Does Health Information Matter for Modifying Consumption?, October 2006

A field experiment was conducted in France to evaluate the impact of health information on fish consumption. A warning given to the treatment group revealed the risks of methylmercury contamination in fish and also gave consumption recommendations. Using difference-indifferences estimation, we show that this warning led to a significant but relatively weak decrease in fish consumption. However, consumption of the most contaminated fish did not decrease despite advice to avoid consumption of these types of fish. Accompanying questionnaires show that consumers imperfectly memorize the fish species quoted in the warning. The results point to the relatively poor efficacy of a complex health message, despite its use by health agencies around the world.

Angiopoietin 2 regulates the transformation and integrity of lymphatic endothelial cell junctions.

Primitive lymphatic vessels are remodeled into functionally specialized initial and collecting lymphatics during development. Lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) junctions in initial lymphatics transform from a zipper-like to a button-like pattern during collecting vessel development, but what regulates this process is largely unknown. Angiopoietin 2 (Ang2) deficiency leads to abnormal lymphatic vessels. Here we found that an ANG2-blocking antibody inhibited embryonic lymphangiogenesis, whereas endothelium-specific ANG2 overexpression induced lymphatic hyperplasia. ANG2 inhibition blocked VE-cadherin phosphorylation at tyrosine residue 685 and the concomitant formation of button-like junctions in initial lymphatics. The defective junctions were associated with impaired lymph uptake. In collecting lymphatics, adherens junctions were disrupted, and the vessels leaked upon ANG2 blockade or gene deletion. ANG2 inhibition also suppressed the onset of lymphatic valve formation and subsequent valve maturation. These data identify ANG2 as the first essential regulator of the functionally important interendothelial cell-cell junctions that form during lymphatic development.

Computational fluid dynamics of the right ventricular outflow tract and of the pulmonary artery: a bench model of flow dynamics.

OBJECTIVES: The reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) with valved conduits remains a challenge. The reoperation rate at 5 years can be as high as 25% and depends on age, type of conduit, conduit diameter and principal heart malformation. The aim of this study is to provide a bench model with computer fluid dynamics to analyse the haemodynamics of the RVOT, pulmonary artery, its bifurcation, and left and right pulmonary arteries that in the future may serve as a tool for analysis and prediction of outcome following RVOT reconstruction. METHODS: Pressure, flow and diameter at the RVOT, pulmonary artery, bifurcation of the pulmonary artery, and left and right pulmonary arteries were measured in five normal pigs with a mean weight of 24.6 ± 0.89 kg. Data obtained were used for a 3D computer fluid-dynamics simulation of flow conditions, focusing on the pressure, flow and shear stress profile of the pulmonary trunk to the level of the left and right pulmonary arteries. RESULTS: Three inlet steady flow profiles were obtained at 0.2, 0.29 and 0.36 m/s that correspond to the flow rates of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 l/min flow at the RVOT. The flow velocity profile was constant at the RVOT down to the bifurcation and decreased at the left and right pulmonary arteries. In all three inlet velocity profiles, low sheer stress and low-velocity areas were detected along the left wall of the pulmonary artery, at the pulmonary artery bifurcation and at the ostia of both pulmonary arteries. CONCLUSIONS: This computed fluid real-time model provides us with a realistic picture of fluid dynamics in the pulmonary tract area. Deep shear stress areas correspond to a turbulent flow profile that is a predictive factor for the development of vessel wall arteriosclerosis. We believe that this bench model may be a useful tool for further evaluation of RVOT pathology following surgical reconstructions.

Cellular distribution of glucose and monocarboxylate transporters in human brain white matter and multiple sclerosis lesions.

To ensure efficient energy supply to the high demanding brain, nutrients are transported into brain cells via specific glucose (GLUT) and monocarboxylate transporters (MCT). Mitochondrial dysfunction and altered glucose metabolism are thought to play an important role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we investigated the cellular localization of key GLUT and MCT proteins in human brain tissue of non-neurological controls and MS patients. We show that in control brain tissue GLUT and MCT proteins were abundantly expressed in a variety of central nervous system cells, particularly in microglia and endothelial cells. In active MS lesions, GLUTs and MCTs were highly expressed in infiltrating leukocytes and reactive astrocytes. Astrocytes manifest increased MCT1 staining and maintain GLUT expression in inactive lesions, whereas demyelinated axons exhibit significantly reduced GLUT3 and MCT2 immunoreactivity in inactive lesions. Finally, we demonstrated that the co-transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), an important protein involved in energy metabolism, is highly expressed in reactive astrocytes in active MS lesions. Overexpression of PGC-1α in astrocyte-like cells resulted in increased production of several GLUT and MCT proteins. In conclusion, we provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of key nutrient transporters in white matter brain samples. Moreover, our data demonstrate an altered expression of these nutrient transporters in MS brain tissue, including a marked reduction of axonal GLUT3 and MCT2 expression in chronic lesions, which may impede efficient nutrient supply to the hypoxic demyelinated axons thereby contributing to the ongoing neurodegeneration in MS. GLIA 2014;62:1125-1141.

First impressions matter: Signalling as a source of policy dynamics

We first establish that policymakers on the Bank of England's Monetary PolicyCommittee choose lower interest rates with experience. We then reject increasingconfidence in private information or learning about the structure of the macroeconomy as explanations for this shift. Instead, a model in which voters signal theirhawkishness to observers better fits the data. The motivation for signalling is consistent with wanting to control inflation expectations, but not career concerns orpleasing colleagues. There is also no evidence of capture by industry. The papersuggests that policy-motivated reputation building may be important for explainingdynamics in experts' policy choices.

