Surgical significance of extrahepatic biliary tree anomalies

A patient with an anomalous insertion of the right hepatic duct into the cystic duct was noted during cholecystectomy and confirmed by operative cholangiography. This case and related anomalies of the bile ducts are of sufficient importance that, because of the technical difficulties and dangers incidental to their presence, no surgeon who operates on the gallbladder and bile ducts can afford to be unaware of their existence. Adequate exposure, careful dissection, and accurate knowledge of the regional anatomy plus a realization of the frequency and multiplicity of abnormalities of the extrahepatic biliary tree are requisites for safe biliary tract surgery. In addition, carefully performed operative cholangiography can be an indispensable aid in the clarification of anatomic variations. In case of recognized operative injury to the extrahepatic biliary tree, primary repair or biliary-intestinal anastomosis can usually be carried out with good results.     

4-aminobiphenyl, 2-naphthylamine, and analogs: analytical properties and trace analysis in five substrates

Methods for monitoring trace levels of 4-aminobiphenyl, 2-naphthylamine, and their hydrochloride salts in waste water, microbiological growth media, potable water, human urine, and mouse blood utilizing spectrophotofluorometry (SPF) are described. The salient elements of the methods are extraction of the residues as the free amine with benzene, rapid cleanup on an alumina column, and quantification of the free amine in methanol via SPF. Potable water solutions of the salts are diluted with 0.01 N aqueous HCL and quantified directly by SPF. Ancillary analytical information concerning gas chromatography of the free amines, partitioning properties of the compounds between solvent pairs, their solubility and stability in water, and thin-layer chromatographic data is presented. The compositions of various admixtures of 1- and 2-naphthylamine or their salts were determined by using SPF with calculations based on simultaneous equations.     

Subjective definitions of tension

To examine the type of proprioceptive information which subjects include in the definition of tension, 52 subjects were asked to indicate the location of where they felt tension while engaging in a simple motor task. Responses indicated that tendon stretch, muscle tension, and other cues are utilized in the subject's definition of tension.     

Energetics of triosephosphate isomerase: deuterium isotope effects in the enzyme-catalyzed reaction

The effect of isotopic substitution of the specifically labilized hydrogen in the substrates of triosephosphate isomerase on the steady-state rates of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction has been examined. The k cat value for the enzyme-catalyzed transformation of [1(R)-2H] dihydroxyacetone phosphate is 2.9 times smaller than that for the 1(R)-1H compound. Because of the rapid loss of 2H to solvent from the enzyme-enediol complex, this factor represents the full kinetic isotope effect of the proton abstraction step. The values of k cat and of Km for D-[2-2H]glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate are indistinguishable from those of the 2-1H material. This arises from the rapid loss of 2H from the enzyme-enediol intermediate, which results in 1H rather than 2H transfer in the rate-limiting step. The steady-state kinetic results reported in this paper qualitatively confirm and quantitatively extend the results from the previous papers on the variation of the free energy along the reaction path.     

Location of nucleolar organizing regions on the chromosomes of the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) and the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

Terminal chromosome associations ("satellite associations") in ASG-banded preparations have been used to determine the number and location of staellites in the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) and the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus). Five pairs of satellites are found in the former and four in the latter. Nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) were visualized with the Ag-AS silver precipitation technique, and their number and position corresponded exactly with the number and position of satellites in Phodopus, where positive chromosome identification can be made in the absence of banding. Numerical agreement is exact in Mesocricetus as well, and the morphology of the silver-tagged NOR-bearing chromosomes strongly suggests that corrrespondence also occurs in this species.     

Release of renal prostaglandins during endotoxin-induced hypotension

The appearance of prostaglandins in dog's blood during endotoxin-induced hypotension was studied by use of the dialysis modification of the blood bathed organ technique. An increase in prostaglandins, mainly E2 and F2alpha was found in renal venous blood, whereas no such increase was seen in blood from the abdominal aorta, the inferior vena cava or the femoral vein. Three possible trigger mechanisms for this increase i.e. hypotension, reduced flow and reflexogenic sympathetic stimulation, have been investigated. It is suggested that, in addition to these three factors, circulating hormones such as noradrenaline, angiotensin or bradykinin, play a role in this release mechanism. Administration of indomethacin produced a restoration of the systemic blood pressure to its pre-endotoxin value; concomitantly a disappearance of the prostaglandins from the circulation was observed. It is concluded that prostaglandins contribute to the hypotension induced by endotoxin. Whether they are beneficial or detrimental remains to be resolved.     

A comparative study of passive haemagglutination methods for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen in routine hospital practice

Two passive haemagglutination methods for detecting HBsAg were compared. In general, the method using turkey erythrocytes was found preferable to the method employing sheep cells since it is more rapid and more sensitive, and less frequently gave rise to false positive reactions with sera from staff, blood donors, and patients not receiving haemodialysis. The turkey cell test gives rise to more false positive screen tests than the sheep cell test when monitoring renal dialysis patients since approximately 10% of the sera of these patients were found to contain turkey cell agglutinins, but this presents no particular difficulty if the recommended absorption procedures are used.     

The response of cells in culture to fractionated radiation: a theoretical approach

A mathematical model has been constructed to simulate the response of cells in vitro to fractionated doses of radiation. The model is capable of describing most of the radiobiological functions that are commonly studied. Input data are measurable cell properties. The details of the model and methods of acquiring the input data are outlined and a comparison with experimental observations on two radiobiological functions, survival curves and recovery curves are discussed in some detail.