How a Guaranteed Annual Income Could Put Food Banks Out of Business

The federal Conservative government recently began phasing in a plan to raise the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67. But a more sensible move for improving the effectiveness of Canada’s social safety-net system may be to actually lower the age below 65 and rely strictly on an income test instead, regardless of age. The government could go a lot further toward the reduction of poverty in Canada by building on the success of its income supports for seniors, and making them available to poor Canadians of all ages. Canada can boast of having one of the lowest rates for poverty among seniors in the world, largely due to its guaranteed income programs for those 65 years and older. When low-income Canadians turn 65 years old and leave behind low-paying, often unstable jobs, their poverty levels drop substantially. What a guaranteed income provides, that their vulnerable job situation did not, is a form of protection against budget shocks — a sudden volatility in income or expenses without the access to savings or credit to smooth things out until stability returns. A guaranteed income provides a kind of “disaster insurance” that can protect someone in a crisis situation from going without necessities such as food or even shelter. Statistics show that the rate of Canadians experiencing “food insecurity” — that is, lack of access to food because of financial constraints — is half that among Canadians aged 65 to 69 years than it is among those aged 60 to 64. Self-reported rates of physical and mental health improve markedly as well after lowincome Canadians move from low-wage, insecure employment to a guaranteed income at the age of 65. That dramatic shift in physical and mental health indicates that expanding guaranteed income programs to younger Canadians is more than a simple cost calculation: there are potential savings to be found as poorer Canadians, given a guaranteed income, become healthier and therefore reduce the burden on the public health-care system. Canadian governments already spend billions of dollars on the downstream effects of poverty, but scant emphasis is put on programs targeting poverty’s roots. There is no evidence, where smaller-scale experiments have been tried, to show that a guaranteed income program creates a serious problem with negative incentives and discourages people from working who otherwise might. But because this is a common worry with working-age guaranteed income eligibility, phasing in the program gradually, by lowering eligibility a few years at a time, will allow ongoing investigation and analysis of the effects, before the program is rolled out on a large scale. The tremendous impact that guaranteed incomes have had on reducing poverty and improving health among seniors is something for which Canadians can be rightly proud. So much so that it is incumbent upon us to investigate whether Canada could use the same policy tools to drastically reduce poverty and improve health among Canadians of all ages

Measuring the Impact of Biostatistical Methods on General Medical Research

Background: Novel statistical methods are constantly being developed within the context of biomedical research; however, the rate of diffusion of this knowledge into the field of general / internal medicine is unclear. This study highlights the statistical journal articles, the statistical journals, and the statistical methods that appear to be having the most direct impact on research in the field of general / internal medicine. Methods: Descriptive techniques, including analyses of articles’ keywords and controlled vocabulary terms, were used to characterize the articles published in statistics and probability journals that were subsequently referenced within general / internal medicine journal articles during a recent 10-year period (2000-2009). Results: From the 45 statistics and probability journals of interest, a total of 597 unique articles were identified as being cited by 900 (out of a total of about 10,501) unique general / internal medicine journal articles. The most frequently cited statistical topics included general/other statistical methods, followed by epidemiologic methods, randomized trials, generalized linear models, meta-analysis, and missing data. Conclusion: As statisticians continue to develop and refine techniques, the promotion and adoption of these methods should also be addressed so that their efforts spent in developing the methods are not done in vain

Assessment: Placing the Emphasis on Learning in Information Systems Programs and Classes

Assessment in information systems (IS) programs is here, and it is here to stay! AACSB, ABET, and almost every other accrediting agency require some type of assessment. Assessment activities help faculty determine levels of student learning. It can be used to see how courses in the IS curriculum link together to form a coherent IS program. Assessment results can be used as compelling evidence of the quality of teaching. In short, assessment allows IS educations to place an emphasis on learning in IS programs and classes. This Special Issue presents eight papers that support the assessment of IS programs

Incorporation of membrane-bound, mammalian-derived immunomodulatory proteins into influenza whole virus vaccines boosts immunogenicity and protection against lethal challenge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Influenza epidemics continue to cause morbidity and mortality within the human population despite widespread vaccination efforts. This, along with the ominous threat of an avian influenza pandemic (H5N1), demonstrates the need for a much improved, more sophisticated influenza vaccine. We have developed an in vitro model system for producing a membrane-bound Cytokine-bearing Influenza Vaccine (CYT-IVAC). Numerous cytokines are involved in directing both innate and adaptive immunity and it is our goal to utilize the properties of individual cytokines and other immunomodulatory proteins to create a more immunogenic vaccine.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have evaluated the immunogenicity of inactivated cytokine-bearing influenza vaccines using a mouse model of lethal influenza virus challenge. CYT-IVACs were produced by stably transfecting MDCK cell lines with mouse-derived cytokines (GM-CSF, IL-2 and IL-4) fused to the membrane-anchoring domain of the viral hemagglutinin. Influenza virus replication in these cell lines resulted in the uptake of the bioactive membrane-bound cytokines during virus budding and release. <it>In vivo </it>efficacy studies revealed that a single low dose of IL-2 or IL-4-bearing CYT-IVAC is superior at providing protection against lethal influenza challenge in a mouse model and provides a more balanced Th₁/Th₂humoral immune response, similar to live virus infections.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have validated the protective efficacy of CYT-IVACs in a mammalian model of influenza virus infection. This technology has broad applications in current influenza virus vaccine development and may prove particularly useful in boosting immune responses in the elderly, where current vaccines are minimally effective.</p

Aligning ICCP Certification With The IS2002 Model Curriculum: A New International Standard

This is a progress report on actions to align vendor neutral certification for computing and Information Systems professionals with academic standards as codified by the IS2002 Model Curriculum

Information Systems Analyst (ISA): A Professional Certification Based On The IS2002 Model Curriculum

The ICCP, ICCP Education Foundation and a coalition of universities have produced an exit examination, and a new professional certification, Information Systems Analyst, based on the IS2002 Model Curriculum.  The examination is also the basis for administering IS program evaluation services by a new Center for Computing Education Research

Evaluation of a novel autoinjector for subcutaneous self-administration of belimumab in systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective: To study self-administration and pharmacokinetics (PK) of subcutaneous (SC) belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Patients previously treated with belimumab self-administered belimumab 200 mg SC weekly for 8 weeks using an autoinjector. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients able to self-administer their first and second dose (weeks 1 and 2) in the clinic. The proportion able to self-administer at weeks 4 and 8 (clinic) and weeks 3, 5, 6, and 7 (home) were secondary endpoints. Belimumab PK, safety, and injection-site pain were assessed. Results: 91/95 patients completed the study (withdrawals: adverse events (AEs): 3; lost to follow-up: 1). 93% were female, and mean (SD) age was 44.8 (12.50) years. The majority (99%, 89/90; no attempt, n = 5) successfully self-administered belimumab SC at weeks 1 and 2 (5 had clinic staff assistance), and 98% (85/87) successfully self-administered at weeks 4 and 8. Home-administration success rates were high (93%, (81/87) at weeks 3, 5, 6, and 7). Week 8 median trough concentration was 113 µg/mL. For patients with a ≤ 1.5-week interval between IV SC administration, week-1 concentrations were higher vs. week 8 (+ 51% median) but within a range observed with IV dosing; those with a ≥ 2.5-week interval had median differences close to 0. AEs and serious AEs were low, with no deaths; pain levels were low and decreased with subsequent injections. Conclusion: Patients with SLE successfully self-administered belimumab SC using a novel autoinjector; the PK profile was stable following a switch from IV with acceptable AE and pain levels. The recommended dosing interval between IV to SC dosing is 1 – 4 weeks

Magnetic Order in YBa₂Cu₃O₆₊ₓ Superconductors

Polarized and unpolarized neutron diffraction has been used to search for magnetic order in YBa2Cu3O6+x superconductors. Most of the measurements were made on a high quality crystal of YBa2CU3O6.6. It is shown that this crystal has highly ordered ortho-II chain order, and a sharp superconducting transition. Inelastic scattering measurements display a very clean spin-gap and pseudogap with any intensity at 10 meV being 50 times smaller than the resonance intensity. The crystal shows a complicated magnetic order that appears to have three components. A magnetic phase is found at high temperatures that seems to stem from an impurity with a moment that is in the a-b plane, but disordered on the crystal lattice. A second ordering occurs near the pseudogap temperature that has a shorter correlation length than the high temperature phase and a moment direction that is at least partly along the c axis of the crystal. Its moment direction, temperature dependence, and Bragg intensities suggest that it may stem from orbital ordering of the d-density wave type. An additional intensity increase occurs below the superconducting transition. The magnetic intensity in these phases does not change noticeably in a 7 T magnetic field aligned approximately along the c axis. Searches for magnetic order in YBa2Cu3O7 show no signal while a small magnetic intensity is found in YBa2Cu3O6.45 that is consistent with the c axis directed magnetic order. The results are contrasted with other recent neutron measurements