Exocrine secretory responses of the pancreas to insulin and to a meat meal in dogs

Studies in five dogs with chronic pancreatic and gastric fistulae have shown that insulin-induced vagal stimulation of the pancreas (gastric fistula open) resulted in protein and bicarbonate outputs very much smaller than those obtained with a 400-g meat meal. However, when the insulin-activated gastric acid secretion was allowed access to the duodenum (gastric fistula closed) peak outputs of both bicarbonate and protein were observed which were closely similar to the response to the meal. These findings suggest that insulin-induced hypoglycaemia results in stimulation of the pancreas within the physiological range when gastric acid is allowed access to the duodenum with consequent release of secretin.

Hamartoma of the thoracic wall

A 16-year-old boy presented with a slowly growing tumour of the chest wall involving the posterior ends of the second and third ribs on the left side and the corresponding vertebrae. The tumour on excision was a well-localized growth with a bony shell, the second and third ribs originating from its anterior end. Histological studies showed a benign tumour with haphazard distribution of bony spicules, smooth muscle, adipose tissue, angiomatous tissue, nerve bundles, and lymph follicles. This was diagnosed as a hamartoma of the thoracic wall.

Quantitative studies on the mating system of jute (Corchorus olitorius L.)

More than 100,000 individuals of C. olitorius were scored for selfing versus outcrossing in various populations, at several locations, over a number of years and seasons. Different marker loci, such as A (d) /a (0), Sh/sh, Cr/cr and Pl/pl, were used to determine the male gametes which had effected fertilization. The results showed that the frequency of outcrossing was extremely variable among loci, crosses and samples within a single locus. The outcrossing parameter, α, was found to differ with years, locations and seasons within years. It was also found that outcrossing, in general, was nonrandom. Nonrandomness was also independent of flowering dates. The amount of outcrossing was directly associated with the frequency of F 2 plants flowering at different dates. A recalculated outcrossing parameter from different authors' reported data, representing different years and locations, has been found to be nonrandom. It was observed that the propensity to outcross was not a simple function of changing gene frequency but was associated with the genotype of individual selected.