Global imbalances and developing countries.

The main distinguishing features of present-day global imbalances go beyond their sheer amount and generalisation. First, the world economy is characterised by an increased and dynamic presence of many developing countries that simultaneously have turned from deficit into surplus economies. Second, imbalances happen in a context of variable exchange rates and under an accelerated process of financial globalisation. Third, the international reserve currency is basically the currency of just one advanced country in the world. Both the variability of exchange rates –in principle freeing countries of the need to defend their parities–and the easy availability of private foreign finance –liberating them from the limits imposed either by the amount of foreign exchange reserves or the conditional access to IMF resources– go to a great extent to explain the increase and generalisation of current account deficits. But, additionally, the capacity of the United States to run deficits financed by the fact of their issuing the international reserve currency, has decisively contributed to the explosion in the magnitude of the imbalances. Of course, the ability to finance deficits by resorting to foreign inflows is dominated by its variability and by the accumulation of debt frequently ending up in severe crises. Thus, financial stability is endangered. On the surpluses side, quite a few major advanced countries persist in generating them instead of promoting fast rates of growth and improving the lot of their own citizens. Thus, the old-time deflationary bias that places limits on deficit countries while leaving the major surplus countries to unfettered run restrictive policies playing beggar-thy-neighbour on the rest of the world still rules the present-day non-system. Surely, many fast growing developing countries, having on the contrary become the dynamic force in the world economy, play a completely different role based on their having overcome the restrictions that deficits used to place on their performance. Redressing global imbalances to avoid financial instability, therefore, would, at the international level, require regulating “speculative” private international capital flows, on the one hand, and devising a new international monetary system that would run on the basis of a multilateral reserve currency. Additionally, a less restrictive mechanism than the conditionality-run IMF should be established for clearing temporary imbalances with similar obligations for surplus and deficit countries, although growth rates and the stage of development would have to be taken into account. Redressing global imbalances, however, should not be made at the expense of growth in the world economy that as mentioned before has come to increasingly depend on the developing countries’ economies. Room, therefore, would have to be built for the surpluses of the developing countries following successful export-led strategies to be accommodated within such a system. This way, developing countries will keep being able to pursue expansionary policies, reduce inequality and continue to represent a dynamic force in global terms.

Characterization of Mycosphaerellaceae species associated with citrus greasy spot in Panama and Spain

