The x-ray photoelectron spectra of tetraphenylporphin, phthalocyanine and their copper complexes were measured. The copper complexes show a single nitrogen 1s photoline, whereas the metal free bases give rise to a doublet nitrogen 1s photoline. The central pyrrole and aza nitrogens in the metal free bases could be identified, whereas the central and meso-bridging aza nitrogens in phthalocyanine could not be discriminated. Each of the central two protons in the metal free bases is localized on one of the central four porphinato nitrogens. The shifts in N 1s binding energy observed in the present work could be reproduced by the shifts in the charge density on nitrogen obtained for the bonded structure by an extended Hückel molecular orbital calculation.

The photopic hill in the primate ERG results mainly from two factors: the reduction of the ON-component amplitude at higher intensities and the delay in the positive peak of the OFF-component at higher intensities.

Mice possessing two mutant alleles at the W or Sl locus are anemic and deficient in mast cells. These mouse mutants have black eyes and white hair. Because homozygous mutant rats at the newly found white spotting (Ws) locus were also black-eyed whites, the numbers of erythrocytes and mast cells were examined. Suckling Ws/Ws rats showed a severe macrocytic anemia and were deficient in mast cells. When bone marrow cells of normal (+/+) control or Ws/Ws rats were injected into C3H/He mice that had received cyclophosphamide injection and whole-body irradiation, remarkable erythropoiesis occurred in the spleen of +/+ marrow recipients but not in the spleen of Ws/Ws marrow recipients. When skin pieces of Ws/Ws embryos were grafted under the kidney capsule of nude athymic rats, mast cells did develop in the grafted skin tissues. Therefore, the anemia and mast cell deficiency of Ws/Ws rats were attributed to a defect of precursors of erythrocytes and mast cells. Because the magnitude of the anemia decreased and that of the mast cell deficiency increased in adult Ws/Ws rats, this mutant is potentially useful for investigations about differentiation and function of mast cells.

In patients with FA, 38% had extensive cone dysfunction. The reduced full-field cone ERGs were mainly due to the loss of cone photoreceptors, and the rod system was also affected in some patients.

These results indicate that macular function is partially recoverable after macular translocation in some patients.