Fever and antipyresis in the lizard Dipsosaurus dorsalis

Lizards (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) were placed in a desertlike environment in which the ambient temperature (Ta) at night (1800-0600 h) was 12 degrees C and the day (0600-1800 h) Ta was between 30 and 55 degrees C depending on the location within the chamber. When dead Aeromonas hydrophila (4 X 10(9) organisms) was injected into nine lizards, an elevation in body temperature (Tb) of 2.7 degrees C was observed during the same day. On the day after bacterial injection the lizards' body temperatures averaged 41.6 degrees C, an increase of 4.2 degrees C over their control day Tb. Further investigations on the febrile response of D. dorsalis were conducted at the University of Wisconsin's Biotron, where there exists a simulated desert environment with the light intensity, temperature, and humidity closely parelleling a typical spring day in the southwestern desert of the United States (the natural habitat of Dipsosaurus). In this environment injection of dead bacteria into seven lizards led to an average febrile response of similar magnitude (Tb = 40.5 degrees C) but with a longer latency than that found at the University of Michigan. Injection of 13 lizards with live A. hydrophila (5 X 10(9) organism subcut.) in the simulated desert at Michigan led to a daytime fever averaging 2.3 degrees C (mean Tb = 40.6 degrees C) over a 5-day period. During the 6th and 7th day the lizards' body temperature returned to the normal or afebrile level. Injections of sodium salicylate along with dead A. hydrophila resulted in a dose-dependent attenuation of the febrile response. These results demonstrate that the reptilian febrile response is strikingly similar to avian and mammalian fever and suggest a common origin and perhaps function for the febrile mechanism.     

Obstructive jaundice due to a chlorinated hydrocarbon in breast milk

A 6-week-old breast-fed infant had obstructive jaundice and hepatomegaly. When a dry-cleaning solvent, tetrachloroethylene, was detected in the mother's milk and blood, breast-feeding was discontinued. Rapid clinical and biochemical improvement followed. The child grew normally and had normal liver function during 2 years of follow-up.     

Maturation of ribosomes in yeast. II. Position of the low molecular weight rRNA species in the maturation process

This paper describes a study of the physico-chemical and radioimmunological properties of three antialdosterone antisera which permitted practical conclusions to be drawn. By its high degree of specificity, anti-aldo-3-oxime-BSA constitutes the most useful antiserum for the clinical assay of aldosterone. The principal advantage of this antiserum is that it allows both urinary and blood aldosterone radioimmunoassay without the necessity of including a chromatographic step. No problems arise with the blanks. This work also includes the study of two anti-deoxycorticosterone antisera. The aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone values, obtained from normal subjects under various physiological conditions, are in agreement with the values given in the literature.     

NO and NO2 emission ratios measured from in-use commercial aircraft during taxi and takeoff

In August 2001, the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory simultaneously measured NO, NO2, and CO2 within 350 m of a taxiway and 550 m of a runway at John F. Kennedy Airport. The meteorological conditions were such that taxi and takeoff plumes from individual aircraft were clearly resolved against background levels. NO and NO2 concentrations were measured with 1 s time resolution using a dual tunable infrared laser differential absorption spectroscopy instrument, utilizing an astigmatic multipass Herriott cell. The CO2 measurements were also obtained at 1 s time resolution using a commercial non-dispersive infrared absorption instrument. Plumes were measured from over 30 individual planes, ranging from turbo props to jumbo jets. NOx emission indices were determined by examining the correlation between NOx (NO + NO2) and CO2 during the plume measurements. Several aircraft tail numbers were unambiguously identified, allowing those specific airframe/engine combinations to be determined. The resulting NOx emission indices from positively identified in-service operating airplanes are compared with the published International Civil Aviation Organization engine certification test database collected on new engines in certification test cells.     

Ultrasonography of renal sinus lipomatosis

Gray scale B-scans in renal sinus lipomatosis show a variety of features which must be differentiated from clinically significant pathological processes. Normal kidneys show dense homogeneous central echoes. In renal sinus lipomatosis, however, the central echoes are divided and become more sparse (Type I), interspersed with small relatively echo-free areas (Type II), or outline a single relatively echo-free area resembling a mass (Type III). In contrast to similar features in hydronephrosis or multiple cysts, the relatively echo-free areas in lipomatosis are ill-defined and do present several weak internal echoes.