Monetary-Policy Communication: The Experience of the Swedish Riksbank

Over the past ten to fifteen years, central banks have begun to communicate more openly. The article describes the Swedish central bank’s communication experiences in two central areas: the role of real stability in monetary policy, and the interest-rate assumption used as a basis for the economic forecasts. One conclusion is that a higher degree of openness, although desirable, often makes the central bank’s message more complex. The communication may therefore be perceived as less clear during a transitory period. Another conclusion is that how open a central bank chooses to be is not an isolated decision that leaves the bank’s practices unaffected in other respects. The degree of openness is likely to have repercussions on the central bank’s internal analyses and decision-making processes.central-bank communication, monetary policy, transparency

Low antioxidant concentrations impact on multiple signalling pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana partly through NPR1

Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is linked to signalling in both developmental and stress responses. The level of ROS is controlled by both production and removal through various scavengers including ascorbic acid and glutathione. Here, the role of low ascorbic acid or glutathione concentrations was investigated on ozone-induced cell death, defence signalling, and developmental responses. Low ascorbic acid concentrations in vtc1 activated expression of salicylic acid (SA)-regulated genes, a response found to be dependent on the redox-regulated transcriptional co-regulator NPR1. In contrast, low glutathione concentrations in cad2 or pad2 reduced expression of SA-regulated genes. Testing different responses to jasmonic acid (JA) revealed the presence of at least two separate JA signalling pathways. Treatment of the vtc1 mutant with JA led to hyper-induction of MONODEHYDROASCORBATE REDUCTASE3, indicating that low ascorbic acid concentrations prime the response to JA. Furthermore, NPR1 was found to be a positive regulator of JA-induced expression of MDHAR3 and TAT3. The vtc1 and npr1 mutants were sensitive to glucose inhibition of seed germination; an opposite response was found in cad2 and pad2. Overall, low ascorbic acid concentrations mostly led to opposite phenotypes to low glutathione concentrations, and both antioxidants interacted with SA and JA signalling pathways

Measurement of the Tau Lepton Polarisation at LEP2

A first measurement of the average polarisation P_tau of tau leptons produced in e+e- annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value P_tau = -0.164 +/- 0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV.A first measurement of the average polarisation Pτ of tau leptons produced in e + e − annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value Pτ=−0.164±0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV.A first measurement of the average polarisation P_tau of tau leptons produced in e+e- annihilation at energies significantly above the Z resonance is presented. The polarisation is determined from the kinematic spectra of tau hadronic decays. The measured value P_tau = -0.164 +/- 0.125 is consistent with the Standard Model prediction for the mean LEP energy of 197 GeV