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Economic Implications (economic + implication)
Selected AbstractsECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF DISCHARGE OF ELDERLY FROM THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT TRIAL RESULTSJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2005Sudeep S. Gill MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Alan Greenspan on the Economic Implications of Population AgingPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 4 2004Article first published online: 15 DEC 200 At the 2004 annual symposium of central bank leaders sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, devoted his opening remarks on 27 August to a discussion of the economic implications of population aging. The full text of his remarks is reproduced below. Greenspan's high prestige and great influence on US economic policy lend special interest to his views on this much-discussed subject (see also the next Documents item in this issue). He outlines the coming demographic shift in the United States in language that is characteristically cautious and qualified. (The elderly dependency ratio will "almost certainly" rise as the baby boom generation retires, Greenspan says, although elsewhere he terms the process, more accurately, inexorable.) The main factor responsible for population aging he identifies as the decline of fertility. Immigration is an antidote, but, to be effective, its size would have to be much larger than is envisaged in current projections. Greenspan's assessment of the economic consequences of the changing age structure highlights the prospect of a deteriorating fiscal situation in the United States: chronic deficits in the Social Security program over the long haul, assuming that existing commitments for benefits per retiree are met, and even greater difficulties for the health care system for the elderly,Medicare,in which the effects of increasing numbers in old age are amplified by advances in medical technology and the bias inherent in the current system of subsidized third-party payments. The sober outline of policy choices imposed by population aging,difficult in the United States, but less so, Greenspan notes, than in Europe and Japan,underlies the need for counteracting the declining growth of the population of labor force age through greater labor force participation and later retirement. Beyond that, growth of output per worker can provide the key "that would enable future retirees to maintain their expected standard of living without unduly burdening future workers." This requires continuation of policies that enhance productivity, such as deregulation and globalization, and greater investment. In turn, the latter presupposes greater domestic saving, both personal and by the government, as the United States cannot "continue indefinitely to borrow saving from abroad." Demographic aging requires a new balance between workers and retirees. Curbing benefits once bestowed is difficult: only benefits that can be delivered should be promised. Public programs should be recalibrated, providing incentives for individuals to adjust to the inevitable consequences of an aging society. [source] First report of cottony-cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) on red berried mistletoe (Viscum cruciatum)ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Diego RUBIALES Abstract Cottony-cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) infestation on red berried mistletoe (Viscum cruciatum) is reported for the first time. Mistletoe is a hemiparasitic plant that was parasitizing stems of olive trees; however, I. purchasi infested only the mistletoe and not the olive. Economic implications are discussed. [source] Are Debt and Incentive Compensation Substitutes in Controlling the Free Cash Flow Agency Problem?FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2009Yilei Zhang This paper investigates the governance implications of a firm's capital structure and managerial incentive compensation in controlling the free cash flow agency problem. The results suggest: debt and executive stock options act as substitutes in attenuating a firm's free cash flow problem; failure to incorporate the substitutability and endogeneity leads to underestimates of the magnitude and economic implication of the disciplinary role of both mechanisms; firm characteristics differ across the prevalence of debt usage versus option usage, suggesting the heterogeneity in the costs and benefits of the monitoring devices; and all the above effects are more pronounced in firms that tend to have more severe agency problem. [source] Evaluation of carbohydrate rich diets through common carp culture in manured tanksAQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 3 2002P. KESHAVANATH Four diets (T0,T3) were formulated reducing the fishmeal (Indian) component by 100 g kg,1 from 300 to 0 g kg,1 and including proportionately increasing quantities of maize. Diets were fed for 120 days at 50 g kg,1 body weight to triplicate groups of common carp (av. wt. 2.11,2.18 g) stocked at 1 m,2 in mud bottomed cement tanks (18 m2), fertilized with poultry manure. Fish growth, SGR and FCR in the different treatments were statistically not significantly different (P > 0.05). PER was lowest for the 300 g fishmeal kg,1 diet treatment (diet T0), increasing with decrease in dietary fishmeal content (diets T1,T3). Fish survival ranged from 96.29 to 100%. Diets influenced carcass composition and digestive enzyme activity. A significant increase in lipid deposition was recorded with increasing dietary carbohydrate content. Amylase, protease and