Macroeconomic Imbalances in the World Economy

This paper explores the emergence of large current account imbalances in a few large countries, the factors behind the emergence, the role of those imbalances in the financial crisis of 2008-09, and the implications of achieving global balance. Imbalances reflect a country’s net savings and suggest that growth in GDP of a surplus country is partly dependent upon growth in external demand of deficit countries. Although a country can incur a surplus or deficit for ever, we suggest that the increasing surpluses of relatively large and rapidly growing countries is likely to be destabilizing to global growth in the long-run. The adjustment will likely require a surplus country, such as China, to rely more on domestic demand for growth while a deficit country, such as the U.S., may need to rely more on external demand for growth. We suggest the Eurozone imbalances are not directly linked to U.S. imbalances. There are a variety of potential causes of global imbalances including excess savings in surplus countries, the twin deficit hypothesis, the export-led growth hypothesis, and the possible miss-measurement of the U.S. current account due to repatriation of profits from U.S. owned foreign affiliates. However, whatever the combination of causes of the growing imbalances, adjustments need to be made to return to long-terms sustainable growth.International Relations/Trade,

Intravascular absorption syndrome : case report of a life-threatening complication during hysteroscopy

A 40-year old, healthy woman underwent hysteroscopic endometrial ablation with a bipolar electrocautery using 0.9% saline as distension fluid. After 45 minutes of surgery, arterial oxygen saturation decreased and liquid was obstructing the laryngeal mask. With an estimated total fluid deficit of 5000 mL, fluid overload was suspected and the patient's trachea was intubated. Furosemide was given intravenously and a urinary catheter was inserted. The intra-abdominal pressure, measured through the urinary catheter, was 28 mmHg. As ventilation became unfeasible, the patient became cyanotic and no clear pulse could be detected, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started. In order to decrease the abdominal pressure, a laparotomy was performed and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was started to increase the arterial oxygenation. After one week in the Intensive Care Unit, the patient was extubated and gradually recovered without further complications nor residual morbidity. The pathophysiological aspects of the evolution to severe pulmonary edema due to massive fluid translocation during operative hysteroscopy, and the rationale behind the successful interventions are being discussed. Close continuous monitoring of the amount of fluid deficit should be performed to avoid severe fluid overload during operative hysteroscopy. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be life-saving to bridge the period of desaturation until standard treatment suffices to provide adequate oxygenation

Bacterial Infection and Immune Responses in Lutzomyia longipalpis Sand Fly Larvae Midgut

Citation: Heerman, M., Weng, J. L., Hurwitz, I., Durvasula, R., & Ramalho-Ortigao, M. (2015). Bacterial Infection and Immune Responses in Lutzomyia longipalpis Sand Fly Larvae Midgut. Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases, 9(7), 18. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003923The midgut microbial community in insect vectors of disease is crucial for an effective immune response against infection with various human and animal pathogens. Depending on the aspects of their development, insects can acquire microbes present in soil, water, and plants. Sand flies are major vectors of leishmaniasis, and shown to harbor a wide variety of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Sand fly larval stages acquire microorganisms from the soil, and the abundance and distribution of these microorganisms may vary depending on the sand fly species or the breeding site. Here, we assess the distribution of two bacteria commonly found within the gut of sand flies, Pantoea agglomerans and Bacillus subtilis. We demonstrate that these bacteria are able to differentially infect the larval digestive tract, and regulate the immune response in sand fly larvae. Moreover, bacterial distribution, and likely the ability to colonize the gut, is driven, at least in part, by a gradient of pH present in the gut

Nuclear DDX3 expression predicts poor outcome in colorectal and breast cancer

Purpose: DEAD box protein 3 (DDX3) is an RNA helicase with oncogenic properties that shuttles between the cytoplasm and nucleus. The majority of DDX3 is found in the cytoplasm, but a subset of tumors has distinct nuclear DDX3 localization of yet unknown biological significance. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of and mechanisms behind nuclear DDX3 expression in colorectal and breast cancer. Methods: Expression of nuclear DDX3 and the nuclear exporter chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 304 colorectal and 292 breast cancer patient samples. Correlations between the subcellular localization of DDX3 and CRM1 and the difference in overall survival between patients with and without nuclear DDX3 were studied. In addition, DDX3 mutants were created for in vitro evaluation of the mechanism behind nuclear retention of DDX3. Results: DDX3 was present in the nucleus of 35% of colorectal and 48% of breast cancer patient samples and was particularly strong in the nucleolus. Nuclear DDX3 correlated with worse overall survival in both colorectal (hazard ratio [HR] 2.34, P<0.001) and breast cancer (HR 2.39, P=0.004) patients. Colorectal cancers with nuclear DDX3 expression more often had cytoplasmic expression of the nuclear exporter CRM1 (relative risk 1.67, P=0.04). In vitro analysis of DDX3 deletion mutants demonstrated that CRM1-mediated export was most dependent on the N-terminal nuclear export signal. Conclusion: Overall, we conclude that nuclear DDX3 is partially CRM1-mediated and predicts worse survival in colorectal and breast cancer patients, putting it forward as a target for therapeutic intervention with DDX3 inhibitors under development in these cancer types

The use of an e-learning constructivist solution in workplace learning

We wished to investigate whether an e-learning approach which uses constructivist principles can be successfully applied to train employees in a highly specialised skill thought to require expert individuals and extensive prolonged training. The approach involved the development of an e-learning package which included simulations and interactivity, then experimental testing in a case study workplace environment with the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the effectiveness of the package. Our study shows that this e-learning strategy improved the skills of the inexperienced operator significantly. We therefore propose that such programmes could be used as a work based training aid and used as a model system for the training of employees in complex skilled tasks in the workplace. This research demonstrates that the e-learning can be applied outside the traditional learning environment to train unskilled employees to undertake complex practical tasks which traditionally would involve prohibitively expensive instruction. This work also illustrates that simulations and interactivity are powerful tools in the design of successful e-learning packages in preparing learners for real world practical situations. Finally this study shows that workplace learners can be better served by elearning environments rather than conventional training as they allow asynchronous learning and private study which are valued by employees who have other demands on their time and are more comfortable receiving tuition privately Relevance to industry: E-learning using constructivist principles, and incorporating simulations and interactivity can be used successfully in the training of highly specialised and skilled tasks required in the modern workplace

Dynamically Triangulated Ising Spins in Flat Space

A model describing Ising spins with short range interactions moving randomly in a plane is considered. In the presence of a hard core repulsion, which prevents the Ising spins from overlapping, the model is analogous to a dynamically triangulated Ising model with spins constrained to move on a flat surface. It is found that as a function of coupling strength and hard core repulsion the model exhibits multicritical behavior, with first and second order transition lines terminating at a tricritical point. The thermal and magnetic exponents computed at the tricritical point are consistent with the exact two-matrix model solution of the random Ising model, introduced previously to describe the effects of fluctuating geometries.Comment: (10 pages + 4 figures), CERN-Th-7577/9

Yoga in the Modern World: The Search for the Authentic Practice

Western yoga practitioners and academics alike have become preoccupied in recent years with the thought of modernized, Western yoga practice existing in contrast to the transcendental, “classical” yoga of the East. This has led to the assumption that somewhere beneath all the diversity and transformation of contemporary yoga there exists (presumably in India) a monolithic core of yoga philosophy and practice. But is this dichotomy accurate? Did such an untainted tradition ever exist? If so, what did it look like, and what does it look like today? With this paper, I seek to challenge the commonly held perception that yoga in modern America is a tainted tradition, sorely distilled and dissected in relation to its Eastern counterpart. Rather, I argue that the stereotypical East versus West, spiritual versus material dichotomies related to yoga practice are a figment of popular imagination. Yoga in America is not simply a cultural product of India that underwent a linear transformation after its introduction into Western culture. Rather, it exemplifies the theory of “cultural hybridity,” undergoing perpetual and interconnected transformation in India and in the West concurrently

Reading Gains of Students in a College Reading Laboratory

In this study, non-content related reading instruction was provided in a laboratory setting through a semester-long course which met for three hours per week. Students receive grade points for the course, but the course does not count for graduation credit

Avalanches in Breakdown and Fracture Processes

We investigate the breakdown of disordered networks under the action of an increasing external---mechanical or electrical---force. We perform a mean-field analysis and estimate scaling exponents for the approach to the instability. By simulating two-dimensional models of electric breakdown and fracture we observe that the breakdown is preceded by avalanche events. The avalanches can be described by scaling laws, and the estimated values of the exponents are consistent with those found in mean-field theory. The breakdown point is characterized by a discontinuity in the macroscopic properties of the material, such as conductivity or elasticity, indicative of a first order transition. The scaling laws suggest an analogy with the behavior expected in spinodal nucleation.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. E, corrected typo in authors name, no changes to the pape

Some suggestions for the teacher\u27s use of cloze

The reading specialist is the appropriate person for administering and interpreting cloze tests and results