Primitive society, health & elderly. (1/30)

Mankind have been ravaged by diseases since primitive age and remedial measures were emprirical learnt either by accident, experience or superstition. But most elderly population were killed and hardly died of diseases. Fate of women were no better. Care for elderly came with civilization. They were little better in the East compared to the West. Although elderly population were better treated in India, China tops the list for elderly care. Even today the oldest man in the family is most respected. Civilized nations even today discriminate elderly population compared to children and adult, but apply the yardstick in a different manner, direct killing alone is not allowed.  (+info)

MATERNAL DEATHS IN CALIFORNIA, 1957-1962. (2/30)

During the period 1957-1962, the Committee on Maternal and Child Care of the California Medical Association and the State Department of Public Health studied 551 deaths of women who died during or within 90 days of termination of pregnancy. Of the 356 deaths from obstetric causes, 109 were attributed to abortion. Of the 195 deaths from non-obstetric causes, about one-half were considered by review committees to have been related to pregnancy.  (+info)

ALCOHOLISM IN TUBERCULOUS PATIENTS. (3/30)

The incidence of alcoholism among patients suffering from tuberculosis in the Tuberculosis Hospital in Winnipeg was determined, and attention is drawn to the need to treat tuberculosis and alcoholism concurrently. In all, 306 patients with tuberculosis were studied and 32 alcoholics were discovered among them. This frequency is five times that estimated in the adult population of Canada. Ninety-two per cent of these alcoholics were addicted before the tuberculous disease was discovered. No direct causative factor was discovered linking alcoholism and tuberculosis. Poor socioeconomic status appears to be a common etiological factor.  (+info)

RED CELL GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENCY--A NEWLY RECOGNIZED CAUSE OF NEONATAL JAUNDICE AND KERNICTERUS IN CANADA. (4/30)

Seven male newborns of Chinese, Greek and Italian origin presented with severe hemolytic jaundice due to red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency. In five, the hemolysis was precipitated by inhalation of mothball vapours in the home. Kernicterus was evident upon admission in six infants and was fatal in four of these.G-6-PD deficiency should be suspected as a cause of jaundice in all full-term male infants of these ethnic groups. The diagnosis can be confirmed in any hospital by the methemoglobin reduction test. In areas similar to Toronto, Canada, where these high-risk ethnic groups prevail, the following measures are recommended: (1) detection of G-6-PD deficient newborns by screening cord bloods of all infants of these ethnic groups; (2) protection of affected infants from potentially hemolytic agents such as naphthalene, certain vitamin K preparations, and sulfonamides; and (3) observation of serum bilirubin levels to assess the need for exchange transfusion for hyperbilirubinemia.  (+info)

THE CHILLIWACK RESPIRATORY SURVEY, 1963. I. METHODOLOGY. (5/30)

In order to ascertain the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in residents of a rural town and to determine the relative importance of tobacco smoking and air pollution, a survey was conducted of 726 persons living at Chilliwack, British Columbia, in May and June, 1963. Over 95% of a random sample of adults was interviewed and performed simple tests of respiratory function. The sample was selected from a commercial census. An analysis of the demographic characteristics of the sample indicated that the group, aged 25 to 74 years, was reasonably representative for detailed study of chronic respiratory disease.  (+info)

The evolution of lethal intergroup violence. (6/30)

Recent findings and analyses in evolutionary biology, archaeology, and ethnology provide a favorable conjuncture for examining the evolution of lethal intergroup violence among hominids during the 2.9-million-year Paleolithic time span. Here, I seek to identify and investigate the main turning points in this evolutionary trajectory and to delineate the periodization that follows from this inquiry.  (+info)

Whales, dolphins or fishes? The ethnotaxonomy of cetaceans in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil. (7/30)

The local knowledge of human populations about the natural world has been addressed through ethnobiological studies, especially concerning resources uses and their management. Several criteria, such as morphology, ecology, behavior, utility and salience, have been used by local communities to classify plants and animals. Studies regarding fishers' knowledge on cetaceans in the world, especially in Brazil, began in the last decade. Our objective is to investigate the folk classification by fishers concerning cetaceans, and the contribution of fishers' local knowledge to the conservation of that group. In particular, we aim to record fishers' knowledge in relation to cetaceans, with emphasis on folk taxonomy. The studied area is Sao Sebastiao, located in the southeastern coast of Brazil, where 70 fishers from 14 communities were selected according to their fishing experience and interviewed through questionnaires about classification, nomenclature and ecological aspects of local cetaceans' species. Our results indicated that most fishers classified cetaceans as belonging to the life-form 'fish'. Fishers' citations for the nomenclature of the 11 biological species (10 biological genera), resulted in 14 folk species (3 generic names). Fishers' taxonomy was influenced mostly by the phenotypic and cultural salience of the studied cetaceans. Cultural transmission, vertical and horizontal, was intimately linked to fishers' classification process. The most salient species, therefore well recognized and named, were those most often caught by gillnets, in addition to the biggest ones and those most exposed by media, through TV programs, which were watched and mentioned by fishers. Our results showed that fishers' ecological knowledge could be a valuable contribution to cetaceans' conservation, helping to determine areas and periods for their protection, indicating priority topics for research and participating in alternative management related to the gillnet fisheries.  (+info)

Needle sharing in The Netherlands: an ethnographic analysis. (8/30)

BACKGROUND: Needle sharing has been reported to be the main cause of the rapid spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among injecting drug users. Risk behaviors such as needle sharing are, however, the end result of complicated interaction patterns in drug user networks, which have their specific rules and rituals, and larger social structures and official drug policy. METHODS: To study these interaction patterns we examined the drug administration rituals of heroin addicts in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Intensive ethnographic descriptions were collected by participant observation. RESULTS: In less than 10% of the observed self-injections unsafe syringes were used. In 68% of the self-injections new, sterile syringes were used. Needle sharing as a planned sequence was not observed. Sharing was determined primarily by the availability of syringes, experience with the injecting ritual, and drug craving. In all observed needle-sharing events, subjects were aware of the risks involved and undertook efforts to clean the injection equipment. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to psychological approaches aimed at reducing individual "risk behavior," these findings suggest that HIV prevention can be made more effective if active drug injectors are organized to help themselves and their peers prevent high-risk exchange situations.  (+info)

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4