bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sodium and Potassium Flux Rates in Normal Human Leucocytes in an Artificial Extracellular Fluid
Authors: Hilton P. J. , Patrick J.
Published: August 2015

1. Sodium and potassium efflux and influx rates were studied in normal human leucocytes in an artificial extracellular fluid using radioactive isotopes.

2. The rate constant for sodium efflux was 4.2 h−1 corresponding to a sodium efflux rate of 487 mmol kg cell dry weight−1 h−1. Approximately three-quarters of this flux was ouabain sensitive.

3. Potassium influx was 346 mmol kg cell dry weight−1 h−1. Approximately two-thirds of the potassium influx was ouabain insensitive.
Splanchnic Glucose Production and its Regulation in Healthy Monozygotic Twins of Diabetics
Authors: Wahren J. , Felig P. , Cerasi E. , Luft R. , Hendler Rosa
Published: August 2015

1. Splanchnic exchange of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, glycerol and individual plasma amino acids was determined in five clinically unaffected monozygotic twins of insulin-dependent diabetics and in a group of five age- and sex-matched controls. The studies were performed in the postabsorptive state and after stimulation of endogenous insulin secretion by the intravenous infusion of glucose at a rate of 2 mg/min per kg for 45 min.

2. In the basal state the mean splanchnic glucose output was 25% lower for the twins than for the controls while splanchnic uptake of glucose precursors was similar in the two groups. The concentration of circulating insulin (which rose by no more than 10–15 μunits/ml in either group) was lower during the infusion in the twins than in the controls. Despite the lower insulin concentrations, infusion of glucose resulted in a complete shut off of splanchnic glucose production in the twins, while in the controls only a 50% inhibition of basal glucose output was observed. In both the twins and controls estimated peripheral glucose utilization was unchanged during the glucose infusion.

3. It is concluded that: (a) in clinically unaffected identical twins of known diabetics basal splanchnic glucose production is reduced while uptake of glucose precursors is unchanged, suggesting a diminished contribution to basal glucose output from hepatic glycogenolytic processes; (b) in the twins as well as in controls, the liver is the primary site of action of small increments in endogenous insulin; (c) hepatic sensitivity to endogenous insulin is augmented in twins as compared with controls.
A Study of Intravascular Coagulation in Immune Complex Glomerulonephritis by Use of 131I-Labelled Fibrinogen and 125I-Labelled Antigen
Authors: Wardle E. N.
Published: August 2015

1. Intravascular coagulation has been assessed by following the catabolism of 131I-fibrinogen in relation to 125I-labelled antigen disposal during anaphylaxis and acute and chronic serum sickness glomerulonephritis in rabbits.

2. As a result of antigen challenge early in the bovine serum albumin (BSA) immunization schedule, in vivo formation of immune complexes caused platelet damage, intravascular coagulation shown as ‘rebound defibrination’ (that is a transient fall of labelled fibrinogen), and also activation of kinins and of fibrinolysis.

3. ‘Rebound defibrination’ was associated with precipitating antibody to BSA, with rapid removal of antigen, and with the appearance of fibrin microthrombi in the renal glomeruli. It also appeared to be related to the development of proliferative glomerular histology. Further, inhibition of fibrinolysis before antigen challenge may lead to patchy renal cortical infarction.

4. Florid ‘rebound defibrination’ occurred in animals with anaphylaxis and was accompanied by obstruction of the vasculature of lungs and kidneys by fibrin. These animals had high levels of precipitating antibody.

5. Animals which developed chronic proteinuria late in immunization had relatively more non-precipitating antibody to BSA and showed slower removal of antigen, no rebound effect and thus normal fibrinogen catabolism. Glomerular histology showed little proliferative response.

6. Long-term horse serum injection produced glomerulonephritis accompanied by fibrinoid vasculitis, and accelerated fibrinogen catabolism.
Measurement of Concentrations of Angiotensin I in Human Blood by Radioimmunoassay
Authors: Waite M. A.
Published: August 2015

1. A radioimmunoassay for angiotensin I is described.

2. An extraction procedure for angiotensin I from blood was developed, using alcoholic precipitation to stop the renin/renin substrate reaction.

3. The normal range found for angiotensin I in venous blood was 11–88 pg/ml and in arterial blood 12–72 pg/ml.

4. Angiotensin I levels fell following bilateral nephrectomy but angiotensin I was still detected several weeks following operation.
Plasma Noradrenaline and Adrenaline in Patients with Thyrotoxicosis and Myxoedema
Authors: Christensen N. J.
Published: August 2015

1. Employing a precise and sensitive double-isotope derivative technique plasma noradrenaline and plasma adrenaline were measured in sixteen normal subjects, in eight patients with myxoedema and in ten patients with thyrotoxicosis. Venous blood was obtained while the subjects rested in the supine position.

2. In the normal subjects plasma noradrenaline averaged 0·22±SD 0·09 ng/ml and plasma adrenaline 0·05±SD 0·05 ng/ml. Plasma noradrenaline rose with increasing age.

3. In patients with myxoedema, plasma noradrenaline was increased approximately threefold. The difference between the normal subjects and the hypothyroid patients was more pronounced in the older age-groups.

4. Despite their elevated pulse rate patients with thyrotoxicosis showed significantly decreased plasma noradrenaline concentrations compared to the normal subjects.

5. In the hypothyroid and hyperthyroid subjects plasma adrenaline concentrations were not different from the values obtained in the normal subjects.

6. It is suggested that sympathetic nervous activity is decreased in thyrotoxicosis as a compensatory phenomenon to the direct effect of thyroid hormones on the cardiovascular system.
Left Ventricular Function in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with and without Cardiac Failure
Authors: Ježek V. , Schrijen F.
Published: August 2015

1. The circulatory response to supine exercise and to angiotensin infusion was measured in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

2. Left ventricular function assessed from left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP)-stroke volume or stroke work relationships was almost always normal in the patients without cardiac failure. The patients with right heart failure showed an abnormal response with a pronounced rise of LVEDP during both exercise and infusion of angiotensin. The values of LVEDP showed a significant correlation with RVEDP and with arterial oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide tension under both experimental conditions. No abnormality in the response of cardiac output, mean systolic ejection ratio or systolic ejection time was observed. In thirteen out of fifteen patients subjected to both exercise and infusion of angiotensin, the results of the two tests agreed in showing left ventricular function to be normal or abnormal; two patients showed an abnormal response to exercise, but a normal response to angiotensin.

3. The possible causes of the abnormality of left ventricular function in COPD with right heart failure are discussed. Changes in left ventricular compliance and the effect of chronic hypoxaemia and hypercapnic acidosis on myocardial contractility seem to be the most probable explanation.
Carbohydrate Metabolism in Patients with Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Vinik A. I. , Pooler W.
Published: August 2015

1. Responses to a 50 g oral glucose load and intravenous administration of 1 g of sodium tolbutamide have been compared in thirteen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and ten control subjects.

2. The hepatoma patients have lower basal plasma glucose and immunoreactive insulin concentrations. Plasma insulin responses to glucose and tolbutamide are impaired whether considered as the absolute concentrations or related to the plasma glucose concentrations as an insulinogenic index.

3. Hepatoma patients also demonstrate increased endogenous insulin sensitivity and hypoglycaemic unresponsiveness as shown by a greater and more sustained fall in glucose concentration following intravenous administration of tolbutamide.

4. Basal growth hormone concentrations are within the normal range and do not rise paradoxically after glucose administration.

5. These findings in hepatoma patients strikingly contrast with those seen in uncomplicated cirrhosis. The same phenomena are observed whether or not background cirrhosis is present with hepatoma and suggest that the tumour may be secreting a principle that suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis and/or enhances glucose utilization. The principle is not immunoreactive insulin, but may be other unidentified substances elaborated by the tumour which produce the insulin-like effect.
The Plasma Kinin-Forming System in Labour
Authors: Malofiejew M.
Published: August 2015

1. The plasma of non-pregnant women contains practically no kinins and only traces of kallikrein. Treatment of the plasma with kaolin produces additional amounts of kallikrein from prekallikrein and of kinin from kininogen.

2. During the second stage of labour, plasma kallikrein is increased and the amount of kallikrein inhibitors is decreased. The plasma kinin-forming activity is only slightly increased due, apparently, to a fall in plasma kininogen.

3. Plasma kallikrein causes a rise in the contractile tonus of the isolated rat and human myometrium.
Genetic Ecology of Hypertension
Authors: Cruz-Coke Ricardo , Donoso Hugo , Barrera Radek
Published: August 2015

1. A comparative study has been made of a population genetically homogeneous living in two adjacent but strongly different ecosystems.

2. Individuals were ‘marked’ with common serologic major genes.

3. The predominant strength of the environmental factors was demonstrated by the observation that when maintaining the genetic factor constant, hypertension appeared in the more advanced (‘acculturated’) Lowland populations.

4. The absence of hypertension was confirmed in Highland isolated primitive peoples.

5. Blood pressure correlation between relatives varied significantly with changing ecosystems.

6. The predominant strength of heredity was nevertheless demonstrated by the fact that in acculturated populations the genetic component of variance was found to be greater than the environmental one, and the dominant component accounted for nearly half the genetic variance.

7. Hypertension appears in the Lowlands to be exclusively associated with some specific genotypes of the Rhesus and MN systems.

8. The determination of blood pressure may be controlled by few major genes operating in given ecosystems under the permissiveness of environmental agents.
The Rate of Sickling of Cells Containing Sickle-Cell Haemoglobin
Authors: Rampling M. W. , Sirs J. A.
Published: August 2015

1. A rapid-reaction apparatus was used to measure the rate at which cells containing sickle-cell haemoglobin (HbS) undergo morphological changes as a result of very rapid deoxygenation. The events occurring under these circumstances were found to take place in two stages.

2. The first consisted of a very rapid gelation of the cellular haemoglobin producing bizarre-shaped erythrocytes. The rate of this process was determined by the rate of cellular deoxygenation. Starting at 100% HbO2 there was, however, a delay of about 30 ms corresponding to the time of formation of the minimum amount of Hb to allow sickling to occur.

3. The second stage was very much slower and resulted in the cells gradually acquiring the more usual holly-leaf and sickle-forms.

4. It was also possible to show with this apparatus that formalin is an extremely rapid fixative. Cells mixed with this solution became fixed within 14 ms.
Spontaneous Denaturation as a Possible Initial Step in the Breakdown of Serum Albumin in Vivo
Authors: Wallevik K.
Published: August 2015

1. Preparations of rabbit serum albumin, dialysed against rabbit plasma, were incubated at temperatures in the range 39–49°C at pH 7·3 and pH values in the range 7·2–8·0 at 43°C.

