[Organization of the early diagnosis of the carcinoma corporis uteri]. The problems in early diagnosis of endometrial cancers are not sufficiently solved. Only atypical bleeding with subsequent curettage will result in success. At this time progredient carcinomas are frequent and the chance of recovery is small. Therefore a screening program of early diagnosis by small biopsy is developed and clinically proved.


[Hygienic and bacteriological comparative studies in 50 hospitals. II. The role of staff in the distribution of pathogenic organisms in surgical wards (author's transl)]. Before hygienic measures are recommended to a hospital it is absolutely necessary for the source of infection and the paths of infection - both possible and to be expected - to be clearly established. In order to be able to evaluate the paths of spread, one of the basic prerequisites would be to carry out examinations with a view to determining the number of persons who are carriers of pathogenic germs. To this effect, bacteriological samples of the right hand, the skin at the forehead/hairline, the coat in the area of the navel and the throat were taken from the nursing staff in surgical wards in 50 different hospitals. At the same time details of hand disinfection and hand drying were collected by questioning and local inspection. In at least one of the 4 swabs from 72 persons (= 38%) and in two or more swabs from 26 persons (= 14%). Staph. aureus was detected. The hair was the most contaminated area, followed by the coat and hands, while the throat was the least contaminated zone. To prevent pathogenic germs being spread by hand, alcohol-containing preparations were prevalently used (in 79% of the wards inspected). The hygienic hand disinfection was inadequate in 53% of the surgical wards. In four wards the hands were washed with soap exclusively. 35% of the surgical wards used common towels and disposable towels were used almost as frequently. In the remaining cases common and disposable towels were employed simultaneously. Storage of the used and unused disposable towels was in the main unsatisfactory. In view of the conditions met with in the various hospitals, proper hand disinfection must be insisted on, i.e. the hands must first be disinfected with a tested preparation and then washed, as may be required. If time plays a major role, alcohol-containing preparations should be used. Towels for common use must no longer be available in hospitals because they are important carriers of pathogenic germs.


[Hygienic and bacteriological comparative studies in 50 hospitals. III. The efficacy of sterilization (author's transl)]. As part of an investigation carried out in 50 hospitals we particularly checked the sterilisers available for proper functioning and correct operation. The work group examined 461 sterilisation programmes in 338 sterilisation units (176 autoclaves, 153 hot-air apparatus and 9 ethylene oxide units) during the daily routine operation. The group carried out biological and physical inspections and carefully recorded the faults and deficiencies detected during the sterilisation procedure. It was found that only in 22% of the hospitals was a proper functioning and correct operation of all the sterilising units in use ensured. Technical faults and errors in operating the equipment and especially in the loading in 23% of the programmes prevented sterility. Almost 50% of the hot-air sterilisers and about a quarter of the autoclaves fail to produce a consistent satisfactory effect. The incidence of errors which occurred with ethylene oxide sterilisation cannot be generalised, since only a limited number of units were checked. A breakdown by functional areas and wards indicates that serious errors occur not only in the centralised large units but also in little-used small autoclaves in peripheral areas. A comparison with the literature shows that our results do not differ to any appreciable extent from those obtained by other workers, over the last twenty years. Here systematic inspections by external control authorities could improve the situation within a few years. Regular inspections to be carried out by the hospitals themselves using modern test methods are necessary, and need internal record-keeping. In spite of this, we cannot at present do without external inspections. We pin our hopes mainly in regular and thorough expert training of the staff and on much closer cooperation between hospital and hygienist.


[On the hazards of nosocomial infections in dental treatment areas (author's transl)]. Using a standardized method of obtaining bacterial counts of surfaces by superficial application and subsequent incubation of agar lamina, density and kind of bacteria present were examined in treatment areas of both individual dentists praxis and of dental poli-clinics. The results obtained showed, that 1. typical bacteria of hospital infections (Micrococcus aureus, Klebsiella) were present in only small numbers in both individual dental praxis or in clinical dental treatment areas. 2. the medium level of contamination was higher in the average individual dental praxis than in comparable clinical dental areas. 3. the increase in bacterial contamination in the course of the daily treatmentperiod was considerably more pronounced in the individual praxis as compared to clinics. 4. the following must be considered as especially liable to contaminated by bacteria: towels used by several persons, the head of the dental turbine, the support of the suction device, the patient head rest, the height control bar of the dental chair, the instrument tray, the operating lamp and working garments.


[Test for the efficacy of disinfectants at surfaces in test models. I. (communication:) Dependence of experimental results on the method of demonstration of surviving germs (swab and rinsing) (author's transl)]. For the testing of disinfectants at surfaces, the germs having survived at the surface are demonstrated by means of swabs according to the guide-lines of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM): after the period of exposure to the disinfectant, the surfaces were rubbed off with a damp swab, and the frictional surface of the swab was plated out on nutrient agar. The effectiveness of this technique was compared with the effectiveness of a rinsing method in a test model. In the rinsing process, the objects to be tested for surviving germs were shaken together with a suspension and with glass beads. Then the content of germs in the suspension was quantitatively determined by means of dilution tests and pour plates. The findings were evaluated according to the guide-lines for evaluation of the DGHM (less than or equal to 10 surviving germs = adequate efficacy). For the findings obtained by rinsing, the average number of surviving germs was also determined. For maldehyde solutions were used as disinfectants for the test models (time of exposure: 4 hours; temperature 22 to 25 degrees C). These disinfecting experiments were performed on raw smoothed as well as on varnished beech-wood. The experimental results showed that the criterion "less than or equal to X surviving germs" in itself does not mean clear evidence of the efficacy of a disinfectant. The one and only decisive criterion is the frequency of the statement that a certain disinfectant or a corresponding dilution of this disinfectant has shown adequate efficacy. Therefore, one single test according to the guide-lines of the DGHM is insufficient. The frequency of the finding "adequate efficacy" is not only dependent on the concentration of the disinfectant but also on the technique used for the demonstration of surviving germs. The swab method (according to the guide-lines of the DGHM) occasionally resulted in the finding "adequate efficacy" already if 10(4) to 10(5) surviving germs were demonstrable by the rinsing method. The range of formaldehyde concentrations for which the finding of adequate efficacy were present with a frequency between 20% (minimum) and 80% (maximum) amounted to 0.2-0.5% (varnished surface) and 1.1-2.5% (raw surface), respectively for the swab method. The respective figures for the rinsing method were 0.8-1.3% and 4.8-6.5%, respectively. When using the swab method, there is a slower increase in the efficacy of the disinfectant with concentration as compared with the rinsing method. The rinsing method is, therefore, more representative of the efficacy of a disinfectant than the swab method. On account of the results of this study, it is recommended for model experiments to recover the surviving germs quantitatively by the rinsing method and to determine their number.


[Studies on the reappearing of a bacterial flora in drinking water after ozonization (author's transl)]. The use of ozone as a drinking water disinfectant is increasing. As opposed to the commonly used chlorine the disinfecting activity of ozone cannot be sustained in the water during the distribution process, and as a result recontamination and bacterial growth are not adequately under control. Information about the safety margins of this disinfecting procedure was obtained in experiments simulating the working conditions of a water plant including supply system. After treatment with 1.5 mg O3/1 water, specimens with no detectable remanent ozone were found to remain sterile for at least one month. However, during the passage of a pipeline of 1200 m length recontamination with and considerable growth of microorganisms was observed. After inoculating water sterilized by ozone with a normal population of water bacteria, the bacterial growth was more pronounced than in similar experiments with heat-sterilized water of the same origin. This may be an indication that the breakdown products of organic water contaminants (e.g. humic acid) - resulting from the ozone treatment - are better nutrients for the water bacteria than the original organic substances themselves.


[The use of an enzyme-kinetic-method for bacteriological examinations of heavy polluted surface waters (author's transl)]. The greatest fraction of nutrients dissolved in water are organic substances which are decomposed, transformed and mineralized by heterotrophic microorganisms. For this reason, investigations concerning energy transfer in an aquatic ecosystem, or practical examinations of the pollution load of surface waters, cannot be set up when based exclusively on more or less good counts of microorganisms of the production or destruction group. Above all, it is important for heterotrophic bacteria that productivity parameters for these numerical estimations are also provided. PARSON and STRICKLAND were successful in measuring the uptake of organic material in waters with uptake-kinetic methods; HOBBIE and WRIGHT developed a method for measuring the uptake of marked test-substrates in certain concentration ranges. As a result, for these substrates it was possible to measure the turnover in natural populations. Consequently, after frequent improvement of the technique in determining the decomposition rates of individual organic substrates, a way was found not only to determine static descriptions of an aquatic biotope, but also to make possible a dynamic description of nutrient transfers. The kinetic parameters computed from these measurements are: the maximum uptake velocity (Vmax), the turnover velocity (Tt) and the transport constant (Kt) (Michaelis Constant). The maximum uptake velocity of a substrate can be regarded as the "heterotrophic capacity" of the biotope for this substrate. One restriction is, however, that only quickly assimilatable substrates can be used, as for example hexoses, organic acids, amino acids, etc. Since this technique was tested practically only in oligotrophic waters, this study undertakes to investigate its applicability in polluted biotopes and to answer the question whether a decomposition gradient is reflected in the kinetic data. A small eutrophic lake in the eastern section of the Holstein Lake District (350 ha, 9.5 m mean water depth) was chosen as the test biotope. Emptying into the lake was the runoff of a biological water treatment plant with 12,000 population equivalents and without notable business and industry. In a rectangular investigation area at first with 30 sampling stations positioned close to the outlet of the water treatment plant into the lake, kinetic tests were carried out in 48 hour intervals and then compared with bacteriological, chemical and meteorological sample results taken at the same time. Two typical result-blocks are illustrated (Fig. 1-4, 5-8). The first shows four successive test days with periodically strong wind and light to fairly strong but short periods of precipitation. The second block illustrates conditions during a following period of fair weather with only very light wind intensities. The corresponding conditions of the stratification of the drainage water in the investigation area are illustrated by the distribution of coliform organisms. In two other tables the kinetic parameters and individual, dominant data are contrasted numerically...