lipase activities were higher in fish fed with diets T2 and T3. The protein sparing effect of dietary carbohydrate and the economic implication of eliminating fishmeal from the diet are discussed. [source] The First Crusade and the Latin east as seen from Venice: the account of the Translatio sancti NicolaiEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 4 2009Elena Bellomo The Translatio sancti Nicolai is the earliest Venetian source to describe the deeds of the first crusaders from Venice. It is most likely based on an eyewitness account of the events that was later rewritten in order to provide the historical context for the translation of St Nicholas's relics to Venice. This source ambivalently depicts the nature of the crusader battles, both emphasizing the spiritual value of this fight, mainly seen as a way to fulfil the sequela Christi, and highlighting the significant economic implications of the Christian conquest of the Holy Land. [source] War and the global economyECONOMIC OUTLOOK, Issue 1 2002Article first published online: 5 FEB 200 Recent months have seen the adoption of an increasingly belligerent stance towards Iraq on the parts of the US and the UK in particular, signalling a shift from the policy of containment that has been in place since the last Gulf War, and towards a more aggressive policy. As yet, it is unclear whether this increased belligerence will culminate in a renewed full,scale military engagement with Iraq, to achieve the much vaunted ,regime change', or whether the outcome will be an agreement to a new programme of weapons inspections. But the risk of a military conflict appears to have increased. This article assesses the potential economic implications of such a conflict, exploring different scenarios for how it might evolve, and their impact on oil prices and global growth. [source] Approaches to tobacco control: the evidence baseEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2004M. Lober Aquilino Tobacco production, distribution, and use are international issues with significant health and economic implications. This paper provides an overview of the effective approaches to tobacco control including decreasing demand for tobacco products through taxation, consumer education, research, bans on advertising and promotion, warning labels, and restrictions on public smoking. The effectiveness of reducing the supply of tobacco products through prohibition, restrictions on youth access, crop substitution, trade restrictions, and control of smuggling, will also be discussed. Decreasing smoking, particularly among young people, by preventing or delaying initiation, preventing regular use, and increasing cessation through behavioural approaches for all ages is reviewed. Cessation methods including pharmacological approaches, ,quitlines', Internet programmes, and the targeting of specific populations are discussed. Internet availability of tobacco products and sustainability of current efforts are presented as continuing challenges to tobacco control. [source] Private Pension Arrangements and Retirement in Britain,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 1 2005James Banks Abstract This paper looks at the policy debate surrounding private pensions and retirement patterns in the UK. Recent increases in longevity have led not only to increased pressures in public pensions but also to corresponding increases in the importance of private pensions in the UK and changes in the way in which they are structured. We consider the economic implications of these changes, and in particular the increased importance of defined contribution plans. In addition, we discuss the prospects for future trends in retirement ages. [source] Introducing size limits as a management tool for the recreational line fishery of silver kob, Argyrosomus inodorus (Griffiths and Heemstra), in Namibian watersFISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2001C. H. Kirchner Individual silver kob Argyrosomus inodorus (Griffiths and Heemstra) first mature at just over 1 yr of age and the median age at maturity is approximately 1.5 yr. Spawning of silver kob was observed in the southern and central region of the stock's range, but little spawning activity was found in silver kob sampled from the northern region. The spawning period is protracted over 6 months (October,March), which coincides with warmer water temperatures (>15 °C) and the occurrence of large-sized spawning silver kob in the southern and central part of Namibia. Implementing a minimum size limit for the silver kob fishery is not recommended as it will have serious economic implications for the coastal communities. The protection of the spawning areas, Meob Bay and Sandwich, should be continued and a strict bag limit on large-sized silver kob is recommended for the Namibian silver kob recreational fishery. [source] Spectral Welfare Cost FunctionsINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2001Christopher Otrok If preferences are not time-separable, economic agents care not only about the magnitude of fluctuations in consumption but also about the persistence and other temporal characteristics of those fluctuations. This paper extends and develops the theory of spectral utility functions, which measure utility frequency by frequency, to illustrate the interaction between consumption volatility and time-non-separable preferences. To highlight the economic implications of the interaction, spectral welfare cost functions are developed to provide a quantitative measure of the importance to economic agents of the temporal delivery of consumption volatility. [source] Global analysis of runs of annual precipitation and runoff equal to or below the median: run magnitude and severityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Murray C. Peel Abstract Fluctuations of wet and dry years have long been investigated in the climatology and hydrology literature. In this, the second of two papers investigating runs of consecutive dry years, the magnitude, also known as the intensity, and severity (length × magnitude) of dry runs are investigated. In the first paper the length of dry runs was investigated. Periods of consecutive dry years are associated with drought and the attendant physical and economic stresses that are placed on society. Run magnitudes of consecutive years equal to or below the median were analysed for 3863 precipitation and 1236 runoff stations from around the world. For both annual precipitation and runoff, run magnitude was found to be predominately related to interannual variability and to a lesser extent skewness. Run magnitude of annual runoff was observed to be greater than that for annual precipitation, due to annual runoff having a higher coefficient of variation than annual precipitation. Continental differences in run magnitude of annual runoff were observed and were consistent with continental differences in interannual variability reported previously. Annual run severity was also investigated and found to be independent of run length and strongly related to run magnitude. These findings differ from previously published work; this difference is primarily due to the methodology of comparing run metrics between stations (used in this paper) rather than at a station (previous research). The relationships between run magnitude, severity and interannual variability highlight the importance of adequately reproducing interannual variability within global climate models for future modelling of drought scenarios, as well as having economic implications for drought relief and management policy-making. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Biphasic insulin aspart 70/30 vs. insulin glargine in insulin naïve type 2 diabetes patients: modelling the long-term health economic implications in a Swedish settingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 6 2008G. Goodall Summary Objectives:, To evaluate the long-term clinical and economic outcomes of biphasic insulin aspart 70/30 (BIAsp 70/30) treatment vs. insulin glargine in insulin naïve, type 2 diabetes patients failing oral antidiabetic drugs in a Swedish setting. Methods:, A published and validated computer simulation model (the CORE Diabetes Model) was used to project life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) and costs over patient lifetimes. Cohort characteristics [54.5% male, mean age 52.4 years, 9 years mean diabetes duration, mean glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 9.77%] and treatment effects were based on results from the Initiate Insulin by Aggressive Titration and Education (INITIATE) clinical trial. Direct medical costs were accounted in 2006 Swedish Kronor (SEK) and economic and clinical benefits were discounted at 3% per annum. Results:, Biphasic insulin aspart 70/30 treatment when compared with insulin glargine treatment was associated with improvements in discounted life expectancy of 0.21 years (13.10 vs. 12.89 years) and QALE of 0.21 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (9.16 vs. 8.96 QALYs). Reductions in the incidence of diabetes-related complications in the BIAsp 70/30 treatment arm led to reduced total costs of SEK 10,367 when compared with insulin glargine (SEK 396,475 vs. SEK 406,842) over patient lifetimes. BIAsp 70/30 treatment was projected to be dominant (cost and lifesaving) when compared with insulin glargine in the base case analysis. Conclusions:, Biphasic insulin aspart 70/30 treatment was associated with improved clinical outcomes and reduced costs compared with insulin glargine treatment over patient lifetimes. These results were driven by improved HbA1c levels associated with BIAsp 70/30 compared with insulin glargine and the accompanying reduction in diabetes-related complications despite increases in body mass index. [source] Update on treatment guidelines for acute bacterial sinusitisINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2005J. M. Klossek Summary Acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS) is a common complication of viral upper respiratory tract infections and represents a considerable social burden both in terms of diminished quality of life for the patient and the economic implications of decreased productivity and treatment costs. Several national health authorities have developed guidelines for the management of ABS, which aim to promote rational selection of anti-bacterial therapy to optimise clinical outcomes while minimising the potential for selection of anti-bacterial resistance as a result of inappropriate anti-bacterial usage. This article provides an overview of current guidelines, with particular focus on the clinical significance of variations in treatment recommendations and new treatment options, such as the ketolide telithromycin, which was recently added to a number of national treatment guidelines. [source] Therapeutic and economic implications of traumatic dental injuries in Denmark: an estimate based on 7549 patients treated at a major trauma centreINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 4 2001Mette Kit Borum Aim. To analyse the type and extent of injuries presented by patients seeking treatment for traumatic dental injuries at a major trauma centre. Furthermore, to analyse acute and subsequent treatment demands and treatment costs. Methods. A therapeutic and economic analysis was performed of 7549 patients treated for traumatic dental injuries in a major trauma centre located at the University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cases were divided into uncomplicated (concussion, subluxation, enamel and enamel-dentine fractures) and complicated cases (crown fractures with exposed pulps and crown-root fractures, luxation injuries with displacement of the tooth and bone fractures). Results. Primary tooth injuries were found in 2874 patients, involving 5443 teeth, among which 62·8% had complicated injuries. Permanent tooth injuries were found in 4525 patients, involving 10673 teeth, among which 40·4% had complicated injuries. The cost of treatment (including acute trauma service, follow-up and subsequent restoration) was estimated to be 0·6,1 mill USD a year for the patients treated in this trauma centre. If this figure is transferred to the estimated trauma population in Denmark, a yearly cost of traumatic dental injuries appears to range from 2 to 5 mill USD per 1 mill inhabitants per year according to the treatment scenario. Conclusion. Thus, treatment of traumatic dental injuries comprises an expensive part of the health services in Denmark. [source] Economic aspects and the Summer Olympics: a review of related researchINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 6 2003Evangelia Kasimati Abstract As the Summer Olympics are growing with larger media coverage and sponsorship, host cities have started to attach great importance to the tourism and other likely economic effects that occur by staging such a special event. As a result, a number of studies have been conducted to consider the various economic implications on the hosts. This paper examines and evaluates methods and assumptions used by the economic studies. It also compares ex-ante models and forecasts with the ex-post approach. The aim is to improve the information available to policy makers and potential future hosts of Summer Olympics and other mega-events. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Antinomies of the Postpolitical City: In Search of a Democratic Politics of Environmental ProductionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009ERIK SWYNGEDOUW Abstract In recent years, urban research has become increasingly concerned with the social, political and economic implications of the techno-political and socio-scientific consensus that the present unsustainable and unjust environmental conditions require a transformation of the way urban life is organized. In the article, I shall argue that the present consensual vision of the urban environment presenting a clear and present danger annuls the properly political moment and contributes to what a number of authors have defined as the emergence and consolidation of a postpolitical and postdemocratic condition. This will be the key theme developed in this contribution. First, I shall attempt to theorize and re-centre the political as a pivotal moment in urban political-ecological processes. Second, I shall argue that the particular staging of the environmental problem and its modes of management signals and helps to consolidate a postpolitical condition, one that evacuates the properly political from the plane of immanence that underpins any political intervention. The consolidation of an urban postpolitical condition runs, so I argue, parallel to the formation of a postdemocratic arrangement that has replaced debate, disagreement and dissensus with a series of technologies of governing that fuse around consensus, agreement, accountancy metrics and technocratic environmental management. In the third part, I maintain that this postpolitical consensual police order revolves decidedly around embracing a populist gesture. However, the disappearance of the political in a postpolitical arrangement leaves all manner of traces that allow for the resurfacing of the properly political. This will be the theme of the final section. I shall conclude that re-centring the political is a necessary condition for tackling questions of urban environmental justice and for creating egalibertarian socio-ecological urban assemblages. Résumé Récemment, la recherche urbaine a montré un intérêt croissant pour les implications sociales, politiques et économiques du consensus techno-politique et socio-scientifique selon lequel les conditions environnementales actuelles, non viables et injustes, exigent que soit transformé le mode d'organisation de la vie urbaine. Or, cette perspective consensuelle de l'environnement urbain soumis à un danger manifeste et réel annihile le moment véritablement politique et contribue à ce que de nombreux auteurs ont défini comme l'apparition et la consolidation d'une situation post-politique et post-démocratique. Traitant ce thème essentiel, l'article tente d'abord de conceptualiser et de recentrer le politique en tant que moment critique dans les processus politico-écologiques urbains. Ensuite, il montrera que la mise en scène particulière du problème environnemental et de ses modes de gestion indique, et aide à consolider, un état post-politique, dans lequel le véritablement politique est évacué du plan de l'immanence sous-jacent à toute intervention politique. La consolidation d'une situation post-politique urbaine se fait en parallèle à la formation d'un dispositif post-démocratique qui a remplacé débat, désaccord et dissension par une panoplie de technologies gouvernementales gravitant autour de mesures de consensus, d'accord et de responsabilité, associées à une gestion technocratique de l'environnement. Une troisième partie soutient que cet ordre policé consensuel post-politique se rapproche nettement du geste populiste. Toutefois, la disparition du politique d'un dispositif post-politique laisse toutes sortes de traces permettant la réémergence du véritablement politique. Cet aspect est au c,ur de la dernière partie. Pour conclure, le recentrage du politique est un préalable au traitement des questions de justice en matière d'environnement urbain et à la création d'assemblages urbains socio-écologiques d'égaliberté. [source] Evaluating effectiveness of preoperative testing procedure: some notes on modelling strategies in multi-centre surveysJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Dario Gregori PhD Abstract Rationale, In technology assessment in health-related fields the construction of a model for interpreting the economic implications of the introduction of a technology is only a part of the problem. The most important part is often the formulation of a model that can be used for selecting patients to submit to the new cost-saving procedure or medical strategy. The model is usually complicated by the fact that data are often non-homogeneous with respect to some uncontrolled variables and are correlated. The most typical example is the so-called hospital effect in multi-centre studies. Aims and objectives, We show the implications derived by different choices in modelling strategies when evaluating the usefulness of preoperative chest radiography, an exam performed before surgery, usually with the aim to detect unsuspected abnormalities that could influence the anaesthetic management and/or surgical plan. Method, We analyze the data from a multi-centre study including more than 7000 patients. We use about 6000 patients to fit regression models using both a population averaged and a subject-specific approach. We explore the limitations of these models when used for predictive purposes using a validation set of more than 1000 patients. Results, We show the importance of taking into account the heterogeneity among observations and the correlation structure of the data and propose an approach for integrating a population-averaged and subject specific approach into a single modeling strategy. We find that the hospital represents an important variable causing heterogeneity that influences the probability of a useful POCR. Conclusions, We find that starting with a marginal model, evaluating the shrinkage effect and eventually move to a more detailed model for the heterogeneity is preferable. This kind of flexible approach seems to be more informative at various phases of the model-building strategy. [source] Work Choices of Mothers in Families with Children with DisabilitiesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2002Shirley L. Porterfield This study used a sample of single and married mothers with children under the age of 20 drawn from the 1992 and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine one facet of the economic implications a child with disabilities brings to a family. Specifically, the choice of women with children to work full time, part time, or not at all was estimated as a function of individual and family characteristics, including the number and ages of children with disabilities. The presence of young children, with or without disabilities, has a significant negative influence on the work choice of both single and married mothers. However, once children enter elementary school, single mothers with disabled or nondisabled children and married mothers with nondisabled children are significantly more likely to enter the labor market or increase their labor market hours than are married mothers of school-age children with disabilities. [source] Preventable but not prevented: the reality of cervical cancer,JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY RESEARCH (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2003Usha B. Saraiya Abstract Introduction: The incidence of invasive cervical cancer has decreased in the last 50 years in the developed countries substantially due to the use of routine pap smears. However, in the Asia,Oceanic region it continues to be high as screening programs are not established. Credit for starting cytology services in India goes to Professor P.N. Wahi of Agra. He became Founder President when about 34 cytologists got together in 1970 to form the Indian Academy of Cytologists. Since then cytology has spread through all parts of India. The Cytology Clinic in Cama & Albless Hospital was started in the same year. Since then over 100 000 women have been screened. Approximately 1200 cases of pre- and early cancers have been detected and treated. Since 1982 we are aware of the important role of human papillomavirus infection. We diagnose it by cytology and colposcopy and histology. Facilities for polymerase chain reaction, in-situ hybridization and other virology studies are not available to us. CO2 laser treatment is found particularly useful in multicentric human papillomavirus disease. Screening for the State of Maharashtra: Since 1984 we have planned for a screening program for our State. We have a population of 78.9 million. Approximately 15 million women in the age group of 35,64 years have to be screened. The health care infrastructure is good with 36 medical colleges and over 35 district hospitals. Screening is planned in phases. Trained personnel are the key to a successful program. In the final analysis, cervical cancer is not just a biomedical disease. It has socio-cultural and economic implications. [source] A simulation-optimization framework for research and development pipeline managementAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 10 