Macroeconometric Modelling with a Global Perspective

This paper provides a synthesis and further development of a global modelling approach introduced in Pesaran, Schuermann and Weiner (2004), where country specific models in the form of VARX* structures are estimated relating a vector of domestic variables to their foreign counterparts and then consistently combined to form a Global VAR (GVAR). It is shown that VARX* models can be derived as the solution to a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model where over-identifying long-run theoretical relations can be tested and imposed if acceptable. Similarly, short-run over-identifying theoretical restrictions can be tested and imposed if accepted. The assumption of the weak exogeneity of the foreign variables for the long-run parameters can be tested, where foreign variables can be interpreted as proxies for global factors. Rather than using deviations from ad hoc statistical trends, the equilibrium values of the variables reflecting the long-run theory embodied in the model can be calculated

Transparent Vessels?: What Organ Donors Should Be Allowed to Know about Their Recipients

After a long search, Jonathan has finally found someone willing to donate a kidney to him and thereby free him from dialysis. Meredith is Jonathan's second cousin, and she considers herself a generous person, so although she barely knows Jonathan, she is willing to help. However, as Meredith learns more about the donation process, she begins to ask questions about Jonathan: “Is he HIV positive? I heard he got it using drugs. Has he been in jail? He's already had one live donor, so what happened to the first kidney? Did he forget to take his drugs or something?” The transplant center must, then, decide if Meredith is, in fact, entitled to answers to these kinds of questions. According to the Consensus Statement on the Live Organ Donor, “It is incumbent on the transplant center to provide full and accurate disclosure to potential donors of all pertinent information regarding risk and benefit to the donor and recipient.” But whether answers to the Meredith's questions count as “pertinent information regarding the risk and benefit” is the issue at hand.</jats:p

Thy-1 Antigen-Bearing Dendritic Cells Populate Murine Epidermis

Two distinct cell populations, melanocytes and Langerhans cells (LC), have been recognized previously to possess dendritic configuration in normal mammalian epidermis. Employing immunofluorescence microscopy with monoclonal antibodies against Thy-1.2 antigen to identify cells in whole mounts of murine epidermis, we have identified a third dendritic cell population which differs from both LC and melanocytes. Thy-1 antigen- bearing (Thy-1+) epidermal cells are primarily dendritic, although round and angular forms may be found. They are distributed relatively evenly across skin surfaces, although densities vary greatly from site to site and from strain to strain. Densities were highest in ear epidermis from the pigmented strain B10.A (580 cells/ mm2), a value approaching that of epidermal LC, and were lowest in ear epidermis from the albino strain BALB/c (5 cells/mm2). Thy-1+ epidermal cells possess neither Ia antigens nor substantial amounts of melanin, and their surface distributions are disparate from those of both LC and mature melanocytes. We propose that at least some of these cells are T lymphocytes whose malignant counterparts account for cutaneous T-cell lymphomas