed, and the dynamic variations of pressure both within the airway and within the cuff of standard and floppy cuffed tubes have been re-appraised.


Convulsions immediately following althesin. A case is reported in which a major generalised convulsive seizure followed the administration of Althesin. The patient had no clinically demonstrable predisposition to epilepsy. The fits were rapidly controlled by the intravenous injection of thiopentone.


Assessment of the Von Recklinghausen oscillotonometer. The Von Recklinghausen Scala Alternans Altera oscillotonometer was assessed in order to establish whether any of the disputed points over its use made a significant difference to the readings obtained. Inversion of a new cuff gave significantly higher systolic readings, but a worn cuff gave consistent results whatever its position. Measurements of systolic and diastolic pressures were not significantly affected by the use of the sustained leak lever provided the leak was small. Maintenance and cleaning of the instrument are essential for its proper working.


Priorities in the immediate care of roadside and other traumatic casualties. Consideration is given to the immediate treatment of traumatic cases at the accident site. The special role which anaesthetists can play in improving immediate treatment for casualties is discussed.


Limitations of electrocardioscopy-failure of the electrocardiograph to warn of low cardiac output. The effects on the electrocardiogram of a period of hypotension in a series of cardiac patients are described. A brief discussion of the limitations of the electrocardiograph as an indicator of myocardial activity is presented.


Reciprocal synapses between cholinergic axons and small granule-containing cells in the rat cardiac ganglion. Electron microscopy of the rat cardiac ganglion shows occurrence of small granule-containing cells that form reciprocal synaptic junctions with cholinergic terminals. At the synaptic junctions which are from axon to granule-containing cell, the intraaxonal vesicles are clustered against the junctional axolemma, but dense-cored vesicles in the postsynaptic cell do not cluster towards the membrane densities in these synapses. By contrast, the synaptic zone polarized in the opposite direction shows an absence of axonal vesicles in close proximity to the postsynaptic axolemma, but there is a marked aggregation of dense-cored vesicles towards the presynaptic specializations of granule-containing cells. The synaptic zones are multifocal rather than bifocal, and the minimal distance separating each synaptic zone is about 0.3 mu. These findings may indicate that cholinergic excitation of some or all granule-containing cells causes a reciprocal inhibition of one or more cholinergic terminals.


Ultrastructure of the cilia of thymic cysts in "nude" mice. The ciliary ultrastructure is studied in the ciliated cells of the thymic cysts of the "nude" mouse. The cilium is made up of two segments: the intracellular basal body and the extracellular cilium shaft. The basal body extends in a rootlet and demonstrates three annexes: basal foot, anchoring system and tonofibrillar web. The rootlet, composed of one central and nine peripheral chambers, is closely and constantly associated with smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The classical periodicity of the basal foot can be explained by its internal structure. The anchoring system binds the upper part of the basal body to the cell membrane. The cilium shaft is divided into four segments: implantation base, proximal segment, intermediate segment and tip. The details of particular structures in the implantation base and in the proximal segment are given on transverse and longitudinal sections. In the intermediate part, a peculiar desmosome-like structure, binds some doublets with the ciliary membrane. At the tip level, A tubules end up in an opaque plate and membranes are covered with several intracated cristae.


Intestinal mucosa of the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus. The intestinal mucosa of the platypus takes the form of numerous transverse surface folds. These folds are made up of a lamina propria covered by pseudostratified epithelium which lies on a thick modified basement membrane. The cells of the intestinal epithelium consist of columnar cells which generally resemble typical intestinal epithelium and cuboidal cells, which are undifferentiated in appearance, show few organelles and possess an electron lucent cytoplasm. Numerous desmosomes are found between the adjacent cell membranes of both cell types. Villi are absent and appear to be represented by the large surface folds. Intestinal glands are composed of columnar epithelium similar to that found in the intestinal glands of other mammalian species. Groups of these glands drain into common tubular ducts which follow a tortuous course and empty into the intestinal lumen between the surface folds. The peculiar morphological features of the platypus intestinal mucosa raise questions concerning traditional concepts of intestinal gland formation as well as the origin and migration of intestinal epithelium with regard to this particular species.


The ultrastructure of Wallerian degeneration in the severed optic nerve of the newt (Triturus viridescens). Wallerian degeneration in the severed newt's (Triturus viridescens) optic nerve is complete between the 10-14th post operative day (p.o.d.). Consequently, the newt optic nerve displays one of the most rapid degenerative responses yet reported for the central nervous system of vertebrates. In most cases it also exhibits the speed of degenerative phenomenon in the vertebrate peripheral nervous system. The degeneration of unmyelinated axons is most rapid and is completed by 2-3 p.o.d., compared to myelinated axons, most of which degenerate between 2-10 p.o.d. Myelin ring formation (vesicular transformation) is the principal form of lamellar breakdown and occurs in a highly organized manner which can be clearly staged. The glial cell response to Wallerian degneration is two-fold: cytoplasmic hypertrophy and myelin-lytic. Glial hypertrophy subsides by the 10-14 p.o.d. with the ingrowth of numerous regenerating nerve fibers. The myelin-lytic response accounts for most of the myelin destruction. Leukocyte-like and microglia-like cells also participate in myelin breakdown but to a lesser degree.


Localization of cells retaining 3H-estradiol in the forebrain of rabbits. Ovariectomized rabbits received 3H-estradiol via an ear vein and were killed one hour later. Autoradiograms were prepared and exposed up to six months. Labeled cells, as indicated by many silver grains over the nucleus of a neuron, were found in many nuclei of the brain. Thus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis had labeled cell bodies. The stria terminalis leads into the medial preoptic area where great numbers of cells concentrated the estrogen. Farther into the hypothalamus the labeled cells were numerous in the ventromedial and arcurate nuclei. Other locations with labeled cells were the lateral septal nucleus and nucleus accumbens septi, the periventricular preoptic nucleus, anterior hypothalamic nucleus, nucleus supraopticus diffusus, posterior hypothalamic nucleus, and premammillary nucleus. The labeled cells could be followed into the central gray surrounding the aqueduct of Sylvius. The amygdaloid nuclei, and in particular the medial amygdaloid nucleus, had labeled cells as did the most ventral posterior part of the hippocampal cortex. The results are discussed in comparison with those in the rat, and with reference to physiologic data.


Halothane and the beating response and ATP turnover rate of heart cells in tissue culture. The effects of halothane on the beating response of rat heart cells in tissue culture were studied using an optical-electronic monitoring device. A dose-response curve was obtained over a concentration range to as much as 5 vol per cent halothane. The clinical dosage of 1 vol per cent halothane decreased the inotropic response of 4-10-day-old cells to 59 plus or minus 10 per cent of the original beating strength; no significant decrease in beating strength was seen in 25-30-day-old cells. One volume per cent halothane caused no significant change in the chronotropic response of the heart cells. Higher concentrations of halothane caused significant negative chronotropic and negative inotropic responses in a dose-related manner. When glycolysis was inhibited by 2-deoxyglucose in the growth medium, the cells became dependent on fatty-acid oxidation and oxidative phorphorylation for energy and showed increased sensitivity to halothane; for example, the chronotropic response to 5-8-day old cells treated with 2-deoxyglucose was decreased approximately 70 per cent by exposure to 3 vol per cent halothane, whereas 4-10-day-old cells maintained on a complete growth medium showed only a 40 per cent decrease. Increasing concentrations of halothane decreased the rate of ATP turnover. This supports evidence suggesting that halothane blocks electron transport in the NADH-coenzyme Q reductase level. The model described provides a means for determining anesthetic potency in a mammalian system in terms of functional as well as metabolic responses. It also provides a means for study of metabolic effects of anesthetics and other drugs.


Left ventricular dynamics of trained dogs anesthetized with methohexital. The cardiac response to intravenous administration of the ultrashort-acting oxybarbiturate anesthetic, methohexital sodium, was studied in trained dogs. Heart rate increased immediately and gradually declined to the control value 60 minutes later. Stroke volume decreased immediately, reversed transiently, and decreased again, to return gradually to the control value at one hour. Peak aortic flow velocity and peak aortic flow acceleration paralleled the triphasic response of stroke volume. Cardiac output decreased initially, then increased to above the control value to a maximum at the time of maximum heart rate, then decreased again to below the control value by 30 minutes.  From 30 minutes to 60 minutes cardiac output gradually returned to the control value.


