SURE Impact? An Empirical Investigation of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection Behavior

The Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program, enacted under the 2008 Farm Bill, is intended to provide indemnity payments to producers whose crop losses exceed 50% of their historical average yields. However, indemnification does not require that the farm is located in a region designated a disaster relief area -- a provision that can create significant moral hazard incentives. This study is the first to perform an empirical analysis of possible moral hazard behavior in corn, soybean, and wheat markets in response to the SURE program. Results suggest that an increase in crop insurance demand after the enactment of SURE may be due to the program's moral hazard incentives.Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

Strategies for the Concise Synthesis of the Akuammiline Alkaloids

The akuammiline alkaloids are an intriguing class of natural products that display an array of biological activities and structural diversity. Despite being known for over 125 years, it is surprising that these complex monoterpene indole alkaloids have only recently elicited sustained interest from the synthetic community, especially given the storied history of this broad family in the development of the art of total synthesis, and, in particular, heterocyclic chemistry. This dissertation details our efforts to address these deficiencies through work directed at the unique akuammiline alkaloid (+)-scholarisine A, ultimately yielding a concise and enantiospecific preparation of this challenging target. Building on this initial success, we have initiated studies aiming to generalize these strategies to the akuammiline class as whole, efforts that have been empowered by the development of several novel synthetic transforms. These investigations have culminated in the efficient synthesis of a collection of advanced intermediates en route to the varied frameworks represented by strictamine and 10-demethoxynorvincorine. In addition, we have leveraged our expertise gained within these challenging contexts towards a method with utility beyond the akuammiline class, one that is likely to find broad application in both natural product synthesis and the assembly of medicinally-relevant building blocks

A novel ECG-biomarker for cardiac arrest during hypothermia

Background: Treatment of arrhythmias evoked by accidental or therapeutic hypothermia and rewarming remains challenging. We aim to find an ECG-biomarker that can predict ventricular arrhythmias at temperatures occurring in therapeutic and accidental hypothermia. Main body: Evaluation of ECG-data from accidental and therapeutic hypothermia patients and experimental data on ECG and ventricular fibrillation (VF) threshold in hypothermic New Zealand White Rabbits. VF threshold was measured in rabbit hearts cooled to moderate (31 °C) and severe (17 °C) hypothermia. QRS-interval divided by corrected QT-interval (QTc) was calculated at same temperatures. Clinical QRS/QTc data were obtained after a systematic literature review. Rabbit QRS/QTc values correlated with risk for VF (correlation coefficient: 0.97). Human QRS/QTc values from hypothermic patients, showed similar correlation with risk for ventricular fibrillation in the experimental data (correlation coefficient: 1.00). Conclusions: These calculations indicate that QRS/QTc has potential as novel biomarker for predicting risk of hypothermia-induced cardiac arrest. Our findings apply both to victims of accidental hypothermia and to patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia during surgery or after e.g. cardiac arrest

Dealing with the devil: weight loss concerns in young adult women with type 1 diabetes.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the weight loss concerns of young adults with type 1 diabetes. BACKGROUND: Eating disorders are prevalent in young women with type 1 diabetes. DESIGN: Qualitative. METHODS: Interviews with 35 young adults (23-30 years of age) with type 1 diabetes and 13 healthcare professionals. RESULTS: Most female interviewees were concerned about the difficulties of losing weight when having diabetes. Six female interviewees developed severe eating disturbances when they were younger. These women initially regarded their disturbed eating behaviour positively and engaged in weight loss activities intermittently. However, over time, they lost control of their behaviour, and it came to dominate their lives. Family conflict often intensified disordered eating behaviours. Eventually all of these women managed to transition away from their behaviour, although this process took, for some of them, several years. Several of them (now in their early to late twenties), however, continued to struggle with weight loss impulses. Healthcare professionals felt that eating- and weight-related issues often went undiagnosed and undocumented in young adult women with type 1 diabetes. CONCLUSION: Many young women with type 1 diabetes are worried about their weight, but will not engage in risky weight loss activities because of concerns about their health. A minority of young adult women will develop more severe eating-related disturbances. These eating disturbances may last a significant amount of time before clinicians become aware of them. These women may also experience disordered weight loss impulses for sometime after clinical interventions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Clinicians should screen young adult women with type 1 diabetes for eating disorders and monitor young adult women who have developed eating disorders over the longer term. There may be a need to provide asymptomatic young women with diabetes with information about the potential risks of insulin omission

Why do young adults with Type 1 diabetes find it difficult to manage diabetes in the workplace?

This article explores how and why workplace environments impact diabetes management for adults people with Type 1 diabetes, 23-30 years of age. Interviews were conducted with 35 young adults, 29 women and 6 men. The majority of these interviewees worked in sectors such as banking, technology and administration. Young adults found it difficult to manage diabetes in the workplace for two main reasons: work-related time pressures and the non-routine nature of interviewees\u27 work and working environment. Young adults also found it difficult to get the time to exercise both inside and outside of work. Young adults with Type 1 diabetes need to be provided with the tools and technologies that they need to manage diabetes in modern flexible workplaces

Considering quality of care for young adults with diabetes in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: Research on the quality of diabetes care provided to young adults with Type 1 diabetes is lacking. This study investigates perceptions of quality of care for young adults with Type 1 diabetes (23--30 years old) living in the Republic of Ireland. METHODS: Thirty-five young adults with Type 1 diabetes (twenty-nine women, six men) and thirteen healthcare professionals (ten diabetes nurse specialists, three consultant Endocrinologists) were recruited. All study participants completed semi-structured interviews that explored their perspectives on the quality of diabetes services in Ireland. Interviews were analyzed using standard qualitative thematic analysis techniques. RESULTS: Most interviewees identified problems with Irish diabetes services for young adults. Healthcare services were often characterised by long waiting times, inadequate continuity of care, overreliance on junior doctors and inadequate professional-patient interaction times. Many rural and non-specialist services lacked funding for diabetes education programmes, diabetes nurse specialists, insulin pumps or for psychological support, though these services are important components of quality Type 1 diabetes healthcare. Allied health services such as psychology, podiatry and dietician services appeared to be underfunded in many parts of the country. While Irish diabetes services lacked funding prior to the recession, the economic decline in Ireland, and the subsequent austerity imposed on the Irish health service as a result of that decline, appears to have additional negative consequences. Despite these difficulties, a number of specialist healthcare services for young adults with diabetes seemed to be providing excellent quality of care. Although young adults and professionals identified many of the same problems with Irish diabetes services, professionals appeared to be more critical of diabetes services than young adults. Young adults generally expressed high levels of satisfaction with services, even where they noted that aspects of those services were sub-optimal. CONCLUSION: Good quality care appears to be unequally distributed throughout Ireland. National austerity measures appear to be negatively impacting health services for young adults with diabetes. There is a need for more Endocrinologist and diabetes nurse specialist posts to be funded in Ireland, as well as allied health professional posts

Remote sensing for conservation of tropical moist forests: A study in Indonesia.

The Indonesian archipelago extends in a great 6000km arc from the northern tip of Sumatra to the eastern border of Irian Jaya. It includes a wide diversity of ecosystems ranging from the floristically rich and economically important lowland tropical rain forests to the 'moss' and sub-alpine meadows of the higher mountains and from fresh-water swamp forest to the dry monsoon forest and savanna woodlands of the lesser Sunda islands. These forests are of importance for the protection of watersheds and catchment areas, for the maintenance of water supplies, and for their general and local influence upon climate. They are the habitat of a large number of rare, endangered and endemic plant and animal species; also many other birds, mammals, reptiles and insects which form a colourful, scientifically valuable and irreplaceable part of the national heritage and world genetic resources. This study examines an area of great ecological importance in Sulawesi, and an attempt is made to map a number of ecosystems in the area. Landsat multispectral imagery (1972) was the basis of the mapping and field work was completed in 1980. The satellite imagery proved to be a satisfactory mapping tool in these tropical moist forest conditions