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Fifteen fresh cadaver impacts were conducted in simulation of pedestrian-automobile accidents. The test sled configuration simulated an automobile bumper and hood in "standard" and "nosedive" situations as well as "hard" and "soft" impact surfaces. Instrumentation and film demonstrated large axial compression forces in the struck leg and considerable angular velocity of the torso in all modes. Dissection revealed primary injury at the impact site at low velocities with added remote injury at high velocities. Fracture of the lateral tibial plateau was most common. Lowering the bumper height offered the greatest protection against injury at moderate impact velocities.

The use of a commercially available Reduction-Retention apparatus for transfixation of nine cases of open fractures with severe soft-tissue damage is reported. Seven patients are walking, two with drop foot braces. Two required amputations, one because of infection and the other because he had suffered severe vascular injury. These two are walking on protheses and are able to work. Of the other seven, five have returned to their previous occupations; one is receiving a disability pension and the other is awaiting further surgery. The problems and advantages of this method of treatment are discussed.

The effect of high temperature on higher plants is primarily on photosynthetic functions. The heat tolerance limit of leaves of higher plants coincides with (and appears to be determined by) the thermal sensitivity of primary photochemical reactions occurring in the thylakoid membrane system. Tolerance limits vary between genotypes, but are also subject to acclimation. Long-term acclimations can be superimposed upon fast adaptive adjustment of the thermal stability, occurring in the time range of a few hours. Light causes an increase in tolerance to heat, and this stabilization is related to the light-induced proton gradient. In addition to irreversible effects, high temperature may also cause large, reversible effects on the rate of photosynthesis. We report here some studies of photosynthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence, designed to examine the energetic balance between photosynthetic carbon metabolism and light reactions during steady state photosynthesis with leaves of cotton plants at different temperatures. At temperatures exceeding the optimum for assimilation, but well below the tolerance limit, the feedback control of light reactions by carbon metabolism declines, as additional dissipative processes become important. Energy dissipated by photorespiration can exceed that consumed by CO2 assimilation, and a reversible, temperature-induced non-photochemical 'quenching' process, related to 'spillover' of excitation energy to photosystem 1, decreases the efficiency of photosystem 2 with increasing temperature. However, despite the overall decline in the 'potential quantum efficiency', our analysis indicates that CO2 assimilation may be limited, in part, at high temperature by an imbalance in the regulation of the carbon metabolism, which is reflected in a 'down-regulation' of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.

The application of sonic energy to bone cutting problems is reported. The basic principle of the resonant tool, its adaptation for surgery, the experimental results of its use in animals, and clinical experience are reported. This sonic tool is found to introduce no significant tissue destruction. It does have several desirable characteristics for routine use in orthopedics.

Photosynthetic CO2 fixation rates in leaves and intact chloroplasts of spinach measured at 18°-20° C are substantially decreased by pretreatment at temperatures exceeding 20° C. Mild heating which causes 80% inhibition of CO2 fixation does not affect phosphoglyceroacid reduction and causes increases in the ATP/ADP ratio and the light-induced transthylakoid proton gradient. The inactivation of the CO2 fixation is completely reversible with half-times of recovery in the order of 15-20 min. Comparison of steady-state patterns of (14)C labeled Calvin cycle intermediates of heat-treated and control samples reveals a large increase in the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate/phosphoglyceroacid ratio and a large decrease in the phosphoglyceroacid/triosephosphate ratio. It is concluded that inactivation of CO2 fixation occurring at elevated temperatures is caused by inhibition of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39). Measurements of light-induced light scattering changes of thylakoids and of the light-induced electrochromic absorption shift show that these signals are affected by mild heating in a way which is strictly correlated with the inactivation of the CO2 fixation. It is proposed that the function of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase in vivo requires a form of activation that involves properties of the thylakoid membrane which are affected by the heat treatment. The fact that these changes in thylakoid membrane properties and of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase activity are already affected at elevated temperatures which can still be considered physiological, and the reversible nature of these changes, suggest that they may play a role in temperature regulation of the overall photosynthetic process.

