Political support through representation by the government. Evidence from Dutch panel data

Research on political support demonstrates that satisfaction with democracy is higher among electoral winners than losers, and that it is higher for citizens who are ideologically more congruent with the government. In this paper, I analyze how support for the political system is affected by representation by the government. Expanding on previous studies, I leverage long-run panel data from the Dutch LISS panel spanning over several electoral cycles. Drawing on various measures that go beyond the distinction between election winners and losers and also measure how close citizens are to the government coalition as a whole, I show that being well represented by the government has a wide-ranging positive relationship with satisfaction with democracy, external efficacy and trust in political institutions. While this relationship is mostly short-run, political support can decline substantially if non-representation persists in the long-run. This highlights the relevance of long-run panel data for studying the consequences of representation

The political-psychological foundations of support for the regime and its institutions

This thesis challenges a prominent proposition about political support for democracy. Earlier research contends that specific support for incumbent authorities fluctuates with the performance of the political system, whereas diffuse support for democracy is acquired through socialization and remains stable thereafter. Adding to recent evidence that strives to overcome this clear-cut distinction, this dissertation demonstrates that the proposition should be regarded as a matter of degree rather than principle. It presents evidence for both stability and short-term fluctuations by examining the political-psychological foundations of support for the regime and its institutions. The four articles offer three key contributions to the field. First, support for democracy rests on deep-rooted big five personality traits and the conception of national identity. This provides a previously neglected explanation for why diffuse regime preferences are more stable than specific support and shows that they are not only acquired through socialization. Second, emotions and national identity determine whether external shocks strengthen or weaken democratic regime preferences. As a result, diffuse support for democracy, despite its stability, simultaneously fluctuates with individual experiences of crises. Third, emotions and cognitive processes shape how changes in representation affect performance evaluations and trust towards the political regime and its institutions. For the first time, this is demonstrated with long-term panel data exploring the temporal dynamics of this relationship. In sum, this dissertation advances our current understanding of political support by identifying the political-psychological foundations – personality, social identity, emotions and cognitive processes – at its core

Varieties of Capitalism and labour market opportunities for the youth: A comparison of attitudes towards skill formation

In this study, we examine the extent to which socio-economic institutions shape young people’s perceptions of labour market opportunity structures and their employment attitudes (i.e. skills and retraining). Building on the varieties of capitalism approach, we expect young people (aged 18–35) in coordinated market economies (CMEs) with encompassing welfare states to regard firm- and industry-specific skills as more important than their peers in liberal market economies (LMEs). To assess this proposition, we draw on original survey data and compare young people’s employment attitudes in five European countries: the United Kingdom (UK), which represents a typical liberal market economy, and Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland as representatives of coordinated market economies. To what extent do different training regimes in CMEs and LMEs shape individual attitudes towards skill formation? The empirical analysis shows that young people’s attitudes with regard to the specificity of skills and the willingness to undertake retraining differ systematically between CME and LME countries and supports our argument that the specific socio-economic institutions matter

The pandemic and the question of national belonging: Exposure to covid-19 threat and conceptions of nationhood

Drawing on the behavioural immune system hypothesis, we argue that the prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic threat in an individual's respective environment relates to exclusive, ethnic conceptions of nationhood. Referring to the affective intelligence theory, we maintain that specific negative emotions are prompted by the perception of being exposed to a pandemic threat, and these emotional states in turn structure political preferences regarding national belonging. Using an original survey in six European countries during the first peak of the pandemic in late April and early May 2020, we analyze both the impact of individual Covid-19 experiences and the contextual exposure to a pandemic threat through hierarchical analyses of 105 European regions. Our empirical analysis shows that exposure to the pandemic is linked to stronger ethnic national identities for both levels of analysis. We also find that anger substantially mediates this relationship and has primacy over feelings of fear. Taken together, our results indicate that the behavioural immune system appears as a pervasive obstacle to inclusive orientations

There Is a Clinical Need to Consider the Physical Activity: Sedentary Pattern in Children with Obesity – Position Paper of the European Childhood Obesity Group

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Introduction:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; While international prevention guidelines recently advocated, in addition to moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines, for a minimization of sedentary (SED) time, recommendations remain to be developed for youths with obesity. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; A literature search was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, plus the reference lists of selected articles for relevant publications in English, including original papers, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, with search terms “sedentary behaviors” or “sedentary time” or “screen time” AND “children” or “adolescents” AND “obesity” or “adiposity” or “cardiometabolic risk” or “cardiometabolic disease.” The results were summarized as a narrative review and presented to the scientific board of the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG), who then discussed their implication in clinical practice and proposed the position outlined in this paper. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; SED and screen times are associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic risks, independently of youths’ physical activity (PA) level. Besides considering MVPA and SED times as separate variables, comprehensive studies have questioned the impact of different patterns of MVPA and SED levels. Although lower body adiposity and better cardiometabolic health are achieved among those with desirable movement behavior patterns (i.e., more MVPA/less SED or active/not SED), youths with intermediate patterns (i.e., high MVPA/high SED and low MVPA/low SED, or active/SED and inactive/not SED) have been found to be associated with intermediate risks. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; There is a need to decrease SED behaviors irrespective of MVPA and to consider PA-SED patterns in youth with obesity. The ECOG encourages anti-obesity strategies targeting both PA and SED behaviors to support the shift from long periods of SED time, especially screen time, to daily routines incorporating bouts of PA. Stepwise or sequential approaches to movement behavior counseling might start with targeting SED at first to decrease cardiometabolic risks when implementing MVPA is not yet possible. </jats:p

