Which foreign investors worry about foreign exchange risk in South Asia and why?

The authors show that the potential benefit to a host country of forward markets or of foreign exchange guarantees depend on the investor's country of origin and on specific characteristics of investment. They show this in terms of the effects on foreign-exchange risks and on the amount of foreign direct investment taking place. Their main lessons for foreign investors: (a) the benefits of hedging exchange risks through forward markets vary substantially, depending on the investor, the type of investment, and, for foreign direct investment (FDI), the direction of the market supplied; (b) for short lived investment or FDI targeted to the host country market, the potential for gain from forward contracts is substantial because in the short run, nominal exchange rate fluctuations tend to be larger than real exchange rate fluctuations; (c) for long-lived investments or export oriented FDI, the gains from forward contracts will be much smaller. Firms investing in long lived assets or in activities targeted to exports net natural insurance from the correlation between the nominal exchange rate and the firm's earnings in host-country currency; and (d) the evidence on exchange rate and price fluctuations between 1975 and 1991 suggests that the demand for coverage is likely to be stronger in South Asia than in Latin America. In East Asia, the evidence is mixed. Their main lessons for host country governments: (a) in the short run, if there are no private forward markets, the optimal policy for a risk-neutral host country is to provide the firm with forward contracts at the expected spot exchange rate. This government insurance has the same effects as allowing trading in forward markets. But these contracts can have fiscal consequences, as they did in Latin America; (b) forward markets do not discriminate against host country firms. Those engaged in international trade can also benefit from the presence of forward markets; and (c) in the medium run, as exchange controls are being liberalized, forward markets may be slow to develop because of participants'uncertainty about their ability to get foreign currency to cover forward commitments. In this transitional period, contracts offered by the government are likely to be the most efficient means of reassuring foreign investors. These contracts should also be make available to host-country firms during the transitional period, in order not to discriminate against domestic investors.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Stabilization

Removal of odorants from animal waste using Fenton’s reaction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Fenton’s reaction as a means of mitigating the problem of offensive odors emitted from livestock manures. The hypothesis to be tested was that hydroxyl radicals generated during this reaction would oxidize odorant compounds, breaking them down to nonodorous products. The deodorization effect was assessed using various chromatographic techniques to determine the concentration of selected odor indicators present in swine slurry and reactor headspaces before and after treatment. The indicators included seven volatile fatty acids, three phenols, and two indoles that were positively correlated with malodors from animal manure. The extent of their removal strongly depended on the concentration of Fenton’s reagents (0 to 40 mM FeCl3, and 0 to 800 mM H2O2), the initial pH of swine slurry (2.0 to 6.5), and the total solids content (0.6 to 2.9% TSC). Control samples treated with no FeCl3 or H2O2 did not show significant reduction of odorant concentration at all pH and TSC levels tested. Acceptable removals of total odorants (65 to 90%) were observed between pH 3.5 and 5.5. When swine slurry (0.7% TSC, pH 5.0) was treated for 2 h with 40 mM FeCl3 at 400 mM H2O2, all odorants were removed completely (100%), except for small amounts of propionic acid. Odorant removal from swine slurry was in good agreement with that from the headspace air (90-100% removal for most measured odorants). Pilot-scale treatment produced encouraging results, surpassing the expectations based on the outcome of laboratory experiments

Nuggets, Pearls, and Vignettes of Master Heart Failure Clinicians

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73696/1/j.1527-5299.2001.00307.x.pd

Factors Associated with Acquisition of Human Infective and Animal Infective Trypanosome Infections in Domestic Livestock in Western Kenya

Trypanosomiasis is regarded as a constraint on livestock production in Western Kenya where the responsibility for tsetse and trypanosomiasis control has increasingly shifted from the state to the individual livestock owner. To assess the sustainability of these localised control efforts, this study investigates biological and management risk factors associated with trypanosome infections detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in a range of domestic livestock at the local scale in Busia, Kenya. Busia District also remains endemic for human sleeping sickness with sporadic cases of sleeping sickness reported.In total, trypanosome infections were detected in 11.9% (329) out of the 2773 livestock sampled in Busia District. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that host species and cattle age affected overall trypanosome infection, with significantly increased odds of infection for cattle older than 18 months, and significantly lower odds of infection in pigs and small ruminants. Different grazing and watering management practices did not affect the odds of trypanosome infection, adjusted by host species. Neither anaemia nor condition score significantly affected the odds of trypanosome infection in cattle. Human infective Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense were detected in 21.5% of animals infected with T. brucei s.l. (29/135) amounting to 1% (29/2773) of all sampled livestock, with significantly higher odds of T. brucei rhodesiense infections in T. brucei s.l. infected pigs (OR =  4.3, 95%CI 1.5-12.0) than in T. brucei s.l. infected cattle or small ruminants.Although cattle are the dominant reservoir of trypanosome infection it is unlikely that targeted treatment of only visibly diseased cattle will achieve sustainable interruption of transmission for either animal infective or zoonotic human infective trypanosomiasis, since most infections were detected in cattle that did not exhibit classical clinical signs of trypanosomiasis. Pigs were also found to be reservoirs of infection for T. b. rhodesiense and present a risk to local communities

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Cytokine profiling in patients with VCP-associated disease.

