Intensive vs Conventional Blood Pressure Lowering After Endovascular Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke The OPTIMAL-BP Randomized Clinical Trial

OPTIMAL-BP trial compared intense vs. conventional blood pressure lowering after stroke thrombectomy. The study asked whether aggressively lowering blood pressure shortly after successfully opening blocked blood vessels in acute stroke patients is beneficial. They found that 39.4% of patients with aggressive blood pressure management (aiming for lower levels) achieved functional independence after three months, compared…

Molecular mechanism of de novo replication by the Ebola virus polymerase

Certain viruses like Ebola, rabies, and respiratory viruses can cause serious illnesses in both humans and animals, leading to significant health and economic challenges worldwide. These viruses rely on a specific protein called L polymerase for their replication. Researchers studied the Ebola virus as an example and discovered that the L polymerase’s replication process is…

Second-Best Fairness: The Trade-off between False Positives and False Negatives

In economics, a key question is how to create effective policies when things aren’t perfect. This often means balancing between helping some who may not entirely deserve it (false positives) and not helping others who may deserve it (false negatives). This study, conducted in the United States and Norway through large-scale experiments, reveals that most…

The Macroeconomics of the Greek Depression

Greece underwent a substantial economic boom until 2007, followed by a profound and enduring economic collapse. A detailed analysis employing a dynamic general equilibrium model revealed that the boom in production was primarily fueled by external demand and government consumption, while increased transfers contributed to higher consumption. Contrary to conventional expectations, both wages and prices…

Market Structure, Oligopsony Power, and Productivity

The study looks at how a regulation in the Chinese tobacco industry, which consolidated ownership and increased the power of a few buyers, affected efficiency and income distribution. The research shows that when some materials are unique and can’t be easily replaced, it’s difficult to measure the impact of price changes on products and productivity….

A Road to Efficiency through Communication and Commitment

This study explores a new way to improve cooperation in a coordination game called the minimum-effort game. In this game, coordination problems often happen. The researchers introduced a novel rule where players can talk to each other while making commitments step by step. This approach has a unique prediction: it should lead to the best…

Imperfect Financial Markets and Investment Inefficiencies

This study looks at how noisy information affects investment decisions. It finds that in imperfect markets, people tend to invest too much in things that could bring big gains and not enough in things that might lead to losses. This happens even more when it’s easy to make bigger investments. However, when we look at…

Worth Your Weight: Experimental Evidence on the Benefits of Obesity in Low-Income Countries

Experimental evidence suggests that being obese can have advantages in low-income countries This study examined how obesity is perceived in terms of economic value in Uganda. It found that in poorer countries like Uganda, obesity is seen as a sign of wealth but not necessarily beauty or good health. Through experiments involving loan officers, the…

Final analysis of the CLL2-GIVe trial: obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax for untreated CLL with del(17p)/TP53mut

This study explored a treatment combination (obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax) for a specific type of leukemia (chronic lymphocytic leukemia with del(17p) and/or TP53 mutation) in previously untreated patients. The treatment involved several cycles and aimed to achieve complete remission. The results showed that 58.5% of patients achieved complete remission, and after around 3 years, the…

Sedentary Behavior and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults

This study examined whether sitting for long periods, known as sedentary behavior, is linked to the development of dementia in older adults. They collected data from over 49,000 adults aged 60 or older who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study. The results showed that spending more time sitting was associated with…