Skill mix and technology in Spain : evidence from firm-level data

Like businesses in other developed countries, Spanish firms increased the share of skilled workers they employed during the 1990s. This paper attempts to examine whether this change in the Spanish labor market can be attributed to demand shifts or to skill biased technological change. It finds, just as in the US, that skill biased technological change is a more likely hypothesis. Using a type of decomposition methodology, I find that the increase in aggregate skill mix comes mainly from continuing firms increasing their labor skill mixes -presumably in response to the re tooling or upgrades in technology in these firms-. Unlike the findings in the US, my results indicate that the increase in aggregate skill mix in Spain seems to be procyclical. Going further, I also perform sub decompositions that categorize firms according to dimensions that reflect the "idiosyncrasies" of Spain¿s labor market; in particular the use of permanent vs. temporary contracts. The results support the idea that temporary worker contracts may be lending flexibility to the labor market as policymakers intended. Finally, I examine the dynamics of skill mix changes according to the firms¿ rate of technological innovation. The results show that the most innovative firms account for the majority of the increase in skill mix during the 1990s in Spain, a finding that support the skill biased technological change hypothesis

Enfermedades importadas en España: dificultades en la atención sanitaria

Introduction: In Spain, from 2000 to 2010, there were measures that promoted equality in health and permitted access to health services for the immigrant population. Because of the economic crisis and the reductions in public expenditure on health, security measures were put in place, which not only had negative consequences for this group, also for public health in general. Therefore, the number of imported diseases cases have increased in direct relation to international travels.Objectives: To evaluate the presence of imported diseases in Spain and to know the problem of the immigrant in the Health System.Method: the literature review of studies in English and Spanish published between 2007 and 2017, including several databases and reports from institutions and scientific organizations.Results: A total of 173 articles indexed in the databases were obtained. 32 of these articles were adjusted to the inclusion criteria, of which 15 were selected to respond to the objectives. The studies affirm that population movements such as migrations or international trips, increase the presence of imported diseases in Spain. In addition, legislative measures imposed by the government on health matters, complicate access to the Spanish Health System for irregular immigrants. They also highlight other difficulties for the immigrant, such as the language and the lack of knowledge of the correct access and use of health services.Conclusion: The sum of all the above mentioned, creates lack of confidence in the immigrant, which postpones contact with the health service, and may lead to a serious problem in public health, mainly due to the delay in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of imported infectious diseases.Introducción: En España, desde el 2000 hasta el 2010, existían medidas que fomentaban la igualdad en salud y acceso a los servicios sanitarios de la población inmigrante. Con el inicio de la crisis y las reducciones del gasto público en salud, se instauraron medidas, que no solo tienen consecuencias negativas para este colectivo sino también para la salud pública en general, viéndose en aumento el número de casos de enfermedades importadas, también relacionadas con el aumento de viajes internacionales.Objetivos: Evaluar la presencia de enfermedades importadas en España y conocer la problemática del inmigrante en el Sistema Sanitario. Método: Revisión bibliográfica de estudios en lengua inglesa y castellana publicados entre 2007 y 2017 recogidos varias bases de datos y en informes de instituciones y organizaciones científicas.Resultados: Se obtuvo un total de 173 artículos indexados en las bases de datos. De estos, 32 se ajustaron a los criterios de inclusión, de los que se seleccionaron 15 para responder a los objetivos.15 producciones se adaptaron al objetivo del presente estudio. Los estudios afirman que los movimientos poblacionales como migraciones o a viajes internacionales, elevan la presencia de enfermedad importada en España. Esto junto con las medidas legislativas impuestas por el gobierno en materia de sanidad, dificultan al inmigrante irregular la posibilidad de acceder al Sistema Sanitario español. Destacan además otras dificultades para el inmigrante como son el idioma y el desconocimiento del correcto acceso y uso de las prestaciones sanitarias.Conclusión: Todo esto, crea desconfianza en el inmigrante, el cual aplaza el contacto con el servicio sanitario, pudiendo llegar a ocasionar un grave problema en la salud pública, principalmente por el retraso en el diagnóstico, tratamiento y seguimiento de enfermedades infecciosas importadas

