[Convergence of sensory and cortical inputs on caudate nucleus neurons]. The immobilized cats, the influences of 2nd somatosensory and temporal areas on responses of the caudate nucleus' neurons to stimulation of the tibial and splanchnic nerves, were studied. The majority of spontaneously active neurons responded to the cortical stimulation, mainly from the 2nd somatosensory area. Over half of the neurons revealed the "binareal" feature. The typical form of interaction of the cortical and sensory stimuli (with the 50-msec interval between the conditioning and the testing stimuli) was either partial or complete suppression of responses of the caudate neurons both to the somatic and to the visceral stimulation. The results of cortico-sensory interaction were independent of the nature and functional significance of the stimulated cortical areas.


[Responses of cat pulvinar neurons to stationary visual stimuli]. The activity of 130 neurons in pulvinar was investigated using static visual stimuli (light spots of different dimensions flashing in the center of receptive fields, and diffuse flashing light). 50 neurons of 130 did not respond to light stimuli but only to the movement of black stimuli. The majority of investigated neurons revealed "on--off" types of reactions to the flashing light spot, 14 neurons gave "on" responses, and 28 -- "off" responses. The receptive fields of pulvinar neurons had mainly homogenous structure without center and antagonistic surrounding, although some of them appeared to have concentric type of receptive fields. Some neurons revealed responses similar to those of neurons in the Clare--Bishop area. The responses of such neurons were the regular bursts of discharges during the time of stimulation which suggests the compound structure of receptive field with elements of different latency.


[Inhibition and space-frequency characteristics of the complex receptive fields of the cat visual cortex]. Responses of complex receptive fields of the cat straitum to moving sinusoidal grating were studied. Stimulation of the receptive field with some spatial frequencies suppresses spontaneous discharges. Responses of the receptive field corroborate previously made predictions that the spatial--frequency characteristics of the receptive field should have the main and the secondary maximums and negative areas in case the complex fields perform piece-wise Fourier--transformation of image. The changes of impulse frequency in field's response are predicted by comparing the changes of instantaneous spectrum of grating entering the field with spatial frequency characteristic of the field. The data evidence that the complex field is rather a spatial--frequency filter than a detector. Some complex fields reveal a lateral inhibitory area behind the field's nucleus in direction of stimulus movement. The complex fields with no lateral inhibitory areas seem to serve for piece Fourier--description of image, those with lateral areas--for picking out the countour between textures.


[Coding visual information in frogs by means of the latent periods of neuronal responses]. The difference between latencies of responses of the retina ganglionic cells and the neurons of the midbrain tectum in frogs seems to be a way of coding visual signals which indicates the probability of the coherent principle of visual information processing. In combination with the probability-statistical principle, this can serve as a basis for high reliability, plasticity, and polyfunctional character of neuronal mechanisms of the visual analysis.


[Cerebral circulatory autoregulation in the presence of orthostatic stimuli]. Autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (ACBF) under orthostatic tests (OT) was estimated in acute experiments on rabbits and cats under local anesthesia according to changes of perfusion pressure (PP) in carotid arteries, cerebral blood flow, pressure in the venous system of the brain, and resistance of cerebral vessels. OT was modeled by turning a special table with animal fixed stop of it from horizontal position to head up or down position for 40--80 degrees. In most experiments ACBF correlated with the changes of PP. Different variations of ACBF and its possible mechanisms are discussed.


[Sensitivity of a small artery of the muscular type to blood flow velocity: self-adjustment reaction of the artery's lumen]. The external diameter of the artery predominantly supplying the gracilis muscle was recorded by contact inductive transducer in anesthetized dogs. Blood flow from this artery was directed via an A--V shunt straight into the vein. An increase in blood flow from 4.9+/-0.7 to 45.5+/-6.6 ml/min with a latency of 11.3+/-1.3 sec evoked an increase of 12.6+/-1.3% in the diameter of this artery. Dilatation was independent of whether intravascular pressure at the recording site increased, decreased, or remained unchanged. The smooth arterial muscles seem to be able to "sense" the deformation and, as a result their arteries can automatically change their lumen in response to changes in blood flow velocity.


[Pancreatic atrophy: its effect on the plasma concentration of pancreatic polpeptide, gastrin and motilin in dogs]. One hour postprandial responses of plasma concentrations of pancreatic polypeptide, gastrin and motilin were detected in healthy dogs. Pancreatic atrophy was produced in these animals by obstructing their pancreatic juice flow. Basal hormone concentrations in four animals did not change significantly during 11 months of pancreatic atrophy. During this period the animals displayed a significant postprandial response. These preliminary results suggest that hormonal mechanisms involved in the digestive process are maintained during pancreatic atrophy.


[Afferent cortico-cortical connections of the orbito-frontal cortex]. Relations of frontal and orbital sections of the prefrontal cortex with different sections of neocortex were studied in cats by means of acute strychnine neurography. Afferent cortical connections of orbital and frontal sections did not differ much in their organization. Both sections had direct efferent cortical connections with motor, somatosensory and the rostral sections of the secondary auditory zone. Primary auditory field, visual and parietal associative cortex of suprasylvian gyrus had no direct afferent connections with orbito--frontal cortex. The cortico--cortical connections of orbito--frontal cortex with motor, somatosensory, and rostral sections of insular zone of neocortex appeared to be bilateral.


[Changes in the ultrastructure and protein fractions of the cortex of the motor and visual analyzers during conditioned reflex avoidance reactions]. In avoidance conditioning, rats developed changes in the range of electrophoretic proteins as well as subcellular reconstructions in neurons and synapses which enabled them to fulfill specific functions on the basis of genetically fixed biochemical processes and ultrastructures. This corroborates ideas of information storage in the c. n. s. on the basis of formation of certain neuronal ensembles by means of changes in neurons' synapses facilitating the conduction.


[Relationship between the minute superslow oscillations and the level of energy supply in brain tissue]. In animals, an increase in glycolysis intensity and processes of oxidative phosphorylation in the brain correlated with the steady potential shifts within the range of 0--1.0 Hz in the neocortex, dorsal hippocampus, and thalamic nuclei. The neurotropic drug ethymizol revealed two effects depending on the initial functional state of the rabbit: 2.5 mg/kg of the drug enhanced the amplitude of the minute waves in the frontal neocortex and dorsal hippocampus, increasing the metabolic rate in the unsteady period of conditioning, whereas after the fast conditioning the drug rendered background values to the minute oscillations and elongated the extinction of conditioned reflexes. The ethymizol appears to be an unspecific connector.


[Monoamine oxidase activity and noradrenaline concentration in tissue from symmetrical areas of cerebral cortex]. Tissue of the human brain cortex was obtained for investigations in neurosurgical operations and in autopsy. Homogenates of the tissue of symmetrical visual, auditory and skin areas were similar in the monoamine oxidase activity and adrenalin content whereas homogenates of the motor cortex tissue differed from each other in these parameters. Samples of tissue of the written language center were asymmetrical in their monoamine oxidase activity.


[Several details of the ultrastructural organization of the blood-brain barrier in humans and animals]. Electron microscope study of capillaries, arterioles, and venules of the cerebral cortex, strio--pallidar and nonneurosecretory complexes of hypothalamus of the man, cat, and rat revealed some details of the structure of the basal membrane and its interrelationship with adjacent astrocyte processes. Specific tight--junction type was present constantly among the adjacent membranes of glial cells. The system of the specializations and basal membrane seems to exert regulatory influence upon functioning of the blood--brain barrier.


[Morphometric and cytochemical parameters of skeletal muscle during long-term physical exertion]. Daily swimming for 40 days increased weight of the fast (gastrocnemius) and slow (soleus) muscles in white rats and altered the size of plane section and the relative amount of different fibers in the muscles. The slow muscle developed an anaerobic spectrum of lactatdehydrogenase isoenzymes characteristic of an intact fast muscle, whereas the fast muscle intensified its specific "muscular" spectrum of isoenzymes. By the 40th day the parameters under study tended to normalize.


[Skeletal muscle motor unit activity in cats during cold tremors]. The electrical activity of single motor units of the cat m. sartorious during the preshivering tone and shivering tremor revealed a steady frequency 5--10/sec. The transition from preshivering tone to shivering tremor involved recruitment of motor units with similar properties: the low--threshold units. The response of motor units to local thermal stimuli applied to vascular thermoreceptors depended on the level of peripheral temperature.


[Nature of vagotomy and atropine hypercoagulation]. Bilateral vagotomy and i. v. administration of atropin entailed shortening of total and thrombin time and lowering of fybrinolysis. The vagotomy brought about the changes within 3--15 min, whereas the atropinization evoked them in about 30--60 min. The maximum shortening of total and thrombin time and lowering of fibrinolysis occurred at the moment of highest activity of the cervical sympathetic system. Thereupon these effects in the blood coagulating system seem to be called forth by activity of the sympathetic system after vagotomy.


[Dynamics of peripheral nerve procoagulant and fibrinolytic activity upon electrical stimulation]. The amount of procoagulative and fibrinolytic agents in cellular organoids was studied in the cat n. ischiadicus. All cellular fractions revealed high thromboplastic activity. Plasminogen, its activator, and proactivator were discovered in the ischiadic nerve. In dogs, the changes of functional state of nerves were accompanied by discharging of tissue thromboplastin and stimulators of fibrinolysis into the external medium with stimulaneous changes of intracellular contents of hemocoagulating factors. Thus, electric stimulation of the nerve intensified its thromboplastic activity, increased concentration of analogs of the plasma factors (II, VII, IX) and stimulation of fibrinolytic agents. The data obtained suggest presence of close enough interaction between the changes of functional condition of cells and dynamics of their procoagulative and fibrinolytic power.


[Participation of the small intestine in intermediary lipid metabolism]. Data obtained in preliminarily operated healthy animals with the aid of a single or repeated lipid load achieved by means of heptadecan acid, showed that the C17:0 acid becomes involved in processes of lipid synthesis in the intestine epithelium, absorbed in the gastro-intestinal tract, and spread by the blood over different tissues, including the isolated loop of small intestine, in the form of various complex lipids. The small intestine appears to be a depot of lipids accumulating products which can be reabsorbed from the intestine lumen. As the depot reguires no hormonal or enzymatic mechanisms for mobilizing the resources, it has its advantages and is rather mobile. The "depots" ready for reabsorption of lipids in the intestine lumen appear to be one of the mechanisms for maintenance of homeostasis of nutritional substances within the organism.


