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Ar/Ar ages determined on rocks and minerals from the Camagüey area in central Cuba provide age constraints on events that accompanied the northward migration of Cuba into the Caribbean region and its subsequent collision with the Bahamas Bank. Whole-rock samples from the Camujiro and Piragua Formations, part of the Camagüey volcanic sequence, yielded Ar/Ar ages of 74-72 Ma, distinctly younger than the 100-80-Ma ages indicated by fossils in interlayered sedimentary rocks. Syenite and granodiorite in the Camagüey batholith, which cut these volcanic rocks, yield generally similar Ar/Ar ages of 75-72 Ma for hornblende, biotite, and feldspar. These ages are interpreted to reflect relatively rapid uplift and cooling of most of the volcanic-intrusive arc. Additional constraints on the timing of this uplift are provided by Ar/Ar ages of 71-75 Ma for rhyolite-rhyodacite domes of the La Sierra Formation and 52 Ma for andesitic basalt of La Mulata Formation, which appear to have been emplaced onto erosion surfaces that resulted from this uplift. An average cooling rate of about 13°C/Ma, which prevailed during formation of the arc between about 96 and 80 m.yr., increased to about 40°C/Ma after 80 Ma and ended with formation of a paleosurface at about 75 Ma or slightly afterward. The rapid uplift and denudation arc necessary to form a Late Cretaceous paleosurface on the volcanic-intrusive probably required an extensional tectonic environment, which could have been created during oblique convergence of the Greater Antilles arc with Yucatan as the arc migrated northward in Late Cretaceous time. Metamorphic rocks in the Escambray and Isle of Pines areas in western Cuba have ages similar to those indicated for uplift in the Camagüey area, suggesting that extension and related Late Cretaceous paleosurfaces were widespread in the western Greater Antilles during its northward migration into the Caribbean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epithermal precious metal deposits commonly form in middle to late Cenozoic volcanic arcs several kilometers above the level at which batholiths are emplaced. This relationship has led to the guideline that epithermal deposits should not be sought in volcanic arcs where batholiths are widely exposed. The Camagüey district in central Cuba violates this tenet and provides important insights into arc-forming processes that create and expose epithermal deposits. The Camagüey district hosts the Jacinto and Florencia low-sulfidation vein deposits and the Deseada and Golden Hill high-sulfidation prospects, all of which are within a few kilometers of the large Camagüey batholith. Some of the deposits, such as Jacinto, lie immediately below a local paleosurface that exposes the batholith and probably formed when rhyolite domes were emplaced onto this surface. A second group of deposits, such as the Deseada high-sulfidation system, is hosted by volcanic rocks that overlie the Camagüey batholith and stand above the paleosurface. New Ar-Ar age measurements indicate that Jacinto-type deposits and prospects cooled through Ar/Ar closure temperatures for adularia and muscovite at about 71 Ma and are slightly younger than the widespread granodiorite facies of the Camaguey batholith. In contrast, Deseada-type deposits and mineralized zones cooled through roughly similar closure temperatures for sericite, illite, and alunite at about 80 Ma, which is older than the age of the immediately underlying Camagüey batholith. These ages are best explained if the Camagüey batholith and surrounding volcanic rocks underwent rapid uplift, probably by tectonic unroofing, to form the paleosurface below which Jacinto-type deposits formed, and if the older Deseada-type deposits were thrust into place over this surface. This tectonic unroofing probably took place in an extensional regime generated during oblique convergence of Cuba with Yucatan as the Greater Antilles... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was conducted in order to dispel misconceptions about natural orifice transvaginal cholecystectomy. Forty-two patients were surveyed after having undergone that procedure. Those patients were asked questions related to 1) patient satisfaction, 2) whether they would recommend the procedure to others, and 3) dyspaurenia. The survey was done after a sexual abstinence period that varied from 30 to 40 days. We encountered no complications, and all patients liked the procedure and would recommend it to family and friends. No patient developed dyspaurenia. The postoperative responses were unanimous and positive for all questions. The result of this postoperative transvaginal cholecystectomy survey will help patients and surgeons ease their fears and social taboos and better communicate, and this will help patients to become aware of the option of transvaginal peritoneoscopy.

The recent (1980) immigration of 125,000 Cubans to the U.S. presented health workers with a situation bearing many of the characteristics of a disaster. Some of the organizational, clinical, and ecological issues which are inherent in providing mental health care in disaster situations are discussed. Ultimately, the development of an effective response to the situation depended on an understanding not only of the individuals involved, but also on an appreciation for the characteristics of the different phases of disaster situations.