Central monaminergic neuronal effects on minimum alveolar concentrations (MAC) of halothane and cyclopropane in rats. The effect of interference with central catecholamine- or serotonin-containing neurons on the response of rats to inhalation anesthetics were explored. Interference with catecholaminergic function by inhibition of amine synthesis with alpha-methyltyrosine alone or combined with destruction of these neurons by 6-hydroxydopamine reduced brain concentrations of norepinephrine and dopamine without altering serotonin concentrations. These alterations decreased the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of halothane when tail-clamping was used as the test stimulus. Similar small reductions of halothane MAC were produced in rats given 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine and p-chlorophenylalanine, which decreased brain serotonin without altering noreopinephrine or doapamine concentrations. When catecholaminergic or serotoninergic neuronal function was similarly disrupted in rats later exposed to cyclopropane, no alternation in MAC was observed. It is suggested that disruption of central amine-containing neurons may lower the MAC's of depressant anesthetics only, and not excitatory anesthetics.


Filling pressures of the heart and pulmonary circulation of the patient with coronary-artery disease after large intravenous doses of morphine. Filling pressures of the heart and hemodynamic responses were studied before, during, and after administration of morphine, 2 mg/kg, intravenously (5 mg per minute) in eight patients with coronary-artery disease and normal ventricular contractility requiring myocardial revascularization. Left-heart filling pressure (LHFP) was estimated by measuring balloon-occluded pulmonary arterial pressure via a Swan-Ganz catheter, and right-heart filling pressure (RHFP) by right atrial pressure measurements. LHFP and RHFP were unchanged until 1.5 mg/kg morphine had been administered; after 2 mg/kg, LHFP had risen from a control level of 6.9 plus or minus 0.8 to 10.6 plus or minus 1.1 mm Hg (P less than .01) and RHFP from 2.9 plus or minus 0.4 to 4.9 plus or minus 0.8 mm Hg (P less than .05). Heart rate (P less than .02) and rate-pressure product (P less than .05), an indirect index of myocardial oxygen consumption, decreased throughout the study period. Systemic arterial pressure, cardiac index, and left ventricular stroke work decreased significantly only at the 0.5 mg/kg dose level, while systemic vascular resistance and stroke index remained unchanged. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure increased (P less than .05) after 1.5 mg/kg morphine, but pulmonary vascular resistance was unchanged. PaC02, pH, base excess, and hematocrit were constant throughout the study period. These data indicate that doses of morphine to 2 mg/kg, iv, are well tolerated by, and, presumably, decrease the myocardial oxygen consumption of, patients with coronary-artery disease. The hemodynamic response resembles that seen in man without hear or lung disease.


Anesthetic effects on ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The effects of 1.0 per cent end-tidal halothane-oxygen anesthesia on spontaneous ventilation, ventilatory deadspace, functional residual capacity (FRC), and alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (A-aD-O-2) were measured in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in normal patients of similar age. results obtained were compared with values obtained preoperatively from the same patients. The following were measured: 1) ventilation and ventilatory deadspace, breathing room air and breathing 100 per cent oxygen; 2) functional residual capacity (FRC) and alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference (A-aD-O-2); 3) forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1.0); 4) ventilatory response to exogenous carbon dioxide. Findings indicated that ventilation is depressed more during halothane anesthesia in patients with emphysema than in normal patients and that the extent of depression is best related to a preoperative measurement of FEV1.0 (P less than 0.001, r = 0.86). The depression in alveolar ventilation results primarily from a reduction in tidal volume. A-aD-O-2 and ventilatory deadspace-to-tidal volume ratio are increaded and FRC decreased with anesthesia in patients with COPD, but the changes are no greater than those found in normal patients.


Intraocular pressures in children during isoflurane and halothane anesthesia. The effects of isoflurane and halothane on intraocular pressure (IOP) were studied in 28 children. Measurements were made during spontaneous ventilation and at a various levels of reduced PaCO2 achieved by controlled ventilation. Control IOP values were determined prior to anesthesia following premedication with chloral hydrate, pentobarbital, pentobarbital with meperidine. At roughly equivalent levels of anesthesia, mean IOP values during spontaneous ventilation ranged frm 16.3 to 17.6 torr for each anesthetic. These values were significantly less (P less than 0.01) than control values only in those patients receiving chloral hydrate who did not cooperate. In contrast, no significant change in IOP was found in more sedated and cooperative patients who received pentobarbital and meperidine. Moderate hypocarbia and hypercarbia over a range of PaCO2 greater than 42 torr had little influence on IOP. We conclude that IOP's during isoflurane and halothane anesthesia do not differ significantly from IOP in the sedated, cooperative, healthy pediatric patient.


Neuromuscular effects of enflurane, alone and combined with d-Tubocurarine, pancuronium, and succinylcholine, in man. The neuromuscular effects of d-tubocurarine (dTc), pacuronium, and succinylcholien (SCh) were studied in 37 unpremedicated adult surgical patients anesthetized with 1.25 MAC enflurance in oxygen. The relaxant doses that produced 50 per cent depression of twitch height (ED50) were 1.57, 0.29, and 4.9 mg/m2 for dTc, pancuronium, and SCh, respectively. These doses are approximately 3.1, 1.7, and 1.0 times less than the amount of dTc, pancuronium, and SCh required to produce 50 per cent depression of twitch height during halothane anesthesia but are the same as ED50 values during isoflurane anesthesia. In eight additional unpremedicated patients anesthesia was maintained at 0.71 MAC enflurane in oxygen (five patients) or 1.67 MAC enflurane in oxygen (three patients). Twitch depression following dTc, 1.5 mg/m2, was related directly to alveolar enflurane concentration. Ability to sustain tetanus decreased progressively with increasing tetanic frequencies and decreased with increasing alveolar enflurane concentrations. The authors concluded that smaller doses of dTc and pancuronium are needed for adequate relaxation during enflurane anesthesia than during equi-MAC halothane anesthesia, and that higher alveolar enflurane concentrations reduce the dose of dTc necessary to produce a given amount of paralysis. Also, neuromuscular effects of enflurane in combination with dTc or pancuronium are not significantly different from those seen suring equi-MAC isoflurane anesthesia.


Interaction of ketamine and halothane in rats. The interaction of intramuscularly injected ketamine and its N-demethylated metabolite (metabolite I) with halothane was evaluated in rats. Five, 10, 20, or 50 mg/kg of ketamine alone or 20, 50, or 100 mg/kg of metabolite I alone produced less than 10 minutes of hypnosis. However, halothane anesthetic requirement (i.e., MAC) was depressed in a dose-dependent fashion as much as 56% 1-2 hours and as much as 14% 5-6 hours after injection of ketamine, 50 mg/kg, im. The reduction in MAC was correlated with brain levels of ketamine or metabolite I, suggesting a ketamine:metabolite I potency ration of 3:1. The half-life of ketamine in plasma and brain was longer in the presence of halothane than when ketamine was given alone. It is concluded that ketamine is not a short-acting drug and that concomitant use with halothane would be expected to prolong further the duration of its action on the central nervous system.


Psychological studies of human performance as affected by traces of enflurane and nitrous oxide. Thirty human subjects were exposed for four hours to 500 ppm N-2O and 15 ppm enflurane in air and then, within five minutes, given a 35-minute battery of psychological tests. Performance of a divided-attention audiovisual task and a digit-span memory test were significantly decreased compared with control data following exposure to air. A tachistoscopic task, four tests from the Wechsler memory  scale, and five others from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale were unaffected. Thirty subjects exposed to 500 ppm N-2-O in air only scored significantly lower on the digit-span test only.


