Optimal progressive taxation in a model with endogenous skill supply

No abstract available

Optimal progressive taxation in a model with endogenous skill supply

No abstract available

Sustainable finance and governance: an overview

Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). We are currently facing great challenges around balancing environmental and social issues with economic development. This article provides an overview and insight into these challenges from a Finance perspective. It then introduces contemporary research that address specific points of interest

Can public spending boost private consumption?

Copyright © 2021 The Authors. One of the most debated issues in modern macroeconomics relates to the behaviour of private consumption in response to an increase in government spending. Recent empirical studies have found a positive relationship between these two macroeconomic fundamentals. However, such a finding cannot be easily reconciled with simple real business cycle models. In this paper, we develop and estimate a new Keynesian model that is able to predict a rise in consumption in response to an increase in productive public spending. We show the two key elements that lead to a statistically significant positive reaction of private consumption, thereby creating consumption present-value multipliers, are: (i) a productive component in public spending and (ii) nominal rigidities. Our key results remain valid to various robustness checks that include a sub-sample analysis examining the pre-Great Recession period and a sensitivity analysis on the structural, fiscal and monetary policy parameters of the model

Identification of myocardial diffuse fibrosis by 11 heartbeat MOLLI T1 mapping: averaging to improve precision and correlation with collagen volume fraction

Objectives: Our objectives involved identifying whether repeated averaging in basal and mid left ventricular myocardial levels improves precision and correlation with collagen volume fraction for 11 heartbeat MOLLI T1 mapping versus assessment at a single ventricular level. Materials and methods: For assessment of T1 mapping precision, a cohort of 15 healthy volunteers underwent two CMR scans on separate days using an 11 heartbeat MOLLI with a 5(3)3 beat scheme to measure native T1 and a 4(1)3(1)2 beat post-contrast scheme to measure post-contrast T1, allowing calculation of partition coefficient and ECV. To assess correlation of T1 mapping with collagen volume fraction, a separate cohort of ten aortic stenosis patients scheduled to undergo surgery underwent one CMR scan with this 11 heartbeat MOLLI scheme, followed by intraoperative tru-cut myocardial biopsy. Six models of myocardial diffuse fibrosis assessment were established with incremental inclusion of imaging by averaging of the basal and mid-myocardial left ventricular levels, and each model was assessed for precision and correlation with collagen volume fraction. Results: A model using 11 heart beat MOLLI imaging of two basal and two mid ventricular level averaged T1 maps provided improved precision (Intraclass correlation 0.93 vs 0.84) and correlation with histology (R2 = 0.83 vs 0.36) for diffuse fibrosis compared to a single mid-ventricular level alone. ECV was more precise and correlated better than native T1 mapping. Conclusion: T1 mapping sequences with repeated averaging could be considered for applications of 11 heartbeat MOLLI, especially when small changes in native T1/ECV might affect clinical management

CD62L (L-selectin) shedding for assessment of perioperative immune sensitivity in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the suitability of blood granulocyte and monocyte sensitivity, as measured by the quantity of different agonists required to induce CD62L shedding, for assessment of perioperative immune changes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS: Patients scheduled for aortocoronary bypass grafting or for valve surgery were included in this prospective observational study. Blood samples were drawn before anesthesia induction, directly after surgery and 48 hours after anesthesia induction. We determined the concentration of two different inflammatory stimuli--lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF)--required to induce shedding of 50% of surface CD62L from blood granulocytes and monocytes. In parallel monocyte surface human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR, and plasma interleukin (IL)-8, soluble (s)CD62L, soluble (s)Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and ADAM17 quantification were used to illustrate perioperative immunomodulation. RESULTS: 25 patients were enrolled. Blood granulocytes and monocytes showed decreased sensitivity to the TLR 2/6 agonist Staphylococcus aureus LTA immediately after surgery (p = 0.001 and p = 0.004 respectively). In contrast, granulocytes (p = 0.01), but not monocytes (p = 0.057) displayed a decreased postoperative sensitivity to TNF. We confirmed the presence of a systemic inflammatory response and a decreased immune sensitivity in the post-surgical period by measuring significant increases in the perioperative plasma concentration of IL-8 (p </= 0.001) and sTLR (p = 0.004), and decreases in monocyte HLA-DR (p<0.001), plasma sCD62L (p </= 0.001). In contrast, ADAM17 plasma levels did not show significant differences over the observation period (p = 0.401). CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring granulocyte and monocyte sensitivity using the "CD62L shedding assay" in the perioperative period in cardiac surgical patients treated with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass reveals common changes in sensitivity to TLR2/6 ligands and to TNF stimulus. Further long-term follow-up studies will address the predictive value of these observations for clinical purposes

Prospective per‐target analysis of the added value of the PrecisionPoint Transperineal Access System in cognitive prostate biopsy of MRI targets

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of perineal access cannulas tethered to a biplanar ultrasound probe in cognitive transperineal prostate biopsies of targets identified by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) by comparing the results of the PrecisionPoint (PP) Transperineal Access System with the double-freehand (DFH) technique. Patients and methods: All patients who underwent cognitive transperineal prostate biopsy of mpMRI targets using the PP or DFH technique between November 2020 and September 2023 were enrolled. All data related to mpMRI target biopsies were stratified by technique, visibility in transrectal ultrasound and analysed by comparing PP versus DFH. A standardised anaesthesia protocol with 1% mepivacaine was used in all biopsies. The tolerability of the procedures was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: The number of mpMRI targets sampled was 166 in PP and 242 in DFH. In target biopsies, the PP system was associated with better diagnostic performance for clinically significant prostate cancer (Gleason score ≥3 +&nbsp;4) compared to DFH for both ultrasound-visible targets (61.4% vs. 48.0%) and non-visible targets (41.4% vs. 14.9%) (p&nbsp;= 0.02). A higher rate of positive cores was obtained from targets sampled with PP (57.7% vs. 49.6%, p&nbsp;= 0.0002). The PP system was associated with the retrieval of significantly longer cores (p&nbsp;&lt; 0.0001). There was no significant difference between the techniques regarding pain reported during the biopsy, with a median VAS of 2.7/10, although the PP device required a lower amount of anaesthetic in the periprostatic planes (4.3&nbsp;±&nbsp;2.0&nbsp;mL vs. 5.9&nbsp;±&nbsp;1.9&nbsp;mL, p&nbsp;&lt; 0.0001). Conclusion: The PrecisionPoint Transperineal Access System enabled more precise and higher quality biopsies, resulting in improved histological characterisation of prostate cancer compared to the DFH approach. The use of a perineal cannula did not increase the pain perceived by patients and also required less local anaesthetic during the biopsy

Transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy for predicting the final laterality of prostate cancer : are they reliable enough to select patients for focal therapy? Results from a multicenter international study

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Benzotriazoles, Benzothiazoles and Trace Elements in an Urban Road Setting in Trondheim, Norway: Re-Visiting the Chemical Markers of Traffic Pollution

Road traffic emissions are known to contribute heavily to the pollution in urban environments. The aim of this study was to establish specific traffic pollution markers in an urban road setting based on the occurrence profiles of benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles and trace elements in road dust and relevant matrices, including airborne particulate matter and core asphalt. Benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles are high-production volume chemicals that are used as complexing and anticorrosive agents for metals, act as vulcanizing accelerators for rubber materials, and possess anti-freezing/anti-icing properties. In this study, six benzothiazoles (benzothiazole, 2‑morpholin‑4‑yl‑benzothiazole, 2‑hydroxy‑benzothiazole, 2‑thio‑benzothiazole, 2‑methylthio‑benzothiazole, and 2‑amino‑benzothiazole), seven benzotriazoles (1H‑benzotriazole, 1‑hydroxy‑benzotriazole, 5‑chloro‑1H‑benzotriazole, tolyltriazole, xylyltriazole, benzotriazole‑5‑carboxyl acid, and 5‑amino‑1H‑benzotriazole), and 66 trace elements were determined in road dust samples from a sub-arctic urban road setting in Norway, and seasonal occurrence profiles were assessed between the studded and the non-studded tire season. The road dust was collected as suspended particulate matter in an aqueous phase with the introduced dust sampler in Scandinavia, the Wet Dust Sampler. The concentrations of the sum of seven benzotriazoles (Σ(7)BTRs) and six benzothiazoles (Σ(6)BTHs) in road dust ranged from 191 to 3054 ng/L and 93.4 to 1903 ng/L, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, 1H‑benzotriazole and tolyltriazole are reported for the first time as suitable markers of metal corrosion in vehicles. From the benzothiazole class, 2‑thio‑benzothiazole was found to be a suitable marker of tire rubber particles, while its methylated derivative, 2‑methylthio‑benzothiazole, was found to be a marker of chemical leaching. In addition, different types of new unused tires (summer, studded, and non-studded) were analyzed to assess their benzothiazoles and benzotriazoles content. Based on the concentrations found for benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in airborne particulate matter, human exposure doses were calculated, and the estimated daily intake doses were found on the order of picograms per day.acceptedVersion© 2018. This is the authors’ accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. Locked until 25.8.2020 due to copyright restrictions. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0