Influenza vaccination of household contacts of newborns: a hospital-based strategy to increase vaccination rates.

We implemented a hospital-based influenza vaccination program for household contacts of newborns. Among mothers not vaccinated prenatally, 44.7% were vaccinated through the program, as were 25.7% of fathers. A hospital-based program provided opportunities for vaccination of household contacts of newborns, thereby facilitating better adherence to national vaccination guidelines.

Harvesting life's energy: increase in the aerotolerence of the electrogenic anaerobe geobacter sulfurreducens due to over-expression of superoxide dismutase and catalase

Gemstone Team iGEM

The distribution of sales revenues from pharmaceutical innovation.

OBJECTIVE: This report updates our earlier work on the returns to pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) in the US (1980 to 1984), which showed that the returns distributions are highly skewed. It evaluates a more recent cohort of new drug introductions in the US (1988 to 1992) and examines how the returns distribution is emerging for drugs with life cycles concentrated in the 1990s versus the 1980s. DESIGN AND SETTING: Methods were described in detail in our earlier reports. The current sample included 110 new drug entities (including 28 orphan drugs), and sales data were obtained for the period 1988 to 1998, which represented between 7 and 11 years of sales for the drugs included. 20 years was chosen as the expected market life for this cohort, and a 2-step procedure was used to project future sales for the drugs--during the period until patent expiry and then beyond patent expiry until the 20-year time-horizon was completed. Thus, the values in the first half of the life cycle are essentially based on realised sales, while those in the second half are projected using information on patent expiry and other inputs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: Peak annual sales for the top decile of drugs introduced between 1988 and 1992 in the US amounted to almost $US1.1 billion compared with peak sales of less than $US175 million (1992 values) for the mean compound. In particular, the top decile accounted for 56% of overall sales revenue. Although the sales distributions were skewed in both our earlier and current analysis, the top decile in the later time-period exhibited more rapid rates of growth after launch, a peak that was more than 50% greater in real terms than for the 1980 to 1984 cohort, and a faster rate of expected decline in sales after patent expiry. One factor contributing to the distribution of sales revenues becoming more skewed over time is the orphan drug phenomenon (i.e. most of the orphan drugs are concentrated at the bottom of the distribution). CONCLUSION: The distribution of sales revenues for new drug compounds is highly skewed in nature. In this regard, the top decile of new drugs accounts for more than half of the total sales generated by the 1988 to 1992 cohort analysed. Furthermore, the distribution of sales revenues for this cohort is more skewed than that of the 1980 to 1984 cohort we analysed in previous research.

Overexpression of the cardiac beta(2)-adrenergic receptor and expression of a beta-adrenergic receptor kinase-1 (betaARK1) inhibitor both increase myocardial contractility but have differential effects on susceptibility to ischemic injury.

Cardiac beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (beta(2)AR) overexpression is a potential contractile therapy for heart failure. Cardiac contractility was elevated in mice overexpressing beta(2)ARs (TG4s) with no adverse effects under normal conditions. To assess the consequences of beta(2)AR overexpression during ischemia, perfused hearts from TG4 and wild-type mice were subjected to 20-minute ischemia and 40-minute reperfusion. During ischemia, ATP and pH fell lower in TG4 hearts than wild type. Ischemic injury was greater in TG4 hearts, as indicated by lower postischemic recoveries of contractile function, ATP, and phosphocreatine. Because beta(2)ARs, unlike beta(1)ARs, couple to G(i) as well as G(s), we pretreated mice with the G(i) inhibitor pertussis toxin (PTX). PTX treatment increased basal contractility in TG4 hearts and abolished the contractile resistance to isoproterenol. During ischemia, ATP fell lower in TG4+PTX than in TG4 hearts. Recoveries of contractile function and ATP were lower in TG4+PTX than in TG4 hearts. We also studied mice that overexpressed either betaARK1 (TGbetaARK1) or a betaARK1 inhibitor (TGbetaARKct). Recoveries of function, ATP, and phosphocreatine were higher in TGbetaARK1 hearts than in wild-type hearts. Despite basal contractility being elevated in TGbetaARKct hearts to the same level as that of TG4s, ischemic injury was not increased. In summary, beta(2)AR overexpression increased ischemic injury, whereas betaARK1 overexpression was protective. Ischemic injury in the beta(2)AR overexpressors was exacerbated by PTX treatment, implying that it was G(s) not G(i) activity that enhanced injury. Unlike beta(2)AR overexpression, basal contractility was increased by betaARK1 inhibitor expression without increasing ischemic injury, thus implicating a safer potential therapy for heart failure.

Discounting the distant future: How much do uncertain rates increase valuations?

We demonstrate that when the future path of the discount rate is uncertain and highly correlated, the distant future should be discounted at significantly lower rates than suggested by the current rate. We then use two centuries of US interest rate data to quantify this effect. Using both random walk and mean-reverting models, we compute the "certainty-equivalent rate" that summarizes the effect of uncertainty and measures the appropriate forward rate of discount in the future. Under the random walk model we find that the certainty-equivalent rate falls continuously from 4% to 2% after 100 years, 1% after 200 years, and 0.5% after 300 years. At horizons of 400 years, the discounted value increases by a factor of over 40,000 relative to conventional discounting. Applied to climate change mitigation, we find that incorporating discount rate uncertainty almost doubles the expected present value of mitigation benefits. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Alternate lower extremity resistance training to increase stability in young and elderly adults

Gemstone Team BALANCE

SOLO AND CHAMBER CLARINET WORKS BY AMERICAN- BORN WOMEN COMPOSERS: 1990-2005

During the period of 1990-2005, American-born women composers have contributed significantly to the standard clarinet repertoire. Pioneering composers such as Joan Tower, Margaret Brouwer, and Libby Larsen have created staples for clarinet literature. Yet, there is very little scholarly research on women composers of clarinet music, most being concentrated on Joan Tower. Through my research, I have discovered over seventy-five works by more than fifty composers in the following genres: solo clarinet; clarinet and piano; clarinet and voice, with or without piano; and small chamber pieces for up to five players. This performance dissertation project consists of three recitals featuring solo and chamber works by nine living women composers, and program notes containing pertinent biographical and compositional information. My intent is to increase recognition women composers, both prominent and lesser known, who are writing high-quality, accessible clarinet literature. Each woman selected is making a full or partial living from the sales of her compositions, has received recognition through awards, commissions, grants, and frequent performances, and has composed works that are both performer and audience accessible. Recital 1: Trios for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano Commissioned by the Verdehr Trio and Composed by American-Born Women Composers. Composers: Jennifer Higdon, Joan Tower, Margaret Brouwer, and Libby Larsen. Recital II: Programmatic Clarinet Works by American-Born Women Composers. Composers: Andrea Clearfield, Stella Sung, and Karen Amrhein. Recital III: Works for Solo Clarinet, Clarinet and Piano, and Clarinet Concerto Genres by American-Born Women Composers. Composers: Persis Parshall Vehar, Jenni Brandon, Margaret Brouwer, and Libby Larsen.

Do debit cards increase household spending? Evidence from a semiparametric causal analysis of a survey

© Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2014.Motivated by recent findings in the field of consumer science, this paper evaluates the causal effect of debit cards on household consumption using population-based data from the Italy Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW). Within the Rubin Causal Model, we focus on the estimand of population average treatment effect for the treated (PATT). We consider three existing estimators, based on regression, mixed matching and regression, propensity score weighting, and propose a new doubly-robust estimator. Semiparametric specification based on power series for the potential outcomes and the propensity score is adopted. Cross-validation is used to select the order of the power series. We conduct a simulation study to compare the performance of the estimators. The key assumptions, overlap and unconfoundedness, are systematically assessed and validated in the application. Our empirical results suggest statistically significant positive effects of debit cards on the monthly household spending in Italy.

We want to touch IT. Are hybrid laptops just new fancy gadgets or a new revolution?

