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The negative interest rate, like zero-close, is an old-fashioned phenomenon in economic policy, which is increasingly involved in post-crisis monetary policy, hiterest, as the tune value of money, can only be positive in some macromodels, which is linked to the liquidity premium and the "impotence factor". Anyone who wants to use money to buy goods in the present has to pay a premium to those who are willing to give up on it. At the same time, monetary practice has evolved in the opposite dir ection in several countries over the past period. One of the most spectacular appearances of the modem history of the negative "savings saver" interest rate is the negative rate imposed on the depositor at the central bank. The negative interest rate was used by the major banks, the ECB, the Swiss and Japanese central banks. After the crisis in 2007, the central banks of the developed world kept their standard rates close to zero for a long tune after 2009. Following the crisis, the central bank's rescue operation proved to be successful in the fact that the world economy did not collapse, no second serious economic crisis happened. The "success", however, has a price: the fact that central banks can not raise interest rates because they would risk a recession instead of stagnation. This situation does not cause any problems, while the rise in inflation does not necessitate interest rate hikes. For a significant part of the world economy, there is no need to keep inflation threatened for some time, but the trend of interest rate rise has been observed in several countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objectives of these investigations completed on workplaces in the Hungarian mining industry were to characterize the physiological strain of workers by means of work pulse and to examine the effects of work-related psychological factors.Material and Methods: Continuous heart rate (HR) recording was completed on 71 miners over a total of 794 shifts between 1987 and 1992 in mining plants of the Hungarian mining industry using a 6-channel recorder - Bioport (ZAK, Germany). The work processes were simultaneously documented by video recording along with drawing up the traditional ergonomic workday schedule. All workers passed health evaluation for fitness for work. The effects of different psychological factors (simulated danger, "instrument stress," presence of managers, and effect of prior involvement in accidents as well as different mining technologies and work place illumination) on the work pulse were evaluated. The statistical analysis was completed using SPSS software (version 13.0, SPSS Inc., USA).Results: The work-related physiological strain differed between work places with different mining technologies in groups of 12-18 workers. The work pulse was lowest in bauxite mining (ΔHR = 22±8.9 bpm) and highest in drift drilling in dead rock with electric drilling machine (ΔHR = 30±6.9 bpm). During sham alarm situation the work pulse was significantly higher than during normal activities with the same physical task (ΔHR = 36.7±4.8 bpm vs. 25.8±1.6 bpm, p < 0.001). When work was performed under different psychological stress, the work pulse was consistently higher, while improving the work place illumination decreased the physiological strain appreciably (ΔHR (median, 25-75 percentiles) = 23, 20-26 bmp vs. 28, 25-31.3 bpm, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Recording the heart rate during whole-shift work along with the work conditions gives reliable results and helps isolating factors that contribute to increased strain. The results can be used to implement preventive and health promotion measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:FDG PET-CT is a global, noninvasive, sensitive method to determine the location and activity of inflammatory lesions. Segmental FDG uptake is proportional with immune cell infiltration of bowel. Our aim was to evaluate prospectively the role of PET in patients with active Crohn’s disease (CD) before and after one year’s biological therapy, and to compare simple endoscopic score for CD (SES-CD), CD activity index (CDAI) and global PET scores. We also analyzed the prognostic value of initial PET scores. Patients:Twelve patients were selected: six male/six female, ages between 18 and 39, average: 24 years, with CDAI values >300. Methods:We scored the FDG uptake in the small intestine and the four colon segments (on a scale 0–3 for each), and summed them thus forming a global PET score. The scoring was based on the maximal standardized uptake value of the intestinal segment, related to the SUVmax of the liver (as a reference for normal tissue activity). The SES-CD, CDAI and global PET scores before and after treatment were statistically compared. Results:There were significant changes in CDAI and SES-CD after therapy, PET scores improved only in patients’ subgroup with high (>4) initial PET score, indicating good prognosis of biological treatment. In active disease, PET was more informative than endoscopy to access the extent of the inflammation, and small intestine involvement. Conclusions:FDG PET-CT score is a promising, noninvasive complementary method in the staging, treatment planning and follow-up of CD. Limitation of the study is the small number of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The pathogenesis of Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) is not completely understood. Coexistent hyperfunction of the thyroid gland is frequent; however, GO may also coexist with hypo- or euthyrodism. The course of GO is largely independent of thyroid function, although elevated serum TSH is known to negatively interfere with GO course. GO is severe in 10% of the cases; sight threatening complications may also develop. A successful therapy of GO requires the assesment of both the severity and activity of orbital inflammation. Based on relevant studies and our own experiences, the possible management choices are reviewed here. For this purpose, we compare the clinical value of imaging techniques for detecting the activity of the disease. During the last 15 years, we used 99mTc-DTPA retrobulbar SPECT routinely in more than 1400 patients to facilitate the right therapeutic decision. This diagnostic utility simplified management decisions compared to previously applied alternative techniques. We recommended the routine use of 99mTc-DTPA retrobulbar SPECT for the evaluation and follow-up of GO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]