Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Redistribution with Unionized Labor Markets ∗

We analyze optimal redistributive taxation in an economy where labor markets are unionized and individual labor supply responds along the extensive (participation) margin. We show that the optimal tax and beneﬁt system, in addition to the standard redistributive purpose, also serves to alleviate distortions induced by unions. In particular, income taxes should be lower the larger are the welfare gains associated to lowering involuntary unemployment. With unionized wage-setting, it may therefore be optimal to subsidize participation even for workers whose welfare weight is below one, something that can never be optimal when labor markets are competitive. Furthermore, we ﬁnd that increasing the bargaining power of unions representing low-income workers is unambiguously welfare-enhancing, while the opposite holds true for high-income workers. Unions for low-skilled workers increase the eﬀectiveness of the tax and beneﬁt system to redistribute income, as any adverse impact from these unions on employment can be perfectly oﬀset by lowering income taxes at the bottom. Hence, despite the fact that unions distort an eﬃcient functioning of the labor market, allowing low-income workers to organize themselves is socially desirable for equity reasons.
Environmental and hydrologic controls on sediment and organic carbon export from a subalpine catchment: insights from a time series

Abstract. Studies engaging in tracking headwater carbon signatures downstream remain sparse, despite their importance for constraining transfer and transformation pathways of organic carbon (OC) and developing regional-scale perspectives on mechanisms influencing the balance between remineralization and carbon export. Based on a 40-month time series, we investigate the dependence of hydrology and seasonality on the discharge of sediment and OC in a small (350 km2) Swiss subalpine watershed (Sihl River basin). We analyze concentrations and isotopic compositions (δ13C, F14C) of particulate OC and use dual-isotope mixing and machine learning frameworks to characterize and estimate source contributions, transport pathways, and export fluxes. The majority of transferred OC is sourced from plant biomass and soil material. The relative amount of bedrock-derived (petrogenic) OC, abundant in headwater streams, progressively decreases downstream in response to a lack of source material and efficient overprinting with biospheric OC, illustrating rapid organic matter alteration over short distances. Large variations in OC isotopic compositions observed during baseflow conditions converge and form a homogenous mixture enriched in OC and characterized by higher POC-F14C values following precipitation-driven events. Particulate OC isotopic data and model results suggest that storms facilitate surface runoff and the inundation of riparian zones, resulting in the entrainment of loose plant-derived debris and surficial soil material. Although particle transport in the Sihl River basin is mainly driven by hydrology, subtle changes in bedrock erosivity, slope angle, and floodplain extent likely have profound effects on the POC composition, age, and export yields.
Political views and science literacy as indicators of vaccine confidence and COVID-19 concern

Summary Introduction The distrust, delay and refusal of vaccinations represent serious threats to global public health. As demonstrated by the dramatic worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, adequate vaccine coverage against infectious diseases is essential towards the preservation and function of virtually every aspect of our society. While the determinants of vaccine hesitancy and pandemic concern have been widely investigated, conflicting evidence exists with regards to their association with education levels and political views. Methods This study aimed to investigate whether science literacy levels and standpoint on social and economic matters are associated with different levels of vaccine confidence and COVID-19 concern. An online survey was circulated amongst participants recruited via convenience sampling, and data were analysed using non-parametric statistical tests. Results The survey (n = 389) highlighted that participants who studied Science at General Certificate of Secondary Education level have a lower vaccine confidence than those with both lower and higher levels of science education. Participants with neutral/centrist political views expressed lower confidence than those with a libertarian social stance or a left-wing economic stance. A higher concern with the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower levels of science education, libertarian social views, and left-wing economic views. Conclusions The present study provides novel insight on the educational and political factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and pandemic concern within a British population sample.
Oral Hygiene practices and Oral Health Related Quality of Life observed in patients reporting to Dental Institution in North India during COVID-19 Pandemic

Summary Objective The purpose of the study was to ascertain Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQOL) and evaluate oralhygiene practices in patients visiting a dental institution during COVID-19 time. Materials and methods Face-to face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured close-ended questionnaire,assessing oral hygiene practices and self-reported oral problems perceived in last 6 months, using both Hindi and English version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) Questionnaire. Frequency distribution of oral hygiene practices were obtained, and Descriptive statistics computed the scores of OHIP-14. Kruskal-wallis test and Independent t-test were used to match the association of OHIP-14 with demographic variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to compute the association of OHIP-14 with independent variables, age and gender. Results Subjective evaluation of OHRQOL (Oral Health Related Quality of Life) using OHIP-14 Porforma resulted in high score for physical pain and psychological discomfort but subjects expressed less discomfort in connection to functional limitation, physical disability, psychological discomfort, social disability and handicap domains of OHIP-14. With progressive increase in age OHRQOL worsened. Females had poor OHRQOL, with significant difference as compared to males. Gender and marital status observed variance in OHIP-14 with statistically significant difference (P <0.000). Conclusion More than two-third subjects preferred cleaning their teeth using toothbrush and toothpaste. Therefore, COVID-19 consequently impacted OHRQOL of the general population.
Patient delay and health system delay of patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis in Mongolia, 2016–2017

ABSTRACT Although diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) have been improved in many countries, delays in the diagnosis and treatment remain problematic in resource-limited countries. This study aimed to identify factors affecting delays in TB care in Mongolia. Data on TB cases registered from January 2016 to December 2017 were obtained from the national registry of TB at the Department of TB Surveillance and Research in National Center for Communicable Disease. The total number of TB cases registered in these two years was 8,166, including 3,267 cases of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB. Pulmonary TB cases (1,836 males and 1,431 females) were analyzed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Patient delays longer than the median (28 days) were significantly associated with patient age >32 years (aOR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.14–1.51), residence in areas other than Ulaanbaatar (aimags) (aOR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.20–1.59), and smear-negative (aOR=0.57, 95%CI: 0.47–0.69). Health system delays longer than the median (7 days) were significantly associated with patient age >32 years (aOR=1.16, 95%CI: 1.00–1.33), residence in aimags (aOR=0.82, 95%CI: 0.71–0.95), special facilities including a prison hospital (aOR=4.40, 95%CI: 2.42–7.83), registration in 2017 relative to 2016 (aOR=0.83, 95%CI: 0.71–0.95), and smear-negative (aOR=1.72, 95%CI: 1.42–2.07). Total delays longer than the median (45 days) were significantly associated with patient age >32 years (aOR=1.39, 95%CI: 1.21–1.60), residence in aimags (aOR=1.27, 95%CI: 1.11–1.47), and smear-negative (aOR=0.74, 95%CI: 0.62–0.90). To shorten the total delay, improvement of the access to medical facilities in aimags is necessary.
The Effects of Delays in Road Construction Projects in Tripoli, Libya

Construction delays have become endemic in Libya. It is imperative to create awareness of the extent to which such delays can adversely affect project delivery, especially with regard to road construction projects. It is clear that the Libyan road construction industry also faces the issue of not being able to complete projects within the allocated time. This paper identifies the effects of road construction delays, evaluates these through a questionnaire, and assesses them using an empirical method. A detailed review of related literature produced the secondary data, while the primary data was obtained via a structured questionnaire which targeted the road construction projects owners, consultants and contractors. A 71% response rate was achieved; 256 out of the 360 questionnaires sent out were returned. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data received from the questionnaires. The findings of the study reveal that the major outcomes of road construction project schedule overruns in Tripoli, Libya include cost overruns, time extensions, disputes, loss of profit, breaches of contract, poor quality of work and company’s bad reputation. The study makes a contribution to the knowledge of the subject of the outcomes of road construction project schedule overruns in Tripoli. Computation of the means and standard deviations, together with a structural equation model, have been used for the data analysis and inference. It is found that delays in road construction projects widely lead to cost overrun, time overrun, litigation and disputes. The findings of the study also provide significant insights into the construction industry, which will help it formulate strategies in order to avoid delays and their consequences. The most important effects identified were time overrun, cost overrun and obstruction of economic and country development. The recommendations and limitations are discussed in the concluding part of the study.
Reduced splenic uptake on 68Ga-Pentixafor-PET/CT imaging in multiple myeloma - a potential imaging biomarker for disease prognosis

