Rural health care looks to the future. Issues in the institutionalization and management of rural health care: making technology appropriate

Experimental projects have demonstrated the technical feasibility of systems of accessible, affordable health care. These projects have relied extensively on non-professional community health workers. However, large-scale implementation of these schemes will require new management procedures that are both responsive to rural health needs and congruent with national institutions. This paper identifies the need to establish institutional mechanisms to mobilize essential inputs, promote acceptance by beneficiaries, maintain quality standards, recruit and retain field staff, and achieve accountability for resources. It then outlines methods for developing these institutions. It stresses the need for both formal, bureaucratic organizations and informal organizations of clients. It also identifies the need to consider administrative and institutional resources in determining the appropriateness of a health care technology.     

An optical method for the determination of the isotopic composition of 1H2O/2H2O mixtures: Eu3+ luminescence lifetimes

A spectroscopic method employing pulsed dye laser instrumentation is described for the determination of the 1H2O/2H2O composition of aqueous solutions by the measurement of reciprocal excited state lifetimes of EuEDTA-. The reciprocal lifetimes, gamma-1, of the 1H2O/2H2O mixtures increase linearly with the mole fraction of 1H2O. For EuEDTA- the relationship between gamma-1 and the mole fraction, chi H, of 1H2O in 1H2O/2H2O mixtures is expressed by the equation chi H = 0.37 gamma-1-0.152, with a sensitivity in chi H of +/- 0.02. The reciprocal lifetimes are independent of pH in the range 5.1 to 10.5, changes in ionic strength, and the type of buffer used in EuEDTA- containing solutions.     

Zingiberanamalayanum sp. nov. (Zingiberaceae) from India

Zingiber anamalayanum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from the southern western Ghats, India is described and illustrated. A phenetic analyses to assess the similarity indices and the uniqueness of the new species have been performed. A diagnostic key to Zingiber spp. in south India is provided.