666 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



iuflltration indicates necrobiosis of neighboring cells. Chronic degenerative 

 lesions produce cholesteryl-ester infiltration. Autolysis causes the invisible 

 lipins of the cell to assume a visible form, differing from the lipins deposited in 

 the cell during life. This process (myelinic decomposition) is not related to the 

 process of fatty infiltration. 



The influence on the respiratory exchange of varying amounts of car-* 

 bohydrate in the diet, F. G. Benedict and H. L. Higgins (Amer. Jour. Phys- 

 iol., 30 {1912), Ko. 3, pp. 217-232, dgm. 1). — In these experiments diets supplj'- 

 ing uniform amounts of protein and approximately the same number of calories, 

 but with varying amounts of carbohydrates and fats, were fed to several in- 

 dividuals, and during 4 days measurements of the gaseous metabolism, par- 

 ticularly the respiratory quotient, were made. 



It was found that with the diet unchanged on the preceding evening the 

 respiratory exchange of any individual the next morning before eating is 

 always the same. With normal subjects the same diet gives the same respira- 

 tory quotient the morning after a meal. A distinct relation was found between 

 the supply of body carbohydrate (measured by the respiratory quotient after 

 digestion has ceased) and the quantity of carbohydrate in the preceding diet. 

 In men of sedentary habits even 600 gm. of carbohydrate daily for 4 days did 

 not produce glycosuria. 



The influence upon metabolism of nonoxidizable material in the intes- 

 tinal tract, F. G. Benedict and L. E. Emmes {Am^r. Jour. Physiol., 30 (1912), 

 No. 3, pp. 197-216). — These experiments were made in the attempt to determine 

 whether the increase in metabolism (measured by oxygen consumption and 

 carbon dioxid elimination) following ingestion of food is caused principally by 

 the presence of oxidizable material in the blood or by muscular work involved 

 in the process of digestion. Respiration apparatus previously described (E. S. 

 R., 21, p. 665) was used. 



In 6 experiments the subject took a dose of 15 gm. of sodium sulphate in 

 200 cc. of water. No considerable increase in either oxygen or carbon dioxid 

 was noted, in spite of the intense peristalsis produced. Hence, the authors 

 conclude, it is erroneous to cite the results of earlier experiments in support 

 of the idea that intestinal movements have a very considerable effect upon 

 total metabolism. 



Seven experiments were made in which the subjects ingested considerable 

 quantities of agar-agar, either dry or in the form of a jelly. None of this 

 material, except a very little carbohydrate, is absorbed. No increased metabo- 

 lism due to increased segmentation was noted, and the movement along the 

 intestines of the material did not appear to require the expenditure of a 

 measurable amount of energy. "It would therefore appear that the 'work of 

 digestion,' in so far as either peristalsis or possibly the segmentation process is 

 concerned, can not be of sufficient moment to play an important role or to 

 explain in any degree the marked rise in metabolism so frequently noted after 

 the injiestion of various food materials." 



The physico-chemical basis of striated-muscle contraction, I, W. N. Berg 

 (Biochem. Bui., 1 {1912), No. Ji, pp. 535-537). — This is a criticism of the Zuntz 

 theory of muscle contraction. 



Studies of the animal body as a prime mover, M. Ringelmann {Bui. 8oc. 

 Sci. Hyy. Aliment., 1 {1911), No. 3-J,, pp. 337-^.'iS, dyins. 3).— This is an attempt 

 to devise a method for measuring the power obtained from man or the lower 

 animals, in the same way that an engineer determines the power of a prime 

 mover. The analogy between the animate and inanimate machines is carried 

 out in considerable detail, and formulas are presented for the measurement of 



