bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evidence on the Relationship between Low Income and Poor Health: Is the Government Doing Enough?
Authors: Benzeval Michaela , Taylor Jayne , Judge Ken 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe government's report, Opportunity for All: Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion (Department of Social Security, 1999), identified poor health as one of the major problems associated with low income. However, much of the available evidence on the relationship between income and health is of little help in forming policies to reduce health inequalities, as it has tended to be based on cross‐section surveys and is therefore unable to shed much light on causal effects. Here, we make use of two British longitudinal datasets to examine the longer‐term influences of income on health within a life‐course perspective. We then use the results of our analysis to provide a brief critical assessment of the likely success of the government's anti‐poverty strategy in reducing health inequalities. A more detailed assessment of government policy in this respect can be found in Benzeval et al. (forthcoming).
Redistributive effects of the shift from personal income taxes to indirect taxes: Belgium 1988–93
Authors: Decoster Andre , Van Camp Guy 
Published: August 2010

AbstractBetween 1988 and 1993, the Belgian personal income tax system and the indirect tax system were reformed to a considerable extent. We use microsimulation models to investigate the impact of the reform on the liability progression and the redistributive effect of the combined tax system. The redistributive effect of personal income taxes decreased, notwithstanding an increase in liability progression. For indirect taxes, both the liability regressivity and the reverse redistributive effect have been enhanced. We use recently developed statistical tests to gauge the significance of the observed changes.
Annuity Markets and Retirement Security
Authors: Poterba James M. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe growing importance of defined contribution pension arrangements has drawn increased attention to the means by which retired people draw down their assets. Current UK law requires annuitisation of at least a fraction of defined contribution plan accumulations. Annuity markets have recently attracted some criticism with respect to pricing and the available range of product options. This paper describes a key feature of voluntary annuity markets: the presence of ‘adverse selection’. This is the tendency of annuitants to live longer than non‐annuitants, since individuals who know that they are likely to die soon do not purchase annuities. The paper presents information that quantifies the importance of adverse selection in the setting of private annuity prices and discusses the role of compulsory annuitisation requirements in reducing it. Requiring individuals to participate in the annuity market can reduce selection effects, at the cost of reducing individuals' range of retirement income options.
After the death of inflation: will fiscal drag survive?
Authors: Heinemann Friedrich 
Published: August 2010

