Published Science

A CONVINCING theory of human origins must clarify man's relationships with living primates and with the ancestral forms known only through fossils. Phylogenetic relationships have previously been determined mainly by anatomical similarities, but now, biochemical similarities provide independent criteria for evolutionary relationships. Albumin and transferrin immunology, immunodifrusion, DNA annealing and amino acid analysis all indicate that chimpanzees, gorillas and humans share a substantial common ancestry, and that the Asiatic apes (gibbons and orangutans) diverged earlier from this lineage1–3. These findings directly conflict with the more widely held view that all the great apes diverged from a common ancestor long after the ‘Origin’ of the evolutionary line leading to modern humans4. The molecular data consistently suggest a much more recent origin of the man–chimpanzee–gorilla separation than was previously imagined, namely, in the range of 4–6 M yr ago3,5. These data show that, although the two chimpanzee species (Pan paniscus and P. troglodytes) are biochemically distinct, they are more closely related to each other than either is to humans or gorillas6,7. The chimpanzees speciated, then, after the initial three-way split. We therefore, here contend that, among living species, the pygmy chimpanzee (P. paniscus) offers us the best prototype of the prehominid ancestor. Biochemical, morphological, behavioural and palaeontological data support this proposition and argue for a relatively recent and accelerated divergence of the hominid from the pongid line.

The pituitary-thyroid axis was investigated in nineteen euthyroid patients with severe diabetic ketoacidosis. A 'low T3 syndrome' was found, with the following characteristics: lowered serum concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3), increased reverse triiodothyronine (rT3), slightly low thyroxine (T4), normal thyrotrophin (TSH), slightly increased triiodothyronine uptake (RT3U) values, and a blunted TSH response to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH). These disturbances in thyroid-function tests required several days good control of the diabetes to be corrected, at least partially. The data suggest the presence of an abnormal extrathyroidal T4 metabolism as well as a pituitary defect. Caution is recommended in the interpretation of thyroid-function tests during and several days after the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis.

The effects of chronic ketosis on cerebral metabolism were determined in adult rats maintained on a high-fat diet for approximately three weeks and compared to a control group of animals. The fat-fed rats had statistically significantly lower blood glucose concentrations and higher blood beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate concentrations; higher brain concentrations of bound glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, pyruvate, lactate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, citrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, alanine, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP); lower brain concentrations of fructose 1,6-diphosphate, aspartate, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), creatine, cyclic nucleotides, succinyl coenzyme A (CoA), acid-insoluble CoA, and total CoA; and similar brain concentrations of glucose, malate, calculated oxaloacetate, glutamate, glutamine, adenosine monophosphate, phosphocreatine, reduced CoA, acetyl CoA, sodium, potassium, chloride, and water content. The metabolite data in the chronically ketotic rats demonstrate an increase in the cerebral energy reserve and energy charge. These data also suggest negative modification of the enzymes phosphofructokinase, pyruvic dehydrogenase, and alpha-ketoglutaric dehydrogenase; positive modification of glycogen synthase; and possible augmentation of the hexose transport system. There was no demonstrable difference in brain pH, water content, or electrolytes in the two groups of animals. We speculate that the increased brain ATP/ADP ratio is central to most, if not all, the observed metabolic perturbations and may account for the increased neuronal stability that accompanies chronic ketosis.

The nutritional status of members of a lacto-ovo vegetarian Trappist community was studied. Body weights and heights were normal. An analysis of four weeks' menus showed that, for the most part, sufficient nutrients were provided. A 24-hr. dietary recall revealed that a number of the subjects had low intakes of some nutrients, particularly the B-vitamins and calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. Improvement in the nutritional intakes and resulting nutritional status of the men must rely on an availability of accurate educational materials and each individual's determination to gain the knowledge needed to make a wiser selection of food.

