Financing a national health insurance

Financing national health insurance is a topic that has been discussed for a long time in the United States. It is also of relevance for less developed countries, in particular in the Far East where some countries have just introduced or are on the brink of introducing national health insurance. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to consult those former socialist countries wishing to introduce a national health insurance system. The paper deals with basic principles of health insurance and specific elements of a (compulsory) social health insurance in detail.     

Molecular analysis of the human orosomucoid gene ORM1*Q0köln responsible for incompatibility in a German paternity case

In a German paternity test, an alleged father was excluded only by reverse homozygosity of ORM1 phenotypes (mother ORM1 S, child ORM1 S and alleged father ORM1 F1) out of the 28 classical and DNA markers investigated. Without the ORM1 system the biostatistical probability of paternity was calculated to exceed 99.9999%. The intensity of the immunoprinted bands of the ORM1 protein for the child and alleged father after isoelectric focusing appeared to be reduced to about half. To identify a possible null allele, gene-specific amplification followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing analyses were carried out. Deletion of one of the two copies of a 4 bp direct repeat sequence (GTCT) in exon 4 of the consensus sequence of ORM1*F1 was observed in the child and alleged father. Thus, the sharing of a rare mutant gene, ORM1*Q0_köln, increased the probability of paternity.     

Evaluation of Surface Roughness Parameters of HDF for Finishing under Industrial Conditions

One of the most important properties of the surface of wood-based panels is their roughness. This property determines the way of working with the material in the processes of gluing and surface varnishing. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of various sanding belt configurations and the feeding speed of the conveyor belt during grinding on the surface roughness of high-density fiberboards (HDF). The research material was prepared under industrial conditions. Three types of boards were selected for the tests. After grinding, the roughness parameters were measured both transversely and longitudinally relative to the grinding direction, using a Mitutoyo SJ-210 profilometer and the optical method. Based on ANOVA analysis of the data, it was found that the type of HDF boards used and the configuration of the abrasive belts had a statistically significant impact on the roughness. The samples for which the grinding process was performed with sanding belts of the highest grain size had the lowest roughness. For the amplitude roughness parameters, the direction of roughness measurement had a significant influence. These results may provide valuable guidance for the furniture industry in the preparation of HDF for furniture production.     

The economic cost of illness in the Federal Republic of Germany in the year 1980.

This paper provides an empirical investigation of the economic cost of illness, disability and premature death in the Federal Republic of Germany in the year 1980. Direct and indirect cost of morbidity and mortality are estimated and allocated to the disease categories of the ICD-International Classification of Diseases. Against the background of increasingly scarce resources in health care, the findings of cost of illness studies obtain special significance for the setting of priorities for the allocation of these resources. In comparison to the status quo, a disease-oriented approach may provide a more differentiated and national basis for the ex-ante macro-allocation of health care resources as well as for the identification of areas for increased efforts in prevention.