Why Do Young Adults Retreat from Marriage? An Easterlin Relative Income Approach

Easterlin's relative income hypothesis refers to the current income of young adults compared to the level of material aspirations acquired during childhood. The hypothesis implies that young individuals are expected to reduce fertility if their material aspirations grow at a higher rate than their incomes. This paper examines whether the same hypothesis holds true for marriage. A higher (lower) level of income combined with a lower (higher) level of material aspirations would increase (decrease) relative income and consequently could affect marriage rates. Thus, relative income might be one explanation for the "marriage paradox" which indicates that young adults in the United States retreat from marriage despite perceiving it as a milestone of their lives. One might also expect relative income to be a better predictor of marriage than absolute income. This is because, according to the Easterlin hypothesis, the behaviour of young adults reflects not only their response to changes in external conditions (e.g. absolute income), but also to past events they have experienced. We employ panel dynamic methods and causality tests for the United States that span the period from 1981 to 2016. Empirical analysis supports the relative income hypothesis. Causality tests indicate that the relationship runs mostly from relative income to marriage rather than the other way round. Relative income emerges as a stronger predictor than absolute income in all of the methods employed

How would the war and the pandemic affect the stock and cryptocurrency cross-market linkages?

This paper studies the cross-market linkages between six international stock markets and the two major cryptocurrency markets during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By employing the local (partial) Gaussian correlation approach, we find that during the Covid-19 pandemic period both cryptocurrency markets possess limited diversification and safe haven properties, which further diminish during the war. Bootstrap tests for contagion suggest that during the Covid-19 pandemic the East Asian markets lead the transmission of contagion towards the two cryptocurrency markets. During the Russian invasion, the US stock market emerges as the principal transmitter of contagion. Uncovering the role of pandemic (Infectious Disease EMV Index) and geopolitical risk (GPR index) induced uncertainties, we find that under conditions of high uncertainty and financial distress the dependency between the US and UK stock markets with both cryptocurrency markets increases considerably. The latter is more profound during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

Sovereign bond and CDS market contagion: A story from the Eurozone crisis.

We examine the asymmetric and nonlinear nature of the cross- and intra-market linkages of eleven EMU sovereign bond and CDS markets during 2006-2018. By adopting the excess correlation concept of Bekaert et al. (2005) and the local Gaussian correlation approach of Tjøstheim and Hufthammer (2013), we find that contagion phenomena occurred during two major phases. The first, extends from late 2009 to mid 2011 and concerns the outright contagion transmission from EMU South bond markets towards all European CDS markets. The second, is during the revived fears of a Greek exit in November 2011 and is characterized by contagion from (i) CDS spreads in the EMU South towards bond yields in the same bloc and Belgium, and (ii) from Italian and Spanish CDS spreads towards all European CDS spreads. Consistent with their “too big to bail out” status, Italy and Spain emerge as pivotal for the evolution of sovereign credit risk across the Eurozone. Our examination of the relevant mechanisms, highlights the importance of credit risk over liquidity risk, and the containment effect of the naked CDS ban

Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Cellular Senescence

Cellular senescence refers to a stress response aiming to preserve cellular and, therefore, organismal homeostasis. Importantly, deregulation of mitochondrial homeostatic mechanisms, manifested as impaired mitochondrial biogenesis, metabolism and dynamics, has emerged as a hallmark of cellular senescence. On the other hand, impaired mitostasis has been suggested to induce cellular senescence. This review aims to provide an overview of homeostatic mechanisms operating within mitochondria and a comprehensive insight into the interplay between cellular senescence and mitochondrial dysfunction

Marine-Derived Surface Active Agents: Health-Promoting Properties and Blue Biotechnology-Based Applications

Surface active agents are characterized for their capacity to adsorb to fluid and solid-water interfaces. They can be classified as surfactants and emulsifiers based on their molecular weight (MW) and properties. Over the years, the chemical surfactant industry has been rapidly increasing to meet consumer demands. Consequently, such a boost has led to the search for more sustainable and biodegradable alternatives, as chemical surfactants are non-biodegradable, thus causing an adverse effect on the environment. To these ends, many microbial and/or marine-derived molecules have been shown to possess various biological properties that could allow manufacturers to make additional health-promoting claims for their products. Our aim, in this review article, is to provide up to date information of critical health-promoting properties of these molecules and their use in blue-based biotechnology (i.e., biotechnology using aquatic organisms) with a focus on food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical/biomedical applications

Key Learning Outcomes for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Education in Europe: A Modified Delphi Study.

Harmonizing clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in Europe is necessary to ensure that the prescribing competency of future doctors is of a uniform high standard. As there are currently no uniform requirements, our aim was to achieve consensus on key learning outcomes for undergraduate CPT education in Europe. We used a modified Delphi method consisting of three questionnaire rounds and a panel meeting. A total of 129 experts from 27 European countries were asked to rate 307 learning outcomes. In all, 92 experts (71%) completed all three questionnaire rounds, and 33 experts (26%) attended the meeting. 232 learning outcomes from the original list, 15 newly suggested and 5 rephrased outcomes were included. These 252 learning outcomes should be included in undergraduate CPT curricula to ensure that European graduates are able to prescribe safely and effectively. We provide a blueprint of a European core curriculum describing when and how the learning outcomes might be acquired

Sovereign bond and CDS market contagion: A story from the Eurozone crisis.

