321 research outputs found
Whither growth in central and eastern Europe? Policy lessons for an integrated Europe
In this Blueprint, Bruegel Resident Fellows Zsolt Darvas, Jean Pisani-Ferry, André Sapir and their co-authors Torbjörn Becker, Daniel Daianu, Vladimir Gligorov, Michael A Landesmann, Pavle Petrovic, Dariusz K. Rosati and Beatrice Weder di Mauro argue that in view of the depth of integration in Europe, the development model of the central, eastern and south-eastern Europe (CESEE) region, despite its shortcomings, should be preserved. But it should be reformed, with major implications for policymaking both at national and EU levels. If so, what are the required changes? Bruegel and The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) cooperated to form this expert group of economists from various European countries to research these issues.
Early Changes in Nitrate Uptake and Assimilation Under Drought in Relation to Transpiration
Soil drying combined with nitrogen (N) deficiency poses a grave threat to agricultural crop production. The rate at which nitrate (NO3â) is taken up depends partly on the uptake and transpiration of water. Rapid changes in nitrate assimilation, in contrast to other N forms, may serve as a component of the plant stress response to drought because nitrate assimilation may lead to changes in xylem pH. The modulation of xylem sap pH may be relevant for stomata regulation via the delivery of abscisic acid (ABA) to guard cells. In several factorial experiments, we investigated the interactions between nitrate and water availability on nitrate fate in the plant, as well as their possible implications for the early drought-stress response. We monitored the short-term response (2â6 days) of nitrate in biomass, transport to shoot and reduction in Pisum sativum, Hordeum vulgare, Vicia faba, and Nicotiana tabacum and correlated this with sap pH and transpiration rates (TRs). Cultivation on inorganic substrate ensured control over nutrient and water supply and prevented nodulation in legume species. NO3â content in biomass decreased in most of the species under drought indicating significant decline in NO3â uptake. Hordeum vulgare had the highest NO3â concentrations in all organs even under drought and low NO3â treatment. This species can likely respond much better to the combined adverse effects of low NO3â and water scarcity. Nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was reduced in both roots and leaves of water deficient (WD) plants in all species except H. vulgare, presumably due to its high NO3â contents. Further, transient reduction in NO3â availability had no effect on sap pH. Therefore, it seems unlikely that NRA shifts from shoot root leading to the supposed alkalization of sap. We also did not observe any interactive effects of NO3â and water deficiency on transpiration. Hence, as long as leaf NO3â content remains stable, NO3â availability in soil is not linked to short-term modulation of transpiration.Peer Reviewe
Linking unfounded beliefs to genetic dopamine availability
Unfounded convictions involving beliefs in the paranormal, grandiosity ideas
or suspicious thoughts are endorsed at varying degrees among the general
population. Here, we investigated the neurobiopsychological basis of the
observed inter-individual variability in the propensity toward unfounded
beliefs. One hundred two healthy individuals were genotyped for four
polymorphisms in the COMT gene (rs6269, rs4633, rs4818, and rs4680, also known
as val158met) that define common functional haplotypes with substantial impact
on synaptic dopamine degradation, completed a questionnaire measuring
unfounded beliefs, and took part in a behavioral experiment assessing
perceptual inference. We found that greater dopamine availability was
associated with a stronger propensity toward unfounded beliefs, and that this
effect was statistically mediated by an enhanced influence of expectations on
perceptual inference. Our results indicate that genetic differences in
dopaminergic neurotransmission account for inter-individual differences in
perceptual inference linked to the formation and maintenance of unfounded
beliefs. Thus, dopamine might be critically involved in the processes
underlying one's interpretation of the relationship between the self and the
world
Incoherent non-Fermi liquid scattering in a Kondo lattice
One of the most notorious non-Fermi liquid properties of both archetypal
heavy-fermion systems [1-4] and the high-Tc copper oxide superconductors [5] is
an electrical resistivity that evolves linearly with temperature, T. In the
heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 [5], this linear behaviour was one of the
first indications of the presence of a zero-temperature instability, or quantum
critical point. Here, we report the observation of a unique control parameter
of T-linear scattering in CeCoIn5, found through systematic chemical
substitutions of both magnetic and non-magnetic rare-earth, R, ions into the Ce
sub-lattice. We find that the evolution of inelastic scattering in Ce1-xRxCoIn5
is strongly dependent on the f-electron configuration of the R ion, whereas two
other key properties -- Cooper-pair breaking and Kondo-lattice coherence -- are
not. Thus, T-linear resistivity in CeCoIn5 is intimately related to the nature
of incoherent scattering centers in the Kondo lattice, which provides insight
into the anomalous scattering rate synonymous with quantum criticality [7].Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (published version
The Urine-to-Plasma Urea Concentration Ratio is associated with eGFR and eGFR decline over time in a population cohort.
BACKGROUND
Evaluation of renal function and of factors associated with its decline are important public health issues. Besides markers of glomerular function (e.g., GFR), those of tubular functions are rarely evaluated. Urea, the most abundant urinary solute, is markedly concentrated in urine when compared to plasma. We explored the urine-to-plasma ratio of urea concentrateions (U/P-urea-ratio) as a marker of tubular functions.
METHODS
We evaluated the relationship of the U/P-urea-ratio with eGFR at baseline in 1043 participants (48±17y) from the SKIPOGH population-based cohort, using mixed regression. In 898 participants, we assessed the relation between U/P-urea-ratio and renal function decline between two study waves 3 years apart. We studied U/P ratios for osmolarity, Na, K, uric acid for comparison.
RESULTS
In a transversal study at baseline, eGFR was positively associated with U/P-urea-ratio (ÎČscaled = 0.08, 95%CI[0.04;0.13]) but not with the U/P ratio of osmolarity. Considering separately participants with renal function > or †90 ml/minx1.73m2, this association was observed only in those with reduced renal function. In the longitudinal study, eGFR declined at a mean rate of 1.2 ml/min per year. A significant association was observed between baseline U/P-urea-ratio and eGFR decline (ÎČscaled = 0.08, 95%CI[0.01;0.15]). A lower baseline U/P-urea-ratio was associated with a greater eGFR decline.
CONCLUSION
This study provides evidence that the U/P-urea-ratio is an early marker of kidney function decline in the general adult population. Urea is easy to measure with well-standardized techniques and at low cost. Thus, the U/P-urea-ratio could become an easily available tubular marker for evaluating renal function decline
Usability of a Robot's Realistic Facial Expressions and Peripherals in Autistic Children's Therapy
Robot-assisted therapy is an emerging form of therapy for autistic children,
although designing effective robot behaviors is a challenge for effective
implementation of such therapy. A series of usability tests assessed trends in
the effectiveness of modelling a robot's facial expressions on realistic facial
expressions and of adding peripherals enabling child-led control of emotion
learning activities with autistic children. Nineteen autistic children
interacted with a small humanoid robot and an adult therapist in several
emotion-learning activities that featured realistic facial expressions modelled
on either a pre-existing database or live facial mirroring, and that used
peripherals (tablets or tangible 'squishies') to enable child-led activities.
Both types of realistic facial expressions by the robot were less effective
than exaggerated expressions, with the mirroring being unintuitive for
children. The tablet was usable but required more feedback and lower latency,
while the tactile tangibles were engaging aids.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, 2nd Workshop on Social Robots in Therapy and
Care. 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI
2019
Total and positronium formation cross sections for positron scattering from H2O and HCOOH
Total and positronium formation cross sections have been measured for positron scattering from H2O and HCOOH using a positron beam with an energy resolution of 60 meV (full-width at half-maximum (FWHM)). The energy range covered is 0.5â60 eV, including an investigation of the behavior of the onset of the positronium formation channel using measurements with a 50 meV energy step, the result of which shows no evidence of any channel coupling effects or scattering resonances for either molecule
Strongly aligned gas-phase molecules at Free-Electron Lasers
We demonstrate a novel experimental implementation to strongly align
molecules at full repetition rates of free-electron lasers. We utilized the
available in-house laser system at the coherent x-ray imaging beamline at the
Linac Coherent Light Source. Chirped laser pulses, i. e., the direct output
from the regenerative amplifier of the Ti:Sa chirped pulse amplification laser
system, were used to strongly align 2,5-diiodothiophene molecules in a
molecular beam. The alignment laser pulses had pulse energies of a few mJ and a
pulse duration of 94 ps. A degree of alignment of
\left = 0.85 was measured, limited by the
intrinsic temperature of the molecular beam rather than by the available laser
system. With the general availability of synchronized chirped-pulse-amplified
near-infrared laser systems at short-wavelength laser facilities, our approach
allows for the universal preparation of molecules tightly fixed in space for
experiments with x-ray pulses.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Aberrant signaling of immune cells in Sjögren's syndrome patient subgroups upon interferon stimulation
Background: Primary Sjögrenâs syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by mononuclear cell infiltrates in the salivary and lacrimal glands, leading to glandular atrophy and dryness. Patient heterogeneity and lack of knowledge regarding its pathogenesis makes pSS a difficult disease to manage.
Methods: An exploratory analysis using mass cytometry was conducted of MAPK/ERK and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 16 female medication free pSS patients (8 anti-Sjögrenâs syndrome-related antigen A negative/SSA- and 8 SSA+) and 8 female age-matched healthy donors after stimulation with interferons (IFNs).
Results: We found significant differences in the frequencies of memory B cells, CD8+ T central and effector memory cells and terminally differentiated CD4+ T cells among the healthy donors and patient subgroups. In addition, we observed an upregulation of HLA-DR and CD38 in many cell subsets in the patients. Upon IFNα2b stimulation, slightly increased signaling through pSTAT1 Y701 was observed in most cell types in pSS patients compared to controls, while phosphorylation of STAT3 Y705 and STAT5 Y694 were slightly reduced. IFNγ stimulation resulted in significantly increased pSTAT1 Y701 induction in conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and classical and non-classical monocytes in the patients. Most of the observed differences were more prominent in the SSA+ subgroup, indicating greater disease severity in them.
Conclusions: Augmented activation status of certain cell types along with potentiated pSTAT1 Y701 signaling and reduced pSTAT3 Y705 and pSTAT5 Y694 induction may predispose pSS patients, especially the SSA+ subgroup, to upregulated expression of IFN-induced genes and production of autoantibodies. These patients may benefit from therapies targeting these pathways.publishedVersio
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