Preclinical Activity of Eltrombopag (SB-497115), an Oral, Nonpeptide Thrombopoietin Receptor Agonist

Eltrombopag is a first-in-class, orally bioavailable, small-molecule, nonpeptide agonist of the thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR), which is being developed as a treatment for thrombocytopenia of various etiologies. In vitro studies have demonstrated that the activity of eltrombopag is dependent on expression of TpoR, which activates the signaling transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathways. The objective of this preclinical study is to determine if eltrombopag interacts selectively with the TpoR to facilitate megakaryocyte differentiation in platelets. Functional thrombopoietic activity was demonstrated by the proliferation and differentiation of primary human CD34+ bone marrow cells into CD41+ megakaryocytes. Measurements in platelets in several species indicated that eltrombopag specifically activates only the human and chimpanzee STAT pathways. The in vivo activity of eltrombopag was demonstrated by an increase of up to 100% in platelet numbers when administered orally (10 mg/kg per day for 5 days) to chimpanzees. In conclusion, eltrombopag interacts selectively with the TpoR without competing with Tpo, leading to the increased proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow progenitor cells into megakaryocytes and increased platelet production. These results suggest that eltrombopag and Tpo may be able to act additively to increase platelet production

The rationale and design of the perindopril genetic association study (PERGENE): A pharmacogenetic analysis of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors reduce clinical symptoms and improve outcome in patients with hypertension, heart failure, and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and are among the most frequently used drugs in these patient groups. For hypertension, treatment is guided by the level of blood pressure. In the secondary prevention setting, there are no means of guiding therapy. Prior attempts to target ACE-inhibitors to those patients that are most likely to benefit have not been successful, mainly due to the consistency in the treatment effect in clinical subgroups. Still, for prolonged prophylactic treatment with ACE-inhibitors it would be best to target treatment to only those patients most likely to benefit, which would considerably lower the number needed to treat and increase cost-effectiveness. A new approach for such "tailored-therapy" may be to integrate information on the genetic variation between patients. Until now, pharmacogenetic research of the efficacy of ACE-inhibitor therapy in CAD patients is still in a preliminary stage. Methods: The PERindopril GENEtic association study (PERGENE) is a substudy of the EUROPA trial, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled multicentre clinical trial which demonstrated a beneficial effect of the ACE-inhibitor perindopril in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in 12.218 patients with stable coronary artery disease (mean follow-up 4.2 years). Blood tubes were received from patients at the beginning of the EUROPA trial and buffy coats were stored at -40°C at the central core laboratory. Candidate genes were selected in the renin-angiotensin-system and bradykinin pathways. Polymorphisms were selected based on haplotype tagging principles using the HapMap genome project, Seattle and other up-to-date genetic database platforms to comprehensively cover all common genetic variation within the genes. Selection also took into consideration the functionality of SNP's, location within the gene (promoter) and existing relevant literature. The main outcome measure of PERGENE is the effect of genetic factors on the treatment benefit with ACE-inhibitors. The size of this pharmacogenetic substudy allows detection with a statistical power of 98% to detect a difference in hazard ratios (treatment effect) of 20% between genotypes with minor allele frequency of 0.20 (two-sided alpha 0.05). Conclusion: The PERGENE study is a large cardiovascular pharmacogenetic study aimed to assess the feasibility of pharmacogenetic profiling of the treatment effect of ACE-inhibitor use with the perspective to individualize treatment in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Rationale and methods of the European Study on Cardiovascular Risk Prevention and Management in Daily Practice (EURIKA)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The EURIKA study aims to assess the status of primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) across Europe. Specifically, it will determine the degree of control of cardiovascular risk factors in current clinical practice in relation to the European guidelines on cardiovascular prevention. It will also assess physicians' knowledge and attitudes about CVD prevention as well as the barriers impeding effective risk factor management in clinical practice.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Cross-sectional study conducted simultaneously in 12 countries across Europe. The study has two components: firstly at the physician level, assessing eight hundred and nine primary care and specialist physicians with a daily practice in CVD prevention. A physician specific questionnaire captures information regarding physician demographics, practice settings, cardiovascular prevention beliefs and management. Secondly at the patient level, including 7641 patients aged 50 years or older, free of clinical CVD and with at least one classical risk factor, enrolled by the participating physicians. A patient-specific questionnaire captures information from clinical records and patient interview regarding sociodemographic data, CVD risk factors, and current medications. Finally, each patient provides a fasting blood sample, which is sent to a central laboratory for measuring serum lipids, apolipoproteins, hemoglobin-A1c, and inflammatory biomarkers.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Primary prevention of CVD is an extremely important clinical issue, with preventable circulatory diseases remaining the leading cause of major disease burden. The EURIKA study will provide key information to assess effectiveness of and attitudes toward primary prevention of CVD in Europe. A transnational study creates opportunities for benchmarking good clinical practice across countries and improving outcomes. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00882336.)</p

ENIGMA-anxiety working group : Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders

Altres ajuts: Anxiety Disorders Research Network European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellowship; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, 44541416-TRR58); EU7th Frame Work Marie Curie Actions International Staff Exchange Scheme grant 'European and South African Research Network in Anxiety Disorders' (EUSARNAD); Geestkracht programme of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, 10-000-1002); Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) program within the National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, MH002781); National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, ZIA-MH-002782); SA Medical Research Council; U.S. National Institutes of Health grants (P01 AG026572, P01 AG055367, P41 EB015922, R01 AG060610, R56 AG058854, RF1 AG051710, U54 EB020403).Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe