Who avoids and who escapes from poverty during transition? - evidence from Polish panel data, 1993-96

The author uses four-year panel data from Poland's Household Budget Survey to explore the distinction between transitory and long-term poverty, a crucial distinction in designing and evaluating poverty reduction strategies. The author analyzes household welfare trajectories during the period 1993-96, to identify the long-term poor and to determine how relevant household asset endowments are as determinants of household poverty and vulnerability over time. He concludes that the chronically poor constitute a distinct and separate segments of the population, with low turnover. Among specific observations about factors that affect Poland's long-term poverty: 1) Variables in human capital significantly affected the pattern of repeated poverty and vulnerability. Larger households tended to experience poverty and vulnerability, mostly because they contained more children or other dependents. Households with elderly members and those headed by older people, by women rather than men, and by educated people of either gender were least likely to be poor. Poverty was unaffectedby the presence of a disabled person in the household. 2) Households with liquid assets or durables, or with access to financial resources, were less likely to be poor and vulnerable. Households appeared to take advantage of credit and loans to maintain their current level of consumption rather than to augment their stock of assets. 3) Households that were part of kinship networks were less at risk of falling into chronic poverty or vulnerability. 4) Household headed by pensioners were least in danger of impoverishment. Those most in danger were farm households (including"mixed"households headed by workers with an agricultural holding) and households heavily dependent on social welfare. 5) Household of employees were better off than self-employed households when income-based measures of poverty were used, but not when consumption-based measures were used. Neither groups was significantly vulnerable.Services&Transfers to Poor,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Public Health Promotion,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,Environmental Economics&Policies,Safety Nets and Transfers,Rural Poverty Reduction,Services&Transfers to Poor

On two-qubit states ordering with quantum discords

The counterintuitive effect of non-unique ordering of two-qubit states with quantum entanglement measures was discovered over ten years ago. More precisely, it was shown by Monte Carlo simulations that there exist states for which the entanglement of formation and the negativity do not impose the same ordering of states, i.e. $E_{F}(\rho_{AB}) \leq (\geq) E_{F}(\rho_{AB}^{\prime})$ is not equivalent to $N(\rho_{AB}) \leq (\geq) N(\rho_{AB}^{\prime})$. Recently, it was discovered that quantum discord and the geometric quantum discord do not necessarily imply the same ordering of two-qubit $X$-states, which means that the lack of the unique ordering of states with quantum entanglement measures goes beyond entanglement. Inspired by this observation, we study the problem of the states ordering with quantum discords, considering two-qubit Bell-diagonal states for analytical simplicity. In particular, we identify some classes of states for which the states ordering with quantum discords is preserved as long as the states belong to the same class and give a few illustrative examples.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Quantum discord and multipartite correlations

Recently, it was realized that quantum discord can be seen as the minimal amount of correlations which are lost when some local quantum operations are performed. Based on this formulation of quantum discord, we provide a systematical analysis of quantum and classical correlations present in both bipartite and multipartite quantum systems. As a natural result of this analysis, we introduce a new measure of the overall quantum correlations which is lower bounded by quantum discord.Comment: 7 page

Spatially Integrated Social Research and Official Statistics: Methodological Remarks and Empirical Results on Local Development

This paper aims to elucidate some aspects of confluence of thedevelopments in modern methods of spatial analysis and in the public statistics’data generating processes, along with empirical illustration of theseinterconnections from the development policy evaluation standpoint. Especially,how the growing availability of data at the finest level of territorial division(such as commune/gmina-level data within the Local Data Bank system) mayimprove decisional processes at the regional and local level, while payingspecial attention to allocation of resources assuming geographic system oftargeting public support or intervention. Three interrelated questions that areempirically treated in the context of both β-convergence and σ-convergence issues at the local level involve (i) measurement of the level of local(under)development /local deprivation; (ii) assessment of how responsive andequitable are distributive policies in the domain of area-addressed publicresources; and (iii) evaluation of their impacts in terms of convergence andsocial cohesion, which are among chief objectives of development policy(especially in the ‘new’ EU member states).Celem artykułu jest podkreślenie współzależności pomiędzy rozwojem nowoczesnych metod analizy przestrzennej a podażą odpowiednich danych generowanych w ramach statystyki publicznej. Przedmiotem rozważań jest sposób w jaki rosnąca dostępność danych na poziomie jednostek terytorialnych (gmin), może zwiększyć efektywność procesów decyzyjnych zachodzących na szczeblu lokalnym i regionalnym, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem decyzji dotyczących alokacji publicznych środków rozwoju (lokalnego) poprzez tzw. geograficzne adresowanie interwencji publicznych

Subexponential-Time Algorithms for Finding Large Induced Sparse Subgraphs

Let C and D be hereditary graph classes. Consider the following problem: given a graph G in D, find a largest, in terms of the number of vertices, induced subgraph of G that belongs to C. We prove that it can be solved in 2^{o(n)} time, where n is the number of vertices of G, if the following conditions are satisfied: - the graphs in C are sparse, i.e., they have linearly many edges in terms of the number of vertices; - the graphs in D admit balanced separators of size governed by their density, e.g., O(Delta) or O(sqrt{m}), where Delta and m denote the maximum degree and the number of edges, respectively; and - the considered problem admits a single-exponential fixed-parameter algorithm when parameterized by the treewidth of the input graph. This leads, for example, to the following corollaries for specific classes C and D: - a largest induced forest in a P_t-free graph can be found in 2^{O~(n^{2/3})} time, for every fixed t; and - a largest induced planar graph in a string graph can be found in 2^{O~(n^{3/4})} time

