Banking on Foreigners: The Behaviour of International Bank Lending to Latin America, 1985-2000",

Rising international bank financing to developing countries has motivated a debate on the behavior of these claims. We analyze claims from seven home (lender) countries on ten host (borrower) countries in Latin America. We find that banks transmit shocks from their home countries and changes in their claims on other countries spill over to individual hosts. However, lending has become less “indiscriminate” and more responsive to host conditions over time. Responsiveness to the latter becomes less “pro-cyclical” as exposure increases. Finally, foreign bank lending reacts more to positive than to negative host shocks and is not significantly curtailed during crises.

Surface Engineered Polymeric Biomaterials with Improved Biocontact Properties

We present many examples of surface engineered polymeric biomaterials with nanosize modified layers, controlled protein adsorption, and cellular interactions potentially applicable for tissue and/or blood contacting devices, scaffolds for cell culture and tissue engineering, biosensors, biological microchips as well as approaches to their preparation

Banking on Foreigners: The Behavior of International Bank Claims on Latin America, 1985–2000

The significant rise in foreign bank claims observed during the 1990s, following their steep decline during the 1980s debt crisis, reignited interest in understanding the behavior of these flows. This paper analyzes changes in foreign bank claims on the Latin American private sector over the period 1985-2000. We find that banks transmit shocks from their home countries (where banks' headquarters are located) and that changes in claims on individual host countries (those that receive claims) are correlated with aggregate changes in claims on other countries. However, over time, we observe that foreign bank claims have become less responsive to external factors. Also, we present evidence that the sensitivity of foreign bank claims to host factors diminishes, as banks' aggregate exposure rises. Finally, we find that foreign bank claims react more to positive than to negative host shocks and are not significantly curtailed during crises. Copyright 2005, International Monetary Fund

Banking on foreigners : the behavior of international Bank lending to Latin America, 1985-2000

Rising international bank financing to developing countries has fueled a debate on the behavior of these claims. The authors analyze claims from seven home (lender) countries on ten host (borrower) countries in Latin America. They find that banks transmit shocks from their home countries and changes in their claims on other countries spill over to individual hosts. However, lending has become less"indiscriminate"and more responsive to host conditions over time. Responsiveness to the latter becomes less"pro-cyclical"as exposure increases. Finally, foreign bank lending reacts more to positive than to negative host shocks and is not significantly curtailed during crises.Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Economic Theory&Research,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Economic Theory&Research,Insurance&Risk Mitigation

Banking on foreigners: the behaviour of International Bank Lending to Latin America, 1985-2000

Rising international bank financing to developing countries has motivated a debate on the behavior of these claims. We analyze claims from seven home (lender) countries on ten host (borrower) countries in Latin America. We find that banks transmit shocks from their home countries and changes in their claims on other countries spill over to individual hosts. However, lending has become less “indiscriminate” and more responsive to host conditions over time. Responsiveness to the latter becomes less “pro-cyclical” as exposure increases. Finally, foreign bank lending reacts more to positive than to negative host shocks and is not significantly curtailed during crises.Para cualquier uso del contenido del presente documento debe ponerse en contacto con el autor

Novel triblock co-polymer nanofibre system as an alternative support for embryonic stem cells growth and pluripotency

Conventionally, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are cultured on gelatin or over a mitotically inactivated monolayer of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFsi). Considering the lack of versatile, non-animal-derived and inexpensive materials for that purpose, we aimed to find a biomaterial able to support ESC growth in a pluripotent state that avoids the need for laborious and time-consuming MEFsi culture in parallel with mouse ESC (mESC) culture. Undifferentiated mESCs were cultured in a new nanofibre material designed for ESC culture, which is based on the self-assembly of a triblock co-polymer, poly(ethyleneglycol-β-trimethylsilyl methacrylate-β-methacrylic acid), conjugated with the peptide glycine-arginine-glycine-aspartate-serine, to evaluate its potential application in ESC research. The morphology, proliferation, viability, pluripotency and differentiation potential of mESCs were assessed. Compared to conventional stem cell culture methodologies, the nanofibres promoted a higher increase in mESCs number, enhanced pluripotency and were able to support differentiation after long-term culture. This newly developed synthetic system allows the elimination of animal-derived matrices and provides an economic method of ESC culture, made of a complex network of nanofibres in a scale similar to native extracellular matrices, where the functional properties of the cells can be observed and manipulated

Preparation and properties of silicone fouling release coatings with long-life afterglow fluorescent

