Labour productivity developments in the euro area

This paper provides a description and a discussion of some important aspects relating to recent productivity developments in the euro area. Following decades of stronger gains in the euro area than in the US, labour productivity growth has fallen behind that in the US in recent years. This reflects a decline in average labour productivity growth observed in the euro area since the mid-1990s, which stands in sharp contrast with opposite developments in the US. The decline in labour productivity growth experienced in the euro area since the mid-1990s resulted from both lower capital deepening and lower total factor productivity growth. From a sectoral perspective, industries not producing or using intensively information and communication technology (ICT) would appear mostly responsible for the decline in average labour productivity growth since the mid-1990s. These developments were broadly experienced by most euro area countries. A comparison with developments in the US suggests that the euro area economy seems to have benefited much less from increased production and use of ICT technologies, in particular in the services sector. Diverging trends in labour productivity growth between the euro area and the US in recent years mainly reflect developments in a number of specific ICT-using services such as retail, wholesale and some financial services where strong gains were registered in the US. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that, in order to support economic growth in the euro area, emphasis should be given to both policy measures that directly address the determinants of productivity and, given the interactions among the various factors of growth, to policies that raise labour utilisation.

Wealth and asset price effects on economic activity

Do asset prices affect real activity? This question has taken on a new importance in recent years, as asset values first surged at the end of 1990s and, thereafter, dramatically retreated. This report reviews the available theoretical and empirical evidence regarding asset price and wealth effects in Europe and some other major economies. The main focus of this report is on consumption effects via the wealth channel, reflecting the bulk of literature on the effects of asset prices. However, asset price effects on investment via the Tobin’s-Q channel, balance sheet and confidence channels are also reviewed. The available evidence supports the view that the wealth channel is the most important of various channels. There is little empirical evidence indicating that the Tobin’s-Q, balance-sheet and confidence channels play any major independent role in the transmission of asset price effects to economic activity.household wealth, wealth channel, asset price, marginal propensity to consume, cost of capital.

Qualität im Berufsfeld Sportpsychologie in der Schweiz. Ergebnisse einer Online-Umfrage

Einleitung: Die Sportpsychologie entwickelt sich zunehmend zu einem attraktiven Berufsfeld, das von unterschiedlichen Personengruppen ins Blickfeld genommen wird. Es interessiert, inwieweit die verschiedenen Personengruppen Qualitätsanforderungen, die an den Beruf gestellt werden, erfüllen (Birrer & Seiler, 1999; Seiler, 2011). Im Einzelnen geht es um die Frage der Aus- und Weiterbildung, sowie der Qualitätssicherung durch Intervision und Supervision. Methode: In Anlehnung an die Erhebung von Ehrlenspiel, Droste und Beckmann (2011) wurde ein Online-Survey konzipiert und ein Link zur Teilnahme an alle Mitglieder der Swiss Association of Sport Psychology (SASP) sowie Absolventinnen und Absolventen der bisherigen Weiterbildungsstudiengänge für Sportpsychologie in der Schweiz verschickt (N=136). Die Rücklaufquote betrug 59% (N=80), wobei von 50% aller angeschriebenen Personen (N=68) vollständige Datensätze vorliegen. 41% der Teilnehmenden sind weiblich, die Altersspanne reicht von 27 bis 76 Jahren. Rund ein Viertel der Befragten ist neu in das Berufsfeld Sportpsychologie eingestiegen, die Hälfte verfügt über eine Berufserfahrung zwischen 5 und 15 Jahren. Ergebnisse. 87% der Teilnehmenden verfügen über einen Universitäts- oder Fachhochschulabschluss, 71% in Psychologie. 21% gehören der Sektion Mentaltrainer an. 38% haben eine postgraduale Weiterbildung in Sportpsychologie absolviert, 14% in Mentalem Training. 25% geben an, sich mindestens monatlich in strukturierten Intervisionssitzungen auszutauschen, während ein Drittel sich nicht an Intervision beteiligt. Supervision wird von 22% der Befragten nie in Anspruch genommen, von 20% mindestens einmal im Monat. Gut die Hälfte begibt sich mindestens einmal pro Jahr in Supervision. Die jeweiligen Supervisoren sind zur Hälfte Fachpsychologen für Sportpsychologie oder für Psychotherapie sowie zu einem geringen Anteil diplomierte Supervisoren. Diskussion: Das Bewusstsein, dass Intervision und Supervision wichtige Elemente zur Erhöhung der Qualität sportpsychologischer Dienstleistungen sind, ist noch nicht ausreichend entwickelt

