IRAs and Household Saving Revisited: Some New Evidence

The effectiveness of tax-favored savings accounts in raising national savings depends crucially upon the willingness of households to reduce consumption in order to finance contributions to these accounts. The debate over the tax deductibility of IRA's has centered on whether IRA contributions represented new savings or reshuffled assets. We devise a test to distinguish between these two hypotheses where we compare the behavior of households which just opened an IRA account with that of households which already had an IRA account. Our test accounts for any unobservable heterogeneity across the two groups. We find evidence that supports the view that households financed their IRA contributions primarily through reductions in their stocks of other assets. Our results indicate that less than 20% of IRA contributions represented addition to national savings.

Gender Differences and Attitudes in Entrepreneurial Intentions: the Role of Career Choice

Gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions and agentic traits frequently linked to entrepreneurship (locus of control, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, risk-taking propensity, and proactiveness) were examined using a sample of Spanish university students, 535 women and 283 men. Self-reported data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of several scales. MANOVA results showed gender differences in entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, in the sense that men felt themselves more efficient and oriented to create a new venture than women. Nevertheless, major area and age explained differences in the variables studied better than gender

Cytotoxic Activity of Crude Extracts as well as of Pure Components from Jatropha Species, Plants Used Extensively in African Traditional Medicine

Extracts from Jatropha curcas, a plant used in African traditional medicine for various diseases, were tested for cytotoxic activity. The root extracts strongly reduced cell growth of tumor cells in vitro, a result consistent with the knowledge of the application of these plant extracts in traditional medicine, especially to cure/ameliorate cancer. A selection of pure diterpenoids existing in extracts from Jatropha species and isolated from J. curcas, for example, curcusone C, curcusone D, multidione, 15-epi-4Z-jatrogrossidentadion, 4Z-jatrogrossidentadion, 4E-jatrogrossidentadion, 2-hydroxyisojatrogrossidion, and 2-epi-hydroxyisojatrogrossidion, were likewise tested, and they also showed strong cytotoxic activity. It turned out that these extracts are highly active against L5178y mouse lymphoma cells and HeLa human cervix carcinoma cells, while they cause none or only very low activity against neuronal cell, for example, PC12. These data underscore that extracts from J. curcas or pure secondary metabolites from the plant are promising candidates to be anticancer drug, combined with low neuroactive effects

A triple GEM gamma camera for medical application

Abstract A Gamma Camera for medical applications 10 × 10 cm 2 has been built using a triple GEM chamber prototype. The photon converters placed in front of the three GEM foils, has been realized with different technologies. The chamber, High Voltage supplied with a new active divider made in Frascati, is readout through 64 pads, 1 mm 2 wide, organized in a row of 8 cm long, with LHCb ASDQ chip. This Gamma Camera can be used both for X-ray movie and PET-SPECT imaging; this chamber prototype is placed in a scanner system, creating images of 8 × 8 cm 2 . Several measurements have been performed using phantom and radioactive sources of Tc 99 m ( 140 keV ) and Na 22 ( 511 keV ) . Results on spatial resolution and image reconstruction are presented

Awareness, detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens in Europe: stakeholders' perspectives

Emerging and invasive tree pests and pathogens in Europe are increasing in number and range, having impacts on biodiversity, forest services, ecosystems and human well-being. Stakeholders involved in tree and forest management contribute to the detection and management of new and emerging tree pests and pathogens (PnPs). We surveyed different groups of stakeholders in European countries. The stakeholders were mainly researchers, tree health surveyors and forest managers, as well as forest owners, nurseries, policy-makers, advisors, forestry authorities, NGOs and civil society. We investigated which tools they used to detect and manage PnPs, surveyed their current PnP awareness and knowledge and collated the new and emerging PnP species of concern to them. The 237 respondents were based in 15 European coun-tries, with the majority from the United Kingdom, France and the Czech Republic. There was a strong participation of respondents with a work focus on research and surveying, whereas timber traders and plant importers were less represented. Respondents were surveyed on 18 new, emerging PnPs in Europe and listed an additional 37 pest species and 21 pathogen species as potential future threats. We found that species on EPPO's list of 'priority pests' were better known than those not listed.Stakeholders working in urban environments were more aware of PnPs compared to those working in rural areas. Stakeholders' awareness of PnPs was not related to the number of new, emerging PnP species present in a country. Stakeholders want access to more detection and management tools, including long-term citizen -sci-ence monitoring, maps showing spread and range of new PnPs, pest identification smartphone apps, hand-held detection devices, drone monitoring and eDNA metabarcoding. To help facilitate better forest health across Europe, they called for mixed forest development, reduced nursery stock movement, biosecurity and data sharing amongst organisations. These results indicate that stakeholder knowledge of a few key PnP may be good, but given that the large diversity of threats is so large and future risks unknown, we conclude that multiple and varied methods for generic detection, mitigation and management methods, many in devel-opment, are needed in the hands of stakeholders surveying and managing trees and woodlands in Europe

Development and optimization of a new MALDI-TOF protocol for identification of the Sporothrix species complex

Accurate species identification of the Sporothrix schenckii complex is essential, since identification based only on phenotypic characteristics is often inconclusive due to phenotypic variability within the species. We used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for species identification of 70 environmental and clinical isolates of the Sporothrix complex. A reference database was established for MALDI-TOF MS-based species identification according to minor adjustments in the manufacturer's guidelines. The MALDI-TOF MS clearly distinguished strains of Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix globosa, Sporothrix mexicana, S. schenckii, Sporothrix luriei and Sporothrix pallida, enabling identification of all isolates at the species level, as confirmed by partial calmodulin gene sequence analyses. The present methodology is simple, reliable, rapid and highly suitable for routine identification in clinical mycology laboratories and culture collections, particularly for updating and reclassifying of deposited Sporothrix isolates.The authors wish to thank the following international researchers for generously contributing strains to this study: Conchita Torrielo (EH194, EH252, EH253); Myrtha Arango (04015, 11029, 010221, 10036, 03017, 03022, 12013, 03003, 14879); and Masako Kawasaki (KMU975). Financial support was provided by FAPERJ/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (grant proc. E-26/110.619/2012) and PAPES VI-Fiocruz/CNPq (Proc. 407693/2012-2) R. M. Z-O. is supported in part by CNPq 304976/2013-0 and FAPERJ E-26/103.157/2011. M. M. E. O. was supported by a grant from CAPES 2445/11-5 and PNPD/CAPES-Fiocruz/Pesquisa Clinica em Doencas Infecciosas. M. M. E. O., C. S. and N. L. thank the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013 and BioHealth-Biotechnology and Bioengineering approaches to improve health quality, Ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027" co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER. Automated sequencing was done using the genomic platform/DNA sequencing platform at the Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-PDTIS/FIOCRUZ (RPT01A), Brazil

International Guillain-Barré Syndrome Outcome Study (IGOS): protocol of a prospective observational cohort study on clinical and biological predictors of disease course and outcome in Guillain-Barré syndrome

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute polyradiculoneuropathy with a highly variable clinical presentation, course, and outcome. The factors that determine the clinical variation of GBS are poorly understood which complicates the care and treatment of individual patients. The protocol of the ongoing International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS), a prospective, observational, multi-centre cohort study that aims to identify the clinical and biological determinants and predictors of disease onset, subtype, course and outcome of GBS is presented here. Patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for GBS, regardless of age, disease severity, variant forms, or treatment, can participate if included within two weeks after onset of weakness. Information about demography, preceding infections, clinical features, diagnostic findings, treatment, course and outcome is collected. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid and serial blood samples for serum and DNA is collected at standard time points. The original aim was to include at least 1000 patients with a follow-up of 1-3 years. Data are collected via a web-based data entry system and stored anonymously. IGOS started in May 2012 and by January 2017 included more than 1400 participants from 143 active centres in 19 countries across 5 continents. The IGOS data/biobank is available for research projects conducted by expertise groups focusing on specific topics including epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, clinimetrics, electrophysiology, antecedent events, antibodies, genetics, prognostic modelling, treatment effects and long-term outcome of GBS. The IGOS will help to standardize the international collection of data and biosamples for future research of GBS. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01582763