Economic constraints on public policy

Economics is commonly described as "the science of allocating scarce resources." By contrast, a popular description of politics is "the art of the possible." Both of these descriptions refer to the same central feature of human existence: our wants generally exceed our capacity to satisfy them. However, economic and political approaches to the problem of scarcity are quite different. [Extract from Introduction]

Interchangeability among therapeutics equivalents of lamotrigine in the treatment of refractory epilepsy patients: risks and benefits

Introduction. Epilepsy is a condition characterized by signs and symptoms of neurological disorder. Lamotrigine has been widely used, mainly due to their greater tolerability and lower rate of drug interactions with other antiepileptic drugs however the newest antiepileptic drugs have high cost to patient. In Brazil there are three different sort of pharmaceutical equivalents (reference, generic and similar), and the Brazilian health care authorities offers to users the possibility to receive them free of charge. Moreover these pharmaceutical equivalents can change during the treatment of epilepsy because this authorities buy the cheapest by public tender two or three times a year. Aim. To evaluate the clinical and laboratory findings related to the most frequently used therapeutic equivalents of lamotrigine (reference drugs and similar products). Patients and methods. Two similar formulations (A and B) and one reference (C) were tested in nine epileptic refractory patients. The study was divided into three periods of 42 days, one for each formulation, and medical data about the frequency of seizures, the occurrence of side effects and measurement of plasma concentrations of lamotrigine were collected. Results. The average number of seizures/week and plasma concentration of lamotrigine for formulations A, B and C were not statistically significant differences. Three patients during the use of the formulation C presented mild and transitory side effects. Conclusion. Similar or reference drugs showed satisfactory results, however the interchangeability among the formulations raise the difficulty for the management of seizures in refractory epilepsy.

An Economic Analysis of the Legal Concept of Trustees' Power of Investment

Authorised trustee status is a legal concept which has economic implications; one of the major implications is that it assists in the direction of investment funds into particular securities and areas of the economy. The concept of authorised trustee status, while attempting to achieve specific outcomes for the beneficiaries of trusts cannot be relied upon to secure these results. Economic analysis of the role of the trustee maintains that this role is one of portfolio manager; a role which is complex but which is explicable in terms of definable procedures and practices. The role of trustee as portfolio manager is one which requires greater financial knowledge than can be assumed is possessed by all trustees. The trustee as portfolio manager is required to maintain a review of decisions make under powers to invest trust assets. A solution to the problem of authorised trustee status is proposed. The solution takes two parts: the first is the adoption of the prudent person approach but with the codification of duties of the trustee and the explicit listing of the factors that a trustee should consider in using the investment powers. The second part of the proposed solution is to link the investment powers of trustees to the best practice features of securities advisers who are now licensed by a regulatory body, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Heat stress impairs performance parameters, induces intestinal injury, and decreases macrophage activity in broiler chickens

Studies on environmental consequences of stress on animal production have grown substantially in the last few years for economic and animal welfare reasons. Physiological, hormonal, and immunological deficits as well as increases in animals` susceptibility to diseases have been reported after different stressors in broiler chickens. The aim of the current experiment is to describe the effects of 2 different heat stressors (31 +/- 1 and 36 +/- 1 degrees C/10 h per d) applied to broiler chickens from d 35 to 42 of life on the corticosterone serum levels, performance parameters, intestinal histology, and peritoneal macrophage activity, correlating and discussing the obtained data under a neuroimmune perspective. In our study, we demonstrated that heat stress (31 +/- 1 and 36 +/- 1 degrees C) increased the corticosterone serum levels and decreased BW gain and food intake. Only chickens submitted to 36 +/- 1 degrees C, however, presented a decrease in feed conversion and increased mortality. We also showed a decrease of bursa of Fabricius (31 +/- 1 and 36 +/- 1 degrees C), thymus (36 +/- 1 degrees C), and spleen (36 +/- 1 degrees C) relative weights and of macrophage basal (31 +/- 1 and 36 +/- 1 degrees C) and Staphylococcus aureus-induced oxidative burst (31 +/- 1 degrees C). Finally, mild multifocal acute enteritis characterized by an increased presence of lymphocytes and plasmocytes within the jejunum`s lamina propria was also observed. The stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation was taken as responsible for the negative effects observed on the chickens` performance and immune function and also the changes of the intestinal mucosa. The present obtained data corroborate with others in the field of neuroimmunomodulation and open new avenues for the improvement of broiler chicken welfare and production performance.