Traditional Pillars Research Articles

Laboratory diagnosis of rubella: past, present and future

Fifty years ago in New South Wales the late Sir Norman Gregg [1] described congenital cataracts in 78 babies, 67 of whose mothers had had clinical rubella in early pregnancy; he concluded that the disease in the mother caused the abnormality in the baby. Gregg [1–3] and Swan [4, 5] and their colleagues reported that deafness, heart disease and microcephaly were also major components of the congenital rubella syndrome. The need to prevent this tragic outcome stimulated intensive work on laboratory diagnosis and vaccine development, leading to the isolation of rubella virus in 1962 and then to methods for antibody detection. These complementary advances established the two traditional pillars of virological diagnosis and opened the way to immunization, with the result that some countries are now on the verge of eliminating a disease which for over 100 years was regarded as no more than a mild and harmless exanthem of childhood.

On Being Economical with the Truth: Some Liberal Reflections

Although a commitment to free discussion of all issues is one of the traditional pillars of liberalism, contemporary liberals may be justified in feeling uneasy when their principle of universal human rights is publicly challenged in the name of ethnic community. For in spite of liberalism's reputation for rationalism, its principles rely upon a substantial element of myth which does not stand up well to public scrutiny. Liberals would be wise to become more conscious of this ‘mythical’ component in their outlook. This would protect them against political naivety and its consequent disillusionment. It would also help them to respond more appropriately to right-wing critics, by relying less on rationalism and more on tactics borrowed from conservatism.

Local development: Conceptual bases and policy implications

Coffey W. J. and Polese M. (1985) Local development: conceptual bases and policy implications, Reg. Studies 19, 85–93. Although local development is frequently cited as an option within the broader context of regional policy, the concept remains vague. The bases of the local development approach lie in its complementarity with three traditional pillars of regional theory and policy: capital and infrastructure policies; migration as an adjustment mechanism; and growth centre strategies. In examining the potential utility of local development as an effective element of regional development policy, we emphasize the emergence of local entrepreneurship and the role of the State in stimulating local initiatives. Local development policy may be generalized in terms of three options involving financial assistance, access to information, and social animation.

Tolerance, Autoimmunity and Aging.

This 1972 American Lecture Series publication is the offspring of a two-day symposium held in February 1970. The result is a group of loosely connected papers prepared by highly sophisticated basic science investigators. It will become apparent to the clinician who reads this publication that the traditional pillars of immunologic research, the rabbit and the guinea pig, have been all but replaced by carefully pedigreed strains of mice. The contemporary question of tumor formation and its relation to the title is outlined by Teller. Subsequent chapters by outstanding workers, including Robert Good, entertain further details of humoral and cellular hypersensitivity and the systems responsible for immunologic competence. The role of viral-induced infection (again, in laboratory animals) is covered in newborn and aging mice. A number of arguments are presented to support the theory that viruses effect a change in antigens which then become responsible for the aging process. The final