The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the elderly. This Article provides a detailed analysis of those effects, drawing primarily on individual-level mortality data covering almost ...three million persons aged 65+ in three Midwest states (Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin). We report sometimes surprising findings on population fatality rates (“PFR”), the ratio of COVID to non-COVID deaths, reported as a percentage, which we call the “Covid Mortality Percentage,” and mean life expectancy loss (“LEL”). We examine how these COVID-19 outcomes vary with age, gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, and time period during the pandemic.
For all persons in the three Midwest areas, COVID PFR through year-end 2021 was 0.22%, mean years of life lost (“YLL“) was 13.0 years, the COVID Mortality Percentage was 12.4%, and LEL was 0.028 years (eleven days). In contrast, for the elderly, PFR was 1.03%; YLL was 8.8 years, the COVID Mortality Percentage was 13.2%, and LEL was 0.091 years (thirty-four days). Controlling for gender, PFR and LEL were substantially higher for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites at all ages. Racial/ethnic disparities for the elderly were large early in the pandemic but diminished later. Although COVID-19 mortality was much higher for the elderly, the COVID Mortality Percentage over the full pandemic period was only modestly higher for the elderly, at 13.2%, than for non-elderly adults aged 25–64, at 11.1%. Indeed, in 2021, this ratio was lower for the elderly than for the middle-aged, reflecting higher elderly vaccination rates.
The article considers the link between policies and practice in high school over the last three decades, and analyzes the relationship between the state educational requirements and the preparation ...of curricula in literature. The analysis indicates the paradoxical disparity between the current educational policies that identify expected results, such as high reading literacy, the development of key competencies, and the increase of the quality and efficiency of education and of the outdated cultural and ideological paradigm, which serves as a basis for the preparation of the new curricula. The research determines the “technological” discrepancies in the development of programmes, and poses the question of how they reflect on the specifics of activities, goals and results, as well as on the overall preparation for life, as proclaimed by the Bulgarian school.
This paper examines the relation between the performance and valuations of publicly traded subsidiaries in the United States and the ownership stake of their parent companies. Cross-sectional and ...time-series tests demonstrate that subsidiaries of parents that own a substantial minority stake exhibit negative peer-adjusted operating performance and are valued at a 23% median discount relative to peers. In contrast, majority-owned and fully divested subsidiaries show no abnormal performance or valuations. The results of our study indicate that the association between parent ownership and subsidiary performance is nonlinear and that some parents behave opportunistically toward their publicly traded subsidiaries.
BACKGROUND: Patients’ compliance is a leading factor in achieving determined endpoints of a treatment process. Low patient compliance with prescribed therapeutic plan is very common in both ...ambulatory practice and clinical trials. Non-adherence of subjects in clinical studies can seriously jeopardize validity of results obtained during randomized clinical trials (RCTs).METHODS: Both systematic literature review and cross-sectional survey were conducted among physicians and patients to determine evaluation of therapy adherence by both groups. RESULTS: According to the analytical reviews in published articles, the most common definition of therapy adherence or compliance is “the ability and willingness of patients to abide to a prescribed therapeutic regimen”. There is a strong correlation between patient adherence to the therapeutic regimen determined by the study protocol of RCTs, and the validity of efficacy and safety evaluation of the investigated medicinal product. Analysis of the results from the conducted survey lead to the conclusion that 35% of physician’s state that the results of ongoing therapy are highly dependent on patient compliance. As far as patients are concerned, almost half of the respondents have answered they comply with the prescribed therapy and would evaluate the treatment process as successful. Both patients and medical professionals declare their willingness to participate in clinical trials and strictly stick to the requirements of the study protocol.Conclusion: These results decisively confirmed that the control of a disease is a bilateral process between the patient and the doctor. Patient satisfaction with their current therapy directly correlates with the results of treatment. Majority of patients evaluate their possible participation in a clinical trial as an opportunity to get an access to a better medical service. Both medical professionals and patients declare their strong motivation to comply with the therapeutic plan if it is a part of a clinical study protocol.
This article introduces a quantitative methodology for analyzing contested map borders. The article applies the new analytical technique to a data set of thirty maps showing Bulgaria in ca. 800 CE, a ...disputed state and period in medieval historiography with relevance to modern national politics and territorial claims. Based on the data set, we generate a series of new maps that make explicit the fluid medieval boundaries and general disagreement among geographers and historiographers. Our analysis begins with a simple point-in-polygon procedure to create a majority map that depicts the points included within the borders of the Bulgarian polity in sixteen or more of the maps (>50 percent). The majority map is then combined with percentage maps, confidence interval map boundaries, and cluster maps. The confidence interval maps are created via a spatial bootstrapping procedure and measure the uncertainty in the majority map. The cluster maps are developed via a radial basis function and provide insight into the potential affectivity based on the cartographers' countries of origin. The final map reflects the general modern consensus of the borders of the Bulgarian polity around 800 CE. Besides its quantitative contribution to medieval and modern cartographic, historiographical, and political debates, this article has developed a widely applicable methodology for synthesizing map borders and territories in cases of cartographic disagreement.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) are promising model architectures that mimic the structure and function of natural biomembranes. They provide a fluid, stable, and electrically sealing ...platform for the study of membrane related processes, specifically, the function of incorporated membrane proteins. This paper presents a generic approach toward the synthesis of functional tBLMs adapted for application to various surfaces. The central element of a tethered membrane consists of a lipid bilayer. Its proximal layer is covalently attached via a spacer unit to a solid support, either gold or silicon oxide. The membranes are characterized optically by using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) or ellipsometry and electrically by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The bilayer membranes obtained show high electrical barrier properties and can be used to incorporate and study small membrane proteins in a functional form.
The preparation of highly sulfonated poly(phenylene sulfone) (ion exchange capacity = 4.45 meq g
−1
) by polycondensation of sulfonated difluorodiphenyl sulfone with metal sulfide and subsequent ...oxidation with hydrogen peroxide is optimized. The monomer/metal sulfide ratio, polymerization time and temperature, and type of metal sulfide have been varied. For the best conditions high molecular weights of up to 300 kg mol
−1
are obtained reproducibly. This high molecular weight polyelectrolyte is meant to be used as main constituent of heterogeneous membrane structures such as interpenetrating networks, polymer blends, or simple physical mixtures with other polymers, e.g., for application in PEM fuel cells.
Law and tunneling Atanasov, Vladimir; Black, Bernard; Ciccotello, Conrad S
The Journal of corporation law,
12/2011, Letnik:
37, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Law and Tunneling Atanasov, Vladimir; Black, Bernard; Ciccotello, Conrad S
The Journal of corporation law,
10/2011, Letnik:
37, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Managers and controlling shareholders (insiders) can extract (tunnel) wealth from firms using a variety of methods. Tunneling occurs across both developed and developing markets, and impacts both ...trading prices and premia paid for corporate control. This article studies how effectively US' rules limit tunneling by insiders of public companies. The authors consider three broad types of tunneling: cash flow tunneling, in which insiders extract some of the firm's current cash flows; asset tunneling, in which insiders buy (sell) assets from (to) the firm at below (above) market prices; and equity tunneling, in which insiders acquire equity at below market price, either from the firm through an equity issuance or from other shareholders, often in a freezeout. The authors also examine how a broad set of rules, including corporate, securities, accounting, tax, and creditor protection rules, impact each type of tunneling. Prior law and finance literature discuss the potential anti-tunneling role of these sources, but not how they affect particular types of tunneling.
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