Scotland as an Optimal Currency Area

Since the Scottish independence movement has reached the point that there will be a referendum on Scottish independence this September, the issue of whether the Scotland is optimal currency areas is very topical.In this paper we review the microeconomic foundations of an optimal currency area. We test these microeconomic foundations. We find that the UK, Scotland and the UK without Scotland meet the microeconomic criteria for a common currency area. While adopting a common currency is ultimately a political decision, these results imply that the broadest of these areas, the UK, is the optimal currency area in the sense of minimizing transactions costs.We do find differences in the UK less Scotland and Scotland economies in loan data. We further find that neither the euro bloc nor the euro bloc including Scotland meet the microeconomic criteria for a common currency area. In the event of a “yes” vote for Scottish independence, the immediate problem facing the Scottish government is to decide on an exchange rate regime that is seen as credible by the financial markets to avoid a flight of capital. How policymakers chooses between alternative exchange rate regimes is currently a topic for hot debate in central banking circles and the process of a monetary union breaking up is a fascinating area worthy of future research

Pregnancy Outcome Following Pelvic Infection

To determine whether a previous pelvic infection has an effect on the outcome of a subsequent pregnancy, we identified women with a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), amnionitis, and postpartum or postabortal endometritis-salpingitis by a retrospective chart review of all patients admitted to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center between 1975 and 1977 and between 1985 and 1988. Antimicrobial regimens effective against Chlamydia trachomatis were initiated in 1985. Controls were randomly selected patients presenting during the same time period for routine examinations who had normal Pap smears and no infections. Both groups were comparable for age, race, gravity, and parity. Differences were evaluated by chi square analysis, using the Yates correction factor. We identified 183 women with a history of the above infections who subsequently conceived, and 82 controls. There were no differences in outcome between the two index groups. Term vaginal deliveries occurred in 14.2% of the women with a prior pelvic infection and in 56% of the controls (P < 0.001). Among the 97 women who had had PID, 21 (21.6%) had a spontaneous abortion in the subsequent pregnancy, as opposed to 6 (7.3%) of the controls (P = 0.013). In addition, eight of the women with PID (but no controls) went into preterm labor (P = 0.021). An increased incidence of preterm labor (P = 0.001) was also observed in women with a history of amnionitis. A history of endometritis was not associated with an increased prevalence of abnormal outcome in subsequent pregnancies. PID and amnionitis may adversely affect the outcome of subsequent pregnancies

Comparing Tea Leaf Products and Other Forages for In-vitro Degradability, Fermentation, and Methane for Their Potential Use as Natural Additives for Ruminants

Tea leaves are a rich source of plant secondary metabolites such as tannins and saponins that have the potential to manipulate rumen fermentation and to lessen methane (CH4) production.Samples of green tea (GTL), black tea (BTL), their spent leaves after water extraction (SGTL and SBTL), ryegrass hay (RH), ryegrass silage (RS), paddy straws (PS), barley straws (BS), and wheat straws (WS) were compared for their rumen in-vitro organic matter degradability (IVOMD, g/kg DM), pH, ammonia (NH3, mg/L), total volatile fatty acids (tVFA, mmol/L), total gas production (tGP, L/kg OM), and methane output (CH4,L/kg OM) after 28h incubation with buffered rumen fluid under anaerobic conditions at 39oC in glass syringes. One-way ANOVA on Minitab 16 was used to examine differences between products at P&lt;0.05 for four replicate samples. There were no differences between tea leaf products, RH and RS but the straws tended to have lower IVOMD compared with tea leaf products and other forages. GTL produced the lowest NH3 followed by BTL, SGTL, SBTL, and other forages. There were no differences between most tea leaf products, RH, RS, and the straws for tVFA concentration but PS and WS produced the lowest tVFA. GTL, SGTL, and RH had higher tGP than BTL, SBTL, and the straws but they had a lower tGP than RS. GTL, BTL, and SBTL produced similar levels of CH4 as the straws but this was less than RS and SGTL. The results suggest that if tea leaf products are included in the straw-based diets as natural feed additives, they may improve degradability, tVFA, NH3,and tGP production without increasing CH4 output. Low NH3 production for tea leaf products could be the sign of more by-pass protein to be absorbed in small intestine.Keywords: Tea leafproducts, in-vitro measurements, and ruminants

From stars to patients: Lessons from space science and astrophysics for health care informatics

Big Data are revolutionizing nearly every aspect of the modern society. One area where this can have a profound positive societal impact is the field of Health Care Informatics (HCI), which faces many challenges. The key idea behind this study is: can we use some of the experience and technical and methodological solutions from the fields that have successfully adapted to the Big Data era, namely astronomy and space science, to help accelerate the progress of HCI? We illustrate this with examples from the Virtual Observatory framework, and the NCI EDRN project. An effective sharing and reuse of tools, methods, and experiences from different fields can save a lot of effort, time, and expense. HCI can thus benefit from the proven solutions to big data challenges from other domains

Assessing Fermentation Quality, Aerobic Stability, In Vitro Digestibility, and Rumen Degradation Characteristics of Silages Mixed with Sweet Sorghum and Aerial Parts of Licorice

\ua9 2024 by the authors.(1) Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the fermentation quality, chemical composition, aerobic stability, in vitro digestibility, and rumen degradation characteristics of silage mixtures with different ratios of sweet sorghum (SS) and aerial parts of licorice (LC). (2) Methods: Five mixtures were produced on a dry matter (DM) basis: (i) 0%SS + 100%LC (0%SS); (ii) 25%SS + 75%LC (25%SS); (iii) 50%SS + 50%LC (50%SS); (iv) 75%SS + 25%LC (75%SS); and (v) 100%SS + 0%LC (100%SS). First, the chemical composition of the silages was measured before and after fermentation. Next, the aerobic stability, dynamic microbial colonization and dynamic volatile fatty acids of the mixed silage after fermentation were determined for 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days. Finally, the parameters related to gas production and the characteristics of the gas production were determined. At the same time, the rate of degradation of the chemical composition of the mixed silage in the rumen was studied. (3) Results: (a) As the proportion of SS increased, pH, ammonia, butyric acid, acetate, and aerobic stability showed a decreasing trend, but lactic acid content gradually increased. (b) The content of the fermentation and gas production parameters were significantly higher in 100%SS and 50%SS than others (p &lt; 0.05). (c) The rate of degradation of DE, ME, Neg, DM, CP, ADF, NDF, and ADL of 50%SS in the rumen of sheep was significantly higher than others (p &lt; 0.05). (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, ensiling SS and LC mixtures can improve silage quality, especially if the SS and LC are ensiled together at a ratio of 50:50

Solid weak BCC-algebras

We characterize weak BCC-algebras in which the identity $(xy)z=(xz)y$ is satisfied only in the case when elements $x,y$ belong to the same branch

Characterizing Outflow Graft Narrowing over Time

Purpose: Cases of pump dysfunction due to outflow graft (OG) anastomosis obstruction related to serous fluid accumulation have been reported but the rate of occlusion and actual frequency of asymptomatic OG diminution is not known. Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients on HeartMate II (HMII) or HeartMate 3 (HM3) support surviving at least 180 days with at least one chest computed tomography (CT) scan at 6 months, 1, 2, and/or 3 years postoperative. Patients with OG obstruction due to torsion were excluded. The outflow graft (OG) diameter was measured at its narrowest region; region was categorized as external outflow graft (EOG), mid-graft, or within 2 cm of the aortic anastomosis. Mixed models with repeated measure linear regression was used to assess OG diameter change over time, with 14 mm as reference. Using the narrowest measure, OG diameter was modelled for freedom from death, admission for HF and low flow alarms with hazard ratio [95% CI presented]. Results: Of 71 patients included herein, 25% and 75% were on HMII and HM3 support for a median [25th, 75th] 1230 [703,1592] days. The median CT count was 2 [1,2] per patient. At follow-up, small (1-3 mm, table), but statistically significant reductions in OG diameter were noted (Figure). The median OG narrowing was 7% [0%, 20%]. Time from device implant was the most significant contributing factor (p\u3c0.001) while wrapping of the outflow was nonsignificantly correlated with OG narrowing (p=0.071). Device model was not correlative (p=0.16). OG diameter was not correlated with survival (HR 1.04 [0.81-1.3]), stroke (HR 0.94 [0.78-1.1]) or admissions for heart failure (HR 1.06 [0.88-1.3]), or VAD alarms (HR 0.93 [0.79-1.1]). Conclusion: Minor narrowing of the OG was noted over time, irrespective of LVAD model. The observed degrees of non-twist related-OG narrowing herein did not lead to increase mortality or events. OG wrapping may be associated with OG narrowing over time. Larger sample analyses aim to define degrees of narrowing that elicit device dysfunction