Oxygen supply to the cirrhotic liver following various portacaval shunt procedures

Direct measurements of local oxygen pressure by means of a platinum multiwire electrode were performed to investigate the effect of five different portacaval shunt procedures on hepatic oxygen content in the cirrhotic rat liver. End-to-side shunt, side-to-side shunt, mesenterico caval shunt, splenocaval shunt, and portacaval transposition were performed and surface PO2 was determined immediately after operation, 24 hours following operation and after one week. Portacaval transposition and end-to-side shunt led to a striking oxygen deficit of the liver tissue with no incidence of compensation by the hepatic artery; Oxygen supply was improved considerably by a side-to-side shunt and tissue hypoxia could be prevented by a mesenterico-caval shunt and splenocaval shunt. This improving effect is thought to be due to the pancreatico-duodenal venous blood supply which should be carefully preserved for the liver circulation when a shunt needs to be performed.

High-affinity phlorizin binding to brush border membranes from small intestine: identity with (a part of) the glucose transport system, dependence on Na +-gradient, partial purification

In the presence of an NaSCN gradient phlorizin binds with a high affinity (Kd similar or equal to 4.7 micron) to vesicles derived from brush border membranes of intestinal cells of rabbits. The value for Kd corresponds closely to that of Ki determined from phlorizin inhibition of sugar transport. The apparent affinity for phlorizin is decreased if NaCl is substituted for NaSCN and decreased substantially if the gradient of NaSCN is allowed to dissipate prior to the phlorizin binding. The number of high affinity binding sites is about 11 pmol/mg protein. Additional binding to low affinity sites can amount to as much as 600 pmol/mg protein after prolonged exposure to phlorizin (5 min.). The high affinity sites are related to glucose transport based on the similarity of the Kd and Ki values under a variety of conditions and on the inhibition of the binding by D-glucose but not by D-fructose. The transport system and the high affinity phlorizin binding sites can be enriched by a factor of 2-3 by treatment of vesicles with papain, which does not affect the transport system, but considerably hydrolyzes nonrelevant protein.

Interrelationships between orthodontics and periodontics

At the present time, periodontists have no evidence to indicate that orthodontic treatment in the child will either enhance or detract from the periodontal health of the patient or that it will increase or decrease the longevity of the teeth. Many periodontists believe that much orthodontic treatment is undertaken on an esthetic or empirical basis. Proper emphasis on plaque control procedures prior to initial banding, altered and reinforced during the entire period of orthodontic treatment, may well minimize the inflammatory lesion often found during therapy. Gingival, periodontal, and mucogingival problems should be treated as soon as they are diagnosed. Limiting our orthodontic objectives in adult patients because of the possibility of inducing supporting alveolar bone loss and other problems that did not previously exist may be a worthwhile compromise. Orthodontic movement in periodontally healthy adults, and especially in those with periodontally involved teeth, constitutes a problem distinct from routine orthodontics. When periodontal disease has already produced significant destruction of supporting tissue and secondary occlusal trauma is a complicating factor, orthodontic treatment may possibly serve as another mode of treatment to reestablish the correct occlusal plane and alter bony deformities. Various methods can be used to try and place teeth into better bone. One should make certain that teeth are being moved into a greater volume of bone. The bite plane is of great value in allowing continuous eruption of the teeth and their supporting structures and in eliminating additional trauma by enabling the teeth to move into their correct cusp-fossa relationships unimpeded by the inclined planes of the opposing teeth. Since little is known about the interrelationships between orthodontic treatment and periodontal health and disease, there is still a great deal to learn. In spite of this lack of knowledge, the general practitioners and the various specialists of dentistry, each seeking a rationale for his preventive and therapeutic procedures, subject the patient to treatment based on concepts of the occlusion which have yet to be corroborated. In addition to the need for research in this field, a common language between the periodontist and the orthodontist must be established to eliminate the existing communications barrier. Once basic principles can be determined, elucidated, and applied correctly, the movement of teeth in periodontal cases will be limited only by the imagination of the operator.

[Urethro-cysto-colpo-rectography, a radiological method for the diagnosis of insufficiency of the pelvic floor (author's transl)]

Contrast examination of pelvic organs was carried out in 200 female patients with insufficiency of the pelvic floor. The topography of the organs in the true pelvis and their functional relation was recorded on full-size film and 70 mm. roll film. Radiological examination provides more accurate indications for plastic surgery of the pelvic floor, influences the operative procedures and permits better evaluation of operative results.

Drinking behavior in laboratory and barroom settings

Barroom patrons consumed their drinks in significantly less time and with fewer sips than subjects observed in a laboratory. The former most often drank beer while the latter preferred mixed drinks.

Fatty acyl CoA synthetase activity in normal and atherosclerotic rabbit aortic tissue

The activity of fatty acyl CoA synthetase and fatty acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase was determined in microsomal fractions from normal and atherosclerotic rabbit aortic tissue. No change in fatty acyl CoA synthetase activity was observed as a result of cholesterol feeding in contrast to the several-fold increase in the activity of fatty acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase seen in atherosclerotic tissue. Inhibition of both enzymes was observed when clofibrate, or the tetrahydronapthyl analog of this drug were added in vitro. The inhibitory effects were most pronounced on the fatty acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase.

[Medical considerations on the treatment of metastasizing mammary carcinoma (author's transl)]

The routine therapy of metastasizing mammary carcinoma at the present time is reported. The course of the treatment is considered in every case in connection with the mental problems of the patient which are partly caused by the often drastic treatment measures carried out. The methods of local radiation therapy, which is combined with ablative hormonal methods or, in cases of progressive metastasization, with added exogenous hormones, estrogens, androgens or anabolics, is explained in detail. The final part of the paper is devoted to the currently used polychemotherapy which replaces the hormonal methods in progressive metastasization.