Elinor M. Glauser

Metabolic Changes Associated With the Cessation of Cigarette Smoking

The person who slops smoking frequently gains weight in the succeeding weeks. To study this phenomenon, subjects were observed before and one month after the cessation of smoking. Statistically significant increases were found in the body weight and body surface area while there were statistically significant decreases in the protein-bound iodine level (PBI), oxygen consumption, heart rate, 30-minute postprandial blood glucose level, and the serum calcium level. These metabolic changes following the cessation of smoking may be one of the reasons for the weight gain observed.

Action spectrum for the photodestruction of bilirubin.

It was noted by Fischer and Herrle (1) in 1938 that bilirubin was susceptible to photo-destruction. He found that this reaction was dependent on the solvent and on the presence or absence of salts in the solvent. After 1957, this reaction was used as a clinical technique in the therapy of hyperbilirubinemia in the neonatal human (2, 3). It was felt that this therapy was probably less dangerous than the use of exchange transfusions to lower the serum bilirubin levels as it did not carry with it the dangers of hyper- and hypovolemia, electrolyte imbalances, and coagulation difficulties (4). Recent studies (5) have shown that this phototherapy is not entirely innocuous as it can destroy the retina of diurnal animals if the eyes are not adequately protected. Because the efficiency of the therapy could be increased without an actual increase in total energy output of the lights if only the exact wavelength for the photo-destruction of bilirubin were used, it was decided to investigate the action spectrum for the photodestruction of bilirubin. Material and Methods. The experimental procedure consisted in dissolving between 3 and 7 mg/100 ml of bilirubin in plasma. Each such solution was divided into 15 aliquots of 3 ml each. The first aliquot was kept unexposed to light for the entire period of the experiment and the initial and final bilirubins of this sample were referred to as the 100% value for this bilirubin concentration. Each of the other aliquots was placed in a 10 by 10-mm cuvette and placed in the cell chamber of an Aminco-Bowman spectrofluorimeter for 1.5 hr. While in the cell chamber the sample was exposed to the light from a xenon arc lamp which had been monochromated by the spectrofluorimeter.

Influence of on the Work of Breathing Gas Density and Viscosity on the work of Breathing

Analytical expressions for the work of breathing under conditions of laminar and turbulent flow have been derived. Helium-oxygen mixtures of greater viscosity but lower density than air, and sulfur ftexafiuoride-oxygen mixtures of greater density than air were used to test these expressions. The work of breathing was determined by measuring the oxygen consumption during quiet breathing and during hyperventilation produced by 7% carbon dioxide. Increased oxygen consumption per minute on hyperventilation with air was 55 ml, standard temperature and pressure, dry (STPD); on breathing helium-oxygen mixtures it was 57 ml STPD. Increased oxygen consumption per minute on hyperventilation with sulfur hexafluoride-oxygen mixtures was 249 ml STPD. Increasing the viscosity of the inspired gas or decreasing its density did not significantly affect the work of breathing; a substantial increase in the density of the inspired gas lead to an increased work of breathing.

Gas density and the work of breathing

Abstract Man, living at 300 meters under the sea, will breathe gas mixture of oxygen and helium which are extremely dense, due to their pressures. These high densities will cause gas flow through the tracheo-bronchial tree to be turbulent, and the work of breathing will become a function of gas density. To stimulate this dense gas, an 80% sulfur hexafluoride-20% oxygen mixture was breathed by human subjects at one atmosphere. The work of breathing was determined by measuring the oxygen consumption during quiet breathing and during hyperventilation produced by 7% carbon dioxide. Under resting conditions, breathing room air, the oxygen consumption was 273 ml STPD/min for a minute volume of 5.5 liters BTPS/min. While breathing 7% carbon dioxide in air, the oxygen consumption was 353 ml STPD/min for a minute volume of 36 liters BTps/min, and while breathing 7% carbon dioxide in sulfur hexafluoride-oxygen, the oxygen consumption for a similar minute volume was 537 ml STPD/min. It is concluded that the oxygen cost of breathing high density gas mixtures in this experiment was not a factor which limits the capacity to do useful work.

Complexometric Titrations Using Calcium Specific Electrodes.

Summary This new technique is valuable in 3 different areas: the quantitative determination of calcium ion concentration, unequivocal determination of the stoichiometry of a complex, and determination of stability constants for complexes of various ligands with calcium ion. These cation specific electrodes are extremely useful in the study of chelation phenomena in biochemical reactions.

A Comparison of the Hemoglobins Occurring in Fetal and Adult Pigs

Summary Hemoglobin was prepared from adult pigs and from fetuses in the second month of gestation. Both the adult and fetal pig hemoglobin consisted of one major component on electrophoresis in barbital buffer at pH 8.6. However, the adult pig hemoglobin had a faster mobility under these electrophoretic conditions than did the fetal pig hemoglobin. On amino acid analysis, using the accelerated Moore and Stein column technique, it was found that both the fetal and adult pig hemoglobin had one isoleucine per dimer subunit. On alkaline denaturation, it was found that the adult pig hemoglobin denatured more slowly and to a lesser extent than did fetal pig hemoglobin. The adult pig hemoglobin had 32.1 ± 6.1% of the hemoglobin still undenatured at the end of 15 min, while fetal pig hemoglobin only had 16.8 ± 4.4% still undenatured. The peptide fingerprint pattern showed that less than half of the peptides had been altered when comparing adult and fetal hemoglobin. It is concluded that there are two distinct hemoglobins in the pig; an adult hemoglobin and a fetal hemoglobin.

A proposed structure and active site of angiotensin.

Abstract Need has arisen for reexamination of the structure of the polypeptide hormone, angiotensin, since current knowledge as to the helix forming tendencies of amino acids makes questionable the assumption that the peptide chain will form an α-helix in so far as possible. A quite different structure is proposed in the present study.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Size of Infarct Determines Therapeutic Efficacy

Abstract There are differing reports of the efficiency of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for thrombotic and embolic states. An analysis of the volume of tissue necrotized as a function of the radius of ...

The Role of Acidosis in the Etiology of Pulmonary Emphysema

Summary The object of this experiment was to evaluate the role of acidosis in the etiology of pulmonary emphysema. Piglets were fed a diet of NH4Cl and acetazolamide for 6 weeks to induce a chronic metabolic and respiratory acidosis.

Densitometric Analysis of Normal and Emphysematous Lung Tissue

As emphysema is a disease entity which is characterized by overinflated alveoli and thin fragmented alveolar walls undergoing destructive change, it was decided to test She postulate that emphysematous lung tissue prepared by normal histological techniques is less optically dense than normal lung tissue. Slides of thin sections of lung tissue were placed on the stage of a photoelectric densitometer. This stage was driven at a constant rate so that the entire width of lung tissue was scanned and the optical density and integrated optical density recorded. Average optical density for normal piglet lung sections was found to be 3.87, while average optical density for emphysematous piglet lung sections was found to be 2.94. This difference is statistically significant. Hence photoelectric densitometry of lung sections will distinguish between normal and emphysematous lung sections.