Huntington's disease

In this case study, we describe the symptoms, neurological exam, neuropsychological test results, and brain pathology of a man who died with Huntington's disease (HD). HD is a rare neurodegenerative disease. Like other movement disorders involving the basal ganglia, HD affects motor, cognitive, and psychiatric functioning. The disease follows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, with onset of symptoms most commonly occurring in the late 30s or early 40s, as in this patient. HD is caused by an unstable expansion of the trinucleotide CAG, coding for glutamine, on chromosome 4. Despite knowledge of the gene mutation responsible for HD, no definitive treatment is currently available to slow or halt progression of the disease. However, symptomatic treatment can significantly improve the quality of life for patients with HD.     

发展中国家的外资政策

从80年代中叶起,发展中国家明显地出现了外资制度自由化的倾向,制定了各种促进和鼓励措施,向外国投资者提供保护性补充担保,取代了对外资活动的控制。 一、鼓励、促进投资的各种政策。 1.一般自由化政策 ①发展中国家明显地削弱了对外国公司活动的限制,简化了政府机关的审批手续。     

Monitoring the education gap in Thailand: trends and differentials in lower and upper secondary schooling

"Using 1980 census and 1987 survey data on birth cohorts to examine recent primary and secondary school enrollment trends [in Thailand], this study reports that primary enrollment is nearly universal but secondary enrollment is much less prevalent. The study assesses several factors thought to influence enrollment and finds that urban residence, parents' completion of primary school, the mother's positive attitude toward education, and the family's being comfortable economically to be associated with children's enrollment in secondary school. It also indicates that, for moderately well-off families, proximity to schools has a major influence on secondary school attendance. For the wealthiest families, however, distance is not a hindrance to attendance, and for the poorest families, having a school nearby is not sufficient to ensure attendance."     

AIDS as a political issue: working with the sexually prostituted in the Philippines

An estimated 200,000-500,000 men, women, and children work in prostitution in the Philippines in a variety of venues, including brothels, nightclubs, pubs, massage parlors, and other legitimate entertainment establishments. Few, however, are voluntary prostitutes. Many people who work as prostitutes have been recruited from the provinces, kept in conditions similar to slavery, and forced to earn money from prostitution to pay for their transportation, board, and lodging. Many prostitutes work in urban centers and tourist resorts in the countryside. During the 1970s, then President Ferdinand Marcos promoted tourism as a major industry, effectively marketing attractive Filipinas to tourists. Sex tourism has flourished in the country ever since. Thousands of prostitutes are also located in Olongapo and Angeles, 2 cities north of Manila, from where they serve the sexual desires of US military personnel. The presence of US military personnel in the Philippines has always been associated with prostitution. The country's social hygiene centers, prostitutes in Manila and Davao, and AIDS education are briefly discussed.     

Effects of migration on family structure in the receiving country

The recognition of the right to family reunification in 1976 brought far-reaching changes in the characteristics of the foreign population in France. Today, France's immigrant population has the following characteristics: 1) 42.6% are female, 2) 40% are under 25 years of age, and 3) foreigners are increasingly dispersed throughout France. Those with residents' cards may automatically obtain residents' cards for their spouses and children. France's reception policy calls for a social worker to visit a recently arrived family, to assess their need for and to promote social services. Problems of adaptation include 1) wives' social isolation and 2) changes in relations between father and children. The integration policy conducted by public authorities has 4 main aspects: 1) socio-educational activities, 2) cultural activities, 3) vocational training, and 4) activities connected with housing and lifestyle. In 1975, France began offering assisted return procedures to dismissed unskilled workers. In 1984, the authorities introduced public assistance in reintegration for workers under threat of dismissal or who had already been dismissed. The number of foreigners resident in France should remain stable over the next few years, making the integration of immigrant communities within French society a vital task.     

Working with an executive search firm: Part II--The hiring organization's perspective

This article is the second part in a two-part series on how to work with an executive search firm. The first article, which appeared in the September-October 1992 issue of Physician Executive, focused on executive search from the candidate's perspective. This article focuses on how organizations can work with an executive search firm to recruit and retain top management talent.     

Management training for the physician executive

At conferences of physician managers, the issue almost always arises of whether or not a physician manager needs to obtain a formal management degree. There is no clear answer to such a question, reason enough for its perennial appearance at such meetings. These decisions are the result of both personal and environmental factors, each creating unique situations that will dictate the direction taken. In this article, one such direction is described.     

Policies and strategies for integrating women in agriculture and rural development

Continued economic stagnation, civil unrest, rural-urban migration, and a series of natural disasters have impeded efforts in the Sudan to integrate women into the development process. Although the Four-Year (1988-1989 to 1991-92) Salvation, Recovery, and Development Programs Plan does not explicitly addresses women's issues, its emphasis on food security, appropriate technology for the agricultural sector, small-scale industries and handicrafts, balanced regional development, and the needs of the poorest 20% of the population guarantees that women will be major recipients. There remains a need, however, to increase women's participation in the development planning process and to base projects on reliable data on women's economic activities. More successful in defining women's needs have been community development projects--Western Savannah Development Corporation, Blue Nile Integrated Rural Development Project, Nuba Mountain Project, and Jebel Marra Rural Development Project--that combine income generation, social welfare, and agricultural research. It is recommended that all such large integrated rural development or agricultural projects allot funds specifically for women's activities and ensure coordination with women's organizations to avoid duplication and identify areas of greatest need. Also urged is the development of appropriate technologies that will alleviate women's double burden of poverty and household chores and address the inequitable distribution of income. Establishment of a women's bureau for women's affairs and development within the National Planning Department would facilitate project formulation and evaluation. In need of change if women in development projects in the Sudan are to be successful are laws that limit female land ownership and practices that deny women loans and credit.     

Determinants of the Egyptian labour migration

The objective is to summarize the pattern of Egyptian migration to Arab oil-producing countries (AOPC), to review some factors that are important determinants of labor movement based on theory, and to empirically model the migration rate to AOPC and to Saudi Arabia. Factors are differentiated as to their relative importance. Push factors are the low wages, high inflation rate, and high population density in Egypt; pull factors are higher wages. It is predicted that an increase in income from destination countries has a significant positive impact on the migration rate. An increase in population density stimulates migration. An increase in inflation acts to increase out-migration with a 2-year lag, which accommodates departure preparation. Egypt's experience with labor migration is described for the pre-oil boom, and the post-oil boom. Several estimates of labor migration are given. Government policy toward migration is positive. Theory postulates migration to be determined by differences in the availability of labor, labor rewards between destination and origin, and the cost of migration. In the empirical model, push factors are population density, the current inflation rate, and the ratio of income/capita in AOPC to Egypt. The results indicate that the ratio of income/capita had a strong pull impact and population density had a strong push impact. The inflation rate has a positive impact with a lag estimated at 2 years. Prior to the Camp David Accord, there was a significant decrease in the number of Egyptian migrants due to political tension. The findings support the classical theory of factor mobility. The consequences of migration on the Egyptian economy have been adverse. Future models should disaggregate data because chronic shortages exist in some parts of the labor market. Manpower needs assessment would be helpful for policy makers.     

Productive aging: a feminist critique

This essay offers a feminist perspective on the call for a "productive aging" society, and says that the movement provides an answer before we have systematically asked questions about the meaning of old age. An emphasis on productivity, among other things, can devalue relational activities, often inherent in women's roles, and certain older people-older women in particular. The author proposes a number of measures for the short term, so that society can be responsible to older women who need and want jobs, as well as ideas for more far-reaching change.