Pareto's Law of Income Distribution: Evidence for Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States

We analyze three sets of income data: the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics PSID), the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), and the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). It is shown that the empirical income distribution is consistent with a two-parameter lognormal function for the low-middle income group (97%-99% of the population), and with a Pareto or power law function for the high income group (1%-3% of the population). This mixture of two qualitatively different analytical distributions seems stable over the years covered by our data sets, although their parameters significantly change in time. It is also found that the probability density of income growth rates almost has the form of an exponential function.Comment: Latex2e v1.6; 16 pages with 5 figure

Prolactin-signal transduction in neonatal rat pancreatic islets and interaction with the insulin-signaling pathway

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICODuring pregnancy, pancreatic islets undergo structural and functional changes in response to an increased demand for insulin. Different hormones, especially placental lactogens, mediate these adaptive changes. Prolactin (PRL) mainly exerts its biological effects by activation of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway. PRL also stimulates some biological effects via activation of IRS-1, IRS-2, PI 3-kinase, and MAPK in different cell lines. Since IRS-2 is important for the maintenance of pancreatic islet cell mass, we investigated whether PRL affects insulin-signaling pathways in neonatal rat islets. PRL significantly potentiated glucose-induced insulin secretion in islets cultured for 7 days. This effect was blocked by the specific PI 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin. To determine possible effects of PRL on insulin-signaling pathways, fresh islets were incubated with or without the hormone for 5 or 15 min. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting with specific antibodies showed that PRL induced a dose-dependent IRS-1 and IRS-2 phosphorylation compared to control islets. PRL-induced increase in IRS-1/-2 phosphorylation was accompanied by an increase in the association with and activation of PI 3-kinase. PRL-induced IRS-2 phosphorylation and its association with PI 3-kinase did not add to the effect of insulin. PRL also induced JAK2, SHC, ERK1 and ERK2 phosphorylation in neonatal islets, demonstrating that PRL can activate MAPK. These data indicate that PRL can stimulate the IRSs/PI 3-kinase and SHC/ERK pathways in islets from neonatal rats355282289FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

Instalação de um ensaio de produção intensiva de biomassa lenhosa para energia

No âmbito de um projecto de investigação tendo como propósito o desenvolvimento de sistemas sustentáveis de produção de biomassa lenhosa para energia, foi instalado em Bragança, em 2008, um ensaio de produção intensiva de biomassa lenhosa com base em culturas de curta rotação. Este ensaio tem como objectivos específicos a avaliação dos efeitos de factores como material vegetal, densidade de plantação, rega e fertilização no crescimento e produção de biomassa lenhosa. Nesta comunicação descrevemos a instalação do ensaio relativamente ao desenho experimental seguido, estrutura interna das parcelas de estudo, material vegetal utilizado, operações de preparação do solo e de plantação e ainda gestão da cultura com respeito a fertilização, rega e protecção. Avaliamos também a sobrevivência das plantas no final da primeira estação de crescimento, bem como apresentamos os custos gerais associados à instalação. A apresentação deste trabalho permite partilhar com a comunidade científica e técnica nacional a experiência da instalação deste tipo de culturas, muito recentes no nosso país, e dessa forma contribuir para a definição de processos ajustados e eficientes de instalação e gestão de culturas lenhosas para produção de biomassa para energia em Portugal

Sustainable woody biomass production systems: a novel solution for energy, agriculture and the environment in Portugal

Bioenergy is a major current issue within the agriculture and energy sectors and the society in general. The environmental and social concerns raised by first generation biofuel crops increased the interest on woody biomass. Biomass production for direct conversion to heat and/or electricity is common in northern European countries, the USA, and, more recently, southern Europe, mainly based on short rotation woody crops (SRWC). These crops are renewable sources of energy, CO2 neutral, able to preserve biodiversity and water, and to contribute to socio-economic development. In Portugal, there is an increasing demand of renewable and sustainable sources of energy. Portugal also presents conditions to expand biomass production and use for energy, namely through SRWCs. There is, however, a lack of experience in this field. With the purpose of studying short rotation woody crops dedicated to energy production, we have launched in Bragança, Portugal, a research project aiming to develop technology for the sustainable production, processing, and use of woody biomass for energy. The goal is to analyse environmental and socio-economic aspects of these crops considering carbon cycle, conservation of water, soils, and biodiversity, as well as creation of wealth locally. It also aims to evaluate the potential of northeastern Portugal for biomass production and carbon sequestration. In this presentation we address the rational behind the project, the methodologies followed, and the results obtained during the first year of the study. We also present our perspectives on the role of woody biomass production at several scales and for several scenarios.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. (PTDC/AGR‐CFL/64500/2006

Distributions of bacteriohopanepolyols in lakes and coastal lagoons of the Azores Archipelago

Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are a diverse class of lipids produced by bacteria across a wide range of environments. In this study, we aim to further identify BHPs related to ecological niches and/or specific bacteria by characterizing the distribution of BHPs in suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the water column and in sediments in a range of lakes and coastal lagoons from the Azores Archipelago, as well as in a co-culture enriched for methanotrophs. Sediment samples from Azorean lakes with low-oxygen conditions during the summer months (i.e., Azul, Verde, Funda, and Negra) contain relatively high abundances of BHPs that are typically associated with methane-oxidizing (methanotrophic) bacteria (i.e., aminotetrol, aminopentol, and methylcarbamate-aminopentol), as well as the ethenolamine-BHPs (i.e., ethenolamine-BHpentol and ethenolamine-BHhexol) and the N-formylated aminoBHPs. Both ethenolamine-BHPs and N-formylated aminoBHPs were also detected in a methanotroph–methylotroph co-culture that was enriched from a lake. In the SPM of all water columns, bacteriohopanetetrol (BHT), BHT cyclitol ether, and aminotriol are the dominant BHPs. In SPM from Lake Funda, nucleoside BHPs (i.e., Me-adenosylhopaneHG-diMe (where HG refers to head group), N1-methylinosylhopane, 2Me-N1-inosylhopane, and Me-N1-inosylhopane) are present in low abundance or absent under oxic conditions but increase in concentration near the chemocline, suggesting potential in situ production of these nucleoside BHPs rather than an allochthonous origin. In contrast, sediments from shallow, well-mixed lakes (i.e., Empadadas, São Jorge, and Lomba) contain higher abundances of adenosylhopane and N1-methylinosylhopane, which likely originate from bacteria living in nearby soils. Based on our current results we revised the existing Rsoil index, which was previously used to infer terrestrial inputs to aquatic environments, to exclude any potential nucleosides produced in the lake water column (Rsoil-lake). In the coastal lagoons, Cubres East and Cubres West, methoxylated BHTs were detected, and higher abundances of ethenolamine-BHT were observed. This study highlights the diversity of BHPs in lakes and coastal lagoons and their potential as taxonomic markers for bacteria associated with certain ecological niches, which can be preserved in sedimentary records

Placental CD4(+) T cells from preeclamptic patients cause autoantibodies to the angiotensin II type I receptor and hypertension in a pregnant rat model of preeclampsia

AIM: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy associated with activated CD4(+) T cells and autoantibodies to angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-AA). We have previously shown that CD4(+) T cells isolated from women with PE cause hypertension, increased tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), endothelin-1, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) when injected into pregnant nude-athymic rats compared to CD4(+) T cells from normal pregnant (NP) women. However, the role of PE CD4(+) T cells to cause AT1-AA as a mechanism of hypertension is not known. Our goal was to determine if PE CD4(+) T cells stimulate AT1-AA in pregnant nude-athymic rats. METHODS: CD4(+) T cells were isolated from human NP and PE placentasand injected into nude-athymic rats on gestational day (GD) 12. In order to examine the role of the PE CD4(+) T cells to stimulate B cell secretion of AT1-AA, a subset of the rats receiving PE CD4(+) T cells were treated with rituximab on GD 14 or anti-CD40 ligand (anti-CD40L) on GD 12. On GD 19, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and tissues were obtained. RESULTS: MAP [114 ± 1 mmHg (n = 9)] and AT1-AA [19.8 ± 0.9 beats per minute (bpm, n = 4)] were increased in NP nude + PE CD4(+) T cells compared to NP nude + NP CD4(+) T cells [98 ± 2 mmHg (n = 7, P < 0.05) and 1.3 ± 0.9 bpm (n = 5, P < 0.05)]. Rituximab (103 ± 2 mmHg, n = 3, P < 0.05) and anti-CD40L (102 ± 1 mmHg, n = 3, P < 0.05) lowered MAP compared to NP nude + PE CD4(+) T cells. Circulating a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) and placental angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) activity was increased in response to PE CD4(+) T cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that placental CD4(+) T cells play an important role in the pathophysiology of PE, by activating B cells secreting AT1-AA to cause hypertension during pregnancy

Climate change facilitated the early colonization of the Azores Archipelago during medieval times

Humans have made such dramatic and permanent changes to Earth's landscapes that much of it is now substantially and irreversibly altered from its preanthropogenic state. Remote islands, until recently isolated from humans, offer insights into how these landscapes evolved in response to human-induced perturbations. However, little is known about when and how remote systems were colonized because archaeological data and historical records are scarce and incomplete. Here, we use a multiproxy approach to reconstruct the initial colonization and subsequent environmental impacts on the Azores Archipelago. Our reconstructions provide unambiguous evidence for widespread human disturbance of this archipelago starting between 700 -60/+50 and 850 -60/+60 Common Era (CE), ca. 700 y earlier than historical records suggest the onset of Portuguese settlement of the islands. Settlement proceeded in three phases, during which human pressure on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems grew steadily (i.e., through livestock introductions, logging, and fire), resulting in irreversible changes. Our climate models suggest that the initial colonization at the end of the early Middle Ages (500 to 900 CE) occurred in conjunction with anomalous northeasterly winds and warmer Northern Hemisphere temperatures. These climate conditions likelyinhibited exploration from southern Europe and facilitated human settlers from the northeast Atlantic. These results are consistent with recent archaeological and genetic data suggesting that the Norse were most likely the earliest settlers on the islands

Swine manure digestate treatment using electrocoagulation

ABSTRACT Anaerobic biodigestion is an appropriate alternative for the treatment of swine wastewater due to its biogas generation properties and the possibility of its application as a source of energy for heating or electricity. However, digestate can still contain high levels of turbidity, organic carbon and nutrients and must be correctly managed as a biofertilizer, or treated to avoid any impact on the environment. Considering this, electrocoagulation (EC) shows promise as a technology because of its ease of handling and high efficiency in effluent remediation. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of EC in a batch system in the treatment of swine wastewater digestate. The wastewater used in the treatment was sampled from a 10 m3 biodigestor effluent (digestate) located at Concórdia, Santa Catarina, Brazil. A batch-scale experiment was carried out to evaluate the following two variables: electrode distance (ED) and voltage applied (V). The removal efficiency levels (%) for the best operational condition (2 cm, 5 V) after 30 min were: 97 %, 98 %, 77 % and 10 % for color, turbidity, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN), respectively. The EC batch system produced efficient results, underlining its promise as an alternative to be applied in the treatment of digestate

Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory

Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from Sagittarius $A$. Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio