Affinity chromatography of porcine pancreas deoxyribonuclease I on DNA-binding sepharose under non-digestive conditions, using its substrate-binding site

1. DNase I from porcine pancreas, if Mg2+ was present, hydrolyzed both sDNA and dDNA, whether free or bound to Sepharose. The hydrolysis rates were maximum at pH 7.5 with the bound DNAs and at pH 7.0 with the free DNAs negligible at pH 4.0 and pH 10.5 with the free and bound DNAs. The hydrolysis was completely inhibited by 50 mM sodium citrate. 2. With 50 mM citrate buffer (Ph 4.0), DNase I was effectively adsorbed on the DNA-Sepharoses in the absence of 5 mM Mg2+. The adsorbed enzyme was effectively eluated by the buffer containing 1 M KCl (eluate). The amounts of the eluated enzyme were approximately 1.5 X 10(5) units/mg DNA with sDNA-Sepharose and approximately 3.0 X 10(5) units/mg DNA with dDNA-Sepharose. This simple adsorption-elution of the pancreas extract resulted in approximately 300-fold purification of DNase I with a yield of 95%. In the elute, the ratios in activity of trypsin, chymotrypsin and RNase to DNase I were 1/(4.0 X 10(5)), 1/(5.3 X 10(3)), and 1/(4.1 X 10(2)) as low as in the extract, respectively. In addition, the eluate was not contaminated by kallikrein or carboxypeptidases A and B. 3. Upon repeating the adsorption-elution described above, the adsorbing capacities of DNA-Sepharoses gradually deteriorated with the whole pancreas extract, but not with the precipitate of the extract formed on 60% ammonium sulfate saturation, which contained 90% of the DNase I. With the precipitate, one dDNA-Sepharose solumn was repeatedly usable at least 20-times without deterioration. The DNase I preparation thus obtained was homogeneous on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 4. Conceivably, the above-mentioned adsorption of DNase I on DNA-Sepharoses was mainly due to the steric and electrostatic affinity of a relatively large moiety of the DNA molecule to the substrate-binding site, but not to the catalytic site, of the enzyme.

Recurrence of intracranial meningiomas, with special reference to radiotherapy

Three hundred thirty-six cases of meningioma were analyzed retrospectively with regard to the recurrence rate and the effect of radiotherapy on recurrent meningiomas. There was recurrence in 14 out of 173 cases (8.1%) after apparently complete removal and in 26 out of 90 cases (28.9%) after obviously incomplete removal. Radiotherapy was given in 7 cases after repeat complete removal of recurrent tumors. It was concluded that irradiation in recurrent menigiomas is of little value, although it might be beneficial occasionally. One of the most important limiting factors in application of radiation therapy to recurrent meningiomas appears to be vulnerability to radiation of the surroundng brain, which has been damaged already.

Reversible delayed radiation effect on the brain after radiotherapy of malignant astrocytoma

A 14-year-old boy with a malignant astrocytoma in the third ventricle, who showed reversible delayed radiation effects on the brain, is presented. One and a half months after the completion of a course of radiation therapy, the patient gradually became drowsy complaining of headaches, general malaise and disturbance of gait. The symptoms and abnormalities in the CT scans were the most severe seven months after irradiation and then spontaneously subsided. CT scan could not differentiate it from a recurrence of the tumor when first seen, but was extremely useful in following these findings.

Purification and properties of polynucleotide phosphorylase from photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum

1. Polynucleotide phosphorylase [polyribonucleotide: orthophosphate nucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.8] was purified to near homogeneity from the photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 160,000, and consisted of two equivalent subunits of approximately 76,000 daltons. It catalyzed the three reactions described below. 2. In the exchange reaction of the beta-phosphate of nucleoside diphosphates with Pi by the purified enzyme in the presence of 3.3 mM Pi, 6.7 mMCl2, and 0.33 mM or 1.0 mM nucleotide at pH 8.0 and 20 degrees C, ADP, GDP, and CDP, and CDP were better substrates than UDP, while IDP and deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates hardly served as substrates. The ADP-Pi exchange activity was significantly inhibited by high concentrations of either ADP or Pi. 3. In the polymerization reaction of ribonucleoside diphosphates by the purified enzyme in the presence of 6.7 mM nucleotide and 6.7 mM MgCl2 at pH 8.0 and 20 degrees C, ADP was the best substrate; the activities relative to that with ADP were 55% with UD, 51% with CDP, and 48% with IDP, while GDP hardly served as a substrate, 4. In the phosphoryolysis reaction of polynucleoside diphosphates by the purified enzyme in the presence of 1.0 mM polynucleotide, 6.7 mM Pi, and 6.7 mM MgCl2 at pH 8.0 and 20 degrees C, poly[U] was the best substrate; the activities relative to that with poly[U] were 32% with poly[A], 28% with poly[I], 21% with poly[C], and 2% with yeast RNA, while poly[G] and yeast DNA hardly served as substrates. 5. The three kinds of activities of the purified enzyme described above were stimulated by divalent cations such as Mg2+, Mn2+, Cd2+, and Co2+.

Chromatography in presence of high concentrations of salts on columns of celluloses with and without ion exchange groups (hydrogen bond chromatography). Its application to purification of yeast enzymes

1. All the water-soluble yeast enzymes tested, which were only partially precipitated at best in the presence of high concentration of salts such as ammonium sulfate or sodium formate, were adsorbed on a column of cellulose in the presence of the same concentrations of the salts, and the adsorbed enzymes were chromatographically eluted by decreasing the concentration of the salts. 2. Even in the presence of high concentration of the salts, the adsorbed enzymes were eluted by urea or by "hydroxy-rich" reagents such as sucrose. 3. Under the experimental conditions used, the salt concentrations required for elution of the adsorbed enzymes were lower with cellulose than with DEAE-cellulose, CM-cellulose, or P-cellulose, indicating that ion exchange groups, either cationic or anionic, affected the adsorption, although the ion exchange groups of DEAE-cellulose, CM-cellulose, and P-cellulose were weakly but definitely functional as ion exchangers even in the presence of high concentrations of the salts. 4. The principal attractive force between cellulose and the enzyme was deduced to be due to hydrogen bonding. 5. This hydrogen bond chromatography was applied for the purification of some yeast enzymes.

Hydrophobic-ionic chromatography. Its application to purification of porcine pancreas enzymes

1. All the porcine pancreas enzymes tested, regardless of their pI's were adsorbed on Amberlite CG-50 (a weakly acidic cation exchange resin) at pH 4, where the ion-exchange group (carboxyl group) is not dissociated. The adsorption is hardly influenced by ionic strength. 2. At pH 4, the adsorbed enzymes were partially eluted by organic solvents such as 50% propanol. 3. The adsorbed enzymes were effectively eluted by increasing the pH from 4 to 6. Trypsin (pI 10.5) was eluted before carboxypeptidase A (pI 4.5 AND 5.3) WITH 0.5 M acetate buffer, whereas the former enzyme was eluted after the latter enzyme with 0.2 M 3,3-dimethyl glutarate buffer. However, with either buffer, the elution order of enzymes was not always the same as the order of the pI's. 4. By a single Amberlite CG-50 column chromatography of porcine pancreas extracts, kallikrein, carboxypeptidase B, deoxyribonuclease, carboxypeptidase A, and trypsin were purified 100-fold, 16-fmately 13%. The purification procedures included treatment with protamine, ammonium sulfate fractionation, treatment with acid, DE-32 cellulose column chromatography, gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and affinity chromatography on 5' AMP-Sepharose 4B. The last procedure, affinity chromatography on 5' AMP-Sepharose 4B, was useful for the removal of other dehydrogenases. The enzyme which was homogeneous, as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, had a molecular weight of about 92,000. The optimum pH was at 10.0 and isoelectric point at 5.2. The enzyme accepted both L-fucose and D-arabinose as substrate, but was specific for NAD+ as coenzyme. Km values were 0.15 mM, 1.4 mM, and 0.07 mM for L-fucose, D-arabinose, and NAD+, respectively. A single enzyme catalyzed the oxidation of L-fucose and D-arabinose, which had the same configurations of hydroxyl groups from C-2 to C-4. The reaction products obtained with L-fucose as substrate were L-fucono-lactone and L-fuconic acid. The L-fucono-lactone was an immediate product of oxidation and was hydrolyzed to L-fuconic acid spontaneously. This reaction was irreversible. Therefore, it is likely that L-fucose dehydrogenase is involved in the initial step of the catabolic pathway of L-fucose in rabbit liver.

Disintegration of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophore membrane into photoreaction units, reaction centers, and ubiquinone-10 protein with mixture of cholate and deoxycholate

1. The membrane of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores was disintegrated with mild detergents (cholate and deoxycholate) in order to study the spatial arrangement of the functional proteins in the photochemical apparatus and the electron transport system in the membrane. 2. The components solubilized from the membrane by a mixture of cholate and deoxycholate (C-DOC) were separated into four fractions by molecular-sieve chromatography in the presence of C-DOC; they were designated as F1, F2, F3, and F4 in the order of elution. The fractions were further purified by repeated molecular-sieve chromatography in the presence of C-DOC until each fraction was chromatographically homogeneous. 3. F1 appeared to be conjugated forms of F2. 4. The purified F2 was composed of a rigid complex having a weight of 7 X 10(5) daltons, containing approximately 10 different kinds of protein species with molecular weights of 3.8 X 10(4), 3.6 X 10(4), 3.5 X 10(4), 2.8 X 10(4), 2.7 X 10(4), 2.6 X 10(4), 1.3 X 10(4), 1.2 X 10(4), 1.1 X 10(4), and 1.0 X 10(4). The complex contained 33 bacteriochlorophylls, 4 iron atoms, and 90 phosphates, but no cytochrome, ubiquinone, or phospholipid. It showed the same reaction center activity as chromatophores, indicating that the complex was a unit of the photochemical apparatus (photoreaction unit). Each chromatophore of average size was estimated to possess about 24 photoreaction units. 5. The purified F3 showed an absorbance spectrum characteristic of reaction centers, and contained 3.4 bacteriochlorophylls, 2.0 bacteriopheophytins, and 1.9 acid-labile iron atoms, but no cytochrome or ubiquinone (C-DOC reaction center). It had a weight of 1.2 X 10(5) daltons, and the main components were 4 protein species with molecular weights of 2.8 X 10(4), 2.7 X 10(4), 2.6 X 10(4), and 1.0 X 10(4). 6. The purified F4 showed a molecular weight of about 11,000, and contained one mole of ubiquinone-10 per mole (ubiquinone-10 protein). 7. The reaction center activity of C-DOC reaction centers was stimulated by ubiquinone-10 protein. In addition, the reaction center oxidized reduced cytochrome c2 in the light, provided that ubiquinone-10 protein was present (photo-oxidase activity).

Extracellular hydrogenase from photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum

With Rhodospirillum rubrum, hydrogenase was found to exist partly as an extracellular enzyme in the culture medium. After 4-day cultivation, the total activity and the specific activity of the enzyme in the medium were about 10 times and 230 times as high as those in the crude extract obtained from disrupted cells. The time course for the production of hydrogenase during cultivation was studied.

[Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology using "cytospin" in patients with brain tumors (author's transl)]

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology was performed using cytocentrifugation method ("Cytospin") in 88 preoperative patients who had been known to have deeply seated brain tumors by CT. 20 cases (22.7%) among them showed positive findings and 11 cases (12.5%) probably positive findings. High incidence of positive results were obtained in germinomas (60.9%), ependymomas (50.0%), medulloblastomas (40.0%), followed by malignant lymphomas (20.0%), pontine gliomas (16.7%) and metastatic tumors (16.7%). In contrast, it was persistently negative in cerebral astrocytomas, glioblastomas, teratomas, epidermoids, meningiomas and neurinomas. This method was quickly prepared in 30 minutes and was superior in retaining detailed cytomorphology. It was concluded that the CSF cytology is a less invasive diagnostic investigation, can provide an additional information as regards the nature of some kinds of brain tumors and is still useful even in the CT era.

Intracranial germinomas: treatment and results

Eighty-nine patients with intracranial germinomas were treated from 1954 through 1975. Radiotherapy was given in 62 patients. The five-year survival rate was 61% and the ten-year survival rate was 55%. In unbiopsied patients the five-year survival rate was 66% and the ten-year survival rate was 59%, whereas in biopsied ones it was 56% and 47%, respectively. Prophylactic irradiation to the spinal axis in the presence of germinoma cells in the cerebrospinal fluid may not be justified.

Running fits and gamma-aminobutyric acid of the superior colliculus of the mouse

The present experiment was performed to examine the relationship between the content of gamma-aminobutyric acid of the superior colliculus and running fits induced by injection of semicarbazide (SC), an antivitamin B6, into the superior colliculus of the mouse. (1) The distribution of 4-aminobutyrate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.19] of the superior colliculus was studied histochemically. A high activity was observed in the superficial and medial gray layers of the superior colliculus. Pretreatment with aminooxyacetic acid at a dose which inhibits running fits induced by intracollicular injection of SC depressed the activity. (2) The contents of gamma-aminobutyric acid in superior colliculi of mice which received an intracollicular injection of SC were 60 per cent of the control, when measured immediately after the first running fit. Administration of pyridoxine together with SC inhibited the fall. (3) Intracollicular injection of thiosemicarbazide and 4-deoxypyridoxine, other antivitamins B6, also induced running fits. These results suggest that the running fits by SC injected intracollicularly are induced by the decrease of gamma-aminobutyrate due to insufficient vitamin B6 in the superior colliculus.

Complete stabilization of water-soluble hydrogenase from Rhodospirillum rubrum under air atmosphere with a high concentration of chloride ions

Hydrogenase was easily solubilized from light-grown cells of R. rubrum with 10 mM Na ethylenediaminetetraacetate. The enzyme thus obtained was so stable that loss of its activity was undetectable during storage at room temperature for 6 months under air atmosphere, provided that NaCl, KCl or CsCl was present at greater than or equal to 0.7 M.

Incoherent optical heterodyne detection and its application to air pollution detection

Fundamental problems of incoherent optical heterodyne detection are analyzed. Output of the heterodyne detection depends on the spatial and temporal coherences of incoming incoherent signal light on the photodetector surface. The directivity of optical heterodyne detection is concluded to be the same as with that of direct detection in an ideal case in which the image of the object is well focused on the photodetector surface. This incoherent heterodyne detection is applied to air pollution monitoring. In the laboratory, the absorption spectra due to NH(3), Freon, and SF(6) are measured using an incoherent light source, and the concentrations of each gas were determined by using the least-squares method.

Reversible conversion from Ca(2)+-ATPase activity to Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activities of coupling factor purified from acetone powder of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores

It is known that the coupling factor purified from the acetone powder of chromatophores from Rhodospirillum rubrum shows ATPase activity in the presence of Ca(2)+, but not in the presence of Mg(2)+ or Mn(2)+. The present study deals with conditions, under which the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity is reversibly converted into Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activites with the purified coupling factor. 1. Of the pH indicators tested, 6 kinds coverted the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity into Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activities in the order, ethyl orange greater than tropaeolin 000 greater than or equal to metanil yellow greater than tropaeolin 00 greater than ethyl red greater than or equal to bromthymol blue. 2. Of the detergents tested, those other than Triton X-100 and Brij 58 caused the conversion described above; dodecylsulfonate was most effective, whereas dodecylpyridinium chloride was moderately effective. 3. 2,4-Dinitrophenol stimulated approximately two-fold the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity, but not the Mg(2)+- or Mn(2)+-ATPase activity at all. However, in the presence of dodecylpyridinium chloride, the pH indicator remarkably stimulated the Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activities, accompanied with a partial inhibition of the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity. Methyl red and ethyl red showed similar effects. 4. All the nucleoside triphosphates tested can serve as the substrate. ATP was most effective for the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity, whereas dATP was most effective for the Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activities induced by ethyl orange. 5. In the presence of ethyl orange, the ATPase activity was induced by various divalent cations in the following order of effectiveness, Mg(2)+ greater than Zn(2)+ greater than CO(2)+ greater than Mn(2)+ greater than Ni(2)+. 6. The mechanism of the reversible conversion from the Ca(2)+-ATPase activity to the Mg(2)+- and Mn(2)+-ATPase activities by pH indicators and detergents is discussed.

Successive purification of several enzymes having affinities for phosphoric groups of substrates by affinity chromatography on P-cellulose

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase and pyruvate kinase of Candida utilis and baker's yeast, when in anionic form, were adsorbed on a cation exchanger, P-cellulose, due to affinities similar to those for the phosphoric groups of their respective substrates; thus, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was readily eluted by either NADP+ or NADPH, glutathione reductase by NADPH, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase by 6-phosphogluconate, and pyruvate kinase by either ATP or ADP. This type of chromatography may be called "affinity-adsorption-elution chromatography"; the main principle is different from that of so-called affinity-elution chromatography. Based on these findings, a large-scale procedure suitable for successive purification of several enzymes having affinities for the phosphoric groups of their substrates was devised. As an example, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was highly purified from baker's yeast and crystallized.

Abducens nerve palsy as initial symptom of trigeminal schwannoma

The insidious onset and slow progression of symptoms may cause delay in the recognition of trigeminal schwannomas. Two cases with abducens nerve palsy as an initial symptom are reported, in both of whom the tumour was growing mainly below and anterior to the intracavernous portion of the internal carotid artery. Early detection of clinical symptoms and thorough radiological investigations are important in the early diagnosis of these lesions.

Light-induced pH changes and changes in absorbance of pH indicators in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores

1. The light-induced pH change of chromatophore suspensions from Rhodospirillum rubrum was stimulated significantly and similarly by KCl, NaCl, LiCl, RbCl, CsCl, MgCl2, MnCl2, and CaCl2. In the dark, the pH of chromatophore suspensions decreased immediately and markedly on adding these salts. 2. The light-induced pH change stimulated by KCl plus valinomycin was inhibited by LiCl and NaCl, but not by RbCl. 3. The optimum pH values for light-induced pH change and photosynthetic ATP formation were around 5 and 8, respectively. The amount of chromatophore-bound ubiquinone-10 reduced in the light was independent of pH from 5 to 9. At pH 8, the number of protons incorporated into chromatophores in the light was one-half of the number of ubiquinone-10 molecules reduced in the light. 4. Among several pH indicators tested, bromothymol blue (BTB) and neutral red (NR) showed absorbance changes on illumination of chromatophores. Although the pH change indicated by the absorbance change was opposite to the light-induced pH change of the medium, the effect of KCl on the absorbance changes of BTB and NR, and the effect of valinomycin on that of NR, but not on that of BTB, were similar to those on the light-induced pH change. 5. The light-induced absorbance change of BTB was significantly inhibited by NR, whereas that of NR was hardly influenced by BTB. 6. Oligomycin stimulated the light-induced absorbance change of BTB under either non-phosphorylating or phosphorylating conditions. On the other hand, that of NR under phosphorylating conditions was 50% of that under non-phosphorylating conditions, and was increased by oligomycin.

[Serum immunoglobulin (IgG, IgM, IgA) levels in patients with primary brain tumors (author's transl)]

The concentration of serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA) in 63 patients of primary brain tumors were determined by the method of single radial immunodiffusion. 1) The mean values and standard deviations of three major serum immunoglobulins in 18 cases of meningioma were as follows; IgG, 1297.0 +/- 387.9 mg/dl, IgM, 165.1 +/- 153.4 mg/dl, IgA, 219.5 +/- 76.7 mg/dl. These values were not significantly different with those in normals. 2) 45 cases of gliomas showed; IgG, 1190.5 +/- 378.3 mg/dl, IgM, 160.0 +/- 75.9 mg/dl, IgA, 189.8 +/- 91.5 mg/dl. These values were in normal levels as compared with normal serum immunoglobulins. 3) Values of serum immunoglobulins in 19 cases of glioblastoma multiforme were compared with those in 18 cases of astrocytoma to know the relationship between histological malignancy and levels of serum immunoglubulins. But no significant difference was observed between these values. The levels of three major serum immunoglobulins either in meningiomas or in gliomas were not significantly different with those in normals. Therefore, the levels of serum immunoglobulins could not be used as a diagnotic procedure in cases of primary brain tumors.

