Tax reforms and inequality: theoretical and empirical implications

In this paper we examine the effect of tax policy on the relationship between inequality and growth in a two-sector non-scale model. With non-scale models, the longrun equilibrium growth rate is determined by technological parameters and it is independent of macroeconomic policy instruments. However, this fact does not imply that fiscal policy is unimportant for long-run economic performance. It indeed has important effects on the different levels of key economic variables such as per capita stock of capital and output. Hence, although the economy grows at the same rate across steady states, the bases for economic growth may be different.The model has three essential features. First, we explicitly model skill accumulation, second, we introduce government finance into the production function, and we introduce an income tax to mirror the fiscal events of the 1980¿s and 1990¿s in the US. The fact that the non-scale model is associated with higher order dynamics enables it to replicate the distinctly non-linear nature of inequality in the US with relative ease. The results derived in this paper attract attention to the fact that the non-scale growth model does not only fit the US data well for the long-run (Jones, 1995b) but also that it possesses unique abilities in explaining short term fluctuations of the economy. It is shown that during transition the response of the relative simulated wage to changes in the tax code is rather non-monotonic, quite in accordance to the US inequality pattern in the 1980¿s and early 1990¿s.More specifically, we have analyzed in detail the dynamics following the simulation of an isolated tax decrease and an isolated tax increase. So, after a tax decrease the skill premium follows a lower trajectory than the one it would follow without a tax decrease. Hence we are able to reduce inequality for several periods after the fiscal shock. On the contrary, following a tax increase, the evolution of the skill premium remains above the trajectory carried on by the skill premium under a situation with no tax increase. Consequently, a tax increase would imply a higher level of inequality in the economy

Bases filosòfiques per una ciència crítica de l'educació. Una entrevista a Wilfred Carr.

Wilfred Carr, professor de la Divisió d'Educació de la Universitat de Sheffield del Regne Unit, és un deis representants més destacats de la Filosofia Crítica de l'Educació. A Espanya sobretot és conegut pel Ilibre (juntament amb Stephen Kemmis) 'Teoría crítica de la enseñanza', publicat per l'editorial Martínez Roca, i per una altre de més recent, 'Hacia una ciencia crítica de la educación', publicat per l'editorial Laertes. A més, ha participat en nombrosos congressos i seminaris, entre els quals podem destacar l'aportació que va fer al Congrés Internacional de Filosofia de l'Educació reunit a Madrid el 1988 i que fou publicada per la UNED al volum d'actes.

Cultura organizativa de investigadores y entorno político y social

no abstract

Application of Multi-SNP Approaches Bayesian LASSO and AUC-RF to Detect Main Effects of Inflammatory-Gene Variants Associated with Bladder Cancer Risk

The relationship between inflammation and cancer is well established in several tumor types, including bladder cancer. We performed an association study between 886 inflammatory-gene variants and bladder cancer risk in 1,047 cases and 988 controls from the Spanish Bladder Cancer (SBC)/EPICURO Study. A preliminary exploration with the widely used univariate logistic regression approach did not identify any significant SNP after correcting for multiple testing. We further applied two more comprehensive methods to capture the complexity of bladder cancer genetic susceptibility: Bayesian Threshold LASSO (BTL), a regularized regression method, and AUC-Random Forest, a machine-learning algorithm. Both approaches explore the joint effect of markers. BTL analysis identified a signature of 37 SNPs in 34 genes showing an association with bladder cancer. AUC-RF detected an optimal predictive subset of 56 SNPs. 13 SNPs were identified by both methods in the total population. Using resources from the Texas Bladder Cancer study we were able to replicate 30% of the SNPs assessed. The associations between inflammatory SNPs and bladder cancer were reexamined among non-smokers to eliminate the effect of tobacco, one of the strongest and most prevalent environmental risk factor for this tumor. A 9 SNP-signature was detected by BTL. Here we report, for the first time, a set of SNP in inflammatory genes jointly associated with bladder cancer risk. These results highlight the importance of the complex structure of genetic susceptibility associated with cancer risk.

