Housing Construction Cycles and Interest Rates

Housing investment is one of the most cyclical components of GDP. Much of that cyclicality stems from the sector’s sensitivity to interest rates, but it is also possible that construction lags generate intrinsic cyclicality in this sector. Although the housing sector is generally considered to be more interest-sensitive than the economy as a whole, the degree of this sensitivity seems to vary between countries and through time. In this paper, we model the housing markets in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada using a structural three-stage least-squares system. We document the variations in the housing sector’s cyclicality and sensitivity to movements in interest rates, and attempt to determine the underlying causes of these differences.cycles; housing construction; interest rates

Moving Ahead Amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Trends

Examines fiscal year 2011 trends in state efforts to control Medicaid spending, reform payment and delivery systems, and prepare for healthcare reform implementation, as well as projections in spending and enrollment growth for fiscal year 2012

Agnogene Deletion in a Novel Pathogenic JC Virus Isolate Impairs VP1 Expression and Virion Production

Infection of glial cells by the human polyomavirus JC (JCV) causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCV Encephalopathy (JCVE) is a newly identified disease characterized by JCV infection of cortical pyramidal neurons. The virus JCVCPN associated with JCVE contains a unique 143 base pair deletion in the agnogene. Contrary to most JCV brain isolates, JCVCPN has an archetype-like regulatory region (RR) usually found in kidney strains. This provided us with the unique opportunity to determine for the first time how each of these regions contributed to the phenotype of JCVCPN. We characterized the replication of JCVCPN compared to the prototype virus JCVMad-1 in kidney, glial and neuronal cell lines. We found that JCVCPN is capable of replicating viral DNA in all cell lines tested, but is unable to establish persistent infection seen with JCVMad-1. JCVCPN does not have an increased ability to replicate in the neuronal cell line tested. To determine whether this phenotype results from the archetype-like RR or the agnogene deletion, we generated chimeric viruses between JCVCPN of JCVMad-1. We found that the deletion in the agnogene is the predominant cause of the inability of the virus to maintain a persistent infection, with the introduction of a full length agnogene, either with or without agnoprotein expression, rescues the replication of JCVCPN. Studying this naturally occurring pathogenic variant of JCV provides a valuable tool for understanding the functions of the agnogene and RR form in JCV replication

What is the appropriate diagnostic evaluation of fibroids?

Although transvaginal sonography (TVS) has inconsistent sensitivity (0.21-1.00) and specificity (0.53-1.00), its cost-efficiency and noninvasiveness make it the best initial test for ruling in fibroid disease (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on expert opinion, a systematic review, and prospective studies). Sonohysterography (SHG) and hysteroscopy have superior sensitivity, specificity, and more discriminating positive and negative likelihood ratios for diagnosing fibroids than does TVS (SOR: B, systematic review). SHG is less painful, less invasive, and more cost-effective than hysteroscopy (SOR: B; single, prospective comparative study and cost comparison). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had comparable precision to TVS in a single study, but it is too expensive to be a good initial test for fibroids (SOR: C, expert opinion and an uncontrolled prospective study). One study reported a strong correlation between ultrasound and bimanual examination (SOR: C, retrospective case review)

Continental breakup and UHP rock exhumation in action: GPS results from the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea

We show results from a network of campaign Global Positioning System (GPS) sites in the Woodlark Rift, southeastern Papua New Guinea, in a transition from seafloor spreading to continental rifting. GPS velocities indicate anticlockwise rotation (at 2–2.7°/Myr, relative to Australia) of crustal blocks north of the rift, producing 10–15 mm/yr of extension in the continental rift, increasing to 20–40 mm/yr of seafloor spreading at the Woodlark Spreading Center. Extension in the continental rift is distributed among multiple structures. These data demonstrate that low-angle normal faults in the continents, such as the Mai'iu Fault, can slip at high rates nearing 10 mm/yr. Extensional deformation observed in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, the site of the world's only actively exhuming Ultra-High Pressure (UHP) rock terrane, supports the idea that extensional processes play a critical role in UHP rock exhumation. GPS data do not require significant interseismic coupling on faults in the region, suggesting that much of the deformation may be aseismic. Westward transfer of deformation from the Woodlark Spreading Center to the main plate boundary fault in the continental rift (the Mai'iu fault) is accommodated by clockwise rotation of a tectonic block beneath Goodenough Bay, and by dextral strike slip on transfer faults within (and surrounding) Normanby Island. Contemporary extension rates in the Woodlark Spreading Center are 30–50% slower than those from seafloor spreading-derived magnetic anomalies. The 0.5 Ma to present seafloor spreading estimates for the Woodlark Basin may be overestimated, and a reevaluation of these data in the context of the GPS rates is warranted

Multivariable flexible modelling for estimating complete, smoothed life tables for sub-national populations.

BACKGROUND: The methods currently available to estimate age- and sex-specific mortality rates for sub-populations are subject to a number of important limitations. We propose two alternative multivariable approaches: a relational model and a Poisson model both using restricted cubic splines. METHODS: We evaluated a flexible Poisson and flexible relational model against the Elandt-Johnson approach in a simulation study using 100 random samples of population and death counts, with different sampling proportions and data arrangements. Estimated rates were compared to the original mortality rates using goodness-of-fit measures and life expectancy. We further investigated an approach for determining optimal knot locations in the Poisson model. RESULTS: The flexible Poisson model outperformed the flexible relational and Elandt-Johnson methods with the smallest sample of data (1%). With the largest sample of data (20%), the flexible Poisson and flexible relational models performed comparably, though the flexible Poisson model displayed a slight advantage. Both approaches tended to underestimate infant mortality and thereby overestimate life expectancy at birth. The flexible Poisson model performed much better at young ages when knots were fixed a priori. For ages 30 and above, results were similar to the model with no fixed knots. CONCLUSIONS: The flexible Poisson model is recommended because it derives robust and unbiased estimates for sub-populations without making strong assumptions about age-specific mortality profiles. Fixing knots a priori in the final model greatly improves fit at the young ages

Exploration of potential objective and subjective daily indicators of sleep health in normal sleepers

Purpose: While the concept of "sleep health" has only recently been defined, how it relates to both subjective and objective sleep parameters is yet to be determined. The current study aimed to identify potential indicators of poorer sleep health, from subjective and objective daily sleep characteristics, in normal sleepers. Participants and methods: Eighty-three individuals aged 18-65 years with no history of sleep disorders, chronic physical or psychiatric illnesses, or substance misuse were recruited from the North of England. Secondary analysis of a series of standardized studies, which included psychometrics, actigraphy, and an in-lab polysomnography (PSG) component, was undertaken. Questions from several psychometric sleep scales were combined to create an aggregate measure of sleep health status. Subjective sleep continuity was assessed by 2-week sleep diary. Objective measures comprised two continuous weeks of actigraphy and two nights of in-lab PSG. Results: Significant negative correlations were evident between sleep health scores and both diary-derived subjective sleep latency (SL; diary) and actigraphy-derived SL (actigraphy). This was reflected by independent samples t-test between high and low sleep health groups. No relationships between sleep health and PSG parameters were observed. Regression analyses indicated sleep latencies from both the sleep diary and actigraphy as significant predictors, explaining 28.2% of the variance in sleep health. Conclusion: Perceived increases in SL appear to be a primary indicator of declining sleep health in normal sleepers. The majority of objective sleep parameters, including gross PSG sleep parameters, appear not to be sensitive to sleep health status in normal sleepers. Future research is needed to understand the physical and psychological correlates of sleep health in larger samples

Binding of Extracellular Maspin to 1 Integrins Inhibits Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Migration

Maspin is a serpin that has multiple effects on cell behavior, including inhibition of migration. How maspin mediates these diverse effects remains unclear, as it is devoid of protease inhibitory activity. We have previously shown that maspin rapidly inhibits the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), suggesting the involvement of direct interactions with cell surface proteins. Here, using immunofluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that maspin binds specifically to the surface of VSMC in the dedifferentiated, but not the differentiated, phenotype. Ligand blotting of VSMC lysates revealed the presence of several maspin-binding proteins, with a protein of 150 kDa differentially expressed between the two VSMC phenotypes. Western blotting suggested that this protein was the ß1 integrin subunit, and subsequently both a3ß1 and a5ß1, but not avß3, were shown to associate with maspin by coimmunoprecipitation. Specific binding of these integrins was also observed using maspin-affinity chromatography, using HT1080 cell lysates. Direct binding of maspin to a5ß1 was confirmed using a recombinant a5ß1-Fc fusion protein. Using conformation-dependent anti-ß1 antibodies, maspin binding to VSMC was found to lead to a decrease in the activation status of the integrin. The functional involvement of a5ß1 in mediating the effect of maspin was established by the inhibition of migration of CHO cells overexpressing human a5 integrin, but not those lacking a5 expression. Our observations suggest that maspin engages in specific interactions with a limited number of integrins on VSMC, leading to their inactivation, and that these interactions are responsible for the effects of maspin in the pericellular environment

A hemolytic anti‐LKE associated with a rare LKE‐negative, “weak P” red blood cell phenotype: alloanti‐LKE and alloanti‐P recognize galactosylgloboside and monosialogalactosylgloboside (LKE) antigens

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110583/1/trf12772.pd