Boric Acid Research Dr

ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITYALUMNI NEWS Volume V SEPTEMBER 1963 Number 1 University Appoints Fr. Meyer, Dr. Clark As New SJU Deans Administrative Assistant Appointed; Father Colman Gets Education Post The appointments of Rev. Cyril F. Meyer, C.M. as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Dr. John J. Clark as dean of the College of Business Administration, were announced early this month by the Very Rev. Edward J. Burke, C.M., SJU president. Also named was Rev. John E. Colman, C.M., as administrative assistant to the dean of the School of Educa- tion. Graduate Dean As dean of the Graduate School, Father Meyer also as- sumes the position of Coordi- nator of Research succeeding Rev. Joseph E. Hogan, C.M., who since September 1954 held the posts. Father Hogan, a professor of Philosophy and Political Science will resume teaching full-time this fall. The new dean is a native of Brooklyn. He attended St. J o- Dr. J. Clark Rev. C. Meyer seph's College, Princeton, N.J. and the Collegio Angelico, Rome, Italy, where he received SJU Alumnae Hold his Ph.D. in 1928. He received an honorary doctor of Science in Education from Niagara Fashion-Luncheon University in 1956. In addition to his post as a On October 19 professor of philosophy in St. Prizes, a display of the latest John's College for the past year, fashions, and lunch - these Father Meyer has served as the are the ingredients of the dean of the College from 1941- fourth annual Luncheon and 50. From 1950-56, he was vice Fashion Show, sponsored by ''ORIC ACID," said TIME, the weekly news magazine in its July 5, 1963 president and vice chairman the alumnae of St. John's Uni- .lJ issue, "once a favorite remedy for minor irritations such as diaper rash of the Board of Trustees of the versity's CBA, School of Edu- and prickly heat, can be fatal. Most insidious are the cases in which frequent University. cation, University College, Law, application allows boric acid to be absorbed into the body through mucous CBA Dean Pharmacy and Department of membranes. Since the body is slow to eliminate the chemical, it accumulates As dean of the College of Nursing Education. The annual in the liver and kidneys; in infants it sometimes causes nausea, convulsions Business Administration, Dr. affair, "Around the World in and death. For years pediatricians have been wary of boric acid. Now a re- Clark succeeds Dr. Peter K. Fashion," will be held on Oc- search team at St. John's University College of Pharmacy in New York City Ewald who has resigned effec- tober 19, at Carl Hoppl's Res- has developed a simple, effective urine test that can be performed by a doctor tive Aug. 31. Dr. Ewald held taurant, Baldwin, L. I., N. Y. in his office and can spot a boric acid buildup before it is too late." (See story the post since September 1960. Chairman for this year's A distinguished author, scho- affair is Irene K. Murphy '48 below and On page 2). (Photo by Donato L eo) lar and· administrator, Dr. Clark UC, who is being assisted by has served as assistant dean co-chairman Patricia McGold- and director of the Graduate rick '54UC. Division for the past three Mink Stole years. Fashions and models will be Boric Acid Research Dr. Clark came to SJU in provided by MR. MORT. High- By George P. Royall. boric acid as a "home remedy" 1950, became an associate pro- lighting the program will be Editor, SJU Science Reporter or family cure-all. fessor of economics in 1959 and the raffling of an "Autumn Given the seeming intracti- was named to his administra- Haze" Mink Stole by Peter A short time ago, a baby died in a bility of the general public and tive post the next year. Duffy. large Boston hospital after being treated (Continued on page 2, Col. 1) (Continued on page 4, Col. 3) (Continued on page 3, Col. 1) at home a few days before with a "harmless" remedy for diaper rash. In upstate New York, several months later, six infants lay seriously ill, victims of a mistake in feeding which had given them regular doses of a nondescript, clear liquid as part of their diet. College Alumni to Honor Golden & • These are selected examples of the work of an insidious type of poison that masquerades under the guise of a safe, all-purpose antiseptic. When properly used, H B0 , or as it is properly 2 3 Silver Jubilarians at 83rd Banquet known, boric acid, is just that, safe and harmless; but put it into the hands of the unwary ,or incautious user, who disregards the The 83rd annual dinner of Catholic Charities. New York. warning printed clearly on every bottle or can - "For external St. John's College Alumni RT. REV. MSGR. HENRY LEO A. McGINITY, retired, use only" - and it is a "chemical wolf in sheep's clothing," re- Association Oct. 10 will be M. HALD, P.A., Ph.D., LL.D., formerly staff writer and re- sponsible, last April alone, for 165 reported cases of poisoning in marked by the presentation of pastor, St. Benedict Joseph porter for the New York Times. children. the 50-year Golden Jubilee Labre, Richmond Hill, N.Y., and Mario M. Cuomo, a member What makes this type of poisoning so dangerous and difficult to Medals to the surviving mem- Superintendent of Schools, Dio- of the sponsoring class of 1953, counteract? The peculiar nature of the borate ion, for one, renders bers of the Class of 1913. cese of Brooklyn. is the general chairman of the early symptomatic detection almost impossible. Eliminated at a They are: ROBERT J. KIERNAN, re- affair. Mr. Cuomo, partner in very slow rate from the human system, borates can accumulate RT. REV. MSGR. WILLIAM tired, formerly vice president, the law firm of Corner, Finn, gradually through direct ingestion, absorption through broken or T. DILLON, J.D., LL.D., pastor, Sterling National Bank, New Froeb & Charles, N.Y.C., was irritated skin, or even inhalation, until a fatal or near-fatal de- St. Teresa's Church, Brooklyn, York City. recently elected president of posit exists. N.Y., and formerly president THOMAS F. J. LYNCH, re- the Catholic Lawyers Guild of The second and perhaps more difficult problem is the persis- of St. Joseph's College for Wo- tired, formerly assistant princi- the Brooklyn Diocese. Also a tence of human habit. Nearly every reported instance of boric men, Brooklyn. pal of Brooklyn Public School graduate of St. John's Law acid poisoning has been the result of carelessness or mistaken RT. REV. MSGR.PETERW. System. School, he is a lecturer on the usage. Yet packages are clearly labelled by law, textbooks and FOX, pastor, Blessed Virgin PHILIP E. McCAFFREY, re- faculty. prescription manuals attest to the possible toxicity of the com- Mary, Help of Christians tired, formerly administrative The banquet will also high- pound, and the combined professional voices of medicine and Church, Woodside, N.Y., and assistant, Grover Cleveland light the traditional honoring pharmacy have long urged a saner policy towards the use of Queens County Supervisor, High School, Queens County, (Continued on. page 4, Col. 5) 2 ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY ALUMNI NEWS, SEPTEMBER 1963 .MISUSED MEDICA TI0 N: Pharmacy Research Detects Boric Acid Poisoning (Continued from page 1) the ineffectiveness of present methods of diagnosing boric acid poisoning, further hand-wringing about the dangers of the fa- miliar antiseptic would seem pointless without an effective and sure method of early detection. The necessity of such a test has been made even more apparent by the increasing use of organic borane compounds in industry (jet and rocket fuels, plastics). Thus, added to the current danger of boric acid poisoning, predominantly in infants, is the fear that many workers may slowly accumulate lethal doses of boron sim- ply by breathing. DILIGENT RESEARCH Sometime· in the near future, an immediate, positive test for the detection of borates in the human system may be used throughout the country, nipping in the bud, hopefully, many po- tentially acute cases of boric acid or boron poisoning. The test is the result of the diligent research of three faculty members of the St. John's University College of Pharmacy, and the willing assis- tance of several ambitious undergraduates. The highlight of St. John's project, as reported at a recent meet- ing of the American Pharmaceutical Association, was that an inexpensive and efficient method for the detection of borates in samples of urine had been discovered. The findings of the research "team" were based on studies conducted over a period of a year, during which rabbits were fed varying quantities of boric acid and urine samples were collected periodically. Object of research at St. John's is to detect the pres· ence of the borate ion when introduced into the biological system. Forced feeding (left) of pre-determined amount of boric acid in solution must be done while animal is com· fortable and oral route is accessible. After a short wait, sample of animal's urine is taken, placed in small porce- lain dish and evaporated by steam bath (above). Addition of hydrochloric acid, poly- vinyl alcohol and a drop of iodine will produce blue color, denoting the presence of bor· ates. Relatively inexpensive equipment and chemicals used by Dr. Sciarra and Professor Monte-Bovi (below) have had amazingly accurate results, evidenceCI in color ch-art held by Dr. Sciarra. Births Kathryn Judith to Mr.

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