Results of a study of the stability of cointegrating relations comprised of broad monetary aggregates

There is strong evidence of a stable “money demand” relationship for MZM and M2 through the 1990s. Though the M2 relationship breaks down somewhere around 1990, evidence has been accumulating that the disturbance is well characterized as a permanent upward shift in M2 velocity that began around 1990 and was largely over by 1994. This paper’s results support the hypothesis that households permanently reallocated a portion of their wealth from time deposits to mutual funds. This reallocation may have been induced by depository restructuring, but it could also be explained by appropriately measured opportunity cost.Demand for money

Hadronic Atoms and Effective Interactions

We examine the problem of hadronic atom energy shifts using the technique of effective interactions and demonstrate equivalence with the conventional quantum mechanical approach.Comment: 22 page latex file with 2 figure

Quantitative 7T MRI does not detect occult brain damage in neuromyelitis optica

Objective: To investigate and compare occult damages in aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-rich periependymal regions in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) vs healthy controls (HCs) and patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) applying quantitative T1 mapping at 7 Tesla (T) in a cross-sectional study. Methods: Eleven patients with NMOSD (median Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score 3.5, disease duration 9.3 years, age 43.7 years, and 11 female) seropositive for anti-AQP4 antibodies, 7 patients with MS (median EDSS score 1.5, disease duration 3.6, age 30.2 years, and 4 female), and 10 HCs underwent 7T MRI. The imaging protocol included T2*-weighted (w) imaging and an MP2RAGE sequence yielding 3D T1w images and quantitative T1 maps. We semiautomatically marked the lesion-free periependymal area around the cerebral aqueduct and the lateral, third, and fourth ventricles to finally measure and compare the T1 relaxation time within these areas. Results: We did not observe any differences in the T1 relaxation time between patients with NMOSD and HCs (all > 0.05). Contrarily, the T1 relaxation time was longer in patients with MS vs patients with NMOSD (lateral ventricle = 0.056, third ventricle = 0.173, fourth ventricle = 0.016, and cerebral aqueduct = 0.048) and vs HCs (third ventricle = 0.027, fourth ventricle = 0.013, lateral ventricle = 0.043, and cerebral aqueduct = 0.005). Conclusion: Unlike in MS, we did not observe subtle T1 changes in lesion-free periependymal regions in NMOSD, which supports the hypothesis of a rather focal than diffuse brain pathology in NMOSD

Alternative exon splicing and differential expression in pancreatic islets reveals candidate genes and pathways implicated in early diabetes development

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has a strong genetic component. Most of the gene variants driving the pathogenesis of T2D seem to target pancreatic β-cell function. To identify novel gene variants acting at early stage of the disease, we analyzed whole transcriptome data to identify differential expression (DE) and alternative exon splicing (AS) transcripts in pancreatic islets collected from two metabolically diverse mouse strains at 6 weeks of age after three weeks of high-fat-diet intervention. Our analysis revealed 1218 DE and 436 AS genes in islets from NZO/Hl vs C3HeB/FeJ. Whereas some of the revealed genes present well-established markers for β-cell failure, such as Cd36 or Aldh1a3, we identified numerous DE/AS genes that have not been described in context with β-cell function before. The gene Lgals2, previously associated with human T2D development, was DE as well as AS and localizes in a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for blood glucose on Chr.15 that we reported recently in our N2(NZOxC3H) population. In addition, pathway enrichment analysis of DE and AS genes showed an overlap of only half of the revealed pathways, indicating that DE and AS in large parts influence different pathways in T2D development. PPARG and adipogenesis pathways, two well-established metabolic pathways, were overrepresented for both DE and AS genes, probably as an adaptive mechanism to cope for increased cellular stress. Our results provide guidance for the identification of novel T2D candidate genes and demonstrate the presence of numerous AS transcripts possibly involved in islet function and maintenance of glucose homeostasis

MRI Markers and Functional Performance in Patients With CIS and MS: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Brain atrophy is a widely accepted marker of disease severity with association to clinical disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). It is unclear to which extent this association reflects common age effects on both atrophy and function. Objective: To explore how functional performance in gait, upper extremities and cognition is associated with brain atrophy in patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS) and relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), controlling for effects of age and sex. Methods: In 27 patients with CIS, 59 with RRMS (EDSS <= 3) and 63 healthy controls (HC), 3T MRI were analyzed for T2 lesion count (T2C), volume (T2V) and brain volumes [normalized brain volume (NBV), gray matter volume (NGMV), white matter volume (NWMV), thalamic volume (NThaIV)]. Functional performance was measured with short maximum walking speed (SMSW speed), 9-hole peg test (9HPT) and symbol digit modalities test (SDMT). Linear regression models were created for functional variables with stepwise inclusion of age, sex and MR imaging markers. Results: CIS differed from HC only in T2C and T2V. RRMS differed from HC in NBV, NGMV and NThaIV, T2C and T2V, but not in NWMV. A strong association with age was seen in HC, CIS and RRMS groups for NBV (r = -0.5 to -0.6) and NGMV (r = -0.6 to -0.8). Associations with age were seen in HC and RRMS but not CIS for NThaIV (r = -0.3; r = -0.5), T2C (r(s) = 0.3; r(s) = 0.2) and T2V (r(s) = 0.3; r(s) = 0.3). No effect of age was seen on NWMV. Correlations of functional performance with age in RRMS were seen for SMSW speed, 9HPTand SDMT (r = -0.27 to -0.46). Regression analyses yielded significant models only in the RRMS group for 9HPT, SMSW speed and EDSS. These included NBV, NGMV, NThaIV, NWMV, logT2V, age and sex as predictors. NThalV was the only MRI variable predicting a functional measure (9HPT(r)) with a higher standardized beta than age and sex (R2 = 0.36, p < 1e-04). Conclusion: Thalamic atrophy was a stronger predictor of hand function (9HPT) in RRMS, than age and sex. This underlines the clinical relevance of thalamic atrophy and the relevance of hand function as a clinical marker even in mildly disabled patients

Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in serum and DNA load in saliva are not associated with radiological or clinical disease activity in patients with early multiple sclerosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) and viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies in serum as well as EBV DNA load in saliva with radiological and clinical disease activity in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and early relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). METHODS: EBNA-1 and VCA immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies were determined in serum of 100 patients with CIS/early RRMS and 60 healthy controls. EBV DNA load was measured in saliva of 48 patients and 50 controls. Patients underwent clinical assessment with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and after a median of 20 months of follow-up (n = 63 for MRI, n = 71 for EDSS). The association of EBV parameters with occurrence of a second relapse, indicating conversion to clinically definite MS (CDMS), was evaluated over a median of 35 months of follow-up after the first clinical event (n = 89). RESULTS: BNA-1 IgG antibody frequency (p = 0.00005) and EBNA-1 and VCA IgG antibody levels (p<0.0001 for both) were higher in patients than in controls. EBV DNA load in saliva did not differ between groups. Neither EBV antibody levels nor DNA load in saliva were associated with baseline or follow-up number or volume of T2-weighted (T2w) or contrast enhancing lesions, number of Barkhof criteria or the EDSS, or with the number of new T2w lesions, T2w lesion volume change or EDSS change on follow-up. Likewise, levels of EBV IgG antibodies in serum and DNA load in saliva were not associated with conversion to CDMS. CONCLUSIONS: While these findings confirm the association of EBV infection with early MS, neither EBNA-1 nor VCA IgG antibodies in serum nor EBV DNA load in saliva were associated with radiological or clinical disease activity in patients with CIS/early RRMS. These data are compatible with the concept that EBV may be a trigger for MS acting very early during the development of the disease

Agro-ecology, resource endowment and indigenous knowledge interactions modulate soil fertility in mixed farming systems in central and western Ethiopia

Open Access Article; Published online: 14 Feb 2021Site‐specific soil fertility management requires a fundamental understanding of factors that modulate soil fertility variability in the local context. To verify this assumption, this study hypothesized that soil fertility variability across two regions in Central and Western Ethiopia is determined by inter‐related effects of agro‐ecological zones and farmers’ resource endowment (‘wealthy’ versus ‘poor’ farmers). Mid‐infrared spectroscopy coupled to partial least squares regression (midDRIFTS‐PLSR) and wet‐laboratory analyses were used to assess the soil fertility (soil pH, total soil carbon [TC] and nitrogen [TN], plant‐available phosphorous [Pav] and potassium [Kav]) across four agro‐ecological zones: ‘High‐Dega’ (HD), ‘Dega’ (D), ‘Weina‐Dega’ (WD) and ‘Kola’ (K). MidDRIFTS peak area analysis of spectral frequencies (2,930 [aliphatic C‐H], 1,620 [aromatic C = C], 1,159 [C‐O poly‐alcoholic and ether groups] cm‐1) was applied to characterize soil organic carbon (SOC) quality and to calculate the SOC stability index (1,620:2,930). Higher TC in HD, as well as higher TN and Kav contents in K were found in fields of wealthy compared with poor farmers. Resource endowment dependent soil fertility management options revealed SOC of higher quality in wealthy compared with poor farms in D. Agro‐ecological zones distinctions contributed to these soil fertility differences. Farmers distinguished visually fertile and less fertile fields based on soil colour. Higher pH in K and WD as well as Pav in K and HD were found in fertile (brown/black) than less fertile (red) soils. To conclude, tailor‐made soil fertility management in the local context must consider agro‐ecological zones and resource endowment interactions along with farmers’ indigenous knowledge

Biomarker discovery and redundancy reduction towards classification using a multi-factorial MALDI-TOF MS T2DM mouse model dataset

Diabetes like many diseases and biological processes is not mono-causal. On the one hand multifactorial studies with complex experimental design are required for its comprehensive analysis. On the other hand, the data from these studies often include a substantial amount of redundancy such as proteins that are typically represented by a multitude of peptides. Coping simultaneously with both complexities (experimental and technological) makes data analysis a challenge for Bioinformatics

Fostering accessible online education using Galaxy as an e-learning platform

The COVID-19 pandemic is shifting teaching to an online setting all over the world. The Galaxy framework facilitates the online learning process and makes it accessible by providing a library of high-quality community-curated training materials, enabling easy access to data and tools, and facilitates sharing achievements and progress between students and instructors. By combining Galaxy with robust communication channels, effective instruction can be designed inclusively, regardless of the students’ environments