178 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1391 



and also under those of fatty degeneration. The 

 large number of contradictory findings concerning 

 the presence or absence of enzymes in the kidney 

 and the inability of investigators to find normals 

 for this tissue rest upon the failure on their part 

 to consider the kidney with reference to its ana- 

 tomical regions. 



TJric acid and phenols in the saliva: M. X. Sul- 

 livan and Paul E. Davidson. Salivas collected in 

 30 minutes under stimulus of chewing parafSn 

 were freed from protein by treatment with 10 

 per cent, trichloracetic acid followed by 10 per 

 cent, sodium tungstate in 2/3 N HiSOj and were 

 then tested for uric acid and phenol. The uric 

 acid precipitated by silver lactate in 5 per cent, 

 lactic acid, after appropriate treatment, was esti- 

 mated colorimetrically. The phenols in the fil- 

 trate from silver urate, after appropriate treat- 

 ment, were estimated colorimetrically with resor- 

 cinol as standard. Both uric acid (urates) and 

 phenols (free and conjugated) were found in nor- 

 mal saliva and in the saliva of pellagra patients. 



Extraction and estimation of lipoids in cereal 

 products: O. S. Ease and I. K. Phelps. Ether 

 extracts from cereal products, raw or cooked, do 

 not represent their total lipoid content (fatty 

 matter). A preliminary treatment of such prod- 

 ucts by an ammoniacal alcohol solution and a sub- 

 sequent extraction by a mixture of ethyl ether 

 and petroleum ethers in a manner similar to that 

 specified in the Eoese-Gotlieb method for fat in 

 milk, yields higher results which appear to repre- 

 sent more nearly the true lipoid content of cereal 

 products. Ether extracts of uncooked cereal prod- 

 ucts represent on the average 65 to 70 per cent. 

 of the results obtained by the above procedure. 



Estimation of phospholipins in cereal products: 

 O. S. Ease and I. K. Phelps. A further study 

 of the lipoids referred to in the preceding abstract 

 indicates that they contain all phospholipins pres- 

 ent in cereal products and the lipoid phosphorus 

 of cereals may be estimated by determining the 

 phosphorus content of their lipoids thus obtained. 



Besemtlance of the thermal death point of bac- 

 teria to chemical reaction: W. D. Bigelow. The 

 data presented by W. D. Bigelow and J. E. Baty 

 in the Jov/rnal of Infectious Diseases for Decem- 

 ber, 1920, can be expressed in the form of semilog 

 curves which are straight lines between the tem- 

 peratures of 105° and 125° C. At higher tem- 

 peratures the experimental evidence is inconclu- 

 sive because of error produced by the time required 

 for heat to penetrate to the center of the tubes. 



For this reason the time secured by extending the 

 semilog curves mentioned above is more nearly 

 correct than the experimental data for tempera- 

 tures above 125° C. At temperatures below 105° 

 C. the time necessary for the destruction of spores 

 appears to be less than would be indicated by an 

 extension of the semilog curves. The semilog 

 curves showing the thermal death point of spores 

 of the fifteen bacteria referred to are all parallel 

 to each other. It is suggested that if other spores 

 follow the same law the position of the curve 

 showing the time necessary to destroy the spores 

 at various temperatures is fixed by the determina- 

 tion of the time at one temperature. It is sug- 

 gested that the thermal death point of non-spore- 

 bearing bacteria at different temperatures will 

 probably follow the same law or a similar law. 



The intensity of light necessary to initiate a 

 plwtochemical change in the retina: E. L. CHArrEE 

 and W. T. BoviE. This investigation concerns the 

 potential differences which are set up in the 

 retina when it is illuminated. An apparatus is 

 described in which the differences in potential 

 are amplified by audions through stages. An Ein^ 

 thoven galvanometer is used. The changes are re- 

 corded photographically. A single exposure gives 

 three distinct deflections. It was shown as a new 

 contribution that these deflections are greatly in- 

 fluenced by experimental conditions, such as the 

 length of time which has elapsed since the eye 

 has been excised. Over a range of intensities 

 which are very close to the threshold for human 

 vision the height of the first deflection is pro- 

 portional to the amplitude of the light vibration. 



An "antidote" for a "poisoned electrode" : 

 W. T. BoviE. 



Abiotic action of rays due to ozone and the heat 

 sensitization of protoplasm by ultra-violet light: 

 W. T. BoviE. The experiments concern the proc- 

 esses which take place in Paramecium caudatum 

 during the time between the exposure to fluorite 

 rays and the appearance of the first visible effects 

 of the radiation; that is, during the so-called 

 "latent period." The latent period is shorter 

 and the effects of the rays are more intense the 

 higher the temperature to which the organism is 

 raised and the longer the time the organism is 

 maintained at the higher temperature. No similar 

 effects are observed if the organism is subjected 

 to the increased temperature immediately before 

 the radiation instead of after it. 



Charles L. Parsons, 



Secretary 



