Corruption, fiscal policy, and growth: A unified approach

Copyright @ 2011 Brunel UniversityIn this paper, we study the effects of bureaucratic corruption on fiscal policy and the subsequent impact on economic growth. Here corruption takes three forms: (i) it reduces the tax revenue raised from households, (ii) it inflates the volume of government spending, and (iii) it reduces the productivity of ‘effective’ government expenditure. The analysis distinguishes between the case where fiscal choices are determined exogenously to ensure a balanced budget and the case where the government optimally sets its policy instruments. Our policy experiments reveal the complexity of the channels through which corruption impacts upon growth, and the conditions under which the direction of the effect takes shape. The findings from our unified framework could rationalise the diverse (and sometimes, apparently conflicting) empirical evidence on the impact of corruption on economic growth offered in the literature

An Unusual Melanocytic Nevus of Conjunctiva : Balloon Cell Nevus

Melanocytic nevi are one of the most common benign tumors of the conjunctiva. The balloon cell nevus is a rare and unusual variant of nevus of melanocytic origin, in which more than 50% of the tumor is composed of large polygonal cells with small nucleus and a clear to vacuolated cytoplasm. We describe a case of balloon cell nevus in a 6-year-old child who presented with pigmented lesion of the right eye since birth. The melanocytic nature of these cells was confirmed by immunohistochemical study. Excision of the tumor results in cure. This report describes a rare balloon cell nevus of conjunctiva which to the best of our knowledge is not documented in Indian literature

Systemic Therapy in Endometrial Cancer: Recent Advances.

Endometrial cancer is a chemosensitive disease. Studies have established a clear benefit of chemotherapy in advanced stages and trials are ongoing to define its role in early stages as well. As more molecular pathways are being elucidated there is increasing role for targeted agents and future looks quite promising. We did an extensive search both online and offline for all the relevant articles including chemotherapy and targeted therapy for endometrial cancer

The Response of Serum Cortisol and Leptin Levels to Academic Stress

Background: Medical students are subjected to various types of stress during the academic course and they react differently. This study is an attempt to establish a relationship between the coping abilities, serum cortisol and leptin levels in response to academic examination stress in first year medical students. Methods: Thirty four 1st year medical students between 18 to 21 yrs of age were randomly selected and their coping abilities were assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Two fasting blood samples were drawn, one on the day of examination (Situation I) and the second after the completion of the examination (Situation II). Serum cortisol and leptin levels were estimated using a standardized RIA Kit and the levels obtained were correlated with the psychometric data. Results: The results showed increased levels of cortisol prior to examination in the poor adjusters in comparison to the good adjusters. The levels of cortisol decreased after examination in both good and poor adjusters with the poor adjusters showing higher levels. On the other hand, leptin levels increased in good adjusters in comparison with poor adjusters in Situation I and in Situation II the good adjusters showed a marginal decrease and poor adjusters maintained the same levels of leptin. Conclusion: Cortisol and leptin respond inversely to academic stress. Cortisol levels sharply decline from stressful to post-stressful situation indicating the wane of stress

Two-dimensional mapping of triaxial strain fields in a multiferroic BiFeO3 thin film using scanning x-ray microdiffraction

The dramatically enhanced polarizations and saturation magnetizations observed in the epitaxially constrained BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films with their pronounced grain-orientation dependence have attracted much attention and are attributed largely to the constrained in-plane strain. Thus, it is highly desirable to directly obtain information on the two-dimensional (2D) distribution of the in-plane strain and its correlation with the grain orientation of each corresponding microregion. Here the authors report a 2D quantitative mapping of the grain orientation and the local triaxial strain field in a 250 nm thick multiferroic BFO film using a synchrotron x-ray microdiffraction technique. This direct scanning measurement demonstrates that the deviatoric component of the in-plane strain tensor is between 5x10(-3) and 6x10(-3) and that the local triaxial strain is fairly well correlated with the grain orientation in that particular region. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.X1145Nsciescopu

Value constructs in multi-stakeholder environments that influence project portfolio decision making

Abstract: A key goal for project portfolio management (PPM) is to maximize strategic value across the portfolio. In certain industries, particularly in the context of non-commercial sectors, the ‘value’ generated by the portfolio may not always fit with typical PPM frameworks that emphasize financial value. Furthermore project and portfolio ‘value’ are complex phenomena due to the multiple and sometimes contradicting expectations demanded by multiple stakeholders that participate in and influence the ways that PPM decisions incorporate value. This paper draws on organization, business, stakeholder and project management literature to consider different perspectives of value, and integrates stakeholder theory and sensemaking in its investigation of value in multi-stakeholder portfolio environments. It highlights the key question ‘Value for whom, value by whom’ and proposes that multiple case-studies of a diverse sample of project-based organizations would be useful to address this question. A Hybrid Delphi study using expert panels is also proposed to triangulate the findings. Keywords: project portfolio management, value, stakeholders, sensemaking, decision makin

lHuman cytotoxic T lymphocytes with reduced sensitivity to Fas-induced apoptosis

Effector-memory T cells expressing Fas (Apo-1/CD95) are switched to an apoptotic program by cross-linking with Fas-ligand (FasL). Consequently, tumors that express FasL can induce apoptosis of infiltrating Fas-positive T lymphocytes and subdue any antitumor host immune response. Since Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated tumors such as Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) express FasL, we determined whether EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (EBV-CTLs) could be modified to resist this evasion strategy. We show that long-term down-modulation of Fas can be achieved in EBV-CTLs by transduction with small interfering RNA (siRNA) encoded in a retrovirus. Modified T cells resisted Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis compared with control cells and showed minimal cleavage of the caspase3 substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein after Fas engagement. Prolonged Fas stimulation selected a uniformly Fas(low) and FasL resistant population. Removal of responsiveness to this single death signal had no other discernible effects on EBV-CTLs. In particular, it did not lead to their autonomous growth since the modified EBV-CTLs remained polyclonal, and their survival and proliferation retained dependence on antigen-specific stimulation and on the presence of other physiologic growth signals. EBV-CTLs with knocked down Fas should have a selective functional and survival advantage over unmodified EBV-CTLs in the presence of tumors expressing FasL and may be of value for adoptive cellular therapy. (c) 2005 by The American Society of Hematology

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 deficiency is a novel disorder of mitochondrial fission

Defects of mitochondrial dynamics are emerging causes of neurological disease. In two children presenting with severe neurological deterioration following viral infection we identified a novel homozygous STAT2 mutation, c.1836C4A (p.Cys612Ter), using whole exome sequencing. In muscle and fibroblasts from these patients, and a third unrelated STAT2-deficient patient, we observed extremely elongated mitochondria. Western blot analysis revealed absence of the STAT2 protein and that the mitochondrial fission protein DRP1 (encoded by DNM1L) is inactive, as shown by its phosphorylation state. All three patients harboured 15 decreased levels of DRP1 phosphorylated at serine residue 616 (P-DRP1S616), a post-translational modification known to activate DRP1, and increased levels of DRP1 phosphorylated at serine 637 (P-DRP1S637), associated with the inactive state of the DRP1 GTPase. Knockdown of STAT2 in SHSY5Y cells recapitulated the fission defect, with elongated mitochondria and decreased PDRP1 S616 levels. Furthermore the mitochondrial fission defect in patient fibroblasts was rescued following lentiviral transduction with wild-type STAT2 in all three patients, with normalization of mitochondrial length and increased P-DRP1S616 levels. Taken 20 together, these findings implicate STAT2 as a novel regulator of DRP1 phosphorylation at serine 616, and thus of mitochondrial fission, and suggest that there are interactions between immunity and mitochondria. This is the first study to link the innate immune system to mitochondrial dynamics and morphology. We hypothesize that variability in JAK-STAT signalling may contribute to the phenotypic heterogeneity of mitochondrial disease, and may explain why some patients with underlying mitochondrial disease decompensate after seemingly trivial viral infections. Modulating JAK-STAT activity may represent a novel 25 therapeutic avenue for mitochondrial diseases, which remain largely untreatable. This may also be relevant for more common neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, in which abnormalities of mitochondrial morphology have been implicated in disease pathogenesis