The Use and Abuse of Taylor Rules: How Precisely Can We Estimate Them?

This paper draws attention to inconsistencies in estimating simple monetary policy rules and their implications for policy advice. We simulate a macroeconomic model with a backward reaction function similar to Taylor (1993). We estimate different versions of a policy rule, using these simulated data.

On bloodvessel branching analysis for the detection of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is increasingly prevalent in modern society and methods for its diagnosis are only just starting to emerge. Given images of brain tissue, we show how Alzheimer’s disease can be detected from the branching structures of blood vessels. This is achieved by a new approach which counts the branching points and derives measures which are suited to the analysis of small branching structures. The measures are formulated to be rotation, scale and position invariant and are deployed in tandem with more standard measures. Analysis on a database comprised of brain tissue samples from subjects who are normal, with Alzheimer’s and age matched normal has shown capability to classify correctly images of brain tissue from subjects afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.<br/

Why Do Commercial Firms Open The Source Code Of Their Products?

This paper is concerned with the economic trade-offs associated with open-sourcing, the business strategy of releasing the source code of a commercial software product. We model open-sourcing as a strategic option for firms that compete in the market for software products. At the core of our model is the effect of open-sourcing on customer values, as well as the relative ease of customizing the open-source products. We show that open-sourcing can arise as an equilibrium outcome in our two-stage game. If the enhancement of customer value from open-sourcing is moderate or high, in equilibrium firms may find it optimal to release the source code of their commercial software products even when this strategy may reduce their profits

Clearance of interstitial fluid (ISF) and CSF (CLIC) group-part of Vascular Professional Interest Area (PIA): Cerebrovascular disease and the failure of elimination of Amyloid-β from the brain and retina with age and Alzheimer\u27s disease-Opportunities for Therapy

Two of the key functions of arteries in the brain are (1) the well-recognized supply of blood via the vascular lumen and (2) the emerging role for the arterial walls as routes for the elimination of interstitial fluid (ISF) and soluble metabolites, such as amyloid beta (Aβ), from the brain and retina. As the brain and retina possess no conventional lymphatic vessels, fluid drainage toward peripheral lymph nodes is mediated via transport along basement membranes in the walls of capillaries and arteries that form the intramural peri-arterial drainage (IPAD) system. IPAD tends to fail as arteries age but the mechanisms underlying the failure are unclear. In some people this is reflected in the accumulation of Aβ plaques in the brain in Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) and deposition of Aβ within artery walls as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Knowledge of the dynamics of IPAD and why it fails with age is essential for establishing diagnostic tests for the early stages of the disease and for devising therapies that promote the clearance of Aβ in the prevention and treatment of AD and CAA. This editorial is intended to introduce the rationale that has led to the establishment of the Clearance of Interstitial Fluid (ISF) and CSF (CLIC) group, within the Vascular Professional Interest Area of the Alzheimer\u27s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer\u27s Research and Treatment

Vital Functions Contribute to the Spread of Extracellular Fluids in the Brain: Comparison Between Life and Death

Vascular pulsations, contractions of vascular smooth muscle cells and breathing have been reported to foster movement and clearance of interstitial and cerebrospinal fluids from the brain. The aim of this study was to estimate the contribution of these vital functions. We compared the spread of an injected hydrophilic tracer (Fluoro-Emerald, a 10 kDa fluorescein-coupled dextran amine) in the brains of live anesthetized and sacrificed rats at 30 and 90 min after injection. To determine the overall pattern of distribution of tracers, we created 3D-reconstructions of the horizontal transections of the whole brain. Immunofluorescence staining with laminin and collagen IV was performed to determine the pattern of distribution of tracer in relation to the cerebrovascular basement membranes. We found that diffusion was widely restricted to the periventricular region in sacrificed rats with no spread to the contralateral hemisphere, while the bulk flow occurred along the vasculature and reached the surface and the contralateral hemisphere as soon as 30 min after injection in live anesthetized animals. The tracer appeared to be localized along the vascular basement membranes and along fiber tracts as reported previously. Thus, our data indicate that vital functions are essential for the remote movement of extracellular fluids within the cerebral parenchyma

The Prevalence of Esbl-Producing Strains of E.coli, Isolated from Calves with Colibacilosis - Preliminary Remarks

The animals producing food have become an increasing reservoir of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae. The calves and cows are exposed to a greater quantity of antibiotics, but the data concerning the prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae are not enough, in comparison with other species of animals used for human consumption, such as birds (Hordijk et al., 2013).The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli involved in some episodes of colibacilosis in calves. Faeces samples were collected from 33 calves with the age ranging between 1-2 weeks and that presented clinical signs of colibacilosis. The samples were collected in a sterile medium for the taxonomic isolation and identification of the etiological agent involved, the ESBL screening being conducted subsequently using the ESBL Agar Oxoid Brilliance chromogenic medium. The phenotypic confirmation of the ESBL-producing strains was conducted in accordance with the CLSI (2014) standard through the combined disc method. Following the tests conducted, out of the 33 strains of isolated E. coli, 9 (27, 27%) were phenotypically confirmed as being ESBL strains.The studies that were previously conducted on the dairy farms have pointed out that the young calves rapidly acquire bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics that are often ESBL strains (Hordijk et al., 2013). The prevalence obtained by us, as well as an insufficient quantity of information concerning the antimicrobial resistance on this segment of species of animals used for the human consumption, support conducting a more thorough study, as well as the identification of ESBL resistance genes, but also of the plasmids that encode the transmission of these genes

Convective infux/glymphatic system: tracers injected into the CSF enter and leave the brain along separate periarterial basement membrane pathways

Tracers injected into CSF pass into the brain alongside arteries and out again. This has been recently termed the "glymphatic system" that proposes tracers enter the brain along periarterial "spaces" and leave the brain along the walls of veins. The object of the present study is to test the hypothesis that: (1) tracers from the CSF enter the cerebral cortex along pial-glial basement membranes as there are no perivascular "spaces" around cortical arteries, (2) tracers leave the brain along smooth muscle cell basement membranes that form the Intramural Peri-Arterial Drainage (IPAD) pathways for the elimination of interstitial fluid and solutes from the brain. 2 μL of 100 μM soluble, fluorescent fixable amyloid β (Aβ) were injected into the CSF of the cisterna magna of 6-10 and 24-30 month-old male mice and their brains were examined 5 and 30 min later. At 5 min, immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy revealed Aβ on the outer aspects of cortical arteries colocalized with α-2 laminin in the pial-glial basement membranes. At 30 min, Aβ was colocalised with collagen IV in smooth muscle cell basement membranes in the walls of cortical arteries corresponding to the IPAD pathways. No evidence for drainage along the walls of veins was found. Measurements of the depth of penetration of tracer were taken from 11 regions of the brain. Maximum depths of penetration of tracer into the brain were achieved in the pons and caudoputamen. Conclusions drawn from the present study are that tracers injected into the CSF enter and leave the brain along separate periarterial basement membrane pathways. The exit route is along IPAD pathways in which Aβ accumulates in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in Alzheimer's disease. Results from this study suggest that CSF may be a suitable route for delivery of therapies for neurological diseases, including CAA

Blood vessel feature description for detection of Alzheimers disease

We describe how image analysis can be used to detect the presence of Alzheimer’s disease. The data are images of brain tissue collected from subjects with and without Alzheimer’s disease. The analysis concentrates on the shape and structure of the blood vessels which are known to be affected by amyloid beta, whose drainage is affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The structure is analysed by a new approach which measures the influence of the blood vessels’ branching structures. Their density and tortuosity are analysed in conjunction with a boundary description derived using Fourier descriptors. These measures form a feature vector which is derived from the images of brain tissue, and the discrimination capability shows that it is possible to detect the presence of Alzheimer’s disease using these measures and in an automated way. These measures also show that shape information is influenced by the vessels’ branchingstructure, as known to be consistent with Alzheimer’s disease evolution

On the Role of Banks in Enterprise Restructuring

The paper provides a framework for understanding why in Romania, like in any other Central and Eastern European country, before starting the process of enterprise restructuring, it is necessary to reform the financial sector. It also provides statistical evidence for understanding why the reform of the financial system could accelerate the process of enterprise restructuring. The data collected from 256 state-owned enterprises relate the real bank borrowing to the profits of the enterprises, the real stock of inter-enterprise arrears and the size of the enterprises. For studying whether good or bad SOEs receive in a different way bank loans, the determinants of state firms borrowing in Romania are analyzed for each of the three years the analysis is concerned, testing the hypothesis that the market-oriented reform of the banking system in Romania generated a better allocation of bank credit to state-owned enterprises. The current sample of 256 SOEs will be then split into subsamples, on the basis of the profit margin per employee in each enterprise. The regression run for the data related to bank borrowing in the enterprises which are part of these subsamples will try to answer the question whether banks take into consideration the profitability of enterprises in their decision to allocate credit. The regressions will be run for each year and some conclusions will be inferred from the differences in the values and in the significance of the coefficients associated with the variables in the regression. Considered to be important in the allocation of bank credit are the bank arrears, inter-enterprise arrears and the size of enterprises. At the end of this paper some policy tools will be suggested for improving the allocation of bank borrowing to state firms.Restructuring, Financial Restructuring, Bank Lending in Transition