Look Before You Leap: A Skeptical View of Proposals to Meld Macro- and Microprudential Regulation

G-20 ministers should avoid creating a new layer of regulation to counter future systemic financial risks, according to a newly released C.D Howe Institute study. The Commentary by Nick Le Pan, former Superintendent of Financial Institutions, cautions against current G-20 proposals to expand regulation to include system-wide macroeconomic risks.financial services, Bank of Canada, OSFI, systemic risk, procyclicality, Basel II

Mapping Crop Cycles in China Using MODIS-EVI Time Series

As the Earth’s population continues to grow and demand for food increases, the need for improved and timely information related to the properties and dynamics of global agricultural systems is becoming increasingly important. Global land cover maps derived from satellite data provide indispensable information regarding the geographic distribution and areal extent of global croplands. However, land use information, such as cropping intensity (defined here as the number of cropping cycles per year), is not routinely available over large areas because mapping this information from remote sensing is challenging. In this study, we present a simple but efficient algorithm for automated mapping of cropping intensity based on data from NASA’s (NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The proposed algorithm first applies an adaptive Savitzky-Golay filter to smooth Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) time series derived from MODIS surface reflectance data. It then uses an iterative moving-window methodology to identify cropping cycles from the smoothed EVI time series. Comparison of results from our algorithm with national survey data at both the provincial and prefectural level in China show that the algorithm provides estimates of gross sown area that agree well with inventory data. Accuracy assessment comparing visually interpreted time series with algorithm results for a random sample of agricultural areas in China indicates an overall accuracy of 91.0% for three classes defined based on the number of cycles observed in EVI time series. The algorithm therefore appears to provide a straightforward and efficient method for mapping cropping intensity from MODIS time series data

Suppression of breast cancer cell growth by Na(+)/H(+ )exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF1)

INTRODUCTION: Na(+)/H(+ )exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF1, also known as EBP50 or NHERF) is a putative tumour suppressor gene in human breast cancer. Located at 17q25.1, NHERF1 is frequently targeted during breast tumourigenesis. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the NHERF1 locus is found in more than 50% of breast tumours. In addition, NHERF1 is mutated in a subset of primary breast tumours and breast cancer cell lines. LOH at the NHERF1 locus is strongly associated with aggressive features of breast tumours, implicating NHERF1 as a haploinsufficiency tumour suppressor gene. However, the putative NHERF1 tumour suppressor activity has not been functionally verified. METHODS: To confirm the NHERF1 tumour suppressor activity suggested by our genetic analyses, we used retrovirus-transduced short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to knock down NHERF1 expression in breast cancer cell lines MCF7 and T47D. These cells were then assessed for cell growth in vitro and in vivo. The control and NHERF1 knockdown cells were also serum-starved and re-fed to compare their cell cycle progression as measured by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses. RESULTS: We found that downregulation of the endogenous NHERF1 in T47D or MCF7 cells resulted in enhanced cell proliferation in both anchorage-dependent and -independent conditions compared with that of the vector control cells. NHERF1 knockdown T47D cells implanted at mammary fat pads of athymic mice formed larger tumours than did control cells. We found that serum-starved NHERF1 knockdown cells had a faster G(1)-to-S transition after serum re-stimulation than the control cells. Immunoblotting showed that the accelerated cell cycle progression in NHERF1 knockdown cells was accompanied by increased expression of cyclin E and elevated Rb phosphorylation level. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that the normal NHERF1 function in mammary epithelial cells involves blockage of cell cycle progression. Our study affirmed the tumour suppressor activity of NHERF1 in breast which may be related to its regulatory effect on cell cycle. It warrants future investigation of this novel tumour suppressor pathway in human breast cancer which may turn up therapeutic opportunities