The policy context.

The final article in the series considers the ways in which the methods described previously are used in the formation of policy. When health authorities are making decisions about how to spend their money they have to draw on several sources of information about priorities: diktats from policy makers, opinions of consumers and of the professional bodies involved, and evidence gained from research. They must also consider the various methods of costing and select the right one for their circumstances. Some of these methods are still in the early stages of development, but more are being developed all the time and they have a valuable role in helping decision making throughout the NHS.     

The domestic context of production and reproduction in a Guatemalan community

This paper investigates the relationship between fertility and domestic adjustments that people have made to changing conditions of production and consumption in a rural community in western Guatemala. Present and past systems of production and the domestic factors affecting the timing of family formation and the incidence of sexual activity within unions are described. Analyses of variance for demographic variables among three productive sectors reveals that the greatest changes in fertility over time have occurred in the families of labor-intensive garlic producers and in those of poor basketmaking specialists. The results are discussed as direct and indirect outcomes of earlier family formation due to recurrent labor crises and chronic subsistence stress.     

Barking in domestic dogs: context specificity and individual identification

In this study we sought to determine whether dog barks could be divided into subtypes based on context. We recorded barking from 10 adult dogs, Canis familiaris, of six breeds in three different test situations: (1) a disturbance situation in which a stranger rang the doorbell, (2) an isolation situation in which the dog was locked outside or in a room isolated from its owner and (3) a play situation in which either two dogs or a human and a dog played together. We analysed spectrograms of 4672 barks using macros that took 60 sequential frequency measurements and 60 sequential amplitude measurements along the length of the call. Statistical analyses revealed that barks are graded vocalizations that range from harsh, low-frequency, unmodulated calls to harmonically rich, higher-frequency, modulated calls. The harsh, low-frequency, unmodulated barks were more commonly given in the disturbance situation, and the more tonal, higher-pitch, modulated barks were more commonly given in the isolation and play situations. Disturbance barks were also longer in duration with more rapid repetition than the barks given in other contexts. Discriminant analysis revealed that dog barks can be divided into different subtypes based on context even within individual dogs, and that dogs can be identified by their bark spectrograms despite the context of the bark.     

Maternal food calling in domestic hens: influence of feeding context

The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between production of food calls by maternal hens and food context. In a series of experiments with broody hens, we manipulated quality of items, quantity of food, food experience and dispersion of food items. We measured the frequency of food calling during standardized tests. Our results show that all the variables tested had significant effects on food calling. These results present some similarities and some discrepancies with previous reports on food calling by cockerels.     

Aspiration biopsy in the context of the new Medicare fiscal policy

The new Medicare legislation requires hospital reimbursement on a per case, rather than cost per test, basis. This policy emphasizes selectivity in hospitalization, increased efficiency in diagnosis and therapy and abbreviated hospital stays. Aspiration biopsy is discussed as a procedure that responds to needs stimulated by fiscal demands, with particular attention given to cost containment and outpatient care and aspiration biopsy's value as a vehicle that ensures high-quality medical care.     

Public health policy and the building up of a Brazilian medical identity

Since George Herbert Mead studied "the social self" and the interactionists went further in distinguishing "images of self", a lecture on the building up of a Brazilian medical identity should try to focus on the patterns of self-images, presented images, and aspired-to images among the Brazilian medical elites during the First Republic (1889-1930). In no other period of Brazilian history were those "images" of professional identity so close--in contrast, later periods of Brazilian history witnessed an almost permanent "collision" or the clashing of such images among public health specialists. Oswaldo Cruz, Carlos Chagas, Artur Neiva and Belisário Pena are perhaps the best examples of successful careers as "sanitarians" (to recall John Duffy's historical work on luminaries before and after the "New Public Health" in the United States), and as important political actors during Brazil's First Republic. In light of the prominent political, policy-oriented, and scientific roles public health professionals played in Brazil, it is interesting to suggest that in large part such prominence resulted from the symbolic impact of the ideologies of sanitary reform on the political agenda of that period of Brazilian history. Where many studies look for personal rivalries and disputes around Chagas and Neiva as public figures, we may also see the importance of finding identity-building processes among public health specialists as an integrated group (e.g., trying to appear as "significant others" for the new generations of medical graduates in the country), regardless of existing rivalries. Cruz and Chagas, especially, were names with great impact in the Brazilian press (pro and con), a circumstance made possible largely by their easy and direct access to the Brazilian presidents Rodrigues Alves and Epitácio Pessoa, and, most clearly, by public health being one of Brazil's political priorities to find a place among the "civilized nations" of the world. A task that further concerns us is the drawing of a few tentative and very crude comparisons between identity-building among the medical and sanitary professionals in Brazil and France.     

The Brazilian flaviviruses

Ten flaviviruses occur in Brazil: Bussuquara, Cacipacoré, dengue 1, 2 and 4, Iguape, Ilhéus, Rocio, Saint Louis encephalitis and yellow fever. Aspects of sylvatic maintenance cycles and human diseases caused by these viruses are analyzed. Large dengue outbreaks are occurring in Brazil and there is a risk of yellow fever urbanization.     

The Brazilian seagrasses

Based on a critical review of the literature, and on abundant material recently collected along the coast of Brazil, a synthesis of the occurrence and distribution of the Brazilian species of seagrasses is presented. Two species of Hydrocharitaceae, namely Halophila baillonii Aschers. and H. decipiens Ostenf., and three species of Potomogetonaceae, Halodule emarginata den Hartog, H. wrightii Aschers. and Ruppia maritima L. s.s., were found. Ruppia maritima was found all along the Brazilian coast, from about 3 to 32°S latitude, in brackish water ponds and lakes, with salinities varying from 0.3 to 28?.. The other species are restricted to normal seawater ($\text{±35?.}$), although Halodule wrightii was also found in hypersaline waters (45?.). This last species is the most common seagrass in Brazil. The species of Halophila are restricted to warmer waters and were not found further south than Rio de Janeiro State, being especially common on the NE coast at depths down to 62 m. During the course of these studies, Halophila baillonii was found for the second time in Brazil since its original collection in 1888. A critical comparison of a large number of plants leads us to the conclusion that Halodule brasiliensis Lipkin cannot be distinguished from H. wrightii, and H. lilianae den Hartog cannot be distinguished from H. emarginata. Reproductive structures of H. emarginata are described for the first time.     

The maritime species of Abronia (Nyctaginaceae)

An analysis of the variation patterns in the three Pacific Coast maritime species ofAbronia (Nyctaginaceae) based on 95 population studies, is presented in the form of scatter diagrams. The relationship of this group of species to other members of the genus, such asA. gracilis Benth., is considered. Despite widespread evidence of hybridization and introgression, the three maritime species (A. latifolia Eschsch.,A. maritima Nutt. ex S. Wats., andA. umbellata Lam.) maintain their distinctness. Most of the taxonomic segregants in this group have been based on what appear to be hybrid or introgressed individuals, many of which closely resemble members of a series of artificial hybrids made in the greenhouse. The chromosome number of all three species is estimated as 2n = ca. 46. The species are shown to differ markedly in ecological preference:A. latifolia competing successfully on stable areas of dunes from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Santa Barbara Co., California;A. maritima being the major foredune former along the strand from San Luis Obispo Co., California, south to Nayarit, Mexico; andA. umbellata occurring on more stable dunes from San Luis Obispo to San Diego Co., California, and sporadically north and south of this area. The latter species is pollinated chiefly by nocturnal insects and is fragrant in the evening, whereas the other two have diurnal flowers. One widespread and two rarer, more northern subspecies ofA. umbellata are recognized in the taxonomic revision, while the other two species are not subdivided taxonomically.     

The national park policy context in Greece: Park users’ perspectives of issues in park administration

The history of the national parks in Greece involves a succession of issues pertinent to the legal framework and nature of park authorities. To date the largely state-based administration and the restrictive management practices have failed to grant effective protection and management in the designated areas largely due to organisational and institutional weaknesses, ineffective policy coordination and insufficient park authorities. The latest revision of the system of park administration and legislation in Greece heralded some changes that can improve the management of national parks. The key question is whether the creation of park boards and a number of changes in their funding possibilities and regulatory management regime are perceived by park users to contribute to genuine park improvement. Information was collected by means of a questionnaire survey in three outstanding parks in Greece. Research findings suggest that the perspectives of park users are increasingly aligned to the interests of park authorities as regards park management purposes. Park authorities’ achievements in relation to protection, management and administration were perceived as poor by the respondents in all parks. The conceptions of park users markedly reflect a situation whereby the role of the state in park administration is well anticipated and valued but visitors’ funding options are contrary to the spirit of the new law. Park users tend to reject the transfer of park administration to local authorities or private companies, recognising a continued need for both autonomy and government intervention away from direct state control. While the participants strongly recognised the importance of regulatory management in parks, the weak executive powers of park boards constitute a major administrative deficiency likely to threaten the ecological integrity of parks in the future. It is imperative that park boards acknowledge the current interaction between park users and park authorities. Otherwise, park administrators may find their task an increasingly difficult one.     

The Brazilian biofuels industry

Ethanol is a biofuel that is used as a replacement for approximately 3% of the fossil-based gasoline consumed in the world today. Most of this biofuel is produced from sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the United States. We present here the rationale for the ethanol program in Brazil, its present 'status' and its perspectives. The environmental benefits of the program, particularly the contribution of ethanol to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, are discussed, as well as the limitations to its expansion.     

The Brazilian ethanol program

Brazilian needs for petroleum as a primary energy source grew from 13.2% in 1940 to 41.7% in 1977. This resulted in a much greater dependence on foreign sources and prompted the Government to initiate a detailed study of alternatives. The National Alcohol Program established in 1975 is just one of the options being examined. The National Energy Balance forecast shows that annual anhydrous alcohol consumption for automotive purposes should increase from 1.74 × 10⁶m³ to 4.7 × 10⁶ m³ in the period from 1978 to 1987. This paper presents the main objectives of the National Alcohol Program in the context of the overall Energy Program, points out the problems connected with alcohol production and utilization, and reviews the serious problems related to its distribution to the consuming centers. Finally, the indirect benefits resulting from the implementation of the National Alcohol Program are shown, underlining the saving of foreign currency, the substantial increase in employment opportunities, the reduction in regional and individual income discrepancies, and the expansion of capital goods production, together with the improvement of national technology in the agricultural and industrial sectors.     

Serologic evidence of Leishmania infection in free-ranging wild and domestic canids around a Brazilian National Park

Transmission of disease between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans is of great concern to conservation issues and public health. Here we report on the prevalence of anti-Leishmania sp. antibodies in 21 wild canids (7 Chrysocyon brachyurus, 12 Cerdocyon thous, and 2 Lycalopex vetulus) and 74 free domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) sampled around the Serra do Cipó National Park. In dogs, the apparent prevalence was 8.1% and in wild canids it was 19% (2 crab-eating foxes, C. thous, and 2 maned wolves, C. brachyurus). Management of the domestic dog population with evaluation of incidence changes in humans and wildlife, and enlightenment on the role of wild reservoirs are essential issues for future action and research.     

The distribution of nematophagous fungi in the maritime Antarctic

Endoparasitic and predatory nematophagous fungi are widely distributed throughout the maritime Antarctic, being recorded along the Antarctic Peninsula as far south as 68° S. Fungi were recorded from 71% of the sites examined with Cephalosporium balanoides and Dactylaria gracilis being the commonest recorded endoparasite and predator, respectively.Endoparasites with adhesive and nematode-attracting conidia were shown to be more abundant and to have a competitive advantage in the Antarctic ecosystem over those parasites requiring their conidia to be ingested before infection could occur. Predators able to form traps spontaneously on germination were shown to be far more abundant than those species with a more saprophytic mode of existence, with constricting rings being the most commonly isolated trapping mechanism. Species capturing nematodes by three-dimensional networks were restricted to bird-associated sites indicating that they are able to grow saprophytically in such organically enriched material.Nematophagous basidiomycetes and phycomycetes were absent except for a single Myzocytium sp. isolated from heated soil.     

The social context of well-being

Large samples of data from the World Values Survey, the US Benchmark Survey and a comparable Canadian survey are used to estimate equations designed to explore the social context of subjective evaluations of well-being, of happiness, and of health. Social capital, as measured by the strength of family, neighbourhood, religious and community ties, is found to support both physical health and subjective well-being. Our new evidence confirms that social capital is strongly linked to subjective well-being through many independent channels and in several different forms. Marriage and family, ties to friends and neighbours, workplace ties, civic engagement (both individually and collectively), trustworthiness and trust: all appear independently and robustly related to happiness and life satisfaction, both directly and through their impact on health.     

The neurobiological context of autism

Autistic disorder (AD) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder of neurodevelopmental origin, where multiple genetic and environmental factors may interact, resulting in a clinical continuum. The genetic component is best described by a multilocus model that takes into account epistatic interactions between several susceptibility genes. In the past ten years enormous progress has been made in identifying chromosomal regions in linkage with AD, but moving from chromosomal regions to candidate genes has proven to be tremendously difficult. Neuroanatomical findings point to early dysgenetic events taking place in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and brainstem. At the cellular level, disease mechanisms may include altered cell migration, increased cell proliferation, decreased cell death, or altered synapse elimination. Neurochemical findings in AD point to involvement of multiple neurotransmitter systems. The serotoninergic system has been intensively investigated in AD, but other neurotransmitter systems (e.g., the GABAergic and the cholinergic system) are also coming under closer scrutiny. The role of environmental factors is still poorly characterized. It is not clear yet whether environmental factors act merely as precipitating agents, always requiring an underlying genetic liability, or whether they represent an essential component of a pathogenetic process where genetic liability alone does not lead to the full-blown autism phenotype. A third potential player in the pathogenesis of autism, in addition to genetic and environmental factors, is developmental variability due to “random” factors, e.g. small fluctuations of gene expression and complex, non-deterministic interactions between genes during brain development. These considerations suggest that a non-deterministic conceptual framework is highly appropriate for autism research.