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Success rates of up to 90% have been claimed for apicectomy. However, the conditions that this procedure is carried out under at district general hospitals may be at variance with such studies. A 5-year audit of outcome was therefore carried out within a district general hospital. It was found that 89% of apicected teeth still remained at 5 years. Outcome was not influenced by any of the factors examined, and could not be predicted radiographically. Most failures occurred after the average postoperative review period of 10.5 months. Patient satisfaction with the procedure was high at over 90%. Based on these results it was concluded that apicectomy was an effective procedure when carried out by staff of all grades within the district general hospital, and that repeated follow-up appointments with radiographs over the first postoperative year were not useful.

1. The amount of manganese in nationally-representative samples of prepared and cooked groups of foods, and in a wide variety of individual foods, was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. 2. The average British diet was calculated to provide 4.6 mg Mn/d of which half was derived from tea and other beverages, 30% from cereals, and 15% from vegetables and fruit. Animal products provided little Mn. 3. Individual foods other than tea which were particularly rich in Mn in Britain were unrefined and partially-refined cereals, and some spices and herbs. Some vegetables and fruit, coffee, wine, chocolate and brown sugar also contained significant amounts of Mn.

1. Intravenous administration of platelet activating factor, Paf (600 ng kg-1 h-1) to ventilated anaesthetised guinea-pigs induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness to i.v. acetylcholine. 2. Pretreatment of ventilated, anaesthetised guinea-pigs with the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol, or the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin, induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness to i.v. histamine. 3. Paf-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with three different Paf antagonists, CV-3988, BN 52021 and WEB 2086. 4. Pretreatment of guinea-pigs with CV-3988, BN 52021 or WEB 2086 at doses inhibiting Paf-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness, had no significant effect on propranolol or indomethacin-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness. 5. It is suggested that bronchial hyperresponsiveness induced by propranolol or indomethacin is not secondary to Paf release in the guinea-pig.