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Starting from the two correct positions that, compared to the form of capitalism that preceded it, neoliberal capitalism has generally been more harmful to working people, and that in it finance plays a greater role in both scale and scope, some political economists argue that in neoliberalism financial capital is parasitic on nonfinancial (or "productive," or "industrial") capital. The central argument of this article is that, to the contrary, financial capital serves all capital through the various ways that it allows for neoliberalism to increase its appropriation of surplus value. To concretely support this position, the article considers a particular financial relation, debt, and indicates seven specific ways debt expansion facilitates neoliberalism's pursuit of increased appropriation of surplus value. Secondarily, this article rejects any stated or implied policy implications from the parasitic financial capital thesis that present "productive capitalism" as the desirable alternative to the deleterious effects of financialized capitalism. JEL Classification : G00, G51, H63 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central question about business cycles has always been “Why do they go up and why do they go down?” This article uses a Marxian profit rate analysis to explore the first part of this question, the dynamics of business cycle expansions, using the relatively detailed data available on the post-World War II US economy. Each cyclical expansion is divided into two phases, early expansion and late expansion, determined by the behavior of the profit rate. Early expansion is characterized by a strong recovery in the profit rate, whereas late expansion witnesses the decline of the profit rate after it reaches its peak at the end of the early expansion. We show that the Marxian profit rate is a particularly useful analytical tool to empirically study the dynamics of recoveries and capital accumulation, as well as the fragilities that the same recovery process breeds.JEL Classifications: B51, E32 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the Kaleckian profit and profit rate in U.S. business cycles. Kalecki emphasized the critical role played by investment in the determination of profit. The alternative mechanisms that he operationalized in his discussion of profit generation usually played an insignificant role then. However, since Kalecki developed his framework for profit and its determinants, the U.S. economy has gone through some significant transformations, specifically with the neoliberal turn beginning in the early 1980s. We consider some of these changes under the new corporate governance system and shareholder-value ideology, and discuss the role they play in relation to Kaleckian profit generation. We also discuss the components of the profit, as distinct from its determinants, to discuss how the allocation of the profit within the capitalist class influences Kaleckian profit generation. Finally, we compute the determinants and the components of the Kaleckian profit rate in the post-WWII U.S. business cycles to empirically observe the influence of the neoliberal turn on the Kaleckian profit generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major transformations of existing social orders require a broad belief: it is possible to build a viable alternative that addresses the major problems of the existing society. Social discussions involving a multitude of "mid-level concrete" models, or "previsions," of such a viable alternative combine with the existing social discontent to create such social beliefs. The broad concept of "socialism" designates an organization of society and its production that does not involve some group of people living off their appropriation of part of the production of the rest of society. This paper presents some of the elements of a prefigurative conceptualization called Protagonistic Planned Socialism, which belongs to the Democratic Planned Socialism family of models. Its central elements are protagonistic collective self-determination of the operation of all the institutions of society by its members, consciously socially planned social production, and social labor processes that support and promote human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Despite early skepticism about Medicaid's ability to withstand retrenchment as a program of "welfare medicine," it has proved remarkably durable. Existing analyses explain durability with a policy feedbacks perspective - how program provisions affect the subsequent political environment and policymaking options. This article updates earlier feedback accounts to the ACA era., Methods: Examines extant findings on policy feedbacks in Medicaid at the elite and mass levels since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010., Findings: Mass feedbacks have been modest. Medicaid expansion under the ACA only slightly increased beneficiary political participation, if at all. Medicaid attitudes among beneficiaries and the larger public have become somewhat more supportive. Elite-level feedbacks are the most powerful, with the federal contribution, increased for expansion populations under the ACA, inexorably shaping state incentives. However, continued rejection of Medicaid expansion and attempts to add conditions to Medicaid eligibility in Republican-led states with large shares of Black residents demonstrate that federalism, race, and the program's welfare medicine image continue to threaten the program., Conclusion: Medicaid survives as the nation's largest health insurance program by enrollment, and is deeply woven into the health care system, but remains chronically vulnerable and variable across states despite robust aggregate enrollment and spending., (Copyright © 2024 by Duke University Press.)

The extent to which demographics drive patients to pursue minimally invasive cosmetic procedures is not well-understood. The aim of this project was to better understand how patient demographics impact motivations for cosmetic procedures, irrespective of the procedure desired. Patient-level information from the Cosmetic Motivation Database was evaluated using linear regression analyses to determine whether geographic region, age, gender, race, and education independently influence patients to pursue any cosmetic treatment or consultation. Patients in the Midwest reported fewer motivations related to cosmetic appearance, mental/emotional health, physical health, social life, and school/work success than those in the South. Patients younger than 45 years reported more mental/emotional health and cost/convenience motives compared to older patients. Men noted fewer motives related to cosmetic appearance, mental/emotional health, and cost/convenience but more related to school/work success. Non-White patients reported more cost/convenience motives. Participants with up to a high school diploma cited more mental/emotional health, physical health, social life, and school/work success motivations than those with post-bachelor's education. College graduates cited more school/work success motives than those with graduate-level education. In summary, patient's gender, education, age, location, and race affect why they seek cosmetic treatments. Future research may study younger and less educated patients to improve their access to treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Individuals with disabilities experience numerous health disparities compared to their non-disabled peers and face inequities associated with challenges accessing care, stigma, and bias. Health professionals have the opportunity to address health inequities through improved communication, a primary barrier to receiving quality care; however more training is needed. There are limitations to existing tools to measure the skills or self-efficacy of professionals to communicate with individuals with disabilities, and to assess the effectiveness of training programs. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure health professionals' communication skills and self-efficacy specifically related to working with individuals with disabilities. After a comprehensive review of literature, expert review of proposed scale items, and pilot test, a 19-item survey was administered to 237 healthcare and health and physical education professionals. Construct validity was evaluated by performing an exploratory factor analysis on each subscale and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to measure internal consistency. For the skills subscale, Cronbach's α = .919 and for the self-efficacy subscale Cronbach's α = .949 after the removal of one item, resulting in a final 18-item inventory that demonstrates strong validity and reliability.

Purpose of Review: Discoid lateral meniscus (DLM) is a well-known meniscus variant, and comprises excess and thickened meniscal tissue, altered collagen ultrastructure, and peripheral instability. This article presents a comprehensive review on current knowledge of DLM, focusing on pathology in parallel with surgical techniques and outcomes., Recent Findings: A paradigm shift in surgical management of DLM is taking place as knee surgeons are seeing more patients with long-term sequelae of partial lateral meniscectomy, the standard treatment for DLM for many years. Surgical treatment has evolved alongside the understanding of DLM pathology. A new classification system has been proposed and optimal surgical techniques described in recent years. This article highlights up-to-date evidence and techniques in management of both acute DLM tears and joint restoration following subtotal meniscectomy for DLM. Surgical management of DLM must be tailored to individual pathology, which is variable within the diagnosis of DLM. We present an algorithm for management of DLM and discuss future directions for the understanding and treatment of this debilitating condition., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Accumulating evidence suggests that α-synuclein plays a role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study examined whether α-synuclein level in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was associated with cognitive functioning among older adults. We also explored whether this relationship was mediated by proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6, along with sIL-6R and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Using a cross-sectional Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; N = 148) sample, we examined the relationship between α-synuclein and participants' performance on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog 13) at baseline. Mediation analyses were utilized, adjusting for age, education, APOEe4, and Geriatric Depression Scale scores. All biological markers were measured in CSF. Participants in the current sample were 58.3% males, 41.7% females, and Caucasian (95.5%); their average education and age were 15.5 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.97) and 74.4 (SD = 7.51) years, respectively. Higher accumulation of α-synuclein was associated with poorer MMSE scores (β = -0.41, standard error [SE] = 1.54, p < .001). This relationship appeared to be mediated by VEGF (β = 0.27, SE = 2.15, p = .025) and IL-6r (β = 0.22, SE = 1.66, p < .026). In addition, α-synuclein was associated with poorer performance on the ADAS-Cog 13 (β = 0.34, p = .005) and mediated by VEGF (β = -0.19, SE = 4.13, p = .025) after adjusting for age, education, APOEe4, and depressive symptoms. α-Synuclein may serve as an additional biomarker for determining poor cognitive functioning. VEGF and IL-6 soluble receptors were significant mediators of the relationship between α-synuclein and cognitive functioning. If confirmed in prospective analyses, these findings can further inform the pathologic cascade and early diagnosis of AD., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Frozen shoulder is a common debilitating disorder characterized by shoulder pain and progressive loss of shoulder movement. Frozen shoulder is frequently associated with other systemic conditions or occurs following periods of immobilization, and has a protracted clinical course, which can be frustrating for patients as well as health-care professionals. Frozen shoulder is characterized by fibroproliferative tissue fibrosis, whereby fibroblasts, producing predominantly type I and type III collagen, transform into myofibroblasts (a smooth muscle phenotype), which is accompanied by inflammation, neoangiogenesis and neoinnervation, resulting in shoulder capsular fibrotic contractures and the associated clinical stiffness. Diagnosis is heavily based on physical examination and can be difficult depending on the stage of disease or if concomitant shoulder pathology is present. Management consists of physiotherapy, therapeutic modalities such as steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medications, hydrodilation and surgical interventions; however, their effectiveness remains unclear. Facilitating translational science should aid in development of novel therapies to improve outcomes among individuals with this debilitating condition., (© 2022. Springer Nature Limited.)

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused enormous damage to physiological health and economic security, especially among racial and ethnic minorities. We examined downstream effects on mental health, how effects vary by race and ethnicity, and the role of existing state-level social policies in softening the pandemic's impact., Methods: We analyze an online, multi-wave Census Bureau survey fielded to nearly a million respondents between late April and July 2020. The survey includes questions measuring psychological distress as well as indirect measures of experience with the pandemic. We combined these data with state-level measures of COVID-19 cases, lockdown orders, unemployment filings, and safety net policy., Findings: We find significant mental stress among all respondents and a sizeable gap between nonwhite and white respondents. Adjusting for pandemic experiences eliminates this gap. The effect of losing work as a result of the pandemic is slightly offset by state policies such as unemployment benefit size and Medicaid expansion. The magnitude of these offsetting effects is similar across racial/ethnic groups., Conclusions: The racialized impacts of the pandemic are exacerbated by inequalities in state policy exemplifying structural racism. If the least generous states matched the policies of the most generous, inequalities caused by the pandemic would be diminished., (Copyright © 2021 by Duke University Press.)