Opening the black box of under-health people: the case of Spain

ABSTRACT: The most famous modern definition of health was created during a Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization in 1946: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This definition has not been amended and, since then, many indicators have been proposed to measure health such as Self-Assessed Health (SAH) status. It provides an overall measure of a population's health based on individuals' personal perceptions of their own health. In this paper, we focus our analysis on "under-health" as the fact of having a level that falls behind the health requirements necessary to perform what is considered an "expected life based on Self Assessed Health". For Spain using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), we can confirm there exist under-healthy people by occupation, age group and sex. Additionally, under-healthy workers are most likely to be found among skilled agricultural, fishery workers and elementary occupations

A genetic modifier screen identifies chromosomal intervals harboring potential midline interacting genes

This work investigates the growth of B-C-N layers by chemical vapor deposition using methylamine borane (MeAB) as single-source precursor. MeAB has been synthesized and characterized, paying particular attention to the analysis of its thermolysis products, which are the gaseous precursors for B-C-N growth. Samples have been grown on Cu foils and transferred onto different substrates for their morphological, structural, chemical, electronic and optical characterizations. The results of these characterizations indicate a segregation of h-BN and Graphene-like (Gr) domains. However, there is an important presence of B and N interactions with C at the Gr borders, and of C interacting at the h-BN-edges, respectively, in the obtained nano-layers. In particular, there is significant presence of C-N bonds, at Gr/h-BN borders and in the form of N doping of Gr domains. The overall B:C:N contents in the layers is close to 1:3:1.5. A careful analysis of the optical bandgap determination of the obtained B-C-N layers is presented, discussed and compared with previous seminal works with samples of similar composition.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figure

Financial crisis and income-related inequalities in the universal provision of a public service: the case of healthcare in Spain

Background The objective of this paper is to analyse whether the recent recession has altered health care utilisation patterns of different income groups in Spain. Methods Based on information concerning individuals ‘income and health care use, along with health need indicators and demographic characteristics (provided by the Spanish National Health Surveys from 2006/07 and 2011/12), econometric models are estimated in two parts (mixed logistic regressions and truncated negative binominal regressions) for each of the public health services studied (family doctor appointments, appointments with specialists, hospitalisations, emergencies and prescription drug use). Results The results show that the principle of universal access to public health provision does not in fact prevent a financial crisis from affecting certain income groups more than others in their utilisation of public health services. Conclusions Specifically, in relative terms the recession has been more detrimental to low-income groups in the cases of specialist appointments and hospitalisations, whereas it has worked to their advantage in the cases of emergency services and family doctor appointments

Effect of having private health insurance on the use of health care services: the case of Spain

Background: Several stakeholders have undertaken initiatives to propose solutions towards a more sustainable health system and Spain, as an example of a European country affected by austerity measures, is looking for ways to cut healthcare budgets. Methods: The aim of this paper is to study the effect of private health insurance on health care utilization using the latest micro-data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), the Spanish National Health Survey (SNHS) and the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We use matching techniques based on propensity score methods: single match, four matches, bias-adjustment and allowing for heteroskedasticity. Results: The results demonstrate that people with a private health insurance, use the public health system less than individuals without double health insurance coverage. Conclusions: Our conclusions are useful when policy makers design public-private partnership policie

Decomposing socio-economic inequalities in leisure-time physical inactivity: the case of Spanish children

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and entails a substantial economic burden for health systems. Also, the analysis of inequality in lifestyles for young populations may contribute to reduce health inequalities during adulthood. This paper examines the income-related inequality regarding leisure-time physical inactivity in Spanish children. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study based on the Spanish National Health Survey for 2011-12, concentration indices are estimated to measure socioeconomic inequalities in leisure-time physical inactivity. A decomposition analysis is performed to determine the factors that explain income-related inequalities. RESULTS: There is a significant socioeconomic gradient favouring the better-off associated with leisure-time physical inactivity amongst Spanish children, which is more pronounced in the case of girls. Income shows the highest contribution to total inequality, followed by education of the head of the household. The contribution of several factors (education, place of residence, age) significantly differs by gender. CONCLUSIONS: There is an important inequity in the distribution of leisure-time physical inactivity. Public policies aimed at promoting physical activity for children should prioritize the action into the most disadvantaged subgroups of the population. As the influence of determinants of health styles significantly differ by gender, this study points out the need of addressing the research on income-related inequalities in health habits from a gender perspective

Electrical and geometrical tuning of MoS2 field effect transistors:Via direct nanopatterning

