Time variation in the dynamics of worker flows:evidence from North America and Europe

Vector autoregressive methods have been used to model the interrelationships between job vacancy rates, job separation rates and job-finding rates using tools such as impulse response analysis. We investigate whether such impulse responses change across the business cycle or over time, by estimating time-varying parameter–vector autoregressions for data from North America (the USA and Canada) and Europe (France, Spain and the UK). While the adjustment process of the labour market to shocks in Canada and the USA is similar, we find the adjustment process differs much more across the European countries, with greater persistence in shocks relative to the USA and Canada

The Reemergence of Celebrity Imagery in Twenty-First Century Art

The frequent reappearance of artistic celebrity imagery and portraits is something to which I have paid particular attention in the last five years of having studied art and art history, and from having worked intimately with contemporary works of art in the commercial art sector. The artist who I was particularly taken with who has for years been relying on found images of celebrities as source material for his art is Sam McKinniss, and my fascination with him is what led me to pursue this study. Observing the trajectory of McKinniss’ career, as well as having interest in depicting the images of celebrities in my own artistic endeavors brought me to the question of whether artworks featuring celebrities is something which has had a consistent timeline over the history of contemporary art, or whether such subject matter has had particular momentums. Documenting and analyzing a historical survey of how artists have captured the likenesses of celebrities over the course of contemporary art led me to discover that artists have for decades been influencing the next generations to paint celebrities. With movements such as fashion photography carrying influence into Pop Art, and both movements having ties to the high society portrait of the early twentieth century, celebrity imagery is something that has been highly saturated and become even more so with the introduction of the Internet and Social Media. The depiction of celebrities in works of art have followed parallel trends with the way that the public have treated celebrities for centuries, with reportages in the press and the rise of the paparazzi and tabloid media causing celebrities to become central to the day to day lives of many people around the world

Premorbid factors of early post-stroke cognitive impairment

The aim of this study is to identify and substantiate early cognitive dysfunction in patients with brain damage in the acute period of ischemic stroke.Materials and research methods. The study included 140 elderly patients. The main group included 70 patients of Vascular Surgery Center with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke in the carotid pool, the control group consisted of 70 outpatients. Cognitive function and psycho-emotional background were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Function Scale, tests for kinetic, constructive and ideation praxis, the Stroop test, the Boston Naming Test, the apathy rating scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the MFI-20 asthenia scale. Assessment of neuroimaging parameters was carried out usingcomputed tomography. Assessment of long-latency acoustic endogenous evoked potential P300 using the «oddball active» paradigm technique was used for neurophysiological examination.Research results. Ischemic stroke was more often detected in the parietal, frontal lobes and basal ganglia. Moderate cognitive impairment was detected in 57.5% of patients with stroke and 27.5% of the control group. Dementia was diagnosed in 30% of patients in the main group and 5% of the control group. In patients with IS indicators characterizing the executive function, praxis, speech, attention, memory, depression, and apathy were statistically significantly lower comparing with the control group. The analysis of neurophysiological data revealed a statistically significant prolongation of the latency of the P300 wave in all leads and a decrease in the amplitude of the P300 peak in leads Cz and C3 in patients of the main group. Conclusion. Within the framework of this study, significant factors in the development of early post-stroke cognitive impairment were established. Dysfunction in attention, executive function, episodic memory, and speech is the result of a combination of causes directly related to cerebrovascular disease and pre-stroke factors. The evoked potential method reflects the degree of cognitive decline and can be used as a method for assessing the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in stroke patients

Neuropsychological diagnosis in the acute period of ischemic stroke

The aim of the study — to establish the severity of cognitive, psychoemotional, motivational and behavioral disorders in patients after acute period of ischemic stroke.Materials and methods. The study included 60 patients with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke. Depending on severity of neurological deficit according to the national stroke scale (NIHSS), patients were divided into two groups: group 1 — 30 patients with an NIHSS score of 0 to 8, associated with mild neurological deficit, group 2 — 30 patients with an NIHSS score of 9 to 15, associated with moderate neurological deficits. The study was conducted on the 7th day of treatment and included: assessment of the cognitive status according to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale; assessment of the level of distress, depression, anxiety and somatization using the Four Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire; assessment of mental and physical asthenia according to the MFI-20 scale, level of self-control using the Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale and assessment of the personality and the familial unconscious in Szondi’s test. Results. The study established the prevalence of depression and cognitive impairment in patients with moderate neurological deficits. Patients with mild neurological deficits are characterized by a moderate level of somatization, mental and physical asthenia, a low level of self-control in relation to health, low adherence to treatment and poor motivation to recover.Conclusion. The results of the study indicate the need inclusion of assessment of psychoemotional factors and personal resources of the patient in relation to illness and recovery in early diagnosis of patients with stroke. Along with neurological deficits, it is necessary to assess the cognitive, emotional and motivational levels of the “internal picture of the disease”. This can help determine the patient’s basic compensatory and adaptive capabilities and develop individual rehabilitation strategies