Revisiting the Glick-Rogoff Current Account Model: An Application to the Current Accounts of BRICS Countries

Understanding what drives the changes in current accounts is one of the most important macroeconomic issues for developing countries. Excessive surpluses in current accounts can trigger trade wars, and excessive deficits in current accounts can, on the other hand, induce currency crises. The Glick-Rogoff (1995, Journal of Monetary Economics) model, which emphasizes productivity shocks at home and in the world, fit well with developed economies in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the Glick-Rogoff model fits poorly when it is applied to fast-growing BRICS countries for the period including the global financial crisis. We conclude that different mechanisms of current accounts work for developed and developing countries

Dental metric standards for sex estimation in archaeological populations from Iran

Sex estimation of skeletal remains is one of the major components of forensic identification of unknown individuals. Teeth are a potential source of information on sex and are often recovered in archaeological or forensic contexts due to their post-mortem longevity. Currently there is limited data on dental sexual dimorphism of archaeological populations from Iran. This dissertation represents the first study to provide a dental sex estimation method for Iron Age populations. The current study was conducted on the skeletal remains of 143 adults from two Iron Age populations in close temporal and geographic proximity in the Solduz Valley (West Azerbaijan Province of Iran). 2D and 3D cervical mesiodistal and buccolingual and root volume measurements of maxillary and mandibular teeth were used to investigate the degree of sexual dimorphism in permanent dentition and to assess their applicability in sex estimation. In total 1327, 457, and 480 anterior and posterior teeth were used to collect 2D cervical, 3D cervical, and root volume measurements respectively. 2D cervical measurements were taken using Hillson-Fitzgerald dental calliper and 3D measurements were collected using CT images provided by Open Research Scan Archive (ORSA) - Penn Museum. 3D models of the teeth were created using manual segmentation in the Amira 6.01 software package. Since tooth density largely differs from crown to apex, root segmentation required two threshold levels: the segmentation of the root from the jaw and the segmentation of the crown from the root. Thresholds used for root segmentation were calculated using the half maximum height protocol of Spoor et al. (1993) for each skull, and thresholds used for crown segmentation were set visually for each tooth separately. Data was analysed using discriminant function analysis and posterior probabilities were calculated for all produced formulae where sex was previously assessed from morphological features of pelvis and skull. Bootstrapping was used to account for small sample sizes in the analysis. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 23. The percentage of sexual dimorphism was also used to quantify the amount of sexual dimorphism in the sample. The results showed that incisors and canines were the most sexually dimorphic teeth, providing percentages of correct sex classification between 80% and 100% depending on the measurement used. Root volume measurement was shown to be the most sexually dimorphic variable providing an accuracy of over 90% in all functions. The present study provided the first dental metric standards for sex estimation using odontometric data in Iranian archaeological populations. Dental measurements, particularly root volume measurements, were found to be of value for sex assessment and the method presented here could be a useful tool for establishing accurate demographic data from skeletal remains of the Iron Age from Iran

Influence of Cervitec gel on periodontal health of patients wearing fixed orthodontic appliances

Background/purpose: This double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of 0.2% chlorhexidine containing Cervitec gel on periodontal health during orthodontic treatment. Materials and methods: Twenty-five patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment were randomly assigned to the Cervitec (n = 13) or control (n = 12) groups. After clinical examination at first visit, all patients received professional prophylaxis, and 2 weeks later baseline (B) evaluations are performed. Later, oral hygiene procedures were refrained for 3 days until Day 0, during which the participants in the Cervitec group were instructed to brush with standard toothpaste (ST) (1 × 1) and Cervitec (1 × 1), whereas the control group received placebo (1 × 1) until Day 14. Between Day 14 and Day 28, patients returned to brushing with ST (2 × 1). The clinical measurements were recorded and subgingival plaque samples were collected at first visit, B, Day 0, Day 14, and Day 28. Subgingival plaque samples were analyzed for total bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.), and Treponema denticola (T.d.) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The data were statistically analyzed. Results: After receiving professional prophylaxis and oral hygiene instructions, remarkable improvements was seen in clinical and microbiological variables of the study. Although there was a significant reduction in the Quigley–Hein Plaque Index (mQHI) score at Day 14 in only the Cervitec group (P < 0.01), both the Cervitec group and the control group revealed significant reductions in the mQHI score at Day 28 compared with Day 0 (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively). Intragroup and intergroup evaluations revealed no statistically significant alterations for P.g. and T.d. Conclusion: The present data suggested that brushing with Cervitec gel once a day has the potential to reduce bacterial accumulation around teeth and fixed appliances in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. However, within the limits of this study, Cervitec seems to have no significant effect on total bacteria, P.g., and T.d. levels of subgingival dental plaque

The bioaccumulation of nonyphenol and its adverse effect on the liver of rainbow trout (Onchorynchus mykiss)

Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEs) are widely used as nonionic surfactants. Nonylphenol (NP), one of the derivatives of APEs, has been found in the aquatic environment in ranges from nanograms per liter to milligrams per liter. In this study, juvenile rainbow trout were exposed to 0 (control), 66, 220, or 660 mug NP/L for up to 28 days. Fish remained healthy under NP exposures of 0, 66, and 220 mug/L for the length of the experiment. All fish died after 4 days of exposure to 660 mug NP/L. Time-dependent NP bioaccumulation was detected in the tissues of fish exposed to 220 mug NP/L (P < 0.05) and histopathological changes were observed in the livers of fish exposed to 220 mug NP/L. Furthermore, an increase in the activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was found in the liver of fish exposed to 220 mug NP/L for I week (P<0.05). There was an increase in GST activity in the liver of fish exposed to 66 mug NP/L but it did not occur before 2 weeks of exposure to NP. The GST activity then decreased in a time-dependent manner in treatment groups, and this decrease was lower in the livers of fish treated with 66 and 220 mug NP/L than in control fish after 3 weeks of exposure (P<0.05). These results indicated that sublethal doses of NP were accumulating in the bodies of the fish and causing histopathological. and biochemical changes in the livers of rainbow trout. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved