ESTIMATION OF THE CYCLICAL COMPONENT OF ECONOMIC TIME SERIES

The objective of this paper is to show an alternative technique to smooth time series from Monte Carlo Simulations. The technique considers that time series can contain more than one structural break, coming from movements in coefficients of trend or from intercept. The Hodrick-Prescott Filter (HP) does not provide identification of such possible breaks in order to smooth trend from the series to analyze its cyclical component. If the series are relatively stable, this problem may not have relevant implications. Otherwise, for economies relatively unstable, trend movements may interfere in the specification of the cyclical component, and Hodrick-Prescott smoothing could lead empiricists to achieve simplistic forms to economic cycles. In the context, we present an empirical methodology that allows structural breaks in any point of time, from coefficients or from intercepts. We apply this recursive technique to different models with variations in trend, from coefficients and from intercepts, using series simulated by Monte Carlo. Moreover, we compare the results of both techniques to the Brazilian GDP.

Lactobacillus reuteri in the Management of Infantile Colic

Objective: To determine if Lactobacillus reuteri is an effective treatment for infantile colic by reviewing existing literature and performing a systematic analysis. Design: Systematic literature review. Methods: The PubMed database was searched using the terms “Lactobacillus reuteri” and “colic.” The yielded results were refined to only include human clinical trials published within the past 10 years. Results: Chau et al., Savino et al., and Szajewska et al. each found that the average crying times were significantly shorter for the L. reuteri group than they were for the probiotic group on days 7, 14, and 21. All three trials also found that the L. reuteri group had a significantly higher number of infants who had ≥ 50% reduction in their crying times by the end of the study. Conclusion: The studies included in this review consistently showed therapeutic benefit in administering L. reuteri to colicky breastfed infants. The subjects receiving L. reuteri had significant reductions in crying times when compared to those who received placebo. These findings support the use of L. reuteri in the management of infantile colic. However, these trials were slightly limited by their relatively small sample sizes and further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary in order to assess the strength of this conclusion

Human Cytomegalovirus Gene UL76 Induces IL-8 Expression through Activation of the DNA Damage Response

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a β-herpesvirus, has evolved many strategies to subvert both innate and adaptive host immunity in order to ensure its survival and propagation within the host. Induction of IL-8 is particularly important during HCMV infection as neutrophils, primarily attracted by IL-8, play a key role in virus dissemination. Moreover, IL-8 has a positive effect in the replication of HCMV. This work has identified an HCMV gene (UL76), with the relevant property of inducing IL-8 expression at both transcriptional and protein levels. Up-regulation of IL-8 by UL76 results from activation of the NF-kB pathway as inhibition of both IKK-β activity or degradation of Ikβα abolishes the IL-8 induction and, concomitantly, expression of UL76 is associated with the translocation of p65 to the nucleus where it binds to the IL-8 promoter. Furthermore, the UL76-mediated induction of IL-8 requires ATM and is correlated with the phosphorylation of NEMO on serine 85, indicating that UL76 activates NF-kB pathway by the DNA Damage response, similar to the impact of genotoxic drugs. More importantly, a UL76 deletion mutant virus was significantly less efficient in stimulating IL-8 production than the wild type virus. In addition, there was a significant reduction of IL-8 secretion when ATM -/- cells were infected with wild type HCMV, thus, indicating that ATM is also involved in the induction of IL-8 by HCMV. In conclusion, we demonstrate that expression of UL76 gene induces IL-8 expression as a result of the DNA damage response and that both UL76 and ATM have a role in the mechanism of IL-8 induction during HCMV infection. Hence, this work characterizes a new role of the activation of DNA Damage response in the context of host-pathogen interactions.FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BD/27677/2006)

A Matter of State: Diversity in Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cells.

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) give rise to oligodendrocytes which myelinate axons in the central nervous system. Although classically thought to be a homogeneous population, OPCs are reported to have different developmental origins and display regional and temporal diversity in their transcriptome, response to growth factors, and physiological properties. Similarly, evidence is accumulating that myelinating oligodendrocytes display transcriptional heterogeneity. Analyzing this reported heterogeneity suggests that OPCs, and perhaps also myelinating oligodendrocytes, may exist in different functional cell states. Here, we review the evidence indicating that OPCs and oligodendrocytes are diverse, and we discuss the implications of functional OPC states for myelination in the adult brain and for myelin repair

Communication: part 2 - delivering findings and advice to the patient

The outcome and consequences of results from examination tests need to be communicated in a way that can be easily understood by the patient, encouraging them to follow the advice that has been given by the practitioner. For a number of reasons, the delivery of findings and advice to the patient is a highly complex communicative activity. The content of information given can vary widely in length and seriousness. In addition, patients can vary in their capacity to understand information delivered and in their ability to cope with ‘bad news’. Finally, the ways in which findings and advice are communicated can have a significant impact on patient adherence and compliance with management recommendations

