Taxes, Market Structure, and International Price Discrimination

The Department of Commerce\u27s current cost-based calculation methods cannot measure tax pass-through. In one case, however, Commerce has employed a sophisticated econometric model of supply (cost) and demand elasticities to estimate tax pass-through. Because econometric models can do more than simply measure pass-through, the U.S. Government should adopt an econometric approach in all antidumping cases. Econometric models recognize the dependence of prices on market structure. These models thereby allow the U.S. Government to segregate pricing behavior consistent with different market structures from behavior that injures a balanced set of U.S. interests, which includes producers, consumers, and downstream industries

Analysis of topographic maps for recreational purposes using decision trees

pre-printIn this paper we describe a method for predicting the subjective quality of a new mountain bike route for a particular subject based on routes previously ridden and ranked by the subject. GPS tracks of the previously ridden routes are over laid on rasterized topographic maps and topographic features are extracted in the vicinity of the routes using image processing techniques. The subject ranks each previously ridden route segment on four subjective qualities. The extracted topographic features and the subjective rankings are used as input vectors and target vectors to train a series of decision trees. The decision trees are then tested on a series of route segments not used in the decision tree training. The decision trees were able to exactly predict the subjective rankings with over 60% accuracy vs. 20% accuracy for random selection. When close matches are allowed in the prediction of subjective ranking (plus or minus one point vs. actual) the accuracy of the decision trees increased to 90% and above

Water incident related hospital activity across England between 1997/8 and 2003/4: a retrospective descriptive study

Every year in the United Kingdom, 10,000 people will die from accidental injury and the treatment of these injuries will cost the NHS £2 billion and the consequences of injuries received at home cost society a further £25 billion [1]. Non-fatal injuries result in 720,000 people being admitted to hospital a year and more than six million visits to accident and emergency departments each year [2]. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury mortality globally behind road traffic injuries. It is estimated that a total of 409, 272 people drown each year [3]. This equates to a global incident rate of 7.4 deaths per 100, 000 people worldwide and relates to a further 1.3 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) which are lost as a result of premature death or disability [4]. 'Death' represents only the tip of the injury "iceberg" [5]. For every life lost from an injury, many more people are admitted to hospital, attend accident and emergency departments or general practitioners, are rescued by search and rescue organisations or resolve the situation themselves. It is estimated that 1.3 million people are injured as a result of near drowning episodes globally and that many more hundreds of thousands of people are affected through incidents and near misses but there are no accurate data [4]. The United Kingdom has reported a variable drowning fatality rate, the injury chart book reports a rate of 1.0 – 1.5 per 100,000 [6] and other studies suggest a rate as low as 0.5 per 100, 000 population [7] for accidental drowning and submersion, based on the International Classification of Disease 10 code W65 – 74, however, the problem is even greater and these Global Burden of Disease (GDB) figures are an underestimate of all drowning deaths, since they exclude drownings due to cataclysms (floods), water related transport accidents, assaults and suicide [3]. A recent study in Scotland highlighted this underestimation in drowning fatality data and found that the overall death rate due to drownings in Scotland 3.26 per 100,000 [8]. Even though drowning fatality rates in the United Kingdom vary, little is known about the people who are admitted to hospital after an incident either in or on water. This paper seeks to address this gap in our knowledge through the investigation of the data available on those admitted to NHS hospitals in England

Measuring Disease-Free Survival and Cancer Relapse Using Medicare Claims From CALGB Breast Cancer Trial Participants (Companion to 9344)

To determine the accuracy with which Medicare claims data measure disease-free survival in elderly Medicare beneficiaries with cancer, we performed a criterion validation study. We merged gold-standard clinical trial data of 45 elderly patients with node-positive breast cancer who were treated on the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CAL-GB) adjuvant breast trial 9344 with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data files and compared the results of a CMS-based algorithm with the CALGB disease-free survival information to determine sensitivity and specificity. For 5-year disease-free survival, the sensitivity of the CMS-based algorithm was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 81% to 100%), the specificity was 97% (95% CI = 83% to 100%), and the area under the receiver operator curve was 97% (95% CI = 90% to 100%). For 2-year disease-free survival, the test characteristics were less favorable: sensitivity was 83% (95% CI = 36% to 100%), specificity was 95% (95% CI = 83% to 100%), and area under the receiver operator curve was 84% (95% CI = 66% to 100%)

Single cell transcriptomics of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) liver reveals cellular heterogeneity and immunological responses to challenge by Aeromonas salmonicida

Copyright © 2022 Taylor, Ruiz Daniels, Dobie, Naseer, Clark, Henderson, Boudinot, Martin and Macqueen.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Transcriptional dynamics of pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cell differentiation revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing

Aims Pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cell products possess therapeutic potential in ischaemic vascular disease. However, the factors that drive endothelial differentiation from pluripotency and cellular specification are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to use single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to map the transcriptional landscape and cellular dynamics of directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cell-derived endothelial cells (hESC-EC) and to compare these cells to mature endothelial cells from diverse vascular beds. Methods and results A highly efficient directed 8-day differentiation protocol was used to generate a hESC-derived endothelial cell product (hESC-ECP), in which 66% of cells co-expressed CD31 and CD144. We observed largely homogeneous hESC and mesodermal populations at Days 0 and 4, respectively, followed by a rapid emergence of distinct endothelial and mesenchymal populations. Pseudotime trajectory identified transcriptional signatures of endothelial commitment and maturation during the differentiation process. Concordance in transcriptional signatures was verified by scRNA-seq analysis using both a second hESC line RC11, and an alternative hESC-EC differentiation protocol. In total, 105 727 cells were subjected to scRNA-seq analysis. Global transcriptional comparison revealed a transcriptional architecture of hESC-EC that differs from freshly isolated and cultured human endothelial cells and from organ-specific endothelial cells. Conclusion A transcriptional bifurcation into endothelial and mesenchymal lineages was identified, as well as novel transcriptional signatures underpinning commitment and maturation. The transcriptional architecture of hESC-ECP was distinct from mature and foetal human EC.This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [MRC Precision Medicine Doctoral Training Programme to I.R.M. and both the MRC Discovery Award and Programme grant (MC_PC_15075) and MRC Programme: Computational and Disease Genomics (MC_UU_00007/15) to C.P.P.], the Wellcome Trust [Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science (ref. 103749) to N.C.H.], the European Research Council [Advanced Grant VASCMIR (RE7644) to A.H.B.], and the British Heart Foundation [BHF CVR grant (RM/17/3/ 33381) and BHF Chair of Translational Cardiovascular Sciences to A.H.B.]

The Relationship Between Fractures and DXA Measures of BMD in the Distal Femur of Children and Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy or Muscular Dystrophy

Children with limited or no ability to ambulate frequently sustain fragility fractures. Joint contractures, scoliosis, hip dysplasia, and metallic implants often prevent reliable measures of bone mineral density (BMD) in the proximal femur and lumbar spine, where BMD is commonly measured. Further, the relevance of lumbar spine BMD to fracture risk in this population is questionable. In an effort to obtain bone density measures that are both technically feasible and clinically relevant, a technique was developed involving dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measures of the distal femur projected in the lateral plane. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that these new measures of BMD correlate with fractures in children with limited or no ability to ambulate. The relationship between distal femur BMD Z-scores and fracture history was assessed in a cross-sectional study of 619 children aged 6 to 18 years with muscular dystrophy or moderate to severe cerebral palsy compiled from eight centers. There was a strong correlation between fracture history and BMD Z-scores in the distal femur; 35% to 42% of those with BMD Z-scores less than −5 had fractured compared with 13% to 15% of those with BMD Z-scores greater than −1. Risk ratios were 1.06 to 1.15 (95% confidence interval 1.04–1.22), meaning a 6% to 15% increased risk of fracture with each 1.0 decrease in BMD Z-score. In clinical practice, DXA measure of BMD in the distal femur is the technique of choice for the assessment of children with impaired mobility. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Researc

Long-term annual and monthly changes in mysids and caridean decapods in a macrotidal estuarine environment in relation to climate change and pollution

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. A 26-year time series of monthly samples from the water intake of a power station has been used to analyse the trends exhibited by number of species, total abundance, and composition of the mysids and caridean decapods in the inner Bristol Channel. During this period, annual water temperatures, salinities and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) in winter did not change significantly, whereas annual NAOI declined. Annual mean monthly values for the number of species and total abundance both increased over the 26 years, but these changes were not correlated with any of the measured physico-chemical/climatic factors. As previous studies demonstrated that, during a similar period, metal concentrations in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel (into which that estuary discharges) declined and water quality increased, it is proposed that the above changes are due to an improved environment. The fauna was dominated by the mysids Mesopodopsis slabberi and Schistomysis spiritus, which collectively contributed 94% to total abundance. Both species, which were represented by juveniles, males, non-brooding females and brooding females, underwent statistically-indistinguishable patterns of change in abundance over the 26 years. When analysis was based on the abundances of the various species, the overall species composition differed significantly among years and changed serially with year. When abundances were converted to percentage compositions, this pattern of seriation broke down, demonstrating that changes in abundance and not percentage composition were responsible for the seriation. As with the number and abundance of species, changes in composition over the 26 years were not related to any of the physico-chemical/climatic factors tested. Species composition changed monthly in a pronounced cyclical manner throughout the year, due to statistically different time-staggered changes in the abundance of each species. This cyclicity was related most strongly to salinity