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The authors studied the effectiveness of advertising by the U.S. Army to promote enlistments using data for 1981 through 1984. Estimation of advertising effects were performed separately for four media: television, radio, magazines and newspapers. Army advertising was productive in garnering enlistments. Advertising-sales relationships were consistent with general advertising practices and responses to television, radio and magazine advertising, and tentatively, newspapers can increase sales. If only a small budget is available, print media should be used first, then radio and television added as budgets expand. This information should be used with caution in policy design today as cable, satellite and Internet services were not available and perceptions about military service have evolved.

Focuses on debates over whether to eliminate monk parakeets in the United States. Whether the monk parakeet is the ecological equivalent of the Carolina parakeet; Comparison of the ecology of the two species.

Documents the detrimental effects of human recreation on the North American wood turtle in Connecticut. Decline of population of wood turtles; Impact of opening of habitat for recreation; Increase in mean turtle age; Reduction in number of adult females.

Examines the administered-price hypothesis that short-run price movements in all the U.S. manufacturing industries do not conform to the predictions of the theory of perfect competition. Evolution of the administered-price hypothesis; Short-run model of perfect competition; Econometric analysis of the conventional price-change equation; Empirical evidence concerning the competitive hypothesis.

Argues against the claim that the automobile safety legislation in the United States has failed to produce the desired outcome of saving lives. Reasons for the criticisms against the legislation; Negative aspects of using statistical results in the analysis of the policy's effectiveness.

Comments on the article by Gail Blattenberger and Frank Lad about the application of operational subjective statistical methods to rational expectations in the U.S. Use of subjective predictivism; Joint sequential forecasting of the logarithms of nominal gross national product; Evaluation of predictive distributions and scoring.

ABSTRACT. Objective. To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of increasing lengths of brief postpartum hospitalizations. Methods. A cost-effectiveness model extrapolating from secondary data was used. Social costs in 2000 US dollars were estimated using several sources, including a randomized controlled trial, a retrospective study, and survey data. Life-years saved from reduced infant mortality were estimated from administrative data from Washington State. A total of 113 147 singleton newborns who were born in nonmilitary hospitals in Washington State in 1989 or 1990 and had postpartum stays short enough to be affected by length of stay legislation were studied. The cost-effectiveness of increases in postpartum lengths of stay similar to those that would occur if all mothers and singleton newborns used at least the time allotted to them under the federal length of stay legislation was measured. Results. Estimated lower-bound cost per newborn life-year saved was $19 800 (95% confidence interval: $11 600-$61 300) when only neonatal deaths were considered. The corresponding upper-bound estimate was $94 800 (95% confidence interval: $55 200-$286 800). The results were very sensitive to assumptions about the discount rate for future life-years and the time from birth during which averted deaths are considered (neonatal deaths, postneonatal infant deaths, or all infant deaths). Conclusions. At hospitals that do not experience additional capacity costs as a result of increased lengths of stay, lengthening short postpartum stays seems to be more cost-effective than many common health interventions and well below cost-effectiveness thresholds suggested by the literature. Even at hospitals that experience additional capacity costs, the cost-effectiveness of lengthening short postpartum stays seems to be roughly equal to the benchmark of $100 000 per quality-adjusted life-year suggested by the literature. Pediatrics 2003;111:e316-e322. URL: http://www.pediatrics... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Few data exist for large managed care populations on the occurrence of subsequent acute ischemic events in persons with established atherosclerotic vascular disease. We estimated the occurrence of secondary stroke, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and vascular deaths among 2 large, managed care samples., Methods: With the use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, patients aged > or =40 years and with stroke, AMI, or peripheral arterial disease (PAD) were identified from administrative data of UnitedHealthcare plans during 1995-1998. Stroke, AMI, and PAD cohorts were identified within a commercial insurance sample and a Medicare sample. Cumulative occurrences of subsequent stroke, AMI, or vascular death were estimated by survival analysis., Results: In the stroke commercial cohort (n=1631; mean age, 62.1 years), cumulative occurrence of subsequent events was 4.2%, 6.5%, 9.8%, and 11.8% at 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively; cumulative secondary event occurrence in the AMI commercial cohort (n=6458; mean age, 56.0 years) was 3.5%, 4.8%, 7.3%, and 8.5% and in the PAD commercial cohort (n=5813; mean age, 59.2 years) was 1.5%, 2.8%, 4.8%, and 6.5%, respectively. Cumulative secondary event occurrences were even higher in stroke (n=1518; mean age, 79.5 years), AMI (n=2197; mean age, 76.2 years), and PAD (n=5033; mean age, 76.6 years) cohorts of the Medicare sample: 18.1%, 17.0%, and 8.7%, respectively, at 3 years. More than 75% of each stroke cohort's secondary events were strokes; more than 75% of each AMI cohort's secondary events were AMIs. Of the PAD cohorts' secondary events, 27% to 39% were strokes, 48% to 57% were AMIs, and 13% to 16% were vascular deaths., Conclusions: Among these managed care enrollees with existing atherosclerotic vascular disease, subsequent ischemic events represent a significant symptomatic disease burden. Given these findings, it is very important to determine whether secondary prevention strategies are being effectively used to manage patients with diagnosed atherosclerosis.