Toxic Choices: The Theory and Impact of Smoking Bans

Smoking bans in the workplace and public places are now ubiquitous. While indices of such controls are commonly included in econometric models, there exists little theory that validates or analyzes them. This paper first proposes a theoretical model of maximizing behaviour on the part of smokers which serves as a vehicle to evaluate bans. It is a type of nicotine inventory management model where smoking during one phase of the day impacts utility in other periods. It also includes an intensity choice as part of the optimization. Calibrated model simulations suggest that, with the exception of heavy smokers, workplace bans have relatively minor impacts on smokers throughout most of the distribution due to substitution possibilities. We estimate quantile regressions using Canadian survey data for 2003 and .find that workplace bans have a surprisingly small impact on the number of cigarettes smoked. However, restrictions on smoking in the home are found to be of an order of importance greater, even when instrumented. The policy conclusion is that the effectiveness of workplace bans depends heavily upon whether there exist complementary restrictions on smoking in environments to which individuals may wish to switch their smoking following a workplace ban.Smoking bans, tobacco, nicotine, cotinine, intensity, quantile regression

On the proof of some theorem on locally nilpotent subgroups in division rings

In Hai-Thin (2009), there is a theorem, stating that every locally nilpotent subnormal subgroup in a division ring $D$ is central (see Hai-Thin (2009, Th. 2.2)). Unfortunately, there is some mistake in the proof of this theorem. In this note we give the another proof of this theorem.Comment: 3 page

STUDY ON ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTS OF SEVERAL VIETNAMESE MEDICINE PLANTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH POLYPHENOL CONTENTS

Objective: Our study evaluated the inhibitory effects of 13 plant materials on bacterial growth, so as to explain their traditional uses in bacterial infections. In addition, the correlation between antibacterial effects of plants and the polyphenol contents or antioxidant activities was also verified to investigate if these properties were responsible for the plant antibacterial effects. Methods: We tested extracts with 20 bacterial strains purchased from Japan Veterinary Products Association (JVPA, Tokyo, Japan) and also the Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Streptococcus suis (S. suis) strains that we had previously isolated from livestock. After polyphenol contents and antioxidant activities were measured, we examined their correlations with antibacterial effects. Results: The results showed that all extracts exerted inhibitory effects on tested bacteria and at different levels. Among all of samples, betel and mother rhizome of turmeric showed the strongest effects and also exerted inhibition on antibiotic-resistant E. coli and S. suis bacteria. In addition, direct and significant correlations between antibacterial effects’ and polyphenol content’s values were established and thus demonstrating that antibacterial effects of plants were attributable, at least in part, to the presence of polyphenol compounds. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the antibacterial effects of 13 plant materials and, therefore, partly gives pharmacological basis to explain their traditional uses in diseases associated with bacterial infections. In addition, as betel and mother rhizome of turmeric showed the highest effects, we suggested that they might serve as the most promissory candidates for bacterial treatment. However, follow-up researches are still required to assess their potentials

Requirements for developing ethical leaderships in Vietnam

Challenges associated with leadership practices are rapidly increasing, thereby assigning more qualities to leaders. One of the recent theoretical issues that interest many scholars is ethical leadership development, using industrial revolution 4.0. This method does not only follow the traditional leadership styles, rather it is associated with universal qualities such as respect, service, fairness, honesty, and responsibility. For communities, increasing assertions is one of the essential foundations used to help leaders influence their subordinates' actions. This means that ethical leadership is the motto of the spirit of service leadership, especially for Vietnam leaders, a country with a strong transformation from a planned economy to a socialist-oriented market. Therefore, leadership values need to be adjusted, supplemented, and developed to keep up with the Industrial Revolution's requirements 4.0