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This working paper provides a critical discussion of attempts that have been made in recent years to measure the concept of flexicurity. It begins by addressing some conceptual aspects, looking in particular at different interpretations and definitions of the term flexicurity that one can find in the academic and policy literature. It then moves on to consider a number of problems involved in quantifying the dimensions included in the concept of flexicurity. These include the gap between formal rules and actual implementation of labour market regulation, the selective character of both flexibility and security and the existence of feedback effects between flexibility and security and vice-versa. The next two sections deal more directly with measurement issued, focusing on indicators pertaining to the various dimensions of flexicurity and to a number of flexicurity indexes that have been elaborated by researchers. The paper concludes by point out the limits of quantitative approaches in accounting for complex phenomena like flexicurity, and encourages researchers to complement the knowledge produced by indicators with more qualitative tools, such as typologies and fine grained accounts of polices.

Abstract
Pharmacological modulators of the Ca2+ signaling cascade are important research tools and may translate into novel therapeutic strategies for a series of human diseases. We carried out a screening of a maximally diverse chemical library using the Ca2+-sensitive Cl− channel TMEM16A as a functional readout. We found compounds that were able to potentiate UTP-dependent TMEM16A activation. Mechanism of action of these compounds was investigated by a panel of assays that looked at intracellular Ca2+ mobilization triggered by extracellular agonists or by caged-IP3 photolysis, PIP2 breakdown by phospholipase C, and ion channel activity on nuclear membrane. One compound appears as a selective potentiator of inositol triphosphate receptor type 1 (ITPR1) with a possible application for some forms of spinocerebellar ataxia. A second compound is instead a potentiator of the P2RY2 purinergic receptor, an activity that could promote fluid secretion in dry eye and chronic obstructive respiratory diseases.