[Some thoughts on the assessment of work capacity during therapy (author's transl)]. The "Gesetz über die Angelichung der Leistungen zur Rehabilitation" (Act on the Harmonisation of Rehabilitation Services) requires that during the implementation of any medical rehabilitation measure the possibilities be examined as to whether vocational rehabilitation services (training, assistance in job finding, assistance at work in the present job, occupational change within the company) can contribute to maintaining, improving or restoring the earning capacity. It is neither expected nor possible to make an accurate assessment of all occupational abilities. The evaluation can be made only for particular functions and skills. Also, it is not necessary that precise concepts concerning goals and type of vocational rehabilitation measures already be developed during the medical phase of rehabilitation. However, it is imperative to know whether the previous occupation can be maintained without jeopardizing the earning capacity, or whether vocational rehabilitation services are needed. In the latter case, the financially responsible agency for the rehabilitation process needs to be informed on work performance limitations, occupational risks and skills existing for a particular job. Furthermore, professionals working in facilities with psychological and vocational therapeutic units can give their opinion on the suit-ability of particular rehabilitation measures. View-points are discussed, which contribute to a clarification of the employment history and performance picture. The patient has to be informed of the effects of his disability and the progress which can be achieved, in order to motivate him to undergo vocational rehabilitation.


[Preliminary study of 3 algae of the Ulvaceae family from the Mãe Luisa beach (RN)]. Samples of marine algae from Brazilian coast were analysed for the proximate composition, calcium, phosphorus, iron and aminoacids. Ulva fasciata, Enteromorpha intestinalis and Enteromorpha flexuosa have been studied, specimens being collected at "Mãe Luisa" beach in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, between the months of September and November 1973. Quantitative determinations of the aminoacid composition of each were made and a comparison of the results pointed to the similarity of composition of all species examined. Limiting aminoacids were methionine, lysine, isoleucine, tryptophan and cystine, except for Enteromorpha intestinalis and Enteromorpha flexuosa, in which triptophan and cystine, respectively, were not limiting.


[Determination of total protein levels in the liver and the heart of normal and ytterbium chloride treated female rabbits]. The authors study the effects of ytterbium chloride on the levels of total liver and heart proteins of rabbits. The results showed that in the rabbits treated by yterbium chloride, the total proteins founded in treated animals was lower than those observed in normal ones.


[Methods of studing intestinal absorption in vivo and in vitro]. The authors describe a simple method for the perfusion of everted and in situ intestine. The technique offers the same advantages of other methods and allows the measurement of the uptake of substances from the intestinal lumen and estimates the absorption by the intestinal wall. The technique affords the biochemical studies of the action and effects of drugs on the mechanism of the intestinal absorption.


[Some considerations on the rehabilitation of the elderly (author's transl)]. This paper presents the conditions, possibilities and success rates in the rehabilitation of the elderly. Comparisons are made between two large groups of elderly people with chronic diseases. It is shown that 34% of the chronically ill, so-called "nursing home cases", could be rehabilitated after an average stay of 510 days in a rehabilitation centre. Old age is no hindrance to perseverance in medical rehabilitation. The methodical approaches in medical rehabilitation of the aged are described. Finally, suggestions are made as to how physicians in hospitals could be convinced of the promising prospects of rehabilitating elderly, chronically ill people.


[Morphology and anatomy of the leaf of Cybistax antisyphilitica (Martius) Martius, Bignoniaceae]. The anatomical study on the leaf of Cybistax antisyphilitica (Martius) Martius was perfomed. It is used in folk medicine. A comparative analysis with other organs of the same species, which is native in Brazilian flora, was made. In the leaf plentiful inclusions of reside oil were found whose chemical composition and pharmacodynamic effects are little know.


[Today's treatment of aphasia--a travel report (author's transl)]. A visit was made to representative centres for the treatment of aphasia in five European countries and information gathered on their organisational structure. Instructional material and rehabilitation techniques were compared and a number of therapeutic methods identified. In this context it was noted that, due to a number of interesting approaches, the therapy of aphasia seems to be extensible and in many ways open to modifications.


[Prognosis and long-term prognosis of epidural haematoma (a study of 83 patients) (author's transl)]. 1. Early detection and treatment of epidural haematoma is vital to the chance of survival. In this respect physician's training needs to be improved. 2. The operation method of choice, particularly in the case of advanced midbrain lesions, is the extensive decompression operation (hemicranectomy) with duraplasty. In each case it is imperative to pay special attention to the relationship between blood pressure and brain perfusion until the state of decompressive is reached. 3. Late complications such as a disturbed circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid may occur and should be prevented by a shunt-operation. 4. ECG changes are still detectable even after many years. However, they give little indication on the patient's tendencies to fits. Post-traumatic cases of epilepsy may even occur more than five years after injury. 5. Patients suffering from epidural haematoma are in need of careful medical, psychiatric and social care for many years after injury, even if they seem to have been restored both neurologically and psychiatrically at the time of hospital discharge.


[Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in blood donors of Natal (RN)]. The authors present the results of survey to detect anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in 183 sera samples from donors in five blood banks in Natal -- Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, through indirect immunofluorescence test. In this survey 151 reactive cases were found, starting with the titer of 1:16, in a rate of 82,5%. Considering as valid dilutions only titers equal or superior to 1:256, the rate found is of 43.7%. The higher titer found was 1:16.000 (1.3%). In the examined cases, the minimal age was 17 and maximal, 58. The age of most donors (91 cases) ranged from 21 to 30 years. Comparative studies were carried out with similar inquiries performed in other regions.


[Typing efficiency of dysmelic children in Bochum (author's transl)]. First of all, the article reports on experiences made with dysmelic children undergoing typing instruction as presented in professional literature. Then follows a discription and comments on the outcome of a study, encouraged by "Aktion Sorgenkind", in which a training programme was tailored to the individual movement potential of eleven dysmelic children, and resulted in their mastering the recommended movement patterns two years after the end of the course. The observed loss of typing efficiency was due to the lack of practice in higher education schools, as a result of which suggestions are made for the introduction of restructured special education procedures.


[State planning in rehabilitation (author's transl)]. In developing a network of facilities for the rehabilitation of the disabled, the State has to provide assistance in the coordination and planning of services. When granting financial support to particular projects, the public authorities should not let themselves be guided by local initiatives alone, but also by more important viewpoints of state development planning. In this connection the regional policy with its tendency to decentralise is playing a decisive part. It is supplemented by the policy of development planning. Such specialised planning is demonstrated in the booklet "Workshops for the disabled in Baden-Württemberg - a situation and requirement analysis" - published in January 1975 by the Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Sozialordnung, Baden-Württemberg. It includes: (1) an inventory of the number, size and types of existing places in workshops in the external and internal fields, (2) a complete address list of the workshops and their financially responsible agencies, (3) a requirement analysis for the years 1974-1980 comprising of statements on financial resources designed to satisfy the additional demand, (4) a concept guided by general principles and goals of town and country planning as well as recommendations for adequate location and for approaches towards an interlinked system of workshops.


[A factoranalytical study of spa patients' attitudes towards their treatment (author's transl)]. With the aid of a standardised questionnaire 558 patients under spa treatment for three weeks, at different spa clinics of the LVA Württemberg, were asked for their attitude towards the treatment. All metric variables were subject to a factor analysis the result of which was three factors orthoganically placed to one another. We called them "factor of overall satisfaction with the stay at the spa clinic," factor of disinterested, and "factor of respectful and satisfactory communication between patients under treatment and the clinical staff."


[The blind as a factor in the labour divisioned world (author's transl)]. The problems faced by blind adolescents when leaving special schools to enter employment differ considerably from those encountered by people who lost their sight during adulthood. The realisation of the fact that their blindness leaves little occupational choice often results in job apathy. It is, however, especially work capacity and occupational activity which serve again and again, in discussions on the full integration of the blind, as proof of the visually impaired's equal position within society. In particular W. Thimm has proved that blindness has a decisive impact on the social position of the individual blind person as well as the whole disability group of the blind, because this is essentially determinated by the employment status. The individual job performance of some blind is generalised too rapidly. The fear that jobs carried out by the blind are jeopardised by the increasing automation is certainly not unfounded, especially in large enterprises. At present, however, it is not possible to make a prognosis on whether in the future job opportunities for the blind will be available or not in certain branches of industry or in specific branches of production (this varies from one firm to another and is dependent upon many other factors). Consequently, it seems to be necessary for institutions involved in the vocational training of the blind to adjust in due course to the new situation in the theoretical and practical implementation of rehabilitation.


[What happens to paraplegics? (AUTHOR'S TRANSL)]. The article presents the results of re-examinations performed on 120 persons with spinal cord injuries due to industrial accidents. Comparisons were made between paraplegis and paraparetics with varyingly long histories of spinal cord damage. Examined was: independence in daily life activities, walking ability, frequence and type of complications, and employment. It was surprising that spinal cord injuries with incomplete lesions were relatively more often associated with complications than paraplegia, the most frequent complication being the urinary tract infection. As was to be expected, all groups of paraparetics were more independent in their daily living activities than the paraplegics. Walking ability diminished with age and also the length of time since injury. Whereas in the sample group D (up to five years after injury) only spinal cord injured persons with incomplete lesions were gainfully employed, in the groups A-C (up to 20 years after injury) the total of 13 paraplegics with complete lesions had a job.


[Changes in the urogenital tract of spinal cord injured patient--uro-check-list applied to representative subjects (author's transl)]. On the basis of a URO-CHECK-list drawn up by the rehabilitation centre Tobelbad near Graz, 120 spinal cord injured persons were re-examined with the purpose of identifying changes in the urogenital tract. The classification and evaluation of the urological complications revealed a surprisingly high percentage of severe changes which had occurred during the first decade after the accident. As a consequence, it must be ensured that spinal cord injured persons receive yearly check-ups in a urologically oriented rehabilitation centre where all modern examination methods, including electronic techniques for the measurement of bladder pressure and urethral resistance, are available.


[Psychotherapy accompanying vocational counselling sessions (author's transl)]. The article reports on psychotherapy accompanying counselling sessions for patients undergoing in-patient psychotherapeutic treatment. With respect to the practical implementation of vocational counselling sessions, the experiences gained within this framework are summarised in three principles: (1) Psychotherapy accompanying vocational counselling sessions are contraindicated if they relate to a partial aspects of problems which so far have not been therapeutically treated. (2) The sessions should take place at the final stage of treatment. (3) The recommendation for a job change should only be given if two conditions are (simultaneously) met: a) the patient can no longer cope with his job and is dissatisfied with it. b) There must be (at least) one alternative job for which the prospects are more favourable. The communicative situation (counsellor, therapist, social worker, employment office, and financially responsible agencies) is discussed as well as the specific behavioural patterns of the patient (acting out, indolence, tremendous demands, wish to have an adjunct therapy, need to safeguard himself.


[Psychological problems of accident impaired children (author's transl)]. 120 children with head trauma, sustained in traffic accidents and 21 children, who witnessed the accident of a friend or relative, were examined with the specific purpose of identifying the effects such accidents may produce on the mental and emotional development of a child. On the basis of some case histories the author demonstrates the most frequent post-traumatic psychogenetic behaviourable disturbances and presents suitable types of assistance.


[Ortheses applied in the rehabilitation of the paralysed (author's transl)]. An important pre-requisite for the rehabilitation of paralysed persons is a substantial restitution of the static stabilisation and functional adjustment to the changed situation. From a large number of technical aids used for this purpose, the article reports on the application and first experiences gained with three new types of ortheses.


[Vocational rehabilitation in chronic renal insufficiency: the phase of compensated retention (author's transl)]. The article reports on the vocational rehabilitation of 141 patients with chronic renal insufficiency in the compensated retention phase (creatine 1,3-7,9 mg%). It points out in how far rehabilitation is dependent on the disease, type of work performed and degree of severity of the renal insuffiency. It also stresses the necessity of an early detection and prompt initiation of vocational rehabilitation.


[Morphology and histochemistry of regenerating corneal epithelium in Triturus cristatus. 1. Preliminary observations]. The corneal epithelium of Triturus cristatus was studied by light and electron microscopy. It consists of three cellular layers; the superficial cells, which show numerous short microvilli, are held together by typical junctional complexes. The basal cells adhere to the basal lamina by hemidesmosomes. Furthermore all cells form with the neighboring ones interdigitations and establish with them desmosomal contacts. Secretion granules and vesicles are present throughout the epithelium, mainly in the upper layer; they are filled with an electron dense material, containing glycoproteins as suggested by the histochemical analysis. Mitoses are very frequent in the basal layer. Occasionally exfoliating cells showing signs of degeneration were observed in the superficial layer. The morphological changes occurring during epithelization of wound linearly incised, were studied by light microscopy at several time intervals and the detachement and migration of the cells was particularly investigated. Very early after wounding (5') necrotic cells and cell debris are present at the wound edges. Soon after, thin protrusions originate from surrounding undamaged cells and push through the cellular fragments sliding on the underlining connective tissue. After 2 h, the wound is completely closed by such flattened protrusions. The newly formed epithelium becomes gradually thicker (3-7 h) and the mitotic activity till now suppressed, is resumed (24 h). Studies are in progress on the modifications of the junctional complexes and on the enzymatic mechanism possibly involved in cell mobilization.


Correlations between histochemical and ultrastructural studies of diseased muscle. The acceptance of a syndrome as a distinct nosological entity depends upon our ability to demonstrate that it consistent genetic, pathological and biochemical abnormalities. During the past two decades the application of enzyme histochemistry and electronmicroscopy to the study of biopsy muscle from patients from a variety of ill-defined neuromuscular disorders has enabled us to classify them with much greater precision. This approach, together with increasingly sophisticated electrophysiological techniques, has lead to a much clearer separation of neurogenic and primarily myopathic disorders with a consequent shrinkage in the category of pure muscular dystrophy. Perhaps the most useful application of morphological techniques alone has been in the field of congenital and metabolic myopathies, the histochemical and ultrastructural abnormalities in some cases providing valuable clues to the pathogenesis or even the aetiology of the underlying disease process. This applies particularly to the various glycogen storage diseases affecting skeletal muscle, disorders in which there appear to be structural and functional abnormalities of muscle mitochondria or in which excessive amounts of lipid are stored in muscle fibres. In this communication the histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of these diseases will be detailed, their possible significance discussed and the relative non-specificity of some of these morphological abnormalities will be noted. A comment will be made on the frequency with which simple Type II fibre atrophy (as demonstrated by the myofibrillar ATPase preparation) may be accompanied by gross and bizarre ultrastructural abnormalities, e.g. in the myopathy accompanying chronic renal failure. Such inconsistencies underline the fact that it is not always possible to demonstrate a close correlation between histochemical and ultrastructural abnormalities in muscle disease. However, it should be emphasized that the combined approach is essential to the rational morphological study of these disorders.


[Changes in the electrokinetic characteristics of hepatic cells in young rats after treatment with isoprenaline]. The changes of the charge group density on the cell membrane and the role of the sialic acid residues were studied in the liver cells of rats treated with high doses of isoprenaline in various organs with effects at genetic, structural and metabolic level. The postnatal growth of the rat liver was followed, when a process of polyploidization occurs: IPR treatment in this period is known to accelerate the phenomenon. IPR was injected twice a day intraperitoneally at the dose of 2 mg/100 g of body weight in one or two week courses. The charge group density was evaluated from the electrophoretic mobility pattern of isolated hepatocytes using the Zeiss cell electrophoresis apparatus. The presence and the importance of sialosubstances in the cell membrane was evaluated by comparing the data from normal cells with neuraminidase treated cells; in this situation, the release of sialic acid by neuraminidase produced significant reductions of the cellular electrophoretic mobility. A general increase of the surface charge density, mostly due to the sialic acid fraction, was demonstrated in association with the IPR treatment; this effect was more evident at later times after the end of the stimulation and in animals treated with two courses of IPR. This study evidenced the role of the membrane sialomucinic component during the whole sequence of events induced by IPR treatment at cytological level and leading, among other things, to a mitotic stimulation. In addition, the persistence of the high charge group density should be taken into account even in connection with cell growth, differentiation and hypertrophy.


[Intra-tissue specialization of skeletal muscle]. The appreciation and utilization of Histochemistry in Biology varied in the course of time, according to the development of new and more reliable techniques and according to the possibility of checking the results on the basis of rigorous biochemical research. It is well known that the need of histochemistry is best understood when the problem is that of individualizing single cells or groups of cells whose physiology (and biochemistry) is different from that of neighbouring other cells of the same nature, and when it is impossible or not desirable to fractonate such kind of cells or their operative substructures. One of the field of animal biology in which biochemistry has been very successfully applied is that of the study of the differentiation of skeletal muscle fibers, which derive from the fusion of many separate myoblastic cells with possible different genetic potentialities. In this connection, it appears sufficiently clear that the differentiation (or modulation) of fibres in fast and slow, red and white is largely dependent on epigenetic influences and particular on that of the type of neuron with which the fiber is connected. We have sufficient experimental evidence of change in type of muscle fibres following change of the neuronal part of the neuromyone (cross reinnervation, etc.). It is also possible that the neurotic influence is translated only as pattern of excitation and in so far it could be imitated by other sort of stimulation; on the other hand, it is also possible, particularly in young animals, that the state of the muscles and the physiological utilization of them in the whole complex animal behaviour (modifiable by experiment) could influence the differentiation of neurons in the fast and slow types. In any case, any established physiological differentiation among muscle fibres, particularly that reflected by different kinds of contractile proteins and of their ATPase activity, corresponds to a simmetrical differentiation, among motoneurons. In the case of pathology, the histochemical study of muscle fibres has become an unavoidable mean of diagnosis. But some criticism should not be neglected when we face the problem of inferring the nature (neurogenic or non neurogenic) of a myopathy only from the distribution of the lesions among the fiber types of a diseased muscle.


[Morphological and functional variations of the muscles of invertebrates]. The problem of muscle evolution among Invertebrates has been considered, mainly in obliquely strated fibers of Annelida and in trasversally striated fibers of Insecta. In both groups the morphological variations run parallel to the functional requirements; similar modulations, in fact, have been observed in fast and slow acting muscle fibers independently from the basic pattern of Insecta and Annelida fibers. Fast acting muscles are characterized by a lesser diameter of myosin filaments and a low thin-to-thick filament ratio. On the contrary, the slow acting muscles show a greater diameter of the myosin filaments and a higher thin-to-thick filament ratio. These observations agree with the hypothesis of a common origin of almost all muscular systems.


[Muscular phenotypes in relation to the specific differentiative influences of motor innervation]. Vertebrate skeletal muscles are classified into fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles according to the intrinsic speed of contraction. These physiological characteristics of the muscles are ontogenetically determined by epigenetic influences arising from the specific motor innervation. The evidence for a neural control on gene expression comes mainly from the demonstration that myosin is present in two different molecular forms in fast and in slow muscles. It is known from previous work in several laboratories that the two myosin isozymes differ with respect to both the primary structure of the heavy chains and the subunit composition of the light chains. Fast muscle myosin is characterized by a three-bands electrophoretic pattern in SDS-gels, whereas the myosin from slow muscle contains only two, distinct types of subunits. Our results show that the tripartite band pattern of the light chains is a common characteristic for the myosin of the fast-white muscles with intermittent-phasic activity (e.g. rabbit adductor) and the fast-red muscles with sustained-phasic activity (e.g. rat masseter and pigeon pectoralis). These results lend support to the view that the neural control on gene expression in skeletal muscles is mediated by specific influences somehow arising from the pattern of activity and which are independent from the total input of nerve impulses.


[Types of fibers in skeletal muscles of mammals: histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics in relation to their contractile properties]. A tentative correlation of histochemical and ultrastructural features with physiological properties in mammalian skeletal muscle fibers is presented. In particular, the characteristic metabolic and structural profile of fast-twitch red fibers is described and evidence is presented for the presence of such fibers in limb muscles and masticatory muscles of the rat. The existence of interspecies and even intraspecies variation in the histochemical correlates of the different fiber categories is emphasized and the significance of intermediate fiber types is discussed.


[Biochemical aspects of hormone-dependent muscles]. Different sensitivity of muscle fibres to hormones might be an important factor in regulating differing properties of individual muscles, in addition to the well known neural effects on muscle fibres. The peculiar sensitivity of rat perineal muscles to androgens is a striking example, whose relevance to function is self explanatory in muscles connected with the sexual apparatus. Besides these qualitative differences, quantitative differences too can be observed when the responses of different muscles to hormones active on glycogen are compared. Data concerning the effects of androgens, insulin and hydrocortisone on perineal and skeletal muscles (soleus, gastrocnemius, extensor digitorum longus, quadricipes, obliquus externus abdominis and diaphragm) support this statement. However, the physiological meanings of these differences remain obscure.


[Contribution of histochemistry to the classification of neuromuscular diseases]. For a long time after the first muscle biopsy performed on man by Bilroth in 1965, histological study of the muscle has been linked to out of date patterns of interpretation most of them without any importance for clinical diagnosis. The use of histochemical techniques in the study of muscle was introduced quite recently and consequently in the last 15 years it has been possible to collect an enormous amount of very important data for the clinical diagnosis of many neuromuscular disorders. The classification of muscle fibers into different types which was possible first of all using the myofibrillar ATPase reaction by Padykula and Hermann permitted pathological interpretation leading to specific correlations between histological and EMG results. Furthermore the use of different histoenzymological methods in the study of mitochondrial enzymes activity and of the enzymes for the glycogen breakdown and synthesis, promoted a more elaborate fibre typing system. Thank to the development of cryostatic microtomy, the above mentioned methods became easy to be performed in the laboratory routine work. The use of the cryostat, which allows a better preservation of muscular tissue, led to a more accurate diagnostic interpretation particularly in relation to morphology. The study of fiber typing revealed many alterations: single fiber type atrophy, type one or type two predominance, type grouping, hypertrophy of a single fiber type and so on, giving to the clinicians the possibility not only of a more elaborate pathogenetic interpretation, but also of a much more precise diagnosis than in the past. Important results have been achieved using the above mentioned histoenzymological methods in the study of the single muscle fibers. Anglo-Saxon Authors provided us with many significant terms, in order to point out alterations of the enzymes distribution within the single muscle fiber: moth eaten, target fiber, rods, central core, subsarcolemmal blebs. Some of these alterations, seen in specific neuromuscular disorders, still represent the only distinguishing feature of these disorders from the nosographic point of view. It is possible to assert without any doubts that in the last 15 years the use of histochemical methods in the study of human muscular tissue has allowed a nosografic classification of neuromuscular disorders very different from that in use before the histochemical age. Thanks to histochemistry the consequent diagnostic and therapeutic advantages have led to very interesting results in such an important field of Neurology.


[Contributions of histochemistry to the development of electromyography: pathological genesis of the subunit and heterogeneity of recruitment of the motor units]. Histochemical homogeneity of the motor unit and depletion of muscle unit glycogen by motoneurone repetitive-stimulation (Kugelberg and Edström) have offered the most suitable way of investigating how the fibres of the individual motor unit are distributed in skeletal muscles of animals. Revised analysis of the potential field of motor units action potentials in human beings (Buchthal and Rosenfalk) confirms that the fibres of a motor unit in normal human muscle lie solitary. Therefore the concept of the motor subunit in normal human muscle has been abandoned, while bundles of fibres belonging to the same motor unit are now known to occur only by reinnervation. Because of these findings, single fibre electromyography, as developed since 1963 by Ekstedt and Stalberg, appears as a main method to investigate the properties of different muscle fibres within the muscle unit. With regard to the heterogeneity of fibres and motor units, one must consider that statistical analysis of motor units and single fibre electrophysiological parameters have never shown any evidence of bi-or pluri-modal distribution in the histograms of duration and amplitude values. Consistent differences however have been found in the patterns of recruitment frequency of at least two types of motor units (Grimby and Kugelberg). It is suggested that these differences may represent the primary fact by which the structural, histochemical and other functional properties may be affected and maintained. The typization of muscle fibres should be conceived as the effect of a plastic process (in accordance with the continuous range of values) rather than a static one (in the absence of bimodal distribution).


Radiculitis distress as a mimic of renal pain. It is the experience of the urological author that radiculitis secondary to costovertebral joint derangement is the most common cause of lower abdominal pain. However, this pain is sometimes made worse when the patient is subjected to a flank incision for presumed renal disease, since the aftermath of a flank incision may be a downward pull on a rib owing to detachments of muscles attached to its superior surface. Emotional problems, too, befall many patients with radiculitis-despondency over delayed diagnoses or sensitivity at having been told their complaints are psychosomatic. Most often theses difficulties disappear spontaneously once the pain is relived. Definitive diagnosis requires orthopedic techniques. Unfortunately, few orthopedists are well versed or interested in the syndrome of renal pain. When they are, erroneous diagnosis can be corrected and a course of conservative or surgical treatment prescribed, with excellent results.


Experiences with 16 cases of pararenal pseudocyst. Pararenal pseudocysts developed after an operation, after blunt and penetrating trauma or after contiguous disease processes in 16 patients. Nephrectomy was necessary in 8 cases. Although the duration of the pseudocyst and the extent of conduit injury did to an extent determine the fate of the kidney, the location of the encapsulated extravasate and its propensity for curtailment of urine formation appeared to be more significant factors. The cases were reviewed in light of the individualization in management required for the complex problems they present.


Correlation between follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid with sperm cell concentration. Plasma follicle stimulating hormone, luteininzing hormone, testosterone, urinary 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid and 17-ketosteroids were measured in patients seen at an infertility clinic. Plasma folicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels, and urinary 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid levels were increased in patients with sperm concentrations less than 10 times 10(6) per ml. Plasma testosterone levels were lower in patients with sperm concentrations less than 10 times 10(6) per ml. The results suggest that in patients with sperm counts less than 10 times 10(6) per ml. there is not only impaired spermatogenesis but also decreased Leydig cell function. Urinary 17-ketosteroid levels were not related to sperm cell concentration.


Long-term results of cutaneous omento-ureterostomy. Six of 11 patients have had 2 to 7 1/2 years followup evaluation after cutaneous omento-ureterostomy. Results were excellent in 3 cases and good in 1, while ureteral stomal stenosis developed in the 2 patients irradiated for bladder cancer. Complete prevention of cutaneous ureterostomy stoma stenosis remains unachieved but the use of a plastic meatal dilator seems useful.


Further observations on self-catheterization. A non-sterile technique of intermittent self-catheterization was used for 218 patients with an inability to void in a normal fashion because of obstructive uropathy, decompensated detrusor or neurogenic bladder. Marked improvement was not in urinary continence, urinary infection, renal function, bladder emptying and, perhaps most important, the mental and emotional status of the patient and/or parents. The extremely low incidence of complications and its therapeutic efficacy clearly make clean, intermittent self-catheterization an outstanding weapon in the urological armamentarium and a most persuasive reminder that host resistance is still the primary factor in the occurrence of infection.


The use of tetrazolium to determine hydronephrotic damage in human kidneys. A study detailing an assay for evaluating hydronephrotic damage is presented. We used nitroblue tetrazolium, which is reduced by intact renal tissue. When marked hydronephrotic damage has occurred little evidence of tetrazolium reducing activity is present. The clinical application has been helpful in determining the extent of damage and the subsequent need for removal of the kidney in question. When the test indicated functioning renal tissue a repair of the obstruction was performed with subsequent improvement in function.


Individual renal plasma flow determination in 2 minutes. A method is described for determining effective renal plasma flow, using the renal counts 1 to 2 minutes after injection and applying background subtraction as a ratio to the total amount of radioactivity injected intravenously with appropriate correction for kidney depth. It appears that this simple approach for determination of effective renal plasma flow within a matter of 2 minutes is accurate and reliable, and should be useful for a number of applications when it is important to determine total and individual renal plasma flow. The approach is recommended as a screening procedure in lieu of the determination of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, with the additional advantages of gross morphology and determination of individual renal plasma flow in an absolute as well as relative manner.


Informed consent: recent changes in the law. Physicians have the legal duty to disclose all risks and consequences of a proposed procedure. This duty must be understood as a reversal of previous legal doctrine. Disclosure is adequate only when a patient has enough information from that disclosure to decide for himself which way he wants to go and what treatment he wants to choose from among the options available to him. Relevance of disclosure, not fullness, is the criterion of sufficiency. The idea that the doctor or the profession knows best what the patient should do has been rejected as a legal standard in the District of Columbia, California, New York, Wisconsin, Kansas and Rhode Island. It is expected that more states will follow this trend. The informed part of the doctrine of informed concent is only the tip of an iceberg of social change.


Operative nephroscopy.

