Panel discussion: inflation targeting

Monetary policy ; Banks and banking, Central ; European Central Bank

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 single nucleotide polymorphism Gly388Arg in head and neck carcinomas

BACKGROUND Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is considered to be a progressive disease resulting from alterations in multiple genes regulating cell proliferation and differentiation like receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and members of the fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR)-family. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Arg388 of the FGFR4 is associated with a reduced overall survival in patients with cancers of various types. We speculate that FGFR4 expression and SNP is associated with worse survival in patients with HSNCC. AIM To investigate the potential clinical significance of FGFR4 Arg388 in the context of tumors arising in HNSCC, a comprehensive analysis of FGFR4 receptor expression and genotype in tumor tissues and correlated results with patients' clinical data in a large cohort of patients with HNSCC was conducted. METHODS Surgical specimens from 284 patients with HNSCC were retrieved from the Institute of Pathology at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Germany. Specimens were analyzed using immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The expression of FGFR4 was analyzed in 284 surgical specimens of HNSCC using immunohistochemstry. FGFR4 polymorphism was detected by PCR-RFLP. Patients' clinical data with a minimum follow-up of 5 syears were statistically evaluated with a special emphasis on survival analysis employing Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS Concerning the invasive tumor areas the intensity of the FGFR4 expression was evaluated in a four-grade system: no expression, low expression, intermediate and high expression. FGFR4 expression was scored as "high" (+++) in 74 (26%), "intermediate" (++) in 103 (36.3%), and "low" (+) in 107 (36.7%) cases. Analyzing the FGFR4 mutation it was found in 96 tumors (33.8%), 84 of them (29.6%) having a heterozygous and 12 (4.2%) homozygous mutated Arg388 allele. The overall frequency concerning the mutant alleles demonstrated 65% vs 34% mutated alleles in general. FGFR4 Arg388 was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage (P < 0.004), local metastasis (P < 0.0001) and reduced disease-free survival (P < 0.01). Furthermore, increased expression of FGFR4 correlated significantly with worse overall survival (P < 0.003). CONCLUSION In conclusion, the FGFR4 Arg388 genotype and protein expression of FGFR4 impacts tumor progression in patients with HNSCC and may present a useful target within a multimodal therapeutic intervention

On the new economic philosophy of crisis management in the European Union

This essay attempts to go beyond presenting the bits and pieces of still ongoing crisis management in the EU. Instead it attempts at finding the ‘red thread’ behind a series of politically improvised decisions. Our fundamental research question asks whether basic economic lessons learned in the 1970s are still valid. Namely, that a crises emanating from either structural or regulatory weaknesses cannot and should not be remedied by demand management. Our second research question is the following: Can lacking internal commitment and conviction in any member state be replaced or substituted by external pressure or formalized procedures and sanctions? Under those angles we analyze the project on establishing a fiscal and banking union in the EU, as approved by the Council in December 2012

Long-range transfer of electron-phonon coupling in oxide superlattices

The electron-phonon interaction is of central importance for the electrical and thermal properties of solids, and its influence on superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, and other many-body phenomena in correlated-electron materials is currently the subject of intense research. However, the non-local nature of the interactions between valence electrons and lattice ions, often compounded by a plethora of vibrational modes, present formidable challenges for attempts to experimentally control and theoretically describe the physical properties of complex materials. Here we report a Raman scattering study of the lattice dynamics in superlattices of the high-temperature superconductor $\bf YBa_2 Cu_3 O_7$ and the colossal-magnetoresistance compound $\bf La_{2/3}Ca_{1/3}MnO_{3}$ that suggests a new approach to this problem. We find that a rotational mode of the MnO$_6$ octahedra in $\bf La_{2/3}Ca_{1/3}MnO_{3}$ experiences pronounced superconductivity-induced lineshape anomalies, which scale linearly with the thickness of the $\bf YBa_2 Cu_3 O_7$ layers over a remarkably long range of several tens of nanometers. The transfer of the electron-phonon coupling between superlattice layers can be understood as a consequence of long-range Coulomb forces in conjunction with an orbital reconstruction at the interface. The superlattice geometry thus provides new opportunities for controlled modification of the electron-phonon interaction in complex materials.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Revised version to be published in Nature Material

Supporting self-regulated learning

Self-regulated learning (SRL) competences are crucial for lifelong learning. Their cultivation requires the right balance between freedom and guidance during the learning processes. Current learning systems and approaches, such as personal learning environments, give overwhelming freedom, but also let weak learners alone. Other systems, such as learning management systems or adaptive systems, tend to institutionalise learners too much, which does not support the development of SRL competences. This chapter presents possibilities and approaches to support SRL by the use of technology. After discussing the theoretical background of SRL and related technologies, a formal framework is presented that describes the SRL process, related competences, and guidelines. Furthermore, a variety of methods is presented, how learners can be supported to learn in a self-regulated way

Expression of nuclear retinoid receptors in normal, premalignant and malignant gastric tissues determined by in situ hybridization

[[abstract]]Retinoids exhibit multiple functions through interaction with nuclear retinoid receptors and have growth-suppressive activity on gastric cancer cells. To better understand the roles of nuclear retinoid receptors during gastric carcinogenesis, we have used in situ hybridization to investigate expression of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid x receptors (RXRs) in premalignant and malignant formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded gastric tissues. Histological sections of eight normal, 17 distal normal and nine gastric cancer tissues were hybridized with non-radioactive RNA probes for subtypes of RAR and RXR. Expression of RARα, RARβ, RARγ, RXRα and RXRβ was found in most cell types in gastric mucosa tissues from normal individuals as well as in distal normal tissues from cancer patients. Expression of RARα and RARβ were found in three and seven cancer tissues, respectively, and levels of RXRα mRNA were significantly decreased in poorly differentiated cancer tissues. Among the five investigated nuclear retinoid receptors, only expression of RARα mRNA was significantly decreased in intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and cancer tissues when compared to adjacent normal tissues. In conclusion, normal gastric mucosa expressed both RARs and RXRs, which supports the physiological role of retinoic acid on normal gastric mucosa. The decrease in RARα expression in premalignant and malignant gastric tissues suggests a significant role of RARα during gastric carcinogenesis.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SC

The Political Economy of Failure: The Euro as an International Currency

How do international currencies get established and consolidated? What domestic and international political foundations support an international currency? And what kinds of macro-economic flows enable an international currency? In this essay we consider these perennial questions of modern IPE scholarship in reverse order to ask whether the euro could ever have become, or seek to become, a true international currency rivalling the US dollar, used not only for passive foreign exchange reserves but also as a major commercial currency outside the EU. We argue that the EU lacks the will, the ideas and the capacity to promote the euro into the status of an international currency. In this article, we concentrate on this final issue of capacity, as the will and ideas issues have already been well explored. Capacity is an issue coeval with, if not prior to, the first two issues. The EU's current institutional arrangements and its economic geography create macro-economic consequences that diminish the euro's capacity to operate as a top currency. These conflicts go beyond the well-recognized issue that the euro-zone is not an optimum currency area. Examining the euro's debilities sheds light not only on the euro's (in)capacity to rival the dollar as an international currency, but also on the future of both the euro and the dollar in the aftermath of the euro-zone crisis