Effects of fentanyl and droperidol on canine left ventricular performance. The effects of fentanyl and droperidol on left ventricular performance were evaluated in the neurally intact dog right-heart-bypass preparation under conditions of constant cardiac output, arterial pressure, and heart rate. Fentanyl, .01 and .02 mg/kg body weight, and droperidol, 0.5 mg/kg, did not affect left ventricular performance. However 1.0 mg/kg droperidol caused a significant (P less than .05) increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and a small decrease in maximum left ventricular dP/dt (.05 less than P less than .10). No significant change in myocardial oxygen consumption was observed. This study indicates that large doses of droperidol may depress left ventricular performance and may account for a portion of the hypotension observed after its administration in man. (Key words: Anesthetics, intravenous, fentanyl; Anesthetics; intravenous, droperidol; Heart, function, fentanyl; Heart, function, droperidol.).


Porcine malignant hyperthermia: effects of temperature and extracellular calcium concentration on halothane-induced contracture of susceptible skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle from malignant hyperthermic (MH) pigs incubated at 37 C in 2.3 mM calcium-Krebs-Ringer solution contracts spontaneously when exposed to halothane. In contrast, halothane did not induce contracture in MH muscle incubated in 2.3 mM calcium-Krebs-Ringer solution at 25 C or in calcium-free Krebs-Ringer's solution at 37 C. Halothane did not induce contracture in normal control muscle in 2.3 mM Krebs-Ringer solution at 25 or 37 C. In the presence of halothane, addition of caffeine produced greater contracture in MH muscle than in normal controls. Halothane-caffeine-induced contractures of MH and control muscles at 25 and 37 C were similar. Elucidation that under certain experimental conditions halothane induces contracture in MH muscle, but not in normal muscle 1) may aid in development of a diagnostic test; 2) establishes further evidence for skeletal muscle as the target tissue for anesthetic-induced MH; 3) suggests that halothane may affect systems that regulate sarcoplasmic calcium concentration below contracture threshold in MH muscle. (Key words: Hyperthermia, malignant; Anesthetics, volatile, halothane; Ions, calcium; Muscle, skeletal, malignant hyperthermia.).


Prevention of porcine malignant hyperthermia by epidural block. Malignant hyperthermia in susceptible swine was completely blocked by epidural anesthesia with lidocaine. Incomplete epidural anesthesia modified the disease but did not prevent it. These studies indicate the importance of the nervous system in the triggering of malignant hyperthermia. (Key words: Hyperthermia, malignant; Anesthetic technique, peridural.).


Hemodynamic and ventilatory responses to fentanyl, fentanyl-droperidol, and nitrous oxide in patients with acquired valvular heart disease. Fentanyl (10 mug/kh) or fentanyl (10 mug/kg) plus droperidol (100 mug/kg) administered intravenously during 20 minutes to adult patients with acquired valvular heart disease produced minimal circulatory changes. The trend during drug infusion was for mean arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance to decrease, and for cardiac index and stroke volume index to increase without change in heart rate. Central venous pressure increased during drug infusion (P less than 0.05) but decreased to awake levels following controlled ventilation and skeletal-muscle paralysis, probably reflecting thoracoabdominal-muscle rigidity rather than a circulatory response. Hypoventilation during drug infusion necessitated assisted or controlled ventilation, with or without skeletal muscle paralysis, in 14 of 16 patients. Addition of 60 per cent nitrous oxide following fentanyl or fentanyl-droperidol infusion significantly decreased mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and cardiac index. All circulatory changes were similar in direction and extent to those previously found during morphine-nitrous oxide anesthesia. (Key words: Anesthetics, intravenous, fentanyl; Anesthetics, gases, nitrous oxide; Heart, effect of fentanyl, dorperidol, and nitrous oxide.).


Biotransformation and elimination of 14C-trichlorofluoromethane (FC-11) and 14C-dichlorodifluoromethane (FC-12) in man. Radiocarbon-labeled trichlorofluoromethane (FC-11; 14CC13F) and dichlorodifluormethane (FC-12; 14CC12F2) were separately inhaled by a female subject and a male subject. A predetermined volume of fluorocarbon (1000 ppm; 100 muCi) in air was delivered through a nonrebreating system and a tight-fitting face mask for 7-17 minutes. Total expired gases were collected during fluorocarbon exposure and afterward until no radioactivity was detectable. Expired 14CO2 and 14C-fluorocarbon were assayed. Urine was collected for 72 hours and assayed for nonvolatile radioactivity. Total recoveries of FC-11 were 99.5 and 79.4 per cent in the woman and the man, respectively. Total recoveries of FC-12 were 95.4 and 103.2 per cent. Traces of radioactivity were found in urine (FC-11, 0.07 and 0.09 per cent; FC-12, 0.02 and 0.03 per cent) and in exhaled carbon dioxide (FC-11, 0.13 and 0.10 per cent; FC-12, 0.08 per cent in both subjects). Total metabolites were equal to or less than 0.2 per cent of the administered dose. The amount of radioactivity in urine was insufficient to permit identification of possible fluorocarbon metabolites. The trace of metabolites could be products of radiolabeled impurities. (Key words: Gases, non-anesthetic, dichlorodifluoromethane (Freon 12); Gases, non-anesthetic, trichlorofluoromethane (Freon 11); Pharmacology, fluorocarbons.)


The effects of chronic ventricular pacing on the human conduction system. Six cardiac patients had His bundle electrograms obtained prior to ventricular pacing. Hours to days after constant pacing, repeat His bundle electrograms were obtained. The H-Q interval increased after pacing in 5 of the 6 patients. The average H-Q interval of 55.8 msec increased to the post pacing value of 67.5 msec (p smaller 0.02). Thus ventricular pacing can produce a conduction delay in the His Purkinje system.


Congenital aneurysm of the left ventricle associated with supravalvular aortic stenosis and aneurysm of the left main coronary artery: case report and review of the literature. We report a unique case of a 33 year old female with congenital aneurysm of the left ventricular apex associated with an aneurysm of the left main coronary artery and surgically repaired supravalvular aortic stenosis. The congenital aneurysm of the left ventricular apex was not associated with a midline thoraco-abdominal defect, as reported in the medical literature. The patient survived two episodes of thrombo-embolism and is well after 10 years of medical follow-up.


Protein composition of unusual tobacco mosaic virus strains. Amino acid analyses have been made of the proteins of single-lesion isolates of five strains of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) differentiated by Lycopersicon hosts. These hosts differed in their genetical control of resistance to TMV, and the virus strains had therefore survived specific selection pressures. Two of the five strains differed in their amino acid composition from type TMV and from all other tomato strains of TMV previously examined. Symptoms induced by the five strains in four tomato lines and in Nicotiana tabacum cvs White Burley and Kawala are described.


A vascular catheter-implanting device.

A vascular catheter-implanting device. A catheter-implanting device (CID) was developed to aid in the placement of vascular catheters in blood vessels located deep in the body cavities, with minimal vascular damage or blood loss.


Frequency of pyelitis, pyelonephritis, renal perivasculitis, and renal infarction in dogs. The frequency of pyelitis, renal perivasculitis, and renal cortical inflammation was determined in 104 apparently normal dogs, 50 dogs with disease that were necropsied, and 20 dogs with experimentally induced cystitis. Abnormalities occurred least often (19%) in the apparently normal group and most often (55%) in the cystitis group. The frequency of specific lesions was generally higher in males than in females. Bacteria were isolated from kidney and urine of some of the apparently normal dogs, but their relationship to the lesions observed was not established.


Surveillance of Iowa swine herds for influenza-like illness: combined serologic and virus isolation method. Five Iowa swine herds (involving about 7,000 swine) were placed under surveillance for signs of influenza-like illness. Blood samples for hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) tests of serums and nasal secretions on swabs for viral isolation were collected from 20 feeder swine in each herd at the outset of surveillance. On the basis of results of HI tests, 6 swine in each herd tested were chosen to be resampled 6 weeks after the first blood sample was collected if swine influenza virus (SIV) was not isolated, but 3 weeks after the first blood sample was collected if SIV was isolated at the outset of surveillance. The swine chosen for resampling were considered sentinels in a herd for the duration of surveillance. Swine influenza virus was isolated from 20 of 20 swine in each of 2 herds that had signs of influenza-like illness. The initial HI titer of each of the 20 swine in the 2 herds was less than 10. However, serum samples prepared from blood collected from sentinel swine in the 2 herds 3 weeks after isolation of SIV had HI geometric mean titers (GMT) of 23 and 34. One herd had an initial HI GMT of 21. A SIV was not isolated from this herd, and serum samples obtained from 3 of the 6 sentinel seine 6 weeks after the first blood sample was collected still had demonstrable HI antibody.


Electron microscopic evaluation of bone cells in pigs with experimentally induced Bordetella rhinitis (turbinate osteoporosis). The development of osseous lesions in the nasal turbinates of pigs with experimentally induced Bordetella rhinitis, occurring 2 to 6 weeks after inoculation with Bordetella bronchiseptica strain B, was evaluated ultrastructurally, and comparisons were made with controls. Progressive degenerative changes were seen in osteoblasts and osteocytes of diseased pigs. These changes included swollen mitochondria, distention of cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum, and lysis of some cells. Bacterial organisms, believed to be B bronchiseptica, were observed in the cytoplasm of osteoblasts and inclose proximity to bone surfaces in diseased pigs. Although osteoclasts occasionally had degenerative changes in the brush border, most osteoclasts wer similar to those of control pigs. Resorption of bone adjacent to degenerative osteoblasts and osteocytes may have contributed to the development of turbinate osteoporosis when combined with the normal cellular resorptive processes. Thes ultrastructural changes were similar to those previously reported in bone cells of the nasal turbinates of pigs with experimentally induced and naturally occurring atrophic rhinitis.


Penitrem A intoxication of calves: blood chemical and pathologic changes. An isolate of Penicillium puberulum, obtained from moldy silage, was found to produce a tremorgenic mycotoxin, penitrem A. Dried ground mycelium of this isolate was administered orally to calves either in increasing daily doses or in a single dose that equalled the amount given over a 3-day period in the increasing daily-dose schedule. Signs of intoxication included tremor, ataxia, muscular rigidity, and convulsive episodes. Marked increases in plasma concentrations of lactic acid, pyruvic acid, glucose, and creatine phosphokinase activity were found coincident with the development of severe tremor. The only gross or microscopic change observed in tissues of intoxicated animals was an accumulation of fat in the liver. Changes in the various plasma constituents were interpreted as a secondary effect of the intoxication.


Immunity to leptospirosis: Leptospira interrogans serotype pomona bacterins in cattle. Immunity to renal leptospirosis was demonstrated in cattle vaccinated with Leptospira interrogans serotype pomona. Vaccinated cattle, challenge inoculated with virulent L interrogans serotype pomona organisms 12 months after vaccination, were resistant to renal infection; similarly inoculated, but nonvaccinated, cattle were susceptible to renal infection. Relationship was demonstrated between immunity induced in vaccinated cattle and that induced in hamsters vaccinated with a dilution of the same bacterin and later inoculated with virulent L interrogans serotype pomona organisms.


Electroretinography of acute hypoxic and increased intraocular pressure status in the dog. A model for studying electroretinographic (ERG) responses during controlled hypoxia and acutely increased intraocular pressure (IOP) in dogs is described. The b-wave component of the ERG was critically affected before the a-wave. The critical perfusion pressure (PP) was 45 mm of Hg less than mean arterial blood pressure, and the dog will demonstrate altered b-wave amplitudes at hypoxic values of arterial oxygen pressure (Pao2) 0f 45 torr.


Experimentally induced infection of dogs, cats, and nonhuman primates with Ehrlichia equi, etiologic agent of equine ehrlichiosis. Dogs (German Shepherd Dogs and Beagles), cates, rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), and baboons (Papio anubis) were inoculated with Whrlichia equi, the etiologic agent of equine ehrlichiosis. Within 3 to 7 days after inoculation, morulae were observed in the eosinophils of cats, neurtrophils of macaques and baboons, and in both neutrophils and eosinophils of dogs. The severe disease produced in horses by this agent was not a feature of E equi infection in dogs, cats, macaques, and baboons. However, a susceptible horse, inoculated with the pooled blood of 2 infected macaques, developed severe clinical signs of equine ehrlichiosis. Infection with E equi did not alter the susceptibiltiy of dogs to infection with Ehrlichia canis and did not prevent development of signs of disease resulting from this infection. The broad experimental host range from this infection. The broad experimental host range of E equi distinguishes it from other ehrlichial agents which are characterized by a rather narrow host range. The susceptibiltiy of nonhuman primates to infection with E equi provides a basis for consideration of the potential transmission of ehrlichial agents to man.


Serum cholesterol concentrations and cholelithiasis in rabbits as influenced by the form of dietary fat. Dietary fats of similar fatty acid composition but in different forms, i.e., olive oil and semipurified oleic acid, were fed to rabbits as 15% of a purified ration for 36 weeks. At periods during the experiment, cholesterol was added to the ration in different amounts. Females rabbits seemed to have greater serum cholesterol concentrations than did male rabbits, and the rabbits fed the oleic acid usually had greater concentrations than did those fed olive oil. After cholesterol was withdrawn from the ration, several weeks were required for the serum cholesterol concentrations to return to pretreatment values. Gallstones and hepatic fatty degeneration were found in rabbits fed either olive oil or oleic acid.


Activity of organophosphorus compounds against oral stages of gasterophilus intestinalis and Gasterophilus nasalis. Controlled tests of the efficacy of bot-active compounds, dichlorvos, trichlorfon, trichlorfon butonate, and carbon disulfide on the larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis and Gasterophilus nasalis during their migratory period in the tissue of the mouth of horses and ponies were completed on experimentally induced and naturally acquired infections. Against the experimental parasitisms in pony foals, the resin-pellet formulation of dichlorvos given on the feed at the dose level of 37 mg/kg, 2 formulations of trichlorfon given by stomach tube at the dose level of 40 mg/kg, another of trichlorfon given on the feed, and trichlorfon butonate given intragastrically at the dose level of 43 mg/kg were 100% efficacious. Against naturally acquired parasitisms in horses, a broad-spectrum gel formulation of dichlorvos given intraorally at the dose level of 36 mg/kg was quite efficacious, whereas liquid carbon disulfide given by stomach tube at the dose level of 2.4 ml/45.45 kg was ineffective.


Age of cattle as related to resistance to infection with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. Two 1-month-old calves, four 9-month old calves, and 4 adult (5 to 11 years old) cattle were exposed to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. At 150 days after exposure, all cattle were killed and necropsied, and at that time, tissues of the 1-month-old calves had more bacilli and lesions than did tissues of the 9-month-old calves or the adult cattle. All cattle responded to immunologic tests during the experiment.


Selenium-vitamin E deficiency in swine fed peas (Pisum sativum). An experiment was conducted to study the effects of feeding a 96.8% cull pea basal ration, low in selenium (0.061 ppm) and vitamin E (7.0 IU alpha-tocopherol/kg of ration), to growing pigs with and without supplementation of selenium, vitamin E, or both. The basal ration was high in crude protein (25.2%) and contained no supplemented fat. Nine of 10 pigs fed the unsupplemented basal ration had lesions attributed to selenium-vitamin E deficiency, and 8 of these pigs died during the 160-day experiment. The deficiency was usually characterized by sudden death (with no prior signs of illness), massive hepatic necrosis, hemoglobinuric and to a lesser extent cholemic nephrosis, degenerative myopathy of cardiac and skeletal muscles, edema, icterus, and acute terminal congestion and hemorrhage. Clinical signs, deaths, or lesions attributed to selenium-vitamin E deficiency were not observed in any of the pigs fed the basal ration supplemented with as little as 0.01 ppm selenium as sodium selenite or 100 ppm alpha-tocopherol. Pigs fed the unsupplemented basal ration gained more slowly (P less than 0.01) and less efficiently and had higher serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT) levels (P less than 0.01) than pigs fed the basal ration supplemented with selenium, vitamin E, or both. There was no difference (P greater than 0.05) in albumin-to-globulin (A/G) ratios among dietary treatment groups. Using the criteria of this study, the minimum selenium requirement of growing pigs fed a low tocopherol cull pea diet was determined to be between 0.06 and 0.07 ppm.


Repeated oral administration of coumaphos in sheep: effects on erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase and other constituents. The effects of treating adult wethers with 2 or 4 mg of coumaphos/kg of body weight each day for 6 days were investigated. The smaller dose produced a gradual decrease of erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity (to maximum average reduction of approximately 45%), but without the appearance of signs of toxicosis. The larger dose appeared to be toxic. Treatment with the drug did not seem to alter significantly the anticholinesterase effects of a 2nd treatment made 6 weeks later. Coumaphos did not significantly affect serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (glutamic oxalacetic transaminase) or isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICD) and concentrations of serum sodium and plasma calcium. A marked decrease in blood serum potassium and an increase in plasma magnesium occurred in all wethers that died after treatment with coumaphos, whereas appreciable changes did not occur in the survivors of the treatment given 6 weeks earlier. Treatment of sheep with an intravenous injection of the organophosphorous compound trichlorfon, insufficient to produce a significant effect on erythrocyte cholinesterase activity, produced additive effects with those of coumaphos.


Some observations on experimentally induced infection of dogs with Babesia gibsoni. Splenectomized andnonsplenectomized dogs were experimentally infected with Babesia gibsoni. Infectivity of parasites was retained for 1 month in samples of blood kept at 4 C in a mixture with Alsever's, acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD), or ammonium-potassium oxalate solutions. When samples were slowly frozen to -70 C in a mixture with citrate solution, the parasites remained infective for 4 months. The average prepatent period was 3.3 days in splenectomized dogs and 4 days in nonsplenectomized dogs. Clinical signs were mild fever and anemia in nonsplenectomized dogs and fever, anemia, icterus, and rarely, hemoglobinuria in splenectomized dogs. Blood packed cell volume (PCV) decreased to as little as 11%, and total bilirubin increased to as great as 0.85 mg/dl. Latent parasitemia was still detectable in some dogs 135 days after the initial parasitemia. Gross pathologic changes mainly involved liver and spleen. Hepatic degeneration was always present.


Chronic depression of serum concentrations of sialic acid in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. This study was performed to determine whether alloxan treatment of rats alters concentrations of the terminal carbohydrate residues, L-fucose and sialic acid, of serum glycoproteins. Results indicate that in the uncompensated diabetic rat, chronic depression of serum sialic acid concentration occurred with no apparent alteration in the concentration of L-fucose. The depression in sialic acid concentration may be attributed, in part, to decreased activities of hepatic enzymes involved in sialic acid synthesis similar to those observed by others after treatment of rats with the diabetogenic agent streptozotocin. The lack of any significant alteration in the concentration of L-fucose fails to confirm, in the experimental diabetic rat, the increased protein-bound fucose values reported in human diabetics. Administration of insulin was not effective in modifying the sialic acid response after alloxan treatment.


Surgical anesthesia in turkeys with thialbarbital sodium. Thialbarbital sodium was found to be a reliable and economical general anesthetic for domesticated turkeys. Despite shortness of action of the initial dose, surgical anesthesia was maintained longer than 2 hours by intermittent infusion via a brachial vein cannula. The drug was reconstituted just before use (66 mg/ml) with sterile 1% saline solution. Rapid smooth induction was produced with an initial dosage of 30 mg/kg for hens and 26.5 mg/kg for toms, when administered within a 30- to 60-second interval. Supplemental infusion of the drug in increments of 0.25 to 1.5 ml was used to sustain the desired level of deep narcosis. The occurrence of respiratory failure was considerably less for thialbarbital than with pentobarbital sodium. Recovery was rapid and smooth.


Comparative body compositions of the dog and goat. The weights of certain organs and tissues of dogs and goats were measured and expressed as percentages of the total body weights. Species differences were observed in the contribution of several organs to the body weight. In the goat, a large percentage of the body weight was due to gastrointestinal contents. When calculations were made with the gastrointestinal contents eliminated from the body weight, many of the originally observed differences disappeared. After exclusion of the weight of gastrointestinal contents, only the values for skin, large intestine, and kidneys were significantly different between species. The possible influence of body composition on drug dosage is discussed.


Isolation of T-strain Mycoplasma from sheep and goats in Texas. T-strain mycoplasmas were isolated from 3 of 42 lambs, 18 of 34 aged ewes, and 3 of 10 Spanish goats. This is the first report of isolation of T-strain mycoplasma from sheep and of the occurrence of T-strain mycoplasma in goats in the United States.


Cannulation of ductus deferens of the boar: a surgical technique. A cannula and collection system are described which permitted collection of semen directly from the epididymis via the ductus deferens from conscious boars while also simultaneously collecting semen via the ejaculation process. The cannula consisted of silicone rubber tubing that was surgically inserted into the ductus deferens 10 to 12 cm from the end of the cauda epididymidis. Cannulas were successfully used in 4 boars. Average daily output of spermatozoa was 11.2 times 109 and 12.4 times 109 from cannulated side and intact side, respectively.


Experimentally induced cerebrospinal nematodiasis in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). To determine if the rabbit can act as an intermediate host for ascarids from certain carnivorous animals (skunks, pigs, dogs), 12 rabbits were infected with Ascaris columnaris, Ascaris suum, or Toxocara canis. Clinical signs, microscopic lesions, and morphologic features of ascarids with naturally occurring and experimentally induced A columnaris infections were identical. Of the 3 induced parasitic infections, A columnaris caused the most severe lesions in the central nervous system (CNS). It appears that rabbits may potentially act as intermediate hosts for A columnaris.


Murine ovarian teratoma.

Murine ovarian teratoma. A unilateral ovarian teratoma was observed in a C3H/HeN breeder mouse. Tissues originating form the 3 embryonal germ layers were present in the tumor. A focus suggestive of epithelial malignant transformation was noted; however, neither metastasis nor invasion into the surrounding capsule was found.


"Comparably massive" penicillin G therapy in renal failure. Impairment of penicillin G excretion in renal failure may result in life-threatening, dose-related toxicity. We report a method for achieving a desired mean serum penicillin G concentration in patients with renal failure, with minimal risk of both undertreatment and drug toxicity. The method is based on the linear relation between the total plasma clearance of penicillin G (Cpen) and the endogenous creatinine clearance. The daily maintenance dose of penicillin G (units) is defined by the product, Cpen (ml/min) times desired mean serum penicillin G concentration (mug/ml) times 2300. Application of this method to patients with various degrees of renal impairment by either constant-rate infusion or intermittent infusion gave serum penicillin G concentrations within the desired range in all but 1 of 15 instances. On the basis of these observations, practical guidelines for "comparably massive" penicillin G therapy are suggested.


Vitamin D intoxication in an anephric child. Although the biologically active metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, is synthesized exclusively by kidney tissue, severe hypercalcemia developed in an anephric child treated with large doses of vitamin D. Treatment by calcium-free peritoneal dialysis acutely reduced serum calcium from 17.2 to 14.2 mg/100 ml. This decrement was effected by removal of three times the total calcium in extracellular fluid, suggesting enhanced bone resorption. Oral prednisolone for 7 days reduced serum calcium to 13 mg/100 ml, but hypercalcemia recurred rapidly after prednisolone was stopped. Calcitonin, given for only 4 one-half days, produced normocalcemia. Maximum serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), observed immediately after vitamin D was stopped, was 635 ng/ml (normal range 23-32 ng/ml) and subsequently decreased with an initial half-time of 10 days. Losses in peritoneal dialysate may have contributed to disappearance of serum 25-OHD. Because of the high serum levels of 25-OHD and absence of renal tissue, 25-OHD was the likely metabolite that caused hypercalcemia, probably by stimulation of bone resorption, though contribution to hypercalcemia by another vitamin D metabolite cannot be absolutely excluded.


Plasma C-peptide and diagnosis of factitious hyperinsulinism. Study of an insulin-dependent diabetic patient with "spontaneous" hypoglycemia. Factitious hyperinsulinism was suspected in a patient with an 11-year history of insulin-dependent, ketosis-prone diabetes mellitus who began to experience repetitive episodes of "spontaneous" hypoglycemia. Insulin mediation of the hypoglycemia was confirmed by documenting that urinary insulin and total extractable insulin in plasma increased during periods of hypoglycemia. Failure to detect significant amounts of human C-peptide by radioimmunoassay during periods of hypoglycemia or in response to stimulation with glucagon, leucine, or tolbutamide indicated that the insulin was not endogenous. The diagnosis of factitious hyperinsulinism was ultimately proved by the finding of radioactivity in the patient's urine after 131-I Hippuran was added to a vial of insulin found in the patient's room.


Hyperparathyroidism and carcinoid tumor. Three patients with carcinoid tumor associated with hyperparathyroidism are described. All patients showed a high circulating immunoreactive calcitonin level with no differential increase in the neck venous catheterization specimens, suggesting that the high concentrations of circulating immunoreactive calcitonin may have come from the carcinoid tumor. We think that the hyperparathyroidism in these patients was primary and that the association with carcinoid tumor represents another form of multiple endocrine tumor formation. Hyperparathyroidism should be investigated in patients with carcinoid tumor.


Prevalence of cholelithiasis in idiopathic late-onset immunoglobulin deficiency. Twelve of 50 consecutive patients with idiopathic late-onset immunoglobulin deficiency had cholelithiasis. This represents a prevalence rate of 24%, which is significantly above the rate in a control group of 500 patients from this medical center matched 10:1 for age and sex (P less than 0.005). This finding adds a new gastrointestinal abnormality to those known to occur in idiopathic late-onset immunoglobulin deficiency.


Rifampin and warfarin: a drug interaction. The drug interaction between warfarin and rifampin is not well known. Rifampin has been reported to increase the warfarin requirements in human subjects ingesting these agents simultaneously. The concomitant administration of rifampin and warfarin resulted in the need for an unusually high maintenance dose of warfarin (20 mg per day) in order to produce a therapeutic effect. Withdrawal of rifampin decreased the warfarin requirement by 50%. This effect may be mediated by the ability of rifampin to induce microsomal enzymes and, thus, the catabolism of warfarin. The effect of rifampin on the warfarin requirement of our patient appeared to be maximal 5 to 7 days after the initiation of rifampin and extended a similar length of time after rifampin withdrawal. This interaction appears to be clinically significant.


UCLA Conference. Diagnosis and treatment of erosive rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of joint destruction. Single or multiple destruction of joints arises from many causes, ranging from the acute destructive process (usually monarticular) in septic joint disease to the chronic, slowly evolving destruction of cartilage and adjacent bone that occurs in osteoarthritis. Medical treatment of a few of these conditions (including rheumatoid arthritis) is reasonably satisfactory if it is initiated early. On the other hand, surgical procedures are indicated if physical and X-ray examination of the involved joints discloses the presence of a significant destructive process involving both articular cartilage and bone. Several very satisfactory such operative techniques, including synovectomy (in the relatively early phases) and prosthetic joint replacement, have been recently developed. These are especially favorable in destructive disease of the hip, knee, or small joints of the hand. The various differential diagnostic, radiographic medical, and surgical procedures are discussed in some detail in this conference.


The patient with chronic renal failure: a marginal man. Four years of experience in counseling more than a hundred patients with renal disease has led to a specific overview of a basic problem in self-image. Despite vast differences in patient personalities and life styles, there is one outstanding common element that has been seen repeatedly. These patients all share a desperate struggle to determine for themselves a realistic set of expectations and goals. They tend, after the initial impact of illness dissipates, to find themselves adrift somewhere between the world of the sick and the world of the well; they are, in effect, marginal men.


The physician's responsibility for suicide. I. An error of commission. A series of individuals who committed suicide by overdose of medication was matched for age, sex, and marital status with individuals who committed suicide by other means in the same time period. Somewhat more of those who died by overdose had been under the recent care of a physician (91% versus 71%). Over half of those who died by overdose had received a prescription within a week or less before dying or had an unlimited prescription for a fully lethal amount of the hypnotic substance ingested. Individuals receiving smaller prescriptions (less than a total of 1.5 g secobarbital or the equivalent) either augmented this supply with other medications available or used something else entirely. Thus, in over half the cases, the physician supplied the complete means for suicide in a single prescription. The availability of a recently prescribed lethal amount of medication strikingly distinguished the ingesters from the noningester controls.


The physician's responsibility for suicide. II. Errors of omission. Forty-nine out of 60 persons who committed suicide had been under the care of 71 physicians within 6 months or less before committing suicide. Over two thirds of the patients had histories of suicide attempts or threats. These histories were known to only two fifths of the physicians responsible for their care, despite the information being readily available from other sources. There was substantial evidence of depressive illness in three quarters of the patients, yet the diagnosis was rarely made except by psychiatrists, and therefore the depression was rarely treated. Although a few patients had been recognized as representing suicidal risk, the great majority had not. The failure to diagnose and to treat depressive illness and the failure to be informed about the risk factors in these cases represent missed opportunities for preventive intervention.


Phenobarbital effects in cholestatic liver diseases. Fifteen patients with cholestatic disorders were treated for 1 to 5 months with phenobarbital. Primary biliary cirrhosis was diagnosed in seven, sclerosing cholangitis in two, intrahepatic biliary hypoplasia in three, and cholestatic hepatitis in three. Except for the patients with cholestatic hepatitis, in whom marked cholestasis was virtually the only abnormality in liver biopsy specimens, serum bilirubin and bile acid concentrations were diminished during therapy, the hepatic clearance of sulfobromophthalein and 131-I-rose bengal was variably enhanced, and there was relief from pruritus. Serum cholesterol concentrations and other measures of hepatic function were not significantly changed during therapy except for serum alkaline phosphatase activity, which rose in twelve patients. Parallel changes occurred in 5'-nucleotidase, suggesting a hepatic origin for the alkaline phosphatase activity. These studies indicate that phenobarbital therapy is associated with improvement in organic anion clearance in some patients with cholestatic disorders and may be beneficial to such patients.


A test for patency of the cystic duct in acute cholecystitis. A procedure was devised to quickly and reliably determine the patency of the cystic duct in patients suspected of having acute cholecystitis. First the gallbladder was stimulated to empty by a cholecystokinin injection. Thirty minutes later a radiolabeled biliary marker, either 150 muCi 131-I rose bengal or 2 mCi 99-mTc dihydrothioctic acid, was injected, and the accumulation of radioactivity in the liver and gallbladder regions was monitored by external gamma emission imaging and recording devices. The images of diagnostic importance were obtained between 60 and 90 minutes after injection of the tracer. Thirty-nine patients with acute abdominal pain were studied. Ten patients who had acute cholecystitis failed to show gallbladder accumulation of radioactivity, reflecting the cystic duct obstruction that initiates this disease. Twenty-nine patients having a variety of other diseases all showed gallbladder accumulation of activity, indicating in each patient that the cystic duct was patent. No significant adverse effects were noted. We conclude that the procedure is a useful adjunct to the clinical and roentgenographic evaluation of patients with acute abdominal pain.


Echography and phonography of acute aortic regurgitation in bacterial endocarditis. Since management of acute aortic regurgitation in bacterial endocarditis is enhanced by early recognition, echocardiography and phonocardiography were evaluated in three such cases documented by catheterization and surgery without positive blood cultures and compared to echophonograms of 34 patients with aortic regurgitation of other origins. Endocarditis manifested distinctive, thickened, irregular aortic leaflet echoes with normal systolic excursion and mitral echopreclosure with anterior leaflet fluttering. Mitral preclosure resulted in mid- or end-diastolic crescendo murmur accompanied by soft first heart sound. Aortic echograms in nonendocarditis showed either widened root, diminished leaflet excursion, absence of irregular valvular thickening, or normal leaflets, all without mitral preclosure. This study shows specific echophonographic findings of aortic regurgitation due to endocarditis that enable diagnosis of this condition in the absence of positive blood cultures.


Norepinephrine depletion in idiopathic orthostatic hypotension. Five patients with idiopathic orthostatic hypotension and defective vasoconstrictor responses to the Valsalva maneuver and to application of ice to the forehead were found to have absent vasoconstriction in the forearm in response to intra-arterial administration of tyramine and enhanced vasoconstrictor responses in response to intra-arterial administration of norepinephrine. These findings strongly suggested norepinephrine depletion from the nerve endings and inability of the sympathetic nerve endings to take up norepinephrine. The depletion of norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings was confirmed in four patients by demonstrating histochemically the absence of catecholamine-specific fluorescence in sympathetic vasomotor nerves from deltoid muscle. It is suggested that depletion of norepinephrine from nerve endings was responsible for autonomic dysfunction and orthostatic hypotension in these patients.