Beyond being a key factor for tumor growth and metastasis in human cancer, C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is also highly expressed by a number of immune cells, allowing for non-invasive read-out of inflammatory activity. With two recent studies reporting on prognostic implications of the spleen signal in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias, the aim of this study was to correlate splenic 68Ga-Pentixafor uptake in multiple myeloma (MM) with clinical parameters and to evaluate its prognostic impact. Methods: Eighty-seven MM patients underwent molecular imaging with 68Ga-Pentixafor-PET/CT. Splenic CXCR4 expression was semi-quantitatively assessed by peak standardized uptake values (SUVpeak) and corresponding spleen-to-bloodpool ratios (TBR) and correlated with clinical and prognostic features as well as survival parameters. Results: 68Ga-Pentixafor-PET/CT was visually positive in all MM patients with markedly heterogeneous tracer uptake in the spleen. CXCR4 expression determined by 68Ga-Pentixafor-PET/CT corresponded with advanced disease and was inversely associated with the number of previous treatment lines as compared to controls or untreated smouldering multiple myeloma patients (SUVpeakSpleen 4.06 ± 1.43 vs. 6.02 ± 1.16 vs. 7.33 ± 1.40; P < 0.001). Moreover, reduced splenic 68Ga-Pentixafor uptake was linked to unfavorable clinical outcome. Patients with a low SUVpeakSpleen (<3.35) experienced a significantly shorter overall survival of 5 months as compared to 62 months in patients with a high SUVpeakSpleen >5.79 (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis confirmed SUVpeakSpleen as an independent predictor of survival (HR 0.75; P = 0.009). Conclusion: These data suggest that splenic 68Ga-Pentixafor uptake might provide prognostic information in pre-treated MM patients similar to what was reported for diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Further research to elucidate the underlying biologic implications is warranted.
The implications of COVID‐19 on health and social care personnel in long‐term care facilities for older people: An international scoping review

Abstract This scoping review mapped out the existing literature pertaining to health and social care personnel experiences during the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and their work in a long‐term care setting for older people. This review identified the gaps in the implications of health and social care personnel's own health and well‐being during the pandemic as well as the ethical dilemmas inherent in providing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The authors utilised the PRISMA checklist for undertaking scoping reviews. The Databases Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles in English that were published between March 28, 2020 and June 1, 2022. This time period was selected to focus specifically on the COVID‐19 pandemic. In the context of this review, long‐term care facilities were defined to include institutions such as nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, retirement homes and residential care homes. The gaps identified were a paucity of research on the experiences of health and social care personnel in long‐term care facilities, the impact on their mental health, and the wider challenges experienced during the COVID‐19 pandemic is discussed. The findings of this scoping review indicate a need for adequate preparedness during a pandemic within the health and social care sector to protect health and social care personnel and the individuals they care for.
Investigations on Vehicle Interaction with CWR Tracks Considering Some Aspects of Rail Support Modulus

One of the important parameters for controlling the behavior of continuous welded rail (CWR) in railway tracks is rail support modulus. Reviewing the technical literature reveals some elapsed points in this regard such as continuous or discrete supports, V-shaped rail irregularity and geometrical stiffness which can considerably affect on the vehicle-track dynamic interaction. So, the present study was allocated to numerical investigating the effects of aforementioned parameters on the vehicle-track dynamic interaction. In this matter, the finite element model of ballasted railway track in conjunction with multi-body dynamics model of vehicle was developed and they simultaneously solved numerically. This preliminary model was verified through comparison of the results with published works in this area. Consequently the model was promoted considering continuous and discrete support condition, implementing the V-shaped irregularity and geometrical stiffness. In each step, the results of the extended models were completely presented in the form track structure response.
A Mediterranean and Low-Fat dietary intervention in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease patients -Exploring participant experience and perceptions about dietary change.

BACKGROUND A Mediterranean Diet (MD) appears to be beneficial in NAFLD patients in Mediterranean countries, however the acceptability of a MD in non-Mediterranean populations has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to explore the acceptability, through understanding the barriers and enablers of MD and low-fat diet (LFD) interventions as perceived by Australian adults from multicultural backgrounds, with NAFLD, who participated. METHODOLOGY Semi-structured telephone interviews were performed with 23 NAFLD trial participants at the end of a 12-week dietary intervention in a multicentre, parallel, randomised clinical trial. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Participants reported that they enjoyed taking part in the MD and LFD interventions and perceived that they had positive health benefits from their participation. Compared to the LFD, the MD group placed greater emphasis on enjoyment and intention to maintain dietary changes. Novelty, convenience and the ability to swap food/meals were key enablers for the successful implementation for both of the dietary interventions. Flavour and enjoyment of food, expressed more prominently by MD intervention participants, were fundamental components of the diets with regard to reported adherence and intention to maintain dietary change. CONCLUSIONS Participants randomised to the MD reported greater acceptability of the diet than those randomised to the LFD, predominantly related to perceived novelty and palatability of the diet. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Candidate K232A mutation of DGAT1 gene associated with production and reproduction traits in Indian Dairy cattle

