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The literature on the influence of parental age on the size and viability of eggs, longevity and fecundity of offspring and the rate of development of offspring is reviewed. No simple general pattern emerges although a number of examples of clear trends related to parental age have been recorded. The most consistent trend in rate of development is for Tenebrio molitor . In this species the offspring of old parents develop more quickly than those of young parents. A very wide difference of developmental period recorded for Tribolium confusum is considered spurious and is thought to illustrate the difficulty of investigating age effects. Two experiments on Sitophilus granarius are reported. The results of these are complicated by density variation in cultures but the curve relating developmental period to parental age is parabolic with a maximum in middle age. In general it is concluded that the influences of parental age are real but inconsistent so that all controlled experiments must be designed to take account of them.

Effects of parental age were followed through nine successive generations, reared at 25° C, for offspring from young, middle-aged, and old parents. The reproductive capacity of offspring from middle-aged flies was initially lower than that of the parental generation, while that of off-spring from old (and also, usually, from young) parents was higher. The offspring from young parents produced viable eggs for a longer period (46 days, increasing to 51 days in the last three generations) than did the parental generation (41 days) ; for offspring from middle-aged parents this period was greater initially (46 days) but dropped to 31 days in the last three generations; with offspring from old parents production of viable eggs always had a shorter duration than in the parental generation and reached a minimum of 25 days. In general, offspring from middle-aged and those from old flies had a shorter life span than that of the parental generation; this aging effect was obtained in the first generation.

DDT-resistant and nonresistant strains of the body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus L., were reared at 32.2°, 30.8°, or 29.4°C. The most favorable temperatures for the former and latter strains were 29.4° and 32.2° C, respectively. Lice of each strain lived longer and produced more eggs when reared at the lower temperature; however, the percentage of viable eggs was significantly lower in the nonresistant as compared to the resistant strain. Parental age had no effect on the duration of the preimaginal stages, or on the mean duration of the adult life of either strain. However, some individuals lived 4–6 days longer when eggs were selected from young as compared to those from old parents. The strains died during the 1st and 2nd generations when eggs were selected from the 1st and 2nd batches laid. Likewise, only 2–4 successive generations could be reared when eggs were selected from old parents (17th- and 18th-day batches). Offspring from resistant young parents reared at 29.4°C showed an initial increase in egg production. This increase did not occur in offspring from old parents. Parental age had no effect on the number of molts; however, molting was delayed 1 day in the offspring from old parents. Generally, all effects resulting from the age of parents were better demonstrated with lice reared at the lowest temperature.

THIS article reports a study of the relation between age of parent and intelligence of offspring made through an examination of the records of the Georgia State Womans College. Differences between age of parent and of daughter were determined, and ratings were secured on several tests given at entrance into college. The Psychological Examination of the American Council on Education was used to test general ability. In the autumn of I937 the Cooperative Test Service tests in English, mathematics, social studies, and science were used. In the preceding years the tests used in these fields were prepared by the University System of Georgia. Tabulations were made according to migration of the family since the daughter's birth. Test ratings were tabulated according to whether the daughter was among the upper or the lower 50 per cent of the students taking a particular test. Data for non-migrating families are presented in Table I. These data show, with one exception, that the daughters ranking among the upper 50 per cent on each of the tests are more likely to have older parents than are the daughters in the lower 50 per cent. Conversely, the daughters in the lower 50 per cent on the tests are more likely to have young parents than are the daughters in the upper 50 per cent. Thus, on the American Council test 53.7 per cent of the daughters in the upper 50 per cent have fathers who are thirty or more years older than themselves, whereas only 42.2 per cent of those in the lower 50 per cent have fathers of comparable ages. Conversely, of the daughters in the lower half, 57.8 per cent have fathers who are not more than thirty years older than themselves, whereas of those in the upper half only 46.3 per cent have fathers this young. The same situation prevails when age of mother is considered in relation to age and rating of daughter. Thus, 50 617

The rate of oxygen consumption of larvae and adult beetles did not differ between individuals obtained from young parents (less than 3 weeks) and those obtained from old parents (more than 6 weeks after emergence). Cytochrome oxidase activity was low in larvae and increased on emergence of the adults, the increase continuing during the first week of adult life. The high activity was maintained during the next 4 weeks in beetles from young parents, but showed a significant decrease during the second week in those from old parents; from the 6th to the 12th week the rates were approximately the same in both groups. Both acid and alkaline phosphatases were more active with than without added MgCU. Each enzyme became more active during the first 2 weeks, then decreased in activity during the remainder of adult life. Total phosphatase activity, obtained by summing the activities of the acid and alkaline enzymes, was higher during the greater part of adult life in offspring from old than in those from young parents.

Offspring of old parents completed their larval stage in 10 days (6% to 6.5%) less time and averaged 1.2 fewer larval molts than offspring of young parents; also, they began a rapid weight increase at an earlier age. This was true of individuals reared at 25° and of those which had normal development at 30°, a temperature above the optimum for the species. Offspring of old parents also had an adult life shorter than did offspring of young parents, the difference averaging 8.8 days (19%) at 25° and 9 days (26.5%) at 30°. Offspring of middle-aged parents had a larval life of intermediate length at 25°, and also at 30° if their development was normal. At 30°, however, many larvae had a very prolonged instar which greatly increased the total length of larval life. Parental age was not found to affect the duration of the pupal stage.

Eggs were collected at intervals of 2 weeks throughout the egg-laying period from beetles maintained at 30°, 25° and 20°C Eggs and larvae were maintained at the same temperature as was used for the parent beetles. Parental age had no effect on the duration of the egg stage or on the weights of the eggs or newly hatched larvae. At each temperature the percentage of eggs which hatched decreased with an increase in parental age, from approximately 90 for those laid during the first 2 months to about 50 for those laid 4 months after emergence. At each temperature, larvae from young parents grew at a slower rate than those from the same parents after they had aged 9 weeks. At 30° there were no other effects of parental age, but at 25° and 20° larvae from young parents required a significantly longer time to complete development and had more molts than those from the same parents after they had aged 1 month or longer. At these temperatures, an increase in parental age resulted in a decrease in the duration of adult life. This effect was not evident until the parents had aged 9 weeks in Series A (water was added to the food after 6 weeks of larval life) and 6 weeks in Series B at 25°C. (water was added to the food throughout the larval period). In every case larvae from Series B grew at a faster rate and required less time for development than those of Series A.

Two clones of the rotifer Euchlanis dilatata were derived from a single parent by parthenogenesis so that in succeeding generations the individuals of one clone (the young orthoclone) were always derived from young parents and those of the other (the old orthoclone) from old parents. These clones were fed four different food concentrations (1.6, 4.9, 16.4, and 49.2 mg/ml) of three different algal species (Chlamydomonas reinhardti, Euglena gracilis, and E. geniculata). Rates of increase, birth, death, survivorship, net reproduction, and generation time were measured for all combinations of these variables. Growth rates of individual animals depend on food concentration and not age or food species. Although population growth rates in mass culture are related to both food species and food concentration, the ultimate density of the population depends only on food concentration. Individuals of the young orthoclone have higher rates of population increase than those of the old orthoclone. When Euchlanis fees upon Chlamydomonas the rates of increase are higher than when Euglena gracilis serves as food. E. gracilis, in turn, leads to higher rates than E. genicultata. The rate of population increase is directly related to the density of food for concentrations up to 16.4 mg/ml, but a further increase in food concentration does not result in a corresponding increase in the rate of population growth. These different rates of increase result more from corresponding differences in net reproduction (number of eggs laid by the average female in her lifetime) than from the schedule of egg laying of survivorship. The different rates of population growth can not be explained by differences in the rate of food intake and must result from either differences in assimilation or chemical differences in the foods themselves.

This report was made on account of the investigation was done for the degree of concerning among the parents of 115 pupils who were observed the stripes of venesection, in two primary schools located in suburbs. 1) On Okinawa, distribution of venesection has no conection which any medical organization, at this moment, and venesection is held at any places in Okinawa. In farm villages, even infant babys were treated, especially venesection is held nearly 50% of children in island of Okinawa. 2) Abouttreating venesection, most of the case, it was done at the poriod of infant baby, up to 85% were under one year old child. Places of venesection, their own home are very common, two third of phlebotomist are women with aged man or woman. An adviser of venesection is the neighbor, near scapula is the common position and one to three times treating are usual. 3) Reason why venesection was done, is simple concept of parents, which the blood of fetus was bad. And it has no-back ground of race, religion and local custom. Evaluating the progress of venesection, even no medical basis, parents made success more or less for their own purpose. Above all, harmfull effects are unexpectedly low. Those are the reason may be carried on among the people. 4) From now on the degree of concerning venesection, majority of young parents are showing oposit patern for it. In near future, venesection will be fall off in Okinawa.

IN PREVIOUS studies, Hays and Spear (1952) have shown that chick mortality from young parents was significantly higher during the first eight weeks of life than was observed in chicks from older parents. The general conclusion was arrived at that older parents are likely to produce the most viable chicks. The present study was initiated to determine (1) the effect of age of parents on viability of males and females in the growing period between eight weeks and six months of age and (2) the viability of pullets in the laying houses for twelve months. DATA AVAILABLE The birds studied included Rhode Island Reds bred for high fecundity in a closed flock and hatched from 1947 to 1951. Data were collected on the same population used in the 1952 study; all birds were pedigreed and no culling was practiced. Ninety-four sires were mated to 577 dams to produce 9,944 chicks …

CONGENITAL disorders associated with failure of physical and mental development are common and their pathogenesis is seldom well understood. The finding of abnormal karyogram in certain congenital disorders has added a new dimension in our understanding of these syndromes and renewed the interest in others that have remained in obscurity for many years. The de Lange syndrome originally described in 1933 by Cornelia de Lange1was, until recently, only recognized in continental Europe. The number of reported cases has increased in 1963 mainly due to contributions from Great Britain and the United States. In the present paper, we shall report six additional cases of this syndrome.* Report of Cases Case1.—A white girl, the second child of healthy young parents (31 and 30 years old), was born four weeks before the estimated date of confinement. One sister of the patient was born four years before her, and a

Summary1. Observations on 900s C3H mice born to 76 parents showed that 30% of the young contracted diarrhea severe enough to make it necessary that they be discarded. The 46 litters so affected comprised 50% of the offspring from 39 pairs of mice. 2. Observations on the 39 pairs of parents which had one or more litters afflicted with diarrhea showed that the litters born before and after clean boxes were supplied were not differentially susceptible to diarrhea. 3. Correlations between the incidence of diarrhea and age of parents, and seriation of litters and size of litters, showed that each of these had some influence on the numbers of litters showing symptoms of diarrhea. Litters from young parents having early parities and large litters showed highest incidences of the disease. The physiological condition of the parents common to these three factors seems to be an important consideration. 4. A higher incidence of the disease was observed in December than in either October or November. Part of the incre...

The following case is of interest as an instance of a lesion observed very infrequently, viz: gummata of the heart as a feature of congenital syphilis. A child born at term, of young parents, died almost immediately following birth and was sent to the laboratory of Rush Medical College by Dr. A. B. Strong, of Chicago, in whose practice the case occurred and to whom I am indebted for the opportunity of making the examination. Autopsy Abstract. —Weight 2,500 gm., length 50 cm.; the umbilical cord showed a recent ligature. The external surface of the body was the seat of a vesicular and pustular inflammation, most marked over the face, hands, feet and buttocks. The contents of these eruptions, although generally clear, were occasionally seropurulent and less often of soft, cheese-like necrotic material. The peritoneum was normal and its cavity empty. The thymus weighed 7.5 gm., and possessed several softened

This chapter reviews the tendency to manage public economies, or the school systems inseparable from them. It is a matter of efficiency and budgeting, not politics or philosophy. At a simpler level, the individual shopper needs to be protected against impure goods and short weight—against misleading advertising whether by subliminal flashes on the television screen or by subtle appeals to the sexual unconscious. Vast sums are spent against the consumer's better interests, and paid for by the consumer himself—as in the matter of tobacco, the advertising of which has to be regulated or prohibited in several countries. The chapter discusses international criteria for manpower use. Academic and social conservatism has not paid off anywhere since the World War II. With increasing mobility everywhere, talent and enterprise flock to centers of development. Those moving usually include more young parents or parents-to-be than the sedentary population, introducing or aggravating educational problems of supply.

Tracey (1058) and Ludwig and Fiore (1960) found that at 25° and 20° C. larvae of the mealworm, Tenebrio molitor Linn., from young parents grew at a slower rate, required a significantly longer time to complete development, and had more molts than those from old parents. At these temperatures, an increase in parental age resulted in a decrease in the duration of adult life. Ludwig and Fiore (1960) observed that the shortening of the larval period and the reduction in the number of larval molts associated with an increase in parental age were not evident until the parents had aged at least 4 weeks, and the shortening of the adult stage until they had aged 6 weeks or longer.

