The influence of the steroid hormones on the physical state of human erythrocyte membranes

Summary Steroids alter the physical state of the regions in the human erythrocyte membrane, where glucose transport is occurring.The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. We thank Dipl. Phys. P. Geck for the aid in statistical evaluation.     

The possible influence of the components of the soil and the lithosphere on the development and growth of neoplasms

The author reviews the background of the soil-cancer relationship. The study then goes into geocarcinogenic diseases in relation to soil composition, looking first at general factors: soil concentrations of selenium, caesium-rubidium-potassium, trace elements; natural radioactivity risks; cancer risks in connection with recycled waste water. In its final part, the study examines geocarcinogenic diseases linked with soil composition covering gastric cancer, cancer of the esophagus, urinary, breast, and bronchial cancer, pleural mesotheliomae and bone cancer.     

The influence of Spinoza’s concept of infinity on Cantor’s set theory

Georg Cantor, the founder of set theory, cared much about a philosophical foundation for his theory of infinite numbers. To that end, he studied intensively the works of Baruch de Spinoza. In the paper, we survey the influence of Spinozean thoughts onto Cantor’s; we discuss Spinoza’s philosophy of infinity, as it is contained in his Ethics; and we attempt to draw a parallel between Spinoza’s and Cantor’s ontologies. Our conclusion is that the study of Spinoza provides deepening insights into Cantor’s philosophical theory, whilst Cantor can not be called a ‘Spinozist’ in any stricter sense of that word.     

The possible influence of the components of the soil and the lithosphere on the development and growth of neoplasms

Summary The author reviews the background of the soil-cancer relationship. The study then goes into geocarcinogenic diseases in relation to soil composition, looking first at general factors: soil concentrations of selenium, caesiumrubidium-potassium, trace elements; natural radioactivity risks; cancer risks in connection with recycled waste water. In its final part, the study examines geocarcinogenic diseases linked with soil composition covering gastric cancer, cancer of the esophagus, urinary, breast, and bronchial cancer, pleural mesotheliomae and bone cancer.     

A statistical study on the possible influence of soil and other geological conditions on cancer

Zusammenfassung Statistische Studien vonDiehl undTromp haben gezeigt, dass merkwürdige geographische und geologische Verteilungen des Krebses in Holland auftreten, die auf Grund von Altersunterschieden, Berufsunterschieden usw. nicht zu erklären sind. Sie scheinen teilweise auf Bodenunterschiede zurückzuführen sein.     

DNA-dependent-DNA-polymerase: possible limiting influence on cell reproduction during viral leukemogenesis

Evidence is presented that during viral leukemogenesis spleen cell nuclei show an increase in labelling index and mean grain count, that is not accompanied by any changes in the nuclear level of DNA-polymerase-alpha. It is suggested that polymerase production remains under the control of the normal cell mechanisms and the virus may affect cell proliferation by altering the primer-template levels.     

Francesco Patrizi da Cherso's concept of space and its later influence

This study considers the contribution of Francesco Patrizi da Cherso (1529–1597) to the development of the concepts of void space and an infinite universe. Patrizi plays a greater role in the development of these concepts than any other single figure in the sixteenth century, and yet his work has been almost totally overlooked. I have outlined his views on space in terms of two major aspects of his philosophical attitude: on the one hand, he was a devoted Platonist and sought always to establish Platonism, albeit his own version of it, as the only currect philosophy; and on the other hand, he was more determinedly anti-Aristotelian than any other philosopher at that time. Patrizi's concept of space has its beginnings in Platonic notions, but is extended and refined in the light of a vigorous critique of Aristotle's position. Finally, I consider the influence of Patrizi's ideas in the seventeenth century, when various thinkers are seeking to overthrow the Aristotelian concept of place and the equivalence of dimensionality with corporeality. Pierre Gassendi (1592–1652), for example, needed a coherent concept of void space in which his atoms could move, while Henry More (1614–1687) sought to demonstrate the reality of incorporeal entities by reference to an incorporeal space. Both men could find the arguments they needed in Patrizi's comprehensive treatment of the subject.     

Quantum probability from subjective likelihood: Improving on Deutsch's proof of the probability rule

I present a proof of the quantum probability rule from decision-theoretic assumptions, in the context of the Everett interpretation. The basic ideas behind the proof are those presented in Deutsch's recent proof of the probability rule, but the proof is simpler and proceeds from weaker decision-theoretic assumptions. This makes it easier to discuss the conceptual ideas involved in the proof, and to show that they are defensible.     

Chebyshev's lectures on the theory of probability

Communicated by B. Bru     

The effectiveness of imprecise probability forecasts

In this paper we investigate the feasibility of algorithmically deriving precise probability forecasts from imprecise forecasts. We provide an empirical evaluation of precise probabilities that have been derived from two types of imprecise probability forecasts: probability intervals and probability intervals with second-order probability distributions. The minimum cross-entropy (MCE) principle is applied to the former to derive precise (i.e. additive) probabilities; expectation (EX) is used to derive precise probabilities in the latter case. Probability intervals that were constructed without second-order probabilities tended to be narrower than and contained in those that were amplified by second-order probabilities. Evidence that this narrowness is due to motivational bias is presented. Analysis of forecasters' mean Probability Scores for the derived precise probabilities indicates that it is possible to derive precise forecasts whose external correspondence is as good as directly assessed precise probability forecasts. The forecasts of the EX method, however, are more like the directly assessed precise forecasts than those of the MCE method.     

The discovery of nature's biosynthetic pathways

Uro'gen-III is a key intermediate on the biosynthetic pathways to the vitally important natural pigments haem, chlorophyll and the cytochromes. How the unexpected structure of uro'gen-III is synthesized by living things has long been a major puzzle. Studies based on 13C-labelling are described which show a) that a single intramolecular rearrangement occurs and b) that this step occurs after the open-chain linear tetrapyrrole system has been built. A second study involves stereospecific labelling with deuterium and tritium to elucidate the absolute stereochemistry of the enzymic reaction sequence which produces the vinyl groups of haem. The third and last section of the lecture is focussed on the biosynthetic intermediates lying between uro'gen-III and cobyrinic acid on the pathway to vitamin B12. An octacarboxylic isobacteriochlorin is isolated from a vitamin B12-producing organism and this is shown to be identical with sirohydrochlorin, previously obtained by Kamin and Siegel as the metal-free prosthetic group of certain sulphite-reducing bacteria. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of sirohydrochlorin are studied and comment is made on the evolutionary interest of these findings.     

The discovery of nature's biosynthetic pathways

Summary Uro'gen-III is a key intermediate on the biosynthetic pathways to the vitally important natural pigments haem, chlorophyll and the cytochromes. How the unexpected structure of uro'gen-III is synthesized by living things has long been a major puzzle. Studies based on¹³C-labelling are described which show a) that a single intramolecular rearrangement occurs and b) that this step occurs after the open-chain linear tetrapyrrole system has been built.A second study involves stereospecific labelling with deuterium and tritium to elucidate the absolute stereochemistry of the enzymic reaction sequence which produces the vinyl groups of haem. The third and last section of the lecture is focussed on the biosynthetic intermediates lying between uro'gen-III and cobyrinic acid on the pathway to vitamin B₁₂. An octacarboxylic isobacteriochlorin is isolated from a vitamin B₁₂-producing organism and this is shown to be identical with sirohydrochlorin, previously obtained by Kamin and Siegel as the metal-free prosthetic group of certain sulphite-reducing bacteria. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of sirohydrochlorin are studied and comment is made on the evolutionary interest of these findings.This account is a slightly extended version of the Paul Karrer Lecture given on July 5th, 1977 at the University of Zürich.