1. The tadpoles of Rhacophorus schlegelli were treated with 0.025 per cent thiourea solution for various periods of time, and the effect of thiourea on sex differentiation was studied.
2. In the treated tadpoles killed 6 weeks after the beginning of the treatment, and 3 weeks thereafter, sex ratio was observed as 1:1. In the treated tadpoles, however, fixed 12 weeks after the beginning of the treatment, male individuals remarkably increased in number. Such data are implicable that the transformation of the ovaries to the testes took place in the treated tadpoles.

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1. The tadpoles of Rhacophorus schlegelii, 30 or 40mm in length, were treated with a 0.1, 0.05, or 0.025 per cent thiourea solution, and the relation between the concentration of thiourea and the masculinization of the tadpoles was studied.
2. The thiourea-treated larvae were killed 3 weeks after the time of metamorphosis of control animals. The sex ratio in the 0.025 per cent series was 1: 1, while in the 0.1 per cent series the number of male individuals remarkably increased. It is, therefore, conceivable that the masculinization in the thiourea treated larvae was increased with the concentration of thiourea solution.

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Urinary 17-Ketosteroids have been separated into 8 fractions by the adsorption chromatography. Of these 8 fractions, dehydroisoandrosterone (III) and 11-oxy-17-KS (VI and VII) derive exclusively from adrenal cortex, but androsterone (IV) and etiocholanolone (V) have been thought to be of testicular origin.
The latter two compounds (IV & V), however, are not always testicular. If gonadotropin secretion is sufficient, these two fractions exist in the same ratio in the urine of the female as well as of the aged, and even in the urine of the castrated. In men with decreased gonadotropin, infant or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the amount of these two fractions in the urine are very small and the chromatographic pattern differs from that of the normal male, IV+V being the major fraction. In the normal female, two kinds of patterns have been found; the one is the same with that of the normal, the other is the same with that of infant. The former seems to be found in the period of high gonadotropin level and the latter in the other period of the menstrual cycle. In the aged female only the former type is found, because she is always in the state of high gonadotropin level. Moreover, in a 20-year-old female, these two fractions (VI & V) could be increased by the administration of gonadotropin without any change in the amount of total 17-KS.
From the above mentioned, it can be postulated that gonadotropin acts to alter the proportions of the constituents of the total 17-KS, i, e. increase IV+V and decreasease VI+VII, by stimulating the adrenal cortex. The machanism of this action of gonadotropin is discussed.
The authors acknowledge, with thanks, the kind advice and encouragement given by Professor S. Okinaka.

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1. The amount of adrenal cholesterol in alloxan treated rabbits reached to the lowest value, especially the ester form, at the hypoglycemic stage, but returned to the level of control at the stage of final hypoglycemia.
2. This large loss of adrenal cholesterol at the stage of hypoglycemia of alloxan is specific for the adrenal, except the heart which showed a marked decrease in ester cholesterol.
3. More severe fall of the adrenal cholesterol was observed in the insulin hypoglycemic rabbits than in those of alloxan treated. Guanidine or hydrazine hypoglycemia caused no snch depletion of adrenal cholesterol.
4. Following the injection of ACTH or adrenalin, there appeared a marked loss of cholesterol from the adrenal in intact rabbits, as well as in the hypoglycemic rabbits of alloxan or insulin. DOCA showed a lesser response. On the other hand, cortisone and hydrocortisone showed tendencies of increase.
5. The large loss of adrenal cholesterol due to insulin or alloxan hypoglycemia is quite otherwise to the case of hydrazine or guanidine, and seems to have an intimate relation with the function of pituitary-adreno-cortical system.
6. It would be a fact of interest that a marked depletion of adrenal cholesterol were observed following the injection of insulin, adrenalin and ACTH in intact rabbits, however, no such change by the injection of these hormones was observed in alloxan hyperglycemic rabbits, but in these animals showed a large loss of ester cholesterol from the liver.
This work was in part supported by the Grant in Aid for Experimental Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education.

