Image quality comparisons of X-Omat RP, L and B films.

The Eastman Kodak Company has recently developed a new film, X-Omat B (XB), designed to be interchangeable with X-Omat RP (XRP) film. The manufacturer claims the new film can be manually developed in half the time of other X-Omat films while automatic processing is unchanged. Three X-Omat film types were processed manually or automatically and the image qualities were evaluated. The XRP film had greater contrast than the XB and X-Omat L (XL) films when manually processed, and the XL film showed less contrast than the XB and XRP films when processed automatically. There was no difference in the subjective evaluation of the various film types and processing methods, and the XB film could be interchanged with XRP film in a simulated clinical situation.     

Intoxication with Qăat,Catha edulis L.

The increasing use of Q?at, Catha edulis L. in immigrants from the Horn of Africa to the UK is a matter of concern and may yet become a problem in the UK diaspora. Although it is not illegal in the UK to import sell, buy transport or consume, Q?at is a drug of addiction and demotivation. It is legal, in the unprepared plant form, in the UK and the Netherlands, but is a controlled substance and illegal in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, and France. As long ago as 1980 the World Health Organization classified khat as a drug of abuse that can produce mild to moderate psychological dependence. This view continues to be born out and would suggest a re-evaluation of the legal classification of Q?at in the UK and placing it into class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.