While the number of traditional laptops and computers sold has dipped slightly year over year, manufacturers have developed new hybrid laptops with touch screens to build on the tactile trend. This market is moving quickly to make touch the rule rather than the exception and the sales of these devices have tripled since the launch of Windows 8 in 2012, to reach more than sixty million units sold in 2015. Unlike tablets, that benefit from easy-to-use applications specially designed for tactile interactions, hybrid laptops are intended to be used with regular user-interfaces. Hence, one could ask whether tactile interactions are suited for every task and activity performed with such interfaces. Since hybrid laptops are increasingly used in educational situations, this study focuses on information search tasks which are commonly performed for learning purposes. It is hypothesized that tasks that require complex and/or less common gestures will increase user's cognitive load and impair task performance in terms of efficacy and efficiency. A study was carried out in a usability laboratory with 30 participants for whom prior experience with tactile devices has been controlled. They were asked to perform information search tasks on an online encyclopaedia by using only the touch screen of and hybrid laptop. Tasks were selected with respect to their level of cognitive demand (amount of information that had to be maintained in working memory) and the complexity of gestures needed (left and/or right clicks, zoom, text selection and/or input.), and grouped into 4 sets accordingly. Task performance was measured by the number of tasks succeeded (efficacy) and time spent on each task (efficiency). Perceived cognitive load was assessed thanks to a questionnaire given after each set of tasks. An eye tracking device was used to monitor users' attention allocation and to provide objective cognitive load measures based on pupil dilation and the Index of Cognitive Activity. Each experimental run took approximately one hour. The results of this within-subjects design indicate that tasks involving complex gestures led to a lower efficacy, especially when the tasks were cognitively demanding. Regarding efficacy, there is no significant differences between sets of tasks excepted for tasks with low cognitive demand and complex gestures that required more time to be achieved. Surprisingly, users that declared the biggest experience with tactile devices spent more time than less frequent users. Cognitive load measures indicate that participants reported having devoted more mental effort in the interaction when they had to use complex gestures.

Trade credit linkages along the supply chain: evidence for the Italian textile sector

We examine the trade credit linkages among firms within a supply chain to reckon the effect of such linkages on the propagation of liquidity shocks from downstream to upstream firms. We choose a sample appropriate for this task, consisting of a large data set of Italian firms from the textile industry, a well known example of a comprehensive manufacturing cluster featuring a large number of small and specialized firms at each level of the supply chain. The results of the analysis indicate that the level of trade credit that firms provide to their suppliers is positively related to the level of trade credit granted to their clients: when the level of trade credit granted to clients divided by sales goes up by 1, the level of trade credit provided to suppliers divided by cost-of goods-sold goes up by an amount that varies between 0,22 and 0,52. Since all firms along the chain are linked by trade credit relationships, an increase in the level of trade credit granted by wholesalers generates a liquidity cascade throughout the chain. We designate the overall increase in the level of trade credit among all firms in the chain as a result of a unitary impulse in the level of trade credit granted by wholesalers as the multiplier effect of trade credit for the industry chain. We estimate such multiplier to vary between 1.28 and 2.04. We also investigate the effect of final demand on the level of trade credit sourced by firms at various levels of the chain and, in particular, whether such effect is amplified for firms further up in the chain as a result of liquidity propagation via trade credit linkages. We uncover evidence of such amplification when the links of liquidity transmission along the chain are individually modeled and estimated. An unitary increase in wholesalers’ sales is found to produce an effect on trade payables among firms at the top of the chain (i.e., Preparers and Spinners) that is more than twice as big as the corresponding effect among firms at the bottom of the chain (i.e., Wholesalers).

An increase in snake pipefish (Entelurus aequoreus) in the northeast Atlantic: possible causes and effects

Climate induced changes in the planktonic community have been reported in the North Atlantic in recent years (Beaugrand et al., 2002), and similar responses has been seen in higher trophic levels (eg fish, Brander et al., 2003). Many of these responses have been identified by the use of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR), and here we discuss recent results from the survey concerning pipefish, numbers of which have increased dramatically around the UK in recent years. This has also been reported in both the scientific and popular press, and anecdotally by many divers. Pipefish are easily recognized, being vermiform with a long slender ‘snout’ and an armoured outer layer, much like an elongated seahorse. This increase has raised many questions, why has it happened and what affects will it have on the ecosystem?

Lysosomes And The Response By Mytilus-Edulis-L To An Increase In Salinity

Cytochemical observations and measurements on cell-free suspensions of lysosomes from the digestive gland of Mytilus edulis showed a reduced latency of the lysosomal enzyme beta -N-acetyl-hexosaminidase 12h after mussels were transferred from 21 to 35%o salinity, but showed no change up to 6 h after transfer. There was a transient alteration in the form of the latency curve after 6 h at high salinity, signifying a gradual change in membrane integrity. Free hexosaminidase activity increased, 12 h after the salinity rise. The lysosomes were permeable to amino acids when ATP was present; permeability increased following the rise in salinity. The concentration of ninhydrin-positive substances in the lysosomes increased 6 h after transfer and then, between 6 and 12 h, the concentration declined. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that lysosomal hydrolysis is a source of free amino acids during the adaptation of mussels to increased salinity.