The Consequences of the Federal Deficit: An Empirical Analysis

One of the major issues of political debate in the United States during the past 20 years has been the potential consequences of rising federal deficits. Some politicians and economists argue for the traditional view that deficits increase interest rates and erode private savings, while those who hold the Ricardian equivalence view believe that economic agents are forward looking and will realize that a tax cut today will cause a future deficit, thus they will not change their behavior in response to the increase in wealth from the tax cut. My research was designed to determine through econometric regression analysis whether deficits cause an increase in interest rates and or a reduction in private saving. When I used a standard, two stage, least squares regression, I found deficits a significant factor only in decreasing savings; however, when I used an instrumental variable regression, I found that deficits were significant in increasing interest rates and had no impact on private savings. Thus, I conclude that both the Ricardian and the traditional view of deficits may be valid, depending upon one’s methodology. One of the clearest economic results of the Great Depression that crippled the economies of the United States and the world in the first half of the 20th century was the coming to fashion of Keynesian economics. The basic thrust of that theory, from a policy perspective, was an intense focus on the short-run business cycle, with little attention paid to the long run because, as Keynes stated, “in the long run we are all dead.” Keynesians advocated low taxes and large increases in spending to stimulate the demand for goods. The corollary of this theory is that large deficits are given little attention; however, the experience of the United States in the 1970s of high unemployment, high inflation, and increasing interest rates made many economists rethink the Keynesian system. Beginning in the 1980s, the deficit began to become an intense political issue that led to various movements toward a balanced budget amendment, which never passed. The common fear of the deficit is that it leads to high interest rates; however, presently we are experiencing ever-increasing deficits, yet our interest rates remain at historical lows

Evaluation of the first automated thyroglobulin assay

The aim of this study was to investigate technical and analytical performance of the first automated thyroglobulin (Tg) assay (DPC-Immulite(R); Diagnostic Products Corporation, Los Angeles, USA). In imprecision studies using several human serum pools ranging from 21 to 58 replicates, a coefficient of variation of 9.0 % was obtained at a mean Tg concentration of 0.84 ng/ml and of 6.1 % at a Tg concentration of 62.1 ng/ml. In a method comparison with a non-automated assay (BRAHMS LUMItest Tg(R), BRAHMS, Berlin, Germany) using 383 sera of 303 patients with thyroid carcinoma, regression analysis according to Passing and Bablock yielded in the following equation: Immulite Tg=1.6 x BRAHMS Tg - 0.1 ng/ml (Pearson's r=0.979). Sera obtained from 59 patients with thyroid carcinoma enabled comparative follow-up studies; in all cases qualitative agreement was found with regard to increase or decrease of serum Tg; in eight cases, however, Tg was detected with the Immulite assay but not with the BRAHMS assay. Further follow-up proved the presence of thyroid tissue in these patients. From these and further methodological data (dilution linearity, interference studies, carry-over study, high-dose hook properties, and short report time) it is concluded that the DPC-Immulite Tg assay meets the requirements of routine diagnostic use

Dominance of multidrug resistant CC271 clones in macrolide-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae in Arizona

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rates of resistance to macrolide antibiotics in <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae </it>are rising around the world due to the spread of mobile genetic elements harboring <it>mef</it>(E) and <it>erm</it>(B) genes and post-vaccine clonal expansion of strains that carry them.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Characterization of 592 clinical isolates collected in Arizona over a 10 year period shows 23.6% are macrolide resistant. The largest portion of the macrolide-resistant population, 52%, is dual <it>mef</it>(E)/<it>erm</it>(B)-positive. All dual-positive isolates are multidrug-resistant clonal lineages of Taiwan^19F-14, mostly multilocus sequence type 320, carrying the recently described transposon Tn<it>2010</it>. The remainder of the macrolide resistant <it>S. pneumoniae </it>collection includes 31% <it>mef</it>(E)-positive, and 9% <it>erm</it>(B)-positive strains.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The dual-positive, multidrug-resistant <it>S. pneumoniae </it>clones have likely expanded by switching to non-vaccine serotypes after the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine release, and their success limits therapy options. This upsurge could have a considerable clinical impact in Arizona.</p

Vernacular Soliloquy, Theatrical Gesture, and Embodied Consciousness in The Marrow of Tradition

Charles Chesnutt’s Marrow of Tradition (1901) is overwhelmingly understood as an historical novel. Critics have again and again focused on its journalistic historicity; its ambivalent racial politics; its attitudes towards assimilation, separatism, vengeance, and resistance; and Chesnutt’s alleged biographical identification with various characters. This generalized preoccupation with the explicitly political or historical contours of the novel frequently precludes closer scrutiny of Chesnutt’s formal literary strategies. This paper shirks that tendency by considering The Marrow of Tradition not just as an historical novel, but also as a novel of consciousness. Viewing the novel from the perspective of its representation of consciousness both reframes its historiographical bearing and opens up new ways to understand Chesnutt’s fiction and nineteenth-century African American literature. It argues that the location of black consciousness in the novel is the soliloquy, and demonstrates that the soliloquy should be understood as a form of “embodied consciousness”: a narrative mode endowed with the expressivity of theatrical gesture. It further examines these performative gestures in relation to additional patterns in the novel: first, the destructive circulation of written, material texts; and second, recurring images of corporeality and physical breakdown wherein one’s capacity for speech is endangered. As they are invulnerable to such formal compromise and breakdown, Chesnutt’s soliloquies together produce a counter-archive of vernacular memory and reveal how dramatic form functions in the novel more broadly

Duloxetine Inhibits Effects of MDMA (“Ecstasy") In Vitro and in Humans in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Laboratory Study

This study assessed the effects of the serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) transporter inhibitor duloxetine on the effects of 3,4–methylenedioxy­methamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) in vitro and in 16 healthy subjects. The clinical study used a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, four-session, crossover design. In vitro, duloxetine blocked the release of both 5-HT and NE by MDMA or by its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine from transmitter-loaded human cells expressing the 5-HT or NE transporter. In humans, duloxetine inhibited the effects of MDMA including elevations in circulating NE, increases in blood pressure and heart rate, and the subjective drug effects. Duloxetine inhibited the pharmacodynamic response to MDMA despite an increase in duloxetine-associated elevations in plasma MDMA levels. The findings confirm the important role of MDMA-induced 5-HT and NE release in the psychotropic effects of MDMA. Duloxetine may be useful in the treatment of psychostimulant dependence

In Vitro and Clinical Evaluations of the Drug-Drug Interaction Potential of a Metabotropic Glutamate 2/3 Receptor Agonist Prodrug with Intestinal Peptide Transporter 1

ABSTRACT Despite peptide transporter 1 (PEPT1) being responsible for the bioavailability for a variety of drugs, there has been little study of its potential involvement in drug-drug interactions. Pomaglumetad methionil, a metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptor agonist prodrug, utilizes PEPT1 to enhance absorption and bioavailability. In vitro studies were conducted to guide the decision to conduct a clinical drug interaction study and to inform the clinical study design. In vitro investigations determined the prodrug (LY2140023 monohydrate) is a substrate of PEPT1 with K m value of approximately 30 mM, whereas the active moiety (LY404039) is not a PEPT1 substrate. In addition, among the eight known PEPT1 substrates evaluated in vitro, valacyclovir was the most potent inhibitor (IC 50 = 0.46 mM) of PEPT1-mediated uptake of the prodrug. Therefore, a clinical drug interaction study was conducted to evaluate the potential interaction between the prodrug and valacyclovir in healthy subjects. No effect of coadministration was observed on the pharmacokinetics of the prodrug, valacyclovir, or either of their active moieties. Although in vitro studies showed potential for the prodrug and valacyclovir interaction via PEPT1, an in vivo study showed no interaction between these two drugs. PEPT1 does not appear to easily saturate because of its high capacity and expression in the intestine. Thus, a clinical interaction at PEPT1 is unlikely even with a compound with high affinity for the transporter

Review of Anne Finger, Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection

No abstract availabl

TEMPLATE INDEPENDENT DOUBLE STRAND BREAK REPAIR AND RECOMBINASE MODULATION IN THE ARCHAEON SULFOLOBUS SOLFATARICUS

The repair of double strand breaks (DSB) is a fundamental process that plays a key rolein cell survival and evolution. DSB repair is required for cell survival, and a variety of pathwayshave evolved. Homologous recombination (HR) is a universal pathway of DSB repair found innearly every species studied. HR encompasses several mechanisms, but key processes areconserved. The most fundamental of these activities are homology search and formation ofheteroduplex DNA with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) templates by means of the RecA familyrecombinases. This allows replication across the break site and subsequent repair of DSBswithout mutation if an identical template dsDNA is used. Without identical template dsDNAs, HRcan be a dangerous prospect leading to chromosomal rearrangements and gene conversions.As a result, two primary mechanisms have evolved to repair DSBs in the absence of dsDNAtemplates. The first is non-homologous end-joining, which uses end-binding, processing, andligation proteins to repair broken ends with minor mutations. The second is a group ofhomology-based pathways that align broken dsDNAs on sequences repeated on either side of abreak and delete the intervening sequence.In this document, new data is presented and examined regarding the structure-function-environment relationships of an archaeal recombinase, Sulfolobus solfataricus RadA(SsoRadA), and the proteins that modulate its activity. The ability of the organism S. solfataricusto perform end-joining was also examined for the first time. An overview of archaeal researchand DSB repair across the three domains of life is provided in chapter one. In chapter two, theeffects of divalent metal cofactors on SsoRadA recombinase function are examined, and it isrevealed that SsoRadA has evolved to utilize divalent metals in an original way. Chapter threedetails, the first characterization of the SsoRal2 protein and its unusual action as an antagonisticregulator of SsoRadA activity. Chapter four details the ability of S. solfataricus to performhomology-based end-joining and investigates the availability of required homology throughoutthe S. solfataricus genome. In the final chapter, the implications of this work, and future areas ofinquiry are discussed

Back in Blue: The Successful Reintegration of Combat Veteran Law Enforcement Officers

In the past ten plus years, several million national guard and reserve component military personnel have been deployed in support of the global war on terrorism. Tens of thousands of those personnel also serve as full-time law enforcement officers in police and sheriff\u27s offices around the country. Life as a law enforcement officer is tough enough, but when combined with the psychological baggage brought on by months of war, reintegrating into civilian life and the role of a law enforcement officer can be extremely difficult. This article discusses a reintegration program specifically for law enforcement agencies that is designed to promote long-term psychological and social health in combat veteran officers. The program\u27s costs are offset by the many assets (leadership, tactical training, etc.) these men and women bring to the department. By committing to the long-term successful reintegration of these individuals, departments enhance their own forces and improve community safety