This report has presented a discussion of the mechanics of the spine in terms of an analogy with a curved, tapered beam. We have identified the existence of critical frequencies and locations in the spine and discussed the evidence from clinical experience with low back problems. We have also discussed the extrinsic mechanisms for protecting the spine and the lumbosacral junction. The question of the sensitivity of the lumbosacral junction to shear forces has been raised and experiments described that show that the shear forces that will injure the posterior elements of the fifth lumbar vertebra are low and occur commonly. The report also describes an instrument to measure the stiffness of articulations of the spine.

The effects of the tertiary amines tetracaine, brucine and dibucaine on photophosphorylation and control of photosynthetic electron transport in isolated chloroplasts of Spinacia oleracea were investigated. Tertiary amines inhibited photophosphorylation while the related electron transport decreased to the rates, observed under non-phosphorylating conditions. Light induced quenching of 9-aminoacridine fluorescence and uptake of (14)C-labelled methylamine in the thylakoid lumen declined in parallel with photophosphorylation, indicating a decline of the transthylakoid proton gradient. In the presence of ionophoric uncouplers such as nigericin, no effect of tertiary amines on electron transport was seen in a range of concentration where photophosphorylation was inhibited. Under the influence of the tertiary amines tested, pH-dependent feed-back control of photosystem II, as indicated by energy-dependent quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, was unaffected or even increased in a range of concentration where 9-aminoacridine fluorescence quenching and photophosphorylation were inhibited. The data are discussed with respect to a possible involvement of localized proton flow pathways in energy coupling and feed-back control of electron transport.

The effect of high temperatures on the photosynthetic apparatus of Preissia quadrata (Scop.) Nees, Conocephalum conicum (L.) Dum. and Marchantia polymorpha L. were investigated. changes in the activities of various photosynthetic reactions were followed by measuring light-dependent oxygen evolution, chlorophyll a fluorescence and light-induced absorbance changes at 518 nm.Mild heat treatment of the thalli led to reversible depression of photosynthesis; the period necessary for complete recovery depended on the extent of heat damage. Irreversible inactivation of photosynthesis after more severe heat stress was caused by damage of photosystem II. On principle, the pattern of reversible and irreversible heat inactivation of photosynthetic reactions in liverwort thalli resembles that observed in leaves of higher plants. However, in contrast to a number of Spermatophyta, exposure of liverwort thalli to high sublethal temperatures did not result in a significant increase in the heat stability of the photosynthetic apparatus indicating that the heat hardening capacity of hygrophytic hepatics is extremely low.

A new model is described which allows measurement of bile flow and sampling of bile in the intact rat with a physiologically functioning sphincter of Oddi. A number of metabolic parameters have been followed to show that animals with such an "extracorporeal bile duct" (EBD) behave as intact controls. Especially, there was no difference in the increase in body weight or hepatic fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis between EBD animals and intact controls. The amount of bile salts circulating through the biliary tract amounted to 30.5+/-1.5mumol . 100 g body wt-1 . hr-1, when diurnal variations were averaged. Animals adapted to a restricted feeding regimen showed a significant increase of bile flow and of biliary bile salt and cholesterol excretion during feeding (10AM-3 PM); these parameters reached their maximum 3 hours after onset of food intake.

Isolated hepatocytes obtained by collagenase perfusion of adult rat livers were seeded on collagen gels and kept in a chemically defined culture medium (except for the first 6 h of culture where 10% fetal calf serum was added). Cells adopted an epitheloid shape within 4 h and arranged themselves in a trabeculae-like pattern during the first 20 h of culture. In the electron microscope numerous tight junctions and bile capillaries were observed at sites of cell-to-cell contact. From metabolite analyses in the culture medium the following conclusions can be drawn: The cells continued to synthesize urea and ketone bodies for 5 days of culture. The cytosolic and mitochondrial redox states of the nicotinamide adenine nucleotide systsm were as in the liver in vivo and the oxygen supply of hepatocytes was sufficient under the culture conditions. Maximal velocities of ketogenesis from octanoate and of urea formation from ornithine plus ammonium chloride were stable during a 120 h culture period and compared well with rates found in the isolated perfused rat liver.

Using intact leaves of Spinacia oleracea (L.), reversible temperature-induced changes in chlorophyll fluorescence emitted at room temperature and at 77K were studied. Interpretation of fluorescence at 77K was largely facilitated by developing a new method to minimize reabsorption artifacts (;diluted leaf-powder'). Leaves of plants grown at 15 to 20 degrees C were exposed for several hours to different temperatures. Upon incubation at 35 degrees C in the dark or in the light, the following changes in 77K fluorescence occurred with a half-time of less than 1 hour: (a) the initial fluorescence (F(0)) of photosystem I increased by 15%, while that one of photosystem II somewhat decreased; (b) although variable fluorescence declined in both photosystems, the decrease in photosystem II (40%) was more severe; (c) the changes were less significant after 480-nanometer excitation light was replaced by 430-nanometer light. The data were interpreted in terms of a reversible, temperature-induced change in thylakoid structure and related change in the distribution of the absorbed energy in favor of photosystem I, at the expense of photosystem II excitation, probably accompanied by an increase in the rate of thermal deactivation of excited states. The considerable decrease in the variable part of room temperature fluorescence gives rise to the suggestion that this transition has lowered the reduction level of plastoquinone, i.e. has increased electron flow through photosystem I, relative to photosystem II. Possible physiological and mechanistic analogies between this temperature-induced state transition and the light-dependent state 1-state 2 regulation has been discussed.

A population (n = 526), consisting of employees with COPD, was compared with 2 control populations for the prevalence of Pi-phenotypes. In the patient group, the proportions of ZZ, SZ and MZ were significantly elevated. Among the patient population a prospective study was carried out to evaluate the role of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency as a cofactor in COPD. Severity of disease was estimated by standard pulmonary function tests, X-ray signs for emphysema and clinical assessment. Patients with ZZ, SZ and MZ were significantly worse than their MM partners. An influence of MS cannot be rejected. Phenotyping of all patients with COPD is advocated. Screening can also be by determining the ratio of alpha 1-antitrypsin and acid alpha 1-glycoprotein concentrations, which allowed detection of all ZZ, SZ, MZ and about 60% of the MS patients.

The heat-sensitivity of photosynthetic oxygen evolution of thylakoids isolated from spinach increases by increasing the pH above neutral value. The temperature for inactivation (transition temperature) is lowered from about 45° C (pH 6.0-7.4) to 33°C (pH 8.5). Similar results are obtained with intact chloroplasts. At pH 7.0 the transition temperature of washed thylakoids decreases by lowering the salt concentration below 20 mM with monovalent cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+)) and below 3-4 mM with divalent cations (Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Sr(2+)). Illumination decreases the heat-sensitivity of oxygen evolution in intact chloroplasts, but even increases the heat-sensitivity in uncoupled chloroplasts. In intact chloroplasts the transition temperature of the heat-induced rise in chlorophyll fluorescence yield (Fo; see Schreiber and Armond 1978) decreases from 44° C to 38° C when the pH of the suspending medium is increased from 6.5 to 8.5. At 20° C, Fo is almost insensitive to pH (6.0-8.5). At 40° C, however, Fo is constant between 6.0 and 7.0, but strongly increases by increasing the pH above neutral value. The results are discussed in terms of a close relation between electrostatic forces at the thylakoid membrane and thermal sensitivity of photosynthetic apparatus. It is suggested that the heat-sensitivity of the photosystem II complex partially depends on the ionization state of fixed groups having alkaline pK. The "packed volume" of thylakoids suspended in a low salt medium increases when the temperature is increased above 30° C (pH 7.0) and above 20° C (pH 8.0), respectively. This result suggests a heat-induced increase in surface charge density of the thylakoid membrane.

