Economic Privatism and New Patterns of Inequality in Post-Mao China

Economic reforms in socialist and former socialist countries have required grassroots to undergo fundamental and drastic changes in the basic conditions of work and family life. Amid the rapid transition from the socialist collective economy to the market-oriented private economy, people in increasing numbers have been trapped in a deadlock situation where they are neither materially protected by the socialist arrangements for unconditional employment and subsistence, nor functionally integrated into the new system of market-based division of labor and commodity exchange. In rural China, this dilemma seems especially problematic for those people who live in families without sufficient political influence or production assets, who are women or live in woman-headed households, and who do not have sufficient luck, courage, or talent to transform themselves into successful migrant entrepreneurs. The emergence of the economic disadvantages suffered by these groups has been structurally linked to the reactivation of the peasant family as an independent, private economic unit for whose economic activities the state neither exercises direct institutional control nor assumes political responsibility.This work was supported by the SNU Overhead Fund through the Center for Social Sciences

Market Socialism and Ruralist Welfare Reform in Post-Mao China

Market socialism - or "the socialist market economy" - in China has practically reinforced the rural-urban divide in social welfare. The danwei welfare system for urban workers has remained robust, albeit currently through different programs for social security, so that Chinese-style socialism still governs the lives of most urban workers. The market-based and/or private arrangements for social insurances and services complement, not replace, the danwei-supported welfare programs. In contrast, the demise of rural collective institutions has caused a desocialization of peasant welfare in most villages across China, as individual families are urged to self-support on the basis of private economic and social resources. Essentially, welfare ruralism exhorts primarily peasants (and peasant migrants) to revitalize their traditional values and functions for familial social support, in lieu of state-sponsored social security programs or social services. What Gordon White dubbed as "post-communist neo-Confucianism" regarding the Chinese welfare tradition has been asymmetrically enforced onto rural population due to complicated historical, structural, and political factors. Welfare ruralism is a sort of internal orientalism applied to peasant welfare for which ideological and cultural work, as opposed to institutional and economic work for urban worker welfare, is the main mechanism for reform.This study was supported by the Overhead Research Fund of Seoul National Universit

KINEMATIC SYNTHESIS OF A MEDICAL BED FOR DECUBITUS ULCER PATIENTS

ABSTRACT A decubitus ulcer or bedsore is a pressure-induced ulceration of the skin occurring in persons confined to bed for long periods of time. Reduction of pressure over bony prominences is of primary importance to prevent and cure bedsores. For this purpose, specially designed mattresses can be used and/or the patient should be turned frequently to avoid ischemia of soft tissue. In addition to pressure, other principal factors causing bedsore are friction and shear forces. In this paper, we designed a new 5 degree of freedom bed mechanism that can be used to change the posture of pressure ulcer patients, which generates 7 motions including backrest elevation, kneerest elevation, lounge position, left and right rotation, trendelenberg and reverse trendelenberg motion, and straight elevation. Particularly, we focused on the synthesis of a backrest and seatrest assembly that can reduce sliding between the bed and the patient

Successful Chemotherapy Following Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Myeloma and Multi-organ Dysfunction with Infiltration of Eosinophils: A Case Report

Eosinophils are derived from hematopoietic stem cells. Peripheral blood eosinophilia is defined as an absolute eosinophil count of ≥0.5×109/L. Eosinophilia is classified into primary or clonal eosinophilia, secondary eosinophilia, and idiopathic categories including idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. Both hematopoietic and solid neoplasms may be associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia, but multiple myeloma is rarely associated with eosinophilia. We now report the case of a 31-year-old man with multiple myeloma associated with marked eosinophilia who developed multiple organ dysfunction with infiltration of eosinophils. He recovered after treatment with chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation

The Actual Five-year Survival Rate of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients after Curative Resection

The five-year survival rate of patients after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported to be 30 to 50%, however the actual survival rate may be different. We analyzed the actual 5-year survival rate and prognostic factors after curative resection of HCC. Retrospective analysis was performed on 63 HCC patients who underwent curative resection from 1998 to 1999. A total of 63 cases were reviewed, consisting of 53 men and 10 women, with a median age of 49 years. These cases included all four pathologic T stages (pT stage) and had the following representation: stage 1 (1 case), stage 2 (17 cases), stage 3 (38 cases), and stage 4 (7 cases). In our study, the actual 5-year survival rate was 57.0% and the median survival time was 60 months. In addition, the patients in our study had an actual 5-year disease-free survival rate of 50.2% and a median disease-free survival time of 46 months. Thirty-one patients had recurrences, with a majority occurring within one year (65%). These patients with early recurrences had a poor actual 5-year survival rate of 5%. A univariate analysis showed that the prognostic factors influencing survival rate were the presence of satellite nodules, increased pT stage, HCC recurrence, and the time to recurrence (within one year). Interestingly, microvascular invasion made a difference in survival rate but was not statistically significant (p = 0.08). Furthermore, factors influencing the disease free survival rate include the presence of satellite nodules, microvascular invasion, and pT stage. Multivariate analysis identified pT stage as the only statistically related factor in determining the disease-free survival rate. The most important prognostic factor of HCC is recurrence. Moreover, the major risk factor for recurrence is an advanced pT stage. Therefore, performing prospective studies of postoperative adjuvant therapy is necessary to prevent recurrences after hepatic resection. Furthermore, active preventative treatment and early diagnosis of recurrences should be of the highest priority in the care of high-risk patient groups that have an advanced pT stage

Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis due to Ochrobactrum anthropi: A Case Report

We report a case of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis from Ochrobactrum anthropi. O. anthropi is recognized as an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients. In contrast to most previously described cases, the patient reported here had no indwelling catheter. To our knowledge, no case of O. anthropi spontaneous bacterial peritonitis has been reported in the medical literature until now

Early Experiences of Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Liver Resection

PURPOSE: The surgical robotic system is superior to traditional laparoscopy in regards to 3-dimensional images and better instrumentations. Robotic surgery for hepatic resection has not yet been extensively reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between March and May 2007, we performed 3 robot-assisted left lateral sectionectomies of the liver. Case 1 had a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), case 2 had colon cancer with liver metastasis, and case 3 had intrahepatic duct stones. RESULTS: All patients had successful operation and recovered without complications. Shorter length of hospital stays, earlier start of oral feeding and less amount of ascites were found. However, case 1 had recurrent HCC at 3 months after operation. CONCLUSION: Robotic-assisted liver surgery is still a new field in its developing stage. In patients with small malignant tumors and benign liver diseases, robotic-assisted laparoscopic resection is feasible and safe. Through experience, the use of robotics is expected to increase in the treatment of benign diseases and malignant neoplasms. However, careful patient selection is important and long-term outcomes need to be evaluated.ope