Familial nonobstructive cardiomyopathy with endocardial fibroelastosis beyond infancy

A 10-year-old boy with congestive heart failure died in five months in spite of comprehensive medical treatment. Autopsy showed patchy areas of endocardial fibroelastosis of the left ventricle. The sister of this patient had followed a similar course at 13 years of age with death within six months of the onset of congestive failure. Her postmortem examination also showed endocardial fibroelastosis. The clinical presentation of familial endocardial fibroelastosis in the preteen and teenage years is a rare event. Probably the endocardial fibroelastosis was secondary to a familial nonobstructive cardiomyopathy.

New evaporation geometry for deposition of silicon monoxide film

A new evaporation geometry for the deposition of pinhole-free films of silicon monoxide has been developed. This geometry makes use of the fact that if silicon monoxide is heated in a chamber connected to a long narrow baffle perpendicular to it and leading to another chamber with a V-shaped opening, the paths for particle ejection are eliminated and homogeneous and pinhole-free film deposition occurs. The use of this geometry leads to reproducible films on a high yield basis. The same principle can also be used in other applications requiring the filtering of vapors. The geometry is found to be compatible with other materials which do not react with it.

Short colon malformation with imperforate anus

Ten cases of a rare high anorectal malformation associated with short colon are presented. The significance of a large gas fluid level (occupying more than half of the abdominal cavity on invertogram) is stressed for pre-operative diagnosis. Terminal colostomy or ileostomy with disconnection of colo-vesical/colo-vaginal fistula has been considered the only adequate therapy. Associated congenital malformations have been responsible for high mortality in these patients.

Extraosseous accumulation of 99mTc phosphate tracers. Case report and review of reported causes

A patient with a signet-ring-cell carcinoma of the stomach accumulating 99mTc methylene diphosphonate is described. Other conditions reported in the literature are reviewed.

Enzyme associations in T4 phage DNA precursor synthesis

A DIRECT APPROACH IS DESCRIBED TO THE QUESTION: Are enzymes of DNA precursor synthesis organized into a supramolecular structure? This approach involved sedimentation analysis of several T4 phage-coded early enzyme activities in crude lysates of infected Escherichia coli. One-third to one-half of several activities tested-dCMP hydroxymethylase, dTMP synthetase, deoxynucleoside 5'-monophosphate kinase, deoxyuridine triphosphatase, and probably dCMP deaminase, but not dihydrofolate reductase or DNA polymerase-sedimented much more rapidly than expected from molecular weight. About 5% of the host cell nucleoside diphosphate kinase, known to participate in T4 DNA precursor synthesis, cosedimented with these activities. To show that this rapidly sedimenting material represents an organized enzyme complex rather than a nonspecific aggregate, we studied the kinetics of formation of dTTP with dUMP as the initial substrate. This three-step reaction sequence reached its maximal rate within a few seconds when catalyzed by enzymes in the aggregate, whereas an equivalent mixture of uncomplexed enzymes required nearly 20 min before dTTP synthesis reached its maximal rate. The effect of aggregation is evidently to decrease the volume into which intermediates are free to diffuse. Because there is reason to believe that intracellular concentration gradients of DNA precursors exist, the properties of this enzyme aggregate in vitro may help to explain how such gradients are maintained.

Comparison of Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate with Tc-99m pyrophosphate in the detection of acute myocardial infarction: concise communication

Myocardial scans were obtained in ten patients with proven myocardial infarction. Scintigraphy on consecutive days was performed with technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate and technetium-99m pyrophosphate. Images obtained with the two tracers were generally equal in quality. Those with PPi exhibited denser uptake, while background activity was lower with MDP.

Arteriovenous malformation of the cecum: report of six cases

Patients who have chronic lower gastrointestinal bleeding with negative conventional work-ups should undergo superior mesenteric arteriography to look for arteriovenous malformations. Once the diagnosis is made, treatment is immediate conventional right hemicolectomy. Six patients with arteriovenous malformations described in this report have had no recurrence of rectal bleeding in one to five years.

Nonsense suppressors of yeast cause osmotic-sensitive growth

Many nonsense suppressors of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cause growth inhibition on hypertonic media. Eight tyrosine-inserting UAA (ochre) suppressors, eight tyrosine-inserting UAG (amber) suppressors, a leucine-inserting UAG suppressor, and a serine-inserting recessive lethal UAG suppressor cause osmotic sensitivity, whereas a serine-inserting UAA suppressor does not cause sensitivity. Although the mechanism is not understood, the growth inhibition of specific suppressors on hypertonic media is correlated with their efficiencies of suppression. This heretofore unknown property of nonsense suppressors is useful for mitotic mapping, selecting tRNA mutants, selecting antisuppressors, and scoring nonsense suppressors.