La composizione familiare e lÂ’imposta sul reddito delle persone fisiche: unÂ’analisi degli effetti redistributivi e alcune considerazioni sul benessere sociale

The paper provides an evaluation of the redistribution effects stemming from the changes to the personal income tax introduced in the last decade. The analysis confirms that between 1989 and 2001 the net average tax rate increased for all taxpayers and, above all, for one-earner couples. The reason is twofold: a) the progressivity of the tax makes larger the burden on these households of changes in income brackets and tax rates; b) the absence of dependent relatives does not allow the compensation of higher taxes with increased tax credits. However, these higher taxes are associated with a distribution of the tax burden that favours low income households with a high number of components, thanks to changes in tax credits. Concerning welfare effects, the results of the analysis are controversial. The net income distribution in 2001 dominates in Lorenz sense that of 1989 if the entire population is considered, if one-earner or two-earner households are separately taken into account, if the population is decomposed on the basis of the number of components in the family. The generalised Lorenz curves show that all one-earner and two-earner households in the lowest part of the income distribution have benefited from the changes in Irpef. The sequential stochastic dominance allows verifying that social welfare has increased for all one-earner households but the singles and has diminished for two-earner households.imposta sul reddito personale, famiglie, distribuzione del reddito, effetti redistributivi, effetti sul benessere, dominanza stocastica

Tassazione e costo del lavoro nei paesi industriali

Il lavoro analizza gli effetti sul costo del lavoro determinati dal livello e dalla composizione del prelievo fiscale su tale fattore produttivo. Esso fornisce in particolare una valutazione quantitativa della traslazione dellÂ’imposta sui costi con riferimento a quattordici paesi industriali nel periodo 1980-1996. I risultati dellÂ’analisi econometrica sono i seguenti; (i) il livello e la variazione del prelievo tributario e contributivo hanno effetti statisticamente significativi sul costo del lavoro; (ii) non vi è riscontro per lÂ’ipotesi dellÂ’invarianza dellÂ’incidenza del prelievo; lÂ’imposta sul reddito e i contributi sociali a carico del datore di lavoro hanno unÂ’influenza più marcata sui costi rispetto ai contributi a carico del lavoratore; (iii) la traslazione dellÂ’imposta è più forte in quei paesi europei caratterizzati da un sistema di contrattazione salariale intermedio tra completa decentralizzazione e piena centralizzazione. Alla luce di questi risultati, il lavoro fornisce infine una valutazione dei provvedimenti volti a ridurre il prelievo sul lavoro assunti in Italia negli ultimi anni. Tali provvedimenti mirano ad abbassare le due componenti del prelievo - imposta sul reddito e contributi sociali a carico del datore di lavoro - che esercitano alla luce dellÂ’analisi econometrica un effetto maggiore sul costo del lavoro.

The Italian public finances in the period 1998-2007: temporary factors, medium-term trends and discretionary measures

The paper examines the development of Italy’s public finances after the consolidation period 1992-97, which secured participation in the European Monetary Union from the outset. The “structural” developments in the main budgetary components are assessed, excluding the effects of the economic cycle and of temporary measures. The analysis shows a rapid deterioration in the years 1998-2003, whose roots can be traced back to the consolidation of the early 1990s, achieved primarily by means of tax increases and cuts in capital expenditure. Since 2004 there has been a structural improvement, initially modest but substantial in 2006 and 2007. Sustaining this adjustment and making further progress may again prove difficult, as the fiscal correction is similar in nature to the previous consolidation effort. Looking at the whole period 1998-2007, the deterioration of the public finances seems attributable to the difficulty to restrain the growth of current primary expenditure.structural budget, business cycle, temporary measures, public finances

Pension Expenditure Projections, Pension Liabilities and European Union Fiscal Rules

In the current debate on the European Union (EU) fiscal rules there is a widespread consensus on the need to place more focus on government debt and long-term fiscal sustainability in the surveillance of budgetary positions. More specifically, pension developments should be taken into account in assessing fiscal sustainability. The way to make this operational has not yet been defined. The paper examines the pension expenditure projections available in EU countries and their use in the assessment of fiscal sustainability. While acknowledging the progress in the availability and quality of projections, the paper notes that their comparability is still unsatisfactory. Any mechanical use of existing pension expenditure projections should therefore be avoided. The paper also examines the different definitions of pension liabilities and their potential role in the EU fiscal framework. It argues that pension liabilities may bring a clearer understanding of the impact of fiscal policies, may provide a measure of the cost of terminating pay-as-you-go pension schemes and may be useful for the measurement of deficits computed on accrual basis. However, the level of pension liabilities does not provide indications concerning the sustainability of pension schemes and their effects on public budgets. Pension liabilities should not be added to conventional debt. The paper argues that both pension expenditure projections and estimates of pension liabilities can complement the deficit and debt indicators currently used in the EU fiscal rules. The paper concludes by pointing to the need of improving some technical and organisational aspects concerning age-related expenditure projections, such as the independence of forecasters, the transparency of projections and the homogeneity of methods.

Explaining government revenue windfalls and shortfalls: an analysis for selected EU countries

In recent years, government revenues in many EU countries experienced significant and erratic changes, which, a priori, could not be fully explained by macroeconomic developments or by discretionary fiscal policy measures. We investigate this issue by estimating “unexplained” changes in tax and social contribution revenues, based on proxies for tax revenue bases and elasticities commonly used for forecasting or cyclically adjusting government revenues and taking into account estimates of the impact of legislation changes. This is done for a selection of EU countries, including the “big five” euro area countries (Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands) together with Ireland, Latvia and Portugal. We also undertake the same exercise using alternative tax base proxies, either taken from forecasting models or on the basis of our knowledge of the tax system in each country. The results show that, in the aggregate, revenue windfalls and shortfalls have exhibited a broadly cyclical pattern, driven mainly by developments in profit-related taxes and, to a somewhat lesser extent, VAT. Other, more structural factors also play a role, such as declining consumption of fuel and tobacco, as well as factors specific to individual countries, such as developments in property markets. The estimated revenue windfalls and shortfalls can explain a substantial proportion of changes in the euro area cyclically adjusted budget balance over the period 1999-2007. Since these unexplained revenue changes have exhibited a largely cyclical character and might therefore be viewed as partly temporary, this highlights the importance of a careful interpretation of fiscal indicators adjusted for the economic cycle. Except in a small number of cases, the results do not change significantly when alternative tax base proxies are used, suggesting that the potential for improving existing indicators by a better matching of taxes to their bases is likely to be limited. JEL Classification: H20, H68, E62cyclical adjustment, Fiscal forecasting, tax revenues

First water safety plan approach applied to a Dental Clinic complex: identification of new risk factors associated with Legionella and P. aeruginosa contamination, using a novel sampling, maintenance and management program

Dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) represent a complex environment able to promote microbial contamination, due to functional, mechanical and practical risk factors. According to a water safety plan approach, the main goal is to preserve the health of dentists, dental staff and patients. The aim of this study is to develop a DUWLs water safety plan that is able to support correct and effective maintenance and disinfection procedures. Three different water systems serve 60 dental chairs: (i) water that comes directly from municipal water (Type A), (ii) water supplied by municipal water and water bottles (Type B) and (iii) water supplied only via water bottles (Type C). For each type, Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa contamination was studied, by applying a new sampling scheme, based on separate sampling from water bottles, cup filler and handpieces. Type B DUWL is the only type of DUWL contaminated by L. pneumophila (ST 59) and L. anisa (mean contamination: 608.33 ± 253.33 cfu/L) detected in cup filler and handpieces, as well as the high presence of P. aeruginosa (44.42 ± 13.25 cfu/100 mL). Two subsequent shock treatments and resampling procedures were performed by increasing disinfectant dosage and contact time and removing some DUWL components linked to biofilm growth in DUWLs. A significant reduction of contamination was obtained for both microorganisms (Legionella spp.: −100%, p < 0.001 and P. aeruginosa: −99.86%, p = 0.006). The sampling strategy proposed allows us to identify the source of contamination and better focus on the maintenance and disinfection procedures. DUWLs represent an environment that requires a multidisciplinary approach, combining the knowledge of all DUWL components to correct procedures that are able to preserve the health of personnel and patients, as well as guaranteeing DUWLs’ safe functionality

Focusing on fatty acid profile in milk from different species after in vitro digestion

We report the fatty acid profile of raw milk and of the corresponding digested milk from different sources (human milk, formula milk and donkey, bovine, ovine and caprine milk) to gain information on the nutritional quality of different milk sources in infant nutrition.Short chain fatty acids (SC-FA) were higher in bovine and caprine milk, intermediate in ovine and donkey and lower in human and formula milk. Medium chain fatty acids (MC-FA) showed the highest values for bovine and caprine milk and the lowest for donkey and formula milk, whereas long chain fatty acids (LC-FA) were the highest in donkey and formula milk and intermediate in human milk.The percentage distribution of fatty acids liberated after in vitro digestion did not reflect the patterns found in the corresponding milk sources. In particular, MC free fatty acids (MC-FFA) showed the highest and the lowest values in donkey and in formula milk, LC-FFA showed the highest value in human milk. The total FFA was highest in human milk, lowest in formula milk and intermediate in donkey, bovine, ovine, and caprine milk

IMAGE CYTOMETRY FOR DNA ANALYSIS IN ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA CORRELATED WITH OTHER PROGNOSTIC PARAMETERS

We evaluated by static cytometry DNA ploidy parameters in 30 stage I-IV endometrial carcinomas and correlated these data with standard clinical-pathological features and disease-free period. We observed a direct correlation between either non-diploid DNA content and deeper myometrial invasion (p<0.02) or D.I.greater than or equal to 1.2 and M2-M3 tumors (p<0.009). The Kaplan Meier survival curves illustrate a more rapid relapse of disease associated with non-diploidy, high 5cExR, high level of proliferation and D.I.greater than or equal to 1.2. while Cox regression model gave relative hazards for disease recurrence of 4, 6, 3.7 and 2.1 for non-diploidy, D.I.greater than or equal to 1.2, high 5cExR and high level of proliferation respectively. This prospective study confirmed the prognostic value of DNA Index, and its usefulness in clinical practice especially in stage I cases, otherwise characterised by favourable standard prognostic factors, is discussed

Milk from different species: Relationship between protein fractions and inflammatory response in infants affected by generalized epilepsy.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of protein fractions from bovine, caprine, and ovine milk on production of cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) by cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBC) from infants with generalized epilepsy. Bovine, caprine, and ovine bulk milks were pasteurized and analyzed for chemical composition. Then, PBMC were isolated from 10 patients with generalized epilepsy (5 males; mean age 33.6±5.4mo). Production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-10, IL-6, and IL-1β was studied in cultured PBMC (from infants with epilepsy and controls) stimulated by bovine, caprine, and ovine milk and casein and whey protein fractions, and levels of ROS and RNS were measured in the culture supernatant. The ability of PBMC to secrete cytokines in response to milk and protein fraction stimulation may predict the secretion of soluble factor TNF-α in the bloodstream of challenged patients. Bovine, caprine, and ovine bulk milks induced low-level production of IL-10 by cultured PBMC in at least 50% of cases; the same behavior was observed in both casein and whey protein fractions for all species studied. Bovine and ovine milk and their casein fractions induced production of lower levels of IL-1β in 80% of patients, whereas caprine milk and its casein fraction induced the highest levels in 80% of patients. The amount of IL-6 detected after stimulation of PBMC by milk and its fractions for all species was lower than that of other proinflammatory cytokines. In the bovine, total free radicals were higher in bulk milk and lower in the casein fraction, whereas the whey protein fraction showed an intermediate level; in caprine, ROS/RNS levels were not different among milk fractions, whereas ovine had higher levels for bulk milk and casein than the whey protein fraction. Lower levels of ROS/RNS detected in PBMC cultured with caprine milk fraction could be responsible for the lower levels of TNF-α cytokine in the corresponding fraction. Cytokines might be useful biomarkers to discriminate the effects of foods on the inflammatory response; dietary strategies could help in alleviating the negative effects of epilepsy in infants

Case Report: First Report of Fatal Legionella pneumophila and Klebsiella pneumoniae Coinfection in a Kidney Transplant Recipient

A very rare case of pulmonary Klebsiella pneumoniae-Legionella pneumophila coinfection in a double kidney transplanted man affected by the chronic renal disease is described. Cases of Legionnaires’ disease with an incubation period of 14 days have rarely been documented. Despite the long period of hospitalization, typing of clinical and environmental L. pneumophila strains demonstrated that the patient’s home water distribution system was the source of infection, highlighting that Legionella house contamination can be a hidden risk, especially for immune-compromised people