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Climate, edaphic, and physiographic parameters influence wine quality. In this study, we evaluated if climate and sediment connectivity had an effect on the grapevine yield (GY) and wine quality of three ancient (more than 100 years old) vineyards, with 'Garnacha Tinta' variety, managed using the head-pruned system, and during three agronomic years (October 2015 - September 2018). The three rain-fed vineyards are managed using the head-pruned system and named VA (1233 vines), VB (1584 vines) and VS (897 vines). They are located in the Spanish Pyrenees, with oceanic Mediterranean climate, have the same soil type (Haplic Cambisol) and the soil is ploughed to prevent weeds. GY ranged from 380 to 2646 kg·ha-1, and from 0.08 to 0.60 kg·vine-1. The annual production significantly correlated with the total annual rainfall (positive), and with the air temperature during the growing period (negative). A frozen spell and intense rainfall events in spring explained the lower GY observed in 2017 and 2018, respectively. We observed a good correlation between GY (kg·ha-1) in 2018 and wine parameters such as, pH (r = 0.992), titratable acidity (r = -0.862), malic acid (r = 0.979), and potassium (r = 0.998). Annual runoff and sediment connectivity was estimated at each field (and its upslope drainage area) using the aggregated index of connectivity (AIC) at high spatial resolution (1 m of cell size). The lowest connectivity was found in VB, whereas VA and VS presented moderate and high values of connectivity, respectively. AIC correlated very well and negatively with GY (kg·ha-1, r = -0.955; and kg·vine-1, r = -0.972). Higher connectivity - intense overland flow dynamic - favoured lower yield. We concluded that the climate parameters mainly explained the temporal changes of GY, whereas distinct overland flow connectivity clearly influenced the spatial variations of GY under the same climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the evolution over time of perceived corruption for a large set of countries worldwide. To proxy corruption, we use the recently proposed Bayesian Corruption Index (Standaert, S. (2015). Divining the level of corruption: A bayesian state space approach, Journal of Comparative Economics, 43(3), 782–803). We employ the test developed by (Phillips, P., & Sul, D. (2007). Transition modeling and econometric convergence tests. Econometrica, 75, 1771–1855) that enables the endogenous determination of convergence clubs for countries over time. Having divided countries into convergence clubs, we explore whether each club differs from the others in terms of their competitiveness ranking. In particular, drawing on the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, we focus not only on the global competitiveness score, but also on the first and the fifth pillars of competitiveness: institutions and health, respectively. Mean and median scores for clubs confirm the general rule that low perceived corruption levels tend to be associated with high-income countries with established democracies, high-quality healthcare systems, and relatively low-income inequality. However, countries such as Spain and Italy, which are innovation-driven economies with excellent scores in the health pillar, are in the worst club for perceived corruption, suggesting there are additional idiosyncratic aspects that could drive perceived corruption levels.

This article provides an estimation method to decompose monetary policy innovations into persistent and transitory components using the nonlinear Taylor rule proposed in Andolfatto, Hendry, and Moran (2008) [Are inflation expectations rational? Journal of Monetary Economics, 55, 406–422]. To use the Kalman filter as the optimal signal extraction technique, we use a convenient reformulation for the state equation by allowing expectations to play a significant role in explaining the future time evolution of monetary shocks. This alternative formulation allows us to perform the maximum likelihood estimation for all the parameters involved in the monetary policy as well as to recover conditional probabilities of regime change. Empirical evidence on the US monetary policy making is provided for the period covering 1986-Q1 to 2021-Q2. We compare our empirical estimates with those obtained based on the particle filter. While both procedures lead to similar quantitative and qualitative findings, our approach has much less computational cost.

In this article, we aim to estimate what the cost of Covid-19 has been in terms of unemployment for Spain. We use a simple autoregressive model to simulate what the unemployment rate would have been without the pandemic and we compare this with the actual values. We also forecast the unemployment rate for 2021 and 2022 to analyse the persistence of the pandemic shock to unemployment.

Part I of this publication deals with the analysis of fission product releases consecutive to the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. Reactor core damages are assessed relying on radionuclide detections performed by the CTBTO radionuclide network, especially at the particulate station located at Takasaki, 210 km away from the nuclear power plant. On the basis of a comparison between the reactor core inventory at the time of reactor shutdowns and the fission product activities measured in air at Takasaki, especially Nb and Ru, it was possible to show that the reactor cores were exposed to high temperature for a prolonged time. This diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of Sn in air at Takasaki. The Xe assessed release at the time of reactor shutdown (8 × 10 Bq) turned out to be in the order of 80 % of the amount deduced from the reactor core inventories. This strongly suggests a broad meltdown of reactor cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is not a new phenomenon, in recent years inequality has moved to the top of the political agenda given the concern that will result in political instability and social resentment. Persistence in inequality can further undermine economic growth and development by hindering educational opportunities, human capital formation, and intergenerational mobility. The persistent nature of inequality stands as one of the most serious challenges for the global economy. This paper analyses inequality persistence for a sample of 60 countries from 1984 to 2015. The authors conclude that inequality is persistent and government redistribution polices through taxes and transfers did not significantly reduce inequality persistence.

