Tracking the US Business Cycle With a Singular Spectrum Analysis

The monitoring of economic developments is an exercise of considerable importance forpolicy makers, namely, central banks and fiscal authorities as well as for other economic agents such as financial intermediaries, firms and households. However, the assessment of the business cycle is not an easy endeavor as the cyclical component is not an observable variable. In this paper we resort to singular spectrum analysis in order to disentangle the US GDP into several underlying components of interest. The business cycle indicator yielded through this method is shown to bear a resemblance with band-pass filtered output. As the end-of-sample behavior is typically a thorny issue in business cycle assessment, a real-time estimation exercise is here conducted to assess the reliability of the several filters. The obtained results suggest that the business cycle indicator proposed herein possesses a better revision performance than other filters commonly applied in the literature.

Are Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients at Risk for Poor Total Hip Replacement Outcomes

Hip involvement in Ankylosing Spondylitis is common and leads to physical and function restriction. Hip replacement surgery is a successful and effective treatment for end-stage hip involvement; however in Ankylosing Spondylitis patient’s prosthesis long-term survival is lesser than other causes of hip osteoarthritis. We report a case of 61-year old Ankylosing Spondylitis male patient with bilateral cementless hip replacement with 26-year and 25-year follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Compound Asterosoma ludwigae Schlirf, 2000 from the Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal): conditional strategies in the behaviour of Crustacea

En este trabajo se describe la icnoespecie Asterosoma ludwigae Schlirf, 2000, que aparece en dos secciones de distinta edad y paleoambiente en el Jurásico de la Cuenca Lusitánica. Las escasas y poco diversifi cadas paleoicnocenosis asociadas a estos icnofósiles, así como los fósiles, indican una oxigenación baja en la interfase agua-sedimento. Por esta razón, se hace hincapié en la importancia paleoecológica de Chondrites en las litofacies que preceden a aquellas con Thalassinoides suevicus y Asterosoma ludwigae (Jurásico Superior de Guincho) o en asociación directa con morfotipos semejantes (Jurásico Inferior de Peniche). En el syn-rift, en las calciturbiditas de fore-reef del Kimmeridgiense-Titónico de la Formación Mem Martins, la paleoicnocenosis exótica con predominio de Asterosoma ludwigae en tres estadios morfoetológicos gradacionales, sugiere una estrategia condicional oportunista forzada para los organismos productores de estas estructuras. Sin embargo, en la Formación “Calcários e margas de Peniche”, contemporánea al post-rifting, Asterosoma se encuentra en paleoicnocenosis que representan condiciones de equilibrio. En ambos casos, existe una relación espacial de proximidad entre Asterosoma ludwigae y las redes de galerías del “grupo S-O-T”, referentes a fodinichnia de posibles crustáceos decápodos.Asterosoma ludwigae Schlirf, 2000 is described in two sections of different age and palaeoenvironment in the Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin. The scarce and low diversity of palaeoichnocoenoses associated with these trace fossil, as well as body fossils, indicate low oxygenation of sediment levels close to substrate-water interface. Thus, the palaeoecological signifi cance of Chondrites in lithofacies preceding those with Thalassinoides suevicus and Asterosoma ludwigae (Upper Jurassic of Guincho) or in direct association with similar morphotypes (Lower Jurassic of Peniche) is emphasized. In the syn-rift, fore-reef calciturbidites of the Kimmeridgian-to-Tithonian Mem Martins Formation, an exotic palaeoichnocoenosis dominated by Asterosoma ludwigae in three morpho-ethological gradational stages suggests a forced opportunistic, conditional strategy for the trace maker population. However, in the “Calcários e margas de Peniche” Formation, that is coeval with the post-rifting depositional setting, Asterosoma is found in palaeoichnocoenoses representing equilibrium conditions. A close spatial relationship exists, in both cases, between Asterosoma ludwigae and the “S-O-T group” burrow networks referring to fodinichnia of possible decapod crustaceans