45 obese subjects were fed a high-carbohydrate, relatively low-fat, or a low-carbohydrate, relatively high-fat 1,000-calorie (4.14MJ) formula diet. The diet provided for an isoenergetic substitution of 170 g of carbohydrates for 75 g of fat. Weight reduction up to day 30 was significantly higher in the subjects on the carbohydrate-restricted diet. There were no significant differences between the water and electrolyte balances. The mean total weight reduction achieved on the high-carbohydrate diet was 9.8 +/- 4.5kg with a mean daily weight loss of 298 +/- 80g, while the corresponding values on the carbohydrate-restricted diet were 14 +/- 7.2 kg and 362 +/- 91 g/day, respectively.

We examined the hypothesis that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle promotes the development of atherogenic dyslipidemia, associated with the metabolic syndrome, by altering the distribu-tion pattern of postprandial energy storage. Following ingestion of two high carbohydrate mixed meals, net muscle glycogen synthe-sis was reduced by Ϸ60% in young, lean, insulin-resistant subjects compared with a similar cohort of age–weight– body mass index– activity-matched, insulin-sensitive, control subjects. In contrast, hepatic de novo lipogenesis and hepatic triglyceride synthesis were both increased by \textgreater2-fold in the insulin-resistant subjects. These changes were associated with a 60% increase in plasma triglyceride concentrations and an Ϸ20% reduction in plasma high-density lipoprotein concentrations but no differences in plasma concentrations of TNF-␣, IL-6, adiponectin, resistin, retinol binding protein-4, or intraabdominal fat volume. These data dem-onstrate that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, due to decreased muscle glycogen synthesis, can promote atherogenic dyslipidemia by changing the pattern of ingested carbohydrate away from skeletal muscle glycogen synthesis into hepatic de novo lipogen-esis, resulting in an increase in plasma triglyceride concentrations and a reduction in plasma high-density lipoprotein concentrations. Furthermore, insulin resistance in these subjects was independent of changes in the plasma concentrations of TNF-␣, IL-6, high-molecular-weight adiponectin, resistin, retinol binding protein-4, or intraabdominal obesity, suggesting that these factors do not play a primary role in causing insulin resistance in the early stages of the metabolic syndrome.

The growth velocities (weight and length) of vegetarian preschool children were compared to norms established from the Harvard growth study. At first measurement vegetarian subjects weighed less and were shorter than expected from Harvard standards. Growth velocities of children under 2 years of age were depressed, while among those over the age of 2 growth velocities were generally comparable to Harvard norms. Vegetarian boys over age 2 exhibited a higher mean weight velocity. Macrobiotics' mean weight and length velocities were not significantly different from those of nonmacrobiotics before age 2. However, the mean weight velocity of macrobiotics over age 2 was significantly greater than the mean weight velocity of nonmacrobiotics over 2 years. Low growth velocities of vegetarian children are more apparent in infants under the age of 2. When breast-feeding, possibly inadequate supplemental feeding may be present past 6 months of age. Since it is then that the velocities are more likely to be depressed, this may be the most appropriate time for surveillance and possible intervention.

The author questions "the bran hypothesis" that a deficiency of natural fiber--wheat bran in particular--is responsible for a number of prevalent diseases in Western societies, namely diverticular disease, cancer of the colon, gallstones, and myocardial disease. In re-examining the hypothesis, he cites reports which fail to support the theory. For instance, the incidence of diverticular disease in women has increased since 1925, yet there is no evidence that their diets have changed or are different from those of men. Also, it is a mistake to equate wheat bran with fiber in general, and it cannot be shown that dietary fiber in general has declined. In addition, clinical studies have failed to show beneficial results in treating diverticular disease and irritable colon by adding bran to the diet. Similar problems arise in testing the hypothesis that natural fiber can prevent cancer of the colon and lower serum cholesterol and triglycerides. Recent interest in dietary fiber is welcome, for it has been grossly neglected, but much research is still needed to place it in proper perspective.

