The consumption tax, horizontal redistribution, and aggregate saving

AbstractIf an income tax is converted to a consumption tax of equal progressivity and equal yield, within each income class disposable income will be shifted from “low savers” to “high savers.” The impact of this “horizontal redistribution” has been neglected in previous analyses which focused on the interest elasticity of saving. We prove that “horizontal redistribution” must raise aggregate saving if persons possess “disposable income saving functions” (with certain properties and not all identical). We calculate that, if constant saving rate functions generated actual cross-section data in the U.S. in 1963, then tax conversion would have raised aggregate household saving by approximately 11% through the “horizontal redistribution effect.

A requirements engineering and management training course for software development professionals

Devising a course for software professionals working in industry depends on several factors. In order to create a course that fulfils professionals’ expectations, it is important to take account of the skills of the participants, the time available, and the specific topics to be covered. This paper presents the curriculum of a course in requirements engineering and management intended for software developers with a first-level academic degree in computing and experience in developing real software solutions. This context requires the course to concentrate on topics that were not taught in the participants’ previous education and that can have a positive impact on their daily practices

Motor Learning Induces Plasticity in the Resting Brain—Drumming Up a Connection

Neuroimaging methods have recently been used to investigate plasticity-induced changes in brain structure. However, little is known about the dynamic interactions between different brain regions after extensive coordinated motor learning such as drumming. In this article, we have compared the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in 15 novice healthy participants before and after a course of drumming (30-min drumming sessions, 3 days a week for 8 weeks) and 16 age-matched novice comparison participants. To identify brain regions showing significant FC differences before and after drumming, without a priori regions of interest, a multivariate pattern analysis was performed. Drum training was associated with an increased FC between the posterior part of bilateral superior temporal gyri (pSTG) and the rest of the brain (i.e., all other voxels). These regions were then used to perform seed-to-voxel analysis. The pSTG presented an increased FC with the premotor and motor regions, the right parietal lobe and a decreased FC with the cerebellum. Perspectives and the potential for rehabilitation treatments with exercise-based intervention to overcome impairments due to brain diseases are also discussed

Motor Learning Induces Plasticity in the Resting Brain—Drumming Up a Connection

Neuroimaging methods have recently been used to investigate plasticity-induced changes in brain structure. However, little is known about the dynamic interactions between different brain regions after extensive coordinated motor learning such as drumming. In this article, we have compared the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in 15 novice healthy participants before and after a course of drumming (30-min drumming sessions, 3 days a week for 8 weeks) and 16 age-matched novice comparison participants. To identify brain regions showing significant FC differences before and after drumming, without a priori regions of interest, a multivariate pattern analysis was performed. Drum training was associated with an increased FC between the posterior part of bilateral superior temporal gyri (pSTG) and the rest of the brain (i.e., all other voxels). These regions were then used to perform seed-to-voxel analysis. The pSTG presented an increased FC with the premotor and motor regions, the right parietal lobe and a decreased FC with the cerebellum. Perspectives and the potential for rehabilitation treatments with exercise-based intervention to overcome impairments due to brain diseases are also discussed

Torture in Counterterrorism: Agency Incentives and Slippery Slopes

Abstract We develop a model of counterterrorism to analyze the effects of allowing a government agency to torture terrorist suspects. We find that legalizing torture in high evidence cases has offsetting effects on agency incentives to counter terrorism by means other than torture. It increases these incentives because other efforts may increase the probability of having high enough evidence to warrant the use of torture if other efforts fail. However, it also lowers these incentives because the agency might come to rely on torture to avert attacks. If the latter effect dominates, legalizing torture in high evidence cases can reduce security and increase the probability of terrorist attack. Moreover, it can increase agency incentives to torture even in low evidence cases, leading to a "slippery slope." (JEL K4, D8, H1

Effectiveness of interventions to improve the health and housing status of homeless people: a rapid systematic review

