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This article discusses how the talking drum has been a viable cultural voice for many West and Central African cultures in the acquisition of literacy. Based on this discussion; the author proposes research questions regarding the function and use of music and language, cognition and the psycholinguisticfeatures of the drum languages, the psychological dimension of music production, and its link to acoustic phonetic symbols of the drum languages. Ofparticular concern is the musical character of tonal languages spoken in Africa and the use of the talking drum for literacy purposes. In addition, the article describes the important role of the talking drum in the maintenance of archaic forms of (tonal) languages through mnemonic code systems and the speech mode of drumming.

Interestrous interval profiles were examined for 71 dairy herds. The median value of the day 21:42 day interval ratio was 1.3, only one herd reached the goal of 6:1 and six herds were better than the action level of 4:1. When the intervals of greater than 48 days were added to 42-day intervals, the median value of this ratio was 0.5. The percentage of interestrous intervals in any category (i.e. 1–3 days, 4–17 days, 18–24 days, 25–35 days, 36–48 days and more than 48 days long) had little correlation with other indices of reproductive performance. The percentage of abnormal intervals (i.e. 4–17 or 25–35 days) had little correlation with herd pregnancy rates. The examination of interestrous intervals had limited value when evaluating reproductive performance of these herds. The low correlations between abnormal intervals and pregnancy rates indicate that evaluations of interestrous intervals are not a good indicator of early embryonic death. However, the low estrus detection rate observed (36%) could obscure increases in early embryonic death. Stepwise multiple regression was used to model the relationship of indices of reproductive performance (days to first service, pregnancy rates, interestrous intervals and Barr's average interestrous interval) to days to pregnancy (DTP). The best model was: DTP = 9.11 + 0.81 × days to first service + 0.60 × Barr's average interestrous interval ( R 2 = 0.97) Unexpectedly, if average pregnancy rate was included in the model, the sign of the coefficient was positive, indicating that days to pregnancy would increase if average pregnancy rate increased. This was the result of the high degree of correlation (Spearman's r +0.83) between average interestrous interval and average pregnancy rates. Dairy herds with low estrus detection efficiency can be expected to have low average pregnancy rates.

The synovium in two well-documented cases of alkaptonuric ochronosis was studied by transmission electron and light microscopy. A feature of alkaptonuria previously unreported in the English-language literature was the presence of phagocytosis of large collagen fibrils by synovial macrophages in both cases. The origin of these fibrils appeared to have been shards of ochronotic cartilage and areas of metaplastic cartilage. This finding suggests that active remodeling of the synovial tissues occurs in advanced ochronotic arthropathy. Numerous shards of ochronotic cartilage were embedded in the synovium. In addition, small aggregates of large collagen fibrils encrusted with apparent ochronotic pigment were occasionally noted in the interstitium. These aggregates of ochronotic collagen are best described as microshards, and they have not generally been recognized in the literature. What appeared by light microscopy to represent ochronotic pigment deposition in interstitial collagen actually represented embedded microshards of ochronotic cartilage in the interstitium. Slender and elongated microshards were most likely to be confused by light microscopy as ochronotic interstitial collagen.

The anatomic and histologic characteristics of theca cell tumors are described, together with their distinctive clinical and hormonal features. Descriptions are given of six cases illustrating variations from the more benign fibroma type to the highly cellular and malignant type. A correlation is made between the presence of hormonal changes and the presence of intracellular, doubly refractile fat containing cholesterol and cholesterol esters. It is suggested that some of the ovarian neoplasms previously diagnosed as fibromas or fibrosarcomas may on further investigation prove to be of theca cell origin.

IN A PREVIOUS COMMUNICATION, the experimental production of biologically active ovarian tumors in mice by roentgen irradiation was reported (I). Granulosa and theca cell neoplasms with varying degrees of luteinisation were found to occur in a number of mice during periods of 10 to 15 months following irradiation. Histogenetically, these tumors appeared to have been derived from undifferentiated ovarian parenchyma. Their estrogenic hormonal activity was expressed in proliferative changes within the endometrial and vaginal mucosa. Since these tumors were comparable in structure and function to the granulosa cell neoplasm, its excessively luteinised variety, the Lecene tumor, and the theca cell tumor of the human ovary, an analogous derivation from ovarian parenchyma was postulated. In the course of this study, animals were killed at frequent intervals during the many months prior to tumor development, permitting a correlation between the histopathology of the ovary, the uterine endometrium and the vaginal m...

The present communication is a report on the use of testosterone propionate (male sex hormone) in functional uterine bleeding. Of 25 cases so treated, the excessive bleeding was rapidly controlled in all but two. This clinical improvement was correlated with definite changes in the endometrium, as revealed by suction biopsies performed at intervals before, during and after treatment. The rationale for this form of therapy has its basis in animal experimentation as well as in our studies on the effect of testosterone propionate on the endometrial cycle of the human. Suppression of the estrus cycle in female rats was first induced with male hormone extracts of bull testes by Ihrke and D'Amour (1). Similar results were obtained with testosterone by Robson (2) in mice and Browman (3) in rats. In monkeys, Hartman (4) has shown that menstruation was delayed following testosterone administration, and Zuckerman (5) has reported that testosterone propionate inhibits follicle stimulation and luteinization, resultin...

X-ray irradiation of mice at puberty results in the production of two types of ovarian tumors: tubular adenomas derived from the surface epithelium and parenchymal lutein tumors. The parenchymal lutein tumors alone exhibit hormonal activity expressed in proliferative changes in the endometrium and vaginal mucosa. Histologically, these tumors are composed of granulosa and theca cells with varying degrees of luteinization. They are entirely comparable to the granulosa cell tumor and its excessively luteinized variant, the Lecene tumor, and the theca cell tumor of the human ovary. The luteinized ovarian tumors in mice are derived from the undifferentiated parenchyma. While the theca interna cells participate in the early proliferation and luteinization, the mature granulosa cells play no role in the genesis of these neoplasms. The histogenesis of the analogous human tumors may well be identical.

Experimental evidence is accumulating which indicates that male hormone counteracts the physiologic effects of estrogenic hormone. Ihrke and D'Amour1 reported suppression of the estrous cycle in female rats while being injected with male hormone concentrates prepared from bull testes. Similar results were obtained by Robson2 in mice and Browman3 in rats with testosterone. Zuckerman4 has reported that testosterone propionate inhibits follicle growth and luteinization in monkeys. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of testosterone propionate upon the endometrial cycle of the menstruating human female.A group of 6 women were selected and preliminary control endometrial (suction) biopsies were performed in each case to determine the presence of a normal endometrial cycle. In all of the cases selected for this study, the control biopsies performed during the latter half of the cycle showed, on one or more occasions, an endometrium in the secretory phase, indicating a regular estrog...

A case of puberty hypertrophy of the breasts in a girl of fourteen years is described, including endocrinologic studies. The pathologic anatomy indicates a marked hyperplasia of the glandular and connective tissue elements with preservation of the unripe lobular structure ordinarily encountered at puberty. The hormonal factors responsible for mammary growth are discussed and a correlation made with normal physiologic development of the breast. The weight of evidence indicates that the estrogenic hormone and possibly also the corpus luteum hormone is directly responsible for growth of the breast and is concerned in the etiology of puberty hypertrophy.

The syndrome of masculinization in the female, attributed to pituitary basophilism or adrenal cortical lesions, usually includes regressive changes in the ovaries. At times, however, as evidenced by the two cases described in this report, there may be bilateral ovarian enlargement, due to excessive perifollicular proliferation and luteinization of the theca cells and diffusely scattered luteinized cells within the ovarian parenchyma. The ovrian effects are suggestive of increased gonadotropic stimulation and are probably secondary. It does not appear that they are responsible for the production of the masculinization syndrome. In the clinical investigation of virilism the presence of an ovarian enlargement has been and should be regarded as suspicious evidence of a possible arrhenoblastoma or adrenal rest neoplasm of the ovary. In view of this report, a third possibility exists, namely, enlargement of the ovary due to diffuse luteinization. It may be possible to decide, at operation, by incision of the ovaries, whether or not tumor is present. If, in young patients, tumor can unequivocally be ruled out by this device, one or both ovaries may be left in situ.

1. 1. The accuracy and relative simplicity of chromosomal sex detection by means of skin biopsy is confirmed in a study of 28 male and 27 female patients who were sexually and hormonally normal. Sex differences in epidermal nuclear morphology depend upon the presence in females and virtual absence in males of a characteristic chromatin mass, the sex chromatin. 2. 2. Studies of nuclear morphology in the skin of a group of individuals with marked aberrations of sex hormonal status indicate the stability of the sex chromatin in this respect. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the characteristic chromatin body is derived from portions of the two X chromosomes of females and that it is not an index of sex hormonal function. 3. 3. The male type of epidermal nuclear structure was encountered in a patient with ovarian agenesis (Turner's syndrome), in one with male pseudohermaphroditism, and in another with either male pseudohermaphroditism or true hermaphroditism. Some pertinent genetic considerations in the pathogenesis of these congenital sexual abnormalities are discussed. 4. 4. The chromosomal sex corresponded to the apparent genital sex in a boy with unilateral uncomplicated cryptorchidism, in a man and a woman with Cushing's syndrome, and in a male and a female with Addison's disease. 5. 5. These studies support the view that the identification of chromosomal sex by the skin biopsy method is helpful in the differentiation between female and male pseudohermaphroditism.

A case of spontaneous closiire of a membranous ventricular septal defect by adhesion of the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve is reported. There was evidence to suggest thai thrombi developed in a pouch formed by the adherent leaflet, giving rise to emboli producing remote and recent infarcts in the brain.

Summary and ConclusionsTwo women with regular menstrual cycles were injected with testosterone propionate (925 and 1,225 mg), in order to determine whether ovtilation could be inhibited. In one patient, the ovaries, examined on the 34th day of the cycle, showed no evidence of a recent corpus luteum or mature graafian follicle. In the second patient, examination of the ovaries, on the 17th day of the cycle, did not reveal any evidence of ovulation. In the latter case, while ovulation might have occurred after the 17th day, it was deemed unlikely in an individual with a regular 26 to 28 day cycle.It appears from this study that testosterone propionate, if administered in adequate amounts to the cyclical human female, can inhibit full follicle maturation, ovulation and corpus luteum formation, associated with regressive changes in the endometrium and vaginal mucosa. The question arises as to whether the testosterone propionate acts directly upon the follicular apparatus or indirectly through inhibition of th...

The gross and microscopic pathology of alkaptonuric ochronosis is presented from a study of pathologic specimens from six cases in our files and from a review of the literature. Emphasis is placed on the most clinically relevant organ systems involved by ochronosis: musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, genitourinary, eye, and skin. Recent electron microscopic discoveries from several affected organs, including the synovium, articular cartilage, cardiovascular system, eye, and skin, are included in this report. In addition, the molecular pathology of alkaptonuria is briefly discussed. The pathologic literature regarding alkaptonuric ochronosis is fragmented, as most cases of this rare entity are reported individually or as small series of cases. A comprehensive review of alkaptonuria has not appeared since the clinicopathologic review of the world literature by O'Brien et al in 1963. The purpose of this report is to present an updated and unified pathologic study of alkaptonuric ochronosis.

The synovium in two cases of ochronosis was studied by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Several features not yet described were seen by scanning electron microscopic examination and correlated with the light microscopic findings. This is the first report in the English language literature comparing scanning electron microscopic findings with the light microscopic findings in ochronosis.

In the past year several publications have appeared reporting the use of synthetic androgen (testosterone propionate) in functional gynecologic conditions.1The therapeutic results in many cases have been striking, and the question arises as to whether the use of androgen in women is to be considered as purely empiric or as a form of hormonal substitution therapy, correcting a preexisting deficiency. It is of considerable importance, therefore, to know what the biologic properties of androgen are in women. Unfortunately, the majority of the reports on the use of this substance in women consist of purely clinical studies. However, in a few instances attempts were made to determine objectively the biologic effects of male hormone administered to women. Thus it has been shown that testosterone propionate inhibits the gonadotropic hyperactivity of the hypophysis of a castrate woman,2suppresses menstruation,3produces atrophy of the endometrium4and at the

An arteriovenous fistula within the uterus is a rare occurrence. Only three previous cases have been reported. A review of their distinctive features is presented. The etiology of this unusual uterine vascular abnormality is undetermined. The symptomatology and physical findings are sufficiently characteristic to suggest the diagnosis of this condition preoperatively. The usual presenting symptom is postmenopausal bleeding, sometimes of severe degree. The uterus is symmetrically enlarged and soft, simulating an intrauterine gravidity. A definite pulsation and thrill are palpable in the vaginal fornices. An audible murmur with systolic accentuation may be heard through the vagina. Systemic circulatory disturbances are minimal. The pathologic findings of uterine arteriovenous fistulas are discussed. At operation, numerous dilated, tortuous vessels fill the broad ligaments. The enlarged, distended, and vascular uterus may pulsate visibly. Surgical

The renal collecting ducts empty via the ducts of Bellini into the area cribrosa of the renal papillae. The morphology of the orifices of the collecting duct emptying into the area cribrosa is of interest because of the relationship to intrarenal reflux and pylonephritic scarring. The purpose of this paper is to anatomically characterize these ductal orifices using scanning electron microscopy in the normal adult human kidney and to discuss possible pathological implications.Renal papillae were obtained from autopsy material of five normal adult human kidneys that were initially fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Three papillae were randomly selected from each kidney for a total of 15 papillae. The specimens were washed in distilled water, 0.5N hydrochloric acid, and again in distilled water. Surface debris were gently removed with a fine camel hair brush as needed. The samples were postfixed in osmium tetroxide, washed in distilled water, dehydrated in a graded series of ethanols, mounted on aluminum stubs, and sputter coated with gold-palladium. The specimens were examined in a JE0L JSM-35 scanning microscope at 25KV.

GOOD CLINICAL RESULTS with testosterone propionate in the treatment of functional uterine bleeding have been reported from several clinics during the past 3 years (1-9). It has, however, been found by a number of investigators that the administration of this hormone resulted in the appearance of arrhenomimetic phenomena (hirsuties, hoarseness, enlargement of the clitoris) (3, 8-11). Our studies have shown that these unpleasant side-effects occur infrequently if the therapeutic dose does not exceed 300 mg. per month and if certain precautions are taken in selection of cases and the hormone administration is controlled with vaginal smears (11, 12). However, the necessity for employing these pre’ cautions detracts somewhat from the value of this form of therapy. For this reason, we attempted to find some other androgen which might possess the therapeutic properties of testosterone propionate without inducing arrhenomimetic effects. During the course of of this investigation, the endocrinologic properties of ...