March 22, 1907] 



SCIENCE. 



459 



hibition of 66.5 per cent, in the production 

 of acid. Slight variations were noted with 

 different extracts. Similarly we have 

 found that the presence of 6 mg. of sodium 

 fluoride in a kilo of meat can readily be 

 detected by using the boiled aqueous ex- 

 tract of the meat in diluting the extract. 

 In some cases, as with grain and beer, it is 

 necessary to ash the product in order to 

 concentrate the fluoride and destroy cer- 

 tain organic substances which when present 

 in large quantities inhibit the action of the 

 enzyme. A more detailed account of these 

 experiments will soon appear. 



The Elimination of Radium in Normal and 

 Nephrectomized Animals: Wm. Salant 

 and GusTAVE M. Meyer. 

 Eadium bromide was injected subcutane- 

 ously into dogs, and normal and nephrecto- 

 mized rabbits. The bile, feces and intes- 

 tinal contents of a dog provided with a 

 permanent and complete gall bladder 

 fistula were found radioactive two hours 

 after the injection of radium. Radium 

 bromide was also injected into a dog with a 

 temporary biliary fistula under ether nar- 

 cosis. The urine, bile, and contents of the 

 small intestine were radioactive. Radium 

 was not found in the contents of the large 

 intestine. The gastric contents of these 

 two dogs failed to show the presence of 

 radium. The elimination of radium in 

 rabbits takes place all along the intestinal 

 tract, but not in the stomach. In one of 

 the nephrectomized rabbits radium was 

 absent in the contents of the large intes- 

 tine. The presence of radium was deter- 

 mined by the electrometer. The materials 

 tested were heated to destroy induced 

 radioactivity. 



A Study of the Elimination of Casein in 



the Bile: Wm. Salant. 



Hallauer and Giirber claim to have 

 found large quantities of casein in the bile 

 of rabbits after injection. The elimina- 



tion of native or foreign proteids in the 

 bile has recently been made the subject 

 of several investigations. Brauer claims 

 to have found albumin in the bile of the 

 dog after poisoning with amyl alcohol. 

 Pilzecker states that large quantities of 

 albumin are found in the bile of dogs 

 poisoned with phosphorus or arsenic. Hal- 

 lauer and Giirber injected intravenously a 

 solution of caseia into rabbits; the bile of 

 these animals when tested with rennin 

 showed the presence of casein soon after 

 its administration. A critical analysis of 

 these results convinced the writer that the 

 subject needs further study before the con- 

 clusion may be drawn that proteins, native 

 or foreign, are eliminated in the bile. Ac- 

 cordingly a series of experiments was 

 carried out on dogs and rabbits into which 

 milk or casein, or both, were injected in- 

 travenously and the bile was then tested 

 for casein, in the way indicated above, with 

 the result that none has been found. In 

 some experiments 20 gm. of casein dis- 

 solved in sodium carbonate were injected 

 intravenously into dogs. The bile was ex- 

 amined at short intervals for the next ten 

 to twelve hours and failed to show the 

 presence of casein. 



A Study of the Conditions affecting Zy- 

 molysis: Wm. N. Berg and Wm. J. Gibs. 

 Peptolysis of either fibrin, edestin or 

 elastin is quantitatively unequal in a series 

 of aqueous solutions of different acids 

 under any uniform digestive conditions. 

 Striking disparities in the velocity, quality 

 and extent of digestion of these proteina 

 occur in solutions of common acids, whether 

 the acids are present in the solutions in 

 equal masses (equipercentage), or in equal 

 numbers of acid molecules (equimolecular), 

 hydrogen atoms (equinormal), or hydro- 

 gen tows (equidissociated). Tryptolysis of 

 fibrin or elastin is markedly unequal in 

 equivalent solutions of bases. Among the 



