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Numerous experimental studies have replicated the social framing effect-the observation that people’s decisions related to economic benefits and feelings depend on the method of presentation. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) plays a part in the influence of framing and how individuals think about the feelings of others. Based on this, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate neuronal activity in the VMPFC to determine the likelihood of a direct association between VMPFC activity and the social framing effect. Subsequently, in three stimulation treatments, we assessed the presence of the social framing effect, as demonstrated by a disparity between harm degree and help degree. The findings revealed a social framing effect in the participants in the control group and the sham treatment but no social framing effect in the participants in the anodal or cathodal treatments. Furthermore, sex differences were observed in the sham treatment’s social framing effect, whereas no sex differences were observed in the anodal or cathodal treatments. The participants tended to harm the victim after receiving anodal or cathodal tDCS over the VMPFC and did not change their helping behaviour in any stimulations. Consequently, a clear causal link between the behaviour of the VMPFC and the social framing effect was found in the present research.

When a new bug report is assigned to developers, they first need to understand what the bug report expresses (what) and why this bug occurs (why). To do so, developers usually explore different bug related data sources to investigate whether there are historical bugs with similar symptoms and causes related to the bug at hand. Automatic bug classification with respect to what and why information of bugs would enable developers to narrow down their search of bug resources and improve the bug fixing productivity. To achieve this goal, we propose an approach, BugClass, which applies a deep neural network classification approach based on Hierarchical Attention Networks (HAN) to automatically classify the bugs into different what and why categories by exploiting the bug repository and commit repository. Then, we explore the causal link relationship between what and why categories to further improve the accuracy of the bug classification. Experimental results demonstrate that BugClass is effective to classify the given bug reports into what and why categories, and can be also effectively used for identifying the why category for new bugs based on the causal link relations.

This study aimed to reconstruct the sedimentation rates over time and identify the changing sources of sediment in a major hydropower reservoir in Tanzania, the Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM). Fallout 210Pb measurements were used to estimate age of sediment deposits and broad changes in sedimentation rates were reconstructed. Sedimentation peaks were cross referenced to geochemical profiles of allogenic and autogenic elemental constituents of the sediment column to confirm a causal link. Finally, geochemical fingerprinting of the sediment cores and potential sources were compared using a Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) to attribute the dominant riverine and land use sources to the reservoir together with changes through recent decades. Reservoir sedimentation generally increased from 0.1 g cm−2 yr−1 in the lower sediment column to 1.7 g cm−2 yr−1 in the most recent deposits. These results correlated to changes in allogenic and autogenic tracers. The model output pointed to one of two major tributaries, the Kikuletwa River with 60.3%, as the dominant source of sediment to the entire reservoir, while the other tributary, Ruvu River, contributed approximately 39.7%. However, downcore unmixing results indicated that the latest increases in sedimentation seem to be mainly driven by an increased contribution from the Ruvu River. Cultivated land (CU) was shown to be the main land use source of riverine sediment, accounting for 38.4% and 44.6% in Kikuletwa and Ruvu rivers respectively. This study explicitly demonstrated that the integration of sediment tracing and dating tools can be used for quantifying the dominant source of sediment infilling in East African hydropower reservoirs. The results underscore the necessity for catchment-wide management plans that target the reduction of both hillslope erosion reduction and the sediment connectivity from hillslope source areas to rivers and reservoirs, which will help to maintain and enhance food, water and energy security in Eastern Africa.

BackgroundPreventative strategies for preterm birth are lacking. Recent evidence proposed COVID-19 lockdowns may have contributed to changes in preterm birth. We aimed to determine the prevalence of preterm birth during the COVID-19 lockdown on the Sunshine Coast and in the state of Queensland, Australia.MethodsRetrospective cohort analysis of all births in Queensland including the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, during two epochs, April 1–May 31, 2020 (lockdown) and June 1–July 31, 2020 (post-lockdown), compared to antecedent calendar-matched periods in 2018–2019. Prevalence of preterm birth, stillbirth, and late terminations were examined.ResultsThere were 64,989 births in Queensland from April to July 2018–2020. At the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, there was a significantly higher chance of birth at term during both lockdown (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.17, 2.79; P=0.007) and post-lockdown (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.27, 3.18; P=0.003). At the same centre, prevalence of preterm birth was 5.5% (30/547) during lockdown, compared to 9.1% (100/1095) in previous years, a 40.0% relative reduction (P=0.016). At this centre during lockdown, emergency caesareans concurrently decreased (P=0.034) and vacuum-assisted births increased (P=0.036). In Queensland overall, there was a nonsignificant decrease in the prevalence of preterm birth during lockdown.ConclusionsThere is a link between lockdown and a reduction in the prevalence of preterm birth on the Sunshine Coast. The cause is speculative. Further research is needed to determine a causal link and assess if this can be translated into management which provides a sustained reduction in preterm birth and its associated morbidity and mortality.

Violent Islamic extremism is affecting a growing number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In some, jihadi Salafi organizations have established home bases and turned into permanent security challengers. However, other countries have managed to prevent the formation or curb the spread of homegrown jihadi Salafi organizations. In this book, Sebastian Elischer provides a comparative analysis of how different West and East African states have engaged with fundamentalist Muslim groups between the 1950s and today. In doing so, he establishes a causal link between state-imposed organizational gatekeepers in the Islamic sphere and the absence of homegrown jihadi Salafism. Illustrating that the contemporary manifestation of violent Islamic extremism in sub-Saharan Africa is an outcome of strategic political decisions that are deeply embedded in countries' autocratic pasts, he challenges conventional notions of statehood on the African continent, and provides new insight into the evolving relationships between secular and religious authority.

In Japan, a significant number of adolescent females noted unusual symptoms after receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, of which the vast majority of them were initially diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses because of the absence of pathologic radiological images and specific abnormalities in laboratory test results. Later these symptoms were thought to be adverse effects of HPV vaccination. However, a causal link between HPV vaccination and the development of these symptoms has not been demonstrated. Between June 2013 and March 2021, we examined 200 patients who noted various symptoms after HPV vaccination. In total, 87 were diagnosed with HPV vaccination-related symptoms based on our proposed diagnostic criteria. The clinical histories of these 87 patients were analyzed. The age at initial vaccination ranged from 11 to 19 years old (mean ± SD: 13.5 ± 1.5 years old), and the age at the first appearance of symptoms ranged from 12 to 20 years old (mean ± SD: 14.3 ± 1.6 years old). The patients received an initial HPV vaccine injection between May 2010 and May 2013, but the first affected patient developed symptoms in October 2010, and the last affected developed symptoms in October 2015. A cluster of patients with a post-HPV vaccination disorder has not appeared in Japan during the last five years. Our study shows that, in Japan, the period of HPV vaccination considerably overlapped with that of a unique post-HPV vaccination disorder development. This disorder appears as a combination of orthostatic intolerance, chronic regional pain syndrome, and cognitive dysfunction, but its exact pathogenesis remains unclear.

It has long been thought that microtubule disassembly, one of the earliest cellular events, contributes to neuronal pruning and neurodegeneration in development and disease. However, how microtubule disassembly drives neuronal pruning remains poorly understood. Here, we conduct a systematic investigation of various microtubule‐destabilizing factors and identify exchange factor for Arf6 (Efa6) and Stathmin (Stai) as new regulators of dendrite pruning in ddaC sensory neurons during Drosophila metamorphosis. We show that Efa6 is both necessary and sufficient to regulate dendrite pruning. Interestingly, Efa6 and Stai facilitate microtubule turnover and disassembly prior to dendrite pruning without compromising the minus‐end‐out microtubule orientation in dendrites. Moreover, our pharmacological and genetic manipulations strongly support a key role of microtubule disassembly in promoting dendrite pruning. Thus, this systematic study highlights the importance of two selective microtubule destabilizers in dendrite pruning and substantiates a causal link between microtubule disassembly and neuronal pruning.

BACKGROUND New research has attributed increased significance to the causal link between ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and immunosuppression and carcinogenesis. In the United States, sunscreens are labeled with only their sun protection factor (SPF) and an imprecise term "broad-spectrum protection." Sunscreen marketing and efficacy evaluations continue to be based primarily on skin redness (sunburn) or erythema. We sought to evaluate the ultraviolet (UV) protection offered by common sunscreen products on the US market using laboratory-measured UV-absorption testing and comparing with computer-modeled protection and the labeled SPF values. This approach enables an investigation of the relationship between the labeled SPF and measured UVA protection, a factor that is ignored in current regulations. METHODS Fifty-one sunscreen products for sale in the United States with SPF values from 15 to 110 and labeled as providing broad-spectrum protection were tested using a commercial laboratory. All products were evaluated using the ISO 24443:2012 method for sunscreen effectiveness. The final absorbance spectra were used for analysis of in vitro UV protection. RESULTS In vitro SPF values from laboratory-measured UV absorption and computer modeling were on average just 59 and 42 percent of the labeled SPF. The majority of products provided significantly lower UVA protection with the average unweighted UVA protection factor just 24 percent of the labeled SPF. CONCLUSION Regulations and marketplace forces promote sunscreens that reduce sunburn instead of products that provide better, more broad-spectrum UV protection. The production and use of products with broad spectrum UV protection should be incentivized, removing the emphasis on sunburn protection and ending testing on people.

Introduction Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory poly-radiculoneuropathy occurring usually two weeks after a viral infection.Covid-19 infection represent with respiratory symptoms, but it might manifests with extra pulmonary symptoms, and especially neurological including Guillain-Barre syndrom Case report A 3 years old female patient admitted to the intensive care unit for an acute symmetric and progressive ascending quadriparesis two weeks after an upper respiratory infection, the diagnosis of post covid GBS was maintained, and the evolution was favorable after intraveneous immunoglobulins. Conclusion This case report suggest the probable causal link between COVID 19 and GBS.

Establishing a causal link between neural function and behavioral output has remained a challenging problem. Commonly used perturbation techniques enable unprecedented control over intrinsic activity patterns and can effectively identify crucial circuit elements important for specific behaviors. However, these approaches may severely disrupt activity, precluding an investigation into the behavioral relevance of moment-to-moment neural dynamics within a specified brain region. Here we discuss the application of mild focal cooling to slow down intrinsic neural circuit activity while preserving its overall structure. Using network modeling and examples from multiple species, we highlight the power and versatility of focal cooling for understanding how neural dynamics control behavior and argue for its wider adoption within the systems neuroscience community.

Control of voluntary limb movement is predominantly attributed to the contralateral motor cortex. Nevertheless, increasing evidence suggests the involvement of ipsilateral cortical networks in this process. Ipsilateral control particularly emerges in motor tasks requiring bilateral coordination, which is an essential characteristic of locomotion. Here, we combined a unilateral thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) with a cortical neuroprosthetic intervention that uncovered a functional role of the ipsilateral cortex in rat movement. In all rats, after SCI, ipsilesional cortex excitation promoted a bilateral synergy, whereby the elevation of the contralateral foot was complemented by ipsilateral hindlimb extension. In two animals, we found that stimulation of a medial cortical sub-region modulated ipsilateral hindlimb flexion. Ipsilateral cortical stimulation delivered after SCI alleviated multiple locomotor and postural deficits. These results establish a causal link between cortical activation and a remarkably fine and proportional ipsilateral control of hindlimb movement, a potential target for future neuroprosthetic technology.

It is commonly assumed that salient singletons generate an “attend-to-me signal” which causes suppression to develop over time, eventually preventing capture. Despite this assumption and the name “singleton suppression,” a causal link between salience and suppression has not yet been clearly established. We point out the plausibility of a simple alternative mechanism: distractors might be suppressed because they are distractors rather than targets, even when non-salient. To look for evidence of salience-based suppression, we had participants search for a target shape among distractors, which sometimes included irrelevant-colored distractors. The critical manipulation was whether the irrelevant-colored distractor was salient (a color singleton) or non-salient (three non-target colored shapes; a triplet). On 30% of trials, probe letters were presented briefly inside each shape and participants were to report those letters. Probe recall below baseline indicates suppression. Experiment 1 showed that suppression was not triggered any more strongly by salient distractors (singletons) than by non-salient distractors (triplets). Experiment 2 showed that strong suppression effects developed rapidly even in the absence of salient singletons. These findings raise the thus far neglected question of whether salience plays any role in suppression.

RESUMEN. En los procesos de responsabilidad civil y del Estado donde se discute la existencia de una pérdida de la oportunidad es común que los jueces acudan a la carga dinámica de la prueba o a la equidad para tenerla como acreditada. Este trabajo pretende sustentar lo improcedente de esta práctica. Para ello se seguirá la metodología de análisis y estudio dogmático crítico de los discursos jurídicos de los fallos de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, en su Sala Civil, y del Consejo de Estado, en su Sección Tercera; de la doctrina nacional y extranjera, y la legislación vigente sobre la carga de la prueba; lo anterior con el fin de argumentar en contra de la posibilidad del juez de hacer una distribución ad hoc de la prueba del daño. Así mismo, se pretende demostrar que, a pesar de la existencia normativa de la posibilidad de valorar la cuantía del perjuicio con fundamento en la equidad, ello no justifica la práctica jurisprudencial de asignar en la sentencia un valor de 50 % a la probabilidad perdida; estas decisiones pueden constituir un uso errado de la equidad en su modalidad integradora -praeter legem-, si se reconoce la naturaleza de la pérdida de la oportunidad como daño y no como perjuicio. ABSTRACT. In civil and State liability processes where the existence of a loss of opportunity is discussed, it is common for judges to resort to the dynamic burden of proof or equity to have it proven. This work aims to support the inappropriateness of this practice. For this, the methodology of analysis and critical dogmatic study of the legal discourses of the rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice in its civil chamber and of the Council of State in its third section, of national and foreign doctrine, and legislation will be followed on the burden of proof, in order to argue against the possibility of the judge to make an ad-hoc distribution of the evidence of damage. Likewise, it is intended to demonstrate that despite the existence of regulations on the possibility of assessing the amount of the damage based on equity, this does not justify the jurisprudential practice of assigning in the judgment a value of 50 % to the lost probability; these decisions may constitute a misuse of equity in its integrative modality -praeter legem-, if the nature of the loss of the opportunity is recognized as damage and not as damage.

This paper studies the association between homelessness and mental health episodes focusing on episodes of depression, anxiety and other conditions (bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder). Using panel data from the Australian Journeys Home survey, we investigate the extent to which this association is due to common determinants of homelessness and mental health episodes, or whether there is a causal link between them. The results indicate that episodes of depression increase the probability that a person becomes homeless. This is not the case for other mental health conditions. We find no evidence that becoming homeless causes a person to have a mental health episode. Instead, respondents are less likely to be diagnosed with depression in the 6 months after being precariously housed. Overall, our results indicate that, except for depression, the links between mental health episodes and homelessness are complex and are mostly unlikely to be causal. Using information on service usage, we find suggestive evidence that people use mental health services when they need to but that more coordination with housing services is required to protect them from becoming precariously housed.

