The Importance of Graduates for the Scottish Economy: A “Micro-to-Macro” Approach

There have been numerous attempts to assess the overall impact of Higher Education Institutions on regional economies in the UK and elsewhere. There are two disparate approaches focussing on: demand-side effects of HEIs, exerted through universities’ expenditures within the local economy; HEIs’ contribution to the “knowledge economy”. However, neither approach seeks to measure the impact on regional economies that HEIs exert through the enhanced productivity of their graduates. We address this lacuna and explore the system-wide impact of the graduates on the regional economy. An extensive and sophisticated literature suggests that graduates enjoy a significant wage premium, often interpreted as reflecting their greater productivity relative to non-graduates. If this is so there is a clear and direct supply-side impact of HEI activities on regional economies through the employment of their graduates. However, there is some dispute over the extent to which the graduate wage premium reflects innate abilities rather than the impact of higher education per se. We use an HEI-disaggregated computable general equilibrium model of Scotland to estimate the impact of the growing proportion of graduates in the Scottish labour force that is implied by the current participation rate and demographic change, taking the graduate wage premium in Scotland as an indicator of productivity enhancement. We conduct a range of sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of our results. While the detailed results do, of course, vary with alternative assumptions about future graduate retention rates and the size of the graduate wage premium, for example, they do suggest that the long-term supply-side impacts of HEIs provide a significant boost to regional GDP. Furthermore, the results suggest that the supply-side impacts of HEIs are likely to be more important than the expenditure impacts that are the focus of most “impact” studies.

Prognostic importance of hyponatremia in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

Rapport de synthèse Enjeux et contexte: L'hyponatrémie est un trouble électrolytique fréquent et associé à un pronostic défavorable dans de nombreuses affections card iovascu lai res (1-5), pour lesquelles il est un marqueur de l'activation neurohumorale (6). Sa valeur pronostique chez les patients se présentant avec une emboîie pulmonaire était jusque là inconnue ; elle fait l'objet de la présente étude.Objectifs: Examiner chez les patients hospitalisés pour une embolie pulmonaire, les associations entre hyponatrémie et mortalité ainsi qu'avec le taux de réhospitalisation. Méthodes: Nous avons étudié les données de 13728 patients avec un diagnostic principal d'embolie pulmonaire provenant de 185 hôpitaux en Pennsylvanie (janvier 2000 à novembre 2002.) Nous avons utilisé un modèle de régression logistique afin d'établir l'association indépendante entre le niveau de sodium lors de la présentation aux urgences et la mortalité ainsi que le taux de ^hospitalisation durant 30 jours. Nous avons ajusté pour les caractéristiques du patient (race, assurance, sévérité de la maladie, usage de la thrombolyse) et de l'hôpital (région, taille, avec ou sans médecins en formation.)Résultats principaux: Une hyponatrémie (sodium £ 135 mmol/l) était présente chez 2907 patients (21.1%). Les patients avec un sodium >135, 130-135, et <130 mmol/l avaient une mortalité cumulée à 30 jours de 8.0%, 13.6%, et 28.5% (P <0.001), et un taux de réadmission de 11.8%, 15.6%, et 19.3% (P <0.001), respectivement. Comparés aux patients avec un sodium >135 mmol/l, les odd ratios ajustés concernant la mortalité étaient significativement plus important pour les patients avec un sodium compris entre 130 et 135 mmol/l (OR 1.53, 95% Cl: 1.33-1.76) ou <130 mmol/l (OR 3.26, 95% Cl: 2.48-4.29). Les odd ratios ajustés concernant la réhospitalisation étaient également augmentés pour les patients présentant un sodium entre 130 et 135 mmol/l (OR 1.28, 95% Cl: 1.12-1.46) ou <130 mmol/l (OR 1.44, 95% Cl: 1.02-2.02). Conclusions et perspectives: L'hyponatrémie est fréquente chez les patients se présentant avec une embolie pulmonaire, de plus elle est un prédicateur indépendant de la mortalité à court terme, ainsi que du taux de réhospitalisation. La natrémie est une information généralement disponible lors de l'établissement d'un pronostic. Bien que cette association soit compatible avec une activation neurohumorale, nous ne pouvons pas attester des mécanismes impliqués, du fait que notre étude ne donne pas d'informations sur d'autres étapes de la physiologie de cette association.

Identification and characterization of sex-linked proteins of Schistosoma mansoni

The proteins of adults worms (male and female) of two isolates (BH and RJ) of Shistosoma mansoni were extracted using Triton X-114 phase separation. The SDS-polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis profiles of the three phases (detergent, aqueous and insoluble proteins) obtained were compared after Coomassie blue and silver staining, surface radioiodination and Western blotting. No major differences were detected between the 2 isolates. Of the 25 or more proteins which partitioned into the detergent phase, only about 8 proteins could be surface radiodinated on live adult worms. A comparison was also made between the profiles of mael and females worms, isolated from bisexually infected mice. Two major female-specific and one male-specific band were detected by silver and/or Coomassie staining. The female bands, 32 KDa and 18 KDa, partitioned into the detergent and aqueous phase, respectively. The male-specific band of 42 KDa remained in the insoluble phase. Antigenic differences between male and females protins were detected by Western vlotting using a sera from infected Nectomys squamipes.

The importance of the opossum (Didelphis albiventris) as a reservoir for Trypanosoma cruzi in Bambuí, Minas Gerais state

In a survey realized on the sylvatic and peridomestic environment at Bambuí county, Minas Gerais State, 44 (37.9%) out of 116 opossums (Didelphis albiventris) captured were found to be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. One handred and forty three parasite samples were obtanied from 43 infected opossums using simultaneously hemoculture, xenodiagnosis (Triatoma infestans, Panstrongylus megistus and Rhodnius neglectus) and examination of anal glands contents. The parasite samples were characterized according to six isoenzyme patterns. All samples, independently of the method of isolation, presented an isoenzyme pattern similar to the standard T. cruzi Z1, showing that either xenodiagnosis or hemoculture can used without selecting parasite subpopulation from naturally infected opossums. Preveous isoenzyme patterns reported for human T.cruzi isolates from same region were completely different. This isoenzyme dissimilarity between sylvatic and domiciliar environments suggests the existence of two independent T. cruzi transmission cycles in Bambuí. The epidemiological implicatinos of these results are discussed.

Prevalence and clinical importance of mesenteric venous thrombosis in the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT) in the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Study and to correlate MVT with clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Abdominal portal phase CT was used to examine patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Two experienced abdominal radiologists retrospectively analyzed the images, focusing on the superior and inferior mesenteric vein branches and looking for signs of acute or chronic thrombosis. The location of abnormalities was registered. The presence of MVT was correlated with IBD-related radiologic signs and complications. RESULTS: The cases of 160 patients with IBD (89 women, 71 men; Crohn disease [CD], 121 patients; ulcerative colitis [UC], 39 patients; median age at diagnosis, 27 years for patients with CD, 32 years for patients with UC) were analyzed. MVT was detected in 43 patients with IBD (26.8%). One of these patients had acute MVT; 38, chronic MVT; and four, both. The prevalence of MVT did not differ between CD (35/121 [28.9%]) and UC (8/39 [20.5%]) (p = 0.303). The location of thrombosis was different between CD and UC (CD, jejunal or ileal veins only [p = 0.005]; UC, rectocolic veins only [p = 0.001]). Almost all (41/43) cases of thrombosis were peripheral. MVT in CD patients was more frequently associated with bowel wall thickening (p = 0.013), mesenteric fat hypertrophy (p = 0.005), ascites (p = 0.002), and mesenteric lymph node enlargement (p = 0.036) and was associated with higher rate of bowel stenosis (p < 0.001) and more intestinal IBD-related surgery (p = 0.016) in the outcome. Statistical analyses for patients with UC were not relevant because of the limited population (n = 8). CONCLUSION: MVT is frequently found in patients with IBD. Among patients with CD, MVT is associated with bowel stenosis and CD-related intestinal surgery.

