A policy to boost R&D: Does the R&D tax credit work?

In this article we address various issues raised by the evaluation of the R&D tax credit policy. We first consider the studies that estimate the direct effects of the tax credit on R&D inputs. We discuss results obtained through different approaches and methods and show that they give a contrasted picture of the policy’s effectiveness. Next we argue that a comprehensive evaluation of the R&D tax credit should include other outcomes and present studies focussing on them. We also initiate a very tentative meta-analysis to obtain a more synthetic view on the various evaluation results. We finally conclude that harmonization and increased comparability in evaluation studies would be useful to bridge the gab between evaluation and policy design and implementation.R&D; R&D tax credit; R&D capital; capital use cost; evaluation; meta-analysis

A policy to boost R&D: Does the R&D tax credit work?

In this article we address various issues raised by the evaluation of the R&D tax credit policy. We first consider the studies that estimate the direct effects of the tax credit on R&D inputs. We discuss results obtained through different approaches and methods and show that they give a contrasted picture of the policy's effectiveness. Next we argue that a comprehensive evaluation of the R&D tax credit should include other outcomes and present studies focussing on them. We also initiate a very tentative meta-analysis to obtain a more synthetic view on the various evaluation results. We finally conclude that harmonization and increased comparability in evaluation studies would be useful to bridge the gap between evaluation and policy design and implementation

Quoi de neuf dans les systèmes d'appréciation du personnel ?

Cette étude porte sur les formulaires d'appréciation qui servent de support à des entretiens annuels et permettent de concrétiser les résultats. Elle cherche à identifier des approches utilisées par les entreprises qui innovent dans ce domaine en analysant 109 formulaires utilisés récemment dans 85 organisations. L'analyse des thèmes abordés et des modalités d'appréciation fait ressortir, au delà des thèmes classiques que sont l'évaluation des comportements et la réalisation d'objectifs, des évolutions plus récentes : on observe par exemple une demande plus forte d'implication de la part des responsables hiérarchiques et de la prise en compte des compétences, même si celles-ci ne sont encore évaluées que dans un peu moins de la moitié des entreprises. Le contenu des formulaires semble assez standard, mais quelques différences significatives existent selon la population concernée ou le type d'entreprise

One hundred and fifty years of ornithology in Sicily, with an unknown manuscript by Joseph Whitaker

A new complete check-list of Birds of Sicily is presented in this paper, with a comparison with previous lists for a period of one hundred and fifty years. Further, an unknown manuscript by Joseph Whitaker “Birds of Sicily”, dated back to ca. 1920, has been transcribed and is here presented integrally. Thus, lists of birds here presented have been separated as follows: i) Doderlein (1869–1874); ii) Whitaker (1920); iii) Iapichino & Massa (1989), Lo Valvo et al. (1993) iv) Corso (2005), Ientile & Massa (2008); v) 2010–2020: Massa et al. (2015) and personal observations; vi) long-term trend: personal observations. Overall, 437 species are listed. Out of 283 species regularly present in Sicily, over the long period here considered of one hundred and fifty years, 75 (26.5) resulted to maintain stable populations, 35 (12.4%) resulted increasing, 12 (4.2%) very increasing, 75 (26.5%) with declining populations, 34 (12%) with very declining populations and 11 (3.9%) became extinct. Further, 41 species (14.5%) showed a population trend different from the previous ones, that we classified as fluctuating. We discuss about seventy representatives of the previous categories

Le fard des couleurs de rhétorique à la Renaissance

Au début de sa Légende des Vénitiens, texte pamphlétaire dénigrant la Sérénissime et avec elle la papauté qui en était l’alliée, l’historien et poète Lemaire de Belges prévient son lecteur qu’il lui plaise « supporter benignement la grosse tournure du langaige peu elegant » à l’œuvre dans le texte. Les épîtres dédicatoires et la fin des prologues sont le lieu privilégié de telles déclarations, et on n’aurait là qu’un simple topos de modestie, captatio beneuolentiae à laquelle recourent les éc..

Appropriation des pédagogies innovantes par les formateurs en bibliothèques universitaires (L\u27)

Mémoire de fin d\u27étude du diplôme de conservateur, promotion 25 portant l\u27innovation pédagogique et la façon dont les formateurs en bibliothèque se l\u27approprie

La Vierge et la nature dans le Liber Marialis de Jacques de Voragine

Mémoire de master "CEI" portant sur l\u27oeuvre méconnue du dominicain Jacques de Voragine, le Liber Marialis

Homocysteine, vitamin determinants and neurological diseases.

This review focuses on the putative role of hyper-homocysteinemia in the pathogenesis of different diseases affecting the nervous system, including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, a firm pathogenic role of homocysteine in these diseases has never been established. Lowering plasma homocysteine levels trough vitamin therapy failed to prevent vascular diseases. Conversely, normalization of hyper-homocysteinemia caused improvement in patients with cognitive impairment. B vitamin deficiency is the main determinant of homocysteine levels. However, it has been hypothesized that homocysteine might be a mere marker of vitamin deficiency or an indicator of disease rather than a risk factor. A more consistent use of thresholds to define deficiency is needed to recommend routine screening, monitoring and supplementation of B vitamins to ameliorate the prognosis of the above mentioned disorders. To date, data are insufficient to firmly establish which one of the hypotheses made is correct and the question concerning the real meaning of hyper-homocysteinemia in the pathology of the nervous system still remains an intriguing medical dilemma

NF-kappaB activation is associated with homocysteine-induced injury in Neuro2a cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Perinatal exposure to hyperhomocysteinemia might disturb neurogenesis during brain development and growth. Also, high levels of homocysteine trigger neurodegeneration in several experimental models. However, the putative mechanisms of homocysteine-induced toxicity in the developing nervous system have poorly been elucidated. This study was aimed to investigate homocysteine effects in undifferentiated neuroblastoma cells, Neuro2a.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A 4 h exposure to homocysteine in a concentration range of 10–100 μM did not affect cell viability and ROS production in Neuro2a cell cultures. Instead, ROS levels were increased by two-three folds in cells treated with 250 μM and 500 μM homocysteine, respectively, in comparison with control cells. Also, the highest homocysteine dose significantly reduced the viable cell number by 40%. Notably, the treatment with homocysteine (250 μM–500 μM) in the presence of antioxidants, such as N-acetylcysteine and IRFI 016, a synthetic α-tocopherol analogue, recovered cell viability and significantly reduced homocysteine-evoked increases in ROS production. Moreover, antioxidants, particularly IRFI 016, were able to counteract NF-κB activation induced by 250 μM homocysteine.</p> <p>Cell treatment with 250 μM homocysteine also triggered the onset of apoptosis, as demonstrated by the increased expression of early apoptotic markers such as Bax, caspase-3 and p53. In contrast, Bcl2 expression was not affected by homocysteine exposure. Interestingly, the specific inhibition of NF-κB nuclear translocation by the synthetic peptide SN50 was able to almost completely suppress the homocysteine-evoked rises in pro-apoptotic protein expression as well as in caspase-3 activity. Further, also IRFI 016 and N-acetylcysteine were able to significantly reduce caspase-3 activation induced by homocysteine treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These observations suggest an involvement of redox state alterations and activated NF-κB in apoptosis onset triggered by homocysteine in neuroblastoma cells Neuro2a. However, further investigations are needed to characterize molecular events involved in the NF-κB activation induced by homocysteine.</p