An evaluation of therapeutic synergism using linear logit models

There is a great deal of interest in studying the joint action between chemotherapeutic agents, particularly in screening compounds for therapeutic synergism. In this paper, we propose an approach to study therapeutic synergism using logit models when the data are binary. The key is to convert the definition of therapeutic synergism to its equivalence in terms of the model parameters. Thereby, evaluating therapeutic synergism amounts to examining parameter estimates in the most parsimonious model fit to the data. The proposed approach was further applied to an experimental situation where it was desirable to rank several test articles when administered jointly with a common compound in the treatment of shock.     

Surgery,Slavery and the Circulation of Knowledge in the French Caribbean

Over the course of the eighteenth century, the reputation of surgery in France dramatically improved. Similarly, surgery thrived in the French Atlantic. Surgical expertise was a necessity in colonies that served as naval bases. Moreover, the violent brutality engendered by colonial slaveholding meant that surgeons dominated health care in France's Atlantic empire. As a result of these factors, Europeans as well as white Creoles practised surgery. Degreed practitioners offered their services in cities, while plantation surgeons and managers held the knives on the plantations. Enslaved men and women practised surgery too. Some tended their fellow slaves in the plantation hospitals and cabins, while others performed surgical procedures in urban areas. Due to the practical need for surgery in colonial and slaveholding environments and the lively exchange of surgical information, the surgical craft flourished in the French Caribbean and was practised by both free and enslaved persons.     

Cars,carbon, and Kyoto: Evaluating an emission charge and other policy instruments as incentives for a transition to hybrid cars in New Zealand

Abstract

Transition to hybrid petrol/electric vehicles (HEVs) is one means among many of reducing carbon emissions pursuant to the New Zealand emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The potential financial incentive value of an emissions charge was evaluated by comparing purchase and running costs of an HEV with an equivalent petrol‐fuelled car. Had a carbon tax of $15/tonne CO₂ operated in January 2006, the net fuel efficiency saving on the basis of the emissions charge and the inbuilt fuel efficiency of the HEV amounted to $655.50 annually for an HEV. When compared with a $7000 purchase price differential in favour of petrol‐fuelled vehicles, it can be concluded the proposed carbon tax would not have provided a sufficient incentive to bring about any significant change in the distribution of HEVs across the market. Shifting the norm to a higher proportion of fuel‐efficient cars will therefore require other incentives and/or policy mechanisms. We explore alternative policy options for bringing about such a shift, including the option of a tradable vehicle emission permit system.     

Urban and Indigenous: The Challenges of being a Native American in the City

The United States is home to more than 4 million Native Americans, the majority of whom live in urban areas. Urban Native Americans often experience significant social, health, and economic problems while having access to substantially fewer Native-specific resources than their reservation-based counterparts. They also face challenges with access to tribal services and political processes, as well as identity-sustaining cultural resources. This article describes the urban nature of many contemporary Native American communities. Examples from various urban Native American communities highlight the challenges faced by urban Native people, as well as creative initiatives developed to serve this population. This paper draws on and synthesizes the literature on contemporary urban Native communities, thus providing needed information for service providers and researchers working in these communities.     

Further evidence on education and job satisfaction

Regression analysis of data from recent U.S. national surveys was used to estimate, for white men and women separately, the total effect of amount of education on job satisfaction and the effect net of extrinsic rewards (money, prestige, authority, and autonomy). We reasoned that education which does not lead to extrinsic rewards would lead to dissatisfaction with work by producing unfulfilled expectations and aspirations, and thus we hypothesized that the estimated effect of education on job satisfaction net of extrinsic rewards would be negative. The hypothesis was not supported for women and was only weakly supported for men, and thus the findings of this study do not suggest that any increase in overeducated workers will have a major negative impact on job satisfaction., The indicated total effect of education is positive for both sexes but is considerably stronger for women than for men.     

Roles and Responsibilities of Community Nonprofit Boards

In this study, roles and responsibilities associated with nonprofit boards of directors were supported by a framework inclusive of Strategic Activities, Operations, and Resource Planning roles. This framework can be valuable for paid staff and volunteers in understanding the broad scope of the work of nonprofit boards and practical applications such as agenda setting for board meetings and designing board training and development activities.     

Cultural and Contextual Influences on Parenting in Mexican American Families

Family stress theory can explain associations between contextual stressors and parenting. The theory, however, has not been tested among Mexican Americans or expanded to include cultural‐contextual risks. This study examined associations between neighborhood, economic, and acculturative stressors and parenting behaviors in a sample of 570 two‐parent Mexican American families. Results support the negative impact of economic stress on parenting through parental depressive symptoms. Neighborhood stress influenced fathers’ depressive symptoms and parenting, but not mothers’. The effects of acculturative stress were inconsistent. Results suggest that contextual stressors common to Mexican American families impact parenting behaviors through parental depression.     

In-stream habitat predicts salamander occupancy and abundance better than landscape-scale factors within exurban watersheds in a global diversity hotspot

Urban Ecosystems - The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced rapid human population growth rates since the 1980s. Land used practices are shifting from rural to residential. The majority...