Why the Bank of Canada Act Needs Updating: A Lesson from the Sub-Prime Crisis

When trouble in the US housing market this past summer bubbled into problems in credit markets around the world, central banks took action. In a partially successful effort to keep those markets functioning smoothly, several central banks, including the Bank of Canada, took special steps to ensure liquidity – very short-term financing – was available to financial institutions. For the Bank of Canada, these steps included extending the list of securities it would accept as collateral when providing financing.monetary policy, Bank of Canada

Comparative study of anchorage strengths of epoxy coated hooked bars

Hooked reinforcing bars (rebar) are used frequently to carry the tension forces developed in beams and transferred to columns. Research into epoxy coated hooked bars has only been minimally performed and no research has been carried out incorporating the coating process found in ASTM A934. This research program compares hooked rebar that are uncoated, coated by ASTM A775, and coated by ASTM A934. In total, forty-two full size beam-column specimens were created, instrumented and tested to failure. The program was carried out in three phases. The first phase was used to refine the test setup and procedures. Phase two explored the spacing of column ties within the joint region. Phase three explored the three coating types found above. Each specimen included two hooked rebar which were loaded and measured independently for relative rebar slip. The load and displacement of the hooked rebar were analyzed, focusing on behavior at the levels of 30 ksi, 42 ksi and 60 ksi of rebar stress. Statistical and general comparisons were made using the coating types, tie spacing, and rebar stress level. Many of the parameters composing the rebar and concrete were also tested to characterize the components and specimens. All rebar tested met ASTM standards for tensile strength, but the newer ASTM A934 method seemed to produce slightly lower yield strengths. The A934 method also produced coating thicknesses that were very inconsistent and were higher than ASTM maximum limits in many locations. Continuity of coating surfaces was found to be less than 100% for both A775 and A934 rebar, but for different reasons. The many comparisons made did not always produce clear conclusions. The data suggests that the ACI Code (318-05) parameter of 1.2 for including epoxy coating on hooked rebar may need to be raised, possibly to 2.5, but more testing needs to be performed before such a large value change is set forth. This is particularly important as variables were identified which may have a larger influence on rebar capacity than the Development Length, of which the current 1.2 factor modifies. Many suggestions for future work are included throughout the thesis to help guide other researchers in carrying out successful and productive programs which will further the highly understudied topic of hooked rebar

Sustainable, rigid imide building blocks as promising substitutes for phthalic anhydride in alkyd resins

New, highly rigid bio-based building blocks were synthesized from renewable raw materials. In a first reaction step, an imide was made from citraconic anhydride and the amino acid glycine. This imide was subsequently reacted with sorbic acid using Diels–Alder chemistry, furnishing a double-ring structure. This new, very rigid renewable building block was then incorporated into alkyd resins by standard polycondensation chemistry and technology. The resulting, >80 wt% renewable, alkyd resins were evaluated as white paints in a preliminary way by solvent casting from xylene. The properties of the renewable coatings look promising, some even outperforming those of standard commercial alkyd resins. For further enhancing the sustainability of the systems discussed, turning these highly bio-based alkyd resins into stable aqueous emulsions is a must

Diagnostic value of MRS-quantified brain tissue lactate level in identifying children with mitochondrial disorders

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of children with or without neurometabolic disease is used for the first time for quantitative assessment of brain tissue lactate signals, to elaborate on previous suggestions of MRS-detected lactate as a marker of mitochondrial disease. Multivoxel MRS of a transverse plane of brain tissue cranial to the ventricles was performed in 88 children suspected of having neurometabolic disease, divided into 'definite' (n = 17, >= 1 major criteria), 'probable' (n = 10, >= 2 minor criteria), 'possible' (n = 17, 1 minor criterion) and 'unlikely' mitochondrial disease (n = 44, none of the criteria). Lactate levels, expressed in standardized arbitrary units or relative to creatine, were derived from summed signals from all voxels. Ten 'unlikely' children with a normal neurological exam served as the MRS reference subgroup. For 61 of 88 children, CSF lactate values were obtained. MRS lactate level (> 12 arbitrary units) and the lactate-to-creatine ratio (L/Cr > 0.22) differed significantly between the definite and the unlikely group (p = 0.015 and p = 0.001, respectively). MRS L/Cr also differentiated between the probable and the MRS reference subgroup (p = 0.03). No significant group differences were found for CSF lactate. MRS-quantified brain tissue lactate levels can serve as diagnostic marker for identifying mitochondrial disease in children. MRS-detected brain tissue lactate levels can be quantified. MRS lactate and lactate/Cr are increased in children with mitochondrial disease. CSF lactate is less suitable as marker of mitochondrial disease

