Premenopausal endogenous oestrogen levels and breast cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many of the established risk factors for breast cancer implicate circulating hormone levels in the aetiology of the disease. Increased levels of postmenopausal endogenous oestradiol (E2) have been found to increase the risk of breast cancer, but no such association has been confirmed in premenopausal women. We carried out a meta-analysis to summarise the available evidence in women before the menopause. METHODS: We identified seven prospective studies of premenopausal endogenous E2 and breast cancer risk, including 693 breast cancer cases. From each study we extracted odds ratios of breast cancer between quantiles of endogenous E2, or for unit or s.d. increases in (log transformed) E2, or (where odds ratios were unavailable) summary statistics for the distributions of E2 in breast cancer cases and unaffected controls. Estimates for a doubling of endogenous E2 were obtained from these extracted estimates, and random-effect meta-analysis was used to obtain a pooled estimate across the studies. RESULTS: Overall, we found weak evidence of a positive association between circulating E2 levels and the risk of breast cancer, with a doubling of E2 associated with an odds ratio of 1.10 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.27). CONCLUSION: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of a positive association between premenopausal endogenous E2 and breast cancer risk

Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas using green infrastructure: A literature review

Europe is a highly urbanised continent. The consequent loss and degradation of urban and peri-urban green space could adversely affect ecosystems as well as human health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to formulate a conceptual framework of associations between urban green space and ecosystem and human health. Through an interdisciplinary literature review the concepts of Green Infrastructure, ecosystem health, and human health and well-being are discussed. The possible contributions of urban and peri-urban green space systems, or Green Infrastructure, on both ecosystem and human health are critically reviewed. Finally, based on a synthesis of the literature a conceptual framework is presented. The proposed conceptual framework highlights many dynamic factors, and their complex interactions, affecting ecosystem health and human health in urban areas. This framework forms the context into which extant and new research can be placed. In this way it forms the basis for a new interdisciplinary research agenda

Introduction: Working with the Grain? The Africa Power and Politics Programme

At the heart of current policy thinking about Africa there is a significant knowledge gap concerning governance and development. This IDS Bulletin is concerned with what can be done about that, drawing on the initial experience of a new research venture, the Africa Power and Politics Programme. The APPP is committed to discovering forms of governance that work better for development than those prescribed by the current ‘good governance’ orthodoxy. It aims to do so chiefly by examining the range of post?colonial experience in sub?Saharan Africa focusing especially on under?appreciated patterns of difference in institutions and outcomes. This article explains the rationale of this approach and outlines the options which have shaped the programme's methods and concepts. A central challenge has been operationalising the working hypothesis that institutions function better when they ‘work with the grain’ of the society which hosts them

A comprehensive manually curated protein–protein interaction database for the Death Domain superfamily

The Death Domain (DD) superfamily, which is one of the largest classes of protein interaction modules, plays a pivotal role in apoptosis, inflammation, necrosis and immune cell signaling pathways. Because aberrant or inappropriate DD superfamily-mediated signaling events are associated with various human diseases, such as cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and immunological disorders, the studies in these fields are of great biological and clinical importance. To facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which the DD superfamily is associated with biological and disease processes, we have developed the DD database (http://www.deathdomain.org), a manually curated database that aims to offer comprehensive information on protein–protein interactions (PPIs) of the DD superfamily. The DD database was created by manually curating 295 peer-reviewed studies that were published in the literature; the current version documents 175 PPI pairs among the 99 DD superfamily proteins. The DD database provides a detailed summary of the DD superfamily proteins and their PPI data. Users can find in-depth information that is specified in the literature on relevant analytical methods, experimental resources and domain structures. Our database provides a definitive and valuable tool that assists researchers in understanding the signaling network that is mediated by the DD superfamily

Corporate governance and inequality: The impact of financialization and shareholder value

Copyright © 2017 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose - The purpose of this chapter is to analyse how in recent years the rediscovery that extreme inequality is returning to advanced economies and has become widespread. What is at issue are the causes of this inequality. It is becoming clear that the wider population, particularly in Anglo-American economies have not shared in the growing wealth of the countries concerned, and that the majority of this wealth is being transferred on a continuous and systemic basis to the very rich. Corporate governance and the pursuit of shareholder value it is argued has become a major driver of inequality. Methodology/approach - The current statistical evidence produced by leading authorities including the US Federal Reserve, World Economic Forum, Credit Suisse and Oxfam are examined. The policy of shareholder value and the mechanisms by which the distributions from business take place are investigated from a critical perspective. Findings - While the Anglo-American economies are seeing a return to the extremes of inequality last witnessed in the 19th century, the causes of this inequality are changing. In the 19th century great fortunes often were inherited, or derived by entrepreneurs from the ownership and control of productive assets. By the late 20th century as Atkinson, Piketty and Saez (2011) and others have highlighted, the sustained and rapid inflation in top income shares have made a significant contribution to the accelerating rate of income and wealth inequality. Research implications - The intensification of inequality in advanced industrial economies, despite the consistent work of Atkinson and others, was largely neglected until the recent research of Picketty which has attracted international attention. It is now acknowledged widely that inequality is a serious issue; however, the contemporary causes of inequality remain largely unexplored. Practical/social implications - The significance of inequality, now that it is recognized, demands policy and practical interventions. However, the capacity or even willingness to intervene is lacking. Further analysis of the debilitating consequences of inequality in terms of the efficiency and stability of economies and societies may encourage a more robust approach, yet the resolve to end extreme inequality is not present. Originality/value - The analysis of inequality has not been neglected and this chapter represents a pioneering effort to relate the shareholder value orientation now dominant in corporate governance to the intensification of inequality

Building Support for Taxation in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Mexico

In spite of the importance of taxation for political and economic development, we know relatively little about the conditions under which citizens might not exact a political cost on leaders for adopting a particular tax. Drawing on insights from the literature on institutional design, this article examines how certain features of taxes – such as allowing for civil society oversight, sunset provisions that make the duration of taxes finite, and earmark mechanisms that direct tax revenue for a specific purpose – affect political support behind them. It also evaluates the role of three important aspects of the fiscal exchange, namely trust in government, perceptions of the public good, and level of income. Based on an original survey experiment focusing on the provision of public safety in Mexico, I find that these design features increase political support for taxation, especially among those with low trust in government, perceptions of high quality of the public good, and low income. These findings have important implications for Mexico, as well as a number of other countries that have both low levels of extraction and increased public spending imperatives

Police performance measurement: an annotated bibliography

This study provides information to assist those involved in performance measurement in police organisations. The strategies used to identify the literature are described. Thematic sections cover; general overviews; methodological issues; performance management in other industries; national, international and cross-national studies; frameworks (e.g. Compstat; the Balanced Scorecard); criticisms (particularly unintended consequences); crime-specific measures; practitioner guides; performance evaluation of individual staff; police department plans and evaluations; annotated bibliographies in related areas, and; other literature. Our discussion offers two conclusions: the measures best aligned with performance are typically more expensive, while most operational data should only provide contextual information; the philosophy of open governance should be pursued to promote transparency, accountability and communication to improve police performance

Debunking the myth of shareholder ownership of companies: Some implications for corporate governance and financial reporting

The shareholder primacy model is dominant in Anglo-Saxon corporate governance and financial reporting even though it is considered to be dysfunctional and a source of crisis. The possibilities of reforms are routinely stymied with the claims that shareholders are the owners of large corporations and management should promote their interests. This paper seeks to debunk such claims. It shows that a corporation is a distinct legal person and cannot be owned by its shareholders. It argues that shareholders in contemporary corporations are owners of ?fictitious? capital which is very distinct from ?real? capital. The systemic pressures require the holders of fictitious capital to constantly buy/sell shares in pursuit of short-term gains. The paper further shows that in a globalised economy, the shareholding duration in major UK companies has shrunk and shareholders are more dispersed than ever before. They are not in any position to control or direct corporations for the benefit of other stakeholders and society generally. The paper calls for abandonment of the shareholder model of governance and calls for empowerment of stakeholders with a long-term interest in the wellbeing of corporations