1,163 research outputs found
Sovereign debt crisis, fiscal consolidation, and active central bankers in a monetary union
In this paper we examine global financial instability and its impact on the sovereign debts of peripheral countries in a stylized model of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), where centralized and national policy authorities strategically interact. We show that active expansionary monetary policies might operate as indirect risk-sharing mechanisms that improve EMU stability and the welfare of (a part of the) member states. The European Central Bank (ECB) partially internalizes the fact that the monetary union\u2019s stability is a public good by reallocating a part of the cost of stabilizing the EMU from the periphery to the core countries. In this respect, unconventional monetary policies such as \u2018quantitative easing\u2019 are more effective than traditional monetary policies centered on ex-post interest rate adjustments. The rationale of our findings is that unconventional monetary policies decrease the cost of fiscal interventions in the peripheral countries and incentivize the consolidation of their public balance sheets; these same unconventional policies produce positive externalities but also come at a cost for central countries
Blocking CD248 molecules in perivascular stromal cells of patients with systemic sclerosis strongly inhibits their differentiation toward myofibroblasts and proliferation: A new potential target for antifibrotic therapy
Background: Fibrosis may be considered the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc), the end stage triggered by different pathological events. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) are profibrotic molecules modulating myofibroblast differentiation and proliferation, respectively. There is evidence linking CD248 with these two molecules, both highly expressed in patients with SSc, and suggesting that CD248 may be a therapeutic target for several diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the expression of CD248 in SSc skin and its ability to modulate SSc fibrotic process. Methods: After ethical approval was obtained, skin biopsies were collected from 20 patients with SSc and 10 healthy control subjects (HC). CD248 expression was investigated in the skin, as well as in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treated with TGF-β or PDGF-BB, by immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting. Finally, in SSc-MSCs, the CD248 gene was silenced by siRNA. Results: Increased expression of CD248 was found in endothelial cells and perivascular stromal cells of SSc skin. In SSc-MSCs, the levels of CD248 and α-smooth muscle actin expression were significantly higher than in HC-MSCs. In both SSc- and HC-MSCs, PDGF-BB induced increased expression of Ki-67 when compared with untreated cells but was unable to modulate CD248 levels. After CD248 silencing, both TGF-β and PDGF-BB signaling were inhibited in SSc-MSCs. Conclusions: CD248 overexpression may play an important role in the fibrotic process by modulating the molecular target, leading to perivascular cells differentiation toward myofibroblasts and interfering with its expression, and thus might open a new therapeutic strategy to inhibit myofibroblast generation during SSc
Acquiring, archiving, analyzing and exchanging seismic data in real time at the Seismological Research Center of the OGS in Italy
After the 1976 Friuli earthquake (Ms = 6.5) in north-eastern Italy that caused about 1,000 casualties and widespread destruction in the Friuli area, the Italian government established the Centro di Ricerche Sismologiche (CRS). This is now a department of the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), and it is specifically devoted to the monitoring of the seismicity of north-eastern Italy. Since its inception, the North-East Italy Seismic Network has grown enormously. Currently, it consists of 14 broad-band and 20 short-period seismic stations, all of which are telemetered to and acquired in real time at the OGS-CRS data center in Udine. Data exchange agreements in place with other Italian, Slovenian, Austrian and Swiss seismological institutes lead to a total number of 94 seismic stations acquired in real time, which confirms that the OGS is the reference institute for seismic monitoring of north-eastern Italy. Since 2002, CRS has been using the Antelope software suite as the main tool for collecting, analyzing, archiving and exchanging seismic data. SeisComP is also used as a real-time data exchange server tool. A customized web accessible server is used to manually relocate earthquakes, and automatic procedures have been set-up for moment-tensor determination, shaking-map computation, web publishing of earthquake parametric data, waveform drumplots, state-of-health parameters, and quality checks of the station by spectra analysis. Scripts for email/SMS/fax alerting to public institutions have also been customized. Recently, a real-time seismology website was designed and set-up (http://rts.crs.inogs.it/)
Status of Salerno Laboratory (Measurements in Nuclear Emulsion)
A report on the analysis work in the Salerno Emulsion Laboratory is
presented. It is related to the search for nu_mu->nu_tau oscillations in CHORUS
experiment, the calibrations in the WANF (West Area Neutrino Facility) at Cern
and tests and preparation for new experiments.Comment: Proc. The First International Workshop of Nuclear Emulsion Techniques
(12-24 June 1998, Nagoya, Japan), 15 pages, 11 figure
A Simple Model for the Absorption of Starlight by Dust in Galaxies
We present a new model to compute the effects of dust on the integrated
spectral properties of galaxies, based on an idealized prescription of the main
features of the interstellar medium (ISM). The model includes the ionization of
HII regions in the interiors of the dense clouds in which stars form and the
influence of the finite lifetime of these clouds on the absorption of
radiation. We compute the production of emission lines and the absorption of
continuum radiation in the HII regions and the subsequent transfer of line and
continuum radiation in the surrounding HI regions and the ambient ISM. This
enables us to interpret simultaneously all the observations of a homogeneous
sample of nearby UV-selected starburst galaxies, including the ratio of far-IR
to UV luminosities, the ratio of Halpha to Hbeta luminosities, the Halpha
equivalent width, and the UV spectral slope. We show that the finite lifetime
of stellar birth clouds is a key ingredient to resolve an apparent discrepancy
between the attenuation of line and continuum photons in starburst galaxies. In
addition, we find that an effective absorption curve proportional to
lambda^-0.7 reproduces the observed relation between the ratio of far-IR to UV
luminosities and the UV spectral slope. We interpret this relation most simply
as a sequence in the overall dust content of the galaxies. The shallow
wavelength dependence of the effective absorption curve is compatible with the
steepness of known extinction curves if the dust has a patchy distribution. In
particular, we find that a random distribution of discrete clouds with optical
depths similar to those in the Milky Way provides a consistent interpretation
of all the observations. Our model for absorption can be incorporated easily
into any population synthesis model. (abridged)Comment: To appear in the 2000 July 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal; 19
pages with 13 embedded PS figures (emulateapj5.sty
Spermatogonial kinetics in humans
The human spermatogonial compartment is essential for daily production of millions of sperm. Despite this crucial role, the molecular signature, kinetic behavior and regulation of human spermatogonia are poorly understood. Using human testis biopsies with normal spermatogenesis and by studying marker protein expression, we have identified for the first time different subpopulations of spermatogonia. MAGE-A4marks all spermatogonia, KITmarks all Bspermatogonia and UCLH1 all Apale-dark (Ap-d) spermatogonia. We suggest that at the start of the spermatogenic lineage there are Ap-d spermatogonia that are GFRA1High, likely including the spermatogonial stem cells. Next, UTF1 becomes expressed, cells become quiescent and GFRA1 expression decreases. Finally, GFRA1 expression is lost and subsequently cells differentiate into B spermatogonia, losing UTF1 and acquiring KIT expression. Strikingly, most human Ap-d spermatogonia are out of the cell cycle and even differentiating type B spermatogonial proliferation is restricted. A novel scheme for human spermatogonial development is proposed that will facilitate further research in this field, the understanding of cases of infertility and the development of methods to increase sperm output
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