The dynamics of fleet size and shipping profitability:the role of steel-scrap prices

We discover that in each shipping segment the price of scrap, earnings, and the fleet size are jointly determined. Deploying a Vector Error Correction model, we find that international steel-scrap prices explain ship scrap prices, but the price of nickel, crude oil, and seaborne trade have an even higher positive explanatory power on them. This dependence is mainly attributed to the economic nature of the major ship-breaking countries: they are all emerging economies, heavily relying on steel as well as nickel in their development process

Multigenic DNA Vaccine Induces Protective Cross-Reactive T Cell Responses Against Heterologous Influenza Virus in Nonhuman Primates

Recent avian and swine-origin influenza virus outbreaks illustrate the ongoing threat of influenza pandemics. We investigated immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a multi-antigen (MA) universal influenza DNA vaccine consisting of HA, M2, and NP antigens in cynomolgus macaques. Following challenge with a heterologous pandemic H1N1 strain, vaccinated animals exhibited significantly lower viral loads and more rapid viral clearance when compared to unvaccinated controls. The MA DNA vaccine induced robust serum and mucosal antibody responses but these high antibody titers were not broadly neutralizing. In contrast, the vaccine induced broadly-reactive NP specific T cell responses that cross-reacted with the challenge virus and inversely correlated with lower viral loads and inflammation. These results demonstrate that a MA DNA vaccine that induces strong cross-reactive T cell responses can, independent of neutralizing antibody, mediate significant cross-protection in a nonhuman primate model and further supports development as an effective approach to induce broad protection against circulating and emerging influenza strains

A survey of shipping finance research: setting the future research agenda

Financing shipping related investment projects has always been a focal area of debate and research within the international maritime industry since access to funding can determine the competitiveness of a capital-intensive business as well as its success or failure under adverse market conditions. This paper provides, for the first time, a comprehensive and structured survey of all published research in the area of shipping finance and investment. The review spans approximately four decades (1979-2018) of empirical evidence, including 162 studies published in 48 scholarly journals, complemented with select books and book chapters. The study provides a bibliometric analysis and comprehensive synthesis of existing research offering an invaluable source of information for both the academic community and business practice, shaping the future research agenda in shipping finance and investment

Lamotrigine Reduces the Number of Vertigo Attacks in Patients with Meniere’s Disease: A Pilot Study

Spontaneous episodes of vertigo, called vertigo attacks, are the most disabling symptom of Meniere’s disease (MD). The purpose of this study was to compare the number vertigo attacks in patients with MD before and after establishing a maintenance dose of lamotrigine (Lamictal ®). A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients who were diagnosed with definite, unilateral MD, and prescribed lamotrigine for potential management of MD vertigo attacks. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they had a history of migraine because migraine is one factor that distinguishes MD clinical subgroups. The number of vertigo attacks experienced by each patient was retrieved from clinic visit notes. The number of vertigo attacks in the 12 weeks prior to prescription of lamotrigine (Baseline) and in the first 12 weeks on a maintenance dose of lamotrigine (Maintenance) were compared via paired t-tests within the groups. Overall, thir-ty-three patients met criteria, of which 13 had and 20 did not have history of migraine. The number of attacks reported during Maintenance was significantly less than that reported during Baseline both for patients with (p = 0.001) and without (p = 0.0005) history of migraine. Both MD patients with and without migraine reported fewer vertigo attacks while on a maintenance dose of lamotrigine than prior to prescription of lamotrigine. [N A J Med Sci. 2024;17(1):008-010.   DOI:  10.7156/najms.2024.1701008]  Key Words: Lamictal, episodic dizziness, endolymphatic hydrops, vestibular migraine,migraine-associated vertigo, vestibular disorders, hearing loss, tinnitu

Multigenic DNA vaccine induces protective cross-reactive T cell responses against heterologous influenza virus in nonhuman primates

Recent avian and swine-origin influenza virus outbreaks illustrate the ongoing threat of influenza pandemics. We investigated immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a multi-antigen (MA) universal influenza DNA vaccine consisting of HA, M2, and NP antigens in cynomolgus macaques. Following challenge with a heterologous pandemic H1N1 strain, vaccinated animals exhibited significantly lower viral loads and more rapid viral clearance when compared to unvaccinated controls. The MA DNA vaccine induced robust serum and mucosal antibody responses but these high antibody titers were not broadly neutralizing. In contrast, the vaccine induced broadly-reactive NP specific T cell responses that cross-reacted with the challenge virus and inversely correlated with lower viral loads and inflammation. These results demonstrate that a MA DNA vaccine that induces strong cross-reactive T cell responses can, independent of neutralizing antibody, mediate significant cross-protection in a nonhuman primate model and further supports development as an effective approach to induce broad protection against circulating and emerging influenza strains

miR-212/132 expression and functions: within and beyond the neuronal compartment

During the last two decades, microRNAs (miRNAs) emerged as critical regulators of gene expression. By modulating the expression of numerous target mRNAs mainly at the post-transcriptional level, these small non-coding RNAs have been involved in most, if not all, biological processes as well as in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases. miR-132 and miR-212 are tandem miRNAs whose expression is necessary for the proper development, maturation and function of neurons and whose deregulation is associated with several neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and tauopathies (neurodegenerative diseases resulting from the pathological aggregation of tau protein in the human brain). Although their involvement in neuronal functions is the most described, evidences point towards a role of these miRNAs in many other biological processes, including inflammation and immune functions. Incidentally, miR-132 was recently classified as a ‘neurimmiR’, a class of miRNAs operating within and between the neural and immune compartments. In this review, we propose an outline of the current knowledge about miR-132 and miR-212 functions in neurons and immune cells, by describing the signalling pathways and transcription factors regulating their expression as well as their putative or demonstrated roles and validated mRNA targets

The Role of Response Elements Organization in Transcription Factor Selectivity: The IFN-β Enhanceosome Example

What is the mechanism through which transcription factors (TFs) assemble specifically along the enhancer DNA? The IFN-β enhanceosome provides a good model system: it is small; its components' crystal structures are available; and there are biochemical and cellular data. In the IFN-β enhanceosome, there are few protein-protein interactions even though consecutive DNA response elements (REs) overlap. Our molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on different motif combinations from the enhanceosome illustrate that cooperativity is achieved via unique organization of the REs: specific binding of one TF can enhance the binding of another TF to a neighboring RE and restrict others, through overlap of REs; the order of the REs can determine which complexes will form; and the alternation of consensus and non-consensus REs can regulate binding specificity by optimizing the interactions among partners. Our observations offer an explanation of how specificity and cooperativity can be attained despite the limited interactions between neighboring TFs on the enhancer DNA. To date, when addressing selective TF binding, attention has largely focused on RE sequences. Yet, the order of the REs on the DNA and the length of the spacers between them can be a key factor in specific combinatorial assembly of the TFs on the enhancer and thus in function. Our results emphasize cooperativity via RE binding sites organization