Government Performance and Life Satisfaction in Contemporary Britain

This paper investigates relationships between public policy outcomes and life satisfaction in contemporary Britain. Monthly national surveys gathered between April 2004 and December 2008 are used to analyze the impact of policy delivery both at the micro and macro levels, the former relating to citizens personal experiences, and the latter to cognitive evaluations of and affective reactions to the effectiveness of policies across the country as a whole. The impact of salient political events and changes in economic context involving the onset of a major financial crisis also are considered. Analyses reveal that policy outcomes, especially microlevel ones, significantly influence life satisfaction. The effects of both micro- and macrolevel outcomes involve both affective reactions to policy delivery and cognitive judgments about government performance. Controlling for these and other factors, the broader economic context in which policy judgments are made also influences life satisfaction. © 2010 Southern Political Science Association

Links between parental life histories of wild salmon and the telomere lengths of their offspring

The importance of parental contributions to offspring development and subsequent performance is self-evident at a genomic level; however, parents can also affect offspring fitness by indirect genetic and environmental routes. The life history strategy that an individual adopts will be influenced by both genes and environment; and this may have important consequences for offspring. Recent research has linked telomere dynamics (i.e. telomere length and loss) in early life to future viability and longevity. Moreover, a number of studies have reported a heritable component to telomere length across a range of vertebrates, though the effects of other parental contribution pathways have been far less studied. By using wild Atlantic salmon with different parental life histories in an experimental split-brood IVF mating design and rearing the resulting families under standardised conditions, we show that there can be significant links between parental life history and offspring telomere length (studied at the embryo and fry stage). Maternal life history traits, in particular egg size, were most strongly related to offspring telomere length at the embryonic stage, but then became weaker through development. In contrast, paternal life history traits, such as the father's growth rate in early life, had a greater association in the later stages of offspring development. However, offspring telomere length was not significantly related to either maternal or paternal age at reproduction, nor to paternal sperm telomere length. This study demonstrates both the complexity and the importance of parental factors that can influence telomere length in early life

High visibility two photon interference of frequency time entangled photons generated in a quasi phase matched AlGaAs waveguide

We demonstrate experimentally the frequency time entanglement of photon pairs produced in a CW pumped quasi phased matched AlGaAs superlattice waveguide. A visibility of 96.0+-0.7% without background subtraction has been achieved, which corresponds the violation of Bell inequality by 52 standard deviations

Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon

The risk of mortality associated with a long-distance migration will depend on an animal's physiological state, as well as the prevailing ecological conditions. Here we assess whether juvenile telomere length, which in endotherms has been shown to be a biomarker of physiological state and expected lifespan, predicts whether wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar successfully complete their marine migration. Over 1800 juvenile fish were trapped, measured, PIT-tagged and a tissue biopsy taken when migrating as juveniles down-river towards the sea. Survivors of the marine phase of the life cycle were then re-trapped and re-sampled when returning to the river to spawn as sexually mature adults, 1.5-2.5 years later. Most individuals experienced a reduction in telomere length during the marine migratory phase of their life cycle. While the relative rate of telomere loss was greater in males than females, telomere loss was unrelated to growth at sea. Contrary to expectations, salmon that had the shortest telomeres at the time of the outward migration had the greatest probability of surviving through to the return migration. This effect, independent of body size, may indicate a trade-off between investment in readiness for marine life (which favours high glucocorticoid levels, known to increase telomere attrition in other vertebrate species) and investment in telomere maintenance. Survival was also significantly influenced by the seasonal timing of outward migration, with the fish migrating downstream earliest in the spring having the highest probability of return. This study reveals that telomere length is associated with survival, although in ways that contrast with patterns seen in endotherms. This illustrates that while telomeres may be universally important for chromosome protection, the potential for telomere dynamics to predict performance may vary across taxa

A comfort comparison of travoprost BAK-free 0.004% versus latanoprost 0.005% in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension

David A Godfrey1, Lee S Peplinski2, Jeanette A Stewart3, William C Stewart31Glaucoma Associates of Texas, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Kentuckiana Institute for Eye Research, Louisville, KY, USA; 3PRN Pharmaceutical Research Network, LLC, Dallas, TX, USAPurpose: To determine the short-term comfort after a single dose of travoprost BAK-free compared to latanoprost in primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertensive patients.Design: Prospective, double-masked, randomized comparison of two separate active agents dosed once in opposite eyes.Methods: At Visit 1, qualified patients began a glaucoma medicine-free period for three days. At Visit 2, patients were randomly assigned to travoprost BAK-free or latanoprost in opposite eyes. Following dosing in each eye, patients completed a visual analog scale (VAS score, 0–100 mm) at specified time intervals and a comfort survey.Results: In 54 completed subjects, no difference existed five seconds after dosing, in comfort on the VAS between latanoprost (7.1 ± 16.2 mm) and travoprost BAK-free (7.8 ± 16.1 mm, P = 0.53). Also no differences existed between treatments following dosing for discomfort at individual timepoints past five seconds, peak discomfort or the time required to return to baseline comfort (P > 0.05). In addition, the comfort survey demonstrated no difference between products for burning, stinging, foreign body sensation, overall comfort and general acceptance between the products, both for absolute levels and changes from baseline (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Following a single instillation, both latanoprost and travoprost BAK-free exhibit similar comfort scores.Keywords: comfort, travoprost BAK-free, latanoprost, glaucoma, ocular hypertensio

Use of Most Bothersome Symptom as a Coprimary Endpoint in Migraine Clinical Trials: A Post-Hoc Analysis of the Pivotal ZOTRIP Randomized, Controlled Trial.

