Investment Prices and Exchange Rates: Some Basic Facts

This paper documents four basic facts about investment goods and investment prices. First, investment has a very significant nontradable component in the form of construction services. Second, distributions services (wholesaling, retailing, and transportation) are much less important for investment than for consumption. Third, the import content of investment is much larger than that of consumption. Finally, in the aftermath of three large devaluations, the rate of exchange rate pass-through is, perhaps not surprisingly, highest for imported equipment and lowest for construction services.

Distribution Costs and Real Exchange Rate Dynamics During Exchange-Rate-Based-Stabilizations

This paper studies the role played by the distribution sector in shaping the behavior of the real exchange rate during exchange-rate-based-stabilizations. We use data for the U.S. and Argentina to document the importance of distribution margins in retail prices and disaggregated price data to study price dynamics in the aftermath of Argentina's 1991 Convertibility plan. Distribution services require local labor and land so they drive a natural wedge between retail prices in different countries. We study in detail the impact of introducing a distribution sector in an otherwise standard model of exchange-rate-based-stabilizations. We show that this simple extension improves dramatically the ability of the model to rationalize observed real exchange rate dynamics.

Distribution Costs and Real Exchange Rate Dynamics During Exchange-Rate-Based Stabilizations

This paper studies the role played by the distribution sector in shaping the behavior of the real exchange rate during exchange-rate-based stabilizations. We use data for the U.S. and Argentina to document the importance of distribution margins in retail prices and disaggregated price data to study price dynamics in the aftermath of Argentina's 1991 Convertibility plan. Distribution services require local labor and land so they drive a natural wedge between retail prices in different countries. We study in detail the impact of introducing a distribution sector in an otherwise standard model of exchange-rate-based stabilizations. We show that this simple extension improves dramatically the ability of the model to rationalize observed real exchange rate dynamics.Real Exchange Rate, Distribution, Inflation, Stabilization, Fixed Exchange Rates

Lipocalin-2 is involved in emotional behaviors and cognitive function

Lipocalin-2 is involved in emotional behaviors and cognitive functionLipocalin-2 (LCN2), an iron-related protein well described to participate in the innate immune response, has been shown to modulate spine morphology and to regulate neuronal excitability. In accordance, LCN2-null mice are reported to have stress-induced anxiety. Here we show that, under standard housing conditions, LCN2-null mice display anxious and depressive-like behaviors, as well as cognitive impairment in spatial learning tasks. These behavioral alterations were associated with a hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and with an altered brain cytoarchitecture in the hippocampus. More specifically, we found that the granular and pyramidal neurons of the ventral hippocampus, a region described to be associated with emotion, were hypertrophic, while neurons from the dorsal hippocampus, a region implicated in memory and cognition, were atrophic. In addition, LCN2-null mice presented synaptic impairment in hippocampal long-term potentiation. Whether the LCN2 effects are mediated through modulation of the level of corticosteroids or through a novel mechanism, the present observations bring further into light this immune-related protein as a player in the fine-tuning of behavior and of synaptic activity.We are grateful to Professor Shizuo Akira and Professor Cevayir Coban for the LCN2-null mice in the BALB/c background and to Professor Trude Flo for the LCN2-null mice in C57BL/6J background. Ana C. Ferreira, Sandro D. Mesquita, and Ashley Novais are recipients of Ph.D. and Fernanda Marques and Vitor Pinto are recipients of postdoctoral fellowships from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (Portugal)

Organic consequences of ileal transposition in rats with diet-induced obesity

INTRODUCTION: The clinical management of metabolic syndrome - especially diabetes mellitus type 2 - is notoriously complex due to the progressive nature of this disease. At present, there is a need for a surgical procedure that is effective for the treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2, even in non-obese individuals. The isolated ileal transposition theory could lead to an effective alternative therapy. This intervention has not yet been performed in humans, and there are no reports of its use in an experimental model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome.
 OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to evaluate the physiological effects of ileal transposition in rats with diet-induced metabolic syndrome. The effects of this procedure on glucose and lipid metabolism will be assessed. 
METHODS: Forty 12-week-old male rats (albino Rattus norvegicus, Wistar, 2BAW, heterogeneous) will be divided into four groups of 10 animals each: the ileal transposition group (TG) comprising animals on a hypercaloric-hyperlipidic diet; the sham group (SG) containing animals that receive the same diet and undergo the sham surgery; control group 1 (CG1), which will receive a hypercaloric-hyperlipidic diet and will not undergo surgery; and control group 2 (CG2), which will consume standard feed and will not undergo surgery. The surgeries will be performed in 20-week-old animals. Blood samples for laboratory testing will be collected from 12-week-old animals on the day of surgery and after eight postoperative weeks, following determination of the weights of the animals and the administration of anesthesia. The levels of serum glucose, insulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol and fractions, glucagon-like peptide-1, C-peptide and glycated hemoglobin will be assessed in all of the animals. The insulin tolerance test will be performed using PRISMA software, and insulin resistance will be calculated by the HOMA-IR indirect test. On specific days, two 20-week-old rats will be separated and randomly distributed in TG and SG. These animals will be followed until the eighth postoperative week. Subsequently, they will be euthanized, and the retroperitoneal and periepididymal fat deposits will be collected and weighed using a precision scale. In addition, the pancreas, liver and intestinal segments will be sent for pathological and immunohistochemical studies.
&#xa

Isolated ileal interposition in enteroendocrine L cells differentiation

INTRODUCTION: 
Due to the progressive nature of type 2 diabetes, its complexity and drug treatment perpetuity, there is currently a search for surgical procedures that can promote euglycemia also in non-obese patients. Diabetic patients glycemic control can be achieved by increasing the blood concentration of GLP-1, a hormone produced by L cells that are more densely concentrated in the terminal ileum. Early and extended improvement of diabetes in patients submitted to bariatric surgeries awakened the necessity of investigating the isolated ileal interposition as a surgical alternative for the treatment of diabetes. The interposition of this ileal segment to a more anterior region (proximal jejunum) can promote a greater stimulation of the L cells by poorly digested food, increasing the production of GLP-1 and reflecting on glycemic control. However, in order to consolidate the ileal interposition as a surgical treatment of diabetes it is necessary that the interposed ileum keep the same differentiation rate into L cells for a long period to justify the intervention.

AIMS: 
To investigate the isolated ileal interposition influence on the differentiation of intestinal precursor cells into enteroendocrine L cells over time.

METHODS: 
Twelve 12-week-old male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) of the WAB strain (heterogeneous) will be used. All animals will receive a high-calorie, high-fat diet for 16 weeks or more until they develop glucose dysmetabolism confirmed by glycemic test. They will be divided into two groups of 10 animals each: the isolated ileal interposition group (GI) and the control group (GC), comprising animals that will not be submitted to any surgical intervention. Blood samples will be collected under anesthesia at the weeks 12, 26, 36 and 44 for the determination of serum levels of glucose, insulin, GLP-1, glucagon, C-peptide and glycosilated hemoglobin. The insulin tolerance test will be performed and insulin resistance will be calculated. For the comparative analysis of the ileal precursor cells differentiation into enteroendocrine cells among the two groups, the following intestinal fragments will be collected after euthanasia: interposed ileum and remaining ileum from GI, jejunum and ileum from GC. These fragments will be analyzed by imunofluorescence and also by Real Time PCR using PCR Arrays for target genes including the main ones related to stem cell, stem cell signaling, diabetes, Wnt and Notch signaling pathways and other genes and pathways involved in the differentiation of intestinal precursor cells into enteroendocrine cells, especially GLP-1-producing L cells that play important role in euglycemia

Lipocalin 2 is present in the EAE brain and is modulated by natalizumab

The authors acknowledge the BiogenIdec, for providing Natalizumab (BiogenIdec, Boston, MA, USA). We are thankful to theCOST(European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action NEURINFNETBM0603. We also thank Dr. Nadine Santos for critically reviewing this manuscript.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease that causes major neurological disability in young adults. A definitive diagnosis at the time of the first episode is still lacking, but since early treatment leads to better prognosis, the search for early biomarkers is needed. Here we characterized the transcriptome of the choroid plexus (CP), which is part of the blood-brain barriers (BBBs) and the major site of cerebrospinal fluid production, in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of MS. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid samples from two cohorts of patients with MS and with optic neuritis (ON) were analyzed to confirm the clinical relevance of the findings. Genes encoding for adhesion molecules, chemokines and cytokines displayed the most altered expression, supporting the role of CP as a site of immune-brain interaction in MS. The gene encoding for lipocalin 2 was the most up-regulated; notably, the cerebrospinal fluid lipocalin 2 levels coincided with the active phases of the disease. Immunostaining revealed that neutrophils infiltrating the CP were the source of the increased lipocalin 2 expression in this structure. However, within the brain, lipocalin 2 was also detected in astrocytes, particularly in regions typically affected in patients with MS. The increase of lipocalin 2 in the cerebrospinal fluid and in astrocytes was reverted by natalizumab treatment. Most importantly, the results obtained in the murine model were translatable into humans since patients from two different cohorts presented increased cerebrospinal fluid lipocalin 2 levels. The findings support lipocalin 2 as a valuable molecule for the diagnostic/monitoring panel of MS.This work was supported by a grant from The Dana Foundation (USA) and by a grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia(FCT, Portugal) (PIC/IC/83231/2007). Fernanda Marques and Sandro D. Mesquita are recipients of postdoctoral and doctoral fellow- ships from FCT, Portugal, respectively

Asymmetric data acquisition system for an endoscopic PET-US detector

According to current prognosis studies of pancreatic cancer, survival rate nowadays is still as low as 6% mainly due to late detections. Taking into account the location of the disease within the body and making use of the level of miniaturization in radiation detectors that can be achieved at the present time, EndoTOFPET-US collaboration aims at the development of a multimodal imaging technique for endoscopic pancreas exams that combines the benefits of high resolution metabolic information from time-of- flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) with anatomical information from ultrasound (US). A system with such capabilities calls for an application-specific high-performance data acquisition system (DAQ) able to control and readout data from different detectors. The system is composed of two novel detectors: a PET head extension for a commercial US endoscope placed internally close to the region-of-interest (ROI) and a PET plate placed over the patient's abdomen in coincidence with the PET head. These two detectors will send asymmetric data streams that need to be handled by the DAQ system. The approach chosen to cope with these needs goes through the implementation of a DAQ capable of performing multi-level triggering and which is distributed across two different on-detector electronics and the off-detector electronics placed inside the reconstruction workstation. This manuscript provides an overview on the design of this innovative DAQ system and, based on results obtained by means of final prototypes of the two detectors and DAQ, we conclude that a distributed multi-level triggering DAQ system is suitable for endoscopic PET detectors and it shows potential for its application in different scenarios with asymmetric sources of data

Suporte Circulatório Percutâneo Total em Paciente com IAM e Choque Cardiogênico

Na oclusao aguda de artéria coronária, a recuperaçao da funçao miocárdica após a revascularizaçao pode requerer vários dias. Nesse período crítico, pacientes em choque cardiogênico podem apresentar baixo débito. Dispositivos de assistência circulatória podem oferecer tratamento rápido e eficaz para os pacientes

Suporte Circulatório Percutâneo Total em Paciente com IAM e Choque Cardiogênico

Na oclusao aguda de artéria coronária, a recuperaçao da funçao miocárdica após a revascularizaçao pode requerer vários dias. Nesse período crítico, pacientes em choque cardiogênico podem apresentar baixo débito. Dispositivos de assistência circulatória podem oferecer tratamento rápido e eficaz para os pacientes