Towards a two tier health system in the Netherlands: how to put theory into practice.

The Dutch health care system is developing a two, or multiple, tier system. How can moral principles be of help in assessing whether this is the right track? Instead of dismissing as unhelpful the principles that have been suggested so far and exchanging them for other, usually more complex, principles, it is suggested that the methods of moral inquiry be reconsidered.

Empirical and normative aspects of medical technology assessment. The case of reduced-size liver transplantations with living donors.

Medical technology assessment deals with the evaluation of novel or existing health care procedures. This paper addresses the interdependence between factual and normative issues, using the controversies about acceptability and desirability of reduced-size liver transplantations with living donors as example.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of health care services, and concepts of distributive justice.

Two answers to the question 'how can we allocate health care resources fairly?' are introduced and discussed. Both utilitarian and egalitarian approaches are found relevant, but both exhibit considerable theoretical and practical difficulties. Neither seems capable of solving the problem on its own.

Health care and the principle of fair equality of opportunity: a report from The Netherlands.

In The Netherlands, the public funding of a number of health care services is controversial. What can we learn from this about the moral concerns that underlie these judgements? And, if there is anything to learn, can we use this improved understanding to scrutinise the adequacy of particular decisions concerning the public funding of health care services? In the present paper, I will analyse three cases: corrective surgery, In Vitro Fertilisation and liver transplantation. I will summarise the arguments that have been used to support or to challenge the public funding of these services.

The role of membrane properties, synaptic input and electrical junction in determination of spike output of a pair of peptidergic neurons in the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis.

The two electrotonically coupled peptidergic neurons, VD1 and RPD2 show in the isolated central nervous system (CNS) a patterned activity. The cells fire in almost perfect synchrony in CNS's derived from animals of moderate age, while in old animals disturbances in synchrony are observed. The firing pattern varies from beating to bursting.

Characterization and comparison of antimicrobial susceptibilities and outer membrane protein and plasmid DNA profiles of Pasteurella haemolytica and certain other members of the genus Pasteurella.

The outer membrane protein (OMP), plasmid, and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Pasteurella haemolytica serotypes 1 through 12, a bovine isolate of P multocida, a chicken isolate of P multocida, and an unidentified Pasteurella species of bovine origin were examined. Isolates of P haemolytica serotypes belonging to the same biotype possessed similar OMP profiles. Biotype A isolates contained 2 prominent OMP of 43 kilodaltons (kD) and 29 kD, whereas biotype-T serotypes contained 3 major OMP of 43, 36, and 25 kD.

Effect of organic N-halamines on selected membrane functions in intact Staphylococcus aureus cells.

Two N-halamine compounds, 3-chloro-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolidinone and 1,3-dichloro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-imidazolidinone, were compared with free chlorine as to their effects on selected membrane functions of intact Staphylococcus aureus cells. Free chlorine was found to cause a loss of permeability control, as measured by the efflux of potassium from the cells and a dramatic increase in hydrogen ion permeability, and to affect cell respiration in a nonreversible fashion, as measured by oxygen uptake. The two N-halamines were found to have very little effect on permeability to either potassium or hydrogen ions but were both found to dramatically inhibit respiration in a reversible manner.

Monoclonal antibody in the identification of Haemophilus somnus.

Electrophoretic comparisons of outer membrane proteins of Haemophilus somnus isolates revealed 2 major protein bands (46 and 14 kilodaltons [kD]) common to all isolates tested. A monoclonal antibody raised against H. somnus reacted to the 46-kD band.

Outer membrane protein profiles of Edwardsiella ictaluri from fish.

Outer membrane proteins (OMP) prepared with sodium N-lauroyl sarcocinate (SLS) from 33 Edwardsiella ictaluri isolates from fish were examined by electrophoresis. Twenty-eight isolates from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) had similar OMP profiles. Ten bands (71 kilodaltons [kD] to 19.

Plasmid content of piliated and nonpiliated forms of Moraxella bovis.

Plasmid profiles were compared between nonpiliated and piliated forms of Moraxella bovis isolates. The piliated form of M bovis isolate IBH64 contained 1 fewer plasmid than did the nonpiliated form. Piliated and nonpiliated cells of IBH64 contained plasmids having molecular size of 45, 32.

Characterization of the plasmids of Moraxella bovis.

Restriction endonuclease digestions were performed on plasmids purified from Moraxella bovis isolates GRS, Newport, and IBH64. It was determined from single and double digestions of plasmid DNA that GRS and Newport isolates carried 3 large plasmids having molecular sizes of 43.8, 41.

Use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Treponema hyodysenteriae infection in swine.

Discriminate analysis was used to evaluate the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of anti-Treponema hyodysenteriae antibodies in experimentally and naturally infected swine. In trial 1, 26 pigs were randomly divided into three groups (naturally infected, n = 8; experimentally infected, n = 11; and noninfected, n = 7), and samples were collected for 10 weeks. For trial 2, 31 pigs were randomly divided into two groups (naturally infected, n = 22; and noninfected, n = 7), and samples were collected for 20 weeks.

Isolation, characterization, and molecular cloning of cryptic plasmids isolated from Edwardsiella ictaluri.

Fifty-five isolates of Edwardsiella ictaluri were examined for the presence of plasmid DNA by a rapid alkaline extraction procedure. All 49 isolates from channel catfish and a single isolate from Bengal danio carried 2 plasmids with molecular masses of approximately 3.2 and 3.

Ultrastructural and electrophoretic analysis of Treponema hyodysenteriae axial filaments.

Axial filaments of Treponema hyodysenteriae were purified and examined by transmission electron microscopy. The size and fine structure of the filaments were similar to those of Treponema zuelzerae and Treponema phagedenis biotype reiterii. Filaments were dissociated by heat and 2-mercaptoethanol and examined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis.

Inactivation of Legionella pneumophila by hypochlorite and an organic chloramine.

The susceptibility of a strain of Legionella pneumophila to disinfection by an organic halamine, free chlorine, and a mixture of the organic halamine and free chlorine was assessed. The organic halamine was found to have superior stability in solution and to exhibit adequate disinfectant potential over a period of 1 month of repeated reinoculations of fresh bacteria. The combined halamine exhibited great potential for use in maintaining closed-cycle cooling water systems free of L.

Effects of aflatoxin on the growth performance and immune responses of weanling swine.

Aflatoxin (AF)-contaminated ground corn was mixed with a commercial swine ration to yield 2 concentrations (500 mg of AFB1/kg of feed [A] and 300 mg of AFB1/kg [B]) and was fed to 2 groups of pigs. Groups A and B were fed the AF-containing ration, whereas control group C was fed the same commercial ration mixed with ground corn devoid of AF. A comparative analysis of the average weight gain per pig in each of the treatment groups, compared with that in the control group, indicated a significantly (P less than 0.

Stimulation of arachidonic acid metabolism in primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells by hormones and drugs.

The effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH), dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-(OH)2 D3), thrombin, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (PMA) on the biosynthesis and release of arachidonic acid metabolites were studied in primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells isolated from 18-day-old chick embryo calvaria. Cells were labelled with (14C)-arachidonic acid for 30 h. The radioactive eicosanoids were extracted from the cell culture media after a further 30 h stimulation period and analysed on a PRP-1 column by HPLC.