Satisfaction with Democracy and Collective Action Problems: The Case of the Environment

Using modern methods for analyzing multi-level data, we find that, by and large, citizens of OECD countries are more satisfied with the way democracy works in their country if more environmental policies are in place and if environmental quality is higher. We also document that parents care about carbon dioxide emissions more than non-parents and that those with a high willingness to pay for environmental quality deplore intervention through government policies.satisfaction with democracy, environmental economics and policy, collective action problems

Does immigration into their neighborhoods incline voters toward the extreme right? The case of the freedom party of Austria

This paper explores one potentially important channel through which immigration may drive support for extreme right-wing parties: the presence of immigrants in one's neighborhood. We study the case of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Under the leadership of Jörg Haider, this party increased its share of votes from less than 5 percent in the early 1980s to 27 percent by the year 1999. Using past regional settlement patterns as a source of exogenous variation, we find a significantly positive effect of the residential proximity of immigrants on FPÖ votes, explaining roughly a quarter of the cross-community variance in FPÖ votes. It is the presence of low- and medium-skilled immigrants that drives this result; high-skilled immigrants have no (or even a negative) effect on FPÖ votes

Satisfaction with democracy and collective action problems: the case of the environment

Using modern methods for analyzing multi-level data, we find that, by and large, citizens of OECD countries are more satisfied with the way democracy works in their country if more environmental policies are in place and if environmental quality is higher. We also document that parents care about carbon dioxide emissions more than non-parents and that those with a high willingness to pay for environmental quality deplore intervention through government policies

Drugs and herbs in two divergent lines of benign prostatic hyperplasia therapy

Prostatic adenoma, or benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH), is a natural and common disease in elderly men. Its etiology is multifactorial. BPH is associated with annoying symptoms and morbid complications. The treatment of BPH with drugs, or synthetic chemicals, damages hepatic and renal tissues developing cirrhosis and kidney failure. As an alternative, there has been recourse to the use of medicinal plants or natural health. Pumpkin seeds, nettle leaves and soybeans have been proven to be potent against pain and discomfort in BPH patients. Moreover, plants used at high doses during a long period as treatment, may be toxic and complicate the lifestyle of BPH patients. Both, drugs and plants, used without precaution is a dilemma of prevention and toxicity. The patients simultaneously consume the drug and plants to anticipate healing. Combined drug-plant therapy could have harmful effects on health due to an accumulating antagonistic synergy of chemical and natural.

A phase 1 study evaluating rovalpituzumab tesirine in frontline treatment of patients with extensive-stage SCLC

INTRODUCTION: Rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting DLL3, a Notch pathway ligand highly expressed on SCLC cells. Rova-T was evaluated alone or in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin combined with etoposide [CE]) in frontline treatment of extensive-stage SCLC. METHODS: One cycle of CE pre-enrollment was permitted (later mandated). The following four cohorts were enrolled: Rova-T monotherapy (0.3 mg/kg, every 6 [q6] wk × 2; cohort 1; n = 4); Rova-T induction (0.3 mg/kg, q6 wk × 2) followed by CE every 21 days (q21) × 4 (cohort 2; n = 5); Rova-T (0.1 or 0.2 mg/kg, q6 wk × 2) overlapping with CE q21 × 4 (cohort 3; n = 14); and Rova-T maintenance (0.3 mg/kg, q6 wk × 2) after CE q21 × 4 (cohort 4; n = 3). RESULTS: A total of 26 patients were dosed (cohort 3: 14; cohorts 1, 2, and 4 combined: 12). Median age was 66 years, and 73% had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1. In cohort 3, seven patients (50%) had confirmed objective responses, with a median progression-free survival of 5.2 months and median overall survival of 10.3 months. Compared with cohorts 1, 2, and 4 combined, cohort 3 had lower frequency of some Rova-T-related adverse events of special interest, such as pleural effusion (0 versus 33%), pericardial effusion (0 versus 17%), ascites (0 versus 8%), peripheral edema (36% versus 42%), generalized edema (0 versus 8%), pneumonia (7% versus 25%), and hypoalbuminemia (0 versus 17%). CONCLUSIONS: Lower Rova-T doses may be associated with lower incidence of some Rova-T-related adverse events of special interest. Rova-T 0.2 mg/kg plus CE (cohort 3) was tolerable; however, there was no clear efficacy benefit of adding Rova-T to CE

Phenol-Soluble Modulin α Peptide Toxins from Aggressive Staphylococcus aureus Induce Rapid Formation of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps through a Reactive Oxygen Species-Independent Pathway

Neutrophils have the ability to capture and kill microbes extracellularly through the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). These are DNA and protein structures that neutrophils release extracellularly and are believed to function as a defense mechanism against microbes. The classic NET formation process, triggered by, e.g., bacteria, fungi, or by direct stimulation of protein kinase C through phorbol myristate acetate, is an active process that takes several hours and relies on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are further modified by myeloperoxidase (MPO). We show here that NET-like structures can also be formed by neutrophils after interaction with phenol-soluble modulin α (PSMα) that are cytotoxic membrane-disturbing peptides, secreted from community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). The PSMα-induced NETs contained the typical protein markers and were able to capture microbes. The PSMα-induced NET structures were disintegrated upon prolonged exposure to DNase-positive S. aureus but not on exposure to DNase-negative Candida albicans. Opposed to classic NETosis, PSMα-triggered NET formation occurred very rapidly, independently of ROS or MPO, and was also manifest at 4°C. These data indicate that rapid NETs release may result from cytotoxic membrane disturbance by PSMα peptides, a process that may be of importance for CA-MRSA virulence

