Unemployment Insurance, Job Search, and Informal Employment

International audienceThis paper analyses the potential impacts of introducing unemployment insurance (UI) in middle income countries using the case of Malaysia, which today does not have such a system. The analysis is based on a job search model with unemployment and three employment sectors: formal and informal wage employment, and self employment. The parameters of the model are estimated to replicate the structure of the labor market in Malaysia in 2009 and the distribution of earnings for informal, formal and self employed workers. The results suggest that unemployment insurance would have only a modest negative effect on unemployment if benefits are not overly generous. The main effect would be a reallocation of labor from wage into self employment while increasing average wages in the formal and informal sectors

A note on compactly generated co-t-structures

The idea of a co-t-structure is almost "dual" to that of a t-structure, but with some important differences. This note establishes co-t-structure analogues of Beligiannis and Reiten's corresponding results on compactly generated t-structures.Comment: 10 pages; details added to proofs, small correction in the main resul

The role of reactive oxygen intermediates in experimental coccidioidomycois in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coccidioidomycosis is usually a self-limited infection in immunocompentent people. In immunocompentent human beings second infections due to <it>Coccidioides </it>are very rare, indicating that recovery from infection results in protective immunity. In experimental animals, immunization with several different proteins or attenuated mutants protects against a virulent challenge. To explore what mechanisms are responsible for protective immunity, we investigated the course of <it>Coccidioides </it>infection in the gp91^phoxknock out mouse that has a defect in the oxidative burst that results in chronic granulomatous disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the gp91^phoxknock out mice were somewhat more resistant to intraperitoneal infection and equally as resistant to low dose intranasal infection, but slightly more susceptible to high dose intranasal infection compared to control mice. The gp91^phoxknock out mice made a more robust inflammatory response to infection than controls, as measured by histology and production of inflammatory cytokines. The gp91^phoxknock out mice were as protected by immunization with the recombinant <it>Coccidioides </it>protein Ag2/PRA as the controls were against either intraperitoneal or intranasal infection. <it>Coccidioides immitis </it>arthroconidia and spherules were significantly more resistant to H₂O₂treatment in vitro than <it>Aspergillus fumigatus </it>spores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that oxidative burst may not be required for protective immunity to coccidioidomycois.</p

Generalised Moore spectra in a triangulated category

In this paper we consider a construction in an arbitrary triangulated category T which resembles the notion of a Moore spectrum in algebraic topology. Namely, given a compact object C of T satisfying some finite tilting assumptions, we obtain a functor which "approximates" objects of the module category of the endomorphism algebra of C in T. This generalises and extends a construction of Jorgensen in connection with lifts of certain homological functors of derived categories. We show that this new functor is well-behaved with respect to short exact sequences and distinguished triangles, and as a consequence we obtain a new way of embedding the module category in a triangulated category. As an example of the theory, we recover Keller's canonical embedding of the module category of a path algebra of a quiver with no oriented cycles into its u-cluster category for u>1.Comment: 26 pages, improvement to exposition of the proof of Theorem 3.

NASA Light-Emitting Diodes for the Prevention of Oral Mucositis in Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of prophylactic near-infrared light therapy from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in pediatric bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients. Background Data: Oral mucositis (OM) is a frequent side effect of chemotherapy that leads to increased morbidity. Near-infrared light has been shown to produce biostimulatory effects in tissues, and previous results using nearinfrared lasers have shown improvement in OM indices. However, LEDs may hold greater potential for clinical applications. Materials and Methods: We recruited 32 consecutive pediatric patients undergoing myeloablative therapy in preparation for BMT. Patients were examined by two of three pediatric dentists trained in assessing the Schubert oral mucositis index (OMI) for left and right buccal and lateral tongue mucosal surfaces, while the patients were asked to rate their current left and right mouth pain, left and right xerostomia, and throat pain. LED therapy consisted of daily treatment at a fluence of 4 J/cm2 using a 670-nm LED array held to the left extraoral epithelium starting on the day of transplant, with a concurrent sham treatment on the right. Patients were assessed before BMT and every 2–3 days through posttransplant day 14. Outcomes included the percentage of patients with ulcerative oral mucositis (UOM) compared to historical epidemiological controls, the comparison of left and right buccal pain to throat pain, and the comparison between sides of the buccal and lateral tongue OMI and buccal pain. Results: The incidence of UOM was 53%, compared to an expected rate of 70–90%. There was also a 48% and 39% reduction of treated left and right buccal pain, respectively, compared to untreated throat pain at about posttransplant day 7 (p \u3c 0.05). There were no significant differences between sides in OMI or pain. Conclusion: Although more studies are needed, LED therapy appears useful in the prevention of OM in pediatric BMT patients

