Regional Vulnerability : The Case of East Asia

In a case study of six East Asian economies, we use dynamic factor analysis to estimate a regional component of the exchange market pressure index (EMPI) as a measure of regional financial stress. The extent to which this indicator is explained by regional economic and financial factors is interpreted as regional vulnerability to crisis. We find that regional external liabilities and exuberance in domestic stock and credit markets, as well as the US high yield spread, were positively correlated with regional vulnerability. Individual country EMPIs are also explained by regional factors, with country-specific factors and trade linkages playing little role.currency crisis ; contagion ; vulnerability ; dynamic factor analysis

The High-Yield Spread as a Predictor of Real Economic Activity: Evidence of a Financial Accelerator for the United States

Previous studies find that the interest rate term spread predicts real U.S. economic activity. We show that this relationship breaks down for the 1990s and suggest that its earlier success was due to high and volatile inflation. We find, however, that the high-yield spread (HYS) between "junk bond" and government bond yields predicts real activity during the 1990s--especially high levels of the HYS. We also find that the HYS works through both the demand and the supply side of the economy. We interpret our findings as supportive of a financial accelerator mechanism. Copyright 2003, International Monetary Fund

Several Roads Lead to Rome: Operationalizing Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in Nursing Homes

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153068/1/jgs16279_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153068/2/jgs16279.pd

PD‐1 inhibition in congenital pigment synthesizing metastatic melanoma

A newborn female child was born with a congenital pigment synthesizing melanoma of the scalp. Further workup revealed metastatic disease within the liver, lungs, and left tibia. Whole exome sequencing was performed on multiple samples that revealed one somatic mutation, lysine methyltransferase 2C (KMT2C), at low allelic frequency but no v‐Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF), NF‐1 mutation. Programmed death ligand 1 was moderately expressed. Treatment was initiated with the programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor nivolumab. The patient tolerated this treatment well with minimal toxicity. She is now over a year out from initial diagnosis, continuing on nivolumab, with stable disease.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139985/1/pbc26702.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139985/2/pbc26702_am.pd

Regional vulnerability: the case of East Asia

In a case study of six East Asian economies, we use dynamic factor analysis to estimate a regional component of the exchange market pressure index (EMPI) as a measure of regional financial stress. The extent to which this indicator is explained by regional economic and financial factors is interpreted as regional vulnerability to crisis. We find that regional external liabilities and exuberance in domestic stock and credit markets, as well as the US high yield spread, were positively correlated with regional vulnerability. Individual country EMPIs are also explained by regional factors, with country-specific factors and trade linkages playing little role

Brighter Sights: Using Photovoice for a Process Evaluation of a Food Co-op Style Nutrition Intervention

Access to healthy food is a critical factor impacting childhood obesity. Brighter Bites is a school-based program that addresses the issue of fresh food access among low-income families living in food deserts using a food co-op model. The aim of this study is to evaluate initial parent participant reactions to the ongoing Brighter Bites program using Photovoice. A predominately Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, urban school was chosen as the site for the Photovoice project. A total of seven Brighter Bites parent participants were enrolled and six completed the study. The participants developed research questions, took documentary photographs, completed a group analysis of the resulting photos, selected key images and created accompanying captions for a community event. During analysis of the photographs by the group, eight major themes emerged including: impact on the family food budget, produce quality, exposure to unknown fruits and vegetables, socializing with other parents, strategies to use/get children to eat produce, child curiosity of program, and children having fun helping with produce. These themes informed researchers of possible target areas for future program development and quality improvement. The positive nature of most photographs and comments suggests the program is being accepted in the community and impacting local families with regard to food access, food security and healthy eating behaviors

N17 Modifies mutant Huntingtin nuclear pathogenesis and severity of disease in HD BAC transgenic mice.

The nucleus is a critical subcellular compartment for the pathogenesis of polyglutamine disorders, including Huntington's disease (HD). Recent studies suggest the first 17-amino-acid domain (N17) of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) mediates its nuclear exclusion in cultured cells. Here, we test whether N17 could be a molecular determinant of nuclear mHTT pathogenesis in vivo. BAC transgenic mice expressing mHTT lacking the N17 domain (BACHD-ΔN17) show dramatically accelerated mHTT pathology exclusively in the nucleus, which is associated with HD-like transcriptionopathy. Interestingly, BACHD-ΔN17 mice manifest more overt disease-like phenotypes than the original BACHD mice, including body weight loss, movement deficits, robust striatal neuron loss, and neuroinflammation. Mechanistically, N17 is necessary for nuclear exclusion of small mHTT fragments that are part of nuclear pathology in HD. Together, our study suggests that N17 modifies nuclear pathogenesis and disease severity in HD mice by regulating subcellular localization of known nuclear pathogenic mHTT species

ResearchCOVID‐19 Preparedness in Michigan Nursing Homes

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155466/1/jgs16490_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155466/2/jgs16490.pd