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In few conditions is the electrophorogram of serum proteins capable alone of deciphering the diagnosis. In conjunction with the assembled clinical data and relevant applied pathological tests the definition of the disease is often clarified. The patterns as observed by the applied pathologist are serially discussed and the importance of the variations in different fractions presented. In several instances, exemplified by liver disease, the assistance rendered toward prognosis has been considerable. Perhaps the most clearcut diagnosis is possible in the agammaglobulinaemia syndrome which is immediately evident by the technique of paper electrophoresis. Current advances are mainly in the direction of estimating the protein-bound carbohydrate and lipid constituents which are believed to reflect the abnormalities in several infections and metabolic diseases. Utilisation of non-ionic detergents has also allowed separation of subfractions of the globulins into numerous new components, including lipo-proteins, some of which had been previously observed during the application of improved buffer systems designed to restrict interference of heavy metals and to facilitate accentuation of fractions having intermediate mobility.

The author describes a method, for the determination of bacterial L-histidine, L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, L-arginine, L-lysine, L-ornithine, L-serine, L-phenyl-alanine, L-glutamic acid and L-aspartic acid decarboxylase by means of high voltage paper electrophoresis, using electrolytes of low ionic strength. For the group of test microorganisms (Enterobacteriaceae, Achromobacteriaceae andPseudomonas), L-histidine, L-arginine, L-lysine, L-ornithine and L-glutamic acid decarboxylases were found to be of the greatest practical significance. The optimal conditions for maximum formation of these decarboxylases by some of the test strains ofEscherichia coli, Hafnia andProteus are discussed.

Complex formation in acetone-water systems has been investigated by studying solvent migration rate and chromatographic behaviour of hexacyanoferrate (II) and (III). The formation of mono-, tetra-, and decahydrates of acetone has been observed, of which the tetrahydrate, also observable by other physical properties of the solvent mixture, is the most stable.

Of the several uses that were described forC. juncea, its production as a bast fiber source and a green manure crop are the most important. Although limited usage in special rotational situations is possible, most of the envisioned acreage in the United States will be for new pulping raw-material. It appears promising for this purpose because (a) little or no nitrogen fertilization is required, (b) it grows on poor soils and is fairly drought-resistant (c) stalks dry out faster than other experimental species after a killing frost, (d) resistant strains can be grown in soils that are infested with root knot nematodes, and (e) a high macerate (pulp) yield is obtainable. However, stand inconsistency which contributes to weed competition and low yields, a tendency for lodging, and a sensitivity to cool temperatures may be listed as debits. Additional experimentation to determine more precisely the environmental and cultural requirements, proper harvesting and handling methods, production economics, and end-use applications is needed.

312 male chronic alcoholists without clinical symptons of cirrhosis hepatis are inoculated with heat-killed typhus-paratyphus bacilli. The result of the inoculations is compared with the serum proteins of the patients. A connection between the O-antigens and the γ-globulins is established, and also between specific and unspecific H-antigens and the (α-) β-globulins.

Reaction of flocculation between the antitoxin ofCl,oedematiens and the corresponding immune horse serum was studied with the aid of precipitation on paper. When toxin and immune serum were placed on the same place on the paper, a flocculate appears, which unlike all the rest of the proteins is not washed off the paper by the veronal buffer. The fiocculate is precipitated at the zone of considerabic surplus of antitoxin. The quantity of precipitate is increased in proportion to the quantity of the added antigen up to the time when the whole quantity of the antigen is precipitated. Then the precipitate begins to dissolve in the surplus of the antigen. Data which were obtained by the method of precipitation on paper correspond to the results of determination of the quantity of the antibodies in the same serum with the aid of the antigen fixed on paper through diazoconnection and the residual haloidalkylate. This points to the possibillity of replacement of the biological method of determination of the antigens ofCl.oedematiens by the immunochemical method.

XANTHINE dehydrogenase from Drosophila melanogaster is of particular interest since mutants at two separate loci lack this enzyme1 while a mutant at a third locus produces about 25 per cent of normal activity2. In an effort to detect strains of flies with genetically altered forms of xanthine dehydrogenase we devised a technique involving paper-strip electrophoresis in which this enzyme is located after electrophoresis by spraying the strip with the enzyme's substrates, incubating it at 25° C, and then using paper chromatography to separate the fluorescent product from the substrate which also fluoresces. This technique is very simple, and has potential application to other enzymes. Paper electrophoresis of xanthine dehydrogenase in rat serum has previously been reported using the technique of elution and direct assay3,4.

WE have already described a fortuitous combination of events which led to the discovery that American newspapers and other paper products contain a potent analogue of the juvenile hormone of the European bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus L. (Heteroptera ; Pyrrhocoridae)1. When reared in contact with ‘active paper’ or when exposed to surfaces impregnated with extracts of the ‘paper factor’ (PF), fifth-stage Pyrrhocoris larvae undergo one or more supernumerary larval moults and finally die without completing metamorphosis or attaining sexual maturity. This same result is observed when 1 µg of partially purified PF is topically applied to young fifth instar larvae1,2.

IN the first report1,2, on ‘crossing paper electrophoresis’, a direct demonstration of enzyme-substrate complex has been described. The enzymes tested included crystallized pure trypsin, chymotrypsin and ribonuclease.

IN several recent publications, separation of the alkaloids of the South American Strychnos into a great number of constituents by paper chromatography has been recorded1,2. The most successful solvents for two-dimensional analysis yield, however, almost the same sequence of spots. Thus it was considered desirable to find methods of separation which gave sequences different from those obtained by partition chromatography.

IN a communication under the above title, Giri1 describes the use of a starch agar gel for the location of amylases on the paper chromatogram. The technique seems to be essentially the same as that used in this Department, and previously described in Nature2.

IN connexion with the chromatographic separation of alkaloids of Chelidonium maius L.1, I found alkaloids giving rather big spots with a tendency to form tails. This is connected, among other things, with the dissociation constant (K B), the value of which influences the course of the chromatographic process, organic electrolytes having different values of K B in the water phase and the organic phase of dissociation.

Le proteine idrosolubili estratte dal sistema nervoso di ratti sono state separate mediante elettroforesi su carta. Il quadro elettroforetico appare costantemente riproducibile nelle condizioni sperimentali impiegate.

IN the course of studies on the aromatic constituents of Theobroma cacao L., a method has been developed for the separation by one- and two-dimensional paper chromatography of the naturally occurring substituted cinnamic acids, which is also applicable to many other aromatic acids of plant tissue.

The article deals with “Binomial Probability Paper”, designed by Mosteller and Tukey. This paper provides a quick approximate method for solving various genetic problems. After a brief mathematical exposition some uses are given in four examples. The accuracy appears to be surprizingly good; even for small samples (n=8) the accuracy is satisfactory for all practical uses.

Protein antigens fixed on paper in the form of azocompounds or by simple drying at room temperature have a high serological activity and specifically fix the complement in the presence of a corresponding anti-serum. This was established by the method of quantitative reaction of complement fixation (50% titer). Complement fixation test (50% titer) for “paper” antigens gives an opportunity of using different antigens in the same test and replacing them during the experiment. This permits the use of antigens adsorbed on paper and the quantitative complement fixation test for investigation of the optimal conditions of obtaining the specific antisera.

‘QUICK decline’, a devastating virus infection of orange trees, was first found to be present in southern California in 1939, and by 1952 it had spread to six of the fourteen counties in which oranges are grown in California. Inoculation tests1 demonstrated that tolerance to the virus varies with the variety of the rootstock on which the sweet orange is growing, and that the disease is likely to be fatal only if the rootstock is that of the sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.). Because of this scion-rootstock relationship to the seriousness of the disease, which in one form or another is widely spread throughout the citrus-growing areas of the world, a method for the detection of the sour orange rootstock in established orchards is of considerable significance.

EVIDENCE for the presence of growth substances in the root extract of water hyacinth (Eichhornia speciosa Kunth), presumably related to the rapid multiplication of the weed, has been reported previously from this laboratory1. A comparison of the effects of the extract with those of indole acetic acid or gibberellic acid indicated a different substance or substances present in the extract.

POLYCHLOROBIPHENYLS (PCB) cause chloracne and liver damage in man and induce oestradiol degradation1. They are widely distributed in the ecosystem in birds, fish and shellfish1–4. The miserable episode of “Yusho”, a mass food poisoning involving more than 1,000 people which was caused by chronic ingestion of rice oil contaminated with ‘Kanechlor-400’, a commercial brand of PCB, occurred in western Japan in 19685,6.

REPORTS have been published describing increases in growth and vigour of pasture in New Zealand following the experimental transplantation of lumbricid earthworms of the species Allolobophora caliginosa into soils where they were not normally found1–3. Fourteen species of Lumbricidae are known in New Zealand, although the family is not native to the region4. Since they have been introduced accidentally during the past hundred years or so there has not been sufficient time for them to spread by natural means to all areas under grass. The increased pasture yields may be due to the presence of plant growth-promoting compounds elaborated by earthworms and secreted by them into their casts and thus into the soil. A similar suggestion was, in fact, advanced by Hopp and Slater5, who found in pot experiments that the addition of both living and dead earthworms was associated with increased growth of the test plants.

THE acid phosphatase test has proved its usefulness in seminal stain examinations and is now in widespread use1–4. The desirability of preparing a stable form of the reagent was obvious, more especially for ‘scene-of-crime’ searching, post-mortem examinations and for scientists and clinicians without laboratory facilities.

Papers of Reichert and Wong (1971) and Reichert (1972) are referred to as erroneous in stating that in their work with cytochrome c sequences they demonstrated that vertebrates have achieved a higher organized genetic message with a higher fidelity in the DNA-to-protein information processing channel. Arguments are given to contest that statement.

Paper chromatographic analysis of interspecific hybrids within the Genus Drosophila showed that they present a biochemical pattern different from either parental species. Sometimes new spots appear in the chromatogram of the hybrid, while in all cases spots present in the pattern of the parents appear much more intense. These spots have been identified as a riboflavin mononucleotide and riboflavine.

Three different anthocyanins were shown to be contained in the dull purple flowers ofMucuna sempervirens Hemsl. (Japanese nameAira-tobikazura). They were identified as the 3-monoglucosides of delphinidin, petunidin and malvidin, respectively, by means of paper chromatographic and spectral analyses, and present in the ratio about 1:5:4 in the petals.

ADVANCES in auxin physiology within recent years have been limited by continued uncertainty as to the identity of the auxins present in various plant tissues, and by the absence of reliable methods of separating the growth-promoting and the growth-inhibiting substances present in plant extracts. The technique of paper chromatography, used in conjunction with biological tests, would seem to offer a ready solution to both these problems.

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MOST methods used for the estimation of strychnine in nux vomica lead to gross inaccuracies due to brucine interference. Even oxidation of brucine with nitric acid under optimal condition (5 min. at 60° C.) leads to errors due to partial destruction of strychnine1. Gravimetric estimations also require amounts greater than 0.1 gm. in the sample1.

Les transaminases α-glutamo-oxaloacetique (GOT) et glutamo-pyruvique (GPT) ont ete determinees dans les proteines du liquide spermatique de l'homme apres separation par electrophorese sur papier. L'amylase se trouve dans toutes les fractions, mais la GOT et la GPT sont localisees respectivement dans la globuline α-2 et l'albumine.

A METHOD for using paper partition chromatography for taxonomic studies on land snails has been described by Kirk et al. 1.

WE have examined recently blood containing fibrinolysins in high titre. The blood was taken from a man who was later diagnosed as suffering from prostatic malignancy. The presence of high-titre fibrinolysins, raised formal acid phosphatase, and greatly reduced fibrinogen content, were all carried out by routine, accepted biochemical methods, and were fully diagnostic. It was then considered that there could be present a circulating auto-immunological factor which we might be able to demonstrate.

IT has been shown1 that, by the action of chymotrypsin, insulin is broken down into a number of peptide fragments of comparatively small molecular weight, and a more massive residue. The higher molecular weight material can be precipitated by means of trichloro-acetic acid. Attempts have been made to separate the lighter peptide mixture, and the most effective method so far found has been paper partition chromatography2.