Androgen sulphate formation in male and female rats

1. After large doses of androsterone, epiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone, female rats excreted more of the dose conjugated with sulphuric acid than did the males. 2. Androgens were also incubated with liver slices from male and female rats. Slices from females conjugated androgens with sulphuric acid to a greater extent than did slices from males. 3. The amount of unchanged androgen present in the faeces of orally dosed animals was 4-35% of the dose.     

Inhibitory Effects of Dichlorophenoxyacetones on Auxin-induced Growth of Avena Coleoptile Sections

Six dichlorophenoxyacetones were synthesized and examined as potential metabolic antagonists utilizing Avena coleoptile sections and the straight growth assay procedure. Supplements of indoleacetic acid promoted growth of the sections which were inhibited by the analogs; the most inhibitory derivatives were 2,3-; 2,4-; 2,5-; and 3,4-dichlorophenoxyacetone which produced half-maximal growth responses (relative to the unaug-mented control growth) at concentrations of 106, 86, 80, and 62 μg/ml, respectively. A Lineweaver-Burk plot of the data for the inhibition by 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetone and its reversal by indoleacetic acid appeared to represent an uncompetitive-like inhibition.     

Examination of Market Foods for Coliform Organisms

Food specimens (490) in nine categories were examined for total aerobic plate count and numbers and types of coliform organisms, including the enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EEC). The total counts were compared with various suggested standards, and a limit of 100,000/g appeared to be a realistic goal, except for certain food types with a high level of natural flora. Plate counts in VRB were compared to counts obtained by isolation by enrichment in LST Broth, and the latter method produced a higher percentage of isolations. The presence of E. coli was determined by use of EC Medium incubated at 44.5 +/- 0.1 C. Only 40.4% of the positive EC tubes, however, contained E. coli. It appeared that a limit of 10 coliform organisms per g as a suggested standard could be met with several types of foods. Isolation of EEC was obtained only three times, or in 0.6% of the specimens.     

Cytocatalytic evolution in plants

Low fertility and vigor, and requirements of ecological niches distinct from diploids are not universal characteristics of autoploids. InClaytonia, Hedyotis, Oldenlandia, and other genera, occurrence and frequency of both polyploids and aneuploids within species populations suggest a greater role of such mutations in the evolution of vascular plants than heretofore presumed.     

Unsuspected Carcinoma Found Histologically After Minor Anorectal Operations

The unsatisfactory results of radical operations in advanced anal cancer could be bettered by earlier diagnosis of the malignant lesion. The possibility of cancer should always be kept in mind when treating any of the common chronic anal diseases. Preliminary biopsy studies should be done more frequently if suspicious lesions are present and all tissues removed during minor anorectal operations should always be examined by a pathologist. Each surgical specimen should be labeled to show the site from which it was removed. Follow-up care of the patient would be simplified if the exact site of cancer origin could be identified.A recent ten-year survey of minor anorectal surgical procedures at the University of California Medical Center showed clinically unsuspected anal cancer found in 2 per cent of cases on tissue examination by the pathologist. The cancers were generally early and of the keratinizing squamous cell and nonkeratinizing varieties.