Teaching Aggregate Demand and Supply Models

This note analyses the inflation-targeting model that underlies recent textbook expositions of the Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply approach used in introductory courses in macroeconomics. The paper shows how numerical simulations of a model with inflation inertia can be used as a tool to help students understand adjustments in response to demand and supply shocks of various kinds.economic modeling, econometrics, teaching methods, instructional materials

Convection, turbulent mixing and salt fingers

In this thesis I address several topics concerning the interaction of convection and density stratification in oceans and lakes. I present experimental and theoretical investigations of the interaction between a localized buoyancy source and a heat flux through a horizontal boundary, and of the interactions between salt fingers and intermittent turbulence or shear. ¶ An extensive series of laboratory experiments were used to quantify the stratification and circulation that result from the combined presence of a localized buoyancy source and a heat flux through a horizontal boundary. Previous studies found that convection in the form of a turbulent buoyant plume tends to produce a stable density stratification, whereas the distributed flux from a horizontal boundary tends to force vigorous overturning and to produce well-mixed layers. A new result of this thesis is that a steady density profile, consisting of a mixed layer and a stratified layer, can exist when the plume buoyancy flux is greater than the distributed flux. ..

Mangrove vegetation in northern Australia

Mangrove vegetation was surveyed along 4,525 km of tidal waterways throughout the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the coastline of the Northern Territory. Lists of mangrove species (trees/shrubs) for 110 tidal waterways and ecological information and distributions of the various species are presented

Clinical stakeholders' opinions on the use of selective decontamination of the digestive tract in critically ill patients in intensive care units : an international Delphi study

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Critical Reflectance Derived from MODIS: Application for the Retrieval of Aerosol Absorption over Desert Regions

Aerosols are tiny suspended particles in the atmosphere that scatter and absorb sunlight. Smoke particles are aerosols, as are sea salt, particulate pollution and airborne dust. When you look down at the earth from space sometimes you can see vast palls of whitish smoke or brownish dust being transported by winds. The reason that you can see these aerosols is because they are reflecting incoming sunlight back to the view in space. The reason for the difference in color between the different types of aerosol is that the particles arc also absorbing sunlight at different wavelengths. Dust appears brownish or reddish because it absorbs light in the blue wavelengths and scatters more reddish light to space, Knowing how much light is scattered versus how much is absorbed, and knowin~ that as a function of wavelength is essential to being able to quantify the role aerosols play in the energy balance of the earth and in climate change. It is not easy measuring the absorption properties of aerosols when they are suspended in the atmosphere. People have been doing this one substance at a time in the laboratory, but substances mix when they are in the atmosphere and the net absorption effect of all the particles in a column of air is a goal of remote sensing that has not yet been completely successful. In this paper we use a technique based on observing the point at which aerosols change from brightening the surface beneath to darkening it. If aerosols brighten a surface. they must scatter more light to space. If they darken the surface. they must be absorbing more. That cross over point is called the critical reflectance and in this paper we show that critical reflectance is a monotonic function of the intrinsic absorption properties of the particles. This parameter we call the single scattering albedo. We apply the technique to MODIS imagery over the Sahara and Sahel regions to retrieve the single scattering albedo in seven wavelengths, compare these retrievals to ground-based retrievals from AERONET instruments and compute error bars on each retrieval. The results show that we can retrieve single scattering albedo for pure dust to within +/-0.02 and mixtures of dust and smoke to within +/-0.03. No other space based instrument has achieved a retrieval of single scattering albedo that spans the spectrum from 0.47 microns to 2.13 microns and produces regional maps of aerosol absorption showing gradients and changes. Applied in a more operational fashion, such information will narrow uncertainties in estimating aerosol forcing on climate

RNA exosome mutations in pontocerebellar hypoplasia alter ribosome biogenesis and p53 levels.

The RNA exosome is a ubiquitously expressed complex of nine core proteins (EXOSC1-9) and associated nucleases responsible for RNA processing and degradation. Mutations in EXOSC3, EXOSC8, EXOSC9, and the exosome cofactor RBM7 cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia and motor neuronopathy. We investigated the consequences of exosome mutations on RNA metabolism and cellular survival in zebrafish and human cell models. We observed that levels of mRNAs encoding p53 and ribosome biogenesis factors are increased in zebrafish lines with homozygous mutations of exosc8 or exosc9, respectively. Consistent with higher p53 levels, mutant zebrafish have a reduced head size, smaller brain, and cerebellum caused by an increased number of apoptotic cells during development. Down-regulation of EXOSC8 and EXOSC9 in human cells leads to p53 protein stabilisation and G2/M cell cycle arrest. Increased p53 transcript levels were also observed in muscle samples from patients with EXOSC9 mutations. Our work provides explanation for the pathogenesis of exosome-related disorders and highlights the link between exosome function, ribosome biogenesis, and p53-dependent signalling. We suggest that exosome-related disorders could be classified as ribosomopathies

The development of theory-informed participant-centred interventions to maximise participant retention in randomised controlled trials

