- Germany needs structural change to prevent a shift to the right, Commerzbank CEO says CNBC
- Deutsche Bank CEO says Germany risks becoming ‘the sick man of Europe’ unless structural fixes are made: ‘Something urgently needs to change here’ Fortune
- Economic growth remains a big challenge for Germany, finance minister says Reuters
- German Finance Chief Sees Slow Progress on EU’s Banking Union Bloomberg
- Germany will become the sick man of Europe without change, Deutsche Bank CEO says Forex Factory
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Tag Archives: Structural
Moore says Maryland must reckon with structural challenges facing state economy, budget – Maryland Matters
- Moore says Maryland must reckon with structural challenges facing state economy, budget Maryland Matters
- Gov. Wes Moore says Md. economy lags behind region, nation in growth The Washington Post
- Gov. Wes Moore urges ‘season of discipline’ for state, local spending; warns Maryland’s economy hasn’t kept pace with its ambition Baltimore Sun
- Governor Moore Delivers Keynote Address at the 2023 Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference – Press Releases – News – Office of Governor Wes Moore Governor Larry Hogan – Official Website for the Governor of Maryland
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Roller coaster with big crack has a second structural issue, inspectors say – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
- Roller coaster with big crack has a second structural issue, inspectors say Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
- Report: Roller coaster from viral video of cracked beam shuts down after second break WKRC TV Cincinnati
- 2nd break found on North Carolina roller coaster, weeks after Fury 325 ride was closed at Carowinds amusement park KABC-TV
- Channel 9 confirms second break in Carowinds’ Fury 325 WSOC Charlotte
- Another crack in the coaster? ‘Weld indication’ found on Cedar Fair-owned park ride after July repairs WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland
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‘Yellowjackets’ Nonbinary Star Liv Hewson on Decision to Not Submit Themselves for Emmys Consideration: “My Issue Is So Structural” – Hollywood Reporter
- ‘Yellowjackets’ Nonbinary Star Liv Hewson on Decision to Not Submit Themselves for Emmys Consideration: “My Issue Is So Structural” Hollywood Reporter
- “I Am Not Going To Entertain Anybody’s Disgust Over My Body”: Liv Hewson Spoke About Getting Top Surgery Last Year Yahoo Entertainment
- Yellowjackets’ Liv Hewson Talks Top Surgery BuzzFeed
- Yellowjackets Star Liv Hewson Calls Out ‘Disgust Reactions’ People Have to Their Top Surgery Jezebel
- ‘Yellowjackets’ Star Liv Hewson Feels ‘More Alive’ After Top Surgery: ‘Never Been Happier’ Yahoo Entertainment
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Downtown Davenport apartment building, ‘The Executive Square Building’ evacuated due to structural concern in ‘abundance of caution’, city officials say – KWQC
- Downtown Davenport apartment building, ‘The Executive Square Building’ evacuated due to structural concern in ‘abundance of caution’, city officials say KWQC
- Woman trapped in Iowa building collapse describes her fight for survival before rescuers were forced to amputate her leg CNN
- Quad Cities River Bandits helping those displaced after building collapse WQAD News 8
- Iowa Task Force One returns from responding to Davenport building collapse KCRG
- ‘There needs to be a lot of reform.’ Residents speak out at tense Davenport meeting KCAU 9
Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – pnas.org
- Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pnas.org
- Gender discrimination may be making parts of the female brain thinner Medical Xpress
- Stress caused by gender inequality is damaging women’s brains, study finds The Independent
- Experiencing Gender Discrimination May Make Parts Of Women’s Brains Thinner IFLScience
- Gender inequality ‘shrinks women’s brains’, Oxford University study finds The Telegraph
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Miami Beach condo evacuated over structural concerns
CNN
—
A Miami Beach, Florida, condominium building was evacuated Thursday after a structural inspection, with residents given just hours to leave.
City officials posted an unsafe structure notice on the Port Royale building and said damage to a concrete beam in the parking garage prompted the order for residents to leave immediately, CNN affiliate WPLG.
The order comes more than a year after 98 people were killed in nearby Surfside when a large portion of the Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the middle of the night.
Photos in an inspection report of the Miami Beach building evacuated this week show evidence of structural damage and water leaking near electrical junctions, according to the document provided to WPLG.
