[The functional examination of the visual system by means of delayed triggered VECP (author's transl)]

The VECP represents a brain reaction evoked by fairly abrupt visually perceived changes of one or several environmental features. If the stimulus consists of a finite temporal luminance rise, then the VECP is triggered later as compared to an abruptly appearing stimulus. This delay is an expression of the dynamic input properties of a VECP trigger mechanism. This system evaluates sudden changes of luminance slope and the temporal luminance integral in the first 50 ms after commencement of the stimulus. It may be assumed that deficiencies of the processing of visual information are manifested especially and first of all in a change of the dynamic trigger conditions of VECP. This is shown for colour stimulation (under isolation of the green and red colour mechanism) in different deficiencies of the visual system.

Theorem on the uniqueness of the generalized radiance

We study the consequences of requiring that the generalized radiance depend linearly on the cross-spectral density, be zero wherever the field amplitude is zero, and can be defined independently of coordinate translations. We show that these requirements determine the generalized radiance uniquely, and that the resulting definition is independent of coordinate rotations.

[Use of xylitol as sugar substitute in diabetic children]

In 24 diabetic children treated with insulin xylitol was used as a sugar substitute for four weeks in an amount of 30 gms/day. In one case only the xylitol application was terminated before the end of the dietetic period because of diarrhoea. The other children tolerated xylitol fairly well, three of the children found the polyol too sweet. Because of incomplete data, the values of only 18 children were compiled. A significant increase of serum uric acid concentration measuring 1 mg/100 ml was the main side effect of xylitol usage. This effect was favoured by the fact that diabetic children do not use sucrose. As was shown earlier, a sucrose free period is the precondition for the possibility to find a xylitol induced hyperuricemia. In metabolically healthy children the existence of a sucrose induced hyperuricemia is also to be expected, this xylitol effect is, therefore, obviously without pathophysiological significance. Xylitol is suited for use as a sugar substitute in diabetic diet and in caries prophylaxis if the limited dose is observed.

The diagnosis of the early infantile form of hypophosphatasia tarda

The diagnostic characteristics of the early infantile form of hypophosphatasia tarda are demonstrated in a case of a first child of healthy, probably consanguineous, unmarried parents. The diagnosis of the disease is based on the clinical and radiographic findings. The absence of alkaline phosphatase activity in the blood serum and leukocytes, and the excretion of phosphorylethanolamine in urine confirm the diagnosis. The inheritance appears to be autosomal recessive.