It has become commonplace to say that the decline of rheu matic fever in Europe and North America has little, if any thing, to do with medicine; but to conclude that efforts to control the disease are futile would be an error leading to what could be termed public health malpractice. The need for adequate treatment of patients suffering from acute rheu matic fever or chronic rheumatic valvular heart disease is obvious; but control also means prevention, and here, too, the need is obvious, if only to lighten the burden on health care, due especially to the treatment of patients with advanced forms of the disease. The feasibility of and justification for rheumatic fever control programmes in developing countries has been often questioned. A co-operative study co-ordinated by the World Health Organization has now demonstrated that systematic prevention of rheumatic fever recurrences not only benefits the patients concerned but also has economic advantages. Primary prevention by systematic penicillin treatment of all streptococcal throat infections is at present beyond the reach of many health care systems, and anti-streptococcal vac cination is still in the research phase. The mainstay of the combat against rheumatic heart disease thus remains 7 RHEUMATIC FEVER secondary prevention - the long-term monthly administ ration of penicillin injections to identified patients. This requires, among other things, that penicillin be available."

The man who created investing as we know it provides critical insights, knowledge, and tools for generating steady profits in today's economy. When Harry Markowitz introduced the concept of examining and purchasing a range of diverse stocks-in essence, the practice of creating a portfolio-he transformed the world of investing. The idea was novel, even radical, when he presented it in 1952 for his dissertation. Today, it's second-nature to the majority of investors worldwide. Now, the legendary economist returns with the third volume of his groundbreaking four-volume Risk-Return Analysis series, where he corrects common misperceptions about Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and provides critical insight into the practice of MPT over the last 60 years. He guides you through process of making rational decisions in the face of uncertainty-making this a critical guide to investing in today's economy. From the Laffer Curve to RDM Reasoning to Finite Ordinal Arithmetic to the ideas and concepts of some of history's most influential thinkers, Markowitz provides a wealth and depth of financial knowledge, wisdom, and insights you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. This deep dive into the theories and practices of the investing legend is what you need to master strategic portfolio management designed to generate profits in good times and bad.

Today rheumatic fever is still the most common cause of heart disease in children and young adults in developing countries. This disease is typically associated with poverty, in particular with poor housing, overcrowding and inadequate medical care. Rheumatic fever has almost disappeared from economically developed countries; this trend has paralleled improvements in standards of living. However, the recent resurgence of rheumatic fever in middle-class families in the U. S. A. has re-emphasized the importance of this disease in the developed countries as well. Prevention and control of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease is an important part of the WHO cardiovascular disease program. Based on earlier WHO experience, and on the magnitude of the problem, it was realized that concerted action was needed to combat this significant cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The present program has been developed on the principle that sound knowledge and reliable technology already exist for implementing community programs for the prevention and control of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease with the intention of extending activities toward nationwide coverage. The first edition of this book was an excellent instrument to assist in the control of this disease. The present volume with dissemination of knowledge to health personnel will contribute to closing the gap between knowledge and implementation and it links with WHO's endeavors in prevention and control of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.

Harry M Markowitz received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1990 for his pioneering work in portfolio theory. He also received the von Neumann Prize from the Institute of Management Science and the Operations Research Institute of America in 1989 for his work in portfolio theory, sparse matrices and the SIMSCRIPT computer language. While Dr Markowitz is well-known for his work on portfolio theory, his work on sparse matrices remains an essential part of linear optimization calculations. In addition, he designed and developed SIMSCRIPT ???????????????????????????????????????????????? a computer programming language. SIMSCRIPT has been widely used for simulations of systems such as air transportation and communication networks. This book consists of a collection of Dr Markowitz's most important works in these three fields.