From the financial crisis to the economic crisis The impact of the financial trouble of 2007-2008 on the growth of seven advanced countries

The financial crisis started in the United States in 2007 on the subprime mortgage market and, then, gradually spread to all financial markets and strongly impacted growth in the main advanced countries through the years 2008 and 2009. Given its scope and its subsequent uncertainty, we discuss the capacity of macroeconometric models estimated on the past to quantify its various transmission channels. We try to measure the total impact of the crisis on the economy of seven advanced countries and on the euro area as a whole using the macroeconomic multinational model NiGEM. During the years 2008 and 2009, Germany suffered from a particularly strong drop in world trade, which would explain more than a half of the effect of the crisis measured in this way in 2009. The United Kingdom and the United States may especially have been affected by wealth effects and a strong drop in their inner demand. This drop may partly have been due to credit tightening. Japan seems to be the most affected country in 2009: the drop in foreign trade was exacerbated by the appreciation of the yen and investment seems to have strongly over-reacted to the fall in activity. A contrario, the fact that France suffered from a less marked drop in output in 2009 might be explained by an absence of over-reaction in economic behaviours and less sensitivity to the fall in world trade.financial crisis, simulation, macroeconometric model, macro-financial linkages

Intergenerational inequalities since baby-boom

Cohorts born until the late 1940s benefited from a clear generational progress: from one generation to the next, the conditions for entering the labour market were more favourable, living standards increased regularly, access to education and homeownership was more common. These progresses strongly slowed down and even stopped, for generations born in the 1950s and 1960s. Early in their life course, the latter had to face the two oil shocks and the bad economic context that followed. The most recent generations are experiencing a mixed picture. Several years of good economic performance at the turn of the 2000s helped to increase again their standard of living in comparison to previous generations at the same age. Then, they benefited from low interest rates that facilitated again access to the property, despite rising property prices. However, this improvement appears to be very dependent on the macroeconomic environment, which can easily turn around. Inequalities between generations go together with inequalities within generations. In particular, access to employment is closely linked to educational level. Graduate people are more protected from unemployment and get a stable job more easily, but such an improvement is at the cost of a downgrading as regards wages and employment position. Non-graduates, meanwhile, are more dependent on economic conditions, not only at the end of their studies but also during the beginning of their careers. Finally, the fragility of this generational progress, and the increased importance of intergenerational transfers of wealth, could possibly lead to a widening of the gap between social classes or social origins. For instance, since the beginning of the 2000s, the access of younger generations to property has been improving again but the gap in property rates between social categories has been increasing.intergenerational inequalities, social inequalities, cohorts

Comparative study of chemical approaches to the solid-phase synthesis of a tumor-seeking alpha-MSH analogue

The synthesis of a cyclic melanocortin analogue (H-pz-beta Ala-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-DPhe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH(2)), where the Boc-protected derivative of a metal-chelating pyrazolyl ligand (pz) was inserted as N-terminal residue, was addressed by several different Fmoc/tBu and Boc/Bzl solid-phase strategies. On-resin cyclization was achieved immediately following incorporation of Asp, by condensation of the Asp side chain carboxyl with the Lys side chain primary amine after selective and simultaneous removal of side chain protecting groups. The success of the synthesis was highly dependent on the chemical strategy employed, with Boc/Bzl chemistry giving the best results. On the light of our findings, Fmoc/tBu strategies are not advantageous for the solid-phase synthesis of this particular type of lactam-bridged peptides. Last, but not least, the target peptide was recently found to have promising tumor-seeking properties (J Biol Inorg Chem 13:449-459, 2008)

X-Ray Analysis of Oxygen-induced Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Pt/Co/AlOx trilayer

X-ray spectroscopy measurements have been performed on a series of Pt/Co/AlOx trilayers to investigate the role of Co oxidation in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the Co/AlOx interface. It is observed that high temperature annealing modifies the magnetic properties of the Co layer, inducing an enhancement of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The microscopic structural properties are analyzed via X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy measurements. It is shown that annealing enhances the amount of interfacial oxide, which may be at the origin of a strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Severity-Related Changes of Bronchial Microbiome in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Bronchial colonization by potentially pathogenic microorganisms (PPMs) is often demonstrated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but culture-based techniques identify only a portion of the bacteria in mucosal surfaces. The aim of the study was to determine changes in the bronchial microbiome of COPD associated with the severity of the disease. The bronchial microbiome of COPD patients was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplification and pyrosequencing in sputum samples obtained during stable disease. Seventeen COPD patients were studied (forced expiratory volume in the first second expressed as a percentage of the forced vital capacity [FEV1%] median, 35.0%; interquartile range [IQR], 31.5 to 52.0), providing a mean of 4,493 (standard deviation [SD], 2,598) sequences corresponding to 47 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (SD, 17) at a 97% identity level. Patients were dichotomized according to their lung function as moderate to severe when their FEV1% values were over the median and as advanced when FEV1% values were lower. The most prevalent phyla in sputum were Proteobacteria (44%) and Firmicutes (16%), followed by Actinobacteria (13%). A greater microbial diversity was found in patients with moderate-to-severe disease, and alpha diversity showed a statistically significant decrease in patients with advanced disease when assessed by Shannon (ρ = 0.528; P = 0.029, Spearman correlation coefficient) and Chao1 (ρ = 0.53; P = 0.028, Spearman correlation coefficient) alpha-diversity indexes. The higher severity that characterizes advanced COPD is paralleled by a decrease in the diversity of the bronchial microbiome, with a loss of part of the resident flora that is replaced by a more restricted microbiota that includes PPMs

Room temperature chiral magnetic skyrmion in ultrathin magnetic nanostructures

Magnetic skyrmions are chiral spin structures with a whirling configuration. Their topological properties, nanometer size and the fact that they can be moved by small current densities have opened a new paradigm for the manipulation of magnetisation at the nanoscale. To date, chiral skyrmion structures have been experimentally demonstrated only in bulk materials and in epitaxial ultrathin films and under external magnetic field or at low temperature. Here, we report on the observation of stable skyrmions in sputtered ultrathin Pt/Co/MgO nanostructures, at room temperature and zero applied magnetic field. We use high lateral resolution X-ray magnetic circular dichroism microscopy to image their chiral N\'eel internal structure which we explain as due to the large strength of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction as revealed by spin wave spectroscopy measurements. Our results are substantiated by micromagnetic simulations and numerical models, which allow the identification of the physical mechanisms governing the size and stability of the skyrmions.Comment: Submitted version. Extended version to appear in Nature Nanotechnolog

Expression of Toll-like receptor 2 is up-regulated in monocytes from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by pulmonary and systemic inflammation which flare-up during episodes of acute exacerbation (AECOPD). Given the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the induction of inflammatory responses we investigated the involvement of TLRs in COPD pathogenesis. METHODS: The expression of TLR-2, TLR-4 and CD14 in monocytes was analyzed by flow cytometry. To study the functional responses of these receptors, monocytes were stimulated with peptidoglycan or lipopolysaccharide and the amounts of TNFα and IL-6 secreted were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: We found that the expression of TLR-2 was up-regulated in peripheral blood monocytes from COPD patients, either clinically stable or during AECOPD, as compared to never smokers or smokers with normal lung function. Upon stimulation with TLR-2 ligand monocytes from COPD patients secreted increased amounts of cytokines than similarly stimulated monocytes from never smokers and smokers. In contrast, the expressions of TLR-4 and CD14 were not significantly different between groups, and the response to lipopolysaccharide (a TLR-4 ligand) stimulation was not significantly different either. At discharge from hospital TLR-2 expression was down-regulated in peripheral blood monocytes from AECOPD patients. This could be due to the treatment with systemic steroids because, in vitro, steroids down-regulated TLR-2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, we demonstrated that IL-6, whose plasma levels are elevated in patients, up-regulated in vitro TLR-2 expression in monocytes from never smokers. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal abnormalities in TLRs expression in COPD patients and highlight its potential relationship with systemic inflammation in these patients