Anti‐drink driving reform in Britain,c. 1920–80

Aim The goal of this report is to provide a framework for understanding and interpreting political, scientific and cultural attitudes towards drink driving in 20th‐century Britain. Exploring the inherent conservatism of successive governments, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public towards the issue during the interwar years, the contribution seeks to explain the shift from legislative paralysis to the introduction of the breathalyser in 1967. Design Based on governmental, parliamentary and administrative records, the report follows a mainly narrative route. It places particular emphasis on connections between post‐war extra‐parliamentary and parliamentary movements for reform. Setting The paper follows a linear path from the 1920s to the 1970s. Britain lies at the heart of the story but comparisons are made with nations—particularly the Scandinavian states—which took radical steps to prosecute drinking and dangerous drivers at an early date. Findings The report underlines the vital post‐war role played by Graham Page, leading parliamentary spokesman for the Pedestrians' Association; the centrality of the Drew Report (1959) into an ‘activity resembling driving’; the pioneering Conservative efforts of Ernest Marples; and Barbara Castle's consolidating rather than radically innovative activities between 1964 and 1967. Conclusion Both before and after the Second World War politicians from both major parties gave ground repeatedly to major motoring organizations. With the ever‐escalating growth of mass motorization in the 1950s, both Conservative and Labour governments agonized over gridlock and ‘murder on the roads’. Barbara Castle finally took decisive action against drink drivers, but the ground had been prepared by Graham Page and Ernest Marples.     

INFANT HEART RATE RESPONSE AS A FUNCTION OF STIMULUS AND STATE

Heart rate (HR) response to simple stimuli apparently changes from an accelerative to decelerative response in the first few months of life. The present study of 4 month old infants showed that response depends on state and on the intensity and rise time of stimuli. The response was solely decelerative in alert infants but in less alert states of increasing agitation or increasing somnolence, deceleration lessened and acceleration appeared. Rapid rise time had an acceleratory effect which was more pronounced during sleep than during the waking state. Results were compared with those obtained to the same stimuli in parallel studies of newborns and adults. It appears that the decelerative response in awake Ss, presumably an orienting response, has a curvilinear relationship to age which cannot be ascribed to differences in initial HR level, state, stimulus intensity, or stimulus rise time.     

Emotional reactions to the diagnosis and treatment of early breast cancer

Forty-four patients with early breast cancer were interviewed before mastectomy and on three occasions during the following year about psychiatric symptomatology, and their emotional reactions to various aspects of the illness and its treatment. Eight patients developed symptoms of depressive illness. Thirty-five patients expressed emotional distress related to the diagnosis or the loss of the breast or both. All ten who had adjuvant chemotherapy considered this the most unpleasant aspect of treatment. Post-operative distress could often be predicted by a high score on the General Health Questionnaire, or a high level of expressed concern before the operation.     

Preoperative Diagnosis and Management of Infants with Critical Congenital Heart Diseas

Operative repair with an associated low morbidity and mortality is available now for most infants with congenital cardiac defects. Precise preoperative diagnosis is an essential part of continuing attempts to lower the operative risk for these patients. In this review we cover major areas of concern in regard to preoperative diagnosis and management. Long-term follow-up studies with clinical, hemodynamic, electrophysiological, and exercise data are required to assess current diagnostic and therapeutic practices.     

Intramural gastric abscess.

Two patients who underwent surgical resection of intramural gastric abscesses are described. Intramural gastric abscesses is a rare problem that simulates more common surgical conditions. The salient features of the symptoms, signs, and findings are reviewed.     

Digital venous anatomy

The veins of the digits and their valves were studied in nine cadaveric hands by sequential angiography, microdissection, routine histology, cross-sectional microradiography, and corrosion casting. The findings revealed a pattern of dorsal venous arches situated over each digit. Connections between those arches were at the level of the metacarpal heads, the point at which most of the palmar venous blood joins the dorsal system by intercapitular veins. A system of valves, which were arranged so as to direct flow from distal to proximal, from palmar to dorsal, and from radial to ulnar in the hand, was present in all veins as far distal as the pulp.