Mixed mesenchymal differentiation in meningiomas

Five intracranial meningiomas showing mixed mesenchymal differentiation are described. Three contained cartilage, three contained bone, four contained hyaline fibrous strands or nodules which in two instances were calcified, three contained angiomatous areas, one contained pericytoma-like areas, four contained pleomorphic and sometimes multinucleate giant cells, and one contained a mucoid matrix including spheroidal cells superficially resembling chordoma. The importance of recognising such tumours is emphasised as they can be misdiagnosed as metastatic deposits, particularly in a frozen section.

Destructive lesions of vertebral bodies in ankylosing spondylitis

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Rheumatoid disease and rib defects

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Enthesopathy of rheumatoid and ankylosing spondylitis

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Rheumatoid serum factor in populations in the U.K. I. Lung disease and rheumatoid serum factor

In population samples in England and Wales a greater frequency of positive sheep cell agglutination tests has been found in Leigh and the Rhondda than in Wensleydale, the Vale of Glamorgan or Watford.

The urban population of Leigh had more X-ray evidence of lung pathology than the rural population of Wensleydale. Seropositive persons in both the urban populations of Leigh and the Rhondda and the rural populations of Wensleydale and Glamorgan had more X-ray evidence of lung pathology than seronegative individuals, the difference being significant for healed tuberculosis of the lungs, thickened basal pleura and increased basal vascular markings. The association between the first two and rheumatoid factor was equally present in those with and without arthritis but in the third it was limited to those with arthritis. A history of bronchitis was no more common in persons with a positive sheep cell test than in those with a negative test and the indirect maximum breathing capacity showed no significant relationship to rheumatoid factor titre.

No association was found between cigarette smoking and the sheep cell titre.

It is concluded that parenchymal lung and pleural disease may act as a stimulus to the production of rheumatoid serum factor and that this stimulus is independent of the presence or absence of arthritis.

Studies on the diet of the grazing animal. I. Seasonal changes in the diet of sheep grazing on pastures of different availability and composition

The diet of grazing sheep was studied by using animals with oesophageal fistulas. Seasonal changes in the botanical and chemical composition of the diet when grazing Phalaris–annual grasses–subterranean clover pasture are described. The effect of grazing intensity on diet is considered. A comparison was made of diets on seven pasture species. None of the species examined had a useful qualitative superiority over Phalaris either in winter or in summer, when the digestibility of this species declines considerably. Relations between botanical and chemical composition of the diet and the pasture are discussed. Significant relations were established between the nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate contents of diets and their digestibility.

ARTERITIS AND LOCALISED PERIOSTEAL NEW BONE FORMATION

1. Three patients with localised periosteal new bone formation associated with periosteal arteritis and other evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus are described.

2. Systemic steroid therapy was valuable in the management of this condition.

The use of sheep fitted with oesophageal fistulas to measure diet quality

Ewes and wethers with oesophageal fistulas were compared with normal sheep in several experiments over three years. The grazing behaviour, herbage intake, liveweight changes, and ability to bear and rear lambs were altered little by fistulation, provided fistulas were less than 5 cm in length and closure of the fistulas was good. This was so even at a relatively high stocking rate of G ewes to the acre. These findings infer that studies with fistulated sheep provide information validly applicable to normal sheep. Fistulas that allowed good closure control (<5 cm in length) did not always allow complete recovery of ingested material. However, with incomplete recovery representative diet samples were obtained. Sampling procedures for obtaining adequately representative diet samples for individual sheep, and for obtaining estimates of diet composition for flocks of sheep on different pastures were established. The routine that must be followed to avoid obtaining untrue diet samples is to sample sheep when they are accustomed to a pasture, without prior fasting, and at the time(s) of the day when sheep are normally grazing. An hour's sampling period will collect about l/l0th of the total daily intake and longer periods may cause rumen dysfunction. Pooling data from once-a-day samples for two successive days for an individual sheep seemed to give accurate values for the whole diet over those two days for sheep set stocked on pasture. Variation between-sheep, between-days, and within-days in the nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate content and botanical composition of extrusa samples was studied. The contribution of these sources of variation to total variation differed for different diet constituents. For nitrogen, between-sheep variation was greater than between-day variation but for soluble carbohydrates the position was reversed. Within-day variation was much the same as between-day variation in a constituent. The standard deviations of nitrogen and soluble carbohydrate contents and botanical composition were large and a true mean value for any of these parameters for a flock of sheep, could only be obtained by pooling data for several sheep on several successive days.