Amylase: creatinine clearance ratio and urinary excretion of lysozyme in acute pancreatitis and acute duodenal perforation

The amylase:creatinine clearance ratio in patients suffering from acute pancreatitis or acute duodenal perforation was higher than normal in both groups of patients. These findings cast doubt on the value of this parameter as a specific index of acute pancreatitis. The mechanism or mechanisms underlying the increased amylase excretion have not been determined. However, the markedly elevated urinary excretion of lysozyme observed in some patients suggests, by analogy, that diminished tubular reabsorption of amylase may contribute towards the elevated amylase:creatinine ratio.     

Bleeding fibroma of the small intestine

A case of serious, recurrent enterorrhagia is reported. The cause could not be identified with normal diagnostic tools and was discovered only after explorative laparotomy. The finding was benign ulcerated tumour of the small intestine, histologically defined as fibroma with fluorishing cellularity.     

Thin layer chromatographic determination of sterigmatocystin in cereal grains and soybeans

A method has been developed for determining sterigmatocystin in yellow and white corn, barley, oats, rye, sorghum, brown and wild rice, and soybeans. A partition column packed with activated magnesium silicate was used for cleanup. Averaged recoveries are 104% in white corn, 114% in rye, 100% in oats, 134% in brown rice, 96% in barley, 105% in sorghum and wild rice, and 92% in soybeans. The limit of sensitivity is 50 mug/kg for any of these commodities.     

Complement activation in vivo in cancer patients receiving C. parvum immunotherapy

Serum complement levels were assayed in 26 patients with disseminated cancer, who received immunotherapy with infusion of C. parvum. Complement activation, indicated by the consumption of C3 or C4 or both, was found in 46% of the patients. Serum samples showed direct correlation between decreased C3 and conversion of C3 proactivator, whereas such conversion did not occur when C4 alone was decreased. It is concluded that the bypass (properdin) pathway was activated in patients in whom C3 consumption was detected, while the classical (C1) pathway was activated in the patients with C4 consumption unaccompanied by C3 decrease. Direct correlation was observed between delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to recall antigens and the incidence of C. parvum-associated complement activation.     

Molecular organization of the cholesteryl ester droplets in the fatty streaks of human aorta

X-ray diffraction patterns from human arterial specimens containing atherosclerotic fatty streak lesions exhibited a single sharp reflection, corresponding to a structural spacing of about 35 A. Specimens without lesions did not. When specimens with fatty streaks were heated, an order-to-disorder phase transition was revealed by the disappearance of the sharp reflection. The transition was thermally reversible and its temperature varied from aorta to aorta over a range from 28 degrees to 42 degrees C. Since cholesteryl ester droplets are a major component of fatty streaks, comparison studies were made of the diffraction behavior from pure cholesteryl esters. We found that the diffraction patterns of the fatty streak material could be accounted for by the organization of the cholesteryl esters into a liquid-crystalline smectic phase that melts from the smectic to a less ordered phase upon heating. When combined with the conclusions of others from polarized light microscopy, our study shows that a droplet in the smectic phase has well-defined concentric layers of lipid molecules. In each layer, the long axes of the molecules have a net radial orientation with respect to the droplet, but the side-to-side organization is disordered. We suggest that the accessibility of portions of the lipids for specific binding to enzymes or transport proteins may be restricted when they are in the smectic state, and that exchange of lipids with surrounding membranes or other potential binding sites may likewise be inhibited. The restriction in the smectic phase should be greater than in the less ordered phases that exist at higher temperatures.     

Esophageal reconstruction with free jejunal grafts: an experimental study

Replacement of a long segment of esophagus for esophageal atresia or severe stenosis remains a special problem in children. The following studies were designed to test the hypothesis that a section of small bowel without serosa could survive as a free autologous transplant to replace part of the mediastinal esophagus. Laparotomy was performed in 20 adult cats, a loop of small bowel was resected and an end-to-end jejunojejunostomy was completed. The serosa of the resected bowel was removed and the mucosa-muscularis graft was used to replace a segment of the middle esophagus that was resected via a right thoracotomy. The interposed graft was entirely wrapped with adjacent skeletal muscle flaps. Postoperative studies include barium swallow and cine esophagograms, histology and blood vessel casts. Results are presented which show anatomical and functional survival of 16 grafts without blood vessel anastomoses or intrinsic vascular pedicles.     

In vitro transcription by isolated nuclei of Rhynchosciara americana salivary glands. Characteristics of incorporation and inhibition by alpha-amanitin

A method for the isolation of polytene nuclei from salivary glands cells of the Diptera Rhynchosciara americana is described. The stage-specific morphological pattern of the chromosome is maintained during the isolation. The isolated nuclei show two distinct RNA polymerase activities, namely I and II, characterized on the basis of ionic requirements and alpha-amanitin sensitivity. Studies of the product under the incubation conditions show that the system allows the synthesis of high-molecular weight RNA, beside a low molecular weight peak which may comprise pre-4S and 5S RNAs. Autoradiographic studies carried out in the presence or absence of the toxin alpha-amanitin showed that micronucleoli contain products of RNA polymerase type I activity (ribosomal RNA) and that the DNA puffs are engaged in alpha-amanitin sensitive RNA synthesis and thus are sites of polymerase type II activity.