BACKGROUND Bayesian mixing models have allowed for the inclusion of uncertainty and prior information in the analysis of trophic interactions using stable isotopes. Formulating prior distributions is relatively straightforward when incorporating dietary data. However, the use of data that are related, but not directly proportional, to diet (such as prey availability data) is often problematic b...

The analysis of foodstuffs, such as rice, is of particular interest for nutrient elements present at high concentrations, and also for toxic elements such as cadmium that can be present at trace levels. The analysis is important to ensure product quality and safety, as well as determining product origin. Food scares related to contamination not only constitute a health risk but also undermine c...

4 Antoniewicz compared estimates of total household liabilities from the 1989 and 1992 surveys to estimates from the flow of funds accounts (FFA). For 1989, SCF total household liabilities equal $3.1 trillion, whereas the FFA estimate is about $29 billion less, and for 1992, the SCF estimate is $3.6 trillion, while FFA is about $116 billion higher. Estimates of consumer credit from the SCF are ...

The consumer price index (CPI) is usually computed as a fixed-weighted Laspeyres price index, with the weights updated at discrete intervals only. It is well known that the Laspeyres functional form entails a substitution bias. One way to reduce it would be to use chained indices, and superlative ones if possible. Unfortunately, the necessary data are often missing. This paper proposes a simple...

Interests continue to grow in recent years for the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in many different areas including transportation and supply chain management. Those RFID-included objects can be targeted more efficiently by real-time tracking and instant management. However, because of the contact-less type of RFID remote retrieval, the transmission of data in the air is very...

The Library of the Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago obtained a grant from the Illinois State Library to implement a statewide demonstration project that would provide consumer health information (CHI) using InfoTrac's Health Reference Center CD-ROM database. The goals of the project were to cooperate with targeted public libraries and clinics in providing CHI at the earl...

The release of the January 1987 Consumer Price Index (cpi) in February will introduce updated market baskets that reflect population distributions from the 1980 census of population and spending patterns from the 1982-84 Consumer Expenditure Survey . This release will be part of a 5-year program to update the cpi market basket and incorporate numerous technical enhancements . t Although the cpi...

This study examined the impact of declaring consumer bankruptcy on the physical and mental health of adult women and if outcomes differed depending on whether the filer received automatic debt discharge under Chapter 7 compared to a debt repayment plan with Chapter 13. Sample data consisted of women from the NLSY79 cohort who completed the age 40 and 50 health modules as of the most recent wave...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Adjusted for inflation, household income has been relatively flat since the mid-1990s, but the inflation rate of employer-sponsored health insurance has been greater than both household income growth and general inflation for 50 years. We estimated the effect on average family income if health insurance inflation matched the general inflation rate since 1996, and those...

Inclusion of nontraded goods prices has been shown to be partly responsible for slow convergence in price indices across major cities in the United States (Cecchetti et al 2002). Drawing upon insights provided by well known theories, this paper uses panel econometric methods to seek evidence in U.S. city level Consumer Price Index (CPI) data of a systematic long-run relationship between prices ...