Emphysematous cystitis presenting with subcutaneous emphysema

A case is reported of subcutaneous emphysema of the neck in association with emphysematous cystitis and uncontrolled diabetes. Problems in its management are discussed. Anatomic pathway for the spread of the gas from the bladder to the subcutaneous tissues of the neck and the back is speculated.     

Nystatin biosynthesis by inactive mutants of Act. noursei when cultured together

Inactive mutants of the nystatin-producing organism Act. noursei were selected. When 2 of them were cultivated together, nystatin biosynthesis was restored. The substance or substances restoring the antibiotic biosynthesis was excreted into the culture broth. It had non-protein nature and was stable on storage. Reduction of the nystatin biosynthetic chain proceeded without changes in the cultivation conditions.     

Effect of triterpene glycosides on RNA biosynthesis in a yeast cell culture of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

The effect of triterpen glycosides of cauloside C from Caulophyllum robustum, theasaponine from Thea sinensis ahd stichoposide A from Stichopus japonicus on multiplication and biosynthesis of RNA in the cells of a 7-hour culture of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis was studied. It was shown that cauloside C, theasaponine and stichoposide A in concentrations of 7.5 gamma/ml inhibited multiplication of the yeast cells by 65, 10 and 90 per cent respectively. The summation RNA of the yeast cells is divided into 3 zones on Sephadex G-100. The glycosides induced no pronounced changes in the chromotographic profile of RNA. Biosynthesis of the transport and ribosomal RNA were inhibited to the same extent. Triterpen glycosides inhibited the biosynthesis of RNA at the stage of 14C-uridine in corporation into the nucleotide pool of the yeast cells.     

Pathogenesis of Woronoff ring in psoriasis

As a result of ultraviolet light and coal tar therapy, a white ring (Woronoff) may develop in the normal skin adjacent to psoriatic plaques. Injection of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 1 cm outside of Woronoff ring produced redness in the ring, demonstrating that vessels within the ring were not unresponsive to PGE2. Whole skin homogenates from Woronoff ring contained an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis that was not found in uninvolved skin that was obtained from either psoriatics or normal controls. Prostaglandin E2 levels in the ring were one third of those in uninvolved skin from either psoriatics or normal controls. These findings suggest that the white ring that surrounds ultraviolet-light-treated psoriatic plaques is produced by a local inability to synthesize PGE2 in response to an ultraviolet light stimulus, resulting from the presence of an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis.     

Airway occlusion pressures in awake and anesthetized goats

The ability of intramuscular injections of gonadal steroids to exert a positive feedback action on LH secretion was investigated in the ovariectomized hen. Plasma LH was measured by radioimmunoassay. Single injections of progesterone (dose range: 0.05-10 mg/kg) or oestradiol benzoate (dose range: 0.01-1 mg/kg) did not result in an increase in plasma LH concentration. After priming with 0.1 mg oestradiol benzoate/kg on alternate days for 7 days and with 0.5 mg progesterone/kg on days 5, 6 and 7, a single injection of progesterone on day 8 (dose range: 0.1-2 mg/kg) caused the plasma LH concentration to start increasing after 15 to 30 min. Peak LH concentration was reached around 1.5-2 h after injection. The magnitude of LH response to progesterone was dose related. In contrast, a single injection of oestradiol benzoate (dose range: 0.01-1 mg/kg) failed to stimulate LH release in the oestrogen-progesterone primed ovariectomized (O-P-OVX) hen. A single injection of testosterone (dose range: 0.1-2.0 mg/kg) failed to stimulate LH release in ten out of 12 O-P-OVX hens. A small increase in LH secretion was observed in the two remaining birds. When oestrogen or progesterone was omitted from the priming schedule, a LH positive feedback response to a single injection of progesterone was not observed. Increasing or decreasing the mount of oestrogen or progesterone in the priming schedule modified the LH response to a single injection of progesterone on the day following the last priming injection. This suggested that a critical oestrogen to progesterone ratio was required to prime the LH positive feedback mechanism. It is suggested that, in the hen, the release of LH is facilitated by the positive feedback effect of a combination of oestrogen and progesterone in a two-phase process. The first is the priming phase, which depends on the presence in the blood of oestrogen and progesterone; the second is the ind .uctive phase, which depends only on an incremental change in plasma progesterone concentration. Oestrogen is not involved in the induceive phase.