Abstract The present study was conducted on Hardhenu and Sahiwal cows to evaluate the genetic diversity and the effect of candidate K232A mutation of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) gene on performance traits. PCR product of 413 bp size targeting K232A mutation of DGAT 1 gene was genotyped by Eae1 restriction enzyme and further confirmed by sequencing. The PCR-RFLP analysis for K232A showed that the frequencies of alleles K and A were 0.80 and 0.20 in Hardhenu and 0.98 and 0.02 in Sahiwal cattle, respectively. The frequencies of genotypes for KK and KA genotype were estimated as 0.60 and 0.40 in Hardhenu and 0.96 and 0.04 in Sahiwal cattle, respectively. Chi-square test showed that K232A SNP did not meet with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < .01) in Hardhenu cattle. Association analysis revealed that KA genotype was significantly associated with total milk yield (p < .01) and 305 days milk yield (p < .01)in Hardhenu cattle. Hardhenu cows having KA genotype comparatively revealed favorable mean values for AFS (880.31 ± 26.65), AFC (1166.36 ± 19.94), SP (157.46 ± 22.80), CI (441.41 ± 44.28) and AI/Conception (1.80 ± 0.17), indicating that KA genotype can be used as a candidate marker for simultaneous improvement of both production and reproduction traits.
Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in women with axial spondyloarthritis: pooled data analysis from the European Network of Pregnancy Registries in Rheumatology (EuNeP)

Objective To investigate outcome and course of pregnancies in women with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in a pooled data analysis of pregnancy registries in rheumatology. Methods Prospectively followed women with axSpA, fulfilling ASAS classification criteria and for whom a pregnancy outcome was reported, were eligible for the analysis. Anonymised data of four registries was pooled. Rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes were calculated. Systemic inflammation, disease activity and treatment patterns with tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) before, during and after pregnancy were analysed. Results In a total of 332 pregnancies from 304 axSpA women, 98.8% of the pregnancies resulted in live birth. Mean maternal age was 31 years and disease duration 5 years. Most of these patients received pre-conception counselling (78.4%). Before pregnancy, 53% received TNFi treatment, 27.5% in first and 21.4% in third trimester. Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were favourable with rates of 2.2% for pre-eclampsia, 4.9% for preterm birth, 3.1% for low birth weight and 9.5% for small for gestational age. Neonates were delivered by caesarean section in 27.7% of pregnancies, of which 47.4% were emergencies. Pooled mean CRP was 4 mg/L before conception peaking in the second trimester at 9.4 mg/L. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) was below 4 at all time-points. Conclusions Pooled rates of most outcomes were better than what had been reported in the literature and within expected rates of those reported for the general population. Pre-conception counselling, planned pregnancies and a tight management in expert centres applying a tailored treatment approach may have contributed to the favourable pregnancy outcomes.
External Validation of the Lupus Multivariable Outcome Score for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Trials

Development of new systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) treatments requires an effective responder index. Toward this end, we have recently developed a new Lupus Multivariable Outcome Score (LuMOS) to optimize discrimination between actively treated patients and those on placebo. We now report on external validation of LuMOS in two independent clinical trials.
The role of cytokines in migraine: A systematic review

Background Cytokines are important endogenous substances that are involved in immune and inflammatory responses. Neurogenic inflammation has been proposed to play a role in migraine involving altered cytokine levels. Therefore, we aimed to provide a systematic review on the current knowledge on cytokine levels in migraine patients during and outside attacks. Methods Databases of PubMed and Embase were systematically searched for studies investigating cytokine levels in migraine patients during and outside attacks. Results Screening yielded identification of 45 articles investigating 18 cytokines in total. We found that the interictal level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin 10, was decreased, while the level of transforming growth factor beta 1 was increased in migraine patients compared to controls. Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6, were increased outside attacks compared to controls. Ictal levels of cytokines were unchanged or varying compared to the interictal state in migraine patients. Three studies reported dynamic cytokines levels during the course of an attack. Conclusion The findings of the current review underline a possible involvement of cytokines in the proposed inflammatory mechanisms of migraine. However, future studies are needed to expand our knowledge of the exact role of cytokines in the migraine pathophysiology with focus on cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-10 while applying refined methodology.