A new diagnostic test for pancreatic disorders by examination of parotid saliva

The parotid saliva test was performed in 146 subjects, including 48 patients with pancreatic disorders, 82 with nonpancreatic disorders and 16 healthy persons. The following results were obtained: 1. The salivary output as well as the maximum bicarbonate concentration and amylase content in the parotid saliva of patients with pancreatic disorders were significantly less than those of patients with nonpancreatic disorders. 2. An abnormal saliva test was found in 83.3% of the patients with the pancreatic disorders. 3. Comparison was made of the parotid saliva test with the pancreozyminsecretin test in regard to diagnostic reliability in 44 subjects, including 22 with pancreatic disorders and 22 with nonpancreatic disorders. The data indicated that, in this series, an abnormal parotid saliva test was 88.6% accurate in diagnosing pancreatic disorders, whereas positive pancreozymin-secretin was only 65.9%.

Significance of Laurén's classification in chemotherapy of gastric carcinoma

The effects of anticancer agents were studied on the basis of survival rates following surgery for gastric carcinomas in different histologic types of Laurén's classification. It was revealed that Laurén's classification would provide an index to the use of anticancer agents to a certain extent. Anticancer agents were effective against diffuse gastric carcinoma, and should therefore be intensively used for treatment of this malignancy. For female patients with diffuse gastric carcinoma, careful selection of adequate anticancer agents is highly necessary. Anticancer agents were less effective against intestinal-type carcinoma, and it would therefore be necessary to use anticancer agents on the aged male patients with this malignancy by taking his age and side effects of the agents into consideration.

Experimental studies on the pathophysiological changes in the pancreas of rat following bilateral ligation of the parotid gland duct

The blood sugar level, blood insulin level, serum amylase level and organ amylase level in the pancreas were measured in a total of 110 rats examined at 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr, and 1,2, 3, 4, and 5 weeks after bilateral ligation of the parotid gland ducts. In parallel with this functional study, light microscopic study of th=e pancreas and the parotid gland and electron microscopic observations of the pancreas obtained from the rats were performed at the respective periods. The following results were obtained: 1) The serum amylase level was most elevated in the group examined at 12 hr after ligation and it decreased gradually and returned to the normal level at 96 hr after ligation and thereafter. 2) As for the pancreatic exocrine function, the organ amylase level of the pancrease was significantly elevated in function, the organ amylase level of the pancrease was significantly elevated in the groups examined at 24 hr to 3 weeks after ligation. Electron-microscopically, hyperfunctional state in the pancreatic acinar cells was recognized as evidenced by the dilatiation of the granular endoplasmic reticulum. 3) With regard to the endocrine function of the pancreas, the blood sugar level and blood insulin level did not show and significant changes after ligation as compared with the control group. Morphologically, electron microscopy showed a decrease in electron density and swelling of the cored granules, disintegration and fusion of their limiting membranes in the beta cells. These changes are interpreted as indicating the discharge of secretory granules in the beta cells. It is concluded that an impairment of the parotid glands influences the function of the pancreas to a certain degree.

Epizootic congenital arthrogryposis-hydranencephaly syndrome in cattle: isolation of Akabane virus from affected fetuses

Previous serolgoical studies strongly suggested Akabane virus to be the etiologic agent of epizootic abortion and congenital arthrogryposis-hydranencephaly in cattle, and this view was further corroborated in this study by the isolation of the virus from an aborted fetus in an epizootic of the disease and from a fetus extracted froma cow which was suggested by serologic tests to have a recent infection with the virus. The latter fetus had histological changes of encephalomyelitis and polymyositis, and specific antigens of Akabane virus was shown by the immunofluorescent technique in brain tissues as well as skeletal muscular tissues. The virus was recovered from various fetal tissues and fluids, and in relatively large amounts from brain, spinal cord, cerebral fluid, skeletal muscles and fetal placenta. The intracranial inoculation of suckling mice, 1-2 days of age, was the most sensitive system for Akabane virus isolation and HmLu-1, a continuous cell line from hamster lung, seemed almost as sensitive as suckling mice.

Metabolism of glycerol-3-phosphate and phospholipids in a temperature-sensitive lysis mutant of Escherichia coli

Phospholipid metabolism in a temperature-sensitive lysis mutant of Escherichia coli has been investigated. The incorporation of 32P into the phospholipids of this mutant was negligible, not only at the non-permissive temperature, as was demonstrated earlier, but also at 30C. Furthermore, cultivation of the cells at the non-permissive temperature during 90 min, which is the time required to induce lysis, did not alter the amount of phospholipid per cell. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the enzymes involved in phospholipid biosynthesis are fully active at 42C. Lysis therefore is not directly caused by a defect in phospholipid synthesis. Evidence is presented that the low 32P incorporation is the result of a defective glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase which determines the turnover of the immediate lipid percursor, glycerol-3-phosphate.

