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Rules-based fiscal policy is under threat. Over the last two decades, it proved frustratingly complicated to strike the right balance between three essential properties of sound fiscal policy rules: simplicity, flexibility, and enforceability. Simplicity has been sacrificed to ensure that more contingent (i.e. flexible) rules remained enforceable. The resulting arrangements have failed to adequate
The influence of hunger level and predation risk on habitat choice and foraging in crucian carp, Carassius carassius, were studied in a laboratory experiment. Experiments were carried out in aquaria with or without a predator (pike, Esox lucius). Habitat use and foraging activity of three-fish foraging groups of either fed or hungry crucian carp were studied. Fish were allowed to choose between an
Purpose: The primary goal was to validate a Danish translated version of the Catquest-9SF by Rasch analysis. The secondary goal was to investigate whether preoperative Catquest-9SF scores, best-corrected visual acuity, comorbidity, gender, age or corneal astigmatism could predict improvements in subjective outcome. Methods: In a prospective trial, 250 patients eligible for cataract surgery were in
Purpose: To investigate the effects of intravitreal neuropeptide Y (NPY) treatment following acute retinal ischaemia in an in vivo porcine model. In addition, we evaluated the vasoconstrictive potential of NPY on porcine retinal arteries ex vivo. Methods: Twelve pigs underwent induced retinal ischaemia by elevated intraocular pressure clamping the ocular perfusion pressure at 5 mmHg for 2 hr follo
Objectives: International evidence suggests that rates of inability to work because of illness can change over time. We hypothesised that one reason for this is that the link between inability to work and common illnesses, such as musculoskeletal pain and mental illness, may also change over time. We have investigated this in a study based in one UK district. Methods: Five population surveys (span
The inhibition of unproductive motor movements is regarded as a fundamental cognitive mechanism. Recently it has been shown that species with large absolute brain size or high numbers of pallial neurons, like great apes and corvids, show the highest performance on a task purportedly measuring this mechanism: the cylinder task. In this task the subject must detour a perpendicularly oriented transpa
Many groups of immigrants have worse health than the native population in the host countries. One possible explanation for this is that immigrants are disadvantaged in the labor market, since it has been shown that both precarious and locked-in labor market position can be associated with health problems. However, no published study to date has analyzed the prevalence or consequences of locked-in
This paper focuses on the effects of sanctions on Swedish firms' sales across markets, as well as sanctions’ effects on their domestic production. As a case study, the paper uses sanctions imposed on Russia and by Russia in 2014. The results suggest that the total costs of these sanctions due to a drop in sales for Swedish firms amounts to around 1 billion SEK in 2013 prices, which implies a rathe
Compared to class relations, gender relations in high sex ratio contexts are understudied. Drawing on data from a survey conducted in rural southern Shaanxi, China, in 2014–2015, this article aims to assess if the section of the never-married male population who wishes to marry but face difficulties in achieving this goal is more or less gender equal in their attitudes than married men and, if so,
Is there an easy way to analyze interviews, observations and documents? The answer is no. Analytical work is notoriously multilayered and there is undoubtedly more than one approach. But this book shows how it can go more smoothly. The authors maintain that all analysis involves three activities: sorting, reducing and arguing. If the researcher or student can sort and organize the material, cut ou
The spatial patterns of precipitation regarding physiography and atmospheric circulations in the Lake Urmia Basin have been investigated. Daily rainfall time series for the 50 most reliable precipitation stations for the period 1980-2010 were analyzed to detect the regional precipitation pattern. To identify rainfall homogeneous regions, principal component analysis was applied to the precipitatio
The high variability in the hydrological regime of the Eastern Hydrological Region (EHR) of Northeast Brazil often results in floods and droughts, leading to serious socio-economic issues. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate connections between spatiotemporal hydrological variability of the EHR and large-scale climate phenomena. Multivariate statistical techniques were applied to relate clim
High-elevation hydropower units in California might be sensitive to climate warming since they have been designed to take advantage of snowmelt and have low built-in storage capacities. Snowmelt is expected to shift to earlier in the year and the system might not be able to store sufficient water for release in high-electricity-demanding periods. Previous studies have tried to explore the climate
Inherited genetic susceptibility to multiple myeloma has been investigated in a number of studies. Although 23 individual risk loci have been identified, much of the genetic heritability remains unknown. Here we carried out genome-wide interaction analyses on two European cohorts accounting for 3,999 cases and 7,266 controls and characterized genetic susceptibility to multiple myeloma with subsequ
Whole blood is rich in information about the physical state of an individual and is routinely used in a variety of clinical and research applications. In this thesis, the use of a microfluidic technique called acoustophoresis for separation of different blood components is explored. Acoustophoresis uses an ultrasonic standing wave field to manipulate cells in a microfluidic device. Cells within th
Background: Feedback postural control depends upon information from somatosensation, vision, and the vestibular system that are weighted depending on their relative importance within the central nervous system. Following loss of any sensory component, the weighting changes, e.g., when suffering a vestibular loss, the most common notion is that patients become more dependent on visual cues for main
Understanding the human dimension is critical for effective conservation management of species involved in human-carnivore conflict. There is also a need to recognize who among the local human population is supportive of wildlife conservation. We investigated how local people's attitudes and knowledge of the leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis are influenced by socio-demographic variables, encoun
