Physiologie der Zellen, Gewebe und Organe. 69 



out to determine quantitatively the ratio between the weiglit lost and CO2 evol- 

 ved by the plants in respiration , with and without formaldehyde (H-CHO) in 

 the atmosphere. It was found that in the presence of H-CHO vapour the araount 

 of COg evolved in respiration is exactly the same as in normal respiration, and 

 hence "formaldehyde is not converted by the plant into COg, nor can it be uti- 

 lized for the syuthesis of food materials in the dark". 



It is concluded that formaldehyde may function as a stage in photosynthesis, 

 but the production from it of sugars and other synthetie products is probably 

 not due to simple polymerization and requires light energy. The results Support 

 such an hypothesis as that of Collie, which considers the next stage in photo- 

 synthesis after formaldehyde to be a very unstable substance, keten (CHg = CO). 

 This is the lirst raember of a very reactive series of substances — the polyketides 

 — from which representatives of many plant and animal substances have been 

 obtained by hydrolysis, etc., at ordinary temperatures. Gates (^London). 



155) Morgulis, Sergius, The influence of protracted and interraittent 

 fasting upon growth. In: Amer. Natural, Bd. 47, S. 477 — 487, 1913. 



In experiments with Salamanders the weiter showed that prolonged fasting 

 seems to exert a rejuvenating effect on the assimilative capacity of the organism, 

 enabling it to recuperate with great rapidity on the resumption of feeding. He 

 fiuds that Salamanders fed intermittently do not become as large or as heavy as 

 control specimens. It is suggested that the cells of the organism become "avari- 

 cious", and the increased proportion of the nucleus to the cytoplasm may account 

 for that. The writer further concludes that periodic starvation is more detrimental 

 than acute starvation followed by a liberal supply of food, a result which has 

 an evident bearing on social problems. Gates (London). 



156) Hillj A. V. and Hill, A. M., Calorimetrical experiments on warm- 

 blooded animals. In: Journ. of Physiol., Bd. XL VI, S. 81, 1913. 



Description of automatic recording respiration calorimeter for rats and mice, 

 allowing of an estimate of the total heat production accurate to 2°/o. The heat 

 production per gram body weight is constant for fasting rats more than Yg 

 füll grown. For smaller rats it is much higher. The metabolism of younger tis- 

 sues is more active. Animals kept in groups in the calorimeter show notably 

 less heat production than when taken separately. Min es (Cambridge). 



157) Cullis, Wiuifred and Tribe, Euid., Distribution of nerves in the 

 heart. In: Journ. of Physiol., Bd. XL VI, p. 141, 1913. 



Experiments on the isolated hearts of rabbits and cats show that after 

 section of the atrio-ventricular bündle muscarin has no slowing effect on the 

 ventricles, while adrenalin still produces acceleration. It is concluded that the 

 ventricles of these animals do not receive vagus fibres but that they are supplied 

 with sympathetic fibres. Min es (Cambridge). 



158) Leethani, Constaiico, Action of certain drugs on isolated strips of ven- 

 tricle. In: Journ. of Physiol, Bd. XLVI, S. 151, 1913. 



Experiments with Pilocarpine, muscarine, atropine and adrenalin on isolated strips 

 of mammalian ventricle confirm the results of Cullis and Tribe cited in the last ab- 

 stract. Mines (Cambridge). 



159) Burn, J. H., The oxygen capacity of blood considered in relation to 

 the concentration of haemoglobin. In: Journ. of Physiol., Bd. XLV, S. 482, 1913. 



