Unconditioned Effects Research Articles

Thresholds of income inequality that mitigate the role of gender inclusive education in promoting gender economic inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThis study aims to provide the thresholds of inequality that should not be exceeded if gender inclusive education is to enhance gender inclusive formal economic participation in sub-Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments and data from 42 countries during the period 2004-2014.FindingsThe following findings are established. First, inclusive tertiary education unconditionally promotes gender economic inclusion, while the interaction between tertiary education and inequality is unfavourable to gender economic inclusion. Second, a Gini coefficient that nullifies the positive incidence of inclusive tertiary education on female labour force participation is 0.562. Second, the Gini coefficient and Palma ratio that crowd-out the negative unconditional effects of inclusive tertiary education on female unemployment are 0.547 and 6.118, respectively. Third, a 0.578 Gini coefficient, a 0.680 Atkinson index and a 6.557 Palma ratio are critical masses that wipe out the positive unconditional effects of inclusive tertiary education on female employment. The findings associated with lower levels of education are not significant.Practical implicationsAs the main policy implication, income inequality should not be tolerated above the established thresholds for gender inclusive education to promote gender inclusive formal economic participation. Other implications are discussed in the light of sustainable development goals.Originality/valueThis study complements the existing literature by providing inequality thresholds that should not be exceeded for gender inclusive education to promote the involvement of women in the formal economic sector.

Ефективність нанопрепаратів у технології вирощування сої

Nanotechnology is seen as one of the key technologies in the twenty-first century, which promises to improve traditional agricultural practices and offer sustainable development by improving management and conservation tactics by reducing agricultural resources costs. The creation and implementation of new environmentally friendly and technological nano preparation designed to increase the efficiency of plant nutrient use from mineral fertilizers and soil - is one of the ways to increase crop yields and the quality of agricultural products. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of pre-sowing seed treatment and fertilizing of sowings by nano preparation Avatar (micro fertilizer of carboxylates of natural acids), Iodis-concentrate (immunomodulator – a stimulator of growth processes), and Super Micro Plus (nanochelate fertilizer), and leaf apparatus formation of soybean Khorol variety. Field research was conducted in 2016–2020 in a stationary experiment at the NULES of Ukraine «Agronomic Research Station» in 10-field crop rotation and also in laboratory «Demonstration collection field of crops» of the Plant Science Department. As a result of the conducted researches, was established that the use of nano preparation Avatar, Iodis-concentrate, and Super Micro Plus for seed treatment and fertilizing intensified leaf surface formation and symbiotic apparatus activity of soybean plants. The obtained results confirm that the application of the complex of nano fertilizers Jodis-concentrate, Avatar, and nano-chelate fertilizer Super Micro Plus in the soybean fertilization helped to increase the yield, which indicates their unconditional effectiveness. The highest efficiency of nano fertilizers was shown by inoculation and seed treatment by Avatar with co-fertilizing Avatar +nano-chelate fertilizer Super Micro Plus, providing formation of 52.4 thousand m2/ha of leaf surface area of soybean variety Khorol, 69.7 pcs/plant tubers on the root system, 785 mg/plant of their weight and yield at the level of 2.79 t/ha.

Governance, Inequality and Inclusive Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The study provides thresholds of income inequality that if exceeded will nullify the positive effect of governance dynamics on gender-inclusive education in 42 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2004-2014. The Generalized Method of Moments is used as an estimation strategy. The following findings are established. First, the unconditional effects of governance dynamics on inclusive education are consistently positive whereas the corresponding conditional effects from the interaction between inequality and governance dynamics are consistently negative. Second, the levels of inequality that completely crowd-out the positive incidence of governance on inclusive “primary and secondary education” are: 0.587 for the rule of law and 0.565 for corruption-control. Third, the levels of inequality that completely dampen the positive incidence of governance on inclusive “secondary education” are: 0.601 for “voice & accountability” and 0.700 for regulation quality. Fourth, for tertiary education, inequality thresholds are respectively 0.568 for political stability and 0.562 for corruption-control. The main policy implication is that for governance dynamics to promote inclusive education in the sampled countries, income inequality levels should be kept within the established thresholds. Other implications are discussed in the light of Sustainable Development Goals.

