Widowhood, Divorce, and Loss of Health Insurance Among Near Elderly Women: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

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The GATT and the Unmaking of International Environmental Law

This paper examines the uneasy relationship between the regulation of international trade and international environmental law. In particular, it focuses on two GATT panel decisions that struck down US-imposed trade embargoes on tuna products imported from countries that the US considered killed too many dolphins in their tuna fisheries. The implications of the decisions went far beyond the immediate environmental issue that faced the GATT panels, bringing into question the validity of trade sanctions as a means of enforcing and strengthening existing multilateral environmental agreements. At the same time, however, a critical examination of the American position reveals serious flaws in the environmental policy the trade embargoes were meant to support. The article, therefore, concludes that more effective international environmental regulations are best pursued through cooperative initiatives on the international stage. *** Cet article examine les relations troublées entre la règlementation du commerce extérieur et le droit international de l\u27environnement. En particulier, l\u27article examine deux décisions des tribunaux sous le GATT qui ont annulées deux embargos imposes par les États-Unis sur du thon importé qui venait des pays qui, selon les États-Unis, ont tué trop de dauphins pendant la pêche au thon. Les conséquences des décisions vont au-delà de la question précise devant les tribunaux sous le GATT. Ils mettent en doute la validité des sanctions pour renforcer et améliorer les accords internationaux sur l\u27environnement. Cependant, au même temps, une analyse critique de la position américaine soulève des graves problèmes dans la politique environnementale que les embargos devaient soutenir. L\u27article conclut donc que la règlementation internationale de l\u27environnement doit se faire à partir d\u27initiatives coopératrices

The Economic Consequences of Widowhood

We analyzed the economic consequences of a husband’s death using events that occurred between the first two waves of the HRS and AHEAD studies. We compared poverty transitions against published results from Social Security’s Retirement History Survey of the 1970s. Widowhood remains an important risk factor for transition into poverty, although somewhat less so than twenty years ago. Women over age 65 (AHEAD) are less likely to experience severe economic changes than women under age 61 (HRS). Several factors account for the age differences: the declining importance of husband’s earnings with age, the rising importance of Social Security benefits, and the occasionally large out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with husband’s death before Medicare eligibility. The greater economic impact of widowhood at younger ages is consistent with our cross-section evidence that poverty rates rise with duration of widowhood but are only weakly associated with age.

A Survey of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in the Outer Hebrides

The soci-economic evolution of the Outer Hebrides shows that the inhabitants have lead an isolated existence since the Viking invasions. As far as tuberculosis is concerned there is no mention of it appearing in these islands up to about 1850 A.D. and thereafter it assumed a disease of major proportions. The first cases of tuberculosis arriving here were patients who contracted the disease in the mainland cities and because of an absent inherent resistance and the poor hygenic circumstances of the homes, tuberculosis soon assumed epidemic proportions affecting whole families. The present finding is still that a high proportion of cases develop in Hebrideans who leave the Islands to work in the cities. The statistics of Tuberculosis in the Outer Isles is discussed and these show a high notification rate with the age incidence of the two sexes being similar. The death rate from tuberculosis is high but is diminishing. Percentage infection rates suggest that in the rural parts the majority of children leaving school are Mantoux negative. A survey of the unrevised notified register in 1951 was carried out and of the 537 patients notified as suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis an evaluation of the extent and type of the disease was made. It was found that males predominate 58% - 42% (females). A review of the lesions grouped according to initial extent and showing the further course and treatment provides the material on which the form of tuberculosis in this locality is given. 68 patients showing extension of the disease visible radiologically are discussed and the commonest age at which this occurs is between 15 - 35 years with a predominance of females under 25 years and of males above that age. The spread of the disease is noted to occur as frequently as 2 years and over from the date of notification as before that period. The predominant form of the extension is a bronchogenic spread and the indications are that the disease conforms to the expected trend for Western Europe. 60 cases of minimal extent and probable activity show that the progression rate of the is land-treated case is no higher than that of similar white population reviews. The results of 108 A.P.s show that only 13 appeared uncomplicated and that just over 50% could not be continued for 2 years. The success of pneumothorax in relationship to the extent of the initial disease is discussed and the results show it to be unfavourable in disease of more than two zones. 88 patients have received treatment in the form of phrenic nerve crush and pneumoperitoneum of these 47% did not benefit from the therapy and improvement was most marked in lesions limited to two zones and less. The similarity in the evolution of tuberculosis locally with that observed in isolated districts of Norway and Sweden is examined and the decrease noted after four or five generations in Sweden leads to the expectation that tuberculosis in the Outer Hebrides should now be on the wane. B.G.G. as a measure to diminish the incidence of tuberculosis in young adults is considered and an extension of its use recommended together with further measures calculated to reduce the disease incidence rates

On Litholapaxy:

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Molecular confirmation of Sarcocystis fayeri in a donkey

Sarcocystis fayeri is a canine protozoan parasite with an equine intermediate host. Historically classified as an incidental pathogen, recent literature has described the toxic effects of Sarcocystis fayeri in human food poisoning, and highlighted potential involvement in equine neuromuscular disease. Until now, horses were believed to be the exclusive intermediate host. This study reports the first molecular confirmation of S. fayeri in a donkey, and gives rise to the consideration of donkeys being a potential reservoir for the parasite. This finding is of particular importance in understanding the epidemiology of this disease

Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The laboratory rat is emerging as an attractive preclinical animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), allowing investigators to explore genetic, environmental and pharmacological manipulations in a species exhibiting complex, reciprocal social behavior. The present study was carried out to compare two commonly used strains of laboratory rats, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long-Evans (LE), between the ages of postnatal day (PND) 26-56 using high-throughput behavioral phenotyping tools commonly used in mouse models of ASD that we have adapted for use in rats. We detected few differences between young SD and LE strains on standard assays of exploration, sensorimotor gating, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, and learning. Both SD and LE strains also demonstrated sociability in the 3-chamber social approach test as indexed by spending more time in the social chamber with a constrained age/strain/sex matched novel partner than in an identical chamber without a partner. Pronounced differences between the two strains were, however, detected when the rats were allowed to freely interact with a novel partner in the social dyad paradigm. The SD rats in this particular testing paradigm engaged in play more frequently and for longer durations than the LE rats at both juvenile and young adult developmental time points. Results from this study that are particularly relevant for developing preclinical ASD models in rats are threefold: (i) commonly utilized strains exhibit unique patterns of social interactions, including strain-specific play behaviors, (ii) the testing environment may profoundly influence the expression of strain-specific social behavior and (iii) simple, automated measures of sociability may not capture the complexities of rat social interactions

Accuracy and feasibility of an android-based digital assessment tool for post stroke visual disorders - The StrokeVision App

Background: Visual impairment affects up to 70% of stroke survivors. We designed an app (StrokeVision) to facilitate screening for common post stroke visual issues (acuity, visual fields and visual inattention). We sought to describe the test-time, feasibility, acceptability and accuracy of our app based digital visual assessments against a) current methods used for bedside screening, and b) gold standard measures. Methods: Patients were prospectively recruited from acute stroke settings. Index tests were app based assessments of fields and inattention performed by a trained researcher. We compared against usual clinical screening practice of visual fields to confrontation including inattention assessment (simultaneous stimuli). We also compared app to gold standard assessments of formal kinetic perimetry (Goldman or Octopus Visual Field Assessment); and pencil and paper based tests of inattention (Albert’s, Star Cancellation, and Line Bisection). Results of inattention and field tests were adjudicated by a specialist Neuro-Ophthalmologist. All assessors were masked to each other’s results. Participants and assessors graded acceptability using a bespoke scale that ranged from 0 (completely unacceptable) to 10 (perfect acceptability). Results: Of 48 stroke survivors recruited, the complete battery of index and reference tests for fields was successfully completed in 45. Similar acceptability scores were observed for app-based (assessor median score 10 [IQR:9-10]; patient 9 [IQR:8-10]) and traditional bedside testing (assessor 10 [IQR:9-10; patient 10 [IQR:9-10]). Median test time was longer for app-based testing (combined time-to-completion of all digital tests 420 seconds [IQR:390-588]) when compared with conventional bedside testing (70 seconds, [IQR:40-70]) but shorter than gold standard testing (1260 seconds, [IQR:1005-1620]). Compared with gold standard assessments, usual screening practice demonstrated 79% sensitivity and 82% specificity for detection of a stroke-related field defect. This compares with 79% sensitivity and 88% specificity for StrokeVision digital assessment. Conclusion: StrokeVision shows promise as a screening tool for visual complications in the acute phase of stroke. The app is at least as good as usual screening and offers other functionality that may make it attractive for use in acute stroke