This paper explores a causal link between aging of the labor force and declining trends in the real interest rate in Japan. We develop a search/matching model that features heterogeneous workers with respect to their ages and firm-specific skills. Using the model, we examine the long-run implications of the sharp drop in labor force entry in the 1970s. We show that the changes in the demographic structure induce significant low-frequency movements in per capita consumption growth and the real interest rate. The model suggests that aging of the labor force accounts for 40 percent or more of the declines in the real interest rate observed between the 1980s and 2000s in Japan. We also examine the impacts of other long-term developments such as a slowdown of TFP growth and higher shares of female and non-regular workers.

Deep Earth degassing is a critical forcing factor for atmospheric CO2 variations and palaeoclimate changes in Earth’s history. For the Cenozoic, the key driving mechanism of atmospheric CO2 variations remains controversial. Here we analyse three stages of collision-related magmatism in Tibet, which correspond temporally with the three major stages of atmospheric CO2 variations in the Cenozoic and explore the possibility of a causal link between these phenomena. To this end we present geochemical data for the three stages of magmatic rocks in Tibet, which we use to inform a model calculating the continental collision-induced CO2 emission flux associated with the evolving Neo-Tethyan to continental subduction over the Cenozoic. The correlation between our modelled CO2 emission rates and the global atmospheric CO2 curve is consistent with the hypothesis that the India-Asia collision was the primary driver of changes in atmospheric CO2 over the Cenozoic., “Earth degassing is a critical carbon source, but its contribution to Cenozoic atmospheric CO2 variations is not well known. Here, the authors analyse CO2 fluxes on the Tibetan Plateau and suggest that the India-Asia collision was the primary driver of changes in atmospheric CO2 over the past 65 Ma.”

Research has consistently shown that women’s involvement in household decision making positively affects household outcomes such as nutrition and education of children. Is financial literacy a determinant for women to participate in intra-household decision making? Using data on savings groups in Rwanda, we examine this relationship and show that women with higher financial literacy are more involved in financial and expenditure decisions. Instrumental variable estimations suggest a causal link. For this reason, we perform a decomposition analysis breaking down the gender gap in financial literacy into differences based on observed socio-demographic and psychological characteristics and differences in returns on these characteristics. Our results show high explanatory power by education, happiness, symptoms of depression and openness but also suggest that a substantial fraction can be explained by differences in returns. We argue that this results from a strong role of society and culture.

The cognitive buffer hypothesis poses that brain size evolves to buffer individuals from environmental changes, increasing survival. Jimenez-Ortega et al. (2020) explored this hypothesis using a phylogenetic path analysis and showed that there is a direct causal link between brain size and longevity in birds, even when allometric effects are taken into account. Furthermore, a synergistic model was better supported than models that included independent effects of brain size and body size.

The evaluation of Secondary hypertension is laborious, expensive and of low yield, though screening of reversible causes, is important to prevent target organ damage. Hypertension secondary to hydronephrosis is rarely described in clinical studies. We herein report a 37-year-old male with a history of resistant hypertension. Initial evaluation for a secondary cause of hypertension was negative. CT abdomen showed unilateral hydronephrosis (Right). After surgical correction, his blood pressure begins to normalize in 3 weeks with a reduction in antihypertensive drugs. The patient was off medications at 6 months of follow-up. The relief of obstruction was parallel to the normalization of blood pressure, which suggest a causal link between hydronephrosis and hypertension. Our case illustrates hydronephrosis as an important cause in the evaluation of hypertension.

During August 9-October 31, 2019, 96 patients were classified as having e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH); other patients are being investigated for case classification and exposures. Among 58 patients interviewed, 53 (91%) reported obtaining tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products from informal sources such as friends, family members, or in-person or online dealers. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), the MDH Public Health Laboratory (PHL) analyzed 46 THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products obtained from 12 EVALI patients for various potential toxicants, including vitamin E acetate, which has recently been detected in some THC-containing products and in samples of lung fluid from EVALI patients (1-4). To explore whether vitamin E acetate is a recently added component in THC-containing products, MDH tested ten products seized by law enforcement in 2018, before the EVALI outbreak, and 20 products seized in 2019, during the outbreak. Twenty-four products obtained from 11 EVALI patients from 2019 contained vitamin E acetate. Among the seized products tested by MDH, none seized in 2018 contained vitamin E acetate, although all tested THC-containing products seized in 2019 tested positive for vitamin E acetate. These chemical analyses of products obtained from EVALI patients and of products intended for the illicit market both before and during the outbreak support a potential role for vitamin E acetate in the EVALI outbreak; however, the number of products tested was small, and further research is needed to establish a causal link between exposure to inhaled vitamin E acetate and EVALI. Collaboration between public health jurisdictions and law enforcement to characterize THC-containing products circulating before the recognition of the EVALI outbreak and during the outbreak might provide valuable information about a dynamic market. These Minnesota findings highlight concerns about e-cigarette, or vaping, products that contain THC acquired from informal sources. Because local supply chains and policy environments vary, CDC continues to recommend not using e-cigarette, or vaping, products that contain THC or any e-cigarette, or vaping, products obtained from informal sources. E-cigarette, or vaping, products should never be used by youths, young adults, or pregnant women.* Until the relationship between inhaled vitamin E acetate and lung health is better characterized, vitamin E acetate should not be added to e-cigarette, or vaping, products.

Large proportions of spoilt ballots may lead to a distortion of election results. While invalid votes are sometimes meaningful political acts, reflecting political protest, spoilt ballot papers may also be a consequence of voter error, which can be attributed to the poor design of a ballot paper. In this study, we focus on the widely publicized case of the Polish local elections of 2014. These elections saw unprecedentedly large proportions of spoilt votes, and ballot paper format was often mentioned as a potential culprit. Yet it remains largely unclear whether or not there indeed does exist a cause-and-effect relationship between ballot card format and the tendency of voters to cast invalid votes. We argue that what we deliver here is the first methodologically refined test of the aforementioned hypothesis. We apply the generalized synthetic control comparative method, proposed by Yiquing Xu (in 2017), and show that the implementation of a complex or ambiguous ballot design can result in a substantial increase in the rate of spoilt votes. We thus demonstrate that ballot paper design matters. Specifically, the results of this study corroborate the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between ballot paper format and the fraction of invalid votes in the 2014 municipal elections in Poland.

Research demonstrates a causal link between increased exposure to racial discrimination and adverse health outcomes among diverse racial and ethnic populations in the U.S. However, most research on...

This study aims to shed some light on the one of the most popular phenomena in the economics and finance literature—nexus between economic growth and financial development—for the case of Greece over 1990Q1 to 2018Q4 within the framework of risk. In other words, this study investigates the causal link between financial risk and economic risk in Greece using wavelet coherence tests while answering the following questions: (i) does financial risk lead to economic risk in Greece and/or does economic risk lead to financial risk in Greece, and (ii) if so, why? The wavelet coherence approach allows the study to capture the long-run and short-run causal linkages among the time series variables since the approach combines time and frequency domain causalities. The findings from wavelet coherence supports the Schumpeter hypothesis since the findings proves that there is unidirectional causality from financial risk to economic risk in Greece (i) between 1995 and 1998; (ii) between 2003 and 2013; (iii) between 2013 and 2017 at different frequency levels. The findings clearly reveal how financial risk is important predictor for economic risk in Greece over the period of 1990–2018.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore factors that can influence on the police officer’s perception of the effectiveness of the performance management system (PMS). This study examines the effect of the attitude of employees and causal relationships between organizational/individual factors and the effectiveness of PMS during the implementation process. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a nationwide online survey of 10,619 police officers in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze multiple relationships simultaneously. The authors constructed a baseline model and also examined an alternative model in order to increase the model’s explanatory power. Findings Police officers’ perception of the understanding of the PMS, manager’s concern, participation and performance information (PI) usage exerted significant effects on the perceived effectiveness of the PMS. However, the relation between understanding of the PMS and PI usage was not significant. The study identified organizational and institutional settings for the success of the PMS. Overall, results support findings of previous studies that suggest an important role of common consensus on performance indicators and agreement between managers and employees. Research limitations/implications While the data size of this study is quite large, it should be considered that the respondent’s preferences on the PMS might have influenced survey results. Findings are limited by the use of a cross-sectional design. Future studies may investigate changes in causal relationships over time by employing a panel design. In addition, various survey items related to the practices of the PMS within the police organization need to be included in future studies. Practical implications To improve the effectiveness of performance management in the police organization, decision makers and managers must emphasize behavioral aspects of the system, especially the causal relationship between practices and perception of the usefulness of the system. Originality/value Despite the wide use of PMS in police management practice, police officers’ perception of the effectiveness of these systems has received little attention in the field. This study indicated a causal link between the factors in the PMS and the perception of the police officers.

The challenges around evidence interpretation for the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on wildlife have been elegantly described in a recent restatement. Pursuing a causal link between EDCs and population-level effects in the marine environment is not an easy task because of the uncertainty generated by the (still) largely undescribed endocrinology of most marine invertebrates. This prevents an adequate understanding of the mechanisms involved in xenobiotic toxicity in nonvertebrate marine phyla and creates uncertainties for chemical management, especially suspected EDCs. In recent years, advancements in genome sequencing technologies expanded this knowledge and provided us with data and tools that can understand the diversity of endocrine systems from an evolutionary perspective. Indeed, genome-wide searches provided endocrinologists with important insights. However, ecotoxicological studies often suffer from superficial interpretation of gene ontology terminology and assume functional conservation of pathways in cross-species extrapolations. Nevertheless, the newly developed tools and approaches allow us to better organise the evidence needed to characterise both hazard and risk from potential EDCs. Until some critical knowledge gaps are closed along with the misconceptions they caused in the past, we rely on vigilant monitoring programmes and the application of the precautionary principle in regulatory chemical management.

This paper draws a causal link between increased levels of global value chain participation (GVCP) and increases in a country’s current account. We document empirically that stronger GVCP is associated with larger current account balances. According to our estimates, cross-country differences in GVCP reduce the hitherto unexplained part of current account imbalances substantially for some countries. For example, for the United States and Japan the unexplained part of the current account falls by 75% and 50% over the sample period when controlling for their GVCP relative to the rest of the world; for Germany, the unexplained part of the current account deficit falls by an average of 10%.

Contact with nature is widely considered to ameliorate psychological stress, but the empirical support for a causal link is limited. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize and critically assess the evidence. Six electronic databases were searched. Twenty-six studies evaluated the difference between the effect of natural environments and that of a suitable control on the acute psychophysiological stress response. Eighteen studies were rated as being of moderate quality, four studies of low quality, and four studies of high quality. Meta-analyses indicated that seated relaxation ( g = .5, p = .06) and walking ( g = .3, p = .02) in natural environments enhanced heart rate variability more than the same activities in control conditions. Cortisol concentration measures were inconsistent. While intuitively and theoretically sound, the empirical support for acute stress-reducing effects of immersion in natural environments is tentative due to small sample sizes and methodological weaknesses in the studies. We provide guidelines for future research.

This paper uses Chinese firm-level data from 2001 to 2007 and applies a propensity score matching method combined with a difference-in-differences approach to examine the direct causal link between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and various aspects of Chinese firms’ performance. We divide China into four economic regions and subdivide the origin of foreign investment into HMT investment (within the Greater China Area) and other foreign investment (outside the Greater China Area). The results indicate that the progress of the IFDI market in China is not evenly balanced within the four economic regions, while the different origins of foreign investment produce different effects.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) can result in a number of comorbidities involving various organs including heart, eye, kidney and even the brain. However, little is known about the molecular basis of T2D associated brain disorders. In this study, we performed a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis in a total of 304 T2D samples and 608 matched control samples from thirteen distinct brain regions. We observed prominent difference among transcriptomic profiles of diverse brain regions in T2D. The most striking change was found in caudate with thousands of T2D-associated genes identified, followed by hippocampus, while nearly no transcriptomic change was observed in other brain regions. Functional analysis of T2D-associated genes revealed impaired synaptic functions and an association with neurodegenerative diseases. Co-expression analysis of caudate transcriptomic profiles unveiled a core regional specific module that was disorganized in T2D. Sub-modules consisting of regional markers were enriched in T2D risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and implied a causal link with T2D. Hub genes of this module include NSF and ADD2, the former of which has been associated with T2D and neurogenerative diseases. Thus, our work provides useful information for further studies in T2D associated brain disorders.

This article proposes a study of dynamics in the bi-directional relationship between macroeconomic factors and the stock market in Poland. In order to verify Granger’s causality and analyse the course of the impulse response function, a model of vector autoregression was used. The analysis is based on monthly data and covers the period from January 2004 to December 2018. The results of the investigation show that the stock exchange index is a significant guide for the industrial production index and the relation is positive. At the same time, interest rates are not one of the most important variables that affect stock prices.

In the human brain, oscillations occur during neural processes that are relevant for memory. This has been demonstrated by a plethora of studies relating memory processes to specific oscillatory signatures. Several recent studies have gone beyond such correlative approaches and provided evidence supporting the idea that modulating oscillations via frequency-specific entrainment can alter memory functions. Such causal evidence is important because it allows distinguishing mechanisms directly related to memory from mere epiphenomenal oscillatory signatures of memory. This review provides an overview of stimulation studies using different approaches to entrain brain oscillations for modulating human memory. We argue that these studies demonstrate a causal link between brain oscillations and memory, speaking against an epiphenomenal perspective of brain oscillations.

For about 10% of children reading acquisition is extremely difficult because they are affected by a heritable neurobiological disorder called developmental dyslexia (DD), mainly associated to an auditory-phonological disorder. Visual crowding is a universal phenomenon that impairs the recognition of stimuli in clutter, such as a letter in a word or a word in a text. Several studies have shown an excessive crowding in individuals with DD, but the causal link between excessive crowding and DD is not yet clearly established. An excessive crowding might be, indeed, a simple effect of DD due to reduced reading experience. The results of five experiments in 181 children reveal that: (i) an excessive crowding only at unattended locations characterizes an unselected group of children with DD (Experiment 1); (ii) an extra-large spaced text increases reading accuracy by reducing crowding in an unselected group of children with DD (Experiment 2); (iii) efficient attentional action video game trainings reduce crowding and accelerate reading speed in two unselected groups of children with DD (Experiment 3 and 4), and; (iv) pre-reading crowding longitudinally predicts future poor readers (Experiment 5). Our results show multiple causal links between visual crowding and learning to read. These findings provide new insights for a more efficient remediation and prevention for DD.

Many theorize that public opinion follows political elite on climate change skepticism, yet evidence of a causal link is lacking. I use a regression discontinuity design to establish the im...

People vary greatly in their desire for, willingness to care for, and emotions toward children. This variation in “parenting motivation” predicts a range of cognition and behavior. Strategic perspectives on political attitudes suggest that parenting motivation should be associated with more socially conservative attitudes, since these attitudes prioritize self-protection norms. Across three studies, we found that parenthood mediated age-related increases in social conservatism. Study 1 found that an experimental child interaction prime increased social conservatism in parents but not in nonparents. Study 2 (preregistered, n = 803) found a main effect of the prime, while Study 3 (preregistered, n = 763) found no experimental effect. Study 3 also found that the relationship between parenting motivation and social conservatism was mediated by both sexual attitudes and perceived threats. These findings attest to the important relationship between parenthood and social conservatism but also suggest that “parenting” primes have either inconsistent or trivial implications within online samples.

Significance Consider a skill you would like to learn, like playing the piano. How do you progress from “Chopsticks” to Chopin? As you learn to do something new with your hands, does the brain also do something new? We found that monkeys learned new skilled behavior by generating new neural activity patterns. We used a brain–computer interface (BCI), which directly links neural activity to movement of a computer cursor, to encourage animals to generate new neural activity patterns. Over several days, the animals began to exhibit new patterns of neural activity that enabled them to control the BCI cursor. This suggests that learning to play the piano and other skills might also involve the generation of new neural activity patterns., Learning has been associated with changes in the brain at every level of organization. However, it remains difficult to establish a causal link between specific changes in the brain and new behavioral abilities. We establish that new neural activity patterns emerge with learning. We demonstrate that these new neural activity patterns cause the new behavior. Thus, the formation of new patterns of neural population activity can underlie the learning of new skills.

Background:Banked human milk (BHM) has inherent infectious risks, even when pasteurized. Because of the ubiquity ofBacillus cereusin the environment and its ability to resist the Holder pasteurization process, there is a concern that BHM might lead to severeB. cereusinfections.Objective:We reviewed observed and published cases to determine the potential causal role of BHM as the source of these infections.Methods:Two infants in the province of Québec (Canada) developed aB. cereusneonatal infection, and both had received BHM. We conducted bacteriological studies to compare clinical isolates and those found in these cases.Results:After extended culture of BHM retention lots,B. cereuswas found to have been involved in batches related to the first case. However, molecular typing showed that the strain was different from the clinical isolate, therefore excluding BHM as the source of contamination. In the second case, aBrevibacillusspp was isolated, a species distinct from the clinical isolate.Conclusion:Based on these cases and others reported in the literature, a causal link betweenB. cereuscontaminated BHM and preterm neonatal infection has never been documented. Therefore, the risk that BHM can cause this infection remains theoretical. Given the widespread presence ofB. cereusin the hospital environment and its capacity to resist standard cleaning procedures, it seems likely that airborne or direct or indirect contact are the main sources of most, if not all, cases of severeB. cereusneonatal infections, even in babies exposed to BHM.

Studies have recently reported statistically significant relationships between observed year-to-year spring Antarctic ozone variability and the Southern Hemisphere annular mode and surface temperatures in spring–summer. This study investigates whether current chemistry–climate models (CCMs) can capture these relationships, in particular, the connection between November total column ozone (TCO) and Australian summer surface temperatures, where years with anomalously high TCO over the Antarctic polar cap tend to be followed by warmer summers. The interannual ozone–temperature teleconnection is examined over the historical period in the observations and simulations from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) and nine other models participating in the Chemistry–Climate Model Initiative (CCMI). There is a systematic difference between the WACCM experiments forced with prescribed observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and those with an interactive ocean. Strong correlations between TCO and Australian temperatures are only obtained for the uncoupled experiment, suggesting that the SSTs could be important for driving both variations in Australian temperatures and the ozone hole, with no causal link between the two. Other CCMI models also tend to capture this relationship with more fidelity when driven by observed SSTs, although additional research and targeted modeling experiments are required to determine causality and further explore the role of model biases and observational uncertainty. The results indicate that CCMs can reproduce the relationship between spring ozone and summer Australian climate reported in observational studies, suggesting that incorporating ozone variability could improve seasonal predictions; however, more work is required to understand the difference between the coupled and uncoupled simulations.

Adopting a framework known from event studies we document patterns in the high-frequency comovement of oil and grain price changes. Using daily front month futures prices we demonstrate a closer relationship between oil and grain price changes after 2006, which suggests a change in the dynamics between grain and energy markets. We find some evidence of comovement between crude oil and grain price changes after 2006, but note that although statistically significant, these findings speak of two distinct entities rather than closely integrated markets. While our study is purely descriptive, these findings suggest that the pursuit of a causal link from oil to grain price changes is futile.