Co-existence of ethanol-related respiratory and motivational learning processes based on a tactile discrimination procedure in neonatal rats.

In rats, high ethanol doses during early postnatal life exert deleterious effects upon brain development that impact diverse social and cognitive abilities. This stage in development partially overlaps with the third human gestational trimester, commonly referred to as the brain growth spurt period. At this stage in development, human fetuses and rat neonates (postnatal days [PD] 3-9) exhibit relatively high respiratory rates that are affected by subteratogenic ethanol doses. Recent studies suggest conditioned breathing responses in the developing organism, given that there are explicit associations between exteroceptive stimuli and the state of ethanol intoxication. Furthermore, studies performed with near-term rat fetuses suggest heightened sensitivity to ethanol's motivational effects. The present study was meant to analyze the unconditioned effects of ethanol intoxication and the possible co-occurrence of learning mechanisms that can impact respiratory plasticity, and to analyze the preference for cues that signal the state of intoxication as well as the effects of the drug, related with motor stimulation. Neonatal rats were subjected to differential experiences with salient tactile cues explicitly paired or not paired with the effects of vehicle or ethanol (2.0g/kg). A tactile discrimination procedure applied during PDs 3, 5, 7, and 9 allowed the identification of the emergence of ethanol-derived non-associative and associative learning processes that affect breathing plasticity, particularly when considering apneic disruptions. Ethanol was found to partially inhibit the disruptions that appeared to be intimately related with stressful circumstances defined by the experimental procedure. Tactile cues paired with the drug's effects were also observed to exert an inhibitory effect upon these breathing disruptions. The level of contingency between a given tactile cue and ethanol intoxication also resulted in significant changes in the probability of seeking this cue in a tactile preference test. In addition, the state of intoxication exerted motor-stimulating effects. When contrasting the data obtained via the analysis of the different dependent variables, it appears that most ethanol-derived changes are modulated by positive and/or negative (anti-anxiety) reinforcing effects of the drug. As a whole, the study indicates co-existence of ethanol-related functional changes in the developing organism that simultaneously affect respiratory plasticity and preference patterns elicited by stimuli that signal ethanol's motivational effects. These results emphasize the need to consider significant alterations due to minimal ethanol experiences that argue against "safe" levels of exposure in a critical stage in brain development.

Democracy, Regime Durability and Terrorism in Africa

ABSTRACT This study investigated the causal linkages among democracy, regime durability and terrorism for a panel of 53 African countries over the period 1980-2012. Due to the count nature of terrorism data, the study employs a negative binomial regression estimator. The empirical analysis is based on four terrorism types namely: domestic, transnational, uncertain and total terrorism respectively. The following are the key findings: First, with the exception of the specification relating to uncertain terrorism, the unconditional effect of democracy was found to be negative on the other three dimensions of terrorism. Second, the unconditional impact of regime durability was also positive on terrorism with the exception of uncertain terrorism but in a rather inconsistent manner. Third, the interactions between democracy and regime durability are found to have positive marginal effects on all the terrorism types except uncertain terrorism. Fourth, the net effects of interaction between democracy and regime durability are positive across various models of these terrorism measures. Lastly, the theoretical priors of other covariates are equally validated across different measures of terrorism. On the policy arena, mitigating terrorism would require embracing democratic regime and mainstreaming the concomitant doctrines into the politico-institutional architecture but not without moderation in regime elongation..