2. Denaturation of the rabbit albumin was studied by measuring (a) its susceptibility to tryptic hydrolysis and (b) catabolic rates in rabbits.

3. The rabbit albumin was demonstrated to denature by both criteria.

4. Assuming a similar denaturation to take place in vivo, it is possible to account for at least 10% of the normal turnover of albumin in rabbits.
European Working Party on High Blood Pressure in Elderly (EWPHE): Organization of a Double-Blind Multicentre Trial on Antihypertensive Therapy in Elderly Patients
Authors: Amery A. , de Schaepdrijver A.
Published: August 2015

The protocol of a double-blind multicentre trial on the influence of antihypertensive therapy on the morbidity and mortality in elderly patients with high blood pressure is described.
Maximum Bicarbonate Response to Intravenous Infusion of ‘GIH’ Secretin in Man
Authors: Gutierrez L. V. , Baron J. H.
Published: August 2015

1. In twenty-one tests in six subjects without, and three with, pancreatic disease, the maximum volume and bicarbonate output of the duodenal aspirate in response to intravenous infusion of pure ‘GIH’ secretin was significantly higher with 4 than with 2 units kg−1 h−1, and there was no consistent change in these outputs after 8 units kg−1 h−1.

2. The optimum maximum dose of secretin in man is probably 4 units kg−1 h−1.
Importance of Central Catecholaminergic Neurones in the Development and Maintenance of Renal Hypertension
Authors: Lewis P. J. , Reid J. L. , Chalmers J. P. , Dollery C. T.
Published: August 2015

1. Depletion of brain catecholamines by injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OH D) into the cisterna magna in rabbits significantly diminished the rise in arterial pressure following the wrapping of both kidneys in cellophane, 6-OHD treated animals having a mean arterial pressure of 100 mmHg at 6 weeks after wrapping, compared with 122 mmHg in control animals.

2. In rabbits with established cellophane perinephritis hypertension, intracisternal 6-OHD significantly lowered the arterial pressure from 124 to 103 mmHg.

3. The pressor response to intraventricular angiotensin (100 ng) was decreased in normotensive rabbits pretreated with intracisternal 6-OHD from a pressure rise of 20 mmHg in 1 min to 10 mmHg in 1 min.
Importance of the Adrenergic Nervous System in the Support of Cardiac Function in Patients with Primary Arterial Hypertension
Authors: Guazzi M. , Polese A. , Fiorentini C. , Magrini F.
Published: August 2015

1. Because antiadrenergic therapy of hypertension may precipitate borderline cardiac compensation into failure, a method for detecting early cardiac insufficiency appeared desirable.

2. Eight out of thirty primary hypertensive patients were considered to be in incipient failure on the basis of the magnitude of the changes in left ventricular mean rates of systolic ejection and isovolumic pressure development after acute digitalization.

3. Antiadrenergic therapy precipitated these patients into overt failure, but did not affect cardiac performance in the others.

4. Left ventricular response to digitalis seems a reliable test in estimating cardiac reserve and in predicting the likelihood of decompensation after antiadrenergic treatment of hypertension.
The Effect of Clonidine on Plasma Renin Activity in Human Hypertension
Authors: Salvetti A. , Arzilli F. , Zucchelli G. C.
Published: August 2015

1. Clonidine inhibits plasma renin activity (PRA) in hypertensive patients, especially when administered for more than 4 days.

2. This effect is not related to sodium retention, but is probably due to inhibition of the basal sympathetic activity.
Metabolism of Renin Activity in Three Canine Models: Isolated Liver, Acute Hepatic Necrosis and Chronic Toxic Hepatitis
Authors: Strong Cameron G. , Tapia Hugo R. , Hunt James C.
Published: August 2015

1. Hepatic metabolism of renin activity was studied in seven normal dogs, twelve dogs with acute hepatic allograft rejection, five dogs with chronic toxic hepatitis and in seven isolated canine liver preparations.

2. Renin activity was measured by radioimmunoassay in hepatic arterial, portal venous, and hepatic venous plasma (PRA), in bile (BRA) and in perfusate (PsRA).

3. There was a significant gradient of PRA across the normal liver (P < 0.03) and of PsRA across the isolated liver (P < 0.05).

4. There was no significant PRA gradient across the liver of dogs with allograft rejection (acute hepatic necrosis).

5. Dogs with chronic toxic hepatitis showed decreased fractional extraction of PRA but otherwise their data were normal.

6. There was a significant difference between portal venous PRA (8.69 ±1.51 ng ml−1h−1) and hepatic arterial PRA (5.67±1.91 ng ml−1h−1) (P < 0.05).

7. BRA accounted for only 0.04% of hepatic extraction of PRA, suggesting that more important mechanisms for hepatic renin metabolism are binding or destruction of renin by the hepatic tissue.
Effects of Angiotensin II on Adenylcyclase Activity, Phosphodiesterase Activity and on the Level of Cyclic AMP in Rat Uterus
Authors: D'Auriac G. Anglès , Meyer P.
Published: August 2015

1. Intracellular concentrations of adenosine 3′: 5′-cyclic phosphate (cyclic AMP) and activities of adenylcyclase and phosphodiesterase were determined in oestrogen-pretreated rat uteri during exposure to different concentrations of angiotensin II.

2. No significant variations in cyclic AMP or in the enzyme activities were observed at concentrations of angiotensin inducing significant contractions.

3. It is concluded that in rat uterus, the process of excitation-contraction coupling triggered by angiotensin is not mediated by variations in intracellular levels of cyclic AMP.
A New Urinary Assay for Separate Normetanephrine and Metanephrine with Application for the Diagnosis of Phaeochromocytoma
Authors: Wolf Robert L. , Gherman Cornelia E. , Lauer John D. , Fish Harold L. , Levey Burt R.
Published: August 2015

1. A new, specific and sensitive urinary assay for separate normetanephrine (NM) and separate metanephrine (M) is described.

2. This test employs high-voltage paper electrophoresis after passage of the urine through a resin column.

3. There is no difference in the urinary excretions of either separate NM or separate M in normotensive or hypertensive subjects.

4. Phaeochromocytoma patients excrete significantly larger amounts of separate NM and separate M than normotensive or hypertensive subjects.

5. Incorrect results are occasionally obtained with other urinary assay tests which measure either the combined metanephrines or different urinary catecholamine metabolites for the diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma.
Increased Plasma Renin Substrate Concentrations in Human Malignant Hypertension
Authors: Rosset E. , Scherrer J. R. , Veyrat R.
Published: August 2015

1. In normal man, in deoxycorticosterone/salt hypertension, and in renal artery stenosis, an inverse relationship between plasma renin activity (PRA) and renin-substrate (RS) is found.

2. PRA and RS were found to be inversely related in primary aldosteronism and in anephric patients.

3. In malignant hypertension, by contrast, the highest PRA levels were associated with the highest RS levels.
On the Pathogenesis of the Secondary Hyperaldosteronism of the Bartter Syndrome
Authors: Nielsen I. , Jacobsen J. G. , Olesen K. H.
Published: August 2015

1. Based on three cases of the Bartter syndrome, two adults and one child, the pathogenesis of the syndrome is discussed.

2. It is suggested that protracted salt-volume loss may induce autonomous renin overproduction, leading to the manifestations of the syndrome.
Renal Prostaglandins: Determinants of Intrarenal Distribution of Blood Flow in the Dog
Authors: Itskovitz H. D. , Stemper J. , Pacholczyk D. , McGiff J. C.
Published: August 2015

1. Indomethacin inhibited the synthesis of prostaglandins in isolated blood-perfused canine kidneys.

2. Blood flow to the inner cortex was reduced to a greater degree by indomethacin than blood flow to the outer cortex, resulting in redistribution of fractional blood flow to the outer cortex.

3. A prostaglandin, probably PGE2, appears to participate in the regulation intra-renally of medullary vascular resistance and thereby inner cortical blood flow.
Maximum Acceleration of Blood from the Left Ventricle in Patients with Ischaemic Heart Disease
Authors: Bennett E. D. , Else Wendy , Miller G. A. H. , Sutton G. C. , Miller H. C. , Noble M. I. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Maximum acceleration of blood has been measured in the aorta using a catheter tip velocity transducer in twelve patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography. Signals were obtained with the catheter tip transducer 5–6 cm above the aortic valve. From these signals, the values for peak velocity were measured, and acceleration was derived by continuous differentiation of the velocity signal.

2. The values obtained for maximum acceleration and peak velocity were inversely related to the severity of coronary artery disease as indicated by coronary angiography.

3. There was a close relationship between peak velocity, maximum acceleration and ejection fraction calculated from the left-ventricular angiogram.

4. Three patients with chest pain and no cardiac abnormality detectable by cardiac catheterization had maximum acceleration values above 1500 cm/s2 and peak velocity above 60 cm/s.

5. Four patients with definite coronary artery disease had normal intracardiac pressures and cardiac indices, but decreased ejection fractions. The values for maximum acceleration were between 750 and 1100 cm/s2 and for peak velocity between 32.0 and 58.0 cm/s.

6. Five patients had severe coronary disease with abnormal intracardiac pressures, cardiac indices and decreased ejection fraction. Values for maximum accelerations were below 850 cm/s2 and for peak velocity, below 41.0 cm/s.
The Pressor Response to Intravenously Infused Angiotensin II: Correlation with Plasma Renin Activity
Authors: Deheneffe J. , Bernard A.
Published: August 2015

1. When angiotensin II was infused into forty unselected subjects a linear relationship was found between the increment of diastolic blood pressure and the logarithm of the rate of infusion of angiotensin II.

2. The slope of this line was very reproducible on repeated determinations in the same subject.

3. When the correlations between pre-infusion plasma renin activity and various functions derived from dose—response curves were determined, it was observed that: (i) the significance of the correlation became progressively stronger when increasing thresholds of the pressor response to angiotensin II were considered; (ii) the best correlation was achieved when the slopes of the individual dose—response curves were plotted against the logarithm of corresponding plasma renin activities.

4. These results suggest that the slope of the pressor dose—response curve is the most reliable index of responsiveness to intravenously infused angiotensin II and that it may provide a satisfactory guide to the basal plasma renin activity.
17-Oxosteroid Conjugates in Plasma and Urine of Patients with Acute Intermittent Porphyria
Authors: Paxton J. W. , Moore M. R. , Beattie A. D. , Goldberg A.
Published: August 2015

1. Gas—liquid-chromatographic methods were established to measure the concentrations of the main 17-oxosteroid conjugates in plasma and the urinary excretion of the main metabolites of these steroids in human subjects. These steroids were assayed in the urine of thirty-eight normal males and thirty-seven normal females and in the plasma of fifty-eight normal males and thirty-nine normal females; the data were used as controls for the further investigations of the amounts of these steroids in thirty-four patients with acute intermittent porphyria.

