The Constitutional Factor of a Child's Growth and Maturation

A longitudinal study of the formation of somatotype and its influence on the rates of body growth and maturation was conducted with 100 subjects between three- to seven-years-old and 68 subjects between seven- to ten-years-old. When the somatotype was stable, these rates were lowest in the subjects of the asthenoid type (according to Shtefko) and highest in those of the digestive type. When it was unstable (in almost a half of the children), the growth and maturation depended on the type change vector, decelerating when the type weakened and accelerating when it strengthened. The most ontogenetically stable types were asthenoid and digestive ones. The boys of the digestive and girls of the muscular types demonstrated the most perfect harmony of different biological maturity criteria, whereas asthenoid children and thoracic type girls were the most dysharmonious.     

The Constitutional Amine of Antibiotic YA-56

In addition to the previously reported six amino acids and two carbohydrates (one disaccharide), 3-aminopropionamidine was isolated as a constituent from the acid hydrolyzate of the antibiotic YA–56X, one of the major component of antibiotic YA–56 complex. Based on the hitherto found informations, structural comparison of the antibiotic YA–56 X and Y was made with phleomycins, bleomycins, zorbamycin and zorbonomycin B to which antibiotic YA–56 closely related. Among those, zorbamycin was identical with antibiotic YA–56 X.     

Constitutional chromosomal breakage

Summary There were 18 individuals found to have a constitutional chromosome fragility causing an increase in break frequency. For each chromosome the breakpoint is always the same, whether it involves chromosomes from the same person, the same family, or different families. The fragile points are bands 10q24, 12q13, 16q21, 17p12, and Xq27. Autosomal constitutional fragility does not seem to have a phenotypic correspondence. They were found mostly in parents of children with chromosomal abnormalities or in couples with a history of repeated spontaneous abortions which permits one to raise the possibility of an interchromosomal effect. The six constitutional chromosomal fragilities of the X chromosome had in common the association of mental deficiency, delayed speech, and large malformed ears. The break points in constitutional chromosomal fragility were compared to those of spontaneous breaks in vitro, to those induced by X-rays, and to those in Fanconi's anemia. The theoretical consequences of these structural abnormalities are discussed as well as what to do about them when they are found.This study was supported by I.N.S.E.R.M. (C.R.L. No. 7510424).Text of the communication presented at the Symposium on Medical Genetics, Debrecen-Hajduszoboszlo, Hungary, 27–29 april 1976.     

Constitutional change in Fiji: The apparatus of justification

The discriminatory racial and other non‐democratic provisions which feature in the new constitution of the ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji’ have been justified by the regime, at least superficially, on the grounds that they are essential for the protection and enhancement of indigenous Fijian rights and interests. This justification is underscored by two further related, claims which serve to promote the view that western democratic principles and practices are unsuitable to Fiji's political environment. First, the nature of Fiji's plural society is said to constitute a prima facie barrier to the peaceful conduct of western‐style democratic politics. Secondly, it is claimed that the 1970 Constitution of Fiji represented the imposition of essentially alien values on a pre‐existing ‘traditional’, and more legitimate, political framework. The purpose of this article is to evaluate these claims and to demonstrate that the new constitution is, in most respects, an instrument of Fijian chiefly domination.