Premium Estimation Inaccuracy and the Actuarial Performance of the US Crop Insurance Program

This article explores the impact of the likely levels of inaccuracy associated with two main types of premium estimation methods, under different sample sizes, on the actuarial performance of the US crop insurance program. The analyses are conducted under several plausible assumptions about the insurer versus the producers’ estimates for their actuarially fair premiums. Significant differences are found due to estimation method and sample size, with the currently used procedures resulting in the worse actuarial performance. Several conclusions and recommendations are provided that could markedly reduce the amount of public subsidies needed to keep this program solvent.Agricultural Subsidies, Crop Insurance Premium Estimation, Loss-Cost Procedures, Risk Management Agency, Financial Economics,

Potential for Tradable Water Allocation and Rights in Jordan

This paper estimates the costs of buying water use rights from farmers located in the Mafraq-Azraq basin in Jordan. Farmers’ water supply curve is estimated using data gathered from a contingent valuation survey. Estimation results indicate that a total supply of 29 million m3 could be periodically purchased from farmers at an annual price of approximately JD 0.23/m3 (1 JD ≈ 0.70 U.S. dollars), or a total cost of about JD 6.8 million per year.Contingent valuation, non-parametric estimation, water supply curve, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Can Crop Insurance Premiums Be Reliably Estimated?

This paper develops and applies a methodology to assess the accuracy of historical loss-cost rating procedures, similar to those used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), versus alternative parametric premium estimation methods. It finds that the accuracy of loss-cost procedures leaves much to be desired, but can be markedly improved through the use of alternative methods and increased farm-level yield sample sizes. Evidence suggests that the high degree of inaccuracy in crop insurance premium estimations through historical loss-cost procedures identified in the paper might be a major factor behind the need for substantial government subsidies to keep the program solvent.agricultural subsidies, crop insurance premium estimation, loss-cost procedures, Risk Management Agency, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE CARBON SINK SERVICES OF TROPICAL SECONDARY FORESTS AND ITS MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

This paper explores the economic feasibility secondary forest regeneration and conservation as an alternative to help address global warming. Detailed measurements of tropical secondary forests through time, in different ecological zones of Costa Rica, are used for estimating carbon storage models. The paper addresses key issues in the international discussion about cross- and within-country compensation for carbon storage services and illustrates a method to compute/predict their economic value through time under a variety of scenarios. The procedure is applicable to other developing countries where secondary forest growth is increasingly important.Tropical Forests, Carbon Sequestration, Global Warming, Activities Implemented Jointly., Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q23, Q25, Q28.,

Linear Growth Study of the Pharyngeal Cavity

A cephalometric study was made to determine average linear dimensions and growth differentials of the pharyngeal cavity in boys and girls 6 to 15 years of age. The length of the cavity and its nasal openings had a faster rate of growth in boys than in girls, especially during puberty. Oral opening and laryngeal inlet did not vary between sexes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66549/2/10.1177_00220345730520061401.pd

Anesthesia Options and the Recurrence of Cancer: What We Know so Far?

Surgery is a critical period in the survival of patients with cancer. While resective surgery of primary tumors has shown to prolong the life of these patients, it can also promote mechanisms associated with metastatic progression. During surgery, patients require general and sometimes local anesthetics that also modulate mechanisms that can favor or reduce metastasis. In this narrative review, we summarized the evidence about the impact of local, regional and general anesthesia on metastatic mechanisms and the survival of patients. The available evidence suggests that cancer recurrence is not significantly impacted by neither regional anesthesia nor volatile or total intravenous anesthesia

Optimization of autohydrolysis conditions to extract antioxidant phenolic compounds from spent coffee grounds

Autohydrolysis, which is an eco-friendly technology that employs only water as extraction solvent, was used to extract antioxidant phenolic compounds from spent coffee grounds (SCG). Experimental assays were carried out using different temperatures (160 to 200 °C), liquid/solid ratios (5 to 15 ml/g SCG) and extraction times (10 to 50 min) in order to determine the conditions that maximize the extraction results. The optimum conditions to produce extracts with high content of phenolic compounds (40.36 mg GAE/g SCG) and high antioxidant activity (FRAP = 69.50 mg Fe(II)/g SCG, DPPH = 28.15 mg TE/g SCG, ABTS = 31.46 mg TE/g SCG, and TAA = 66.21 mg -TOC/g SCG) consisted in using 15 ml water/g SCG, at 200 °C during 50 min. Apart from being a green technology, autohydrolysis under optimized conditions was demonstrated to be an efficient method to extract antioxidant phenolic compounds from SCG.This work was supported by the Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal (FCT - grant SFRH/BD/80948/2011); the Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013; and the Project “Bio-Ind -Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes”, REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 cofunded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 e O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Temperature management during cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy

In addition to attaining complete or near complete cytoreduction, the instillation of select heated chemotherapeutic agents into the abdominal cavity has offered a chance for cure or longer survival inpatients with peritoneal surface malignancies. While the heating of chemotherapeutic agents enhances cytotoxicity, the resulting systemic hyperthermia has been associated with an increased risk of severe hyperthermia and its associated complications. Factors that have been associated with an increased risk of severe hyperthermia include intraoperative blood transfusions and longer perfusion duration. However, the development of severe hyperthermia still remains largely unpredictable. Thus, at several institutions, cooling protocols are employed during cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC). Cooling protocols for CRS-HIPEC are not standardized and may be associated with episodes of severe hyperthermia or alternatively hypothermia. In theory, excessive cooling could result in a decreased effectiveness of the intraperitoneal chemotherapeutic agents. This presumption has been supported by a recent study of 214 adults undergoing CRS-HIPEC, where failure to attain a temperature of 38° C at the end of chemo-perfusion was associated with worse survival. Although not statistically significant, failure to maintain a temperature of 38° C for at least 30 minutes was associated with worse survival. Although studies are limited in this regard, the importance of maintaining a steady state of temperature during the hyperthermic phase of intraperitoneal chemotherapy administration cannot be disregarded. The following article describes the processes and physiological mechanisms responsible for hyperthermia during CRS-HIPEC. The challenges associated with temperature management during CRS-HIPEC and methods to avoid severe hypothermia and hyperthermia are also described