Sectors, Pollution, and Trade: How Industrial Interests Shape Domestic Positions on Global Climate Agreements

Abstract It is usually assumed that the cost of abating pollution is the main deterrent of domestic support for international climate cooperation. In particular, some scholars have argued that, due to the burden of pollution abatement, businesses commonly constrain governments, which then take less cooperative positions on global climate agreements. I suggest that this argument needs further qualification: pollution-related costs rarely have unconditional effects on preferences for global climate agreements. Instead, a sector's pollution level is more likely to influence preferences for climate cooperation if mediated by its trade exposure. If pollution is high, firms in high-trade sectors may be less able to absorb climate regulation, and hence they should be more sensitive to climate cooperation. If pollution is low, firms in high-trade sectors may support climate cooperation, because by being more efficient they are more capable of adjusting to regulation. These dynamics should then affect governmental positions on global climate politics. I test my sectoral argument with original data from business statements and national communications at the United Nations climate negotiations. In line with my argument, I find that businesses in trade-open sectors are more likely to oppose climate agreement as their sector's emissions increase. I also find that in countries where high-emission sectors are open to trade, governments have low preferences for climate cooperation. The findings have implications for the domestic politics of environmental agreements and the distributive politics of global public good provision.

Results of observation of the postoperative period in patients with surgical aortic pathology after surgical intervention using cardiopulmonary bypass

The aim of the work was to analyze the results of the observation of the postoperative period in patients with surgical aortic pathology after surgical intervention using cardiopulmonary bypass. 118 patients with surgical aortic pathology (SAP) were examined. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Group I included 46 patients who were additionally prescribed a solution of meglumin sodium succinate (reamberin), group II included 46 patients who were additionally assigned a solution of D-fructose-1,6-diphosphate sodium hydrate salt (esophosphine). The control group (K) consisted of 26 patients who had surgical pathology of the aorta, all the criteria coincided with patients of groups I and II, but did not have additional substances as part of intensive care (IT) in order to prevent postoperative cognitive dysfunction (PСD). Analyzed the patient's condition on a scale of postoperative mortality prediction EuroSCORE II, the depth of anesthesia with a BIS monitor, the qualitative composition of the leukocyte formula, nasal and rectal temperature, blood gas composition, electrolyte level, glucose, lactate, coagulogram indices, hemolysis and phosphates; levels of autoantibodies to brain antigens (MBP, calcium binding protein S-100, NSE and GBA) were determined in the serum by ELISA a day before the operation and on the first, third, seventh and fourteenth day after surgery. The morphometric and functional properties of erythrocytes were investigated the day before the operation (starting level), 12:00 after the operation, and on the third day of hospital stay. The initial assessment of the cognitive abilities of the patients was made the day before the operation, on the third, seventh and fourteenth day of hospital stay. Used to determine the magnitude of the coefficient of linear Pearson correlation. In the analysis, no significant differences were found between the preliminary data on the phosphorus content in the patients' blood, however, the recovery dynamics of its numbers differed in the K, I and II patients. So, in group K and in group I, after 12:00 after surgery, the level of phosphatemia was 0.86 ± 0.21 mmol/l and 0.85 ± 0.18 mmol / l, on the 3rd day of hospital stay — 0,94 ± 0.08 mmol/l and 0.97 ± 0.04 mmol/l, on the 7th day — 1.04 ± 0.16 mmol/l and 1.07 ± 0.21 mmol/l and on The 14th day — 1.08 ± 0.12 mmol/l and 1.1 ± 0.14 mmol/l. It can be noted that the dynamics of blood phosphatemia in patients of groups K and I was identical, its figures almost coincided in terms of the level of phosphorus in the blood and the corresponding number of patients in the variation rows of patients in both groups. It may be noted that there is an unconditional positive effect on the course of the perioperative period of the option of infusion therapy in the IT complex in patients of group II.

Tourism and insecurity in the world

The study assesses the role of forces of law and order in modulating the insecurity-tourism nexus in 163 countries for the period 2010 to 2015. Policy syndromes or insecurity dynamics include: violent crime, access to weapons, political instability and perception of criminality, while the policy variables of forces of law and order are captured with “security officers and police” and “armed service personnel.” The empirical evidence is based on negative binomial regressions. The findings show that the policy variables can be effectively used to crowd-out the negative incidence of policy syndromes on tourist arrivals. The results are contingent on net effects (from conditional and unconditional effects), insecurity dynamics and thresholds. A threshold is an inflexion point at which the unfavorable unconditional effect from a policy syndrome of insecurity on tourist arrivals is completely neutralized by policy variables of forces of law and order. Policy implications are discussed.

Determinants of Catch Sales in Ghanaian Artisanal Fisheries

The study examined the determinants of catch sales of artisanal fishers through wealthy middle women in fishing communities of Ghana, often known as fish mothers or “fish mongers”. The effects of selected variables were examined with a double hurdle model. Self-financing was found to negatively affect the fishers’ sale of fish catch through fish mothers. The fishers were 19% less likely to sell to fish mothers if they self-finance, and that self-financing will result in a 10% downward unconditional change on the percentage of fish sold to the fish mothers. Factors that positively influenced the sale of fish catch through the fish mothers were price, percentage of high value fishes, size of boat, fishing experience, and number of fishing trips conducted in a year. The estimated average partial effects of boat size had the strongest effect with about 146% and 91% change, respectively on conditional and unconditional effect on the percentage of catch sales sold through the fish mothers. Overall, the study shows that long-term consistent economic and investment considerations such as investing in larger boats are important drivers for fishers’ choice of selling catches through fish mothers. The main implication of the results is that fishers need some economic leverage such as access to formal capital and financial resources to incentivize them to exercise control over their marketing activities so that they can receive a higher profit from their fishing operations. This is important for the sustainability of coastal fisheries communities and the sector as a whole. Artisanal fishers need resources such as low interest loans and market information systems that will enable them to negotiate prices for their fish catch with fish mothers.

Tourism and Insecurity in the World

The study assesses the role of forces of law and order in modulating the insecurity-tourism nexus in 163 countries for the period 2010 to 2015. Policy syndromes or insecurity dynamics include: violent crime, access to weapons, political instability and perception of criminality while the policy variables of forces of law and order are captured with “security officers & police†and “armed service personnel†. The empirical evidence is based on Negative Binomial regressions. The findings show that the policy variables can be effectively used to crowd-out the negative incidence of policy syndromes on tourist arrivals. The results are contingent on net effects (from conditional and unconditional effects), insecurity dynamics and thresholds. A threshold is an inflexion point at which the unfavorable unconditional effect from a policy syndrome of insecurity on tourist arrivals is completely neutralized by policy variables of forces of law and order. Policy implications are discussed.

Thresholds of Income Inequality That Mitigate the Role of Gender Inclusive Education in Promoting Gender Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study provides thresholds of inequality that should not be exceeded if gender inclusive education is to enhance gender inclusive formal economic participation in sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalized Method of Moments and data from 42 countries during the period 2004-2014. The following findings are established. First, inclusive tertiary education unconditionally promotes gender economic inclusion while the interaction between tertiary education and inequality is unfavorable to gender economic inclusion. Second, a Gini coefficient that nullifies the positive incidence of inclusive tertiary education on female labor force participation is 0.562. Second, the Gini coefficient and the Palma ratio that crowd-out the negative unconditional effects of inclusive tertiary education on female unemployment are 0.547 and 6.118, respectively. Third, a 0.578 Gini coefficient, a 0.680 Atkinson index and a 6.557 Palma ratio are critical masses that wipe-out the positive unconditional effects of inclusive tertiary education on female employment. Findings associated with lower levels of education are not significant. As the main policy implication, income inequality should not be tolerated above the established thresholds in order for gender inclusive education to promote gender inclusive formal economic participation. Other implications are discussed in the light of Sustainable Development Goals. This research complements the existing literature by providing inequality thresholds that should not be exceeded in order for gender inclusive education to promote the involvement of women in the formal economic sector.

Natural Resource Exports, Foreign Aid and Terrorism

Linkages between foreign aid, terrorism and natural resource (fuel and iron ore) exports are investigated in this study. The focus is on 78 developing countries with data for the period 1984 to 2008. The generalised method of moment is employed as empirical strategy. Three main foreign aid variables are used for the analysis, namely: bilateral aid, multilateral aid and total aid. The corresponding terrorism variables employed are: domestic terrorism, transnational terrorism, unclear terrorism and total terrorism. The following findings are established. First, the criteria informing the validity of specifications corresponding to iron ore exports do not hold. Second, there is evidence of convergence in fuel exports. Third, whereas the unconditional impacts of aid dynamics are not significant, the unconditional impacts of terrorism dynamics are consistently positive on fuel exports. Fourth, the interaction between terrorism and aid dynamics consistently display negative signs, with corresponding modifying aid thresholds within respective ranges. Unexpected signs are elicited and policy implications discussed. Given the unexpected results, an extended analysis is performed in which net effects are computed. These net effects are constitutive of the unconditional effect from terrorism and the conditional impacts from the interaction between foreign aid and terrorism dynamics. Based on the extended analysis, bilateral aid and total aid modulate terrorism dynamics to induce net positive effects on fuel exports while multilateral aid moderates terrorism dynamics to engender negative net effects on fuel exports. The research improves extant knowledge on nexuses between resources, terrorism and foreign aid.

Remittances, ICT and doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) and remittances affect the doing of business.Design/methodology/approachThe focus is on a panel of 49 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 2000–2012. The empirical evidence is based on the generalized method of moments.FindingsWhile the authors establish some appealing results in terms of net negative effects on constraints to the doing of business (i.e. time to start a business and time to pay taxes), some positive net effects are also apparent (i.e. number of start-up procedures, time to build a warehouse and time to register a property). The authors also establish ICT penetration thresholds at which the unconditional effect of remittances can be changed from positive to negative, notably: for the number of start-up procedures, an internet level of 9.00 penetration per 100 people is required, while for the time to build a warehouse, a mobile phone penetration level of 32.33 penetration per 100 people is essential. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess linkages between ICT, remittances and doing business in SSA.

The offspring of rats selected for high or low ethanol intake at adolescence exhibit differential ethanol-induced Fos immunoreactivity in the central amygdala and in nucleus accumbens core

Adolescents exhibit, when compared to adults, altered responsivity to the unconditional effects of ethanol. It is unclear if this has a role in the excessive ethanol intake of adolescents. Wistar rats from the third filial generation (F3) of a short-term breeding program which were selected for high (STDRHI) vs. low (STDRLO) ethanol intake during adolescence, were assessed for ethanol-induced (0.0, 1.25 or 2.5 g/kg) Fos immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in the central (Ce), basolateral (BLA) and medial (Me) amygdaloid nuclei; nucleus accumbens core and shell (AcbC, AcbSh), ventral tegmental area (VTA), as well as prelimbic and infralimbic (PrL, IL) prefrontal cortices. Following i.p. administration of saline, and across the structures measured, Fos-ir was significantly greater in STDRHI than in STDRLO rats. Across both lines, baseline Fos-ir was significantly lower in BLA than in any other structure, whereas PrL, IL and Shell did not differ between each other and exhibited significantly greater level of baseline neural activation than Ce, Me, AcbC and VTA. STDRLO, but not STDRHI, rats exhibited ethanol-induced Fos-ir in Ce. STRDHI, but not STDRLO, rats exhibited an ethanol-induced Fos-ir depression in AcbC. Key maternal care behaviors (i.e., grooming of the pups, latency to retrieve the pups, time spent in the nest and time adopting a kiphotic posture) were fairly similar across lines. There were significant intergenerational variations in the amount self-licking behaviors in STDRHI dams as well as an increased amount of exploration of the cage in these animals, when compared to STDRLO counterparts. These results indicate that short term selection for differential alcohol intake during adolescence yields heightened neural activity at baseline (i.e., after vehicle) in STRDHI vs. STDRLO adolescent rats, and differential sensitivity to ethanol-induced Fos immunoreactivity in Ce and in AcbC. It is unlikely that rearing patterns explained the neural differences reported, between STDRHI and STDRLO rats.

Stereoselective effects of the second-generation synthetic cathinone α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP): assessments of conditioned taste avoidance in rats

Work with α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (α-PVP), a second-generation synthetic cathinone, has been generally limited to the racemate. Given that with other synthetic cathinones, there are behavioral and neurochemical differences between their enantiomers, differences may also be seen with α-PVP. The present study assessed the relative contribution of each enantiomer to the aversive effects of racemic-α-PVP by comparing their ability to induce a conditioned taste avoidance. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed every other day for four exposures to a novel saccharin solution followed immediately by an injection of 0 (saline vehicle) or 1.5, 3, or 6mg/kg of S-, R-, or racemic-α-PVP (IP). On alternating days, all subjects were given access to water to assess any unconditioned effects of α-PVP on general fluid consumption. Rats injected with the racemate and S-isomer of α-PVP displayed avoidance of the drug-associated saccharin solution, although this avoidance was dose-dependent only for the subjects injected with the racemate. There was no evidence of taste avoidance in animals injected with the R-enantiomer at any dose tested. Animals injected with 3mg/kg racemic-α-PVP did not differ in avoidance from those treated with 1.5mg/kg of the S-enantiomer, but subjects treated with 6mg/kg racemic-α-PVP displayed a significantly stronger avoidance than those treated with 3mg/kg S-α-PVP. The present work suggests that the aversive effects of racemic α-PVP are mediated primarily by its S-isomer. The fact that at the highest dose tested (6mg/kg), the racemate induces an avoidance greater than the simple additive effects of the S- and R-isomers (at 3mg/kg) suggests that while the R-isomer may not induce taste avoidance at this dose, it may interact synergistically with the S-isomer in mediating the effects of the racemic mixture. These results were discussed in terms of similar effects with other behavioral and physiological endpoints reported with a number of psychostimulants and suggest that the enantiomers of α-PVP are an important variable in characterizing its behavioral effects.

Environmental degradation and inclusive human development in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractIn the light of challenges to sustainable development in the post‐2015 development agenda, this paper assesses how increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions affect inclusive human development in 44 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa for the period 2000–2012. The following findings are established from Fixed Effects and Tobit regressions: first, unconditional effects and conditional impacts are respectively positive and negative from CO2 emissions per capita, CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption, and CO2 intensity. This implies a Kuznets‐shaped curve because of consistent decreasing returns; and second, the corresponding net effects are consistently positive. The following findings are apparent from Generalized Method of Moments regressions: first, unconditional effects and conditional impacts are respectively negative and positive from CO2 emissions per capita, CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption, and CO2 intensity. This implies a U‐shaped curve because of consistent increasing returns; and second, the corresponding net effects are overwhelmingly negative. Based on the robust findings and choice of best estimator, the net effect of increasing CO2 emissions on inclusive human development is negative. Policy implications are discussed.

Sectoral FDI, absorptive capacity and economic growth – empirical evidence from Egyptian governorates

ABSTRACTUsing a novel panel dataset of Egyptian governorates for the period 1992–2007, we investigate the effects of aggregate and sectoral foreign direct investment (FDI) on Egypt’s economic growth. We distinguish between FDI in the manufacturing, agriculture and service sector. The similarity of governorates in terms of institutional characteristics like culture, language and legal framework and the consistency of the data collection process enables an effective estimation of the effect of FDI on Egypt’s economic growth. Employing General Methods of Moments (GMM) panel estimations, we find that neither aggregate nor sectoral FDI has an unconditional effect on economic growth. We also reject human capital as a channel of absorptive capacity, but reveal an interesting effect of FDI in the service sector on economic growth in interaction with domestic private investment (DPI). Service FDI promotes economic growth only if the host governorate has a minimum threshold of DPI to absorb foreign knowledge and technology.

Nicotine affects ethanol-conditioned taste, but not place, aversion in a simultaneous conditioning procedure.

The conditioned taste aversion (CTA) induced by ethanol is a key factor limiting ethanol intake. Nicotine, a drug co-consumed with ethanol, may decrease this aversion by modulating the unconditioned effects of ethanol or by disrupting the association between ethanol and its associated cues. This study analyzed ethanol-induced CTA and conditioned place aversion (CPA) in Long-Evans rats with subchronic exposure to nicotine. The rats were treated with nicotine (0.0 or 0.4mg/kg) three times before conditioning (on lickometer training sessions 3, 4, and 5) and across conditioning days. During the conditioning the rats were given ethanol (1.3g/kg) preceded and followed by presentation of a taste (NaCl) and tactile (rod or hole floors) conditioned stimulus (CS+), respectively. On CS- conditioning days, the rats were given vehicle and exposed to alternative stimuli. Three CTA and CPA testing sessions were then conducted. It was found that nicotine reduced ethanol-induced CTA and enhanced locomotor activity, but did not significantly modify the magnitude of ethanol-induced CPA. The effects of nicotine on CTA were observed during both conditioning and testing sessions, and were specific to the NaCl CS+, having no effect on reactivity to water. The dissociation between the effect of nicotine on ethanol-induced CTA and CPA suggests that nicotine does not alter ethanol's motivational properties by generally increasing its positive rewarding effects, nor does it blunt all aversive-like responses to this drug. Instead, nicotine may impede ethanol-induced CTA induced by ethanol by disrupting the neural underpinnings of this specific form of associative learning.

When the context matters: Identity, secession and the spatial dimension in Catalonia

Regional and national identities are significant determinants of people's support for secession. Most previous works, however, have implicitly assumed that national identity has a linear unconditional effect. We complement previous works by showing that the relationship between identity and support for secession changes as a function of the context in which an individual interacts, an effect particularly important among those with mixed national and regional identities. The first stage of our empirical analysis is based on a pool of 22,000 individuals in the context of Catalonia (Spain). Findings confirm that dual-identity individuals are especially affected by their immediate surroundings: the probability to vote in favour of independence among them substantially increases when the percentage of people speaking Catalan increases. On a second stage, we explore the existence of a social interaction mechanism by employing a survey that measures the preferences of people's close networks. We show that individual's interaction in like-minded networks modifies the relationship between identity and secession, with the effect being again strong among dual-identity individuals. This group is six times more likely to vote for secession when having only pro-secession close contacts, as compared to having none. These results have implications for studies on regionalism and preferences for territorial decentralization.

Neural responses to cues paired with methamphetamine in healthy volunteers.

Drug cues, or conditioned responses to stimuli paired with drugs, are widely believed to promote drug use. The acquisition of these conditioned responses has been well characterized in laboratory animals: neutral stimuli paired with drugs elicit conditioned responses resembling the motivational and incentive properties of the drug itself. However, few studies have examined acquisition of conditioning, or the nature of the conditioned response, in humans. In this study, we used fMRI to examine neural responses to stimuli that had been paired with methamphetamine or placebo in healthy young adults. Participants first underwent four conditioning sessions in which visual-auditory stimuli were paired with either methamphetamine (20 mg, oral) or placebo. Then on a drug-free test day, the stimuli were presented during an fMRI scan to assess neural responses to the stimuli. We hypothesized that the stimuli would elicit drug-like brain activity, especially in regions related to reward. Instead, we found that the methamphetamine-paired stimuli, compared to placebo-paired stimuli, produced greater activation in regions related to visual and auditory processing, consistent with the drug's unconditioned effects on sensory processing. This is the first study to demonstrate conditioned neural responses to drug-paired stimuli after just two pairings of methamphetamine in healthy adults. The study also illustrates that conditioned responses may develop to unexpected components of the drug's effects.