Does regulation trade-off quality against inequality? : The case of German architects and construction engineers

We exploit an exogenous price increase by about 10% for architectural services to answer the question how price regulation affects income inequality and service quality. Using individual-level data from the German microcensus for the years 2006 to 2012, we find a significant reform effect of 8% on personal net income for self-employed architects and construction engineers. This group moved from the second lowest to the highest quintile of the net income distribution. This increase in inequality is associated with a deterioration of service quality. The reform reduced average scores of a peer ranking for architects by 18%

Verkenning LARCH: omgaan met kwaliteit binnen ecologische netwerken

Vanuit de taak van het Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (PBL) is er een grote behoefte om de realisatie van beleidsdoelen te meten en te toetsen. In het bouwwerk van de graadmeter Natuurwaarde worden zowel meetnetten als modellen gebruikt. De meetnetten worden gebruikt om inzicht te krijgen in de actuele situatie van de natuur. De modellen worden veelal gebruikt om toekomstscenario’s te beoordelen. LARCH is als kennissysteem/model voor fauna onderdeel van dit samenhangend systeem. Het blijkt dat bij de ontwikkeling en het gebruik van LARCH geen eenduidige lijn is gevolgd met betrekking tot het te modelleren resultaat. Het PBL is daarom op zoek naar een scherpe visie voor LARCH, van waaruit nieuwe modellen ontwikkeld kunnen worden of onderbouwende studies aangestuurd kunnen worden. Om te komen tot een kennissysteem waarbinnen de nieuwe modellijn goed functioneert, zijn een aantal technische aanpassingen, een aantal onderbouwende studies en kwaliteitsborging belangrijk. Voor 25 vlindersoorten en 38 vogelsoorten en alle Vogel- en Habitrichtlijnsoorten zullen de critical loads bepaald moeten worden. Vervolgens zal van alle soorten nagegaan moeten worden in hoeverre het eindresultaat een goede weergave van potentiële leefgebieden geeft. Wanneer alle soortmodellen gereed zijn, moet een gevoeligheidsanalyse en een onzekerheidsanalyse worden uitgevoerd. Aldus is verwoord in het onderzoek van Alterra, SOVON en Wageningen Universiteit (Entomologie

Is er ruimte voor wolven in Nederland?

De wolf nadert Nederland. Uit een modelstudie blijkt dat er genoeg geschikt leefgebied is voor mogelijk vijftig wolven. Door de aanwezigheid van ecoducten wordt de kans op een duurzame wolvenpopulatie aanzienlijk vergroot

Characterization of Tryptophanase from Vibrio cholerae O1

AbstractTryptophanase (Trpase) encoded by the tnaA gene catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to indole, which is an extracellular signaling molecule detected in various bacteria including Vibrio cholerae. Indole has been demonstrated to regulate biofilm formation, drug resistance, plasmid maintenance and spore formation of bacteria. In the present study, the tnaA gene from V. cholerae O1 (VcTrpase) was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) tn5:tnaA (a Trpase-deficient competent). VcTrpase was purified by Ni2+-NTA chromatography. The obtained VcTrpase had a molecular mass of approximately 49 kDa, a specific activity of 3 U/mg protein, and absorption peaks at 330 and 435nm. Using a site-directed mutagenesis technique, replacement of Arg419 by Val resulted in a VcTrpase completely devoid of activity. Thus, this site can be a target for drug design for controlling V. cholerae

Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Multiple Measures of Blue and Green Spaces in the United States

BACKGROUND: Several studies have evaluated whether the distribution of natural environments differs between marginalized and privileged neighborhoods. However, most studies restricted their analyses to a single or handful of cities and used different natural environment measures. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated whether natural environments are inequitably distributed based on socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity in the contiguous United States. METHODS: We obtained SES and race/ethnicity data (2015–2019) for all U.S. Census tracts. For each tract, we calculated the Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) for 2020, NatureScore (a proprietary measure of the quantity and quality of natural elements) for 2019, park cover for 2020, and blue space for 1984–2018. We used generalized additive models with adjustment for potential confounders and spatial autocorrelation to evaluate associations of SES and race/ethnicity with NDVI, NatureScore, park cover, and odds of containing blue space in all tracts ([Formula: see text]) and in urban tracts ([Formula: see text]). To compare effect estimates, we standardized NDVI, NatureScore, and park cover so that beta coefficients presented a percentage increase or decrease of the standard deviation (SD). RESULTS: Tracts with higher SES had higher NDVI, NatureScore, park cover, and odds of containing blue space. For example, urban tracts in the highest median household income quintile had higher NDVI [44.8% of the SD (95% CI: 42.8, 46.8)] and park cover [16.2% of the SD (95% CI: 13.5, 19.0)] compared with urban tracts in the lowest median household income quintile. Across all tracts, a lower percentage of non-Hispanic White individuals and a higher percentage of Hispanic individuals were associated with lower NDVI and NatureScore. In urban tracts, we observed weak positive associations between percentage non-Hispanic Black and NDVI, NatureScore, and park cover; we did not find any clear associations for percentage Hispanics. DISCUSSION: Multiple facets of the natural environment are inequitably distributed in the contiguous United States. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1116

Win for your kin: Neural responses to personal and vicarious rewards when mothers win for their adolescent children

Mother-child relationships change considerably in adolescence, but it is not yet understood how mothers experience vicarious rewards for their adolescent children. In the current study, we investigated neural responses of twenty mothers winning and losing money for their best friend and for their adolescent child in a gambling task. During the task, functional neuroimaging data were acquired. We examined the activation patterns when playing for or winning for self, adolescent children and friends in four a-priori selected ROIs (nucleus accumbens, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and temporo-parietal junction). Behaviorally, mothers indicated that they experienced most enjoyment when they gained money for their children and that their children deserved to win more, relative to friends and self. At the neural level, nucleus accumbens activity was stronger when winning versus losing. This pattern was not only found when playing for self, but also for friends and children, possibly reflecting the rewarding value of vicarious prosocial gains. In addition, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and temporo-parietal junction were more active when receiving outcomes for children and friends compared to self, possibly reflecting increased recruitment of mentalizing processes. Interestingly, activity in this network was stronger for mothers who indicated that their children and friends deserved to win more. These findings provide initial evidence that vicarious rewards for one’s children are processed similarly as rewards for self, and that activation in social brain regions are related to social closeness