Optimal progressive taxation in a model with endogenous skill supply

No abstract available

Optimal progressive taxation in a model with endogenous skill supply

No abstract available

Sustainable finance and governance: an overview

Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). We are currently facing great challenges around balancing environmental and social issues with economic development. This article provides an overview and insight into these challenges from a Finance perspective. It then introduces contemporary research that address specific points of interest

Can public spending boost private consumption?

Copyright © 2021 The Authors. One of the most debated issues in modern macroeconomics relates to the behaviour of private consumption in response to an increase in government spending. Recent empirical studies have found a positive relationship between these two macroeconomic fundamentals. However, such a finding cannot be easily reconciled with simple real business cycle models. In this paper, we develop and estimate a new Keynesian model that is able to predict a rise in consumption in response to an increase in productive public spending. We show the two key elements that lead to a statistically significant positive reaction of private consumption, thereby creating consumption present-value multipliers, are: (i) a productive component in public spending and (ii) nominal rigidities. Our key results remain valid to various robustness checks that include a sub-sample analysis examining the pre-Great Recession period and a sensitivity analysis on the structural, fiscal and monetary policy parameters of the model

Transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy for predicting the final laterality of prostate cancer : are they reliable enough to select patients for focal therapy? Results from a multicenter international study

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T1 bladder cancer: comparison of the prognostic impact of two substaging systems on disease recurrence and progression and suggestion of a novel nomogram

Background: The T1 substaging of bladder cancer (BCa) potentially impacts disease progression. The objective of the study was to compare the prognostic accuracy of two substaging systems on the recurrence and progression of primary pathologic T1 (pT1) BCa and to test a nomogram based on pT1 substaging for predicting recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Methods: The medical records of 204 patients affected by pT1 BCa were retrospectively reviewed. Substaging was defined according to the depth of lamina propria invasion in T1a-c and the extension of the lamina propria invasion to T1-microinvasive (T1m) or T1-extensive (T1e). Uni- and multivariable Cox regression models evaluated the independent variables correlated with recurrence and progression. The predictive accuracies of the two substaging systems were compared by Harrell's C index. Multivariate Cox regression models for the RFS and PFS were also depicted by a nomogram. Results: The 5-year RFS was 47.5% with a significant difference between T1c and T1a (p = 0.02) and between T1e and T1m (p < 0.001). The 5-year PFS was 75.9% with a significant difference between T1c and T1a (p = 0.011) and between T1e and T1m (p < 0.001). Model T1m-e showed a higher predictive power than T1a-c for predicting RFS and PFS. In the univariate and multivariate model subcategory T1e, the diameter, location, and number of tumors were confirmed as factors influencing recurrence and progression after adjusting for the other variables. The nomogram incorporating the T1m-e model showed a satisfactory agreement between model predictions at 5 years and actual observations. Conclusions: Substaging is significantly associated with RFS and PFS for patients affected by T1 BCa and should be included in innovative prognostic nomograms

Associations of maternal phthalate and bisphenol urine concentrations during pregnancy with childhood blood pressure in a population-based prospective cohort study

Objectives: Fetal exposure to phthalates and bisphenols may lead to vascular developmental adaptations, which program later cardiovascular disease. We examined the associations of fetal exposure to phthalates and bisphenols with childhood blood pressure. Methods: In a population-based, prospective cohort study among 1,064 mother-child pairs, we measured maternal urine phthalate and bisphenol concentrations in first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. We measured childhood blood pressure at the mean age of 9.7 years (standard deviation 0.2 years) old. Analyses were performed for the total group, and for boys and girls separately. Results: Maternal urine phthalate concentrations were not associated with childhood blood pressure among boys. Higher third trimester maternal urine concentrations of high molecular weight phthalates (HMWP), di-2-ehtylhexylphthalate (DEHP) and di-n-octylphthalate (DNOP) were associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure among girls (p-values < 0.01). Also, higher second trimester maternal urine total bisphenol and bisphenol A concentrations were associated with higher systolic blood pressure among boys (p values < 0.01), but tended to be associated with a lower diastolic blood pressure among girls. Conclusions: Our results suggest sex-dependent associations of maternal urine phthalate and bisphenol concentrations during pregnancy with childhood blood pressure. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and long term consequences

Fetal phthalates and bisphenols and childhood lipid and glucose metabolism. A population-based prospective cohort study

Background and aims: Fetal exposure to endocrine disruptors such as phthalates and bisphenols may lead to developmental metabolic adaptations. We examined associations of maternal phthalate and bisphenol urine concentrations during pregnancy with lipids, insulin, and glucose concentrations at school age. Methods: In a population-based, prospective cohort study among 757 mother–child pairs, we measured maternal phthalate and bisphenol urine concentrations in first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. We measured non-fasting lipids, glucose and insulin blood concentrations of their children at a mean age of 9.7 (standard deviation 0.2) years. Analyses were performed for boys and girls separately. Results: An interquartile range (IQR) higher natural log transformed third trimester maternal urine phthalic acid concentration was associated with a 0.20 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07–0.34) standard deviation score (SDS) higher triglycerides concentration among boys. Maternal bisphenol urine concentrations were not associated with non-fasting lipid concentrations during childhood. An IQR higher natural log transformed second trimester maternal high molecular weight phthalates (HMWP) and di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) urine concentration were associated with a 0.19 (95% CI 0.31–0.07) respectively 0.18 (95% CI 0.31–0.06) SDS lower glucose concentration among boys. An IQR higher natural log transfor

A Low Cost Concept for Data Acquisition Systems Applied to Decentralized Renewable Energy Plants

The present paper describes experiences of the use of monitoring and data acquisition systems (DAS) and proposes a new concept of a low cost DAS applied to decentralized renewable energy (RE) plants with an USB interface. The use of such systems contributes to disseminate these plants, recognizing in real time local energy resources, monitoring energy conversion efficiency and sending information concerning failures. These aspects are important, mainly for developing countries, where decentralized power plants based on renewable sources are in some cases the best option for supplying electricity to rural areas. Nevertheless, the cost of commercial DAS is still a barrier for a greater dissemination of such systems in developing countries. The proposed USB based DAS presents a new dual clock operation philosophy, in which the acquisition system contains two clock sources for parallel information processing from different communication protocols. To ensure the low cost of the DAS and to promote the dissemination of this technology in developing countries, the proposed data acquisition firmware and the software for USB microcontrollers programming is a free and open source software, executable in the Linux and Windows® operating systems