Exploring the Drugs-Homicide Connection

Although research generally assumes a close relationship between drugs and violence, very little is known about the many different roles drugs can play in criminal events. Drug related as an event classification scheme is relatively common in homicide research, as well as other areas of inquiry, and is usually understood to be an important component in the causal processes of criminal events. Yet such classification schemes often suggest a simple, unidimensional construct. In reality, drug-related crimes are com-plex events. The purpose of this researchwas first to disaggregate the concept of drug-related homicide by providing an event classification scheme that conceptualizes the diverse roles drugs play in drug-related events.Acategorical coding scheme is presented that is similar to that proposed by Goldstein (1995) and later tested by Brownstein and colleagues (Brownstein & Goldstein, 1990; Brownstein, Baxi, Goldstein, & Ryan, 1992) that specifies three distinct types of homicide events. Included among these are (a) events that involved no evidence of illicit drugs associated with the homicide event, (b) those that involved the presence of drugs or drug use at the scene as well as events where either the victim and/or offender were buying or selling drugs (we term this peripherally drug-related homicides), and (c) events where the sale or use of drugswas the motivating feature of the homicide event. In some situations, there may be overlap between categories b and c; however, category c is distinct in that it includes features of motivation. The second purpose was to determine the relative importance of various situational and contextual characteristics of homicide events in understanding different types of drug-related events. Delineating these features will be an important step in filling in the gaps of knowledge about the assumed relationship between drugs and violence

Predicting Antibiotic Resistance, Not Just for Quinolones

The ability to better understand and predict the onset of antibiotic resistance to new drugs is needed. Antibiotic resistance has become an emerging issue of concern, and there are emphases to minimize its escalation. The number of cases of antibiotic resistant infections is increasing, as are the numbers of multidrug resistant bacteria. As a result, more antibiotics are becoming of limited use and previous attempts to tackle the resistance problem remain relatively ineffective. If we can more effectively anticipate how and when resistance is likely to arise, we can better manage drug use and perhaps extend efficacy of chemical treatment

Lessons Learned and Prospects for Reform

Property Tax in Asia: Policy and Practice. Chapter 3 - Lessons Learned and Prospects for Refor

Current Policies and Practices

Asian jurisdictions tax real property in many different ways: some tax ownership and some land use; some tax land and some land and buildings; and some have no property tax. These broad differences in what they tax lead to important differences in how they tax real property: how they value property, what they do not tax, and how they go about their collections. This chapter compares practices in all 13 jurisdictions with good practices in property taxation to suggest the best way forward. It begins with a review and analysis of how these jurisdictions have structured their property tax bases and rates to mobilize revenues. Most have gone to great lengths to reduce the burden on property taxpayers. The chapter then describes the development of the fiscal cadastre-those factors required for implementation of a property tax system. Here, valuation, billing, collection, and enforcement are compared and discussed in some detail. We also take up the subject of taxes on property transfers and discuss why this has long been a missing link in achieving the goals of better property taxation. The chapter closes with a discussion of how jurisdictions and territories in Asia have attempted to use land and property taxes to influence the distribution of tax burdens and the efficiency of land use

An uncertainty approach to assessment of climate change impacts on the Zambezi River Basin

Many residents of the Zambezi River Valley are dependent on water-related resources. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may cause a significant change to the climate in the Zambezi Basin in the future, but there is much uncertainty about the future climate state. This situation leaves policy makers at a state of urgency to prepare for these changes as well as reduce the impacts of the changes through GHG mitigation strategies. First and foremost, we must better understand the economic sectors most likely impacted and the magnitude of those impacts, given the inherent uncertainty. In this study, we present a suite of models that assess the effects of climate change on water resources for four countries in the Zambezi basin: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We use information from a large ensemble (6800) of climate scenarios for two GHG emission policies which represent a distribution of impacts on water-related sectors, considering emissions uncertainty, climate sensitivity uncertainty, and regional climate uncertainty. Two GHG mitigation scenarios are used to understand the effect of global emissions reduction on the River Basin system out to 2050. Under both climate polices, the majority of the basin will likely be drier, except for a portion in the north around Malawi and northern Zambia. Three Key Performance Indicators are used—flood occurrence, unmet irrigation demand, and hydropower generation—to understand the impact channels of climate change effects on the four countries. We find that floods are likely to be worse in Mozambique, irrigation demands are likely to be unmet in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and hydropower generation is likely to be reduced in Zambia. We also find that the range of possible impacts is much larger under an unconstrained GHG emissions case than under a strict mitigation strategy, suggesting that GHG mitigation would reduce uncertainties about the future climate state, reducing the risks of extreme changes as compared to the unconstrained emissions case

Accurate Estimation of Diffusion Coefficients and their Uncertainties from Computer Simulation

Self-diffusion coefficients, $D^*$, are routinely estimated from molecular dynamics simulations by fitting a linear model to the observed mean-squared displacements (MSDs) of mobile species. MSDs derived from simulation suffer from statistical noise, which introduces uncertainty in the resulting estimate of $D^*$. An optimal scheme for estimating $D^*$ will minimise this uncertainty, i.e., will have high statistical efficiency, and will give an accurate estimate of the uncertainty itself. We present a scheme for estimating $D^*$ from a single simulation trajectory with high statistical efficiency and accurately estimating the uncertainty in the predicted value. The statistical distribution of MSDs observable from a given simulation is modelled as a multivariate normal distribution using an analytical covariance matrix for an equivalent system of freely diffusing particles, which we parameterise from the available simulation data. We then perform Bayesian regression to sample the distribution of linear models that are compatible with this model multivariate normal distribution, to obtain a statistically efficient estimate of $D^*$ and an accurate estimate of the associated statistical uncertainty

Inhibition of Poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase enhances the toxicity of 131I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine/Topotecan combination therapy to cells and xenografts that express the noradrenaline transporter

Targeted radiotherapy using [131I]meta-iodobenzylguanidine ([131I]MIBG) has produced remissions in some neuroblastoma patients. We previously reported that combining [131I]MIBG with the topoisomerase I (Topo-I) inhibitor topotecan induced long-term DNA damage and supra-additive toxicity to NAT-expressing cells and xenografts. This combination treatment is undergoing clinical evaluation. This present study investigated the potential of PARP-1 inhibition, in vitro and in vivo, to further enhance [131I]MIBG/topotecan efficacy

Context and Comparative Analysis

Property taxation is not new to Asia. China has some of the oldest examples of property and land taxes, the Philippine version has been emerging since 1901, and the property tax laws in Hong Kong (a special administrative region, or SAR, of China) were in place in 1845. Some Asian jurisdictions have modernized their property taxes to keep in step with their economic growth, but others have allowed their property taxes to fall into disrepair. This analysis aims to show how to make good practices better and how to put weak practices on a path to improvement. This chapter provides an overview of the jurisdictions chosen for in-depth analysis and examines the extent to which they represent South and East Asia. It also presents a statistical analysis of the determinants of regional variations in property tax revenues and compares property tax performance in Asia with the rest of the world, which helps explain why some jurisdictions and regions use property and land taxes more than others