October 22, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



391 



yearling beef steers were subjected to low planes 

 of nutrition. The extreme low plane involved a 

 loss of 81.5 kilos in body weight, or 30 per cent. 

 This included a loss of 44.3 kilos of fat and 10.9 

 kilos of protein. The total fat in the animal was 

 reduced from 18 to 2 per cent. The skeletal fat 

 even was reduced to 2.9 per cent., showing extreme 

 emaciation. Not only was there a loss in total 

 body protein but the flesh suffered depletion in 

 total nitrogen from 3.58 per cent, to 3.18 per cent., 

 amounting to 10 per cent, of the normal. The 

 water content of the flesh was normal. The sol- 

 uble nitrogen and albumins were reduced one 

 third. The per cent, of extractive nitrogen was 

 lowered 10 per cent, as was also the concentration 

 per 100 grams water. The relation of extractives 

 to total protein remained constant. A storage of 

 body protein was indicated since the muscle fibers 

 retained their structure and general form. 



Scurvy in poultry: J. S. Hughes and F. E. Fox. 



The relation of the vitamins content of feed to 

 the vitamine content of milk 'produced: J. S. 

 Hughes and J. B. Fitch. 



Studies in embryo-chemistry. (1) The enzymes 

 of the embryonic pancreas. A. Lipase: Victor E. 

 Levine and Eben J. Carey. Pig embryos ranging 

 from 45 to 260 millimeters were employed. The 

 pancreas was removed from the embryo, the total 

 number of organs per litter weighed, triturated 

 and made up with mammalian Einger solution, the 

 salts of which have an accelerating or activating 

 effect upon lipase. The preparation was eentri- 

 fuged and the supernatant liquid used. The dilu- 

 tion was such that 1 e.e. was equivalent to 10 mg. 

 tissue. The gall bladder and contents were also 

 removed, ground and diluted with distilled water. 

 Blood was obtained from the umbilical vein. 

 Ethyl butyrate or olive oil was used as substrate. 

 Controls were kept with substrate, enzyme prepa- 

 ration, bile, bile and enzyme, blood, blood and 

 enzyme. After an incubation period of 18 hours 

 at 37.5° C. the flasks were titrated with n/70NaOH, 

 using phenolphthaleiu as indicator. Titrations 

 with olive oil were made in 50 per cent, alcohol. 

 "With an increase in the age of the embryo there 

 was observed not only an increase in the lipolytic 

 activity due to the increased weight of the organ, 

 but also an increased activity per milligram of 

 tissue. The gall bladder showed the presence of 

 ■bile salts at a very early stage, for striking ac- 

 celerations in the lipolytic process were demon- 

 strable. The efiiect of bile salts on lipolysis is far 



more sensitive a test for these salts than any 

 purely chemical one. Embryonic blood was found 

 to contain an accelerator second in vigor to the 

 bile salts. The increased activity can not be as- 

 cribed to an enzyme present in blood, since whole 

 blood or serum after long boiling is stUl effective. 

 The accelerating substance corresponds to auxo-li- 

 pase in the blood of the adult. 



A new test for sugar in the urine: Victor E. 

 Levine. A solution of 2 per cent, sodium tellurite 

 in 10 per cent, sodium carbonate is the reagent 

 employed. The reaction involves the reduction of 

 the tellurite to elemental tellurium. With small 

 amounts of sugar the free tellurium forms a col- 

 loidal solution, which is a characteristic brown in 

 direct light and a gray black in reflected light; 

 with large amounts a gray black precipitate of 

 tellurium results. The test is carried out by heat- 

 ing for several minutes 5 c.c. reagent with 1 to 

 2 c.c. urine. Carbohydrates possessing a free 

 carbonyl group respond to the test. Pentoses 

 (arabinose, rhamnose, xylose) ; hexoses (glucose, 

 fructose, galactose) ; dihexoses (lactose, maltose), 

 give positive reactions. Sucrose, rafiinose and poly- 

 saccharides (cellulose, glycogen, inulin, starch), 

 glycoproteins, nueleoproteins and cerebrosides re- 

 duce only after hydrolysis and subsequent neutra- 

 lization. Aldehydes and ketones do not cause 

 reduction of alkaline tellurite. Formic acid, 

 chloroform, nucleoprotein, thymol, uric acid and 

 creatinine also do not interfere with the test. 



Disodium phosphate is a specific catalyst for the 

 quantitative oxidation of glucose to CO.^ with Bfi^ 

 at 37° : Edgar J. Witzemann. W. Lob (Biochem. 

 Zt. 32: 43 (1911)) claimed to have shown by in- 

 adequate methods that mixtures of 1/3 M solutions 

 of Na^HPOi ajid NaH,PO., having the OH ion 

 concentration of normal blood, catalyse the oxida- 

 tion of glucose with H,0:. It was found that glu- 

 cose, and its transformation products, may be 

 determined quantitatively by oxidizing them to 

 CO, with KMnOj first in hot alkaline solution and 

 afterwards in H.SO, solution. By this method 

 Lob 's statements were conclusively proved. More- 

 over it was shown that the glucose not recovered 

 by the KMnOj method, after the H2O2 oxidation, 

 could be recovered during the oxidation as COj. 

 The oxidation of glucose to CO2 with HnOj at 37° 

 C. in the presence of the phosphate mixture is 

 quantitative. The Na-HPOi is the active com- 

 pound in the system and in this instance functions 

 as a true oxidizing enzyme without having any 

 other characteristic property of an enzyme. NaOH, 



