The use of 4D-CTA in the diagnostic work-up of brain arteriovenous malformations

Neuro Imaging Researc

International money markets: eurocurrencies

Eurocurrencies are international markets for short-term wholesale bank deposits and loans. They emerged in Western Europe in the late 1950s and rapidly reached a global scale. A Eurocurrency is a form of bank money: an unsecured short-term bank debt denominated in a currency (for instance, US dollars) but issued by banks operating offshore, in a geographical location or a legal space situated outside of the jurisdiction of the national authorities presiding over that currency (for instance, the Federal Reserve). In Eurocurrency markets, banks intermediate mainly between foreign residents. They borrow funds by "accepting" foreign currency deposits and lend foreign currency-denominated funds by "placing" deposits with other banks, by granting short-term loans or investing in other liquid assets. Historically, Eurodollars accounted for the largest share of Eurocurrencies, although other international currencies (Deutsche Marks, Japanese yens, and especially Euros since 1999) played an important role. Eurocurrency markets were a manifestation of financial integration and interdependence in a globalizing economy and performed critical functions in the distribution and creation of international liquidity. At the same time, their fast growth was a recurrent source of concerns for central bankers and policymakers due to their implications for macroeconomic policies and financial stability. This chapter analyzes different aspects of the historical development of Eurocurrency markets and their role in the international monetary and financial system. The first part discusses theoretical interpretations, presents estimates of markets' size, describes their structure, and explains the determinants of their growth. The second part analyzes the spread between Eurodollar rates and other US money market rates, the role of arbitrage, the evolution of risk factors, and the causes of historical episodes of stress and contagion in the interbank market. The last part discusses political economy issues, such as the role of governments and market forces in the emergence of Eurodollars in the 1950s and the failed attempts to impose multilateral controls on Eurocurrency markets in the 1970s

Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi

We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson. Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B- --> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Juvenile obesity and its association with utilisation and costs of pharmaceuticals - results from the KiGGS study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>According to a national reference, 15% of German children and adolescents are overweight (including obese) and 6.3% are obese. An earlier study analysed the impact of childhood overweight and obesity on different components of direct medical costs (physician, hospital and therapists). To complement the existing literature for Germany, this study aims to explore the association of body mass index (BMI) with utilisation of pharmaceuticals and related costs in German children and adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Based on data from 14, 836 respondents aged 3-17 years in the German Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), drug intake and associated costs were estimated using a bottom-up approach. To investigate the association of BMI with utilisation and costs, univariate analyses and multivariate generalised mixed models were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no significant difference between BMI groups regarding the probability of drug utilisation. However, the number of pharmaceuticals used was significantly higher (14%) for obese children than for normal weight children. Furthermore, there was a trend for more physician-prescribed medication in obese children and adolescents. Among children with pharmaceutical intake, estimated costs were 24% higher for obese children compared with the normal weight group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study to estimate excess drug costs for obesity based on a representative cross-sectional sample of the child and adolescent population in Germany. The results suggest that obese children should be classified as a priority group for prevention. This study complements the existing literature and provides important information concerning the relevance of childhood obesity as a health problem.</p

Passive Immunization Reduces Behavioral and Neuropathological Deficits in an Alpha-Synuclein Transgenic Model of Lewy Body Disease

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are common causes of motor and cognitive deficits and are associated with the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn). This study investigated whether passive immunization with a novel monoclonal α-syn antibody (9E4) against the C-terminus (CT) of α-syn was able to cross into the CNS and ameliorate the deficits associated with α-syn accumulation. In this study we demonstrate that 9E4 was effective at reducing behavioral deficits in the water maze, moreover, immunization with 9E4 reduced the accumulation of calpain-cleaved α-syn in axons and synapses and the associated neurodegenerative deficits. In vivo studies demonstrated that 9E4 traffics into the CNS, binds to cells that display α-syn accumulation and promotes α-syn clearance via the lysosomal pathway. These results suggest that passive immunization with monoclonal antibodies against the CT of α-syn may be of therapeutic relevance in patients with PD and DLB

The Yeast La Related Protein Slf1p Is a Key Activator of Translation during the Oxidative Stress Response

The mechanisms by which RNA-binding proteins control the translation of subsets of mRNAs are not yet clear. Slf1p and Sro9p are atypical-La motif containing proteins which are members of a superfamily of RNA-binding proteins conserved in eukaryotes. RIP-Seq analysis of these two yeast proteins identified overlapping and distinct sets of mRNA targets, including highly translated mRNAs such as those encoding ribosomal proteins. In paralell, transcriptome analysis of slf1Δ and sro9Δ mutant strains indicated altered gene expression in similar functional classes of mRNAs following loss of each factor. The loss of SLF1 had a greater impact on the transcriptome, and in particular, revealed changes in genes involved in the oxidative stress response. slf1Δ cells are more sensitive to oxidants and RIP-Seq analysis of oxidatively stressed cells enriched Slf1p targets encoding antioxidants and other proteins required for oxidant tolerance. To quantify these effects at the protein level, we used label-free mass spectrometry to compare the proteomes of wild-type and slf1Δ strains following oxidative stress. This analysis identified several proteins which are normally induced in response to hydrogen peroxide, but where this increase is attenuated in the slf1Δ mutant. Importantly, a significant number of the mRNAs encoding these targets were also identified as Slf1p-mRNA targets. We show that Slf1p remains associated with the few translating ribosomes following hydrogen peroxide stress and that Slf1p co-immunoprecipitates ribosomes and members of the eIF4E/eIF4G/Pab1p ‘closed loop’ complex suggesting that Slf1p interacts with actively translated mRNAs following stress. Finally, mutational analysis of SLF1 revealed a novel ribosome interacting domain in Slf1p, independent of its RNA binding La-motif. Together, our results indicate that Slf1p mediates a translational response to oxidative stress via mRNA-specific translational control

Circulating sex hormones in relation to anthropometric, sociodemographic and behavioural factors in an international dataset of 12,300 men

Introduction Sex hormones have been implicated in the etiology of a number of diseases. To better understand disease etiology and the mechanisms of disease-risk factor associations, this analysis aimed to investigate the associations of anthropometric, sociodemographic and behavioural factors with a range of circulating sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin. Methods Statistical analyses of individual participant data from 12,330 male controls aged 25-85 years from 25 studies involved in the Endogenous Hormones Nutritional Biomarkers and Prostate Cancer Collaborative Group. Analysis of variance was used to estimate geometric means adjusted for study and relevant covariates. Results Older age was associated with higher concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin and dihydrotestosterone and lower concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, free testosterone, androstenedione, androstanediol glucuronide and free estradiol. Higher body mass index was associated with higher concentrations of free estradiol, androstanediol glucuronide, estradiol and estrone and lower concentrations of dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, free testosterone, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. Taller height was associated with lower concentrations of androstenedione, testosterone, free testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin and higher concentrations of androstanediol glucuronide. Current smoking was associated with higher concentrations of androstenedione, sex hormone-binding globulin and testosterone. Alcohol consumption was associated with higher concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione and androstanediol glucuronide. East Asians had lower concentrations of androstanediol glucuronide and African Americans had higher concentrations of estrogens. Education and marital status were modestly associated with a small number of hormones. Conclusion Circulating sex hormones in men are strongly associated with age and body mass index, and to a lesser extent with smoking status and alcohol consumption.Peer reviewe

Cardiac contractile dysfunction in insulin-resistant rats fed a high-fat diet is associated with elevated CD36-mediated fatty acid uptake and esterification

Changes in cardiac substrate utilisation leading to altered energy metabolism may underlie the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We studied cardiomyocyte substrate uptake and utilisation and the role of the fatty acid translocase CD36 in relation to in vivo cardiac function in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD).Rats were exposed to an HFD or a low-fat diet (LFD). In vivo cardiac function was monitored by echocardiography. Substrate uptake and utilisation were determined in isolated cardiomyocytes.Feeding an HFD for 8 weeks induced left ventricular dilation in the systolic phase and decreased fractional shortening and the ejection fraction. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and proline-rich Akt substrate 40 phosphorylation were 41% (p <0.001) and 45% (p <0.05) lower, respectively, in cardiomyocytes from rats on the HFD. However, long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) uptake was 1.4-fold increased (p <0.001) and LCFA esterification into triacylglycerols and phospholipids was increased 1.4- and 1.5-fold, respectively (both p <0.05), in cardiomyocytes from HFD compared with LFD hearts. In the presence of the CD36 inhibitor sulfo-N-succinimidyloleate, LCFA uptake and esterification were similar in LFD and HFD cardiomyocytes. In HFD hearts CD36 was relocated to the sarcolemma, and basal phosphorylation of a mediator of CD36-trafficking, i.e. protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), was increased.Feeding rats an HFD induced cardiac contractile dysfunction, which was accompanied by the relocation of CD36 to the sarcolemma, and elevated basal levels of phosphorylated PKB/Akt. The permanent presence of CD36 at the sarcolemma resulted in enhanced rates of LCFA uptake and myocardial triacylglycerol accumulation, and may contribute to the development of insulin resistance and diabetic cardiomyopathy

Grasping isoluminant stimuli

We used a virtual reality setup to let participants grasp discs, which differed in luminance, chromaticity and size. Current theories on perception and action propose a division of labor in the brain into a color proficient perception pathway and a less color-capable action pathway. In this study, we addressed the question whether isoluminant stimuli, which provide only a chromatic but no luminance contrast for action planning, are harder to grasp than stimuli providing luminance contrast or both kinds of contrast. Although we found that grasps of isoluminant stimuli had a slightly steeper slope relating the maximum grip aperture to disc size, all other measures of grip quality were unaffected. Overall, our results do not support the view that isoluminance of stimulus and background impedes the planning of a grasping movement