Spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasia (report of a case of common type and three cases of "new varities"). One sporadic case of the common type of spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasia and three cases of "new varieties" are reported. In the author's opinion spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasias are much more common than generally recognised. Brachyolmie represents spondylo-metaphyseal dysplasia with mild-minimal metaphyseal changes.


[Algorithms in the radiological diagnosis of malignant disease (author's transl)]. Algorithms in the diagnosis of malignant disease have the aim to produce a diagnosis as quickly, as certainly and as simply as possible. The first phase consists of general non-invasive methods which should be as simple as possible. If the results are positive this should be followed immediately by percutaneous biopsy in order to produce cytological confirmation of the diagnosis as quickly as possible. If the original investigations were negative, those special methods of investigation should be used which are most likely to make a diagnosis. This is followed by investigations which throw light on the most appropriate form of treatment. This scheme has been illustrated by special algorithms for carcinoma of the bronchus, the pancreas and the breast.


[Success and apparent success resulting from early cancer diagnosis (author's transl)]. Cancer screening techniques are of great value in improving the results of treatment of various tumours. Unfortunately screening and early diagnosis of cancers does not improve the prognosis in every case. Early diagnosis may lead to an apparent success without affecting the final outcome of treatment. Early diagnosis may even be harmful to the patient if the diagnostic and therapeutic methods lead to dissemination of the tumour, as has been shown by a number of authors. Consequently cancer screening and early diagnosis should be confined to those selected tumours which are not affected adversely by diagnostic methods.


[Ten years experience with laparoscopy in the state women's clinic of Nurenberg]. During the period from 1968--1977 2400 laparoscopies were performed. Of these 10.7% were for diagnostic purposes only, in 3.6% of the cases laparoscopy was combined with biopsie and in 85.7% with tubal sterilization. Deaths or serious bleedings did not occur, laparotomies were not necessary. Total insignificant complications amounted to 1.6% (1.3% small bleedings which did not necessitate an operation and in 0.3% clinical signs of peritonitis, these disappeared after 3 to 15 days). In 0.7% laparoscopy was interrupted because of poor vision. Nine of 2055 women became pregnant after sterilization (4.5 pregnancies/1000 sterilizations). In 2 cases the ligamentum rotundum was coagulated, in 7 cases recanalization was histologically confirmed. Until Oct. 1975 coagulation was unipolar, afterwords bipolar. In 45.3% the patients had undergone an operation before, like Ceasarian section, gallbladder operation, appendectomy or umbilical hernia operation. Patients with longitudinal incision, with preceding peritonitis or ileus were excluded from laparoscopy. Laparoscopy was performed by all assistents during their last year of clinical instruction. Their first 30 laparoscopies were done under control, every assistent performed about 100 laparoscopies.


[Procedure for the acknowledgement of occupational skin diseases]. Following the amendment to the Occupational Diseases Order (Berufskrankheitenverordnung) with effect as of Jan. 1, 1977, the number of occupational skin diseases acknowledged is expected to increase. Knowledge of the pre-requisites in terms of insurance law regarding the acknowledgement of an occupational disease subject to payment of compensation places early detection and preventive measures in another light. The acknowledgement procedure and dermatological early-diagnosis procedure are explained in detail.


The decay of memory of cell-mediated cytotoxicity after primary sensitization in vivo against a tumor allograft. The length of time mice were able to show a secondary cell-mediated response after a tumor allograft was investigated. C57B1/6 mice were inoculated ip with P-815 mastocytoma cells and, at selected time intervals up to 12 months after immunization, spleen cells were placed in JLC in an attempt to generate secondary CTL activity. It was found, as measured by the 51Cr-release assay, that all mice tested had significant secondary CTL activity 3 months after allograft. The ability to generate a secondary response then decreased with considerable individual variation up to 6 months post-immunization. No significant difference in CTL activity was found between immunized and age-matched control mice 12 months after tumor allograft.


The cells involved in cell-mediated and transplantation immunity in the normal outbred rabbit. X. The organ sources of the stimulator and responder cells in the mixed leukocyte culture reaction. This investigation is concerned with the elucidation of the organ distribution of stimulator and responder cells in the one-way MLR (mixed leukocyte reaction). The organs investigated were the thymus, bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, appendix, sacculus rotundus, Peyer's patches and the circulation. Mitomycin-C treated bone marrow cells and WBC were used as stimulator cells to investigate, in a systematic fashion, the blastogenic responses of the responder cells of the allogeneic lymphoid organs. Responses occurred optimally on day 5 of culture and were dependent upon responder cell concentration. Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph node cells responded to a greater extent than the cell of any of the other lymphoid organs. Rabbit WBC responded consistently in the one-way MLR, in contrast to the findings of other investigators. Cells of the thymus and bone marrow cultured individually or in combination did not respond. The cells of the different lymphoid organs were investigated as to their stimulator cell activity. Responder WBC or spleen cells were cultured with the mitomycin-C treated stimulator cells. On a per cell basis, the cells of the Peyer's patches, spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes were the most potent stimulator cells. There was no correlation between stimulating capacity and the percentage of stimulator cells bearing surface immunoglobulins. Thus, the stimulating capacity of these cells in the one-way MLR is not a reflection of, or dependent upon, surface immunoglobulins. A consistent finding was an MLR-like response of spleen cells and WBC cultured with autologous mitomycin-C treated Peyer's patches, sacculus rotundus or appendix cells.


The cells involved in cell-mediated and transplantation immunity in the normal outbred rabbit. XI. The accelerated response in the one-way MLR of rabbit WBC from skin allograft recipients. The relationship between allograft rejection and the response in the one-way mixed leucocyte reaction (MLR) of the WBC of allograft recipients was investigated. The responses of the WBC were assessed prior to skin allografting and subsequent to rejection of the allograft. The optimal MLR response of the WBC from the allografted rabbit stimulated with cells from the allograft donor occurred on days 3 to 4 of culture and by day 6 the MLR response was down to control levels. This accelerated response by the allograft-sensitized cells was specific to stimulator cells from the allograft donor as stimulator cells from a third party rabbit induced a normal MLR response by these cells, that is, an optimal response on days 5 to 7 of culture. No evidence of cytotoxic cells was obtained in cultures of cells from allograft-sensitized rabbits. The implications of these results are discussed.


Role of granulocytes in immune complex-induced tissue injuries. Tissue injury of many types may be caused by deposited complexes of antigen and antibody. The circumstances under which the complexes form and deposit often determine the location and type of injury observed: If the complex forms in the circulation, deposition may occur in arterial walls and glomeruli, initiating lesions in those tissues. If the complex forms in the synovial tissues or spaces, then the reaction will develop at that point. Any local source of antigen will initiate these lesions once antibody is formed. If the source of antigen persists, antibody-forming cells soon establish themselves locally as they do in the active Arthus reaction, and injury will become chronic. When the antibody formed is capable of activating complement, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs, neutrophils) will accumulate, leading to release of injurious constituents. Such is the case in acute glomerulonephritis, arteritis, synovitis, and vasculitis. The ability of complement to attract the PMNs has been demonstrated as an in vitro phenomenon and as a clear possibility in vivo. The requirement of PMNs in the development of the lesions has been demonstrated. The process by which PMNs and other cells (platelets, mast cells, basophils, and macrophages) release injurious constituents is of great interest currently. The exocytosis of their cytoplasmic granules constitutes the major mechanism of release and involves a complicated series of events outlined in this review. The constituents of PMNs capable of injuring tissue in various ways is described, from peptides capable of increasing vascular permeability, to enzymes that indirectly bring more PMNs and other cells into the lesion, to proteolytic enzymes that hydrolyze vital structures in the tissues. These agents were most likely designed to rid the host of invaders; but at times they are unfortunately directed against the host's own tissues.


Stability of the resident microflora and the bacteriocinogeny of Streptococcus mutans as factors affecting its establishment in specific pathogen-free rats. The outcome of the experimental implantation of Streptococcus mutans strains in humans and animals is unpredictable, and neither success nor failure can be explained. It seems logical to assume that, apart from dietary and host factors, the characteristics of the S. mutans strain involved and those of the resident plaque microflora are important in colonization. For example, previous work in this laboratory suggested that bacteriocin production accounts at least in part for the establishment of an invading bacterium in a microbial ecosystem. In the present study, a complex specific pathogen-free Ny plaque ecosystem was obtained by the inoculation of specific pathogen-free rats with Actinomyces viscosus Ny1 and S. sanguis Ny101, and the establishment of S. mutans in such rats was then examined. It was found that bacteriocinogenic (bac(+)) strains generally colonized in much higher proportions than non-bacteriocinogenic (bac(-)) strains. Moreover, the longer the delay in introducing S. mutans, the poorer was its establishment. Shortly after inoculation of strains Ny1 and Ny101, there is probably a transient state in which microbial equilibrium has not been reached, but later the specific pathogen-free Ny system attains a stable climax community which more strongly resists invaders. The ability of a number of S. mutans strains to establish in such a climax community was then examined, and it was found that bac(+) strains generally established at a higher level than did bac(-) strains. In summary, it was concluded that, although the bac(+) state is an important property in the successful invasion of a plaque by S. mutans, the stability of the resident microflora is also an important factor.


Restoration of T-cell responsiveness by thymosin: expression of anti-tuberculous immunity in mouse lungs. Specific pathogen-free, adult thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow-reconstituted (THXB) B6D2 mice were infected aerogenically with 1 X 10(3) to 5 X 10(3) live BCG Pasteur. Seven days later a group of the mice was placed on a 14-day regimen of 20 mg of calf thymosin per kg per day, and the growth of the BCG in the lungs, spleen, inguinal lymph node, bone marrow, and blood was determined for up to 90 days. The thymosin treatment was followed by a decline in the BCG counts for the lungs and spleens of the THXB mice, whereas the saline-treated controls showed no such decline with time. The thymosin-treated mice did not develop progressive BCG infections in the test lymph nodes or in the bone marrow, both of which became positive in the THXB mice. Spleen cells were harvested from thymosin-treated THXB donors, filtered through nylon wool, and infused three times into BCG-infected THXB recipients. The lung BCG counts declined approximately 10-fold by day 90 compared with THXB mice which received THXB spleen cells. The transferred immune response was only slightly smaller numerically than that seen in THXB mice infused with BCG-immune lymphocytes from normal donors.


