Diagnostic significance of electrocortical responses to rhythmic and solitary photic stimuli in patients with hepato-portal encephalopathy]

In order to clarify some diagnostical criteria of latent hepato-portal encephalopathy in 57 patients with intrahepatic forms of portal hypertension the authors studied the character of driving response in photorhythmical stimulation. In 9 patients the development of evoked potentials depending upon the significance of the stimula was studied as well. The studies confirmed the prognostical significance of a slowing down the mean frequency of rhythms in the EEG in relation to the development of acute encephalopathy and a certain tendency to the shift in the spectrum of driving responses to low frequency and a worsening of driving responses in slowing down the medium rhythm frequency of EEG. In patients with changed resting activity in the Background EEG there was a drop in the amplitude of late components of evoked potentials.     

Four heparin preparations: anti-Xa potentiating effect of heparin after subcutaneous injection

Four different heparin preparations--sodium and calcium salts of the same batch of heparin (mean molecular weight 15,000), low molecular weight sodium heparin (mean m.w. 9,000) and high molecular weight sodium heparin (mean m.w. 22,000) were injected subcutaneously on different days each into 6 healthy young volunteers in a randomized trial. Plasma heparin levels were measured using the anti-Xa assay at 1 hour, 3-4 hours and 6-7 hours after the injection. The highest anti-Xa potentiating effect was obtained after the injection of the low molecular weight sodium heparin (mean 0.381 i.u./ml) at 3-4 hours after the injection. With sodium heparin (m.w. 15,000) the highest values (0.135 i.u./ml) were found at 1 hour. Significantly lower anti-Xa potentiating effect was obtained 1 hour after the injection of calcium heparin and in particular after the injection of high molecular weight heparin (mean values 0.072 i. u./ml and 0.043 i. u./ml respectively). Both these preparations showed an increase from 1 hour after injection to 3-4 hours after injection (mean values 0.082 i. u./ml and 0.057 i. u./ml at 3-4 hours after injection). These results indicate that the salt and the molecular weight of the preparation may strongly influence the degree of anticoagulation achieved after subcutaneous injection.     

Use of the swarming phenomenon for the purpose of isolating pure cultures of salmonellae from feces. I

The authors elaborated and tested a number of elective-differential media for swarming of salmonellae. When pure cultures of Proteus, E. coli and salmonellae were seded on these media the latter exeeded the rest of enteric bacteria by the intensity of swarming. In the capacity of saprophyte inhibitors the most effective were media with the addition of penicillin and sodium selenite. Satisfactory results were obtained on the mentioned media in isolation of salmonellae from the artificially contaminated feces by the method of swarming     

Stability of emulsions containing sucrose esters

Conclusions The presence of either sucrose distearate or glyceryl monostearate will decrease the stability of preformed mineral oil-in-water emulsions containing sucrose monostearate. With adequate concentrations of emulsifier present the emulsion stability of milled emulsions passes through a maximum as the ratio of glyceryl monostearate to sucrose monostearate is increased. The data suggest that this increased stability results from a decrease in droplet size rather than from the formation of a more tenuous interfacial film. Presented at the 131st meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Miami, Fla., on April 11, 1957.