Epidemiology and Course of Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage in North-east Scotland

A prospective study was made of 817 consecutive episodes of major gastrointestinal haemorrhage in patients admitted to hospital during 1967-8 from the defined population of North-East Scotland. The yearly admission rate was 116 per 100,000 population. Comparison of the data for city and country residents showed no appreciable differences. In the duodenal ulcer group there was an undue incidence of bleeding among foremen and skilled workers and among those who were unmarried or widowed.Both the clinical history and the results of any previous barium meal examinations were unreliable guides to the source of the current haemorrhage. Prognosis was worse for patients who did not have a dyspeptic history and was better for those who had bled on a previous occasion. The simultaneous ingestion of alcohol and aspirin had an adverse effect on the occurrence of bleeding. Forty-seven per cent. of the patients had another major coincidental disease.Mortality was 13·7% in the whole series and 8·6% in those with peptic ulcer (duodenal ulcer 7·1%, gastric ulcer 16·9%). In 28% of the patients further haemorrhage occurred after admission to hospital and caused a 28·8% mortality. Seventy-four patients were already in hospital when they first bled and 44% of them died.     

The use of natural shelter by Red deer (Cervus elaphus) in relation to weather in North-east Scotland

The use of natural shelter in relation to weather by Red deer on open moorland is described. Most shelter-seeking behaviour in winter was associated with the chilling effects of wind. Although deer sheltered from both wind speed and temperature individually, the combined effect of these (i.e. "windchill") was likely to be most important. The most important individual factor was wind. In winter, resting deer sheltered from the wind by lying on lee slopes, in long vegetation, on dry ground and in places with small amounts of geomorphic shelter; they sought very sheltered places only during blizzards. Deer were found in more shelter as windchill increased, and did not appear to seek constant conditions from day to day. They put up with worse conditions when feeding than when resting. On summer days with high temperatures and strong sun, deer were seen standing when at rest, and were found in the shade, and on wet or bare ground; they also lay in the wind, bathed in water or stood on patches of old snow.     

Seasonal change in the above-ground phytomass of an Agrostis-with-Festuca grassland in North-east Scotland

Summary

The above-ground standing crop of an Agrostis-with-Festuca grassland near Cabrach, Banff, was measured nine times in a 16-month period by harvesting sample plots. Standing crop peaked in late summer when the weight of live graminoid phytomass reached its seasonal maximum.     

Selective stripping of rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) bark by cattle in North-east Scotland

Summary

During winter 1973–4 beef cattle removed bark selectively and extensively from rowan growing in two Aberdeenshire woods. Some bark was also taken from Norway spruce and willow, but damage to all other species, including ash, beech, birch, gean, larch, Scots pine and sycamore, was negligible. In other woodlands utilised by cattle in this area bark-stripping was either less severe or absent. Possible causes for the bark-stripping are discussed. The rowan bark was not distinctive in cover, species of epiphytic lichen or inorganic composition, except perhaps for magnesium.     

Survey of Home Visiting by General Practitioners in North-east England

A total of 190 general practitioners in North-east England recorded the details of each home visit they made during a two-week period towards the end of 1969. Altogether 17,200 visits were made and these have been analysed. Two major points emerge: firstly, the extreme variation in visiting habits by general practitioners; and, secondly, the feeling that many home visits were unnecessary.     

Structure and Ultrastructure of the Endodermal Region of the Alimentary Tract in the Freshwater Shrimp Neocaridina heteropoda (Crustacea,Malacostraca)

The freshwater shrimp Neocaridina heteropoda (Crustacea, Malacostraca, Decapoda) originates from Asia and is one of the species that is widely available all over the world because it is the most popular shrimp that is bred in aquaria. The structure and the ultrastructure of the midgut have been described using X-ray microtomography, transmission electron microscopy, light and fluorescence microscopes. The endodermal region of the alimentary system in N. heteropoda consists of an intestine and a hepatopancreas. No differences were observed in the structure and ultrastructure of males and females of the shrimp that were examined. The intestine is a tube-shaped organ and the hepatopancreas is composed of two large diverticles that are divided into the blind-end tubules. Hepatopancreatic tubules have three distinct zones – proximal, medial and distal. Among the epithelial cells of the intestine, two types of cells were distinguished – D and E-cells, while three types of cells were observed in the epithelium of the hepatopancreas – F, B and E-cells. Our studies showed that the regionalization in the activity of cells occurs along the length of the hepatopancreatic tubules. The role and ultrastructure of all types of epithelial cells are discussed, with the special emphasis on the function of the E-cells, which are the midgut regenerative cells. Additionally, we present the first report on the existence of an intercellular junction that is connected with the E-cells of Crustacea.     

Evolutionary History of the Sex-Peptide (Acp70a) Gene Region in Drosophila Melanogaster

In Drosophila the products of the seminal fluid stimulate oviposition and suppress remating in the female. Of all the accessory gland peptides (Acp's) involved in these two responses, the sex-peptide (coded by the Acp70A gene) is among the best characterized at the functional level. A 1.2-kb fragment encompassing the Acp70A gene of nine lines from a natural population of D. melanogaster and one allele of D. sechellia was sequenced to study the forces shaping nucleotide variation within and between species. The coding region of D. simulans and D. mauritiana was also sequenced. A Ser to Ala replacement polymorphism at the last position of the signal peptide was detected in D. melanogaster. The Ser and Ala alleles are at intermediate frequencies. The level of nucleotide variation is lower for the derived Ala allele, which is compatible with a recent origin and an increase in frequency due to positive selection. Variation at the 5' flanking region is structured in two major highly differentiated haplotypes, whose distribution does not conform to neutral expectations. Selective and/or historical factors could contribute to the observed overall patterning of nucleotide variation at the Acp70A region.     

Radiation accidents in the Southern Urals (1949-1967) and human genome damage

A series of radioactive catastrophes (from 1948 to 1967) in the Southern Urals in the USSR led to intensive environmental contamination. Radioactive wastes were dispersed over the 20000 km(2) territory of four provinces-Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen' and Kurgan-due to the activity of the military facility that was built in 1948 for the production of nuclear bomb plutonium. The results of 50 years of investigations into the consequences of these disasters allow a general picture of the events that occurred to be reconstructed and allow the medical consequences of the irradiation of about half a million residents to be depicted. However, due to the atmosphere of secrecy and inadequate medical procedures, the results of medical studies of radiation victims are scant. The current protocols present a unique opportunity to study the DNA damage at the nucleotide resolution level in the genome of inhabitants of the given region, who presumably received chronic doses of irradiation. Studies were conducted through the direct sequencing of genes after their PCR-amplification and preselection of allegedly mutated DNA molecules. The regions of two genes have been sequenced: D1 dopamine receptor gene (subfamily of the G-protein coupled receptor L-DOPA genes) and the intron 12 of the gene for phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) responsible for phenylketonuria or hyperphenylalaninemia. Six point mutations (four presumably new) were found in the D1 gene of 42 persons and five polymorphic loci (two of which are widespread and three are unique) were revealed in the PAH gene. One of two widespread mutations is a deletion, and the other four are substitutions. Mutations in the controls were not found.     

A School Survey on the Flowering Time of Broom (Sarothamnus scoparius) in the North of Scotland

Biological Radiographs B. Ann Blofield and G. Du Boulay London: Macmillan Education Ltd. £4.95 per set. Reviewed by Brian Jones

Outline Drawings for Human Physiology D. G. MacKean Overhead projector transparencies 9 Sets (84 foils). London: John Murray. £17.50. Reviewed by Colin Stoneman

Colour Micrographs Gene Cox (for Introduction to Biology by D. G. Mackean) 7 sets of 20 slides London : John Murray. £600 per set Reviewed by Colin Stoneman

Audio-visual Materials for Higher Education Pp. xx+221. British Universities Film Council Ltd. £2.75. Reviewed by C. G. Gardener