Effect of d-galactosamine administration on nucleotide and protein metabolism in isolated rat Kupffer cells. The nucleoti-e contents of isolated rat Kupffer cells were found to be smaller than those of hepatocytes. The rate of UDPGal formation from D-galactose was much lower in Kupffer cells than in hepatocytes. The viability of the former was checked by measuring the leakage of enzymes and the formation of UTP from uridine. Addition of GalN to isolated Kupffer cells did not decrease their UTP and UDPG contents as much as those of hepatocytes. The same results were obtained when cells were isolated from GalN-pretreated animals. The incorporation of labeled amino acids into protein after GalN addition was much less reduced in Kupffer cells than in hepatocytes. The data suggest that Kupffer cells do not contribute to GalN-induced liver injury as a result of uridylate trapping.


[Glycine hydrazide as a bifunctional reagent for the synthesis of antigens with steroids as the immunodeterminant groups (author's transl)]. The suitability of glycine hydrazide as a link between steroids and carrier proteins in the synthesis of antigens was examined. Testosterone was used as hapten; bovine serum albumin as carrier protein. The reaction described here of testosterone with glycine hydrazide to form testosterone glycylhydrazone acetate took place under milk conditions and the yield was nearly quantitative. Rabbits immunized with the new antigen developed specific antibodies against testosterone.


Biosynthetic incorporation of fatty acids with photosensitive groups into membrane lipids of cells in tissue culture. The physical methods (13C-NMR-spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy) hitherto used for the elucidation of lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions in artificial and simple natural membranes were extended to the application of fatty acids, phospholipids and sphingolipids with photochemical labels (azide group) in defined positions, which on photolysis generate nitrenes. These highly reactive groups react with neighbouring molecules, either lipids or polypeptide chains, with insertion or addition. Highly radioactive 12-azido[9,10-3H2]stearic acid, 12-azido[12-3H]oleic acid and 18-azido-[9,10,12,13-3H4]linoleic acid were added to the growth medium of eukaryotic cell lines in tissue culture (BHK 21 cells and Chang liver cells). They were incorporated into neutral, phosphoand sphingolipids in amounts comparable with the unsubstituted parent fatty acids. The distribution of the azido fatty acids in the phospholipids has been determined by enzymatic hydrolysis (phospholipase A2) on the basis of the distribution of their radioactivity. Radio gas chromatography and combined gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy revealed that the azide group of the radioactive fatty acids remained unaltered.


Biosynthetic labelling of membrane lipids of eukaryotic cells in tissue culture by a novel type of fluorescent fatty acids. W-Anthryl labelled fatty acids with hydrocarbon chains of different lengths (C8, C11, C15) and different degrees of unsaturation have been incorporated into the membrane lipids of three different cell lines in tissue culture by addition of these 3H-labelled precursor fatty acids to the growth medium. The cell lines were baby hamster kidney cells (BHK 21), Chang liver cells and the RN6 cell line derived from a chemically induced Schwannoma tumor cell clone. Cell growth was normal. The quantitative analysis on the basis of radioactivity determinations demonstrated that the fluorescent-labelled fatty acids were introduced into the neutral lipid fraction (triglycerides, diglycerides, and cholesterol esters, all present in small amounts), but mainly into the phospholipid classes phosphatidylcholine, -ethanolamine and -serine, and to a lesser extent, as N-acyl component of sphingolipids (sphingomyelins, ceramides, mono- and diglycosylceramides). Cell fractionation studies indicated that the membranes of all subcellular particles were labelled with the fluorescent probes in their lipid moieties. These w-anthryl fatty acids are the first type of fluorescent lipid precursors which can be incorporated biosynthetically in vivo into membrane lipids of eukaryotic cells. The effective incorporation of the bulky fluorescent anthryl group in the terminal position of fatty acids of different chain lengths into the complex membrane lipids of the cell gives proff of 1) their uninhibited membrane transport, 2) their activation by the acyl-CoA synthetase and 3) their substrate properties for the O- acyl and N-acyl transferases in phospho- and sphingolipid biosynthesis.


Influence of insulin on lysosomal activity and urea production in isolated parenchymal cells from rat liver. Non-latent (free) activities of two lysosomal enzymes (acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase) and urea production were measured in purified rat liver parenchymal cells incubated in the presence and absence of insulin. Non-latent enzyme activity was measured by including 0.25M sucrose in the assay mixtures to provide osmotic protection to the lysosomes. Total enzyme activity was estimated with Triton X-100 in the homogenates. Insulin was found to inhibit ureogenesis and to reduce non-latent lysosomal enzyme activity in the hepatocytes in vitro. Our data support the idea that insulin inhibits autophagy in rat liver parenchymal cells. Such an effect of insulin may also explain the inhibitory action of insulin on urea production in the rat liver.


A survey of patients leaving a mental hospital against medical advice. A consecutive series of 100 male psychiatric patients who requested release against medical advice during an 11-month period was compared with a control group consisting of a random sample of 100 patients admitted during the same period who did not submit such a request. The majority of those who submitted the request were alcoholics or schizophrenics. The authors found that a sizable number were either separated or divorced, were younger than patients in the control group, and were in more turbulent phases of their illness. A surprising finding was that 60 patients submitted the request while on an open ward.


Comparison of skeletal muscle monolayer cultures initiated with cells dissociated by the vortex and trypsin methods. Monolayer cultures of 12-day embryonic chick skeletal muscle were prepared from cells dissociated with crude trypsin (Difco 1:250) and by a mechanical method that utilizes shearing forces obtained in a vortex of flowing medium. For each technique, experiments were performed in which the feeding schedule and density of cells planted were varied. Culture growoth was observed microscopically and with time-lapse cinematography. Regardless of the parameter varied, the time of onset of fusion and the extent of myotube formation were greatly improved in cultures initiated with the vortex-dissociated muscle cells.


Enzyme separation techniques for the study of growth of cells from layers of bovine dental pulp. Effects of the enzymes trypsin, papain, bromelains and ficin on bovine dental pulp tissue were studied. Minced or whole pulps were subjected to each enzyme at 17 degrees, 20 degrees and 37 degrees C for set time intervals, after which aliquots of supernatant fluid were removed for cell counts and viability tests. Pooled samples were subsequently cultured as monolayers in Eagle's MEM plus 10% calf serum. The dissociation characteristics were quite distinct for each enzyme, although quite similar between minced and whole pulp. A parallel histological study was made of the residual pulp tissue. Ficin was found to be the most suitable enzyme for future studies on the growth of isolated pulp cells from various layers of the bovine pulp, due to its even rate of cell removal, and the good initial viability and subsequent growth of the separated cells in monolayer culture. Further studies on ficin may show that it is more suitable for enzymatic separation of tissues generally than the more commonly used trypsin, a major advantage being its use in media containing Ca2+ and Mg2+.


Rainbow trout leukocyte culture: a simplified method. The addition of 10% fetal bovine serum to Leibovitz's L-15 culture medium resulted in marked growth of peripheral blood leukocytes from rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri. Culture medium without serum or with 20% homologous serum did not induce substantial growth. In contrast to what has been reported by others, oxygenation of the culture medium was found not to be required for excellent cell growth.


Development of immunoglobulin and antibody-synthesizing cells after immunization with different doses of antigen. The kinetics of development of antibody-synthesizing cells and of cells synthesizing immunoglobulins without detectable antibody function were studied in rats immunized with different doses (0-1, 1, 10, 100 mg) of horse radish peroxidase, bovine serum albumin, human serum albumin, hen ovalbumin, or human IgG, which had been deaggregated or heat-aggregated. Each antigen was injected once or twice as a solution in saline. Antibody and immunoglobulin-producing cells were detected in draining lymph nodes by immunohistochemical staining. In the primary response a few antibody-synthesizing cells were found whatever the dose injected. No increase or some increase was found with the amount of antigen injected, according to the protein used, but with all doses of antigen injected, the population of cells remained small, except with human IgG where a relatively high number of positive cells was detected even after injection of 1 mg of antigen. In the secondary response a few antibody-forming cells were also detected with the lower doses of antigen, but this population increased after boosting with 100 mg of antigen. With human IgG a greater number of positive cells was induced withall the doses tested. A correlation between the number of cells synthesizing immunoglobulins without antibody function and the amount of antigen injected was observed in the primary and secondary responses. The relative size of these two populations varied with the stage of immunity of the animals. In the primary response, the population of cells synthesizing immunoglobulins without antibody function was larger than the population of antibody-forming cells. The same was true in the secondary response, but if after a booster injection the level of antibody-synthesizing cells exceeded that reached in the primary response, the increase of cells synthesizing Ig without antibody function was smaller than the increase in antibody-forming cells. In general the more immunogenic an antigen was, the smaller was the ratio between antibody-forming cells and cells producing immunoglobulin without antibody function.


Isolation of a factor causing morphological changes of chinese hamster ovary cells from the culture filtrate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. A factor changing Chinese hamster ovary cells from an oval to a spindle shape was isolated from the culture filtrate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. It was partially purified by successive column chromatographies on diethylaminoethylcellulose, diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex A-25, hydroxylapatite, and Sephadex G-200. This factor was separated from thermostabl direct hemolysin and was heat labile.


Reliability of self-reported age of first drug use: analysis of New York City narcotics register data. New York City Narcotics Register data were analyzed to determine the consistency of self-reported age of first drug use among multiple reports on a single individual. There were 15,263 individuals with two or more reports between January 1973 and April 1974 which specified age of first drug use. Discrepancies were noted in 68% of cases; in 31% the responses differed by 3 or more years. Even among reports from a single agency, there were discrepancies in 45% of cases. The degree of consistency was only slightly better when the analysis was restricted to subjects 20 years of age and younger. No comparable inconsistency was observed with respect to self-reported year of birth.


Diabetic macular edema.

Diabetic macular edema. Photocoagulation by either the argon laser or xenon arc instruments has been reported to have a beneficial effect in selected patients with macular edema. Treatment is not effective in all cases; indeed, in some patients with perifoveal capillary closure, severe macular edema, long-standing organized hard exudates, or significant cystoid maculopathy, treatment has proved to be ineffective. Findings associated with a generally favorable or an unfavorable prognosis following photocoagulation are discussed in this chapter, along with proper management of the patient's systemic status, with particular emphasis on the problem of hypertension, important in patients with diabetic macular edema. Because the results of photocoagulation are limited in a significant number of patients, further research into the basic pathogenetic mechanisms involved in increased retinal capillary permeability to recommended, with the hope of providing more effective therapy.


Complications of argon laser retinal photocoagulation: a five-year study. The operator must become familiar with the dangers involved with argon laser photocoagulation. The hazards in the use of the argon laser slit-lamp photocoagulator derive from the same properties of the instrument that make it advantageous for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases: the wavelengths are highly absorbed by blood, and the beam can be focused to a small diameter. Of course complications can be avoided entirely by using applications so light the virtually no effect is obtained; but such an approach, although safe, cannot be therapeutic.


Argon laser photocoagulation in ocular histoplasmosis syndrome. Argon laser photocoagulation was performed on 30 patients with ocular histoplasmosis syndrome involving the macula. Selection of patients for photocoagulation was dependent upon locating the sub-retinal neovascularization (SRNV) at least one vein-width removed from the capillary-free zone of the fovea on fluorescein angiography. Of the 30 treated patients, 27 maintained or improved visual acuity an average of 1 1/2 years following photocoagulation.


Electrical parameters of the isolated cornea of the dogfish, Squalus acanthias. The electrical potential difference and electrical resistance of the nonswelling cornea of the dogfish, Squalus acanthias, were examined. It was found that routine procedures used in the procurement of fish invariably produce damage to the corneal epithelium which affects electrical measurements and possibly composition of the aqueous humor. We found no electrical evidence of ionic pumps in the corneal epithelium of this elasmobranch. The electrical resistance of corneas with apparently well-preserved epithelium was 300omega-cm.2 (compared to 30omega-cm.2 in corneas with damaged epithelium).


Retinol- and retinoic acid-binding proteins: occurrence in human retina and absence from human cultured fibroblasts. Low-molecular-weight retinol- and retinoic acid-binding proteins were shown to be present in the soluble fraction of human retinal tissue but absent from human fibroblasts grown in tissue culture. By the use of gel filtration and comparison with bovine retinal tissue, the human intracellular binding proteins were found to have molecular weights of approximately 17,000 daltons, which are comparable to the molecular weights of bovine intracellular binding proteins. The quantity of retinoic acid bound exceeded that of retinol by about eightfold.


Normal interaction of plasma retinol-binding protein from retinitis pigmentosa with bovine pigment epithelium. The interaction between retinol-binding protein and normal bovine pigment epithelium has been studied with the use of iodinated retinol-binding protein isolated from the plasma of patients with the recessive form of retinitis pigmentosa and of normal subjects. It is concluded that the capacity of the plasma carrier protein to interact with the retinol-binding protein receptor of bovine pigment epithelium is unimpaired in retinitis pigmentosa with autosomal recessive inheritance.


A theoretical study of concentration of profiles of primary cytochemical-enzyme reaction products in membrane-bound cell organelles and its application to lysosomal acid phosphatase. A numerical method was developed for computing the steady-state concentration gradient of a diffusible enzyme reaction product in a membrane-limited compartment of a simplified theoretical cell model. In cytochemical enzyme reactions proceeding according to the metal-capture principle, the local concentration of the primary reaction product is an important factor in the onset of the precipitation process and in the distribution of the final reaction product. The following variables were incorporated into the model: enzyme activity, substrate concentration, Km, diffusion coefficient of substrate and product, particle radius and cell radius. The method was applied to lysosomal acid phosphatase. Numerical values for the variables were estimated from experimental data in the literature. The results show that the calculated phosphate concentrations inside lysosomes are several orders of magnitude lower than the critical concentrations for efficient phosphate capture found in a previous experimental model study. Reasons for this apparent discrepancy are discussed.


[Selective scintillography of the salivary glands (author's transl)]. The salivary glands of 32 patients were studied with scintillography. Ten patients were normal controls, while the remaining 22 patients had various disease processes involving their salivary glands. Scintillography was performed by two methods: the standard technique utilizing intravenous isotope injection and selective scintillography. According to this latter method, the radioisotope used is administered only to the gland under investigation by selective catheterization. The present study includes the results of this work, the advantages and disadvantages of each technique employed, and the indications for further use of selective scintillography.


Sensitivity distribution of phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi to antibiotics. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of various antibiotics and fungicides for Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas coronafaciens var. atropurpurea, P. lachrymans, Alternaria mali, A. kikuchiana, Pyricularia oryzae, Botrytis sp. and Sclerotinia sp. isolated from diseased plants in various localities of Japan were examined to enable the isolates to be gruoped into sensitive and resistant strains. To minimize the effects of various variable conditions, MIC of isolates were pooled for either 2 or 3 years and were plotted in a single figure. The grouping values were determined on the basis of MIC values of the antibiotics and agricultural chemicals on phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi under investigations. The relationships between grouping values for isolates of bacteria and fungi and the control of disease on the plants correlated to each other were studied.


125I-Radioimmunoassay of amikacin and comparison with a microbioassay. A radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been developed using 125I-amikacin. Amikacin was iodinated by a modified BOLTON and HUNTER method. Dextran-charcoal was used to separate bound from free drug. The standard curve was linear on a logit-log plot in the range of 0.5 ng to 4 ng amikacin per tube. There was no cross-reactivity of amikacin antisera to the amino-glycosides gentamicin, tobramycin, netilmicin, and sisomicin but a 70% cross-reaction was observed with kanamycin, the compound from which amikacin is synthetically derived. Correlation of the RIA with a microbioassay for the determination of serum amikacin levels in 18 patient samples was excellent (r = 0.94). This new RIA technique is more sensitive, rapid, versatile, and less costly than the RIA using 3H-amikacin, and is far more sensitive and faster than microbioassay.


Dehydrodicaffeic acid dilactone, an inhibitor of catechol-O-methyl transferase. In the screening of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors, three compounds were isolated from the culture filtrate of a mushroom, Inonotus sp. One was 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid) which had been reported as an inhibitor of this enzyme. The others were the dextrorotatory 2,6-bis-(3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo-[3,3,0]-octane 4,8-dione (dehydrodicaffeic acid dilactone) andits antipode. These new compounds inhibited both dopamine beta-hydroxylase and dopa decarboxylase and showed hypotensive activity in the SH rat.


High performance liquid chromatography of natural products. I. Separation of cephalosporin C derivatives and cephalosporin antibiotics;isolation of cephalosporin C from fermentation broth. Microbonded propylamine silica with a solvent system containing acetic acid, methanol, acetonitrile and water (2:4:7.5:86.5) is suitable for an efficient separation of mixtures containing several closely related cephem derivatives. The same system with preparative columns was used for the isolation of cephalosporin C directly from the filtered broth of C. acremonium fermentation.


L-aspartate of erythromycin A cyclic 11,12-carbonate, a new semisynthetic erythromycin derivative. Erythromycin A cyclic 11,12-carbonate, a compound with high antibacterial activity, forms with L-aspartic acid a salt possessing valuable properties as a potential chemotherapeutic agent. The L-aspartate of erythromycin A cyclic 11,12-carbonate exhibits strong anti-bacterial activity, especially against Gram-positive bacteria and shows low toxicity. The serum and the lung tissue levels of the discussed salt after a single dose administration to a rat were measured in comparison with those of erythromycin, its L-aspartate, erythromycin cyclic 11,12-carbonate and its L-glutamate. The new erythromycin derivative showed definitely superior characteristics to those of the other substances tested. The activity of the L-aspartate of erythromycin A cyclic 11,12-carbonate in chemotherapy of experimental staphylococcal infection and experimental pneumococcal bronchopneumonia in mice is superior to that of the parent carbonate and erythromycin itself.


A simplified method for the gas-liquid chromatographic determination of methyl mercury in fish and shellfish. A simple acetone wash of the fish sample which removes lipids and other organic materials replaces the cystein cleanup specified in other methods. Methyl mercury is freed by hydrochloric acid, extracted into benzene, and determined with a gas-liquid chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. The method is quantitative for methyl mercury levels as low as 0.10 ppm in fish and shellfish. Ethyl mercury chloride may be used as an internal standard to detect unsuspected error or instrumental parameter variation.


A study of renaturation of reduced hen egg white lysozyme. Enzymically active intermediates formed during oxidation of the reduced protein. The material obtained from reduced hen egg white lysozyme after complete air oxidation at pH 8.0 and 37 degrees has yielded, by gel filtration on a Bio-Gel P-30 column, enzymically active species and an enzymically inactive form which eluted sooner than the active species but later than expected for a dimer of lysozyme. Reduced lysozyme also elutes at the same position as this inactive material. Examination of the fragments produced on CNBr cleavage of the inactive form indicates that at least 24% of the population contains incorrect disulfide bonds involving half-cystine residues 6, 30, 115, and 127. Tryptophan fluorescence and the intrinsic viscosity of the inactive form show an enlarged molecular domain with a disordered conformation. The yield of the inactive form increases as the oxidation of reduced lysozyme is accelerated using cupric ion. In the presence of 4 X 10(-5) M cupric ion, reduced lysozyme forms almost quantitatively the inactive form, which is almost completely converted to the native form by sulfhydryl-disulfide interchange catalyzed by thiol groups of either reduced lysozyme or beta-mercaptoethanol. The material trapped by alkylation of the free sulfhydryl groups with [1-14C]iodoacetic acid during the early stage of air oxidation of reduced lysozyme was fractionated by gel filtration to permit separation of the active species from the inactive form. Ion exchange chromatography of the active species yielded completely renatured lysozyme and three major enzymically active radioactive derivatives. Two of these derivatives contained approximately 2 mol of S-carboxymethylcysteine. Isolation and characterization of radioactive tryptic peptides from each of the three active forms, permitted the identification of Cys 6 and Cys 127, Cys 76 and 94, and Cys 80 as the sulfhydryl groups alkylated in these three incompletely oxidized, partially active forms. Thus, it appears that the interatomic interactions maintaining the compact three-dimensional structure of native lysozyme are operational even when one of these three native disulfide bonds between Cys 6 and Cys 127, Cys 76 and Cys 94, and Cys 64 and 80 is open.


Ultrasonographic evaulation of breast masses. B-mode ultrasonic contact scanning should be performed in conjunction with mammography in any patient with a palpable breast mass that is 1 cm or larger in diameter. Patients with masses that appear cystic on the sonogram should undergo needle aspiration of their masses. The fluid should then be cytologically examined for confirmation of its benign nature and repeat sonograms obtained to ensure that the mass has completely disappeared. Patients with masses appearing either solid or complex ultrasonographically should undergo surgical biopsy.


Actin filament-membrane attachment: are membrane particles involved? The association of actin filaments with membranes is an important feature in the motility of nonmuscle cells. We investigated the role of membrane particles in the attachment of actin filaments to membranes in those systems in which the attachment site can be identified. Freeze fractures through the end-on attachment site of the acrosomal filament bundles in Mytilus (mussel) and Limulus (horseshoe crab) sperm and the attachment site of the microvillar filament bundles in the brush border of intestinal epithelial cells were examined. There are no particles on the P face of the membrane at these sites in the sperm systems and generally none at these sites in microvilli. In microvilli, the actin filaments are also attached along their lengths to the membrane by bridges. When the isolated brush border is incubated in high concentrations of Mg++ (15 mM), the actin filaments form paracrystals and, as a result, the bridges are in register (330 A period). Under these conditions, alignment of the particles on the P face of the membrane into circumferential bands also occurs. However, these bands are generally separated by 800-900 A, indicating that all the bridges cannot be directly attached to membrane particles. Thus membrane particles are not directly involved in the attachment of actin filaments to membranes.


Topography of the synaptosomal membrane. The composition and disposition of the constituent polypeptides of rat cerebral cortical synaptosomal membranes were analyzed on SDS acrylamide gels. Of 20 bands readily detected, 11 account for greater than 93% of the total protein analyzed. These are: (molecu25); 3 (175); 4 (doublet, 137); 5 (doublet, 97); 6 (68); 7 (61); 8 (54); 9 (44); 10 (37); and 11 (33). Bands 5 and 8-10 are the most prominent and account for greater than 60% of the protein mass or 0.67 of its molecular fraction. By lactoperoxidase iodination, the bulk of the proteins in bands 3, 5, 6, and 8 and a portion of band 11 appear to be located on the external (junctional) face of the membrane of intact synaptosomes; proteins in bands 1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 appear to be localized on the internal (synaptoplasmic) face and become labeled only when synaptosomes are lysed. Further confirmation of the topographical distribution is provided by evidence that bands 3-6, 8, and 11 contain glycoproteins susceptible to labeling in intact synaptosomes by oxidation with galactose oxidase or periodate followed by reduction with NaB3H4. Evidence is provided for significant contributions by tubulin- and actin-like molecules to bands 8 and 9, respectively, suggesting that a substantial fraction of the tubulin in the synaptosomal membrane is disposed externally (accessible to iodination) whereas most, if not all, of the actin appears to exhibit the opposite topography. Similar though weaker inferences can also be drawn with regard to the location of tropomyosin and troponin. Preliminary evidence is provided that postsynaptic densities exhibit a protein and iodination profile distinct from that of the synpatosomal membrane.


Association of microfilament bundles with lysosomes in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The juxtaposition of microfilament bundles and lysosomes seen both in thin-sectioned cells in the transmission electron microscope and in cryofractured cells in the scanning electron microscope, and the presence of short filamentous structures between lysosomes and microfilament bundles, suggest that microfilaments may be attached to lysosomal membranes and that these filaments may be involved in lysosomal movements. Further work is in progress to test these hypotheses.


A simple, selective method for freeze-fracturing spherical cells. A simple and selective method for freeze-fracturing spherical cells is described. The cells are loaded into the holes of a thin nickel screen. A metal hat is applied to the cell monolayer and the whole assembly, hat-cells-screen, is frozen and then fractured by ripping the hat off. The fractured face on the screen is replicated. By varying the size of the screen holes and by applying the hat to either side of the screen, this method can selectively expose the E face (or the outer half of plasma membrane), the P face (or the inner half of the plasma membrane), or the cytoplasm of the cells. It also provides a means to produce fractures at a preselected area on the cell, if the cells can be loaded onto the screen in an oriented fashion.


Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis: long-term surgical results. The results of surgery in 21 patients with I.H.S.S. are reported. Dyspnea, angina pectoris and syncope were the most common symptoms in decreasing frequency. Before the operation, 5 patients were in New York Heart Association's functional class II, 10 in class III and 6 in class IV. The mean resting peak systolic pressure gradient was 66 mm Hg in 20 patients and mean left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was 14 mm Hg in 19 patients. The ventriculoseptomyectomy accomplished through a transaortic approach is the procedure of choice. The operative mortality rate was 14% (3 of 21 patients). There were 2 late deaths from congestive heart failure. Any sudden death did not occur. The remaining 16 patients have been followed up for a mean of 75 months (range 12 months to 11 years), 11 patients are in functional class I, 4 in class II and 1 in class III. Complete left-bundle-branch block occurred in 3 patients. Our study with a long post-operative follow-up period, documents that surgery results in good to excellent alleviation of symptoms in survivors. The elevated pre-operative left ventricular end-diastolic pressure has a significantly poor prognosis. We currently recommend surgery for the symptomatic patients who have not responded to medical therapy, not late in the symptomatic course of the disease.


Actin polymerization and interaction with other proteins in temperature-induced gelation of sea urchin egg extracts. The gel which forms on warming the extracts of the cytoplasmic proteins of sea urchin eggs has been separated into two fractions, one containing F-actin and the other containing two proteins of 58,000 and 22,000 mol wt. When combined in 0.1 M KCl, even at 0 degrees C, these components will form gel material identical to that formed by warming extracts. This gel is a network of laterally aggregated F-actin filaments which are in register and which display a complex cross-banding pattern generated by the presence of the other two proteins. Low concentrations of calcium block the assembly of these proteins to form this complex structure, which may play some cytoskeletal role in the cytoplasm. This association of F-actin with the other proteins to form a gel is very likely the last step fo the process occurring in warmed extracts. At low temperatures, gelation of extracts is limited by the relative absence of F-actin, as demonstrated by the inability to sediment it at 100,000 g and also by the fact that gelation occurs immediately if exogenous F-actin is added to cold extracts. The transformation of the G-actin present in the extract to the F-form is apparently repressed at low temperatures. This is shown directly by the failure of added G-actin to polymerize at low temperatures in the presence of extract. These observations resemble those which have been reported on preparations from amoeboid cells and may be significant in the involvement of actin and these other proteins in cell division and later developmental processes.


An autoradiographic analysis of [3H]alpha-bungarotoxin distribution in the rat brain after intraventricular injection. Purified alpha-bungarotoxin was isolated by chromatography and made radioactive with tritium ([3H]acetamidino-alpha-bungarotoxin). Infusions of [3H]alpha-bungarotoxin alone or preceded by tubocurarine or atropine were given into the third ventricle. 2. 12, or 24 h after injection the brains were prepared for autoradiography. Injections of alpha-bungarotoxin (radioinert) in buffer, or of [3H]parathyroid hormone in buffer, served as controls. The various patterns of labeling suggest the presence of nicotinic-cholinergic neurons within the arcuate and basolateral regions of the hypothalamus including the supraoptic and suprachiasmatic nuclei and, in addition, the central nucleus of the amygdala.


The distribution of anionic sites on the surface of the Golgi complex. The distribution of anionic binding sites has been investigated in the isolated Golgi complex using cationic ferritin. The greatest density of anionic sites occurs on the tubular network and small vesicles, and this binding is accompanied by increased levels of galactosyltransferase activity. The density of anionic sites on the cisternae is less than on the tubules and shows anisotropic distribution, with higher density on the convex surface and lower density on the concave surface. The distribution of anionic sites may reflect the functional activity of the Golgi complex and possibly the interaction or cohesion between cisternae in this organelle.


Umbilical uptake of amino acids in the unstressed fetal lamb. The whole blood concentrations of 22 amino acids were measured in a chronic, unstressed fetal lamb preparations. Samples were taken daily from the umbilical artery, umbilical vein, and maternal artery over the latter quarter of gestation. 73 sets of samples (from the umbilical artery and vein and the maternal artery) from 13 animals were analyzed for amino acid levels. Oxygen contents were determined simultaneously in 48 sets (umbilical artery and vein) to relate fetal oxygen consumption to amino acid uptake via the umbilical circulation. The results indicate that there is no umbilical uptake of the acidic amino acids, glutamate and aspartate; there is, in fact, a net flux of glutamate out of the fetus into the placenta. As both of these amino acids are major constituents of body proteins, the data indicate that they are formed within the fetus. The umbilical uptake of some neutral and basic amino acids (e.g., valine, leucine, isoleucine, arginine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine) is in considerable excess of estimated growth requirements, suggesting that some amino acids undergo extensive transamination and oxidative degradation in the fetus. Finally, the net uptake of nitrogen, carbon, and calories by the growing ovine fetus in the form of amino acids, glucose, and lactate is compared to estimated requirements as determined in previous studies.


Translation and stability of human globin mRNA in Xenopus oocytes. Human globin messenger RNA (mRNA) prepared from erythroid cells of patients with sickle cell anemia has been translated in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Addition of hemin to the injected mRNA causes total globin synthesis to increase and the ratio of alpha- to betas-globin synthesis (alpha/betas ratio) to approach unity. To determine the effect of the length of the poly-(A) segment on human globin mRNA stability, 10 S globin mRNA was fractionated into poly-(A)-poor fractions by oligo (dT)-cellulose column chromatography. When oocytes are injected with each of these fractions, translation of the poly-(A)-rich globin mRNA is sustained for a longer period than that of the poly-(A)-poor mRNA. Regardless of the mRNA fraction injected, the alpha/betas ratio of the synthesized globin decreases as the injected oocytes are incubated for longer periods. The results indicate that in frog oocytes poly-(A)-rich mRNA has greater translational stability than poly-(A)-poor mRNA, AND beta-mRNA has greater stability than alpha-mRNA with comparable poly-(A) content.


Motivated behaviors elicited from hypothalamus, midbrain, and pons of the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). Eating, drinking, biting attack, male mating behavior, and gnawing were elicited by electrical stimulation through electrodes located predominantly in a region extending from the preoptic area through the lateral hypothalamus into the ventral midbrain. Escape and digging were elicited from a parallel but more medial region that overlapped the lateral zone only in the preoptic-anterior hypothalamic area. Several differentiable vocalizations were produced from sites distributed through most, although not all, areas explored. Sites yielding painlike responses were located principally in the vicinity of the presumed pain pathway traced after anterolateral cordotomy in other species. Reward was obtained from widespread sites that were generally congruent with catecholaminergic systems as described in the rat. Although there was considerable overlap of the effective zones for many responses, their underlying mechanisms were differentiated anatomically by localized differences in their distribution or functionally by the elicitation of pure responses from some electrodes. Response mechanisms localized in the brain stem of the guinea pig generally resembled those in the rat, although there were differences in details, especially in the posterior midbrain and pons.


Male-female differences and the influence of neonatal and adult testosterone on intraspecies aggression in rats. Male and female albino rats were tested for intraspecies aggression without the use of shock. In the first experiment, male pairs showed more biting attacks, offensive sideways movements, and self-grooming than did female pairs; male pairs also showed more stereotyped defensive/submissive behaviors and were wounded more frequently. The second experiment examined the effects of neonatal castration and testosterone propionate (TP) administration on fighting. Males castrated at birth attacked other males less frequently than did controls when tested with TP treatment as adults. The TP given at birth to neonatally castrated males restored attacks to control levels. Females given TP as neonates did not differ from either male or female controls. Other aggressive/defensive behaviors, however, did not show this pattern. The results suggest that while the presence of testosterone during a brief postnatal period and during adulthood is necessary for attack behavior to occur, other related behaviors may not be affected in a similar manner.


Feeding behavior of steers fed a complete mixed ration. Feeding behavior of five Holstein steers fed a complete mixed ration was studied by use of individual, electronically controlled feeding behavior units. Both individual meal and daily behavioral parameters were measured. Number of meals, size of each individual meal, time spent eating, and intervals between meals were measured. Eating rates were then calculated. Diurnal feeding patterns were observed with 60.9% of the meals occurring between 0600 and 1800 h. For individual meals, body weight accounted for less than 30% of the variation in meal size. Average meal size was 414.5 g. Respective means for overall meal duration, actual meal duration, overall eating rate, and actual eating rate were 20.3 min, 13.7 min, 23.1 g/min, and 30.0 g/min. Meal size per body weight (g/kg or g/kg.75) was relatively constant during observation. Both increased eating rate and increased meal length were associated with larger meals. However, eating rate tended to plateau while meal length continued to increase with larger meals. Steers consumed 10.01 meals per day while total daily overall meal duration and actual meal duration were 220.9 and 156.4 min.


Rapeseed meal in complete feeds for dairy cows. Three complete feeds containing low glucosinolate, low erucic acid rapeseed meal (Cultivar "1788"), high glucosinolate, low erucic acid rapeseed meal (Cultivar "Span"), or soybean meal as protein supplement were evaluated with lactating Holstein cows in a double 3 X 3 Latin square design. Lactation performance, hematology, blood chemistry, serum-free amino acids, rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations, and milk fatty acid composition were measured. The 1788 ration tended to increase yield of milk and of total solids. Hematology, blood chemistry, and serum-free amino acid data showed no differencein utilization of nitrogen. Concentrations of volatile fatty acids were not different. Feeding of the high glucosinolate Span ration did not reduce feed intake. However, there were indications that Span-fed cows may have experienced hypothyroidism. No differences were in erucic acid content of milk fat, and concentrations were low. Rapeseed meals 1788 and Span and soybean meal were equal as protein supplements.


Selenium and vitamin E and incidence of retained placenta in parturient dairy cows. In a 2 X 2 X 2 factorial experiment, protein intake, selenium supplementation, and intake of phosphorus were related to the incidence of retained placenta in cows fed varying concentrations of these nutrients during the dry period. The population incidence of 38% retained placenta in 26 control cows was independent of phosphorus intake which ranged between 39 and 95 g per day. When a protein supplement was included in the concentrate as soybean meal, the incidence of retained placenta was reduced to 20% for supplemented animals from 50% for the animals that received no soybean meal. This increased protein in the ration was reflective of a mean increase from .02 ppm of selenium to .06 ppm of selenium in the ration. By increasing the mean daily intake of selenium at least 3 wk prepartum from .23 mg to .92 mg daily, overall incidence of retained placenta was reduced from 38% to 0%. A positive prophylactic effect was achieved regardless of whether alpha tocopherol was supplemented as well. These mature dairy cows were deficient in selenium, and supplementation of selenium reduced the incidence of retained placenta.


Amounts and sources of protein for dairy calves. Female Holstein calves (178) were fed rations varying from 10 to 17% crude protein (air dry) from 30 to 102 days of age. Ten percent was inadequate resulting in less body weight, gain, withers height, and heart girth than rations containing 12 to 17% crude protein. In trial 1 addition of urea, biuret, or ammonia-molasses to a 12% diet to make a 16% crude protein diet allowed gains and weights indistinguishable from those on a 12 or 16% crude protein soybean meal ration. In another trial, addition of urea, biuret, or ammonium propionate to a 10% ration to make a 14% ration allowed insignificantly greater gains and body weight. Gains and body weight were greater for the 14% soybean meal ration than the three non-protein-nitrogen rations for calves to 71 days of age but equal for 71 to 102 days. Gain, body weight, dry matter, and protein intakes at most dates and intervals were greater for calves fed the 14% soybean meal ration than the 10% ration. When 10, 12, 14, and 16% soybean meal rations were compared simultaneously, only the 10% crude protein ration gave inferior performance. Gains were reduced when average daily crude protein intake for the 72 day trail was 258 g or less. Calves fed lupine or dried poultry waste did not gain or consume as much as those fed comparable soybean meal rations. Calves fed a 17% crude protein ration from several protein sources plus alfalfa hay gained no much than those fed the 12 to 16% crude protein rations. Regression analysis relating dry matter and protein intake to body weight or gains indicated both dry matter intake and protein percentage were about equally important from day 41 to 72 and that after this age dry matter intake was of much greater importance than protein percentage. Protein intake expressed as g/day was not of importance in this regression. Weaning at day 42 allowed for greater body weight and gains than weaning at day 32. The difference in body weight was 2.5 kg at day 42 and 7 kg at day 102.


Quality factors in beef, pork, and lamb cooked by microwaves. Three cooking treatments were applied to the longissimus muscle of beef and of pork and to deboned leg of lamb. Cooking treatments included: Intermittent energy application (3-min. cycle) with a microwave range operated at 220V and intermittent energy application (6-min. cycle) with a microwave range operated at 115V. Control roasts were cooked in a conventional gas oven (163+/-3 degrees C.). Cooking was adjusted so that roasts achieved an internal temperature of 70 degrees C. when cut for analyses. Cooking losses were significantly greater for microwave than for conventionally cooked beef. However, microwave cooking resulted in beef, pork, and lamb roasts with flavor of interior portions similar to those prepared conventionally. Flavor differences in samples from the edge of the slices of lamb and of pork and tenderness of lamb appeared to be related to cooking method. For these attributes, meat cooked conventionally was superior. In contrast, patterns in significant differences in tenderness and juiciness of beef and of pork were not consistent and were not related solely to method of cookery. Neither creatine nor creatinine was a good index of flavor of meat cooked by these methods. Aside from the time-saving aspect of microwave heating, there was no major advantage of one method of cooking over another. Thus, either high- or low- powered microwave equipment, operated at 2450 MHz, can be used satisfactorily for cooking tender cuts of beef, pork, and lamb.


Structural conflict and object relations conflict. A hierarchical model of the mind is required for a more integrated understanding of psychic conflict. At a higher developmental level, the hierarchical model includes the tripartite model, and at a lower level it includes an object-relations model. Psychic conflicts may be classified into object relations conflicts and structural conflicts. The object-relations class of psychic conflict covers the phase of psychic development prior to id-ego-superego differentiation. The earlier psychoanalytic writings tended to ascribe all kinds of symptoms, conflicts, and disorders to structural conflicts. Logical and empirical evidence against the universality of structural conflicts in various disorders and symptoms, even psychoneurotic symptoms, has been summarized and discussed.


Aspiculuris tetraptera in wild Mus musculus. Age resistance and acquired immunity. Wild house mice, naturally infected with Aspiculuris tetraptera were segregated according to their weight into six age groups. The prevalence of infection and the mean worm burden of these mice were studied in the different age groups. The overall prevalence of infection was high (57% or more) in all the groups except the youngest. Mice acquired larvae soon after weaning; the highest larval burdens were reached in juvenile mice and the highest mature worm burdens, a group later, in mature mice. Older mice had fewer larvae and fewer mature worms. The mature worm burdens decreased but relatively slower than the larval burdens. It is suggested that eigher innate or acquired resistance could account for these observations.


[Disinfection of sewage waters from rendering plants with peracetic acid]. In our experiments, peracetic acid--known in commerce as "Wolfasteril" was tested as a new and efficient disinfectant to disinfect sewage waters from rendering plants. Peracetic acid was used in experiments in concentration of 0.1 to 1.0% for 30 sec. to 60 min. As a comparative agent, 5% chloramine was used. Results obtained in preliminary and main experiments proved that peracetic acid is fully appropriate to disinfect biologically cleaned sewage waters in rendering plants. Sewage waters supplying the main stream has to pass mostly a short section after having left the water clarifier. Consequently, the concentration of 1% peracetic acid acting for 30 sec. is the optimum one. The recommendation of this application norm for peracetic acid in water clarifiers from rendering plants being at least suitable in controlling disasters.


Assessment of effectivity of oral killed typhoid and paratyphoid B vaccines and aerosol chemical typhoid vaccine in controlled field trials. A total of 3 controlled field trials were carried out. One of them (1963) showed that aerosol chemical typhoid vaccine did not protect vaccinated subjects from the disease. Two other tests (1964 and 1965) assessing the effectivity of killed orally administered typhoid vaccine revealed a short term (up to 3 months) protective effect expressed by an effectivity coefficient of 45%, fiducial limits being 8-70%. In the assessment of oral paratyphoid B vaccine, the difference in morbidity in the experimental and control groups was statistically insignificant due to a small number of cases of disease.


Genus Microsporum dermatophytes in eastern Bohemia. The authors presented a taxonomic survey of dermatophytes of the genus Microsporum. From the 19 species described so far, they isolated ten species in the region of Eastern Bohemia. Only the species Microsporum cookel and M. gypsem are considered to be endemic species. The remaining are regarded as imported dermatophytes which are not able to maintain their existence permanently in the conditions of the mentioned region. Data on the findings of the individual species were completed by the authors' remarks on their primary hosts and/or substrates of heterotrophy, frequency of occurrence and geographical distribution.


Reliability of the serological method of examination as a basis for diagnosis of associated respiratory virus infections. The reliability of the results of serological examination in diagnostics of associated infections was studied on a model of artificially provoked vaccinal infections in humans and in laboratory animals. The effect of administered monopreparations on changes in the level of both homologous and heterologous antibodies was tested. The character of immunological changes following simultaneous administration of two or more respiratory viruses was analysed and the effect of these viruses in diseases of divers etiology was studied. According to the results of experiments on laboratory animals, repeated administration of any of the earlier used respiratory viruses stimulated the accumulation of only homologous antibodies while heterologous antibodies did not increase at all. The results revealed the possibility of simultaneous immunological reorganization of a child's organism in response to the influence of several different antigens from the group of respiratory viruses acting synchronously or in succession. Results of the analysis demonstrated the reliability of the employed serological methods of diagnosis of respiratory virus infections.


Human infections caused by V. parahaemolyticus in Czechoslovakia. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was isolated in two subjects with acute gastroenteritis. The patients history included stay in Pakistan or India. They probably contracted the infection on board an aeroplane where they ingested cold meal containing sea products. The possibility of this conditioned pathogen occurring also in an inland country is pointed out.


A note on single- and two-dose immunogenicity tests of inactive virus vaccine in chicks. Single dose extinction limit test ot inactive polio vaccine in chicks lasts 4 days and offers the same results as the two-dose test which requires 14 days. When "long-term" incubation instead of "conventional" 2 hours-incubation of the serum/virus mixtures in the neutralization reaction was used, extinction limit values higher by 0.6-0.7 log10 were regularly obtained.


Isolation of antibody-forming cells by using cluster formation in combination with velocity sedimentation. A method is described for isolation of antibody-forming cells with the help of cluster formation. This was achieved by incubating spleen cells from immunized mice with sheep erythrocytes at 37 degrees C. During incubation rabbit-anti-mouse immunoglobulin serum was present in order to facilitate the formation of clusters. Thereafter the clusters were isolated by velocity sedimentation. In this way we obtained suspensions containing more than 80% clusters. Some of the cells in the clusters still produced antibodies against sheep erythrocytes cultured for two days in vitro.


Quantitative alterations in the genital microflora of female rats in relation to the estrous cycle. The virgin female laboratory rat has been studied as a model of the ecosystem represented by the vaginal mucosa and its bacterial flora. Gram-stained vaginal smears abtained from rats having normal estrous cycles showed cyclic variation in the number of bacteria present. Viable plate counts of material obtained by vaginal lavage demonstrated daily changes in the density of the bacterial population of the vagina in relation to the estrous cycle. Bacterial counts observed during the estrus phase of the cycle in individual rats were 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than viable counts observed during the metestrus or diestrus phases of the cycle. These studies represent the first reported demonstration that physiologic changes occurring during the estrous cycle control the size of the bacterial population of the vagina.


Endotoxin and prevention of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. Endotoxin is known both to stimulate prostaglandin production and to abolish the pulmonary vascular pressor response to hypoxia. The present study demonstrated that two inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis, meclofenamate and indomethacin, prevent loss of pulmonary vasoconstriction due to hypoxia when sublethal doses of endotoxin are administered. This suggests that endotoxin may stimulate the production of a dilator prostaglandin which would oppose the hypoxic vasoconstriction, but other ways in which these inhibitor drugs might act are considered. Endotoxin damages platelets and leukocytes, both of which can form prostaglandins and could be the source of a dilator prostaglandin. However, in these experiments endotoxin abolished the hypoxic pressor response in dogs rendered severely thrombocytopenic by platelet antiserum. This suggests that platelets are not involved. In further experiments blood from anesthetized dogs was circulated through glass bead columns. Changes in the leukocyte count following perfusion were correlated with changes in the subsequent pressor response to hypoxia. The possibility that leukocytes may be involved in the effect of endotoxin on the hypoxic pressor response is considered.


Sterol content of the Myxomycetes Physarum polycephalum and P. flavicomum. The sterol content of two Myxomycetes, Physarum polycephalum and P. flavicomum has been examined. The sterols of the two species are apparently identical, the two major sterols in each being poriferasterol and 22-dihydroporiferasterol. Threee minor sterols are probably delta5-ergostenol, ergostanol, and poriferastanol. The triterpenoids of the two species differ in that, though lanosterol was identified in both, 22-dihydrolanosterol was indicated only in P. flavicomum. The occurrence of lanosterol together with a typical mixture of plant sterols is somewhat unusual.


Passive potassium transport in LK sheep red cells. Effects of anti-L antibody and intracellular potassium. The passive K influx in low K(LK) red blood cells of sheep saturates with increasing external K concentration, indicating that this mode of transport is mediated by membrane-associated sites. The passive K influx, iMLK, is inhibited by external Na. Isoimmune anti-L serum, known to stimulate active K transport in LK sheep red cells, inhibits iMLK about twofold. iMLK is affected by changes in intracellular K concentration, [K]i, in a complex fashion: increasing [K]i from near zero stimulates iMLK, while further increases in [K]i, above 3 mmol/liter cells, inhibit iMLK. The passive K influx is not mediated by K-K exchange diffusion. The effects of anti-L antibody and [K]i on passive cation transport are specific for K: neither factor affects passive Na transport. The common characteristics of passive and active K influx suggest that iMLK is mediated by inactive Na-K pump sites, and that the inability to translocate Na characterizes the inactive pumps. Anti-L antibody stimulates the K pump in reticulocytes of LK sheep. However, anti-L has no effect on iMLK in these cells, apparently because reticulocytes do not have the inactive pump sites which, in mature LK cells, are a consequence of the process of maturation of circulating LK cells. The results also indicate that anti-L alters the maximum velocity of both active and passive K fluxes by converting pumps sites from a form mediating passive K influx to an actively transporting form.


Ultrastructure of an indigotin-producing dome mutant of Schizophyllum commune. Electron microscopic observations of an indigotin-producing dome mutant of Schizophyllum commune Fr. have shown that large wall ingrowths occur within the hyphae. These ingrowths are coupled with morphological abnormalities produced by the dome mutation. The pigment indigotin appears to be produced by progressive condensation within vacuoles and to a lesser extent within the wall ingrowths. Cytochemical techniques have shown that the wall ingrowths are similar in structure to the hyphal walls. there was no evidence for the passage of condensed indigotin into the medium; the pigment granules found in the medium must therefore form outside the hyphae.


Studies on basidiospore development in Schizophyllum commune. The time required for synthesis of the spore components and the effect of different environmental conditions on basidiospore production were studied in the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune. Both exogenous glucose and storage materials were used in the synthesis of spore components, which took 40 to 45 h to complete. A temperature of 30 degrees C, the presence of 5% CO2, a continuous supply of glucose, or a lack of exogenous glucose, had no effect on the rate of spore production. Light, however, was required for sporulation. Darkness inhibited sporulation between karyogamy and the initiation of meiosis: complete inhibition occurred after 48 h in the dark. Spores were produced 5 h after release from dark inhibition.


Genetic analysis of radiation-sensitive mutations in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum. The linkage of two mutations leading to increased sensitivity to ultraviolet light and 60Co gamma rays was determined in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum using a genetic analysis based on the parasexual cycle. Diploids were selected from a mixture of radiation-sensitive, temperature-resistant and radiation-resistant, temperature-sensitive haploids on the basis of simultaneous radiation and temperature resistance. Analysis of drug-resistant haploid segregants of the heterozygous diploids indicated that one of the radiation-sensitive mutations, radA20, was linked to linkage group I whereas the other, radB13, was linked to the recently defined linkage group VI.


Purification of two components of mouse L cell interferon: electrophoretic demonstration of interferon proteins. Mouse L cell interferon induced by Newcastle disease virus was purified by the procedure described previously (Yamamoto et al. 1974) followed by gel filtration. The two fractions obtained containing interferon species S (36000 daltons) and F (24000 daltons), respectively, were analysed electrophoretically at pH 4-3, or in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at pH 7-2. In both fractions, interferon activity was invariably associated with distinct protein bands. In the F-containing fraction there were essentially no other proteins, and in the S-containing fraction, impurity proteins were well separated from the interferon activity. The apparent mol. wt. determined by SDS-gel electrophoresis showed little or no dependence on gel concentration, suggesting that the interferons had low carbohydrate contents, and did not change after reduction with thiol reagents in SDS and urea.


The production and action of interferon in Chinese hamster cells. The interferon system has been investigated in primary cell cultures established from Chinese hamster embryos and new born pups. Interferon synthesis was induced with Sindbis virus, ultraviolet inrradiated Newcastle disease virus (u.v.-NDV) and with polyriboinosine acid-polyribocytidylic acid complex [poly (rI). poly (rC)]. Only u.v.-NDV induced significant production of interferon, maximum amounts being produced in 'aged' cells. Its apparent mol. wt. was 25000. CHO-KI cells, an established line of Chinese hamster cells, did not synthesize interferon in response to viruses, but were sensitive to its action.


A survey of Rorschach teaching in APA-approved clinical graduate programs. A questionnaire on teaching of the Rorschach technique was sent to all APA-approved graduate clinical psychology programs in the United States and Canada. The questionnaire asked for the degree of emphasis placed on the Rorschach in the primary assessment course, the Rorschach teaching experience of the respondent and the respondent's evaluation of the technique as a clinical tool, a teaching aid and a research instrument. The respondent in each case was the faculty member teaching the major diagnostic assessment course. There was a 100% return of the questionnaires. The major results show that (1) 81% of the programs place major emphasis on the Rorschach Technique in the assessment course; (2) only 24% of the programs offer the course for a full year; (3) respondents with more than 10 years teaching experience rated the Rorschach higher than respondents with less experience, and (4) respondents as a group rated the Rorschach highly as a clinical tool and teaching aid, but gave it generally low ratings as a research instrument.


Systems approach to vaginal delivery of drugs III: Simulation studies interfacing steroid release from silicone matrix and vaginal absorption in rabbits. A composite physical model involving the simultaneous receding boundary release of drug from a drug suspension-silicone polymer matrix system, diffusion across the aqueous layer, and passive transport across the vaginal membrane consisting of parallel lipoidal and aqueous pore pathways is described. Simulation studies with progesterone and hydrocortisone illustrate matrix release-limiting, membrane absorption, and aqueous diffusion layer-limiting cases when the cylindrical silicone delivery device is interfaced with the vaginal membrane of the rabbit.


Caffeine in plasma and saliva by a radioimmunoassay procedure. Caffeine was analyzed in human plasma and saliva by a simple, rapid, and sensitive radioimmunoassay procedure. Immunization of rabbits with an antigen prepared by coupling 7-(5-carboxypentyl)-1,3-dimethylxanthine to bovine serum albumin resulted in the formation of antibodies selective for caffeine as opposed to various mono- and dimethylxanthines, mono-, di-, and trimethyluric acids and a variety of common drugs. The radioligand used for competitive binding studies was 7-(2,3-3H2-propyl)-1,3-dimethylxanthine. The procedure permits direct analysis of caffeine in plasma or saliva without extraction. Comparison with a high pressure liquid chromatography method for the analysis of caffeine gave satisfactory results and showed no evidence for interference by metabolites. A caffeine half-life of 4.0 hours determined by the radioimmunoassay was in agreement with previous work. Comparison of human plasma and saliva levels by the radioimmunoassay procedure indicated approximately equal concentrations in the two fluids.


[Thymus, peripheral lymphoid tissues and immunological responsiveness of the pituitary dward mouse (author's transl)]. Snell's pituitary dwarf mice (dw) were used for studies on the relationship between hypophysis and lymphoid organs. The age-dependent changes of thymus or spleen weights of dwarf mice were compared with those of normal littermates. The suppression of growth of the thymus or spleen in dwarf mice was recognized at 5th day of age. Although involution of the thymus varied among animals, a strong positive correlation was demonstrated between relative thymus weight and body weight in 30 approximately 40 days old dwarf mice. Lymphoid organs of dwarf mice were reconstituted by injection of growth hormone and or thyroxin. Relative thymus weight significantly increased in dwarf mice when the treatment with growth hormone started at 7 days of age, but the same treatment at 3 months of age did not show any effect on the increment of relative thymus weight. On the other hand, the antibody-forming capacitiy against sheep erythrocytes of dwarf mice was significantly increased even when the treatment with growth hormone was started at 3 months of age. A marked increase in the number of lymphoid cells in dwarf mice was observed by treatment with thyroxin, even if treatment was started either at 7 days or 3 months of age. Similar changes were also obtained in the antibody-forming capacity.


A twin and family study of personality in young children. Emotionality, activity, sociability and impulsivity (EASI) and components of each trait were studied in a sample of 137 pairs of young twins (two to six years of age) and their parents (548 individuals). Parents rated themselves and their spouses on an adult version of the EASI Temperament Survey and rated both of their twins on a child version of the EASI. Patterns of both identical and fraternal twin correlations (twin study) and parent-child correlations (family study) were consistent with the hypothesis that the EASI traits are influenced by genetic factors, but the two studies disagreed in the magnitude of that influence.


Studies on the equine placenta II. Ultrastructure of the placental barrier. In early pregnancy the equine placenta consists of a simple apposition of fetal and maternal epithelia, but it becomes more complex with the formation of microcotyledons between 75 and 100 days of gestation. Although the placental barrier maintains an epitheliochorial arrangement throughout the course of pregnancy, a thinning of the maternal epithelium and a progressive indentation of the chorionic epithelium by fetal capillaries shortens the length of the diffusion pathway and reduces the amount of placental tissue between fetal and maternal bloodstreams. These structural modifications may reflect the changing requirements of the fetus for O2 and other metabolites as gestation proceeds. During the first 200 days of pregnancy there is evidence of intense pinocytotic activity by the cells of the trophoblast. From the 100th day of pregnancy there is a pronounced development of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, while rough endoplasmic reticulum and irregular, dense, membrane-bound bodies are a prominent feature of the paranuclear cytoplasm from Day 200. These changes suggest that the cells of the trophoblast become more highly involved in synthetic processes with increasing gestational age.


Effect of intravasal copper on the fertility of rats. Copper wire was inserted into the vas deferens and its effect of the reproductive system and fertility performance of rats was investigated. The copper wire was 100% effective as a contraceptive for up to 4 months if placed correctly, and resulted in decapitation of most of the spermatozoa. No differences between the rats with an intravasal copper wire and the sham-operated controls were found for the weights of the gonads and accessory sex glands or for protein, RNA, DNA and fructose concentrations. The intravasal copper device appears to be promising for the development of a long-term method for male contraception.


The effect of indomethacin on uterine contractility and luteal regression in pregnant rats at term. Treatment of pregnant rats with 1 mg indomethacin/kg twice daily i.m. beginning on Day 20 delayed the onset of parturition by about 21 hr and prolonged the duration of spontaneous parturition by 4 hr. Plasma progesterone and oestradiol levels were determined in daily samples of peripheral blood, and uterine contractions were recorded before and during parturition by means of small, chronically implanted intrauterine balloons which were connected to pressure transducers via fluid-filled catheters. Indomethacin treatment did not inhibit or suppress spontaneous or oxytocin-induced contractions, which were of the same intensity in indomethacin-treated as in control rats. Parturition was induced with oxytocin in the same proportion of treated and control rats, but its induction was not successful in treated rats until 1 day later than in control rats, but its induction was not successful in treated rats until 1 day later than in controls. The onset of parturition was always related to the plasma progesterone level, which declined at a slower rate in indomethacin-treated than in control rats, reaching baseline values approximately 1 day later in the treated animals. The appearance of 20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the CL of pregnant rats normally occurs on Day 21 of gestation, but activity was not observed until about 1 (0-3) day later in the indomethacin-treated rats, indicating that luteolysis was retarded. Prostaglandin F-2alpha infusions given on Day 21 reversed the effects of indomethacin treatment on plasma progesterone, luteal 20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity and the timing and duration of parturition, and reduced the high perinatal mortality associated with indomethacin treatment, suggesting that the effects of indomethacin were related to its inhibitory action on prostaglandin synthetase activity. It is concluded that, in rats, indomethacin exerts its effects on parturition through inhibition of luteal regression which was significantly retarded but not prevented, and that indomethacin does not have a direct effect on myometrial contractility.


Concentration of steroids in bovine peripheral plasma during the oestrous cycle and the effect of betamethasone treatment. Testosterone, oestradiol and progesterone were measured in peripheral plasma during the oestrous cycle of 6 heifers. Oestradiol and progesterone results confirmed earlier reports. Concentration of testosterone on the day of oestrus was 40+/-3 pg/ml (mean+/-S.E.M.), and two peaks were detected during the cycle, one 7 days before oestrus (1809+/-603 pg/ml) and the other (78+/- 7 pg/ml) on the day before the onset of oestrus. The concentration of progesterone declined in most cases 1 day after the maximum concentration of testosterone. Betamethasone treatment in 5 heifers extended luteal function by an average of 10 days: plasma androstenedione and oestradiol concentrations were unaltered; cortisol values were depressed for at least 16 days after treatment; testosterone concentrations were lowered by 13+/-2-4% during treatment, and except in one heifer the peak on Day -7 was abolished.


Differential inhibition of trophoblast outgrowth and inner cell mass growth by actinomycin D in cultured mouse embryos. Treatment of preimplantation mouse embryos in vitro with 10(-3) to 10(-1) mug actinomycin D/ml for 2 hr showed that (i) postimplantation development in vitro was inhibited most when embryos were treated at the morula stage and (ii) after the morula stage actinomycin D inhibited trophoblast outgrowth less than inner cell mass development.


Parentrovite as a supportive therapy for locomotory stress in tsessebe. Parentrovite was administered to tsessebe as supportive therapy against artifically induced locomotory stress. An attempt was made to judge the efficacy of this treatment from enzyme levels such as that of LDH. Other parameters such as systemic blood pressure and the ECG were also recorded. No significant differences were established between treated and untreated animals although LDH levels were considerably higher in the untreated than in the treated group. The small numbers of tsessebe available and the artifical nature of the exercise induced made an evaluation of the effectiveness of Parentrovite in the treatment of locomotory or of capture stress uncertain.


Discolouration of wool: 1 green discolouration. Since 1974 green bacterial discolouration of Merino wool was frequently encountered in the Karoo and Eastern Cape areas. The occurrence of this condition coincided with the extraordinary wet conditions that prevailed during this period. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was recovered in almost pure culture from affected wool of 24 out of 25 different sheep. The role played by this particular organism was fonfirmed by the successful reproduction of this condition after exposure of unaffected sheep to cultures of Ps. aeruginosa isolated from green wool.


Analogues of 8-azaguanosine.

Analogues of 8-azaguanosine. Two routes for the synthesis of 6-substtituted 8-azaguanosine analogues are described. 2,5,6-Triamino-4(3H)-pyrimidinethione (1) was converted by methylation, nitrosation, and acetylation to -n-acetyl-7-(methylthio)-3H-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-5-amine (5). The reaction of 5 with 2,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-D-ribofuranosyl chloride gave a mixture of the 7-, 8-, and 9-(2,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-8-azapurines 4a-c which was converted to 8-azaguanosine (7c) and the corresponding 7- and 8-substituted isomers 7a and 7b. 4a-c were also converted with NaOMe to 6-O-methyl-8-azaguanosine (8c) and to the corresponding 7- and 8-substituted isomers 8a and 8b. The preferred route, however, to 6-substituted 8-azaguanosine analogues is an unambigous synthesis through N2-acetyl-6-(benzylthio)-N4-(2,3-O-isopropylidene-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-nitro-2,4-pyrimidinediamine (13), prepared from the reaction of the chloropyrimidine 10 with the aminoribose 11. Catalytic hydrogenation of 13 gave the aminopyrimidine 14, which was converted with nitrous acid to the nucleoside beta-20. Treatment of beta-20 with dilute acid gave 7-(benzylthio)-3-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-3H-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-5-amine (19). Replacement of the benzylthio group of 19 with various nucleophilic reagents gave 8-aza-6-thioguanosine 17 and analogues 8c, 15, and 16. The thione 17 rearranges in  aqueous solution to the thiasiazolopyrimidine 21. The parent [1,2,3]thiadiazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidine-5,7-diamine (24a) was prepared by nitrosation of the triaminopyrimidine (23a). Rearrangement of 24a in the presence of base gave a high yield of the thione 25a which could be rearranged with heat to 24a. Compounds 8a-c, 15-19, 24a, and 25 a were evaluated in the L1210 mouse leukemia screen- Only one compound, 8c, showed high cytotoxicity and borderline L1210 activity resulting from its en,ymatic conversion to 8-azaguanosine.


Binding characteristics of M and L isoantibodies to high and low potassium sheep red cells. Binding of highly purified 125I labeled M and L antibodies, both belonging to the immunoglobulin G class, was studied in high potassium (HK) and low potassium (LK) sheep red cells. Anti-M and anti-L bound specifically to M and L antigen positive HK and LK red cells, respectively. Nonspecific binding was higher for anti-L to HK cells than for anti-M to LK cells. Once bound, the M and L antibodies were capable of inducing complement dependent immune hemolysis. Only 75-100 and 500-750 molecules of anti-M and anti-L immunoglobulins were required to hemolyze 50% of HK (MM) and LK (LL) red cells, respectively, suggesting that the M and L antigens may be clustered on the surfaces of these cells. Equilibrium binding studies revealed that the maximum number of M sites is 3-6 x 10(3) in HK (MM) and 1.5-4 x 10(3) in LK (LM) cells, respectively. In comparison, the number of L antigens is slightly lower in LK cells, about 1.2-1.8 x 10(3) in LL and less in LM(LK) red cells. The number of M and L antigens, therefore, is more than an order of magnitude larger than that of the Na+K+ pumps measured previously in these cells by 3H-ouabain binding, thus precluding a quantitative correlation between M and L antigens and the Na+K+ pumps different in the three genetic types of sheep red cells. The binding affinities of both anti-M and anti-L could not be described by a single equilibrium dissociation constant indicating heterogeneous antibody populations and /or variability in the antigenic sets of individual HK or LK cells. The pronounced heterogeneity of antigens and/or antibodies in both the M and L systems was reflected in the antibody association kinetics, which also exhibited a remarkable temperature dependence. The data suggest that the correlation between the M and L antigens and the Na+K+ pump molecules is more complex than that in goat red cells previously reported by others.


Electrophysiological properties of tissue cultured heart cells grown in a linear array. Embryonic chick heart cells were grown in tissue culture on an oriented substrate (channels cut in an agar coated slide), so that they formed narrow(5-100mu) strands of arbitrary length. The electrical properties of these strands were examined using intracellular microelectrodes. ac and dc cable studies were performed to determine the passive cable parameters. Quantitative histology, using light and electronmicroscopy, permitted calculation of intrinsic capacitances and resistivities. Electrical coupling between polarizing and recording electrodes was ubiquitous, falling off exponentially with distance. It was concluded that individual cells were electrically connected, since coupling was observed at distances greater than 3 mm, and the maximum cell length was estimated to be less that 300 mu. The strands were usually spontaneously active, with phase 4 depolarization (pacemaker potential) occurring almost simultaneously in all cells of a strand. The passive electrical properties determined during phase 4 were: core resistivity (cytoplasm plus cell-to-cell resistance), 245 ohm/cm; membrane capacitance, 1.46 muF/CM2. The membrane resistance increased from 16 to 136 kohm/cm2 during phase 4. The space and time constants showed commensurate changes, from 0.95 to 3.2 mm, and from 29 to 269 msec, respectively. The input resistance also increased, from 1.1 to 3.8 Mohm.


Electrophysiological study of coupling between cultured cells of the mouse mammary gland in five distinct physiological states. Electrical coupling has been observed between cultured cells of the mouse mammary gland in five distinct physiological or pathological states. We have employed young primary cultures of cells dissociated from the following tissues: normal glands from young virgin or midpregnant females, hyperplastic alveolar nodules (believed to be precancerous) transplanted in gland-free mammary fat pads, and spontaneous mammary adenocarcinomas and their pulmonary metastases. All successfully impaled pairs of cells (a total of 97 pairs) were found to be ionically coupled. Furthermore, in normal and tumor cell cultures, electrical coupling was observed between dome-dome and dome-nondome cell pairs. This study correlates with electronmicroscopic studies of fresh normal, hyperplastic, and tumor samples, which show the presence of gap junctions in all three.


Long-term effect of shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) on the gastric mucosa of the rat. The long-term effect of shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) on the gastric mucosa was assessed in intact rats and in those with a fundusectomy. One hundred female 4-month-old Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups:intact and operated rats on a control diet and intact and operated rats on the same diet saturated with shoyu. The animals given shoyu were smaller than the controls; 15 intact rats receiving the sauce were healthy at 33 months compared with 7 controls. Only 9 of 50 operated rats lived 33 months. Breast tumors developed in 10 control rats but in none given shoyu. The distribution of other tumors was the same. Two malignant neoplasms appeared to originate in the perigastric tissues of operated rats: a reticulum cell sarcoma in the shoyu group and a lymphosarcoma in the control group. None involved the gastric mucosa. Most of the operated rats (with or without shoyu) developed small benign gastric tumors. Mucosal histology was well preserved in 22 intact rats on shoyu: In 15 it was normal, in 7 there was mucus loss and nuclear changes in the cells of the gastric pits; 2 of the 7 had mild gastritis. One intact control showed patchy mucus loss. Shoyu did not appear to be a carcinogen in the rat; its prolonged use impaired neither health nor longevity. Long-term use was associated with gastric mucus loss and nuclear changes in a few rats, occasionally with a mild gastritis.


Chemical probes of estrogen action: affinity labeling. A systemic approach has been taken in the preparation and evaluation of photoaffinity labeling agents for the estrogen receptor from rat and lamb uterus. Several derivatives of estradiol and the nonsteroidal estrogen, hexestrol, containing photoreactive diazocarbonyl or azide functions have been synthesized. The receptor binding affinity of these compounds and their capacity to photointeract with the estrogen binding site (inactivate) can be assayed inderectly by competition assays. Several of the compounds that showed both resonably high binding affinities and inactivation efficiencies have been prepared in high specific activity, tritium-labeled form. Direct binding measurements with these derivatives in unpurified rat uterine receptor preparations, show that while these compounds bind to the receptor, they also show considerable nonspecific binding to nonreceptor proteins. Irradiation of these derivatives in rat uterine cytosol preparations results in incorporation of large amounts of radioactivity into protein in a covalent fashion. The amount of nonspecific labeling is so large, however, that estrogen site specificity (indicated by protection with unlabeled estradiol) cannot be demonstrated. More recently, we have used a partially purified receptor preparation from lamb uterus. The receptor in this preparation has been disaggregated by mild trypsinization and can be electrophoresed in native form. Electrophoretic analysis of the proteins in photolabeled preparations show some covalent incorporation into the receptor region of the gel with one derivative but not with another. The effectiveness of the photoaffinity labeling reagents prepared thus far is assessed, and suggestions are made for the design of new, more effective reagents.


Effects of catecholamines on behavior.

Effects of catecholamines on behavior. The potential for at least partial reversible transition of aggression- and anxiety-type symptomatology suggested searching for a potential biochemical link between subcellular mechanisms involved in the execution of aggression and anxiety. The effects of norepinephrine combined with dopamine and of epinephrine on these two types of behavior were tested. Responses to foot-shock were used to test aggression, extinction of avoidance response was used to test anxiety-type behavior. The results suggested that one of the possible links between the intracerebral processes responsible for execution of aggression- and anxiety-type behaviors is transmethylation of norepinephrine and/or dopamine to epinephrine.


Brown tumor of the maxilla due to secondary hyperparathyroidism. The paper describes a patient with brown tumor of the maxilla caused by secondary hyperparathyroidism, and gives an account of pathophysiology and management.


Tissue factor in cultured cells: metabolic control. Tissue factor content of WISH amnion cells in spinner culture increases 3- to 10-fold within 12 hours after subculture, then declines to a basal level within 30 to 50 hours. Maximal development of activity requires fresh serum and fresh medium. When added at the time of subculture, actinomycin D and cycloheximide completely inhibit development of coagulant activity; when added several hours after transfer, these inhibitors suppress the development but do not affect the disappearance of activity. Of the oxidative phosphorylation inhibitors tested, dinitrophenol had no effect whereas carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone inhibited the activity increase but did not alter the decline. The kinetics of development and decay are similar over a pH range of 6.7 to 7.6 and with fetal calf serum concentration between 5 and 30 per cent. At pH 6.7 or in 30 per cent fetal calf serum, cell division did not occur. 3H-leucine and 35SO4= incorporation into the cell surface coat did not change appreciably during the burst of coagulant activity nor did the levels of naphthylamidase or alkaline phosphatase; 3H-thymidine incorporation reached a peak within 2 hours of the tissue factor maximum.


The action of cytochalasin A on the in vitro polymerization of brain tubulin and muscle G-actin. The presence of cytochalasin A inhibits the self-assembly of beef brain tubulin and rabbit muscle G-actin in vitro and also decreases the colchicine binding of tubulin. Prior reaction of cytochalasin A with 2-mercaptoethanol destroys its inhibitory effects. It is shown that cytochalasin A exerts its actions by reacting with sulfhydryl groups, possibly causing irreversible structural changes in the proteins. Cytochalasin B does not affect the tubulin assembly reaction.


Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen: report of a case and review of previously reported cases. Splenic hamangiosarcomas are rare tumors, usually discovered at autopsy. In a few instances the diagnosis was made premortem, at the time of splenectomy for spontaneous rupture. The tumors usually present with abdominal pain, left upper guadrant mass and tenderness, and occasionally with a microangiopathic type of anemia. The histogenesis of the tumor is in dispute. Some authors feel that they are degenerations of hemangiomas. Others feel that they arise de novo in the spleen. There is not proven association of thorotrast administration or vinyl chloride exposure to the development of hemangiosarcomas in the spleen. The prognosis of the tumor is uniformly poor and most of the patients surviving laparotomy have followed a uniformly fatal clinical course. In a few cases treated with chemotherapy there has been no evidence of clinical benefit. The case report in this article presented with essentially all the features enumerated above.


Tricuspid regurgitation. A comparison of nonoperative management, tricuspid annuloplasty, and tricuspid valve replacement. The best means of managing tricuspid regurgitation associated with mitral or mitral and aortic valve disease is still to be determined. During the period 1972 to 1974, we treated 76 patients who had tricuspid regurgitation along with associated valvular dysfunction. Patients with mold regurgitation were treated conservatively, those with moderate regurgation underwent annuloplasty, and those with severe regurgitation had tricuspid valve replacement. We found the results to be less satisfactory in the group treated by annuloplasty than in the other two groups. We still manage conservatively those patients with mild regurgitation, but we believe it appropriate to replace the valve in an increasing number of subjects who have tricuspid regurgitation of moderate severity.


Fatty acid variability of plasma lipids and cholesteryl esters in adult male twins and their brothers. Variation in the fatty acid composition of fasting plasma lipids and of cholesteryl esters was studied in 69 sets of adult male twins and 25 of their brothers. Genetic variances were estimated using the twin model. In general, monozygotic (MZ) twins were characterized by the smallest within-pair variance, and brothers of twins by the largest. Variation within dizygotic pairs fell imtermediate to that of MZ twins and brothers. The present study did not reveal consistent significant (P greater than 0.05) genetic variation in plasma fatty acids from total plasma lipids or cholesteryl esters.


Retarding effects of DNA on the autoxidation of liposomal suspensions. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is associated with the cell membrane of prokaryotes and the inner nuclear membrane of eukaryotes. The unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids, which constitute the bilaminar structure of membranes, undergo autoxidation in the presence of O2. Calf thymus DNA was incuabted with methyl archidonate-enriched phosphatidyl choline liposomes in order to study the effect of DNA upon the oxidation of phospholipids while present in their natural in vivo bilayer configuration. DNA retarded the rate of lipid oxidation as monitored by both diene conjugation and the TBA test, but it did not alter the induction period. These results suggest that DNA is scavenging free radicals produced within the phospholipid bilayer.


[Urethritis syndrome and atypical germ flora of the exterior female genitalia (author's transl)]. A positive microbiological evidence could be obtained 54 times from the smear of the exterior genitals of 80 women suffering from complaints that were caused by urethritis, criteria of the examinations being sterile catheter specimen, negative cystoscopical findings, and missing indications to anatomical changes in the urethral region. Cytological examinations of these cases with regard to the vaginal epithelium had the following results:Group I:6 times; group II: 37 times; group IIW:8 times; group IIId: once; group IVa:twice. The cytological tests were carried out according to the method of papanicolaou as modified by Soost. Furthermore, we could state the following degrees of purity: Degree I: 8 times; degree II:16 times; degree III: 30 times. The cytological examinations of the urethral epithelium demonstrated, in 52 cases, an increased appearance of "nude" completely exposed epithelial cell nuclei--a fact corresponding to a degenerative autolysis (according to Wied). In the 26 women with missing atypical germ flora within the region of the exterior genitals, exclusively groups I (according to Papanicolaou and Soost) and degrees of purity I were stated. These persons also demonstrated remarkably grave psychical disturbances, especially in the intimate regions. In the cases of positive microbiological evidence, the following measures have proved satisfactory: Vaginal hygienization combined with a directly aimed antibacterial therapy, and the prescription of preparations containing lactic acid. A transitory discontinuation of contraceptives is being discussed. Our examination results are emphasizing the necessity of an analysis of the germ flora in cases of complaints arising from urethritis. Also psychical disturbances must be taken into consideration in cases of missing urological and gynaecological criteria of evidence.


[Extrahepatic stenosis of the portal vein after infection or catheterization of the umbilical vein during the neonatal period (author's transl)]. 147 children with high risk of developing a prehepatic portal vein obstruction were reexamined. The children had survived during their neonatal period:--Serious umbilical infection and sepsis (n=33)--Multiple exchange transfusion (n=55)--Long-term umbilical vein catheter treatment for at least 24 hrs (n=59). The reexamination at the age of 2--4 years revealed one case of total occlusion of the vena lienalis with partial obstruction of the vena portae in a child with former umbilical sepsis. Even though the etiologic relation of neonatal umbilical disorders and prehepatic portal obstruction is evident, the risk for the individual case seems to be low.


The quandary of quality assessment.

The quandary of quality assessment. Inevitably, quality assurance reflects the context of which it is a part (e.g., underuse or overuse of services is partly a function of their availability and financing). Thus, it can promote change or rationalize lack of it, save money or cost money. Given the current state of the art, it is imperative to develop quality assurance on an evolutionary path while options are kept open and focus is clearly on outcomes. Also, quality assessment must be conceptualized as a behavioral tool, not a policing mechanism; its scope must be broadened to include the total episode of illness, taking into account life-style and environmental factors, with criteria developed and applied as close to the point of patient care as possible, within broad  guidelines; it is essential to build on in-place capacities -- e.g., carrier data -- rather than to create new overlapping systems. Finally, the management setting within which quality assurance functions, in both the public and private sectors, must be improved.


First European report of swine infection by Microsporum nanum. The first European case of swine infection by Microsporum nanum is reported. The infected pig came from a farm in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. European records of human and lower animal infections by this fungus and soil isolation records are discussed.


The action of trypsin and chymotrypsin on the reserve proteins of some leguminous seeds. The action of trypsin on the reserve proteins of the leguminous seeds belonging to Vicieae and Phaseoleae tribes was investicated. The hydrolysis of11S and 7S proteins of Vicieae proceeds relatively fast and some of the proteins are hydrolyzed practically completely. The hydrolysis of most of the investigated reserve proteins of the Phaseoleae tribe proceeds much slower, while that of 7S proteins of four Phaseolus species of American origin stops after the cleavage of only 10-20% of peptide bonds capable of reacting. Analogous results were obtained studying the action of chymotrypsin on a more restricted number of proteins. Both trypsin and chymotrypsin hydrolyze the same parts of Ph. vulgaris 7S protein, splitting off peptides which can be separated on a Sephadex G-50 column. The nonhydrolyzable high molecular weight core has a slightly smaller sedimentation coefficient and a higher elelctrophoretic mobility than the native protein and is able to dimerize at high ionic strength. Urea does not alter the hydrolyzability of the core butt the latter is partially hydrolyzed after the action of urea or guanidine hydrocholoride in the presence of mercaptoethanol.


[A case of frontal arteriovenous malformation with optochiasmatic arachnoiditis as an initial symptoms (author's transl)]. A surgically cured case of chronic optochiasmal arachnoiditis presumably caused by concomitant right frontal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is reported. When a 12-year-old boy, suffering from blurred vision for about 1 month, visited the Ophthalmological Clinic of Hirosaki University Hospital, only a chiasmal lesion was suspected because neuro-ophthalmological examination revealed no more than ophthalmic signs, such as bilateral diminution of vision (Vd, Vs = 0.2), concentric narrowing of visual fields and slight bilateral papilledema. The patient was referred to the Neurosurgical clinic for further examination. Left carotid angiograms showed no abnormalities but, thereafter the brain scintigram revealed an abnormal hot area in the right frontoparietal region. A right carotid angiography demonstreated an AVM in the posterior part of the right frontal lobe. This was fed through the right anterior and middle cerebral arteries and drained into the superior sagittal sinus through meandering dilated cortical vein.