The Political Economy: Political Attitudes and Economic Behavior

It has long been recognized that voters bring their political behaviors in line with economic assessments. Recent work, however, suggests that citizens also engage in economic behaviors that align with their confidence—or lack thereof—in the political system. This alignment can happen consciously or, as we suggest, unconsciously, in the same way that positivity carries over to other behaviors on a micro-level. Using monthly time series data from 1978 to 2008, we contribute further evidence of this relationship by demonstrating that political confidence affects consumer behavior at the aggregate level over time. Our analyses employ measures more closely tied to the theoretical concepts of interest while simultaneously accounting for the complex relationships between subjective and objective economic indicators, economic behavior, political attitudes, and the media. Our results suggest that approval of the president not only increases the electorate’s willingness to spend money, but also affects the volatility of this spending. These findings suggest that the economy is influenced by politics beyond elections, and gives the “Chief Economist” another avenue by which they can affect the behavior of the electorate

Perspectives of pharmacists on facilitating experiential learning placements for pharmacy students in non-patient facing settings

Full text available via ShareLink until August 07 2020: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bFq96gprIBGQ%7EIntroduction: Recently, the model of pharmacy education in Ireland changed to a five-year pharmacy degree, with three distinct blocks of experimental placements dispersed throughout the degree. The United Kingdom is also considering the introduction of a similar five-year pharmacy degree, while the United States is looking to further expand non-clinical experiential learning opportunities. This study was carried out to ascertain the perspectives of pharmacists working in non-patient facing roles on the barriers to and facilitators of placements to aid in identifying placement recruitment strategies for non-patient facing placements. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to pharmacists employed in non-patient facing settings, including in pharmaceutical industry, education, and regulation. Quantitative responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative questions were analyzed thematically. Results: Regardless of experience in the practice setting or supervision, the majority expressed a preference for offering paid placements of six months' duration. There was divided opinion regarding whether students should be given study leave, whether the student's supervisor should be a pharmacist, and whether students should undertake specialized postgraduate training. The main barriers to placements were time, the placement structure, availability of suitable projects or supervisors, and awareness of placement opportunities. Prior experience in the practice area, developing the talent pipeline, and personal interests were all placement facilitators. Conclusions: Given the increasing roles for pharmacists in non-patient facing practice settings, this study highlights the importance of stakeholder involvement during the implementation of a new model of education to ensure that placements in all settings are feasible

Data on the histological and immune cell response in the popliteal lymph node in mice following exposure to metal particles and ions

AbstractHip implants containing cobalt–chromium (CoCr) have been used for over 80 years. In patients with metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants, it has been suggested that wear debris particles may contribute to metal sensitization in some individuals, leading to adverse reactions. This article presents data from a study in which the popliteal lymph node assay (PLNA) was used to assess immune responses in mice treated with chromium-oxide (Cr2O3) particles, metal salts (CoCl2, CrCl3, and NiCl2) or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts (“A preliminary evaluation of immune stimulation following exposure to metal particles and ions using the mouse popliteal lymph node assay” (B.E. Tvermoes, K.M. Unice, B. Winans, M. Kovochich, E.S. Fung, W.V. Christian, E. Donovan, B.L. Finley, B.L. Kimber, I. Kimber, D.J. Paustenbach, 2016) [1]). Data are presented on (1) the chemical characterization of TiO2 particles (used as a particle control), (2) clinical observations in mice treated with Cr2O3 particles, metal salts or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts, (3) PLN weight and weight index (WI) in mice treated with Cr2O3 particles, metal salts or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts, (4) histological changes in PLNs of mice treated with Cr2O3 particles, metal salts or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts, (5) percentages of immune cells in the PLNs of mice treated with Cr2O3 particles, metal salts or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts, and (6) percentages of proliferating cells in the PLNs of mice treated with Cr2O3 particles, metal salts or Cr2O3 particles with metal salts

A multicentre study of the evidence for customized margins in photon breast boost radiotherapy

