Approaching Minimal Flavour Violation from an SU(5) x S4 x U(1) SUSY GUT

We show how approximate Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) can emerge from an SU(5) Supersymmetric Grand Unified Theory (SUSY GUT) supplemented by an S4 x U(1) family symmetry, which provides a good description of all quark and lepton (including neutrino) masses, mixings and CP violation. Assuming a SUSY breaking mechanism which respects the family symmetry, we calculate in full explicit detail the low energy mass insertion parameters in the super-CKM basis, including the effects of canonical normalisation and renormalisation group running. We find that the very simple family symmetry S4 x U(1) is sufficient to approximately reproduce the effects of low energy MFV.Comment: 24 pages + appendices, version to be published in JHE

Dual interest rates and the transmission of monetary policy

The recent experience in the euro area with dual interest rates, that is, central bank funding at rates below the level at which central bank reserves are remunerated, showed that such a tool can constitute a new form of monetary accommodation. On top of supporting bank credit, central bank funding with dual interest rates enables an easing of bank lending conditions without the increased risk appetite that a standard rate cut might bring about, especially if considered after a prolonged period of low or negative interest rates

Development of a national and sub-national crop calendars data set compatible with remote sensing derived land surface phenology

Crop calendars are a fundamental component of agricultural production monitoring systems since they help analysts to focus on the seasons when different crop types are actually growing in the field. The Earth Observation based early warning system ASAP (Anomaly hot Spots of Agricultural Production) uses land surface phenology (LSP) metrics as proxy for crop calendars and applies parameters, such as the start and end of the season (SOS and EOS respectively) to define the period of active agricultural vegetation growth at pixel level. However, such information is not crop specific and it remains therefore relevant to use crop calendars from independent sources providing crop specific key phenological timings, such as sowing, growing and harvesting. Several institutions, including FAO and USDA make available crop calendars at the national level, which are widely used for agricultural monitoring. The LSP derived SOS and EOS metrics can be associated with sowing and harvesting from such crop calendars. This report describes a method for the attribution of each growing season derived from LSP to a crop type listed in existing crop calendars. Based on a set of rules, we compare the growing seasons derived from LSP with the timings of the crop calendars, and select those crops where a match between LSP and crop calendar information is found. Agricultural statistics, including harvested area and production, are used in order to verify the correct identification and relevance of crop types by country. The method also allows to downscale the existing national level crop calendars to the sub-national level. It therefore makes available sub-national level crop calendars, which are highly valuable for crop monitoring at that scale. The resulting crop calendars are available in the ASAP download section: https://mars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/asap/download.phpJRC.D.5-Food Securit

Alkaline phosphatase and its isoenzyme activity for the evaluation of bone metabolism in children receiving anticonvulsant monotherapy

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate whether carbamazepine, sodium valproate or phenobarbital as monotherapy in ambulatory epileptic children with adequate sun exposure have some effect on their bone metabolism based on the determination of total serum alkaline phosphatase (AP) levels and its bone isoenzyme activity. Blood samples were obtained from 118 epileptic children (37 on carbamazepine, 47 on sodium valproate and 34 on phenobarbital) and from corresponding healthy controls matched for age, gender and anthropometric parameters. AP and its liver, bone and intestinal isoenzyme levels, other common biochemical markers of bone and liver metabolism and drug levels were measured in the study participants. Patients on carbamazepine or phenobarbital had significantly elevated AP levels accompanied by increased bone and liver isoenzyme activity compared to controls. An increase of bone AP isoenzyme values, correlated with the duration of treatment ( r= 0.49, P= 0.002), was found in children on sodium valproate without, however, a concomitant significant elevation of total AP values. We conclude that children who receive antiepileptic drugs as monotherapy, even when residing in a Mediterranean country with adequate sunlight, may have their bone metabolism affected as indicated by the elevated levels of bone AP isoenzyme. This isoenzyme, but not total AP values, could therefore be used as a marker for the selection of patients who would be benefited by a thorough evaluation of their bone metabolism profile

Elevated serum triglycerides is the strongest single indicator for the presence of metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Patients with diabetes already fulfill one diagnostic criterion for MS according to the existing classifications. Our aim was to identify one single clinical parameter, which could effectively predict the presence of MS in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We studied all patients with type 2 diabetes who attended our Diabetes Outpatient Clinic during a three-month period. Waist circumference, blood pressure and serum lipids were measured. Establishment of MS diagnosis was based a) on National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria and b) on International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied in order to identify the clinical parameter with the highest predictive capability for MS. Among the 500 participating patients (231 males, 269 females), MS was diagnosed in 364 patients (72.8%) according to the NCEP ATP III criteria and in 408 patients (81.6%) according to the IDF criteria. RESULTS: For the NCEP ATP III classification, serum triglycerides (in the overall population), waist and HDL (in female population) demonstrated the highest predictive capability for MS (AUCs:0.786, 0.805 and 0.801, respectively). For the IDF classification, no single parameter reached an AUC > 0.800 in the overall population. In females, HDL displayed a satisfactory predictive capability for MS with an AUC which was significantly higher than the one in males (0.785 vs. 0.676, respectively, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Elevated serum triglycerides strongly indicate the presence of MS in patients with type 2 diabetes. In female patients with type 2 diabetes, central obesity was the second stronger predictor of MS besides hypertriglyceridemia

Summary of climate variability and extremes and their main impacts on agricultural production in 2018

This yearly summary reviews the main climate extremes described by the WMO state of the climate preliminary report for 2018 that had an impact on agricultural production according to JRC’s agricultural early warning system ASAP (Anomaly hotspots of Agricultural Production). Such a summary can be used as a starting point for more detailed analysis of agricultural production problems and their impact on food security as it is done by several multi-agency reports such as the Global Report on Food Crises and the Food Security and Nutrition State in the World. In 2018 major droughts affected crop and rangeland productivity in Northern and Central Europe as well as in Australia. Southern Africa experienced early season dry spells reducing maize crop production, while East, West and Central Africa experienced localized flooding during an otherwise favourable agricultural season. In Asia, Afghanistan was the main affected country with food production seriously limited by drought, while exceptional Monsoon rains and Typhoons were a problem in the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos. The final part of the report includes an oveview of climate extremes affecting crop seasons ongoing in early 2019 as well as a short summary of seasonal forecasts for the first 3 months of 2019.JRC.D.5-Food Securit

The Journal of Apicultural Research welcomes the publication of research findings from around the globe

The Journal of Apicultural Research (JAR) is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal dedicated to examining and publishing the latest research on bees from around the world. JAR publishes many different types of articles to reach different international audiences, from career scientists to students and well-informed beekeepers. These comprise original, theoretical, and experimental research papers, as well as authoritative notes, comments, and reviews on scientific aspects of all types of bees (superfamily Apoidea). As of 2021, JAR has an Impact Factor of 2.407 and is ranked 33rd out of 100 in the Entomology category (© InCites Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate Analytics, 2022). Five regular issues are published per year and special issues are added when timely topics arise, the latest being a special issue on stingless bees (2022) and review papers (2023). In the last decade, COLOSS BEEBOOK chapters are published in JAR. These open-access chapters are a collection of the Standard Methods used in honey bee research, including the study of parasites, pests, and hive products. They are a primary reference resource for bee researchers across the globe and facilitate new projects that might not otherwise be undertaken by laboratories that are new to apidology (236,516 downloads - Taylor & Francis 3,028 citations - Web of Science, 2022). The Journal of Apicultural Research was founded by the International Bee Research Association (IBRA) in 1962. The very first issue included a Note from the first Editors, Dr. Eva Crane & Dr. James Simpson, who introduced JAR as a new opportunity for publication: “The journal will cover all aspects of bees, Apis and non-Apis, and substances used or produced by them, their pollinating activities, and organisms causing diseases or injuries to them.” Since the first issue, this legacy has been maintained in more than 2,800 scientific articles, co-authored by some 1,900 researchers, published so far in JAR, making our journal a key forum for the international exchange of scientific data in apidology. We encourage colleagues from around the globe to continue to participate in sharing their research with the scientific community by publishing in JAR.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio