219 research outputs found
Interpreting the Hours-Technology time-varying relationship
We investigate the time varying relation between hours and technology shocks using a structural business cycle model. We propose an RBC model with a Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) production function that allows for capital- and labor-augmenting technology shocks. We estimate the model with Bayesian techniques. In the full sample, we find (i) evidence in favor of a less than unitary elasticity of substitution (rejecting Cobb-Douglas) and (ii) a sizable role for capital augmenting shock for business cycles fluctuations. In rolling sub-samples, we document that the transmission of technology shocks to hours worked has been varying over time. We argue that this change is due to the increase of the elasticity of factor substitution. That is, labor and capital became less complementary throughout the sample inducing a change in the sign and size of the response of hours. We conjecture that this change may have been induced by a change in the skill composition of the labor input.Hours Worked and Business Cycles, Bayesian Methods.
Misallocation, Access to Finance, and Public Credit: Firm-Level Evidence
Using a database of 23,000 firms in 45 economies, we test the quantitative
importance of access to finance and access to public and private credit for the
determination of misallocation. We first derive measures of factor market and
size distortions, and then use these measures within a regression framework to
test the significance of self-declared access-to-finance obstacles as well as the
effect of access to a credit line issued by either a government-owned or private
bank. We find that access-to-finance obstacles and private credit increase the
dispersion of distortions. Public credit has a very small effect. For firms that do
not face financial obstacles, public credit increases the dispersion of distortions;
for firms that face financial obstacles, it slightly decreases dispersion. Public
credit does not appear to compensate for the distortions that exist in private
credit markets. Quantitatively, however, financial variables explain a very small
part of the dispersion of factor market and size distortions
Extra force and extra mass from noncompact Kaluza-Klein theory in a cosmological model
Using the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism, we study extra force and extra mass in a
recently introduced noncompact Kaluza-Klein cosmological model. We examine the
inertial 4D mass of the inflaton field on a 4D FRW bulk in two examples.
We find that has a geometrical origin and antigravitational effects on a
non inertial 4D bulk should be a consequence of the motion of the fifth
coordinate with respect to the 4D bulk.Comment: final version to be published in EPJ
Non-perturbative scalar gauge-invariant metric fluctuations from the Ponce de Leon metric in the STM theory of gravity
We study our non-perturbative formalism to describe scalar gauge-invariant
metric fluctuations by extending the Ponce de Leon metric.Comment: accepted in Eur. Phys. J.
Preparado de bacterias probióticas para su administración oral a peces cultivados basado en la encapsulación en hidrogeles de alginato
Número de solicitud: 201100469La invención consiste en un preparado para la
administración oral del probiótico Shewanella PDP11
a peces. El preparado se caracteriza por contener
células bacterianas viables de la cepa CECT 7627
encapsuladas en un hidrogel basado en alginato
cálcico en forma de partículas esféricas de morfología
uniforme y tamaño modificable para adaptarse a
peces de distinto tamaño. Las cápsulas contienen
aditivos organolépticos y/o nutricionales que actúan
como atrayentes para los animales. El preparado
mantiene viables a las bacterias durante periodos
prolongados, es estable en medios acuáticos, y
soporta el paso por el tubo digestivo de los peces,
sobre los que ejerce efectos biológicos favorables. Su
administración por vía oral es independiente del
alimento habitual, evitando así la inactivación del
microorganismo durante la fabricación del pienso.Universidad de Almerí
Efficacy and Tolerability of 6-Month Treatment with Tamsulosin Plus the Hexanic Extract of Serenoa repens versus Tamsulosin Plus 5-Alpha-Reductase Inhibitors for Moderate-to-Severe LUTS-BPH Patients: Results of a Paired Matched Clinical Study
The objective of this subset analysis was to evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerability of two combination treatments for men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). Data were from a real-world, open-label, prospective, and multicenter study performed in outpatient urology clinics. Men with moderate-to-severe LUTS/BPH received 6-month treatment with tamsulosin (TAM) in combination with either the hexanic extract of S. repens (HESr) or a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5ARI). Changes in urinary symptoms and quality of life were measured using the IPSS and BII questionnaires, respectively. Treatment tolerability was assessed by recording adverse effects (AEs). Patients in the two study groups were matched using iterative and propensity score matching approaches. After iterative matching, data were available from 136 patients (n = 68 treated with TAM + 5ARI, n = 68 with TAM + HESr). After 6 months of treatment, mean (SD) IPSS total score improved by 7.7 (6.3) and 6.7 (5.0) points in the TAM + 5ARI and TAM + HESr groups, respectively (p = 0.272); mean BII total scores improved by 3.1 (2.9) and 2.9 (2.4) points (p = 0.751), respectively. AEs were reported by 26.5% and 10.3% of patients in the same groups, mostly affecting sexual function (p < 0.027). When used in a real-world setting to treat patients with moderate-severe LUTS/BPH, 6-month treatment with TAM + HESr was as effective as TAM + 5ARI, but with better tolerability. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Downscaling Climate Change Impacts, Socio-Economic Implications and Alternative Adaptation Pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the future scenarios of climate change and management concerns associated with climate change impacts on the blue economy of European islands and outermost regions. The publication collects major findings of the SOCLIMPACT project’s research outcomes, aiming to raise social awareness among policy-makers and industry about climate change consequences at local level, and provide knowledge-based information to support policy design, from local to national level. This comprehensive book will also assist students, scholars and practitioners to understand, conceptualize and effectively and responsibly manage climate change information and applied research. This book provides invaluable material for Blue Growth Management, theory and application, at all levels. This first edition includes up-to-date data, statistics, references, case material and figures of the 12 islands case studies. ¨Downscaling climate change impacts, socio-economic implications and alternative adaptation pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions¨ is a must-read book, given the accessible style and breadth and depth with which the topic is dealt. The book is an up-to-date synthesis of key knowledge on this area, written by a multidisciplinary group of experts on climate and economic modelling, and policy design
Dendritic cell deficiencies persist seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infection induces an exacerbated inflammation driven by innate immunity components. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in the defense against viral infections, for instance plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), have the capacity to produce vast amounts of interferon-alpha (IFN-α). In COVID-19 there is a deficit in DC numbers and IFN-α production, which has been associated with disease severity. In this work, we described that in addition to the DC deficiency, several DC activation and homing markers were altered in acute COVID-19 patients, which were associated with multiple inflammatory markers. Remarkably, previously hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients remained with decreased numbers of CD1c+ myeloid DCs and pDCs seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, the expression of DC markers such as CD86 and CD4 were only restored in previously nonhospitalized patients, while no restoration of integrin β7 and indoleamine 2,3-dyoxigenase (IDO) levels were observed. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the immunological sequelae of COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs is not an independent predictor of unfavorable outcome
The aim was to assess the ability of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load at first patient’s hospital evaluation to predict unfavorable outcomes. We conducted a prospective cohort study including 321 adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 through RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs. Quantitative Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA cycle threshold values were used to calculate the viral load in log10 copies/mL. Disease severity at the end of follow up was categorized into mild, moderate, and severe. Primary endpoint was a composite of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and/or death (n = 85, 26.4%). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load over the second quartile (≥ 7.35 log10 copies/mL, p = 0.003) and second tertile (≥ 8.27 log10 copies/mL, p = 0.01) were associated to unfavorable outcome in the unadjusted logistic regression analysis. However, in the final multivariable analysis, viral load was not independently associated with an unfavorable outcome. Five predictors were independently associated with increased odds of ICU admission and/or death: age ≥ 70 years, SpO2, neutrophils > 7.5 × 103/µL, lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 300 U/L, and C-reactive protein ≥ 100 mg/L. In summary, nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load on admission is generally high in patients with COVID-19, regardless of illness severity, but it cannot be used as an independent predictor of unfavorable clinical outcome
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