Objective:To determine if subsets of patients may benefit from smaller or larger margins when using laser setup and bony anatomy verification of breast tumour bed (TB) boost radiotherapy (RT).Methods: Verification imaging data acquired using cone-beam CT, megavoltage CT or two-dimensional kilovoltage imaging on 218 patients were used (1574 images). TB setup errors for laser-only setup (dlaser) and for bony anatomy verification (dbone) were determined using clips implanted into the TB as a gold standard for the TB position. Cases were grouped by centre-, patient- and treatment-related factors, including breast volume, TB position, seroma visibility and surgical technique. Systematic (?) and random (?) TB setup errors were compared between groups, and TB planning target volume margins (MTB) were calculated.Results: For the study population, ?laser was between 2.8 and 3.4?mm, and ?bone was between 2.2 and 2.6?mm, respectively. Females with larger breasts (p?=?0.03), easily visible seroma (p???0.02) and open surgical technique (p???0.04) had larger ?laser. ?bone was larger for females with larger breasts (p?=?0.02) and lateral tumours (p?=?0.04). Females with medial tumours (p?<?0.01) had smaller ?bone.Conclusion:If clips are not used, margins should be 8 and 10?mm for bony anatomy verification and laser setup, respectively. Individualization of TB margins may be considered based on breast volume, TB and seroma visibility.Advances in knowledge:Setup accuracy using lasers and bony anatomy is influenced by patient and treatment factors. Some patients may benefit from clip-based image guidance more than others

Reproducibility in Radiomics: A Comparison of Feature Extraction Methods and Two Independent Datasets

Radiomics involves the extraction of information from medical images that are not visible to the human eye. There is evidence that these features can be used for treatment stratification and outcome prediction. However, there is much discussion about the reproducibility of results between different studies. This paper studies the reproducibility of CT texture features used in radiomics, comparing two feature extraction implementations, namely the MATLAB toolkit and Pyradiomics, when applied to independent datasets of CT scans of patients: (i) the open access RIDER dataset containing a set of repeat CT scans taken 15 min apart for 31 patients (RIDER Scan 1 and Scan 2, respectively) treated for lung cancer; and (ii) the open access HN1 dataset containing 137 patients treated for head and neck cancer. Gross tumor volume (GTV), manually outlined by an experienced observer available on both datasets, was used. The 43 common radiomics features available in MATLAB and Pyradiomics were calculated using two intensity-level quantization methods with and without an intensity threshold. Cases were ranked for each feature for all combinations of quantization parameters, and the Spearman’s rank coefficient, rs, calculated. Reproducibility was defined when a highly correlated feature in the RIDER dataset also correlated highly in the HN1 dataset, and vice versa. A total of 29 out of the 43 reported stable features were found to be highly reproducible between MATLAB and Pyradiomics implementations, having a consistently high correlation in rank ordering for RIDER Scan 1 and RIDER Scan 2 (rs > 0.8). 18/43 reported features were common in the RIDER and HN1 datasets, suggesting they may be agnostic to disease site. Useful radiomics features should be selected based on reproducibility. This study identified a set of features that meet this requirement and validated the methodology for evaluating reproducibility between datasets

Multi-level analysis of the gut-brain axis shows autism spectrum disorder-associated molecular and microbial profiles

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by heterogeneous cognitive, behavioral and communication impairments. Disruption of the gut-brain axis (GBA) has been implicated in ASD although with limited reproducibility across studies. In this study, we developed a Bayesian differential ranking algorithm to identify ASD-associated molecular and taxa profiles across 10 cross-sectional microbiome datasets and 15 other datasets, including dietary patterns, metabolomics, cytokine profiles and human brain gene expression profiles. We found a functional architecture along the GBA that correlates with heterogeneity of ASD phenotypes, and it is characterized by ASD-associated amino acid, carbohydrate and lipid profiles predominantly encoded by microbial species in the genera Prevotella, Bifidobacterium, Desulfovibrio and Bacteroides and correlates with brain gene expression changes, restrictive dietary patterns and pro-inflammatory cytokine profiles. The functional architecture revealed in age-matched and sex-matched cohorts is not present in sibling-matched cohorts. We also show a strong association between temporal changes in microbiome composition and ASD phenotypes. In summary, we propose a framework to leverage multi-omic datasets from well-defined cohorts and investigate how the GBA influences ASD

Nuclear Receptor Rev-erb Alpha (Nr1d1) Functions in Concert with Nr2e3 to Regulate Transcriptional Networks in the Retina

The majority of diseases in the retina are caused by genetic mutations affecting the development and function of photoreceptor cells. The transcriptional networks directing these processes are regulated by genes such as nuclear hormone receptors. The nuclear hormone receptor gene Rev-erb alpha/Nr1d1 has been widely studied for its role in the circadian cycle and cell metabolism, however its role in the retina is unknown. In order to understand the role of Rev-erb alpha/Nr1d1 in the retina, we evaluated the effects of loss of Nr1d1 to the developing retina and its co-regulation with the photoreceptor-specific nuclear receptor gene Nr2e3 in the developing and mature retina. Knock-down of Nr1d1 expression in the developing retina results in pan-retinal spotting and reduced retinal function by electroretinogram. Our studies show that NR1D1 protein is co-expressed with NR2E3 in the outer neuroblastic layer of the developing mouse retina. In the adult retina, NR1D1 is expressed in the ganglion cell layer and is co-expressed with NR2E3 in the outer nuclear layer, within rods and cones. Several genes co-targeted by NR2E3 and NR1D1 were identified that include: Nr2c1, Recoverin, Rgr, Rarres2, Pde8a, and Nupr1. We examined the cyclic expression of Nr1d1 and Nr2e3 over a twenty-four hour period and observed that both nuclear receptors cycle in a similar manner. Taken together, these studies reveal a novel role for Nr1d1, in conjunction with its cofactor Nr2e3, in regulating transcriptional networks critical for photoreceptor development and function

Staff training to improve participant recruitment into surgical randomised controlled trials : a feasibility Study Within A Trial (SWAT) across four host randomised controlled trials simultaneously

Objective To test the feasibility of undertaking a simultaneous Study Within A Trial (SWAT) to train staff who recruit participants into surgical randomised controlled trials (RCTs), by assessing key uncertainties around recruitment, randomisation, intervention delivery and data collection. Study design and setting Twelve surgical RCTs were eligible. Interested sites (clusters) were randomised 1:1, with recruiting staff (surgeons and nurses) offered training or no training. The primary outcome was the feasibility of recruiting sites across multiple surgical trials simultaneously. Secondary outcomes included numbers/types of staff enrolled, attendance at training, training acceptability, confidence in recruiting and participant recruitment rates six months later. Results Four RCTs (33%) comprising 91 sites participated. Of these, 29 sites agreed to participate (32%) and were randomised to intervention (15 sites, 29 staff) or control (14 sites, 29 staff). Research nurses attended and found the training to be acceptable; no surgeons attended. In the intervention group, there was evidence of increased confidence when pre and post training scores were compared (mean difference in change 1.42; 95% CI 0.56, 2.27; p = 0.002) – there was no effect on recruitment rate. Conclusion It was feasible to randomise sites across four surgical RCTs in a simultaneous SWAT design. However, as small numbers of trials and sites participated, and no surgeons attended training, strategies to improve these aspects are needed for future evaluations. Trial registration ISRCTN registry: DISC (ISRCTN18254597), registered on 4th April 2017; PROFHER 2 (ISRCTN76296703), registered on 5th April 2018; IntAct (ISRCTN13334746), registered on 10th April 2017; and START:REACTS (ISRCTN17825590), registered on 5th March 2018. The training SWAT has been submitted to the MRC SWAT repository (SWAT111) Keywords: Randomised controlled trial (RCT), Study Within A Trial (SWAT), recruitment, staff training, professional education, feasibility study, surgical trial