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D Freund

Publications and source records attributed to D Freund.

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Making it better.

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Australia

Clinical economics education in the International Clinical Epidemiology Network. INCLEN Economics Faculty.

The application of rigorous epidemiologic methods to clinical questions has broadened the scope of research in epidemiology and enhanced the quality of clinical research. The International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) has enabled physicians from developing countries to obtain training in epidemiologic methods and to provide leadership in clinical epidemiology in their home schools of medicine. The INCLEN program has recently incorporated another major theme of research training, clinical economics, which introduces research related to the effective use of limited resources. This article describes the rationale for the development of the INCLEN Clinical Economics program, outlines its organization and curriculum, and explores the challenges to its successful implementation.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Effect of scleral buckling on vector forces caused by epiretinal membranes.

Epiretinal membranes exert a perpendicular force on the retina that is directed toward the center of the vitreous cavity and tends to elevate the retina from the retinal pigment epithelium. A scleral buckle changes the eye wall from concave to convex and reverses the direction of the vector force oriented perpendicular to the eye wall. Therefore, when a scleral buckle is used, the force from an epiretinal membrane pulls the retina toward the retinal pigment epithelium instead of causing retinal detachment.

Eye

Analysis of length-of-stay differences between investor-owned and voluntary hospitals.

In contrast to assertions that investor-owned (I-O) hospitals are more efficient than voluntary hospitals, this study finds no significant difference between I-Os and voluntaries where the efficiency measure is length of hospitalization (LOH). The data base used is a national probability sample of hospitals and patients. The analysis accounts for variation in LOH by controlling for hospital characteristics other than ownership, and in particular it utilizes a new case-mix index to control for the case-mix portion of heretofore suggested differences.

Bed Occupancy

[Effect of behavior changing drugs, imipramine and tranylcypromine, on the composition of the blood and activity of the alkaline leukocytophosphatase of emotive and non-emotive adult male Wistar rats].

The corpuscular composition of the blood and the alcalic leucocytophosphatase (ALP) activity was measured for a total of 40 emotive and non-emotive adult male Wistar rats in order to test the influence of a single dose of imipramine (IMI) and tranylcypromine (TRAN) as well as of IMI and TRAN given in a period of 8 days. Special attention was paid to the reaction type of the animals. Changes in the red and white components of the blood were found due to drug application and to reaction type. The relationship between reaction type and drug application we assumed to exist was confirmed. The ALP activity also changed depending on the type of drug dosage. The assumption that ALP activity is higher for emotive rats than for non-emotive ones was confirmed as well.

Alkaline Phosphatase

[The open-field, non-stressed behavior of rats under the acute and chronic effect of imipramine and tranylcypromine, depending on the individual reaction type (emotional and non-emotional)].

The acute and prolonged effects of imipramine and tranylcypromine were studied on 30 emotive and 30 non-emotive mature male Wistar rats to determine whether the drugs affect the behavior of these two reaction types differently. We found that both drugs change the typical behavior of the rats in the open field, each in a different way. Acute doses of imipramine inhibit symptoms of anxiety as well as the exploratory behavior so that the rats appear totally disinterested in their environment. This finding seems to confirm the assumed central nervous suppressing effects of this drug as mentioned in the literature. Single doses of tranylcypromine have effects similar to those mentioned for imipramine; however, long-term use results in a "vitalisation" of behavior: symptoms of anxiety remain inhibited and exploratory behavior becomes dominant. Both drugs produced a certain "flattening" of behavior. Due to the effects of drugs used, the original behavioral differences without stress disappear. Prolonged use of tranylcypromine makes emotive rats totally non-emotive.

Animals

[Blood count, leukocyte alkaline phosphatase activity, and blood sugar levels in Wistar rats as a function of the reaction type (level of higher nervous activity) of the animal].

The corpuscular blood composition, ALP activity and glucose level of 20 E+ and 20 E- adult male Wistar rats were measured without stress. We wanted to find differences due to the specific reaction type--emotive/non-emotive--of the animals. E+ animals had higher counts of small erythrocytes and a higher total number of leucocytes than E- rats. When the compositions of the blood of several inbred strains were compared, the composition of the red blood, total number of leucocytes and lymphocytes of E- -Wistar rats and E- -Sprague-Dawley rats were most similar. Differences in the activity of the ALP and in the glucose levels we found are similar to those in literature on this topic. When measured in a condition of inactivity the lower glucose values of E+ Wistar rats correspond to the excretion of smaller amounts of urinary catecholamines. Our findings, as well as those mentioned in the literature, confirm the assumption that the reaction type--which corresponds to the type of higher nervous activity--influences all functions of the organism including the composition of the blood.

Alkaline Phosphatase

Tentative immunohistochemical demonstration of melatonin in the rat pineal gland.

In the present study an attempt was made to demonstrate melatonin in the rat pineal gland by means of immunohistochemistry. The anitbody used was raised against 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptophan which is chemically similar to melatonin. Specific fluorescence was demonstrable only in pineals from rats killed during the night, when melatonin formation is high. It was restricted to parenchymal cells lying in a marginal zone of the organ. These results are discussed in relation to a subdivision of the pineal parenchyma into cortical and medullary areas.

Animals