An investigation of HHV6\u27s impact on the cognitive progression and microglial changes in an Alzheimer\u27s disease cohort

The role of herpesviruses and, more specifically, HHV6 in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and associated cognitive decline is still being investigated. High ubiquity and prevalence in the population have led to a high degree of skepticism about HHV6 as a potential contributor to cognitive decline and dementias. However, recent evidence related to another herpesvirus, herpes simplex virus 1, suggests that reactivation, not carriage, of the virus may be the key factor to explain the dissonance between the virus’ ubiquity and contributions to dementias. With that in mind, we set out to assess cases from the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for evidence of HHV6 reactivation, both current and past, and how it relates to the rate of cognitive decline of these patients in eight cognitive domains. HHV6 reactivation was assessed by 1) patient self-report surveys, 2) anti-HHV6 serology, and 3) viral gene amplification via droplet digital PCR (ddCPR) in post-mortem temporal lobe and cerebellum tissue. We extracted RNA from these regions of postmortem tissue and performed the NanoString Human Inflammatory Panel to assess gene expression changes concomitant with HHV6 carriage and reactivation. Based on these results, we more closely examined changes to microglial activation and functional capacity based on the presence of HHV6. Finally, we investigated the role T-cells played in the development of these changes and subsequent pathology. Ultimately, we observed some predictive power from the patient reported survey in terms of cognitive decline. Serological evidence of reactivation showed no statistically significant relationship in any of the cognitive domains. ddPCR revealed no significant correlations related to HHV6 carriage. NanoString gene expression assays showed an upregulation of several neuroinflammatory genes, as well as microglial markers and T-cell signaling cytokines in cases with HHV6. We observed few differences in microglial activation, morphology, or phagocytosis as a function of HHV6. We did observe evidence of HHV6 within some amyloid beta plaques examined, and several T-cells surrounding plaques throughout diseased tissue with confirmed HHV6. These results contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding the role of HHV6 in the development of Alzheimer’s disease while providing evidence that suggests that reactivation may not be a key factor connecting HHV6 to Alzheimer’s disease

Time on the Market: The Impact of Residential Brokerage

IThis paper examines the impact of brokers, brokerage firms and marketing strategy on time on the market (TOM) in the residential housing market. Using a duration model methodology, the study finds duration dependence to be positive, suggesting that the probability of sale increases with TOM. Pricing-related marketing strategies are found to strongly influence TOM, but individual agent and firm characteristics are not statistically significant. These results are consistent with an efficient market within a multiple listing serviceÐÐno group of agents or firms appears to possess special advantages enabling them to sell homes more quickly than their rivals.

Nixon and Ford as Ex-Post Keynesians

Reestimation of a growth rate version of the St. Louis equation suggests that the equation does believe in fiscal policy, but only for the Nixon-Ford administrations

Nixon and Ford as Ex-Post Keynesians

Reestimation of a growth rate version of the St. Louis equation suggests that the equation does believe in fiscal policy, but only for the Nixon-Ford administrations

The synthesis and X-ray structures of ytterbocene(II) complexes containing pendant pyridyl groups,

Metallation of C5H5[C(Me)2CH2C5H4N-2] ( CppyH), C5H4(SiMe3)[{C(Me)2CH2C5H4N-2)-3] ( Cp'pyH), C5H5[C(Me)2C5H4N-2] ( Cppy(s)H), and C5H4[(SiMe3){C(Me)2C5H4N-2}-3] [ Cp'py(s)H] with KH in THF yielded the potassium complexes KCppy (1), KCp'py (2), KCppy(s) (3), or KCp'py(s) (4). Compounds 1-4 were readily converted into their homoleptic solvent-free ytterbium(II) complexes [Yb(Cp'py)2] (5), [Yb(CP'py)2] (6), [Yb(CPpy(s))2] (7) and [Yb(Cp'py(s))2](8). The crystal structures of 5 and 8 show that both of the pyridyl groups in each complex are coordinated to the ytterbium. Some angles in 5 are Cp(1)—Yb—Cp(2) 137.7° and N(1)—Yb—N(2) 100.8(2)°, and the corresponding angles in 8 are Cp(1)—Yb—Cp(2) 136.9° and N(1)—Yb—N(2) 84.0(4)° (where Cp refers to the centroid of the cyclopentadienyl ring)

Sample Selection Bias in Estimating Housing Sales Prices

This paper explores the bias in estimates of housing price appreciation that arises because of problems of sample selection. As suggested by Haurin and Hendershott, sample selection potentially is a serious problem because studies normally are based on samples of only homes that have sold, not all houses. Using the procedure developed by Heckman, the empirical results of this study provide confirmation of the significance of the housing sample selection problem.

A multinominal logit analysis of the influence of policy variables and board experience on FOMC voting behavior

Previous studies have used probit or logit models to analyze two states of monetary policy (tighter or looser). In this paper we employ multinominal logit to permit Federal Reserve monetary policy to assume one of three alternative states (tighter, looser, or no change) as a function of three independent economic variables (unemployment, real growth, and inflation) and the amount of experience of the Board of Governors. The results indicate that the Federal Reserve reacted differently under Burns, Miller and Volcker and between Volcker’s two operating procedures in the formulation of monetary policy