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Shock Spillovers and International Financial (Dis)Integration
Get PDFGlobal shocks - ranging from climate-related disasters and geopolitical conáicts to pandemics - transmit rapidly across borders and shape Önancial market co-movements. This paper develops a two-country general equilibrium model to study how cross-border shock spillovers a§ect optimal international portfolio holdings and the degree of Önancial (dis)integration. The analysis highlights that both the magnitude and heterogeneity of spillovers across income sources (capital versus labour income) play a central role in determining international risk-sharing opportunities. When spillovers mainly a§ect capital income, countries reduce their foreign asset positions and markets become more segmented. By contrast, when labour-income spillovers dominate, Önancial integration strengthens. The model generates empirical implications regarding the relation between global shocks, international portfolio rebalancing, and time-varying degrees of Önancial integration, providing a structural framework that can help interpret recent episodes of global Önancial fragmentation
Expert perspectives on managing iron deficiency in people with CKD and/or HF
No full textBackground: Iron deficiency (ID) is common among people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and/or heart failure (HF). Despite the additional burden ID causes among people with CKD and HF, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the best way to diagnose it and, subsequently, identify who is most likely to benefit from receiving iron therapy. Methods: This manuscript reports the markers and thresholds used in ID diagnosis, treatment, and management in the UK by nephrologists and cardiologists who manage people with chronic kidney disease or heart failure, as well as investigating future challenges and questions that remain unanswered. The research involved three stages: an online questionnaire, individual interviews, and a panel meeting, which discussed the findings from the first two stages. Results: The panel concluded that there is no robust definition of iron deficiency that can be applied to chronic kidney disease and heart failure. Existing methods of diagnosing iron deficiency come with various problems; a transferrin saturation of <20% is the most popular, but it is not regarded as a perfect solution. Transferrin saturation is also the most popular way of assessing the success of iron deficiency treatment. Clinicians generally do not vary treatment regimens based on severity or subgroups. There are large variations in monitoring and the ability to administer iron therapy in secondary care. Conclusions: There is a clear need to consolidate current approaches to diagnosing and treating iron deficiency in people with chronic kidney disease and/or heart failure. Simple markers and thresholds, and simple strategies to implement them are required
The biology of Wolbachia
No full textWolbachia are a group of maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria commonly found in arthropods. Their abundance is attributable to host reproductive manipulations including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a form of crossing sterility that increases the relative fitness of female carriers. The artificial transfer of Wolbachia into novel host species typically results in high somatic densities and can block the replication of certain virus types. In the Aedes aegypti mosquito Wolbachia inhibits human arbovirus transmission, including dengue. This chapter reviews the application of Wolbachia to arbovirus control and the most relevant aspects of Wolbachia biology, focusing on genomics, the genetics of CI, and the mechanisms of virus inhibition
Annexation: a threat that never fades
No full textThis article examines the doctrinal stability and practical fragility of the international legal prohibition of annexation and evaluates how the UN Charter system has operated against annexation in practice. It clarifies the taxonomy of annexation—distinguishing de jure and de facto annexation from belligerent occupation—and traces the sources grounding the non-acquisition rule and the corresponding duties of non- recognition and non-assistance. Building on Brunk and Hakimi’s argument that the prohibition of annexation is an autonomous norm not reducible to Article 2(4), this article assesses how far the Charter-era jus ad bellum architecture has nevertheless treated ‘force’ as its organizing centre, and what this has meant for enforcement. It then evaluates effectiveness across selected cases using three criteria: deterrence ex ante, remedy ex post, and consistency across like cases. The study finds a mixed record: while doctrine is comparatively stable, inconsistent enforcement and selective (non-) recognition have limited deterrence, complicated reversals, and produced uneven treatment, with implications for self-determination and customary law. Rather than proposing to redefine Article 2(4), this article argues that today’s principal risks lie in post-force consolidation, pretextual justifications, and other strategies that shift contestation to the ‘force’ characterization while annexation’s autonomous consequences remain engaged. The conclusion urges more consistent application of non-recognition and non-assistance to prevent faits accomplis from hardening into tolerated title
