Splenocyte plaque assay for the detection of murine leukemia virus

A modified XC assay for murine leukemia virus (MuLV) employing splenocytes taken directly from the animal is described. This modification can be more than 1000 times more sensitive than XC plaque assays employing tissue extracts. This technique should lend itself readily to the quantitation of infectious MuLV in defined populations of lymphoid cells.

Injuries caused by rubber bullets: a report on 90 patients

The injuries in 90 patients caused by rubber bullets are described. There was 1 death and 17 people in the series had permanent disabilities or deformities. In 41 patients the injuries necessitated admission to hospital. One fatality outside this series is known. Injuries to the head and neck were frequent and severe.

Politics in the development of a migrant health center. A pilgrim's progress from idealism to pragmatism

New methods of health-care delivery have been recommended to correct the inequities in the distribution of health services to rural and urban poor. A migrant health center developed in 1970 to accomplish this aim illustrated the many attendant problems. The award of the grant to an outside consumer group rather than to the country health department resulted in political pressures during the center's development. Other factors isolated the center. These included categorical funding specifically directed to a community's ethnic minority and the lack of a regional network of health care. Confusion was created when legitimate spokesmen of the target group, other segments of the local community or interested private and governmental agencies were not defined. Although a program for curative and preventive medicine was established for a minority, the center was less successful in becoming self-supporting and in affecting the social and economic determinants of health.

One-way nonstimulation of mixed leukocyte culture in dog families

Fifteen dog families were studied in mixed leukocyte culture. In eight families of seven different breeds, one-way nonstimulation in mixed leukocyte culture was observed. This could be explained by lymphocyte-defined (LD) homozygosity in most instances. In one family, an inclusion phenomenon was postulated, and in another, a deletion. LD homozygotes can serve as reference for LD typing and can also help elucidate the relative role of the LD locus for transplantation of organs.

Varioilluminator (subtractive double monochromator with variable bandpass)

A varioilluminator is a double monochromator in which the dispersion in the second half of the instrument is subtractive rather than additive and in which the central slit can be opened very wide. The wavelength bandpass depends almost entirely upon the width of the central slit. The jaws of the central slit in the instrument described here were made independently variable, so that the long and short wavelength cutoffs could be independently selected. Quartz or glass prisms could be used, and bandpasses from about 15A to several hundred Acould be chosen.

Stress during acquisition and T-maze choice behavior in extinction

4 groups of 5 rats each were trained to turn left or right in a T-maze for food reinforcement, then reversed. 2 groups acquired the right turn with shock in the alley stem. During extinction (no food, no shock) shocked Ss either maintained or regressed to right turns. Frustration theory and elicitation theory interpretations were discussed.

Use and abuse of hospital emergency departments

A sample survey of 3622 patients attending the emergency department at Toronto's North York General Hospital was conducted during July 1970. The objectives were to study the increasing use of this department, especially by non-urgent patients, to discover reasons for this trend, and to recommend possible ways of reversing or at least coping with the increasing usage.Over 80 percent of the sample said they had a family physician; however, less than 40 percent reported phoning him before coming to the department. The results show that the family physician can be effective (over the telephone) in screening prospective emergency patients.Dr. Bain concludes that it's time to educate the public to use family physicians and emergency departments more effectively. Should public education be ineffective, it will be necessary to develop, construct and staff facilities to handle non-urgent, non-traumatic patients.

A procedure for the Cherenkov counting of high energy β and γ emitting radionuclides in coloured plant extracts

Elimination of count rate variations caused by the absorption of Cherenkov radiation by pigments in coloured solutions was achieved by placing these solutions in opaque walled cylinders immersed in colourless liquids contained in standard counting vials. Good counting efficiencies for a range of β and γ emitting radionuclides were obtained by selecting colourless liquids with high refractive index.