Voting on sustainable transport: communication and governance challenges in Greater Manchester's ‘congestion charge’ referendum

In December 2008, the Greater Manchester electorate voted to reject a £3 billion package of transport measures that would have included investment in the conurbation's bus, tram and rail networks and walking and cycling infrastructure, together with, and partially funded by, the introduction of a congestion charge. The proposals followed a successful bid to the UK Government Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). High levels of car use present challenges to cities, and the TIF bid can be seen as an attempt to address these by promoting and facilitating a modal shift. The paper reflects on the debates surrounding the proposals, which led to a referendum. In particular, it explores the challenges of communicating complex, controversial plans in a fragmented and contested political arena

Pixantrone dimaleate versus other chemotherapeutic agents as a single-agent salvage treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a phase 3, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Pixantrone dimaleate (pixantrone)--a novel aza-anthracenedione--was synthesised to reduce anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity without compromising antitumour efficacy. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of pixantrone versus an investigator's choice of a single-agent therapy in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. METHODS: In this phase 3, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial at 66 hospitals in Europe, India, Russia, South America, the UK, and the USA, patients with histologically confirmed aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma who had relapsed after two or more previous chemotherapy regimens were randomly assigned (1:1) by an interactive voice response system to treatment with pixantrone dimaleate (85 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle, for up to six cycles) or to a comparator (vinorelbine, oxaliplatin, ifosfamide, etoposide, mitoxantrone, or gemcitabine) given at prespecified standard doses and schedules. Patients were stratified by region, International Prognostic Index score, and previous stem-cell transplantation. Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment; however, an independent assessment panel was masked. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a complete or unconfirmed complete response in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population at the end of treatment. Primary analyses of efficacy were based on the independent assessment panel's data review. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00088530. FINDINGS: The ITT population comprised 70 patients randomly assigned to the pixantrone group and 70 to the comparator. Five patients (two in the pixantrone group and three in the comparator group) dropped out before receiving their study drug. 14 patients (20\ub70% [95% CI 11\ub74-31\ub73]) who received pixantrone achieved a complete or unconfirmed complete response at end of treatment compared with four patients (5\ub77% [1\ub76-14\ub70]) in the comparator group (p = 0\ub7021). The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events in patients given pixantrone were uncomplicated, non-cumulative neutropenia (28 [41\ub72%] of 68 patients vs 13 [19\ub74%] of 67 patients in the comparator group), leucopenia (16 [23\ub75%] vs five [7\ub75%]), and thrombocytopenia (eight [11\ub78%] vs seven [10\ub74%]). INTERPRETATION: Pixantrone, given as a single-agent salvage therapy in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is efficacious and tolerable. It could be a treatment option for patients whose aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma has failed to respond to at least two previous chemotherapy regimens. FUNDING: Cell Therapeutics, Inc

Measurement of J/Ψ production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

The production of J/psi mesons in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector at the LHC. The differential cross-section for prompt J/psi production is measured as a function of the J/psi transverse momentum p(T) and rapidity y in the fiducial region p(T) is an element of [0; 14] GeV/c and y is an element of [2.0; 4.5]. The differential cross-section and fraction of J/psi from b-hadron decays are also measured in the same p(T) and y ranges. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.2 pb(-1). The measured cross-sections integrated over the fiducial region are 10.52 +/- 0.04 +/- 1.40(-2.20)(+1.64) mu b for prompt J/psi production and 1.14 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.16 mu b for J/psi from b-hadron decays, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The prompt J/psi production cross-section is obtained assuming no J/psi polarisation and the third error indicates the acceptance uncertainty due to this assumption

RURAL-URBAN DIFFERENCES IN THE UTILIZATION AND AMELIORATIVE EFFECTS OF WELFARE PROGRAMS

At a time when welfare policy analysts are preoccupied with the problem of welfare dependency, this paper refocuses attention on the ability of welfare (AFDC and general assistance) to reduce poverty among families, by highlighting and explaining rural-urban differences in this ameliorative effect. Descriptive and multivariate methods are used to analyze data from the March 1987 Current Population Survey. Results show that despite comparatively high poverty rates in nonmetro areas, the nonmetro poor were much less likely than their urban counterparts t o receive welfare. Moreover, nonmetro welfare recipients received considerably less welfare income, on average, than metro recipients. Accordingly, the ameliorative effect of welfare was lowest in nonmetro areas and highest in central cities. Logistic regression analysis revealed that nonmetro poor families were less likely to receive welfare than those in metro areas because they were more likely to be working, older, childless, and headed by a married couple. Copyright 1988 by The Policy Studies Organization.