Phage display identification of nanomolar ligands for human NEDD4-WW3: Energetic and dynamic implications for the development of broad-spectrum antivirals

This research has been financed by grants BIO2016-78746-C2-1-R and PID2020-112895RB-100 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (I.L.) including AEI/FEDER EU funds. R.N.H. was funded in part by National Institutes of Health grants AI138052 and AI138630. M. I.B. and J.M.C. were recipients of a research contract from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. F.C. was funded by a predoctoral fellowship from the Andalusian Government P10-CVI-5915. J.M.C. ac-knowledges a reincorporation research contract from the University of Granada. We thank Dr. Sachdev Sidhu for his invaluable assistance setting up the phage display techniques in our laboratory. We also thank the support of the C.I.C. of the University of Granada.The recognition of PPxY viral Late domains by the third WW domain of the human HECT-E3 ubiquitin ligase NEDD4 (NEDD4-WW3) is essential for the budding of many viruses. Blocking these interactions is a promising strategy to develop broad-spectrum antivirals. As all WW domains, NEDD4-WW3 is a challenging therapeutic target due to the low binding affinity of its natural interactions, its high conformational plasticity, and its complex thermodynamic behavior. In this work, we set out to investigate whether high affinity can be achieved for monovalent ligands binding to the isolated NEDD4-WW3 domain. We show that a competitive phage-display set-up allows for the identification of high-affinity peptides showing inhibitory activity of viral budding. A detailed biophysical study combining calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and molecular dynamic simulations reveals that the improvement in binding affinity does not arise from the establishment of new interactions with the domain, but is associated to conformational restrictions imposed by a novel C-terminal -LFP motif in the ligand, unprecedented in the PPxY interactome. These results, which highlight the complexity of WW domain interactions, provide valuable insight into the key elements for high binding affinity, of interest to guide virtual screening campaigns for the identification of novel therapeutics targeting NEDD4-WW3 interactions.Spanish Government BIO2016-78746-C2-1-R PID2020-112895RB-100 AEI/FEDER EU funds AI138052 AI138630United States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA P10-CVI-5915German Research Foundation (DFG)University of Granad

Aplicación de los criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes en un entorno de medicina de urgencias

Se plantea un estudio para determinar la validez de la aplicación de los criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes en un entorno de medicina de urgencias. El propósito del estudio es determinar la incidencia de cumplimentación de criterios de clasificación y su correlación con el diagnóstico de certeza en población no seleccionada. A lo largo de un periodo de 7 años, desde 2011, 167 personas consultaron por urgencias por cefalea y cumplieron al menos tres criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes. La densidad de incidencia para el cumplimento de criterios fue 29.11 por 100000 habitantes. Durante el mismo periodo de tiempo, la densidad de incidencia del diagnóstico de certeza de la enfermedad fue 10.42 por 100000 habitantes. El cumplimento de al menos tres criterios de clasificación tuvo una sensibilidad de 97.2%, especificidad 22.7% y VPP 55.2%. Utilizando cuatro criterios de clasificación el VPP fue 56.2% y la especificidad 56.2%. Concluimos que la aplicación de los criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes sobrestiman su diagnóstico cuando se aplican a población general por lo que su uso en un entorno de urgencias debe hacerse con precaución.Se plantea un estudio para determinar la validez de la aplicación de los criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes en un entorno de medicina de urgencias. El propósito del estudio es determinar la incidencia de cumplimentación de criterios de clasificación y su correlación con el diagnóstico de certeza en población no seleccionada. A lo largo de un periodo de 7 años, desde 2011, 167 personas consultaron por urgencias por cefalea y cumplieron al menos tres criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes. La densidad de incidencia para el cumplimento de criterios fue 29.11 por 100000 habitantes. Durante el mismo periodo de tiempo, la densidad de incidencia del diagnóstico de certeza de la enfermedad fue 10.42 por 100000 habitantes. El cumplimento de al menos tres criterios de clasificación tuvo una sensibilidad de 97.2%, especificidad 22.7% y VPP 55.2%. Utilizando cuatro criterios de clasificación el VPP fue 56.2% y la especificidad 56.2%. Concluimos que la aplicación de los criterios de clasificación de arteritis de células gigantes sobrestiman su diagnóstico cuando se aplican a población general por lo que su uso en un entorno de urgencias debe hacerse con precaución

Post-Translational Modifications Modulate Ligand Recognition by the Third PDZ Domain of the MAGUK Protein PSD-95

The relative promiscuity of hub proteins such as postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) can be achieved by alternative splicing, allosteric regulation, and post-translational modifications, the latter of which is the most efficient method of accelerating cellular responses to environmental changes in vivo. Here, a mutational approach was used to determine the impact of phosphorylation and succinimidation post-translational modifications on the binding affinity of the postsynaptic density protein-95/discs large/zonula occludens-1 (PDZ3) domain of PSD-95. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the binding affinity of this domain is influenced by an interplay between salt-bridges linking the α3 helix, the β2–β3 loop and the positively charged Lys residues in its high-affinity hexapeptide ligand KKETAV. The α3 helix is an extra structural element that is not present in other PDZ domains, which links PDZ3 with the following SH3 domain in the PSD-95 protein. This regulatory mechanism was confirmed experimentally via thermodynamic and NMR chemical shift perturbation analyses, discarding intra-domain long-range effects. Taken together, the results presented here reveal the molecular basis of the regulatory role of the α3 extra-element and the effects of post-translational modifications of PDZ3 on its binding affinity, both energetically and dynamically.This research was supported by grants CVI-05915, from the Andalusian Regional Government (http://www.juntadeandalucia.es), BIO2009-13261-C02 and BIO2012-39922-C02, from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/portal/site​/MICINN/) and FEDER. JMC received a postdoctoral contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. CCV was a recipient of a Formación de Personal Investigador fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Standardized incidence ratios and risk factors for cancer in patients with systemic sclerosis: Data from the Spanish Scleroderma Registry (RESCLE)

Aim: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are at increased risk of cancer, a growing cause of non-SSc-related death among these patients. We analyzed the increased cancer risk among Spanish patients with SSc using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and identified independent cancer risk factors in this population. Material and methods: Spanish Scleroderma Registry data were analyzed to determine the demographic characteristics of patients with SSc, and logistic regression was used to identify cancer risk factors. SIRs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) relative to the general Spanish population were calculated. Results: Of 1930 patients with SSc, 206 had cancer, most commonly breast, lung, hematological, and colorectal cancers. Patients with SSc had increased risks of overall cancer (SIR 1.48, 95% CI 1.36-1.60; P < 0.001), and of lung (SIR 2.22, 95% CI 1.77-2.73; P < 0.001), breast (SIR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.54; P = 0.003), and hematological (SIR 2.03, 95% CI 1.52-2.62; P < 0.001) cancers. Cancer was associated with older age at SSc onset (odds ratio [OR] 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.03; P < 0.001), the presence of primary biliary cholangitis (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.18-4.68; P = 0.015) and forced vital capacity <70% (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.24-2.70; P = 0.002). The presence of anticentromere antibodies lowered the risk of cancer (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45-0.97; P = 0.036). Conclusions: Spanish patients with SSc had an increased cancer risk compared with the general population. Some characteristics, including specific autoantibodies, may be related to this increased risk

Wage inequality, segregation by skill and the price of capital in an assignment model

Some pieces of empirical evidence suggest that in the U.S., over the last few decades, (i) wage inequality between-plants has risen much more than wage inequality within-plants and (ii) there has been an increase in the segregation of workers by skill into separate plants. This paper presents a frictionless assignment model in which these two features can be explained simultaneously as the result of the decline in the relative price of capital. Additional implications of the model regarding the skill premium and the dispersion in labor productivity across plants are also consistent with the empirical evidence. [resumen de autor