Terminating polyelectrolyte in multilayer films influences growth and morphology of adhering cells.

Polyelectrolyte films of anionic poly(sodium 4-styrenesulphonate) (PSS) and cationic poly (allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) were constructed using layer-by-layer assembly. The authors examined the cytocompatibility of these films for future use in nanobiotechnology applications. Cell lines HEK-293 and 3T3-L1 were cultured on these films and the initial attachment, adhesion, proliferation and cytotoxicity of the cells were measured using a propidium iodide assay. The morphology and spread of the cells were measured by phase-contrast microscopy. The actin cytoskeleton was observed using fluorescent microscopy. Neither the PAH-terminated nor the PSS-terminated polyelectrolyte films were cytotoxic. The PAH-terminated polyelectrolyte films improved the initial attachment and subsequent adhesion of the cells, in addition to enhancing the production of extracellular matrix and the modelling of the actin filaments. The PSS-terminated film enhanced the proliferation of the cells compared to the PAH-terminated film. That was despite the cell cycle, the spreading or the cytotoxicity of both cell types being similar for either the PSS-terminated surfaces or the PAH-terminated surfaces. Cell behaviour can be modulated by the final surface charge of the polyelectrolyte film and the results are useful in guiding the choice of substrates and/or coatings for potential biomedical applications (e.g. implants) as well as cell biology research.

From flying doctor to virtual doctor: an economic perspective on Australia's telemedicine experience.

Current funding mechanisms can impede the efficient use and integration of telemedicine services. Telemedicine has developed in Australia against a background of complex funding arrangements and interwoven health-care responsibilities. These impediments are not unique to telemedicine but are accentuated by its ability to cover different locations, clinical areas and purposes. There is also a link between economic evaluation and funding mechanisms for telemedicine. While economic evaluations provide important information for the efficient allocation of resources, the funding environment in which telemedicine is established is also crucial in ensuring that services are efficient. Given these complexities, should telemedicine be funded? We conclude that this will depend on: the objectives and priorities of the health system; the efficiency of telemedicine relative to that of other forms of health-care delivery; and the funding environment. In terms of resource allocation processes, the optimum scenario is likely to be where the decision to invest in telemedicine services is made taking local needs into account, but where considerations such as market structure and network compatibility are examined on a broader scale and balanced against the principles of efficiency and equity.

The moving of St Vincent's: a tale in two cities.

In Australia, demographic changes have seen the population of large cities move away from the inner city. This, combined with changes in healthcare delivery and the ageing of many tertiary teaching hospitals, has led governments to attempt to close, relocate or redefine the role of some institutions. Tracing the media coverage of two such events--the attempts to move St Vincent's hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne--provides some interesting insights into the challenges of resource allocation facing policymakers within the healthcare sector. Both hospitals were long-established, much-loved fixtures on inner-city sites with powerful connections to government and business. In Sydney, where the attempt was part of a larger plan to reallocate resources to the western suburbs, the announcement was met with 10 days of intense media coverage and scrutiny by lobby groups and the general public. By contrast, in Melbourne, no such announcement was made and the low-key reporting of support and opposition to the move occurred over two months. Both attempts failed. No matter how the debate is handled, radical changes involving long-established hospitals, powerful provider groups and loyal communities are very difficult to accomplish.

Far-infrared hydrogen lasers in the peculiar star MWC 349A.

Far-infrared hydrogen recombination lines H15 alpha (169.4 micrometers), H12 alpha (88.8 micrometers), and H10 alpha (52.5 micrometers) were detected in the peculiar luminous star MWC 349A from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Here it is shown that at least H15 alpha is strongly amplified, with the probable amplification factor being greater than or about equal to 10(3) and a brightness temperature that is greater than or about equal to 10(7) kelvin. The other two lines also show signs of amplification, although to a lesser degree. Beyond H10 alpha the amplification apparently vanishes. The newly detected amplified lines fall into the laser wavelength domain. These lasers, as well as the previously detected hydrogen masers, may originate in the photoionized circumstellar disk of MWC 349A and constrain the disk's physics and structure.

Psychiatry and the primary care physician.

Psychiatry makes an important contribution to the training and practice of primary care physicians by emphasizing a holistic approach to patient care, by teaching psychiatric skills and by providing knowledge that enables primary care physicians to give basic psychological care to the large numbers of their patients who need it. Consultation-liaison psychiatry and psychiatry education programs for medical students, both of which are given high priority for support by the Psychiatry Education Branch of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), are model settings in which to teach the psychiatric aspects of primary care.

The development of criteria for evaluating psychiatric education programs.

During the last year, the Psychiatry Education Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health undertook an exhaustive review of 530 training proposals from 205 institutions. The scope of such an endeavor, as well as the desire to maintain peer review, necessitated the recruitment of 90 outside consultants. The need for consistency of judgment among a large group of site visitors gave rise to a document that detailed points of concern in the evaluation of psychiatric training programs. Broader dissemination of this document might be useful in a program's self-evaluation, and might further its understanding of the site-visit process. The result of many such evaluations should be the improvement of psychiatric education throughout the country.