[Study of organ cultures of human embryonic intestines infected with the human cytomegalovirus and the Japanese encephalitis virus]. Reproduction of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JE) was studied in organ cultures of human embryo intestine under conditions of mono- and combined infection. The titer of JE virus in monoinfection reached its maximum level (10(7) TCD50/ml) whereas the titer of CMV did not exceed 10(2) TCD50/ml. In combined infection the titer of CMV increased to 10(5.5) TCD50/ml and the titer of JE virus remained at the same level (10(7) TCD50/ml). The results obtained in light and scanning electron microscopy studies indicate that in monoinfection CMV causes considerably earlier and more profound degenerative changes in mesanchymal elements of embryonal intestinal tissues than does JE virus. At the same time the combined infection of organ cultures with these viruses is not cytocidal.


[Hemihypertrophy].

[Hemihypertrophy]. Together with a casuistic description of a hemihypertrophy partialis cruciata vera congenita of a 20-year-old male patient a survey of literature is given concerning the problem of the hemihypertrophy.


[Human rhinovíruses circulating in Moscow (author's transl)]. In the period of 1971--1973 in Moscow, 85 strains of rhinoviruses (types IB, 14, 20, 27, 33, 48, 56, 60 and 69) were isolated from patients with respiratory diseases. In March-May 1971 in one administrative district of Moscow, from ambulatory patients with ARD rhinoviruses of types 48 (24 strains) and 27 (8 strains) were predominantly isolated. An outbreak of diseases due to these two types appeared to have occurred. From children rhinoviruses were isolated not only from nasopharyngeal washings. From 3 children they were isolated from the lower respiratory tract (from the blood collected before his death due to staphylococcal sepsis. Surveys for virus-neutralizing antibody to 17 rhinovirus serotypes in 10 lots of gamma globulin prepared in different towns of the Soviet Union revealed wide spread of rhinovirus types IB, 13, 18, 31 and 32 limited spread of types 17 and 42 and moderate spread of types 2, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 22, 24, 48 and 53.


[Cytological characteristics of a bovine kidney cell culture chronically infected with foot-and-mouth disease virus (author's transl)]. A virus-carrier state was observed in the process of subcultivation of foot-and-mouth disease virus-infected calf kidney cell culture. Cytologically, the chronically infected culture differed from the control culture by the presence of a large number of syncytial cells which did not die in acute infection because of poor susceptibility to the virus. Chronic infection appeared to be maintained by occasionaly polygonal cells which retained the initial sesceptiblity to foot-and-mouth disease virus. The number of such cells did not exceed 1--4% and by the 9th passage they disappeared completely. At this time the experimental culture did not differ from control cytologically and cytochemically.


[Comparative light and electron microscopic study on liver cell inclusions in chronic alcoholic liver damage (author's transl)]. Liver cell inclusions in chronic alcoholic liver damage observed by means of the ligth microscope proved by correlated electron microscopy to be bile depositions, autophagic vacuoles, megamitochondria, alcoholic hyalin or accumulation of ribosomes. These liver cell inclusions are usually identifiable at the light microscopical level. The bile depositions undergo a lysosomal degradation. Thereby, they are converted into a pale brownish pigment and lose the property of reacting with histochemical bile tests. Owing to this brownish pigmentation bile depositions are distinguishable from the other mentioned liver cell inclusions under the light microscope. Autophagic vacuoles appear as eosinophilic inclusions and are PAS positive before as well as after the diastase treatment. On the contrary to these, the likewise eosinophilic megamitochondria are PAS negative, in the same way as alcoholic hyaline. With the procedure according to Goldner megamitochondria mostly strain red, whereas alcoholic hyalin lacks this property. Moreover, alcoholic hyalin is usually distinguishable from megamitochondria by its shape. Accumulations of ribosomes represent basophilic cytoplasm areas in light microscopy and are frequently located in he pericanalicular regions of liver epithelium.


[Comparative characteristics of the ultrastructure of the causative agents of glanders and melioidosis]. The authors examined the ultrastructure of the causative agents of glanders and melio idosis. It was revealed that the structure of their cell wall and of the cytoplasmic membrane was characteristic of Gram negative bacteria. The cytoplasm of both types of the causative agents showed the presence of ribosomes, membrane structure, nucleoid, and also osmiophilic and osmiophobic inclusions.


[The pathogenesis of the convulsion syndrome in children]. The report contains some results of clinical, biochemical and EEG studies convened in 24 children with convulsive attacks and in 34 children with organic lesions of the CNS and epileptiform syndromes. The authors point out to the important role of the diencephalic area in the pathogenesis of convulsive syndromes. Changes in the glucocortical functions of the adrenal system during the period of convulsive attacks are related to a disturbed regulation in the hypothalamo-hypophysar structure. The processes of readaptation are more disturbed in patients with organic lesions of the CNS in frequent attacks. The results of such studies speak of certain indications to hormone therapy in repeated convulsions in children, especially if the convulsions have an epileptiform character and occur in patients with organic lesions of the CNS.


[Disruption of motor habits in tumors of the premotor zone of the frontal lobe]. The report is concerned with the character of disordered complex automated movements in a group of patients with frontal lobe tumors. These disorders were studied with the aid of a neuropsychological technique elaborated by prof. Luria. A crude disautomation of voluntary movements appeared in cases of tumors of the supra-convexital area of the premotor zone. In lesions of the deep area of posterior frontal area with an involvement into the process of the subcortical structures an inertness in the motor sphere was registered.


[Ultrastructure of the neurohypophysis in the lamprey, Lampetra fluviatilis L]. Three distinct zones are observed in the neurohypophysis (Nh) of adult lampreys: ependymal (tanycyte), fiber and neurovascular. The ependymal zone consists of a single layer of tanycyte perikarya. Their basal processes pass via the fiber zone and form vascular "endfeet" on the connective tissue layer, separating Nh and the meta-adenohypophysis. Few funnel-shaped protrusions of the recessus infundibuli lined with tanycytes penetrates deeply in Nh. Pituicytes are rare. Peptidergic A1 and A2 fibers and their terminals contain granules of 1600-3400 and 1200-2200 A in diameter respectively. Monoaminergic B type fibers have granules of 800-1000 A in diameter. Percentage of the A1 fibers is the lowest. Nerve terminals and tanycyte vascular "endfeet" make contact with the unusually thick (up to 3000 A) outer basement membrane. The latter is about 1 mu thick in sites where in invaginates deeply in Nh. Single short fragments of the inner basement membrane are seen. Sometimes peptidergic A1 and A2 nerve terminals are separated from the third ventricle or its protrusions only by a thin layer of tanycyte cytoplasm. Peptide neurohormones are probably released in the cerebro-spinal fluid in these sites. The possibility of peptide neurohormone and monoamine be discharged into the common circulation and their diffusion through the the connective tissue layer into the meta-adenohypophysis is discussed.


[An x-ray and histologic study of calcifications of tumors of the subcortical ganglia of the brain]. X-ray and histological studies of 138 patients with tumors of subcortical nodes displayed signs of hypertension in 86.3% of the cases (119 cases). Calcified foci on the craniograms were found in 29 cases (21%) and in histological findings - in 48 cases (34.6%). Petrified foci in benign glial tumors were located between the tumor cells, perivascularly and in the tissue of the perifocal zone of the tumor. In malignant tumors the petrified foci were mainly in the area of necrosis, in microcysts and hemmorrhagical foci. According to the pattern of calcification on the x-ray it was impossible to determine the histological type of the tumor or the degree of malignancy. The volume of calcification on the craniograms do not correspond to the volume and configuration of the intracranial tumor.


[Nervous system lesions in juvenile angiofibromas of the base of the skull with intracranial spread]. The authors examined the nervous system in 12 patients with intracranial dissemination of an adolescent angiofibroma of the brain basis. It was possible to depict signs of a lesion of some cranial nerves and the brain stem as well as x-ray confirmation of a bone destruction in the brain basis. The found changes were connected with the direct influence of the angiofibroma on the above mentioned structures.


[Irregularities in the lipid composition of muscle tissue in Duchenne's myodystrophy]. A study is made of the phospholipid content, glycerides and cholesterine in the muscular tissue of 20 patients with Duchene's myodystrophy. It was established that there is an increase in the relative content of sphingomyelin and a drop in phosphatidilcholine. The study shows an increase of glycerides and cholesterine per gm, of raw weight and in the content of the noncollagen protein.


[Antimycin A-resistant oxygen consumption in rabbit reticulocytes]. In rabbit reticulocytes there exists an Antimycin A-resistent oxygen consumption. It amounts to about 20% of the total oxygen consumption, independently of the degree of maturation of the cells and of the presence of external substrates. The main substrate of the Antimycin A-resistent oxygen consumption is glucose, which is metabolized by the pentose phosphate pathway. NADP-dependent substrates provide more CO2 in the presence of Antimycin A. The 14CO2-formation from metabolites of the citric acid cycle and of metabolites directly connected with this cycle is decreased in the presence of Antimycin A, whereas no 14CO2 is formed from long-chain fatty acids. A H2O2-formation by a NADPH-oxygenase is postulated. The mitochondria contribute reducing equivalents to the cytosolic oxygen consumption. The postulated interactions include hydrogen transfer and the malate-shuttle.


The function of polymorphonuclear leukocytes after surgical trauma. The effect of surgical trauma on human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) was studied by measuring the hexosemonophosphate shunt (HMS) activity and myeloperoxidase mediated iodination during phagocytosis. Patients submitted to elective general surgery showed normal iodination capacity and normal HMS activity in their PMN cells postoperatively. This implies that postoperative infectious complications are not caused or promoted by defective PMN cell function. Iodination was found significantly (p less than 0.05) impaired in phagocytosing PMN cells from burned patients whereas it was found normal in traumatic and septic conditions. No direct relation between extent of injury and degree of leukocyte impairment was found. HMS activity remained normal in burned patients suggesting that the impaired iodination might depend on a defective mobilization of lysosomal enzymes.


Differences in action of LH and FSH on the formation of cyclic AMP in the prepubertal rat ovary. The actions of LH (NIH-LH-B8) and FSH (NIH-FSH-S9) on the cyclic AMP (cAMP) system in ovaries of 23-24 day old rats have been analyzed. An intravenous injection of LH increased ovarian cAMP levels in vivo after only 20 seconds. Maximal cAMP levels were seen after 15 min. Addition of LH or FSH in vitro to the isolated ovaries produced dose dependent increases of cAMP in the tissue as well as in the incubation medium. Low concentrations of LH caused a release of cAMP into the incubation medium without any detectable change in the tissue levels. The levels of cAMP in the incubation media for all concentrations of FSH were lower than the tissue levels, whereas for LH the opposite was found. In time-course experiments where the concentrations of LH (10 mug/ml) and FSH (100 mug/ml) were chosen to give similar tissue levels of cAMP, the release of the cyclic nucleotide into the incubation medium was approximately 2-3 times greater for LH than for FSH at the time periods studied (5-240 min). When LH and FSH were tested together in high concentrations, their effects were additive. When the ovaries were first incubated with FSH for 120 min followed by an incubation with LH, the stimulatory effect of LH was considerably reduced. When the order of the incubations was reversed, however, LH did not change the response to FSH. The results show that both LH and FSH have intrinsic effects on the cAMP system in the prepubertal rat ovary, but that the effects of the two gonadotrophins are not identical.


A histochemical approach to the study of human chorionic gonadotrophin receptors in the rat testis. Standard suspensions of interstitial cells in PBS were exposed to the action of various fixatives, solvents (clearing agents), temperatures and U. V. light, in order to establish the effects of such chemical and physical agents on the HCG receptors. After exposure to the various agents, the interstitial cells were incubated with [125I]HCG for 2 h at 37 degrees C. To check the specificity of the reaction, competitive tests were performed with added excess non-iodinated HCG. Only formaldehyde fixation for short periods of time, preserved satisfactorily the specific binding activity of the receptors. A different degree of thermolability of the receptors was demonstrated, in relation to 37, 45, 54 and 60 degrees C, while freezing in liquid nitrogen had no effect on the receptors binding activity. After the binding reaction, solvents had a significant solubilizing effect on the HCG-receptor complexes. U. V. light had no significant damaging effect on the receptors. The application of the results for a histochemical approach to the study of the HCG receptors is discussed.


Suppressive effect of L-dopa on human prolactin release during sleep. Immunoreactive plasma human prolactin (HPr) and human growth hormone (HGH) concentrations were measured in six normal young men with polygraphic sleep monitoring during normal sleep and during sleep in which l-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) was infused intravenously at a rate of 0.8 to 1.0 mg/min. The intravenous infusion of l-DOPA significantly suppressed the episodic release of HPr during sleep and the occurrence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. However, HGH release during sleep was not remarkably influenced by l-DOPA. These results suggest that central catecholaminergic neural mechanisms are related to both sleep-related HPr release and REM sleep, but do not play an important role in sleep-related HGH release.


A simple competitive protein-binding assay for adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate in plasma and urine. A modified competitive protein-binding assay for the measurement of adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate is described. The procedure allows measurement of adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate in unextracted plasma samples. The mean plasma values in 25 normal, fasting and ambulatory subjects were 22.7 +/- 4.7 pmol/ml (mean +/- SD) (range 13-31 pmol/ml. The mean urinary content was 3.2 +/- 1.0 mumol per g creatinine (mean +/- SD) (n=24).


Hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular system and adrenocortical function. Effect of intramuscular administration of ACTH or dexamethasone on blood serum levels of testosterone, LH and FSH was examined in intact and castrated, adult, male rats. Six IU ACTH or 1 mg dexamethasone were given daily for 7 days. Corticotrophin treatment had no influence on circulating testosterone, LH and FSH in intact or castrated male rats. Dexamethasone administration resulted in a slight elevation of serum FSH in intact animals but not in castrates. LH and testosterone remained normal in both intact and castrated animals injected with dexamethasone. Under our conditions of study the secretions from the adrenal gland appear to be insignificant for the regulation of pituitary secretion of gonadotrophins in the male rat.


Action of cyclic adenosine 3',5' monophosphate on L-14C-leucine incorporation in a system of rough microsomes from bovine thyroid gland. The effect of cAMP and varying concentrations of potassium (18-72 mM) on the incorporation of L-14C-leucine into TCA-precipitable protein was studied in a cell-free system comprising rough thyroid microsomes. cAMP (2mM) alone or in combination with theopylline increased the incorporation of leucine into ribosome-bound (after DOC treatment) and extra-vesicular material, but had no significant effect on the DOC-released intravesicular material. Increase of the K+ concentration from 18 mM to 72 mM affected the incorporation of leucine into the microsomal compartments in much the same way as cAMP did. The effect of cAMP and potassium seems to be due in partly to enhanced activation of amino acids, since in a system of pH5 fraction and cell sap, both cAMP and K+ increased the incorporation of 14C-leucine into cold TCA-precipitable material. Experiments with 14C-leucyl-tRNA as a marker suggest that the effect of cAMP and K+ is a consequence not only of increased activation of amino acids, but also of increased binding of activated amino acyl-tRNA to ribosomes.


The stimulation of growth hormone release by ACTH and its inhibition by somatostatin. The rapid injection of 0.5 or 1.0 mg of tetracosacitid (Synacthen¿) was followed by a distinct increase of plasma growth hormone (GH) within 30 or 45 min in 5 of 7 normal volunteers. A second control test was performed in 3 of the 5 "responders" and 1 "non-responder" and showed a consistent reaction in all of them. The tests were then repeated in the 5 "responders" during an infusion of somatostatin (150 mug/h) and the GH response was totally abolished (3 subjects) or markedly reduced (2 subjects). Thus the ACTH induced GH release behaves in a manner similar to most other physiological or pharmacological stimuli of GH release. The cortisol output after ACTH was not altered by somatostatin.


The effect of ACTH on plasma testosterone and androstenedione concentrations in patients with prostatic carcinoma. The effect of Synacthen (beta1-24-corticotrophin) on plasma testosterone and 4-androstene-3, 17-dione concentrations in untreated patients with prostatic carcinoma, and in patients receiving endocrine therapy is described. An established specific radioimmunoassay was used for the measurement of testosterone, and a radioimmunoassay for 3-androstene-3,17-dione using thin layer chromatography has been developed. Administration of Synacthen resulted in a fall in testosterone in untreated patients, but a rise in 4-androstene-3,17-dione was observed. The plasma concentration of testosterone in all treated patients increased after administration of Synacthen. An increased concentration of plasma 4-androstene-3,17-dione was also observed in these treated patients after Synacthen, but the magnitude of the response was not significantly different from that of untreated patients. The work provides further evidence that in the patient being treated with oestrogen for carcinoma of the prostate a rise in plasma testosterone concentration will result from an increased secretion of ACTH.


Determination of plasma aldosterone in children by thin layer chromatography and radioimmunoassay. An accurate and relatively simple radioimmunoassay for the determination of aldosterone concentration in peripheral plasma has been developed, 0.5-2.0 ml plasma with added [1,2-3H]aldosterone is extracted with dichloromethane. Purification of the extract is achieved by thin later chromatography in the system benzene-acetone 1:1. Recovery of [1,2-3H] aldosterone is 58 +/- 6 (SD)%. Bound and free fractions are separated by dextran-coated charcoal. The intra-assay reproducibility is 8.8% and the inter-assay reproducibility varies from 11.4-16.1%. The sensitivity of the assay for a 5 ml plasma sample can be put at 0.2 ng/100 ml. Normal values determined in 52 healthy children of different age groups are presented. Furthermore the aldosterone stimulating effect of low sodium diet (17 children), severe and prolonged vomiting (19 children) and synthetic ACTH (10 children) has been studied by our modified method.


Hepatitis B antigen in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Postmortem diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was made over a one-year period in 43 cases, 18 of which also exhibited hepatocellular carcinoma. Blood samples taken from these and 120 other patients who died from other diseases were tested for hepatitis-B antigen (HB-Ag) and its antibodies (HB-AB) by counter-electrophoresis. The types of cirrhosis found were classified on the basis of morphological characteristics and available etiological data. The greater part of controls had had cardiovascular diseases and 32 had had non-hepatic carcinoma. Age limits were similar in the cirrhotic and control groups. HB-Ag was detected in 5 of the 25 subjects with macronodular cirrhosis and in one alcoholic patient among 18 subjects with other types of cirrhosis. The possibility of a coincidental HB virus infection existed in the alcoholic case and in one case of macronodular cirrhosis. Only one patient with liver carcinoma had HB-Ag. Among the 120 controls, HB-Ag and HB-AB were found in a one case. Microscopic lesions did not seem to be related specifically to the presence of HB-Ag in the cirrhotic livers.


Hepatic prolyl hydroxylase activity in experimental cirrhosis. Hepatic collagen synthesis was studied during progressive fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in male Sprague-Dawley rats by determination of prolyl hydroxylase activity and hydrocyproline levels along with morphological assessment of fibrosis. Cirrhosis was present after approximately 4 weeks treatment. Prolyl hydroxylase activity was increased significantly before fibrosis was apparent histologically or by hydroxyproline levels. The significance of this finding is discussed.


Histochemical distribution of acid mucopolysaccharides in the cartilage of the selachians. From an analysis of the histochemical data obtained in studies on the cartilage of the various pieces of the skeleton of Torpedo ocellata and Scylliorhinus canicula, it has been possible to deduce that the matrix contains a considerable quantity of nonsulfated acid mucopolysaccharides, chiefly relatable to the hyaluronic acid, and sulfated mucopolysaccharides relatable to the chondroitinsulfates A and C. The capsules show a prevalence of chondroitinsulfates. The presence of the latter substances is discussed, together with the probable mechanical function that they perform.


Effect of dose of estradiol and age of animals on intranuclear inclusions in mammotrophs of the Mongolian gerbil. Intranuclear inclusions have been examined in mammotrophs of the Mongolian gerbil. No inclusions were identified in nuclei of newborn females, although inclusions were seen in the pituitary gland of young mature females. The number of inclusions in retired breeders was similar to that in young females. Estradiol benzoate increased the number of inclusions, although 10 mug/day for 5 or 14 days induced more inclusions than 5 or 100 mug for 14 days; significantly fewer inclusions were seen with the higher dose (2.81 +/- 0.10 inclusions per field for 10 mug and 2.19 +/- 0.01 inclusions for 100 mug). Significantly fewer inclusions were present at 3 and 4 weeks. The reduced number of inclusions may be attributable at least in part to cellular hypertrophy of mammotrophs which was especially prominent. Vacuolar inclusions predominated at 3 and 4 weeks and there were fewer membranous types than at previous times.


