166 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECORD. 



plied 2,619 calories available energy per day and the energy required wben 

 fasting was 1,458 calories, a difference of 1,161 calories or 79.6 per cent. This 

 would sutOce for a moderately active man with little work. 



Advantages and disadvantages of calculating energy values in dietetics, 

 O. Krummacher {Festschrift gewidmet 8Ji. Versaniml. Deut. Naturf. u. Arzte, 

 Med. Naturw. Gesell. Mimster, 1912, pp. 245-262; ahs. in Zenthl. Physiol., 26 

 (1D12), No. 19, pp. 881, 8S2). — According to the author's conclusion, the diet of 

 an adult man of the average size should contain about 100 gm. protein, with a 

 sufficiency of energy. 



The hydrolysis of glycogen lay diastatic enzynas — comparison of prepara- 

 tions of glycogen from different sources, R. V. Norris {Biochem. Jour., 7 

 {1913), No. 1, pp. 26-^/2, figs. Jf). — Data are given regarding the hydrolysis by 

 a pancreatic enzym of samples of glycogen obtained from a dog, a rabbit, oys- 

 ters, and yeast cells, together with the effect of a number of factors on the rate 

 of reaction. 



The different results obtained with the various samples indicated that they 

 were not of identical composition, and other experiments are now in progress to 

 furnish more knowledge on this point. 



Metabolism of calcium and phosphoric acids in infants receiving scanty 

 and abundant diets of cow's milk, G. Wolff ( tJber den Kalk- und Phosphor- 

 sdurcsioffwechscl des SdugJlngs hei knapper und reichlieher Erndhrung mit 

 Kuhmilch. Inaug. Diss., Berlin, 1912, pp. 29; ais. in Zentbl. Physiol., 26 {1912), 

 No. 28, pp. 1152, 1153).- — In experiments in which the diet of infants was quan- 

 titatively increased, it was found that the phosphoric acid excreted in the urine 

 varied similarly to the nitrogen, but the principal excretion of phosphorus was 

 in the feces and appeared to come from the framework of the body. 



When a scanty diet was given, the calcium excreted from the intestines was 

 in excess of the amount in the food and must have been drawn in part from 

 the organism itself. The utilization of fat was in no case especially good, but 

 seemed to have little influence on the metabolism of calcium, even when the 

 amount of fat in the diet was considerably increased. 



In geueral, the author concludes that changes fi'om scanty to abundant diets 

 produce no unfavorable effect on the metabolism of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 

 and calcium, and that a diet which only makes a nitrogen balance, or even per- 

 mits a slight increase in body nitrogen, is insufficient to meet the demands of 

 the organism for calcium and phosphorus. In his opinion, the dangers of a too 

 abundant diet are less than those of a scanty one. 



The metabolism of organic phosphorus compounds — their hydrolysis by 

 the action of enzyms, E. H. A. Plimmer {Biochem. Jour., 7 {1913), No. 1, 

 pp. 43-71). — This paper gives the results of an experimental study of the hydro- 

 lytic action of the enzyms of the pancreas, liver, and intestine, and of various 

 plant enzyms upon the more important organic phosphorus compounds found 

 in food materials. 



These compounds are not assimilated as such but undergo hydrolysis by the 

 mucosa of the intestine and are probably absorbed as inorganic phosphates and 

 the organic radical with which the phosphoi'us has been combined. These ex- 

 periments agree with those of other workers who have shown the ability of 

 the animal organism to synthesize its organic phosphorus compounds from in- 

 organic phosphates, but they are not in accordance with the belief that organic 

 phosphorus compounds are a necessary part of the food of animals. The author 

 concludes that the value of these compounds depends entirely upon the nature 

 of the organic matter in combination with the phosphoric acid. 



Potassium excretion under normal and pathological conditions, E. Blu- 

 MENFELDT {Ztschv. Expt. Path. u. Ther., 12 {1913), No. 3, pp. 523-528).— As a 



