For More Short Sea Shipping, Get the Federal Government Out of the Way
Freight transport on the country ’s coasts and inland waterways, more commonly known as short sea shipping, is in a pitiable state. Despite being the mostenergy-efficient method of freight transport it accounts for a mere 6 percent of domestic tonnage moved. The corresponding figure in Europe is 40 percent. Instead of using waterborne transport, Americans place about 75 percent of their freight on trucks. That means more highway congestion, more highway maintenance, and more pollution.This is unlikely to change if a recent House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee hearing on short sea shipping ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 1, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Colin Grabow Source Type: blogs
Five Misconceptions about the Crisis in Venezuela
Some media reports and analyses on the latest developments in Venezuela are repeating the following five misconceptions: 1. “Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself president of Venezuela” Juan Guaid ó is the president of the National Assembly, a body that is controlled by the opposition. On January 10 a new presidential term started and, as required by the Constitution, the president-elect had to be sworn-in in front of the National Assembly. However, Nicolás Maduro was “reelected” last M ay in a sham election that the leading opposition parties were prevented from contesting it. Thus, on January 10 most Wes...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 28, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Juan Carlos Hidalgo Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 28th 2019
In this study, we show that calorie restriction is protective against age-related increases in senescence and microglia activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in an animal model of aging. Further, these protective effects mitigated age-related decline in neuroblast and neuronal production, and enhanced olfactory memory performance, a behavioral index of neurogenesis in the SVZ. Our results support the concept that calorie restriction might be an effective anti-aging intervention in the context of healthy brain aging.
Greater Modest Activity in Late Life Correlates with Lower Incidence of Dementia
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Source: Fight Aging! - January 27, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Sequencing Giant Tortoise Genomes in Search of Determinants of Longevity
Sequencing notably long-lived species has produced a number of interesting findings regarding the large variations in longevity between species. Long-lived species tend to exhibit one or more of exceptional DNA repair, exceptional cancer suppression mechanisms, exceptional regenerative and tissue maintenance capacity, exceptional control over inflammation, or the like. This short list is probably just scratching the surface, even given the great diversity of specific mechanisms in each category. For each of these discovered mechanisms it remains a question mark as to whether or not there is any way to safely port them over...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 24, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Central Bank Digital Currency Threatens Financial Privacy and Economic Growth
Discussion Note (November 2018).[4] For theory and evidence on this point seeLastrapes and Selgin (2012).[Cross-posted from Alt-M.org] (Source: Cato-at-liberty)
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 4, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Lawrence H. White Source Type: blogs
Shame may feel awful but new cross-cultural evidence shows it is fundamental to our survival
The 15 sites the researchers visited to study shame, from Sznycer et al 2018
By Emma Young
Shame feels so awful it’s hard to see how it could have an upside, especially when you consider specific triggers of the emotion – such as body-shaming, which involves criticising someone for how their body looks. But is shame always an ugly emotion that we should try to do away with? Or can it be helpful?
The answer, according to a new study published in PNAS of 899 people from all over the world is that, as an emotion, shame can not only be useful but is fundamental to our ability to survive and thrive in a group. The essent...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - October 10, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Cross-cultural Emotion evolutionary psych Source Type: blogs
Venezuela: The Biggest Humanitarian Crisis That You Haven't Heard Of
ConclusionThe Venezuelan emigration crisis is going to worsen before it improves. If the labor market and economic integration of Syrians refugees outside of Syria since 2011 can offer any lessons to South America, they are:Allow Venezuelans to legally work in host countries so that their employment and labor force participation rates rise.Deregulate labor markets generally because more legal work opportunities will reduce Venezuelan labor market competition with locals. Legal employment reduces the net cost of social services and charity as well as increases feelings of belonging and contentment among the emigrants.S...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 20, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Author Reading: Take-Home Lessons From Abroad
Cindy Medina reflects on her time in Manabí, Ecuador, as a medical student and the lessons she learned about caring for patients beyond treating their illnesses. Her essay was published in the Teaching and Learning Moments column in the April issue of Academic Medicine.
