Reverse causality in global current accounts

The paper discusses global imbalances under the aspect of an asymmetric world monetary system. It identifies the US and Germany as center countries with rising / high current account deficits (US) and surpluses (Germany). These are matched by current account surpluses of countries stabilizing their exchange rates against the dollar (dollar periphery) and current account deficits of countries stabilizing their exchange rate against the euro (euro periphery). Meanwhile, the aggregate current account balance of the euro area has been by and large balanced. The paper finds that changes of world current account positions are affected by the macroeconomic policy decisions both in the centers and peripheries, albeit the centers – due to structural characteristics related to size – are argued to have a higher degree of freedom in macroeconomic policy making. In specific, expansionary monetary policy in the US as well as exchange rate stabilization and sterilization policies in the dollar periphery are found to have contributed to global current account imbalances. Given that the sample period for the analysis extends from 1981-2008, the results for Germany mostly capture the situation before the euro was created. JEL Classification: F31, F32Asymmetric World Monetary System, global imbalances, Granger Causality Tests, International Currency, Sterilization, Twin Deficit, Twin Surplus

An asymmetry matrix in global current accounts

The paper discusses global imbalances under the aspect of an asymmetric world monetary system. It identifies the US and euro area (Germany) as center countries with rising current account deficits (US) and surpluses (Germany) which are matched by respective current account surpluses of coun-tries stabilizing their exchange rates against the dollar (dollar periphery) and rising current account deficits of the countries stabilizing their exchange rate against the euro (euro periphery). The paper finds that the changes of the world current account positions are driven by the macroeconomic pol-icy decisions in the centers. In particular, expansionary monetary and fiscal policies in the US are argued to have triggered rising current account surpluses of the dollar periphery countries, as mone-tary and fiscal sterilization policies in the periphery contribute to rising saving surpluses. --Global Imbalances,Asymmetric World Monetary System,Twin Deficit,Twin Surplus,International Currency

Point cloud hand-object segmentation using multimodal imaging with thermal and color data for safe robotic object handover

This paper presents an application of neural networks operating on multimodal 3D data (3D point cloud, RGB, thermal) to effectively and precisely segment human hands and objects held in hand to realize a safe human–robot object handover. We discuss the problems encountered in building a multimodal sensor system, while the focus is on the calibration and alignment of a set of cameras including RGB, thermal, and NIR cameras. We propose the use of a copper–plastic chessboard calibration target with an internal active light source (near-infrared and visible light). By brief heating, the calibration target could be simultaneously and legibly captured by all cameras. Based on the multimodal dataset captured by our sensor system, PointNet, PointNet++, and RandLA-Net are utilized to verify the effectiveness of applying multimodal point cloud data for hand–object segmentation. These networks were trained on various data modes (XYZ, XYZ-T, XYZ-RGB, and XYZ-RGB-T). The experimental results show a significant improvement in the segmentation performance of XYZ-RGB-T (mean Intersection over Union: 82.8% by RandLA-Net) compared with the other three modes (77.3% by XYZ-RGB, 35.7% by XYZ-T, 35.7% by XYZ), in which it is worth mentioning that the Intersection over Union for the single class of hand achieves 92.6%

Die Wärmepumpe : Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Wärmewende

[no abstract available

Whole body plastination, intra-organ heterogeneity, and tissue based diagnosis – a survey

 Background: The corpse is the final structural relict of life. Its detailed analysis, the autopsy formed the basis and contributed significantly to our understanding of location, function and interaction of organs in man. Today, autopsies are performed rarely. They have been replaced by radiological in vivo visualization techniques and the analysis of organ excisions and biopsies. Which attributes do whole body preservations possess in this context? Techniques of Whole Body Analysis: In vivo imaging transfers the appearance of body organs and cellular structures in virtual images. The patient’s exposure to X-rays, fundamental particles (electrons, positrons, etc.), strong magnetic fields (nuclear resonance), or ultra sounds release the corresponding signals. The obtained images are interpreted in search for local abnormalities such as cancer, acute and chronic infections, inborn errors, hypertrophy or atrophy. Autopsies require the removal and visual inspection of organs shortly after the victim’s death. In addition, tissue probes of suspicious lesions are fixed and microscopically analyzed. The search for gene or protein abnormalities are added dependent upon the clinical history and gross findings. The whole body plastination is performed in separated steps which include fixation, anatomical dissection, forced polymer impregnation, positioning and curing. Organs and other tissue structures can be taken out of the body and separately demonstrated, or aligned and fixed within the body. Additional tissue examinations are possible at this stage, which is followed by hardening and fixation of the still flexible body. Fixation is done with heat, light or gas.   Results and Interpretation: Tissue conservation is a prerequisite to analyze and investigate in diagnosis and forecast of disease occurrence and behaviour. In history, autopsies have opened the door to localize the position and to understand the functions of organs. Today, they have been replaced by tissue banking and in vivo examinations in a wide range, especially when local lesions of organs are under investigation. Analysis of blood and serum is the main technique to search for organ dysfunction. Whole body plastination is an appropriate technique to investigate and demonstrate healthy appearance of organs, intra-organ heterogeneity, connection to and communication with neighbouring or distant organs as well as localization and distribution of organ lesions, and the associated functional impact. Perspectives: Modern societies try to inform their citizens by numerous investigations of the public health status and to improve the health condition as well as to minimize the development of behaviour associated diseases such as smoking and lung cancer, or overweight and infarction. Well performed body conservation supports these efforts. In addition, it can be considered an innovative technique to understand, diagnose, and even treat dysfunction of intra-body communication at the physical and even mental level.    

Inhibitory framing in hypersexual patients with Parkinson's disease. An fMRI pilot study

Hypersexuality in medicated patients with PD is caused by an increased influence of motivational drive areas and a decreased influence of inhibitory control areas due to dopaminergic medication. In this pilot study, we test a newly developed paradigm investigating the influence of dopaminergic medication on brain activation elicited by sexual pictures with and without inhibitory contextual framing. Twenty PD patients with and without hypersexuality were examined with fMRI either OFF or ON standardized dopaminergic medication. The paradigm consisted of a priming phase where either a neutral context or an inhibitory context was presented. This priming phase was either followed by a sexual or a neutral target. Sexual, compared to neutral pictures resulted in a BOLD activation of various brain regions implicated in sexual processing. Hypersexual PD patients showed increased activity compared to PD controls in these regions. There was no relevant effect of medication between the two groups. The inhibitory context elicited less activation in inhibition-related areas in hypersexual PD, but had no influence on the perception of sexual cues. The paradigm partially worked: reactivity of motivational brain areas to sexual cues was increased in hypersexual PD and inhibitory contextual framing lead to decreased activation of inhibitory control areas in PD. We could not find a medication effect and the length of the inhibitory stimulus was not optimal to suppress reactivity to sexual cues. Our data provide new insights into the mechanisms of hypersexuality and warrant a replication with a greater cohort and an optimized stimulus length in the future

Growth factor release by vesicular phospholipid gels: in-vitro results and application for rotator cuff repair in a rat model

Background: Biological augmentation of rotator cuff repair is of growing interest to improve biomechanical properties and prevent re-tearing. But intraoperative single shot growth factor application appears not sufficient to provide healing support in the physiologic growth factor expression peaks. The purpose of this study was to establish a sustained release of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) from injectable vesicular phospholipid gels (VPGs) in vitro and to examine biocompatibility and influence on histology and biomechanical behavior of G-CSF loaded VPGs in a chronic supraspinatus tear rat model. Methods: G-CSF loaded VPGs were produced by dual asymmetric centrifugation. In vitro the integrity, stability and release rate were analyzed. In vivo supraspinatus tendons of 60 rats were detached and after 3 weeks a transosseous refixation with G-CSF loaded VPGs augmentation (n = 15;control, placebo, 1 and 10 mu g G-CSF/d) was performed. 6 weeks postoperatively the healing site was analyzed histologically (n = 9;H&E by modified MOVIN score/Collagen I/III) and biomechanically (n = 6). Results: In vitro testing revealed stable proteins after centrifugation and a continuous G-CSF release of up to 4 weeks. Placebo VPGs showed histologically no negative side effects on the healing process. Histologically in vivo testing demonstrated significant advantages for G-CSF 1 mu g/d but not for G-CSF 10 mu g/d in Collagen III content (p = 0.035) and a higher Collagen I/III ratio compared to the other groups. Biomechanically G-CSF 1 mu g/d revealed a significant higher load to failure ratio (p = 0.020) compared to control but no significant differences in stiffness. Conclusions: By use of VPGs a continuous growth factor release could be obtained in vitro. The in vivo results demonstrate an improvement of immunohistology and biomechanical properties with a low dose G-CSF application via VPG. The VPG itself was well tolerated and had no negative influence on the healing behavior. Due to the favorable properties (highly adhesive, injectable, biocompatible) VPGs are a very interesting option for biologic augmentation. The study may serve as basis for further research in growth factor application models

Growth factor release by vesicular phospholipid gels: in-vitro results and application for rotator cuff repair in a rat model

Background: Biological augmentation of rotator cuff repair is of growing interest to improve biomechanical properties and prevent re-tearing. But intraoperative single shot growth factor application appears not sufficient to provide healing support in the physiologic growth factor expression peaks. The purpose of this study was to establish a sustained release of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) from injectable vesicular phospholipid gels (VPGs) in vitro and to examine biocompatibility and influence on histology and biomechanical behavior of G-CSF loaded VPGs in a chronic supraspinatus tear rat model. Methods: G-CSF loaded VPGs were produced by dual asymmetric centrifugation. In vitro the integrity, stability and release rate were analyzed. In vivo supraspinatus tendons of 60 rats were detached and after 3 weeks a transosseous refixation with G-CSF loaded VPGs augmentation (n = 15;control, placebo, 1 and 10 mu g G-CSF/d) was performed. 6 weeks postoperatively the healing site was analyzed histologically (n = 9;H&E by modified MOVIN score/Collagen I/III) and biomechanically (n = 6). Results: In vitro testing revealed stable proteins after centrifugation and a continuous G-CSF release of up to 4 weeks. Placebo VPGs showed histologically no negative side effects on the healing process. Histologically in vivo testing demonstrated significant advantages for G-CSF 1 mu g/d but not for G-CSF 10 mu g/d in Collagen III content (p = 0.035) and a higher Collagen I/III ratio compared to the other groups. Biomechanically G-CSF 1 mu g/d revealed a significant higher load to failure ratio (p = 0.020) compared to control but no significant differences in stiffness. Conclusions: By use of VPGs a continuous growth factor release could be obtained in vitro. The in vivo results demonstrate an improvement of immunohistology and biomechanical properties with a low dose G-CSF application via VPG. The VPG itself was well tolerated and had no negative influence on the healing behavior. Due to the favorable properties (highly adhesive, injectable, biocompatible) VPGs are a very interesting option for biologic augmentation. The study may serve as basis for further research in growth factor application models