Capital controls and spillover effects: evidence from Latin-American countries

The surge in capital inflows towards emerging countries after 2009 has revived the debate about capital controls. This paper analyzes some of the international implications of restrictions on capital inflows. Focusing on a sample of Latin-American countries, we use detailed balance of payments data and higher frequency data on portfolio bond and equity flows to investigate the potential spillover effects that capital controls imposed in one country may have on neighboring economies. Using various econometric approaches, we find that a rise in the Brazilian tax on portfolio bond inflows has been affecting other Latin-American economies through significant surges in portfolio funds invested either in fixed income or equity securities. The effect is usually short lasting and followed by rapid reductions in those inflows. Yet it can be large. According to our estimates, the increase in the Brazilian tax on portfolio bond inflows may account for the entire surge in bond inflows to Mexico between September and October 2010.capital flows, capital controls, spillovers, Latin America, VAR.

Numération bactérienne en épifluorescence par la méthode couplée DAPI-INT : application à un cas concret

Un protocole simple de coloration par la méthode couplée DAPI-INT en microscopie à épifluorescence, associé à une lecture des préparations par caméra et vidéo-Imprimante, permet la mesure de paramètres biologiques impliqués directement dans les processus de dégradation de la matière organique en rivière : numérations de microflore totale, nombre de cellules physiologiquement actives (réduisant l'INT), nombre de cellules avec réserves de PHB, dimensions cellulaires et répartition en classes de taille aboutissant à l'évaluation de la biomasse carbonée.Tous les comptages et mesures sont réalisés à partir de clichés d'imprimante thermique, ce qui assure une reproductibilité et une comparaison entre échantillons plus objective qu'à partir de seules observations directes.Cette méthode permet de différer soit les comptages (échantillons fixés au formol après incubation à l'INT), soit surtout les mesures de dimensions cellulaires (archivage des clichés pour une exploitation ultérieure).Son application au cas de la rivière Charente montre une évolution particulière de la biomasse bactérienne en aval des rejets de l'agglomération d'Angoulême. La mise en évidence de cellules de grande taille (biovolume moyen de 0,3 µm3) et d'une population plus active pourrait traduire une modification physiologique de micro-organismes autochtones réagissant à des conditions de milieu particulières (rejets d'effluents carencés en azote).The increasing appreciation of heterotrophic bacterioplankton as an important and dynamic compartment in the carbon cycle of aquatic ecosystems has led to the development of methods allowing reproducible and reliable direct bacterial counts. Thus, since the 1970's, enumeration of bacteria by epifluorescence microscopy has become a widely used method for the estimation of cell number and biovolume. Cell counts are made using either the acridine orange (Hobbie et al. 1977) or the DAPI (Porter 1980) procedure on fixed samples. A tracer of cellular respiratory activity (INT) can be linked to either of these two methods before the samples are killed by formalin. Two observations of the same field, one in transmitted light, the other by epifluorescence, allow a determination of the percentage of active bacterioplankton (Tabor and Neihof 1982, Dufour 1990).However, the various authors working with these procedures have modified the protocol and up to now there has not been a standard method. Thus, before using it for the first time, numerous verifications about filters, concentration of dye solution and methods for estimating cell volume are necessary.In this study a simultaneous comparison, between three brands of filters, two dye solutions and three methods for numeration and cell volume estimation (by direct count, by photographs and by video graphic printer) has been performed.All the tests have been clone with samples collected from rivera or lakes. In comparison to laboratory cultures, natural bacteria are observed with difficulty on account of their small size and especially because natural organic matter absorbs dye solution and so interferes with counts. We prefer to use DAPI rather than acridine orange, because DAPI is colorless in direct light, so it doesn't interfere with enumeration of respiring bacteria (red crystal inside cell). To obtain the best contrast for observation in epifluorescence microscopy, a very fast drying in the open air and a structure less troublesome for the observation in direct light, we have chosen Millipore black filters. A camera associated with a video printer gives better results compared to the photographs : no fluorescent "halo" around the tell image and no waste of time waiting for development of the film. All counts and measures were made from video graphic printer photographs, which assures reproductibility and more objective comparisons between samples, compared to direct counts (with eyes) that are tiring and subjective. Finally, we can defer counting (samples fixed in formol after INT incubation) or cell size measurements (analysis of recorded photos) to a later time.On the basis of this tests, the DAPI-INT method in fluorescence microscopy, associated with the reading of slides with a camera and a video-printer, allows one to measure biological parameters directly implicated in the degradation of river organic matter : abundance of total microflora, number of physiologically active cells (reducing INT) and cells with PHB reserves, cell sizes and size range distribution used to evaluate carbon biomass.The application of this method to the river Charente (April to November 1991) shows a particular fate of bacterial biomass downstream from the city of Angouleme. A multifactor analysis of variance with a multiple range analyses (Tukey) shows that bacterial cells collected downstream from the effluent discharge of the Angouleme wastewater treatment plant are the largest (average cell volume up to 0.3 µm3) and the more active cells. Similar trends have also been observed by Servais and Garnier (1989) downstream from the Paris wastewater treatment plant (Achères) on the Seine river. These authors suggested that allochtonous populations associated with the urban sewage were different from the autochtonous populations (higher biovolume). To verify this hypothesis, a sampling campaign (June 92) was performed on five stations along an eight kilometers river reach. There weren't large size bacteria downstream from the effluent discharge of Frégeneuil, Fléac and St Michel wastewater treatment plants. We Pound the largest bacteria at Nersac. Thus it seems that these large bacteria don't came from wastewater treatment plant. The increase of autochtonous bacterial size could be interpretated as a nutritional stress, the increase of the C/N ratio preventing cellular division (nitrogen deficient sewages)

Cartes sur fonds d'images spatiales

La qualité géométrique, la vue synoptique sur de grandes étendues, le caractère souvent expressif des images obtenues à partir de l'espace ont provoqué l'utilisation de fonds d'images spatiales avec des surcharges chorogra phiques. On peut proposer une typologie de ces documents sur fonds d'images satellitaires dont un spécimen au 1/25 000 est présenté à partir des données SPOT

Évaluation de l’état de l’hydromorphologie des cours d’eau : retour d’expérience sur le bassin Adour-Garonne (France)

Pour préparer la mise en oeuvre de la directive 2000-60-CE du Parlement et du conseil européen, établissant un cadre pour une politique communautaire dans le domaine de l’eau, l’Agence de l’Eau Adour-Garonne a réalisé une évaluation de l’état de l’hydromorphologie de plusieurs milliers de kilomètres de cours d’eau selon un protocole original. À partir d’un inventaire normalisé des Aménagements, des Travaux et des Ouvrages, une évaluation des altérations potentielles de l’hydromorphologie a été réalisée à l’aide du système-expert EVACE. Cette approche ne nécessite pas, comme préalable, l’utilisation d’une typologie de cours d’eau ou d’un échantillon représentatif de sites de référence. Elle est en mesure de fournir une image nuancée et réaliste d’un réseau hydrographique étendu ou d’une portion de cours d’eau. Cette évaluation en continu peut constituer la première étape d’une analyse multi échelle de l’altération du milieu physique des rivières, allant du grand bassin-versant à la station de caractérisation de l’état de l’habitat ou de la biologie. Cette démarche emboîtée peut aider à établir des liens entre les altérations de l’hydromorphologie et la qualité écologique des cours d’eau. Ainsi, elle est en mesure d’identifier les causes sur lesquelles il est nécessaire d’agir pour améliorer l’état des cours d’eau.In order to implement the 2000-60-CE Directive of the European Parliament and Council that establishes a framework to community actions in the field of water policy, the Adour-Garonne Water Agency has pursued the analysis of several thousands kilometres of water courses to estimate their hydro-morphological state, using a new study protocol. The hydro-morphological potential state has been estimated by the EVACE assessment system and based on a normalized inventory of modifications, works and buildings. This method does not request any particular river typology nor any relevant reference sites sample as a precondition. This method proposes a varied and realistic picture of a large river basin as well as a short section of a stream. This gradual evaluation method can be considered as the first step of a river multi-scale method of analysis to measure river morphology changes from large river basins to small river biological environment assessment spot. This interlocked method can help determine connections between hydro-morphological changes and rivers’ ecological quality. It directly points down causes of disruptions that can be corrected to improve water courses quality state

L’étude des médias est-elle soluble dans l’informatique et la physique ? À propos du recours aux digital methods dans l’analyse de l’information en ligne

Les recherches portant sur l’information en ligne sont marquées par une certaine emprise des méthodes quantitatives et statistiques. Elles rejoignent pour partie une autoproclamée nouvelle science des réseaux, appuyée sur la physique et les mathématiques, ainsi que le plaidoyer pour des méthodes d’observation spécifiques (digital methods), tirant profit des capacités de traitement informatique et des matériaux numériques de l’internet. L’examen détaillé de tels travaux permet d’en cerner les apports (exhaustivité du corpus, représentation synthétique des résultats) et les limites (analyses parfois insuffisamment approfondies, catégorisations réductrices pour les besoins d’automatisation). Il fait également apparaître la nécessité de croiser les digital methods avec des méthodes plus classiques en sciences humaines et sociales, afin de saisir les multiples dimensions des phénomènes médiatiques.Quantitative and statistical methods are more and more frequently used in online news research. They globally join both a larger theoretical frame based upon physics and mathematics – the so-called new science of networks – and a claim to create new digital methods. The latter are expected to catch the infinite digital materials available on the Internet ground and to make their automatic processing easier. Some of these works are examined in this article. Digital methods provide unprecedented massive datasets to media studies as well as convenient graphical tools for exploring them. But the counterparts of such advantages must be taken in consideration too : due to computing constraints, the initial categorizations are not always very relevant and they sometimes lead to insufficiently deepened analyses. These limitations call for completing digital methods with more usual methods from humanities and social sciences in order to improve the whole understanding of media phenomena

Développement d'un nouveau modèle de souris humanisée de sclérose en plaques

Introduction: L’encéphalomyélite auto-immune expérimentale est le modèle animal le plus utilisé pour l’étude de la sclérose en plaques (SEP). Ce modèle ne réplique pas avec exactitude toutes les caractéristiques de la maladie. Notre hypothèse est qu’il est possible de développer un modèle innovateur de souris humanisées de SEP qui reproduirait avec plus de fidélité la maladie. Ce type de modèle ouvrirait la voie à de nouvelles façons d’étudier la physiopathologie de la maladie et surtout permettrait le développement de nouvelles stratégies médicamenteuses. Méthode: Des cellules mononucléées provenant du sang périphérique (Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; PBMC) de patients atteints de SEP et de sujets sains ont été injectées par voie intrapéritonéale à des souris NOD/LtSz-scid IL- 2Rγc(null) afin d’induire une reconstitution immune chez ces souris, laquelle a été évaluée par cytométrie en flux. Par la suite une caractérisation clinico-pathologique du modèle a été faite. Résultats: Une reconstitution immune a été observée chez toutes nos souris ayant reçu des PBMC de patients atteints de SEP et de sujets sains. Les souris n’ont présenté aucune manifestation clinique suggérant une atteinte démyélinisante et l’histologie cérébrale a confirmé l’absence de démyélinisation. Des cellules immunitaires ont été isolées à partir du système nerveux central et leurs caractéristiques tant d’un point de vue quantitatif que qualitatif n’ont pas permis de mettre en évidence une distinction entre le groupe ayant reçu les PBMC de patients atteints de SEP et celui ayant reçu les PBMC provenant des sujets sains. Conclusion: L’injection par voie intrapéritonéale de PBMC provenant de patient atteints de SEP chez la souris NSG engendre une reconstitution immune chez la souris, sans que celle-ci ne développe de manifestation clinicopathologique suggérant une maladie s’apparentant à la SEP.Introduction: Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a widely used animal model for the study of multiple sclerosis (MS). Although instrumental in MS research, this model fails to replicate some characteristics of this highly complex demyelinating disease. Our hypothesis is that we can develop an innovative humanized mouse model of MS that can replicate the human pathology more accurately. Such an improved model would be instrumental in achieving a better understanding of the disease and in facilitating the identification of novel therapeutic targets. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from MS patients and healthy donors were injected intraperitoneally into NOD/LtSz-scid IL-2Rγc(null) (NSG) mice in order to achieve immune reconstitution, which was then evaluated by flow cytometry. A clinico-pathological characterization was also performed on these mice. Results: Immune reconstitution was observed in all of our mice that received PBMC from either MS patients or healthy donors. These humanized mice however did not present any clinical manifestation of a (developing) demyelinating disease. Indeed, histological examination was consistent with this finding, showing the absence of central nervous system (CNS) demyelination. Immune cells isolated from the CNS of mice injected with MS patient PBMC did not show a distinctive immune phenotype when compared with immune cells isolated from mice that received healthy donor PBMC. Conclusion: The intraperitoneal injection of MS patient PBMC into NSG mice induces immune reconstitution, but these mice do not develop any clinicopathological manifestation of a disease suggestive of multiple sclerosis

The Speech Act of Swearing: Gregory of Nazianzus’s Oath in Poema 2.1.2 in Context

Gregory of Nazianzus’s Poemata de seipso as a group are labeled “autobiography” erroneously. 2.1.2 provides a strong case study: it is formally structured as an oath, to be sworn by a bishop but with no definitive identification of speaker. As an oath it is well suited to the application of speech act theory, which allows for interpretations with Gregory and/or any orthodox bishop as speaker. When further considered in light of other oaths as compositional models—professional (e.g. Hippocratic), magisterial, imperial loyalty, biblical— the poem’s scope expands beyond the “autobiographer” to encompass the episcopate and fourth-century culture more broadly

Historiography as Devotion

This article locates Gregory of Nazianzus\u27s Poemata de seipso in the Classical historiographical tradition by comparing their historical meta-narrative to Herodotus\u27 and Thucydides\u27. It then embarks on a case study of Poem 34, On Silence During Lent, closely analyzing the poem in light of recent narratological work on Herodotus\u27 project. Like the Herodotean text, Gregory\u27s piece reveals a variety of hermeneutical possibilities while simultaneously making the audience aware of the histor\u27s compositional processes. The histor who emerges is a salvific and cosmological presence that focalizes the divine, thereby serving as an example of proper human/ divine relations. The poem would transform its audiences into focalizers of the divine in their lives by similar analytical and compositional processes as those of the histor who focalizes the divine in his text. This pedagogy is for Gregory the devotional responsibility of a priest