A Case Study in Exploring Time Series: Inflation and the Growth of the Money Supply in Zaire, 1965-1982

To the economist, time series constitute key data sources for empirical analysis. This is especially true for macroeconomic analysis, which relies virtually exclusively on observations of macroeconomic aggregates as they evolve over time

First report and preliminary evaluation of cassava root necrosis in Angola

Open Access ArticleCassava is a main staple food for 800 million people world-wide. Production is limited by pest and pathogens. The most devastating cassava viruses are Cassava Brown Streak Virus and Uganda Cassava Brown Streak Virusboth causing severe root necrosis called Cassava Brown Streak Disease. In the last 10 years, the Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD)has spread across Africa from the east coast of Africa to central Africa. Similar root necrosis to cassava brown streak disease has also been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the first symptoms were identified in 2002 in Kinshasa and Kongo central province. In 2012, the presence of CBSD was confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. All attempts since 2002 in western Democratic Republic of Congo to identify the cause of these root necrosis have failed. In 2017, a team of scientists surveying the Songololo Territory in the Kongo central province at the northern Angola, identified the same root necrosis similar to CBSD in several localities bordering Angola. These unexpected results will foreshadow the presence of cassava root necrosis in Angola. This preliminary investigation in northern Angola was conducted specifically in the Zaire province and the territory of Mbanza Kongo at approximatively 62 kms from the Democratic Republic of Congo border in order to verify, whether or not, these root necrosis are present in Angola. Results obtained from this exploratory survey in several fields of the Zaire province and territory of Mbanza Kongo confirmed, for the first time, the presence of cassava root necrosis in Angola, similar to CBSD, as identified in western DRC

Influence of attention alternation on movement-related cortical potentials in healthy individuals and stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we analyzed the influence of artificially imposed attention variations using the auditory oddball paradigm on the cortical activity associated to motor preparation/execution. METHODS: EEG signals from Cz and its surrounding channels were recorded during three sets of ankle dorsiflexion movements. Each set was interspersed with either a complex or a simple auditory oddball task for healthy participants and a complex auditory oddball task for stroke patients. RESULTS: The amplitude of the movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) decreased with the complex oddball paradigm, while MRCP variability increased. Both oddball paradigms increased the detection latency significantly (p<0.05) and the complex paradigm decreased the true positive rate (TPR) (p=0.04). In patients, the negativity of the MRCP decreased while pre-phase variability increased, and the detection latency and accuracy deteriorated with attention diversion. CONCLUSION: Attention diversion has a significant influence on MRCP features and detection parameters, although these changes were counteracted by the application of the laplacian method. SIGNIFICANCE: Brain-computer interfaces for neuromodulation that use the MRCP as the control signal are robust to changes in attention. However, attention must be monitored since it plays a key role in plasticity induction. Here we demonstrate that this can be achieved using the single channel Cz

Goishi tea consumption inhibits airway hyperresponsiveness in BALB/c mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is one of the important traits that characterize bronchial asthma. Goishi tea is a post-heating fermented tea that has been reported to have higher free radical scavenging activity. In this study, we evaluated the prophylactic effects of Goishi tea on AHR in BALB/c mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The number of inflammatory cells in BAL fluid was considerably reduced in Goishi tea/<it>Der f </it>and Gallic acid/<it>Der f </it>groups as compared with Tap water/<it>Der f </it>group. Regarding inflammatory cells in BAL, a significant reduction of eosinophils and neutrophils was observed in Goishi tea-treated mice (p < 0.01), as well as in the Gallic acid/<it>Der f </it>group (p < 0.05), as compared with Tap water/<it>Der f </it>group. In asthmatic mice (Tap water/<it>Der f </it>group), the intensity of airway resistance increased simultaneously with the increase in acetylcholine concentration in a dose-dependant way. AHR was significantly inhibited in Goishi tea/<it>Der f </it>and Gallic acid/<it>Der f </it>(p < 0.01) groups as compared with the Tap water/<it>Der f </it>group. Regarding serum specific-IgG₁, significantly lower levels of this antibody were observed in Goishi tea/<it>Der f </it>and Gallic acid/<it>Der f </it>groups as compared with the Tap water/<it>Der f </it>group (p < 0.05). In addition, adiponectin level was significantly higher in the Goishi tea group as compared with the Tap water treated mice (p < 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that Goishi tea consumption exerted an inhibitory effect on eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration in the lung, attenuated the increase in airway resistance and increased the production of adiponectin; thus reducing Der f induced allergic inflammatory process in mice.</p

SARS-CoV-2 infects the human kidney and drives fibrosis in kidney organoids

Kidney failure is frequently observed during and after COVID-19, but it remains elusive whether this is a direct effect of the virus. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells and is associated with increased tubule-interstitial kidney fibrosis in patient autopsy samples. To study direct effects of the virus on the kidney independent of systemic effects of COVID-19, we infected human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived kidney organoids with SARS-CoV-2. Single-cell RNA sequencing indicated injury and dedifferentiation of infected cells with activation of profibrotic signaling pathways. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2 infection also led to increased collagen 1 protein expression in organoids. A SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor was able to ameliorate the infection of kidney cells by SARS-CoV-2. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect kidney cells and induce cell injury with subsequent fibrosis. These data could explain both acute kidney injury in COVID-19 patients and the development of chronic kidney disease in long COVID

Bahamas and Barbados: empirical evidence of interest rate pass-through

Includes bibliographyThis paper uses an error correction model to investigate empiricallythe effectiveness of central bank interest rate policy in influencingcommercial banks' lending rate behaviour in Barbados and the Bahamasusing quarterly data for the period January 1995-April 2007. For Barbados,the study finds that the reaction of commercial bank lending rates tochanges in the central bank's policy rate is sticky in the short run, butfully complete in the long run. On average, it takes about four to sixquarters for the full effect of changes in the central bank policy rate tobe transmitted to the economy via adjustments. For the Bahamas, thereaction of commercial bank lending rates to changes in the central bankpolicy rate is fully complete in the short run and the long run, owing to alow adjustment cost coupled with the use of moral suasion

Bahamas y Barbados: evidencia empírica de la transmisión de las tasas de interés

Incluye BibliografíaVersión en inglés disponible en Bibliotec

Health and Family Support Issues of Women Refugees and Related Nursing Interventions: Literature Review

Aim:&nbsp;Migration has become one of global human security issues of the 21st century. Women refugees face a unique set of problems and their health is often compromised. The aim of this study was to describe health and family support issues encountered by women refugees in refugee setting and related nursing interventions. Methods:&nbsp;A literature review was performed using Academic Search Premier, CINAHL and Medline databases, and the following keywords were used separately and in combination to retrieve related abstracts and articles: `women refugees`, `health`, `nursing`. Only original articles from qualitative studies published in English and focusing on women\u27s health and family support in the refugee setting were selected for the review. Results:&nbsp;Three major themes related to women refugees\u27 health issues were identified: `Culture sensitivity`, `Seeking life balance` and `Gender-based violence`. In addition, nine major themes related to family support were found: `Family reunion (difficulty to emigrate)`, `Changes in family\u27s connections and roles`, `Unsatisfactory family life`, `Discrimination and contempt by community`, `Health problems in children`, `Mental health problems in family member`, `Adjustment and adaptation of life pattern in a new country`, `Family time and togetherness` and `Concern about forgetting one\u27s homeland`. On the other hand, we identified 11 major themes related to nursing interventions implemented for women refugees. Conclusion:&nbsp;Disaster nurses have important role to protect and promote human security among women refugees. Future studies should determine how disaster nurses can efficiently promote human security for women in refugee setting