Bank Liquidity Creation: A New Global Dataset for Developing and Emerging Countries

The pre-Global Financial Crisis build-up, followed by the post-crisis collapse, in bank liquidity creation in developed countries is well-documented (Berger and Bowman, 2009). Comparable analyses on developing and emerging countries (DECs) have been severely hindered by the lack of detailed bank-by-bank balance sheet data. This paper proposes a new, high-frequency, Aggregate Bank Liquidity Creation (A-BLC) measure for 114 DECs on a comparable cross-country basis, which relies on macroeconomic, country-wide, banking systems’ balance sheet data. The A-BLC database allows us to assess the extent of bank fragility arising from illiquidity associated with intermediation at the banking system level for every DEC, at a monthly frequency over the period 2001-2016. Our measure captures more accurately than other measures proposed in the literature the evolution of bank liquidity creation in the DECs. Stylised facts and panel-regression analysis suggest a sharp pre-crisis build-up and post-crisis fall in liquidity creation in DECs, larger then that observed for developed countries. In addition, financial depth and stability appear as particularly important drivers of A-BLC in DECs

FAB FEST – International Fabrication Festival

FAB FEST is an International Fabrication Festival held at the University of Westminster in Central London. The festival is a unique pedagogic and social project, combining creative architectural design with innovative digital fabrication methods using lightweight, recyclable materials. It was introduced in 2016 and developed and repeated in the Summer of 2017. The festivals involved 50 teams of five or more students from across the UK and around the world including participants from India, China, USA, Turkey, Greece, Spain and Italy. Teams worked together over a four-month period to develop a design for a habitable pavilion. Groups combined students, professionals in practice acting as design mentors, as well as staff from the University’s Fabrication Lab, advising on materials and digital fabrication processes. Following a series of design stages teams submitted their proposals to be digitally fabricated using CNC knives, lasers and robotic arms. In the week of the festival teams then worked together to assemble and install their pre-fabricated pavilions, collectively creating the architecture for a large-scale public event. Building and celebration took place in Ambika P3 - a 14,000 square ft space in Central London developed from the University’s former concrete construction hall. The project ended in a three-day celebration with live music and making-based events for visitors and the local community

Pharmacogenomic-guided clozapine administration based on HLA-DQB1, HLA-B and SLCO1B3-SLCO1B7 variants: an effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis.

The identification of pharmacogenetic factors that increase the susceptibility to clozapine-induced agranulocytosis or granulocytopenia (CIAG) has received increasing interest. The SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant (rs149104283) and single amino acid changes in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) HLA-DQB1 (126Q) and HLA-B (158T) were associated with an increased risk of CIAG. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of adding the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 to HLA variants as a new pharmacogenomic (PGx) approach and explored the evolution of a cohort of schizophrenic patients taking long-term clozapine as a third-line antipsychotic medication. The decision model included probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses to assess the expected costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The current monitoring scheme was compared with the PGx-guided strategy, where all patients underwent pre-emptively a genetic test before taking clozapine, over 10 years. By adding the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant into HLA variants, CIAG sensitivity increased from 36.0% to 43.0%, the specificity decreased from 89.0% to 86.9%, and the probability of cost-effectiveness improved from 74.1% to 87.8%. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £16,215 per QALY and remained below the conventional decision threshold (£30,000 or US$50,000 per QALY). Therefore, the SLCO1B3-SCLO1B7 variant, as an additional risk allele to HLA variants, increases preemptive test sensitivity and improves the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PGx-guided clozapine administration

Procyanodols ologomères des sarments de vigne, cépage Carignan

Les procyanidols des sarments de vigne (cépage Carignan) ont été obtenus par extractions successives à l'aide du mélange acétone- eau puis d'acétate d'éthyle. La combinaison des méthodes de fractionnement sur colonnes de Sephadex LH-20 et de Fractagel TSK HW40 avec la chromatographie préparative sur couches minces de silice complétée par I'HPLC semi-préparative, ont permis de purifier onze procyanidols. A l'aide de méthodes chimiques, enzymatiques et spectrophotométriques, ont été établies les structures de six procyanidols dimères B1, B2, B3, B4, B7 et B2-3'-O-gallate, de deux procyanidols trimères C1 et [épicatéchine ( 4 ß->8) épicatéchine ( 4 ß->8) catechine] ainsi que celles de trois monomères (-)epicatechine-3-0-gallate, (-)épicatéchine et ( + )catéchine.Oligomeric procyanidins of vine shoots of cultivar CarignanProcyanidins from vine shoots were extracted using acetone - water and ethyl acetate. The purification of procyanidins were carried out by combination of column chromatography on Sephadex LH-20 and Fractogel TSK HW 40, preparative TLC on silicagel and HPLC. Two trimeric procyanidins C1 and [epicatechin (4ß->8) epicatechin (4ß->8) catechin], six dimeric procyanidins B1, B2, B3, B4, B7 and 3'-O-galloyl B2 along with 3-O-galloyl (-)epicatechin, (+)catechin and (-)epicatechin were identified on the basis of chromatographical and chemical evidences

Integrating Data on Ethnicity, Geography, and Conflict: The Ethnic Power Relations Dataset Family.

ArticleThis article introduces the new Family of Ethnic Power Relations (EPR) data sets, version 2014, which is the latest in a series of data sets on ethnicity that have stimulated civil war research in the past decade. The EPR Family provides data on ethnic groups’ access to state power, their settlement patterns, links to rebel organizations, transborder ethnic kin relations, and intraethnic cleavages. The new 2014 version does not only extend the data set’s temporal coverage from 2009 to 2013, but it also offers several new features, such as a new measure of regional autonomy that is independent of national-level executive power and a new data set component coding intraethnic identities and cleavages. Moreover, for the first time, detailed documentation of the EPR data is provided through the EPR Atlas. This article presents these novelties in detail and compares the EPR Family 2014 to the most relevant alternative data sets on ethnicity.Swiss National Science FoundationSwiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC

Self-Reported Sleep Latency in Postmenopausal Women

The ain of this study was to access how self-reported sleep latency (SRSL) was affected by sleep habits, mood, and circadian rhythm in postmenopausal women. Subjects (n=384, 67.9±7.7 yr) completed sleep and mood questionnaires, sleep log and actigraphic data. The major urinary melatonin metabolite (6-sulphatoxymelatonin, aMT6s) was assayed in fractional urine specimens for two 24-hr intervals. Although SRSL (26.5±24.4 min) and actigraphic sleep latency (ASL; 27.8±20.0 min) were correlated (rs=0.361, p<0.001), the short SRSLs tended to be underestimated whereas the long SRSLs tended to be overestimated as compared to ASL. SRSL was positively correlated with the scales of insomnia, mood and hot flash, hypertension, use of anti-hypertensive drugs and the acrophase and the offset of aMT6s. SRSL was negatively correlated with the global assessment of functioning scale in DSM-IV (GAF scale), and light exposure and wrist activity. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the best-fit model to predict SRSL was light exposure, GAF scale, and use of anti-hypertensive drugs. SRSL may be determined by psychophysiological factors as well as circadian rhythm function. Therapeutic approaches suggested for trouble falling asleep might include increased daylight exposure, improvements in general health, and modification of anti-hypertensive pharmacotherapy

Produzir de outro modo

Research on farming systems enables the the integrated understanding of economic and agronomic reasons that lead farmers to intensify their productive methods with damaging consequences to the environment. This is the methodological background for the elaboration of proposals that seek to harmonize specialized com crop production with the reduction of inputs without discouraging farmers by poorer economic results.As pesquisas em sistemas de produção contribuem para a compreensão integrada das razões econômicas e agronômicas que levam os agricultores a intensificar seus métodos produtivos com consequências nefastas para o meio ambiente. Esta é a base metodológica para a elaboração de propostas que procurem compatibilizar a produgção especializada de grãos com a redução no uso de insumos, sem que os resultados econõmicos para o agricultor sejam desestimulantes