2001Dharmashankar Subramanian The Research and Development Pipeline management problem has far-reaching economic implications for new-product-development-driven industries, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrochemical industries. Effective decision-making is required with respect to portfolio selection and project task scheduling in the face of significant uncertainty and an ever-constrained resource pool. The here-and-now stochastic optimization problem inherent to the management of an R&D Pipeline is described in its most general form, as well as a computing architecture, Sim-Opt, that combines mathematical programming and discrete event system simulation to assess the uncertainty and control the risk present in the pipeline. The R&D Pipeline management problem is viewed in Sim-Opt as the control problem of a performance-oriented, resource-constrained, stochastic, discrete-event, dynamic system. The concept of time lines is used to study multiple unique realizations of the controlled evolution of the discrete-event pipeline system. Four approaches using various degrees of rigor were investigated for the optimization module in Sim-Opt, and their relative performance is explored through an industrially motivated case study. Methods are presented to efficiently integrate information across the time lines from this framework. This integration of information demonstrated in a case study was used to infer a creative operational policy for the corresponding here-and-now stochastic optimization problem. [source] Impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on New Business Start-Ups and Economic Growth in Local Markets,JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2009Nada Kobeissi Economic growth in the United States has historically bypassed many minorities and low-income communities. Some researchers and community advocates assert that the deterioration of these communities is in part caused by financial institutions' redlining and neglect. To rectify the situation, the government introduced the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for the purpose of encouraging banks and saving institutions to become more socially responsible and help meet the credit needs of communities in which they are located. The CRA was the government's response to bank lending discrimination. However, when passing the Act, Congress was equally concerned with reversing or at least halting disinvestment from inner-city communities and in turn revitalizing local economies. Many believe that the availability of credit to establish, refinance, and improve small businesses is critical to the well-being of local communities. Therefore, through the provision of small business loans, the CRA could be envisioned as a catalyst toward achieving that goal. Thus the aim of this paper is to investigate potential relationship between banks' CRA lending activities, and new business start-ups and economic growth in local markets. The paper proposes that new start-ups will have spillover effects that will consequently contribute to community development. After controlling for several potential variables that could have an impact on business start-ups and community developments, the study found a strong positive effect. Beside its social and economic implications, the study also considered policy implications associated with the CRA regulation as a welfare improving initiative in low-income communities. It offers ground for certain government intervention in the loan market. [source] The economics of coeliac disease: a population-based studyALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 2 2010K. H. Long Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 261,269 Summary Background, Despite increasing prevalence, the economic implications of coeliac disease are just emerging. Aims, To assess the impact of coeliac disease diagnosis on healthcare costs and the incremental costs associated with coeliac disease. Methods, Administrative data for a population-based cohort of coeliac disease cases and matched controls from Olmsted County, Minnesota were used to compare (i) direct medical costs 1 year pre- and post-coeliac disease diagnosis for 133 index cases and (ii) 4-year cumulative direct medical costs incurred by 153 index cases vs. 153 controls. Analyses exclude diagnostic-related and out-patient pharmaceutical costs. Results, Average total costs were reduced by $1764 in the year following diagnosis (pre-diagnosis cost of $5023 vs. $3259; 95% CI of difference: $688 to $2993). Over a 4-year period, coeliac disease cases experienced higher out-patient costs (mean difference of $1457; P = 0.016) and higher total costs than controls (mean difference of $3964; P = 0.053). Excess average total costs were concentrated among males with coeliac disease ($14 191 vs. $4019 for male controls; 95% CI of difference: $2334 to $20 309). Conclusions, Coeliac disease-associated costs indicate a significant economic burden of disease, particularly for diseased males. Diagnosis and treatment of coeliac disease reduce medical costs of care suggesting an economic advantage to earlier detection and treatment. [source] Climate Policy Beyond Kyoto: Quo Vadis?KYKLOS INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2005A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis Based on Expert Judgments Summary We investigate the possible future of Post-Kyoto climate policies until 2020. Based on a cross-impact analysis, we first evaluate an expert poll to identify the most likely Post-Kyoto climate policy scenarios. We then use a computable general equilibrium model to assess the economic implications of these