The 1998 Spanish reform of the Personal Income Tax eliminated the 15% deduction for private medical expenditures including payments on private health insurance (PHI) policies. To avoid an undesired increase in the demand for publicly funded health care, tax incentives to buy PHI were not completely removed but basically shifted from individual to group employer-paid policies. In a unique fiscal experiment, at the same time that the tax relief for individually purchased policies was abolished, the government provided for tax allowances on policies taken out through employment. Using a bivariate probit model on data from National Health Surveys, we estimate the impact of said reform on the demand for PHI and the changes occurred within it. Our findings indicate that the total probability of buying PHI was not significantly affected by the reform. Indeed, the fall in the demand for individual policies (by 10% between 1997 and 2001) was offset by an increase in the demand for group employer-paid ones. We also briefly discuss the welfare effects on the state budget, the industry and society at large. 相似文献
Three series of polyglycidol‐poly(allyl glycidyl ether)‐polyglycidol (PG‐PAGE‐PG) triblock copolymers with ranging PG contents and fixed molar masses of the middle PAGE block are prepared. The copolymers are analogous to the Pluronic, poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(propylene oxide)‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO‐PPO‐PEO), block copolymers in which the chemically inert PEO and PPO are substituted by PG and PAGE, respectively, exhibiting latent chemical functionality. They are prepared by solvent‐free sequential anionic polymerization of allyl glycidyl ether and ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether followed by cleavage of the protective groups. In aqueous solution the block copolymers self‐associate. According to the thermodynamic data, the self‐association is enthalpically favored with a small entropy contribution, which is fundamentally different from that of Pluronic block copolymers. The nanostructures are parameterized by dynamic and static light scattering and visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Data indicate formation of relatively large particles that are identified as compound particles held together by strong hydrogen bonding promoted by the numerous hydroxyl groups from the PG moieties.
Neuronogenesis in the neocortical pseudostratified ventricular epithelium
(PVE) is initiated rostrolaterally and progresses caudo- medially as
development progresses. Here we have measured the cytokinetic parameters
and the fractional neuronal output parameter, Q, of laterally located
early-maturing regions over the principal embryonic days (E12-E15) of
neocortical neuronogenesis in the mouse. These measures are compared with
ones previously made of a medial, late- maturing portion of the PVE.
Laterally, as medially, the duration of the neuronogenetic interval is 6
days and comprises 11 integer cell cycles. Also, in both lateral and medial
areas the length of G1 phase (TG1) increases nearly 4-fold and is the only
cell cycle parameter to change. Q progresses essentially identically
laterally and medially with respect to the succession of integer cell
cycles. Most importantly, from E12 to E13 there is a steeply declining
lateral to medial gradient in TG1. The gradient is due both to the lateral
to medial graded stage of neuronogenesis and to the stepwise increase in
TG1 with each integer cycle during the neuronogenetic interval. To our
knowledge this gradient in TG1 of the cerebral PVE is the first cell
biological gradient to be demonstrated experimentally in such an extensive
proliferative epithelial sheet. We suggest that this gradient in TG1 is the
cellular mechanism for positionally encoding a protomap of the neocortex
within the PVE.
相似文献
The autoimmune nature of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) in adults is widely accepted. In contrast, the pathogenetic mechanism in acute and chronic ITP in children is not known. In this report, we studied 39 children with destructive thrombocytopenia, 15 patients with acute ITP and 24 patients with chronic ITP. Platelet autoantibodies to platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa were detected in 14 of 24 patients (58.3%) in the chronic ITP group and in four of 15 (26.7%) with acute ITP. Binding ratios (+/- SD) of positive patients were significantly greater (P = .01) in chronic ITP (8.0 +/- 9.1) when compared with those of acute ITP where the binding ratios were only slightly above the normal range (1.9 +/- 0.4). The results show that autoantibodies against platelet glycoproteins are present in the majority of children with chronic ITP confirming the autoimmune nature of this disorder. The minimal elevation seen in the positive children with acute ITP suggests a different pathogenetic mechanism. These data suggest that this approach may be useful in differentiating acute from chronic ITP patients. 相似文献
Hypertension is increasingly being recognised as an important public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with 26.9% of men and 28.4% of women in 2000 being estimated to have hypertension.1 Although lower than the prevalence in high-income countries (37.4% in men and 37.2% in women), in terms of numbers of people affected, the burden of hypertension in low- and middle-income countries is greater due to the large population.1Hypertension has been recognised as a strong independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke and a predictor of premature death and disability from cardiovascular complications.2 It has been reported that 13.5% of deaths and 6% of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were attributed to hypertension globally, and for low- and middle income people, these figures were 12.9 and 5.6%, respectively over the period 1990 to 2001.3 Although infectious diseases remain the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension is rising rapidly.4It has been emphasised that urbanisation is a key reason for the increasing rates of hypertension, as evidenced by the higher prevalence of hypertension in urban areas.4-6 Urban lifestyles, characterised by sedentary living, increased salt intake, obesity and stress contribute to these differences.5 With the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa projected to increase, a greater risk of hypertension is anticipated.Studies on the association between ethnicity and hypertension in high-income countries have documented a higher prevalence of hypertension in black ethnic groups compared to white ethnic groups.7-9 Reasons for this association are complex, unclear and much debated, reflecting genetic and biochemical mechanisms, and environmental and socio-economic factors.10,11 There is limited evidence regarding differences in the prevalence of hypertension between ethnic groups within the broader classification of black ethnicity.6,12,13Studies in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa have mainly involved specific geographical areas or have focused on sub-groups of the population.5,14 Surveys from Nigeria report prevalence estimates ranging from 20.2 to 36.6%, but all have involved participants with different age ranges.15-18 To plan services for hypertension in Nigeria, it is essential to have accurate prevalence estimates for the whole population and to identify populations at risk.Nigeria, which is the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, is home to over 250 different ethnic groups. Nigeria is experiencing rapid urbanisation of the population, which is likely to increase the population at risk for hypertension.19 The present study is one of the largest population-based surveys in the region and is able to provide a nationally representative estimate of hypertension for Nigeria. 相似文献