InThe New Masters of Capital, Timothy J. Sinclair examines a key aspect of the global economy-the rating agencies. In the global economy, trust is formalized in the daily operations of such firms as ...Moody's and Standard & Poor's, which continuously monitor the financial health of bond-issuers ranging from private corporations to local and national governments. Their judgments affect unimaginably large sums, approximately $30 trillion in outstanding debt issues, according to a recent Moody's estimate. The difference between an AA and a BB rating may cost millions of dollars in interest payments or determine if a corporation or government can even issue bonds.
Without bond rating agencies, there would be no standard means to compare risks in the global economy, and international investment would be problematic. Most observers assume that the agencies are neutral and scientific, and that they interpret their role in narrowly economic terms. But these agencies, by their nature, wield extraordinary power and exert massive influence over public policy. Sinclair offers a highly accessible account of these institutions, their origins, and the rating processes they use to judge creditworthiness. Illustrated with a wide range of cases, this book offers a fresh assessment of the role of an often-overlooked institution in the dynamics of modern global capitalism.
The British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines specify the scope and targets of treatment for bipolar disorder. The third version is based explicitly on the available evidence and ...presented, like previous Clinical Practice Guidelines, as recommendations to aid clinical decision making for practitioners: it may also serve as a source of information for patients and carers, and assist audit. The recommendations are presented together with a more detailed review of the corresponding evidence. A consensus meeting, involving experts in bipolar disorder and its treatment, reviewed key areas and considered the strength of evidence and clinical implications. The guidelines were drawn up after extensive feedback from these participants. The best evidence from randomized controlled trials and, where available, observational studies employing quasi-experimental designs was used to evaluate treatment options. The strength of recommendations has been described using the GRADE approach. The guidelines cover the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, clinical management, and strategies for the use of medicines in short-term treatment of episodes, relapse prevention and stopping treatment. The use of medication is integrated with a coherent approach to psychoeducation and behaviour change.
Insects in Fluctuating Thermal Environments Colinet, Hervé; Sinclair, Brent J; Vernon, Philippe ...
Annual review of entomology,
01/2015, Letnik:
60, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
All climate change scenarios predict an increase in both global temperature means and the magnitude of seasonal and diel temperature variation. The nonlinear relationship between temperature and ...biological processes means that fluctuating temperatures lead to physiological, life history, and ecological consequences for ectothermic insects that diverge from those predicted from constant temperatures. Fluctuating temperatures that remain within permissive temperature ranges generally improve performance. By contrast, those which extend to stressful temperatures may have either positive impacts, allowing repair of damage accrued during exposure to thermal extremes, or negative impacts from cumulative damage during successive exposures. We discuss the mechanisms underlying these differing effects. Fluctuating temperatures could be used to enhance or weaken insects in applied rearing programs, and any prediction of insect performance in the field-including models of climate change or population performance-must account for the effect of fluctuating temperatures.
Coral reef ecosystems have suffered an unprecedented loss of habitat-forming hard corals in recent decades. While marine conservation has historically focused on passive habitat protection, demand ...for and interest in active restoration has been growing in recent decades. However, a disconnect between coral restoration practitioners, coral reef managers and scientists has resulted in a disjointed field where it is difficult to gain an overview of existing knowledge. To address this, we aimed to synthesise the available knowledge in a comprehensive global review of coral restoration methods, incorporating data from the peer-reviewed scientific literature, complemented with grey literature and through a survey of coral restoration practitioners. We found that coral restoration case studies are dominated by short-term projects, with 60% of all projects reporting less than 18 months of monitoring of the restored sites. Similarly, most projects are relatively small in spatial scale, with a median size of restored area of 100 m2. A diverse range of species are represented in the dataset, with 229 different species from 72 coral genera. Overall, coral restoration projects focused primarily on fast-growing branching corals (59% of studies), and report survival between 60 and 70%. To date, the relatively young field of coral restoration has been plagued by similar 'growing pains' as ecological restoration in other ecosystems. These include 1) a lack of clear and achievable objectives, 2) a lack of appropriate and standardised monitoring and reporting and, 3) poorly designed projects in relation to stated objectives. Mitigating these will be crucial to successfully scale up projects, and to retain public trust in restoration as a tool for resilience based management. Finally, while it is clear that practitioners have developed effective methods to successfully grow corals at small scales, it is critical not to view restoration as a replacement for meaningful action on climate change.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disorder characterised by raised intracranial pressure that predominantly affects young, obese women. Pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, but ...several causal factors have been proposed. Symptoms can include headaches, visual loss, pulsatile tinnitus, and back and neck pain, but the clinical presentation is highly variable. Although few studies have been done to support evidence-based management, several recent advances have the potential to enhance understanding of the causes of the disease and to guide treatment decisions. Investigators of the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Treatment Trial (IIHTT) reported beneficial effects of acetazolamide in patients with mild visual loss. Studies have also established weight loss as an effective disease-modifying treatment, and further clinical trials to investigate new treatments are underway. The incidence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is expected to increase as rates of obesity increase; efforts to reduce diagnostic delays and identify new, effective approaches to treatment will be key to meeting the needs of a growing number of patients.
Abstract Diabetes increases the risk of physical dysfunction and disability. Diabetes-related complications and coexisting morbidities partially explain the deterioration in physical function. The ...decline in muscle mass, strength and function associated with diabetes leads to sarcopenia, frailty and eventually disability. Frailty acts as a mediator in the pathogenesis of disability in older people with diabetes and its measurement in routine daily practice is recommended. Frailty is a dynamic process which progresses from a robust condition to a pre-frail stage then frailty and eventually disability. Therefore, a multimodal intervention which includes adequate nutrition, exercise training, good glycaemic control and the use of appropriate hypoglycemic medications may help delay or prevent the progression to disability.
Fenton's reagent was used to isolate microplastics from organic-rich wastewater. The catalytic reaction did not affect microplastic chemistry or size, enabling its use as a pre-treatment method for ...focal plane array-based micro-FT-IR imaging. Compared with previously described microplastic treatment methods, Fenton's reagent offers a considerable reduction in sample preparation times.
The health benefits of fish oil, and its omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content, have attracted much scientific attention in the last four decades. Fish oils that contain higher ...amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) than docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3), in a distinctive ratio of 18/12, are typically the most abundantly available and are commonly studied. Although the two fatty acids have traditionally been considered together, as though they were one entity, different physiological effects of EPA and DHA have recently been reported. New oils containing a higher quantity of DHA compared with EPA, such as fractionated and concentrated fish oil, tuna oil, calamari oil and microalgae oil, are increasingly becoming available on the market, and other oils, including those extracted from genetically modified oilseed crops, soon to come. This systematic review focuses on the effects of high DHA fish oils on various human health conditions, such as the heart and cardiovascular system, the brain and visual function, inflammation and immune function and growth/Body Mass Index. Although inconclusive results were reported in several instances, and inconsistent outcomes observed in others, current data provides substantiated evidence in support of DHA being a beneficial bioactive compound for heart, cardiovascular and brain function, with different, and at times complementary, effects compared with EPA. DHA has also been reported to be effective in slowing the rate of cognitive decline, while its possible effects on depression disorders are still unclear. Interestingly, gender- and age- specific divergent roles for DHA have also been reported. This review provides a comprehensive collection of evidence and a critical summary of the documented physiological effects of high DHA fish oils for human health.
PDF
