A data-driven procedure to determine the bunching window : an application to the Netherlands

This paper presents new empirical evidence on taxpayers responsiveness to taxation by estimating the compensated elasticity of taxable income with respect to the net-of-tax rate in the Netherlands. Applying the bunching approach introduced by Saez (2010), we find small, but clear evidence of bunching behaviour at the thresholds of the Dutch tax schedule with a precise estimated elasticity of 0.023 at the upper threshold. In line with the literature, we find much larger estimates for women and self-employed individuals, but we can also identify significant bunching behaviour for wage employed individuals which we can attribute to tax deductions for couples. We add to the bunching literature by proposing to rely on the information criteria to determine the counterfactual model, as well as developing an intuitive, data-driven procedure to determine the bunching window

Reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain : partly masked by depressive and anxiety disorders

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Promotility Action of the Probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 Extract Compared with Prucalopride in Isolated Rat Large Intestine

Copyright © 2017 Dalziel, Anderson, Peters, Lynch, Spencer, Dekker and Roy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Attention is increasingly being focussed on probiotics as potential agents to restore or improve gastrointestinal (GI) transit. Determining mechanism of action would support robust health claims. The probiotic bacterium Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 reduces transit time, but its mechanisms of action and effects on motility patterns are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in GI motility induced by an extract of HN019 on distinct patterns of colonic motility in isolated rat large intestine, compared with a known promotility modulator, prucalopride. The large intestines from male Sprague Dawley rats (3–6 months) were perfused with Kreb's buffer at 37°C in an oxygenated tissue bath. Isometric force transducers recorded changes in circular muscle activity at four independent locations assessing contractile propagation between the proximal colon and the rectum. HN019 extract was perfused through the tissue bath and differences in tension and frequency quantified relative to pre-treatment controls. Prucalopride (1 μM) increased the frequency of propagating contractions (by 75 ± 26%) in the majority of preparations studied (10/12), concurrently decreasing the frequency of non-propagating contractions (by 50 ± 11%). HN019 extract had no effect on contractile activity during exposure (n = 8). However, following wash out, contraction amplitude of propagating contractions increased (by 55 ± 18%) in the distal colon, while the frequency of non-propagating proximal contractions decreased by 57 ± 7%. The prokinetic action of prucalopride increased the frequency of synchronous contractions along the length of colon, likely explaining increased colonic rate of transit in vivo. HN019 extract modified motility patterns in a different manner by promoting propagating contractile amplitude and inhibiting non-propagations, also demonstrating prokinetic activity consistent with the reduction of constipation by B. lactis HN019 in humans

Biological Stress Systems, Adverse Life Events, and the Improvement of Chronic Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain Across a 6-Year Follow-Up

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Female sex protects against renal edema, but not lung edema, in mice with partial deletion of the endothelial barrier regulator Tie2 compared to male sex

Background: The endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system is an important regulator of endothelial permeability and targeting Tie2 reduces hemorrhagic shock-induced organ edema in males. However, sexual dimorphism of the endothelium has not been taken into account. This study investigated whether there are sex-related differences in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system and edema formation.Methods: Adult male and female heterozygous Tie2 knockout mice (Tie2+/−) and wild-type controls (Tie2+/+) were included (n = 9 per group). Renal and pulmonary injury were determined by wet/dry weight ratio and H&amp;E staining of tissue sections. Protein levels were studied in plasma by ELISA and pulmonary and renal mRNA expression levels by RT-qPCR.Results: In Tie2+/+ mice, females had higher circulating angiopoietin-2 (138%, p&lt;0.05) compared to males. Gene expression of angiopoietin-1 (204%, p&lt;0.01), angiopoietin-2 (542%, p&lt;0.001) were higher in females compared to males in kidneys, but not in lungs. Gene expression of Tie2, Tie1 and VE-PTP were similar between males and females in both organs. Renal and pulmonary wet/dry weight ratio did not differ between Tie2+/+ females and males. Tie2+/+ females had lower circulating NGAL (41%, p&lt;0.01) compared to males, whereas renal NGAL and KIM1 gene expression was unaffected. Interestingly, male Tie2+/- mice had 28% higher renal wet/dry weight ratio (p&lt;0.05) compared to Tie2+/+ males, which was not observed in females nor in lungs. Partial deletion of Tie2 did not affect circulating angiopoietin-1 or angiopoietin-2, but soluble Tie2 was 44% and 53% lower in males and females, respectively, compared to Tie2+/+ mice of the same sex. Renal and pulmonary gene expression of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, estrogen receptors and other endothelial barrier regulators was comparable between Tie2+/- and Tie2+/+ mice in both sexes.Conclusion: Female sex seems to protect against renal, but not pulmonary edema in heterozygous Tie2 knock-out mice. This could not be explained by sex dimorphism in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system.</p

Female sex protects against renal edema, but not lung edema, in mice with partial deletion of the endothelial barrier regulator Tie2 compared to male sex

Background: The endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system is an important regulator of endothelial permeability and targeting Tie2 reduces hemorrhagic shock-induced organ edema in males. However, sexual dimorphism of the endothelium has not been taken into account. This study investigated whether there are sex-related differences in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system and edema formation.Methods: Adult male and female heterozygous Tie2 knockout mice (Tie2+/−) and wild-type controls (Tie2+/+) were included (n = 9 per group). Renal and pulmonary injury were determined by wet/dry weight ratio and H&amp;E staining of tissue sections. Protein levels were studied in plasma by ELISA and pulmonary and renal mRNA expression levels by RT-qPCR.Results: In Tie2+/+ mice, females had higher circulating angiopoietin-2 (138%, p&lt;0.05) compared to males. Gene expression of angiopoietin-1 (204%, p&lt;0.01), angiopoietin-2 (542%, p&lt;0.001) were higher in females compared to males in kidneys, but not in lungs. Gene expression of Tie2, Tie1 and VE-PTP were similar between males and females in both organs. Renal and pulmonary wet/dry weight ratio did not differ between Tie2+/+ females and males. Tie2+/+ females had lower circulating NGAL (41%, p&lt;0.01) compared to males, whereas renal NGAL and KIM1 gene expression was unaffected. Interestingly, male Tie2+/- mice had 28% higher renal wet/dry weight ratio (p&lt;0.05) compared to Tie2+/+ males, which was not observed in females nor in lungs. Partial deletion of Tie2 did not affect circulating angiopoietin-1 or angiopoietin-2, but soluble Tie2 was 44% and 53% lower in males and females, respectively, compared to Tie2+/+ mice of the same sex. Renal and pulmonary gene expression of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, estrogen receptors and other endothelial barrier regulators was comparable between Tie2+/- and Tie2+/+ mice in both sexes.Conclusion: Female sex seems to protect against renal, but not pulmonary edema in heterozygous Tie2 knock-out mice. This could not be explained by sex dimorphism in the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system.</p

The effect of targeting Tie2 on hemorrhagic shock-induced renal perfusion disturbances in rats

Background: Hemorrhagic shock is associated with acute kidney injury and increased mortality. Targeting the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system, which regulates endothelial permeability, previously reduced hemorrhagic shock-induced vascular leakage. We hypothesized that as a consequence of vascular leakage, renal perfusion and function is impaired and that activating Tie2 restores renal perfusion and function. Methods: Rats underwent 1 h of hemorrhagic shock and were treated with either vasculotide or PBS as control, followed by fluid resuscitation for 4 h. Microcirculatory perfusion was measured in the renal cortex and cremaster muscle using contrast echography and intravital microscopy, respectively. Changes in the angiopoietin/Tie2 system and renal injury markers were measured in plasma and on protein and mRNA level in renal tissue. Renal edema formation was determined by wet/dry weight ratios and renal structure by histological analysis. Results: Hemorrhagic shock significantly decreased renal perfusion (240 +/- 138 to 51 +/- 40, p 0.9 at all time points) or reduce renal injury (NGAL p = 0.26, KIM-1 p = 0.78, creatinine p > 0.9, renal edema p = 0.08), but temporarily improved cremaster perfusion at 3 h following start of fluid resuscitation compared to untreated rats (resuscitation + 3 h: 11 +/- 3 vs 8 +/- 3 perfused vessels, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Hemorrhagic shock-induced renal impairment cannot be restored by standard fluid resuscitation, nor by activation of Tie2. Future treatment strategies should focus on reducing angiopoietin-2 levels or on activating Tie2 via an alternative strategy

Feasibility Study for an Aquatic Ecosystem Earth Observing System Version 1.2.

International audienceMany Earth observing sensors have been designed, built and launched with primary objectives of either terrestrial or ocean remote sensing applications. Often the data from these sensors are also used for freshwater, estuarine and coastal water quality observations, bathymetry and benthic mapping. However, such land and ocean specific sensors are not designed for these complex aquatic environments and consequently are not likely to perform as well as a dedicated sensor would. As a CEOS action, CSIRO and DLR have taken the lead on a feasibility assessment to determine the benefits and technological difficulties of designing an Earth observing satellite mission focused on the biogeochemistry of inland, estuarine, deltaic and near coastal waters as well as mapping macrophytes, macro-algae, sea grasses and coral reefs. These environments need higher spatial resolution than current and planned ocean colour sensors offer and need higher spectral resolution than current and planned land Earth observing sensors offer (with the exception of several R&D type imaging spectrometry satellite missions). The results indicate that a dedicated sensor of (non-oceanic) aquatic ecosystems could be a multispectral sensor with ~26 bands in the 380-780 nm wavelength range for retrieving the aquatic ecosystem variables as well as another 15 spectral bands between 360-380 nm and 780-1400 nm for removing atmospheric and air-water interface effects. These requirements are very close to defining an imaging spectrometer with spectral bands between 360 and 1000 nm (suitable for Si based detectors), possibly augmented by a SWIR imaging spectrometer. In that case the spectral bands would ideally have 5 nm spacing and Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM), although it may be necessary to go to 8 nm wide spectral bands (between 380 to 780nm where the fine spectral features occur -mainly due to photosynthetic or accessory pigments) to obtain enough signal to noise. The spatial resolution of such a global mapping mission would be between ~17 and ~33 m enabling imaging of the vast majority of water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, lagoons, estuaries etc.) larger than 0.2 ha and ~25% of river reaches globally (at ~17 m resolution) whilst maintaining sufficient radiometric resolution