Privatisations as price reforms: Evaluating consumers' welfare changes in the UK

This paper analyses the effects on consumers' welfare of the privatisation policy carried out in the UK since 1979. The approach we follow sees the privatisation of a State owned enterprise within the broader framework of the "policy reform" theory (Drèze and Stern, 1990). By adopting this perspective, the change in consumers' welfare "with" and "without" privatisations can be studied by appropriate welfare measures. We claim that an advantage of our approach is that of being able to provide the required welfare assessment in a simplified way by means of a limited set of information. In particular, we show that a series of welfare measures only based on aggregate information can be used once one becomes ready to accept the use of first and second order approximations and a few "reasonable" assumptions on the shape of demand functions. These welfare measures are subsequently used for the evaluation of the welfare effects related to price variations in seven British privatised public utilities. We conclude that the contribution to consumers' welfare of the privatisation policy in the UK, when compared to the huge transfers involved in the process, has been rather modes

Gas industry reforms and consumers' prices in the European Union: An empirical analysis

The paper offers an exploratory empirical analysis of the impact on consumers’ welfare of the reforms of the gas industry in EU-15 area. After considering the key features of the natural gas industry and of its reform in selected countries, we study the relationship between regulatory reform indicators and price dynamics by means of panel data techniques. We find that none of the relationships between price dynamics and regulatory reform indicators is robust to different econometric specifications. Our findings suggest that until now there is limited evidence of beneficial effects of a standard package gas industry reforms for the European consumers. Country specific factors and price inertia seem to be more important than the reforms as determinants of consumers’ prices

Molecular profiles of screen detected vs. symptomatic breast cancer and their impact on survival: results from a clinical series

Stage shift is widely considered a major determinant of the survival benefit conferred by breast cancer screening. However, factors and mechanisms underlying such a prognostic advantage need further clarification. We sought to compare the molecular characteristics of screen detected vs. symptomatic breast cancers and assess whether differences in tumour biology might translate into survival benefit

Implementing post-orthodontic compliance among adolescents wearing removable retainers through Whatsapp: a pilot study

Purpose: To determine whether the use of social media is useful in improving compliance and follow-up attendance among patients wearing retainers after orthodontic treatment. Patients and methods: Sixty post-orthodontic patients (aged 16-19 years), randomized in two groups: follow-up supported by participation in WhatsApp chat group (SG), and Control Group (CG). All patients were scheduled for quarterly check-ups for monitoring of orthodontic stability by measurement of intercanine width at the beginning of the study (t(0)) and every 4 months t(1), t(2), t(3)) for 1 year of observation. Patients in the SG additionally participated in a WhatsApp chat group, where they would send, on a weekly basis, snapshots showing his/her occlusion. Every month, the orthodontist acting as the moderator awarded the best five snapshots by publishing a ranking in the chat. Results: Participants in the SG featured smaller changes from the intercanine widths at baseline (at debonding) compared to the CG patients at all times during 1 year of follow-up. Follow-up attendance was regular in both groups in the first 8 months of follow-up. After that, patient compliance decreased in the CG, with eight patients missing check-up appointments. Conclusion: Engaging adolescent patients directly through WhatsApp activity seems to increase regularity in wearing removable retainers, attendance to follow-up schedule, and yield better long-term outcome in terms of orthodontic stability and compliance

Identification and characterization of a novel non-structural protein of bluetongue virus

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the causative agent of a major disease of livestock (bluetongue). For over two decades, it has been widely accepted that the 10 segments of the dsRNA genome of BTV encode for 7 structural and 3 non-structural proteins. The non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2, NS3/NS3a) play different key roles during the viral replication cycle. In this study we show that BTV expresses a fourth non-structural protein (that we designated NS4) encoded by an open reading frame in segment 9 overlapping the open reading frame encoding VP6. NS4 is 77–79 amino acid residues in length and highly conserved among several BTV serotypes/strains. NS4 was expressed early post-infection and localized in the nucleoli of BTV infected cells. By reverse genetics, we showed that NS4 is dispensable for BTV replication in vitro, both in mammalian and insect cells, and does not affect viral virulence in murine models of bluetongue infection. Interestingly, NS4 conferred a replication advantage to BTV-8, but not to BTV-1, in cells in an interferon (IFN)-induced antiviral state. However, the BTV-1 NS4 conferred a replication advantage both to a BTV-8 reassortant containing the entire segment 9 of BTV-1 and to a BTV-8 mutant with the NS4 identical to the homologous BTV-1 protein. Collectively, this study suggests that NS4 plays an important role in virus-host interaction and is one of the mechanisms played, at least by BTV-8, to counteract the antiviral response of the host. In addition, the distinct nucleolar localization of NS4, being expressed by a virus that replicates exclusively in the cytoplasm, offers new avenues to investigate the multiple roles played by the nucleolus in the biology of the cell

A 3d geological model of the 1963 vajont landslide

The Vajont landslide has been the object of several studies because of its catastrophic consequences and particular evolution. Several qualitative or quantitative models have been presented in the last 50 years, but a complete explanation of all relevant geological and mechanical processes still remains elusive. In order to better understand the mechanics and dynamics of the 1963 event, we have reconstructed the first 3D geological model of the landslide, which allowed us to accurately investigate the landslide structure and kinematics. The input data for the model consisted in: pre- and post-landslide geological maps, pre- and post-landslide orthophotos, pre- and post-landslide digital elevation models, structural data, boreholes, and geophysical data. All these data have been integrated in a 3D geological model implemented in Gocad, using the implicit surface modelling method. Results of the 3D geological model include the depth and geometry of the sliding surface, the volume of the two lobes of the landslide accumulation, kinematics of the landslide in terms of the vector field of finite displacement, and high quality meshes useful for mechanical simulations. The latter can include information about the stratigraphy and internal structure of the rock masses and allow tracing the displacement of different material points in the landslide from the pre-1963-failure to the post-landslide state. As a general geological conclusion, we may say that the structural analysis and the 3D model allowed us to recognize very effectively a sliding surface, whose non-planar geometry is affected by the interference pattern of two regional-scale fold systems. The landslide is partitioned into two distinct and internally continuous rock masses with a distinct kinematics, which are characterised by a very limited internal deformation during the slide. The continuity of these two large blocks points to a very localized deformation, occurring along a thin, continuous and weak cataclastic horizon

A note on comonotonicity and positivity of the control components of decoupled quadratic FBSDE

In this small note we are concerned with the solution of Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (FBSDE) with drivers that grow quadratically in the control component (quadratic growth FBSDE or qgFBSDE). The main theorem is a comparison result that allows comparing componentwise the signs of the control processes of two different qgFBSDE. As a byproduct one obtains conditions that allow establishing the positivity of the control process.Comment: accepted for publicatio

Renal replacement therapy in acute kidney injury: controversy and consensus

Renal replacement therapies (RRTs) represent a cornerstone in the management of severe acute kidney injury. This area of intensive care and nephrology has undergone significant improvement and evolution in recent years. Continuous RRTs have been a major focus of new technological and treatment strategies. RRT is being used increasingly in the intensive care unit, not only for renal indications but also for other organ-supportive strategies. Several aspects related to RRT are now well established, but others remain controversial. In this review, we review the available RRT modalities, covering technical and clinical aspects. We discuss several controversial issues, provide some practical recommendations, and where possible suggest a research agenda for the future