Histochemical observations on the juxtanuclear complex of organelles in the hamster oocyte. The hamster ovarian oocyte surrounded by 2-3 layers of granulosa cells develops a large juxtanuclear complex of organelles, consisting of basophilic substance, mitochondria and some lipid inclusion bodies. The basophilic substance staining for RNA, protein and some diffuse lipoprotein forms the material with which the granular mitochondria, composed of protein and phospholipid, apparently multiply. The lipid inclusion bodies consist of phospholipids. The results of this histochemical investigation have been correlated with those of ultrastructural studies on the hamster oocyte. The paranuclear complex of organelles described in this paper has also been compared and contrasted with that seen in the primordial oocyte of hamster, as reported in the previous publication. The functional significance of juxtanuclear entities has been discussed in relation to the multiplication of organelles to be accumulated during oocyte growth.


Cytochrome oxidase and ascorbic acid in the normal and regenerating tail of the scincid lizard, Mabuya carinata. A histophysiological study. The concentration of ascorbic acid (AA) and the histochemical distribution of this vitamin together with cytochrome oxidase have been investigated in the normal and regenerating tail of the Scincid lizard, Mabuya carinata. An interesting aspect of this investigation is the observation of a total lack of cytochrome oxidase in both the normal and regenerating tail of the lizard, except for the differentiating phase. On the other hand, AA has been found to be present in the normal and regenerating tail with above normal levels during wound healing (twofold) and differentiation (fivefold). In the light of the poor cytochrome oxidase activity, the higher content of AA noted during regeneration has been construed to play a possible role in the respiratory mechanics of the regenerating lizard tail. Further, the importance of AA in cellular metabolism and the wound healing and differentiative processes have also been discussed.


Electron spin resonance spectra of chicken hepatoma and liver tissue. When studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) (Swartz et al., 1972), tumorous tissues differ from their normal equivalents in the following aspects: 1. In tumourous tissues the signal measured in the vicinity of the g=2 region of the spectrum is of a smaller amplitude or completely absent (Commoner et al., 1954; Commoner, Ternberg, 1961; Mallard, Kent, 1964; Dodd, 1973). 2. Signals attributed to certain paramagnetic metal ions are also decreased (Nebert and Mason, 1963; Swartz et al., 1973). New lines may exceptionally appear, too (Mallard, Kent, 1966). So far mostly human and mammalian tumours (hepatoma and liver tissue) induced by carcinogens have been studied. The aim of the present work was to extend these observations to a fowl tumour of viral origin.


Orientation dependence in the Epr spectra of spin labels in glycerinated muscle fibres. Glycerinated muscle fibres labelled with a set of five-membered maleimide spin labels revealed a complex type epr spectra, which showed a reduced rate of anisotropic motion. The spectra can be interpreted in terms of the ratio of the two down-field peaks and of the hyperfine coupling constant. The spectra clearly indicated that the preferred orientation of the 2peta molecular orbital of the odd electron is perpendicular rather than parallel to the long axis of the muscle fibres. Increasing chain length between the meleimide ring and pyrrolidine nitroxide ring reduces the orientational anisotropy. Thermal denaturation destroys the orientation dependence of the epr spectra of spin labels. The Mg-ATP induced shortening of the fibres influences the spectral parameters. The fibers which had been contracted showed a modified orientation dependence of epr spectra.


GM2-gangliosidosis, AB variant: clinico-pathological study of a case. Clinical and neuropathological studies of a case of AB variant GM2-gangliosidosis have been presented. The patient was a 14 months old black female infant who had "black cherry spot" in the retinas. The total activities of beta-galactosidase and N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase, as well as the proportion of hexosaminidase A and B components in her serum and leukocytes were normal when the assays were carried out with artificial fluorogenic substrate. Diagnosis of GM2-gangliosidosis AB variant was established by an abnormal increase of GM2-ganglioside in the biopsied brain tissue, similar to classical Tay-Sachs disease. Her clinical manifestation appeared to be similar but somewhat milder than those of classical Tay-Sachs disease. Light microscopic features of the cerebral biopsy were also closely similar to Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease but gliosis and neuronal loss were less pronounced. Electron microscopic study revealed numerous membranous cytoplasmic bodies (MCB) and zebra bodies in neurons. In addition, varieties of large intracytoplasmic inclusions in astrocytes, a feature distinctly different from classical Tay-Sachs disease, were observed. Numerous cytoplasmic inclusions were also present in oligodendroglia, pericytes and microglial cells.


A fine structural study of degenerative-regenerative pathology in the surgically deafferentated lateral vestibular nucleus of the rat. An experiment was designed to examine the course of degeneration, phagocytosis, and regeneration in the central nervous system following surgical deafferentation. The anterior cerebellar vermis was ablated in young male rats. The animals were sacrificed by perfusion at postoperative times ranging from 24 hrs to 6 months. The lateral vestibular nuclei, to which the anterior cerebellar vermis projects, were processed for electron microscopy. Degenerating synaptic terminals, of the dark variety, were seen from 24 hrs to five days postoperatively. Phagocytosis of degenerating terminals occurred during this time. Degenerating axons persisted through 6 months survival, and phagocytosis of these degenerating axons were observed. Astrocyte scar formation began at 1 month postoperatively. The relative number of axosomatic synaptic terminals containing flattened vesicles ("F" terminals; presumed inhibitory in function) increased in operated animals. The highest F scores were found from 24 hrs to two weeks postoperatively, and then the F scores declined through six months. The significance of these sprouting activities is discussed in relation to the abortive sprouting phenomenon described by Ramon y Cajal.


Vascular and neuroglial changes in experimental herpes simplex encephalitis: ultrastructural study. Generalized vascular changes and diffused proliferation of reactive microglia were observed in an experimental model of HSV encephalitis of mice. The wide spread of these changes contrasted with the localized character of virus replication and the confined areas of damaged nervous tissue. The vascular and microglial changes were precocious in animals inoculated with concentrated virus suspension (10(5.5)LD50) while they appeared late in mice inoculated with diluted virus suspension (100 LD50). After inoculation with U.V. inactivated virus no changes were seen. The results obtained in this study suggest that the vascular and microglial modifications are not related to a direct cytopathic effect of the virus but dependent on the amount of virus present in the central nervous system and linked to the virus DNA.


A study of the perineurium in peripheral nerve pathology. The response of the perineurium to the following experimental systems was investigated by light and electron microscopy: nerve crush, cold lesion and microinjection of (a) histamine liberator, (b) potassium cyanide, (c) lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC). Where myelin breakdown occurred, lipid globules were seen within Schwann cells, macrophages and also perineurial cells. Where increased vascular permeability occurred, proteinaceous material leaked from endoneurial vessels into the endoneurial space and later appeared between perineurial laminae. It is suggested that the normal homeostatic function of the perineurium is extended in pathology to the removal of protein and lipid debris. In this way the perineurium contributes to the restoration of the normal microenvironment of peripheral nerve fibres.


The nasal fundus ectasia.

The nasal fundus ectasia. The object of this work has been to describe an eye anomaly consisting of a series of individual characteristics. As a name for the disorder "the nasal fundus ectasia" has been selected. Special attention has been paid to the bitemporal visual field defects which can easily lead to a suspicion of tumour in the region of the optic chiasm.


Secretion of anterior pituitary hormones in man: effects of ethyl alcohol. The possibility that previously described effects of ethyl alcohol on peripheral endocrine glands might be mediated via pituitary prompted this investigation on the effects of ethanol on anterior pituitary secretion. Nine healthy male subjects were given beverage containing ethanol (1.5 g/kg) or beverage alone per os in a randomized cross-over study and plasma ACTH, FSH, GH, LH and TSH were measured by specific radioimmunoassays up to 15 h and the urinary levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline by fluorometry. A combined LRF and TRF test was also carried out in similar series of experiments. During the whole experiment there were no significant differences in the plasma levels of ACTH, FSH and TSH or in the urinary levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline between ethanol treated and control subjects. Plasma FSH, LH and TSH responses to LRF and TRF stimulation were also similar in alcohol treated and control subjects. Plasma ACTH values were high (113-270 pg/ml) both in control and ethanol experiment suggesting that the subjects experienced apprehension toward the experiment. Plasma GH level exhibited a non-sleep related burst in the late evening (from 0.4 ng/ml at 6 p.m. to 3.1 ng/ml at 10 p.m., p less than 0.01). This increase was not seen after alcohol ingestion (p less than 0.01). Plasma LH levels were significantly lower after 6 and 13 h in alcohol treated subjects than in controls (65 vs. 106 ng/ml, p less than 0.01 and 74 vs. 121 ng/ml, p less than 0.05 respectively). Because ethanol had no effect on the resting level of plasma GH or on the LH response to LRF, WE SUggest that ethanol exerts these effects on a suprapituitary site.


Studies on the renal uptake of vitamin D3 in the mouse and the quail. The renal uptake of labelled vitamin D3 was studied in the mouse and the quail. Upon the administration of labelled vitamin D3 autoradiographic experiments showed a specific accumulation of radioactivity in the proximal tubuli of the mouse kidney. This was still obvious 18 days after the administration. In the quail, on the other hand, the uptake in the kidney did not exceed the level of the blood. In the mouse there was a slow increase in the amount of steriod in the kidney after the injection of vitamin D3, a maximum being reached 24 hours after the administration. The amount of steroid which accumulated in the kidney was largely proportional to the injected dose of the vitamin-from doses at 4.8 ng to 4.8 mug. Column chromatography showed that most of the renal vitamin D3, was present in a non-metabolized form. Cellular fractionation showed that most radioactivity in the kidney was present in the mitochondrial and microsomal fractions. Upon sonication of the fractions most radioactivity was still bound to these particles.


Pulsatile secretion of ACTH, GH, LH and TSH in man. Blood samples were taken every 4 min for 80 min from 5 healthy subjects. Plasma ACTH, GH, LH and TSH were estimated by radioimmunoassays. The mean peak intervals were 11, 12, 13 and 14 minutes respectively and mean peak amplitudes were 25 pg, 1.1 ng, 11 ng and 5.3 muU. Mean durations of ascending and descending limbs of the plasma patterns of these hormones were also measured. The timing of the different hormone peaks appeared to be independent.


Plasma myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin measured by radioimmunoassay: relations to neutrophil kinetics. In 31 patients, covering a wide range of blood neutrophil counts and turnover rates, the plasma concentrations of myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin have been measured with radioimmunoassays and compared to neutrophil kinetic parameters, measured with DF32P-labeled neutrophils. It was found that the plasma concentrations of both proteins correlated significantly with the total number of neutrophils in the blood (TBGP=total blood granulocyte pool) as well as with the neutrophil turnover rate (GTR=granulocyte turnover rate), which is evidence that neutrophilic granulocytes are the main suppliers of myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin to the plasma. In contrast to the previously demonstrated better relationship between the GTR and plasma lysozyme, a protein also originating in neutrophil granules, both myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin correlated better with the TBGP. These differences may reflect differences in the mode of release of intragranular proteins from neutrophils to the plasma. The correlation of the plasma lactoferrin concentration with the TBGP was so good as to suggest its use in the clinical assessment of the TBGP.


Characteristics of tick-borne encephalitis virus cirulating in Poland. An attempt of chacteristization of tick-borne encephalitis virus strains, isolated in Poland in 1955--1970, was based on the determination and analysis of neurovirulence for white mice at intracerbral and subcutaneous virus inoculation, neuroinvasion, antigenic properties, cytopathogenic abilities, susceptibility to nonspecific hemagglutination inhibitors, susceptibility to temperature of 50degree and to 2M urea. Strains isolated in different regions of the country showed certain differentiation in pathogenic and antigenic properties as well in susceptibility to nonspecific inhibitors.


The biological significance of PGO spikes in the sleeping cat. Large-amplitude waves recorded in the pontine tegmentum, lateral geniculate body and visual cortex herald the onset and continue throughout paradoxical sleep. The role of these ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves, or spikes, has puzzled researchers since their discovery. This paper reports experiments in cats which have demonstrated that PGO spikes are essentially an epiphenomenon, an electrical sign of the activation of a "startle network" by the neural turmoil of paradoxical sleep. Internal stimulation provided by the bursts of neural activity which characterize paradoxical sleep produces PGO spikes in the lateral geniculate body which are identical in appearance to those elicited during synchronized and paradoxical sleep by 1.55 Hz tone bursts or taps on the cage in normal cats. Cerebellar lesions result in behavioral responses to the intrinsic startles during synchronized sleep in the form of extensor or flexor jerks of the forelimbs. The jerks occur in conjunction with each PGO spike. Identical movements can be induced in the same cats in wakefulness by such startling stimuli as dropping the cat or hissing with an aerosol can. Lesions involving the auditory-visual area permit cats to be stimulated by sound in synchronized sleep without arousal, but anterior lobe lesions produce an easily aroused animal. We postulate that the phenomena observed following cerebellar lesions are the result of alteration in the control of serotonergic neurons of the pontine raphe nuclei.


Considerations on neurotrophic relations in the central and peripheral nervous system. The evidence for the existence of neurotrophic (non-impulse) influences is reviewed especially with respect to choice of adequate parameters and of differentiation of neurotrophic influences from other mechanisms affecting intercellular relations. The importance of growth processes in neurotrophic control is stressed, the mechanisms being apparently similar in the central and peripheral nervous system. Collateral sprouting as a compensatory response of the neuron on one hand and the old age changes at neuromuscular synapses resulting in "silent" synapses and later "silent" terminals present phenomena indicating mechanisms of growth and arrest of growth processes in neurotrophic control.


A model for the quantitative study of Arthus (immunologic) hypersensitivity in rats. A model of reverse passive Arthus (RPA) reaction in the pleural cavity of rats is described. The time course of development of exudate and migration of cells has been examined. It has been found to be complement dependent and dominated by polymorphonuclear cells. The reaction reaches a peak around 6 hours after challenge. Cyclic AMP levels have been measured both intracellularly and extracellularly and have been found to persist at high levels after the waning of the reaction.


Diagnostic applications of the fluorescent antibody method. Reagents and equipment are now readily available to make fluorescent antibody techniques routine diagnostic procedures. Antinuclear antibodies are detectable by such methods and are useful in the diagnosis of autoimmune disease. By defining not only the site of tissue damage but also the specific components deposted at that site, immunofluorescence applied to renal biopsies has helped to elucidate the nature of otherwise similar appearing processes. Fluorescent techniques also facilitate diagnosis of such skin diseases as lupus, bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus.


Chronic inhalation of nickel oxide and cigarette smoke by hamsters. Chronic inhalation of NiO and cigarette smoke (CS) by hamsters eventually caused pneumoconiosis whose development was unaffected by CS. No carcinogenic or cocarcinogenic effect of NiO and CS was observed, CS exposure increased laryngeal lesions, reduced body weight, and increased lifespan.


Efficiency and loading characteristics of EPA's high-temperature quartz fiber filter media. It was experimentally demonstrated that Gelman Type A and "Microquartz" filters are efficient collectors of nonvolatile particles at high temperatures. Submicron particles penetrated more than large particles, and most at the highest filtration velocity tested of 51 cm/sec. In all tests, however, aerosol penetration was never more than about 0.10%. Nonvolatile particles penetrated less with increasing temperature filter loading. Particles with vaporization points below the sampling temperature, including H2SO4, can vaporize, pass through the glass fiber filters, and then recondense when cooled below their dew points. Therefore, the definition of "particulate matter" must be based upon a prescribed temperature. Hot stack gases, sampled at different filter temperatures, should not necessarily be comparable. Particulate emission standards must involve a suitable reference temperature to allow proper enforcement. Filtration efficiencies calculated by theoretical equations change dramatically with small changes in assumed average filter fiber diameter and/or particle size (or size distribution) used in the calculations. Pinholes not visible to the naked eye do not appear to effect penetration of glass fiber filters enough to significantly alter stack sampling results. Effect of temperature on filtration of non-volatile particles simply resulted in an increasing collection of submicron particles with increasing temperature. The main problems encountered at elevated temperatures were vaporization of volatile particles and mechanical leakage of the filter holder.


Pathologic findings from the national surgical adjuvant breast project (protocol no. 4). II. The significance of regional node histology other than sinus histiocytosis in invasive mammary cancer. The morphologic appearances of regional lymph nodes in radical mastectomy specimens obtained from 303 women entered into a prospective study of invasive breast cancer were categorized into patterns that have been considered to reflect immunologic function. An attempt was made to correlate these with 31 other histological and 8 clinical features, including short-term treatment failure (3 months to 4 years, average 24 months). No significant relationship to the latter was encountered. However, a lymphocyte predominance pattern was significantly associated with a stellate tumor border, absent cell reaction within the dominant tumor, absent sinus histocytosis of lymph nodes, combination tumor types, and a patient age of 55 years or more. A similar relationship between age of patient and sinus histiocytosis was found with the germinal center predominance pattern. In addition, this histologic appearance was associated with circumscribed tumors, severe cell reaction, and the infiltrating ductal carcinoma NOS and medullary types. Nodes with an unstimulated appearance were also found to be related to an absent cell reaction but marked sinus histiocytosis and a patient age of 45-54 years. Possible reasons for the differences between these findings and those of others relating prognostic value to such assessment of nodal histology is discussed, as are the findings of studies relevant to the identity of immunologic function with the morphologic appearance of nodal structure. The findings from this study fail to indicate any value of such nodal assessments as prognostic discriminants for breast cancer. Although longer periods of observation might alter this conclusion, such an event is regarded as unlikely.


Multilocular cyst of the kidney. Report of three cases with review of the literature. Multilocular cyst of the kidney is an uncommon lesion. Approximately 70 cases are reported in the literature, with more than half occurring in children. The etiology and pathogenesis are not known, although the microscopic appearance in certain cases resembles that of Wilms' tumor. Three additional cases are presented and the literature is reviewed.


Isolated hypoglossal nerve paralysis following influenza vaccination. Isolated right hypoglossal (12th) nerve paralysis occurred after bivalent killed influenza vaccine (types A and B) immunization of a 7-month-old girl with cystic fibrosis. Two days after the third immunizing dose, fever and right hypoglossal paralysis developed. There were no other neurologic signs, and she recovered completely over the following three months.


A case of watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and hypercalcemia associated with nonulcerogenic islet cell tumor of the pancreas. A case of watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and hypercalcemia associated with an islet cell tumor was described. A 62-year old man exhibited frequent watery diarrhea and hypokalemia for two years. He had no peptic ulcer and serum gastrin level was normal. His serum calcium was abnormally high and serum phosphate was lowered. He had secretin-like activity in his plasma. Autopsy revealed a small islet cell tumor in the pancreas and several metastatic masses in the liver. Microscopic examination revealed the tumor cell was not beta, alpha nor D cells. By electron microscopy the secretion granules of the tumor cell resembled those of S, M and T cells. It was not possible to decide which of the tree cell types was responsible for the pancreatic cholera.


Seasonality, natality and herd immunity in feline panleukopenia. Feline panleukopenia (FPL) was diagnosed in 185 of 7043 feline admissions (2.63%) at a university veterinary hospital over an eight-year period. FLP has a distinct seasonal pattern, occurring during July, August and September. Seasonal peaks were noted in all the years studied. Cats less than one year of age accounted for 70% of the total morbidity. The birth of felines in the United States also assumes a distinctly seasonal pattern. Analysis of 47,786 purebred litters born during 1970-1972 revealed a peak during April, May and June with a national median of May 29. A unifying hypothesis is presented to account for the seasonal occurrence of FPL. An influx of susceptible cats occurs annually following the birth of large numbers of kittens each spring, and disappearance of maternal immunity during the next two to three months. The addition of a large number of susceptible kittens leads to the development of summertime epidemics and serves to exemplify the principles of "herd immunity."


