Noninvasive estimation of brachial artery blood flow: a clinical application of ultrasonic instrumentation. Ultrasonic instrumentation based on the Doppler phenomenon fulfills one requirement for a blood flowmeter - that it sense a variable which is a function of the volume of blood moved through the blood vessel in situ. In this study, a segment of the blood flow velocity waveform recorded noninvasively from the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa was used as a basis for estimating the mean velocity of a bolus of blood passing through the incident sound beam of a Doppler instrument. A stroke flow index - cubic centimeters of blood per pulse wave propagation - was calculated as the product of the mean velocity and cross-sectional lumen area of the brachial artery. The method used in these experiments proved to be reproducible in volunteer subjects. The estimated minute flow ranged from 32 to 95 ml/min in these normal subjects. Serial measurements before and after open-heart operations in 64 patients demonstrated a valuable clinical application. A significant reduction in the brachial artery stroke flow index was recorded at some time postoperatively in 21 of these patients. The brachial artery stroke flow index determined non-invasively has potential value as an objective estimate of cardiovascular instability.


A spectinomycin dependent mutant of Escherichia coli. A mutant of Escherichia coli B has been isolated which shows a novel phenotype of spectinomycin dependence. The mutant, termed RD, needs spectinomycin to grow at temperatures of 37 degrees or below; it is unable to grow at 42 degrees in either the presence or absence of spectinomycin. Secondary mutants which grow well in the absence of spectinomycin can be isolated spontaneously at a frequency of about 10(-6). Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of ribosomal proteins from 25 of these revertants showed that two revertants had an alteration in S4; one other showed an alteration in L5, and one showed an apparent absence of L1. Mutant RD itself had an altered less basic S5, which was maintained in all the revertants that were checked. Genetic analysis indicated that RD was a double mutant: one mutation, which alone conferred a spectinomycin resistant phenotype on the strain, was located in the strA region of the E. coli chromosome and was represented by the mutation in S5. The other mutation, which conferred the dependence on spectinomycin, mapped close to the rif locus.


Single gene alteration of plasma and mitochondrial membrane function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Some physiological properties of a multiple-drug-resistant mutant with a permeability barrier to chloramphenicol and its isogenic parental strain were compared. The ATPase specific activity of plasma and mitochondrial membranes isolated from the mutant strain was approximately 20% lower (P less than 0.001, Tables 1 and 2) than that of membranes isolated from the isogenic parental strain. Additional evidence of altered mitochondrial function was: (i) the enhanced growth of the parental strain was eliminted by the [rho-] state (Table 3); (ii) the mutant strain had a greater resistance to petite induction by ethidium bromide (Table 4); (iii) the mutant strain was unable to use a nonfermentable energy source for respiratory adaptation (Table 5). It is proposed that a single gene mutation has resulted in an alteration of some physiological properties of the plasma and mitochondrial membranes.


A temperature-sensitive mutant of Neurospora crassa deficient in cytochrome b. A nuclear gene mutant of Neurospora crassa designated cyb-3 is deficient in cytochrome b and coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase. Nearly normal when grown at 25 degrees C, the strain expresses a mutant phenotype at 38 degrees C. Mitochondria from cyb-3 mycelium, which has undergone 3-4 mass doublings at the elevated temperature, possess 3-fold less cytochrome b, 2-fold more cytochrome, c, 5-fold less coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase activity, and require 3-fold less antimycin A per milligram of protein to inhibit NADH oxidation that do wild type mitochondria. The activity of coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase declines rather slowly in cultures of cyb-3 transferred to 38 degrees C, and the in vitro thermostability of the enzyme is very similar in wild type and mutant mitochondria. Therefore, the mutation may decrease synthesis of impair integration into the membrane of cytochrome b and perhaps other proteins of the enzyme comple.


Denervation of spinal facet joints for treatment of chronic low back pain. This paper describes a neurolytic technique for the denervation of the posterior lumbar spinal facet joints for the treatment of chronic low back pain. Results are reported of a pilot study, using a simple outpatient procedure and achieved relief of pain in 80% of cases. No major complications were encountered.


Laparoscopic sterilization under local anesthesia. 1200 cases. Laparoscopic tubal fulguration operations were performed on 1200 patients under local anesthesia in two free-standing surgical units in Syracuse, New York, between June 1972 and March 1976. No operative accidents occurred. However, because of increasing understanding of the risks to major blood vessels from needle and trocar insertion, all patients undergoing laparoscopy since March 15, 1976, have received the additional safeguards of an operating room with full anesthesia and laparotomy capabilities. The major technical innovation in this series of operations was the use of the 23-guage needle cannula, inserted through the Wolf operating laparoscope for preliminary Xylocaine infiltration of the fallopian tubes. The advantages of local over general anesthesia are summarized.


Neocarzinostatin (NSC 157365) a new cancerostatic compound. Neocarzinostatin is a new anticancer drug developed by Japanese investigators. In order to delineate the potential usefulness of this drug, we have reviewed the preclinical data and summarized the Japanese clinical data on 462 patients. The bulk of these patients had carcinoma of the stomach or pancreas and acute leukemia. Neocarzinostatin was administered intravenously in a daily dose of 2-3 mg for five to 15 day periods. Significant antitumor activity was observed in acute leukemia. A few responses were also reported in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, but the drug was inactive against gastric carcinoma. The side effects observed included nausea, vomiting, myelosuppression, fever, and occasional hypersensitivity reactions. The Investigational Drug Branch of the National Cancer Institute has recently sponsored an investigational new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration, and phase I studies are expected to begin soon in the United States.


Transcutaneous electrical stimulation and acupuncture: comparison of treatment for low-back pain. Twelve patients suffering chronic low-back pain were treated with both acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical stimulation. The order of treatments was balanced, and changes in the intensity and quality of pain were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The results, based on a measure of overall pain intensity, show that pain relief greater than 33% was produced in 75% of the patients by acupuncture and in 66% by electrical stimulation. The mean duration of pain relief was 40 h after acupuncture and 23 h after electrical stimulation.  Although the mean scores are larger for acupuncture than for transcutaneous stimulation, statistical analyses of the data failed to reveal significant differences between the two treatments on any of the measures. Both methods, therefore, appear to be equally effective, and probably have the same underlying mechanism of action. Consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods suggests that that transcutaneous electrical stimulation is potentially the more practical, since it can be administered under supervision by paramedical personnel.


Observations on the analgesic effects of needle puncture (acupuncture). The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the analgesic effect of needle puncture in a small self-selected group of patients with chronic or acute pain, and to examine the factors which determine success or failure of this treatment modality. We have found that in chronic painful conditions, needle puncture may be very effective in producing at least transient analgesia. It also can produce permanent relief of acute (self-limited) pains. Needle puncture was not helpful in the management of pain resulting from nerve damage. High score on psychometric indicators of anxiety and depression is a significant predictor os successful needle puncture analgesia in patients with chronic pain. Comparison of our results to studies of counterirritation indicate that the analgesia produced by needle puncture involves a mechanism similar to that of counterirritation-induced analgesia.


Acupuncture and chronic pain mechanisms. Forty patients with chronic pain below the waist level not amenable to conventional medical and/or surgical treatment were randomly assigned to one or two different methods of acupuncture, after studying the underlying pain mechanisms using a Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic approach and the differential spinal block (DSB). One group received acupuncture needling in the classical acupuncture points referred to as meridian loci needling (MLN) and the other group received tender area needling (TAN) with needles inserted in the dermatomal distribution of the painful areas. The responses between the two groups showed no significant difference. Results were then related to the predetermined somatopsychological basis of the individual's pain problems as classified by the DSB. A group of patinets in whom pain relief occurred upon subarachnoid injection of 0.25% procaine followed by sympathetic blockade or 0.5% procaine injection followed by hypalgesia without motor loss, also reported maximum subjective improvement in their pain level following acupuncture therapy performed at a later time. The other group of patients in whom pain persisted despite sensory and motor blockade (1% procaine) responded very poorly to acupuncture therapy. DSB was found to be complimentary to acupuncture therapy in that it facilitated patient selection for the therapy.


[Intensity of parasitic contacts in the colonies of large gerbils under conditions of different population density of the animals and their fleas]. In the period from April to May and September to October of 1967--1973 in the Mujun-Kum a radioactive tracing of great gerbils was carried out. In all 225 tests were conducted. The greatest intensity of parasitic contacts between the animals was noted at their average quantity. Its further rise does not result in the increase of the parasitic relations. If the number of fleas is high the parasitic contacts level even at the relatively low number of great gerbils is usually high enough for a further passing of the plague microbe. If the number of both fleas and great gerbils is low the parasitic relations provide but not always an agent transmission.


[Long-term phenological observations on flies, inhabitants of burrows of great gerbils in the Karshinskaia steppe:  Phenology of Phlebotomus papatasi]. Observations conducted over a period of 1960--1973 in the Uzbek SSR have shown that Ph. papatasi has two generations a year. The flight of sand flies in the oasis begins as a rule in the middle of May and lasts to the middle of September with peaks at the beginning of June and the end of July--beginning of August. Shifts in the main phenological dates in the same observation site are no more than two weeks. In desert territories situated southwards from the oasis phenological dates pass ahead those for the oasis for about 10 days. In localities with relatively stable conditions rather great variations in the abundance of this species (3-6fold) from year to year were noted. In hatching places a tenfold increase in the number of Ph. papatasi was observed.


[New species of Microsporidia--Thelohania jungarica SP. N. (Microsporidia, Nosematidae) from larvae of black flies]. A new species of microsporidians, Thelohania jungarica sp. n., was described from larval populations of Odagmia sp. inhabiting the mountain rivers of the northern spurs of Tien-Shan, south-eastern Kazakhstan. The larval infection rate is 3 to 16%. The pupal infection was reported from single individuals. The species in question differs from other members of the genus in the morphology of spores, ecology and host. Sizes of measured 50 spores varied in the following ranges: live ones--5.1-7.6 x 2.5-3.8, fixed and stained--3.8-6.4 x 1.8-3.8 mkm. The parasite causes pathological and morphological changes in injured tissues.


