Une analyse économétrique de l’ajustement récent de la balance commerciale canadienne (1978-1979)

The Canadian merchandise trade surplus increased rather modestly in 1978 and 1979 given that the depreciation of the real exchange rate since 1977 had considerably reinforced our competitive position. With the aid of an econometric model, we try to measure the respective contributions of the factors influencing the merchandise trade balance during that period.Our partial equilibrium simulations reveal that the depreciation of the Canadian dollar, both in nominal and real terms, substantially improved the merchandise trade surplus. High capacity utilization rates in Canada had a substantial impact on the trade balance through a large increase of imports, especially imports of producers' equipment, and through a significant reduction of exports of manufactured goods other than automotive products.Excluding the automobile sector, which has experienced a "structural" change in the United States, cyclical divergences between the two countries did not influence substantially the evolution of the merchandise trade account over that period. The rapid improvement of the terms of trade in 1979 strongly contributed to the increase of the nominal merchandise trade surplus. Our simulations show that the rise in the prices of certain primary commodities relative to the U.S. prices of manufactured goods was an important factor behind the stronger terms of trade

Dual Neonate Vaccine Platform against HIV-1 and M. tuberculosis

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and tuberculosis (TB) are two of the world's most devastating diseases. The first vaccine the majority of infants born in Africa receive is Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) as a prevention against TB. BCG protects against disseminated disease in the first 10 years of life, but provides a variable protection against pulmonary TB and enhancing boost delivered by recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA) expressing antigen 85A (Ag85A) of M. tuberculosis is currently in phase IIb evaluation in African neonates. If the newborn's mother is positive for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the baby is at high risk of acquiring HIV-1 through breastfeeding. We suggested that a vaccination consisting of recombinant BCG expressing HIV-1 immunogen administered at birth followed by a boost with rMVA sharing the same immunogen could serve as a strategy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 and rMVA expressing an African HIV-1-derived immunogen HIVA is currently in phase I trials in African neonates. Here, we aim to develop a dual neonate vaccine platform against HIV-1 and TB consisting of BCG.HIVA administered at birth followed by a boost with MVA.HIVA.85A. Thus, mMVA.HIVA.85A and sMVA.HIVA.85A vaccines were constructed, in which the transgene transcription is driven by either modified H5 or short synthetic promoters, respectively, and tested for immunogenicity alone and in combination with BCG.HIVA222. mMVA.HIVA.85A was produced markerless and thus suitable for clinical manufacture. While sMVA.HIVA.85A expressed higher levels of the immunogens, it was less immunogenic than mMVA.HIVA.85A in BALB/c mice. A BCG.HIVA222–mMVA.HIVA.85A prime-boost regimen induced robust T cell responses to both HIV-1 and M. tuberculosis. Therefore, proof-of-principle for a dual anti-HIV-1/M. tuberculosis infant vaccine platform is established. Induction of immune responses against these pathogens soon after birth is highly desirable and may provide a basis for lifetime protection maintained by boosts later in life

Une analyse économétrique de l’ajustement récent de la balance commerciale canadienne (1978-1979)

The Canadian merchandise trade surplus increased rather modestly in 1978 and 1979 given that the depreciation of the real exchange rate since 1977 had considerably reinforced our competitive position. With the aid of an econometric model, we try to measure the respective contributions of the factors influencing the merchandise trade balance during that period.

Statistical Study and Clustering of the Critical Branches Defining the Market Coupling in the Central West Europe Zone

Integration of European electricity market is one of the major challenges since the begin-ning of the 2000s. In 2010, market coupling, which optimizes power trading by allocating cross-border transmission capacity, was launched in Central West Europe (CWE). It was first implemented by using the Available Transmission Capacity (ATC) based capacity transmission. The ATC method was based on computation of Net Transfer Capacity on each border of the CWE zone by Transmission System Operators. On May 21st 2015, ATC method was replaced by the flow-based method. The flow-based method better takes into account the network specificities. It allocates transmission capacity based on branches rather than borders, as it was the case with ATC method.   Traders need to forecast the spot price in order to best choose their trading strategy. They have to forecast weather conditions, consumption, production and network main-tenance. With the implementation of the flow-based method, now they also need to forecast the flow-based domain. Then, clustering on past data will help to fulfill this goal.   This thesis has been carried out in three main steps. First, ATC and flow-based methods have been compared each other in order to better understand what are the advantages with the flow-based method. Then, main achievements and features of the flow-based method have been highlighted based on data collected during the phase test. Finally, a procedure has been developed in order to cluster data which define the flow-based domain. The clustering procedure has been tested on data collected of January 2015. Different clustering methods and observation pre-processing have been compared and recommendations on the best choice have been made