Formation of sugar phosphates in colicin K-treated Escherichia coli

Colicin K greatly decreased the incorporation of 32P-labeled inorganic orthophosphate into nucleotides and nucleic acids, causing a concomitant increase in the formation of 32P-labeled sugar phosphates in sensitive cells of Escherichia coli. These sugar phosphates were formed in aerobically growing cells, as well as in cells under stringent control of ribonucleic acid synthesis. The main 32P-labeled product was identified as sedoheptulose 7-phosphate in two strains (B1 and K-12 MK-1) and fructose 1,6-diphosphate in one strain (K-12 CP78). The formation of sugar phosphates induced by colicin K was inhibited by carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. It was also not observed in N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-treated cells or Mg2+-(Ca2+)-adenosine triphosphatase-less mutant (strain K-12 AN120) cells. Thus, the formation of sugar phosphates in colicin K-treated cells is dependent on the formation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate by oxidative phosphorylation.

Ossifying fibroma of the occipital bone

A rare ossifying fibroma in the occipital bone is described, and the available literature reviewed. The rapid growth seen in this case was remarkable and led us to believe this was a malignant osteogenic tumor. Full knowledge and the correct diagnosis of ossifying fibroma should have prevented an unnecessarily extensive operation for this benign lesion.

Polarographic studies in presence of Triton X-100 on oxidation-reduction components bound with chromatophores from Rhodospirillum rubrum

Polarographic studies on oxidation-reduction components bound with chromatophores from Rhodospirillum rubrum were carried out at 24 degrees. 1. Using a carbon-paste electrode as the working electrode, polarographic waves characteristic of oxidation-reduction components were observed in the presence, but not in the absence of Triton X-100; these waves were therefore measured in the presence of the detergent. 2. At least two kinds of oxidation-reduction components were detectable, having different half-wave potentials (E1/2); at pH 7, one had an E1/2 value of +275 mV (POC+275) and the other had a value of +60 mV (POC+60). 3. POC+275 was reduced by succinate and by NADH. Both reductions were almost completely inhibited by antimycin A, which hardly affected the reductions of ubiquinone-10 by succinate and by NADH. Most POC+275 molecules were not reduced by the substrates when quinones were extracted from the chromatophores, and the reductions were mostly restored when ubiquinone-10 was re-added. This indicates that POC+275 is functional between ubiquinone-10 and cytochrome c2 in the electron transport system. 4. POC+60 was reduced by succinate, but hardly at all by NADH. The reduction of POC+60 was not influenced either by the addition of antimycin A or by the extraction of quinones. This suggests that POC+60 is functional in the process from succinate dehydrogenase [EC 1.3.99.1] to ubiquinone-10 in the electron transport system. 5. Of the POC+275 reducible by dithionite, approximately 70% could be reduced in the absence of Triton X-100, provided that the potential of the working electrode immersed in chromatophore suspensions was set at potentials of 0 mV or lower and that the electrochemical reaction was carried out at pH 7.5. When the potential of the electrode was set at +50 mV (the same as the E1/2 value of ubiquinone-10 bound with chromatophores), and the suspension was allowed to stand for various lengths in the presence of the detergent, it was found that approximately half of the electrochemically reducible POC+275 was rapidly reduced, followed by a slow reduction. The discrepancy in the oxidation-reduction equilibrium on the basis of the E1/2 values of ubiquinone-10 and POC+275 is discussed.

Convulsive seizure induced by intracerebral injection of semicarbazide (an anti-vitamin B6) in the mouse

The direct injection of semicarbazide (SC), an antivitamin B6 (anti-B6), into the lateral ventricle of the mouse brain induced convulsion and tremors at a smaller dose after a shorter latent period than that in systemic administration. The symptoms were prevented by pyridoxine, aminooxyacetic acid or acetone, while they enhanced by pyridoxal, pyridoxal phosphate, or some other anti-B6. In mice fed a vitamin B6 (B6)-deficient diet, convulsion and tremors occurred at smaller doses of SC than those in mice given control food, and were counteracted by pyridoxine. On the other hand, mice into which SC had been injected in the neighboring site of the lambda first showed running fits, which was followed by convulsion and tremors.

Polarographic studies on ubiquinone-10 and rhodoquinone bound with chromatophores from Rhodospirillum rubrum

Redox components bound with chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum, and pure samples of ubiquinone-10 and rhodoquinone were studied polarographically at 24 degrees. In a mixture of ethanol and water (4 : 1, v/v) at pH 7, ubiquinone-10 and rhodoquinone had half-wave potentials (E1/2) OF +43 MV and -63 mV, respectively. For both quinones, values of the electron transfer number (n) were 2 , and plots of E1/2 versus pH formed straight lines with slopes of -30 mV/pH in the neutral pH range; thus, values of the proton transfer number (n-a) were estimated to be 1 for both quinones. When bound with chromatophores, ubiquinone-10 and rhodoquinone had E1/2 values of +50 mV (n=2) and -30 mV (n=2), respectively, at pH 7. Values of (n-a) were estimated to be 1 for ubiquinone-10 and 2 for rhodoquinone. A component (POC-170) thought to be one of the active center bacteriochlorophylls (Liac-890) was characterized; it has E1/2 value of -170 mV at pH 7 and its oxidation-reduction is possibly brought about by dehydrogenation-hydrogenation. Conceivably, the oxidation-reduction sites of ubiquinone-10, rhodoquinone and POC-170 partly, if not all, exist on the surface of chromatophore membrane or project outside the membrane, because of their accessibility to the polarographic electrode.

"Missing tube" of peritoneal shunt: migration of the whole system into ventricle

Migration of the whole shunting system of a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt into the lateral ventricle of a three-month-old male infant is presented. This is a very rare complication of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt.

[The effect of radiotherapy for glioblastoma: a review of 516 cases (author's transl)]

516 cases of supratentorial glioblastoma, treated in the Department of Surgical Neurology, University of Edinburgh from 1950 through 1970, were analysed with a particular attention to the effect of radiotherapy and the factors contributing to better prognosis. The length of postoperative survival was known in 349 cases and it was more than one month in 238 cases. A megavoltage linear accelerator was introduced in 1955 for radiotherapy of glioblastoma and steroids were started to be used almost routinely in 1966 for pre- and postoperative peritumoral cerebral edema. The policies of the treatment of glioblastoma in this series were; 1) to establish the histological diagnosis and 2) to prolong "useful" postoperative survival of the patient. Among the 516 cases, 271 cases (52.5%) were treated by biopsy alone. More radical procedures and/or radiotherapy were indicated only when survival of the patient was expected to be "useful" for himself and his family. "Useful" life was defined as the condition where the patient was conscious and orientated, and would, on the whole, be glad that he was still alive. Patients with disturbed consciousness, profound aphasia, bedridden or mentally disorganized, were regarded as having useless life. Radiotherapy, if indicated, was given by a 4-megavoltage linear accelerator to the whole brain with a total dose of 4500 rads in a period of 4 weeks. In order to evaluate the effect of radiotherapy, 238 cases who survived more than one month postoperatively were selected, because it took at least one month to complete the course of radiotherapy, because most cases with a biopsy alone survived less than one month, and because unexpected early death due to postoperative complications occurred in one month. The average survival for the irradiated 138 cases was 13.8 months, as compared to 5.2 months for the non-irradiated 100 cases. This difference of 8.6 months was highly significant as confirmed statistically by U-test. Although patients with profound aphasia or severe dimentia were not irradiated, aphasia and dimentia would not affect the length of biological survival of the patient. Therefore, the difference of 8.6 months could be considered as the biological effect of radiotherapy. Among the factors considered, young age, early epilepsy and relatively benign histology (astrocytoma, grade 3) appeared to be related to better prognosis. There was no evidence that a macroscopic circumscribed appearance would contribute to better prognosis. In conclusion, radiotherapy should be indicated for the cases whose survival is expected to be "useful", although its effect is limited.

Intradural spinal bronchiogenic cyst. Case report

✓ The successful treatment of an intradural cervical cyst of apparent bronchial origin in a 14-year-old girl is recorded. Its possible relationship to enterogenous cysts and the split notochord syndrome is discussed.