Statutory Corporate Tax Rates and Income Distribution — Panel Data From 95 Countries Using Driscoll and Kraay Standard Errors and Quantile via Moments

The study uses the statutory corporate tax rate to explain before and after tax and transfer income distribution. The unbalanced panel has 95 countries from 1988 to 2018. The study uses Driscoll & Kraay standard errors and Quantile Via Moments. The study finds higher corporate tax rates appear to lessen income inequality in most cases, small coefficients suggest it is minor and insignificant for after-tax and transfer income distribution in developed countries. Furthermore, in an augmented model with fewer observations spanning 1988 to 2005, the average rate of personal income tax progressivity significantly reduces net income inequality while the statutory corporate tax rate is insignificant. Therefore, findings may indicate increases in personal income tax rate progressivity may be more effective policy tools than changes in statutory corporate tax rates to moderate growing income inequality

Terror in Soviet Industry: Tensions between Managers, Workers, and the Secret Police, 1930s

“Terror in Soviet Industry: Tensions between Managers, Workers, and the Secret Police, 1930s” understands the nature of terror—a wave of arrests, purges, investigations, and death sentences in the Soviet industrial sector against management in the 1930s and contributes to the debate of who is responsible for the terror that was carried out. Behind the Urals by John Scott written in 1942, an American welder who worked in the Soviet Union, provides detailed insight on his experiences of working in Soviet industry: including terror, unsanitary housing conditions for workers, and the grueling workdays. Scott’s American industrial skillset earned him a well-respected position working in Soviet Industry. This source draws on the perspective of a valuable industrial worker who witnessed the terror of his supervisors and Scott’s personal discussion on how the secret police interrogated the managers within industry

Political Polarization and Internal Conflict: A Cross-National Analysis Using Popular Support and Government Cohesion as Proxies

The study uses proxies of political polarization, popular support of the government, and government cohesion, to examine its role in explaining internal conflict and the specific types of political violence and civil disorder. The study uses panel data from 135 countries from 1990 to 2021. The research uses two econometric models, Quantile via Moments, to examine the effects of popular support and government cohesion across the distribution of internal conflict, and two-way fixed effects with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors. The two models account for heteroscedasticity, cross-sectional dependence, and autocorrelation. The study finds popular support of the government and its cohesion robustly explain internal conflict and its specific forms of political violence and civil disorder. The research also finds political polarization that reduces popular support and government cohesion influences internal conflict regardless of regime type. The variables are significant from autocratic to democratic, suggesting political polarization that reduces popular support and government cohesion can negatively affect internal conflict levels irrespective of regime.  Finally, the study finds the internet has a minor mitigating impact on internal conflict, while its interaction with popular support and government cohesion slightly exacerbates internal conflict

A Study of Teacher Growth, Supervision, and Evaluation in Alberta: Policy and Perception in a Collective Case Study

Teacher effectiveness has long been identified as critical to student success and, more recently, supporting students attaining the skills and dispositions required to be successful in the early 21st century. To do so requires that teachers engage in professional learning characterized as a shift away from conventional models of evaluation and judgment. Accordingly, school and system leaders must create “policies and environments designed to actively support teacher professional growth” (Bakkenes, Vermunt, & Webbels, 2010). This paper reports on the Alberta Teacher Growth, Supervision, and Evaluation (TGSE) Policy (Government of Alberta, 1998) through the eyes of teachers, school leaders, and superintendents. The study sought to answer the following two questions: (1) To what extent, and in what ways, do teachers, principals, and superintendents perceive that ongoing supervision by the principal provides teachers with the guidance and support they need to be successful? and, (2) To what degree, and in what ways, does the TGSE policy provide a foundation to inform future effective policy and implementation of teacher growth, supervision, and evaluation? Results affirm international findings that although a majority of principals consider themselves as instructional leaders, only about one third actually act accordingly (OECD, 2016)