Low platelet adhesiveness and other hemostatic abnormalities in hypothyroidism. Fifteen patients with definite hypothyroidism and two with probable hypothyroidism had extensive hemostatic profiles done. In 12 of the 16 patients tested, the platelet adhesiveness (platelet retention in a glass bead column) was abnormal, and in 1 more it was borderline. In the six patients who were studied repeatedly, hemostatic abnormalities either markedly improved or disappeared after treatment with L-thyroxine. It is concluded that, in addition to the previously reported coagulation factor deficiencies (which we also observed in some of our patients), low platelet adhesiveness occurs frequently in patients with hypothyroidism.


Hemorrhagic pleural effusion in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Three patients maintained on chronic hemodialysis developed hemorrhagic pleural effusion. The effusions seemed to be solely related to the uremic state, other causes having been excluded. Pulmonary restriction requiring decortication occurred in one patient. We concluded that hemorrhagic pleural effusion may be a complication of uremia in the chronically dialyzed patient and that fibrous pleuritis causing pulmonary restriction may result.


Uremic pleural effusion. A study in 14 patients on chronic dialysis. During a 21/2-year period, studies were done on 14 patients with chronic renal failure to evaluate pleural effusions which we believe were secondary to the uremic process. The patients with uremic pleural effusions closely resembled those in the group with chronic renal failure as a whole with respect to diagnosis and clinical features. Fever and pericarditis were noted in half the patients. The pleural fluid appeared serosanguineous or hemorrhagic in 10 of 14 patients and contained a predominance of lymphocytes more often than of neutrophils. Elevated protein and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) levels gave the effusion characteristics of an exudate. Pleural tissue obtained by pleural biopsy or autopsy showed chronic fibrinous pleuritis in every patient. With continued dialysis the effusions resolved in 4 to 6 weeks after thoracentesis in 11 patients and recurred in 3 patients.


Parathyroid function in patients with pheochromocytoma. Serum calcium, serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH), and plasma immunoreactive calcitonin were measured in 12 patients with catecholamine-secreting tumors. Only two patients had high serum calcium and immunoreactive PTH concentrations (one also had high basal immunoreactive calcitonin); in both, the hypercalcemia persisted after removal of their pheochromocytomas but was corrected by removal of hyperplastic parathyroid glands and medullary thyroid carcinomas. Of the 10 patients with normal serum calcium and immunoreactive PTH concentrations, 2 had high immunoreactive calcitonin concentrations and medullary thyroid carcinomas alone were found. Our results suggest that [1] hypercalcemia occurs infrequently in patients with pheochromocytoma, [2] chronic circulating catecholamine excess does not cause increased immunoreactive PTH or immunoreactive calcitonin secretion in patients with pheochromocytoma, and [3] the parathyroid disease in patients with pheochromocytoma is a genetically determined component of multiple endocrine neoplasia.


Systemic lupus erythematosus presenting as panniculitis (lupus profundus). Six patients are described in whom panniculitis was a major manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. These patients were seen in a combined-clinics population of 270 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus for an incidence of approximately 2%. Panniculitis was the first symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus in three of these patients indicating that systemic lupus erythematosus should be considered as an underlying cause in patients with panniculitis or Weber-Christian's disease. Analysis of these six cases and those previously reported suggests that the addition of hydroxychloroquine to the treatment regimen may be beneficial in lupus panniculitis.


Systemic lupus erythematosus. Contrasts and comparisons. Systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease capable of exhibiting virtually any clinical manifestation, is discussed in detail and the findings are compared to those in other, presumably systemic lupus erythematosus-related connective tissue diseases. More emphasis has been placed on the clinical features than on the numerous laboratory manifestations. The conference begins and ends with a brief consideration of current concepts of pathogenesis and suggests some future investigational directions.


Federal and state pesticide regulations and legislation. The combined research, education, and regulatory efforts of federal and state governments have made possible an impressive record of abundant production while imposing minimal harm to human health and the environment. Considering that approximately one billion pounds of pesticides are being applied in the United States annually to control about 2000 pest species, the safety record is remarkable. The increased public concern about environmental values and long-term health effects is constructive and is resulting in some of the regulatory changes discussed in this article. The Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act can result in an improved and expanded joint effort by federal and state governments to limit the misuse of pesticides while permitting their use to facilitate increased production of food, feed, and fiber; provide protection from spoilage; improve health; and control nuisance insects and unwanted plants. Implementation of current regulations, plus those in the process of being enacted under authority of the new federal act, will be complex and costly. Regulations will control the registration, labeling, distribution, storage, use and application, and disposal of pesticides. A small segment of our society would like to have the use of all chemicals banned. A few individuals oppose all government controls. However, the vast majority of agricultural producer groups, representatives of industry, and the public support the need for pesticide regulations.  Only through continued legal controls over pesticides may we hope to retain their use.  Our society has gained tremendous benefits from the use of pesticides to prevent disease and to increase the production of food and fiber. Our need to use pesticides will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Government agencies responsible for protecting human health and the environment must make sound judgments on an individual basis in evaluating the evidence concerning both the benefits and risks of using pesticides.


Protozoa as agents responsible for the decline of Xanthomonas campestris in soil. A streptomycin-resistant mutant of Xanthomonas campestris was used to assess the persistence of the plant pathogen in soil and the changes in populations that might be important for its survival.  In soil into which large numbers of the organism were introduced, a marked decline in its abundance occurred, but after about 1 week its population density reached a level of about 105 and did not continue to fall during the test period. No such marked decline was evident in sterile soil inoculated with X. campestris.  The bacterium did not lose viability if starved for carbon or inorganic nitrogen.  Although abundant in soil, the numbers of propagules capable of producing antibiotics or lytic enzymes active against X. campestris did not increase coincident with the pathogen's decline, and no increase in tartrate-extractable toxins was observed.  Neither bdellovibrios nor bacteriophages active against the xanthomonad were found in the soil, but a marked increase in the frequency of protozoa paralleled the phase of rapid diminution in the X. campestris population.  In actidione-treated soil, in which protozoan activity was severly limited, the high cell density of the pathogen was maintained. On the basis of these data, it is concluded that predation by protozoa is responsible for the abrupt fall in frequency of the bacterium in natural soil.


Stereoisomeric specificity and soil gas disequilibria: implications for martian life detection. Variations in the atmospheric composition of soil samples were monitored by mass spectrometry after the addition of mixtures of D- and L-carbohydrates and/or amino acids.  The changes in concentrations of CO2 in these experiments were found to be related to the steroisomeric configurations of the compounds with which the soil samples were enriched.  The potential of this relationship provides a comparatively simple approach for detecting life in extraterrestrial soils.


Protein content and amino acid composition of certain fungi evaluated for microbial protein production. The protein and total amino acid contents of four mycelial fungal strains and one yeast were approximately the same for cultures harvested in the mid-log and early stationary growth phases. It was found that Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium moniliforme contained approximately 30% more protein and total amino acids than Aspergillus niger. The amino acid composition of mycelial protein compares favorably with that of British Petroleum yeast protein Toprina produced commercially on hydrocarbon substrates. Fusarium spp. may be suitable for commercial production of microbial protein, especially when low-cost agricultural or industrial waste products are readily available as energy sources. Genetic manipulation of these fungi, such as induction of mutant strains through irradiation, may be desirable to obtain a mycelial product of improved yield and/or quality.


Effects of mercuric chloride on growth and morphology of selected strains of mercury-resistant bacteria. A survey of the comparative cytological effects of growth in the presence of mercury by a group of mercury-resistant bacterial cultures and a characterization of the process of bacterial adaptation to Hg2+ ion was accomplished.  Mercury resistance was found to be dependent upon the ability to volatilize mercury from the medium and upon the amount of mercury accumulated by the cells.  The results indicate that most cultures which adapt to growth in the presence of HgCl2 exhibit extensive morphological abnormalities.  Significant effects are delay in the onset of growth and cell division and numerous structural irregularities associated with cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane synthesis and function.  A detailed analysis of the adaptation process and the resulting effects on morphology was performed on an Enterobacter sp.  During the period preceding active multiplication, a selection for mercury-resistant mutants occurred.  It was also demonstrated that growth commenced only at a specific threshold concentration of HG2+.