El model de propaganda com a arma: Estudi de la creació i direcció de la opinió pública en la guerra d’Iraq del 2003

Scientia Potentia est, que traduït, vindria a significar “la informació és poder”.Aquest tòpic que, de ben segur, hem escoltat un miler de vegades és una expressió que hem acabat assimilant.De fet, ens trobem en una època que, el sociòleg Manuel Castells, defineix com l’era de la informació. Una època marcada per les noves tecnologies i el seu augment desfermat, tant quantitatiu com qualitatiu, que permet, o provoca, un ritme de transmissió, i de vida, molt més elevat.És una època en la que els constants fluxos d’informació, han comportat que la globalització, és a dir, l’increment de la interconnexió entre diferents societats, hagi assolit quotes extraordinàries.Estem saturats d’informació i, tot i així, desinformats, ja que és pot convertir en una tasca àrdua destriar allò que ens pot valer o interessar.

El "teenage consumer" a la Gran Bretanya de postguerra.

El final de la segona guerra mundial va marcar el principi d’un nou context internacional on els Estats Units i la URSS, cada un amb el seu sistema econòmic, es varen convertir en les dues potències mundials en lluita per l’hegemonia mundial. Al bloc occidental els Estats Units varen començar a exercir la seva influència per a estendre un model de societat basat en el consum que es convertirà en el model predominant durant tot el segle XX. Fora dels Estats Units el primer en començar a adoptar aquest mode de vida basat principalment en el consum va ser el teenage consumer britànic. Aquest tipus d’individu altament americanitzat que va sorgir al Regne Unit de postguerra es convertiria en un signe dels canvis que encara havien de venir. Aquest treball pretén definir la figura del teenage consumer, analitzar les causes del seu sorgiment, les seves característiques, els seus hàbits de consum i com va contribuir a la creació de la societat de consum.

Mètode psicofísic “cos-art”: relació amb l’emissió de la veu

Es presenten els resultats d’una investigació de caràcter qualitatiu -encara que s’ha utilitzat en algun moment l’estadística- pel que fa a la valoració que un grup d’alumnes de la Universitat Ramon Llull fa del mètode psicofísic Cos-Art com a treball que serveix per millorar l’emissió de la veu. Les tècniques i els instruments per a la recollida d’informació que s’han utilitzat han estat el diari de camp i el qüestionari. L’anàlisi de resultats mostra el treball global del Mètode com a efectiu. En blocs més específics, com poden ser els temes de respiració o llengua, entre altres, la freqüència més elevada en les respostes ha estat que el treball de Cos-Art els ha ajudat bastant. Per últim, un gran nombre d’alumnes consideren que el Mètode Cos-Art ajuda, de forma molt positiva, a prendre consciència d’un mateix.

Signaling across the synapse: a role for Wnt and Dishevelled in presynaptic assembly and neurotransmitter release

Proper dialogue between presynaptic neurons and their targets is essential for correct synaptic assembly and function. At central synapses, Wnt proteins function as retrograde signals to regulate axon remodeling and the accumulation of presynaptic proteins. Loss of Wnt7a function leads to defects in the localization of presynaptic markers and in the morphology of the presynaptic axons. We show that loss of function of Dishevelled-1 (Dvl1) mimics and enhances the Wnt7a phenotype in the cerebellum. Although active zones appear normal, electrophysiological recordings in cerebellar slices from Wnt7a/Dvl1 double mutant mice reveal a defect in neurotransmitter release at mossy fi ber–granule cell synapses. Deficiency in Dvl1 decreases, whereas exposure to Wnt increases, synaptic vesicle recycling in mossy fi bers. Dvl increases the number of Bassoon clusters, and like other components of the Wnt pathway, it localizes to synaptic sites. These fi ndings demonstrate that Wnts signal across the synapse on Dvl-expressing presynaptic terminals to regulate synaptic assembly and suggest a potential novel function for Wnts in neurotransmitter release.

Efficacy and safety of once-daily aclidinium in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: The long-term efficacy and safety of aclidinium bromide, a novel, long-acting muscarinic antagonist, were investigated in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: In two double-blind, 52-week studies, ACCLAIM/COPD I (n = 843) and II (n = 804), patients were randomised to inhaled aclidinium 200 μg or placebo once-daily. Patients were required to have a postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity ratio of ≤70% and FEV1 <80% of the predicted value. The primary endpoint was trough FEV1 at 12 and 28 weeks. Secondary endpoints were health status measured by St George"s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and time to first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation. Results: At 12 and 28 weeks, aclidinium improved trough FEV1 versus placebo in ACCLAIM/COPD I (by 61 and 67 mL; both p < 0.001) and ACCLAIM/COPD II (by 63 and 59 mL; both p < 0.001). More patients had a SGRQ improvement ≥4 units at 52 weeks with aclidinium versus placebo in ACCLAIM/COPD I (48.1% versus 39.5%; p = 0.025) and ACCLAIM/COPD II (39.0% versus 32.8%; p = 0.074). The time to first exacerbation was significantly delayed by aclidinium in ACCLAIM/COPD II (hazard ratio [HR] 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55 to 0.92; p = 0.01), but not ACCLAIM/COPD I (HR 1.0; 95% CI 0.72 to 1.33; p = 0.9). Adverse events were minor in both studies. Conclusion: Aclidinium is effective and well tolerated in patients with moderate to severe COPD. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00363896 ACCLAIM/COPD I) and NCT00358436 (ACCLAIM/COPD II).