Nationwide Survival Benefit after Implementation of First-Line Immunotherapy for Patients with Advanced NSCLC—Real World Efficacy

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The expected change in overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the clinical implementation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI) has not been substantially investigated in large real-world cohorts outside randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In this nationwide study, we compared OS before and after the implementation of ICI and found that 3-year OS tripled from 6% to 18%. Patients receiving ICI had a lower OS than demonstrated in RCTs, except for patients with performance status (PS) 0. More than a fifth of the patients progressed early within the first six ICI cycles. Adverse prognostic factors were PS ≥ 1 and metastases to the bone and liver. ABSTRACT: Background The selection of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment remains challenging. This real-world study aimed to compare the overall survival (OS) before and after the implementation of ICIs, to identify OS prognostic factors, and to assess treatment data in first-line (1L) ICI-treated patients without epidermal growth factor receptor mutation or anaplastic lymphoma kinase translocation. Methods Data from the Danish NSCLC population initiated with 1L palliative antineoplastic treatment from 1 January 2013 to 1 October 2018, were extracted from the Danish Lung Cancer Registry (DLCR). Long-term survival and median OS pre- and post-approval of 1L ICI were compared. From electronic health records, additional clinical and treatment data were obtained for ICI-treated patients from 1 March 2017 to 1 October 2018. Results The OS was significantly improved in the DLCR post-approval cohort (n = 2055) compared to the pre-approval cohort (n = 1658). The 3-year OS rates were 18% (95% CI 15.6–20.0) and 6% (95% CI 5.1–7.4), respectively. On multivariable Cox regression, bone (HR = 1.63) and liver metastases (HR = 1.47), performance status (PS) 1 (HR = 1.86), and PS ≥ 2 (HR = 2.19) were significantly associated with poor OS in ICI-treated patients. Conclusion OS significantly improved in patients with advanced NSCLC after ICI implementation in Denmark. In ICI-treated patients, PS ≥ 1, and bone and liver metastases were associated with a worse prognosis

The involvement of antioxidant, stress, and immune-related genes in the responsive mechanisms of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) to hypersalinity exposure

Salinity stress is one of the marked influencing factors on the ecophysiology of aquaculture and is considered an important reason for the retreat of the fish industry. The current study is an endeavor to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie the response to salinity stress in common carp. Fish (Average weight 5 ± 2 g) were randomly distributed into two groups; the 1st is a control was exposed to tap water (0.2 ppt salinity) and the 2nd is a treated was exposed to hypersalinity (10 ppt salinity) for five days. Serum biochemical indicators including total protein, albumin, globulins, A/G ratio, blood glucose, cortisone, Na+, K+, and Cl- levels were evaluated. Besides, Tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, corticotropin-releasing hormone, and catalase enzyme mRNA expression levels were assessed in lymphoid and immunocompetent organs (liver and spleen) and osmoregulatory organs (kidney and gills) by using Real-time qPCR. Hypersalinity adversely affected the biochemical markers; total protein, albumin, and globulins decreased significantly; however, blood glucose, serum cortisol, and sodium markedly increased in fish exposed to hypersalinity compared with the control. In addition, from the molecular point of view, all the evaluated genes were upregulated at a high expression rate in the liver compared with other studied organs after the salinity challenge. On the contrary, hypersalinity modulated the expression of immune-related genes (Tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β) in the kidney and spleen and upregulated corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA in all studied organs except gills. In conclusion, the obtained data clarified the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of salinity stress on the liver, kidney, spleen, and gills. Furthermore, it strongly suggests the implication of neural, endocrine, and immune systems in the responsive mechanisms to the salinity stress in carp

Joint Custody in the Italian Courts

This paper studies the impact of the introduction of joint custody in Italy (Law 54/2006) on judiciary outcomes. As to the formal (legal) assignment of joint custody, the reform envisaged very little judge discretion. With reference to the substance of the custody (the amount of time each parent spends with the child and the money involved in post-dissolution arrangements), the law established new principles while leaving plenty of implementation power to the judges. Our results - based on court data that covers the universe of separations from 2000 to 2010 - document that the law was only cosmetically applied by the judges. Compared to the pre-reform regime, the share of sole legal custody assignments to the mother drastically decreased. However, court implementation washed out the new principles: the provisions of the law related to the financial post-separation arrangements remained unapplied. This suggests that the main innovative aspect of the law - the possibility for a child to spend an adequate amount of time with both parents - was also left unchanged with respect to the previous regime of sole maternal custody. As joint effect of the introduction of the law and the little degree to which the new principles have been translated into actual verdicts, there was a surge in litigiousness among separating spouses and judicial inefficiency. Moreover, the incentives for a female partner to apply for a separation raised. The paper discusses a possible rationale for the findings and some related policy remedies. As for the former, the evidence we present can be explained by the adoption of gender-biased judiciary practices. As for the latter, our results suggest that a restatement of the law, to define a narrowed grid of prescriptions that constrain judge discretion, could be an effective corrective action