DECOMPOSITION OF DIFFERENCES IN INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS USING QUANTILE REGRESSION

The paper deals with microeconometric techniques useful for the study of differences between groups of objects, methods that go beyond simple comparison of average values. Techniques for the decomposition of differences in distributions by constructing counterfactual distributions were considered. Using the Machado-Mata quantile regression approach the empirical decomposition of the inequalities in income distributions of one-person households in urban and rural areas was performed. We employed data from the Household Budget Survey for Poland in 2012. It was found that the tendency towards increased income inequalities between urban and rural residents when moving to the right of the income distribution can be observed. The rural residents are at a disadvantage. The decomposition of the inequalities revealed a growing share of the part explained by different characteristics of people and a declining share of the unexplained part, associated with the evaluation of those characteristics

The Use of Hazard Models for the Analysis of Income Inequalities in Poland

The aim of the paper is to examine the income inequalities of men and women in Poland. We estimate conditional cumulative distribution functions for incomes in both groups of people using a flexible hazard-function based estimator in the presence of covariates. The conditional piecewise-constant exponential hazard models are applied. Then, we decompose the estimated income differences along the whole income distribution. For this purpose, we construct the counterfactual distribution, which is the distribution of incomes that would prevail for women if they had the distribution of men’s characteristics. The method allowed to investigate the structure of inequalities in the entire range of income values for the two analyzed groups of people. The empirical investigation is based on the data collected within the EU-SILC project

The current attitudes of principals and teachers regarding mainstreaming in Virginia middle-level schools

This study investigated the relationship between the attitudes of principals and teachers toward mainstreaming and the level of comfort participants felt toward special education and mainstreaming. Sixty-five large and small middle schools from the state of Virginia were randomly selected to participate in this study. Participants completed demographic/information sheets, the Attitude Towards Mainstreaming Scale (ATMS), and the Comfortability Scale for Special Education (CSSE). Data were analyzed using statistical methods.;The following research questions were explored (1) do the current attitudes of school personnel differ from previous findings, (2) does a middle level principal\u27s attitude relate to a middle level teacher\u27s attitude, (3) does the level of comfort of a middle level principal relate to a middle level teacher\u27s level of comfort, (4) do the indirect factors such as number of years of experience, teacher level of education, number of special education courses and preservice training influence a teacher\u27s or principal\u27s attitude, and (5) does attitude and comfort relate to school division size and school personnel?;It was concluded the attitudes of middle school personnel are similar to the attitudes of personnel who work in other grade levels. Furthermore, principals had more favorable attitudes towards mainstreaming than teachers. Principals can influence the attitudes of teachers toward mainstreaming, however, principals\u27 level of comfort do not influence teachers\u27 level of comfort. Specific factors were found to be indirectly related to attitude. The significant factors included prior experience working with persons with disabilities, educational background, and coursework in special education were significant. The size of a school division was related to the level of comfort of school personnel when working in team situations.;Further study is needed to evaluate the relationship between level of comfort and attitude. A disparity in an individual\u27s attitude and level of comfort exists between large and small school divisions. Additional studies should examine the relationship between principal attitudes and teacher attitudes at all grade levels. Also, a principal\u27s role in implementing special education programs should be studied

The Year in Cardiology 2013: cardiovascular disease prevention

The decline in cardiovascular mortality in Europe by nearly 50% over the last three decades resulted in particular from improved risk factor control and prevention interventions in addition to improved treatment. This review provides an overview of key studies in epidemiology, hypertension control, lipidology, diabetology, and lifestyle changes published in 2013. EXAMINE in diabetology and AIM-High and HPS-2-THRIVE in lipidology failed to demonstrate an event reduction. According to EUROASPIRE IV clinical implementation of secondary prevention treatments is still suboptimal. The 2013 study highlights in prevention prove the dynamic progress of knowledge in the field;, however, knowledge alone is futile without implementatio

Endothelial Dysfunction as an Early Sign of Atherosclerosis

The endothelium, the monolayer covering the inner surface of blood vessels, plays a pivotal role in the regulation of vascular tone and structure, as well as vascular inflammation and thrombosis, i.e., of key events of the atherosclerotic disease process and its clinical complications, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. In particular a reduced endothelial availability of nitric oxide (NO), in part due to increased vascular oxidant stress, has been shown to promote a pro-inflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype of the endothelium. More recently, it has been observed that cardiovascular risk factors reduce the number and impair the function of circulating bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), thereby impairing the endogenous endothelial repair capacity. Importantly, endothelial dysfunction has been identified as a common link of all cardiovascular risk factors. Numerous clinical studies have further demonstrated a close association of the degree of endothelial dysfunction with the risk of future cardiovascular events. Whether endothelial dysfunction can improve cardiovascular risk prediction on top of a careful evaluation of classic cardiovascular risk factors is currently prospectively analyzed in several studies, i.e., in the PREVENT-it study. Furthermore, novel easier to use methods to assess endothelial function are currently explored, i.e., the Endo-PAT system, for their potential in improving cardiovascular risk prediction. At present, assessment of endothelial function and EPCs are highly valuable research tools to improve our understanding of mechanisms of vascular disease and to determine the impact of novel therapeutic approaches on vascular function. Before endothelial function measurements can, however, be recommended in clinical practice for cardiovascular risk assessment, the results of ongoing prospective studies assessing the additive value of these measurements for cardiovascular risk prediction should be awaite

Role of microRNAs in stem/progenitor cells and cardiovascular repair

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, play a critical role in differentiation and self-renewal of pluripotent stem cells, as well as in differentiation of cardiovascular lineage cells. Several miRNAs have been demonstrated to repress stemness factors such as Oct4, Nanog, Sox2 and Klf4 in embryonic stem cells, thereby promoting embryonic stem cell differentiation. Furthermore, targeting of different miRNAs promotes reprogramming towards induced pluripotent stem cells. MicroRNAs are critical for vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation and phenotype regulation, and miR-143 and miR-145 play a particularly important role in this respect. Notably, these miRNAs are down-regulated in several cardiovascular disease states, such as in atherosclerotic lesions and vascular neointima formation. MicroRNAs are critical regulators of endothelial cell differentiation and ischaemia-induced neovascularization. miR-126 is important for vascular integrity, endothelial cell proliferation and neovascularization. miR-1 and miR-133 are highly expressed in cardiomyocytes and their precursors and regulate cardiomyogenesis. In addition, miR-499 promotes differentiation of cardiomyocyte progenitor cells. Notably, miRNA expression is altered in cardiovascular disease states, and recent studies suggest that dysregulated miRNAs may limit cardiovascular repair responses. Dysregulation of miRNAs may lead to an altered function and differentiation of cardiovascular progenitor cells, which is also likely to represent a limitation of autologous cell-based treatment approaches in these patients. These findings suggest that targeting of specific miRNAs may represent an interesting novel opportunity to impact on endogenous cardiovascular repair responses, including effects on stem/progenitor cell differentiation and functions. This approach may also serve to optimize cell-based treatment approaches in patients with cardiovascular diseas