Mechanically exfoliated van der Waals materials can be used to prepare proof-of-concept electronic devices. Their optoelectronic properties strongly depend on the geometry and number of layers present in the exfoliated flake. Once the device fabrication steps have been completed, tuning the device response is complex, since the geometry and number of layers cannot be easily modified. In this work, we employ Pulsed Focused Electron Beam Induced Etching (PFEBIE) to tailor the geometry and electronic properties of field effect transistors based on mechanically exfoliated Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) flakes. First, MoS2 field effect transistors are fabricated via optical lithography and conventional methods. Then, the geometry of the MoS2 source-drain conduction channel is modified employing a Xenon difluoride (XeF2) gas injection nozzle combined with a pulsed electron beam pattern-generation system. Electrical characterization of devices carried out before and after the nanopatterning step via PFEBIE reveals a shift in the doping from N-type towards P-type. We attribute this change to sulfur vacancies induced during the direct nanopatterning step. This is confirmed by micro-Raman and micro-Photoluminescence spectroscopy experiments. The direct nanopatterning method allows us to fine-tune the geometry and thus the electronic properties of the devices, once the conventional fabrication steps have been completed. The success rate of our tailoring method exceeds 85% when tuning the geometry of the flake into a 250 nm wide and straight conduction channel between source and drain

Tailoring of the optoelectronic properties of few layer Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) Devices via Pulsed eBeam Gas Assisted Patterning

Two dimensional materials have received much attention in recent years for their outstanding properties. Semiconducting 2D MoS2 is considered a good candidate for device applications due to its superior electrical and optical properties. Optoelectronic properties of MoS2 flakes strongly depend on the geometry and number of atomic layers present in the flake. In general, these properties can not be modified once a device is fabricated. In this work we present prelimiary results on a novel nano-patterning method, pulsed e-beam gas assisted patterning (PEBGAP), that allows us to tailor the electronic or optical properties of MoS2 devices. We can modify the carrier channel geometry, its thickness or even underetch it to release a suspended membrane. Field effect devices were fabricated from mechanically exfoliated few-layer MoS2 flakes via optical and electron beam lithography followed by a metal evaporation and lift-off process to define the gate-contact structures. The devices were characterised employing Optical (Raman, μPL) and electrical light dependence transport measurements and Scanning Near Field Optical Microscopy (SNOM). Afterwards, PEBGAP was utilized to alter device geometries and structures with the aim of modifying their optoelectronic properties. By using this method, it may also be possible to bring out new physical phenomena in this material (superconductivity of suspended MoS2 wires in membranes, quantum correlation phenomena, magnetic response, etc.) or develope new routes towards nano-electro-mechanical-optical systems (NEMOS). We will show our preliminary results of the devices properties before and after their modification

Controlling metal-ligand-metal oxidation state combinations by ancillary ligand (L) variation in the redox systems [L2Ru(mu-boptz)RuL2](n), boptz=3,6-bis(2-oxidophenyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine, and L = acetylacetonate, 2,2 '-bipyridine, or 2-phenylazopyridine

The new compounds [(acac)(2)Ru(mu-boptz) Ru(acac)(2)] (1) [(bpy)(2)Ru(mu-boptz)Ru(bpy)(2)] (ClO4)(2) (2-(ClO4)(2)), and [(pap)(2)Ru(mu-boptz)Ru(pap)(2)](ClO4)(2) (3-(ClO4)(2)) were obtained from 3,6-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)1,2,4,5-tetrazine (H(2)boptz), the crystal structure analysis of which is reported. Compound I contains two antiferromagnetically coupled (J=-36.7cm(-1)) Ru-III centers. We have investigated the role of both the donor and acceptor functions containing the boptz(2-) bridging ligand in combination with the electronically different ancillary ligands (donating acac(-), moderately it-accepting bpy, and strongly pi-accepting pap; acac=acetylacetonate, bpy-2,2'-bipyridine pap =2-phenylazopyridine) by using cyclic voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy for several in situ accessible redox states. We found that metal-ligand-metal oxidation state combinations remain invariant to ancillary ligand change in some instances; however, three isoelectronic paramagnetic cores Ru( mu-boptz)Ru showed remarkable differences. The excellent tolerance of the bpy co-ligand for both Ru-III and Ru-II is demonstrated by the adoption of the mixed-valent form in [L2Ru( mu-boptz)RuL2](3+), L=bpy, whereas the corresponding system with pap stabilizes the Ru-II states to yield a phenoxyl radical ligand and the compound with L= acac(-) contains two Ru-III centers connected by a tetrazine radical-anion bridge