No case of meconium ileus or cystic fibrosis, in which the clinical and laboratory as well as pathological data clearly substantiated the diagnosis, has been reported in Japan. However, a typical case of cystic fibrosis was found after a re-evaluation of the cases collected from all over Japan. This case is epoch making.

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The incidence of cytomegalic inclusion disease (age distribution, sex difference, and site of inclusion bodies) was studied with autopsy cases. The postnatal infection was considered to be more important than the transplacental one. The sex difference did not seem to be significant. There were some differences in the site of inclusion bodies between infants and adults. Cytomegalic inclusion (CMI) disease is characterized histologically by the formation of a large intranuclear and many small intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the infected cell which usually is markedly enlarged. The incidence of this disease has been investigated by some authors, some with their own and some others with collected cases from Iiteratures1-8). This disease affects newborns and infants much more frequently than youths and adults. The CMI bodies are found particularly in the salivary gland, but generalized infection can not rarely be noticed. In this paper, the incidence of CMI disease, including age distribution, sex difference, and site of CMI bodies, was precisely studied using our autopsy cases. It was attempted to see which one of the postnatal or transplacental infection was more important, and whether there was any difference in the site of CMI bodies between infants and adults.

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Since the flow test is carried out by a static compressive load, there seems to be little occurrence of variations and errors among the persons doing the test and the machines used for the test. Recently as the JIS and ADA specifications for the flow test were changed, the effect and analysis of the setting mechanism based on these were investigated. Besides, a study of the stress relaxation, compressive strength and early flow were conducted. The relations among these properties were studied and pursued. Though the early flow includes many complicated factors influencing it, the understanding of these factors is urgently necessary in solving the setting mechanism. The effect of temperature and load on this property was also determined. Temperature has much effect on the flow, a 20℃ rise in temperature resulting in a flow 2 times larger in a spherical amalgam, 2.5 times larger in a fine-cut amalgam, and 3 times larger in a regular cut amalgam. In comparing the flow of the regular-cut, fine-cut and spherical amalgam, the total flow showed a ratio of 4:3:1. It is understood that the grain size or the surface area is a subordinate factor in the flow as compared to the setting reaction. But the spherical amalgam showed a higher flow in a 5-minute old specimen under a load of 50 kg/㎠. This seems to be due to its consistency. However, testing of consistency was affected much by its load, and the effect of a small load diminished it and the reaction factor overwhelmed it.

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For the purpose of clarifying the mechanism of altered metabolism of steroid hormones in tumor bearing animals, Δ4-steroid hydrogenase activity in Wistar strain rat liver was examined periodically after Rhodamine sarcoma implantation. The enzyme activity was determined according to Tomkins’ method using cortisol, cortisone and corticosterone as substrates. After tumor implantation, Δ4-steroid hydrogenase activity increased for a week, then began to decrease gradually as the tumor grew, and the low level of the activity was maintained until the sixth week, when the implanted tumors were totally extirpated. After the extirpation, Δ4-steroid hydrogenase activity in the liver of the surviving rats was measured for two weeks further. During this period the enzyme activity returned rapidly to its normal level. The decrease of the enzyme activity in tumor-bearing rat liver was confirmed also by the suppressed rate of metabolism of cortisol-4-14C in vitro in the Tomkins’ medium. Throughout the experiments the existence of Δ4-steroid hyclrogenase-suppressing factors in tumor-bearing rats was suggested.

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