1!»-"J FOODS — HUMAN NUTRITION. 369 



Tlic result of llicsc iiictaholisiii sludics indicates tliat a siilijeet of this sort 

 should receive as many eah)ries as a normal boy of tho sjiuie at;e, or consider- 

 ably more per kilojrram than normal boj's of tlie same ajio or weight. 



Card for recordinji- epideiniolojiy of l)(>(ulisiu {I'uh. llaiUh l\i>ts. [('. iS.], 

 85 (11)20), yo. I'i, PI). 8!>.'i, 8!>-'>).- — This is a copy of a card which is being used in 

 California in the epidemiological studies of botulism, and wliich is recom- 

 mended to State and local health authorities as of value in recording data 

 in the event of future outbreaks of the disease. 



OiH! side of the card is designed to give a complete record of tho clinical data 

 and epidemiology, while the reverse side j)rovides for a comi)ilation of tlata rela- 

 tive to analogous outbreaks in the domestic animals on the premisi'S. 



Action of secretin on luotabolisni, .1. E. Aisklous and L. C. Soula {('oinpt. 

 Rend. Acad. Sci. [I'aris], 110 (1920), A'o. 12, pp. 75[)-7(>l).—A few experiments 

 on dogs and cats are repoi-ted, fi-om which the author concludes that secretin 

 brings about a superactivity of metabolism as shown by an increase In the 

 elimination of nitrogen and mineral matter in the urine and an increase in 

 the respiratory quotient, together with a decrease in the glycogen content of 

 the liver. This is explained on the ground that the secretin acts as a hormone 

 charged with liberating the nutritive intracellular reserves to make way for 

 the new reserves which constitute the products of digestion. 



Scorbutic beadina; of the ribs, A. F. Hiiss and L. J, Unger {Amcr. Join: 

 Diseases Children, 19 (1920), No. 5, pp. 331-336). — From clinical observations 

 and postmortem examinations conducted by the authors, and from the litera- 

 ture on scui-vy and rickets, proof is advanced that beading of the ribs, the 

 So-called rachitic rosary, is not the result of rickets alone but is one of the 

 typical signs of scurvy and has also been notiMl in connection with bei-iberi and 

 pellagra in children. The belief that this phenomenon is attril)utabl(> solely 

 to rickets is thought to be responsible for the misinterpretation of many cases 

 of latent scurvy. 



Craniotabes and beading; of the ribs as sig;us of rachitis, II. Schwabz 

 (Amer. Jour. Diseases Children, 19 (1920), No. 5, pp. 384, 385).— From clinical 

 data on the presence of craniotabes and of beading in children of various 

 nationalities in the first, third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months of life, the 

 author concludes that rickets can not be diagnosed on the basis either of an 

 existing craniotabes or of beading of tht; ribs. 



The eflect of vitamin deficiency on various species of animals. — I, The 

 production of xerophthalmia in tlic rabbit, V. E. Nelson and A. K. Lamb 

 (Amer. Jour. Physiol., 51 (1920), No. 3, pp. 530-535, flcjs. .'/).— This is the first 

 of a series of experiments which are being conducted at the Iowa Exi)eriment 

 Station to determine the effect of the lack of fat-soluble A on different species 

 of animals. 



Two rabbits fed a purified ration of casein, d<'xtrin. salt mixture, lactose, 

 wheat embryo, and alfalfa meal extracted with hot alcohol for 3 or 4 days to 

 remove fat-soluble A developed xerophthahnia after 61 days, while a control 

 rabbit on a similar diet plus butter fat showed no evidence of xerophthalmia 

 and remained thrifty. One of the two animals suifering from xerophthalmia 

 died, having refused to eat even fresh green lettuce. The other responded 

 to the fresh vegetables and butter fat and rapidly recovered. A fourth rabbit, 

 which' after a month on the casein-dextrin ration was given a ration of oats, 

 pplatin. dextrin, salts, agar, and extracted alfalfa, grew normnlly and showed 

 no signs of xerojilitlialmia. 



Modifications of the testicles of pigeons under the infiucnce of a diet 

 deprived of vitamins, I*. roiniKij [Cowiit. h'oid. Acad. f^ci. [Paris], 170 (1920), 

 No. 12, pp. 755-757). — Examination of the testicles of pigeons fed on sterilized 



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