NIH U. 5. DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH, EDUCATION. AND WELFARE

. Dr. Moskowitz to Direct NHLBI' s Office of Prog. Planning and Evaluation

Dr. Jay Moskowitz has been ap­pointed to the position of director, Office of Program Planning and

' Evaluation, of the Kational Heart, Lung, and Blood lnstitute.

Dr. Moskowitz will be respon­~iblc for the formulation, interpre­tation, and coor<lination of policies and plans regarding the Institute's programs of support and investiga­tion~ relating to the causes, pre­vention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular, respiratory, and

., blood diseases, and blood resources. He will advise the Director on

the establishment of future Insti­tute goals and assist in develop­ment of programs to meet these goals. He will also oversee the preparation of such program docu­ments as annual 1·eporls, program progres!\ reports, and justification statements.

01·. Moskowitz began his career at NIH in 1969 when he entered as a 2-year Research Associate in the Laboratory of Chemical Phar­macology, NHLBI. In 1971-72 he was a Grants Associate with the Division of Research Grants.

Ile rejoined the Institute in 1972 as program coorclinator for the Division of Lung Diseases; in 1974 he became associate director for Program Planning and Evaluation for that Division.

Since 1969, Dr. Moskowitz hos served as a Research Associate and Grants Associate, and held several adminis­trative posts at MHLBI.

Jul> 2i, 1976 Vol. XX HI, Xo. 15

Patients, Researchers in Guam Survive Assault of Typhoon, Begin Recovery Work

Scenes of devastation such os this were common in tho woke of the typhoon. Almost half the islond's homes sustained damage, but only one life wos lost.-Photo by D. Robbins.

The National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorde1·s and Stroke research team 011 Guam and their 110 patients emerged unscathed from Typhoon Pamelo's ;\,fay 21 brutal 24-hour assault on the island. In fact, despite a ~tagg-<>ring estimated $500 million in property damages throughout the island, only a few injuries and one death have been attributed to the storm. Havoc Describe d

According to Dr. Paul Hoffman, officer in charge of the !I: lNCDS Re~earch Cente1· at Guam Me­morial Hospital, this remarkable record results from the extraordi­nary precautions taken by the Guamanian go,•ernment and the islanden,.

"A~ earlv as 48 hours before the storm, mat;y Guamanians were be­ing bui;c-d to schools serving as shelters, while others look refuge in typhoon-proof hou~es of rela­tives and friends," Dr. Hoffman !'aid in a report to NlNCDS offi­cial~. The report was co-authored by Jo~c Ton·es, a Rc~earch Center health technician.

Among those seeking safer gl'ound were many of the patients pal'ticipating in the Nll\'CDS re­search study of two fatal nervous system diseases - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and Parkinson­ism-Dementie (PD)-which occur there at astonishingly high rates.

Patients with ALS suffer from progressive muscular weakness and

wasting. Although the disease oc­curs worldwide, it is the cause of death in one of every 10 Guam­imian adults.

The Center's staff, currently un­der the direction of Dr. Thomas N'. C'ha~e. director of NINCDS' Inlramural Research Program, has reC'ently been pursuing new leads concerning possible immune system factors which may be involved in ALS.

ParkinsoniEm-Dementil.'. e. Is o strikes one in 10 Guamanian adults. But unlike ALS, it is unique to Guam, and patients ex-

(See TYPHOOS. Page 4)

PHS Corps Meets Aug. 3 For Orientation Program

You and the Commissioned Corps, an orientation program for Commissioned Officers of the Public Health Service-­especially thoge recently called to duty-will be presented in Masur Auditorium on Tues­day, Aug. 3, at 2 p.m.

The program will include in­formation on pay, allowances, benefits, privileges, and other areas of interest.

NATIONAL INSTIT UTES OF HEAL TH

Dr. James Fouts Takes NIEHS Intramural Post As Scientific Director

Dr. J ames R. J!'outs has been appointed scientific director !or the National Institute of Environmen­tal Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N .C.

He will plan, direct, and evaluate the N IEHS Intramural Research Prog1·am and serve as consultant and advisor to NIEHS Director Dr. David P. Rall as weJI as to other· Federal and non-Federal rep­resentatives in the field of environ­mental health.

As scientific director, he will direct )HEHS' five intramural

In 1975, Dr. Fouts was e lec:ted chair­man of the Division of Drug Mctabo• lism of the American Society for Pharmacology and Expe rimental Ther• opcutics. From 1968 to 1970, he serve d on the Mationol Advisory En­vironmental Health Sciences Council.

branches-environmental biometry, biophysics, mutagenesis, toxirolog~•, and pharmacology.

In 1970, Dr. Fouls joined NJF.HS as chief of its Phm·macology-Tox­icology Branch (now lhe Pharma­cology Branch). Sinre then, he and his !'.taff have investigated the ab­sorption, sy~temic distribution, site, and mechanisms of detoxifica­tion and elimination o( drugs and chemical metabolites.

Dr. Fouts was formedy profes­sor of pharmacology at the Uni­versity of Iowa College of "Medi­cine, then director of the Pharma-

(Sce DR. FOUTS, Pnge 2)

Page 2 . ,

July 27, 1976 THE NW RECORD

Record Published biweekly at Bethesda, Md., by the Editorial Operations Branch, Division of Public Information, for the information of employees of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and circulated by request to interested writers and to investi­gators in the field of biomedical and related research. The content is reprintable without permission. Pictures are available on request. The NIH Record reserves the right to make corrections, changes, or dele­tions in submitted copy in conformity with the policies of the paper and the Department of Heal th, Education, and Welfare.

NIH Record Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bldg. 31 , Rm. 28-03. Phone 49-62125

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fronces W. Dovis Associote Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foy Leviero Associote Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heather Banks

Staff Correspondents

ADA, J udy Fouche; CC, Susan Gerhold; DCRT, Frances Sarles; DRG, Sue Meadows; DRR, Jerry Gordon; DRS, Arthur F. Moore; FIC, George Presson; NCI, Dr. Robert M. Hadsell; NEI, Inez E. Connor; NHLI, Bill Sanders; NIAID, Marguet McElwain; NIAMDD, Pat Gorman; NICHD, Doreen Mead; N IDR, Sue Hannon; NIEHS, Elizabeth Y. James; NIGMS, Wanda Wurddell; NIMH, Betty Zubovic; NINCDS, Carolyn Holstein; NLM, Frann Patrick.

R&W Assn. Rates Kudos For Bicentennial Busing Without Any Snafus

On July 4 at 8 p.m. 765 persons boarded 15 buses in front of Bldg. 1 to attend the Bicentennial fire­WOl'ks display held on the Wash­ington Monument grounds.

Service Lauded

Afterward, the buses returned the pas~engers to NIH. The Re­creation and Welfare Association, which arrar.ged the bus transpor­tation, has received many compli­ments and letters-and no com­plaints-including:

"Those of us who took advantage of this pleasant and 'hassleless' way to participate in celebrating the Bicentennial of our country were most grateful for the prompt, courteous, and sometimes ingeni­ous service."

"I have heard nothing but praise and enthusiasm for the manner in which the trip was arranged and carried out."

DRR Dire ctor Or. Thomas G. Bowery (I), vice chairma n for the recent NIH U.S. Savings Bond Compaign, pre­sented ce rtificates to the outstonding coordinotors: Audrey Levy Cr), ORR; ond (not shown) Errett Straley, Jr., DRG, a nd Betty McDonald, NINCDS. The NIH R&W Associotion don ate d prizes in a drowing won by Evelynn M. Hull, OPPE, Morionne Young, DFM, ond Nancy Guerin, NCI.

FAES Autumn Schedule ls Available; Register Now The schedule of courses is now metabolism, internal medicine, and

available for the fall semester in pediatrics. the G1·aduate Program at NIH. Tuition is $22 per semester hour.

Beginning Sept. 20, evening Courses may be taken for credit classes sponsored by the Founda- or audit. Students whose expenses tion for Advanced Education in the will be paid by the Government Sciences will be given on the cam- should apply at once to their ad­pus in behavioral and social sci- ministrative offices for training ences, chemistry, biology and mi- assistance. crobiology, genetics, immunology, Registration is by mail now physics, physiology, mathematics, through Aug. 20, and in person statistics, languages, administra- from Sept. 9 through Sept. 15. tion, and other topics. Catalogs are available in the school

Medical subspecialty review office, Room Bl-L-101, Bldg. 10, courses include endocrinology and or by calling Ext. 65272.

To comme morate our Motion's 200th birthdoy, Mrs. Effie 0. Eoton, grand­mother of Joseph Naughton, chief, Computer Ce nte r Bronch, Division of Compute r Reseorch and Tethnology, crocheted for him a 3)(5 foot 1776 American flog. Mrs. Eoton, who is 87, spent 2 months making the flag. From 1949 until failing health turtoiled he r activities a year 090, she logged ~ 20,000 hours of service-the second highest number on record in the U.S.­as an American Le gion Volunteer ot the V.A. Hospital in Pittsburgh. Her family hos lived in Tarentum, a suburb of Pittsburgh, for silt generations.

DR. FOUTS (Continued from Page 1)

cology-Toxicology Center there. He was a major contributor to the understanding of enzyn1e induction as the 1·esponse of an organism to foreig·u chemicals.

He had previously worked in the Laborato1·y of Chemical Pharma­cology, National Heart and Lung Institute, and as a senior research biochemist with the Wellcome Re­search Laboratory.

Honors Received Dr. Fouts has receiv-ed numerous

honors, including the Marple Schweitzer Award in Chemistry from Northwestern University, where he 1·eceived his B.S. in chem­istry in 1951 and his Ph.D. in bio­chemistry and pharmacology in 1954.

He has also received the DHEW Superior Service Award; the Abel Award in Pharmacology from the American Society for Pharmacol­ogy and Experimental Therapeu­tics, and the Claude Bernard l\'Iedal from the Institut de Medi­cine et du Chirugie Experimen­tales, University of Montreal.

Author or co-author of more than 145 publications, Dr. Fouts is currently adjunct professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and of entomology and toxicology at North Carolina State University.

He is a member of the Basic Pharmacology Advisory Commit­tee for the Pharmaceutical l\Ianu­facturers Association Foundation, Inc., and a special consultant to the Epidemiological Studies Pro­gram for the Environmental Pro­tection Agency's Office oi Pesti-

Wind and Rain Wreak Local Havoc July 1S

On Friday morning, July 16, NIH'ers in the Westwood Building were operating-after a fashion­with partial elect1·ic power follow­ing Thursday's thunderstot"ms.

Some typists were without elec­tricity for their typewriters, while others tried typing in the dark. Hazards Cited

~

Employees on the top floors en­vied tho~e on lower floors for there was no elevator service'. And walking up was a slippery busi­ness-water had cascaded down nine flights of stairs in the annex while the storm was at its height. Some offices experienced minor fllooding from water leaks in ceil- ' ings.

Brown baggers fared better than the elite when long lines formed in the cafeteria, which opened late with a limited menu after a coffee-less morning.

R&W Elects Board Officers The NIH Recreation and

Welfare Association recently elected three officers to 2-year terms on its Board of Direc­tors.

Charles C. Bowie, Jr., will serve as fl rst vice president , Kenneth C. Styers as treas­urer, and Colleen E. Keegin as secretary.

cides Progran1s, Technical Services Division.

He now serves on the editorial boards of Xenobiotics, Cancer Re­search, and Journal of Toxicolog'i/ and Environmental Health, and since 1973 has been associate man· aging editor in the · U.S. for C hemico-Biological Interactions.

THE NIH RECORD July 27, 1976 Page 3

Associates Begin Stint at Clinical Center; Hope to Emulate Noted Predecessors

More than 100 new Associates arrived at the Clinical Center this month to begin 2- or 3-year appointments. Since 1959 over 2,500 young physicians have begun their medical careers by taking advantage of the professional development opportun­ities of the NIH Associate Train­ing Program.

The three types of Associates have different roles:

Clinical Associates participate in clinical and laboratory research as well as in patient care, including rounds, conferences, and other functions of a primary physician.

Reseanh Associates usually per­form laboratory research in a bio­medical science.

Staff Associates work in areas, determined by a senior investiga­tor, not specifically designated in Tesearch or clinical categories.

Dr. Griff T. Ross, acting CC director, said the program is con­stantly seeking means for improve­ment.

Strengthening the research func­tion of NIH is an important aspect, he said, because "good people come where there's good work being done." N,w Position Explained

Dr. Ross said that a CC associate director for medical education­now being sought-will be a sig­nificant addition to the Program.

The new position will entail woi-king with Associates to define their training needs and to imple-1nent changes to achieve those goals.

The many important positions in academic medicine now held by former Associates attest to the significance of the Associate ex­perience and the quality of the individuals selected.

Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson, NIH Director, more than half of the current Clinical Center department heads, and numerous p1·ofessors of medicine and deans of medical schools a1·e former Associates.

In the 1960's, with little recruit-

ment effort NIH some years re­ceived more than 700 applications for the 100 to ZOO Associate posi­tions.

With the elimination of the draft and the exemption for Associates, applications have declined. Ac­cording to Dr. Ross, this decrease has not adversely affected the As­sociate Program.

"The programs haven't changed just because the d1·aft ended," he emphasized. "They still offer su­perb opportunity for ti-aining in medical science and clinical investi­gation." Astociates' Work Praised

He cited trends toward multi­institutional medical education and postdoctoral training, and the spe­cialized nature of the resea1·ch at NIH as other factors affecting the numbers of applicants.

In addition to gaining experience by assisting senior staff with pa­tient care and research, Associates often conduct research of their own. This kind of work "makes a research enterprise grow," said Dr. Ross, adding that Associates are an invaluable part of NIH.

Associates may choose to be em­ployed eithe1· through the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or through Civil Service appointments with comparable sal­aries, competitive with initial re­search positions at other major medical centers.

Credit for residency training may be given, depending on the Institute and program in which an Associate participates.

Associate appointments are made by each Institute, based on the candidate's academic achievement, t·esearch interest, ability, back­ground, and clinical expe1·tise in a specialty.

A few of NIH's more than 100 Clinical, Research, and Staff Associates pick up orientation material ot a meeting in the Masur Auditorium on July 9. Dr. Griff T. Ross, acting CC director (second from ll, wos among those who welcomed the Associates. Others included: Dr. Philippe V. Cardon, CC osso­ciote director (second from r); Dr. Melvin L. Kohn, Clinical Associate Com-

6 More Med Centers Join Nationwide Trial Of New Eye Operation

The National Eye Institute has awarded contracts which add six new medical centers to the Diabetic Retinopathy Vitrectomy Study.

These bring to 13 the total num­ber of centers participating in the r:ationwide controlled clinical trial of vitrectomy-a major new eye operation fo1· preventing and treat­ing blindness due to diabetes.

Now in the final planning stages, the DRVS is expected to enroll its first patients within the next few weeks.

The new centers are the Univer­sity of California at San Fran­cisco; Cornell University Medical College, New York, and Good Sa­maritan Hospital and Medical Center, Portland, Oreg.

Also, the University of Illinois, Chicago; Wayne State University, Detroit., and Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia.

Vitrectomy involves the surgical removal from the eye of blood­filled vitreous and scar tissue which has formed as the result of diabetes. The primary goal of the DRVS is to determine the optimal time after hemorrhage for per­forming vitrectomy.

Any individual with diabetic retinopathy who would like to be considered for admission to the Study should consult bis or her own ophthalmologist about possible referral to a participating clinical center. Each patient will be fol­lowed for 4 years.

An applicant's interests, matched with the Institute's needs, deter­mine the program to which an As­sociate is assigned.

The application deadline for 1979 Associateships is J an. 7, 1977. A few appointments will be made for 1978.

For fuTther information, write to the Office of the Clinical Cen­ter Director, NIH, Bethesda, Md. 20014, or call (301) 496-4114.

Paul S. Hudson Named Info. Officer, DCRT

A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Hudson served in the U.S. A~my from 1949 to 1969.

Paul S. Hudson has recently been appointed information officer of the Division of Computer Re­search and Technology.

A graduate of the University of Maryland, Mr. Hudson came from the Office of Professional and Con­sumer Programs, FDA. Background Noted

Prior to service with FDA, he was the senior publications ad­ministrator for the AMECOM Di­vision, Litton Industries.

As DCRT's officer for public information and freedom of infor­mation activities, he will prepare and disseminate information con­cerning DCRT activities to the general public, medical scientists, NIH staff, and computing profes­sionals.

In addition, Mr. Hudson will answer inquiries from the public and the media and prepare special reports on the Division's .Programs requested by the Office of the Di­rector, NIH, other Governn1ent agencies, and the Congress.

In science, read by preference the newest works; in literature, the oldest-Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

mittee; Dr. Ronald J . Elin, chief, CC Clinical Pathology Deportment; Steven C. Groban, chief, CC Outpatient Department, ond Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, chief, CC Office of Clinical ond Management Systems. Dr. Ross distributed and discussed some materials ot the meeting (r), ond Dr. Cordon explained pro­cedures that Associates should know.

Page 4

TYPHOON (Conti11ued from Page 1)

hibit dementia and confusion in addition to the characteristic shak­ing of Parkh,son's disease.

At the time of the storm, 14 pa­tients were in Guam Memorial Hospital, 9 were off the island, while the remaining 92 sought refuge in typhoon-proof homes or shelters.

Because the patients are partic­ulaTly vulnerable to respiratory in­fection, the NINCDS staff made prior emergency aTrangements with Guarn Memorial Hospital to admit any homeless patients who could not be properly cared for h1 makeshift conditions.

As Typhoon Pamela's 140 m.p.h. winds raged toward Guam, the Center's staff finished shoring their laboratory facilities at the Hos­pital and retreated to the safety of their homes.

According to Dr. Hoffman, gale winds swept the island as early as May 19 while the typhoon was still several hundred miles away. By noon of May 21, wind gusts reached 190 m.p.h., subsided during a 2-hour calm as the storm's eye passed, and then resumed "in an assault which was even more fierce than the first," he reported. Labs Inundated

The Center's laboratory facili­ties quickly became inundated as gale force winds blew in window air conditioners, drove in cascades of rain, and ripped off ceiling panels.

Patient records, however, were stored in fire and typhoon-proof cabinets and wei·c not damaged.

In the storm's wake, about 3,000 or almost half of all island homes suffered, ranging from slight dam­age to complete destl'uction; power

·and telephone lines wel'e blown down; several ships anchored in Apra Harbor were sunk; crop and livestock losses were almost com­plete, and water supply to civilian communities was cut off.

Make Hause Calls Amid this chaos 2 days after

the stoTm, when enough mud and debris had been clearnd to make roads passable, the NINCDS re­search team "took to the field to visit every patient and determine those needing immediate attention for acute illnesses contracted dur­ing or as a resuJt of the stoTm," Dr. Hoffman said.

Joining this massive effort was Dr. Kwang-Ming Chen, a neurol­ogy consultant who heads the l\Ius­cular Dystrophy Association's clinic at the N INCDS Center.

The team found that none of the 92 patients was acutely ill, but that homes of 17 patients had been completely destroyed, while those of 38 patients had sustained moderate to severe damage. How-

July 27, 1976

__,,, -

~ ':>-§,~-..l,'

--~~- ,a,;_? , < ' ~ ~- .. , . ; . . . ..._ ..

During his 2-month visit, Dr. Deluco (I) presented five lectures and exchanged information with his counterparts, including Professor N. Osaya (c) and Dr. Y. Muta-borh of the department of nutrition in the University of Tokyo's School of Health Sciences-phatagraphed during o spring festival auting.

Toastmasters Elect Officers Reginald Russell, of the Printing

and Reproduction Branch, DAS, has been elected president of the NIH Toastmasters Club, of which he has been a member for the past 3 years.

Other officers for the next 6-month term are James Pomeroy, educational vice president; Dr. Padman Sarma, administrative vice president; Anne O'Conner, treasurer; Dr. Charles R. Warne1·, secretary; and Hazel Braxton, sergeant at arms.

The club meets every Thursday at noon in the reserved dining room at the Bldg. 10 cafeteria.

ever, the staff found all patients adequately cared for, and not in need of the anticipated tempo1·ary hospital care.

The staff assisted 11 homeless patients in securing Government­leased apartments or houses, work­ing with the several relief agencies which had aided the stricken island after May 23, when President Ford declared it a major disaster area.

The remaining homeless patients a1:e staying with friends or rela­tives "until their own homes can be made livable," Dr. Hoffman said. Center Hit Before

This is the second typhoon the Research Center has weathered in the 20 years since NINCDS sci­entists first began scrutinizing ge­netic and environmental factors on Guam which might be involved in ALS and Parkinsonism-Dementia.

In the aftermath of "the worst storm to hit Guam since 1962," as Dr. Hoffman put it, the Center's staff is now going about the busi­ness of repair, rebuilding, and re­covery.

National Cancer Institute bio­chemist Dr. Luigi M. DeLuca was accorded a rare honor when the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science invited him to be one of 30 scientists from around the wo1·ld to visit Japan and lecture on their various fields of expertise. Methods Shored

Dr. DeLuca, head of the Differ­entiation Control Section in NCI's Experimental Pathology Branch, is engaged in isolating and study­ing the biological activity of phos­phorylated derivatives of vita­min A.

He sha1·ed the methodology of the isolation procedures with Jap­anese !;cientists during lectures at the University of Tokyo, the Uni­versity of Osaka, and at Tohoku University in Sendai.

Many Japanese scientists voiced their appreciation of his visit and aTe very eager to hear about re­cent scientific developments in the U.S., Dr. DeLuca said.

His host institution, the Uni­versity of Tokyo, pTesented him with an inscribed plaque of the university seal, which now deco­i-ates his Bldg. 37 office.

Dr. Almy, on Council, Honored Dr. Thomas P. Almy, professor

and chairman of the department of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, was recently awarded the Friedenwald Medal by the Ameri­can Gastroenterological Associa­tion.

Advises NIAMDD

A member of the National Ar­thritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases Advisory Council, Dr. Almy was cited for his outstand­ing contributions and service to the AGA and the profession.

THE NTH RECORD

Dr. R. A. Squire to Head Bioassay Branch in NCI

Dr. Robert A. Squire has been appointed acting chief of the Car­cinogen Bioassay and Program Resources Branch, Division of Can­ce1· Cause and Prevention, in the National Cancer Institute.

The Branch is responsible for the NCI program of testing individual chemicals for possible cance1·­causing activity in Jong-term ani­mal studies. Dr. Squire also serves as associate chief of the NCI Experimental Pathology Branch.

To ught at Johns Hopkins

Prior to coming to NCI in 1973, Dr. Squire taught pathology at the Johns Hopkins University and was director of comparative pathology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received doctorates in veterinary medicine in 1956 and in veterinary pathology in 1964 from Cornell University.

Dr. Squire replaces Dr. Norbert P. Page, who resigned 1·ecently to accept the position of chief, Pri­orities and Research Analysis Branch, National Institute for Oc­cupational Safety and Health.

In his new position, Dr. Page will coordinate research priorities concerning substances or occupa­tions that pose health hazards and recommend development of criteria or standards documents on specific substances.

Dr. Page, who received his doc­torate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State University in 1956, had been with NCI since 1971. From 1967 to 1970 he was a scientific administrator in mammalian radio­biology at the Atomic Energy Commission. He directed the Large Animal Radiobiology Program of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory from 1963 to 1967.

ENERGY TIPS • Regular tuneups can save

as much as 10 percent on gas­oline costs.

• Keep the air filter clean to avoid wasting gasoline.

• Check tire pressure reg-ularly. Underinflated tires inci-ease gas consumption.

• Steel-belted radial tires give better mileage and last longer.

• R cm o v e unnecessary weight from the car. The lighter the car, the less gas it uses.

• The weight of an auto aiI·conditioner adds to your fuel costs year round. A car ah·conditioner reduces fuel economy an average o( 10 per­cent, up to 20 percent in stop­and-go traffic.

THE NIH RECORD

-July 27, 1976

---

METRO's Coniing! What's happening behind the green fence thaL's been up for a yea1· on

South Drive and Rockville Pike?

Metro construction by the .J. Ji'. Shea Co., supervised by Bechtel Associates, is proceeding-on schedule-and Shaft #4 excavation is essentially complete.

According to Bechtel representative John Fisher, concrete pouring operations in the shaft will begin soon. In about 3 week:;, conventional tunneling will begin moving south from Pooks Hill Road.

Beginning in December, a giant mining machine nicknamed "the mole" will be used for tunneling, also starting from Pooks llill Road and moving south.

January 1979 is the planned completion date for construction of this segment of the Metro.

On-site pictures (countorclockwise from top rl: The view from South Drive os the crone lowers o worke r in the " mon coge." Se mi-moist "Shotcreto" is kept flowing by homrne ring on the revolving drum. Shoft-side warnings spell safety. Drillings dot the shaft rim of sproyed concrete test panels. A super­visor checks on the six to eight workers 128 feet below. Inside the shoft, it's wet, dusty, and noisy os o Shotcrete wall is sprayed on the tunnel surface --hord hots, masks, eor plugs, and boots ore necessities! (Bottom) A graceful old pine is fenced for preservation. Muck settles in tonks hr.fore water is pumped into storm sewers. A former dump truck is outfitted for conventionol drilling and blasting. looking toward the shaft and South Drive. The crone operators display the spirit of '76. (Center) Hord hots, lunch boxes, and huge machines symboli:re "Me n ot Work," ond construction in progress.

Page ti

Page 6 J uly 27, 1976 THE NIH RECORD

Alabama Scientists Develop Oral Vaccine Effective Against Tooth Decay in Rats

Investigators supported by the National Institute of Dental Research at the University of Alabama have shown that by ddnking a liquid vaccine rats can develop conside1·able protection against tooth decay.

Drs. Jerry R. McGhee and Jfri Mestecky of Alabama's Institute of Dental Research and associates in the microbiology depaltment on the Birmingham campus reported t hese animal studies at the recent annual meeting of the Interna­tional Association for Dental Re­search in Miami, F la.

Young, germ-free rats were di­vided into two groups. Animals in t he first group were given killed, decay-causing bacte1·ia (Strepto­coccus mi,tans) in thefr di:inking water. Later both groups were in­fected with the living organisms and fed a sugary diet.

3-Month Olds Tested

When all the animals were 3 months old, samples of saliva and blood were taken, and the teeth were examined foi· decay. The in­oculated animals had less decay on all surfaces of theit· teeth and much higher levels of salivary antibodies against S. mutans than t hose not consuming the vaccine.

One type of antibody called se­cretory IgA, Dr. McGhee explains, found in saliva and othei· glandular secretions, differs from other im­mune globulins in that it does not kill bacteria but makes them clump together.

Recent dental research has shown that this reaction interferes with the attachment of many bac­teria to various tissues in the mouth. Prevent ion of attachment may explain in part how secretory

IgA antibody reduces tooth decay. Unattached bacteria are easily

washed away by saliva and unable to colonize teeth long enough to make the acid t hat dissolves en­amel. Nevertheless, this protection is not complete because some bac­teria are trapped in small pit s and rough places.

The production of naturally oc­curring antibodies in saliva, D r . McGhee says, is thought to be stimulated by immune reactions that take place when foreign sub­stances contact mucosal surfaces, particularly those lining the gas­trointestinal tract.

He believes that S. mutans liv­ing in the mouth (and probably other indigenous bacteria also) when swalJowed can stimulate pre­cursor lymphoid cells in that tract.

These cells presumably travel via lymph ducts to local lymphoid tissue in various glands where they differentiate into the type of plasma celJ which synthesizes the secretory IgA molecule.

Secretory IgA molecules are twice as large as those of serum lgA. Many immunologists have theorized that lgA, like other anti­bodies, was made originally in the blood.

They thought that in the process of glandular excl'etion, two small molecules became linked. They

Speakers, Panel Recap Nurses' Convention Highlights

Mode rator Or. Susan Gartne r (r), Nursing Research Branch chief, Division of Nursing, BHRA, listens to poneliH Signe Coope r, professor and chairman, deportment of nursing, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, who received the 1976 ANA Honorory Recognition Aword for he r pioneer work in continuing education ond outstanding contributions to nursing.

"Update and Upbeat," a program of highlights from the 1976 Amer­ican Nurses Association Convention, was presented by the Clinical Center Nursing Department last month in the Masur Auditorium.

Keynote speaker was Jo Eleanor Elliott, a past ANA president and currently Director of Nursing Programs, Western Interstate Commis­sion for H i~her Education, Universit y East Campus, Boulder, Colo.

NIH researchers re quiring wate r of the highest purity for biom:ldicol research con now obtain it from the apparatus illustrated obove. The equipment clevc loped by the Environmental Sofety Bronch, DRS, continuously produces and stores water of the highest purity possible, f ree from organic compounds, bacteria and their by-products, endotoxins and mycotoxins, and inorganic elements othe r thon those leache d from pyrex glass. Minimal operating ond maintenance t ime ore required. For further information, coll Dr. Narbik A. Koramion, Ext. 63261 .

reasoned that to stimulate salivary glands to make a particular anti­body it would be necessary to in­ject a vaccine into or near the gland.

Last year, however, other NIDR­supported scientists showed that in proportion to their output, the hundreds of small salivary glands secreted more salivary IgA than the six large glands.

Therefore, it would be hard to tell where a vaccine should be de­posited to obtain the best effect. Now it appears that salivary IgA may be synthesized in salivary glands in the larger form and split by an unknown process as it progresses into the bloodstream.

Interest in the naturally occur­ring salivary IgA molecules led the Alabama group to investigate secretory IgA in the milk of healthy humans. They found that salivary antibody to the five var­ieties (serotypes) of S. 1nutans occurred naturally in colostrum.

Moreover the antibodies reached higher levels in the colostrum than in the saliva of them individuals, and much higher levels than in their ~era.

This evidence that naturally oc­curring salivary antibody produc­ing cells are probably not of sali­vary or blood origin but derive from the intestinal tract also in­creases the rationale for using an oral vaccine to attack the problem of 0ral infections.

In a few years children may swallow a vaccine to protect them­selves against most tooth decay much as they now drink one for polio protection.

These findings were presented

in two papers by Suzanne M. Mich. alek, Dr. Roland R. Arnold, Dr. Lorenco Bozzo, Dr. Jiri Mestecky, Dr. Michael Cole, Rose Kulhavey, Shirley Prince, and Dr. Jerry R. McGhee, of the U. of Alabama, Birmingham, supported by N IDR.

Additional evidence in support of the theory that oral vaccines may be feasible against organisms that cause dental decay was also pre­sented at the same meeting by Dr. Bo Krasse, of the University of Goteborg, Sweden, and Dr. Harold V. Jordan, Forsyth Dental Cente1·.

These investigators swabbed the mouths of young germ-free mice and rats and of young hamsters (not germ-free) with two strains of killed S. 1nuta1£s every day for 2 weeks. Some animals received dead bacteria in drinking water and food for 2 weeks. Results Compared

A week later, both treated and untreated animals were infected with the ~ame strains of live bac­teria applied various ways in the mouth or suspended in drinking water. Although the results were not as uni form in the hamsters as in the other germ-free rodents, fewer bacteria could usu ally be recovered from the immunized ani­mals than from the controls.

However, it was harder to infect conventional animals than germ­free animals, and more difficult to study their antibodies because of cross reactions with other val·ieties of bacteria. No method of apply­ing the vaccine in this study proved superior to any other. The relevance of these observations for hUlllans requires further research.

TH E NIH RECORD

NIH Visiting Scientists Program Participants

6/28-Dr. Jack David Sobel, Is­rael and South Africa, Laboratory of Clinical Investigations. Spon­sor: Dr. John I. Gallin, NIAlD, Bg. 10, Rm. 11N218.

7/1-Dr. Leiv Sigmund Bakke­teig, Norway, Epidemiology and Biometry Research Program. Spon­sor: Dr. Daniel Seigel, NlCHD, Ilg. 31, Rm. 2Al0A.

7 /1-Dr. Peter Augustine Daly, Republic of IrEland, Clinical

• Branch. Sponsor: Dr. Peter H. Wiernik, NCI, Baltimore Cancer

"' Research Center. 7 /1- Dr. !gal Baruch Gery, Is-

1·ael, Cellular Immunology Section. Sponsor: Dr. Joost Oppenheim, NIDR, Bg. 30, Rm. 322.

7/1-Dr. Johann Kul'z, Austria, Rickettsial Diseases Section. Spon­

f sor: Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, NIA ID, Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Ham­ilton, Mont.

7 /1-Dr. Richard A. Lewis, U .S., Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch. Sponsor: Dr. John Decker, NIAl\IDD, Bg. 10, Rm. 9N218.

7 /1-Dr. Mary Ong Lim, Repub­lic of China, Neonatal and Pedi atric Medicine Branch. Sponsor: Dr. Philip M. Farrell, NICHD, Bg. 10, Rm. 13N216.

7 /1-Dr. Hasan Mukhtar, India, Pharmacology Branch. Sponsor: Dr. John R. Bend, N1EUS, Re­search Triangle Park, N.C.

7 /1-Dr. Walinjom F. :M:una, Cameroon, Pathology Section. Sponsor: Dr. William C. Roberts, KHLBI, Bg. l0A, Rm. 3E30.

7 / 1-Dr. Ernesto Jorge Podesta, Argentina, Reproduction Research Branch. Sponsor : Dr. Maria L. Dufau, NICHD, Bg. 10, Rru. 12N216.

7 /1-Dr. l\Iichele Samaja, Italy, 1 Molecular Hematology Branch.

Sponsor: Dr. Robert M. Winslow, NHLBT, Bg. 10, Rm. 7D15.

7 /1-Dr. Dilip M. Shah, In­dia, Environmental Mutagencsis Branch. Sponsor: Dr. Charles H. Langley, NIEHS, Research Tri­angle Pa1·k, N .C.

' 7/1-Dr. Tadashi Tanabe, Ja-pan, Laboratory of Biochemistt"y and Metabolism. Sponsor: Dr. Gil­bert G. Ashwell, NIAMDD, Bg. 10, Rm. 9N105. Or. Manaker Is Sponsor

7 /6-Dr. Ravi Dhar, India, Viral Biology Branch. Sponsor: Dr.

- Robert Manaker, NCI, Bg. 37, Rm. 1Bl6.

7 /6-Dr. Roger Drew, United Kingdom, Laboratory of Toxicol­ogy. Sponsor: Dr. Anthony Guar­ino, Bg. 37, Rm. 5B22.

7/6-Dr. Genjiro Kimura, Japan, ~ Laboratory of Kidney and Electro­

lyte Metabolism. Sponsor: Dr. Maurice B. Burg, NHLBI, Bg. 10, Rm. GN307.

7 /6- Dr. Takaaki Kobayashi, J apan, Laboratory of Cell Biology. Sponsor: Dr. Martin Flavin,

J uly 27, 1976 Page 7

Stanford Center Treats Premature Babies' Respiratory Distress

" 't

Electronic monitors keep a constant wotch as this 3 ½ lb. baby girl sleeps in Stanford University Hospital's Premature lnfont Research Ce nter.

Respiratory distress syndrome is the greatest danger faced by pre­mature infants. Better known as hyaline membrane disease, RDS crip­ples the lungs of 20 percent of all "preemies." In 1962 it killed Presi­dent John F. Kennedy's tiny baby. Now, do~tors at Stanford's Premature Infants Research Center, a clinical research center supported by the

Medical student Eddie So (r) ond Joonn Tsuchimochi, RM {I), observe os Dr. Sunshine, progrom diredor ot the Stanford Center, chec~ a baby whose breathing is assisted by a respirator. ROS occurs in approxi­mately 1 to 2 percent of 011 live births, affecting 20 to 2S percent of premature infants in the U.S.

NHLBI, Bg. 3, Rm. 125. 7 / &-D1·. Stanislaw Marian Mi­

kulski, Poland, lnvestigational Drug B ranch. Sponsor: Dr. Milan Slavik, NCI, Bg. 37, Rm. 6E26.

7 /6-Dr. Hidehiko Tanaka, J a­pan, Laboratory of Chemistry. Sponsor: Dr. Thressa C. Stadt­man, NHLBl, Bg. 3, Rm. 103.

7 /7- Dr. Juan Manuel Lopez, Germany, Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Sponsor : Dr. Ernst Freese, NINCDS, Bg. 36, Rm. 3D02.

7 /11-Dr. Pierre Claude May, France, Laboratory of Biology of Viruses. Sponsor: Dr. Norman P . Salzman, NIAID, Bg. 5, Rm. 324.

7 /11-Dr. Beat Ukich Stein­mann, Switzerland, Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Anom­alies. Sponsor: Dr. George R.

Division of Research Resources, save over 85 percent of these babies.

According to Dr. Philip Sun­shine, program directol' o( the Cen­ter, the immediate objective in ·treating RDS infants is to keep the airways open, and at the same t ime avoid the damaging effects of high concentration of oxygen on the lungs and eyes.

Certain forms of mechanical ventilation a!'e used, such as intel'­mittent-positive pressme ventila­t ion, or continuous positive airway pressure early in the course of the illness-especially if it is antici­pated that t he child is going to be­come critically ill.

Despite their poor temperature control, the infants' t emperature is kept in a thermo-neutral zone-a zone where oxygen consumption is at its lowest point, Dr. Sunshine reports.

"The key to insuring whether or not these infants survive is the ca1·eful attention that is paid to

Martin, NIDR, Bg. 30, Rm. 416. 7 /11-Dr. Pan ayiotis D . Tsitou­

ras, Greece, Endocrine Section. Sponsor: Dr. Robert Gregemum, NIA, Gerontology Research Cen­ter, Baltimore.

7 /12-Dr. Delia Chiutcn, China, Investigational Drug ihanch. Sponsor: Dr. Milan Slavik, NCI, Bg-. 37, Rm. 6E26.

7 /12-Dr. Masatsugu Kisaragi, Japan. Laboratory of Cell Biology. Sponsor : Dr. Elmer l\Iihalyi, NHLBT, Bg. 3, Rm. Bl-17.

7 /l 2-Dr. Nili Peylan-Ramu, Israel, Pediatric Oncology. Spon­sor: Dr. David C. Poplack, NCI, Bg. 10, Rm. 3B06.

7 /12-Dr. Hagai Rosenberg, Is­rael, Laboratory of Biochemistry. Sponsor: Dr. Claude Klee, NCl, Bg. 37, Rm. 4A09.

even the slightest details," Dr. Sunshine says.

Survival for all infants admitted to the Stanford intensive care nurseries is extremely high. Fol­low-up studies of survivors who bad mechanical ventilation (o},_-y­gen assistance) between 1962 and 1969 at Stanford show t hat more t han 80 percent have no h andicaps, neurologically or intellectually.

Figures Show Improvement

The 1969 to 1974 figures, not yet released, show a higher percentage of normality for the surviving in­fants, indicating an improved pro­gram at the Center.

About 700 infants are admitted to Stanford's inten sive care nur­series yearly. An additional 50 a1·e admitted to NIH's "Preemie Gen­eral Clinical Research Center." It is estimated that 90 percent of these critical cases probably would not have survived without treat­ment.

Another factor in lowering new­born mortality has been improved infant transportat ion systems. The Stanford infant transport service annually handles more than 200 infants from outlying communi ty hospitals.

Treatment Aid Defined

"Treatment aid," says Dr . Sun­shine, "is to support the infant until he produces a surface-active material to line the airway and keep the alveoli (tiny aid sacs in t he lungs) from collapsing . We treat the infant as one would tl·eat a heart attack. We treat the com­plications RDS brings and g ive the infant time to heal himself."

The clinical researchers at t he Cente1· are now concentrating on improved t echniques to raise t he percentage of sm·vival of newborn infants weighing 1500 grams (3 1/3 lbs.) or under.

Parents come as often os 3 times o day to the Stanford Center to leorn to feed ond core for their "smoll-for­dotes" infants- full-term babies we ighing under 2S00 grams or S.S pounds. This premature boby began life weighing o pound ond o half.

Page 8 July 27, 1976 THE NIH RECORD

New Total Body X-ray Scanner at CC Gives Clearer, More Precise Body View

X-roy technicion Carl Newman prepares a patient an the Clinical Center's new EMI totol body sconner. The scanner's X-roy tube rotates 180 degrees a round the potient ot the opening in the scanner, toking 300,000 absorption coeffic ient readings of body tissue in 20 seconds.

By Kurt Heine CC Normal Volunteer

Following the success of the Clinical Center's EMI brain scanner, a $650,000 EMI total body scanner was installed at the CC in May.

The device will be well worth its cost because it can show parts of the body that were p1·eviously difficult or impossible to see, according to Dr. John L. Doppman, chief of the CC Diagnostic Radiology Depart­ment.

The body scanner uses a tech­nique known as computerized axial tomography (CAT). Unlike a con­ventional X-ray that sends a broad beam of radiation over a large area, the CAT scanner's X-ray tube directs a thin, concentrated beam of radiation th1·ougb a cross-sec­tion of the body to detectors. Method Described · The tube rotates 180 degrees around the patient's body taking 'over 300,000 !'eadings o.r X-ray ab­sorption coefficient in a 20-second scan. A complete study of a pa­tient usually includes 8 to 15 sep­arate scans of 13 mm-thick slices of the body.

The absorption values are con­tinuously fed into a computer which constructs an image from the readings that is viewed on a cathode ray tube. The image can then be recorded photographically with a Polaroid camera built into the viewer.

Variations in the absoqition co-

NIH Horn Club Presents Concert on Aug. 5 ot CC

The }IJH Chamber Music Association is presenting a concert by the NIH Horn Club on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Masur Auditorium.

The concert includes selec­tions by Gabrieli, Wagner, Tcherep11ine, and Muller.

There is no charge for ad­mission.

efficients of tissue can easily be recognized using the CAT tech­nique. For example, if a patient has a kidney tumor, the ~canner can detect such a mass as differ­ent from the surrounding tissue.

Hold Breath for Clarity

Another advantage of the scan­ner is that since each scan takes only 20 seconds, most patients can hold their breath for this short time. The absence of movement gives a clearer, more precise image than possible before with a radia­tion dose comparable to that of conventional X-ray examinations.

Dr. Jean R. Herdt, deputy chief of the CC Diagnostic Radiology Department, says that the precision of the Ecanner enables it to be used to diagnose the extent of a dioease more accurately than other means and that the machine will eventu­ally be of more value.

E.xperience Needed This is because the scans, show­

ing tissue in a cross-sectional view, are new to radiologists. And, since there are no formal training pro­grams in interpreting the scans, Dr. Herdt says, with more expe­rience radiologists will be better able to undetstand what the new technique can show.

A complete series of scans can presently take up to 2~~ hours. However, the computer is being adjusted to cut the proces~ing time of each scan from the 5 minutes it now takes so the total study t ime will be sho1-tened.

Dr. Robert Melville Wins Fisher Scientific Award For Clinical Chemistry

Dr. Robert S. Melville, chief, Automated Clinical Laboratory Section, Biomedical Engineering Program, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, will re­ceive the American Association of Clinical Chemistry's 11th annual Fisher Scientific A ward.

Honored in Houston At a ceremony Aug. 4 in Hous­

ton, Tex., Dr. Melville will be pre­sented with an honorarium of $1,000 and an inscribed plaque. The award is presented each year in recognition of outstanding setv­ice by a clinical chemist for the benefit of clinical chemistry as a profession.

A native of Worceste!·, Mass., Dl'. Melville received his A.B. de­gree from Clark University, Wol'­cester, and his Ph.D. in biochem­istry from the University of Iowa.

Position Noted Dr. Melville was clinical research

chemist at the Massachusetts Gen­eral Hospital for the Harvard Uni­versity Laboratory of Research in Industrial Fatigue and held several clinical chemistry posts before joining the Veterans Administriv tion central office staff as chief biochemist.

Since 1966, Dr. Melville has been an NIGMS scientist administrator and also serves as executive secre­tary of the Institute's Medical Laboratory Sciences Review Com­mittee.

In his present position, Dr. Mel­ville bas played a major role in the creation of a national program

Since 19S2, Dr. Melville hos been a diplomate af the American Board of Clinical Chemists. As a director and current vice president of the Boord, he helped expand the peer system for providing credentials.

for the support of clinical labor­atories research and training.

Dr. Melville, a founder and im­mediate past president of the Na­tional Registl'Y in Clinical Chem­istry, is credited with being an influence in the p1·ovision of creden­tials for clinical chemists at the baccalaureate level. Received Roe Award

For the past 25 years, he has been an activll member of the AACC, and in 1970-71 was its president. In 1972, the Capital Section of the AACC presented him with the Joseph H. Roe Award in the field of clinical chemistry.

It is the province of knowledge Lo speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.-Oliver Wendell Holmes.

-R-114453-C . -- 0? 19 ,, · ... -· - ... ····· 19?6

,-,' ·'

A Polaroid picture of a computeri:<cd scon of the mid-abdominal area shows the liver, kidneys, and bowel.

* U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFF'JCEt 197 5-749.903/12