Optimal Policies for Sin Goods and Health Care: Tax or Subsidy?

In this paper we examine the optimal policies for sin goods and health care in a two-period economy. Individuals are myopic in the sense that they undervalue the utilities of future consumption and health quality. When investing in health care in the second period, individuals who have previously made myopic decisions may persist in their shortsighted consumption plans (persistent error) or recognize their mistakes (dual self). We show that, for persistent-error myopes, the first-best policy mix requires a subsidy on savings and a tax on sin goods. The health care should be taxed (subsidized) if the degree of myopia concerning future consumption is larger (smaller) than that concerning health quality. For dual-self myopes, the optimal policy for sin goods can be either a tax or a subsidy, depending on the relative degrees of myopia and the property of the health quality function

Optimal Policies for Sin Goods and Health Care: Tax or Subsidy?

In this paper we examine the optimal policies for sin goods and health care in a two-period economy. Individuals are myopic in the sense that they undervalue the utilities of future consumption and health quality. When investing in health care in the second period, individuals who have previously made myopic decisions may persist in their shortsighted consumption plans (persistent error) or recognize their mistakes (dual self). We show that, for persistent-error myopes, the first-best policy mix requires a subsidy on savings and a tax on sin goods. The health care should be taxed (subsidized) if the degree of myopia concerning future consumption is larger (smaller) than that concerning health quality. For dual-self myopes, the optimal policy for sin goods can be either a tax or a subsidy, depending on the relative degrees of myopia and the property of the health quality function

Tax Havens, Growth, and Welfare

This paper develops an endogenous growth model featuring tax havens, and uses it to examine how the existence of tax havens affects the economic growth rate and social welfare in high-tax countries. We show that the presence of tax havens generates two conflicting channels in determining the growth effect. First, the public investment effect states that tax havens may erode tax revenues and in turn decrease the government’s infrastructure expenditure, thereby reducing growth. Second, the tax planning effect of tax havens reduces marginal cost of capital and hence encourages capital accumulation so as to spur economic growth. The overall growth effect is ambiguous and is determined by the extent of these two effects. The welfare analysis shows that tax havens are more likely to be welfare-enhancing if the government expenditure share in production is low, or the initial income tax rate is high. Moreover, the welfare-maximizing income tax rate is lower than the growth-maximizing income tax rate if tax havens are present

Extensive Reading with Guidance

A language learning mode called “word-focused extensive reading” has been proposed to facilitate word-usage learning. The user inputs a word in the computer program designed and implemented for reading to find its usage in the context of a sentence. The computer program then searches for the knowledge base for the word and provides guidance to show a summary of the salient features of word collocation. Sentences with the word in question are displayed one at a time. For each sentence the relevant collocating words are highlighted. In this way the reader sees the word collocation so as to recognize the salient features of the word and thus incrementally acquires the knowledge of word usage. The program works with large Chinese and English collections of texts. For Chinese the knowledge of word collocation was built on the basis of the Balanced Corpus of Academia Sinica. The English collocation features were collected from the British National Corpus. The program can also be useful for learning to differentiate near-synonyms

Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Leukocytes Contribute to Platelet Aggregative Dysfunction, Which is Attenuated by Catalase in Rats

Endotoxemia causes several hematological dysfunctions, including platelet degranulation or disseminated intravascular coagulation, which lead to thrombotic and hemorrhagic events. Here, we tested the hypothesis that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated leukocytes contribute to platelet aggregative dysfunction, and this function is attenuated by antioxidants. Plateletrich plasma (PRP) was prepared from whole blood of normal and endotoxemic rats. The ability of platelet aggregation was measured by an aggregometer. LPS (50–100 μg/mL) was incubated with PRP, whole blood and PRP with polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) for 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 90 minutes, and platelet aggregation was detected. LPS-induced platelet aggregative dysfunction was undetectable in intact PRP which was isolated from normal whole blood, whereas it was detected in PRP isolated from endotoxemic rats and LPS-treated whole blood. Moreover, the effect of LPS-induced platelet aggregative dysfunction on intact PRP was observed when the PMNs were added. LPS-induced platelet aggregative dysfunction was significantly attenuated by catalase alone and in combination with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, but not by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester alone. These results indicate that LPS-stimulated PMNs modulate platelet aggregation during LPS treatment and the effects are reversed by antioxidants. PMNs serve as an approach to understand LPS-induced platelet aggregative dysfunction during endotoxemia. During this process, the generation of reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide especially, from LPS-stimulated PMNs could be an important potential factor in LPS-induced platelet aggregative dysfunction. Catalase contributes to the prevention of platelet dysfunction during LPS-induced sepsis

