REFORMS IN TAX-BENEFIT SYSTEMS IN ORDER TO INCREASE EMPLOYMENT INCENTIVES IN THE EU

In this paper we discuss the role of tax and benefit systems in the context of the functioning of the labour markets and review recent progress made by EU Member States in reforming tax and benefit systems with a view to increasing economic incentives for higher employment and job creation. On the basis of the most recent comparable data and indicators, we try to assess whether concrete measures are being taken by Member States to alleviate the tax pressure on labour and especially on the low paid. We also examine benefit systems (especially unemployment benefit systems) with a view to evaluating recent reforms to increase employment incentives. Our main conclusions are that while Member States have started to ease the tax burden on labour, progress on reforms has been unequal between tax and benefit systems: the emphasis has clearly been on the tax side while benefit reforms have mostly been relatively minor, and without adequate attention to the interaction between tax and benefit schemes. In view of the goal of full employment, to which the Union and the Member States are committed, it has become more urgent to speed up reforms of tax and benefit systems in order to increase labour supply and reduce structural unemployment. Further reforms aimed at making work pay should take a more comprehensive approach. This approach could help to move people from benefit dependency to work, while preserving an adequate level of social protection for those in need.Reforms, Tax, tax-benefit sytems, unemployment benefits, labour market reforms, METRs unemployment trap, poverty trap

Indicators of unemployment and low-wage traps (Marginal effective tax rates on labour)

This paper presents results of an on-going joint European Commission / OECD project, aimed at monitoring the direct influence of tax and benefit instruments on household incomes. Indicators of financial work incentives are needed for identifying any undesired influences of taxes and social transfers on people’s work decisions. Marginal effective tax rates (METRs) are calculated in order to show what part of a change in earnings is “taxed away” by the combined operation of taxes, social security contributions (SSCs), and any withdrawal of earnings related social benefits. Three different types of METRs are calculated in order to measure so-called low-wage,unemployment and inactivity traps, that is situations where incentives to work are low. The results allow the identification of countries and family types that face little financial incentive to increase work effort or to take up a job.Unemployment trap, incentive to work, METR, tax on labour Make work pay, unemployment benefits.

Counteranion-controlled properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers

Polyelectrolyte multilayers consisting of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMA) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were studied on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) utilizing a novel method to determine the elastic properties of the films. Since the multilayer was found to consist of a hard core and soft outer layer, as can be realized on the basis of the multilayer zone model, the multilayer films were made thick enough to reveal the elastic properties of the bulk material of the film. Several hundreds of layers were deposited using a fully automated multilayer deposition machine. We found out that, in addition to the increase in the bilayer mass, a remarkable increase of stiffness of the polyelectrolyte multilayer was observed while changing the counteranion used in the deposition process. The increase of stiffness was found to be comparable to the glass transition of common polymers. The increase is attributed to the counteranions that take part in polyelectrolyte charge compensation. The correlation of storage shear modulus and mass density to the hydration entropy of the anion could be clearly observed

Red Algal Mitochondrial Genomes Are More Complete than Previously Reported

The enslavement of an alpha-proteobacterial endosymbiont by the last common eukaryotic ancestor resulted in large-scale gene transfer of endosymbiont genes to the host nucleus as the endosymbiont transitioned into the mitochondrion. Mitochondrial genomes have experienced widespread gene loss and genome reduction within eukaryotes and DNA sequencing has revealed that most of these gene losses occurred early in eukaryotic lineage diversification. On a broad scale, more recent modifications to organelle genomes appear to be conserved and phylogenetically informative. The first red algal mitochondrial genome was sequenced more than 20 years ago, and an additional 29 Florideophyceae mitochondria have been added over the past decade. A total of 32 genes have been described to have been missing or considered non-functional pseudogenes from these Florideophyceae mitochondria. These losses have been attributed to endosymbiotic gene transfer or the evolution of a parasitic life strategy. Here we sequenced the mitochondrial genomes from the red algal parasite Choreocolax polysiphoniae and its host Vertebrata lanosa and found them to be complete and conserved in structure with other Florideophyceae mitochondria. This result led us to resequence the previously published parasite Gracilariophila oryzoides and its host Gracilariopsis andersonii, as well as reevaluate reported gene losses from published Florideophyceae mitochondria. Multiple independent losses of rpl20 and a single loss of rps11 can be verified. However by reannotating published data and resequencing specimens when possible, we were able to identify the majority of genes that have been reported as lost or pseudogenes from Florideophyceae mitochondria

Register-based study of the incidence, comorbidities and demographics of obsessive-compulsive disorder in specialist healthcare

Background: Incidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been suspected to increase but nationwide epidemiological studies are limited. This study aims to examine sex-specific incidence time trends and characterize psychiatric and neurodevelopmental comorbidities and sociodemographic risk factors of OCD in specialist healthcare in Finland. Methods: A nationwide register-based study using data from four Finnish registers identified 3372 OCD cases and 13,372 matched controls (1: 4). Cumulative incidence in subjects born between 1987 and 2001 was estimated at ages of 10, 15, 20 and 23 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the sociodemographic factors. Results: The cumulative incidence of OCD was 0.4% by age 23. Incidence by age 15 among three cohorts increased from 12.4 to 23.7 /10000 live born males and 8.5 to 28.0 /10000 live born females. 73% of the sample had a comorbid condition. Males were significantly more comorbid with psychotic and developmental disorders; females were more comorbid with depressive and anxiety disorders (p <0.001). Higher maternal SES was associated with an increased risk of OCD (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.6). Conclusions: These findings suggest that incidence of treated OCD in specialist healthcare has increased. The reason may be increased awareness and rate of referrals but a true increase cannot be ruled out. Further research on risk factors of OCD is warranted.Peer reviewe