Background: Research on interventions to positively impact health and housing status of people who are homeless has received substantially increased attention over the past 5 years. This rapid review examines recent evidence regarding interventions that have been shown to improve the health of homeless people, with particular focus on the effect of these interventions on housing status. Methods: A total of 1,546 articles were identified by a structured search of five electronic databases, a hand search of grey literature and relevant journals, and contact with experts. Two reviewers independently screened the first 10% of titles and abstracts for relevance. Inter-rater reliability was high and as a result only one reviewer screened the remaining titles and abstracts. Articles were included if they were published between January 2004 and December 2009 and examined the effectiveness of an intervention to improve the health or healthcare utilization of people who were homeless, marginally housed, or at risk of homelessness. Two reviewers independently scored all relevant articles for quality. Results: Eighty-four relevant studies were identified; none were of strong quality while ten were rated of moderate quality. For homeless people with mental illness, provision of housing upon hospital discharge was effective in improving sustained housing. For homeless people with substance abuse issues or concurrent disorders, provision of housing was associated with decreased substance use, relapses from periods of substance abstinence, and health services utilization, and increased housing tenure. Abstinent dependent housing was more effective in supporting housing status, substance abstinence, and improved psychiatric outcomes than non-abstinence dependent housing or no housing. Provision of housing also improved health outcomes among homeless populations with HIV. Health promotion programs can decrease risk behaviours among homeless populations. Conclusions: These studies provide important new evidence regarding interventions to improve health, housing status, and access to healthcare for homeless populations. The additional studies included in this current review provide further support for earlier evidence which found that coordinated treatment programs for homeless persons with concurrent mental illness and substance misuse issues usually result in better health and access to healthcare than usual care. This review also provides a synthesis of existing evidence regarding interventions that specifically support homeless populations with HIV.Partial funding for this paper was provided to the Effective Public Health Practice Project by the Region of Peel, Canada

Comprehensive molecular characterization of gastric adenocarcinoma

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths, but analysis of its molecular and clinical characteristics has been complicated by histological and aetiological heterogeneity. Here we describe a comprehensive molecular evaluation of 295 primary gastric adenocarcinomas as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. We propose a molecular classification dividing gastric cancer into four subtypes: tumours positive for Epstein–Barr virus, which display recurrent PIK3CA mutations, extreme DNA hypermethylation, and amplification of JAK2, CD274 (also known as PD-L1) and PDCD1LG2 (also knownasPD-L2); microsatellite unstable tumours, which show elevated mutation rates, including mutations of genes encoding targetable oncogenic signalling proteins; genomically stable tumours, which are enriched for the diffuse histological variant and mutations of RHOA or fusions involving RHO-family GTPase-activating proteins; and tumours with chromosomal instability, which show marked aneuploidy and focal amplification of receptor tyrosine kinases. Identification of these subtypes provides a roadmap for patient stratification and trials of targeted therapies

Contribution of copy number variants to schizophrenia from a genome-wide study of 41,321 subjects

Copy number variants (CNVs) have been strongly implicated in the genetic etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ). However, genome-wide investigation of the contribution of CNV to risk has been hampered by limited sample sizes. We sought to address this obstacle by applying a centralized analysis pipeline to a SCZ cohort of 21,094 cases and 20,227 controls. A global enrichment of CNV burden was observed in cases (OR=1.11, P=5.7×10−15), which persisted after excluding loci implicated in previous studies (OR=1.07, P=1.7 ×10−6). CNV burden was enriched for genes associated with synaptic function (OR = 1.68, P = 2.8 ×10−11) and neurobehavioral phenotypes in mouse (OR = 1.18, P= 7.3 ×10−5). Genome-wide significant evidence was obtained for eight loci, including 1q21.1, 2p16.3 (NRXN1), 3q29, 7q11.2, 15q13.3, distal 16p11.2, proximal 16p11.2 and 22q11.2. Suggestive support was found for eight additional candidate susceptibility and protective loci, which consisted predominantly of CNVs mediated by non-allelic homologous recombination

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60-80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies