The cash-for-care benefit and daycare use : a quasi-experimental approach

This paper sets out to explore the effects of a cash incentive on parents’ choice of daytime care for children in the age group 1-3 years. By studying the Norwegian Cash-for-Care reform from 1998/1999 we are able to able to examine this through a natural experiment. The results show a statistical significant decrease in use of daycare for the total population, an effect that is stronger for families of low socioeconomic status. This may work against stated long-term national goals. We are not able to identify any changes in demand for the immigrant families in the sample

The cash-for-care benefit and daycare use : a quasi-experimental approach

This paper sets out to explore the effects of a cash incentive on parents’ choice of daytime care for children in the age group 1-3 years. By studying the Norwegian Cash-for-Care reform from 1998/1999 we are able to able to examine this through a natural experiment. The results show a statistical significant decrease in use of daycare for the total population, an effect that is stronger for families of low socioeconomic status. This may work against stated long-term national goals. We are not able to identify any changes in demand for the immigrant families in the sample

Feasting on microplastics: ingestion by and effects on marine organisms

Ingestion of microplastics by marine organisms is a common occurrence in marine ecosystems, but the experimental demonstration of the effects of ingested microplastics on marine organisms has only recently become an important subject of research. In this review, the ingestion of microplastics by marine organisms, its attendant potential consequences and specific hypothetical questions for further studies are discussed. The formation of heteroaggregates in the gut of prey organisms may delay microplastic clearance, potentially increasing the chances of microplastic trophic transfer to predators. Also, the survival and energetics of keystone species at lower trophic levels are negatively affected by ingestion of microplastics, thereby raising questions about the transfer of energy and nutrients to organisms at higher trophic levels. Further, since microplastics are able to adsorb and concentrate organic pollutants up to 1 million times more than the pollutant concentration in ambient waters, the ingestion of such small plastic fragments is, a probable route for the entrance and biomagnification of toxic chemicals in the marine food web. However, the equilibrium state between pollutant concentration in marine organisms and that of surrounding waters makes it unclear whether the ingestion of microplastics actually increases the pollutant load of organisms. Finally, microplastic ingestion can cause endocrine disorders in adult fish, which could result in neoplasia via epigenetic programming. Therefore, microplastic pollution may be a contributory cause of increased incidents of neoplasia in marine animals. The amount of microplastics in marine waters will steadily rise, and questions about their impact on marine ecosystems will linger

Entrenching Process Safety Culture in The Face of Shifting Demography – a key to Sustaining Goal Zero Performance in Well Operations

Abstract The oil and gas industry is at a time when sustaining the license-to-operate; maintaining a positive reputation amongst stakeholders as well as achieving competitive performance is at the heart of business objective. This period also coincides with an all-time high entrance of young technical professionals into the industry due to an accelerated reaction to the impending crew change. Recent catastrophic process safety related incidents which resulted in fatalities, reputational damage and financial loss to the industry have once again brought to the forefront the importance of Process Safety management to industry leadership. Historically, the industry builds on long established focus on personal safety. In this regard, several organisations have developed Process Safety capability frameworks and terms of reference. Efforts have also been made to align these as much as possible to existing Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) critical competencies. “A process safety risk is a hazard that can give rise to major accidents involving the release of potentially hazardous materials, release of energy, or both; and Process safety in Wells is about keeping all hydrocarbons safely in the pipe, well or reservoir at all times” – Shell. Demographic shift in the oil and gas industry is emerging as one of the most significant challenges to business continuity and sustainability in the face of a rapidly aging workforce and shortfall in skilled and experienced manpower. The need for a well-knit strategy to enhance the training and competency development of young technical professionals becomes imperative in order to ensure that Process Safety oriented culture is fully understood and imbibed. This paper will examine how process safety can be successfully managed with the ‘big crew change’.</jats:p

Trend and geo-availability of somatic therapies for treatment resistant depression in the US

Background: Having failed at least two pharmacotherapies, treatment-resistant depression (TRD) constitutes a major burden to healthcare in the US and globally, affecting close to a third of people diagnosed with depression in the US. Several studies have demonstrated the higher economic burden associated with TRD. This study sought to investigate changes in the availability of TRD somatic treatment options (Electroconvulsive therapy [ECT], Ketamine infusion therapy (KIT), and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation [TMS]) in the US between 2014 and 2020 and the geographic variations in availability of TRD treatment options in the US as of 2020. Method: This study is a cross-sectional study of US mental health facilities providing TRD treatment options between 2014 and 2020. We used the 2014 to 2020 National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). We estimated service availability per 100,000 US adults, both nationally and regionally, and computed a random-effect logistic regression to calculate the changes in the availability of the services over the study period. Result: Overall, availability of any one of ECT, KIT, or TMS in US mental health facilities declined between 2014 and 2019 (0.23 vs. 0.18 per 100,000 US adults) but increased to 0.24 in 2020. While availability of ECT consistently declined between 2014 and 2020, ketamine and TMS reportedly became available only in 2020. North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah had the highest availability per 100,000 US adults (0.86, 0.67, and 0.65) while Nevada, Oregon and Georgia had the lowest availability (0.04, 0.06, and 0.06) regionally. Conclusion: The US had less than one mental health facility offering somatic treatment options for TRD per 100,000 US adults as of 2020. Also, the observed increase in the availability of somatic treatment options for TRD across the US between 2014 and 2020 did not reflect the increasing need for more treatment options for the treatment of TRD