Induced pluripotent stem cells, a giant leap for mankind therapeutic applications

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) technology has propelled the field of stem cells biology, providing new cells to explore the molecular mechanisms of pluripotency, cancer biology and aging. A major advantage of human iPSC, compared to the pluripotent embryonic stem cells, is that they can be generated from virtually any embryonic or adult somatic cell type without destruction of human blastocysts. In addition, iPSC can be generated from somatic cells harvested from normal individuals or patients, and used as a cellular tool to unravel mechanisms of human development and to model diseases in a manner not possible before. Besides these fundamental aspects of human biology and physiology that are revealed using iPSC or iPSC-derived cells, these cells hold an immense potential for cell-based therapies, and for the discovery of new or personalized pharmacological treatments for many disorders. Here, we review some of the current challenges and concerns about iPSC technology. We introduce the potential held by iPSC for research and development of novel health-related applications. We briefly present the efforts made by the scientific and clinical communities to create the necessary guidelines and regulations to achieve the highest quality standards in the procedures for iPSC generation, characterization and long-term preservation. Finally, we present some of the audacious and pioneer clinical trials in progress with iPSC-derived cells.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Do banks propagate debt market shocks?

Over the years, U.S. banks have increasingly relied on the bond market to finance their business. This created the potential for a link between the bond market and the corporate sector whereby borrowers, including those that do not rely on bond funding, became exposed to the conditions in the bond market. We investigate the importance of this link. Our results show that when the cost to access the bond market goes up, banks that rely on bond financing charge higher interest rates on their loans. Banks that rely exclusively on deposit funding follow bond financing banks and increase the interest rates on their loans, though by smaller amounts. Further, banks pass the bond market shocks predominantly to their risky borrowers that have access to the bond market and to their borrowers that do not have access to the bond market. These results show that banks propagate shocks to the bond market by passing them through their loan policies to their borrowers, including those that do not use bond financing.Banks and banking ; Banks and banking - Costs ; Bond market

Banking and commerce: a liquidity approach

This paper looks at the advantages and disadvantages of mixing banking and commerce, using the "liquidity" approach to financial intermediation. Adding a commercial firm makes it easier for a bank to dispose of assets seized in a loan default. This "internal market" increases the liquidity of such assets and improves the bank's ability to perform financial intermediation. More generally, owning a commercial firm may act either as a substitute or a complement to commercial lending. In some cases, a bank will voluntarily refrain from making loans, choosing to become a nonbank bank in an unregulated environment.Nonbank financial institutions ; Bank liquidity

Home Country Bias: Does Domestic Experience Help Investors Enter Foreign Markets?

This paper investigates whether investors' domestic experience helps them enter foreign markets. We show that investors first invest in domestic securities and only some time later they invest abroad in foreign securities. We also show that investors who trade more often in the domestic market start to invest abroad earlier. Our findings suggest that the experience investors acquire while they trade in the domestic market is a key reason why active investors enter the foreign market earlier. A reason is that highly educated investors as well as investors with more financial knowledge, arguably those for whom learning by trading is the least important, do not need to trade as much in the domestic market before they start investing in foreign securities. Another reason is that investors who start investing in foreign securities are able to improve on their performance afterwards. This improvement in performance constitutes further evidence that the home country bias is costly, thereby confirming that there are gains for investors from investing abroad.Learning, home country bias, duration analysis.

Regionalization and susceptibility assessment to daily precipitation extremes in mainland Portugal

The present study aims to identify regions of extreme precipitation in mainland Portugal and to create a single index of extreme precipitation susceptibility (EPSI). For this purpose, twelve extreme precipitation indices were selected from the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices between 1950 and 2003. By considering only six extreme precipitation indices: R 1day, R 5day, SDII, R20, CWD and R95PTOT for the 10-year return period, between 1950 and 2003, the EPSI was developed to both annual data and meteorological season. The regionalization of extreme precipitation in Portugal were determined using a principal component analysis in T-mode. The results, show three spatial regions obtained from PCA. The three regions were analyzed separate. In the annual EPSI, the highest susceptibility areas are the mountainous regions in northern (e.g. Geres, Peneda, Alv ^ ~ ao, Marao and Montesinho) and central ~ Portugal (e.g. Serra da Estrela), as well as in the Algarve (southern Portugal). Conversely, the lower susceptibility classes are in municipalities of the northeast, Alentejo and along the central-western coast. The results of EPSI show similar results in autumn and winter. In spring, however, the high susceptibility class increases in the Lisbon region and in the Sado Basin. In summer, there is an increase in susceptibility in the northeast, while susceptibility is low over much of Alentejo and Algarve, where precipitation is neglectful. This work presents a first attempt to implement this type of index for mainland Portugal. The first results are very promising, showing a consistent representation of the overall spatial distribution of extreme precipitation susceptibility. The combination of this information by municipalities can be of foremost relevance to civil protection and risk management.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Leg Ulcers in Antiphospholipid Syndrome Secondary to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treated with Intravenous Immunoglobulin

BACKGROUND: Despite encouraging reports on the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in antiphospholipid syndrome, the clinical value of this treatment is not well established, and most of the data are based on case reports and small series of patients. OBSERVATION: We describe the significant improvement of leg ulcers with IVIg in a 61-year-old female, with diabetes mellitus, venous peripherical insufficiency and secondary antiphospholipid syndrome to systemic lupus erythematosus. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates a rare cause of leg ulcers and documents that IVIg may be an effective adjuvant treatment in the management of selected patients with antiphospholipid syndrome when conventional strategies using subcutaneous heparin and low-dose aspirin are insufficient

Você Conhece Esta Síndrome?

POEMS syndrome is a unique clinical entity, the diagnosis of which is made when polyneuropathy and monoclonal gammopathy occur together, associated with other changes such as organomegaly, endocrinopathy, skin changes and papilledema. Cutaneous manifestations are heterogeneous, with diffuse cutaneous hyperpigmentation, hemangiomas and hypertrichosis occurring more frequently. We report the case of a 65- year-old female patient with this syndrome, diagnosed after 15 years of disabling peripheral neuropathy

Evaluation of the Potential Performance of the Chief Information Officer based on the experience, training and personal characteristics

O Gestor de Sistemas de Informação ou Chief Information Officer é o responsável pela Função Sistemas de Informação. Dada a natureza das atividades que necessita de realizar, a sua ação influencia de forma significativa o desenvolvimento da organização de que faz parte. É, assim, importante avaliar o desempenho potencial de candidatos a ocupar este lugar, antes de serem colocados ao comando de uma função determinante para o sucesso do negócio. Neste póster é apresentado um trabalho em curso que visa propor uma extensão do “Modelo para a Avaliação de Desempenho Potencial de Gestores de Sistemas de Informação”, considerando as dimensões experiência, formação e características pessoais conjuntamente. Este estudo procura contribuir para auxiliar as organizações no processo de decisão de contratação e avaliação do potencial do seu gestor de Sistemas de InformaçãThe Information Systems Manager or Chief Information Officer is the head of the Information Systems Function. Given the nature of the activities that s/he needs to accomplish, her/hisaction influences significantly the development of her/his organization. Thus, it is important to evaluate the potential performance of the candidates chosen to occupy that role, before being placed at the control of a core business function. This poster presents a work in progress which proposes an extension of the “Model for the Evaluation of Potential Performance of Information Systems Managers” , considering the dimensions experience, education and personal characteristics jointly. This study aims at contributing for helping organizations in the decision process of hiring Information Systems managers(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Liquidity standards and the value of an informed lender of last resort

Funding agency: Spanish government (grant nr: ECO2011-26308 and ECO2014-59262)We consider a dynamic model in which receiving support from the lender of last resort (LLR) may help banks to weather investor runs. We show the need for regulatory liquidity standards when the underlying social trade-offs make the uninformed LLR inclined to support troubled banks during a run. Liquidity standards increase the time available before the LLR must decide on supporting the bank. This facilitates the arrival of information on the bank's financial condition and improves the efficiency of the decision taken by the LLR, a role that can be modified but not replaced with the use of capital regulation.authorsversionpublishe