323,494 research outputs found
New evidence on the output cost of fighting inflation
Get PDFThe Federal Reserve has made significant progress toward price stability over the last two decades. The annual inflation rate has declined from 13 percent in the early 1980s to roughly 2 percent today. But, to be sure, the current low-inflation environment has come at a price.> One key cost of achieving low inflation is the output loss that generally accompanies a permanent decline in inflation, as occurred in the early 1980s and early 1990s. Another more subtle output cost of fighting inflation is the cost of preventing inflation from rising. As incipient inflation pressures build, tighter monetary policy can slow the economy and thereby preemptively forestall the rise in actual inflation. The slower output growth is the cost of resisting inflation pressures. Together, these two output costs of fighting inflation play important roles in determining how best to maintain low inflation and how to seek further disinflation toward price stability.> A significant factor determining the output cost of fighting inflation is the tradeoff between inflation and output, often referred to as the Phillips curve. Traditionally, estimates of this relationship assume the shape of this curve is linear. This implies that the slope of the Phillips curve is a constant and, therefore, independent of the stage of the business cycle, the speed of the disinflation, and how aggressively incipient inflation pressures are fought. Recent research, however, has begun to question whether the slope is constant. Assessing the output cost of fighting inflation may be more complicated than traditionally assumed.> Filardo investigates the shape of the Phillips curve and the associated output cost of fighting inflation. He concludes that, while the Phillips curve traditionally has been thought of as approximately linear, closer examination of the inflation-output relationship reveals important nonlinearities. This new evidence and its implications for the output cost of fighting inflation may require new policy strategies.Inflation (Finance) ; Phillips curve
How reliable are recession prediction models?
Get PDFThe U.S. economy continues to advance briskly, defying forecasts of more moderate growth. Beginning in March 1991, the current expansion has become the longest peacetime expansion on record and is less than a year away from becoming the longest in U.S. history. To the surprise of some observers, economic growth has been particularly robust late in the expansion. In fact, over the last three years growth has averaged 4 percent annually, and indicators of growth for the first half of 1999 show no signs of significant slowing.> Despite these positive signs, few analysts believe the expansion can go on forever. As the expansion continues to age, economists will increasingly be called on to predict the next recession. Recession prediction models may help them gauge the likelihood of imminent recession.> Filardo examines the reliability of five popular recession prediction models. He concludes that these models have demonstrated some ability in the past to predict recessions. When judiciously interpreted, the models can help resolve uncertainty about the possibility of future recession.Recessions ; Forecasting
Updating the relationship of Chlamydia pneumoniae with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review of reviews
No full textChlamydia pneumoniae is the etiologic agent of respiratory tract infections in humans, including community-acquired pneumonia, and has been associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. The present systematic review of reviews aimed at answering important questions on the involvement of C. pneumoniae in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, its cellular and molecular mechanisms, and whether there is evidence of a causal relationship. The databases PubMed/Med-line, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for all review articles published from 2003 to the end of 2023. A total of 27 reviews, systematic reviews, and systematic reviews with metanalysis were included. Overall, current evidence suggests that C. pneumoniae is a biologically plausible candidate for the causation of atherosclerosis, albeit not all the 4 Koch postulates are fulfilled; oxidative stress and inflammation are the most likely pathogenic mechanisms mediated by C. pneumoniae. However, it is still unclear how the persistent form, responsible for chronic inflammation, fits into this etiopathogenetic scenario. In the future, the newly-designed transformation systems for the genomic manipulation of C. pneumoniae will surely help expand our knowledge on the role of this pathogen in atherogenesis
Indagini preliminari su bacilli sporigeni associati ad adulti di Punteruolo rosso e loro possibili impieghi in lotta biologica.
