A micro view of the transactions money market

An analysis highlighting the fact that a micro approach may afford a better conceptual grasp of the transactions money market than a macro approach.Monetary theory

Folly and Fire: A Space of Play in the Black Rock Desert

In Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, there is a city that appears for one week each year and then vanishes, leaving no trace of its existence except ruts in the dusty clay. The inhospitable, barren salt flat that the city is built upon is fraught with turbulent dust storms and scorching temperatures. But this does not stop participants from gathering there to build Black Rock City in order to host the Burning Man festival. Now in its twenty-eighth year, the festival is constructed and demolished by 70,000 people coming from around the globe to participate in this extraordinary ritual. Burning Man is a space of play that defies the stifling mores of Western civilization, and acts as a catalyst for an outpouring of creative collaboration. I attended the festival and its affiliated local events as a participant observer to document the stories that are shaping the architecture of this festival tradition. Through my research I learned about the role of play in fostering innate, creative instincts, and discovered the cathartic value of building and burning for those who are suffering. Burning Man’s creative rituals invite the redefinition of our modern myths, and embody new narratives in their architecture. This thesis tells the story of how I came to know a more compassionate, loving approach to making architecture through the festival and its community

Effects of retinoids on tooth morphogenesis and cytodifferentiations, in vitro.

The first embryonic lower mouse molar was used as a model system to investigate the effects of two retinoids, retinoic acid (RA) and a synthetic analogue, Ch55, on morphogenesis and cytodifferentiations in vitro. Exogenous retinoids were indispensable for morphogenesis of bud, cap and bell-stage molars in serum-free, chemically-defined, culture media. Transferrin and RA or transferrin and Ch55 acted synergistically in promoting morphogenesis from bud and cap-stage explants. Transferrin, per se, had no morphogenetic effect. Epithelial histogenesis, odontoblast functional differentiation and ameloblast polarization always occurred in RA-depleted explants. Comparison of the distributions of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation between explants cultured in the absence or presence of RA revealed that RA could modify the patterns of cell proliferation in the inner dental epithelium and dental mesenchyme. Inner dental epithelium cell proliferation is regulated by the dental mesenchyme through basement membrane-mediated interactions, and tooth morphogenesis is controlled by the dental mesenchyme. Laminin is a target molecule of retinoid action. Using a monospecific antibody, we immunolocalized laminin and/or structurally-related molecules sharing the laminin B chain in the embryonic dental mesenchyme and in the dental basement membrane and showed that RA could promote the synthesis or secretion of these molecules. Based on previous in situ hybridization data, it was speculated that CRABPs might regulate the effects of RA on embryonic dental cell proliferation. The fact that Ch55, a retinoid which does not bind to CRABPs, is 100 times more potent than RA in promoting tooth morphogenesis in vitro seems to rule out this hypothesis. On the other hand, the stage-specific inhibition of tooth morphogenesis by excess RA is consistent with the hypothesis that CRABPs might protect embryonic tissues against potentially teratogenic concentrations of free retinoids.comparative studyjournal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't1992 Decimporte

Impact of bottle size on in-home consumption of wine: feasibility and acceptability randomised cross-over study

Abstract: Background: Reducing alcohol consumption across populations would prevent many non-communicable diseases. Large packages increase food and non-alcoholic drink consumption and large glasses increase wine consumption. Smaller bottles may reduce alcohol consumption but their impact is uncertain. This study aims to (i) explore the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a large-scale randomised study to assess the impact of bottle size on in-home wine consumption and (ii) estimate the effect size and variance of the intervention on consumption to inform the design of future studies. Methods: Cross-over randomised study in which 16 households in Cambridge, England, consuming at least two 750-ml bottles of wine each week, received a pre-set volume of wine biweekly for 4 weeks, in 750-ml and 375-ml bottles, in random order. Consumption was assessed by recording the number of empty and partially full bottles at the end of each biweekly period. At the end of the study, household representatives were interviewed about their experiences of participating in the study. Results: The study procedures proved feasible. Comparable to similar trials, 14% of identified eligible households (18/125) consented to participate in the study. Attrition between consent and study completion was 11% (2/18) and 0% between study periods and 13% of households (2/16) correctly identified the study aim. The study procedures were considered acceptable. After adjusting for guest and out-of-home consumption, the difference in consumption between the 750-ml (3385.2 ml; SD = 1698.5) and 375-ml bottles (3376.7 ml; SD = 1719.0) was 8.4 ml (SD = 1235.4; 95%CI − 596.9, 613.8). Results suggest a possible order effect, with households receiving the 375-ml bottles first consuming more wine out of the 750-ml bottles and vice versa. This might also reflect an increase in consumption with study duration. Households receiving the 375-ml bottles first (6315.9 ml; SD = 3293.5) also drank less wine overall than those receiving the 750-ml bottles first (7335.4 ml; SD = 3735.4). Discussion: The findings support the feasibility and acceptability of running a large-scale randomised study to assess the impact of bottle size on in-home wine consumption. Due to the heterogeneous patterning of results, a future study will be powered using the variance observed in the current study to detect a meaningful reduction of 250 ml of wine when consumed from smaller compared with larger bottles. Trial registration: Open Science Framework (OSF): rmk43; May 23, 2017

Roles of retinoic acid receptors and of Hox genes in the patterning of the teeth and of the jaw skeleton.

