1. The anabolic agent trenbolone acetate (3-oxo-17 β-hydroxy-4,9, 11-oestratriene acetate; TBA) given subcutaneously to female rats increased their growth rate compared with that of the placebo-treated controls.

2. The increased growth rate of the TBA-treated rats was not a consequence of an increased water retention. The TBA-treated rats had a significantly higher (P < 0.01) total carcass nitrogen content but the total carcass fat content decreased by a non-significant (P > 0.05) 8.3%.

3. There was evidence of a time-lag in the response of the fractional synthetic rate of certain individual tissues to TBA. The fractional synthetic rates of the uterus and skeletal muscle mixed tissue proteins were significantly reduced in the TBA-treated rats.

4. The measured reduction in fractional synthetic rates was concluded to reflect true changes in the synthetic rate rather than a result of an alteration in the specific activity of the tyrosine pool used for protein synthesis.

1. The changes in serum levels of uric acid and lipids during 1 month of starvation-refeeding were measured in sixteen male volunteers.

2. Uric acid levels increased linearly with the duration of the experiment. The increase was positively correlated with the increase in serum triglycerides but not with cholesterol or phospholipids.

3. Triglycerides increased at a faster rate than uric acid implying that the increase in uric acid was secondary to that of the lipid.

4. It was concluded that the purine and lipid synthetic pathways are linked through a common small-molecular-weight effector rather than through the sharing of a common enzyme.

1. Fluid intake, urine output and evaporative water loss were measured and fluid balance calculated in sixteen subjects for 1 d before Ramadan, during weeks 1–5 of fasting and on the 10th day after the end of Ramadan.

2. Plasma osmolality at 06.00 hours, the beginning of the fast, at 18.00 hours, before breaking the fast and at 19.00 hours, 1 h after breaking the fast, and urine osmolality during the day and night were measured before, during and after Ramadan.

3. All subjects developed an initial negative fluid balance which was maximum at the beginning of week 3 of fasting and that deficit was compensated for during the later weeks.

4. Compensation was brought about by an increase in urine concentration, a decrease in urine volume by day, and salt retention.

5. No significant changes were observed in plasma osmolality during the days of fasting and the ‘setting’ of plasma osmolality during Ramadan also was not changed.

6. It was concluded that healthy young adults maintain good control of fluid and electroytes during Ramadan.

1. Amaranthus spp. leaves contain high amounts of oxalates which affect the calcium absorption. This study was done to determine whether removal of the water-soluble oxalates from the leaves by cooking would reduce this deleterious effect.

2. Experimental work done with two types of basal diets on six adult male subjects has shown that the milk Ca absorption was low when leaves cooked without draining away the water were included in the diet. However when the soluble oxalates were removed by throwing away the water after cooking the leaves, the absorption of milk Ca was unaffected.