Posterior fossa subdural hematoma demonstrated by vertebral angiography. A case of spontaneous posterior fossa subdural hematoma secondary to anticoagulation therapy with definitive diagnosis made by vertebral angiography is reported. Vertebral angiographic findings are illustrated and demonstrate primarily mass effect from posterior compartment of posterior fossa and avascular area. Carotid angiography did not show hydrocephalus. A review of the literature was made and this appears to be the first reported case in which a posterior fossa subdural hematoma has been diagnosed by vertebral angiography.


Location of the "zero zone" and its role in the pathogenesis of cervical spondylosis. Significant correlation between the location of the "zero zone" and spondylosis was found in the cervical spine. The possible role of the zero zone in the development of spondylosis is suggested and the deleterious effect of counteracting forces as compared with a unidirectional traction is stressed.


Cerebral cortical arteries in the diagnosis of epidural hematoma. Review of cerebral arteriograms of all our patients [19] with epidural hematoma over a 2 year period revealed evidence of localized extrinsic compression of the cerebral cortex in all cases. This finding, although not as specific as those previously described for epidural hematoma, was strongly suggestive. A 2 year prospective study was then initiated employing internal, rather than common carotid arteriography, because opacification of the external carotid artery is not necessary for evaluation of cortical compression. In this study, which consisted of 21 patients, epidural hematoma was correctly diagnosed in all, relying primarily on signs of localized extrinisic cerebral cortical compression. No epidural hematoma was misinterpreted as being a subdural hematoma or an intracerebral injury, and all epidural hematomas that were present were diagnosed correctly. We conclude that internal carotid arteriography is a sensitive method for diagnosing epidural hematoma. The signs of extrinsic cortical compression should be emphasized in the interpretation of arteriograms of patients with head injuries whether the internal or the common carotid artery is injected.


Cavum veli interpositi. Roentgen anatomy - pathology and physiology. 158 pneumoencephalographies of infants less than 2 years old were examined and 53 of them had a large cavum veli interpositi. A neuroradiological description of this cistern is given and a comparison made with injected anatomical specimens. A statistical comparison with 105 pneumoencephalographies without a cavum veli interpositi does not shown any correlation between the presence of this cistern and pathological conditions. This investigation indicates that a large cavum veli interpositi in the newborn has no relation to hydrocephalus or cerebral atrophy. The younger the child, the more frequent is the presence of this cistern, especially under eight months of age.


Angiographic demonstration of a trigeminal neurinoma. The case of a young man with a trigeminal neurinoma arising from the cerebellopontine angle and extending to the Gasserion ganglion is presented and the angiographic findings are described.


[Histological findings in parabiosis with crossed digestive tubes]. Microscopic examination of organs from outbred and inbred rats used in 5 groups for experiments in parabiosis with and without crossing of the digestive tubes and pseudoparabiosis showed that skin junctions soon became dehiscent, with boundary furrows tendings to separate the animals, in outbred rats, whereas continuity was not lost throughout the experiment in inbred rats, whereas continuity was not lost throughout the experiment in inbred animals. Juncture with abundant connective tissue rich in small-cell infiltrates was noted in intestinal anastomoses between outbreds, followed by dehiscence or incomplte junction. In inbred animals, junctions persisted till death; these were usually less abud nant than in anastomoses after section in the same animal. Serious steatoticonecrotic liver and amyloidotic kidney alterations were noted in all animals in parabiosis and pseudoparabiosis. These were more marker in inbred animals and appeared to have been responsible for death in cases where dehiscence and peritonitis did not take place. These histopathological pictures - also noted in inbred rats in pseudoparabiosis (i. e. kept together by nylon nets only) - make it impossible to say whether crossing of the digestive tubes is per se a cause of lesions. The experimentation of another parabiosis technique is proposed.


[Emergency surgery for traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. Treatment of 2 cases in children]. Two cases of tra-matic diaphragmatic hernia, observed in children, are reported. The pathologenesis and therapy are discussed.


[Thyroid carcinoma in the young age].

[Thyroid carcinoma in the young age]. Thyroid carcinoma in the young is relatively benign. Lymph node, lung and bone metastases are very frequent. This sets a premium on early diagnosis and at the same time complicates the choice of management. These wellcombined surgical and radiation treatment is therefore recommended.


[Pancreatic diseases with pleuropulmonary complications of surgical significance]. It is well known that a pleuropneumopathy brought on by local action of biochemical nature (amylase) can occur in the course of quiescent or unknown pancreatitis. The literature on the subject was therefore examined with respect to abdominothoracic diffusion of the pancreatic excretion. Also examined were indications for surgery in the unusual complications which may arise, often with dramatic emergency (acute abdomen in sufferers from slight persistent pleural effusion; pleuropulmonary perforative syndrome in be course of quite stabilized chronic pancreatitis). Personal experience with four successfully treated cases is reported. The literature contains only sporadic examples and some remarks and deductions are made with regard to the controversial ways of amylasic abdominothoracic transfer.


[Ceporex in the treatment of closed injuries of the thorax]. The effectiveness of antibiotic therapy with Cefaloridine in 49 patients with thoracic trauma is presented and the results obtained evaluated.


[Extracorporeal circulation in homologous and heterologous isolated liver in the depurative treatment of prolonged limb ischemia. Experimental research]. Preliminary experiments in extracorporeal cleansing of long ischaemic limbs with isolated liver prior to re-establishment of normal circulation are described. The absence of cases of renal block and the survival of all the animals so treated offer encouragement for the prosecution of this line of investigation.


[Thoracic injuries and resuscitation. Case reports and critical review]. A series of 68 chest injuries treated at the Resuscitation and Intensive Care Unit. S. Orsola Policlinic, Bologna, between May 1967 and December 1973 is presented. Treatment was given by the staff of the anaesthesia and resuscitation service and the chest surgery section, 2nd Surgical Clinic, University of Bologna. The types of case observed and the treatment methods employed are bierfly explained, together with the clinical and statistical data. Emphasis is laid on the relation between clinical course and blood gas values. The value of tracheostomy and protracted intubation is discussed, together with the utility of antalgic and psychosedative management. The increased frequency of bronchopneumonic complications is noted. Encouraging results obtained by surgical stabilisation of movable flaps by means of Kirschner wires are reported. While this method admittedly requires thoracotomy, this in itself has the advantage of enabling existing pleural and pulmonary lesions to be repaired.


[Selective anterior vagotomy of the duodenum. Propositions, technics and experimental results]. Previous studies have demonstrated that changes in endoduodenal pressure may cause pancreatic alterations in biliary diseases. Anterior selective vagotomy of the duodenum was devised to reduce duodenal motility. An experimental study showed that such a surgical procedure is followed by a marked decrease in the overall duodenal kinesis, with disappearance of the highest pressure peaks.


[Prevention of hemorrhagic complications following cardiopulmonary bypass]. Isolated primary fibrinolysis following cardiopulmonary bypass was fully prevented by using a modern washing technique for the reusable metal parts of the extracorporeal circuit: immersion in 20% caustic soda for 4 hr and in a detergent solution for a further 4 hr prior to rinsing and sterilisation. Reduction of bleeding from 558 to 465 cc/m2 was attributable an improved perfusion technique, early diagnosis and radical cleaning of the circuit. The disappearance of fibrinolysis, however, was entirely brought about by more thorough cleansing of the reusable metal parts.


[Treatment of hydatid cysts of the liver perforated into the intrahepatic bile ducts]. After recalling the latest finding on the pathological anatomy, physiopathology, symptomatology, diagnosis and surgical therapy of hepatic echinococcus with intrahepatic bile duct fistulas, the personal series and that of the Palermo Surgical Pathology School is illustrated. These series included 12 patients. The surgery employed is analysed and results obtained reported. It is concluded that modern diagnostic methods, particularly intraoperatory, the new radical surgery techniques, and the improved post-operative assistance offer better chances of success in this condition, reducing both mortality and postoperative complications.


Gastric antrum and dumping syndrome. Possible pathogenetic correlations. On the basis of the observation that the dumping syndrome is seen very rarely now compared to the past, experimental and clinical research was carried out with a view to explaining this phenomenon. These studies showed that it is possible that the gastric antrum plays a basic role in the pathogenesis of the dumping syndrome.


[Results with arteriovenous fistulae in periodic haemodialysis]. Personal experience regarding 92 arteriovenous fistuale carried for the application of the artificial kidney in 70 patients is described. The technical technique is explained and haemodynamic considerations in support of a preference for end-to-end anastomosis are illustrated. A critical assessment is made of the reasons for failure and their prognostic significance as far as subsequent operation is concerned.


[Papillosphincteroplasty and wirsungsphincteroplasty. Immediate and late results]. Immediate and long-term results in 250 PSP operations associated with WSP in 116 cases are reported. Complications and failures are described and evaluated, while their causes and possible connection with the type of operation employed are explained. Examinations carried out in the assessment of long-term results are described and justified. It is felt that both operations are to be recommended. WSP, in particular, is considered a useful innovation in surgical repair of the bilopancreatic juncture.


[Our experience with total gastrectomy for treatment of gastric carcinoma]. A personal series of cases in which surgical management was employed in the treatment of stomach cancers is presented. Total resection is recommended as a method of choice, followed by reconstruction of oesophago-intestinal continuity by interposing an excluded jejunal loop.


[Use of echography as a diagnostic aid in pediatric abdominal pathology]. Echotomography was used in the diagnosis of abdominal paediatric pathology and results compared with traditional methods of investigation. Out of 15 cases examined, echotomography proved its value in the location of the lesions and in the definition of their dimensions and structure.


[Neuroblastoma. Clinical aspects and therapy]. A general account of questions relating to neuroblastoma is followed by the presentation of 53 personal cases observed between 1955 and 1974. Appraisal of the salient data offers information relating to prognosis and treatment in line with the more extensive series presented in the U.S. literature and elsewhere. Cases diagnosed and treated in the first year of life have a distinctly encouraging prognosis. It is felt that accurate clinical, radiological and laboratory screening should be relied upon in individual cases to decide whether or not surgical management is indicated, whereas the high rate of intra- and post-operative mortality would seem to militate against the resort to desperate attempts to achieve total extirpation, accompanied by damage to essential structures, especially since the pratical results achieved are no more than comparable with those offered by conservative surgery. It is hoped that a strip test suitable for use in routine practice will be evolved, bearing in mind the peculiar features of neuroblastomas.


[Controlled clinical trial of 2-mercapto-propionyl-glycine in chronic hepatopathies]. A controlled clinical trial comparing 2-Mercapto-Priopionyl-Glycine (2-MPG) plus B12 vitamin with B12 vitamin alone in chronic liver disease has been conducted in seven hospitals in Italy. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of liver histology; group I included 26 patients showing histological evidence for chronic persistent hepatitis (C.P.H.) (according to De Groote et al.) whereas group II consisted of 54 patients with chronic aggressive hepatitis (C.A.H.) or compensated liver cirrhosis. Patients of each group were randomly allocated to 2-MPG plus B12 vitamin, or to placebo plus B12 vitamin, in a double-blind way. The drug (or placebo) was diluted in 500 ml of 10% Levulose, and administered intravenously; 1000 gamma of B12 vitamin were added to each bottle. Patients in the 2-MPG group received 2.5 gms of the drug daily; the treatment lasted for 30 days. The following parameters were checked in all patients on admission, and repeated at the end of treatment: Serum bilirubin, serum Cholesterol, A.P., BSP retention, Prothrombin time, S-GOT, S-GPT, Gamma-GT, Total serum Protein, serum electrophoresis, Immunoglobulins. Patients given 2-MPG showed significant decreases of serum transaminases, and improvement of BSP retention.


[Clinical studies of the effect of a phosphorylated glycoderivative in acute viral hepatitis]. Experimentation of two i.v. doses of a uridine-5-diphosphoglucose (UDPG) in 30 cases of acute viral hepatitis is reported. The therapeutic efficacy of the drug was assessed on qualitative and quantitative parameters indicative of liver distress. Statistically significant evidence was obtained of the efficacy of UDPG in acute and serious liver disease, and of the greater effectiveness of one of the two doses used. Excellent local and general tolerance was noted.


[Comparative evaluation of the therapeutic action and tolerance of diftalone and indomethacin in the long-term treatment of rheumatoid arthritis]. The therapeutic effectiveness and tolerability of diphthalone and indomethacine administered for long periods were compared in 10 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in the active phase. Each patient was treated with one of the two drugs on a double blind basis. Diphthalone proved to be more active than indomethacine on morning stiffness and on hand grip strength. Diphthalone also produced fewer side effects. The differences indicated proved to be significant statistically.


[A new drug combination for the treatment of non-tubercular acute and chronic bronchopneumopathies]. Good therapeutic results free of unwanted side-effects were observed in the management of acute and chronic non-tubercular bronchopneumopathies with an association of tetracyclin hydrochloride, proteolytic enzymes (trypsin and chymotrypsin), vanillic acid diethylamide and pyridophyllin.


[Coloscopy in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the large intestine]. The usefulness of coloscopy in the diagnosis of inflammatory disease of the large intestine is discussed. A nosological classification was obtained in 440/493 instances of inflammation noted in over 3000 coloscopies-on the basis of the clinical, radiological, endoscopic and histological findings. The endoscopic picture for each disease is described, with particular reference to the main features upon which correct differential diagnosis and classification depend. Coloscopy is virtually indispensable in obtaining a complete clinical study of inflammatory diseases of the colon.


[Clinico-statistical studies of 700 cases of lymphopathy of various types. Nosological considerations]. A breakdown of the statistical data for 700 cases of lymphopathy was undertaken to how far each disease picture could be considered as a seperate entity or as part of a sub-class. It was found that two possibilities exist: a) there is a typical sub-class for this nosological category; b) two sub-classes can be formed, one of which covers paranormal situations, while the other includes cases presenting pathological parameter values. In either event, there remains a considerable fringe of atypical cases that cannot be included in any sub-class.


[Possibilities of metabolic endoradiotherapy with P32 in the prevention of osseous metastases from breast neoplasms. Note II]. To reach a definitive conclusion on the value of using 32P in the prophylaxis of bone metastases in association with surgical and traditional radiotherapeutic treatment, observations should be extended to a much greater number of cases. This notwithstanding, the results obtained justify this methodology based on continuous sustained, internal irradiation which would seem to make possible a diminution in the frequency of bone metastases in the early years of a delay in their onset.


[Coloscopic characterization of polyposis of the large intestine. Macroscopic aspects and histological correlations]. On the basis of the usual macroscopic pathological descriptions, the possibility of characterizing endoscopically the various types of polypous proliferations in the large intestine is examined. The endoscopic parameters considered are described together with the histopathological findings incases of polyps observed over a period of 6 months. Comparison between presumed diagnosis formulated at coloscopic examination and final histological diagnosis shows a concordance of 80%. The usefulness of being able to give some indication regarding the type of nature of the polyps as early as endoscopy is stressed.


[Polycentric studies of idiopathic ulcerous rectocolitis and Crohn's disease of the colon]. An attempt is made to synthesize the experience of leading Italian Endoscopy Centres that concern themselves with problems of the colon. On the basis of a simple questionnaire, the series of 8 Endoscopy Centres have been collected. These number 6012 coloscopic examinations, 465 cases of Idiopathic Ulcerative Colitis and 149 cases of Crohn's Disease of the colon.


[Non-ketosic hyperosmolar hyperglycemic coma. Case reports and therapeutic consideration]. Non-ketonic hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic coma (N.K.H.H.C.) is by no means uncommon in diabetes. Its picture includes sensorial depression, hyperglycaemia, hyperazotemia, marked dehydration and plasma hyperosmolarity. It is mostly found in elderly subjects with non-serious diabetes. Reference is made to 6 personal cases observed during a period of 14 months. The incidence of N.K.H.H.C. noted during this period was 2.2%; this was higher than that of ketoacidotic coma. Two patients died from hypovolaemic shock and one from septic complications. Three survived the episode. Treatment was based on three main points: high doses of insulin, though less than those employed for equal blood sugar levels in cases of ketoacidotic coma, hypotonic saline solutions, and correction of electrolyte imbalance. It is hoped that improved knowledge of the syndrome and, more particularly, earlier diagnosis and treatment, with lead to a reduction in the ta 50% mortality present associated with the disease.


Clinical findings and hormonal responses in patients with polycystic ovarian disease with normal versus elevated LH levels. The clinical features, ovarian pathology, and hormonal responses to dexamethasone (Dex), Dex + ethinyl estradiol (EE), and Dex + hCG were compared in 5 women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) who have normal 24-hr urinary luteinizing hormone (LH levels to 5 who had elevated urinary LH levels. No differences were noted in the clinical features. There was no correlation between ovary size and LH levels. Three in the normal-LH group had hyperthecosis. Plasma androstenedione (A) was more frequently elevated in the high-LH group. Dex + EE markedly increased LH secretion in the high-LH group, suggesting increased responsiveness of the positive feedback control mechanism of LH secretion in the high-LH group. There was a greater response of A, testosterone (T), and 17-ketosteroids to Dex + hCG in the normal-LH group. Those with high-LH levels did not exhibit a significant increase in A, T,  and 17-KS with hCG. The limitations and usefulness of the Dex + hCG test are discussed. The hypothesis is advanced that the increased LH secretion in the high-LH group is due at least in part to positive feedback resulting from the increased A levels. The amount of 17beta-oxidoreductase activity in the ovary may influence LH secretion in PCOD.


Laparoscopy and the infertility evaluation. Results of laparoscopic evaluation of 112 infertile women are presented. Laparoscopy performed prior to comtemplated fallopian tube reconstructive surgery changed the plan of management of 41% of 44 cases. Of 64 women with a normal hysterogram, 58% were found to have evidence of pelvic disease, and 47% had changes in their management based on the findings at laparoscopy. The specific indications and timing of laparoscopy in relation to the remainder of the infertility evaluation are discussed.


Induction of an LH surge with estradiol benzoate. A clinical test of pituitary-hypothalamic axis competence. Intramuscular injection of 6.6 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) in oil was used in 34 women as a test of the ability of the pituitary-hypothalamic axis to produce a gonadotropin surge (positive-feedback response). These responses were compared to Clomid responses. All of the normal cycling women, two-thirds of oligo-ovulatory but menstruating women, and one-third of amenorrheic women had LH surges to EB challenge. Estradiol benzoate is a more specific test of positive feedback response than Clomid. It also may be effective in inducing ovulation in some amenorrheic patients refractory to Clomid treatment.


Uterine anomalies. Frequency of diagnosis and associated obstetric complications. Uterine anomalies are associated with an increase in cases of breech presentation, premature labor, abnormal presentation with dystocia, and the necessity for cesarean section. The yearly frequency of diagnosis of an anomaly has varied from 0.06 to 0.48 at this medical center depending on the physician's clinical suspicion. Thus, if the true incidence and the decrease of obstetric complications are to be accomplished, an increased interest in diagnosing uterine anomalies is essential.


Maternal mortality in an urban hospital. A fifteen-year survey. A 15-year survey of maternal mortality in a large urban hospital revealed an overall rate of 2.95 deaths per 10,000 pregnancies (3.44 per 10,000 live births), representing 31 maternal deaths among approximately 105,000 deliveries and spontaneous and therapeutic abortions. This rate showed marked improvement during the 15-year period, ie, 6.56 per 10,000 pregnancies for the first 5 years as compared to only 1.37 per 10,000 pregnancies for the last 10 years. In contrast to the classic triad of causes of maternal death--toxemia, hemorrhage, and spesis--the principal cause of death in this series was amniotic fluid embolism. Other aspects of the causes of death and of the findings are discussed. Among the 32 fetuses, total fetal wastage was 63%, with a neonatal mortality of 8% and a fetal mortality of 46%.


Predictive value of human placental lactogen determinations in pregnancy. The relation of human placental lactogen (hPL) levels to pregnancy outcome was studied in normal and preeclamptic pregnancies, hPL determinations were performed between 38 and 44 weeks of gestation, and the results were compared with birthweight and Apgar scores in three groups. The results of hPL determinations permitted prediction of intrauterine growth retardation in all except 2 patients. The value of hPL measurement as a screening test in pregnancy is noted.


Human placental lactogen and intrauterine growth retardation. Serum human placental lactogen levels were measured after 36 weeks' gestation in 264 serum samples from 109 women with normal pregnancies and in 137 serum samples from 70 women with pregnancies complicated by fetal intrauterine growth retardation (IGR). The fetal and placental weights were significantly lower in the IGR groups while the maternal ages were not different. There was a significantly lower hPL value at each week from 36 to 41 (except for the 39th) in the IGR group. Sixty percent of the women with IGR had hPL values less than 6 mug/ml, and 18.6% were less than 4 mug/ml. It is suggested that a low serum hPL value obtained during the last month of pregnancy should alert the physician to the possibility of intrauterine problems, including IGR.


Concurrent use of prostaglandin F2alpha and laminaria tents for induction of midtrimester abortion. One hundred sixteen women between 14 and 20 weeks of gestation were aborted with a combined regimen of intraamniotic prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) and intracervical laminaria. Complications among these women were compared to those among 122 patients who aborted after PGF2alpha administration only. Shorter intervals between initiation and completion of abortion were observed in nulliparous women treated with the combined regimen than in nulliparous women treated with PGF2alpha only. In parous patients, the use of laminaria did not shorten the interval from initiation to completion of abortion. A decrease of the hematocrit in excess of 5 points and periabortal infection requiring antibiotic therapy occurred with similar frequency in both treatment groups. However, with the combined regimen no cervical tears were observed in nulliparous patients, and fewer women failed to abort within 48 hours.


Acquired hypertrichosis lanuginosa associated with endometrial malignancy. A 46-year-old nulligravida complained of the recent development of an erythematous skin eruption and fine blond hair over her face. These complaints appeared to be symptoms of acquired hypertrichosis lanuginosa, which may be associated with malignancy. The patient was found to have an endometrial adenocarcinoma with nodal metastases and was treated with hysterectomy and irradiation. Eighteen months later there was no evidence of the cancer, and the lanugo hairs had vanished. This is the first known instance of hypertrichosis lanuginosa associated with a gynecologic cancer and the first ever observed in which the lanugo hairs disappeared after cancer therapy.


An improved data display system for fetal heart rate monitoring. Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitor records, particularly those derived from external sensors, may contain artifactual information closely resembling true FHR patterns. Additional machine-determined information may be used to help discriminate these data. Present commercial systems for indicating potentially artifactual FHR modify the FHR display, and this tends to cause the physician to ignore the absence of data or annoy him by obliterating some useful as well as potentialy useless information. Therefore, we chose to put the information that the data may be artifactual on another channel and allow the physician, rather than the instrument, to modify the interpretation of the FHR as necessary. A computer study was made of the characteristics of FHR beat-to-beat changes during poor signal to determine the most appropriate criteria for indicating when the FHR record is highly likely to be artifactual. Unphysiologic, erratic FHR changes are easily flagged by the presence of 3 serial beat-to-beat changes greater than 25 beats/min. Clinical testing demonstrated that this system allows the physician to better discriminate between valid and invalid data and increases the amount of usable data, particularly in active patients.


Characteristics of antifriction devices used for ski bindings. These tests suggest that various antifriction devices do reduce the amount of torsion that can be transmitted to the skier's tibia during a slow twisting fall. It was shown that under various environmental conditions the antifriction devices are effective. Dirt negatively affected the performance of some devices. The importance of protecting bindings and antifriction devices from contamination cannot be overemphasized. It was shown that some antifriction devices perform better than others. In most instances the performance of the plate type of binding compares favorable with that of toe-heel bindings using antifriction devices. For the plate type of binding the dirt particularly had a detrimental effect. It should also be pointed out that these tests were run with one particular binding. These results would not necessarily be the same if the tests were conducted with another binding system. For instance, the limited motion of some of the antifriction devices (Lotork, Skidder) may impede their performance when used with bindings requiring a greater travel distance before release. The performance with other boot soles may be different from that with the particular boot sole used for these tests. Performance might be improved with a harder, smoother boot sole. Similarly, the effectiveness of the antifriction device may be reduced by the use of boot soles with a coarse pattern or relatively soft treads. In this test series a relatively small number of antifriction devices were evaluated. One should not presume that all devices will perform with equal effectiveness. Another factor, equally important, is the correction for the height of antifriction devices. Antifriction devices raise the boot sole from the ski surface, and if this change in height is not accounted for, the boot sole may effectively interfere with the operation of the toe or the heel unit. In summary, it can be stated that when properly applied and selected, antifriction devices make a significant contribution to skiing safety.


Theoretical estimation of binding release values. In summary, it can be stated that the optimal binding setting for either the inadvertent release criterion or for the fracture criterion is a function of the binding characteristics. This study suggests that such binding characteristics should be a factor incorporated in recommended binding setting tables for the recreational skier. Bindings with large motions (large energy absorption capabilities) are most likely to meet both the fracture and inadvertent release criteria. Bindings with large motions are more likely to cause fracture if friction exists. This study emphasizes the necessity for reducing binding friction to an absolute minimum. Frictional resistance seriously compromises the performance of contemporary bindings.


Modeling of the human leg in ski injuries. This study establishes that the human lower extremity-ski system has a fundamental frequency of approximately 1 Hz. The fundamental mode dominates the system response when loading times are short compared to the first natural frequency. Consequently, the use of a single degree of freedom approximation and the use of impulse criteria can provide important insights into the problem of skiing injuries. Specifically, the sport of snow skiing develops forces with frequency content in the static, transition, and impulse regions of the leg-ski response spectrum. Therefore, ski release bindings must be designed to safely and effectively couple the leg to the ski throughout this loading environment. An important means of evaluating possible binding designs is by simulating their characteristics in a computer model. The model will apply realistic loading histories to the ski or binding, will evaluate the strain in the bones and ligaments of the lower extremity, and will determine the release point of the binding. The program presented in this discussion is one stage in the development of this total system capability.


The etiology of ski injuries: an eight year study of the skier and his equipment. Detailed ski injury statistics have been maintained at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, since the opening of the area as a major ski resort in 1966. These statistics were examined to uncover some of the major contributory factors involved in ski accidents. The characteristics that set this study aside from other such reports are the inclusion of both an adequately sized normal control population and the longitudinal collection of comparable data from a relatively stable skiing population over an eight year period, to reveal trends in the number and type of accidents.


Effect of flow material ski boots on foot circulation. The effect of modern "flow material" ski boots on foot circulation was studied. Pressure inside a flow material ski boot was found to be markedly higher than in a conventional ski boot. In some places the pressure exceeded the diastolic pressure in the foot. 113mIndium chloride, which when injected intravenously is bound to transferrin was used for blood pool scanning. In healthy young volunteers the uptake of radioactivity in the two feet--one with and one without a ski boot--was compared. The activity level of the foot with the ski boot was significantly lower than in the other foot. After corrections were made for absorption by the boot, a significant difference remained. Plethysmographic studies were performed with a mercury strain gauge using a ski boot in which a hole was cut over the big toe. No difference was demonstrated between the blood pressure at the leg just above the boot top and at the big toe. The arterial pulse wave at the big toe was altered; i.e., there was an absence of a dichrotic wave. Intramuscular perfusion was studied with 133xenon. The disappearance curve in a foot with a boot was more shallow than that in a bare foot. Unbuckling resulted in an immediate fall in radioactivity, the disappearance curve then becoming identical to that of the bare foot. The results indicate that when flow material ski boots are to be used by skiers who are not in the habit of unbuckling for short intervals, buckle tension should not be too high.


Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A report is given of a personal series of 72 cases of injury of the anterior cruciate ligament, reconstructed by use of modifications of the Jones procedure. After one year, stability of the knee without a drawer sign was obtained in 80 per cent of the cases.


Boot top fractures.

Boot top fractures. Low transverse fractures of the tibiofibular complex due to ski injuries were formerly virtually unknown but are now met in ever increasing numbers. A series of 126 such fractures occurring in patients 13 years or older was analyzed. The sex and age distributions of these patients were found to differ significantly from those in skiers with other tibial shaft fractures. Among boot top fractures cases, boys younger than 20 years predominated much more than among patients with other fractures of the tibial shaft. In the boot top fracture there is characteristically a backward angulation, which may be combined with a forward displacement of the distal fragment. A simple technique for reduction of this typical deformity is described. According to this technique the surgeon should take a steady grip on the foot held in extreme plantar flexion. By applying strong traction, disimpaction is achieved after which the distal fragment is forced back into position and the fracture is immobilized with the foot in full equinus. This technique was successfully applied in the majority of our cases (112 of 126). Patients with boot top fractures were hospitalized for shorter periods than were skiers with other tibial fractures, and they were able to resume their normal activities much sooner. This held true even when allowance was made for differences in age. During the last few years a new type of boot top fracture has been observed. In this type there is a forward instead of a backward angulation. Its occurrence is most probably related to the new "scoot foot" or "sitting back" technique in downhill skiing. The appearance of this new type of boot top fracture implies that successful prevention can be achieved only with safety bindings that release not only at rotation but also when the skier falls backward.


