Bovine pituitary intraglandular colloid: a transport medium

Bovine pituitary intraglandular colloid is formed by the cyclic degeneration of marginal cells lining the intermediate lobe and is housed in the intraglandular lumen (residual lumen). The lumen communicates with the subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid space by well defined channels. Electrophoresis in acrylamide gel shows bovine pituitary intraglandular colloid as having double protein bands identical to the protein in bovine and human cerebrospinal fluid. These studies demonstrate two distinct bands in the gamma region for colloid, not apparent in the normal bovine or human cerebrospinal fluid due to the low concentration of gamma globulins. We conclude that pituitary colloid, laden with immunoreactive fragments of various pituitary hormones, is discharged from the hypophyseal intraglandular space, directly into the subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid space.     

Reduction mammaplasty: a comparison between the Robbins and Pontes techniques

The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical classification of mammary hypertrophy and compare perioperative factors in two types of reduction mammaplasty: the Pontes and Robbins techniques. In a series of 51 patients, the advantages and disadvantages of each method are compared and discussed. The Pontes method appears to be better for the low-volume and ptotic (type II and III) breast, whereas the Robbins technique has a more universal application.     

Studies on the ecology of West Australian actinomycetes: Factors which influence the diversity and types of actionomycetes in Australian soils

A statistical technique has been employed to study the effects of various environmental factors in altering the actinomycete populations of soils located in the western part of Australia. Over 12,000 actinomycetes obtained at 28 different locations were included in the evaluation. Among factors that had a significant influence were the geographic area at which the sample was taken, the nature of plant rhizosphere, and a rainstorm. Seasonal changes in population did occur, but there was considerable stability of population with time. Although marked differences occurred in types of actinomycetes present among different geographic locations, multiple samples taken within a location at distances of 30 cm or greater showed marked similarity in populations. There were varied degrees of diversity among the populations studied. The population that developed after a rainstorm was low in diversity, whereas the populations of root rhizospheres were as diverse as those of plant-free soil-litter areas. In assessing the ecology of soil actinomycetes, it is important to consider the degree of change in population induced by an environmental factor and also its effect on diversity, since the effects may be complementary or may be opposite in nature.     

Dynamics of erabutoxin b as studied by nuclear magnetic resonance. Relaxation studies of methyl proton resonances

Longitudinal and transverse relaxation times were measured for well-resolved and assigned methyl proton resonances of erabutoxin b at 270 MHz, 300 MHz and 500 MHz. Both longitudinal and transverse magnetization decay curves are non-exponential due to cross-relaxation and cross-correlation effects. The longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates were obtained from the initial slope of both magnetization decay curves. The correlation times for the isotropic tumbling motion of the protein were determined to be 2.82 ns at 300 K and 1.62 ns at 330 K from the analysis of the relaxation data of some alpha protons. Using these values, the relaxation data of methyl protons were fitted to various theoretical models. Most of the methyl resonances could be fitted well to a model which allowed methyl rotation (in the range 0.01-0.05 ns) and an external contribution from protons assumed to be in positions derived from X-ray coordinates. The data for a few methyl groups, however, could not be fitted in this way. For these a smaller number of external protons than predicted by the X-ray coordinates was assumed. Additionally, a larger amplitude motion had to be introduced into the model for particular residues. This additional motion requires concerted protein motion close to these residues, since the X-ray structure suggests that steric hindrance would prevent local motion. These results are consistent with the idea of a flexible and dynamic structure for proteins.     

Pulmonary Thromboembolism Presenting as Asthma

When a patient presents with wheezing, pulmonary embolism is not usually considered as a possible cause. However, undoubtedly bronchoconstriction can be caused by pulmonary emboli and occasionally wheezing may be so obvious as to suggest a diagnosis of bronchial asthma. Eleven cases are reported in which wheezing was attributable to recurrent pulmonary emboli and one in which it was a clamant feature after a single embolic incident.