Top of pageAbstract Prevalence of atherosclerotic risk factors has rarely been assessed in young, middle class families. We evaluated initial visit prevalence data in 653 complete families who are part of the Scottsdale project. The mean ages of the groups in years were fathers 33.97 (±8.86 S.D.) and mothers 31.15 (±9.41 S.D.). The mean age of children who had blood pressure (B.P.) measurements was 6.87 (±9.53) but the mean age for other determinations was 3.4 years. For children: 32% had serum cholesterol between 160 and 200 mgm/dl and 7.4% had values greater than 200 mgm/dl. Hypertension was defined as B.P. above 130/80. 3.87. had a higher systolic and 10.5% had a. higher diastolic value than 130/80. Blood pressure distribution was not normal and an age dependent analysis will be presented. 0.5% of the children smoked. 16% of the pediatric population exceeded the age corrected value of the 90th percentile of normal for obesity. We conclude from our data that risk factors increase with age and are already present in children and their young parents.

patient relationship. They enter into it because of an accident, a heart attack, childbirth, the necessity of losing a part of their body, or because living has become too frightening or too overwhelming. Each patient brings to the relationship a deep concern about what has happened as well as what is to happen to him-and he brings with him the loneliness of pain and illness. The nurse may give a hypodermic; she may teach a patient how to care for a colostomy with which he must learn to live; she may sit in a rocking chair with a one-year-old child who has awakened at night crying; she may guide young parents in their first awkward attempts at handling their infant; or she may sit in silence with a patient who is too frightened to talk with her. These are ways in which the nurse communicates to patients the fact that she is caring. With the psychiatric patient, it is often difficult for the nurse to communicate that she is caring. All nurses deal with emotions and feel

To the Editor: —Although you have distinguished company in complaining of the dismal rigidity, of the mendelian law, the authors quoted in your editorial of September 13 on this subject are not at all convincing. Their arguments appear to me to be puerile in more ways than one. Fischer says that the children of older parents are apt to be greater intellectually than the children of young parents, therefore they have inherited acquired intellectual characteristics. Was there ever a more typical post hoc ergo propter hoc argument? I doubt whether it would be possible to collect reliable statistics bearing on the question; but, granting the truth of the original statement, what ground is there for Fischer's conclusion? It is analogous to, and just as fallacious as, the old belief in the inheritance of tuberculosis. In both instances the result is due to environment. Of course the children of older and

• Immunity to poliomyelitis comes about naturally and early in life in some unvaccinated populations. In others, high susceptibility prevails in all age groups so that severe epidemics involve children, parents, and grandparents. In the United States differences exist not only between states but even within cities, and in general the people in the poorest urban areas become immune early in life. It is a question whether vaccination with the killed antigen will prepare young people, for instance, to resist the risk young parents face when exposed to the infection by their own children. If it turns out that natural infection helps to keep up the individual's immunity, it may be necessary to have the feeding of live virus regularly follow the inoculation of killed vaccine. The invaluable start that has been made should not be regarded as the final technique of immunization against poliomyelitis.

Encircle "Yes" or "No" to indicate your answer.* Do you feel that persons over 65 1. think young parents do not know how to bring up children properly? 2. are careless about their table manners? 3. make bad patients when ill? 4. feel that young parents rear their children wisely? 5. feel secure? 6. are bossy? 7. dislike any change or interference with established ways of doing things ? 8. usually look on the bright side of things? 9. hoard their money? 10. get easily upset? 11. are easy to care for when ill? 12. respect a person's need for privacy? 13. are grouchy? 14. like to gossip? 15. think the future is hopeless ? 16. like to be waited on? 17. feel miserable most of the time? 18. are good company? 19. accept suggestions readily? 20. remember names well?

This is a book for parents, perhaps not all parents, but certainly for the educated, upper-middle class. It is full of the wisdom of an experienced pediatrician and will be of great help to young parents seeking guidance in child rearing among the myriad sources of ofttimes conflicting advice now available. After a generation of advice that has stressed the average, or often idealized, child's responses, this book emphasizes the individual differences in children and in the different responses these variations elicit from their parents. Three hypothetical but composite real life infants are discussed from birth through their first birthday. Interspersed is a treasure-house of pediatric advice of the type hard to find in average texts. The book is beautifully produced and the cost is proportionately high—another evidence that it is aimed at and will be used by the "carriage trade." Pediatricians in training will also find it useful for