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Purpose: Safety net health services, such as federally funded health clinics, are interventions that aim to mitigate inequality in resource distribution, thus primarily clustered in poor areas with lack of access to health care. However, not all neighborhoods with the most needs benefit from safety net health services. In this article, we explore the distribution of a federally funded health service intervention designed to serve impoverished areas, the medically underserved areas (MUAs), and the relationship between MUA designation and neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: We explore the spatial distribution of MUAs. The 2010 U.S. census data including 868 census tracts in Chicago were used for the analysis. We then examined the likelihood of being designated as an MUA using census tract level neighborhood demographic variables. Results: We found that the likelihood of obtaining MUA designation increases for neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty, the likelihood of being designated as an MUA begins to decline beyond the tipping point, whereas the proportion of black residents continues to increase. In census tracts that were eligible but not designated, there was a greater proportion of black residents compared with white residents (p

Background Spatial access to primary care has been associated with late‐stage and fatal breast cancer, but less is known about its relation to outcomes of other screening‐preventable cancers such as colorectal cancer. This population‐based retrospective cohort study examined whether spatial access to primary care providers associates with colorectal cancer‐specific survival. Methods Approximately 26 600 incident colorectal cancers diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 in adults residing in Cook County, Illinois were identified through the state cancer registry and georeferenced to the census tract of residence at diagnosis. An enhanced two‐step floating catchment area method measured tract‐level access to primary care physicians (PCPs) in the year of diagnosis using practice locations obtained from the American Medical Association. Vital status and underlying cause of death were determined using the National Death Index. Fine‐Gray proportional subdistribution hazard models analyzed the association between tract‐level PCP access scores and colorectal cancer‐specific survival after accounting for tract‐level socioeconomic status, case demographics, tumor characteristics, and other factors. Results Increased tract‐level access to PCPs was associated with a lower risk of death from colorectal cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 95% confidence interval [CI]) = 0.87 [0.79, 0.96], P = .008, highest vs lowest quintile), especially among persons diagnosed with regional‐stage tumors (HR, 95% CI = 0.80 [0.69, 0.93], P = .004, highest vs lowest quintile). Conclusions Spatial access to primary care providers is a predictor of colorectal cancer‐specific survival in Cook County, Illinois. Future research is needed to determine which areas within the cancer care continuum are most affected by spatial accessibility to primary care such as referral for screening, accessibility of screening and diagnostic testing, referral for treatment, and access to appropriate survivorship‐related care., In this population‐based retrospective cohort study of approximately 26 600 incident colorectal cancers diagnosed in Cook County, IL between 2000 and 2008, spatial access to primary care was associated with colorectal cancer‐specific survival independent of neighborhood socioeconomic status, tumor stage, and other factors. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, future research is needed to determine which areas within the cancer care continuum are most affected by spatial accessibility to primary care.

Background: There is a substantial racial/ethnic disparity in female breast cancer mortality in Chicago between non-Hispanic black (NHblack) and Hispanic patients compared with their non-Hispanic white (NHwhite) counterparts. This observation prompted a multilevel examination of factors that might account for the disparity, with the goal of identifying potential policy interventions that might meaningfully address it Methods: In the Breast Cancer Care in Chicago study, 411 NHblack, 397 NHwhite, and 181 Hispanic patients diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 79 were interviewed, and medical records were abstracted for information on screening and diagnostic follow-up. We conducted a multilevel analysis to assess the role of neighborhood context, patient resources, facility characteristics, and mode of detection in determining the disparity in later stage at diagnosis. Results: After adjustment for neighborhood context, mode of detection, and facility accreditation/resources, there was no significant disparity in later stage breast cancer diagnosis between NHblack or Hispanic patients compared with NHwhite patients. Conclusions: The results suggest that racial/ethnic differences in mode of detection and facility accreditation/resources account for most of the disparity in stage at diagnosis. Understanding the causes of differential screen detection and access to highly accredited facilities could inform interventions to meaningfully address this disparity. Impact: Multilevel approaches to studying health disparities are becoming the research standard for understanding and addressing health disparities. Optimal design of multilevel interventions addressing disparities in later stage diagnosis would benefit from enhanced understanding of pathways to detection and diagnosis available to patients in medically underserved communities.

Higher pathologic grade, suboptimal debulking surgery, and late-stage are markers of more aggressive and advanced ovarian cancer. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with more aggressive and advanced tumors for other cancer sites, and this may also be true for ovarian cancer.We examined the association between neighborhood SES and ovarian cancer tumor characteristics using data on 581 women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer in Cook County, Illinois. Two complementary measures (concentrated disadvantage and concentrated affluence) were used to estimate neighborhood SES. Prevalence differences and 95 % confidence intervals were estimated in logistic regression models adjusted for age and race.Greater disadvantage was associated with higher grade tumors (p = 0.03) and suboptimal debulking (p = 0.05) and marginally associated with later tumor stage (p = 0.20). Greater affluence was inversely associated with stage at diagnosis (p = 0.004) and suboptimal debulking (p = 0.03) and (marginally) with tumor grade (p = 0.21).Our findings suggest that lower SES, estimated by neighborhood SES, is associated with ovarian cancer tumor characteristics indicative of more advanced and aggressive disease.

A major cause of global social change in the world system model is the ubiquitous impact of Western capitalism on the Third World . Like invading army ants , foreign capitalists appear everywhere during the nineteenth and twentieth centur­ ies in a feverish search for resources and markets . Sometimes the doors to trade and investment are open and Western capitalists can enter on their own, involving their home states only later. Although this pattern was common in many areas of Africa and Latin America, in many Asian nations these doors were shut and civilian capitalists required military aid from their home states to pry them open. Thus the interrelationships between state and bourgeoisie in both core and periph­ eral nations become a necessary focus of research.

Background: Social determinants of prostate cancer survival and their relation to racial/ethnic disparities thereof are poorly understood. We analyzed whether census tract-level socioeconomic status (SES) at diagnosis is a prognostic factor in men with prostate cancer and helps explain racial/ethnic disparities in survival. Methods: We used a retrospective cohort of 833 African American and white, non-Hispanic men diagnosed with prostate cancer at four Chicago area medical centers between 1986 and 1990. Tract-level concentrated disadvantage (CD), a multidimensional area-based measure of SES, was calculated for each case, using the 1990 U.S. census data. Its association with prostate cancer–specific survival was measured by using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for case and tumor characteristics, treatment, and health care system [private sector vs. Veterans Health Administration (VA)]. Results: Tract-level CD associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer (highest vs. lowest quartile, HR = 2.37, P < 0.0001). However, the association was observed in the private sector and not in the VA (per 1 SD increase, HR = 1.33, P < 0.0001 and HR = 0.93, P = 0.46, respectively). The multivariate HR for African Americans before and after accounting for tract-level CD was 1.30 (P = 0.0036) and 0.96 (P = 0.82), respectively. Conclusions: Census tract-level SES is a social determinant of prostate-specific mortality and helps account for racial/ethnic disparities in survival. An equal-access health care system may moderate this association. Impact: This study identifies a potential pathway for minimizing disparities in prostate cancer control. The findings need confirmation in a population-based study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(10); 2150–9. ©2011 AACR.

Objectives: Using an ecological conceptual model, this study examined the social context, structural, and behavioral factors within an immigrant community that contribute to increased access and use of oral health services by Latino children. The predictors of health service use at the level of the individual, the family, the provider, and the health service system were studied for their effects on the initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned visits. Methods: In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 320 Latino mothers regarding their use of oral health services for 4-8-year-old children [Mexican (n = 221), Puerto Rican (n = 69), and Central and South American (n = 30)]. Outcome measures of dental care utilization were early age at initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned dental visits. Results: Regular planned dental visits were significantly related to the structural variables of household income and provider availability. The initiation of dental care was related to the mother's beliefs about the value of early preventive dental care. Mothers were more likely to continue care if they believed that the purpose was to keep the child's teeth healthy and had satisfactory communication with the dentist. Conclusions: Identifying the structural and behavioral factors that increase the likelihood of the use of oral health services can provide the basis for developing effective interventions specific to Latino children at the neighborhood level. The study findings can be also used for designing culturally appropriate oral health promotion programs and provider coordination of care.

Female labor force participation and its determinants in rural and urban China were examined. The sociological literature has demonstrated that participation tends to increase in urban and industrialized areas where women have higher levels of educations and fewer children where more workers are engaged in service professions and where family structure is less traditional. With the use of data on counties and cities (n=2377) from the 1% sample of the 1982 census of the Peoples Republic of China it was found that female labor force participation is likely to rise in areas with increased agricultural employment educational levels proportion of female-headed households and higher male-to-female sex ratios. Both the size of the service sector and the fertility rate had negligible effects on female labor force participation. Although on the average rural areas have slightly higher levels of female labor force participation urban areas actually have a higher rate of female participation when other variables are controlled. In addition the findings suggest that market factors such as education are more likely to determine the rate of female labor force participation in urban areas; in rural areas a more significant role is played by demographic and social factors such as sex ratio and household structure. (authors modified)

Using cancer registry data, we focus on racial and ethnic disparities in stage of breast cancer diagnosis in Cook County, IL. The county health system is the "last resort" health-care provider for low-income persons. Socioeconomic status is measured using empirical Bayes estimates of tract-level poverty, specific to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks or Hispanics in one of three age groups. We use ordinal logistic regression with non-proportional odds to model stage. Blacks and Hispanics are at greater risk for regional and distant stage diagnosis, but the disparity declines with age. Women in high-poverty areas are at substantially greater risk for late-stage diagnosis. The effects of poverty do not differ by age or across racial and ethnic groups.

Background. Variations in cancer incidence and mortality rates between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites have been reported in several regions in the United States. This report describes the ethnic variation in selected cancer sites in Cook County, Illinois. Methods. Cancer incidence, age-specific, and age-standardized relative rates, and 95% confidence intervals were estimated among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in Cook County, Illinois, for 1986-1987. Hispanics were identified using surnames and maiden names with the Generally Useful Ethnic Search System (GUESS). Results. Rates of lung cancer in Hispanics were approximately half of those observed for non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics also had lower rates of colon, breast, and bladder cancer. Hispanic females had rates of invasive cervical cancer that were approximately two times higher than those of non-Hispanic whites. Conclusions. These results are consistent with previous studies and suggest that Hispanics residing in the United States may retain some of the risk profile of those living in their home country. Cancer 1995;75:2939–45.

The accuracy of geocoding hinges on the quality of address information that serves as input to the geocoding process; however errors associated with poor address quality are rarely studied. This paper examines spatial errors that arise due to incorrect address information with respect to physician location data in the United States. Studies of spatial accessibility to physicians in the U.S. typically rely on data from the American Medical Association’s Physician Masterfile. These data are problematic because a substantial proportion of physicians only report a mailing address, which is often the physician’s home (residential) location, rather than the address for the location where health care is provided. The incorrect geocoding of physicians’ practice locations based on inappropriate address information results in a form of geocoding error that has not been widely analyzed. Using data for the Chicago metropolitan region, we analyze the extent and implications of geocoding error for measurement of spatial accessibility to primary care physicians. We geocode the locations of primary care physicians based on mailing addresses and office addresses. The spatial mismatch between the two is computed at the county, zip code and point location scales. Although mailing and office address locations are quite close for many physicians, they are far apart (>20 km) for a substantial minority. Kernel density estimation is used to characterize the spatial distribution of physicians based on office and mailing addresses and to identify areas of high spatial mismatch between the two. Errors are socially and geographically uneven, resulting in overestimation of physician supply in some high-income suburban communities, and underestimation in certain central city locations where health facilities are concentrated. The resulting errors affect local measures of spatial accessibility to primary care, biasing statistical analyses of the associations between spatial access to care and health outcomes.

Using an ecological conceptual model, this study examined the social context, structural, and behavioral factors within an immigrant community that contribute to increased access and use of oral health services by Latino children. The predictors of health service use at the level of the individual, the family, the provider, and the health service system were studied for their effects on the initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned visits.In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 320 Latino mothers regarding their use of oral health services for 4-8-year-old children [Mexican (n = 221), Puerto Rican (n = 69), and Central and South American (n = 30)]. Outcome measures of dental care utilization were early age at initiation of care, continuity of care, and frequency of planned dental visits.Regular planned dental visits were significantly related to the structural variables of household income and provider availability. The initiation of dental care was related to the mother's beliefs about the value of early preventive dental care. Mothers were more likely to continue care if they believed that the purpose was to keep the child's teeth healthy and had satisfactory communication with the dentist.Identifying the structural and behavioral factors that increase the likelihood of the use of oral health services can provide the basis for developing effective interventions specific to Latino children at the neighborhood level. The study findings can be also used for designing culturally appropriate oral health promotion programs and provider coordination of care.

Immigrant women are at greater risk for late stage breast cancer diagnosis. The rapid increase in the US foreign-born population and new immigration patterns lead us to investigate the association between changes in immigrant population and the likelihood of distant metastasis stage at diagnosis of breast cancer among women in Cook County, Illinois. Analyses employed Illinois State Cancer Registry data for 42,714 breast cancer cases diagnosed between 1994 and 2003 in conjunction with 1990 and 2000 Census tract data. We find that concentration of and increases in immigrant populations within neighborhoods contributed to the risk of late stage breast cancer diagnosis. These findings suggest that, although some health indicators for immigrant populations have improved in recent years, important health disparities in breast cancer diagnosis still remain at the neighborhood level. They further suggest that cancer screening and follow-up resources should be directed to areas experiencing rapid increases in immigrant populations.

Nearly all developed countries have experienced dramatic declines in the seasonality of demographic behavior over the last century. This article examines seasonal behavior in the population of Taiwan between 1906 and 1942, during Japanese colonial rule. First, we analyze seasonal demographic cycles and their ties to the cultural calendar and agriculture. Second, we compare seasonality in two regions (Xinzhu and Tainan) that experienced different agricultural development under the colonial regime. Findings demonstrate that demographic seasonality was less pronounced when urban development and colonial agricultural intensification produced more heterogeneous seasonal patterns of labor. We find that changes in agricultural organization, rather than purely a shift to nonagricultural production, may significantly reduce established seasonal timing of demographic behavior.

The winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) is not known to occur in Alaska. Survival and development of free-living (i.e., non-host-associated) stages of the tick were studied at three sites in central and southern Alaska. Female ticks survived, oviposited, and eggs hatched at all sites. Hatch success was low at one site where summer temperatures were low. Results suggest that establishment of winter ticks in Alaska following accidental translocation is possible, but several factors would affect such establishment.

This is an exploratory analysis of seasonal variations in fertility mortality and marriage in Taiwan from 1906 to 1943 based on data from Japanese colonial records primarily household registers. Comparisons are made with Japan and China. The results indicate that "the seasonality of vital events is a curious mix of custom conscious planning and natural cycles." (EXCERPT)

Purpose To test whether upward socioeconomic neighborhood change has an effect on probability of distant metastasis at diagnosis of breast cancer among women who live there. Methods Census tract data (N = 1,137) from Cook County. IL, from 1990 and 2000 and cancer registry data for female breast cancer cases for these census tracts from 1994–2000 (N = 21,516) were used. A multilevel model of 1990 baseline socioeconomic status (SES) of neighborhoods and degree of neighborhood change 1990–2000 (compositional characteristics) and patient's age and race/Hispanic status (individual characteristics) was constructed to predict distant metastasis (vs. local and regional stage) at diagnosis. Results While residence in a census tract with lower baseline SES in 1990 (higher concentrated disadvantage and immigration and lower concentrated affluence) and being African American were associated with increased odds of distant metastasis at diagnosis, residence in an improving census tract was also associated with increased odds of distant metastasis at diagnosis. Conclusions Paradoxically, both measures of initial neighborhood disadvantage and upward neighborhood socioeconomic change were independently associated with greater odds of distant metastasis at diagnosis of breast cancer. Neighborhood social and economic change can affect health.

In parallel trials with the mouse bioassay, MIST Alert for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), a rapid diagnostic test for PSP, detected 100% of the toxic extracts in over 2100 regulatory samples. Toxic extracts contained at least 80 microg saxitoxin equivalents (STX equiv.) in 100 g of shellfish tissue, or more, as measured by the regulatory AOAC mouse bioassay. Only one potentially toxic sample, which contained 78 and 86 microg STX equiv./100 g shellfish tissue in two different mouse bioassays, was recorded as negative in one replicate of MIST Alert. All other toxic extracts among more than 2100 regulatory shellfish tissue samples were detected by MIST Alert for PSP. The MIST Alert for PSP also detected the majority of extracts containing PSP toxin greater than 32 microg STX equiv./100 g, which is the mouse bioassay detection limit. The MIST Alert for PSP gave a false positive result compared to the mouse bioassay at an average rate of about 14% over all sites, although some differences were seen between sites. Further analysis by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the (false positive) extracts showed that many contained PSP toxicity in the range of 20-40 microg STX equiv./100 g, below the level detectable by the mouse bioassay. The MIST Alert for PSP gave false positive results from extracts containing less than 20 microg STX equiv./100 g shellfish tissue only about 6% of the time. The PSP family of toxin analogues can occur in any combination in naturally contaminated shellfish tissue and the antibody mixture in the MIST Alert tests detect each of the different PSP toxin analogues with different efficacy. It is therefore impossible to provide an exact detection limit for the MIST Alert that would be applicable for all possible toxin profiles. Through the experience of comparison testing with the regulatory mouse bioassay in many parts of the world, with over 2100 different samples, the MIST Alert for PSP has proven its ability to detect all types of profiles of the PSP toxin analogues. The detection limit for MIST Alert for PSP was about 40 microg STX equiv./100 g for the 'average' profile of PSP toxin analogues. Since the detection limit depends on the toxin profile in the individual extract, it will also vary depending on the profile of analogues most commonly found at each geographic location. This was observed in our study. Over all sites in the trials, approximately 5% of samples below 40 microg STX equiv./100 g were positive, and 5% of samples between 40-80 microg STX equiv./100 g were negative. This is a reflection of the different analogue profiles found in naturally contaminated extracts, even after acid hydrolysis using the AOAC extraction method.

Introduction and Objective: Some socioeconomically disadvantaged urban communities experience significantly higher mortality rates from cancer than more affluent areas, whereas others do not. This study explored whether community-level healthcare access-related factors in an urban setting modified the association of community socioeconomic disadvantage with increased cancer-related mortality. Methods: We used linear regression models to analyze the association of concentrated disadvantage (CD), a multidimensional area-based measure of SES, with age-adjusted prostate and colorectal cancer mortality rates in the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois before and after stratification by measures of community access to healthcare. For each community, we calculated a CD score using data from the 2000 U.S. census and the subsequent 5-year age-adjusted cumulative mortality rates from prostate and colorectal cancer using data from the Chicago Department of Public Health. We also characterized each community area with respect to the density of prostate and colorectal cancer-related physicians and medically underserved area/population (MUA/MUP) designation status as of 2000 using data from the American Medical Association and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS-HRSA), respectively. Results: Community area CD score was strongly associated with 5-year cumulative mortality rates from prostate and colorectal cancers (p < 0.0001, R2 = 0.440 and 0.223, respectively). Physician density did not modify the association. However, CD was not associated with increased prostate and colorectal cancer mortality rates in community areas with an MUA/MUP designation of 7 years or more (p = 0.31 and 0.87 for prostate and colorectal cancer, respectively). Moreover, the cancer mortality rates in communities with a long-standing MUA/MUP designation were not significantly higher than those of more affluent communities (p = 0.36 and 0.99 for prostate and colorectal cancer, respectively). Conclusion: Over time, an MUA/MUP designation may moderate the association between community-level socioeconomic disadvantage and increased mortality from prostate and colorectal cancers in socioeconomically deprived urban communities. A sustained increase in access to health care infrastructure, providers and services that usually follows a MUA/MUP designation through DHHS-HRSA could help explain this moderating effect. Citation Format: Vincent L. Freeman, Richard E. Barrett, Benjamin J. Booth, Sara L. McLafferty, Alisa Shockley, Joseph M. Simanis, Heather Pauls, Richard T. Campbell. Does community-level access to healthcare moderate the adverse effect of community socioeconomic deprivation on prostate and colorectal cancer mortality rates? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A05.

Recent trends in corpus uterine cancer incidence rates were explored using 1979-86 data from the Surveillance and End Results Program (SEER); recent trends in hospitalizations for corpus uterine cancer were explored using 1979-86 data from National Hospital Discharge Surveys (NHDS); and recent trends in exogenous hormone use were delineated using data from the 1980, 1981, and 1985 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS). Uterine cancer incidence rates using SEER data have continued to decline since 1979. An acceleration in the decline since 1983-84 is suggested in all women and in women with intact uteri ages 45-64. Hospitalizations for uterine cancer have also declined since 1979, with a marked acceleration in the decline since 1983-84 for all women and for women ages 40-79 has increased 22 percent and use of unopposed exogenous estrogens in women of similar age has increased 7 percent, while use of exogenous progesterones have shown much more substantial increases of approximately 700 percent. Possible relationships between trends in exogenous hormone use and incidence rates of corpus uterine cancer are discussed.

The Case of Taiwan represents a challenge to two predictions from dependency theory: that foreign economic penetration leads to slow economic growth and also to heightened inequality. Since the early 1950s Taiwan has received massive foreign aid and investment, but it has also had one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world, while income inequality on the island has decreased substantially. An examinatin of this deviant case is pursued by consideration of the various mechanisms dependency theorists claim are responsible for the linkage of foreign economic penetration to stagnation and inequality. In the Taiwan case, none of these mechanisms work out as predicated. Instead, a variety of factors-including the nature of the Japanese colonial experience, the emphasis on labor-intensive enterprise, and the absence of an entrenched burgeoisie-created a situation in which both rapid growth and increasing equality could occur. Consideration of Taiwan draws attention to flaws in the arguments of most...

Nineteen taxa of mammal fleas were recorded from 93 collections from western Alaska. Oropsylla alaskensis (Baker) and O. arctomys (Baker) are additions to this series of reports. The other 17 taxa were recorded from 71 new localities; 46 records were from remote localities. Many range extensions resulted and noteworthy were Ctenocephalides f. felis (Bouché) north to Fairbanks, Corrodopsylla c. curvata (Rothschild) west to the Bering Sea coast, Megabothris abantis (Rothschild) northwest to the lower Yukon River Valley, and Chaetopsylla tuberculaticeps (Bezzi) north of the Arctic Circle. Six hosts were not in our previous records: masked shrew, woodchuck, meadow vole, collared lemming, black bear, and wolverine. In all, 14 species of wild mammals, domestic dog and cat, and man were recorded hosts. Records from bat roosts were included.

Bastardy in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation (1895-1945) was a fairly common occurrence. Anthropological work that has been done in Taiwan on demographic subjects is summarized. Numbers of legitimate and illegitimate births and sex ratios at birth are given for Taiwan for selected years between 1906 and 1940. The prevalence of bastardy is discussed. The problems involved in using statistics from household registers are examined. Types of unions allowed to be registered as full marriages are described. Reasons for differences in sex ratios of legitimate illegitimate and concubines children are explored. Differences in illegitimacy ratios in various areas of Taiwan are discussed. The need to go beyond illegitimacy ratios and to look at the fertility rates of unmarried women is noted. Coales Ih ("an illegitimate fertility rate which has been indirectly standardized for the age distribution of the unmarried women") is used for this study. Sex ratios illegitimacy ratios and Ih are compared for various parts of Taiwan. Differences in Ih are found to be smaller than those in illegitimacy ratios indicating that some areas with more bastardy simply have a larger number of unmarried women. Illegitimacy ratios of Hokkiens and Hakkas the 2 major Chinese cultural groups in Taiwan exhibit no systematic differences. Age-specific fertility rates are presented and discussed. Taiwanese mothers of illegitimate children tend to be somewhat older than those of legitimate children. 2 cultural models which would explain the high incidence of bastardy are proposed and Taiwanese bastardy is examined from an international perspective.

Tuberculous lesions were observed in the liver of an adult sandhill crane (Grus canadensis); Mycobacterium avium serotype 1 was isolated. Chickens inoculated intravenously with the culture had granulomas in the liver and spleen at necropsy 62 days after inoculation.

Twenty-three species of fleas were collected from 18 species of wild mammals, 2 domesticated species, and man. Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouché) and Hystrichopsylla dippiei spinata Holland are new records for the state. Rhadinopsylla alphabetica Jameson &Sakaguti is a new record for North America.