G18 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Gianuzzi’s crescents. This, however, the author regards as only proving 
that it is the granules of secreting cells, and the nature of their respec- 
tive secretions, which are to be relied on in determining specific differ- 
ences. 
In his concluding paragraphs, the author urges the necessity of lay- 
ing more stress upon the way in which the fluid secretion arises from 
the solid cell contents, and discusses his results in the light of this 
point. In mucous cells, albuminous cells, pancreatic cells, and the cen- 
tral cells of the gastric glands, the secretory granules in the resting state 
are peripheral. lu the parietal cells of gastric glands they are central, 
and their conversion there into fluid gives rise to the characteristic intra- 
cellular capillaries. 
Distribution of Phosphorus in Tissues.* * * § — Dr. A. B. Macallum gives 
some account of the results of the application of his method (see p. 686) 
for detecting phosphorus-containing compounds in animal and vegetable 
cells. In cells in general the chromatin of the nucleus gives a marked 
phosphorus reaction, while eosinophilous nucleoli give a similar but less 
well marked reaction, and the cytoplasm of most cells gives a very slight 
indication. To this last statement exceptions are found in liver cells ; 
in ovarian ova of Amphibia, in which, however, the phosphorus is taken 
up by the yolk-splierules as these develop ; in the spermatozoa of Asca- 
ris ; and in other cases. 
Connections between Unstriped Muscle-cells.f — Herr J. Schaffer 
maintains that these elements are not connected either by amorphous 
cementing substance or by intercellular bridges like those in epithelium. 
The intercellular connective substance is a fibrous alveolar reticulum 
with sparse nuclei, directly associated with adjacent fibrillar connective 
tissue. 
c. General. 
Nocturnal Plankton of the Lake of Geneva.^ — Prof. H. Blanc re- 
lates his experience showing that the Entomostraca which form the great 
mass of the plankton in the Lake of Geneva are more abundant at the 
. surface during the night than during the day. They migrate at night 
from the deeper to the more superficial layers. The nocturnal multipli- 
cation of such organisms as Ceratium hirundinella may have something 
to do with it. 
Planktonlof the Red' Sea.§ — Dr. A. Steuer gives a preliminary ac- 
count of the pelagic fauna of this region, stating the relative abundance 
of the diverse constituents. His results go to show the fundamental im- 
portance of the currents in determining the distribution of the animals. 
Plankton of Norwegian Lakes. || — Herr Hartvig Huifeldt-Kaas has 
an interesting paper on this subject. His observations extended over 
thirty-three lakes, and in three cases the annual periodicity of the 
plankton was determined. He finds that in the general case the surface 
life, both in actual amount and in number of species, decreases with an 
* Proc. Roy. Soc. Loncl., lxiii. (1898) pp. 475-9. 
t Anat. Anzeig., xv. (1898) pp. 36-41. 
X Bull. Soc. Vaud. Sci. Nat., xxxiv. (1898) pp. 225-30 (1 chart). 
§ SB. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, cvi. (1897) pp. 407-24 (1 map). 
II Biol. Centralbl., xviii. (1898) pp. 625-36. 
