Policy incongruence and public health professionals' dissonance: the case of immigrants and welfare policy.

The steady increase in immigrants to the United States has fueled a critical analysis of the process of allocation of health and social benefits to these newcomers. The myriad of interests and values surrounding this issue precipitated the formulation and adoption of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity (Welfare Reform) Act of 1996. This dramatic welfare reform impacts federal, state, and local agencies that are required to determine the eligibility of benefits and manage the attendant consequences to the public as well as members of this vulnerable group. Especially challenging are the decisions confronting public health professionals who struggle to reconcile the resulting policy, programmatic mandates, and compliance imperatives with prevailing public health principles and practice norms. This paper proposes a framework for understanding the incongruence between the provisions of the law as it pertains to legal and illegal immigrants and public health values. The impact of policy incongruence and professionals' dissonance on public health practice norms is explored with an explicit focus on public health outcomes and legal implications. The examination of tuberculosis as a health example reveals the policy conflicts and public health dilemmas. Finally, the paper elicits a range of options available to public professionals for responding to these legal mandates.

Mixed-function oxidase studies in the redfish, Sciaenops ocellata, from Galveston Bay, Texas.

The metabolism of parathion to para-nitrophenol (PNP) in redfish (Sciaenops ocellata) liver microsomes has been both identified and characterized. This mixed-function oxidase (MFO) reaction in redfish requires NADPH and is inhibited by carbon monoxide. It exhibits a temperature optimum of 25 degrees C but no clear pH optimum between 7.0-8.5. Redfish hepatic microsomal MFOs were not induced by 2.5 days after a single i.p. injection of 88 mg Aroclor 1254/kg body wt, but under the same dosage and time conditions male albino Swiss mice were significantly induced (p less than 0.05).

Geographic and seasonal distribution of rabies in skunks, foxes and bats in Texas.

The geographic and seasonal distributions of the pathobiocenoses formed by rabies virus, the biotic provinces of Texas, and skunks, foxes and bats were described using synoptic mapping and enumeration by calendar month. Autocorrelation functions with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the skunk pathobiocenose for lag periods up to 36 mo in length. The geographic distributions were fundamentally different, but all overlapped. The skunk and fox pathobiocenoses were associated with provincial ecotones. The distribution of the bat pathobiocenose was urban. The nature of the autocorrelation functions for the skunk pathobiocenose indicated that this disease association may be spreading throughout the state from an epicenter in the Texan biotic province.

Bioaccumulation of lead and cadmium in the Royal Tern and Sandwich Tern.

Lead and cadmium concentrations were measured in eggs and tissues of downy young, prefledgling, and adult Royal and Sandwich Terns collected from Galveston Bay, Texas. These species do not differ significantly in the amount of heavy metals they accumulate; however, they differed from other species of the same trophic level from Galveston Bay in degree and pattern of temporal accumulations of these metals. Lead levels were lower in terns, but cadmium levels in adult terns were higher than those of other species. The prefledglings of other species at this trophic level have lead and cadmium concentrations which are similar to those found in adults. In contrast, the concentrations of the metals in adult terns are markedly higher than those found in prefledgling terns. This suggests that accumulation of metals continues as the birds age.

Environmentally acquired lead, cadmium, and manganese in the cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, and the laughing gull, Larus atricilla.

The concentrations of lead, cadmium, and manganese in the tissues of cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) and laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) gathered from the Galveston Bay region of Texas were compared, to determine if different patterns of accumulation exist. Their levels in these species were within the range reported for other bird species. Lead levels in bone were comparable, but gulls had more lead in brain, kidney and liver tissues than the egrets, which suggested a higher rate of accumulation or exposure. Due to their high abundance and comparable positions in the estaurine and terrestrial food webs, it is suggested that Bubulcus ibis and Larus atricilla may serve as convenient biological indicators to monitor potentially toxic substances in these ecosystems.

The genetics of hexokinase in a mosquito, Culex pipiens.

The genetics of hexokinase (HK) variants in a mosquito, Culex pipiens L., was studied using starch gel electrophoresis. Three isozymic forms of HK, all migrating anodally, were present in all three body regions, but in differing proportions. No obvious differences in specificity for three hexose sugars was detected among the three isozymic bands. However, qualitative differences in staining intensity indicate the following order of substrate affinity: glucose greater than fructose greater than mannose. The inheritance of the HK variants is controlled by a pair of co-dominant alleles at a single genetic locus.

Inheritance of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase variants in Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say.

The formal genetics of two variants of a 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase locus of the adult mosquito, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, was analyzed by starch gel electrophoresis. These two alleles, PgdF and PgdS are codominant, and autosomally inherited, and appear to be linked to the Pgm locus by 27 crossover units in linkage group III.

Environmentally acquired lead in the laughing gull, Larus atricilla.

Lead concentrations were measured in eggs, prefledgings and adult laughing gulls collected near Galveston, Texas. No lead was found in eggs. Prefledgling and adult birds had lead ranging from zero to 16 mug/g wet tissue. Liver had the greatest lead concentrations followed by brain, heart and skeletal muscle. There were no significant differences in lead concentrations between fledglings and adults or between males and females.