Comment s'inscrit l'avenir de l'industrie bancaire dans un environnement de taux très bas ?

L’industrie bancaire suisse est entrée depuis peu dans une nouvelle ère, notamment à cause d’un environnement à faibles rendements dus aux taux bas ainsi qu’aux récents développements technologiques. Ce travail cherche à définir quel est l’avenir de l’industrie bancaire en expliquant d’abord le mécanisme des taux bas, puis en définissant quels sont les différentes stratégies qui s’offrent aux banques pour évoluer dans cet environnement. Il est d’abord nécessaire de comprendre quels ont été les causes qui ont mené la Banque nationale suisse à abandonner son taux plancher et à adopter le taux d’intérêt négatif. Cela se fera grâce à l’analyse des facteurs que la Banque prend en compte pour sa politique monétaire ainsi que l’analyse de son bilan. Je me baserai également sur la courbe des taux qui est un bon indicateur pour pouvoir entrevoir la vision de l’avenir qu’a le marché. Tous ces éléments m’ont permis d’établir l’hypothèse que malgré des signaux positifs, les taux d’intérêts en Suisse n’augmenteront pas avant 2018. Ensuite, il sera question des stratégies envisageables pour les banques afin qu’elles puissent s’adapter à cet environnement de taux bas. Qui plus est, le secteur financier est voué à se transformer, d’abord à cause des réglementations plus strictes, puis avec l’expansion des fintechs et autres avancées technologiques. L’analyse de ces nouveaux enjeux permettra d’évaluer leur importance. Toutes ces recherches m’ont permis d’établir une vision pour l’avenir de l’industrie bancaire, qui sera fortement impactée par la technologie et verra se développer de nouveaux modèles d’affaires

Quantitative MRI can detect subclinical disease progression in muscular dystrophy

Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is a rare autosomal dominant muscular dystrophy with late onset and slow progression. The aim of this study was to compare different methods of quantitative MRI in the follow-up of OPMD to semiquantitative evaluation of MRI images and to functional parameters. We examined 8patients with genetically confirmed OPMD and 5healthy volunteers twice at an interval of 13months. Motor function measurements (MFM) were assessed. Imaging at 1.5T (Siemens Magnetom Avanto) comprised two axial slice groups at the largest diameter of thigh and calf and included T1w TSE, 2-point Dixon for muscular fat fraction (MFF) and a multi-contrast TSE sequence to calculate quantitative T2 values. T1 images were analyzed using Fischer's semiquantitative 5-point (0-4) scale. MFM and visual scores showed no significant difference over the study period. Overall T2 values increased in patients over the study period from 49.4 to 51.6ms, MFF increased from 19.2 to 20.7%. Neither T2 values nor MFF increased in controls. Changes in T2 correlated with the time interval between examinations (r 2=0.42). In this small pilot trial, it was shown that quantitative muscle MRI can detect subclinical changes in patients with OPMD. Quantitative MRI might, therefore, be a useful tool for monitoring disease progression in future therapeutic trial

Neural activation associated with corrective saccades during tasks with fixation, pursuit and saccades

Corrective saccades are small eye movements that redirect gaze whenever the actual eye position differs from the desired eye position. In contrast to various forms of saccades including pro-saccades, recentering-saccades or memory guided saccades, corrective saccades have been widely neglected so far. The fMRI correlates of corrective saccades were studied that spontaneously occurred during fixation, pursuit or saccadic tasks. Eyetracking was performed during the fMRI data acquisition with a fiber-optic device. Using a combined block and event-related design, we isolated the cortical activations associated with visually guided fixation, pursuit or saccadic tasks and compared these to the activation associated with the occurrence of corrective saccades. Neuronal activations in anterior inferior cingulate, bilateral middle and inferior frontal gyri, bilateral insula and cerebellum are most likely specifically associated with corrective saccades. Additionally, overlapping activations with the established pro-saccade and, to a lesser extent, pursuit network were present. The presented results imply that corrective saccades represent a potential systematic confound in eye-movement studies, in particular because the frequency of spontaneously occurring corrective saccades significantly differed between fixation, pursuit and pro-saccade

Caffeine affects the biological responses of human hematopoietic cells of myeloid lineage via downregulation of the mTOR pathway and xanthine oxidase activity

