Ultrastructural changes in Dunaliella minuta following acute and chronic exposure to copper and cadmium

The ultrastructural changes taking place after shortterm acute exposure to copper, cadmium and a combination of the two metals were examined. Additionally, the effects of long-term (8 months) exposure to ambient concentrations of these metals were investigated. Exposure to 0.34 M cadmium affected the photosynthetic potential of this alga, by reducing the relative volume of the chloroplast by 23.27%. It also led to 74.6% increase in the relative volume of starch granules. Cells challenged with 0.34 M cadmium and 7.57 M copper had 33.49% larger volumes than controls, and their relative lipid volumes increased by 170%. In contrast, the relative volume of their pyrenoids decreased by 41.46%. Similar results were obtained after chronic exposure to 4.9×10^–4 M copper with the relative volume of the pyrenoid being 28% smaller than the controls.This work was submitted by Ioanna Visviki to the Department of Biology of the Graduate School of the City University of New York for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the PhD degree.     

Remission of Tardive Dystonia with ECT

A 30-year-old patient with tardive dystonia, who had failed to respond to cessation of neuroleptics, placebo, diazepam, biperiden, propranolol, and clonidine, had an impressive response to courses of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on three successive trials.     

Use of a Calibration Balloon Tube to Size the Pouch and Channel in Gastroplasty Procedures

Gastroplasty is currently one of the most common surgical procedures performed on the morbidly obese for weight loss. An adequate result can be assured only if the pouch that is created is less than 30 ml and the channel that connects that pouch to the distal stomach is approximately 1 cm in diameter. The current method to size the pouch is to occlude the esophagus and the outlet of the pouch and to measure with a manometer through a naso-gastric tube. We contend this method is both time consuming and adds to the potential of complications. Through the use of a calibration balloon tube the size of the pouch can be quickly and safely estimated. It can also be used to size the channel between the pouch and the distal stomach and check for leaks. The technique of how this tube has been used over the past 6 years is described. By the use of a calibration balloon tube, three problem areas in gastric stapling surgery for morbid obesity are avoided, namely: inappropriate pouch size, inappropriate channel size and postoperative leaks.     

Stereotactic approach to skull-base lesions

With improved knowledge of the anatomy and increased collaboration between the neurosurgeon and the otolaryngologist, successful surgical resection of skull-based tumors is being achieved with reduced mortality and morbidity. In spite of this, there remains a group of patients in whom an alternate surgical approach of stereotaxis may be indicated. This group of patients includes those in whom only biopsy is required, or those in whom brachytherapy using high-intensity (125)I is planned because the patients' general condition is not good enough to undergo open surgical resection of the tumor or the tumor is unresectable or the patient refuses open surgery. This article presents a preliminary report on stereotactic approach to skull base lesions with special emphasis on the technique.     

Further thoughts on double effect: some preliminary responses

Since the papers in this issue by Alan Donagan, Don Marquis, William Nelson and Warren Quinn raise complex and challenging questions about almost every aspect of my "Who is Entitled to Double Effect", I cannot, in the present context, provide more than preliminary responses to some of the more important issues they raise in the hope that this might contribute to further clarification of the doctrine of double effect (DDE).     

The effects of pH on the growth ofChlorella vulgaris and its interactions with cadmium toxicity

The effects of pH alone, and in combination with exposure to 0.89 M cadmium, on the growth response of the green algaChlorella vulgaris were evaluated. Acidic (3.0–6.2) and alkaline (8.3–9.0) pH values retarded the growth of this alga. Optimal growth occurred when the pH of the medium was adjusted to values of 7.5 and 8.0. When the cells were exposed to pH adjusted medium plus the presence of 0.89 M Cd, a value known to reduce population growth by 50% at the control pH of 6.9, the affects were additive at the acidic (3.0–5.0) pH ranges. At alkaline pH values of 8.3–9.0 all toxicity responses could be explained by pH adjustment alone, indicating that additional cadmium toxicity was absent. At pH values of 7.5 and 8.0, cadmium toxicity was mitigated against, and resultant growth at pH 8.0 was at the same enhanced rate as this pH without cadmium.     