Translocation of certain indigenous bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the mesenteric lymph nodes and other organs in a gnotobiotic mouse model. Viable bacteria were not cultured from the mesenteric lymph nodes, spleens, or livers of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) mice. Viable enteric bacteria, primarily indigenous Escherichia coli and lactobacilli, were present in the mesenteric lymph nodes of gnotobiotic mice inoculated intragastrically with the whole cecal microflora from SPF mice but not in the nodes of control SPF mice similarly inoculated. These indigenous E. coli also were cultured from the mesenteric lymph nodes of 96% of gnotobiotic mice monoassociated with E. coli but from none of the mesenteric lymph nodes of SPF mice inoculated with the E. coli. Furthermore, viable E. coli were detected in the mesenteric lymph nodes of these monoassociated gnotobiotes for as long as 112 days after inoculation. Indigenous Lactobacillus acidophilus also translocated to the mesenteric lymph nodes of gnotobiotic mice monoassociated with L. acidophilus. Apparently, there are mechanisms active in SPF mice inhibiting translocation of indigenous bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the mesenteric lymph nodes, spleens, and livers, whereas these mechanisms are either absent or reduced in gnotobiotic mice. Indigenous E. coli maintained higher population levels in the gastrointestinal tracts of the gnotobiotes compared with their population levels in SPF mice, suggesting that high bacterial population levels might promote translocation of certain bacteria from the gastrointestinal lumen to the mesenteric lymph nodes. Gnotobiotic and SPF mice, therefore, provide experimental models for determining the nature of the mechanisms operating to confine indigenous bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract in normal, healthy animals.


Staphylococcus aureus cell surface: capsule as a barrier to bacteriophage adsorption. Encapsulated Staphylococcus aureus strains M and Smith diffuse bound phage 84 and 52A much less efficiently than their unencapsulated counterparts, M variant and Smith compact. It is proposed that the capsule acts as a barrier excluding phage from interaction with their receptor (cell wall peptidoglycan and teichoic acid). Inefficient phage adsorption by encapsulated staphylococci may explain, in part, the poor phage typing of such strains.


Detection of immune complexes on the surface of polymorphonuclear neutrophils. A simple immunohistological test has been developed to detect and to quantitate the presence of immune complexes (IC) on the surface of human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). The interaction between IC and PMN has been evaluated in several human IC diseases. High amounts of immunoglobulins (Ig) and C3 were detected on the PMN surface from these patients. The deposits of Ig and C3 were inversely related to the percentage of membrane-free receptors for Fc and C3.


Circulating immune complexes in acute uveitis: a possible association with the histocompatibility complex locus antigen B27. 39 patients with acute anterior uveitis were investigated for the presence of circulating immune complex (IC) and correlation with the major histocompatibility complex antigen B27 (HLA-B27). ICs were demonstrated by a number of techniques including rheumatoid factor, complement (C) activation, anticomplementary activity, cryoglobulins, inhibition of IgG-EA rosette formation and neutrophil chemotactic index (NCI) in plasma. ICs were most frequently detected in HLA-B27-negative patients. These results indicate that deposition of circulating ICs may be involved in the pathogenesis of acute anterior uveitis, especially in HLA-B27-negative patients.


Papillon-Lefevre syndrome.

Papillon-Lefevre syndrome. Two cases of Papillon-Lefevre Syndrome (PLS) in a family are reported. Association of recurrent infections, arachnodactyly, intracranial calcification and phalangeal abnormality have been observed. Because there is no history of consanguinity, and autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance is suggested.


Does adipose tissue cellularity or the age of onset of obesity influence the response to short-term inpatient treatment of obese women? Thirty-three obese women were admitted as inpatients to a metabolic ward and had an average intake of 3.35 MJ (800 kcal) daily for three weeks. Fat biopsies were taken at three subcutaneous sites and average fat cell mass (CM) and apparent fat cell number (FCN) were calculated. There was no significant correlation between adipose tissue cellularity (CM or FCN) and total weight loss or resting metabolic rate, provided due allowances were made for the severity of obesity in each case. Neither was there any significant correlation between short-term weight loss and the age of onset of obesity. Resting metabolic rate, and not adipose tissue cellularity or age of onset of obesity, is a better indicator of short-term weight loss under controlled inpatient conditions.


Immunohistochemical identification of slow-tonic fibers in human extrinsic eye muscles. A fluorescent antiserum against myosin from chicken anterior latissimus dorsi muscle, which stains specifically the multiply innervated slow fibers of birds and amphibians, was applied to frozen sections of human extraocular muscles. A proportion of fibers in oculorotatory muscles were labeled by the antiserum. In contrast, no labeled extrafusal fiber was present in the levator palpebrae or in other body muscles. Serial study of sections stained for acetylcholinesterase and myosin ATPase showed that the labeled fibers in human oculorotatory muscles are multiply innervated and display acid-stable myosin ATPase activity.


[Unusual, congenital universal polydysplasia]. The author reports a 40-year-old patient with clinical manifestations of universal polydysplasia, which cannot be linked to any of the 28 well defined forms of dysplasia including the keratosis syndromes.


[Phototoxic reactions to 8-methoxypsoralen as occupational dermatosis]. The case history of a 50-year-old assistant pharmacist, who had been working with 8-methoxypsoralene (8-MOP) without any protection, is discussed. Shortly after this work, he was exposed to sunlight. Within 72 h he developed a typical local reaction with painful erythema and vesiculation on the back of both hands, followed by hyperpigmentation a week later. Light testing on skin dusted with 8-MOP resulted in the same clinical picture. Histopathological examination of a lesion showed the characteristics of a phototoxic dermatitis. Guidelines for the prevention of complications in those who are professionally exposed to 8-MOP are emphasized.


[Differential diagnostic studies using the dermatoscope in selected diseases]. The Zeis dermatoscope can be used beyond its known applications for precise and detailed skin surface examinations of different types of dermatosis. Differential diagnostic problems are solved by comparative observation of efflorescence and efflorescence fields of similar appearance. The examination series presented, the results of which are discussed in detail, is concerned mainly with surface examinations of parapsoriasis en plaques, seborrhea en plaques and the clinically similar early forms of mycosis fungoides. Also mentioned are examinations of lichen sclerosus et atrophicus and circumscribed scleroderma, lichen planus, Hutchinson-Dubreuilh freckle and similarly appearing facial verruca seborrhoica, as well as fresh dispersions of foreign bodies. The didactic value is underlined by color photographs taken of diseased skin and nails with the dermatoscope at various magnifications. Finally, a description is given of possible instrument extensions.


[The explained and the unexplained in dermatological immunology]. By means of classical allergologic and modern immunologic test methods, as well as recent knowledge about antigens and antibody reactions, some dermatoses can be classified with good probability into the allergy types of Coombs and Gell. In other dermatoses much remains unclear. The problems are discussed with regard to several dermatoses and attempts are made to explain some skin alterations by the mentioned immunologic types of reaction.


[The persistence of chromate allergy in cement eczema]. 93 patients with contact allergy to chromates were followed up for 15 years during which time they were examined clinically and patch tested quantitatively at regular intervals. Results demonstrate that contact allergy to chromates and cement eczema differ from other occupational dermatoses mainly because of their persistence after a change of exposure and occupation. Explanations for this observation are offered.


[Hyperosmolar nonketotic diabetic coma in children]. Nonketotic hyperosmolar diabetic coma is a rare manifestation of juvenile diabetes, in contrast to adult onset diabetes. To date only 20 cases have been published, the majority of them infants and toddlers. This type of diabetic coma is seen with unusual frequency in children with Down's syndrome and psychomotor retardation. The clinical picture is characterised by severe dehydration, hyperglycemia with often extremely high blood sugar levels, hyperosmolarity and glucosuria without ketonuria. Mortality in children has been high (24%). This paper reports the case of a 14-month-old girl with Down's syndrome. Clinical and therapeutic as well as pathogenetic aspects are discussed.


Effect of an inhaled atropinelike agent on normal airway function. Ten normal subjects inhaled 80 microgram ipratropium or placebo. Body plethysmograph studies showed that ipratropium increased specific conductance (0.14-0.21 s-1.cmH2O-1) and increased flow rates during both maximal and partial forced expiratory maneuvers at all volumes from 50 to 10% vital capacity (P less than 0.01). Ipratropium produced no change in quasi-static or dynamic compliance, closing volume, or the slope of phase III of the closing volume trace, but there was an increase in the height of phase IV (P less than 0.01). Specific conductance reflects central airways caliber, whereas flow rates at low lung volumes in the absence of alteration in static recoil pressure may reflect the caliber of more peripheral airways. We conclude that inhibition of vagal tone results in dilatation of large and small airways. Analysis of the flow volume results on the equal pressure point model suggests that the bronchodilatation normally resulting from the inhalation to total lung capacity is not solely due to inhibition of vagal tone.


Effect of a mild exercise program on myocardial function and the development of hypertrophy. Cardiac function and the development of myocardial hypertrophy were studied in rats conditioned by an exercise program consisting of 8 wk of running on a treadmill. At the end of the training period a group of exercised and sedentary rats was subjected to hemodynamic evaluation under general anesthesia. Except for a slight elevation in the heart rates of the exercised animals there were no significant differences between the exercised and sedentary rats at rest. Following an increase in afterload or a period of hypoxia, the cardiac index of the exercised animals remained significantly higher than that of the sedentary controls. These differences were related to changes in stroke volume. Another group of exercised and sedentary animals underwent either constriction of the ascending aorta or a sham operation. Sedentary rats developed significant hypertrophy at 3 days but had no hypertrophy at 1 day after aortic constriction. Exercised rats, however, developed significant myocardial hypertrophy by 1 day after pressure overload. These data suggest that the heart from an exercised animal is better able to tolerate increases in afterload and hypoxia and can respond with compensatory myocardial hypertrophy more rapidly than the heart of a sedentary animal.


