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Watching the World

AIDS in Brazil

● Since the discovery of the first case of AIDS in Brazil, “the numbers are increasing rapidly,” reports the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo. Twelve new cases appeared between January and March and, according to Paulo R. Teixeira of the São Paulo Health Department, these “are cases originating right here” in Brazil. Twenty persons have died from AIDS in São Paulo State alone. Also, Brazil’s first case of AIDS among hemophiliacs struck in January. A 13-year-old boy was afflicted. His doctor feels that the boy “contracted the disease from the frequent blood transfusions” he receives as a hemophiliac. “We do not have conditions to make thorough examinations of every blood donor,” the doctor admitted.

Use of Hypertension Drugs

● The U.S. government suggests nondrug therapies for some of the estimated 60 million Americans who suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure. They recommend diet, exercise and behavior modification as treatment for those with the mildest cases. “There is also a growing appreciation of the fact that obesity and hypertension are closely related,” says Dr. Harriet P. Dunstan, director of the cardiovascular research and training center at the University of Alabama. “You may be able to control mild hypertension with weight reduction alone.” Hypertension increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

Earthquake Deaths

● “Deaths annually caused by earthquakes throughout the world average 20,000 persons,” reports the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Precarious earthquake zones in Europe run through Greece and southern Italy, and, in the Middle East, Turkey. According to the Institute of Geophysics located in the city of Kiel in northern Germany, earthquakes kill from 2,000 to 3,000 people each year in the Mediterranean area alone.

Growth of Canadian Witnesses

● Canada’s 1981 Census shows that there are 143,480 people who claim to be Jehovah’s Witnesses. But the Canadian Witnesses themselves report 77,628 presently active in neighborhood evangelism. Why the difference? Government census figures include children and persons studying the Bible with the Witnesses. Statistical breakdowns in the 1981 Census show 65,160 males and 78,320 females. Nearly 41,000 are under 15 years of age, 24,000 are from 15 to 24 years old, 65,000 are from 25 to 64, and more than 16,000 are over 65. Incidentally, these latest census figures represent a 111-percent increase in just 20 years, up from 68,015 listed in the 1961 Census.

“Marketing” the Church

● Of Austrian cities, Vienna has the most people leaving the Catholic Church. In 1979 only 9,010 Viennese left, but in 1982 a wave of withdrawals raised the figure to 16,760. To counter the trend, Austria’s bishops, headed by their cardinal, appeared on television to speak a “personal word” to all those who had left the church. As a result, some members returned. Others wrote to the church. The Viennese publication Börsen-Kurier reports: “These letters are now being analyzed to find out the motives of those who left. With this kind of motivation research and with the pope acting as publicity agent (the Catholic Conference in Austria included the biggest advertising campaign in history, according to suffragan bishop Weber) the Church in Austria for the first time has made use of modern marketing and management methods.”

Children With VD

● More and more children under ten years of age are showing up in doctors’ offices with venereal diseases, says Paul Fritz, program planner for the child protection branch of Alberta Social Services in Canada. The 1982 provincial vital statistics show 12 cases of gonorrhea in children under ten​—7 of them under five years of age! In one instance, that of a ten-year-old girl, the doctor diagnosed gonorrhea, “the child’s third dose in five years,” reports The Edmonton Journal. Since 1982, reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases in young Albertans have increased about 15 percent each year. Yet Fritz feels that what is now being reported may be only “the tip of the iceberg.”

Seat-Belt Safety

● Since February 1983, the wearing of seat belts in the front seats of cars and small vans has been compulsory in Britain. With what results? Fatal and serious injuries have dropped by 20 to 25 percent since then, reports the Department of Transport, even though the number of vehicles on the road in seat-belt categories rose by 1 percent. For years the government encouraged car users to wear belts voluntarily, but with disappointing results. The government is now considering the compulsory wearing of belts for rear-seat passengers also.

Sports Force

● The galvanizing force of major sports events is a powerful phenomenon that can serve a variety of political and social ends, says Dallas Willard, director of University of Southern California’s School of Philosophy. “Sports provide distraction and a means of purging emotion. Great sports spectacles serve to unify the spectators,” he claims. “Not surprisingly, governments have shown a historical tendency to use sports as a political tool to placate the masses.”

“Survival Problems”

● The Methodists, who trace their beginnings back to John Wesley, a Church of England clergyman in the 1700’s, are celebrating their bicentennial in America this year. As they enter their third century of existence, to what future can they look? In the booklet The Exodus Into Our Third Century, James E. Magaw, a minister of the largest Methodist body, the nine-and-a-half million member United Methodist Church, writes: “Many of our local churches are struggling with survival problems. The number of members is declining, Sunday Schools are dwindling, budgets are soaring, enthusiasm is cooling, and burnout is becoming a blight affecting the quality of our leadership.”

Pork and Microwave Ovens

● At times microwave ovens give uneven heat, according to Dr. Peter Schantz of the United States Centers for Disease Control. Unfortunately, this may result in pork roast that looks well cooked, but that is “still infected with the roundworm that causes trichinosis,” says the report in The Medical Post. Further, a University of Iowa study found that “more than a quarter of 189 pork roasts cooked in five different microwave ovens showed the presence of trichinae.”

Refuge Places

● The Dutch professor Herman Bianchi proposes reintroducing places of refuge where criminals can “escape the first reactions of vengeance,” reports the Dutch magazine KRI. Bianchi believes that these temporary shelters can be used to help lawbreakers, such as drug addicts, overcome their problems without the threat of arrest. He feels that five or six shelters located in cities scattered throughout the Netherlands would be appropriate. Taking a clue from history, Bianchi suggests converting empty monasteries into places of refuge.

Learn by Computer?

● “The computer may have a brief novelty effect on improving learning​—but after that the traditional well-prepared teacher can do just as well.” So says New Scientist in reporting on a recent study by Professor Richard Clark of the School of Education at the University of Southern California. “Pupils tend to invest a lot of time and effort when they first encounter the new machines,” observes the professor. “But the same time and effort spent at traditional lessons would probably yield comparable results.” Students without computers, take heart.

Satellite Coffins?

● With the increasing demand for burial ground, many are turning to cremation as an acceptable alternative. But Italian inventor Dominico de Renzo has proposed another “solution.” At Primavera ‘84 Inventors’ Exhibition in Genoa he displayed a coffin built of special heat-resistant aluminum​—designed to float in orbit above the earth. Commenting on the problem of overcrowded graveyards due to an expanding worldwide population, Dominico remarked: “Above us is unlimited space and the dead will be able to float there in perfect peace forever.” The one thing he apparently did not mention was the cost of such a ‘burial,’ which may well be ‘out of this world’ for the average income.

Canine Drug Patrol

● “The first small dogs in the world to work for customs” is how Mainichi Daily News described the terriers and cocker spaniels that joined the ranks of canine drug sniffers at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Till now, German shepherds, pointers and retrievers sniffed out illegal drug smugglers. These big dogs nosed out drugs on the lower shelves, but being too heavy to lift could not reach the top shelves of the eight-meter high (26 ft) luggage racks. Officials, realizing that not one case of drug detection has come from those upper shelves, decided it was time to train small dogs for the job.

Milk Shake for Fresco

● An ingredient used to make milk shakes thick, methyl cellulose, helps clean Michelangelo’s frescoes. A small amount of a jellylike concoction containing the ingredient is spread across the painted ceilings and walls of the Vatican’s Sistine chapel. When the cleaning mixture is removed, Voila! Michelangelo’s original colors are restored. Traditionally, these 400-year-old frescoes were described as a “harmony of rare, pale tones, a sort of diffused light.” But instead of being in pastel shades, the restorers discovered Michelangelo’s color selection to be so vivid that now his paintings seem to jump out from the wall.

Chicken Music

● The Soviet magazine Sputnik reports that the harm caused by industrial noise to egg-laying chickens can be reduced by music. Too much noise results in a drop in egg yield and a rise in mortality. Too little noise has a similar effect. The right acoustic level, according to a report, is 75 decibels. In some poultry factories the noise level is as loud as an electric power saw​—94 decibels. This adversely affects the hens by lowering their body temperature and killing their appetite. Music seems to reverse that lethal effect.

No Hiding Place

● A strong box in a bank vault is normally thought to be safe for jewelry and cash. Not anymore​—at least not in Paris. For two years a highly efficient gang, dubbed the “wig gang” by the Paris police because of their use of false hair and whiskers, have raided banks during the business hours. While some corral the staff and customers into a back room, others break open the boxes. Hapless customers entering the bank during the theft are politely taken to join the other victims. The only violence used is on the boxes. The “wig gang” has struck as often as four times and opened as many as 250 boxes in a week.