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It is now nearly eleven years, in 1976, since federal legislation creating a National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities was passed by the U.S. Congress and the signs are rapidly multiplying that the broad field of government and the arts is an exciting and still relatively uncharted area for policy research. Actually, the consequences of government policies that affect literature and other art forms have long merited careful study. U.S. copyright law had a major impact on the development of American literature in the nineteenth century. The 1960s has seen an extraordinary growth of government programs and activities that affect the arts. In studying the arts policy process, it will be worthwhile to focus one's attention both on the impact which government policies have on the arts, and on the impact which literature and other art forms can have on the government.

The social composition of government bureaucracies has important implications for social and political systems. In this paper comparisons are made between national samples of federal civilian employees and nonfederal employees on key social and occupational characteristics. Federal employees differ modestly from the general employed public in several respects, one of the most important being the bureaucracy's openness to minorities. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two work forces are perhaps more striking. Furthermore, federal workers have had extensive experience in a representative variety of nonfederal pursuits. There is little persuasive evidence that federal workers are not broadly reflective of the American social Structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important issue in food grain marketing in India concerns the effectiveness of competition, but there is little empirical research on which to evaluate the issue. This article analyzes pricing effectiveness in one private wholesale wheat market in north India by comparing average seasonal and spatial price differences with estimated storage and transport costs. The comparisons indicate that correspondence between average price movements and average cost differences was reasonably close. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the implications of the availability of private capital flows to the economic development of various developing countries. Need to get back to the basics; Addressing comparative advantage in providing assistance to accelerate agricultural development.

Appetitive traits, including food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating, are associated with childhood body mass index. Change in appetitive traits from infancy to childhood and the direction of causality between appetitive traits and body mass index are unclear. The present study examined the developmental trajectory of appetitive traits and their bidirectional relations with body mass index, from infancy to early childhood. Mothers in the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study and follow-up (n = 162) reported child appetitive traits using the Baby and Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaires at ages 6 months and 3.5 years, respectively. Standardized body mass index (zBMI) was calculated from child anthropometrics. Cross-lagged panel models estimated bidirectional relations between appetitive traits and zBMI. Food responsiveness, satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating increased from infancy to early childhood. In cross-lagged panel models, lower infant satiety responsiveness (B ± SE = -0.45 ± 0.19, p = .02) predicted greater child zBMI. Infant zBMI did not predict child appetitive traits (p-values >.36). From infancy to early childhood, appetitive traits may amplify. Appetitive traits, particularly satiety responsiveness, appear to influence body mass index during this period, suggesting early intervention targeting these traits may reduce childhood obesity., (© 2023 World Obesity Federation. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Background: Thiopurines (azathioprine and mercaptopurine) remain integral to most medical strategies for maintaining remission in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Indefinite use of these drugs is tempered by long-term risks. While clinical relapse is noted frequently following drug withdrawal, there are few published data on predictive factors., Aim: To investigate the success of planned thiopurine withdrawal in patients in sustained clinical remission to identify rates and predictors of relapse., Methods: This was a multicentre retrospective cohort study from 11 centres across the UK. Patients included had a definitive diagnosis of IBD, continuous thiopurine use ≥3 years and withdrawal when in sustained clinical remission. All patients had a minimum of 12 months follow-up post drug withdrawal. Primary and secondary end points were relapse at 12 and 24 months respectively., Results: 237 patients were included in the study (129 CD; 108 UC). Median duration of thiopurine use prior to withdrawal was 6.0 years (interquartile range 4.4-8.4). At follow-up, moderate/severe relapse was observed in 23% CD and 12% UC patients at 12 months, 39% CD and 26% UC at 24 months. Relapse rate at 12 months was significantly higher in CD than UC (P = 0.035). Elevated CRP at withdrawal was associated with higher relapse rates at 12 months for CD (P = 0.005), while an elevated white cell count was predictive at 12 months for UC (P = 0.007)., Conclusion: Thiopurine withdrawal in the context of sustained remission is associated with a 1-year moderate-to-severe relapse rate of 23% in Crohn's disease and 12% in ulcerative colitis., (© 2014 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background and Objectives: Daily smoking rates are decreasing while intermittent or nondaily smoking rates are increasing. Little is known about the association of depression, alcohol abuse and dependence, and illicit drug abuse and dependence with different patterns of smoking, particularly nondaily smoking. Thus, we examined these relationships among current smokers versus nonsmokers and among those who smoke daily versus less frequently., Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of 37,897 adults who participated in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We developed logistic regression models examining predictors of (i) current smoking and (ii) number of days smoking per month (1-10 days, 11-29 days, and ≥30 days) among current smokers, focusing on past-year major depression, alcohol abuse and dependence, and illicit drug abuse and dependence., Results: Compared to nonsmokers, current smokers more frequently reported a major depressive episode (p < .001), alcohol dependence (p < .001) and abuse (p < .001), and illicit drug dependence (p < .001) and abuse (p < .001), controlling for sociodemographics. Among current smokers, greater smoking frequency was associated with illicit drug dependence (p = .004), but lower likelihood of alcohol dependence (p = .01), alcohol abuse (p = .01), and illicit drug abuse (p = .01)., Conclusions: Although depression and substance use were associated with greater likelihood of smoking, most measures were inversely associated with frequency of smoking. Thus, it is important to examine underlying mechanisms contributing to these counterintuitive findings in order to inform intervention approaches., Scientific Significance: With increased rates of nondaily smoking, developing a greater understanding about the mental health correlates related to this pattern of smoking is critical., (Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.)

Background: We performed an audit of methotrexate for ulcerative colitis, because efficacy is unclear. Aim : To investigate the role of methotrexate in the management of ulcerative colitis., Methods: Patients with ulcerative colitis treated with oral methotrexate at the inflammatory bowel disease clinics of Oxford and Wycombe General Hospital, UK, were evaluated. Efficacy was defined by remission (complete steroid withdrawal for >3 months) and response (good, partial or nil, proportionate reduction of steroids)., Results: There were 50 patients (42 ulcerative colitis alone; eight had rheumatoid arthritis associated with ulcerative colitis and were analysed separately). Indications for methotrexate in ulcerative colitis alone were azathioprine intolerance (31 of 42) and lack of benefit from azathioprine (11 of 42). The mean dose of methotrexate in ulcerative colitis alone was 19.9 mg/week for a median of 30 weeks (range: 7-395). Remission occurred in 42%. The response was good in 54% and partial in 18%. Side-effects occurred in 23%; 10% stopped treatment because of side-effects. Of those treated with methotrexate because of treatment failure with azathioprine, three of 11 achieved remission, but four came to colectomy within 90 days of starting methotrexate. The colitis remained in remission in seven of eight of those with RA treated with methotrexate and ulcerative colitis (mean dose 15.0 mg/week)., Conclusion: Oral methotrexate (approximately 20 mg/week) is well-tolerated and moderately effective in steroid-dependent or steroid-refractory patients with ulcerative colitis.