Scattering parabolic solutions for the spatial N-centre problem

For the $N$-centre problem in the three dimensional space, $$\ddot x = -\sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{m_i \,(x-c_i)}{\vert x - c_i \vert^{\alpha+2}}, \qquad x \in \mathbb{R}^3 \setminus \{c_1,\ldots,c_N\},$$ where $N \geq 2$, $m_i > 0$ and $\alpha \in [1,2)$, we prove the existence of entire parabolic trajectories having prescribed asymptotic directions. The proof relies on a variational argument of min-max type. Morse index estimates and regularization techniques are used in order to rule out the possible occurrence of collisions

Design, Structure and Implementation of a Modern Deposit Insurance Scheme

One of the important consequences to be drawn from the course of the financial crisis up to now is the insight that more attention must be paid in the future to the factors of liquidity, liquidity management and liquidity protection. That holds true for the protection of the stability of an individual bank as it does for that of a whole national or even international financial system. The liquidity problems of a bank can certainly have a variety of causes. However, as an examination of the history of bank insolvencies and financial crises shows, an accelerated withdrawal of bank deposits by unsecured customers nearly always leads in the end to the collapse of an institution and, as an ultimate consequence, to a national or even international banking crisis. This insight has also brought the deposit insurance institutions in many countries around the world to the attention of political, regulatory and banking management discussions. The rapid, politically necessary, factually often not well founded, guarantee promises made by many governments have shown those responsible that in Europe the need for a fundamental revision of the present deposit insurance schemes must be urgently addressed. In most industrialized countries of the OECD, as well as in a range of other states, working groups are studying the necessary revisions and adjustments of the relevant institutions to meet the new economic and political conditions. Even if solutions of this sort continue to be arranged differently from one country to another on the basis of differing regulatory, historical and structural circumstances, a consensus is emerging over the important basic questions of deposit insurance system design and architecture. As a result of the worldwide financial crisis most European countries massively increased their coverage limits for their national deposit insurance schemes in the fall of 2008. Where no deposit insurance existed, it was introduced. Existing systems were critically scrutinized. In most countries the maximum insurance coverage was raised and the eligible deposit base was extended. Some individual states have even promised an unlimited deposit protection (in some cases with a time restriction). Under the pressure of an increasing number of bank failures these promises were made without revising the existing deposit insurance schemes themselves. In the course of 2009, both the individual European states and the EU itself then set about scrutinizing their existing protection schemes and mechanisms and revising the existing national deposit insurance schemes. It is accepted throughout the world that well designed deposit insurance is an important element in a national safety net for maintaining and extending the stability of the financial system. The design and structure, but also the implementation, of a deposit insurance scheme (DIS) of this sort throws up numerous institutional, procedural and instrumental questions. Such operative and strategic issues must be answered against the background of the overall national circumstances and in line with the country specific realities of the respective financial intermediate system. However, there is a series of topics that can be assessed and solved independently of such individual circumstances. This is even more the case since the worldwide revision of the deposit insurance schemes offers the opportunity to create the conditions for a future harmonization of national deposit insurance schemes at least within Europe. An assimilation of this sort is, in turn, the basis for future EU-wide or perhaps even European depositor protection, which, like any broadly based guarantee, would certainly be more efficient than a multitude of national solutions. This publication intends to make a contribution to the ongoing discussion of the complex questions connected with the further development of European deposit insurance schemes. Both complementing and extending the broad range of theoretical literature available, it focuses on some key design questions of modern deposit insurance schemes, on the discussion of their basic structural elements and on the appropriate consequences for the stakeholders in deposit insurance. We focus on: - the derivation of the most important requirements of a modern European deposit insurance, and the - discussion of specific organizational aspects and fundamental institutional requirements as well as of solutions for selected system building blocks. The first chapter analyzes the institutional framework of deposit insurance schemes and its various aspects of cost/benefit considerations. The second chapter discusses the fundamentals of modern deposit insurance. The third chapter examines selected strategic and instrumental questions concerning the organization and implementation of deposit insurance schemes. The fourth chapter focuses on some questions related to the international harmonization and coordination of the design of deposit insurance schemes. In all sections we address some lessons learned from the recent financial turmoil. The fifth chapter finally addresses some conclusions and sketches some policy implications for designing and implementing a modern deposit insurance scheme.Deposit insurance, risk-based premium, risk-adjusted pricing, premium calculator, system risk, fund size, funding, guarantee promises, depositor categories, eligible deposits, covered deposits, membership, expected loss, pan-european deposit insurance system, moral hazard, resolution regime, payout

Parabolic orbits in Celestial Mechanics: a functional-analytic approach

We prove the existence of half-entire parabolic solutions, asymptotic to a prescribed central configuration, for the equation x''= 07U(x) + 07W(t, x), x 08 R^d, where d 65 2, U is a positive and positively homogeneous potential with homogeneity degree -\u3b1 with \u3b1 08 ]0,2[, and W is a (possibly time-dependent) lower order term, for vertical |x|--> +infinity, with respect to U. The proof relies on a perturbative argument, after an appropriate formulation of the problem in a suitable functional space. Applications to several problems of Celestial Mechanics (including the N-centre problem, the N-body problem and the restricted (N+H)-body problem) are given

Adsorption of Collagen Nanofibrils on Rough TiO2: A Molecular Dynamics Study

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Toward harmonized phenotyping of human myeloid-derived suppressor cells by flow cytometry: results from an interim study

There is an increasing interest for monitoring circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in cancer patients, but there are also divergences in their phenotypic definition. To overcome this obstacle, the Cancer Immunoguiding Program under the umbrella of the Association of Cancer Immunotherapy is coordinating a proficiency panel program that aims at harmonizing MDSC phenotyping. After a consultation period, a two-stage approach was designed to harmonize MDSC phenotype. In the first step, an international consortium of 23 laboratories immunophenotyped 10 putative MDSC subsets on pretested, peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors to assess the level of concordance and define robust marker combinations for the identification of circulating MDSCs. At this stage, no mandatory requirements to standardize reagents or protocols were introduced. Data analysis revealed a small intra-laboratory, but very high inter-laboratory variance for all MDSC subsets, especially for the granulocytic subsets. In particular, the use of a dead-cell marker altered significantly the reported percentage of granulocytic MDSCs, confirming that these cells are especially sensitive to cryopreservation and/or thawing. Importantly, the gating strategy was heterogeneous and associated with high inter-center variance. Overall, our results document the high variability in MDSC phenotyping in the multicenter setting if no harmonization/standardization measures are applied. Although the observed variability depended on a number of identified parameters, the main parameter associated with variation was the gating strategy. Based on these findings, we propose further efforts to harmonize marker combinations and gating parameters to identify strategies for a robust enumeration of MDSC subsets

Examination of the retinal nerve fiber layer in diabetic retinopathy treated by argon laser panphotocoagulation

OBJETIVO: Avaliar alterações na camada de fibras nervosas da retina na retinopatia diabética tratada por panfotocoagulação com laser de argônio. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo de portadores de retinopatia diabética submetidos a panfotocoagulação retiniana. Inicialmente, foram realizados exame oftalmológico completo e tomografia de coerência óptica. Todos pacientes foram submetidos a panfotocoagulação em um dos olhos. A camada de fibras nervosas foi avaliada por meio da tomografia de coerência óptica na 1ª semana, no primeiro, terceiro e sexto meses do tratamento. RESULTADOS: A amostra foi composta por 27 pacientes (27 olhos) portadores de diabetes mellitus tipo 2. A idade variou entre 41 e 64 anos (média de 53,7 ± 6,2 anos), sendo 10 (37%) pacientes do sexo masculino e 17 (63%) do feminino. Quanto ao tipo de retinopatia, 22,2% apresentavam RD proliferativa e 77,8%, RD não proliferativa muito grave. Houve aumento significante nas medidas da espessura da camada de fibras nervosas, permanecendo nos setores temporal, 3 e 4 horas após seis meses de seguimento. Não foi observada qualquer redução na espessura em todos parâmetros analisados. CONCLUSÃO: Não foi evidenciada, a curto e médio prazo, redução na espessura da camada de fibras nervosas em portadores de retinopatia diabética tratada por panfotocoagulação que possa ser identificável por meio da tomografia de coerência óptica. Por outro lado, alguns setores mostraram aumento na espessura durante o seguimento.PURPOSE: To evaluate the alterations in the retinal nerve fiber layer in diabetic retinopathy treated by argon laser panphotocoagulation. METHODS: Prospective study of patients with diabetic retinopathy submitted to retinal panphotocoagulation. Initially, complete ophthalmologic examination and optical coherence tomography were performed. All patients were submitted to panphotocoagulation with argon laser in one of the eyes. The retinal fiber layer was evaluated by means of optical coherence tomography in the first week, in the first, third and sixth months after treatment. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 27 patients (27 eyes) with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The age varied from 41 to 64 years (mean of 53.7 ± 6.2 years), with 10 (37%) males and 17 (63%) females. Regarding the retinopathy, 22.2% presented proliferative DR and 77.8% very severe non proliferative DR. There was a significant increase in the fiber layer thickness measurements, remaining in the temporal sectors, 3 and 4 hours, after 6 months of follow-up. Reduction of thickness was not observed in any of the analyzed parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction of the fiber layer thickness, identifiable by means of optical coherence tomography, in short and average term, was not observed in patients with diabetic retinopathy treated with panphotocoagulation. On the other hand, some sectors showed thickness increase during the follow-up

Traveling water waves — the ebb and flow of two centuries

This survey covers the mathematical theory of steady water waves with an emphasis on topics that are at the forefront of current research. These areas include: variational characterizations of traveling water waves; analytical and numerical studies of periodic waves with critical layers that may overhang; existence, nonexistence, and qualitative theory of solitary waves and fronts; traveling waves with localized vorticity or density stratification; and waves in three dimensions

Long-Term Cell Tracking Following Local Injection of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Equine Model of Induced Tendon Disease.

Tendon disease has been treated with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the equine large-animal model with promising success. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the fate and biodistribution of MSCs after local application into tendon lesions by long-term cell tracking in this large-animal model. Superficial digital flexor tendon lesions were induced in all limbs in six horses and injected with 10 × 10 6 Molday ION Rhodamine B™-labeled MSCs suspended in serum or serum alone. Follow-up was performed using low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), flow cytometry, and histology. Cell tracking based on the hypointense artifacts induced by the superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) labeling agent in MRI as well as based on Rhodamine B fluorescence was feasible. However, Prussian blue staining for assessment of histology was not entirely specific for SPIO. Labeled cells could be traced at their injection site by MRI as well as histology for the whole follow-up period of 24 weeks. Although the numbers of labeled cells within the injected tendon lesions decreased over time, part of the applied cells appeared to remain viable and integrated within the injured tissue. Furthermore, small numbers of labeled cells were identified in peripheral blood within the first 24 h after cell injection and could also be found until week 24 within the contralateral control tendon lesions that had been injected with serum. The present findings unveil details on MSC biodistribution and persistence after their local application, which are of clinical relevance with regard to MSC safety and mechanisms of action

Long-Term Cell Tracking Following Local Injection of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Equine Model of Induced Tendon Disease

Tendon disease has been treated with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the equine large-animal model with promising success. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the fate and biodistribution of MSCs after local application into tendon lesions by long-term cell tracking in this large-animal model. Superficial digital flexor tendon lesions were induced in all limbs in six horses and injected with 10106 Molday ION Rhodamine B-labeled MSCs suspended in serum or serum alone. Follow-up was performed using low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), flow cytometry, and histology. Cell tracking based on the hypointense artifacts induced by the superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) labeling agent in MRI as well as based on Rhodamine B fluorescence was feasible. However, Prussian blue staining for assessment of histology was not entirely specific for SPIO. Labeled cells could be traced at their injection site by MRI as well as histology for the whole follow-up period of 24 weeks. Although the numbers of labeled cells within the injected tendon lesions decreased over time, part of the applied cells appeared to remain viable and integrated within the injured tissue. Furthermore, small numbers of labeled cells were identified in peripheral blood within the first 24 h after cell injection and could also be found until week 24 within the contralateral control tendon lesions that had been injected with serum. The present findings unveil details on MSC biodistribution and persistence after their local application, which are of clinical relevance with regard to MSC safety and mechanisms of action

Adult Still's disease and Tako-Tsubo syndrome

Here we describe the case of a 68-year-old Italian female who was admitted in our hospital for the occurrence of arthralgia, abdominal pain and general discomfort. The clinical picture was complicated by recurrent febrile episodes up to 40°C associated with skin rush and cardio-respiratory failure with ECG ischemic alteration, TnT-hs troponin elevation and an ipo-akinetic alteration of the apex at the echocardiogram examination. After an intensive workup, the diagnosis of an adult Still's disease was formulated according to the classification criteria. Moreover, the patient underwent coronarographic study and cardiac MR that, collectively, supported the diagnosis of Tako-Tsubo syndrome. The patient was treated with steroid obtaining the remission of the disease. Myocardial injury with adult Still's disease was been rarely reported. In our case we observed for the first time, to our knowledge, a case of adult Still's disease complicated by a Tako-Tsubo syndrome