ABSTRACTS 461 



varied types of substances containing aliphatically bound halogen 

 has demonstrated that the introduction of the hexamethylenetetramine 

 nucleus in this manner results in the production of bactericidal sub- 

 stances or enhances the bactericidal action if already present. 



In particular it was found possible by the use of the halogenacetyl 

 group, XCHoCO, as a connecting link, to furnish primary and secondary 

 ahphatic and aromatic amines, alcohols, and hydrocarbons of the 

 most varied character with the hexamethylenetetramine molecule and 

 to study the relation between chemical constitution and bactericidal 

 action in the series of substances so prepared. Because of the variety 

 of chemical types studied, the results are too involved for a detailed 

 summary here. Many of the substances were found to be very power- 

 ful bactericides, and in a number of instances derivatives of purely 

 aliphatic nature were found to possess an unusual bactericidal power. 

 Bacillus typhi, streptococci, meningococci, and gonococci were the 

 microorganisms used for the tests, and striking instances of partial 

 specificity were observed. This specificity was found to favor not one 

 species alone, but instances were found in which each of the types of 

 bacilli was shown to be especially susceptible to one or another of the 

 particular types of compound employed. The source of this partial 

 specificity is to be sought not in the hexamethylenetetramine nucleus 

 itself but in the molecule to which it is attached. The action of some 

 of the substances was tested in the presence of serum or protein and 

 was found to be not at all or only slightly i ihibited. In other cases 

 marked inhibition occurred. The factors controlling the serum — 

 or protein — compatibility of these substances are likewise to be sought 

 in that portion of the molecule other than the hexamethylenetetramine. 



B. W. 



IMMUNOLOGY 



Anti-Typhoid Inoculation. Eng. News, 1916, 75, 530. 



The Canadian Pacific Railway has used inoculation with success, 

 reducing cases in two years to 3, as compared with 290 for two years 

 among non-inoculated. — L. P. 



Development of Immune Reactions in Serum Disease. W. T. Longcopb 

 AND F. M. Rackemann. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol, and Med., 1916, 

 13, 101-102. 



Eleven patients, who had received horse serum for therapeutic 

 purposes, were studied by two methods. Skin sensitiveness to horse 

 serum was tested by intracutaneous injections of 0.02 cc. of horse 

 serum, both undiluted and diluted ten or one hundred times with salt 

 solution. Second, anaphylactic antibody was tested for by injecting 

 the serum of the patient into guinea pigs and testing these for passive 

 sensitization. The results show that anaphylactic antibodies for horse 

 serum appear in the blood serum in maximmn concentration towards 

 the close of serum sickness and suggest that their presence determines 

 recovery from this disease. — W. J. M. 