Edelstahl- und NiTi-Torquesegmentbogen und apikale Wurzelresorption

OBJECTIVE The amount of apical root resorption when using the torque-segmented archwire (TSA) was investigated as well as the extent and direction of the therapeutically indicated apical movement and the treatment duration. MATERIALS AND METHODS The degree of apical root resorption in 18 randomly chosen Class II and Class I patients treated with the TSA, as well as in 18~conventionally treated patients were evaluated using pre- and posttreatment panoramic radiographs. The sagittal and vertical apical movements and inclination changes were determined based on pre- and posttreatment lateral cephalograms. Nonparametric tests were applied to test between treatment groups and steps. The Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson correlation and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were applied for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). RESULTS The incidence of root resorptions was 89-94.4% in low or moderate level. The relative root-crown ratio (rRCR) was not statistically different between the TSA and control groups except tooth~12. The axis of the incisors in the TSA group was significantly improved. The main direction of movement of the apices of the central incisors was retrusion and extrusion. No interdependence between the amount of resorption and the parameters of treatment duration, extent and direction of apical movement were found. CONCLUSION The results of the study showed that the amount of apical root resorption with the TSA is slight to moderate and can be compared to conventional orthodontic treatment. The TSA is hence a~suitable method for applying targeted torques to the incisors. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ZIEL: Der Umfang der apikalen Wurzelresorption ebenso wie das Ausmaß und die Richtung der therapeutisch angenommenen apikalen Bewegung sowie die Behandlungsdauer wurden bei Anwendung des Torquesegmentbogens (TSB) untersucht. METHODEN Das Ausmaß der apikalen Wurzelresorption wurde an 18 willkürlich ausgewählten Klasse-II- und -I-Patienten, die mit dem TSB behandelt wurden, und an 18 konventionell behandelten Patienten anhand von prä- und posttherapeutisch erstellten Panoramaschichtaufnahmen beurteilt. Die sagittalen und vertikalen apikalen Bewegungen sowie die Änderungen der Inklination wurden anhand der FRS(Fernröntgenseitenbilder)-Aufnahmen bestimmt. Unterschiede zwischen Behandlungsgruppen und -schritten wurden mit nichtparametrischen Tests bestimmt. Mann-Whitney-U-, Kruskal-Wallis\hbox-, Pearson-Korrelation- und Wilcoxon-Rangsummen-Tests wurden zur statischen Analyse verwendet (p < 0.05). ERGEBNISSE Die Inzidenz der Wurzelresorption betrug 89–94,4 % für geringes bis moderates Ausmaß. Es gab keinen statistisch signifikanten rRCR („relative root–crown ratio“)-Unterschied zwischen der TSB- und der Kontrollgruppe bis auf Zahn 12. Die Inzisivusachse in der TSB-Gruppe wurde signifikant verbessert. Die Hauptbewegungsrichtung der Apices der zentralen Schneidezähne waren Retrusion und Extrusion. Es fand sich keine Interdependenz zwischen dem Umfang der Resorption und den Parametern Behandlungsdauer, Ausmaß und Richtung der apikalen Bewegung. SCHLUSSFOLGERUNG Die Studienergebnisse zeigen, dass der Umfang der apikalen Wurzelresorption mit TSB leicht bis moderat ist und mit der konventionellen orthodontischen Behandlung vergleichbar. Der TSB ist daher geeignet, Torque auf die Schneidezähne zu übertragen

Report of the Coding Committee of the Association for European Paediatric Cardiology

IN 1999 AND EARLY 2000, THE ASSOCIATION FOR European Paediatric Cardiology published the European Paediatric Cardiac Code as independent but linked Short and Long Lists, containing 650 and 3876 primary terms respectively. The historical background and rationale for development of this coding system has been previously detailed, but essentially it followed a series of meeting of the coding committee of the Association between 1997-1999, during which a pre-existing Long List was adopted and then used to create the condensed Short List. The system was published as the recommended standard coding system for use across Europe, covering the diagnosis and therapy of children with congenital and acquired cardiac disease. The scope of the lists was to encompass the needs of all those involved with such patients, from the fetal cardiologist through to the specialist in adult congenital heart disease; and from the general paediatric cardiologist and cardiac surgeon, to those specialising in transcatheter interventions, paediatric electrophysiology, and paediatric echocardiographers. In addition, the code was crossmapped to the 9th and 10th revisions of the International Classification of Diseases ("ICD-9” and "ICD-10”) provided by the World Health Organisation in order to facilitate returns to central government, a requirement in most countries. In so doing, it was hoped to address the concerns of many centres that such information submitted by professional coding staff was often inaccurate due to the complex nature of congenital cardiac disease, together with the limited scope and vague terminology of the International listing

Is Computed-Tomography-Based Body Composition a Reliable Predictor of Chemotherapy-Related Toxicity in Pancreatic Cancer Patients?

BACKGROUND Malnutrition, loss of weight and of skeletal muscle mass are frequent in pancreatic cancer patients, a majority of which will undergo chemotherapy over the course of their disease. Available data suggest a negative prognostic role of these changes in body composition on disease outcomes; however, it is unclear whether tolerance to chemotherapeutic treatment is similarly and/or negatively affected. We aimed to explore this association by retrospectively assessing changes in body composition and chemotherapy-related toxicity in a cohort of advanced pancreatic cancer patients. METHODS Body composition was evaluated through clinical parameters and through radiological assessment of muscle mass, skeletal muscle area, skeletal muscle index and skeletal muscle density; and an assessment of fat distribution by subcutaneous adipose tissue and visceral adipose tissue. We performed descriptive statistics, pre/post chemotherapy comparisons and uni- and multivariate analyses to assess the relation between changes in body composition and toxicity. RESULTS Toxicity risk increased with an increase of skeletal muscle index (OR: 1.03) and body mass index (OR: 1.07), whereas it decreased with an increase in skeletal muscle density (OR: 0.96). Multivariate analyses confirmed a reduction in the risk of toxicity only with an increase in skeletal muscle density (OR: 0.96). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the retrospective analysis of changes in body composition is unlikely to be useful to predict toxicity to gemcitabine-nab-paclitaxel

Assessing the impacts of climate change for Switzerland

Understanding the economic magnitude of climate change impacts is a prerequisite for developing adequate adaptation strategies. In Switzerland, despite new climate scenarios and impacts studies, only few impacts have been monetized. Our objective is to assess costs and opportunities of climate change for Switzerland by 2060, while enhancing the assessment methods. Using inputs from bottomup impact studies, we simulate the economic consequences of climate scenarios in a CGE framework. We cover health, buildings/infrastructure, energy, water, agriculture, tourism, the spill-overs to other sectors, and international effects. In 2060, welfare decreases by 0.30% to 1.03% relative to a reference without climate change. Higher summer temperatures increase mortality and decrease productivity. Contrariwise, tourism benefits from extended summer seasons. Regarding energy, increased demand for cooling is overcompensated by savings in heating. Due to data constraints, significant impacts have not been quantified, e.g. for heat waves and droughts more extreme than the 2060 average climate

Brane Decay of a (4+n)-Dimensional Rotating Black Hole. III: spin-1/2 particles

In this work, we have continued the study of the Hawking radiation on the brane from a higher-dimensional rotating black hole by investigating the emission of fermionic modes. A comprehensive analysis is performed that leads to the particle, power and angular momentum emission rates, and sheds light on their dependence on fundamental parameters of the theory, such as the spacetime dimension and angular momentum of the black hole. In addition, the angular distribution of the emitted modes, in terms of the number of particles and energy, is thoroughly studied. Our results are valid for arbitrary values of the energy of the emitted particles, dimension of spacetime and angular momentum of the black hole, and complement previous results on the emission of brane-localised scalars and gauge bosons.Comment: Latex file, JHEP style, 34 pages, 16 figures Energy range in plots increased, minor changes, version published in JHE