Spreading Academic Pay over Nine or Twelve Months: Economists Are Supposed to Know Better, but Do They Act Better?

Our paper empirically considers two general hypotheses related to the literature of behavioral economics. First, we test the null hypothesis that individuals behave, on average, in a manner more consistent with the rational expectations hypothesis than with the idea of self-control in the face of hyperbolic discounting in their saving decisions. Second, along a variety of dimensions, we examine whether individuals exhibit Herbert Simon’s notion that the goal formation of individuals will differ depending upon their relative levels of experience and knowledge. Perhaps there are significant differences among groups in their saving decisions that depend upon their apparent levels of intelligence, education, and knowledge. Finally, using a variety of individual-specific control variables, we test for robustness of the results.Consumer Economics, Empirical Analysis, Life Cycle Models and Saving

Spreading Academic Pay over Nine or Twelve Months: Economists Are Supposed to Know Better, but Do They Act Better?

Our paper empirically considers two general hypotheses related to the literature of behavioral economics. First, we test the null hypothesis that individuals behave, on average, in a manner more consistent with the rational expectations hypothesis than with the idea of self-control in the face of hyperbolic discounting in their saving decisions. Second, along a variety of dimensions, we examine whether individuals exhibit Herbert Simon’s notion that the goal formation of individuals will differ depending upon their relative levels of experience and knowledge. Perhaps there are significant differences among groups in their saving decisions that depend upon their apparent levels of intelligence, education, and knowledge. Finally, using a variety of individual-specific control variables, we test for robustness of the results.Consumer Economics, Empirical Analysis, Life Cycle Models and Saving

Severity of cardiovascular disease and health-related quality of life in men with prostate cancer: a longitudinal analysis from CaPSURE.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the influence of comorbid cardiovascular disease severity on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT) for early stage prostate cancer.MethodsSubjects (n=830) with non-metastatic disease who had been diagnosed in 2000-2002 were drawn from Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE). We evaluated the influence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) severity on generic and disease-specific HRQL before and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after treatment with RP or RT. HRQL was measured with the SF-36 and the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index.ResultsMen with moderate (n=193) or severe (n=51) cardiovascular disease had worse pre-treatment HRQL than did men without CVD (n=293) (P<0.01); HRQL scores were worse in men referred for RT. During 24 months of follow-up, men with moderate or severe CVD had worse SF-36 physical and mental component summaries and worse bowel function at all time points (P<0.05). Men with severe CVD also experienced a slower recovery in physical function (P=0.03) and sexual functioning (P=0.02) than did men without CVD.ConclusionsProstate cancer patients with moderate to severe CVD have worse HRQL during follow-up. Those with severe CVD recover their physical and sexual functioning more slowly after treatment

Disease-specific mortality among stage I–III colorectal cancer patients with diabetes: a large population-based analysis

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of our study was to investigate overall and disease-specific mortality of colorectal cancer patients with diabetes. METHODS: In this population-based study, we included all colorectal cancer patients, newly diagnosed with stage I–III cancer, between 1997 and 2007 in the registration area of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. Stage of cancer, cancer treatment and comorbidities were actively collected by reviewing hospital medical records. Data on patients with and without diabetes were linked to Statistics Netherlands to assess vitality, date of death and underlying cause of death. Follow-up of all patients was completed until 1 January 2009. RESULTS: We included 6,974 patients with colon cancer and 3,888 patients with rectal cancer, of whom 820 (12%) and 404 (10%), respectively, had diabetes at the time of cancer diagnosis. During follow-up, death occurred in 611 (50%) of 1,224 cancer patients with diabetes and 3,817 (40%) of 9,638 cancer patients without diabetes. Multivariate Cox regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, stage, lymph nodes examined, adjuvant therapy and year of diagnosis, showed that overall mortality was significantly higher for colon (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01, 1.25) and rectal (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03, 1.41) cancer patients with diabetes than for those without. Disease-specific mortality was only significantly increased for rectal cancer patients (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.06, 1.60). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Diabetes at the time of rectal cancer diagnosis was independently associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer mortality compared with no diabetes, suggesting a specific interaction between diabetes and rectal cancer. Future in-depth studies including detailed diabetes- and cancer-related variables should elucidate pathways

The impact of having both cancer and diabetes on patient-reported outcomes: a systematic review and directions for future research

