Agglomeration Effects on Employer-Provided Training: Evidence from the UK

Recent empirical evidence suggests that the density of local economic activity – measured as the number of employees per squared kilometer – positively affects local average productivity. In this paper we use British data from the European Community Household Panel to ask whether local density affects employer-provided training. We find that training is less frequent in economically denser areas. We explain this result as the outcome of the interaction between the positive pooling effects and negative poaching and turnover effects of agglomeration. The size of the negative effect of density is not negligible: when evaluated at the average firm size in the local area, a 10 percent increase in density reduces the probability of employer-provided training by 0.07, more than 20 percent of the average incidence of training in the UK during the sample period.training, spatial economics, Britain

Usefulness of a clinical diagnosis of ICU-acquired paresis to predict outcome in patients with SIRS and acute respiratory failure

Purpose: Neuromuscular abnormalities are common in ICU patients. We aimed to assess the incidence of clinically diagnosed ICU-acquired paresis (ICUAP) and its impact on outcome. Methods: Forty-two patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome on mechanical ventilation for ≥48h were prospectively studied. Diagnosis of ICUAP was defined as symmetric limb muscle weakness in at least two muscle groups at ICU discharge without other explanation. The threshold Medical Research Council (MRC) Score was set at 35 (of 50) points. Activities in daily living were scored using the Barthel Index 28 and 180days after ICU discharge. Results: Three patients died before sedation was stopped. ICUAP was diagnosed in 13 of the 39 patients (33%). Multivariate regression analysis yielded five ICUAP-predicting variables (P<0.05): SAPS II at ICU admission, treatment with steroids, muscle relaxants or norepinephrine, and days with sepsis. Patients with ICUAP had lower admission SAPS II scores [37±13 vs. 49±15 (P=0.018)], lower Barthel Index at 28days and lower survival at 180days after ICU discharge (38 vs. 77%, P=0.033) than patients without ICUAP. Daily TISS-28 scores were similar but cumulative TISS-28 scores were higher in patients with ICUAP (664±275) than in patients without ICUAP (417±236; P=0.008). The only independent risk factor for death before day 180 was the presence of ICUAP. Conclusions: A clinical diagnosis of ICUAP was frequently established in this patient group. Despite lower SAPS II scores, these patients needed more resources and had high mortality and prolonged recovery periods after ICU discharg

Disease-induced neuroinflammation and depression

Progression of major depression, a multifactorial disorder with a neuroinflammatory signature, seems to be associated with the disruption of body allostasis. High rates of comorbidity between depression and specific medical disorders, such as, stroke, chronic pain conditions, diabetes mellitus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, have been extensively reported. In this review, we discuss how these medical disorders may predispose an individual to develop depression by examining the impact of these disorders on some hallmarks of neuroinflammation known to be impaired in depressed patients: altered permeability of the blood brain barrier, immune cells infiltration, activated microglia, increased cytokines production, and the role of inflammasomes. In all four pathologies, blood brain barrier integrity was altered, allowing the infiltration of peripheral factors, known to activate resident microglia. Evidence indicated morphological changes in the glial population, increased levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines or increased production of these mediators within the brain, all fundamental in neuroinflammation, for the four medical disorders considered. Moreover, activity of the kynurenine pathway appeared to be enhanced. With respect to the inflammasome NLRP3, a new target whose role in neuroinflammation is emerging as being important, accumulating data suggest its involvement in the pathogenesis of brain injury following stroke, chronic pain conditions, diabetes mellitus or in HIV associated immune impairment. Finally, data gathered over the last 10 years, indicate and confirm that depression, stroke, chronic pain, diabetes, and HIV infection share a combination of underlying molecular, cellular and network mechanisms leading to a general increase in the neuroinflammatory burden for the individual

Isotope measurements of the Arctic water cycle and exchange processes between seawater, sea ice, and snow during MOSAiC

For the past two decades, the Arctic water cycle changed rapidly due to surface air temperatures (SATs) increasing at twice the global rate. Terrestrial ice (i.e. Greenland Ice Sheet) and marine sea-ice loss, alterations of ocean circulation patterns, and shifting atmospheric moisture sources and transport are some of the most pronounced changes caused by the Arctic amplification, fostering increased humidity levels. Stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H) and the secondary parameter d-excess are valuable tracers for hydrological changes, including how these shifts may affect the global climate system. However, it is only recently that we are using precipitation and water vapor networks to resolve water isotope patterns and processes in the Arctic. However, a fully coordinated study of the entire water cycle attributes year-long including sea ice, ocean water, vapor, and precipitation has until recently has been absent. The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition provided a unique opportunity to collect, analyze, and synthesize discrete samples of the different hydrological compartments in the central Arctic, covering a complete one-year seasonal cycle using a combination of ship-based, the pan-Arctic Water Isotope Network (PAPIN). These observations can lead to new insights into coupled ocean-atmosphere climate processes operating in the Arctic, especially during extreme events, sea ice formation, sea ice retreat, and during a dichotomy of synoptic weather patterns over the MOSAiC-year. We present the isotopic traits of more than 2,200 discrete samples (i.e., seawater, sea ice, snow, brines, frost flowers, lead ice, ridge ice, and precipitation) collected during MOSAiC. Snow has the most depleted δ18O values (-16.3 ± 9.1‰; the number of samples N=306), whereas seawater is the most enriched δ18O compartment (-1.5 ± 0.9‰; N=302) of the Arctic water cycle. Precipitation throughout the Arctic Basin varied from -10‰ to -35‰. Snow profiles are gradually enriched in δ18O from top to bottom by ~20‰ partially due to sublimation of deposited snow, as well as snow metamorphism and its effects on the water isotopes. Second-year ice (SYI) is isotopically relatively depleted in δ18O (-4.2 ± 2.6‰; N=200) compared to first-year ice (FYI) (-0.7 ± 2.1‰; N=635) and insulated FYI (i.e. FYI grown at the bottom of SYI) (-1.7 ± 2.4‰; N=214). The latter is likely caused by post-depositional exchange processes with snow. Open water leads (-1.6 ± 2.4‰; N=137) and melt ponds (-2.1 ± 2.7‰; N=109) on the surface of sea ice contribute to the moistening of the atmosphere in the Arctic on a regional scale. Our dataset provides an unprecedented snapshot of the present-day isotopic composition of the Arctic water cycle during an entire year. The coupling of these discrete samples data with the continuous measurements of atmospheric water vapor may shed light on the relative contribution of snow, sea ice, seawater, open water leads, and melt ponds both spatially and temporally to regional and local moisture levels in the Arctic. Stable water isotopes will ultimately contribute to resolving the linkages between sea ice, ocean, and atmosphere during the critical transition from frozen ocean to open water conditions

Contributi alla flora vascolare di Toscana. VII (357-439)

New localities and/or confirmations concerning 83 specific and subspecific plant taxa of Tuscan vascular flora, belonging to 71 genera and 33 families are presented: Carpobrotus (Aizoaceae), Alternanthera (Amaranthaceae), Leucojum (Amaryllidaceae), Anacyclus, Andryala, Carduus, Centaurea, Cichorium, Erigeron, Helichrysum, Helminthotheca, Hieracium, Limbarda, Pilosella, Scolymus, Sonchus, Tagetes, Urospermum, Xanthium (Asteraceae), Mahonia (Berberidaceae), Myosotis (Boraginaceae), Biscutella, Ionopsidium, Raphanus, Rapistrum (Brassicaceae), Buxus (Buxaceae), Vaccaria (Caryophyllaceae), Cistus (Cistaceae), Calystegia, Cuscuta (Convolvulaceae), Cymodocea (Cymodoceaceae), Cyperus (Cyperaceae), Amorpha, Emerus, Lathyrus, Lotus, Ononis, Trifolium, Vicia (Fabaceae), Quercus (Fagaceae), Geranium (Geraniaceae), Myriophyllum (Haloragaceae), Malva (Malvaceae), Epipogium, Himantoglossum (Orchidaceae), Orobanche (Orobanchaceae), Osyris (Santalaceae), Oxalis (Oxalidaceae), Pinus (Pinaceae), Anisantha, Avellinia, Avena, Corynephorus, Crypsis, Cutandia, Elytrigia, Lolium, Panicum, Polypogon, Sporobolus (Poaceae), Rumex (Polygonaceae), Lysimachia (Primulaceae), Eranthis, Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae), Rubus (Rosaceae), Crucianella, Galium (Rubiaceae), Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae), Solanum (Solanaceae), Tamarix (Tamaricaceae), Viola (Violaceae). In the end, the conservation status of the units and eventual protection of the cited biotopes are discussed

Synthesis of the natural product descurainolide and cyclic peptides from lignin-derived aromatics

The authors acknowledge the EPSRC UK National Mass Spectrometry Facility at Swansea University for mass spectrometry analysis. Financial support from: the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant EP/J018139/1, EP/K00445X/1 (NJW, ADS, OSO), the doctoral training grant (ARN) and the CRITICAT Centre for Doctoral Training [Ph.D. studentship to SFM; Grant code: EP/L016419/1]), the Leverhulme Trust (JET), European Research Council (ERC-2013-ADG (JHN))Alternative sources of potential feedstock chemicals are of increasing importance as the availability of oil decreases. The biopolymer lignin is viewed as a source of useful mono-aromatic compounds as exemplified by the industrial scale production of vanillin from this biomass. Alternative lignin-derived aromatics are available in pure form but to date examples of the use of these types of compounds are rare. Here we address this issue by reporting the conversion of an aromatic keto-alcohol to the anti- and syn-isomers of Descurainolide A. The key step involves a rhodium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction. Enantioenriched allylic alcohols were generated via an isothiourea-catalyzed kinetic resolution enabling access to both the (2R,3R) and (2S,3S) enantiomers of anti-Descurainolide A. In addition we show that the ligninderived keto-alcohols can be converted into unnatural amino acid derivatives of tyrosine. Finally, these amino acids were incorporated into cyclic peptide scaffolds through the use of both chemical and an enzyme-mediated macrocylisation.PostprintPeer reviewe

Tissue Doppler Imaging can be useful to distinguish pathological from physiological left ventricular hypertrophy: a study in master athletes and mild hypertensive subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transthoracic echocardiography left ventricular wall thickness is often increased in master athletes and it results by intense physical training. Left Ventricular Hypertrophy can also be due to a constant pressure overload. Conventional Pulsed Wave (PW) Doppler analysis of diastolic function sometimes fails to distinguish physiological from pathological LVH.</p> <p>The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of Pulsed Wave Tissue Doppler Imaging in differentiating pathological from physiological LVH in the middle-aged population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>we selected a group of 80 master athletes, a group of 80 sedentary subjects with essential hypertension and an apparent normal diastolic function at standard PW Doppler analysis. The two groups were comparable for increased left ventricular wall thickness and mass index (134.4 ± 19.7 vs 134.5 ± 22.1 gr/m2; p > .05). Diastolic function indexes using the PW technique were in the normal range for both.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pulsed Wave TDI study of diastolic function immediately distinguished the two groups. While in master athletes the diastolic TDI-derived parameters remained within normal range (E' 9.4 ± 3.1 cm/sec; E/E' 7.8 ± 2.1), in the hypertensive group these parameters were found to be constantly altered, with mean values and variation ranges always outside normal validated limits (E' 7.2 ± 2.4 cm/sec; E/E' 10.6 ± 3.2), and with E' and E/E' statistically different in the two groups (p < .001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study showed that the TDI technique can be an easy and validated method to assess diastolic function in differentiating normal from pseudonormal diastolic patterns and it can distinguish physiological from pathological LVH emphasizing the eligibility certification required by legal medical legislation as in Italy.</p