370 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1346 



Present day hypnotics, mth. comparative value and 

 uses. Qualities desired in hypnotics and present 

 research in this field. 



Sesearch on anesthetics : Koger Adams. Former 

 anesthetics and their uses and drawbacks. Transi- 

 tion from natural to improved synthetic products. 

 Qualifications of a good ajaesthetic and how the 

 problem is being solved. 



Improvements in the methods for arsenic esti- 

 mation: H. V. Farr. a very brief review of the 

 methods in present use is given. In addition to 

 this a variation in the Gutzeit method is outlined, 

 whereby the preliminary preparation of the chem- 

 ical in ordinary cases is eliminated. Sulphites, etc., 

 are oxidized by bromine and the arsenic subse- 

 quently reduced by potassium iodide, both of these 

 reactions being accomplished- within the reaction 

 cell while the test is going on, representing a very 

 great saving of time. In addition to this some 

 simple methods for removing metals which inter- 

 fere with the Gutzeit test are outlined, thus rend- 

 ering this method more widely applicable. A 

 gravimetric method for determining arsenic in the 

 metallic form where this metal is present in con- 

 siderable amounts is outlined. This is particularly 

 applica/ble in cases where the simpler volumetric 

 methods can not be used. 



The colorimetric estimation of adrenalin: Wil- 

 bur L. ScoviLLE. Solutions of adrenalin are nec- 

 essarily acid, if kept in stock, in order to preserve 

 the activity. This acid has a marked eifect upon 

 the color produced. The official process is de- 

 signed for the estimation of adrenalin in the dried 

 glands, and will apply to these, but is not satis- 

 factory for commercial solutions. A method is 

 given which is applicable to both, and which the 

 author considers preferable to the official process. 

 It is based upon Krauss 's method, using potassium 

 iodate as the oxidizing agent and pure adrenalin 

 as a standard. 



Stability of chloramine antiseptics: Jules 

 Bebie. In order to assure the greatest possible de- 

 gree of stability the chloramines must be produced 

 with a high degree of purity. Investigation ex- 

 tended over period of one year indicates that 

 chloramine-T in crystal and tablet form, by itself 

 or when mixed with NaHOOs is stable. Aqueous 

 solutions of chloramine-T alone or in mixture with 

 Na^COs or NaCl are also stable. Diehloramine-T 

 in powder form begins to deteriorate after about 

 three m'onths. The crystallized commercial prod- 

 uct, however, is stable for about 8 months, and 

 after 14 months shows only very slight degree of 



decomposition. Solutions of crystallized dichlora- 

 mine-T in chlorosane are fairly stable for a couple 

 of weeks. Halazone is fairly stable. Decompo- 

 sition after one year amounts to about 3 per cent. 



The determination of the melting point and free 

 salicylic acid content of acetylsalicylic acid: L. A. 

 Watt. A comparison of the methods in general 

 use for the determination of the melting point of 

 acetylsalicylic acid. The desirability of a uniform 

 procedure is emphasized by the variation in the 

 results obtained. For estimating the free salicylic 

 acid content, comparison with a set of standards 

 made from a mixed dye solution permits the close 

 approximation of the violet color produced by the 

 addition of ferric chloride to the acteylsalicylie 

 acid solution. 



The 'biologic methods for digitalis assay: Her- 

 bert C. Hamilton. The author questions the 

 relevancy of certain criticisms of biologic assay on 

 the ground that such an assay is limited in its 

 scope. Biologic assays are not to decide the ques- 

 tion of dosage nor the applicability of the drug 

 for any particular purpose nor does a biologic 

 assay merely record that a drug wiU kill an ani- 

 mal and permit the inference that the drug is 

 standardized. A biologic assay is a comparison of 

 the sample in question with a similar preparation 

 of known activity. The comparison of effects is 

 made on some test animal which responds to the 

 action of the drug in so characteristic a manner 

 that the effect is measurable. The proposed meth- 

 ods for digitalis with their advantages and dis- 

 advantages are described at length in order to 

 emphasize the scope and limitations of the biologic 

 assay of the digitalis series. 



Charles L. Parsons, 



Secretary 

 {To he continued) 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of 

 Science, publishing the official notices and pro- 

 ceedings of the Americein Associatioi! for 

 the Advancement of Science 



Published every Friday by 



THE SCIENCE PRESS 



LANCASTER, PA. GARRISON, N. Y. 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



Entered ia tLe post-office at LoDCSEtzr, Pa., as second class matter 