Retinoic acid receptors and transcriptional factors encoded by Hox genes play key roles in vertebrate development and belong to an integrated functional network. To investigate the actual functions of these molecules during ontogenesis and in particular in the patterning of the cranial neural crest cells giving rise to the teeth and to the jaw bones, we have generated null mutant mice lacking functional retinoic acid receptors or Hox genes by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov'treview1995 Febimporte

Reverse Engineering a Signaling Network Using Alternative Inputs

One of the goals of systems biology is to reverse engineer in a comprehensive fashion the arrow diagrams of signal transduction systems. An important tool for ordering pathway components is genetic epistasis analysis, and here we present a strategy termed Alternative Inputs (AIs) to perform systematic epistasis analysis. An alternative input is defined as any genetic manipulation that can activate the signaling pathway instead of the natural input. We introduced the concept of an “AIs-Deletions matrix” that summarizes the outputs of all combinations of alternative inputs and deletions. We developed the theory and algorithms to construct a pairwise relationship graph from the AIs-Deletions matrix capturing both functional ordering (upstream, downstream) and logical relationships (AND, OR), and then interpreting these relationships into a standard arrow diagram. As a proof-of-principle, we applied this methodology to a subset of genes involved in yeast mating signaling. This experimental pilot study highlights the robustness of the approach and important technical challenges. In summary, this research formalizes and extends classical epistasis analysis from linear pathways to more complex networks, facilitating computational analysis and reconstruction of signaling arrow diagrams

Snowmass Theory Frontier: Effective Field Theory

We summarize recent progress in the development, application, and understanding of effective field theories and highlight promising directions for future research. This Report is prepared as the TF02 "Effective Field Theory" topical group summary for the Theory Frontier as part of the Snowmass 2021 process.Comment: 12 page

Peaks and Troughs of Three-Dimensional Vestibulo-ocular Reflex in Humans

The three-dimensional vestibulo-ocular reflex (3D VOR) ideally generates compensatory ocular rotations not only with a magnitude equal and opposite to the head rotation but also about an axis that is collinear with the head rotation axis. Vestibulo-ocular responses only partially fulfill this ideal behavior. Because animal studies have shown that vestibular stimulation about particular axes may lead to suboptimal compensatory responses, we investigated in healthy subjects the peaks and troughs in 3D VOR stabilization in terms of gain and alignment of the 3D vestibulo-ocular response. Six healthy upright sitting subjects underwent whole body small amplitude sinusoidal and constant acceleration transients delivered by a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform. Subjects were oscillated about the vertical axis and about axes in the horizontal plane varying between roll and pitch at increments of 22.5° in azimuth. Transients were delivered in yaw, roll, and pitch and in the vertical canal planes. Eye movements were recorded in with 3D search coils. Eye coil signals were converted to rotation vectors, from which we calculated gain and misalignment. During horizontal axis stimulation, systematic deviations were found. In the light, misalignment of the 3D VOR had a maximum misalignment at about 45°. These deviations in misalignment can be explained by vector summation of the eye rotation components with a low gain for torsion and high gain for vertical. In the dark and in response to transients, gain of all components had lower values. Misalignment in darkness and for transients had different peaks and troughs than in the light: its minimum was during pitch axis stimulation and its maximum during roll axis stimulation. We show that the relatively large misalignment for roll in darkness is due to a horizontal eye movement component that is only present in darkness. In combination with the relatively low torsion gain, this horizontal component has a relative large effect on the alignment of the eye rotation axis with respect to the head rotation axis

Monitoring guidance for patients with hypophosphatasia treated with asfotase alfa.

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare, inherited, systemic, metabolic disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations or a single dominant-negative mutation in the gene encoding tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). The disease is associated with a broad range of signs, symptoms, and complications, including impaired skeletal mineralization, altered calcium and phosphate metabolism, recurrent fractures, pain, respiratory problems, impaired growth and mobility, premature tooth loss, developmental delay, and seizures. Asfotase alfa is a human, recombinant enzyme replacement therapy that is approved in many countries for the treatment of patients with HPP. To address the unmet need for guidance in the monitoring of patients receiving asfotase alfa, an international panel of physicians with experience in diagnosing and managing HPP convened in May 2016 to discuss treatment monitoring parameters. The panel discussions focused on recommendations for assessing and monitoring patients after the decision to treat with asfotase alfa had been made and did not include recommendations for whom to treat. Based on the consensus of panel members, this review provides guidance on the monitoring of patients with HPP during treatment with asfotase alfa, including recommendations for laboratory, efficacy, and safety assessments and the frequency with which these should be performed during the course of treatment. Recommended assessments are based on patient age and include regular monitoring of biochemistry, skeletal radiographs, respiratory function, growth, pain, mobility and motor function, and quality of life. Because of the systemic presentation of HPP, a coordinated, multidisciplinary, team-based, patient-focused approach is recommended in the management of patients receiving asfotase alfa. Monitoring of efficacy and safety outcomes must be tailored to the individual patient, depending on medical history, clinical manifestations, availability of resources in the clinical setting, and the clinician's professional judgment

iCLIP Predicts the Dual Splicing Effects of TIA-RNA Interactions

Transcriptome-wide analysis of protein-RNA interactions predicts the dual splicing effects of TIA proteins, showing that their local enhancing function is associated with diverse distal splicing silencing effects