July 12, 1906J 



NA TURE 



249 



ten minutes at 60° C. This method of testing is based 

 upon the fact that if noinial serum is heated it no 

 lon^jcr incites phagocytosis, whilst in cases suffering 

 from tuberculous infection " inciter elements " have 

 been elaborated in the organism in response to the 

 infection, and the serum is found, after heating, to 

 retain a considerable measure of its power of inciting 

 phagocytosis. In a series of experiments with normal 

 he.ited sera the index varied between 000 and o. 125; 

 whilst in experiments conducted with the heated sera 

 of patients with tubercular infections the index ranged 

 from 009 to 1-7. These figures are obtained by com- 

 parison of their phagocytic count with that obtained 

 with unheatcd pooled blood of healthy men. 



In a previous paper (Roy. Soc. Proc, vol. Ixxiv., p. 

 157), Dr. Wright suggested that the fact that the 

 actual focus of infection had a lowered " bacterio- 

 tropic pressure " as regards the offending micro- 

 organism might be employed in the diagnosis of 

 abscesses or effusions of a doubtful nature, the infer- 

 ence being that the fluid has w-ashed over these 

 bacteria at the site of infection, and has thus been 

 deprived of its antibacterial substances. In this paper 

 an interesting and convincing series of cases is given 

 showing the practical value of this method of 

 diagnosis of tubercle. Further justification for this 

 would seem to be furnished in the proof of the 

 " specificity " of opsonins for given bacteria as 

 demonstrated bv Dr. Bulloch in a recent number of 

 I he Proceedings of the Royal Society. 



The same number of the Proceedings of the Royal 

 Society contains a further' paper by the same authors 

 on " Spontaneous Phagocytosis," and on the phago- 

 cytosis which is obtained with the heated serum of 

 patients who have responded to tubercular infection. 

 Under the first heading the authors investigate the 

 question of the phagocytosis which occurs in the 

 absence of serum; under the second, the question as 

 to the nature of the " incitor element " referred to 

 above as being present in the heated blood derived 

 from patients who have responded to the tubercular 

 infection, or, as the case may be, to the inoculation of 

 a tubercle vaccine. 



As the result of searching experiments, the authors 

 conclude that the " incitor element " is not a 

 " stimulin " which affects the white blood corpuscles, 

 but an opsonin which enters into combination with 

 bacteria. They further conclude in this matter, in 

 agreement with the previous work of Dr. Dean (Proc. 

 Roy. Soc, B., vol. Ixxvi.), that the substance in ques- 

 tion does not differ with respect to its resistance to 

 heat and sunlight from that which is found in the 

 unheated normal serum. 



That the opsonins are eminently heliolabile is also 

 of great practical import, for a blood allowed to lie 

 in the sunlight preparatory to its examination for 

 opsonins is entirely spoilt, as is shown bv experiment 

 in the present paper. 



As regards spontaneous phagocytosis an important 

 fact was arrived at, namely, that it is in the lowest 

 salt concentrrftions (0-6 per cent. NaCl) that phago- 

 cytic activity is greatest, whilst it is practically 

 abolished by a concentration of more than 1.2 per 

 cent. 



Another experiment of practical moment is worthy 

 of mention. When dealing with heated sera, which, 

 as we saw above, may be used as aids to diagnosis, 

 it is. very important that the same conditions should 

 exist in every case, for the phagocytosis occurring 

 after the serum had been exposed to various tempera- 

 tures for varying periods was found to differ con- 

 siderably. Tlius a fixed temperature (60° C.) for a 

 fixed period (10 minutes) should always be employed 

 in the exploitation of this method of diagnosis. 



NO. 1915, VOL. 74] 



The Mackinnon slurjentships for the year 1906-1907 have 

 been awarded by the Royal Society to Mr. W. G. Duf- 

 ficld, " for the study of arc spectra of metals under high 

 pressures"; and to Dr. F. II. Srott. " for the continuation 

 of studies on the nature of the process of excitation < 

 nerve c(;|l'i.' 



The arrangements for the international celebration of 

 the jubilee of the coal-tar industry to which attention has 

 been directed in these columns are now well advanced, and 

 a very representative gathering of foreign chemists will 

 assemble in London on July 2f)-27 in honour of Dr. Perkin 

 and his work. As might have been expected in view of 

 the great development of the industry in Germany, that 

 country will send a very strong body of delegates. Among 

 those who have already accepted invitations are Prof. 

 Emil Fischer, representing the German Chemical Society ; 

 Drs. Duisberg and Delbriick, representing the "Verein 

 Deutscher ("heniiker " ; Drs. Hotlinger (Elberfeld), II. Caro 

 (Mannheim), IChrhardl (B.adische Co.), Kall4 (Biebrich), 

 Klingemann (Cassella and Co.), H. Erdmann (Charlotten- 

 burg Technical High School), Kremers, Lepslus (Gries- 

 heim), Raschig (Ludwigshafen), Mbhlau (Dresdenj, Gustav 

 Schultz (Munich) ; and Drs. Bablich, Liebert, de Kidder, 

 .Mbrecht Schmidt, and Ullrich, representing the Hochst 

 colour works. It is probable that Prof. Liebermann and 

 Drs. v. Martius and Bernthsen will also be present. From 

 France, M. Gautier, president of the Chemical Society of 

 Paris, and Prof. Haller will represent their society. Profs. 

 Etard, Moureu, and Guyot will also attend as representa- 

 tives of France. Holland will be represented by Profs. 

 HoUeman and van Romburgh, Austria by Prof. Friedlander, 

 and Switzerland by Prof. Hans Rupe. America, as already 

 announced, proposes to have an independent celebration in 

 the autumn, but will also participate in the general inter- 

 national movement. The American delegates have not yet 

 been nominated. At the banquet on July 26 all the foreign 

 delegates will be present as guests, and it is hoped that the 

 chemists of this country will attend in large numbers. At 

 the meeting at the Royal Institution on July 26 Dr. 

 Perkin will receive the Hofmann medal of the German 

 Chemical Society and the Lavoisier medal of the Chemical 

 Society of Paris, besides numerous addresses from the 

 learned and technical societies. Among the names of 

 officials and public men who have so far responded to the 

 invitation to attend the banquet are Lords Kelvin, Rayleigh. 

 and Alverstone, the German Ambassador, the Right Hon. 

 R. B. Haldane, Mr. Justice Buckley, Sir Wm. Broadbent 

 and Sir Arthur Rucker. All applications for tickets for ihe 

 dinner and ottier functions should be addressed to Dr. 

 J. C. Cain, 28 Pembury Road, Clapton, N.E. As the 

 gathering is expected to be a very large one, it is desirable 

 that those proposing to be present should communicate at 

 once with Dr. Cain so that the necessary arrangements 

 for their accommodation may be made. 



There are now on exhibition at the London Hippodrome 

 three microcephalic girls stated to have come from Mexico. 

 I'ke the famous Maximo and Bartola, who toured the world 

 some fifty years ago and were described to the Ethnological 

 Society by Sir Richard Owen. The present specimens are 

 said to be members of an almost extinct race closely allied 

 to simians ; but microcephaly is not associated with any 

 particular rare, and the information was probably suggested 

 by the statements made as to the origin of the earlier 

 pair. Although they are often monkey-like, the micro- 

 cephalics are not technically simian in their characteristics; 

 in some cases they have a small vocabulary, in others they 



