Dacron as arterial prosthetic material: nature, properties, brands, fate and perspectives. Dacron graft prostheses are routinely implanted to overcome impairment of arterial flow to distal tissues. Many different fabric configurations have been developped and evaluated. Unfortunately, after implantation the flow surface of any graft persists as a fibrinous lining. No human specimen has a commonly ingrown extension of tissue exceeding some millimeters in length. Full wall healing and endothelialization of arterial prosthesis is a goal that must be pursued intensively because it seems that the goal is attainable.


The mechanism of ATP hydrolysis by polymer actin. The rate of actin polymerization, the rate of nucleotide splitting and the rate of the nucleotide exchange have been measured simultaneously. Correlation of these three measurements demonstrated that nucleotide splitting and exchange were mainly connected with the association and dissociation reactions of actin protomers at the ends of actin filaments and were not caused by release and rebinding of nucleotide molecules at the binding sites along the filament. The observation made by others that the nucleotide exchange was accelerated in the presence of ATP was explained by the translocational head-to-tail polymerization of actin: Due to the simultaneous lengthening of the filament at one end and shortening at the other, nucleotide molecules are incorporated at one end and released at the other. In the absence of ATP, where the head-to-tail polymerization mechanism was not operative nucleotide exchange was brought about by the slow process of length fluctuation of polymers.


Detailed description of an implantable directional Doppler flowmeter. A Doppler flowmeter and the necessary modifications for implantation are described in detail. Since only part of the electronics was implanted a phase-locked loop had to be introduced in order to keep the flow measurement directional. The proper working of the apparatus is demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. As an example the result of flow studies in the aorta and the pulmonary artery after homotransplantation of the lung in dogs are given.


[Damage to the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscles in leukemia: role of lipid peroxidation]. Ischemia development was accompanied by inhibition of the enzymatic transport system (ETS) of Ca2+ (reduction of the Ca2+/ATP value and of the Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity), this correlating with the accumulation of primary and secondary molecular products of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes of the skeletal muscles, in vivo. Administration of antioxidants (2,6-ditretbutyl-4-methylphenol, alpha-tocopherol) prevented the LPO activation in the ischemic muscle and partially protected the ETS of Ca2+ from damage. The blood supply restoration after prolonged ischemia led to further ETS of Ca2+ inhibition against the background of unchanges LPO products level.


[Formation of transversely oriented myofibrils in myocardiocytes in the presence of heart enlargement]. Myocardial hypertrophy was induced in rats and mice by training in the pressure chamber (high altitude hypoxia) or ligation of the apex of the heart. Transversely oriented myofibrils developed in the subsarcolemma area of some cardiomyocytes of the ventricles in a  fortnight; the Z bands of the newly-formed myofibrils were connected with the T tubules as in the normal myofibrils. It is supposed that this phenomenon was due to the appearance under the sarcolemma of transversely directed mechanical forrces as a result of enlargement of the cell volume.


[Species characteristics connected with the distribution of reticular cells with predominant enzymatic activity of the white pulp of the spleen of various rodents]. The histo-enzymatic comparative study of the reticular cells of some rodents' spleens (Rat, Guinea-Pig, Rabbit), shows many differences between these species. Three cell types can be seen; the phosphatasic type is phagocytic and derives from the M.P.S. system, the 5'nucleotidasic is not a phagocytic cell and probably comes from the vascular perithelium, the ATPasic cell is, perhaps, an endothelial cell. These different cells are not equaly distributed in the splenic parenchyma of all animals but one type can be lacking.


Hospital or home care for the severely disabled: a cost comparison. A case study of severely disabled patients needing regular mechanical help with breathing following poliomyelitis was set up in 1970 to establish what medical, technical, and social support would be required for home rather than hospital care. In this paper these two care alternatives are considered from an economic point of view and a detailed cost comparison is made between entirely hospital based care and predominantly home care.


Scaling indices of disablement.

Scaling indices of disablement. Williams et al. (1976) have suggested the use of Guttman scaling for scoring an index of disability. Two examples confirm the applicability of this method in the context of survey research. One of these examples is of a disablement scale widely employed in local authority social services research. For the purpose of survey assessment of disabled populations, the precise choice of scaling method for scoring disability is often of little consequence.


Down's syndrome: an atheroma-free model? Postmortem examination of five institutionalised patients with Down's syndrome (DS) aged 40-66 years showed a complete absence of atheroma, while a similar number of mental defectives with DS were found to have mild or severe atheroma. Previous investigation of risk factors for atheroma in 70 patients with DS and 70 age-and sex-matched mental defectives living in the same institution showed significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the DS group, with the exception of systolic pressure in men under 40. Fasting serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were similar in the two groups, but triglyceride concentrations were significantly lower than in normal people without a history of vascular disease. These unexplained observations may be relevant in further studies of the pathogenesis of atheroma.


Neural regulation of muscle acetylcholinsterase: effects of batrachotoxin and 6-aminonicotinamide. Batrachotoxin (BTX), which causes increased Na+ permeability and blocks axoplasmic transport, or 6-aminonicotinamide (6-AN), which causes neuronal damage, was injected into the subarachnoid space of rat lumbar spinal cord. The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was measured in homogenates of the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle and the slow-twitch soleus (SOL) muscle 10 days after injection. Both drug treatments significantly decreased AChE in EDL and SOL. Correlative electrophysiological measurements were made in intact EDL and SOL after injection of BTX or 6-AN. The results support the hypothesis that AChE in muscle is neurotrophically controlled.


Purification of plasma membrane fractions from the bovine pars intermedia and neurohypophyseal lobe and properties of associated adenylate cyclase. A procedure for the isolation of plasma-membrane-enriched fractions from bovine 'pars intermedia' and neurohypophysis is described. Various fractions are isolated by differential centrifugation and discontinuous sucrose density gradients. The plasma-membrane-enriched fractions have a density in sucrose of 1.14 and 1.16 and the yields are 1.8 mg and 1.5 mg per gram of tissue for the pars intermedia and neural lobe, respectively. The fractions are characterized by electron microscopy and enzymatic assays. The plasma membrane fractions are mainly vesicular in nature and are free of nuclei, mitochondria, and microsomes when examined by electron microscopy. 5'-Nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5) and Mg2+-(Na+ + K+)-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) activities are concentrated in the plasma-membrane-enriched fraction. Also, adenylate cyclase (EC 4.61.1) shows a 5 to 10-fold purification in the isolated membrane fraction. NaF (10mM) gives a two to three-fold stimulation of enzymatic activity in all fractions studied  The yields of adenylate cyclase, 5'-nucleotidase, and Mg2+-(Na+ +K+)-ATPase are about 6% in the membrane fraction.


Rapid anisotropic motion of the Ca2+-transport ATPase of the rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were used to study the binding of uridine 5'-triphosphate to the Ca2+-transport ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from rabbit skeletal muscle. The nuclear spin relaxation times determined for the bound nucleotide are used to characterize the rotational motion of the ATPase to which the nucleotide is bound. The results, assuming an anisotropic model for the motion of the ATPase in the membrane, place a low upper limit on the rotational correlation time of the ATPase. This indicates that the motion of the ATPase in the membrane is quite rapid when compared, for example, with the motion found for other membrane-bound proteins such as rhodopsin.


Microhyphema.

Microhyphema. A case of microscopic hemorrhage into the anterior chamber is described. Slit-lamp examination disclosed a steady fine stream of blood issuing from a tiny grayish bulblike microhemangioma at the pupillary border. Fluorescein biomicroscopy revealed several similar microhemangiomas on the borders of each pupil. It is presumed that minor ocular irritation, due either to poison ivy or to a menthol (0.70%) cream which the patient applied to her face, precipitated the microhyphema.


The effect of thymosin on patients with disseminated malignancies. A phase I study. A Phase I clinical trial of thymosin administered in doses of 10 to 250 mg/M2 intramuscularly for seven days was undertaken in ten patients with disseminated malignancies and evidence of immunoincompetence. Toxicity was minimal; one patient experienced a mild urticarial rash which cleared spontaneously, two patients developed low grade fever and one patient experienced pain at the injection site. There was no evidence of systemic toxicity or parenchymal organ dysfunction. Thymosin administration was associated with an increase in the E-rosette forming capacity of the patient's lymphocytes and the development of new skin test reactivity to recall antigens in some of these patients. One objective tumor response was noted. These findings are preliminary but are encouraging for further utilization of thymosin as an immunostimulant in cancer patients with immunoincompetence.


Virilizing adrenal cortical carcinoma.

Virilizing adrenal cortical carcinoma. A 43-year-old man with a 36-year history of virilization due to an adrenal carcinoma is presented. The initial presentation at age 7 with precocious puberty and epiphyseal bone fusion suggested increased androgen effect at a very early age. The patient's 36-year course before his death suggested either a very slow growing adrenal carcinoma or untreated congenital adrenal hyperplasia that progressed to an adrenal carcinoma. Endocrine evaluation showed markedly increased DHEA and DHEA-sulfate levels. These were associated with elevated plasma and urinary estradiol levels and suppressed LH and FSH plasma concentrations. The 24-hour mean levels of cortisol and testosterone were normal. Studies of the circadian periodicity of cortisol showed a disturbed temporal pattern but a normal 24-hour mean concentration that correlated with a normal cortisol production rate. The 24-hour LH secretory pattern showed a decrease in the normal episodic fluctuation of this hormone over the 24-hour period.


Steroid hormones and human breast cancer. An hypothesis. The likely occurrence of two distinct types of human breast cancer is discussed. In the development of the "Western-environmental" or "adrenal" type, it is proposed that dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), secreted by the adrenal, may be implicated. This steroid is metabolized by mammary tumors to active androgens and estrogens. That these metabolic pathways are very similar to that in skin is emphasized and this is possibly explained by evolution of the mammary gland from primitive sweat glands. Formation of DHEAS from DHEA in mammary tumors, claimed to be correlated with an individual subject's prognosis and response to hormone ablation, is discussed in the light of a possible regulatory role of the sulphotransferase. It is proposed furthermore that a specific control of DHEAS secretion in the adrenal may exist at the level of the sulphurylation step. Nutritional factors are also possibly implicated here and these are discussed in the light of: 1) a possible higher secretion rate of DHEAS in obese subjects; and 2) the low breast cancer incidence in the Japanese and the accompanying low blood DHEAS levels.


