Gini Coefficient

Country	UN R/P 10%[3]	UN R/P 20%[4]	World Bank Gini (%)[5]	WB Gini (year)	CIA R/P 10%[6]	Year	CIA Gini (%)[7]	CIA Gini (year)

Indonesia	7.8	5.2	34.0	2005	7.9	2002	36.8	2009
Thailand	12.6	7.7	40.0	2009	12.4	2002	53.6	2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

Gini coefficient

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gini coefficient of national income distribution around the world. This is based on 1989 to 2009 data, estimated by the CIA. Some are pre-tax, others post-tax income.

The Gini coefficient (also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio) is a measure of statistical dispersion developed by the Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability" (Italian: Variabilità e mutabilità).^[1][2]

The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of a frequency distribution (for example levels of income). A Gini coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, where all values are the same (for example, where everyone has an exactly equal income). A Gini coefficient of one (100 on the percentile scale) expresses maximal inequality among values (for example where only one person has all the income).^[3][4] However, a value greater than one may occur if some persons have negative income or wealth.

It has found application in the study of inequalities in disciplines as diverse as sociology, economics, health science, ecology, chemistry, engineering and agriculture.^[5]

Gini coefficient is commonly used as a measure of inequality of income or wealth.^[6] For OECD countries, in the late 2000s, considering the effect of taxes and transfer payments, the income Gini coefficient ranged between 0.24 to 0.49, with Slovenia the lowest and Chile the highest.^[7] The countries in Africa had the highest pre-tax Gini coefficients in 2008-2009, with South Africa the world's highest at 0.7.^[8][9] The global income inequality Gini coefficient in 2005, for all human beings taken together, has been estimated to be between 0.61 and 0.68 by various sources.^[10][11]

There are some issues in interpreting a Gini coefficient. The same value may result from many different distribution curves. The demographic structure should be taken into account. Countries with an aging population, or with a baby boom, experience an increasing pre-tax Gini coefficient even if real income distribution for working adults remain constant. Scholars have devised over a dozen variants of the Gini coefficient.^[12][13][14]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient

GINI INDEX IN INDONESIA

The GINI index in Indonesia was 36.76 in 2009, according to a World Bank report, published in 2010. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.This page includes a historical data chart, news and forecasts for GINI index in Indonesia.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/indonesia/gini-index-wb-data.html

Roles and what we're each researching for

YX- HPI and search on Emplyoment Cost Index
Shree- HDI
Wanz- Consumer Price Index
Aish- Environmental Indicators/ Charity Index
Becky- Crime rates and Gini Coefficient

Deaedlines: Research by Saturday 3pm each person one post + own evaluation, and add coments by Sunday 3pm, then PPT Sunday night by white colour background, then one person do formatting

WANQI SAYS: PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE

http://www.tradingeconomics.com

INDICATORS

Material indicators

GDP/GNP

Consumer price index http://www.investopedia.com/university/releases/cpi.asp#axzz2HWipTczx

Employment cost index    

    

Non-material Indicators

Gini coefficient (?)

Crime rates(?)

Environment indicator like HSI (air quality)

Charity index(?)

Gross National Happiness

Composite Indicators

HDI

HPI

continued research

Types of disorder gene thereapy can and cannot treat

Can treat:

-          all forms of diseases can be treated to a various degree by altering gene expression

-           heal hereditary diseases such as

o   muscular distrophy

o   cystic fibrosis

o   hemophilia

o   diabetes type I

o   metabolic diseases (phenylketonuria etc.)

o   lysosomal storage disorders (mucopolysaccharosis, Gaucher etc..)

-          diseases that are genetically predisposed, but also depend on external factors such as

o   cancer

o   cardiovascular failures

o   neurodegenerative disorders (ALS, MS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's etc)

-          purely accidental (acquired) disorders such as

o   traumatic injuries (bone fractures, wounds, burns)

o   ischemias (tissue necrosis due to interrupoted blood supply)

o   infections

How gene therapy can be used to treat ADA-deficient SCID

-          The target cells are: Lymphocytes, bone marrow cells

-          Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder. Defects in the ADA gene can leads to absent or diminished ADA enzyme activity in all tissues of the body.

-          The reversing of this genetic defect by replacing the defective gene may be possible by means of gene therapy.

-          The newly isolated gene may then be used for treatment by inserting it into the cells whose function is dependent on that gene.

The gene transfer method used must be highly efficient and able to deliver the corrective gene to the proper cells to restore its normal function.

What gene therapy is

-          Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into an individual's cells and tissues to treat a disease, such as a hereditary disease in which a deleterious mutant allele is replaced with a functional one.

In general, how gene therapy works (types of vectors, delivery methods)

Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy, including:

-          Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene.

-          Inactivating, or “knocking out,” a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.

-          Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.

Vectors

-          Virus: ''A virus is found which replicates by inserting its genes into the host cell's genome. This virus has two genes- A and B. Gene A encodes a protein which allows this virus to insert itself into the host's genome. Gene B causes the disease this virus is associated with. Gene C is the "normal" or "desirable" gene we want in the place of gene B. Thus, by re-engineering the virus so that gene B is replaced by gene C, while allowing gene A to properly function, this virus could introduce the required gene - gene C into the host cell's genome without causing any disease.''

-          Retroviruses: The genetic material in retroviruses is in the form of RNA molecules, while the genetic material of their hosts is in the form of DNA. When a retrovirus infects a host cell, it will introduce its RNA together with some enzymes, namely reverse transcriptase and integrase, into the cell. This RNA molecule from the retrovirus must produce a DNA copy from its RNA molecule before it can be integrated into the genetic material of the host cell. The process of producing a DNA copy from an RNA molecule is termed reverse transcription. It is carried out by one of the enzymes carried in the virus, called reverse transcriptase. After this DNA copy is produced and is free in the nucleus of the host cell, it must be incorporated into the genome of the host cell. That is, it must be inserted into the large DNA molecules in the cell (the chromosomes). This process is done by another enzyme carried in the virus called integrase.

-          Adenoviruses: The genetic material of the adenoviruses is not incorporated (transient) into the host cell's genetic material. The DNA molecule is left free in the nucleus of the host cell, and the instructions in this extra DNA molecule are transcribed just like any other gene. The only difference is that these extra genes are not replicated when the cell is about to undergo cell division so the descendants of that cell will not have the extra gene. As a result, treatment with the adenovirus will require readministration in a growing cell population although the absence of integration into the host cell's genome should prevent the type of cancer seen in the SCID trials. 

Hybrid methods

-          Virosomes are one example; they combine liposomes with an inactivated HIV or influenza virus. This has been shown to have more efficient gene transfer in respiratory epithelial cells than either viral or liposomal methods alone. 

Challenges or risks faced in implementation of gene therapy to treat disorder

-          Short-lived nature of gene therapy – Before gene therapy can become a permanent cure for any condition, the therapeutic DNA introduced into target cells must remain functional and the cells containing the therapeutic DNA must be long-lived and stable. Problems with integrating therapeutic DNA into the genome and the rapidly dividing nature of many cells prevent gene therapy from achieving any long-term benefits. Patients will have to undergo multiple rounds of gene therapy.

-        -   Chance of inducing a tumor (insertional mutagenesis) - If the DNA is integrated in the wrong place in the genome, for example in a tumor suppressor gene, it could induce a tumor. This has occurred in clinical trials for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID) patients, in which hematopoietic stem cells were transduced with a corrective transgene using a retrovirus, and this led to the development of T cell leukemia in 3 of 20 patients.

Research (cont.)

Types of Disorder gene therapy can and cannot treat

can: Hemophilia,Cancer, Parkinson's disease (*), Huntington's disease*, Sickle cell anemia*
cannot: Multifactorial genetic disorders(**)

(*)Gene therapy has also been studied as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nervous system disease. Researchers have recently figured out a way to transfer genes into the brain. Viruses cannot be used as vectors because they are too big to make it across the protective membrane that separates circulating blood from brain cells (called the blood-brain barrier). So, instead of using viral vectors, researchers have used fat molecules (called liposomes) that are coated in a polymer, called polyethylene glycol (PEG), to deliver the new genes. This allows billions of copies of a gene to be inserted into the brain to calm overactive connections in the brain. Researchers are hopeful that this method may be an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease in the future

(**) Most disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and arthritis, occur when there are mutations or problems with multiple genes. These types of disorders are especially difficult to treat with gene therapy because doctors would have to correct all of the mutated genes.

http://www.naturalstandard.com/demo/demo-gp-genetherapy.asp

Explanation on what ADA-deficient SCID is

Refer to previous blog post

How gene therapy can be used to treat ADA-deficient SCID 

Gene therapy for ADA-deficient SCID could be performed by introducing a normal copy of the human ADA gene into the blood forming stem cells of the patient's bone marrow by using a new type of gene delivery system (in this trial called a lentiviral vector). The gene corrected cells are then transplanted back into the patient after small dose of chemotherapy. These gene corrected stem cells can survive into the body and make lymphocytes.