6-125I-iodo-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinol bis (diammonium phosphate) as a potential radio-halogenated anti-cancer agent: In vitro investigations and possible clinical implications

6-¹²⁵I-iodo-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinol bis (diammonium phosphate) (6-¹²⁵I-iodo-MNDP) has been synthesised and studied as the prototype of a class of potential radio-halogenated anti-cancer agents. The incorporated ¹²⁵I provides Auger electron radiations which behave like high LET radiations in the treatment of tumours, though the accompanying X- and -radiations make an undersirable contribution to the total body dose. The in vitro experiments reported show that 6-¹²⁵I-iodo-MNDP is selectively concentrated in the cells of some human malignant tumours by factor of about 15 to 20 or more in relation to the cells of normal origin studied. On the basis of dosimetric considerations and comparison with clinical treatment with tritiated methylnaphthoquinol diphosphate, practical dosage of 6-¹²⁵I-iodo-MNDP is suggested and clinical indications and safety of use are discussed. The types of tumour of particular interest are inoperable cases of carcinoma of the colon, carcinoma of the pancreas, malignant melanoma and osteosarcoma. Further investigations are in progress.Beit Memorial Fellow for Medical Research     

Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister was born at Upton, Essex on April 5, 1827, the son of a wealthy wine merchant who became an eminent optical scientist. He received his M.B. and F.R.C.S. at the University College, London, in 1852 and went from there to Edinburgh to become the house surgeon to James Syme. He subsequently married Agnes Syme, the eldest daughter of his chief. He became a lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and became well known mostly through his writings on coagulation and microscopic observations. In 1859 he accepted the Professorship of Surgery at the University of Glasgow. In spite of the advent of anesthesia, elective surgery was frequently complicated by erysipelas, septicemia, pyemia, and hospital gangrene. In 1865 Lister became aware of the work of Pasteur on fermentation and putrefaction. He decided to use carbolic acid (phenol) for wound dressings to prevent infections and to sterilize the operative field. His results are here reproduced in this Classic presentation. It is difficult to conceive what abdominal surgery was like prior to Lister. Few would be so bold as to voluntarily perform a laparotomy and no one would dare to incise or to resect an intestine. Lister's work was severely criticized initially but ultimately he received the highest accolades throughout the world for his achievements. In 1869 he succeeded Syme as Professor at Edinburgh and subsequently became Professor of Surgery at King's College, London. He became President of the Royal Society, a baronet, and was the first physician to sit in the House of Lords. Among his other notable contributions to surgery was the use of carbolized catgut sutures, and the introduction of the aortic turniquet, the wire needle, the ear hook, the sinus forceps, the urethral bougie, and the prostatic stone forceps. Joseph Lister died on February 10, 1912 at the age of eighty-four. His remains were interred in Westminster Abbey.     

Severe aggression in rats induced by mescaline but not other hallucinogens

Pairs of male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine (DMPEA), or 5-hydroxydopamine (5-OHDA) IP prior to being placed in a shock-elicited aggression situation. When foot shock was delivered, controls struck each other with their forepaws, but never engaged in either biting or injurious fighting. Mescaline-treated rats (50 or 250 mg) rarely struck each other, but engaged in nearly lethal biting. While LSD (25–400 g/kg), psilocin (2.0 mg/kg), and DMT (5 mg/kg) produced some biting, this did not significantly differ from controls and never resulted in injuries. At higher doses, psilocin, DMT, and DMPEA decreased the amount and intensity of fighting. Rats treated with 5-OHDA (8–200 mg/kg) or LSD (25–400 g/kg) did not differ from controls. These results suggest that mescaline's ability to induce pathological aggression in rats exposed to foot shock is not shared by other hallucinogens or nonhallucinogenic mescaline analogues.