Perforated Peptic Ulcer

Because no large series of perforated peptic ulcers has been reported from Canada, 402 cases from the Ottawa Civic Hospital were reviewed to study this dramatic disorder.The incidence was 15 per 100,000 population annually, or one in every 1000 hospital admissions.The incidence in females and the elderly in this series was higher than reported elsewhere. The risk of perforation increased with age, being greatest after 55; this was not due to an excess of chronic ulcers in older patients, indicating that ageing is an etiological factor.As the mortality of perforated peptic ulcer—20%—had remained unchanged over the years, fatal cases were studied to see if changes should be made in the management of this condition. The mortality for patients undergoing operation was 7.5%. Patients treated conservatively because their general condition was poor, died. Fifteen patients, in whom an incorrect diagnosis was made, died. More aggressive therapy and greater efforts at diagnosis might have saved some of these patients.     

Concurrent changes in transducing efficiency and content of transforming deoxyribonucleic acid in Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage SP-10

Taylor, Martha J. (Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md.), and Curtis B. Thorne. Concurrent changes in transducing efficiency and content of transforming deoxyribonucleic acid in Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage SP-10. J. Bacteriol. 91:81-88. 1966.-Spores of Bacillus subtilis W-23-S(r) infected with transducing phage SP-10 served as convenient inocula for broth cultures from which transducing phage was harvested. Methods are described for producing highly infected spores. The inoculum level of infected spores in nutrient broth-yeast extract-glucose medium affected the transducing efficiency of SP-10 in lysates of these cultures. Phage in lysates of cultures inoculated with about 10(5) or fewer spores per milliliter transduced 20- to 350-fold more efficiently than did phage in lysates from cultures inoculated with 10(6) to 10(7) spores per milliliter. Transduction frequencies in the order of 10(-5) per plaque-forming unit were obtained routinely, and some infected-spore preparations yielded phage that gave frequencies as high as 10(-4). The combination of inoculum level and incubation time required to produce the best transducing phage had to be determined empirically for each batch of infected spores. Several possible explanations for the difference between lysates having high (HTE) and those having low (LTE) transducing efficiency were ruled out by special experiments. The hypothesis is presented that some cultural condition resulting from a relatively low inoculum of phage-infected spores favors the incorporation by phage particles of bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the manner required for the production of transducing phage. Support for this hypothesis is a demonstration, through transformation experiments with DNA extracted from HTE and LTE phage particles, that populations of HTE phage particles yielded significantly more (7 to 27 times) transforming activity per microgram of DNA than did populations of LTE phage.     

The growth of Pseudococcomyxa adhaerens Korshikov in distilled water

Summary The quantitative growth of Pseudococcomyxa adhaerens on glass cover slips in distilled water has been studied. Growth is limited by the supply of inorganic nutrients. Regular replacement of the distilled water gives an increase in the growth rate. The light intensity for maximum growth is a function of the nutrient supply. In a culture solution the rate of growth is about 8 times as great as in distilled water, and the limiting light intensity is increased to 400 lux from 100 lux.     

Contemporary Urban Buddhist ‘Cults’ and the Socio-Political Order in Thailand

This paper is concerned with the ongoing intense interest in Thailand of two controversial urban Buddhist movements which have appeared since the beginning of the seventies, Santi Asok and Thammakaai. Essentially, I view both as a resonance of the perceived need for ‘change’ among an articulate aspiring new middle class. I also argue that both Santi Asok and Thammakaai in their expressions — Thammakaai the specious discursive function of capital, Santi Asok by confrontation and spurning what they consider an ‘amoralistic’ establishment — are predicating a radical critique of the Thai social order, a call for collective ‘inner-worldly activism’ and ‘individualistic’ reflexive response to convention.