Longitudinal Poverty and Income Inequality A Comparative Panel Study for The Netherlands, Germany and the UK

The increasing availability of longitudinal data on income in Europe greatly facilitates the analysis of income and poverty dynamics. In this paper, the results of longitudinal data analyses on income and poverty in three European welfare states are reported. Using panel data for Germany, the Netherlands and the UK a variety of longitudinal inequality and poverty measures have been applied to reveal these dynamics. The focus will be on so-called poverty profiles indicating whether people belong to the permanent poor, the transient poor, the recurrent poor or the never poor. Multinomial regression models are estimated that aim to explain the likelihood of belonging to each of the poverty profiles over time and on the events that trigger the belonging to the poverty profiles over time. Our results show that there is a great deal of economic mobility in and out of poverty over time. Most of the poor are only poor for a short period of time but, nevertheless, a substantial part of the population is found to be persistent poor. This is particularly the case in the UK. In matured welfare states, income mobility and persistency of poverty are co-occurring. Our analysis of poverty profiles shows that especially labour market events trigger the belonging to the persistent, the recurrent or the transient poor.income dynamics; poverty; comparative analysis; welfare states; panel data, multinomial logit models

Modelling the kinetics of osmotic dehydration of mango: Optimizing process conditions and pre-treatment for health aspects

The kinetics of mass transfer and vitamin C loss in mango during osmotic dehydration (OD) were described by mathematical models. Water loss (WL) and weight reduction (WR) was modelled by Weibull's model, soluble solid gain (SSG) was better described by Peleg's model. Vitamin C loss was described by a multiresponse model incorporating both degradation and leaching processes into the OD-solution. Effects of vacuum impregnation (VI) and pectin methylesterase (PME) addition on the model parameters were evaluated. VI increases SSG indicated by a 55% lower value of k2 in the Peleg model (P < 0.05). PME addition showed no significant effect on the mass transfer kinetics. The major mechanism of vitamin C loss during OD was degradation. The pretreatments have no significant effect on degradation and leaching rate constants of vitamin C. The combination of modelling the mass transfer and vitamin C retention was shown to be valuable in optimizing the OD process design to enhance the health-promoting value of OD mango (sugar content, vitamin C) and processing time.</p

A comparison of inventory control policies for a joint manufacturing/Remanufacturing environment with remanufacturing yield loss

We consider a joint manufacturing / remanufacturing environment with remanufacturing yield loss. Demand and return follow independent stationary Poisson processes. Returns can be disposed off upon arrival to the system. Manufacturing and remanufacturing operations performed in the same facility at exponential rates. Yield information becomes available after remanufacturing. Demands that are not directly satisfied are lost. We investigate what inventories to consider when making production and disposal decisions, with the objective of maximizing the long-run average expected profit. Four different policies are compared that base disposal decisions on either the local (returns) inventory or the global inventory, and production decisions on either the local (serviceable) inventory or the global inventory. By modelling the system as a Markov process, expressions for the profit associated with each policy are derived. An extensive numerical study shows that it is always optimal to base disposal decisions on the local inventory and production decisions on the global inventory within the parameter sets considered. A sensitivity analysis reveals further insights

Optimise initial spare parts inventories: an analysis and improvement of an electronic decision tool.

Control of spare parts is very difficult as demands can be very low (once in a few years is no exception), while the consequences of a stockout can be severe. While in the past many companies choose to have very large spares inventories, one now observe trends in areas with good transportation connections to keep spare parts at the suppliers. Hence it is very important to make a good selection of which spare parts to stock at the start-up of new plants. To this end Shell Global Solutions has developed an electronic decision tool, called E-SPIR. In this report we analyse the decision rules used in it. We consider stockout penalties and advise to use criticality classifications instead. Furthermore, we investigate minimum stock levels, demand distributions and order quantities

