Do marketing margins change with food scares?: Examining the effects of food recalls and disease outbreaks in the us red meat industry

This paper examines the impact of food scares on marketing margins in the US beef and pork industry. We analyze how market stresses induced by different food recalls and disease outbreaks affect price margins and the extent of price transmission at the slaughter-to-wholesale and wholesale-to-retail levels. We use monthly data for the period 1986–2008. The results indicate that marketing margins are differentially affected by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recalls and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks at different levels of the beef and pork marketing chain, although the effects are generally quite modest. Only BSE discoveries in the United States considerably affect marketing margins in the beef industry, specifically at the wholesale-to-retail level, as well as the extent of price transmission at the bottom of the beef and pork marketing channel. We also find that food safety incidents have minor cross-industry and cross-country effects on marketing margins.marketing margins, price transmission, food recalls, BSE outbreaks, red meat industry,

Where to Bank?: The Impact of Fringe Banking Services and Disinvestment in the Bronx and a Proposal to Enable Economic Mobility

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.

Association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Busto-Garrido, M.; Gutierrez-Castillo, D; Navas- Gonzalez, JR; Gutierrez-Bedmar, M; Gutierrez-Casares, JR; Martin-Lunar, MT; Rodríguez-Rosado, A; Pena-Andreu, JM. European Psychiatry 415(2017) 5221.Chronic irritability is the most frequently reported symptom in child and adolescent depression. The association of both has been linked with high rates of chronicity, comorbility and impairment. Objectives To study the association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Methods We have studied 857 participants recruited from the only Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic in a catchment area of 122968 people under 18 (2004-2010). A sample of 677 participants (57 controls and 620 patients) was included to carry out a cross-sectional study. Chronic irritability was measured by a Visual Analog Scale (VAS irritability) -scored from 0 to 10-, and depressive symptoms by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The participants were categorized into controls and patients, and according to their chronic irritability (≤4 [I],5 [II] and ≥6 [III]). The mean of CDI score was calculated for each of the groups, adjusted by sex and age, and analyzed by ANCOVA. Results The following means were obtained from the controls: 13,71 (group I), 9,82 (group II) and 17,45 (group III). Regarding to the patients: 13,92 (group I), 11,54 (group II) and 15,64 (group III). A quadratic association (p <0,0015) was found between VAS irritability score and CDI score. Conclussions There is not a lineal association between chronic irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescent. High rates of depressive symptoms were associated both with high and low rates of irritability. Several questions remain unexplained about the status of irritability in psychiatry as Stringaris group has been pointed out. Disclosure statement I have no potential conflict of interest to discloseUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Protected Graft Copolymer (PGC) in Imaging and Therapy: A Platform for the Delivery of Covalently and Non-Covalently Bound Drugs

Initially developed in 1992 as an MR imaging agent, the family of protected graft copolymers (PGC) is based on a conjugate of polylysine backbone to which methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) chains are covalently linked in a random fasion via N-ε-amino groups. While PGC is relatively simple in terms of its chemcial composition and structure, it has proved to be a versatile platform for in vivo drug delivery. The advantages of poly amino acid backbone grafting include multiple available linking sites for drug and adaptor molecules. The grafting of PEG chains to PGC does not compromise biodegradability and does not result in measurable toxicity or immunogenicity. In fact, the biocompatablility of PGC has resulted in its being one of the few 100% synthetic non-proteinaceous macromolecules that has suceeded in passing the initial safety phase of clinical trials. PGC is capable of long circulation times after injection into the blood stream and as such found use early on as a carrier system for delivery of paramagnetic imaging compounds for angiography. Other PGC types were later developed for use in nuclear medicine and optical imaging applications in vivo. Recent developments in PGC-based drug carrier formulations include the use of zinc as a bridge between the PGC carrier and zinc-binding proteins and re-engineering of the PGC carrier as a covalent amphiphile that is capabe of binding to hydrophobic residues of small proteins and peptides. At present, PGC-based formulations have been developed and tested in various disease models for: 1) MR imaging local blood circulation in stroke, cancer and diabetes; 2) MR and nuclear imaging of blood volume and vascular permeability in inflammation; 3) optical imaging of proteolytic activity in cancer and inflammation; 4) delivery of platinum(II) compounds for treating cancer; 5) delivery of small proteins and peptides for treating diabetes, obesity and myocardial infarction. This review summarizes the experience accumulated by various research groups that chose to use PGC as a drug delivery platform

Telemedicine use and satisfaction among Filipinos during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: There is limited knowledge on telemedicine use and patient satisfaction in the Philippines, especially during COVID-19. Aim: To examine visit-related characteristics of two years of video consultations conducted during the pandemic, patient satisfaction, and identified patient- and visit-related characteristics associated with video consultation satisfaction scores. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of telemedicine use and satisfaction of patients aged ≥18y, who had a video consultation between 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2022, using the SeeYouDoc (SYD) platform. As part of SYD’s routine oversight, after each video consultation, SYD a 6-item feedback survey was automatically prompted which assessed the patient’s level of comfort during the encounter, their perception of the convenience of telemedicine, the acceptability of the lack of physical contact during the consult, presence of privacy-related concerns, overall satisfaction, and their intention to use teleconsultation again. Each item was evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale with 5 as the highest score. These scores were collected, and t-test and ANOVA were employed to measure the differences in mean telemedicine satisfaction scores. Results: 12,378 telemedicine visits were conducted from 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2022 and patient feedback was received from1,896 patients (15.3%). The mean age of the respondents was 34.7±12.3y. The majority were females (83.1%), new SYD telemedicine patients (69.1%), and in the 26-39y age group (57.0%). Satisfaction with telemedicine was expressed by 73.8%, 63.4% were highly satisfied while 26.2% reported dissatisfaction. Mean telemedicine satisfaction scores were significantly higher among patients who had their telemedicine visit in 2021 (x̄=4.7±0.92) compared to 2020 (x̄=3.4±1.75) and 2022 (x̄=4.3±1.32), p&lt;0.001. Patients aged 60-79 years old had a higher mean satisfaction score compared to other age groups, p=0.014. Higher mean telemedicine satisfaction scores were observed among male patients, those with completed video consultations, and patients who paid for their consultation, p&lt;0.001. Conclusion: We observed high patient satisfaction with telemedicine during COVID-19. Filipino patients and families consider telemedicine a viable medium to receive healthcare services

Protected Graft Copolymer (PGC) in Imaging and Therapy: A Platform for the Delivery of Covalently and Non-Covalently Bound Drugs

Initially developed in 1992 as an MR imaging agent, the family of protected graft copolymers (PGC) is based on a conjugate of polylysine backbone to which methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) chains are covalently linked in a random fasion via N-epsilon-amino groups. While PGC is relatively simple in terms of its chemcial composition and structure, it has proved to be a versatile platform for in vivo drug delivery. The advantages of poly amino acid backbone grafting include multiple available linking sites for drug and adaptor molecules. The grafting of PEG chains to PGC does not compromise biodegradability and does not result in measurable toxicity or immunogenicity. In fact, the biocompatablility of PGC has resulted in its being one of the few 100% synthetic non-proteinaceous macromolecules that has suceeded in passing the initial safety phase of clinical trials. PGC is capable of long circulation times after injection into the blood stream and as such found use early on as a carrier system for delivery of paramagnetic imaging compounds for angiography. Other PGC types were later developed for use in nuclear medicine and optical imaging applications in vivo. Recent developments in PGC-based drug carrier formulations include the use of zinc as a bridge between the PGC carrier and zinc-binding proteins and re-engineering of the PGC carrier as a covalent amphiphile that is capabe of binding to hydrophobic residues of small proteins and peptides. At present, PGC-based formulations have been developed and tested in various disease models for: 1) MR imaging local blood circulation in stroke, cancer and diabetes; 2) MR and nuclear imaging of blood volume and vascular permeability in inflammation; 3) optical imaging of proteolytic activity in cancer and inflammation; 4) delivery of platinum(II) compounds for treating cancer; 5) delivery of small proteins and peptides for treating diabetes, obesity and myocardial infarction. This review summarizes the experience accumulated by various research groups that chose to use PGC as a drug delivery platform

Methodology for Developing a Probabilistic Risk Assessment Model of Spacecraft Rendezvous and Dockings

In 2007 NASA was preparing to send two new visiting vehicles carrying logistics and propellant to the International Space Station (ISS). These new vehicles were the European Space Agency s (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), the Jules Verne, and the Japanese Aerospace and Explorations Agency s (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The ISS Program wanted to quantify the increased risk to the ISS from these visiting vehicles. At the time, only the Shuttle, the Soyuz, and the Progress vehicles rendezvoused and docked to the ISS. The increased risk to the ISS was from an increase in vehicle traffic, thereby, increasing the potential catastrophic collision during the rendezvous and the docking or berthing of the spacecraft to the ISS. A universal method of evaluating the risk of rendezvous and docking or berthing was created by the ISS s Risk Team to accommodate the increasing number of rendezvous and docking or berthing operations due to the increasing number of different spacecraft, as well as the future arrival of commercial spacecraft. Before the first docking attempt of ESA's ATV and JAXA's HTV to the ISS, a probabilistic risk model was developed to quantitatively calculate the risk of collision of each spacecraft with the ISS. The 5 rendezvous and docking risk models (Soyuz, Progress, Shuttle, ATV, and HTV) have been used to build and refine the modeling methodology for rendezvous and docking of spacecrafts. This risk modeling methodology will be NASA s basis for evaluating the addition of future ISS visiting spacecrafts hazards, including SpaceX s Dragon, Orbital Science s Cygnus, and NASA s own Orion spacecraft. This paper will describe the methodology used for developing a visiting vehicle risk model

Building Heroes: Collegiate Esports, Character Formation, and Community Building

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the nascent collegiate esports industry and the communities that have formed along with it. Specifically, the thesis aims to answer the questions of what the skills one can acquire through esports are, what is the nature of such communities, and how notions of masculine identity are formed through them. These questions were answered by acquiring qualitative data through participant observation and in-depth interviews of an esports team at the University of Colorado Boulder. There are three levels to the results. First, esports provide a cultural battleground in which the notions of what masculinity is and how it is performed is contested. Second, playing esports at the collegiate level can provide players with valuable skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership that are desirable for the future. Finally, that the communities formed through esports form a strong sense of belonging and simultaneously forge friendships, granting players a strong social network and support net.</p

Optimum design of isotropic monocoque and ring-stiffened circular cylindrical shells subject to external hydrostatic pressure

The objective of this research is to create a flexible code which is to be used in the investigation of optimum (minimum weight) shell designs. A shell analysis/design program (DAPS3) and a general purpose numerical optimization program (ADS) are incorporated into a single code (THESIS). This code provides the user great flexibility in changing the design variables and constraints which model the optimization problem. The optimum designs produced by this code are compared to DAPS3 optimum designs in order to identify any improvements made by the numerical optimization technique.http://archive.org/details/optimumdesignofi00castLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited