Minimum Wage as a Place-Based Policy: Evidence from US Housing Rental Markets

The recent rise of sub-national minimum wage (MW) policies in the US has resulted in significant dispersion of MW levels within metropolitan areas. In this paper, we study the effect of MW changes on local housing rental markets exploiting the placed-based nature of MW policies. For each location we define both the log MW where the average resident works (the "workplace MW") and the log MW in the location itself (the "residence MW"). We derive a partial-equilibrium model of a housing market in which MW levels in each location affect housing demand by changing the income of commuters and the prices of non-tradable consumption. The model shows that the workplace MW has a positive effect on rents whereas the residence MW has a negative effect. We construct a ZIP code by month panel using rents data from Zillow, and use a difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of residence and workplace MW changes on median housing rents. Our baseline results imply that a 10 percent increase in the workplace MW and no change in the residence MW will increase rents by 0.69 percent (SE=0.29). If the residence MW also increases by 10 percent, then rents will increase by 0.47 percent (SE=0.16). We use our results to study the incidence of two counterfactual MW policies: a federal MW increase and a city MW increase. We estimate that landlords pocket 9.2 and 11.0 cents for every dollar increase in worker income in areas affected by these policies. However, the incidence varies systematically across space

T1G3 high-risk NMIBC (non-muscle invasive bladder cancer): conservative treatment versus immediate cystectomy

Background The management of stage T1 poorly differentiated G3 bladder cancer invading the lamina propria continues to be debated. These tumours are associated with a high risk of recurrence and progression; concomitant carcinoma in situ and/or multifocality are negative prognostic factors. Choosing between a preserving approach such as transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) followed by maintenance bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and an invasive approach like cystectomy is critical. Patients and methods Overall, 80 patients underwent TURB and RE-TURB followed by intra-vesical induction treatment with BCG plus maintenance (Group A) while 72 patients underwent immediate radical cystectomy with extended lymphadenectomy (Group B). Patients were divided into 3 subgroups: uni-focal tumours, multi-focal tumours and carcinoma in situ associated lesions. In Group A, time to first recurrence and time to progression were analysed. A comparison was made between Group A and Group B regarding progression-free survival, cancerspecific survival and overall survival with a median follow-up time of 8.3 years. Results As far as concerns Group A patients, 42 recurrences (52.5%) were reported in a median time of 10.4 months (range 3–26) and 25 progressions (31.2%) in a median time of 25 months (range 3–68). As far as concerns time to first recurrence and time to progression, both the Kaplan–Meier survival curves obtained are significant and P values are, respectively, 0.0263 and 0.0011. Comparing Groups A and B patients, 25 progressions (31.2%) in a median time of 25 months (range 3–68) and 18 progressions (25%) in a median time of 25.9 months (range 4–72), respectively, were recorded. Regarding overall survival, at 10 years, 24 deaths (42.5%) occurred in a median time of 55.4 months (range 12–94) in Group A and 42 deaths (58.3%) in a median time of 54.9 months (10–100) in Group B. Cancer-specific survival was evaluated in Group A with a total of 18 deaths (22.5%) in a median time of 47.5 months (range 16–78), and in Group B with a total of 16 deaths (22.2%) in a median time of 45.7 months (range 16–88). The progression-free survival Kaplan– Meier curve is not significant, the P value being 0.3801; the overall survival curve is significant with a P value of 0.0487 while the cancer-specific survival curve is not significant with a P value of 0.9762. Discussion In Group A, considering ‘‘time to first recurrence’’, the difference is greater between unifocal lesions and multifocal or Cis-associated lesions. Conversely, for ‘‘time to progression’’, there is a greater difference between unifocal and multifocal tumours and Cis-associated tumours. Looking at ‘‘progression-free survival’’ in Group A and Group B patients, there is no statistically significant difference, like in cancer-specific survival. A statistically significant difference was observed in overall survival being in favour of conservative treatment thus reflecting that conservative treatment is not burdened by all the surgical and post-operative complications of cystectomy. Conclusions Although NMIBC invading the lamina propria, stage G3, with or without Cis-associated lesions are burdened both by a high volume of recurrences and progressions, cystectomy could be considered an aggressive approach. New biological markers are now needed which are able to predict the behaviour of the cancer and to guide the decisionmaking process between conservative or aggressive treatment

