IQ^j EXPEFilMENT STATION RECOED. [Vol.35 



The initial increase in weight after the fast is thought to have resulted from 

 the retention of water and non-nitrogenous food substances. 



What is a vitamin? (Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 66 (1916), No. 19, p. HIO).— 

 The work of a number of investigators on this subject is discussed briefly. 



Fat assimilation, W. 11. Blook (Jour. Biol. Chem., 24 (1916), No. Jf, pp. W- 

 !^QO).—ln continuation of previous investigations (E. S. R.. 34, pp. 562. 5G3), 

 feeding experiments with laboratory animals (dogs) are reported, in which de- 

 terminations of total fat, lecithin, and cholesterol were made in whole blood 

 and plasma during the i>eriods of fat absorption. The results of the experi- 

 ments are summarized as follows : 



" Total fatty acids increase in both plasma and corpuscles but the increase is 

 generally more marked in the corpuscles. Lecithin increases greatly in the 

 corpuscles but only slightly in the plasma. No definite changes in the quantity 

 of cholesterol were noted. A fairly constant relationship between total fatty 

 acids and lecithin was noted in whole blood and corpuscles." 



It is c<*n<luded that " the lilood corpuscles take up tlie fat from the plasma 

 and transform it into lecithin; that most if not all of the absorbed fat is so 

 transformed; and, therefore, that lecithin is an intermediate step in the 

 metabolism of the fats." 



Goat's milk to g-et test (Mod. Hosp., 6 (1916), No. 3. pp. 232, 233).— An- 

 nouncement is made of an investigation to be conducted at a New York hospital 

 to determine the value of goat's milk for tuberculosis patients. 



It is stated that although goats are particularly immune to tuberculosis and 

 while tulxH'cle bacilli have never been found in the milk, it has not yet been 

 determined whether goat's milk carries with it any protection against tubercu- 

 losis. Use has been made of the milk for some time in treating summer diseases 

 of children, and in this respect also the cause of its efllcacy is unknown. AntU- 

 yses have shown that the milk contains about 6 per cent of milk fat, and 

 some investigators have thought that the small size of the fat globule may be 

 the reason for tolerance for the milk in cases of summer complaint. 



The dietary factors operating in the production of polyneuritis, E. V. 

 McCoi.LUM and Cornelia Kennedv (Jour. Biol. Chem., 24 (1916), No. 4, PP- 491- 

 502). — In this investigation the authors studied the relation to polyneuritis of 

 two classes of unknown substances concerned in inducing growth — fat-soluble 



A, which is soluble in fat and is contained in certain fats, and water-soluble B. 

 which is soluble in water and alcohol and is widely distributed in the animal 

 and vegetable world. By means of experiments with birds the effects of feeding 

 a number of substances were studied. Among them were polished rice with 

 butter fat and with the alcoholic extracts of fat-free wheat embryo; potato 

 juice; cal»l)iige juice; oat extract; and the acetone, benzene, and ethyl acetate 

 extracts of fat-free wheat embryo. 



From these experiments the authors concluded that "judging from the 

 api»earance of .serious nutritional disturbances ending in death which result 

 from a slKjrtage of the fat-soluble A, and the emaciation, weakness, and death 

 which follow restriction to a diet inadequate in its content of the water-soluble 



B, It seems certain that both these classes of unknown dietary constituents are 

 e8.sential for maintenance as well as for growth. . . . 



" In the production of polyneuritis in birds by exclusive rice feeding or 

 exclusive feeding of a ration made up of purified foodstuffs, the degeneration 

 of the nerve cells is the specific result of a lack of the water-soluble B. The 

 fat-soluble A appears to be dispensable, when maintenance alone is involved, for 

 a somewhat longer period than is the factor B." 



This last assertion is based upon the fact that polyneuritis in pigeons could 

 be produced by feeding a diet free from both the essential factors A and B, but 



