Chasing the Smokestack: Strategic Policymaking With Multiple Instruments

Empirical evidence suggesting that a considerable amount of horizontal strategic interaction exists amongst governments is important in light of recent devolutionary trends of many important public programs. The empirical approach in these studies typically relies on estimating reaction functions in a uni-dimensional policy framework, where a nonzero slope estimate is interpreted as evidence in support of strategic interactions. While this framework is a useful representation within certain contexts, it is potentially too restrictive; for example, in models of resource competition, localities may use multiple instruments in their recruiting pursuits, leading to potential strategic interactions across policy instruments. In this study, we first develop a simple theoretic construct that includes resource competition in a world of three-dimensional policy choice. The model suggests that while a zero-sloped reaction function may exist for any particular policy, this does not necessarily imply the absence of strategic interactions. We examine the implications of the model empirically using US state-level panel data over the period 1977-1994. The results suggest that important cross-policy strategic interactions exist, lending support in favor of the multi-dimensional framework, and indicate that uni-dimensional frameworks may present lower bound estimates of the degree of strategic interaction.

A mobile system for active otpical pollution monitoring

The remote monitoring of atmospheric pollutants can now be performed in several ways. Laser radar techniques have proven their ability to reveal the spatial distribution of different species or particles. Classical optical techniques can also be used, but yield the average concentration over a given path and hence no range resolution. One such technique is Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy, DOAS. Such schemes can be used to monitor paths that a preliminary lidar investigation has shown to be of interest. Having previously had access to a mobile lidar system, a new system has been completed. The construction builds on experience from using the other system and it is meant to be more of a mobile optical laboratory than just a lidar system. A complete system description is given along with some preliminary usage. Future uses are contemplated

The Chandrasekhar limit for quark stars

The Chandrasekhar limit for quark stars is evaluated from simple energy balance relations, as proposed by Landau for white dwarfs or neutron stars. It has been found that the limit for quark stars depends on, in addition to the fundamental constants, the Bag constant.Comment: LateX fil

Can ICU admission be predicted?

After intensive care (IC), patients report poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Many factors affect the patients and influence the HRQoL after discharge. One of these factors is the patient's health status before the critical care period. In a previous study we found that the IC patients have a high frequency of pre-existing diseases. However, it is unknown to what extent these pre-existing diseases affect the consumption of hospital resources (measured as days as inpatients) in the time period before admission to the ICU and during the years following it. The consumption prior to the ICU event may also be claimed to herald an increased risk for a later ICU admittance? The aim of this study was to examine the hospital care consumption of former ICU patients 3 years prior to and 3 years after the intensive care period. This was examined in relation to the pre-existing health status

Comparative Politics and Environmental Taxation: Theory and Quasi-Experimental Evidence

Abstract In this paper, we take a step towards understanding the role of democratic institutions on the level of pollution taxation. The theory predicts that presidential-congressional regimes set lower pollution taxes than parliamentary regimes. This results from the checks and balances built into the former, and the higher degree of legislative cohesion in the latter. We test the prediction using the method of propensity score matching along with data on gasoline prices from 86 democratic countries. The empirical evidence is consonant with the theory: we find that ceteris paribus the average price of super gasoline is $0.14 -$0.20 less per liter in presidentialcongressional systems; the average price of diesel gasoline is $0.11 -$0.14 less per liter

Risk of coronary stenosis after adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer

Purpose Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for breast cancer is associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease. We examined the risk of coronary artery stenosis in a large cohort of women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant RT. Methods A cohort of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1992 and 2012 in three Swedish health care regions (n = 57,066) were linked to the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR) to identify women receiving RT who subsequently underwent a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to coronary stenosis. Cox regression analyses were performed to examine risk of a coronary intervention and competing risk analyses were performed to calculate cumulative incidence. Results A total of 649 women with left-sided breast cancer and 494 women with right-sided breast cancer underwent a PCI. Women who received left-sided RT had a significantly higher risk of a PCI in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) compared to women who received right-sided RT, hazard ratio (HR) 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-1.77, p < 0.001). For the proximal, mid, and distal LAD, the HRs were 1.60 (95% CI 1.22-2.10), 1.38 (95% CI 1.07-1.78), and 2.43 (95% CI 1.33-4.41), respectively. The cumulative incidence of coronary events at 25 years from breast cancer diagnosis were 7.0% in women receiving left-sided RT and 4.4% in women receiving right-sided RT. Conclusion Implementing and further developing techniques that lower cardiac doses is important in order to reduce the risk of long-term side effects of adjuvant RT for breast cancer.Peer reviewe

Activation of the Nrf2 response by intrinsic hepatotoxic drugs correlates with suppression of NF-κB activation and sensitizes toward TNFα-induced cytotoxicity

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important problem both in the clinic and in the development of new safer medicines. Two pivotal adaptation and survival responses to adverse drug reactions are oxidative stress and cytokine signaling based on the activation of the transcription factors Nrf2 and NF-κB, respectively. Here, we systematically investigated Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling upon DILI-related drug exposure. Transcriptomics analyses of 90 DILI compounds in primary human hepatocytes revealed that a strong Nrf2 activation is associated with a suppression of endogenous NF-κB activity. These responses were translated into quantitative high-content live-cell imaging of induction of a selective Nrf2 target, GFP-tagged Srxn1, and the altered nuclear translocation dynamics of a subunit of NF-κB, GFP-tagged p65, upon TNFR signaling induced by TNFα using HepG2 cells. Strong activation of GFP-Srxn1 expression by DILI compounds typically correlated with suppression of NF-κB nuclear translocation, yet reversely, activation of NF-κB by TNFα did not affect the Nrf2 response. DILI compounds that provided strong Nrf2 activation, including diclofenac, carbamazepine and ketoconazole, sensitized toward TNFα-mediated cytotoxicity. This was related to an adaptive primary protective response of Nrf2, since loss of Nrf2 enhanced this cytotoxic synergy with TNFα, while KEAP1 downregulation was cytoprotective. These data indicate that both Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling may be pivotal in the regulation of DILI. We propose that the NF-κB-inhibiting effects that coincide with a strong Nrf2 stress response likely sensitize liver cells to pro-apoptotic signaling cascades induced by intrinsic cytotoxic pro-inflammatory cytokines

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Peer reviewe