How much day surgery? Delphic predictions.

A list was compiled of 83 of the commonest operations, which according to published reports may be performed on day patients but which in our district were usually performed on inpatients. The results of a national Delphi study among anaesthetists and general surgeons who were known to be in favour of day surgery produced estimates of the probable rates of day surgery for each of those operations under ideal conditions. Comparison of these figures with those from a Delphi study carried out in one district and with figures for day surgery carried out in that district and with waiting list figures enabled two health districts to focus their efforts to increase day surgery. The figures from the national Delphi study could be applied in other districts if the following are taken into account: Hospital Activity Analysis data must be validated; though there was consensus among the national Delphi consultants, personal clinical opinions varied; the case load may grow as waiting lists decrease.     

The diversity of neurosecretory cell types in the cave tick Ornithodoros tholozani

Neurosecretory cells are arranged in 16 NSC centers in the different regions of the brain of O. tholozani. The component cells belong to 13 different types, of which five types are paraldehyde fuchsin positive and the remaining types are negative. Three of these cell types are here described for the first time. Some of these NSC show an affinity to certain localities inside the brain. Cells comprising a neurohaemal organ were found near the exit of the esophagus.     

Lectin binding pattern and band 3 localization in toad skin epithelium and the effect of salt acclimation

Seven lectins were employed to localize glycoconjugates in the skin of a toad (Bufo viridis). Each of the lectins exhibited a particular, specific and selective binding pattern. Peanut lectin (PNA) and WGA bound to mitochondria-rich (MR) cells, but WGA bound also abundantly, in the dermis. Band 3-like protein, as indicated by the reaction with polyclonal anti band 3 antibody, was localized exclusively in MR cells. Ionic acclimation (200 mmol/L NaCl, or 50 mmol/L KCl) affected profoundly the binding pattern of the lectins. High NaCl acclimation resulted also in diminishing anti band 3 antibody binding, whereas in skins of KCl-acclimated toads the staining remained similar to the control. The binding of WGA but not PNA, corresponded with the same cells that stained with anti band 3 antibody. PNA in concentration of < 10 μg/mL reduced reversibly, both the resting and activated Cl^? conductance by 25–30%. Based on differential binding of band 3, WGA and PNA, these observations provide conclusive verification of the presence of at least two populations of MR cells in the toad skin epithelium. It is suggested that the PNA positive MR cells may correspond to a β-type MR cell. The information can be used to study molecular mechanisms that are involved in ionic acclimation.     

Relationship between suicide and myocardial infarction with regard to changing physical environmental conditions

In recent years, the possible association of changes in mortality from cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction (MI) and deaths related to violence and the suicide rate has been repeatedly discussed. This study examined the relationship between cosmic physical changes (solar, geomagnetic and other space activity parameters) and changes in the total number of in-hospital and MI-related deaths and deaths from suicide to determine if a relationship exists between the distribution of total and MI-related deaths with suicide over time; some differences in the serotonergic mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of MI and suicide were also taken into account. All suicides (n=2359) registered in the State of Israel from 1981 to 1989 (108 months) were analysed and compared with the total number of deaths (n=15601) and deaths from MI (n=1573) in a large university hospital over 180 months (1974–1989). The following were the main features of the Results. (1) Monthly suicide rate was correlated with space proton flux (r=0.42,P=0.0001) and with geomagnetic activity (r=–0.22,P=0.03). (2) Total hospital and MI-related deaths were correlated with solar activity parameters (r=0.35,P<0.001) and radiowave propagation (r=0.52-0.44,P<0.001), an with proton flux (r=–0.3 to –0.26,P<0.01). (3) Monthly suicide distribution over 108 months was correlated with MI (r=–0.33,P=0.0005) and total hospital mortality (r=–0.22,P=0.024). (4) Gender differences were prominent. We conclude that the monthly distributions of suicides and deaths from MI are adversely related to many environmental physical parameters and negatively correlated with each other.     

Inherent growth capacity of chicken heart myoblasts

Chicken heart myoblasts from embryos of different ages were cultivated as cell cultures and their growth capacity was tested. It was found that the concentration of the inoculate (the initial amount of cells) determined the amount of growth (the final amount of cells). The growth capacity in vitro varied considerably with the embryonic age. The older the embryos the higher was the growth capacity of the myoblasts. The results were interpreted and a theory put forward.     

Failure of linguistic relationships to predict genetic distances between the Waiãpi and other tribes of lower Amazonia

Data on blood group, serum protein, erythrocyte enzyme, and histocompatibility antigen (HLA) traits are presented for the Waiãpi, a Tupispeaking tribe of the Brazilian and French Guianas. Intra- and intertribal comparisons have been made between these data, and previously published data from French Guiana, from another Tupi tribe and from other tribes of neighboring areas, and from the continent as a whole. For this purpose, we have modified the usual measure of genetic distance to obtain a value which is independent of the number of loci being considered. The intertribal genetic distances do not correlate with linguistic affinity. Social differences, which may have affected the rate of drift from the continental mean, correlate better with genetic distances.