Consumer Litigation Funding: Just Another Form of Payday Lending?

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induces permanent neurochemical and functional deficits. Following the administration of either two or four injections of the dopamine neurotoxin, MPTP, at a dose of 40 mg/kg, C57/BL6 mice were given access to running-wheels (30-min sessions, four times/week, Monday-Thursday) and treatment with the treated yeast, Milmed (R) (four times/week, Monday-Thursday), or simply running-wheel exercise by itself, over ten weeks. It was observed that the combination of physical exercise and Milmed (R) treatment, the MPTP + Exercise + Yeast (MC) group [MPTP + Exercise + Milmed (R) (MC)], restored spontaneous motor activity markedly by test day 10, restored completely subthreshold L-Dopa-induced activity, and dopamine concentration to 76% of control values, in the condition wherein two administrations of MPTP (2 x 40 mg/kg) were given prior to initiation of exercise and/or Milmed (R) treatment. Physical exercise by itself, MPTP + Exercise (MC) group, attenuated these deficits only partially. Administration of MPTP four times (i.e., 40 mg/kg, s.c., once weekly over four weeks for a total of 160 mg/kg, MPTP + Exercise + Yeast (MC) group [MPTP + Exercise + Milmed (R) (SC)] and MPTP + Exercise (SC), induced a lesioning effect that was far too severe for either exercise alone or the exercise + Milmed (R) combination to ameliorate. Nevertheless, these findings indicate a powerful effect of physical exercise reinforced by Milmed (R) treatment in restoring MPTP-induced deficits of motor function and dopamine neurochemistry in mice

Half-Spin Tautological Relations and Faber's Proportionalities of Kappa Classes

We employ the $1/2$-spin tautological relations to provide a particular combinatorial identity. We show that this identity is a statement equivalent to Faber's formula for proportionalities of kappa-classes on $\mathcal{M}_g$, $g\geq 2$. We then prove several cases of the combinatorial identity, providing a new proof of Faber's formula for those cases

An empirical evaluation of news and uncertainty shocks as sources of business cycles

This Thesis contributes to the literature of business cycles driven by agents' beliefs. In Chapter 3, we provide novel empirical evidence linking the effects of technology news shocks to uncertainty shocks. Their correlation implies that when financial uncertainty shocks hit the economy, utilization-adjusted total factor productivity (TFP) increases over the medium-term. This leads to an attenuation of the effects on economic activity from news shocks in the short-term and from uncertainty shocks in the medium- term. Supported by these results, we propose an identification strategy to measure the effects of `good uncertainty' shocks and disentangle the importance of technological news, good and bad uncertainties, and ambiguity shocks in explaining business cycle variation. In Chapter 4, I investigate the empirical relationship between agents' responses to future technological changes and the level of uncertainty in the economy. I show that the economic responses to news shocks change substantially over time, and that this dynamic couples with periods of high and low uncertainty. Periods of high uncertainty are characterized by higher positive economic effects of news shocks on output, consumption, investment and real personal income. These results indicate that the continuous updating of agents' expectations about the current and future economic situation operates as a transmission channel for news shocks, amplifying its positive outcomes. Kurmann and Otrok [2013] show that the effects on economic activity from news on future productivity growth are similar to the effects from unexpected changes in the slope of the yield curve. In Chapter 5, I show that these results do not hold in the light of a recent update in the utilization-adjusted TFP series produced by Fernald [2014]. In Chapter 6, I propose a novel method of identifying technological news shocks through instrumental variables based on forecast revisions from the Survey of Professional Forecasters. I construct proxy measures for the slope of the long-run trend of GDP, investment and industrial production, which are strong instruments for recovering the underlying news shock. The procedure has the advantage of relying on information about agents' expectations, instead of the statistical procedures currently used for the news shock identification. By employing a proxy SVAR, I show that news shocks produce substantial effects on impact on GDP and investment. The effects on consumption in the short-run, however, are milder than usually presented by the news shock literature

Patent-based news shocks

What do patents tell us about the economic effects of future technological improvements? We identify aggregate and industry level patent-based news shocks by exploiting changes in stock market valuations of firms that obtain patent grants. Our shocks resemble diffusion news, as they do not affect total factor productivity in the short run but induce a strong permanent effect after five years. We find that patent-based news shocks produce positive comovement between consumption, output, investment, and hours. They also generate positive responses in inflation and in the federal funds rate, consistent with standard New Keynesian models

News and uncertainty shocks

We provide novel evidence that technological news and uncertainty shocks, identified one at a time using vector autoregressive (VAR) models as in the literature, are correlated; that is, they are not truly structural . We then proceed by proposing an identification scheme to disentangle the effects of news and financial uncertainty shocks. We find that by removing financial uncertainty effects from news shocks, the positive responses of economic activity to news shocks are strengthened in the short term; and that the negative responses of activity to financial uncertainty shocks are deepened in the medium term as “good uncertainty” effects on technology are purged

The affective profiles, psychological well-being, and harmony: environmental mastery and self-acceptance predict the sense of a harmonious life

Background. An important outcome from the debate on whether wellness equals happiness, is the need of research focusing on how psychological well-being might influence humans' ability to adapt to the changing environment and live in harmony. To get a detailed picture of the influence of positive and negative affect, the current study employed the affective profiles model in which individuals are categorised into groups based on either high positive and low negative affect (self-fulfilling); high positive and high negative affect (high affective); low positive and low negative affect (low affective); and high negative and low positive affect (self-destructive). The aims were to (1) investigate differences between affective profiles in psychological wellbeing and harmony and (2) how psychological well-being and its dimensions relate to harmony within the four affective profiles. Method. 500 participants (mean age D 34.14 years, SD. D 12.75 years; 187 males and 313 females) were recruited online and required to answer three self-report measures: The Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule; The Scales of Psychological Well-Being (short version) and The Harmony in Life Scale. We conducted a Multivariate Analysis of Variance where the affective profiles and gender were the independent factors and psychological well-being composite score, its six dimensions as well as the harmony in life score were the dependent factors. In addition, we conducted four multi-group (i.e., the four affective profiles) moderation analyses with the psychological well-being dimensions as predictors and harmony in life as the dependent variables. Results. Individuals categorised as self-fulfilling, as compared to the other profiles, tended to score higher on the psychological well-being dimensions: positive relations, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, autonomy, personal growth, and purpose in life. In addition, 47% to 66% of the variance of the harmony in life was explained by the dimensions of psychological well-being within the four affective profiles. Specifically, harmony in life was significantly predicted by environmental mastery and self-acceptance across all affective profiles. However, for the low affective group high purpose in life predicted low levels of harmony in life. Conclusions. The results demonstrated that affective profiles systematically relate to psychological well-being and harmony in life. Notably, individuals categorised as self-fulfilling tended to report higher levels of both psychological well-being and harmony in life when compared with the other profiles. Meanwhile individuals in the self-destructive group reported the lowest levels of psychological well-being and harmony when compared with the three other profiles. It is proposed that selfacceptance and environmental acceptance might enable individuals to go from selfdestructive to a self-fulfilling state that also involves harmony in life

The 18-item Swedish version of Ryff’s psychological wellbeing scale: psychometric properties based on classical test theory and item response theory

BackgroundPsychological wellbeing is conceptualized as the full engagement and optimal performance in existential challenges of life. Our understanding of psychological wellbeing is important for us humans to survive, adapt, and thrive during the challenges of the 21st century. Hence, the measurement of psychological wellbeing is one cornerstone for the identification and treatment of both mental illness and health promotion. In this context, Ryff operationalized psychological wellbeing as a six-dimensional model of human characteristics: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, personal growth, autonomy, and purpose in life. Ryff’s Psychological Wellbeing Scale has been developed and translated into different versions. Here, we examine and describe the psychometric properties of the 18-item Swedish version of Ryff’s Psychological Wellbeing Scale using both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT).MethodsThe data used in the present study was earlier published elsewhere and consists of 768 participants (279 women and 489 men). In addition to the 18-item version of the scale, participants answered the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, and the Background and Health Questionnaire. We examined, the 18-item version’s factor structure using different models and its relationship with subjective wellbeing, sociodemographic factors (e.g., education level, gender, age), lifestyle habits (i.e., smoking, frequency of doing exercise, and exercise intensity), and health issues (i.e., pain and sleeping problems). We also analyzed measurement invariance with regard to gender. Moreover, as an addition to the existing literature, we analyzed the properties of the 18 items using Graded Response Model (GRM).ResultsAlthough the original six-factor structure showed a good fit, both CTT and IRT indicated that a five-factor model, without the purpose in life subscale, provided a better fit. The results supported the internal consistency and concurrent validity of the 18-item Swedish version. Moreover, invariance testing showed similar measurement precision by the scale across gender. Finally, we found several items, especially the purpose in life’s item “I live life one day at a time and do not really think about the future,” that might need revision or modification in order to improve measurement.ConclusionA five-factor solution is a valid and reliable measure for the assessment of psychological wellbeing in the general Swedish population. With some modifications, the scale might achieve enough accuracy to measure the more appropriate and correct six-dimensional theoretical framework as detailed by Ryff. Fortunately, Ryff’s original version contains 20 items per subscale and should therefore act as a perfect pool of items in this endeavor