589 research outputs found
Current Account Dynamics and the Real Exchange Rate: Disentangling the Evidence
We study the main shocks driving current account fluctuations for the G6 economies. Our
theoretical framework features a standard two-goods inter-temporal model, which is specifically
designed to uncover the role of permanent and temporary output shocks and the relation between the
real exchange rate and the current account. We build a SVAR model including the world real interest
rate, net output, the real exchange rate, and the current account and identify four structural shocks.
Our results suggest four main conclusions: i) there is substantial support for the two-good
intertemporal model with time-varying interest rate, since both external supply and preference shocks
account for an important proportion of current account fluctuations; ii) temporary domestic shocks
account for a large proportion of current account fluctuations, but the excess response of the current
account is less pronounced than in previous studies; iii) our results alleviate the previous puzzle in the
literature that a shock that explains little about net output changes can explain a large proportion of
current account changes; iv) the nature of the shock matters to shape the relationship between the
current account and the real exchange rate, which explains why is it difficult to find a simple
statistical relationship between these two variables
Chronic urban hotspots and agricultural drainage drive microbial pollution of karst water resources in rural developing regions
Contamination of surface and groundwater systems with human and animal faecal matter leads to exposure of reliant populations to disease causing micro-organisms. This exposure route remains a major cause of infection and mortality in developing countries, particularly rural regions. To meet the UN's sustainable development goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, we need to identify the key controls on faecal contamination across relevant settings. We conducted a high-resolution spatial study of E. coli concentration in catchment drainage waters over 6 months in a mixed land-use catchment in the extensive karst region extending across impoverished southwest China. Using a mixed effects modelling framework, we tested how land-use, karst hydrology, antecedent meteorological conditions, agricultural cycles, hydrochemistry, and position in the catchment system affected E. coli concentrations. Land-use was the best predictor of faecal contamination levels. Sites in urban areas were chronically highly contaminated, but water draining from agricultural land was also consistently contaminated and there was a catchment wide pulse of higher E. coli concentrations, turbidity, and discharge during paddy field drainage. E. coli concentration increased with increasing antecedent rainfall across all land-use types and compartments of the karst hydrological system (underground and surface waters), but decreased with increasing pH. This is interpreted to be a result of processes affecting pH, such as water residence time, rather than the direct effect of pH on E. coli survival. Improved containment and treatment of human waste in areas of higher population density would likely reduce contamination hotspots, and further research is needed to identify the nature and distribution of sources in agricultural land
Political institutions and debt crises
This paper shows that political institutions matter in explaining defaults on external and domestic debt obligations. We explore a large number of political and macroeconomic variables using a non-parametric technique to predict safety from default. The advantage of this technique is that it is able to identify patterns in the data that are not captured in standard probit analysis. We find that political factors matter, and do so in different ways for democratic and non-democratic regimes, and for domestic and external debt. In democracies, a parliamentary system or sufficient checks and balances almost guarantee the absence of default on external debt when economic fundamentals or liquidity are sufficiently strong. In dictatorships, high stability and tenure play a similar role for default on domestic debt
Pharmacology of erenumab in human isolated coronary and meningeal arteries:Additional effect of gepants on top of a maximum effect of erenumab
Background and Purpose: Multiple drugs targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor have been developed for migraine treatment. Here, the effect of the monoclonal antibody erenumab on CGRP-induced vasorelaxation was investigated in human isolated blood vessels, as well as the effect of combining erenumab with the small molecule drugs, namely rimegepant, olcegepant, or sumatriptan.Experimental Approach: Concentration–response curves to CGRP, adrenomedullin or pramlintide were constructed in human coronary artery (HCA) and human middle meningeal artery (HMMA) segments, incubated with or without erenumab and/or olcegepant. pA2 or pKb values were calculated to determine the potency of erenumab in both tissues. To study whether acutely acting antimigraine drugs exerted additional CGRP-blocking effects on top of erenumab, HCA segments were incubated with a maximally effective concentration of erenumab (3 μM), precontracted with KCl and exposed to CGRP, followed by rimegepant, olcegepant, or sumatriptan in increasing concentrations. Key Results: Erenumab shifted the concentration-response curve to CGRP in both vascular tissues. However, in HCA, the Schild plot slope was significantly smaller than unity, whereas this was not the case in HMMA, indicating different CGRP receptor mechanisms in these tissues. In HCA, rimegepant, olcegepant and sumatriptan exerted additional effects on CGRP on top of a maximal effect of erenumab. Conclusions and Implications: Gepants have additional effects on top of erenumab for CGRP-induced relaxation and could be effective in treating migraine attacks in patients already using erenumab as prophylaxis.</p
