In sickness and in Health? Dynamics of health and cohabitation in the United Kingdom

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the dynamics of cohabitation and functional impairments among older people. Our research has three main aims. Firstly, we want to analyse the effects of cohabitation on disability. Secondly, we want to study time trends in disability and cohabitation jointly to explore relationships between the two. Thirdly, we examine socioeconomic differences -- as captured by educational attainment -- in disability. These issues are of great interest from several points of view. Firstly, they address an emerging theoretical debate concerning the effects of cohabitation on health and contribute to a sparse empirical literature on the topic. Secondly, our findings are highly policy relevant. Concerning long-term care for older people, for example, cohabitation is of double importance: firstly, since people who cohabit tend to be healthier, and secondly, since a partner is the typical provider of informal care. In a time where family structures among the old are likely to change (due to changes in life expectancy and divorce rates), our research will be useful for planning purposes. Finally, the model can be used to simulate populations of certain characteristics. Hence, it can be used to derive insurance premiums in order to reduce the problem of selection effects in the market for long-term care insurance. Using the British Household Panel Survey dataset, we apply panel data and simulation techniques to exploit the longitudinal characteristic of the panel. We estimate the two dependent variables -- cohabitation status and disability -- jointly, and allow for time trends, age effects and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that there are systematic differences between single and cohabiting people so that a cross sectional analysis would overestimate the causal relationship; nevertheless, cohabitation has a strong and positive effect on health. Furthermore, we find that bereavement of a partner has a significant negative impact on health

Are the dimensions of private information more multiple than expected? Information asymmetries in the market of supplementary private health insurance in England

Our study reexamines standard econometric approaches for the detection of information asymmetries on insurance markets. We claim that evidence based on a standard framework with 2 equations, which uses potential sources of information asymmetries, should stress the importance of heterogeneity in the parameters. We argue that conclusions derived from this methodology can be misleading if the estimated coefficients in such an `unused characteristics' framework are driven by different parts of the population. We show formally that an individual's expected risk from the perspective of insurance, conditioned on certain characteristics (which are not used for calculating the risk premium), can equal the population's expectation in risk { although such characteristics are both related to risk and insurance probability, which is usually interpreted as an indicator of information asymmetries. We provide empirical evidence on the existence of information asymmetries in the market for supplementary private health insurance in the UK. Overall, we found evidence for advantageous selection into the private risk pool; ie people with lower health risk tend to insure more. The main drivers of this phenomenon seem to be characteristics such as income and wealth. Nevertheless, we also found parameter heterogeneity to be relevant, leading to possible misinterpretation if the standard `unused characteristics' approach is applied

Investigating the market potential for customised long term care insurance products

Previous economic research into long-term care (LTC) has mainly been focussed on one issue: the reasons why the LTC insurance market has not been successful. In this contribution, we analyse the prospects for a new type of insurance policy, which offers a top-up on the resources already available to the individual. We abstract from most problems inherent in LTC insurance markets and derive premium rates for various types of insurance policies. Generally, we find that the top-up option reduces premium rates considerably, to the point where it might be expected that a substantial number of people would take up policies, were they available

Second order statistics of NLOS indoor MIMO channels based on 5.2 GHz measurements

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Six Peaks Visible in the Redshift Distribution of 46,400 SDSS Quasars Agree with the Preferred Redshifts Predicted by the Decreasing Intrinsic Redshift Model

The redshift distribution of all 46,400 quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog III, Third Data Release, is examined. Six Peaks that fall within the redshift window below z = 4, are visible. Their positions agree with the preferred redshift values predicted by the decreasing intrinsic redshift (DIR) model, even though this model was derived using completely independent evidence. A power spectrum analysis of the full dataset confirms the presence of a single, significant power peak at the expected redshift period. Power peaks with the predicted period are also obtained when the upper and lower halves of the redshift distribution are examined separately. The periodicity detected is in linear z, as opposed to log(1+z). Because the peaks in the SDSS quasar redshift distribution agree well with the preferred redshifts predicted by the intrinsic redshift relation, we conclude that this relation, and the peaks in the redshift distribution, likely both have the same origin, and this may be intrinsic redshifts, or a common selection effect. However, because of the way the intrinsic redshift relation was determined it seems unlikely that one selection effect could have been responsible for both.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Distances of Quasars and Quasar-Like Galaxies: Further Evidence that QSOs may be Ejected from Active Galaxies