2. The seven patients examined in acute attack of this disease had significantly increased excretions of the urinary sulphate and/or glucuronide conjugates of dehydroepiandrosterone (3β-hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one) and aetiocholanolone (3α-hydroxy-5β-androstan-17-one). There were increases in the concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in the plasma of four patients (in an attack) in whom the plasma 17-oxosteroids were determined. Lesser increases in the plasma concentrations of several other 17-oxosteroid sulphates were observed but no consistent pattern was apparent. Similar abnormalities of urine and plasma 17-oxosteroids were observed in sixteen of the patients in remission. These increased excretions and increased plasma concentrations of certain 17-oxosteroid conjugates were associated with increased excretion of porphyrins and porphyrin precursors in the urine.

3. The urinary ratio of aetiocholanolone to androsterone (3α-hydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one) was significantly greater than normal in patients with acute intermittent porphyria. In one patient studied over several weeks in an attack the concentrations of δ-aminolaevulic acid and porphobilinogen in urine correlated significantly with the steroid ratio.

4. Dexamethasone treatment of one patient in an attack resulted in significant reductions in excretion of the individual 17-oxosteroids and of porphyrins and porphyrin precursors. This was accompanied by a noticeable improvement in his clinical condition.

5. A series of three C18, twelve C19 and five C21 steroids were given intraperitoneally to rats. Only dehydroepiandrosterone, 17-hydroxypregnenolone (3β-hydroxypreg-5-en-17-ol-20-one), androstenedione (androst-4-ene-3,17-dione), androstenediol (androst-4-ene-3β,17β-diol) and aetiocholanolone caused significant elevations of hepatic δ-aminolaevulic acid synthetase. Although dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulphate were active in this system, the acetate and glucuronide of this steroid were not. Elevations of δ-aminolaevulic acid synthetase activity caused by dehydroepiandrosterone could be abolished by the antibiotics cycloheximide and actinomycin D.

6. These observations suggest the involvement of the 17-oxosteroids, especially dehydroepiandrosterone and aetiocholanolone, in the pathogenesis and control of acute intermittent porphyria.
Effects on Rat Kidney Slice Function In Vitro of Proteins from the Urines of Patients with Myelomatosis and Nephrosis
Authors: Preuss H. G. , Weiss F. R. , Iammarino R. M. , Hammack W. J. , Murdaugh H. V.
Published: August 2015

1. The effects were investigated of non-dialysable substances obtained from urines of patients with nephrotic syndrome and those with myelomatosis (heavily laden with light chains) on renal function in a system in vitro.

2. The ability of the rat kidney slice to accumulate hippurate and tetraethylammonium (TEA), and to produce ammonia and glucose, was measured after incubation in urine proteins from ten patients with myelomatosis. All slice functions measured at protein concentrations of 10 mg/ml decreased significantly compared with control. Hippurate accumulation averaged 58%, TEA accumulation, 53%, ammoniagenesis, 59%, and gluconeogenesis, 57% of control. An inverse relationship between protein concentration and hippurate accumulation was noted.

3. Slices incubated in proteins from eight nephrotic patients showed no consistent decrease from control in hippurate accumulation (95%), TEA accumulation (103%), ammoniagenesis (91%) or gluconeogenesis (92%).

4. Since urinary proteins from patients with myelomatosis, unlike urinary proteins from the nephrotic patients, had a consistently deleterious effect on the function of renal slices, this suggests that proteins found in urines from myelomatous patients may play a role in the disturbance of proximal tubular function sometimes seen in this disorder.
Directional Effects of Cyclic Amp on Platelets
Authors: Barnes F. S. , Gamow Elfriede , Burns Anne , De Boisfleury Ann
Published: August 2015

1. Platelets undergo a spreading reaction in a microscope slide—coverslip preparation.

2. If a gradient of cyclic AMP is generated in such a preparation a large fraction of the spread platelets are oriented with their veils into the gradient.
The Ventilatory Response in Diabetic Ketoacidosis
Authors: Fulop M. , Dreyer N. , Tannenbaum H.
Published: August 2015

1. Previous studies of the ventilatory response to metabolic acidosis have usually considered only patients with arterial blood pH above 7·10. To define the response during more severe acidaemia, arterial CO2 tension and pH were measured in fifty-three episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis, including twenty-four with pH below 7·10, and ten with pH below 7·00.

2. The relation between arterial CO2 tension, and both blood pH and plasma bicarbonate concentration, in these cases with generally severe metabolic acidaemia (mean pH 7·12 ± SD 0·13), was very similar to the relations between those variables found by others in patients with less severe acidaemia, such as that due to renal failure.

3. As arterial blood hydrogen ion activity increased, arterial CO2 tension decreased inversely, reflecting well-sustained hyperventilation, even during profound acidaemia.

