London County Council Research Articles

Obituaries

WE regret to announce the following deaths : Dr. C. W. Kimmins, for many years chief inspector of the Education Department of the London County Council, on January 12, aged ninety-one.

BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS Get access The Borough, Urban and Rural Councillor. By Neville Hobson. Shaw. 30s. W. ERIC JACKSON, L.L.B. W. ERIC JACKSON, L.L.B. Barrister-at-law, Assistant Clerk of the London County Council, Author of “Local Government in England and Wales” Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Parliamentary Affairs, Volume I, Issue 3, Summer 1948, Pages 97–99, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a052991 Published: 01 July 1948

Precedents in the Court of Appeal

It was not until 1898 that the rule that the House of Lords is absolutely bound by its own judgments was finally established in London, Street Tramways Co., Ltd. v. London County Council. The justification for this rule was stated by Lord Halsbury L.C. in these words: ‘What is that occasional interference with what is perhaps abstract justice as compared with the inconvenience—the disastrous inconvenience—of having each question subject to being reargued and the dealings of man-kind rendered doubtful by reason of different decisions, so that in truth and in fact there would be no real final Court of Appeal?’ It is strange that the Lord Chancellor did not refer to the fact that although the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is, for constitutional reasons, not absolutely bound by its own judgments, nevertheless no ‘disastrous inconvenience’ has followed from this. In practice the Judicial Committee follows its own prior judgments unless they are clearly wrong, but it does so on the ground of reason rather than on that of absolute authority.

Presidential Address, by SIR W. ALLEN DALEY, M.D., F.R.C.P., D.P.H. (Fellow), President of the Society of Medical Officers of Health ; Medical Officer of Health, London County Council

Presidential Address, by SIR W. ALLEN DALEY, M.D., F.R.C.P., D.P.H. (Fellow), President of the Society of Medical Officers of Health ; Medical Officer of Health, London County Council

Compulsory Acquisition of Land by Local Authorities and Procedure at the Inquiry Tribunals

Public AdministrationVolume 24, Issue 3 p. 176-181 Compulsory Acquisition of Land by Local Authorities and Procedure at the Inquiry Tribunals J. R. Howard Roberts C.B.E., J. R. Howard Roberts C.B.E. Solicitor and Parliamentary Officer to the London County Council 1Search for more papers by this author J. R. Howard Roberts C.B.E., J. R. Howard Roberts C.B.E. Solicitor and Parliamentary Officer to the London County Council 1Search for more papers by this author First published: September 1946 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1946.tb01957.x Any opinions or conclusions in this article are the Author's own and in no way represent the views of the London County Council. 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 Volume24, Issue3September 1946Pages 176-181 RelatedInformation

Ophthalmia Neonatorum: The Problem After Thirty Years of Statutory Notification and Sixty Years of Crede Prophylaxis. Institute of Ophthalmology Monographs no. 1.

All children who suffer from ophthalmia neonatorum in the County of London are admitted to the hospital of the London County Council, of which Professor Sorsby is the ophthalmic surgeon. His experience is therefore unique, and a monograph on this subject from his pen is, of course, completely authoritative. Since 1914 notification of a purulent discharge from the eyes of a newborn infant has been compulsory in England and Wales. This booklet is a study of the problem of ophthalmia neonatorum. It is composed largely of tables, charts and graphs, and is therefore difficult to review and well nigh impossible to abstract. Nevertheless, many of the conclusions reached by the author are worth recording here. His approach is sound. He admits that the rates recorded by the Registrar General, consistent though they be, are not an unquestionable indication of the incidence of ophthalmia neonatorum ; and he remarks that notification is

£10,000 for the London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London County Council has taken the historic step of granting £10,000 to the London Philharmonic Orchestra for one year, thereby giving official recognition to one of the leading cultural institutions of the capital.

THE ANÆSTHETIST AND CARE OF THE SURGICAL CASE*

AnaesthesiaVolume 1, Issue 1 p. 25-35 Free Access THE ANÆSTHETIST AND CARE OF THE SURGICAL CASE* JOHN BEARD M.D., D.A., JOHN BEARD M.D., D.A. SPECIALIST ANÆSTHETIST, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE, LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL AND SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL.Search for more papers by this author JOHN BEARD M.D., D.A., JOHN BEARD M.D., D.A. SPECIALIST ANÆSTHETIST, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE, LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL AND SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL.Search for more papers by this author First published: January 1946 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2044.1946.tb02050.xCitations: 2 * (This article originally appeared in the “British Medical Bulletin” and is reprinted by kind permission of its Editor. Since few anaesthetists in Great Britain see this admirable production of the British Council, no apology is made for reproducing Dr. Beard's exceptionally interesting paper.-EDITOR, Anæsthesia). 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 onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume1, Issue1January 1946Pages 25-35 RelatedInformation

