An analysis of the determinants of credit default swap spread changes before and during the subprime financial turmoil

This paper analyzes the determinants of credit default swap spread changes for a large sample of US non-financial companies over the period between January 2002 and March 2009. In our analysis we use variables that the literature has found have an impact on CDS spreads and, in order to account for possible non-linear effects, the theoretical CDS spreads predicted by the Merton model. We show that our set of variables is able to explain more than 50% of CDS spread variations both before and after July 2007, when the current financial turmoil began. We also document that since the onset of the crisis CDS spreads have become much more sensitive to the level of leverage while volatility has lost its importance. Using a principal component analysis we also show that since the beginning of the crisis CDS spread changes have been increasingly driven by a common factor, which cannot be explained by indicators of economic activity, uncertainty, and risk aversion.credit default swaps, bond spreads, credit risk, Merton model

Amorfrutins are efficient modulators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) with potent antidiabetic and anticancer properties: A patent evaluation of WO2014177593 A1

Introduction: PPARγ is an essential regulator of lipid, glucose, and insulin metabolism. PPARγ full agonists, such as thiazolidinediones, are the mainstay drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; however, undesirable clinical side effects have contributed to poor compliance with therapy and limited their full therapeutic potential. In the last few years, many efforts have been made in the discovery and development of selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARγMs) as safer alternatives to PPARγ full agonists. Areas covered: This application claims the plant-derived amorfrutins or their synthetic analogs as SPPARγMs with potential to exhibit glucose-lowering effects without provoking side effects associated with full PPARγ activation. Specifically, the in vivo glucose-lowering properties of the high-affinity SPPARγM amorfrutin B are described. Moreover, examples of this class of compounds exhibit interesting antiproliferative activities. Expert opinion: The patent (WO2014177593 A1) under discussion proposes enriching functional food products or phytomedical extracts with safe licorice extracts, containing sufficient amounts of amorfrutins, with the ultimate goal of inhibiting the early development of disorders such as insulin resistance. Interestingly, some example compounds show anticancer properties in colon, prostate, and breast malignancies. However, further in vivo investigations of the claimed compounds for these specific indications will be necessary to definitively support their clinical applications

Orcas and PCBs

The dramatic population decline which has been predicted to affect killer whales (Orcinus orca) on a global scale by the end of this century is of concern, with the levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in tissues from free-ranging orcas having been estimated to be among the highest in the animal kingdom (1). As in other cetacean and non-cetacean “top predators”, in fact, lipophilic PCBs may heavily accumulate in killer whales’ subcutaneous blubber, thereafter undergoing ad hoc “biomagnification” processes. Since these bioaccumulation and biomagnification dynamics are shared by many other persistent environmental pollutants - either “classical” (i.e. DDTs, dioxins, heavy metals, etc.) or “emerging” (i.e. PBDEs, PFAS, micro- and nanoplastics, etc.) -, that almost unvariably form “mixtures” to which aquatic organisms are chronically exposed via the marine food web(s) (2), one could wonder how the biological effects of PCBs may be effectively “dissected” from those of the other contaminants present in the aforementioned mixtures. Furthermore, the “endocrine disrupting” and the additional pathogenic activities of PCBs on host’s reproductive and immune functions are also known to be exerted by other organochlorine (OC) pollutants, the entry of which into exposed animals’ cells is mediated by aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHRs) (3). This implies that the susceptibility of a given species to PCBs and, more in general, to OC contaminants could “ideally” result from the “sum” of its trophic position and tissue expression level(s) of AHRs. Alternatively, if not complementarily, such an increased tendency to accumulate high PCB tissue burdens might depend upon a metabolic capacity toward OC xenobiotics that is less efficient in orcas as compared to other odontocete cetacean species. The prominent PCB immunotoxicity (3) has been also linked to an increased sensitivity toward infectious pathogens, as in the case of the dramatic Cetacean Morbillivirus (CeMV) epidemic which affected, between 1990 and 1992, the population of Western Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) (4). To the best of our knowledge, however, neither morbilliviral epidemics nor overt cases of morbilliviral infection have been hitherto reported in orcas, the susceptibility of which to CeMV is currently unknown. In this respect, should PCBs represent the major factor underlying the predicted killer whales’ population decline (1), one could reasonably expect a prevalence of “opportunistic” infections and/or neoplastic disease conditions (significantly) higher than in other cetacean and aquatic mammal species occupying a lower trophic level. Is this really the case? We are afraid that not enough, sufficiently reliable and robust data are available, thus far, to provide an affirmative or negative answer to the above query, considering also the “intrinsic” limitation due to the fact that an undefined number of orcas, similarly to their cetacean “heterospecifics”, will die in the open sea, with no possibility to perform a post mortem examination on them. Finally, the dramatically increasing pollution of global oceans and seas by plastics, micro- and nanoplastics would also deserve special concern, given that micro- and nanoplastics may act as “attractors and concentrators” for many chemical pollutants (including PCBs) (5), coupled with their long distance transfer across marine waters, as it has been recently described following the catastrophic tsunami in March 2011 along the Eastern coast of Japan (6). In conclusion, the herein dealt PCB-related alert (1), albeit of remarkable concern, appears to be influenced by a number of “environment”-dependent and “host”-related variables which should be carefully taken into account for an accurate evaluation of the effects of chronic PCB ingestion - and, more in general, exposure to OCs and other toxic pollutants - on killer whales’ health and conservation

Oncogenic microRNAs characterization in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

A key challenge for the improvement of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) management could derive from a deeper characterization of the biology of these neoplasms that could greatly improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment choice. The aim of this study was to identify specific miRNAs that are deregulated in tumor vs. normal kidney tissues and that could impact on the biology of ccRCC. To this end we selected four miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-210-3p, miR-185-5p and miR-221-3p) and their expression has been evaluated in a retrospective cohort of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues from 20 ccRCC patients who underwent surgical nephrectomy resection. miR-21-5p and miR-210-3p resulted the most significantly up-regulated miRNAs in this patient cohort, highlighting these onco-miRNAs as possible relevant players involved in ccRCC tumorigenesis. Thus, this study reports the identification of specific oncogenic miRNAs that are altered in ccRCC tissues and suggests that they might be useful biomarkers in ccRCC management

Nine ideas to improve the clinical management of HIV infected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Globally, in 2019, HIV infection was still responsible for 1.7 million new infections 2.2 and for 690,000 deaths in the same year. Tailored and new antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens, individualised follow-up and new technologies to support data-sharing between health—care professional caring for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and to deliver ART to patients are desperately needed to reach the 90-90-90-90 ambitious goals. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, responsible for the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic that spread globally in 2020, posed a huge challenge for PLHIV and HIV physicians worldwide in terms of continuum of care.In this paper we encourage “up-to-date patient-centred HIV medicine” and we give nine ideas to improve HIV management in clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic