International Courts and State Compliance: An Investigation of the Law of the Sea Cases

This article investigates the effect of dispute settlement decisions under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and whether and how states, particularly great powers, comply with these decisions. State practice suggests that an overwhelming majority of the decisions by UNCLOS dispute settlement bodies have been implemented. Significantly, not only small states but also the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have complied with UNCLOS dispute settlement decisions even when they “lost” in the proceedings that were unilaterally initiated against them.     

Comparison of Prediction Results Obtained by the Learning Machine and Experienced Microbiologists

Based on three measures of evaluation, it was concluded that with respect to pseudomonads the learning machine was superior to experienced microbiologists in predicting the presence or absence of the following four features; the production of phenazine compounds, the utilizations of d-sorbitol, of n-hexadecane, and of histamine.     

Electron Microscopy of the Sperm Tail Results Obtained with a New Fixative

The details of a new fixation procedure using 40 per cent osmium tetroxide in carbon tetrachloride are presented. This fixative is a good general preservative, gives a higher contrast than the ordinary osmium fixatives, and may also preserve structures that are not otherwise readily revealed. Some possible reasons for the increased contrast are discussed. Micrographs of the sea urchin spermatozoa treated with the new fixative provide more detailed information on the tail structure than has heretofore been obtainable. This information is summarized in the diagrammatic text-figure. The sperm tail can no longer be regarded as having a bilateral symmetry, and thus, it is possible to assign an index number to each of the nine peripheral filaments. The nine peripheral filaments have a complex morphology, each one of them seems to be composed of two subunits that have unequal diameters. The slightly larger subunits are all found in the clockwise direction with regard to the other subunit or are all found in the counter-clockwise direction in the sectioned tail. Each of the slightly larger subunits is at intervals provided with two types of projections—referred to as the arms and the spokes—that extend in respective tangential and radial direction. The arms from one filament may be in actual contact with its neighboring filament through a complex bridge-like formation. There is a quantitative difference between the nine filaments with regard to this bridge. It is assumed that the eleven tail filaments follow straight paths. Some hypotheses on sperm movement are discussed based on this assumption and on the fact that the oscillations of an actively working sperm tail are in one plane. Probably, the nine peripheral filaments have non-equivalent functions in tail movement. In the centriole the nine peripheral filaments characteristically appear as triplets in a whorl-like arrangement. It is suggested that the inner part of this triplet is a derivation of the arms. A structural abnormality of the tail is described that is characterized by two or three complete sets of tail filaments within one cell membrane.     

Characterization of an Axenic Strain of Hartmannella vermiformis Obtained from an Investigation of Nosocomial Legionellosis

ABSTRACT. A free-living amoeba identified as Hartmannella vermiformis was isolated from a water sample obtained during an investigation of nosocomial legionellosis. Hartmannella vermiformis is known to support the intracellular multiplication of Legionella pneumophila . This strain of H. vermiformis , designated CDC-19, was cloned and established in axenic culture to develop a model for the study of the pathogenicity of legionellae. Isoenzyme patterns of axenically-cultivated strain CDC-19 were compared with two strains of H. vermiformis derived from the type strain, one axenic (ATCC 50236) and the other grown in the presence of bacteria (ATCC 30966). Enzyme patterns suggested that all three strains are assignable to the species H. vermiformis. Axenic H. vermiformis strain CDC-19 has been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC 50237) and should prove useful in the study of protozoan-bacterial interaction.     

Variables Influencing Results, and the Precise Definition of Steps in Gram Staining as a Means of Standardizing the Results Obtained

Results of a Gram staining procedure varied with modifications of each of the steps involved. The best Gram differentiation was obtained when crystal violet and iodine solutions of high concentrations were used, and when n-propyl alcohol was used as the decolorizer. The decolorization step must be carefully quantitated, and one of the most important variables observed was whether a slide was brought into the decolorizer wet, or dry. Dry slides took 6 to 12 times as long to decolorize as wet. Wash steps, following crystal violet, and following the decolorizer, also greatly influence results by causing Gram-positive organisms to appear to be Gram-negative. The results indicated that Gram-stain procedures should not be varied to suit the whims of individual operators, and that each step could be specifically defined both as to the reagent used, and the procedure to be followed.

The followng Gram procedure is recommended for heat-fixed bacterial smears on glass slides. Flood the slide with Hucker's crystal violet for 1 ruin. Wash for 5 sec by dipping into tap water running into a 250 ml beaker at a rate of 30 ml per sec Rinse off the excess water with Burke's iodine, flood the slide with this solution for 1 min, then wash 5 sec in tap water as above. Decolorize by passing the wet slide through 3 (75 × 25 mm) Coplin dishes containing n-propyl alcohol, decolorize 1 min in each dish for a total of 3 min. Wash 5 sec in tap water as above, rinse off the excess water with 0.25% safranin, then flood the slide with this solution for 1 min. Wash as above, blot dry, and examine. An alternate procedure for decolorization would be to use either 95% n-propyl alcohol or 95% ethyl alcohol, but shorten the decolorization time to 30 sec per dish for a total of 1.5 min. After 10 slides, the decolorizer in the first dish should be replaced by fresh. This dish is then placed last in the sequence, with dish No. 2 moved to the No. 1 position.     

Elective End-to-side Portacaval Shunt: Results in 64 Cases

In a series of 64 cases of elective end-to-side portacaval shunts performed for liver disease the success rate—in that the patient survived with a patent shunt, free of subsequent haemorrhage and severe encephalopathy—was 48%.The early postoperative death rate was 12·5% and the five-year survival 65%. Bleeding from oesophagogastric varices after blockage of the shunt was responsible for at least half of the early postoperative deaths, and most late deaths were due to liver failure. A decreased chance of late survival was associated with age over 40 years, active chronic hepatitis, and with a preoperative history of hepatocellular jaundice.Shunt blockage occurred in 16% of patients, and all bled again from oesophagogastric varices. Shunt block is more likely if the portal vein is calcified or thrombosed, and may be more likely if the portal vein diameter, as shown by splenic venography, is 1·5 cm or less.In survivors with a patent shunt the most serious late complication was chronic, severe portal-systemic encephalopathy, which occurred in 38%. Severe encephalopathy was associated with age over 40 years, a preoperative history of any degree of encephalopathy, diabetes mellitus, and with continued drinking in the alcoholic. Most patients who had portal-systemic encephalopathy in the first year postoperatively developed chronic disabling encephalopathy.A preoperative history of transient mild or moderate ascites did not seem adversely to influence the outcome.     

马齿苋多糖的研究

用苯酚硫酸法对马齿苋多糖含量进行测定,设计正交实验确定马齿苋多糖提取的最佳工艺,马齿苋多糖的提取率高达9.23%。将其多糖分离纯化,进行理化性质试验测试,利用纸层析和气相色谱对马齿苋多糖中的单糖组成做了分析,马齿苋多糖中的单糖组成有葡萄糖、半乳糖、甘露糖、果糖、木糖、阿拉伯糖。