Government Spending Cycles: Ideological or Opportunistic?

ands. The time series analysis, covering the period 1953–1993, allows for different types of government spending. In general, spending is inspired by ideological and opportunistic motives: all government expenditure categories show an upward drift during election times and the partisan motives behind government spending are clearly revealed: left-wing cabinets attach greater importance to social security and health care than right-wing cabinets and right-wing cabinets value expenditure on infrastructure and defense more than left-wing parties. Constructive comments by Frans van Winden, Wilko Letterie, Peter Cornelisse, Arie Ros, André de Moor, Harry ter Rele and an anonymous referee are gratefully acknowledged

Percutaneous absorption enhancers: mechanisms and potential

Transdermal applications of drugs present many advantages in terms of absorption, however this is not easily obtained through the transdermal route. The principle barrier is the stratum corneum and one of the strategies that have been found to promote cutaneous drug penetration is through the use of absorption enhancers. Many substances have been identified as absorption enhancers. Although the list of substances that promote absorption is growing, in most cases, there is a direct correlation between the effects of absorption enhancers and their skin toxicity. The use of these substances depends therefore on studies which focus on local and systemic toxicity, as well as action mechanisms.<br>A via transdérmica para a absorção de fármacos apresenta várias vantagens, porém a absorção através desta via não é fácil de ser obtida. A principal barreira encontrada é o estrato córneo e uma das estratégias encontradas para promover a permeação cutânea de fármacos é o uso de promotores de absorção. Há uma variedade de substâncias identificadas como promotores de absorção. Enquanto a lista de substâncias de promotores de absorção percutânea vem aumentando, na maioria dos casos, há uma correlação entre o efeito promotor e a toxicidade para a pele. O emprego destas substâncias depende, portanto, de estudos enfocando a toxicidade local e sistêmica, bem como o mecanismo de ação