[Home hospitalization for patients with acute illnesses]. / Servicio de internación domiciliaria para pacientes con enfermedades agudas.

This study presents the results of 26 months of work, from January 1996 through February 1998, of the Distinct Home Hospitalization Service for Acute Patients. This service managed 20 home beds with two teams, each with a physician and a nurse, with a care approach similar to that for a room in a hospital. Among the items evaluated were the attributes of the admitted population, their illnesses, the form of administering drugs, the satisfaction of the caregivers, the indices of performance, and the costs with this approach. A total of 1,789 patients had home hospitalizations over the period, with a median stay of 4 days. Of the patients, 76.5% were admitted from in-hospital care. The most frequent illnesses were cardiorespiratory ones (45.5%), and the proportion of patients with a terminal illness was 14.2%. Drugs were administered orally with 74% of the patients and parenterally in 26%. The patients' satisfaction level was very high, and the cost of the hospitalization was 70% of that for in-hospital care. Family involvement was key in this approach to care.

Analysis of growth curves of fowl. I. Chickens.

1. The Richards function was used to describe the growth curves (n = 989) of 9 broiler lines. Chickens were fed ad libitum and body weight was recorded every second week from hatching to 26 weeks of age. 2. The accuracy of curve fit measured by the coefficient of determination (R2) was better for males than for females (0.9986-0.9995 vs 0.9972-0.9988, respectively). 3. The estimation of the asymptotic final weight (A) for different lines enabled the degree of maturity (ut = yt/A) to be determined at any fixed point of the curve. At the age of 7 weeks this had a value of 0.318-0.369 for cockerels and 0.325-0.377 for pullets and represented the slaughter maturity of individual lines. The ratio of inflection/asymptotic weight (y+/A = 0.370-0.388) indicated that in some cases chicken growth can be described approximately by the Gompertz function (y+/A = 0.368). 4. It was found that the age at the inflection point of curves (t+ 48.2-55.7 d for cockerels and t+ = 47.8-52.8 d for pullets) roughly corresponds to the slaughter age of the chickens. 5. The interline differences in the parameters of maturation rate for weight (y+/A, k, t+, u7) are low in comparison with the differences in body weight (A, y+, y7) and absolute growth rate (v, v+). 6. The intragroup phenotypic correlation among growth parameters and the importance of the mathematical models are discussed.

EEG profile and behavioral changes after a single dose of clozapine in normals and schizophrenics.

Clozapine, a powerful neuroleptic with unique clinical efficacy (and without parkinsonic side effects), has been shown to have an unusual EEG profile. The EEG changes after clozapine, especially when instrumentally quantified, demonstrated the predictive value of EEG. The similarities of the EEG profile of clozapine with the profile of thymoleptic compounds indicated its possible thymoleptic effect. This later proved to be the case with therapeutic studies in depression. The EEG profile of clozapine in volunteers is similar to the EEG profile in schizophrenics (with appropriately higher doses). Instrumental quantification was performed with spectral and iterative interval analysis to show the advantages of each method and also the complementary value of both of them.

The electroencephalogram in the middle-aged and the elderly.

A survey was made of the electroencephalographic (EEG) changes during the human lifespan. It was found that the EEG changes during childhood and adolescent maturation continue even between the ages of 30 and 60 years. There is a decrease in the abundance of alpha activity, with a reduction in the fast part and a relative increase in the slow part of the alpha band. In the span of life between 60 and 90, there is an increase of slow waves with a progressive slowing during the aging process and a shift in the dominant frequency from 9 cps to 7 cps. Computerization of results in the beta band (above 13 cps) enables differentiation of the waves of the lower part (13-25 cps) from those of the upper part (above 25-30 cps). The lower part of the beta band decreases parallel to the alpha activity but the upper part of the beta band increases in amount during the aging process. The meaning of the divergent behavior of these sub-groups of beta activity in the aged is discussed. The EEG seems to be an important factor in the study of aged persons.

Franz Kafka.

The hereditary and environmental influences on the genius of Kafka's personality are discussed. His exterior, somatic constitution is represented by photos taken during his lifetime as well as some posthumous, imaginary portraits and sculptures by various, mostly Prague, artists. The concept of the artist's psychic formation - his mental makeup - is documented from his diary, dreams, letters, literary work and reports by his friends. The whole proves his introversion, ambivalence, hypersensitivity, obstinancy, anxieties, behavioral anomalies, a life rich in fantasies and his underestimation of his own literary work. (He speaks about it as an idiosyncrasy, wishing it to be burned after his death.) Some little-known drawings by Kafka complement the picture of his talents and creativity. The psychological and psychopathological roots of his extraordinary position in the cultural awareness of his epoch are discussed.