AbstractDeclining inflation rates might have negative consequences for tax revenues. Phenomena such as the inflationary bracket creep in a progressive income tax system do not work any longer. With this background, the paper analyses the extent of fiscal drag for OECD countries since 1965. Some consideration of the role of money illusion and indexation in this context lays the theoretical base. A framework is presented that allows for the classification of fiscal structures with regard to the type of fiscal drag. The subsequent econometric panel analysis is performed for total and disaggregated government revenues. The results back theoretical considerations of inflation's impact on different kinds of taxes, which tends to be positive for individual income taxes and social security contributions and is negative for corporate income taxation. The paper concludes that both declining inflation and changing tax structures limit the potential for future fiscal drag.
Gender implications of current social security reforms
Authors: Bennett Fran 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper examines some current reforms to social security benefits / tax credits and changes to employment provisions from a gender perspective. It analyses tensions between the trend towards ‘individualisation’ and growing emphasis on the couple/household as a policy focus.New tax credits change the distribution of resources within many couples. Incentives to work for some second earners should improve; but extending in‐work subsidies to childless couples raises questions. Payment of child tax credit to the ‘main carer’ has been welcomed, though the implications of joint ownership of tax credits are unclear, and joint assessment will be extended.Many claimants' partners can now access employment services. However, this is aimed at reducing the number of workless households rather than expanding individuals' opportunities. Joint claims for jobseeker's allowance, and work‐focused interviews, involve increased responsibilities for partners but no right of access to individual income. A more consistent critical analysis of reform from a gender perspective is required.
Increasing Support for Those on Lower Incomes: Is the Saving Gateway the Best Policy Response?
Authors: Emmerson Carl , Wakefield Matthew 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe government is committed to introducing a new savings account for people on lower incomes. This will provide a strong incentive for eligible individuals to save, or at least to hold financial assets, in these accounts. This paper describes possible rationales for this government intervention. It then presents new evidence on the characteristics of people with lower incomes and finds that many already have some financial assets, while those who do not often appear to have good reasons for why they may not want to be currently saving. The result is that the proposed Saving Gateway will be extremely difficult to target at those who might benefit in the way the government hopes. The danger is that the policy will be expensive relative to the number of genuine new savers and savings that it generates.
Measuring Housing Subsidies: Distortionary and Distributional Effects in the Netherlands
Authors: Ter Rele Harry , Ven Steen Guido 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper measures the distortionary and distributional effects of housing subsidies in the Netherlands. Its broad scope allows us to discuss the results in the light of the main justifications for subsidising housing, i.e. the merit–good argument, external effects and the distribution motive. Our measurements reveal some patterns of subsidisation that seem difficult to justify on these grounds. This applies especially to the differences between subsidisation of rental and owneroccupied housing and between mortgage– and equity–financed ownership. Moreover, the inelastic supply of housing in the Netherlands entails that subsidisation has only a limited effect on promoting housing quality.
Who Will Pay for Long‐Term Care in the UK? Projections Linking Macro‐ and Micro‐Simulation Models
Authors: Hancock Ruth , Comas‐Herrera Adelina , Wittenberg Raphael , Pickard Linda 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe long‐term care funding system continues to attract much debate in the UK. We produce projections of state and private long‐term care expenditure and analyse the distributional impact of state‐financed care, through innovative linking of macro‐ and micro‐simulation models. Variant assumptions about life expectancy, dependency and care costs are examined and the impact of universal state‐financed (‘free’) personal care, based on need but not ability to pay, is investigated. We find that future long‐term care expenditure is subject to considerable uncertainty and is particularly sensitive to assumed future trends in real input costs. On a central set of assumptions, free personal care would, by 2051, increase public spending on long‐term care from 1.1 per cent of GDP to 1.3 per cent, or more if it generated an increase in demand. Among the care‐home population aged 85 or over, the immediate beneficiaries of free personal care would be those with relatively high incomes.
Simplicity versus Fairness in Means Testing: The Case of Civil Legal Aid
Authors: Buck Alexy , Stark Graham 
Published: August 2010

AbstractFor most state financial benefits, the making of any payment, or its level, depends upon a means test to assess the applicant's income or wealth. Attempts to make such tests fair often lead to procedures that are complicated to administer and confusing for the applicant. This paper describes the analysis underlying a review of means testing for civil legal aid in England and Wales, to achieve considerable simplification without sacrificing fairness.
School Attendance and Skill Premiums in France and the US: A General Equilibrium Approach*
Authors: De La Croix David , Docquier Frédéric 
Published: August 2010

AbstractWe evaluate the effect of education policies, welfare programmes, technology and demographics on the differential evolution of the skill premium and on the rise in education investment in France and the US. We use a computable general equilibrium model with overlapping generations of individuals and endogenous education decisions. Human capital has two substitutable components ‐ experience and education ‐ both of which evolve endogenously over time. We use an original method to calibrate our model properly on the post‐war period and run counterfactual experiments to assess the relative contributions of the different exogenous variables. The expansionary French education policy boosted the supply of skills and kept the skill premium low. In contrast, increasing education costs in the US contributed to increased wage differentials by reducing the rise in educational attainment. Skill‐biased technical change is key to understanding rising school attendance and skill premiums in the US. It has a less important role and appears to be delayed in France.
Why Are Mothers Working Longer Hours in Austria than in Germany? A Comparative Microsimulation Analysis*
Authors: Dearing Helene , Hofer Helmut , Lietz Christine , Winter‐Ebmer Rudolf , Wrohlich Katharina 
Published: August 2010

