Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia

In this paper we measure the degree of income related inequality in mental health as measured by the GHQ instrument and general health as measured by the EQOL-5D instrument for the Catalan population. We find that income is the main contributor to inequality, although the share of inequality in mental health that can be explained by income is much greater than the corresponding share of inequality in general health. We also find that the variation in demographic structure reduces income related inequality in mental health but increases income related inequality in general health. The regional variations in both instruments for health are striking, with the Barcelona districts faring relatively bad with respect to the rest of geographical areas and Lleida being the health region where, all else held equal, the population reports the greatest level of health. A big share of inequality in the two health measures, but specially mental health, is due to the favourable position in both health and income of those who enjoy an indefinite contract with respect to the rest of individuals. We also find that risky working conditions affect both health measures and are able to explain an important share of socio-economic inequality.Health inequalities, decomposition analysis, Spain

Regional differences in socio-economic health inequalities in Spain

This paper reports an analysis of income related health inequalities at the Autonomous Community level in Spain using the self assessed health measure in the 2001 edition of the Encuesta Nacional de Salud. We use recently developed methods in order to cardinalise and model self assessed health within a regression framework, decompose the sources of inequality and explain the observed differences across regions. We find that the regions with the highest levels of mean health tend to enjoy the lowest degrees of income related health inequality and vice-versa. The main feature characterizing regions where income related health inequality is low is the absence of a positive gradient between income and health. In turn, the regions where income related health inequality is greater are characterized by a strong and significant positive gradient between health and income. These results suggest that policies aimed at eliminating the gradient between health and income can potentially lead to greate r reductions in socio-economic health inequalities than policies aimed at redistributing income.Health inequalities, decomnposition analysis, Spain

The evolution of inequity in the access to health care in Spain: 1987-2001

This paper reports an analysis of the evolution of equity in access to health care in Spain over the period 1987-2001, a time span covering the development of the modern Spanish National Health System. Our measures of access are the probabilities of visiting a doctor, using emergency services and being hospitalised. For these three measures we obtain indices of horizontal inequity from microeconometric models of utilization that exploit the individual information in the Spanish National Health Surveys of 1987 and 2001. We find that by 2001 the system has improved in the sense that differences in income no longer lead to different access given the same level of need. However, the tenure of private health insurance leads to differences in access given the same level of need, and its contribution to inequity has increased over time, both because insurance is more concentrated among the rich and because the elasticity of utilization for the three services has increased too.Health care utilization; health insurance; equity; Spain

Power systems with high renewable energy sources: A review of inertia and frequency control strategies over time

Traditionally, inertia in power systems has been determined by considering all the rotating masses directly connected to the grid. During the last decade, the integration of renewable energy sources, mainly photovoltaic installations and wind power plants, has led to a significant dynamic characteristic change in power systems. This change is mainly due to the fact that most renewables have power electronics at the grid interface. The overall impact on stability and reliability analysis of power systems is very significant. The power systems become more dynamic and require a new set of strategies modifying traditional generation control algorithms. Indeed, renewable generation units are decoupled from the grid by electronic converters, decreasing the overall inertia of the grid. ‘Hidden inertia’, ‘synthetic inertia’ or ‘virtual inertia’ are terms currently used to represent artificial inertia created by converter control of the renewable sources. Alternative spinning reserves are then needed in the new power system with high penetration renewables, where the lack of rotating masses directly connected to the grid must be emulated to maintain an acceptable power system reliability. This paper reviews the inertia concept in terms of values and their evolution in the last decades, as well as the damping factor values. A comparison of the rotational grid inertia for traditional and current averaged generation mix scenarios is also carried out. In addition, an extensive discussion on wind and photovoltaic power plants and their contributions to inertia in terms of frequency control strategies is included in the paper.This work was supported by the Spanish Education, Culture and Sports Ministry [FPU16/04282]

Novel fishnet-like chiral metamaterial structure with negative refractive index and low losses

In this work a composed chiral metamaterial structure constituted by the combination of a composite chiral metamaterial and a modified fishnet structure is presented and numerically analyzed. This new fishnet-like chiral metamaterial features two wide frequency bands wherein the refractive indices are negative and exhibits lower losses than its constituents do.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Government MINECO through the ERDF co-funded Research Projects TEC2014-55463-C3-1-P and TEC2014-55463-C3-3-P

Computer simulations of arrhythmia and ECG

2014/201

The Evolution of Inequity in the Access to Health Care in Spain: 1987-2001

This paper reports an analysis of the evolution of equity in access to health care in Spain over the period 1987-2001, a time span covering the development of the modern Spanish National Health System. Our measures of access are the probabilities of visiting a doctor, using emergency services and being hospitalised. For these three measures we obtain indices of horizontal inequity from microeconometric models of utilization that exploit the individual information in the Spanish National Health Surveys of 1987 and 2001. We find that by 2001 the system has improved in the sense that differences in income no longer lead to different access given the same level of need. However, the tenure of private health insurance leads to differences in access given the same level of need, and its contribution to inequity has increased over time, both because insurance is more concentrated among the rich and because the elasticity of utilization for the three services has increased too.This paper derives from the project “La dinámica del estado de salud y los factores socieconómicos a lo largo del ciclo vital. Implicaciones para las políticas públicas”, which is supported by the Fundación BBVA. Support from Ministerio de Educación project SEJ2005-09104-C02-02 is thankfully acknowledged

Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia

In this paper we measure the degree of income related inequality in mental health as measured by the GHQ instrument and general health as measured by the EQOL-5D instrument for the Catalan population. We find that income is the main contributor to inequality, although the share of inequality in mental health that can be explained by income is much greater than the corresponding share of inequality in general health. We also find that the variation in demographic structure reduces income related inequality in mental health and in general health. The regional variations in both instruments for health are striking, with the Barcelona districts faring relatively bad with respect to the rest of geographical areas and Lleida being the health region where, all else held equal, the population reports the greatest level of health. A big share of inequality in the two health measures, but specially mental health, is due to the favourable position in both health and income of those who enjoy an indefinite contract with respect to the rest of individuals. We also find that risky working conditions affect both health measures and are able to explain an important share of socio-economic inequality.This paper derives from the project “La dinámica del estado de salud y los factores socieconómicos a lo largo del ciclo vital. Implicaciones para las políticas públicas”, which is supported by the Fundación BBVA

Chiral metamaterial structure with high optical activity based on conjugated omega particles

In this communication the authors present a novel chiral metamaterial structure formed by planar omega particles These omega particles, arranged in conjugated pairs, present high optical activity. Thanks to the high values of chirality, the structure provides negative refractive index with high figure of merit.This work has been supported by the Spanish Government MINECO through the Research Projects TEC2014-55463-C3-1-P, TEC2014-55463-C3-3-P and by the European Commission (ERDF)

Parametric study of chiral metamaterial structures for enhancing radiation characteristics of planar antennas

Chiral Metamaterials are artificial composite materials exhibiting further properties neither observed in its constituents nor available in the nature, such as negative refractive indices or high polarization plane rotations, or enhancing the composite features relative to the individual properties of its constituents. In this communication a comparative parametric study of different plane chiral metamaterials presenting 3D chirality is performed. The obtained results show how rosette-type structures are more appropriate to improve the rotation of the polarization plane whereas specular-type assemblies are more suitable for obtaining broader band widths. Finally, the application of these structures as antenna plane covers for enhancing the antenna gain and axial ratio is also examined.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Government MINECO through the Research Projects CONSOLIDER CSD2008-00066 EMET and TEC2010-21496-C03-01