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Watercooler Stories

By ALEX CUKAN, United Press International
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RUSSIA LOSING POPULATION QUICKLY

By the end of the century, it's estimated Earth's population will double, but not in Russia. In fact, Russia is losing people at a rapid rate.

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From 1992 to 2000 Russia lost 3 million in population and by 2075 it's calculated the Russian population will decrease threefold, Pravda reports.

Since 1992, deaths have exceeded births in Russia by about 1 million a year.

Some of the reasons for low birth weights are: socio-economical instability, high divorce rate, high abortion rate, drug addicts and AIDS.


DOCTORS TREAT MANY UNINSURED

About 68 percent of internists in general practice provide free care to the uninsured, usually to existing patients who have lost health insurance.

According to a study published in Health Affairs, researchers at the New York Academy of Medicine surveyed American College of Physicians members nationwide to determine the level of free care given to the uninsured.

While hospitals are believed to be the safety net for the uninsured only 2.6 million were treated at hospitals in 1994, while 27 million were treated in doctors' offices.

"Private practitioners provide five times as many visits for the uninsured as do health safety-net institutions, which would not be able to absorb this number of patients," says ACP President Dr. Munsey Wheby.

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FEMALE CRIME VICTIMS

A study by the University of Warwick in England shows female crime victims are much less fearful of ordinary crime than men.

Researcher Nattavudh Powdthavee found that as the regional crime rate for burglaries, robberies and housebreaking rose the anxiety levels of both male and female non-victims increased, making it less likely for either sex to attain the highest levels of happiness.

In neighborhoods where the crime rate affected 30 percent of the homes, however, the female victims of crime were 16 percent more likely to reach the highest levels of happiness.

Powdthavee believes women are more likely than men to share their experiences with others in the community and as a result feel less victimized and isolated.


SECOND GENERATION MOBILE HOMES

A Mississippi State architecture professor is proposing a next-generation mobile home.

While a mobile home is less expensive to buy, the owner has enormous energy costs, higher insurance rates and loses equity, according to Michael Berk.

Berk envisions units built off-site of insulated structural panels using sustainable Mississippi woods, wooden siding exteriors and interior walls of wood veneers that require no painting.

The new structures would meet standard building codes and be qualified for conventional mortgage financing and homeowner's insurance says Berk.

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