Histochemical type I fibres in the soleus of the rat. Based on oxidative enzyme activity levels, fibres exhibiting moderate and high levels may be identified in the soleus of the rat. Fibres showing moderate activity are classified as Type I fibres, while those showing high activity may belong to Type I or Type II. According to the level of ATPase activity in fixed sections, we can distinguish three types of fibres in the soleus of the rat (IA, IB and II) and, by application of acid pre-incubation, also sub-classes of Type II (IIA and IIC). Type IB fibres possess high oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activities, moderate ATPase activity after fixation, and behave in the same way as Type I fibres after alkaline and acid pre-incubation. For the histochemical classificationof fibre types, we should consider not only reactions to ATPase, and after acid pre-incubation, but also reactions to the enzymes of oxidative and glycolytic metabolism.


Differences in the histochemical properties of skeletal muscles of different breeds of horses and dogs. Histochemical profiles of individual muscle fibres were established using myosin adenosine triphosphatase (myosin ATPase), succinate dehydrogenase (SDHase), and glycogen phosphorylase (GPase) reactions in three muscles (semitendinosus, diaphragm, and pectoralis transversus) of the horse and dog. The major histochemical difference between fibres lies in their myosin ATPase activity; fibres can be subdivided into those with a high and those with a low activity. In horse muscle, all fibres have a high activity of GPase. In the diaphragm and pectoralis transversus, all fibres have a high SDHase activity, but fibres with a low activity of SDHase are also present in samples of the semitendinosus. In dog muscle, all fibres have a high SDHase activity; myosin ATPase low-reacting fibres also have a low activity of GPase. There is a greater fractional area of myosin ATPase high-reacting fibres in the pectoralis transversus and semitendinosus of thoroughbred horses and greyhounds (breeds selected for high speed running) and in the diaphragm of greyhounds. In adults this feature does not appear to be due to training, as are the differences in aerobic and anaerobic capacity (shown in other studies). The preponderance of myosin Atpase high-reacting fibres suggests that there may be differences in the nervous systems of athletes and non-athletes. It is concluded that the proportions of fibre types in muscles are related to the functions of muscles and of their parts. No sex differences or detraining effects were apparent, although the value for the proportion of fibre types (as differentiated by the myosin ATPase reaction) in the limb muscles of thoroughbred crosses lies between those of thoroughbreds and non-thoroughbreds.


Proton translocation in cytochrome-deficient mutants of Escherichia coli. Cytochrome-deficient cells of a strain of Escherichia coli lacking 5-amino-levulinate synthetase have been used to study proton translocation associated with the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase region of the electron transport chain. Menadione was used as electron acceptor, and mannitol was used as the substrate for the generation of intracellular NADH. The effects of iron deficiency on NADH- and D-lactate-menadione reductase activities were studied in iron-deficient cells of a mutant strain unable to synthesize the iron chelator enterochelin; both activities were reduced. The NADH- menadione reductase activity in cytochrome-deficient cells was associated with proton translocation and could be coupled to the uptake of proline. However proton translocation associated with the NADH-menadione reductase activity was prevented by a mutation in an unc gene. It was concluded that there is no proton translocation associated with the NADH-dehydrogenase region of the electron transport chain in E. coli and that the proton translocation obtained with mannitol as substrate is due to the activity of membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatase.


A fifth gene (uncE) in the operon concerned with oxidative phosphorylation in Escherichia coli. Three mutant unc alleles (unc-408, unc-410, and unc-429) affecting the coupling of electron transport to oxidative phosphorylation in Escherichia coli K-12 have been characterized. Genetic complementation analyses using previously defined mutant unc alleles indicated that the new mutant unc alleles affect a previously undescribed gene designated uncE. The phenotype of strains carrying the uncE408 or uncE429 allele is similar in that Mg(2+)-adenosine triphosphatase activity is only found in the cytoplasmic fraction, and membranes do not bind the F(1) portion of adenosine triphosphatase purified from a normal strain. In contrast, adenosine triphosphatase activity is present both in the cytoplasm and on the membranes from a strain carrying the unc-410 allele, and normal F(1) binds to F(1)-depleted membranes from this strain. The adenosine triphosphatase solubilized from membranes of a strain carrying the unc-410 allele reconstituted ATP-dependent membrane energization in F(1)-depleted membranes from a normal strain. Genetic complementation tests using various Mu-induced unc alleles in partial diploid strains show that the uncE gene is in the unc operon and that the order of genes is uncB E A D C. The unc-410 allele differs from the uncE408 and uncE429 alleles in that complementation tests with the Mu-induced unc alleles indicate that more than one gene is affected. It is concluded that this is due to a deletion which includes part of the uncE gene and another gene, or genes, between the uncE and uncA genes.


Selection of succinic dehydrogenase mutants of Neurospora crassa. A method is described which permits the selection of mutants of Neurospora crassa that are deficient in succinic dehydrogenase activity. The method relies on the observation that succinic dehydrogenase-deficient strains fail to reduce the dye nitrotetrazolium blue when overlaid with the dye in the presence of succinate and phenazine methosulfate. Wild-type colonies reduced the dye and turned blue, whereas mutant colonies remained colorless. In this communication we present studies of a mutant, SDH-1, isolated by this method. The mutant had 18% of the succinic dehydrogenase activity of the parent strain used in the mutation experiments as determined from the ratio of Vmax activities obtained from Lineweaver-Burk plots. The SDH-1 mutant segregated in a Mendelian manner when back-crossed to its parent strain. Succinate oxidase activity in SDH-1 was low and was markedly inhibited by adenosine 5'-diphosphate. The succinate oxidase activity of the parent strain was high and was not affected by the presence of adenosine 5'-diphosphate.


Circadian rhythms in Neurospora crassa: effects of unsaturated fatty acids. Employing a fatty acid-requiring strain (bd csp cel) of Neurospora crassa, the 21.5-h period of the circadian spore-forming rhythm was manipulated by fatty acid supplementation. The addition to the medium of an unsaturated fatty acid (oleic, linoleic, or linolenic acid) lengthened the period to 26, 40, or 33 h, respectively. Ther period-lengthening effect of linoleic acid was proportional to its concentration up to 1.3 X 10(-4) M, and also was reversed by the addition to the medium of a saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid. None of these period-lengthening effects was observed in the prototrophic strain (bd csp cel+).


Identification of myosin in a flowering plant, Egeria densa. A myosin-like protein was extracted and partially purified from a flowering plant, Egeria densa. It had no p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity, but exhibited EDTA(K+)-ATPase [EC 3.6.1.3] activity at high ionic strength. Its molecular weight as estimated by gel filtration was 4-5 X 10(5). The presence of a heavy chain (MW = about 1.8 X 10(5)) was indicated by SDS-gel electrophoresis. Egeria myosin aggregated in an environment of low ionic strength and formed bipolar filaments. It bound with skeletal muscle F-actin with a periodicity of 40 nm.


Chicken gizzard heavy meromyosin that retains the two light-chain components, including a phosphorylatable one. A method was developed to obtain a preparation of chicken gizzard heavy meromyosin (HMM) that retains the two light-chain components of parent myosin: the 20,000-dalton and 17,000-dalton light-chains. The HMM preparation was also shown to retain two characteristics of the ATPase activity of the parent myosin: the characteristic effect of phosphorylation of the 20,000-dalton light-chain component on the ATPase activity, and the characteristic dependence of the ATPase activity on the KCl concentration. 1. Two distinct stages were observed in the Mg-ATPase reaction catalyzed by gizzard HMM and rabbit skeletal actin in the presence of gizzard "native" tropomyosin (NTM) and Ca2+ ions: an early lag phase, in which the reaction rate gradually increased, and a subsequent steady state, in which the reaction proceeded at a high, constant rate. Urea-gel electrophoresis revealed that the 20,000-dalton light-chain component was gradually phosphorylated in the lag phase, and was fully phosphorylated in the steady state. It was also observed that addition of EGTA (to remove Ca2+ ions) at various times in the lag phase caused neither a further increase nor a decrease in the reaction rate, and that addition of EGTA in the steady state caused no change in the reaction rate. These observations imply that the ATPase activity increased as the amount of phosphorylated 20,000-dalton light-chain component increased, and also that Mg-ATPase of acto-phosphorylated HMM was no longer calcium-sensitive. 2. The Mg-ATPase activity of HMM in the presence of gizzard NTM and Ca2+ ions or EGTA was studied as a function of the concentration of rabbit skeletal actin. The maximal activity (Vmax) and the apparent affinity constant of acto-HMM (KA) were thus estimated from the double-reciprocal plot of Eisenberg-Moos: the Vmax and KA values for phosphorylated HMM (in the presence of Ca2+ ions) were 5 S(-1) and 5.5 mg/ml actin, respectively, and the Vmax value for unphosphorylated HMM (in the presence of EGTA) was 0.3 S(-1), assuming that the KA value with unphosphorylated HMM is equal to that with phosphorylated HMM.


Myosin from abdominal flexor muscle in a crayfish, Procambarus clarki Girard. 1. Crayfish (Procambarus clarki) myosin was obtained from abdominal flexor muscle. The Ca2+-ATPase activity of crayfish myosin was much lower than that of rabbit skeletal myosin. However, F-actin-activated Mg2+-ATPase of crayfish and its superprecipitation closely resembled those of rabbit skeletal myosin. This fact suggests that the ability of crayfish myosin to combine with F-actin is essentially the same as that of skeletal myosin, although the chemical structures of both the myosin  molecules when involved in their Ca2+-ATPast activity must be different from each other. 2. Crayfish and rabbit skeletal myosins were subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Crayfish myosin was found to have one heavy chain and two distinct light chain components (CF-gl and CF-g2), which have molecular weights of 18,000 and 16,000, respectively. These light chains correspond in molecular weight to the light chains (SK-g2 and SK-g3) in rabbit skeletal myosin. 3. CF-g1 could be liberated from the crayfish myosin molecule reacting with 5,5'-dithio-bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid), (Nbs2), without recovery of ATPase activity by the addition of DTT. These properties are equivalent to those of SK-g2 in rabbit skeletal myosin, although Nbs2-treated crayfish myosin did not recover its ATPase activity at all.


Optical probe responses on sarcoplasmic reticulum. Oxacarbocyanines. Absorbance and fluorescence changes of oxacarbocyanine dyes during ATP-induced Ca2+ transport in rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum were analyzed. The response of the probes is complex and contains contributions from the binding of Ca2+ and ATP to the membrane. In a medium of 0.12 M KCl and 5 mM MgCl2, the fluorescence of Di-O-C5(3) is decreased by Ca2+ or ATP with apparent dissociation constants of 0.2 and 5 micron, respectively. This suggests that oxacarbocyanines respond to binding of Ca2+ and ATP at the active site of Ca2+ transport ATPase. The effect of ATP is observed in the absence of divalent cations. Further changes in the fluorescence or absorbance of cyanine dyes occur at millimolar concentrations of Ca2+ or during ATP-induced Ca2+ uptake, which can be related to Ca2+ binding to low affinity, relatively nonspecific binding sites on the membrane, that can also bind K+ and Mg2+. The optical changes due to Ca2+ accumulation are most pronounced in media of 0.25 M sucrose and much reduced in 0.12 M KCl and 5 mM MgCl2, in accord with competition by K+ and Mg2+ for the low affinity Ca2+ binding sites. These effects must be taken into account in the evaluation of the magnitude and direction of membrane potential in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles during Ca2+ uptake and release.


Midline prolapse of a lumbar intervertebral disc with compression of the cauda equina. Midline prolapse of a disc causing compression of the cauda equina is rare but needs urgent diagnosis and surgical treatment. The onset of bladder and rectal paralysis with saddle anaesthesia should be viewed with a high index of suspicion in a patient with backache and sciatica. Eight cases were seen over a period of five years, and they fell into three clinical groups. Group I patients presented with a sudden onset without any previous symptoms related to the back. Group II patients had a history of recurrent episodes of backache and sciatica, the latest episode resulting in involvement of the cauda equina. The group III patient was indistinguishable from one with a tumour as he presented with backache and sciatica slowly progressing to paralysis of the cauda equina. The prolapse was at the disc between L5 and S1 vertebrae in 50 per cent of the patients, most of whom did not have any limitation of straight leg raising. Urgent myelography and equally urgent removal of the disc within two weeks of the onset of the symptoms resulted in almost complete motor and bladder recovery within five months after the operation in most cases. However, recovery of sensation and sexual function was incomplete even four years after the operation.


Scheuermann's disease or spinal osteochondrosis: its frequency and relationship with spondylosis. Spinal osteochondrosis, previously known as Scheuermann's disease and spinal osteochondritis, is common and is probably becoming increasingly prevalent. Its incidence in patients whose primary complaint was of backache was shown to be twice as great as that in the general population. There was also a significantly higher incidence of lower lumbar spondylosis in patients with previous osteochondrosis compared with those without. Osteochondrosis is thereby shown to be an important aetiological factor in spondylosis.


Structure, protein composition and birefringence of the costa: a motile flagellar root fibre in the flagellate Trichomonas. The costa is a rod-shaped intracellular organelle lying in the cytoplasm immediately below the undulating membrane. In certain large species of Trichomonas (T. gigantea, T. termopsidis and an undescribed species from the termite Porotermes adamsoni) this organelle is motile. Bending waves are transmitted along the length of the costa, in either direction. It is shown that the bending is actively produced by the costa itself. The form of the movements is described in detail. The costa is birefringent. At the point at which bending occurs there is a sharply localized reduction in birefringence. Electron microscopy shows that the costa is composed of longitudinally running lamellae, 2--3 nm thick and spaced 12 nm apart. These are connected to transversely running elements spaced at intervals of about 37 nm. The lamellae occur in two alternative configurations: straight and zig-zag. Bending probably results from a local, transient change from the straight to the zig-zag configuration. This would account for the local change in birefringence which accompanies bending. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of isolated costas shows them to contain a number of protein components, of which the principal one has a molecular weight of about 90,000. Preliminary cytochemical evidence is presented for ATPase activity in the costa. The costa is a type of motile system distinct from any hitherto described.


On the reduced intercellular adhesiveness of virally transformed BHK21 cells. Baby hamster kidney fibroblasts (BHK21 cells) transformed by polyoma or Rous sarcoma viruses aggregate less than the untransformed parental cells when incubated in growth medium in a gyratory shaker for 18-24 h. This difference can be measured by electronic particle counting, or by filtering aggregated suspensions of 32P-labelled cells through bolting fabric. The aggregation of transformed derivatives is not enhanced by the presence, during aggregation of epsilon-amino caproic acid, an inhibitor of plasmin activation. Some lines of transformed BHK21 cells do not appear less adhesive than untransformed cells in a short-term aggregation assay, and none adheres markedly less well when seeded onto homotypic cell sheets. The decreased aggregation of transformed cells is consistent with suggestions that LETS protein is involved in intercellular adhesion of fibroblasts as well as in attachment of cells to non-cellular substrates. If so, the short-term aggregation of freshly trypsinized cells may depend on secretion of LETS from an intracellular pool.


Interrelationships of circulating maternal steroid concentrations in third trimester pregnancies. II. C18 and C19 steroids: estradiol, estriol, dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, delta 5-androstenediol, delta 4-androstenedione, testosterone, and dihydrotestosterone. This report describes aggregate time trend effects of advancing gestational age on circulating maternal concentrations of 17beta-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), dehydroepiandrosterone (D), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (D-S), delta 5-androstenediol (delta 5 diol), delta 4-androstenedione (delta 4 A), testosterone (T), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in a sequential series of 155 blood samples obtained from 19 normal pregnant women ranging from 26-40 weeks gestational age. Only E2, E3, and D-S show aggregate time trend effects. Log (E2) plots as a linear positive sloping curve from 26-40 weeks. Log (E3) plots as a positive sloping curve that is significantly steeper than log (E2) (P less than 0.05). Log (D-S) plots into a negative sloping curve which mirrors the pattern for log (E2) but cannot be statistically associated with log (E2) except for the opposite sign of their slopes, which are both significantly different from a zero slope (P less than 0.05). delta 4 A, T, DHT, delta 5 diol, and D show no aggregate time trends; however wide, comoving undulations for delta 4 A, T, DHT, and delta 5 diol between 26-28 and 38-40 weeks are confirmed in time by comparison of log mean plots and in magnitude by regressing the C19 steroids on one another. D shows virtually no association with the other C19 steroids. All C19 steroids, except for T, circulate at nonpregnant concentrations, implying that there is little placental secretion of these steroids into the maternal circulation.


Inflammatory seborrheic keratoses with mononuclear cell infiltration. Inflammation in inflammatory seborrheic keratoses was found to be composed of mononuclear cells, particularly lymphocytes. Accumulations of mononuclear cells in the papillary and subpapillary dermis frequently showed no tendency to infiltrate the epithelium. However, dramatic interaction of the seborrheic keratosis and the inflammatory process also was common. The lymphocytic exocytosis into the epithelium followed two basic patterns: eczematous, characterized by intercellular and intracellular edema, microvesicle formation, and epithelial necrosis; and lichenoid, in which a bandlike infiltrate attacked the dermoepidermal junction and hyaline bodies occurred in the infiltrated epithelium and in the dermis. Epithelial changes consisted of necrosis of epithelial cells and related parakeratosis; squamous eddies were occasionally found. Inflammatory cell infiltration in seborrheic keratoses possibly represents a process other than irritation, and we propose that mononuclear cell infiltration in seborrheic keratoses may be related to an involutionary process.


Transformation of seborrheic keratosis into Bowen's disease. This case proves the possibility of a malignant transformation of seborrheic keratosis. This evidence is furnished by a biopsy specimen that shows not only a topical relationship between seborrheic keratosis and Bowen's disease, but also the progressive transition. An evident biopsy has to be made prior to clinical suspicion of malignant degeneration, that means prior to the destruction of the transitional zone by the tumor.


Ultrastructural identification of Langerhans cells in seborrheic keratoses. Lesions of seborrheic keratoses studied by transmission electron microscopy showed an unusually large number of Langerhans cells in the epidermis. The role of Langerhans cells in the development of these lesions needs further study.


Hospitals for the mentally ill and handicapped in Melbourne Australia. This report of visits made while on a Churchill Traveling Fellowship briefly outlines some catering problems in caring for the mentally ill and handicapped.


Autoimmune interaction measured in a postlabelling microcytostasis assay. A postlabelling microcytostasis assay was developed to assess primary immune interaction between normal rat lymphocytes and autologous testis cells. In this vitro model of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) unprimed T cells respond to a Sertoli-like subpopulation of testis cells during a 4 day culture period. The T effector cells exert a cytostatic effect on the monolayer-forming target cells. The number of remaining target cells, which inversely correlates with the intensity of the autoimmune reaction, is quantified by 51Cr incorporation. The assay is performed in multiple well plastic plates which allow rapid harvesting by cutting off the bottoms of each well. The attached labelled target cells are directly measured on the bottoms without any further transfer step. The method is adapted for the EAO model but may be useful to study primary T cell interaction with any other monolayer-forming target cells.


An estimate of the minimal frequency of cytolytic T lymphocyte effector cells generated in allogeneic reactions. A 'micro' modification of the standard 51Cr release assay was developed. With this assay, significant cytolysis was obtained employing 100--200 51Cr-labeled target cells and fewer than 100 lymphocytes obtained from mixed leukocyte cultures. A minimal estimate as to the actual frequency of effector cells was determined for both primary (1 cell in 30) and secondary (1 cells in 8) cytolytic T lymphocyte populations.


Cross-linking of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase protein. The addition of cupric-1,10,-phenanthroline, a cross-linking catalyst, to sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes caused protein sulfhydryl groups to form disulfide bridges. Following a short exposure to the catalyst (15 s, 22 degrees C) most of the protein was in a dimeric form (Mr = 248,000). Longer exposure times resulted in the formation of trimers, tetramers and other oligomers too large to enter the gel. At low temperatures (4 degrees C) dimer formation predominates, even for exposure times as long as 5 min. Cross-linking in the presence of 7.5 mM Triton X-100 (a concentration that resulted in clearing of the membrane suspension and thus solubilization of the membrane components) showed the appearance of a considerable dimer fraction, however, most of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase protein appeared as a monomer. Following 1 min of cross-linking at 22 degrees C, freeze-etched membranes showed no alteration in the number or appearance of 80 A intramembranous particles. Thus extensive cross-linking of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase protein can occur without disruption of the normal position of the intramembrane portion of the molecule.