Bilateral fractures of the lower leg due to skiing accidents. The results of treatment in 13 bilateral lower leg fractures due to skiing accidents are presented. All patients were treated by internal fixation according to the principles of the Swiss Association for the Study of Internal Fixation. The patients on the average were mobilized after nine days, discharged after 24 days, started to use walking braces after 17 days, and undertook partial weight bearing 10 weeks and full weight bearing 14 weeks after the accident.


Comparison of stainless steel and composite plates in the healing of diaphyseal osteotomies of the dog radius: report on a short term study. The rigid fixation of fractures is generally accepted as the best method to achieve union when open treatment of a fracture is undertaken. This has led to the development of plates that have a greater overall dimension and stiffness compared to earlier plate models, as exemplified by the Lane or Eggers type of plate. In our experience the more rigid plate generally leads to satisfactory union, but also carries with it the risk of refracture, either through a screw hole or across the original fracture after plate removal. Experiments by Uhtoff and Dubuc on experimental animals showed that plate induced osteopenia existed when a rigid plate was applied to an intact or osteomized canine femur. These results provide a possible explanation for the occurrence of late fracture. The study to be described is based on the hypothesis that a rigid plate applied to bone induced localized immobilization osteopenia, which ultimately weakens the bone and leads to the development of late fracture. The study was designed to compare a plate made of stainless steel, which exhibited mechanical stiffness comparable to that of devices presently in use, with a plate made of a composite material, which exhibited decreased stiffness by nearly one order of magnitude. It had been demonstrated by engineering analysis that the less stiff plate would allow the bone to experience normal loading, and it was thought that this loading would modulate the rate and pattern of bone remodeling, thereby resulting in bone of greater strength and size as compared to a more rigidly plated bone.


The skiing sequelae of tibial torsion.

The skiing sequelae of tibial torsion. The purpose of this communication is to support the following hypotheses: 1. That variations in tibial torsion are functionally important in parallel skiing. 2. That external tibial torsion in particular is a "deformity" that can interfere markedly with parallel skiing. 3. That even normal individuals have greater external torsion of the right tibia than the left, and that this normal difference may correlate with the preference of many skiers for traversing and maneuvering primarily in one direction. 4. That a relatively small difference in the anatomic alignment of the lower extremities may entail substantial alterations in balance and in distribution of forces in the skier and that these differences should be searched out by centers preparing to equip skiers with bindings and skiis in an attempt to further refine the skier-ski linkage. These hypotheses derive from a blend of the personal experience of the principal author and a detailed search of the English and French literature of the past century relating to rotational alignment, motion, and control of the lower extremity in general, and to tibial torsion in particular.


First aid on the ski slopes.

First aid on the ski slopes. In administering first aid on ski slopes, the principles followed are basic ones: arrest of hemorrhage, adequate immobilization of fractures, prevention of shock, and relief of pain. Respiratory and circulatory complications must of course be given priority, but in my experience such situations have not arisen.


Ski injuries in Sweden: a one year survey. In a study of ski injuries in Sweden in 1973-1974, information regarding 1199 ski injuries was obtained. Downhill skiing was responsible for 75 per cent of the injuries. Cross country skiing proved to be a safe sport. Poor adjustment of release bindings, skiing at too high a speed, and deficiencies in the slopes were the most common causes of injury. The investigation led to an information program that seems to have reduced the injury rate by 25 to 30 per cent.


The Australian skier: his environment, injuries, and some aspects of casualty transport. Skiing in Australia is not a new phenomenon. Since the early 1890s, when miners in the snowfield regions discovered snowshoeing using wooden palings, the craze has steadily grown in Australia, as in other countries. The Australian winter occurs six months out of phase with the northern winter, but we also have other unique problems in regard to skiing conditions, and therefore possibly ski trauma. This presentation discusses first our local skiing conditions and then presents some statistics from one of our major resorts. Two aids used by our emergency services may also be of interest.


Factors contributing to the production of skiing injuries. The cause of the accident was analyzed in 981 individuals sustaining skiing injuries. Exhaustion, poor physical condition, and poor skiing technique were the most frequent causes, but poorly prepared slopes also were an important factor.


The risk of injury in experienced Alpine skiers. In 981 skiing accidents the type of injury resulting was studied in relation to the skiing activity (long distance, cross country, and downhill) and to the type of boots used. From the patterns of injuries it appears that in downhill skiing not only the velocity but also the particular type of equipment used is responsible for the increased incidence and for the characteristic type of injuries. The alpine ski boot used in downhill skiing, however, seems to protect the ankle joint and the foot from injuries that are more common in cross-country and long distance skiing.


Injuries in long distance, cross country, and downhill skiing. In 981 skiing accidents the type of injury resulting was studied in relation to the skiing activity (long distance, cross country, and downhill) and to the type of boots used. From the patterns of injuries it appears that in downhill skiing not only the velocity but also the particular type of equipment used is responsible for the increased incidence and for the characteristic types of injuries. The alpine ski boot used in downhill skiing, however, seems to protect the ankle joint and the foot from injuries that are more common in cross country and long distance skiing.


Experimental biomechanics of the human leg. A basis for interpreting typical skiing injury mechanisms. In 1965 the continually increasing number of injured skiers inspired us to consider a special program for the prevention of injuries in alpine skiing (Fig. 1A). All the common measures used to prevent injuries resulting from a dangerous fall by the skier were apparently insufficient. Release bindings provided only limited protection for the leg, for in 63 per cent of the cases of injury the binding had not released. Moreover, no definite information was available concerning the adjustment of release bindings for maximal safety. Finally, the mechanical and dynamic characteristics of safe release bindings were not known. In alpine skiing the tibia is the most frequent site of severe injury. In such a fall the tibia is the weakest link in the lower extremity. Thus, biomechanical research was started in 1965 to study the injury threshold of this body segment. Initially we determined the relationships of bone dimensions, sex, and age to the biomechanical characteristics of the tibia.


Fundamental considerations in ski binding analysis. 1. The static adjustment of a ski binding by hand or by available machines is only an adjustment and is neither a static nor a dynamic evaluation of the binding design. Bindings of different design with identical static adjustments will perform differently in environments in which the forces are static or dynamic. 2. The concept of binding release force is a useful measure of binding adjustment, but it is inappropriate as a criterion for binding evaluation. First, it does not direct attention toward the injury causing mechanism, strain, or displacement in the leg. Second, it is only part of the evaluation in dynamic problems. 3. The binding release decision in present bindings is displacement controlled. The relative displacement of the boot and ski is the system variable. For any specified relative displacement the binding force can be any of an infinite number of possibilities determined by the loading path. 4. The response of the leg-ski system to external impulses applied to the ski is independent of the boot-ski relative motion as long as the boot recenters quickly in the binding. Response is dependent upon the external impulse plus system inertia, damping and stiffness. 5. When tested under half sinusoidal forces applied to a test ski, all bindings will demonstrate static and impulse loading regions. In the static region the force drives the binding to a relative release displacement. In the impulse region the initial velocity of the ski drives the binding to a release displacement. 6. The transition between the static and impulse loading regions is determined by the binding's capacity to store and dissipate energy along the principal loading path. Increased energy capacity necessitates larger external impulses to produce release. 7. In all bindings examined to date, the transmitted leg displacement or strain at release under static loading exceeds leg strain under dynamic or impact loading. Because static loading is responsible for many injuries, a skier should be able to release his bindings in every mode by simply pulling or twisting his foot outward. If that cannot be done without injury, the skier has identified for himself one type of fall that will result in injury. 8. And lastly, a little advice from Ben Franklin--"Carelessness does more harm than a want of knowledge."


Effects of a series of infections of Ostertagia circumcincta on gastric secretion of sheep. Sheep which had been either previously infected with 3. circumcincta or maintained worm-free, were surgically prepared with separated fundic pouches and abomasal cannulae and subsequently infected with 20,000 O. circumcincta larvae three times weekly. A reduction in food intake and increases in total acid output from the pouches and plasma pepsinogen levels were evident in both groups of sheep 4 days after repeated infections commenced; effects which increased in severity after 12 or more days. Except for a transient period of slight failure, previously infected sheep retained the capacity to acidify their abomasal contents whereas previously worm-free sheep lost this capacity. These changes were reversed between 2 and 7 days after treatment with thiabendazole (88 mg.kg-1). Secretory capacity of the fundic pouches was tested with histamine (40 mug.kg-1), the histamine antagonist (burimamide 8 mg.kg-1) and atropine (100 mug.kg-1). Ostertagiasis reduced or abolished the stimulatory effects of histamine. An increase in secretion volume and acid output was obtained after food was freshly provided, even though as little as 25 gm was consumed. Atropine and burimamide both caused a profound decrease in pouch secretion and acid output. These data are consistent with the hypothesis previously stated that in ostertagiasis the hypersecretion from fundic pouches is due to increased levels of circulating gastrin.


The occurrence of Eimeria marsica in the domestic sheep in England and Wales. Eimeria marsica Restani 1971 is re-described from oocysts recovered in pure culture from experimentally infected coccidia-free lambs. The ellipsoidal oocysts, which measure 19-1 x 13-1 mum, possess an inconspicuous micropylar cap. The prepatent period varies from 14-16 days. E. marsica is recorded for the first time from sheep in England.


The immunity arising from continuous low-level infection with Eimeria maxima and Eimeria acervulina. Chicks were given daily inoculations of 1 or 5 oocysts of Eimeria maxima or 5 or 20 oocysts of E. acervulina. The inoculations ceased after 20 days with E. maxima or 25 days with E. acervulina when oocyst production had stopped. The responses to subsequent heavy challenges showed that with both species the immunity arising from the serial inoculations was stronger and/or more enduring than that produced by single inoculations of comparable numbers of oocysts.