If high-redshift QSOs are ejected from the nuclei of low-redshift galaxies, as some have claimed, a large portion of their redshift must be intrinsic (non-Doppler). If these intrinsic components have preferred values, redshifts will tend to cluster around these preferred values and produce peaks in the redshift distribution. Doppler ejection and Hubble flow components will broaden each peak. Because ejection velocities are randomly directed and Hubble flow components are always positive, in this model all peaks are expected to show an asymmetry, extending further out in the red wing. If peaks are present showing this predicted asymmetry, it can lead directly to an estimate of quasar distances. Using two quasar samples, one with high redshifts and one with low, it is shown here that not only do all peaks in these two redshift distributions occur at previously predicted preferred values, they also all show the predicted extra extension in the red wing. For the low and high redshift samples the mean cosmological components are found to be z$_{c} \sim 0.024$ and $\sim 0.066$, respectively. The difference can be explained by the improved detection limit of the high redshift sample. These results offer further evidence in favor of the model proposing that QSOs are ejected from active galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

The Role of Private Finance in Paying for Long Term Care

An ageing population and increased longevity means that long term care will become progressively more expensive. In 2009 the Government published a Green Paper on future funding options and a White Paper in 2010. This article considers the role of private finance products under the ‘Partnership’ option. It finds that few households are able to pay for LTC based on income and savings but the number increases if housing assets are included. We show that products can be devised for a range of circumstances, although state support would need to continue. We propose a simplified means testing system based on a combination of income and assets

Journal Staff

Cells move along surfaces both as single cells and multi-cellular units. Recent research points toward pivotal roles for water flux through aquaporins (AQPs) in single cell migration. Their expression is known to facilitate this process by promoting rapid shape changes. However, little is known about the impact on migrating epithelial sheets during wound healing and epithelial renewal. Here, we investigate and compare the effects of AQP9 on single cell and epithelial sheet migration. To achieve this, MDCK-1 cells stably expressing AQP9 were subjected to migration assessment. We found that AQP9 facilitated cell locomotion at both the single and multi-cellular level. Furthermore, we identified major differences in the monolayer integrity and cell size upon expression of AQP9 during epithelial sheet migration, indicating a rapid volume-regulatory mechanism. We suggest a novel mechanism for epithelial wound healing based on AQP-induced swelling and expansion of the monolayer.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Medicine and Health|2007-34832009-66492010-3045|</p

Evolution of Surface Morphology of Thermo-Mechanically Cycled NiCoCrAlY Bond Coats

We investigate morphological surface instabilities on bond coat surfaces of thermal barrier coatings, induced due to thermo-mechanical loading. Experimental results of hollow circular cylindrical specimens, consisting of a directionally solidified superalloy (IN 100 DS) coated with a NiCoCrAlY bond coat, show that the morphological instabilities are strongly dependent on the load conditions. In particular, the morphological instabilities develop during thermal cycling with a thermal gradient over the cylinder wall, whereas the surface remains smooth for thermal cyclic conditions without a gradient. Furthermore, if a cyclic, axial tensile force is applied (synchronized with the thermal cycling), the morphological instabilities become aligned with the axial direction. We discuss a model, quantified by finite element simulations, capturing this behavior and elucidating the thermo-mechanical response

Evolution of Surface Morphology of Thermo-Mechanically Cycled NiCoCrAlY Bond Coats

We investigate morphological surface instabilities on bond coat surfaces of thermal barrier coatings, induced due to thermo-mechanical loading. Experimental results of hollow circular cylindrical specimens, consisting of a directionally solidified superalloy (IN 100 DS) coated with a NiCoCrAlY bond coat, show that the morphological instabilities are strongly dependent on the load conditions. In particular, the morphological instabilities develop during thermal cycling with a thermal gradient over the cylinder wall, whereas the surface remains smooth for thermal cyclic conditions without a gradient. Furthermore, if a cyclic, axial tensile force is applied (synchronized with the thermal cycling), the morphological instabilities become aligned with the axial direction. We discuss a model, quantified by finite element simulations, capturing this behavior and elucidating the thermo-mechanical response