Engineering at Queen Mary College: Prof. E. H. Lamb

PROF. ERNEST HORACE LAMB retires from the chair of civil and mechanical engineering at Queen Mary College, London, at the end of the present session. He has occupied this chair for thirty-two years, having succeeded the late Prof. D. A. Low in 1913. At the time of his appointment, the Engineering Department at East London College (as the College was then called) was rather small and the laboratory equipment meagre and ill-housed. Prof. Lamb set to work at once to develop an engineering laboratory that should be more worthy of the College and of the University. Permission was obtained to extend the laboratory buildings, and a new hydraulic laboratory had already been erected when the War of 1914–18 interrupted the development programme. From September 1914 until April 1919, Prof. Lamb was away from the College on war service, but as soon after his return as possible he continued the work of development. With the help of the late Principal Hatton, he obtained a grant for equipment of £11,000 from the London County Council and also some useful presentation plant, notably a complete boiler and accessories from Babcock and Wilcox, so that by the end of 1923 the laboratories had been rearranged and re-equipped with modern plant for the study of hydraulics, heat engines and strength of materials. He also designed and equipped an instrument-making department which served the science and engineering departments of the College.

London County Council

London County Council

THE PRESENT POSITION OF THORACIC SURGERY

THE PRESENT POSITION OF THORACIC SURGERY R. C. BROCK, M.S., F.R.C.S. R. C. BROCK, M.S., F.R.C.S. Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, London County Council Surgeon, Guy's Hospital and Assistant Surgeon to the Brompton HospitalLondon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar British Medical Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 2, 1944, Pages 33–36, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a071077 Published: 01 February 1944

PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION IN GREAT BRITAIN

THE dangers which follow on the Government's delay in announcing its decisions on the Uthwatt and Scott Reports and in laying down the broad lines of its planning policy become almost daily more apparent. The scope and imaginative courage of the plan for the County of London prepared for the London County Council (see p. 227) is one of the Strongest of a number of recent challenges to action. The plan itself is still under discussion by the Council, but obviously it cannot be given proper consideration without reference to other planning authorities. At almost every point regional considerations arise; often they predominate, as, for example, in projects affecting the distribution of industry and of the industrial population.

Height and weight measurements of school children

Sample frequency distributions are given of height and weight measurements of London elementary school children made during the period 1935–8. In addition these measurements have been analysed in order to determine the seasonal fluctuation in rates of growth. The rate of increase in height appears to reach a maximum in the latter part of spring and a minimum in the middle of autumn. The rate of increase in weight appears to reach a maximum in the latter part of autumn and a minimum in the middle of spring. Tables and graphs are given showing, for each sex, the variation in the rates of growth throughout the calendar year. I wish to thank the County Medical Officer of Health, W. Allen Daley, M.D., F.R.C.P., for permission to publish this paper and for encouragement in its preparation; Mr L. Coward, F.I.A., and Mr E. Lewis Faning, Ph.D., for statistical criticism; and Mr J. H. Farrar for drawing the diagrams.The London County Council takes no responsibility for the views expressed in this paper which are personal only.

Diet in Pregnancy

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & GynaecologyVolume 49, Issue 6 p. 614-636 WILLIAM BLAIR BELL MEMORIAL LECTURE Diet in Pregnancy W. C. W. Nixon M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), F.R.C.O.G., W. C. W. Nixon M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), F.R.C.O.G. Obstetric Consultant, London County Council; Surgeon, Soho Hospital for Women; late Professor of Obstetrics, Hong Kong UniversitySearch for more papers by this author W. C. W. Nixon M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), F.R.C.O.G., W. C. W. Nixon M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), F.R.C.O.G. Obstetric Consultant, London County Council; Surgeon, Soho Hospital for Women; late Professor of Obstetrics, Hong Kong UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1942 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1942.tb05757.xCitations: 12AboutPDF 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 onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume49, Issue6December 1942Pages 614-636 RelatedInformation

ACTION OF INTRATHECALLY INJECTED PROSTIGMINE, ACETYLCHOLINE, AND ESERINE ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM IN MAN

