To be accepted as an inpatient in the Geneva Hospital one must proceed through a registration post. Data collecting sessions were set up there to study its working. Since many random components enter the registration procedure a stochastic queuing process is the appropriate model. The process main characteristics are determined by rather involved statistical and mathematical means. The values reckoned for the most relevant parameters (to both medical staff and general public) are found quite plausible.

Admitting Department, Hospital↗

PubMed1979

High density lipoprotein cholesterol in male relatives of patients with coronary heart disease.

To study factors that play a role in the familial occurrence of coronary heart disease, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglycerides, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were measured after preparative ultracentrifugation in first degree male relatives of coronary patients and in control subjects. The HDL cholesterol concentration was significantly lower in relatives of 20--71 years old than in controls. No increase of serum and LDL cholesterol was found. A low level of HDL cholesterol was observed even in the younger relatives who are less likely to have cardiovascualr disease. In older relatives low HDL cholesterol was found in the presence or absence of clinical evidence of coronary artery disease. The HDL-cholesterol concentration was inversely related to the VLDL triglycerides both in relatives and controls, but the regression lines were different ((P less than 0.001) for the relative (y = --0.166x + 0.43) and for the controls (y = 0.191x + 0.49). A low HDL cholesterol level appears to be a marker of relatives of coronary patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

[Low HDL cholesterol in close relatives and patients with myocardial infarct].

Male patients aged 40 to 59 who had had acute myocardial infarction three months previously displayed a lower HDL cholesterol than the HDL cholesterol of an apparently healthy control group. The male first degree relatives of patients with acute myocardial infarction, like the patients with coronary disease, had a low HDL cholesterol which differed significantly from the HDL cholesterol of the control group. Low HDL cholesterol appears to be a better "marker" of patients with coronary disease and relatives of patients with acute myocardial infarction than serum cholesterol and triglycerides. The importance of low HDL' cholesterol could be related to the role of HDL in the cholesterol transport system from the peripheral tissues.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

[Measurement of human body fat by means of gravimetry. Application of Archimedes' principle].

The weighing of the human body under water is an application of Archimedes' law. Fat being lighter than water or than the structures of lean body mass, body fat can be measured by determining the specific gravity of the human body; that is, by underwater weighing. Body fat has been determined in an "ideal" sample of 14 men and 23 women, all aged 20 years. Testing against a reference measure of body fat makes it possible to test the validity of some anthropometric measurements and of some indices of obesity. These indices offer no advantages over anthropometric measurements.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1975

A strategy of approaching the fit of a compartmental model applied to the behaviour of aspirins in humans.

A compartmental model has been set up with five parts. Formulation and testing of the model have been performed by simultaneous experiments involving measurement of blood levels of ASA and SA for four different preparations of aspirin investigated in four different patients. The hypotheses of the present study had been based upon a four-compartment model. However, such a model did not appear to be adequate and a new model with five compartments has been substituted for the former one. The five-compartment model has led to the formulation and testing of new physiological hypotheses; it has also provided the development of a fitting method using powerful convergence algorithms. A general analytical formulation has been set up which has made it possible to circumscribe the multiple roots of the characteristic polynomial when they have to be taken into consideration.

Aspirin↗

PubMed1975

Role of luminal hydrostatic pressure in proximal tubular fluid reabsorption in the rat.

The effect of small changes in intraluminal hydrostatic pressure (P) on the tubular radius (r) and the net fluid reabsorption per unit of surface area of the tubular wall (Js) has been studied in the proximal tubule of the rat kidney. The split-drop method was used to simultaneously determine Js and r. Two standardized split-drop techniques A and B allow selective change in P. P was 31.6 +/- 1.3 mmHg in technique A and 15.5 +/- 1.5 in technique B. The pressure difference significantly affected the tubular radius; r was 21.9 +/- 0.4 and 18.6 +/- 0.5 mum in the split drop A and B, respectively. In contrast, net transepithelial fluid reabsorption Js was unchanged. Js amounted to 2.72 +/- 0.20, and 2.78 +/- 0.33 10(-5) cm3 cm-2 s-1 in split drop A and B. The absence of variations in Js could result from two opposite effects of pressure. P might enhance Js by increased ultrafiltration. However, the rise in r might decrease the density of the intraepithelial transport paths per unit area of tubular wall and therefore might decrease Js.

Absorption↗

PubMed1974