An unusual pontine mass lesion.

A 27-year-old Puerto Rican man presented to Yale-New Haven Hospital with a six-week history of left-sided headache, diplopia, and drooping of the left side of his face. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a lymphocytic pleocytosis and a CT scan of the brain revealed an unusual intrapontine mass lesion requiring systemic antifungal therapy. This case emphasizes many of the diagnostic and therapeutic considerations required for effective therapy of fungal disease in the central nervous system.     

Hemophilus vaginalis bacteremia.

During 1975--77 Hemophilus vaginalis bacteremia occurred post partum in eight previously healthy women. Seven had been admitted for delivery at term and one because of threatened abortion. Six underwent cesarean section. Post-partum pyrexia and neutrophilia were the main features. All the patients recovered uneventfully while receiving antibiotics. H. vaginalis is an infrequent agent of bacteremia; it affects predominantly women after obstetric trauma.     

Novel surface lipids of diapausing Manduca sexta pupae. Long chain oxoalcohol esters of acetoacetic, hydroxybutyric, and acetic acids

Ester components in the surface wax from diapausing tobacco hornworm pupae, Manduca sexta L., were separated by thin layer chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography, and characterized by infrared spectroscopy and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Three groups of esters were identified as natural derivatives of acetic acid, acetoacetic acid, and 3-hydroxybutyric acid. The major ester fraction was identified as a mixture of C26 (10%), C27 (5%), and C28 (85%) oxoalcohol esters of acetoacetic acid. The major homolog consisted of equal amounts of 11-oxooctacosanyl 3-oxobutanoate and 12-oxooctacosanyl 3-oxobutanoate. Lesser amounts of 11- and 12-oxooctacosanyl and n-octacosanyl esters of acetic and 3-hydroxybutyric acids were also identified. The chain length distributions of these C26, C27, and C28 oxoalcohol and n-primary alcohol ester moieties, as well as the isomeric ratios for the 11- and 12-oxoalcohol isomers, were similar to the oxoaldehydes and unesterified oxoalcohols previously identified by Buckner et al (Buckner, J. S., Nelson, D. R., Haak, H., and Pomonis, J. G. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 8452-8470) as lipid components of the surface wax of M. sexta pupae.     

Gas-liquid chromatography for the determination of acetylcholinesterase activity

Method has been modified and used for quantitative gas chromatographic determination of microtraces in a large volume of test mixture under study. The method can be applied for the differentiated determination of genuine and false blood cholinesterase by final products of specific substrate hydrolysis.     

Temporal and spatial differences in the emission of calls by pipistrelle bats<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pipistrellus pipistrellus</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">P. pygmaeus</Emphasis>

The number of orientation, feeding and social calls emitted by pipistrelle batsPipistrellus pipistrellus Schreber, 1774 andP. pygmaeus Leach, 1825 was recorded throughout the night at eight different sites. Social calls were unaffected by weather variables, whereas orientation calls and feeding buzzes were both significantly affected by cloud and temperature conditions. The number of emissions of each call type was significantly different between sites, indicating that the bats used different sites for different activities. Significant positive correlations between all three combinations of call types occurred only during the middle of the night, corresponding with the nadir of flying insects. This suggests that bats were engaged in activities other than feeding at this time, such as territory protection or mate attraction.     

Recent decrease in carbon sink to Russian forests

Regional Evaluation of Carbon Budget of Forests (RECBF), was used to study the dynamics of carbon balance in Russian forests in 1988–2015. The carbon sink (excess of absorption over losses) to forests was minimal in 1988. Since the first half of the 1990s, its increase has started. This increase was associated with the reduction of logging volume in connection with socioeconomic reforms. Since 2008, the carbon sink was gradually reduced due to increasing losses in logging operations, forest fires, and decreased carbon absorption.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
P hysical A nthropology : Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 1947. G abriel W. L asker and J. L awrence A ngel
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 1948. G abriel W. L asker and F rederick P. T hieme     

Plasmacytoma of the breast. Unusual initial presentation of myeloma: report of two cases and review of the literature

Two patients who presented initially with breast masses proven to be plasmacytomas, are described. In both cases the breast masses led to the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, which was retrospectively already present at the time of the breast biopsy. One patient with IgG lambda-type myeloma developed plasma cell leukemia and amyloidosis and failed to respond to radiochemotherapy. The second patient was in complete remission, four years after therapy, but has subsequently relapsed and died. All cases of breast plasmacytoma, described in the medical literatures are reviewed, and guidelines for future therapy are suggested.