Bilateral Services Trade Data and the GTAP database

Good statistical measurement of services trade becomes more and more important now trade in services gets the attention of policymakers. In 1995 many countries decided to liberalise services trade according to the General Agreement for Trade in Services (GATS). Also in the Doha round the WTO members aim to open their markets in services further. This paper has two aims. The first is a description of CPB's method to modify the GTAP data base, version 6 with bilateral services trade data.� The source for constructing bilateral flows in this paper is a recent comprehensive database from the OECD which was established in cooperation with Eurostat, based on the concepts and framework of trade in services set out by the IMF in their balance of payments statistics. We manage to cover flows between 24 OECD countries and four sectors, which equals approximately 75% of the total flows of services world trade in 2001. On the other hand however, it doesn't cover all GTAP services sectors. The second is our proposal to contribute (updated) bilateral services trade data to the GTAP database, version 7, base year 2004. These data will include 24 reporting OECD countries with 24 to 55 partner countries for 10 services sectors.

The quality of bilateral services trade data: contribution to GTAP7 database

This paper has two aims. First, it describes CPB's contribution on bilateral services trade data to version 7 of the GTAP database. Among others, it uses reliability indices to determine the quality of the data reported by exporting and importing countries. Second, this paper discusses briefly some alternative methods to make a choice between two available reporting data for the same bilateral flow. The results can be downloaded from the accompanying spreadsheet.

Worldscan; a model for international economic policy analysis

WorldScan is a recursively dynamic general equilibrium model for the world economy, developed for the analysis of long-term issues in international economics. The model is used both as a tool to construct long-term scenarios and as an instrument for policy impact assessments, e.g. in the fields of climate change, economic integration and trade. In general, with each application WorldScan is also adapted. This publication brings the model changes together, explains the model's current structure and illustrates the model's usage with some applications.

Identification of the stress granule transcriptome via RNA-editing in single cells and in vivo

Stress granules are phase-separated assemblies formed around RNAs. So far, the techniques available to identify these RNAs are not suitable for single cells and small tissues displaying cell heterogeneity. Here, we used TRIBE (target of RNA-binding proteins identified by editing) to profile stress granule RNAs. We used an RNA-binding protein (FMR1) fused to the catalytic domain of an RNA-editing enzyme (ADAR), which coalesces into stress granules upon oxidative stress. RNAs colocalized with this fusion are edited, producing mutations that are detectable by VASA sequencing. Using single-molecule FISH, we validated that this purification-free method can reliably identify stress granule RNAs in bulk and single S2 cells and in Drosophila neurons. Similar to mammalian cells, we find that stress granule mRNAs encode ATP binding, cell cycle, and transcription factors. This method opens the possibility to identify stress granule RNAs and other RNA-based assemblies in other single cells and tissues

Legacy and Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants in Antarctic Benthic Invertebrates near Rothera Point, Western Antarctic Peninsula

The levels of pollutants in polar regions is gaining progressively more attention from the science community. This is especially so for pollutants that persist in the environment and can reach polar latitudes via a wide range of routes, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In this study samples of Antarctic marine benthic organisms were analysed for legacy and emerging POPs to comprehensively assess the current POPs concentrations in Antarctic benthos and infer the potential sources of the pollutants. Specimens of 5 different benthic invertebrate species were collected in 2 distinct locations near the Rothera Research station (67°35'8"S and 68°7'59"W). Any impact of the nearby Rothera Station as a local source of pollution appeared to be negligible. The most abundant chemicals detected were HCB and BDE-209, reaching the highest concentrations in limpets and urchins, followed by sea stars, ascidians and sea cucumbers. The relative congener patterns of PCBs and PBDEs were almost the same in all species. Some chemicals (e.g. Heptachlor, Oxychlordane and Mirex) were detected in the Antarctic invertebrates for the first time. Statistical methods revealed that the distribution of the POPs is not only driven by the feeding traits of the species, but also by the physico-chemical properties of the individual compounds. Benthic invertebrates are excellent indicators of the contaminant patterns of inshore Antarctic ecosystems

Microbial community of predatory bugs of the genus Macrolophus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The predatory mirids of the genus <it>Macrolophus</it> are key natural enemies of various economically important agricultural pests. Both <it>M. caliginosus</it> and <it>M. pygmaeus</it> are commercially available for the augmentative biological control of arthropod pests in European greenhouses. The latter species is known to be infected with <it>Wolbachia</it> -inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility in its host- but the presence of other endosymbionts has not been demonstrated. In the present study, the microbial diversity was examined in various populations of <it>M. caliginosus</it> and <it>M. pygmaeus</it> by 16S rRNA sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Besides <it>Wolbachia</it>, a co-infection of 2 <it>Rickettsia</it> species was detected in all <it>M. pygmaeus</it> populations. Based on a concatenated alignment of the <it>16S rRNA</it> gene, the <it>gltA</it> gene and the <it>coxA</it> gene, the first is phylogenetically related to <it>Rickettsia bellii</it>, whereas the other is closely related to <it>Rickettsia limoniae</it>. All <it>M. caliginosus</it> populations were infected with the same <it>Wolbachia</it> and <it>limoniae</it>-like <it>Rickettsia</it> strain as <it>M. pygmaeus</it>, but did not harbour the <it>bellii</it>-like <it>Rickettsia</it> strain. Interestingly, individuals with a single infection were not found. A PCR assay on the ovaries of <it>M. pygmaeus</it> and <it>M. caliginosus</it> indicated that all endosymbionts are vertically transmitted. The presence of <it>Wolbachia</it> and <it>Rickettsia</it> in oocytes was confirmed by a fluorescence <it>in situ</it> hybridisation. A bio-assay comparing an infected and an uninfected <it>M. pygmaeus</it> population suggested that the endosymbionts had minor effects on nymphal development of their insect host and did not influence its fecundity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Two species of the palaearctic mirid genus <it>Macrolophus</it> are infected with multiple endosymbionts, including <it>Wolbachia</it> and <it>Rickettsia</it>. Independent of the origin, all tested populations of both <it>M. pygmaeus</it> and <it>M. caliginosus</it> were infected with three and two endosymbionts, respectively. There was no indication that infection with endosymbiotic bacteria had a fitness cost in terms of development and fecundity of the predators.</p

Mutant ubiquitin found in neurodegenerative disorders is a ubiquitin fusion degradation substrate that blocks proteasomal degradation

Loss of neurons in neurodegenerative diseases is usually preceded by the accumulation of protein deposits that contain components of the ubiquitin/proteasome system. Affected neurons in Alzheimer's disease often accumulate UBB+1, a mutant ubiquitin carrying a 19–amino acid C-terminal extension generated by a transcriptional dinucleotide deletion. Here we show that UBB+1 is a potent inhibitor of ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis in neuronal cells, and that this inhibitory activity correlates with induction of cell cycle arrest. Surprisingly, UBB+1 is recognized as a ubiquitin fusion degradation (UFD) proteasome substrate and ubiquitinated at Lys29 and Lys48. Full blockade of proteolysis requires both ubiquitination sites. Moreover, the inhibitory effect was enhanced by the introduction of multiple UFD signals. Our findings suggest that the inhibitory activity of UBB+1 may be an important determinant of neurotoxicity and contribute to an environment that favors the accumulation of misfolded proteins

Expected Risk as basis for assessment of safe use of chemicals

This paper describes a straightforward modeling procedure to derive ‘expected risk’ (ER) of chemical substances. Starting from proposed use volumes, intended uses, physical and chemical substance properties and toxicity information, the procedure combines multimedia environmental fate modeling with species sensitivity modeling to derive the probability that exposure concentrations exceed critical effect concentrations. The procedure was tested on 1977 so-called mono-constituent organic chemicals that had been registered to be marketed in the EU, after ‘possibility to be used safely’ had been demonstrated by showing that the possible Risk Quotients (RQ) defined as PEC/PNEC ratios (Predicted Exposure Concentration & Predicted No Effect Concentration) were expected to remain below the value of 1, as required by REACH. It appears from this study that (i) RQ and ER of chemicals can be calculated readily, reliably, transparently and reproducibly, that (ii) both RQ and ER can be used to assess whether a new chemical may exceed a chosen acceptability level, but that (iii) in addition ER can be straightforwardly used to rank chemicals according to expected environmental safety. In conclusion, the paper states that modeling ER of chemicals (instead of estimating RQ values), could strengthen the scientific basis of environmental risk assessment for use in REACH. The paper further recommends that more robust environmental risk calculation can be done by using acute EC50, instead of chronic NOEC as critical effect concentration

Inulin-grown Faecalibacterium prausnitzii cross-feeds fructose to the human intestinal epithelium

Many chronic diseases are associated with decreased abundance of the gut commensal Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. This strict anaerobe can grow on dietary fibers, e.g., prebiotics, and produce high levels of butyrate, often associated to epithelial metabolism and health. However, little is known about other F. prausnitzii metabolites that may affect the colonic epithelium. Here, we analyzed prebiotic cross-feeding between F. prausnitzii and intestinal epithelial (Caco-2) cells in a “Human-oxygen Bacteria-anaerobic” coculture system. Inulin-grown F. prausnitzii enhanced Caco-2 viability and suppressed inflammation- and oxidative stress-marker expression. Inulin-grown F. prausnitzii produced excess butyrate and fructose, but only fructose efficiently promoted Caco-2 growth. Finally, fecal microbial taxonomy analysis (16S sequencing) from healthy volunteers (n = 255) showed the strongest positive correlation for F. prausnitzii abundance and stool fructose levels. We show that fructose, produced and accumulated in a fiber-rich colonic environment, supports colonic epithelium growth, while butyrate does not