4. The inverse relation between arterial CO2 tension and hydrogen ion activity suggests that during metabolic acidosis, alveolar ventilation increases in direct proportion to the increased blood hydrogen ion activity.
Plasma and Hepatic Cobalamins in Tropical Ataxic Neuropathy
Authors: Osuntokun B. O. , Matthews D. M. , Hussein H.A-A. , Wise Irene J. , Linnell J. C.
Published: August 2015

1. Chromato-bioautographic analysis of cobalamins in Nigerian subjects showed that in patients with tropical ataxic neuropathy as in normal control subjects methylcobalamin was the major form of vitamin B12 in plasma. Plasma cyanocobalamin was significantly higher in patients than control subjects. The concentration of plasma adenosylcobalamin in patients was about twice that in control subjects.

2. Adenosylcobalamin was the predominant liver cobalamin in all subjects. Cyanocobalamin was not detected in liver from normal subjects, but a small proportion of cyanocobalamin was detected in the liver in the majority of the patients.

3. The raised cyanocobalamin levels may have resulted from the chronic cyanide intoxication known to exist in these patients. There was no evidence of tissue vitamin B12 deficiency or that conversion of metabolically active cobalamins into cyanocobalamin plays a part in the pathogenesis of tropical ataxic neuropathy. However, the increase in plasma adenosylcobalamin does indicate some disturbance of bodily handling of cobalamins in this disease.
Observations on the Development of the Febrile Response to Pyrogens in Sheep
Authors: Pittman Q. J. , Cooper K. E. , Veale W. L. , Van Petten G. R.
Published: August 2015

1. An initial injection of intravenous bacterial pyrogen in newborn lambs failed to produce fever, but did cause a fall in the number of circulating blood leucocytes.

2. A second challenge of bacterial pyrogen in 60-h-old lambs caused fever, whereas other 60-h-old lambs, not previously injected with pyrogen, were unresponsive.

3. Thus the newborn lamb requires sensitization, by exposure to endotoxin, before pyrogen-induced fever can occur.

4. When bacterial pyrogen was injected intravenously into the unanaesthetized foetus in utero, foetal and maternal body temperatures remained unchanged in response to the initial challenge and to one or two subsequent injections of bacterial pyrogen in utero, or in the lamb immediately after birth. In all instances the foetal white cell count fell in the 90 min after the injection.

5. The response to both bacterial pyrogen and leucocyte pyrogen appears to depend upon the maturity of the physiological mechanisms involved in pyrogen fever.
Plasma Post-Heparin Lipolytic Activity in Patients with Malabsorption: Effect of Intravenous Fat Administration
Authors: Press M. , Thompson G. R.
Published: August 2015

1. Post-heparin lipolytic activity was determined in the plasma of thirteen patients with malabsorption and fourteen healthy controls, with a coconut-oil emulsion (Ediol), triolein and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) as substrates.

2. Significantly lower post-heparin lipolytic activities were found in malabsorbers, whichever substrate was used. Lipolysis was inhibited by 0–5 mol/l sodium chloride when VLDL was the substrate but not when the two artificial substrates were used.

3. Plasma post-heparin lipolytic activities rose in malabsorbers after therapeutic doses of an intravenous fat emulsion (Intralipid), especially when assayed against VLDL.

4. The abnormal fatty acid composition of VLDL from malabsorbers did not affect its properties as a substrate for lipolysis by post-heparin plasma from normal subjects.

5. These findings support the concept that PHLA is heterogeneous in origin. They also suggest that if reduced clearance is a factor in the hypertriglyceridaemia sometimes seen in malabsorption, it is due to an enzyme deficit rather than a substrate defect.
The Effect of Ethane-1-Hydroxy-1,1-Diphosphonate (EHDP) on Calcium Oxalate Crystalluria in Recurrent Renal Stone-Formers
Authors: Robertson W. G. , Peacock M. , Marshall R. W. , Knowles F.
Published: August 2015

1. The volume, size and type of calcium oxalate crystals excreted in the urine of a group of patients with recurrent ‘idiopathic’ stones were studied on a controlled basal diet, after an oral supplement of sodium oxalate and after oral administration of ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonate (EHDP) for 4 weeks.

2. Before administration of EHDP the stone-formers passed the large crystals and aggregates of calcium oxalate dihydrate characteristic of recurrent calcium oxalate stone-formers. For the same level of urine saturation and crystalluria EHDP caused a significant reduction in the proportion of large crystals and aggregates excreted. Studies by light-microscopy confirmed that EHDP caused a striking change in the size and habit of calcium oxalate crystals in some but not all of the urine samples examined.

3. The decrease in average crystal size during the administration of EHDP was attributed to the observed increase in the ability of urine to inhibit the growth and aggregation of calcium oxalate crystals as measured by a growth system in vitro.

4. The possible use of EHDP as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of calcium oxalate stone-formation is discussed.
Polymer Coating of Activated Charcoal and its Effects on Biocompatibility and Paracetamol Binding
Authors: Gazzard B. G. , Langley P. G. , Weston M. J. , Dunlop E. H. , Williams Roger
Published: August 2015

1. The ability of activated charcoal, treated in differing ways with poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate), to adsorb paracetamol was studied.

2. Activated charcoal was coated with 2, 4 or 10% by weight of poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate). Neither the percentage by weight (2, 4 or 10%) coating of activated charcoal by the polymer nor the procedure used to apply the coat affected the total adsorption of paracetamol at equilibrium, but these factors did influence the speed of adsorption.

3. The impregnated charcoals, and those with the lowest percentage by weight coating (2%), removed paracetamol from a stirred solution most rapidly. These charcoals also removed the drug most efficiently during column perfusion.