[EN] Greasy spot of citrus, caused by Zasmidium citri-griseum (= Mycosphaerella citri), is widely distributed in the Caribbean Basin, inducing leaf spots, premature defoliation, and yield loss. Greasy spot-like symptoms were frequently observed in humid citrus-growing regions in Panama as well as in semi-arid areas in Spain, but disease aetiology was unknown. Citrus-growing areas in Panama and Spain were surveyed and isolates of Mycosphaerellaceae were obtained from citrus greasy spot lesions. A selection of isolates from Panama (n = 22) and Spain (n = 16) was assembled based on their geographical origin, citrus species, and affected tissue. The isolates were characterized based on multi-locus DNA (ITS and EF-1 alpha) sequence analyses, morphology, growth at different temperatures, and independent pathogenicity tests on the citrus species most affected in each country. Reference isolates and sequences were also included in the analysis. Isolates from Panama were identified as Z. citri-griseum complex, and others from Spain attributed to Amycosphaerella africana. Isolates of the Z. citri-griseum complex had a significantly higher optimal growth temperature (26.8 degrees C) than those of A. africana (19.3 degrees C), which corresponded well with their actual biogeographical range. The isolates of the Z. citri-griseum complex from Panama induced typical greasy spot symptoms in 'Valencia' sweet orange plants and the inoculated fungi were reisolated. No symptoms were observed in plants of the 'Ortanique' tangor inoculated with A. africana. These results demonstrate the presence of citrus greasy spot, caused by Z. citri-griseum complex, in Panama whereas A. africana was associated with greasy spot-like symptoms in Spain.Research was partially funded by 'Programa de Formacion de los INIA Iberoamerica' and INIA RTA2010-00105-00-00-FEDER to Vidal Aguilera Cogley.. We thank J. Martinez-Minaya (UV) for assistance with INLAAguilera-Cogley, VA.; Berbegal Martinez, M.; Català, S.; Collison Brentu, F.; Armengol Fortí, J.; Vicent Civera, A. (2017). Characterization of Mycosphaerellaceae species associated with citrus greasy spot in Panama and Spain. PLoS ONE. 12(12):1-19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189585S1191212Crous, P. W., Summerell, B. A., Carnegie, A. J., Wingfield, M. J., Hunter, G. C., Burgess, T. I., … Groenewald, J. Z. (2009). Unravelling Mycosphaerella: do you believe in genera? Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi, 23(1), 99-118. doi:10.3767/003158509x479487Mondal, S. N., & Timmer, L. W. (2006). Greasy Spot, a Serious Endemic Problem for Citrus Production in the Caribbean Basin. Plant Disease, 90(5), 532-538. doi:10.1094/pd-90-0532Whiteside, J. O. (1970). Etiology and Epidemiology of Citrus Greasy Spot. Phytopathology, 60(10), 1409. doi:10.1094/phyto-60-1409Huang, F., Groenewald, J. Z., Zhu, L., Crous, P. W., & Li, H. (2015). Cercosporoid diseases of Citrus. Mycologia, 107(6), 1151-1171. doi:10.3852/15-059Wellings, C. R. (1981). Pathogenicity of fungi associated with citrus greasy spot in New South Wales. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 76(3), 495-499. doi:10.1016/s0007-1536(81)80080-0Marco, G. M. (1986). A Disease Similar to Greasy Spot but of Unknown Etiology on Citrus Leaves in Argentina. Plant Disease, 70(11), 1074a. doi:10.1094/pd-70-1074aVidal Aguilera-Cogley, & Antonio Vicent. (2015). FUNGAL DISEASES OF CITRUS IN PANAMA. Acta Horticulturae, (1065), 947-952. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2015.1065.118Honger J. Aetiology and importance of foliage diseases affecting citrus in the nursery at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS). PhD Thesis. Accra: University of Ghana; 2004.Vicent A, Álvarez A, León M, García-Jiménez J. Mycosphaerella sp. asociada a manchas foliares de cítricos en España. In: Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Spanish Phytopathological Society. 2006; Murcia; Spain.Abdelfattah, A., Cacciola, S. O., Mosca, S., Zappia, R., & Schena, L. (2016). Analysis of the Fungal Diversity in Citrus Leaves with Greasy Spot Disease Symptoms. Microbial Ecology, 73(3), 739-749. doi:10.1007/s00248-016-0874-xQuaedvlieg, W., Binder, M., Groenewald, J. Z., Summerell, B. A., Carnegie, A. J., Burgess, T. I., & Crous, P. W. (2014). Introducing the Consolidated Species Concept to resolve species in the Teratosphaeriaceae. Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi, 33(1), 1-40. doi:10.3767/003158514x681981Edgar, R. C. (2004). MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. Nucleic Acids Research, 32(5), 1792-1797. doi:10.1093/nar/gkh340Darriba, D., Taboada, G. L., Doallo, R., & Posada, D. (2012). jModelTest 2: more models, new heuristics and parallel computing. Nature Methods, 9(8), 772-772. doi:10.1038/nmeth.2109Ronquist, F., Teslenko, M., van der Mark, P., Ayres, D. L., Darling, A., Höhna, S., … Huelsenbeck, J. P. (2012). MrBayes 3.2: Efficient Bayesian Phylogenetic Inference and Model Choice Across a Large Model Space. Systematic Biology, 61(3), 539-542. doi:10.1093/sysbio/sys029Rambaut A. FigTree v1. 4.0, a graphical viewer of phylogenetic trees. Edinburgh, Scotland: University of Edinburgh; 2016.Spiegelhalter, D. J., Best, N. G., Carlin, B. P., & van der Linde, A. (2002). Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology), 64(4), 583-639. doi:10.1111/1467-9868.00353Rue, H., Martino, S., & Chopin, N. (2009). Approximate Bayesian inference for latent Gaussian models by using integrated nested Laplace approximations. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology), 71(2), 319-392. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9868.2008.00700.xChristensen RH. Ordinal—regression models for ordinal data. R package version 2015.1–21. 2015. http://www.cran.r-project.org/package=ordinal/ Accessed 8 May 2017.Hunter, G. C., Wingfield, B. D., Crous, P. W., & Wingfield, M. J. (2006). A multi-gene phylogeny for species of Mycosphaerella occurring on Eucalyptus leaves. Studies in Mycology, 55, 147-161. doi:10.3114/sim.55.1.147Braun, U., & Urtiaga, R. (2013). New species and new records of cercosporoid hyphomycetes from Cuba and Venezuela (Part 2). Mycosphere, 4(2), 172-214. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/4/2/3Braun, U., Crous, P. W., & Nakashima, C. (2014). Cercosporoid fungi (Mycosphaerellaceae) 2. Species on monocots (Acoraceae to Xyridaceae, excluding Poaceae). IMA Fungus, 5(2), 203-390. doi:10.5598/imafungus.2014.05.02.04Aptroot A. Mycosphaerella and its anamorphs: conspectus of Mycosphaerella CBS Biodiversity Series 5. Utrecht: CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre; 2006.Crous, P. W., & Wingfield, M. J. (1996). Species of Mycosphaerella and Their Anamorphs Associated with Leaf Blotch Disease of Eucalyptus in South Africa. Mycologia, 88(3), 441. doi:10.2307/3760885Aguín, O., Sainz, M. J., Ares, A., Otero, L., & Pedro Mansilla, J. (2013). Incidence, severity and causal fungal species of Mycosphaerella and Teratosphaeria diseases in Eucalyptus stands in Galicia (NW Spain). Forest Ecology and Management, 302, 379-389. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.03.021Maxwell, A., Dell, B., Neumeister-Kemp, H. G., & Hardy, G. E. S. J. (2003). Mycosphaerella species associated with Eucalyptus in south-western Australia: new species, new records and a key. Mycological Research, 107(3), 351-359. doi:10.1017/s0953756203007354Otero L, Aguín O, Mansilla J, Hunter G, Wingfield M. Identificación de especies de Mycosphaerella en Eucalyptus globulus y E. nitens en Galicia. In: Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Spanish Phytopathological Society; 2006; Murcia, Spain.ZHAN, J., & McDONALD, B. A. (2011). Thermal adaptation in the fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola. Molecular Ecology, 20(8), 1689-1701. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05023.xPeel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., & McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11(5), 1633-1644. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-200

