Brachyptera Group. Sp.32. C. Brachyptera. Sp.33. C.c RUFA. Sp.34. C. Troglodytes. Sp.35. C. Fulvicapilla.

A part from considerations as to where it is best wedged into the linear sequence, the brachyptera group is defined in general terms as a compact group of four small or very small species which resemble one another in many important specific characters and the other thirty-six species classified here as Cisticola in so many ways of form, coloration and behaviour as to make them best understood by classifying them also under that generic name.     

Robusta-Natalensis Pair. Sp. 30. C. Robusta. Sp.31. C. Natalensis.

T he two giants of the genus-that is so far as the cock birds are concerned, but, as with chiniana and a few others, their hens are so much smaller that even when in the field the two sexes are seen in company one may often doubt their being a pair of the same species.     

Species 29. Cisticola Carruthersi. Pl. XIV. fig. 59. Cisticola carruthersi O.-Grant, Bull. B. O. C. xxiii. 1909, p. 94: typ. loc. Mokia, L. George, Uganda.

The B. O. C. Ruwenzori expedition of 1906 brought home a single immature female of this species, obtained in a papyrus swamp near Lake George, and to Ogilvie-Grant's discrimination we owe the recognition of its specific distinction from galactotes , the species it so closely resembles in coloration, and which is certainly carruthersi s nearest ally.     

Species 7. Cisticola Brunnescens. Pl. VII.

This third species of Cloud-scraper was first named by Dr. von Heuglin in 1862 from an adult male in Summer dress obtained by himself in Abyssinia. Later (in 1869), not realizing their specific identity, von Heuglin gave examples of the same species in Winter and juvenile dresses with different specific names, viz. iodopyga and habessinica , but did not have to contend with the difficulty of separating ayresii from brunnescens because the former species does not occur in Abyssinia. Elsewhere, from Kenya Colony to South Africa, that has always been the difficulty, and wherever the two species were subsequently found they were more or less indiscriminately related to one another as forms or allies of ayresii (under that bird's wrong name terrestris) , until, in 1913 *, Roberts showed the differences between them in South Africa, and, in 1922†, van Someren the same for Kenya Colony.     

Species 13. Cisticola Distincta sp. Nov. Pl. XIX. fig. 81.

Type in the American Museum New York, reg. no. 263393; an adult male collected by Mr. F. P. Mathews and Dr. J. P. Chapin June 1926, in the Kidong Valley, Kenya Colony: wing 65, tail 59.5.     

Andropause ou P.A.D.A.M.

Recently the word P.A.D.A.M. has been proposed to replace the term Andropause (Partiel Andrologen Deficiency in Aging Males). This implies that most if not all problems of the aging male are due to testosterone déficiency, which is not at all true when one considers the results of endocrine investigations in that group. So many other sociological and relational causes are involved that the term P.A.D.A.M. is clearly a misnomer.     

Species 38. Cisticola Ruficeps. Pl. XVIII.

An easily recognized little bird in both of its very different seasonal dresses: one with no very near relative among the other species, but thoroughly Cirticoline from every point of view, alive or on the table: about the size of the Wood-Warbler (P. sibilatrix) , but with a shorter tail and much shorter wings, (totally different coloration), and in behaviour more like a bush-loving Sylvia , the Whitethroat (S. communis) for instance, only without any of that bird's aerial love-dances.     

Robert Alexander Falla K.B.E., C.M.G., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.N.Z.

Abstract

On 23 February 1979 Sir Robert Falla collapsed and died at his home in Eastbourne. He was 77. His sudden death came as a great shock to his multitude of friends and colleagues, many of whom were still sharing with Sir Robert a deep sense of loss at the death on 31 May 1978, shortly after the couple's golden wedding anniversary, of his charming wife Molly.     

Chimeric twins. T.S. and M.R. reexamined

A pair of chimeric twins, T.S. (male) and M.R. (female), were examined. The amounts of 'foreign' blood cells in each twin found on three occasions were compared. The percentages of M.R. cells found in the blood of T.S. in 1977 and in 1982 were similar and about 1/5 of that found in 1970. The amount of T.S.-blood cells found in M.R. was declining slowly from about 31% in 1970 to about 25% in 1982.     

Species 31. Cisticola Natalensis. Pl. XV.

This very well known large bird shares with galactotes the distinction of having greater seasonal difference of dress than any other of the thirty-eight African Cisticolae: Asiatic-Australian exilis lias even greater, but only in the cock bird.     

V.A.T.E.R. association and its limits

Comparative investigation of 92 cases of V.A.T.E.R. syndrome (4 personal cases) and 62 cases of caudal regression (Duhamel syndrome) (2 personal cases) are performed. There is much analogy between these two entities. Initial impairment would be an early dysfunction of mesoderm setting up located on esophagus in V.A.T.E.R. syndrome and on kidneys in Duhamel syndrome. Etiopathogenic factors remain unknown. Genetic counseling is good. Detection of only one mesodermal malformation leads to inquire other unnoticed anomalies (kidneys, heart, spine, alimentary duct).     

Species 32. Cisticola Brachyptera. Pl. XVI.

What has been said about it in the introduction to the group leaves little necessary to say here of brachyptera s systematic position, but the following historical note relating to the bird's confusion with rufa will probably be useful.     

R.M. Cowling,D.M. Richardson & S.M. Pierce (eds.) 1977. Vegetation of Southern Africa.

We determined the role of bird dispersal in seed and seedling dynamics of the tree Kalopanax pictus from 7 years of observing seed rain and seedling emergence in a broad-leaved deciduous forest in central Japan. We also performed an experiment on the influence of seed pulp on germination of seeds of K. pictus. Seeds of this species can lie dormant for several years, and this causes rather constant yearly seedling emergence in spite of irregular seed production. The spatial distribution of the seedlings that emerged each year (maximum distance from nearest conspecific seed-bearing tree of 90 m) was wider than that of gravity-dispersed seeds (max. distance of 37 m), suggesting seed dispersal by birds in winter. Emerged seedling densities at sites over 20 m from the nearest conspecific seed-bearing tree were highest in the spring of 1991, about half a year after the largest seed fall of the observation period. However, emerged seedling densities within 20 m from seed-bearing trees were highest in 1992, 1.5 years after the largest seed fall. These field observations may be explained by the experimental results on the effects of seed pulp on germination. Intact seeds germinate slowly at low germination rates, while seeds without seed pulp germinate quickly at high germination rates. Fallen seeds with seed pulp thus appear to form a seed bank near seed sources (temporal dispersal), while seeds scattered by birds appear to increase the possibility of reaching the present safe sites in distant areas with quick germination (spatial dispersal).     

species 14. CISTICOLA CHINIANA. Pls. IX. & X.

First named in 1843 from a single specimen obtained by Dr. Andrew Smith's expedition. near the southern limit of its range, the South African bird, as one of the medium sized, pattern-backed Cisticolae may be said to have finally come into clear definition in Roberts' 1913 Review after a long period of endless confusion with some or all of the species of the subruficapilla group. But that does not entirely clear the ground for chiniana , for it is a remarkably plastic form in so far as coloration goes, and north of the Zambesi, particularly in equatorial East Africa, presents certain geographical variations of coloration which have tended towards confusing it with some of the plain-backed species of the genus.     

Pohlia andrewsii J. Shaw in the U.S.S.R.

Abstract

P. andrewsii appears to be widespread in the arctic regions of the U.S.S.R. and also in mountains of southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains. Except in the mountains of Central and Northern Europe the range of P. andrewsii does not overlap with P. annotina and P. camptotrachela.     

Species 39. Cisticola Tinniens. Pl. XIV.

A smallish, rather slender-built bird; quite a typical Cisticola like subruficapilla , which species despite its different coloration is-one of if not the nearest of its allies, about the same size, build and proportions as the Sardinian Warbler (S. melanocephala) and with much moreover in its behaviour which recalls that and other quite differently coloured bush-loving Sylvia Warblers, such as, for instance, the Whitethroat (S. communis).     

V.A.C. instillation: in vitro model. Part 1.

The reproducibility of a V.A.C. (Vacuum Assisted Closure) instillation system was investigated by means of an in vitro model. The relation between the volume of a delivered solution and its removal from the system was studied in foams of various size. The relationship of instillation time periods and the volume of delivered solution was determined.     

V.A.C. instillation: in vitro model. Part 2.

The behavior of a liquid in foam in the course of the V.A.C. instillation was investigated in an in vitro model by visualization using an aqueous color solution and by a quantitative determination of changing concentration of Ringerlactate solution.     

Q. & A. on C. P. S

Encephalitis is a challenging public health problem in Kern County and in the San Joaquin Valley area. During the last ten years the authors have studied the epidemiology of encephalitides due to arthropod-borne viruses and the methods used in the differential dignosis of these conditions. To incriminate a virus it is necessary to demonstrate a rise in antibody titer in the blood over a period of seven to fourteen days, the first specimen to be taken as soon as possible after onset of symptoms. A variety of tests may be necessary in some cases. Among the patients included in this presentation the greater number of those with encephalitis and also of those with poliomyelitis were under 30 years of age. The age range was five weeks to 49 years. The median annual mortality rate was 4.3 deaths per 100 cases for poliomyelitis and 3.9 for encephalitis. The greatest incidence occurred during the summer months.The clinical manifestations usually observed in encephalitis are described, but it is emphasized that wide variations and even completely atypical clinical phenomena are encountered. Four representative cases are reported and treatment is discussed. Vaccination and vector control are considered as the most promising means of combating the disease.