Reinhart-Rogoff revisited: Coding errors happen – key problem was in not making the data openly available from the start

The eventual replication of the data from the Reinhart-Rogoff paper on 90% debt/GDP threshold has sparked vibrant discussion on the impact of error-ridden research on austerity policies around the world. Velichka Dimitrova argues this controversy highlights the importance of open data of economics datasets. Coding errors happen, yet the greater research problem was not allowing for other researchers to review and replicate the results through making the data openly available as early as possible

The psychological gains from COVID-19 vaccination : who benefits the most?

We quantify the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on psychological well-being using information from a large-scale panel survey representative of the UK population. Exploiting exogenous variation in the timing of vaccinations, we find that vaccination increases psychological well-being by 0.12 standard deviation, compensating for around one half of the overall decrease caused by the pandemic. This effect persists for at least two months, and it is associated with a decrease in the perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19 and higher engagement in social activities. The improvement is 1.5 times larger for mentally distressed individuals, supporting the prioritization of this group in vaccination roll-outs

Use of medicinal plants in cardiovascular diseases

Сърдечно-съдовите заболявания са група болести, засягащи сърцето и кръвоносните съдове (артерии и вени). Причините за сърдечно-съдовите заболявания са различни, но най-честите са атеросклерозата и артериалната хипертония. Те са най-значимата причина за смъртността в световен мащаб. Над 17,6 милиона души в света умират всяка година в резултат на сърдечно-съдови заболявания.Проблемът е особено актуален за нашата страна, като данните сочат, че в България на всеки 3 човека 2 умират от сърдечно-съдови заболявания. Разходите за здравеопазването в България за 2013 са 3,3 млрд. лв. Около 18% от бюджета на НЗОК отива за лечение на сърдечно-съдови заболявания.Днес антихипертензивното лечение най-общо може да се раздели на лечение с класически медикаменти и лекарства от нови генерации. Трябва да бъдем наясно, че невинаги монотерапията ще постигне желания ефект, средният брой лекарства, необходими за достигане и трайно поддържане на желаните нива на артериалното налягане, е около и над 3. Следователно много често се използва комбинираната терапия за избор на медикаменти с изявена органна протекция, при която да се достигнат прицелните нива на артериалното налягане. Оптималният контрол на налягането спомага за намаляване на сърдечно-съдовата болест и смъртност.Поддържането на здравословно и балансирано хранене, както и здравословен начин на живот може да помогне да се избегне рискът от високо кръвно налягане.Главното действие на билките, които прила гаме при сърдечно-съдовите заболявания, е да подобрят кръвоснабдяването на сърдечния мускул и крайниците, както и да заздравят стените на кръвоносните съдове.На билколечение и профилактика подлежат неусложнените случаи с коронарна недостатъчност и с ритъмни и проводни нарушения. За целта се използват дроги, чиито съставки разширяват коронарните съдове и имат диуретично действие. Такъв ефект имат цвета от глог - Fl.Crataegi ; стръкове от горицвет - Hb.Adonidis vernalis; чесънът - Allium sativum; момина сълза - Convallaria majalis f.Liliaceae.Cardiovascular diseases are a group of conditions affecting the heart and the blood vessels (arteries and veins). The reasons for the cardiovascular diseases are different, but the most frequent ones are atherosclerosis and arterial hypertonia. They are the most significant reasons for mortality on an international scale. Over 17.6 million of people in the world die each year as a result of cardiovascular diseases. The problem is especially pressing in our country, where the data shows that in Bulgaria of every 3 persons, 2 die from cardiovascular illnesses. The health care costs in Bulgaria for 2013 are 3.3 billion BGN. Around 18% of the budget of the National Fund for Health Insurance go for treatment of cardiovascular diseases.Today the treatment for hypertension in general can be divided into treatment with classical medications and such with new generation medications. We must be aware that monotherapy will not always achieve the desired effect. The average number of medications, required for achieving and sustaining longterm levels of arterial pressure is around and above 3. Therefore, combined therapy is used very often for choosing medications with obvious organ protection, which reach the target levels of arterial pressure. The optimal control of pressure helps decrease the amount cardiovascular diseases and their mortality. Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, as well as healthy lifestyle can help avoid the risk of high blood pressure.The main effect of herbs, which we use in cardiovascular diseases, is improving the blood supply to the hearth muscle and limbs, as well as strengthening of the blodd vessel walls.Subject to herb treatment and prevention are non-complicated cases of coronary insufficiency and rhythm and conduction disorders. For that purpose we use drugs, whose ingredients widen the coronary vessels and act as diuretics. Such effect have the flower of hawthorn - Fl.Crataegi; sprigs of pheasant‘s eye - Hb.Adonidisvernalis; garlic - Alliumsativum; lily-ofthe- valley - Convallariamajalis f.Liliaceae

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF BULGARIAN FOLIA BETULAE DRY EXTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the biological activity of dry Folia Betulae (FB) extract.Methods: Extracts from birch leaves were obtained by different technological methods–maceration and percolation, extraction with different concentrations of ethanol, changes in temperature regimen. The influence of the technological factors on the content of the biologically active substances (BAS) was examined. A phytochemical characterization of the extracts and their standardization were made, according to important groups of BAS–flavonoids (rutin, quercetin) and terpenes (betulin and betulinic acid), by means of HPLC methods for detection and quantitative determination. A model extract, with optimal content of BAS was chosen for subsequent in vitro investigation of its biological activity. Antimicrobial activity was studied via in vitro tests using bacterial isolates–Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. The physiological activity was investigated by using in vitro test with smooth muscle strips. The antiproliferative activity of FB extract on eukaryotic cells was examined on cell cultures in vitro. Two cell cultures were used: the mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y and the serum-free McCoy-Plovdiv cells.Results: The dry extract from FB has a dose–dependent antibacterial effect. The bactericidal effect on Staphylococcus aureus is stronger than the one on Escherichia coli. Results prove that adding the extract leads to stimulating effect on muscle contractility. It demonstrates biological activity, expressed as changes in cell morphology, proliferation and vitality as well as initiation of apoptosis.Conclusion: The results obtained largely overlap with literature data and explain some of the applications of this plant in traditional medicine.Â

Mass Reproducibility and Replicability: A New Hope

This study pushes our understanding of research reliability by reproducing and replicating claims from 110 papers in leading economic and political science journals. The analysis involves computational reproducibility checks and robustness assessments. It reveals several patterns. First, we uncover a high rate of fully computationally reproducible results (over 85%). Second, excluding minor issues like missing packages or broken pathways, we uncover coding errors for about 25% of studies, with some studies containing multiple errors. Third, we test the robustness of the results to 5,511 re-analyses. We find a robustness reproducibility of about 70%. Robustness reproducibility rates are relatively higher for re-analyses that introduce new data and lower for re-analyses that change the sample or the definition of the dependent variable. Fourth, 52% of re-analysis effect size estimates are smaller than the original published estimates and the average statistical significance of a re-analysis is 77% of the original. Lastly, we rely on six teams of researchers working independently to answer eight additional research questions on the determinants of robustness reproducibility. Most teams find a negative relationship between replicators' experience and reproducibility, while finding no relationship between reproducibility and the provision of intermediate or even raw data combined with the necessary cleaning codes