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PubMedDate not supplied

Muscle-related traits in cattle: The role of the myostatin gene in the South Devon breed.

In this paper, we examined the effects of an 11-bp mutation within the GDF-8 gene, originally identified in Belgian Blue cattle, in the South Devon breed. The mutation was found at moderate frequency (0.37) in the South Devon population. We quantified the effects of this mutation on growth, body composition and calving traits in South Devon cattle. We found that the mutation significantly increased muscle score and calving difficulty and decreased fat depth. The mutation did not significantly affect weight at 200 and 400 days or muscle depth. Its effect on muscle score and fat depth was additive while its effect on calving difficulty was recessive. The mutation accounted for a significant proportion of the phenotypic variance in muscle score and calving difficulty. There was an economic benefit of the mutation for this data set, however, calculations were sensitive to changes in the parameter values. Additional data would be required to refine these calculations.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Canadians pay for harsh economic policies with their health, physicians warn.

Canada's fiscal policies are damaging the health of Canadians, two physicians told a conference that examined globalization's impact on the country. Near-record unemployment levels and the recent recession have forced 41% of families in which the parents are 30 or younger to live below the poverty level; more than 21% of Canadian children are also considered to live in poverty. The impact tight fiscal policies have on health and well-being are enormous, say the dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario and the chair of the Canadian Institute of Child Health.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Inherited metabolic disease: prospects for the future in both basic and clinical research.

The birth of a child with an inherited disorder is often the beginning of a life-long problem for the whole family. About 8.5% of paediatric deaths and 4.7% of paediatric hospital admissions are due to autosomal and sex-linked recessive diseases. These figures are likely to be erroneously low because of incomplete ascertainment. The inherited metabolic diseases therefore merit study on economic as well as humanitarian grounds. Investigations of the disorders of purine metabolism have been conducted for more than a century and a half in the borderland between biochemistry and medicine, illuminating both disciplines and reflecting their separate developments. These studies are a general model for work in other branches of human intermediary metabolism. It is hoped that the basic study of the inborn errors or metabolism will expand our knowledge of the defective gene and of its product, the enzyme protein. Clinical studies should aim to improve the prenatal, postnatal and carrier-state diagnosis of these disorders, and to improve their treatment by methods which can be made practicable and generally available at the clinical level. There may be some hope for enzyme replacement in certain circumstances. The prospect for genetic modification at the clinical level is almost infinitely far away, where many would say that is should remain.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1993

Surveillance for equity in maternal care in Zimbabwe.

The great hope and promise of post-independence efforts to promote equitable health care in Zimbabwe started with three years of dramatic improvement. Commitment to correcting inequities which were as discriminatory as any country in the world produced rapid extension of health centre infrastructure and the improvement of district hospitals. The major constraint was the entrenched pattern of sophisticated, high-technology health care left by colonial administrators which continued to monopolize resources. In spite of the excellent beginning, development of services for the poor was thwarted by recession, prolonged drought and external military destabilization. The cutbacks in funding for health care have been particularly severe as a result of economic adjustment policies imposed by IMF. Political pressure moved the health system toward private entrepreneurship returning to earlier patterns of discrimination in favour of whites and urban residents. Efforts to promote high-risk monitoring have had little impact among the poor and those living in remote areas. Equity has become symbolic rather than real. The government of Zimbabwe maintains a continuing commitment to the original goals of equity through primary health care. International agencies also would like to find a way to help reallocate services. There seems to be recognition that little will be accomplished in improving health conditions unless services are provided to those in greatest need. Disparities in maternal care are especially severe and can be improved only by building infrastructure to provide antenatal and perinatal services.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1994

Australian immigration between globalization and recession.

"This report has given some idea of the wide-ranging discussions at the Second National Immigration Outlook Conference [held in Sydney, Australia, in 1993], and of the way they reflect vital political, economic, and social issues in a country built upon mass immigration. The strains of globalization, geopolitical reorientation, and economic restructuring are having decisive effects on policies of immigration and multiculturalism. The consequences of such changes are difficult to predict, but in the authors' opinion they could lead to the breakdown of the 'Australian model' which has been remarkably successful in incorporating very large numbers of newcomers from varied backgrounds. The result might be considerable hardship and social tension."

Acculturation↗
PubMed2004

Demographics and macroeconomic effects in aesthetic surgery in the UK.

