[Determination of fetal lung maturity using the Shake Test by Clements and the L/S ratio].

By analysing 214 samples of amniotic fluid from the 9th to 44th week of gestation fetal lung maturity was determined by the shake test (Clements) and by the L/S ratio (Gluck). 20 women had repeated amniocenteses. The results of both tests coincided in 73%.

Desmosomes and gap junctions in precarcinomatous and carcinomatous conditions of squamous epithelia. An electron microscopic and morphometrical study.

By means of morphometrical techniques we have studied the distribution of gap junctions and desmosomes in uterine epithelial cells during normal, preneoplastic and neoplastic conditions, and in skin and oral cavity during normal and neoplastic conditions. The percentage of cell surface occupied by gap junctions as well as the surface to volume ratio of these structures decreases progressively from normal to metaplastic and moderately dysplastic cervical epithelium and is practically null in more severe conditions. The percentage of cell surface occupied by desmosomes decreased significantly from normal to metaplastic epithelium; the decrease is less sharp from metaplastic epithelium to dysplastic epithelium and carcinoma in situ; it then becomes again abrupt from carcinoma in situ to invasive carcinoma.

Biodegradable drug delivery systems based on aliphatic polyesters: application to contraceptives and narcotic antagonists.

The classes of polymer which form the basis of different types of drug delivery systems are discussed, and the relationships between the chemical structure of the polymer and its permeability, morphology, biodegradability, and mechanical properties are considered, using polyesters as specific examples. Studies of the permeability and biodegradability of poly epsilon-caprolactone), poly(DL-lactic acid), and various copolymers are described and used to illustrate how these properties may be varied by the choice of polymer structure. An induction period prior to bioerosion of these polymers, coupled with high permeability, permits their use as reservoir devices (capsules) which exhibit constant, diffusion-controlled drug release rates and which erode after the drug is exhausted.

[Tumour of the ovary after hysterectomy (author's transl)].

Between 1962 and 1973 vaginal or abdominal hysterectomies were done in 1811 women at the University women clinic Tübingen. In all cases the adnexa were preserved. Malignancies of the uterus were not present in these cases.

Post-menopausal bleeding: a study of more than 1000 cases.

This paper reports the cause, incidence of malignancies, certain clinical features, and the time lag between the bleeding and the establishment of its cause, in the 1019 cases of post-menopausal bleeding investigated by the Universitäts-Frauenklinik in Tübingen, West Germany, between 1969 and 1972. Although many of the patients had experienced just one post-menopausal bleeding before seeking medical help, and most reported that their bleeding(s) had been "light" and of short duration, a malignancy was found in 48% of the cases. The most common were cervical cancer (228 cases) and endometrial cancer (215).

[Tubal pregnancy and tubal pregnancy recurrence].

This study includes 389 cases of ectopic pregnancies and 34 cases with repeat ectopic pregnancies occurring from 1955 to 1974 at the University Women's Hospital Tuebingen. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy in relation to the number of births was 0.9%.

Postcoital contraception with an injectable estrogen preparation (Org 369 - 2).

In one-hundred women age 15 to 45, postcoital contraception was attempted with a "morning-after" injection consisting of 12.5 mg estradiol-benzoate and 10 mg of estradiol-phenylpropionate. Plasma estradiol-178, progesterone, LH, FSH and Prl were measured by specific radioimmunoassays and BBT was recorded.

[Malignant thyroid neoplasms at the Geneva Institute of Pathology from 1967-1976].

A survey of all malignant thyroid tumors observed during a ten-year period (1967-1976) in Geneva showed a 8.8% incidence (= 197 cases) of malignancies among surgically removed thyroids and a 0.38% incidence (= 43 cases) at autopsy.

The pharmacokinetics of a large (3 mg) oral dose of ethynylestradiol in women.

Plasma levels of ethynylestradiol (EE), EE sulphate (EES), EE glucuronide (EEG) and prolactin were measured in women up to 72 h following the oral administration of 3 mg of EE. The decline in plasma EE levels showed a sharp discontinuity at 10 h which is assumed to be due to the beginning of enterohepatic circulation (EHC). After this event, an apparently terminal monoexponential decline was eventually established with a half-life of 13.

Enhanced Aflatoxin Production by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus after Gamma Irradiation of the Spore Inoculum.

Distilled water plus 0.1% surfactant suspensions of spores of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus were exposed to several radiation levels of cobalt-60 gamma rays. Spores of A.

Plasma c-AMP during the normal menstrual cycle and under different hormonal treatment.

There is a highly significant difference between the plasma c-AMP value of the first and the second half of the normal menstrual cycle (days 1-12: 10.5 +/- 2.0 pmol, x +/- SEM; days 13-16: 21.

Plasma cAMP in normal and abnormal human pregnancy.

Plasma cAMP was determined using the method of Tovey et al. in normal pregnant women with a mean concentration of 18.9 +/- 0.

Blood platelet cyclic AMP during long-term treatment of premature labor.

The mean platelet cyclic AMP (cAMP) value in normal pregnant women between 20 and 37 weeks of gestation was 8.2 +/- 0.4 (SEM) pmol cAMP/10(9) platelets (n = 100).

Sustained drug delivery systems II: Factors affecting release rates from poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and related biodegradable polyesters.

The release rates of several steroids from films and capsules of homopolymers and copolymer of epsilon-caprolactone, DL-lactic acid, and glycolic acid were measured in vitro and in vivo for up to 200 days. Relatively constant release rates from capsules (reservoir devices) were observed only under certain conditions. Factors that influence the drug release kinetics were evaluated.

[Treatment with clomiphene of endocrine primary and secondary infertility in women (author's transl)].

Clomiphene (Dyneric) in a daily dosage of 100--300 mg, partially combined with HCG (n = 12), was used in the treatment of 86 women aged 19 to 39 years with primary or secondary infertility of endocrine origin in 296 menstrual cycles. In 67 cases (77.9%) ovulation could be induced and in 38 cases (44.