Domestic Capital Market Reform and Access to Global Finance: Making Markets Work

Contrary to the predictions of standard economic theory, capital market liberalization has been a mixed blessing for many countries. Liberalization of debt inflows exposes economies to the risk of crises stemming from sudden changes in investor sentiment. Equity market liberalizations, on the other hand, have promoted growth in almost every liberalizing country. Yet equity market liberalizations have not had as strong an effect as might be expected. To convince outsiders to invest, countries must put in place laws and supporting institutions to protect the rights of minority shareholders. Countries with such protections tend to have larger, more efficient, and more stable stock markets than those that do not.

Causal cognition, force dynamics and early hunting technologies

Abstract: With this contribution we analyze ancient hunting technologies as one way to explore the development of causal cognition in the hominin lineage. Building on earlier work, we separate seven grades of causal thinking. By looking at variations in force dynamics as a central element in causal cognition, we analyze the thinking required for different hunting technologies such as stabbing spears, throwing spears, launching atlatl darts, shooting arrows with a bow, and the use of poisoned arrows. Our interpretation demonstrates that there is an interplay between the extension of human body through technology and expanding our cognitive abilities to reason about causes. It adds content and dimension to the trend of including embodied cognition in evolutionary studies and in the interpretation of the archeological record. Our method could explain variation in technology sets between archaic and modern human groups

High-sensitivity Mass Spectrometry for Probing Gene Translation in Single Embryonic Cells in the Early Frog (Xenopus) Embryo

Direct measurement of protein expression with single-cell resolution promises to deepen the understanding of basic molecular processes during normal and impaired development. High-resolution mass spectrometry provides detailed coverage of the proteomic composition of large numbers of cells. Here we discuss recent mass spectrometry developments based on single-cell capillary electrophoresis that extend discovery proteomics to sufficient sensitivity to enable the measurement of proteins in single cells. The single-cell mass spectrometry system is used to detect a large number of proteins in single embryonic cells in blastomeres in the 16-cell embryo of the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) that give rise to distinct tissue types. Single-cell measurements of protein expression provide complementary information on gene transcription during early development of the vertebrate embryo, raising a potential to understand how differential gene expression coordinates normal cell heterogeneity during development

Single-cell mass spectrometry for discovery proteomics: quantifying translational cell heterogeneity in the 16-cell frog (Xenopus) embryo

We advance mass spectrometry from a cell population-averaging tool to one capable of quantifying the expression of diverse proteins in single embryonic cells. Our instrument combines capillary electrophoresis (CE), electrospray ionization, and a tribrid ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS) to enable untargeted (discovery) proteomics with ca. 25 amol lower limit of detection. CE-μESI-HRMS enabled the identification of 500–800 nonredundant protein groups by measuring 20 ng, or \u3c0.2% of the total protein content in single blastomeres that were isolated from the 16-cell frog (Xenopus laevis) embryo, amounting to a total of 1709 protein groups identified between n=3 biological replicates. By quantifying ≈150 nonredundant protein groups between all blastomeres and replicate measurements, we found significant translational cell heterogeneity along multiple axes of the embryo at this very early stage of development when the transcriptional program of the embryo has yet to begin

Tracking the evolution of causal cognition in humans

Abstract: We suggest a seven-grade model for the evolution of causal cognition as a framework that can be used to gauge variation in the complexity of causal reasoning from the panin-hominin split until the appearance of cognitively modern hunter-gatherer communities. The intention is to put forward a cohesive model for the evolution of causal cognition in humans, which can be assessed against increasingly finegrained empirical data from the palaeoanthropological and archaeological records. We propose that the tracking behaviour (i.e., the ability to interpret and follow external, inanimate, visual clues of hominins) provides a rich case study for tracing the evolution of causal cognition in our lineage. The grades of causal cognition are tentatively linked to aspects of the Stone Age/Palaeolithic archaeological record. Our model can also be applied to current work in evolutionary psychology and research on causal cognition, so that an inter-disciplinary understanding and correlation of processes becomes increasingly possible