Immune expulsion of Trichuris muris from resistant mice: suppression by irradiation and restoration by transfer of lymphoid cells. Lethal irradiation (850 rads) of mice made resistant to Trichuris muris markedly depressed their ability to expel a challenge infection. Expulsion was restored within 7-10 days when MLNC from uninfected mice were transferred on the day of infection, but no significant restoration was evident after transfer of immune serum. Transfer of BM alone had no restorative effect within 10 days and no synergism was seen when both BM and MLNC were transferred. MLNC from uninfected donors did not restore challenge expulsion when transfer was delayed until day 7 and the mice were killed 3 days later, although MLNC from resistant donors were effective within this time. When irradiated mice were given BM and the challenge infection allowed to continue for 15 days expulsion was restored, as it was when challenge was delayed for 7 days after BM transfer in thymectomized mice. The results confirm that expulsion of T. muris involves both antibody-mediated and lymphoid cell-mediated phases and offer no evidence for the involvement of other cell types.


The feeding behaviour of larvae, nymphs and adults of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. The pre-feeding and feeding periods of larvae, nymphs and adults of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus on rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were investigated. Larvae and nymphs required at least 8-9 days after hatching and moulting respectively before they could attach and start feeding, while adults required at least 6-9 days. But longer periods of starvation improved the proportion of ticks that successfully fed. After attachment, there was always an initial period of slow feeding, which was followed by a phase of very rapid feeding before the engorged ticks detached from the host. Larvae detached 4-5 days after attachment, nymphs detached after 5-6 days and adults detached 7-9 days after attachment.


Observations on crystals found in the intestine of Nematodirus battus during the development of immunity to this nematode in lambs. Lambs which were given 60000 infective larvae of Nematodirus battus progressively threw off adult nematodes from day 20 onwards. Large, hexagonal crystals appeared in the intestine of the adult nematode at about this time and caused blockage of the intestinal-rectal or -cloacal junction. Lambs which were given 1000-2000 infective larvae did not throw off the infection, and adult nematodes from lambs which had been infected for up to 74 days did not contain these crystals. Chemical, histochemical and x-ray microanalysis tests on the crystals indicated that they are lipoprotein in composition. The crystals arise within the lumen of the nematode and appear to be associated with the development of immunity to this nematode in lambs.


Some observations on egg production and autoreinfection of Reighardia sternae (Diesing, 1864), a pentastomid parasite of the herring gull. Egg production by Reighardia sternae, implanted at various stages of maturity into the interclavicular air sacs of captive gulls, is described. Females produce only 2900 eggs per lifetime over a short patent period of 1-3 days. The problem of a direct life-cycle in relation to this unusually low fecundity is discussed, and speculation is advanced concerning a possible parasitic behavioural trait which could facilitate direct transmission. The hazards of the latter are also offset by auto-reinfection.


Immunity to Hymenolepis diminuta: unresponsiveness of the athymic nude mouse to infection. Male and female congenitally athymic nude (nu/nu) mice infected with a single cysticercoid of Hymenolepis diminuta at 6 weeks of age retain the infection for at least 33 days. In the males of their phenotypically normal litter-mates, however, a single cysticercoid infection establishes and grows but is expelled between days 11 and 17. The unresponsiveness of the nude mouse to single H. diminuta infection is evidence that the immune rejection from normal mice is thymus-dependent.


Anaerobic infections in children: a prospective study. The prevalence and significance of anaerobic infections in patients at St. Louis Children's Hospital were studied prospectively for a one-year period. Blood, selected body fluids, and aspirates obtained from abscesses or areas of cellulitis were cultured using special anaerobic collection and processing techniques. Infected peritoneal fluid from patients with gastrointestinal disease yielded a large proportion of all anaerobic isolates. The types of organisms isolated were common inhabitants of the intestinal tract. Anaerobic organisms were recovered from only 0.75% of all blood cultures; anaerobic bacteremia accounted for 5.8% of all clinically significant bacteremic episodes (8.7% in the neonatal period and 4.8% in children over 1 month of age). Serious anaerobic infections occurred more frequently in the compromised host or in newborn infants than in otherwise healthy children. Since anaerobic organisms cause a small proportion of infectious diseases in a general pediatric population, the cost of refined bacteriologic techniques for the isolation and identification of these organisms is not warranted in most community hospitals. However, such a program should be available in selected tertiary care centers to aid in the management of certain high-risk patients.


Does watching violence on television cause apathy? The hypothesis that exposure to televised violence serves to increase children's toleration of real-life aggression was investigated. Fifth-grade boys and girls were exposed to either a violent television excerpt or a nonviolent, exciting control program. Immediately thereafter, each child was lead to believe that he had been given responsibility for monitoring the behavior of two younger children. Subjects who had witnessed the aggressive television program were found to be significantly slower to summon appropriate adult aid when the younger children began to argue and fight than were subjects who had viewed the control film.


Pinna anomalies associated with congenital conductive hearing loss. This paper compares the normal pinna with the abnormal congenitally malformed pinna. Then the abnormal pinna is related to case histories where a hearing loss was found due to a congenital malformation of the middle ear ossicles. Careful examination of the pinna, therefore, may be a simple diagnostic sign of an underlying potentially surgically correctable hearing loss. An abnormal pinna is more often associated with a middle ear anomaly than with any other congenital malformation including a urinary tract anomaly.


Central hypoventilation during quiet sleep in two infants. Expired ventilation (VE), tidal volume (VT), frequency (f), and alveolar PCO2 (PACO2) were examined in six normal infants at 41 to 52 weeks post-conceptional age and in two infants who were apneic at birth. Their response to breathing 5% carbon dioxide in air and to 100% oxygen in quiet sleep were compared to those in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. VE in normal infants was 259 ml/kg/min in REM and 200.2 ml/kg/min in quiet sleep with the difference being due to decreased carbon dioxide production and to decreased dead space. VE increased 34.4 ml/kg/min/mm Hg of PCO2 elevation with 5% carbon dioxide breathing during REM and was not significantly different during quiet sleep. During oxygen breathing VE fell by 32.7% at 30 seconds before increasing again. In the affected infants, VE and PACO2 during REM at 1 and 4 months were normal. At 1 month, during quiet sleep, each infant became apneic and PACO2 rose 9 and 8 mm Hg/min respectively. At this time mechanical ventilation was begun. At 4 months, during quiet sleep, VE was 0.064 and 0.063 ml/kg/min at PACO2 of 66 mm Hg in each infant. The change was due entirely to a decrease in VT to 2.3 and 2.5 ml/kg. At this time 5% carbon dioxide breathing given during normal ventilation in REM produced an abrupt fall in VT to 2.0 and 2.2 ml/kg with no change in frequency. Oxygen breathing during REM at one month had no effect but at 4 months produced apnea requiring mechanical ventilation after one minute. The findings suggest that the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide is (1) important in initiation of extrauterine ventilation and (2) in sustaining ventilation particularly in quiet sleep. It is not necessary in sustaining ventilation awake or in REM sleep and it represents a balance between the stimulatory and depressant effects of carbon dioxide on the central nervous system.


Incidence and clinical features of patent ductus arteriosus in low-birthweight infants: a prospective analysis of 150 consecutively born infants. The incidence of persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus beyond the third day of life was prospectively determined in 100 preterm infants with birthweights of 2,000 gm or less and 50 infants with birthweights of 2,001 to 2,500 gm. The overall incidence was 21% and was inversely related to increasing gestational age and birthweight. The data suggest that immaturity is the major determinant of the persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus. Spontaneous delayed closure of the ductus occurred in 79% of patients that survived the immediate neonatal period. There was a high degree of association between the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Eight infants with severe RDS and PDA developed heart failure and four required surgical ligation of the ductus. None of the infants with birthweights greater than 2,000 gm who had PDA developed heart failure or required surgical ligation of the ductus arteriosus.


Insulin responses during catch-up growth of infants who were small for gestational age. Growth characteristics of 15 full-term infants, selected because of weights more than 2 SD below the mean for gestational age, are described. The response to an intravenous injection of glucose was utilized to measure the insulin response of the infants at 6 months. Infants small for gestational age grow at a faster rate than appropriate-for-age infants during the first six months of life. There was a positive correlation between the growth velocity of the period and insulin release and a negative correlation between growth velocity and birth length. There was no correlation between these variables and increases in weight during the same period. Growth velocity during catch-up growth is related to the degree of preceding retardation but insulin may play a permissive role.


Books for children about death.

Books for children about death. Books about death for preschool and schoolaged children are reviewed in terms of child development, children's understanding of death, and literary quality. The article is written to help pediatricians and nurses become aware of this literature and to aid them in selectively advising concerned parents about its constructive use to help children understand death. Preventive mental health is the focus rather than use with fatally ill children.


Dermoid cysts in children.

Dermoid cysts in children. A retrospective study of dermoid cysts in children over the past 13 years at St. Christopher's Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, showed that 37% of the dermoids in the body occurred in the orbital and peri-orbital areas. An unusually high percentage of these occurred in the left eyebrow which appears to be the most frequent location for dermoid cysts in children. Dermoid cysts are a very common lesion encountered by ophthalmologists inasmuch as 3.3% of all ophthalmic surgical procedures in children were performed for dermoids. All 231 cases in this series were benign. The manner and time of presentation of these lesions are discussed as well as the treatment.


Compliance with short-term antimicrobial therapy: some techniques that help. The effect of two reminder devices on compliance with a ten-day antimicrobial prescription was investigated in a health center population. The reminders, a clock printed on the prescription label with appropriate times circled and a 5 X 7 inch bright red sticker to be posted at home, were compared to a control group. A total of 158  patients were interviewed at home on the ninth or tenth day of therapy, and compliance estimated by measuring the amount of remaining medication. For children, both reminders improved compliance about two-fold over controls. The findings suggest that (1) several simple reminder devices can be effective and (2) the nature of the patient population may be a more important influence on compliance than the relationship to a physician or the type of health care system. In addition, the study demonstrates the influence of the pharmacist on patients' medication-taking behavior.


An alternative for judging confusability of visual letters. Numerical values for shared distinctive features were derived from Gibson's (1) feature analysis of the 26 uppercase alphabet letters. Due to the lack of agreement among the empirical matrices, it is proposed that this more general table is a useful and practical approach for judging confusability of visual letters for uppercase items. Reaction time data from a Posner-type of letter-matching task support the effectiveness of the table for judging visual confusability among uppercase letters.


Effects of training in design on magnitude of the Müller-Lyer illusion. The Müller-Lyer illusion was measured for 10 design and 10 optometry students. The illusion was smaller for design students and they improved significantly with practice. The results are discussed in relation to size-constancy, according to which part of the figure corresponding to a distant object is overestimated and to the aptitude of design students to draw according to their retinal image.


Relationship between WISC verbal-performance discrepancies and motor and psychomotor abilities of children with learning disabilities. Thirty 9- to 14-yr.-old boys with learning disabilities were divided into three WISC IQ groups: High Verbal-Low Performance, Verbal equal to Performance, and High Performance-Low Verbal. All Ss were given a battery of motor and psychomotor tests. WISC IQ Verbal-Performance discrepancy was not a good predictor of motor and psychomotor learning disabilities.


Evaluation of two instrumental procedures for use with embedded-figures subtest of Purdue Motion-Picture Screening Test. The purpose of this study was to determine if modification of the materials used by young Ss in responding affected their performance on a motion picture screening device. Modification of the modes of measuring responses increased the total performance of 24 kindergarten Ss; however, there appeared to be little relationship with standardized reading achievement test scores for first and second grade Ss. The approaches used appeared applicable with kindergarten Ss.


Recall of familiar objects and projected color photographys of objects by mentally retarded individuals of comparable mental age. The effects of cue-availability on short-term and long-term recall of 40 mentally retarded children were investigated. Subjects were chosen on the basis of comparable mental age (approximately 90 mo.) and randomly assigned to either an objects (high cues) group or slides (low cues) group. 52 familiar objects served as stimuli for the objects group and projected color photographs of the objects were presented to the slides group. In the short-term recall session the subjects were shown stimuli grouped into eight trials and asked to recall the names of the stimuli in each trial ten seconds after presentation. Delayed recall was obtained 48 hr. later in a free recall session. The objects group scored significantly higher than the slides group on memory span (p less than .01), short-term recall (p less than .001), and delayed recall (p less than .025). The facilitation of recall achieved by using three-dimensional stimuli was clearly demonstrated, and the relative degree of facilitation was comparable for both short- and long-term recall.


The Poggendorf illusion in stereoscopic space. The stereoscopic depth separation between the bisecting rectangle and the oblique line of a Poggendorf configuration was manipulated by varying the direction and magnitude of disparity carried by the rectangle. Based upon data of 6 subjects, the magnitude of the illusion decreased with increasing depth separation regardless of the direction of disparity. Depth separation varied directly with disparity. These findings make plain that depth adjacency can operate symmetrically in stereoscopic space.


Effects of visual presentation of caloric values on food buying by normal and obese persons. The effects of the visual presentation of the caloric values of food on the food buying behavior of 450 normal, overweight, and obese female subjects were studied, in a cafeteria setting. The caloric signs significantly decreased the total number of calories bought across all three weight groups. No differences were found among the three weight groups, either in the effect of the presentation of the caloric signs or in the total number of calories bought. The implications of these results were discussed, both in terms of present-day research on obesity as well as in terms of a large scale modification of eating behavior.


Asynchrony of lateral onset as a factor in difference in visual field. An experiment in matching judgments was designed to examine a role of perceptual process in apparent asymmetry. Recognition of Hirakana letters (Japanese letters) was required. The experimental condition in which stimuli were presented to the left visual field first and to the right visual field second produced more errors for all stimulus intervals (0 to 60 msec.) than experimental conditions where stimuli were presented to the right visual field first and to the left one second. Especially, superiority of the latter condition was marked with the longest stimulus interval employed. These results indicate superiority of the left hemisphere function for recognizing Hirakana letters and suggest that not only memory but also perceptual process contributes to this laterality effect.


Dominant direction of conjugate lateral eye movements and responsiveness to facial and verbal cues. Responsiveness to facial versus verbal cues as a function of dominant direction of conjugate lateral eye movements and sex was tested in a 2 X 2 analysis of variance design. Ss were 81 student volunteers. Right-movers (n = 33) were more responsive to verbal cues; left-movers (n = 45) were more responsive to facial cues (p less than .05). The results are consistent with the hypothesized link between conjugate lateral eye movements and functional asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres. Males were more responsive to verbal cues; females were more responsive to facial cues (p less than .05). Data relevant to reliability of the eye movements, the relationship between sex and eye movements, and the relationship between type of question and eye movements are also presented.


Comparison of the methods of limits and electrodermal response for determination of lingual vibrotactile thresholds. Lingual vibrotactile thresholds were obtained from 30 adult Ss by the method of limits and operant conditioning of the electrodermal response. Sensitivity of the tongue was measured at 250 Hz. Comparisons of lingual threshold data showed that thresholds obtained by the method of limits were significantly lower than those obtained by the electrodermal response technique. There was a moderate positive correlation between methods however, indicating a substantial relationship. It was concluded that consistent lingual vibrotactile indexes of sensitivity can be obtained using an electrodermal response approach.


Monocular acquisition and interocular transfer in albino guinea pigs as mediated by ipsi- or contralateral fiber systems. Monocular acquisition and interocular transfer of a horizontal-vertical discrimination were measured in 12 male albino guinea pigs with unilateral lesions of the striate cortex, and in 6 sham-operated controls. In accordance with electrophysiological and anatomical findings, the animals learned readily using the contralateral fibers, while the ipsilateral fibers were found to be incapable of mediating either acquisition, or retention, of the discrimination. The control animals learned readily, but showed incomplete transfer.


Improving a cerbral palsied child's typing with operant techniques. A 7-yr.-old cerebral palsied girl was taught to correct responses on two typing tasks using reinforcement contingent on number of correctly typed words. Maintenance of the behavior remained contingent on the presence of tangible reinforcement.


Intersubject variability in perceived oscillation as a function of threshold for binocular disparity. Four groups of 15 female subjects each were classified along a quantitative dimension for proportion of perceived oscillation and threshold for binocular disparity. Analyses of variance showed that significant differences in proportion of perceived oscillation were accompanied by significant differences in threshold for binocular disparity for perceivers of "high" and "low" oscillation (p less than .05). For perceivers of "intermediate" oscillation significant differences in proportion of perceived oscillation but not threshold for binocular disparity were found. It was suggested that: (1) intersubject variability in perceived oscillation may be governed by the threshold for binocular disparity, (2) "low" perceivers may be especially sensitive to the magnitude of the cue, (3) "intermediate" perceivers' subjective reports may be primarily dependent on response criteria and the multiplicity of subjective factors which constitute it, (4) "high" perceivers apparently have least response sensitivity and they cannot maintain a consistent response criterion.


Variations of Bender-Gestalt constriction and depression in adult psychiatric patients. The present study explored variations of Bender-Gestalt constriction and their relation to depression. 20 Ss showing constriction of drawings on the upper half-page and 20 Ss showing constriction of drawings on the left half-page were compared with regard to MMPI Depression scores. No significant difference was found between these groups. However, when the constricted groups were combined and then compared with 40 Ss who did not show constriction of Bender drawings, the constricted group had significantly higher (p less than .05) MMPI Depression scores. Thus, variations in Bender constriction are not differently related to depression, but presence of constriction is an indicator. However, its rate of occurrence is so infrequent, appearing in only 5% of the records examined, that its clinical usefulness in the detection of depression is quite limited.


Note on duration of stimulus exposure in experiments on covert scanning of laterally shown targets. Prevention of contamination by eye movements is on methodological requirement in the choice of an exposure time in experiments on the covert scanning of stimuli, tachistoscopically exposed laterally. The use of measures of eye movement latency to set upper limits for exposure intervals seems questionable because latency does not index the total time (minimally, 200 msec.) required to obtain information through an eye movement. The foregoing requirement, however, is only one consideration in selection of an exposure time. Since covert encoding processes can only function while the stimulus is on and during the after-stimulation, duration of exposure delimits the operating time of these processes. Choice of an interval, therefore, should establish the setting required to study those aspects of covert scanning of experimental interest.


The "consciousness problem" is not the problem. Although the concept of consciousness is not necessary for the behavioral scientist, it is closely related to a number of psychological concepts that are generally believed to be necessary. Consciousness may be defined as the very short-term memory of a just-completed perceptual act. It may thus be understood as a psychological consequence of psychological antecedents. The question of how brain processes result in consciousness is a misleading one and should be replaced by questions concerning the relationships between the brain and perception, memory, and the other psychological processes that precede consciousness.


Future-time gradients for performance in test anxious individuals. It was assumed that highly anxious individuals should have a negative goal gradient for future performance and that this negative goal gradient should be reduced as the test-anxiety dispositions of the individuals decreased. The results for 392 grade school (6th) students showed, as expected, that (a) the highly anxious individuals (n = 55) tended to decrease the number of problems solved correctly as a future goal (task) approached in time and that (b) the slopes of the negative goal gradients decreased as the test-anxiety dispositions decreased. When number of problems attempted was the measure of performance (c) ther was a tendency for Ss of low anxiety (n = 101) to increase their performance as the goal approached.


Development of spatial concepts in visually deprived children. 110 blind children in Grades 2 through 12 were matched with sighted controls for age, sex, and verbal reasoning ability. Spatial reasoning was compared with nonspatial reasoning ability for the two groups. At each age level, blind children were inferior to sighted children on spatial reasoning, although the two groups did not differ on nonspatial reasoning. Data further support the likelihood that certain interactions with the perceptual environment may be crucial to specific aspects of cognitive functioning in humans.


Biofeedback training with a learning disabled child. Biofeedback training was used to increase a learning disabled child's ability to control his breathing patterns. The procedure was most effective when the child was permitted to explore freely the correlations between his respiratory movements and feedback from the apparatus. Probe trials showed that increased external and self-directed control over the direction and volume of breathing was achieved. Results were discussed in terms of the relationship between biofeedback technology and learning and behavior problems.


Discriminability and identifiability of the human hand based on its quantified complexity. Photographs of human hands were quantified according to a method suggested by Attneave (1954). The over-all complexity of the hands' contours did not affect the accuracy with which pairs and non-pairs of hands could be discriminiated. However, significantly more errors were made in identifying the mates of hands whose thumb regions were relatively complex. These results suggest that the contours of nonlaboratory forms are quantifiable and amenable to parametric investigation.


Field dependence and distraction revisited. An attempt is made to replicate a former study of the relationship of field dependence as measured by rod-and-frame errors to distraction in an RT paradigm. For two groups of Ss (n = 14) who differed specifically in their dependence upon the tilted frame and were classified as frame-dependent and frame-independent, no relationship of frame (or field) dependence to susceptibility to distraction was found.


Interest in entering helping activities and self-disclosure to three targets on the Jourard self-disclosure scale. Jourard's 40-item Self-disclosure Questionnaire was administered to 50 students in a training and selection program for a quasi-counseling position and 52 randomly selected students. Subjects indicated past disclosures to three target persons, parents, best friend, and stranger. Results indicated: highest disclosures were reported to best friends, lowest to strangers; subjects interested in the quasi-counseling position reported more disclosure than subjects not interested in this position; females reported more disclosure than males only to strangers.


Effects of incentive and preparatory interval on activity, heart rate, and reaction time in children. To resolve certain empirical and theoretical difficulties concerning, primarily, the significance of phasic heart-rate deceleration prior to reaction signals, 48 children were employed to perform in simple reaction-time tasks while speed, heart rate, head movement, gross movement, and blink activity were recorded. The indeory intervals and level of incentives. Reaction time varied with incentive, with preparatory interval and mode of presentation. Phasic heart-rate deceleration varied with the intervals but not incentive or mode of presentation. There was little relation between deceleration and RT. Heart rate and somatic movement measures (especially of blinking) were roughly concordant at a group level but did not correlate.


Parental correlates of Rorschach human movement responses in children. The meaning of the human movement response (M) to inkblot stimuli was explored in terms of correlations between children's M productions and the attributes of their parents in 119 familes. M scores were available for the family members; and for each parent there were also measures of personality, values, and childrearing attitudes. A number of the parent-child correlational patterns were congruent with Rorschach's theories concerning the significance of M.


Self-concept: a cross-cultural study.

Self-concept: a cross-cultural study. Self-concept differences between 190 American and 98 Danish 5th and 6th grade suburban students were examined in light of known societal and educational differences. Danish males and American females reported significantly higher self-confidence in personal attributes; American students reported higher achieving in school scores than Danish students. Results are discussed in the contex of cultural differences; further areas of investigation are offered.


Effect of three levels of work intensity on performance of a fine motor skill. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three levels of work intensity on the performance of a fine motor skill during steady-state exercies. Subjects were administered a progressive bicycle ergometer test to exhaustion in order to determine maximum heart rate (HRmax). Following practice sessions on the pursuit rotor, subjects performed 3 different rides on a bicycle ergometer at 60, 75, and 90% of HRmax. The order to test administration was varied randomly in an attempt to control for sequential effects. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to determine differences in pursuit rotor performance by days and by levels of work intensity. No confounding of learning was noted. A significant F ratio (p less than .001) between work intensities showed that fine motor performance during steady-state exercise is affected by levels of work intensity.


Effects of social influence in a recognition task of auditory intensity: a temporary shift in criterion. The effects of responses of another person or a computer occurring prior to the subjects' responses in tasks to recognition model which assumed that subjects shifted their decision criteria temporarily on each trial. A parameter representing the amount of criterion shift reliably estimated sensitivity to social influence. When the social sensitivity parameter was estimated from the data, discriminative ability, defined as d', was unaffected by the presence of social influence. Principal components analyses suggested that social sensitivity and discriminative ability represented essentially orthogonal components of subjects' decision behavior.


[Myocardial infarction in patients over 75 years old. Comparative macroscopic anatomical study]. The macroscopic anatomical study of 27 cases of patients aged over 75 years did not show any significant difference between the myocardial and established coronary artery lesions, and those of a numericaly related group of young subjects. These anatomical facts are inducive to take more into account the physiological age of patients, and not to statistically exclude certain old patients from the eventual benefit of therapy and full investigation, at present reserved for younger patients.


[Cecal perforations in the course of acute idiopathic distension of the colon]. On the basis of two fatal cases of perforation of the caecum secondary to dilatation of the colon without obstruction, the authors discuss the measures which should be instituted in the presence of this condition. These consist, preventively, of decompression of the colon by caecostomy if the diameter of the caecum reaches 10 cm and, curatively, a right hemi-colectomy, not associated with immediate re-establishment of the continuity of the digestive tract.


[Cholestatic hepatitis with a chronic course. 7 cases]. Cholestatic hepatitis, whilst having a longer course than cytolytic forms, in general regresses in a few months. The authors report here seven cases of cholestatic hepatitis lasting for more than 18 months. These chronic forms have certain characteristic features: - female predominance (6 cases out of 7). - a severe degree of cholestasis with, in particular, marked elevation of lipids, cholesterol and alkaline phosphatase. - the absence of Australia antibody and antigen, together with the absence of anti-smooth muscle antibody and anti-mitochondrial natibody. - a decrease in the number of permeable biliary canaliculi in the portal spaces. - a decrease in the number of permeable biliary canaliculi in the portal spaces. - a course which appears to be little influenced by various therapeutic measures. Although the final course seems satisfactory on the majority of cases, the possibility of a slow cirrhogenic transformation cannot be excluded in certain instances.


[Sensitization to penicillin following cutaneous side-effects of ampicillin]. Sensitization to penicillin was determined in vitro in twenty subjects, 30 days after cutaneous side-effects due to ampicillin. The study inclued the detection of anti-penicillin IgE, IgM, a lymphoblastic transformation test and a leucocyte migration test. No difference could be demonstrated between the sensitization 30 days after an ampicillin reaction and the sensitization 30 days after a penicillin reaction.


[The half-life of iodine 131-labelled fibrinogen in cancer patients. Effects of heparin]. Sixty nine patients suffering from malignant tumours at different stages of their development underwent a kinetic study of fibrinogen 131I with external counting over the tumour and a study of haemostasis including P.D.F. The 1/2 T of fibrinogen 131I is shortened: 2.52 +/- 0.09 days (normal: 3.89 +/- 0.11 days.) The abnormality is proportional to serum P.D.F. levels (r=0.99). External counting demonstrated the uptake of labelled fibrinogen in the tumour. Heparine (15000 U/24h) restores the 1/2 T of fibrinogen to normal in 95 p. cent of cases. The results suggest the existence of a localised compensated intravascular coagulation process inside the tumour. Possible consequences of that phenomenon are discussed.


Uptake of 99mTc-tripolyphosphate in thrombotic leg. Thirtyeight patients with suspected thrombosis in the legs were investigated scintigraphically using 99mTc-tripolyphosphate. The ratio between the activity in the leg with suspected thrombosis and the other leg was calculated. The results were compared with those obtained with phlebography. A pathologically high activity ratio was found in all but one of the 18 patients in whom phlebography showed a thrombus. The ratio was normal in 13 of the 20 patients with normal phlebographic findings. The possible use of the method described as a postoperative screening test is discussed.


[Dependence of regional lung function on posture: radiospirometric findings in health]. Ten healthy volunteers were examined radiospirometrically using 133Xenon in physiologic saline i.v. and with 133Xenon gas inhalation. The measurements were done using a gamma camera (Nuclear Chicago, Pho/Gamma III) in the PA projection in both sitting and supine positions. For evaluation, each lung was divided into three regions: upper, middle, and lower fields. Using a computer (DEC, GAMMA 11), the minute exhalation value, the perfusion and ventilation indices, and the ventilation/perfusion quotient were calculated. In the upright position the ventilation and perfusion indices increase from cranial to caudal. In the horizontal position the regional lung functions tend to equalize. The vital capacity is larger in the vertical position than in the horizontal position, particularly in the right lung. The values are shown in tabular form.


[Isotope studies of cerebral circulation using the Fucks-Knipping gamma camera: use of a multi-parameter system with an intravenous tracer injection technic]. In order to analyze cerebral blood flow for diagnostic purposes, Indium 113m-DTPA was i.v. injected into seated patients, and time-activity curves were registered by a multifacet gamma camera (Fucks-Knipping) from 8 regions of interest, from the median area and from the right and left side of the head: 3 from the hemisphere, 3 from the brain stem, 2 from the large arteries of the neck. The results from 14 patients with chronic impairment of cerebral blood flow were compared with normal data from 20 healthy individuals. The time activity curves were analyzed for peak-height, mean transit time, and ratio peak to plateau height. The individual parameters were investigated for the degree of their correlation in a multiparameter system. The results from the patients indicated for the different single parameters a non-uniform response. There was also no correlation between the deviation of different parameters, between single pathological parameters and the degree and the site of blood flow impairment. On the other hand, a positive correlation was found between the number of pathological parameters and the degree of blood flow impairment irrespective of the site of its localization. Reason for this result probably is the variable location and degree of blood flow compensation by collaterals, which predominantly are expected at the cerebral base. The data indicate the potential usefulness of the application of the multiparameter analysis to quantitatively detect the degree of impairment of cerebral blood flow without regard to its topography. In  this respect, the method, here described, promises to be of clinical value for non-invasive and non-hazardous diagnostic screening of cerebral blood flow.


Specific diagnosis of brain disease with double isotope brain scanning. 25 patients with known cerebral disease (either CVA's or primary or secondary tumours) diagnosed by clinical and angiographic criteria were submitted to a double isotope imaging technique using 99mTcO4- and 99mTc-EHDP. The different biological behaviour of these radiopharmaceuticals has provided specific and differential diagnosis between vascular and neoplastic disease of the brain. 99mTc-EHDP is shown to be the tracer of choice for the imaging of CVA's and 99mTcO4- is confirmed as the tracer of choice for the imaging of primary or secondary tumours in the brain.


Scintigraphic demonstration of amebic liver abscesses with 131iodine labeled bromometronidazole. This case report demonstrates an hepatic amebic abscess by scintigraphy, utilizing a new radiopharmaceutical designed specifically for that purpose. The abscess is delineated as a positive lesion after twenty four hours. The agent 131I-labeled bromometronidazole, may prove to be specific for the diagnosis of these abscesses.


[131-I cholesterol (19-C) in the functional and localization diagnosis of adrenal cortex disorders]. Results are reported of quantitative adrenal scintigraphy with 131I-cholesterol in 8 patients with normal adrenal function before and after ACTH-stimulation and cortisol-suppression respectively, in one case with an adrenal metastasis from a pulmonary cancer, in two cases with Cushing's disease and in 7 cases with Conn's disease. In normal cases and in patients with M. Cushing a diagnosis of adrenal cortical function is possible with this method but can usually be replaced by more specific biochemical studies of serum and urine. The scintigraphic method is in addition of value in localization studies and can in unequivocal cases replace the selective adrenal phlebography. In patients with M. Conn increased uptake values (bilateral adrenal cortex hyperplasia) as well as reduced or non-detectable uptakes were observed, one of these cases suffering from a cortex carcinoma with M. Conn.


Transcription of the nonrepeated fraction of "accessible" DNA in rat liver chromatin. The relationship between structure and function in eukaryotic chromatin has been studied in rat liver cells. To elucidate the functional significance of "accessible" DNA, the transcription of this DNA (prepared by titration of liver chromatin with poly-D-lysine) has been examined by RNA-DNA hybridization. The maximum extent to which nuclear RNA will hybridize to the nonrepeated fraction of "accessible" DNA has been measured and compared to the extent that whole chromatin DNA will hybridize. The results show that "accessible" DNA has the same number of sequences complementary to nuclear RNA as does total DNA. In addition DNA-DNA reassociation experiments indicate that there is only a small difference between the total unique sequence populations of "accessible" and total DNA. These results indicate that nonrepeated "accessible" DNA is not preferentially transcribed in the cell as is predicted by some models of chromatin structure.


Studies on the mechanism of DNA cleavage by ethidium. Ethidium causes the cleavage of DNA via a light and oxygen dependent process. Using covalently closed circular DNA as a substrate, the saturation kinetics and the dependence on superhelical density of the cleavage indicate that intercalated ethidium is mainly responsible for nicking DNA. Superoxide dismutase has little effect on the reaction and catalase none. Lowering the pH inhibited the reaction. The reaction mechanism and its use in determining superhelical densities of covalently closed circular DNA's are discussed.


A conformational study of adenylyl-(3',5')-adenosine and adenylyl-(2',5')-adenosine in aqueous solution by carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The solution conformation of adenylyl-(3',5')-adenosine and adenylyl-(2',5')-adenosine in both the stacked and unstacked states was studied by carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Large chemical shift differences between the base carbons in the dimers and those in the corresponding monomers are attributed in part to the influence of base-base interaction. Carbon-phosphorus couplings across three bonds revealed the preferred populations for certain backbone rotamers, demonstrating that significant changes in conformation about the "c(3')-O and C(5')-O bonds do not occur in the temperature or salt-induced unstacking of adenylyl-(3',5')-adenosine. However, rotations about the C(2')-O and C(5')-O bonds occur in the temperature-mediated unstacking of adenylyl-(2',5')-adenosine.


Preparation of pancreatic mRNA: cell-free translation of an insulin-immunoreactive polypeptide. Total nucleic acid extraction and selection of poly A-containing molecules yield preparative quantities of undegraded mRNA from adult and fetal pancreas. Using a stringent immunoassay, this mRNA is found to direct the synthesis of an immunoreactive insulin polypeptide in the wheat germ translation system. On sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels, this polypeptide (12,000-13,000 daltons) is larger than proinsulin (9,000 daltons).


Biosynthesis of the modified nucleoside Q in transfer RNA. During biosynthesis of the modified nucleoside Q, 7-(4,5-DIHYDROXYL-1-1-CYCLOPENTEN-3-YL-AMINOMETHYL)-7-DEAZAGUANOSINE, IN TRNA, the carbon atom at position 8 in precursor molecule guanine was expelled together with the nitrogen atom N-7 in a fashion similar to that in the biosynthesis of the nucleoside antibiotic toyocamycin.


Circular dichroism calculations for polyinosinic acid in proposed multi-stranded geometries. Circular dichroism spectra have been calculated for multi-stranded polyinosinic acid using three different right-handed structures proposed from X-ray diffraction studies. Agreement between calculated spectra and spectra measured at high salt concentration is best for a four strand structure in which the bases are tilted with respect to the helix axis, as proposed by Arnott et al. (1974). For structures in which the bases are perpendicular to the helix axis, the characteristic negative circular dichoroism of polyinosinic acid at long wavelength no longer appears in the calculated spectra. It is clear that a negative circular dichroism at long wavelength does not indicate a left-handed polynucleotide helix.


Reaction of HeLa cell methyl-labelled 28S ribosomal RNA with sodium bisulphite: a conformational probe for methylated sequences. The reaction of 14C methyl-labelled HeLa cell 28 S ribosomal RNA with sodium bisulphite was studied. Using conditions under which 30% of the total cytidine residues were de-aminated to uridine, the reactivities of individual cytidine residues near particular methylation sites differed widely; some underwent almost quantitative reaction, some showed intermediate reactivity and others were almost inert. The possible value of this method as a conformational probe for ribosomal RNA is discussed.


On the isolation of TI-plasmid from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. An efficient lysis method for Agrobacterium cells was developed, which allows a reproducible isolation of the tumor inducing (TI)-plasmid. The lysis method is based on the sensitivity of this bacterium to incubation with lysozyme, n-dodecylamine,EDTA, followed by Sarkosyl, after growth in the presence of carbenicillin. We also present a procedure for the isolation of the TI-plasmid on a large scale, that might be used for the mass isolation of other large plasmids which like the TI-plasmid, can not be cleared with earlier described procedures. The purity of the plasmid preparations was determined with DNA renaturation kinetics, which method has the advantage that the plasmid need not to be in the supercoiled or open circular form.


Heterogeneity of chromatin subunits in vitro and location of histone H1. Chromatin subunits ("nucleosomes") which were purified by sucrose gradient centrifugation of a staphylococcal nuclease digest of chromatin have been studied. We found that such a preparation contains nucleosomes of two discrete types which can be separated from each other by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Nucleosome of the first type contains all five histones and a DNA segment of approximately 200 base pairs long, whereas nucleosome of the second type lacks histone H1 and its DNA segment is approximately 170 base pairs long, i.e., about 30 base pairs shorter than the DNA segment of the nucleosome of the first type. Purified dimer of the nucleosome also can be fractionated by gel electrophoresis into three discrete bands which correspond to dinucleosomes containing two molecules of histone H1, one and no H1. These and related findings strongly suggest that the H1 molecule is bound to a short (approximately 30 base pairs) terminal stretch of the nucleosomal DNA segment which can be removed by nuclease (possibly in the form of H1-DNA complex) without any significant disturbance of main structural features of the nucleosome.


Basic polypeptides as histone models. Effect of conformation, base composition and methylation of nucleic acids on the interaction with H1 and histone models and on the circular dichroism of complexes. Interaction of histone H 1 and models simulating histone chains was followed by monitoring the melting curves of supernatants after the sedimentation of aggregated complexes. In a mixture of two DNAs the histones reacted selectively with (A+T)-rich and non-methylated DNA, respectively. H 1 and (Ala-Lys-Pro)n also interacted preferentially with DNA in a mixture with double stranded RNA whereas (Lys30,Ala70)n did not show any selectivity. (G+C)-rich DNA in complexes showed CD spectra the intensity of which decreased with increasing DNA methylation to values comparable with these of complexes of (A+T)-rich DNA. In complexed with double stranded RNA only the polymer (Lys30,Ala70) displayed CD pattern similar to spectra of complexes with DNA. It was concluded that formation and structure of complexes depend selectively on the DNA conformation and base composition.


[Changes in the cerebral electrical activity of Itsenko-Cushing disease patients under the influence of diphenine]. For the purpose of studying the functional condition of the CNS the authors recorded the electrical activity of the brain (by the method of electroencephalography) in parallel with determination of the adrenal cortex function in patients with Itsenko-Cushing disease to whom diphenin was prescribed. Results of investigations showed reduction of the adrenal cortex function in patients with Itsenko-Cushing disease under the effect of diphenin to occur in parallel with reduction of irritation in the brain structures, detected by EEG. The data obtained confirmed an important role played by disturbances of the nervous regulation mechanisms in the appearance of this pathology.


[The influence of adrenal cortical hormones on the state of the kinin system]. Condition of the kinin system proved to depend on the function of the adrenal cortex. An excess of glucocorticoids decreased the activity of the kinin system of the blood and kidneys. The activity of the kinin system of the blood increased in hypocorticism, whereas in the kidneys there was seen a reduction of kallikrein formation.