This new episode of our podcast is now available through iTunes, the Apple Podcast app, and SoundCloud. (Source: Academic Medicine Blog)
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - April 10, 2018 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Guest Author Tags: Audio Featured Trainee Perspective global health holistic medicine medical education patient advocacy patient care underserved communities Source Type: blogs
The World's First Central Bank Electronic Money Has Come – And Gone: Ecuador, 2014-2018
In 2014 the government of Ecuador, under then-President Rafael Correa, announced with great fanfare that the Ecuadorian Central Bank (BCE) would soon begin issuing an electronic money (dinero electr ónico, or DE). Users would keep account balances on the central bank’s own balance sheet and transfer them using a mobile phone app. Enabling legislation was passed in September, qualified users could open accounts beginning in December, and the accounts became spendable in February 2015. Aheadline on CNBC ’s website declared: “Ecuador becomes the first country to roll out its own digital cash.”The subsequent fate of t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 2, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Lawrence H. White Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 485
This week ' s case is donated by Dr. Luis Fernando Sol órzano Álava from Ecuador. The ' patient ' is not a human, but rather an Ecuadorian snail. However, the parasite shown is indeed very pathogenic to humans and has a predilection for the central nervous system.You can also see the videoHERE.Any thoughts on its identification? (Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites)
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - March 13, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Answer to Case 485
Answer:Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungwormAs many of you mentioned, the clues to the identification of this parasite are the characteristic morphology of the larvae, the host (snail), and the predilection of the parasite for the human central nervous system (CNS).A. cantonensiscan infect snails and slugs, which if accidentally ingested, can lead to debilitating, even fatal, eosinophilic meningitis in humans when the immature worms migrate to the CNS and die. Human infection can also be acquired through ingestion of infected paratenic hosts such as crabs and fresh water shrimp, and may potentially be ac...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - March 12, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Am I properly trained for grief?
It’s 2:02 p.m. when my pager beeps. I pull it out and read: “Juan may have just passed. Going in now.”
As a social worker in the region’s only cancer specialty hospital, I provide emotional support for patients and their families — including talking about their wishes for end-of-life care.
Juan is a sixty-five-year-old Ecuadorian man with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I’ve known him for about a year. Polite and easy to talk to, he often listens to Spanish sermons as he walks through the halls, IV pole at his side.
Over the months, we’ve grown close. He’s told me about his life in Ec...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 20, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/sara-bybee" rel="tag" > Sara Bybee, LCSW < /a > Tags: Conditions Critical Care Source Type: blogs
Travel Ban Is Based on Executive Whim, Not Objective Criteria
ConclusionFor countries on the list, and for any country wishing to remain off the list, it is vitally important that they understand which factors led to their inclusion or exclusion. If the United States is acting in good faith —seeking to change behavior as opposed to looking for an excuse to ban people—its criteria should be clearly explained and understood. The Iran nuclear deal, for example, hasvery precise requirements for Iran to avoid sanctions, down to the exact percentage of purity for its enriched uranium. This is very far from the case here.No consistent combination of factors or mitigating factors trigger...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 9, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: David Bier Source Type: blogs
Can the Government Destroy Bitcoin?
China-based cryptocurrency exchangeBTCC suspended all domestic trading in yuan last weekend. The decision came on the heels of a September 5statement from regulatory authorities in China, which required all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges publish closing announcements, stop registering new users, and establish a schedule to cease yuan-denominated trading by September 15. Huobi and OKCoin — two other exchanges based in China — haveannounced similar plans to stop trading. To be clear: China has not banned the use of cryptocurrencies. It has banned cryptocurrency exchanges andinitial coin offerings (ICOs). Even still, i...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 5, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: William J. Luther Source Type: blogs
Anti-Paper Prophet: Comments on The Curse of Cash
ConclusionRogoff raises many other interesting issues in his response, and trying to cover them all would make this article much too lengthy. His arguments are generally sophisticated and sometimes challenging, even when I disagree with him or believe he hasn’t adequately addressed my concerns. Our most fundamental difference remains our analysis of the State. Rogoff unreflectively adopts what Harold Demsetz characte rizes as the“nirvana” approach to public policy. This makes him far more optimistic than is justified about the overall benevolence and competence of governments, particularly in developed countries. H...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 15, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey Rogers Hummel Source Type: blogs
