Normal and retarded children's understanding of semantic relations in different verbal contexts. The effect of different semantic relations presented in different verbal contexts to language retarded and normal children at the one-and two-word stage of development was studied. No significant difference was found between the performance of mentally retarded language-disordered and normal children on the verbal comprehension task. Both groups of children performed best on the possessive, next on the agent-object, then actor-action, and poorest on the locative relations. Finally, nonsense, telegraphic, and expanded contexts did make a difference in the children's understandings with expanded being the best, telegraphic next, and nonsense contexts poorest. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.


Auditory assembly abilities of stuttering and nonstuttering children. The auditory assembly abilities of 30 stuttering and 30 nonstuttering children were investigated. Subjects were first- through fourth-grade children matched for age, grade level, sex, and misarticulations. They were individually presented four tape-recorded lists of both meaningful and nonmeaningful CVC syllables with one of four silent interphonemic intervals (100, 200, 300, or 400 msec) spliced between the phonemes of each syllable. There was no significant overall difference between the performance of the stuttering and the nonstuttering children. The results failed to support the findings of previous investigations which have suggested that stutterers are less adept than nonstutterers in the performance of auditory processing tasks.


Semantic relations used by normal and language-impaired children at stage I. Two-word utterances of four language-impaired children at Brown's Stage I level of linguistic development were compared with two-word utterances of four young normal children at the same linguistic level to determine any differences between the two groups in the use of a set of 10 basic semantic relations. Type-token ratios for each semantic relation were used to compare use of semantic relations between groups. A significant difference was obtained for only one relation, with the language-impaired group demonstrating greater diversity in the use of the introducer + entity relation than the normal group. The findings indicated that at Stage I level of linguistic development, the language-impaired children demonstrated a linguistic system no different than the system of normal Stage I children. The findings are discussed relative to possible cognitive and linguistic strategies involved in language acquisition. It is suggested that some language-impaired children rather than being deficient in their ability to understand and code the basic semantic relations demonstrate a deficit in the higher, more complex aspects of the linguistic coding system.


Perceptual dimensions underlying vowellipreading performance. This study was concerned with the extraction, description, and verification of visual perceptual features underlying vowel lipreading performance. Ten viewers with normal hearing rated the visual similarity of pairs of 15 vowels and diphthongs presented in an /h-g/ context by four speakers. Multidimensional scaling techniques were used to extract potential perceptual features which were then labeled by the experimenters. The resulting perceptual dimensions were correlated with physical measurements of lip shape to evaluate the adequacy of the feature labels. The results indicated that the traditional extended-rounded vowel feature and a vertical lip separation feature were the characteristics most prominent in judging ths stimuli. In addition, a feature related to overall area of maximum lip opening and two features unique to diphthong perception were tentatively identified.


Word frequency and stuttering: the relationship to sentence structure. This experiment was designed to determine the relationship between word-frequency level and stuttering within the context of three selected sentence types: simple-active-affirmative-declarative, negative, and passive. Sixteen adult stutterers, rated into three groups of mild, moderate, and severe, read aloud 36 test sentences which were controlled for other linguistic factors known to affect stuttering. The results indicated that when the group rating was severe and the sentence type was either simple-active-affirmative-declarative or negative, stuttering increased significantly as word-frequency level decreased; no relationship was discerned between stuttering and word-frequency level within the passive sentence structure. It is suggested that stuttering in relation to word-frequency level is a differential response that is subject to variables of sentence type and severity rating of stuttering.


Trapping at low temperature of oriented chloroplasts: application to the study of antenna pigments and of the trap of photosystem-1. A technique is described for the preparation of oriented samples from spinach chloroplasts whose linear dichroism is then studied by (flash) absorption spectroscopy. The chloroplasts are suspended in a glycerol-containing medium, oriented in a magnetic field, and slowly cooled in the magnet until the medium is rigid enough to avoid disorientation effects. The absorption spectra in polarized light have been measured at -50 degrees and -170 degrees C. They allow the orientation of chlorophyll b to be resolved, and the red transition moment is found to be tilted out of the membrane plane. A study of the flash-induced absorption changes linked to Photosystem-1 activity reveals a progressive evolution of the difference spectra and of the linear dichroism with decreasing temperatures. At -170 degrees C, the difference spectrum of P700 in the red is well resolved. All transition moments are found to be largely parallel to the membrane plane. The potential use of the technique for other experiments by differential absorption spectroscopy and by EPR techniques is discussed.


Sarcomas routinely produced from putatively nontumorigenic Balb/3T3 and C3H/10T1/2 cells by subcutaneous inoculation attached to plastic platelets. The Balb/3T3 and C3H/10T1/2 lines, noted for their marked postconfluence inhibition of proliferation and anchorage dependence, and frequently studied as non-tumorigenic lines that are compared with tumorigenic sublines transformed with various agents, produced tumors within two to four months at low-cell dosage (3 X 10(4) cells) when implanted subcutaneously attached to 1 X 5 X 10 mm polycarbonate platelets. Platelets alone did not produce tumors. The cultured Balb/3T3 tumor cells showed loss of both postconfluence inhibition of proliferation and anchorage dependence. Tumors arising from attached Balb/3T3 cells in (BALB/c X C57B1/6)F1 hybrids were shown to be transplantable to BALB/c but not to C57B1/6 mice, proving that the tumors were derived from Balb/3T3 and not from host cells. The tumors exhibited unique transplantation rejection antigens that did not cross-react with each other. Scanning electronmicroscopy of Balb/3T3 cells and derived tumor cells on Teflon substrates (on which only the tumor cells and not the parent Balb/3T3 cells could grow) revealed that the two cell types were remarkably similar in appearance, except that the tumor cells were larger and showed many more microvilli that tended to concentrate over the nucleus. We conclude that Balb/3T3 cells and C3H/10T1/2 cells are preneoplastic and give rise to spontaneously transformed clones when implanted in vivo attached to a solid substrate.


Fine structural localization of Concanavalin A binding sites on hamster spermatozoa. The plasma membrane of epididymal spermatozoa of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) exhibits morphological differences over various parts of the head and tail as detected by air-dried replicas and freeze-etching techniques. In an attempt to ascertain whether any topographical differences exist in the number or distribution of carbohydrate moieties associated with the cell surface, cells were labeled with Concanavalin A and marked with hemocyanin. It was found that while the plasma membrane over the acrosomal region differed from that of the postacrosomal region in membrane components revealed by freeze fracturing, there was no apparent difference in the distribution or density of Con A binding sites detectable by hemocyanin localization. The tail regions exhibited differences in both fracture face appearance and the distribution of detectable carbohydrate moieties. It was also found that binding sites for Concanavalin A exist on the inner and outer acrosomal membranes in addition to those on the plasma membrane.


Molecular composition and origin of substrate-attached material from normal and virus-transformed cells. The proteins and polysaccharides which are left adherent to the tissue culture substrate after EGTA-mediated removal of normal, virus-transformed, and revertant mouse cells (so-called SAM, or substrate-attached material), and which have been implicated in the cell-substrate adhesion process, have been characterized by SDS-PAGE and other types of analyses under various conditions of cell growth and attachment. The following components have been identified in SAM: 3 size classes of hyaluronate proteoglycans; glycoprotein Co (the LETS glycoprotein); protein Ca (a myosin-like protein); protein Cb(MW 85,000); protein C1 (MW 56,000, which is apparently not tubulin); protein C2 (actin); proteins C3-C5 (histones) which are artifactually bound to the substrate as a result of EGTA-mediated leaching from the cell; and proteins Cc, Cd, Ce, and Cf. The LETS glycoprotein (Co) and Cd appear in newly-synthesized SAM (which is probably enriched in "footpad" material--"footpads" being focal areas of subsurface membraneous contact with the substrate in greater relative quantities than in the SAM accumulated over a long period of time (which is probably enriched in "footprint" material--remnants of footpads left behind as cells move across the substrate). CO and Cd turn over very rapidly following short radiolabeling periods during chase analysis. The SAM's deposited during a wide variety of cellular attachment and growth conditions contained the same components in similar relative proportions. This may indicate well-controlled and coordinate deposition of a cell "surface" complex involving the hyaluronate proteoglycans, the LETS glycoprotein, actin-containing microfilaments with associated proteins, and a limited number of additional proteins in the substrate adhesion site. Evidence indicates that SAM is the remnant of "footpad" vesicles by which the cell adheres to the substrate and that EGTA treatment weakens the subsurface cytoskeleton, allowing these footpad vesicles to be pinched off from the rest of the cell. Three different models of cell-substrate adhesion are presented and discussed.


Drinking patterns of pigtailed macaques. Three factors contributed to the drinking patterns of pigtailed macaques: sex, dominance position and propensity to drink liquids.


Audiogenic seizures in mice whose parents drank alcohol. C57 and DBA mice whose parents had been fed alcohol were more susceptible to audiogenic seizures and had a shorter latency to seizure than either pair-fed or normally fed controls.


Coding and vigilance under alcohol.

Coding and vigilance under alcohol. Over four alcohol test sessions, social drinkers' performance on a coding task gradually improved, but vigilance remained unchanged.


Perceptual compensations for the effects of alcohol. When confronted with conflicting spatial information from their visual-auditory systems, subjects compensated for the effects of alcohol by attenuating visual information when locating the source of a sound.


Psychological disturbances in spouses of alcoholics. An empirical assessment. The spouses of hospitalized alcoholics scored within the normal range on Lanyon's Psychological Screening Inventory; on two of three scales their scores were not significantly different from those of a normative sample.


The MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale as a general measure of substance misuse. On the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale alcoholics, heroin addicts and polydrug users obtained similar scores which were significantly higher than those of matched control groups of psychiatric patients.


Verbal and nonverbal marital interaction patterns of alcoholics and nonalcoholics. In a study of the interaction of hospitalized alcoholic and nonalcoholic husbands and their wives, husbands tended to speak more during alcohol-related conversations, while wives spoke more when discussing other topics. Wives in both groups looked at their spouses more than their husbands did during alcohol-focused periods.


Alcoholics' perception of leisure.

Alcoholics' perception of leisure. The attitudes of alcoholics and a norm group toward leisure were compared. The alcoholics differed from the norm consistently in seeing themselves as having more leisure than they wanted, in being more work-oriented, in preferring highly structured free time, and in viewing leisure negatively.


Alcoholism and the Rorschach test.

Alcoholism and the Rorschach test. A review of studies in which the Rorschach Test was administered to alcoholics, and of studies of the effects of experimental intoxication upon Rorschach performances, reveals recurrent attempts to elucidate alcoholic "signs" and characteristic alcoholic perceptual style.


Differences between alcoholics who complete or withdraw from treatment. Significant differences on the Lie scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the number of favorable attitudes toward drinking were found between alcoholics who completed or withdrew from a hospital treatment program.


Alcohol intoxication and drug use among teen-agers. A survey of 1715 junior and senior high-school students found that students who reported being intoxicated during the school year were more likely to report using marihuana, amphetamines, lysergide and other drugs than those who did not report being intoxicated.


Family history as a predictor of alcoholism in U.S. navy personnel. Alcohol consumption, drinking patterns, alcohol-related problems and family histories were compared among Navy men upon reenlistment. Nonalcoholics with family histories of alcohol problems resembled alcoholics on a number of factors including high rates of minor alcohol problems.


Physicians and alcoholics. Modifying behavior and attitudes of family-practice residents. On completion of an alcoholism education course, family-practice residents exhibited significant cognitive and affective learning as evidenced by increases in factual knowledge about alcoholism and improved attitudes toward alcoholic patients. Diagnostic patterns were also improved.


Evaluation of driving-while-intoxicated programs; some methodological considerations. Some methodological problems encountered in evaluating the effectiveness of driving-while-intoxicated programs are discussed.


[Influence of the kind of anesthesia and length of hospitalization on the frequency of early complications of abortion]. A case-control study of the safety of early vacuum aspiration, when performed as an outpatient/inpatient procedure in local/general anaesthesia was undertaken in Ljubljana. Three thousand and four healthy women were observed. General anaesthesia was applied to 1509 women and local to 1495 women. The inpatient procedure required at least overnight stay, the outpatient one only five hours. No differences in complication rates of any clinical importance between the different types of services and anaesthesia were observed. The overnight stay resulted in no decrease in complications but in an even greater bed occupancy beyond that expected.


[Results of an inquiry on stress urinary incontinence in women]. The authors present the results of an inquiry into urinary stress incontinence in 415 women chosen at random, in whom the genital prolapse or stress incontinence were not complaints for hospitalization. The analysis also excluded all states of pregnancy or puerperium. As in other statistics, the frequency of urinary stress incontinence proved very high (39.2%). It is particularly interesting that 52.8% of the women questioned considered it as a completely normal event. A progressive increase in the frequency of stress incontinence related to aging. Stress incontinence was also twice as frequent in manual workers and housewives as in office workers, school girls, and students. In relation to obstetric traumatism, the disease is more frequent in parous women, showing a progressive increase with parity and the delivery of higher-weight newborns, whereas, quite unexpectedly, it proved rare in women with deliveries in intervals shorter than three years. A high incidence was recorded of stress incontinence having appeared in pregnancy for the first time (23.9%); in 59.0% of these women it persisted also after childbirth, which is very significant. Although the trouble is more frequent in menopausal patients, the effect of this period can hardly be separated from the effects related to senile involution. Besides emphasizing the role of the gynecologist, urologist, and general practitioner in the diagnosis of urinary stress incontinence in women, the data obtained raise the question of the revision of the existing views on the physiology of this disorder.


[Evaluation of diagnostic methods in anatomic urinary incontinence in gynecology]. The present study was undertaken with the aim of verifying the value of diagnostic methods in female stress incontinence. In their diagnostic work the authors used urethrocystography, measuring of the urethral length and resistance. Displacement of the internal urinary meatus related to the interior border of the symphysis was also observed. In demonstrable incontinence the average posterior urethrovesical angle was 140 degrees, and in the absence of incontinence 120 degrees. It was also found that the difference between the pressure of the internal urinary meatus in straining and non-straining women with incontinence was +0,7 mm Hg and in those without incontinence +4,5 mm Hg. It has been observed, furthermore, that the relation between the vertical displacement of the internal urinary meatus in rest and stress was less than 5 in women with incontinence. In women without incontinence it was more than 5. There was no difference in the range of the urethral length in women either with or without stress incontinence.


[Human milk - variations in lactose, potassium, sodium and total lipid concentrations and in fatty acids composition of lactating women in early puerperium]. Some biochemical components were studied in the milk of 16 lactating women during the first six postpartum days. A gradual increase in the lactose and potassium concentration and a decrease in the sodium concentration were observed, as well as an increase in the total lipids concentration and a significant shifting in the fatty acids composition where the biosynthesis of the fatty acids with a lower number of C atoms (C 10:0, C12:0, C 14:0) at the expence of the fatty acids with higher C atoms number was intensified.


[Vaginal hysterectomy following previous abdominal and gynecologic surgery]. The authors analyse 125 cases of vaginal histerectomy (V.H.) preceded by vaginal and abdominal operations (15.3% of a total of 817 V.H.) There were 95 cases of previous abdominal operations and 30 cases of previous gynecological operations (19 vaginal and 11 abdominal). The most frequent previously performed vaginal operation was anterior and posterior colporrhaphy. The authors have come to the conclusion that neither previous abdominal nor previous gynecological surgical interventions make the carrying out of vaginal histerectomy more difficult. Only Doleris's operation, among abdominal ones, may represent a relative contraindication for V.H. In one case the authors had to complete the already started histerectomy abdominally owing to some technical difficulties. The authors maintain that it would be good to use vaginal histerectomy more frequently after previously applied gynecological, vaginal, and abdominal operations.


[Morcellement in vaginal hysterectomy].

[Morcellement in vaginal hysterectomy]. From 1968 to 1975 the authors performed 632 vaginal histerectomies; morcellement was applied in 81 patients (12.81%). The largest uterus subjected to morcellement weighed 700 g; most of them weighed about 250 g. In all cases morcellement was applied due to the enlarged uterus. In the authors opinion, the uterus can be extirpated vaginally until it reaches the size corresponding to pregnancy up to 12 weeks. The postoperative morbidity rate in patients with vaginal histerectomy and morcellement proved to be 30.56%. Morcellement doest not increase the occurrence of intraoperative injuries of the neighbouring organs or early postoperative morbidity.


Regional blood flow to the lymph node during the immune response. In 62 New Zealand white rabbits the regional blood flow to the popliteal lymph node was determined using the microsphere distribution and the Rb86C1 indicator methods. In 20 animals local immune response was induced with typhoid O antigen and in 7 with bovine serum albumin. The regional blood flow of the popliteal lymph node was 0.57 ml/gm/min. During the immune response the blood flow and weight changes were strictly proportional. The lymph node has the capacity to maintain its blood flow, even following significant enlargement.


Analysis of the radiographically visualized deep hepatic lymph drainage in the dog. The deep hepatic lymph drainage of 9 cholecystectomized dogs was analyzed after radiographic visualization with retrograde biliary infusion of Ethiodol. No drainage from the deep to the superficial lymph system of the liver was found with the described method. Primary stations of the deep hepatic lymph drainage are the hepatic, left gastric and splenic lymph nodes although the latter two were not always opacified. On the average 9 (6-11) hepatic lymph nodes were opacified which is a significantly higher number than previously reported. Retrograde contrast material filling of splenic, mesenteric, aortic, iliac and some intrathoracic lymph nodes occurred with various frequencies but the opacification of these nodes was usually incomplete.


[Lung metastases of uterine malignoma].

[Lung metastases of uterine malignoma]. A retrospective analysis was made of a 10-year clinical material concerning uterine malignant tumours. Out of 502 patients treated in that period, 9 (1.79%) developed clinically diagnosed lung metastases. The occurrence of lung metastases from cervical carcinoma proved to be 1.35% (295 patients) and from endometrial carcinoma 2.33% (171 patients). Out of 36 patients with uterine sarcoma, one developed lung metastases (2.77%). The diagnosis of lung mestastases was made by X-ray and scintigraphy, and in their theraphy cytostatics were used with paliative results.


[Myoma uteri permagnum, adenocarcinoma endometrii et hematometra]. The author presents a case of isthmocervical myoma coupled with endometrial adenocarcinoma and hematometra in a 70-year-old patient. The correct diagnosis was established on the material obtained at surgery. The operation was technically complicated and carried out in an atypical manner. The causal relationship between estrogen and the appearance of endometrial adenocarcinoma and uterine myoma is discussed.


Red blood cell catabolism in lymph nodes of the sheep and rat: quantitation. Estimates have been made of the number of red blood cells catabolised in the lymph nodes of the sheep and the rat. These estimates were based on observations on the output of bilirubin in intestinal lymph of the sheep and on bilirubin output in thoracic duct lymph of the rat. It was calculated that some 2 to 15 X 10(9) red blood cells were catabolised in a 24 hour period by the lymph nodes of the intestinal region of the sheep, representing approximately 3% of all the red cells destroyed in this period. Similarly, 0.9 to 4.6 X 10(8) red blood cells were estimated to be catabolised every 24 hours in the lymph nodes of those areas drained by the thoracic duct of the rat, representing approximately 6% of all the red cells destroyed in a 24 hour period. Calculations extending these results to include all areas of the body in both species indicated that the lymph nodes may account for some 6-7% of the total number of red blood cells catabolised in the animal.


[Pseudomyxoma peritonei].

[Pseudomyxoma peritonei]. The clinical course of 8 patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei developed from ovariah tumors and 3 from mucocoele appendicis is presented. Except in two instances, all tumors were originally benign, one of them with metastases of kystoma mucinosum to inguinal lymphnods. The treatment was basically surgical and consisted of the removal of sree and organised mucus and, naturally, of the ovarian tumor or muccocoele where possible. Supplementary local chemotherapy with 5 -- fluorouracyl were of some benefit. In one instance, where multiple small pappillomas were found in the visceral and parietal peritoneum, all metastases disppeared after the intra abdominal application of 150 mC of Au.


[Significance of cardiotocography and amnioscopy in establishing indications for cesarean section]. In the period of 2 years (1974-1975), out of 11,672 deliveries, 398 (3.41%) were induced by cesarean section. An important role in inducing labour surgically was played by cardiotocography and amnioscopy (in addition to other methods), i.e. in 84.22% (366 cases). At present it appears necessary to use cardiotocography and aminiscopy both in the last trimester and during the labour itself, so as to facilitate the estimation of the degree of a possible danger for the foetus.


[Analysis of 290 breech presentations].

[Analysis of 290 breech presentations]. By analysing all breech presentations handled in the last three years (290 cases), the authors have found that perinatal mortality in such cases was much higher (8%) than the general perinatal mortality (1.8%) in the last years and that this increase mainly related to the perinatal mortality of children weighing less than 2500 g, owing to complications and diseases typical of that kind of children. Out of the children delivered with breech presentation, 40% were either premature babies (22%) or small-for-date babies (18%). The condition of children delivered with breech presentation is 5-6 times worse than in premature babies delivered with full or partial extraction. The authors could not establish if the condition of children with cesarean section was better. The results were obtained when the delivery was induced by using the maniotomy and Syntocinon. The authors point out that the problem of breech presentation lies in prematurity, that an excessive application of cesarean section does not solve the problem, that extractions should be avoided, and that all such deliveries should be managed on the principle of active management of labour.


[Morphological study of 2 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis]. A morphological study of two cases of acute generalized congenital toxoplasmosis has shown that in one case the most heavily involved organ was the heart (focal necrotic myocarditis), in addition to some changes in the central nervous system (leptomeningitis), and in the other case, the most affected organ was the cerebrum (focal necrotic encephalitis). In both cases, in almost all organs, there were degenerative and reactive changes. Toxoplasma was found in necrotic foci of the myocardium and the brain. Some basic views concerning a special vulnerability of the central nervous system in toxoplasmosis are put forward. The basic fact is that the explanation for the infection of exposed fetuses lies in the condition of the immune system (in the degree of its development and activity), especially regarding certain localizations of changes in the organs with a less developed activity of the local immune system.


On the transport of various endogenous plasma proteins from blood to peripheral lymph in man. A method to prepare peripheral lymph out of the foot of clinically healthy patients with respect to their blood capillaries and lymph vessels is presented. Following electrophoresis in molecular sieving polyacrylamide gel the lymph/plasma quotients of precentages of identical protein fractions in both body fluids as well as of their concentrations were graphically displayed dependent on their migration velocity within the gel. As the high or low lymph-plasma-relations are necessarily to be interpreted in the sense of a relatively high or low blood-lymph permeation the findings are speaking against an exclusive effect of the molecular sieving principle at the blood-tissue-barrier. An explanation for special lymph-plasma-relations would be provided by the assumption of a gel-filtration effect in the extravascular circuit of plasma-proteins. The results affirm the findings of former experiments on animals in an analogue model. The method as well as simplified variants might be useful for the investigation of peripheral nutritive disorders as well as of clinicopharmacological questionings.


Medium- and long-range interaction parameters between amino acids for predicting three-dimensional structures of proteins. In a previous paper, a hypothesis for protein folding was proposed in which the native structure is formed by a three-step mechanism: (A) formation of ordered backbone structures by short-range interactions, (B) formation of small contact regions by medium-range interactions, and (C) association of the small contact regions into the native structure by long-range interactions. In this paper the empirical interaction parameters, used as a measure of the medium- and long-range interactions (the standard free energy, deltaGdegrees k,l, of formation of a contact between amino acids of species k and l) that include the role of the solvent (water) and determine the conformation of a protein in steps B and C, are evaluated from the frequency of contacts in the x-ray structures of native proteins. The numerical values of deltaG degrees k,l for all possible pairs of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids are presented. Contacts between highly nonpolar side chains of amino acids such as Ile, Phe, Trp, and Leu are shown quantitatively to be stable. On the contrary, contacts involving polar side chains of amino acids such as Ser, Asp, Lys, and Glu are significantly less stable. While this implies, in a quantitative manner, that it is generally more favorable for nonpolar groups to lie in the interior of the protein molecule and for the polar side chains to be exposed to the solvent (water) rather than to form contacts with other amino acids, many exceptions to this generalization are observed.


Resistance of central phenylethanolamine-n-methyl transferase containing neurons to 6-hydroxydopamine. The effects of the catecholamine neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine on phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase (PNMT) in rat brain has been investigated by biochemical and immunohistochemical analysis. 6-Hydroxydopamine was administerered either intracisternally to adult rats or systemically to newborn rats, treatments known to affect markedly central noradrenaline neurons. None of these treatments had any significant effect on the PNMT activity in the hypothalamus, pons-medulla and the spinal cord, as measured in vitro using a radiometric assay. The neonatal 6-hydroxydopamine treatment, which produced an almost complete noradrenaline denervation in the spinal cord, had no notable effect on the specific PNMT immunofluorescence localized in nerve terminals in the spinal cord. Transection of the spinal cord led to an almost complete disappearance of the PNMT activity and the specific immunofluorescence below the transection, pointing to the existence of a descending PNMT containing pathyway in the spinal cord. The present results show that the PNMT neurons are resistant to the neurotoxic action of 6-hydroxydopamine, possibly due to lack of catecholamine uptake mechanism or due to these neurons having an uptake mechanism with a low affinity for 6-OH-DA. Furthermore, the data support the view that the noradrenaline and PNMT containing neurons constitute separate neuron systems.


Differences in liver weight, mortality in cerium-treated mice and 144Ce levels in blood, liver, urine and faeces at various intervals after treatment with nafenopin and pregnenolone 16-alpha-carbonitrile (PCN). Pretreatment with nafenopin and pregnenolone-16-alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) decreased the acute lethal toxicity in mice induced by cerium chloride (12 mg/kg resp. 15 mg/kg). Treatment with nafenopin and PCN increased the relative liver weight. More cerium accumulated in the liver of nafenopin- and PCN-treated animals than in controls during the first hours after injection. After 14 days the amount of cerium in the livers of nafenopin-treated animals was significantly higher. The concentration of cerium as a percentage of the injected dose calculated per mg liver was lower during the first day in the nafenopin group and higher in the PCN group than in the control group. After 6 days cerium concentration decreased significantly less in the livers of the nafenopin group. Cerium concentration in the blood was significantly lower in the nafenopin group during the first day. Only small amounts of the injected cerium were excreted in the urine, and no difference between treated and untreated animals was found. The amount of cerium excreted in faeces was somewhat smaller in the nafenopin-treated animals during the whole experiment.


Defining and treating "problem patients" in a hospital emergency room. Emergency ward doctors and nurses define patients whose illnesses require prolonged and comprehensive care as threats to the mission of the ward. Data were collected by means of direct observation and interviewing of emergency ward doctors and nurses in a 600-bed hospital in the Midwestern United States. In 1973, a total of 270 hours of observational data was collected as part of a larger study of emergency ward social organization. In a setting specializing in emergency treatment of the acutely ill and injured, the presence of the alcoholic, the emotionally disturbed, and the mentally ill patient represent an exercise in futility for emergency ward doctors and nurses. Since these patients often present behavior problems on the ward, one way for medical staff to cope with such patients is to define these patients as management problems rather than as medical cases to be diagnosed and treated. Success or failure with management problems is no longer based on medical criteria, but upon the outcome of management activities. The most successful outcomes are those where the amount of patient's disruptive behavior and the amount of staff time and resources devoted to the patient are held to a minimum.


Who's using nonprescribed medicines?

Who's using nonprescribed medicines? A household survey investigated the nonprescribed medicine use of 3,481 persons in the Baltimore SMSA in 1968-69. Of respondents, 30 per cent used a nonprescribed morbidity-related medicine in two days. Rates of use are higher for adults, females and whites in all economic classes, and do not increase with increasing severity of morbidity in any economic class. A hypothesis that nonprescribed substitute for prescribed medicines is supported: ill nonprescribed medicine users are less likely to use prescribed medicines or to have visited a physician than nonusers; rates of nonprescribed medicine use are lower for those with a physician visit, and use of both prescribed and nonprescribed medicines for the same purpose is negligible. Lower out-of-pocket costs for visits and prescribed medicines do not lower rates of use. Nonprescribed medicine use is high among healthy and ill suggesting that physicians should inquire into patients' use when evaluating symptoms and before prescribing.


The effect of duration of membership in a prepaid group health plan on the utilization of services. This study concerns the changes in the use of medical care services as the duration of membership in a prepaid group plan increases. For each of ten cohorts of members of the prepaid group practice in Columbia, Maryland, the use of provider visits (for both "well" care and "problem-oriented" care), of inpatient hospital services, and of prescribed drugs were determined, and time trends for each type of service were developed. The rate of total provider visits (TPV's per member) and the proportion of "well" care visits declined during the first year of membership and were followed by stabilization during the second year in the Plan. Because of large variations in hospital days, but only a small total number of hospital days, no association between hospital use and duration of membership could be shown. The rate of new prescriptions filled (NPF's) also decreased as length of time in the Plan increased.


Black physicians and minority group health care--the impact of NMF. This paper is part of a study conducted in 1973-1974 to assess the programs of National Medical Fellowships, Inc. (NMF). NMF is a private organization founded in 1946 to improve medical services to black communities and, later, to all minority groups. The approach of NMF was to provide aid for training of black physicians. Data from questionnaire returns from NMF grant recipients and from "other" black physicians, as well as records of the organization, indicate that NMF was successful in increasing the number of black physicians who have specialty board certification, who have faculty appointments at predominantly white medical schools, and who have staff appointments at predominantly white hospitals. NMF recipients also were active in breaking down racial barriers. However, the data we collected do not indicate that these developments have improved the medical services to lower class minority communities.


Access to health care in a southern rural community. This case study of utilization of health care services in a rural southern community is the first of a series of reports dealing with access to care in this community. The most striking findings were the low utilization of physician and dental services compared with national standards (particularly by the black population) and the infrequent use of private physicians by blacks. Possible explanations for these findings are the short time interval since integration of services after Medicare and Medicaid legislation, the short supply of primary care physicians, especially black, in this community, and the reluctance of white physicians to accept Medicaid patients. We postulate that while employment and social mobility have improved greatly for blacks, established methods of medical and dental practice have changed slowly.


[The natural history of alcohol-induced pancreatitis (authors transl)]. Alcohol-induced pancreatitis (AIP), although essentially a chronic pathological disorder, covers a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes ranging from fulminating to more chronic and even painless varieties. The clinical features, complications and treatment of AIP are presented with special reference to differences between the clinically acute and chronic forms of the disease.


[Chronic calcifying pancreatitis in Brazil: analysis of 92 cases (authors transl)]. The analysis of 92 proved cases of chronic calcifying pancreatitis showed that 82 were males and 10 were females. Seventy-five out of the 92 patients were chronic alcoholics with a mean age of 38.2 years at the onset of symptoms and with a predominance of males over females (72:3). For the 17 non-alcoholic patients the mean age at the onset was 26.4 years, with almost the same number of males and females (10:7). The differences in age and sex suggest that different factors are responsible for the pathogenesis of the disease. Clinical, surgical and anatomical features of chronic calcifying pancreatitis are discussed. The incidence of pancreatic carcinoma in our patients is higher than in the general population.


[Clinic and therapy of acute pancreatitis (author's transl)]. A review of acute pancreatitis is given including epidemiology, etiology, clinical symptomatology, laboratory and X-ray procedures, clinical course, complications and prognosis of this disease. Therapy is discussed in extent; all therapeutical approaches are reviewed with special emphasis on effectiveness as evidenced by experimental and controlled or uncontrolled clinical studies of the therapeutic measure in question. An account is also given of the results of surgery in cases of hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis. The following conclusions are drawn: Treatment of pain and early intensive treatment of complications are effective and essential in acute pancreatitis. Clinical experience does show in addition, that fasting acts upon the clinical course favorably. All other therapeutic approaches recommended up to now have not yet been proven to be effective.


[Medical and surgical management of chronic pancreatitis (author's transl)]. Chronic pancreatitis has to be treated in the first line by medical means. Dietary procedures, absolute abstinence from alcohol, compensation of malabsorption and treatment of diabetes will do in most cases. Surgery is indicated in cases resistent to this form of therapy of when complications arise (cysts, persistent jaundice, portal hypertension). The patient has to be given high caloric parenteral nutrition preoperatively. Pancreato-jejunostomy with an Y shaped loop and surgical removal of various amounts of pancreatic tissue are the only efficient surgical procedures. In cases of dilatation of the pancreatic duct drainage has to be performed. Results of surgery are satisfactory in 2/3 of cases.


[Recurrent acute pancreatitis, a complication of brunneromas (authors transl)]. A case report is given of a patient with a recurrent acute pancreatitis due to an adenoma of Brunner's glands in the duodenum (brunneroma); such adenomas are benign; complications are obstruction, hemorrhage, and recurrent acute pancreatitis as in the case presented. Etiology of recurrent acute pancreatitis and differential diagnosis of duodenal polyps are discussed in context with the case presented.


Endocrine influences on peritoneal fluid cellular content. Since the cellular composition of peritoneal fluid is altered by sex, species, pregnancy, ovulation and the estrous as well as menstrual cycles we believe that the cellular content of peritoneal fluid is affected in a characteristic manner by the administration of hormones. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, chorionic gonadotropin, cortisone as well as various physiologic model situations were considered.


A computerised microscope focusing technique. An automatic focusing technique for a computer-controlled optical microscope is described, which is based on an algorithm originally proposed by Mendelsohn and Mayall. The procedure is capable of attaining a focusing accuracy of less than 1/20 micron in the slide-objective distance. The dependence of focusing accuracy and time to focus on the scanner signal-to-noise ratio, and the change in the focus position with time, are discussed.


[Localization of ubiquinone-9 in electron transport chain of Candida guilliermondii]. The activity of ubiquinone-dependent enzyme systems was studied in mitochondrial fractions of the yeast Candida guilliermondii cultivated on the medium containing carbohydrates of hydrocarbons as a source of carbon. The activity of NADH2-oxidase and succinate-CoQ-reductase was higher in systems with mitochondrial fractions from the cells grown on the medium with n-paraffins than in mitochondrial fractions from the cells cultivated on the medium with glucose. About 30% of intracellular ubiquinone is located in the mitochondrial fraction of hydrocarbon oxidizing yeast cells; however, the activity of enzymes was stimulated upon introduction of exogeneous ubiquinones into the systems. Therefore, exogeneous ubiquinones may be involved in the electron transport chain during oxidation of reduced substrates. Both ubiquinone-dependent enzyme systems are resistant to storage.


[Ability of various lactic bacteria to transform aspartate and glutamate]. Transformation of labelled glutamic and aspartic acids (5-14C, 4-14C) was studied in growth media of various strains of Streptococcus acetonicus. These strains which participate in production of cheese with excellent organoleptic properties are active in synthesis of di- and tricarboxylic acids, and also keto acids. Such a relationship was not found in the case of 5-14C-glutamic acid.


[Effect of carbon source and cultivation temperature on growth limitation of Candida tropicalis by biotin]. The effect of biotin on the specific growth rate of Candida tropicalis was studied on media with various sources of carbon nutrition at temperatures of 29 and 39degreesC. The yeast was found to require 3--5 times less biotin on the medium with paraffin than on the medium with glucose and hexodecane, and 3--4 times more biotin on the same substrate with an increase in temperature. The growth rate increased by 36--40% on liquid paraffins containing 0.5 mcg/litre of biotin at 29degreesC and 1.5--2.0 mcg/litre of biotin at 39degreesC. The saturation constant of biotin increased from 0.033 to 0.063 mcg/litre on the medium with paraffin, and more by an order on the medium with glucose and hexadecane, at a rise of growth temperature from 29 to 39degreesC.


[Photochromogeneity of actinomycetes producing heliomycin]. Irradiation with solar rays of actinomycetes producing heliomycin changed the colour and UV-induced luminescence of the growth medium. This was caused by formation of a luminescent pigment, hydroxyquinone. The aerial mycelium reduced in spore formation acquired a pink colour.


[Enzyme activity of citrate, glyoxylate and pentosephosphate cycles during synthesis of citric acids by Candida lipolytica]. The activity of key enzymes of the citrate and glyoxylate cycles was compared in yeast cells during intensive synthesis of citric acids and in its absence in the course of growth of Candida lipolytica on glucose ("glucose" yeast cells) and on hexadecane ("hexadecane" yeast cells). Citrate and isocitrate were found to be formed by the yeast in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The ability of the yeast for "overproduction" of citrate and isocitrate during its growth on glucose and hexadecane depends on the high activity of the key enzyme of cycle, citrate synthase, as compared with the activity of other enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Citrate predominated among excreted acids during growth on glucose in conditions of nitrogen deficiency while isocitrate prevailed during growth on hexadecane. The predominating synthesis of citrate in the first case seems to be related to a lower activity of aconitase in the "glucose" cells as compared with the "hexadecane" cells.


[Production of protease during continuous cultivation of the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus brevis]. Conditions for continuous cultivation of the thermophilic strain of Bacillus brevis prodlcing protease are substantiated. The culture was cultivated in order to obtain proteolytic enzymes taking into consideration data concerning kinetics of the bacterial growth and enzyme synthesis, as well as results of studying accumulation of the pool of mRNA specific of protease synthesis, The rates of dilution and flow (approximately 0.4 hr-1) have been found which provide a high specific productivity of the culture.


[Lipids and lipases of various yeasts].

[Lipids and lipases of various yeasts]. Optimal conditions for accumulation of lipids and glycogen, and for biosynthesis of lipase, were found to be similar in Candida, Rhodotorula, Lipomyces, and Cryptococcus yeast cultures. Fractional composition of their lipids and prevailing fatty acids were also similar. However, in cultures of the Candida genus, contrary to cultures of other genera, acids with the number of carbon atoms below 14 and above 20 have not been identified. Maxima in the dynamics of biosynthesis of lipids and lipase by Candida cultures did not coincide. Lipids isolated from yeast cells were hydrolysed by lipases of Candida, Rhodotorula, Lipomyces, and Cryptococcus at a higher rate than olive oil.


[Biotypes of methanosarcina].

[Biotypes of methanosarcina]. Methanosarcina, a microorganism capable of producing methane from methanol, acetate, methylamine, and a mixture of carbon dioxide with hydrogen, was studied during growth in enrichment, binary and pure cultures in order to find differences in morphology caused by various conditions of growth. Methanosarcina forms stable morphotypes which correspond to species of this organism described in literature.


[Fine structure of Nocardia corallina oxidizing phenol]. Intracellular structures were detected in Nocardia corallina, strain 4, on a medium containing phenol as a sole source of carbon but not on a conventional growth medium (MPA). The structures are light vacuoles containing granular and fibrillar electron-dense substance. The structures specific of this medium may be regions of phenol oxidation.


[Mechanism of microbiological dissolution of gold]. The paper presents new data concerning the mechanism of microbiological dissolution of gold. The sign of charges on gold-protein complexes was determined by paper electrophoresis. Anion complexes were found to prevail. Free amino groups participate in formation of complexes between gold and amino acids in alkaline medium, and functional groups of amino acid residues in polypeptide groups are involved in formation of complexes with proteins. Formation of complexes between gold and these compounds seems to be due to the Au--N bond.


[Microbiological processes in the mromictic lake Vae de San Juan in Cuba]. The lake was studied in April and July of 1973. Gleothece prevailed in mixolimnion and green sulphur bacterium Pelodyction phaeum in the layer of pink water down to 10 m. The production of photosynthetic suphlur bacteria comprises 3% of the production of algae. Sulphate reduction takes place mainly in water beyond the layer of sulphur bacteria. The content of hydrogen sulphide in monimolimnion is 104 mg/litre. Bacteria utilize, at the account of photosynthesis, 40% of produced hydrogen sulphide. Three maxima in the bacterial content in water have been registered: (a) at a depth of 7 m; (b) in the layer of pink water, at a depth of 10 m; (c) at the bottom. Total mineralization and electroconductance of water at the bottom are higher by a factor of 6 than those at the surface. Destruction of organic substance is higher than its production a little.


[Electron microscopic study of the Rybinsk water reservoir microflora]. Microflora of the Rybinsk water reservoir was studied by electron microscopy throughout the year. Common and rare bacterial forms were revealed which had not been detected before by light microscopy. The following forms prevailed: rod-like, coccoid, and bacteria of the vibrion type. Rare species were confined to certain places of the reservoir and related to seasonal changes in it. Bacteria belonging to the Planktomyces genus were registered in the central part of the reservoir in July--August. Swamp waters always contained bacteria belonging to the Hyphomicrobium genus. Spirillar bacterial forms were constantly present in coastal waters.


[Utilization of nitrogen compounds by phototrophic bacteria]. Phototrophic purple and green bacteria differ by their ability to assimilate nitrogen compounds. Thiocapsa roseopersicina utilizes not only ammonium and nitrates, as a source of nitrogen, but also urea, azoguanine, cytosine and some amino acids. The non-sulphur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris grows at the account of amine nitrogen of a larger number of amino acids than the sulphur bacterium. Chlorobium limicola 1. thiosulfatophilum grows only on media containing urea and methylamines. Formation of amino acids by the studied phototrophic bacterial cultures is related to amination of alpha-ketoglutarate. Purple bacteria possess also the activity of aspartate dehydrogenase.


[Lipid composition of Acholeplasma laidlawii cells]. Lipid composition of the cells of Acholeplasma laidlawii was studied by column and thin layer chromatography. Lipids of the cells contain phospholipids (41.3%), glycolipids (28%) and neutral lipids. Phospholipids are represented by monoacylglycerophosphoryldiglucosyldiglyceride, glycerophosphoryldiglucosyldiglyceride, phosphatidylglycerine and phosphatidic acid. Glycolipids contained diglucosyldiglyceride and monoglucosyldiglyceride. The content of cholesterine was low (1.3%) while the content of carotenoids was A442X1000/mg lipids -- 150. Lipid components of Acholeplasma laidlawii and related strains of A. laidlawii A and B are compared.


[Intracellular growth of actinophage in Actinomyces lividans culture lysogenic heat-induced mutant]. Intracellular growth of a thermoinduced prophage was caused by the action of elevated temperature on the lysogenic culture of Actinomyces lividans 66 (phiC31 ct22). The growth took place in the nucleoid where loose, oval or round, particles consisting of twisted NA threads were formed. Later, electron-dense phage heads, covered with a sheath, appeared, and still later--phage tails. Thermoinduction was terminated by lysis of the mycelium of the actinomycete when mature particles of the actinophage were liberated into a surrounding medium.


[Assimilation of carbon dioxide by Stibiobacter senarmontii]. Early products of 14CO2 assimilation by a new microorganism Stibiobacter senarmontii are phosphoglyceric acid, phosphorous esters of sugars and aspartic acid, as was shown by chromatography and radioautography. Extracts of the cells displayed the activity of ribulosediphosphate carboxylase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (1 mU and 0.24 mU per 1 mg of protein in the extract, respectively). Therefore, the microorganism is capable of autotrophic nutrition involving mechanisms of the reductive pentosephosphate cycle. The latter seems to operate even in conditions of deficiency of the energy substrate which is caused by low solubility of antimony trioxide.


[Reparation of viability of arthrospores subjected to boiling in Actinomyces streptomycini]. Endospores of Streptomyces streptomycini B-16 are considerably more thermostable (by 40degreesC) than it was generally accepted. The bulk of populations of the spores (up to 55%) can be subjected to 100degreesC during 10 min but does not germinate under usual conditions as a result of heat damage which may be repaired at a relative humidity of 100% or in water suspensions at temperatures optimal for growth of the actinomycete. The rate of reparation increase upon washing of the heated spores with stirring, centrifuging and especially after treating the spores with ultrasound. The treatment is supposed to eliminate from the spores growth inhibitors which were formed as a result of heat damage. Characteristics of the process are discussed, which make it different from other reparation systems described elsewhere, in particular its endogenous character.


[Effect of vitamin A on the biosynthesis of carotene by Blakeslea trispora]. Retinol stimulates carotene synthesis in the microscopic fungus Blakeslea trispora; the stimulating effect of vitamin A is not manifested in the presence of cycloheximide. Vitamin A and beta-ionone are presumed to affect carotene synthesis in Blakeslea trispora by imitating the action of natural compounds stimulating isoprenoid synthesis--trisporic acids.


[The presence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in lucerne root nodules]. Agrobacterium tumefaciens does not penetrate into nodules on the roots of lucerne with the active strain of nodule bacterium as was established with the aid of genetic markers and plant selection. A nodule, whose shape was not typical and which did not fix nitrogen, was formed on the root of lucerne inoculated with the culture of Agrobacterium tumefaciens treated with UV. A bacterial strain isolated from the nodule was identical to A. tumefaciens according to its resistance to streptomycin and several cultural properties. Upon repeated inoculation with the isolated strain, nodules were formed in 50% cases.


[Effect of various carbon sources on cholinesterase formation by Arthrobacter simplex var. cholinesterasus]. The effect of carbohydrates, aromatic alcohols, choline and acetylcholine on the biomass production and biosynthesis of choline esterase was studied with Arthrobacter simplex var. cholinesterasus. Fructose was found to be the best carbon source for the biomass accumulation and synthesis of choline esterase. Almost the same amount of the enzyme was produced on media with glucose and maltose as on the medium with fructose though the biomass yield was much lower. On the contrary, the biomass production was higher on media with acetylcholine and ethanol, but synthesis of the enzyme was inhibited. Choline was not assimilated by the culture. Differences in assimilation of glucose and fructose by the culture were found to depend on their concentration and the presence, or absence, of the inductor (acetylcholine) in the medium. Fructose was assimilated by the culture almost completely irrespective of its concentration and the presence of the inductor in the medium. Glucose was assimilated partly, best of all at a concentration of 0.5%. An increase of the concentration to 1% inhibited assimilation of glucose by the organism though had no effect on the biomass production and synthesis of the enzyme. The inductor stimulated assimilation of glucose by a factor of 1.5. Synthesis of choline esterase on the medium with acetylcholine at a concentration of 1% was increased more than twofold upon addition of glucose at a concentration of 0.1%. Biosynthesis of the enzyme rised with glucose concentration though accumulation of the biomass was inhibited. Inhibition of choline esterase synthesis on the medium with acetylcholine as a sole carbon source is due to a lack of energy and the absence of synthesis of carbon compounds which are acceptors of acetyl and methyl groups.


[Optimization of the culture medium and role of its components in the biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides by Mycobacterium lacticolum]. A medium has been selected for providing the maximum synthesis (7-8 g/litre) of a free exocellular polysaccharide by Mycobacterium lacticolum 121. The following concentrations of the components are optimal for the biosynthesis: hexadecane, 5.0-6.5% (by volume); NaNO3, 2.0-4.0 g/litre; Na2HPO4-12H2O, 1.0-1.5 g/litre; KCl, 1.0-1.5 g/litre. An increase in the concentration of sodium nitrate and phosphate over 4.0 and 1.5 g/litre, respectively, favours growth of the cells but inhibits biosynthesis of the polysaccharide. Concentrations of hexadecane and potassium chloride over 6.5% and 1.5 g/litre, respectively, have no effect of the culture and yield of the polysaccharide.


[Production of biologically active compounds by S, R and M forms of Mycobacterium lacticolum on a medium with n-hexadecane]. The rate of growth and production of exopolysaccharides, vitamin B2 and cetyl alcohol by different clones of S, R and M variants of Mycobacterium lacticolum 104 was studied on a medium containing n-hexadecane. A constant correlation was found to exist between the shape of the colony and the physiologo-biochemical characteristics of the bacterium. The cells of R variant had the highest growth rate, the cells of M variant, the lowest. The cell suspension of M form accumulated 0.1 mg of cetyl alcohol per 1 mg of protein during four hours; S and R forms accumulated 1.5 times less of this substance during the same time. The highest amount of flavins (2.4 mg/litre) was synthesized by the clones of S variant, the lowest amount of flavins was produced by the clones of M form. The cells of M form synthesized 4 g/litre of polysaccharides, the cells of S and R forms produced by 70 and 170% less, respectively.


[Fractionation of sulfur isotopes by phototrophic sulfur bacterium Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii]. Two processes of sulphur isotope fractionation have been found in experiments with the sulphur purple bacterium Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii. As a result, a light isotope, 32S, is concentrated in residual hydrogen sulphide, and a heavy isotope, 34S, in elementary suphur which is deposited outside the cell. The sulphate produced is lighter than elementary sulphur. Fractionation of sulphur isotopes is observed in natural conditions and is confined to places of mass growth of photosynthetic sulphur bacteria.


[Localization of cellulase in the Aspergillus terreus mycelial cells]. Localization of cellulase was studied in the cells of Aspergillus terreus 17P, a thermotolerant fungus. The activity of Cx-enzyme was found in the supernatant and to be of a protein nature, as was established by means of differential centrifugation of a homogenate of the mycelium cells. Ultrathin sections of the mycelium were fixed according to Somogi and studied by electron microscopy. The cellulase was found to be located on the surface of the cell wall to which it was bound but not very firmly, and was therefore detected in the supernatant.


[Growth substance requirements in heterothallic yeast cultures]. Vitamin heterotrophy was studied among the following new yeast genera: Leucosporidium, Rhodosporidium and Filobasidium. The requirement in growth factors of various crossing types was compared among these genera and ascomycetens yeast cultures Saccharomycopsis lipolytica and Metschnikowia pulcherrima. Various crossing types of Filobasidium capsuligenum were found to differ in their requirement in growth factors. Various crossing types of Rhodosporidium and Saccharomycopsis lipolytica were stimulated by different growth substances. These characteristics can be used as markers while selecting the types of crossing.


[Morphology and growth cycle of Hyphomicrobium with a screw-like prostheca]. Hyphomicrobium with a screw-like prostheca was isolated from a mixed culture of soil bacteria. Its morphology and growth cycle were studied by electron microscopy. The adult organisms are 1.6-1.8 mcm long and 0.8 mcm thick. The diameter of the prostheca is 0.2-0.3 mcm and sometimes up to 10-12 mcm. It has a peculiar screw-like structure of the cell wall surface and forms branches at whose ends daughter organisms develop. The bacterium multiplies not only by vegetative growth but also by conjugation.


[Morphological differentiation in non-sulfur purple bacteria]. Cell differentiation in non-sulphur purple bacteria is complicated, as compared to binary fission, during bud formation with production of hyphae and special resting cells of the exospore type, and can be demonstrated in the folowing series of microorganisms: Rhodopseudomonas sulfidophila leads to Rh. capsulata leads to Rh. acidophila leads to Rh. viridis and Rh. palustris leads to Rh. sulfoviridis leads to Rhodom. vannielii. Contrary to phototrophic bacteria multiplying by division, a distinct sequence in appearance of various morphological forms was found in bud-forming bacteria. Formation of specialized cells is regulated by the substrate concentration, accumulation of metabolites, and the population density. Mobile cells are not formed at all or partly, resting cells are formed sometimes at a higher rate, and vegetative cells contain reserve substances in all bud-forming phototrophic bacteria if conditions of the environment are not optimal.


[Formation and structure of oval aggregates of Erwinia herbicola cells]. Formation and structure of oval aggregates were studied by electron and light microscopy of the cells of Erwinia herbicola. Some cells in these cultures were found to synthesize extracellular slime which caused the formation of the aggregates. As has been established by cytochemical techniques, the slime consists mainly of polysaccharides. The aggregates are compact groups of cells submerged into the slime whose bulk is located at the periphery. Formation of slime synthesizing cells in the cultures of Erwinia herbicola presumably does not depend on the composition of growth media and the age of the culture.


[A new triangular bacterium].

[A new triangular bacterium]. A new bacterium has been isolated; its cells are of a triangle shape and have a radial symmetry. The organism was compared with two other bacteria of a triangle shape described earlier: it differs from them by morphology and physiology.


[Production of protoplasts and membranes in Actinomyces hygroscopus]. Protoplasts of Actinomyces hygroscopicus were obtained in a hypertonic medium containing 10.3% sucrose. Lysozyme was employed as a lysing agent at a concentration of 1 mg/ml. The cells were subjected to lysis during 3-4 hours at 37 degree C, the concentration of biomass being 0.05 g of dry mycelium per 1 ml of hypertonic solution. Production of protoplasts was controlled by phase-contrast microscopy; the amount of the protoplast was determined by optical density at lambda=530 nm. The highest amount of the protoplasts was obtained during growth of the culture on a medium containing 0.5% glycine. The membrane fraction was isolated after lysis of the protoplasts in a hypotonic medium, treatment with DNase and RNase, and centrifugation at 22,000 g in the cold. Production of the membranes was controlled by electron microscopy. The yield of the membranes was 17-19% of the dry mycelium weight. They contained about 35% of lipids, 50% of protein, and 5% of RNA.


[Mesophilic rod-like nonsporeforming bacterium reducing sulfates]. A pure culture of a new organism, strain X, reducing sulphates is described. According to its morphological, physiological and biochemical properties, the organism is classed as a new species. Desulfovibrio baculatus nov. sp. The cells have the shape of short rods, 1.3X0.6 mcm, with a polar flagellum 0.021 mcm thick. It is an obligate anaerobic culture growing on media only in the presence of sulphates at the account of sodium salts of lactic, pyruvic and malic acids and also in the presence of yeast autolysate at the account of formate and hydrogen. Sulphate, sulphite and thiosulphate can serve as acceptors of electrons during growth on lactate. The organism grows at 2 to 41 degree C in the presence of up to 6% NaCl in the medium and does not require NaCl for its growth. The cells do not contain desulphoviridine as was proved by fluorescence. Hemes of cytochromes b and c were found in the cells. The content of G+C base pairs in DNA is 56.8+/-0.4 mole %. The culture was isolated from dumps of manganese ore.


[Degradation of herbicide Alvison-8 by microorganisms]. Microbial degradation of a new herbicide, Alvison-8, was studied. No strains capable of growth at the account of this compound as a source of carbon have been found among microorganisms isolated from soil treated with the herbicide and among collection cultures. Some strains can degrade Alvison-8 at a concentration of 100-300 mg/litre in cooxidative conditions. Effective cosubstrates are such compounds which are actively metabolized by microorganisms but cannot maintain intensive growth. In some cases, the cultures grew at the account of cosubstrates and the process consisted of two stages, i. e. degradation occured at the beginning prior to the phase of active growth.


[Isolation of vacuoles from Candida tropicalis]. Intact vacuoles were isolated from the homogenate of the Candida tropicalis protoplasts by flotation in a stepwise gradient of phycoll density. New parameters of protoplast decomposition in hypotonic and isotonic conditions yielding intact vacuoles have been found, as well parameters of density gradient and conditions of centrifugation which differ essentially from parameters used by other authors for isolating the vacuoles from the Saccharomyces cells. The purity of the vacuole preparations was confirmed by using enzymes, light and electron microscopy. The specific content of the carbon of protein, lipids, and free amino acids in the vacuoles and protoplasts of the yeast cells cultivated on 14C-labelled glucose was determined by the radioindicator technique.


[Transformation as a method for increasing the activity of lucerne nodule bacteria]. Transformation of lucerne nodule bacteria was tried as a method for increasing their activity. About 100 strains resistant to 1000 units/ml of streptomycin have been obtained by transformation; 34 strains were tested for the activity of nitrogen fixation in conditions of a microvegetative experiment according to the scheme: strain-donor, strain-recipient, transformed strains. The activity varied within a wide range: +/-30--40% cf. the activity of the parent strains. The transformed strains were passaged through plants and those with a still higher activity were selected. This evidence confirms the conception of Natman concerning genetic compatibility of plants and nodule bacteria when those bacterial forms whose genome corresponds to the plant genome are selected by the macrosymbiont.


[Survival of epiphytic microorganisms following sublimation dehydration and storage]. Epiphytic microorganisms belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Agrobacterium, Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, Mycobacterium, Mycococcus, Nocardia, Corynebacterium, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, and Microbacterium were dehydrated by sublimation employing two suspension media, and were stored at 3-5 degrees C during 1-2.5 years. Survival of epiphytic microorganisms upon dehydration by sublimation and storage was found to depend on their taxonomy (genus, species, strain) and the composition of the suspension medium. The cultures can be stored after dehydration during 2-2.5 years.


[Dynamics of short term changes in the number of bacteria in the surface ooze layer and bottom water]. Statistically reliable short-term periodic changes in the number of bacteria were found in the surface ooze layer and, to a less extent, in the bottom water layer. The time of doubling of the bacterial number can be calculated approximately by counting bacterial cells in the ooze layer every day. An inverse correlation was established between the bacterial number in the surface ooze layer and in the bottom water layer.


[Electron microscopic study of intracellular growth of phage specific for Bacillus thuringiensis var. galleriae]. Ultrathin sections of Bacillus thuringiensis var. galleriae infected by a specific phage were studied by electron microscopy. Stages of the phage reproduction within the cell, from adsorption of phage particles to liberation of the phage from the cell, have been revealed. Growth of the phage follows that of DNA-containing phages. The yield of the phage is very high.


[Electroretention of microorganisms].

[Electroretention of microorganisms]. Water is liberated from microbial cells in the course of flow of microbial suspensions through dielectrics and conductors of the second kind in electric field. Microorganisms are retained by electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis, polarization of the cells and particles, electrostatic, dipole-dipole interaction between them. When the current is switched off, the cells are liberated and washed out with small volumes of water, and the regenerated material may be used several times for separating microbial cells from fluids. Effectiveness of retainment of microorganisms increases with an increase in voltage and a decrease in the flow rate.


[Connection of thylakoids with plasmalemma in the Synechococcus cyanobacterium]. The edges of the thylakoids are connected with the plasmalemma in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp., strain 715, this leading to partial compartmentalization of the cytoplasm in the cell.


[Lysogeny of the Streptomyces hygroscopicus culture reducing the antibiotic turimycin and some characteristics of its temperate phage]. The culture of Streptomyces hygroscopicus JA 6599 producing antibiotic turimycin was found to be lysogenic. Four variants produced from this culture by the inducing with acridine orange did not synthesize the antibiotic but were also lysogenic. Temperate phages isolated from the parent culture and from its four variants were identical by their main biological properties. Therefore, production of turimycin is not controlled by the isolated temperate phage.


[Formation of ribuloso-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase by Thiocapsa roseopersicina under different growth conditions]. Contrary to other photosynthetic and some chemoautotrophic bacteria, formation of ribuloso-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase by the cells of Thiocapsa roseopersicina, strain BBS, is not inhibited by oxygen which is present in the medium. The intensity of light and the presence of organic substances in the medium produce only a minor effect on synthesis of the enzyme by the microorganism.


A study of women students at King's College Hospital Medical School. The admission statistics between 1967 and 1975 were studied and it was found that of the students applying a higher proportion of women than men have been admitted to King's College Hospital Medical School and that the percentage has also risen during the period for 20% in 1967 to 38% in 1975. The performance of 206 students was examined and it was found that in the A-level examinations the women studentss had significantly higher score in Zoology/Biology than the men, higher score but not significantly so in Chemistry and lower scores in Physics. It was found that the women students had higher scores than the men in the multiple choice examinations in medicine and surgery at the end of the first clinical year but that these differences were not statistically significant. In their firm reports during the first clinical year the women students had higher scores than the men in both ability and effort, but only significantly so in the case of the score for effort. In the Final London MB BS examinations in Medicine and Surgery the women had significantly higher marks than the men in both subjects. This superior academic performance and motivation at undergraduate level is discussed in the light of the lower work record of women medical graduates, and the government's policy of equal opportunity for men and women.


Comparison of employment stutus of women medical graduates and women science graduates, University of Sheffield, 1960-65. It appears from this survey that the employment prospects of women in medicine are not as gloomy as might be imagined. However, they may be employed in posts underusing their talents and should be encouraged at medical school to consider medicine as a meaningful career. Women science graduates appear to fare badly in the employment field compared to women doctors and are employed, very of ten, in jobs unconnected with their qualifications. An advisory service for women science students is recommended.


Doctors' career choice: previous research and its relevance for policy-making. During the last 10 years, a good deal of interest has been shown by both researchers and policy-makers in the factors which determine doctors' choice of specialty. In this sense 'specialty' includes not only the hospital specialties but general practice and occupational and community health. This interest has arisen in part from the problems of geographical and inter-specialty maldistribution which have persisted since the inception of the Health Service. As plans for increasing the total numbers of British doctors begin to be put into effect, the attention of  medical manpower planners may well be more sharply focused on ways of ensuring that this increased supply is used in the best possible way.


Pre-registration house appointments: a computer aided allocation scheme. The number of pre-registration house posts allocated by the London Hospital rapidly increased in 1973. This made solution by hand of the allocation problem time consuming and complex. The Operational Research Unit was approahced and a computer aided scheme was designed which was subsequently adopted. Various alternative allocation methods are discussed and examples given. The results of the first five allocations are presented. The percentage of applicants obtaining one of their first three choices varied from 61 to 70%. Of consultants who expressed a choice, the percentage obtaining one of their first three choices was in the range of 72-94%. The allocation scheme has two principal advantages over methods used elsewhere. It is extremely flexible, allowing various weights to be given to either applicant or consultant. It also produces a complete solution which is optimal in terms of the numerical criteria specified. Details of the assignment algorithm are given in the Appendix.


A follow-up of career preferences.

A follow-up of career preferences. Of 146 pre-registration house officers in 1972 who answered an enquiry about career preferences, 111 were written to again in 1974. The enquiry yielded 101 comparisons, out of which 65 doctors retained their original first choice of career, 15 opted for their previous second or third choice and 21 gave a completely new first choice. Reappraisal of abilities, additional experience of the new choice of career and additional knowledge of promotion prospects were the commonest reasons given for change of career choice.


An evaluation of the use of continlous assessment in the teaching of pharmacology. A statistical evaluation has been made of the use of continuous assessment (CA) in the teaching of pharmacology in Medical, Ordinary (Second) BSc and Honours BSc courses. There is significant correlation (usually at P less than 0-001) between mean scores obtained in final degree examinations and CA, and between overall CA scores and the scores obtained in the individual components of CA. Scores for assessment of practical work are consistently high, while those for SAQ tests in the Medical course are consistently low. MCQ tests in both Medical and Second BSc courses show considerable year-to-year fluctuation. Degree examination and combined degree examination/CA scores show remarkable consistency from year to year. In the Medical and Second BSc groups, but not in the Honours BSc groups, the effect of introducing a CA component is to increase the mean final score by 1-2%. This up-grading of the final score by the CA component is greater (3-8%) in the less able students with scores below the mean level. In the Honours BSc group there is an opposite trend, in that inclusion of CA tends to reduce the final score, though this is not significant. It is concluded that (a) inclusion of CA scores in the final assessment does not alter the ranking order of student performance, (b) in the Medical and Second BSc groups, inclusion of CA in the final assessment benefits the student, especially those of below-average ability, and (c) inclusion of CA in the final assessment has no significant effect in the Honours BSc group; in fact, in those below average, it tends to reduce the final assessment score.


Assessment of insight change in medical student doing psychiatry. The development of 'insight' in medical students is considered a fundamental component of psychiatric undergraduate education. The use of an insight test at the beginning and end of a 6 week teaching programme in clinical psychiatry showed a significant increase in insight as measured by this test. There was also a significant correlation between the final insight score and the results of a traditional oral examination.


Evaluation of an instruction programme on diabetes diet by means of a teaching machine. In 119 patients with diabetes, student nurses, social workers, dietitians and medical students a pretest was carried out with multiple-choice questions on the subject of diabetes diet. The group was then exposed to programmed diet instruction with a teaching machine. There was a significant learning effect as measured by the score differences with identical and analogue post-tests. Programmed self-teaching with feed back by multiple-choice questions seems to be an efficient method of instruction of basic facts of nutrition for diabetics thus enabling the physician to spend more time on the patient's personal problems.


Traumatic hyphaema: a general hospital experience. A series of fifty consecutive patients admitted to the Alfred Hospital with a primary diagnosis of traumatic hyphaema is analysed with respect to causation, size of bleed at admission, treatment, complications and ultimate visual result. The need to examine carefully the eyes of all patients presenting with a history of motor vehible accident is stressed.


Hepatitis B infections in expatriate doctors in Papua New Guinea. The frequency of hepatitis B infection in European doctors and non-medical expatriates working in Papua New Guinea has been investigated. There was a higher rate of clinical hepatitis in doctors as compared with non-medical personnel and serological evidence suggested that most of the infections were hepatitis B. Subclinical infections with hepatitis B in doctors were also common, and the frequency of hepatitis B antibody increased with length of stay in Papua New Guinea. The implications of these findings are discussed.


Schizophrenia: a postulated animal model. Studies dealing with psychiatric concomitants of epilepsy and penetrating brain injury suggest that phenomena seen may be based on the side of injury. A separate, growing literature has begun to relate shizophrenia directly to problems of inter-hemispheric relation. Experimental work on animal rotation also deals with aspects of cerebral asymmetry. The chemical and anatomic systems manipulated in the animal work are the same as those postulated to be central to a biological understanding of schizophrenia. How these seemingly disparate subject matters may merge and point to a plausible animal model for the schizophrenias is the hypothesis presented in this paper.


The role of viruses in the evolution of antibody diversity. We propose an alternate concept for the creation of antibody diversity involving the role of viruses as mediators of genetic exchange. We suggest that both species specificity and the diversity of the immune response arose as a consequence of virus co-evolution with host organisms. Processes such as viral transformation, transduction, and integration provide mechanisms of nucleotide exchange with the host leading to antibody diversity. In this model the genes coding for antibodies are stabilized through a process of antigenic and natural selection. Stabilization of genes ensures vertical transmission of appropriate nucleotide sequences.


Smallpox vaccination and eczema.

Smallpox vaccination and eczema. Smallpox has disappeared from all countries except Ethiopia and the possibility of its eradication appears within reach. The need for vaccination of eczema patients against smallpox appears to be ending. Eczema vaccinatum is a rare but sometimes fatal complication of smallpox vaccination in atopic aczema  and its incidence is discussed. Precautions in vaccinating atopic eczema patients include suitable treatment of the eczema, injection of vaccinial immunoglobulin and testing the competence of humoral and cellular immunity.


Medical aspects of surfcraft usage.

Medical aspects of surfcraft usage. A prospective study of one year's duration on surfcraft-associated injuries recorded 399 injuries. The incidence and pattern observed was significantly different from results gathered in the same area five years earlier. The frequency of injury was found not to have increased as much as would have been expected from the increased popularity of board riding. The pattern of injury was also shown to have altered. It is concluded that, while occasional severe injuries occur, the use of surfcraft, particularly surfboards, constitutes a relatively risk-free sport.


Infection with Pseudomonas maltophilia hospital outbreak due to contaminated disinfectant. Between August, 1973, and May, 1974, Pseudomonas maltophilia was isolated from 63 patients in the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, Subiaco, Western Australia. Primary cultures were obtained mainly from specimens of urine from adults, and from intraarterial catheter tips and umbilical swabs from neonates. In most cases the organism appeared to be a contaminant, but in seven it was responsible for infection. The source of the organism was deionized water used for diluting Savlon concentrate (chlorhexidine, 1-5%; cetrimide, 15%). In the 17 months since the method of preparation and distribution of Savlon to the wards was altered, Ps. maltophilia has not been isolated from either clinical specimens or hospital disinfectants.


Current management of coarctation of the aorta. A series of 55 surgically treated cases of coarctation of the thoracic aorta is presented with an operative mortality of 5-4%. The problems encountered in infants are discussed and postoperative complications in adults and children detailed. The advantages of patch graft aortoplasty over resection and end-to-end anastomosis are described.


Malpositioned central venous cannulae and the internal jugular vein. The internal jugular vein is a common site for the malpositioned central venous cannula tip. This undesirable situation can be recognized clinically as well as radiologically, and can be remedied without further venepuncture.


Iatrogenic hypernatraemia after oral electrolyte solution. A seven-week-old infant was found to be hypernatraemic after oral administration of an electrolyte solution. It is recommended that such solutions are not used in the outpatient treatment of children.


The aetiology of non-exertional angina pectoris. The occurrence of angina pectoris while at rest, although long recognized, has not been satisfactorily explained. In the non-exertional attacks studied there was an increase in heart load, as estimated by the product of heart rate and systolic pressure. Angina occurred when the load exceeded a critical level. Recumbency  was associated with 94% of non-exertional attacks; 58% followed a meal; in 54% both factors were present. It is suggested that recumbency causes an increase in heart load because of expansion of blood volume by transfer of fluid from interstitial spaces, and that a meal does so because of digestive activity.


Medical problems in refugee children evacuated from South Vietnam. One hundred and fourteen refugee children from South Vietnam showed similar disease prevalences to refugee children from Bangladesh. Common diseases were malnutrition, gastroenteritis, pneumonia and bronchitis, scabies and furunculosis. Seven children died, five from pneumonia complicated by malnutrition. Increased awareness of the high incidence of Pneumocystis pneumonia and more careful assessment of nutritional status may reduce mortality in future groups of refugee children evacuated to Australia.


Bran, hypertriglyceridaemia and urate clearance. Eight subjects having raised triglyceride levels associated with conditions such as diabetes, hyperuricaemia, obesity and hypothyroidism were given 50 g of bran per day to determine the effect of increasing dietary fibre on triglyceride and purine metabolism. The study was continued for two months. No significant effect was noted on the serum cholesterol or triglyceride level. There was a significant (p less than 0-0125) increase in the urate clearance during the initial two weeks of bran treatment, but serum uric acid levels did not alter.


Crutch design for a high-level amputee.

Crutch design for a high-level amputee. A case is reported of a high-level left-leg amputee, aged 61 years, the amputation being performed 33 years ago. No satisfactory artificial limb has been available and severe hip and foot problems have resulted, through continued use of unsatisfactory crutch design. From the study of gait films, an excessive lateral movement at the pelvis was clear. An analysis of lateral stability showed that the crutch support on the ground needed to be shifted medially by about 5 cm. The patient's condition is greatly improved with the new crutch design.


Communicable disease in the South Pacific Islands, 1. An outline is given of the pattern of communicable disease in the South Pacific, as far as it is known. Surveillance and research are imcomplete and the World Health Organization is assisting in carrying these out. Reporting and laboratory diagnosis of communicable disease are inadequate and sometimes inaccurate. This is being improved. Medical checks for intending migrants from the South Pacific are, in a number of cases, inadequately performed in the country of origin and this situation should be altered. The risks to surrounding developed countries from migrants, temporary workers and returning travellers are not tremendous but they cannot be neglected and vigilance has to be maintained. Tuberculosis importation does present risks, as does that of typhoid. Malaria importation carries risks for Northern Australia. Leprosy poses little real risk to Australia or New Zealand and neither does filariasis. Cholera would have to be watched for closely should there ever be a South Pacific outbreak, but the developed countries around the South Pacific which are cholera-non-receptive can control occasional cases. Other than malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid and possibly dengue, problems are thus mainly in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals.


Klinefelter's syndrome: experiences with 24 patients. Twenty-four karotypically proven patients with Klinefelter's syndrome were studied. The majority suffered from disorders of personality and social adjustment. All were poorly educated. Two-thirds showed gynaecomastia and all had small testes. Eunuchoid body proportions were seen in the majority of patients. Half the patients had plasma androgen levels in the low normal range; in the rest the levels were subnormal. The serum LH level was elevated in 80% and could not be adequately suppressed by exogenous androgens in seven out of nine patients. Abnormalities of carbohydrate metabolism were demonstrated in seven patients. Bilateral mastectomy was a valuable form of therapy, but androgens were withheld for phychosocial reasons.


Drinking and drug taking patterns of 8,516 adults in Sydney. Data on the drinking and drug taking patterns of 8,516 adults who had been through a Medicheck screening were analysed. This is the largest sample studied in Australia to date. The alcohol intake pattern of at least 29% of males and 9% of females puts them "at risk" of physical and/or psychosocial complications; 11% of males and 2% of females were considered to be at high risk. Very few heavy drinkers considered themselves to have a drinking problem and even fewer had been told by their doctor that they were problem drinkers. One-quarter of all the women took either psychotropic drugs or analgesics regularly; 19% of females, compared with 7% of males, took one or more of the psychotropic drugs (mainly tranquillizers) regularly, and 9% of females compared with 3% of males took analgesics regularly. Approximately one-third of both males and females were current smokers, but more males than females had given up smoking. The important role to be played by general practioners in the prevention and early treatment of drug dependence is highlighted by these findings.


Colostomy irrigation: its role in improving the colostomate's quality of life. The wider use of the irrigation technique for the management of the permanent colostomy has previously been advocated. The results of its use in a group of 10 colostomates followed more than two years is discussed. As more than half of these colostomates have been able to resume a normal life after beginning colostomy irrigation, a further plea is made for a better understanding of the technique and the advantages that it offers.


Pneumonia in a city hospital.

Pneumonia in a city hospital. Of 222 patients with pneumonia in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in 1972, more were affected by bronchopneumonia (53%) than lobar pneumonia (46%). Two-thirds of the patients were males and 86% were aged 40 years or more. Only 59% had any bacteriological studies performed. It was unusual to isolate pathogens from persons who had received antibiotics before cultures were taken, but of cultures taken from persons not receiving antibiotics, 65% yielded pneumococci. Infections due to Staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas and enterobacteria were uncommon. Haemophilus influenzae appeared to be a co-pathogen in bronchopneumonia more than in lobar pneumonia. The mortality in lobar pneumonia was acceptably low (4%), but was generally high in bronchopneumonia, being 32% when the condition occurred after surgical operations and 35% when this form of pneumonia complicated other normally non-terminal medical diseases. The mortality was 17% in primary bronchopneumonia.


A decade of medical practice: profile of a class. The careers which the graduates of one class from the Faculty of Medicine in The University of Sydney ("Class of '62") had chosen for themselves by the tenth anniversary of their graduation have been compiled and compared with data from other parts of Australia.


Two complications of diagnostic colonoscopy. Two complications of diagnostic colonoscopy are reported. One patient had a perforation which was recognized immediately, and the other had a serosal tear discovered fortuitously at elective surgery. Previous reports of colonoscopic complications are reviewed, and factors predisposing to such complications are discussed.


Coercion and compulsory hospitalization: some patients' attitudes. Patients' attitudes upon admission to a psychiatric hospital were elicited. Negative feelings were expressed significantly more often by those who felt coerced into hospital and those admitted compulsorily. Reasons given for these negative feelings are discussed together with suggestions as to how admission procedures could be improved


Arterial counterpulsation: review of the first 100 patients. One hundred patients were treated with arterial counterpulsation over a 52-month period, indications being acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock or refractory cardiac failure, or elective cardiac surgery complicated by continued dependence on cardiopulmonary bypass. Virtually all patients showed initial improvement and 45 were hospital survivors. Serious complications of treatment were relatively infrequent. Long-term results were good, particularly in patients treated early, and in those with infarction who suffered mechanical complications that could be corrected surgically results suggest an important role of arterial counterpulsation in acute coronary artery disease.


[Influence of digoxin upon the exercise ECG of healthy men (author's transl)]. Cardiac glycosides may cause in the exercise ECG of healthy persons S-T segment depressions, which imitate a coronary insufficiency. If this method of examination is to be carried out in diagnosing coronary heart disease, it is - therefore - recommended in many cases to discontinue, at all events, an eventual digitals therapy before the examination in order to avoid falsely positive results. 23 healthy men (average age 30.2 years) were applied digoxin of medially quick saturation over seven days. Exertion electrocardiograms at the bicycle ergometer were registered before and after digoxin application. In five further cases, plasma glycoside concentrations were evaluated by 86Rb erythrocyte assay; upon the degree of saturation used, these concentrations - on the sixth and seventh day - amounted to x = 1.03 ng/ml. The following items manifested after digoxin administration, under stress and after resting: Retardation of heart rate, declination of T amplitude, and individually to a very different extent - depression of the S-T segment. After application of digoxin, only 8 of the 23 test persons demonstrated S-T depressions that would have corresponded entirely to the conditions of a "coronary insufficiency". Thus, it appears to be justified to carry out - first of all and in order to exclude the possibility of a coronary insufficiency - an exertion electrocardiogram, without interruption of the glycoside therapy, also in patients who are undergoing a digitalis therapy. The reason for this measure is the fact that in healthy persons only one third of the cases must be expected to show a falsely positive result. If, however, significant S-T depressions occur, the examination has to be repeated after a sufficiently long-lasting glycoside-free interval.


[Glycoside induced intestinal ischemia. Therapeutic possibilities (author's transl)]. Intestinal infarction in the absence of organic vascular occlusion received increasing attention in recent years. There is strong evidence from experimental work and clinical observations that cardiac glycosides may play an important role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Our experiments using the so called mechanical ventricular massage confirm this theory. We could demonstrate that the decrease in mesenteric arterial perfusion following the i.v. administration of ouabain is caused by extracardiac effects of the glycoside on vascular smooth muscle. The Ca++ -antagonistic compound (Verapamil) blocks and reverses the Ca++-synergistic action of the glycoside independent of the time of injection.


[Studies on the influence of Molsidomin on coronary heart disease (author's transl)]. A new agent, Molsidomine, with anti-anginal effect was investigated in 43 patients with coronary heart disease by means of 121 exercise tolerance studies. A good effect was observed 1 hour after sublingual or enteral absorption of 2 mg, which was comparable to 20 mg of Isosorbiddinitrate administered sublingually. Recorded and evaluated were the depression of ST-segment in the ECG, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as subjective parameters. In comparison to the controls there was a highly significant reduction of anginal pain and ST-depression equivalent to that obtained 1 hour after Isosorbiddinitrate. The effect of Molsidomine could be established already 10 min after sublingual administration and sustained 5 to 6 hours afterwards with a highly statistic significance after sublingual as well as after enteral absorption. Side effects were noticed in 3 out of 43 patients, 2 of them with headache. The remarkable advantages of the drug are to be seen in its simple dosage and administration, its good tolerability, and its intrinsic retard-effect. A combination with beta-blocking agents seems to be possible in the same way as with Isosorbiddinitrate.


[Protracted anaphylactic shock after methyl-glucamine iodipamide (author's transl)]. A 73 year old patient with a chronic cholangitis developed protracted anaphylactic shock after intravenous injection of methylglucamine iodipamide. The post-mortem examinations showed no evidence for septicemia. Although endotoxin-shock cannot be completely excluded, the most likely cause of death was an allergic reaction.