Schooling, cognitive ability, and health

A large literature documents a strong correlation between health and educational outcomes. In this paper we investigate the role of cognitive ability in the health–education nexus. Using NLSY data, we show that cognitive ability accounts for roughly one quarter of the association between schooling and health. Both schooling and ability are strongly associated with health at low levels but less related or unrelated at high levels. Estimates treating schooling as endogenous to health suggest that most of the correlation between schooling and health is attributable to unobserved heterogeneity, except possibly at low levels of schooling for individuals with low cognitive ability. An implication is that policies which increase schooling will only increase health to the extent that they increase the education of poorly-educated individuals; subsidies to college education, for example, are unlikely to increase population health.education, health, intelligence, correlated random coefficient models

Schooling, cognitive ability, and health

A large literature documents a strong correlation between health and educational outcomes. In this paper we investigate the role of cognitive ability in the health–education nexus. Using NLSY data, we show that cognitive ability accounts for roughly one quarter of the association between schooling and health. Both schooling and ability are strongly associated with health at low levels but less related or unrelated at high levels. Estimates treating schooling as endogenous to health suggest that most of the correlation between schooling and health is attributable to unobserved heterogeneity, except possibly at low levels of schooling for individuals with low cognitive ability. An implication is that policies which increase schooling will only increase health to the extent that they increase the education of poorly-educated individuals; subsidies to college education, for example, are unlikely to increase population health.education, health, intelligence, correlated random coefficient

Transport and diffusion in the embedding map

We study the transport properties of passive inertial particles in a $2-d$ incompressible flows. Here the particle dynamics is represented by the $4-d$ dissipative embedding map of $2-d$ area-preserving standard map which models the incompressible flow. The system is a model for impurity dynamics in a fluid and is characterized by two parameters, the inertia parameter $\alpha$, and the dissipation parameter $\gamma$. We obtain the statistical characterisers of transport for this system in these dynamical regimes. These are, the recurrence time statistics, the diffusion constant, and the distribution of jump lengths. The recurrence time distribution shows a power law tail in the dynamical regimes where there is preferential concentration of particles in sticky regions of the phase space, and an exponential decay in mixing regimes. The diffusion constant shows behaviour of three types - normal, subdiffusive and superdiffusive, depending on the parameter regimes. Phase diagrams of the system are constructed to differentiate different types of diffusion behaviour, as well as the behaviour of the absolute drift. We correlate the dynamical regimes seen for the system at different parameter values with the transport properties observed at these regimes, and in the behaviour of the transients. This system also shows the existence of a crisis and unstable dimension variability at certain parameter values. The signature of the unstable dimension variability is seen in the statistical characterisers of transport. We discuss the implications of our results for realistic systems.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, To Appear in Phys. Rev. E; Vol. 79 (2009

Advocate Asaduzzaman Siddqui v. Bangladesh: Bangladesh's Dilemma with Judges' Impeachment

Like the major constitutional systems of the world, Bangladesh had a parliamentary removal process for the judges of the highest court. The system was however changed by the military rulers of late 1970s. Very recently, the parliament of Bangladesh attempted to revive the original system and the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh, was passed in 2014. The case at hand, Asaduzzaman Siddiqui v. Bangladesh is a challenge to this Amendment. This casecomment analyzes the arguments and reasoning of the case and argues that the judges and counsels concerned have wasted a chance to analyze this Amendment from its proper perspective. Therefore, a very high profile constitutional litigation ended in adding virtually nothing to the constitutional jurisprudence of Bangladesh

Electrocardiography in people living at high altitude of Nepal.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) of high-altitude populations in Nepal determined by an ECG recordings and a medical history. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional survey of cardiovascular disease and risk factors among people living at four different altitude levels, all above 2800 m, in the Mustang and Humla districts of Nepal. 12-lead ECGs were recorded on 485 participants. ECG recordings were categorised as definitely abnormal, borderline or normal. RESULTS: No participant had Q waves to suggest past Q-wave infarction. Overall, 5.6% (95% CI 3.7 to 8.0) of participants gave a self-report of CHD. The prevalence of abnormal (or borderline abnormal) ECG was 19.6% (95% CI 16.1 to 23.4). The main abnormalities were: right axis deviation in 5.4% (95% CI 3.5 to 7.7) and left ventricular hypertrophy by voltage criteria in 3.5% (95% CI 2.0 to 5.5). ECG abnormalities were mainly on the left side of the heart for Mustang participants (Tibetan origin) and on the right side for Humla participants (Indo-Aryans). There was a moderate association between the probability of abnormal (or borderline abnormal) ECG and altitude when adjusted for potential confounding variables in a multivariate logistic model; with an OR for association per 1000 m elevation of altitude of 2.83 (95% CI 1.07 to 7.45), p=0.03. CONCLUSIONS: Electrocardiographic evidence suggests that although high-altitude populations do not have a high prevalence of CHD, abnormal ECG findings increase by altitude and risk pattern varies by ethnicity