Fiscal Sustainability and Generational Burden Sharing in Denmark

Based on generational accounts and a simple welfare calculus, this paper studies two alternative scenarios of sustainable fiscal policy in Denmark. A strategy of tax smoothing is found to provide a fairly even intergenerational distribution of the financial burden associated with population ageing. While tax smoothing causes a relatively sharp increase in public debt along the transition path, a strategy of debt smoothing is shown to pass a larger part of the financial burden onto current generations but without changing the intergenerational distribution profile in any dramatic way. A comparison based on a social welfare function indicates a marginal superiority of tax smoothing.

Experiences with the silicone T‐tube in man and dog

Silicone T‐tubes are particularly useful for long‐term stenting of the laryngotracheal airway. Silicone is useful when non‐autogenous non‐reactive soft material is wanted for use in the human and animal body. Two case reports illustrate the use of the silicone T‐tube

Identification of Drosophila V+ hormone of bacterial origin

The substance produced by certain bacteria from ℓ-tryptophane and which possesses v+ hormone activity in Drosophila has been found to be a sucrose ester of ℓ-kynurenine. The ℓ-kynurenine is the essential active portion of the molecule. ℓ-Kynurenine, ℓ-kynurenine sulfate, and the ℓ-kynurenine-sucrose derivative have the same molar activity when tested in Drosophila larvae. This value approximates 12 X 10^6 units per mM

A Conversation: Living Through Lacrosse

Living through Lacrosse featured a panel of those involved directly with the Duke lacrosse incident, ranging from the senior vice president for public affairs and government relations of Duke University to a former Duke student who was serving as a staff member of the Duke Chronicle in 2007. Members of the panel assessed what happened during the course of the incident and then discussed what could be learned from this case and what might have been done differently. Questions/themes/discussion topics What were the individual roles of the panelists during the lacrosse incident? In hindsight, what would the panelists have done differently? What can be learned from the Duke lacrosse case for both similar and non-similar cases going forward

Fluorescence-based tracing of transplanted intestinal epithelial cells using confocal laser endomicroscopy

BACKGROUND: Intestinal stem cell transplantation has been shown to promote mucosal healing and to engender fully functional epithelium in experimental colitis. Hence, stem cell therapies may provide an innovative approach to accomplish mucosal healing in patients with debilitating conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. However, an approach to label and trace transplanted cells, in order to assess engraftment efficiency and to monitor wound healing, is a key hurdle to overcome prior to initiating human studies. Genetic engineering is commonly employed in animal studies, but may be problematic in humans due to potential off-target and long-term adverse effects. METHODS: We investigated the applicability of a panel of fluorescent dyes and nanoparticles to label intestinal organoids for visualization using the clinically approved imaging modality, confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE). Staining homogeneity, durability, cell viability, differentiation capacity, and organoid forming efficiency were evaluated, together with visualization of labeled organoids in vitro and ex vivo using CLE. RESULTS: 5-Chloromethylfluorescein diacetate (CMFDA) proved to be suitable as it efficiently stained all organoids without transfer to unstained organoids in co-cultures. No noticeable adverse effects on viability, organoid growth, or stem cell differentiation capacity were observed, although single-cell reseeding revealed a dose-dependent reduction in organoid forming efficiency. Labeled organoids were easily identified in vitro using CLE for a duration of at least 3 days and could additionally be detected ex vivo following transplantation into murine experimental colitis. CONCLUSIONS: It is highly feasible to use fluorescent dye-based labeling in combination with CLE to trace intestinal organoids following transplantation to confirm implantation at the intestinal target site