Refugees in Papua New Guinea: government response and assistance, 1984-1988

The refugee situation after the 1984 movement from Indonesia is examined in terms of policy implications and assistance as well as the welfare and education of refugees. Information was collected from government sources and documents and from households in camps and communities over a 3-month period and was published in a government report in February, 1988. This article provides a review of the border issues, resistance and exodus, reactions within Papua New Guinea, 1984-85 border crossings, social and demographic refugee profiles, government response, UN involvement, border refugee camp conditions, repatriation and relocation, reasons for the exodus, and relocation to and conditions in East Awin and the implications. This exodus from West Papua New Guinea (a region now called Irian Jaya) after Indonesia's take over in 1962 represents a unique situation, which also has lessons for other asylum seekers looking for refuge status in friendly neighboring countries. International agreements, such as the Geneva Convention and Protocol, can disrupt social networks and households when the relocation they permit is implemented. Full economic and social participation is hampered by a low quality provision of education and social services. The gain is in removing "destabilizing threats to the host state and society," at the expense of the economic and residential security of the migrants. Humanitarianism hides inequalities; internationalism, in this case, confirmed Indonesian sovereignty and large scale economic exploitation. An estimated 300,000 Melanesians have died since the take over, which amounts to 30% of the total population in 1970. Persecution was the reason for migration to Papua New Guinea; migration numbers are not accurate and range from the official 2000-3000 to 12,000 in 1984. Reactions to the migration have been mixed, and fear of the military might of Indonesia is real. The government was not prepared to cope with the scale of migration and had no plans for food relief, shelter, or medical assistance; the consequence for the refugees was death by starvation. Refugee camps were located along the border; the populations varied by camp. Some were 56% male or female, and 43% of the entire population were 15 years of age. 75% were dependent on subsistence crop production before leaving. Development assistance was dependent on refugee movement away from border areas, in this case to East Awin.     

Danish and Norwegian hospital social workers’ cross-institutional work amidst inter-sectoral restructuring of health and social welfare

Starting in the 2000s, Denmark and Norway have undergone extensive restructuring of their health-related social benefit programmes, including how they are governed. Several reforms have sought to enhance inter-sectoral collaboration. Aiming at ensuring patients’ faster return to work, policy-makers have instituted economic incentives to both individuals and the health and welfare organisations who handle them. Through an institutional logics approach, this paper explores how hospital social workers in these countries are experiencing these changes. The ‘social’ part of post-treatment care and rehabilitation receives more attention in the Norwegian institutional set-up than in the Danish, and whilst challenges are experienced in both countries, in group interviews Danish social workers in particular express concerns about the implications of the accelerated return-to-work focus. In both countries, they report increasing difficulties in ‘making their way through’ the state-municipal bureaucracy. However, by drawing on the formal health knowledge derived from medical settings and the symbolic capital it bestows on them, they often manage to negotiate the work-and-welfare services, thereby transforming the social context for the patients.     

Multiple-class classification: Ordinal and categorical labels

We study multiple-class classification problems. Both ordinal and categorical labeled cases are discussed. The common approaches for multiple-class classification are built on binary classifiers, in which one-versus-one and one-versus-rest are typical approaches. When the number of classes is large, then these binary-classifier-based methods may suffer from either computational costs or the highly imbalanced sample sizes in their training stage. In order to alleviate the computational burden and the imbalanced training data issue in multiple-class classification problems, we propose a method that has competitive performance and retains the ease of model interpretation, which is essential for a prognostic/predictive model.     

Use of thermobalancing therapy in ageing male with benign prostatic hyperplasia with a focus on etiology and pathophysiology

Introduction: We investigated if “thermobalancing” therapy (TT), using Dr Allen’s therapeutic device (DATD) in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), can aid in understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of BPH.

Methods: We compared urinary and other parameters of BPH patients who received TT over 6 months (treatment group) with those of healthy volunteers who had not received the treatment (control group). Dynamics of symptoms and indicators in each group were evaluated in comparison with their data at the beginning and end of the study. Parameters were the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) for urinary symptoms and quality of life (QoL), ultrasound measurement of prostate volume (PV) and uroflowmetry (maximum flow rate, Q_max). TT effectiveness was examined in 124 men with BPH and PV?<60?mL. We also investigated the data of five patients with BPH and PV?>60?mL.

Results: TT decreased urinary symptoms and PV, increased Q_max and improved QoL in men with BPH, PV?<60?mL, and in men with BPH, PV?>60?mL.

Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that TT is effective for BPH, suggesting that blood circulation plays a crucial role in its cause. The continuous heat exposure that does not exceed the normal body temperature terminates the trigger of BPH development, “micro-focus” of hypothermia, and the following spontaneous expansion of capillaries. TT could be considered to be a useful tool in BPH treatment.     

Anatomy of a Municipal Triumph: New York City's Upsurge in Life Expectancy

Over the period 1990–2010, the increase in life expectancy for males in New York City was 6.0 years greater than for males in the United States. The female relative gain was 3.9 years. Male relative gains were larger because of extremely rapid reductions in mortality from HIV/AIDS and homicide, declines that reflect effective municipal policies and programs. Declines in drug‐ and alcohol‐related deaths also played a significant role in New York City's advance, but every major cause of death contributed to its relative improvement. By 2010, New York City had a life expectancy that was 1.9 years greater than that of the US. This difference is attributable to the high representation of immigrants in New York's population. Immigrants to New York City, and to the United States, have life expectancies that are among the highest in the world. The fact that 38 percent of New York's population consists of immigrants, compared to only 14 percent in the United States, accounts for New York's exceptional standing in life expectancy in 2010. In fact, US‐born New Yorkers have a life expectancy below that of the United States itself.     

The impact of testosterone replacement therapy on glycemic control,vascular function,and components of the metabolic syndrome in obese hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes

Objective: This study set out to assess effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) on parameters of metabolic syndrome and vascular function in obese hypogonadal males with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).

Study design: Fifty-five obese hypogonadal diabetic males on oral hypoglycemic treatment were enrolled into this one-year, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study. Group T (n?=?28) was treated with testosterone undecanoate (1000?mg i.m. every 10?weeks) while group P (n?=?27) received placebo.

Methods: Anthropometrical and vascular measurements – flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and intima media thickness (IMT) – biochemical and hormonal blood sample analyses were performed at the start of the study and after one year. Derived parameters (BMI, HOMA-IR, calculated free testosterone (cFT) and bioavailable testosterone (BT)) were calculated.

Results: TRT resulted in reduction of HOMA-IR by 4.64?±?4.25 (p?p?p?=?.005).

Conclusion: TRT normalized serum testosterone levels, improved glycemic control and endothelial function while exerting no ill effects on the study population.