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An excerpt from the book "The United States in Vietnam" is presented.

The article discusses the attempt of U.S. to establish anti-communists government in Vietnam. The attempts to establish an anti-communist form of government started five years before the Geneva convention and initially with the support of French government. The U.S. broadened its bombings in the North and South and increases its fighting forces that insisted a greater military power to abide and attain their suitable position. The unsuccessful establishment left two significant political legacies, first Vietminh assumed overriding control on Vietnamese nationalism and most of rural Vietnam got accustomed to the administration of the Vietminh.

In most assessment instruments, distinct items are designed to measure a trait, and the sum score of these items serves as an approximation of an individual's trait score. In interpreting group differences with respect to sum scores, the instrument should measure the same underlying trait across groups (e.g., male/female, young/old). Differences with respect to the sum score should accurately reflect differences in the latent trait of interest. A necessary condition for this is that the instrument is measurement invariant. In the current study, the authors illustrate a stepwise approach for testing measurement invariance with respect to sex in a four-item instrument designed to assess disordered eating behavior in a large epidemiological sample (1,195 men and 1,507 women). This approach can be applied to other phenotypes for which group differences are expected. Any analysis of such variables may be subject to measurement bias if a lack of measurement invariance between grouping variables goes undetected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: LATIN is a multinational case-control study designed to identify risk factors for agranulocytosis and to estimate the incidence rate of the disease in some Latin American countries.Methods: Each study site in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico conducted an active search of agranulocytosis patients in hematology clinics and looked for possible associations with drug use.Results: The overall incidence rate was 0.38 cases per 1 million inhabitant-years. Agranulocytosis patients more often took medications already associated with agranulocytosis than controls (p = 0.01), mainly methimazole (OR 44.2, 95% CI 6.8 to infinity). The population attributable risk percentage (etiologic fraction) was 56%. The use of nutrient supplements was more frequent among patients than controls (p = 0.03).Conclusions: Agranulocytosis seems to be very rare in Latin America. The lower than expected number of cases identified during the study period precluded estimation of the risk associated to individual drugs, with the exception of methimazol. However, this is the longest series of agranulocytosis cases ever gathered in Latin America, and information on drug exposures was collected prospectively. The conclusion is that drug-induced agranulocytosis does not seem to be a major public health problem in the study regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To design a model that could accurately predict eventual lumbar disc surgery in the patient initially presenting with clinical findings of nerve root compression.Methods: Prospective study in 183 patients with nerve root compression sampled from a primary care population. All patients underwent a standardised history, physical examination, and MRI. Surgery carried out in the next 6 months was recorded. Models were constructed to predict whether patients eventually received surgery.Results: Two models were constructed. Reduced model A was based on baseline findings, only, and contained six variables. Model B incorporated change over time as well and contained 10 variables. The area under the curve (in a receiver operating characteristic) for these models was 0.86 and 0.92, respectively. It was shown that at a probability cut off of 0.60, model B predicted eventual surgery with a sensitivity of 57% and a specificity of 100%.Conclusions: Given the requirement of a high specificity, eventual operation could be adequately predicted in a sample of 183 patients with clinical nerve root compression. The application of the model in patients with nerve root compression might lead to earlier operation in a subset of patients resulting in a reduction of duration of illness and associated indirect costs. An important prerequisite for future application would be the validation of the prediction rule in another population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of my own experience it would be most appropriate to comment primarily on that part of Bruce Cumings's essay that deals with the Cold War period. But I'd first like to express my appreciation for the value of his contributionas a whole. And this certainly includes his criticisms of the proposed Social Science Research Council restructuring and especially of the National Security Education Act. His assessment of the postwar relationship of the major foundationsand the U.S. intelligence arms is persuasive and, I think, healthfully illuminating. I would, however, like to suggest a qualification to this assessment, as well as mention a few complementary additions. Though I like some of the prescriptionsin his conclusions, I cannot agree with them all. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Propyl gallate is an antioxidant used widely in food-stuffs and cosmetics to prevent oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. In spite of its widespread use, there are few reports of its identification as a contact sensitizer. Propyl gallate is a tasteless, "non-toxic" antioxidant, used commercially since 1947. Lipstick dermatitis due to propyl gallate has been described in a 58-year-old woman. Contact sensitivity has also been reported in various topical preparations. Margarine, butter and essential oils are common sources of propyl gallate, frequently combined with other gallate esters like octyl and lauryl. Contact sensitization to gallates has been described as an occupational hazard in the bakery and catering trades.

The article presents a case report involving a boy having chronic granulomatous disease, an inherited disorder of neutrophil function. The patient first had bloody diarrhea. After three months, he developed a perianal abscess which was treated with antibiotics. Colonoscopy and biopsy showed that he was having allergic colitis. His C-reactive protein was improved. The amount of superoxide production in his mother showed an X-linked mode of inheritance.

Presents a case of a 30-year-old male presented with an undiagnosed genodermatosis. History behind the patient's medical case; Clinical manifestations; Treatment.

Nickel is a well known contact allergen. There is increasing awareness of the possibility of sensitization when nickel-containing materials are implanted or ingested. Typical nickel dermatitis without buccal inflammation may be produced when nickel-containing orthodontic materials are used in susceptible subjects. There are reports of worsening of local and generalised dermatitis following metal ingestion. In view of the widespread use of nickel-containing stainless steel in dentistry, the development of contact dermatitis through this route must be regarded as a rare event.

The effects of secondary succession following forest fire on vegetation structure and small mammal populations were determined on ten sites near Labrador City (Newfoundland, Canada). Study plots representedsix successional stages and one fen. The abundance of small mammals on plots increased with the succcessional age of the plot. The BorealRed pennsylvanicus, the Heather Vole, Phenacomys intermedius, and the Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus, were restricted in distribution. C. gapperi was positively associated with trees > 2 m high and broad leafed shrubs 0.5 m high while negatively associated with lichens. M. pennsylvanicus was positively associated with grasses/sedges and negatively associated with trees