[Comparison of the nematode fauna of winter wheat and wild grain in the foothill and lowland zones of Dagestan]. The nematode fauna of winter wheat and wild cereals in the foothill zone of Dagestan is richer than that in the lowland zone. From 117 species of nematodes recorded from the rhizosphere and organs of examined plants 105 species are reported from foothills and only 78 species from the lowland zone. In the foothill zone the average number of nematodes in 10g of root soil and organs of wheat amounts to 619 specimens, in wild cereals--to 347 specimens, in lowland zone--to 310 and 236 specimens respectively. This difference is caused by soil--climatic conditions.


[Comparative assessment of several methods of calculating the number of sandflies in the open air (Psychodidae)]. In summer of 1973-1974 a comparative counting of the number of sandflies was carried out by two methods in the Turkmenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Sheets of oil paper fastened vertically to two wires at a height of 60 cm above the ground at a distance of 20 cm one from another (barriers) and sheets in the form of "flags" (Dergachova and others, 1973) were used simultaneously. 15860 sandflies (X on one sheet 31.2+/-3.2 specimens) were collected on 50 barriers consisting of 10 sheets each; and on 500 flags 7640 sandflies (X on one flag 15.3+/-1.37 specimens) were collected. When sandflies are caught on flags the coefficient of counting equal to 2.1+/-0.37 should be taken.


[Branchiopods--intermediate hosts of the cestode Anomolepis averini (Spassky et Yurpalova, 1967)(Cestoda: Dilepididae)]. In the biocoenosis of the lake Tengiz (Central Kazakhstan) Artemia salina (3.3%) and Branchinella spinosa (0.22%) were found to be infected with larvae of cestodes--delipidids Anomolepis avertini (Spassky et Yurpalova, 1967). Phalaropus lobatus from this water body was also infected (13.7) with this cestode, the infection intensity being from 1 to 15 strobiles in one bird. Figures and morphological description of cysticercoids and mature cestodes of Anomolepis averini are given.


Biometrical and histochemical comparison between extra- and intrafusal muscle fibres following tenotomy. The average diameter of the different enzymatic types of extra- and intrafusal muscle fibres is determined by means of a one millimeter scale ocular micrometer in the gastrocnemius muscle of twenty four female rats during three months, at regular intervals following tenotomy. There is a predominant atrophy of the type II extrafusal as well as intrafusal fibres in the period of immobilization. However, when the muscle becomes functional again, by healing and elongation of the tendon, the intrafusal type II fibres remain atrophic in contrast to the extrafusal ones, which regain their normal size.


[Gamasid mites from the nests of birds in the Volga-Kama game reserve]. 524 nests of 12 species of birds were examined in the Volga-Kama state reserve. From these nests there were collected 214575 mites belonging to 11 families and 48 species. The specific composition and quantitative ration between ecological groups of gamasid mites associated with the nests of birds depend not only on the evolutionary history of the host and gamasids-nidicols but also on many present factors, ecological type of the nesting place in particular.


[Territorial distribution of 2 sympathric species of fleas--parasites of the great gerbil in the Kyzyl-Kum desert]. Fleas of Xenopsylla gerbilli and Xenopsylla hirtipes, parasites of Rhombonus optimus in the Kizil--Kum, have a sympathric distribution. Within a greater part of their common area both species vicariate in landscapes: X. hirtipes occupties more mesophilous parts while X. gerbilli is distributed in all parts where the first species is missing. The distribution of X. hirtipes depends first of all on abiotic environmental factors and that of X. gerbilli--on biotic ones, i. e. on the competition with X. hirtipes. However, under more favourable conditions (northern foothill valleys of the Bukantau ridge) both species occur together in great number.


Assessment and attempted modification of future teachers' attitudes toward handicapped children. In a study designed to determine whether future teachers have negative sttitudes toward groups of exceptional children based upon the labels attached to these children, 13 special education majors and 32 students majoring in other fields of education were administered the Personal Attribute Inventory at the beginning and conclusion of an introductory course in special education. Results for labels, physically handicapped, educable mentally handicapped, and learning disabled, indicated that the latter two were evaluated significantly less positively than the first on both pre- and post-course testings. There were no significant differences between the respondents' pre- and post-course ratings of the three labels. Interestingly, special education majors were significanlty more positive in their pre- and post-course evaluations than non-special education majors. These findings certainly are not supportive of "mainstreaming" children who have been categorized as either learning disabled or educable mentally handicapped.


Coupling between proximal tubular transport processes. Studies with ouabain, SITS and HCO3-free solutions. The rate of active transport by the proximal renal tubule of amino acid (L-histidine), sugar (alpha-methyl-D-glycoside), H+ ions (glycodiazine), phosphate and para-aminohippurate was evaluated by measuring the zero net flux concentration difference (deltac) of these substances. In the case of calcium the electrochemical potential difference (delta + zF-CIdeltaphi/RT) was the criterion employed. The rate of isotonic Na+-absorption (JNa) was measured with the shrinking droplet method. The effect of ouabain on the transport of these substances was tested in the golden hamster and the effect of SITS (4-acetamido-4'isothiocyanatostilbene 2,2'-disulfonic acid) was observed in rats. Ouabain (1 mM) applied peritubularly incompletely inhibited JNa (80%), but in combination with acetazolamide (0.2 mM) the inhibition was almost complete (93%). In addition, ouabain inhibited the sodium coupled (secondary active) transport processes of L-histidine, alpha-methyl-D-glycoside, calcium and phosphate by more than 75%. It did not affect H+ (glycodiazine) transport and PAH transport was only slightly affected. When SITS (1 mM) was applied from both sides of the cell it inhibited H+ (glycodiazine) transport by 72% and reduced JNa by 38% when given from only the peritubular cell side. SITS (1 MM), however, had no significant affect on H+ secretion and sodium reabsorption if it was applied from only the luminal side. Furthermore it had no affect on the other transport processes tested, regardless of the cell side to which it was applied. When the HCO-3 buffer or physically related buffers were omitted from the perfusate the absorption of Na+ was reduced by 66%, phosphate by 44%, and L-histidine by 15%. All the other transport processes tested were not significantly affected. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the active transport processes of histidine, alpha-methyl-D-glycoside and phosphate, which are located in the brush border, are driven by a sodium gradient which is abolished by ouabain. This may also apply to the Na+-Ca2+ countertransport located at the contraluminal cell side. The residual Na+ transport remaining in the presence of ouabain is likely to be passively driven by the continuing H+ transport which probably is driven directly by ATP. SITS seems to inhibit the exit step of HCO-3 from the cell and secondary to that, the luminal H+-Na+ exchange and consequently the Na+ reabsorption. In the absence of HCO-3 buffer in the perfusates the luminal H+-Na+ exchange seems to be affected and the pattern of inhibition of the other transport processes is almost the same as with SITS. The different effects on Pi reabsorption observed under these conditions might be explained by possible variations in intracellular pH.


Heterogeneous base distribution in mitochondrial DNA of Neurospora crassa. The mitochondrial DNA of Neurospora crassa has a heterogeneous intramolecular base distribution. A contiguous piece, representing at least 30% of the total genome, has a G+C content that is 6% lower than the overall G+C content of the DNA. The genes for both ribosomal RNAs are contained in the remaining, relatively G+C rich, part of the genome.


Vulvar pruritus--a symptom, not a disease. Because the underlying causes are so varied, vulvar pruritus must be understood as a symptom and not as a disease entity in itself. Successful treatment depends on proper identification of the underlying disorder.


Treatment of acne with topical antibiotics. The introduction of topical antibiotics for acne vulgaris has ushered in a new era in the treatment of this troublesome disorder. Tetracycline, erythromycin, and clindamycin can now be prepared in lotion form in vehicles that are capable of carrying the antibiotic into the follicular canal, where the primary lesion of acne occurs. Topical antibiotics are practically as effective as oral antibiotics in treating acne and are particularly useful for mild papular acne of puberty and early adolescence and papular-pustular acne of adult women. Use of topical antibiotics avoids the possibility of the adverse effects of systemic therapy; the side effects from the formulations reported here are negligible. Above all, antibiotic lotions do not produce the dryness and scaling that occur with most other topical acne preparations.


Calcium-binding protein of chorioallantoic membrane: identification and development expression. A calcium-binding protein (CaBP) which has a molecular weight of 100,000 and an  isoelectric point of 8.0 has been isolated from the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of the chick embryo. Expression of the CaBP occurs simultaneously with the onset of calcium absorption from the egg shell by the CAM, and the temporal increase in CaBP activity is coincident with calcium deposition in the embryo. The CAM CaBP differs in properties from the CaBPs of the adult organs, including the vitamin-D-dependent protein of intestine.


Killer cells reactive to altered-self antigens can also be alloreactive. Murine cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocytes immunized against cells bearing foreign minor histocompatibility antigens are specific for the immunizing minor antigens and for their own major H-2 antigens; they do not lyse target cells that bear the correct minor antigens plus a different H-2 haplotype. These are referred to as "altered-self" or "self-plus-X" killer cells. Alloreactive killer cells are those which respond to allogeneic cells expressing a foreign (non-self) H-2 haplotype. In this study, cytotoxic lymphocytes were immunized against minor histocompatibility differences in vivo and in vitro. These effector cells killed the immunizing altered-self target very well and showed about 1% cross-reactive lysis of an allogeneic target differing from themselves only at H-2. These cross-reactive clones were then selected for by repeated in vitro stimulation with the cells bearing foreign H-2 such that an effector population was obtained which lysed both the altered-self and the alloreactive target with the same efficiency. Cold target competition experiments established that the same killer cell could lyse either target; however, it was not determined if a killer cell uses the same receptor to respond to altered-self antigens as it does respond to foreign H-2 antigens.


[Otomycosis].

[Otomycosis]. From 163 patients with clinical diagnosis of otomycosis, only 72 were confirmed by the mycological laboratory. No difference was noticed regarding the age and sex of patients. The clinical symptoms were the break of the timpanic membrane, secretion and fungal colonies in one side. Most of our patients had more than one year of evolution. The more common causative agent was Aspergillus and quite frequently it were present non-pathogenic bacteria. The local treatment with a solution containing vioform with salicilic acid was successful in the 82% of cases.


Biliary matrix: matrix stones as a cause of biliary obstruction. The biliary tree secretes a mucous substance which serves as a matrix in gallstones. A case of biliary obstruction secondary to a matrix stone is reported. The characteristics and significance of biliary matrix are discussed.


Open myelomeningocele--a ten-year review of 200 consecutive closures. An unselected series of 200 consecutive closures of open myelomeningocele is reported with reviews of the survivors at 5 and 10 years. Assessment of the child's ability to fit into society can be made reasonably accurately at 5 years. Urinary tract problems in older children have not been so prominent as expected. Twenty-six out of 106 10-year-olds had normal micturition. Social problems seem likely to outweigh surgical ones in the teenage survivors.


Congenital duodenal membrane as cause for hiatus hernia, stricture of the oesophagus, and stricture carcinoma in an adult with Down's syndrome. The case of a 31 year old male mongoloid patient is reported, where a congenital duodenal membrane, asymptomatic in childhood, had led to hiatal hernia, stricture of the oesophagus, and finally to carcinoma of the stricture (Fig. 1). Observation time until death was 26 months. In a first operation, the membrane was resected (Fig. 2) and Nissen's fundoplication performed. 31/2 months after that stricture, carcinoma was diagnosed. In the second operation, carcinoma was resected and continuity reestablished by oesophagogastrostomy. The patient died 8 months after the second intervention.


[Prejudices and negative attitudes towards the disabled--their origin and methods of elimination (author's transl)]. Based on the fact that prejudices and negative attitudes towards the disabled are not only common to our culture, but a worldwide problem, the following article studies their genesis from the point of view of behavioural science and biology. Dispositions of the mind transmitted by society can only be considered as one causative factor amongst many for these undesirable prejudices and attitudes. It is shown that human inborn inclination for a specific reaction towards marginal groups and the equally inborn fear-reaction towards strangers are also contributing factors to the formation of prejudices. This theory is supported by findings of the animal behavioural science and comparative human ethology. As inborn prejudices can be influenced by education and need not be put down to fate, two suggestions are made concerning the elimination of negative attitudes, e.g. (1) to make man aware of the fact that as a cultural being his inborn negative reaction towards marginal groups is inappropriate. As a consequence, this reaction must be transformed both culturally and ethically, (2) to eliminate the fear-reaction towards strangers, amongst other things, through integrated education.


[Rehabilitation in France: a comparison with the Federal Republic of Germany (author's transl)]. The purpose of the following article is to present the rehabilitation efforts in France. It describes legal provisions, especially the French Rehabilitation Act of 1975, the "Loi d'orientation", with some of its most important rules of application, as well as some concrete individual measures. It describes approaches which differ from those in the Federal Republic of Germany. The article focuses particularly on the activities of the voluntary organisations and the efforts towards a barrier-free architecture.


[Nephrotic syndrome presumable caused by an complex glomerulonephritis (author's transl)]. The nephrotic syndrome presumably caused by an immune complex glomerulonephritis constitutes a major side effect attendant upon chronic administration of penicillamine. The possible induction of an immune-complex glomerulonephritis by penicillamine and its further development after stopping the drug was investigated in rats. --60 rats were fed perorally 2000 mg D-Penicillamine/kg BW/die resp. for a period of 8--44 days. Following unilateral nephrectomy the animals were observed for further 5 weeks. --Dependent to the time of penicillamine application there was an increasing deposition of IgG and C3 in a granular pattern along the glomerular basement membrane and within the mesangium. The IgG deposits initially were focal and segmental later on diffuse and global in distribution. 5 weeks after stopping the penicillamine the immune globulin deposits had disappeared completely or at least in part as did the mild focal glomerulonephritis and the moderate proteinuria which developed in some animals after a 44 day treatment with penicillamine. --The results confirm the hitherto presumed immune complex pathogenesis of the penicillamine induced nephropathy. The disappearance of the immunoglobulins deposited and of proteinuria stopping penicillamine alludes the good prognosis of this kind of nephropathy.


[Prospects in the specific prevention of type B viral hepatitis]. The present paper concerns the following more important problems: -- hepatitis virus type B: morphology, antigenic structure, virus -- host interaction; -- first attempts at vaccination in hepatitis B; -- vaccines prepared from purified viral subunits; -- study of the pathogenicity and population selected as candidates for testing the efficiency of the vaccine.


[Effectiveness of repeated antibiotic or chemotherapeutic treatments on Shigella carrier states]. A group of 39 former dysentery patients, who continued to excrete Shigella bacteria after a first cure of antibiotics when full clinical recovery was obtained, were treated differentially under bacteriological control. The carrier state was still extent in 7% of the cases after three antibiotic or chemotherapeutical cures. No direct relation was found between the sensitivity of Shigella to chemotherapeutics and the level of the carrier state. Although treated already in the acute stage with adequate antibiotics, resistance to a second therapeutical attempt was recorded in a proportion of 33%. It is considered useless to repeat the antibiotic or chemotherapeutical cures in the treatment of convalescent carriers because of the low efficiency and the biological and economical disadvantages.


[Therapeutic results in an epidemic outbreak of dysentery]. The therapeutical results obtained in an epidemical outbreak of dysentery caused by Shigella flexneri type 2 A are reported, emphasizing the bacteriological failure of the treatment with Furazolidin in 52.1% of the cases and the good results obtained with Neomycin (Mycerine).


[Epidemiological studies of viral hepatitis with and without HB antigen by means of complex studies in families]. The results of an epidemiological and laboratory investigation on 242 adults and children, who had come in contact with patients suffering from viral hepatitis (in the family or outside it), showed the importance of family contact and the role of routes of transmission other than the parenteral and transfusional ones in viral hepatitis with positive HB antigen. Attention is likewise drawn to the importance of the laboratory tests (classical enzymatic tests and immunoelectrodiffusion) in the detection of epidemogenic sources, represented by the subclinical forms of infection.


[HB antigen in the family environment].

[HB antigen in the family environment]. HBs antigen was determined in 297 members of 91 families, former blood donors in whom the state of HBs antigen carrier lasted more than six months. The results emphasized the higher proportion of HBs antigen carriers in the family environment than in the general population (7.4% as against 4.9%) and the significantly higher frequency of the antigen among the members of consanguine families.


Vertical fissure line in a normal adult. The major fissure when directed in the sagittal plane is visualized on a frontal roentgenogram. It is reported in infants and children as the vertical fissure line and may occur with cardiomegaly and/or respiratory infection which rotates or partially collapses the lower lobe. Its presence in a normal adult chest is presented. It is believed to represent a congenital positional variant.


[Response of the body to smallpox vaccination in persons with repeated negative vaccinal antecedents]. A study was carried out on the humoral response and vaccinal reaction after repeated administration of the smallpox vaccine (1 to 3 times), at ten days interval, to 97 subjects with a past history of repeated vaccination failures. Revaccination ended in 52.6% failures. After revaccination the antibody titer increased in 97.8% of the cases of successful vaccination and in 43.5% of the negative cases. In 29.5% of the latter cases a decrease in the antibody titer by 1--3 binary dilutions was found. The results suggest that the repeated application at short intervals of an antigenic stimulus perturbs the immune response.


The New Zealand accident compensation scheme. Reference is made to legislation concerned with the introduction of the New Zealand Accident Compensation Scheme in 1974. The author's experience of the Scheme is based on an exchange visit in 1975. The basic principles are community responsibility and universal entitlement to compensation. Earnings-related benefits are paid to the injured person, and flat-rate payments to non-earners. The Scheme is administered by a three-man Commission with wide responsibilities for accident prevention, rehabilitation services, administration of funds, records, public relations, and an independent Appeals Authority. There have been far reaching consequences on medical practice. The Commission construe the phrase 'Personal Injury by Accident' as damage to the human system which is not designed by the person injured: the implications of such a definition are briefly discussed. The administrative costs of any similar Scheme in the United Kingdom would be enormous and it is doubtful whether the benefits would justify the cost.


[New coordinates in the pathogenesis of poststreptococcal nephropathies]. With reference to recently published data and the authors findings, the pathogeny and prophylaxis of streptococcal nephropathy is discussed from the viewpoint of streptococcal nephritogenicity, the reactive potential of the body and the efficiency of the antibiotic treatment. It is evident that extensive prevention with penicillin is imperfect since nephropathy, in the course of its development, is subordinated to the reactogenic immunopathological context rather than to the etiologic agent (which only becomes a link in the causattion of the disease). Today, the arguments appear to sustain a new preventive stage in which prolonged, exhaustive antibiotherapy is replaced by a differentiated etiopathogenic context, applied only in the cases of actual risk and delimited by a constant intra-and postinfectious complex clinicobiologic follow up. However, the various pathogenetic coordinates show that poststreptococcal complications demand separation of the cause which may cover the actual determining factors of the complications.


Ascending lumbar venography in the diagnosis of lumbar disc lesions. Fifty-five patients suffering from low back pain with or without sciatica were submitted to ascending lumbar venography. Six patients had anatomical variations which prevented adequate catheterization and 6 had equivocal radiographic appearances, which we could not assess. Fourteen patients had normal venograms but in 29 an abnormality was demonstrated. These 43 patients were then submitted to radiculography and, where appropriate, surgery. The 14 patients with normal venograms also had normal radiculograms; while the 29 with abnormal venograms had an abnormality confirmed on radiculography and/or surgery. However, in 10 of the patients the lesion was found to be one disc space lower than that demonstrated on venography; Side-effects were very few, and the procedure can be used on out-patients. This technique would appear to be a useful addition to the radiological investigation of the spine.


[Bacteriocin-bacteriophage interrelations]. The present paper refers to levels of morphological, serological and genetic similarity in bacteriocinogenic-lysogenic interrelationships, the similarity of the means of inducing bacteriocinogenic and lysogenic properties and the similarity of adsorption on specific cellular receptors. Nevertheless, bacteriocins and bacteriophages are still considered as agents of a different nature. Bacteriocins, with their varied chemical structure, are inert, whereas phages are complex chemical units with a nucleic acid nucleus and the capacity of self replication.


Backache in pregnancy.

Backache in pregnancy. Replies to a questionnaire showed that, amongst 180 women delivered in The London Hospital, 48% experienced backache during pregnancy; in one third of these it was severe. The prevalence of back pain increased with both increasing age and increasing parity, and it was difficult to separate the relative contributions of these two factors. No evidence was found of an association between backache during pregnancy and height, weight, 'obesity index', weight gain, or baby's weight. Analysis of aggravating and relieving factors indicates some differences between backache in the pregnant and 'mechanical' back pain in the non-pregnant. Slightly less backache was reported amongst patients attending antenatal physiotherapy classes but the figures do not provide clear evidence of any protective effect of this attendance.


Physical and chemical processes of sulphur dioxide in the plume from an oil-fired power station. The Danish contribution to the EUROCOP COST 61a project is described. Work concerned the physical and chemical reactions of sulphur dioxide released from a power station. The investigation was based on the application of two tracers. Inactive, inert SF6 is used to monitor the dispersion of and deposition from the plume; it was intended to use radioactive 35SO2 to determine the degree of oxidation of sulphur released from the stack; so far, however, public reaction has prevented the use of a release of activity in field experiments. The report describes the construction and testing of airborne instruments for continuous registration of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and the tracer SF6, as well as for measurements of temperature and humidity. Sulphur samples were collected on filter paper in a specially constructed low volume air sampler, and the subsequentchemical analysis in the laboratory is described.  Finally, the problem of navigation is treated. It is shown that nitrogen oxides may be used as an internal tracer in plume experiments. Preliminary experiments based on inactive analysis only indicated an overall half-life for SO2 in the plume of about half an hour.


Experimental diabetes reduces circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the rat. Duodenal calcium absorption and a vitamin D-dependent duodenal calcium-binding protein are depressed in rats with alloxan- or streptozotocin-induced diabetes. To test for possible abnormal vitamin D metabolism in diabetes we measured serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in control, streptozotocin diabetic, and insulin-treated diabetic rats. The serum concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D was depressed in untreated diabetic rats to one-eighth of the level in controls and was restored to control levels by insulin treatment. The serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was the same in all three groups. Hence, effects of diabetes on duodenal calcium transport can be explained by reduced concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D resulting either from failure of renal 1alpha-hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D or increased catabolism of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.


[Treatment of choreic syndromes with sodium dipropylacetate]. The therapeutic activity of natrium dipropilaceticum in two cases of Huntington chorea and in one case of vascular chorea, has been valued. DPA has putted into evidence a scarce activity in Huntington chorea cases; on the contrary it has showed a high activity for the vascular chorea ones.


Effects of cytosine arabinoside, 6-aminonicotinamide, and 6-mercaptopurine riboside on ectoderm and mesoderm of mouse limb buds. The effects of cytosine arabinoside, 6-aminonicotinamide, and 6-mercaptopurine riboside on the incorporation of [14C] glucose moieties and [32P] phosphate into acid-soluble material and lipids, RNA, DNA, and protein were measured in the dissected mesoderm and ectoderm of mouse limb buds at the 42-45 (day 11) somite stage. Due to the different proliferative capacities of the two tissues the incorporation of the precursors into mesodermal cells was considerably higher the than into ectodermal ones. Cytosine arabinoside inhibited the incorporation of the precursor moieties only into DNA, but very early after its application. This effect was more obvious in mesoderm than ectoderm. 6-Aminonicotinamide interfered only with glucose metabolism, whereas the incorporation of phosphate was not affected. 14C radioactivity in the various cell components was similarly reduced in mesoderm and ectoderm. 6-mercaptopurine riboside caused an increased incorporation of precursor material in all fractions studied in the mesoderm as well as in the ectoderm during the first 12 hours. This was succeeded by a dramatic decrease of incorporated 14C and 32P radioactivity. Differences of response in the tissues could not be detected with this drug. It is suggested that the malformations of the extrmities caused by these antimetabolites may be predominantly attributed to changes in the cell function rather than to gross effects on cell metabolism.


Corticosteroids in human lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxic reactions: effects on the kinetics of sensitization and on the cytolytic capacity of effector lymphocytes in vitro. The present experiments tested the ability of hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone to alter the process of in vitro generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against specific alloantigens or to suppress the lytic phase of the subsequent cytotoxic reactions. The continuous presence of hydrocortisone in culture reduced the total number of cytotoxic lymphocytes recovered following their sensitization in mixed leukocyte cultures. However, corticosteroids had no direct effect on the processes required for generation of cytotoxic lymphocytes, since equal numbers of effector lymphocytes generated in the presence or absence of hydrocortisone produced equivalent, specific lympholysis. The addition of either hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone only during the cytolytic phase of cell-mediated lympholysis failed to significantly suppress the killing of lymphocyte targets. In contrast, parallel studies of the capacity of the same lymphocytes to serve as effector cells in antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity showed that both hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone directly inhibited the killing of Chang liver cells sensitized with low concentrations of antibody.


Significance of mixed leukocyte culture testing in cadaver kidney transplantation. A significant correlation of kidney transplant outcome with the strength of mixed leukocyte culture stimulation was found in a series of 131 cadaver donor transplants. Graft survival rates in patients whose cultures with donor cells resulted in less than 20,000 cpm were statistically significantly better than those in patients with greater than 20,000 cpm (at 6 months and 1 year P less than 0.001). Cultures of recipient with normal control lymphocytes also correlated with clinical outcome, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree. Bidirectional cultures gave a slightly better correlation than unidirectional cultures. Whether the patient's plasma contained factors that blocked the mixed leukocyte culture reaction or not was not found to have a significant effect on transplant outcome.


Urine plasmin-like substances as an index of kidney allograft rejections. Using solid state radioimmunoassays developed by the first author, changes in the urine level of plasmin-like substances (PLS) and fibrin degradation products (FDP) before and after human kidney transplantation were determined in 49 transplant patients. Averages of urine PLS and FDP in a normal population of 51 persons were 0.13+/-0.10 (SD) and 0.14+/-0.07 microng/ml, respectively. In all transplant patients there was an initial rise of both PLS and FDP in urine immediately after transplantation. This elevation peaked on days 4 and 5 and the PLS and FDP levels returned to normal range within 2 weeks in patients without evidence of rejeciton. A secondary rise of urine PLS was detected before or with a rise in serum creatinine in all of the patients experiencing rejections. Of 11 patients who showed a rejection episode within 2 weeks of transplantation, the secondary rise of urine PLS was detectable in 55% of the patients slightly before the serum creatinine level changes; of 6 patients with a rejection episode more than 2 weeks after transplantation, 100% showed a secondary PLS rise 6.7+/-2.3 (SE) days before the serum creatinine increased. The appearance of the secondary rise of urine FDP in the rejecting recipients was slightly later than the rise of PLS. Serial determination of urine PLS levels following human kidney transplantation appears to be an early index of rejections which occurs more than 2 weeks after transplantation, although the clinical usefulness of this measurement is probably limited.


Immunologic study of the brain as a privileged site. A number of experimental findings reported here indicate that the brain functions as a privileged site not because of an afferent arc blockade, as hitherto thought, but because of an efferent arc blockade, with some afferent arc delay. There appears to be a quantitative deficiency in the efferent arc, but a qualitative defect is not ruled out. Implants survive four times as long in the brain as in the anterior chamber.


Influence of HLA-A, -B, -C, and -D matching on the outcome of clinical kidney transplantation. The influence of HLA matching has been studied in the Norwegian material of 142 living related and 311 cadaveric transplants. Graft survival corresponded closely to the degree of HLA haplotype disparity between donors and recipients. Furthermore, graft survival was less in combinations being incompatible for the serologically defined HLA-A and -B antigens as compared to compatible combinations. A weak MLC response, indicating a possible sharing of the HLA-D determinants between donor and recipient, was also associated with superior graft survival, even in the presence of HLA-A and -B disparity. Matching for HLA-C in addition to HLA-A and -B did not seem to improve graft survival.


Differential effects of T-lymphocyte-derived soluble factor on virgin and primed B lymphocytes in vitro. Cell-free supernatants from mixed leukocyte cultures derived from histoincompatible mouse strains markedly enhanced the in vitro immune response to SRBC by splenocytes from allogeneic mice. The supernatant factor or factors from allogeneic spleen cell cultures appeared to preferentially stimulate antigen-sensitized B lymphocytes, especially those involved in secondary IgG antibody formation. Furthermore, as shown in the present study, the enhancing supernatant factor or factors had no effect on the true primary in vitro immune response to Vibrio cholerae antigen. Normal spleen cells cultured in vitro without cholera vaccine failed to develop antibody-forming cells to this bacterial antigen, despite the presence of the enhancing factor. In contrast, the true secondary immune response to vibrios was markedly enhanced when allogeneic culture supernatants were added at the time of secondary immunization of cholera-primed splenocytes in vitro. Enhancement occurred both for 7S IgG and 19S IgM vibriolytic plaque-forming cells. It appears likely that T lymphocytes present among the allogeneic splenocytes interacting in vitro to histoincompatible antigens release a factor or factors that primarily affect antigen-primed B lymphocytes but also may influence other cells such as macrophages that are important in the immune response to particulate antigens.


On the identity of lymphoid cells that stimulate the rat MLC and produce active enhancement. The preimmunization of 10(7) Brown Norway (BN) rat lymphoid cells i.v. 1 week before (Lew X BN) F1 to Lewis renal grafting causes a state of immunologic enhancement. The BN lymphoid cells responsible for producing enhancement are the same cells that are capable of stimulating Lewis T cells in one-way MLCs. Thus active enhancement requires immunity to LD antigens, since SD +, LD- BN cells do not create a vigorous enhanced state.


[Kinetic studies of melipramine inhibition of Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the synaptosomal fraction of the brain]. The effect of antidepressant melipramine (imipramine) on the Na+, K+-ATPase activity was studied in the brain synaptosomes as dependent on the sodium and potassium ions concentration and pH of the incubation medium. Melipramine in concentrations of 0.05-1.0 mM is shown to inhibit the Na+, K+-ATPase activity. Under pH 7.4 monovalent cations prevent the inhibitory action of melipramine, changing the kinetic of the interaction between melipramine and the enzyme preparation. When changing pH from 7.4 to 8.2 the preventional action of the ions decreases, and the inhibitory action of melipramine on the Na+, K+-ATPase activity increases. Possible mechanisms of the melipramine interaction with Na+, K+-ATPase system are discussed.


[Extraction of highly active preparations of "soluble" Na+, K+-ATPase from different membrane stuctures of the brain]. A successive treatment with sodium iodide and digitonin of the myeline, microsome and synaptosome fractions of the cattle brain tissue resulted in obtaining the preparations of "soluble", Na+, K+-ATPase with a rather high specific activity non-containing practically Mg2+-dependent ATPase. To estimate the degree of these preparations structural heterogeneity they were subjected to analytical ultracentrifugation and disc-electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel. The data obtained suggest an insignificant degree of heterogeneity for the "soluble" Na+, K+-ATP-ase preparations.


Inhibition of agar colony formation by partially purified granulocyte extracts (chalone). Granulocytic extracts (GE) of different sources, presumably containing the granulocytic chalone, were prepared in different laboratories and purified to some extent. They specifically inhibited the formation of granulocyte and macrophage colonies in agar. The effect was however most pronounced on granulocyte and mixed granulocyte-macrophage colonies, and less on macrophage types. Addition of GE to bone marrow cells at the time of plating in agar, as well as short incubation of the cells together with GE prior to plating, inhibited subsequent colony formation. The inhibitory effect could easily be reversed by washing the cells with an excess of medium prior to plating during the first hour of preincubation, but not after five hours. Increasing the doses of colony stimulating activity (CSA) (at low doses of GE) released the inhibitory effect, but not at high doses of GE. The inhibitory effect of GE on colony formation was dose dependent down to almost 100% inhibition. No apparent cytotoxic effect of GE on bone marrow cells could be found and lymphoblastic cells were not inhibited. Extracts containing a specific inhibitor of erythropoiesis (EIF) stimulated myelopoietic colony formation in agar.


[RNA and protein metabolism in the myocardium in aging and long-term hyperfunction of the heart]. Metabolism RNA and proteins was distinctly altered in myocardium hypertrophied due to prolonged hyperfunction and in the heart muscle of aged rats. The following alterations were observed: decrease in RNA concentration and in the absolute rate of protein synthesis in vivo, decrease in incorporation of labelled amino acids into heart ribosomes in cell-free system, the distinct depression of RNA turnover. The data obtained suggest that prolonged heart hyperfunction and hypertrophy promote the myocardium impairment and hence the process of senescence in developed more rapidly than under normal conditions.


[Teratogenic action of tetracyclines with special reference to otesolut and terramycin in animal experiments]. The author in his present paper reports the effects on dams and their young of the administration to twelve gravid rabbits of Otesolut and Terramycin (20 mg, 60 mg, and 100 mg per kilogram of body weight)


[Influence of internal fluoride uptake on the eruption of deciduous teeth]. The possibility of influencing the eruptive behavior of deciduous teeth through the intake of fluorine is analyzed by comparing the average dates of eruption determined for several thousand subjects living in regions in which the drinking water has low and optimum contents of fluorine.


[Calcium transport via the placenta by simultaneous fluoride administration in rats]. Ca-45 was injected Wistar-rats during pregnancy that receive destillated or with 100 ppm F- enriched water. The effect of fluoride on transport of calcium through placenta was calculated from results of Ca-45-activity of fetuses. Besides results were obtained about fluoride- and Ca-45-uptake of mothers femur and about the development of rats under fluoride ingestion


[Caries protective action of a mineral solution in the presence and absence of fluorides in an animal experiment]. Experimental animal studies were made in an attempt to determine by means of series of sections the anticarious properties and effects of a locally applied mineral solution in the presence and absence of fluorides


[Metabolism of teeth and bones of rats following single-sided fluoride application]. The paper reports experimental radioisotopic animal studies of the inclusion of lysine 1C14, P32, and Ca45 in the mineral fraction of molars and bones of rats after semilateral application of fluoride lacquer


[Role of the instrument transmission factor in the epidemiology of viral hepatitis. II. Methods, materials, chief results]. The authors conducted a prospective controlled epidemiological observation in two towns of the Moldavian SSR. There were 50 000 persons under observation. Over 300 000 parenteral manipulations carried out in them were recorded. Analysis of the materials obtained on the Minsk-22 computer demonstrated the same incidence of viral hepatitis in the groups given parenteral manipulations and without them. Consequently, the instrumental transmission factor had no essential significance in the epidemiology of viral hepatitis, this corresponding to the results of the authors' preceding theoretical study.


Subcellular fractionation by centrifugation of homogenates of the neural lobe of the bovine pituitary gland: identification of different pools of hormone in the homogenate and isolation of neurosecretosomes. 1. Homogenates of bovine pituitary neural lobe tissue were subjected to differential centrifugation. Six subcellular fractions (I-VI) were obtained and the distribution among them of various cell organelles was studied by means of markers. Fraction II (800-3000 gav), the nerve-ending fraction (neurosecretosomes), contained sedimentable lactate dehydrogenase, hormone and a large proportion of the total Mg2 + +Na+ +K+-ATPase. 2. Lysis of the neurosecretosomes in hypotonic sucrose solutions led to loss of lactate dehydrogenase and vasopressin. 3. Centrifugation of the granule fraction (IV) on a sucrose gradient (1.3-2.0 M sucrose) gave a bimodal distribution of vasopressin. Purified neurosecretory granules were recovered from the denser band. Centrifugation on modified gradients (0.8-2.0 or 0.4-2.0 M sucrose) increased the yield of hormone in the denser band but the purity of the granules was decreased. 4. Considerable purification of the neurosecretosomes (fraction II) was achieved by "washing". Centrifugation of washed neurosecretosomes on sucrose density gradients led to the accumulation of all activities at a region between 1.4 and 1.5 M sucrose. 5. The distribution of Mg2+ +Na+ +K+-ATPase in centrifugal fractions indicated that the neurosecretosomes had been isolated in relatively high yield.


Serum dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in baboon (Papio Papio) pregnancy. Dehydroepiandrosterone (D) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DS) concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay in peripheral sera of non-pregnant, pregnant (55 days to term) and newborn baboons and in umbilical sera of animals delivered by Caesarean section close to term. D concentrations (mean +/- SD, microng/100 ml, N) in non-pregnany animals (1.61 +/- 1.32, 23) were not different (P greater than 0.05) from those during pregnancy (1.80 +/- 1.21, 101). DS concentrations, expressed as unconjugated D, in non-pregnant (13.5 +/- 6.0, 23) and pregnant (15.1 +/- 7.5, 101) animals were also similar (P greater than 0.05). However, both D (P less than 0.01) and DS (P less than 0.005) levels increased with gestational age such that serum D (2.46 +/- 1.39, 23, P less than 0.05) and DS (18.9 +/- 5.7, 23, P less than 0.001) levels between 150 and 180 days gestation were greater than in non-pregnant animals. These increases may be important since oestrogen production rises rapidly during late gestation and both D and DS can serve as oestrogen precursors. In both non-pregnant (P less than 0.005) and pregnant (P less than 0.001) animals D and DS concentrations (ratio 1:8) were correlated. Cord serum D levels (2.4 +/- 1.4, 5) were not different from those of maternal serum (P greater than 0.05), while cord DS levels (40.3 +/- 14.8) were greater (P less than 0.001) than those of maternal serum. This may reflect rapid equilibration of D but not DS between foetal and maternal circulations. In sera from neonates, D (19.4 +/- 14.6, 8) and DS 567 +/- 570, 8) concentrations were greater (P less than 0.001) than those in maternal serum, indicating marked post-partal changes in clearance or production of both compounds. The high levels of D and DS in cord and newborn wera are compatible with the view that the baboon foetus makes appreciable contributions of oestrogen precurosrs in pregnancy.


Biochemical and genetic variables associated with mothers of G-trisomy affected children. The significant differences in biochemical and chromosomal characteristics, and familial history observed between group of mothers who gave birth to children affected with G-trisomy (Down's syndrome) and their age-matched controls, indicate that these three maternal variables, in addition to the well known variable of maternal age, are associated with etiology of the aneuploidy. Since attempts to find statistical correlation between these chromosomal and biochemical variables failed, it is believed that these three are unrelated, but very possible etiological factors.


Ribosomal RNA, maternal age, and Down's syndrome. A selective loss (or a blocking) of rRNA genes in ageing oocytes, and its compensation through the retention of an acrocentric nucleolar organizer chromosome, is proposed as a possible mechanism responsible for the increased frequency of Down's syndrome with maternal age.


18O-exchange catalyzed by myosin, heavy meromyosin, heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 and their complexes with actin. Myosin, HMM and HMM S1 catalyze 18O-exchange between P1 and H218O of the medium at an intermediate stage of ATP hydrolysis ("intermediate 18O-exchange") in the presence of Mg2+. Natural complexes of actomyosin and acto-HMM S1 do not catalyze intermediate 18O-exchange but facilitate "direct" or "medium" 18O-exchange (KH2P18O4 in equilibrium H2O) even without ATP. Reconstituted complexes of actomyosin, acto-HMM, acto-HMM S1, PABC-HMM S1, congo-myosin and TNP-myosin do not catalyze direct 18O-exchange in the presence of Mg2+ and absence of ATP. From the data obtained a hypothetical sequence of phosphorylation and 18O-exchange reactions in myofibril action has been suggested.


Unilateral and bilateral partial laminectomy in lumbar disc prolapse. A follow-up study of 156 patients. The results of two comparable groups of in all 156 operated patients with lumbar disc prolapse were evaluated 4-9 years postoperatively. Sixty-seven patients had received  bilateral and 89 unilateral partial laminectomy. At follow-up, the results of the bilaterally operated were all excellent or good, whereas 15% with unilateral exposure were unchanged or worse. The unilaterally operated presented a significantly higher incidence of low back pain and recurrences of sciatica than the bilaterally operated. There were no reoperations for recurrent prolapses following the bilateral approach compared with four after unilateral approach. It is concluded that bilateral partial laminectomy affords a good view of the disc pathology and a greater possibility for obtaining relief of the symptoms without reducing the stability of the column.


Congenital immunodeficiency and agranulocytosis (reticular dysgenesia). A patient is presented who manifested the typical clinical and pathological features of congenital immunodeficiency and agranulocytosis (reticular dysgenesia). Treatment under gnotobiotic conditions enabled the measurement of immunogical parameters up to the 17th week of life with the following results: negative skin test, low response to phytohaemagglutinin, weak response in the mixed leukocyte culture and very few E rosettes. Peripheral lymphocytes and lymphocytes in the lymphatic tissues were markedly decreased. Humoral immunoglobulins and plasma cells in the organs were decreased. The in vitro culture of hemopoietic cells showed a diminished content of myelopoietic progenitor cells ("committed stem cells"). It is concluded that the disease may be primarily a defect of stem cells with regard to differentiation in myelopoiesis or lymphopoiesis.


Effect of manganese on neonatal rat: manganese concentration and enzymatic alterations in brain. Suckling rats were exposed for 15 and 30 days to manganese through the milk of nursing dams receiving 15 mg MnCl2--4H2O/kg/day orally and after which the neurological manifestations of metal poisoning were studied. No significant differences in the growth rate, developmental landmarks and walking movements were observed between the control and manganese-exposed pups. The metal concentration was significantly increased in the brain of manganese-fed pups at 15 days and exhibited a further three-fold increase over the control, at 30 days. The accumulation of the metal in the brain of manganese-exposed nursing dams was comparatively much less. A significant decrease in succinic dehydrogenase, adenosine triphosphatase, adenosine triphosphatase, adenosine deaminase, acetylcholine esterase and an increase in monoamine oxidase activity was observed in the brain of experimental pups and dams. The results suggest that the developing brain may also be susceptible to manganese.


Electrocardiographic left atrial enlargement. Electrophysiologic, echocardiographic and hemodynamic correlates. The mechanism of the electrocardiographic pattern termed left atrial enlargement was evaluated in 21 patients. Left atrial size and pressure as well as interatrial conduction were correlated with electrocardiographic left atrial enlargement using echocardiography, mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and activation time from the P wave to the coronary sinus. In the group as a whole only prolongation of interatrial conduction time was consistently related to the electrocardiographic pattern of left atrial enlargement; left atrial size or pressure was not predictably abnormal in patients with this pattern. Five patients had neither elevation of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure nor echocardiographic evidence of an enlarged left atrium. When the etiologic type of heart disease was analyzed, an enlarged left atrium correlated with electrocardiographic left atrial enlargement only in patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease (eight of nine patients). Elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure correlated with electrocardiographic left atrial enlargement in all four patients with cardiomyopathy. In patients with coronary artery disease the electrocardiographic pattern was unrelated to either left atrial pressure or volume overload. Thus, the electrocardiographic pattern termed left atrial enlargement appears to represent an interatrial conduction defect that can be produced by a variety of factors.


Platelet aggregation and the ouabain-insensitive ATPase. Ecto-ATPase, reflection of membrane integrity. The ecto-ATPase activity of washed human platelets has been characterized by a higher-performance liquid chromatographic method. Mg++ was found to stimulate ecto-ATPase activity more strongly than Ca++. The combination of Mg++ and Ca++ at increasing concentrations caused diminishing activity levels. Elevated ecto-ATPase activity was also found in platelets incubated with prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) or potassium cyanide (KCN). It is proposed that the increase of ecto-ATPase activity is related to the extrusion or exposure of plasma membrane containing a ouabain-insensitive ATPase. The role of ecto-ATPase in platelet aggregation is discussed in light of these findings.


Prune-belly syndrome associated with Potter (renal nonfunction) syndrome. Three fatal cases of prune-belly syndrome were associated with nonrenal features of Potter syndrome. The abdominal muscle hypoplasia is thought to be a result of large kidneys compression the developing abdominal musculature during a critical phase of fetal development. Thus, Potter syndrome and prune-belly syndrome may coexist when nonfunctioning large kidneys result in oligohydramnios. A teratogenic role of cytomegalovirus inclusion disease and other viruses is possible in the pathogenesis of these syndromes.


On the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of ethanol on intestinal glucose and water absorption. Experiments were performed to investigate whether the inhibitory effect of ethanol on intestinal glucose transport is related to its action on the brush border or on the ATPase-dependent sodium pump of the basolateral membrane of the enterocyte. We compared the effect of ethanol on glucose and water transport when it was added either to the mucosal or to the serosal solution of an in vitro preparation of hamster jejunum. The purpose of the addition of ethanol to the serosal solution was to mimic a situation similar to that produced when ouabain is placed on the serosal side to inhibit the ATPase-dependent sodium pump at the basolateral membrane. The presence of 450 mM ethanol (2.07%) in the mucosal solution depressed glucose and water transport by 40 and 63%, respectively, but the presence of the same concentration of ethanol on the serosal side had no effect on glucose and water absorption. These findings seem to indicate that the depressing effect of ethanol on intestinal glucose and water transport cannot be ascribed to the inhibition of the Na+, K+-sensitive ATPase-dependent sodium pump located at the basolateral membrane.


Correlation of the effects of dexamethasone administration on urinary 17-ketosteroid and serum androgen levels in patients with hirsutism. Total 24 hour urinary 17-ketosteroid and serum testosterone (T), androstenedione (delta), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DS), and cortisol levels were measured before and during four days of dexamethasone administration in 28 hirsute patients and 10 women with normal ovulatory cycles. Both the base-line urinary 17-ketosteroids and serum androgen levels were significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in hirsute than in normal subjects. Cortisol levels were similar in the two groups. Dexamethasone administration resulted in a significant suppression (p less than 0.05) of all the urinary and serum androgen and cortisol levels in both groups. At the end of suppression the serum DHEA, DS and cortisol levels were similar, while the urinary 17-ketosteroids and serum T and delta levels were still significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in the hirsute than in normal women. There was poor correlation between total urinary 17-ketosteroid and serum androgen results. These finding suggest there is a dual abnormality of androgen production in hirsute patients. The adrenal glands appear to secrete increased quatities of DHEA and DA, while the ovaries appear to produce elevated amounts of T and delta.


Experimental immunogenic proliferative retinopathy in monkeys. When a small amount of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was injected into the posterior vitreous body of a sensitized monkey, an immunogenic response occurred in the major blood vessels of the optic disk. In nonsensitized monkeys, the same phenomenon appeared after repeated intravitreal injections of small amounts of BSA. Focal leaks of fluorescein from the optic disk vessels were demonstrated by fluorescein angiography. Correlative light and electron microscopy revealed infiltration of acute and chronic inflammatory cells from the vessels of the optic disk into the vitreous body. When larger amounts of BSA were injected in sensitized monkeys, in addition to optic nerve involvement, there were scattered retinal vascular hemorrhagic and exudative lesions throughout the posterior pole. Immunologic mechanisms can result in preferential optic disk involvement with formation of proliferative lesions during the healing phase of the immunogenic inflammation.


A clinical and histopathological study of François-Neetens speckled corneal dystrophy. A 57-year-old black man had François-Neetens speckled dystrophy of the cornea and orbital phycomycosis. Examination of family members confirmed an auto-somal-dominant pattern of inheritance. Light and electron microscopic study of the cornea of a blind eye disclosed that the corneal opacities were represented by swollen, vacuolated keratocytes filled with histochemically demonstrable acid mucopolysaccharide and complex lipids. Thus, this dystrophy may represent a dominantly inherited metabolic disorder confined to the cornea.


The electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy: correlation with quantitative angiography. The 12-lead scalar electrocardiogram has been correlated with angiographically determined left ventricular dimensions in 103 consecutive patients in order to determine the reliability of the electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy. Simple and multiple correlations between various parameters of QRS complex voltage and left ventricular mass, volume and wall thickness were poor but statistically significant. Mean voltage of QRS complex parameters was higher in patients with increased left ventricular mass and volume than in those with normal mass and volume, but the sensitivity of individual voltage parameters in identifying increased mass and volume was poor. A negative T wave in lead l or V6 was the most sensitive indicator of increased left ventricular mass and volume, but the specificity of this variable was poor. The sensitivity of "high voltage" of the QRS complex was increased (67 percent true positives) when moderate to marked increase in left ventricular mass had occurred, but at the expense of decreased specificity (13 percent false positives). It is concluded that while an increase in left ventricular dimensions tends to be associated with an increase in QRS voltage and a repolarization abnormality, the currently used electrocardiographic criteria for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy are both insensitive and nonspecific.


Pathologic features of the eye in Down's syndrome with relationship to other chromosomal anomalies. A 2,990-g newborn female mongoloid had narrow palpebral fissures with a mongoloid slant and Brushfield's spots. Pathologic ocular findings resembled those found in patients with trisomy 21 syndrome. Many lesions reflected excessive genetic material and qualitatively resembled those lesions in trisomy 13 and 18 syndromes.


Histochemical and ultrastructural studies in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (myositis ossificans progressiva). By light microscopy the subdermal nodule of a patient with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) had a fibromatoid histologic appearance. The cytoplasm of the cells stained strongly for mannose-rich glycoprotein with the concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase (con A-HRP) method. The tumors also exhibited abundant hyaluronidase-digestible mucopolysaccharide in the interstitium with various basic staining reagents. This material appeared to consist principally of hyaluronic acid or chondroitin sulfate with few or mainly masked sulfate esters. At the ultrastructural level, cells interpreted as the tumor cells in the subdermal nodule from the patient displayed extremely hyperplastic granular reticulum and well-developed Golgi elements and appeared very active in synthesis and secretion of protein. The material in the dilated cisternae of the granular reticulum stained for glycoprotein with the con-A-HRP method. Macrophages which comprised the other main cell type in the nodules commonly contacted the tumor cells and occasionally evidenced engulfment of these cells. The intercellular matrix of the nonossified subdermal nodule exhibited greatly increased mucosubstance and, by electron microscopy, showed an unusual network of dialyzed iron-reactive acid muco-substance in the interstitium.


Complication of laparoscopy under general anaesthesia. Two cases are presented in which injury to the stomach occurred in association with laparoscopy under general anaesthesia. The common aetiological factor was gastric inflation resulting from I.P.P.V. via mask. Precautionary measures in the anaesthetic induction technique are described.


Histomorphology and histochemistry of renal, colliac and anterior mesenteric arteries of ageing goat. Renal, coeliac and anterior mesenteric arteries from 33 goats of 20 days to over five years of age have been studied. A detailed description of the structure of renal artery of goat, the general histomorphological and histochemical differences in coeliac and anterior mesenteric arteries and the relative extent of age associated changes in them have been discussed.


Dacron arterio-venous interposition graft: an access to circulation in patients on chronic hemodialysis. In a small percentage of cases, conventional a-v fistulae of the Brescia-Cimino type fail to provide long-term access facilities for chronic hemodialysis. When homologous venous interposition grafts are not available, the surgeon is forced to seek foreign interposition material. In three instances woven dacron arterio-venous interposition grafts were successfully constructed in the thigh, and uneventful hemodialysis was accomplished in all 3 patients.


Aneurysms of the pulmonary arteries.

Aneurysms of the pulmonary arteries. A case of bilateral pulmonary artery aneurysms is presented. Serial cardiac catheterizations over an 8-year period showed remarkably little hemodynamic change. Thus there may be a long period of clinical and hemodynamic stability in this condition.


Laparoscopic sterilization with local anesthesia: complications and blood-gas changes. Arterial blood-gas changes were studied in 21 healthy women undergoing laparoscopic sterilization with local anesthesia and supplemental IV sedation, employing CO2 as the inflating gas. No significant hypercarbia was noted. Two patients became transiently apneic following IV medication and 2 became extremely agitated during the procedure. This constituted a major nonsurgical complication rate of 19 percent. Safety requirements for patients undergoing this procedure is suggested.


[Syringomas mongolism, Marfan's disease and Ehlers-Danlos' disease]. The authors report a quite unusual case in which an eruption of syringomas, mongolism, Marfan's disease and Ehlers-Danlos' disease were associated. They emphasize the originality of the intricate appearance of syringomas on the ichthyosiform skin due to mongolism. They also stress the importance of the dysplasia of the connective tissue demonstrated by electron microscopy and the cause-effect relationships between the dysplasia of the connective tissue and the syringomas, the former accounting for the latter.


A histochemical study of the mucus secretions of the rabbit colon. The histochemical detection methods for mucosubstances when applied to the colon of the Rabbit show the following features:--A mixed secretion of neutral and acid (sulphated and carboxylated) polysaccharides by the same gland of Lieberkühn.--The absence of any histochemically detectable hyaluronic or sialic acids.--A marked variation in the mucosubstances depending upon the region of the colon.--A polyglycane acidic gradient in each gland. These results could be linked with the adaptative power of the mucosubstances under the action of the surrounding environment.


Aortic-caval fistula from ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. Four cases of spontaneous aorto-caval fistula are reported. All cases were successfully treated by suture of the fistula from the inside of the aortic aneurysm, which was replaced by a dacron graft. All patients are alive and well at follow up after one, three, four and twelve years, respectively. In one patient  pulmonary and circulatory haemodynamics were recorded preoperatively as well as in the early and late postoperative period. Preoperative high pulmonary artery and capillary wedge pressures and cardiac output were rapidly reduced to almost normal values after the operation. An intrapulmonary shunt fraction of 58 % preoperatively was reduced to 15 % shortly after closure of the fistula. Possible mechanisms causing the high pulmonary shunt fraction are discussed.


Comparison of muscle relaxants in clinical use. A prospective clinical comparison of d-tubocurarine, alcuronium, gallamine and pancuronium was performed in 400 surgical patients. Various parameters usually followed during clinical anaesthesia were recorded from the beginning of, to the recovery from anaesthesia. Endotracheal intubation was performed with or without suxamethonium. Intubation was always possible in 1-3 min when  different muscle relaxants were used in the following initial doses: d-tubocurarine 0.4 mg/kg, alcuronium 0.3 mg/kg, gallamine 1.8 mg/kg, and suxamethonium 0.8 mg/kg. However, there was a statistically significant inferiority of the d-tubocurarine and gallamine groups. The use of suxamethonium seemed to shorten the duration of the initial dose of the nondepolarising agents and also to increase especially the dose of gallamine when calculated as mg/kg/h. It should be mentioned that the non-depolarising agents were given soon after suxamethonium without waiting for the return of spontaneous respiration. Pancuronium and alcuronium caused least changes in the cardiovascular parameters. Erythematous skin reactions were seen mostly after the use of d-tubocurarine and suxamethonium. This could depend on histamine liberating potency of these muscle relaxants.


Microbial flora of atopic dermatitis.

Microbial flora of atopic dermatitis. The microbial flora of dermatitic skin, uninvolved skin, and the anterior nares of subjects with atopic eczema were investigated. The carriage rate of Staphylococcus aureus was 79% for the anterior nares, 76% for the uninvolved skin (normal skin), and 93% for lesions. The counts of S aureus were 7.5 X 10(4)/sq cm in lesions and 7.1 X 10(3)/sq cm on adjacent normal skin. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism in the lesions and constituted 91% of the total aerobic bacterial flora. The coagulase-negative staphylococci were the second predominant organisms (9%). On normal skin, coagulase-negative staphylococci were the predominant organisms, constituting 63% of the total flora, followed by S aureus (30% of the bacterial flora). The micrococci counts were lower in the lesions (1.6 X 10(2)/sq cm) and higher on normal skin (9.5 X 10(2)/sq cm). Lipophilic diphtheroids were fewer on normal skin (6.7 X 10/sq cm), and there were none in the lesions. Fifty-eight percent of the strains belonged to group 3, and 38% were nontypeable. Staphylococcus aureus strains belonging to phage groups 2 and 4 were not detected.


Demonstration of a human lymphokine which renders macrophages cytotoxic. Incubation of human peritoneal macrophages with cell free supernatants of mixed human lymphocyte cultures (MLC) renders them cytotoxic to labelled target tumour cells. The factor responsible for this effect is found as early as the second day of MLC. The production of this factor in man does not seem to require previous sensitization. In contrast with observations in mice, we have not yet demonstrated in man any clear-cut difference between the macrophage cytotoxicity index observed with supernatants from normal MLC and from MLC between the donor and the recipient of a skin allograft. Human blood monocytes can also be rendered cytotoxic by MLC acellular supernatants, but their cytotoxicity is neither as consistent nor as strong as with macrophages. This human factor does not render mouse macrophages cytotoxic.


[Therapy of recurrent herpes simplex and its surveillance by MIF determination: with levamisole, BCG, urushiol and herpes antigen vaccine (author's transl)]. Thirty patients with recurrent herpes simplex and 6 controls were included in our study. Before initiation of treatment, during therapy with Levamisole, BCG, poison ivy and herpes antigen vaccine and, thereafter, MIF-determinations were performed. The latter test proved to be a useful parameter in evaluating the sensitivity against herpes infection, (and subsequent recurrent manifestations), and effect of therapy. Treatment with Levamisole, BCG and herpes antigen vaccine was successful. MIF-inhibition values paralleled the therapeutic effect in the Levamisole- and herpes antigen vaccine treated group, not however, in the BCG-treated patients


Attempted treatment of inoperable pheochromocytoma with streptozocin. Currently the only treatment available for inoperable pheochromocytoma is symptomatic and palliative with alpha- and beta- adrenergic blockade. Pheochromocytoma is a tumor of chromaffin tissue derived from the neural crest and closely related to other APUD (amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation) cell tumors, including those of the pancreatic islets. Streptozocin has been used with varying success in some of these tumors and therefore merited a trial in pheochromocytoma. We used streptozocin to treat two patients with inoperable pheochromocytoma; the drug failed to have any effect, either on catecholamine excretion or tumor growth.


[Neonatal aortic valvular stenosis. Apropos of 8 cases]. Congenital aortic stenosis presenting in the neonate must be distinguished from the commoner hypoplastic left heart-syndrome, which is beyond surgical correction. It is certainly a serious problem, but early diagnosis and supporting angiography to rule out the presence of an associated left ventricular malformation and to check the volume of the left ventricular cavity should lead to a decision to operate. Out a 4 neonates from this series who were presented for surgery, the 2 survivors had good long-term results.


[Simultaneous surgical repair by the same approach of aortic coarctations and associated intra-cardiac lesions in the child]. As Ph. Blondeau et al. have shown, one-stage operations, especially by the same approach, for coarctation and an associated intracardiac lesion are still rare. Three new cases are reported. The authors emphasise the value of the bithoracotomy approach, and the importance of good management of respiration.


[Subvalvular aortic stenosis, dysmorphic familial syndrome and peripheral muscular disease]. Two related cases are reported, those of two sisters aged 7 and 13, who had an aortic subvalvular stenosis in the form of a fibro-muscular channel, associated with mitral incompetence, a triangular facies with a pointed chin, pinched lips, a divergent squint, hypertelorism, a mask-like face, normal intelligence, and a peripheral muscular disorder with arthrogriposis. The description of such a combination of malformations is original, and this is discussed.


[Plasticity of blood vessels of the heart and lungs in collateral circulation under conditions of high altitude]. The combination of the collateral blood flow in the heart and lungs with effects of Alpine hypoxia and pronounced additional loads was found to allow the detecting of plastical capacities of these organs in a sufficiently full volume. The experiments were performed in 273 dogs by microscopic, macro-microscopic, macroscopic and partly functional methods. The collateral coronary blood flow (after ligation of the anterior interventricular artery) under Alpine conditions (3200 m over the sea level) combined with compensatory hyperfunction of the heart (due to stenosing of the aorta arc), gets worse as compared with the conditions of the valley. In these experiments in mountains the extra- and intraorganic anastomoses are more pronounced, the capacity of the coronary artery branches being less pronounced than in the valley. The muscle fibres grow thicker, the heart weight enlarges, the diffusion distances of capillaries increase and the ratio of the arterial bed capacity and the heart weight decreases. Under Alphine conditions (as compared with the valley) the collateral blood flow of lungs deteriorates (after ligation of two lobar branches of the pulmonary artery or of the lobar vein) against the background of additional loads (stenosing of the aorta arc or pulmonectomy). Deterioration of the collateral bloodflow is related with the combination of conditions of the alphine hypoxia with additional loads resulting in a weakening or even block of compensatory reactions of pulmonary or bronchial arteries and veins.


[Histochemical study of mucopolysaccharides of the tissue of fibrous rings of the human heart in the age aspect]. The content of mucopolysaccharides (MPS) and its dynamics with age in the tissue of fibrous rings of the human heart was studied. The studies were conducted on 88 hearts of patients who had died of various causes not connected with disorders of the cardiovascular system. The tissues of the human heart fibrous rings were extremely rich in both acid and neutral (of the type glyco- and mucoproteids) MPS. In newborns in the main substance of fibrous rings, along with hyaluronic acid, there were found chondroitin sulphate A and C, in the fibrous ring of the aortic valve--in small amounts chondroitin sulphate B. In childhood the content of chondroitin sulphate B continues to grow. In adulthood chondroitin sulphate B becomes a predominant component, no hyaluronic acid is detected. After 45 years of age a gradual decrease in the total amount of histochemically identifiable acid MPS takes place.


[Use of tomodensitometry in the pathology of the orbit]. A standardised method with an original reference line in C.A.T. exploration of the orbital region permits to visualize the entire orbital region with four tomographic scannings when using 6 mm tomographic sections. Some exemples of orbital lesions are demonstrated as optic nerve tumor, dysthyroïd exopthalmos, maxillary sinus tumor with extension into the orbit.


[Iconographic aspects of ocular involvement in Fabry's disease]. An illustration of the ocular involvement seen in Fabry's disease: cornea verticilata, vascular conjunctival lesions, dyschromatopsia was observed in two brothers who were carriers of the condition.


[Osseous angioma of the orbit].

[Osseous angioma of the orbit]. The angiomas of orbital walls are very rare. The authors report a case of cavernous angioma growing into the external orbital wall in a young girl. The surgical excision of this angioma after embolization of the arterial supply of the tumor permits a plastic reconstruction of the orbital wall with good result.


[Iridocycloretraction in the surgical treatment of aphakic glaucome. Study on 11 cases]. A study of 11 cases of iridocycloretraction carried out in aphakic glaucoma. The surgical technique is described is described together with the results and complications. The only technical difficulty is the invagination of the scleral tongues. The principle complication is hyphaema which does not alter the definitive tonometric result which was good in 5 cases. The effect on pressure seemed to be related to the maintenance of the scleral implants in the angle. Aqueous outflow occurred through the cyclodialysis.


[Graft recurrences of superficial granular corneal dystrophy Groenouw type I (author's transl)]. A report of a family in which three generations were affected by on autosomal dominant corneal dystrophy. The authors studied two fragments of a recurrence on a graft where they noted the presence of granular material. Histochemical studies were negative. Electron microscopy showed the presence of deposits of crystalline appearance resembling those of Groenouw type I dystrophy.


[Atypical orbital localisation of a myeloma. Non-excretory myeloma or extramedullary plasmocytoma (author's transl)]. A description of a non-excretory myeloma located in the orbit. The authors stress the importance of immunofluorescent and ultra-structural studies in the identification of these tumours. They discuss the relationship between multiple myeloma and extra-medullary plasmocytoma and raise the possibility of modes of transmission.


[The glaucoma of short-sighted young people (author's transl)]. About 20 patients chosen at random, and counting 40 over 6 diop. myopic eyes, had their ocular pressure systematically checked. The results were compared with the ocular pressure of 40 non myopic eyes, matched one by one. All the myopic eyes went through a tonography, a gonioscopy and their visual fields were checked through the Friedmann's central field analyser. When no glaucoma was found among the non myopic eyes, 25% of myopic eyes were affected by a significantly high ocular pressure, gonioscopic and perimetric changes. The familial investigations only showed few glaucomatous antecedents. The treatment is debated.


[An unusual observation of a case of tuberculous dacryoadenitis (author's transl)]. A presentation of a case of tuberculous dacryoadenitis revealed by fistulisation of a cold abscess and accompanied by radiological lesions occuring unusually in the vault of the skull. The radiological appearance is discussed together with the eventual evolution and the treatment that could have been offered.


[Investigations on protein metabolism in malleus and incus (author's transl)]. Protein and mucopolysaccharide metabolism was studied in the auditory ossicles of rabbits after administration of tritiated amino acids to three and of S35 to two animals. No differences between S35 and aminoacid turnover was seen, indicating a parallelmetabolism of proteins and mucopolysaccharides of the intercellular substance. The tissue, cartilage and bone, shows a metabolism on the molecular level. Areas of cartilage ground substance adjacent to the incudomalleolar joint and the interglobular spaces are not labelled by the radioactive substances. They are excluded from metabolical turnover, while the adjacent cells remain vital. This observation indicates a change of cellular properties, from cartilage to bone cell. The subperiostal bone has lower metabolism than the underlying skeinlike bone. Few osteones were found.


Techniques of reinforcing the ascending thoracic aorta. Two techniques of reinforcing the ascending thoracic aorta with Dacron vascular prosthetic material are described. Circular reinforcement has been used patients with fusiform dilatation of the ascending thoracic aorta in whom it was considered that graft replacement was unsuitable, and also in patients with a thin-walled aorta, where reinforcement was thought to be beneficial in preventing dehiscence of an aortic suture line. The techniques are described in two patients who underwent aortic valve replacement and who had aneurysmal dilatation of the ascending thoracic aorta.


Sensitivity to m-phenlenediamine.

Sensitivity to m-phenlenediamine. Primary contact sensitivty to m-phenylenediamine was noted in 8 of 182 workers handling this substance as hardener. In these patients the period between the beginning of this work and the appearance of dermatitis was shorter if they became simultaneously sensitive to epoxy resin and/or triethylenetetramine. Moreover from among 150 consecutive patients one was positive to m-phenylenediamine and negative to p-phenylenediamine. From among the selected patients positive to p-phenylenediamine more than 40 per cent were also positive to m-phenylenediamine. A large number of the latter patients were as well positive to o-phenylenediamine. No patients were found who would be positive to o-phenylenediamine and negative to m-phenylenediamine. Nearly all those positive to m- and p-phenylenediamine were also positive to the meta isomers of other aromatic amines.


Genetic control of glucokinase activity in mice. Inbred strains of mice were surveyed for liver glucokinase activity. Mice of all strains studied could be distributed into three groups with high, intermediate, and low levels of enzyme activity. Genetic analysis using crosses and backcrosses with prototype high (C3H/HeJ) and low (RF/J) strains revealed that glucokinase activity was controlled by a single gene. The name "glucokinase" and gene symbol Gk are suggested for this gene. The Gka allele designates the strain with high glucokinase activity, while Gkb represents the allele in the strain with the low enzyme activity. The interaction of fasting and diabetes on the activity of glucokinase in these two strains is described.


Studies of energy-linked reactions. Localization of the site of action of trialkyltin in yeast mitochondria. Ligand-binding studies with labelled triethyltin on yeast mitochondrial membranes showed the presence of high-affinity sites (KD = 0.6 micronM; 1.2 +/- 0.3 nmol/mg of protein) and low-affinity sites (KD less than 45 micronM; 70 +/- 20 nmol/mg of protein). The dissociation constant of the high-affinity site is in good agreement with the concentration of triethyltin required for inhibition of mitochondrial ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) and oxidative phosphorylation. The high-affinity site is not competed for by oligomycin or venturicidin, indicating that triethyltin reacts at a different site from these inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation. Fractionation of the mitochondrial membrane shows a specific association of the high-affinity sites with the ATP synthase complex. During purification of ATP synthase (oligomycin-sensitive ATPase) there is a 5-6-fold purification of oligomycin- and triethyltin-sensitive ATPase activity concomitant with a 7-9-fold increase in high-affinity triethyltin-binding sites. The purified yeast oligomycin-sensitive ATPase complex contains approximately six binding sites for triethyltin/mol of enzyme complex. It is concluded that specific triethyltin-binding sites are components of the ATP synthase complex, which accounts for the specific inhibition of ATPase and oxidative phosphorylation by triethyltin.


Mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972h-. Changes in inhibitor sensitivities during the cell cycle indicate similarities and differences in binding sites. 1. We used 11 different inhibitors of energy conservation as inhibitors of ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) in extracts of Schizosaccharomyces pombe obtained from cells at different stages of the cell cycle. 2. All the inhibitors showed cell-cycle-dependent variations in their I50 values (microng of inhibitor/mg of protein giving 50% inhibition of inhibitor-sensitive ATPase at pH 8.6). 3. From the sensitivity profiles through the cell cycle it was concluded that: (a) oligomycin, venturicidin, triethyltin sulphate and dibutylchloromethyltin chloride all act at closely associated site(s); (b) NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide and leucinostatin both act at a similar site, which is, however, distinct from that at which other inhibitors of the membrane factor (Fo) act. 4. The variations in I50 values for efrapeptin closely followed changes in specific activity of ATPase, as would be expected for an inhibitor acting at catalytic sites; these fluctuations were different from those for aurovertin, Dio-9, 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan, quercetin and spegazzinine, all of which show different sensitivity profiles from one another. 5. Anomalous stepwise inhibitor-titration curves were obtained for spegazzinine, NN'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, dibutylchloromethyltin chloride and leucinostatin. 6. Possible explanations are proposed for the discontinuous expression of inhibitor-binding sites during the cell cycle.


Partial diploids of Escherichia coli carrying normal and mutant alleles affecting oxidative phosphorylation. A plasmid was isolated which included the region of the Escherichia coli chromosome carrying the known genes concerned with oxidative phosphorylation (unc genes). This plasmid was used to prepare partial diploids carrying normal unc alleles on the episome and one of the three mutant alleles (unc A401, uncB402 or unc-405) on the chromosome. These strains were compared with segregants from which the plasmid had been lost. Dominance of either normal ormutant unc alleles was determined by growth on succinate, growth yields on glucose, Mg-ATPase (Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase) activity, atebrin-fluorescence quenching, ATP-dependent transhydrogenase activity and oxidative phosphorylation. In all the above tests, dominance of the normal allele was observed. However, in membranes from the diploid strains which carried a normal allele and either of the mutant alleles affecting Mg-ATPase activity (uncA401 or unc-405), the energy-linked functions were only partially restored.