[Nonsynaptic effect of the ECoG of the intact hemisphere on the impulse activity of neuronally isolated cortex]. In immobilized cats with neuronally-isolated cortex the nonsynaptic influence of the ECoG from the visual area of intact hemisphere upon unit activity of the visual and Clare-Bishop areas of the neuronally-isolated cortex was studied in the dark and during diffuse flash stimulation. Tonic unit reactions in the dark and tonic and phasic unit reactions to diffuse flash stimulation occurred in the visual and Clare-Bishop areas of the neuronally-isolated cortex. The possible nonsynaptic ECoG influence of the intact hemisphere on the activation of the neuronally-isolated cortical units is discussed.


[Effect of hyperoxia on oxygen tension in the blood and brain tissue]. Changes of the oxygen tension in the surface layers of cerebral cortex (PtO2) and arterial blood (PaO2) in the conditions of hyperoxia occurred in anesthetized rabbits: raising of O2 partial pressure in altitude chamber to 1.0 and 2.0 kgs/cm2 increased PaO2 from 76.5 +/- 11.4 mm Hg to 472.3 +/- 63.1 and 1138.0 +/- 79.4 mm Hg respectively. Raising of O2 partial pressure in altitude chamber from 0.2 to 6.0 kgs/cm2 increased PtO2 from 34.9 +/- 12.0 to 1087.5 +/- 149.8 mm Hg. Obvious defence reactions of the organism developed at the moment of transition from air breathing to pure oxygen breathing under the pressure of 1.0 kgs/cm2. High effectiveness of these reactions preserved with the raising of pressure to 3.0 kgs/cm2 and weakened with the further raising of pressure to 4.0-6.0 kgs/cm2. With prolongation of exposure to the 2.0-3.0 kgs/cm2 pressure the defence reactions slackened as well.


[Dopamine concentration in the nigrostriatal system during electrical stimulation of the head of the caudate nucleus]. The high-frequency (50/sec) stimulation of the caudate nucleus head increases the level of dophamine in the area under stimulation with simultaneous drop of dophamine content in the rest of the nucleus. The dophamine content, however, does not change in the black substance or in the putamen. The 2/sec stimulation has no effect upon the dophamine content in the area under stimulation or in the black substance but increases its level in the rest of the caudate nucleus with simultaneous decrease of the dophamine in the putamen.


[Interrelationship between the phenomena of divergence and convergence in the reflex activity of the spinal cord]. In acute experiments on cats, a single electrical stimulus applied to the afferent fibers of the sacral nerve elicits electrical responses of the efferent fibers of this nerve, as well as of other ones, i.e. pelvic and sympathetic trunks in the lumbosacral region (divergence); and the efferent fibers of the sacral nerve respond to stimulation not only through its afferent fibers but also in the said nerve trunks (convergence). A similar pattern occurs during separate electrical stimulation of the pelvic nerve and sympathetic trunk, and of L4 to S3 dorsal roots, with monitoring electrical responses of the corresponding nerves and ventral roots. A close relationship between the divergence and convergence seems to exist.


[Blood flow in skeletal muscle microvessels in normoxia and arterial hypoxemia (microcinematographic studies)]. Vital microfilming revealed peculiarities of blood flow in microvessels of 2-5-micron diameter under relatively resting conditions, in normoxia, as well as the microcirculatory response to hypoxia (breathing with mixture of nitrogen and 6-8% oxygen for 5 min), in intact temporal muscle of rat. The average blood flow velocity in normoxia was 1.14 +/- 0.04 mm/sec in capillaries and 2.43 +/- 0.08 mm/sec in terminal arterioles. Breathing with the hypoxic mixture decelerated blood flow in 75% of the vessels. The blood low velocity in the muscle capillaries correlated with arterial blood pressure.


[Analysis of focal potentials in the cat cerebral cortex during activation of cerebello-thalamo-cortical projection systems]. Peculiarities of topographical distribution of responses of the cat cerebral cortex to stimulation of cerebellar and thalamic (ventro-lateral and ventral anterior) nuclei as well as cerebello-thalamo-cortical projection system and comparison between the cerebellar and thalamic responses revealed differences in focal potentials evoked in pericruciate and parietal cortex. The latencies of the potentials, similarity in shape and in depth of reversion suggest that the cerebello-cortical responses in the pericruciate cortex are mediated through the thalamic ventro-lateral nucleus making synapses in III-IV cortical layers while responses in the parietal cortex--through the thalamic ventral anterior nucleus making synapses in more superficial layers.


[Impulse reactions of cortico-spinal neurons to stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus]. In anesthetized cats, evoked responses of pyramidal tract (PT) cells to lateral hypothalamus (LH) stimulation were studied in pericruciate cortex. The PT cells responded to hypothalamic stimulation with latencies ranging from 1.6 to 52.5 msec and were situated between 0.75 and 2.5 mm below the pial surface. Orthodromic spikes of PT neurons occurred more readily during stimulation of caudal part of the LH. PT neurons activated by the LH stimulation were also tested with electro-skin stimulation of limbs: 75% of the neurons responded to stimulation of several limbs and had large bilateral receptive fields, 15%--to one contralateral limb stimulation and had small contralateral receptive fields. The time of involvement of PT cells in the responses to hypothalamic or somesthetic signal had no correlation with the type of these neurons according to their axonal conduction velocity.


[Evoked potentials in the guinea pig midbrain reticular formation in response to light flashes]. Spatial distribution of the visual evoked potentials in the midbrain reticular formation of the guinea pig in response to flashes revealed polyphasic primarily positive evoked potentials with shorter latency than in visual cortex. The area with maximum amplitude of evoked potentials was found in rostro-medial and middle part of the dorsal midbrain reticular formation.


[Orientation of the catfish in uniform and nonuniform electric fields]. Experiments with conditioning revealed that catfish showed compass orientation with precision about 20 degrees using a direction of homogeneous horizontally directed weak electric field with current density of 1.5 . 10(-11) A/mm2 in water with a specific resistance of 15 Ohm-m. Similar fields occur in their habitat. The catfish used the current density gradient for directed movements in the unhomogenous field. The lowest current density gradient in which the catfish showed the orientation behaviour proved to be 3.6 x 10(-12) A/mm2 per 1-mm distance. The possible mechanism of electro-orientation and its functional significance, are discussed.


[Change in optokinetic, postoptokonetic and reverse postoptokinetic nystagmus after bilateral labyrinthectomy]. The frequency of optokinetic, postoptokinetic, and reverse postoptokinetic nystagmi in rabbits sharply decreased while the amplitude remained practically the same, after bilateral labyrinthectomy. This suggests that labyrinthectomy disturbs function of the system for slow tracing movements while the system for fast saccadic movements does not suffer.


[Activation of the anticoagulation system following intravenous administration of beta-thrombin]. Beta-thrombin possessing high esterase activity and tracing coagulating ability, being product of limited proteolysis of alpha-thrombin in vitro, accelerates recalcification time and thrombin generation in plasma, but not the conversion of prothrombin to enzyme. Thus, beta-thrombin is the activator of early stages of blood coagulation, does not possess fibrinolytic activity and does not activate plasminogen. The i. v. administration of beta-thrombin to rats induces changes in blood coagulability which are accompanied by an increase in plasma recalcification time, total fibrinolytic activity and non-enzymatic fibrinolysis. Nothing of the kind occurs after administration alpha-thrombin, having tracing clotting activity similar to R-thrombin activity. The data obtained suggest the possibility of reflex activation of the anticoagulating system by beta-thrombin or undirectly by alpha-thrombin generated by beta-thrombin activation at early stages of blood coagulation.


[2-component contraction of mammalian myocardium due to noradrenaline]. The effect of noradrenaline (2 mg/l) on contractile response, its first derivative, and transmembrane action potential of isolated papillary muscles of guinea pigs, was studied. The muscles were continuously superfused with normal Tyrode's solution at 20-22 degrees C and stimulated at 0.3 Hz. Under the effect of noradrenaline the contraction consisted of two components which became more obvious at low-frequency stimulation or in the first contraction after a long resting period, the second component's amplitude being increased, at that. The increase corresponded to prolongation of the AP. In presence of noradrenaline the Bowditch's staircase became positive.


[Nature of the 2-component contraction of mammalian myocardium due to noradrenaline]. The effects of verapamil (5 mg/l) and caffeine (1 g/l) on two-component contraction were studied in isolated papillary muscles of guinea pigs, bathed in normal Tyrode's solution at 20-22 degrees C, containing 2 mg/l noradrenaline. The 1st derivative of contractile response and transmembrane AP were simultaneously recorded. Verapamil suppressed the amplitude of the 2nd component and did not affect the 1st component of contraction. Caffeine eliminated the 1st component and somewhat increased the 2nd component of contraction. The Ca ions from two different pools seem to take part in activation of the two-component contraction: 1) released from sarcoplasmic reticulum and 2) crossing a cell membrane during the plateau of the AP.


[Regulation of breathing in conditions of changed gas density and with resistance loading]. In anesthetized cats, an additional resistance for breathing entailed an increase in the work of respiratory muscles and some deceleration of respiratory cycles, particularly during hyperpnoe caused by hypercapnia. Inhalation of a mixture of increased density (SF6-O2) exerted a similar effect. The compensatory increase in the work of respiratory muscles persisted after bilateral vagotomy whereas the response to inhalation of the mixture disappeared. This suggests that extravagal reflexes take part in optimization of breathing in conditions of external resistance  whereas the effect of high density of inhaled gas developes, mainly, through the afferent system of the lungs.


[Interrelationship of afferent impulses and the activity of smooth muscles of the small intestine]. In chronic experiments on dogs, a correlation existed between small intestine muscle spike potentials and frequency of afferent discharges in mesenteric nerves. Patterns of spice potentials were related to peristaltic waves. The high-amplitude aferent oscillations transferred to the extramural level of the nervous system seem to control the mechanism of evacuation process.


[Influence of kallikrein and the salivary glands on bile composition]. In acute experiments on 14 dogs, surgical interventions on the salivary glands activated the cholatosynthetizing function, reduced the bilirubin excretion in the liver, and made protein and electrolytes alter in the bile. Activation of the kininogenesis by kallikrein caused different alterations in the bile composition after the salivary gland surgery.


The cytoplasmic membrane as a site of the primary effect of colicins on eukaryotic cells. The effect of colicins E3 and K on mouse lymphoid cells was studied. Low doses of colicin E3, which were not toxic, inhibited profoundly the Con A-induced activation of lymphocytes while the Con A binding capacity of the treated cells was retained. The inhibitory effect of colicin E3 was also found when the homing of 51Cr-labelled lymph node cells to the lymph nodes of syngeneic recipients was studied, while the rate of redistribution of H-2 antigens on the surface of the lymphocytes was not changed by colicin E3 or colicin K. The findings suggest that the cytoplasmic membrane is the site of the primary effect of colicin E3 on eukaryotic cells.


Cell-mediated cytotoxicity of adherent and non-adherent mouse lymph node cells sensitized in vitro against tumour-associated antigens of syngenetic methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas. Cell-mediated cytotoxicity of adherent and non-adherent subpopulations of mouse lymph node cells sensitized in vitro on monolayers of syngeneic, methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma cells was examined by inhibition of 3H-thymidine incorporation. The cell-mediated cytotoxicity of nylon wood-adherent, non-adherent and unfractionated lymph node cells was found to be equally efficient.


Fertility and income consumption aspirations, and child quality standards. Data from a 1975 national survey of the American population were used to investigate the relationships between childbearing and aspirations for consumption goods, child quality standards, and income. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that preferences for child quality are negatively related to fertility. Aspirations for consumer goods which are related to the home were not found to be negatively related to childbearing while aspirations for nonhome goods were negatively related to fertility as hypothesized. Several indicators of income and subjective economic well-being were examined, and the overall pattern of results was not supportive of the hypothesized effect of income on fertility.


Employment trends of young mothers and the opportunity cost of babies in the United States. The central concept of microeconomic theories of fertility is opportunity cost--the product of wife's employment lost due to childbearing and the value of her employment. This paper presents a model for analyzing opportunity cost using panel data. The average loss of employment attributable to a second- or higher-order birth, calculated at around age 2, is over 400 hours per year. This time cost represents an income loss of about $1050 in 1969 dollars. Time cost is independent of such demographic factors as birth order and age of oldest sibling. Neither does time cost depend on husband's wage rate or wife's education or potential wage rate. This indicates that many microeconomic models of fertility have been seriously misspecified. The paper also compares results from static and dynamic models, explores possible problems due to simultaneity bias, investigates the relationship between changes in employment (including time cost) and initial employment level, and identifies the difficulties of theorizing about opportunity cost.


Labor supply behavior of prospective and new mothers. Utilizing unique data generated from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women, this paper examines the labor force participation of young mothers in the months immediately preceding and following the birth of the first child. Labor supply behavior at this point in the life cycle is described in greater detail than has hitherto been available. In addition, we analyze the independent effect of several factors of interest on the probability that a young woman will be in the labor force during various intervals surrounding the first birth.


The end of "Catholic" fertility.

The end of "Catholic" fertility. Catholic and non-Catholic fertility during the post-World War II period are compared in this paper. Evidence accumulated across five sample surveys of fertility in the United States, which were conducted at five-year intervals from 1955 through 1975, forms the basis for the analysis; both cohort and period measures are employed. Starting from a situation where Catholic fertility was very little higher than that of non-Catholics, it is shown that the differential increased markedly during the baby boom and then declined to a point where the two trends nearly come together in the mid-1970s. Interpretation of the recent convergence in the light of various theories that have been put forward to explain the differential suggests that it will be an enduring phenomenon.


The changing impact of white migration on the population compositions of origin and destination metropolitan areas. Increased migration to the sunbelt and the metropolitan-nonmetropolitan "turnaround" represent departures from long-standing redistribution trends. Although these patterns have been examined from a number of perspectives, their consequences for individual metropolitan areas have not yet been brought to light. In the present study, stream-disaggregated data for the late 1950s and late 1960s are employed to assess the impact of recent migration on the sizes and compositions of white populations in thirty-one large metropolitan areas. Most large northern SMSAs have been experiencing the "new" migration patterns since the late 1950s. They have incurred net out-movements of whites to both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. In their exchanges with nonmetropolitan areas, however, they have managed to retain greater numbers of college graduates and professional workers. Southern and western SMSAs did not sustain losses to nonmetropolitan areas during either period. They did appear to gain both total and high status population as a result of interregional metropolitan redistribution.


Motivations for the inmigration component of population turnaround in nonmetropolitan areas. Data from a 1977 survey of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan origin households migrating to 75 high net inmigration counties of the Midwest are examined to consider the motivational basis for the inmigration component of post-1970 nonmetropolitan migration trends. Findings suggest that the major stated motivations for leaving places of origin, especially among those from metropolitan areas, are "quality of life" considerations. Abouth a fourth of the metropolitan origin migrants' and half of the nonmetropolitan origin migrants' reasons are job-related. Anti-urban push and pro-rural pull responses are prevalent among migrants from metropolitan areas. Subsequent analysis of reasons for leaving metropolitan residences suggests consistency with other objective variables. Among households with a working-age head, those leaving for "quality of life" reasons came disproportionately from the largest metropolitan centers and went to the smallest towns. Those moving for non-employment reasons are not more likely to have taken an initial income loss, though they are less likely to experience immediate income gains.


Female migration in Chile: types of moves and socioeconomic characteristics. This paper examines inter-provincial female migration in Chile for the 1965--1970 period, with a view to describing socioeconomic characteristics of migrant women and to determining differences and similarities in age, educational level, occupation, and type of move (first, return, or repeat) between movers to the capital and to other urban areas. Data are from a five percent sample of the 1970 Chilean census. Findings reveal that non-return migrants to other urban areas are differentiated from those to Santiago by an older age structure, higher educational levels, higher status occupations, and are more likely to be making a second (or higher-order) move. Moreover, educational measures suggest that recent female migration to urban Chile is more prevalent among the upper than the lower strata of the society.


A new evaluation of United States census data on the extreme aged. Population and mortality data for the extreme aged have generally been considered subject to a large degree of error, particularly for nonwhites. In this study, estimates of the United States population 85 years of age and over in 1960 are devised through a procedure known as the "method of extinct generations," which permits the reconstruction of "extinct" population cohorts from a series of annual death statistics. Estimates of the total population by single year of age and of sex-color groups by five-year age groups are compared with the 1960 census. With some exceptions, the data for whites show remarkable correspondence; the tally for nonwhites developed from death records falls considerably short of the census count, indicating a greater overstatement of age in the latter source.


Relations between demographic parameters. The mean life-expectancy e describes the average prospective life-time of an individual aged zero. This parameter can be explicitly described in terms of the survivorship distribution of the population. The Malthusian parameter r represents the asymptotic growth rate of a population. This parameter can be implicitly expressed in terms of the net-maternity distribution. The parameters e and r incompletely incorporate the age-specific fertility and mortality pattern of a population; distinct populations may have the same growth rate but different net-maternity functions; distinct populations may be characterized by the same mean life expectation but may have different survivorship distributions. This article analyzes a class of parameters called the entropy of a population (Demetrius, 1974a) which distinguishes between net-maternity functions with the same growth rate and also mortality distributions with the same mean life expectation. This class of parameters measures the convexity of the fertility and mortality distributions. This paper analyzes the relations between the entropy parameter and the standard demographic parameters.


Effects of dependency among causes of death for cause elimination life table strategies. A study is made of the effects of associated causes of death, and of dependency among causes of death, by observing the relative importance of one cause of death when another is eliminated under various competing risk models. Two disease pairs, cancer and infectious disease and stroke and ischemic heart disease, are selected for analysis because they represent different types of disease dependence. Crude probabilities of death for each disease are calculated for the U.S. white male population in 1969. Next, the effects of the complementary disease in a pair are hypothetically eliminated in one of three ways: (a) a standard competing risk adjustment for cause elimination when deaths are singly caused (Chiang, 1968), (b) lethal defect-pattern of failure computations for multiply caused death when no causal order is inferred (Manton et al., 1976), and (c) relative susceptibility, computations for multiply caused deaths when causes are ordered (Wong, 1977). The paper closes with a discussion of the relative merits of the three types of adjustments.


[Trends in some treatment-criteria of patients of a dermatological children-ward (author's transl)]. In comparative studies on some treatment-criteria of patients of a dermatological children-ward between 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1977 we found a tendency to increased out-patient-treatment, a reduction in period of clinical sojourn and a significant increase in patients drug consumption. Most important reasons of this development are the following: Temporary decrease of birth rate in GDR; increased capacity of out-patient-treatment in the Leipzig-area; application of more effective drugs; improvements in management of clinical treatment. About 50% of treated in-patients are 0 to 3 years old. The great importance of a qualified dermatological treatment for success of clinical sojourn on a children-ward is underlined.


[The evidence of the chloramphenicol-sensibilisation by the usual lymphocyte transformation test (author's transl)]. As to its allergising capability Chloramphenicol holds a leading position. That's why the evidence of an existing sensibilisation is important. But there is a controversy concerning the usual lymphocyte transformation test (LTT). With the help of comparing tests (patch-test - LTT) a high rate of equal results between both the methods is shown. Thus, the efficiency of LTT basing on morphological analysing criteria, which is used for the evidence of an existing Chloramphenicol-sensibilisation seems to be proved.


[Results of the treatment in cases of cold urticaria, cold pruritus and cold rhinitis with peritol (zyproheptadinhydrochlorid) (author's transl)]. 19 patients with cold urticaria, 5 with cold pruritus and 2 with cold rhinitis were successfully treated with peritol with the exception of one patient who suffered from a symptomatic pruritus due to polycythemia vera. Even in cases of recurrence the treatment was at once successful. Therefore peritol seems to be useful in the treatment of diseases due to cold.


[Detection of intercellularsubstance-autoantibodies after antigen-antibody-complex splitting in pemphigus foliaceus (author's transl)]. One patient suffering from pemphigus foliaceus exhibited the typical intercellular deposits of immunoglobulins in the subcorneal layers of the affected and not affected skin by direct be detected by means of several antigensubstrates. They could only be found after splitting of the antigen-antibodies-complexes. The laboratory findings exclude a more distinct deviation of the humoral and cellular immune reactivity.


Comparative study of the growth inhibition of vegetative hyphae of some dermatophytes and keratinophilic fungi on glucose-peptone-agar with griseofulvin. By the method of Jesenská and Danilla [29] the growth inhibition of vegetative hyphae of colonies of 12 species of dermatophytes and keratinophilic fungi on the surface of glucose-peptone-agar with incorporated griseofulvin has been established. It could be concluded that the sensitivity of hyphae to griseofulvin is neither connected with the taxonomic position and ecological classification of these microscopic fungi, nor with their ability to survive in the soil, or with their pathogenity etc. - In Trichophyton rubrum some hyphae were found which were extremely resistant to griseofulvin. - The extablished values allow to make an objective comparison of the sensitivity level of vegetative hyphae of dermatophytes and keratinophilic fungi to griseofulvin in further geographical regions, at different times and in different laboratories. - In the discussion further possibilities in this direction are developed.


[Proposal for a method of testing the acute irritative effect of substances by experiments upon animals (author's transl)]. This paper deals with the test methods for the irritative effect of substances, and suggests a method for standardised determination of acute dermal I.D.50. Liquids or easily soluble substances can be checked in various concentrations with the help of an open application on rabbits.


A multicentre study of a once daily dosage of acebutolol in the treatment of hypertension in general practice. A three-month open, multicentre trial was carried out in 2132 hypertensive patients under uncontrolled conditions in general practice, to assess the effectiveness and tolerance of acebutolol when given orally as a single morning dose, in the range of 200 to 1200 mg/day. Concomitant antihypertensive therapy was given to 702 patients. Forty-five patients, out of 1893 who were eligible for analysis, showed inadequate blood pressure control and were withdrawn from the study. There were 602 reports of side-effects of adverse reactions attributed to acebutolol in 584 patients, necessitating 120 withdrawals from the trials. The results showed that acebutolol given once daily produces a substantial and progressive reduction in blood pressure over the three months of the trial. The changes from pre-trial values of all haemodynamic assessments measured were statistically significant (p less than 0.001).


A clinical trial of trimebutine (Mebutin) in spastic colon. Twenty adult Indian patients suffering from the spastic form of irritable colon, i.e. abdominal pain and constipation, were given trimebutine (Mebutin), 2-phenyl, 2-dimethylamino-n-butyl 3, 4, 5-trimethoxybenzoate. Patients were given treatment with 200 mg trimebutine three times daily, or placebo for 4 weeks, and then crossed over. In addition, stool transit times were assessed by the single stool transit time (SST) method of Cummings. Results showed a statistical improvement in abdominal pain and constipation with both trimebutine and placebo after 4 weeks, but only with trimebutine after 8 weeks. Single stool transit time was significantly reduced after trimebutine.


Follicular fluid stimulation of steroidogenesis in immature granulosa cells in vitro. Granulosa cells from small (1-2 mm) immature porcine follicles were cultured in monolayer in culture media composed of equal parts of culture medium 199 and either (a) fluid from small follicles, (b) fluid from large (6-12 mm) follicles or (c) adult female porcine serum for 6 days, with or without 100 ng LH and/or 2 microgram FSH/ml. Both basal and gonadotrophin-stimulated progesterone secretion were greater in the presence of fluid from large follicles than in serum, for all 6 days. After 4 days of culture, fluid from small follicles enhanced gonadotrophin-stimulated progesterone secretion over that occurring in serum, but to a lesser extent than fluid from large follicles. These studies suggest the presence of a maturation stimulating molecule(s) in follicular fluid which increases in activity or concentration as the follicles enlarge. This factor may be essential for normal granulosa cell maturation in vivo.


Neurological development of kittens.

Neurological development of kittens. The neurological development of the kitten was studied from birth to 120 days of age. Three motor features present at birth disappeared within the 1st 45 days of life. The labyrinthine head and body righting reactions were present at birth; the latter matured only by 25 days of age when the air righting reaction (mature by 35 days) started to appear. Limb placing reactions developed progressively with proprioceptive components being present at birth whereas tactile components evolved slowly from early contact lifting to forepaws contact placing (60 days) and narrow plank walking (75 days). Standing and walking were well developed by 45 days. Eye opening occurred at 9.5 days and several eyeblink reactions (including blink to light) were present at birth. Adequate binocular coordination was seen by 47 days. Vision progressed parallel to the clearing of the ocular media which were fairly transparent by 32 days. Visually guided paw placing and the visuopalpebral blink reflex matured later (by 37 and 59 days, respectively). The external auditory canal and pinna were fully developed by 12 and 31 days, respectively; spontaneous and tactile pinna movements were present at birth; orienting to animal and nonanimal sounds was well developed by 6.5 and 18 days, respectively; spatial sound localization was developed by 16 days and differential responding to animal sounds matured by 24.5 days. Somatic responses and olfaction were present at birth but matured further thereafter. Playful interactions between kittens started by 10--15 days and well developed play behavior was seen by 36--40 days. In brief, all neurological functions mature progressively during the 1st 3 postnatal months.


Within-species variation in the development of ultrasonic signaling of preweanling rats. The development of litter and individual differences in the rate of ultrasonic signaling of neonatal rats was studied. Systematic variations among litters and individuals emerged, without differential treatment. These differences were not correlated with variations in general development as indexed by body weight. Two experiments using a cross-fostering design showed that litter differences developed independently of variations in postnatal environment. These results indicate that the variations among litters in ultrasound rate have a prenatal, possibly genetic, etiology and may represent reliable indicants of response to environmental stress.


Effects of rearing in different environments on subsequent environmental preference in rats. Environmental preference of male rats reared during 2 months after weaning either in a complex and changing environment (EC) or in empty laboratory cages (SC) was assessed in 4 different experiments. For 2 weeks after differential rearing, rats were placed in groups of 6 in testing cages which were divided into 2 compartments with communicating holes. One of these compartments was empty; the other contained 6 objects (complex compartment). Daily, 3 objects were moved from 1 compartment to the other and replaced by new ones. The preference for any of the compartments was chiefly assessed by the localization of feces (Experiments I and II) and directly by the localization of the animals through videorecording (Experiments III and IV). Both EC and SC rats showed a significant preference for the empty compartment during both light and dark portions of the daily cycle, but particularly during the light portion.Moreover, EC and SC animals differed from one another in that the SC rats showed a stronger preferences for the empty compartment than the EC rats, especially when active. General preference for the empty compartment seemed to diminish slowly, but EC and SC rats tended to remain distinct in habitat selection, at least during the period tested. This behavioral difference, tentatively interpreted in terms of neophobia, might constitute a possible mechanism for automaintenance of differential rearing effects.


Ontogeny of active avoidance in the rat: learning and memory. Ontogenetic development of active avoidance learning, extinction and retention was studied in rats. The learning of a 1-way active avoidance was most rapid between Weeks 4 and 6, although some slight gender-related differences were evident. No such unambiguous development was detected in forced extinction. The 24-hr retention of avoidance peaked at the age of 4 weeks whereas 1-month retention was best in animals trained at the age of 8 weeks. The retrieval of memory trace also had best values at these ages. Retention of forced extinction was found to peak in 6-week animals. The existence of developmental "critical periods" must be considered cautiously as various functions have different time courses depending upon the chosen parameters in assessment.


The onset of rhythmic activities in normal and high-risk infants. The onset of rhythmic activities was compared for 2 groups of high-risk infants (a preterm Respiratory Distress Syndrome and a postterm postmature group) and a normal term group over their 1st year of life. The postterm postmature group experienced earlier onsets of rhythmic activities. The preterm RDS group showed delays in the onset of rhythmic activities, but when a correction was made for the prematurity, did not differ from the other groups. These differences suggest that the onset dates for rhythmic activities are not affected by the perinatal complications of RDS or postmaturity, but are related to gestational age differences. A comparison of the 3 groups on Bayley 1st-year motor skills revealed group differences even after an adjustment for gestational age differences, suggesting that the development of motor skills, unlike the development of rhythmic activities, may have been affected by these perinatal complications.


Spontaneous alternation in chicks using social reward. Two experiments examining spontaneous alternation in young white Leghorn chicks are reported. In Experiment I chicks (20 per group) run in a T-maze for 4 trials to social reward displayed alternation of responses, whereas nonrewarded chicks did not alternate. In Experiment II socially rewarded chicks (20 per group) again showed reliable alternation of responses whereas food, water, and nonrewarded chicks did not alternate. These data support the premise that spontaneous alternation behavior has some phyletic generality under optimum conditions, although the mechanisms which control it may differ across species.


Effects of the duration of dark rearing on visually guided behavior in the kitten. Forty-eight kittens were dark reared or light reared from birth for 1 to 8 months and formed 6 age groups. Following rearing the kittens were examined daily in several tasks of visually guided behavior. Compared to younger dark-reared groups of kittens, older deprived groups showed longer acquisition times for visual placing to a surface, visual tracking, visually guided reaching to a serrated edge and moving object, and visually guided locomotion on elevated platforms. After dark rearing durations of 3 months or longer, deprived groups displayed overall deficiencies in obstacle avoidance during their 1st postdeprivation month. The older dark-reared groups gave some indication of a direct relationship between duration of dark rearing and both delay in acquisition times for the visually guided behaviors and deficiency in obstacle avoidance. One interpretation of the results is that during dark rearing the kitten may acquire nonvisual behaviors which could interfere with and prolong its development of visually guided behavior subsequent to deprivation.


