Transthoracic impedance pneumographs from sixty children suffering from acute bronchitis were studied to investigate the effect of Vaporub on the amplitude and frequency of breathing. The experimental technique consisted of an observation period of 70 minutes after a 3-minute treatment with Vaporub or petrolatum as a control. Before the treatment, after an adaptation period of 20 minutes, the pneumogram was recorded for 10 minutes, after the treatment pneumograms were recorded for 70 minutes. The pneumograph data demonstrated an early increase in amplitude up to 33.0%, with subsequent return to slightly above control for the remaining test period. Such an increase was not observed in the Petrolatum-treated group. Breathing frequency demonstrated a progressive decrease to 19.4% of the pre-treatment value at the end of the test period, while the Petrolatum controls were between + 3.6 to - 4.2% difference. It is concluded that Vaporub treatment results in a change in breathing patterns. This, together with the clinical observation of the children suggests a condition of 'easier breathing'.

In this study pneumographs of children with acute bronchitis treated with Vicks Vaporub or Petrolatum were used. Movement artifacts were used as a measure of the so-called "restlessness" of the children. The experimental schedule consisted of a 10-minute phase of recording before a 3-minute treatment with Vaporub or Petrolatum, followed by a 70-minute observation period, during which time pneumograms were also recorded. Thirty-four Vaporub-treated children showed an increase in periods without movement artifacts of up to 213.8%, the Petrolatum controls, twenty-six children, up to 62.4% as compared to the corresponding pre-treatment values. It is concluded that Vaporub is effective in decreasing restlessness in children suffering from acute bronchitis. This effect is quite marked and cannot be due solely to psychological effects of the rub therapy, or to effects of petrolatum without aromatics.

I n a system of synchronously dividing mouse fibroblasts (L cells), the activity of several enzymes was determined in relation to initiation of DNA synthesis. Synchrony of DNA synthesis and cell division was obtained by selective mechanical detachment of cells in mitosis, thereby avoiding the use of blocking agents. The activity of DNA polymerase under assay conditions permitting terminal or replicative activity to occur shows characteristic fluctuations throughout the life cycle of the cell: whereas the terminal enzyme activity exhibits a peak at about 12 h, the replicative form of the enzyme has its maximum 16 h after mitosis. DNA synthesis starts at about 9 h and reaches its peak at 16 h after mitosis. The two enzyme fractions examined (particulate and supernatant) prefer native DNA as primer. The supernatant enzyme exhibits exclusively terminal activity with heat-denatured DNA as primer. The degradation of TTP by TTPase is subject to characteristic fluctuations in the mitotic cycle, whereby a decrease of TTPase activity of the particulate enzyme fraction in the S-phase (phase of DNA synthesis) may contribute to a preservation of the TTP pool, thus acting as an additional regulatory mechanism. DNase activity remains nearly constant throughout the mitotic cycle.The regulation of DNA synthesis is essential for an understanding of the phenomenon of cell proliferation. DNA synthesis depends in part on the presence of precursors, the availability of DNA primer, and the activity of the polymerizing enzyme. The present paper deals with the activity of DNA polymerase and degrading enzymes affecting the precursor pool (TTPase) and the primer DNA itself (DNase). This investigation presents 8 gross and certainly incomplete view of some factors operating in the complex process of DNA synthesis i n vitro.The use of a mechanically synchronized cell system prevents disturbance of metabolic processes and therefore yields perhaps a more correct picture of metabolic events in relation to the life cycle than can be obtained in studies using blocking agents, EXPERImNTAL PROCEDURES ME!l!HODS Cell ProcessingMonolayers of L cells used in these studies were grown a t 37" in a modified Eagle medium suppleUnusual Abbreviations. GI-phase, presynthetic phase; S-phase, phase of DNA synthesis; G2-phase, postsynthetic phase; TTPase, thymidine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase.Enzymes. DNA polymerase or DNA nucleotidyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.7); RNase or ribonuclease (EC 2.7.7.16); DNase or deoxyribonuclease I (EC 3.1.4.5). To ascertain the degree of cell synchrony an aliquot of cells a t different stages of the cell cycle after pulse labelling with [3H]thymidine (1 pC/ml medium, 10 min pulse) was processed for autoradiography and for measuring the DNA amount by means of Feulgen microphotometry [3].Cells in the logarithmic phase of growth were harvested by being scraped and washed three times in 5 ml ice-cold buffer A (0.02 M Tris, pH 7.5; 0.1 M KC1; 0.1 mM EDTA); the cells were resuspended in 1 ml cold buffer B (0.02 M Tria, pH 7.5; 0.01 M KC...

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