Correlation Between Degradation of Bacteriophage T2 Deoxyribonucleic Acid and the Resistance of Escherichia coli to Infection

The ability of certain strains of Escherichia coli to degrade T2 deoxyribonucleic acid to acid-soluble fragments is correlated with their high capacity to survive T2 infection.     

A Retraining Program for Inactive Physicians

During the past two years a pilot project was conducted in which 19 inactive physicians were retrained in preparation for resumption of active practice. The initial program consisted of a flexible training program of six months to one year patterned after conventional internship-residency concepts. During the second year the program was modified by providing an initial condensed indoctrination period of two months'' duration especially designed for this purpose, followed by a preceptorship type of training.The project was considered successful in permitting trainees to enter some form of active medical work, or to enroll in formal specialty training. The observations made by the faculty of the program and its accomplishments are discussed in the light of the effort expended and the cost of the project.     

A Modified Pyridine-Silver Stain for Teased Preparations of Motor and Sensory Nerve Endings in Skeletal Muscle

This technique has been developed especially to stain sensory receptors which have been localised intramuscularly by electrophysiological means. Rat intertransverse caudal muscles, removed immediately after death, are fixed for 24 hr in a freshly prepared mixture of absolute ethyl alcohol, 4.5 ml; distilled water, 5 ml; and concentrated HNO_a, 0.1 ml. After a further 24 hr in 10 ml of absolute ethyl alcohol containing 0.1 ml of ammonia solution (sp. gr. 0.88), the muscles are washed in distilled water for 30 min and placed in full strength pyridine for 2 days. They are then washed for 24 hr in distilled water (changed 5-8 times) and left in 2% AgNO₃, in the dark for 3 days at 25 C. Following reduction in 10 ml of 5% formic acid containing 0.4 gm of pyrogallol for 6-24 hr, the specimens are washed briefly in distilled water and stored in pure glycerol. The nerve endings can then be teased out and mounted in glycerol, under cover glasses ringed with a waterproof cement. The advantage of this method is that it gives consistently good staining of receptors and motor end-plates in small muscles of the rat     

The reversal of phenylarsenoxide inhibition of keto acid oxidation in mitochondrial and bacterial suspensions by lipoic acid and other disulphides

1. Inhibition of pyruvate oxidation in suspensions of Aerobacter aerogenes cells and of isolated mitochondria from rat heart and liver by phenylarsenoxide is prevented by an excess of lipoic acid, whereas inhibition due to certain bivalent cations is not. 2. In both systems inhibition persists when the bacteria and mitochondria are recovered and resuspended in fresh media in the absence of the inhibitor. Persistent inhibition due to preincubation with phenylarsenoxide, but not with the metal ions, is reversed by lipoic acid and by certain other disulphides. 3. 2,3-Dimercaptopropan-1-ol prevents the inhibition of pyruvate oxidation by phenylarsenoxide and by bivalent cations in both mitochondria and bacterial cells. 4. In aerobic suspensions of mitochondria and bacteria disulphides such as lipoic acid are reduced rapidly to dithiols. Reduction is inhibited by Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cd(2+) and Zn(2+), but not by phenylarsenoxide. 5. It is concluded that the inability of lipoic acid to prevent the action of the metal ions on pyruvate oxidation is due to the inhibition of its reduction to the effective dithiol.     

Studies onAzotobacter species in soil

Summary Methods for countingAzotobacter species in soil have been examined. The highest counts were obtained from soil suspensions shaken in sterile distilled water containing 10-g glass beads and plated on to glucose agar. Mannitol has been rejected as a suitable substrate in agar media because it gives lower counts of Azotobacter than glucose, an effect which is further enhanced by drying the agar plates. A clear medium free from precipitated phosphate and CaCO₃ is recommended for the agar-plate method; the Azotobacter count is affected by the phosphate concentration.The agar-plate and dilution-tube methods were compared; the latter is less accurate but more convenient when many soil samples have to be examined.     

Substitution of Manganese for Tomato Juice in the Cultivation of Lactic Acid Bacteria

Tomato juice was separated by chemical and physical methods into various active fractions, as measured by growth response and acid production by numerous lactic acid bacteria. Incineration of the treated extracts with little apparent loss in activity established the fact that the stimulatory component was of inorganic composition. Of the various cations tested, manganese was the only element that produced biological activity comparable to that of the original extract. Of the 71 strains of lactic acid bacteria tested, 63 strains showed a definite requirement for manganese or tomato juice.     

CYTOTAXONOMY OF TWELVE SPECIES OF HIBISCUS SECTION FURCARIA

Menzel, Margaret Y. (Florida State U., Tallahassee), and F. D. Wilson. Cytotaxonomy of twelve species of Hibiscus section Furcaria. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(3): 262–271. Illus. 1963.—Metaphase-I chromosome numbers and pairing in 88 accessions showed that H. cannabinus, H. costatus, and H. surattensis are diploid (n = 18); and H. acetosella, H. aculeatus, H. bifurcatus, H.furcellatus, H. meeusei, H. radiatus, H. rostellatus and H. sabdariffa are tetraploid (n = 36), with similar low multivalent frequencies, hence probably allotetraploids each combining 2 well-differentiated genomes. No intraspecific variation in ploidy was found. Fertile, vigorous F₁ hybrids between H.furcellatus and H. bifurcatus showed complete chromosome pairing (n = 36), confirming a close relationship between the parents. Two African strains of H. diversifolius were octoploid (n = 72) with low multivalent frequency and hence probably contain 4 differentiated genomes. At least 4, perhaps 5 or 6, differentiated genome groups are represented in tropical Africa, and at least 2 in the American tropics.     

Production of the Milk Agent in Cultures of Mouse Mammary Carcinoma

Thin sections of tissue cultures grown from tumors of the RIII high-breast-cancer strain mice were studied in the electron microscope. These tissues contain an abundance of particles whose morphology is consistent with biophysical measurement of the milk agent. These particles, found only extracellularly in our cultures, are formed at the cell membrane. The process of formation, as reconstructed from sections, appears to include a thickening and protrusion of the cell membrane which then evolves gradually into a dense sphere and separates from the cell in much the same manner as does influenza virus. The contents of the newly formed body are later rearranged to form a nucleoid within a membranous sac.