¿Quién le pone el cascabel al gato? Un análisis comparativo de las agencias de garantía de la calidad de la educación superior

Higher education quality assurance agencies have expanded around the world in a very short time as an attempt to professionalize the public regulation of processes of enormous complexity in a sector characterized by a proverbial autonomy of institutions. This contribution presents a comparative analysis of the reasons that have led to such an expansion, as well as the convergences and divergences that are emerging worldwide. Despite the contextual differences, in which the various configurations of agencies operate, the truth is that there are common problems that are practically universal, including the question of their independence and their relative inability to externally be accountable. Finally, the contribution sheds light on the main criticisms they receive, which relate primarily to the risk of regulatory capture by the higher education institutions themselves, which they are supposed to regulate.

The Persistent Black-White Gap in and Weakening Link between Expecting to Move and Actually Moving

This paper leverages four decades of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to document Black-White gaps in the translation of mobility expectations into actual mobility, track those racial gaps over time in the context of declining mobility among all Americans, and identify a substantial weakening in the ability of both Black and White householders to move when they expect to. Results show a substantial racial gap in the realization of mobility expectations with foundations in the relative inability of Black householders to leverage socioeconomic resources in segmented housing markets. There is no indication of significant improvement or growth in this gap over time. While householders’ expressed expectations are the best predictor of future mobility, this predictive relationship has weakened significantly since 1970, primarily because of a decline in mobility among expectant householders. Trends in the expectation of mobility offer support for the notion that declining mobility is indicative of voluntary “rootedness” among Whites but also suggest that a substantial share of Americans (and Blacks in particular) are increasingly likely to be “stuck” expecting to move but unable to do so.

Analysis and Forecast of Tracking Performance of Hong Kong Exchange-Traded Funds: Evidence from Tracker Fund and X iShares A50

This study examines the tracking performance of two Hong Kong exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Tracker Fund and X iShares A50. The turnover of these two ETFs was more than half the total turnover of the 141 ETFs in the Hong Kong market during 2005–2013. Tracking performance is assessed using pricing deviation, which is found to be nonzero and predictable. This indicates that the premium paid by investors is of considerable economic interest. The significant differences in the tracking performance of physical ETFs and synthetic ETFs highlight the relative inability of synthetic ETF to track the market. Additionally, we document the existence of co-integration between the ETF prices and stock market prices. An econometric model is estimated to forecast the pricing deviation, which shows different price dynamics between the two ETFs, but an absence of arbitrage opportunities. The time series regression model of pricing deviation is significantly influenced by market value, dividend yield, trading volume, bid-ask spread, and market risk. The size of the regression coefficients indicates that synthetic ETFs have relatively poor ability to track the market during market fluctuations.

HIV Inhibition by Lactobacilli: Easier in a Test Tube Than in Real Life

ABSTRACT A lactobacillus-dominant vaginal microbiota has been shown to decrease heterosexual HIV transmission. Nunn et al. now report that a vaginal microbiota dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with a relative inability of HIV pseudoviral particles to transverse cervicovaginal mucus (CVM) in vitro [mBio 6(5):e01084-15, 2015, doi:10.1128/mBio.01084-15]. The purported inhibitory mechanism is the interaction between carboxyl groups present on HIV and in CVM that occurred only under acidic conditions when carboxyl groups were protonated. L. crispatus produces high levels of lactic acid and results in the lowest vaginal pH when it is the dominant vaginal bacterium. In addition, high levels of lactic acid inhibit the proliferation of other bacteria that might negatively affect CVM structure. The utility of enhancing L. crispatus dominance to inhibit HIV transmission awaits assessment of the influence of ejaculated semen on this property and investigations on the role of Lactobacillus products such as d-lactic acid in this property.

Sympathetic control of reflex cutaneous vasoconstriction in human aging

This Synthesis highlights a series of recent studies that has systematically interrogated age-related deficits in cold-induced skin vasoconstriction. In response to cold stress, a reflex increase in sympathetic nervous system activity mediates reductions in skin blood flow. Reflex vasoconstriction during cold exposure is markedly impaired in aged skin, contributing to the relative inability of healthy older adults to maintain core temperature during mild cold stress in the absence of appropriate behavioral thermoregulation. This compromised reflex cutaneous vasoconstriction in healthy aging can occur as a result of functional deficits at multiple points along the efferent sympathetic reflex axis, including blunted sympathetic outflow directed to the skin vasculature, reduced presynaptic neurotransmitter synthesis and/or release, and altered end-organ responsiveness at several loci, in addition to potential alterations in afferent thermoreceptor function. Arguments have been made that the relative inability of aged skin to appropriately constrict is due to the aging cutaneous arterioles themselves, whereas other data point to the neural circuitry controlling those vessels. The argument presented herein provides strong evidence for impaired efferent sympathetic control of the peripheral cutaneous vasculature during whole body cold exposure as the primary mechanism responsible for attenuated vasoconstriction.

Schizophrenia as a disturbance of cortical sensory maps

Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by a variety of symptoms, which among others include hallucinations, delusions and passivity experiences. It has been found that individuals with schizophrenia misattribute their own thoughts and actions to an outside agency (source monitoring deficits), which could account for psychotic experiences such as that of hearing voices. In order to explain the source-monitoring deficits as well as psychosis, it has been proposed that mechanisms that enable anticipation and recognition of sensory consequences of one’s own actions are impaired in schizophrenia. Importantly, such mechanisms may require accurate cortical sensory representations such as in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). The establishment and maintenance of cortical sensory representations has been found to utilize a sleep-related brain rhythm known as spindling. Namely, in the perinatal period in humans and animals, and possibly also thereafter, spontaneous activity in the sensory periphery drives spindle activity in the developing cortical sensory areas, which then contributes to the formation of sensory representations that match bodily features. For example, muscle twitch-spindle sequences during sleep facilitate the formation and maintenance of S1 in accordance with the layout of musculature. This process has been proposed to continue throughout the lifespan and may be particularly important during periods of bodily changes (adolescence, menopause). In schizophrenia, the amount of sleep spindle activity is markedly reduced, which would be expected to result in insufficient cortical sensory representations and have relevance for the relative inability of individuals with schizophrenia to accurately recognize self-initiated actions.

Innate Immunity against Granulibacter bethesdensis, an Emerging Gram-Negative Bacterial Pathogen

Acetic acid bacteria were previously considered nonpathogenic in humans. However, over the past decade, five genera ofAcetobacteraceaehave been isolated from patients with inborn or iatrogenic immunodeficiencies. Here, we describe the first studies of the interactions of the human innate immune system with a member of this bacterial family,Granulibacter bethesdensis, an emerging pathogen in patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Efficient phagocytosis ofG. bethesdensisby normal and CGD polymorphonuclear leukocytes (CGD PMN) required heat-labile serum components (e.g., C3), and binding of C3 and C9 toG. bethesdensiswas detected by immunoblotting. However, this organism survived in human serum concentrations of ≥90%, indicating a high degree of serum resistance. Consistent with the clinical host tropism ofG. bethesdensis, CGD PMN were unable to kill this organism, while normal PMN, in the presence of serum, reduced the number of CFU by about 50% after a 24-h coculture. This finding, together with the observations thatG. bethesdensiswas sensitive to H2O2but resistant to LL-37, a human cationic antimicrobial peptide, suggests an inherent resistance to O2-independent killing. Interestingly, 10 to 100 times greater numbers ofG. bethesdensiswere required to achieve the same level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production induced byEscherichia coliin normal PMN. In addition to the relative inability of the organism to elicit production of PMN ROS,G. bethesdensisinhibited both constitutive and FAS-induced PMN apoptosis. These properties of reduced PMN activation and resistance to nonoxidative killing mechanisms likely play an important role inG. bethesdensispathogenesis.

Niezdolność absolutna czy również niezdolność relatywna?

The article will be concerned the consensus inability from Can. 1095 No. 3 of the Code of Canon Law from 1983. The main theme issue asks the question if the nullity of the marriage causes only the absolute inability of the counterparty, i.e., preventing intended from taking the essential obligations of marriage regardless of who provides marriage, or whether it also causes the inability invalid relative, i.e., preventing intended from undertaking these obligations only in relation to a particular partner. Because there is the agreement among the canonists and ecclesiastical judges as to whether the inability to take significant absolute responsibilities, so understood, invalidate the marriage, it actually boils down to the question whether the relative inability is to be taken into the account when determining the invalidity of the can. 1095 No. 3 of the Code of Canon Law? It is possible to identify the supporters and opponents of the opinion on the relevance of incapacitas relativa, both in doctrine and in jurisprudence. But they are in the vast minority. The article presents their arguments and signalizes the errors or dangers which include the thesis about the relative adequacy of incapacity. Because the key to resolving the issue are the concepts of the marriage, its nature, subject to consent so the compilation begins with these issues in the context of the obstacles impotence (impotentia coeundi).

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent myeloid clonal hemopathies with relatively heterogeneous spectrums of presentation. The major clinical problems in these disorders are morbidities caused by patients' cytopenias and the potential for MDS to evolve into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Managing MDS is complicated by the generally advanced age of patients, attendant non-hematologic comorbidities, and older patients' relative inability to tolerate some therapies. In addition, when the illness progresses into AML, these patients experience lower response rates to standard therapy than patients with de novo AML. Important changes from the 2008 version of the guidelines include the addition of lenalidomide as a possible treatment for symptomatically anemic non-del(5q) patients whose anemia does not respond to initial therapy. For the most recent version of the guidelines, please visit NCCN.org