Democracy and trends in wealth inequality: a global empirical study

Effective democracy relies on the political equality of individuals, which is in turn influenced by wealth inequality levels. However, within-country wealth inequality has reached extreme levels in the world today and continues to rise. Conclusive information on whether democracies are effectively reducing or limiting wealth inequality as compared to non-democracies is currently lacking. Here I show that generally countries with high levels of democracy are not any more likely to reduce or limit wealth inequality than non-democratic states, using a rigorous methodology and data from 146 countries. Conversely, I also find that two specific aspects related to democracy, strong and independent elected regional government and widespread respect for civil liberties, do function to reduce or limit wealth inequality. My results demonstrate that democracy is in need of certain reforms to both increase political equality and limit wealth inequality. Besides providing empirical support for the practice of federalism as well as policies protecting civil liberties for the disadvantaged, this thesis also examines reasoning for why democracy may not be functioning to reduce or limit wealth inequality, and relevant policy recommendations are highlighted.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5508378*es

Innovative Approaches to Emergency Medical Services Fellowship Challenges

Introduction: Since the development of an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited emergency medical services (EMS) fellowship, there has been little published literature on effective methods of content delivery or training modalities. Here we explore a variety of innovative approaches to the development and revision of the EMS fellowship curriculum.Methods: Three academic, university-based ACGME-accredited EMS fellowship programs each implemented an innovative change to their existing training curricula. These changes included the following: a novel didactic curriculum delivery modality and evaluation; implementation of a distance education program to improve EMS fellows’ rural EMS experiences; and modification of an existing EMS fellowship curriculum to train a non-emergency medicine physician.Results: Changes made to each of the above EMS fellowship programs addressed unique challenges, demonstrating areas of success and promise for more generalized implementation of these curricula. Obstacles remain in tailoring the described curricula to the needs of each unique institution and system.Conclusion: Three separate curricula and program changes were implemented to overcome specific challenges and achieve educational goals. It is our hope that our shared experiences will enable others in addressing common barriers to teaching the EMS fellowship core content and share similar innovative approaches to educational challenges

Current status of graft choice in adults for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a frequently performed surgical procedure in the field of sports medicine, and graft selection is an essential aspect of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) that has been shown to optimize post-operative rehabilitation, facilitate return to full sporting function and reduce the risk of complications. However, there needs to be more agreement regarding optimal graft choice. The present study aims to identify the optimal graft choice in the adult population undergoing ACLR. The current systematic review explores the electronic database of online libraries of academic institutions from 2011 to 30 September 2022 and compared the clinical outcomes of autograft and allograft for ACLR, which provides an evidence-based approach for graft selection. The findings of our present study delineate that ACLR in adult populations with autograft is the most promising choice for ligament tear over allograft based on lower failure rate, reduced complications, and high cost-effectiveness. However, there was no significant difference in overall IKDC, pivot shift, Lachman test, and Tegner activity. This critical analysis recommends that for an adult population, ACLR with autograft can provide better clinical results than an allograft, but further studies carried out about other parameters affecting the long-term stability, quick return, and physical therapy adopted outside the supervision of the respective surgeon would be required

Colorblind and Multicultural Prejudice Reduction Strategies in High-Conflict Situations

We tested colorblind and multicultural prejudice-reduction strategies under conditions of low and high interethnic conflict. Replicating previous work, both strategies reduced prejudice when conflict was low. But when conflict was high, only the colorblind strategy reduced prejudice (Studies 1 and 2). Interestingly, this colorblind response seemed to reflect suppression. When prejudice was assessed more subtly (with implicit measures), colorblind participants demonstrated bias equivalent to multicultural participants (Study 2). And, after a delay, colorblind participants showed a rebound, demonstrating greater prejudice than their multicultural counterparts (Study 3). Similar effects were obtained when ideology was measured rather than manipulated (Study 4). We suggest that conflict challenges the tenets of a colorblind ideology (predicated on the absence of group differences) but not those of a multicultural ideology (which acknowledges difference)

Copper-catalyzed borylative coupling of vinylazaarenes and N-Boc imines

Cu-catalyzed three-component couplings of vinylazaarenes, B2(pin)2, and N-Boc imines are described. Oxidation of the initially formed boronate gives azaarene-containing, Boc-protected amino alcohols with reasonable to good diastereoselectivities

Probabilistic Fluorescence-Based Synapse Detection

Brain function results from communication between neurons connected by complex synaptic networks. Synapses are themselves highly complex and diverse signaling machines, containing protein products of hundreds of different genes, some in hundreds of copies, arranged in precise lattice at each individual synapse. Synapses are fundamental not only to synaptic network function but also to network development, adaptation, and memory. In addition, abnormalities of synapse numbers or molecular components are implicated in most mental and neurological disorders. Despite their obvious importance, mammalian synapse populations have so far resisted detailed quantitative study. In human brains and most animal nervous systems, synapses are very small and very densely packed: there are approximately 1 billion synapses per cubic millimeter of human cortex. This volumetric density poses very substantial challenges to proteometric analysis at the critical level of the individual synapse. The present work describes new probabilistic image analysis methods for single-synapse analysis of synapse populations in both animal and human brains.Comment: Current awaiting peer revie

Reading against Reform: The Bristol Library Society and the Intellectual Culture of Bristol's Elections in 1812

This article pioneers a new methodological approach to the study of electoral politics by combining an analysis of the politics of reading, library association and the reading habits of electors in an English urban constituency in the early 19th century. By integrating an examination of reading practices and intellectual context into our analysis of electoral contests, political history scholars can go further in their examination of the unreformed electoral system and attempt to gauge the motivations behind voting habits and partisan identification in this period. Using electoral voting data and the records of an urban subscription library, this article explores the interrelation between the Bristol Library Society and Bristol's electoral politics, as well as conducting an analysis of which books were being borrowed and read by electors in a politically tumultuous year. Although few in number compared with the total size of Bristol's electorate, Bristol Library members were among some of the most politically and culturally influential individuals in Bristol society and were active participants in electoral contests in the city, either as candidates, campaigners, civic officials or voters. An analysis of their voting habits reveals that the library's membership reflected the Tory political hegemony that became pronounced in the city's civic politics. Moreover, an analysis of their reading habits in 1812 reveals an interest in political texts that were conservative and anti-Gallic in tone, that were representative of the political climate in Bristol in 1812, and which contributed to the defeat of candidates for reform in its electoral contests

A Likelihood Ratio Test for Changes in Homeolog Expression Bias

Background Gene duplications are a major source of raw material for evolution and a likely contributor to the diversity of life on earth. Duplicate genes (i.e., homeologs, in the case of a whole genome duplication) may retain their ancestral function, sub- or neofunctionalize, or be lost entirely. A primary way that duplicate genes evolve new functions is by altering their expression patterns. Comparing the expression patterns of duplicate genes gives clues as to whether any of these evolutionary processes have occurred. Results We develop a likelihood ratio test for the analysis of the expression ratios of duplicate genes across two conditions (e.g., tissues). We demonstrate an application of this test by comparing homeolog expression patterns of 1448 homeologous gene pairs using RNA-seq data generated from leaves and petals of an allotetraploid monkeyflower (Mimulus luteus). We assess the sensitivity of this test to different levels of homeolog expression bias and compare the method to several alternatives. Conclusions The likelihood ratio test derived here is a direct, transparent, and easily implemented method for detecting changes in homeolog expression bias that outperforms alternative approaches. While our method was derived with homeolog analysis in mind, this method can be used to analyze changes in the ratio of expression levels between any two genes in any two conditions