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AIM: To determine the impact of health insurance and the government's Benefit Service Scheme, a system that provides free drugs to treat mostly chronic illnesses to persons aged 16 to 65 years, on the use of herbal remedies by Christian churchgoers in Barbados. METHODS: The eleven parishes of Barbados were sampled over a six-week period using a survey instrument developed and tested over a four-week period prior to administration. Persons were asked to participate and after written informed consent, they were interviewed by the research team. The data were analysed by the use of IBM SPSS version 19. The data were all nominal, so descriptive statistics including counts, the frequencies, odds ratios and percentages were calculated. RESULTS: More than half of the participants (59.2%) were female, a little less than a third (29.9%) were male, and one tenth of the participants (10.9%) did not indicate their gender The majority of the participants were between the ages of 41 and 70 years, with the age range of 51-60 years comprising 26.1% of the sample interviewed. Almost all of the participants were born in Barbados (92.5%). Approximately 33% of the respondents indicated that they used herbal remedies to treat various ailments including chronic conditions. The odds ratio of persons using herbal remedies and having health insurance to persons not using herbal remedies and having health insurance is 1.01 (95% CI 0.621, 1.632). There was an increase in the numbers of respondents using herbal remedies as age increased. This trend continued until the age group 71-80 years which showed a reduction in the use of herbal remedies, 32.6% of respondents compared with 38.3% of respondents in the 61-70-year category. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrated that only a third of the study population is using herbal remedies for ailments. Health insurance was not an indicator neither did it influence the use of herbal remedies by respondents. The use of herbal remedies may not be associated with affluence. The reduction in the use of herbal remedies in the age group 71-80 years could be due to primarily a lower response rate from this age group, and secondarily due to the Benefit Service Scheme offering free medication to persons who have passed the age of 65 years.

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AIM: To determine the impact of health insurance and the government's Benefit Service Scheme, a system that provides free drugs to treat mostly chronic illnesses to persons aged 16 to 65 years, on the use of herbal remedies by Christian churchgoers in Barbados. METHODS: The eleven parishes of Barbados were sampled over a six-week period using a survey instrument developed and tested over a four-week period prior to administration. Persons were asked to participate and after written informed consent, they were interviewed by the research team. The data were analysed by the use of IBM SPSS version 19. The data were all nominal, so descriptive statistics including counts, the frequencies, odds ratios and percentages were calculated. RESULTS: More than half of the participants (59.2%) were female, a little less than a third (29.9%) were male, and one tenth of the participants (10.9%) did not indicate their gender. The majority of the participants were between the ages of 41 and 70 years, with the age range of 51-60 years comprising 26.1% of the sample interviewed. Almost all of the participants were born in Barbados (92.5%). Approximately 33% of the respondents indicated that they used herbal remedies to treat various ailments including chronic conditions. The odds ratio of persons using herbal remedies and having health insurance to persons not using herbal remedies and having health insurance is 1.01 (95% CI 0.621, 1.632). There was an increase in the numbers of respondents using herbal remedies as age increased. This trend continued until the age group 71-80 years which showed a reduction in the use of herbal remedies, 32.6% of respondents compared with 38.3% of respondents in the 61-70-year category. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrated that only a third of the study population is using herbal remedies for ailments. Health insurance was not an indicator neither did it influence the use of herbal remedies by respondents. The use of herbal remedies may not be associated with affluence. The reduction in the use of herbal remedies in the age group 71-80 years could be due to primarily a lower response rate from this age group, and secondarily due to the Benefit Service Scheme offering free medication to persons who have passed the age of 65 years.