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The effects of adrenalectomy upon the ventral prostate glands of bc-strain albino mice were examined in the present study. Adrenalectomy was performed by the three step method in normal or castrated immature and normal or castrated adult male mice. The results obtained were summarized as follows.
1) Epithelial cells of the ventral prostate glands decreased their height in both immature (about twenty-five days of age) and adult male mice after castration, and light areas disappeared from all cells except a few columnar cells of the ventral prostate epithelium. These columnar cells had light areas in their cytoplasm. Interstitial tissues of the ventral prostates increased in amount after castration.
2) In castrated-adrenaleci omized male mice, both immature and adult especially in adult ones fifteen or more days following castration, cell height of the ventral prostate epithelium decreased again and the cells showed typical flattend shape, and light areas disappeared completely from their cytoplasm after adrenalectomy. This effect of adrenalectomy was more distinct in the castrated adult than in the castrated immature ones, and many pycontic nuclei were observed in the ventral prostate epithelial cells of the castrated-adrenalectomized adult animals. All these animals had well developed X-zones in their adrenals.
3) Adrenalectomy exercised no recognizable effect upon the structure of the ventral postate glands in the normal adult male mice, from the adrenal cortices of which all X-zone cells disappeared except only a few residual cells. As all of the non-catrated, adrenalectomized immature male mice died after the second operations, no effect of adrenalectomy could be studied in them.
4) Many fuchsinophilic granules of various forms were found in cytoplasm of the cells of X-zone after stained by the Ponceau-fuchsin method. These facts may suggest that X-zone of the male mouse adrenal cortex has some relationship to androgenic substances.

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1) Three hundred and fifteen mg. of TSH-like substance has been obtained from 350g. of human placenta by Loeser's method. Sixty-one mg. of the similar substance has been extracted from 900g. of placenta by Ciereszko's method.
2) By the administration of this TSH-like substance to guineapigs, an elevation of the PBI level and a decrease in serum cholesterol were caused.
3) Distinctly hypertrophied and columnar cells of the epithelium of follicles, small amount of colloid in the follicles, dilatation of capillary nets in the guineapigs thyroid glands were observed histologically after administration of the TSH like substance.
4) We propose the name P-TSH (placental thyroid stimulating hormone) for this substance.

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1) Stimulation of the posterior part of the hypothalamus caused increase of Ch. C. content in the adrenal vein blood and decrease of sudanophile substance in the adrenal cortex. In hypophysectomized cat, these changes were not obtained.
2) Catechol content in the adrenal vein blood was remarkably increased by stimulation of the middle part of the hypothalamus in most cases.
3) On the influence of the hypothalamic stimulation upon the potassium content in the blood serum, from the anterior and middle parts of the hypothalamus, remarkable increase was obtained, and from the posterior part the tendency to decrease was generally observed. In hypophysectomized or adrenalectomized rabbits, the response from the posterior part reversed, namely potassium content markedly increased.
4) Direct electrical stimulation of the anterior pituitary gland did not cause increase of Ch. C. content in the adrenal vein blood. Local application of minimal doses of acetylcholine (0.15mg.) into the anterior pituitary gland caused the increase of Ch. C. content and decrease of potassium content, but the application of adrenaline (10γ) did not cause the change.
From the above results it may be considered that acetylcholine-like substance liberated at nerve ending by excitation of nerve cells in the posterior part of the hypothalamus reaches the anterior pituitary cells as a neuro-chemical transmitter via the portal vessels and causes increase of secretion of ACTH, and consequentely increace of Ch. C. content in the adrenal vein blood and decrease of serum potassium content occurs.

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1. As a stress response, the pituitary-gonadal system is activated by the endogenous release of oxytocin, and even in the narcosis with chlorpromazine, oxytocin, endogenously or exogenously, increases the urinary excretion of gonadotrophin and 17-ketosteroids, especially the gonadal fractions and brings about the corresponding cellular changes in the adenohypophysis and gonads.
2. An exogenous administration of acetylcholine raises the liberation of oxytocin from the hypothalamic neurosecretory system without suffering from any inhibitory effect of chlorpromazine and promethazine.
3. The effect of the exogenous injection of acetylcholine on the pituitary-gonadal system is just the same as that of oxytocin.
4. Some discussions are made on the concept on the role of the hypothalamicpituitary neurosecretion, in regard to the secretion of the adenohypophysis in the natural stress response.

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