4. Biocompatibility studied in vivo in the dog revealed a smaller fall in blood platelets with haemoperfusion through 4% encapsulated charcoal than with 4% impregnated charcoal.

5. Dye-adsorption studies indicated that impregnation produced less complete coating of the charcoal, and that the lower percentage by weight coatings were the least complete.

6. The most acceptable compromise for clinical use appeared to be the 4% encapsulated charcoal, as the removal of paracetamol was reasonably rapid and the fall in blood platelet levels was acceptable.
The Time-Course of Response to Prednisolone in Chronic Bronchial Asthma
Authors: Ellul-Micallef R. , Borthwick R. C. , McHardy G. J. R.
Published: August 2015

1. In six patients with stable chronic bronchial asthma, the effect of a single oral dose of 0.11 mmol (40 mg) of prednisolone was studied by carrying out repeated measurements of dynamic and static lung volumes, thoracic gas volume and airway resistance and maximum expiratory flow-volume curves.

2. No significant diurnal variation in the measurements performed was demonstrated on the 2 days before prednisolone was given. The administration of placebo tablets produced no significant change.

3. A statistically significant improvement was detectable 3 h after administration of the drug in the group of patients studied. The maximum effect was reached within 9–12 h, after which there was a return towards pretreatment values.

4. The improvement in specific conductance and maximum expiratory flow rate as well as in mid-expiratory flow rate suggests that the relief in airway obstruction occurred in both the large and the smaller airways.

5. The peak expiratory flow rate as measured by a Wright's peak flow meter proved to be as sensitive an index of change as any of the other tests employed.
Assessment of Plasma Glutamyl Transpeptidase Activity and Urinary d-Glucaric Acid Excretion as Indices of Enzyme Induction
Authors: Davidson D. C. , McIntosh W. B. , Ford J. A.
Published: August 2015

1. Urinary d-glucaric acid excretion and plasma γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity were measured in twenty-five out-patient and eighteen in-patient epileptic children receiving anticonvulsant therapy. Control specimens were obtained from twenty-three children receiving no medication.

2. d-Glucaric acid excretion greater than the control range was present in 88% of in-patients and 52% of out-patients. However, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity above the control range was found in 78% of in-patients and only 32% of out-patients.

3. In these forty-three epileptic subjects, there was a significant correlation between d-glucaric acid excretion and plasma γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity.
Arteriovenous Studies on the Uptake and Metabolism of Cortisol in the Human Forearm
Authors: Asmal A. C. , Butterfield W. J. H. , Collins K. J. , Few J. D.
Published: August 2015

1. Cortisol metabolism in human forearm tissues has been investigated by measurement of arteriovenous plasma differences.

2. There were no detectable differences in plasma cortisol concentration in fifty-four pairs of arterial and venous samples collected from twenty subjects at rest, nor in experiments in which 5 mg of cortisol was infused intravenously over a period of 30 min.

3. When [3H]cortisol was infused intra-arterially into the forearm for 10 min, radiochemical analysis of paired arterial and venous samples provided evidence for retention of cortisol in the local tissues and subsequent release into the venous effluent, and conversion of a small fraction of the infused cortisol into a substance chromatographically similar to cortisone.

4. It was demonstrated by the use of 125I-labelled albumin as a plasma marker that retention of the cortisol was due to penetration of the tissues by cortisol and not to a prolonged transit time in the vascular bed.
Influence of Hydrostatic and Oncotic Pressure on Sodium Reabsorption in the Unilateral Pyelonephritic Dog Kidney
Authors: Wagnild J. P. , Gutmann F. D. , Rieselbach R. E.
Published: August 2015

1. The diseased kidney in the dog with experimental unilateral reduction in nephron population, has been shown previously to undergo an exaggerated inhibition of sodium reabsorption after extracellular fluid (ECF) volume expansion induced by isotonic sodium chloride solution compared with the control kidney. The latter serves to maintain a non-azotaemic environment.

2. In the present studies, manoeuvres designed to alter predominantly either post-glomerular hydrostatic pressure (PGHP) or peritubular capillary oncotic pressure (COP) were performed to investigate further the mechanism of this exaggerated natriuresis.

3. Volume expansion with 5 g/dl albumin in 145 mmol/l sodium chloride (saline), thereby increasing PGHP without changing COP, produced exaggerated diseased kidney natriuresis, but of a smaller magnitude than when the same dogs were studied under a lesser degree of intravascular volume expansion with 145 mmol/l saline. Renal vasodilatation produced by systemically administered dopamine, which increases PGHP without ECF volume expansion, also produced exaggerated natriuresis by the diseased kidney.

4. A selective decrease in COP induced by expansion with saline in conjunction with trimethophan camsylate (Arfonad)-induced hypotension also produced exaggerated diseased kidney natriuresis, but to a lesser degree than saline expansion alone in the same dogs.

5. Thus experimental manoeuvres designed to reduce peritubular capillary fluid reabsorption by either predominantly increasing PGHP or decreasing COP produced exaggerated diseased kidney natriuresis. This exaggerated natriuretic response to manoeuvres which predominantly altered either physical force by itself did not approach the response elicited by expansion with saline.