No full textE’ stata condotta un’indagine per isolare batteri sporigeni associati ad adulti morti di Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. La carica microbica riscontrata, sia quella superficiale che endogena, risulta essere elevata (107 UFC/gr). Gli isolati sono riconducibili al genere Bacillus. La produzione di cristalli parasporali, potenziali δ-endotossine, è stata utilizzata come parametro fondamentale per lo screening delle colture. All’attualità su un totale di 126 isolati solo 8, presentanti elevata produzione di esostrutture, sono stati sottoposti a caratterizzazione tassonomica. Gli isolati GC33 e GC76, identificati presuntivamente come Bacillus thuringiensis, sono stati saggiati alla concentrazione di 106 UFC/ml su uova di R.f. producendo una mortalità del 15% del totale delle uova. Altrettanto bassa è risultata la tossicità di GC11 Bacillus sphericus e di GC57 Bacillus megaterium
<i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> and <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> Interaction with the Host: Latest Advances and Future Prospective
Get PDFResearch in Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae has gained new traction due to recent advances in molecular biology, namely the widespread use of the metagenomic analysis and the development of a stable genomic transformation system, resulting in a better understanding of Chlamydia pathogenesis. C. trachomatis, the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases, is responsible of cervicitis and urethritis, and C. pneumoniae, a widespread respiratory pathogen, has long been associated with several chronic inflammatory diseases with great impact on public health. The present review summarizes the current evidence regarding the complex interplay between C. trachomatis and host defense factors in the genital micro-environment as well as the key findings in chronic inflammatory diseases associated to C. pneumoniae
Better In Vitro Tools for Exploring Chlamydia trachomatis Pathogenesis
Get PDFCurrently, Chlamydia trachomatis still possesses a significant impact on public health, with more than 130 million new cases each year, alongside a high prevalence of asymptomatic infections (approximately 80% in women and 50% in men). C. trachomatis infection involves a wide range of different cell types, from cervical epithelial cells, testicular Sertoli cells to Synovial cells, leading to a broad spectrum of pathologies of varying severity both in women and in men. Several two-dimensional in vitro cellular models have been employed for investigating C. trachomatis host–cell interaction, although they present several limitations, such as the inability to mimic the complex and dynamically changing structure of in vivo human host-tissues. Here, we present a brief overview of the most cutting-edge three-dimensional cell-culture models that mimic the pathophysiology of in vivo human tissues and organs for better translating experimental findings into a clinical setting. Future perspectives in the field of C. trachomatis research are also provided
Diffusive author(s), cohesive author: Analysis of S/N (1994)
No full textThis study indicates the ways in which various aspects of the author(s) are brought forth in Dumb type’s performance art, the S/N production. Previous research has suggested a non-hierarchical organization of Dumb type and the absence of a “privileged author” in Dumb type’s collaborative work, S/N. However, the results that I have investigated from member’s interviews on the creative process of S/N along with my analysis of the recorded images of S/N, indicate a different aspect of the author(s). First, S/N was created through, so to speak, the collective ideas of the members of Dumb type. Further, S/N has at least nine quotations from previous performances, installations, and printed writings, besides the work-in-progress technique. Explicating one of the “author functions” as given by Michel Foucault, each text has plural subjects of the author. However, it has been revealed from members’ interviews that Teiji Furuhashi had a decision-making role in selecting the members’ ideas within the performance. Since then, S/N has had plural subjects of creation; however, Furuhashi is one of the subjects of creation along with the “privileged author.” S/N has plural authors (diffusive authors) yet at the same time, it has a “privileged author,” Teiji Furuhashi (cohesive author)
Therapeutic potential of resveratrol against emerging respiratory viral infections
Get PDFResveratrol has been widely studied for its therapeutic potential due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. In particular, resveratrol has shown promising antiviral activity against numerous viruses responsible for severe respiratory infections. Amongst these, influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus and the emerging SARS-cov-2 are known to cause pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome or multi-organ failure, especially, in vulnerable individuals like immunocompromised patients or the elderly, leading to a considerable economic burden worldwide. In this context, resveratrol may have potential value for its anti-inflammatory activity, since most of the severe virus-associated complications are related to the overactivation of the host-immune response, leading to lung damage. Herein, we present an overview of the antiviral activity and potential mechanisms of resveratrol against the respiratory tract viruses considered as a public threat for their rapid transmission and high morbidity and mortality in the general population
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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