Pain and Sickness Behavior Associated with Corneal Lesions in Dairy Calves

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) is a common corneal disease of calves that adversely affects animal welfare by causing pain and weight loss. Identifying behavioral indicators of pain and sickness in calves with IBK is necessary for designing studies that aim to identify effective means of pain mitigation. Consistent with principles of the 3Rs for animal use in research, data from a randomized blinded challenge study was used to identify and describe variation of behaviors that could serve as reliable indicators of pain and sickness in calves with corneal injuries. Behavioral observations were collected from 29 Holstein calves 8 to 12 weeks of age randomly allocated to one of three treatments: (1) corneal scarification only, (2) corneal scarification with inoculation with Moraxella bovoculi and (3) corneal scarification with inoculation with Moraxella bovis. Behavior was continuously observed between time 1230 - 1730 h on day -1 (baseline time period) and day 0 (scarification time period). Corneal scarification and inoculation occurred between 0800 - 1000 h on day 0. Frequency of head-directed behaviors (head shaking, head rubbing, head scratching) and durations of head rubbing, feeding, standing with head lifted, lying with head lifted and sleeping were compared between study days and groups. Following scarification, the frequency of head-directed behavior significantly increased (p = 0.0001), as did duration of head rubbing (p=0.02). There was no significant effect of trial, trial day, treatment or treatment-day interaction on other behaviors studied. Our study demonstrated that head-directed behavior, such as head shaking, rubbing and scratching, was associated with scarification of eyes using an IBK challenge model, but sickness behavior was not observed

Militarization and social development in the Third World

In this study we integrated the modernization and dependency theories of development to suggest the ways whereby militarization can affect development. We examined the effects of three components of militarization highlighted in these theories on the social development of ninety-two developing countries. Overall, our findings support the dependency theory's emphasis on the detrimental impact of international trade on disadvantaged nations. There is a significant negative correlation between arms import and social development. Arms export and indigenous spending are correlated with social development in the expected directions but their beta coefficients are not significant. The diverse ways these three aspects of militarization have been shown to affect social development help to explain some of the conflicting findings in the literature and point to the need to study these variables in their disaggregated form.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69141/2/10.1177_144078339503100105.pd

Late Effects in Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients with Acquired Severe Aplastic Anemia: A Report from the Late Effects Working Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research

With improvements in hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) outcomes for severe aplastic anemia (SAA), there is a growing population of SAA survivors after HCT. However, there is a paucity of information regarding late effects that occur after HCT in SAA survivors. This study describes the malignant and nonmalignant late effects in survivors with SAA after HCT. A descriptive analysis was conducted of 1718 patients post-HCT for acquired SAA between 1995 and 2006 reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). the prevalence and cumulative incidence estimates of late effects are reported for 1-year HCT survivors with SAA. of the HCT recipients, 1176 (68.5%) and 542 (31.5%) patients underwent a matched sibling donor (MSD) or unrelated donor (URD) HCT, respectively. the median age at the time of HCT was 20 years. the median interval from diagnosis to transplantation was 3 months for MSD HCT and 14 months for URD HCT. the median follow-up was 70 months and 67 months for MSD and URD HCT survivors, respectively. Overall survival at I year, 2 years, and 5 years for the entire cohort was 76% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 74-78), 73% (95% CI: 71-75), and 70% (95% CI: 68-72). Among 1-year survivors of MSD HCT, 6% had 1 late effect and 1% had multiple late effects. for 1-year survivors of URD HCT, 13% had 1 late effect and 2% had multiple late effects. Among survivors of MSD HCT, the cumulative incidence estimates of developing late effects were all <3% and did not increase over time. in contrast, for recipients of URD HCT, the cumulative incidence of developing several late effects exceeded 3% by 5 years: gonadal dysfunction 10.5% (95% CI: 7.3-14.3), growth disturbance 7.2% (95% CI: 4.4-10.7), avascular necrosis 6.3% (95% CI: 3.6-9.7), hypothyroidism 5.5% (95% CI: 2.8-9.0), and cataracts 5.1% (95% CI: 2.9-8.0). Our results indicated that all patients undergoing HCT for SAA remain at risk for late effects, must be counseled about, and should be monitored for late effects for the remainder of their lives.Public Health Service Grant from the National Cancer InstituteNational Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Cancer InstituteHealth Resources and Services Administration/Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of Naval ResearchAllosAmgenAngioblastChildrens Hosp Orange Cty, Dept Hematol, Orange, CA 92668 USACIBMTR Med Coll Wisconsin, Dept Biostat, Milwaukee, WI USAMed Coll Wisconsin, CIBMTR Stat Ctr, Milwaukee, WI 53226 USAKing Faisal Specialist Hosp & Res Ctr, Dept Oncol, Riyadh 11211, Saudi ArabiaNew York Med Coll, Dept Pediat Hematol Oncol & Stem Cell Transplanta, Valhalla, NY 10595 USAStemcyte, Covina, CA USADana Farber Canc Inst, Dept Pediat Oncol, Boston, MA 02115 USAUniv Florida, Dept Hematol Oncol, Gainesville, FL USAPrincess Margaret Hosp, Dept Med, Toronto, ON M4X 1K9, CanadaUniv S Florida, All Childrens Hosp, Dept Pediat Hematol & Oncol, St Petersburg, FL 33701 USAUniv Basel Hosp, Dept Hematol, CH-4031 Basel, SwitzerlandOregon Hlth & Sci Univ, Dept Hematol & Oncol, Portland, OR 97201 USAChildrens Natl Med Ctr, Dept Blood & Marrow Transplantat, Washington, DC 20010 USABaylor Coll Med, Ctr Cell Therapy, Dept Hematol & Oncol, Houston, TX 77030 USAUniv N Carolina Hosp, Dept Pediat, Chapel Hill, NC USAUniv Hosp Case, Med Ctr, Dept Med, Cleveland, OH USAUniv Arkansas Med Sci, Dept Hematol & Oncol, Little Rock, AR 72205 USACincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr, Dept Bone Marrow Transplantat & Immune Deficiency, Cincinnati, OH USATufts Med Ctr, Dept Med & Pediat, Boston, MA USAUniv S Florida, Coll Med, H Lee Moffitt Canc Ctr & Res Inst, Dept Hematol & Oncol, Tampa, FL 33612 USAFlorida Ctr Cellular Therapy, Dept Med, Orlando, FL USAUniv Fed Parana, Dept Bone Marrow Transplantat, BR-80060000 Curitiba, Parana, BrazilVanderbilt Univ, Med Ctr, Dept Med, Nashville, TN USAInst Oncol Pediat, Dept Pediat, São Paulo, BrazilFred Hutchinson Canc Res Ctr, Dept Clin Res & Transplantat, Seattle, WA 98104 USAMt Sinai Med Ctr, Dept Bone Marrow & Stem Cell Transplantat, New York, NY 10029 USAUniv N Carolina Hosp, Dept Hematol & Oncol, Chapel Hill, NC USAUniv Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba, Dept Manitoba Blood & Marrow Transplant Program, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaKarolinska Univ Hosp, Ctr Allogene Stem Cell Transplantat, Dept Pediat, Stockholm, SwedenLouisiana State Univ, Hlth Sci Ctr, Childrens Hosp, Dept Pediat, New Orleans, LA USADept Natl Marrow Donor Program, Minneapolis, MN USAPublic Health Service Grant from the National Cancer Institute: U24-CA76518National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: 5U01HL069294Office of Naval Research: N00014-06-1-0704Office of Naval Research: N00014-08-1-0058HHSH234200637015CWeb of Scienc

