Metabolic interrelationships between vitamin B<SUB>12</SUB> and pantothenic acid in the rat

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Can Europe recover without credit?

Data from 135 countries covering five decades suggests that creditless recoveries, in which the stock of real credit does not return to the pre-crisis level for three years after the GDP trough, are not rare and are characterised by remarkable real GDP growth rates: 4.7 percent per year in middle-income countries and 3.2 percent per year in high-income countries. However, the implications of these historical episodes for the current European situation are limited, for two main reasons. First, creditless recoveries are much less common in highincome countries, than in low-income countries which are financially undeveloped. European economies heavily depend on bank loans and research suggests that loan supply played a major role in the recent weak credit performance of Europe. There are reasons to believe that, despite various efforts, normal lending has not yet been restored. Limited loan supply could be disruptive for the European economic recovery and there has been only a minor substitution of bank loans with debt securities. Second, creditless recoveries were associated with significant real exchange rate depreciation, which has hardly occurred so far in most of Europe. This stylised fact suggests that it might be difficult to re-establish economic growth in the absence of sizeable real exchange rate depreciation, if credit growth does not return

Study of strong photon-magnon coupling in a YIG-film split-ring resonant system

By using the stripline Microwave Vector Network Analyzer Ferromagnetic Resonance and Pulsed Inductive Microwave Magnetometry spectroscopy techniques, we study a strong coupling regime of magnons to microwave photons in the planar geometry of a lithographically formed split-ring resonator (SRR) loaded by a single-crystal epitaxial yttrium-iron garnet (YIG) film. Strong anti-crossing of the photon modes of SRR and of the magnon modes of the YIG film is observed in the applied-magnetic-field resolved measurements. The coupling strength extracted from the experimental data reaches 9 percent at 3 GHz. Theoretically, we propose an equivalent circuit model of an SRR loaded by a magnetic film. This model follows from the results of our numerical simulations of the microwave field structure of the SRR and of the magnetization dynamics in the YIG film driven by the microwave currents in the SRR. The equivalent circuit model is in good agreement with the experiment. It provides a simple physical explanation of the process of mode anti-crossing. Our findings are important for future applications in microwave quantum photonic devices as well as in magnetically tunable metamaterials exploiting the strong coupling of magnons to microwave photons

The construction of mental health as a technological problem in India

This paper points to an underexplored relationship of reinforcement between processes of quantification and digitization in the construction of mental health as amenable to technological intervention, in India. Increasingly, technology is used to collect mental health data, to diagnose mental health problems, and as a route of mental health intervention and clinical management. At the same time, mental health has become recognized as a new public health priority in India, and within national and global public health agendas. We explore two sites of the technological problematisation of mental health in India: a large-scale survey calculating prevalence, and a smartphone app to manage stress. We show how digital technology is deployed both to frame a ‘need’ for, and to implement, mental health interventions. We then trace the epistemologies and colonial histories of ‘psy’ technologies, which question assumptions of digital empowerment and of top-down ‘western’ imposition. Our findings show that in India such technologies work both to discipline and liberate users. The paper aims to encourage global debate inclusive of those positioned inside and outside of the ‘black box’ of mental health technology and data production, and to contribute to shaping a future research agenda that analyzes quantification and digitization as key drivers in global advocacy to make mental health count

Different patterns of labour market integration by migration motivation in Europe: the role of host country human capital

We study whether individual decisions to invest in the host country, namely obtaining equivalent qualifications, improving language skills, or naturalisation explain differences in labour market integration between migrants depending on their initial motivation. We use cross-national European data from the 2008 ad-hoc module of the Labour Force Survey to analyse migrant gaps in labour market participation, employment, occupational status and precarious employment. We find that different rates of and returns to host country human capital explain a substantial part of the improvements in labour market outcomes with years of residence, particularly for non-economic migrants who experience faster growth on average

Tetra-methoxystilbene modulates ductal growth of the developing murine mammary gland

Extensive data suggest that estradiol contributes to the development of breast cancer by acting as a mitogen and exerting direct genotoxic effects after enzymatic conversion to 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) via cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1). The mammary gland, ovary, and uterus all express CYP1B1. Overexpression of this enzyme has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and blockade might reduce this carcinogenic effect. For this reason, we conducted systematic in vitro and in vivo studies of a CYP1B1 inhibitor, TMS (2,3',4,5'-tetramethoxystilbene). We found that TMS blocked the enzymatic conversion of radiolabeled estradiol to both 2-hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2) and 4-OHE2, but did not inhibit Cyp1b1 message formation. In vivo studies using mass spectrometry showed that TMS inhibited formation of 2-OHE2 and 4-OHE2 and the resulting estrogen-DNA adducts. To examine its biologic actions in vivo, we investigated whether TMS could block the hyperplastic changes that occur in the developing breast of aromatase-transfected mice. We found that TMS induced a significant reduction of ductal structures in mice less than 6 months in age. In older mice, no reduction in breast morphology occurred. These latter studies uncovered unexpected estrogen agonistic actions of TMS at high doses, including a paradoxical stimulation of breast ductal structures and the endometrium. These studies suggest that the enzyme inhibitory properties of TMS, as well as the effects on developing breast, could implicate a role for TMS in breast cancer prevention, but only in low doses and on developing breast

Socializing accountability for improving primary healthcare: an action research program in rural Karnataka

The Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 invoked a socialising form of accountability through which communities and health workers participated in and were jointly accountable for primary healthcare. Aside from a few experiments, by the 1990s these ideals were quickly replaced by policy prescriptions based on increasing efficiency in data quality and reporting through the introduction of health information systems. More recently, there has been a revival of interest in community participation as a mechanism for improving the poor status of primary healthcare in developing countries through the constitution of village health committees. This paper documents and reflects on nine years of research on interventions aimed at improving primary healthcare accountability in rural Karnataka. Over this period, our focus has shifted from studying how computerised health information systems can strengthen conventional accountability systems to a period of extended participatory action research aimed at socialising accountability practices at village level. The findings from this study constitute vital knowledge for reforming the primary healthcare sector through different policy measures including the design of appropriate technology-based solutions

Localisation of NMU1R and NMU2R in human and rat central nervous system and effects of neuromedin-U following central administration in rats

Rationale: Neuromedin-U (NmU) is an agonist at NMU1R and NMU2R. The brain distribution of NmU and its receptors, in particular NMU2R, suggests widespread central roles for NmU. In agreement, centrally administered NmU affects feeding behaviour, energy expenditure and pituitary output. Further central nervous system (CNS) roles for NmU warrant investigation. Objectives: To investigate the CNS role of NmU by mapping NMU1R and NMU2R mRNA and measuring the behavioural, endocrine, neurochemical and c-fos response to intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) NmU. Methods: Binding affinity and functional potency of rat NmU was determined at human NMU1R and NMU2R. Expression of NMU1R and NMU2R mRNA in rat and human tissue was determined using semi-quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. In in-vivo studies, NmU was administered i.c.v. to male Sprague-Dawley rats, and changes in grooming, motor activity and pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) were assessed. In further studies, plasma endocrine hormones, [DOPAC + HVA]/[dopamine] and [5-HIAA]/[5-HT] ratios and levels of Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) were measured 20 min post-NmU (i.c.v.). Results: NmU bound to NMU1R (KI, 0.11±0.02 nM) and NMU2R (KI, 0.21±0.05 nM) with equal affinity and was equally active at NMU1R (EC50, 1.25±0.05 nM) and NMU2R (EC50, 1.10±0.20 nM) in a functional assay. NMU2R mRNA expression was found at the highest levels in the CNS regions of both rat and human tissues. NMU1R mRNA expression was restricted to the periphery of both species with the exception of the rat amygdala. NmU caused a marked increase in grooming and motor activity but did not affect PPI. Further, NmU decreased plasma prolactin but did not affect levels of corticosterone, luteinising hormone or thyroid stimulating hormone. NmU elevated levels of 5-HT in the frontal cortex and hypothalamus, with decreased levels of its metabolites in the hippocampus and hypothalamus, but did not affect dopamine function. NmU markedly increased FLI in the nucleus accumbens, frontal cortex and central amygdala. Conclusions: These data provide further evidence for widespread roles for NmU and its receptors in the brain