1. Three experiments were conducted on the ability of cats to utilize dietary carbohydrates. In two experiments, the digestibilities of carbohydrates were measured by the chromic oxide-marker technique using a balanced Latin-Square allocation of treatments: in the third experiment, the effect of age and diet on the activity of intestinal β-galactosidase (lactase) (EC 3.2.1.23) and β-fructofuranosidase (sucrase) (EC 3.2.1.26) of kittens was measured.2. In Expt 1 the digestibilities of six individual carbohydrates, glucose, sucrose, lactose, dextrin, raw maize starch and wood cellulose added to a meat-based basal diet were measured.3. In Expt 2, a similar meat-based basal diet was used and the effect of three processing methods (fine and coarse grinding, and cooking) on the apparent digestibility of the starch in maize and wheat grain was measured.4. In Expt 3 the effects of the inclusion of either 200 g lactose or 200 g sucrose/kg in an all-meat diet and of age on the β-galactosidase and β-fructofuranosidase activities of the small intestine of weanling kittens were measured.5. Adult cats efficiently (> 0.94) digested all six individual carbohydrates added to the diet with the exception of cellulose, which was indigestible. The digestibility coefficients of glucose, sucrose and lactose were significantly (P < 0.01) greater than that of starch. The inclusion of lactose caused diarrhoea in some cats and significantly (P

I. Two experiments were done with Pietrain and Large White pigs (about 50 kg body-weight) to determine whether fat mobilization is enhanced in the stress-sensitive Pietrains (which also produce pale, soft, exudative (PSE) meat). 2. In Expt I, plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations and composition were measured in five Pietrains and five Large Whites after feeding, during an infusion of norepinephrine (2.5 microng/kg body-weight per min), 16 and 21 h after the withdrawal of food and following insulin administration (0.3 IU/kg body-weight). The entry rate of oleic acid was measured 4 h after feeding. Body composition and longissimus dorsi pH measurements were made on killing the pigs 4 d after the experiment. 3. After feeding, the Pietrans tended to have lower concentrations of glucose and insulin in plasma compared with the Large Whites, and higher concentrations of FFA. The Pietrans also had a faster entry rate of oleic acid into body tissues. In fasting (16 h) these differences in hormone and metabolite concentrations were also present and relationships between them and body development could be detected. Pietrains had higher concentrations of FFA and lower concentrations of insulin than Large Whites at a particular stage of the development of fat and muscle (subcutaneous fat weight divided by longissimus muscle weight). 4. The fatty acid composition of FFA resembled that of the backfat triglycerides in fasting and during norepinephrine infusion but not in the fed state. In particular the proportion of fatty acid 18:I was low in the fed pigs and that of 18:2 was high. The contrast in FFA composition between the fed and stimulated state was greater in the Large Whites. 5. The Pietrains were less sensitive to the antilipolytic action of insulin. Glucose and FFA concentrations were similar in both breeds during the norepinephrine infusion although insulin concentrations were increased to a larger extent in Large Whites at the termination of the infusion. 6. In Expt 2, anaesthetized Pietrain and Large White pigs were given constant infusions of norepinephrine alone (2.5 microng/kg body-weight per min) and norepinephrine + propranolol (2, 10 and 20 microng/kg body-weight per min) or phentolamine (2 and 10 microng/kg body-weight per min). The aim was to determine whether the breeds differed in their sensitivity to norepinephrine when conscious responses to the hormone were prevented. 7. When norepinephrine alone was infused, fat mobilization was greater in the Pietrain pigs and glucose concentrations were greater in the Large Whites. Propranolol markedly reduced the lipolytic action of norepinephrine, particularly in the Pietrain pigs studied, and phentolamine reduced its glycogenolytic action, particularly in the Large White pig. 8...

In a 28 week study, 18 racing sled dogs were trained to maximal fitness in 12 weeks, sustained through a racing season of 12 weeks, followed by gradual of training of 4 weeks. The dogs were fed a predominantly cereal diet prior to the study; experimental diets containing more chicken and meat by products were introduced from the 2nd to the 4th week of training. On an energy basis, the diets contained protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the proportions of 39:61:0 (diet A), 32:45:23 (diet B), and 28:34:38 (diet C). Blood samples were taken at rest just before the start of training, at 6, 12,24 and 28 weeks; 33 variables were measured on most samples. The results were subjected to analysis of variance. No adverse effects were observed in dogs fed the extreme diet A. Significant relationships to training were shown by serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, creatinine, packed cell volume, calcium, hemoglobin, and globulin. Serum cholesterol concentration increased with the introduction of the higher protein-fat diets; the high concentrations attenuated with time but rose again when training was abated. Dogs on diet A maintained higher serum concentrations of albumin, calcium, magnesium, and free fatty acids during the racing season than did dogs fed diets B or C. They also exhibited the greatest increases in red cell count, hemoglobin concentration, and packed cell volume during training. High values of red cell indices were not sustained through the racing season in dogs fed diet C. In addition to attributes already widely appreciated, viz. a higher energy density an digestibility, the carbohydrate-free, high-fat diet A appeared to confer advantages for prolonged strenuous running in terms of certain metabolic responses to training.

The metabolic consequences of two hypocaloric diets were assessed in 10 obese men. The study, performed on a metabolic ward, compared the response of these men to two cholesterol-free liquid formula diets of differing composition (10 kcal/kg per day, 70% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 10% fat versus 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbohydrate) but identical in calories. These were administered for 14 days in a random order and each diet was preceded by a 7-day control weight maintenance diet (30 kcal/kg per day, 40% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 40% fat). The low calorie diets were well tolerated by the men and effected similar losses of nonaqueous body weight. Fasting glucose and insulin decreased significantly in these men after they ingested either weight loss diet for 14 days, but the change in each parameter was greater for high fat as compared to high carbohydrate (15% versus 7% and 67% versus 35%, respectively, P less than 0.01). In contrast, fasting glucagon concentration decreased in these subjects to a greater extent in response to the high carbohydrate diet (35% versus 16%, P less than 0.01). This adaptive response thus resulted in a 50% fall in insulin:glucagon molar ratio for high fat and no change for high carbohydrate weight loss. Despite these hormonal alterations no change in glucose tolerance was observed. Fasting serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels declined in these subjects to a greater extent following the high fat compared to the high carbohydrate regimen (45% versus 28%, P less than 0.01 and 8% versus 3%, not significant, respectively). These changes reflected decrements in very low density lipoproteins alone. Despite similar increments in free fatty acid levels, (350% versus 270%, not significant) serum ketone body (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) concentrations increased 7-fold on the high fat diet compared to the high carbohydrate diet, P less than 0.001. The hyperketonemia of these men in response to the high fat, low calorie diet suggested the occurrence of a shift in hepatic free fatty acid metabolism toward ketogenesis rather than triglyceride synthesis. The associated decrease in the insulin: glucagon molar ratio raised the question of a possible role for these hormones in the adaptation.

Measurements of serum thyroid hormones were compared in 22 patients with typical anorexia nervosa and 22 euthyroid control subjects. Serum total triiodothyronine (T3) was (mean +/- (SE) 62.1 +/- 7.1 ng/100 ml in anorexia patients and 115.2 +/- 8.4 ng/100 ml in control subjects (P less than 0.001). Serum adjusted thyroxine (T4Adj) was significantly different in the anorexia (7.1 +/- 0.4) and control (8.2 +/- 0.4) groups. Serum T3 was subnormal in 63% and T4Adj subnormal in 36% of the 22 anorexia patients. The mean serum T4/T3 in anorexia patients (158 +/- 19) was higher than that in the control subjects (88 +/- 5.5, P less than 0.005) or in 18 patients with hypothalamic or pituitary hypothyroidism (77.9 +/- 10.1, P less than 0.001). Following weight gain in 6 anorexia patients, there was a significant rise in serum T3 without change in T4Adj concentration. The Achilles reflex half-relaxation time (ART) in 38 anorexia patients was 348.6 +/- 10 msec compared with 280 +/- 30 msec in 168 normal age-matched subjects (P less than 0.001), and was prolonged (greater than 340 msec) in 65% of these 38 patients. In 18 anorexia patients with measured ART, T3 and T4Adj, the mean ART was longer 376.1 +/- 20 msec) in 10 with subnormal T3 than in 8 patients with a normal T3 (294.7 +/- 13.2 msec, P less than 0.01). There was no significant difference in the mean ART between patients with a normal or low serum T4Adj. Administeration of oral T3 40 mug/day for 4 weeks to 11 anorexia patients caused a significant reduction (P less than 0.001) in mean ART of 108.7 +/- 9.6 msec compared with 17.7 +/- 3.3 msec in 18 normal subjects. There was a normal peak serum TSH and a rise in mean total serum T3 of 47 +/- 12 ng/100 ml (range 11-100 ng/ml) in 7 of 8 patients following 200 mug of iv thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). The fall in serum TSH was delayed in 6 patients. Assessment of hypothalamic control of thyroid function in 3 patients using the method of thyroidal iodide release (TIR) showed impairment of the normal diurnal variation and response to administered glucocorticoids. In the absence of a space-occupying pituitary lesion, the TRH and TIR data suggest a central inhibition of thyroid function, possibly by impairment of hypothalamic TRH release. In addition, a probable decrease of peripheral T4 to T3 conversion leads to low serum T3 concentrations. The prolonged basal ART and the marked ART reduction in response to T3 administration is attributed to correction of tissue thyroid hormone deficiency in the anorexia patients.