Valosin containing protein (VCP) disease (also known as Inclusion Body Myopathy, Paget Disease of Bone and Frontotemporal Dementia [IBMPFD] syndrome) is caused by mutations in the gene encoding VCP classically affecting the muscle, bone and brain. Although the genetic cause has been identified, details regarding the pathogenesis of IBMPFD have not been fully determined. Muscle wasting observed in VCP disease is suggestive of cytokine imbalance. We hypothesized that dysfunctional protein homeostasis caused by VCP mutations leads to cytokine imbalances thereby contributing to the muscle wasting phenotype. Circulating levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF a) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were measured in plasma of patients with VCP disease or controls. TNF a and EGF were significantly altered in VCP disease as compared to control. TNF a was up-regulated, consistent with a cachexia phenotype and EGF levels were increased. No significant differences were observed in IL-4 and IL-6. Cytokine imbalances may be associated with VCP disease and may play a contributory role in VCP myopathy. Further understanding of how VCP dysfunction leads to aberrant protein homeostasis and subsequent cytokine imbalances may also aid in the understanding of other proteinopathies and in the development of novel treatments

Removal of odorants from animal waste using Fenton’s reaction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Fenton’s reaction as a means of mitigating the problem of offensive odors emitted from livestock manures. The hypothesis to be tested was that hydroxyl radicals generated during this reaction would oxidize odorant compounds, breaking them down to nonodorous products. The deodorization effect was assessed using various chromatographic techniques to determine the concentration of selected odor indicators present in swine slurry and reactor headspaces before and after treatment. The indicators included seven volatile fatty acids, three phenols, and two indoles that were positively correlated with malodors from animal manure. The extent of their removal strongly depended on the concentration of Fenton’s reagents (0 to 40 mM FeCl3, and 0 to 800 mM H2O2), the initial pH of swine slurry (2.0 to 6.5), and the total solids content (0.6 to 2.9% TSC). Control samples treated with no FeCl3 or H2O2 did not show significant reduction of odorant concentration at all pH and TSC levels tested. Acceptable removals of total odorants (65 to 90%) were observed between pH 3.5 and 5.5. When swine slurry (0.7% TSC, pH 5.0) was treated for 2 h with 40 mM FeCl3 at 400 mM H2O2, all odorants were removed completely (100%), except for small amounts of propionic acid. Odorant removal from swine slurry was in good agreement with that from the headspace air (90-100% removal for most measured odorants). Pilot-scale treatment produced encouraging results, surpassing the expectations based on the outcome of laboratory experiments.This proceedings is from CD-Rom of the International Symposium on Air Quality and Waste Management for Agriculture Conference Proceedings, 16–19 September 2007, (Broomfield, Colorado, USA) Editor, L. Moody, St. Joseph Michigan: ASABE, 16, September 2007. ASAE Pub #701P0907cd.</p

Global gene profiling of VCP-associated inclusion body myopathy

Inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia (IBMPFD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the Valosin Containing Protein (VCP) gene on chromosome 9p12-13. Patients demonstrate limb girdle muscle weakness, which eventually progresses to involve respiratory muscles, and death from respiratory and cardiac failure. This is the first investigation to analyze key molecular mediators and signaling cascades in skeletal muscle causing myopathy by global gene microarray in hopes of understanding the dysregulated genes and molecular mechanisms underlying IBMPFD and the hope of finding novel therapeutic targets. We determined expression profiles using Human Genome Array microarray technology in Vastus lateralis muscles from patients and their first degree relatives. We analyzed gene annotations by DAVID and identified differentially dysregulated genes with roles in several novel biological pathways, including regulation of actin cytoskeleton, ErbB signaling, cancer, in addition to regulation of autophagy, and lysosomal signaling, known disrupted pathways in VCP disease. In this report, we present data from the first global microarray analyzing IBMPFD patient muscles and elucidating dysregulated pathways to further understand the pathogenesis of the disease and discover potential therapeutics