Acknowledgements We would like to thank all of the participants who volunteered their time to contribute to this study. We would also like to thank all of the teams linked to the host trials we worked with to help identify potential participants. Funding This research is funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Department [HIPS/16/46]. KG held a Medical Research Council UK Methodology Fellowship during the delivery of this project [MR/L01193X/1]. The publication was supported through a Health Research Board Trials Methodology Research Network award. MDW acknowledges support from the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre. MW acknowledges support from the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The Health Services Research Unit, Institute of Applied Health Sciences (University of Aberdeen), is core-funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates. The funders had no involvement in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, reporting or the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Risk to heroin users of poly-drug use of pregabalin or gabapentin

The fluorescent Ca2+ sensitive dyes Fura Red (ratiometric) and Fluo-4 (non-ratiometric) are widely utilized for the optical assessment of Ca2+ fluctuations in vitro as well as in situ. The fluorescent behavior of these dyes is strongly depends on temperature, pH, ionic strength and pressure. It is crucial to understand the response of these dyes to pressure when applying calcium imaging technologies in the field of high pressure bioscience. Therefore, we use an optically accessible pressure vessel to pressurize physiological Ca2+-buffered solutions at different fixed concentrations of free Ca2+ (1 nM to 25.6 μM) and a specified dye concentration (12 μM) to pressures of 200 MPa, and record dye fluorescence intensity. Our results show that Fluo-4 fluorescence intensity is reduced by 31% per 100 MPa, the intensity of Fura Red is reduced by 10% per 100 MPa. The mean reaction volume for the dissociation of calcium from the dye molecules [Formula: see text] is determined to -17.8 ml mol-1 for Fluo-4 and -21.3 ml mol-1 for Fura Red. Additionally, a model is presented that is used to correct for pressure-dependent changes in pH and binding affinity of Ca2+ to EGTA, as well as to determine the influence of these changes on dye fluorescence

Risk to heroin users of poly-drug use of pregabalin or gabapentin

AIM: To examine the risk to heroin users of also using gabapentin or pregabalin (gabapentoids). DESIGN: Multi-disciplinary study: we (a) examined trends in drug-related deaths and gabapentoid prescription data in England and Wales to test for evidence that any increase in deaths mentioning gabapentin or pregabalin is associated with trends in gabapentoid prescribing and is concomitant with opioid use; (b) interviewed people with a history of heroin use about their polydrug use involving gabapentin and pregabalin; and (c) studied the respiratory depressant effects of pregabalin in the absence and presence of morphine in mice to determine whether concomitant exposure increased the degree of respiratory depression observed. SETTING: England and Wales. Interviews were conducted with 30 participants (19 males, 11 female). MEASUREMENTS: (a) Office of National Statistics drug-related deaths from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2015 that mention both an opioid and pregabalin or gabapentin; (b) subjective views on the availability, use, interactions and effects of polydrug use involving pregabalin and gabapentin; and (c) rate and depth of respiration. RESULTS: Pregabalin and gabapentin prescriptions increased approximately 24% per year from 1 million in 2004 to 10.5 million in 2015. The number of deaths involving gabapentoids increased from fewer than one per year prior to 2009 to 137 in 2015; 79% of these deaths also involved opioids. The increase in deaths was correlated highly with the increase in prescribing (correlation coefficient 0.94; 5% increase in deaths per 100 000 increase in prescriptions). Heroin users described pregabalin as easy to obtain. They suggested that the combination of heroin and pregabalin reinforced the effects of heroin but were concerned it induced 'blackouts' and increased the risk of overdose. In mice, a low dose of S-pregabalin (20 mg/kg) that did not itself depress respiration reversed tolerance to morphine depression of respiration (resulting in 35% depression of respiration, P < 0.05), whereas a high dose of S-pregabalin (200 mg/kg) alone depressed respiration and this effect summated with that of morphine. CONCLUSIONS: For heroin users, the combination of opioids with gabapentin or pregabalin potentially increases the risk of acute overdose death through either reversal of tolerance or an additive effect of the drugs to depress respiration

On the link between ocean biota emissions, aerosol, and maritime clouds: Airborne, ground, and satellite measurements off the coast of California

Surface, airborne, and satellite measurements over the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of California during the period between 2005 and 2007 are used to explore the relationship between ocean chlorophyll a, aerosol, and marine clouds. Periods of enhanced chlorophyll a and wind speed are coincident with increases in particulate diethylamine and methanesulfonate concentrations. The measurements indicate that amines are a source of secondary organic aerosol in the marine atmosphere. Subsaturated aerosol hygroscopic growth measurements indicate that the organic component during periods of high chlorophyll a and wind speed exhibit considerable water uptake ability. Increased average cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) activity during periods of increased chlorophyll a levels likely results from both size distribution and aerosol composition changes. The available data over the period of measurements indicate that the cloud microphysical response, as represented by either cloud droplet number concentration or cloud droplet effective radius, is likely influenced by a combination of atmospheric dynamics and aerosol perturbations during periods of high chlorophyll a concentrations