Europe vs. The United States: Is There a Trade-Off Between Mobility and Inequality?

This paper asses the scope of income mobility from a comparative perspective and explores if there is an observable relationship with inequality. More specifically, the main hypotheses to be tested are the existence of notable differences in mobility between the USA and the European Union which could offset the observed differences in inequality, the possible differences within the European Union and, finally, whether or not the factors which determine mobility differ greatly. To this end, a broad range of mobility indicators is used, their structure in each country is studied and the principal determinants are analyzed by means of different decomposition exercises.

Bryophytes of Mona Island Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico

This checklist provides in addition to a list of mosses and hepatics, a key to the species. We report 17 moss species of which 9 are new to Mona Island and 3 are new records for Puerto Rico (Fissidens minutus, Plaubelia sprengelii and Brymela callicostelloides). This report represents a 35% increase to the moss flora of Mona Island. Thirteen hepatics are reported of which 8 are new records, representing an increase of 31%. Two new synonyms (Bryum microdecurrens = Bryum coronatum, Riccia brittonii = Riccia elliottii) are included. No hornworts are known for the island.Este listado en adición a la lista de musgos y hepáticas provee una clave para las especies. Reportamos 17 especies de musgos de los cuales 9 son nuevos para Isla de Mona y 3 son registros nuevos para Puerto Rico (Fissidens minutus, Plaubelia sprengelii y Brymela callicostelloides). Este reporte representa un aumento de un 35% en la flora muscinal de Isla de Mona. Trece hepáticas son reportadas de las cuales 8 son registros nuevos, representando un aumento de 31%. Dos nuevos sinónimos (Bryum microdecurrens = Bryum coronatum, Riccia brittonii = Riccia elliottii) se incluyen. No se conocen registros de antocerotes para la isla

Adaptation to Health States: A Micro-Econometric Approach

Health care funding decisions in the UK are based on valuations of the general public. However, it has been shown that there is a disparity between a hypothetical valuation of the impact of a specific condition on health and the effect of that health state by someone who experiences it. This paper examines the issue of adaptation to health states, which partially may explain the discrepancy between hypothetical and experienced health state valuations. We use the British Cohort Study (BCS70) which is a longitudinal dataset that tracks a sample of British individuals since their birth in 1970. We use four BCS70 waves containing information on self-assessed health (SAH), morbidity as well as a number of socio-economic characteristics. To estimate the issue of adaptation, we implement a dynamic ordered probit model that controls for (health) state dependence. The empirical specification controls for morbidity and also includes a variable for the duration of the illness. We find that, for most chronic conditions, duration has a positive impact on self-assessed health, while for some conditions-such as diabetes- this does not occur. We interpret our results as evidence in support of the hypothesis that adaptation to chronic diseases exists and may explain at least in part the differences between general public and patients’ health state valuations

XML-Based Representation Formats of Local Grammars for the NL

(4 pp.)International audienc

NSAIDs: How they Work and their Prospects as Therapeutics in Alzheimer's Disease

There is significant epidemiological evidence to suggest that there are beneficial effects of treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Alzheimer's disease, although these effects have not been reproduced in clinical trials. The failure of the clinical trials may be attributed to several possible facts: (1) NSAIDS may have been delivered too late to patients, as they may only be effective in early stages of the disease and possibly counterproductive in the late stages; (2) the beneficial effect may depend on the drug, because different NSAIDs may have different molecular targets; (3) the NSAID concentration reaching the brain and the duration of the treatment could also be critical, so increasing drug penetration is important in order to improve the efficacy and avoid secondary gastro-intestinal effects of the NSAIDs. In this report we analyze these different factors, with special emphasis on the role of NSAIDs in microglia activation over time

Modulation of inflammation in transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease

Over the past decade the process of inflammation has been a focus of increasing interest in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) field, not only for its potential role in neuronal degeneration but also as a promising therapeutic target. However, recent research in this field has provided divergent outcomes, largely due to the use of different models and different stages of the disease when the investigations have been carried out. It is now accepted that microglia, and possibly astrocytes, change their activation phenotype during ageing and the stage of the disease, and therefore these are important factors to have in mind to define the function of different inflammatory components as well as potential therapies. Modulating inflammation using animal models of AD has offered the possibility to investigate inflammatory components individually and manipulate inflammatory genes in amyloid precursor protein and tau transgenics independently. This has also offered some hints on the mechanisms by which these factors may affect AD pathology. In this review we examine the different transgenic approaches and treatments that have been reported to modulate inflammation using animal models of AD. These studies have provided evidence that enhancing inflammation is linked with increases in amyloid-beta (Aβ) generation, Aβ aggregation and tau phosphorylation. However, the alterations on tau phosphorylation can be independent of changes in Aβ levels by these inflammatory mediators