Analysing Risk Preferences and Time Preferences with respect to Smoking Status and Smoking Intensity

Smoking is a leading cause of death worldwide, and thus the behavioural components need to be understood to mitigate the damage caused by the practice. The relationship between smoking and factors such as risk preferences and time preferences has been the subject of a growing body of literature. This paper evaluates experimental data from smokers and nonsmokers at the University of Cape Town collected in 2016 and 2017. Maximum likelihood estimation is used to estimate models of risk preferences and time preferences. The results highlight that smokers are less risk averse than non-smokers; that smokers discount more heavily than non-smokers; that greater smoking intensity is correlated with lower risk aversion; and that greater smoking intensity is not related to discounting behaviour. In some specifications the relationship between smoking intensity and risk aversion is parabolic, and as such moderate smokers are less risk averse than heavy smokers and light smokers. In conclusion, smokers tend to discount more heavily than non-smokers, and lower smoking intensity is associated with greater risk aversion than higher smoking intensity

A radio frequency power oscillator and impedance matching device.

Certain molecules, called “globular” molecules, when first solidified form what are called “plastic” crystals. They are called “globular” either because they may exhibit an approximate spherical symmetry about their center of structure or because they may be small enough or of such a shape as to appear spherically symmetric because of rotation. The first case might be exemplified by methane (CH4) which has the configuration of a regular tetrahedron. The second case might be exemplified by hydrogen chloride (HCL)

A cephalometric study of vervet monkeys with induced hypothyroidism.

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Dentistry.Growth and development of the skull is influenced by metabolic factors such as the endocrinopathies. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of induced hypothyroidism on growth and development of the skull of the Vervet monkey. Seven infant monkeys of the subspecies Ceraop-ithecus aethiops cloetei were selected as the experimental animals in this study. Two of the seven monkeys were used as the control group, the remaining five monkeys were given radio-active iodine to depress their thyroid activity. Cephalometric records were taken of the animals for a period of approximately one year, at the end of which time they were sacrificed. At the age of 15 months the radiographs of the hypothyroidic monkeys, when compared to those of the control group, exhibit marked differences in cranial form. However, the most marked changes are seen in the cranial vaults of the experimental animals. Some of the findings are examined in the light of a number of theories which have been proposed for the control of the growth and development of the skull.WHSLYP201

Evaluation of novel therapeutics for HIV prevention and treatment in a humanized mouse model

2011 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.In the absence of an effective HIV-1 vaccine finding alternative therapeutics and preventative methods has become essential. In this regard preventative approaches such as pre-exposure chemo-prophylaxis that employ either topical applied microbicides or systemically administered anti-retroviral drugs show great promise. In these studies, we evaluated two new classes of clinically approved drugs with different modes of action namely, an integrase inhibitor raltegravir and a CCR5 inhibitor maraviroc as potential systemically and topically applied pre-exposure chemo-prophylaxis. Additionally, therapeutic strategies designed to combat HIV/AIDS using siRNAs show considerable promise. However, targeted delivery of these synthetic molecules into infected cells in vivo has been a formidable challenge. In addressing this need we sought to evaluate the efficacy of a chimeric construct consisting of an HIV-1 gp120 specific aptamer with viral neutralization capacity fused to a siRNA with proven efficacy against tat/rev viral transcripts. We also sought to evaluate the efficacy of structurally flexible, cationic PAMAM dendrimers as a siRNA delivery system. For these novel therapeutic strategies to succeed it is important to evaluate them in both in vitro and in vivo. The rhesus macaque has been a valuable research tool for comparative HIV-1 studies. However, aspects of this model render its usefulness limited considering its expensive nature and not utilizing HIV-1 itself. In this regard the recently developed humanized mouse model that permits multi-lineage human hematopoiesis is an excellent alternative to the non human primate model. To generate humanized mice, neonatal Rag2-/-yc-/- or Rag1-/-yc-/- mice were xenografted with human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells, resulting in a model that can permit HIV-1 infection. Upon infection by HIV-1 chronic viremia develops with a subsequent loss of CD4 T cells. These mice also successfully mimic the predominant mode of HIV-1 transmission via the sexual vaginal route which also results in chronic viremia and helper T cell loss. Thus this small animal model permits the rapid preclinical evaluation of potential candidates for pre-exposure prophylactic (PrEP) efficacy as well as novel RNA-based therapeutics. Here we utilize these humanized mouse models to evaluate the PrEP efficacies of the drugs named above as well as the in vivo efficacy of siRNAs delivered by utilizing a chimeric aptamer construct or a PAMAM dendrimer. Our results showed that both of these approaches using either a chimeric aptamer or a PAMAM dendrimer resulted in suppression of viral loads in vivo and most importantly also resulted in protection from T-cell depletion, making these compounds attractive therapeutic candidates for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Lastly, using the same humanized mouse model we also successfully tested a gene therapy strategy employing lentiviral vectors having RNA-based anti-HIV-1 constructs convey intracellular immunization against HIV-1 in vivo

The Reliability of various diagnostic tests and the efficiency of certain therapeutic measures in control of mastitis

Includes bibliographical references (pages 23-26)

Consumption inequality and income uncertainty

This paper places the debate over using consumption or income in studies of inequality growth in a formal intertemporal setting. It highlights the importance of permanent and transitory income uncertainty in the evaluation of growth in consumption inequality. We derive conditions under which the growth of variances and covariances of income and consumption can be used to separately identify the growth in the variance of permanent and transitory income shocks. Household data from Britain for the period 1968-1992 are used to show a strong growth in transitory inequality toward the end of this period, while younger cohorts are shown to face significantly higher levels of permanent inequality

Influence of environmental temperature cycles on vitamin levels of milk and blood of cows

This bulletin reports on Department of Dairy Husbandry Research Project 246, Ruminant Bacteriology--P. [2].Digitized 2007 AES.Includes bibliographical references (pages 25-28)

Five-Year Study of Geocarpon minimum at Warren Prairie Natural Area Bradley County, Arkansas

Geocarpon minimum, listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as threatened, was monitored at Warren Prairie Natural Area, Bradley County, Arkansas, 1986-90. Selected environmental variables were compared with Geocarpon productivity plot by plot. Principal components (PC) analysis generated two eigenvectors that jointly accounted for 30% of the variation among plots. PC-l describes an exposure gradient; high-productivity plots had less litter and grass cover, more cryptogamic lip, and more iron nodules lying on the surface than most other plots. PC-II was more useful for separating highly productive plots from all other plots; the highly productive plots lay in close proximity to slicks and remote from low spots where shallow water stands after a rain. Geocarpon productivity at Warren Prairie Natural Area peaked in 1987 and has declined steeply and steadily in the following years. Recommendations for further study are offere