Surface scattering mechanisms of tantalum nitride thin film resistor

In this letter, we utilize an electrical analysis method to develop a TaN thin film resistor with a stricter spec and near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) for car-used electronic applications. Simultaneously, we also propose a physical mechanism mode to explain the origin of near-zero TCR for the TaN thin film resistor (TFR). Through current fitting, the carrier conduction mechanism of the TaN TFR changes from hopping to surface scattering and finally to ohmic conduction for different TaN TFRs with different TaN microstructures. Experimental data of current–voltage measurement under successive increasing temperature confirm the conduction mechanism transition. A model of TaN grain boundary isolation ability is eventually proposed to influence the carrier transport in the TaN thin film resistor, which causes different current conduction mechanisms

Serum Bone Resorption Markers after Parathyroidectomy for Renal Hyperparathyroidism: Correlation Analyses for the Cross-Linked N-telopeptide of Collagen I and Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase

Patients on long-term dialysis may develop secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) with increased serum concentrations of bone resorption markers such as the cross-linked N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) and type-5b tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). When SHPT proves refractory to treatment, parathyroidectomy (PTX) may be needed. Renal patients on maintenance HD who received PTX for refractory SHPT (n=23) or who did not develop refractory SHPT (control subjects; n=25) were followed prospectively for 4 weeks. Serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), NTX, TRAP, and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) concentrations were measured serially and correlation analyses were performed. iPTH values decreased rapidly and dramatically. BAP values increased progressively with peak increases observed at 2 weeks after surgery. NTX and TRAP values decreased concurrently and progressively through 4 weeks following PTX. A significant correlation between TRAP and NTX values was observed before PTX but not at 4 weeks after PTX. Additionally, the fractional changes in serum TRAP were larger than those in serum NTX at all times examined after PTX. Serum iPTH, TRAP, and NTX values declined rapidly following PTX for SHPT. Serum TRAP values declined to greater degrees than serum NTX values throughout the 4-week period following PTX

The Role of Age in Predicting the Outcome of Caustic Ingestion in Adults: A Retrospective Analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the outcomes of caustic ingestion differ between children and adults, it is unclear whether such outcomes differ among adults as a function of their age. This retrospective study was performed to ascertain whether the clinical outcomes of caustic ingestion differ significantly between elderly and non-elderly adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical records of patients hospitalized for caustic ingestion between June 1999 and July 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Three hundred eighty nine patients between the ages of 17 and 107 years were divided into two groups: non-elderly (< 65 years) and elderly (≥ 65 years). Mucosal damage was graded using esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Parameters examined in this study included gender, intent of ingestion, substance ingested, systemic and gastrointestinal complications, psychological and systemic comorbidities, severity of mucosal injury, and time to expiration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The incidence of psychological comorbidities was higher for the non-elderly group. By contrast, the incidence of systemic comorbidities, the grade of severity of mucosal damage, and the incidence of systemic complications were higher for the elderly group. The percentages of ICU admissions and deaths in the ICU were higher and the cumulative survival rate was lower for the elderly group. Elderly subjects, those with systemic complications had the greatest mortality risk due to caustic ingestion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Caustic ingestion by subjects ≥65 years of age is associated with poorer clinical outcomes as compared to subjects < 65 years of age; elderly subjects with systemic complications have the poorest clinical outcomes. The severity of gastrointestinal tract injury appears to have no impact on the survival of elderly subjects.</p