Evaluation of the empirical performance of two-stage budgeting AIDS, QUAIDS and Rotterdam models based on weak separability

Microsimulation models for indirect taxation require detailed underlying demand systems, in order to be policy relevant. A possible solution for the econometric problem (lack of necessary degrees of freedom) is the separability concept and the closely related notion of two-stage budgeting. In this paper, weak separability is applied on the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), its quadratic extension QUAIDS and the Rotterdam model. These two-stage budgeting demand systems were estimated on Belgian time series data and were evaluated by means of a comparison of their elasticities (both partial and total), goodness-of-fit measures and their forecasting accuracy. Though the rank three QUAIDS model does not dominate the others in every respect (at least for time series data), it has nice theoretical properties which can on their own be a justification for the use of the system.

Homeownership and the life cycle: An ordered logit approach.

This paper presents an ordered logit approach to model the optimal timing of buying a house in the life cycle. The model is applied to three recent Belgian household budget surveys. We find that households postpone homeownership or choose to be lifelong tenant due to an increase of the transaction tax rate, the real interest rate on mortgages and an indicator for the evolution of real house prices. Expenditures on nondurables, on the contrary, have a positive impact on (early) homeownership.Logit; Homeownership; Life cycle; Transaction tax;

Quand un et un ne font plus deux: calcul d'échelles d'équivalence intra-familiales au moyen d'un modèle collectif

In this paper, we present a collective model with public consumption. It is based on the more general model of Lewbel, Chiappori and Browning (2001). Rather than estimating a consumption technology, which captures all economies of scale of living in a couple, we determine a priori which goods are privately and which goods are publicly consumed. The collective model is completely identified by assuming that preferences over private and public goods are the same for singles and individuals in couples. The model allows calculating intra-household based equivalence scales, which meet the objections against traditional equivalence scales. It is applied to consumption data from a recent Belgian budget survey.collective household models; household bargaining; intrahousehold allocation; consumption; public goods

Lean agility implementation and process optimisation decisions

Organisations face many challenges in their battle to survive in the current economic climate. A major challenge facing an organisation is the need to change and change rapidly to remain competitive. This imperative to change can be categorised as a key to survival. A major change agent in the current economic climate is the optimisation of resources and business processes. Consequently, optimisation has become an essential part in the strategy for survival. An important prerequisite in achieving optimisation is the elimination of waste and as a result adding value to business processes, products and services companywide. Recent research postulates that to be successful, organisations must implement strategies to boost process optimisation objectives that achieve customer satisfaction and competitiveness. This paper explores and investigates the interrelationship between lean agility implementation and process optimisation decisions. It particularly focuses on the impact of lean application in terms of speed, flexibility, reliability, quality and cost in an attempt to create value to survive and attain customer satisfaction

Unscheduled DNA synthesis in xeroderma pigmentosum cells after microinjection of yeast photoreactivating enzyme.

Photoreactivating enzyme (PRE) from yeast causes a light-dependent reduction of UV-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) when injected into the cytoplasm of repair-proficieint human fibroblasts (Zwetsloot et al., 1985). This result indicates that the exogenous PRE monomerizers UV-induced dimers in these cells competing with the endogenous excision repair. In this paper we present the results of the injection of yeast PRE on (residual) UDS in fibroblasts from different excision-deficient XP-strains representing complementation groups A, C, D, E, F, H and I (all displaying more than 10% of the UDS of wild-type

Research on crude protein and digestibility of Arnica montana L. using conventional NIR spectrometry and hyperspectral imaging NIR

peer reviewedaudience: researcher, professional, student, popularizationArnica montana L. (AM) is considered a medicinal plant, used as hay in feed ration. The aim of this study is to assess the prediction of protein content and in vitro organic matter digestibility value in grass mixtures containing Arnica montana L., and in a second step to check if these values have a positive or negative influence in the mixtures. Crude protein has been selected because it is one of the most important quality parameters of forages as nutritional element used in animal feeding. The protein is required on a daily basis for maintenance, lactation, growth and reproduction, but is important for agriculture too, because a high content of protein makes it an important source of feed. The digestibility is also important, because it refers to the extent to which a feedstuff is absorbed in the animal body as it passes through an animal’s digestive tract. In this study, the Weende system (the Kjeldahl method) for the protein content, together with the enzymatic technique for digestibility, was applied and used in combination with non-destructive methods, like those based on the Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) or the Near Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging. Based on NIR imaging system data, the PLS-DA was used to discriminate between the classes with AM and classes without AM, as well as to build a model that could be used to predict the composition of mixtures. More than 99% correct prediction for AM was obtained. The crude protein content of the hay determined by classical method decrease from the type of meadow Agrostis capillaris L. - Festuca rubra L. (15.22%) until to the pure sample of Arnica montana L. (11.19%); however, the digestibility was highest in the pure sample of Arnica montana L. (84.13%) and lowest in samples from the type of meadow Agrostis capillaris L. - Festuca rubra L. (57.18%) or in samples with the participation of Arnica montana L. This study should lead to a more important point, which is to verify whether the medicinal properties of Arnica montana L. can be transferred or not to milk production through the dairy cow feed.POSDRU/6/1.5/S/20 (PhD Program

The C4EB study—Transvamix (10% THC / 5% CBD) to treat chronic pain in epidermolysis bullosa:A protocol for an explorative randomized, placebo controlled, and double blind intervention crossover study

Patients with the genetic blistering skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB) report severe pain as a consequence of skin and mucous membrane lesions including blisters, wounds, and scars. Adequate symptom alleviation is not often achieved using conventional pharmacologic interventions. Finding novel approaches to pain care in EB is imperative to improve the quality of life of patients living with EB. There are several anecdotal reports on the use of cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) by EB patients to reduce the burden of symptoms. However, controlled clinical investigations assessing these reported effects are lacking. As the pain quality “unpleasantness” delineates EB pain, we hypothesize the modulation of affective pain processing in the brain by way of intervention with CBMs comprising the cannabinoids Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol—objectified by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The C4EB study is an investigator-initiated, single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover trial. Adult patients with the diagnosis epidermolysis bullosa, reporting chronic pain will be eligible to participate. Following baseline measurements, participants will be randomized to receive the sublingually administered interventions placebo and Transvamix(®) in forward or reversed orders, each for two weeks and separated by a washout. The primary outcome is the difference in numeric rating scale pain scores between grouped interventions, using affective descriptors within the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2. Secondary outcomes include pain self-efficacy, concomitant analgesic medication-use and adverse events. Additionally, fMRI will be employed to assess brain connectivity related to neuroanatomic pain circuits at baseline, placebo and Transvamix(®) interventions. The study was approved by the ethical committee at the University Medical Center of Groningen in the Netherlands. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number: Netherlands Trial Register: NL9347 (Acronym: C4EB)

GRACES: Gemini remote access to CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph through the longest astronomical fiber ever made (Experimental phase completed.)

The Gemini Remote Access to CFHT ESPaDONS Spectrograph has achieved first light of its experimental phase in May 2014. It successfully collected light from the Gemini North telescope and sent it through two 270 m optical fibers to the the ESPaDOnS spectrograph at CFHT to deliver high-resolution spectroscopy across the optical region. The fibers gave an average focal ratio degradation of 14% on sky, and a maximum transmittance of 85% at 800nm. GRACES achieved delivering spectra with a resolution power of R = 40,000 and R = 66,000 between 400 and 1,000 nm. It has a ~8% throughput and is sensitive to target fainter than 21st mag in 1 hour. The average acquisition time of a target is around 10 min. This project is a great example of a productive collaboration between two observatories on Maunakea that was successful due to the reciprocal involvement of the Gemini, CFHT, and NRC Herzberg teams, and all the staff involved closely or indirectly.Comment: Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 201

Dealing with Feelings: Characterization of Trait Alexithymia on Emotion Regulation Strategies and Cognitive-Emotional Processing

Background: Alexithymia, or "no words for feelings'', is a personality trait which is associated with difficulties in emotion recognition and regulation. It is unknown whether this deficit is due primarily to regulation, perception, or mentalizing of emotions. In order to shed light on the core deficit, we tested our subjects on a wide range of emotional tasks. We expected the high alexithymics to underperform on all tasks. Method: Two groups of healthy individuals, high and low scoring on the cognitive component of the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, completed questionnaires of emotion regulation and performed several emotion processing tasks including a micro expression recognition task, recognition of emotional prosody and semantics in spoken sentences, an emotional and identity learning task and a conflicting beliefs and emotions task (emotional mentalizing). Results: The two groups differed on the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire and Empathy Quotient. Specifically, the Emotion Regulation Quotient showed that alexithymic individuals used more suppressive and less reappraisal strategies. On the behavioral tasks, as expected, alexithymics performed worse on recognition of micro expressions and emotional mentalizing. Surprisingly, groups did not differ on tasks of emotional semantics and prosody and associative emotional-learning. Conclusion: Individuals scoring high on the cognitive component of alexithymia are more prone to suppressive emotion regulation strategies rather than reappraisal strategies. Regarding emotional information processing, alexithymia is associated with reduced performance on measures of early processing as well as higher order mentalizing. However, difficulties in the processing of emotional language were not a core deficit in our alexithymic group