Progesterone, estradiol, arachidonic acid, oxytocin, forskolin and cAMP influence on aquaporin 1 and 5 expression in porcine uterine explants during the mid-luteal phase of the estrous cycle and luteolysis:an in vitro study

BACKGROUND: The cell membrane water channel protein, aquaporins (AQPs), regulate cellular water transport and cell volume and play a key role in water homeostasis. Recently, AQPs are considered as important players in the field of reproduction. In previous studies, we have established the presence of AQP1 and 5 in porcine uterus. Their expression at protein level altered in distinct tissues of the female reproductive system depending on the phase of the estrous cycle. However, the regulation of aquaporin genes and proteins expression has not been examined in porcine uterine tissue. Therefore, we have designed an in vitro experiment to explain whether steroid hormones, progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2), and other factors: oxytocine (OT), arachidonic acid (AA; substrate for prostaglandins synthesis) as well as forskolin (FSK; adenylate cyclase activator) and cAMP (second messenger, cyclic adenosine monophosphate) may impact AQPs expression. METHODS: Uterine tissues were collected on Days 10–12 and 14–16 of the estrous cycle representing the mid-luteal phase and luteolysis. Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to examine the expression of porcine AQP1 and AQP5. Their expression in the uterine explants was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The results indicated that uterine expression of AQP1 and AQP5 potentially remains under control of steroid hormones and AA-derived compounds (e.g. prostaglandins). P(4), E(2), AA, FSK and cAMP cause translocation of AQP5 from apical to the basolateral plasma membrane of the epithelial cells, which might affect the transcellular water movement (through epithelial cells) between uterine lumen and blood vessels. The AC/cAMP pathway is involved in the intracellular signals transduction connected with the regulation of AQPs expression in the pig uterus. CONCLUSIONS: This study documented specific patterns of AQP1 and AQP5 expression in response to P4, E2, AA, FSK and cAMP, thereby providing new indirect evidence of their role in maintaining the local fluid balance within the uterus during the mid-luteal phase of the estrous cycle and luteolysis in pigs

«БУТИ» ЧИ «МАТИ»: ПОЧУТТЯ СЕНСУ ЖИТТЯ ЯК ІНДИКАТОРА ДОРОСЛОСТІ

The attitude towards life is associated with the system of approved values. An awareness of the importance of values and striving to achieve them is the chance of a positive response to the question about the sense of life. The sense of life or its lack is closely tied to human existence. The attitude of «have» relies mainly on thriving for material goods and the attitude of «to be» is based on the objective to develop the interest, deepen the knowledge and help another person. The research involved 125 students, aged 21 – 26 years.Отношение к жизни непосредственно связано с выбранной системой ценностных ориентаций. Последние помогают человеку утвердительно ответить на вопрос о наличии смысла жизни и последовательно его воплощать. В общем, наличие смысла жизни, или его отсутствие, тесно связаны с человеческой экзистенцией. При этом категория «иметь» основывается в основном на поиске материальных благ, а категория «быть» – на развитии интересов, углублении знаний и стремлении помочь другому человеку. Исследованием охвачено 125 студентов в возрасте 21 – 26 лет.Ставлення до життя безпосередньо пов’язане з обраною системою ціннісних орієнтацій. Останні допомагають людині ствердно відповісти на питання про наявність сенсу життя та послідовно його втілювати. Загалом, наявність сенсу життя, або його відсутність, тісно пов’язані з людською екзистенцію. При цьому категорія «мати» спирається здебільшого на пошук матеріальних благ, а категорія «бути» – на розвиток зацікавлень, поглиблення знань і прагнення допомогти іншій людині. Дослідженням охоплено 125 студентів віком 21 – 26 років

The dynamics of poverty and the effectiveness of Poland's safety net (1993-96)

The author analyzes how the incidence of household endowments and the allocation of social benefits affect families'transitions into and out of poverty. Using panel data for 1993-96 from Poland's Household Budget Survey, and a framework based on sample survival analysis techniques, the author evaluates how various policies will affect households with specific characteristics that make them likely to become poor or to move out of poverty under different scenarios (including whether or not they receive a given amount of a particular type of social transfer). He also discusses how non-income sources of welfare, such as savings, credits, and loans, affect the likelihood that families will become or stop being poor. He concludes that family allowances and unemployment benefits, the two major social programs analyzed, have significant but different effects on different groups of households (characterized in terms of age, gender, marital status, and educational attainment of the head of household; the size, type, location, and sector of employment of the family or household; and the year in which the household fell into poverty). If the share of the family allowances in total household income were reduced by 1 percent, for example, the average length of poverty would be increased by roughly 2 percent. But a 1 percent change in unemployment benefits would yield a 3 percent change in the average duration of poverty. Differences in hazard rates for various subgroups would be even greater. Households in villages were much more likely to fall into poverty than households in cities and large towns, but the poor in towns and cities had more difficulty exiting poverty. There was generally less poverty mobility among households headed by public sector employees than among those headed byemployees in the private sector. Families with three or more children and one-parent families (and grandparents with children) faced the greatest risk of being poor; single-person households and childless married couples were the least endangered . Small nuclear families with one or two children and families without children fell between these two extremes.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Services&Transfers to Poor,Public Health Promotion,Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Poverty Assessment,Safety Nets and Transfers,Services&Transfers to Poor,Rural Poverty Reduction,Health Monitoring&Evaluation