The dependence of the anomalous J/psi suppression on the number of participant nucleons
The observation of an anomalous J/psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions by the NA50 Collaboration can be considered as the most striking indication for the deconfinement of quarks and gluons at SPS energies. In this Letter, we determine the J/psi suppression pattern as a function of the forward hadronic energy E-ZDC measured in a Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC). The direct connection between EZDC and the geometry of the collision allows us to calculate, within a Glauber approach, the precise relation between the number of participant nucleons N-part and E-ZDC. Then, we check if the experimental data can be better explained by a sudden or a smooth onset of the anomalous J/psi suppression as a function of the number of participants. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The effects of pioglitazone, a PPARγ receptor agonist, on the abuse liability of oxycodone among nondependent opioid users
Aims: Activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone (PIO) has shown some efficacy in attenuating addictive-like responses in laboratory animals. The ability of PIO to alter the effects of opioids in humans has not been characterized in a controlled laboratory setting. The proposed investigation sought to examine the effects of PIO on the subjective, analgesic, physiological and cognitive effects of oxycodone (OXY). Methods: During this investigation, nondependent prescription opioid abusers (N = 17 completers) were maintained for 2-3 weeks on ascending daily doses of PIO (0 mg, 15 mg, 45 mg) prior to completing a laboratory session assessing the aforementioned effects of OXY [using a within-session cumulative dosing procedure (0, 10, and 20 mg, cumulative dose = 30 mg)]. Results: OXY produced typical mu opioid agonist effects: miosis, decreased pain perception, and decreased respiratory rate. OXY also produced dose-dependent increases in positive subjective responses. Yet, ratings such as: drug "liking," "high," and "good drug effect," were not significantly altered as a function of PIO maintenance dose. Discussion: These data suggest that PIO may not be useful for reducing the abuse liability of OXY. These data were obtained with a sample of nondependent opioid users and therefore may not be applicable to dependent populations or to other opioids. Although PIO failed to alter the abuse liability of OXY, the interaction between glia and opioid receptors is not well understood so the possibility remains that medications that interact with glia in other ways may show more promise
Dilepton production in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies
We present a unified description of the vector meson and dilepton production
in elementary and in heavy ion reactions. The production of vector mesons
() is described via the excitation of nuclear resonances ().
The theoretical framework is an extended vector meson dominance model (eVMD).
The treatment of the resonance decays with arbitrary spin is
covariant and kinematically complete. The eVMD includes thereby excited vector
meson states in the transition form factors. This ensures correct asymptotics
and provides a unified description of photonic and mesonic decays. The
resonance model is successfully applied to the production in
reactions. The same model is applied to the dilepton production in elementary
reactions (). Corresponding data are well reproduced. However, when
the model is applied to heavy ion reactions in the BEVALAC/SIS energy range the
experimental dilepton spectra measured by the DLS Collaboration are
significantly underestimated at small invariant masses. As a possible solution
of this problem the destruction of quantum interference in a dense medium is
discussed. A decoherent emission through vector mesons decays enhances the
corresponding dilepton yield in heavy ion reactions. In the vicinity of the
-peak the reproduction of the data requires further a substantial
collisional broadening of the and in particular of the meson.Comment: 32 pages revtex, 19 figures, to appear in PR
Centrality Behaviour of J/ Production in Na50
The J/ production in 158 A GeV Pb-Pb interactions is studied, in the
dimuon decay channel, as a function of centrality, as measured with the
electromagnetic or with the very forward calorimeters. After a first sharp
variation at mid centrality, both patterns continue to fall down and exhibit a
curvature change at high centrality values. This trend excludes any
conventional hadronic model and is in agreement with a deconfined quark-gluon
phase scenario. We report also preliminary results on the measured charged
multiplicity, as given by a dedicated detector.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures (in eps) talk given at XXXI International
Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics, Sep. 1-7, 2001, Datong China URL
http://ismd31.ccnu.edu.cn
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