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Biomedical subjects

R Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to R Robinson.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Contracting in the NHS quasi-market.

This paper examines the development of contracting within the NHS on the basis of the data collected as part of a national survey of English District Health Authorities carried out in late 1994. The paper starts with a discussion of the background to contracting and its evolution during the first 4 years of the NHS internal market. The second section describes the methodology employed in the national survey. The third section presents the results of the survey alongside a discussion of their relevance in terms of the economics of contracting. This section shows the prevalence of different types of contracts and discusses the emergence of the most common type-sophisticated block contracts. Details are provided of how contracts deal with issues such as the measurement of activity, the pricing of projected activity and of activity variances (mainly at marginal cost), as well as the involvement of clinicians in contracting. Other topics explored include the management of extra contractual referrals, contracting for specialized services, arbitration arrangements, the purchaser efficiency index and contracts with the independent sector. The final section offers some concluding thoughts on the current state and future of contracting in the NHS.

Contract Services↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Economic evaluation and the shifting balance towards primary care: definitions, evidence and methodological issues.

Current UK government policy places considerable emphasis on shifting the balance of health care provision from secondary towards primary care. Despite this emphasis, however, there has been very little economic evaluation of initiatives designed to achieve this shift. In view of this deficiency, our article has three main aims. First, it offers a working definition of shifts in the balance of care at the primary-secondary care interface. Second, it systematically reviews the existing literature on the cost-effectiveness of initiatives designed to shift the balance of care. Third, it identifies a range of methodological issues that need to be addressed if future economic evaluations in this area are to be carried out satisfactorily.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Harlequin colour in the Great Dane dog.

Breeding data from Eire and Great Britain confirm the hypothesis of Sponenberg (1985) that the harlequin colour of the Great Dane breed of dog is due the combined action of a dominant gene H with the merle gene M in the genotype H+M+. The typical bluish coloration induced by M is modified to white by the action of H. The H gene is a prenatal lethal when homozygous HH and this study offers clear indication that the heterozygous H+ interacts with M to reduce the viability of white merle homozygotes H+MM.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The extracellular matrix in balloon arterial injury: a novel target for restenosis prevention.

The role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the pathobiology of restenosis has not been fully appreciated. Recent discoveries have shown the ECM to be a complex, heterogeneous structure whose components are dynamically altered in response to vascular injury. This report reviews the structure and function of vascular ECM and the importance of the matrix in modulating the vascular response to arterial injury such as balloon angioplasty and atherosclerosis.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modified fluid gelatin. An alternative macromolecular agent for centrifugal leukapheresis.

We studied a French modified fluid gelatin (MFG), substituting it for hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in leukapheresis procedures using three currently available blood cell separators, and observing its effects on the function of platelets and granulocytes. As a cell-collecting agent, we found MFG to be as effective as HES with intermittent flow centrifugation (Haemonetics), and slightly less so with one continuous flow device (IBM 2997). MFG was clearly less effective than HES with the Fenwal CS-3000 continuous flow separator, although we have reason to believe it would be possible to improve efficiency with this machine by changing the operating variables. Tests of platelet and granulocyte function showed negligible alteration with either agent and no difference between them. MFG disappears much more rapidly from the circulation than HES (after a single injection, it is undetectable by the third day). Reaction frequency with MFG was about the same as that of HES, with perhaps somewhat more frequent allergic manifestations.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Head spot and dilute mutations in the Norway rat.

A mutant allele of a new white spotting locus in the Norway rat is described, which is designated as head spot (hs). The allele is inherited as a recessive to normal. The expression is regularly manifested and has the form of a white sport of variable size in the middle of the forehead just above the eyes. A probable reoccurrence of blue dilution coat color is also reported. Tests for genetic linkage for hs indicate that it is independent of the agouti, dilute, and hooded loci.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Albino and pink-eyed dilution mutants in the Russian dwarf hamster Phodopus campbelli.

The coat color mutant genes albino (c) and pink eyed dilution (p) are described in the dwarf hamster species Phodopus campbelli. Both genes are inherited as redessive to normal. Tests for linkage between the two genes gave negative results. The apparent absence of linkage is contrasted with linkage between homologous alleles c and p in other species of rodents.

Albinism, Oculocutaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Linkage of white band and long hair in the Syrian hamster.

The mutant genes Ba and l display autosomal linkage of 20.2 +/- 2.3. The available evidence indicates that the linkage is independent of two others previously reported. Thus, three linkage groups are now known for the Syrian hamster.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Melanin inhibitor: a dominant gene in the domestic cat.

Melanin inhibitor (symbol I) is shown to be inherited as a dominant to the wild type and independent of the albino locus. The gene inhibits the formation of melanin in the less intensely pigmented regions of the coat, namely, the agouti areas between the tabby pattern and the proximal portion of the hair. The only regions of the coat to retain pigment are the distal hair of the agouti areas and the tabby pattern. There is considerable variation in the expression of I, particularly upon a nonagouti background.

Animals↗