1019] FOODS — HUMAN NUTRITION. 761 



"The use of the labk^s shows the cleiir diiTerentiatioii of .itliletes and dhi- 

 betics from other individuals in their metabolic level, thus confirmin;^^ eoiu-lu- 

 sions already drawn at tlie Nutrition Laboratory. 



"The use of the standards sliows the existence (jf a well-marlied diflxH'eutia- 

 tion in the level of metabolism of men and women, and shows that the differ- 

 ences are persistent throughout adult life instead of disappearing in later years 

 as maintained by Sonden and Tigerstedt. There is no evidence for such differ- 

 entiation in new-born infants. 



" While the novelty of the conception underlying these standards will prob- 

 ably limit somewhat their immediate adoption by physiologists, the illustrations 

 show that for purposes of more refined analysis they have great practical 

 value. We believe that ultimately the great convenience of these multiple- 

 prediction tables will result in their general adoption as standards of reference 

 in all work on human nutritional physiology. 



" When larger series of basal data are available we expect to revise these 

 tables so that they may represent the broadest and most secure foundation for 

 comparative nutritional investigation." 



Report on the metabolism of female munition workers, M. Greenwood, O. 

 HoDSON, and A. E. Tebb {Proc. Roy. Soc. [LondGn'\, Ser. B, 91 (1919). No. B 635, 

 pp. 62-82). — This detailed report consists of a general description of the fac- 

 tory conditions and of the salient features of individual processes studied, a 

 criticism of the results from the experimental point of view, a summarized 

 interpretation of the data obtained, and a brief discussi<m of the economic 

 implications of these results. The metabolism was determined by indirect 

 calorimietry, the respiration apparatus used being a modiiication of the Douglas 

 bag combined with a face niaslv. 



A study of the detailed tables shows that in a majority of the operations the 

 range of variation from svibject to subject is very great, due either to the indi- 

 vidual peculiarities of metabolism or to gi'eat variations in tlie amount of physi- 

 cal work actually performed during the experimental periods, or to both factors. 

 A provisional grouping of the figures on the basis of the general means is given, 

 as follows: 



(1) Light turning, turning, and forging requiring about 100 calories per 

 square meter per hour; (2) tool setting, heavy turning, stamping, finishing cop- 

 per bands, and shell hoisting, all needing about 12.5 calories; (3) gauging, walk- 

 ing, and carrying, requiring 160 calories; and (4) laboring, and cleaning and 

 drying, requiring ISO calories per square meter per hour. With these figures as 

 a basis the average daily food requirement for the four classes is calculated as 

 2,810, 3,120, 3,555, and 3,805 calories, respectively. 



Attention is called to the fact that while the energy i-equirement of the 

 lightest class is about 74 per cent of the heaviest, the remuneration of the kinds 

 of work included in the heaviest class has been much less than that of several 

 operations needing decidedly fewer calories. The importance is emphasized of 

 taking into account the physiological element of working-class expenditure. 



Preparation of protein free from water-soluble vitamin, T. B. Osborne, 

 A. J. Wakeman, and E. L. Ferry (Jour. Biol. Chem., ,39 {1919), No. 1. pp. 35~46, 

 pi. 1). — This paper reports the results of a study of the relative efficiency of 

 the various methods used to remove the water-soluble vitamin from prepara- 

 tions of different proteins, as determined by comparing tlie length of life or 

 rate of decline of young rats fed on diets containing the protein under examina- 

 tion, together with a basal ration supposedly free from water-soluble vitamin. 

 The proteins selected rcprest^nted a wide variety in chemi<'al constitution and 

 in methods of extraction and purification. 



