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A study is conducted on 60 European funds to evaluate the performance of ethical and non-ethical funds. This study makes use of matched pair approach for fund evaluation.

Hospital- and community-based studies were conducted in central Sudan to investigate the association between pesticide exposure and perinatal mortality. The cases were 197 stillbirths in the hospital and 36 perinatal deaths in the community; the controls were 812 liveborn, normal-birth-weight infants in the hospital, and 1505 liveborn infants who survived for the first 7 days after birth in the community. The odds ratio (OR) of perinatal death associated with pesticide exposure was estimated using multiple logistic regression. There was a consistent and significant association between pesticide exposure and perinatal mortality in the hospital (adjusted OR = 1.9; 95% confidence interval (Cl): 1.3-2.8) and the community populations (adjusted OR = 2.7,- 95% Cl: 1.1-6.4). The OR was significantly higher among women engaged in farming (3.6; 95% Cl: 1.6-8.0), but not among women in nonfarming occupations (1.6; 95% Cl: 0.8-3.3). The estimated attributable risks of perinatal death owing to pesticide exposure were 22.6% for hospital stillbirths and 15.7% for community perinatal deaths; but among women engaged in farming in the hospital population the attributable risks were substantially higher (34.5%)., Introduction Perinatal mortality is high in developing countries, and although precise levels are difficult to gauge because of underreporting, it is estimated that there are about 7 million perinatal deaths [...]

Infant and perinatal mortality are both high in developing countries. As infant death rates go down, deaths occurring around the time of birth take on greater significance. The epidemiology of perinatal mortality and the risk factors that contribute to it have been studied in the developed countries. In undeveloped countries, such research results are generally unavailable. Perinatal mortality is high in India, estimated at between 57 and 107 deaths per 1,000 births. These rates may yet be underreported, since many stillbirths are not included in the totals. A combined study was initiated that included a hospital-based surveillance and a case-control study linked with a population survey. The population survey was intended to provide bases for estimating the prevalence of perinatal mortality risk factors. These studies were conducted in three government teaching hospitals in the city of Ahmedabad. There were 15,893 births, including 739 stillbirths and 517 early neonatal deaths, during the study year, 1988-89. Data were finally available for 451 stillbirths and 160 early neonatal deaths. A control group, drawn from low-birth-weight surviving infants, included 1,465 babies. The rate in the study hospitals for stillbirths was 46.4 per 1,000 births, while for early neonatal deaths it was 34.1 per 1,000 births. The perinatal mortality averaged 79 per 1,000 births. This rate is high, but similar to other areas in India. Poor maternal nutrition, lack of adequate prenatal care, and complications of labor were significant risk factors. Other risk factors are presented. Socioeconomic status failed to exercise an independent effect; its impact was manifested indirectly by its effect on other risk factors. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.), Introduction Perinatal mortality is high in developing countries and as infant mortality has declined, deaths during the perinatal period have become a more important public health problem [1]. The level [...]

Aim: To study the incidence of endophthalmitis following cataract surgery over a 10 year period, and to examine ways in which this may be related to changes in surgical technique. [...]

The prevalence of the use of natural family planning (NFP) can be estimated from sample surveys of married women in the reproductive ages (MWRA). Surveys in developed and developing countries during the past decade indicate that the prevalence of NFP use varies from 0 to 11%. In addition, if one considers NFP use in relation to other contraceptive methods, the percentage of all current contraceptors who use NFP varies from 1 to 35%. This suggests that NFP is an important method in certain countries. Pregnancy rates for NFP vary widely, but most reliable studies report 1-year life-table pregnancy rates between 10 and 25/100 woman-years. The Billings ovulation method consistently has higher pregnancy rates than the sympo-thermal method and NFP users generally have among the highest pregnancy rates compared to other methods. The major safety issue concerning NFP is the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with aged gametes. There are suggestions from a number of investigations that conceptions distant from ovulation have a higher risk of spontaneous abortion and a higher proportion of male births. The findings with respect to birth defects or multiple pregnancies are less consistent, although some studies have reported an increased risk of chromosomal anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents several letters to the editor on medicine in the February 1979 issue of British Medical Journal. Facilities for prenatal diagnosis; usage of norethisterone enoanthane as an injectable contraceptive; Hazards of sulfinpyrazone.

Examines the role played by the Annual Report in the communication process between local authorities and the general public in Great Britain. Formal communication channels of horizontal reporting; Use of loose communication framework; Analysis of failure of the elements of communication; Fundamental component of the discharge of accountability; Six measures of readability of local authority annual reports.

Presents several letters to the editor concerning on medicine. Examination on the acute appendicitis and dietary fibre in Great Britain; Influence of wartime dietary changes on the mortality trends of appendicitis; Assessment on the medical services in India.

Describes the search for the best use for television in the classroom. Television's influence on youth culture; Television criticism; Future developments in technology; Television as culture.

Focuses on the usefulness of a microcomputer in an accident unit of a hospital in Bangor, Great Britain. Innovation of microcomputers for records system; Limitations of a microcomputer; Development of a storage and retrieval system of information.