Correction of human myeloid cell function is crucial for the prevention of inflammatory and allergic reactions as well as leukaemia progression. Caffeine, a naturally occurring food component, is known to display anti-inflammatory effects which have previously been ascribed largely to its inhibitory actions on phosphodiesterase. However, more recent studies suggest an additional role in affecting the activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a master regulator of myeloid cell translational pathways, although detailed molecular events underlying its mode of action have not been elucidated. Here, we report the cellular uptake of caffeine, without metabolisation, by healthy and malignant hematopoietic myeloid cells including monocytes, basophils and primary acute myeloid leukaemia mononuclear blasts. Unmodified caffeine downregulated mTOR signalling, which affected glycolysis and the release of pro-inflammatory/pro-angiogenic cytokines as well as other inflammatory mediators. In monocytes, the effects of caffeine were potentiated by its ability to inhibit xanthine oxidase, an enzyme which plays a central role in human purine catabolism by generating uric acid. In basophils, caffeine also increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels which further enhanced its inhibitory action on mTOR. These results demonstrate an important mode of pharmacological action of caffeine with potentially wide-ranging therapeutic impact for treating non-infectious disorders of the human immune system, where it could be applied directly to inflammatory cells

Influence of hepatitis G virus infection on liver disease

The influence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection on disease activity in hepatitis C related and unrelated liver disease was investigated in 254 individuals using an EIA polymerase chain reaction assay for HGV. One hundred patients had chronic hepatitis C, 26 primary biliary cirrhosis, and 30 alcoholic liver cirrhosis. In addition, 51 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive and 47 anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive blood donors were screened. Hepatitis G virus was detected in 18% of patients with chronic hepatitis C, 13% of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, 11 % of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 10% of anti-HCV-positive blood donors, and 2% of HBsAg-positive blood donors. Virus load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels did not differ significantly in patients with HCV alone versus patients coinfected with HCV and HGV. However, mild liver fibrosis correlated with HGV coinfection. Hepatitis G virus did not influence ALT levels or liver damage in liver disease unrelated to viral infectio

Muscular involvement assessed by MRI correlates to motor function measurement values in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy

Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is a progressive skeletal muscle dystrophy characterized by ptosis, dysphagia, and upper and lower extremity weakness. We examined eight genetically confirmed OPMD patients to detect a MRI pattern and correlate muscle involvement, with validated clinical evaluation methods. Physical assessment was performed using the Motor Function Measurement (MFM) scale. We imaged the lower extremities on a 1.5T scanner. Fatty replacement was graded on a 4-point visual scale. We found prominent affection of the adductor and hamstring muscles in the thigh, and soleus and gastrocnemius muscles in the lower leg. The MFM assessment showed relative mild clinical impairment, mostly affecting standing and transfers, while distal motor capacity was hardly affected. We observed a high (negative) correlation between the validated clinical scores and our visual imaging scores suggesting that quantitative and more objective muscle MRI might serve as outcome measure for clinical trials in muscular dystrophie

Human cytokines activate JAK–STAT signaling pathway in porcine ocular tissue

Background: The JAK/STAT (Janus Tyrosine Kinase, Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription) pathway is associated with cytokine or growth factor receptors and it is critical for growth control, developmental regulation and homeostasis. The use of porcine ocular cells as putative xenotransplants appears theoretically possible. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of various porcine ocular cells in vitro to human cytokines in regard to the activation of JAK-STAT signaling pathways. Methods: Porcine lens epithelial cells, pigmented iris epithelial cells and pigmented ciliary body cells were used in this study. These cells were isolated from freshly enucleated porcine eyes by enzymatic digestion. Cultured cells between passages 3–8 were used in all experiments. Electromobility shift assay (EMSA), proliferation assay, immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the JAK-STAT signaling pathway in these cells. Results: JAK/STAT signaling pathways could be activated in porcine pigmented epithelial ciliary body cells, in pigmented iris epithelial cells and in lens epithelial cells in response to porcine and human interferons and cytokines. All cells showed very strong STAT1 activation upon stimulation with porcine interferon-gamma. Porcine ocular cells also respond to human cytokines; IFN-alpha induced strong activation of STAT1 in EMSA, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence experiments whereas activation of STAT3 was less strong in EMSA, but strong in flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Human recombinant IL-6 activated STAT3 and human IL-4 activated STAT6. With the help of immunofluorescence assay and flow cytometry we observed nuclear localization of STAT proteins after activation of porcine ocular cells with cytokines and interferons. Human IFN-α had an inhibitory effect on porcine ocular cells in proliferation assays. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that some types of human cytokines and interferon activate intracellular JAK-STAT signaling pathways in porcine ocular cells. We hypothesize that direct stimulation of the JAK-STAT pathway in porcine cells in response to human cytokines will lead to complications or failure, if pig-to-human ocular tissue xenotransplantation were to be carried out. For successful xenotransplantation among other obstacles there must be new approaches developed to regulate signaling pathways

