The relevance of the theory of fiscal illusion. The case of the Italian tax system

This work analyses the phenomenon of fiscal illusion (Puviani, 1903) in the context of the Italian tax system. Financial (or fiscal) illusion refers to mechanisms which cause a cognitive alteration on the part of the taxpayer regarding the evaluation of the costs and benefits of public policies. Puviani (1903) was the first to classify the different types of financial illusions. He highlighted the main strategies used to hide the real costs of financing public goods and services through taxes (illusions on revenue) or to overestimate their usefulness (illusions on expenditure). The main conclusions of the work are that: (i) from a methodological point of view, there is a connection between Puviani’s theory of fiscal illusion and some of the assumptions of the behavioral approach and (ii) from an operational point of view, it is a useful tool to understand the motives that could have inspired several recent taxes and legislative measures within the Italian tax system. These results support the relevance of Puviani’s theory to the contemporary theory and practice of public finance

A Estratégia Competitiva da Universidade Comunitária Regional de Chapecó: UNOCHAPECÓ

Verificou-se que a partir da promulgação da nova constituição federal em 1988 e a posterior aprovação da nova LDB - Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação em 1996, ocorreu um expressivo aumento no número de instituições de ensino superior atuando em todo Brasil, o que tem provocado uma mudança no cenário competitivo nesta área, principalmente com o acirramento da competição entre as instituições. Com isso surge um novo desafio para as Universidades Comunitárias Brasileiras, qual seja, adotar estratégias competitivas para continuar a atrair e manter alunos. Diante deste fato, o presente trabalho teve como tema a análise da estratégia competitiva da Universidade Comunitária Regional de Chapecó UNOHAPECÓ e como principais objetivos, verificar os impactos decorrentes do aumento da competição, identificar qual tem sido o seu posicionamento e ainda caracterizar a sua estratégia competitiva, de forma a oferecer subsídios para a formulação de estratégias competitivas por este tipo de universidade. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica, de pesquisa documental e de entrevistas estruturadas com os principais dirigentes dessa instituição, escolhidos de forma não probabilística e intencional, num total de vinte e uma entrevistas. Como resultado da análise, verificou-se que o principal impacto desse aumento tem sido a queda na demanda. Diante disto a UNOCHAPECÓ tem adotado um posicionamento meio termo em relação ao aumento da concorrência, implementado tanto estratégias ofensivas como defensivas. A sua estratégia competitiva foi caracterizada como uma estratégia de diferenciação com um escopo estratégico amplo, segundo o modelo de Porter 1986

PLANTS WITH USEFUL TRAITS AND RELATED METHODS

The present invention provides methods for obtaining plants that exhibit useful traits by transient suppression of the MSH1 gene of the plants. Methods for identifying genetic loci that provide for useful traits in plants and plants produced with those loci are also provided. In addition, plants that exhibit the useful traits, parts of the plants including seeds, and products of the plants are provided as well as methods of using the plants

Women journalists in Spain: an analysis of the sociodemographic features of the gender gap

Sociodemographic features and their relative weight related to the gender gap between male and female journalists in Spain are analyzed. A national representative survey of 390 journalists was carried out as part of an international study “Worlds of journalism”. The results show that patterns of female inequality within Spanish media companies are routinely cited in scientific literature (underrepresentation, barriers in their professional careers, and lower salaries than men). The results also confirm the 3R hypothesis (ratio of Recurrent and Reinforced Residuum): men hold three quarters of the posts with managerial responsibility and make two thirds of the decisions related to content, in spite of the fact that female journalists have higher levels of academic education and are therefore better trained for journalistic practice. Women are also paid lower salaries and tend to hold positions with a higher editorial responsibility in digital media, where the greatest progress towards equality is shown

