Influence of pulm onary ventilation and of
p „of blood.
P . A. As h m a r i n an dI.
A. Al e x e e v-Be r k m a n.
II. Pulm onary ventilation and
erythrocytosis.
P . A. As h m a r i n a n d E . A.Vl a d im ir o v a.
III. Effect of the activity of
t h eg a s t r o i n t e s t i n a l t r a c t o n p e r i p h e r a l le u c o c y to s is a n d e r y t h r o c y t o s i s . P . A. As h m a r i n, I. A.
Al e x e e v- Be r k m a n, a n d E . A. Vl a d im ir o v a. IV . R e la tio n of u r i n a r y a c id ity to c h a n g e s i n p e r i p h e r a l le u c o c y to s is . P . A. As h m a r i n a n d I. A.
Al e x e e v- Be r k m a n. V. E f f e c t of lo c a l c o o lin g a n d w a r m i n g o n m o r p h o lo g ic a l c o m p o s itio n of th e b lo o d . P. A. As h m a r i n, I. A. Al e x e e v- Be r k m a n, a n d E . A. Vl a d im ir o v a (A rk h . B io l.
N au k , 1929, 29, 273—282, 283—287, 289— 298, 299— 302, 303—314). Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
F œ t a l b lo o d . I. O x y g e n r e l a t i o n s h i p s of u m b i l i c a l c o r d b lo o d a t b i r t h . N . J . Ea s t m a n
(Bull. Jo h n s H opkins H osp., 1930, 4 7 , 221— 230).—
F œ ta l blood ex h ib its high oxygen ca p a c ity and high capillary u n sa tu ra tio n . Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
I s o l a t i o n b y c a t a p h o r e s i s of tw o d i f f e r e n t o x y - h æ m o g lo b in s f r o m t h e b lo o d of s o m e a n i m a l s . A. Ge ig e r (Proc. R oy. Soe., 1931, B , 107, 368—
380).— B y th e cataphoresis of oxyhæ m oglobin of c e rta in anim als such as sheep an d ox a t a p n in th e neighbourhood of th e com m only accepted isoelectric p o in t (6-5— 7-0) an d in presence of sufficiently low con cen tratio n s of ph o sp h ate buffer th e oxyhæm oglobin from one anim al has been sep arate d in to tw o fractions, one m ig ratin g to th e cath o d e a n d th e o th e r to th e anode. T hese tw o oxyhæ m oglobins w hen again su b jecte d to cataphoresis can n o t be fu rth e r fra c tio n a ted b u t behaved as hom ogeneous proteins, th e isoelectric p o in ts of w hich differed b y 0-3— 0-4 p H u n it. The tw o oxyhæ m oglobins from th e sam e blood gave differ
e n t oxygen dissociation curves, confirm ing th e view th a t th e tw o fractions rep resen t d istin c t substances.
Som etim es a t least, h u m an blood also contains tw o different oxyhæm oglobins, b u t th e ir isoelectric p o in ts ap p e a r to be close to g e th er, so th a t sep aratio n is m ore difficult. P re lim in ary electro-dialysis of th e haemo
globin solutions facilitates separation.
W . O. Ke r m a c k. V a r ia tio n of h a e m o g lo b in c o n t e n t [of b lo o d ] a n d b l o o d - f o r m in g f u n c tio n of th e liv e r . S. Ta t u-
za w a (Sei-i-kwai Med. J ., 1930, 49, No. 5, 37—62).— T he ho u rly v a ria tio n for th e norm al restin g r a b b it is less th a n 1 % ; sh o rt exercise reduces th e v alue by 1% . S ubcutaneous in jectio n of oxygen increases, an d of carb o n dioxide decreases, th e hæm oglobin co n te n t. Liver-juice increases blood form ation.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s. B lo o d p i g m e n t s . X I I I . P r e p a r a t i o n of m e t - h æ m o g lo b in ; f lu o r o [ m e t] h æ m o g lo b in , f is s io n of h æ m o g lo b in b y p a p a in , a n d th e h æ m o g lo b in in p e r n i c i o u s a n æ m ia . F . Ha u r o w it z (Z. physiol.
