Agri-environmental Policy and Urban Development Patterns: A General Equilibrium Analysis

This paper investigates the spatial effects that the provision of environmental public goods have on residential location choices in a suburban context. Specifically, a spatial general equilibrium framework is developed to analyze the consequences of adopting an agri-environmental policy promoting the provision of positive farming externalities. We use a static monocentric model of an open city where agricultural bid-rents and agricultural amenities vary endogenously in space, and where the positive externalities associated with agricultural production are valued by households. Consistent with empirical evidence of the potential side effects that conservation policies may have in terms of urbanization patterns and land price changes, we show that under certain conditions implementing an agri-environmental policy may promote additional suburban development. Moreover, we demonstrate that the emergence of disconnected suburban areas may be significantly influenced by the location of land regulated by an agri-environmental policy. Finally, we discuss distributional aspects and show that while introducing an agri-environmental policy has a negative impact on most residential land value, it can have positive effects on farmland and residential land located within the regulated areas, suggesting the non-neutrality of such policies regarding the agents’ assets

Policy measures for reducing aquifer depletion in a context of climate change: the case of the coastal area of Cap-Bon

Groundwater resources are critically important for irrigated agriculture in Tunisia. However, excessive irrigation extractions where groundwater is slowly renewed are causing a widespread depletion of the aquifer systems, with the impacts of climate change expected to further exacerbate this problem. These circumstances call for the development of methodologies and analyses that can support the design of sustainable groundwater management policies. This paper presents a hydro-economic mathematical programming model that is used to evaluate the effects of different policy measures for reducing aquifer depletion in the Cap-Bon region of Tunisia. Three policies have been evaluated: a quota defining the maximum quantity of groundwater extractions, environmental taxation, and supply expansion with subsidized desalinated seawater. Overall, results highlight the economic and social tradeoffs among these different policy choices and the challenges facing the implementation of sustainable groundwater management in Tunisia. More specifically, results show the advantages of using subsidized desalinated seawater compared to the other two policy alternatives in terms of the value of agricultural production, farmers’ profits, and employment, despite of its sizeable budgetary burden

Proenkephalin A 119-159 (Penkid) Is an Early Biomarker of Septic Acute Kidney Injury: The Kidney in Sepsis and Septic Shock (Kid-SSS) Study

Introduction: Sepsis is the leading cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients. The Kidney in Sepsis and Septic Shock (Kid-SSS) study evaluated the value of proenkephalin A 119-159 (penkid)—a sensitive biomarker of glomerular function, drawn within 24 hours upon intensive care unit (ICU) admission and analyzed using a chemiluminescence immunoassay—for kidney events in sepsis and septic shock. Methods: The Kid-SSS study was a substudy of Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock (AdrenOSS) (NCT02393781), a prospective, observational, multinational study including 583 patients admitted to the intensive care unit with sepsis or septic shock and a validation cohort of 525 patients from the French and euRopean Outcome reGistry in Intensive Care Units (FROG-ICU) study. The primary endpoint was major adverse kidney events (MAKEs) at day 7, composite of death, renal replacement therapy, and persistent renal dysfunction. The secondary endpoints included AKI, transient AKI, worsening renal function (WRF), and 28-day mortality. Results: Median age was 66 years (interquartile range 55–75), and 28-day mortality was 22% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19%−25%). Of the patients, 293 (50.3%) were in shock upon ICU admission. Penkid was significantly elevated in patients with MAKEs, persistent AKI, and WRF (median = 65 [IQR = 45–106] vs. 179 [114–242]; 53 [39–70] vs. 133 [79–196] pmol/l; and 70 [47–121] vs. 174 [93–242] pmol/l, all P < 0.0001), also after adjustment for confounding factors (adjusted odds ratio = 3.3 [95% CI = 1.8–6.0], 3.9 [95% CI = 2.1–7.2], and 3.4 [95% CI = 1.9–6.2], all P < 0.0001). Penkid increase preceded elevation of serum creatinine with WRF and was low in renal recovery. Conclusion: Admission penkid concentration was associated with MAKEs, AKI, and WRF in a timely manner in septic patients

Circulating adrenomedullin estimates survival and reversibility of organ failure in sepsis: the prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock-1 (AdrenOSS-1) study

Background: Adrenomedullin (ADM) regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability during sepsis. Levels of circulating biologically active ADM (bio-ADM) show an inverse relationship with blood pressure and a direct relationship with vasopressor requirement. In the present prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock 1 (, AdrenOSS-1) study, we assessed relationships between circulating bio-ADM during the initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay and short-term outcome in order to eventually design a biomarker-guided randomized controlled trial. Methods: AdrenOSS-1 was a prospective observational multinational study. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included organ failure as defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, organ support with focus on vasopressor/inotropic use, and need for renal replacement therapy. AdrenOSS-1 included 583 patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis or septic shock. Results: Circulating bio-ADM levels were measured upon admission and at day 2. Median bio-ADM concentration upon admission was 80.5 pg/ml [IQR 41.5-148.1 pg/ml]. Initial SOFA score was 7 [IQR 5-10], and 28-day mortality was 22%. We found marked associations between bio-ADM upon admission and 28-day mortality (unadjusted standardized HR 2.3 [CI 1.9-2.9]; adjusted HR 1.6 [CI 1.1-2.5]) and between bio-ADM levels and SOFA score (p < 0.0001). Need of vasopressor/inotrope, renal replacement therapy, and positive fluid balance were more prevalent in patients with a bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission than in those with bio-ADM ≤ 70 pg/ml. In patients with bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission, decrease in bio-ADM below 70 pg/ml at day 2 was associated with recovery of organ function at day 7 and better 28-day outcome (9.5% mortality). By contrast, persistently elevated bio-ADM at day 2 was associated with prolonged organ dysfunction and high 28-day mortality (38.1% mortality, HR 4.9, 95% CI 2.5-9.8). Conclusions: AdrenOSS-1 shows that early levels and rapid changes in bio-ADM estimate short-term outcome in sepsis and septic shock. These data are the backbone of the design of the biomarker-guided AdrenOSS-2 trial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02393781. Registered on March 19, 2015

Circulating adrenomedullin estimates survival and reversibility of organ failure in sepsis: the prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock-1 (AdrenOSS-1) study

BACKGROUND: Adrenomedullin (ADM) regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability during sepsis. Levels of circulating biologically active ADM (bio-ADM) show an inverse relationship with blood pressure and a direct relationship with vasopressor requirement. In the present prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock 1 (, AdrenOSS-1) study, we assessed relationships between circulating bio-ADM during the initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay and short-term outcome in order to eventually design a biomarker-guided randomized controlled trial. METHODS: AdrenOSS-1 was a prospective observational multinational study. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included organ failure as defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, organ support with focus on vasopressor/inotropic use, and need for renal replacement therapy. AdrenOSS-1 included 583 patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis or septic shock. RESULTS: Circulating bio-ADM levels were measured upon admission and at day 2. Median bio-ADM concentration upon admission was 80.5 pg/ml [IQR 41.5-148.1 pg/ml]. Initial SOFA score was 7 [IQR 5-10], and 28-day mortality was 22%. We found marked associations between bio-ADM upon admission and 28-day mortality (unadjusted standardized HR 2.3 [CI 1.9-2.9]; adjusted HR 1.6 [CI 1.1-2.5]) and between bio-ADM levels and SOFA score (p < 0.0001). Need of vasopressor/inotrope, renal replacement therapy, and positive fluid balance were more prevalent in patients with a bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission than in those with bio-ADM ≤ 70 pg/ml. In patients with bio-ADM > 70 pg/ml upon admission, decrease in bio-ADM below 70 pg/ml at day 2 was associated with recovery of organ function at day 7 and better 28-day outcome (9.5% mortality). By contrast, persistently elevated bio-ADM at day 2 was associated with prolonged organ dysfunction and high 28-day mortality (38.1% mortality, HR 4.9, 95% CI 2.5-9.8). CONCLUSIONS: AdrenOSS-1 shows that early levels and rapid changes in bio-ADM estimate short-term outcome in sepsis and septic shock. These data are the backbone of the design of the biomarker-guided AdrenOSS-2 trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02393781 . Registered on March 19, 2015

Green Consumers, Greenwashing and the Misperception of Environmental Quality

In this paper we analyse a setup where consumers are heterogeneous in the perception of environmental quality. The equilibrium is verified in a setting with horizontal and vertical (green) differentiation. Profits are increasing in the misperception of quality, while, the investment in green quality decreases the more the goods are substitutes. We further consider the introduction of either an emission tax or an environmental standard. The former rises the investment in environmental quality due to the higher cost of production, whereas in equilibrium quality always improves after the introduction of the latter. We show that an optimal environmental standard is an effective regulatory instrument against greenwashing and that the efficacy of the interventions is conditioned to the damage distribution and the aggregate level of emission