Anglian Region Research Articles

The new NHS. West Suffolk: a volcano under the wheat fields.

BMJ 1991;302:641-5 Piped Muzak and a notice proclaiming a commitment to quality and caring are not enough to transform an NHS waiting room into the lounge for Concorde. Yet the place is warm on a cold February day, the floors clean, the staff polite, the consultants willing to fit their days round patients. The place is West Suffolk district general hospital, the main acute unit for West Suffolk Health Authority, and the time barely a month away from the biggest transformation in the NHS since 1948. Clearly life is not going to change radically on 1 April. This is partly because the government has declared a smooth take off, but geography also limits the scope for change. People at all levels in the district like to characterise West Suffolk as a typical rural area?slow to change. Yet when you probe it's clear that much has already changed, and the district and its two units are probably better prepared than many for 1 April. This stems from a tradition of delegating authority to units, the fact that the district already runs a management accounting-clinical budgeting system, the piloting of contracts in the East Anglian region over the past few months, and the existence of good group practices that know a lot about where their patients go. And beyond next year managers and doctors are beginning to think in innovative ways of how they can make the system work. Views about what will happen to the NHS in West Suffolk show a remarkable uniformity, particularly about the key relation between the health authority and its district general hospital. Where managers and doctors differ is in their attitudes towards the changes ?the managers broadly optimistic, the consultants pessimistic.

Transposition of the viscera: A review

AbstractSitus inversus and its associated syndromes have fascinated anatomists, embryologists, and clinicians for centuries. However, the embryogenesis and mode of inheritance of situs inversus have remained ill‐understood. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding etiology and genetics, discuss the diagnostic features which may be clinically useful in identifying asymptomatic subjects, and outline some important aspects in the management of patients with visceral transposition and concomitant disease. The relevance of pre‐ and neonatal diagnosis of the condition is also evaluated. We conclude with some data on the incidence of situs inversus in the East Anglian region of England.

Conventional wisdom, course choice and student progress in science courses

Shelagh Ross, Staff Tutor in Science in the Open University's East Anglian Region, and Eileen Scanlon, Lecturer in the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology, have conducted a study of course choice for Science Faculty students. They asked the question as to whether Science Foundation course students select fairly traditional degree profiles of an ‘all Science’ tendency, or whether they range more freely across a range of subjects, and secondly, what role taking one or two Foundation courses played in contributing to success.

Bathing Aids for Handicapped Children

An evaluation of bathing aids for handicapped children was carried out in the East Anglian Region between January 1986 and July 1987. This article offers a brief outline of the project which was sponsored under the DHSS Disability Equipment Assessment Programme. The full report is available from DHSS Publications.

An experiment in staff development at a distance

In this article, Tony Wright, Staff Tutor in Technology in the East Anglian Region of the Open University, describes the development of a resource pack intended to help tutor‐counsellors to reflect on and improve their tutorial practice. Although it deals specifically with the Open University's Foundation course in Technology, the basic principles behind this approach, he argues, are applicable to staff development for tutors on other open learning courses.

Putting independent learning in its place

In the last issue of our predecessor journal, Teaching at a Distance, Alistair Morgan considered what the term ‘independent learning’ meant in the Open University context. This article continues that debate, placing it in the context of a general model of the teaching and learning system, and relates independent learning to the idea of learning as personal development. The author, Tony Wright, is Staff Tutor in Technology in the East Anglian region of the Open University.

An alternative concept to home range theory with respect to populations of cyprinids in major river systems

Homing behaviour in cyprinid species has been demonstrated by a number of research workers during the past 35 years. The British work has been principally conducted through tank experimentation with roach, gudgeon and minnows, but limited field data indicating home range behaviour have also been published. Evidence is now presented, from a fish population assessment and management programme covering 6000 km of river fisheries in the Anglian region of eastern England, to suggest that home range mechanisms do not play a significant role in the overall stock dynamics of cyprinid species in major river systems.An alternative hypothesis which fits the range of observed circumstances more closely is described, based on a perception of cyprinid communities as totally mobile populations influenced predominantly by river flow characteristics and behavioural responses to flow and seasonal temperature factors. This concept is illustrated with a sequential series of schematic diagrams of a river catchment in which the key factor of infinitely variable movement patterns interspersed with periods of passive downstream displacement (negatively size‐related) is modified by increasing degrees of interference by river structures.The implications of the alternative concept to the management of riverine fish populations is discussed and alternative strategies to the traditional style cyprinid stockings illustrated within the paper are suggested which do not rely on home range mechanisms.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 DNA in cervical carcinoma samples in East Anglia

A substantial increase in the incidence of severely dysplastic cervical lesions (CIN 3) has been observed during the period 1975-1982 in the East Anglian region of England. Since patients with severe dysplasia have an enhanced risk of developing cervical carcinoma, it seems possible that a substantial increase in the rate of cervical carcinoma is likely to occur in the near future. Evidence of a relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical carcinoma has accumulated recently. We have studied the incidence of HPV16 DNA in cervical tissue samples from patients with cervical carcinoma, severe dysplasias and normal controls. Five out of 11 invasive squamous carcinomas of the cervix, 3/4 dysplasias and 0/12 normal samples were positive in Southern blot assays for HPV16 DNA. Some of the tissue samples had as many as 500 copies of HPV16 DNA per cell. The amount of HPV16 DNA present correlated with the aggressiveness of tumour growth.

The increasing incidence of testicular cancer in East Anglia.

