Low-temperature bonding of temperature-resistant electronic connections

Bonding of flat metal surfaces utilizes low temperature melting intermediate material, pulse heating, and pressure application to produce strong, electrically conductive bond resistant to melting at temperatures well above melting point of intermediate material. Little or no intermediate material remains at the interface

Do redistributive schemes reduce inequality between individuals?

Redistribution schemes (taxes or benefits) are generally performed at the household level. The issue is to know whether intra-household inequality magnifies or hampers the redistributive effect of the transfers, when the policy-maker focuses on the inequality at the individual level. Depending on the type of the transfer, three properties capturing the idea that the more wealthy the household is, the more unequally it behaves, have been shown to matter. In the moving away approach, the deviation with the equal split make a difference, in the star-shaped approach, the average share counts while the marginal share is relevant for concavity. We complete the analysis by showing how these properties of the intra-household allocation may be recovered through a bargaining model of the household. Then, the DARA and DRRA properties of the utility function emerge as the key conditions for the recovery.Inequality, Intra-household Allocation, Household bargaining, Lorenz curve, Taxation schemes.

Measurement and clinical significance of biomarkers of oxidative stress in humans

Oxidative stress is the result of the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants. Biomarkers of oxidative stress are relevant in the evaluation of the disease status and of the health-enhancing effects of antioxidants. We aim to discuss the major methodological bias of methods used for the evaluation of oxidative stress in humans. There is a lack of consensus concerning the validation, standardization, and reproducibility of methods for the measurement of the following: (1) ROS in leukocytes and platelets by flow cytometry, (2) markers based on ROS-induced modifications of lipids, DNA, and proteins, (3) enzymatic players of redox status, and (4) total antioxidant capacity of human body fluids. It has been suggested that the bias of each method could be overcome by using indexes of oxidative stress that include more than one marker. However, the choice of the markers considered in the global index should be dictated by the aim of the study and its design, as well as by the clinical relevance in the selected subjects. In conclusion, the clinical significance of biomarkers of oxidative stress in humans must come from a critical analysis of the markers that should give an overall index of redox status in particular conditions

Plasma total antioxidant capacity and peroxidation biomarkers in psoriasis

Systemic biomarkers of oxidative stress can be relevant for assessment of psoriasis severity, for prediction of the outcome of therapy and of the development of comorbidities. In this review we aimed to evaluate the relationship between plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and peroxidation biomarkers, as well as their association with dyslipidemia and systemic inflammation in psoriasis. The review of 59 case–control comparisons (from 41 studies) and 17 interventions (from 13 studies) suggests that peroxidation markers are more sensitive than TAC in the evaluation of oxidative stress in psoriasis. Although few studies investigated the effect of treatment on oxidative stress, it seems that biological drugs could be the better choice in the treatment of psoriasis. However, considering the limitations of TAC and plasma peroxidation markers, this review suggests that new methods should be developed in order to evaluate systemic oxidative stress in psoriasis

Poverty orderings and intra-household inequality: The lost axiom

We investigate under which conditions it is possible to infer the evolution of poverty at the individual level from the knowledge of poverty among households. Poverty measurement is approached by the poverty orderings introduced by Foster and Shorrocks (1988). The analysis is based on a reduced form of household bargaining (Peluso and Trannoy 2007) and provides results in terms of preservation of poverty orderings. We point out the main analogies and differences between inequality and poverty assessment, expressing them in terms of empirically testable conditions. In particular, knowing the change in poverty at the household level is not sufficient to deduce a similar change in poverty at the individual level. We need to know the change in the household income distributions far beyond their poverty line. The focus axiom does not hold in this context.Poverty orderings, intra-household allocation, concavity, focus axiom.