起出阴霾——一位HIV感染者的心路历程

当省疾病预防控制中心来电话让我去一趟．说我的血液出了点问题．需要进一步进行确认时．我已经基本上知道自己得了什么病。2003年3月，我最后次在河南郑州作了免疫系统检测，我被“终审判决“为HIV阳性。我绝望了，还有没有前途？我不断地问着自己……     

无偿献血者隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒Pre-S/S区变异的研究

目的 调查无偿献血人群的隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒感染( OBI)流行率情况与分析Pre-S/S区变异特征.方法　使用EIA/NAT方法筛查深圳地区15 338人份无偿献血者血标本,经跟踪检测,获得1例HBV窗口期感染毒株和5例OBI毒株,采用荧光定量聚合酶链反应(QPCR)测定OBI病毒载量,应用巢式聚合酶链反应(Nested-PCR)技术从5例OBI样品中获得3例Pre-S/S基因片段并测定序列,进行基因分型,与对应基因型HBsAg阳性野毒株序列比对.结果 深圳市无偿献血者隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒感染( OBI)的流行率为1:3 068.5例OBI样品其病毒载量为＜1 IU/ml(不能定量)～121.8 IU/ml(中位数为54.6 IU/ml).3例OBI样本为基因C型,在Pre-S/S蛋白区出现随机变异,OBI样品Pre-S/S区氨基酸置换率显著高于对应基因型野毒株(P＜0.01),其中在Pre-S/S区的免疫表位区氨基酸置换率亦显著高于野毒株(P＜0.01),但在高频变异的主要素水区(MHR)却是高度保守,只有1例OBI出现改变基因亚型的I126S变异.结论 乙肝病毒的Pre-S/S蛋白区变异,特别是Pre-S/S蛋白免疫表位区的变异,可能是OBI发生机制之一.     

The financial health of voluntary hospitals in interwar Britain

This article re–evaluates the gravity of the financial problems facing British voluntary hospitals in the interwar period. A relational database of statistics on hospital provision, finance (at both current and constant prices), and activity is used to derive consistent sets of hospitals for reporting purposes. The article presents novel analyses of the extent and pattern of hospital surpluses and deficits; of the capital accounts of selected individual hospitals; of trends in hospital expenditure; of the diversification of hospital income, emphasizing the declining importance of traditional philanthropy; and of the effect of these changes on hospital provision and utilization.     

The voluntary inclusion of earnings forecasts in IPO prospectuses*

Abstract. This study examines empirically the role played by direct disclosure in the valuation of initial public offerings (IPOs). We investigate why some firms making an initial public offering in Canada include an earnings forecast in the offering prospectus and others do not, and, in particular, the role of such direct disclosures in IPO valuation. We explore several hypotheses motivated by the voluntary disclosure and signaling literatures. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that (1) forecasters have “good news” to reveal about future earnings prospects relative to nonforecasters, (2) the earnings forecast signals are valuation relevant, and (3) the market is able to correct for expected forecast error or bias in the earnings forecast. Résumé. Les auteurs font une analyse empirique du rôle que joue la présentation directe d'information dans l'évaluation des premiers appels publics à lépargne. Ils se penchent sur les raisons pour lesquelles certaines sociétés qui font appel public à l'épargne au Canada intègrent à leur prospectus d'émission des prévisions de bénéfices, alors que d'autres ne le font pas, et ils s'intéressent en particulier au rôle de la présentation directe de ce genre d'information dans l'évaluation d'un premier appel public à l'épargne. Ils examinent plusieurs hypothèses inspirées d'ouvrages traitant de présentation volontaire d'information et d'indicateurs. Les résultats obtenus sont conformes aux hypothèses selon lesquelles 1) ceux qui font état de prévisions ont de l'information positive à communiquer au sujet des perspectives de bénéfices, contrairement à ceux qui ne font état d'aucune prévision, 2) les indicateurs que représentent les prévisions de bénéfices sont pertinents à l'évaluation et 3) le marché a la capacité de corriger l'information qu'il reçoit pour tenir compte des erreurs ou des distorsions anticipées dans les prévisions de bénéfices.     

