bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Feed-in-Tariffs for Electricity from Renewable Energy Resources to Move down the Learning Curve?
Authors: Bläsi Albrecht , Requate Till
Published: May 2024

We develop a model with two types of electricity producers, fossil fuel utilities generating emissions, and suppliers of electricity from of renewable energy sources (RES-E). We account for the vertical structure of the renewable energy sector by considering upstream RES-E equipment producers engaged in learning-by-doing and selling their equipment to downstream operators. We show that under pure private learning a first-best allocation can be induced by charging emission taxes on the Pigouvian level only, while in the case of learning spillovers additional subsidies on both output and market entry are necessary. In case that (optimal) emission taxes are ruled out, then in case of purely private learning, second-best optimal feed-in-tariffs should only account for the marginal environmental damage and the marginal cost of production of the conventional utilities. In the case of learning spillovers, feed-in-tariffs can also be used to spur learning.
Climate Policy: Reaping An Additional Employment Dividend
Authors: Schöb Ronnie
Published: May 2024

Climate protection should use environmental policy instruments that raise revenues, which can be used, for instance, to cut labor taxes to alleviate unemployment in economies suffering from high and persistent unemployment. This paper elaborates the possibilities of an employment dividend of climate policies and shows the potential importance of such a second dividend for a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of climate policy. It is argued that national attempts to reap such a double dividend may be bound to fail if resource suppliers can respond in a way that leads to a large-scale international reallocation of environmental rents. Only an internationally coordinated uniform base tax on CO2 that complements already existing emission trading systems could keep revenues from climate policy in those countries bearing the cost of fighting global warming and thus leave them with the option on a second dividend.
Performance Budgeting in the U.S. Federal Government: History, Status and Future Implications
Authors: Jones L. R. , McCaffery Jerry L.
Published: May 2024

Performance budgets emphasize activities performed and their costs, and include various performance measures in the budget to document what is gained from what is spent. These measures usually include unit cost comparisons over time or between jurisdictions. Performance budgeting tends to emphasize measures of efficiency and effectiveness. Broader measures (outcome) are often difficult to define and measure, particularly in human service areas. Nonetheless, performance budget concepts have proven persistent. For the federal government, a key measure that has stimulated increased interest in the topic was passage by Congress of the Government Performance and Results Act in 1993 (GPRA) and subsequently the Government Management and Results Act (GMRA) in 1995. This article notes the long period of experimentation with performance budgeting in the U.S. and identifies some of the lessons learned from this initiative. It also addresses reforms including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) as they relate to incentives for budgeting based on performance. Conclusions also touch upon the difficulties faced in attempting budget reform in the midst of a period of fiscal and monetary stress. We conclude that while the expressed interest of the Obama administration in assessing the performance of federal government agencies is evident, there is no evidence to suggest that the administration will attempt to implement performance budgeting per se as a means to accomplish this end. Rather, performance is now reviewed by OMB only as an input to budget decision making, which is perhaps the best that advocates of performance budgeting can hope for in the medium term. What it would take to interest federal government decision makers, particularly members of Congress, to accept performance budgeting is impossible to determine given the present focus of the government on health care reform, job creation, the state of the economy and armed conflicts abroad. Administrative reform, except in the areas of regulation of financial institutions, national security and transportation safety, has not been high on the agenda of the Obama administration or Congress in the period 2008–2010. However, this could change with new initiatives recently announced by the administration and Congress.
The Impact of Local School Property Tax Reductions on City and County Revenue Decisions: A Natural Experiment in Kansas
Authors: Johnston Jocelyn M. , Marlowe Justin , Matkin David S. T. , Hayes Michael
Published: May 2024

In response to a significant change to Kansas's school financing system, in the early 1990s, property tax rates for Kansas's school districts were set to 39 mills. This meant that a majority of school districts significantly reduced their mill rates. That event provides an opportunity to examine how city and county governments respond to the creation of “slack” in their property tax rate? This study provides evidence that city and county officials tend to report that their property tax decisions are independent of the actions of other local government but that those reports conflict with financial data which demonstrates that cities and counties appeared to increase their mill levies in response to the “slack” in the property tax rate.
Does Fiscal Decentralization Improve Healthcare Outcomes? Empirical Evidence from China
Authors: Jin Yinghua , Sun Rui
Published: May 2024

Since the late 1970s, China has adopted a variety of economic reforms that have led to its overall economic success. The Tax Sharing System (TSS) reform, as part of the gradual fiscal decentralization policy, was initiated in 1994. The conventional theory claims that fiscal decentralization could result in various potential benefits including increased responsiveness of local governments to deliver public goods. However, very little empirical work has examined the impact of fiscal decentralization on health outcomes in China. In this study, we use the infant mortality rate (IMR) as an indicator of healthcare outcomes and provide a quantitative measurement of the impact of fiscal decentralization on infant mortality at the provincial government level. We measure fiscal decentralization as both a dummy and a ratio and estimate the infant mortality rate production function using both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Panel Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) approaches. We find that, contradictory to the predictions made by the conventional theories, fiscal decentralization has generated an overall adverse impact on the IMR in China.
Leadership Avoidance by Central Budget Agencies: A Social Constructivist Comparison of the Irish Department of Finance and the New Zealand Treasury
Authors: Wallis Joe
Published: May 2024

When viewed from a social constructivist perspective, advisory agencies have opportunities to take the lead in interpreting policy reality so as to develop ministerial respect. They will seek to enhance their technocratic capacity when they face either delegative political leaders or an unpredictable succession of political styles but, as has been the case with the Irish Department of Finance, their motivation to do so may diminish when they are confronted with a strong deliberative political culture. This explains why this agency can be unfavorably compared with the New Zealand Treasury in providing leadership in strategy formulation and public service modernization. The Treasury did, however, develop a bias toward interpreting problems as requiring ‘tame’ solutions through the application of its in-house economic expertise – a rendition that was more successful in terms of generating sustaining and replicable models in the area of fiscal responsibility than in that of contractualist public management.
Local Government Property Tax Amnesty Programs: Structures and Themes
Authors: Ross Justin M.
Published: May 2024

While the use of tax amnesty programs has been commonplace for decades among sub-national governments in the United States, historically these offers have not been extended to delinquent real property taxes. There have been 29 property tax amnesties offered by local governments in seven states, however, and most of these programs have appeared in just the last 10 years. This paper presents data on these programs, and then provides a narrative analysis of these cases by drawing upon archival data from press releases, media reports, comprehensive annual financial reports, city council minutes, and policy memos. Several themes emerge from this study revealing the role of real property tax amnesty to be more diverse than their state counterparts. The conclusion summarizes these lessons and offers some considerations for policy makers.
The Economics of Taxing Net Wealth: A Survey of the Issues
Authors: Schnellenbach Jan
Published: May 2024

This paper surveys possible motivations for having a net wealth tax. After giving a short overview over the state of wealth taxation in OECD countries, we discuss both popular arguments for such a tax, as well as economic arguments. It is argued that classical normative principles of taxation cannot give a sound justification for a net wealth tax. The efficiency-related arguments are also discussed and shown to be theoretically ambiguous, while empirical evidence hints at a negative effect on GDP growth. Finally, it is argued that despite of widespread and persistent lobbying for a revitalization of the net wealth tax, this is unlikely to happen due to political economy constraints.
Default without Capital Account: The Economics of Municipal Bankruptcy
Authors: Moberg Lotta , Wagner Richard E.
Published: May 2024

This paper analyzes the concept of municipal bankruptcy in a comparative framework with commercial bankruptcy. Cities are corporate bodies that continue to exist despite the ever changing identities of the residents. The common designation of cities as municipal corporations suggests an affinity between them and commercial corporations that would offer a bridge between commercial and municipal bankruptcy. Despite this apparent affinity, however, there are significant institutional differences between the two forms of corporation that prevents construction of such a bridge. Commercial bankruptcy allows both creditors and debtors to resolve problems that emerge in consequence of a debt default, and to do so in a generally beneficial manner given the fact of insolvency. By contrast, municipal bankruptcy is a process that benefits some city creditors at the expense of others.
Bankruptcy: The Divergent Cases of the City and the County of San Bernardino
Authors: Callahan Richard F. , Pisano Mark
Published: May 2024

The cases are the two separate jurisdictions of the City of San Bernardino and the County of San Bernardino, California, U.S.A. The matched pair offers a unique opportunity for a research design that compares a bankrupt city government with a jurisdiction sharing the essential demographic, economic, and geographical features, though as a county a different level of government. The two cases offer insights into bankruptcy as not simply a function of economic forces or recent poor policy choices but as a result of a pattern of decision-making, a structure of government, and the constraints placed on leadership by structure and electoral politics. The analysis of this comparison allows us to unbundle leadership and show that differences in strategy, transparency, civic culture, trust and accountability explain the divergent outcomes.
Involuntary Retirement, U.S. Social Security Program Participation and the Great Recession
Authors: Seligman Jason S.
Published: May 2024