Five hundred and thirty-eight cases of spine (298) and limb (240) pain problems were coded for spine x-ray abnormality (congenital, scoliosis, straightening, and degenerative joint disease). Analysis reveals that the limb pain cases (97 upper and 143 lower) when compared with the spine pain cases (45 cervical and 253 lumbar) have fewer normal spine x-rays with a greater incidence of degenerative joint disease in the limb pain cases and a greater incidence of straightening in younger spine and limb pain cases. Excluding 107 disability cases increases these tendencies. A group of 191 women who have had x-rays every five years are studied for controls and show a much lower incidence of x-ray changes. These data support a diagnosis of referred pain from the spine as a significant possibility in the idiopathic limb pain problem case.

Due to the optical density of photosynthetic tissues the spectral characteristics of fluorescence emitted at 77 K directly from frozen plant material are distorted by differential re-absorption of the emitted light: the emission band related to PSII can be lowered by more than 80%, relative to the PSI band and the profile of the excitation spectra becomes flattened. It is demonstrated that such distortion cannot be neglected as its extent varies from sample to sample. A technique is introduced to eliminate sample artifacts related to self-absorption: subcellular small particles are prepared from rapidly cooled leaves and then 'diluted' without re-thawing at a concentration corresponding to about 5 μg chlorophyll·cm(-3) into a matrix consisting of ice and quartz particles. The photochemical pigment apparatus is expected to remain fixed in the in vivo state. Different kinds of plant material is used and it is demonstrated how this preparative approach allows to study the in vivo distribution of energy between the two photosystems from pure 77 K spectrofluorimetry, even when the optical properties of whole leaves or thalli normally would exclude quantitative analysis.

This report deals with the controversial problem whether bile acids exert a direct inhibitory effect on the rate of hepatic cholesterol synthesis. For this purpose rats have been provided with an 'extracorporeal bile duct', an experimental model which makes it possible to initiate a bile fistula two weeks after last surgery. In the animals that recovered completely from operative trauma, a 6-h infusion of 33.4 mumol sodium taurocholate x (100 g body weight)-1 x h-1, prevented the threefold rise of hepatic cholesterol synthesis following bile diversion. The rate of cholesterol synthesis was monitored by incorporation of [14C] acetate in vitro. There was no difference whether the animals were infused from 4--10 h (dark/light transition) or from 16--22 h (light/dark transition) besides the fact that taurocholate caused a more extensive inhibition during the light-dark transition. A parallel kind of response was observed for the activity of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), the regulatory enzyme of cholesterol synthesis. A twofold rise of hepatic fatty acid synthesis was observed following bile diversion which was not seen in case of simultaneous bile salt infusion. It is concluded that bile salts exert direct feedback inhibition of hepatic cholesterol synthesis and that opposite results reported by other investigators are probably due to the infusion of too low doses of taurocholate.

The most heat-sensitive functions of chloroplasts in Spinacia oleracea L. including the stromal carboxylation reaction, the light-induced electrical field gradient across the thylakoid membrane, as well as the overall photosynthetic CO(2) fixation were less affected by heat if chloroplasts were heated in the light: 50% inactivation occurred around 35 degrees C in the dark and around 40 degrees C in the light. Relative low light intensities were sufficient to obtain optimal protection against heat. In contrast, the light-induced DeltapH across the thylakoid membrane, the photophosphorylation, and the photochemical activity of photosystem II which were less sensitive to heat in the dark (50% inactivation above 40 degrees C) were not protected by light. Photosystem II even was destabilized somewhat by light.The effect of light on the heat sensitivity of the water-splitting reaction was dependent on the pH in the medium. Protection by light only occurred at alkaline pH, in which case heat sensitivity was high (50% inactivation at 33 degrees C in the dark and at 38 degrees C in the light). Protection was prevented by uncouplers. At pH 6.8 when the heat sensitivity was low in any case (50% inactivation at 41 degrees C in the dark), light had no further protecting effect.Protection by light has been discussed in terms of light-induced transport of protons from the stroma to the thylakoid space and related ion fluxes.