Measurement of cerebral blood flow by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in children presenting with autistic behavior. Preliminary results

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic recordings of the middle cerebral arteries were performed on eight children with autistic behavior compared to eight controls. Blood flow measurements were assessed at rest and during auditory and visual stimulations. The main result was obtained during the auditory stimulations and concerned the left artery blood flow which is lower in autistics than in controls in these conditions (p less than .02). This result confirms the possibility of a left hemisphere dysfunctioning in autistics and may be related to clinical features as language disabilities and paradoxical reactivity to auditory stimuli.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of the radiative properties of matter at high energy densities and their application to the problems of inertial confinement fusion

The paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies of the radiative properties of plasmas produced by heating and compression of various materials to high energy densities. The specific features of the theoretical plasma model known as the ion model, which is used to calculate the radiative characteristics of plasmas of complex chemical composition, are discussed. The theoretical approach based on this model is applied to the plasma produced during the explosion of the X-pinch wires. The theoretical estimate of the radiation efficiency is compared with the experimental data on the total energy yield from an X-pinch made of two different wires (NiCr and Alloy 188). The radiative characteristics of (C12 H16 O8) and (C8 H12 O6) plasmas are calculated for the temperature diagnostics of plasmas produced from porous targets employed in inertial confinement fusion experiments with the use of laser radiation and heavy-ion beams.     

Report of the Council of the Association of Applied Biologists for the year 1968

Bock (1963) showed that in the years 1956-60 early season sprays achieved good control of coffee berry disease (CBD) in East Rift areas of Kenya. In recent years, however, this spray programme has given erratic and often very poor results. In field experiments in 1966 yields of main (late) crop were increased from 151 to 652 kg/ha by early season sprays but in 1967 practically no control of the disease was achieved. Of the fungicides examined captafol was superior to copper; ‘Tuzet’, the best antisporulant, gave the poorest control. Analysis of the data indicates that this large seasonal variation depends on the very different inter-relationships between rainfall, cropping pattern and timing of sprays which obtained in the 2 years. The hypothesis that early-season sprays achieve control of CBD mainly by reducing the sporulating capacity of the maturing bark is questioned. The view is put forward that the protectant action of these sprays has been underestimated.     

Membrane-binding sites for acyl carrier protein in Escherichia coli

We report that membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli contain protein-binding sites for acyl carrier protein. Scatchard analysis of the binding indicates a dissociation constant around 0.35 micrometers and a maximum number of protein-binding sites around 50 pmol per mg of membrane protein. Binding is on the inner membrane while the outer membrane is devoid of binding sites. These results are consistent with the fact that some acyl carrier protein-dependent enzymes implicated in phospholipid- and membrane-derived oligosaccharide biosynthesis are localized in the cytoplasmic membrane.     

The relationship of the intensity of liver microsomal oxidation to individual longevity

Positive correlation between the activity of enzymes of microsomal oxidation of the liver and individual lifespan was shown in experiments on Wistar female rats. The use of test of duration of pentobarbital hypnosis provides for the distinction between the animals with low and high life expectancy.