Involuntary retirement covers economic and health related dislocations. Over 1992–2011, three-in-ten retirees in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) report an involuntary retirement. Roughly half of these involuntary retirements are health-related. Following the Great Recession, involuntary retirement in the U.S. grew much faster than voluntary retirement. I find that while the population receiving Social Security retirement benefits grew 6% slower than average, the population receiving no public retirement or disability benefits grew 79% faster than average and the population reporting health-related involuntary retirement grew 270% faster than average. While incomes are found to have fallen for all retiree groups, those reporting health-related involuntary retirements are found to have retirement income declines of 38% and the lowest pre-retirement incomes of any measured group. These findings suggest patterns of vulnerability that have important implications for proposals seeking to reform the U.S. Social Security Program.
Breaking up is Hard to do: The Costs of De-Amalgamation of the Delatite Shire Council
Authors: Drew Joseph , Dollery Brian
Published: May 2024

In 1994, the Victorian Government instituted a radical council amalgamation program which eliminated over 60% of all local authorities. In the forcibly merged Delatite Shire Council local resentment engendered a sustained grassroots campaign which eventually reversed its contentious compulsory consolidation. The resultant de-amalgamation was the first in modern Australian local government history, although demergers have occurred in other countries, most notably in Quebec in Canada. Whilst economic theory sheds much light on decentralization, by contrast little work has been done on how best to conduct council de-amalgamation. In this paper, constitutive accounting theory is applied to the Delatite Shire Council demerger. The empirical evidence flowing from our analysis contributes to the embryonic literature on municipal de-amalgamation and thereby provides public policymakers in other local government systems with an account of how accounting decisions play a critical role in the future of de-amalgamated municipal entities.
Symposium on the Public Finance after the Crisis: Europe
Authors: Claeys Peter , Nam Chang Woon
Published: May 2024

This symposium aims at encouraging the academic discussion surrounding public finance after the fiscal crisis in Europe under the particular consideration of Eurozone-specific economic, political, social as well as institutional aspects. The articles in this symposium blend the negative and positive approach to fiscal policy coordination in Europe. The papers examine the economic responses in a set of EU countries during major consolidation periods following the recent Financial Crisis, and evaluate if fiscal rules that focus on debt constraint are feasible under various economic scenarios.
The Reforml of Public Finance Mangement in China: Introductory Overview of Issues and Contributions of the Symposium Part 2
Authors: Liu Rong , Qiao Baoyun , Shah Anwar
Published: May 2024

The reform of fiscal system is critical to ensuring sustainable growth and improving quality of life and social and economic outcomes for Chinese residents. This symposium (in two volumes) highlights major concerns, identifies challenges and presents feasible reform options for facilitating a wider dialogue and developing consensus for remedial action.
The Effects of Tax and Expenditure Limits on Municipal Pension and Opeb Funding during the Great Recession
Authors: Maher Craig S. , Park Sungho , Harrold James
Published: May 2024

The Great Recession of 2008–09 caused an array of fiscal challenges for state and local governments in the US, including the underfunding of pensions and retiree health benefits (Joyce, 2013). It is estimated that in 2009 the 61 largest cities in the US had unfunded pension and retiree health benefits liabilities equal to $217 billion (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2013). Given these constraints, we are primarily interested in understanding the effects of institutional factors, more specifically the role of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs), on pension and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) funding. Recent studies have examined the effects of pension liabilities on bond ratings (Martell, Kioko and Moldogaziez, 2013), the effects of state budget stabilization funds on pension contributions (St. Clair, 2013) and political and institutional effects on pension plan management (Gehl, Willoughby and Bell 2013); (Chen, Ebdon, Kriz and Laforge, 2013). What is less understood is the role played by institutional structures such as form of government and state-imposed tax and expenditure limitations on pension or OPEB funding before, during and after the recession. Our findings suggest that municipal TELs are statistically associated with OPEB funding, meaning that municipalities with stricter TELs had lower OPEB funding ratios. Just as importantly, we find that during this period, municipalities with mayor-council forms confronted with stricter TELs had better funded pensions and OPEBs than in cities with similar TELs but with manager-council forms of government.
Rural-Urban Migrants’ Citizenization: Public Services Cost Measurement and Economic Impact Analysis
Authors: Ying Wang , Haisheng Hu
Published: May 2024

Rural-urban migrants’ citizenization is an important symbol of China's new urbanization. It not only leads to changes in the structure of labor factor and increases in the cost of public service, but also has an overall impact on the economic system. Unlike previous studies that focused purely on cost estimates, the authors of this paper have conducted empirical comparative analysis of rural-urban migrants’ citizenization from such two dimensions as costs and benefits. Relying on the panel data of each province of China from 2005 to 2013, measurements have been carried out, with results showing that, for every additional rural-urban migrant, government public service costs will increase by RMB 11,511 (or 11,511 yuan) accordingly. Based on LHR and Zhang Xin (2010)'s computable general equilibrium model, the authors have simulated the impact of rural-urban migrants’ citizenization on such economic variables as national economy, sectoral output, government revenue and individual income, etc. the simulation results show that, citizenization will bring tax revenue to grow, secondary and tertiary industries’ output to increase, and the country's economic growth and national Gini coefficient to decline. Based on the above empirical results, the authors believed that local governments should not simply perform rural-urban migrants’ citizenization as a political task or take one-sided account of the economic resources and public service costs, but should fully recognize the development opportunities brought about by citizenization. Moreover, all levels of governments should also pay attention to those farmers left behind in rural areas, and achieve equalized public services among urban residents, rural residents and rural-urban migrants in the premise of repaying the historical debt owed to “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”.
Introduction to the Symposium: The Use of Consumption Taxation in Response to the Great Recession
Authors: Batina Raymond G.
Published: May 2024