HLA-antigens and contact hypersensitivity. The HLA-A, -B -C typing of 100 bricklayers was performed. 50 bricklayers had developed contact allergy to chromium while 50 were healthy bricklayers. The distribution of HLA antigens were equal in the 2 groups.


[Tuberculosis of the uterus and adnexae. A retrospective study that has lasted 20 years (author's transl)]. The frequency of tuberculosis has considerably lessened and its localisation in the female genital organs has benefited by this happy result of immunisation by B.C.G. We have had 60 cases and carried out an analytical study on them and compared them with those of other authors. Great progress in therapy has allowed us to plan a coherent attitude by taking note of the normal way in which tuberculosis evolves and the correct measures for treating it in the uterus and adnexae.


Use of allograft amniotic membrane for control of intra-abdominal adhesions. The authors have studied 60 rabbits to determine the effect and fate of allograft amniotic membranes (devoid of chorion) used in the intra-peritoneal cavity to control adhesions secondary to bowel perforation and bacterial contamination. The experimental animals revealed dramatic differences when compared to the control with major reduction in adhesions. Abscesses remained localized and contained. No untoward reactions were noted in the host. Violent immunologic rejection did not occur. The membranes gradually disintegrated and left little or no evidence of its presence. Important clinical applications are obvious.


Adenosine deaminase levels in construction workers with asbestos contact dermatitis. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was measured in the lymphocytes, red blood cells and plasma of twelve construction workers with cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to asbestos. Lymphocyte ADA activity was significantly greater in exposed individuals than a control population (p less than 0.0001), whereas erythrocyte and plasma enzyme activity did not differ from control determinations. ADA catalyzes the conversion of adenosine to inosine. Since increased adenosine concentrations in tissue culture inhibit the growth of lymphoblastic cell lines, it has been postulated that decreased ADA activity can result in suppression of the immune response by the inhibition of cell division. Our results indicate that the converse also applies, such that an increase in lymphocyte ADA activity may reflect an increased immune response.


Flutter and fibrillation-like phenomenon of His bundle observed in a patient with persistent atrial standstill. A diagnosis of persistent atrial standstill was made in a patient with syncopal attacks, based on: (1) the lack of P waves both in the routine 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and in the right atrial cavity lead; (2) the absence of "a waves in the right atrial pressure curve; and (3) the failure of the atria to respond to electrical stimulation. Compared with previously reported cases of persistent atrial standstill with a slow, regular escape rhythm of supraventricular origin, the present case was characterized by alternate periods of bradycardia and tachycardia, the latter being suggested as AV junctional tachycardia with exit block. Furthermore, the His bundle electrogram (HBE) showed either regular, high frequency deflictions or irregular, deformed potentials, suggesting flutter and fibrillation-like phenomena in the His bundle.


Electrocardiographic poor R wave progression. I: correlation with the Frank vectorcardiogram. Fifty-six patients with "poor R wave progression" (PRWP) on the electrocardiogram (ECG) were studied by Frank vectorcardiography in an attempt to define discriminators for subgroups. Criteria were prospectively applied to a test group with achievement of comparable sensitivity and specificity. Four subgroups were identified in the patients with PRWP: Group I - anterior myocardial infarction (AMI) (20/56, 35%); Group II - left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (8/56, 14%); Group III - right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) (7/56, 13%); AND Group IV - leftward axis (LA) (21/56, 38%). The best discriminator for vectorcardiogram (VCG) AMI was RV3 less than or equal to 1.5mm or R1 less than or equal to 4.0mm (18/20, 90% sensitivity; 26/36, 72% specificity). RVH and LVH were identified by R1 less than or equal to 4.0mm and S1 greater than or equal to 1.0mm and standard LVH voltage criteria respectively. Group IV patients (PRWP without VCG criteria for AMI, LVH or RVH) were identified by exclusion. "Reversed R wave progression" (RRWP) was more specific for AMI than was simple PRWP. The same discriminators, however, were applicable. It is clinically useful to note that 72% (26/36) of patients with either PRWP or RRWP who did not exhibit VCG AMI could be identified by 12 lead ECG with only 2/28 (7%) VCG false negative AMI.


Validity of psychotraumatic reactions.

Validity of psychotraumatic reactions. To determine whether posttraumatic reactions occurred in injured individuals not confronted with litigation or compensation (as reckoned in the U.S.), a parallel study was undertaken in a social-democratic country (Austria) between ski- and work-injured groups. Although each group had a significantly different way of regarding the injury, there appeared to be a comparable incidence of posttraumatic psychiatric reaction in each. The absence of compensation (in contrast to disability maintenance) did not inhibit the appearance of the posttraumatic reaction. A discussion of the effects of compensation and litigation pointed out the separate nature of the problems associated with these two aspects of dealing with injury, with those problems being imposed upon, but not causative of, the posttraumatic psychiatric reaction.


Comparison of the genetic activity of 5-nitroimidazole derivatives in Escherichia coli, Neurospora crassa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster. 5-nitroimidazoles, including metronidazole (compound 1) and 3 analogues (compounds 2, 3 and 4) of actual or potential chemotherapeutic use were assayed for genetic activity in test systems detecting forward and back mutations in Escherichia coli K-12/343/113, forward mutations in Neurospora crassa heterokaryon 12, mitotic gene conversion in the heteroallelic diploid yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae D4 and sex-linked recessive lethals in Drosophila melanogaster. Whereas metronidazole exhibits moderate mutagenic activity in E. coli, two of the analogues, compounds 2 and 3 are strongly mutagenic even at concentrations that do not inactive the colony forming ability of the cells. The analogue compound 4 does not show any effect toward E. coli under the present experimental conditions. Similar results were obtained with N. crassa, with S. cerevisiae and with Drosophila in which compound 2 exhibits the highest effect, while compound 4 is non-mutagenic in all assays. These biological effects have been partly explained on the basis of differences in the chemical structure of the compounds.


Activity patterns in individual hindlimb primary and secondary muscle spindle afferents during normal movements in unrestrained cats. 1. Chronically implanted microelectrode wires in the L7 and S1 dorsal root ganglia were used to record unit activity from cat hindlimb primary and secondary muscle spindle afferents. Units could be reliably recorded for several days, permitting comparison of their activity with homonymous muscle EMG and length during a variety of normal, unrestrained movements. 2. The general observation was that among both primary and secondary endings there was a broad range of different patterns of activity depending on the type of muscle involved and the type of movement performed. 3. During walking, the activity of a given spindle primary was usually consistent among similar step cycles. However, the activity was usually poorly correlated with absolute muscle length, apparently unrealted to velocity of muscle stretch, and could change markedly for similar movements performed under different conditions. 4. Spindle activity modulation not apparently related to muscle length changes was assumed to be influenced by fusimotor activity. In certain muscles, this presumption leads to the conclusion that gamma-motoneurons may be activated out of phase with homonymous alpha-motoneurons as well as by more conventional alpha-gamma-motoneuron coactivation. 5. Simultaneous recordings of two spindle primary afferents from extensor digitorum longus indicated that spindles within the same muscle may differ considerably with respect to this presumed gamma-motoneuron drive. 6. Spindle secondary endings appeared to be predominantly passive indicators of muscle length during walking, but could demonstrate apparently strong fusimotor modulation during other motor activities such as postural changes and paw shaking. 7. Both primary and secondary endings were observed to undergo very rapid modulation of firing rates in response to presumed reflexly induced intrafusal contractions. 8. It is suggested that the pattern of fusimotor control of spindles may be tailored to the specific muscle and task being performed, rather than necessarily dominated by rigid alpha-gamma coactivation.


Physiological properties of muscle spindles in dorsal neck muscles of the cat. 1. Single-fiber recording was used to examine the properties of 107 spindle endings in cat biventer cervicis (BC) and complexus (CM) muscles. Responses of receptors were examined following muscle contraction and ramp and hold stretch. Twenty-two endings in splenius (SP) were also examined, but their responses could not be quantitated because the anatomy of SP prevented the application of appropriate stretches. 2. Conduction velocitites of spindle afferents ranged from 13 to 90 m/s. Endings with primary response patterns usually had faster conduction velocities than secondary endings, but there was overlap in the conduction velocity ranges of the two subgroups. 3. Most neck spindle afferents could be classified as either primary or secondary by a constellation of physiological criteria including dynamic response pattern, dynamic index, and variability of resting discharge frequency. However, 22 of 107 endings from BC and CM had responses with characteristics intermediate between primary and secondary responses. The possible sources of these characteristics are discussed. 4. Despite the similarity in properties between spindles of different neck muscles, the length sensitivities of CM spindles were high compared to those of BC spindles. CM spindles showed length-related modulation of firing frequency over a more restricted range of initial muscle lengths than did BC spindles. 5. Eight Golgi tendon organs (GTO) were identified by their characteristics responses. Conduction velocities obtained for five GTO afferent nerves ranged from 50 to 67 m/s. Recordings were also made from receptros in deep muscles surrounding the vertebrae. These receptors had properties characteristic of muscle spindles.


Perceptions of an aggressive encounter as a function of the victim's salience and the perceiver's arousal. Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of a victim's physical salience and perceivers' arousal on perceptions of a verbally aggressive interaction. Based upon evidence that there is a tendency to attribute causality to salient stimulus persons and to form more evaluatively extreme impressions of such persons, it was predicted that an aggressor's behavior would be attributed more to causes in a physically salient than a nonsalient victim and that the behavior of a salient victim would be evaluated more extremely than that of a nonsalient victim. Based upon Easterbrook's hypothesis that arousal narrows the focus of attention to the most salient cues in the situation, it was further predicted that aroused perceivers would manifest both a stronger tendency to attribute causality to a physically salient victim of aggression and more extreme ratings of the stimulus persons than would nonaroused perceivers. The results supported all of the experimental hypotheses except one: The tendency to attribute the aggressor's behavior more to a physically salient than a nonsalient victim was not greater for aroused than for nonaroused perceivers.


Recruitment order of human spindle endings in isometric voluntary contractions. 1. The responses of twenty-two spindle endings in the anterior tibial and toe extensor muscles of human subjects were studied during isometric voluntary contractions of the receptor-bearing muscle with the ankle joint fixed in 25 degrees plantar flexion.2. The discharge of eighteen endings accelerated in voluntary contractions when the contraction strength exceeded a threshold level which differed for different endings but was reproducible for the same ending.3. With contractions of slow onset the latency to spindle acceleration varied with the speed of onset of the contraction. Endings with a background discharge were often unloaded by contractions until the contraction strength exceeded the threshold for activation of the ending.4. No correlation was found between the sensitivity of a spindle to external length changes and its ease of activation in a voluntary contraction. For two spindle endings with a background discharge there was no change in either discharge frequency or the regularity of spindle discharge during contractions which were below the threshold for activation of the endings. It is concluded that the threshold for activation of a spindle ending in an isometric voluntary contraction is determined by its fusimotor innervation, and that fusimotor neurones probably have a recruitment order, much as do skeletomotor neurones.5. Once activated, the discharge of spindle endings fluctuated with changes in skeletomotor activity but the relationship for some endings contained non-linearities. Such non-linearities were not as apparent in multi-unit recordings from a number of spindle endings in the contracting muscle. It is concluded that the fusimotor drive to a muscle is proportional to the skeletomotor drive to the muscle, and that skeletomotor and fusimotor neurones are subjected to similar if not identical descending command signals. From the work of Evarts (1968), it seems likely that these command signals are related more to desired muscle force than to desired muscle length.


Mechanism of the vibration paradox: excitatory and inhibitory effects of tendon vibration on single soleus muscle motor units in man. 1. The parameters of presynaptic inhibition of the Ia spindle afferents from soleus muscle by vibration have been investigated. The inhibitory effects increase with the amplitude of vibration, but decrease when the vibration frequency is increased.2. The monosynaptic reflex threshold of twenty-one single soleus motor units activated in the H (Hoffmann) reflex by a single electrical stimulus to the posterior tibial nerve was estimated quantitatively and expressed in relation to the size of the simultaneously recorded H reflex.3. A parametric study of the effects of various Achilles tendon vibrations on the reflex threshold of the single soleus motor units indicated that their order of derecruitment is concordant with their rank order for activation in the phasic reflexes of the soleus. The last recruited motoneurones are the most susceptible to being silenced by steady vibration.4. Muscle vibration progressively recruits single motor units according to the motoneurone size principle through polysynaptic proprioceptive pathways. However the presynaptic inhibition of Ia spindle afferents simultaneously induced by the vibration works in reverse on the same rank order of motoneurones of the soleus spinal pool, thereby limiting the polysynaptic recruitment of units in the tonic vibration reflex while depressing the autogenic phasic proprioceptive reflexes. These mechanisms elucidate the so-called vibration paradox and extend the size principle of Henneman to presynaptic inhibitory effects.


A survey of preceived oral health needs of homebound patients. 1. While almost 60 percent of all patients reported dental needs, it is assumed that actual needs were in fact considerably higher. Problems relating to dentures were the most freqeuntly expressed complaint. 2. A strong relation existed between the ability of homebound patients to get to a dentist and the time elapsed since last dental visit. Number of teeth was a significant determinant in frequency of seeking care. Persons with teeth or dentures sought treatment more often than those who were edentulous. Pain was the only variable for which a difference was noted between the two groups in the effect on time of last dental visit. 3. The study revealed an inaccessibility of dental care for the majority of patients confined to their homes. Ability to get to the dentist was identified as a major barrier to care for the homebound. The delivery of dental services to such patients in their immediate surroundings, by specially trained dental professionals using mobile units, must therefore be seriously considered as a means for improving access to care for this population.


Sciatic nerve injury in a patient undergoing laparoscopy. A case of injury to the sciatic nerve at the time of laparoscopy is presented. The problem can generally be prevented, and the resolution, although lengthy, ususally is complete.


Elimination of contamination without caesarian derivation--success or failure? Unfortunately, only successes tend to be published, so we are denied knowledge of partial successes and failures regarding SPF unit breakdowns. If more workers were prepared to be open about their partial successes, a combination of various techniques are appropriate to the case, could prove to be most successful. Each SPF colony is different and must be considered on its merits, nature of contamination, species and strains of animals and so on, but it would seem that caesarian derivation is not now always the only course of action.


Twelve years experience in establishing larger colonies of small laboratory animals under SPF conditions by means of germfree technology. The special procedures and techniques to develop poly-associated gnotobiotic animals in order to start large SPF colonies of small laboratory animals are discussed.


The effect of germfree and SPF maintenance conditions on the lifespan and diseases of small laboratory animals. The mortality rates and spontaneous diseases defining the course of natural mortality graphs in colonies of Han: NMRI mice kept under conventional, SPF and germfree maintenance conditions are reported. A specific problem in SPF colonies is caused by ubiquitous germs. The lesions and possible reasons for such types of infections are discussed.


The breeding and use of specific pathogen-free (SPF) rats. Bronchiectasis is common in older rats and is a serious complication when the lungs are repuired for research purposes. SPF rats do not develop this complication, but special isolated accommodation must be provided and care of the animals must avoid introduction of outside micro-organisms. Animals removed from the isolated accommodation for experimental work are not returned, but can be kept in the general animal house provided there are no conventionally-bred rats.


Dementia in ageing mental defectives: a clinical and neuropathological study. A follow-up clinical and neuropathological study of eleven mentally subnormal subjects diagnosed in life as suffering from either senile, cerebral arteriosclerotic or pre-senile dementia is reported. Of the original cohort seven have died and neuropathological examination has confirmed the diagnosis of cerebral arterisclerotic dementia in three, senile dementia in one and senile dementia of unusually early onset in another mongol patient. Autopsy was refused in one patient and in the other patient neuropathological examination revealed a diffuse sclerosis of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher type. In the four survivors the clinical diagnosis of dementia would appear to be probably correct in one patient, partially correct in another, and wrong in two patients. The study has confirmed that dementia can be diagnosed in mental defectives with a reasonable degree of accuracy and draws attention to the potential interest of neuropathological examinations in decreased psychiatrically disordered mentally subnormal subjects.


Pituitary function in Down's syndrome.

Pituitary function in Down's syndrome. Pituitary function studies have been carried out in eight male and eight female patients with Down's syndrome who were suspected of having hypothyroidism secondary to pituitary deficiency. In all cases, the response of Human Growth Hormone to hypoglycaemia was adequate and the response of Lutenising Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone to the injection of Lutenising Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone was not signfiicantly greater than that in age and sex-matched institutionalised controls. Therefore there is no evidence that the relative hypothyroidism in these patients is due to pituitary hypofunction, nor do the results provide evidence of pituitary deficiency in Down's syndrome generally.


The chemoarchitectonics of the diencephalon of frog (Rana tigrina). The study deals with the distribution of acid and alkaline phosphatases, ATPase, 5-nucleotidase, nonspecific esterase, specific cholinesterase, and beta-galactosidase in the diencephalon of the frog. The highlights of the present study are the following: i) Acid phosphatase is present in all the neurons, whereas the tracts and commissures are completely negative. ii) Most of the tracts and commissures are positive for 5-nucleotidase. This confirms the author's previous findings that the tracts and commissures of all the areas of frog brain are intensely positive for 5-nucleotidase. iii) beta-galactosidase activity in the nuclei of the diencephalon is either mild or completely absent, whereas the commissures and tracts show positive activity. iv) Habenulothalamic connections are intensely positive for specific cholinesterase and non-specific esterase, moderately positive for beta-galactosidase and completely negative for other enzymes. v) The epiphysis (pineal organ) shows intense reaction for adenosine triphosphatase, acid phosphatase, and 5-nucleotidase and moderate reaction for alkaline phosphatase and non-specific esterase. In contrast to the above enzymes, the specific cholinesterase and beta-galactosidase are completely missing. vi) Lateral forebrain bundles are completely negative for all the enzymes except alkaline phosphatase and beta-galactosidase. The distribution of these enzymes has been correlated with the functional aspects of various nuclei, tracts, and commissures of the diencephalon of the frog.


Doppler flowmeter in the differential diagnosis of the acute scrotum in children. A Doppler flowmeter was used to evaluate an acute scrotum in 23 children. A diminished or absent flow was noted in cases of torsion of the testis. Orchitis, epididymitis and torsion of the testicular appendix were accompanied with an increased blood flow. Inflammatory and ischemic lesions could be detected and in all operated cases the diagnosis proved to be correct. Unnecessary operations in cases of torsion of the testicular appendix can be avoided with this accurate non-invasive method.


[Results of application of CS-1170 to pediatric infections (author's transl)]. CS-1170 was administered in a total of 11 cases including respiratory infections, urinary-tract infections, and subacute bacterial endocarditis. It was effective in all of the cases; markedly effective in a case of bronchopneumonia with underlying Down's syndrome and infantile spasm and in 2 cases of urinary-tract infections with E. coli. The fact that it was effective for urinary-tract infection with E. coli which showed no sensitivity to ampicillin or cefazolin demonstrates the clinical significance and usefulness of CS-1170 which is said to have a strong antibacterial activity for bacterial producing beta-lactamase. No side effect was observed.


Congenital aortic valve anomaly. Aortic regurgitation with left coronary artery isolation. A case is reported of aortic regurgitation resulting from a congenitally abnormal aortic valve. The left coronary cusp of the valve was small and adhered to the aortic wall, so that there was insufficient valve tissue to maintain diastolic valve competence. In addition, this rudimentary cusp completely occluded the left coronary ostium. The patient was treated successfully by valve replacement.


Caplike double-horned double-outlet right ventricle. Report of two cases. Two patients with a rare form of double-chambered, double-outlet right ventricle (DORV) are described. Both patients had associated pulmonary stenosis, ventricular septal defect, and a large tricuspid valve whose chordal attachments crossed the right ventricular outflow tract. The angiocardiographic, echocardiographic, and operative findings were distinctive. The right ventricle was positioned as a "cap" sitting atop the ventricular septal defect at the cephalad end of the left ventricle. The right ventricle, with its two "horns," was likened to a rider straddling a saddle. Tricuspid chordal attachments extended into each of the two right ventricular "horn." No repair was performed in the asymptomatic patient. The other repair involved closure of the tricuspid orifice and insertion of a valved extracardiac conduit from the right atrium to the pulmonary artery.


