Low back pain with femoral neuritis.

Low back pain with femoral neuritis. In 465 patients treated surgically for low back and lower extremity disability, almost 10 per cent had femoral rather than sciatic distribution of pain. The average age of patients who had a primarily femoral distribution of pain is higher by a decade than those who had a predominantly sciatic distribution of pain; the higher level of the lesion and greater incidence of apophyseal joint arthritis may be associated with the aging process. The femoral distribution of pain may lead to difficulties in differential diagnosis between a spinal origin and a hip or knee origin of the problem. Radiculopathy causing femoral pain may be the result of both disk degeneration with protrusion and apophyseal arthritis with synovitis. Neuritis of the L4 nerve root is more commonly the result of a lesion at the L4-5 nerve root foramen than centrally at the L3-4 disk level. The syndrome of low back pain with femoral neuritis is not uncommon 5 or more years after an otherwise successful L4-S1, two level spine fusion. This syndrome can result from an L3-4 disk protrusion with nerve root neuritis but may be a reflex disturbance from the posterior arch structures as evidenced by fusion mass, apophyseal joint or spinous process overgrowth and associated soft tissue inflammation.


The effects of snake venoms and their neurotoxins on the nervous system of man and animals. Myasthenia gravis is a subject of tremendous interest ot neurologists. Snake poisoning, however, which gives rise to a clinical picture resembling a myasthenic crisis, has evoked little interest among neurologists. This state of affairs exists partly because most snake bites occur in areas where physicians, let alone neurologists, are not commonly found. Hence, few neurologists have seen a case of snake bite with nervous system involvement. This is unfortunate, because many of the published cases of snake bite are the poorer for the lack of detailed examination and observations that a neurologist might have provided. Not only is the clinical picture of snake envenomation a fascinating one where the neurologist, haematologist, cardiologist, and renal physician can find a common clinical interest, but an understanding of the way in which snake venoms act on the nervous system is of importance to the neurologist since the neurotoxic snake venoms act principally at the neuromuscular junction. They produce a flaccid paralysis of the voluntary muscles and cause death from respiratory obstruction and/or respiratory insufficiency. Like the purified defibrinating fraction("Arvin") of the venom of the Malayan pit viper (Agkistrodon rehodostoma), which is currently being used and evaluated as an anticoagulant, the thereapeutic possibilities of a purified neurotoxin that could produce a flaccid paralysis lasting two days or more were anticipated well before 1891 by Lauterer, who, as a result of his experiments, "injected viper poison...under the skin of a boy suffering from tentanus treaumaticus (lockjaw) and slackened the muscles of the whole body by it." This chapter will initially describe the clinical picture of nervous system involvement in snake bite, with particular emphasis on Australian snake bite. The description will be based on observations made at the Port Moresby General Hospital over a period of seven years on 56 patients with paralysis following snake bite, and on some published cases of Australian snake bite. The discussion will then cover some of the recent published work on the action of snake venoms on the nervous system, dealing mainly with elapid venoms. There are several recent reviews describing the toxic properties and actions of all types of snake venoms.


New patterns of delivering service in British Columbia. A new approach to social services, including services to children, is being taken by the government of the New Democratic Party that assumed office in British Columbia in 1972.


Enzyme activities in red and white muscles of guinea-pigs and rabbits indigenous to high altitude. The activities of several enzymes functioning in different areas of fuel catabolism were measured under standardized conditions, using crude homogenates of sartorius and ventricular muscle from outbred guinea-pigs and rabbits indigenous to high or low altitude. The activities of sartorius and myocardium were found to reflect the metabolic patterns known to be associated with white and red muscle. Both species had right ventricular hypertrophy at high altitude. The enzyme activities in the high altitude guinea-pig were not significantly different from those in the sea level animals. In the high altitude rabbit, compared with the low altitude rabbit, the activities of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate deydrogenase and phosphofructokinase were greater in both the sartorius and myocardium. In addition, mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was greater in the sartorius at high altitude, while aspartate aminotransferase and beta-hydroxyacylcoenzyme A dehydrogenase activities were greater in the myocardium at high altitude. Succinate dehydrogenase activity was comparable at the two altitudes for both tissues. There was a greater proportion of skeletal muscle type lactate dehydrogenase in the high altitude rabbit myocardium but no difference was found with the guinea-pig.


Symposium on back problems in the horse. (2) The diagnosis of diseases of the horse's back. A description of some of the clinical features of low back pain in the horse has been given and a number of methods for assisting diagnosis considered. As well as a complete clinical examination both at rest and during exercise, a useful diagnostic aid in some chronic cases was the injection of local anaesthetic into the interspinous spaces. A laboratory examination, including haematological and biochemical profiles, was undertaken in all cases. The serum enzymes GOT and CPK were particularly valuable as an aid to diagnosis in atypical tying-up. A technique for radiography of the vertebral column of the mid back in the standing position and of the pelvic and sacroiliac regions of the anaesthetised horse was described using a Siemens Triplex Optimatic 1023 machine. Some of the radiological features of the vertebral column were considered and a breakdown of the diagnosis of 110 referred back cases. The most important conditions included muscle strain, crowding and overriding of the dorsal spinous processes in the mid back, spondylosis, undue curvature of the spine and vertebral fractures.


Creutzfeldt-jacob disease: a comparative light-microscopic, histochemical and electron-microscopic study. The morphological and histochemical findings in a brain biopsy of a case of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease are compared. The histochemical changes in the cytoplasm of the neurons precede the morphological alterations found with the electron microscope. In this way the neuronal enzymatic failure can explain the clinical picture of this disease.


On the mechanism of the glycogenolytic effect of dinitrophenol. Activity of phosphofructokinase in perfused hearts. To explain the mechanism of DNP action the contents of ATP, ADP, AMP and G-6-P were determined in perfused rat hearts in a period of time in which the rate of the glycogenolysis was increased. The levels of these metabolytes in the extract were consistent with an increase of the phosphofructokinase activity. On the other hand, the finding of higher activity of phosphyrylase beta kinase in DNP-poisoned animals could be explained as due to the low content of G-6-P in the perfused hearts subjected to the action of the drug.


Alteration of erythrocyte (see article) -ATPase by replacement of cholesterol by desmosterol in the membrane. Cholesterol of red blood cells (RBC) is readily exchanged by desmosterol and vice versa. The resulting alteration in the sterol composition influences the specific (Na+ plus K+)-ATPase activity. It is suggested that this effect is due to an altered membrane fluidity.


A comparison between the free grafting of sliced and intact muscles in the rat-1. Transverse slicing is a new technique whereby a mammalian muscle can be freely grafted with success. This method eliminates contamination of the early graft by surviving muscle fibres and allows one to measure the development of contractile properties on a uniform population of regenerating muscle fibres.?IOAuthor


[The role of serotonin in one of the types of aggressive behavior--"predatory aggression"]. Electrolytic lesion of the midbrain raphe nuclei in rats, lowering serotonin level in the forebrain, elicited mouse-killing behavior. After the lesion, 50% of previously non-killers rats became mouse-killers. 5-Hydroxytryptophan (100 mg/kg) administration elevated serotonin level to normal values and completely blocked predatory aggression. p-Chlorophenylalanine produced obvious reduction in brain serotonin and slightly stimulated aggressive behavior. These results suggest that the brain serotonin participates as an inhibitory factor in mouse-killing behavior in rats.


Glucose, glucose-6-phosphate, lactate and pyruvate content of the retina, blood and liver of streptozotocin-diabetic rats fed sucrose- or starch-rich diets. The feeding of starch- or sucrose-rich diets to normal rats for 20 days resulted in a significant increase in lactate level and L/P ratio in the retina in the sucrose-fed animals. There was no correlation between the glucose and lactate content of the blood and retina and it was concluded that the increased lactate content of the retina was derived from the fructose moiety of the sucrose. Liver hypertrophy occurred in both normal and diabetic animals fed the sucrose diet. When streptozotocin-diabetic rats were maintained for 20 days on the same diets significant increases in the lactic acid content of the blood and liver occurred, but the high level of lactate in the retina of the sucrose-fed normal rats was not further elevated. The feeding of sucrose to diabetic rats resulted in better metabolic control of both blood glucose and lactate as compared with the maintenance of these animals on a starch diet.


[Super-selective cerebral angiography. I. Animal experiments and methods of a simple technique (author's transl)]. The experimental basis and the results of a simple and easy catheter technique for the super-selective angiographic demonstration of small arteries in dogs are described. By Seldinger technique, a catheter is placed in the main artery near the origin of a branch. A selective catheter is then passed through it and placed in the arterial branch being demonstrated. With this "telescopic" technique, it was possible to achieve super-selective angiography of external branches with a lumen less than 2 mm. and also filling of the internal carotid artery and its branches without any complications, using seven dogs. The application of this technique for super-selective cerebral angiography in man is discussed.


[Super-selective cerebral angiography. II. Use and first results in man (author's transl)]. The use and first results of a super-selective cerebral angiographic technique in five patients as previously described and using a simple telescopic catheter principle are reported. Two patients were examined in order to determine onset of death and three who had been in a coma for several weeks following severe cerebral trauma. In one patient the examination was unsuccessful because of difficulties with the puncture. In one patient in whom death was to be determined, no filling of the intracranial arteries against cerebrovascular resistance was possible, although the catheter tip was placed in the carotid syphon. In three patients, super-selective filling of the anterior cerebral arteries proved possible. Compared with routine carotid angiography, more detailed information could be obtained and there was no overlap between individual arteries. There were no untoward effects from this catheter procedure.


[Direct carotid-vertebral anastomosis supplying blood collaterally in subclavian occlusion (author's transl)]. The anastomosis between the vertebral artery and occipital artery in case of proximal subclavian artery occlusion is demonstrated. The reasons for development and angiographic visibility of this channel are discussed.


[Anastomoses between the vertebral and external occipital arteries in occlusion of the external carotid and vertebral arteries (author's transl)]. Five cases of anastomose formation between the external carotid and the vertebral arteries are reported. In 2 cases occlusion of the vertebral artery in the upper section of the cervical spine were present. In 2 further cases there were occlusions of the external carotid artery. In only a single case did angiographic examination show no pathological change. From these observations it is concluded that, when the formation of such collaterals is established, occlusions and important part-occlusions of the large cervical vessels should be sought.