Chem., 1931, 194, 98— 106).— T h e m ethod previously described (A., 1924, i, 1127) for th e p re p a ra tio n of m ethæ m oglobin is u n tru s tw o rth y ; a m ore convenient procedure is to suspend oxyhæ m oglobin in 5 % alcohol an d keep th e m ix tu re fo r 6— 10 d ay s a t 37— 40°.
T he conversion of m ethæ m oglobin in to its fluoro- deriv ativ o (cf. loc. cit.), w hich shows a n ab so rp tio n m axim um a t a b o u t 606 mu., is com plete only a fte r 30 m in. T he actio n of p a p a in -h y d ro g en cyanide on hæ m oglobin a t p u 5 is sim ilar to th a t of try p sin (A., 1930, 942); th e hæ m in-proteose produced has p ro p erties sim ilar to those of th e com pound obtained
b y th e actio n of sodium hydroxide on hiemoglobin (W aelsch, A., 1927, 893). T he haemoglobin of p e r
nicious a n d secondary anaemia has th e sam e re sist
ance to sodium hydroxide as th a t from no rm al blood.
H . Bu r t o n. D e t e r m i n a t i o n f r o m th e o p tic a l d e n s ity a n d v is c o s ity of a s u s p e n s io n of t h e n u m b e r a n d v o lu m e of d i s p e r s e d p a r t i c l e s . (Mm e.) G. Ac h a r d
(Com pt. rend., 1931, 192, 242— 244).— T he viscosity of a suspension of red blood-corpuscles is related to th e ir n u m b er b y th e form ula 7]/T]0= l- ) - 0 - 0 4 S 6 A n ''17, w here vj an d v)0 are th e viscosities of th e suspension an d excipient, respectively, a n d N , th e n u m b er of p articles p e r m m .3X 10~6, lies betw een 0-2 an d 10-0.
E x p o n en tial an d hyperbolic equations sim ilar to th o se of Vies express th e relationship betw een o p a city and nu m b er of red blood-corpuscles. A. Re n f r e w.
P r o t e o l y t i c e n z y m e s i n h u m a n le u c o c y te s . E . Hu s f e l d t (Z. physiol. Chem., 1931, 194, 137— 165).
— E x tra c tio n of th e leucocytes from th e blood of a p a tie n t suffering from m yeloid leucaemia, w hich are essentially those from bone-m arrow , w ith 87%
glycerol gives a n e x tra c t containing tw o proteinases, a cath ep sin and a try p ta se . T he form er of these shows h y d ro ly tic actio n a t p a 3— 7 ; o p tim um fission of caseinogen a n d edestin occurs a t p a 4-3 an d 5-3, respectively. T he a c tiv ity of th e try p ta s e tow ards caseinogen increases (from p n 4) w ith rise in alk alin ity of th e m edium . T he a m o u n t of th e try p ta s e isolated from th e cells increases w ith them d e stru ctio n (by autolysis w ith chloroform a t 37°). A utolysis of th e leucocytes (essentially polym orphonuclear) from th e ex u d ate of a n acu te em pyem a gives a suspension containing m ainly try p ta se . The fission of caseinogen b y th is suspension is sim ilar to th e hydrolysis by glycerol e x tra c ts of th e leucocytes from th e blood of th e horse a n d dog (W illstiitter, B am ann, an d R ohde- w ald, A., 1930, 234). A glycerol e x tra c t of the leucocytes from norm al blood contains peptidases.
T he e x tra c t hydrolyses alanylglycylglycine readily a t p H 7-3; th e ra te of fission of alanylglycine (optim um lib pn 7-2) is th re e tim es th a t of leucylglyeine (optim um Pn 8-1). T he above enzym es are also found in glycerol e x tra c ts of granulocytes. H . Bu r t o n.