[Microcalorimetric investigations in polluted surface waters (author's transl)]. The hygienic control of polluted surface waters has to be correlated with measurements of the decomposition rate of heterotrophic microbial populations. Starting in 1970 different methods have been tested for this purpose. Uptakekinetic studies of radioactive labelled substrates as well as automated BOD-registrations can not be handled as flow systems. Flow-Microcalorimetry (heat-conduction-principle) could be an easier approach to test the activity of heterotrophic aquatic populations. Probes from a trickling-filter outflow, from an oxidation pond and from a small river were tested simultaneously in a Flow-Microcalorimeter (LKB, 2107, Fig. 1) and a Drop-Microcalorimeter (WADSO, 1974 (fig. 2)) after adding 200 mug/L of Glucose. The resulting voltage/timecurves (Fig. 4,5,6) show a good correlation to the heterotrophic capacity of the probes. The minimal detectable continnous heat effect was 1 muW corresponding to a (relative) activity of 5.6-10(4) bacterial colonies/ml on Difco agar (counts after 48 hours incubation at 22 degrees C incubation temperature). A modification of the Flow-Microcalorimeter using a 5-10 times larger reaction vessel could enable the system to be used also in testing scarcely polluted surface waters and for toxicity tests of surface water samples.


[On N2-fixing clostridia and bacilli from soils (author's transl)]. In total 30 nitrogen-fixing, saccharolytic Clostridia and 4 nitrogen-fixing bacilli, all freshly isolated from gleyed soils, were screened for sensitivity to 20 antibiotics. The isolates were compared in their sensitivity with 5 type cultures representing the species Clostridium butyricum, C. saccharobutyricum (2 strains) C. multifermentans and C. sporogenes. Generally speaking, both clostridia and bacilli are sensitive to the same antibiotics (Table 2). In addition, the nitrogen-fixing bacilli belonging to Bacillus polymyxa and B. macerans showed sensitivity to neomycin and kanamycin. Except for the species C. tyrobutyricum, none of the various saccharolytic Clostridium species could be distinguished by differences in sensitivity to antibiotics. Differential methods are given in Table 3.


[The measurement of fibre concentrations in lung dusts (author's transl)]. Measurements in ambient air have indicated, that air pollution contains fibrous dusts in various concentration. Moreover it seems to be necessary to get informations of the fiber content in the lungs of men. In this investigation 22 dusts, which were isolated by formamide-methode from lungs, were analysed. Methods of preparation and evaluation of the lung dust of people, which were occupational non-asbestos-exposed, are described. Fiber concentration per mg lung dust lies between 10 X 10(3) and 535 X 10(3). Most of the fibers were shorter than 10 mum. Because of the limitation of the evaluation-technique it was not possible to analyse the fibers with regard to their chemical composition.


[The action of the vaccinia virus upon placenta and fetus in revaccinated pregnants (author's transl)]. We studied 608 antivariolic revaccinated pregnants in spring 1972 at different ages of gestation. 60 presented spontaneous abortus; in 502 cases there has been performed therapeutical abortion, and 46 pregnants revaccinated after 2 1/2-3 months of gestation continued their pregnancy. Pregnancy and birth in revaccinated pregnants which did not abort, evolved without any difference against the witness-sample; the newborns presented in a higher percentage underweight. The absence of the vaccinia-virus and of Guarnieri-inclusions in the examined placentae and embryos as well as the moment of abortion, only after 20 days from the revaccination data, leads to the supposition that the placental lesions do not seem to be produced by the direct action of the virus by its replication, but probably by reactions of hypersensibility of the late type against the alergizin antigens of the antismallpox vaccine. The antivariolic revaccination of the sample of pregnants, showed that the vaccinia virus did not present a malformative action upon the embryo, but in change the abortive action was manifest in indirect proportion to the age of gestation.


Changes in size and shape of chromatin particles after successive removal of histones. The preparations of whole chromatin, chromatin selectively depleted of histone f1, depleted of all lysine-rich histones (f1, f2b, f2a2), and DNA was studied by viscosimetric and light scattering methods. The obtained results were used for calculation of the dimensions and packing ratios of DNA for the preparations studied. The packing ratio in whole chromatin is 7.2 and is almost unaffected by selective removal of histone f1 (6.9), but decreases on successive removal of the remaining four histones, the decrease being dependent more on the quantity than the kind of the dissociated histones.


The effect of calcium restriction in the diet of calcium transport in rat small intestine. 1. The everted-sac technique has been used to study the time-dependent effect of low-calcium diet on calcium active transport along rat small intestine. 2. In animals maintained on standard diet active translocation of calcium was limited to proximal 10 cm of the intestine. 3. In response to calcium restriction, calcium transport in duodenum was highly stimulated after 3 days, then gradually declined and after 28 days almost disappeared. In proximal jejunum it was the highest between 7 and 21 days. In distal ileum, the transport appeared after 3 days and increased progressively until 21 days, but markedly decreased at the 28-th day. The normal pattern of calcium transport was reestablished on refeeding the animals with standard diet.


Preparation and properties of tRNA from human placenta. 1. The tRNA preparation obtained from human placenta by phenol extraction and DEAE-cellulose chromatography was homogeneous on ultracentrifugation and showed high amino acid acceptor activity. 2. The analysis of the isoaccepting tRNA by reversed-phase chromatography (RPC-5 system) showed the presence of 5 fractions for glycine and leucine, 3 for tyrosine, alanine and valine, 2 for arginine and 1 for phenylalanine.


Non-histone chromatin proteins during maturation of avian erythroid cells. 1. In chicken erythroid cells (erythroblast, reticulocyte and erythrocyte) maturation was accompanied by a decrease in the content of non-histone chromatin proteins. 2. Phenol-soluble non-histone chromatin proteins (phosphoproteins) from the three cell populations studied, showed differences in the behavior on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and isoelectric focusing. Phosphoprotein of immature cells had a higher content of fractions of about 86 000 and 23 000 daltons than the phosphoproteins of erythrocytes.


Potassium-dependent thermal sensibility of AMP-deaminase from rabbit skeletal muscle. 1. AMP-deaminase (AMP-aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.6) from rabbit skeletal muscle showed sigmoid-shaped plots of velocity versus substrate concentration at four temperatures tested between 15 degrees and 35 degrees C. In the presence of 20 mM-KCl, the plot was sigmoid only at 30 degrees C and became hyperbolic at the other temperatures tested. In the presence of 150 mM-KCl the plots were hyperbolic at all the temperatures applied. 2. The Km value depended on temperature and concentration of KCl, whereas Vmax was the same for the 20 mM- and 150 mM-KCl-activated enzyme. 3. The value of enthalpy of the enzyme-substrate complex formation was the same for both the 20 mM- and 150-mM-KCl-activated enzyme at lower temperature range (less than 38 degrees C), whereas at higher temperatures (greater than 38 degrees C) this value was much more negative in the presence of 20 mM-KCl than of 150 mM-KCl.


Regulation of progesterone biosynthesis in human placental mitochondria by Krebs cycle metabolites. 1. 2-Oxoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, malate and citrate, cis-aconitate and isocitrate stimulate conversion of cholesterol to progesterone in human placental mitochondria. 2. The stimulatory effect of dicarboxylic and tricarboxylic acids depends on the activity of malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) (NADP+) (EC 1.1.1.40) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP+) (EC 1.1.1.42), respectively.


Glutamate metabolism in rat kidney mitochondria. 1. Kidney cortex mitochondria did not swell in ammonium or potassium salts of glutamate even in the presence of valinomycin or 2,4-dinitrophenol. Aminooxyacetate diminished the reduction of nicotinamide nucleotides in intact mitochondria in the presence of glutamate. 2. Transamination with oxaloacetate appeared to be the main pathway of glutamate metabolism in isolated rat kidney cortex mitochondria under various metabolic conditions. Ammonia formation was negligible. The gamma-aminobutyrate pathway was found to be of almost no importance.


Effect of (-)hydroxycitrate on the activities of ATP citrate lyase and the enzymes of acetyl-CoA metabolism in rat brain. 1. (-)Hyrdoxycitrate is a potent inhibitor of ATP citrate (pro-3S)lyase (EC 4.1.3.8) from rat brain, the inhibition being uncompetitive with respect to MgATP2-and competitive with citrate (Ki 0.8 muM). 2. The rate of oxygen consumption by rat brain synaptosomes and the activities of fatty acid synthetase, carnitine acetyltransferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and acetyl-CoA-synthetase are not affected by (-)hydroxycitrate. 3. (-)Hydroxycitrate inhibits the activities of isocitrate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) and aconitate hydratase at millimolar concentrations.


Transfer of cholesterol and lecithin between erythrocytes and serum in vitro. 1. In human blood incubated in vitro, the transfer of free cholesterol and lecithin from erythrocytes to serum was not related to glycolytic activity in erythrocytes or esterification of cholesterol in serum. 2. The stability of free cholesterol concentration in serum was dependent on the activity of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.43), and the stability of lecithin concentration in erythrocytes, on glycolytic activity.


RNA polymerases I and II in germinating wheat embryo. 1. The RNA polymerase I was practically absent in the resting embryos and appeared several hours after the beginning of imbibition, whereas the level of polymerase II was high in the resting embryos and did not increase significantly during the imbibition phase. 2. Incorporation in vivo of [14C]valine into polymerase I and II indicated that the synthesis of RNA polymerase I is initiated in germinating embryos much earlier than that of RNA polymerase II. 3. It is suggested that RNA polymerase II is stored in resting wheat embryos to support mRNA synthesis at the onset of germination, whereas the RNA polymerase I activity appears at a further stage of germination.


Stimulation of citrate oxidation and transport in human placental mitochondria by L-malate. 1. Citrate was oxidized by human placental mitochondria at a rate half that for isocitrate, and cis-aconitate at a rate by 20% lower as with isocitrate. The apparent Km values for these substrates were similar. 2. Oxidation of citrate was stimulated by L-malate but the stimulation was abolished by benzene 1,2,3-tricarboxylate and butylmalonate. 3. Citrate uptake by placental mitochondria was inhibited by benzene 1,2,3--tricarboxylate, and raised specifically by L-malate. Stimulation by fumarate and succinate was found to be due to conversion of these substrates to L-malate. 4. It is concluded that human placental mitochondria contain malate-stimulated tricarboxylate carrier system.


[Intracellular protein breakdown. VIII. The use of double-labeled proteins as substrates]. Double-labeled proteins from rat liver cytosol (14C in long-lived, 3H in short-lived proteins after in-vivo-labeling) are used as substrates for unlabeled proteinases in vitro. Differences in the degradation rates of short-lived and long-lived proteins in vitro by different proteinases and after addition of different effectors allow conclusions concerning their importance for the in-vivo-turnover of substrate proteins. The main activity (greater than 90%) of soluble-lysosomal proteinases at pH 6,1 and pH 6,9 is caused by thiolproteinases, which degrade preferentially short-lived cytosol proteins. These proteinases are inhibited by leupeptin. Autolysis of double-labeled cell fractions shows a remarkably faster breakdown of short-lived substrate proteins only in the soluble part of lysosomes. Microsomal fractions degrade in vitro preferentially long-lived substrate proteins.


[Organ and subcellular distribution of transmidinase in man and rats]. The transamidinase capacity of human organs is consistently higher than those of rats. Both species show the highest activity in pancreas and slightly smaller in kidneys. The human liver is less active while the enzyme is not present at all in rat liver. Very low enzyme activities have been found in spleen, heart and skeleton muscle. During cell fractionation of kidney and pancreas a remarkable loss of enzyme activity occurs. Thus the transamidinase in man and rat is equally found in cytosol, mitochondria and nuclei. In the native cell the enzyme is probably localized mainly in the mitochondria.


[Influence of uncoupling agents on the capacity of transamidinase in kidney and pancreas]. It was found in white rats that hyperthyreosis (0.5% thyreoidin in dry food), respectively 2,4-dinitrophenol (30 mg/kg body weight/day i. p.), deficiency of the vitamins K and E or complete fasting increase the content of creatine in muscle, plasma and urine, but reduce the concentration of creatinine. Simultaneously the elevated creatine level of blood causes a repression of transamidinase in kidneys and pancreas. The common mode of action of the mentioned agents is seen in a decoupling of the oxidative phosphorylation, and in an insufficient availability of ATP, respectively.


[Activation of leucine aminopeptidase under hydrogen bond cleaving conditions]. Cleavage of hydrogen bonds by urea, guanidinium chloride or elevated temperatures causes a reversible activation of leucine aminopeptidase. The activation is similar to that caused by Mg2+ ions. This means that preincubation is required and that a 10-fold or more activated enzyme is inhibited by 50 mM cyanide to 20 per cent while a C1-ion-activated enzyme like the nonactivated enzyme is inhibited to 90 per cent. Blockage of the free SH-groups reduces the response time of the activation. The free SH-groups are involved in an essential intermediate step of the activation.


Bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase. A study of possible roles for the thiol groups in holo- and apoenzyme. The apoenzyme of leucine aminopeptidase has to be prepared either under inert conditions or in the presence of 2-thioethanol. Due to the removal of essential zinc ions, buried -SH groups are exposed. These -SH groups show a higher reactivity than the six -SH groups accessible in the native zinc enzyme. During the incubation of the zinc enzyme with guanidine hydrochloride, up to 36 -SH groups are titratble in dependence on the concentration of guanidine hydrochloride. The -SH groups can be distinguished by their reactivity towards Ellman's reagent and can be differentiated into four classes with respect to their function.


[Affinity labeling of leucine aminopeptidase with new substrate analog inhibitors]. Substrate analogous compounds differing both in type and reactivity (diazonium group, chloro and mo ethyl ketone groups) and in the position of the reactive group at the inhibitor molecule were studied for their adequacy for affinity labelling of leucine amino-peptidase. The chloro methyl ketone derivatives of amino acids with free alpha-amino group are competitive inhibitors. Also, the more reactive bromine compound PheCh2br (Ki 1.2 mM) compared with the PheCH2C1 (Ki 0.3 mM) fails to give an irreversible inactivation of leucine amino-peptidase. The dipeptide derivatives Leu-PheCH2C1 and Phe-LeuCH2C1 also inhibit the enzyme activity up to 65%, but they are split at the peptide bond under reactivation of the enzyme. p-Diazophenylalanine methylketone Phe (pN+/2)CH3 and the two dipeptides Phe(pN+/2)-Phe and Phe(pN+/2)-Phe(pN+/2) with N-terminal diazonium groups afford an irreversible inactivation of leucine aminopeptidase in a time- and concentration-dependent reaction. The Phe-Phe(pN+/2) reactive only C-terminally, is less effective; the inhibition is partly reversible. The inactivation is strongly reduced by the competitive inhibitor Thr(but)-Phe-Pro. These effects are discussed with regard to the specific site of attack of the inhibitors in the active binding centre of leucine aminopeptidase. The synthesis of the three parasubstituted amino derivatives of phenylalanyl-phenylalanine Phe(pNH2)-Phe, Phe-Phe(pNH2) and Phe(pNH2)-Phe(pNH2) and their selective conversion to the respective diazonium peptides, retaining the aliphatic alpha-amino group, are discussed.


[Isolation and characterization of a microsomal arylaminopeptidase from rat kidney]. The isolation and characterization of a microsomal arylaminopeptidase from rat kidney is reported. By treatment of a microsomal arylaminopeptidase-phosphatase-complex with trypsin and subsequent gel filtration of the solubilized proteins on Sepharose 6B a electrophoretic homogeneous arylaminopeptidase was obtained (yield, 3%; enrichment, 900 times). The following properties of the purified enzyme were determined: 1. Molecular weight: 182000 (gel filtration on Sepharose 6B) to 192000 (SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). 2. Subunit structure: In the presence of 6 M guanidine - HC1 + 1% BETA-mercaptoethanol the enzyme dissociates into subunits (MW 46700, ESTIMATED BY SDS gel electrophoresis method). 3. Isoelectric point: 4,71 (agarose gel electrophoresis method). 4. UV characteristics: E 280nm/E260NM=1.3. 5. Substrate specifity: optimal substrates L-alanyl derivatives (anilide, beta-naphthyl amide, p-nitroanilide, 4-(phenylazo)-phenylamide and hydrazide). Among these compounds the anilide derivative was hydrolyzed most rapidly. Furthermore, di- and tripeptides, especially L-methionyl-L-leucine, were also split. No hydrolysis was observed with hemoglobin (pH 4.5 and 7.5) and amino acid- or peptide-ester substrates. 6. Optimal pH: 7.5 +/- 0,1; optimal temperature: 45 to 50 degrees C. 7. The enzyme has no transamidation activity with L-alanyl amide both as aminoacyl donator and -acceptor. 8. Influence of effectors: Heavy metal ions (Ni2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Zn2+), chelating agents (EDTA, o-phenanthroline) and puromycin inhibit the enzyme significantly. SH-group reagents are without any influence. 9. L-alanyl-L-alanyl-4 (phenylazo)-phenylamide, a dipeptide aryl aminopeptidase substrate, is hydrolyzed by the purified enzyme preparation according to a consecutive or step by step mechanism.


[CHEMICAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE ONE-ENZYME REACTOR]. The theory of nonlinear oscillations was applied to a special dynamic system, the continuous stirred tank enzyme reactor (CSTR), in order to find out the enzyme mechanisms which may lead to the appearence of chemical oscillations in the one-enzyme reactors. In the main, the isothermic reactor without diffusion limitation was studied. The possibilities of a mathematical analysis of periodic processes in single catalyst beads and one-enzyme column reactors with diffusion limitation are briefly discussed.


Ionic interactions in eukaryotic ribosomes: splitting of the subunits of rat liver ribosomes by treatment with monovalent cations. Proteins of rat liver ribosomal subunits were successively split off by stepwise treatment of the particles with various concentrations of LiC1 (0.4--1.0 M) or KC1 (0.6--1.5 M). Split proteins and core particle proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The LiC1 concentrations were estimated at which the individual proteins are split off. The proteins of 40S and 60S subunits were classified in 4 and 5 groups, respectively, according to their splitting behavior. The effect of LiC1 and KC1 is similar, but higher concentrations of KC1 than of LiC1 are required to obtain comparable split protein patterns. Evidence for structural changes of the core particles during the split procedures was obtained.


[Insulin and glucagon secretion in the isolated perfused rat pancreas]. For the study of insulin and glucagon secretion at the isolated perfused rat pancreas are used, as a rule, synthetic perfusion media that have to meet two requirements: They have to ensure the biological function of the perfused organ for 2 hrs, and must not interfere with radioimmunological insulin and glucagon determination. An appropriate medium is the Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer at pH 7.4 with addition of 4% dextran (MG 75000) and 0.5% human serum albumin; it allows one to produce, after permanent glucose stimulation, a biphasic insulin secretion. Infusion media based on gelatine or polyvinylpyrrolidone proved inadequate for these studies.


[Isolation and characterization of rubredoxin from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus]. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus growing on long-chain n-alkanes contains a soluble iron-sulfur protein, which corresponds in its properties to a rubredoxin. It was prepared from the 50000 X g supernatant of ultrasonically treated cells using ion exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. The isolated protein is pure electrophoretically, but yields two bands corresponding to molecular weights of 6000 and 12000 respectively. A content of 11 acidic against 6 basic amino acids is in line with the acidic character of the protein. The absence of acid-labile sulfur, content of 4 cysteine residues and one iron atom per polypeptide chain and the typical absorption maxima at gamma = 280, 380, and 490 nm exclude the presence of a ferredoxin. Involvement of the rubredoxin in the alkane hydroxylation is discussed.


[System analysis of the multi-oscillatory functional order in the circadian and ultradian frequency range and its monitoring value for load effects, exemplified by a varying light-dark regimen in the intensive rearing of sheep]. As part of the experiments to influence the annual rhythmicity of sexual reproduction, various artificial light-dark regimens were tested for their systemic effects. From the polygraphic registration of several functions, such as food ingestion, rumination, movement, cardiac and respiratory rhythm were obtained biorhythmometric system-analytic parameters of the multi-oscillatory functional order. Under well-balanced light-dark conditions (LD 13.5:10.5), a high intra- and interparametric degree of functional coupling of 80% is obtained, while under extreme conditions (LD 22:2) this value amounts to 39%, which is equivalent to a disorganized time structure and disturbed neuro-vegetative multi-oscillatory functional order. The significance of these or analogously contrived studies on environmental problems under human social conditions is pointed out.


Anticholinesterase action of 3-diethylaminophenyl-N-methyl-carbamate methiodide in vitro and in vivo. The inhibitory effect of 3-diethylaminophenyl-N-methylcarbamate methiodide on rat brain acetylcholinesterase and horse plasma butyrylcholinesterase was studied in vitro. This quaternary carbamate is a more potent inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase than butyrylcholinesterase. Complete inhibition of acetylcholinesterase may be achieved without any inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase, i.e. that 3-diethylaminophenyl-N-methylcarbamate methiodide is a selective inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. The inhibitory effect of different doses of this compound on plasma and liver butyrylcholinesterase and erythrocyte, brain, heart and diaphragm acetylcholinesterase of the rat was studied in vivo. With increasing doses of carbamate the inhibition of the enzymes in the plasma, erythrocytes, liver, heart, and diaphragm increased while the brain acetylcholinesterase was unaffected. The toxic action of carbamate studied was preferably due to acetylcholin esterase inhibition in the peripheral nervous system and this compound cannot penetrate the blood-brain barrier.


[Influence of strophanthin and 2,4-dinitrophenol to the scopolamine-evoked acetylcholine release in rat cortex]. In rats narcotized by urethan we investigated the effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol and ouabain with regard to the cortical release of acetylcholine stimulated by scopolamine and to the acetylcholine content of telencephalon changed in that way. Dinitrophenol increased the liberating effect of scopolamine. In the presence of dinitrophenol and scopolamine ouabain reduced acetylcholine synthesis resulting in an strong decrease of acetylcholine content on persistent diminished increase of acetylcholine release.


[Angiotensin-induced hypertension in pigs]. In pigs receiving up to 14 days daily injections of depot angiotensin, repeated daily bloody measurements of the blood pressure at the carotid artery proved unsuitable because of ensueing septic processes, in contrast to the unbloody measurement at the caudal artery. The depot angiotensin, despite the use of preparations with varying content of angiotensin-II and carrier solution, caused immediately after the injections a very strong maximal rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressure that occurred also with longer periods of the experiment; this rise gradually diminished in the course of the day but remained mostly in the hypertonic range and showed daily initial values above normal. The pig proved to be much more sensitive to angiotensin than the rat, for instance. Despite the proved vasoconstricting action of angiotensin, light-microscopic alterations at the vessels, kidneys, and the myocardium could not be observed. Part of the arterioles showed an increased wall thickness in animals killed on the 8th and 15th day of the experiment. The differences in the pathomorphological and blood pressure behaviour from the rat are discussed. The first experimental results qualify the pig as an experimental animal for comparative hypertension studies.


The effect of 35SO2 binding by ammonia on sulfur incorporation into rat tissues. Sulfur metabolism was traced in experimental investigations on rats, and the importance of the method of sulfur dioxide neutralized by ammonia was estimated. The animals were exposed to 35SO2 by means of inhalation, and radioactivity in several organs at different periods of exposure was traced. Apart from that, autoradiographic investigations were carried out in order to show the incorporation of radioactive sulfur into particular elements of the cell in different tissues. Elimination of isotope with urine and feces at different periods of time after exposure was also determined. It was found that the use of ammonia to neutralize sulfur dioxide in the air decreased the amount of sulfur which could enter the organism as a result of breathing air contaminated by SO2.


Lymphocyte-dependent antibodies in uveitis. Lymphocyte-dependent antibodies were revealed in the serum of patients suffering from uveitis of various aetiologies. The serum was incubated with normal uveal tissue and the binding of non-immune human lymphocytes was investigated. In three cases of sympathetic ophthalmitis the lymphocytes accumulated around the melanine granules, while in another 17 patients with uveitis cases the lymphocytes accumulated around the capillaries. Uveal tissue incubated with control sera failed to bound lymphocytes. The lymphocytic infiltration in certain cases of chronic uveitis suggested the role of lymphocyte-mediating antibodies in the aetiology of these cases.


[Diagnostic angiography in mediastinal and pulmonary diseases]. The angiographic methods employed in chest surgery are reviewed and their value is demonstrated on practical examples. In certain cases angiography is the only means of arriving to the correct diagnosis and its result often determines the course of therapy. Angiographic methods are claimed to be equivalent to the classical diagnostic procedures applied in pulmonology and their wide-spread use is recommended.


Radiology preceding reconstructive coronary operations. In connection with the fact that lesions of the coronary artery can be approached only by coronarography, the possibilities of coronarography are discussed. The problems arising are, 1. the relationship between prognosis and the degree to which the coronaries are affected; 2. how to follow the degenerative lesion from the first event up to complete obstruction; 3. the relationship between coronarographic finding and clinical symptoms; and 4. why is it essential to be acquainted with the changed conditions of coronary circulation. A coronarographic finding taking into consideration the above points will play an important role when it has to be decided who should be subjected and to what type of operation improving the coronary circulation.


Laser stimulation of wound healing.

Laser stimulation of wound healing. Serum complement activity, immunoglobulin levels and the circulating auto-antibodies were studied in the course of laser treatment of 20 cases of crural ulcer. After temporary changes a normalization of the humoral immune response was observed in the healing cases, while in the stagnating ones opposite trend was manifest. In none of the groups were detected circulating auto-antibodies against the investigated antigens.


Viability of extracorporeally perfused dog livers. The possibility of structural and functional preservation of the isolated liver has been studied in dog experiments. A sterile liver preparation left in situ was worked out, having practically no ischaemic period, except during perfusion. Nevertheless, well-defined lesions (perivascular and interstitial oedema, dissociated contraction of the smooth muscle elements of the veins, cellula accumulation in the sinusoids) appeared, accompanied by a gradual reduction (microcirculatory disorders, enzyme derailment) of the function of hepatocytes.


[Serum enzyme activities in intestinal obstruction]. In patients with intestinal obstruction, nine of the enzymes usually studied in liver diagnostics were determined before and after operation. Intestinal obstruction causes reversible changes in the liver and in hepatic metabolism; they normalize after relief of the obstruction.


Effect of denervation on the longitudinal growth of tubular bones. The effect of sciatic nerve lesion on the longitudinal growth of tubular bones of the affected extremity has been studied in adolescent rabbits. For the observation of circulation in the bones, intravenously injected Sr85Cl2 solution was used. A retardation of longitudinal growth of the tibia and of the femur on the operated side was noted. Radioactivity in the bones of the operated extremity was always lower than on the control side. For the retarded longitudinal growth, a circulatory disturbance may have been responsible.


[Gonadotropin levels and spermatogenesis in infertile patients]. 165 STERILE MALE PATIENTS UNDERWENT SEMEN EXAMINATIONS AND SERUM GONADOTROPINS DOSAGE. In 47 of these patients a testicular biopsy was preformed. The results of the statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between the sperm count and the FSH in addition to a close and precise relation between the initial stages of the spermatogenesis and FSH. No correlation was found to exist in regard to the LH. The Authors finally showed their interpertation of such data, with the possibility of different prognosis in subjects having severe oligozoospermia, but with a bioptic picture which did or did not present damage at the spermatid maturation stage.


In vivo and in vitro experiments on relationships between PGA1 and glucose utilization. The in vivo and in vitro effects of PGA1 on glucose utilization were investigated in normal rats and in rats with alloxan-diabetes (50 mg/kg i.v. administered 48 hrs before experiment). The animals were divided into two groups. The first group -- which included both normal and diabetic animals -- was submitted to an IVGIT after a 12-h fast and during a sodium chloride infusion. In the second group -- which equally included normal and diabetic rats -- the same GTT was performed during a sodium chloride infusion in which PGA1 had been diluted, so that a dose of 0.5 g/kg/min was administered. This dose is devoid of any effect on cardiovascular activity. For in vitro experiments, glucose utilization was studied in the rat diaphragm incubated with insulin (200 muU/ml) and PGA1 (10 and 100 ng): results demonstrated that PGA1 enhances the insulin effect on glucose utilization and the enhancement is dose-dependent. The same results were observed also in the in vivo experiments: in normal rats PGA1 really improves glucose utilization without any interference with insulin secretion from B-cells. On the other hand, PGA1 has no effect on this utilization in diabetic rats. From our experiments it can therefore be concluded that PGA1 improves glucose utilization, showing a synergic action with the increased quantity of insulin secreted in response to a glucose load. No effect is noted when insulin secretion from B-cells is reduced or absent.


The glycerylphosphorylcholine content of the rat epididymis after injecting alpha-chlorohydrin and ligating the vasa efferentia. The concentration of GPC in the 4 segments (initial segment, caput, corpus and cauda) of the rat epididymis was examined at various times (4 hours. 2, 5, 10 and 20 days) following injection of a lesion-forming dose (90 mg/kg body weight) of alpha-chlorohydrin and bilateral ligation of the vasa efferentia. There was a reduction in the overall GPC concentration of the epididymis 2 days after both treatments and a further decrease until 20 days when a slight increase occurred. It is suggested that a lesion-forming dose of alpha-chlorohydrin, like ligation of the vasa efferentia, could inhibit the synthesis and/or release of GPC within the epididymis by blocking off androgen supply in the testicular fluid.


Reliability of copper reduction methods for quantitation of glucosuria. In the present study we evaluated the reliability of the "2-drop" Clinitest method in determining the 24-h glucose spill of a diabetic patient. The urine glucose content over the 33 day study period was measured with a Beckman glucose analyzer that employed a glucose oxidase method. There was no statistical difference between the glucose content determined by the two methods. There was a mean error of +4.4 +/- 3.6% between the values obtained with the "2-drop" method and values obtained with glucose analyzer. The mean coefficient of variation for determining the glucose content of urine with the "2 drop" method was 19%. In a group of 10 normal volunteers we found that there was a falsely elevated glucose value in urines with osmolality of less than 295 mosm/kg when the "5-drop" method was used. The "2-drop" Clinitest and the Beckman analyzer could accurately determine glucose concentration even in these dilute urines. The "2-drop" Clinitest method is a useful and reasonably reliable method for evaluationg 24-h glucosuria.


Riboflavin deficiency in children with diabetes mellitus. Twenty-four insulin-dependent diabetic children and 114 normal control children, all between the ages of 6 to 16 years, were investigated for riboflavin deficiency. The method used was a measurement of erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity and the results were expressed as the activity coefficient (AC). None of the children had received vitamin supplementation. The percentage of diabetic children with riboflavin deficiency was 4 fold greater than in non diabetics. Supplementation with daily oral riboflavin quickly returned all AC values to normal.


The Somogyi phenomenon. A short review.

The Somogyi phenomenon. A short review. The Somogyi phenomenon or effect is a paradoxical situation of insulin-induced post-hypoglycemic hyperglycemia. The historical aspects of this phenomenon and the subsequent hypotheses and controversy are reviewed. The clinical situation is explained, with regard to its recognition, management and importance as an etiological factor in "brittle" diabetes. Hormone immunoassay techniques at present show human growth hormone (HGH) to be the major consequence of insulin-induced hypoglycemia leading to post-hypoglycemia glucose intolerance, but further studies will probably show glucagon to have a major role.


Some peculiarities of the glucoregulatory response to glucose infusion in the rat. The glucoregulatory response to the i.v. infusion of different doses of glucose and glucose plus insulin was studied in anesthetized rats by using the primed constant infusion of glucose-2-3H. Infusion of glucose at the rate of 10 mg/kg/min induced a rise of about 100% in blood glucose, while the hepatic release of glucose showed only a small and transient decrease. A proportional increase of glycemia and glucose utilization (Rd) was observed without any appreciable change in the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of glucose; a two-fold increase in plasma insulin was recorded at all times. In the group of rats receiving 20 mg/kg/min of glucose, changes in the above parameters were slightly greater; MCR showed a moderate increment in spite of the six-fold rise of plasma insulin. Finally, the influsion of large doses of insulin together with 20 mg/kg/min of glucose resulted in complete cessation of glucose release by the liver and in a remarkable increase of Rd and MCR. These results suggest a poor adaptability of the glucoregulatory system of the rat in response to glucose infusion as compared to other mammalian species.


Juvenile diabetic cheiroarthropathy.

Juvenile diabetic cheiroarthropathy. A peculiar involvement of the interphalangeal joints of both hands with palmar flexion of the fingers has been observed in 11 insulin-treated, nonrheumatoid, juvenile diabetics. The onset of diabetes occurred between 1 and 12 years of age. Painless deformities of the fingers with progressive stiffness and impaired extension started 4 to 10 years later. One patient complained of articular pain and swelling. X-ray and circulatory changes were absent or minimal. Prepubertal patients showed delayed puberty and stunted growth, adult patients had normal sexual development. Rheumatic or rheumatoid signs were absent. Electromyography showed minor abnormalities of the motor units, normal or subnormal motor nerve conduction velocity, increased median nerve terminal latency, in the absence of muscular atrophy or thickening of palmar tendons. Vibratory sensitivity was impaired in 1 subject. Juvenile cheiroarthropathy is associated with: a) early onset and poor control of diabetes; b) stunted growth; c) hepatomegaly; d) delayed puberty; e) long standing administration of insulin. The articular changes are distinct from previously known forms of "diabetic hand", such as atrophic neuropathy, osteoarthropathy, Dupuytren's contracture, carpal tunnel syndrome.


Acute liver failure due to temporary hepatic ischemia in the pig. The model of temporary complete liver ischemia was investigated in 60 pigs in order to produce a disease which resembles liver failure in man. The interval of time leading to death in every animal differed in a wide range. A number of biochemical alterations was of no value as for the prognosis of the animal under investigation. The ammonium in the peripheral blood is elevated during shunting of portal blood around the liver only. Microscopic examinations demonstrated that the damage produced is limited to the hepatic tissue. The lesions were less when ischemia was produced after a longer interval after the operation. The role of processes of regeneration and reparation of liver tissue is discussed.


About the efficiency of the duodenal drainage with the double balloon tube technique using polyethylene glycol as duodenal marker. Using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a duodenal marker substance, we studied the efficiency of the duodenal drainage with the double balloon tube technique employing three various tubes: a) the three-lumen double balloon tube according to Bartelheimer, b) a modified double balloon tube with more valid preconditions for the combination of duodenal marker and double balloon tube technique, and c) this modified tube after removal of the distal balloon. The results with this valid marker technique represent the first experimental proof that the duodenal juice can be collected in an approximately quantitative way by the described double balloon tube techniques. They therefore confirm the importance of these tubes for all those studies in which a quantitative drainage is desired as much as possible.


Possible role of beta-glucuronidase in the normal and regenerating tail of the house lizard, Hemidactylus flaviviridis. Histochemical demonstration of beta-glucuronidase was carried out in the normal and regenerating tail of the house lizard, Hemidactylus flaviviridis. Greater enzyme activity was particularly discernible in the stratum germinativum of the skin of the normal and fully regenerated tail. During regeneration most of the cellular elements of the blastema and the differentiating regenerate exhibited enzyme activity. Distribution of the enzyme beta-glucuronidase is correlated with the high degree of cellular proliferation. The role of the enzyme in the catabolism of mucopolysaccharides is also implicated during the wound-healing phase. In the full-grown regenerate the intensity and distribution of the enzyme activity were found to be the same as those observed in the normal tail.


Effect of pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) on rat liver. One time i.p. injections of 5 -20 mg Pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) effects the mitotic activity of rat liver cells during a time period of 24 hours to be 20 times higher than the normal mitotic rate. This, however, does not result in an measurable increase of cell numbers and cell volumes. Furthermore, total liver DNA, RNA, protein and dry-weight remain unchanged. The injection of 7 times 10 mg PCN also results in the elevation of the mitotic rate. Return of the elevated mitotic rate to base level takes 18 days from the time the last injection of PCN was administered. During this time the number and the average volume of liver cells increases by 28% and 30%, respectively. The dry weight of liver and tetraploid nuclei increase in number, whereas RNA- and protein content remains unchanged. All parameters have reached the base line after 4 - 6 weeks following the last injection of PCN. No histological changes were observed after multiple doses of PCN that cause hyperplasia and hypertrophy of liver tissue. Hypertrophy of liver cells follows the observed hyperplasia and therefore is not expected to be the cause of the hyperplastic processes.


Treatment of extrahepatic occlusive jaundice with activated charcoal hemoperfusion in dogs. To find the feasibility of treatment for congenital bile duct atresia, we studied the usefullness of extracorporeal hemoperfusion over activated charcoal in canine obstructive jaundice. One, three and five weeks after ligation and disection of common bile duct in 5 dogs we performed the hemoperfusion over activated charcoal extracorporeally (group 3). In this animals we examined hematological and blood coagulation studies, serum electrolyte levels, kidney function tests and liver chemistries. As control in 5 animals we carried out after sham operation the perfusion without common bile duct ligation (group 2) and in 5 animals only common bile duct ligation without perfusion (group 1). In the liver chemistries we found 2 weeks after 2nd and 3rd perfusion (5 and 7 weeks after bile duct ligation) lower levels of serum bilirubin, GOT, GPT and SDH in treated group than in non-treated jaundiced animals. It suggest the effectiveness of hemoperfusion with activated charcoal in the treatment of occlusive jaundice. There were no alteration in the hematological studies, serum electrolyte levels and kidney function tests. PT and PTT was prolonged in the jaundiced animals there were no significant differences with and without hemoperfusion.


Quantitative studies on the mouse facial nerve trunk distal to the geniculate ganglion. An electron-microscopic study. A fiber count analysis was performed with the electron microscope on the facial nerve trunk distal to the geniculate ganglion in seven mice. On an average, 4,836 (93%) of the total nerve fibers (5,201) were myelinated and 328 (6.3%) unmyelinated. The large part of the nerve consisted mostly of large myelinated fibers (large-fiber group). The small part of the nerve consisted of small myelinated and unmyelinated fibers (small-fiber group). The fiber constitution of the small-fiber group in the nerve was more like that in the intermediate nerve than that of the small-fiber group in the motor root of the facial nerve. Thus, it is postulated that the nerve fibers of the small-fiber group in the facial nerve trunk distal to the geniculate ganglion may be derived from the intermediate nerve, and that the nerve fibers of the small-fiber group in the motor root of facial nerve may course to the greater petrosal nerve.


[The surface-coat of Rathke's pouch and the neural tube in embryonic mice]. Mouse embryos, gestation days 10 and 11, were fixed by the method of LUFT (ruthenium red). At the ultrastructural level, luminal epithelial cell membranes of Rathke's pouch and the neural tube were coated with a continuous, electron-dense layer of 100-700 A thickness. The biological property of this surface coat is discussed.


Use of rose bengal iodine 131-tagged isotope for testing liver function in 4000 patients. Within 12 years, 4000 patients with hepatic lesions, were examined by the author. Examinations included: clinical, laboratory, biopsy, together with radioactive Rose-bengal 131I. RBR test prooved to be more sensitive than known laboratory liver function tests. In diagnosis of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, histological examinations remain to be decisive, though biopsy is not always recommended from view point of prognosis. The isotope procedure has a great advantage besides to its sensitive registration of liver cells functions, it offers good informations about flowness of bile tract. The bladder diagrams increase by action of milk-chocolate meals (24 hours), after which, urine analysis, estimation of blood activity and resting-liver activity can be of value. Harm due to radiation in RBR test is a minimum, so it can be repeated several times in order to follow progression of liver diseases. RBR examination is recommended for all big hospitals.


Endogenous motilin and lower esophageal sphincter pressure in man: clue to an association. In man (n = 5), after intraduodenal instillation of 50 ml of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid the lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) and plasma motilin concentrations rise concomitantly exceeding basal by about 80% (p less than 0.025) and 90% (p less than 0.05), respectively, at 3 to 4 minutes. These results suggest that the increase in LESP after duodenal acidification may be brought about by endogenously released motilin.