Technology led to more abstract causal reasoning

Many animal species use tools, but human technical engagement is more complex. We argue that there is coevolution between technical engagement (the manufacturing and use of tools) and advanced forms of causal cognition in the human (Homo) lineage. As an analytic tool, we present a classification of different forms of causal thinking. Human causal thinking has become detached from space and time, so that instead of just reacting to perceptual input, our minds can simulate actions and forces and their causal consequences. Our main thesis is that, unlike the situation for other primate species, an increasing emphasis on technical engagement made some hominins capable of reasoning about the forces involved in causal processes. This thesis is supported in three ways: (1) We compare the casual thinking about forces of hominins with that of other primates. (2) We analyze the causal thinking required for Stone Age hunting technologies such as throwing spears, bow hunting and the use of poisoned arrows, arguing that they may serve as examples of the expansion of casual cognition about forces. (3) We present neurophysiological results that indicate the facilitation of advanced causal thinking.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-020-09757-zCITATION: Gardenfors, P. & Lombard, M. 2020. Technology led to more abstract causal reasoning. Biology & Philosophy, 35:40, doi:10.1007/s10539-020-09757-z.The original publication is available at https://link.springer.comPublisher's versio

ELEVATED SERUM LEVELS OF TNF SOLUBLE RECEPTORS IN PATIENTS WITH POSITIVE ANTI-NEUTROPHIL CYTOPLASMIC ANTIBODIES

ANCA are found in various systemic vasculitis and are supposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease, in cooperation with other factors such as cytokines. A total of 36 ANCA-positive and 10 ANCA-negative serum samples were analysed for the presence of TNF soluble receptors (TNF-sR), which are shed from the surface of activated cells and may act as TNF inhibitors. Of the ANCA-positive samples, 67% had elevated TNF-sR75 and 72% had elevated TNF-sR55 compared to ANCA-negative specimens (mean [S.E.] 18.7 [17.3] vs 3.6 [1.5] and 10.5 [9.7] vs 1.9 [0.7] ng/ml, P<0.01). Elevation of TNF-sR in patients with ANCA suggests that cytokines and their inhibitors are involved in the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated autoimmune disease

Effect of deinstitutionalisation for adults with intellectual disabilities on costs: a systematic review

Objective: To review systematically the evidence on the costs and cost-effectiveness of deinstitutionalisation for adults with intellectual disabilities. Design: Systematic review. Population: Adults (aged 18 years and over) with intellectual disabilities. Intervention: Deinstitutionalisation, that is, the move from institutional to community settings. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Studies were eligible if evaluating within any cost-consequence framework (eg, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost–utility analysis) or resource use typically considered to fall within the societal viewpoint (eg, cost to payers, service-users, families and informal care costs). Search: We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, CINAHL, EconLit, Embase and Scopus to September 2017 and supplemented this with grey literature searches and handsearching of the references of the eligible studies. We assessed study quality using the Critical Appraisals Skills Programme suite of tools, excluding those judged to be of poor methodological quality. Results: Two studies were included; both were cohort studies from the payer perspective of people leaving long-stay National Health Service hospitals in the UK between 1984 and 1992. One study found that deinstitutionalisation reduced costs, one study found an increase in costs. Conclusion: A wide-ranging literature review found limited evidence on costs associated with deinstitutionalisation for people with intellectual disabilities. From two studies included in the review, the results were conflicting. Significant gaps in the evidence base were observable, particularly with respect to priority populations in contemporary policy: older people with intellectual disabilities and serious medical illness, and younger people with very complex needs and challenging behaviours

Mechanical properties and microstructure of Friction Stir and Laser Beam Welded 3mm Ti6Al4V Alloy

Abstract: In this paper the authors report the study done on welded Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheets by friction stir and laser beam welding. Fusion and solid-state techniques were compared to determine the most performance favourable welding process. Welds were accomplished by varying the process traverse speed. High traverse speeds indicated increased hardness in the weld nugget and wider nugget area for laser beam as compared to FSW. Tensile strength for both processes showed similar performance to that of the parent plate. Welds from laser beam welding exhibited superior fatigue strength under tension-tension loading than friction stir welds at intermediate speeds. Microstructure was discussed to explain the effect of the process parameters on joint integrity in relation to the parent plate. Additionally, residual stresses measured in the weld nugget are explained