During the Great Recession of 2008–09 most economies experienced a downturn in economic activity and tax revenues fell as a result. in some cases revenue fell dramatically. Many governments sought alternative sources of revenue. the purpose of the Symposium is to investigate the characteristics and use of consumption taxes.
Turning A Blind Eye to Policy Prescriptions: Exploring the Sources of Procyclical Fiscal Behavior at the Subnational Level
Authors: Meloni Osvaldo
Published: May 2024

This paper analyses the fiscal behavior of subnational districts in Argentina over the business cycle. I address two questions. Is the fiscal policy of Argentine districts procyclical? If so, what is the theory that best explains procyclicality? the answers come from the estimation of an error correction model of a panel that spans 23 years and 24 districts. I found that all categories of public expenditures, except for capital expenditures, were procyclical. the main sources of procyclicality are the political networks, changes in the amount of oil, gas and mining grants, federal interventions, and discretionary intergovernmental transfers.
Nonlinear analysis model of the progressive damage of aluminum–wood sandwich structures under high-speed impact conditions
Authors: Zhang Yan , Li Shusen
Published: May 2024

The impact responses of various protective structures composed of 2A12 aluminum alloy and wood laminates were studied experimentally. The experiments were conducted using different impact energies. By varying the sandwich material thickness and using two different bullet shapes, the effects of the sandwich material’s damage process and the core layer thickness on the protective performance were studied. The multilayer structure’s core layer failure condition was determined using the improved 3D Hashin criterion and a finite element model was established using Abaqus software. Tensile and three-point bending tests were conducted and the progressive damage model was verified statically. The model was then verified dynamically using the Hopkinson bar test. The mechanical properties of the materials under high dynamic strain rates were obtained through action loading testing of the specimens at different loading rates. The loading waveform was analyzed and a stress-strain relationship diagram was drawn at various strain rates. By verifying the experimental data, a numerical model that could capture the deformation and failure details during crushing was established, and the composite target plate impact failure mode and the trajectory change law were described. This study could lead to use of a new impact damage prediction method for laminates.
Understanding the need and opportunity for a trauma-informed early childhood organisations (TIO) program using intervention mapping
Authors: Sun Yihan , Bowden Mitchell , Cameron Lee , Skouteris Helen , Blewitt Claire
Published: May 2024

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services are critical points of intervention for children impacted by trauma. Intervention Mapping was utilised to develop an initiative for trauma-informed organisational change in ECEC. This paper describes how the research team understood the need and opportunity for the program using Intervention Mapping Step 1. This included: (i) convening a planning group, (ii) conducting needs assessment, (iii) describing the context for intervention, and (iv) establishing program goals. Benefits, challenges, and recommendations on using Intervention Mapping for program development in ECEC settings are discussed.
Using FLO text-messages to enhance health behaviours and self-management of long-term conditions in South-Asian patients
Authors: Chaudhry Tahreem , Ormandy Paula , Vasilica Cristina
Published: May 2024

Objectives

Cultural and communication differences faced by South-Asian (SA) ethnic minority groups have led to challenges in the delivery of health care and complex management of long-term conditions (LTCs). We aim to explore the use of text-messaging in SA communities, through the Florence (FLO) health messaging system utilised within U.K. health sectors, to enhance positive health behaviours and self-management.

Methods

A mixed-methods approach was used for this study involving two phases. Phase 1 includes the administration of the patient activation measure to assess SA patient level of skills, knowledge, and confidence to self-manage their LTC; whilst in Phase 2 semi-structured interviews were conducted, exploring the experiences of users and non-users of FLO text messaging to promote self-management behaviours.

Findings

Forty participants (Florence users (n = 20) and non-users (n = 20)) completed the patient activation survey once after using FLO, and took part in interviews. Differences were noted to exist between the two groups ( p < .01). Users appeared to have higher activation levels and better self-management behaviours ( p < .01 ( p = .00). Interviews elicit participants’ perceptions of the text messaging system, along with key themes relative to behavioural constructs: socio-demographical factors; influencing behaviour changes, self-management, and uptake of text messages amongst SA ethnic minorities.