1. Prostigmine was injected in doses of 0·1‐1·5 mg. intrathecally 73 times in 37 patients (with evidence of pyramidal tract involvement) and in 3 subjects with normal central nervous system. In all cases it produced depression of muscle tone and reflexes by a direct action on the spinal cord. The distal part of the cord was involved first and the depression gradually ascended to involve the centres controlling the arms. The face was involved rarely. Changes in blood‐pressure, pulse‐rate and respiration were small and irregular. Nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness commonly occurred when large doses were employed. Voluntary movement was impaired. Bladder emptying was temporarily abolished. No changes in sensation were ever noted. Observations were made in patients with spinal block. Injection of prostigmine intrathecally below the level of the block produced depression of the spinal cord limited strictly to the cord below the level of the block. No general disturbances such as nausea or drowsiness developed. In such cases flexor tone, flexor spasms, and flexor reflexes were abolished at the same rate and to the same degree as extensor reflexes. All the above actions of prostigmine are unaffected by subcutaneous injections of atropine. They contrast markedly with the results of injection of prostigmine intramuscularly or intravenously.2. Intrathecally injected acetylcholine in doses of 2‐500 mg. had no effects on the spinal cord or elsewhere. 10 mg. of acetylcholine injected together with 0·1 mg. of prostigmine produced effects on the spinal cord in every way similar to those of larger doses of prostigmine.3. Eserine sulphate in doses of 0‐25‐1 mg. injected intrathecally produces an initial transient depression of spinal reflexes followed by a rapid return to a level exceeding that noted prior to the injection. Experiments in a case of spinal block show that both the initial depression and the secondary excitation are due to a direct action on the spinal cord—the effects being limited to the cord region distal to the block. In this case too the excitatory phase of the response was particularly striking, involving both flexor and extensor reflexes. Unlike prostigmine, eserine produces striking sensory changes including facilitation of sensory transmission. Suggestions are made to explain the difference in central action of prostigmine and eserine.This work was interrupted by the outbreak of the War. I gratefully express my thanks to Professor Francis Fraser in whose department the research was carried out, to Professor Samson Wright for his help in the preparation of the paper, and to the Medical Officer of Health, London County Council, for permission to include the notes on the patients.

Fibrositis: A Biographical Study of Fifty Civilian and Military Cases, from the Rheumatic Unit, St. Stephen's Hospital (London County Council), and a Military Hospital

Fibrositis: A Biographical Study of Fifty Civilian and Military Cases, from the Rheumatic Unit, St. Stephen's Hospital (London County Council), and a Military Hospital

Diphtheria. The age incidence during epidemic years in London

Although the national statistics of the notifications of infectious diseases are defective with regard to age and sex, it has been established from the returns of London and other large towns that the mean age of attack from diphtheria has been increasing during the present century. The age shift has been from the pre-school to the school age. Several investigators have commented on the change in age incidence, Murphy (1907) reviewed the trend of mortality in London, and Chalmers (1913) the mortality of Scotland. Cheeseman, Martin & Russell (1939), as a result of an analysis of data kindly provided by the Medical Department of the London County Council, concluded that the change might be due to the decrease in size of family, especially in the more crowded districts. This would Jead to a decrease of morbidity at early ages and, as a consequence, a lower level of herd immunity at school ages, so that the epidemiological experience of the poorer districts would approximate to those of the middle-class districts. In this paper (pp. 188–9) reference was made to Turner's observation (1923) that both in London and Manchester the mean age of attack in epidemic years of scarlet fever was above the average, and it was shown that if the maximum weekly case rate of diphtheria in London (1897–1930) were correlated with the ratio of the number of cases at ages 0–4 to the number at 5–9, a significant negative value was reached. This finding was consistent with Turner's result, but it seemed of interest to apply a slightly more direct test by comparing years of heavy prevalence with adjacent years in which diphtheria was at a lower level.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Announcements

THE Bisset-Hawkins Medal of the Royal College of Physicians has been awarded to Sir Frederick Menzies for his work as chief medical officer of the London County Council, and the Baly Medal has been awarded to Prof. Edgar Allen, of Yale University, for his work on œstrogens.

Vital Statistics of London County Council

THE interim report of the London County Council Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer for the year 1939 contains the following information: The residential population for the middle of 1939 was 4,013,800, as compared with 4,062,800 at the middle of 1938. The marriages registered in London during 1939 numbered approximately 54,461, or 27-1 persons married per thousand of the population. The live births allocated to London during 1939 were approximately 52,366, as compared with 54,495 in the previous year. The live birth-rate was 13-0 per thousand, the rate for 1938 being 13-4. The deaths in the total population of London during 1939 numbered 46,377, giving a death-rate of 12-3 per thousand, as compared with 11-4 in 1938. Of the total deaths 22,554, or 48-6 per cent, were among females. There was an increase in the number of fatal street accidents-from 363 in 1938 to 519 in 1939. The deaths under one year of age per thousand live births were 47, compared with 57 in the preceding year. This constitutes a new low record.