Maech 22, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



455 



Total sulphates were decreased during the 

 alcohol period about 36 per cent. After 

 alcohol was discontinued the urinary chlo- 

 rides returned to the normal. The phos- 

 phates likewise increased in amount, but at 

 the end of ten days the daily total was 

 about 15 per cent, below the daily average 

 for the control period. 



A Study of the Effects of Cerium Salts 

 and of Salts of Some Belated Metals: 

 George Baehr and Harry Wessler. 

 Cerium oxalate was administered to dogs 

 in relatively large doses for days, occasion- 

 ally as much as 50 grams at a dose, without 

 eliciting any symptoms beyond a slight in- 

 crease in the amount of feces evacuated 

 daily, a symptom following the administra- 

 tion of any inert powder in large quanti- 

 ties. The oxalates of neodymium, praseo- 

 dymium, lanthanum and thorium, all of 

 which are associated as impurities in com- 

 mercial cerium oxalate, were also abso- 

 lutely non-toxic. As to the eiSciency of 

 cerium oxalate in alleviating vomiting, 

 when induced artificially by drugs acting 

 either locally on the gastric mucosa or cen- 

 trally on the medulla, our results up to 

 date are not conclusive enough to permit 

 us to decide, but apparently, except in 

 large doses, it has little or no influence on 

 vomiting. The action of cerium oxalate 

 seems to be simply mechanical and local on 

 the gastric membrane. Cerium nitrate, as a 

 soluble salt, combines readily with protein 

 and when injected hypodermically in dogs, 

 a large ulcer was always formed around the 

 site of injection. Besides this, a few days 

 after the injection intense gastro-intestinal 

 disturbances occurred, such as vomiting 

 and diarrhea which was sometimes very 

 bloody. The autopsies showed an unusual 

 violence of the gastric and intestinal peris- 

 talsis and an empty gut, the mucous mem- 

 brane of which was markedly congested 

 and in places ecchymotic. The assumption 



is justifiable that at least a large part of 

 the cerium in such cases must be eliminated 

 from the body through the alimentary 

 tract. 



The Solubility of Acetanilide, Phenacetine, 

 Caffeine and Salol in Several Organic 

 Solvents: Atherton Seidell. 

 The author has determined the solubility 

 at room temperature of these common con- 

 stituents of headache powders in acetone, 

 benzene, benzaldehyde, amyl alcohol, amyl 

 acetate, aniline, acetic acid, xylene and 

 toluene. Salol may be removed almost 

 completely from a mixture of all four of 

 the substances by either toluene, xylene or 

 benzene, and acetanilide and phenacetine 

 can be removed fairly satisfactorily from 

 their mixtures with caffeine by means of 

 amyl alcohol or acetate. 



The Effect of Caffeine on the Contractions 

 of the Different Parts of the Ureter: 

 D. R. Lucas. 



Medium-sized dogs were narcotized by 

 subcutaneous injections of 0.006 gm. of 

 morphine and 0.001 gm. of atropine per kilo 

 of body weight. Venous perfusion of one 

 per cent, caffeine sulphate in Ringer's solu- 

 tion caused the pressure in the renal pelvis 

 to rise steadily ; the tracing was surmounted 

 by small curves, the rise in pressure con- 

 tinued for thirty to ninety seconds, 

 the pressure in the straight portion re- 

 mained unaltered, until at the end of the 

 time indicated a sudden reversal of pres- 

 sure took place, several smaller variations 

 from normal pressure followed in both 

 parts of the ureter, and the relative pres- 

 sure in the different parts was finally rees- 

 tablished. However, the frequency of con- 

 tractions in each portion continued at an 

 increased rate. The stimulating effect of 

 caffeine on the ureter was studied in a series 

 of experiments which were planned en- 

 tirely to eliminate the factor of renal secre- 