Prospective open-label study on the efficacy and tolerability of a combination of nutritional supplements in primary infertile patients with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia

Aim of the study: To evaluate with an open-label study the efficacy and safety of a complex of nutritional supplements with antioxidant activity (L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, fructose, citric acid, selenium, coenzyme Q10, zinc, ascorbic acid, cyanocobalamin, folic acid) in primary infertile patients with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia. Methods: The study was conducted in a population of 114 infertile men (96 completed the study) diagnosed with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia since at least 18 months. Patients orally received a formulation (Proxeed - Sigma-Tau) containing L-carnitine 145 mg, acetyl-L-carnitine 64 mg, fructose 250 mg, citric acid 50 mg, selenium 50 mcg, coenzyme Q10 20 mg, zinc 10 mg, ascorbic acid 90 mg, cyanocobalamin 1.5 mcg, folic acid 200 mcg in combination once a day for 4 months. Results: At the end of study, the mean sperm progressive motility showed a statistically significant increase from 18.3 ± 3.8 to 42.1 ± 5.5. Sixteen patients achieved pregnancy during the study. No significant improvement were observed for sperm density and rate of morphologically normal forms. The treatment was well tolerated. Conclusions: Carnitines in association with others functional substances can improve the most important parameters of sperm quality

HLA in migraine and coeliac children

The linkage between HLA antigens and disease susceptibility has been investigated in several diseases. Two different mechanisms are known to act in the relation between the HLA system and headache: linkage and association of alleles. Among neurological disorders associated with coeliac disease (CD) we focused on headache in 1997. From a group of 70 coeliac children, we studied 10 children with headache (3 boys and 7 girls). For each subject we evaluated clinical history and HLA antigens. The incidence of headache was not different with respect to the prevalence of headache in the general population. The HLA setting is not different between the 2 groups examined. However, we highlight 2 cases for the particular HLA setting

Evidence of another anthropic impact on iguana delicatissima from the lesser Antilles: the presence of antibiotic resistant enterobacteria

The improper use of antibiotics by humans may promote the dissemination of resistance in wildlife. The persistence and spread of acquired antibiotic resistance and human-associated bacteria in the environment, while representing a threat to wildlife, can also be exploited as a tool to monitor the extent of human impact, particularly on endangered animal species. Hence, we investigated both the associated enterobacterial species and the presence of acquired resistance traits in the cloacal microbiota of the critically endangered lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima), by comparing two separate populations living in similar climatic conditions but exposed to different anthropic pressures. A combination of techniques, including direct plating, DNA sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing allowed us to characterize the dominant enterobacterial populations, the an- tibiotic resistant strains and their profiles. A higher frequency of Escherichia coli was found in the samples from the more anthropized site, where multi-drug resistant strains were also isolated. These results confirm how human-associated bacteria as well as their antibiotic-resistance determinants may be transferred to wildlife, which, in turn, may act as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance

Reduced intraoperative bleeding during transurethral resection of the prostate: Evaluation of finasteride, vascular endothelial growth factor, and CD34

Finasteride is an antiandrogen that inhibits 5-α- reductase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. Finasteride significantly reduces intraoperative bleeding when 10 mg/d is administered for 60 days before transurethral resection of the prostate. Our double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study evaluated 200 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate. We compared a placebo group (n = 100) with a group (n = 100) administered 5 mg of finasteride twice a day for 8 weeks. We intended to demonstrate the mechanisms and effects of finasteride compared with those of vascular endothelial growth factor, and to evaluate CD34, an immunohistochemical marker of blood vessel density in the prostate. Our results indicated a lower average microvascular density and vascular endothelial growth factor index for hypertrophic prostate in the finasteride group than in the placebo group

Assessment and validation of miniaturized technology for the remote tracking of critically endangered Galápagos pink land iguana (Conolophus marthae)

Abstract Background: Gathering ecological data for species of conservation concern inhabiting remote regions can be daunting and, sometimes, logistically infeasible. We built a custom-made GPS tracking device that allows to remotely and accurately collect animal position, environmental, and ecological data, including animal temperature and UVB radiation. We designed the device to track the critically endangered Galápagos pink land iguana, Conolophus marthae. Here we illustrate some technical solutions adopted to respond to challenges associated with such task and present some preliminary results from controlled trial experiments and field implementation. Results: Our tests show that estimates of temperature and UVB radiation are affected by the design of our device, in particular by its casing. The introduced bias, though, is systematic and can be corrected using linear and quadratic regressions on collected values. Our data show that GPS accuracy loss, although introduced by vegetation and orientation of the devices when attached to the animals, is acceptable, leading to an average error gap of less than 15 m in more than 50% of the cases. Conclusions: We address some technical challenges related to the design, construction, and operation of a custommade GPS tracking device to collect data on animals in the wild. Systematic bias introduced by the technological implementation of the device exists. Understanding the nature of the bias is crucial to provide correction models. Although designed to track land iguanas, our device could be used in other circumstances and is particularly useful to track organisms inhabiting locations that are difficult to reach or for which classic telemetry approaches are unattainable

Enhanced Healing of Diabetic Wounds by Topical Administration of Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Cells Overexpressing Stromal-Derived Factor-1: Biodistribution and Engraftment Analysis by Bioluminescent Imaging

Chronic ulcers represent a major health problem in diabetic patients resulting in pain and discomfort. Conventional therapy does not guarantee adequate wound repair. In diabetes, impaired healing is partly due to poor endothelial progenitor cells mobilisation and homing, with altered levels of the chemokine stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) at the wound site. Adipose tissue-associated stromal cells (AT-SCs) can provide an accessible source of progenitor cells secreting proangiogenic factors and differentiating into endothelial-like cells. We demonstrated that topical administration of AT-SCs genetically modified ex vivo to overexpress SDF-1, promotes wound healing into diabetic mice. In particular, by in vivo bioluminescent imaging analysis, we monitored biodistribution and survival after transplantation of luciferase-expressing cells. In conclusion, this study indicates the therapeutic potential of AT-SCs administration in wound healing, through cell differentiation, enhanced cellular recruitment at the wound site, and paracrine effects associated with local growth-factors production

Penile prosthesis implant for erectile dysfunction: A new minimally invasive infrapubic surgical technique

Erectile dysfunction, the most common male sexual disorder after premature ejaculation, with its important impact on man and partner’s sexuality and quality of life is a persistent inability to obtain and maintain an erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual performance. Non-surgical treatments with controversial results are usually applyed before surgical treatment that has reached high levels of satisfaction. We describe a new surgical technique to implant three-pieces penile prosthesis in patients suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) not responding to conventional medical therapy or reporting side effects with such a therapy. Implantation of an inflatable prosthesis, for treatment of ED, is a safe and efficacious approach with high satisfaction reported by patients and partners. Surgical technique should be minimally invasive and latest technology equipment should be implanted in order to decrease common complications and to obtain a better aesthetic result

First evidence of recruitment in critically endangered Galápagos pink land iguanas (Conolophus marthae)

We present the first estimate of population dynamics parameters for critically endangered Galápagos pink land iguanas, Conolophus marthae, leveraging mark-recapture data collected between 2006 and 2021. Demographic parameters were estimated using the POPAN formulation of the Jolly–Seber model. This approach provided a solid and robust estimate, consolidating the results obtained from previous estimates based on the Lincoln–Petersen method evaluating only two sampling occasions. Our results suggest that the abundance of males was higher than that of females at each sampling occasion, probably due to differences in sex-specific behavior during the reproductive season. Our analyses also provide no evidence of a change in population size during the sampling period, estimated at 150–270 adult individuals, while suggesting positive entry rates. Finally, by comparing the biometric features of first-captured versus recaptured iguanas, we found that the former have more juvenile-like characteristics (i.e., they are, on average, smaller) than the latter. Although juvenile pink iguanas have rarely been recorded (only four sampled juvenile-like individuals in over 16 years of field work), our combined results provide the first clear indication that the only known C. marthae population actively recruits new members from younger age classes. Such recruitment may have prevented any measurable population decline in the last 16 years, but it was also not sufficient to clearly increase the population size. These results are of the utmost importance for the conservation of this species. They will guide future high-priority actions: (i) aiming at increasing population size by removing or mitigating threats and (ii) increasing the number of individuals by implementing a headstart program and/or founding a second viable population, as identified in the recently published IUCN Conservation and Management Plan