Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty

This paper develops the link between poverty and inequality by focussing on a class of poverty indices (some of them well-known) which aggregate normative concerns for absolute and relative deprivation. The indices are distinguished by a parameter that captures the ethical sensitivity of poverty measurement to ``exclusion'' or ``relative-deprivation'' aversion. We also show how the indices can be readily used to predict the impact of growth on poverty. An illustration using LIS data finds that he United States show more relative deprivation than Denmark and Belgium whatever the percentiles considered, but that overall deprivation comparisons of the four countries considered will generally necessarily depend on the intensity of the ethical concern for relative deprivation. The impact of growth on poverty is also seen to depend on the presence of and on the attention granted to concerns over relative deprivation. }Poverty, relative deprivation, inequality, poverty alleviation

Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty

This paper develops the link between poverty and inequality by focussing on a class of poverty indices (some of them well-known) which aggregate normative concerns for absolute and relative deprivation. The indices are distinguished by a parameter value that captures the ethical sensitivity of poverty measurement to "exclusion" or "relative-deprivation" aversion. The indices can be readily used to predict the impact of growth on poverty. An illustration using LIS data finds that the United States show more relative deprivation than Denmark and Belgium whatever the percentiles considered, but that overall deprivation comparisons of the four countries considered will generally depend on the intensity of the ethical concern for relative deprivation. The impact of growth on poverty also depends on the presence of and on the attention granted to concerns over relative deprivation.Poverty, Relative Deprivation, Inequality, Poverty Alleviation

Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty

This paper develops the link between poverty and inequality by focussing on a class of poverty indices (some of them well-known) which aggregate normative concerns for absolute and relative deprivation. The indices are distinguished by a parameter that captures the ethical sensitivity of poverty measurement to "exclusion" or "relative-deprivation" aversion. We also show how the indices can be readily used to predict the impact of growth on poverty. An illustration using LIS data finds that the United States show more relative deprivation than Denmark and Belgium whatever the percentiles considered, but that overall deprivation comparisons of the four countries considered will generally necessarily depend on the intensity of the ethical concern for relative deprivation. The impact of growth on poverty is also seen to depend on the presence of and on the attention granted to concerns over relative deprivation.Poverty, Relative deprivation, Inequality, Poverty alleviation

Characterising poroelastic materials in the ultrasonic range - A Bayesian approach

Acoustic fields scattered by poroelastic materials contain key information about the materials' pore structure and elastic properties. Therefore, such materials are often characterised with inverse methods that use acoustic measurements. However, it has been shown that results from many existing inverse characterisation methods agree poorly. One reason is that inverse methods are typically sensitive to even small uncertainties in a measurement setup, but these uncertainties are difficult to model and hence often neglected. In this paper, we study characterising poroelastic materials in the Bayesian framework, where measurement uncertainties can be taken into account, and which allows us to quantify uncertainty in the results. Using the finite element method, we simulate measurements where ultrasonic waves are incident on a water-saturated poroelastic material in normal and oblique angles. We consider uncertainties in the incidence angle and level of measurement noise, and then explore the solution of the Bayesian inverse problem, the posterior density, with an adaptive parallel tempering Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Results show that both the elastic and pore structure parameters can be feasibly estimated from ultrasonic measurements.Comment: Published in JSV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2019.05.02

Ultrasonic Measurements by Means of Continuous Waves in Porous Materials Saturated with Air

The study of porous materials has always been of great interest. Several characterization methods have been developed by means of ultrasonic waves, mainly because of their non-invasive behavior. A typical set-up involves transmission and reflection measurements through the test material using pulse signals. The received echoes are analyzed and compared with analytical models in order to estimate some specific acoustic properties of the sample itself. The main drawback of this approach is the low signal-to-noise ratio recorded when testing highly attenuating materials. This disadvantage is even more pronounced for measurements in air. The present work aims to overcome these limitations, replacing the excitation signals by continuous muti-harmonic waves. These signals have been developed by optimizing the phase of each harmonic, resulting in a low crest factor and consequently in a better signal-to-noise ratio [1,2]. Moreover their frequency content can be easily adapted to the different transducers used during the test. The method has been used to test a foam saturated with air, performing ultrasonic measurements in transmission/reflection, at different angles of incidence. The results show a significant improvement of the measurements, facilitating the estimation of the foam acoustics properties

[Wilson's disease]

http://www.huveaux.fr/fr_santesite.aspWilson's disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper excess. This illness results from mutations of the ATP7B gene chromosome 13. The discovery of the gene allowed a better understanding of cytosolic copper trafficking its relationship with ceruloplasmin synthesis. Symptomatic patients may present with hepatic, neurologic or psychiatric forms. Clinical and phenotypic evidences provide only presumptive arguments for this disease which can be routinely assessed by molecular analysis. This disease can be efficiently treated by chelation and zinc therapy. Liver transplantation is the therapy to patients with hepatic fulminant course, or in those with relentless progression of hepatic dysfunction in spite of medical therapy

STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING VACCINE HESITANCY – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

The purpose of the systematic review of strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy is to identify strategies that have been implemented and evaluated across diverse global contexts in an effort to respond to, and manage, issues of vaccine hesitancy. This is to fulfil the requirements of the SAGE working group (WG) dealing with vaccine hesitancy in respect to: a) identifying existing and new activities and strategies relating to vaccines or from other areas that could successfully address vaccine hesitancy; b) identifying strategies that do not work well, and; c) prioritising activities and strategies based on an assessment of their potential impact. These requirements were translated into the following specific objectives: 1. Identify published strategies related to vaccine hesitancy and hesitancy of other health technologies (reproductive health technologies (RHT) were chosen as the additional focus) and provide a descriptive analysis of the findings; 2. Map all evaluated strategies to the SAGE WG “Model of determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy” (Appendix 1) and identify key characteristics; 3. Evaluate relevant evaluated strategies relating to vaccine hesitancy using GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation); relevance was informed by the PICO questions defined a priori by the WG, and; 4. Synthesise findings in a manner which aids the design of future interventions and further research