Studies on the structure and function of Gomori-positive glial cells in the rat hypothalamus. Electron-microscopic, histochemical and endocrinologic study of aldehyde-fuchsin-positive (Gomori-positive; GP) grains of rat brain periventricular glia (GP glia) was carried out. GP structures appear as a population of osmiophilic particles, which is heterogeneous in both shape and size. Laminar structures interspersed with fine granular material were seen in the GP granules. No activity of the lysosomal and mitochondrial enzymes could be observed. The reaction for peroxidase was also negative. The GP material was stained with PAS and Ziehl-Nielsen. There are apparently no lipoid inclusions in the GP grains. The primary red-orange fluorescence distinguishes the GP glia from other structures in the rat brain. So GP grains are a specific cytoplasmic formation having some similarity to lipofuscin. There was a considerable decrease in GP grains after administration of estradiol in ovariectomized rats and also in pregnant rats. Dopamine administration and starvation caused some reduction in GP grains. In the rat hypothalamus, distribution of the main mass of GP glia corresponds with the so-called hypophysiotropic area. The possible participation of GP glia in the neuroendocrinological process is discussed.


Cytological identification of sex in pig embryos at indifferent gonadal stages. A reliable method of sex identification in pig embryos at sexually indifferent and early differentiated gonadal stages (age 21-26 days) was developed in association with ultrastructural studies on gonadal development and differentiation. The routine carbolfuchsin staining for the sex chromatin and the quinacrine mustard dihydrochloride staining for the fluorescent Y chromosome were not successful when applied to interphase cells. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a method for complete chromosome preparations. Head, heart and liver proved to have a sufficiently high spontaneous mitotic rate without any mitogenic stimulation. The tissues were suspended in the culture medium. Optimal conditions for colchicine treatment and hypotonization were tested and the details of the procedure are reported. This direct method yielded adequate metaphase plates for chromosome analyses in pig embryos. Because no culturing is used, the method is rapid and artefactual changes in the chromosomes during stimulated cell divisions in vitro are avoided.


Sexual dimorphism in the basilar part of the occipital bone of the dog (Canis familiaris). Sexual dimorphism in the surface markings of the basilar part of the occipital bone of 34 male and 46 female dog's skulls were studied with the following results: 1 of the 34 male skulls showed a female type surface marking, 4 of the 46 female skulls showed surface markings of the opposite sex, while 2 of the male and 3 of the female skulls could not be classified as belonging to either type, so that 10 out of the 80 skulls could not be identified correctly, indicating that 87.5% of the skulls could be identified positively. Considering that there are hardly any sexual differences in the other surface markings or in the dentition of the dog's skull, these findings may be of some help in sexing the skull of the dog.


Non-specific esterases in the gustatory epithelia of man and dog. (1) Simple esterase activity has been demonstrated in the gustatory epithelium of man and dog by the simultaneous coupling azo dye technique using alpha-naphthol and naphthol As acetate. Unfixed cryostat and fixed paraffin sections were used. (2) A peculiar pattern of simple esterase activity was encountered in which--contrary to what was to be expected--the taste bud-carrying papillae showed a very poor reaction while there was a gradual increase in the enzyme intensity as the epithelium was traced away from these papillae. (3) It seems that among the reported differences between simple esterases and cholinesterases is this differential activity in relation to the gemmal system. (4) A peculiar difference in the enzyme activity was reported between the unfixed cryostat and the fixed paraffin sections in the human material.


Re-evaluation of the colic irrigation from the superior mesenteric artery. 156 abdominal preparations were explored by arteriography, corrosion and dissection. The ileocolic artery is the most constant collateral of the superior mesenteric artery. It provides a ramus colicus which is often confused with a true arteria colica dextra. The a. colica dextra, arising on the superior mesenteric artery, is found in only 13% of the abdominal preparations. The PNA 'a. colica media' covers a system of individually varying vessels: a. colica media, common stem of r. anguli coli and r. coli transversi; a. anguli coli, a. coli transversi; a. colica sinistra accessoria and a. coli transversi accessoria. Both mesenteric arteries may be linked by a intermesenteric arch (12%).


Termination in the stellate ganglion of axons arising from the hilar vegetative plexus of the lung. Peripheral reflex arcs. In cats the right lung was removed by thoracotomy. After 24-48 h the right stellate ganglion, the communicating branches between the right stellate ganglion and the right vagus, as well as the portion of both vagus nerves below and above the communicating branches, were processed for electron-microscopic investigation. Degeneration of synaptic axon terminals in the anteromedial part of the stellate ganglia, occurring after removal of the ipsilateral lung, shows that processes of ganglion cells located in the terminal ganglia of the bronchial tree establish synapses in the stellate ganglia. These results speak in favour of the existence of peripheral reflex arcs in the autonomic nervous system. For the time being, the data are not sufficient to define a new pathway related to the autonomic ganglia.


The diffuse hypertrophy of the lower esophagus and the focal hypertrophy of the pyloric musculature in adults. The diffuse hypertrophy of the lower esophagus is a hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the smooth muscle fibres of the M. propria, together with a distortion of the muscular architecture. The esophagogram reveals an impaired peristalsis and expansile ability of the esophagus lumen. The focal hypertrophy of the pyloric musculature in adults is a locally circumscribed hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the M. propria. The concentric pattern of the M. propria is no longer maintained. Radiologically one recognizes a benign pylorus stenosis with a complete systole and an impaired diastolic dilatation. On the basis of these macroscopical, microscopical and radiological findings both lesions differ from the circular pyloric or esophageal stenosis which occurs at the same anatomical sites. We therefore feel, that both lesions are different entities.


An ultrastructural study of the relationship between pericytes and cerebral macrophages. We studied, with the electron microscope, the normal cerebral cortex of white rats and zones adjacent to puncture wounds. The data obtained in this study, demonstrated the passage of pericytes to the nervous tissue, after the rupture of the basal membrane, and their transformation into macrophages. We suggest the possibility of the transformation of the pericytes into microglial cells.


Arterial supply to the hypogastric and presacral nerves. The hypogastric nerves take an arterial supply from the internal iliac artery either directly or from one of its main branches close to its origin from the parent trunk. Sometimes the supply is from the lower end of the common iliac artery. In half the cases examined the presacral nerve takes an arterial supply from the aorta at its bifurcation.


Ultrastructure of articular cartilage of achondroplastic mice. Articular chondrocytes of achondroplastic mice (cn/cn) resemble ultrastructurally those of their non-achondroplastic siblings (Cn/Cn or Cn/cn), except for premature deposition of glycogen and a tendency to undergo regression. The latter may be slight or extreme. The ultimate cause of the vulnerability of the chondrocytes and the cause of the heterogeneity of the reaction could not be determined with the method employed. Nevertheless, increased vulnerability accounts for cell death under conditions which are usually not injurious, and which may be either physiologic or altered by endogenous or exogenous factors.


Effect of triamcinolone on the ultrastructure of mouse hepatocytes. Premature female mice were injected daily with 1.5 mg/kg body weight of triamcinolone diacetate for 10 and 21 consecutive days. Electron-microscopic study of hepatocytes indicated the formation of 'giant' mitochondria concomitant with a marked increase in the number and size of lipid droplets. Hypertrophied mitochondria and enlarged lipid droplets were found to be in a close topographical association. The mechanism of mitochondrial enlargement is discussed as well as the latters' role in the hepatocytes' lipid metabolism.


Study in the changes of the proportions and numbers of the various glial cell types in the spinal cord of neonatal and young adult rats. Glioblasts, astrocytes, microglia and the three classes of oligodendroyctes were enumerated in the grey and white matter of the spinal cord of rats of various ages. Both regions showed fairly similar results. Glioblasts, which made up the major glial population in the newborn rats, declined steadily with age and their number became negligible by 22 days post natum. They were absent in the young adult rats (aged 70 days). Contrary to this, the major glial types increased rapidly with age, the increase being most drastic in the oligodendrocytic population. The growth continued through about 22 days after birth and became more or less stabilized thereafter. Of the three classes of oligodendrocytes, the light cells appeared to develop first, followed by the medium dense cells and subsequently the dark ones. While there was a gradual disappearance of the light and medium dense cells with age, there was an accumulation of the dark cells, so that they were predominant in the spinal cord of the young adult rats.


Fine structure of precapillary arterioles of skeletal muscle in the rat. The submicroscopic structure of the precapillary arterioles with a diameter of 25-6 mum was followed in m. spinotrapezius of the rat. The walls of the precapillary arterioles of the diameter of 25-20 mum consist of the endothelium, one layer of smooth muscle cells, 3-4 bundles of nerve fibres and a one-layer coat of fibrocytes. Arterioles of the diameter of 20-10 mum have an incomplete fibrocytar coat. Arterioles of the diameter of 10-6 mum also have an incomplete, disseminated muscular layer. The side-branching of true capillaries was not detected. Hence the described arteriolar portion cannot be considered as a metarteriole, but as a regulation device of a segmentary type, regulating the blood flow through the corresponding part of the capillary network as a whole.


Anatomical study of the cervical sympathetic trunk and ganglia in the albino rat (Mus norvegicus albinus). Nine adult albino rats of both sexes were studied. 16 sympathetic trunks and ganglia were dissected in detail in eight rats. The right and left superior cervical ganglion and the sympathetic trunk below the ganglion were removed from an additional rat. The cell bodies of these ganglia and the axons of the trunks were counted with the aid of light and electron microscopy. Considering the number and location of ganglia and patterns of branching, the rat's cervical sympathetic nervous system compares closely with man's. There appears to be a relationship between body size and myelination of preganglionic neurons in the cervical sympathetic trunks, with smaller animals having the least number of myelinated fibers.


[Ultrastructure of the epithelium of the major pancreatic duct in sheep]. Light-and electron-microscopic and some histochemical investigations on the epithelium or the ductus pancreaticus major were carried out in sheep. At least six different cell types are recognizable: (1) nondifferentiated duct cells; (2) cells containing apical secretory granules; (3) goblet cells; the mucosubstances of type 2 and 3 are PAS- and Alcian-blue-positive, also reacting wih methenamine silver; (4) ciliated cells, containing a single cilium with the microtubular pattern 9+2; (5) tuft cells with extremely long and wide microvilli and a pear-shaped cell body; (6) migrating cells, mainly lymphocytes and some assumed eosinophils, showing reaction to Mg++-activated ATPase.


Preparation of fresh-frozen dried ultrathin sections by drying without vacuum. Fresh-frozen dried ultrathin sections were prepared without fixation, embedding or staining. Small blocks of tissues were chilled by making contact with copper blocks precooled with liquid nitrogen according to a procedure modified from that of Christensen. Sections were cut at -95 degrees C with a Reichert Um 2 ultramicrotome fitted with cryoaccessories, using dry glass knives. The sections were dried for 15 min or more on formvar-coated grids by a flow of dry nitrogen gas at -95 degrees C in a newly devised glass chamber placed in the cryokit compartment. The sections showed only a few holes attributable to ice crystal formation. Holes were found in the intercellular spaces as well as within cells. The sections were observed without staining and gave enough contrast to permit recognition of organelles such as nucleus, perinuclear cisternae, nucleolus, interchromatin granules, perichromatinic granules and secretory granules in the pancreatic exocrine cells. In the basal part of the proximal convoluted tubules of mouse kidney, abundant mitochondria were seen. Mitochondrial cristae and lines corresponding to the basal infoldings of the renal convoluted tubules were less dense than their surroundings. This method can yield ultrathin sections lending themselves to investigations of the distribution of elements with electron-probe X-ray microanalyzer and of diffusible substances by dry-mount autoradiography at the electron-microscopic level.


[Wall structure of cisterna chyli in humans studied by light and scanning electron microscopy]. Comparing light and scanning electron microscopy of a chronically lymphostatic and two normal cisternae chyli made visible a normally folded and smoothened (under load) cisternal wall. Different orifices of the supplying lymph-collecting vessels with varying valve structures were seen. The functional meaning of the orifice types and of the valves for the uptake of lymph and chylus into the cisterna as well as for the blockage of lymphatic reflux out of the filled cisterna were discussed.


Electromyographic study of the m. biceps brachii in movements at the glenohumeral joint. Our electromyographic studies on the participation of the m. biceps brachii in the movements of the glenohumeral joint, performed in 20 young adult male volunteers, permit the following conclusions: (1) In the movement of arm flexion, performed against resistance and with extended elbow, both the long and the short heads of the m. biceps brachii were active in all 30 volunteers examined. (2) The same movement of the arm, arm flexion with extended elbow, now without resistance, that is to say performed freely, showed both the long and short heads of the m. biceps brachii active in the majority of cases. (3) In the movements of arm extension, performed freely and aganst resistance, with extended elbow, and also in the movement of lateral arm rotatin with flexed elbow, with and without resistance, the m. biceps brachii was absolutely inactive in all 30 volunteers examined. (4) In the movement of arm abduction, with extended elbow, the element of resistance to the performance showed itself to be important, since without it the m. biceps brachii was absolutely inactive; in the movement performed against resistance both heads of the muscle showed activity in 3 out of the 30 volunteers tested. (5) In the movements of arm abduction with and without resistance, with flexed elbow, the m. biceps brachii was active on occasion. (6) In the Movements of arm adduction against resistance, with the elbow either flexed or extended, it was only the short head of the m. biceps brachii which was active, and this in half of the cases examined. (7) In the movements of medical rotation of the arm, with extended elbow, performed freely or against resistance, the long and the short heads of the m. biceps brachii each showed a different behaviour: the long head was always inactive, whereas the short one was seldom active.


Eyedness.

Eyedness. The so-called 'eyedness' with regard to fixation of the gaze on a particular point has been investigated on 283 right-handed and 30 left-handed healthy persons of Central India. The results show that the majority (65.81%) of them are right-eyed, and that the eyedness is not influenced by sex or handedness. Though the left cerebral hemisphere seems to play a dominant role in gaze fixation in the greater proportion of the population, consideration of the joint of the two cerebral hemispheres for individual functions of the body has been advocated.


Experimental cerebral ischemia in Mongolian gerbils. IV. Behaviour of biogenic amines. Behaviour of biogenic amines was studied in the brains of Mongolian gerbils subjected to unilateral occlusion of the common carotid artery. Assays on the hemispheres ipsilateral to occlusion revealed in symptom-positive animals a progressive decrease in norepinephrine and dopamine, and an increase in serotonin throughout the duration of an ischemic insult. In post-ischemic periods following the release of the clip, changes in biogenic amine levels generally conformed to the principles of a previously described "maturation" phenomenon, with delayed reactions occurring after the shorter ischemic insults.


Status spongiosus of rat central nervous system induced by actinomycin D. The effect on central myelin of Actinomycin D, an RNA--and, secondarily, a protein-synthesis inhibitor, has been studied by light and electron microscopy. The intracranial injection of this drug produced an extensive status spongiosus of the white matter in the cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem and optic nerve within 48 h. The status spongiosus was due to vacuole formation within the myelin sheath and to enlargement of the extracellular space. Three types of vacuoles were observed: (a) the most common varieties formed between the inner tongue and the remainder of the myelin sheath; (b) a second variety formed by enlargement of the periaxonal space with separation of the axon from its myelin sheath, and (c) a less common type of vacuolization was due to splitting of the myelin lamellae at the interperiod line to form large intramyelinic vacuoles. Myelinic vacuoles were preceded by nuclear and cytoplasmic changes in oligodendrocytes, which included nucleolar segregation, disaggregation, and diminution in number of ribosomes. These changes were similar to those previously reported in a variety of cells exposed to Actinomycin D. It is suggested that myelin vacuoles result secondarily from the Actinomycin D inhibitory effect on oligodendroglial RNA--and protein-synthesis, rather than from a direct effect of this drug on the myelin sheath.


The brain-specific S 100 protein in small cerebral stab wounds in the rat: a quantitative study. A quantitative study of the changes in water-soluble proteins and water-soluble S 100 was made in stab-wounded rat frontal cortex as compared to unoperated controls. No great changes occurred until 30 days after the injury. At that time there was no change in the amount of water-soluble  S 100 protein/g wet weight, but a large decrease in the amount of water-soluble proteins/g wet weight and thus a proportionate increase in the amount of water-soluble S 100 protein/mg of water-soluble proteins. The significance of the results is discussed.


Cycloleucine uptake in the brainstem of thiamine-deficient rats. Immature female rats were subjected to acute dietary deficiency of thiamine. An autoradiographic method was used in the semi-quantitative determination of concentration of 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid-carboxylic-14C (cycloleucine) in brainstem regions after intravenous administration of tracer quantities. The time course of tissue concentrations was followed and compared with that of normal and isocaloric control animals. Our data indicate that thiamine deficiency of sufficient magnitude to induce brainstem lesions has an effect on the transport of cycloleucine. The initial 2 min values in the nuclear areas are appreciably reduced whereas the 6 min values are significantly elevated as compared with controls; no change was demonstrated in the white matter of the inferior cerebellar peduncle. The effect on transport appears to be more on the mechanism of efflux than of influx in terms of blood brain barrier function.


[Neurosecretoric nerve-cell choristoma in the anterior pituitary (author's transl)]. Report on a blastomatous dysgenesia (choristoma) with dystopic accumulation of neurosecretoric nerve-cells in the anterior lobe of hypophysis of a 65 years old woman without clinical symptoms.


Crush injury to peripheral nerve. An electron microscope study employing horseradish peroxidase. Electron microscope observations were made of rat peroneal nerve after crushing using intravenously injected horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a tracer protein to indicate changes in vascular permeability. At 1/2 h and 2 d after the crush there was gross leakage of HRP from damaged capillaries at the site of injury but none from vessels above or below this. Ultrastructurally vessels at the site of crush showed broken and separated endothelial cells. Proximally and distally there was little abnormal in the vessel walls; vesicles containing HRP were absent and tight-junctions between cells remained intact. Twenty-one days after the crush, leakage of HRP was found both at the site of crush and along the distal segment. The only change in vessel walls was an obvious increase in vesicles filled with HRP. Tracer was also found both in perivascular locations and throughout the endoneurial space.


Studies of transitional cell tumours of the bladder. Prognosis and causes of death. Transitional cell tumours of the bladder from a total of 228 patients were histologically classified as papillomas, papillomatous carcinomas and non-papillomatous carcinomas. Each group was subdivided into four grades of dysplasia. Papillomas and papillomatous carcinomas occurred in younger patients at a higher rate than non-papillomatous carcinomas. The 5-year-survival of patients with papillomas and carcinomas was 70 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. Among patients with papillomas with dysplasia grades 1 and 2 the survival rate was almost identical. In the group of patients with papilloma thrombo-embolic diseases were the most common cause of death. Carcinoma of the bladder developed in about 30 per cent of the patients in this group. Recurrence of the papilloma only rarely changed the grade of dysplasia. If the recurrence was in the form of a carcinoma, an increase in the grade of dysplasia was common. The survival was more favourable among patients with carcinoma dysplasia grade 2 than among those with dysplasia grade 3. The rate of survival was higher in the group of patients with papillomatous carcinoma than among patients with non-papillomatous carcinomas. Among the decreased patients with primary carcinomas, 77 per cent died with carcinoma of the bladder. To a certain degree, the grade of tumour cell dysplasia seems to be an expression of the malignancy of the tumours. The duration of the disease and the appearance of tumours (papillomatous, non-papillomatous) may have relation to the patients' "defence" system. At autopsy, the papillomatous and non-papillomatous carcinomas were found to be similarly disseminated regardless of the difference in survival rate.


Urothelial changes of the renal papillae in Sprague-Dawley rats induced by long term feeding of phenacetin. Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 0.535 per cent phenacetin in the diet for up to 110 weeks. Twenty-six of these rats developed urothelial hyperplasia, partly papillary, of the renal papillae. Twenty-eight rats showed dilatation of the vasa recta frequently associated with thrombus formation and calcification. One phenacetin fed rat had epithelial hyperplasia associated with chronic pyelitis. In 2 of the 30 control rats urothelial hyperplasia was found to be associated with chronic pyelitis. The hyperplastic urothelial changes and vascular changes were often, but not always, present simultaneously. One control rat developed a mammary carcinoma, as compared with 5 rats in the phenacetin group. Four phenacetin fed rats developed carcinoma of the ear duct. The results of the present investigation provide evidence that phenacetin can induce proliferative lesions of the urothelium of the rat renal pelvis with weak carcinogenic activity in the ear duct and mammary glands.