The American farm has never been as homogeneous or as stable as it appears in nostalgic recollection. Its historic emphasis on fee simple ownership by operating proprietors was nevertheless a marked departure from its feudal antecedent and remains relevant today. Farmers' desires for status and for managerial independence have not mitigated. They are subject to (1) changes, such as increase in size, that have no deep significance; and (2) other changes, such as increased dependence on nonfarm inputs, that bring more specialization of enterprise, including growing detachment of livestock (and poultry) farming from crop farming, and that make farming more sensitive to the terms of relationship with input-supplying as well as market industries. Encroachment of those industries via vertical integration (ownership or contract) along with internal growth of some farms to larger than family size gradually shrink the dominance of the traditional family farm. Even so, the most viable unit may be the part-time or retirement farm, which does not depend heavily on farm income. The ultimate question relates to what national policy is to be. Past policy has been ambivalent, and no clear direction for the future is to be seen.

Craniofacial Morphology of Pan Paniscus. A Morphometric and Evolutionary Appraisal

This book, intended in the first instance for readers in the USA, aims to dispel the myth that there is an absolute scarcity of food and to show that hunger is the product of a wrongly organized society. The arguments are put forward in a question-and-answer manner, touching upon such problems as the global limitations to agricultural land, rising world food prices, overpopulation, environmental...

The aboriginal diet of the Arctic Eskimo, which consisted mainly of land and sea mammals and fish, is analyzed with respect to its capacity to provide the nutrients now regarded as essential for nutritional health. It is concluded that, despite its remarkably restricted composition, the native diet is capable of furnishing all the essential nutritional elements when prepared and consumed according to traditional customs. However, its low carbohydrate and high protein content necessitated major metabolic adaptations in energy and nitrogen metabolism. Erosion of the traditional diet culture and life style has been accompanied by a decline in nutritional status. [Eskimo, diet, nutrition]

The aboriginal diet of the Arctic Eskimo, which consisted mainly of land and sea mammals and fish, is analyzed with respect to its capacity to provide the nutrients now regarded as essential for nutritional health. It is concluded that, despite its remarkably restricted composition, the native diet is capable of furnishing all the essential nutritional elements when prepared and consumed according to traditional customs. However, its low carbohydrate and high protein content necessitated major metabolic adaptations in energy and nitrogen metabolism. Erosion of the traditional diet culture and life style has been accompanied by a decline in nutritional status. [Eskimo, diet, nutrition]

Proposes a broader approach to research in human development that focuses on the progressive accommodation, throughout the life span, between the growing human organism and the changing environments in which it actually lives and grows. The latter include not only the immediate settings containing the developing person but also the larger social contexts, both formal and informal, in which these settings are embedded. In terms of method, the approach emphasizes the use of rigorously designed experiments, both naturalistic and contrived, beginning in the early stages of the research process. The changing relation between person and environment is conceived in systems terms. These systems properties are set forth in a series of propositions, each illustrated by concrete research examples. (1¼ p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

