How Demanding Should Equality of Opportunity Be, and How Much Have We Achieved?

[Excerpt] This chapter proposes tests of various notions of equality of opportunity and applies them to intergenerational income data for the United States and Britain. Agreement is widespread that equality of opportunity holds in a society if the chances that individuals have to succeed depend only on their own efforts and not on extraneous circumstances that may inhibit or expand those chances. What is contentious, however, is what constitutes effort and circumstances. Most people, we think, would say that the social connections of an individual\u27s parents would be included among circumstances: equality of opportunity is incomplete if some individuals get ahead because they have well-connected parents. This and other channels through which circumstances affect income opportunities in an intergenerational context are discussed in Section 2. Section 3 then formulates four, increasingly stringent criteria for equality of opportunity. In Section 4, we turn to an empirical implementation of these criteria to test for equality of opportunity in the United States and Britain. The results, presented in Section 5, provide only the weakest of support for equality of opportunity in the United States and no support at all in Britain. Concluding remarks are presented in Section 6

Las bentonitas de la zona sur de Cabo de Gata (Almería). Geoquímica y Mineralogía

[ES] Se han estudiado las caracteristicas quimicas y mineralógicas de las bentonitas y esmectitas de esta region, asi como sus principales parametros cristalogdficos y fórmulas estructurales de las esmectitas.[EN] The chemical and mineralogical characteristics of bentonites and smectites of this region, as well as their main crystallographic parameters and structural formulae were studied. The bentonites are constituted by smectite (unique mineral present in the fine fraction), jarosite, zeolite and trydimite, as neoformed minerals, and by plagioclase, K feldspar, amphibole and mica as minerals inherited from parent materials. The values for crystallographic parameters of smectites and the variation range for structural cations are in accordance with those found by other authors for dioctahedral smectites.Peer reviewe

Biometric study of apis mellifera population from central Portugal and Madeira

Las abejas melíferas que habitan en la Península Ibérica han sido descritas tradicionalmente como pertenecientes a la raza Apis mellifera iberica. La raza iberica está constituida por animales de color oscuro y de un gran vigor, su comportamiento es algo nervioso y la enjambraz .n se considera como moderada. Desde un punto de vista morfológico, son pocos los trabajos en los que se han estudiado estos seres vivos, incluyendo la bibliografía existente descripciones más o menos extensas de los que habitan en la región mediterránea, Asturias y la Submeseta Norte. Si admitimos que diferentes condiciones climáticas han debido de tener efectos selectivos sobre las características de estos insectos, resulta muy interesante estudiar abejas procedentes de diferentes localizaciones, para conocer la variabilidad existente. En el presente trabajo hemos estudiado 16 caracteres morfológicos, en 18 muestras de abejas obreras oriundas del centro de Portugal y de la isla de Madeira. Los resultados indican que las abejas del centro de Portugal constituyen un grupo morfológico, en el que no se aprecian grandes diferencias entre las distintas localizaciones geográficas. Los animales procedentes de Madeira también forman un conjunto morfológico, en el que, cuando se estudia de forma conjunta con las muestras procedentes de Portugal, el análisis canónico muestra un solapamiento parcial de las poblaciones

Discriminación entre poblaciones de abejas (apis mellifera L.) del sur de España, centro de Portugal y Madeira

Tradicionalmente se ha considerado que las abejas que viven en la Península Ibérica pertenecen a la raza Apis mellifera iberica, que se encuentra emparentada con la raza A. m. intermissa que coloniza el norte de África y la raza A. m. mellifera originaria de Europa occidental. Las abejas obreras procedentes de España y Portugal, se han descrito como animales de color azabache, con pilosidad y tomento de tamaño mediano, y una probóscide bastante larga; encontrando algunos autores que los animales del sur tenían una pilosidad más corta y una probóscide más larga, que sus familiares procedentes del norte. En el presente trabajo hemos estudiado 34 muestras de abejas obreras procedentes de dos zonas de nuestra península (el sur de España y el centro de Portugal), y del Archipiélago de Madeira, para rastrear la existencia de posibles diferencias morfológicas. Los resultados muestran que los animales constituyen tres grupos morfológicos, identificables mediante un análisis canónico. Uno de ellos incluye a los procedentes del centro de Portugal, otro está formado por los oriundos de Córdoba, y el tercero está constituido por los procedentes de la isla de Madeira y de la Sierra de Cazorla

Picolyl−NHC Hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate Ruthenium(II) Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Reactivity with Small Molecules

Ruthenium(II) hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate chloro complexes bearing picolyl-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes [TpRu- (κ2-C,N-picolyl-RI)Cl] (picolyl-MeI = 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2- ylidene) (1a), picolyl-iPrI = 3-isopropyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1b), picolyl-Me45DClI = 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)-4,5-dichloroimidazol- 2-ylidene (1c), picolyl-PhI = 3-phenyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1d), picolyl-MeBI = 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)benzoimidazol-2-ylidene (1e)) have been synthesized and characterized. Furthermore, cationic carbonyl derivatives 2a−e have been prepared, characterized, and used to study the donor properties of the picolylcarbene ligands (picolyl-RI) via infrared spectroscopy. Also, the reactivity of the 16-electron species [TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-RI)]+, in situ generated using NaBArF 4 (ArF = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) as a halide scavenger, toward N2, CH3CN, H2, CH2CH2, S8, and O2 was studied indicating a strong influence of the NHC wingtip and backbone substituents in the product distribution. The crystal structures of [TpRu(κ2- C,N-picolyl-iPrI)Cl] (1b), [TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-MeI)CO][BArF 4] (2a), [TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-PhI)CO][BArF 4] (2d), [{TpRu(κ2- C,N-picolyl-MeI}2(μ-N2)][BArF 4]2 (3′a), [{TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-PhI)}2(μ-N2)][BArF 4]2 (3′d), [TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-iPrI)(η2- CH2CH2)][BArF 4] (5b), and [{TpRu(κ2-C,N-picolyl-MeI)}2(μ-S2)][BArF 4]2 (6) are reported

Ruthenium(II) Picolyl-NHC Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Activity in Amine N‑alkylation and Transfer Hydrogenation Reactions

Ruthenium(II) p-cymene complexes with picolylfunctionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes [(η6-p-cymene)Ru(L)(Cl)]- [PF6] (L = 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1a), 3- isopropyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1b), 3,4,5-trimethyl- 1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1c), 3-mesityl-1-(2-picolyl)- imidazol-2-ylidene (1d), 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)benzoimidazol- 2-ylidene (1e), 3-methyl-1-(2-picolyl)-4,5-dichloroimidazol-2- ylidene (1f), 3-phenyl-1-(2-picolyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (1g)) have been synthesized and characterized. Compounds 1a−g were recrystallized, and X-ray crystal structures are reported for 1a,f. Furthermore, compounds 1a−f show catalytic activity in transfer hydrogenation of ketones and N-alkylation of amines. Notably, complexes 1a,c,f were found to be very efficient and versatile catalysts toward transfer hydrogenation of a wide range of ketones and imines in addition to N-alkylation of several amines

In silico drug repurposing for the identification of potential candidate molecules against arboviruses infection

Arboviral diseases caused by dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses represent a major public health problem worldwide, especially in tropical areas where millions of infections occur every year. The aim of this research was to identify candidate molecules for the treatment of these diseases among the drugs currently available in the market, through in silico screening and subsequent in vitro evaluation with cell culture models of DENV and ZIKV infections. Numerous pharmaceutical compounds from antibiotics to chemotherapeutic agents presented high in silico binding affinity for the viral proteins, including ergotamine, antrafenine, natamycin, pranlukast, nilotinib, itraconazole, conivaptan and novobiocin. These five last compounds were tested in vitro, being pranlukast the one that exhibited the best antiviral activity. Further in vitro assays for this compound showed a significant inhibitory effect on DENV and ZIKV infection of human monocytic cells and human hepatocytes (Huh-7 cells) with potential abrogation of virus entry. Finally, intrinsic fluorescence analyses suggest that pranlukast may have some level of interaction with three viral proteins of DENV: envelope, capsid, and NS1. Due to its promising results, suitable accessibility in the market and reduced restrictions compared to other pharmaceuticals; the anti-asthmatic pranlukast is proposed as a drug candidate against DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV, supporting further in vitro and in vivo assessment of the potential of this and other lead compounds that exhibited good affinity scores in silico as therapeutic agents or scaffolds for the development of new drugs against arboviral diseases. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, UTP: TRFCI-1P2016 National Institutes of Health, NIH National Institutes of Health, NIH: R01 AI24493 Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Queensland Government, DSITI: 811-2018 Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, UNABThe authors wish to thank the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia [Grant: Colciencias No. 811-2018 ], Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México [Grant: Programa de Becas Posdoctorales en la UNAM 2016 ], Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar [Grant: TRFCI-1P2016 ] and the National Institutes of Health [NIH grant R01 AI24493 ] for their financial support. Appendix AA continuación se relacionan los compuestos químicos y su número de registro CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) antrafenine, 55300-29-3; conivaptan, 168626-94-6, 210101-16-9; ergotamine, 113-15-5, 52949-35-6; itraconazole, 84625-61-6; natamycin, 52882-37-8, 7681-93-8; nilotinib, 641571-10-0; novobiocin, 1476-53-5, 303-81-1, 39301-00-3, 4309-70-0; pranlukast, 103177-37-

Morphometric analysis of airways in pre-COPD and mild COPD lungs using continuous surface representations of the bronchial lumen

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a prevalent respiratory disease that presents a high rate of underdiagnosis during onset and early stages. Studies have shown that in mild COPD patients, remodeling of the small airways occurs concurrently with morphological changes in the proximal airways. Despite this evidence, the geometrical study of the airway tree from computed tomography (CT) lung images remains underexplored due to poor representations and limited tools to characterize the airway structure.Methods: We perform a comprehensive morphometric study of the proximal airways based on geometrical measures associated with the different airway generations. To this end, we leverage the geometric flexibility of the Snakes IsoGeometric Analysis method to accurately represent and characterize the airway luminal surface and volume informed by CT images of the respiratory tree. Based on this framework, we study the airway geometry of smoking pre-COPD and mild COPD individuals.Results: Our results show a significant difference between groups in airway volume, length, luminal eccentricity, minimum radius, and surface-area-to-volume ratio in the most distal airways.Discussion: Our findings suggest a higher degree of airway narrowing and collapse in COPD patients when compared to pre-COPD patients. We envision that our work has the potential to deliver a comprehensive tool for assessing morphological changes in airway geometry that take place in the early stages of COPD