[Carotid-cavernous fistula. Treatment with a balloon catheter (author's transl)]. A relatively simple method for the intra-vascular treatment of a carotid-cavernous fistula is described and illustrated in one case. It consists of proximal ligation of the internal carotid artery and occlusion of the carotid syphon with a balloon catheter above the fistula. In this way, the carotid segment with the fistula is isolated from the circulation and therefore undergoes thrombosis. Close co-operation between radiologist and surgeon is required.


[Reno-coeliac steal phenomenon: the inferior phrenic and supra-renal arteries as collaterals for the coeliac trunk (author's transl)]. If the known collateral pathways for a stenosed or occluded coeliac trunk are not avialable whether for anatomical of haemodynamic reasons, a collateral circulation can be established through the suprarenal and inferior phrenic arteries to provide a significant flow. This is particularly so if the inferior phrenic artery arises from the coeliac trunk distal to the point of occlusion. The development of a reno-coeliac steal phenomenon or steal syndrome may then be expected, particularly if the main donor artery is a suprarenal branch arising from the renal artery.


[Catheter embolisation of the splenic artery as treatment for acute bleeding from varices (author's transl)]. Embolisation of the splenic artery with fibrin foam, in order to stop acute bleeding from varices, was carried out in two patients. This was performed immediately after diagnostic arterial indirect demonstration of the portal vein; by this method it is possible to achieve at least a temporary cessation of bleeding from oesophageal or gastric varices. The procedure is indicated in desparate situations, if intubation has been unsuccessful or has had to be discontinued, when endoscopic sclerosis is contra-indicated or when an emergency shunt cannot be carried out because of poor liver function or the general condition of the patient. Permanent results cannot be expected and recurrence of bleeding cannot be avoided. The use of splenic embolisation depends on stopping the acute bleeding in order to obtain an interval during which liver function can be improved so that a decompressing shunt operation becomes possible subsequently.


[The scope and limitations of cavography in tumour diagnosis (author's transl)]. Fourteen cavograms showing abnormal findings were selected from a total of 500 examinations; in these the diagnosis had been confirmed surgically, histologically, at autopsy or by the clinical course. The aim of selecting this material was to determine retrospectively the accuracy to cavography in localising retroperitoneal masses, to determine their extent, whether it is possible to diagnose the type of tumour and whether the presence of thrombi can be regarded as a sign of invasion of the cava by malignant tumour. The abnormal cavograms were evaluated with respect to certain radiological signs and the diagnostic value of individual signs was calculated statistically. It was found that the only fairly reliable sign of tumour thrombus consists of an ill-defined impression with breaks in the continuity of the vascular margin. All other radiological signs examined were found to be non-specific.


[Pancreatic carcinoma on endoscopic retrograde pancreatico-cholangiogram (author's transl)]. The pancreaticographic appearances of carcinoma of the pancreas have been divided into two types: 1. Canalicular carcinoma arising from the duct system. If arising from the main pancreatic duct, it occludes this, or causes displacement or deformity of its branches in the immediate neighbourhood. If arising from branches, it causes cystic ectasia of the minor ducts; these appear fragmented and deformed while there is stenosis and displacement of the main duct. Simultaneous origin from the main and smaller ducts, as in the Gallert carcinoma, causes extreme lacunar ectasia of the minor ducts and occlusion of the main duct. 2. Carcinoma arising from the acinar epithelium. This causes primarily displacement and the secondarily stenosis of the main duct. Accuracy of ERCP is satisfactory. It is limited by technical failure or difficulties due to the pathology preventing demonstration of the pancreatic duct. It is increased by cytological examination of aspirated pancreatic secretion. Difficulties in the differential diagnosis from chronic pancreatitis can be overcome. The possibility of an early diagnosis of the carcinoma presented by this method loses some of its impact because the patients are seen at a late stage and because of the lack of early symptoms of this disease.


["Masked" supra-renal tumour (author's transl)]. For the diagnosis of supra-renal tumours or tumours of supra-renal rests, it is necessary to employ all available radiological methods as well as the clinical data. Two cases are described in which a supra-renal tumour had been "masked" and found at operation. In the first case a cyst in the tail of the pancreas had been considered, in the second, a tumour of the renal hilum or ureter had been diagnosed. It is concluded that in the differential diagnosis of a cyst of the tail of the pancreas, supra-renal tumours must be included. Further, vascular lesions in the vicinity of the kidney associated with normal renal vasculature may be due to tumours of supra-renal origin.


[Measurement of renal circulation using isotope dilution technique after selective arterial injection of 99m-Tc-pertechnetate (author's transl)]. Report on a method of measuring the middle transit-time (t) which represents a measure for renal circulation. Time-activity curves obtained after arterial injection of 99m-Tc and registration with the Anger camera, could be subdivided into 4 individual curves using a program of calculation (initial drop, 2 waves of recirculation, underlying activity); t characterizes the exponential, perfusion-specific initial drop as reciprocal to the constant k 1. The suitability of 99m-Tc for measuring renal circulation is discussed. The various methods for calculation of the middle transit-time are compared.


[Genitography in children (author's transl)]. Genitography consists of the radiological contrast demonstration of the cavities of the genital track and their possible connection with neighbouring organs. Intersexuality (35 cases) is the main indication in childhood. It must be established whether the patient has a vagina and a persisting urogenital sinus and how these are connected. The earliest possible clarification of the genital anatomy is important. Further indications for genitography are other congenital or acquired anomalies of the urogenital track.


[The radiological diagnosis of uterine myomas (author's transl)]. From the above it will be seen that radiological examination in general is valuable in the diagnosis of uterine myomas; if the disease is advanced, then radiological diagnosis provides no difficulties. The preoperative radiological diagnosis of uterine myomas is particularly indicated in the following situations: 1. Suspicion of a submucous myoma, particularly if there may have been bleeding. 2. If accurate elucidation of the anatomy in the myomatous uterus is desirable pre-operatively, as for instance in cases of sterility when a conservative operation, such as enucliation may be planned. 3. For the differentiation between ovarian and uterine tumours when a tumour has been found in the pelvis.


[The radiological appearances of African paragonimiasis (author's transl)]. A research programme on African paragonimiasis was carried out in eastern Nigeria, which included the epidemiology, parasitology and clinical and radiological studies. The radiological pulmonary changes are described in detail and differentiated from tuberculosis.


[A pair of spectacles to improve the information from the x-ray photograph and from the radioscopy on the television screen (author's transl)]. Here a pair of spectacles is introduced which, in screening the lateral incidence of light and in variably cross fading the risual point eliminates the contrast-diminishing intraocular proceeding stray light. It helps to achieve an improvement of the contrast by considering the x-ray photograph or television image. The result is that details are easier perceptible.


[Qualitative evaluation of x-ray intensifying screens (author's transl)]. The author is establishing a relationship between film density duo to the light of intensifying screens and lack of focus. From this ensues a quality factor for x-ray intensifying screens.


HL-A frequencies in Down's syndrome.

HL-A frequencies in Down's syndrome. HL-A antigen frequencies were examined in 76 Down's syndrome individuals and 733 normal Caucasians. 10 antigens of the first locus and 15 antigens of the second locus were defined, using a microlymphocytotoxicity technique. No significant differences were observed between the normal and Down's syndrome samples, in contrast to a previous report (Boxer and Yokoyama, 1972) of decreased HL-A antigen frequencies in Down's syndrome individuals. Our results therefore suggest that there is no relationship between trisomy 21-associated immune aberrations and altered HL-A antigen frequencies.


The radiosensitivity of T and B lymphocytes in mice. The radiosensitivity of T and B lymphocytes in spleens of specific pathogen-free C3Hf/HeMs male mice was studied by the direct and indirect immunofluorescence technique. It was found that the radiobiological parameters characterizing the survival curve of Bpsi lymphocytes were DO = 200 R and n = 1-00. The T lymphocytes, on the other hand, were shown to consist of two distinct subpopulations with respect to their radiosensitivity. The radiobiological parameters of the radiosensitive fraction of T lymphocytes were Dq = 185 R, DO =195 R and n = 2-50. The DO value of the radioresistant T lymphocyte subpopulation was practically unmeasurable. It was estimated that approximately 8 per cent of the T lymphocytes present in the spleen of normal C3Hf mice belonged to this radioresistant subpopulation.


The role of humoral immunity and acute inflammation in protection against staphyloccocal dermonecrosis. Mice were protected against the dermonecrotic effects of Staphylococcus aureus by previous infection with either coagulase-positive or coagulase-negative strains or by immunization with alpha-toxin. Passive protection was conferred by serum from previously infected mice or by alpha-antitoxin. While only some of these methods were associated with circulating alpha-antitoxin, in all cases there was a brisk early inflammatory response to infection. Furthermore, if the capacity of well immunized mice to mount such a response was removed, they were no longer protected against dermonecrosis. Conversely, non-immune mice developed little or no necrosis if the staphylococci were injected into areas of preexisting non-specific acute inflammation whether these had been produced chemically or immunologically. It is suggested that in this model of local infection with S. aureus an early inflammatory response, however provoked, is the major protective factor. Though specific neutralizing actions of antibodies are not excluded, the most important result of antibody-antigen reaction is to cause local inflammation by some form of immediate hyersensitivity.


Retinal capillary basement membrane thickness in spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) with induced and spontaneous diabetes. Basement membrane thickness was measured in two groups of spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus): one with spontaneous diabetes, the other with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. A statistical analysis of the morphometric results of the two groups showed a significant basement membrane thickening in the group with induced diabetes when compared to the spontaneously diabetic group.


Cardiac hypertrophy and left ventricular end-diastolic stress. Equatorial and longitudinal left ventricular wall stress were calculated at end-diastole in a group of 66 patients in sinus rhythm. Thirty-one patients had volume overload of the left ventricle: six with acute and 21 with chronic aortic incompetence, and four with chronic mitral incompetence. Another six patients had aortic stenosis and 25 had congestive cardiomyopathy. Four patients served as controls. Stress was calculated using a thick-walled ellipsoid model. In patients with volume overload and congestive cardiomyopathy, ventricular dilatation was accompanied by an appropriate increase in wall thickness so that the "stress conversion factor" (the factor relating pressure to stress) was normal and absolute stress depended on end-diastolic pressure. In pressure overload of the left ventricle (aortic stenosis), the increase in wall mass reduced the stress conversion factor so that aboslute fiber stress was normal. These data support the hypothesis that muscle fiber stress may be an important determinant of left ventricular hypertrophy.