[Occupational dermatoses in workers of a building combine]. Examinations involved 33 building combine workers. Findings were as follows: occupational acne in 94% of workers, toxic dermatitis of epidermis and skin in 42% and allergic dermatitis of epidermis and skin in 9% of workers, resulting from work in exposure to cement, lime and oils.


[Dermatoses in tapestry workers].

[Dermatoses in tapestry workers]. From among 810 persons subjected to a medical examination, skin lesions were found in 33.3%. These were mostly: seborrhea (89 cases), occupational naevi (55 cases), dermatomycosis (49 cases), urticaria (21 cases), eczema (12 cases). Other dermatoses were found in 44 workers, however, in a small percentage, not greater than in other non-industrial populations. No occupational dermatoses resulting from exposure to fundamental materials or dyes used in production were found.


[Number of butyric acid bacteria belonging to the genus Clostridium in the slimy sediments of Volga reservoirs]. The number of Clostridium pasteurianum, Cl. butyricum, and Cl. acetobutylicum was determined in ooze deposits of the Volga River reservoirs using enriched nutrient media. The bacterial number for the two former species was about 1 + 10(6) cells per 1 ml of ooze with a high content of easily assimilated organic substances, thus being by 1--3 orders of magnitude higher than for Cl. pasteurianum on media without nitrogen. The bacterial number for Cl. acetobutylicum was 0.1--1 + 10(3) cells per 1 ml.


[Comparative characteristics of the numbers of microorganisms in soils and their basement sedimentary rocks]. Comparative studies on the quantitative composition of microorganisms in soils and basement sedimentary rocks have shown that the latter are rich in microorganisms. The number of microorganisms in basement grounds changes with time, thus indicating their activity. The qualitative composition is poor. At the same time, the total quantity of microorganisms in basement layers is equal to that in soil. Basement layers contain 10 times more microorganisms than eutrophic water reservoirs and 1000 times more than oligotrophic water reservoirs.


[Gas chromatographic method of determining the intensity of microbiological oxidation of methane in reservoirs]. A method of gas chromatography is described for determining the rate of microbial methane oxidation. In the Rybinskoye Reservoir, the rate of methane oxidation in the microaerobic zone of water layers near the bottom over the silted former channel of the Mologa River was found to be 51.1 to 86.2 mcl of CH4 per litre per day at 2--3 degrees C, constituting 8--16% of the original methane content.


[Microbiological oxidation of methane in the stratal waters of the Lower Volgian]. Methanotrophic bacteria are rather widely distributed in bed waters of oil and gas deposits in the Nizhneye Povolzhye. Their number reaches 250 cells per 1 ml of water. However, bacterial methane oxidation is active only in waters whose redox potential exceeds +250 mV. In a number of cases, microbial methane oxidation is limited by the absence of oxygen from bed waters. If air is added to samples of such water, methane dissolved in the water is oxidized by microorganisms at a high rate (2--451 X 10(-4) cm3 of methane per litre of water per day).


[Bacterial overgrowth of slides and electron microscopic grids in the surface film of water and ooze deposits]. Distinct bacterial growth can be discerned in the surface water film on semisubmerged slides in the laboratory conditions. The thickness of growth depends on the content of organic substances in water. The growth is found also in natural brine if the content of salts is 127--230 g per litre. A great variety of aqueous bacteria is seen, by means of electron microscopy, on electron-microscopic nets submerged in the surface water layer. New bacterial forms have been found in natural brine. Many creeping bacteria cover slides at the water-ooze interface.


Left ventricular function in terminal uremia. A hemodynamic and echocardiographic study. 14 patients with advanced uremia had a mean cardiac index (CI) of 4.37 +/- 0.25 liters/min/m2, a mean stroke work index (SWI) of 65.6 +/- 3.7 g/m/m2 and a mean left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) of 16.3 +/- 2.1 mm Hg. The left ventricular performance was estimated to be normal when CI or SWI changes were correlated with simultaneous variation of the LVFP attained during peritoneal dialysis or afterload reduction. CI was high at a normal LVFP, it decreased at low or high LVFP. Guanidines retention, metabolic acidosis and hypocalcemia did not prevent the maintenance of a high CI or SWI. Out of 32 patients, left ventricular hypertrophy and pericardial effusion, conditions which may affect ventricular distensibility, were present in 25 and in 22 echocardiograms, respectively. We suggest that in uremic subjects, LVFP is primarily influenced by volume loads and by ventricular distensibility modifications.


Long-term results in 35 HLA-identical sibling and 3 HLA-identical parent-child renal allograft recipients. 35 recipients of a renal allograft from an HLA-identical sibling followed for 3 months to nearly 15 years have had 1- and 5-year allograft survivals of 93 and 76%, respectively, levels comparable to the 90 and 80% reported at 1 and 5 years for identical twins. Although high MLC stimulation was related to graft failure, intermediate degrees of stimulation were not. The most common cause of graft failure was chronic rejection (n=4) and of death, myocardial infarction (n=3). However, overall complications such as aseptic necrosis were distinctly lower than in mismatched recipients. 3 children received an allograft from an HLA-identical parent, possible because of a shared parental haplotype, and all have excellent function from 2 to nearly 9 years after transplantation.


Treatment of Huntington disease with a cholinergic agonist. The involuntary movements of Huntington disease may be related to cholinergic hypofunction in the striatum. For this reason, the effect of a direct cholinergic agonist, arecoline, was studied in six patients with this disorder. Rather than improving the chorea, arecoline tended to exacerbate the choreic movements. Arecoline did produce significant alterations of blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, probably by central cholinergic stimulation.


Acute myopathy with selective lysis of myosin filaments. An acute reversible myopathy characterized by extensive lysis of myosin occurred in a patient who suffered from severe shock, hypoxia, and acidosis. This new clinical pathologic entity illustrates an unusual structural change in muscle associated with these catastrophic clinical circumstances.


Experimental evaluation of a posterior chamber lens fixated with Dacron. A posterior chamber intraocular lens using Dacron fibers to achieve fixation to the iris was studied. The lens was inserted in rabbit eyes following extracapsular lensectomy, and in primate eyes after lensectomy, vitrectomy, and peripheral iridectomy. Surgical implantation of the lenses was simple and quick, and no operative complications occurred. Clinically, no difference was noted in the amount of inflammation in eyes receiving a lens with or without Dacron. None of the lenses implanted in primate eyes dislocated; one placed in a rabbit eye dislocated anteriorly. Postmortem examination demonstrated firm Dacron adherence to iris tissue in all but the one eye with a dislocated lens.


Iris tissue reaction to dacron and silk in primates: evaluation for intraocular lens fixation. Dacron, silk, and a combination of the two were evaluated for tissue ingrowth response in the primate iris with a view towards the feasibility of using these materials for intraocular lens fixation. The materials were well tolerated by all eyes, with no inflammation after seven days and no cases of endophthalmitis occurring. Adherence to iris was strong in silk-containing materials at 14 days by gross and histologic examination, and the Dacron-silk combination was judged most suitable for potential human use.


Antibody formation to dog pulp tissue altered by Grossman's Formula Sealer via the root canal. Pulp tissue from experimental dogs was tested for its antigenicity before and after incubation with Grossman's Formula Sealer (GS). Reactions to Arthus skin tests showed an increased response to pulp that had been incubated in GS, washed, and then injected, as compared with the material alone. Hemagglutinating antibody titers (1:160 to 1:360) were obtained from pulp tissue altered by GS. Inhibition tests showed the specificity of the antibody to be at a dilution titer of 1:200. Therefore, GS altered dog pulp tissue and rendered it antigenically active, and a specific humoral response was produced.


Mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) inhibition in humans due to anti-Ia like (DRW). The authors studied the MLC blocking effect of anti-DRW anti-sera. These sera were harvested from multiparous women and their anti-DRW activities were defined (after exhaustive platelets absorption) on a panel of 73 B-lymphocytes. All the six tested sera were strongly inhibitor until dilution greater than 1/500 when they were present in the MLC for all the culture period but without specificity for their relevant target cell. The MLC inhibitory activity was still found in IgG fraction. A significant specific inhibition could be found only when the cultured cells were independently preincubated with the corresponding anti-DRW serum prior culture. In this last case inhibition occured when the target cell (bearing the DRW antigen recognized by the studied sera) was used as the stimulator cell in MLC. A decrease of the inhibition was found when the anti-DRW was absorbed with its relevant target cell but also with non-target cell, as assessed by B-cell cytotoxicity, suggesting that non cytotoxic antibodies directed against "public" determinant are involved in MLC inhibition.


Alkaline deoxyribonucleases released from Neurospora crassa mycelia: two activities not released by mutants with multiple sensitivities to mutagens. Three major alkaline deoxyribonuclease (DNase) activities have been identified in sorbose-containing liquid culture medium in which wild-type Neurosporacrassa were grown: DNase A, a Ca++dependent endonuclease of molecular weight 65,000 daltons which has no specificity for single- or double-stranded DNA (ss-DNA or ds-DNA) and no activity with RNA; DNase B, a Mg++-dependent single-strand specific exonuclease of molecular weight 78,000 daltons active with both ss-DNA and RNA; DNase C, a divalent metal ion-dependent endo-exonuclease of molecular weight 65,000 having single-strand specific endonuclease activity with ss-DNA and RNA and exonuclease activity with ds-DNA. Three mutants which were shown previously to have wide spectra of sensitivities to mutagens, and which exhibited reduced release of DNase activity on sorbose-containing agar test plates (the Nuh phenotype), were deficient relative to the wild-type in the release of these major alkaline DNases into the liquid culture medium. The uvs-3 mutant released only small amounts of DNase A and DNase C; nuh-4 did not release detectable DNase C and released only a very low level of DNase B; uvs-6 released only a low level of DNase A. A nuh mutant (nuh-3) which is not mutagen sensitive relative to the wild-type released low levels of DNase B. On the other hand, an ultraviolet light-sensitive mutant (nuc-2) which does not have the Nuh phenotype was normal in the release of these DNases.


