Integrating housing wealth into the social safety net : the elderly in Moscow

The elderly in Russia have often been among those least able to cope with all the changes that have taken place during the transition. Unlike the situation prior to reform-when pensions were stable-they now face considerable uncertainty. If they have not been in poverty, many have been close to it. While the elderly have experienced difficulties, they have also been the beneficiaries of a very large transfer of wealth. In Russia, as in most transition economies, housing was privatized, under giveaway terms. As a result, although many elderly households have low incomes, based on their wealth, their deprivation would appear to be less serious. Unfortunately, in the absence of a developed financial system, it is difficult to use this wealth without selling it. In Russia, all households, not just the elderly, have not been able to borrow. The existence of such large unencumbered wealth holdings by lower income elderly households creates an opportunity to provide what might be termed"housing safety net insurance"at low public cost. More than reducing the incidence of poverty, such schemes could allow also many of the elderly to be able to move out of poverty and into middle income status. The authors explain why many of the elderly in the former Soviet Union (FSU), not just in Russia, are likely to have so much housing wealth. Then they discuss how financial instruments could access this wealth. The authors also discuss the empirical situation of the elderly in Moscow, illustrating the potential demand for such products. Finally, they suggest that the results for Moscow are likely to be similar in many other FSU countries because these countries also have elderly populations who also own a great deal of unencumbered housing wealth.Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance

Regulation of stanniocalcin-1 secretion by BeWo cells and first trimester human placental tissue from normal pregnancies and those at increased risk of developing preeclampsia.

Stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) is a multi-functional glycosylated peptide present in the plasma of healthy women postpartum and increased further in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. Although the STC-1 gene is expressed by the placenta what regulates its secretion and from which cells at the feto-maternal interface is unknown. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that the syncytiotrophoblast and cytotrophoblast are a major site of STC-1 protein expression in first trimester placental tissue. Further, in response to low oxygen, first trimester chorionic villous tissue from pregnancies at increased risk of developing preeclampsia secreted significantly more STC-1 than normal tissue under the same conditions. Using the human trophoblast cell line BeWo we have shown that low oxygen increased the secretion of STC-1 but it required co-stimulation with the Adenosine-3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) analogue, 8-Bromo adenosine-3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate cAMP (8 Br-cAMP) to reach significance. Inhibition of Hypoxia inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α) and the Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3 -Kinase)/AKT/Serum and glucocorticoid-induced kinase-1(SGK-1) pathway resulted in significant inhibition of STC-1 secretion. As both low oxygen and cAMP are known to play a central role in placental function, their regulation of STC-1 points to a potentially important role in the maintenance of a normal healthy pregnancy and we would hypothesize that it may act to protect against prolonged placental hypoxia seen in preeclampsia

Increased angiogenic factor secretion by decidual natural killer cells from pregnancies with high uterine artery resistance alters trophoblast function.

STUDY QUESTION Are the concentrations of factors secreted by decidual natural killer (dNK) cells from pregnancies at high risk of poor spiral artery remodelling different to those secreted from pregnancies at low risk? SUMMARY ANSWER Expression levels of PLGF, sIL-2R, endostatin and angiogenin were significantly increased by dNK cells from high-risk pregnancies, and angiogenin and endostatin were found to alter trophoblast function. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY During early pregnancy, maternal uterine spiral arteries are remodelled from small diameter, low-flow, high-resistance vessels into larger diameter, higher flow vessels, with low-resistance. This change is essential for the developing fetus to obtain sufficient oxygen and nutrients. dNK cells have been implicated in this process. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION dNK cells were isolated from first trimester terminations of pregnancies (obtained with local ethical approval) screened for normal- or high-resistance index, indicative of cases least (21%) likely to have developed pre-eclampsia had the pregnancy not been terminated (n = 18 each group). Secreted factors and the effects of these on the trophoblast cell line, SGHPL-4, were assessed in vitro. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS A multiplex assay was used to assess dNK cell-secreted factors. SGHPL-4 cell functions were assessed using time-lapse microscopy, 3D invasion assays, endothelial-like tube formation ability and western blot analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The expression levels of PLGF (P < 0.01), sIL-2R (P < 0.01), endostatin (P < 0.05) and angiogenin (P < 0.05) were significantly increased by dNK cells from high-risk pregnancies. Endostatin significantly decreased SGHPL-4 invasion (P < 0.05), SGHPL-4 tube formation (P < 0.05) and SGHPL-4 Aktser473 phosphorylation (P < 0.05). Angiogenin significantly decreased SGHPL-4 invasion (P < 0.05), but increased SGHPL-4 tube formation (P < 0.01) and decreased SGHPL-4 Aktser473 phosphorylation (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The culture of dNK cells and protein concentrations in vitro may not fully represent the in vivo situation. Although SGHPL-4 cells are extravillous trophoblast derived, further studies would be needed to confirm the roles of angiogenin and endostatin in vivo. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The altered expression of secreted factors of dNK cells may contribute to pregnancy disorders associated with poor spiral artery remodelling. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the Wellcome Trust (project reference 091550). R.F. was a recipient of a PhD studentship from the Division of Biomedical Sciences, St. George's, University of London. The authors have no conflict of interests

Electron impact excitations of S2 molecules

Low-energy electron impact excitations of S_2 molecules are studied using the fixed-bond R-matrix method based on state-averaged complete active space SCF orbitals. Integral cross sections are calculated for elastic electron collision as well as impact excitation of the 7 lowest excited electronic states. Also, differential cross sections are obtained for elastic collision and excitation of the a^1 Delta_g, b^1 Sigma_g^+ and B^3 Sigma_u^- states. The integrated cross section of optically allowed excitation of the B^3 Sigma_u^- state agrees reasonably well with the available theoretical result.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Chemical Physics Letters, in pres

Friendship groups and physical activity: qualitative findings on how physical activity is initiated and maintained among 10–11 year old children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many youth physical activity interventions have minimal effect. To design better interventions we need to understand more about the factors that influence youth activity. Application of self-determination theory to youth physical activity, particularly the relatedness and competence, might suggest that friends and friendship groups influence the initiation and maintenance of youth physical activity. In this study we examined this issue.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventeen focus groups were conducted with 113, 10–11 year old children, from 11 primary schools in Bristol, UK. Focus groups examined: 1) the nature of children's friendship groups; 2) associations between physical activity and social group status; and 3) how friendship groups affect the initiation and maintenance of physical activity. All focus groups were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using content analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants reported that there were three different types of friendship groups; School friends; Neighborhood friends; and Other Friends who were friends from organized activities or children of their parents' friends. Participants had multiple groups of friends and engaged in different activities with the different groups. Possessing several groups of friends was desirable as it kept the friendships fresh and interesting. Physical activity was perceived as a positive attribute and linked to social status among boys. Among girls the association between physical activity ability and social status was more complex, appearing to differ by the norms of the group to which participants belonged. Some participants reported that low activity ability could be perceived as desirable in some social groups. Participants reported that friends provide support to initiate physical activity via co-participation (i.e. engaging in activity together); modeling of being active; and providing verbal support to engage in activity. Enjoyment was the most important factor in maintaining activity participation with participating in activity with friends a key factor influencing enjoyment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Friendship groups affect both the initiation and maintenance of youth physical activity. Children belong to several groups and engage in different activities with different groups. Simple strategies that aim to promote physical activity via the different friendship groups could be an effective means of promoting increased physical activity in young people.</p

Robust Magnetic Polarons in Type-II (Zn,Mn)Te Quantum Dots

We present evidence of magnetic ordering in type-II (Zn, Mn) Te quantum dots. This ordering is attributed to the formation of bound magnetic polarons caused by the exchange interaction between the strongly localized holes and Mn within the dots. In our photoluminescence studies, the magnetic polarons are detected at temperatures up to ~ 200 K, with a binding energy of ~ 40 meV. In addition, these dots display an unusually small Zeeman shift with applied field (2 meV at 10 T). This behavior is explained by a small and weakly temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility due to anti-ferromagnetic coupling of the Mn spins

Measurement-induced decoherence and Gaussian smoothing of the Wigner distribution function

We study the problem of measurement-induced decoherence using the phase-space approach employing the Gaussian-smoothed Wigner distribution function. Our investigation is based on the notion that measurement-induced decoherence is represented by the transition from the Wigner distribution to the Gaussian-smoothed Wigner distribution with the widths of the smoothing function identified as measurement errors. We also compare the smoothed Wigner distribution with the corresponding distribution resulting from the classical analysis. The distributions we computed are the phase-space distributions for simple one-dimensional dynamical systems such as a particle in a square-well potential and a particle moving under the influence of a step potential, and the time-frequency distributions for high-harmonic radiation emitted from an atom irradiated by short, intense laser pulses.Comment: Accepted in Annals of Physic