On the specificity of the histochemical technique for sarcoplasmic reticular adenosine triphosphatase: a light and electron microscopic study. The specificity of the histochemical localization of the calcium activated adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) at pH 7.4 was studied using a calcium-citro-phosphate technique. The latter involves the splitting of ATP by ATPase producing phosphate ions which then react with calcium and citrate to form an insoluble reaction product. This reaction product was detected by both light and electron microscopy. Light microscopic examination showed a darkly stained continuous reticular pattern of reaction product which surrounded individual myofibrils. This reticular pattern of reaction product was distinctly dissimilar to that found when the histochemical reactions for mitochondrial or myofibrillar ATPase were performed. Ultrastructural investigations demonstrated the presence of discrete foci of electron dense reaction product in close association with the membranes of the SR in striated muscle fibres. Only occasional flecks were seen in the vicinity of mitochondria or myofilaments. The possibility is considered that the reticular pattern of staining achieved by the calcium-citro-phosphate technique may reflect the distribution of the "extra ATPase" of the SR, an enzyme implicated in the process of calcium uptake and muscle relaxation.


Immunofluorescent localization of glycogenolytic and glycolytic enzyme proteins and of malate dehydrogenase isozymes in cross-striated skeletal muscle and heart of the rabbit. Specific antisera against glycogen phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase, enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, cytosolic and mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase from rabbit muscle were obtained from sheep. The gamma-globulins were used for indirect immunofluorescent localization of the respective enzymes in rabbit skeletal muscle and heart. In stretched skeletal muscle a cross-striation like distribution was observed for all enzymes studied. In the case of mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase this pattern is due to the staining of I-band mitochondria. In cross-sections, an intense staining of the sarcolemma and of subsarcolemmal mitochondria was observed. Comparative analyses with polarized light revealed that the cytosolic enzymes under study are distributed in the relaxed muscle fibre predominantly within the isotropic zones. The same distribution holds also for heart. In contracting muscle a decrease in cross-striated fluorescence and a faint staining of the interfibrillar spaces suggests a location also within the interfibrillar space.


Morphochemical analysis of mucosubstances in some epithelial tissues of the eel (Anguilla japonica). In attempts to gain insight into the nature of mucosubstances in the eel epithelial tissues, the epidermis and epithelia lining the gill and intestine of the fish have been reacted for a series of light microscopic stainings of mucosaccharide and protein histochemistry under normal and experimental conditions. The present morphochemical analyses indicate that (1) the mucosubstances of the epidermis are found within two well differentiated cell types, goblet and clavate cells which elaborate a neuraminic acid containing mucosaccharide with vicinal hydroxyl, sulfate and carboxyl groupings and a glycoprotein respectively and (2) the mucosubstances of the gill and intestinal epithelia are found within goblet cells which elaborate a mucosaccharide with histochemical properties comparable to those of mucosaccharide within the epidermal goblet cells. The histochemical characteristics of all these mucosubstances have been briefly discussed in relation to the activities of the epithelial tissues in the eel.


Histochemical mapping of ATPase and simple esterase in the cerebral hemisphere of the Indian lizard, Uromastix hardwickii. Adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and simple esterase (SE) have been mapped at various levels of the cerebral hemispheres of the lizard, Uromastix. Some areas were intensely positive for one or both enzymes while others were totally negative for both. Variation in enzymatic activity has been observed at different levels in the same nucleus. The functional significance of the findings is discussed.


Sensory innervation of baboon muscle spindles. The number and distribution of primary and secondary sensory endings has been studied in 52 de-efferentated baboon muscle spindles and the axon diameters of the afferent fibres innervating these endings have been measured. Each spindle contained a single primary sensory ending; most of these endings were supplied by a single afferent nerve fibre. Each primary sensory ending consisted of a multi-branched network distributed on both nuclear bag and nuclear chain fibres. Beaded sensory terminals were prominent in the central part of the ending. Eighty one secondary endings were found in 45 spindles (87% of the number of spindles remained). Of these endings, 70% were found in the S1 position, 25% in the S2 position and 4% in the S3 location. The afferent axons supplying the most equatorial of these endings were of thicker mean diameter than those supplying the most polar endings. In addition, the juxta-equatorial secondary endings were similar in form, although less regularly organized than the primary endings. The more polar secondary endings rarely fromed terminal sensory enlargements and usually took the form of a fine spray of unmyelinated branches. A non-parametric statistical comparison of physiological and anatomical data in baboon spindles has suggested that the demarcation criteria for separation of primary and secondary spindle afferents, using conduction velocity, should be modified. It is suggested that afferent fibres of conduction velocity less than 60 m/sec should be classified as secondary afferents, and fibres of conduction velocity greater than 72 m/sec should be classified as primary afferents.


The effects of different reinforcement conditions on the test performance of multihandicapped deaf children. The present study explored the effects of different reinforcement conditions on the number of correct responses on the Rvaen Progressive Matrices. Four groups of 11- to 18-year-old multihandicapped deaf children matched on the basis of mean age and pretest scores were used. The groups were randomly assigned to any of four posttest conditions: end-of-session reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, delayed reinforcement, and immediate reinforcement. The mean posttest score of subjects tested under the immediate-reinforcement condition was significantly higher than that of any other group. No significant differences were observed between the mean posttest scores of the three other groups. The practical implications of using reinforcement procedures for testing purposes are discussed.


Genetics of resistance to colicins in Escherichia coli K-12: cross-resistance among colicins of group B. This paper describes the isolation of mutants resistant to colicins of group B (i.e., colicins B, D, G, H, Ia, Ib, M, Q, S1, and V). The 145 mutants studied in detail can be divided into nine phentopyic classes, based on their colicin-resistance patterns. They include the previously isolated tonA, tonB exbB and cir mutants. Each of the different phenotypic classes of mutants has been partially characterized, and some approximately mapped. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has revealed substantial changes in the composition of the outer membrane proteins of exbB and tonB mutants.


Identical behavior of the two active sites of myosin with respect to trinitrophenylation. Myosin and its active subfragments were trinitrophenylated under conditions in which mainly the active site(s) was modified. Proteins modified at the active site(s) could be separated by affinity chromatography on agarose-ATP columns. By two independent methods, ATPase activity measurements and analysis of elution patterns on agarose-ATP columns, it was shown that the introduction of two trinitrophenyl groups per myosin or one per heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 molecule is responsible for the remarkable change in the ATPase activities. Heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 prepared from trinitrophenylated myosin retained the original degree of trinitrophenylation per "active head." The kinetic constant of trinitrophenylation of the epsilon-amino group of lysine at the active site was found to be 2000 S-1-M-1, whereas a much smaller constant of 2.2 S-1-M-1 was obtained for the trinitrophenylation of the unessential lysyl residues of myosin. By using affinity chromatography, we could follow the formation of mono- and ditrinitrophenyl myosin. The amounts of these myosin derivatives at various extents of the reaction corresponded approximately to the calculated amounts, assuming a random and independent trinitrophenylation of the two myosin "heads." It is concluded that in each of the two heads of myosin there is one ATPase active site and these two sites behave in an identical manner with respect to trinitrophenylation.


Stimulation of rat liver mitochondrial adenosine triphosphatase by anions. The hydrolysis of MgATP by isolated rat liver mitochondrial ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) at pH 8.0 was stimulated by various anions. The rate of hydrolysis was increased from 18 to 170 mumol per min per mg, a 9.4-fold stimulation, by HSeO3 at 1 mM MgATP. In the absence of a stimulatory anion, reciprocal plots of initial velocity studies with MgATP as the variable substrate were curved (Hill coefficient approximately 0.5). With the addition of anion, the reciprocal plots became linear. When the substrate was MgITP or MgGTP with the isolated enzyme or MgATP with submitochondrial particles, no curvature of the reciprocal plots was observed. With purified ATPase, anions stimulated the hydrolysis of MgITP, MgGTP, MgUTP or MgCTP only slightly. With submitochondrial particles the stimulation by anions of MgATP hydrolysis was limited to approximately 2-fold. These data are interpreted to indicate the existence of two substrate sites for MgATP and an anion-binding site on the isolated enzyme.


Levels and rates of synthesis of ribosomal ribonucleic acid, transfer ribonucleic acid, and protein in Neurospora crassa in different steady states of growth. The levels of ribosomes, tRNA molecules, and total protein per genome in Neurospora mycelia have been determined in eight different conditions of exponential growth. By increasing the rate of growth the number of ribosomes per genome increases dramatically while the level of total protein remains almost unchanged and the level of tRNA increases only slightly. The rates of synthesis of each of the macromolecules have been estimated. Increasing the rate of growth (mu) up to 0.5, the ratio between the rates of synthesis of tRNA and rRNA decreases reaching a constant value. The equations that best describe the dependence of the rate of synthesis of the macromolecules on the rate of growth (mu) have been determined. The rate of rRNA synthesis (rr), expressed as nucleotides polymerized, min- minus 1 per genome, is given by the equation: rr equals 6.51 times 10-7 mu-2-19. The rate of protein synthesis (rp), expressed as amino acids polymerized, min- minus 1 per genome is given by the following relationship: rp equals -1.43 times 10-7 + 3.43 times 10-8 mu. The equation describing the tRNA synthesis (rt) expressed as nucleotides, min- minus 1 per genome is rt equals 6.45 times 10-5 times exp 2.30 mu; however, more accurate determinations appear to be required for a firmer assignment of this latter equation. The significance of these equations for the studies on the regulation of rRNA and protein synthesis is discussed. For instance the rate of rRNA synthesis may set the limit for the maximal growth rate attainable by a cell, as the maximal rate of rRNA synthesis that may take place in a given cell is limited by the degree of redundancy of the rRNA genes.


The calcium and magnesium binding sites on troponin and their role in the regulation of myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase. Purified troponin (Tn), the complex of the Ca-2+ binding subunit (TnC), the inhibitory subunit (TnI), and the tropomyosin binding subunit (TnT) binds 4 mol of Ca-2+ per mol. Two sites bind Ca-2+ with a binding constant of 5 times 10-8 M- minus 1, and two with a binding constant of 5 times 10-6 M- minus 1. In the presence of 2 mM MgCl2 the binding to four sites can be characterized with a single affinity constant of 5 times 10-6 M- minus 1. Purified TnC also binds 4 mol of Ca-2+ per mol; two sites have a binding constant of 2 times 10-7 M- minus 1 and two have one of 2 times 10-5 M- minus 1. In the presence of 2 mM MgCl2 the binding constant of the sites of higher affinity is reduced to 2 times 10-6 M- minus 1, while Ca-2+ binding to the sites of lower affinity is unaffected. Assuming competition between Mg-2+ and Ca-2+ for the high affinity sites on TnC and Tn, the changes in Ca-2+ binding can be accounted for with KMg values of 5 times 10-3 M- minus 1 and 5 times 10-4 M- minus 1, respectively. Tn and TnC bind 4 mol of Mg-2+ per mol in the absence of Cs-2+. The fact that at [Ca-2+] similar to 10- minus 5 M four Ca-2+ and only two Mg-2+ are bound per mol of TnC in the presence of 2 mM Mg-2+ further supports the view that there is direct competition between Mg-2+ and Ca-2+ for the high affinity Ca-2+ binding sites on TnC and Tn. These results then suggest that Tn and TnC contain six divalent cation binding sites: two high affinity Ca-2+ binding sites that also bind Mg-2+ competitively (Ca-2+-Mg-2+ sites); two sites with lower affinity for Ca-2+ that do not bind Mg-2+ (Ca-2+-specific sites); and two sites that bind Mg-2+ but not Ca-2+ (Mg-2+-specific sites). The complex of TnC and TnI (1:1 molar ratio) has the same binding properties as Tn, suggesting a conformational change in TnC upon interaction with TnI. Studies on myofibrillar ATPase activity as a function of free Ca-2+ concentration at two different free Mg-2+ concentrations suggest that full activation by Ca-2+ occurs only upon binding of Ca-2+ to the two Ca-2+-specific binding sites in Tn but does not require binding of Ca-2+ to the Ca-2+-Mg-2+ sites.


Studies on the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in liver slices. A method was developed to study the unsupplemented phenylalanine hydroxylase system in rat liver slices. All of the components of the system--tetrahydrobiopterin, dihydropteridine reductase, and the hydroxylase itself--are present under conditions which should be representative of the actual physiological state of the animal. The properties of the system in liver slices have been compared to those of the purified enzyme in vitro. The three pterins, tetrahydrobiopterin, 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin, and 6-methyltetrahydropterin, all stimulate the hydroxylation of phenylalanine when added to the liver slice medium in the presence of a chemical reducing agent. The relative velocities found at 1 mM phenylalanine and saturating pterin concentrations are: tetrahydrobiopterin, 1; 6,7-dimethyltetrahydropterin, 2.5; 6-methyltetrahydropterin, 13. This ratio of activities is similar to that found for the purified, native phenylalanine hydroxylase and indicates that the enzyme in vivo is predominantly in the native form. Rats pretreated with 6-methyltetrahydropterin showed enhanced phenylalanine hydroxylase activity in liver slices demonstrating for the first time that an exogenous tetrahydropterin can interact with the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in vivo. This finding opens up the possibility of treating phenylketonurics who still possess some residual phenylalanine hydroxylase activity with a tetrahydropterin like 6-methyltetrahydropterin which can give a large increase in rate over that seen with the natural cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin.


Studies on the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in vivo. An in vivo assay based on the liberation of deuterium or tritium into the body water from ring-labeled L-phenylalanine. The rate of release of deuterons into the body water from 2,3,4,5,6-pentadeutero-L-phenylalanine has been shown to be a valid measure of the activity of the phenylalanine hydroxylase system in vivo. At a dose of 0.5 g/kg, the rate of release of deuterons is linear for 60 to 90 min. Male rats, which had previously been shown to have 22 to 25% more phenylalanine hydroxylase activity in liver extracts than female rats, produced deuterons from deuterated phenylalanine at a rate 20 to 30% greater than female rats. p-Chlorophenylalanine, which irreversibly inhibits phenylalanine hydroxylase in vivo, caused a similar degree of inhibition of the rate of deuteron formation as was found when phenylalanine hydroxylase was measured in extracts from the same group of animals. Methotrexate, which inhibits the phenylalanine hydroxylase system by preventing regeneration of the tetrahydropteridine cofactor, caused parallel inhibition of the in vivo assay as well as when the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine was measured in liver slices. Randomly ring-tritiated phenylalanine can be used interchangeably with ring-deuterated phenylalanine if greater sensitivity is needed in the in vivo assay for phenylalanine hydroxylase. However, a dose of 20 to 30 muCi/kg is required. The in vivo deuterium release assay described in this paper should be useful in studying the physiological control of the phenylalanine hydroxylating system. It also may be of value in differentiating between individuals who are heterozygotes for phenylketonuria and those who are homozygotes for hyperphenylalaninemia.


Isolation and properties of actin, myosin, and a new actinbinding protein in rabbit alveolar macrophages. Actin, myosin, and a high molecular weight actin-binding protein were extracted from rabbit alveolar macrophages with low ionic strength sucrose solutions containing ATP, EDTA, and dithiothreitol, pH 7.0. Addition of KCl, 75 to 100 mM, to sucrose extracts of macrophages stirred at 25 degrees caused actin to polymerize and bind to a protein of high molecualr weight. The complex precipitated and sedimented at low centrifugal forces. Macrophage actin was dissociated from the binding protein with 0.6 M KCl, and purified by repetitive depolymerization and polymerization. Purified macrophage actin migrated as a polypeptide of molecular weight 45,000 on polyacrylamide gels with dodecyl sulfate, formed extended filaments in 0.1 M KCl, bound rabbit skeletal muscle myosin in the absence of Mg-2+ATP and activated its Mg-2+ATPase activity. Macrophage myosin was bound to actin remaining in the macrophage extracts after removal of the actin precipitated with the high molecular weight protein by KCl. The myosin-actin complex and other proteins were collected by ultracentrifugation. Macrophage myosin was purified from this complex or from a 20 to 50% saturated ammonium sulfate fraction of macrophage extracts by gel filtration on agarose columns in 0.6 M Kl and 0.6 M Kl solutions. Purified macrophage myosin had high specific K-+- and EDTA- and K-+- and Ca-2+ATPase activities and low specific Mg-2+ATPase activity. It had subunits of 200,000, 20,000, and 15,000 molecular weight, and formed bipolar filaments in 0.1 M KCl, both in the presence and absence of divalent cations. The high molecular weight protein that precipitated with actin in the sucrose extracts of macrophages was purified by gel filtration in 0.6 M Kl-0.6 M KCl solutions. It was designated a macrophage actin-binding protein, because of its association with actin at physiological pH and ionic strength. On polyacrylamide gels in dodecyl sulfate, the purified high molecular weight protein contained one band which co-migrated with the lighter polypeptide (molecular weight 220,000) of the doublet comprising purified rabbit erythrocyte spectrin. The macrophage protein, like rabbit erythrocyte spectrin, was soluble in 2 mM EDTA and 80% ethanol as well as in 0.6 M KCl solutions, and precipitated in 2 mM CaCl2 or 0.075 to 0.1 M KCl solutions. The macrophage actin-binding protein and rabbit erythrocyte spectrin eluted from agarose columns with a KAV of 0.24 and in the excluded volumes. The protein did not form filaments in 0.1 M KCl and had no detectable ATPase activity under the conditions tested.


Interactions between actin, myosin, and an actin-binding protein from rabbit alveolar macrophages.  Alveolar macrophage myosin Mg-2+-adenosine triphosphatase requires a cofactor for activation by actin. The interactions were analyzed between actin, myosin, and a recently discovered high molecular weight actin-binding protein (Hartwig, J. H., and Stossel, T. P. (1975) J. Biol Chem.250,5696-5705) of rabbit alveolar macrophages. Purified rabbit alveolar macrophage or rabbit skeletal muscle F-actins did not activate the Mg2+ATPase activity of purified rabbit alveolar macrophage myosin unless an additional cofactor, partially purified from macrophage extracts, was added. The Mg2+ATPase activity of cofactor-activated macrophage actomyosin was as high as 0.6 mumol of Pi/mg of myosin protein/min at 37 degrees. The macrophage cofactor increased the Mg2+ATPase activity of rabbit skeletal muscle actomyosin, and calcium regulated the Mg2+ATPase activity of cofactor-activited muscle actomyosin in the presence of muscle troponins and tropomyosin. However, the Mg2+ATPase activity of macrophage actomyosin in the presence of the cofactor was inhibited by muscle control proteins, both in the presence and absence of calcium. The Mg2+ATPase activity of the macrophage actomyosin plus cofactor, whether assembled from purified components or studied in a complex collected from crude macrophage extracts, was not influenced by the presence of absence of calcium ions. Therefore, as described for Acanthamoeba castellanii myosin (Pollard, T. D., and Korn, E. D. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 4691-4697), rabbit alveolar macrophage myosin requires a cofactor for activation of its Mg2+ATPase activity by F-actin; and no evidence was found for participation of calcium ions in the regulation of this activity. In macrophage extracts containing 0.34 M sucrose, 0.5 mM ATP, and 0.05 M KCl at pH 7.0,the actin-binding protein bound F-actin into bundles with interconnecting bridges. Purified macrophage actin-binding protein in 0.1 M KCl at pH 7.0 also bound purified macrophage F-actin into filament bundles. Macrophage myosin bound to F-actin in the absence but not the presence of Mg2+ATP, but the actin-binding protein did not bind to macrophage myosin in either the presence or absence of Mg2+ATP.


Preoperative psychological tests as predictors of success of chemonucleolysis in the treatment of the low-back syndrome. Pre-injection psychological test scores, surgeon ratings, and patient biographical data were evaluated as predictors of success of chymopapain injection therapy in 130 patients who would otherwise have been treated by laminectomy. Three psychological tests were administered to each patient: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Cornell Medical Index, and the Quick Test (a measure of mental ability). In addition, the surgeons rated their patients on a five-point scale immediately after injection relative to their suitability for injection therapy and at one year relative to the objective and symptomatic results. The MMPI hysteria and hypochondriasis scales and the surgeon's rating of the psychogenic component of the patient's pain were predictive of the result of chemonucleolysis. The patient's biographical data which consisted of age, sex, marital status, occupation, and education were not related to postoperative outcome.


Myosin ATPase activity in multifidus muscle from cases of lumbar spinal derangement. Biopsies of lumbar multifidus muscles were obtained at operation on seventeen patients aged from fifteen to fifty-eight with lumbar spinal derangement, and further material was taken from the cadavers of three subjects aged from nineteen to fifty-one. Sections were prepared to show the presence of ATPase activity, so distinguishing Fast from Slow types of muscle fibre. The normal mosiac pattern arising from the intermingling of fibres from Fast and Slow motor units was seen in sections from cadaveric material and from many of the biopsies. With age and limited lumbar flexibility, the Fast fibres became relatively smaller but with increasing variation in size, suggesting a reduced capacity for phasic activity. The presence of positive root signs was associated with a greater proportion of Slow fibres, and in some patients with the occurrence of atrophied Fast fibres, giving rise to differences in the populations of the two fibres in neighbouring fascicles. The results suggest that multifidus adopts an increasingly postural role with advancing age and with disabling lesions of the lumbar spine.


The influence of corticosteriods on the normal and papain-treated epiphysial growth plate in the rabbit. Children undergoing continuous corticosteroid therapy become stunted in height. The mechanism of this inhibition of natural growth has been investigated in the lower femoral epiphysial growth plate of young rabbits on daily corticosteroid. The growth plate became narrow: fewer cells in the germinative zone gave rise to short widely-spaced chondrocyte columns, each with a reduced number of mature and hypertrophic cells; the pattern of trabecular bone in the metaphysis was also disturbed. After even small doses these changes develop very rapidly, and therefore impose a threat to the growth of children receiving treatment with corticosteroids.


Control of normal differentiation of myeloid leukemic cells. VI. Inhibition of cell multiplication and the formation of macrophages. D+ but not D- myeloid leukemic cells can be induced by the appropriate conditioned medium or by serum from endotoxin treated mice, to undergo cell migration in agar, cell attachment to the surface of a Petri dish and differentiation to mature macrophages and granulocytes. Inhibition of cell multiplication by cytosine arabinoside, hydroxyurea, mitomycin C, thymidine, 5-bromodeoxyuridine, 5-iododeoxyuridine, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine or actinomycin D, but not by vinblastine or cycloheximide, induced cell migration, cell attachment to the Petri dish and the formation of macrophages in D+ cells. There was no induction of cell migration or formation of macrophages and a much lower induction of cell attachment in D- cells. The induction of these changes in D+ cells required protein synthesis and the inhibitors showed the same toxicity for D+ and D- cells. The results indicate, that the inhibitors induced specific surface membrane changes in D+ but not in D- cells.


DNA synthesis in growth and encystment of Acanthamoeba castellanii. Differentiation of Acanthamoeba castellanii into dormant cysts occurs spontaneously in stationary phase cultures, or can be induced experimentally by starvation. Although no further increase in cell density occurred after induction in either case, incorporation of [H]thymidine into DNA continued at a reduced rate through the period when differentiated products (cyst wall components) were formed. No net accumulation of DNA occurred during differentiation, indicating that the DNA synthesis occurring at this time was balanced by breakdown. When either 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR) or hydroxyurea was added to exponentially growing cultures, growth was terminated and the subsequent spontaneous encystment was delayed in comparison with untreated stationary phase cultures. A similar delay was observed for experimentally induced encystment of FUdR-pretreated cells. In all cases, delay of encystment was correlated with inhibition of 32PO4 incorporation into DNA, and unexpectedly also into RNA. Addition of FUdR at zero-time of experimental induction of cells not previously exposed to FUdR, on the other hand, had no effect on encystment or on 32PO4 incorporation. The delay of encystment produced by FUdR and hydroxyurea, therefore, appeared to reflect a requirement for normal synthesis of DNA and/or RNA not only during encystment, but also during the period of exponential growth just before encystment induction.


Changes in the organization of chromosomes during the cell cycle: response to ultraviolet light. Fusion between mitotic and interphase cells results in the premature condensation of the interphase chromosomes into a morphology related to the position in the cell cycle at the time of fusion. These prematurely condensed chromosomes (PCC) have been used in conjunction with u.v. irradiation to examine the interphase chromosome condensation cycle of HeLa cells. The following observations have been made: (I) There is a progressive decondensation of the chromosomes during G1 which is accentuated by u.v. irradiation: (2) The chromosomes become more resistant to u.v.-induced decondensation during G2 and mitosis. (3) There is a close correlation between the degree of chromosome decondensation and the amount of unscheduled DNA synthesis induced by u.v. irradiation during G1 and mitosis: (4) Hydroxyurea enhances the ability of u.v. irradiation to promote the decondensation of chromosomes during G1, G2 and mitosis. Hydroxyurea also potentiates the lethal action of u.v. irradiation during mitosis and G1. These data are discussed in relation to the suggestion that chromosomes undergo a progressive decondensation during G1 and condensation during G2.


Abnormal immune responses of Bloom's syndrome lymphocytes in vitro. Bloom's syndrome is a rare autosmal recessive disorder, first characterized by growth retardation and asum-sensitive facial telangiectasia and more recently demonstarted to have increased chromosome instability, a predisposition to malignancy, and increased susecptibitily to infection. The present report ocncern the immune function of Bloom's syndrom lymphoctes in vitro. Four affected homozgotes and five heterozygotes were studied. An abnormal serum concentartion of at least one class of immunoglobin was present in three out of four homozgotes. Affected homozgotes were shown capable of both a humoral and cellular response after antigenic challenge, the responses in general being weak but detectable. Blood lymphocytes from Bloom's syndrome individuals were cultured in impaired proliferavite response and synthesized less immunoglobulin at the end of 5 days than did normal controls. In contrast, they had a normal proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin except at highest concentrations of the mitogen. In  the mixed lymphocte culture, Bloom's syndrome lymphocytes proved to be poor responder cells but normal stimulator cells. Lmyphoctes from the heterozgotes produced normal responses in these three systems. Distrubed immunity appears to be on of several major consequences of homozygosity for the Bloom's syndrome gene. Although the explanation for this pleiotropism is at present obscure, the idea was advanced that the aberrant immune function is, along with the major clincial feature-small body size, amanifestation of defect in cellular proliferation.


Wall stress and patterns of hypertrophy in the human left ventricle. It is generally recognized that chronic left ventricular (LV) pressure overload results primarily in wall thickening and concentric hypertrophy, while chronic LV volume overload is characterized by chamber enlargement and an eccentric pattern of hypertrophy. To assess the potential role of the hemodynamic factors which might account for these different patterns of hypertrophy, we measured LV wall stresses throughout the cardiac cycle in 30 patients studied at the time of cardiac catheterization. The study group consisted of 6 subjects with LV pressure overload, 18 with LV volume overload, and 6 with no evidence of heart disease (control). LV pressure, meridional wall stress (sigman), wall thickness (h), and radius (R) were measured in each patient throughout the cardiac cycle. For patients with pressure overload, LV peak systolic and end diastolic pressures were significantly increased (220 plus or minus 6/23 plus or minus 3 mm Hg) compared to control (117 plus or minus 7/10 plus or minus 1 mm Hg, P less than 0.01 for each). However, peak systolic and end diastolic (sigman) were normal (161 plus or minus 24/23 plus or minus 3 times 10-3 dyn/cm-2) compared to control (151 plus or minus 14/17 plus or minus 2 times 10-3 dyn/cm-2, NS), reflecting the fact that the pressure overload was exactly counterbalanced by increased wall thickness (1.5 plus or minus 0.1 cm for pressure overload vs. 0.8 plus or minus 0.1 cm for control, P less than 0.01). For patients with volume overload, peak systolic (sigman) was not significantly different from control, but end diastolic (sigmam) was consistently higher than normal (41 plus or minus 3 times 10-3 dyn/cm-2 for volume overload, 17 plus or minus 2 times 10-3 dyn/cm-2 for control, P less than 0.01). LV pressure overload was associated with concentric hypertrophy, and an increased value for the ratio of wall thickness to radius (h/R ratio). In contrast, LV volume overload was associated with eccentric hypertrophy, and a normal h/R ratio. These data suggest the hypothesis that hypertrophy develops to normalize systolic but not diastolic wall stress. We propose that increased systolic tension development by myocardial fibers results in fiber thickening just  sufficient to return the systolic stress (force per unit cross-sectional area) to normal. In contrast, increased resting or diastolic tension appears to result in gradual fiber elongation or lengthening which improves efficiency of the ventricular chamber but cannot normalize the diastolic wall stress.


The effect of chronic digitoxin administration on the contractile state of normal and nonfailing hypertrophied myocardium. To determine the effect of prolonged digitoxin administration on contractile function of nonfailing myocardium, right ventricular papillary muscle mechanics were examined after 6 or 24 wk of glycoside administration to control and pulmonary artery banded cats. Resting length-tension relations were not affected by digitoxin; however, isometrically developed force and the maximal rate of force development at the peak of the length-tension curve were increased in all treated groups. In untreated animals, banding resulted in a 28% incidence of deaths from heart failure. 6 wk after constriction, contractile function was depressed whereas normal function was observed 24 wk after banding. Digitoxin significantly reduced mortality from heart failure and enhanced the recovery of contractile function; contractile function in the 6 wk banded treated group approached that of untreated control and 24-wk banded groups. The long-term effects of digitoxin on contractile function were not importantly related to the temporal association between banding and institution of glycoside administration. Development of myocardial hypertrophy was comparable in treated and untreated banded groups.These results demonstrate that a significant positive inotropic effect persists in both normal and nonfailing hypertrophied myocardium during chronic digitoxin administration.


Energized endocytosis in human erythrocyte ghosts. The mechanism of endocytosis in resealed human erythrocyte ghosts was studied. The energy for endocytosis or micropinocytosis appears to be derived from Mg-ATP, and membrane internalization is preceded by activation of a membrane-associated Ca,Mg-ATPase and by the active efflux of Ca. Endocytosis, Ca,Mg-ATPase activity, and active Ca efflux all require the presence of Mg. Furthermore, these three phenomena, endocytosis, Ca,Mg-ATPase activity, and active Ca extrusion, all have a concentration dependence on Ca such that low concentrations stimulate and higher concentrations inhibit the phenomena. The optimal concentration of Ca is identical for endocytosis, active Ca efflux, and Ca,Mg-ATPase. Morphologic studies indicated that while active Ca efflux and activation of the Ca,Mg-ATPase activity occurred promptly upon onset of incubation, there was a significant time delay before endocytosis occurred, which suggests that endocytosis additionally involved a more slowly functioning mechanicochemical mechanism. Ruthenium red, a specific inhibitor of Ca,Mg-ATPase and Ca transport, inhibited endocytosis in a concentration-related manner. Prostaglandins E1 and E2 had no measurable effect on ghost endocytosis, active Ca efflux, or Ca,Mg-ATPase activity.


Posteruptive tooth age in children with Down's syndrome and their sibs. The accumulated posteruptive tooth age was calculated for 212 children with Down's syndrome and 124 of their unaffected sibs. Posteruptive tooth age was shown to vary widely with different morphological permanent tooth types at the same chronological age. Girls in both groups had greater accumulated posteruptive tooth age than boys at each age. Sibs of both sexes generally exceeded the exposure experience of the children with Down's syndrome.


Myeloid regeneration after whole body irradiation, autologous bone marrow transplantation, and treatment with an anabolic steroid. Stumptail monkeys (Macaca speciosa) received lethal whole body radiation. Autologous bone marrow injection resulted in survival of the majority of the animals. Treatment with Deca-Durabolin, an anabolic steroid, caused more rapid recovery of colony-forming cell numbers in the bone marrow than in control animals. Both the Deca-Durabolin-treated and control groups were given autologous bone marrow transplantation. Anabolic steroid effect on transplanted bone marrow colonyforming cells may explain the increased rate of leukopoietic regeneration in anabolic steroid-treated animals as compared to controls.


Studies of enzymes involved in glycoprotein synthesis and degradation in diacetylbenzidine nephrosis. Diacetylbenzidine was used to induce a nephrotic syndrome in female rats. Enzymes involved in glycoprotein metabolism were evaluated during an early stage of induced renal disease before extensive histologic changes occurred. The results show that lysosomal acid hydrolases are not activated or released to any measurable degree during the early stages of the disease. Minimal differences in the composition of glomerular basement membrane of nephrotic rats were found despite heavy proteinuria. Glomerular specific activities of certain glycoprotein:glycosyl transferases were depressed in nephrotic animals. A new viewpoint to explain the pathology of glomerular proteinuria is presented based on the phenomenon of sublethal autolysis affecting cell surface structure and function, of which activity levels of glycoprotein:glycosyl transferases are an example. Increased activities of glycosyl transferases and Na-D ATPase were noted in the cortex from nephrotic animals. These studies involving cortex indicate that the pathologic process is not confined to the glomerulus and may contribute information concerning Na+ transport in the nephrotic rat.


Aromatizing activity of placental microsomal fractions from ewes in late gestation. Placental microsomes from eight domestic sheep at 136-146 days of gestation were incubated with radioactive androstenedione, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone. Aromatizing activity was examined in the presence and absence of cortisol and the rates of both oestrone and oestradiol synthesis were measured. Oestrone predominated in preference to oestradiol in most of the incubations, a result opposite to that found with human placentae. The sharp increase in the rate of oestradiol production found in the 144- to 146-day-old placentae incubated with testosterone may indicate a more rapid increase of aromatizing than of 17beta-hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase activity. The presence of cortisol in the mixtures did not significantly affect the placental aromatizing activity, indicating that there is no direct effect of cortisol on the enzyme system as measured in vitro. The dramatic rise of overall mean aromatizing activity from 4.86 plus or minus 0.22 (S.E.M.) at 138-141 days of gestation to 12.96 plus or minus 0.38 pmol/mg protein/min at 144-146 days (with a greater relative increase in the rate of oestradiol formation), suggests that changes in placental aromatizing activity may play an important role in maternal and foetal plasma oestrogen surges before ovine parturition.


Association of immunity and tolerance to host H-2 determinants in irradiated F1 hybrid mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells from one parental strain. Semiallogenetic radiation chimeras were prepared by injecting heavily irradiated F1 hybrid mice with bone marrow cells from one parental strain; the bone marrow cells were treated with anti-theta serum and complement to remove T cells and injected in large numbers (2 times 10-7 cells).  The mice survived in excellent health until sacrifice 6 mo later.  Thoracic duct cannulation at this stage showed that the mice possessed normal numbers of recirculating lymphocytes.  Close to 100% of thoracic duct lymphocytes and lymph node cells were shown to be of donor strain origin.  The capacity of lymphocytes from the chimeras to respond to host-type determinants was tested in mixed leukocyte culture and in an assay for cell-mediated lympholysis (CML).  Mixed leukocyte reactions (MLR) were measured both in vitro and in vivo; tumor cells and phytohemmaglutinin-stimulated blast cells were used as target cells for measuring CML.  While responding normally to third party determinants, cells from the chimeras gave a definite, though reduced MLR when exposed to host-type determinants.  However, this proliferative response to host-type determinants, unlike that to third party determinants, was not associated with differentiation into cytotoxic lymphocytes.  No evidence could be found that unresponsiveness in this situation was due to blocking serum factors or suppressor T cells.  It is argued that the results support the concept that lymphocytes responsive in mixed leukocyte culture have a different specificity to those exerting cell-mediated lympholysis.


Mixed lymphocyte culture determinants and C2 deficiency: LD-7a associated with C2 deficiency in four families. Four families with C2 deficiency were studied.  Among eight HL-A haplotypes involved with C2 deficiency, five were HL-A 10,W18.  Three homozygotes for C2 deficiency from different families were mutually nonreactive in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) and the heterozygotes from the fourth family failed to react to the homozygous cells.  It appeared that identical MLC determinants were associated with all the genes from the different families that related to C2 deficiency.  Further experiments identified the MLC determinant, LD-7a, as being involved.  These results suggest marked linkage disequilibrium between the genes for C2 deficiency and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).  Studies of possible recombinants have offered tentative evidence for the positioning of the locus for C2 deficiency with respect to other segments of the MHC.


Exercise and restricted activity effects on reinnervated and cross-innervated skeletal muscles. The effects of relative degrees of post-operative muscle activity and inactivity were compared in animals having undergone peripheral nerve section and repair (i.e. cross-innervation and self-innervation). The muscles involved were the fast twitch flexor hallucis longus and the slow twitch soleus muscles of the guinea pig. Reinnervation of the muscle was complete with either the original nerve or with a foreign nerve after 6 months in all groups of animals regardless of whether the animals were exercised or confined to small individual cages so as to restrict their activity. It can be stated that: (a) the duration (1 week-1 month) of hind-limb immobilization did not alter the extent and efficiency of reinnervation; (b) muscle protein concentration fell in animals whose hind-limbs were immobilized 1 month post-operatively; (c) by using the cross-innervation procedure, histochemical fiber populations correlated closely with the physiologically determined contraction time of the muscle.


Ultrastructural fiber typing in normal and diseased human muscle. The differential staining of the 3 fiber types for oxidative enzyme activity at the histochemical level provides the basis of their identification at the ultrastructural level. Type I fibers have the largest and most numerous mitochondria, the Type IIA smaller and less numerous mitochondria, and Type IIB have the smallest and least numerous mitochondria as studied in 4 patients without neuromuscular disease. Type I fibers could be distinguished from Type II fibers on the basis of mean Z-line width and IIA fibers could be distinguished from IIB fibers on the basis of mean M-line width. Type I fibers had wide Z-lines (95 nm) and wide M-lines (89 nm), Type IIA had narrow Z-lines (74 nm) and wide M-lines (79 nm) and Type IIB fibers had narrow Z-lines (69 nm) and narrow M-lines (60 nm). This system of fiber typing based on relative Z-line and M-line widths was applied to several abnormal muscle biopsies each of which showed a deficiency in at least 1 of the major histochemical fiber types. In each case, the same deficiency was revealed at the ultrastructural level by measuring the relative Z-line and M-line widths of the remaining fiber types.


Intrahepatic biliary atresia in Down's syndrome. A case of intrahepatic atresia in Down's syndrome is presented. It seems likely that atresia of intrahepatic bile ducts in Down's syndrome is due to a chromosomal disorder.


Laparoscopic sterilization immediately after term delivery: a preliminary report. To evaluate the feasibility and safety of performing laparoscopic sterilization immediately after a normal delivery, 46 patients were studied. All sterilizations were performed within 48 hours of delivery, using a single puncture technique with cautery and separation of the uterine tubes, under a neuroleptanalgesic. A description of the technique, the technical difficulties encountered in performing the procedures and the incidence of complications are presented. The technique, when performed during the early puerperium, is practicable since technical difficulties and the severity and incidence of complications are clinically acceptable. The sterilization procedure did not significantly increase the duration of hospitalization after delivery. Most patients were discharged from the hospital 1 to 2 days after the sterilization.


Laparoscopic sterilization without electrocautery. Stimulated by the increasing concern over the complications of the use of electrocautery in laparoscopic sterilization, the author has developed a method of tubal sterilization by laparoscopy without the use of electrocautery. The procedure is described in detail, together with some hints on technique and mention of possibilities for future improvements.


Histological changes associated with trichodinid infections in thorny skates, Raja radiata Donovan. Histological changes in the wall of the copulatory sac of normal adult female thorny skates, Raja radiata, were compared with those naturally infected with Trichodina oviducti. The parasites were associated with extensive defoliation of the copulatory epithelium and in some instances had penetrated the submucosa resulting in petechiae. An excessive exudated that appeared at the vent was made up of mucus, sloughed cells and parasites. It is speculated that shedding of the copulatory epithelium may be due to a hyaluronidase-like enzyme. Furthermore, the restriction of T. oviducti to adult skates may be dependent on the presence of certain mucopolysaccharides that are very low or absent in immature skates.


The occurrence of gapeworm (Syngamus trachea) in willow grouse. 21.4% of the willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) examined from a coastal locality in northern Norway were infected with Syngamus trachea. None of the willow grouse examined from an inland locality with colder and longer winters were infected with the parasite. It is suggested that the parasite may influence survival of the grouse population.


[Contractile myocardial proteins and their enzymatic activity in hypertensive disease and coronary atherosclerosis]. An investigation into the fractional composition of myocardial proteins and ATP-ase activity of myosine in 86 persons, who during their lifetime suffered from hypertensive disease and coronary incompetence, revealed significant changes therein. An increased content of actomyosine complex proteins in hypertensive disease was superseded by their considerable diminution in the event of developing cardiac insufficiency, which was at that accompanied by declining ATP-ase activity of myosine. The development of acute myocardial infarction led to a still drastically reduced concentration of sarcoplasmatic and contractile proteins of the heart muscle, as well as to their diminished enzymatic activity.


[Study of atherosclerosis in different geographical zones of the Soviet Union. 1. Comparative study of fatty acid composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue]. Gas-liquid chromatography was used for the study of the fat-acid composition of the subcutaneous tissue in males, aged 20 to 70 years, who had died in accidents. The investigation was conducted in the cities of Samarkand, Tashkent, Riga and Moscow. A significantly higher relative level of linoleic acid in the subcutaneous tissue of the native population of Central Asia than in the non-native residents of the same regions was found (19.4 and 13.7%, respectively). It is accounted for by a high consumption of cotton oil rich in linoleic acid by the native population of Uzbekistan. No significant differences in the proportion of linoleic, oleic and other fatty acids in the adipose tissue of the Russian population of Samarkand and Tashkent, as well as Riga and Moscow were found. No differences were either found in the composition of the adipose tissue of the native and non-native residents of Riga. The lower incidence of atherosclerosis among the native population of Central Asia in comparison with the non-native population of the same region and the population of the Baltic region is emphasized.


[Depression of contractile function and decrease of the effectiveness of oxygen utilization during compensatory heart hypertrophy]. Heart hypertrophy was produced in rats by creating a coarctation of the aorta 4 months prior to the experiment. The conducted study of the contractile function and oxygen consumption in isolated working hearts demonstrated a marked decrease in the contractile function of the hypertrophied hearts, as compared to the intact ones. Oxygen utilization, however, remained in these preparations equal to that in the controls: hence, the efficacy of oxygen utilization per unit of function was decreased. At the same time, the process of mobilization--glycogen re-synthesis--is highly activated, and glycolysis--accelerated. In order to explain these phenomena it was postulated that the falling efficacy of oxygen utilization and glycogenolysis activation may be caused by a growing calcium concentration in the myoplasm due to the progressive decrease of the capacity of the calcium pump of the sarcoplasmatic reticulum in the process of heart hypertrophy development.


[Blindness according to the law in Schwerbeschädigten-Gesetz, Schwerbehinderten-Gesetz, Bundessozialhilfe-Gesetz and Bundesversorgungs-Gesetz (author's transl)]. It is possible to calculate the granulation of disturbances of vision in combined disturbances (reduction of central vision and visual fields defects) with the aid of the tables in the "Anhaltspunkte für die ärztliche Gutachtertätigkeit im Versorgungswesen". The total disability with 160% is equal to the disturbance of visual acutiy of 1/50.


[Neonatal polycythaemia and haemoglobin types in infants with G-trisomy (author's transl)]. The concentrations of haemoglobin A1, A2, and F were determined quantitatively by column chromatography in 11 newborns with G-trisomy (Down's Syndrome)) and correlated to haematocrit values. In 3 infants the haemoglobin pattern was followed throughout the first six months of life. In connection to the well know polycythaemia, newborns with G-trisomy were found to have significantly higher haemoglobin A1 attaining 35.5 plus or minus 6.6% and A2 equal to 0.79 plus or minus 0.32% as compared to normal infants (HbA1 equal 17.74 plus or minus 4.56%, HbA2 equal to 0.25 plus or minus 0.2%). In G-trisomy the switch-over from synthesis of haemoglobin F to haemoglobin A appears to be initiated earlier than in normal individuals, and it seems even to proceed more rapidly during the first weeks after birth. The amount of adult haemoglobin being synthesized in G-trisomy during the perinatal period may possibly be a response to the increased erythropoiesis, while the influence of chromosomal abnormality seems not to be a specific phenomenon.


The microbiological and parasitological colonisation of specified-pathogen-free mice maintained in a conventional animal house. 2 groups of 44 specified-pathogen-free (SPF) mice, caged in groups of 4, were housed at weaning either in isolation in a building housing conventionally-reared animals, or in contact with those animals. 4 mice from each group were examined for microbiological flora and 4 for parasites at intervals for up to 90 days after transfer. Proscribed bacteria were isolated from the "in contact' group after 42 days and endoparasites were observed by 16 days and thereafter. No proscribed bacteria were isolated from the other group, although some endoparasites were observed by 16 days. Proscribed bacteria were shown to be present in the conventionally-reared animals at weaning and ecto- and endoparasites by day 16 and thereafter. It is suggested that it may be possible to maintain SPF animals outside a SPF Unit for short periods of time, and that with great care the animals remain free of proscribed microflora.


Microspectrofluorimetric analysis of the formaldehyde induced fluorescence in midbrain raphe neurons. The formaldehyde induced fluorescence in perikarya localized in the midbrain rephe nuclei was investigated using the Falck-Hillarp technique in combination with qualitative (spectral analysis) and quantitative microspectorfluorimetry. The spectral evidence obtained after various pharmacological and lesion experiments with the neurotoxic compounds 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine, strongly favours the view that the vast majority of the perikarya in the cell groups B-7, B-8 and B-9 (according to Dahlström and Fuxe) are 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons, defined as structures capable of synthesizing, metabolizing, and storing 5-hydroxytryptamine. The spectral data indicate that the 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons might contain in addition to 5-hydroxytryptamine another indolealkylamine, possibly tryptamine, in low concentrations. The perikarya were shown to be able to take up and accumulate exogenously administered 6-hydroxytryptamine provided that monoamine oxidase was inhibited. Quantitative microfluorimetric analysis disclosed that the tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine was unable to block effectively this enzyme in the 5-hydroxytryptamine perikarya, although acutely a partial blockade was observed. The 5-hydroxytryptamineerogenously to the action of p-chlorophenylalanine and this might be associated with different states of neuronal activity. The difference in potency of p-chlorophenylalanine as regards tryptophan hydroxylase inhibition in perikarya and in nerve terminals may be related to different properties of tryptophan hydroxylase in various parts of the neuron and/or to a high turnover of the enzyme in the perikarya.


Effect of p-chlorophenylalanine on the central nervous excitability threshold and on the activity of some central depressants. The effect of p-chlorophenylalaine (pCPA)on the central nervous excitability threshold for the neurostimulants pentetrazol, picrotoxin and strychnine inflused intravenously was evaluated in male albino mice. The effect of pCPA pretreatment was also studied in mice treated both with the neurostimulants and with central depressants meta-tolylcarbamide (MTC), phenacemide (phenylacetylurea, Phenurone) or phenobarbitol sodium (PBS). pCPA applied alone or together with MTC, phenacemide and pbs lowered the central nervous excitability threshold for the three central stimulants used in the majority of the experiments.


Antibody to hepatitis B antigen (Australia antigen) among residents of a Finnish institution for the mentally retarded. Sera from 521 residents of an institution for the mentally retarded near Helsinki, Finland were examined by a hemagglutination assay to determine the distribution and titers of antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs). 36.1% were found to contain anti-HBs. Factors were identified which are related to the presence or absence of anti-HBs in this population. A documented past history of hepatitis, living in "asocial" wards in which at least one HBsAg carrier was present, long institutionalization (is greater than 10 yrs.), admission to the institution between ages 5 and 19, a present age between 20 and 39, and being male were associated with the presence of anti-HBs. 43.5% of the males but only 22.2% of the females had antibody. Down's syndrome patients had lower titers but not lower frequencies of anti-HBs than the non Down's patients.


The effect of rat age on the composition and functional activities of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane preparations. The complex of membranes of which cells are comprised have been considered as likely sites of deterioration underlying the decline on physiologic competence with age.  Although this concept is an attractive one on theoreical grounds, few direct experimental data are available on the effect of age on biological membranes.  Since the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle has been well characterized and is an easily studied membrane system in regard both to its composition and function, the effect of age on this membrane system was explored.  Rats of 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 28 months of age were the source of sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes which were characterized by the following measurements: phospholipid/protein weight ratio; phospholipid composition; the activity of the (Ca++ + Mg++) -ATPase and the steady state concentration of its phosphorylated intermediate; the ATP-dependent, oxalatepromoted Ca++ transport activity.  Although there were some differences between age groups in these basic parameters of sarcoplasmic reticulum composition and function, the data obtained provide no clear evidence of deterioration of these membranes with age.


[Discrepant findings between esophagoscopical and x-ray examination on the search for varicose veins of the esophagus (author's transl)]. In a comparising study of 191 liver-patients, who were laparoscopical and most of them histological examined, the results of registrated varicose veins of the esophagus by x-ray and fiber-esophagoscopical examination were compared. Between x-ray and esophagoscopical examination in our material was a discrepancy in 29,3% of the cases (suspect findings were counted positive). The question was posed, if the premedication with spasmolytical substances and tranquillizers gives the wellknown advantages for the esophagoscopical examination compared with the x-ray examination by relaxation of the esophaguswall and thereby combined with a better visuability of the varicose veins. In the proposed analysis showed still 19,9% of the cases a positive result by esophagoscopical examination by negative x-ray finding, and there was only in 9,4% of the cases a positive finding by x-ray examination by simultaneous negative esophagoscopical result. Other comparising studies by equal pharmacological conditions (premedication!) are urgently necessary to get better results of examination and perhaps to eliminate or at least reduce the discrepancies between endoscopical and x-ray examination.


Traumatic hyphema and iridocyclitis in the horse. Traumatic iridocyclitis and hyphema in the horse usually follow blunt blows to the orbit and eye. The condition is characterized by miosis, ocular hypotony, ciliary flush, swelling of the iris, and hemorrhage with excessive fibrin in the anterior chamber which permits from 2 to 6 weeks. Vigorous treatment with mydriatics, topical and systemic corticosteroids is recommended. Possible complications include anterior and posterior synechiae, cataracts, and fibropupillary membranes.


The mutagenicity of azathioprine in mice, Drosophila melanogaster and Neurospora crassa. The chemotherapeutic coumpound azathioprine was tested for possible mutagenicity in Swiss Albino mice, Drosophila melanogaster and Neurospora crassa. Utilizing the dominant-lethal assay it was found that acute oral doses of azathioprine (2 times 25 mg/kg body weight), induced dominant-lethal mutations in mouse spermatocytes. Chronic oral doses of azathioprine (2 times 25 mg/kg body weight/week for 10 weeks) resulted in a greater rate of dominant-lethality. This increase was not permanent, and by week 4 of gamete sampling there was no significant increase in dominant-lethal mutations. Histological sections showed that chronic treatment of male mice with azathioprine caused pyknosis of spermatocyte nuclei and depletion of the spermatid population. Both acute and chronic doses of azathioprine caused a temporary reduction in sperm viability. Oral treatment of male Canton-S, D. melanogaster with azathioprine caused an increase in dominant-lethality in broods assumed to correspond to spermatid and spermaotcyte stages. Azathioprine also increased the rate of non-disjunction of the X and Y chromosomes, loss of the long arm of the Y chromosome, and loss of the X or Y chromosome in treated male R(I)2, vf/BsYy+D. melanogaster. Since sex-ratio deviation did not occur in progeny from treated rod-X (yv/B2Yy+) male D. melanogaster, it was concluded that the observed sex-ration deviation in the treated ring-X stock was the result of induced ring-X lethality. Azathioprine induced recessive-lethal mutations in the ad-3 region of a N. crassa heterokaryon. In the host-mediated assay using this same heterokaryon and male Swiss Albino mice as host, the mutagenic activity of azathioprine did not appear to be potentiated or detoxified by the host. The results show that azathioprine has a deleterious effect on reproduction in mice and probably induces mutational events in mice, D. melanogaster and N. crassa.


[Glycolic acid/polymer as suture material]. Tissue reactions to polyglycol acid and plain catgut threads were compared. The second part of the paper deals with changes in the mechanical properties of the polymer. Their reduction after insertion in tissues was proportionally equal for threads of different sizes. This finding is explicable histologically, since it can be shown that cell and humoral attack of the single filaments is homogenous throughout the entire cross-section of the thread.


Management of intractable pain: the scope and role of nerve blocks: review of one year's experience. This paper presents the first one year's experience of nerve blocking procedures carried out for the relief of intractable pain. The control of pain is complex and has led to the development of Pain Clinics employing the skills of different specialties. The scope and organisation of such a clinic developed at Auckland Hospital is outlined. Some 103 patients were referred with intractable pain from cancer, musculo-skeletal disorders, neurogenic causes and ischaemic causes and ischaemic problems. Of these, 55 percent derived complete relief. Breakdown of results demonstrate that over 70 percent of patients in the groups of pain of neurogenic and ischaemic origin had complete relief of pain. Recognised complications of major nerve blocking procedures were encountered in a small percentage of patients, but these caused no great concern. Nerve blocks have a definite place in the treatment of chronic pain and form an important adjunct to the overall management.


Failures of laparoscopy sterilization.

Failures of laparoscopy sterilization. Female sterilization by laparoscopy has become widely accepted throughout the United States and Europe. The failure rate of this procedure is still speculative. In the  course of 4200 operative sterilization, 32 failures have been identified  and 31 of these have been subsequently evaluated. The most common finding was inadequate or superficial fulguration and resection. Operative errors such as round ligament fulguration were also  more common than expected.


Outpatient laparoscopic sterilization with therapeutic abortion versus abortion alone. Records of 108 patients undergoing combined vacuum aspiration and laparoscopic sterilization in an outpatient surgical program were reviewed and compared with those of 195 patients who underwent abortion only in the same outpatient program. Mean operating time for the combined procedure was 30 minutes; total mean hospitalization time was 5 hours and 7 minutes. Complication rates for the combined procedure and  for abortion alone were 9.2 and 7.2 per cent, respectively. Subsequent hospitalization was necessary for 4.7 per cent of patients undergoing the combined procedure and 3.1 per cent of those having  abortion only. Laparoscopic sterilization has been found to add no significant morbidity but has markedly reduced cost and hospitalization for the patient desiring permanent contraception following first trimester abortion.


[Heterotylenchus simplex sp. n. (Nematoda, Sphaerulariidae)--a parasite of the zoophilic fly Morellia simplex Lw]. A new species of nematodes, Heterotylenchus simplex spn n., was found in zoophilous flies of Morellia simplex caught from cows in the Bakhchisaray region of the Crimea. The above species differs from all known ones of the genus Heterotylenchus in the presence of the quadricolumella in parthenogenetic females and rudiment of the posterior uterine branch in gamogenetic females. H. simplex is close in its biology and ecology to H. autumnalis and in its morphology - to H. aberrans.


[Comparative evaluation of several methods of identifying leishmania]. A parallel study of 25 strains of Flagellata isolated from 6 species of sand flies was carried out by means of biotest, Adler's serological method modified by Safjanova and "temperature" method. It was established that the use of several methods for the identification of Leishmania allows more reliable results to be obtained. The differentiation of strains with the "temperature" method can be done over a relatively shorter period of time.


[Theoretical bases of thrombolytic therapy]. Purified streptokinase has in vitro a double biochemical activity on plasminogen. At a low molecular ratio of streptokinase/plasminogen, mainly plasmin is generated. At an equimolar streptokinase-plasminogen ratio, mainly a complex streptokinase-plasmin is formed. This complex has a low proteolytic activity but has a high activator activity on plasminogen and maintains esterolytic properties. It is likely that the reactions occurring in vitro with purified reagents also occur in vivo, the situation being nevertheless more complex because of the presence of inhibitors such as antistreptokinase and antiplasmins.


[Possible causes determining the developmental rhythm of populations of the nasopharyngeal gadfly of sheep, Oestrus ovis L. (Diptera, Oestridae)]. On the basis of observations undertaken in Azerbaijan and available literary data the author considers the hypotheses concerning the reasons causing the delay of the Ist instar larvae development and determining the age structure changes in population of Oestrus ovis L. within a year. The main reasons are as follows: factors depending on the population density at the larval phase, the light day duration within the life cycle of the botfly females.


[Louse infestation of the red marmot, Marmota caudata, during its active period]. 2213 lice of Neohaematopinus palaearctcus Ols. were collected from 152 of 865 examined specimens of Marmota caudata Geoffr. from different vertical zones of Tadjikistan. The long-tailed marmot is characterized by a moderate or poor infestation with lice. In the subalpine zone, where the number and density of these animals in rather high, the infestation rate is greater than that in the brushwood zone. In spring after hibernation the infestation of M. caudata is very low. Within the reporoduction period the infestation with lice increases, the latter begin to reproduce intensively. During the preparation for hibernation the infestation rate falls due to a less intensive reproduction of lice. There are no distinct differences in the infestation rate of long-tailed marmots belonging to different age groups since there are constant contacts between the individuals of the colony. Only reproducing females live together with brood by themselves, differ in moulting periods and in a greater intensity of invasion during reproduction.


Classification of the bacteriophages of Gram-positive cocci: Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus. Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus phages are classified by morphology, serological properties and physical and chemical parameters of the virion and its nucleic acid. Fourteen species are defined; they include 75 tailed phages belonging to 6 morphological groups. Type species are proposed. Three species seem to have phylogenetic relationships with Bacillus phages.


Alpha-naphthyl-isothiocyanate-induced cholestasis in the rat: studies of liver plasma membrane enzymes. Oral administration of a single dose of alpha-naphthyl-isothiocyanate (ANIT) to rats produced a conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia, maximal at 2 days and which subsided by 7. The activities of 3 liver plasma membrane enzymes, Mg-2+-ATPase, (Na-+-K-+)-ATPase and 5-nucleotidase, and serum bilirubin levels were studied for up to 7 days after treatment. Activities of the 3 enzymes were significantly decreased at 2 days after treatment and returned to normal by 7, thus varying inversely with the degree of hyperbilirubinaemia. Enzyme histochemistry used to demonstrate canalicular localization of Mg-2+-ATPase in sections of whole liver and of isolated plasma membrane pellets showed that the reduction in activity was not a uniform partial loss, but represented a range of reductions in most canaliculi with a few retaining normal staining intensity. The results suggest that after ANIT intoxication there is a membrane lesion which may be responsible for the observed hyperbilirubinaemia due to the failure of secretion of biliary constituents into the canaliculus. However, more direct studies are necessary to determine whether any one of these enzymes is directly involved in the transport of biliary constituents across the bile canalicular membrane.


The resolution of arterial pulses into forward and backward waves as an approach to the determination of the characteristic impedance. Pressure and flow recordings from a given site in an artery can be used for the resolution of the pulse wave into its forward and backward components if the characteristic impedance (Z) is known. The principle of this method was reported by von Kries in 1892. In the present work, the procedure is first applied to a theoretical, non-uniform tube model. The characteristic impedance of the model are assumed to be real magnitudes. From the results it is seen that the calculated backward wave provides a criterion which indicates whether the true value of Z actually has been used for the resolving procedure. If, as in the case of natural pulses, Z is not known, its value can be obtained by repeatedly performing the resolving procedure using various values of Z, and choosing the value of Z employed to calculate the backward wave which best fits the criterion. The method is demonstrated on pulses of the abdominal aorta and carotid artery of the dog. The results are compared with the average values of the input impedance in the higher frequency range.


[Occurrence of Culex pipiens molestus Forsk. in populated areas of the Leningrad region]. The mosquitoes of Culex pipiens molestus first recorded from Leningrad as far as 30 years ago have been reported from the settlements of the Leningrad district since 1965. The most northern point of their occurrence is marked at 60 degrees 45' N and is removed from Leningrad for over 120 km. Such spread of mosquitoes to new settlements is associated with the development of multistory housing construction in the country and delivery of imagos from Leningrad to the settlements of the district by means of transport.


Different effect of ouabain on the interferon production and action. Ouabain, which inhibits specifically membrane-bound ATPase activity, also inhibits the establishment of the antiviral state induced by interferon. Once the antiviral state is established, ouabain is ineffective. This inhibitory effect is reversed by adding Na/K ions to the cells. On the contrary, interferon production is unaffected by the same concentrations of ouabain. It is of interest that in such interferon-yielding cells, ouabain decreases the antiviral state.