Media interest in aesthetic surgery is substantial and suggestions of demographic changes such as reductions in age or an increase in the number of male patients are common. In spite of this, there is no peer reviewed literature reporting demographics of a contemporary large patient cohort or of the effect of macroeconomic indicators on aesthetic surgery in the UK. In this study, computer records 13006 patients presenting between 1998 and the first quarter of 2003 at a significant aesthetic surgery centre were analysed for procedures undergone, patient age and sex. Male to female ratios for each procedure were calculated and a comparison was made between unit activity and macroeconomic indicators. The results showed that there has been no significant demographic change in the procedures studied with patient age and male to female ratio remaining constant throughout the period studied for each procedure. Comparison with macroeconomic indicators suggested increasing demand for aesthetic surgery in spite of a global recession. In conclusion, media reports of large scale demographic shifts in aesthetic surgery patients are exaggerated. The stability of unit activity in spite of falling national economic indicators suggested that some units in the UK might be relatively immune to economic vagaries. The implications for training are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Policy implications of differential health status in East and West Europe. The case of Hungary.

Morbidity and mortality trends in Western and Eastern Europe have differed considerably during the past three decades, although the major unfavourable processes have been essentially the same in each of the Central European countries. The most striking feature has been the decline in average life expectancy and deterioration of age-specific mortality rates for the middle-aged, especially men. The former socialist government took no effective action. Due to the denial of social and environmental problems, social, health and environmental policy were underdeveloped and deformed. Partly inherited from previous historical traditions, wishful thinking, victimization and a patronizing attitude were primary ways of dealing with problems. In these circumstances even the few specially supported health education campaigns were doomed to fail. People depended on the omnipotent central state in vain to solve their problems so that health promotion based on the community and self-empowerment did not develop. During the early nineties, in Eastern and Central Europe no central political strategies were initiated or launched to combat the mortality and morbidity tendences. The economic and social prerequisites of a long-term gradual improvement in the health status are missing in Central and Eastern Europe. A declining standard of living due to recession, growing deprivation, poverty, unemployment and migration are unfavourable to improvements in health. In a time of crisis, with stress but without adequate skills of coping, forced adaptation associated with sudden changes and perceived failure have only made matters worse. There are no short-term 'solutions'.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2004

Effects of complex vertebral malformation on fertility in Swedish holstein cattle.

Complex vertebral malformation (CVM) is an autosomal recessive inherited defect in the Holstein breed. It causes intra-uterine mortality through the entire gestation period leading to repeat breeding and involuntary culling of cows and thereby economic losses. The defect was first reported in Denmark in 1999 and a direct DNA test for the defect has been available since February 2001. The aim of this study was to investigate if Holstein bulls heterozygous for the CVM gene had reduced reproductive performance, measured as non-return rate (NRR) and in a daughter fertility index. All genotyped Swedish Holstein bulls born between 1995 and 1999 were included. Altogether 228 bulls were analysed, of which 53 bulls, i.e. 23%, were confirmed CVM carriers. A statistically significant difference between carriers and non-carriers in the relative breeding value for NRR was observed for 168 days NRR (101.1+/-0.9 vs. 103.1+/-0.6, p<0.05). There was no difference for 28 days NRR whereas the difference approached significance for 56 days NRR. No significant effect of the paternal CVM genotype on the daughter fertility index was shown probably due to the complexity of traits this index is composed of. In conclusion, the study showed that carriers of the CVM defect have an inferior NRR compared with non-carriers.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1992

Standing up to the big squeeze.

Consumer confidence is at its lowest ebb since 1980. Economic growth is at a standstill & unemployment & inflation are both rising. Here's a front-line report from more than three dozen operators who are fending off the recession's dual pressures of slow sales & rising costs. They are using discount pricing, partnering with vendors, setting pay for performance standards & a variety of other recession-beating practices.

Cost Control↗
PubMed2003

The genetics of deafness.