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt before abdominal surgery in cirrhotic patients: A retrospective, comparative study

Surgery in cirrhotic patients is associated with high morbidity and mortality related to portal hypertension and liver insufficiency. Therefore, preoperative portal decompression is a logical approach to facilitate abdominal surgery and hopefully to improve postoperative survival. The present study evaluated the clinical outcomes of 18 patients (mean age 58 years) with cirrhosis (seven alcoholics and 11 nonalcoholics) who underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement before antrectomy (n=5), colectomy (n=10), small-bowel resection (n=1), pancreatectomy (n=1) and nephrectomy (n=1). TIPS was performed a mean (± SD) of 72±21 days before surgery and induced a marked mean decrease in portohepatic gradient from 21.4±3.9 mmHg to 8.4±3.4 mmHg. Cirrhotic patients (n=17) who underwent elective abdominal surgery without preoperative TIPS placement were used as the control group. Both groups were matched for age, etiology of cirrhosis, indications for surgery, type of surgery and coagulation parameters. The mean Pugh score was significantly higher in the TIPS group (7.7 versus 6.2). No significant differences were observed for operative blood loss, postoperative complications, duration of hospitalization and one-month (83% versus 88%) or one-year (54% versus 63%) cumulative survival rate. Analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model showed that neither TIPS placement nor preoperative Pugh score were independent predictors for survival. The present study suggests that preoperative TIPS placement does not improve postoperative evolution after abdominal surgery in cirrhotic patients with good or moderately impaired liver function

Culture-Independent Characterization of Archaeal Biodiversity in Swine Confinement Building Bioaerosols▿

It was previously demonstrated that microbial communities of pig manure were composed of both bacteria and archaea. Recent studies have shown that bacteria are aerosolized from pig manure, but none have ever focused on the airborne archaeal burden. We sought here to develop and apply molecular ecology approaches to thoroughly characterize airborne archaea from swine confinement buildings (SCBs). Eight swine operations were visited, twice in winter and once during summer. Institute of Occupational Medicine cassettes loaded with 25-mm gelatin filters were used to capture the inhalable microbial biomass. The total genomic DNA was extracted and used as a template for PCR amplification of the archaeal 16S rRNA gene. High concentrations of archaea were found in SCB bioaerosols, being as high as 108 16S rRNA gene copies per cubic meter of air. Construction and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries revealed that all sequences were closely related to methanogenic archaea, such as Methanosphaera stadtmanae (94.7% of the archaeal biodiversity). Archaeal community profiles were compared by 16S rRNA gene denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. This analysis showed similar fingerprints in each SCB and confirmed the predominance of methanogenic archaea in the bioaerosols. This study sheds new light on the nature of bioaerosols in SCBs and suggests that archaea are also aerosolized from pig manure

GABAergic modulation of olfactomotor transmission in lampreys.

Odor-guided behaviors, including homing, predator avoidance, or food and mate searching, are ubiquitous in animals. It is only recently that the neural substrate underlying olfactomotor behaviors in vertebrates was uncovered in lampreys. It consists of a neural pathway extending from the medial part of the olfactory bulb (medOB) to locomotor control centers in the brainstem via a single relay in the caudal diencephalon. This hardwired olfactomotor pathway is present throughout life and may be responsible for the olfactory-induced motor behaviors seen at all life stages. We investigated modulatory mechanisms acting on this pathway by conducting anatomical (tract tracing and immunohistochemistry) and physiological (intracellular recordings and calcium imaging) experiments on lamprey brain preparations. We show that the GABAergic circuitry of the olfactory bulb (OB) acts as a gatekeeper of this hardwired sensorimotor pathway. We also demonstrate the presence of a novel olfactomotor pathway that originates in the non-medOB and consists of a projection to the lateral pallium (LPal) that, in turn, projects to the caudal diencephalon and to the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR). Our results indicate that olfactory inputs can induce behavioral responses by activating brain locomotor centers via two distinct pathways that are strongly modulated by GABA in the OB. The existence of segregated olfactory subsystems in lampreys suggests that the organization of the olfactory system in functional clusters may be a common ancestral trait of vertebrates

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours: Etiology, Pathology and Clinical Management

Investigation of the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and death by signalling pathways has led to a greater understanding of how alterations in these pathways play a critical role in the development of some cancers, and has opened new opportunities for their treatment. In the present review, results with the prototype drug of this class, imatinib (Gleevec, Glivec [formerly STI571]; Novartis, Switzerland), in metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumours are presented. The present review originated from a conference of the authors held in Montreal, Quebec in June 2003, under the sponsorship of Novartis