The religious aspiration-capability nexus in African youth migration
No full textThis paper examines the intersection of religion, youth and migration in Africa, showing how religion shapes aspirations and capabilities of youth vis-a-vis migration. By decentering economic and political narratives, the study explores the often-overlooked religious dimensions that influence young Africans' imagination and pursuit of migratory futures. Drawing from a multi-scalar theoretical framework of religion, the paper engages data from a multi-sited study conducted in Lagos, Harare, Johannesburg and London/Birmingham, involving youth (15–35 years) of Nigerian and Zimbabwean origin classified as first – and second-generation migrants or left-behinds. Data were generated through 53 biographical interviews, 20 key informant interviews and ethnographic observations. Findings reveal that religion motivates migration aspirations, shapes the development of capabilities for handling migration outcomes. It also uncovers paradoxes that emerge when faith-based expectations encounter harsh migratory realities, thereby shifting simplistic religious narratives in migration while offering nuanced perspectives on the religious aspiration-capability nexus in African youth migration
From development aid to geopolitical leverage: the Aswan High Dam in global hydropolitics
No full textThe Aswan High Dam became a focal point where development,
sovereignty and Cold War diplomacy converged. Drawing on
US and British archival sources, this study reconstructs the negotiations over its financing and the withdrawal of Western support in
1956. It argues that Egypt’s pursuit of infrastructural sovereignty
clashed with Western efforts to use aid as political leverage. Gamal
Abdel Nasser’s management of the dam negotiations exemplified
how post-colonial states could transform infrastructure into an
instrument of autonomy, revealing the political dimensions of
development and the limits of Western influence in the decolonizing world
An empirical study on low code programming using traditional vs large language model support
No full textLow-code programming (LCP) refers to programming using models at higher levels of abstraction, resulting in less manual and more efficient programming, and reduced learning effort for amateur developers. Many LCP tools have rapidly evolved and have benefited from the concepts of visual programming languages (VPLs) and programming by demonstration (PBD). With the huge increase in interest in using large language models (LLMs) in software engineering, LLM-based LCP has begun to become increasingly important. However, the technical principles and application scenarios of traditional approaches to LCP and LLM-based LCP are significantly different. Understanding these key differences and characteristics in the application of the two approaches to LCP by users is crucial for LCP providers in improving existing and developing new LCP tools and in better assisting users in choosing the appropriate LCP technology. We conducted an empirical study of both traditional LCP and LLM-based LCP. We analyzed developers’ discussions on Stack Overflow (SO) over the past three years and then explored the similarities and differences between traditional LCP and LLM-based LCP features and developer feedback. Our findings reveal that while traditional LCP and LLM-based LCP share common primary usage scenarios, they significantly differ in scope, limitations, and usage throughout the software development lifecycle, particularly during the implementation phase. We also examine how LLMs impact and integrate with LCP, discussing the latest technological developments in LLM-based LCP, such as its integration with VPLs and the application of LLM Agents in software engineering
Structural and functional analysis of the TGF-β mimic, TGM-2: an immunomodulatory helminth protein
Get PDFThe extraordinary prevalence of helminths is attributable to secretion of molecules that manipulate the host immune system, facilitating their survival. Among the secretory products of the murine intestinal helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus are 10 mimic proteins with functional resemblance to the mammalian immunosuppressive cytokine, TGF-β, but structurally distinct with five Complement Control Protein (CCP) domains, designated TGM-1 to −10. Here we dissect the structure and function of the mimic TGM-2 and its domains. We generated eight protein truncations lacking N- or C-terminal domains, for testing through pulldowns, mass spectrometric analysis and isothermal titration calorimetry, confirming affinity for TGFBR1 (ALK5), TGFBR2, and the co-receptor CD44. We observed that domains 1–3 bind TGFBR1 and TGFBR2, while domains 4 and 5 exhibit stronger binding to the CD44 coreceptor than TGM-1. Additionally, full-length TGM-2 activates the pSMAD pathway in the MFB-F11 fibroblast cell line at concentrations as low as 1ng/mL and induces the in vitro conversion of naïve murine CD4+ T cells into Foxp3+ Tregs. Both stimulatory activities diminish significantly in the absence of domains 4 and 5 that interact with CD44. In vivo, both full-length TGM2 and truncated Domains 1–3 construct potently alleviate allergic airway inflammation in mice exposed to Alternaria alternata allergen
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