Essays on the Effects of Disability Insurance

Dr. Deshpande studies the effects of disability insurance receipt on the long-term outcomes of children and their families. She uses data from the Social Security Administration on children enrolled in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and their family members. In Chapter 1, she estimates the long-term effects of removing low-income youth with disabilities from SSI on the level and variance of their earnings and income in adulthood. Using a regression discontinuity design based on a change in the likelihood of removal at age 18, she finds that SSI youth who are removed earn on average $4,000 per year in adulthood and recover only one-third of their lost SSI payment. They experience a present discounted income loss of$73,000 over the 16 years following removal. In addition, the within-person variance of income quadruples as a result of removal. Under various assumptions, she finds that up to one-quarter of the recipient’s welfare loss from SSI removal is attributable to the increase in income volatility rather than to the fall in income levels. This result suggests that ignoring the income stabilization effects of disability programs could underestimate their value to recipients. Chapter 2 examines the effects of removing children from SSI before age 18, prior to the completion of education decisions, on their earnings in adulthood. Using variation in child medical reviews, she finds no evidence of a difference in earnings between SSI children who are removed at a young age versus those who stay on, though the estimates are imprecise. She provides suggestive evidence on the channels through which early-life removal affects adult outcomes by studying effects on younger siblings. Using the empirical strategy from Chapter 1, she finds that removing an 18-year-old decreases the adult earnings of younger siblings by $3,100 per year. In Chapter 3, Deshpande estimates the effects of removing young children with disabilities from SSI on parental earnings and household income, using the child medical review empirical strategy from Chapter 2. She finds that parents fully offset the SSI loss with increased earnings. The child’s removal also discourages parents and siblings from applying for disability insurance themselves

A CRITICAL REVIEW AND SIGNIFICANCE OF LIPID-BASED AYURVEDIC DOSAGE FORMS GHRITA AND TAILA: PART I-REVIEW AND STATUS

This review discusses in detail one of the oldest lipid-based dosage form, Sneha Kalpana as described in Ayurved, one of the ancient medical systems. Here the vital constituents of plants are extracted as assimilates in lipid forms, ghrit–the clarified butter or taila–the oil. These dosage forms are administered through different routes for specific therapeutic benefits varying from topical nourishment, anti-inflammatory activity, and healing of tissue systems or even to treat serious neuro-muscular or neurological conditions. This review highlights the basic concepts of Ayurved behind the drug delivery approach and provides details of different processes of preparation or manufacture. Lipid-based drug delivery systems (LBDDS) are one of the emerging technologies designed to address the challenges of solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble ingredients. Understanding the principles behind the processes–the right amount of heat, time, and intensity is important for standardization to ensure the availability of bio constituents. Also, it is essential to understand the relevance of therapeutic principles behind these dosage forms to choose an appropriate technological adaptation for its optimum clinical effectiveness

Welfare can discourage crime more than it discourages work

In recent decades, many governments have attempted to encourage people into work by reducing welfare eligibility. By analyzing the changes in the American Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) policies, Manasi Deshpande and Michael Mueller-Smith find that rather than incentivizing people into employment, removing welfare support instead may push them towards illicit activities to make up for lost income. This increase in criminal activity and subsequent incarceration has large monetary and social costs for society, which effectively cancel out the savings to government from reduced welfare spending

COMPARATIVE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ROOTS OF YELLOW KARWEER (THEVETIA NERIIFOLIA JUSS) BEFORE AND AFTER PURIFICATION PROCESS

Yellow Karweer/ oleander (Thevetia neriifolia synonym Thevetia peruviana) belongs to the family Apocynaceae. It is a poisonous plant, with various pharmacological activities. It is used by Ayurvedic physician in various diseases, especially in the skin disease. Karweer are potentially lethal plants after ingestion. All parts of the plants are toxic and contain a variety of cardiac glycosides. Excess use of Karaweer results in nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dysrhythmia and hypocalcaemia in most cases. Administration of Karweer is recommended only after the Shodhana (purification procedures) in Godugdha (cow’s milk).MethodAfter purification with cow’s milk by boiling method, Yellow Karweer root was evaluated for their pharmacognostical and pharmaceutical analysis. The obtained roots were investigated for their powder microscopically characters, phytochemical characters like preliminary phytochemical screening and Thin layer chromatography as per the API guidelines.ResultsOrganoleptic study shows variations in colour, odour, taste and appearance in all samples after purification. Microscopically study of powder highlights some changes like more number of oil globules in Godugdha (cow's milk) purified sample. Preliminary phytochemical screening reveals the presence of alkaloids, saponin glycoside, flavonoids, reducing sugar, etc.ConclusionThe observed data can be helpful to delineate the impact of purification process on yellow Karweer roots. Media has an important role to reduce the toxic effects and increase the potency

Studies on Optimization of Growth Parameters for L-Asparaginase Production by Streptomyces ginsengisoli

A species of Streptomyces, Streptomyces ginsengisoli, a river isolate, was evaluated for production of an enzyme, L-asparaginase, with multiple functions mainly anticancer activity. The actinomycete was subjected to submerged fermentation by “shake flask” method. The quantity of L-asparaginase produced was estimated as 3.23 μmol/mL/min. The effect of various culture conditions on L-asparaginase production was studied by adopting a method of variation in one factor at a time. Of the various conditions tested, glucose (followed by starch) and peptone served as good carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, for maximal production of enzyme at pH 8. The temperature of 30°C and an incubation period of 5 days with 0.05 g% asparagine concentration were found to be optimum for L-asparaginase production

Research and Reviews: Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Breast Cancer and Use of Alternative Medicine: A Mini Review

ABSTRACT Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women responsible for almost 20% of all cancer death

Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries

Child growth failure (CGF), manifested as stunting, wasting, and underweight, is associated with high 5 mortality and increased risks of cognitive, physical, and metabolic impairments. Children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face the highest levels of CGF globally. Here we illustrate national and subnational variation of under-5 CGF indicators across LMICs, providing 2000–2017 annual estimates mapped at a high spatial resolution and aggregated to policy-relevant administrative units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the World Health 10 Organization’s ambitious Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40% and wasting to less than 5% by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and rates of progress exist across regions, countries, and within countries; our maps identify areas where high prevalence persists even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where subnational disparities exist and the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning locally 15 tailored interventions and efficient directing of resources to accelerate progress in reducing CGF and its health implications

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations

Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries

Analyses of the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017 reveal inequalities across countries as well as within populations. Educational attainment is an important social determinant of maternal, newborn, and child health(1-3). As a tool for promoting gender equity, it has gained increasing traction in popular media, international aid strategies, and global agenda-setting(4-6). The global health agenda is increasingly focused on evidence of precision public health, which illustrates the subnational distribution of disease and illness(7,8); however, an agenda focused on future equity must integrate comparable evidence on the distribution of social determinants of health(9-11). Here we expand on the available precision SDG evidence by estimating the subnational distribution of educational attainment, including the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling, across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017. Previous analyses have focused on geographical disparities in average attainment across Africa or for specific countries, but-to our knowledge-no analysis has examined the subnational proportions of individuals who completed specific levels of education across all low- and middle-income countries(12-14). By geolocating subnational data for more than 184 million person-years across 528 data sources, we precisely identify inequalities across geography as well as within populations.Peer reviewe

Mapping development and health effects of cooking with solid fuels in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-18 : a geospatial modelling study

Background More than 3 billion people do not have access to clean energy and primarily use solid fuels to cook. Use of solid fuels generates household air pollution, which was associated with more than 2 million deaths in 2019. Although local patterns in cooking vary systematically, subnational trends in use of solid fuels have yet to be comprehensively analysed. We estimated the prevalence of solid-fuel use with high spatial resolution to explore subnational inequalities, assess local progress, and assess the effects on health in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) without universal access to clean fuels.Methods We did a geospatial modelling study to map the prevalence of solid-fuel use for cooking at a 5 km x 5 km resolution in 98 LMICs based on 2.1 million household observations of the primary cooking fuel used from 663 population-based household surveys over the years 2000 to 2018. We use observed temporal patterns to forecast household air pollution in 2030 and to assess the probability of attaining the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target indicator for clean cooking. We aligned our estimates of household air pollution to geospatial estimates of ambient air pollution to establish the risk transition occurring in LMICs. Finally, we quantified the effect of residual primary solid-fuel use for cooking on child health by doing a counterfactual risk assessment to estimate the proportion of deaths from lower respiratory tract infections in children younger than 5 years that could be associated with household air pollution.Findings Although primary reliance on solid-fuel use for cooking has declined globally, it remains widespread. 593 million people live in districts where the prevalence of solid-fuel use for cooking exceeds 95%. 66% of people in LMICs live in districts that are not on track to meet the SDG target for universal access to clean energy by 2030. Household air pollution continues to be a major contributor to particulate exposure in LMICs, and rising ambient air pollution is undermining potential gains from reductions in the prevalence of solid-fuel use for cooking in many countries. We estimated that, in 2018, 205000 (95% uncertainty interval 147000-257000) children younger than 5 years died from lower respiratory tract infections that could be attributed to household air pollution.Interpretation Efforts to accelerate the adoption of clean cooking fuels need to be substantially increased and recalibrated to account for subnational inequalities, because there are substantial opportunities to improve air quality and avert child mortality associated with household air pollution. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe