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From August 1993 to May 1994 there were 1505 inpatient and 2590 outpatient chemotherapy treatment episodes at the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncol- ogy. A total of 21 thromboembolic events, including two arterial events, were recorded among these patients at a median of 8 weeks from the start of treatment (range 0–14 weeks), and 2 episodes occurred at the time of first presentation. The median age of the patients developing thromboembolism was 53 (range 29–75) years, and there were 14 women and 7 men. In all, 13 of the events (62%) occurred in patients receiving inpatient treatment and 8 (38%), in outpatients. The incidence of thrombosis per treatment episode in inpatients was therefore 0.008 as compared with 0.003 in outpatients. The associated malignancies were breast cancer (5), testicular cancer (4), lung cancer (3), ovarian cancer (3) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (2), with bladder, colon, anal and brain cancer providing 1 case each. The following bulky pelvic or para-aortic disease was present in 9 patients: testicular cancer (3), ovarian cancer (3), lymphoma (2) and bladder cancer (1). In all, 20 of the 21 thrombotic episodes were successfully treated, with 1 patient dying from the complications of venous gangrene. Thromboembolic disease is a relatively common and important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients that requires early recognition and treatment.

The bromate-ferroin clock reaction is studied experimentally and the dependence of the clock or induction timetcl on the initial concentration of various reactants determined. Particular attention is paid to the dependence oftclcl on the initial bromide ion concentration [Br−]0. An analytical theory is also derived based on a subset of the Field-Koros-Noyes mechanism. This analysis reveals several features, including exponential decay of [Br−] during the induction period followed by a super-exponential decay in the actual clock event, a linear relationship betweentcl, and ln[Br−] over a wide range of [Br−]0, but departures from this at higher (and lower) concentrations. These features are all confirmed essentially quantitatively by the experimental results. The theory also predicts, and the experiments confirm, that there is a critical bromide ion concentration marking the end of the induction period. This study then provides a firm basis from which to interpret and predict the behaviour of this system in a wider range of experimental situations (such as the reaction-diffusion waves in unstirred media).

A comparative study of the reproductive ecology of the zooxanthellate, scleractinian corals Porites lobata Dana and P. panamensis Verrill was conducted from 1985 to 1991 in eastern Pacific reef environments that were severly impacted by the 1982–1983 El Nino warming events. P. lobata, a presumed broadcast spawner of large colony size, is widely distributed in the equatorial eastern Pacific, whereas P. panamensis, a brooder of small colony size, is abundant only on some reefs in Panama. Both species were gonochoric with nearly 1:1 sex ratios in large study populations except for P. lobata at Cano Island that had 14% hermaphroditic colonies. Mature, unfertilized oocytes contained numerous zooxanthellae in both Porites species, and all planula developmental stages contained zooxanthellae in P. panamensis. Year-round sampling revealed high proportions of colonies with gonads, ranging from 30 to 68% in P. lobata and from 60 to 68% in P. panamensis. No clear relationship between numbers of reproductive colonies and the thermal stability of the habitat was evident in P. lobata: percent colonies with gonads at non-upwelling sites was 48 to 68% at Cano Island (Costa Rica) and Uva Island (Panama), and at upwelling sites 30 to 50% at Saboga Island and Taboga Island (Panama), and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). Similarly, 90% of all P. panamensis colonies were reproductive at Uva Island (a non-upwelling site), and 86% were reproductive at Taboga Island (an upwelling site). Upwelling at Taboga Island is seasonal, nevertheless P. panamensis produced mature gonads or planulae over most of the year (11 mo), whereas P. lobata exhibited reproductive activity during only 2 mo (May and June). No clear lunar periodicity was observed in P. panamensis (Taboga Island), but a high proportion of P. lobata showed increased gonadal development around full and new moon, especially at Cano and Uva Islands. Estimated fecundities were relatively high for P. lobata at Cano (4000 eggs cm-2 yr-1) and Uva (5200 eggs cm-2 yr-1) Islands, and notably low (70 to 110 eggs cm-2 yr-1) in the Galapagos Islands. P. panamensis mean fecundity at Taboga Island was 720 planulae cm-2 yr-1 or 4.0 mm3 cm-2 yr-1, which was lower than the egg volume production of P. lobata at Cano and Uva Islands (7.0 to 10.0 mm3 cm-2 yr-1). The capacity of P. lobata and P. panamensis to reproduce sexually supports the notion that eastern Pacific coral reef recovery may not be dependent on long-distance dispersal from central Pacific areas. However, sexual recruits of P. lobata are absent or uncommon at all eastern Pacific study sites while recruits of P. panamensis were common to abundant only at the Uva Island study site. Asexual fragmentation in P. lobata augments recruitment locally, but plays no role in P. panamensis recruitment.

Reproductive ecology of two major reef-building corals in the eastern Pacific [Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) andPocillopora elegans Dana] was investigated between 1984 and 1990 in Costa Rica, Panama (Gulf of Chiriqui and Gulf of Panama), and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) following the 1982–83 El Nino disturbance. Mature spermatocytes and oocytes were found in both species and were usually present in the same polyp in nearly equal ratios. Numerous zooxanthellae were observed in mature, unfertilized oocytes. Although spawning in field populations was not observed, it is likely that both pocilloporids are simultaneous hermaphroditic spawners, as evidenced by the disappearance of mature gametes after full moon. This is in contrast with most known pocilloporid corals that brood and release planula larvae. Corals were reproductively most active in the thermally stable environments of Costa Rica and the Gulf of Chiriqui (Panama) where 32 to 90% of all colonies contained gametes. In the moderately varying thermal conditions in the Galapagos Islands, 16 to 40% of colonies contained gametes, and in the pronounced seasonal upwelling environment of the Pearl Islands (Panama) only 6 to 18% of colonies contained gametes. Year-round reproduction occurred in Costa Rica and the Gulf of Chiriqui, whereas reproduction was confined to warm periods in the seasonally varying environments of the Galapagos Islands and the Gulf of Panama. Pocilloporid corals in Costa Rica and the Gulf of Chiriqui demonstrated lunar spawning activity, with mature gametes present a few days before and after full moon. Some limited spawning may have occurred also at new moon. While frequent gamete maturation has been demonstrated in this study, the relatively low rates of larval recruitment occurring on eastern Pacific coral reefs disturbed by the 1982–83 El Nino suggest that the recovery of important frame-building corals could be greatly prolonged.

In hexaploid wheat and diploid rye, different varieties have different numbers of ribosomal RNA genes as indicated by rRNA/DNA hybridisation. Wheat has four different chromosomes which carry nucleolar organisers. Analyses of DNA isolated from substitution lines in which each of these nucleolar organiser chromosomes of several varieties has been substituted one at a time into a common genetic background, have indicated that none of the four organiser chromosomes possess an invariant number of ribosomal RNA genes. The ribosomal RNA gene complement of the varieties investigated can be approximately accounted for by the sum of the ribosomal RNA genes on each of the four nucleolar organiser chromosomes.

The new technique of organoparticulate analysis has been used to investigate the thermal decomposition reactions of various types of organic compounds (i.e., metal acetylacetonates, blocked isocyanates, metal alkyldithiocarbamates, arenesulfonic acids and their amine salts). With a few exceptions, most of the compounds in these classes exhibit strong organoparticulation characteristics at temperatures below 200° as indicated by their influence on the output current of an ion chamber detector.

We analysed outcome in 206 consecutive male patients treated for metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell tumour (NSGCT) of testicular or extragonadal origin treated with the POMB/ACE (cisplatin, vincristine, methotrexate, bleomycin, actinomycin D, cyclophosphamide, etoposide) regimen after division into prognostic groups by commonly used clinical classification systems and definitions of adverse prognosis. The adverse prognostic groups of all classification systems and definitions examined showed similar, but only moderate, sensitivity (71-81%) and specificity (52-56%) in predicting death. A simple definition of poor prognosis based on raised initial levels of serum tumour markers alpha fetoprotein (aFP) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) proved at least as useful (sensitivity 80%, specificity 55%) as other more complicated systems in predicting failure to achieve long-term survival. Comparison of survival between ultra-high dose cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy and patients treated with POMB/ACE shows no advantage from this more toxic approach. This suggests that good results in adverse prognosis patients can be achieved using conventional dose regimens administered intensively.

Reassociation kinetics of sheared hexaploid wheat DNA in 0.18 M Na+ at 60 °C show the presence of three major classes of nucleotide sequences; (1) a very rapidly reannealing fracton that comprises about 4 to 10% of the genome and reanneals virtually instantly. This fraction contains sequences which appear to be randomly distributed through at least 40% of the genome; they may be palindromic sequences; (2) a heterogeneous intermediate reannealing fraction comprising about 70–80% of the genome which consists of families with apparent repetition frequencies ranging from about 100–100000; and (3) a slow reannealing fraction. These fractions have been isolated and studied separately. Seventy percent of the slow reannealing fraction (12 to 20% of the genome) was found to contain sequences present in approximately six copies per hexaploid genome. The single copy sequences in the three constituent diploid genomes of hexaploid wheat appear to show near complete homology to one another.

SAMPLES of groundwater have been collected from the Chalk of the London Basin and the Lincolnshire Limestone in eastern England to determine the radiocarbon and the 13C/12C ratio in the dissolved carbonate species, and the 18O/16O and D/H ratios of the water. The results will be published more fully elsewhere, but here we report preliminary findings of the 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios and their implications.

Methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS), the first member of the homologous series of dimethane sulphonic acid esters, was administered to 19 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. All patients had received prior chemotherapy and in addition 3 had received prior radiotherapy. MDMS was given as an i.v. bolus injection at a dose of 125mg m-2 and repeated in a q35 day schedule. Ten patients received only one course, six two courses, two three courses and one four courses. The major toxicity was thrombocytopenia which was cumulative. Serious neutropenia did not occur and no infective episodes requiring i.v. antibiotics were seen. Seven patients experience hair loss and four nausea and vomiting. Sixteen patients were evaluable for response but no objective remissions were seen although three patients had stable disease lasting at least 8 weeks. MDMS is therefore not recommended for further trial in epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

IT is often desirable to locate or follow the interface between two oils or fuels during transmission along a pipeline. Present methods include those based upon sampling techniques or radioactive labelling of the interface. The first of these is tedious and slow, and the second method involves the injection of a radioactive marker substance at the interface, with the attendant difficulties of handling radioactive material in the product itself.