Predicting High-Flow Spinal CSF Leaks in Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension Using a Spinal MRI-Based Algorithm: Have Repeat CT Myelograms Been Reduced?

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We adopted an imaging algorithm in 2011 in which extradural fluid on spinal MR imaging directs dynamic CT myelography. We assessed algorithm compliance and its effectiveness in reducing repeat or unnecessary dynamic CT myelograms

Consequences of Economic Partnership Agreements between East and Southern African Countries and the EU for Inter- and Intra-regional Integration

The European Union is currently negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with six African, Caribbean and Pacific country groupings, aiming at establishing mutual free trade. This paper empirically assesses the impact of the EPAs on trade flows and government revenues for 22 East and Southern African countries and discusses implications for intra-regional integration. The results indicate that while moderate trade effects can be expected, relatively large budget effects are likely to occur in a number of these countries, exposing them to considerable structural and financial adjustment requirements. Also, EPAs would strengthen the need to consolidate overlapping intra-regional integration schemes

The La Marca model revisited: Structuralist goodwin cycles with evolutionary supply side and balance of payments constraints

This research is aimed at investigating the causes of volatility that affect middle‐income countries by studying the La Marca model. Drawing from the open‐economy Goodwin tradition, this model demonstrates that economic activity, income distribution and accumulation of foreign assets dynamically interact, resulting in a pattern of dampened cycles. The study consists in analyzing the characteristics of the model by initially imposing: (I) a constant real exchange rate; (II) a constant net external asset to capital ratio, which is in line with the balance of payments dominance theory and (III) a fixed income distribution. We then (IV) expand the original model by adding an evolutionary supply‐side in which productivity is at the center of the economic dynamic through international technology transfer and the Kaldor‐Verdoorn effect. The results show that (1) the model always converges. (2) The restrictions (I) and (II) remove the cyclical component of the model, which highlights a central difference between La Marca and the original Goodwin model. (3) Fixed income distribution leads to a monotonic trajectory that reduces oscillations. (4) The inclusion of productivity dynamics generates new sources of volatility in the relationship between productivity, capacity utilization and net external assets and is in line with the structuralist argument of structural fragility

Productivity growth, Smith effects and Ricardo effects in Euro Area's manufacturing industries

We analyse the determinants of labour productivity across (a sample of) EA member states. We focus on the divergent dynamics before and after the financial crisis, and of core countries relative to peripheral countries. We ground our empirical analysis in Paolo Sylos‐Labini's productivity equations. We test different models, including a Panel 2S‐LS model and a Panel vector autoregression model. Our preliminary findings confirm and strengthen Sylos‐Labini's main insights. Labour productivity in manufacturing industries is strongly and positively correlated with the market size (Smith effect), the relative cost of labour (Ricardo effect), the absolute cost of labour (organization effect) and past investment, whereas it is negatively correlated with current investment. Furthermore, we find evidence that the crisis has affected the size of these effects. Focusing on the core periphery dichotomy, the signs of the effects are the same for both groups of countries, although the Smith, Ricardo and long‐run investment effects are usually stronger for core countries compared to peripheral countries. The opposite holds for the organization effect, while investment effects are less clear

The nexus between prices, employment and output growth: a global and national evidence

This paper investigates how output growth, employment growth and inflation influence each other in the short/long run. It builds on Phillips (1962) and Blanchard Fischer (1989) assessment that empirical links between output, employment and prices are central issue in modern macroeconomics. This paper brings a global perspective on short and long term links between employment growth, inflation and output growth using panel cointegration framework with non-stationary heterogeneous panel (119 countries over 1970–2010). The empirical results (on global and national level) strongly support the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between output growth, employment growth and inflation. A central finding is that possible trade-off effects between growth, employment and prices varies significantly among economies. Therefore, universal answers to questions Is inflation good for growth or Is there a trade-off between employment and growth are not straightforward for general macroeconomic theory. Each country must design own economic policy (targeting) taking into account the quantitative relationships between growth, employment and prices. This has important policy implications also for price setting policies, cost management, market strategy and risk management through productivity-demand disturbances effects on the business environment

The Biochemistry, Ultrastructure, and Subunit Assembly Mechanism of AMPA Receptors

The AMPA-type ionotropic glutamate receptors (AMPA-Rs) are tetrameric ligand-gated ion channels that play crucial roles in synaptic transmission and plasticity. Our knowledge about the ultrastructure and subunit assembly mechanisms of intact AMPA-Rs was very limited. However, the new studies using single particle EM and X-ray crystallography are revealing important insights. For example, the tetrameric crystal structure of the GluA2cryst construct provided the atomic view of the intact receptor. In addition, the single particle EM structures of the subunit assembly intermediates revealed the conformational requirement for the dimer-to-tetramer transition during the maturation of AMPA-Rs. These new data in the field provide new models and interpretations. In the brain, the native AMPA-R complexes contain auxiliary subunits that influence subunit assembly, gating, and trafficking of the AMPA-Rs. Understanding the mechanisms of the auxiliary subunits will become increasingly important to precisely describe the function of AMPA-Rs in the brain. The AMPA-R proteomics studies continuously reveal a previously unexpected degree of molecular heterogeneity of the complex. Because the AMPA-Rs are important drug targets for treating various neurological and psychiatric diseases, it is likely that these new native complexes will require detailed mechanistic analysis in the future. The current ultrastructural data on the receptors and the receptor-expressing stable cell lines that were developed during the course of these studies are useful resources for high throughput drug screening and further drug designing. Moreover, we are getting closer to understanding the precise mechanisms of AMPA-R-mediated synaptic plasticity