Inentives and Education: Experimental Evidence from Medellin, Colombia

This research uses an experimental design to investigate how incentive structure influences goal achievement among disadvantaged high school students in Medellin, Colombia. Of particular interest is how treatment effects influence school performance as well as how this may vary with differing key characteristics of the participants. Medellin, Colombia, like much of South America suffers from high levels of inequality in the city proper. Improving educational outcomes in impoverished neighborhoods is essential for the growth of these neighborhoods and the greater community in which they are located. The model used in this experiment is inspired by the Family Independence Initiative (FII). This research finds that conditional incentives in particular play a significant role in determining the achievement of objectives and that those participants in the conditional incentive treatment tend to perform better after the conclusion of the experiment

A Phase I Study Investigating AZD8186, a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of PI3Kβ/δ, in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors

Advanced Solid Tumors; PI3K beta/delta inhibitorTumores sólidos avanzados; Inhibidor de PI3K beta/deltaTumors sòlids avançats; Inhibidor de PI3K beta/deltaPurpose: To characterize safety and tolerability of the selective PI3Kβ inhibitor AZD8186, identify a recommended phase II dose (RP2D), and assess preliminary efficacy in combination with abiraterone acetate or vistusertib. Patients and Methods: This phase I open-label study included patients with advanced solid tumors, particularly prostate cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and squamous non–small cell lung cancer. The study comprised four arms: (i) AZD8186 monotherapy dose finding; (ii) monotherapy dose expansion; (iii) AZD8186/abiraterone acetate (with prednisone); and (iv) AZD8186/vistusertib. The primary endpoints were safety, tolerability, and identification of the RP2D of AZD8186 monotherapy and in combination. Secondary endpoints included pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics, and tumor and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) responses. Results: In total, 161 patients were enrolled. AZD8186 was well tolerated across all study arms, the most common adverse events being gastrointestinal symptoms. In the monotherapy dose-finding arm, four patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities (mainly rash). AZD8186 doses of 60-mg twice daily [BID; 5 days on, 2 days off (5:2)] and 120-mg BID (continuous and 5:2 dosing) were taken into subsequent arms. The PKs of AZD8186 were dose proportional, without interactions with abiraterone acetate or vistusertib, and target inhibition was observed in plasma and tumor tissue. Monotherapy and combination therapy showed preliminary evidence of limited antitumor activity by imaging and, in prostate cancer, PSA reduction. Conclusions: AZD8186 monotherapy had an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, and combination with abiraterone acetate/prednisone or vistusertib was also tolerated. There was preliminary evidence of antitumor activity, meriting further exploration of AZD8186 in subsequent studies in PI3Kβ pathway–dependent cancers.This study was sponsored by AstraZeneca. We thank the patients and their doctors and caregivers who participated in this study. We acknowledge support in Cambridge from Cancer Research UK, Experimental Cancer Medicine Center, NIHR Biomedical Research Center, and NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Center. Research at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust was supported by the NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility and Manchester Experimental Cancer Medicine Center award. We also thank Martine Roudier (AstraZeneca) for providing analysis data of tumor tissue biopsies, and Wolfram Brugger and Caroline Kennedy (AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK). Abiraterone acetate was kindly provided by Janssen. Medical writing and editorial assistance were provided by Bioscript Medical, Macclesfield, UK, and funded by AstraZeneca

Local conditions favor dengue transmission in the contiguous United States

A significant increase in dengue transmission has been reported in the United States even though cases are much fewer than in endemic areas in the Americas. In this context, Florida has been disproportionally afflicted by locally transmitted cases of dengue virus. In our opinion, there is a need to understand why Florida is at a higher risk of dengue transmission than other regions in the United States. Understanding mechanisms and the main drivers for dengue transmission are essential to further the development of effective vector control strategies at the forefront of vector biology and control research. This is especially important for preventing counties such as Miami-Dade in Florida from becoming endemic for dengue and other arboviruses