New Concepts in Therapeutic Manipulation of HIV-1 Transcription and Latency: Latency Reversal versus Latency Prevention

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically improved the prognosis for people living with HIV-1, but a cure remains elusive. The largest barrier to a cure is the presence of a long-lived latent reservoir that persists within a heterogenous mix of cell types and anatomical compartments. Efforts to eradicate the latent reservoir have primarily focused on latency reversal strategies. However, new work has demonstrated that the majority of the long-lived latent reservoir is established near the time of ART initiation, suggesting that it may be possible to pair an intervention with ART initiation to prevent the formation of a sizable fraction of the latent reservoir. Subsequent treatment with latency reversal agents, in combination with immune clearance agents, may then be a more tractable strategy for fully clearing the latent reservoir in people newly initiating ART. Here, we summarize molecular mechanisms of latency establishment and maintenance, ongoing efforts to develop effective latency reversal agents, and newer efforts to design latency prevention agents. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in both the establishment and maintenance of latency will aid in the development of new latency prevention and reversal approaches to ultimately eradicate the latent reservoir

Pharmacist Behavior Changes Following a Medication Counseling Training Program Targeting Teach-Back and Plain Language

Purpose: To evaluate whether active learning-based training in teach-back and plain language (TBPL) techniques can lead to observable changes to patient-centered practices in pharmacist-patient counseling. Methods: All pharmacists in direct patient care roles, inpatient and outpatient, were required to complete a didactic module and a workshop / webinar or small group training. The workshop / webinar and small group modalities incorporated elements of adult education theory. Following completion, pharmacists were surveyed to assess their ability, confidence and commitment to incorporating TBPL techniques into practice. Evaluation of pharmacist-patient counseling was completed pre- and post- training through direct observation. Student pharmacists were trained to evaluate pharmacists’ consultations on patients with ≥2 new medications. Students recorded completeness rates for 39 communication techniques. Results: One-hundred and eighteen pharmacists completed the TBPL training program and 59 pharmacists completed an evaluation. A total of 84 direct observations were completed (40 pre-training and 44 post-training). Skills improved included: using plain language (p Conclusion: Implementing a TBPL training program improved observable pharmacist-patient consultation skills. This approach is replicable and could be utilized as a model for other competencies. &nbsp; Type:&nbsp;Original Researc

Clinical and Experimental Applications of NIR-LED Photobiomodulation

This review presents current research on the use of far-red to near-infrared (NIR) light treatment in various in vitro and in vivo models. Low-intensity light therapy, commonly referred to as “photobiomodulation,” uses light in the far-red to near-infrared region of the spectrum (630–1000 nm) and modulates numerous cellular functions. Positive effects of NIR–light-emitting diode (LED) light treatment include acceleration of wound healing, improved recovery from ischemic injury of the heart, and attenuated degeneration of injured optic nerves by improving mitochondrial energy metabolism and production. Various in vitro and in vivo models of mitochondrial dysfunction were treated with a variety of wavelengths of NIR-LED light. These studies were performed to determine the effect of NIR-LED light treatment on physiologic and pathologic processes. NIRLED light treatment stimulates the photoacceptor cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in increased energy metabolism and production. NIR-LED light treatment accelerates wound healing in ischemic rat and murine diabetic wound healing models, attenuates the retinotoxic effects of methanol-derived formic acid in rat models, and attenuates the developmental toxicity of dioxin in chicken embryos. Furthermore, NIR-LED light treatment prevents the development of oral mucositis in pediatric bone marrow transplant patients. The experimental results demonstrate that NIR-LED light treatment stimulates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in vitro, and accelerates cell and tissue repair in vivo. NIR-LED light represents a novel, noninvasive, therapeutic intervention for the treatment of numerous diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction

Diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers. The association of wound size, wound duration, and wound grade on healing

WSTĘP. Celem badań była ocena, czy możliwe jest określenie prostych (niezłożonych) czynników ryzyka, na podstawie których można stwierdzić, czy u chorych z owrzodzeniami stopy na tle neuropatii cukrzycowej standardowa terapia będzie skuteczna. MATERIAŁ I METODY. Było to badanie kohortowe, w którym oceniano grupę ponad 31 000 pacjentów z owrzodzeniem stopy w przebiegu neuropatii cukrzycowej, będących pod opieką Curative Health Services System (CHS). Stosując wieloczynnikową logistyczną regresję, oceniano związki pomiędzy wielkością rany, okresem jej trwania, stopniem zaawansowania rany oraz innych zmiennych (i ich wpływu) a wyleczeniem w ciągu 20 tygodni opieki. WYNIKI. Wykazano, że wielkość rany, okres jej trwania i stopień jej zaawansowania istotnie wpływały na prawdopodobieństwo wygojenia się rany w ciągu 20 tygodni leczenia. Dodatkowo zauważono, że leczenie w specjalistycznym ośrodku leczenia ran, niezależnie od tego, czy jednostką analizy była jedna rana pacjenta, czy wszystkie, oraz bez względu na stosowane dodatkowe terapie, nie zmieniało istotnie tej zależności. WNIOSKI. Wykazano, że trzy łatwe do oceny czynniki ryzyka są związane z gojeniem się ran. Uzyskane wyniki powinny pomóc klinicystom w ustaleniu, jakie jest prawdopodobieństwo wyleczenia rany, jak również pomóc w projektowaniu dalszych badań klinicznych.INTRODUCTION. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether simple risk factors can be identified that successfully characterize who will heal and who will not heal among patients who have received standard therapy for diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers. MATERIAL AND METHODS. For this cohort study, we evaluated > 31,000 individuals with a diabetic neuropathic foot ulcer seen in the Curative Health Services System. Using multivariate logistic regression, we evaluated the association between wound size, wound duration, wound grade, and other variables and their effect on whether a patient would heal by the 20th week of care. RESULTS. We demonstrated that wound size, wound duration, and wound grade are all significantly associated with the likelihood of a wound healing by the 20th week of care. In addition, we noted that these associations were not significantly affected by the treating wound care center, whether the unit of analysis was one wound on a patient or all of their wounds, or current adjuvant therapies. CONCLUSIONS. We have shown that three easy-to- -measure risk factors are associated with a wound healing. These results should help clinicians understand the likelihood that a wound will heal and help those conducting clinical investigations to design better trials

Effect of NASA Light-emitting Diode Irradiation on Wound Healing

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and near-infrared light therapy on wound healing. Background Data: Light-emitting diodes (LED), originally developed for NASA plant growth experiments in space show promise for delivering light deep into tissues of the body to promote wound healing and human tissue growth. In this paper, we review and present our new data of LED treatment on cells grown in culture, on ischemic and diabetic wounds in rat models, and on acute and chronic wounds in humans. Materials and Methods: In vitro and in vivo (animal and human) studies utilized a variety of LED wavelength, power intensity, and energy density parameters to begin to identify conditions for each biological tissue that are optimal for biostimulation. Results: LED produced in vitro increases of cell growth of 140–200% in mouse-derived fibroblasts, rat-derived osteoblasts, and rat-derived skeletal muscle cells, and increases in growth of 155–171% of normal human epithelial cells. Wound size decreased up to 36% in conjunction with HBO in ischemic rat models. LED produced improvement of greater than 40% in musculoskeletal training injuries in Navy SEAL team members, and decreased wound healing time in crew members aboard a U.S. Naval submarine. LED produced a 47% reduction in pain of children suffering from oral mucositis. Conclusion: We believe that the use of NASA LED for light therapy alone, and in conjunction with hyperbaric oxygen, will greatly enhance the natural wound healing process, and more quickly return the patient to a preinjury/ illness level of activity. This work is supported and managed through the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center–SBIR Program