On a new gap phenomenon in riemannian geometry

This note announces some theorems that show that the flat metric of euclidean space has no nearby nonflat complete metric with the property that its curvature keeps a sign and is "uniformly small" in a sense made precise here.

The gene frequency of serum albumin variants in Chinese and the electrophoretic characterization of several serum albumin variants

By screening a Chinese population of 1025 unrelated persons in Beijing, three serum albumin variants were discovered, and the gene frequency of serum albumin variants of Chinese is estimated as 0.0015. These albumin variants can be distinguished electrophoretically from each other, and were named tentatively as albumin Hanzhong, albumin Changzhi and albumin LXX respectively. A polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure has been developed to characterize albumin variants by determining the relative mobilities (Rm) of albumin variants in a tris-succinate buffer system.

Valproic acid therapy in childhood epilepsy

Valproic acid, used alone or in combination with other anticonvulsants in 100 children with epilepsy, improved seizure control in all age groups. Mean improvement in seizure control was 82%. Petit mal seizures responded best, but other types of seizures, even with associated mental and physical handicaps, also responded well. A substantial improvement in alertness and behavior often occurred. Leukopenia (27%) and an elevated SGOT value (44%) were frequent but transient. Other side effects included alopecia (1), gastrointestinal distress with vomiting (7), pancreatitis (1), thrombocytopenia (1), edema (2), and coma (2). Three severely retarded children with frequent seizures died while receiving valproic acid, but it is not clear that death was caused by valproic acid. Children must be monitored carefully for potential toxic effects, and drug interactions with other anticonvulsants may cause problems in treatment.