Heat-escape behavior in the rat following intrahypothalamic injection of acetylcholine

The effects of preoptic/anterior hypothalamic injections of acetylcholine on heat-excape behavior and hypothalamic temperature were investigated in unrestrained rats implanted with bilateral cannulae. Two types of responses were observed, either a fall in hypothalamic temperature coupled with an increase in behavioral responses to escape heat or a rise in hypothalamic temperature associated with little or no change in behavioral heat-escape responses. The fall in hypothalamic temperature observed in one group of rats was significant and was associated with a dose-dependent increase in heat-escape responding. The rise in hypothalamic temperature noted in the other group of rats was nonsignificant, and the associated behavioral responses were variable. Distinct anatomical differences in cannulae loci between the 2 groups were not apparent. It is concluded that acetylcholine activates the heat-dissipating control system of the rat hypothalamus and that the hyperthermic effects of acetylcholine are nonspecific.     

Estrogenic effects on behavioral thermoregulation and body temperature of rats

Estradiol benzoate increases responding for heat reinforcement of ovariectomized female and intact and castrate male rats placed in the cold. In females, both pre- and postsession rectal temperatures are depressed by the steroid. The maintenance of low temperatures despite increased heat intake suggests that body temperature is regulated at a lower level as a result of estradiol-induced increases in heat loss or decreases in heat production.     

Effect of Vincristine Sulfate on Pseudomonas Infections in Monkeys

In rhesus monkeys, intravenous challenge with 0.6 x 10(10) to 2.2 x 10(10)Pseudomonas aeruginosa organisms caused acute illness of 4 to 5 days' duration with spontaneous recovery in 13 of 15 monkeys; blood cultures became negative 3 to 17 days after challenge. Leukocytosis was observed in all monkeys. Intravenous or intratracheal inoculation of 2.0 to 2.5 mg of vincristine sulfate was followed by leukopenia in 4 to 5 days. Intravenous inoculation of 4.2 x 10(10) to 7.8 x 10(10) pyocin type 6 Pseudomonas organisms in monkeys given vincristine sulfate 4 days previously resulted in fatal infection in 11 of 14 monkeys, whereas none of four receiving Pseudomonas alone died. These studies suggest that an antimetabolite-induced leukopenia predisposes to severe Pseudomonas sepsis and that such monkeys may serve as a biological model for study of comparative efficacy of antimicrobial agents.     

A brief history. Heading for a half century

The history of NHS management can be viewed as five milestones of reorganisation. The trend of managers being more concerned with patient care started with the 1983 Griffiths inquiry. Leaders from other industries came into the NHS but many underestimated the job and failed. Stress makes many current chief executive posts hard to fill.