Posttraumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Survivors: Are Depressive Symptoms Really Negative Predictors?

Objective: Breast cancer (BC) diagnosis is a potentially traumatic event, the related challenges of which can trigger positive or negative reactions. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is defined as a positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle. The present study aimed to shed light on the relationship between the evolution of depressive symptoms over time and PTG in a group of BC survivors. Method: Depressive symptoms at the time of diagnosis (T0) and 2 years later (T1) were evaluated to investigate their potential impact on the level of PTG at T1. A total of 147 BC patients were recruited and divided into 4 groups according to the changes in depressive symptoms they experienced over time (patients who were never depressed, no longer depressed, still depressed, and depressed now). A One-way analysis of variance was run to compare the levels of PTG for the four groups. Results: The One-way analysis of variance showed that PTG score was significantly different among groups with different levels of depressive symptoms (p .008). Post hoc comparisons indicated that the PTG score was statistically significantly higher in the no longer depressed group compared with the still depressed and depressed now groups. Conclusions: The current results suggest that high levels of depressive symptoms, displayed at the time of cancer diagnosis, can be considered catalysts for PTG at follow-up, on condition that women experience elevated depressive symptoms only in the first period of the disease

The Emerging Aversion to Inequality: Evidence from Poland 1992-2005

This paper provides an illustration of the changing tolerance for inequality in a context of radical political and economic transformation and rapid economic growth. We focus on the Polish experience of transition and explore self-declared attitudes of the citizens. Using monthly representative surveys of the population, realized by the Polish poll institute (CBOS) from 1992 to 2005, we identify a structural break in the relation between income inequality and subjective evaluation of well-being. The downturn in the tolerance for inequality (1997) coincides with the increasing distrust of political elites.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64387/1/wp919.pd

Soil tillage reduction as a climate change mitigation strategy in Mediterranean cereal-based cropping systems

According to climate change projections, global temperatures would increase by 2 degrees C by 2070, and agriculture is expected to be among the most affected sectors, particularly intensive field crops like cereals. Therefore, researchers need to investigate the most cost-effective agricultural strategies that can prevent production losses and ensure global food security. This study aimed to identify the limiting factors of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. Durum (Desf.) Husn.) yield production under Mediterranean conditions. Durum wheat yield data of over 5 years (2017-2022), from a 30-year rainfed long-term experiment conducted in the 'Pasquale Rosati' experimental farm of the Polytechnic University of Marche in Agugliano, Italy (43 degrees 32' N, 13 degrees 22 ' E, 100 a.s.l.) on Calcaric Gleyic Cambisols with a silt-clay texture, were analysed and compared with the recorded thermo-pluviometric trend. The field trial included two soil managements (no tillage vs. conventional tillage) and three Nitrogen (N) fertilization levels (0, 90, and 180 kg N ha-1). The most important driver for durum wheat production was N fertilization. However, in the absence of N fertilization, no tillage showed a higher yield (+1.2 t ha-1) than conventional tillage due to the accumulation of organic matter in the soil. When wheat was fertilized with 90 kg N ha-1, no tillage resulted in 25% yield more than conventional tillage (+1.2 t ha-1), but this occurred only when the increase in temperatures was constant from January until harvest (this happened in 3 of 5 years of monitoring). The non-constant increase in temperature from January to wheat harvest may hamper crop phenological development and reduce the potential yield. The highest fertilization rate (180 Kg N ha-1) resulted in the highest wheat yields regardless of soil management and thermo-pluviometric trends (5.78 t ha-1). After N fertilization and soil management, the minimum and maximum temperature in February and the maximum temperature in April were crucial for durum wheat production under Mediterranean condition. When there is non-constant increase in temperature from January to wheat harvest no-tillage should be preferred over conventional tillage because wheat yields did not reduce under no tillage. Thus, agricultural policies that support the switch from conventional tillage to no-tillage management should be promoted to enable food security in Mediterranean environments

Happiness, Ideology and Crime in Argentine Cities

This paper uses self-reported data on victimization, subjective well being and ideology for a panel of individuals living in six Argentine cities. While no relationship is found between happiness and victimization experiences, a correlation is documented, however, between victimization experience and changes in ideological positions. Specifically, individuals who are the victims of crime are subsequently more likely than non-victims to state that inequality is high in Argentina and that the appropriate measure to reduce crime is to become less punitive (demanding lower penalties for the same crime)

Nominal or Real? The Impact of Regional Price Levels on Satisfaction with Life

According to economic theory, real income, i.e., nominal income adjusted for purchasing power, should be the relevant source of life satisfaction. Previous work, however, has only studied the impact of inflation adjusted nominal income and not taken into account regional differences in purchasing power. Therefore, we use a novel data set to study how regional price levels affect satisfaction with life. The data set comprises about 7 million data points that are used to construct a price level for each of the 428 administrative districts in Germany. We estimate pooled OLS and ordered probit models that include a comprehensive set of individual level, time-varying and time-invariant control variables as well as control variables that capture district heterogeneity other than the price level. Our results show that higher price levels significantly reduce life satisfaction. Furthermore, we find that a higher price level tends to induce a larger loss in life satisfaction than a corresponding decrease in nominal income. A formal test of neutrality of money, however, does not reject neutrality of money. Our results provide an argument in favor of regional indexation of government transfer payments such as social welfare benefits