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The implementation and evaluation of Problem-Based Learning in Azerbaijani Higher Education
No full textTaxing the wealthy in Haiti: Evidence from a conjoint experiment on property tax preferences
No full textHow can we build support for taxation among the wealthy in fragile conflict-afflicted countries? Haiti, one of the poorest and most unequal societies in the Americas, is highly aid-reliant and lacks tax revenue. From a narrow self-interest perspective, the affluent should become more supportive of property taxation when the tax returns serve their own interest. However, in fragile states that struggle to provide adequate returns and where public goods can also be provided by non-state actors, we also expect broader utility-maximizing motives such as social recognition and the identity of the tax authority to critically define the affluents’ tax support. Support should increase when they receive social recognition, a non-material benefit, for their tax payment and taxes are collected and administered by entities they trust. We test our argument with a conjoint experiment of property tax-related reform proposals in an online survey collected in winter 2023/24 in Haiti, when there was an unexpected gang insurrection. Institutional failure, represented by the gang uprising, erodes the wealthy’s tax support when municipalities are the tax authority. Support for the property tax reform decreases when NGOs are involved. Importantly, the wealthy prefer tax proposals when they receive public recognition from their peer group, a low-cost instrument, and when they know the revenue will benefit the general population, rather than specific groups
Into the microseconds:market relationships at the highest resolution using particle physics methodology
No full textThis study introduces a methodology for analyzing high-frequency financial market relationships at microsecond resolution, inspired by particle physics techniques. This methodology addresses the trade-off between message data and snapshot data and provides a market behavior analysis that scales well to ultra-high resolution. By examining data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), we analyze market interdependencies within the agriculture, energy, and metal complexes. Based on microsecond differences between markets, we reveal significant leading-following relationships among these markets, highlighting the dominant influence of corn in agriculture, crude oil in energy, and gold in metals. Additionally, we explore cross-domain interactions, revealing complex dynamics influenced by broader economic indicators. This research is the first to analyze market relationships at microsecond resolution over a complete year, which is made possible by the methodological and software infrastructure developed for particle physics at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Circular Economy Policies and Business Models in the EU Renewable Energy Sector:The Case of Solar Photovoltaic Industry
No full textThe circular economy is an approach to decouple economic growth from environmental impacts. In Europe, its development is driven by policies that guide market dynamics through regulations and by businesses innovating with new circular models. However, top-down policies and bottom-up business efforts are often misaligned, and their interplay remains poorly understood. This study addresses this knowledge gap through a case study in the renewable energy sector. We investigate to what extent circular economy policies influence the emergence, diffusion, and scaling of circular business models in the solar industry. We identify four archetypes of business models, explaining how they function, interact, and whether they align with intended policy goals. As a result, we propose six industrial and policy interventions to improve circularity, thus waste management and resource security in the sector. Conceptually, we outline three key circular business model patterns: policy-gap-exploiter, policy-follower, and policy-pioneering. These insights contribute to bridging the gap between policymaking and business innovation
Dimethyl Sulfoxide Conditions Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for more Efficient Nephron Progenitor and Kidney Organoid Differentiation
No full textThe field of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has seen significant progress since the discovery of reprogramming somatic cells using the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. hiPSCs are similar to embryonic stem cells in a primed state of pluripotency and have the potential to differentiate into any adult human cell type, offering a versatile tool for research and potential therapeutic applications. However, the efficiency of differentiation protocols for generating complex structures with multiple cell types, Like kidney organoids, remains a challenge. This study investigates the impact of treating hiPSCs with a low-dose dimethyl sulfoxide to enhance kidney organoid differentiation using the stepwise 2D monolayer-based protocol developed by Morizane et al. 2017. We found that treating hiPSCs with 1-2% DMSO affects gene expression of pluripotent transcription factors, the epigenetic landscape, and hiPSC colony morphology. Our findings also suggest DMSO treatment enhances the expression of the key metanephric mesenchyme nephron progenitor marker, SIX2 after 9 days of kidney organoid differentiation and helps improve hiPSC differentiation protocol efficiency toward the development of tubular kidney organoids. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects and refine the differentiation process for potential in vitro research applications in biomedical research and drug development
Depressive symptoms as mediator between adverse childhood events and fecal incontinence and constipation in community-dwelling men and women
No full textBackground: Fecal incontinence (FI) and constipation affect quality of life and are influenced by intricate interactions between psychological and physiological factors. This study explores the association between adverse childhood events (ACEs) and adult bowel dysfunction (FI and constipation) in community-dwelling men and women, examining depressive symptoms as a potential mediator. Method: A secondary analysis was conducted using baseline data from a population-based cohort (n = 1,691, age =16 years). Participants completed validated questionnaires on FI, constipation, history of emotional neglect, psychological, physical, sexual abuse, and depressive symptoms. Regression models were used, for men and women separately, to examine the associations between ACEs, FI, and constipation, and to test for mediation via depressive symptoms. Analyses were adjusted for age, body mass index, and smoking status. Result: Complete data were available for 553 men and 787 women. Depressive symptoms significantly mediated the relationship between ACEs and both FI and constipation. For FI, ACEs had a small direct effect (ß = 0.104, p < 0.001) and a small, mediated effect (ß = 0.057, p < 0.001, Sobel test: z = 6.47). For constipation, ACEs showed a moderate direct effect (ß = 0.171, p < 0.001) and a moderate mediated effect (ß = 0.130, p < 0.001, Sobel test: z = 10.84). Conclusion: Depression mediates the relationship between ACEs and bowel dysfunction, with a stronger role in constipation (moderate effect) compared to FI (small effect). These findings underscore the importance of addressing psychological factors and childhood adversity in understanding bowel dysfunction and informing clinical approaches
Waterpipe use in Germany (2018 – 2024):Prevalence and sociodemographic differences in age of initiation
No full textBackground: Waterpipe (WP) use poses not only a risk of nicotine dependence but also additional health hazards. This study examined trends in WP use in Germany, focusing on prevalence by age group and differences in initiation age. Methods: We analysed data from 76,239 respondents (= 14 years) from the German Study on Tobacco Use (DEBRA); a series of bi-monthly national surveys using face-to-face interviews at home (2018 – 2024). Prevalence trends were modelled using binomial logistic regression models with restricted cubic splines. Results: The prevalence of WP use decreased over time, to an estimated 0.9 % (95 % CI = 0.6 – 1.2) by mid-2024. This prevalence is made up of 0.1 % (95 % CI = 0.0 – 0.2) 14-to 17-year-olds, 0.3 % (95 % CI = 0.2 – 0.6) 18-to 24-year-olds, 0.3 % (95 % CI = 0.2. – 0.4) 25-to 39-year-olds, and 0.2 % (95 % CI = 0.1 – 0.3) people aged 40 years and older. WP use increased until 2020 up to 2.8 % (95 % CI = 2.3 – 3.4), remained stable for two years and then decreased, especially among people between 25 and 39 years of age. The proportion of 14-to 17-year-old users and users aged at least 40 years remained stable over the years at a low level. Median initiation age was 18 years (25th percentile: 16 years; 75th percentile: 22 years). A lower initiation age was associated with male gender and lower income. Conclusions: WP use increased from 2018 – 2020, stabilised from 2020 – 2022, and then decreased until 2024. Median initiation age was 18, with males and people with lower income starting at a younger age. Targeted public health interventions, focusing on younger males and those with lower socioeconomic status, are need-ed to prevent early use
Accurate Planar Trajectory Tracking for a Class of Nonlinear Non-minimum Phase Marine Vehicles
No full textThe work presented addresses the tracking control problem for a class of marine vehicles characterized by the type of propulsion system used and resulting impact on dynamical behavior. Specifically, we consider movement in the horizontal plane of vehicles that use a rudder for steering (or, equivalently, vectored thrust), as opposed to differential thrust, or lateral thrusters. The corresponding system dynamics are underactuated, featuring fewer independent control inputs than degrees of freedom. They also typically display a non-minimal phase nature (in the nonlinear sense), where desirable equilibria of the internal (non-actuated) dynamics prove unstable. We present solutions to this problem, which rely on careful design of the set of errors tracked by the external dynamics, guaranteeing uniform ultimate boundedness of tracking errors
A branch-&-price approach to the unrooted maximum agreement forest problem
No full textWe propose the first branch-&-price algorithm for the maximum agreement forest problem on unrooted binary trees: given two unrooted X-labelled binary trees we seek to partition X into a minimum number of blocks such that the induced subtrees are disjoint and have the same topologies in both trees. We provide a dynamic programming algorithm for the weighted maximum agreement subtree problem to solve the pricing problem. When combined with rigorous polynomial-time pre-processing our branch-&-price algorithm exhibits (beyond) state-of-the-art performance