Cyclical Features of Uzawa-Lucas Endogenous Growth Model

This paper analyzes the cyclical properties of a generalized version of Uzawa-Lucas endogenous growth model. We study the dynamic features of different cyclical components of this model characterized by a variety of decomposition methods. The decomposition methods considered can be classified in two groups. On the one hand, we consider three statistical filters: the Hodrick-Prescott filter, the Baxter-King filter and Gonzalo-Granger decomposition. On the other hand, we use four model-based decomposition methods. The latter decomposition procedures share the property that the cyclical components obtained by these methods preserve the log-linear approximation of the Euler-equation restrictions imposed by the agent’s intertemporal optimization problem. The paper shows that both model dynamics and model performance substantially vary across decomposition methods. A parallel exercise is carried out with a standard real business cycle model. The results should help researchers to better understand the performance of Uzawa-Lucas model in relation to standard business cycle models under alternative definitions of the business cycle.

Towards multilingual domain module acquisition

Máster y Doctorado en Sistemas Informáticos Avanzados, Informatika Fakultatea - Facultad de Informática

Hezkuntza eta kalitatea

[EUS] Ikerketa honen bidez, Euskal Herrian hezkuntza kalitatea bermatzeko dagoen sarearen, hau da, “Kalitatea Hezkuntzan” sarearen ebaluazioa egin nahi izan da. Horretarako, adituek berrikuntza eta hezkuntza kalitatea gaiei buruz adierazten dutenaren inguruan bilaketa bat egin izan da eta ondoren, sei ikastetxe ezberdinetako irakasle batzuei inkesta bat bidali izan zaie. Lortutako emaitzak oso ezberdinak izan dira, izan ere, irakasleen artean ez-adostasunak aztertu izan dira. Bestalde, ondorioetan, adituek azaltzen dutenaren eta irakasleek uste dutenaren artean, alde handia dagoela ondorioztatu izan da, lehenengoek hezkuntza kalitatea nola definitzen duten eta irakasleek nola antzematen duten oso ezberdina izan delako.

Exploring Genetic Factors Involved in Huntington Disease Age of Onset: E2F2 as a New Potential Modifier Gene

Age of onset (AO) of Huntington disease (HD) is mainly determined by the length of the CAG repeat expansion (CAGexp) in exon 1 of the HTT gene. Additional genetic variation has been suggested to contribute to AO, although the mechanism by which it could affect AO is presently unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the contribution of candidate genetic factors to HD AO in order to gain insight into the pathogenic mechanisms underlying this disorder. For that purpose, two AO definitions were used: the earliest age with unequivocal signs of HD (earliest AO or eAO), and the first motor symptoms age (motor AO or mAO). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed between genetic variation within 20 candidate genes and eAO or mAO, using DNA and clinical information of 253 HD patients from REGISTRY project. Gene expression analyses were carried out by RT-qPCR with an independent sample of 35 HD patients from Basque Country Hospitals. We found suggestive association signals between HD eAO and/or mAO and genetic variation within the E2F2, ATF7IP, GRIN2A, GRIN2B, LINC01559, HIP1 and GRIK2 genes. Among them, the most significant was the association between eAO and rs2742976, mapping to the promoter region of E2F2 transcription factor. Furthermore, rs2742976 T allele patient carriers exhibited significantly lower lymphocyte E2F2 gene expression, suggesting a possible implication of E2F2-dependent transcriptional activity in HD pathogenesis. Thus, E2F2 emerges as a new potential HD AO modifier factor.