- Email: [email protected]
NOBEL PRIZE FOR CHEMISTRY
766
observations is, of course, the early immune reaction, which was independently described by Leon3 in Mexico in 1942. Unfortunately this does not seem to be found often enough in the less severe cases to give it much
in the severe case where the that one would expect urinary excretion of rickettsial substances to be greatest. Fleck mentions false positive results both with normal :-;erum and with urine from non-typhus cases ; but the test is’ simple to carry out and in a typhus outbreak its extended trial may yield valuable information.
diagnostic value. It is kidney is more affected
HEALTH LEAD
poisoning
IN
THE POTTERIES
and silicosis have
long
been known
to be the main
occupational health risks in making and decorating pottery. Lead enters into the composition of glazes, and free silica in various forms into both glazes and pottery bodies. Ground flint, which contains a high percentage of free silica, has also been freely used in
pottery-making for various other purposes such as the placing " of biscuit ware (or unglazed pots) for firing-in "
ovens.
the body of the ware must also be done in such a way that no dust escapes into any place where people are employed. The new regulations should go far to make the potters’ ancient craft a more healthy one. TOBACCO ANGINA ? Titis unfortunate term, originally introduced nearly fifty years ago by Huchard/ dies hard. One reason is that there is still no convincing evidence of a direct relation between smoking and angina pectoris. It has proved almost impossible to evolve an experiment that will produce a definite " yea " or "nay," and even when man himself is the experimental subject there are many factors to complicate the issue. Thus Pickering and Sanderson,2 in a detailed study of one patient, show that though in this individual angina pectoris followed smoking it did so only just after the subsidence of an attack of pain precipitated by exercise, when the blood-pressure and pulse-rate were still raised. Even the many reports which attribute changes in the electrocardiogram to a direct effect of smoking on the heart are under suspicion, because care has not been taken to exclude the possibility-often the probabilityof these changes being due not to the smoking but to the changes in pulse-rate which it induces. Impressed by the absence of convincing electrocardiographic evidence, Bryant and wood 3 have studied 16 patients with coronary disease, all of whom were smokers but none of whom gave a history suggesting a relation between their anginal symptoms and the use of tobacco. Unipolar limb and chest leads were used and electrocardiograms were taken at rest before and after the smoking of two cigarettes. In 2 patients angina pectoris, accompanied by electrocardiographic changes, followed this procedure : in one of these the pain was induced only by smoking ; in the other it was induced by exertion" and by smoking. In the patient with " tobacco angina the pain and electrocardiographic changes were not associated with any rise in pulse-rate, and some ten months later he reported that he had given up smoking and had had no further attacks. It is dangerous to argue from the particular to the general, especially when the particular means one case ; but extended investigation on these lines might help to solve a vexed problem. Unless, and until, such an investigation shows that smoking alone can produce angina pectoris, clinicians will be justified in contending that, per se, it is not an important factor in the genesis of this condition. Sir Maurice Cassidy, from an analysis of 1000 cases of coronary disease seen in his own practice, has stated that " so far as so-called ’tobacco angina’ is concerned, I have never encountered Such a condition " 4 ; and even in these days of laboratory medicine such a statement must be given serious consideration.
Since the beginning of the century much progress has been made in reducing the incidence of lead poisoning and silicosis by two standard methods-namely, exhaust ventilation to remove dust from the workers’ breathing area, and replacement of the noxious agents by less harmful ones. Leadless glazes have in many cases replaced those containing lead, and a further innovation has been the low-solubility lead glaze, the principle of which was discovered about 1900 by Sir Edward Pope, at that time Chief Government Chemist, when he fused raw lead compounds with silica to produce a " frit " or lead silicate which is relatively insoluble and therefore less poisonous than red or white lead. The result of these improvements can be seen in the figures for lead poisoning in potteries : in 1900 210 cases with 8 deaths were notified, but in 1944 and 1945 none at all. Likewise the practice of using ground flint for the placing of biscuit ware for firing was productive of much dust and many cases of silicosis ; but it has been discovered within the last fifteen years or so that powdered alumina, which has refractory properties comparable with those of flint or quartz, will serve the purpose equally well, and its dust is relatively harmless when inhaled by the workers. Since then flint has been replaced by alumina for placing biscuit ware in most of the potteries in the country. The new code of regulations issued by the Ministry of Labour and National Service4 crystallises the advances made in preventive measures during the present century .and should bring any backward potteries into line. These regulations prohibit the use of raw lead glazes in the manufacture and decoration of pottery after Oct. 7, 1948, and in the manufacture of glazed tiles after Oct. 7, 1949. The actual wording is that " no glaze which is not " a leadless glaze or a low solubility glaze shall be used after the specified dates. Again, after Jan. 7, 1948, ground or powdered flint or quartz shall not be used (1) for the placing of ware for the biscuit fire ; (2) for the polishing of ware ; (3) as an ingredient in a wash for saggars, trucks, bats, cranks, or other articles used in supporting ware during firing ; or (4) as a dusting or supporting powder in potters’ shops. Another important regulation is that, with certain exceptions, ground or powdered flint must not be brought into a factory in a dry state, but must come in as a slop or paste. Unfortunately this prohibition cannot be made absolute, and a subsection provides that dry powdered flint or quartz may be brought into a factory if the containers are so sealed and enclosed as to prevent the escape of dust. The subsequent processes of handling and mixing to form
NOBEL PRIZE FOR CHEMISTRY THE award of a Nobel prize to Sir Robert Robinson, P.R.s., comes as no surprise. It is probably fair to say that he has made more positive contributions to organic chemistry than any man, living or dead. Where other eminent organic chemists have been content to till one or two fields, he has raised crops from many. His work on the alkaloids, for example, is outstanding, and this perhaps is his favourite line ; but he is known equally for his achievements with anthocyanine pigments, antimalarial compounds, penicillin, sterols, and sex hormones ; while his Faraday lecture at the recent centenary celebrations of the Chemical Society showed that he is equally at home in purely theoretical chemistry. Many good wishes will go to Sir Robert and Lady Robinson, herself a distinguished chemist, on this present recognition of his genius.
3. Leon, A. P. Rev. Inst. Sal. Enferm. trop. 1942, 3, 201. 4. The Pottery (Health) Special Regulations, 1947, dated Oct. 7, 1947, made by the Minister of Labour and National Service under section 60 of the Factories Act, 1937. S.R. & O., 1947, no. 2161. London : H.M. Stationery Office. 1d.
Huchard, H. Traité clinique des maladies du cœur et de l’aorte, Paris, 1899. 2. Pickering, G. W., Sanderson, P. H. Clin. Sci. 1945, 5, 275. 3. Bryant, J. M., Wood, J. E. jun. Amer. Heart J. 1947, 34, 20. 4. Cassidy, M. Lancet, 1946, ii, 587.
synthetic
1.
observations is, of course, the early immune reaction, which was independently described by Leon3 in Mexico in 1942. Unfortunately this does not seem to be found often enough in the less severe cases to give it much
in the severe case where the that one would expect urinary excretion of rickettsial substances to be greatest. Fleck mentions false positive results both with normal :-;erum and with urine from non-typhus cases ; but the test is’ simple to carry out and in a typhus outbreak its extended trial may yield valuable information.
diagnostic value. It is kidney is more affected
HEALTH LEAD
poisoning
IN
THE POTTERIES
and silicosis have
long
been known
to be the main
occupational health risks in making and decorating pottery. Lead enters into the composition of glazes, and free silica in various forms into both glazes and pottery bodies. Ground flint, which contains a high percentage of free silica, has also been freely used in
pottery-making for various other purposes such as the placing " of biscuit ware (or unglazed pots) for firing-in "
ovens.
the body of the ware must also be done in such a way that no dust escapes into any place where people are employed. The new regulations should go far to make the potters’ ancient craft a more healthy one. TOBACCO ANGINA ? Titis unfortunate term, originally introduced nearly fifty years ago by Huchard/ dies hard. One reason is that there is still no convincing evidence of a direct relation between smoking and angina pectoris. It has proved almost impossible to evolve an experiment that will produce a definite " yea " or "nay," and even when man himself is the experimental subject there are many factors to complicate the issue. Thus Pickering and Sanderson,2 in a detailed study of one patient, show that though in this individual angina pectoris followed smoking it did so only just after the subsidence of an attack of pain precipitated by exercise, when the blood-pressure and pulse-rate were still raised. Even the many reports which attribute changes in the electrocardiogram to a direct effect of smoking on the heart are under suspicion, because care has not been taken to exclude the possibility-often the probabilityof these changes being due not to the smoking but to the changes in pulse-rate which it induces. Impressed by the absence of convincing electrocardiographic evidence, Bryant and wood 3 have studied 16 patients with coronary disease, all of whom were smokers but none of whom gave a history suggesting a relation between their anginal symptoms and the use of tobacco. Unipolar limb and chest leads were used and electrocardiograms were taken at rest before and after the smoking of two cigarettes. In 2 patients angina pectoris, accompanied by electrocardiographic changes, followed this procedure : in one of these the pain was induced only by smoking ; in the other it was induced by exertion" and by smoking. In the patient with " tobacco angina the pain and electrocardiographic changes were not associated with any rise in pulse-rate, and some ten months later he reported that he had given up smoking and had had no further attacks. It is dangerous to argue from the particular to the general, especially when the particular means one case ; but extended investigation on these lines might help to solve a vexed problem. Unless, and until, such an investigation shows that smoking alone can produce angina pectoris, clinicians will be justified in contending that, per se, it is not an important factor in the genesis of this condition. Sir Maurice Cassidy, from an analysis of 1000 cases of coronary disease seen in his own practice, has stated that " so far as so-called ’tobacco angina’ is concerned, I have never encountered Such a condition " 4 ; and even in these days of laboratory medicine such a statement must be given serious consideration.
Since the beginning of the century much progress has been made in reducing the incidence of lead poisoning and silicosis by two standard methods-namely, exhaust ventilation to remove dust from the workers’ breathing area, and replacement of the noxious agents by less harmful ones. Leadless glazes have in many cases replaced those containing lead, and a further innovation has been the low-solubility lead glaze, the principle of which was discovered about 1900 by Sir Edward Pope, at that time Chief Government Chemist, when he fused raw lead compounds with silica to produce a " frit " or lead silicate which is relatively insoluble and therefore less poisonous than red or white lead. The result of these improvements can be seen in the figures for lead poisoning in potteries : in 1900 210 cases with 8 deaths were notified, but in 1944 and 1945 none at all. Likewise the practice of using ground flint for the placing of biscuit ware for firing was productive of much dust and many cases of silicosis ; but it has been discovered within the last fifteen years or so that powdered alumina, which has refractory properties comparable with those of flint or quartz, will serve the purpose equally well, and its dust is relatively harmless when inhaled by the workers. Since then flint has been replaced by alumina for placing biscuit ware in most of the potteries in the country. The new code of regulations issued by the Ministry of Labour and National Service4 crystallises the advances made in preventive measures during the present century .and should bring any backward potteries into line. These regulations prohibit the use of raw lead glazes in the manufacture and decoration of pottery after Oct. 7, 1948, and in the manufacture of glazed tiles after Oct. 7, 1949. The actual wording is that " no glaze which is not " a leadless glaze or a low solubility glaze shall be used after the specified dates. Again, after Jan. 7, 1948, ground or powdered flint or quartz shall not be used (1) for the placing of ware for the biscuit fire ; (2) for the polishing of ware ; (3) as an ingredient in a wash for saggars, trucks, bats, cranks, or other articles used in supporting ware during firing ; or (4) as a dusting or supporting powder in potters’ shops. Another important regulation is that, with certain exceptions, ground or powdered flint must not be brought into a factory in a dry state, but must come in as a slop or paste. Unfortunately this prohibition cannot be made absolute, and a subsection provides that dry powdered flint or quartz may be brought into a factory if the containers are so sealed and enclosed as to prevent the escape of dust. The subsequent processes of handling and mixing to form
NOBEL PRIZE FOR CHEMISTRY THE award of a Nobel prize to Sir Robert Robinson, P.R.s., comes as no surprise. It is probably fair to say that he has made more positive contributions to organic chemistry than any man, living or dead. Where other eminent organic chemists have been content to till one or two fields, he has raised crops from many. His work on the alkaloids, for example, is outstanding, and this perhaps is his favourite line ; but he is known equally for his achievements with anthocyanine pigments, antimalarial compounds, penicillin, sterols, and sex hormones ; while his Faraday lecture at the recent centenary celebrations of the Chemical Society showed that he is equally at home in purely theoretical chemistry. Many good wishes will go to Sir Robert and Lady Robinson, herself a distinguished chemist, on this present recognition of his genius.
3. Leon, A. P. Rev. Inst. Sal. Enferm. trop. 1942, 3, 201. 4. The Pottery (Health) Special Regulations, 1947, dated Oct. 7, 1947, made by the Minister of Labour and National Service under section 60 of the Factories Act, 1937. S.R. & O., 1947, no. 2161. London : H.M. Stationery Office. 1d.
Huchard, H. Traité clinique des maladies du cœur et de l’aorte, Paris, 1899. 2. Pickering, G. W., Sanderson, P. H. Clin. Sci. 1945, 5, 275. 3. Bryant, J. M., Wood, J. E. jun. Amer. Heart J. 1947, 34, 20. 4. Cassidy, M. Lancet, 1946, ii, 587.
synthetic
1.