A phase II study of triazinate (NSC 139105) in advanced colorectal carcinoma. Triazinate (Baker's Antifol, NSC 139105) was given to 28 patients as a single agent in the chemotherapy of advanced colerectal carcinoma. The dosage utilized was 250 mg/m2 intravenously, administered daily in three consecutive days. Patients were evaluated at three weeks, six weeks, and then monthly until progression was evident. Various immunologic determinants (i.e., DNCB sensitization, immunoglobulins, recall skin tests, lymphocyte blastogenesis, and circulating lymphocytes, T-cells and B-cells) were obtained prior to treatment and at each re-evaluation. The principal side effects were dermatitis, stomatitis, diarrhea, nausea, somnolence, and leukopenia. There was no discernable effect of Triazinate on the immunologic determinants tested. There was one complete response, and four partial responses, for an objective regression rate of 18%. This study suggests that Triazinate has a definite, though limited, effect on advanced colorectal carcinoma.


Suppressor cells in the spleen of tumor-allosensitized mice. C57BL/6 mice were sensitized i.p. with 20 X 10(6) P-815 mastocytoma cells. Spleen and lymph node cells from these tumor-allosensitized mice become hyporesponsive in mixed-lymphocyte culture. The hyporesponsiveness appears to be due to the presence of suppressor cells. These suppressor cells can be demonstrated by their ability to inhibit the mixed-lymphocyte culture reactivity of normal mouse spleen cells. Suppressor activity in the spleen of tumor-allosensitized mice remains long after cytotoxic activity disappears. The mixed-lymphocyte culture suppressor cells do not adhere to glass and are cortisone resistant, X-irradiation resistant, anti-immunoglobulin serum resistant, but are anti-theta (Thy 1.2) serum sensitive. Adsorption of tumor-allosensitized spleen on specific allogeneic monolayers removes cytotoxic but not suppressor cells. On the basis of the kinetic data, cortisone sensitivity, antisera sensitivity, and adsorption results, we conclude that the suppressor cell is a thymus-derived lymphocyte that is separate from the cytotoxic thymus-derived lymphocyte.


Radioimmunoassays for methotrexate, citrovorum factor, neocarzinostatin, and actinomycin D. Antisera specific for methotrexate, citrovorum factor, actinomycin D, and neocarzinostatin have been elicited in rabbits by immunization with appropriate antigens. The antibodies have been used together with radiolabeled marker haptens to produce sensitive and specific radioimmunoassays for each of these drugs.


Compensatory hypertrophy of skeletal muscle fibers in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Previous studies have demonstrated an apparent differential response of the fiber types in mixed skeletal muscles of rats to streptozotocin diabetes. The purpose of the present study was to examine the ability of the different fiber types to hypertrophy in muscles from diabetic rats, which should further clarify the apparent differential trophic influence of insulin on the fibers. One group of rats was injected with streptozotocin to induce diabetes. The gastrocnemius muscle was then removed from one hindlimb of rats of both the diabetic and a second, normal group, resulting in compensatory growth of ipsilateral plantaris muscle. Rats were sacrificed 60 days following the surgery. Experimental muscles in normal and diabetic rats enlarged 79% and 61% over control muscles, respectively. In normal hypertrophied muscles there was an 8% increase in relative cross-sectional area composed of slow-twitch fibers, whereas in diabetic rats the slow-twitch component increased 17%. The results indicate that slow-twitch fibers in diabetic rats were capable of responding to the chronic power overloaded condition, but that the fast-twitch fibers had a reduced capacity to undergo compensatory growth. These findings support our previous observations suggesting that insulin may exert a differential trophic effect upon the muscle fiber types.


[Inhibition of microsomal Na+ K+ ATPase of the brain by extracts of Mansonia altissima]. Water extracts of the bark of Mansonia altissima var altissima inhibit the activity of the Na+, K+-ATPase of Rabbit brain microsomes. The kinetics of hydrolysis of ATP show non-competitive inhibition analogous to that produced by ouabain.


A study of the human heart as a multiple dipole source. IV. Left ventricular hypertrophy in the presence of right bundle branch block. This report concerns the task of electrocardiographic (ECG) diagnosis and quantitation of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with right bundle branch block (RBBB). In 36 patients with RBBB the left ventricular mass (LVM) of each patient was independently known from quantitative biplane angiography. Two ECG techniques, standard 12-lead ECG and multiple dipole electrocardiography (MDECG), were evaluated. In diagnosing LVH, the best performance of the several standard ECG criteria was sensitivity = 29%, specificity = 100%, and that of the MDECG was sensitivity = 94%, specificity = 96%. In quantitating LVH, the standard ECG gave a correlation with LVM of r = 46% and a standard error of estimate of 98 g. The corresponding figures for the MDECG were r = 81% and the root mean square prediction error = 64 g. These results confirm other studies showing that the conventional ECG is of only marginal value in the task of diagnosing LVH in the presence of RBBB. In contrast, the MDECG performs well both in this task and that of quantitating LVH. The results provide further support of the accuracy of the model of the cardiac electrical generator and volume conductor used in the MDECG method.


Serial electrocardiograms in hypertensive cardiovascular disease. A graphic method for depicting serial changes in electrocardiograms is described and demonstrated for patients being treated in an antihypertension clinic. For these patients, the diagnostic categories, normal, left ventricular hypertrophy, and biventricular hypertrophy, are of primary interest. For each electrocardiogram, 14 measurements are used to compute posterior probabilities for each of the three categories. A triangular grid is used to plot each set of probabilities for an electrocardiogram as one point, which by its position in the triangle can be related to the three categories simultaneously. Points representing successive electrocardiograms can be plotted in the same triangle, giving a pattern of change with time. This pattern of change has been corroborated with associated clinical information on a number of patients. This display, which can be produced quickly and efficiently on a computer graphics terminal, should be considered as a possible tool in evaluating the status of individual hypertensive patients in terms of increase or decrease of ventricular hypertrophy and the efficacy of therapeutic measures.


The conduction system in tricuspid atresia with and without regular (d-) transposition. This is a serial section examination of conduction system in six hearts with tricuspid atresia. Four had regular (d-) complete transposition and two did not have transposition. The conduction system was more or less the same in all the hearts. The atrioventricular (A-V) node was in the normal position posteriorly and was short. The A-V bundle was situated in the left ventricular aspect of the subendocardium and passed posteriorly to the ventricular septal defect. Even though this type of conduction system is abnormal in some respects, it is not the type one finds in single ventricle with small outlet chamber with regular (d-) transposition. In those hearts an anteriorly located A-V node is present. These findings further substantiate the concept that tricuspid atresia with or without transposition is not a form of single (primitive) ventricle.


Influence of cleft palate on growth of the maxilla in mouse embryos. Cortisone acetate (7.5 mg on day 12, or 4 X 2.5 mg on days 12-15) and single dose of 6-aminonicotinamide (0.5 mg on day 14) were administered to pregnant females of random bred strain H-Velaz mice. The width of the alveolar arch of the developing maxilla was measured in drawings of the roof of the mouth of 600 fixed embryos taken between days 16 and 19. The width of the maxilla of experimental embryos with a closed secondary palate was the same as in the control embryos throughout the observation period, whereas the maxilla of all embryos with cleft palates was wider than in the controls. Final expansion of the maxilla was the same in all experimental groups.


Huntington's chorea. A random process.

Huntington's chorea. A random process. The purpose of the present study was to investigate statistically the irregular nature of the choreatic jerks in Huntington's Chorea. EMG-bursts of certain muscles in a patient with Huntington's Chorea were taken as a measure of the jerks. Statistical analysis of the measurements, i.e. durations of bursts and intervals between bursts, revealed that the irregular nature of the choreatic jerks originate from a random process. Each choreatic jerk appears to be an entirely independent and unpredictable event.


Acne therapy: Neutrogena hand cream as an aid to topical treatment. Neutrogena hand cream has been used to modify the erythema, dryness, and topical irritancy caused by topical tretinoin and other topical acne preparations in a study of fifty-two patients.


Immune complex disease of the skin.

Immune complex disease of the skin. The physician can now recognize clinically and histopathologically the cutaneous manifestations of immune complex disease. The usual clinical environment in which this type of reaction occurs has been very specifically delineated. Studies of immunoglobulins, complement components, and B cells in the blood may confirm the nature of the reaction. Special studies of cryoproteins of C1q precipitin or radioimmunoassay procedures may demonstrate directly the complexes in the blood. Biopsy of skin for immunofluorescence is confirmative of the skin disease and the presence of immune complexes. Biopsy of normal skin may be prognostic and indicate severity of the disease. Lesions may be induced by epinephrine, trauma, and controlled imflammation for clinical and pathologic study and confirmation of diagnosis. Treatment of the disease with corticosteroids, sulfapyridine, nicotinic acid, and antimalarial drugs may be useful. Clofazimine is an intriguing experimental drug. Plasmaphoresis has worked well with some patients.


Tetracycline therapy for acne: incidence of vaginitis. We have noted an incidence of vaginitis of 5 percent in women of childbearing age taking tetracycline for acne. We believe that tetracycline is a remarkably safe medication, and that the incidence of side effects from its use is low especially when instruction is given to the patient regarding its proper ingestion.


Interpretation of the serum digoxin concentration. Significant problems exist in the interpretation of serum digoxin concentration data. Failure to distinguish between results that do not require precise clinical correlation (proof of absorption, presence of drug, etc) and those which depend upon clinical correlation for their meaning ('toxicity' or 'effectiveness') can result in interpretive errors. Problems relating to the source of the serum digoxin concentration can also confound interpretation. Such difficulty may be controllable (obtaining the sample at the proper time, haemolysis, etc) or related to the laboratory technique (cross-reactivity with digoxin metabolites or other medications, technical errors, or lack of precision). Variation within the same patient over time or between patients related to disease (alterations in electrolytes, adrenergic or parasympathomimetic tone, or other medications) may prevent the direct attribution of an observed phenomenon to a particular digoxin concentration. Techniques for determining the effect of digoxin do exist and can be used to gather data for clinical correlations. Ways of improving the interpretaion of serum digoxin concentrations also exist and should be used to improve their value in patient management. The serum digoxin concentration seems to have an important future role. However, we need to know how better to interpret and exploit serum digoxin concentration data.


Atypical radiographic findings in neonates with absent pulmonary valve and tetralogy of Fallot. At birth, three infants had typical to-and-fro murmurs and laboratory features suggesting tetralogy of Fallot with absent pulmonary valve. Initial posteroanterior chest x-ray films were atypical for the condition because of the apparent absence of dilation of the proximal pulmonary arterial tree. Lateral chest x-ray films invariably demonstrated a large hilar mass. Radiographic findings on the posteroanterior chest x-ray film considered pathognomonic for the complex lesion may not evolve until later during the first year of life.


Health services and needs in day care centers. A survey of health services in a group of licensed day care centers indicates a general lack of written guidelines, failure to have a designated health coordinator and a serious paucity of nutrition and dental education programs.


[Photochemotherapy of cutaneous lymphoma: oral and local 8-MOP-UVA treatment (author's transl)]. 8-Methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and long-wave ultra-violet light (UVA) were administered to 16 patients with mycosis fungoides and to three with other cutaneous lymphomas. Total body clearing was achieved in eleven patients, while temporary recurrences were observed in three, maintenance treatment arresting the recurrences. In the others all treatment failed. Histological and enzyme-cytochemical studies indicate that the histological features under 8-MOP-UVA treatment correspond to those induced by other forms of treatment: a lose enzyme-cytochemically negative lymphocytoid infiltrate remaining around blood vessels, after regression of the skin disease. Oral 8-MOV-UVA treatment (12 patients) proved superior to topical treatment (seven patients), because cutaneous lymphoma is a systemic disease. In mycosis fungoides the mean number of exposures causing clearance of skin lesions and the mean UVA dose (single treatment) were generally less than those for psoriasis vulgaris.


Effective treatment of gonorrhoea.

Effective treatment of gonorrhoea. Effective therapy of gonorrhoea has changed drastically over the years, reflecting the progessive acquisition of relative antibiotic resistance by the causative organism. Although in the US. th 1974 USPHS recommendations are the best guidelines for management at present, recent epidemiological trends may obviate some of these provisions. The most important of these trends is the emergence of R-factor carrying strains capable of producing penicillinase, thereby making these strains absolutely resistant to clinically achievable levels of penicillin. This review analyses this problem in the context of reasonable therapeutic goals and also discusses optimum management of patients with such complications as pharyngeal infection, pelvic inflammatory disease and disseminated gonococcal infection.


Inhibition of Na,K-ATPase from chick brain by polyamines. The amounts of the polyamines putrescine, spermine and spermidine as well as the Na,K-ATPase activity have been  determined in the developing chick brain. The amounts of spermine and spermidine per gram fresh weight do not change significantly, the amount of putrescine declines until the 17th day of incubation after which an increase takes place. Spermine is able to inhibit the Na,K-ATPase from chick brain competitively. Half maximal inhibition is achieved at 4 X 10(-5) mol/1 spermine. This polyamine functions as an allosteric inhibitor; the Hill coefficient is 2.2 +/- 0.3. A regulatory effect of spermine on the Na,K-ATPase from chick brain is discussed. In contrast to spermine 1 mmol/1 spermidine inhibits the Na,K-ATPase only slightly, while 1 mmol/1 putrescine does not inhibit the Na,K-ATPase at all.


Primary structure of the B-chain of human plasmin. The primary structure of the human plasmin B-chain has been determined. It consists of 230 residues divided in three cyanogen bromide fragments: The amino-terminal 24 residues, the carboxy-terminal three residues and the middle 203 residues. Sequence detemination was performed on the tryptic and the chymotryptic peptides obtained from the main cyanogen bromide fragment of this chain. Owing to similarities between some of the overlapping chymotryptic peptides, two different sequences were possible from these results. However, since the homologies with the pancreatic serine proteases and also the B-chains of thrombin and factor XA are pronounced, the arrangement still could be settled. By peptic digestion of partially reduced and S-carboxymethylated B-chain it was shown that there are two interchain disulphide bridges, which connect the A and B-chains of plasmin, involving Cys-5 and Cys-105 from the B-chain. The intrachain disulphides in the B-chain seem to be situated exactly as in chymotrypsin as partly judged from homologies.


The action of piperidine on muscle spindles in the rat. Piperidine hydrochloride induced discharge in primary and secondary endings of muscle spindles in rat tailbase muscle preparations. The threshold concentration for primary endings (2.0 X 10(-5) g/ml) was below that for secondary endings (4.0 X 10(-5) g/ml). The effect of piperidine was antagonised by tubocurarine but not by atropine. The action of piperidine on primary and secondary endings responding to 'ramp-and-hold' stretch was predominantly on the static component of excitation, and usually in the absence of any concomitant enhancement of the dynamic effect. This effect was opposite to that induced by succinylcholine. A possible action of piperidine at cholinoceptive sites of the nicotinic type and associated with gamma-trial fusimotor terminals is discussed.


Effects of beta-(p-chlorophenyl)-GABA (baclofen) on spinal synaptic activity. In the isolated perfused spinal cord of the bullfrog, baclofen caused a reduction in the rate of spontaneous discharges in the ventral root at lower concentrations than GABA. The inhibitory effect of baclofen was fully present in a chloride-free medium, whereas that of GABA was markedly reduced. In contrast to GABA, which depolarized the dorsal root, baclofen produced a hyperpolarization in the dorsal root. Moreover, baclofen produced a hyperpolarization in the ventral roots. In the rat, the development of spinal reflex inhibition by baclofen was slow and the effect was long-lasting. Baclofen decreased dorsal root reflexes, suggesting a decreased excitability of presynaptic fibres. Baclofen produced a more pronounced and faster inhibitory effect on monosynaptic reflexes than on polysynaptic reflexes. In the monoamine depleted rat, the effect of baclofen on both types of reflexes was markedly reduced. It appears that catecholamines are involved in the effects produced by baclofen.


Ionic currents in cardiac muscle: a framework for glycoside action. This paper briefly reviews the current state of understanding of cardiac excitation--contraction coupling and its relation to glycoside action. Evidence that inotropic action of glycosides might result from increased influx of Ca2+ during action potential is reviewed. Recent voltage clamp studies that show little if any direct effect on Ca2+ influx during the action potential are cited. It is suggested that the primary inotropic effects derive from altered ionic exchange mechanisms secondary to inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase. The role of ionic currents in glycoside toxicity is considered, with discussion of a dynamic, depolarizing current that appears shortly after action potential. This current is apparently an inward movement of positive ions that is strongly mediated by extracellular Ca2+ levels. It is noted that such spontaneous depolarizations of the membrane have been observed in several other circumstances where strong positive inotropism has been induced. The conclusion is reached that membrane ionic currents probably play only a secondary role in glycoside inotropism and in many of the toxic effects.


[Effect of combined administration of phenobarbital and 2-methyl-3-(o-chlorphenyl)-quinazolone-4 with hydrocortisone on the dynamics of blood corticosteroid content and ATPase activity of rat brain]. Tests conducted on rats evidenced that with combined use of hydrocortisone, 2-methyl-3-(o-chlorphenyl)-quinazolone-4 and phenobarbital the development of the hypnotic effect and the level of the blood corticosteroids were inversely proportional. The relation between the hypnotic effect and inhibition of the ATP-ase activity of the cerebral tissue homogenates in rats was observed only in experiments with phenobarbital.


Recent advances in cardiac glycoside-Na+,K+-ATPase interaction. Na+,K+-ATPase has been purified from lamb kidney and consists of two polypeptide peaks on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with an enzyme activity of 1,000 mumole Pi/mg pro per hr. A scheme depicting the interaction of cardiac glycoside with the enzyme and ligand effects on binding has been constructed. Under all ligand conditions, ouabain binding tends to reach the same maximum if sufficient ouabain is present. Initial rates vary with ligand conditions. Using a chase method, the rate of dissociation of the glycoside from the enzyme is not influenced by the ligands present, although with separation of the enzyme-glycoside complex from the binding medium, differences are noted. The effect of ouabain on Na binding demonstrated two classes of sites, KD = 0.2 mM and KD = 18 mM. Denaturation decreased the high affinity sites. There was also a good correlation between ouabain binding and inhibition of Na binding. Clearly, ligands are critical in regulating cardiac glycoside interaction with the enzyme.


Dissociation of Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition from digitalis inotropy. Recent findings from our laboratory as well as those of other laboratories do not support the postulation that the mechanism of the positive inotropic action of digitalis is due to inhibition of NA,K-ATPase. Using short-acting digitalis steroids and drug washout experiments, in isolated myocardial preparations, it has been demonstrated that Na,K-ATPase isolated from such preparations is still significantly inhibited, whereas the positive inotropic effect is no longer present. Also, based on kinetic measurements the two exponential rate constants observed for drug half-life, a rapid and slow phase, were found to be associated, respectively, with the very short inotropic half-life and the very long enzyme inhibition half-life. In addition, a dissociation of the transient inotropic effects of digitalis was observed from the long lasting cardiotoxic effects of digitalis during drug washout. Moreover, a temporal correlation was noted between the persistent inhibitory effects of digitalis on Na,K-ATPase and the persistent cardiotoxic effects of digitalis. Therefore, it is concluded that inhibition of Na,K-ATPase is not responsible for the positive inotropic action of digitalis, but may be the mechanism, at least in part, for certain cardiotoxic effects of digitalis.


[Role of nucleoside triphosphatase in the formation of factor-X in frog myocardium following exposure to acetylcholine]. Under the effect of acetylcholine and vagal stimulation on the donor frog myocardium, a uridine polyphosphate-like substance (X-factor) is released. It intensifies contractions of the isolated heart-recipient and decreases the heart's sensitivity to acetylcholine and vagal stimulation. Acetylcholine (1-10(-4)-1-10(-5 g/ml) decreases UTPase activity (by 20-25%) and ATPase activity (by 15%) in isolated ventricle of the frog heart. When acetylcholine is washed away, UTPase activity is almost completely restored. Suppression of UTPase activity by acetylcholine seems to be one of the mechanisms responsible for the accumulation and release and uridine polyphosphates in the heart muscle.


Hypersensitivity reactions to Gerovital. Procaine chloride, which was a common cause of allergic reactions in earlier years, has lost importance as a contact allergen because its use for local anesthesia has ceased. Recently, we have seen hypersensitivity reactions in three patients after the use of Gerovital, which is known to contain procaine chloride. A word of warning is warranted against indiscriminate use of Gerovital, particularly of its topical preparations.


Enzyme studies in the articular cartilage of diabetic rats and of rats bearing transplanted pancreatic islets. The articular cartilage of normal rats, of rats made diabetic with streptozotocin, and of rats made diabetic with streptozotocin and subsequently transplanted with isologous pancreatic islets was examined for the activities of enzymes engaged in the synthesis and degradation of glycosaminoglycans (mucopolysaccharides). The activities assayed  were those of the degrading enzymes B-glucuronidase, B-acetyglucosaminidase, B-acetylgalactosaminidase, B-galactosidase, and those active in synthesis: uridine diphosphate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehyrogenase, and phosphofructokinase. In the diabetic animals all enzyme activities were increased, thos of the degrading enzymes more than those of the others. Implantation of pancreatic islets reversed the changes produced by diabetes, enzyme activities returning to near-normal levels.


Effects of experimental diabetes and genetic obesity on regional blood flow in the rat. Blood flow through various tissues of streptozotocin- and alloxan-diabetic and genetically obese rats was compared with that of controls by a radioisotopically labeled microsphere technique. Total cardiac output per unit body weight was unchanged in the diabetic group but decreased in the obese animals. The proportion of cardiac output received by the kidney and organs of the gastrointestinal tract was increased in the diabetic animals. Tissue hyperplasia appeared to be largely responsible. Blood flow per unit weight was markedly increased in the fat tissue of diabetic rats but was reduced in that of the obese rats, indicating a positive relationship between fat mobilization and blood flow. Blood flow in the hindlimbs, tail, skin, and spleen were all reduced in at least one diabetic group. Most of the changes observed appeared to progress with the duration of diabetes. Possible hormonal and metabolic causes are discussed. Some of the experimental changes observed may form useful models for diabetic vasculopathy.


[Ureterlesion in laparoscopic sterilisation of the Fallopian tube (author's transl)]. A case of severe ureterlesion following sterilisation of the Fallopian tube is presented. Since 28 days elapsed before operative relief of the kidney was attempted reconstructive surgery of the ureter at a later date proved to be unsuccessful. A secondary nephrectomy had to be performed.


Membrane mutation affecting energy-linked functions in Escherichia coli K 12. A small-colony forming variant of Escherichia coli with a mutation in the ncf gene was analysed. The alternation of the protein composition in the cytoplasmic membrane and the interaction with K and E group colicins indicated a membrane mutation. The effect of this mutation on some membrane-bound processes, the activity of Mg2+-activated ATPase, the growth on different carbon sources and the active transport of amino acids, is described. This mutation does not exert any effect on the electron transport system.


[Intrarenal localisation of renorenal collaterals in the dog. Observations on renal arteries as end-arteries (author's transl)]. One of the two main branches of the left renal artery was slowly occluded in four dogs. Repeated angiography was carried out from 45 to 61 days postoperatively; this made it possible to observe the development of collaterals between the normal and constricted branches of the renal artery, i.e. intrarenal renorenal collaterals. These collaterals developed predominantly from preexisting vessels of the extraglomerular system in the vicinity of the renal pelvis and calyces and, to a lesser extent, from medullary vessels and from forating capsular arteries.


[Correlation between microangiography and histological findings in renal carcinomas (author's transl)]. Arterial, venous and simultaneous arterial and venous injections with radio-opaque dyes were carried out under manometric control on three renal cell carcinomas following nephrectomy. The micro-angiographic appearances were then correlated with the histological findings. The radiologically abnormal vessels correspond with sinusoids with thin, capillary-like walls containing localised areas of thickening in a collagen-rich stroma. Both micro-angiographically and histologically, the sinusoidal connections can be demonstrated between the edge of the tumour and normal tissue. Arterio-venous anastomoses were not found. The angio architecture and micro-angiographic pattern in renal cell carcinomas is described. The significance of these changes in the circulation is discussed and its significance in carrying out pharmaco-angiography and retrograde phlebography is pointed out.


[Pre-operative renal artery occlusion with a balloon catheter (author's transl)]. Renal artery occlusion with a balloon catheter introduced by the transfemoral route makes nephrectomy for tumour much easier. Advantages of vascular occlusion are a bloodless field and shrinking of the kidney with a significant reduction of blood loss during the operation. In addition, operative displacement of tumour thrombus is largely avoided.


[Kidney damage during translumbar aortography treated by selective catheter embolisation (author's transl)]. During a low translumbar aortogram, a kidney was damaged leading to uncontrollable haematuria. The damaged segmental artery was selectively occluded by the injection of butyl-2-cyanoacrylate through a catheter. Bleeding stopped immediately, thereby avoiding a nephrectomy which had been planned. The complications and potential hazards of therapeutic embolisation are discussed.


[Cardiac-phase-controlled selective and semi-selective renal angiography (author's transl)]. A technique for renal angiography is described, which uses a special catheter and cardiac-phase-controlled injection of contrast; it provides maximal information with a reduction in the amount of contrast and the number of exposures required. This reduces the stress on the patient, as well as the radiation dose.


[Angiographic findings due to malfunction of Cimino shunts in haemodialysis patients (author's transl)]. Both the arterial and venous limb of a Cimino shunt can be well demonstrated by injection of contrast medium into the shunt vein during transient arterial and venous ccompression with a blood pressure cuff. Twenty-four angiograms in patients with shunt malfunctions carried out in this way were analysed with respect to various vascular changes.


[Estimation of individual renal function by Tc-DMSA-uptake (author's transl)]. Hg-Cl2-accumulation and early hippuran uptake are widely used for the estimation of individual renal function, a clinically important procedure in nephrological-urological nuclear medicine. After clinical experience in more than 2500 patients we investigated the assessment of individual renal function by the uptake of Tc-DMSA, a new radiopharmaceutical for renal scintigraphy. Tc-DMSA-uptake was measured after application of 0.8-1.6 mCi Tc-99m-DMSA by a scintillation camera connected to a computer system and by a rectilinear scanner with data storage, additionally hippuran kinetics were registered with a scintillation camera, the total body clearance was performed due to the method of Oberhausen with a modified whole body counter. A good agreement and high correlation between Tc-DMSA-uptake with background corection and the unilateral renal clearance could be established. This easily available and clinically valuable method also can be adjusted to institutions with a rather simple equipment.


[Renal perfusion during experimental hyper-acute rejection. 133-xenon perfusion compared with microscopy and angiography (author's transl)]. Twenty-two cat kidneys and 11 pig kidneys were incorporated into canine circulatory systems. The delayed hyper-acute and hyper-acute rejections produced by these models were studied with respect to blood flow and blood distribution with an intra-arterial 133-xenon wash-out technique at intervals of 7-30 minutes until the death of the kidney at 40 minutes to twelve hours. In addition, magnification angiograms and serial cortical biopsies were obtained for continuous histological study of the rejection phenomenon. At the beginning of the rejection process, there is a reduction in blood-flow through the cortex. During delayed hyper-acute rejection, cortical flow could no longer be demonstrated 180 minutes after the period of flow maximum. After A.L.G. treatment of dogs, rejection could be delayed for ten to twelve hours. Magnification angiograms showed characteristic changes consisting of irregular segmental and interlobar arteries, occlusion of small cortical vessels and focal contrast accumulation in the renal cortex. The changes in blood-flow and blood distribution measured with 133-xenon and the vascular findings on the angiogram could be correlated with the microscopic findings. Serial estimations of blood flow and blood distribution with the xenon blood wash-out technique permit differentiation between shock kidney and rejection following renal transplantation.


[The syndrome of polysplenia (author's transl)]. A strong tendency to symmetrical development of the organ systems manifests itself in the syndrome of Polysplenia. These symmetrical organs show the anatomy of leftsided structures. For this reason the syndrome is also referred to as the "syndrome of bilateral leftsidedness". It encompasses complex abnormalities of situs, typical cardiac and vascular deformities as well as extracardiac malformations. Polysplenia is the leading symptom. Diagnosis is rarely made intra vitam. Certain typical deformities can give hints to this diagnosis, which is finally proved by szintigraphic and arteriographic visualization of multiple spleens. A typical case is reported and subsequently discussed according to the picture of this syndrome in the literature.


[Bi-ventricular endo-myocardial fibrosis (author's transl)]. Bi-ventricular endo-mycardial fibrosis was diagnosed in two European women. Clinically there was severe cardiac insufficiency in the presence of only moderate radiological cardiac enlargement. Haemodynamically there was restricted filling, but otherwise normal systolic ventricular function. The diagnosis depended on the angio-cardiographic demonstration of a small, globular left ventricular chamber with a tubular narrowed right ventricle with a thickened wall, particularly at the apex. In one patient the endo-myocardial fibrosis was also demonstrated by echocardiography.


[The radiological manifestations of disseminated histiocytosis X in adults (author's transl)]. The radiological findings of disseminated histiocytosis X in twelve patients (eight men, four women) aged 16 to 61 years are described. Pulmonary manifestations (eight cases) are characterised by symmetrical, bilateral involvement with predominance in the middle and upper lung fields, with relative sparing of the bases and apices. Multiple, unsharp, localised foci up to 1 cm. characterise the acute stage, "honey-combing" (multiple, uniform cysts of about 1 cm.) characterise the chronic stage. The hilar nodes are frequently somewhat enlarged. Pneumothorax (bilateral in one case) is a not uncommon complication. Skeletal involvement is often multiple (five out of seven cases) and symmetrical. Sharply defined or diffuse areas of osteolysis measuring from several millimetres to several centimetres were found in the skull, spine, ribs, pelvis and long tubular bones, sometimes with reactive sclerosis. Pathological fractures, cortical thickening, solid periostal reactions, bone expansion and central sequestra complete the radiological picture.


[Radiograph and observation of the development of Q-fever pneumonia (author's transl)]. The radiograph in Q-fever pneumonia and the course of Q-fever was reported with the help of 12 clinically examined cases. Q-fever pneumonia is not to be diffrentiated from viral pneumonia or mycoplasmal pneumonia. A chronic course with residual infiltrates which lasts as long as two or three months is, however, more frequent in Q-fever pneumonia. According to our observations, a correlation seems to exist between the severity of the clinical symptoms, the extent of the pulmonary infiltrate and the level of the titer of the complement fixation.


[A contribution to the radiological findings interpreted by Haubrich as atelectatic rale of the inferior lobe (author's transl)]. Three cases were reported with craniocaudal shadow stripes (in part double but also irregular or arched) on chest films taken in a dorsal position. The cases were elderly patients with signs of cardiac and circulatory insufficiency. It was questioned whether the cause was an atelectatic rale of the inferior lobe as Haubrich assumes. The author's own hypothese were supported overagainst Haubrich's explanation.


[Differences of X-ray exposure between roentgen examen with a conventional roentgen-screen-system and with an image intensifer-television-unit (author's transl)]. During roentgen examens of patients in the II. Medizinische Poliklinik the X-ray exposure was determined. It corresponded to the datas described in literature. Two groupes were compared: 518 patients examined with a conventional roentgen-screen-system and 642 patients examined with an image-intensifer-television-system. The results demonstrated that with exception of thoracical X-ray examination the replacing of the old system by the television system brought a remarkable increase of the X-ray exposure. The doses depended of the patients constitution to a high degree.


Parental origin of the extra chromosome in Down's syndrome. Chromosome 21 fluorescent heteromorphisms were studied in 42 patients with Down's syndrome, their parents and their siblings. Included in this number are two instances of an aunt and niece affected with trisomy 21, and one of affected siblings. One case has a de novo 21/21 translocation. Blood group, red cell and serum protein markers were also studied for linkage, gene exclusions, associations, and paternity testing. Thirty-one of the trisomy 21 cases were informative for parental origin of the extra chromosome and for stage of meiosis. The non-disjunctional event was of maternal origin in 24; 23 occurred in meiosis I, 1 in meiosis II. Seven were of paternal origin; 5 in meiosis I, and 2 in meiosis II. The translocation case was of paternal origin. A literature search revealed a total of 98 cases informative for the parent of origin of the extra chromosome, of greater than 347 families tested. In addition, 3 de novo translocation cases, of 7 tested, were informative. The data suggest that most cases result from an error in the first meiotic division in the mother, but that a significant proportion are paternal in origin.


Cytotoxic antibodies to cultured human lymphoid cells in polytransfused thrombocytopenic patients: association with reduced survival of allogeneic transfused platelets. Four out of 8 thrombocytopenic patients without detectable cytotoxic antibodies to human peripheral lymphocytes contained cytotoxic antibodies to cultured human lymphoid cells. The presence of such antibodies was associated with reduced survival of infused allogeneic platelets in these patients. The antibodies reacted in a distinct fashion with a panel of cultured human lymphoid cells and are directed to B cell antigens. Cytotoxic antibodies to cultured human lymphoid cells did not react in vitro with platelets suggesting that the antibodies play no significant role in the accelerated destruction of infused allogeneic platelets, although their presence predicts it. Therefore, screening of sera with cultured human lymphoid cells appears to be a useful test in addition to those now used to select patients for transfusion of allogeneic platelets. Sera from polytransfused patients without cytotoxic antibodies to peripheral lymphocytes may be a useful source of antibodies to B cell antigens.


The relation between B-cell stimulation and delayed hypersensitivity. The effect of cyclophosphamide pretreatment on antibody production. Cyclophosphamide (CY), which can enhance some forms of delayed-type hypersensitivity if given 3 days before immunization, is also a potent suppressor of most antibody mediated 4-h skin reactions to protein antigens. However many haemagglutinating antibodies, which are present in serum at the time of skin testing, are not similarly suppressed. Antibody titres in some sera recovered from CY-pretreated guinea-pigs differ little from titres in control sera. This resistance to CY suggests that long-lived precursors characterize the B-cell lines that produce many haemagglutinating antibodies, whereas the CY-sensitive precursors of skin reactive antibodies, which mediate Arthus-type reactions, are probably rapidly dividing, short-lived cells. Furthermore, the novel appearance of BGG antibodies in sera from CY-pretreated animals immunized with DNP50-BGG indicates that haemagglutinating antibody responses to some antigens are regulated by CY-sensitive mechanisms.


Interactions of alpha1-acid glycoprotein with the immune system. I. Purification and effects upon lymphocyte responsiveness. Alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) is a constituent of normal serum which is elevated in concentration in the acute phase of inflammation; its physical and chemical properties have been defined but its biological function is uncertain. In the present study, the effect of AAG on the proliferative response of lymphocytes to several different stimuli was determined. For this purpose AAG was prepared by precipitation of human ascites fluid with sulphosalicylic acid and passage of the supernate through SP-Sephadex; the eluted protein migrated as a single band during immunoelectrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and chromatography on Bio-Gel-A-1-5 m in 6 M guanidine HCl. This AAG was found to markedly inhibit the proliferative response of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to PHA; it also inhibited blastogenesis induced by Con A and PWM, but to a lesser extent. AAG was not cytotoxic to lymphocytes, and its inhibitory effects were reversed at higher mitogen concentrations. Lymphocytes preincubated with AAG remained less reactive to PHA indicating that, although AAG appeared to react with PHA, its effect was directed predominantly to the cell. Further, AAG markedly inhibited the mixed lymphocyte response, and this effect was directed to the responder cells. Thus, AAG is another acute phase reactant with the ability to modulate lymphocyte responsiveness.


Biotin in man's nutrition and therapy -- a review. The literature on biotin in human nutrition and therapy has been reviewed. The influence of the diet on biotin excretion and the intestinal synthesis of biotin is discussed. Biotin deficiency symptoms are occasionally seen, especially in infants where the deficiency is manifested as seborrhoeic dermatitis. Nevertheless, low urinary excretion and low circulating biotin levels can be found in certain sections of the population.


Activity patterns of phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase in microdissected fast and slow fibres from rabbit psoas and soleus muscle. Methods for standardized determination of phosphofructokinase (PFK), glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities in nanogram samples of microdissected single fibres of rabbit psoas and soleus muscle are described. Fast and slow fibres in soleus muscle show lower absolute activities of these enzymes than the respective fibre types in psoas muscle. Slow fibres represent a more uniform population in the two muscles according to absolute and relative activities of the enzymes investigated. Slow fibres are characterized by high activities of MDH and relatively low activities of glycolytic enzymes. Fast fibres in the soleus muscle represent a population with high activities of MDH and glycolytic enzymes. Fast fibres in psoas muscle represent a heterogeneous population with high activities of glycolytic enzymes and extremely variable activity of MDH. More than 10-fold differences exist in the MDH activities of the extreme types of this fibre population. Differences in the activity levels of MDH in single fast type fibres but also in the activities of glycolytic enzymes between fast and slow fibres are greater than those reported between extreme white and red rabbit muscles.


Light and electron microscopic demonstration of some lysosomal enzymes in the amoeboid microglia in neonatal rat brain. A cytochemical study of the amoeboid microglial cells in the brain of the neonatal rat has shown that these vacuolated cells exhibit strong acid phosphatase, aryl sulphatase and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities. Endogenous peroxidase, however, was not present. With the electron microscope the reaction product of acid phosphatase was found to be localized in some of the Golgi cisternae, in the majority of the electron-dense secretory granules, and in an occasional long tubular profile. The secretory granules were not uniformly stained for this enzyme, some showing only a focal reaction or none at all. The distribution of the activity of aryl sulphatase corresponded to that of acid phosphatase except that all the granules appeared to contain the former enzyme. With the light microscope the amoeboid microglial cells were intensely stained for ATPase. From these observations it was concluded that amoeboid microglia are active phagocytes and their enzyme-rich secretory granules are lysosomes.


A study of mammalian intrafusal muscle fibres using a combined histochemical and ultrastructural technique. A direct correlation of the histochemical and ultrastructural properties of intrafusal muscle fibres has been achieved by cutting frozen serial sections for histochemical applications (15 micron thick sections) and for electron microscopy (60 micron thick sections) in a repeating sequence. Three types of intrafusal fibre were recognized, including two types of nuclear-bag fibre, designated bag1 and bag2. In addition to histochemical and ultrastructural differences, the three types of fibre differed in length and diameter. Regional variations of histochemical and ultrastructural properties were found. The results are compared with previous attempts to correlate histochemical and ultrastructural properties of intrafusal muscle fibres based on indirect methods.


Rheological properties of microliter quantities of normal mucus. Microliter quantities of normal canine tracheobronchial mucus were obtained by direct sampling from the tracheas of anesthetized dogs. The rheological properties of the mucus samples were determined using a newly developed magnetic rheometer. The data show a very rapid decrease in dynamic viscosity with increasing frequency, and a much less rapid increase in elasticity. Mean values of elasticity and viscosity at 1 rad-s-1 for seven dogs were ca. 300 dyn-cm-2 and ca. 75 P, respectively. The steady-state viscosity values were ca. 3 X 10(4) P, i.e., two orders of magnitude higher than the highest dynamic values measured. The significance of the rheological behavior in terms of the clearance of secretions from the lung is discussed.


Turnover of fibrinogen, plasminogen, and prothrombin during exercise in man. The turnover of biologically intact high-purity 125I- and 131I-labeled fibrinogen, plasminogen, and/or prothrombin was studied in 16 untrained healthy subjects before and during strenuous physical exercise on a bicycle ergometer (repeated 4 times/day for 2 days). The exertion resulted in the well-known changes in the coagulation and fibrinolytic tests but did not induce changes in the concentration of fibrinogen, plasminogen, or prothrombin in the plasma. A significantly increased catabolism of fibrinogen and plasminogen but not of prothrombin was observed. The extent of Aalpha-chain degradation of fibrinogen in the plasma was quantitated before and 2 h after exercise, and a significant increase in degraded Aalpha chains was found in the postexercise samples. Immunochemical estimation of plasmin-antiplasmin complex in four subjects revealed a small increase after exercise in three of them. All these data support the concept that plasminogen activation and plasmin-induced fibrinogen degradation occur to some extent in man following strenuous physical exercise.


Developmental-stage-dependent adenine transport in Neurospora crassa. Although germinated conidia of Neurospora crassa transport adenine through two different systems, only one of these, namely, the general purine transport system, which transports adenine, hypoxanthine, guanine, and 6-methylpurine, is present in freshly harvested conidia of the wild type. The second system develops during germination. The latter system can transport adenine and 6-methylpurine. Time course and kinetic studies of adenine transport in freshly harvested conidia of an ad-8 mutant indicated that, in contrast to the wild type, the general purine transport activity is very low in this strain and that the second adenine transport system is possibly present in the ungerminated conidia. A study of adenine and hypoxanthine uptake in ad-8 and ad-4 mutants, both of which cannot utilize hypoxanthine for growth, isolated that the two transport systems may be under different metabolic controls.


Membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatase of Escherichia coli. III. Effects of sodium azide on the enzyme functions. 1) Sodium azide and diphenyl phosphorazidate (DPPA) inhibited purified membrane-bound ATPase [coupling factor of oxidative phosphorylation; EC 3.6.1.3] of Escherichia coli non-competitively with Ki values of 39 and 51 micrometer, respectively. 2) Sodium azide and DPPA inhibited the activity of ATPase bound to the membrane as effectively as that of the purified enzyme. 3) The effects of sodium azide on succinate-dependent ATP synthesis, Pi-ATP exchange, and ATP hydrolysis reactions by the membrane vesicles were compared under the same conditions. At concentrations below 1.0 mM, sodium azide inhibited ATP hydrolysis, but Pi-ATP exchange and ATP synthesis were almost unaffected. At 10 mM sodium azide, both Pi-ATP exchange and ATP synthesis reactions were completely inhibited, probably because at this concentration, sodium azide acted as a proton-conducting uncoupler.


Presence of a unit for actin-myosin interaction during the superprecipitation of actomyosin. The interaction of actin with myosin was studied in the presence of ATP at low ionic strength by means of measurements of the actin-activated ATPase activity of myosin and superprecipitation of actomyosin. At high ATP concentrations the ATPase activities of myosin, heavy meromyosin (HMM) and myosin subfragment 1 (S-1) were activated by actin in the same extent. At low ATP concentrations the myosin ATPase activity was activated about 30-fold by actin, whereas those of HMM and S-1 were stimulated only several-fold. This high actin activation of myosin ATPase was coupled with the occurrence of superprecipitation. The activation of HMM or S-1 ATPase by actin shows a simple hyperbolic dependence on actin concentration, but the myosin ATPase was maximally activated by actin at a 2:1 molar ratio of actin to myosin, and a further increase in the actin concentration had no effect on the activation. These results suggest the presence of a unit for actin-myosin interaction, composed of two actin monomers and one myosin molecule in the filaments.


alpha-Actinin and tropomyosin interactions with a hybrid complex of erythrocyte-actin and muscle-myosin. alpha-Actinin isolated from dog muscle was used to incite antibodies in rabbits, Antibodies, purified by affinity chromatography on CNBr-Sepharose coupled with alpha-actinin and then ferritin-labeled were found to localize on the Z disc of muscle sarcomeres. Molecules of alpha-actinin as an adsorbed monolayer on the surface of polystyrene Lytron particles could bind muscle-actin and tropomyosin from solution. Both the ATPase activity and superprecipitation of an erythrocyte-actin and muscle-myosin hybrid actomyosin complex were altered by alpha-actinin, while tropomyosin diminished these alpha-actinin effects. The binding properties of alpha-actinin are consistent with those of an anchoring protein for microfilaments in nonmuscle cells.


Purification of S-adenosylmethionine: epsilon-N-L-lysine methyltransferase. The first enzyme in carnitine biosynthesis. The initial steps of carnitine biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa involve the methylation of the epsilon-amino group of lysine as follows: Lysine A leads to monomethyllysine B leads to dimethyllysine C leads to trimethyllysine. The methyl donor is S-adenosylmethionine. An enzyme, S-adenosylmethionine:epsilon-N-L-lysine methyltransferase, has been purified from N. crassa to near homogeneity as judged by column chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and ultracentrifugation. This protein catalyzes all three methylation reactions. The reaction rates are: A less than B less than C. Sedimentation equilibrium and molecular filtration give a molecular weight of 22,000 for the protein. Sedimentation equilibrium analysis of the protein in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis do not detect the possibility of subunit structure. The enzyme contains no half-cystine but does contain several acidic residues. The protein exhibits an absorption band between 400 and 420 nm which is 40 to 50 times less than the absorption seen at 280 nm and is not affected by the presence of substrates. The source of this absorption in unkown.


The sites of synthesis of the principal thylakoid membrane polypeptides in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The sites of synthesis of the major thylakoid membrane polypeptides have been studied in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by pulse labeling of cells with [14C]acetate in the presence of inhibitors specific for chloroplast and cytoplasmic protein synthesis. The labeled membrane polypeptides were separated by an improved method of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gradient gel electrophoresis, and autoradiographs were made of the dried gels. The results demonstrate that of the 33 polypeptides resolved in the gels, at least nine are made on chloroplast ribosomes. Two of these (polypeptides 2 and 6) are associated with the reaction centers of photosystems I and II. Another polypeptide (polypeptide 5) appears from genetic data to be coded by chloroplast DNA. Experiments with a mutant whose chloroplast ribosomes are resistant to spectinomycyn (spr-u-1-6-2) show that polypeptides whose synthesis takes place on chloroplast ribosomes are made in the presence of spectinomycin in the mutant although their synthesis is blocked by this antibiotic in wild type cells.


Determination of N1-methylnicotinamide in urine by high-pressure liquid chromatography. This paper reports a precise method that is shorter than previously reported methods for the quantitative determination of N1-methylnicotinamide (MNA) in urine. The method employs a single column chromatographic isolation step, followed by high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis. Potential interfering substances present in urine are removed during the column chromatography step. The combined MNA fractions eluted from this column were collected and concentrated for quantitative assay of MNA by HPLC. HPLC analysis was effected in less than 15 min using a strong cation- exchange column eluted with 0.25 M ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (pH 4.3). Linearity of MNA detection by HPLC at 254 nm extended below 20 ng, with an average recovery of 101% for 150, 250 and 500 microgram MNA added to 5 ml or urine.


A case of candida albicans endocarditis 3 years after an aortic valve replacement. Successful combined medical and surgical therapy. The authors report a case of candida albicans endocarditis occurring 3 years after aortic valve replacement and bacterial endocarditis. They may attempt to the difficulty of the diagnosis, the successful combined surgical and medical treatment, the duration and the follow-up of the therapy and finally the aspect of the side effects of the used antifungal drugs.


Evaluation of a new bacteriophage set for typing of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. A new set of typing phages was evaluated for typing 821 Staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from normal human skin and from acne lesions. This method was compared with two different systems for biochemical differentiation of S. epidermidis. Distinct subgroups of cocci, which differed in phage susceptibility as well as in biochemical properties, were found. A tentative subdivision of S. epidermidis strains by use of 16 phages arranged into four groups is proposed, together with additional biochemical differentiation of non-typable strains.


Development of a bacteriophage-typing set for Staphylococcus epidermidis. Six phages isolated from lysogenic cultures of Staphylococcus epidermidis were used to type cultures in our collection classified previously as "untypable" with our original typing set of 13 phages, new clinical isolates from Missouri, and clinical isolates from Connecticut, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Typability with the new set of 6 phages and with our 13 original phages was compared. For 203 cultures, 81 (39.9%) cultures were typable with the set of 6 phages and 73 (36.0%) cultures were typable with the set of 13 phages. When the two typing sets were combined, the percentage of typability for 425 cultures increased to 49.9%. compared with 35.7% with the original set of 13 phages. For 109 cultures from outstate, the percentage of typability was 56.9%, whereas that for 316 cultures from Missouri was 47.5%. When only cultures in biotype 1 were considered, the percentage of typability for 268 cultures with the combined set increased to 58.2%, compared with 39.5% with the original set of 13 phages. Analysis of individual reactions for all 425 cultures typed in our laboratory indicated that 11 of the 19 phages in the combined set accounted for the majority of the reactions, and a provisional set containing these 11 phages is proposed.


The prenatal diagnosis of lower urinary tract obstruction using B scan ultrasound: a case report. This is a case report of the ultrasonic detection of an enlarged urinary bladder in a 20 1/2 week fetus which subsequently was proven to have the prune belly or Eagle-Barrett syndrome. Serial sonograms were used to follow the progress of this abnormal pregnancy and were instrumental in the subsequent clinical management of the patient.


Enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in human epidermal tumors. 5. The activities of eight enzymes were determined by fluorometric micromethods in epidermal tumors (basal and squamous cell epithelioma, verruca seborroeica and keratoacanthoma) and compared to the activities in the adjoining, apparently normal epidermis. The activities were increased in basal cell epithelioma, variable in squamous cell epithelioma and verruca seborroeica and lowered in keratoacanthoma.


Chemotaxis of rat lymphocytes.

Chemotaxis of rat lymphocytes. Rat lymphocytes obtained from spleens, lymph nodes, and thymus glands showed migratory responses to a variety of factors including fluids from mixed lymphocyte culture fluids from concanavalin A-stimulated cells, fluids from phagocytizing macrophages, and to anti-rat IgG. Migratory responses to the last factor were bimodal over a dose range of anti-Ig; at high concentrations of anti-Ig, the response appeared to be nonspecific, whereas, at low concentrations, the responses seemed to be chemotactic in character. When lymphocytes from spleens, lymph nodes, and thymic glands were compared, qualitative and quantitative differences on the responses were evident with use of the three attractants. When spleen lymphocytes were separated into T cell- and B cell-enriched fractions, T cells responded to the culture fluids from mixed lymphocyte cultures, whereas B cells seemed to respond poorly, if at all. Only B cells responded to anti-Ig. These findings may explain, at least in part, the accumulation of lymphoid cells at sites of inflammatory stimuli.


Interference with the transmission of T cell-derived messages by macrophage membranes. Heat-killed macrophages (HK Mphi) and/or semi-purified Mphi membranes interfere with primary thymus-dependent but not thymus-independent in vitro immune responses. In addition, they can absorb out and render inactive the helper activity found in mixed lymphocyte culture supernatants which augments the primary in vitro response of normal spleen cells. They do not, however,  inactivate the helper activity which augments the response of thymus-deprived spleen cells. Both the immunologic interference and the absorbing activity of the HK Mphi are eliminated by treatments which inactivate or block Fc receptors. We suggest that HK Mphi or their membranes can act as competitive antagonists for live Mphi functions and in so doing block communication networks between T cell subclasses. Thus they can serve as useful probes both for studying some of the roles live Mphi might play in mediating immunologic functions as well as dissecting out some of the many arcane T cell interactions which normally occur.


Macrophages suppress CTL generation in rat mixed leukocyte cultures. The generation of CTL in rat MLC was actively suppressed by a cell population present in spleen cell preparations from normal rats. These suppressor cells were characterized by using a variety of cell fractionation techniques. Suppressor cells were removed by passage of spleen cells through nylon wool columns or by treatment with carbonyl iron. Suppressive activity was present in the mononuclear cell fraction of spleen cells obtained by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation. After velocity sedimentation at unit gravity, enrichment of suppressive activity was demonstrated in the fractions containing large cells as compared to the fractions containing small cells. Populations rich in macrophages were shown to have similar suppressive activity upon CTL induction in MLC. These studies suggest that macrophages present in normal rat spleen cell preparations account for the difficulty in generating CTL in MLC prepared with rat cells.


Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity: effects of ageing, adult thymectomy and thymic factor. Adult thymectomy, as well as ageing, depressed splenic lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity (LMC) in the mouse. Ageing depressed significantly LMC as early as 19 weeks of age, independently of the number of cells used for immunization. Thymectomy affected LMC only when supoptimal numbers of immunizing allogeneic cells were used. This effect peaked at 6 to 12 weeks after thymectomy. No difference between thymectomized and normal mice was observed when LMC was tested 16 to 20 weeks after thymectomy, at an age when normal control mice themselves already showed a lowered LMC due to ageing. The effect of in vivo treatment with a circulating thymic factor (TF), which was shown to disappear with ageing as well as after adult thymectomy, has been tested in adult thymectomized mice and normal young and ageing mice. TF treatment prevented LMC depression in adult thymectomized mice, whereas it depressed paradoxically splenic LMC in normal young and old mice. The possible mechanisms of the effects of adult thymectomy, ageing, and thymic factor on the different T cell subsets involved in allogeneic killer cell generation are discussed.


Cell mediated lympholysis: CML. a microplate technique requiring few target cells and employing a new method of supernatant collection. A micro method for the 51Cr release assay is described. Allogeneically induced cytotoxic lymphocytes are generated in micro mixed lymphocyte cultures in the wells of micro plates. Their cytotoxic capacity is assayed by adding 51Cr labelled PHA derived lymphoblasts directly into the micro cultures with no pooling or transfer of the cytotoxic effector cells being required. The 51Cr isotope released into the cell supernatants is collected by inserting a cellulose acetate absorption cartridge into each well. A glass fiber filter attached to the cartridge effectively separates the supernatant from the cellular elements. This system allows the simultaneous collection of the supernatant from 96 wells, and can be used with either adherent or non-adherent target cells.


Isotopic exchange in 59Fe labeled rice-based meals. The process of isotopic exchange between extrinsic 59Fe tracer and native nonheme Fe in a rice-based meal was studied by performing Sephadex G-50 column chromatography of soluble supernatant of (1) 59Fe-labeled meal after in vitro pepsin digestion and (2) duodenal aspirate obtained from a human subject fed a similarly labeled meal. The elution patterns of radioactivity and chemically determined nonheme Fe differed markedly when the supernatant of in vitro digested meal at pH 1.8 was analyzed, whereas the patterns were similar when pH was adjusted to 6.2 and also for duodenal aspirate at pH 7. Our results imply that complete isotopic exchange between 59Fe tracer and native nonheme Fe in rice-based meal does not take place in vitro or even during gastric digestion but that it is probably completed in the duodenum.


Electrocardiographic and vectorcardiographic response to right ventricular hypertrophy in the goat. Basic differences were observed in the elctrocardiographic and vectorcardiogrpahic response to RVH in goats when compared to man and dogs. Instead of RVH inducing a redistribution of major fronts of electrical activity which result in profound QRS complex alterations as in man and dogs, it appears to produce no significant alteration of the QRS complex or major vector orientation in goats. Although slight reorientation of sagittal and horizontal vector forces occurred during development of RVH, no statistically significant changes could be detected.


Some observations on SMON from Bombay.

Some observations on SMON from Bombay. Nine patients in whom subacute myelo-opticoneuropathy (SMON) was diagnosed with varying degrees of confidence are discussed. The cases were discovered after a retrospective examination of our records for the period 1967-71, and a prospective search from March 1972 to date. Subacute myelopathy with predominant dysaesthesiae and greater involvement of the pyramidal tracts was seen more often than fully developed SMON. Subacute myelopathy was seen in six instances, opticomyelopathy in two and myeloneuropathy only once. Clioquinol could not be excluded as an aetiological agent. The difference in the reported prevalence of SMON between Japan and India is noted, and factors which may account for this difference are discussed. Problems related to the diagnosis of SMON outside Japan, and particularly in India, are stressed.


Erythrocyte cation-activated adenosine triphosphatases in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The cation-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities of erythrocyte ghosts and erythrocyte ghost plasma membrane fragments of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) were compared with activities in age-matched normal male controls. DMD Mg++-stimulated ATPase activity was within the normal range. The specific activity of DMD erythrocyte ghost Na+,K+-stimulated, Mg++-dependent ATPase was also normal, and was inhibited by 10(-4) M ouabain to an extent comparable with controls. Ca++-stimulated, Mg++-dependent ATPase activity of DMD erythrocyte ghost plasma membrane fragments, assayed at 0.5 mM free Ca++, was 21% above that in age-matched male controls (n = 22, 2-tailed paired t-test, P less than 0.01). Kinetic studies indicated that the DMD erythrocyte Ca++-stimulated, Mg++-dependent ATPase has greater affinity for MgATP than the enzyme in control erythrocytes.


Fast-conducting skeletofusimotor axons supplying intrafusal chain fibers in the cat peroneus tertius muscle. 1. In six experiments on cat peroneus tertius muscle, from 12 to 23 motor axons with conduction velocities above 85 m/s were repetitively stimulated so as to produce glycogen depletion in the muscle fibers they innervated. 2. The whole muscle was then quick-frozen, serially cut, stained to demonstrate glycogen, and examined for intrafusal glycogen depletion. 3. Zones of glycogen depletion were found in 27 of the 99 examined spindles: they were almost invariably located on chain fibers and specifically on the longest of the chain fibers in affected spindles. 4. Since it was shown that there are no purely fusimotor fast axons in the motor supply to peroneus tertius, it is concluded that skeletofusimotor axons are present among the fastest motor axons to this muscle.


MMPI identification of nonrehabilitants among disabled veterans. Utilized the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) with IQ scores and selected biographic data to identify drop-outs in a Veterans Administration vocational rehabilitation program. Subjects were 61 male disabled veterans. Data were collected at VA Hospital Richmond, Virginia, between September 1973 and September 1974. Follow-up six months after entrance into training utilized persistence in training or employment as success criteria. Multivariate analysis identified 32 of 33 successful and 25 of 28 unsuccessful subjects with p less than .001. Factor analysis of the best predictors identified MMPI Psychopathic deviate (Pd) Hypomania (Ma), and Lie (L) scales which was interpreted to be a social adjustment factor.  Four other factors were identified.  Results indicated the MMPI was a useful instrument in the identification of disabled veterans who were likely to experience difficulty in post-hospital vocational rehabilitation.


Liposomal entrapment of floxuridine.

Liposomal entrapment of floxuridine. Floxuridine was found to have an apparent initial entrapment within negatively charged sphingomyelin liposomes about three times higher than its parent, fluorouracil. The drug also diffused out of the liposomes at a much lower rate than fluorouracil. Substitution of lecithin for sphingomyelin destroyed the effect. Liposomal entrapment may provide enhanced stability and decreased toxicity of floxuridine, permitting wider therapeutic utilization of pyrimidine nucleosides.


Binding and effect of tritiated quinidine on cardiac subcellular enzyme systems: sarcomplasmic reticulum vesicles, mitochondria and Na+, K+-adenosine triphosphatase. A tritium-labeled derivative of quinidine (D3HQ) was used to assess binding and effect of this drug on isolated membrane preparations from myocardium. D3HG bound to sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles (SRV) and diminished both Ca++ binding and Ca++ uptake activity. Binding of more than 19 nmol of D3HQ were required to displace 1 nmol of Ca++. Dual-wavelength spectrophotometric methods for monitoring the alterations in Ca++ binding showed that D3HQ depressed maximal Ca++ binding and hastened the onset of Ca++ release from Ca++-loaded SRV, but did not alter the maximal rate of Ca++ release. D3HG also diminished Ca++ sequestration by isolated cardiac mitochondria but the level of D3HQ binding did not correlate with the degree of inhibition. Binding of D3HQ to Na+, K+-adenosine triphosphatase also occurred to a limited extent and a partial inhibition of enzyme activity resulted. A reciprocal relationship between D3HQ binding and a decrease in functional activity of the subcellular membrane systems could be demonstrated only for SRV. The results suggest that cinchona alkaloids might affect myocardial contractility by their effects on Ca++ handling by SRV.


On the subdivision of static and dynamic fusimotor actions on the primary ending of the cat muscle spindle. 1. Using large ramp and triangular stretches a survey has been made of the effect of stimulating single gamma fusimotor fibres on primary endings of muscle spindles in the peroneus brevis to see whether 'intermediate' types of fusimotor action could be recognized, falling between the well known static and dynamic types. 2. Responses were classified into six groups, as detailed on pp. 844-846, ranging from apparently 'pure' dynamic action (category I) to apparently 'pure' static action (category IV). Models for a putative mixed action were produced by combining the stimulation of a static and of a dynamic fibre to the same spindle. The clearest sign of static action was firing on the releasing phase of the stretch. The essential sign of dynamic action, which survived combination with the more dominant static action, was the low adaptive decay of firing with a time constant of about 0-5 sec that occurs on the plateau of the ramp stretch. 3. Out of 153 responses, each elicited from a primary ending on stimulation of a single fusimotor fibre, 67% were apparently 'pure' examples of dynamic and static action. The remaining 33% of responses were to some degree suggestive of an admixture, in various proportions, of static and dynamic actions. For only 18% of them was there firm indication of such admixture. 4. When a given fibre was tested on more than one ending then, with one exception out of thirty-six instances, its action always proved to be either predominantly static or predominantly dynamic. There was no special tendency for an axon with a mixed action on one spindle to have a similarly mixed action on other endings so that individual fusimotor fibres were best classified as static or dynamic without intermediate grades. 5. Simultaneous stimulation of two fusimotor fibres eliciting apparently 'pure static and dynamic actions, could mimic all the intermediate types of action. 6. The results are discussed in relation to recent studies, especially those based on glycogen depletion. It was concluded that dynamic action arises from activation of the bag1 intrafusal muscle fibre, and that static action arises from the bag2 and chain fibres, whether acting individually or collaboratively. The intermediate actions are suggested to arise from an overlap of motor innervation to contrasting types of intrafusal muscle fibre. 7. On the basis of effects on the regularity of the afferent discharge the findings support the view that a given static action axon can innervate bag2 and chain fibres in various proportions in different spindles, so that they do not provide separable effector pathways. 8. Responses to large amplitude sinusoidal stretching were also studied in relation to our classification.


Intestinal bypass arthritis: association with circulating immune complexes and HLA B27. Two patients are described in whom arthritis following intestinal bypass surgery for obesity was associated with the presence of circulating immune complexes (CLC) and HLA B27. The arthritis was characteristically intermittent and controlled by low dose prednisone, indomethacin, and tetracycline therapy. The findings suggest that immune complexes play a role in the pathogenesis of arthritis associated with condition, and that perhaps the association with HLA B27 may predispose to the development of this complication.


Secondary syphilis revealed by rheumatic complaints. Six patients (five men and one woman) are described, who consulted rheumatologists with varied rheumatic complaints: four had subacute synovitis with effusion, frequently associated with vague arthralgias; and five of the patients had back pain which was more severe at rest. Most of the patients had some clinical signs of secondary syphilis, such as roseola, loss of hair, or lymphadenopathy, and their serological reactions for lues were strongly positive. Since no other cause for these rheumatic complaints could be found, secondary syphilis was considered responsible for them. In all cases the rheumatic complaints cleared with specific treatment.


Reproduction in a woman with low  percentage t(21q21q) mosaicism. The birth of a child is described with Down syndrome followed by the conception of a fetus bearing the t(21q21q) chromosome in 100% of their cells in a women mosiac for the translocation in less than 10% of 2 of her examined tissues and in none of the cells in her peripheral blood. Various hypotheses for explaining the above findings are discussed. The importance of examining as many parental tissues as possible for the detection of low percentage mosiacism is stressed.


ATPase and phosphatase activities from human red cell membranes. III. Stimulation of K+-activated phosphatase by phospholipase C. Treatment of red cell membranes with pure phospholipase C inactivates (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity and Na+-dependent phosphorylation but increases K+-dependent phosphatase activity. When phospholipase A2 replaces phospholipase C, all activities are lost. Activation of K+-dependent phosphatase by treatment with phospholipase C is caused by an increase in the maximum rate of hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylphosphate and in the maximum activating effect of K+, the apparent affinities for substrate and cofactors being little affected. After phospholipase C treatment K+-dependent phosphatase is no longer sensitive to ouabain but becomes more sensitive to N-ethylmaleimide. In treated membranes Na+ partially replaces K+ as an activator of the phosphatase. Although ATP still inhibits phosphatase activity, neither ATP, nor ATP+Na+ are able to modify the apparent affinity for K+ of K+-dependent phosphatase in these membranes.


Role of magnesium in the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-stimulated membrane ATPase of human red blood cells. (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-stimulated ATPase of human red cell membranes as a function of ATP concentration was measured at fixed Ca2+ concentration and at two different but constant Mg2+ concentrations. Under the assumption that free ATP rather than Mg-ATP is the substrate, a value for Km (for ATP) of 1-2 micron is found which is in good agreement with the value obtained in the phosphorylation reaction by A.F. Rega and P.J. Garrahan (1975. J. Membrane Biol. 22:313). Mg2+ increases both the maximal rate and the affinity for ATP, whereas Ca2+ increases the maximal rate without affecting Km for ATP. As a by-product of these experiments, it was shown that after thorough removal of intracellular proteins the adenylate kinase reaction at approximately 1 mM substrate concentration is several times faster than maximal rate of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase in red cell membranes.


Effects of diuretics on calcium excretion and Ca2+-activated ATPase in rat kidney. Effects of three diuretics on the urinary Ca2+ excretion and on the microsomal Ca2+-activated ATPase were examined in the rat kidney. Furosemide and bumetanide increased Na+, K+, and Ca2+ excretion in the rats. Acetazolamide increased Na+ and K+ excretion but not Ca2+. Urinary inorganic phosphate excretion was not affected during the administration of acetazolamide. It is suggested that acetazolamide inhibits Na+ transport without affecting Ca2+ reabsorption in the rat nephron. Microsomal ATPase of the rat kidney cortex was  stimulated by Ca2+ or Mg2+ alone and an additive effect of the two cations was not observed. Microsomal ATPase activated by Ca2+ or Mg2+ was not inhibited by furosemide, bumetanide, and acetazolamide. These data suggest that the inhibitory effect of furosemide and bumetanide on the Ca2+ reabsorption is not related to the inhibition of Ca2+-activated ATPase.


[The receiving process of speech sounds by a hard-of-hearing child with Down's syndrome (author's transl)]. In four experiments, difficulties in receiving speech sounds and the effect of hearing loss on discrimination between them, were analyzed for a hard-of-hearing boy with Down's Syndrome (11-yr-old). Results showed that (a) when the task consisted of pairs of speech sounds containing the different vowel-combinations, for example [hana]-(article, see text), he could learn to discriminate between them easily through the training to match them with the corresponding picture cards, but (b) when the task consisted of pairs of speech sounds containing the same vowel-combination, such as (article, see text), he could not discriminate between them, and (c) although it was difficult for him to acquire the acoustic cues to discriminate among consonants, he could learn to discriminate between some of the difficult pairs by repeated practice.


[1 of the molecular factors of development of compensatory myocardial hypertrophy]. Using the method of tryptic digestion, the authors have found that myosin of a hypertrophied myocardium is characterized by a high resistance to proteolysis. At the final stage of compensatory hypertrophy of the myocardium an increased activity of the myofibril catherpsins is discovered. According to the authors, one of the important factors of the compensatory growth of myofibrils consists in the high resistance of the newly synthesized proteins to decay. In characterizing the subunit composition and kinetics of the tryptic decay the possibility of the synthesis of a new population of myosin in the process of compensatory hypertrophy has been postulated. This demonstrates the heterogeneity of the activation of the genetic segments that control the synthesis of protein myofibril subunites with due regard to the regimen ot the myocardium work.


[Fibrinolytic activity of blood flowing through the heart ventricles and major vessels of rats under normal conditions and in experimental myocardial ischemia]. Sampling blood from the jugular, superior and inferior caval veins and the pulmonary artery and the heart ventricles of intact rats revealed that the fibrinolytic activity was the lowest in the jugular vein, while it was 1.5-2 times higher in the other sections. The fibrinolysis in these animals is 1.5 times higher in the right ventricle than in the left. One day after coronary artery ligation a reverse relationship is observed: the blood in the left ventricle has a 1.5-times higher fubinolytic activity than that in the right. The difference in the activity is due to a different plaminogen activator content. Three days after the onset of myocardium ischaemia the difference in the fibrinolytic activity of the blood in both ventricles disappears. The obtained data emphasize the role of local fibrinolysis in the development of cardiac pathology.


[Clinico-morphological and echocardiographic parallels in myocardial hypertrophy in patients with ischemic heart disease]. Left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy was found in patients with repeated myocardial infarctions, the greatest weight of the left ventricle being noted in those with congestive heart failure. A high correlation (r = 0.78) was established between the mass of the left ventricular myocardium calculated with the aid of echocardiography and the actual weight of the left ventricle. The important compensatory role of the ventricular septum is emphasized for the cases of myocardial infarction occurring in the free wall of the left ventricle. Left ventricular hypertrophy was detected by ECG in only 25% of those ischaemic heart disease cases in whom signs of myocardial hypertrophy were revealed by echocardiography.


[Study of arteriosclerosis in different geographical zones of the Soviet Union. 3. Fatty acid composition of blood serum lipid fractions in Tashkent population]. The composition of fatty acids in triglycerides and cholesterol ethers of blood serum was studied in 90 normal males, Russians and Uzbeks, aged 20 to 50 years, living in the city of Tashkent. The peculiarity of the tryglycerides fraction in indigenous Tashkent inhabitants consists in a high content of linoleic acid. (24.8%). This is attributed to the peculiarities of nutrition of the indigenous Uzbekistan population--a consumption of great amounts of cotton-seed oil rich in linoleic acid. With the growing age, the content of the linoleic acid in the cholesterol ethers decreases, and the portion of palmitic and oleic acids growing. Among indigenous. Tashkent residents, aged 20-29 years, the relative content of the linoleic acid in the cholesterol ether fraction is higher than among the non-indigenous residents of the same age-group.


[Data on epidemiology and pathology of arteriosclerosis of the iliac and femoral arteries among the population of the Samarkand district]. A comparative analysis of atherosclerotic lesions in the major arteries of the lower extremities (iliac and femoral) was conducted in different groups of population in the Samarkand region including autopsy material, mass screening data and examinations of patients hospitalized in surgical clinics of the city of Samarkand. The incidence, the period of appearance of atherosclerotic changes in the arteries of the lower extremities, their morphological peculiarities and localization were determined. The main factors correlating with the incidence, severity and localization of the vascular lesions in the lower extremities included the age, ethnic origin and nature of the underlying pathology.


[Experimental autoimmune cardiomyopathies in several generations of animals]. In 8 generations of mongrel rats 80 animals were immunized with minimal dozes of a mixture of homologous heart muscle homogenate and Freund's adjuvant (0.3 ml). From generation to generation, the rats demonstrated a reduction of their reproductive capacity and an increase of cardiovascular insufficiency signs. The primary lesion of the myocardium was morphologically characterized by widely spread foci of myocytolysis and hialine degeneration of muscle fibers and by an oedema of the cardiac stroma; at the same a focal-diffuse lymphoid-histiocytic infiltration occurred that should be interpreted as a hypersensitivity reaction of a delayed type. The results of the process consisted in interstitial cardiosclerosis and moderate hypertrophy of the preserved muscle fibers. Other causes excluded, this process can be considered an experimental model of autoimmune cardiomyopathy which inheritance or predisposition must be determined by a transplacental and transmammary transmission of the damaging immune complex (antigen--antibody).