There were marked individual differences in the plasma levels of phenacetin after oral administration of a 900-mg dose to 9 normal volunteers eating customary home diet. Feeding a diet that contained charcoal-broiled beef for 4 days prior to the administration of phenacetin markedly decreased the plasma levels of this drug without appreciably influencing the plasma concentrations of phenacetin's metabolite, N-acetyl-p-aminophenol (APAP), or the plasma half-life of phenacetin. The average peak concentration of phenacetin in plasma, after a 900-mg oral dose, fell from 1,628 ng/ml, when the subjects were fed a control diet for 7 days, to 352 ng/ml after they were fed the same diet which contained charcoal-broiled beef for 4 days. The average peak concentration of phenacetin rose to 1,885 ng/ml after the subjects were subsequently fed the control diet for 7 days. The ratios of the average concentrations of APAP in plasma to those of phenacetin markedly increased after the charcoal-broiled beef diet. The results suggest that a diet containing charcoal-broiled beef enhances the metabolism of phenacetin in the gastrointestinal tract and/or during its first pass through the liver. This effect greatly decreases the bioavailability of phenacetin.

The effects of starvation, an 800-kcal mixed diet and an 800-kcal ketogenic (low carbohydrate-high fat) diet on the composition of weight lost were determined in each of six obese subjects during three 10-day periods.The energy-nitrogen balance method was used to quantify the three measurable components of weight loss; protein, fat, and water. On the 800-kcal ketogenic diet, subjects lost (mean +/- SE) 466.6 +/-51.3 g/day; on the isocaloric mixed diet, which provided carbohydrate and fat in conventional proportions, they lost 277.9+/- 32.1 g/day. Composition of weight lost (percentage) during the ketogenic diet was water 61.2, fat 35.0, protein 3.8. During the mixed diet, composition of loss was water 37.1, fat 59.5, protein 3.4...

Skin fibroblasts from two siblings with hydroxylysine-deficient collagen collagen (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type VI) contained normal levels of collagen prolyl hydroxylase activity but were markedly deficient in collagen lysyl hydroxylase activity. The deficiency was evident in all fractions of cell lysates, in low and high ionic strength buffers, and in detergent. Assays of mixtures of wild-type and mutant cell lysates indicated no activation of mutant enzyme by factors in wild-type cells or inhibition of normal enzyme by material in mutant cells. Wild type or mutant cells cultured with ascorbic acid (50 mug/ml of culture medium, added daily) contained approximately the same level of lysyl hydroxylase activity as cells cultured without ascorbate, but prolyl hydroxylase activity without ascorbate was depressed in both an average of 41%. The mutant lysyl hydroxylase was less stable at 37 degrees C than the wild type and did not form high molecular weight aggregates in low ionic strength buffers, as did the control enzyme. The activity of the mutant enzyme was maximally stimulated after dialysis against buffer solutions containing 10 mM dithiothreitol. When assayed in 100 muM dithiothreitol, the mutant enzyme exhibited a higher apparent Km for ascorbate (20 muM) than the wild type (4 muM). In 1.0 mM dithiothreitol the mutant enzyme's apparent Km for ascorbate was reduced to 5 muM. Wild type and mutant enzymes had the same apparent Km for alpha-keto-glutarate (20 muM). The properties of prolyl hydroxylase in wild type and mutant cells were identical: apparent Km's for ascorbate and alpha-ketoglutarate were 100 muM and 20 muM, respectively. If mutant enzyme protein with altered kinetic properties is the only enzyme functioning to hydroxylate lysyl residues in collagen, the variations in hydroxylysine content observed in collagen from different tissues in the subjects reported here could be in part due to differences in cofactor concentrations and in rate and sequence of events in collagen synthesis in different tissues.

Includes over 100 recipes from medieval manuscripts.