Deafness is an etiologically heterogeneous trait with many known genetic and environmental causes. Genetic factors account for at least half of all cases of profound congenital deafness, and can be classified by the mode of inheritance and the presence or absence of characteristic clinical features that may permit the diagnosis of a specific form of syndromic deafness. The identification of more than 120 independent genes for deafness has provided profound new insights into the pathophysiology of hearing, as well as many unexpected surprises. Although a large number of genes can clearly cause deafness, recessive mutations at a single locus, GJB2 or Connexin 26, account for more than half of all genetic cases in some, but not all populations. The high frequency may well be related to the greatly improved social, educational, and economic circumstances of the deaf that began with the introduction of sign language 300-400 years ago, along with a high frequency of marriages among the deaf in many countries. Similar mechanisms may account for the rapid fixation of genes for speech after the first mutations appeared 50,000-100,000 years ago. Molecular studies have shown that mutations involving several different loci may be the cause for the same form of syndromic deafness. Even within a single locus, different mutations can have profoundly different effects, leading to a different pattern of inheritance in some cases, or isolated hearing loss without the characteristic syndromic features in others. Most cases of genetic deafness result from mutations at a single locus, but an increasing number of examples are being recognized in which recessive mutations at two loci are involved. For example, digenic interactions are now known to be an important cause of deafness in individuals who carry a single mutation at the Connexin 26 locus along with a deletion involving the functionally related Connexin 30 locus. This mechanism complicates genetic evaluation and counseling, but provides a satisfying explanation for Connexin 26 heterozygotes who, for previously unknown reasons, are deaf. A specific genetic diagnosis can sometimes be of great clinical importance, as in the case of the mitochondrial A1555G mutation which causes gene carriers to be exquisitely sensitive to the ototoxic effects of aminoglycosides. This potentially preventable genetic-environmental interaction was the most common cause of genetic deafness in countries where these antibiotics were used indiscriminately in the past. Advances in genetic knowledge along with the use of cochlear implants have posed unique ethical dilemmas for society as well as the deaf community. Since most deaf children are born to hearing parents, it seems likely that deaf culture, and intermarriages among those born with deafness will recede during this century. Will future critics view this as one of the medical triumphs of the 21(st) Century, or as an egregious example of cultural genocide? On the other hand, genetics can provide empowering knowledge to the deaf community that for the first time can allow many deaf couples to know whether their children will be hearing or deaf even before they are conceived.

Biotinidase Deficiency↗
PubMed2002

Consanguineous marriage and its relevance to obstetric practice.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, consanguineous marriage is practiced widely in many parts of the world. More than 2 billion people, of various religious and ethnic backgrounds, live in countries where a large proportion of marriages are contracted between blood relatives. The practice is seen as promoting family stability and having significant social and economic advantages. Consanguineous marriage is important genetically-the children of consanguineous unions are more often homozygous for particular alleles than are the offspring of unrelated parents, and therefore, autosomal recessive disorders, which may be lethal or debilitating, are more common in such children. Health-care providers working with communities where consanguineous marriage is common, in particular obstetricians, family physicians, and pediatricians, need to be aware of the possible impact of such marriages on pregnancy outcomes, so the best possible genetic and antenatal care can be provided, sympathetically and nonjudgmentally, and the best possible results obtained.

Consanguinity↗
PubMed2004

Recessions lower (some) mortality rates: evidence from Germany.

In his article with the provocative title "Are Recessions Good for Your Health?", Ruhm (J. Health Econ. 21(4) (2000) 659) has found robust and consistent evidence that the total mortality rate, age-specific mortality rates as well as most specific mortality causes are pro-cyclical. His finding that high unemployment rates are associated with lower mortality and vice versa stands in stark contrast to Brenner's earlier work, who found the opposite effect, possibly after a time lag. Ruhm controls for state-specific effects in a panel of US states over the period 1972-1991, whereas Brenner's work is based on time-series analysis. Extending and improving upon Ruhm's original analysis, we analyse the effect of state unemployment and economic growth rates on mortality in the states of Germany over the period 1980-2000, both in a static and a dynamic econometric model. Controlling for state-specific effects, we find evidence that aggregate mortality rates for all age groups taken together as well as most specific age groups are lower in recessions. The same is true for mortality from cardiovascular diseases, pneumonia and influenza, motor vehicle accidents and suicides, but not for necessarily for other specific mortality causes. In particular, there is never a statistically significant effect on homicides, other external effects and malignant neoplasms. There are also few differences apparent between the effect on male and female mortality. If we do not control for state-specific effects, then we often arrive at the opposite result with higher unemployment being associated with higher mortality. This suggests that a failure to control for time-invariant state-specific effects leads to omitted variable bias, which would erroneously suggest that mortality rates move counter-cyclically. Overall, we can confirm Ruhm's main finding for another country: recessions lower some, but not all, mortality rates in the case of Germany.

Adult↗