Kramers-Kronig constrained variational analysis of optical spectra

A universal method of extraction of the complex dielectric function $\epsilon(\omega)=\epsilon_{1}(\omega)+i\epsilon_{2}(\omega)$ from experimentally accessible optical quantities is developed. The central idea is that $\epsilon_{2}(\omega)$ is parameterized independently at each node of a properly chosen anchor frequency mesh, while $\epsilon_{1}(\omega)$ is dynamically coupled to $\epsilon_{2}(\omega)$ by the Kramers-Kronig (KK) transformation. This approach can be regarded as a limiting case of the multi-oscillator fitting of spectra, when the number of oscillators is of the order of the number of experimental points. In the case of the normal-incidence reflectivity from a semi-infinite isotropic sample the new method gives essentially the same result as the conventional KK transformation of reflectivity. In contrast to the conventional approaches, the proposed technique is applicable, without readaptation, to virtually all types of linear-response optical measurements, or arbitrary combinations of measurements, such as reflectivity, transmission, ellipsometry {\it etc.}, done on different types of samples, including thin films and anisotropic crystals.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Production Externalities in the Wood Furniture Industry in Central Java

This paper exploits micro firm level data to examine the impact of spatial clustering and links to foreign buyer networks on firm performance in the wood furniture industry in Central Java, Indonesia. The analysis is based on an annual manufacturing survey. We identify the impact of specialization of the cluster, diversification, and links to foreign buyer networks. For this purpose, a production function framework is developed. The results lend support to the view that clustering of large and medium scale specialized firms improves firm performance, while clustering of small scale specialized firms and clustering of diverse firms are not conducive to firm performance. We also find a clear positive association between involvement in exporting activities and firm performance

Cloning whole bacterial genomes in yeast

Most microbes have not been cultured, and many of those that are cultivatable are difficult, dangerous or expensive to propagate or are genetically intractable. Routine cloning of large genome fractions or whole genomes from these organisms would significantly enhance their discovery and genetic and functional characterization. Here we report the cloning of whole bacterial genomes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as single-DNA molecules. We cloned the genomes of Mycoplasma genitalium (0.6 Mb), M. pneumoniae (0.8 Mb) and M. mycoides subspecies capri (1.1 Mb) as yeast circular centromeric plasmids. These genomes appear to be stably maintained in a host that has efficient, well-established methods for DNA manipulation

Development and Assessment of a Patient-Reported Outcome Instrument for Gender-Affirming Care

Importance: There is an urgent need for a validated gender-affirming care-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). Objective: To field test the GENDER-Q, a new PROM for gender-affirming care, in a large, international sample of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults and evaluate its psychometric properties. Design, Setting, and Participants: This international cross-sectional study was conducted among TGD adults aged 18 years and older who were seeking or had received gender-affirming care within the past 5 years at 21 clinical sites across Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain; participants were also recruited through community groups (eg, crowdsourcing platform, social media). The study was conducted between February 2022 and March 2024. Participants had to be capable of completing the instrument in English, Danish, Dutch, or French-Canadian. Eligible participants accessed an online REDCap survey to complete sociodemographic questions and questions about gender-affirming care they had received or sought (ie, to look, function, or feel masculine, feminine, gender fluid, or another way). Main Outcome and Measures: Branching logic was used to assign relevant instrument scales. Rasch measurement theory (RMT) analysis was used to examine the fit of the observed data to the Rasch model for each scale. Test-retest reliability and hypothesis-based construct validity of instrument scales were examined. The hypothesis was that instrument scale scores would increase with better outcomes on corresponding categorical questions. Results: A total of 5497 participants (mean [SD] age, 32.8 [12.3] years; 1837 [33.4%] men; 1307 [23.8%] nonbinary individuals; and 2036 [37.0%] women) completed the field test survey. Participants sought or had the following types of gender-affirming care: 2674 (48.6%) masculinizing, 2271 (41.3%) femininizing, and 552 (10.0%) other. RMT analysis led to the development of 54 unidimensional scales and 2 checklists covering domains of health-related quality of life, sexual, urination, gender practices, voice, hair, face and neck, body, breasts, genital feminization, chest, genital masculinization, and experience of care. Test-retest reliability of the scales (intraclass correlation coefficient [average] &gt;0.70) was demonstrated. Only 1 item (phalloplasty donor flap) had an ICC less than 0.70. As hypothesized, scores increased incrementally with better associated self-reported categorical responses. For example, among 661 participants who reported poor psychological well-being, the mean (SD) scale score was 45 (18) points; for those who reported excellent psychological well-being, the mean (SD) scale score was 85 (16) points (P &lt;.001). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of 5497 TGD adults, the instrument demonstrated reliability and validity. The instrument was validated in an international sample and is designed to collect and compare evidence-based outcome data for gender-affirming care from the patients' perspective.</p

The Global Burden of Alveolar Echinococcosis

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, is amongst the world's most dangerous zoonoses. Transmission to humans is by consumption of parasite eggs which are excreted in the faeces of the definitive hosts: foxes and, increasingly, dogs. Transmission can be through contact with the definitive host or indirectly through contamination of food or possibly water with parasite eggs. We made an intensive search of English, Russian, Chinese and other language databases. We targeted data which could give country specific incidence or prevalence of disease and searched for data from every country we believed to be endemic for AE. We also used data from other sources (often unpublished). From this information we were able to make an estimate of the annual global incidence of disease and disease burden using standard techniques for calculation of DALYs. Our studies suggest that AE results in a median of 18,235 cases globally with a burden of 666,433 DALYs per annum. This is the first estimate of the global burden of AE both in terms of global incidence and DALYs and demonstrates the burden of AE is comparable to several diseases in the neglected tropical disease cluster

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME INEQUALITY AND CITY SIZE - A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM-MODEL OF AN OPEN SYSTEM OF CITIES APPROACH

A conclusion which emerges from studies of the factors affecting income inequality among cities is that many are connected through a number of different mechanisms with city size, The explanations are derived from partial equilibrium models of the labour market and ignore considerations associated with labour mobility among cities, To remedy this deficiency our paper employs a well developed general equilibrium model of an open system of cities to characterise the relationship between city size and income inequality that emerges, An outstanding conclusion derived is that, unlike existing explanations which provide justifications only for a unidirectional--positive or negative-relation between city size and income inequality, the general equilibrium model applies no restrictions on the direction of the relation, Additional restrictions are therefore needed to justify a positive or negative relation. For instance, if households with high income have relative preferences for non-traded goods, whose prices are shown to rise with city size, while households with low income have relative preferences for traded goods, inequality will rise with city size, Conversely, if households with low income have relative preferences for non-traded goods while high-income households have relative preferences for traded goods, income inequality will decline with city size, The model is employed to derive a few propositions regarding the direction of the relation under diverse conditions, These propositions provide plausible explanations for certain relations which may prove to be useful for testing the relevancy of our model, The explanations are more flexible than previous explanations since they can cope with a wider range of predictions, including a reversal of the relation, compatible with empirical observations

Israeli settlement in occupied territories and its impact on housing prices in Israel

The real price of housing in Israel rose 132 percent from 1959 through 1988. This paper investigates the factors standing behind the temporal movement of the real price of housing. Special emphasise is given to the role of government policies that encouraged settlement in occupied territories. A static model of the housing market is formulated and estimated, which takes into account the interrelation between the housing market in Israel proper and the emerging market in the occupied territories. In addition to confirming the role of demand shifters in accounting for the increase in real housing prices, it is found that settlement in occupied territories was an important moderating factor. According to our estimates, settlement in occupied territories accounts for a moderation of 1 percent in the annual rate of price appreciation during the Labor government, and 2.4 percent during the Likud government. These figures are in line with our expectations in view of the different policies pursued by the rival governments