Kinetic studies on sex difference in susceptibility to chronic benzene intoxication--with special reference to body fat content

The sex difference in the susceptibility to haematopoietic disorders induced by benzene was studied kinetically with a special reference to its relation with the body fat content. In rats of both sexes with a large body fat content, benzene was eliminated more slowly and remained in the body for a longer time than in rats with a small body fat content. In accord with this finding, the decrease in white blood cell numbers during a chronic benzene exposure was observed only in the groups of rats which had a large volume of fat tissue. In an experimental human exposure, the elimination of benzene was slower in the females than in the males. The kinetic study revealed that the slower elimination in the females is due primarily to the bulky distribution of body fat tissue in that sex. From these results obtained from the experimental exposure of men and rats to benzene, it was concluded that the human female, with her massive body fat tissue, shows an inherent disposition to be susceptible to a chemical such as benzene which has a high affinity with fat tissue.

Postreplication repair of alkylation damage to DNA of mammalian cells in culture

Incorporation and alkaline sucrose sedimentation studies of DNA from mouse L-cells have demonstrated the following effects of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). Increasing the concentration of both agents increases the number of single-strand breaks or alkali-labile lesions of existing DNA, which affects the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA by reducing its relative rate. DNA that is newly synthesized during the 1st hr in [3H]thymidine after MNU treatment is of lower molecular weight than is existing DNA with alkali-labile lesions in treated cells and is also lower than DNA synthesized in control cells. Such small segments formed in treated cells are elongated and joined to form high-molecular-weight DNA in the subsequent 4-hr chase in thymidine or 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine. Near-ultraviolet photolysis selectively degrades 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-elongated DNA to segments that are nearly as small as those before chase. Further, caffeine (2 mM) present during the thymidine chase prevents nascent-strand elongation, although caffeine-insensitive chain growth occurs partly in MNU-alkylated cells. The MMS lesion (single-strand breakage in alkali) in existing DNA also temporarily interrupts replicative synthesis and makes short segments, but their elongation seems insensitive to caffeine. Our results indicate that MNU may produce both caffeine-sensitive interruptions (probably gaps), as ultraviolet damage does, and apurinic site-directed, caffeine-insensitive interruptions in nascent strands, while MMS may cause exclusively the latter. Further evidence for this is the caffeine potentiation of only MNU killing, like ultraviolet killing, of L-cells. The extent of such a specific MNU lesion is estimated to be no more than 4% of the total extent of methylation, predicting that the lesion that is accessible to caffeine-sensitive repair will be a minor product(s) other than N7-methylguanine. Mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of MNU, which are higher than those of MMS, could be ascribed to such a particular MNU lesion(s) and its repair.

[The role of the intramural ganglion cells taken in the ileo-colic motilities of the catfish (Parasilurus asotus) (author's transl)]

In catfishes the role of the intramural ganglion cells taken in the ileo-colic motilities were studied. The results obtained were summarized as follows: (1) When the stomach was half full of contents, the gastric peristalses recurrently occurred at the cardia, traveling caudad to come to an end at the pylorus. (2) In the duodenum contractions were produced here and there, traveling both caudad and orad, to mingle the contents with each other, respectively. (3) Along its whole length the ileum often fell in a more or less tonically contracted state, resulting in the retardation of the transfer of the duodenal contents. Furthermore, the effect described above was increased by powerful contractions which were occasionally produced here and there to travel in both directions only a short distance. (4) When the large intestine was moderately full of contents, powerful contractions produced in the caudal half of the ileum frequently traveled caudally to expel the contents out of the anus. (5) The supravital staining with methylene blue solution revealed that the myenteric plexus existed, whereas the submucous plexus did not contain the nerve cells. In the former, thick nerve bundles without forming meshworks took their course along the long axis of the intestine, accepting many finer axons coming from the nerve cells, which were not in groups, but lay sporadically, although they showed a tendency to increase their number in the area close to the nerve bundles. Any sign of the intrinsic mucosal reflex was not observed with the stimulation either of a spot (by rubbing with cotton) or of the whole surface (by raising the intraluminal pressure) of the mucosa of the intestine. These facts suggest that in catfishes the intramural ganglion cells have no function to regulate the strength as well as the direction of propagation of the contraction waves.

Determination of benzene and toluene in blood by means of a syringe-equilibration method using a small amount of blood

A gas chromatographic determination of benzene and toluene in blood with a small amount of blood sample, 0.02 or 0.1 ml, is described. In the method an aliquot of the blood sample in a sealed hypodermic syringe of 2 ml capacity is equilibrated at 37 degrees C in a thermo-regulated water-bath. After establishing equilibrium 1 ml of overlying air is submitted to gas chromatographic analysis. The value of this method was verified by experiments in which men, rabbits, and rats were exposed to benzene and toluene mixtures of various concentrations.

Correlation between in vitro anaphylactic histamine release from tissues and reagin titer in rat

The magnitude of antigen-induced histamine release from actively sensitized rat tissues <i>in vitro</i> was compared with the amount of specific reagin in the serum. There was no quantitative correlation between either, suggesting that the antigen-induced histamine release from sensitized tissues might depend on the ability of sensitized target cells to release histamine. In addition, the magnitude of antigen-induced histamine release was different in each tissue of sensitized rats. This also suggested that there might be some differences in the ability of sensitized target cells in each tissue to release histamine by antigen.