Conclusion

Text messaging and mHealth are being extensively used amongst general populations to monitor and enhance health. The study of SA patient experiences and their use of text messages within the United Kingdom (UK) remains scarce. Therefore, results from the study identify health beliefs that influence patient engagement with digital health interventions and their self-management. Developing policies and culturally appropriate education guidelines for healthcare practitioners can allow for the provision of culturally sensitive interventions tailored in terms of normative, cultural, and religious beliefs; which in turn will address crucial aspects including SA patient information and educational needs supporting their self-management journey.
Uhl's Anomaly in Adulthood
Authors: Mohamed Omar A. M. , EL-Dardeery Marwa , Zayed Kareem , Mosaad Eleia , Abdulwahhab Muhammad M. , Romeih Soha
Published: May 2024

Uhl's anomaly is a rare congenital syndrome characterized by the absence of right ventricular myocardium. The widely accepted pathological mechanism is intrauterine myocardial apoptosis. Uhl's syndrome carries a poor prognosis. In rare situations, patients with Uhl's anomaly reach adulthood. We will present a case of a 29-year-old patient with Uhl's syndrome treated at our center, highlighting the diagnostic, surgical, and postoperative challenges in management.
Self-scheduling in a Large Multispecialty and Multisite Clinic: A Retrospective, Longitudinal Examination of Multiple Self-Scheduled Visit Types
Authors: North Frederick , Buss Rebecca , Nelson Elissa M , Thompson Matthew C , Pecina Jennifer , Garrison Gregory M , Crum Brian A
Published: May 2024

Background

Self-scheduling of medical visits is becoming available at many medical institutions. We aimed to examine the self-scheduled visit counts and rate of growth of self-scheduled visits in a multispecialty practice.

Methods

For 85 weeks extending from January 1, 2022 through August 24, 2023, we examined self-scheduled visit counts for over 1500 self-scheduled visit types. We compared completed self-scheduled visit counts to all scheduled completed visit counts for the same visit types. We collected counts of the most frequently self-scheduled visit types for each week and examined the change over time. We also determined the proportion that each visit type was self-scheduled.

Results

There were 20,769 699 completed visits during the course of the study that met the criteria for inclusion. Self-scheduled visits accounted for 4.0% of all completed visits (838 592/20,769 699). Over the 85-week span, self-scheduled visits rose from 3.0% to 5.3% of the total. There were 1887 unique visit types that were associated with completed visits. There were just 6 appointment visit types of the total 1887 self-scheduled visit types that accounted for 50.7% of the total 838 592 self-scheduled visits. Those 6 visit types were a lab blood test visit (19.5%, 163 K visits), two Family Medicine office visit types (13.0%, 109 K visits), a screening mammogram visit type (6.6%, 55 K visits), a scheduled express care visit type (6%, 50 K visits) and a COVID immunization visit type (5.7%, 48 K visits). Twenty-one visit types that were self-scheduled accounted for 75% of the total self-scheduled visits. Four seasonal visits, accounting for 10.6% of the total self-scheduled visits, were responsible for almost all the non-linear change in self-scheduling.

Conclusion

Self-scheduling accounted for a small but growing percent of all outpatient scheduled visits in a multispecialty, multisite practice. A wide range of visit types can be successfully self-scheduled.
WinClbclas, a Windows program for columbite-supergroup minerals
Authors: Yavuz Fuat
Published: May 2024

A Microsoft® Visual Basic software, WinClbclas, has been developed to calculate the chemical formulae of columbite-supergroup minerals based on data obtained from wet-chemical and electron-microprobe analyses and using the current nomenclature scheme adopted by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) for columbite-supergroup minerals. The program evaluates 36 IMA-approved species, three questionable in terms of their unit-cell parameters, four insufficiently studied questionable species and one ungrouped species, all according to the dominant valance and constituent status in five mineral groups including ixiolite (MO2), wolframite (M1M2O4), samarskite (ABM2O8), columbite (M1M2O6) and wodginite (M1M2M32O8). Mineral compositions of the columbite supergroup are calculated on the basis of 24 oxygen atoms per formula unit. However, the formulae of the five ixiolite to wodginite groups can be estimated by the program on the basis of their cation and anion values in their typical mineral formulae (e.g. 4 cations and 8 oxygens for the wodginite group) with normalisation procedures. The Fe3+ and Fe2+ contents from microprobe-derived total FeO (wt.%) amounts are estimated by stoichiometric constraints. WinClbclas allows users to: (1) enter up to 47 input variables for mineral compositions; (2) type and load multiple columbite-supergroup mineral compositions in the data entry section; (3) edit and load the Microsoft® Excel files used in calculating, classifying, and naming the columbite-supergroup minerals, together with the total monovalent to hexavalent ion; and (4) store all the calculated parameters in the output of a Microsoft® Excel file for further data evaluation. The program is distributed as a self-extracting setup file, including the necessary support files used by the program, a help file and representative sample data files.
Qeltite – the first terrestrial high-temperature mineral with a langasite-type structure from the pyrometamorphic rocks of the Hatrurim Complex
Authors: Galuskina Irina O. , Stachowicz Marcin , Vapnik Yevgeny , Zeliński Grzegorz , Woźniak Krzysztof , Galuskin Evgeny
Published: May 2024

