Factor shares, the price markup, and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor.

In a Walrasian labor market, the labor income share is constant under the assumptions of a Cobb-Douglas production function and perfect competition. Given the observed decline of the labor share in recent decades, this paper relaxes these assumptions, proposes a time-series calculation of the aggregate price mark-up reflecting the degree of imperfect competition in the product market, and provides estimates of the elasticity of substitution under such product market imperfections. We focus on Spain and the U.S. and show that the elasticity of substitution is above one in Spain and below one in the U.S. We also show that the price markup drives the elasticity of substitution away from one, upwards in Spain, downwards in the U.S. These results are used to explain the declining path of the labor income share, common to both economies, and their contrasted patterns in terms of capital deepening.

Factor shares, the price markup, and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor

[spa] La participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional es constante bajo los supuestos de una funci��n de producci��n Cobb-Douglas y competencia perfecta. En este art��culo se relajan estos supuestos y se investiga si el comportamiento no constante de la participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional se explica por (i) una elasticidad de sustituci��n entre capital y trabajo no unitaria y (ii) competencia no perfecta en el mercado de producto. Nos centramos en Espa��a y los U.S. y estimamos una funci��n de producci��n con elasticidad de sustituci��n constante y competencia imperfecta en el mercado de producto. El grado de competencia imperfecta se mide a trav��s del c��lculo del price markup basado en laaproximaci��n dual. Mostramos que la elasticidad de sustituci��n es mayor que uno en Espa��a y menor que uno en los US. Tambi��n mostramos que el price markup aleja la elasticidad de sustituci��n de uno, lo aumenta en Espa��a, lo reduce en los U.S. Estos resultados se utilizan para explicar la senda decreciente de la participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional, com��n a ambas econom��as, y sus contrastadas sendas de capital.

Factor shares, the price markup, and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor

[spa] La participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional es constante bajo los supuestos de una funci��n de producci��n Cobb-Douglas y competencia perfecta. En este art��culo se relajan estos supuestos y se investiga si el comportamiento no constante de la participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional se explica por (i) una elasticidad de sustituci��n entre capital y trabajo no unitaria y (ii) competencia no perfecta en el mercado de producto. Nos centramos en Espa��a y los U.S. y estimamos una funci��n de producci��n con elasticidad de sustituci��n constante y competencia imperfecta en el mercado de producto. El grado de competencia imperfecta se mide a trav��s del c��lculo del price markup basado en laaproximaci��n dual. Mostramos que la elasticidad de sustituci��n es mayor que uno en Espa��a y menor que uno en los US. Tambi��n mostramos que el price markup aleja la elasticidad de sustituci��n de uno, lo aumenta en Espa��a, lo reduce en los U.S. Estos resultados se utilizan para explicar la senda decreciente de la participaci��n del trabajo en la renta nacional, com��n a ambas econom��as, y sus contrastadas sendas de capital.

Comparative analysis of the frequency and the severity of diagnosed lesions between pedestrians struck by motor vehicles and other blunt trauma mechanisms victims

ABSTRACTObjective:to compare the frequency and the severity of diagnosed injuries between pedestrians struck by motor vehicles and victims of other blunt trauma mechanisms.Methods:retrospective analysis of data from the Trauma Registry, including adult blunt trauma patients admitted from 2008 to 2010. We reviewed the mechanism of trauma, vital signs on admission and the injuries identified. Severity stratification was carried using RTS, AIS-90, ISS e TRISS. Patients were assigned into group A (pedestrians struck by motor vehicle) or B (victims of other mechanisms of blunt trauma). Variables were compared between groups. We considered p<0.05 as significant.Results:a total of 5785 cases were included, and 1217 (21,0%) of which were in group A. Pedestrians struck by vehicles presented (p<0.05) higher mean age, mean heart rate upon admission, mean ISS and mean AIS in head, thorax, abdomen and extremities, as well as lower mean Glasgow coma scale, arterial blood pressure upon admission, RTS and TRISS. They also had a higher frequency of epidural hematomas, subdural hematomas, subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain swelling, cerebral contusions, costal fractures, pneumothorax, flail chest, pulmonary contusions, as well as pelvic, superior limbs and inferior limbs fractures.Conclusion:pedestrian struck by vehicles sustained intracranial, thoracic, abdominal and extremity injuries more frequently than victims of other blunt trauma mechanism as a group. They also presented worse physiologic and anatomic severity of the trauma.

Adaptive evolution of four microcephaly genes and the evolution of brain size in anthropoid primates

The anatomical basis and adaptive function of the expansion in primate brain size have long been studied; however, we are only beginning to understand the genetic basis of these evolutionary changes. Genes linked to human primary microcephaly have received much attention as they have accelerated evolutionary rates along lineages leading to humans. However, these studies focus narrowly on apes, and the link between microcephaly gene evolution and brain evolution is disputed. We analyzed the molecular evolution of four genes associated with microcephaly (ASPM, CDK5RAP2, CENPJ, MCPH1) across 21 species representing all major clades of anthropoid primates. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, positive selection was not limited to or intensified along the lineage leading to humans. In fact we show that all four loci were subject to positive selection across the anthropoid primate phylogeny. We developed clearly defined hypotheses to explicitly test if selection on these loci was associated with the evolution of brain size. We found positive relationships between both CDK5RAP2 and ASPM and neonatal brain mass and somewhat weaker relationships between these genes and adult brain size. In contrast, there is no evidence linking CENPJ and MCPH1 to brain size evolution. The stronger association of ASPM and CDK5RAP2 evolution with neonatal brain size than with adult brain size is consistent with these loci having a direct effect on prenatal neuronal proliferation. These results suggest that primate brain size may have at least a partially conserved genetic basis. Our results contradict a previous study that linked adaptive evolution of ASPM to changes in relative cortex size; however, our analysis indicates that this conclusion is not robust. Our finding that the coding regions of two widely expressed loci has experienced pervasive positive selection in relation to a complex, quantitative developmental phenotype provides a notable counterexample to the commonly asserted hypothesis that cisregulatory regions play a dominant role in phenotypic evolution. Key words: ASPM, MCPH1, CDK5RAP2, CENPJ, brain, neurogenesis, primates.

A national security strategy for England: Matthew Sutcliffe, the Earl of Essex, and the Cadiz Expedition of 1596

The English cleric Matthew Sutcliffe arguably produced the first comprehensive security concept in history. It had at its centre the war between England and Spain (1585-1604), and Sutcliffe advocated taking the war to the Iberian Peninsula to seize Philip II's main Atlantic ports, rather than remaining satisfied with the indirect combat of Spain in Flanders, defensive action against naval attacks on England and the guerre de course on Spanish shipping at sea. This approach seems to be at the heart of Essex's 1596 naval campaing against Spanish ports, which foundered on the bureaucratic politics of the Elizabethan government.

The Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom) Natural Genetic Variation Rg1 and the DELLA Mutant Procera Control the Competence Necessary to Form Adventitious Roots and Shoots

Funda����o de Amparo �� Pesquisa do Estado de S��o Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of trade opening on household welfare: the Chilean case

Includes Bibliography

The Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom) Natural Genetic Variation Rg1 and the DELLA Mutant Procera Control the Competence Necessary to Form Adventitious Roots and Shoots

Despite the wide use of plant regeneration for biotechnological purposes, the signals that allow cells to become competent to assume different fates remain largely unknown. Here, it is demonstrated that the Regeneration1 (Rg1) allele, a natural genetic variation from the tomato wild relative Solanum peruvianum, increases the capacity to form both roots and shoots in vitro; and that the gibberellin constitutive mutant procera (pro) presented the opposite phenotype, reducing organogenesis on either root-inducing medium (RIM) or shoot-inducing medium (SIM). Mutants showing alterations in the formation of specific organs in vitro were the auxin low-sensitivity diageotropica (dgt), the lateral suppresser (ls), and the KNOX-overexpressing Mouse ears (Me). dgt failed to form roots on RIM, Me increased shoot formation on SIM, and the high capacity for in vitro shoot formation of ls contrasted with its recalcitrance to form axillary meristems. Interestingly, Rg1 rescued the in vitro organ formation capacity in proRg1 and dgtRg1 double mutants and the ex vitro low lateral shoot formation in pro and ls. Such epistatic interactions were also confirmed in gene expression and histological analyses conducted in the single and double mutants. Although Me phenocopied the high shoot formation of Rg1 on SIM, it failed to increase rooting on RIM and to rescue the non-branching phenotype of ls. Taken together, these results suggest REGENERATION1 and the DELLA mutant PROCERA as controlling a common competence to assume distinct cell fates, rather than the specific induction of adventitious roots or shoots, which is controlled by DIAGEOTROPICA and MOUSE EARS, respectively.