Do Groups Exclude Others More Readily Than Individuals in Coalition Formation?

The present research compared interindividual and intergroup coalition processes. We examined whether groups are more likely to form small coalitions than individuals, and whether this tendency would depend on the social value orientation of the coalition party. Consistent with our hypothesis, results revealed that proselfs formed more small coalitions in intergroup settings than in interindividual settings whereas prosocials formed a similar number of small coalitions in both intergroup and interindividual settings. These and complementary findings add credence to the claim that people who are self-oriented are more likely to exclude others to maximize their own payoff and that such processes are especially pronounced in intergroup settings

Evaluation of the First Year(s) of Physicians Collaboration on an Interdisciplinary Electronic Consultation Platform in the Netherlands:Mixed Methods Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Complexity of health problems and aging of the population create an ongoing burden on the health care system with the general practitioner (GP) being the gatekeeper in primary care. In GPs daily practice, collaboration with specialists and exchange of knowledge from the secondary care play a crucial role in this system. Communication between primary and secondary care has shortcomings for health care workers that want to practice sustainable patient-centered health care. Therefore, a new digital interactive platform was developed: Prisma. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe the development of a digital consultation platform (Prisma) to connect GPs with hospital specialists via the Siilo application and to evaluate the first year of use, including consultations, topic diversity, and number of participating physicians. METHODS: We conducted a mixed methods observational study, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for cases posted on the platform between June 2018 and May 2020. Any GP can post questions to an interdisciplinary group of secondary care specialists, with the platform designed to facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange for all users. RESULTS: In total, 3674 cases were posted by 424 GPs across 16 specialisms. Most questions and answers concerned diagnosis, nonmedical treatment, and medication. Mean response time was 76 minutes (range 44-252). An average of 3 users engaged with each case (up to 7 specialists). Almost half of the internal medicine cases received responses from at least two specialisms in secondary care, contrasting with about one-fifth for dermatology. Of note, the growth in consultations was steepest for dermatology. CONCLUSIONS: Digital consultations offer the possibility for GPs to receive quick responses when seeking advice. The interdisciplinary approach of Prisma creates opportunities for digital patient-centered networking

Research avenues supporting embodied cognition in learning and instruction

Research on embodied cognition acknowledges that cognitive processing is tightly coupled with bodily activities and the environment. An important implication for education is that learning can be enhanced when the brain, body, and environment mutually influence each other, such as when making or observing human actions, especially those involving hand gestures and manipulation of objects. In this narrative review article, we describe the evidence from six research avenues that can help explain why embodied cognition can enhance learning and instruction. Through the exploration of these six interconnected research pathways, we aim to make a significant contribution by proposing innovative directions for learning and instruction research, all rooted in the principles of embodied cognition. We establish a direct link between the six research pathways and embodied phenomena, both in the contexts of making and observing human movements. When making human movements, the research avenues explaining the learning benefits due to these movements are physical activity, generative learning, and offloaded cognition. When observing human movements, the avenues researching these phenomena are specialized processor and signaling. Lastly, the research avenue social cognition is integral to both making and observing human movements. With originality in focus, we also include research that has not been traditionally associated with embodied cognition or embodiment. This article offers comprehensive discussions, substantiated with evidence and influencing features, for each of these research avenues. We conclude by outlining the implications of these findings for instruction and charting potential directions for future investigation