AbstractLabour force participation rates of mothers in Austria and Germany are similar; however, full‐time employment rates are much higher among Austrian mothers. In order to find out to what extent these differences can be attributed to differences in the tax‐transfer system, we perform a comparative microsimulation exercise. After estimating structural labour supply models for both countries, we interchange two important institutional characteristics of the two countries ‐ namely, (i) the definition of the tax unit within the personal income tax and (ii) the parental leave benefit scheme. As our analysis shows, differences in mothers’employment patterns can partly be explained by the different tax systems: while Germany has a system of joint taxation with income splitting for married couples, Austria taxes everyone individually, which leads to lower marginal tax rates for secondary earners than in the German system.
The Years Between. Milan 1975–Hanover 1979
Authors: Ratcliffe Jack D. 
Published: August 2010

The period between ITMA in Milan and the forthcoming ITMA in Hanover has probably been one of the most difficult times for the European textile industry. Somewhat surprisingly it has also been a period of rapid development and advance in machinery, technology and fashion. It is regrettable that this progress has not resulted in any substantial improvement in the profits of dyers and printers.in this paper three major sections of our industry are discussed, firstly machine development, secondly technological improvements and thirdly the commercial problems of this period. The conclusions reached in this paper are based generally on experience in the apparel field and in particular with fabrics made from polyester, secondary acetate, triacetate, nylon and acrylic fibres or blends of these with other fibres.
Computing Machinery and Understanding
Authors: Ramscar Michael 
Published: August 2010

AbstractHow are natural symbol systems best understood? Traditional “symbolic” approaches seek to understand cognition by analogy to highly structured, prescriptive computer programs. Here, we describe some problems the traditional computational metaphor inevitably leads to, and a very different approach to computation (Ramscar, Yarlett, Dye, Denny, & Thorpe, 2010; Turing, 1950) that allows these problems to be avoided. The way we conceive of natural symbol systems depends to a large degree on the computational metaphors we use to understand them, and machine learning suggests an understanding of symbolic thought that is very different to traditional views (Hummel, 2010). The empirical question then is: Which metaphor is best?
Red Cell Age and Susceptibility to Immune Haemolysis
Authors: Wit C. Dudok de , VAN Gastel C. 
Published: August 2010

Light and dense human red cell fractions were prepared by ultracentrifugation using isotonic low molecular weight dextran solutions, and tested in a in vitro complement dependent haemolytic system with a rabbit anti‐human‐red‐cell serum (as amboceptor). A second series of experiments was performed with whole blood samples in which the young cells were labelled with 59Fe.The results indicate that young cells are relatively more resistant and old cells more susceptible to immune haemolysis than the whole cell population.
Pharmacological Studies on an Iron‐poly‐(sorbitol‐gluconic acid) complex for Parenteral Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anaemia
Authors: ERIKSSON HANS , SVÄRD PER‐OLOV 
Published: August 2010

Intravenous injection of the iron‐poly (sorbitol‐gluconic acid) complex (IPSG) to cats anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone caused a transient decrease in mean arterial blood pressure and a temporary increase in central venous pressure, heart rate and femoral blood flow at large doses (cumulative doses up to 744 mg/kg). Tachyphylaxis developed upon repeated administration. A temporary reduction in the magnitude of the blood pressure responses to noradrenaline and isoprenaline was obtained after large doses of IPSG. The blood pressure effects of acetylcholine, histamine and bilateral carotid occlusion were not affected. No definite effects were seen on the electrocardiograms. The transient cardiovascular effects were interpreted as being due to the presence of small amounts of ferrous iron in the preparation.IPSG did not significantly affect blood coagulation or platelet aggregation as judged from results of in vitro and in vivo experiments.Immunogenicity studies in rabbits and antibody analyses of sera from patients treated with IPSG failed to demonstrate any effect of IPSG on the immune system.
Effects of Hydroxyurea Pretreatment of Donor Rats on Growth of Haematopoietic Diffusion Chamber Colonies in Mice
Authors: Ben‐Ishay Zina , Sharon Sara 
Published: August 2010

