Obelix vs. Asterix : size of US commercial banks and its regulatory challenge

Big banks pose substantial costs to society in the form of increased systemic risk and government bailouts during crises. So the question is: Should regulators limit the size of banks? To answer this question, regulators need to assess the potential costs of such regulations. If big banks enjoy substantial scale economies (i.e., average costs get lower as bank size increases), limiting the size of banks through regulations may be inefficient and likely to reduce social welfare. However, the literature offers conflicting results regarding the existence of economies of scale for the biggest US banks. We contribute to this literature using a novel approach to estimating nonparametric measures of scale economies and total factor productivity (TFP) growth. For US commercial banks, we find that around 73 % of the top one hundred banks, 98 % of medium and small banks, and seven of the top ten biggest banks by asset size exhibit substantial economies of scale. Likewise, we find that scale economies contribute positively and significantly to their TFP growth. The existence of substantial scale economies raises an important challenge for regulators to pursue size limit regulations

El caso de las infecciosas. Rinoentomoftoramicosis. Presentación de 3 casos

Three male patients from the Chocó region of Colombia are discussed. They all presented a hard edema of the nasal region which caused considerable deformity. The diagnosis was confirmed in two cases by means of culture and the other by a histopathologic examination.Treatment was started with itraconazole and noticeable improvement was obtained. Nevertheless, two of the patients relapsed and were treated again with a marked improvementofthe lesions.Se discuten tres pacientes masculinos de la región del Chocó de Colombia. Todos presentaban un fuerte edema de la región nasal que provocaba una deformidad considerable. El diagnóstico se confirmó en dos casos mediante cultivo y en el otro mediante examen histopatológico.Se inició tratamiento con itraconazol y se obtuvo una mejoría notable. Sin embargo, dos de los pacientes recayeron y fueron tratados nuevamente con una notable mejoría de las lesiones

Resistencia natural, in vitro, a los virus de estomatitis vesicular y de rinotraqueitis infecciosa en ganado Blanco Orejinegro

Este informe da cuenta de los resultados de un proyecto encaminado a determinar la posible diversidad fenotípica de la resistencia/susceptibilidad, in vitro, de la raza de ganado criollo colombiano, Blanco Orejinegro (BON), a la infección por virus de estomatitis vesicular (EV) y de Rinotraqueitis Infecciosa Bovina (RIB). Se probaron 47 muestras de fibroblastos primarios de igual número de animales, mediante titulación viral, y se determinó la Dosis Infecciosa Mínima 50% por ml (DIM50%/ml) por el método de Spearman karber. Luego se obtuvieron los Índices de Resistencia/ Susceptibilidad (IRS) y se agruparon los cultivos primarios de fibroblastos en resistentes y susceptibles con los siguientes resultados: Para RIB los 47 cultivos primarios de fibroblastos de ganado BON resultaron susceptibles; para EV serotipo Indiana, 37 fueron susceptibles y 10 resistentes, y para EV serotipo New Jersey, se encontraron 41 susceptibles y 5 resistentes. Un polimorfismo fenotípico en resistencia/susceptibilidad, in vitro, del ganado BON, se había demostrado previamente para el virus de la fiebre aftosa

Bacterial translocation in abdominal trauma and postoperative infections

Background: Bacterial translocation (BT) describes the passage of bacteria residing into the gastrointestinal tract, through the intestinal mucosa barrier to sterile tissues such as mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and other organs. This phenomenon has not been thoroughly studied in patients with trauma to date, and an association between BT and postoperative infection has not been well established so far. Methods: MLNs from 36 patients with abdominal trauma were removed during laparotomy and cultured to detect BT. Postoperative infectious complications in these patients were registered, and both phenotypical and molecular typings (through multilocus sequencing) were carried out for microorganisms isolated from MLN and postoperative infection sites. Associations between clinical variables, BT presence, and postoperative infection development were established. Results: BT was detected in 33% of the patients (n = 12). Postoperative infections were present in 22.2% of the patients (n = 8). A significant statistical difference was found between postoperative infections in patients with BT evidence (41.6%), when compared with patients without BT (12.5%; p = 0.047). Bacteria isolated from infection sites were the same as those cultured in MLN in 40% of the cases (n = 2 of 5), allowing us to establish causality between BT and postoperative infection. Conclusions: There is higher risk of BT in trauma patients, and it is associated with a significant increase of postoperative infections. An abdominal trauma index ?10 was found to be associated with the development of BT. This is the first study describing BT among patients with abdominal trauma, where causality is confirmed at molecular level. Copyright © 2011 by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Bacterial translocation in abdominal trauma and postoperative infections

Background: Bacterial translocation (BT) describes the passage of bacteria residing into the gastrointestinal tract, through the intestinal mucosa barrier to sterile tissues such as mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and other organs. This phenomenon has not been thoroughly studied in patients with trauma to date, and an association between BT and postoperative infection has not been well established so far. Methods: MLNs from 36 patients with abdominal trauma were removed during laparotomy and cultured to detect BT. Postoperative infectious complications in these patients were registered, and both phenotypical and molecular typings (through multilocus sequencing) were carried out for microorganisms isolated from MLN and postoperative infection sites. Associations between clinical variables, BT presence, and postoperative infection development were established. Results: BT was detected in 33% of the patients (n = 12). Postoperative infections were present in 22.2% of the patients (n = 8). A significant statistical difference was found between postoperative infections in patients with BT evidence (41.6%), when compared with patients without BT (12.5%; p = 0.047). Bacteria isolated from infection sites were the same as those cultured in MLN in 40% of the cases (n = 2 of 5), allowing us to establish causality between BT and postoperative infection. Conclusions: There is higher risk of BT in trauma patients, and it is associated with a significant increase of postoperative infections. An abdominal trauma index ?10 was found to be associated with the development of BT. This is the first study describing BT among patients with abdominal trauma, where causality is confirmed at molecular level. Copyright © 2011 by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Childhood histoplasmosis in Colombia: Clinical and laboratory observations of 45 patients

ABSTRACT: Histoplasmosis is an important mycosis in the Americas; and in children with no immune system abnormalities, histoplasmosis is typically a self-limited process. In contrast, in children with immune problems, disease manifestations are frequently more severe and include dissemination. From 1984 to 2010, a retrospective study of paediatric patients who had been diagnosed with histoplasmosis was performed. A total of 45 pediatric cases of histoplasmosis were identified. The most important risk factor was malnutrition (37%), followed by environmental exposure (33%). The patients exhibited pulmonary infiltrates (83%), fever (76%), cough, constitutional symptoms (38%), headache (35%), and lymph node hypertrophy (33%). Concerning the clinical forms, 64% of the patients presented with the progressive disseminated form that frequently affected the central nervous system (48%). Diagnostic laboratory tests indicated that the cultures were positive for 80% of the patients, the agar gel immunodiffusion was reactive in 95%, the M band of the precipitate was more commonly observed (81%), and the complement fixation tests were reactive in 88% of the patients. The timely diagnosis of histoplasmosis is important, and for this reason, it is hoped that the results of this study will lead pediatricians toward a better understanding of this mycosis in children.COL001370

Tackling Histoplasmosis Infection in People Living with HIV from Latin America: From Diagnostic Strategy to Public Health Solutions

Histoplasmosis, caused by the thermally dimorphic fungus Histoplasma spp., is a disease with a broad clinical spectrum, presenting from asymptomatic/flu-like symptoms to progressive disseminated disease in people with immunosuppression. In recent years, the concept of histoplasmosis as a disease restricted to the American continent has changed, as now histoplasmosis is reported in many regions around the world. In Latin America, histoplasmosis represents a threat, especially in people with advanced HIV disease (AHD). Diagnosis of histoplasmosis in people living with HIV (PLHIV) is challenging due to the low index of suspicion of the disease, non-specificity of signs and symptoms, and limited access to specific laboratory testing, while the diagnostic delay is significantly associated with mortality. In the last decade, novel diagnostic tests have been developed for the rapid detection of histoplasmosis, such as commercial kits for antigen detection. Furthermore, advocacy groups were created that presented histoplasmosis as a public health problem, with emphasis on patients at risk of progressive disseminated disease. This review aims to discuss the impact of histoplasmosis associated with AHD in Latin America and the strategies employed to tackle histoplasmosis, from the implementation of laboratory testing to disease advocacy and public health interventions