Determinants of HIV Knowledge and Condom Use among Women in Madagascar: An Analysis Using Matched Household and Community Data

Abstract: We estimate the determinants of HIV/AIDS knowledge and related behavior (use of condoms) among women in Madagascar, a country where prevalence remains low but conditions are ripe for a rapid increase in infections. In both rural and urban areas, more educated and wealthier women are more likely to know about means of preventing infection, less likely to have misconceptions about transmission, and more likely to use condoms. Community factors such as availability of health centers and access to roads also are associated with greater HIV knowledge. However, most of the large rural‐urban difference in mean knowledge is due not to location per se but to differences in schooling and wealth; rather than simply being geographically targeted, AIDS education efforts must be designed to target and be understood by uneducated and poor subpopulations.     

消费需求影响因素分析

文章在分析中小企业自主技术创新及其挑战的基础上 ,指出中小企业之所以能够进行自主技术创新 ,关键在于中小企业具有不同于大企业的特质资源。     

艾滋病对我国社会经济影响

基于对我国艾滋病流行较为严重的五个省份进行的问卷调查,对比分析了931户感染者家庭和995户非感染者家庭的相关数据。研究发现,艾滋病对感染者个人及其家庭造成了极大的影响,如导致家庭结构改变、就业机会减少、劳动收入下降、医疗支出明显增大;同时也引发一系列社会经济问题,如贫富差距加大、性别不平等加剧、贫困家庭儿童教育机会减少及社会歧视扩大。最后提出了缓解艾滋病造成影响的对策建议。     

Investments in response to trade policy: The case of Japanese firms during voluntary export restraints

This paper develops a dynamic structural model of a single decision in order to analyze the effect of voluntary export restraints (VERs) on quality-upgrade and foreign direct investment (FDI) behavior. I estimate the model parameters using a variant of the two-step estimator developed by Bajari et al. (2007). Using panel data of Japanese firms in the U.S. automobile industry, both activities are found to have significant sunk cost, which introduces intertemporal interactions in decisions, and I also find that the entry costs for FDI are larger than fixed adjustment costs for quality-upgrade. I simulate counterfactuals based on the estimation of the structural model. In the absence of the VERs, both quality-upgrade and the probability of undertaking FDI decrease. The second simulation examines the substitution effect between the two investment activities. The proposal to restrict FDI policy causes a dramatic increase in the level of quality-upgrade. Similarly, the proposal to restrict quality-upgrade policy results in an increase in the probability of FDI.     

Perceptions of common helminth infections in a rural community

Common parasite infections cause energy depletion and growth stunting in children in endemic areas, and there is a suggestion that mental processes and school achievement are affected. The efficacy of control and treatment programmes, as with other development programmes, will depend to a great extent on the acceptance and support of people in affected areas. This study focused on the views of women who have young children in their care with the object of understanding their perceptions, and the implications these would have for intervention programmes.     

Sickness absence in compulsory and voluntary health insurance: the case of Sweden at the turn of the twentieth century

At the turn of the twentieth century, Swedish health insurance was organised according to the Western European models of both voluntary, ‘fraternal’ principles and compulsory, ‘factory scheme’ principles. In this paper, we trace the characteristics of both organisational forms, and compare the sickness absence by considering the role of risk selection and mitigation across a large panel of voluntary and compulsory health insurance societies operating in Sweden between 1900 and 1910. We find that voluntary societies used a wide set of rules and practices in order to select and monitor members in order to keep down the number of sick cases. Compulsory societies applied shorter waiting periods and offered more medical treatment, leading to more frequent but shorter sickness absences.     

Survival strategies of HIV/AIDS – affected households in Soweto

This article reports the survival strategies used by households in Soweto with at least one HIV/AIDS-affected member. Data were collected on four occasions between September 2002 and August 2003 from each household, based on diary records and supplemented by interviews with the financial head of the household. In terms of frequency of use and the contribution made to the finances of affected households, the most important survival strategies were: the sick member continuing at work for as long as possible, borrowing from friends and relatives, receiving transfers from relatives, and taking up social grants. These results are broadly similar to those reported by Booysen and associates in their Free State studies.