Biochemical changes in the rat brain associated with dinitrophenol-induced brain edema. The present paper was designed to the study of cerebral edema induced by intracarotid infusion of dinitrophenol. The determinations included variations in three lysosomal enzymes (acid phosphatase, cathepsin C and beta-glucuronidase), Na+-K+-ATP-ase, changes in cerebral RNA and protein concentrations and the synthesis of these macromolecules in vitro. In experimental brain edema a drastic drop in the activity of lysosomal enzymes took place. The acid phosphatase decreased to less than 30% of controls. Cathepsin C and beta-glucuronidase were reduced about 30% and 50% of control levels respectively. Protein concentration in the cerebral tissue also decreased by more than 50%. The concentration of RNA, RNA synthesis, and the level of Na+-K+-ATP-ase remained unchanged. Protein synthesis was stimulated by 75% (against controls). All these phenomena were suppressed when the animals subjected to the action of dinitrophenol were concomitantly treated with the antiacidotic substance, tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane.


Radiologic signs of hip and knee joint degeneration. A potential source of iatrogenesis. Bilateral x-ray films of hip joints in 326 and knee joints in 193 asymptomatic patients were analyzed to investigate the prevalence of abnormalities. Degenerative changes, if any, were classified according to severity. Bilateral degeneration of hip or knee joints was found in 20% of the subjects. Thus, caution must be exercised in interpreting radiologic signs of joint degeneration in the absence of clinical evidence.


[Seasonal fluctuations in the electrolyte content in diabetes mellitus]. Results of examination of 257 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus demonstrated a reduction of sodium, potassium and magnesium content in their plasma. Erythrocytes also displayed a reduction of potassium and magnesium, and some increase of sodium content. Reduction of electrolyte level in the plasma and erythrocytes was more pronounced in winter; the erythrocyte sodium content was less in summer than in winter. The 24-hour sodium potassium and magnesium excretion is increased, during winter in particular. The efficacy of treatment of diabetic patients with panangin and potassium chloride for the purpose of elimination of magnesium and potassium deficiency was demonstrated. A conclusion was drawn on the expediency of using these drugs in the complex treatment of diabetic patients, particularly in winter.


Assembly of the mitochondrial membrane system: partial sequence of a mitochondrial ATPase gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The nucleotide sequence of mitochondrial DNA of a cytoplasmic "petite" mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is reported. The DNA has a repeat length of 1060 base pairs and contains a genetic marker (oli-1) for the ATPase proteolipid. The nucleotide sequence reveals the presence of part of the structural gene of the subunit-9 proteolipid of the ATPase complex and an extended A+T-rich region adjacent to the carboxyl-terminal end of the gene. The structural gene sequence agrees with the primary structure of the protein. These studies point out the feasibility of using the DNA of appropriately marked "petite" mutants to obtain the sequence of mitochondrial genes.


Calcium-sensitive regulation of actin-myosin interactions in baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells. A fraction has been obtained from baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells that will stimulate the actin-moderated ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) activity of both BHK-21 myosin and gizzard smooth muscle myosin. This activation is associated with the specific phosphorylation of the myosin 20,000-dalton light chain. The BHK-21 myosin light chain kinase preparation contains a major protein of approximately 105,000 molecular weight as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. Both the actin activation and phosphorylation events require the presence of Ca2+ and the so-called modulator or calcium-dependent regulator protein that has been isolated from smooth muscle, brain, and other tissues. On the basis of these results we propose that this kinase system constitutes a Ca2+-dependent regulatory mechanism for myosin-actin interactions in nonmuscle mammalian cells.


Import of proteins into mitochondria: precursor forms of the extramitochondrially made F1-ATPase subunits in yeast. The mitochondrial F1-ATPase consists of five nonidentical subunits that are synthesized outside the mitochondria and imported across both mitochondrial membranes to the matrix side of the inner membrane. In order to study the mechanism of this import, we synthesized the F1-ATPase subunits of yeast either in vitro (in a reticulocyte lysate programmed with yeast RNA) or in vivo (in pulsed and pulsed-chased yeast spheroplasts). Both in vitro and in vivo, each of the three largest ATPase subunits was synthesized as a larger precursor. When the precursors that had been synthesized in vitro were incubated with isolated yeast mitochondria, they were converted to "mature" subunits that were no longer susceptible to externally added proteases. The uptake of the subunit into the mitochondria was thus accompanied by conversion of the precursor. Since uptake of precursors into mitochondria was independent of protein synthesis and since the precursors could also be detected in vivo, the transfer of proteins from the cytosol across both mitochondrial membranes does not occur by vectorial translation. Instead, the proteins destined for import are first made outside the mitochondria as precursors and only subsequently transported into the mitochondria. This step is accompanied by proteolytic conversion of the mature subunit.


Interesting and unusual features in the sequence of Neurospora crassa mitochondrial tyrosine transfer RNA. The mitochondrial tyrosine tRNA from Neurospora crassa has been sequenced and found to have several interesting features: (i) It resembles prokaryotic rather than eukaryotic tyrosine tRNAs in that it possesses a large variable loop (loop III); moreover, it can be quantitatively aminoacylated by Escherichia coli tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase but not by yeast tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase. (ii) This tRNA differs from all tRNA's sequenced to date in lacking the A residue at position 14 and the constant purine residue at position 15, two nucleosides that have been found so far in loop I of all tRNA's and that have been implicated in base-base tertiary interactions, respectively, with the universal U residue at position 8 and the constant pyrimidine residue at the end of loop III. (iii) Unlike the N. crassa mitochondrial initiator tRNA, this tRNA contains the usual TpsiC sequence in loop IV and the highly conserved GG sequence in loop I common to other tRNAs.


Resection of a massive arteriovenous malformation of the head and neck. We report a patient with a massive arteriovenous malformation of the head and neck treated by surgical extirpation of the lesion. Arteriography, hypotensive hypothermic anesthesia, and the intraoperative use of the Doppler flowmeter were most helpful in this case.


Studies concerning the significance of orthogonal ECG changes with age in normal men and in arterial hypertension without congestive cardiac failure in men past forty. Great ECG changes (Frank system) with age were found in normal men. ECG diagnostic criteria valid in Romania were studied by multivariate analyses in men aged 40--60 suffering from hypertension (Hyp) without cardiac congestive failure (CCF), out of which one group with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and another one without it. Echocardiographic studies in normal and hypertensive men past forty, as well as studies in experimental Hyp with LVH and without CCF were carried out. Heart X-ray evaluation is not a functional one. Some non-invasive methods in men do not determine an accurate evaluation of LV performance. The increase of LV muscular mass alone cannot explain the ECG changes in LVH in Hyp without CCF. Two conditional adaptive mechanisms: the liberation of catecholamines from the myocardium storage, induced by the pressure overload stress, and the increase of intracellular Ca++ influx could contribute to the respective ECG changes.


Studies on human blood platelets in affective disorder. Platelets were examined to enable a simultaneous investigation to be made of indolylamine and electrolyte metabolism in affective disorder. No significant differences were detected in either platelet membrane ATPase or adenyl cyclase specific activity in any of the groups of patients studied, when compared with appropriate controls. A reduced Vmax and y for the 5-hydroxy-tryptamine uptake process into platelets was observed in both unipolar and bipolar depressed groups. The Km for this process was not significantly different in any of the patients from that found in control subjects. Lithium therapy was shown not to influence significantly any of the platelet parameters examined. It is suggested that membrane enzyme changes found in some peripheral cells in patients suffering from affective disorder, i.e. reduced Na+ + K+ - ATPase activity in erythrocytes in depression, is not common to all peripheral cells and may or may not reflect central nervous system changes.


Effects of some prostaglandins on the main phosphorylating, electron transporting and peroxidative systems of the erythrocyte membrane. Investigations regarding the main biochemical systems of the erythrocyte membrane were performed on rat erythrocyte ghosts after treating the animals with PGA1, PGE1 and PGF2alpha. These investigations have shown that the prostaglandins which were found to induce changes in the erythrocyte flexibility (PGE1 and PGF2ALPHA) also induce significant changes in the concentrations of lipid peroxides, SH groups, proteins and nicotinamide adenine nucleotides, as well as in the activity of some electron transportors belonging to the nicotinamide proteins, in the erythrocyte membrane.


Voluntary control of electrogastric activity. The tonic component of the electrogastrogram (EGG) has been shown to differentiate duodenal ulcer patients from healthy individuals (15). It has therefore been of considerable interest to investigate the possibility that individuals can learn to modify electrogastric activity. Using a discriminative conditioning paradigm with analogue feedback (Experiment I), subjects were generally unsuccessful at controlling tonic EGG activity. However, when the conditioning paradigm was altered (Experiment II) it was clear that subjects were able to modify specific electrogastric changes. In addition to EGG, heart rate, respiration, abdominal muscle activity, and digital blood flow were measured in order to assess the physiological concomitants of learned control of gastrointestinal activity. Subjects who evidenced discriminative control also showed the least amount of abdominal muscle activity and reported being the most relaxed. The results of these studies suggest that exploration of the physiological processes underlying the electrical activity of the gastrointestinal system and the ability of individuals to modify this activity may lead to significant clinical and theoretical advances.


The effect of EDTA on the histochemical myofibrillar ATPase reaction. The effects of different salts and concentrations of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the histochemically demonstrable myofibrillar ATPase reaction have been investigated. Serial frozen sections from the vastus lateralis muscle of rats, rabbits and guinea pigs were treated with cold (4 degrees) dipotassium EDTA solution and then incubated for myofibrillar ATPase activity. The results showed that all type I muscle fibres exhibited enhanced ATPase activity while type II fibres demonstrated either very low, moderate or intense reaction suggesting the existence of three different sub-populations. None of these effects was observed if the sections were immersed in magnesium chloride solution after preincubation in cold diK+ EDTA. Preincubation in cold non-ionic EDTA, disodium or tetrasodium EDTA did not affect the regular ATPase reaction pattern, while preincubation in warm (19 degrees--21 degrees C) solutions of the same salts resulted in reversal of the regular pattern of ATPase activity. The present histochemical data emphasise the importance of K+, Mg++ and temperature during preincubation of muscle fibres in EDTA before the demonstration of myofibrillar ATPase activity. Moreover, preincubation in a cold solution of diK+ EDTA may be valuable in the histochemical detection of distinct sub-populations of type II muscle fibres and certainly distinguished between type II white and type II red.