Communication: part 1 - soliciting information from the patient

Soliciting information from the patient is a key part of the consultation. Successful clinical outcomes are reliant on the practitioner asking questions to gather relevant information regarding, for instance, the patient’s history and symptoms and their responses to examination tests. This information needs to be gathered in a time efficient manner and in a way that encourages the patient to feel relaxed and fully engage with the eye examination. Practitioners often report that soliciting relevant information can be made difficult by over-talkative patients who take up valuable time giving lengthy, perhaps irrelevant, answers. Alternatively, patients may provide insufficient detail due to discomfort, anxiety or a lack of understanding. Finally, patients can at times appear overly concerned with providing the ‘correct’ answer to certain questions. This article describes some ways to optimise the complex process of soliciting information from the patient focusing on selection of question type, question wording and the role of eye contact. Examples given are based upon research analysis of video-recorded optometric consultations

Spatial and temporal reconstructions of surface and deepwater flow in the subtropical NW Atlantic at sharp climatic transitions

A suite of deep-marine sediment cores recovered from the Blake Outer Ridge (BOR) in the subtropical North West Atlantic (28-34 N, 75-71 W) provide material for centennial to millennial scale investigations of abyssal circulation and surface ocean conditions during selected intervals in the last 130 kyr. Particular focus is placed on reconstructing the position and strength of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) at a high temporal resolution. Palaeocurrent dynamics are reconstructed using the 'sortable silt' (10-63 urn terrigeneous fraction) mean grain size sedimentological proxy. Paired Mg/Ca and 8 () records from the planktonic foraminifera G. ruber (white) are used to reconstruct deglacial sea surface temperature (SSI) and salinity variations, while benthic 513C data from Cibicidoides spp. document the interchange of northern- and southern source deepwater (NSW/SSW) in the subtropical Atlantic. Comparison of Holocene sediments with modern physical hydrographic measurements reveals a DWBC high velocity core between 3,000-4,000 m water depth. A deep position for the DWBC core below 3,500 m was also observed during the peak of the last interglaciation, marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e. The benthic 5I3C during these interglacial intervals reveals little chemical stratification and a water column dominated by NSW. A shallow Labrador Sea Water (LSW)-sourced secondary fast flowing DWBC core is also apparent during the Holocene, however during MIS 5e palaeocurrent data at intermediate depths suggest a weaker and possibly shallower position for the LSW-sourced secondary DWBC limb. The last glacial maximum and Younger Dryas reconstructions show similar hydrographic regimes with nutrient-depleted, vigorously flowing NSW above 2,500 m consistent with intermediate water formation. Northern sourced intermediate water was first apparent in the records presented at 111 kyr BP and is suggested to have persisted throughout the last glacial. Benthic 5I3C data suggest the presence of a highly stratified water column with an increasing influence of SSW with depth. Coupled suborbital oscillations in DWBC flow variability and palaeo-hydrography persist throughout the records. There is evidence for a broad-scale divergence in flow speed changes in the deep subtropical North Atlantic, with the presence of a vigorous, but poorly ventilated SSW mass below 4,200 m water depth during cold episodes of the last deglaciation and LGM, when shallower palaeocurrent and geochemical data suggest that NSW was suppressed. This is consistent with the operation of a bipolar see-saw effect. This study suggests a hitherto unrecognised degree of linkage between oscillations in subtropical North Atlantic SST and DWBC flow. During the last deglaciation the SST record is dominated by the position/strength of the Gulf Stream, while the effects of tropical heat retention are restricted prior to Heinrich event 1. A combination of meridional overturning strength, meltwater inputs and hydrological changes control salinity variability

Oxidation of tertiary amine-derivatized surfaces to control protein adhesion

Selective oxidation of omega-tertiary amine self-assembled thiol monolayers to tertiary amine N-oxides is shown to transform the adhesion of model proteins lysozyme and fibrinogen upon them. Efficient preparation of both secondary and tertiary linker amides as judged by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water droplet contact angle was achieved with an improved amide bond formation on gold quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors using 2-(1H-7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl hexafluorophosphate methanaminium uronium (HATU). Oxidation with hydrogen peroxide was similarly assessed, and adhesion of lysozyme and fibrinogen from phosphate buffered saline was then assayed by QCM and imaged by AFM. Tertiary amine-functionalized sensors adsorbed multilayers of aggregated lysozyme, whereas tertiary amine N-oxides and triethylene glycol-terminated monolayers are consistent with small protein aggregates. The surface containing a dimethylamine N-oxide headgroup and ethyl secondary amide linker showed the largest difference in adsorption of both proteins. Oxidation of tertiary amine decorated surfaces therefore holds the potential for selective deposition of proteins and cells through masking and other patterning techniques

Global forms and local forces : PhD enrollments and graduations in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States

 This chapter presents and discusses data from five different nations—Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States—on doctoral candidates and graduates. These data are from governmental and institutional sources for the years 1998–2004, a sample that enables changes across a five-year span to be identified. They span important basic characteristics, such as gender, age, discipline, and study load (that is, full-time or part-time study). Therefore, readers can see national as well as international trends and differences in such characteristics and can match these to equivalent and/or contemporary data in their own nations. The five countries considered here are among those whose data were discussed at the 2007 CIRGE research synthesis meeting in Australia. Although these countries are not universally representative of doctoral education, their practices do offer a vivid sense of how vastly the enterprise of doctoral education differs in its scope and dimensions around the worl