Genetic Variation in the TP53 Pathway and Bladder Cancer Risk. A Comprehensive Analysis

Introduction: Germline variants in TP63 have been consistently associated with several tumors, including bladder cancer, indicating the importance of TP53 pathway in cancer genetic susceptibility. However, variants in other related genes, including TP53 rs1042522 (Arg72Pro), still present controversial results. We carried out an in depth assessment of associations between common germline variants in the TP53 pathway and bladder cancer risk. Material and Methods: We investigated 184 tagSNPs from 18 genes in 1,058 cases and 1,138 controls from the Spanish Bladder Cancer/EPICURO Study. Cases were newly-diagnosed bladder cancer patients during 1998–2001. Hospital controls were age-gender, and area matched to cases. SNPs were genotyped in blood DNA using Illumina Golden Gate and TaqMan assays. Cases were subphenotyped according to stage/grade and tumor p53 expression. We applied classical tests to assess individual SNP associations and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO)-penalized logistic regression analysis to assess multiple SNPs simultaneously. Results: Based on classical analyses, SNPs in BAK1 (1), IGF1R (5), P53AIP1 (1), PMAIP1 (2), SERINPB5 (3), TP63 (3), and TP73 (1) showed significant associations at p-value#0.05. However, no evidence of association, either with overall risk or with specific disease subtypes, was observed after correction for multiple testing (p-value$0.8). LASSO selected the SNP rs6567355 in SERPINB5 with 83% of reproducibility. This SNP provided an OR = 1.21, 95%CI 1.05–1.38, p-value = 0.006, and a corrected p-value = 0.5 when controlling for over-estimation. Discussion: We found no strong evidence that common variants in the TP53 pathway are associated with bladder cancer susceptibility. Our study suggests that it is unlikely that TP53 Arg72Pro is implicated in the UCB in white Europeans. SERPINB5 and TP63 variation deserve further exploration in extended studies.

GdBaCo2O5+x layered perovskite as an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell cathode

GdBaCo2O5+x (GBCO) was evaluated as a cathode for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. A porous layer of GBCO was deposited on an anode-supported fuel cell consisting of a 15m thick electrolyte of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) prepared by dense screen-printing anda Ni–YSZ cermet as an anode (Ni–YSZ/YSZ/GBCO). Values of power density of 150 mW cm−2 at 700◦C and ca. 250 mW cm−2 at 800◦C are reported for this standard configuration using 5% of H2 in nitrogen as fuel. An intermediate porous layer of YSZ was introduced between the electrolyte and the cathode improving the performance of the cell. Values for power density of 300 mW cm−2 at 700◦C and ca. 500 mW cm−2 at 800◦C in this configuration were achieved.

Comission 49: Interplanetary plasma and heliosphere. TRIENNIAL REPORT 2006 - 2009

Commission 49 covers research on the solar wind, shocks and particle acceleration, both transient and steady-state, e.g., corotating, structures within the heliosphere, and the termination shock and boundary of the heliosphere. The present triennal report is particularly rich in important results and events. The crossing of the solar wind termination shock by Voyager 2 in 2007 is a highlight and a milestone that will certainly have important consequences for astrophysical processes in general (Section 7). The fiftieth anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (19571958), which is also the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Space Age, was marked not only by celebrations and a strong Education and Public Outreach Program, but also by efforts in coordinating present observations and in starting new scientific programs, particularly implying developing countries (Section 8). Studies of solar energetic particles (Section 3) and the related radio bursts (Section 4) benefited from new data from a number of spacecraft. The STEREO mission was launched in October 2006 and has obtained new results on 3-D aspects of the inner heliosphere. Meanwhile, solar cycle 24 is expected to become active soon, following what is already the deepest solar minimum of the space age...

Visual SLAM for underwater vehicles using video velocity log and natural landmarks

A visual SLAM system has been implemented and optimised for real-time deployment on an AUV equipped with calibrated stereo cameras. The system incorporates a novel approach to landmark description in which landmarks are local sub maps that consist of a cloud of 3D points and their associated SIFT/SURF descriptors. Landmarks are also sparsely distributed which simplifies and accelerates data association and map updates. In addition to landmark-based localisation the system utilises visual odometry to estimate the pose of the vehicle in 6 degrees of freedom by identifying temporal matches between consecutive local sub maps and computing the motion. Both the extended Kalman filter and unscented Kalman filter have been considered for filtering the observations. The output of the filter is also smoothed using the Rauch-Tung-Striebel (RTS) method to obtain a better alignment of the sequence of local sub maps and to deliver a large-scale 3D acquisition of the surveyed area. Synthetic experiments have been performed using a simulation environment in which ray tracing is used to generate synthetic images for the stereo system

L'Univers en una cadira de rodes

Superació. immobilitat. Grandesa intel·lectual. Infinitud finita. Personatge mediàtic. Excepcionalitat. Icona de la ciència. Ateu diuen que una mica divinitzat. Humà, en definitiva. La llista de qualificatius que es podrien utilitzar per definir Stephen Hawking seria, sens dubte, immensa, i segur que no reflectiria tots els aspectes de la seva personalitat. No és fàcil fer una descripció del tot. També és immens l'Univers on vivim, un espai aparentment inhòspit, com una freda cadira de rodes absolutament mecanitzada; però tanmateix ple d'una bellesa captivadora, que hostatja planetes com el nostre, capaços de generar intel·lectes i personalitats tan pròspers, influents i al mateix temps paradoxals com els de Hawking. Una bellesa, la de l'Univers, que no només és visual i cromàtica, sinó també conceptual, física i matemàtica, curulla de relacions aparentment impossibles. Tanmateix, el treball i la vida de Hawking ens l'han fet una mica menys desconegut, una mica més proper; ens han acostat a la teoria del tot.

Gestió de les dades de recerca i biblioteques: relacions, activitats, motors i influències

La gestió de les dades de recerca és un gran repte per a les organitzacions de recerca. Grans quantitats de dades nascudes en entorns digitals estant essent produïdes en una vasta quantitat de formats a un ritme molt accelerat en l’àmbit universitari. Aquest document analitza la contribució de les biblioteques universitàries a la gestió de dades de recerca (RDM) en el context institucional més ampli. En particular: s’examinen els rols i les relacions implicades en la RDM, s’identifiquen els principals components d’un programa de RDM, s’avaluen els principals motors per a les activitats de la RDM i s’analitzen els factors clau que influeixen en la forma que adopten els desenvolupaments que es porten a terme en la RDM. L’estudi està escrit des de la perspectiva de professionals de les biblioteques, tot analitzant dades provinents de 26 entrevistes semiestructurades a personal bibliotecari de diferents institucions del Regne Unit. És una primera contribució qualitativa al tema que complementa altres enfocaments quantitatius i estudis de casos. Els resultats mostren que encara que les biblioteques estan jugant un rol significatiu en la RDM, hi ha incertesa i variacions en les relacions amb altres actors com els serveis de tecnologia de la informació i les oficines de suport a la recerca. L’èmfasi actual en els programes de RDM està en el desenvolupament de polítiques i directrius, amb algun incipient treball sobre infraestructures tecnològiques i serveis de suport. Els motors per al desenvolupament inclouen l’emmagatzematge, la seguretat, la qualitat, el compliment, la preservació i el compartiment, amb les biblioteques associades més estretament als tres darrers. L’article també destaca un motor “jurisdiccional” en el qual les biblioteques reclamen un rol en aquest espai. Un ampli ventall de factors, incloent el govern, la dotació de recursos i les habilitats, són identificats com influents en els desenvolupaments en curs. A partir de l’anàlisi, es construeix un model dissenyat per capturar els aspectes principals d’un programa institucional de RDM. Aquest model ajuda a esclarir els diferents temes implicats en la RDM, tot identificant capes d’activitat, múltiples actors i motors i un gran nombre de factors que influeixen en la implementació de qualsevol iniciativa. A les institucions els pot ser útil comparar les seves activitats amb les dades i el model de cara a informar sobre les activitats de RDM en curs.