A single dose of hydroxyurea (HU) (400 mg/kg body weight) was injected i.p. into rats. Hydroxyurea, a potent DNA synthesis inhibitor, killed bone marrow cells in the S‐phase of the cell cycle. 9–10 h after HU administration, the rat bone marrow contained large numbers of necrotic cells and appeared predominantly lymphoid. Within 24–48 h of HU injection, resumption of normal haematopoiesis was observed.Rat bone marrow, 9–10 h following HU administration, was implanted in peritoneal diffusion chambers (DC) in irradiated mice. The results obtained suggest that pretreatment of donor rats with HU increases the bone marrow content of progenitor cells. The stem cell‐enriched marrow was conductive to enhanced growth of DC colonies in irradiated mice.
The Role of the Professional Executive Director in Hemophilia Societies
Authors: Gurney E T 
Published: August 2010

Hemophilia Societies all over the world are being challenged by the economic order of this time, to strive for new heights of performance… to operate more efficiently… to accept new technology… in fact to prove their need to exist.Such challenge produces tremendous opportunity for all Execuitve Directors to… streamline our organizations… to adopt new communication techniqeus… to re‐evaluate fundraising techniques and apply innovative approaches… to quickly adopt new technologies which can benefit the hemophiliac.The commitment of Hemophilia Societies must be to an improved life style for all hemophiliacs and ultimately a cure for Hemophilia. This will be achieved through education, regular assessments, and high quality drug products, and to this end, all Societies must strive.If our Socieities are to be effective, Executive Directors together with their individual Board of Directors must plan well, ever keeping the objective in mind, and cause things to happen that will ensure that hemophiliacs throughout the world enjoy optimum care and a normal and productive lifestyle.
Elastase in gingival crevicular fluid from smokers and non‐smokers with chronic inflammatory periodontal disease
Authors: Alavi AL , Palmer RM , Odell EW , Coward PY , Wilson RF 
Published: August 2010

OBJECTIVE: To compare elastase concentrations in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from individual sites of smokers and non‐smokers.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve pairs of smokers and non‐smokers with untreated, moderate to advanced chronic inflammatory periodontal disease were matched for gender, age, ethnicity and the clinical and radio‐graphic extent of disease. Durapore filter strip samples were collected over 30 s from two mesiopalatal sites on upper left posterior teeth. Samples were analysed for: I) polymorphonuclear neutrophil leucocyte (PMNL) cell counts; 2) PMNL elastase‐αI‐antitrypsin complex in the GCF supernatant by ELISA; and 3) functional elastase, free or bound to α2‐macroglobulin, estimated from activity against N‐tert‐butoxycarbonyI‐alanyl‐prolyl‐nor‐valylg‐chlorothiobenzyl ester in supernatant and lysates of GCF PMNLs.RESULTS: There were no differences in disease parameters between groups except that bleeding on probing was less extensive in smokers (P< 0.001). Cell counts and elastase content of crevicular PMNLs showed no differences between groups. Lower concentrations of elastase were found in GCF supernatants from smokers than non‐smokers. This difference was observed for functional elastase (mean [s.d.] = 30.21 [17.60] against 73.77 [75.26] ng μI‐1, P <0.05) and elastase complexed with αl‐antitrypsin (8.97 [6.54] ng μl‐1 against 25.71 [22.07] ng μI‐1, P< 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Smokers have lower elastase concentrations in GCF than non‐smokers. Further investigation is required to elucidate the underlying cause and its relationship with periodontal disease.
Cytokeratin phenotypes at the dento‐gingival junction in relative health and inflammation, in smokers and non‐smokers
Authors: Pritlove‐Carson S. , Charlesworth S. , Morgan PR , Palmer RM 
Published: August 2010

OBJECTIVES: The cells of the junctional epithelium (JE) provide and maintain the epithelial attachment, and remain morphologically and phenotypically distinct from oral sulcular (OSE) and external oral epithelia (EOE), from which they may be regenerated de novo. Expression of cytokeratins (CK) in human epithelia has been shown to be highly site‐specific, implying a functional role. The aims of this study were to differentiate between the cyto‐keratin profiles of JE, OSE, EOE and pocket epithelia (PE) in health and disease, in smokers and non‐smokers.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cytokeratin profiles of 40 samples of healthy and clinically inflamed human gingival tissue taken from 15 smokers and 25 non‐smokers were studied by immunocytochemistry. Cryostat sections of fresh frozen gingival tissues were stained with a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and visualised by a biotin‐Streptavidin‐peroxidase complex technique.RESULTS: JE and PE expressed an identical range of cytokeratins irrespective of the inflammatory or smoking status, with the exception of CK4 expression, which tended to be increased in smokers. The OSE and EOE expressed non‐cornifying and cornifying differentiation cytokeratins respectively, but in the presence of inflammation, both these epithelia showed increased expression of CK19 at a basal level in association with expression of one or more of the simple cytokeratins. JE/PE expressed CK17 in external layers only, approximating the tooth surface. All epithelia expressed CK6,16 the markers of high cell turnover.CONCLUSIONS: CK19 was a consistent differentiation marker for JE and PE.Expression of CK8,18 was enhanced by inflammation. CK4 expression increased in association with smoking. Markers of differentiation were not always co‐expressed equally within a pair. Pairs were not always completely mutually exclusive with frequent co‐localisation.
Alkalization produced by high‐dose carbachol in HSG cell line is independent of Ca2+
Authors: Atsumi T , Iwakura I , Uelia T 
Published: August 2010

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this investigation was to clarify the mechanism of alkalization induced by carbachol in HSG cells.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Cells of the HSG cell line derived from a human submandibular gland adenocarcinoma and those of the A‐431 human epidermoid carcinoma cell line were loaded with a fluorescent pH indicator, BCECF/AM, and the change in the intracellular pH of adherent cells and suspended ones were measured following stimulation with various concentrations (10‐7 M to 10‐2 M) of neurotransmitters (carbachol, noradrenaline, and isoproterenol).RESULTS:Isoproterenol did not cause alkalization of either cell type, whereas, noradrenaline and carbachol alkalized both types over the concentration ranges of 10‐6 M to 3 x I0‐3 M (HSG cell by noradrenaline), 10‐7 M to 2 times 10‐5 M (A‐431 cell by noradrenaline), and 7 times 10‐5M to 10‐4M (A‐431 cell by carbachol). On the other hand, alkalization induced by carbachol in the HSG cells was recognized at concentrations higher than 6 times 10‐5 M, and it showed no upper limit in terms of carbachol concentration. This high‐dose carbachol alkalization was not eliminated by preincubation with nifedipine (100 μM), a Ca2+ channel blocker, or with thapsigargin (100 μM), a microsomal Ca2+‐ATPase inhibitor.CONCLUSIONS:The alkalization system induced by carbachol in the HSG cell was quite different from that in the A‐431 cell, and that induced by high‐dose carbachol in HSG cells appeared to be independent of intracellular Ca2+. These findings will be useful to clarify the mechanism of salivary secretion stimulated by neurotransmitters.
Influence of lead on the cariostatic effect of fluoride co‐crystallized with sucrose in desalivated rats
Authors: Tabchoury CM , Pearson SK , Bowen WH 
Published: August 2010

OBJECTIVE: Results from previous studies have shown that pre‐ and perinatal exposure to lead enhances susceptibility of rats to development of dental carieS. A possible explanation for this phenomenon may be that lead complexes with fluoride and renders F insoluble and unable to exert its cariostatic effects.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thus, to explore this hypothesis, 48 desalivated Sprague‐Dawley rats were placed in a König‐Höfer programmed feeder and received 17 meals of powdered sucrose daily, and water ad libitum as follows: group (1) plain sucrose and sterile distilled water (SDW); (2) sucrose containing 15 ppm F and SDW; (3) sucrose containing 15 ppm F and 10 ppm Pb water; (4) sucrose containing 15 ppm F and 25 ppm Pb water.RESULTS: The highest smooth‐surface, sulcal surface caries and severity scores were observed in group 1.Animals that were exposed to fluoride showed reduced smooth‐surface caries and severity scores.S. sobrinus counts did not differ among the groups.CONCLUSION: Lead did not interfere with the protective effect of fluoride in the conditions of the present study.