Beliefs about one's bodily state, emotionality, and aggression

70 male undergraduates were given a placebo and told either that it was a stimulant, analgesic, reflex-inhibitor, or vitamin. Ss completed a mood questionnaire, after receiving either 6 shocks (attack) or 2 shocks (no attack), ostensibly an evaluation of their solution to a problem. They then used shock to evaluate a standard solution produced by their former evaluator (a confederate). No significant differences were detected among the placebo conditions in shock number, duration, intensity, or latency. However, among Ss reporting that the “drug” seems to have some effect, those attacked and taking the reflex-inhibitor had significantly longer shock latencies. Attacked analgesic Ss did not perceive the shocks as less painful but rated themselves highest in insult.

Epidemiology of variola minor in Brazil based on a study of 33 outbreaks

Surveillance-containment units were established in 1969 in four States of Brazil as part of the national smallpox eradication programme. Their responsibilities included both the investigation of reported cases and the control of outbreaks, and the further extension and development of the reporting network. Altogether, 33 outbreaks of smallpox were investigated in detail, all in endemic areas not yet reached by the attack phase of the eradication programme. Official reports of 27 cases led to the discovery of an additional 1 465 cases, suggesting that reporting was not more than 2% complete in endemic areas. The total of 1 492 cases in 33 outbreaks occurred in 493 households comprising a study population of 3 088 persons: three-quarters of the cases were in children under 15 years of age. Only 5% were in individuals aged 30 years or more. The case-fatality ratio was 0.8%. The overall attack rate among unvaccinated persons (76.2%) was 23 times that among vaccinated persons (3.3%). Age-specific vaccine effectiveness ratios ranged from 94% to 100% with an overall reduction in expected cases among the vaccinated of 95%. There was no evidence to suggest waning of immunity among persons who had been successfully vaccinated. There was an inverse relationship between susceptibility and age since a greater proportion of adults had already had smallpox or a successful vaccination; 97% of pre-school-age children and 82% of school-age children had no history of smallpox and no vaccination scar. In all 33 outbreaks, more than 60% of unvaccinated persons became ill; in 5 outbreaks the attack rate for unvaccinated persons was greater than 90%.

Smallpox occurrence in the município of São Paulo, Brazil, 1945-69

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Smallpox eradication in Brazil, 1967-69

The Campanha de Erradicacão da Varéola (CEV) was established in 1966 by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to eradicate smallpox. By October 1970 more than 75 million people had been vaccinated through this programme of systematic vaccination. In the 12 states where the attack phase had been completed by June 1969, there was an 80% decrease in reported cases in 1969 compared with the previous year. This decline in incidence contrasts sharply with the 99% increase in cases recorded in the other 15 states due to the increased level of surveillance.In 1969, 74% of cases occurred in persons under 15 years of age, while almost 93% of the persons infected were less than 30 years of age. The annual case-fatality rate, which has varied from 0.5% to 3.3% since 1956, indicates the disease to be variola minor. This has been confirmed by laboratory study.Careful investigation of reported cases has shown that in past years case reporting has been at a very low level, about 2.5% of the actual incidence.Data from epidemiological investigations of 22 outbreaks comprising more than 2000 cases and contacts indicate that the efficacy of smallpox vaccination was approximately 94%.

The effect of light on nitrate and nitrite assimilation by chlorella and ankistrodesmus

Light stimulates the assimilation of nitrate and nitrite by two green algae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Ankistrodesmus braunii. Assimilation can be observed when the algae are illuminated in the absence of carbon dioxide under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The rates of assimilation by Chlorella do not depend on the presence of carbon dioxide, but Ankistrodesmus assimilates nitrate and nitrite more rapidly when cultures are illuminated in the presence of carbon dioxide than in its absence. The ratios of O(2) : NO(3') and O(2) : NO(2') vary from one experiment to the other and, with the exception of Chlorella cultures reducing nitrite they are higher than the 'expected' values of 2.0 and 1.5 respectively. Oxygen evolution accompanying nitrate and nitrite by algae illuminated in the absence of carbon dioxide is completely inhibited by DCMU at concentrations of 4 × 10(-6) M. However, nitrite assimilation by both Ankistrodesmus and Chlorella and nitrate assimilation by Ankistrodesmus are less sensitive to the inhibitor.