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581 organic compounds were studied for their spermicidal activity by a modified Brown and Gamble method. Of 55 compounds that were considered highly effective in aqueous solutions of .5% or less 31 were surfactant substances. A new class of polyhydric phenols bismonohydroxy and bisdihydroxyphenyl derivatives of methane were discovered to have strong spermicidal activity. Low molecular weight sodium dialkyldithiocarbamates had the highest spermicidal activity of any material studied. Alkylxanthate salts were effective at .5% concentrations. 9 Class I spermicides were found in alkylphenoxypolyoxyethylene ethanols. Certain alykl derivatives of diphenyliodonium also showed strong spermicidal activity. Several of the materials notably the alkylthiopolyoxyethylene ethylene ethanols have not been previously reported as spermicides.

Twenty-eight cases of carcinoma of the cervix associated with pregnancy are reviewed. Analysis of the results suggests that patients whose carcinomas are diagnosed in early pregnancy fare better than patients with carcinomas of comparable clinical stages which are diagnosed in late pregnancy or the postpartum period.

Summary The success of the program depends in turn upon the approach with which it is undertaken. 1. Voluntary. Involvement by the physician concerned produces the greatest educational benefits. 2. Local. The only persons really qualified to evaluate cases of perinatal mortality are those who are entirely familiar with the local conditions. 3. Current. The extreme brevity of most newborn records demands the investigation of the caes of a current basis for accuracy.

Cancer of the cervix in 251 patients has been treated externally by theratron and betatron. Central therapy, when given, is applied by colpostat and tandem containing radioactive cobalt-60. Minimal side reactions have occurred. Cure rates and complications encountered are discussed. Projected 5 year cure rates by clinical staging are as follows: Stage I, 54 patients, 86 per cent; Stage II, 79 patients, 50.5 per cent; Stage III, 73 patients, 31.0 per cent; Stage IV, 45 patients, 25.0 per cent. The 12 per cent complication rate was more that of the disease than the therapy. Megavoltage therapy used in the manner outlined has proved effective and safe.

The evidence directly relating vitamin C with the process of reproduction is constantly accumulating. The recent papers of Lardy, Casida and Phillips, 1 as well as of Korenchevsky and Hall 2 summarize much of this work. With respect to the fetal-maternal relationship, McDevitt and co-workers 3 and Lund and Kimble 4 have postulated a selective retention of vitamin C by the placenta. The extensive study of Lund and Kimble 4 bears consideration. They confirmed the observation that in a fasting or near-fasting state the fetal ascorbic acid level is always greater than the maternal. Subsequent to the administration of vitamin C, both the fetal and maternal plasma levels rise, followed in a few hours by a drop in the maternal level, while the fetal plasma ascorbic acid remains higher. Their tentative hypothesis, that the placenta permits free maternal-fetal passage of ascorbic acid, while limiting fetal-maternal passage, must be examined closely in view of Needham's observation that electrolytes of low molecular weight pass freely and equally in both directions across the placental barrier. 5 These significant observations led us to undertake a study of the placental metabolism of vitamin C. The present report has the purpose of (a) extending the observations of the maternal-fetal plasma ascorbic acid relationship to whole blood, (b) correlating these levels with placental assays of vitamin C, (c) ruling out the possibility of ascorbic acid synthesis by the placenta, and (d) determining whether or not such selective retention is a nonspecific nutritional function of the placenta which applies to all vitamins.

A rabbit vaginal-irritation test described in this article is recommended as a reliable procedure for the evaluation of vaginal jellies and creams. The importance in a drug evaluation test of procedure, type of tissue involved, and method of interpreting the results are discussed.

A study demonstrating the importance of the rabbit-irritation test in evaluating the therapeutic indices of spermicidal jellies for contraceptive use is presented. 8 spermicides discovered by a modified Brown and Gamble method were tested for irritating properties. The therapeutic index of a spermicide was indicated by the ratio of the maximum nonirritating concentration in the rabbit-irritation test to the minimal spermicidal concentration. It is demonstrated that bis-iodonium chloride is 5 times as effective a spermicide as tridecoxypoly ethanol but the therapeutic index of the former is considerably lower than that of the latter (1:16).