Preparation of multilayers containing conjugated thiophene-based polyelectrolytes. Layer-by-layer assembly and viscoelastic properties

We study the layer-by-layer assembly and properties of polyelectrolyte multilayers containing anionic and cationic poly(alkoxythiophene) derivatives, poly(3-(3'-thienyloxy)propanesulfonate) (P3TOPS) and poly(3-(3'-thienyloxy)propyltriethylammonium) (P3TOPA), together with poly(diallyldimethylammonum chloride) (PDADMA) or poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS). These polythiophenes are rigid-rod-type polyelectrolytes which tend to aggregate in aqueous medium. Three types of multilayers have been prepared: (P3TOPS/P3TOPA)(n) (all-thiophene films), (P3TOPS/PDADMA)(n), and (PSS/P3TOPA)(n). The layer-by-layer adsorption of polythiophenes was followed by UV-vis spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Adsorption of P3TOPS and P3TOPA took place within 10 min from dilute aqueous solution (1 mM with respect to monomers). The adsorption of anew polyion layer on top of polythiophene was always accompanied by a partial loss of the polythiophene layer. As the result, the amount of polythiophene in the film oscillated as a function of the number of layers. This behavior was attributed to the adsorption and partial desorption of aggregated polythiophene, supported by atomic force microscope (AFM) images of dry films. Per bilayer, the amount of polythiophene remaining in the film increased linearly and corresponded approximately to the formation of a thiophene monolayer. The viscoelastic properties of the film; also exhibited a marked terminal layer effect in cases where the length and hydrophobicity of the polyions were different. This effect was studied with (PSS/PDADMA) multilayers and was attributed to the formation of loops and tails, All multilayers studied appeared very soft, comparable to protein layers. This softness was attributed mainly to the film/solution interface with a hydrogel-like outer part of the films (zone III)

Prenatal Cotinine Levels and ADHD Among Offspring

OBJECTIVES: An association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been shown across several studies based on self-reports. No previous studies have investigated the association of nicotine exposure measured by cotinine levels during pregnancy and offspring ADHD. METHODS: In this population-based study, 1079 patients born between 1998 and 1999 and diagnosed with ADHD according to the International Classification of Diseases and 1079 matched controls were identified from Finnish nationwide registers. Maternal cotinine levels were measured by using quantitative immunoassays from maternal serum specimens collected during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and archived in the national biobank. RESULTS: There was a significant association between increasing log-transformed maternal cotinine levels and offspring ADHD. The odds ratio was 1.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.12) when adjusting for maternal socioeconomic status, maternal age, maternal psychopathology, paternal age, paternal psychopathology, and child's birth weight for gestational age. In the categorical analyses with cotinine levels in 3 groups, heavy nicotine exposure (cotinine level >50 ng/mL) was associated with offspring ADHD, with an odds ratio of 2.21 (95% CI 1.63-2.99) in the adjusted analyses. Analyses by deciles of cotinine levels revealed that the adjusted odds for offspring ADHD in the highest decile was 3.34 (95% CI 2.02-5.52). CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals an association with and a dose-response relationship between nicotine exposure during pregnancy and offspring ADHD. Future studies incorporating maternal smoking and environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors are warranted.Peer reviewe

New insights on the interaction between thiophene derivatives and Au surfaces: the case of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and the relevant polymer.

The nature of the interface between electrogenerated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and the Au substrate is studied in detail. In particular, the adsorption of the relevant monomer, namely, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, is investigated and compared with that of other thiophene derivatives. Different deposition procedures have been adopted: very thin films of the thiophene derivatives have been obtained through chemisorption processes from vapor and liquid phases, on Au polycrystalline substrates, Au nano particles possessing different size, and a Au(111) single crystal. Different techniques, operating both in situ and ex situ, have been employed for the characterization of these deposits, that is, X-ray photoemission and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/metal interface is far from being simply constituted by unreacted molecules in contact with the substrate; rather, the formation of oligothiophene species and sulfur atoms at the interface has been ascertained

Brain volumes in relation to loneliness and social competence in preadolescents born very preterm

Introduction The aim of the present study was to assess how regional brain volumes associate with self-experienced social and emotional loneliness and social competence in very preterm and term-born preadolescents. Materials and methods Thirty-four very preterm subjects (birthweight Results In the very preterm group, a number of significant associations were found between smaller regional brain volumes and self-experienced emotional loneliness, more impulsivity and more disruptiveness. In the control group, brain volumes and loneliness were not associated, and brain volumes and social competence were associated with a lesser degree than in the very preterm group. Conclusion Experiences of emotional loneliness and poorer social competence appear to be more related to brain volumes in very preterm preadolescents than in those born full-term. It also appears that in very preterm preadolescents, emotional loneliness may be more reflected in brain development than social loneliness.Peer reviewe

Social functioning questionnaires of adolescents born preterm show average profiles and attenuated sex differences

Aim Prematurity has been shown to affect social competence in children and adults. Our aim was to evaluate profiles of self-reported social behaviours and loneliness in preterm- and term-born adolescents. Methods Preterm ( Results A total of 172 preterm-born and 134 term-born adolescents returned the questionnaires. Most frequently, preterm adolescents reported a profile of average social competence and average levels of loneliness. Preterm-born boys reported a profile of low social functioning less often (preterm-born 36% vs. term-born 54%), and preterm-born girls reported a profile of high social functioning less frequently (preterm-born 26% vs. term-born 37%) than same-sex controls. Sex differences in social functioning profiles were smaller in preterm than term-born adolescents. Conclusion The majority of young adolescents born preterm reported a high or average social functioning profile irrespective of sex. Prematurity seems to level out differences between the sexes.Peer reviewe