Firm dynamics support the importance of the embodied question

This paper contributes to the literature on both embodied technical progress and firm dynamics, by formulating an endogenous growth model where selection and imitation play a fundamental role in helping capital good producers to learn about the productivity of technologies embodied in new plants. By calibrating the model to some key aggregates particularly relevant for the embodied capital literature, among them the growth rate of the relative investment price, the model quantitatively replicates the main facts associated to firm dynamics, such as the entry rate and the tail index of the establishment size distribution. In line with the previous literature, it also predicts a contribution to productivity growth of embodied technical progress and selection of around 60%

Sex-dependent selection on an autosomal melanic female ornament promotes the evolution of sex ratio bias.

Sex-dependent selection often leads to spectacularly different phenotypes in males and females. In species in which sexual dimorphism is not complete, it is unclear which benefits females and males derive from displaying a trait that is typical of the other sex. In barn owls (Tyto alba), females exhibit on average larger black eumelanic spots than males but members of the two sexes display this trait in the same range of possible values. In a 12-year study, we show that selection exerted on spot size directly or on genetically correlated traits strongly favoured females with large spots and weakly favoured males with small spots. Intense directional selection on females caused an increase in spot diameter in the population over the study period. This increase is due to a change in the autosomal genes underlying the expression of eumelanic spots but not of sex-linked genes. Female-like males produced more daughters than sons, while male-like females produced more sons than daughters when mated to a small-spotted male. These sex ratio biases appear adaptive because sons of male-like females and daughters of female-like males had above-average survival. This demonstrates that selection exerted against individuals displaying a trait that is typical of the other sex promoted the evolution of specific life history strategies that enhance their fitness. This may explain why in many organisms sexual dimorphism is often not complete.

Molecular mechanisms and biological importance of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte rosetting

Rosetting, i.e. the spontaneous binding of uninfected to malaria infected erythrocytes and endothelial cytoadherence may hinder the blood flow and lead to serve Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Falciparum isolates obtained from unconscious patients all form rosettes and/or express a significantly higher man rosetting rate than isolates from patients with uncomplicated malaria. Furthermore, sera of patients with cerebral malaria are devoid of anti-rosetting activity while sera from patients with mild disease carry high levels of anti-rosetting antibodies. The presence of anti-rosetting antibodies also seems important for the efficient interaction of rosetting infected rbc and leucocytes. Two parasite derived rosetting ligands of Mr 22k and Mr28K named "rosettins, have been found on the surface of rosetting infected erythrocytes. CD36 has in at least some strains of parasites been found to function as a rosetting receptor on the uninfectederythrocyte. Heparin disrupts rosettes of P. falciparum in vitro and inhibits the sequestration of rosetting cells ex vivo. In conclusion, rosetting seems a crucial factor in the development of cerebral malaria and treatment of patients with anti-rosetting substances might become an effectivew adjunct in the treatment of severe malaria.

Prognostic importance of anaemia in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Although associated with adverse outcomes in other cardiopulmonary diseases, limited evidence exists on the prognostic value of anaemia in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We sought to examine the associations between anaemia and mortality and length of hospital stay in patients with PE. We evaluated 14,276 patients with a primary diagnosis of PE from 186 hospitals in Pennsylvania, USA. We used random-intercept logistic regression to assess the association between anaemia at the time of presentation and 30-day mortality and discrete-time logistic hazard models to assess the association between anaemia and time to hospital discharge, adjusting for patient (age, gender, race, insurance type, clinical and laboratory variables) and hospital (region, size, teaching status) factors. Anaemia was present in 38.7% of patients at admission. Patients with anaemia had a higher 30-day mortality (13.7% vs. 6.3%; p <0.001) and a longer length of stay (geometric mean, 6.9 vs. 6.6 days; p <0.001) compared to patients without anaemia. In multivariable analyses, anaemia remained associated with an increased odds of death (OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.60-2.06) and a decreased odds of discharge (OR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.82-0.89). Anaemia is very common in patients presenting with PE and is independently associated with an increased short-term mortality and length of stay.

The joy of sex pheromones.

Sex pheromones provide an important means of communication to unite individuals for successful reproduction. Although sex pheromones are highly diverse across animals, these signals fulfil common fundamental roles in enabling identification of a mating partner of the opposite sex, the appropriate species and of optimal fecundity. In this review, we synthesize both classic and recent investigations on sex pheromones in a range of species, spanning nematode worms, insects and mammals. These studies reveal comparable strategies in how these chemical signals are produced, detected and processed in the brain to regulate sexual behaviours. Elucidation of sex pheromone communication mechanisms both defines outstanding models to understand the molecular and neuronal basis of chemosensory behaviours, and reveals how similar evolutionary selection pressures yield convergent solutions in distinct animal nervous systems. EMBO reports advance online publication 13 September 2013; doi:10.1038/embor.2013.140.

Vigilance behavior of Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica): Effect of sex and position in the herd

The Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) is a mountain-dwelling ungulate with an extensive presence in open areas. Optimal group size results from the trade off between advantages (a reduction in the risk of predation) and disadvantages (competition between members of the herd) of group living. In addition, advantages and disadvantages of group living may vary depending on the position of each individual within the herd. Our objective was to study the effect of central vs. peripheral position in the herd on feeding and vigilance behavior in male and female Pyrenean chamois and to ascertain if a group size effect existed. We used focal animal sampling and recorded social interactions when a focal animal was involved. With males, vigilance rate was higher in the central part of the group than at the periphery, probably due to a higher density of animals in the central part of the herd and a higher probability of being disturbed by conspecifics. With females, vigilance rate did not differ according to position in the herd. Females spent more time feeding than males, and males showed a higher frequency of the vigilance behavior than females. We did not observe a clear relationship between group size and vigilance behavior. The differences in vigilance behavior might be due to social interactions.

On estimation and identifiability issues of sex-linked inheritance with a case study of pigmentation in Swiss barn owl (Tyto alba)

Genetic evaluation using animal models or pedigree-based models generally assume only autosomal inheritance. Bayesian animal models provide a flexible framework for genetic evaluation, and we show how the model readily can accommodate situations where the trait of interest is influenced by both autosomal and sex-linked inheritance. This allows for simultaneous calculation of autosomal and sex-chromosomal additive genetic effects. Inferences were performed using integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLA), a nonsampling-based Bayesian inference methodology. We provide a detailed description of how to calculate the inverse of the X- or Z-chromosomal additive genetic relationship matrix, needed for inference. The case study of eumelanic spot diameter in a Swiss barn owl (Tyto alba) population shows that this trait is substantially influenced by variation in genes on the Z-chromosome (sigma(2)(z) = 0.2719 and sigma(2)(a) = 0.4405). Further, a simulation study for this study system shows that the animal model accounting for both autosomal and sex-chromosome-linked inheritance is identifiable, that is, the two effects can be distinguished, and provides accurate inference on the variance components.

On the maintenance of sex-chromosome polymorphism by sex-antagonistic selection

Complex sex-determination systems are a priori unstable and require specific selective forces for their maintenance. Analytical derivations have suggested that sex-antagonistic selection may play such a role, but this assumed absence of recombination between the sex-determining and sex-antagonistic genes. Using individual-based simulations, and focusing on the sex chromosome and coloration polymorphisms of platy fishes as a case study, we show that the conditions for polymorphism maintenance induce female-biases in primary sex ratios, so that sex-ratio selection makes the system collapse towards male- or female heterogamety as soon as recombinant genotypes appear. However, a polymorphism can still be maintained under scenarios comprising strong sexual selection against dull males, mild natural selection against bright females, and low recombination rates. Though such conditions are plausibly met in natural populations of fishes harbouring such polymorphisms, quantitative empirical evaluations are required to properly test whether sex-antagonistic selection is a causal agent, or if other selective processes are required (such as local mate competition favouring female biased sex ratios).