Diagnosis and management of primary tumors of the petrous apex. Five patients with primary tumors of the petrous apex were diagnosed and treated between the years 1968 to 1974; two had congenital epidermoids, two had chondromyxosarcomas and one had neurofibroma. The embryological development of the foramen lacerum and the pattern of expansion of these primary tumors support the contention that these three categories of tumors arise in the foramen lacerum. Knowledge of the structures surrounding the foramen lacerum can provide a guide to early diagnosis of petrous apex tumors. Since these tumors cannot be completely removed, the goal of surgery is to obtain histological diagnosis and to produce permanent fistulization of the petrous apex. Although there are several recommended surgical approaches to the petrous apex, the transmastoid-translabyrinthine procedure was used in this series.


Rapid method for preparing cell-free extracts of Aspergillus ochraceus. A rapid method for preparing cell-free extracts of Aspergillus ochraceus was developed.  Mycelial mats were prefrozen in liquid nitrogen, ground to a fine powder in a cold mortar, and homogenized in an all-glass mechanical homogenizer.  This method provided preparations averaging 43.0 mg of protein per g of mycelium (wet weight).  The method was fast, efficient, and did not subject the extract to temperatures above 1 C or to heavy metals.  The preparation method was suitable for studying a variety of in vitro fungal enzyme systems.  Amylase, acid phosphate dehydrogenase, beta-glucosidase, beta fructofuranosidase, and trehalase activities were measurable in the preparations.


Heat-induced increase in the number of viable cells in lyophilized preparations of Bacillus popilliae. Viable cells detectable in lyophilized preparations of Bacillus popilliae were increased by 72% when dry cells were heated at 60 to 65 C for 2.5 h.


Enhancement of mycoplasma virus plaque visibility by tetrazolium. The plating of mycoplasma virus MVL-1 is greatly improved by the use of tetrazolium to enhance the visibility of the lawn.


Stability of aflatoxin B-1 and ochratoxin A in brewing. The stability of aflatoxin B-1 and ochratoxin A in brewing was investigated by adding the purified toxins to the raw materials at 1 and 10 mug/g levels during mashing in a conventional micro-brewing process. The results indicate that both toxins are stable to heat and are insensitive to cooker mash treatment. Both mycotoxins were partially removed in the mashing and brewing processes. About 14 to 18% and 27 to 28% of the added toxins were found in the final beers brewed from starting materials containing 1 and 10 mug, respectively, of either toxin per g. The possible route of transmission of mycotoxins into beer is discussed.


Solid-substrate fermentor for ochratoxin A production. A laboratory-scale fermentor designed for solid-substrate fermentation was constructed and tested. Its capacity to produce ochratoxin under varied conditions was determined with wheat as substrate. Ochratoxin yields of 2,000 to 2,500 mug/g of wheat were regularly obtained, and occasionally yields as high as 4,000 mug/g were obtained. The most critical factor in the fermentation was initial substrate moisture content; wheat tempered at 30 to 31% moisture produced the highest yields. Other variables tested were agitation and aeration rates, initial static culture time, and inoculum types and volumes.


The moroccan food snail, Helix aspersa, as a source of Salmonella. A total of 270 samples, nine lots of 30 samples each, of imported Moroccan food snails was examined for the presence of Salmonella. Eighty-four samples (an overall incidence of 31.11%) and all nine lots contained Salmonella. No significant difference (P greater than 0.25) in the number of positive samples was observed by using either selenite cystine both or tetrathionate broth when the samples had been pre-enriched in lactose broth. When used as direct selective enrichments with samples not pre-enriched in lactose broth, tetrathionate broth was significantly (P less than 0.05) more productive than selenite cystine broth. The overall detection of Salmonella-positive samples by direct enrichment was significantly greater (P less than 0.001) than by pre-enrichment. A variety of uncommon serotypes occurrence and incidence, and the concomitant human health potential, of Salmonella in one species of live, imported food snails.


Effect of relative humidity on the survival of airborne unicellular algae. A method is described which is suitable for assessing the effects of relative humidity (RH) on the viability of two unicellular algae in experimental aerosols. Viable cells of Nannochloris atomus collected from the airborne state were detected by plating onto agar surfaces of an appropriate growth medium, whereas  viable airborne cells of Synechococcus sp., because of unreliable growth on solid media, were determined by a liquid assay system. The assays were performed at intervals during short-term and prolonged storage of algal aerosols in chambers preconditioned to a selected RH and temperature. Both species showed the greatest loss in viability during the first minute after atomization, and the extent of this inactivation, as a function of RH, reflected the subsequent long-term survival. The airborne eukaryotic alga was unable to survive at an RH below 91%, whereas the airborne prokaryotic alga was comparatively stable over a wide humidity range. Initial inactivation was least and long-term survival best, for both species, at 94% RH.


Oxidative degradation of squalene by Arthrobacter species. An organism isolated from soil and identified as Arthrobacter sp. was studied for its squalene degradation. The degradation product from squalene, which accumulated in the culture broth, was isolated and identified as trans-geranylacetone by mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, infrared spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Addition of a high concentration of K2HPO4 to the culture medium resulted in accumulation of fairly large amounts of carboxylic acids in addition to geranylacetone. These carboxylic acids were identified as isovaleric, beta,beta'-dimethylacrylic, geranic, and (plus)-(R)-citronellic acids. Among these acids, alpha,beta-saturated carboxylic acids were found to be predominant in quantity.


Microbial reduction of 1,3-dioxo-2-methyl-2-(3'0oxo-6'-carbomethoxyhexyl)-cyclopentane to form 1 beta-hydroxy-3-oxo-2beta-methyl-2alpha-(3'-oxo-6'-carbomethoxyhexyl)-cyclopentane, an intermediate for steroid total syntheses. The rate and extent of stereoselective reduction of 1,3-dioxo-2-methyl-2-(3'-oxo-6'-carbomethoxyhexyl)-cyclopentane to form the 1beta-hydroxy-2beta-methyl isomer by cultures of Schizosaccharomyces pombe ATCC 2476 was dramatically increased by addition to the fermentation of certain alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and allyl alcohol.


Intralesional triamcinolone therapy for pretibial myxedema. In a prospective study, nine patients with pretibial myxedema were treated with intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide. Complete resolution of the myxedematous plaques was obtained in seven of the nine patients. The other two patients failed to complete their treatment  programs but did show partial resolution. For most patients the monthly injection of 8 ml or less of a solution containing 5 mg/ml of triamcinolone proved to be the most effective dosage schedule. No serious side effects were encountered. New nodules of myxedema developed in some patients after the initial completion of therapy; these nodules responded to reinjection using the same dosage schedule.


Fixed long ultraviolet eruption.

Fixed long ultraviolet eruption. For five years, a 40-year-old woman has had an itchy, erythematous, papular eruption with indistinct margins localized to particular areas on the exposed surface of the face. The eruption is precipitated by sunlight or fluorescent lighting and can be reproduced by exposure of affected parts of the face to long ultraviolet radiation (UV) but not by exposure to the shorter sunburing UV. It cannot be reproduced on the skin of the back. Frequent application of a sunscreen that absorbs the long UV completely supresses the eruption. This entity has not been described previously, to my knowledge.


Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita with electron microscopical studies. Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA), one of the rare, scarring, nonhereditary, mechanobullous diseases, occurred in a 74-year-old woman. Clinical histological, and immunofluorescent findings are comparible with those previously reported in cases of EBA. To our knowledge, this is the first report of electron microscopical studies in EBA. Electron microscopy of "normal-looking" skin with EBA shows a noncellular, amorphous material on the dermal side of the basal lamina. Electron microscopy of slightly traumatized skin with EBA is very similar to that seen in dermolytic bullous dermatosis.