We have studied the age-related incidence of testicular cancer in the East Anglian region. The incidence for both teratoma and seminoma has almost doubled since 1960. Teratoma incidence, stable from 1960-1969 at 0.9 per 10(5) of the male population, increased between 1970 and 1975 to 1.7. This rise was the result of increased occurrence among younger men. Seminoma incidence also rose from 1.5 to 2.5 per 10(5), most rapidly between 1975 and 1980. Causes for the rising incidences have been suggested.

Discussion on ‘Chloride ion concentrations as an aid to estimating recharge to the Woburn Sands’ by W. M. Irving

S. Puri writes: In his studies Irving (1982) has used chemical analyses obtained from pumped wells over a period 1883 to mid 1970's to suggest that the chloride ion concentration is an aid to estimating recharge derived from rainfall or via leakage through rivers. He has applied this method to the aquifers of the whole of Lower Greensand formation in the Anglian region: Woburn Sands is a local name for the ‘silver sands’, found in only a limited area in the Anglian Region, and is a member within the Lower Greensand formation. A more detailed study of the hydrochemistry of this acquifer (Binnie & Partners 1982) reveals a rather complicated system which casts doubt on this technique. On the author's own admission there are many unexplained observations of anomalous chloride concentrations, e.g. Clophill and Histon. (Southill, according to the grid reference given, falls well off the unconfined outcrop.) Fig. 1 shows the Piper plot for the chemistry of Bir-chmoor pumping station, which is situated on the unconfined aquifer. There are eight abstraction holes to differing depths within an area of less than 1 km 2 . The Cl – concentration range is between 20% and 60% of the total cations. We consider these chemical variations to reflect the layered hydrochemical nature of the water in the acquifer. Thus, if a pumped well were abstracting from a greater saturated thickness, its chloride ion content would be different from that abstracting a smaller thickness. Application of the author's method would give

Quantitative studies on some living British wetland mollusc faunas

The work described here provides a quantitative basis for die interpretation of fossil assemblages of Mollusca from wetland habitats. Wetlands were sampled for living Mollusca in East Anglia (including an intensive study at Wicken Fen) and Scotland. Within the limited geographical area of Wicken Fen, the mollusc fauna may be used to predict the vegetation and hence to reconstruct the environment. Such a relationship did not continue to hold when scattered sites throughout die East Anglian region were studied. However, the relict nature of these fens should be taken into account. In die central Highlands of Scotland, a better correlation was found between mollusc fauna and flora, though this was inadequate for reconstruction of details of the vegetation. Within the context of wetland, the presence of certain rare species of narrow ecological tolerance is considered the best available measure for the reconstruction of die environment from molluscan assemblages, but their absence is meaningless. Quantitative studies of assemblages of the common species may still prove to be of value at the coarser level of discrimination between wetland, grassland and woodland, but the data are not available. Numerous quantitative studies of fossil assemblages of Mollusca from Quaternary sediments have been made and the results have been interpreted to indicate past environmental and climatic conditions. In previous studies, common species have been placed into ecological categories based on qualitative observations of the occurrence of Mollusca in modern environments, and fossil assemblages have then been interpreted as being formed by transport and accumulation from a variety of different habitats. This may be the case, but equally studies of the living assemblages have shown that the structural complexity of a single habitat may lead to species of very different ecological groups living within the same area of ground. It is simpler to interpret certain fossil assemblages as having been formed in situ in structurally diverse environments, rather than invoking mixing from different environments.

Aerial Archaeology, Vol. 1, 1977. Edited by D. A. Edwards and C. Partridge. 30 × 21 cm. Pp. viii + 54 + 20 pls. + 30 figs. Hertford: Committee for Archaeological Air Photography (Anglian Region), 1978. Price not stated.

Aerial Archaeology, Vol. 1, 1977. Edited by D. A. Edwards and C. Partridge. 30 × 21 cm. Pp. viii + 54 + 20 pls. + 30 figs. Hertford: Committee for Archaeological Air Photography (Anglian Region), 1978. Price not stated. - Volume 59 Issue 1

Endo- and ecto-parasites of dogs and cats: a survey from practices in the East Anglian Region, BSAVA.

ABSTRACTMembers of the East Anglian Region of the BSAYA carried out a survey of commonly‐encountered endo‐ and ecto‐parasites of dogs and cats examined during a 4‐month‐period in an attempt to measure the incidence of such parasites in the area.

The influence of blood collecting techniques on platelet numbers during blood storage.

British Journal of HaematologyVolume 3, Issue 1 p. 50-54 The Influence of Blood Collecting Techniques on Platelet Numbers during Blood Storage J. F. Mustard, J. F. Mustard Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge Elmore Research Student. Prescnt address: Medical Service, Snnnybrook Hospital, Toronto, 12, Ontario, Canada.Search for more papers by this authorC. B. V. Walker, C. B. V. Walker Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge Elmore Research Student. Prescnt address: Medical Service, Snnnybrook Hospital, Toronto, 12, Ontario, Canada.Search for more papers by this author J. F. Mustard, J. F. Mustard Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge Elmore Research Student. Prescnt address: Medical Service, Snnnybrook Hospital, Toronto, 12, Ontario, Canada.Search for more papers by this authorC. B. V. Walker, C. B. V. Walker Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge Elmore Research Student. Prescnt address: Medical Service, Snnnybrook Hospital, Toronto, 12, Ontario, Canada.Search for more papers by this author First published: January 1957 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2141.1957.tb05770.xCitations: 9 Director, East Anglian Region National Blood Transfusion Service. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume3, Issue1January 1957Pages 50-54 RelatedInformation