Procedures to increase some aspects of creativity

Instructions reinforcement (team points), and practice were applied to four behaviorally defined creative behaviors of eight fourth- and fifth-grade students. All four aspects (number of different responses, fluency; number of verb forms, flexibility; number of words per response, elaboration; and statistical infrequency of response forms, originality) were demonstrated to be under experimental control. The procedures also raised students' scores on Torrance's tests of creativity. Application of the experimental procedures may well be practical for classroom teachers.

Ureteroneocystostomy versus ureteropyelostomy: a comparison in the same renal allograft series

Of the 132 transplants in our series 44 patients underwent reconstruction by ureteropyelostomy (group 1) and 88 underwent reconstruction by ureteroneocystostomy (group 2). The rates of major urologic complications were 11 percent in group 1 and 4 per cent in group 2. These results support the widely held opinion that ureteroneocystostomy is the superior method for urinary reconstruction in renal allograft cases. However, the alternative of ureteropyelostomy should be part of every transplant surgeons' armamentarium, especially for cadaver transplants when ureteral blood supply may be compromised.

Melanin as a predictor in the acquisition of developmental skills

Seventy-two subjects were randomly drawn across grades K-12 and administered an instrument designed to measure developmental skills within seven skill area categories. A three-way ANOVA, fixed effects model, was used for data analysis. Subjects were blocked by eye color, sex, and grade level for the purpose of investigating the relationship between eye color and sex to self-paced and reactive behaviors. Significant differences were obtained on the main effect of eye color in five of the seven categories examined. There were three significant first order interactions (sex X eye color) and one three-way interaction. The findings support the hypothesis of Worthy that eye color is a dependable predictor of subjects' general behavioral competency area (self-paced or reactive) and adds considerable support for his thesis that self-paced and reactive behaviors are to some degree inherited.

Effects of dietary deficiencies of protein and retinol on the plasma level of retinol-binding protein in the rat

1. The plasma concentration of retinol-binding holoprotein (holo-RBP) in rats given retinol-sufficient diets containing 50 g soya-bean protein/kg was 90 % of the concentration found in controls given 200 g soya-bean protein/kg, whereas in rats given 50 g rice protein/kg it was only 68 % of the control value. Plasma albumin concentrations in the low-protein groups were lower by 20–25 %.

2. The rats given retinol-deficient diets, whose plasma levels of holo-RBP were reduced almost to zero after 5–8 weeks, were given 1·5 mg retinol/kg body-weight. Changes in plasma holo-RBP were measured for 7 d. The rapid rise in the latter to a peak above normal control levels within 1·5–2 h indicated that a pool of the apoprotein had accumulated in the liver during the period of deficiency and that retinol was necessary for its release.

3. The maximum value reached in the groups of rats given the rice-protein diet was smaller than the values for the groups given the soya-bean-protein diets, reflecting a reduced rate of synthesis of the carrier protein in the livers of those groups.

4. The administration of 100 g casein/kg diet to the rats receiving only 50 g rice-protein/kg immediately stimulated the synthesis of the carrier protein which was released into plasma, reaching a peak after 24 h before settling down after 3–4 d to the steady-state level expected for normal well-nourished controls.

5. The half-life for excess holo-RBP released into plasma of rats receiving a normal level of good-quality protein was 7 h, where it was 14 h for the groups of low-protein diets.

Activity pattern of iron-deficient rats

Iron-deficient rats appear to have a decrease in total activity and a disorder of diurnal rhythm. These are reversed by the administration of iron. The results may be relevant to the symptomatology of patients with iron deficiency anaemia.

Observations on iron in the jejunal lumen after a standard meal

For two hours after the ingestion of a standard meal with an iron content of 3.45 mg there is a rise in iron concentration in the jejunal lumen. Initially this is in a high molecular weight form but there is a steady increase in the concentration of low molecular weight compounds. This is consistent with the gradual intraluminal transfer of iron from a mucopolysaccharide carrier to low molecular weight ligands before absorption.