Mobile therapeutic attention for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (m-RESIST): a prospective multicentre feasibility study protocol in patients and their caregivers

INTRODUCTION: Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is a severe form of schizophrenia. In the European Union, approximately 40% of people with schizophrenia have TRS. Factors such as the persistence of positive symptoms or higher risk of comorbidities leave clinicians with a complex scenario when treating these patients.Intervention strategies based on mHealth have demonstrated their ability to support and promote self-management-based strategies. Mobile therapeutic attention for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (m-RESIST), an innovative mHealth solution based on novel technology and offering high modular and flexible functioning, has been developed specifically for patients with TRS and their caregivers. As intervention in TRS is a challenge, it is necessary to perform a feasibility study before the cost-effectiveness testing stage. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This manuscript describes the protocol for a prospective multicentre feasibility study in 45 patients with TRS and their caregivers who will be attended in the public health system of three localities: Hospital Santa Creu Sant Pau (Spain), Semmelweis University (Hungary) and Gertner Institute & Sheba Medical Center (Israel). The primary aim is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the m-RESIST solution, configured by three mHealth tools: an app, wearable and a web-based platform. The solution collects data about acceptability, usability and satisfaction, together with preliminary data on perceived quality of life, symptoms and economic variables. The secondary aim is to collect preliminary data on perceived quality of life, symptoms and economic variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study protocol, funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union, has the approval of the ethics committees of the participating institutions. Participants will be fully informed of the purpose and procedures of the study, and signed inform consents will be obtained. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented in scientific conferences to ensure widespread dissemination. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03064776; Pre-results

The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity

Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota is growing rapidly. Broadly recognizable drivers of diversity variation include energy availability and historical refugia. The impacts of local human activities and global environmental change nonetheless pose challenges to the current and future understanding of Antarctic biodiversity. Life in the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean is surprisingly rich, and as much at risk from environmental change as it is elsewher

Relación de los servicios, comisiones y sacrificios hechos por D. Juan José Marcó del Pont : en obsequio de los Soberanos los Señores Don Carlos IV, Don Fernando VII y Don Carlos V, como del aprecio y distinciones que ha merecido a tan dignos Monarcas.

Tít. tomado de la cabecera del texto.Texto fechado en la últ. p.: Vergara, 6 de marzo de 1839.Copia digital. España : Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 202

Quantification and characterization of Si in Pinus Insignis Dougl by TXRF

A simple quantification of silicon is described, in woods such as Pinus Insigne Dougl obtained from the 8th region of Bío-Bío, 37°15″ South-73°19″ West, Chile. The samples were prepared through fractional calcination, and the ashes were directly analyzed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) technique. The analysis of 16 samples that were calcined is presented. The samples were weighed on plastic reflectors in a microbalance with sensitivity of 0.1 µg. Later, the samples were irradiated in a TXRF PICOFOX spectrometer, for 350 and 700 s. To each sample, cobalt was added as an internal standard. Concentrations of silicon over the 1 % in each sample and the self-absorption effect on the quantification were observed, in masses higher than 100 μg.Fil: Navarro Fernández, Henry Luciano. Universidad de Concepción; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bennun, Leonardo Daniel. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Marcó, Lué M.. Universidad Centro Lisandro Alvarado; Venezuel