We examine the asymmetric and nonlinear nature of the cross- and intra-market linkages of eleven EMU sovereign bond and CDS markets during 2006-2018. By adopting the excess correlation concept of Bekaert et al. (2005) and the local Gaussian correlation approach of Tjøstheim and Hufthammer (2013), we find that contagion phenomena occurred during two major phases. The first, extends from late 2009 to mid 2011 and concerns the outright contagion transmission from EMU South bond markets towards all European CDS markets. The second, is during the revived fears of a Greek exit in November 2011 and is characterized by contagion from (i) CDS spreads in the EMU South towards bond yields in the same bloc and Belgium, and (ii) from Italian and Spanish CDS spreads towards all European CDS spreads. Consistent with their “too big to bail out” status, Italy and Spain emerge as pivotal for the evolution of sovereign credit risk across the Eurozone. Our examination of the relevant mechanisms, highlights the importance of credit risk over liquidity risk, and the containment effect of the naked CDS ban

Sovereign bond and CDS market contagion: A story from the Eurozone crisis

International audienceWe examine the asymmetric and nonlinear nature of the cross-and intra-market linkages of eleven EMU sovereign bond and CDS markets during 2006-2018. By adopting the excess correlation concept of Bekaert et al. (2005) and the local Gaussian correlation approach of Tjøstheim and Hufthammer (2013), we find that contagion phenomena occurred during two major phases. The first, extends from late 2009 to mid 2011 and concerns the outright contagion transmission from EMU South bond markets towards all European CDS markets. The second, is during the revived fears of a Greek exit in November 2011 and is characterized by contagion from (i) CDS spreads in the EMU South towards bond yields in the same bloc and Belgium, and (ii) from Italian and Spanish CDS spreads towards all European CDS spreads. Consistent with their "too big to bail out" status, Italy and Spain emerge as pivotal for the evolution of sovereign credit risk across the Eurozone. Our examination of the relevant mechanisms, highlights the importance of credit risk over liquidity risk, and the containment effect of the naked CDS ban

Mesenchymal stem cells in preclinical cancer cytotherapy: a systematic review

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) comprise a heterogeneous population of rapidly proliferating cells that can be isolated from adult (e.g., bone marrow, adipose tissue) as well as fetal (e.g., umbilical cord) tissues (termed bone marrow (BM)-, adipose tissue (AT)-, and umbilical cord (UC)-MSC, respectively) and are capable of differentiation into a wide range of non-hematopoietic cell types. An additional, unique attribute of MSC is their ability to home to tumor sites and to interact with the local supportive microenvironment which rapidly conceptualized into MSC-based experimental cancer cytotherapy at the turn of the century. Towards this purpose, both naïve (unmodified) and genetically modified MSC (GM-MSC; used as delivery vehicles for the controlled expression and release of antitumorigenic molecules) have been employed using well-established in vitro and in vivo cancer models, albeit with variable success. The first approach is hampered by contradictory findings regarding the effects of naïve MSC of different origins on tumor growth and metastasis, largely attributed to inherent biological heterogeneity of MSC as well as experimental discrepancies. In the second case, although the anti-cancer effect of GM-MSC is markedly improved over that of naïve cells, it is yet apparent that some protocols are more efficient against some types of cancer than others. Regardless, in order to maximize therapeutic consistency and efficacy, a deeper understanding of the complex interaction between MSC and the tumor microenvironment is required, as well as examination of the role of key experimental parameters in shaping the final cytotherapy outcome. This systematic review represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first thorough evaluation of the impact of experimental anti-cancer therapies based on MSC of human origin (with special focus on human BM-/AT-/UC-MSC). Importantly, we dissect the commonalities and differences as well as address the shortcomings of work accumulated over the last two decades and discuss how this information can serve as a guide map for optimal experimental design implementation ultimately aiding the effective transition into clinical trials

Islet amyloid polypeptide inhibits glucagon release and exerts a dual action on insulin release from isolated islets.

We have studied the influence of a wide concentration range of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) on both glucagon and insulin release stimulated by various types of secretagogues. In an islet incubation medium devoid of glucose, the rate of glucagon release being high, we observed a marked suppressive action by low concentrations of IAPP, 10−10 and 10−8 M, on glucagon release. Similarly, glucagon release stimulated by Image-arginine, the cholinergic agonist carbachol, or the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethyl xanthine (IBMX), an activator of the cyclic AMP system, was inhibited by IAPP in the 10−10 and 10−8 M concentration range. Moreover, basal glucagon release at 7 and 10 mM glucose was suppressed by IAPP. In contrast, IAPP exerted a dual action on insulin release. Hence, low concentrations of IAPP brought about a modest increase of basal insulin secretion at 7 mM glucose and also of insulin release stimulated by carbachol. High concentrations of IAPP, however, inhibited insulin release stimulated by glucose (10 and 16.7 mM), IBMX, carbachol and Image-arginine. In conclusion, our data suggest that IAPP has complex effects on islet hormone secretion serving as an inhibitor of glucagon release and having a dual action on insulin secretion exerting mainly a negative feedback on stimulated and a positive feedback on basal insulin release