Fostering household formation: evidence from a Spanish rental subsidy

In Southern Europe youngsters leave their parental home significantly later than in Northern Europe and the United States. In this paper, we study the effect of a monthly cash subsidy on the probability that young adults live apart from parents and childbearing. The subsidy, introduced in Spain in 2008, is conditional on young adults renting accommodation, and it amounts to almost 20 percent of the average youngsters' wage. Our identification strategy exploits the subsidy eligibility age threshold to assess the causal impact of the cash transfer. Difference-in-Differences estimates show positive effects of the policy on the probability of living apart from parents, living with a romantic partner, and chidbearing for 22 year-olds compared to 21 year-olds. Results persist when the sample is expanded to include wider age ranges. The effect is larger among young adults earning lower incomes and living in high rental price areas. This is consistent with the hypothesis that youngsters delay household formation because the cost is too high relative to their income

TV or not TV? The impact of subtitling on English skills

We study the influence of television translation techniques on the quality of English spoken worldwide. We identify a large positive effect for subtitled original version broadcasts, as opposed to dubbed television, on English profficiency scores. We analyze the historical circumstances under which countries opted for one of the translation modes and use it to account for the possible endogeneity of the subtitling indicator. We disaggregate the results by type of skills and find that television works especially for listening comprehension. Our paper suggests that governments could promote subtitling as a means to improve foreign language profficiency and therefore economic performance

Disease isolates of Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae and non-typeable S. pneumoniae presumptively identified as atypical S. pneumoniae in Spain

We aimed to obtain insights on the nature of a collection of isolates presumptively identified as atypical Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from invasive and non-invasive infections in Spain. One-hundred and thirty-two isolates were characterized by: optochin susceptibility in ambient and CO2-enriched atmosphere; bile solubility; PCR-based assays targeting pneumococcal genes lytA, ply, pspA, cpsA, Spn9802, aliB-like ORF2, and a specific 16S rRNA region; multilocus sequence analysis; and antimicrobial susceptibility. By multilocus sequence analysis, 61 isolates were S. pseudopneumoniae, 34 were pneumococci, 13 were S. mitis, and 24 remained unclassified as non-pneumococci. Among S. pseudopneumoniae isolates, 51 (83.6%) were collected from respiratory tract samples; eight isolates were obtained from sterile sources. High frequency of non-susceptibility to penicillin (60.7%) and erythromycin (42.6%) was found. Only 50.8% of the S. pseudopneumoniae isolates displayed the typical optochin phenotype originally described for this species. None harbored the cpsA gene or the pneumococcal typical lytA restriction fragment length polymorphism. The Spn9802 and the specific 16S rRNA regions were detected among the majority of the S. pseudopneumoniae isolates (n = 59 and n = 49, respectively). The ply and pspA genes were rarely found. A high genetic diversity was found and 59 profiles were identified. Among the S. pneumoniae, 23 were capsulated and 11 were non-typeable. Three non-typeable isolates, associated to international non-capsulated lineages, were recovered from invasive disease sources. In conclusion, half of the atypical pneumococcal clinical isolates were, in fact, S. pseudopneumoniae and one-fourth were other streptococci. We identified S. pseudopneumoniae and non-typeable pneumococci as cause of disease in Spain including invasive disease

Pneumococcal carriage in sub-Saharan Africa--a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Pneumococcal epidemiology varies geographically and few data are available from the African continent. We assess pneumococcal carriage from studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) before and after the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) era. METHODS: A search for pneumococcal carriage studies published before 2012 was conducted to describe carriage in sSA. The review also describes pneumococcal serotypes and assesses the impact of vaccination on carriage in this region. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies were included in this review with the majority (40.3%) from South Africa. There was considerable variability in the prevalence of carriage between studies (I-squared statistic = 99%). Carriage was higher in children and decreased with increasing age, 63.2% (95% CI: 55.6-70.8) in children less than 5 years, 42.6% (95% CI: 29.9-55.4) in children 5-15 years and 28.0% (95% CI: 19.0-37.0) in adults older than 15 years. There was no difference in the prevalence of carriage between males and females in 9/11 studies. Serotypes 19F, 6B, 6A, 14 and 23F were the five most common isolates. A meta-analysis of four randomized trials of PCV vaccination in children aged 9-24 months showed that carriage of vaccine type (VT) serotypes decreased with PCV vaccination; however, overall carriage remained the same because of a concomitant increase in non-vaccine type (NVT) serotypes. CONCLUSION: Pneumococcal carriage is generally high in the African continent, particularly in young children. The five most common serotypes in sSA are among the top seven serotypes that cause invasive pneumococcal disease in children globally. These serotypes are covered by the two PCVs recommended for routine childhood immunization by the WHO. The distribution of serotypes found in the nasopharynx is altered by PCV vaccination

Should I stay or should I go? Sibling effects in household formation

This paper analyzes peer effects among siblings in the decision to leave parental home. Estimating peer effects is challenging because of problems of refection, endogenous group formation, and correlated unobservables. We overcome these issues using the exogenous variation in siblings' household formation implied by the eligibility rules for a Spanish rental subsidy. Our results show that sibling effects are negative and that these effects can be explained by the presence of old or ill parents. Sibling effects turn positive from older to younger close-in-age siblings, when imitation is more likely to prevail. Our findings indicate that policy makers who aim at fostering household formation should target the household rather than the individual and combine policies for young adults with policies for the elderly

TV or not TV? The impact of subtitling on english skills

We study the influence of television translation techniques on the worldwide distribution of English-speaking skills. We identify a large positive effect for subtitled original version broadcasts, as opposed to dubbed television, on English proficiency scores. We analyze the historical circumstances under which countries opted for one of the translation modes and use it to account for the possible endogeneity of the subtitling indicator. We disaggregate the results by type of skills and find that television works especially well for listening comprehension. Our paper suggests that governments could promote subtitling as a means to improve foreign language proficiency

Different role of ruthenium and platinum defective sites on the catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe reduction of protons to H (the hydrogen evolution reaction, or HER) is one of the two half reaction of water electrolysis. It produces H that can be used as an energy vector or sustainable feedstock for other compounds. Platinum electrodes are the "golden standard" catalysts. However, due to Pt cost, there is a need for cheaper alternatives. Indeed, highly active ruthenium nanoparticles are a promising alternative. In this contribution, we use DFT (PBE-D2) calculations to understand the differences in the catalytic activities of Ru and Pt materials by considering slab models containing crystalline close packed planes, terraces, steps, islands and adatoms. Results reveal that the strong adsorption of isolated H atoms on either material and on various sites prevents the hydrogen evolution reaction from taking place. Regardless of the model considered, the formation of a monolayer is also too favorable, thus suggesting that higher coverages are needed before HER onset. The adsorption energies of H atoms exceeding the monolayer on platinum's crystalline surfaces, defective steps and terraces are very close to the ideal value, consistent with platinum's high catalytic activity. These results outline that the presence of lowly coordinated metal centers has little effect on the reactivity of Pt. The adsorption energy of extra H on Ru surfaces depends on the adsorption site: On non-defective sites, the adsorption of the extra H is unfavorable, leading to inefficient catalysts. In contrast, the adsorption on defective sites is favorable and close to the ideal value, thus suggesting an enhancement of the catalytic activity when Ru coordination decreases. These results outline that the reactivity toward hydrogen of Ru materials is more sensitive to surface morphology than Pt-based ones. Indeed, the presence of low coordinated centers is larger on Ru nanoparticles, thus rationalizing their high HER catalytic activity

Increase in serotype 19A prevalence and amoxicillin non-susceptibility among paediatric Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from middle ear fluid in a passive laboratory-based surveillance in Spain, 1997-2009

BACKGROUND: Conjugate vaccines, such as the 7-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV7), alter serotype nasopharyngeal carriage, potentially increasing cases of otitis media by non-vaccine serotypes. METHODS: All paediatric middle ear fluid (MEF) isolates received in the Spanish Reference Laboratory for Pneumococci through a passive, laboratory-based surveillance system from January 1997 to June 2009 were analysed. Data from 1997 to 2000 were pooled as pre-vaccination period. Trends over time were explored by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2,077 isolates were analysed: 855 belonging to PCV7 serotypes, 466 to serotype 19A, 215 to serotype 3, 89 to serotype 6A and 452 to other serotypes ( 35% isolates) since PCV7 strains represented < 11% of total clinical isolates. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to reports on invasive pneumococcal strains, in MEF isolates the reduction in the prevalence of PCV7 serotypes was not associated with decreases in penicillin/erythromycin non-susceptibility. The high prevalence of serotype 19A among paediatric MEF isolates and the amoxicillin non-susceptibility found in this serotype are worrisome since amoxicillin is the most common antibiotic used in the treatment of acute otitis media. These data suggest that non-PCV7 serotypes (mainly serotype 19A followed by serotypes 3 and 6A) are important etiological agents of acute otitis media and support the added value of the broader coverage of the new 13-valent conjugate vaccine.This study was supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer S.A., Madrid, Spain and PRISM-AG, Madrid, Spain. O.R. belongs to the Spanish Network for the Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI).S

Derecho procesal del siglo XXI. Visión innovadora

Dieciocho ensayos escritos por destacados académicos de América Latina y Europa, que se dan cita en esta obra para responder al desafío de pensar el Derecho procesal del siglo XXI desde una visión innovadora. Los ejes de los debates académicos responden a las siguientes preguntas de investigación: ¿cómo prevenir la corrupción en el proceso judicial?, ¿cómo puede contribuir el Derecho procesal a garantizar los derechos humanos?, ¿cuáles son los aportes de la psicología en el estudio del Derecho probatorio?, ¿qué interacciones existen entre las tradiciones jurídicas del civil law y el common law?, ¿cómo contribuyen las reformas procedimentales en los ámbitos civil, penal, laboral y administrativo al fortalecimiento de la Administración de Justicia? Se trata pues, de la undécima entrega del Grupo de Investigación en Derecho Procesal (Universidad de Medellín), ampliamente reconocido por el juicioso trabajo que realizan sus investigadores a la hora de coordinar esta ya tradicional serie de libros de investigación en Derecho procesal. Como lo menciona Eduardo Oteiza, en el prólogo de esta obra, “basta con recordar el éxito de las anteriores diez ediciones para despertar la curiosidad por enriquecerse con cada una de las colaboraciones, sin perder de vista que se trata de un nuevo hito de uno de los proyectos más importantes de investigación en Derecho procesal de América Latina”