Significance of arrhythmias in acute respiratory failure. Arrhythmias are as likely to strike patients with acute respiratory failure as patients with acute myocardial infarction. Both supraventricular and ventricular types were detected in half or more of the patients in two recent studies. Ventricular arrhythmias have a particularly bleak prognosis, since they often deteriorate into ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. The exact causes of these arrhythmias are still a mystery, but metabolic abnormalities associated with respiratory failure are highly suspect. These disturbances can disrupt the transmembrane action potential of cardiac conducting tissue, causing electrophysiologic phenomena known to trigger arrhythmias. Until a specific etiology is confirmed, treatment should focus on identifying and correcting possible metabolic causes. Congestive heart failure--itself a cause of arrhythmias--also should be treated. Cardioversion and antiarrhythmic drugs should be used only in life-threatening situations.


Cor pulmonale: pathophysiology and management. Pulmonary disease may set in motion a chain of events that ultimately leads to hypertrophy--or even failure--of the heart's right ventricle. The most common cause is chronic obstructive disease, which deprives the lungs of oxygen and produces pulmonary hypertension. But other disorders that raise pulmonary artery pressure also may be responsible. The thin right ventricle, which must work harder to overcome this increased resistance, ends up resembling the thick left ventricle. Comprehensive treatment of the primary lung condition at home usually enables the patient with chronic cor pulmonale to be more active and prevents frequent hospitalizations. Controlled-dose supplemental oxygen therapy is particularly effective, according to recent studies. Bronchospasm or bronchial infection super-imposed on the chronic lung condition may prove too much for the already strained right ventricle. Right ventricular failure calls for hospitalization and vigorous treatment, which may include mechanical ventilation, phlebotomy, antibiotics, steroids, digitalis, diuretics, and correction of electrolyte disturbances.


A possible mechanism for enhancement of increased production of tumor angiogenic factor. It is suggested that anoxic conditions may enhance the transformation of tumor cells to increase production of tumor angiogenic factor. The theory of oxygen diffusion into a spherical mass is used to calculate an upper bound for the critical size at which anoxia begins to develop in the center of an avascular clone of tumor cells. The predicted size is in line with experimental observations of the maximum size of avascular tumors.


Quantification of studies of blood flow in growing and irradiated tumors in C3H mice. An approach to quantification of blood flow in growing malignant tumors, by relating the specific rate of change of flow to the specific rate of change of tumor weight or volume, was discussed. This model, previously noted to hold for many animal tumors, offers a good description of blood flow in the KHT sarcoma in C3H mice. The same tumor responds to radiation therapy, and simple expressions were given of the relationship of flow per unit volume, at 2 points in time, to the original radiation dose. Since most animal tumors show a nonviable or necrotic volume, a description of the phenomenon was given for the C3H/Bi mammary carcinoma by noting that the percent of nonviable tissue approaches a limiting (asymptomic)value.


Estimation of growth velocities from individual longitudinal data. Since the construction of growth velocity curves using the simple increment method (i.e., plotting the increments deltaxt vs, time, t) involves a number of methodological problems, when mathematical curves are fit, they are generally fit to the "distance traveled", plot (of xt vs. t) and the corresponding velocity curve is then obtained by differentiation. However, most of the traditional methods for accomplishing this (e.g., fitting the Gompertz or logistic curves) require that the course of growth be studied over a sufficiently long time period to allow accurate determinations of the upper and lower asymptotes of these S-shaped functions. This is not always feasible in practice: a case in point being the mixed-longitudinal Nijmegen Growth Study where each of the cohorts comprising the sample is followed for but a five-year period. In such situations, alternative approaches to the problem of constructing growth velocity curves may be of considerable practical as well as theoretical interest. One such approach is developed in this paper and its use is illustrated on some data collected as part of the Nijmegen Growth Study. These results are then compared with those obtained using the increment method on the same data.


Histological and histochemical investigations of achondroplastic mice: a possible model of human achondroplasia. Histological and histochemical investigations of tibial epiphyses, costo-chondral junctions and caudal vertebrae of achondroplastic (cn) mice have shown that, in spite of conspicuous reduction of bone length, endochondrial ossification occurs in much the same way as in controls. Moreover, the histological structure of seriated cartilage, and the distribution of proteoglycans in resting cartilage are the same in cn/cn mice and in controls. The only difference betweeen the two types of animals is represented by the occurence of early aging-like changes of chondrocytes and cartilage matrix in achondroplastic mice, leading to premature shortening of the cell columns and to early reduction of the proteoglycan concentration. The premature "aging" of the cartilage, the consequent inhibition of the calcification process and bone growth, and the normal rate of perichondral ossification give to long bones, vertebrae and ribs a typical achondroplastic appearance. The cn/cn mice seem to represent a useful model for studying the pathogenesis and therapy of human achondroplasia.


Muscle growth in two genetically different lines of swine. Skeletal muscle growth in two genetic lines of pigs that differed in total muscle content was studied at live weights of 23, 45, 68, 91, 104, 118 kg. Total physically separable muscle and cross-sectional area of the longissimus dorsi muscle were greater in the muscular than in the obese genetic lines. Above 45 kg, animals in the muscular genetic line had less total separable fat than animals in the obese line, but the two lines did not differ in total physically separable fat at 23 and 45 kg live weight. Hence, these two genetic lines may differ in weight at which maturity is reached as much as in inherent propensity for obesity. Longissimus muscle form the muscular line had more water, less protein, and less lipid than longissimus from the obese line. DNA and RNA concentration, total DNA and RNA content, and RNA/DNA ratio of the pituitary and liver did not differ between the two genetic lines. Above 68 kg, longissimus from the muscular line had higher DNA and RNA concentrations than longissimus from the obese line; this difference did not exist between 23 and 68 kg. RNA/DNA ratio of the longissimus muscle was greater and protein-to-DNA and protein-to-RNA ratios in longissimus were lower in the muscular than in the obese line. Total DNA content of physically separable muscle increased 2.0 (obese) to 2.7 (muscular)-fold between 23 and 118 kg; hence, number of muscle nuclei increases during growth. Total DNA content of physically separable muscle was greater in the muscular than in the obese line and was the measurement most highly related to total muscle content.


Effect of growth and plane of nutrition on apparent muscle fiber numbers in the pig. A histological sampling technique was used to estimate the number of muscle fibers appearing in transverse sections of whole sartorius muscles. Transverse sections were taken at the midlength of sartorius muscles from pigs growing at a rate of approximately 0.7 kg/day. Between 56 and 168 days (postnatal), the apparent number of muscle fibers increased at an approximate rate of 300 fibers/day. No evidence of the formation of new muscle fibers by myoblast fusion or muscle fiber fission was detected by light microscopy. Animals placed on a maintenance diet which prevented growth for 28-day periods prior to slaughter showed a fixation or decrease in apparent numbers of muscle fibers. These data support the hypothesis that the arrangement of muscle fibers during growth of the porcine sartorius muscle is a dynamic rather than a fixed system.


Serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and total bilirubin concentrations, as functions of age and sex, in Sinclair(S-1) miniature swine. Venous blood samples were collected monthly from 60 male and 60 female Sinclair (S-1) miniature swine from 1 through 36 months of age. Serum cholesterol concentration decreased from 5 through 36 months of age. Also, gilts had a greater mean serum cholesterol concentration than did boars. Mean serum triglyceride concentration was greater for females than for males. From 1 through 15 months of age, serum glucose concentration decreased with no sex related difference. From 1 1/2 to 3 years of age, gilts had greater mean serum glucose concentrations than did boars. Throughout the longitudinal study, mean serum total bilirubin concentrations were similar for females and males, with no age related variations.


Ascorbic acid deficiency in liver disease. Leucocyte ascorbic acid (LAA) levels were measured in 138 patients with liver disease. Significantly reduced levels were found in 37 patients with alcoholic liver disease (P less than 0-01) and 25 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (P less than 0-05). In the primary biliary cirrhosis patients, cholestyramine therapy was associated with significantly lower levels of the vitamin (P less than 0-05). Liver ascorbic acid measured in Menghini needle biopsies in 20 patients was significantly correlated with LAA (r=0-807, P less than 0-001). No significant correlation was found between LAA and haematological indices, conventional liver function tests, or cholesterol levels in any group of patients. Patients with LAA levels below 100 nM/10(8) WBC had significantly higher antipyrine half-lives (mean=28-3 h) than patients with LAA levels above this level (mean=18-6 h) (P less than 0-05). Delayed drug metabolism related to low LAA should be considered when drugs metabolised by the liver are prescribed for patients with alcoholic liver disease or primary biliary cirrhosis.


Alteration of drug metabolism in Gilbert's syndrome. The pathophysiology of Gilbert's syndrome was studied by investigating the metabolism of the drug tolbutamide, which is metabolised by the liver but does not undergo glucuronidation. Using rat liver cell supernatant, tolbutamide was shown to bind to the hepatic cytoplasmic Y protein in a manner similar to other organic anions, but not to Z protein. In 31 patients with Gilbert's syndrome the plasma disappearance (plasma half-life, mean +/- SD: 628+/-84 min) and metabolic clearance (7-9+/-1-8 ml/min) were significantly (P less than 0-0005) altered compared with the 13 controls (mean half-life 393+/-26 and mean clearance 13-4+/-1-5). The eight patients with hyperbilirubinaemia due to haemolytic disease showed no difference from the normal control subjects. In three patients with Gilbert's syndrome the cumulative urinary excretion of tolbutamide metabolites, 24 hours after the administration of the drug, was 30% lower than in the controls. In the five patients with Gilbert's syndrome, phenobarbital administration (100 mg/day) produced a significant increase in clearance of the drug from 8-8+/-0-8 to 13-4+/-1-9 ml/min; this was paralleled by a fall in serum bilirubin concentration. The plasma half-life of tolbutamide was similar in Gunn rats and Wistar rats. The results suggest that the metabolic defect(s) of Gilbert's syndrome affects compounds other than bilirubin and that defective uptake is probably the major factor.


Marked delay in indocyanine green plasma clearance with a near-normal bromosulphophthalein retention test: a constitutional abnormality? Five patients showing a normal to near-normal BSP test and a marked delay in ICG plasma clearance, and two families with clustering of the same abnormality, are described. Two had Gilbert's syndrome, one was convalescing from acute hepatitis, and the other two had no detectable liver abnormality. Measured indices of ICG metabolism indicated a marked reduction in the hepatic uptake, storage capacity, biliary transport maximum, and an increased reflux into plasma. Biochemical studies on the binding of ICG by plasma proteins failed to demonstrate any difference from normal controls. Thus, the primary defect seems to be in the transport of ICG by the hepatocyte. Although the relationship of the defect in ICG metabolism to other constitutional hyperbilirubinaemias is not clear, it is possible that the defect in these patients is a constitutional one involving some steps in the hepatic disposal of organic anions.


Disappearance half-time of endogenous and exogenous secretin in dogs. We have used a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay to measurespectively. the disappearance half-times of exogenous porcine secretin and endogenous canine secretin in the dog and found them to be 2-45 and 2-85 minutes, respectively.


Evaluation of the intraepithelial lymphocyte count in the jejunum in childhood enteropathies. Intraepithelial lymphocyte counts were evaluated in 131 jejunal mucosal biopsies taken from children with a small intestinal enteropathy arising from a variety of causes including coeliac disease, (untreated, after gluten withdrawal, and during subsequent challenge), giardiasis, cow's milk protein intolerance, and 'intractable diarrhoea'. The counts were compared with those from the biopsies of children referred for investigation but in whom no gastrointestinal disease was demonstrated and from healthy siblings of children with coeliac disease, investigated during a family study. Children with coeliac disease showed a raised count which fell after gluten withdrawal as has been demonstrated by others in adults. Lymphocytic infiltration of the epithelium increased rapidly during gluten challenge in such children, while no change was seen in those children proven ultimately not to have coeliac disease by the usually recognized criteria. In other enteropathies the range of counts was wide, overlapping with both normal and coeliac groups and indicating the nonspecificity of lymphocytic infiltration of the gut epithelium. The findings are discussed in relation to their significance and to further avenues of investigation to determine their possible diagnostic value in confirming the diagnosis of coeliac disease during gluten challenge.


Absorption of xylose, glucose, glycine, and folic (pteroylglutamic) acid in Zambian Africans with anaemia. Rates of glucose, glycine, and folic (pteroylglutamic) acid absorption were determined for a 30 cm jejunal segment in vivo, with a double-lumen tube perfusion system, in 10 Zambian African women with a mean haemoglobin concentration of 5-1 (3-5-9-2) g/dl. In four the anaemia was megaloblastic (due to folate deficiency) and in six hypochromic. Perfusion solutions contained (1) glucose 200 mmol/1, (2) glycine 100 mmol/1, and (3) folic acid 250 mug/1. D-xylose absorption after a 25 g oral load was determined in them, and also in 18 additional patients (11 had megaloblastic and seven either hypochromic or haemolytic anaemia). Xylose absorption tests were significantly impaired in the patients with megaloblastic compared with hypochromic or haemolytic anaemia (P less than 0-001); those with untreated megaloblastic anaemia had a greater abnormality than those who had started treatment. Mean glucose, glycine, and folic acid absorption rates were similar to those in controls, and the rates in patients with megaloblastic and hypochromic anaemia were not significantly different. Correlation between glucose absorption rate and xylose excretion was, however, significantly (P less than 0-02). If more patients had been studied it seems likely therefore that a significant impairment of glucose absorption rate in the presence of megaloblastic anaemia would also have been demonstrated. In this investigation anaemia per se did not affect glucose, glycine, or folic acid absorption rates or xylose absorption, but xylose absorption was reduced in patients with megaloblastic anaemia. That abnormality was probably related to folate deficiency, and the underlying mechanism seems to be different from that causing impairment of monosaccharide absorption in patients with systemic bacterial infections. Mean glycine and folic acid absorption rates were not altered by megaloblastic anaemia, indicating that folate deficiency does not cause a general depression of absorption.


Human calcitonin stimulates salivary amylase output in man. Salivary amylase output in man increases after injection of synthetic human calcitonin. This effect is dose dependent.


Adenocarcinoma of the stomach: radiological and pathological correlation of effects of treatment with fast neutrons. During the past six years 40 patients have been treated with fast neutrons for inoperable adenocarcinoma of the stomach. A number of these patients have been studied in detail both radiologically and pathologically with regard to the effects of fast neutrons on both the tumour and normal stomach. After treatment there was a constant reduction in size of the stomach capacity when compared with a control group and the motility of the stomach was lost. Mucosal changes, which were noted radiologically, appeared to be dose related. Histologically most of the tumour was destroyed. Small clumps of cells were, however, found in all except one of the patients but only in areas of the stomach which had not received the standard dose. Marked fibrosis occurred and it is our impression that the amount of fibrosis is in excess of that seen with other forms of radiotherapy.


Multiple recurring gastric erosions/aphthous ulcers). Five patients are described who had repeated endoscopy because of continuing dyspeptic symptoms associated with a negative barium meal. They were found to have multiple recurring gastric erosions (aphthous ulcers). No common aetiological factor could be found, although four of these patients did have a mild or moderatley active superficial chronic gastritis. Conventional peptic ulcer therapy failed to control either symptoms or ulceration. Two patients finally came to gastric surgery (highly selective vagotomy), which resulted in the relief of symptoms and healing of the gastric aphthous ulceration.


Measurement of anal pressure and motility. A fine open perfused system and a closed balloon system for the measurement of anal pressure and motility have been compared. Measurements were made in 40 normal subjects and 84 patients with haemorrhoids. The rate of perfusion had a marked effect on the recorded pressure and motility details. The motility pattern was seen most clearly with the balloon probe and the pressure recorded was reproducible and easy to measure, making this a convenient method for recording activity of the internal anal sphincter. Anal motility in normal subjects was characterised by slow pressure waves (10-20/min). The frequency was fastest in the distal anal canal and this frequency gradient may represent a normal mechanism to keep the anal canal empty. Ultra slow pressure waves (0-6-1-9/min) were seen in 42% of patients with haemorrhoids and 5% of normal subjects and arose from a synchronous contraction of the whole internal sphincter.


An apparatus for the anaerobic ultrafiltration of bile and other biological fluids. A simple apparatus is described for the anaerobic ultrafiltration of a few millilitres of bile or other biological fluids. The principle employed enables viscous liquids which would normally block the membrane to be ultrafiltered successfully.


Neuroleptanalgesia in upper alimentary endoscopy. Droperidol and fentanyl have been used with diazepam in 250 peroral endoscopies because of dissatisfaction with standard methods of sedation. Excellant analgesia has been achieved and complications have been negligible. The technique does not require the presence of an anaesthetist.


Histopathology of cell mediated immune reaction in mouse colon--allograft rejection. Grafts of mouse fetal colon, implanted beneath the renal capsule of adult hosts, have been used to study the growth and development of colonic isografts and the rejection of colonic allografts. Isografts grew normally and maintained a structure similar to normal colon. Grafts between strains with H2 histocompatibility differences were rejected by 13 days after transplantation. Early progressive infiltration of the grafts by lymphoid cells was followed by increasing damage to, and subsequent loss of, the epithelial cell layer and destruction of the underlying muscle, changes which parallel those seen in rejection of skin and small bowel. The increase in survival time which is seen in allografts between strains with H2 identity was longer in the colon than has been seen in the skin or small bowel; none of the allografts of colon were completely rejected before 30 days, and some remained viable at 50 days. Comparison of the appearances of rejection in the colon with those of ulcerative colitis and colonic Crohn's disease does not show the striking similarity which is seen between small bowel rejection and coeliac disease. Many of the individual features of these diseases are, however, present in the course of colonic rejection.


Ischaemic colitis in the experimental animal. II. Role of hypovolaemia in the production of the disease. Hypovolaemia alone did not lead to ischaemic colitis but when venesection was induced immediately after the acute ligation of the common colic artery large bowel ischaemia ensued. Similarly, hypovolaemia induced one month after two major blood vessels had been occluded led to ischaemic colitis. These findings suggest that states of low blood flow in the presence of previous arterial constriction or blockage may lead to enough reduction in mesenteric perfusion for intestinal ischaemia to develop. Using an electromagnetic flowmeter placed in the cranial mesenteric artery of the dog, it was shown that hypovolaemia may lead to 50-75% reduction in mesenteric blood flow without producing any significant change in the systemic blood pressure.


Exocrine pancreatic function in juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus. Exocrine pancreatic function was studied in 20 juvenile-onset diabetics, seven maturity-onset diabetics, and five patients with diabetes secondary to chronic pancreatitis. The results were compared with 13 non-diabetic controls. The outputs of bicarbonate, trypsin, and amylase were reduced in the diabetic patients in response to intravenous secretin and CCK-PZ. In the juvenile-onset group, exocrine pancreatic secretory capacity was reduced in 80% of the patients, and the severity of the reduction was related to the duration of the diabetes. The reduction in pancreatic secretory capacity must be taken into consideration when interpreting pancreatic exocrine function in patients with diabetes.


Stenosis of the colon in acute pancreatitis. A case is described demonstrating a stricture of the colon associated with acute pancreatitis and 20 similar cases found in the literature are reviewed. The colonic stenosis may be of short duration and largely due to oedema or more chronic with deposition of fibrous tissue. Many cases have been confused with a carcinoma both radiologically and at laparotomy. It is suggested that a conservative approach be adopted initially, resection being carried out if follow-up barium examination fails to show resolution of the stenosis.


Ferritin in Crohn's disease tissue: detection by electron microscopy. Using immune electron microscopy, an attempt has been made to visualise viral particles in Crohn's disease tissue and faeces. No particles resembling viruses were observed, but in the absence of a specific antiserum a negative result does not exclude the presence of a virus, particularly if it is sparsely distributed. Compared with controls, an abundance of a 12 nm particle was found in all Crohn's disease tissue and one small intestinal lymphoma. This particle has been identified as ferritin and is unlikely to be of aetiological significance.


Hypergastrinaemia in cirrhosis of liver. The basal acid output (BAO), post-pentagastrin acid output (MAO), fasting and post-prandial gastrin levels in 40 patients with proven cirrhosis of the liver were compared with those in 20 normal controls. The mean BAO and MAO were significantly lower than normal, the mean fasting gastrin level was significantly higher than normal, and the postprandial gastrin response was significantly increased and prolonged. These differences were still significant even when the patients were divided into cryptogenic and alcoholic subgroups. A significant inverse relationship between MAO and the integrated gastrin response to meal was observed both in the normal controls and in the cirrhotic patients. The MAO and integrated gastrin response of the cirrhotic patients did not correlate with the degree of liver function impairment. In five cirrhotic patients fasting and postprandial gastrin levels were unchanged after splenorenal shunt operation. A more consistent abnormality of the gastric mucosa as assessed by endoscopy and biopsies appeared to be mucosal congestion with occasional atrophic gastritis. the severity of mucosal abnormality, however, was unrelated to the degree of hypoacidity. these results indicate, firstly, that the hypergastrinaemia in cirrhotic patients is a reflection of gastric hypoacidity and bears no direct relationship to hepatic dysfunction. Secondly, the gastric hypoacidity does not accrue solely from mucosal abnormality. It is suggested that this hypoacidity may result from the presence of excessive amounts of circulating acid-inhibiting intestinal peptides, which the diseased liver fails to metabolise.


Idiopathic cholestasis of pregnancy in a large kindred. A past history of idiopathic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) was detected in 10 out of the 32 multiparous women in the last two generations of a large kindred. The affected women are distributed in five family units, sharing Chilean-born great-grandparents. The connection between the ICP-affected women and the common trunk is given both by male and female parents. Five cases are concentrated in one family unit, where the mother and all her daughters have been affected by the disease. The role of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of ICP is supported by this study. It is proposed that the disease may be transmitted as a predisposing trait by individuals of either sex and that non-genetic factors may influence its expressivity. A reliable test to identify all the genetic carriers seems indispensable to define the pattern of inheritance in this disease.


Gastritis duodenitis, and circulating levels of gastrin in duodenal ulcer before and after vagotomy. Biopsy specimens have been taken from five standard sites in the stomach and from the duodenal bulb in order to investigate the association of gastritis and duodenitis with duodenal ulcer. Twenty patients with chronic duodenal ulcer were investigated in this manner and in addition had gastric secretion tests and a radio-immune assay of serum gastrin under differing conditions. The patients were then treated either by a truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty (TVP) or by a highly selective vagotomy without a drainage procedure (HSV). All the investigations were repeated three months postoperatively. Duodenal ulcer was usually associated with gastriitis, although this varied in extent and severity from patient to patient. In nearly all the patients, gastritis was present at the pyloric end of the stomach and along the lesser curve. In more than half of the patients, gastritis was also present in the body of the stomach but the fundus was usually spared. Chronic duodenitis was found in the duodenal bulb in all these patients. After vagotomy there was a marked increase in both the extent and severity of the proximal gastritis in both treatment groups but the distal gastritis remain almost unchanged. There was little change in the incidence of duodenitis after vagotomy but its severity was lessened. No correlation was found between the peak acid output (PAO) in response to Histalog and the severity of the gastritis or the duodenitis either before or after operation, with one exception. The postoperative PAO was significantly less in those patients who developed a severe proximal gastritis after vagotomy. No relationship was found between the severity of the distal gastritis and the levels of serum gastrin. No correlation was found between either the basal or peak acid output and the corresponding serum gastrin levels before or after vagotomy.


Transient paraproteinaemia in a patient with coeliac disease. A case is reported of a 43 year old man who suffered from a grass pollen allergy and a malabsorption syndrome and in whom a paraproteinaemia was found. The grass pollen hypersensitivity was abolished by desensitization. The malabsorption syndrome was found to be due to coeliac disease--that is, a "flat" mucosa of the jejunum with an almost normal ileal mucosa--followed by clinical recovery and morphological improvement on a gluten-free diet. A short period of gluten reintroduction caused deterioration of the jejunum. The monoclonal immunoglobulin (IgG-gamma) diminished and disappeared in the course of three years. Although it has not been possible to demonstrate that this paraprotein had anti-gliadin activity, it is suggested that the constant stimulation of the gut reticuloendothelial system by gluten might bear some relation to the appearance of the paraproteinaemia.


The superficialis minus deformity and its operative treatment. On removal of the superficial finger flexor the normal sequence of flexion is greatly disturbed if the proximal interphalangeal joint is hypermobile, and a zig-zag deformity results. The pathomechanics of this problem as described by Landsmeer (1958) is reviewed. A modification of Littler's lateral band re-routing operation for correction of the intrinsic plus finger deformity has been developed to correct the superficialis minus deformity. This procedure has been successful in correcting the proximal interphalangeal joint hyperextension in five cases and in preventing its development in three others. Terminal interphalangeal joint flexion deformity has not been eliminated.


Swan-neck deformity: mechanism and surgical treatment. There are several forms of swan-neck deformity which are amenable to surgical treatment with good results, if based on an adequate study of the mechanism. Selection of the most suitable surgical procedure must be based on the pathological type.


Surface study of tenosynovium in hens and humans by electron microscopy. A comparative study has been made of the surface structure of the tenosynovium in flexor tendon apparatus obtained from hens and humans. Three different parts of the visceral, and parietal layers, and vincula were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Lining cells of the visceral layer are relatively flat and enmeshed with filamentous fibrils, while those of the parietal layer and the vincula are covered with vesicular and granular particles. Intercellular space is occupied with a close meshwork of filamentous fibrils. These findings are similar in both hens and humans. It is, thus, suggested that the cellular structure varies in the three different parts of the tenosynovium probably in relation to their function.


Scanning electron microscopy of repaired tendon and pseudosheath. (1) Repairing surface structure of transected digital flexor tendons of hens were studied by scanning electron microscopy. One week after a simple suture, fibrous materials probably of fibrin and exudated blood cells were attached on the surface. After two weeks, lining cells enmeshed with fine fibrils covered most of the surface. After three weeks, cellular protrusions of spindle shape spread over the repaired tendon. (2) Repaired surface of partially resected tendons of hens showed the same sort of healing processes as observed in the sutured tendons. The injured tendon surface was covered with the lining cells derived from surrounding synovium. (3) It was suggested that the repair of the injured tendons may occur from the surrounding tenosynovium, where the fibroplastic-like lining cells cover the injured part. (4) Observation of surface structure of pseudosheath was carried out after the silicone rod implantation with complete resection of the surrounding sheath. In one or two weeks, spindle-like cells probably corresponding to fibroblasts appeared on the surface. Fibrillar substance also mingled with such fibroblastic cell protrusions. Well-repaired pseudosheath similar to the normal parietal sheath was seen at four weeks. Such differentiated synovial lining cells formed from the peritendinous tissues were also regenerated from the original area around this time. (5) It could be said that the experimental repair on the visceral and parietal layer of the tendon sheath was similar in time and form. However, it seems to be necessary to compare the results from human subjects in relation to the abnormal repair of the injured tendon such as in adhesions.


Experimental flexor tendon healing without adhesion formation--a new concept of tendon nutrition and intrinsic healing mechanisms. A preliminary report. An experimental model is presented enabling an analysis of the healing process of completely cut and re-sutured free segments of rabbit flexor tendons, kept avascular in a synovial milieu and completely isolated from adhesion formation. Under these conditions the cut tendons heal within a few weeks. It can be shown that this healing process is a result of intrinsic tendon cell activity only.


The relationship of the ulnar nerve to the medial intermuscular septum in the arm and its clinical significance. In the region of the passage of the ulnar nerve from the anterior to the posterior compartment of the arm an arcade is formed which can be a primary or secondary factor in the production of traumatic lesions of this nerve in the arm. It is the purpose of this paper to present the details of this arcade and to note its clinical significance.


In search of complications in carpal tunnel decompression. A series of 170 hands in 152 cases of carpal tunnel decompression presented from the Hand Unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Special emphasis is laid on unsatisfactory results of the surgical procedure and their remedy.


Sensory re-education after median nerve lesions. Technique for re-educating sensory function after median nerve lesions at the wrist is described. Results of re-education of Twenty-three patients are presented. The functional results are good and belie the traditional view of sensory function after nerve suture. Recent advances in sensory neuro-physiology are discussed which may explain the successes of this technique.


Survival of the thumb by a vein graft in a case of a severe hand lesion. A case of severe lesion of the hand is reported in which the circulation of the thumb was restored by using a vein graft. The operative procedure and postoperative management are described. The periods of arterial insufficiency in the thumb, likely due to spasms, are discussed.


Dupuytren's disease--a study of the pattern of distribution and stage of contracture in the hand. The distribution and stages of contracture in the digits are examined in 901 persons with Dupuytren's disease and collected into an epidemiological study of 15,950 persons in a small Norwegian town. The frequency of contracted digits counted from the total number of affected hands, are for men (women in parentheses): Thumb 3.0% (0.6), Index finger 1.2% (1.7), Middle finger 28.3% (27.9), Ring finger 85.1% (92.3) and Little finger 45.4% (39.5). The most common combination of affected fingers are ring and little fingers. At corresponding ages, the contracture is more severe in men than in women, and more severe in the right than in the left hand. With the exception of the index finger, the degree of contracture increases from the thumb to the little finger, 29% of the men and 12% of the women examined had contracture of such an extent that surgical treatment was advisable. Only 5.7% of the men and 3.1% of the women had been operated on because of the disease, which indicates that operation statistics are based upon very selected patients. Many aspects of this disease can only be properly studied in epidemiological material.


Open palm technique for Dupuytren's contracture. A study of the pre-operative condition of seventy-five hands afflicted with Dupuytren's contracture is followed by an analysis of the results of limited fasciectomy approached by midlateral digital and transverse palmar excisions. The palmar wounds were left open and healing occurred with minimal complications. The correction of contractures compares favourably with that achieved using other techniques of access and wound closure.


Surgery for rupture of extensor tendons in rheumatoid arthritis. Forty-two patients underwent fifty-four operations for rupture of extensor tendons in rheumatoid disease. The results are analysed and factors affecting the results discussed.


Palmaris longus, anteductor of the thumb. Palmaris longus contributes to the anteposition and pronation of the thumb under circumstances. It is however restricted by its medial tendon which runs into the palmar aponeurosis. The diversion of this tendon and the mobilisation of the muscular head of the abductor pollicis brevis arising from its lateral tendon will substantially accentuate the rôle of palmaris longus as a muscle of the thumb.


Subcapital fractures of the four ulnar metacarpal bones. Several methods of reduction and fixation of subcapital fractures of the four ulnar metacarpals have been suggested. All current methods deal with the volar angulation of the fracture; but in 133 consecutive cases angulation in this direction was of little clinical consequence. The more serious sequelae must be ascribed either to rotary deformity or to ulnar angulation at the fracture-site. These deformities were usually the result of bad bandaging technique and not due to the initial trauma. A new principle of conservative treatment is suggested.


Congenital absence of flexor pollicis longus and flexor pollicis brevis: a case report. A case of the absence of the flexor pollicis longus and flexor pollicis brevis alone, a congenital anomaly of exceedingly rare occurrence, is reported. Literature relevant to the absence of muscles and tendons of the hand is reviewed and discussed.


Cleft palate patients--the social work approach. From birth to maturity, the needs of cleft lip and cleft palate patients change. For such patients, fixed teams of specialists headed by a surgeon may not be the best answer. The authors outline theclinicl characteristics of both deformities and show how social workers are uniquely equipped to coordinate a changing constellation of helpers in an adaptable form of long-term treatment.


Psychiatric social workers in the emergency department. The authors report on a unique program that uses psychiatric social workers as the primary mental health care-givers in the emergency department of a general hospital. Their article demonstrates that the social worker is uniquely well equipped to respond to the psychiatric and social problems of emergency department patients.


Group work with patients on peritoneal dialysis. The patient in end-stage renal failure, whose life depends on an artificial kidney machine, must make major emotional and physical adjustments. The author describes how in-hospital group treatment can help these patients cope with their new life situation.


Outreach services in "God's waiting room". Miami Beach--or "God's Waiting Room" as some have flippantly named it--has an overwhelming number of elderly people living on low incomes. This article describes the community-based programs instituted by one long-term care facility that not only provide a viable alternative to institutionalization, but are cost effective as well.


Prospects for social workers in health planning. The nature and extent of social worker's involvement in regional health planning agencies was the subject of the nationwide study reproted here. Social work proved to be more heavily represented on the professional staffs of these agencies than any other discipline. This was just one of the findings that can help shape the profession's response to the possibilities this new field represents.


Predicting the impact of severe illness in families. The goals of this survey of families with a leukemic child were (1) to develop simple, objective methods of describing the overwhelming impact of this serious illness on families, and (2) to test the value of family coping responses that manifested themselves immediately after the diagnosis in predicting stress outcome as measured a few months after the death of the child. The findings indicate that most of the families with a seriously ill child were still overwhelmed by this crisis three months postmortem. The effectiveness of these families appeared, at that time, to have been substantially reduced in that their members suffered from multiple problems affecting their health and normal functioning. The evidence indicates substantial differences in the impact of the illness on the survey families, in accord with the effectiveness of their initial coping response to the diagnosis. Adaptive coping families were far superior in outcome than were maladaptive coping families in the follow-up survey. The study findings support the view that the optimal period for intervention is during the early, acute stage of the crisis, immediately following the confirmation of the diagnosis, when the family is making those decisions associated with maladaptive coping and poor stress outcome.


Rape--a personal account.

Rape--a personal account. At the time of the rape the author was a first-year student of social work. Her description of the experience and of the complex process of recovery makes evident the paucity of the social services that were available to her and the ways in which they could have helped.


A therapeutic community for chronic mental patients. When the number of state mental hospitals in California was sharply reduced, San Diego County organized a therapeutic community for the treatment of acting-out chronic mental patients. The program represents the constructive use of group pressure to instill adaptive behavior patterns and to imporve ego functioning.


Biological decomposition of fulvic acid preparations. Decomposition of preparations of various fractions of fulvic acids in pure cultures of bacteria and in the soil was investigated. In the soils enriched with fulvic acids the amount of bacteria increased, oxygen consumption and formation of carbon dioxide followed a typical sigmoid curve. The above measurements indicated that mineralization occurred after a very short or negligible lag phase. During the decomposition of fulvic acids the ability of microorganisms to oxidize aromatic compounds, e.g. vanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, increased. The presence of aromatic structures in the used preparations of fulvic acids was demonstrated on the basis of their IR spectra and according to the results of chromatographic analyses of their hydrolysates. The results indicated a relationship between metabolism of fulvic acids and aromatic compounds. In samples of the soil preincubated with glucose with fulvic acids decomposed more rapidly than in untreated samples.


Colonial growth and ramihyphin A-induced changes in cell walls of Neurospora sitophila. Colonial growth of Neurospora sitophila phenotypically induced by ramihyphin A is accompanied by marked changes in the contents of DNA, RNA and proteins in the mycelium, and in the relative proportion of hexoses in cell wall hydrolysates. The glucosamine/glucose ratio is also characteristic for colonial growth. X-ray analysis of cell walls showed that ramilhyphin A suppresses the crystalline arrangement of chitin in cell walls. A combination of microbiological, biochemical and physico-chemical methods yielded a general picture of the changes accompanying the colonial growth of Neurospora sitophila.


Content of fatty acids of Chlorella kessleri in a deep tank fermentation. Chlorella kessleri cultivated in a deep tank contained 4.8% of non-polar lipid; 51% of this fraction represents saturated fatty acids, 7% unsaturated fatty acids. Our investigation of the fatty acids profile demonstrated even- and odd-numbered saturated and unsaturated fatty acids ranging from C12 to C20. Unlike in other Chlorella species, stearic acid was the dominant fatty acid found. Also shown was an elevated C16:0 fatty acid content and a reduced level of unsaturated fatty acids.


Oxidation of methanol, formaldehyde and formic acid by methanol-utilizing yeast. Methanol-utilizing yeast, Candida boidini 11 Bh, characterized by high tolerance to methanol during growth, displays even higher tolerance when the oxidation rate by intact cells is tested. Low respiration activity is found even at 22% v/v of methanol. The half-saturation constant was 17-18 mM. The half-saturation constants for the two oxidation intermediates, formaldehyde and formic acid were 3.5-4.0 an .d 30-33 mM, respectively. When applied together with standard concentration of methanol, very low concentrations of both intermediates stimulated the oxidation rate. These results are discussed in connection with the relationship between growth and oxidation, the tolerance to high concentrations of inhibitory products and the mechanism of inhibition.


Properties of the cured oncogenic strain 37400 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The properties of the 37400 oncogenic strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens are described. This strain was derived from the VI lysogenic strain originally isolated by Hamilton from a Zinnia elegans tumour. Strain 37400 has a number of properties which render it suitable for quantitative and genetic studies. It is cured of prophages and can serve as a universal sensitive indicator for a number of phages isolated from various lysogenic strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Its good growth properties in synthetic media and at elevated temperatues enable the isolation of auxotrophic mutants and temperature sensitive phage mutants. Preliminary experiments show that strain 37400 will serve as suitable starting material for conjugation experiments under defined conditions.


Application of mathematical optimization methods in microbiology. Mathematical methods of experiment design have so far found little use in the optimization of microbiological processes. The conventional optimization procedure is still the transformation of functional relationship of n variables into n unidimensional optimizations; furthermore, the Box-Wilson gradient method is often used. This paper presents a review of methods used in other fields, and their application in microbiological practice. The methods are classified according to whether they require, besides the simple determination of the objective function (direct search methods), also the finding of its first (gradient methods) or second derivative (Newton-Raphson method). A modified Rosenbrock's method of direct optimum search and the gradient Box-Wilson method were used in parallel for the optimization of yeast growth on methanol. Their comparison showed that Rosenbrock's method is more suitbale for multiparameter systems.


A model to study cell injury: morphological changes of the proximal tubule of the rat kidney during ischemia and during recovery from ischemic injury in vivo. Studies on structural cell changes as a function of ischemia time and studies on the recovery process of ischemically injured cells have implications for our general understanding of the features of cellular reaction to injury. For this reason a model was worked out to follow the morphological changes taking place in the proximal tubule of the rat kidney during ischemia and during recovery from an ischemic episode. The pars convoluta and the pars recta of the proximal tubule were examined separately and compared with one another.


The recovery and identification of fluoroacetamide and fluoroacetic acid from tissues. A rapid method is described for the extraction and identification of fluoroacetamide and fluoroacetic acid from tissues, by gas chromatography, using a mass spectrometer in the multiple ion monitoring mode as the detector. Recoveries from animal and human tissue macerates, after the addition of each compound, were approximately 30--35% for fluoroacetamide and 50--55% for fluoroacetic acid. Minimum detectable levels in tissues were found to be circa 0.7 mug/g for the amide and 0.1 mug/g for the acid. Visceral tissue levels were found to be approximately 3 mug/g for fluoroacetamide, and 2.5--10 mug/g fluoroacetic acid in guinea pigs and rabbits which had been fatally poisoned with these compounds.


Magnesium and other electrolytes in bovine eyeballs immersed in sea water and other fluids. Bovine eyeballs were immersed in fluids including sea water for variable intervals of time, and magnesium concentrations and those of other electrolytes were determined in the aqueous and vitreous humor. Magnesium values increased with time, but no final saturation was reached nor were the levels obtained as high as those previously reported. In human immersion fatalities, Mg++ increased comparably to the most closely stimulating experimental situation, that is, corneal exposure in an unstirred medium. At best, vitreous Mg++ appears to be an imperfect marker in estimating the length of immersion, and then only if the sample remains unhemolyzed and the total post-mortem interval is considered. Establishing or excluding the diagnosis of drowning solely by this technique seems unlikely because of ion diffusion into the eye fluids.


Antibody profiling of bloodstains.

Antibody profiling of bloodstains. The detection and measurement of antibodies in bloodstains represents a departure from the classical blood grouping used routinely in forensic serology. The antibodies in question are those associated with atopic allergy and infections by micro-organisms and other parasites. The production of these antibodies is not primarily under genetic control but reflects an individual's reaction to his environment. This paper describes the explicit information which may be obtained from an antibody profile, the high discriminating power and other advantages of the method.


Necropsy findings in fatal hypothermia cases. A series of 22 cases of fatal accidental or suicidal hypothermia is presented. Necropsy findings on which the diagnosis can be based were analysed. Purple skin and swelling of face, hands and feet, as well as violet patches on elbows or knees were the most frequent external signs (Frequency 54--59%). The most conspicuous internal macroscopic signs were gastric erosions or haemorrhages, which were seen in half of the cases. Other less frequent signs were pulmonary oedema and acute renal and hepatic degeneration. Microscopically the myocardium showed small degenerative foci and/or fuchsinophilic fibres in two thirds of the cases. The myocardium was macroscopically normal. Histamine and serotonin assays from urine did not indicate increased excretion during exposure. Catecholamine concentrations in urine were high (greater than 0.1 mug/ml) in most hypothermia deaths indicating increased excretion due to cold. The best diagnostic signs seem to be purple skin and oedema in face and ears, stomach erosions, degenerative foci in myocardium and high concentration of catecholamines in the urine.


Determination of the sequence of writing on both sides of a paper. One of the most difficult subjects the Examiner of Questioned Documents had to deal with is the determination of the sequence of written materials. As far as this author knows, techniques are available only for cases where the relevant writings are placed on the same side of the paper. Numerous experiments have been made on a range of papers varying in weight. In all of these tests both sides of the paper were typewritten as well as handwritten (pencil, pen, ball-point pen and fountain pen). Several samples are shown where the possibility of such determination is seen to be feasible, especially in cases where both sides are typewritten and where one is typewritten and the other is handwritten with pencil, ball-point pen and fountain pen.


[Dimensions of experience in encounter groups. Empirical studies on client-centered group activities]. The experiencing of participants of client-centered encounter groups served to demonstrate possibilities and limits of current models of the group process. This was done by analyzing the correlations between 5 dimensions of experiencing and aims of group participation, personality variables, modus of participation i.e. patient, student, therapist, time of participation, and group setting. The experiencing dimensions included 1. sympathy, trust, understanding, and help between members, 2. freedom from anxiety and stress, 3. openness, controversy and feedback, 4. momentary strong and basic feelings in one's self and others, 5. understanding, help and closeness of the group facilitator. The results show: Successful group participation was to the extent of maximal 50% determined by the experiences immanent in the client centered group process concept. Personality variables measured by tests determined the experiencing in the group to an extent of maximal 10%, supposedly less than the group experiencing was influenced by special characteristics of the group development for example the initial phase of group formation, member characteristics like age, attitudes concerning group work, and conventions of social behaviour. Even less relevant as determinants of group experiencing were differences of group setting and social pressure in the direction of uniform experiences at least within the first 20 hours of group participation.


[Chylothorax: causes, diagnosis, therapy]. The ductus thoracicus acts as the main vessel of the lymphatic system that flows into the venous system. It has the function of transporting lipis resorbed from the intestinal tract. Diseases of the thoracic duct are very rare and mostly result of injuries, tumors or as in most cases secondary infections. The main symptom in these cases is the presence of chylus outside of the ductus thoracicus, mainly in the thoracal spaces. Depending on the cause chylothorax is defined as traumatic, symptomatic or idiopathic. Therapy consists in drainage or ligature of the ductus thoracicus. The prognosis is good unless the cause is a malignant tumor resp. depends on the disease which is the cause of the chylothorax.


[The so-called vinyl chloride disease in the Federal Republic of Germany]. A short outline is given of the historical development of the so-called vinyl chloride disease in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is a report on the measures taken--including the research work. Latest statistics about the cases of occupational disease are shown.


[Why must we manufacture vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride?]. The manufacture of PVC is necessary for supplying the demands of modern society, for maintaining the equilibrium in the chemical industry such as the manufacture of caustic soda solution-chlorine by means of rocksalt electrolysis, and for the safe disposal of chlorine for environmental reasons. The manufacture of vinyl chloride and dichloroethane is illustrated. The conventional processing of PVC into consumer goods, after treatment of rigid and plasticized PVC compounds or granulate, is demonstrated.


[Serum uric acid and uric acid elimination after benzbromarone therapy in patients with gout and hyperuricemia]. During treatment with benzbromaron in a dose of 100 mg/day a significant fall of uric acid was shown beginning on the second day. On the forth day in the evening or the fifth day in the morning a steady state for the uric acid level is reached. The morning value was 2,9 mg/100 ml, the evening value 2,6 mg/100 ml. During treatment, even when serum uric acid levels are decreased, an augmented renal uric acid elimination excists but a hyperuraturia was not found.


[Myopathies. Possibilities of therapy].

[Myopathies. Possibilities of therapy]. There is still no useful form of therapy for muscle dystrophies. It is of importance not to miss the often difficult diagnosis of myositis, most inflammatory myopathies respond well to antiinflammatory therapy. Muscle disorders associated with endocrine diseases are curable by hormon replacement or correction of hormon overproduction. Myotonic muscle disease and hyper- or hypocalaemic muscle disease can be influenced positively by drug therapy.


[Acute side-effects of drugs. Causes and prevention]. A successful therapy with causative acting drugs (e.g. antibiotics, hormones) or with symptomatic acting drugs (e.g. antihypertensive, psychopharmacological drugs, anticoagulants) cannot be practicable without secondary effects. These unavoidable "side-effects" either are of no consequence or, these have to be risked and to be controlled, especially in long-term-therapy. Often, it is impossible to foresee allergic reactions. Avoidable "side-effects" may be dangerous in case of patient's self-medication, medical negligence or in case of drug interactions. 5 classes of drugs with possible threatening secondary effects are demonstrated: glykosides, sulfonylureas (antidiabetics), coumarin derivatives (anticoagulants), corticosteroids and parenteral contrast mediums.


[Fasting values of carbohydrate--and lipid metabolism in healthy subjects and in patients with diabetes mellitus]. In 106 healthy adults and 34 in-patients with diabetes mellitus the venous blood concentration of lactate, pyruvate, hydroxybutyrate and acetacetate was measured. In healthy men we found a lactate concentration of 7.7 mg/100 ml (7.11-8.15), a pyruvate level of 0.37 (0.34-0.44) mg/100 ml, a level of acetoacetate of 0.41 mg/100 ml(0.38-0.47) and a level of hydroxybutyrate of 0.47 mg/100 ml(0.29-0.70).


[Muscular work in the therapy of diabetes mellitus]. A review is given on muscular exercise and its role in glucose homeostasis in normal and diabetic persons. Metabolic and hormonal consequences of short term and endurance exercise are described in detail. Based on clinical experience as well as on the basis of data published by the author dealing with animal experiments and clinical research studies the hypothesis of the "permissive role" of insulin with respect to the stimulatory effect of exercise on muscle glucose metabolism is put foreward and discussed. The metabolic effects of training in patients with diabetes mellitus are summarized. It is emphasized that in clinical research as well as in clinical routine muscular exercise as a means to treat metabolic disturbances has been widely neglected.


[Malignant struma. Pathological anatomy and functional properties. Discussion comments on the contribution of J. Thurner and G. Montano]. Many different classifications of thyroid tumors were employed during the last 50 years. In 1964 the WHO International Reference Centre for the Histological Classification of Thyroid Tumors was established, in 1974 the final version of "Histological Typing of Thyroid Tumours" was published by Chr. Hedinger in collaboration with L. H. Sobin and 11 pathologists in 9 countries ("WHO International Histological Classifications of Tumours No. 11").


Studies on the pituitary "fettstoffwechselhormon". VII. Analytical studies on two lipolytically high active peptides from hog pituitary glands. First results of analytical studies on the highly purified lipolytic active hog pituitary fractions P-LF II C and P-LF II D are reported. Electrophoresis and end-group determinations indicate homogeneity for both peptides. The molecular weights, amino acid compositions, and the N- and C-terminal sequences of these peptides have been established and are compared with the corresponding results of other laboratories. The relation between biological activity and the structure of lipolytic active peptides is discussed.


The contribution of the pancreas and the intestine to the regulation of lipolysis in birds. 2. Impaired lipolytic activity of pancreatic glucagon in the absence of either the pancreas or the intestine in the chicken. Adipose tissue was removed from five-day old chickens after a) an overnight fast, b) total pancreatectomy and c) partial evisceration and digested with collagenase. The adipocytes were incubated with pancreatic glucagon (Novo) and the glycerol released into the medium taken as the index of lipolytic activity. A moderate fast, while being without effect on basal lipolysis, slightly decreased adipocyte sensitivity to glucagon. Pancreatectomy and evisceration significantly reduced both basal lipolysis and the response to glucagon: the impairment was most evident just at the concentration found in the plasma of such operated animals. It seems clear that normal lipolysis is under the control not only of pancreatic factors, but also of those of intestinal origin, and can only proceed normally when both are present.


Purification and characterization of a protein from porcine gut with glucagon-like immunoreactivity. A protein with glucagon-like immunoreactivity has been isolated from porcine intestine in a highly purified form. The isoelectric point is 6.8-6.9, and the molecular weight is 11,625, as calculated from its amino acid composition: this estimate has been confirmed by S.D.S. gel electrophoresis. The partial sequence so far elucidated is from the N-terminal: Arg-Ser-Leu-Gin-Asn-Thr-Glx-Glx-Lys-Ala-Arg-Ser-Phe-, and from the C-terminal: -Ile-Ala, both differing from those of porcine pancreatic glucagon. On a molar basis the protein has the same immunoreactivity as porcine glucagon when assayed with some anti-glucagon sera, while the activity is less than 0.2% using other anti-glucagon sera.


Effect of the fatty acid composition of ingested fats on rat liver intermediary metabolism. The influence of a single load of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) or long chain triglycerides (LCT) on different intermediary metabolites of the rat liver was studied. Resultes showed that acetyl-CoA increased more after MCT than after LCT. MCT are more ketogenic than LCT. Mitochondrial and cytoplasmic redox state was greatly reduced after MCT. It is particularly interesting to note that MCT produced an increase in malate and citrate levels, whereas LCT had only a minor influence on these substances.


Adrenal and liver participation in the rat's post-stress diabetic response. Sixty minutes of restraint stress, preceded by chlorpromazine administration which stimulates somatotrophic hormone secretion (STH), produced an acute post-stress diabetic response (PDR) in normal-intact rats as well as in adrenalectomized rats. This PDR lasted 3 to 4 hours and was evaluated by glucemia and glucosuria determination and by the appearance of an insulin antagonist, alpha2-glycoprotein STH-dependent, called alpha2-inhibitor, which inhibits glucose uptake by isolated tissues. When tested in the suprahepatic blood of animals after stress it showed increased activity, both in normal and in adrenalectomized rats. This result permits us to state that alpha2-inhibitor may be produced in the liver by and action of STH and without primary glucocorticoid participation. The post-stress hyperglucemic response of adrenalectomized rats had a similar tendency to that of the control, although with initial and final values of glucemia significantly below the control. This response supports the diea that postadrenalectomy gluconeogenesis was evoked during and after the systemic stress.


Diphenylhydantoin inhibition of pentagastrin-stimulated calcitonin secretion in the pig. The present study examined the influence of diphenylhydantoin (DPH) on pentagastrin-induced calcitonin (CT) secretion in the pig. Diphenylhydantoin was observed to slow the onset and prolong the duration of pentagastrin stimulation on CT secretion. Further, pentagastrin reduced plasma calcium in both the control and DPH treated groups. The results of this study indicate a significant DPH-induced inhibition of pentagastrin-stimulated CT secretion in the pig.


Transport kinetics for the uptake of (3H)glycine and (3H)L-glutamate into dorsal and ventral slices of rat spinal cord. The uptake of [3H]glycine and [3H]L-glutamate into slices of the dorsal and ventral halves of rat spinal cord taken from the thoracal (T3-9) and lumbar (L1-6) regions was determined in the concentration range 2 - 1 000muM. For both amino acids and in all four tissue pieces (thoracal dorsal and ventral, lumbar dorsal and ventral) biphasic linear regressions were obtained from the Lineweaver-Burk plots, demonstrating saturable transport mechanisms both in the high-affinity and in the low-affinity range. No significant dorsal-ventral or lumbar-thoracal differences were found for the transport constants Km of both amino acids. For the maximum velocity V similar dorsal-ventral and lumbar-thoracal gradients were found for both glycine and L-glutamate. These results, which are not entirely in agreement with the distribution of the endogenous pools of these amino acids, are critically discussed in view of the proposed function of high affinity uptake at the synapse.


Chloramphenicol-induced loss of mitochondrial DNA polymerase activity in HeLa cells. HeLa cells exposed to chloramphenicol for approximately one cell generation were found to contain a mitochondria-associated DNA polymerase with a significantly lower specific activity than that of control cells. This observation was not due to the presence of inhibitors in mitochondrial DNA polymerase preparations of chloramphenicol-treated cell cultures. In addition, there was no accumulation of a typical mitochondrial DNA polymerase in the post-mitochondrial supernatant of drug-treated cells.


Protection of actin from heat denaturation by various phallotoxins. Phallotoxins protect F-actin from heat denaturation at a temperature of 70 degrees C for 3 min. This has been shown by difference spectroscopy. G-actin is not protected from heat denaturation by phalloidin. Among the various phallopeptides investigated, 4 toxic ones showed the same protecting ability, whereas non-toxic seco-compounds has no effect. The non-toxic (S)-phalloidinsulfoxide A exhibited only a partial protecting activity, corresponding to an affinity for F-actin of about one tenth of that of the toxic peptides. Evidence for this was obtained from the easy displacement of the sulfoxide A from F-actin by phalloidin as well as by a spectroscopic dilution titration.


[Stimulation of RNA synthesis in rat liver and isolated hepatocytes by silybin, an antihepatotoxic agent from Silybum marianum L. Gaertn (author's transl)]. The incorporation of [3H] orotic acid into RNA from rat livers is stimulated by the flavonolignane derivative Silybin. The time course of the RNA synthesis and its dose dependence were demonstrated with isolated hepatocytes and [3H]uridine. The specific radioactivity of the newly synthesized RNA in rats treated with silybin is markedly higher than that of the controls. From preliminary experiments there is no indication that the synthesis of a distinct species of RNA is stimulated preferentially.


[Nepsilon-(beta-Aspartyl)lysine and Nepsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine crosslinkings in bovine colostrum (author's transl)]. In bovine colostrum which was defatted and totally hydrolyzed by proteolytic enzymes, the isopeptides Asp Lys and Glu Lys were identified by ion-exchange chromatography and preparative separation. Isopeptides were identified in two of seven samples of colostrum. It is still to be clarified whether there is a correlation between the amound of gamma-glutamyltransferase and the appearance of these crosslinkings.


Kremens v. Bartley: the case for the state. The authors, co-counsel for the state of Pennsylvania in the child-commitment case to be heard this fall by the Supreme Court, outline the background of the case and present the state's arguments for preserving the rights of parents to commit their children to mental institutions. They warn of the potential psychological harm to both family and child in pitting one against the other in a formal commitment hearing. They also content that the lower-court ruling that granted due-process rights to children causes more problems than it solves. The decision, for example, effectively abolishes the state's program of respite care for mentally retarded youths.


Kremens v. Bartley: the right to be free. The author, counsel for the children in the child-commitment case now before the Supreme Court, describes the necessity for legal protections for children prior to mental institutionalization. He maintains that frequently a child is placed in an institution not because he or she will benefit from such placement, but because it benefits his parents or eases family conflicts. He describes the dangers of institutionalization and notes the expansion of this mode of treatment for juveniles. He explains the events that led to the decision to argue for the rights of his clients to challenge their commitments, and he presents the legal arguments for granting children the same rights to due process as adults presently have.


Mental health centers and the criminal justice system. Through questionnaires, interviews, and site visits, the authors undertook to ascertain to what extent the 26 community mental health centers in Kansas were contributing to the resolution of problems that concern the criminal justice system. They found that in all large communities some reciprocal programs have developed between the two systems, but meaningful collaboration is rare in small communities. Juvenile courts, urban law enforcement agencies, and county probation officers are most receptive to collaborative programs. An evaluation of several effective programs revealed three basic conditions that attribute to their success: an urban community setting, individual initiative by staff from each system, and location of the program within the criminal justice system.


A program for high school students in a facility for the retarded. In 1971 the Fountain Valley (Calif.) High School established a program at Fairview State Hospital in Costa Mesa. California, in which 28 students worked with blind mentally retarded residents. There are now more than 160 students working in the program each semester in nine of the hospital's ten treatment programs; the students are a valuable source of one-to-one assistance. They increase the amount of personal care and attention that each resident receives, and they free staff members for other activities.


A program for the prevention and management of disturbed behavior. A hospitalwide program to assist staff with the prevention and management of disturbed behavior of patients has been in operation at St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital since January 1974. The staff development department prepared a teaching package consisting of a videotape cassette and a workbook that describes ways to predict and prevent disturbed behavior and to deal with it physically if it occurs. A comparison of hospital statistics for 1974 and 1975 indicates that in 1975 there was a decrease in the incidence of disturbed behavior, of patient injuries, and of staff injuries directly related to patients, and in the total man-hours lost.


Rural areas pose special problems for providing social services. For maximum effectiveness, the delivery of social services and mental health services in a rural area must accommodate certain constraints imposed by the structure of the community. Accommodation to the community can be achieved best when an established and accepted institution provides structure and legitimization for the social service and the mental health worker and when it serves as a vehicle through which services are initiated and expanded.


Activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase among Indians living in a malarial region of Mato Grosso and its implication to the Indian-mixed populations in Brazil. Erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) activity and electrophoresis were investigated among 154 Indians living in a region hyperendemic for malaria at Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brazil. No enzyme-deficient individual was found, and all subjects belonged to enzyme type B. No statistical difference in G-6-PD levels was found between tribes and sexes. The average of G-6-PD activity of the Indians was significantly higher than the normal mean values found by the same technique in Caucasians, Negroes and Japanese of Säo Paulo, Brazil. The high rates of G-6-PD activity of the Indians are not correlated to an increased reticulocytosis by hypochromic anaemia and appear to be typical of Indian or Indian-mixed populations. Resistance to malaria in those populations should not involve erythrocyte G-6-PD deficiency. It is suggested that the apparent association between G-6-PD deficiency and resistance to malaria found in other populations could be a statistical accident determined by the racial correlation between the incidence of G-6-PD deficiency and sickle-cell or thalassaemic haemoglobins among Negro and Mediterranean populations.


Serum and red cell enzyme variants in an Amerindian tribe: the Sirionos (Eastern Bolivia). Blood samples from 109 Siriono (Eastern Bolivia) belonging to the Tupi-Guarani group were investigated for enzyme variants in the following systems: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, adenylate kinase, phospho-glucomutase (locus 1 and 2), acid phosphatases, lactate dehydrogenase, NADH diaphorase, pseudocholinesterase (E1 and E2 locus), and serum alkaline phosphatase. The most relevant observations are: (1) A relative lack of polymorphism, a characteristic feature of the Amerindian populations studied up to now. These data are consistent with the hypothesis of a 'common ancestral background' in Indian populations whatever the degree of sociocultural and linguistic diversity, and the geographical distances. (2) Specific traits due to the frequency of alleles in some systems confer to that tribe a particular position among Amerindians. The effects of genetic drift may be postulated in order to explain the high rate of PGM and 6PGD polymorphism. Furthermore, in that small community, the disappearance of some alleles (pa gene) can plausibly be explained in terms of a balanced influence of mutational and selective pressure.


Neutral alleles at X-linked loci. A cautionary note. Under the same conditions which yield 1 + 4Nemu as the effective number of neutral alleles maintained by fresh mutation at a rate mu at an autosomal locus in a population of size Ne, the corresponding number at an X-linked locus is 1 + 3Nemu. The resultant bimodal frequency distribution for the effective number of alleles does not seem to have been used as the basis for analysis of data on actual numbers of alleles in natural populations.


Linkage relations of the loci for Kell and phenylthiocarbamide taste sensitivity. Linkage analysis of Kell:PTC loci demonstration close linkage, theta = 0.045 with a lod score of 10.78. The results, which include the Sutter blood group, support the hypothesis that Sutter is a part of the Kell system.


Distribution of G6PD types in the population of southwest France: common variants and new variants. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was purified from blood samples originating from 33 subjects living in the 'Midi-Pyrenees' region (Southwest France). Biochemical and electrophoretic characteristics of several enzymatic variants were revealed. The distribution of the mutations in the subjects studied gave the following results: (1) Meditteranean Gd(-) and Gd(-)A identified variants; they constitute the main part of our observations. (2) Two original variants confirmed by the WHO International Reference Laboratory, that is: Gd(-) Toulouse and Gd(+) Luz-Saint-Sauveur; the latter mutation did not produce any haematological disorder. Absence of chronic haemolytic anaemia as well as a high rate of favism could be found in the families studied. As it is generally observed in Mediterranean regions, Southwest France population is characterized by a certain heterogeneity in biochemical and genetic mutations.


Finger patterns and ridge counts of patients with Klinefelter's syndrome (47, XXY) among the Japanese. Finger prints of a series of 48 Japanese patients with Klinefelter's syndrome (47, XXY) were studied as to frequencies of patterns and ridge counts. The patients displayed frequencies of the finger patterns on all digits similar to those of normal female controls. The finger patterns on individual digits of the patients, nevertheless, showed frequencies distinguishable from those of both normal male and female controls; arch pattern on digit I was significantly higher in incidence in Klinefelter's syndrome, whereas on digit II, ulnar loops were significantly more frequent and whorls less frequent in the patients. The patients were also noted to show significantly lower ridge counts for loops and whorls as compared with the normal controls. In Klinefelter's syndrome, significant diminution of the total finger ridge counts was demonstrable and this has been attributed not so much to the increased incidence of arches as to the frequent occurence of patterns with low ridge counts. The frequencies of finger patterns on all digits similar to those of normal females, the increased occurrence of patterns with low ridge counts as compared with the normal females, noted in the present series, are the characteristic features that are in common with those reported on white patients with this syndrome.


Concentrations of similar finger print patterns in four race groups. Random samples from four races were examined to determine the frequency of subjects with none, or between 5 and 10 loops or whorls; with 2 or more radial loops, and with 3 or more simple arches. Inter-racial and sex differences occur and affect the description of various concentrations as being common or unusual.


Inheritance of acridine orange R variants in human acrocentric chromosomes. Sequential Q and acridine orange R banding were performed on 50 normal individuals to determine those individuals with the maximum number of variants by acridine orange reverse banding. In three individuals from different families, one of the two homologs of each of pairs of acrocentric chromosomes was classified as variant. The variant present in two individuals enabled unambiguous determination of the paternal or maternal origin of all 10 acrocentric chromosomes. In the third family, the variants in the third generation were sufficient to determine the origin of homologs in 5 of 10 acrocentric chromosomes. Overall, the parental origin of 36 of 50 acrocentric chromosomes (72%) could be determined. In no case was the pattern of variants found in offsprings and parents incompatible with Mendelian inheritance.


The efficacy of chemical bursectomy in chickens with congenital leukosis-virus infection. Since treatment with Freund's complete adjuvant in chickens with congenital avian leukosisvirus infection results in severe hypergammaglobulinaemia, it was of interest to determine how various means of chemical bursectomy affected such animals. Testosterone injected during the embryonic period or cyclophosphamide administered neonatally were, alone, relatively ineffectual in suppressing the response to influenza virus or production of natural rabbit haemagglutinins, nor did these treatments reliably depress IgG or IgM levels. However, the combination of both testosterone and cyclophosphamide completely suppressed antibody responses to the antigens and resulted in animals with serum immunoglobulin levels 10-(4)-10-(5) that of untreated hypergammaglobulinaemic controls.


The use of the radioimmunoassay in the characterization of antibodies to basement membrane collagen. This study describes the use of the radioimmunoassay for the characterization of antibodies to basement membrane (type IV) collagen from bovine anterior lens capsule. The immunogen was extracted from calf anterior lens capsules by limited pepsin digestion and injected into rabbits. The antisera were characterized using gel diffusion, haemagglutination and the radioimmunoassay in which 125I-labelled types I, II, III, and IV bovine collagen were employed. In the direct radioimmunoassay there was no reaction with either native or denatured types I, II or III bovine collagen, whereas there were high titres towards both native and denatured type IV bovine collagen. Radioimmune inhibition studies using unlabelled types I, II, III and IV bovine collagen, collagenase digested and repepsinized type IV collagen showed that there was marked inhibition by either native, denatured or repepsinized type IV collagen, and slight inhibition by native type I collagen; native type II and type III, denatured types I, II and III, and collagenase digested type IV collagen had no inhibitory effects.


On the blood group B gene-specified alpha-galactosyltransferase in the serum of the Japanese tortoise (Clemmys japonica). Human blood group O cells were converted into B-active cells by incubation at either 4 degrees or 37 degrees with uridine diphosphate D-galactose and unfractionated serum from the Japanese tortoise (Clemmys japonica). The specificity of the converted cells was tested by their reactions with human anti-B, anti-A and rabbit anti-B sera. Under the conditions used, Bombay (Oh) type cells were not converted, and group-O foetal cells possessing a few H antigenic sites were only weakly converted into B-active cells. In addition, the agglutination titre of the converted cells with eel anti-H serum decreased. These results therefore indicate that the conversion depends upon the preference of H-substance on the red cells. The alpha-galactosyltransferase in tortoise serum thus resembles the transferase in human group-B serum and these results suggest that the mechanism of biosynthesis of blood group B substance in the tortoise is similar to that in humans.


Autoreactivity developing spontaneously in cultured mouse spleen cells. I. Evidence that cytotoxicity is directed against embryo-associated antigen. We have investigated the ability of male-mouse spleen cells before and after culture in the absence of deliberate antigenic stimulation to show specific cytotoxicity to syngeneic embryo-fibroblast cells. The data suggest that cytotoxicity which develops spontaneously in such spleen cell cultures is directed primarily against embryo-associated antigens. Syngeneic Con-A-stimulated spleen cells, which, unlike fresh normal spleen cells, are also lysed by rabbit anti-mouse embryo antisera, are also a suitable target to demonstrate spontaneously developing cytotoxicity.


Role of catecholamines in angiotensin induced hyperglycaemia. The effects of angiotensin II were studied on blood sugar level in dogs. Intracerebroventricular administration of pressor dose of angiotensin caused a rise in blood sugar level. The hyperglycaemia and pressor response was not affected by bilateral vagotomy and was less marked in adrenalectomized dogs. The hyperglycaemic effect and pressor response was not observed in reserpinized and spinal vagotomized dogs. It is suggested that centrally administered angiotensin stimulates the hypothalamic or medullary accelerator neurons (central sympathetic structures) to cause a marked release of catecholamines from peripheral stores specially adrenal medulla. This excessive release of catecholamines is responsible for hyperglycaemia and pressor response of angiotensin II in dogs.


Centrally mediated hypocholesterolaemic response of insulin in dogs. Insulin on intravenous administration in dogs caused a rise in blood cholesterol level. This may be due to its direct action on liver or other peripheral structures. On the other hand, insulin administered into the lateral cerebral ventricles in normal as well as in spinal and vagotomized dogs resulted in a lowering of blood cholesterol. In cross circulation studies insulin administered into lateral cerebral ventricles of donor dogs produced a hypocholesterolaemia in the recepient dogs without significant changes in blood cholesterol of donor dogs. It is suggested that some substance may be liberated from some parts of central nervous system due to an action of centrally administered insulin. This substance in turn causes hypocholesterolaemia by acting on liver or some other peripheral structures in dogs.


Effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid on rabbit duodenum. 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) produces myotonia in healthy animals. The action of this drug was studied on smooth muscles in vitro using isolated strips of rabbit's duodenum. The drug was found to have a stimulant action on the smooth muscle. The action seems to be a direct one.


Effects of whole body Co-60 irradiation on the testes and epididymides of hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris): a biochemical analysis. The effects of 575 and 875 Rontgen (R) of whole-body irradiation in common Indian hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris) were studied. At 875 R it showed typical signs and symptoms of radiation sickness, transient body loss and radiation mortality. Extensive vasculitis, pyknosis, chromatorrhexix and chromatolysis was noticed in the testes of irradiated hedgehogs. Epididymides and vas deferens were devoid of spermatozoa. Whole body irradiation inhibited the RNA, protein and sialic acid synthesis in the testes. Total cholesterol per gram of testes was increased significantly. Sialic acid contents of the irradiated epididymides were low. Reduced androgen production was confirmed in non-active Leydig cells, with diminished sex accessory organs and decreased fructose contents in the seminal vesicles of irradiated hedgehogs.


Effect of intracerebroventricular injection of histamine on blood sugar level and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis of rats. Intraventricular injection of histamine and normal saline in rats caused a marked fall in adrenal ascorbic acid indicating a stimulatory effect of both on pituitary adrenal axis. Intraventricularly injected histamine caused significant hypoglycaemia also in rats as compared to control series.


A preliminary report on the antiarrhythmic action of some newly synthesized glutarimide compounds. The effects of a new series of glutarimide compounds have been studied in acetylcholine induced auricular fibrillation in anaesthetized cats and epinephrine induced ventricular arrhythmmias in conscious pigeons. Some of the compounds showed varying degree of protective action against experimental arrhythmias. However these compounds were found to be less potent than quinidine. The mechanism of antiarrhythmic action has been discussed.


Acetylcholine content of the brain and visceral organs of the teleostean fish; Heteropneustes fossilis and Clarias batrachus. The acetylcholine content of various organs of two teleostean fish, Heteropneustes fossilis and Clarias batrachus has been estimated biologically on the eserinized frog rectus muscle. The acetylcholine content in the stomach of both the fish was 0.341 and 0.22 mug/g, respectively. Values were lower than those of other parts of the alimentary tract. The ilia contained the most acetylcholine, being 0.644 and 0.551 mug/g respectively, for the two fish. In the brain, heart, kidney and liver of both the fish, a considerable amount of acetylcholine was detected. Acetylcholine was not found in the spleen of Clarias batrachus, but it was present in the spleen of Heteropneustes fossilis.


Comparative studies on different small intestinal oligosaccharidase activities in some vertebrates and invertebrates like molluscs. Oligosaccharidase activities of the small intestinal mucosal homogenates were measured in vertebrates viz fish, toad, garden-lizard (calotes), pigeon, rat and some invertebrates viz, molluscsa. Maximum activities of the enzymes Lactase, Sucrase and Maltase were found in the mammalian species rat, whereas much less activities were found in the non-mammalian vertebrates among which toad shows the highest values and garden lizard the lowest. Among the invertebrates Pila globosa shows higher values of all the enzymes than Achatina fulica. The results obtained have been discussed in the lights of phylogeny and diet habits.


Effect of autonomic drugs on the stress induced acute gastric ulceration in rat. Stress ulcers were induced by subjecting rats to forced immobilisation and cold (4 degrees to 7 degrees C) for 4 hrs. The nature of drugs which afford varying degrees of protection against such ulceration, bring out the complexity of the factors involved in the study of pathogenesis of acute gastric ulceration due to stress.


Colorimetric determination of piperazine. A sensitive method for the quantitative determination of piperazine is described. The method is precise and responds linearly from 25 g to 500 mug and above of the material. The procedure is based on the formation of a complex of piperazine with reineckate in neutral or acid medium. The complex can be separated by centrifugation. It is then dissolved in acetone and estimated at 530 nm in a colorimeter. Piperazine present in trichloroacetic acid extractrs of biological samples can also be estimated by this method.


Studies on the toxic effects of streptolysin 'O': effect on the contractility of isolated and intact mammalian and amphibian heart. The effect of streptolysin O (a streptococcal exotoxin) on the myocardial contractility of isolated and intact mammalian and amphibian heart has been investigated. Streptolysin O caused marked reduction or complete cessation of myocardial contractility of mammalian and amphibian heart both in vivo and in vitro. The effect of submaximal doses of streptolysin O on isolated atria was reversible after repeated washings and the myocardial depressant effect of streptolysin O on isolated atria was reversible after repeated washings and the myocardial depressant effect of streptolysin O was not antagonised by atropine. These observations would suggest that streptolysin O is cardiotoxic and may be involved in the causation of myocardial failure associated with acute rheumatic fever in man.


Relationship of capsular type to biochemical and immunological properties of teichoic acid preparations from unencapsulated strains of Staphylococcus aureus. We investigated the biochemical and immunological characteristics of teichoic acid preparations (TAP) obtained from four unencapsulated strains of Staphylococcus aureus which nonetheless, according to the serum-soft agar technique, produced capsular type antigen and were representative of the four types A, B, C, and D. In the agar diffusion test, TAP of each strain produced a single precipitin line only against rabbit antisera corresponding to the homologous capsular type; no lines were observed against antisera to the heterologous capsular type. All TAP were ribitol type except one, glycerol, prepared from a capsular type D strain. Major acetylglucosaminyl residues of TAP from strains having capsular type A and C antigens were attached to the polyribitol phosphate by beta-linkage, whereas TAP from a type B antigen strain had an alpha-linkage; type D antigen was attached to the polyglycerol phosphate by the beta-linkage. Chemical analyses and infrared spectrograms of these TAP further confirmed their heterogeneous nature.


Establishment and distribution of Actinomyces viscosus and Actinomyces naeslundii in the human oral cavity. The intraoral establishment and proportional distribution of suspected periodontal pathogens Actinomyces viscosus and Actinomyces naeslundii were studied using a recently developed differential plating medium, CNAC-20. Saliva and dental plaque samples were collected from 108 subjects ranging in age from infants to young adults; tongue and buccal mucosa samples were collected from only the adult subjects. Catalase-negative A. naeslundii was isolated from 40% of the predentate infants' and almost all other subjects' saliva samples. It predominated among CNAC-20 isolates in the saliva of subjects of all age groups, in the plaques of young children, and in the adult tongue samples. In contrast, catalase-positive A. viscosus was not isolated from predentate infant samples, and its frequency of isolation increased slowly with age (greater than 50% detection by age 7). A. viscosus was isolated in highest relative proportions from dental plaque and buccal mucosa samples. The two closely related species A. viscosus and A. naeslundii apparently differ in respect to factors determining the host age at which they colonize and their relative intraoral distribution in humans.


Bacterial decontamination and antileukemic therapy of AKR mice. Four nonabsorbable antibiotics (streptomycin, neomycin, bacitracin, and amphotericin B) and a germicidal dip solution (Zephiran chloride/water) were used to eliminate all the detectable bacteria from conventional AKR mice. Control mice were not decontaminated and were used as such. When antibiotic-decontaminated and control mice developed clinical manifestations of spontaneous lymphatic leukemia, each was treated for the disease with an antitumor drug (cyclophosphamide [CP]) at weekly intervals. With the decontamination procedure, mice of each of the two groups became bacteria-free after 16 weeks of continuous oral administration of the antibiotics and two separate germicidal dippings. All decontaminated mice remained free of bacteria throughout the experiment. The bacterial flora of the control mice remained unaltered. With CP therapy, the mean survival time of the female decontaminated mice was 65 days, whereas that of male mice was 218 days. The average survival time of the CP-treated control leukemic mice was 51 days. Untreated decontaminated or control mice usually died of leukemia within 7 days after the onset of symptoms of leukemia. Although CP therapy was not curative, it did prolong the life expectancy of the decontaminated mice significantly.


Blastogenic response of human lymphocytes to oral bacterial antigens: characterization of bacterial sonicates. Soluble sonicate supernatant preparations were made from Actinomyces viscosus (ATCC 19246), A. naeslundii (ATCC 12104), two strains of Veillonella alcalescens (strain HV-1 and a human oral isolate), Streptococcus sanguis (ATCC 10556), S. mutans (strain 6715-T2), Bacteroides melaninogenicus (strain K110), and Leptotrichia buccalis (isolated from human dental plaque). These supernatants were characterized with reference to their chemical and antigenic components and their biological activity determined by using in vitro lymphocyte blastogenesis as a measure of the host's cellular immune response. The sonicate supernatant of each bacterium contained protein, neutral sugars, methylpentose, and nucleic acids. Protein was the major component in all except L. buccalis, in which neutral sugars predominated. The antigenic components in each supernatant were detected by using rabbit antisera prepared against the whole bacteria and the sonicate supernatant. The supernatants showed a complex antigenic distribution on immunoelectrophoretic analysis. The supernatants were shown to be antigenic and not mitogenic in nature, since neither cord blood lymphocytes nor all adult lymphocytes were stimulated. The supernatant antigen preparations showed a reproducible, dose-dependent, and kinetic response in vitro, which was similar to that seen with the antigen preparation streptokinase-streptodornase.


Isolation of a temperature-sensitive dengue-2 virus under conditions suitable for vaccine development. Dengue virus, type 2, in viremic human sera and after passage in cell cultures produces mixtures of small and large plaques when assayed in LLC-MK2 cells. Clones of dengue virus type 2 obtained by plaque selection in primary green monkey kidney cell cultures were tested for temperature sensitivity in vitro and for virulence by intracerebral inoculation of suckling mice. Sublines of a small-plaque clone were found to have lower nonpermissive temperatures than the parent virus by both plaque formation and release of infectious virus into the culture media. Small-plaque sublines were significantly less virulent in suckling mice than was the parent virus. Sublines from a large-plaque clone were not temperature sensitive and closely resembled parent virus mixed-plaque morphology. When small-plaque sublines were serially passaged using undiluted inocula, reversion occurred as evidenced by the appearance of large plaques and return of mouse virulence. Small-plaque virus could be maintained through several serial passages without reversion by using low-input inocula. Desirable passage history as well as temperature-sensitive and attentuation characteristics of the S-1 small-plaque subline make it appear suitable as a vaccine candidate virus.


Synthesis and release of sulfolipid by Mycobacterium avium during growth andcell division. Mycobacterium avium exhibits a life cycle wherein small cells elongate to form filaments. The life cycle is unique in that elongated cells will undergo rapid division by fragmentation only if fatty acid is present. The utilization of [14C]palmitic acid and [3H]oleic acid by M. avium during the life cycle was assessed. Four glycolipids, identifiable by elution patterns from hydroxylapatite columns, were associated with postfission cells and contained isotope from the precursor fatty acid. The incorporation of 3H from oleic acid into the cellular glycolipids was maximal during cell division, but as much as 73% of the radioactivity was lost to the lipids from cells in the postfission status. Three of the glycolipids were sulfatides into which 36S was incorporated by M. avium. The [35]sulfatides were synthesized by cells undergoing fragmentation and were recovered from the medium at the termination of cell fission. These results demonstrated that the isotope was not lost to the cells because of turnover, but rather that the labeled compounds were released, intact, from the cells after fission. Because of the facile release of the sulfolipids, it was suggested that they were part of the cell envelope of M. avium cells during the division process.


Radioimmunoassay for toxoplasmosis.

Radioimmunoassay for toxoplasmosis. A solid-phase radioimmunoassay for toxoplasmosis has been developed, and the results show good correlation with the indirect hemagglutination test.