Effectiveness of tax policy changes in Montenegro: smoking behaviour by socio-economic status.

BACKGROUND: The main goal of this study was to examine the responsiveness of smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption to price and income changes by income groups and the effectiveness of tax policy changes to reduce cigarette consumption in Montenegro. DATA AND METHODS: A two-part model was applied to estimate smoking participation, smoking intensity price and income elasticity. The first part of the model applies logit regression, while the second uses Deaton's model to improve the validity and objectivity of conditional (smoking intensity) elasticity results. A generalised linear model (GLM) was applied to verify robustness. The reason for this is that Deaton's model is commonly used in the analysis of Household Budget Survey (HBS) data, especially when households do not report the market price. Moreover, using this model, it is possible to capture the shading of quality to price change. The analysis used HBS data (2006-2017). RESULTS: The estimates indicate that tobacco pricing policies had a much higher impact on smoking prevalence in the low-income group (price elasticity of -0.595) relative to the high-income group (price elasticity of -0.344). The same conclusion could be drawn for the smoking intensity elasticity: the high-income group was the least affected by changes in price (price elasticity of -0.258). At the same time, the most affected was the low-income group, with price elasticity of -0.424. Poorer households spent a larger share of their budget on cigarettes. The simulation results confirm that increases in the specific excise taxes of 58.3% on tobacco would reduce total cigarette consumption by 11.25% while increasing the collection of government revenue by 8.07%. CONCLUSION: Smoking prevalence and consumption are very responsive to price and income changes, with considerable differences in elasticities between income groups. The taxation policy has a positive impact on changing patterns of consumption and public revenues across each income group. Low-income and middle-income households would benefit the most, while on the other hand, the highest revenue collection was generated from the wealthiest group. Our results align with results obtained so far for other low-income and middle-income countries. This paper contributes to the analysis of the smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption responsiveness to price and income changes, which was conducted for the first time in Montenegro.

The relationship between teachers' disciplinary practices and school bullying and students' satisfaction with school: The moderated mediation effects of sex and school belonging.

An authoritative school climate, along with greater teacher support and warm relations among peers are frequently connected with less school bullying. The main aim of this paper is to examine the direct link as perceived by students between teachers' disciplinary practices and bullying in school and students' satisfaction with school. The indirect relationships are explored via the mediation of school belonging and the moderation of sex. High school students (N = 860, 40.4% male students) completed the Delaware School Climate Survey, the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, and the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale at a single time point. In general, teachers' disciplinary practices have significant direct effects on perceptions of bullying and satisfaction with school. Positive disciplinary (direct effect = .28, SE = .04) and SEL techniques (direct effect = .22, SE = .04) are related to bullying only among males, while punitive techniques are directly linked to school bullying unrelated to sex (b = .03, SE = .05). Similarly, the effect of positive disciplinary (direct effect = .27, SE = .08) and SEL (direct effect = .21, SE = .08) techniques on satisfaction with school was significant only among males. A direct relationship between punitive disciplinary techniques and satisfaction with school was not recognized. The mediation analysis revealed the indirect effects of teachers' disciplinary practices on the dependent variables via school belonging to be stronger among females. Teachers' negative modeling through punitive disciplinary practices leads to more bullying. School belonging may serve as a protective factor related to the negative impact of teachers' disciplinary practices on school bullying as well as satisfaction with school, especially among females. Interventions should be focused on fostering school belonging along with the development of positive sex-specific disciplinary practices.

Relationship between mid-trimester ultrasound fetal liver length measurements and gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mid-trimester ultrasound fetal liver length (FLL) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a high-risk population. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 331 women with singleton pregnancies who were at high risk of GDM and were undergoing a mid-trimester ultrasound examination. The ultrasound scan at 23 weeks gestation was followed by a 100-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24 weeks gestation. Correlations between FLL and OGTT results at different time points were tested. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of FLL as a potential prognostic factor for GDM was also performed. RESULTS: In GDM patients, there was a significant positive correlation (P < 0.01) between FLL and OGTT glycemia immediately before and 60, 120, and 180 min after glucose intake. Mean FLL in GDM was significantly higher than in healthy subjects (41.04 vs 31.09 mm, respectively; P < 0.001). When tested as a potential prognostic factor for GDM, fetal liver measurements showed excellent diagnostic performance. The ROC analysis established a cut-off value of FLL of 39 mm for the prediction GDM, with sensitivity of 71.76%, specificity 97.56%, positive predictive value 91.0%, and negative predictive value 90.9%. The usefulness of FLL measurements was supported by a high area under the ROC curve (90.5%). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, there is a strong correlation between FLL and OGTT results, with FLL possibly serving as a valid marker for the prediction of GDM in high-risk populations.

The tetrapeptide acetyl-serine-aspartyl-lysine-proline improves skin flap survival and accelerates wound healing.

The tetrapeptide acetyl-serine-aspartyl-lysine-proline (AcSDKP) has recently been recognized as a potent angiogenic factor. Given the importance of vascular blood supply in the process of tissue repair we have investigated the ability of AcSDKP to contribute to the repair of cutaneous injuries by using dorsal and abdominal skin flap models. Postoperative subdermal AcSDKP injections (5 microg/kg/injection twice a day for 3 days following flap elevation) prevented marginally perfused areas from undergoing necrosis. Mean skin survival area of abdominal and dorsal flaps ranged, respectively, from 50.9+/-19.3 and 53.4+/-4.2% in the control groups to 66.4+/-7.5 and 74.7+/-6.6% in AcSDKP-treated groups. Furthermore, in an ex vivo assay, AcSDKP applied locally to skin explants at doses from 10(-8) to 10(-5) M improved survival of the explanted skin exposed to UVB irradiation at 10 J/cm2. Increased reepithelialization, as well as higher levels of expression of basal keratin 14 and increased expression of fibronectin was observed after topical application of AcSDKP. These data provide experimental evidence that AcSDKP can improve the viability of ischemic skin flaps in the rat by promoting angiogenesis. Moreover, it enhances wound healing of injured avascular skin explants. Thus, these findings identify AcSDKP as a new tissue-repair agent and suggest its potential clinical use for the management of skin wounds.

The tetrapeptide AcSDKP, an inhibitor of primitive hematopoietic cell proliferation, induces angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

The tetrapeptide acetyl-Ser-Asp-Lys-Pro (AcSDKP), purified from bone marrow and constitutively synthesized in vivo, belongs to the family of negative regulators of hematopoiesis. It protects the stem cell compartment from the toxicity of anticancer drugs and irradiation and consequently contributes to a reduction in marrow failure. This current work provides experimental evidence for another novel biologic function of AcSDKP. We report that AcSDKP is a mediator of angiogenesis, as measured by its ability to modulate endothelial cell function in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo. AcSDKP at nanomolar concentrations stimulates in vitro endothelial cell migration and differentiation into capillary-like structures on Matrigel as well as enhances the secretion of an active form of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1). In vivo, AcSDKP promotes a significant angiogenic response in the chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and in the abdominal muscle of the rat. Moreover, it induces the formation of blood vessels in Matrigel plugs implanted subcutaneously in the rat. This is the first report demonstrating the ability of AcSDKP to interact directly with endothelial cells and to elicit an angiogenic response in vitro and in vivo.