The compensatory role of food-motivation in the maze learning performance of lactationally undernourished rats. To test the hypothesis that the motivational effects of neonatal undernutrition might conceal the detrimental effects on learning, we tested previously undernourished and normally nourished Sprague-Dawley rats on learning of a novel maze pattern under either latent learning (nonappetitive) or food-motivated conditions. Under the nonappetitive conditions, the previously undernourished rats learned significantly less than the normal controls, but when motivated for food, the undernourished rats performed as well as the controls. When learning performance measures are sensitive to motivation, differential motivation between undernourished and normal subjects must be controlled or eliminated.


Do 16-week-old infants anticipate stimulus offsets? Twenty alert 16-week-old infants were presented with 20-sec tones at variable intertrial intervals for 10 trials while beat-by-beat heart rate responses were recorded to assess response at offset as well as onset of each stimulus. Consistent with past research, onsets elicited deceleratory responses which habituated and showed some evidence of dishabituation with a change in stimulus frequency on the last 2 trials. Offsets also elicited significant deceleratory responses overall, but inspection of pre-offset heart rate suggested that deceleration in anticipation of the offset event appeared after a few stimulus repetitions and increased in magnitude over trials. However, individual variability was considerable and although the anticipatory response was significant averaged over all trials, the apparent increase over trials did not reach statistical significance. The evidence clearly indicates infants quickly process and act upon temporal information in a stimulus.


Delayed plasticity of an instinct: recognition and avoidance of 2 facing eyes by the jewel fish. A model depicting 2 horizontally positioned black spots resembling facing eyes, as compared with models depicting other spot arrangements, elicits intense flight activity in young African jewel fish (Hemichromis bimaculatus) under 5 months of age and 7-month-old subadults reared apart from conspecifics with eyeless cave fish (Anoptichthys jordani). In contrast, subadults permitted to observe or interact fully with conspecifics during development exhibited attenuated discriminative flight activity. These findings suggest that visual experience with facing conspecifics, irrespective of physical contact, modifies the flight-eliciting properties of the innat mechanism subserving eye-schema recognition, but only during later maturation.


Social experience affects the development of dendritic spines and branches on tectal interneurons in the jewel fish. African jewel fish reared with eyeless cave fish, but without visual-tactile contact with conspecifics, exhibit hyperresponsive behavior after release in community aquaria. Because the optic tectum might be affected by these restraints on visual experience, unreleased members of the same social isolate group were compared histologically with controls reared in community aquaria. Using the rapid Golgi method, we counted dendritic spines and branches on pyriform interneurons between 402 and 529 days of age. As compared with isolates, control group interneurons exhibited significantly more spines and primary branches on apical dendrites in deep tectal layers. Our focus is the relation between experiential differences in rearing conditions and synaptic changes in the deep tectal layers.


Ontogenesis of spontaneous activity and habituation of activity in the rat pup. Individual components of activity and habituation of activity were determined throughout the 1st month of life in the rat pup. Total activity increased from 25% at 8 days of age to 68% at 22 days before declining to 49% at 26 days. Total slight activity (predominantly sniffing) increased to a maximum of 33% at 15 days whereas total very active behavior (predominantly ambulation) reached its maximum of 38% at 22 days. Habituation of activity expressed as the mean slope of decrement of activity over the 1st 30 min of the observation period was observed in rats as young as 8 days of age. By 12 days, habituation of total activity had increased significantly reflecting a 3-fold increase ihabituation of slight activity, an effect observed at 15 days as well. However, by 19 days the slope of activity decrement had declined to half of its 15-day value, indicating an impairment of habituation and reflecting the attenuation of very active behavior, predominantly ambulation. This decline in habituation continued through 22 days but by 26 days habituation of activity had increased again reaching a maximum for the 1st month of postnatal life. Our results suggest that the phenomenon of behavioral arousal observed in the developing rat pup 19 days of age reflects an inability of the organism to modulate his activity as effectively as the 15-day- or 26-day-old animal.


Behavioral and physiological effects of early handling and early malnutrition in rats. This experiment employed a 2 x 2 design in which the nutritional and early stimulation conditions of rat pups were manipulated during the 1st 3 weeks of postnatal life. Animals were observed in various open field activities at 22, 23, 29, 36, and 50 days of age, and killed at 55 days of age for neurochemical analysis. Early handling decreased the behavioral differences due to malnutrition and resulted in fewer, but larger cells in rat forebrain for both well-nourished and malnourished groups.


Non-parallel secretion of pancreatic enzymes. Effect of parenteral amino acid administration and intestinal reinfusion of bilio-pancreatic juice. Chronic drainage of pancreatic juice in rats results in a non-parallel secretion of digestive enzymes. The concentration of trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, procarboxypeptidase B and lipase increases continuously whereas that of amylase drops. An amino acid mixture given intravenously does not affect this dissociation. Reinfusion of bilio-pancreatic juice into the duodenum on the contrary influences the relative enzyme release: the increase in concentration of the three proteolytic enzymes and of lipase is less pronounced over the 72-hour study period; amylase concentration remains unaffected. In the absence of an intravenous amino acid feeding the pancreatic protein output is more than halved and a negative nitrogen balance is observed. Reinfusion of bilio-pancreatic juice does not alter the total protein output. This report confirms the persistance of a dissociation in the rate of enzyme release in rats with chronic pancreatic fistula despite sufficient protein administration and intestinal reintroduction of bilio-pancreatic juice.


Ligation or external fistulation of the common bile duct in the rat. I. Intestinal sucrose hydrolysis and absorption in vivo. 72 h after ligation of the common bile duct in the rat the sucrose hydrolysis in vivo was greater than in sham-operated animals, whereas the absorption of the split products, glucose and fructose, was not altered. In bile-depleted rats the sucrose hydrolysis did not differ from that in the control group. The absorption of the split products, glucose and fructose, was diminished. The alterations of the sucrose assimilation were - though statistically significant - rather small. Thus, the presence of bile in the intestinal contents does not seem to be very important for the hydrolysis and absorption of sucrose in vivo.


Neoplasms of the forestomach in mice ingesting dihydrosafrole. The maximal tolerated doses of dihydrosafrole, safrole, and isosafrole were given by continuous oral administration, starting at the age of 7 days, to both sexes of two hybrid strains of mice - (C57BL/6 X C3HAnf)F1 and (C57BL/6 X AKR)F1. Hyperplasia and carcinomas of the forestomach were significantly increased in female mice of both strains and in male mice of the latter strain ingesting dihydrosafrole. By contrast, neoplasms of the forestomach were not increased in mice receiving safrole or isosafrole. Mice with neoplasms of the stomach generally did not have neoplasms of the liver.


Pancreatic enzymic activities of commercial pancreatic enzyme preparations incubated in human small intestinal juice. The activities of amylase, lipase, phospholipase and trypsin of twelve commercial pancreatic enzyme preparations were measured under identical conditions. Human small intestinal juice was chosen as incubation medium. A wide variation of enzymatic activities was found in preparations in tablet form contrary to preparations in granulated form. A prerequisite for a successful therapy is enzymically potent pancreatic extracts with high enzyme content per table, capsule or recommended dose of granulated preparation. Therefore, some preparations seem to be preferable to others for clinical purposes.


Parotid saliva test in the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. The parotid saliva test was evaluated in 31 patients with chronic pancreatitis proven by the secretin-pancreozymin test and failed to detect pancreatic insufficiency in the majority of the cases. According to this result the test cannot be recommended as a screening test for chronic pancreatitis.


Effect of CCK-octapeptide and secretin on amylase secretion in isolated rat pancreatic acinar cells. Isolated acinar cells from rat pancreas responded well to hormonal treatment. Both secretin (synthetic and highly purified from porcine origin) and CCK-octapeptide stimulated amylase secretion in these cells. The response in both cases was very rapid. A maximal output of enzyme was reached within 5-10 min after the addition of hormones. The concentration producing maximal output for synthetic secretin (Schwarz/Mann) was 5 x 10(-8) M, synthetic secretin (Squibb), 10(-5) M, for purified porcine secretin, 10(-5) M, and for CCK-octapeptide was 5 x 10(-10) M. Secretin (2-fold at optimal concentration) was found to be less efficient compared to CCK-octapeptide (5-fold at optimal concentration) in stimulating amylase release. A combination of secretin and CCK-octapeptide had a synergistic action in stimulating enzyme release by the acinar cells. In addition, pretreatment of acinar cells with secretin potentiated the secretory response of the treated cells to CCK-octapeptide. To a lesser extent pretreatment with CCK-octapeptide also increased the effect of secretin in stimulating enzyme secretion.


Circulating Clq binding complexes in inflammatory bowel diseases. To determine whether circulating immune complexes are present in the sera of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a 125I-Clq binding assay was performed. Of the 55 IBD serum samples tested, the 24 ulcerative colitis samples demonstrated significant binding (33.1 +/- 8.3%, p = 0.02), whereas the 31 Crohn's samples bound essentially normal amounts (29.2 +/- 7.4%). A positive control group consisting of 27 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was also studied. Sera from 4 patients wiht IBD and colonic cancer when tested, bound 40.2 +/- 8.0% of the available 125I-Clq, while 10 patients with previous colectomies and ileostomies gave results similar to those of 15 healthy controls and 11 patients with irritable colon.


Glucose and free fatty acid turnover in normal subjects and in diabetic patients before and after insulin treatment. Turnover rates of glucose and free fatty acids were measured, using 3H-glucose and 14C-l-palmitic acid as tracers, in insulin-requiring diabetic patients at presentation and after insulin treatment. Correlations were sought with rates of substrate oxidation, determined independently from respiratory exchange, and with plasma hormone concentrations. The rates of appearance of glucose and of free fatty acids were increased in the diabetics to 17.6 and 10.2 micronmol min-1 kg-1 respectively. Both rates fell to normal (13.3 and 7.1 micronmol min-1 kg-1) after insulin. In the untreated state there was an inverse relationship between the rates of utilisation of glucose and free fatty acids (r = 0.61; p less than 0.05). It is suggested that this relationship represents the impairment of peripheral glucose utilisation by free fatty acids and by ketone bodies in vivo, so far only demonstrated in vitro. The tracer calculated rates of glucose utilisation correlated well over a wide range with the respiratory quotient in untreated diabetics, while respiratory quotient was inversely related to free fatty acid turnover rates. In untreated diabetics plasma cortisol and 3,3', 5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) were increased whereas thyroxine and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) were decreased. 3,5,3'-Triiodothyronine concentration was closely related to the metabolic clearance rate of glucose (p less than 0.05), while cortisol concentrations correlated with glucose production (p less than 0.02) and blood ketone body concentration (p less than 0.02). It is concluded that glucose overproduction is the major contributor to the hyperglycaemia of untreated diabetes.