A Complex Case of Cholestasis in a Patient with ABCB4 and ABCB11 Mutations

The low-phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a form of symptomatic cholelithiasis occurring in young adults, characterized by recurrence of symptoms after cholecystectomy and presence of hepatolithiasis. The case refers to a healthy 39-year-old Caucasian male who presented with abdominal pain and jaundice. His blood tests showed conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and elevated liver enzymes (total bilirubin 6.65 mg/dL, γ-glutamyltransferase 699 IU/L) and abdominal computed tomography revealed dilation of common bile duct and left intrahepatic ducts. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography identified choledocholithiasis, retrieved by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, after which there was a worsening of jaundice (total bilirubin 23 mg/dL), which persisted for several weeks, possibly due to ciprofloxacin toxicity. After an extensive workup including liver biopsy, the identification of two foci of hepatolithiasis on reevaluation abdominal ultrasound raised the hypothesis of LPAC syndrome and the patient was started on ursodeoxycholic acid, with remarkable improvement. Genetic testing identified the mutation c.1954A>G (p.Arg652Gly) in ABCB4 gene (homozygous) and c.1331T>C (p.Val444Ala) in ABCB11 gene (heterozygous). In conclusion, we describe the unique case of an adult male with choledocholithiasis, hepatolithiasis, and persistent conjugated hyperbilirubinemia after retrieval of stones, fulfilling the criteria for LPAC syndrome and with possible superimposed drug-induced liver injury, in whom ABCB4 and ABCB11 mutations were found, both of which had not been previously described in association with LPAC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulatory focus and sexual health: Motives for security and pleasure in sexuality are associated with distinct protective behaviors

We examined if motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) or pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) were uniquely associated with intentions to get tested for STIs and behavioral control over condom use, over and above variables already identified in theoretical models. We conducted an online survey with Portuguese adults (N = 836; Mage = 22.27, SD = 5.14). Overall, 99.4% of the participants knew at least one of eight STIs, but only 25.2% got tested in the last six months. Participants more focused on prevention had condomless sex less frequently, whereas participants more focused on promotion knew more STIs and got tested for more STIs. Furthermore, participants had stronger intentions to get tested for STIs if they got tested for more STIs in the past, were more concerned about STIs, perceived greater susceptibility to STI acquisition, and were more focused on promotion (but not prevention). Participants had greater behavioral control over condom use if they had condomless sex less often and were more focused on prevention (but not promotion). These findings suggest that promotion-focused people are more likely to consider the consequences of having condomless sex. In contrast, prevention-focused people are more likely to take control of their sexual health.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Micro-firms way to succeed: How owners manage people

This study explores the configurations of people management practices in micro-firms and their relation with entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance in a four-year window. Based on the ability-, motivation- and opportunity-focused practices framework, we identify configurations of HRM practices used in micro-firms and, in conjugation with entrepreneurial orientation, how they affect employee growth and net income. We analyzed data collected from 114 micro-firm owners combined with firm objective performance measures using Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. Results show a taxonomy of three configurations of HRM practices associated with different entrepreneurial orientation strategic postures in micro-firms: “Financial centric HRM practices”, “Operations centric HRM practices”, and “People centric HRM practices”. We assume that configurational methods can help uncover the complexity of the interplay between HRM practices and strategic postures on micro-firm performance. This study contributes to the literature in micro-firms by revealing effective people-related managerial practices on performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Short-term antigen presentation and single clonal burst limit the magnitude of the CD8(+) T cell responses to malaria liver stages.

Malaria sporozoites induce swift activation of antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells that inhibit the intracellular development of liver-stage parasites. The length of time of functional in vivo antigen presentation, estimated by monitoring the activation of antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells, is of short duration, with maximum T cell activation occurring within the first 8 h after immunization and lasting approximately 48 h. Although the magnitude of the CD8(+) T cell response closely correlates with the number of parasites used for immunization, increasing the time of antigen presentation by daily immunizations does not enhance the magnitude of this response. Thus, once a primary clonal burst is established, the CD8(+) T cell response becomes refractory or unresponsive to further antigenic stimulation. These findings strongly suggest that the most efficient strategy for the induction of primary CD8(+) T cell responses is the delivery of a maximal amount of antigen in a single dose, thereby ensuring a clonal burst that involves the largest number of precursors to become memory cells