6. The data suggest that alterations in Starling forces play an important role in mediating the exaggerated diseased kidney natriuresis after an acute saline load.
Intestinal Absorption of Cystine and Cysteine in Normal Human Subjects and Patients with Cystinuria
Authors: Silk D. B. A. , Perrett D. , Stephens A. D. , Clark M. L. , Scowen E. F.
Published: August 2015

1. An intestinal perfusion technique has been used to study absorption in vivo of l-cystine and l-cysteine in six normal human subjects and three patients with homozygous cystinuria.

2. No significant absorption of l-cystine was detected during perfusion of the cystinuric patients, whereas l-cysteine absorption was normal. These results imply that l-cystine and l-cysteine are normally absorbed by different transport processes.

3. No significant reduction of l-cystine to l-cysteine occurred in the gut lumen during the perfusion experiments. No more oxidation of l-cysteine to l-cystine occurred in the gut lumen during the perfusion experiments than in the test solutions which were simultaneously incubated in vitro.
Neutral Protease from the Polymorphonuclear Leucocytes of Human Rheumatoid Synovial Fluid
Authors: Pryce-Jones R. H. , Saklatvala J. , Wood G. C.
Published: August 2015

1. The cartilage-proteoglycan-degrading activity of synovial fluid cells from rheumatoid patients is primarily due to neutral protease activity; hyaluronidase does not contribute significantly. Evidence for these conclusions is adduced from electrophoresis of degradation products, from comparison of the proteoglycan-degrading and protease activities of extracts and from the effects of activators and inhibitors.

2. Most of the neutral protease activity is insoluble in buffer of low ionic strength and may thus be separated from small amounts of other, soluble, proteoglycan-degrading enzymes. This ‘insoluble’ protease dissolves in KCl (1 mol/l) and has appreciable solubility even at physiological ionic strength.

3. The protease has optimum activity between pH 7.5 and pH 10, with little or no activity below pH 6.0.

4. The enzyme hydrolyses a number of substrates including elastin and two synthetic substrates for elastase. Hydrolysis of the latter is inhibited by dilutions of synovial fluids and serum and it thus differs from the elastase-like esterase activity of synovial fluid and serum.

5. The ‘insoluble’ enzyme fraction caused loss of staining and release of hexuronate from slices of bovine articular cartilage at salt concentrations near physiological and these effects were almost completely inhibited by cell-free synovial fluids.

6. The properties of the synovial fluid cell neutral protease are compared with those of the similar enzyme activity found in granulocytes from blood and it is concluded that the synovial fluid enzyme is probably derived from granulocytes.
Platelet Survival in Acute Proliferative Glomerulonephritis
Authors: Carruthers J. A. , Ralfs I. , Gimlette T. M. D. , Finn R.
Published: August 2015

1. Platelet survival was measured in patients with acute proliferative glomerulonephritis or chronic renal failure and also in control subjects.

2. Platelet survival is markedly reduced in acute proliferative glomerulonephritis as compared with control subjects; it was slightly reduced in patients in chronic renal failure due to interstitial renal disease and maintained on dialysis.
Effect of Autonomic Blockade on the Transient Changes in Cardiac Frequency on Relief of Hypoxia in Man
Authors: Petersen E. S. , Vejby-Christensen H. , Nielsen T. M.
Published: August 2015

1. Acute hypocapnic hypoxia was induced in ten healthy subjects by the inhalation of O2+N2 (10:90) at rest and during exercise. Transient relief of hypoxia by two breaths of O2 (O2 test) resulted in a decrease in cardiac frequency which was highly significant about 10 s after the tests and never consistently delayed in comparison with the ventilatory changes.

2. β-Adrenergic blockade with propranolol reduced the magnitude of the changes in cardiac frequency but not their time-course.

3. Cholinergic blockade with atropine sulphate (and double blockade) abolished the early changes in cardiac frequency. During continued O2 breathing (3 min) small, still significant, changes were observed.

4. It is concluded that the decrease in cardiac frequency within 10 s of relief of hypoxia is dependent on efferent vagal activity.
The Effect of Glucose on the Urinary Excretion of Sodium and Hydrogen Ion in Man
Authors: Garnett E. S. , Nahmias C.
Published: August 2015

1. Urinary sodium and hydrogen ion excretion was measured in four normal subjects before and after they had ingested 25 g of glucose. The subjects were studied during a sustained water diuresis after an overnight fast and after a 40 h fast.

2. After glucose had been ingested, urinary sodium excretion was reduced by approximately 40% but there was no change in urine flow. The decrease in sodium excretion was associated with a rise in hydrogen ion excretion.

3. These results suggest that sodium ion is retained in exchange for hydrogen ion in the distal segment of the nephron.

4. It is postulated that the increased renal bicarbonate threshold and the metabolic alkalosis which develop when glucose is given to fasted subjects are a consequence of this exchange.
Measurement of Deep Body Temperature from the Urine
Authors: Fox R. H. , Brooke O. G. , Collins J. C. , Bailey C. S. , Healey F. B.
Published: August 2015

1. The relation between urine and rectal temperatures has been studied under a variety of conditions by using the Uritemp bottle, which measures deep body temperature from the urine.

2. This device gives a reliable measurement of deep body temperature and has advantages over both rectal and oral techniques for many clinical applications.

3. The development of a new and more reliable device, the Uritemp meter, is described. Urine is voided through a specially designed and disposable unit, equipped with either a standard mercury-in-glass thermometer or any one of a range of commercially available electronic thermometers. Provision is made to collect a urine sample simultaneously if required.