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We analyze the effect of different legislature size on per capita regional expenditure in Italy. According to the theory, legislature size has an indefinite effect on government spending because logrolling and transaction costs may have canceling effects. We find a large and significantly positive effect of the number of legislators. We use these findings to forecast the effects of the increase in the number of legislators that is taking place in some regions: a 10% increase in legislature size commands on average a 12% increase in per capita regional expenditure. Adapted from the source document.

Farm animals have been suggested to play an important role in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with C. difficile dissemination in family dairy farms, which are the most common farming model in the European Union. Environmental samples and fecal samples from cows and calves were collected repeatedly over a 1 year period on 20 mid-size family dairy farms. Clostridium difficile was detected in cattle feces on all farms using qPCR. The average prevalence between farms was 10% (0-44.4%) and 35.7% (3.7-66.7%) in cows and calves, respectively. Bacterial culture yielded 103 C. difficile isolates from cattle and 61 from the environment. Most C. difficile isolates were PCR-ribotype 033. A univariate mixed effect model analysis of risk factors associated dietary changes with increasing C. difficile prevalence in cows (P = 0.0004) ; and dietary changes (P = 0.004), breeding Simmental cattle (P = 0.001), mastitis (P = 0.003) and antibiotic treatment (P = 0.003) in calves. Multivariate analysis of risk factors found that dietary changes in cows (P = 0.0001) and calves (P = 0.002) increase C. difficile prevalence ; mastitis was identified as a risk factor in calves (P = 0.001). This study shows that C. difficile is common on dairy farms and that shedding is more influenced by farm management than environmental factors. Based on molecular typing of C. difficile isolates, it could also be concluded that family dairy farms are currently not contributing to increased CDI incidence.

International audience ; AbstractFarm animals have been suggested to play an important role in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with C. difficile dissemination in family dairy farms, which are the most common farming model in the European Union. Environmental samples and fecal samples from cows and calves were collected repeatedly over a 1 year period on 20 mid-size family dairy farms. Clostridium difficile was detected in cattle feces on all farms using qPCR. The average prevalence between farms was 10% (0–44.4%) and 35.7% (3.7–66.7%) in cows and calves, respectively. Bacterial culture yielded 103 C. difficile isolates from cattle and 61 from the environment. Most C. difficile isolates were PCR-ribotype 033. A univariate mixed effect model analysis of risk factors associated dietary changes with increasing C. difficile prevalence in cows (P = 0.0004); and dietary changes (P = 0.004), breeding Simmental cattle (P = 0.001), mastitis (P = 0.003) and antibiotic treatment (P = 0.003) in calves. Multivariate analysis of risk factors found that dietary changes in cows (P = 0.0001) and calves (P = 0.002) increase C. difficile prevalence; mastitis was identified as a risk factor in calves (P = 0.001). This study shows that C. difficile is common on dairy farms and that shedding is more influenced by farm management than environmental factors. Based on molecular typing of C. difficile isolates, it could also be concluded that family dairy farms are currently not contributing to increased CDI incidence.

Abstract Farm animals have been suggested to play an important role in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with C. difficile dissemination in family dairy farms, which are the most common farming model in the European Union. Environmental samples and fecal samples from cows and calves were collected repeatedly over a 1 year period on 20 mid-size family dairy farms. Clostridium difficile was detected in cattle feces on all farms using qPCR. The average prevalence between farms was 10% (0–44.4%) and 35.7% (3.7–66.7%) in cows and calves, respectively. Bacterial culture yielded 103 C. difficile isolates from cattle and 61 from the environment. Most C. difficile isolates were PCR-ribotype 033. A univariate mixed effect model analysis of risk factors associated dietary changes with increasing C. difficile prevalence in cows ( P = 0.0004); and dietary changes ( P = 0.004), breeding Simmental cattle ( P = 0.001), mastitis ( P = 0.003) and antibiotic treatment ( P = 0.003) in calves. Multivariate analysis of risk factors found that dietary changes in cows ( P = 0.0001) and calves ( P = 0.002) increase C. difficile prevalence; mastitis was identified as a risk factor in calves ( P = 0.001). This study shows that C. difficile is common on dairy farms and that shedding is more influenced by farm management than environmental factors. Based on molecular typing of C. difficile isolates, it could also be concluded that family dairy farms are currently not contributing to increased CDI incidence.

The sport economic literature relies on the city size to proxy for the size of the home market of sports teams. This paper seeks to clarify whether the commonly used definition for home market size in sports economics is actually a valid measure for revenue potential in the modern digital age. Specifically, in this empirical exercise the interest is to investigate to what extent social media following is adding to our understanding of home markets. In doing so, it closely connects to the literature on outcome uncertainty, by considering the compounded season uncertainty for home games, and the literature on superstars in sport as a determinant for demand. The econometric analysis uses NFL stadium attendance data between 2009 and 2019 to examine the question of the relationship of social media and stadium attendance. It applies censored tobit models to estimate the effects. The results suggest a significant relationship between social media following and stadium attendance, even when controlling for the metropolitan area where the stadium is located. It argues that our commonly used definition of home market size is built on the outdated concept of localized markets and should be revisited.

Firm acquisitions have been shown to serve as a way to gain access to international markets, technological assets, products or other valuable resources of the target firm. Given this heterogeneity of takeover motivations and the skewness of the distribution of the deal value we show whether and how the importance of different takeover motivations changes along the deal value distribution. Based on a comprehensive dataset of 652 European mergers and acquisitions in the period from 1997 to 2003, we use quantile regressions to decompose the deal value at different points of its distribution. Our results indicate that the importance of technological assets is indeed higher for smaller target firms. The findings support the view on small acquisition targets to complement the acquirer's technology portfolio while larger acquisition targets tend to be used to gain access to international markets.

AbstractThe energetic cost of walking varies with mass and speed; however, the metabolic cost of carrying loads has not consistently increased proportionally to the mass carried. The cost of carrying mass, and the speed at which human walkers carry this mass, has been shown to vary with load position and load description (e.g. child vs. groceries). Additionally, the preponderance of women carriers around the world, and the tendency for certain kinds of population-level sexual dimorphism has led to the hypothesis that women might be more effective carriers than men. Here, I investigate the energetic cost and speed changes of women (N =9) and men (N =6) walking through the woods carrying their own babies (mean baby mass = 10.6 kg) in three different positions – on their front, side and back using the same Ergo fabric baby sling. People carrying their babies on their backs are able to maintain their unloaded walking speed (1.4 m/s) and show the lowest increase in metabolic cost per distance (J/m, 17.4%). Women carry the babies for a lower energetic cost than men at all conditions (p< 0.01). Further energetic and kinematic evidence elucidates the preponderance of back-carrying cross-culturally, and illustrates the importance of relatively wider bi-trochanteric breadths for reducing the energetic costs of carrying.