A synergistic effect of oestradiol and prolactin influencing the incidence of 3-methylcholanthrene induced cerivical carcinomas in mice. Castrated NMRI mice were laparotomized and a thread impregnated with beeswax-methylcholanthrene was inserted into the uterine cervix. Beginning on the day of operation and for a further 5 days the animals were injected with oestradiol, prolactin, oestradiol-prolactin, oestradiol-prolactin-progesterone, or the solvents for the hormones only. One group of animals were injected with oestradiol-prolactin for 6 days and later with progesterone every third day until death. The animals were killed one or 4 weeks after the operation. Among the one-week animals the number of cervices presenting epithelial downgrowths ("buds") into the stroma was higher after treatment with a combination of oestradiol and prolactin than after treatment with each hormone separately or among the controls. Four weeks after operation, the incidence of squamous cervical carcinomas was seen to be significantly higher among animals injected with both oestradiol and prolactin than in controls or in those injected with oestradiol or prolactin alone. Progesterone had no definite effect on the oestradiol-prolactin induced incidence. The mechanism behind the synergistic effect of prolactin and oestradiol is discussed.


Participation of renal, but not of submaxillary renin in the homeostasis of the blood pressure after experimentally induced hypotension in mice. While hypotension elicited a marked increase in plasma renin concentration in conscious normal mice, no increase was provoked in previously nephrectomized mice in spite of the high renin content of their submaxillary glands. The role of the increased release of renal renin for the homeostasis of the blood pressure was shown by the decrease in pressure which followed blockade of the renin system. Contrary to Saralasin which did not change the blood pressure in nephrectomized mice, injections of SQ 20.881 did in some mice result in a decrease in blood pressure, which was probably caused by its ability to inhibit bradykininases. Both Saralasin and SQ 20.881 elicited marked increases in plasma renin in normal, but not in nephrectomized mice, showing that, while renal renin release is controlled by the plasma angiotensin II concentration, this does not apply to submaxillary renin release.


Polyvinylpyrrolidone-storage disease. Light microscopical, ultrastructural and chemical verification. The light and electron microscopical findings in the polyvinylpyrrolidine-storage disease are reported on the basis of biopsies of skin, striated muscle, bone marrow and liver from one patient and a subcutaneous nodule from another patient. Both patients suffer from diabetes insipidus and have been treated for several years with Insipidin retard, which contains polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the retarding agent. Deposits of PVP have been demonstrated in all the tissues examined and can easily be recognized by certain staining qualities. The combination of haematoxylin-eosin, elastin (Weigert), alkaline Congo red and Sirius red for amyloid and PTAH is specially to be recommended. The ultrastructural findings consist of intracellular vacuoles containing a granular material and probably representing lysosomes. The final identification of the nature of the deposits has been made by spectrophotometric analysis. The suspicion of a case of PVP-storage disease should result in a skin biopsy which usually is sufficient for the diagnosis.


Diabetic cardiopathy. Quantitative histological studies of the heart from young juvenile diabetics. A quantitative morphological study, at light microscopical level, of hearts from young diabetics and nondiabetics was performed. The groups were comparable with respect to sex-ratio, age, heart weight and blood pressure. Findings in the hearts were as follows: In arterioles in which the luminal diameter ranged between 15-50 mu, a strongly PAS-positive stained vessel wall occurred at a higher frequency among diabetics than among non-diabetics (75 per cent respectively 33 per cent). The PAS-positive structures, however, occupied the same area of the vessel wall in the two groups. In arterioles from diabetics, the number of cells in tunica media was increased as compared with that in non-diabetics (2 p less than 0.01). The amount of perivascular connective tissue was also increased in the diabetics (2 p less than 0.01). There was no indication of an endothelial cell proliferation in the PAS-positive stained vessels from diabetics and non-diabetics. The wall of the capillaries was not thickened and it was not more PAS-positive in the hearts from diabetics than in those from non-diabetics. Moreover, the number of capillaries per square millimeter of heart muscle was the same in the two groups of hearts. In the present light microscopical study, the diabetic micro-angiography of the heart was demonstrable in the arterioles. The capillaropathy known to occur in other organs was not present in the heart muscle from patients with diabetes of long standing.


Experimental porcine nephropathy: changes of renal function and structure perorally induced by crystalline ochratoxin A. Nine pigs were fed crystalline ochratoxin A in amounts corresponding to a feed level of 1 mg per kg for 3 months. The only observable lesion developed was a kidney damage, identical to the naturally occurring porcine nephropathy. The changes of renal function was characterized by impairment of proximal tubular function, indicated by a decrease of the ratio TmPAH/CIn, of the ability to concentrate urine, and by an increased urinary excretion of glucose. The decrease of the ratio TmPAH/CIn is correlated with time of exposure to ochratoxin A. The changes of renal structure were characterized by degeneration of the proximal tubules, leading to tubular atrophy accompanied by interstitial fibrosis. At the end of the experiment the kidney, liver, adipose and muscular tissue of the slaughtered pigs contained sizable amounts of ochratoxin A residues. As the pigs would have passed the meat inspection this represents a possible health problem. The changes observed in this study are identical to those observed by feeding to pigs grains naturally contaminated with ochratoxin A.


Routine procedure for determining goblet cell density in the mucosa of the respiratory tract. In two normal nasal septa, fine-dissected and stained by PAS-alcian blue whole-mount methods, counts of goblet cells were done in eight different localities in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, and 100 fields measuring 0.01768 mm2. The median density and range of goblet cells by each mode of counting were compared and the mean deviation determined. Even as little as 2-5 blindly placed counts, which do not take much time, afford in a 4 mm2 area a fairly reliable orientation regarding density, considerably more reliable than an estimate of the density in sections, so often reported in the literature. Determination of the goblet cell density can be included as a routine method in the histopathological diagnosis of mucosal diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract.


Use of preformed cavities in rabbits for the quantitation of leukocyte chemotaxis caused by bacterial lipopolysaccharides. Wound chambers implanted subcutaneously in rabbits proved suitable for measurements of leukocyte chemotaxis. Injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the chambers the sixth day after implantation was followed by a marked increase of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the wound chamber fluid, the number of which was dependent on the time after application of LPS. Up to a certain amount of LPS, the concentration of leukocytes in the chamber fluid was dose-dependent. The histopathological appearance of the granulation tissue lining the chamber wall one day after the injection of LPS from Veillonella revealed aggregation of blood cells plugging the lumina of small vessels and many eosinophilic leukocytes.


The effect of ascorbic acid on production of human interferon and the antiviral activity in vitro. The effects of ascorbic acid on interferon production and on the antiviral effect of interferon in cultures of human cells were investigated. Ascorbic acid enhanced the interferon levels produced by human embryo skin and human embryo lung fibroblasts, induced by Newcastle disease virus and by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid. The same concentrations of ascorbic acid had no effect on interferon production in two lymphoblastoid cell lines induced by Sendai virus. Leucocyte interferon assayed in lung fibroblasts titrated 0.2-0.3 log10 units higher in the presence of 5 mug ascorbic acid than in the absence of the latter.


Immunochemical analysis of an unusual cell wall polysaccharide from animal coagulase-positive staphylococci. 1. Fragments obtained after hydrolysis in hydrofluoric acid and alkali. Polysaccharide P (poly P) of canine coagulase-positive staphylococci contains glycerol, glucose, glucosamine, muramic acid, phosphate, and the usual peptidoglycan amino acids, but does not cross-react serologically with standard teichoic acids. Products from hydrolyses in hydrofluoric acid and alkali contained phosphates of glycerol and glucose as well as combinations of these, but neither glucosyl-glycerol units nor glucosamine-phosphates were observed. The teichoic acid of poly P is probably a polymer of a repeating unit consisting of alternating glycerol, phosphate and glucose.


Isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica from Danish swine and dogs. Seventeen strains of Yersinia enterocolitica were isolated on examination of the caecal contents from 100 bacon pigs at slaughter. In another material consisting of 222 pigs with various diseases, the bacterium was found in 12 cases. Three out of 40 dogs were positive for the bacterium. Seven of the porcine and one of the canine strains belonged to serotype O 3, which is a human pathogen.


The critical transmural pressure of the abirway. The critical transmural pressure (Ptm) is defined as the transmural pressure of the airway at the site where and when flow is limited during a forced expiration. According to the presented theory, the maximal expiratory flow (Vmax) can be calculated from the relation between Ptm and the corresponding cross-sectional area of the airway (A). By means of a pitot-static tube, Ptm-A curves were constructed for several locations in the elastic airway of a mechanical model. From these curves local Vmax was calculated at different values of Ptm and compared with actual flow, i.e. measured Vmax for the entire airway. In the downstream part of the airway, the actual flow equalled calculated Vmax at most Ptm values. The site of flow limitation, being the most upstream point where actual flow equals calculated local Vmax could therefore be located. Theory and experiments showed positive as well as negative Ptm not influenced by change in upstream or downstream resistance. Flow limitation could therefore be initiated at distending as well as compressing pressures across the wall of the airway. V was regarded as a function of Ptm and the elastic recoil pressure of the lung (Pel). Measured and calculated iso-Pel, Ptm-V curves agreed well with one major exception: when Ptm less than Ptm measured curves were distorted due to a concomitant downstrean compression of the collapsible airway.


Local reflex in microcirculation in human subcutaneous tissue. The effect of changes in transmural pressure in the vessles of the extremities on blood flow in subcutaneous adipose tissue were investigated in three healthy subjects. Changes in transmural pressure were obtained either by postural changes of a limb, by locally induced subatmospheric pressure, or be venous stasis. Blood flow in subcutaneous tissue was measured 10 cm distal to the fibular head and at the lateral malleolus in the leg, or in the distal part of the forearm by the local 133Xenon washout technique. When transmural pressure increased 25 mmHg or more, blood flow decreased about 50 per cent due to an increase in vascular resconstrictor response to increase in transmural pressure could be blocked by infiltrating the area under study with phentolamine or lidocaine or by induced counterpressure. In these cases blood flow remained constant. The findings indicate that the vasoconstrictor response to increase in transmural pressure of 25 mmHg or more is due to a local nervous mechanism involving adrenergic nerves. The receptors are presumably stretch receptors placed in the small veins. The effector site is probably the arterioles. When the vasoconstrictor response is blocked, autoregulation of blood flow in subcutaneous tissue, i.e. maintenance of constant blood flow during changes in perfusion pressure head or during changes in transmural pressure, is revealed. The vasoconstrictor response to increase in transmural pressure will counteract an increase in transmural pressure in the exchange vessles and thereby act as an edema protecting factor.