OBJETIVO: Investigar si el Seguro de Saludy el Plan de Servicios y Beneficios del Gobierno - un sistema que proporciona medicina libremente para tratar principalmente enfermedades crónicas en personas de 16 a 65 anos de edad - influyen en el uso de remedios herbarios por los feligreses cristianos en Barbados. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un muestreo en once provincias de Barbados por un período de seis semanas, usando como instrumento una encuesta desarrollada y probada durante un período de cuatro semanas antes de ser aplicada. Se le pidió participación a distintas personas y luego de obtener el consen-timiento informado por escrito, las mismas fueron entrevistadas por el equipo de investigación. Los datos fueron analizados mediante la versión 19 de IBM SPSS. Todos los datos eran nominales, de modo que se calcularon las estadísticas descriptivas, incluyendo conteos, frecuencia, cociente de probabilidades (odds ratio), y porcentajes. RESULTADOS: Más de la mitad de los participantes (59.2%) eran mujeres; poco menos de un tercio (29.9%) eran hombres; y una décima parte de los participantes (10.9%) no indicó su sexo. La mayoría de los participantes se encontraban entre las edades de 41 y 70 anos, para un rango de edad de 51-60 anos que comprendía el 26.1% de la muestra entrevistada. Casi todos los participantes nacieron en Barbados (92.5%). Aproximadamente 33% de los entrevistados indicaron que usaban remedios herbarios para tratar varias dolencias, incluyendo condiciones crónicas. El odds ratio de las personas que usan remedios herbarios y poseen seguro de salud es 1.01 (95% CI 0.621, 1.632). Seprodujo un aumento en el número de entrevistados que usaban remedios herbarios, según aumentaba su edad. Esta tendencia continuó hasta el grupo etario de 71-80 anos, el cual mostró una reducción en el uso de remedios herbarios, 32.6% de los entrevistados en comparación con el 38.3% de los entrevistados en la categoría de los 61-70 anos. CONCLUSIONS: Los datos mostraron que sólo una tercera parte de la población está usando remedios herbarios para sus dolencias. El seguro de salud no fue un indicador ni influyó sobre el uso de remedios herbarios por los entrevistados. El uso de remedios herbarios no puede asociarse con la afluencia. La reducción en el uso de remedios herbarios en el grupo etario 71-80 anos podrían deberse principalmente a una tasa de respuesta más baja de este grupo etario, y secundariamente al Plan de Servicios y Beneficios que ofrece medicamentos gratuitamente a personas que han pasado la edad de 65 anos.

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It has been reported in vitro that during the respiratory burst of phagocytic cells the superoxide anion production per cell shows a negative relation with the cell density. This process has been described as autoregulation. The aim of this work was to analyze the superoxide anion production in thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophage exudates to evaluate the importance of the peritoneal cavity environment in the autoregulation process. 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (PMA) was used to stimulate the respiratory burst and superoxide anion production was measured evaluating the intracellular formazan deposits that precipitate as a result of nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction. We have demonstrated a negative correlation between superoxide anion production and cell density in the peritoneal cavity in macrophages challenged with PMA. The response of individual cells was analyzed by means of an image analyzer, measuring the amount of formazan per cell and cell-size changes during the process of activation. The results revealed that the decrease in individual cell response as a function of higher cell densities were due to a significant increase in the amount of basal reaction macrophages. Concomitantly, the number of reactive cells remained unchanged irrespective of the cell density of the population. A direct correlation between cell size and superoxide anion production was observed. This phenomenon was demonstrated in SENCAR and Balb/c strains. However, macrophages from SENCAR mice showed greater superoxide anion production than those from Balb/c. The differences between strains could be associated to the increased sensitivity to PMA tumor promotion of SENCAR mice. Based on this property, macrophages from SENCAR mice were stimulated with opsonized zymosan, a particulate stimulus that reflects the interaction macrophage-microorganism during the phagocytic process. This data will contribute to the knowledge of infection control. We conclude that variations in basal reaction cells modulates the macrophage activation response when excess macrophages are recruited to the peritoneum. This is demonstrated using different stimuli, thus suggesting that this response may be applied to a wide variety of stimuli-macrophage interactions. The differences between strains may be associated to the increased sensitivity to PMA tumor promotion of SENCAR mice.

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We report the use of a continuous wave Nd:YAG (CW-YAG) laser focused through a sapphire crystal to create a filtering bleb by ab-interno sclerostomy. A 2-mm clear corneal incision was made in each eye of five anesthetized Dutch Belted rabbits, and the 30-mm-long sapphire crystal with a 0.2-mm focal tip was passed across the anterior chamber until it came in contact with the opposite angle. Between two and three pulses of 0.8 J were required to produce a filtering bleb in each of the 10 eyes. The overlying conjunctiva was not damaged; the procedure time was under five minutes. Histological examination revealed a surrounding area of scleral melting that extended an average of 0.06 mm from the sclerostomy. These data suggest that the CW-YAG laser may be useful in performing glaucoma filtering surgery with minimal damage to surrounding ocular tissues.

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The cause of nonorganic failure to thrive (NFT) was studied prospectively in 274 low-income pregnant mothers by interviewing them for characteristics that retrospective studies indicated were associated with child maltreatment. After delivery, medical charts of mothers and infants were reviewed for complications of pregnancy, delivery, and postdelivery hospitalization, and the infants were observed for growth failure. The characteristics of 15 families with infants who developed NFT were compared with those of 86 selected randomly from the remaining families. Interview results suggest that NFT correlates significantly with aberrant nurture during the mother's childhood and with conflicts between the parents of the infants. Perinatal events correlating significantly with NFT include complications of pregnancy, short gestation, and residual minor medical problems at discharge from the nursery. We speculate that these events predispose to NFT by disturbing the development of the mother-infant relationship.

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PIP: Mexico's population growth rate declined from about 3% annually in 1970 to about 2.6% in 1982, but the country's growth earlier in the century produces an unprecedented increase in the size of its labor force and in the demand for jobs. Because of continued high fertility and simultaneous decline in mortality, Mexico experienced rapid rates of population growth from 1960-75. According to recent population projections from the US Census Bureau, the working age population in general will grow faster than the total population. The growth rate of the total population was 2.8% from 1970-80, but the growth rate for the population in working ages will increase to 3.8% during the 1980-85 period, as the children born during periods of high fertility become working age adults. After 1985 the growth rate of the population aged 15-64 will start to decline, yet the working age population during the last decade of the 20th century will continue to grow at the pace that the total population grew during 1970-80. And the number of persons that will be added to the 15-64 age group will continuously increase from now to the year 2010. Accompanying the growth of the working age population, there will likely be an increase in educational attainment and a decline in fertility. Thus, the demand for jobs will grow at an astonishingly high rate, as a larger proportion of women and a better educated population want to enter the labor force. A problem in predicting the size of the labor force is predicting the percent of persons at each age who will be working or looking for work. From 1980-85, the growth rate will be about 4% a year, and it will decline to about 3.1% a year during the last 5 years of the century. A complicating factor is the composition of the labor force. In Mexico, rapid urbanization and a large reduction in the proportion of the labor force in agriculture has begun. From 1980-2000 the urban population is expected to grow at a rate of 3.1% a year, while the rural population will grow at an annual rate of 0.7%, implying that most of the demand for new jobs will be in urban areas in the nonagricultural sector. The question is whether the Mexican economy can create jobs rapidly in the nonagricultural sector and whether the modern sector of the economy can create enough jobs to meet the expected demand.^ieng

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The qualities of parents who batter their children have been determined by interviewing known abusers. Because most studies lack controls and because family characteristics may be changed by abuse, a prospective study was instituted. Fourteen hundred low-income mothers were interviewed in a prenatal clinic, and the characteristics of 23 reported for abuse within two years were compared to the characteristics of the remaining mothers. The predominant antecedents of child abuse were: unwanted pregnancy, aggressive tendencies, and aberrant childhood nurture in which disturbed family relationships were more important than outright abuse. Abusive mother had slightly less self-esteem. Factors which increased exposure between parents and children seemed to increase risk for abuse. In contrast to retrospective findings, abusive mothers did not differ in support available from others, age, education, isolation, family alcohol or drug problems, and expectations of child development.

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