To conclude: keep inflation low and, in principle, eliminate it

The U.S. economy performed well across the board in 1997, with low unemployment, robust economic growth, and the lowest sustained inflation in decades. Nevertheless, the current framework for monetary policymaking does not ensure that inflation is down for the count, says Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president Thomas C. Melzer in a speech reprinted here. In this speech, Melzer argues that the Federal Reserve ought to secure the best environment for economic growth by adopting multi-year inflation targets to reduce the trend rate of inflation and keep inflation low.Inflation (Finance) ; Monetary policy - United States ; Economic conditions - United States

Credible monetary policy to sustain growth

Despite the fact that the U.S. economy has been performing very well recently, monetary policymakers have been the targets of some criticism. In the speech reprinted here, which was delivered to a group of bankers in June 1997, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Thomas C. Melzer responds to the critics and outlines some ideas for maintaining sustaining, noninflationary economic growth. In his assessment, credibility is a key aspect of successful monetary policy.Monetary policy ; Monetary policy - United States ; Inflation (Finance)

Financial Downturn and Impact on Biosciences Development

System requirements: Windows Media Player version 9 or above.Thomas Melzer spoke about the impact that the recent financial downturn has had on venture capital investment, specifically addressing bioscience investments

Design and validation of a medical robotic device system to control two collaborative robots for ultrasound-guided needle insertions

The percutaneous biopsy is a critical intervention for diagnosis and staging in cancer therapy. Robotic systems can improve the efficiency and outcome of such procedures while alleviating stress for physicians and patients. However, the high complexity of operation and the limited possibilities for robotic integration in the operating room (OR) decrease user acceptance and the number of deployed robots. Collaborative systems and standardized device communication may provide approaches to overcome named problems. Derived from the IEEE 11073 SDC standard terminology of medical device systems, we designed and validated a medical robotic device system (MERODES) to access and control a collaborative setup of two KUKA robots for ultrasound-guided needle insertions. The system is based on a novel standard for service-oriented device connectivity and utilizes collaborative principles to enhance user experience. Implementing separated workflow applications allows for a flexible system setup and configuration. The system was validated in three separate test scenarios to measure accuracies for 1) co-registration, 2) needle target planning in a water bath and 3) in an abdominal phantom. The co-registration accuracy averaged 0.94 ± 0.42 mm. The positioning errors ranged from 0.86 ± 0.42 to 1.19 ± 0.70 mm in the water bath setup and from 1.69 ± 0.92 to 1.96 ± 0.86 mm in the phantom. The presented results serve as a proof-of-concept and add to the current state of the art to alleviate system deployment and fast configuration for percutaneous robotic interventions

Comparison of Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technology for genome analysis of Francisella tularensis, Bacillus anthracis, and Brucella suis

Background Bacterial epidemiology needs to understand the spread and dissemination of strains in a One Health context. This is important for highly pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus anthracis, Brucella species, and Francisella tularensis. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has paved the way for genetic marker detection and high-resolution genotyping. While such tasks are established for Illumina short-read sequencing, Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long-read sequencing has yet to be evaluated for such highly pathogenic bacteria with little genomic variations between strains. In this study, three independent sequencing runs were performed using Illumina, ONT flow cell version 9.4.1, and 10.4 for six strains of each of Ba. anthracis, Br. suis and F. tularensis. Data from ONT sequencing alone, Illumina sequencing alone and two hybrid assembly approaches were compared. Results As previously shown, ONT produces ultra-long reads, while Illumina produces short reads with higher sequencing accuracy. Flow cell version 10.4 improved sequencing accuracy over version 9.4.1. The correct (sub-)species were inferred from all tested technologies, individually. Moreover, the sets of genetic markers for virulence, were almost identical for the respective species. The long reads of ONT allowed to assemble not only chromosomes of all species to near closure, but also virulence plasmids of Ba. anthracis. Assemblies based on nanopore data alone, Illumina data alone, and both hybrid assemblies correctly detected canonical (sub-)clades for Ba. anthracis and F. tularensis as well as multilocus sequence types for Br. suis. For F. tularensis, high-resolution genotyping using core-genome MLST (cgMLST) and core-genome Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphism (cgSNP) typing produced highly comparable results between data from Illumina and both ONT flow cell versions. For Ba. anthracis, only data from flow cell version 10.4 produced similar results to Illumina for both high-resolution typing methods. However, for Br. suis, high-resolution genotyping yielded larger differences comparing Illumina data to data from both ONT flow cell versions. Conclusions In summary, combining data from ONT and Illumina for high-resolution genotyping might be feasible for F. tularensis and Ba. anthracis, but not yet for Br. suis. The ongoing improvement of nanopore technology and subsequent data analysis may facilitate high-resolution genotyping for all bacteria with highly stable genomes in future.Peer Reviewe

Rapid identification of Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei by intact cell Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation mass spectrometric typing

BACKGROUND: Burkholderia (B.) pseudomallei and B. mallei are genetically closely related species. B. pseudomallei causes melioidosis in humans and animals, whereas B. mallei is the causative agent of glanders in equines and rarely also in humans. Both agents have been classified by the CDC as priority category B biological agents. Rapid identification is crucial, because both agents are intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has the potential of rapid and reliable identification of pathogens, but is limited by the availability of a database containing validated reference spectra. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of MALDI-TOF MS for the rapid and reliable identification and differentiation of B. pseudomallei and B. mallei and to build up a reliable reference database for both organisms. RESULTS: A collection of ten B. pseudomallei and seventeen B. mallei strains was used to generate a library of reference spectra. Samples of both species could be identified by MALDI-TOF MS, if a dedicated subset of the reference spectra library was used. In comparison with samples representing B. mallei, higher genetic diversity among B. pseudomallei was reflected in the higher average Eucledian distances between the mass spectra and a broader range of identification score values obtained with commercial software for the identification of microorganisms. The type strain of B. pseudomallei (ATCC 23343) was isolated decades ago and is outstanding in the spectrum-based dendrograms probably due to massive methylations as indicated by two intensive series of mass increments of 14 Da specifically and reproducibly found in the spectra of this strain. CONCLUSIONS: Handling of pathogens under BSL 3 conditions is dangerous and cumbersome but can be minimized by inactivation of bacteria with ethanol, subsequent protein extraction under BSL 1 conditions and MALDI-TOF MS analysis being faster than nucleic amplification methods. Our spectra demonstrated a higher homogeneity in B. mallei than in B. pseudomallei isolates. As expected for closely related species, the identification process with MALDI Biotyper software (Bruker Daltonik GmbH, Bremen, Germany) requires the careful selection of spectra from reference strains. When a dedicated reference set is used and spectra of high quality are acquired, it is possible to distinguish both species unambiguously. The need for a careful curation of reference spectra databases is stressed

Primary B Cell Lymphoma of the CNS Mimicking Anti-LGI1 Limbic Encephalitis

Limbic encephalitis is a potentially paraneoplastic type of encephalitis mainly involving the limbic system. Recently, diagnostic criteria comprising clinical presentation as well as imaging, laboratory and electrophysiological findings have been established. Here, we show that incipient primary central nervous system lymphoma can closely resemble limbic encephalitis including positive testing for anti-LGI1 antibodies illustrating the need for thorough interpretation of initial laboratory and radiologic findings and tight follow-up examinations

Interventricular septum hematoma during cineventriculography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intraseptal hematoma and subsequent myocardial infarction due to accidental contrast agent deposition complicating diagnostic cineventriculography is a previously undescribed complication of angiography.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 61 year old man was admitted at intensive care unit because of unstable angina pectoris 1 hour after coronary angiography. Transthoracic contrast echocardiography showed a non-perfused area in the middle of interventricular septum with an increase of thickening up to 26 mm. Review of cineventriculography revealed contrast enhancement in the interventricular septum after contrast medium injection and a dislocation of the pigtail catheter tip. Follow up by echocardiography and MRI showed, that intramural hematoma has resolved after 6 weeks. After 8 weeks successful stent implantation in LAD was performed and after 6 month the patient had a normal LV-function without ischemic signs or septal thickening demonstrated by stressechocardiography.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A safe and mobile position of the pigtail catheter during ventriculography in the middle of the LV cavity should be ensured to avoid this potentially life-threatening complication. For assessment and absolute measurement of intramural hematoma contrast-enhanced echocardiography is more feasible than MRI and makes interchangeable results.</p

New Particles Working Group Report of the Snowmass 2013 Community Summer Study

This report summarizes the work of the Energy Frontier New Physics working group of the 2013 Community Summer Study (Snowmass)