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Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	33%

Selected Abstracts

The Role of Political Instability in Stock Market Development and Economic Growth: The Case of Greece

ECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 3 2000
Dimitrios Asteriou
This article examines empirically the relationship between stock market development, political instability and economic growth in Greece. We measure socio-political instability by constructing an index which captures the occurrence of various phenomena of political violence using time-series data. The main advantages of analysing political instability in a case study framework using time-series, in contrast with the widely used cross-country empirical studies, are: (a) a more careful and in-depth examination of institutional and historical characteristics of a particular country; (b) the use of a data set comprised of the most appropriate and highest quality measures; and (c) a more detailed exposition of the dynamic evolution of the economy. The empirical results indicate the existence of a strong negative relationship between uncertain socio-political conditions and the general index of the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) and support the theoretical hypothesis that uncertain socio-political conditions affect economic growth negatively, is true for the Greek case. (J.E.L.: G10, G14, O40, C32) [source]

Recording dental caries in archaeological human remains

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
Simon Hillson
Abstract Dental caries is an important condition to record in archaeological collections, but the way in which recording is carried out has a large effect on the way in which the results can be interpreted. In living populations, dental caries is a disease that shows a strong relationship with age. Both the nature of carious lesions and their frequency change with successive age groups from childhood to elderly adulthood. There is also a progression in the particular teeth in the dentition which are most commonly affected and, in general, the molars and premolars are involved much more frequently than the canines and incisors. Lower teeth are usually affected more than upper, although the condition usually involves the right and left sides fairly equally. In the high tooth wear rate populations represented by many archaeological and museum collections, there is a complex relationship between the form of lesions and the state of wear, which adds yet another range of factors to the changing pattern of caries with increasing age. In the same populations, chipping, fracture and anomalous abrasion of teeth are also common, and these contribute similarly to the distribution and forms of carious lesion observed. Amongst the living, the pattern of ante-mortem tooth loss is important in understanding caries and, in archaeological material, there is also the complicating factor of post-mortem tooth loss. Finally, there is the question of diagnosis. There are diagnostic problems even in epidemiological studies of living patients and, for archaeological specimens, diagenetic change and the variable preservation of different parts of the dentition add further complications. For all these reasons, it is difficult to define any one general index of dental caries to represent the complete dentition of each individual, which would be universally suitable for studying a full range of collections from archaeological sites or museums. Variation in the nature of collections, their preservation, tooth wear, and ante-mortem and post-mortem tooth loss mean that when such a general index appears to differ between sites, there could be many other reasons for this, in addition to any genuine differences in caries incidence and pattern that might have been present. It is suggested here that the best approach is instead to make comparisons separately for each tooth type, age group, sex, lesion type and potential lesion site on the tooth. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Specificity and reliability of prognostic indexes in intensive care evaluation: the spontaneous cerebral haemorrhage case

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2009
Alberto Barbieri PhD MD
Abstract Objective, To determine the reliability of a generic index such as Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPSII), compared with a specific one Intra Cerebral Haemorrhage score (ICH score), as an intensive care unit (ICU) outcome predictor when evaluating a general facility that frequently treats a specific type of patients , those with spontaneous cerebral haemorrhage. Methods, The study cohort consisted of a random sample of patients (81) admitted to Modena's Policlinico Teaching Hospital's ICU with spontaneous ICH over a 24-month period. Main outcome measure, SAPSII, ICH score, overall mortality. Results, The mean ICH score for the 32 surviving patients was 3.41 ± 1.012 while for the 49 deceased patients was of 4.24 ± 0.855 (P = 0.000). The mean SAPSII value for the 32 surviving patients was 49.09 ± 16.58 while for the 49 deceased patients was 49.51 ± 15.93. SAPSII, ICH scores were analysed for mortality, by receiver operating characteristic curves: the area under the curve was significant for ICH, not-significant for SAPSII. Conclusions, Regional quality controls use generic prognostic indexes (SAPSII) in relation to mortality and outcome to assess ICUs, which is appropriate when dealing with a general facility when there is not a predominant type of patient, but it may bias the evaluation if the population with specific pathologies (ICH), not included in the general index, is statistically considerable, leading to an incorrect criticality assessment, an inappropriate strategic plan and the subsequent inefficient resource allocation. [source]

The Complexity of Trauma Types in the Lives of Women in Families Referred for Family Violence: Multiple Mediators of Mental Health

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2008
Victoria L. Banyard PhD
Responding to calls for further research about the impact of multiple types of trauma across the life span, this study examines the interconnections among types of trauma in childhood and adulthood in a convenience clinical sample of 283 women obtaining social services for family violence. In particular, variables including family of-origin dysfunction and other childhood risk factors, relationship victimization in adulthood, and the presence of adult resources were examined as mediators of links between child maltreatment and adult mental health symptoms. Variables were assessed at different time points, 3 years apart. Path analysis revealed that the conceptual model of multiple pathways between childhood family violence exposure and adult outcomes fit the data well. In particular, the link between child maltreatment and adult trauma symptoms was mediated by more proximal adult sexual and intimate partner violence and its association with childhood risk markers (e.g., negative family environment) and decreased markers of resources. This link was not significant for a more general index of mental health symptoms in adulthood. [source]

Optimal harvesting policies for a generalized Gordon,Schaefer model in randomly varying environment

APPLIED STOCHASTIC MODELS IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, Issue 1 2003
M. A. Shah
Abstract A non-linear stochastic model has been proposed and analized for fish harvesting. The model encompasses Gordon,Schaefer model and Pella,Tomlinson model that have been used in the study of extensive data on baleen whales, harp seals and Gulf of St. Lawrence cod. It has been established that the harvesting of those species is more profitable in terms of biomass for which data supports ,>2, as compared to that for which ,,2, where , is general index in the model: Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]