P h a s e - r u l e e q u i l i b r i a of h o r s e s e r u m - g lo b u lin . J . W . McBa i n a n d E . Ja m e s o n (T rans. F a ra d a y Soc., 1930, 26, 768—-769).— O bservations h av e been m ade on horse serum -globulin to a scertain th e various sta te s w hich i t c an assum e an d th e conditions under w hich th e y can ex ist. T he resu lts o b tain ed have been analysed in a p hase d iagram . T here is great sim ilarity to soap b o th in resp ect of th e form s of globulin a n d soap w hich se p arate an d th e shapes of th e areas representing th e solutions of th e tw o sub
stances. I t ap p ears th a t globulin solution, euglob- ulin, an d pseudoglobulin a re th re e phases of the sam e su bstance, d e h y d ra te d globulin. A solution of globulin is th e o rd in ary isotropic solution, w hilst euglobulin a n d pseudoglobulin are liquid crystalline phases, or a liquid an d glass w hich are slightly doubly
refractin g . W . 0 . Ke r m a c k.
A c tio n of a lc o h o ls o n th e c o a g u la tio n b y h e a t of p r o t e i n s o lu tio n s b u f f e r e d w i t h a c e ta te . F.
Te o r e l l (Biochem. Z., 1930, 229, 1—1 5).— W hether
B IO C H E M IS T R Y . 3 7 7
eth y l alcohol is p re se n t or n o t, serum -album in (horse) is coagulated b y h e a t only betw een p n 4-7 an d 6-2.
M ethyl, eth y l, an d propyl alcohols, in th is order, have increasing in h ib ito ry effects on coagulation by h e a t provided a c e ta te is p resen t. T he effects arc m ore pronounced w hen th e co n cen tratio n of th e acetate is high th a n w hen i t is low. W hen th e concentration of th e alcohol exceeds a b o u t 20% (by volume) th e coagulated m a terial w holly or p a rtly dissolves w hen h o t, b u t is re-p recip itate d on cooling.
C oagulation in th e cold is p ro m o ted in increasing degree b y th e alcohols in th e following order : propyl, ethyl, m eth y l. H u m a n p lasm a an d horse p lasm a are affected in th e sam e w ay as is horse serum , b u t th e coagulation of ovalbum in by h e a t is n o t influenced by alco h o l-acetate m ixtures. W . McCa r t n e y.
C o m p o s itio n of o x b lo o d . A . An d e r s o n, H . E . Ga y l e y, a n d A. D. Pr a t t (J. D airy Sci., 1930, 13, 336— 348).— D eterm in atio n s of hæ m oglobin, non- protein-nitrogcn, urca-nitrogen, creatinine, sugar, chlorides, phosphorus, calcium , an d carbon dioxide- binding cap acity hav e been m ade.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s. A c e ty lc h o lin e i n o x -b lo o d . P . Wr e d e a n d W . Ke il (Z. physiol. Chem ., 1931, 194, 229—231).—
W hen ox-blood is tre a te d w ith alcohol, tric h lo ro acetic acid, a n d e th e r as described b y K ap fh am m er a n d Bischoff (A., 1930,1464), th e re su ltin g e x tra c t contains no acetylcholine. A sim ilar e x tra c t from blood to which acetylcholine has been added shows none of th e characteristic a c tiv ity of acetylcholine. H . Bu r t o n.
D e te r m in a tio n of c h o le s te r o l, p h o s p h o r u s , a n d in o r g a n ic c a lc iu m i n o n e s a m p l e of b lo o d - s e r u m . G. H . Ba r il an d J . La b a r r e (T rans. R oy. Soc.