Inspectors said it is estimated repair work will take 10 days before the building would be ready for another inspection to see if residents can return, the report states.
The Port Royale has 164 units, WPLG reported.
Steroids Linked to Structural and Volume Changes in Brain White and Grey Matter
Summary: Steroids prescribed for a range of inflammatory conditions alter the structure and volume of grey and white matter in the brain. The findings shed light on why people who use medical steroids may experience psychological problems, including anxiety, mania, and depression.
Source: BMJ
The use of prescribed steroids, including in inhalers, is linked to changes in the structure and volume of white and grey matter in the brain, suggests the findings of the largest study of its kind, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.
The associations found might help to explain the neuropsychiatric effects, such as anxiety, depression, mania, and delirium frequently seen after long term use, say the researchers.
Their immunosuppressive properties mean that glucocorticoids, a class of synthetic steroids, are among some of the most frequently prescribed drugs. They are used to treat a wide variety of medical conditions.
The estimated annual population prevalence in high income countries of systemic (infusions and tablets) medical steroid use is thought to range between 0.5% and 3%.
While very effective, both systemic and inhaled steroids are associated with many potentially serious metabolic, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal side effects, as well as neuropsychiatric effects.
Previously published research suggests that long term medical steroid use is associated with structural abnormalities and shrinkage of certain areas of the brain. But most of these studies have involved only small numbers of people with specific conditions.
And it’s still not clear if these associations might also be observed in a broader sample of medical steroid users, including those using inhaled steroids for respiratory conditions, such as asthma.
In a bid to find out, the researchers drew on data from the UK Biobank, comprising half a million 40–69 year olds from the general population, to see if there were any detectable differences in brain volume and structure between users and non-users of systemic and inhaled steroids.
The researchers also wanted to know if steroid use might be associated with differences in processing speed and emotional responses.
The MRI brain scans of 222 people using systemic steroids and 557 using inhaled steroids were compared with those of 24,106 non-users.
None of the study participants had previously been diagnosed with neurological, psychiatric or hormonal (endocrinological) disorders or was taking mood altering drugs, such as antidepressants.
Participants filled in a questionnaire to assess certain aspects of mood over the previous fortnight.
Comparison of the MRI scan results showed that both systemic and inhaled steroid use was associated with less intact white matter structure than was seen on the scans of those not on these drugs. White matter has a role in neuronal connectivity and signalling in the brain.
The effects were greater in systemic users than in users of inhaled steroids. And further detailed analysis suggested that the effects might be even larger among long term users.
Systemic use was associated with a larger caudate compared with no use, while use of inhaled steroids was associated with a smaller amygdala. Both the caudate and amygdala are grey matter structures in the brain involved in cognitive and emotional processing.
Systemic steroid users also performed worse on a test designed to measure processing speed than non-users, and they reported significantly more depressive symptoms, apathy, restlessness and fatigue/lethargy than non-users. Inhaled steroid users reported only more tiredness/lethargy, and to a lesser degree than systemic steroid users.
“Although a causal relation between glucocorticoid use and changes in the brain is likely based on the present and previous studies, the cross-sectional nature of this study does not allow for formal conclusions on causality,” caution the researchers.
They also point to certain limitations. Only a few indicators of mood change were assessed, and only for the preceding 2 weeks; and the reported changes might have been related to the condition for which steroids were prescribed rather than to steroid use itself.
Nor were the researchers able to differentiate between steroid tablets and infusions for systemic users, all of which may have influenced the findings.
But they write:“While it remains unclear whether the observed effect sizes have clinical consequences for the population of glucocorticoid users as a whole, these findings are remarkable given the common neuropsychiatric side effects of synthetic glucocorticoids.”
And they conclude: “This study shows that both systemic and inhaled glucocorticoids are associated with an apparently widespread reduction in white matter integrity, which may in part underlie the neuropsychiatric side effects observed in patients using glucocorticoids.”
Given how widely used these drugs, both doctors and patients need to know about the possible effects on the brain, say the researchers, who now call for research into alternative treatment options.
