Do Words Matter? The Impact of Communication on the PIIGS' CDS and Bond Yield Spreads during Europe's Sovereign Debt Crisis

The paper aims to shed light on the role of communication in the European debt crisis. It examines the effects of public statements by ECB Governing Council members, EU officials and national representatives on the PIIGS' CDS and bond yield spreads. The focus lies on dovish statements that signal strong determination in the rescue of indebted countries, and hawkish statements that indicate limited commitment to support the PIIGS and protect its creditors. The analysis of daily data for the period between January 1, 2009 and August 12, 2011 in an EGARCH framework suggests that communication by representatives of Germany, France, and the EU as well as ECB Governing Council members had an immediate impact on both types of securities. No effects.

Report from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases workshop on drug allergy

Allergic reactions to drugs are a serious public health concern. In 2013, the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases sponsored a workshop on drug allergy. International experts in the field of drug allergy with backgrounds in allergy, immunology, infectious diseases, dermatology, clinical pharmacology, and pharmacogenomics discussed the current state of drug allergy research. These experts were joined by representatives from several National Institutes of Health institutes and the US Food and Drug Administration. The participants identified important advances that make new research directions feasible and made suggestions for research priorities and for development of infrastructure to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms, diagnosis, management, and prevention of drug allergy. The workshop summary and recommendations are presented herein.

Individual and spousal education, mortality and life expectancy in Switzerland: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND Household measures of socioeconomic position may better account for the shared nature of material resources, lifestyle, and social position of cohabiting persons, but household measures of education are rarely used. We aimed to evaluate the association of combined educational attainment of married couples on mortality and life expectancy in Switzerland. METHODS The study included 3 496 163 ever-married persons aged ≥30 years. The 2000 census was linked to mortality records through 2008. Mortality by combined educational attainment was assessed by gender-age-specific HRs, with 95% CIs from adjusted models, life expectancy was derived using abridged life tables. RESULTS Having a less educated partner was associated with increased mortality. For example, the HR comparing men aged 50-64 years with tertiary education married to women with tertiary education to men with compulsory education married to women with compulsory education was 2.05 (1.92-2.18). The estimated remaining life expectancy in tertiary educated men aged 30 years married to women with tertiary education was 4.6 years longer than in men with compulsory education married to women with compulsory education. The gradient based on individual education was less steep: the HR comparing men aged 50-64 years with tertiary education with men with compulsory education was 1.74 (1.67-1.81). CONCLUSIONS Using individual educational attainment of married persons is common in epidemiological research, but may underestimate the combined effect of education on mortality and life expectancy. These findings are relevant to epidemiologic studies examining socio-demographic characteristics or aiming to adjust results for these characteristics.

Consensus Report: 2nd European Workshop on Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation for Oral Health Professionals

Tobacco use has been identified as a major risk factor for oral disorders such as cancer and periodontal disease. Tobacco use cessation (TUC) is associated with the potential for reversal of precancer, enhanced outcomes following periodontal treatment, and better periodontal status compared to patients who continue to smoke. Consequently, helping tobacco users to quit has become a part of both the responsibility of oral health professionals and the general practice of dentistry. TUC should consist of behavioural support, and if accompanied by pharmacotherapy, is more likely to be successful. It is widely accepted that appropriate compensation of TUC counselling would give oral health professionals greater incentives to provide these measures. Therefore, TUC-related compensation should be made accessible to all dental professionals and be in appropriate relation to other therapeutic interventions. International and national associations for oral health professionals are urged to act as advocates to promote population, community and individual initiatives in support of tobacco use prevention and cessation (TUPAC) counselling, including integration in undergraduate and graduate dental curricula. In order to facilitate the adoption of TUPAC strategies by oral health professionals, we propose a level of care model which includes 1) basic care: brief interventions for all patients in the dental practice to identify tobacco users, assess readiness to quit, and request permission to re-address at a subsequent visit, 2) intermediate care: interventions consisting of (brief) motivational interviewing sessions to build on readiness to quit, enlist resources to support change, and to include cessation medications, and 3) advanced care: intensive interventions to develop a detailed quit plan including the use of suitable pharmacotherapy. To ensure that the delivery of effective TUC becomes part of standard care, continuing education courses and updates should be implemented and offered to all oral health professionals on a regular basis.

Osteoporosis and periodontitis in older subjects participating in the Swedish National Survey on Aging and Care (SNAC-Blekinge)

Abstract Objective. We assessed the relationships between (I) ultrasonography calcaneus T-scores (PIXI) and mandibular cortex characteristics on oral panoramic radiographs in older subjects; and (II) osteoporosis and periodontitis. Material and methods. We examined 778 subjects (53% women) aged 59-96 years. Periodontitis was defined by alveolar bone loss assessed from panoramic radiographs. Results. PIXI calcaneus T-values ?-2.5 (osteoporosis) were found in 16.3% of women and in 8.1% of men. PIXI calcaneus T-values <-1.6 (osteoporosis, adjusted) were found in 34.2% of women and in 21.4% of men. The age of the subjects and PIXI T-values were significantly correlated in women (Pearson's r = 0.37, P < 0.001) and men (Pearson's r = 0.19, P < 0.001). Periodontitis was found in 18.7% of subjects defined by alveolar bone level ?5 mm. Subjects with osteoporosis defined by adjusted PIXI T-values had fewer remaining teeth [mean difference 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.1 to -6.5, P < 0.001]. The crude odds ratio (OR) of an association between the panoramic assessment of mandibular cortex erosions as a sign of osteoporosis and the adjusted T-value (T-value cut-off <-1.6) was 4.8 (95% CI 3.1-7.2, P < 0.001; Pearson ?(2) = 60.1, P < 0.001). A significant OR between osteoporosis and periodontitis was only found in women for the T-value cut-off ?-2.5 (crude OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.3, P < 0.03). Conclusions. An association between osteoporosis and periodontitis was only confirmed in women. The likelihood that the mandibular cortex index agrees with adjusted PIXI T-values is significant.

