Oral rehydration therapy: a community trial comparing the acceptability of homemade sucrose and cereal-based solutions

Sugar-based oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea is promoted in many countries of the world. One programme in Bangladesh has instructed more than 13 million mothers in the preparation of a sugar-salt solution in the home; despite very high rates of correct mixing and knowledge, subsequent application was found in only some 20% of all diarrhoea episodes. Since rice is far more available in rural homes (95%) than any type of sugar (30%) and rice gruel is a widely accepted food during illness, a field trial was conducted in three areas (total population, 68,345) to compare the acceptability and use of rice-based ORT with that of sugar-based ORT. Although the mothers unanimously agreed that the rice-based solutions "stopped" the diarrhoea more quickly, they used the sugar-based solutions twice as often (in 40% of severe watery episodes) as the rice-based solutions (in 18%), because the rice-ORT was much more time-consuming and difficult to prepare. The observed reduced utilization of home-made rice-ORT makes it a poor substitute for sugar-ORT at the community level in rural Bangladesh.

The detection of glaucomatous visual field defects by oculo-kinetic perimetry: which points are best for screening?

Oculo-kinetic perimetry (OKP) uses the patient's ocular movements to position a test stimulus in the visual field. By virtue of its simplicity and low cost, this test could be useful in the screening of glaucoma. The general purpose OKP chart, however, which tests 100 points in the central 25 degrees field, is too time-consuming for this purpose, taking approximately 4-7 minutes per eye. Accordingly, this study was performed to identify the points most likely to detect patients with glaucoma. Fifty-one eyes with glaucomatous visual field defects and 51 non-glaucomatous eyes of age matched individuals were tested by conventional and oculo-kinetic perimetry. At least one of only six points were missed by 82.4% of glaucomatous eyes and by 9.8% of nonglaucomatous eyes. These results, although falling short of the ideal efficiency, are comparable with data published by other research groups using computerised equipment and suggest that, with further development, a specialised OKP chart testing only a small number of points might be valuable in screening for glaucoma.

Production and consumption of T cell growth factor by peripheral blood lymphocytes of cattle infected with Taenia saginata

Calves were infected with 25,000 or 50,000 viable eggs of Taenia saginata. Larval numbers ranged between 2077 and 6005. During infection the animals developed leucocytosis, which was mainly due to lymphocytosis. An apparently positive correlation was observed between the lymphocytosis and the in vitro proliferative response of the lymphocytes to antigen prepared from proglottids. Maximal in vitro blast transformation of the cells stimulated with antigen occurred on Days 12 and 32 post-infection (p.i.). Specific antibodies to T. saginata were demonstrated on Day 14 p.i. At that time, the proliferative response of the cells paralleled the formation of specific antibodies, particularly of the IgG class. The stimulated cells produced a lymphokine showing interleukin 2 (IL 2)-like activity, since the addition of supernatant of such cells to IL 2-dependent concanavalin A (Con A)-blast cells supported the in vitro growth of the cells. In addition, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) specific for T. saginata could be maintained in long-term cultures when they were cultured in medium containing supernatants of MLA-144 cell lines. The data presented in this study indicate that cells specific for T. saginata produced and consumed T cell growth factor (TCGF).

Teaching ORT to women: individually or in groups?

Programmes to promote the widespread use of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea used a variety of methodologies to carry the message to mothers. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) sent its health workers to individual households, and mothers were trained through a one-to-one approach. The cost of training a mother was 72 US cents. Recently, an alternative approach was tried. Instead of individually, mothers were trained in groups which halved the cost. Outcome indicators, such as usage, knowledge and safety of ORT solution, were looked at for each type of approach and were not found to be significantly different.

Polygyny and fertility differentials among the Yoruba of western Nigeria

Data were analysed from the 1973 surveys of the Nigerian segment of the Changing African Family (CAFN) Project which covered Yoruba women and men in Ibadan and the western state of Nigeria. The Yoruba women in monogamous unions and those in polygynous unions show slightly varying levels of fertility, measured as mean number of children ever born. Most of this variation can be attributed to other variables; type of union of the women does not significantly affect their fertility level.

Infrared spectroscopic studies of renal stones

The chemical composition of 125 urinary stones was determined by means of an infrared spectrophotometric method using the potassium bromide pellet technique. Statistical combinations regarding the chemical composition of the stones are discussed and compared with the findings of other workers. Calcium oxalate was the commonest component of pure as well as mixed stones.

Radioimmunoassay of thyroxine-binding globulin: evaluation of a kit and diagnostic application

Serum thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) was measured by using a radioimmunoassay method. The within-batch coefficient of variation (CV) of the assay was 5% or less at different TBG concentrations with a between-batch variation of less than 10%. The mean TBG concentration in hypothyroidism (28.5 +/- 6.7 mg/l) was significantly higher, and that in hyperthyroidism (22.3 +/- 3.5 mg/l) was significantly lower, than the euthyroid mean (25.4 +/- 6.9 mg/l). Acutely ill patients suffering from various non-thyroidal illnesses were found to have significantly low mean TBG (13.8 +/- 4.3 mg/l). A group of women in late pregnancy had a higher mean value, as expected. Serum TBG level, however, was ineffective as a thyroid function test because of overlapping concentrations between groups. The derived index T4:TBG ratio was found to be superior to free thyroxine index (FTI) in many cases of acutely ill patients, pregnancy, and hereditary TBG abnormality. The 95% confidence limit for the ratio in euthyroids was 2.3 to 7.1. Serum TBG level with T4:TBG ratio is recommended as a replacement for the T3-uptake test and FTI.