VETEKINABY MEDICHiTE. 881 



32 state boards of agriculture, 10 experiment stations, 4 live stock boards, 42 

 state boards of health, and 11 individuals, in reply to letters of inquiry. 



Observations in regard to the rotation of blood plasma and serum from 

 various animals of different ages and sex, E. Abdeehalden and A. Weil 

 iHoppe-Scyler's Ztschr. Physiol. Chem., 81 (1912), No. 3, pp. 233-238) .—The 

 rotation of the plasma and serum will give a rapid insight as to the relative 

 amounts of optically active substances, i. e.. carbohydrates and various pro- 

 teins, present in the blood plasma or serum. For this investigation the plasma 

 and serum of horses, bovines, pigs, sheep, guinea pigs, and fowls were studied. 

 Castrated male and female animals were among the various mammals. 



The results show that the blood serum from normal animals rotates in the 

 same manner as does human serum. Guinea pig serum and fowl's blood were 

 found to have a much lower rotation. In the case of fowl's blood, it was just 

 about one-half that of the mammals. Among the normal animals of the same 

 species no remarkable differences were noted. Various, and in some cases, 

 high values were obtained with the serum of horses affected with pernicious 

 anemia. Tuberculous subjects also showed abnormally high values. The serum 

 of horses was found to have a lower levorotation than the plasma. 



In studying the blood exchange between the mother and the fetus, it was 

 found that the serum, taken from the umbilical cord of tbe fetus, had a lower 

 rotation than the blood serum of the mother. This seems to depend initially 

 upon the lower amount of proteins which tbe fetal blood serum contains. 



The difference between the blood and exudate leucocytes with reference 

 to phagocy~tic activity, H. Amatsu {Abs. in Ztschr. Immunitdtsf. u. Expt. 

 Ther., II, Ref., 6 (1912), No. 13, pp. 964, 965).— The phagocytic activity of the 

 exudate leucocytes is weaker than that shown by the blood leucocytes. The 

 phagocytic process of blood leucocytes 24 hours after extravasation remains 

 unchanged. 



A precipitin for rice proteins, S. Kanahaea (Ais. in Ztschr. Immunitdtsf. 

 u. Expt. Ther., II, Ref., 6 (1912), No. 13, p. 963).— Immunizing rabbits with 

 extracts of rice is found to produce a specific reagent for rice proteins. Normal 

 human sera, or beri-beri sera, precipitate rice protein in the ratio of 1 : 50. and 

 sometimes in the ratio of 1 : 100. No difference exists between normal and 

 beri-beri serum in this regard. 



The detection of paratyphoid infections with the aid of the precipitin 

 test, R. llEiNHARDT (Ztschr. Fleisch. u. MUchhyg., 23 (1912), No. 3, pp. 53-56; 

 abs. in Ztschr. Immunitdtsf. u. Expt. Ther., II, Ref., 6 (1912), No. 13, p. 963). — 

 Extracts of the organs of animals dying from paratyphoid infections yield 

 precipitating sera of a high titer. Putrefaction does not destroy the precipi- 

 tating capacity. Organs conserved in 90 per cent alcohol or in 2 per cent for- 

 maldehyde for 75 days still give specific reactions. 



Tests and critical remarks in regard to Weichardt's epiphanin reaction, 

 A. Koeff-Peteeson and H. Beinkmann (Ztschr. Hyg. u. Infektionskrank., 72 

 (1912), No. 2, pp. §.'f3-361, figs. 9). — After critically reviewing the findings of 

 other investigators with the epiphanin reaction, the authors report results of 

 tests to determine the limit of eiTor of the method. It is shown that the widely 

 divergent results obtained with the method are due to errors in measuring, and 

 to a great extent to the influence which the carbon dioxid of the atmosphere 

 has upon the barium hydroxid solution used in the test. 



By exercising extreme care these errors are reduced to a minimum, but with 

 the exclusion of the errors the results lose their significance. The reaction 

 consequently does not show the relation between antigen and antibody which 

 it is supposed to indicate. 



