Executive Office of the President of the United States

About: Executive Office of the President of the United States is a government organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Government & Mental health. The organization has 141 authors who have published 148 publications receiving 3775 citations. The organization is also known as: EOP & EOPOTUS.

Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic

Abstract: Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) intended to reduce infectious contacts between persons form an integral part of plans to mitigate the impact of the next influenza pandemic. Although the potential benefits of NPIs are supported by mathematical models, the historical evidence for the impact of such interventions in past pandemics has not been systematically examined. We obtained data on the timing of 19 classes of NPI in 17 U.S. cities during the 1918 pandemic and tested the hypothesis that early implementation of multiple interventions was associated with reduced disease transmission. Consistent with this hypothesis, cities in which multiple interventions were implemented at an early phase of the epidemic had peak death rates ≈50% lower than those that did not and had less-steep epidemic curves. Cities in which multiple interventions were implemented at an early phase of the epidemic also showed a trend toward lower cumulative excess mortality, but the difference was smaller (≈20%) and less statistically significant than that for peak death rates. This finding was not unexpected, given that few cities maintained NPIs longer than 6 weeks in 1918. Early implementation of certain interventions, including closure of schools, churches, and theaters, was associated with lower peak death rates, but no single intervention showed an association with improved aggregate outcomes for the 1918 phase of the pandemic. These findings support the hypothesis that rapid implementation of multiple NPIs can significantly reduce influenza transmission, but that viral spread will be renewed upon relaxation of such measures.

Evidence of genetic predisposition to alcoholic cirrhosis and psychosis: twin concordances for alcoholism and its biological end points by zygosity among male veterans

Abstract: Medical histories of the 15,924 male twin pairs in the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Twin Registry were examined to determine, within pairs, concordances for alcoholism and its medical end points. Prevalences per 1,000 among individual twin subjects were 29.6 for alcoholism, 4.1 for alcoholic psychosis, 14.2 for liver cirrhosis, and 2.1 for pancreatitis. Prevalences were similar to monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Prevalences in percent among co-twins of diagnosed subjects, that is case-wise twin concordance rates, were, respectively, by diagnosis: alcoholism: 26.3 (MZ), 11.9 (DZ); alcoholic psychosis: 21.1 (MZ), 6.0 (DZ); and liver cirrhosis: 14.6 (MZ), 5.4 (DZ). No twin pairs concordant for pancreatitis were found. The greater concordance for alcoholic psychosis and for liver cirrhosis among MZ than DZ twins could not be explained by the difference in alcoholism concordance between them. The difference in concordance between MZ and DZ twins persisted when, in addition, it was assumed that only half of the actually occurring cases of alcoholism and of each of the end points have been ascertained. These results provide evidence in favor of genetic predisposition to organ-specific complications of alcoholism and should serve to stimulate searches for the underlying biochemical mechanisms.

Shortest Paths in Probabilistic Graphs

Abstract: This paper considers the problem of finding shortest-path probability distributions in graphs whose branches are weighted with random lengths, examines the consequences of various assumptions concerning the nature of the available statistical information, and gives an exact method for computing the probability distribution, as well as methods based on hypothesis testing and statistical estimation. It presents Monte Carlo results and, based on these results, it develops an efficient method of hypothesis testing. Finally, it discusses briefly the pairwise comparison of paths.

Explaining Irrigation Technology Choices: A Microparameter Approach

Abstract: Water price reforms are increasingly being used to encourage improvements in irrigation efficiency through technology adoption. A microparameter approach based on field-level data is used to assess the effect of economic variables, environmental characteristics, and institutional variables on irrigation technology choices. The results show that water price is not the most important factor governing irrigation technology adoption; physical and agronomic characteristics appear to matter more. The results demonstrate the importance of using micro-level data to determine the effects of asset heterogeneity and crop type on technology adoption. The continued growth of urban water demand, acted a measure (A.B. 3616) requiring irrigathe recent awareness of environmental and in- tion districts in the state to draft "best managestream water values, and the virtual halt of wa- merit practices" for the use of irrigation water, ter supply development have put increased de- including farm-level measures such as irrigamands on scarce water supplies in the western tion systems. Water price reforms are also inUnited States. Recent legislation has called for creasingly used to encourage improvements in increased in-stream water flows to enhance wa- irrigation efficiency through technology adopter quality and restore wildlife habitat in a hum- tion. The federal Central Valley Project Imber of states, especially California. Because ag- provement Act requires the U.S. Bureau of Recricultural water use accounts for the majority of lamation to adopt increasing block pricing for water consumption in the West, growers are water provided to irrigation districts. generally forced to bear the burden of reduced The literature on adoption of modern irrigadiversions necessary to enhance in-stream tion technology is well established both empiri

The political economy of environmental regulation: Towards a unifying framework

Abstract: There are several theories that attempt to explain various aspects of environmental policy. Building on insights from this theoretical work, and recent advances in our understanding of instrument performance, this paper constructs a more complete theory of environmental regulation. There are two primary contributions of this research. The first is to provide more satisfactory explanations for a number of observed patterns of environmental policy. For example, there is, as yet, no satisfactory theory about the emergence of incentive-based mechanisms, such as marketable permits and effluent fees. The second contribution of this paper is to develop a parsimonious framework for understanding many important aspects of environmental policy. This framework suggests the outputs of environmental policy emerge from a struggle between key interest groups.