Insulin-independent diabetes: a defect in the activity of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue. The activity of lipoprotein lipase (E.C.3.1.1.3.) has been measured in adipose tissue from insulin-independent diabetics with hypertriglyceridaemia, non-diabetics with hypertriglyceridaemia and control patients, all of whom were obese. Although all groups showed an increase of plasma insulin after oral glucose, both the diabetic and nondiabetic hypertriglyceridaemics had impaired activities of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue compared to the obese normals (p less than 0.02, p less than 0.03, respectively). A course of insulin therapy (20 u.o.d.) for one week increased the activity of lipoprotein lipase extracted from adipose tissue, lowered plasma triglycerides and improved triglyceride clearance from plasma in a group of diabetics with hypertriglyceridaemia (mean plasma triglyceride 8.7 mmol/l). Our results suggest that a feature in the development of insulin resistance in adult diabetics may be a failure of maintenance of key intracellular enzyme activities involved in lipid metabolism.


[Single vessel coronary disease. I. Differences in clinical and prognostic aspects and in surgical results in isolated lesions of the anterior descending branch and of other coronary branches]. This study includes 290 patients having a 75% or greater stenosis of a sinlge coronary vessel, divided into two groups: 205 cases with isolated lesions of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and 85 with a stenosis of the circumflex (CF) or of the right (RCA) coronary artery. The following data have been compared in the two groups: -- characters of angina; -- results of stress testing; -- extent of left ventricular contraction impairment; -- natural history of unoperated patients; -- surgical risk; -- long term survival of operated patients; -- effect of medical or surgical treatment on symptoms. Results were as follows: -- LAD patients had slightly more severe symptoms and lower exercise tolerance than CF and RCA patients; -- no significant differences were noted as regards left ventricular contraction; -- five year survival rates were only slightly different both regarding unoperated patients (80 +/- 5% survival in LAD disease group; 86 +/- 5% in CF and RCA disease) and operated cases (83 +/- 5% in LAD lesions, 86 +/- 7% in CF and RCA disease); -- surgical risk was relatively low in both groups; -- progress of symptoms after bypass surgery was very favourable. Based on these results, indications for surgery in single coronary vessel disease are discussed.


[Left ventricular regional kinetics. Comparative analysis of the reference systems, correlations and physiological considerations]. The AA. studied segmental wall motion of the LV by means of 7 different methods. The study was performed in order to determine which reference system is the best for utilizing in subjects not affected by any heart disease. Two interesting points have emerged: first the methods which utilise the gravity center are the most sensitive; second, LV wall motion depends on the ejection fraction. In this perspective the AA. present a model of left ventricular motion.


[Myocardial protection from cardioplegic and hypothermia during aortic cross-clamping (author's ttrans)]. The clinical results with cardioplegic solutions and hypothermia during aortic cross-clamping are compared with the clinical results obtained with hypothermia only. To complete the study miocardial biopsies were obtained during aortic cross-clamping in order to evaluate the concentration of ATP and CPK. The obtained data confirm the effectiveness of the myocardial protection.


[Morpho-functional assessment of endocardial cushion defect by single crystal and two-dimensional echocardiography (author's transl)]. 24 patients with various forms of endocardial cushion defect, ranging in age from 8 months to 22 years, were studied by single crystal (M-mode) and two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography. In all of them diagnosis was confirmed by cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography, in 8 of them at surgery and in 3 of them at autopsy. From the morphologic point of view, 2-D echocardiography appeared to integrate M-mode recording in the structural definition of atrioventricular valves and in a better differentiation of complete atrioventricular canal. M-mode scanning right atrium-left ventricle, transverse projection by multiscan and long-axis and apical projections by sector-scanner were the most diagnostic projections. From the functional point of view, in patients with complete right bundle branch block (QRS greater than 120 msec), right ventricular isovolumetric contraction time appeared an useful alternative of sysn three patients, in whom these parameters couldn't be used, a qualitative judgement was possible on the basis of the absence of a wave and the presence of a midsystolic closure of pulmonary valve.


[Treatment of coarctation of the aorta in paediatric age. Result of 7 years of experience (author's transl)]. Results of 83 consecutive operations for coarctation of the aorta in the paediatric age group (0-20 years), performed in our Institution between September 1971 and May 1978 are presented. Mean age at operation was 7.04 years. All patients have been divided into two groups according to age under or over one year. Group one comprises 13 cases under one year of age. There were two death (15.23%). In group two there were 70 cases with two deaths (2.85%). The main post-operative complications are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the incidence of postoperative hypertension in relation to age bracket and with this point in mind discussion is carried out on the opportunity of early operation before stable hypertension has set in.


[Technical and methodological aspects concerning the application of Fourier's analysis to phonocardiography (author's transl)]. The frequency spectrum analysis (Fourier's analysis) has recently been applied to phonocardiography. Using this mathematical approach instead of the current empirical analysis, it is possible to obtain -- on a less subjective basis -- more precise pathophysiological and diagnostic information from the acoustic cardiac phenomena. On the other hand, this refinement of the method of analysis stresses the need for better technical and methodological solutions, in order to reach the standardization of both the transduction and the recording of the acoustic signal at higher level of sensibility, fidelity and reproducibility. With this in mind, and on the basis of their experience, the Authors suggest the adoption of devices with specific technical characteristics, and propose a suitable method of application of Fourier's analysis to the phonocardiogram.


[Acute treatment with verapamil of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and atrial flutter in paediatric age (author's transl)]. 43 patients, 3 days to 12 years old, presented 68 paroxysms of supraventricular tachycardia and 2 crises of atrial flutter. 6 patients had a WPW syndrome and only 7 had an associated cardiac disease; the remaining had no other complaint but the arrhythmia. Verapamil, administered in the dose of 0.125-0.25 mg/Kg intravenously, interrupted critically the tachycardia in virtually all cases. The flutter was converted to atrial fibrillation with a slower ventricular rate. No adverse effects were observed but in two cases: one had a cardiac arrest promptly relieved and another a ventricular bradycardia corrected by atropine. Both cases had received an overdose of the drugs.


[The tricuspid valve prolapse. Clinical significance and diagnostic problems (author's transl)]. Systolic prolapse of the tricuspid valve is a relatively unknown anatomo-clinical entity. In this communication etiology, clinical significance and diagnostic problems of this condition are reported and discussed. The frequent association with mitral valve prolapse and the coexistence of skeletal and cardiac anomalies strongly suggest the role of congenital factors and the degenerative nature of this valvular abnormality. Pathophysiology of leaflets prolapse remains unexplained for those few reported cases of isolated tricuspid invovlement. The clinical diagnosis of tricuspid valve prolapse is difficult, since the characteristic physical signs of tricuspid incompetence are uncommon, while apical mid-systolic click-late systolic murmur may indicate mitral valve prolapse, tricuspid valve prolapse, or a combination of the two. In the reported cases selective right ventriculography (R.A.O.) has shown pansystolic or late systolic prolapse of anterior and inferior leaflets (without or with varying degree of tricuspid incompetence) or isolated late systolic prolapse of the inferior cusp. M-mode echocardiography has shown great value in the diagnosis of tricuspid valve prolapse. On the echocardiogram several types of abnormalities have been noted which correlated well to angiocardiographic data. Tricuspid valve prolapse is of clinical importance, since this condition may be associated with significant tricuspid incompetence, a high incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, and possibly with bacterial endocarditis.


[Effects of isometric exercise on the right ventricular function and on the pulmonary circulation, in normal subjects (author's transl)]. The pulmonary circulatory response and right ventricular haemodynamics were assessed in normal subjects who sustained hand-grip exercise (HG) at 50% of the maximum voluntary contraction (M.V.C.) for 3 minutes. Ten normal subjects, aged 25 to 66 years, who underwent full right catheterization were studied. The following parameters were taken into consideration: heart rate (HR), end diastolic right ventricular pressure (EDRVP) end diastolic right ventricular volume (EDRVV), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary wedge pressure (PWP), total pulmonary resistance (TPR), cardiac output (CO) and right ventricular sistolic work minute index (RVSWMI). These data were obtained by means of a tip-micromanometer connected with an polygraphic recorder and by means of thermodilution cardiac output computer. The statistical significance of the difference between the resting control values and those after isometric exercise was calculated with the Student's paired t test. A comparison of the control data with those obtained after isometric exercise, demonstrate a statistical significant (p less than 0,001) increase of the HR, PAP, PWP, TRP, CO, RVSWMI, a less significant (p less than 0.01) increase RVEDP. Our findings show that the HG causes changes in the pulmonary circulation and the right ventricular function. Our data seem to sustain that the pulmonary circulation respondes differently under isometric stress than it does under isotonic stress. The use of HG can thus be postulated as a useful means of evaluation of the response of the pulmonary circulation and right ventricular function.


[Predictability of electrocardiographic and vectorcardiographic criteria in pulmonary arterial hypertension caused by chronic bronchopneumopathies]. The Authors have verified in a group of 38 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and suspected pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) of precapillary origin the possibility to forsee the pressure within the lesser circulation starting from some electrocardiographic and vectorcardiograhic criteria. The vectorcardiographic analysis has not been shown to be more reliable than the traditional ECG as far as the identification of an eventual PAH is concerned. The matching of both scalar and vectorial criteria has significantly increased the efficiency of the estimate, i.e. the possibility to foresee the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), but the same efficiency has remained at unsatisfactory level (S = +/- 10,30 Torr as far as the PAP is concerned. With regard to the value of the various scalar and vectorial criteria or parameters, among the electrocardiographic criteria the most reliable has been the inversion of the T wave in the right precordial leads. This sign, however, did not often appear in the present series (18% of the cases). As to the VCG the analysis made by the Authors stresses as the most reliable criterion the direction of QRS loop rotation on the horizontal plane and the magnitude of the maximum rightward spatial vector. These two elements, among other things, escape detection on the traditional electrocardiographic investigation. The above mentioned conclusions, obviously, only apply to the PAH secondary to COPD, in which particular noncardiac (lung hyperinflation, lowering of the diaphgram, etc.) and cardiac (associated left ventricular hypertrophy) factors contribute to limit the diagnostic value of both the ECG and the VCG.


[The demand for blood in open-heart surgery (author's transl)]. Because of the continous increase of utilization of open heart surgery, whenever possible a more conservative use of blood is desirable. During 1977, 262 consecutive patients were operated upon using the hemodilution technique of cardiopulmonary bypass. Thirtyone operative deaths occurred (11.8%) and were not related to lack of blood administration. Mean hematocrit values were 32.4% two hours after surgery and between 31 and 32.5% in the following postoperative course. Hemoglobin concentration averaged from 9.9 to 10.4 g/100 ml during the first postoperative week. The estimated amount of blood transfused averaged 872 +/- 66 ml (+/- SE) per patient. Sixtyone patients (23%) didn't receive any transfusion. A conservative attitude towards blood administration is justified by transfusion related many risks and by the current shortage of blood.


[Creatine phosphokinase release from perfused cardiac muscle under hypoxic conditions. Effect of propranolol, verapamil, reserpine and deslanoside]. Experiments were undertaken to determine if some drugs (propranolol, reserpine, verapamil and deslanoside) have an effect on CPK release from hypoxic heart muscle. Hypoxia was induced in isolated Langerdorff perfused rabbit hearts by gassing the perfusate with 95% N2 + 5% CO2. Hypoxic induced damage of the rabbit heart muscle has been quantited in terms of the relase of the intracellular enzymes creatinephosphokinase (CPK) into the extracellular space. Propranolol was either added at the start of the hypoxic perfusion or the rabbit were pretreated with it. Verpamil, dl-propranolol and reserpine provided protection evidenced by a reduction of hypoxic induced CPK release, while lanatoside C and d-propranolol failed to prevent the hypoxic muscle from releasing CPK.


[Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery. Report of the case (author's transl)]. A case of anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery in a 22 y.o. female is reported. The patient underwent successfully surgical correction by reimplantation of the anomalous vessel to the ascending aorta. The literature has been reviewed; the clinical features, the surgical approach and technique are described.


[Lidocaine administration in a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and atrial fibrillation (author's transl)]. This report describes a case of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with atrial fibrillation in which the ventricular complexes conducted over the accessory pathway have promptly disappeared with the use of intravenously administered lidocaine. Lidocaine is suggested as the most suitable drug in such situations. Finally possible connections are presented between high dosage administered lidocaine and conversion to normal sinus rhythm.


[Epidemiological and clinical observations on 300 cases of primary myocardiopathy]. In the period from 1968 to 1977, in the Departments of Cardiology of the S. Camillo Hospital, a study has been made about 200 cases of Congestive Cardiomyopathy (MPC) and 100 about hypertrophic obstructive (MP0). Congestive cardiomyopathies constitute 1.5% of hospitalizations with a constant trend in the long run. In comparing these two forms, Authors have noticed some differences in the symptomatology of clinical and instrumental signs: 1) in case of MPO prevail angina, syncope, ejection systolic murmur, left ventricular overload in the ECG; 2) in case of MPC they find more frequently heart failure, embolism, diastolic gallop, cardiomegaly, A/V and intraventricular conduction disturbs. The AA. conclude, in accordance with Goodwin's classification, that there is not an uniformity of these two kinds of cardiomyopathies.


Idiopathic muscular hypertrophy of the esophagus: a case report. A case of idiopathic muscular hypertrophy of the esophagus is reported. Characteristic radiological findings with pathological material are illustrated, and differential diagnosis considered.


Areae gastricae traversing the esophageal hiatus: a sign of hiatus hernia. The areae gastricae are often visible as a structural feature of the gastric mucosa during double-contrast studies of the stomach. In this paper, radiographic visualization of the areae gastricae traversing the esophageal hiatus is described as a sign of hiatus hernia. In most instances, other radiographic signs of hiatus hernia are also present or may be elicited.


Gastric neoplasm: ultrasound and CT evaluation. Ultrasound may complement conventional barium evaluation of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Thirty cases of gastric neoplasm were evaluated with ultrasound; 8 of these patients also were evaluated with CT. The different sonographic appearances of gastric neoplasms will be presented based on these cases and a review of the literature. The specificity of these changes is discussed. In addition, the complementary role of CT scanning in the evaluation of gastric neoplasms is described.


Rapid water infusion: a technique in the ultrasonic discrimination of the gas-free stomach from a mass in the pancreatic tail. A technique of rapid water infusion into the stomach is described as an ultrasonic method to differentiate the gas-free stomach presenting as a solid mass from a mass in the tail of the pancreas. The infusion permits delineation of the tail of the pancreas as a discrete structure.


Computed tomographic and ultrasonic appearances of primary carcinoma of the common bile duct. Two patients with obstructive jaundice due to surgically proved primary carcinoma of the common bile duct were examined by CT and ultrasound. The combination of the two modalities showed dilatation of the extrahepatic biliary system and the main pancreatic duct. The diagnosis of primary bile duct carcinoma is suggested by these findings in the presence of a normal pancreatic head, although similar findings may occur with a small pancreatic or ampullary carcinoma.


Diagnosis of emphysematous cholecystitis by computerized tomography. A case of emphysematous cholecystitis is presented in which computerized tomography helped to confirm the diagnosis and the extent of disease preoperatively. This unusual disorder is briefly reviewed and the clinical and radiographic findings are discussed.


Gas-forming intrahepatic abscess: a possible complication of arterial infusion chemotherapy. Three cases of intrahepatic gas-forming abscesses are presented with liver metastases and indwelling hepatic artery catheters for drug infusion. This may represent a further complication of intrahepatic arterial drug infusion. Possible etiologies along with future prospects for this form of therapy are discussed.


Portal vein gas following air-contrast barium enema in granulomatous colitis: report of a case. Portal vein gas developed in a patient with granulomatous colitis following air-contrast barium enema. No symptomatology or morbidity could be attributed to the portal vein gas in this patient.


Changing patterns of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. In a 4 year and 4 month period 80 patients with necrotizing enterocolitis were treated. Review of the mode of clinical presentation, radiological features, management, mortality, and complications showed that there have been considerable changes over this period. The disease is now frequently diagnosed clinically prior to the development of paralytic ileus. Scalloping of the bowel wall and separation of the bowel loops are probably the earliest radiological signs. The management has become a more aggressive medical approach with more limited and well-defined surgical indications. These changes have been associated with a marked decrease in mortality and a concomitant increase in the number of late complications.


Unused colon in the adult -- roentgen findings. Two cases are reported of acquired microcolon distal to long-standing transverse colostomies performed 25 and 13 years previously. The radiologic appearance of the bypassed unused colon was similar to that of the microcolon of infants, demonstrating shortening, tubulation, and lack of haustrations.


Selective mesenteric phlebography in patients with carcinoid tumors. Seventeen patients were investigated to localize carcinoid tumor growth in the small intestine and liver. Portography, selective phlebography of the intestinal veins, arteriography, and hormone assay (Serotonin, substance P) after simultaneous catheterization of the celiac artery and portal and caval veins were performed. Most of the patients have been operated on and findings at surgery  have been compared with the preoperative localization methods. In 3 cases with small bowel carcinoids and typical fibroplastic changes of the mesentery, phlebography as well as arteriography demonstrated well the degree of mesenteric involvement. None of the methods demonstrated the primary tumors. Arteriography was superior in demonstration of liver metastasis. The hormone assay was a useful complement to angiographic techniques in the diagnosis and localization of tumor growth.


Recurrent retroperitoneal mesenteric cyst. A case report and review. A mesenteric cyst is an uncommon cause of a palpable abdominal mass. A correct preoperative diagnosis can be made by the combined use of radiographic and sonographic examinations in conjunction with the clinical features. A patient with a retroperitoneal cyst extending into the leaves of the mesentery is presented. The cyst recurred 4 years after surgery.


Fibrosing mesenteritis simulating pelvic carcinomatosis. A case of fibro-inflammatory thickening of the mesosigmoid simulating pelvic carcinomatosis on barium enema and ultrasound examination is presented. Histologic features of this case and cases of retractile mesenteritis and mesenteric panniculitis are discussed.


Improved visualization of radiographic cadaver sections using xerotomography. A new technique using xerotomography for axial images obtained from slices of abdominal cadavers is described. Radiographs were also made in sagittal planes for a complete study of visceral relationships. Xerotomography allows a wider range of visualization in the same plane of anatomical structures, from retroperitoneal fascial planes and vessels to abdominal viscera.


Cytoprotection by prostaglandins in rats. Prevention of gastric necrosis produced by alcohol, HCl, NaOH, hypertonic NaCl, and thermal injury. Oral administration to fasted rats of either absolute ethanol, 0.6 N hydrochloric acid, 0.2 N sodium hydroxide, 25% sodium chloride, or boiling water produced extensive necrosis of the gastric mucosa. Pretreatment with several prostaglandins of the A, E, or F type, either orally or subcutaneously, prevented such necrosis, and the effect was dose-dependent. This property of prostaglandins is called "cytoprotection." The protective effect against oral administration of absolute ethanol was already maximal 1 min after PGE2 given orally, and 15-30 min after PGE2 given subcutaneously. Cytoprotection by prostaglandins is unrelated to the inhibition of gastric acid secretion since, (a) it is maximal at doses that have no effect on gastric secretion, and (b) anti-secretory compounds (cimetidine, methscopolamine bromide) and antacids are not cytoprotective. Although the mechanism of gastric cytoprotection is unknown, prostaglandins appear to increase the resistance of gastric mucosal cells to the necrotizing effect of strong irritants. These results suggest that certain prostaglandins, by a mechanism other than the inhibition of gastric acid secretion, maintain the cellular integrity of the gastric mucosa, and might be beneficial in the treatment of a variety of diseases in which gastric mucosal injury is present.


Localization of gastrinomas by transhepatic portal catheterization and gastrin assay. Gastrinomas were localized by concurrent blood sampling in the hepatic vein and portal vein tributaries in 10 of 12 Zollinger-Ellison patients. In one patient, the portal vein could not be catheterized; in the other, a gastrin gradient could not be picked up in either of two examinations. Six of the patients were subsequently operated upon: 5 had pancreatoduodenal resection and 1 had laparotomy at which metastases were found. Four of the resections were probably curative as the patients have done well without treatment since with concentrations of gastrin in serum near zero. The observation period ranges from 17 to 20 mo. It is concluded that transhepatic catheterization of the hepatic vein and portal vein tributaries with blood sampling for gastrin determination permit the verification of the Zollinger-Ellison diagnosis and the localization of the gastrinomas. The latter may lead to the selection of a curative operative treatment in some of the patients.


The effects of pentagastrin in achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm. The effects of subcutaneous pentagastrin (6 microgram/kg) on esophageal motility were recorded in patients with achalasia, in patients with idiopathic diffuse esophageal spasm (IDES), and in healthy subjects. In achalasia and IDES, pentagastrin produced an increase in mean lower esophageal sphincter pressure, amplitude of contractions, esophageal pressure, and repetitive wave activity. Also, chest pain or dysphagia occurred after pentagastrin administration in 4 of 9 patients with IDES and in 7 of 12 patients with achalasia. After comparing these observations with those of healthy subjects, we tested the potential for pentagastrin-induced motility changes to improve our ability to diagnose IDES. This was done by administering pentagastrin to 22 patients with clinically "suspected" esophageal motor disease but in whom routine radiologic and manometric studies were nondiagnostic. In none of the 22 did symptoms or manometric changes develop to help establish the diagnosis of IDES. This was true despite additional studies in 10 patients that failed to provide an alternative to IDES as the diagnosis. These results do not support the use of pentagastrin as a provocative test for IDES.


High amplitude, peristaltic esophageal contractions associated with chest pain and/or dysphagia. Esophageal manometric tracings obtained using low-compliance pneumohydraulic infusion systems were reviewed from patients with symptoms of chest pain and/or dysphagia. Using this sytem, we report on 7 symptomatic patients with markedly increased esophageal peristaltic amplitude. Maximal peristaltic amplitude for these 7 patients (225-430 mmHg) was greater than for normals (75-175 mmHg). Mean peristaltic amplitude for the 7 was 170 mmHg, which was greater than for normals (81 +/- 30 mmHg, mean +/- 2 SD). This finding is believed to reflect the sensitivity of currently available manometric systems. It may be possible with these techniques to define more clearly the bulk of presumed esophageal dysfunction, which is at present poorly characterized. The relationship of clinical symptoms to abnormal esophageal motility is often less than optimal and may result from an inability to define "normal" or from inadequacies of currently available techniques. Our observations of a subset of symptomatic patients having peristaltic contractions with amplitudes exceeding the normal range seem to characterize one form of esophageal motility defect. This abnormality was seen more frequently than diffuse esophageal spasm in our laboratory.


Responses of isolated human internal anal sphincter to drugs and electrical field stimulation. The effects of drugs and electrical field stimulation on muscle strips from the human internal anal sphincter have been examined to provide information about the receptors and nerves that might be involved in the relaxation of the muscle in vivo. Acetylcholine and bethanechol usually relaxed muscle strips; this effect was abolished by hyoscine and antagonized to a varying degree by tetrodotoxin. Hexamethonium in concentrations sufficient to block relaxations to 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium iodide or nicotine had no effect on relaxations due to acetylcholine, thereby indicating that acetylcholine was acting on muscarinic receptors. The nerves stimulated by acetylcholine released an unknown transmitter. Both 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium iodide and nicotine relaxed muscle strips, possibly by releasing an adrenergic neurotransmitter which, because the responses to nicotinic receptor-stimulation were blocked by propranolol, stimulated beta-adrenergic inhibitory receptors. Sphincter muscle was also relaxed by electrical field stimulation of intrinsic nerves; this response was blocked by tetrodotoxin but unaffected by hexamethonium, hyposcine, or propranolol. The nerves responding to electrical field stimulation were therefore post-ganglionic, noncholinergic, and nonadrenergic. Compounds discounted as possible neurotransmitters of the noncholinergic, nonadrenergic inhibitory nerves were prostaglandin E2 and F2 alpha, histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and dopamine. Some evidence allows vasoactive intestinal peptide and adenosine triphosphate to be considered as possible neurotransmitters; this could not be confirmed because selective antagonists are not yet available.


Postoperative elevation of amylase/creatinine clearance ratio in patients without pancreatitis. An elevated CAm/CCr ratio has been used as evidence for the frequent occurrence of acute pancreatitis in the postoperative period. We measured CAm/CCr pre and postoperatively in 28 patients undergoing extraperitoneal surgical procedures. None of the patients had clinical evidence of pancreatitis, although 2 of the 28 patients had elevated CAm/CCr ratios preoperatively. Mean CAm/CCr rose from a preoperative level of 2.3 +/- 0.3% (1 SE) to 3.2 +/- 0.3% on the first postoperative day (P less than 0.001). Of the 26 patients with normal preoperative CAm/CCr, 12% (3 of 26) developed a clearly abnormal ratio and 12% (3 of 26) developed borderline elevated values. An elevated CAm/CCr appears to be a nonspecific postoperative finding and cannot be used as evidence of acute pancreatitis during this period.


Effect of placental lactogen on the number of intrinsic factor receptors in the pregnant mouse. Experiments were designed to identify the factor in serum which has been shown to result in an increased number of intrinsic factor (IF) receptors in the small intestine of the mouse in late pregnancy. IF receptors for cobalamin (Cbl) were measured by determining the quantity of IF-57CoCbl bound in ileal homogenates. A Scatchard plot of the binding data confirmed that there was an increase in the number of IF receptors and revealed that there was a reduction in their affinity constant (K alpha). The K alpha for pregnant mice was 0.7 x 10(12) M-1 compared with 2.8 x 10(12) M-1 in nonpregnant mice. The number of receptors decreased between 2 and 4 hr after hysterectomy (Hx) in day 19 pregnant mice. Hourly injections of human placental lactogen (PL) maintained IF-Cbl binding at pregnant levels in the Hx mice. Growth hormone but not prolactin produced a similar response. The smallest quantity of PL which was effective was 1 microgram. Placental lactogen did not have an effect on IF-Cbl binding in nonpregnant female mice. Neither hypophysectomy nor ovariectomy affected IF-Cbl. It is proposed that placental lactogen is the serum factor which is responsible for the increased number of IF receptors in the pregnant mouse.


The effect of lactulose on urea metabolism and nitrogen excretion in cirrhotic patients. The mechanism of action of lactulose is not known, although in vitro evidence suggests that lactulose may increase ammonia utilization and decrease ammmonia production by gut flora. If these changes occur in patients, they should be reflected in altered urea metabolism and nitrogen excretion. In seven studies conducted in 6 cirrhotic patients, the effects of lactulose on the kinetics of urea metabolism and nitrogen excretion were determined. Lactulose caused a fall in urea production (-24%, P less than 0.005) that was reflected in a decrease in both urea degradation and urinary urea excretion. Likewise, lactulose caused a decrease in the total body urea pool. The fall in urinary urea was accompanied by a large (two- to threefold) increase in stool nitrogen that was of a similar magnitude of the fall in urinary urea. Although urea degradation fell after lactulose, the intestinal (extrarenal) clearance of urea did not, indicating that the fall in urea degradation was due to the observed fall in the urea pool. The results indicate that: (a) Lactulose decreases urea production by increasing the fecal output of nitrogen, a finding compatible with altered ammonia metabolism by gut flora. (b) Lactulose decreases urea degradation, although this effect is primarily the result of a fall in the urea pool and cannot be attributed to an inhibition of urea breakdown in the gut lumen.


Chronic-persistent hepatitis and pregnancy. The course and possible risks of pregnancy in 7 women between the ages of 20 and 30 yr with chronic-persistent hepatitis (CPH) were evaluated. Ten pregnancies occurred in these women during the follow-up period which ranged from 3 to 8 yr. Four of the fetuses were aborted electively for nonmedical reasons. The other six pregnancies resulted in normal spontaneous vaginal deliveries at term. Each of the women experienced uneventful pre- and postnatal courses, and the neonates were all healthy and developmentally normal at birth. There was no biochemical or clinical evidence to suggest worsening liver disease during pregnancy. Normal menstrual patterns when not pregnant and normal biphasic basal body temperature patterns in 4 women suggested that ovulation and fertility were not impaired significantly. Pregnancy in women with CPH appears safe to both mother and fetus alike. This finding contrasts with the morbidity and mortality some authors have found to be associated with cirrhosis and with portal hypertension. We speculate that our findings may be relevant to women with other portal lesions resembling CPH such as resolving acute hepatitis and chronic active hepatitis in sustained remission.


Inhibition of the growth of Morris hepatoma No. 44 in rats after induction of hypothyroidism: evidence that Morris hepatomas are thyroid dependent. The growth rate of Morris Hepatoma No. 44 (generation time, 6 mo) was inhibited after the induction of hypothyroidism by Propylthiouracil (PTU) (0.1% in Purina Chow), I131 (1 mCi/100 g body wt i.p.), or surgical thyroidectomy. After 11 wk of treatment, hepatoma weight was 66%, 87%, and 75% (after correction for total body wt) relative to controls in PTU-fed, I131 injected, and thyroidectomized rats, respectively. In each case, exogenous thyroxine (T4) (8 microgram/kg body wt i.p.) reversed these inhibitory effects, while T4 administered to euthyroid rats stimulated hepatoma growth. The degree of growth-inhibition achieved with PTU was not observed in pair-fed rats. In addition, after correction for differences in body weight, the sex of the tumor-bearing rats did not influence the response to PTU. Pretreatment with PTU for 2 wk before implantation did not give any added advantage over the effects of PTU administered approximately 10 days after implantation. Serum levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and T4, as well as the concentration of various biochemic parameters, were determined at the time of death. These results suggest that the growth rate of Morris Hepatoma No. 44 is thyroid hormone dependent.