Purpose: This systematic review aims to summarize the current literature regarding potential effects of having both cancer and diabetes on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and to provide directions for future research. Methods: MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to January 2015. All English peer-reviewed studies that included patients with both cancer and diabetes and assessed PROs were included. All included studies were independently assessed on methodological quality by two investigators. Results: Of the 3553 identified studies, 10 studies were included and all were considered of high (40 %) or adequate (60 %) methodological quality. Eight of the 10 studies focused on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), functioning, or symptoms and 2 studies assessed diabetes self-management. Overall, HRQoL and functioning was lower, and symptoms were higher among patients with both cancer and diabetes as compared to having cancer or diabetes alone. Furthermore, one study reported that diabetes self-management was impaired after chemotherapy. Conclusions: Having both cancer and diabetes resulted in worse PROs compared to having either one of the diseases, however, the considerable heterogeneity of the included studies hampered strong conclusions. Future studies are needed as this research area is largely neglected. As the majority of the included studies focused on HRQoL, future research should address the impact of both diseases on other PROs such as depression, patient empowerment and self-management. Implications for Cancer Survivor: Having both cancer and diabetes might result in worse PROs, however, more research is needed as current evidence is scarce

Spreading Academic Pay over Nine or Twelve Months: Economists Are Supposed to Know Better, but Do They Act Better?

Our paper empirically considers two general hypotheses related to the literature of behavioral economics. First, we test the null hypothesis that individuals behave, on average, in a manner more consistent with the rational expectations hypothesis than with the idea of self-control in the face of hyperbolic discounting in their saving decisions. Second, along a variety of dimensions, we examine whether individuals exhibit Herbert Simon’s notion that the goal formation of individuals will differ depending upon their relative levels of experience and knowledge. Perhaps there are significant differences among groups in their saving decisions that depend upon their apparent levels of intelligence, education, and knowledge. Finally, using a variety of individual-specific control variables, we test for robustness of the results

Spreading Academic Pay over Nine or Twelve Months: Economists Are Supposed to Know Better, but Do They Act Better?

Our paper empirically considers two general hypotheses related to the literature of behavioral economics. First, we test the null hypothesis that individuals behave, on average, in a manner more consistent with the rational expectations hypothesis than with the idea of self-control in the face of hyperbolic discounting in their saving decisions. Second, along a variety of dimensions, we examine whether individuals exhibit Herbert Simon’s notion that the goal formation of individuals will differ depending upon their relative levels of experience and knowledge. Perhaps there are significant differences among groups in their saving decisions that depend upon their apparent levels of intelligence, education, and knowledge. Finally, using a variety of individual-specific control variables, we test for robustness of the results

Characterisation of a refined rat model of respiratory infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the effect of ciprofloxacin

AbstractBackgroundWe sought to characterise a refined rat model of respiratory infection with P. aeruginosa over an acute time course and test the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.MethodsAgar beads were prepared±SPAN®80. Rats were inoculated with sterile agar beads or those containing 105 colony forming units (cfu) P. aeruginosa via intra-tracheal dosing. Bacterial load and inflammatory parameters were measured.ResultsDiffering concentrations of SPAN® 80 modified median agar bead diameter and reduced particle size distribution. Beads prepared with 0.01% v/v SPAN®80 were evaluated in vivo. A stable lung infection up to 7days post infection was achieved and induced BALF neutrophilia 2 and 5days post infection. Ciprofloxacin (50mg/kg) significantly attenuated infection without affecting the inflammatory parameters measured.ConclusionSPAN® 80 can control the particle size and lung distribution of agar beads and P. aeruginosa-embedded beads prepared with 0.01%v/v SPAN®80 can induce infection and inflammation over 7days

Perceived information provision and satisfaction among lymphoma and multiple myeloma survivors—results from a Dutch population-based study

To improve posttreatment care for (long-term) lymphoma survivors in the Netherlands, survivorship clinics are being developed. As information provision is an important aspect of survivorship care, our aim was to evaluate the current perceived level of and satisfaction with information received by non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and multiple myeloma (MM) survivors, and to identify associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The population-based Eindhoven Cancer Registry was used to select all patients diagnosed with NHL, HL and MM from 1999 to 2009. In total, 1,448 survivors received a questionnaire, and 1,135 of them responded (78.4 %). The EORTC QLQ-INFO25 was used to evaluate the perceived level of and satisfaction with information. Two thirds of survivors were satisfied with the amount of received information, with HL survivors being most satisfied (74 %). At least 25 % of survivors wanted more information. Young age, having had chemotherapy, having been diagnosed more recently, using internet for information and having no comorbidities were the most important factors associated with higher perceived levels of information provision. Although information provision and satisfaction with information seems relatively good in lymphoma and MM survivors, one third expressed unmet needs. Furthermore, variations between subgroups were observed. Good information provision is known to be associated with better quality of life. Survivorship care plans could be a way to achieve this