scenarios. We find that Post-Kyoto agreements will include only small reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, with abatement duties predominantly assigned to the industrialized countries, while developing countries remain uncommitted, but can sell emission abatement to the industrialized world. Equity rules to allocate abatement duties are mainly based on sovereignty or ability-to-pay. Global adjustment costs to Post-Kyoto policies are very moderate, but regional costs to fuel exporting countries can be substantial because of distinct terms-of-trade effects on fossil fuel markets. [source] Lack of symptom benefit following presumptive Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy in primary careALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 11 2001D. Williams Background: Helicobacter pylori eradication regimens have failure rates under 10%, however little information is available on the effect of treatment success in reducing the subsequent prescription of anti-ulcer medications in primary care. Aims: To determine, using a large prescription database in eastern Ireland, the success of presumptive eradication therapy in improving symptoms of dyspepsia in primary care, as judged by a reduction in the subsequent prescription of anti-ulcer medications. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we identified 3847 patients who received a prescription for eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori, including 826 who were followed for 9,11 months. Those who subsequently received anti-ulcer medications were deemed failures to obtain symptom relief. Results: For 3847 patients with a median follow-up of 8 months, the failure rate was 49%. Of 826 patients, followed for a longer period (9,11 months), the overall failure rate was 56% (range 44,62% depending on the eradication regimen used). Age over 65 years (hazard ratio=1.57, 95% confidence interval= 1.29,1.91, P < 0.001), prior use of anti-ulcer medications (hazard ratio=1.97, 95% confidence interval=1.63,2.37, P < 0.001) and prior use of aspirin/NSAIDs (hazard ratio=1.43, 95% confidence interval=1.18,1.73, P < 0.001) all predicted failure to obtain relief of symptoms of dyspepsia from eradication therapy. Conclusions: Such high failure rates of eradication therapy in reducing the subsequent consumption of anti-ulcer medications have both clinical and economic implications for the use of eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori in primary care. [source] Enabling technologies to improve area-wide integrated pest management programmes for the control of screwwormsMEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 2009A. S. ROBINSON Abstract The economic devastation caused in the past by the New World screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to the livestock industry in the U.S.A., Mexico and the rest of Central America was staggering. The eradication of this major livestock pest from North and Central America using the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme was a phenomenal technical and managerial accomplishment with enormous economic implications. The area is maintained screwworm-free by the weekly release of 40 million sterile flies in the Darien Gap in Panama, which prevents migration from screwworm-infested areas in Columbia. However, the species is still a major pest in many areas of the Caribbean and South America and there is considerable interest in extending the eradication programme to these countries. Understanding New World screwworm fly populations in the Caribbean and South America, which represent a continuous threat to the screwworm-free areas of Central America and the U.S.A., is a prerequisite to any future eradication campaigns. The Old World screwworm fly Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae) has a very wide distribution ranging from Southern Africa to Papua New Guinea and, although its economic importance is assumed to be less than that of its New World counterpart, it is a serious pest in extensive livestock production and a constant threat to pest-free areas such as Australia. In the 1980s repeated introductions and an expansion of Old World screwworm populations were reported in the Middle East; in the 1990s it invaded Iraq and since late 2007 it has been reported in Yemen, where a severe outbreak of myiasis occurred in 2008. Small-scale field trials have shown the potential of integrating the SIT in the control of this pest and various international organizations are considering using the release of sterile insects as part of an AW-IPM approach on a much wider scale. Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a screwworm of temperate regions, which, although of limited agricultural importance, has invaded several new locations in the past few years. This special issue reports on the results of a 6-year project funded by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/International Atomic Energy Agency (FAO/IAEA) Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture entitled ,Enabling Technologies for the Expansion of the SIT for Old and New World Screwworm'. A major goal of the project was to better understand population genetic variation in screwworms as an aid to the identification of isolated populations. The project also addressed issues related to genetic sexing, cuticular hydrocarbons, population dynamics, genetic transformation and chromosome analysis. [source] Administration regimens for sublingual immunotherapy to pollen allergens: What do we know?ALLERGY, Issue 6 2009C. Lombardi The modalities of administration of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), including dosing, build-up phase, duration of the treatment, and frequency of the maintenance dose are largely variable. In the case of pollen (SLIT), the complexity increases, since preseasonal, coseasonal and pre-coseasonal regimens can be used. The administration regimens are of relevance from a practical point of view, but can also have economic implications. We review herein the available literature (randomized double blind controlled studies) on pollen SLIT, in order to derive experimentally-supported suggestions about the regimens of administration that should be preferred. [source] Blast-related mild traumatic brain injury: mechanisms of injury and impact on clinical careMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2009Gregory A. Elder MD Abstract Mild traumatic brain injury has been called the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In both theaters of operation, traumatic brain injury has been a significant cause of mortality and morbidity, with blast-related injury the most common cause. Improvised explosive devices have been the major cause of blast injuries. It is estimated that 10% to 20% of veterans returning from these operations have suffered a traumatic brain injury, and there is concern that blast-related injury may produce adverse long-term health affects and affect the resilience and in-theater performance of troops. Blast-related injury occurs through several mechanisms related to the nature of the blast overpressure wave itself as well as secondary and tertiary injuries. Animal studies clearly show that blast overpressure waves are transmitted to the brain and can cause changes that neuropathologically are most similar to diffuse axonal injury. One striking feature of the mild traumatic brain injury cases being seen in veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the high association of mild traumatic brain injury with posttraumatic stress disorder. The overlap in symptoms between the disorders has made distinguishing them clinically challenging. The high rates of mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in the current operations are of significant concern for the long-term health of US veterans with associated economic implications. Mt Sinai J Med 76:111,118, 2009. © 2009 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] Resource use and costs in a Swedish cohort of patients with Parkinson's diseaseMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 6 2002Peter Hagell RN Abstract We estimated resource use and costs in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), thereby providing baseline data for future economic evaluations of therapeutic interventions. Data were collected from medical records of a South Swedish cohort of 127 PD patients during 1 year (1996) and a mailed questionnaire inquiring about cost-related consequences and resource use in 1996 and in 2000. Annual costs were calculated based on prevalence and expressed in SEK (monetary value of the year 2000). Direct health care costs averaged approximately SEK 29,000 (,USD 2,900; EUR 3,200) per patient per year, of which drugs were the most costly component. Nonmedical direct costs were higher than direct health care costs, averaging approximately SEK 43,000 (,USD 4,300; EUR 4,800) per patient per year, and costs due to lost production were approximately SEK 52,000 (,USD 5,200; EUR 5,800) per patient per year. The mean total annual cost for PD in our sample approximated SEK 124,000 (,USD 12,400; EUR 13,800) per patient. These findings are roughly within the same range as estimates from other countries and show that PD causes a considerable societal burden. In addition to other outcomes, evaluations of the economic implications of new therapeutic interventions are highly warranted. In this perspective, the present study provides valuable baseline data. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society [source] FISH, FISHERS, SEALS AND TOURISTS: ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CREATING A MARINE RESERVE IN A MULTI-SPECIES, MULTI-ACTIVITY CONTEXTNATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 4 2002JEAN BONCOEUR ABSTRACT. This paper investigates some economic consequences of creating a marine reserve on both fishing and ecotourism, when the range of controllability of fishing effort is limited and the impact of the reserve on ecosystem is considered. The issue is illustrated by the example of creating a no-take zone in part of a region where fishing is managed through a limited entry license system, and which is inhabited by two interacting stocks: a stock of prey (fish) and a stock of predators (seals). While the former is targeted by commercial fishing, the latter is not subject to harvest but is a potential basis for a commercial non-extractive activity (seal watching). Analysis is conducted with the help of a bioeconomic model combining the features of marine reserve modeling and of multispecies modeling. Following a description of the model, results of several simulation runs are presented. These show that creating a marine reserve has more complex economic implications than predicted in studies focused exclusively on one stock and/or commercial fisheries. More specifically, the model shows that the dynamics of the two interacting stocks reduces the benefits of the no-take zone for the fishing industry, while it makes the creation of this zone provide an opportunity for the development of ecotourism. Due to this dynamics, the model suggests that the optimal size of the reserve is larger when ecotourism is taken into account along with fishing activities. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||