Citizenship Education ��� Between Social Inequality and the Promises of Modernity

For several reasons citizenship and democracy has moved into political and research focus. Socio-cultural tensions and inequalities created by globalisation processes boosted by neo-liberal modes of government seem to inspire a concern with ���social cohesion���, and the European Community assigns a key role to education in engendering European democratic citizenship. It can be questioned whether it is within the scope of educational programmes to ensure social integration and democracy. However, to clarify the perspectives of the educational issue, the article discusses the conflicts and relationships between cultural identity and democracy within a framework of modernity before returning to the issue of education for democratic citizenship. It is shown on the basis of empirical studies that family background interacts with school factors in the reproduction of democratic inequalities. It is also indicated, however, that this must not be considered an unchangeable pedagogical fact, and the article briefly sketches a set of pedagogical and research challenges concerned with educating for democratic empowerment at different levels of school practice. Although this paper focuses on education and the educational system, the arguments and findings presented can also claim relevance for social pedagogy and social work, esp. in respect of recent developments that stress the educational dimensions of social work.

Sensitization profiles and cross-reactivity among plant allergens. Molecular mechanisms of food allergy development and the role of enhancers

La prevalencia de las alergias est�� aumentando desde mediados del siglo XX, y se estima que actualmente afectan a alrededor del 2-8 % de la poblaci��n, pero las causas de este aumento a��n no est��n claras. Encontrar el origen del mecanismo por el cual una prote��na inofensiva se convierte en capaz de inducir una respuesta al��rgica es de vital importancia para prevenir y tratar estas enfermedades. Aunque la caracterizaci��n de al��rgenos relevantes ha ayudado a mejorar el manejo cl��nico y a aclarar los mecanismos b��sicos de las reacciones al��rgicas, todav��a queda un largo camino para establecer el origen de la alergenicidad y reactividad cruzada. El objetivo de esta tesis ha sido caracterizar las bases moleculares de la alergenicidad tomando como modelo dos familias de panalergenos (prote��nas de transferencia de l��pidos ���LTPs- y taumatinas ���TLPs-) y estudiando los mecanismos que median la sensibilizaci��n y la reactividad cruzada para mejorar tanto el diagn��stico como el tratamiento de la alergia. Para ello, se llevaron a cabo dos estrategias: estudiar la reactividad cruzada de miembros de familias de panal��rgenos; y estudiar mol��culas-co-adyuvantes que pudieran favorecer la capacidad alerg��nica de dichas prote��nas. Para estudiar la reactividad cruzada entre miembros de la misma familia de prote��nas, se seleccionaron LTPs y TLPs, descritas como alergenos, tomando como modelo la alergia a frutas. Por otra parte, se estudiaron los perfiles de sensibilizaci��n a al��rgenos de trigo relacionados con el asma del panadero, la enfermedad ocupacional m��s relevante de origen al��rgico. Estos estudios se llevaron a cabo estandarizando ensayos tipo microarrays con al��rgenos y analizando los resultados por la teor��a de grafos. En relaci��n al estudiar mol��culas-co-adyuvantes que pudieran favorecer la capacidad alerg��nica de dichas prote��nas, se llevaron a cabo estudios sobre la interacci��n de los al��rgenos alimentarios con c��lulas del sistema inmune humano y murino y el epitelio de las mucosas, analizando la importancia de mol��culas co-transportadas con los al��rgenos en el desarrollo de una respuesta Th2. Para ello, Pru p 3(LTP y al��rgeno principal del melocot��n) se selecci��n como modelo para llevarlo a cabo. Por otra parte, se analiz�� el papel de mol��culas activadoras del sistema inmune producidas por pat��genos en la inducci��n de alergias alimentarias seleccionando el modelo kiwi-alternaria, y el papel de Alt a 1, al��rgeno mayor de dicho hongo, en la sensibilizaci��n a Act d 2, al��rgeno mayor de kiwi. En resumen, el presente trabajo presenta una investigaci��n innovadora aportando resultados de gran utilidad tanto para la mejora del diagn��stico como para nuevas investigaciones sobre la alergia y el esclarecimiento final de los mecanismos que caracterizan esta enfermedad. ABSTRACT Allergies are increasing their prevalence from mid twentieth century, and they are currently estimated to affect around 2-8% of the population but the underlying causes of this increase remain still elusive. The understanding of the mechanism by which a harmless protein becomes capable of inducing an allergic response provides us the basis to prevent and treat these diseases. Although the characterization of relevant allergens has led to improved clinical management and has helped to clarify the basic mechanisms of allergic reactions, it seems justified in aspiring to molecularly dissecting these allergens to establish the structural basis of their allergenicity and cross-reactivity. The aim of this thesis was to characterize the molecular basis of the allergenicity of model proteins belonging to different families (Lipid Transfer Proteins ���LTPs-, and Thaumatin-like Proteins ���TLPs-) in order to identify mechanisms that mediate sensitization and cross reactivity for developing new strategies in the management of allergy, both diagnosis and treatment, in the near future. With this purpose, two strategies have been conducted: studies of cross-reactivity among panallergen families and molecular studies of the contribution of cofactors in the induction of the allergic response by these panallergens. Following the first strategy, we studied the cross-reactivity among members of two plant panallergens (LTPs , Lipid Transfer Proteins , and TLPs , Thaumatin-like Proteins) using the peach allergy as a model. Similarly, we characterized the sensitization profiles to wheat allergens in baker's asthma development, the most relevant occupational disease. These studies were performed using allergen microarrays and the graph theory for analyzing the results. Regarding the second approach, we analyzed the interaction of plant allergens with immune and epithelial cells. To perform these studies , we examined the importance of ligands and co-transported molecules of plant allergens in the development of Th2 responses. To this end, Pru p 3, nsLTP (non-specific Lipid Transfer Protein) and peach major allergen, was selected as a model to investigate its interaction with cells of the human and murine immune systems as well as with the intestinal epithelium and the contribution of its ligand in inducing an allergic response was studied. Moreover, we analyzed the role of pathogen associated molecules in the induction of food allergy. For that, we selected the kiwi- alternaria system as a model and the role of Alt a 1 , major allergen of the fungus, in the development of Act d 2-sensitization was studied. In summary, this work presents an innovative research providing useful results for improving diagnosis and leading to further research on allergy and the final clarification of the mechanisms that characterize this disease.

Technology and the neurologically handicapped : a conference cosponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and held at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, September 8-10, 1971

Includes bibliographies

A history of the mathematical theories of attraction and the figure of the earth from the time of Newton to that of Laplace.

Available on demand as hard copy or computer file from Cornell University Library.

Referral to rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury: practitioners and the process of decision-making

The study aimed to examine the factors influencing referral to rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by using social problems theory as a conceptual model to focus on practitioners and the process of decision-making in two Australian hospitals. The research design involved semi-structured interviews with 18 practitioners and observations of 10 team meetings, and was part of a larger study on factors influencing referral to rehabilitation in the same settings. Analysis revealed that referral decisions were influenced primarily by practitioners' selection and their interpretation of clinical and non-clinical patient factors. Further, practitioners generally considered patient factors concurrently during an ongoing process of decision-making, with the combinations and interactions of these factors forming the basis for interpretations of problems and referral justifications. Key patient factors considered in referral decisions included functional and tracheostomy status, time since injury, age, family, place of residence and Indigenous status. However, rate and extent of progress, recovery potential, safety and burden of care, potential for independence and capacity to cope were five interpretative themes, which emerged as the justifications for referral decisions. The subsequent negotiation of referral based on patient factors was in turn shaped by the involvement of practitioners. While multi-disciplinary processes of decision-making were the norm, allied health professionals occupied a central role in referral to rehabilitation, and involvement of medical, nursing and allied health practitioners varied. Finally, the organizational pressures and resource constraints, combined with practitioners' assimilation of the broader efficiency agenda were central factors shaping referral. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adolescents and the experience of parental divorce:including reference to the expectations of teacher trainees

The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of parental divorce on adolescents, and the expectations of teacher trainees with regard to children of divorce. The literature related to children of divorce is reviewed and the results of interviews with a sample of recently divorced custodial parents and their adolescent children, using a structured interview schedule, are described. The semantic differential technique was used to obtain ratings of a sample of teacher trainees' expectations of children of divorce as compared with their ratings of several other categories of children. The results of the interviews with parents and their adolescent children suggested that parental divorce does not necessarily interfere with adolescent development and that for some adolescents the reduction of conflict in the home might enhance normal development. They also suggest that adolescents would prefer to live in a one parent home rather than a two parent home which is fraught with conflict, and that it is preferable for parents who are unable to resolve such conflict in any other way to separate rather than allow it to persist. The ratings of children of divorce by teacher trainees suggest that they hold more negative expectations of such children than of other groups ��� such as adopted children. The contrast between this finding and the results of the interviews with adolescents and their parents lends some support to the existence of the divorce myth; that is, the cultural belief that divorce has the inherent power to make people unhappy. The implications for policy, practice and further research are discussed.