ObjectiveTo better understand the utility of using pain freedom and most bothersome headache-associated symptom (MBS) freedom as co-primary endpoints in clinical trials of acute migraine interventions.BackgroundAdhesive dermally applied microarray (ADAM) is an investigational system for intracutaneous drug administration. The recently completed pivotal Phase 2b/3 study (ZOTRIP), evaluating ADAM zolmitriptan for the treatment of acute moderate to severe migraine, was one of the first large studies to incorporate MBS freedom and pain freedom as co-primary endpoints per recently issued guidance by the US Food and Drug Administration. In this trial, the proportion of patients treated with ADAM zolmitriptan 3.8 mg, who were pain-free and MBS-free at 2 hours post-dose, was significantly higher than for placebo.MethodsWe undertook a post-hoc analysis of data from the ZOTRIP trial to examine how the outcomes from this trial compare to what might have been achieved using the conventional co-primary endpoints of pain relief, nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia.ResultsOf the 159 patients treated with ADAM zolmitriptan 3.8 mg or placebo, prospectively designated MBS were photophobia (n = 79), phonophobia (n = 43), and nausea (n = 37). Two-hour pain free rates in those with photophobia as the MBS were 36% for ADAM zolmitriptan 3.8 mg and 14% for placebo (P = .02). Corresponding rates for those with phonophobia as the MBS were 14% and 41% (P = .05). For those whose MBS was nausea, corresponding values were 56% and 16%, respectively (P = .01). Two-hour freedom from the MBS for active drug vs placebo were 67% vs 35% (P < .01) for photophobia, 55% vs 43% (P = .45) for phonophobia, and 89% vs 58% for nausea (P = .04). MBS freedom but not pain freedom was achieved in 28%. Only 1 patient (1%) achieved pain freedom, but not MBS freedom. The proportion with both pain and MBS freedom was highest (56%) among those whose MBS was nausea.ConclusionIn this study, the use of MBS was feasible and seemed to compare favorably to the previously required 4 co-primary endpoints

The effect of organic versus chemical fertilizers on insect pathogens

Insects such as the black cutworm are a major pest of seedling corn in Corn Belt states. Both the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae and the fungus Beauveria bassiana are potential biological control agents of this pest Because their survivability depends on moisture and they are affected adversely by nitrogen compounds, this project studied the effects of various fertilizers (fresh cow manure, composted cow manure, and urea) on these insect-killing organisms. Results showed that S. carpocapsae is more active in soils with no fertilizer amendment or with composted manure than with fresh manure or chemical fertilizer; B. bassiana is adversely affected by fresh manure. Investigation of factors that may enhance dispersal (which in turn may be a determining factor in the success of biological control) found that dispersal of two species of insect-killing nematodes was increased in the presence of earthworms

Correlation between hybrid capture II high-risk human papillomavirus DNA test chemiluminescence intensity from cervical samples with follow-up histologic results

BACKGROUND: The Hybrid Capture II high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) DNA test is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved nucleic acid hybridization assay using chemiluminescence for the semiquantitative detection of hrHPV in cervical samples. Patient samples and controls are used to calculate results as negative for hrHPV if 2.5, and “equivocal” if between 1.0 and 2.5. METHODS: The authors reported on the cervical histologic results of 209 patients demonstrating “equivocal” results for hrHPV from SurePath (204 patients) or ThinPrep (5 patients) vials, and compared patients in this cohort with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) cytology on the index cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) test (Group 1; n = 148 patients) with a patient cohort demonstrating unequivocal positive hrHPV test results (Group 2; n = 148 patients). The chemiluminescence intensity of hrHPV tests from patients in Group 2 were correlated with the presence and severity of dysplasia on subsequent histologic results, and patients were thereby stratified for their subsequent risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) types II/III. RESULTS: Approximately 97% of hrHPV tests demonstrating “equivocal” results were found to be positive at the time of retesting, and 15% of biopsied cases demonstrated CIN II or III. Results of follow-up histology after an ASC-US diagnosis, expressed as a percentage of the biopsied cohort, were: CIN II/III: 16.5% in Group 1 and 22.4% in Group 2; CIN I: 27% in Group 1 and 23.5% in Group 2; and negative: 56.5% in Group 1 and 54.1% in Group 2. Chemiluminescence intensity did not appear to be correlated with the severity of dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of high-grade CIN in the “equivocal” hrHPV cohort is highly significant and therefore the management of these patients should be similar to the unequivocally positive population. After an unequivocal positive hrHPV test, the hrHPV chemiluminescence intensity does not appear to further predict the rate of high-grade CIN. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77987/1/20093_ftp.pd