Randomized trial of laparoscopic v open nephrectomy.

Background And Purpose: Clayman and associates first described laparoscopic nephrectomy in 1990. This paper describes the first randomized controlled trial to compare laparoscopic with open surgery for simple and radical nephrectomy.

Patients And Methods: Between 2001 and 2004, 45 patients requiring simple or radical nephrectomy (tumors as large as 8 cm) were randomized to either open surgery through a loin incision or laparoscopic nephrectomy (transperitoneal).

The elimination of contraceptive acceptor targets and the evolution of population policy in India.

In 1966 the government of India announced a new national population policy that eliminated numerical targets for new contraceptive acceptors. This paper examines the history of target setting in India and factors that led to the elimination of targets. The analysis is based on published and unpublished reports on India's population policy and the family planning programme and interviews with senior Indian and foreign officials and population specialists.