The existence of an insulin-stimulated glucose and non-essential but not essential amino acid substrate interaction in diabetic pigs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The generation of energy from glucose is impaired in diabetes and can be compensated by other substrates like fatty acids (Randle cycle). Little information is available on amino acids (AA) as alternative energy-source in diabetes. To study the interaction between insulin-stimulated glucose and AA utilization in normal and diabetic subjects, intraportal hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic euaminoacidaemic clamp studies were performed in normal (n = 8) and streptozotocin (120 mg/kg) induced diabetic (n = 7) pigs of ~40-45 kg.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Diabetic vs normal pigs showed basal hyperglycaemia (19.0 ± 2.0 vs 4.7 ± 0.1 mmol/L, <it>P </it>< .001) and at the level of individual AA, basal concentrations of valine and histidine were increased (<it>P </it>< .05) whereas tyrosine, alanine, asparagine, glutamine, glutamate, glycine and serine were decreased (<it>P </it>< .05). During the clamp, diabetic vs normal pigs showed reduced insulin-stimulated glucose clearance (4.4 ± 1.6 vs 16.0 ± 3.0 mL/kg·min, <it>P </it>< .001) but increased AA clearance (166 ± 22 vs 110 ± 13 mL/kg· min, <it>P </it>< .05) at matched arterial euglycaemia (5-7 mmol/L) and euaminoacidaemia (2.8-3.5 mmol/L). The increase in AA clearance was mainly caused by an increase in non-essential AA clearance (93.6 ± 13.8 vs 46.6 ± 5.4 mL/kg·min, <it>P </it>< .01), in particular alanine (14.2 ± 2.4 vs 3.2 ± 0.4 mL/kg·min, <it>P </it>< .001)<b/>. Essential AA clearance was largely unchanged (72.9 ± 8.5 vs 63.3 ± 8.5 mL/kg· min), however clearances of threonine (<it>P </it>< .05) and tyrosine (<it>P </it>< .01) were increased in diabetic vs normal pigs (8.1 ± 1.3 vs 5.2 ± 0.5, and 14.3 ± 2.5 vs 6.4 ± 0.7 mL/kg· min, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ratio of insulin-stimulated glucose versus AA clearance was decreased 5.4-fold in diabetic pigs, which was caused by a 3.6-fold decrease in glucose clearance and a 2.0-fold increase in non-essential AA clearance. In parallel with the Randle concept (glucose - fatty acid cycle), the present data suggest the existence of a glucose and non-essential AA substrate interaction in diabetic pigs whereby reduced insulin-stimulated glucose clearance seems to be partly compensated by an increase in non-essential AA clearance whereas essential AA are preferentially spared from an increase in clearance.</p

How is sport participation related to mortality, diabetes and prediabetes for different body mass index levels?

This study examined the association of sport participation with health outcomes and whether this relation differs between body mass index (BMI)-level subpopulations. Research outcomes for sport participation were compared with other types of leisure-time physical activity (PA). We used the Cox proportional hazards regression models to assess the associations of sport participation, and four other PA types (cycling, gardening, doing odd jobs, and walking), with the risk of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and all-cause mortality in 97,212 individuals (58.4% women; mean age: 46.5 years) in the Dutch LifeLines cohort. Outcomes were stratified by three BMI levels: healthy weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI: 25.0-29.9 kg/m(2)), and obesity (BMI: 30.0 kg/m(2) or above). Sport participation was associated with lower health risks, but only significantly so for prediabetes (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.81-0.92). For healthy weight persons, sport participation was associated with the largest risk reductions, with significantly lower risks of prediabetes (HR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.68-0.90) and all-cause mortality (HR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.96). Other PA types were not associated with significantly lower health risks, with the exception of cycling, for which significantly lower health risks for persons with overweight were found. Our findings show that sport participation is associated with lower health risks, especially prediabetes, but the effect varies between BMI levels, with the strongest link for persons with a healthy weight. Sport participation, together with cycling, is likely to be more effective in reducing health risks than other types of PA

Longitudinal Poverty and Income Inequality A Comparative Panel Study for The Netherlands, Germany and the UK

The increasing availability of longitudinal data on income in Europe greatly facilitates the analysis of income and poverty dynamics. In this paper, the results of longitudinal data analyses on income and poverty in three European welfare states are reported. Using panel data for Germany, the Netherlands and the UK a variety of longitudinal inequality and poverty measures have been applied to reveal these dynamics. The focus will be on so-called poverty profiles indicating whether people belong to the permanent poor, the transient poor, the recurrent poor or the never poor. Multinomial regression models are estimated that aim to explain the likelihood of belonging to each of the poverty profiles over time and on the events that trigger the belonging to the poverty profiles over time. Our results show that there is a great deal of economic mobility in and out of poverty over time. Most of the poor are only poor for a short period of time but, nevertheless, a substantial part of the population is found to be persistent poor. This is particularly the case in the UK. In matured welfare states, income mobility and persistency of poverty are co-occurring. Our analysis of poverty profiles shows that especially labour market events trigger the belonging to the persistent, the recurrent or the transient poor

How are lifestyle factors associated with socioeconomic differences in health care costs? Evidence from full population data in the Netherlands:Evidence from full population data in the Netherlands

Introduction: There is a strong socioeconomic gradient in health care costs. However, little is known about the role of lifestyle factors in the association between health care costs and socioeconomic status (SES). This study investigates variation in the association between lifestyle indicators and health care costs between and within neighborhoods with similar SES. Method: Using 2016 whole-population data for all 790 neighborhoods of the Netherlands, we estimated the association between neighborhood average health care cost performance (i.e., health care costs adjusted for population age and gender) and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) and four lifestyle indicators smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and sport club membership. Additionally, using regression analysis, we explored the multivariate relationship between average health care cost performance, NSES and lifestyle indicators. Results: Neighborhoods with proportionally fewer smokers and more sport club members had significantly lower average health care costs. Remarkably, neighborhoods with more people who complied with the recommended maximum alcohol consumption had significantly higher health care costs. These findings were consistent within and between neighborhoods with different SES levels. Neighborhoods with more compliance with exercise guidelines had lower health care costs. However, this relationship was inconsistent across different NSES levels, with the largest cost reductions found in the most deprived neighborhoods. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that prevention policies aimed at reducing the number of smokers and increasing sport club membership may reduce health care costs across all NSES groups, while increasing compliance with physical exercise norms may be effective mainly in low SES neighborhoods

Nomogram predicting response after chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer using sequential PETCT imaging: a multicentric prospective study with external validation.

Abstract Purpose To develop and externally validate a predictive model for pathologic complete response (pCR) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) based on clinical features and early sequential 18 F-FDG PETCT imaging. Materials and methods Prospective data (i.a. THUNDER trial) were used to train ( N =112, MAASTRO Clinic) and validate ( N =78, Universita Cattolica del S. Cuore) the model for pCR (ypT0N0). All patients received long-course chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery. Clinical parameters were age, gender, clinical tumour (cT) stage and clinical nodal (cN) stage. PET parameters were SUV max , SUV mean , metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and maximal tumour diameter, for which response indices between pre-treatment and intermediate scan were calculated. Using multivariate logistic regression, three probability groups for pCR were defined. Results The pCR rates were 21.4% (training) and 23.1% (validation). The selected predictive features for pCR were cT-stage, cN-stage, response index of SUV mean and maximal tumour diameter during treatment. The models' performances (AUC) were 0.78 (training) and 0.70 (validation). The high probability group for pCR resulted in 100% correct predictions for training and 67% for validation. The model is available on the website www.predictcancer.org. Conclusions The developed predictive model for pCR is accurate and externally validated. This model may assist in treatment decisions during CRT to select complete responders for a wait-and-see policy, good responders for extra RT boost and bad responders for additional chemotherapy

Dietary saturated fat/cholesterol, but not unsaturated fat or starch, induces C-reactive protein associated early atherosclerosis and ectopic fat deposition in diabetic pigs

Background: Diabetes is thought to accelerate cardiovascular disease depending on the type of diet. This study in diabetic subjects was performed to investigate the metabolic, inflammatory and cardiovascular effects of nutritional components typically present in a Western, Mediterranean or high glycaemic diet.Methods: Streptozotocin-diabetic pigs (~45 kg) were fed for 10 weeks supplemental (40% of dietary energy) saturated fat/cholesterol (SFC), unsaturated fat (UF) or starch (S) in an eucaloric dietary intervention study.Results: Fasting plasma total, LDL and HDL cholesterol concentrations were 3-5 fold higher (p < 0.01) in SFC compared to UF and S pigs. Fasting plasma NEFA concentrations (mmol/L) were highest (p < 0.05) in SFC (1.09 ± 0.17), intermediate in UF (0.80 ± 0.14) and lowest in S pigs (0.58 ± 0.14) whereas plasma glucose (~13 mmol/L), triglyceride (~0.5 mmol/L) and insulin (~24 pmol/L) concentrations were comparable among SFC, UF and S pigs. The postprandial response area under the curves (AUC, 0-4 h) for glucose but not for insulin and triglyceride responses were intermediate in SFC (617 ± 144) and lowest (p < 0.05) in UF (378 ± 157) compared to S pigs (925 ± 139). Fasting hepatic glucose production, hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity and blood pressure were not different among pigs. C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations (mg/L) were highest (p < 0.05) in SFC (25 ± 4), intermediate in S (21 ± 3) and lowest in UF pigs (14 ± 2). Liver weights, liver and muscle triglyceride concentrations, and the surface area of aorta fatty streaks were highest (p < 0.01) in SFC pigs. A positive correlation between postprandial plasma CRP and aorta fatty streaks was observed in SFC pigs (R2= 0.95). Retroperitoneal fat depot weight (g) was intermediate in SFC (260 ± 72), lowest in S (135 ± 51) and highest (p < 0.05) in UF (571 ± 95) pigs.Conclusion: Dietary saturated fat/cholesterol induces inflammation, atherosclerosis and ectopic fat deposition whereas an equally high dietary unsaturated fat load does not induce these abnormalities and shows beneficial effects on postprandial glycaemia in diabetic pigs