Based on polydimethylsiloxane, three-component coatings were prepared with different content of luminescence powder. The results showed that the illuminance of coatings increases with the content of luminescence powder, decays exponentially with the afterglow time, increases exponentially with the increase of exposure time. The afterglow illuminance augments with irradiated light illuminance. All coatings are hydrophobic and oleophilic. Surface free energy decreases with the increase of luminescence powder. They have highest impact-resistance and bend flexibility. The luminescence powder does not change obviously the shore hardness, tensile breaking strength, breaking elongation rate, elastic modular and roughness of coatings. The static test panels in sea generally could be covered obviously by biofouling including sponges, bryophytes and mussels, hydra, kelp, green algae after 2 months of immersion during growing season. But it never found that the barnacle attached on the coating surface during 4 years of immersion test. The static anti-fouling ability of the coatings is very limited. In addition, the sea creatures attached on the coating surface can be easily removed; even attached organisms will fall off and expose again the smooth coating surface. Consequently, all coatings with long-life afterglow fluorescent have a significant effect on preventing adhesion of barnacle and fouling-release performance

Fibronectin fixation on poly(ethyl acrylate)-based copolymer

The aim of this paper is to quantify the adhered fibronectin (FN; by adsorption and/or grafting) and the exposure of its cell adhesive motifs (RGD and FNIII7-10) on poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) copolymers whose chemical composition has been designed to increase wettability and to introduce acid functional groups. FN was adsorbed to PEA, poly(ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(ethyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid), and poly(ethyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) copolymers, and covalently cross-linked to poly(ethyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) and poly(ethyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) copolymers. Amount of adhered FN and exhibition of RGD and FNIII7-10 fragments involved in cell adhesion were quantified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests. Even copolymers with a lower content of the hydrophilic component showed a decrease in water contact angle. In addition, FN was successfully fixed on all surfaces, especially on the hydrophobic surfaces. However, it was demonstrated that exposure of its cell adhesion sequences, which is the key factor in cell adhesion and proliferation, was higher for hydrophilic surfaces. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2013.Contract grant sponsors: Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) of Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Project Customized Eye Care-Oftalmologia personalizada _CEYEC CENIT-Sol 00028336 SFPECEPP and Health Institute Carlos III through the CIBER- BBN (Bioingenieria, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina); CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development FundBriz, N.; Antolinos Turpín, CM.; Alio, J.; Garagorri, N.; Gómez Ribelles, JL.; Gómez-Tejedor, JA. (2013). Fibronectin fixation on poly(ethyl acrylate)-based copolymer. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials. 101B(6):991-997. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.32907S991997101B6Roach, P., Eglin, D., Rohde, K., & Perry, C. C. (2007). Modern biomaterials: a review—bulk properties and implications of surface modifications. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 18(7), 1263-1277. doi:10.1007/s10856-006-0064-3Schmidt, D. R., Waldeck, H., & Kao, W. J. (2009). Protein Adsorption to Biomaterials. Biological Interactions on Materials Surfaces, 1-18. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-98161-1_1Ertel, S. I., Ratner, B. D., & Horbett, T. A. (1990). Radiofrequency plasma deposition of oxygen-containing films on polystyrene and poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates improves endothelial cell growth. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 24(12), 1637-1659. doi:10.1002/jbm.820241207Way, T.-D., Hsieh, S.-R., Chang, C.-J., Hung, T.-W., & Chiu, C.-H. (2010). Preparation and characterization of branched polymers as postoperative anti-adhesion barriers. Applied Surface Science, 256(10), 3330-3336. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.12.029Hsieh, S.-R., Chang, C.-J., Way, T.-D., Kwan, P.-C., & Hung, T.-W. (2009). Preparation and Non-Invasive In-Vivo Imaging of Anti-Adhesion Barriers with Fluorescent Polymeric Marks. Journal of Fluorescence, 19(4), 733-740. doi:10.1007/s10895-009-0469-8Lee, M. H., Ducheyne, P., Lynch, L., Boettiger, D., & Composto, R. J. (2006). Effect of biomaterial surface properties on fibronectin–α5β1 integrin interaction and cellular attachment. Biomaterials, 27(9), 1907-1916. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.11.003Keselowsky, B. G., Collard, D. M., & Garcı́a, A. J. (2004). Surface chemistry modulates focal adhesion composition and signaling through changes in integrin binding. Biomaterials, 25(28), 5947-5954. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2004.01.062Tzoneva, R., Faucheux, N., & Groth, T. (2007). Wettability of substrata controls cell–substrate and cell–cell adhesions. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, 1770(11), 1538-1547. doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2007.07.008Rico, P., Hernández, J. C. R., Moratal, D., Altankov, G., Pradas, M. M., & Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2009). Substrate-Induced Assembly of Fibronectin into Networks: Influence of Surface Chemistry and Effect on Osteoblast Adhesion. Tissue Engineering Part A, 15(11), 3271-3281. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2009.0141Gugutkov, D., Altankov, G., Rodríguez Hernández, J. C., Monleón Pradas, M., & Salmerón Sánchez, M. (2010). Fibronectin activity on substrates with controlled OH density. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 92A(1), 322-331. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.32374Salmerón-Sánchez, M., Rico, P., Moratal, D., Lee, T. T., Schwarzbauer, J. E., & García, A. J. (2011). Role of material-driven fibronectin fibrillogenesis in cell differentiation. Biomaterials, 32(8), 2099-2105. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.11.057Pérez Olmedilla, M., Garcia-Giralt, N., Pradas, M. M., Ruiz, P. B., Gómez Ribelles, J. L., Palou, E. C., & García, J. C. M. (2006). Response of human chondrocytes to a non-uniform distribution of hydrophilic domains on poly (ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) copolymers. Biomaterials, 27(7), 1003-1012. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.07.030Soria, J. M., Martínez Ramos, C., Salmerón Sánchez, M., Benavent, V., Campillo Fernández, A., Gómez Ribelles, J. L., … Barcia, J. A. (2006). Survival and differentiation of embryonic neural explants on different biomaterials. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 79A(3), 495-502. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.30803Campillo-Fernandez, A. J., Pastor, S., Abad-Collado, M., Bataille, L., Gomez-Ribelles, J. L., Meseguer-Dueñas, J. M., … Ruiz-Moreno, J. M. (2007). Future Design of a New Keratoprosthesis. Physical and Biological Analysis of Polymeric Substrates for Epithelial Cell Growth. Biomacromolecules, 8(8), 2429-2436. doi:10.1021/bm0703012Campillo-Fernández, A. J., Unger, R. E., Peters, K., Halstenberg, S., Santos, M., Sánchez, M. S., … Kirkpatrick, C. J. (2009). Analysis of the Biological Response of Endothelial and Fibroblast Cells Cultured on Synthetic Scaffolds with Various Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Ratios: Influence of Fibronectin Adsorption and Conformation. Tissue Engineering Part A, 15(6), 1331-1341. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2008.0146Cutler, S. (2003). Engineering cell adhesive surfaces that direct integrin α5β1 binding using a recombinant fragment of fibronectin. Biomaterials, 24(10), 1759-1770. doi:10.1016/s0142-9612(02)00570-7Salmerón Sánchez, M., Brı́gido Diego, R., Iannazzo, S. A. ., Gómez Ribelles, J. L., & Monleón Pradas, M. (2004). The structure of poly(ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) copolymer networks by segmental dynamics studies based on structural relaxation experiments. Polymer, 45(7), 2349-2355. doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2004.01.043Campillo-Fernández, A. J., Salmerón Sánchez, M., Sabater i Serra, R., Meseguer Dueñas, J. M., Monleón Pradas, M., & Gómez Ribelles, J. L. (2008). Water-induced (nano) organization in poly(ethyl acrylate-co-hydroxyethyl acrylate) networks. European Polymer Journal, 44(7), 1996-2004. doi:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2008.04.032Lan, M. A., Gersbach, C. A., Michael, K. E., Keselowsky, B. G., & García, A. J. (2005). Myoblast proliferation and differentiation on fibronectin-coated self assembled monolayers presenting different surface chemistries. Biomaterials, 26(22), 4523-4531. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2004.11.02

Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy of Chlorophyll a: Solvent Dependent Spectral Evolution

The interaction of the monomeric chlorophyll Q-band electronic transition with solvents of differing physical-chemical properties is investigated through two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES). Chlorophyll constitutes the key chromophore molecule in light harvesting complexes. It is well-known that the surrounding protein in the light harvesting complex fine-tunes chlorophyll electronic transitions to optimize energy transfer. Therefore, an understanding of the influence of the environment on the monomeric chlorophyll electronic transitions is important. The Q-band 2DES is inhomogeneous at early times, particularly in hydrogen bonding polar solvents, but also in nonpolar solvents like cyclohexane. Interestingly this inhomogeneity persists for long times, even up to the nanosecond time scale in some solvents. The reshaping of the 2DES occurs over multiple time scales and was assigned mainly to spectral diffusion. At early times the reshaping is Gaussian-like, hinting at a strong solvent reorganization effect. The temporal evolution of the 2DES response was analyzed in terms of a Brownian oscillator model. The spectral densities underpinning the Brownian oscillator fitting were recovered for the different solvents. The absorption spectra and Stokes shift were also properly described by this model. The extent and nature of inhomogeneous broadening was a strong function of solvent, being larger in H-bonding and viscous media and smaller in nonpolar solvents. The fastest spectral reshaping components were assigned to solvent dynamics, modified by interactions with the solute

Multilayer nanoscale functionalization to treat disorders and enhance regeneration of bone tissue

The coatings application onto medical devices has experienced a continuous growth in the last few years. Medical device coating market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.16% to reach USD 10 million by 2023 due to the increasing geriatric population and the growing demand for continuous innovation. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly represents a versatile method to modify the surface properties, in order to control cell interaction and thus enhance biological functions. Furthermore, LbL is environmentally friendly, able to coat all types of surfaces with the creation of homogenous film and to include and control the release of biomolecules/drugs. This feature review provides a critical overview on recent progresses in functionalizing materials by LbL assembly for bone regeneration and disorder treatment. An overview of emerging and visionary opportunities on LbL technologies and further combination with other existing methods used in biomedical field, is also discussed to evidence the new challenges and potential developments in bone regenerative medicine