Canada, 1930, [iii], 24, V, 185— 187).—To 1 c.c. of serum are added 1 c.c. of distilled w a te r an d 1 c.c. of potassium o x alate (2% ). T he calcium o x alate is separated b y centrifuging a n d a fte r w ashing d e te r
mined w ith p e rm an g an a te in th e u su al w ay. The cholesterol in th e m other-liquor is e x tra c te d w ith ether a fte r th e a d d itio n of alcoholic potassium hydroxide an d determ in ed b y G rig a u t’s m ethod.
The phosphorus is th e n determ in ed b y th e m eth o d of Benedict an d Theis (A., 1924, ii, 700).
W . O. Ke r m a c k. Precipitation in th e d eterm in ation of u nfer- mentable su b sta n ce s in blood. R . E g e and J . R oche (Compt. rend. Soc. Biol., 1929, 102, 703—
"06 ; Chem. Z entr., 1930, ii, 100).— F erm e n ta tio n should n o t proceed longer th a n 1— 2 hrs. a t 37°, th e yeast m u st be p ractica lly free from reducing su b stances, a n d its am o u n t should n o t exceed 3— 4 mg.
of dry substance for 1 c.c. of blood. If 100 m g. are employed th e filtra te a fte r p re c ip ita tio n w ith zinc hydroxide is richer in nitro g en th a n th a t obtained after p recip itatio n w ith sodium tu n g s ta te ; such a filtrate is u n su itab le fo r th e d e te rm in atio n of sugar.
A. A. El d r i d g e. C olorim etric m eth o d of in v e stig a tin g the carbohydrate m e ta b o lism of b lood and organ s, f • O ccurrence of h e x o se s in a d d ition to d extrose in hum an blood : th eir p rod uction in v itr o . Z.
D is c h e (Biochem. Z., 19 3 0 , 2 2 9 , 169— 1 9 5 ).—
Differences between the results obtained when th e
sugar in a sam ple of blood is d eterm in ed b y tw o different m ethods (diphenylam inc-hydrochloric acid an d indo le-su lp h u ric acid m ethods) indicate th a t, in ad d itio n to dextrose, h u m an blood con tain s tw o o th er hexoses, a k etose a n d an aldose. T he a m o u n t of these tw o hexoses in th e blood is n o t increased in a lim e n ta ry hyperglycannia. I n hypoglyeaemia p ro duced b y a d m in istra tio n of insulin th e tw o hexoses arc m ore rap id ly elim inated th a n is dextrose. In blood k e p t a t 38° for 2 hrs. th e g re a te r p a r t of th e tw o hexoses disappears, b u t w hen blood is k e p t a t th e o rd in ary te m p eratu re, a ketose, p ro b ab ly a c o n stitu e n t of a phosphoric ester an d identical w ith th e ketose alread y m entioned, is produced. This ketose, w hich disappears from th e blood w hen k e p t a t 37° m uch m ore rap id ly th a n does dextrose, is found in th e red corpuscles only, w hereas th e p re form ed hexoses are a b o u t equally d istrib u te d betw een p lasm a a n d corpuscles. B o th th e hexoses are p ro duced from d extrose w hen th is is add ed to blood.
W. McCa r t n e y. P r o t e i n - s u g a r i n t h e b lo o d - p l a s m a of th e h o r s e . H . Bi e r r y (Com pt. rend., 1931, 192, 240— 241).—
I n th e p ro d u cts of hydrolysis of th e pro tein -su g ar o b tain ed from th e purified album in of horse plasm a, fZ-mannose, d-galactose, an d d-glucosam ine have been d ete c te d an d d eterm ined. T he galactose linking is th e w eakest. T he reducing pow er of th e glucosam ine is a b o u t a q u a rte r of th e reducing pow er of th e to ta l
protein-sugar. A. Re n f r e w.
B l o o d - s u g a r le v e l of t h e o x . E . A. He w it t (J.
Am er. V et. Med. Assoc., 1930, 77, 362— 367).— T he blood-sugar of heifers and n o n -lactatin g cows is higher th a n t h a t of la c ta tin g cows. A high value m a y be correlated w ith oestrus in heifers. V ariations in p athogenic conditions are recorded.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s. D i s t r i b u t i o n of s u g a r i n th e b lo o d of fis h e s . J . E . Gr a y an d F . G. Ha l l (J. E lish a M itchell Sci.
Soc., 1929, 4 5 , 142— 146).— W hole blood of norm al fishes contains a b o u t 75 m g. of sugar p e r 100 c.c.
T he average ra tio of plasm a- to eorpuscle-sugar is : m en h ad en 2-12, pickerel 1-75, scup 1-47, silver hake 3-60, sh ad 3-80, dogfish 1— 1-03.
Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s. A l i m e n t a r y b l o o d - s u g a r c u r v e . C h a n g e s i n t h e b l o o d - s u g a r c u r v e d u r i n g b lo o d - c ir c u la tio n . W . W . OrpEL (Arch. exp. P a th . P lm rm ., 1930, 158, 348— 367 ; cf. A., 1929, 462).— A rterial an d venous lfcvulose an d to ta l blood-sugar of dogs are d e te r
m ined a t in terv als over a period of 3 hrs. a fte r in te stin a l a d m in istratio n of sucrose (3 g. p e r kg. body- w t.). T he parallel changes exhibited by th e lsevulose a n d blood-sugar curves are explained b y inversion of sucrose, a n d i t is concluded t h a t ab so rp tio n of su g ar from th e intestin e, an d n o t glycogen u tilisatio n , is responsible fo r a lim e n ta ry blood-sugar.
A. Co h e n. [ D e te r m in a tio n o fj s u g a r i n 0-02 c.c . of b lo o d b y th e m e t h o d of F o lin a n d M a lm r o s . J . F.
McCl e n d o n (Proc. Soc. E x p . Biol. Med., 1930, 27, 773— 775).— T he blood (0-02 c.c.) is blown in to tu n g stic acid solution (2 c.c.), th e p ip e tte is rinsed, a n d th e m ix tu re is stirre d for 1 m in. a n d centrifuged.
P o tassiu m ferrocyanide solution (0-4 e.c.) an d c y a n id e - c arb o n a te solution (0-2 c.c.) are added to 1 e.c. of th e clear liquid a n d to th e sta n d a rd su g ar solution (5 c.c.). T he te s t m ix tu re is boiled for 8 m in., cooled in w a te r for 1 m in., tre a te d w ith 1 c.c. of ferric iro n - g h a tti solution, shaken, k e p t for 1 m in., a n d th e n d ilu te d to 5 c.c. Ten colorim etric com parisons are m ade as rap id ly as possible.
Ch e m i c a l Ab s t r a c t s. M i c r o - d e t e r m i n a t i o n of b lo o d - s u g a r . R . B.
Gib s o n (Proc. Soc. E x p . Biol. Med., 1930, 2 7 , 480—
483).— P ro te in a n d non-sugar reducing su bstances are p re cip itated from 0-2 c.c. of blood w ith 2-5 tim es as m uch sodium tu n g s ta te and sulphuric acid as would be req u ired b y th e original Folin an d W u procedure.
T h e colour developed b y th e arse n o tu n g sta te reag e n t w ith form aldehyde (Benedict) is p erm an en t. V enous blood co n tain s 06— 122 (average 91) m g. of su g a r p er 100 c.c. Ch e m ic a l Ab s t r a c t s.
G ly c o ly s is of b lo o d . I . II. K . Ba r r e n s c h e e n
a n d K . H Üb n e r (Biochem. Z., 1930, 2 2 9 , 329— 342 ; cf. A ., 1928, 912).— T he m a th e m a tic a l eq u atio n s p ro posed for representing th e m echanism of glycolysis of blood are u n satisfac to ry an d , in p a rtic u la r, fail to allow fo r th e fa c t th a t a 15— 30 m m . period of in d u c tio n exists. T his period can b e suppressed b y th e ad d itio n of su lp h ate, p h o sp h ate, or arsen ate ions.
Since du rin g glycolysis inorganic p h o sp h ate d is
ap p ears a n d since th is d isappearance is accelerated by su lp h ate ions, th e actio n of th e la tte r m a y be regarded as a n a c tiv a tio n of p h o sphorylation. A d m in istra tio n of large doses of d extrose to fastin g persons also suppresses th e in d u ctio n period of th e glycolysis a n d accelerates th e d isappearance of th e inorganic p h o sp h a te of th e ir blood. W hen hexose- d ip h o sp h ate (b u t n o t liexosem onophosphate) is added to blood th e in d u ctio n period disappears a n d glycolysis is accelerated. T hese resu lts in d ica te analogy betw een ferm e n tatio n b y y e a st an d glycolysis.
W . McCa r t n e y. D e t e r m i n a t i o n of u r i c a c id i n b lo o d . R . A.
Tr e l l e s an d R . Fe r r a m o l a (Chemia, 1929, 6, 175— ISO; Chem. Z en tr., 1930, ii, 100).—T h e m eth o d of B enedict (A., 1922, ii, 405) is recom m ended for determ ining uric acid in blood (plasm a an d corpuscles), b u t t h a t of F lato w (A., 1926, 1283) is preferred for plasm a or serum alone. L. S. Th e o b a l d.
D e t e r m i n a t i o n of u r i c a c id in b lo o d . V. V.
Sa v j a l o v a n d A. Va l k o v t t sc h (Ja h rb . U niv. Sofia Med. F a k ., 1928, 7 ; Chem. Z en tr., 1930, ii, 100).—
One c.c. of 10% sodium hydroxide solution an d 1 c.c. of 5 % am m oniacal silver n itra te are covered w ith th e serum (0-5 c.c. in 250 c.c. of w ater), and a fte r 1 m in. a brow n ring ap p ears w hen th e blood co n tain s 0-002— 0-0025% of uric acid. I n a m odific
a tio n of th e m eth o d , 2 c.c. of sodium hydroxide a n d am m oniacal silver n itra te are m ixed w ith 1 c.c.
of serum an d 5 c.c. of w ate r, a n d th e colour ob tain ed is com pared w ith th a t given b y 5 c.c. of a sta n d a rd solution of uric acid a n d 1 c.c.' of sheep’s serum w ith th e sam e reagents. L. S. Th e o b a l d.
C a lc iu m a n d p h o s p h o r u s c o n te n t of b lo o d a n d th e c r e a t i n i n e c o e ffic ie n t of t h e u r i n e of s o m e i n h a b i t a n t s of M a la y a . F . E . By r o n (Bull. In s t.
Med. Res. M alay, 1930, No. 4, 1— 4).— T he serum - calcium a n d phosphorus c o n te n t of th e blood of no rm al tropical in h a b ita n ts does n o t ap p e a r to v a ry from th e usual sta n d a rd s, b u t in n ativ es suffering from tro p ical ulcers an d anannia th e serum -calcium c o n te n t is sub-norm al, w h ilst th e phosphorus d e te r
m inations are w ith in th e norm al lim its. T he u rin a ry excretion of creatinine in n a tiv e m ales is com parable w ith th a t observed in E uropeans, b u t th e values fo r norm al fem ales are lower. T h e excretion of creatinine in th e u rin e in tro p ical u lceratio n an d anaemia is considerably reduced. C. C. N . Va s s.
D e t e r m i n a t i o n of b lo o d - c a lc iu m . C. 0 . G u i l - l a u m i n (J . P h a rm . Chim ., 1931, [viii], 1 3 , 65—7 6 ).— P lasm a o r serum (5 c.c.) is digested w ith 15 c.c. of
“ nitroperchloric ” acid (1Q0 c.c. of perchloric acid, d 1-61; 250 c.c. of n itric acid, d 1-39), h eatin g g ently a t first a n d th e n vigorously to ta k e to dryness. The colourless residue is dissolved in 5 c.c. of w a te r acidified w ith hydrochloric acid a n d w ashed in to a centrifuge tu b e. A fter h eatin g fo r 2— 3 m in. on th e w a te r-b a th , 2 c.c. of sa tu ra te d am m onium o x alate solution are added, followed b y am m onia, drop b y drop, to give p n 5-0, using m eth y l-red or cresol-green as indicator. T he calcium m a y th e n be determ in ed b y igniting th e oxalate, dissolving in hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, an d titra tin g th e excess w ith carbonate-free sodium hydroxide. A ltern ativ ely , th e oxalate m a y be determ in ed b y h o t p erm an g an ate.
F o r th e red cells th e blood is centrifuged an d th e cells are tre a te d w ith 20% trichloroacetic acid. A volum e of liquid eq u iv alen t to 5 c.c. of original
e r y t h r o c y t e s should bo e v ap o rated to 3 —4 c.c., w hen am m onium o x alate is add ed an d th e d e te rm in atio n co ntinued as above. T. M c L a c h la n .
M i c r o - d e t e r m i n a t i o n of c o p p e r in b lo o d . F.
Gr e n d e l (P harm . W eekblad, 1930, 6 7 , 1345— 1351).
— Im p ro v em en ts in th e a u th o r’s m eth o d of micro- d eterm in atio n of copper in foods (B ., 1930, 1089), w hich re su lt in g re a tly increased delicacy, are de
scribed. T he m e th o d p e rm its d e te rm in atio n of 3—5X 10"3 m g. Cu in 3— 5 c.c. of blood w ith an accuracy of 2 x 10-4 m g. S. I . Le v y.
S ilic ic a c id c o n te n t of h u m a n b lo o d a n d its v a r i a t i o n a f t e r in g e s t i o n of s ilic ic a c id . H.
Kr a u t (Z. physiol. Chem., 1931, 1 9 4 , 81— 97).—The silica c o n te n t of th e ash from 23 sam ples of norm al blood varies from 1-16 to 3-02% ; th e average value is a b o u t 1-7%. T he m ean value fo r 55 sam ples of blood from su b jects w ith p u lm o n ary tuberculosis is 1-99% (lim iting v alues 1-07 an d 4-02% ). A d m in istra
tio n of “ silistren ” (a glycol silicate), equ iv alen t to 10 g. of S i0 2 d u rin g 4 weeks, to tu b e rc u la r subjects causes, in a b o u t 80% of th e cases, a n increase in the silica c o n te n t of th e b lo o d ; th e norm al value is reached a fte r 4 weeks. In h a la tio n of a solution of low -m olecular silicic acid (W illstatter, K ra u t, and Lobinger, A., 1929, 1251) du rin g 4 weeks (= 4 0 0 nig.
of S i0 2) causes a considerable increase in th e silica c o n te n t of th e blood, w hich is, in m a n y cases, greater th a n th e a m o u n t inhaled.
T h e silica c o n te n t of th e ash (from 5 c.c. of blood) is d eterm in ed b y re p eated tre a tm e n t of th e ash with n itric a n d sulphuric acids, ev ap o ratio n to dryness, and
B IO C H E M IS T R Y . 3 7 9
in c in e r a t io n o f t h e r e s id u e ; t h e d iffe r e n c e i n w e i g h t w h e n t h i s is h e a t e d w i t h h y d r o f lu o r ic a n d s u lp h u r ic
a c id s is d e t e r m in e d . H . Bu r t o n. T o x ic ity of b lo o d w h ic h h a s b e e n fro z e n . W . A.
Os b o r n e (A ustral. J . E x p . Biol., 1930, 7, 223—
225).— D efibrinated blood ta k e n from a dog produces toxic effects w hen in jected in to th e sam e anim al a fte r having been tw ice frozen an d th aw ed. T he action is p ro b a b ly du e to a p ro te in lib e rate d from th e corpuscles an d possibly d e n a tu re d as th e resu lt of freezing an d thaw ing. W . 0 . Ke r m a c k.
A n t i t r y p s i n . I . D e t e r m i n a t i o n i n s e r u m . F . Ch r o m e t z k a a n d W . Kn o k e. I I . N a t u r e . F . Ch r o m e t z k a (Z. ges. exp. M ed., 1930, 6 9 , 656— 664, 665— 678; Chem. Z en tr., 1930, ii, 2143).— T he visco- sim etric an d W ills tà tte r’s titra tio n m eth o d s are equally good. T he effects of reactio n tim e, co n cen tratio n of enzyme an d su b stra te , a n d th e p n on th e a n titry p tic action of serum h av e been in v estig ated . T he p a curve shows in acid as well as in alkaline solutions an a n titry p sin decom position m axim um w hich is independent of th e isoelectric p o in t of th e serum - colloids, b u t coincides w ith a m axim al increase in viscosity of th e serum . T h e irreversible decom position of a n titry p sin is regarded as “ swelling- d e n a tu ra tio n .” N o change in solubility of th e serum com ponents w as observed. A. A. El d r e d g e.
A g g lu tin a tio n of c e ll s u s p e n s io n s . N. Be u m é e- Ni e u w l a n d (Chcm. W eekblad, 1930, 27, 658— 663).
S. I . Le v y. A n tig e n ic p r o p e r t i e s of c o lla g e n a n d t h e i r v a r ia tio n s u n d e r t h e in f lu e n c e of r a d i u m e m a n a tio n . J . Lo i s e l e u r a n d A. Ur b a i n (Com pt. rend.
Soc. Biol., 1930, 103, 776— 778; Chem. Z en tr., 1930, ii, 80).— Collagen from r a ts ’ tails, dissolved in d ilu te acetic acid, show s to w ard s ra b b its c e rta in antigenic properties w hich are w eakened b y h ea tin g or b y th e action of radon. L . S. Th e o b a l d.
T o x ic ity of lu n g s i n f œ t a l life a n d i t s a c c e l e r a t in g in flu e n c e o n b lo o d c o a g u la tio n . K . Sa k u r a i
(Sei-i-kwai Med. J ., 1930, 4 9 , No. 1, 23— 24).— The toxicity to ra b b its a n d th e co agulant pow er for d o g ’s oxalated blood-plasm a of a saline e x tra c t of fœ ta l dog’s lung are parallel, b u t th e to x ic ity is only one eighth of th a t of a d u lt lung.
Ch e m i c a l Ab s t r a c t s. In flu e n c e of h u m a n p l a c e n t a l e x t r a c t o n th e blo o d c o a g u la tio n of t h e r a b b i t . E . H o r i a n d K . Sa k u r a i (Sei-i-kwai Med. J ., 1930, 4 9 , No. 2 , 2 1 — 29);— Changes in th e coagulability an d com position of ra b b it’s blood a fte r in jection of different q u an tities of hum an p lacen tal e x tra c t are recorded.
Ch e m i c a l Ab s t r a c t s. T o x ic ity of h u m a n p l a c e n t a f o r r a b b i t s , a n d i t s a c c e le r a tin g in f lu e n c e o n c o a g u la tio n of b lo o d . C h e m ic a l n a t u r e . K . Sa k u r a i (Sei-i-kwai Med. J ., 1929, 48, No. 12, 52— S9).— T he to x ic ity of th e placental e x tra c t is parallel w ith its blood-coagulating power. B oth activities are w eakened o r d estroyed by oxidation, heat, p ro teo ly tic enzym es, an d long exposure to air. T he activ e principle is globulin
like in n atu re, b u t co n tain s 1-226% P ; i t is n o t a
like in n atu re, b u t co n tain s 1-226% P ; i t is n o t a