This longitudinal study seeks to show if sport has an impact on the school results and also on cognitive functioning, and if this causal link is significantly important. An experimental group of 55 students that practice out-of-school sports, at a rate of 3 times a week and a reference group of 55 students that don’t practice out of school sports, their age is between 6 and 10 years old, both male and female from an elementary schools of the town of Oran (Algeria), they were followed during 15 month (five quarters). The socio-demographic data were collected by a questionnaire intended for the students of the two groups, and the administrative school results at the end of each quarter. An intelligence test of the CPM (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices) was administered at the end of the fifth trimester to assess the main cognitive abilities in both groups. Students that practice out-of-school sports have general school averages and a significantly higher level of intelligence than students that don’t (p < 0.05) where sport girls have overall academic averages significantly higher than sport boys (p = 0.025). As noted by many similar studies, the practice of a physical-activity and sport regular seem to have a very positive impact on the academic performance and also on cognitive functioning.Resumen. Este estudio longitudinal busca mostrar si el deporte tiene un impacto en los resultados escolares y también en el funcionamiento cognitivo, y si este vínculo causal es significativamente importante. Un grupo experimental de 55 estudiantes que practican deportes fuera de la escuela, a una tasa de 3 veces por semana y un grupo de referencia de 55 estudiantes que no practican deportes fuera de la escuela, su edad es entre 6 y 10 años, Tanto hombres como mujeres de una escuela primaria de la ciudad de Orán (Argelia), fueron seguidos durante 15 meses (cinco cuartos). Los datos socio demográfico se recopilaron mediante un cuestionario destinado a los estudiantes de los dos grupos y los resultados de la escuela administrativa al final de cada trimestre. Se administró una prueba de inteligencia de CPM (Matrices progresivas de color de Raven) al final del quinto trimestre para evaluar las principales habilidades cognitivas en ambos grupos. Los estudiantes que practican deportes fuera de la escuela tienen promedios escolares generales y un nivel de inteligencia significativamente más alto que los estudiantes que no lo hacen (p < 0.05) donde las chicas deportistas tienen promedios académicos generales significativamente más altos que los varones deportivos (p = 0.025). Como lo observaron muchos estudios similares, la práctica de una actividad física y un deporte regular parecen tener un impacto muy positivo en el rendimiento académico y también en el funcionamiento cognitivo.

Objectives To investigate which extracurricular lessons medical doctors and medical students received in early childhood and to compare the results to a similarly aged representative sample. Methods This retrospective questionnaire-based study investigated the prevalence of supplemental early education, along with professional outcomes later in life. The study compared two samples: First, as a proxy for "professional success", medical students and residents (n = 147) were asked to recall which extracurricular lessons they had taken when pre-school aged. This was contrasted to a control sample representative of the general population in Japan. Included extracurricular lessons were: "keyboard/piano", "Japanese calligraphy", "abacus use", "swimming", and "foreign language." Frequencies were compared and tested using contingency tables and the Chi-squared test. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. Results The control sample reported a lower rate (32.7%) of extracurricular activities than medical students did (51.6%, χ2(df=1, n=147) = 13.5, p < 0.001). The proportion of medical students receiving keyboard lessons during their pre-school years was significantly higher (43.5%) than that of the general population (9.1%, χ2(df=1, n=147) = 65.2, p < 0.001). Similar, but less robust, results were observed with Japanese calligraphy (11.5% vs. 3.1%, χ2(df=1, n=147)=11.3, p=0.001), abacus use (4.1% vs. 0.4%, χ2(df=1, n=147) = 7.4, p=0.007), and swimming (33.3% vs. 22.0%, χ2(df=1, n=147) = 6.1, p = 0.013). Conclusions Our results suggest that, in Japan, early supplementary education, including keyboard lessons, is associated with professional success later in life. Future research is warranted to elucidate whether there is a causal link between early extracurricular education and professional outcomes.

Background In forensic casework, cases of sudden cardiac death immediately after intense physical and mental stress are occasionally described, known as “stress- related sudden deaths”. Due to its specificity, controversies, and doubts about the origin of these deaths, they usually become the subject of interest of investigation units or attract media attention. The most important question that require an answer in these cases, in addition to the exact cause of death and mechanism of death, is the consideration of a causal link between the death and experienced physical and mental stress. Case presentation In this paper, we present an interesting case of cardiac death in a chronic cardiovascular patient, soon after experiencing a serious attack by two large dogs. Conclusions The successful resolution of these cases is possible only on the basis of an adequate medico-legal autopsy performed with a detailed insight into the medical history of the deceased, exploring the present comorbidity and assessment of its impact on the final outcome—death.

I apply the autoregressive conditional jump intensity (ARJI) model to weekly bilateral real exchange rate (RER) returns of 31 countries over the period 2001–2013 and investigate the causal link between external financial liabilities and bilateral RER jumps. I find that both external debt and equity liabilities significantly reduce RER jumps, above and beyond the standard optimum currency area (OCA) factors, but through different transmission mechanisms. Specifically, I find that while external debt liabilities reduce RER jumps through both a balance-sheet and a risk-sharing channel, external equity liabilities reduce RER jumps only through a risk-sharing channel. Finally, domestic financial development can help attenuate the negative effect of external debt liabilities on RER jumps.

This study examines the causal link between individuals' occupational knowledge and educational choices as well as labor market entry. We proxy occupational knowledge with mandatory visits to job information centers (JICs) in Germany while still attending school. Exogenous variation in the establishment of JICs makes it possible to estimate intention-to-treat effects in a difference-in-differences setup. Combining survey data with the data on JIC openings allows for detecting whether individuals benefited from the comprehensive information service. The results suggest that individuals who went to school in administrative districts with a JIC have higher educational attainments, experience educational upward mobility, and have a smoother transition to the labor market.