About this neuropharmacology and neuroscience research news
Author: Caroline White
Source: BMJ
Contact: Caroline White – BMJ
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Association between use of systemic and inhaled glucocorticoids and changes in brain volume and white matter microstructure: a cross-sectional study using data from the UK Biobank” by Merel van der Meulen et al. BMJ Open
Abstract
Association between use of systemic and inhaled glucocorticoids and changes in brain volume and white matter microstructure: a cross-sectional study using data from the UK Biobank
Objective
See also
To test the hypothesis that systemic and inhaled glucocorticoid use is associated with changes in grey matter volume (GMV) and white matter microstructure.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
UK Biobank, a prospective population-based cohort study of adults recruited in the UK between 2006 and 2010.
Participants
After exclusion based on neurological, psychiatric or endocrinological history, and use of psychotropic medication, 222 systemic glucocorticoid users, 557 inhaled glucocorticoid users and 24 106 controls with available T1 and diffusion MRI data were included.
Main outcome measures
Primary outcomes were differences in 22 volumetric and 14 diffusion imaging parameters between glucocorticoid users and controls, determined using linear regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders. Secondary outcomes included cognitive functioning (six tests) and emotional symptoms (four questions).
Results
Both systemic and inhaled glucocorticoid use were associated with reduced white matter integrity (lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher mean diffusivity (MD)) compared with controls, with larger effect sizes in systemic users (FA: adjusted mean difference (AMD)=−3.7e-3, 95% CI=−6.4e-3 to 1.0e-3; MD: AMD=7.2e-6, 95% CI=3.2e-6 to 1.1e-5) than inhaled users (FA: AMD=−2.3e-3, 95% CI=−4.0e-3 to −5.7e-4; MD: AMD=2.7e-6, 95% CI=1.7e-7 to 5.2e-6). Systemic use was also associated with larger caudate GMV (AMD=178.7 mm3, 95% CI=82.2 to 275.0), while inhaled users had smaller amygdala GMV (AMD=−23.9 mm3, 95% CI=−41.5 to −6.2) than controls. As for secondary outcomes, systemic users performed worse on the symbol digit substitution task (AMD=−0.17 SD, 95% CI=−0.34 to −0.01), and reported more depressive symptoms (OR=1.76, 95% CI=1.25 to 2.43), disinterest (OR=1.84, 95% CI=1.29 to 2.56), tenseness/restlessness (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1.29 to 2.41), and tiredness/lethargy (OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.45 to 2.50) compared with controls. Inhaled users only reported more tiredness/lethargy (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.14 to 1.60).
Conclusions
Both systemic and inhaled glucocorticoid use are associated with decreased white matter integrity and limited changes in GMV. This association may contribute to the neuropsychiatric side effects of glucocorticoid medication, especially with chronic use.
There’s a Strange New Discovery About The Brain Structures Involved in Reading Skill
Our ability to look at abstract symbols and map them onto sounds is one of the key skills for becoming a competent reader. In the academic world, this is known as phonological processing, and this skill can vary from person to person, with conditions like dyslexia making it more difficult for some.
In a new study, a team of researchers tested two supposedly opposing hypotheses on how brain structures relate to reading skill, and rather strangely, found some support for both.
The human brain is naturally asymmetrical, and some of the structures on the left side are thought to be involved in language processing; according to the hypothesis called ‘cerebral lateralization’, the more asymmetry here, the better one’s reading ability.
On the other hand, it might also be that the presence of asymmetries in the left part of the brain simply reinforces the traits needed to read – what the team calls the ‘canalization hypothesis’. By that token, having more asymmetry just puts you in the average reading skill range.
It now appears that depending on the level of analysis – whether across the entire brain hemisphere or in specific regions – both hypotheses have merit.
Specifically, the team found that reading ability did indeed increase with greater asymmetry in the left hemisphere, but only when looking at the most asymmetric structure, essentially taking into account the hemisphere as a whole.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from previous research to identify asymmetrical structural differences in the brains of over 700 children and adults.
While similar to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures metabolic activity, MRI scans draw a map of the brain by revealing anatomical structures.
Participants had also been asked to perform reading ability tests, including ones that required them to sound out pseudowords: made-up words which involve a heightened degree of processing because our brains are not conditioned to them – this is called phonological decoding.
Once researchers had determined levels of brain asymmetry, they found that when a person’s most asymmetric left hemisphere brain region was considered, greater asymmetry was associated with better performance in the pseudoword reading task.
“Leftward asymmetry in the size of the superior temporal gyrus, in particular, is classically thought to reflect leftward hemispheric organization for language, which, when disrupted, contributes to poor reading skills according to a cerebral lateralization hypothesis,” the team wrote in the paper.
Under the cerebral lateralization hypothesis, each lobe of the brain is specialized in its ability to do the heavy lifting in specific cognitive tasks. The left side is generally associated with processes related to language, but previous research has suffered from having small sample sizes, and findings that also show activity in the right hemisphere when people perform language-based tasks.
If true, it’s still not clear that the functional differences between the hemispheres depend on their structural differences, but specific regions on the left side of the brain are reliably larger than those same regions on the right.
Meanwhile, the team also found that if certain specific brain regions were more exaggerated in their structural differences between the two lobes, the person was more likely to fall within the average reading ability range.
This fits in line with the canalization hypothesis, which can be visualized as a needle moving along the groove of a record, whereby it maintains a predetermined trajectory. In the case of language processing and reading, protective genetic mechanisms would kick in to develop the necessary brain asymmetries.
Because these mechanisms are reliably expressed, phonological processing is typically constrained within a normal range. The absence of these asymmetries would allow for the unconstrained expression of impaired or elevated abilities.
“Our findings indicate that, at a population level, structural brain asymmetries are related to the normal development of a speech sound processing ability that is important for establishing proficient reading,” says lead author Mark Eckert from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Strangely, performance in the pseudoword reading task was not related to asymmetries in regions of the left hemisphere that are known to be important for specific language functions. This leaves an open question for exactly how these structural asymmetries, at larger scales, affect people’s reading abilities.
“Cerebral lateralization and canalization hypotheses may both have validity but at different scales of cerebral organization and function,” the team concludes.
“A greater degree of asymmetry within the left hemisphere may allow for more efficient phonological processing, perhaps due to greater hemispheric specialization.”
The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Russia central bank warns of ‘large-scale structural’ economic transformation
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia February 18, 2022.
Mikhail Klimentyev | Sputnik | via Reuters
The Central Bank of Russia on Friday held its monetary policy steady and maintained its key interest rate at 20%, but warned of considerable uncertainty as the economy undergoes a “large-scale structural transformation.”
In late February, shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the CBR more than doubled the country’s key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% in an effort to prop up its plunging currency and mitigate the impact of tough international sanctions.
In its statement Friday, the CBR said the sharp increase in its key rate had “helped sustain financial stability.”
“The Russian economy is entering the phase of a large-scale structural transformation, which will be accompanied by a temporary but inevitable period of increased inflation, mainly related to adjustments of relative prices across a wide range of goods and services,” it said.
“The Bank of Russia’s monetary policy is set to enable a gradual adaptation of the economy to new conditions and a return of annual inflation to 4% in 2024.”
The ruble sank to record lows against the dollar on the back of a barrage of new sanctions and penalties imposed on Moscow by the U.S. and European allies, before moderating in recent weeks. The currency sat at just over 104 to the dollar following the decision on Friday.
Earlier this week, Russia managed to stave off a historic debt default by completing some of its sovereign bond payments in dollars, Reuters reported. The Russian finance ministry said on Friday that it had met its obligations to pay coupons on dollar-denominated eurobonds in full.
The CBR’s large quantities of foreign currency reserves were targeted by western sanctions that aimed to render them almost inaccessible, preventing policymakers from mitigating the depreciation in domestic assets.
Three takeaways
While the decision was expected, the central bank’s statement gave some insight into how it views the economic outlook for Russia at present.
William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said there were three key takeaways, the first of which was that the central bank seems to think it has done enough with last month’s emergency hike to stabilize the financial system and prevent a run on Russian banks.
“Second, the CBR sees sanctions and a shift by the Russian government towards autarky and isolationism as something that is here for the long haul,” Jackson said, noting that the statement mentioned the “large-scale structural transformation” on several occasions.
“And third, despite that, policymakers at the CBR are trying to maintain a semblance of macroeconomic orthodoxy. The over-riding focus of the statement was on the balance of inflation risks and that monetary policy would remain tight to prevent second-round effects from the current inflation spike from taking hold.”
This may indicate that policymakers aim to roll back the current capital controls, revert to a floating ruble and return the focus of monetary policy to inflation-targeting eventually, Jackson suggested.