The mound sites (myrn-yong, etc.) of Western Victoria have often been commented upon, but they have never been examined in detail. This paper is an interim report of an on-going research project aimed at studying this type and associated sites in depth in the course of a regional survey involving areas in the Western District. Examination of one such area (covered by the R652 1:100,000 Willaura map sheet) is now complete, and this paper will present preliminary results of investigations and analysis of settlement patterns, environment, and the contents of two excavated mounds. Most mounds in the area covered by this map sheet are located along the Hopkins River and other major drainage systems, but environmental reconstructions (derived from terminal prehistoric data) indicate that these sites were associated with a variety of biotic communities. Thus one's first assumption that the mound sites were always located immediately adjacent to highly productive individual resources is not substantiated. Rather, these sites were situated so as to permit optimal exploitations of a variety of available resources. This is clearly evidenced at the two mounds excavated where the faunal assemblages contain species from a variety of habitats. Lithic material from the two mound sites also suggests generalised environmental exploitation, since most implements were made from locally available materials such as quartz and diorite. Formal and function-specific tool types were comparatively rare, since they require precision flaking and were therefore manufactured in fine-grained, imported materials. The lithic assemblages are more characteristic of general camp sites than specialist-activity sites, and this interpretation of site function is supported by structural evidence (both pits and hearths), the faunal remains, the presence of human burials, and the stratigraphy; both mounds were built from carried-in soil, and faunal evidence implies that in both cases occupation took place, at least in part, during spring.

During the colonial period, the Maasai were conspicuous for their unwillingness to become involved in, or to co-operate with, colonial rule in Kenya. Between 1895 and 1904, however, the Maasai and the British had entered an informal alliance to further their mutual interests. The Maasai, badly hit by the human and animal plagues of the 1880s and early 1890s, needed time to recover their stock and to reorganize their society. The British, hampered by lack of money and troops, and in a weak position, could not afford to antagonize the Maasai who controlled their lines of communication. Co-operation proved fruitful for both sides. The Maasai were able to get stock by joining punitive expeditions, while the British relied on them to supply irregular troops. Olonana, the Maasai laibon, was able to enlist British influence in support of his claims to paramountcy against his brother, Senteu, who lived in German territory. The contrast between German and British policy towards the Maasai illustrates some of the advantages which the British and the Maasai gained from their alliance. After 1904, this alliance began to break down as their interests diverged. Olonana was left isolated as both sides began to work out a new understanding.

Current awareness of the importance of environmental factors such as diet in the etiology of human cancer has stimulated renewed interest in animal models for studying effects of diet on tumorigenesis. Diet can influence cancer in animals by affecting the initiation or subsequent preneoplastic stage of tumorigenesis, but it has less effect on tumor growth. Caloric restriction has a general inhibitory influence on tumorigenesis. Dietary fat, on the other hand, tends to promote tumorigenesis, but only certain types of tumors, such as mammary tumors, are affected. Both caloric restriction and dietary fat appear to act primarily during the preneoplastic state, and their effects on hormone-dependent tumors may be mediated through changes in the hormonal environment. Variations in other dietary factors, such as protein, vitamins, or minerals, above the levels required for normal maintenance seem to have little influence on the genesis or growth of tumors.

Although there exists some indirect evidence that circulating ketone bodies might inhibit their own production rate, the direct demonstration of this homeostatic feed-back phenomenon is still lacking. The present work aims at demonstrating the operation of this control mechanism in human fasting ketosis. Six obese subjects, who fasted 2-23 days, were given a primed constant i.v. infusion of 3- 14C-acetoacetate for 4 hr. After a control period of 2 hr, unlabeled sodium acetoacetate was administered as a primed constant i.v. infusion at the rate of 0.688-1.960 mmol/min until the end of the study. During both periods, the rates of inflow of ketones were estimated from the specific activity of total ketones measured under near isotopic steady state conditions. During the control period, total ketone concentration amounted to 3.98-9.65 mumol/ml and production rates of total ketones ranged between 1.450 and 2.053 mmol/min. The levels of free fatty acids, glycerol, glucose, and insulin averaged respecitvely 1.30 mumol/ml, 0.11 mumol/ml, 74 mg/100 ml, and 5.2 muU/ml. The administration of exogenous ketones during the second phase of the study induced a 47%-92% increase in total ketone levels. During this period, the endogenous production of ketones (calculated as the difference between total inflow rate and acetoacetate infusion rate) amounted only to 67%-90% of control values. Among other factors, this inhibition of ketogenesis was probably partially related to the direct antilipolytic effect of infused ketones. Indeed, there was a concomitant fall in FFA and in glycerol levels averaging respectively 13.5% and 17.3%, without significant changes in peripheral insulin concentrations. Our results demonstrate that during fasting, circulating ketone bodies exert an inhibitory influence on the rate of ketogenesis. This mechanism might play an important role in preventing the development of uncontrolled hyperketonemia during starvation.

The effects of acute and chronic differences in the carbohydrate content of the diet on plasma insulin, glucagon, insulin-glucagon molar ratio (I/G), and triglycerides were studied. Acute effects were studied by varying the carbohydrate content of a single test meal, while chronic effects were determined by varying the carbohydrate content of the diet for a week. A test meal containing 0.6 gm of gelatin per kilogram plus 0.6 gm. per kilogram of glucose resulted in much higher levels of insulin and I/G (p smaller than 0.005), lower glucagon levels (p smaller than 0.05), and slightly higher triglycerides (N.S.) than did a meal of 1.2 gm, per kilogram of gelatin alone. One week of a 12 gm. carbohydrate, 2870-calorie diet lowered insulin (p smaller than 0.001), I/G (p smaller than 0.05), and triglycerides (p smaller than 0.001) and increased glucagon (N.S.), whereas a 390-gm. carbohydrate, 2784-calorie intake significantly increased insulin, I/G, and triglycerides (p smaller than 0.005) and lowered glucagon (p smaller than 0.02) within two days; even greater changes in hormones were observed on a 510-gm. carbohydrate intake. Of those patients in whom a high carbohydrate intake induced a triglyceride rise of at least 40 mg. per deciliter, a significant correlation between the change in I/G and the change in triglycerides was noted (r equals 0.85; p smaller than 0.01). The results are compatible with but do not prove the proposal that pancreatic alpha and beta cells play a mediating role in carbohydrate induction of hyperlipidemia.

A growing number of Americans are choosing to follow vegetarian diets. These diets can meet the nutritional needs of individuals of all ages. Vegetarians who eat eggs and/or milk and dairy products have no special problems in obtaining adequate nutrients. Pure vegetarians, who avoid all animal products, should pay particular attention to sources of protein, calcium, and riboflavin. Supplementation of vitamin B12 is indicated in these individuals. Guidelines for both good normal nutrition and therapeutic diets can be adapted for use with a vegetarian diet.

The effect of tea on iron absorption was studied in human volunteers. Absorption from solutions of FeCl3 and FeSO4, bread, a meal of rice with potato and onion soup, and uncooked haemoglobin was inhibited whether ascorbic acid was present or not. No inhibition was noted if the haemoglobin was cooked. The effect on the absorption of non-haem iron was ascribed to the formation of insoluble iron tannate complexes. Drinking tannin-containing beverages such as tea with meals may contribute to the pathogenesis of iron deficiency if the diet consists largely of vegetable foodstuffs.

In recent years, further development and refinement of technique has permitted reproducible serum insulin determinations to become available for correlation, with plasma glucose levels during tolerance testing. In earlier presentations, 1,2 five basic insulin patterns were identified indicating the absence or presence of diabetes through a wide range of insulin response (diabetic state). In a number of cases, normal glucose tolerances were associated with abnormal insulin patterns. Such situations, in which the glucose tolerance curve was normal and correlated insulin pattern was abnormal, were considered indicative of pre-diabetes or occult diabetes. In order to focus greater attention upon this, the earliest detectable phase of diabetes mellitus, the term diabetes mellitus in situ has been proposed and used interchangeably with occult diabetes throughout this report.It is the primary purpose of this paper to review basic insulin patterns which develop in the course of standard glucose tolerance testing and indicate the significance of each.