Impaired configurational processing in a case of progressive prosopagnosia associated with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy

F.G., a 71-year-old right-handed man, presented with a slowly progressive deterioration in his ability to recognize faces of familiar and famous persons, contrasting with the relative preservation of other cognitive domains. His primary face perception skills were intact. Along with his face-recognition deficit, F.G. also exhibited a mild visual agnosia. A more detailed analysis of his performance on visuoperceptual tests revealed a selective deficit in retrieving the configurational representation of complex visual entities and an over-reliance on analysing individual features. Quantitative volumetric measurements of his temporal lobe structures showed a prevalent atrophy of the right fusiform gyrus and parahippocampal cortex. The results of the present study suggest that a right temporal variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration may be characterized over a period of several years by an impaired configurational processing of visually complex entities in the absence of any semantic deficit.

Local labor unions' positions on worksite tobacco control

OBJECTIVES

This report describes local unions' positions on tobacco control initiatives and factors related to these positions.

METHODS

A national random sample of local union leaders was surveyed by telephone.

RESULTS

Forty-eight percent of local unions supported worksite smoking bans or restrictions, and only 8% opposed both a ban and a restriction.

CONCLUSIONS

Support for tobacco control initiatives among local unions was higher than might be expected on the basis of previous evidence. Engaging unions in smoking policy formation is likely to contribute to the larger public health goal of reducing smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke among workers.

A Multisectoral Approach to Prevention of Lead Poisoning in Hungary: Lessons Learned and Potential for Replicability Elsewhere

Hungarian and American occupational and environmental health professionals are collaborating in a research and demonstration project designed to prevent lead poisoning in Hungary. Using a multisectoral approach, the project has three phases: data collection and review, risk communication, and facilitation of program and policy development. First, the project team reviewed relevant data of many types through a workshop at which commissioned papers were presented, key-informant interviews, and a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The team then conducted a multifaceted risk-communication program to disseminate information about lead hazards in general and what had been learned about lead exposures and lead poisoning in Hungary. It presented training workshops for workers exposed to lead at work and for groups serving as "mediators" who could affect others' behavior, such as nongovernmental organizations, labor unions, public health nurses, pediatricians, teachers and students, and coordinators of the Hungarian Healthy Cities Project. It also conducted a campaign of "concentrated action," using a variety of communication approaches directed to car owners, pregnant women, mothers of small children, and others, in order to convey knowledge and change attitudes, emphasizing emotional appeals. Project leaders will organize a multisectoral working group to develop, coordinate, and implement an overall activity plan aiming to reduce lead pollution. The approach developed and used in this project provides a model for preventing lead poisoning that may be transferrable or adaptable for use for preventing lead poisoning and other environmental health problems elsewhere.