442 research outputs found
Interleukin-6 and airflow limitation in chemical warfare patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
No full textObjectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the main late complications
of sulfur mustard poisoning. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of interleukin
(IL)-6 in war veterans with pulmonary complications of sulfur mustard poisoning and their correlation
with severity of airways disease.
Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with sulfur mustard poisoning and stable COPD, and of mean
age 46.3 ± 9.18 years were enrolled in this study. Thirty healthy men were selected as controls
and matched to cases by age and body mass index. Spirometry, arterial blood gas, six-minute
walk test, BODE (body mass index, obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity), and St George’s
Respiratory Questionnaire about quality of life were evaluated. Serum IL-6 was measured in
both patient and control groups.
Results: Fifty-four percent of patients had moderate COPD. Mean serum IL-6 levels were
15.01 ± standard deviation (SD) 0.61 pg/dL and 4.59 ± 3.40 pg/dL in the case and control groups,
respectively (P = 0.03). There was a significant correlation between IL-6 levels and Global
Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage (r = 0.25, P = 0.04) and between IL-6
and BODE index (r = 0.38, P = 0.01). There was also a significant negative correlation between
serum IL-6 and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1, r = −0.36, P = 0.016).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that serum IL-6 is increased in patients with sulfur mustard
poisoning and COPD, and may have a direct association with airflow limitation
How Do Labor Markets Affect Crime? New Evidence on an Old Puzzle
No full textFor nearly 50 years academics have been studying how labor markets affect crime. The initial interesting and important theoretical and empirical work generated substantial interest in studying crime among economists, in particular, and scholars in the social sciences more broadly. This literature, which is decades old and contains hundreds of papers, is characterized by an intriguing puzzle – the large gap between the theory and empirical work. While the hypothesis that growing labor markets reduce crime seems obvious and is widely accepted by many policy makers and academics, empirical results fail to show consistent evidence in support of this theory. The primary contribution of this chapter is to document how recent research – primarily since the late 1990s – makes substantial progress in resolving this disconnect between the theory and empirics. To accomplish this goal, I discuss a few very important empirical problems that until the last 10 years have not been systematically addressed. The central conclusion of this chapter is that recent research that addresses these important questions consistently provides evidence to buttress the contention that labor market opportunities have important effects on crime, especially property crime.wages, unemployment, labor markets, crime
Flurtamone for Wild Mustard (<i>Sinapis arvensis</i>) Control in Canola (<i>Brassica napus</i>and<i>B. campestris</i>)
No full textThe tolerance of canola to soil applied flurtamone was investigated in greenhouse and field studies. In the greenhouse, the dosage of flurtamone required to reduce canola fresh weight by 50% was 7.1- to 8.4- and 4.4- to 6.1-fold higher forB. napusandB. campestriscultivars, respectively, than that required to reduced wild mustard fresh weight by 50%.B. campestriscultivars tended to be more sensitive to flurtamone thanB. napuscultivars. In the field, flurtamone applied at 0.4 to 0.5 kg ai ha-1controlled 80% of wild mustard in canola (B. napuscv. ‘Westar’). In 1991 canola plant densities were reduced by increasing rate of flurtamone, but seed yields were unaffected by rate of application in either year.</jats:p
Quantification of yield gaps in rain-fed rice, wheat, cotton and mustard in India
No full textRainfed farming / Crop yield / Simulation / Rice / Wheat / Cotton / Mustard / India
The Effectiveness of Insurance Fraud Statutues: Evidence from Automobile Insurance
No full textInsurance fraud, which adds an estimated $85 billion per year to the total insurance bill in the U.S., is an extremely serious problem for consumers, regulators, and insurance companies. This paper analyzes the effects of state legislation and market conditions on automobile insurance fraud from 1988 to 1999, a period representing a substantial increase in the enactment of antifraud legislation. Our empirical results show that the laws have mixed effects; two laws have no statistically significant effect on fraud. The strongest evidence of fraud mitigation effects are associated with mandatory Special Investigation Units, classification of insurance fraud as a felony, and mandatory reporting of professionals to licensing authorities. However, laws requiring insurers to report potentially fraudulent claims to law enforcement authorities increase fraud, which may reflect some substitution from more efficacious private efforts to less productive state activity. Many underlying characteristics of the market also affect fraud.Insurance Fraud, Automobile Insurance, Moral Hazard
Connecting Casinos and Crime: More Corrections of Walker
No full textThis is a second reply to Professor Walker that corrects additional errors by him. In his present commentary, Professor Walker again provides no new data or research, articulates comments that are already resolved through a careful reading of “Casinos, Crime, and Community Costs†(Grinols and Mustard, 2006) and declines to respond to the failings that we raised about his earlier critique. The reader is encouraged to read our original paper.casinos,crime,social costs
Business Profitability and Social Profitability: Evaluating Industries with Externalities, The Case Casinos.
No full textCasino gambling is a social issue, because in addition to the direct benefits to those who own and use casinos, positive and negative externalities are reaped and borne by those who do not gamble. To correctly assess the total economic impact of casinos, one must distinguish between business profitability and social profitability. This paper provides the most comprehensive framework for addressing the theoretical cost–benefit issues of casinos by grounding cost–benefit analysis on household utility. It also discusses the current state of knowledge about the estimates of both the positive and negative externalities generated by casinos. Lastly, it corrects many prevalent errors in the debate over the economics of casino gambling.casino, crime, gambling, social costs, externality
Non-cognitive Skills and the Gender Disparities in Test Scores and Teacher Assessments: Evidence from Primary School
No full textWe extend the analysis of early-emerging gender differences in academic achievement to include both (objective) test scores and (subjective) teacher assessments. Using data from the 1998-99 ECLS-K cohort, we show that the grades awarded by teachers are not aligned with test scores, with the disparities in grading exceeding those in testing outcomes and uniformly favoring girls, and that the misalignment of grades and test scores can be linked to gender differences in non-cognitive development. Girls in every racial category outperform boys on reading tests and the differences are statistically significant in every case except for black fifth-graders. Boys score at least as well on math and science tests as girls, with the strongest evidence of a gender gap appearing among whites. However, boys in all racial categories across all subject areas are not represented in grade distributions where their test scores would predict. Even those boys who perform equally as well as girls on reading, math and science tests are nevertheless graded less favorably by their teachers, but this less favorable treatment essentially vanishes when non-cognitive skills are taken into account. White boys who perform on par with white girls on these subject-area tests and exhibit the same non-cognitive skill level are graded similarly. For some specifications there is evidence of a grade "bonus" for white boys with test scores and behavior like their girl counterparts. While the evidence is a little weaker for blacks and Hispanics, the message is essentially the same.gender differences, test scores, grades, educational attainment
Release of sulfur mustard-modified DNA bases by Escherichia coli 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase II
No full textThe toxic effects of sulfur mustard have been attributed to DNA modification with the formation of 7-hydroxyethylthioethyl guanine, 3-hydroxyethylthioethyl adenine and the cross-link, di-(2-guanin-7-yl-ethyl)sulfide. To investigate the action of bacterial 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase II (Gly II) on these adducts, calf thymus DNA was modified with [14C]sulfur mustard and used as a substrate for Gly II. Gly II releases both 3-hydroxyethylthioethyl adenine and 7-hydroxyethylthioethyl guanine from this substrate. In comparison with the activity of Gly II towards methylated DNA, 3-hydroxyethylthioethyl adenine is released somewhat more slowly than 3-methyladenine, while 7-hydroxyethylthioethyl guanine is released much more readily than 7-methylguanine. Glycosylase action may play a role in protecting cells from the toxic effects of sulfur mustard
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