The immune receptor Tim-3 acts as a trafficker in a Tim-3/galectin-9 autocrine loop in human myeloid leukemia cells

The immune receptor Tim-3 is often highly expressed in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells where it acts as a growth factor and inflammatory receptor. Recently, it has been demonstrated that Tim-3 forms an autocrine loop with its natural ligand galectin-9 in human AML cells. However, the pathophysiological functions of Tim-3 in human AML cells remain unclear. Here, we report for the first time that Tim-3 is required for galectin-9 secretion in human AML cells. However, this effect is cell-type specific and was found so far to be applicable only to myeloid (and not, for example, lymphoid) leukemia cells. We concluded that AML cells might use Tim-3 as a trafficker for the secretion of galectin-9 which can then be possibly used to impair the anticancer activities of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer (NK) cells

Forbidden Advertising – selling cigarette smoke

Tabak hat wie kein anderes Konsumgut über Jahrhunderte eine extreme Wandlung vollzogen – von der einstigen Heilpflanze des Orients, zum anerkannten Suchtmittel, bis hin zur propagierten Ursache einer weltweiten Epidemie. Nachdem die BRD vergeblich gegen die EU-Richtlinie geklagt hatte, wurde diese im Jahr 2007 in Deutschland in nationales Recht umgesetzt. Damit trat das Werbeverbot für Tabakerzeugnisse in Kraft, welches eine Vielzahl von Vermarktungskanälen massiv einschränkt. Zudem ist derzeit die EU-Tabakproduktrichtlinie in einem umstrittenen Revisionsverfahren, wonach bald mit zusätzlichen Restriktionen zur Tabakvermarktung zu rechnen ist. Aus aktuellem Anlass untersucht die vorliegende Arbeit die Tabakwerbung, mit dem Fokus alternative Wege und Strategien der Tabakhersteller bei der Vermarktung ihrer Produkte aufzuzeigen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt hierbei in der Untersuchung von Vermarktungskonzepten der BTL-Ebene für das Produktsegment der Zigarette, da diese nachweislich das konsum- und absatzstärkste Tabakprodukt weltweit darstellt. Um zu verstehen, worauf das restriktive politische Vorgehen bezüglich der Tabakvermarktung aufbaut, werden Theorien zum Zusammenhang zwischen Tabakwerbung- und Konsum sowie in einer vertiefenden Analyse die nationale und europäische Tabakpolitik untersucht. Im Vorwege werden außerdem Basisinformationen zur Tabakgeschichte aufbereitet und die Entstehung eines Tabakkonfliktes erläutert

Characterizing Flow and Structure of Diabetic Retinal Neovascularization after Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Pilot Study

Background/Aims. This study evaluates changes of flow and structure of diabetic retinal neovascularization (NV) treated with intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). With OCTA, retinal blood vessels are visualized at high resolution to separately look at flow and structure information without the need for dye injection. We introduce a new measurement method including and combining information of flow and structure. Methods. Retrospective observational case series. Patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) were treated with intravitreal antiVEGF injections. Retinal NV were repeatedly imaged using swept-source OCTA (Zeiss PlexElite 9000) at baseline, after initial treatment block with 3-4 monthly injections, and during a follow-up period of up to 51 weeks. Change of size and flow density of the structural and angio area of NV was assessed. Results. Nine NV in eight eyes of five patients were analyzed with a median follow-up time of 45 weeks. After the initial treatment block, en face structural area regressed, 18.7% ± 39.0% (95% CI 44.2-6.8%, p=0.26), and en face angio area regressed, 51.9% ± 29.5% (95% CI 32.6 to 71.2%, p=0.007). Flow density within the en face structural area decreased by 33% ± 19.2% (95% CI 20.5-45.5%, p=0.0077). Flow density within the en face angio area decreased by mean 17.9% ± 25.2% (95% CI 1.4-34.4%, p=0.066). In two fellow eyes, NV recurrence could be observed before the onset of vitreous bleeding in one. Conclusion. Our study introduces a new quantitative measurement for NV in PDR, combining structure and flow measurement. The structure area remained after treatment, while its flow density and angio area regressed. We propose this measurement method as a more physiological and possibly more comparable metrics