Late effects in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients with acquired severe aplastic anemia: a report from the late effects working committee of the center for international blood and marrow transplant research (CIBMTR)

CHOC Children’s Hospital - UC Irvine, Orange, CAMedical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WIMedical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WIKing Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, TX, Saudi ArabiaNew York Medical College, Valhalla, NYStemcyte, Covina, CADana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MAUniversity of Florida, Gainesville, FLPrincess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, ON, CanadaAll Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FLUniversity Hospital Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandOregon Health and Science University, Portland, ORChildren’s National Medical Center, Washington, DCBaylor College of Medicine Center for Cell Therapy, Houston, TXUniversity of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NCUniversity Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OHUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, ARCincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OHTufts Medical Center, Boston, MAH Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FLFlorida Center for Cellular Therapy, Orlando, FLUniversidade Federal de Parana, Curitiba, BrazilVanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TNInstituto de Oncologia Pediatrica, Sao Paulo, BrazilFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WAMount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NYUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCCancerCare Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, CanadaKarolinska University Hospital, Center for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, Stockholm, SwedenChildrens Hospital LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LANational Marrow Donor Program, Minneapolis, MNWeb of Scienc

Reduced Expression of the Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter and Neurotransmitter Content Affects Synaptic Vesicle Distribution and Shape in Mouse Neuromuscular Junction

In vertebrates, nerve muscle communication is mediated by the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine packed inside synaptic vesicles by a specific vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). Here we used a mouse model (VAChT KDHOM) with 70% reduction in the expression of VAChT to investigate the morphological and functional consequences of a decreased acetylcholine uptake and release in neuromuscular synapses. Upon hypertonic stimulation, VAChT KDHOM mice presented a reduction in the amplitude and frequency of miniature endplate potentials, FM 1-43 staining intensity, total number of synaptic vesicles and altered distribution of vesicles within the synaptic terminal. In contrast, under electrical stimulation or no stimulation, VAChT KDHOM neuromuscular junctions did not differ from WT on total number of vesicles but showed altered distribution. Additionally, motor nerve terminals in VAChT KDHOM exhibited small and flattened synaptic vesicles similar to that observed in WT mice treated with vesamicol that blocks acetylcholine uptake. Based on these results, we propose that decreased VAChT levels affect synaptic vesicle biogenesis and distribution whereas a lower ACh content affects vesicles shape