Improving neurocognitive outcomes following treatment for brain metastases have become increasingly important. We propose that a brief telephone-based neurocognitive assessment may improve follow-up cognitive assessments in this palliative population. Aim: To prospectively assess the feasibility and reliability of a telephone based brief neurocognitive assessment compared to the same tests delivered face-to-face. Methods: Brain metastases patients to be treated with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) were assessed using a brief validated neurocognitive battery at baseline, at 1 month and 3 months following WBRT (in person and over the phone). The primary outcome was feasibility and inter-procedural (in person versus telephone) reliability. The secondary objective was to evaluate the change in neurocognitive function before and after WBRT. Results: Out of 39 patients enrolled, 82% of patients completed the baseline in-person and telephone neurocognitive assessments. However, at 1 month, only 41% of enrolled patients completed the in-person and telephone cognitive assessments and at 3 months, only 10% of patients completed them. Results pertaining to reliability and change in neurocognitive function will be updated. Conclusion: The pre-defined definition of feasibility (at least 80% completion for face to face and telephone neurocognitive assessments) was met at baseline. However, a large proportion of participants did not complete either telephone or in person neurocognitive follow-up at 1 month and at 3 months post-WBRT. Attrition remained a challenge for neurocognitive testing in this population even when a telephone-based brief assessment was used.

Hot core chemistry, characterized by the evaporation of icy mantle molecules from dust grains and subsequent gas-phase chemistry, seems ubiquitous in hot, dense clouds. Hot core molecules have been observed, not only in high-mass star-forming regions, but also in protoplanetary disks, shocks in young stellar outflows, and so on. Here, we study grain-surface chemistry and chemistry in hot gas in disks and outflows. Our results suggest that observations of molecular lines by the forthcoming ALMA and other facilities will give us information on, for example, grain-surface chemistry in the outer disk, turbulent mixing in the inner disk, and the physical and chemical conditions at the launching points of outflows.

Discriminatory typing methods are invaluable in the investigation of outbreaks of infectious diseases. Single primers were used to generate randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles from Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates of various serotype and K. pneumoniae isolates from cases of sepsis at a Malaysian hospital and two English hospitals. RAPD profiles of acceptable reproducibility, a maximum of three minor band variations, were produced using a rapid DNA extraction method. RAPD typing of K. pneumoniae was shown to be as discriminatory as restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using pulsed field gel electrophoresis yet quicker and less costly. The findings suggest that RAPD typing may be a useful tool for the epidemiological typing of K. pneumoniae.

This paper is the second of a series dealing with the annual cycle of growth andreproduction in British ascidians; a previous paper (Millar, 1952) dealt with the speciesDiplosoma listerianum (Milne Edwards), Ciona intestinalis (Linnaeus),Ascidiella aspersa (Muller), andBotryllus schlosseri (Pallas)

The present investigation is concerned with the growth, the course of sexual reproduction and establishment of new generations, and the histological changes in the gonad throughout the year, in the ascidianDendrodoa grossularia (family Styelidae).

Samples were examined from two widely separated localities: Fambridge in the River Crouch, Essex; and Farland Point, Isle of Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde. The specimens from Essex were dredged from a depth of about 2 m. (below L.W.O.S.T.), and were attached to the empty shells of the European oyster,Ostrea edulis L. and to the shells ofCrepidula fornicata L. The speci-mens from the Firth of Clydewere attached to stones on sheltered parts of the shore. The animals here extended over a zone of the shore from about Chart Datum+ 2.5 ft. (0.76 m.) to about Chart Datum+ 7.5 ft. (2.29 m.): Only in very sheltered positions, such as under large boulders, did Dendrodoa occur in abundance. The two habitats were thus very different in nature, one being sublittoral on the south-east coast of Britain and the other being littoral on the north-west coast. The value of comparisons is limited by the different nature of the conditions to which the sublittoral and the littoral populations were exposed.

The observations on growth in the Clyde extended over most of 1951 and 1952, and nineteen samples were taken.

This study was undertaken to increase our very incomplete knowledge of the annual cycle inascidians.

Berrill (1950) states that ‘the age of ascidians, with one exception, is practically impossible to estimate, unless a certain inhabited area is followed closely through seasons and years’. In the present work the method has been to follow certain aspects of the ascidian population of a chosen area for a period of nearly two years. The area was the Old Dock in Ardrossan Harbour, Ayrshire, and the ascidian population contained four species: Diplosoma listerianum (Milne Edwards), Ciona intestinalis (Linnacus), Ascidiella aspersa (Müller) and Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas). Diplosoma belongs to the order Enterogona, suborder Aplousobranchiata; Ciona and Ascidiella to the order Enterogona, suborder Phlebobranchiata; and Botryllus to the order Pleurogona, suborder Stolidobranchiata. Thus each of the three main suborders is represented, and the four ascidians studied are amongst the commonest British species.

Larvae of the oyster (Ostrea edulis L.), when released, can live for several days without food, and can grow to full size when subsequently fed. Energy is supplied by protein, carbohydrate and lipid of the larval body, all of which decrease during starvation. The measured decreases are sufficient to account for the energy expended as indicated by oxygen consumption.

Protostyela heterobranchia n.gen. n.sp. is a compound styelid ascidian from Scottish waters. The branchial sac has three longitudinal bars on each side and no folds, and the stigmata are transverse. Both hermaphrodite and unisexual (male) gonads are present.

Pelonaia corrugata in the Firth of Clyde breeds for only 2–4 weeks in January or February. The species is oviparous. Early cleavage is similar to that of other ascidians, but after gastrulation the embryo passes through a two-hemisphere stage. One of these hemispheres is endodermal. From the other hemisphere, which slowly envelops the endoderm, two ampullae grow and fix the embryo to the substratum. The young ascidian develops directly from this attached embryo, and the development is therefore anural. Elimination of the pelagic larval stage is regarded as an adaptation to the sand-dwelling habit of the adult, as it prevents dispersal to unsuitable habitats.

Several recent papers have dealt with the development of members of the ascidian family Pyuridae (Hirai, 1941; Berrill, 1948; Millar, 1951; Sebastian, 1953), but the total number of species with known larvae is still only five, in spite of the large size of the family.

The present paper deals with the embryonic development, the larva, and the post-larval development of Pyura microcosmus (Savigny).

There are few adequate descriptions of British members of the ascidian family Didemnidae and little attention has been given to the larvae. In the autumn of 1947 a didemnid was collected from the intertidal zone in the Menai Strait, North Wales. This ascidian agrees superficially with Leptoclinum maculosum Edwards, as figured by Milne Edwards (1842) and by Alder & Hancock (1905–1912), although differing somewhat from the diagnosis of Didemnum maculosum (Edwards) given by Harant & Vernières (1933). It is closer anatomically to the D.fulgens (Edwards) of Harant & Vernières, but differs in colour. In most features the colony and zooid closely resemble the descriptions given by Michaelsen (1923) for his species D. helgolandicum Michaelsen, and it is probable that this is the species to which it should be assigned. Nevertheless, the name D. maculosum has been retained since it is under that name that it has probably appeared in most faunistic lists.

Until recently all accounts of didemnid larvae have described three anterior adhesive organs. This was the number given by Giard (1872) for Diplosoma gelatinosum Edwards, and by Lahille (1890) for Trididemnum tenerum Verrill and Polysyncraton lacazei Giard. Berrill (1947), however, has described a new species of didemnid, Trididemnum alleni Berrill, the larva of which has only two anterior adhesive organs, a condition not previously found in any ascidian larva.

The larva (Fig. IA) of the colonies found in the Menai Strait resembles that of T. alleni in many features. The trunk is about 0.35 mm. long from the tip of the adhesive organs to the base of the tail.

In the family Pyuridae the larval and post-larval stages are known only in Halocynthia pyriformis (Rathke) and Boltenia echinata (L.). Berrill (1948) has pointed out that this is the least specialized family of the Pleurogona and that its larvae are therefore of particular interest.

On 1 August 1950 specimens of Pyura squamulosa (Alder), up to 36 by 30 mm., were collected from boulders at low-water level in the Sound of Kerrera, Argyll. They were taken on the following day to the Marine Station, Millport, and there kept in running sea water until 4 August, when artificial fertilizations were carried out.

Larvae of the ascidian Styela coriacea (Alder and Hancock) were obtained by artificial fertilization and from an incubating adult. The larval cerebral vesicle has a normal otolith but no ocellus.

In the summer of 1949 a compound ascidian was collected from the shore of Seil Island, Argyll. This proved to be a new species of the family Didemnidae. It is proposed to name it Lissoclinum argyllense, the specific name indicating the area in which it was first found. No species of Lissoclinum has hitherto been included in the British fauna.

Carlisle (1954) described Styela mammiculata, a new species of stalked ascidian from the Plymouth area, and suggested that it had been brought into British waters, probably with oysters. Its recent discovery on other parts of the south coast of England (Houghton & Millar, 1960) supports the idea that it is an introduced species which is now spreading through a favourable environment. It is well, therefore, to consider whether this may not be a species known from another part of the world. Tokioka (1955) examined one of Carlisle's specimens and suggested that it fell within the range of variation of S. clava Herdman. As many specimens of S.mammiculata are now available, a more extensive comparison has been made and is reported in this paper.

In previous papers (Millar, 1952; 1954a; 1954*0 I have dealt with the re-productive cycle of several ascidians in Scottish waters, and in the present account observations are extended to other species.

The course of breeding was studied in the following species. Family Polyclinidae:Sidnyum turbinatum Savigny, Aplidium nordmanni (Milne Edwards), A.punctum (Giard), A.pallidum (Verrill) and Polyclinum aurantium Milne Edwards. Family Didemnidae:Didemnum candidum Savigny and Lissoclinum argyllense Millar. Family Clavelinidae: Clavelina lepadiformis (Müller).

Kale of normal and low S-methyl-L-cysteine sulphoxide (SMCO) content was produced by growing the same cultivar in soils of normal (20–30 mg/kg) and low (5–10 mg/ kg) soil sulphate-S concentration. Compared with normal S plots, kale grown in low S plots showed little or no reduction in D.M. yield or total N content, but contained lower concentrations of inorganic sulphate, SMCO and glucosinolates.

Replicated plots of normal and low SMCO kale were grazed by lambs for 12-week periods in two consecutive years, using a fixed crop allowance of 2·5 kg D.M./animal/ day. All animals were given injections of copper and iodine, and oral supplements of selenium, to ensure that effects upon animal performance could largely be attributed to differences in kale SMCO concentration.

SMCO concentration in the diet consumed by lambs grazing normal and low SMCO kale was respectively 0·60 and 0·35% D.M. Following the onset of kale feeding, all animals developed subclinical haemolytic anaemia which stabilized by week 6, and was more marked during weeks 1–6 than during weeks 7–12. Animals grazing low SMCO kale showed a less severe anaemia than those grazing normal SMCO kale, which was associated with lower blood concentrations of dimethyl disulphide and Heinz bodies, and higher reduced glutathione (GSH) and packed cell volume (PCV) levels. Liveweight gain and wool growth were greater for lambs grazing low than normal SMCO kale during weeks 1–6, corresponding to the period of most severe haemolytic anaemia, but during weeks 7–12 there were no differences between the two groups.

It was concluded that SMCO content depressed kale feeding value, with most of the depression occurring in the first 6 weeks of grazing, and that in these experiments the lambs were able to adapt to kale containing 0·6% D.M. as SMCO after 6 weeks of feeding. Endocrine factors involved in this adaptation are discussed.

The branching ratios of the different reaction pathways and the overall rate of the dissociative recombination of CD$_{3}$OD$_{2}^{+}$ were measured at the CRYRING storage ring located at the Manne Siegbahn Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden. A preliminary analysis of the data yielded that formation of methanol accounts for only 6 $\pm$ 2% of the total reaction rate. Largely, dissociative recombination of CD$_{3}$OD$_{2}^{+}$ involves fragmentation of the C–O bond, the major process being the three-body break-up forming CD$_{3}$, OD and D (branching ratio 0.59). A non-negligible formation of interstellar methanol by the previously proposed mechanism is therefore very unlikely.