Abstract: Subject: In order to assess the impact of leukocyte reduction, all transfusion reactions reported at Liege Teaching Hospital''s Blood Bank 2 years before and after the implementation of universal leukocyte reduction of red blood cells concentrates which started-up on 1 January 2005 were evaluated. Study design and methods: A retrospective analysis of transfusion reactions from 1 January 2003 to 31stDecember 2006 was undertaken. Data were collected from computerized reports, which were entered as soon as a transfusion reaction was reported. Symptoms were classified in different reaction''s categories. Blood cultures, antibody screening and direct antiglobulin test were performed. Differences between the two time periods, before (2003–2004) and after (2005–2006) universal leukoreduction were determined by the Chi-square test and significance was defined as a p value less than 0.05. Results: During period before the implementation of systematic leukoreduction, 68.7% of red blood cells transfused were leukoreduced. A total of 365 transfusion reactions in 91,996 red blood cells units transfused (0.4%) were reported, of which 266 were classified as febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (72.9%), followed by allergic reactions (7.1%) and miscellaneous reactions (3.8%). When comparing the two-time periods, the rate of all transfusion reactions in general significantly decreased from 0.49 to 0.31% (p <0.001). Therefore, universal leukocyte reduction significantly reduced the rates of febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (0.35% versus 0.24%; p =0.002) and allergic reactions (0.05% versus 0.01%; p <0.001). Conclusion: Universal leukocyte reduction significantly reduced the rate of transfusion reactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Packages of cold smoked Atlantic salmon were sampled in a French hypermarket every second month for one year. At each sampling time vacuum packed sliced salmon originally from aquacultured fish grown in Norway, Scotland, and Ireland, but smoked at the same French smokehouse, were collected. The samples were analyzed for quality traits like color, chemical composition, texture and liquid holding capacity and a consumer test was performed. The shelf life and the appearance of the fish was the most important purchase criterion when choosing a package of cold-smoked salmon in the shop. The respondents detected a sensory difference due to the origin of the fish, but there were no significant preferences according to country of origin of the fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare the influence of oral hormonal contraceptives (OCs) and the use of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) on the modification of sexual desire. Materials and methods A prospective observational study of 1073 women using OCs or an IUD at the Family Planning Center 'Marina Alta' in Alicante, Spain. In order to evaluate the relative risk regarding the decrease in libido attributed to each contraceptive method, a logistic regression analysis was undertaken which considered the factors of age adjustment, level of studies, family planning information, relationship with partner, age when sexual relationships were initiated, parity, contraceptive method previously used and the duration of use of the contraceptive method. Results No differences in the decrease of sexual desire were observed between the use of the OC and IUD (odds ratio (OR) 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70-2.49), yet differences were noted, however, in relation to age (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.10). Although these differences were not statistically significant, a high level of awareness regarding family planning was shown to increase sexual desire when compared to a lower level of information on this subject (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.41-1.01). Sexual desire was seen to decrease if the quality of the relationship with the partner was average (OR 2.24; 95% CI 1.36-3.69) or poor (OR 4.69; 95% CI 1.93-11.4). Nulliparous women showed a greater decrease in sexual desire in relation to women who had already given birth (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.00-2.47). Sexual desire was greater if the contraceptive method had already been in use for 6-12 months (OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.17-0.98). Conclusions Sexual desire does not vary in relation to the use of OCs or IUDs, yet it does decrease with age, in nulliparous women and in those with an average or poor relationship with their partner. Furthermore, sexual desire shows an increase between the first 6 and 12 months of contraceptive treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions have been reported in patients with autosomal dominant and recessive disorders. We studied several affected and one non-affected individuals belonging to a pedigree in which the inheritance of the pathological trait was compatible with an autosomique dominant transmission. Affected members had late-onset multisystem disorders with multiple mtDNA deletions in skeletal muscle. But this family presented a striking difference from previously described cases, because none of the patients had progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO). We also studied one young boy with a no contributary family history. He had a cerebellar ataxia with PEO and multiple mtDNA deletions in muscle. Molecular analysis revealed that in the first family, repeated sequences were present at the breakpoint junctions, whereas such motifs were not found in the young patient's case. In the first family, we evidenced mtDNA point mutations in clones containing breakpoint junctions and a 9-bp motif triplication in the intergenic COII/tRNA[sup Lys] region, whereas this sequence is repeated twice in the wild type mtDNA. Our results suggest that multiple deletions observed in the two pedigrees result from different molecular mechanisms and point out the role of repeated sequences in the first pedigree. No mtDNA repair system has been described in mammals so far, but the molecular abnormalities found in the first family suggest that a defect in an mtDNA repair system, homologous to the E. coli MutHLS pathway, could be responsible for such a phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]