Qeltite (IMA2021–032), ideally Ca3Ti(Fe2Si)Si2O14, was found in gehlenite–rankinite–wollastonite paralava from a pyrometamorphic rock of the Hatrurim Complex at Nabi Musa locality, Judean Desert, West Bank, Palestine. It generally occurs as light-brown flattened crystals up to 40–50 μm in length and less than 5 μm in thickness. Its aggregates reach 100–200 μm in size. Its empirical crystal chemical formula based on 14 O is: (Ca2.96Sr0.02Mn0.01)Σ2.99Ti4+(Fe3+1.59Si0.60Al0.43Ti4+0.38Cr0.01)Σ3.01(Si1.99P0.01)Σ2O14. The strongest reflections in its calculated X-ray diffraction pattern are [d, Å, (I, %), hkl]: 3.12, (100), 111; 2.85, (61), 201; 2.85, (48), 021; 2.32, (45), 211; 6.93, (31), 100; and 1.81, (30), 212. Qeltite is trigonal and crystallises in the noncentrosymmetric P321 space group, with a = 8.0077(5) Å, c = 4.9956(4) Å, V = 277.42(4) Å3 and Z = 1. Its microhardness VHN25 is 708(17) kg/mm2 and its hardness on the Mohs scale is ~6. Its calculated density is 3.48 g/cm3. It was found in fine-grained mineral aggregates within coarse-grained main minerals of rankinite–gehlenite paralava with subordinate wollastonite, Ti-bearing andradite and kalsilite. In these aggregates, the mineral is associated with khesinite, paqueite and pseudowollastonite, indicating a high-temperature genesis (~1200°C). Its crystallisation can be compared with the crystallisation of minerals containing refractory inclusions in meteorites.
Hybrid compared to conventional pulmonary rehabilitation: an equivalence analysis
Authors: Wuyts Marieke , Coosemans Iris , Everaerts Stephanie , Blondeel Astrid , Breuls Sofie , Demeyer Heleen , Janssens Wim , Troosters Thierry
Published: May 2024

Background

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a well-established intervention for patients with COPD, but access, uptake and completion are low. This retrospective propensity-matched study aimed to analyse equivalence from a hybrid PR modality against conventional PR.

Methods

Between 2013 and 2019, 214 patients with COPD with valid baseline physical activity assessments enrolled in conventional PR for three times per week for 3 months. In 2021–2022, 44 patients with COPD enrolled in 3 months of hybrid PR, introducing two providers: once per week in the outpatient centre and two times per week in a primary care setting near the patient's home. All sessions were supervised. Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed. Equivalence between both programmes was analysed for exercise capacity with the equivalence margins of ±30 m on the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Clinical outcomes, accessibility and adherence were compared using t-tests.

Results

44 patients (mean±sdage 67±8 years; forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 47±15% predicted; 6MWD 355±122 m) in the hybrid PR group were matched to 44 patients (mean±sdage 66±8 years; FEV146±17% predicted; 6MWD 354±103 m) in the conventional PR group. Equivalence on the increase in 6MWD could not be confirmed; nevertheless, both groups improved their 6MWD clinically significantly (hybrid PR change 63 m (90% CI 43–83 m); conventional PR change 39 m (90% CI 26–52 m)). Changes in quality of life and symptoms were similar. Dropout in hybrid PR (23%) was comparable to conventional PR (27%) (p=0.24). Adherence in both groups was high and accessibility was better for patients following hybrid PR.

Conclusion

Hybrid PR can be offered as an effective alternative to conventional PR, if patients are willing to take up the offer.
Sesamolin serves as an MYH14 inhibitor to sensitize endometrial cancer to chemotherapy and endocrine therapy via suppressing MYH9/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling
Authors: Lin Yibin , Chen Xiao , Lin Linping , Xu Benhua , Zhu Xiaofeng , Lin Xian
Published: May 2024

Background

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological cancers. Herein, we aimed to define the role of specific myosin family members in EC because this protein family is involved in the progression of various cancers.

Methods

Bioinformatics analyses were performed to reveal EC patients’ prognosis-associated genes in patients with EC. Furthermore, colony formation, immunofluorescence, cell counting kit 8, wound healing, and transwell assays as well as coimmunoprecipitation, cycloheximide chase, luciferase reporter, and cellular thermal shift assays were performed to functionally and mechanistically analyze human EC samples, cell lines, and a mouse model, respectively.

Results

Machine learning techniques identified MYH14, a member of the myosin family, as the prognosis-associated gene in patients with EC. Furthermore, bioinformatics analyses based on public databases showed that MYH14 was associated with EC chemoresistance. Moreover, immunohistochemistry validated MYH14 upregulation in EC cases compared with that in normal controls and confirmed that MYH14 was an independent and unfavorable prognostic indicator of EC. MYH14 impaired cell sensitivity to carboplatin, paclitaxel, and progesterone, and increased cell proliferation and metastasis in EC. The mechanistic study showed that MYH14 interacted with MYH9 and impaired GSK3β-mediated β-catenin ubiquitination and degradation, thus facilitating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Sesamolin, a natural compound extracted fromSesamum indicum(L.), directly targeted MYH14 and attenuated EC progression. Additionally, the compound disrupted the interplay between MYH14 and MYH9 and repressed MYH9-regulated Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The in vivo study further verified sesamolin as a therapeutic drug without side effects.

Conclusions

Herein, we identified that EC prognosis-associated MYH14 was independently responsible for poor overall survival time of patients, and it augmented EC progression by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Targeting MYH14 by sesamolin, a cytotoxicity-based approach, can be applied synergistically with chemotherapy and endocrine therapy to eventually mitigate EC development. This study emphasizes MYH14 as a potential target and sesamolin as a valuable natural drug for EC therapy.

Graphical Abstract
Protein function prediction through multi-view multi-label latent tensor reconstruction
Authors: Armah-Sekum Robert Ebo , Szedmak Sandor , Rousu Juho
Published: May 2024

Background

In last two decades, the use of high-throughput sequencing technologies has accelerated the pace of discovery of proteins. However, due to the time and resource limitations of rigorous experimental functional characterization, the functions of a vast majority of them remain unknown. As a result, computational methods offering accurate, fast and large-scale assignment of functions to new and previously unannotated proteins are sought after. Leveraging the underlying associations between the multiplicity of features that describe proteins could reveal functional insights into the diverse roles of proteins and improve performance on the automatic function prediction task.

Results

We present GO-LTR, a multi-view multi-label prediction model that relies on a high-order tensor approximation of model weights combined with non-linear activation functions. The model is capable of learning high-order relationships between multiple input views representing the proteins and predicting high-dimensional multi-label output consisting of protein functional categories. We demonstrate the competitiveness of our method on various performance measures. Experiments show that GO-LTR learns polynomial combinations between different protein features, resulting in improved performance. Additional investigations establish GO-LTR’s practical potential in assigning functions to proteins under diverse challenging scenarios: very low sequence similarity to previously observed sequences, rarely observed and highly specific terms in the gene ontology.

Implementation

The code and data used for training GO-LTR is available at https://github.com/aalto-ics-kepaco/GO-LTR-prediction.
Ontogeny of hepatic metabolism in two broiler lines divergently selected for the ultimate pH of the Pectoralis major muscle
Authors: Petit Angélique , Tesseraud Sophie , Collin Anne , Couroussé Nathalie , Berri Cécile , Bihan-Duval Elisabeth Le , Métayer-Coustard Sonia
Published: May 2024

Background

Nutrient availability during early stages of development (embryogenesis and the first week post-hatch) can have long-term effects on physiological functions and bird metabolism. The embryo develops in a closed structure and depends entirely on the nutrients and energy available in the egg. The aim of this study was to describe the ontogeny of pathways governing hepatic metabolism that mediates many physiological functions in the pHu + and pHu- chicken lines, which are divergently selected for the ultimate pH of meat, a proxy for muscle glycogen stores, and which differ in the nutrient content and composition of eggs.

Results

We identified eight clusters of genes showing a common pattern of expression between embryonic day 12 (E12) and day 8 (D8) post-hatch. These clusters were not representative of a specific metabolic pathway or function. On E12 and E14, the majority of genes differentially expressed between the pHu + and pHu- lines were overexpressed in the pHu + line. Conversely, the majority of genes differentially expressed from E18 were overexpressed in the pHu- line. During the metabolic shift at E18, there was a decrease in the expression of genes linked to several metabolic functions (e.g. protein synthesis, autophagy and mitochondrial activity). At hatching (D0), there were two distinct groups of pHu + chicks based on hierarchical clustering; these groups also differed in liver weight and serum parameters (e.g. triglyceride content and creatine kinase activity). At D0 and D8, there was a sex effect for several metabolic pathways. Metabolism appeared to be more active and oriented towards protein synthesis (RPS6) and fatty acid β-oxidation (ACAA2, ACOX1) in males than in females. In comparison, the genes overexpressed in females were related to carbohydrate metabolism (SLC2A1, SLC2A12, FoxO1, PHKA2, PHKB, PRKAB2 and GYS2).

Conclusions

Our study provides the first detailed description of the evolution of different hepatic metabolic pathways during the early development of embryos and post-hatching chicks. We found a metabolic orientation for the pHu + line towards proteolysis, glycogen degradation, ATP synthesis and autophagy, likely in response to a higher energy requirement compared with pHu- embryos. The metabolic orientations specific to the pHu + and pHu- lines are established very early, probably in relation with their different genetic background and available nutrients.
Integrated transcriptomics and histopathology approach identifies a subset of rejected donor livers with potential suitability for transplantation
Authors: Srivastava Ankita , Manchel Alexandra , Waters John , Ambelil Manju , Barnhart Benjamin K. , Hoek Jan B. , Shah Ashesh P. , Vadigepalli Rajanikanth
Published: May 2024

Background

Liver transplantation is an effective treatment for liver failure. There is a large unmet demand, even as not all donated livers are transplanted. The clinical selection criteria for donor livers based on histopathological evaluation and liver function tests are variable. We integrated transcriptomics and histopathology to characterize donor liver biopsies obtained at the time of organ recovery. We performed RNA sequencing as well as manual and artificial intelligence-based histopathology (10 accepted and 21 rejected for transplantation).

Results

We identified two transcriptomically distinct rejected subsets (termed rejected-1 and rejected-2), where rejected-2 exhibited a near-complete transcriptomic overlap with the accepted livers, suggesting acceptability from a molecular standpoint. Liver metabolic functional genes were similarly upregulated, and extracellular matrix genes were similarly downregulated in the accepted and rejected-2 groups compared to rejected-1. The transcriptomic pattern of the rejected-2 subset was enriched for a gene expression signature of graft success post-transplantation. Serum AST, ALT, and total bilirubin levels showed similar overlapping patterns. Additional histopathological filtering identified cases with borderline scores and extensive molecular overlap with accepted donor livers.

Conclusions

Our integrated approach identified a subset of rejected donor livers that are likely suitable for transplantation, demonstrating the potential to expand the pool of transplantable livers.
Using brief reflections to capture and evaluate end-user engagement: a case example using the COMPASS study
Authors: Ackland Princess E. , Hagedorn Hildi J. , Kenny Marie E. , Salameh Hope A. , Kehle-Forbes Shannon M. , Gustavson Allison M. , Karimzadeh Leyla E. , Meis Laura A.
Published: May 2024

Background

Use of participatory research methods is increasing in research trials. Once partnerships are established with end-users, there is less guidance about processes research teams can use to successfully incorporate end-user feedback. The current study describes the use of a brief reflections process to systematically examine and evaluate the impact of end-user feedback on study conduct.

Methods

The Comparative Effectiveness of Trauma-Focused and Non-Trauma- Focused Treatment Strategies for PTSD among those with Co-Occurring SUD (COMPASS) study was a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of trauma-focused psychotherapy versus non-trauma-focused psychotherapy for Veterans with co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder who were entering substance use treatment within the Department of Veterans Affairs. We developed and paired a process of “brief reflections” with our end-user engagement methods as part of a supplemental evaluation of the COMPASS study engagement plan. Brief reflections were 30-minute semi-structured discussions with the COMPASS Team following meetings with three study engagement panels about feedback received regarding study issues. To evaluate the impact of panel feedback, 16 reflections were audio-recorded, transcribed, rapidly analyzed, and integrated with other study data sources.

Results

Brief reflections revealed that the engagement panels made recommended changes in eight areas: enhancing recruitment; study assessment completion; creating uniformity across Study Coordinators; building Study Coordinator connection to Veteran participants; mismatch between study procedures and clinical practice; therapist skill with patients with active substance use; therapist burnout; and dissemination of study findings. Some recommendations positively impact study conduct while others had mixed impact. Reflections were iterative and led to emergent processes that included revisiting previously discussed topics, cross-pollination of ideas across panels, and sparking solutions amongst the Team when the panels did not make any recommendations or recommendations were not feasible.

Conclusions

When paired with end-user engagement methods, brief reflections can facilitate systematic examination of end-user input, particularly when the engagement strategy is robust. Reflections offer a forum of accountability for researchers to give careful thought to end-user recommendations and make timely improvements to the study conduct. Reflections can also facilitate evaluation of these recommendations and reveal end-user-driven strategies that can effectively improve study conduct.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04581434) on October 9, 2020; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04581434?term=NCT04581434&draw=2&rank=1.