Operative nephroscopy. Renal endoscopy has been made possible, practical and safe by technical advances in instrumentation. Operative nephroscopy has become a uniquely valuable adjunct to stone operations, especially for caliceal calculi, but does not permit the surgeon to dispense with operative x-rays. Further, it has extended out horizons in the management of intrarenal hematuria and of low grade tumors of the renal collecting system. We suggest that the rigid right-angled nephroscope in use today be referred to as the Leadbetter nehroscope in recognition of that pioneer's original conception for its design.


Evidence for a new mammalian organ: a preliminary report. During an investigation on the mechanisms by which mannitol increases renal blood flow, using an in vitro perfused rat kidney preparation, it was observed that an osmotic challenge (320 mOsm.) was followed by the accumulation of chloride and calcium ions in the renal medulla. Although the chloride was derived from the perfusate, the source of calcium appeared to be localized in the renal sinus fatty tissue. A morphologic study of this area reveals the existence of a tissue complex, having the characteristics of a hitherto unrecognized organ or gland communicating with the renal parenchyma via a portal vascular system. The possible physiologic significance of this complex is discussed.


Radiotherapy in the management of stage C carcinoma of the prostate. A small number of patients with limited stage C carcinoma of the prostate have been treated with combined interstitial and external beam radiotherapy with gratifying results. Whereas more patients will have to be followed for at least 10 to 15 years to completely evaluate this modality of treatment, the results continue to encourage us in its use.


Sexual function after a urethroplasty for membranous-prostatic urethral stricture. A review is presented on the anatomy of nerves involved in penile erections, with respect to their exit from the pelvis. More detailed information is required. A road map of these nerves as they approach, traverse and exit from the urogenital diaphragm is needed, which would allow the surgeon to properly design the stricture repair operation. Case reports are presented that suggest that the membranous urethra and urogenital diaphragm can be incised posteriorly in the midline without destroying the penile erection. Since subjective evaluation of penile erection may be misleading a method for objective evaluation is required. Further information regarding the effect on potency of the various types of operations involving the urogenital diaphragm for membranous-prostatic urethral strictures needs to be carefully accumulated.


The surgical repair of membranous urethral strictures in children. Of 18 patients treated for membranous urethral strictures after rupture of the prostatomembranous urethra, 16 have had satisfactory results, 1 has been diverted permanently and the repair in 1 case is not yet complete.


Oral hypoglycaemic agents in the management of diabetes mellitus in Nigerians. Therapy of diabetes mellitus with oral hypoglycaemic agents is reviewed in 445 patients, excluding 18 patients who failed, primarily, to respond to these drugs. The findings are discussed with particular reference to the latent period between the onset of therapy and the observed response. It is probable that the more potent, newer oral hypoglycaemic drugs may help to remove this latent period or reduce its duration.


Histamine H1 and H2 receptor activities in guinea-pig isolated arteries. The actions of histamine, 2-methylhistamine (2 MeH) and 4-methylhistamine (4 MeH) were studied in isolated muscle preparations from pulmonary artery, aorta and terminal ileum of guinea-pigs. Relative to histamine, 2 MeH had a significantly higher activity in the arteries than in the ileum. In the arteries, 4 MeH inhibited 2 MeH--and histamine-induced contractions. Burimamide blocked the inhibitory effect of 4 MeH and potentiated histamine but not 2 MeH induced contractions in arteries. The results show that the arterial muscles studied contain both H1 and H2 receptors subserving contractile and dilator effects respectively.


Neutral sodium pump in the small intestine. A non-electrogenic mechanism for Na absorption has been demonstrated in the in vitro short-circuited rat mid-jejunum. This mechanism exists in addition to the electrogenic Na absorption associated with active non-electrolyte transfer. It was not possible to demonstrate the existence of a similar mechanism in rat terminal ileum and it is suggested that this is related to differences in the metabolism of the ileum as compared with the jejunum. the neutrality of the non-electrogenic pump has been shown to be largely due to the absorption of Na accompanied by Cl. These appears to be a common link between the two types of Na pump since both are inhibited by ouabain although the non-electrogenic pump shows greater sensitivity to ouabain than the electrogenic pump.


The effect of glucose on tyrosine transport by the intestine in vitro. The influence of glucose on intestinal amino acid transport has been reported as inhibitory, stimulating or indifferent by different workers. Because these conflicting reports could be related to solute concentrations as well as the individual amino acid under study, the question was investigated again using varying concentrations of solute. The amino acid tyrosine was chosen for study because most workers on this question have used other neutral amino acids like glycine. Everted sacs of the rat intestine were used. Although it appeared that in low concentration glucose and tyrosine facilitated each other and at higher concentrations this facilitation disappeared. These differences were not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05) when compared to the transport activity observed when these substances were studied alone. It is concluded that glucose and tyrosine do not affect the transport of each other in the rat intestine. These results are discussed and their possible practical value commented on the light of the conflicting observations referred to above which have been obtained with other neutral amino acids.


The action of chloroquine on the histamine receptors of the isolated guinea-pig ileum. The action of chloroquine on the histamine receptors was investigated on the guinea-pig isolated ileum. The log dose response curve to histamine in the presence of chloroquine (0.75 mug/ml) was to the right and parallel to that in the absence of the chloroquine. This concentration of chloroquine did not modify the contractions of the preparation to acetylcholine or to transmural stimulation. It had not effect on the contractions of the isolated vas deferens from the guinea-pig to either transmural stimulation or to hypogastric nerve stimulation. The pA2-pA10 value for chloroquine using histamine as the agonist was 0.87. It was concluded that chloroquine, in low concentration, is a specific antagonist of histamine, by probably a competitive mechanism.


Fenfluramine-associated hypertension.

Fenfluramine-associated hypertension. Fenfluramine is a recently introduced anorexigenic drug for the treatment of obesity. 5 cases of hypertension induced or aggravated by fenfluramine are described. They include 4 females and one male seen and followed in the Hypertension Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Even though there was loss of weight while they were on fenfluramine there was a rise in blood pressure in 4 of them despite concurrent therapy with antihypertensive agents. In one female patient the rise in blood pressure occurred while on self-medication with the drug alone. In all of them the blood pressure fell when fenfluramine was stopped. Although there have been many reports of the effectiveness in the treatment of obesity, reports of its adverse reactions have been few and there has been no mention of hypertension. The drug brochure warns that hypotension may even occur. In view of the present case reports it is advisable that those who are on fenfluramine should have their blood pressure checked regularly particularly if they are also known to be hypertensive.


Pharmacological activity of coumarins isolated from Afraegle paniculata; Part II. Xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol and marmesin, three coumarins isolated from Afraegle paniculata, have been treated for anti-inflammatory activity following oral administration. The investigations have shown that xanthotoxol and marmesin are devoid of such activity and that xanthotoxin has some activity. Xanthotoxin has been compared against aspirin.


Insulin in the management of diabetes mellitus in Nigerians. Insulin therapy was reviewed in 172 Nigerian diabetic patients. Insulin zinc suspension (IZS--lente) was the preparation most commonly used and therapy was free of side effects. Only a small number of the patients (students) had the problem of unrestricted physical activity and possibly irregular eating habits which might adversely influence insulin therapy. Although in the majority of cases, the age of onset of diabetes mellitus was under 21 years, insulin dependence covered a broad age spectrum. It was not possible to predict the severity of the diabetes from the age of onset. There was about equal chance that therapy might be changed from insulin to oral hypoglycaemic drugs or vice-versa.


[Acute and chronic psychiatric diseases in old age, their diagnosis and therapy]. Psychopathological symptoms of the old people are demonstrated from psychiatric aspects. Acute and chronic psychopathological syndroms are described with their clinical symptomatology and therapeutic recommendations are given.


[Problems in gerostomatologic examinations--demonstrated on the example of a cross-sectional examination of members of the VEB combine GISAG, Leipzig]. The authors describe the importance and the set of problems of gerostomatologic investigation by means of a synopsis of literature. Resulting phenomens of adiposity on the system of teeth, mouth and jaws are discussed. The results of a cross-section research of 108 men, mainly overweighting, all relatives of the VEB Kombinat GISAG, underly the statistical part of the lecture. A multitude of findings at the teeth, periodont, tongue, gingiva and the jaws are stated and interpreted adequately the weight and the age of the patients. Some surprising results are discovered particularly with regard to the results depending on the weight. This seems to necessitate a reconsideration in a greater group of patients in a longitudinal section research.


[Significance of age-specific incidence of gastric carcinoma in a defined region for health-political decisions]. Cancer of the stomach is the most frequent cancer localisation in the GDR, because there are nearly 7200 new cases yearly. Only surgical therapy is able to heal and therefore the early diagnosis is the preliminary condition in respect of an "operation in time". The age specific incidence shows the important age groups in this point of view. The improvement of therapy results may be possible by means of modern diagnostic facilities putting in consequently and without delay.


[Relation of various important figurs in the oncology of gastrointestinal carcinomas to age]. The most important localisations of cancer, because they are most frequent, within the gastrointestinal tract are situated at the stomach, colon and rectum. By reason of frequency of these tumours in the upper years of age their distribution in dependence from age the manner of therapy performed within the groups of age are important. These numerals were found out in the Erfurt Region of men fallen ill in 1960-1969. They are explained in relation to age. There is the opinion it shall be possible to improve ascertainment and results of therapy by scooping all means in the upper years of age too.


[Incidence of bulbus enucleation following perforating eye injuries in relation to age]. The detailed consideration of enucleated eyes after traumatic perforations--material of a period of 20 years--shows some of age related facts. The largest part of enucleations comes from the age of 15 to 30, though the prognosis of preservation of the eye is favourable in this group of age. The rate of enucleations of the examinated material ascends with the age in males. Females have in the age of 46-60 years the highest rate of enucleations.


[Lithium therapy in manic depressive diseases in old age]. It is given a report about experiences with a maintenance lithium therapy in case of 57 patients with affective psychosis in the older age and about the peculiarities, that have to be taken a note of near by. In regarding the complications in therapy and course of these disorders and the good prophylactic effect of lithium the necessity of the prophylactic application of this psychopharmacological agent also to geropsychiatric patients is established. There are methods shown, reducing the risk of treatment in an acceptable minimum and the possibility of using lithium to a large group of affective psychosis in the older age, too.


[Regulation of age-dependent phenomena. Influence of C6-substituted purines on cell aggregation and cell migration in primary cultures of lense epithelial cells]. The existence of an age dependent latent period of cell emigration has been proved in the primary culture of epithelial cells of bovine lenses. The previously described aggregation phenomenon as well as the latent period of the cell emigration increase with the age of the sponsor animals. Extracellular adenine and other C6-substituted purines, isolated from the cells themselves and added to the medium, act the same way on the lens cells in the primary culture as the increasing age of the sponsor animals. Adenine stimulates cell aggregation and inhibits the adhesion of the cells to the substratum, the cell flattening and the cell migration. The adenine action has been proved down to a concentration of 3 X 10(-6) M. During the primary culture, the lens cells gradually los the adenine sensitivity. The adenine action also occurs on single cells, isolated by trypsination, it differs from the reaction of ouabain and can be removed at low concentration by washing procedures. The results favour the suggestion C6-substituted purines to be involved in cell ageing.


[Folding of deoxyribonucleic acid in chromatin]. A structural model for the folding of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in chromatin has been evolved on the basis of the X-ray diffraction patterns of deoxyribonucleoproteids (DNP). The DNA is oriented in the direction of DNP fibres and does not exhibit a superhelical structure. In the nu-bodies the DNA is folded 7 times to and fro on the envelope of a cylinder 10 nm in diameter. The height of the DNA-hairpins is 9 nm - 10 nm. The spacing between the refolded DNA segments is 3,6 nm. This supramolecular folding crystalization of the DNA is a general principle of organization and, through different types of morphological growth of the folding crystals, leads to the chromatin, to psi-DNA, to DNA monocrystals, and to DNA packing in some phage heads.


[Effect of increased plasma levels of glucose, adrenaline, and angiotensin upon glucose metabolism of totally ischemic and normally perfused rat brain]. Tracer kinetic studies on the effect of i.v. infused adrenaline and angiotensin, and a hyperglycemia induced by glucose application, upon glucose metabolism of the rat brain under ischemic and normoxic conditions are reported. in the ischemic brain, the initial glycolytic rate proved dependent on the glucose content being kept at various levels by glucose administration or hormone infusion prior to the onset of ischemia. The typical saturation kinetics revealed a maximal glucose conversion only from a definite initial content of brain glucose, being equivalent to a glucose level of approximately 13 mumole/ml in plasma, and appeared to depend on the presence of glucose in the cellular space. The early cessation of anaerobic lactate formation even with high glucose in the cellular space. The early cessation of anaerobic lactate formation even with high glucose depot in the brain tissue is referred to inhibition of glycolytic key enzymes by increasing tissue azidosis. The aerobic glucose conversion, as calculated from the Cglucose flux in amino acids associated with the citrate cycle was unaffected by the cerebral glucose content (hyperglycemia by hormone or glucose application). During glucose infusion the cerebral levels of NH3, total NH2 and glutamine rose; the Cglucose flux into aspartate and glutamine was increased and almost proportionally reduced in glutamate and gamma-aminobutyrate. These flux shifts are interpreted as a switching of C-chains from pyruvate owing to increased CO2 fixation, and as a biochemical correlate of an increased irritation level of the experimental animals.


[Interaction of the components of the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system from liver microsomes. I. Immobilization of the solubilized and partially purified protein components]. The method of matrix fixation has been used to study the interaction between the components of the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases from rat liver microsomes. The solubilized, isolated protein components were covalently bound to BrCN-activated. Sepharose in different ways and subsequently the N-demethylase activity was determined. It has been proved that in each case of fixation a certain amount of activity could be determined. However the degree of activity varied in dependence on the sequence and number of bound components. The activity compared with the reconstituted soluble system decreased in the following sequence: single fixation of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase (40%), of cytochrome P-450 (23%); sequential fixation: first component cytochrome P-450 (33%), first component NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase (8%). Simultaneous fixation of both components yielded a lower activity. From the results it was concluded that the activity is influenced by some kind of self-assembly.


[Interaction of substrate with cytochrome P-450 in microsomal and solubilized form]. In order to characterize the substrate binding sites, difference spectroscopic titrations in microsomal and solubilized cytochrome P-450 from induced and non-induced rat liver microsomes were performed. The binding constants determined show differences depending on the physicochemical nature of the substrate and the degree of integration of the enzyme system. In hydrophilic substrates the differences of the binding to the microsomal or solubilized form are less pronounced than in lipophilic ones. From the comparison of the parameters obtained at various levels of integration it is concluded that the micromilieu of the binding site is of great importance for the binding of the substrate of cytochrome P-450.


[Distribution of endogenous inhibitors of the respiratory chain in plants]. 70 phosphate buffer extracts of various plant tissues of 40 species as well as of 2 bacteria were tested for the presence of endogenous inhibitors of the respiratory chain. Electron transfer particles (ETP) from beef heart mitochondria served as test object. The NADH oxidase (spectrophotometrically) and the succinate oxidase activity (manometrically) were measured. Inhibitory activities could be detected in all the plant species tested, but there were quantitative differences by orders of magnitude. The inhibitory effects were more frequent and higher in the NADH oxidase system than those in the succinate oxidase system. The highest inhibitory activities were observed with blossoms of Forsynthia intermedia, male blossoms of Corylus avellana, inflorescences of Brassica oleracea, fronds of Pteridium aquilinum and gallnuts of Quercus. The specific inhibitory activities (related to the dry mass of the extracts) suggest very efficient inhibitors having concentrations of half-inhibition in the muM-range. With 6 extracts the inhibitory activity on the NADH oxidase system was completely destroyed by boiling (Brassica oleracea, Amoracia rusticana, leaves of Digitalis purpurea, roots of Allium cepa, fruit pips of Malus domestica and mushrooms of Lactarius vellereus). The results with some plant species (Bryophyllum daigremonteanum, Allium cepa, male blossoms of Corylus avellana, Pteridium aquilinum) suggest a biological dynamics of the inhibitory activity. The inhibitor from Bryophyllum was partially characterized with regard to its mode of action. The following supposed biological functions of endogenous respiratory inhibitors of plants are discussed: 1. Involvement in the degradation of mitochondria in the course of differentiation, maturation and involution processes as well as in biologically controlled senescence processes; 2. A switch-over to the alternative mitochondrial respiratory pathway; 3. Induction and maintenance of a resting metabolism, e.g. in dormancy, by action as growth inhibitors; 4. Action as phytoncides (phytoallexines) for the defense against parasites.


[Influence of orotic acid upon post-excitatory facilitation released by stimulation of the tooth pulp]. The influence of orotic acid on post-excitatory facilitation of evoked potentials released by electric stimulation of the tooth pulp in the sensomotor cortex was studied. 15-360 min following application of 100 mg/kg orotic acid, increase in amplitude of potentials released by stimulation of the tooth pulp, reinforcement of the post-excitatory facilitation observable 5 msec after stimulation occurred.


Changes in labeling of soluble and insoluble rat brain proteins using [3H]-tyrosine as precursor during a learning experiment. The incorporation of intraventricularly injected L-[3H]-tyrosine into proteins from three rat brain regions was studied during the acquisition of a shock-motivated brightness discrimination. Separating the proteins by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed an increased labeling confined to only a few of the resolved slow-moving bands of soluble and, especially insoluble hippocampus proteins. The labeling of visual cortex proteins showed only minute changes, while the auditory cortex proteins exhibited no differences between trained and nontrained animals.


A kinetic study of complexes of tryptophan and lysozyme with tetracyanoethylene. The rates of complex formation of free tryptophan and hen egg-white lysozyme with tetracyanoethylene have been investigated at different molar ratios. The reaction rates were studied by the "stopped-flow" method. The complex forming reactions follow a first order kinetics. A linear relationship of kobs. with donor concentration was found. This shows that the complex with a composition of 1:1 is predominant independently of the molar ratio between donor and acceptor. The rate of complex formation of free tryptophan and tetracyanoethylene was compared with the rate of complex formation between tetracyanoethylene and tryptophanyl residues in the lysozyme molecule. The kinetic data showed that the process of complex formation with tryptophanyl residues is slow.


[Chemical properties of plasma fibrinogens and fibrins from normal and cobalt-treated rabbits]. The sulfitolysis products of fibrinogens from normal and cobalt-treated rabbits (5 mg Co2+/kg b.w.) were resolved by ion exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose columns. The elution patterns of both fibrinogens showed a distinct heterogeneity of gamma-chains. Furthermore, a gamma-chain derivative from cobalt fibrinogen could be distinguished electrophoretically from the corresponding one of normal fibrinogen because of its reduced electrophoretic mobility. Normal and cobalt fibrinogen did not differ from each other in their N-terminal (Val2 Ala2 Tyr2) and C-terminal (Pro1-2 Val4-5) amino acid compositions related to a subunit structure of A alpha 2 B beta 2 gamma 2, and their carbohydrate contents - neutral hexoses 1,21% (1,26%), N-acetyl hexosamines 1,16% (1,05%), N-acetyl neuraminic acid 1,19% (1, 13%), values for cobalt fibrinogen in parentheses. The main amounts of carbohydrates are bound to gamma- and B beta-chains, The BrCn cleavage products from cobalt fibrinogen and its gamma- and B beta-chains showed other electrophoretic properties than the corresponding derivatives from normal fibrinogen. But BrCN split products of A alpha-chains of both fibrinogens were electrophoretically very similar. Spectrographic investigations of the S-sulfoderivates demonstrated a diminution of the absorption maximum near 282mn of gamma and B beta derivatives of cobalt fibrinogen. A alpha-chains of both fibrinogens were not different from each other. Using autoradiography the highest 58Co binding could be found in the gamma-chain with a reduced electrophoretic migration velocity, whereas B beta-and gamma-chains with unchanged electrophoretic mobility bound only small amounts. A alpha-chains of cobalt fibrinogens were apparently not loaded with 58Co. gamma-chain and alpha-chain cross-links could be observed in normal fibrins stabilized by factor XII, however, in cobalt fibrins a gamma-dimer formation was demonstrable without participation of gamma-chains with reduced electrophoretic mobility. A distinct alpha-chain cross-link could not be demonstrated either. From these and other investigations on molecular weights of both fibrinogens it was assumed that earlier observed changes of physicochemical properties and biological behaviour of cobalt fibrinogen might result from a complex binding of cobalt ions on specific structures of the fibrinogen molecule.


[Concentration and subcellular distribution of iron and copper in the pig liver. II. Studies on the livers of porkers and swine for slaughter with regard to the addition of copper sulfate to the diet]. In the livers of weaners, an average concentration of storage iron of 69.1 +/- 47.6 mug, and in those of pigs for slaughter, 326 +/- 54 mug/g tissue was measured. Addition of 250 ppm of copper as CuSO4-5H2O to the animals' food led to a significantly lower concentration of 248 +/- 63-5 mg Fe/g liver in pigs for slaughter. Of the storage iron, 66-1% for weaners, 79.2% for pigs for slaughter, and 76% for animals given Cu-supplemented food were localized in the microsomal fraction and in the cytosol. The copper concentration in the liver was 5.2 +/- 0.6 mug/g in weaners, 8.1 +/- 2.4 mug/g in pigs for slaughter and 120 +/- 83 mug/g in animals kept on a Cu-supplemented diet, Of these, 72.6% (pigs for slaughter) and 71.9% (weaners) came to the microsomal fraction and the cytosol, whereas addition of 250 ppm copper to the food ration enhanced the proportion in the nuclear fraction from 7.7 to 29.5%, and in the mitochondrial fraction, from 19.8 to 45.1%. The percent distribution of the copper on the subcellular fractions depends on the copper concentration in the liver: in the range of 5-12 mug/g tissue, increased copper concentration in the liver caused preferential localization of the copper in the cytosol, whereas between 25 and 330 mug/g tissue the copper was stored subcellularly in the following order: mitochondrial, nuclear, cytoplasmatic and microsomal fractions.


[Separation of reb blood cells in the isopyknic dextran and albumin density gradient]. The separation of red blood cells according to their maturity and age was compared in the isopyknic dextran and albumin density gradients, and the quality of separation was appraised by selected criteria (density distribution curves, accumulation of reticulocytes, activity of G-6-PD). The achieved quality of separation, as measured by the quotient of G-6-PD activity in the cells of lower density/G-6-PD activity in cells of higher density is of equal value in the two media. In the dextran gradient, separation of old cells seems to be accomplished more readily, while albumin affords better separation of young erythrocytes. The reticulocytes are in both media 4-5 mg/ml lighter than the total cell population. When shifting pH from 7.4 to 6.8 both in erythrocytes and reticulocytes the density decreases by 3-6 mg/ml irrespective of the type and pretreatment of the separation medium.


Enhanced lipolysis during interaction of serum and adipose tissue: its mechanism and effect of starvation. Addition of serum to incubated adipose tissue resulted in excess of free fatty acids and/or glycerol released. It was propranolol-resistant and in many but not all experiments greater after using serum of fasting (FS) rats than that of fed rats (CS). The increment of free fatty acids and/or glycerol released due to the presence of FS was not potentiated by theophylline; however the effect of both CS and FS was potentiated by heparin. The postheparin serum lacked the property of CS or FS. By the interaction with serum, adipose tissue could be substituted by lipoprotein lipase isolated either from this tissue or from bovine milk. It is suggested that the difference between CS and FS might be caused by a qualitative alteration of the lipoprotein pattern resulting in easier availability of serum lipids to the extraadipose tissues during starvation.


[Determination of kynureninase activity in oligophrenic children with hereditary taint, before and after vitamin B6 treatment]. Kynureninase activity assay in oligophrenic children with hereditary taint, before and after treatment with vitamin B6. The hepatic kynureninase activity was assayed in 25 oligophrenic children with hereditary taint, and having a positive tryptophan load test. Eight cases (32%) showed an enzyme activity below the 2-s limit; in two cases, the pathologic enzyme activity could be almost normalized by addition of higher P-5-P concentrations. In a second set of studies, eight children with an abnormally low kynureninase activity were re-examined following a 3-week treatment with vitamin B6. The enormous in-vivo-activation of kynureninase reached in these studies lends support to the assumption of a vitamin-B6-dependent "inborn error of metabolism" in the tryptophan-kynurenin pathway in some of the investigated oligophrenic children with hereditary taint.


[Postsynaptic attack of tricyclic antidepressive agents in the circulatory system]. Tricyclic antidepressives (TA) exert differential effects on the circulatory system, though all of them have one principle in common: inhibition of back resorption of noradrenaline in the adrenergic synapses. Of more importance, however, seems to be the dose rather than the type of substance used. Smaller doses were found to potentiate the pressoric effects of noradrenaline, while higher doses frequently had an inhibitory action. In rats pretreated with 6-OH-dopamine, only an inhibitory action has been established. It is concluded that the TA must have a postsynaptic influence that becomes effective either through the membrane receptors and/or other factors within the cell.


Optimum and tolerated intake of fluorine. Optimum and tolerated intake of fluorine has been studied on the basis of body weight, caloric and fluid requirement of subjects belonging to different age groups. The main F-source is consuming drinking water, and this normally contains 1 mg F/l. Thus, that amount of F should be considered optimal which is ingested with drinking water containing 1 mg F/l. The optimum per kg of body weight is 0.045 mg in infants. It decreases with age, in adults it amounts to half the optimum for infants on a mg/l basis. The tolerated and the chronic tolerated toxic amounts have been estimated for the different age groups.


Clinical and immunological findings in hepatitis B antigen-positive and hepatitis B antigen-negative chronic active hepatitis. The clinical, biochemical and immunological data of 24 hepatitis B antigen-positive and 24 hepatitis B antigen-negative patients have been compared. In B antigen-positive hepatitis, being mostly the disease of males, an acute onset was frequent and perceivable cirrhosis at the time of diagnosis not frequent. In B antigen-negative chronic active hepatitis, in addition to the predominance of females, a "primary chronic" process, cirrhosis, elevated ESR, immunocytopenia, elevated alkaline phosphatase and IgG levels were more frequent. As regards the positivity of humoral and cellular autoimmune reactions and the impairment of normal cellular immune activity, no essential differences were found between the two forms of the disease. It is concluded that though the two clinical conditions represent diseases different in aetiology and manifesting with certain clinical and biochemical differences the role of immunological factors may equally be important in their pathogenesis.


Effect of methandrostenolone on serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels in diabetic patients. Eighteen adult diabetic patients were treated with methandrostenolone in daily doses of 15 mg for 3 weeks. Serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels and lipoprotein lipase activity were determined before and after treatment. In patients with intense hypertriglyceridaemia, triglyceride concentration decreased and, with the exception of a single patient, lipoprotein lipase activity returned to normal. Cholesterol concentration did not change characteristically.


Serum beta1A/C-globulin level in early myocardial infarction. Serial titration of the third component of complement (beta1A/C-globulin) was performed in 170 serum samples of 39 patients in the early period of acute myocardial infarction. During the first 24 hours there was a rise in mean concentration values. During the next 24 hours they remained unchanged, in severe cases the mean values even decreased. Subsequently the levels continued to increase. In 27 cases a sharp fall of the level exceeding the limit of normal changes was observed. It is suggested that during the early period of acute myocardial infarction the serum concentration of beta1A/C-globulin is under the influence of two opposite processes, one inducing a decrease, the other an increase of the level.


Renal function in rats after unilateral ligation of renal artery. As we reported earlier unilateral renal artery ligation is followed by a permanent hypertension that is accompanied by marked changes in renal function and in water components. In order to see when these characteristic changes take place we started our observations immediately after renal artery occlusion and finished them at the 3rd week. Rats were put into metabolic cages and several 24-hr urine samples were collected to serve as control values. Then the left renal artery was ligated and in the following 3 weeks observations were continued using also a parallel control group. The experiments ended with the determination of mean arterial pressure. We found that already within 24 hrs following unilateral renal artery ligation there are marked alterations in renal functional parameters that become even more significant with the passing of time. These changes are probably due to a promptly developing hyperfunction and hypertrophy of the contralateral kidney.


Haemodynamic changes associated with CCl4-induced acute liver injury. Minor doses of CCl4 have been found to produce acute haemodynamic changes which promote elimination of the poison from the body. Major doses absorbed into the blood are followed by a transitory fall of perfusion pressure resulting in a deficient oxygenation of the tissues. The released mechanisms of adjustment result in general haemodynamic changes directed at the maintenance of blood flow in the vital organs, primarily in the brain. Accumulation of CCl4 is associated with prolonged haemodynamic alterations: the cardiac output and tissue flow decreases while peripheral resistance increases. The reduction in blood flow was most marked in the liver. The transitory and prolonged haemodynamic changes result in an impairment of hepatocellular nutrition and oxygenation, thus precipitating the injury caused by the CCl4 accumulated in the liver cells.


Treatment of diabetes insipidus with 1-deamino-8-d-arginine vasopressin. The effect on water metabolism of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin and lysine vasopressin have been studied and compared in 20 vasopressin-sensitive and 2 ADH-resistant diabetes insipidus patients. In every case of ADH-sensitive diabetes insipidus, diuresis decreased and the urinary osmolality increased more markedly and for a longer time with the former than with the latter drug. Both drugs were ineffective in patients with ADH-resistant diabetes insipidus. Administration of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin did not cause any side effect. It is concluded that 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin can successfully be employed in the treatment of ADH-sensitive diabetes insipidus.


[Traumatic anosmia].

[Traumatic anosmia]. Traumatic anosmy can be found after any traumatism of the skull, whatever its impact and intensity. A long loss of consciousness or a heavy post-commotionnal syndrom can increase a traumatic anosmy. The best way to really assess a traumatic loss of smell is to use of olfacto-breathing reflex and possibility for confirmation, the olfactive electroencephalography. The suppression of a traumatic anosmy can happen, but the published statistics on this matter seem a little too optimistic. With regard to stimulators, the rate is far too high than it is usually accepted.


Compulsion hysteria.

Compulsion hysteria. Compulsion is the most important symptom not only of compulsion diseases but acts as a dynamic element in relatively exceptional form of hysteria, called in this article "compulsion hysteria". Out of three patients observed by the author, one is extensively described. The fundamental structure of these patients is not that of the compulsive personality or of any other form of personality put forward by Rümke in his masterly survey of compulsive syndromes, the classic study called "Clinic and psychopathology of compulsion phenomenons". The basic personality disorder of compulsion hysteria is the hysterical personality. In the frame of this syndrome compulsion as an expedient to tyrannize other people in their surroundings. Analytically viewed, the libidinal fixation seems to be rooted between the anal phase and the oedipal phase.


[Use of computers in clinical psychiatry. Statistical study of a population of treated alcoholics]. According to their own standardized Patient Data Inventory, the authors proceed to a statistical comparative evaluation of 55 males neurotic or psychosomatic hospitalized alcholics and of two control groups of non-alcoholic neurotic or psychosomatic male patients: 252 ambulatory and 72 hospitalized. The authors find significant differences between alcoholics and non-alcoholics, especially: 1 no.) heavier family history (psychoses, dysgenetic disorders), greater incidence of psychosomatic disorders in the previous history, more distrubed parental relations in childhood (maternal overprotection and lack of paternal authority); 2 no.) from the patient viewpoint: a louder expression of somatic and functionnal complaints; 3 no.) from the therapist viewpoint, less emotionality, weaker expression of aggressiveness (either overt or latent).


[Agnosic attacks with speech disorders and asymmetric EEG anomalies]. The semantic and semiological limits of aphasia and agnosia are imprecise: in the present paper, aphasia is defined as a disorder of the verbal abstract representation of the world of signified, while agnosia is defined as a semantic disorder of sensorial analysis. Three electro-clinical observations of aphasic-agnosic paroxisms with intricated speech disorders and disorders of sensorial identification are reported here. These paroxisms are associated with bilateral and asymetric EEG discharges. The reported observations raise the problem of the function of speech as regards somatic representation or the concept of body image.


[Biological disorders of alcoholic origin]. Chronic alcoholism tends to alter the serum levels of numerous blood components. In comparing the serum levels of these elements in a noncirrhotic chronic alcoholic patient after withdrawal, the authors determined a characteristic biological table. The serum factors demonstrating a significant difference after the withdrawal of alcohol were as follows: total cholesterol, triglycerides, total lipids, total bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT, alkaline phosphatase, serum iron, uric acid, hematocrit and the number of red blood cells. It is noteworthy that these tests are those of routine and can be performed in any modestly equipped laboratory.


First derivative of the apex cardiogram and systolic time intervals in evaluation of myocardial contractility in man. The sensitivity of various systolic ... myocardial contractility.


The effect of beta-bromopyruvic acid on fructose-1, 6-diphosphate aldolase from rabbit muscle. Rabbit muscle aldolase (RMA) is 96 per cent inhibited in the presence of beta-bromopyruvic acid (BPA) in a molar ratio of 1/250, during 60 minutes incubation. The chemical reaction of higher significance in this phenomenon is the alkylation of -SHgroups of both apparent and buried types, with formation of S-pyruvil-cystein. The previous treatment of the enzyme with FDP protects aldolase, decreasing the rate of inhinition by BPA to about 56 per cent. FDP protection of the enzyme protects nearly 5-SH groups against the alkylating effect of BPA. Cyanogen bromide hydrolysis of the carboxymethylated protein results in the classical formation of 4 fragments, peptides F1, the NH-2terminal; F2, the COOH-terminal; F3, the active site containing peptide; and F4, a small peptide located between F2 F3. The protection bestowed upon the enzyme by FDP, against the alkylating effect of BPA, is located in the F1, F2, and F3 either in BPA treated aldolases or in the BPA treated FDP-aldolase. Part of the inhibiting effect of BPA is then attributed to the possible interaction between this compound and the basic aminoacids in the aldolase molecule.


Esterification of cholesterol by the hepatopancreas of the mollusc Biomphalaria glabrata. Homogenates of the hepatopancreas of the mollusc Biomphalaria glabrata, previously called Australorbis glabratus Say, 1818 (Pressoa, 1969), were incubated with cholesterol-4-C14 (dispersed on celite) at 37 degrees C for 24 hr. The lipids were extracted, separated into classes by thin-layer chromatography and the radioactivity associated with the different classes determined. Net esterfication of cholesterol was then obtained by calculating the percent of the total cholesterol radioactivity incorporated into the esterified cholesterol. The esterified cholesterol was also fractionated by thin layer chromatography, and the relative distribution of radioactivity associated with the different cholesterol ester groups was determined. The results showed the presence of cholesterol esterifying activity in the hepatopancreas with a percent esterification of 20.6%. It was found that the accumulation of radioactivity was higher in the polyunsaturated esters and lower in the monounsaturated esters.


[Screening of substances and extracts of plant origin in Walker carcinosarcoma 256]. The authors realized a series of tests with extracts or plants or substances of plant origin in the experimental tumor Walker 256 to determine whether the extracts show anticancer activity. The samples tested were obtained in the authors laboratory or came from other centers. Thirty extracts, 26 of which were inactive and 4 active, were tested. The results shown in the tables are primary screens.


Electrofocusing of heparin: Presence of 21 monomeric and dimeric molecular species in heparin preparations. Electrofocusing of heparins and subsequent polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has shown that two types of heparins are present in different tissues. One of the types (from beef lung tissues) gives only a single band in agarose gel electrophoresis and 21 molecular species after electrofocusing and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The other type of heparin (from pork intestinal mucosa) gives two bands in agarose gel electrophoresis and 42 molecular species after electrofocusing and polyacrylamide. Ascorbic acid treatment of the pork intestinal mucosa heparin reduced the number of molecular species to 21. A suggestion is made that some heparins exist as monomeric or dimeric molecular species forming single or double helixes.


Population genetic studies in bees (APIDAE, Hymenoptera). I. Genetic load. Three populations of Apis mellifera each predominantly of a different subspecies (mellifera, ligustica and adansonii) and 7 species of stingless bees (Meliponinae, Apidae) were manipulated for applying the MORTON, CROW & MULLER's methodology in order to estimate the lethal equivalents (B) of each population. A total of 249 queens were used, 27 being meliponids and 222 Apis mellifera. The populations of Apis have a B that does not differ significantly when they are compared to each other (1.29, 1.36, 1.32) and the balanced average equals 1.33. When the x-alleles are not considered, this balanced value is 0.262. The figures for B in the seven species of stingless bees ranged between 0.104 and 0.159 with balanced average of 0.132. The main reason for this smaller load in meliponids may rest in their effective population numbers, which are smaller than those of Apis. The average mortality for diploid females (0.141) and for haploid males (0.163) allows the estimation of the total elimination (sigma E = 0.073). Since for haplo-diploid systems the total mutation rate is sigma mu = 2 sigma E divided by 3 the figure 0.048 is obtained. Since about 15% of the genes in Apis mellifera are sex limited, this value of sigma mu should be added of 0.0072 (that is 0.15 X 0.048) and then, the total mutation rate becomes 0.055. Using a quite different method, the one by MORTON, CROW & MULLER, the figure 0.076 was obtained. If a mutation rate of 10(-5) is assumed, the number of genes in Apis mellifera that can make a contribution to the genetic load would vary between 5,500 and 7,600.


[Identification in drug addiction].

[Identification in drug addiction]. There is a need to define the field of drug addiction from both the theoretical and the practical point of view, but any attempt to do so encounters difficulties that are inherent in the many types of approach as well as in the polymorphism of drug addiction. The difficulties are also due to the present day consumption of pills which is very high both among members of our "square" society and in the marginal fringes, and occurs in and outside the field of drug addiction proper -- the guide being here the progressive increase of doses. The modes of use are not sufficient to determine the presence of drug addiction: the drug substance must have a psychism-oriented tropism; the increase in the dose of a non-psychotropic product is therefore a matter of hypochondria and not of drug addiction. The means of administering a drug also occupies a privileged place, in so far as the intravenous method suffices alone to label non-medical use as drug addiction. It is the hallucinogens that, despite the absence of physical dependence, most frequently pose the question of the definition of drug addiction, in view of the ritual dimension and the transgressive significance of the absorption of these products, even at relatively moderate doses, and hallucinogens pose this question all the more since their use emerges from a sub-cultural environment that produces typical drug addiction, namely intravenous heroin addiction. The latter does not raise the question of definition, but is used as the basis for a drug addiction referential system.


[Survey of voluntary tattooing (analytic study of 43 Navy recruits]. We report a new inquiry on 43 tattooed naval recrutees. Mean age: 19. Mean age at the time of the first tattooing: 16 1/2. Social and familial history shows frequent conflictual, divorced, separated parents; the father is often ill, old or missing. Most family have many children. Low socio-cultural and economical level is common. Forensic and pyschological history is already heavily rich. However tattooing and delinquency cannot be assimilated. As found in many other studies, most of the tattooed did not undergone this type of inquiry. Only particular tattooed are probably investigated, and comparative samples of non-tattooed are lacking most of the time. Tattooing indicate more social and psychological misery of the milieu during childhood of this adolescents than their own pathological problems. It is more sociopathy than psychopathy. The analysis of the tattooed drawings is provided. They are stereotyped and commonplace, and very similar to graffiti. Circumstances at the times of tattooing are described as their present attitude to their tattooing, specially the wish to remove their tattooed figures. Recent literature is reviewed.


[Alcoholism and depression (Note apropos of a survey using Beck's inventary]. The authors summarize recent works that correlate depression and alcoholism. They give the result of an inquiry: 38 patients (7 women and 31 men) admitted for alcoholism were given the Beck inventory for measuring depressio;. Most of the men (18) were not voluntary for entering hospital; they were not depressed clinically and in the results of the Beck inventory (mean score=12,1). 13 men were voluntary for treating their alcoholism, most of them were clearly depressed (mean score=23.3). There is a good concordance between clinical data and Beck scores. This reminds us that depression may masquerade as alcoholism.


[Process of perversion. Methodological and clinical study]. Studies in classical psychiatry and psychoanalysis have reduced perversions to pathological phenomena, by lessening the moral criterion progressively. The applying of a comprehensive method of study of acquired perversions incites to consider various levels of observation. Henceforth properties common to each of these levels appears permitting thus to isolate a general process of perversion. This process, which keeps undeniable links with mental pathology, must however be differentiated, for it is not necessarily to be assimilated or reduced to the latter. Besides, it entails notable consequences on the social and cultural level.


[I. Induced abortions and spontaneous abortions. Psychopathological aspects apropos of a preliminary sample of 411 requests for pregnancy interruption]. Since 1975 (17th January), abortion is free and legal in France. The authors analyse 411 first cases of women requiring for an abortion (seen over a period of 11 weeks). Most of them are young women, single, many begin their sexual life. Unwanted pregnancy indicates absence of contraception by ignorance, refusal or ambivalence (never used = 184 cases). 105 women used archaic and inefficient contraceptive means. Modern contraceptive means was used by 154 women but ill applied, ill tolerated and/or discarded (pill = 103 cases, I.U.D. = 14, diaphragme = 2, condoms = 35). Unwanted pregnancy and abortion signify failure of contraception. We compare psychologic and psychopathologic features of women requiring repeated induced abortion with those of women suffering of repeated spontaneous abortion and infertility. These women have frequently (same) problems of feminine identity, bad maternal imago, absence of father, unhappy, and conflictive childhood, immature sexuality and personnality. Contradiction between conscious and unconscious wishes create the two opposite situations and intrapsychic conflicts (spontaneous abortion = conscious willing of pregnancy + unconscious rejection of unbearable pregnancy; induced abortion = strong but unconscious wish of pregancy + conscious and volontary rejection of maternity). Psychotherapy should improve sexual and affective life and in both cases. The authors compare infanticide and abortion behaviors, contraceptive means, and psychological problems of doctors who are asked abortion.


[Quantitative determination of chewing and rumination activities in dairy cows]. A device is described (RMBZ) which allows to register the movements of the lower jaws of cattle during food consumption and rumination. A microfeeler is connected to the device which is fastened to the halter. With the use of this device following data can be obtained separately: the total number of chewing movements; the number of bits of food swallowed and the length of chewing period in this way it has become possible to avoid the laborious and time-consuming work that is necessary to analyze strip charts. Trials were performed with varying patterns of food ration showing that this device is particularly suited for studies of this kind especially when compared with other devices using strip charts. Average deviations, e.g. in the number of rumination activities, from those registered with the recorder device were +/- 5%. The measuring technique and the operating principle of the RMBZ device are described in some detail.


[Physiological model of water and chlorine shifts in the lamb stomach following intake of sheep milk or milk substitutes]. It has been found that the average concentration of hydrogen ions in the milk chyme formed in the abomasum of suckling lambs within a period of 1-3 hours after feeding is above a pH of 3.0, similar to that of calves (JANCARIK, 1961). Hence, the digestion of milk proteins in lambs must be expected to proceed mostly at a pH higher than that of pepsin digestion, that is to say, in most cases it will range between 3.0 and 5.0. pH titration curves were made of fresh untreated ewe's milk obtained from ewes of different breeds (Merino, Finnsheep, Romanowsheep) to calculate the amounts of water and chlorine which have to be secreted with the gastric acid to attain the pH level that is required for the digestion of proteins contained in 100 ml of ewe's milk. Similarly, calculations were made with regression equations (table 2) showing that the gastric secretion of water and chlorine as expressed by the percentage proportion of H2O and Cl in the blood was considerably higher in the young and especially the very young animals (figure 1). The susceptibility of young lambs is due to this fact. Moreover, attention is drawn to the interrelationship between the gastric digestion of proteins and general possibility of dehydration and loss of chlorine in cases of disturbed gastric secretion (e.g. gastric achlorhydria, absence of gastric enzymes, gastrogenic dysentery). The buffer capacity of fresh ewe's milk cannot be directly estimated from the concentration of hydrogen ions in it. It has been established that in some sheep the pH of milk may, under physiological conditions, exceed the value of 7.0; a condition that has an adverse effect on the nutrition of weak lambs. Figure 2 shows the differences between different breeds concerning gastric Cl secretion. The situation is similar with regard to H2O.


[Studies on the additive character of amino-acid absorption data obtained from pigs. 2. Studies using regression technic]. The first communication in this series (MEIER et al. 1973) reported the results of studies on the additive character of amino acid absorption data from pigs which were based on the use of the classics technique. In order to verify these results the studies were repeated, partly with the same components using regression techniques. The present studies on the additive character of amino acid absorption data showed that the additive character of these data can also be established in pigs. Moreover, the results of these investigations indicated that studies on the additive character of amino acid absorption values may be carried out by using the classical method. In performing studies of this kind attention should be paid to the fact that the rations tested should be such as to meet or nearly meet the maintenance needs of the animals.


[Influence of endogenous factors on the ash, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper and manganese contents in the bristles of pigs. 3. Influence of time of cutting on the mineral composition of the hair (boar bristles)]. The ash content and the content of Ca, Mg, K, and Na in the bristles of pigs is influenced by the age of the animal and by the season of the year. The peak concentrations of ash, Ca and Mg in the bristles of eight boars (cut every month) were found in June, shortly before the change in hair coat. (P less than 0.05-0.001). The concentrations of K and Na in the bristles deviated functionally from the change in the hair coat. In the first half of the year the bristles of the boars contained significantly more K and Na than in the second half. Values for the elements P, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn were subject to great variations through the year. These variations were found to be different with different animals. The influence of endogenic factors on the Mn content of the bristles was particularly striking, also in regard of the order of magnitude. The processes of Mn metabolism in the bristles are obviously still archaic in origin and would thus only allow to make comparison with other values of the mineral content of bristles at the very time of sampling. Differences in the P, Zn, Fe and Cu content of bristles in the different months were, in some instances, statistically significant although variations in the annual mean values were found to be relatively small.


[Studies on the quantification of air in the process of silage making]. On the basis of model concepts on physical gas exchange a technique was developed for studying the complex interrelationships existing between the characteristics indicating the suitability of a particular material for ensilage and the specific local conditions for silage making at the farm and in a silo. (degree of anaerobic conditions). Conclusions were drawn as to quantitative relations existing between the thickness of the marginal layers of a silage stack that are subject to losses and the compaction of the silage material and the sealing of the silage top during the periods of filling and storage. On the basis of these considerations limits are given for minimum filling of a silo per day of ensilage as depending on the compactness of the consolidated fresh or wilted silage material. Data are given for silage losses at the edged of the silage stack.


[Determination of metabolic availability of zinc and estimation of zinc requirements through changes in the activity of metallo-zinc enzymes]. Data on the zinc requirements of animals vary widely with the type of diet or kind of zinc compound considered, as they are dependent on the kind of definition and estimation of mineral requirements used which, in turn, are based on the analytical content of the mineral in the diet. Actually, requirements for a particular trace element are the same for any diet provided differences in the rate of absorption and metabolic availability of the element are taken into consideration. A suggestion is made in the present paper to utilize changes in the activity of different metallo-zinc enzymes as a method for determining the degree of metabolic availability of zinc. Within the framework of a repletion trial young male rats were fed a semisynthetic casein diet containing 1.2 ppm of zinc for a 14-day period of zinc depletion followed by a 15-day repletion period during which the rats received a diet containing 4.5 ppm or 12 ppm of zinc. In this trial the pattern of activity of the alkaline phosphatase in serum and in the femoral bones was studied and the level of pancreatic carboxypeptidase A and B was estimated. The data thus obtained were compared with those of pair-fed control animals and control animals fed a libitum. (96 ppm of dietary zinc). The results of the present trial show the metabolic availability of zinc can be determined by measuring the level of activity of these metallo-zinc enzymes. A suitable model was established. Moreover, attempts have been made to show in which way the zinc demands of growing, full-grown, pregnant and lactating animals may be estimated by measuring changes in the degree of activity of these metallo-zinc enzymes. A definition is, in this case, given by that amount of zinc which allows for an optimum activity of the different metallo-zinc enzymes. Such data are applicable only to a particular diet or are valid only for a particular zinc compound. Principally, it is much better to relate the Zn requirements of the animal to the level of absorbable and metabolically available zinc. The present model has been suggested to provide a possibility for measuring the metabolic availability of zinc in the body.