The ineffectiveness of entrepreneurship policy:Is policy formulation to blame?

Entrepreneurship policy has been criticised for its lack of effectiveness. Some scholars, such as Scott Shane in this journal, have argued that it is ‘bad’ public policy. But this simply begs the question why the legislative process should generate bad policy? To answer this question this study examines the UK’s enterprise policy process in the 2009–2010 period. It suggests that a key factor for the ineffectiveness of policy is how it is formulated. This stage in the policy process is seldom visible to those outside of government departments and has been largely ignored by prior research. The application of institutional theory provides a detailed theoretical understanding of the actors and the process by which enterprise policy is formulated. We find that by opening up the ‘black box’ of enterprise policy formulation, the process is dominated by powerful actors who govern the process with their interests

Report of the ICES Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME)

131 pages.-- This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)Five terms of reference (ToRs) were addressed at the working group. The first three terms of reference were standing ones. Under ToR A, new information on cetacean and seal population abundance, distribution, and population/stock structure, was reviewed, including information on vagrancy in cetacean and pinniped species. For cetaceans, coverage from the latest SCANS-IV survey (summer 2022) was presented as well as the results of recent regional/national surveys, particularly those in the Bay of Biscay and around the Iberian Peninsula. Updates on population estimates and distribution were provided for particular species studies, such as some coastal bottlenose dolphin populations. For seals, latest monitoring results were given for harbour, grey, and Baltic and Saimaa ringed seals. In addition, where possible, local long-term trends were illustrated for those species, based on earlier efforts by WGMME to assemble these data into a seal database. For both species’ groups, recent records of vagrant species were summarised. Under ToR B, cetacean and seal management frameworks in the North Atlantic were discussed, with an overview of the EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, and examples from the United Kingdom, Spain and the Faroe Islands of national management frameworks regarding marine mammals.ToR C provided an overview of new published information with regards to anthropogenic threats to marine mammal populations following on from the review by WGMME in 2015 (ICES, 2015) and subsequent updates. These were considered under the following headings: cumulative effects, fishery interactions, chemical pollution including marine debris, underwater noise, ship strikes and other physical trauma, tourism disturbance, climate change, and new pathogens (including avian influenza). ToR D focused upon bycatch. In support of WGBYC, this ToR aimed to contribute to the Roadmap for ICES PETS bycatch advice. ToR E involved liaison with other WGs. The Chairs of the newly-formed WGJCDP introduced to WGMME members, the Joint Cetacean Database Programme, which is to be hosted by the ICES Data Centre. The scope to collect information on other marine species besides cetaceans was discussed. A meeting with another newly formed ICES working group, on Marine Protected Areas, was planned but was deferred at the request of that group. On behalf of the working group, the Chairs would like to thank The Swedish Museum of Natural History for hosting the meetingN

Skin Autofluorescence, a Measure of Cumulative Metabolic Stress and Advanced Glycation End Products, Decreases During the Summer in Dialysis Patients

Tissue advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a measure of cumulative metabolic and oxidative stress and cytokine-driven inflammatory reactions. AGEs are thought to contribute to the cardiovascular complications of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is related to the tissue accumulation of AGEs and rises with age. SAF is one of the strongest prognostic markers of mortality in these patients. The content of AGEs is high in barbecue food. Due to the location in northern Sweden, there is a short intense barbecue season between June and August. The aim of this study was to investigate if seasonal variations in SAF exist in HD patients, especially during the barbecue season. SAF was measured noninvasively with an AGE Reader in 34 HD-patients (15 of those with diabetes mellitus, DM). Each time the median of three measures were used. Skin-AF was measured before and after each one HD at the end of February and May in 31 patients (22 men/9 women); the end of May and August in 28 (20 m/8 w); the end of August and March in 25 (19 m/6 w). Paired statistical analyses were performed during all four periods (n = 23, 17 m/6 w); as was HbA1c of those with DM. There was at a median 5.6% increase in skin-AF during the winter period (February-May, P = 0.004) and a 10.6% decrease in the skin-AF during the summer (May-August, P <0.001). HbA1c in the DM rose during the summer (P = 0.013). In conclusion, skin-AF decreased significantly during the summer. Future studies should look for favorable factors that prevent skin-AF and subsequently cardiovascular diseases

COVID-19 Vaccination in Pediatrics: Was It Valuable and Successful?

Background: The mass vaccination of children against coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) has been frequently debated. The risk–benefit assessment of COVID-19 vaccination versus infection in children has also been debated. Aim: This systematic review looked for answers to the question “was the vaccination of our children valuable and successful?”. Methods: The search strategy of different articles in the literature was based on medical subject headings. Screening and selection were based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results and Discussion: The search results revealed that the majority of the reported adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination in pediatrics were mild to moderate, with few being severe. Injection site discomfort, fever, headache, cough, lethargy, and muscular aches and pains were the most prevalent side effects. Few clinical studies recorded significant side effects, although the majority of these adverse events had nothing to do with vaccination. In terms of efficacy, COVID-19 disease protection was achieved in 90–95% of cases for mRNA vaccines, in 50–80% of cases for inactivated vaccines, and in 58–92% of cases for adenoviral-based vaccines in children and adolescents. Conclusions: Based on available data, COVID-19 immunizations appear to be safe for children and adolescents. Furthermore, multiple studies have proven that different types of vaccines can provide excellent protection against COVID-19 in pediatric populations. The efficacy of vaccines against new SARS-CoV-2 variants and the reduction in vaccine-related long-term adverse events are crucial for risk–benefit and cost-effectiveness assessments; therefore, additional safety studies are required to confirm the long-term safety and effectiveness of vaccinations in children

Trousseau’s Syndrome, a Previously Unrecognized Condition in Acute Ischemic Stroke Associated With Myocardial Injury

Trousseau’s syndrome is a well-known malignancy associated hypercoagulative state leading to venous or arterial thrombosis. The pathophysiology is however poorly understood, although multiple mechanisms are believed to be involved. We report a case of Trousseau’s syndrome resulting in concomitant cerebral and myocardial microthrombosis, presenting with acute ischemic stroke and markedly elevated plasma troponin T levels suggesting myocardial injury. Without any previous medical history, the patient developed multiple cerebral infarctions and died within 11 days of admission. The patient was postmortem diagnosed with an advanced metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate with disseminated cerebral, pulmonary, and myocardial microthrombosis. Further analyses revealed, to the best of our knowledge for the first time in stroke patients, circulating microvesicles positive for the epithelial tumor marker CK18 and citrullinated histone H3 in thrombi, markers of the recently described cancer-associated procoagulant DNA-based neutrophil extracellular traps. We also found tissue factor, the main in vivo initiator of coagulation, both in thrombi and in metastases. Troponin elevation in acute ischemic stroke is common and has repeatedly been associated with an increased risk of mortality. The underlying pathophysiology is however not fully clarified, although a number of possible explanations have been proposed. We now suggest that unexplainable high levels of troponin in acute ischemic stroke deserve special attention in terms of possible occult malignancy

COVID-19 signalome: Potential therapeutic interventions

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered intensive research and development of drugs and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 during the last two years. The major success was especially observed with development of vaccines based on viral vectors, nucleic acids and whole viral particles, which have received emergent authorization leading to global mass vaccinations. Although the vaccine programs have made a big impact on COVID-19 spread and severity, emerging novel variants have raised serious concerns about vaccine efficacy. Due to the urgent demand, drug development had originally to rely on repurposing of antiviral drugs developed against other infectious diseases. For both drug and vaccine development the focus has been mainly on SARS-CoV-2 surface proteins and host cell receptors involved in viral attachment and entry. In this review, we expand the spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 targets by investigating the COVID-19 signalome. In addition to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, the envelope, membrane, and nucleoprotein targets have been subjected to research. Moreover, viral proteases have presented the possibility to develop different strategies for the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication and spread. Several signaling pathways involving the renin-angiotensin system, angiotensin-converting enzymes, immune pathways, hypoxia, and calcium signaling have provided attractive alternative targets for more efficient drug development

Exploring the Disconnect of Enterprise Policy Implementation:A case of enterprise policy in England

Previous studies have acknowledged the ineffectiveness of enterprise policy. However, the reasons for its ineffectiveness remain a matter for debate. This study examines the extent to which the ineffectiveness of enterprise policy can be attributed to the way it has been implemented. Interviews with central government policy-makers, Regional Development Agency staff and business development managers in local enterprise agencies during the Labour administration (2007–2010) revealed that the implementation process of enterprise policy initiatives is complex and confusing, with fragmented relationships between the actors involved. The abundance of enterprise policy initiatives being delivered at the time, the absence of clearly defined objectives, the limited emphasis on the delivery of business support and the lack of measurement and evaluation combined to create an unnecessarily complicated process of enterprise policy implementation which, in turn, reduced its effectiveness