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We examine the factors behind rising income inequality in Europe's most populous economy. From 1999/2000 to 2005/2006, Germany experienced an unprecedented rise in net equivalized income inequality and poverty. At the same time, unemployment rose to record levels, part-time and marginal part-time work grew, and there was evidence for a widening distribution of labor incomes. Other factors that possibly contributed to the rise in income inequality were changes in the tax and transfer system, changes in the household structure (in particular the rising share of single parent households), and changes in other socio-economic characteristics (e.g., age or education). We address the question of which factors were the main drivers of the observed inequality increase. Our results suggest that the largest part of the increase was due to increasing inequality in labor incomes, but that changes in employment outcomes and changes in the tax system also contributed considerable shares. By contrast, changes in household structures and household characteristics, as well as changes in the transfer system only seem to have played a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, As-contaminated soils (n =12) were assessed for As bioaccessibility using the Unified Bioaccessibility Research Group of Europe in vitro method (UBM) incorporating gastric, saliva–gastric or saliva–gastric–intestinal phases. Arsenic bioaccessibility was compared to previous published As relative bioavailability data for these soils to determine the correlation between in vitro and in vivo data. Comparison of in vitro and in vivo data indicated that the correlation between As bioaccessibility (UBM) and As relative bioavailability (swine assay) was similar irrespective of the in vitro phase used for its determination. The UBM incorporating all phases (saliva–gastric–intestinal) provided the best in vivo–in vitro correlation (slope=1.08; R 2 =0.59), however there was no significant difference in the goodness of fit (R 2 ranged from 0.48 to 0.59) or the slope of the lines (0.93–1.08) for either variation of the UBM (P =0.9946). This indicates that there was no improvement in the As relative bioavailability predictive capabilities when the UBM was extended from a single gastric phase to saliva–gastric or saliva–gastric–intestinal phases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Rumination is a significant cognitive symptom of depression. As rumination is strongly related to altered memory function we selected two genes previously described as important candidates for both depression and memory processing to assess their contribution to rumination. Based on a possible functional role for cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the mechanism of action antidepressants, we studied the association between G protein-activated K+ channel 2 (GIRK2) and cAMP-response element binding (CREB) protein genes and rumination in two independent European samples. Methods: We genotyped an exonic SNP (rs2070995) in GIRK2 gene and a promoter SNP (rs2253206) in CREB gene of 611 individuals from Budapest and 1174 individuals from Manchester. Rumination was measured by Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) of Response Style Questionnaire. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were performed for single marker associations. Likelihood ratio tests were used for interactions between genetic markers on RRS. Results: Single marker associations did not provide any significant individual effect of the two SNPs on rumination. However, interaction analyses revealed a strongly significant interaction between the rs2070995 and rs2253206 on RRS in both European samples (pBudapest=0.00099; pManchester=0.0027). Homozygous TT individuals for rs2070995 in interaction with homozygous GG for rs2253206 scored significantly higher on RRS compared with other genotypes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that two key post-receptor signalling proteins, GIRK2 and CREB, interact with each other in regulating the process of rumination which may have relevance for depression and its treatment. These studies were supported by the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU, LSHM-CT-2004-503474, HRF T03298/2000. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the essential aspects in analyzing the topic of managing people's risk behavior in extreme situations is related to the issue of risk perception. The subject of this study was to reveal whether certain factors, such as cultural context, gender, age, education, religious beliefs, etc., mediate the perceived risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted online from April to June 2020. The two samples included a total of 2617 participants aged between 18 and 70 years, where 1412 of which were drawn from Asia and 1205 were representatives of Europe. Participants were asked to complete an internet-based version of a short questionnaire that described the COVID-19 pandemic situation, as one of the questions referred to the hazard perception of the infection. Results obtained showed that there was a higher level of perceived risk among members of the Asian culture group in comparison with the European study participants. Furthermore, it was revealed that gender is not a significant factor in the perception of risk in either the European or the Asian cultural group (p> 0.05). The results showed that levels of the perceived risk increased with age and that there were significant differences between young and old in threat perception for the European sample (p<0.001). Regarding the Asian sample, it turned out that all age groups perceive the risk of infection almost equally. Several demographic characteristics also emerged as important mediators of risk perception. For example, people with the lowest education, married, religious, and families with children fear the hazard of COVID-19 infection to the greatest extent, compared to people with the highest education, singles, atheists, and families without children, who do not perceive the virus as a high-risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A specific clinically relevant staging model for schizophrenia has not yet been developed. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the factor structure of the PANSS and develop such a staging method., Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries contributed 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.87 years with schizophrenia. Analysis of covariance, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Discriminant Function Analysis, and inspection of resultant plots were performed., Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis returned 5 factors explaining 59% of the variance (positive, negative, excitement/hostility, depression/anxiety, and neurocognition). The staging model included 4 main stages with substages that were predominantly characterized by a single domain of symptoms (stage 1: positive; stages 2a and 2b: excitement/hostility; stage 3a and 3b: depression/anxiety; stage 4a and 4b: neurocognition). There were no differences between sexes. The Discriminant Function Analysis developed an algorithm that correctly classified >85% of patients., Discussion: This study elaborates a 5-factor solution and a clinical staging method for patients with schizophrenia. It is the largest study to address these issues among patients who are more likely to remain affiliated with mental health services for prolonged periods of time., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.)