Acute Appendicitis

Acute appendicitis still is a cause of considerable morbidity and now and then of death. The diagnostic accuracy in 316 patients operated on for acute appendicitis at Holy Cross Hospital was 76 per cent. In 24 of 239 cases of proved acute appendicitis, perforation had occurred, and the morbidity in those cases was three times that in the cases without perforation. Review of the cases did not reveal any clear-cut diagnostic criteria that might be used to predict perforation.A study of 30 patients with mesenteric lymphadenitis who were inadvertently operated on in the belief they had appendicitis, revealed that this condition is most likely to occur in young females with only a slight increase in the number of leukocytes. Although positive diagnosis of acute appendicitis is a difficult problem, the morbidity associated with needless operation is so much less than that which occurs in acute perforated appendicitis, that prompt exploration in any questionable case seems warranted.     

The potential energy surface of methyl 2-O-(α-D-mannopyranosyl)-α-D-mannopyranoside in aqueous solution: Conclusions derived from optical rotation

The optical rotation of methyl 2-O -(α-D -mannopyranosyl)-α-D -mannopyranoside is calculated semiempirically as a function of the linkage dihedral angles ? (H1-C1-O1-C2′) and ψ (C1-O1-C2′-H2′). Although the rotation calculated for the global energy minimum conformation found in several rigid-residue modeling calculations (?,ψ = ?40°,?20°) is in good agreement with the observed solution rotation, the observed rotation is also compatible with the limited flexibility inferred from more recent relaxed residue modeling calculations on a structurally related rhamnose disaccharide © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Complete genome sequences of cellular life forms: glimpses of theoretical evolutionary genomics

The availability of complete genome sequences of cellular life forms creates the opportunity to explore the functional content of the genomes and evolutionary relationships between them at a new qualitative level. With the advent of these sequences, the construction of a minimal gene set sufficient for sustaining cellular life and reconstruction of the genome of the last common ancestor of bacteria, eukaryotes, and archaea become realistic, albeit challenging, research projects. A version of the minimal gene set for modern-type cellular life derived by comparative analysis of two bacterial genomes, those of Haemophilus influenzae and Mycoplasma genitalium, consists of ∼250 genes. A comparison of the protein sequences encoded in these genes with those of the proteins encoded in the complete yeast genome suggests that the last common ancestor of all extant life might have had an RNA genome.     

Impact of Mt. St. Helens ashfall on fruit yield of Mountain Huckleberry,Vaccinium membranaceum,important native American food

Huckleberry plants evaluated at 13 sites in the southern Cascade Mountains of Washington State during August 1980 showed significantly lower fruit yields where subjected to heavy ash deposition following the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. High insect pollinator mortality is suspected as the major causal factor. The impact of such effects of volcanic activity on Native American subsistence is discussed.