A GPS-based system for recording the flight paths of birds.

The GPS recorder consists of a GPS receiver board, a logging facility, an antenna, a power supply, a DC-DC converter and a casing. Currently, it has a weight of 33 g. The recorder works reliably with a sampling rate of 1/s and with an operation time of about 3 h, providing time-indexed data on geographic positions and ground speed. The data are downloaded when the animal is recaptured. Prototypes were tested on homing pigeons. The records of complete flight paths with surprising details illustrate the potential of this new method that can be used on a variety of medium-sized and large vertebrates.

Partial purification and characterization of 3'-phosphoadenylylsulfate:keratan sulfate sulfotransferases.

Two 3'-phosphoadenylylsulfate:keratan sulfate sulfotransferases were purified 600-fold and 340-fold, respectively, from isolated bovine cornea cells. Sulfotransferase I exhibited an apparent Mr = 220,000, whereas an Mr = 140,000 was calculated for sulfotransferase II. The final preparations were both devoid of chondroitin sulfate sulfotransferase activity. The position of sulfation was determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Sixty per cent of the sulfate ester groups formed by sulfotransferase I were linked to the C-6 atom of galactosyl residues, the other ones to the C-6 atom of N-acetylglucosamine. Sulfotransferase II showed a different specificity: 23% of the newly formed sulfate ester groups were on galactosyl and 77% on N-acetylglucosaminyl residues. Both sulfotransferase preparations acted in a cooperative manner. In the presence of both sulfotransferases, the incorporation of [35S]sulfate into keratan sulfate was up to 75% higher than could be expected from the sum of individual activities. From the specific radioactivities of the oligosaccharides produced by digestion with endo-beta-galactosidase, it was also concluded that both enzyme species reacted best with keratan sulfate segments exhibiting a relatively high degree of sulfation.

[Early diagnosis of Wilson's disease in childhood (author's transl)]. / Frühdiagnose des Morbus Wilson im Kindesalter.

Most of the time Wilson's disease becomes clinically evident in childhood by atypical abdominal symptoms. Therefore early diagnosis is very difficult. In four out of eight patients with Wilson's disease, diagnosed relatively early in the Children's Hospital of Heidelberg University, we could demonstrate that each case of liver disease, which cannot be classified, may be suspicious of Wilson's disease. Even normal levels of ceruloplasmin in serum and copper in urine are not inconsistent with Wilson's disease. There is no screening method in infancy. Fatty liver in school children is very suspicious of Wilson's disease.

[Success at school of children with early recognized phenylketonuria. Catamnesis of 50 children whose dietary treatment was started within their first or second month of life (author's transl)]. / Phenylketonurie: Schulerfolg bei Früherfassung. Katamnese bei 50 phenylketonurischen Kindern mit Diätheginn im ersten und zweiten Lebensmonat.

The success at school of 50 children is evaluated whose phenylkenuria was detected within the first 8 weeks of life and treated since. Recent reports on normal psychological development can now be augmented by this criteria established outside the hospital. For the evaluation the following items were taken into account: age at start of schooling; postponed admission to school; repetition of a class; move to secondary schools, and social background. The success at school is further confirmation of a normal mental development in these children, and a normal school leaving certificate or later an ordinary occupation are to expected.

[Early diagnosis of hereditary metabolic diseases in the newborn by means of microbiological Guthrie tests]. / Früherfassung hereditärer Stoffwechselstörungen im Neugeborenenalter mit mikrobiologischen Guthrie-tests.

The screening method of so-called bacterial inhibition and growth assay (Guthrie-test) is described and the number of newborn babies tested over the whole of West Germany from 1969--1974 is stated. 626 cases of PKU were detected early and tested after these dates. Only a few german laboratories are able to detect other inborn errors of metabolism such as MSUD (maple syrup urine disease), homocystinuria, histidinemia and galactosemia. The ratio of illnesses therefore can only be estimated and not stated with statistical evidence.

Pycnodysostosis with Heterozygous beta-thalassemia.

A 6-year follow-up of a Greek girl with pycnodysostosis associated with heterozygous beta-thalassemia is reported. Active rickets in infancy was superimposed on pycnodysostosis. In the family the autosomal recessive disease, pycnodysostosis, appeared in two of three siblings in combination with the autosomal dominant disease, thalassemia minor.

[Hypermethioninemia in the differential diagnosis of infantile obstructive jaundice (author's transl)]. / Hypermethioninämie in der Differentialdiagnose des cholestatischen Säuglingsikterus

In 7 infants suffering from obstructive jaundice we found transient high levels of methionine in serum. All cases had only intrahepatic cholestasis, especially with intrahepatic biliary hypoplasia, whereas other patients with extrahepatic biliary atresia and/or combination of extra- and intrahepatic obstructive jaundice always showed normal levels of methionine. Therefore hypermethioninemia seems to be helpful in differentiating the various causes of infantile obstructive jaundice.

[Phenylketonuria: early diagnosis and mental development (author's transl)]. / Phenylketonurie: Früherfassung und geistige Entwicklung

The relationship of early diagnosis and treatment to mental development was studied in 152 children with phenylketonuria. The average IQ at onset of the diet, if within the first two months of life, was 105 in 60 children, 70 in 28 patients if between 3 and 12 months of life, and 53 in 31 of between the thirteenth month and the end of the second year. In 33 children in whom the diagnosis had been made after the second year, diet being started this late, average IQ was 50 with correspondingly greater scatter in the severe mental deficiency range.