INCIDENCIA DE SIGNOS APENDICULARES FRECUENTES Y NO FRECUENTES EN LA APENDICITIS AGUDA

La apendicitis aguda es el padecimiento quirúrgico abdominal más frecuente en el mundo y la principal causa de abdomen agudo, el diagnóstico es principalmente clínico; aunque la mortalidad es inferior al 0.1%, se requiere un diagnóstico oportuno para evitar las posibles complicaciones secundarias al retraso del mismo. Existe numerosa literatura acerca de los signos apendiculares explorados comúnmente, sin embargo existen muy pocas referencias sobre la frecuencia de aparición de otros signos apendiculares en el campo clínicos

A metabolomic approach to animal vitreous humor topographical composition: A pilot study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a 1H-NMR-based metabolomic approach to explore the metabolomic signature of different topographical areas of vitreous humor (VH) in an animal model. Five ocular globes were enucleated from five goats and immediately frozen at 280uC. Once frozen, three of them were sectioned, and four samples corresponding to four different VH areas were collected: the cortical, core, and basal, which was further divided into a superior and an inferior fraction. An additional two samples were collected that were representative of the whole vitreous body. 1H-NMR spectra were acquired for twenty-three goat vitreous samples with the aim of characterizing the metabolomic signature of this biofluid and identifying whether any site-specific patterns were present. Multivariate statistical analysis (MVA) of the spectral data were carried out, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). A unique metabolomic signature belonging to each area was observed. The cortical area was characterized by lactate, glutamine, choline, and its derivatives, N-acetyl groups, creatine, and glycerol; the core area was characterized by glucose, acetate, and scyllo-inositol; and the basal area was characterized by branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), betaine, alanine, ascorbate, lysine, and myo-inositol. We propose a speculative approach on the topographic role of these molecules that are mainly responsible for metabolic differences among the as-identified areas. 1H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis has shown to be an important tool for investigating the VH. In particular, this approach was able to assess in the samples here analyzed the presence of different functional areas on the basis of a different metabolite distribution.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a 1H-NMR-based metabolomic approach to explore the metabolomic signature of different topographical areas of vitreous humor (VH) in an animal model. Five ocular globes were enucleated from five goats and immediately frozen at -80°C. Once frozen, three of them were sectioned, and four samples corresponding to four different VH areas were collected: the cortical, core, and basal, which was further divided into a superior and an inferior fraction. An additional two samples were collected that were representative of the whole vitreous body. 1H-NMR spectra were acquired for twenty-three goat vitreous samples with the aim of characterizing the metabolomic signature of this biofluid and identifying whether any site-specific patterns were present. Multivariate statistical analysis (MVA) of the spectral data were carried out, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). A unique metabolomic signature belonging to each area was observed. The cortical area was characterized by lactate, glutamine, choline, and its derivatives, N-acetyl groups, creatine, and glycerol; the core area was characterized by glucose, acetate, and scyllo-inositol; and the basal area was characterized by branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), betaine, alanine, ascorbate, lysine, and myo-inositol. We propose a speculative approach on the topographic role of these molecules that are mainly responsible for metabolic differences among the as-identified areas. 1H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis has shown to be an important tool for investigating the VH. In particular, this approach was able to assess in the samples here analyzed the presence of different functional areas on the basis of a different metabolite distribution. © 2014 Locci et al

Women journalists in Spain: an analysis of the sociodemographic features of the gender gap

Sociodemographic features and their relative weight related to the gender gap between male and female journalists in Spain are analyzed. A national representative survey of 390 journalists was carried out as part of an international study “Worlds of journalism”. The results show that patterns of female inequality within Spanish media companies are routinely cited in scientific literature (underrepresentation, barriers in their professional careers, and lower salaries than men). The results also confirm the 3R hypothesis (ratio of Recurrent and Reinforced Residuum): men hold three quarters of the posts with managerial responsibility and make two thirds of the decisions related to content, in spite of the fact that female journalists have higher levels of academic education and are therefore better trained for journalistic practice. Women are also paid lower salaries and tend to hold positions with a higher editorial responsibility in digital media, where the greatest progress towards equality is shown