Do institutions and culture matter for business cycles?

We examine the relationship between institutions, culture and cyclical fluctuations for a sampleof 45 European, Middle Eastern and North African countries. Better governance is associated withshorter and less severe contractions and milder expansions. Certain cultural traits, such as lack ofacceptance of power distance and individualism, are also linked business cycle features. Businesscycle synchronization is tightly related to similarities in the institutional environment. Mediterraneancountries conform to these general tendencies.

Beyond the glass ceiling: Does gender matter?

The representation of women in top corporate officer positions is steadily increasing. However, little is known about the impact this will have. A large literature documents that women are different from men in their choices and in their preferences, but most of this literature relies on samples of college students or workers at lower levels in the corporate hierarchy. If women must be like men to break the glass ceiling, we might expect gender differences to disappear among top executives. In contrast, using a large survey of all directors of publicly-traded corporations in Sweden, we show that female and male directors differ systematically in their core values and risk attitudes. While certain population gender differences disappear at the director level, others do not. Consistent with the findings for the Swedish population, female directors are more benevolent and universally concerned, but less power-oriented than men. However, they are less traditional and security-oriented than their male counterparts. Furthermore, female directors are slightly more risk-loving than male directors. This suggests that having a women on the board need not lead to more risk-averse decision-making.

Does money matter in shaping domestic business cycles? An international investigation (with appendices)

We study the contribution of money to business cycle fluctuations in the US,the UK, Japan, and the Euro area using a small scale structural monetary business cycle model. Constrained likelihood-based estimates of the parameters areprovided and time instabilities analyzed. Real balances are statistically importantfor output and inflation fluctuations. Their contribution changes over time. Models giving money no role provide a distorted representation of the sources of cyclicalfluctuations, of the transmission of shocks and of the events of the last 40 years.

Grey matter changes in motor conversion disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To detect anatomical differences in areas related to motor processing between patients with motor conversion disorder (CD) and controls. METHODS: T1-weighted 3T brain MRI data of 15 patients suffering from motor CD (nine with hemiparesis and six with paraparesis) and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were compared using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and voxel-based cortical thickness (VBCT) analysis. RESULTS: We report significant cortical thickness (VBCT) increases in the bilateral premotor cortex of hemiparetic patients relative to controls and a trend towards increased grey matter volume (VBM) in the same region. Regression analyses showed a non-significant positive correlation between cortical thickness changes and symptom severity as well as illness duration in CD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Cortical thickness increases in premotor cortical areas of patients with hemiparetic CD provide evidence for altered brain structure in a condition with presumed normal brain anatomy. These may either represent premorbid vulnerability or a plasticity phenomenon related to the disease with the trends towards correlations with clinical variables supporting the latter.

Proton T1 relaxation times of metabolites in human occipital white and gray matter at 7 T.

Proton T1 relaxation times of metabolites in the human brain have not previously been published at 7 T. In this study, T1 values of CH3 and CH2 group of N-acetylaspartate and total creatine as well as nine other brain metabolites were measured in occipital white matter and gray matter at 7 T using an inversion-recovery technique combined with a newly implemented semi-adiabatic spin-echo full-intensity acquired localized spectroscopy sequence (echo time = 12 ms). The mean T1 values of metabolites in occipital white matter and gray matter ranged from 0.9 to 2.2 s. Among them, the T1 of glutathione, scyllo-inositol, taurine, phosphorylethanolamine, and N-acetylaspartylglutamate were determined for the first time in the human brain. Significant differences in T1 between white matter and gray matter were found for water (-28%), total choline (-14%), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (-29%), N-acetylaspartate (+4%), and glutamate (+8%). An increasing trend in T1 was observed when compared with previously reported values of N-acetylaspartate (CH3 ), total creatine (CH3 ), and total choline at 3 T. However, for N-acetylaspartate (CH3 ), total creatine, and total choline, no substantial differences compared to previously reported values at 9.4 T were discernible. The T1 values reported here will be useful for the quantification of metabolites and signal-to-noise optimization in human brain at 7 T. Magn Reson Med 69:931-936, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Did colonization matter for growth? An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment

We investigate the impact of 20th--century European colonizationon growth in Africa. We find that in the 1960--88 period growth has beenfaster for dependencies than for colonies; for British and Frenchcolonies than for Portuguese, Belgian and Italian ones; and for countrieswith less economic penetration during the colonial period. On average,African growth accelerates after decolonization. Proxies for colonialheritage add explanatory power to growth regressions and make indicatorsfor human capital, political and ethnic instability lose significance.Colonial variables capture the same effects of a sub--Saharan dummy andreduce its significance when jointly included in a cross sectionalregression with 98 countries.

Analysis of digestive tract content of the larvae of Polybia scutellaris (White) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Polybia scutellaris (White, 1841) is a social wasp of biological interest for its role as pollinator and maybe as biological control agent of sanitary and agricultural pests. This study examines the digestive tract contents of the larvae of P. scutellaris from four nests in Magdalena (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). Contents included both animal (arthropod parts) and plant (pollen, leaf and fruit epidermis) parts. The pollen content analysis showed that the wasps visited 19 different taxa of plants during the last active period of the colony before the nests had been collected. The range of sources used by P. scutellaris allows us characterizing the species as a generalist flower visitor. Wasps visited both native and exotic plants located nearby the nest. Most of the epidermal plant remains found in the larval digestive tract belonged to Malvaceae, a family not exploited by the studied colonies as pollen source.