Tooth loss and periodontitis in older individuals: results from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care

BACKGROUND Due to the increasing number of older people, there is a need for studies focused on this population. The aims of the present study are to assess oral and systemic conditions in individuals aged 60 to 95 years with access to dental insurance. METHODS Probing depths (PDs), tooth loss, alveolar bone levels, and systemic health were studied among a representative cohort of older individuals. RESULTS A total of 1,147 individuals in young-old (aged 60 or 67 years), old (aged 72 or 78 years), and old-old (aged ≥81 years) age groups were enrolled, including 200 individuals who were edentulous, in this study. Annual dental care was received by 82% of dentate individuals. Systemic diseases were common (diabetes: 5.8%; cardiovascular diseases: 20.7%; obesity: 71.2%; elevated C-reactive protein [CRP]: 98.4%). Serum CRP values were unrelated to periodontal conditions. Rates of periodontitis, defined as ≥30% of sites with a distance from cemento-enamel junction to bone of ≥5 mm, were 11.2% in women in the young-old age group and 44.9% in men in the old-old age group. Individuals in older age groups had a higher likelihood of periodontitis defined by bone loss and cutoff levels of PD ≥5 mm (odds ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 2.5; P <0.01). A total of 7% of individuals in the old-old age group had ≥20 teeth and no periodontitis. Systemic diseases, dental use, or smoking were not explanatory, whereas age and sex were explanatory for periodontitis. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of periodontitis increased with age. Sex seems to be the dominant explanatory factor for periodontitis in older individuals. Despite frequent dental visits, overall oral health in the oldest age cohort was poor.

Candida species distribution and antifungal susceptibility testing according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and new vs. old Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute clinical breakpoints: a 6-year prospective candidaemia survey from the fungal infection network of Switzerland

We analyzed the species distribution of Candida blood isolates (CBIs), prospectively collected between 2004 and 2009 within FUNGINOS, and compared their antifungal susceptibility according to clinical breakpoints defined by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) in 2013, and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) in 2008 (old CLSI breakpoints) and 2012 (new CLSI breakpoints). CBIs were tested for susceptiblity to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin by microtitre broth dilution (Sensititre® YeastOne™ test panel). Of 1090 CBIs, 675 (61.9%) were C. albicans, 191 (17.5%) C. glabrata, 64 (5.9%) C. tropicalis, 59 (5.4%) C. parapsilosis, 33 (3%) C. dubliniensis, 22 (2%) C. krusei and 46 (4.2%) rare Candida species. Independently of the breakpoints applied, C. albicans was almost uniformly (>98%) susceptible to all three antifungal agents. In contrast, the proportions of fluconazole- and voriconazole-susceptible C. tropicalis and F-susceptible C. parapsilosis were lower according to EUCAST/new CLSI breakpoints than to the old CLSI breakpoints. For caspofungin, non-susceptibility occurred mainly in C. krusei (63.3%) and C. glabrata (9.4%). Nine isolates (five C. tropicalis, three C. albicans and one C. parapsilosis) were cross-resistant to azoles according to EUCAST breakpoints, compared with three isolates (two C. albicans and one C. tropicalis) according to new and two (2 C. albicans) according to old CLSI breakpoints. Four species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis) represented >90% of all CBIs. In vitro resistance to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin was rare among C. albicans, but an increase of non-susceptibile isolates was observed among C. tropicalis/C. parapsilosis for the azoles and C. glabrata/C. krusei for caspofungin according to EUCAST and new CLSI breakpoints compared with old CLSI breakpoints.

Victims of War must be loyal to deserve protection: International law and national legislation on enemy aliens 1907-1918

In international law the internment of civilians has only been regulated in writing in the context of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949. Nevertheless this did not mean that civilians were not protected by at least some rules of customary international law before that date and especially in World War I. Furthermore specialists of international law expected states – at least those considered to be part of the community of civilized nations – to continue to treat all men equal before the law even in wartime. As research already conducted (Bird, Panayi, Fischer) has shown, this was not the case during World War I. Based on these findings the presentation proposed here wants to look into the development of international law and into some national preparations for treating so called “enemy aliens” in the period before 1914 (Austria-Hungary, Australia, United Kingdom), in order to see to what extent principles of international law protecting civilians from the consequences of war can be detected in the pre-war preparations. As far as can be judged so far the issue of loyalty was central in this context. Looking at the war itself, the presentation proposed here will try to look at how far the principles of international law alluded to above continued to influence the policies on “enemy aliens” in the countries mentioned and to see, how the International Committee of the Red Cross tried to use them to legitimize and expand its protective policies in regard to civilians interned in belligerent as well as neutral countries throughout the war.