Neonatal argininosuccinic aciduria with normal brain and kidney but absent liver argininosuccinate lyase activity. An infant is described who died at 6 days of age with hyperammonemia and argininosuccinic acid in the urine. Argininosuccinic acid  lyase (AL) was absent in liver, decreased in red blood cells, but normal in brain and kidney. The instability of AL in frozen stored tissues accounts for previous reports of deficient AL activity in the brain and kidney of neonates with this disease. The variation of AL activity in the tissues of this patient demonstrates that more than one gene locus either codes for the structure of this enzyme or regulates its biosynthesis in different organs.


Cyclic adenosine monophosphate-induced changes in the surface morphology of diapausing blastocysts and the effects on implantation. Estrogen induces blastocyst implantation in diapausing female mice, increases uterine levels of adenyl cyclase and cyclic adenosine monphosphate (cylic AMP), and stimulates synthesis of ribonucleic acid and protein in both the uterus and blastocyst. Furthermore, the surface ultrastructure of trophoblast cells seen with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) changes with activation of the diapausing blastocyst by estrogen. Cyclic AMP-activated blastocysts were investigated with the use of SEM and compared to blastocysts activated by estrogen. Intraperitoneal administration of cyclic AMP was generally ineffective, whereas administration of cyclic AMP intraluminally in the uterus effectively mimicked the early estrogen activation. These findings are discussed in relation to other known activation changes in preimplantation blastocysts and with regard to similar findings after administration of various antiestrogens.


Developments in mammography.

Developments in mammography. Mammography is presented for the primarily nonradiologic audience. A brief historical review calls attention to some of the milestones in mammography and how it has changed. Xerororadiography is discussed, as it is one of the newer developments and is rapidly gaining broad acceptance in the United States. Clinical applications are included, with a discussion of the various entities which the radiologist can identify on the mammogram. Although the mammographic examination can be extremely accurate in the hands of interested examiners, some carcinomas will not be identified; of these, some can be discovered by routine physical examination. If mammography is made to stand alone, without a physical examination, some women with breast cancer will not be identified and will not receive prompt, adequate treatment. Mammography is an adjunct and a complement to the physical examination. Breast cancer screening appears to be effective in finding small, nonpalpable tumors, many very early in their growth. Definite evidence is now available that early diagnosis of breast cancer leads to prolonged survival. There is promise of further developments in the field of mammography.


Rheumatology Rounds at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Aspects of systemic lupus erythematosus: consideration of viral and genetic factors, and remarks on therapy. The presentation of SLE in one member of a twin pair has provided the background for discussion of genetic and environmental variables involved in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. There are promising leads (developing in parallel with studies in man and in NZB mice) suggesting that SLE results from the interaction of genetic factors with an etiologic stimulus provided by type-C RNA viruses. The principles of management of SLE have been reviewed briefly.


Electron microscopic study of distinctive structures in peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from twins with systemic lupus erythematosus. Peripheral blood lymphoid cells obtained from nine twin pairs (six monozygotic and three dizygotic) in which one or both twins had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were examined by electron microscopy for the occurrence of two distinctive intracytoplasmic structures-tubuloreticular structures (TRS) and tubular crystalloids (TC). TRS were found in 0.8 to 14.8% of lymphoid-cell cross sections in 9 of 11 twins with SLE and 2 clinically well but serologically abnormal twins. Lymphoid cells of twins both clinically and serologically normal did not exhibit TRS, although their monozygotic or dizygotic SLE-positive counterparts possessed these structures. Thus, the expression of TRS was more consistent with an acquired than inborn trait and appeared to correlate with disease and serologic manifestations of SLE. TC were found in 1.7 to 7.9% of lymphoid-cell cross sections in every twin examined. No correlation was recognized between clinical or laboratory data and the frequency of TC-bearing cells. The significance and the ultrastructural development of TC in the peripheral blood lymphoid cells are briefly discussed.


Evolution and modes of transmission of RNA tumor viruses. Parke-Davis Award lecture. Most vertebrates contain sets of gene sequences (virogenes) which are an integral part of the chromosomal DNA and which can code, in some instances, for the production of Type C RNA tumor viruses. These genes are transmitted from parent to progeny along with other cellular genes, and their activation from a normally reressed state may be part of the mechanism by which RNA tumor viruses produce cancer. Isolates of endogenous genetically transmitted baboon Type C viruses are morphologically and biochemically related to other mammalian Type C viruses but can clearly be distinguished from the other groups (mouse, rat, cat, etc.) by immunologic and nucleic acid hybridization criteria. Within the primates, Type C viral gene sequences have evolved as the species have evolved, with virogenes from the most closely related genera and families showing the most sequence homology; all higher primate, including man, however, do have detectable virogene sequences in their normal tissues. Type C viruses have also been transferred under natural conditions between species only remotely related phylogenetically. The results show three clear examples where viral genes from one group of animals have become incorporated into the germ line of genetically distant groups of animals (inheritance of acquired genes). Infectious Type C viruses of primates, distinct from the endogenous primate virus group, have also been isolated (woolly monkey and gibbon isolates) and can be shown to produce tumors in other primates. Related viral information (nucleic acid sequences, enzymes, and antigens) have been reported in human tumors. The significance of infectious and/or genetically transmitted viruses in naturally occurring cancer is a major focus of current research. The presence of genetically transmitted viral genes in so many vertebrate species and the evidence that they have been conserved in several distinct vertebrate lineages suggests that they may provide some normal function(s) advantageous to the species carrying them and that their potential to cause cancers is a pathologic manifestation of normal, as yet undefined, physiologic processes.


The relation of infection with the hepatitis B agent to primary hepatic carcinoma. In Asia, Africa, and other tropical areas, primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) is associated with liver cirrhosis of the postnecrotic (macronodular) type. Chronic viral hepatitis is likely to be the cause of this cirrhosis in many patients from regions where chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common. More than 95% of patients with hepatoma (in Mali and Senegal) have evidence of infection with HBV, a much higher frequency than in controls. Thirty-nine of 62 patients with PHC had hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (controls, 8 of 98) and 56 of 63 (controls, 26 of 100) had antibody against hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). In earlier studies, we demonstrated a maternal effect of HBsAg. If the mother has the antigen and the father does not, the children are much more likely to also have HBsAg than if the father has the antigen and the mother does not (93/161 = 57.8% when mother is positive vs. 28/135 = 20.7% when father is positive; P = 0.6 X 10(-10)). Studies in Greece and in the Solomon Islands show that presence of HBsAg in parents affects the sex ratio of the offspring of the mating. This implies that the presence of the agent in a parent can affect the fetus early in life. Parental studies in the west African hepatoma patients showed that there is a very high frequency of HBsAg in mothers (71.6%), while the frequency in fathers (18.5%) is significantly less. This suggests that the development of hepatoma in offspring is related to infection in parents. Several years ago, we described a vaccine which may be useful in preventing infection with hepatitis B. Strategies are discussed which might be effective in preventing the development of carriers with, it is hoped, a consequent decrease in the frequency of HBV carriers, chronic hepatitis, and primary hepatic carcinoma. The strategy would employ methods for decreasing the frequency of the agent in the environment by the application of public health methods including the vaccination of appropriate newborns and other members of the population.


Hepatitis A. Perspectives and recent advances. The basis for the epidemiologic and etiologic differentiation of two major forms of viral hepatitis, hepatitis A and B, was established in a series of studies undertaken between 1930 and 1970. Final recovery and visualization of the presumed etiologic agent of hepatitis A was not, however, accomplished until the technique of immune electron microscopy was applied to the examination of specimen materials collected from individuals in the early acute stages of infection. Morphologically homogeneous virus-like particles of 27 nm diameter have now been recovered from stools of patients with hepatitis A ill from a variety of sources. Antibody to these particles has been shown to develop during the course of infection with hepatitis A but not with hepatitis B and disease has been induced in nonhuman primates inoculated with purified particle containing fractions. The classification of hepatitis A virus has not been conclusively established, but it would appear to be either a parvovirus or an enterovirus.


Structural alterations of the junctional region in extraocular muscle of dystrophic mice. I. Modifications of sole-plate nuclei. Sole-plate nuclei of the C57Bl/6Jdy2j dystrophic mouse showed apparent selective susceptibility to various forms of structural alteration. Pyknosis and chromatin fragmentation were seen in addition to vacuolar and membranous nuclear inclusions. These were often associated with neuromuscular junctions with markedly reduced or virtually absent junctional folding. Membranous proliferations also occurred nearby sole-plate nuclei of such flattened junctions.


Structural alterations of the junctional region in extraocular muscle of dystrophic mice. II. Hypertrophy of the neuromuscular junctional apparatus. The fine structure of end-plate abnormalities was studied in the Bar harbor C57Bl/6jdy2j dystrophic mouse. A marked increase in area and volume of junctional sarcoplasm was often apparent. Such hypertrophied end-plates were often penetrated by networks of axonal terminal branches. At times, pseudopod-like extensions of the junctional sarcoplasm encompassed and made protracted synaptic contact with the incoming axon. Such apparent remodeling of the neuromuscular apparatus might represent a compensatory cellular response to decreased impulse transmission efficiency, as might result from a flattening of the postjunctional folding seen on abnormal muscle fibers in these animals.


On the skeletal maturation of Japanese-American White hybrids. The skeletal maturation of Japanese-American White hybrids is discussed in relation to that of Japanese and Whites. Assessment of skeletal maturation was made on 323 radiographs of 57 boys and 151 of 33 girls studied semi-longitudinally from 3 to 18 years on the basis of the Tanner-Whitehouse method (62). The skeletal maturity scores show a tendency for a greater advance in childhood for the Whites than for the hybrids and the Japanese. However, the preadolescent spurt of skeletal maturity occurs earlier in the Japanese and the hybrids than in the Whites, and the hybrids show the intermediate skeletal maturity scores between those of the Japanese and the Whites at and after adolescence.


Dispersed rat parotid acinar cells. I. Morphological and functional characterization. Morphologically and functionally intact acinar cells have been obtained from the rat parotid gland through enzymatic dispersion with pure collagenase, hyaluronidase, and trypsin as well as mild mechanical forces. Cell yields of 30-50% of the original tissue weight with over 95% acinar cells were accomplished. The cells in suspension assumed a more or less spherical shape but the intracellular polarity of organelle distribution was maintained. The cells in suspension at 37 degrees C maintained stable monovalent cationic composition but lost potassium and gained sodium rapidly upon exposure to ouabain, 10(-5) M. The intracellular amylase concentration and the patterns of secretion of amylase and of synthesis of cyclic AMP by the cells in response to adrenergic stimulation with epinephrine or isoproterenol were comparable to those of the intact gland in situ. In addition, the cells showed good O2 consumption and maintained it constant for periods up to 8 h. These cells could be used as experimental tools for in vitro studies of receptor physiology and biochemistry, cell membrane function, cellular secretory mechanisms, and other parameters of exocrine gland cell physiology.


Dispersed rat parotid acinar cells. II. Characterization of adrenergic receptors. The in vitro characterization of adrenergic receptors in isolated rat parotid acinar cells was accomplished through investigations of the transmembrane influxes of K and of the secretion of amylase in response to interactions of the cells with selected agonists and antagonists. Interaction of epinephrine (EPI) at concentrations of 10(-3)-10(-9) M with the alpha-adrenergic receptors resulted in rapid efflux of K from the cells. This effect was inhibited by phentolamine but not by propranolol or atropine. The process of secretion of amylase by these cells involved the activation of the beta-adrenergic receptors by the adrenergic agonists DL-isoproterenol (IPR) and EPI at similar to above concentrations. The interaction of these agonists with the beta receptors was inhibited by propranolol but not by phentolamine or atropine. Dibutyryl clclic AMP stimulated secretion of amylase at concentrations of 10(-8) M. A progressive increase in the secretory response of the cells was observed with increases in the dibutyryl cyclic AMP concentrations up to 10(-5) M. This effect was not inhibited by propranolol. This study demonstrates that dispersed rat parotid acinar cells have functionally intact adrenergic receptors and could be used as experimental tools for the studies of receptor physiology and pharmacology as well as other aspects of secretion at the cellular level.


Positive inotropic effects of methoxamine: evidence for alpha-adrenergic receptors in ventricular myocardium. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of methoxamine on force development and adenyl cyclase activity in cat ventricular myocardium. Methoxamine produced a dose-related increase in force development of isometrically contracting cat papillary muscles. The positive inotropic effects of methoxamine were not altered by beta-adrenergic blockade (propranolol), or catecholamine depletion by prior reserpinization, but were completely prevented by alpha-adrenergic blockade (phentolamine or ergotamine). Neither ergotamine, phentolamine, nor methoxamine had any direct effects on adenyl cyclase activity. Phentolamine did not attenuate the increase in force development produced by paired electrical stimulation, suggesting that it does not block the entry of calcium into the muscle. In summary, methoxamine produced a dose-related increase in force development of the cat papillary muscle that was selectively blocked by alpha-adrenergic receptors in ventricular myocardium.


Neuropharmacological characterization of insulin-sensitive CNS glucoregulator. Regional insulinization of the central nervous system (CNS) through the carotid artery causes an immediate decrease of the systemic blood sugar level in rats under light barbiturate anesthesia. Cervical vagotomy or intraperitoneal or intravenous atropine pretreatment results in partial inhibition of the systemic hypoglycemic response that follows intracarotid insulin injection. Intraperitoneal, intravenous, or intracarotid pretreatment with phentolamine or propranolol or intracarotid pretreatment with epinephrine had no effect on this centrally induced hypoglycemia. Intracarotid atropine injection immediately prior to intracarotid insulin injection completely abolished the systemic hypoglycemic response. Pretreatment with neostigmine administered intravenously prevented the inhibitory effect of intracarotid atropine on the hypoglycemic response that followed intracarotid insulin injection. It is consluded that the insulin-sensitive glucoregulator center of the CNS is under cholinergic influence, or its efferent pathways have a centrally located cholinergic synapsis.


Effects of synthetic buffers on reflexes in the isolated frog spinal cord. Substitution of synthetic buffers (Tris, TES, HEPES, or 3,3-dimethylglutarate) for CO2-bicarbonate buffer in Ringer solution perfusing the isolated in vitro frog spinal cord preparation altered membrane properties and reflex activity. Perfusion with Ringer solution gassed with O2 and containing synthetic bu,fers consistently produced a depolarization of motoneurons and dorsal root fibers, decreased the amplitude (and usually the duration) of ventral and dorsal root potentials, and had variable effects on motoneuron and dorsal root reflex discharges. With Tris-Ringer these discharges decreased in amplitude; with Ringer containing one of the other synthetic buffers, these discharges were augmented. All changes were reversible when the cord was returned to bicarbonate-buffered Ringer aerated with 95% O2/5% CO2. The use of a combined buffer system-one containing a synthetic buffer and bicarbonate-induced smaller or minimal changes in bioelectric activity. At present the data are insufficient to allow firm conclusions concerning the mechanisms underlying these results; but it is evident 1) that changes in PCO2 and bicarbonate concentration and 2) that the pharmacological properties of synthetic buffers are important variables.


Effect of glucagon on secretin-stimulated bile flow. The effect of glucagon on secretin-stimulated bile flow was evaluated in dogs with chronic biliary and gastric fistulas. Evaluation of the effects of secretin and glucagon alone on hepatic bile flow indicated that the calculated maximal response (CMR) values of the two agents were similar. Secretin increased the bicarbonate concentration in hepatic bile whereas glucagon did not, suggesting basic differences in mechanism of action. Administration of glucagon to secretin-stimulated bile flow produced an increase in bile flow while decreasing the bicarbonate concentration in secretin-stimulated bile. Since the maximal response for bile flow to glucagon and secretin was significantly greater than the maximal response to either agent alone, glucagon produced potentiation of secretin-stimulated bile. Glucagon increased the CMR value of secretin-stimulated bile from 513 mul/min for secretin alone to 692 mul/min for secretin and glucagon. This was associated with no significant change in the values of the respective D50S. These data suggest that glucagon produced a noncompetitive augmentation of secretin-stimulated bile flow and suggest that the two agents do not utilize the same receptor to stimulate bile flow.


Contractile inactivation in frog single denervated muscle fibers. After preliminary conditioning depolarizations, single muscle fibers of the frog were tested for ability to contract in response to depolarization by 100 mM K+ Ringer solution. Denervated fibers (6-42 days) lose their ability to produce a 100 mM K+ contracture more rapidly than do control fibers. This decrease in 100 mM K+ contracture size (inactivation) is dependent on length of exposure to and magnitude of the conditioning depolarization and on the calcium concentration in the external medium. At 0.4 mM Ca++, the inactivation is 3 times faster than at 1.5 mM Ca++. The rate of contracture loss is not correlated with fiber diameter or the number of days after failure of neuromuscular transmission, and the preliminary conditioning depolarizations do not affect the rate of terminal relaxation from the 100 mM K+ contractures.


Accumulation of some secretory enzymes in venom glands of Vipera palaestinae. Secretion of venom in the venom glands of Vipera palaestinae was studied by measuring the protein content and enzymatic activities of L-amino acid oxidase (LAO), phosphodiesterase (PDE), and benzoylarginine ethyl esterase (BAEE). These were tested in the accumulating venom and gland homogenates at 0, 2, 3, 4,6, and 15 days after an intitial emptying of the venom glands by milking. Changes in the total activities of the enzymes and in the protein concentration were found in the venom samples, but not in the homogenates, at the different intervals after milking. In the venom the total activities of LAO, PDE, and BAEE were higher the longer the time intervals from the initial milking. When the data were fit by a straight line, the fluctuations from the line were of opposite signs for LAO and PDE at the 3- and the 4-day intervals. There were no significant correlations between the specific activities or between the changes in the specific activities of any two of the enzymes at any time interval. It is concluded that each of the enzymes is secreted at a rate independent of the other two; this pattern of secretion can best be described as nonparallel.


Hepatic metabolism of genetically diabetic (db/db) mice. I. Carbohydrate metabolism. Hepatic carbohydrate metabolism in genetically diabetic mice (db/db) and their normal littermates has been studied. In db/db mice, body water was below normal and declined with age. The liver of db/db mice was abnormally large in relation to the metabolic mass of the body at all ages studied. In db/db mice, hepatic glycogenolysis, glycogen synthesis, glycogen synthetase, and phosphorylase were markedly increased. Gluconeogenesis from alanine or lactate in perfused livers of db/db mice was greater than normal per 100 g body water. Activities of fructose-1, 6-biophosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, glucokinase + hexokinase, and pyruvate kinase were elevated in livers of db/db mice. Diabetic mouse livers perfused with lactate showed a markedly reduced concentration of P-enolpyruvate and clear "forward crossover" between fructose-1, 6-P2 and fructose-6-P. In vivo glucose clearance, measured with [3-3H]glucose, in db/db mice was 170% that of normal mice. Data presented indicate that in livers of db/db mice: 1) glucose production is elevated prior to hyperglycemia, 2) glycogen turns over more rapidly, and 3) glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes are elevated paradoxically. These abnormalities are discussed from the viewpoint of their etiology.


Effects of an angiotensin inhibitor on adrenocortical response to angiotensin II, ACTH, and K. A competitive inhibitor of angiotensin II has been studied in nephrectomized dogs treated with dexamethasone to suppress ACTH secretion. The inhibitor, [1-sarcosine, 8-alanine]angiotensin II (P113), has been shown by previous investigators to inhibit the pressor action of angiotensin II but not the pressor effect of other pressor agents. The present experiments demonstrate that P113 inhibits the stimulation of aldosterone secretion by angiotensin II but not by ACTH or potassium infusions. Therefore, P113 appears to be a specific inhibitor of angiotensin's action on both vascular and adrenocortical tissue. In this dog preparation, P113 has a mild nondose-related agonistic action on the blood pressure and a nonsignificant action on aldosterone secretion, although in some dogs P113 appears to have a definite agonist effect.


Community alternatives to institutional care. The Community Mental Health Center Amendments of 1975 (Public Law 94-63) mandate that federally funded mental health centers provide specific services to patients discharged from mental health facilities, including follow-up care and a system of transitional halfway houses. In addition, they must provide assistance in screening potential inpatients and provide alternative treatment when appropriate. The author stresses the need to coordinate the resources of public and private agencies through interagency planning, collaboration, and coordinated service delivery, the need to create new resources where none exist, and the need for more involvement by psychiatristis.


Granular cell myoblastoma of the lung.

Granular cell myoblastoma of the lung. Three cases illustrate the principal clinical and roentgenographic varieties of granular cell myoblastoma (GCM) of the lung. The vast majority are small benign intrabronchial tumors without roentgenographic findings. These remain asymptomatic and are detected accidentally at autopsy, surgery, or bronchoscopy (Case III). Larger obstructing lesions (Case I) cause focal atelectasis or pneumonitis, leading to cough, expectoration, and hemoptysis. Hilar enlargement from reactive lymph node hyperplasia is common. Clinically and roentgenographically these are indistinguishable from bronchial adenomas. Least often the tumor extends entirely extrabronchially (Case II) presenting as a parahilar parenchymal asymptomatic nodule, simulating a granuloma, hamartoma, arteriovenous malformation or a neoplastic nodule.


Bone tumor imaging by scintigraphy of the skeleton, marrow reticuloendothelial system, and the proliferative tissue. Paralleled clinical studies of radioisotopic imaging or tumor metastases in the bone were undertaken with Tc99m pyrophosphate, Ga67 citrate, and Tc99m sulfur colloid. All three were capable of anticipating the bone roentgenograms. A critical analysis suggested that positive delineation with Ga67 citrate would sometimes be superior to the others. This deserves further investigation. Clinically the combined use of Tc99m pyrophosphate with Ga67 for the chest areas and extremties or with Tc99m colloid for the pelvic and abdominal areas would be more frutiful in early detection and exact localization of bone metastases.


A comparative appraisal of emphysematous cholecystitis. There is ample evidence from this retrospective comparison to indicate that emphysematous cholecystitis does merit clinical distinction apart from acute cholecystitis. It is an acute infection of the gallbladder caused by a specific group of bacteria that may be aided by some aspect of local ischemia. Cholelithiasis does not seem to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of emphysematous cholecystitis, and this, in association with some dependence upon ischemia, may account for the predominance of this disease in males rather than females. Gangrene is a common feature of the pathologic process, and thus it is not surprising that the diagnosis of emphysematous cholecystitis implies a risk of gallbladder perforation that is five times that expected from ordinary acute cholecystitis. The key to identifying this disease is the plain abdominal roentgenogram which in most instances will make the diagnosis and provide an impetus for early operative intervention.


On the retinal pigment epithelium of the barn owl (Tyto alba). The fine structure of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the barn owl (Tyto alba) is described. In general it resembles that of the retinal pigment epithelium of other vertebrate animals and a high content of myeloid bodies, lipid droplets, electron dense cytosomes, and especially phagosomes is observed. The latter show different structural specializations which include membranes, tubules, filaments, granules, vesicles, and crystalloid patterns. The central part of the retina often contains a peculiar inclusion body which is separated from the cytoplasm by one or two distinct membranes and is composed of a regularly arranged tubular network which forms a three-dimensional honeycomb structure. The tubules in part are in continuation with randomly oriented and densly packed tubules and stacks of discs consisting of paired lamellae. Similar formations within secretory cells of a gland (dendritic organ) and the taste buds of catfish are discussed.


[Postnatal development of the rat retina under DNS-inhibitor (chloroquinediphosphate) mediation (author's transl)]. The morphogenesis of retina has been studied in 1-15 day-old rats after a single injection of chloroquinediphosphate. Beside degeneration of neuroblasts, rate of development was markedly retarded as evidence by regression of the strata reticulares. Neuroblasts or receptor cells remained disorganized and were arranged in rosettes. In the inner layer containing the third neuron myelinated bodies were produced by the drug.


Hyperplasia of oligodendrocytes in quaking mice. The number of neuroglial cells in selected fiber tracts of 90-day-old quaking and normal mice was determined by a combination of light and electron microscopy. Oligodendrocytes of quaking mice are normal in number in the anterior commissure and corticospinal tract (in the cervical spinal cord) but are increased two- to fourfold in the optic nerve and the fasciculi cuneatus and gracilis (in the cervical spinal cord). The nuclei and perikarya are normal in size or smaller than normal. Those tracts with the greatest hyperplasia of oligodendrocytes also have the greatest content of myelin, suggesting that cell number influences content of myelin. However, the volume of myelin per oligodendrocyte also varies, between 2 and 11% of normal, in the different tracts of the mutant. The hyperplasia of oligodendrocytes in quaking mice may arise as compensation for their decreased production of myelin and reflect a normal plasticity in the processes of myelination. If so, the mutant may be a useful system for study of the regulation of myelogenesis.


Growth of the second metacarpal according to chronological age and skeletal maturation. In relation to chronological age and skeletal maturation, the growth of the second metacarpal is discussed based on radiographs of the right hand and wrist in 499 male and 424 female Japanese aged 1 to 18 years. When plotted against age, bone length and width present the general growth pattern of Scammon, the adolescent spurt occurring at about 13 years in the males and 11 years in the females, and the mean values are significantly larger in the males than in the females at age 15 years for length, and age 13 years for width, and later. The growth curves of both sexes are almost parallel to each other for bone length plotted against skeletal maturation. Bone width progresses in parallel in males and females until about adolescence, whereafter there is a more rapid increase in growth in the males than in the females. The mean values for length and width are almost always significantly greater in the males than in the females. The width/length index decreases rapidly until a certain period, the minimum value being at about ten years or a maturity corresponding to that age, and then increase slightly again to reach an equilibrium state on the basis of both age and skeletal maturation. At any given age, the mean values are always greater in the males than in the females. However, according to skeletal maturation, the sex differences are steadily significant at and after the skeletal maturity corresponding to about 12 years in the males and 10 years in the females.


An ultrastructural comparison of implantation in young and senescent golden hamsters. Implantation was compared in young (3-5 month) and senescent (14-17 month) golden hamsters at 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2, 5, and 5 1/2 days of pregnancy (post-ovulation). One hundred twenty-two embryos (89 from 22 young females and 33 from 18 senescent females) located in utero by cutting thick sections (1-3 mum), were re-embedded and thin-sectioned for electron microscopy. Ultrastructurally implantation and embryonic differentiation was delayed approximately 12 hours in the senescent hamster when compared with young hamsters at the same stage of pregnancy. Failure of the blastocyst to implant would not appear to be a major cause of the declining litter size in aged golden hamsters.


Demonstration of a cytochemical difference between the tubulovesicles and plasmalemma of gastric parietal cells by ATPase and NPPase reactions. Pieces of rat and human gastric mucosa were fixed in glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde and were processed by the methods of Wachstein-Meisel and of Ernst for the cytochemical demonstration of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and p-nitrophenylphosphatase (NPPase) respectively. Electron microscopic examination of reacted sections revealed the ATPase reaction to be localized to the plasmalemma and to mitochondrial cristae and the NPPase reaction to the plasmalemma. The tubulovesicles were unreactive. By thus demonstrating a cytochemical difference between the plasmalemma and tubulovesicle membrane, this study suggests that the tubulovesicles do not represent an extension of or reserve of mature plasmalemma. If the tubulovesicles represent a reserve of membrane that can be rapidly utilized to expand the plasmalemma, then these studies suggest that additional membrane constituents are added, activated, or unmasked in the process.


Relationships of foreign protein injections (hyposensitization) in atopic children to serum lipids and lipoproteins. Foreign protein injections (hyposensitization) given for one year to human asymptomatic asthmatics did not increase their serum total lipids or lipoprotein levels, as they apparently did in rabbits fed a lipid-rich, cholesterol-poor diet. Serum total protein and immunoglobulin levels for IgA, IgM and IgG for the asthmatics and controls were no different.


Rhinovirus and influenza type A infections as precipitants of asthma. Specimens from 49 persons, 3 to 60 years of age, who were prone to attacks of apparently infectious asthma were cultured for viruses and bacteria during episodes of symptomatic respiratory infection from September 1972 to June 1973. Seventy-one of 128 episodes (55 per cent) of symptomatic respiratory infection occurred with asthma. Shedding of respiratory pathogens was associated with 43 of the 128 episodes, and 19 of the 43 etiologically defined episodes occurred with wheezing. Seven of 15 rhinovirus symptomatic respiratory infections were linked with asthma, as were 4 of 5 influenza type A (H3N2) and 2 of 3 respiratory syncytial virus infections. A total of 21 different rhinovirus serotypes have been identified from asthmatic patients during 2 years of study; 14 of these were associated with wheezing, indicating that the ability to cause asthma is not restricted to only a few types. Other viruses that were shed during wheezing-associated symptomatic respiratory infections included para-influenza type 3, adenovirus type 7, and 2 unidentified viruses. Although infectious asthma was not easily defined in adults and some older children, viruses that appeared to precipitate asthma were distributed among patients of widely differing ages.


[Ultrastructural and histochemical study of Hamasaki-Wesenberg bodies in lymph node sarcoidosis]. Report of a histochemical and ultrastructural study of the Hamasaki-Wesenberg Bodies in ganglionic sarcoidosis. These peculiar bodies have variable form and size and are located in the ganglionic sinuses as free elements or in the histiocytes; they are found most often in cases with sarcoidosis but are not specific of this disease. The results of this study suggest that their origin is probably lysosomial and that their nature is not unlike that of ceroid or lipofuscinic pigments. The exact signification of the presence of these bodies in the lymph nodes would need deeper investigation.


Pretreatment clinical staging of carcinoma of the lung. A brief history is presented outlining the development of pretreatment clinical staging of carcinoma of the lung. All segments of the medical profession are urged to use the pretreatment clinical staging of carcinoma of the lung as presented by the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging and End Result Reporting and adopted by the International Union Against Cancer. The results of a retrospective study of clinical staging of carcinoma of the lung compared with postsurgical staging is presented. It is believed that clinical staging of carcinoma of the lung will result in improvement in diagnosis, treatment and understanding of the disease.


[Ultrastructural study of 6 cases of ameloblastoma]. Three cases of simple ameloblastoma were studied by electron microscopy. The classical ultrastructural features of these tumors are analysed and compared with reports in the literature and the development of the enamel organ. The authors stress the presence of two cell types (light and dark) probably corresponding to different degrees of maturity. One case of cystic ameloblastoma and one of granular cell ameloblastoma are then reported. The nature of the inclusions in this latter tumour is probably mixed: lysomal and secretory, perhaps ameloblastic. Finally, a malignant ameloblastoma is described under electron microscopy, for the first time. Closely related to simple ameloblastomas, it may be distinguished only by the presence of signs of cellular degeneration and numerous mitoses, sometimes abnormal.


[Ultrastructural odontological study of a case of Papillon-Lefèvre disease]. An ultrastructural study of the teeth and alveolar bone was carried out in a case of Papillon-Lefevre disease, using sweep electron microscopy. There were structural abnormalities of the enamel, numerous zones of cement resorption, the absence of mineralisation of the parodontal fibres inserted in the cement. Osteogenesis was disturbed and the lamina dura showed a granular pattern without any defined orientation.


[Mixed hyperlipidemia resistant to ordinary dietetic and medical treatment. 30 cases]. From 30 cases of mixed hyperlipidemia which were resistant to apparently correctly managed treatment, combining an adapted diet and Clofibrate, the authors confirmed that there is no specific clinical or laboratory picture in these cases: except for the constant presence of two beta-lipoproteins, with a high percentage of slow pre-beta, on electrophoresis on agarose, persisting throughout the length of inactive treatment. Analysis of the factors of resistance, whether exogenous and/or endogenous show that: bad adhesion to the "anticholesterol" diet (persistance of the supply of alcohol and/or sugar, insufficiency of unsaturated fats) and the incomplete reduction of a residual plethoric overload however minimal, constitute the two factors of resistance which are most easily picked out and overcome, but such factors are fat to be constantly causal. And in other cases, the contribution of drug interference or of considerable glycoregulation disorder remains to be excluded or discussed. In the absence of such factors or of their decisive role, a more specific cause of metabolic resistance had to be looked for. A disorder in Clofibrate mechanism, detected by gaseous chromatography in the form of an abnormal peak at C15 (clofibric acid) is found 12 hours or more after the last ingestion of the drug in certain cases. Binding of this molecule with VLDL, and perhaps with slow pre-betalipoprotens and nolonger with albumin, could explain the fault in metabolic clearance and in good metabolic utilization of this drug.


[Association of aniridia and Wilms' tumor. Report of two cases (author's transl)]. Authors report two new cases of association of Wilms' tumor and congenital aniridia and a review of the literature is made. Attention is called to the frequency of this association and the importance of close observation of patients with congenital aniridia in order to ensure early diagnosis of Wilms' tumor.


[Chronic diarrhea and intestinal cytomegalic inclusion (author's transl)]. A case of chronic diarrhea resistent to treatment is presented. At autopsy a cytomegalic inclusion disease localized only in the gastrointestinal tract was found. This case seems to be a confirmation to the hypothesis that the cytomegalovirus may be cause of gastrointestinal disturbances in infants.


[Acrocephalosyndactyly (ACS) (author's transl)]. 13 cases of ACS are presented: seven of them were identified as Apert's syndrome; two as Chotzen's syndrome; three as Carpenter's syndrome, and one as Pfeiffer's syndrome. These disorders have no known ethiology. However, it is necessary to look for diabetic antecedents and dermatogliphus alterations, both in the patient and the parents. An attempt to give an explanation of their hereditary penetrance is made. Frequency of associated abnormalities, mental retardation, therapeutics, prognosis, and recent encouraging results of plastic surgery of the face are reviewed.


[Effect of methyl parathion and zineb administration on the activity of some hepatic enzymes in rats]. Male albinos rats were fed diets containing parathion-methyl or Zineb so that the average daily intake is 1/10 or 1/20 lethal dose 50, for a period of 4 or 8 weeks. The activity of hepatic microsomal enzymes, namely :aminopyrine N-demethylase, BHT oxidase, aniline hydroxylase, Butter Yellow & Amaranth reductases, NADPH-cyt. c reductase, G6P phosphatase, were measured. The activities of G6P & 6PG deshydrogenases were also determined. With the application of the parathion-methyl doses, the only effect showed is the lowering of the microsomal protein concentration.


[Purification and characterization of "Clostridium perfringens" BP6K-N5 strain bacteriocin N5 (author's transl)]. The bacteriocin N5 produced by Clostridium perfringens, strain BP6K-N5, after UV irradiation induction, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose and gel filtration on Sephadex G100. By polyacrylamid-gel electrophoresis and immunodiffusion analysis the purified material was shown to be homogenous. The purified bacteriocin N5 is inactivated by proteolytic enzymes and by heat treatment at 50 degrees C for 15 minutes. It is a simple protein with a molecular weight of approximately 82.000. The protein appears to be a single polypeptide chain, as no dissociation is obtained by sodium dodecyl sulfate and beta-mercaptoethanol disc-gel-electrophoresis.


[Kinetics of setting up of a human fecal flora in germ free mice and trial of decontamination of antibiotherapy (author's transl)]. We have tried in this study to reproduce in germfree mice a bacterial equilibrium observed previously in the gastrointestinal tract of child "L.N.", reared in a plastic isolator. Eight bacterial strains were studied. Seven had been fortuitously introduced: Acinetobacter lwoffi LN1, Staphylococcus epidermidis LN2, Clostridium perfringens LN3, Plectridium anatum LN4, Streptococcus bovis LN5, Enterobacter cloacae LN6, Corynebacterium sp LN7. The eighth strain was purposely administered to the child in order to take advantage of an antagonism between this strain and spontaneously acquired flora. This strain is Bacillus licheniformis FD1. The gnotoxenic mice proved to be a good experimental model because we found their bacterial equilibrium comparable to that observed in child L.N. In addition, we studied the decontamination procedures of the gastrointestinal tract of mice by observing both the antagonism of B. licheniformis with bacitracin, and the action of a suitable mixture of antibiotics. Conditions for the realization of this decontamination are discussed in this study.


Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in Fasciola hepatica (L.) homogenates. The authors have studied the bahaviour of cyclic 3',5'-AMP phosphodiesterase in the 2,000 g supernatant of the Fascilola hepatica homogenate, under basal conditions and after addition of various substances. Dopamine remarkably inhibits the enzyme activity, imidazole causes a strong activation, while serotonin, theophylline, PGE1 and PGF2alpha appear to be ineffective.


The cerebrospinal fluid: current concepts of its formation. Until recently it has been generally accepted that the choroid plexuses are the major source of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, data now indicate that significant contributions to the CSF are made at extrachoroidal sites. CSF production studies and 24Na transport studies in normal and plexectomized rhesus monkeys supportive of substantial extrachoroidal CSF formation will be presented. Although the exact mechanisms of CSF formation remain to be defined, ultrafiltration is probably involved to a considerable extent. Data indicative of a lymphatic-like role for the CSF will be considered.


[Study of the interaction of human serum albumin with penicillins by means of spin labels]. Interaction of 8 penicillin preparations with human serum albumin was studied with the spin-labels method and a probe. Correlation between the binding level of penicillins with human serum albumin and their effect on the spectrum of EPR of the spin-label attached to albumin was observed only with the use of a hydrophobic probe (radical III). The covalent attached marks and the hydrophobic probe may be used for rapid orienting estimation of pencillin interaction with albumin.


Inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus replication by poly(2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid). Poly(2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridylic acid) is known to be an effective inhibitor of the deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase found within the oncornaviruses. This synthetic polynucleotide was found to inhibit the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus in mouse L cells. The polymer was shown to be capable of inhibiting the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent RNA polymerase, and it is proposed that this is the mechanism of antiviral activity. The following observations support this viewpoint: (i) the polymer is most active when added after virus adsorption; (ii) the antiviral activity is not species specific; and (iii) the polynucleotide is nontoxic to the host cell. Conventional methodologies designed to increase nucleic acid uptake by cultured cells do not show an increase in antiviral potency.


Prospective double-blind evaluation of topical adenine arabinoside in male herpes progenitalis. Thirty-four virologically proven episodes of herpes progenitalis in 32 men were treated in a prospective double-blind study with either adenine arabinoside ointment or an identical-appearing placebo for 7 days. Clinical evaluation and quantitative virological studies were done on days 1, 3, and 8. There was a highly significant correlation between clinical response and quantitative virology. There was no difference in clinical or virological response between drug and control groups. Primary attacks tended to have higher viral excretion over the period of observation. The level of complement-fixing antibody to herpes simplex virus type 2(<1:16 versus >/=1:16) in patients with recurrent disease did not appear to alter the course of viral excretion.


[A chronological study of thymic crystalline inclusions and autoimmune disorders in Swan and NZB mice (author's transl)]. Swan and NZB mice represent good animal model for human systemic erythematosus with autoimmune phenomena (antinuclear antibodies, deposits of immunoglobulins in kidney and skin). The level of circulating thymic factor, responsible for T lymphocyte differenciation, falls during the first month of life in NZB mice, during the third month in Swan mice, during the sixth month in control mice (Swiss). In Swan mice, cytoplasmic crystalline inclusions have been found within the epithelial cells which are said to have a thymosine-like activity. The time-sequence of the appearance of the crystalline inclusions has been studied in relation to the development of autoimmune disorders (antinuclear antibodies, immunoglobulins in tissues). In each group of mice, the drop in circulating thymic factor appears before the appearance of crystalline inclusions and of autoimmunisation. Therefore, these crystals appear to represent a store of circulating thymosine-like factor or of a precursor in an ageing thymus.


Relationship of lactate dehydrogenase specificity and growth rate to lactate metabolism by Selenomonas ruminantium. A lactate-fermenting strain of Selenomonas ruminantium (HD4) and a lactatenonfermenting strain (GA192) were examined with respect to the stereoisomers of lactate formed during glucose fermentation, the stereoisomers of lactate fermented by HD4, and the characteristics of the lactate dehydrogenases of the strains. GA192 formed L-lactate and HD4 formed L-lactate and small amounts of D-lactate from glucose. HD4 fermended L- but not D-lactate. Both strains contain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-specific lactate dehydrogenases, and no NAD-independent lactate oxidation was detected. Continuous cultures of both strains grown with limiting glucose produced mainly propionate and acetate and little lactate at dilution rates less than 0.4/h, with shifts to increasing amounts of lactate and less acetate and propionate as the dilution rate was increased from 0.4/h to approximately 1/h.