Modelling monetary transmission in UK manufacturing industry

This paper studies the transmission of monetary policy to industrial output in the UK. In order to capture asymmetries, a system of threshold equations is considered. However, unlike previous research, endogenous threshold parameters are allowed to be different for each equation. This approach is consistent with economic intuition and is shown to be of tangible importance after suitable econometric evaluation. Results show evidence of cross-sectional differences across industries and asymmetries in some sectors. These findings contribute to the debate about the importance of alternative economic theories to explain these asymmetries and support the use of a sectorally disaggregated approach to the analysis of monetary transmission

The Sixth Pillar of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: Balancing Effective Enforcement with Financial Privacy

The U.S. government has responded to the increase of financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing, by requiring that financial institutions implement anti-money laundering compliance programs within their institutions. Most recently, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network exercised its regulatory powers, as authorized by the Treasury Department, by proposing regulations that now explicitly add customer due diligence to the preexisting anti-money laundering regime. The policy behind the government’s legislative and regulatory measures is clear—financial institutions must ensure that they are protected from and not aiding in the illegal efforts of criminals. The complexity and insidiousness of these financial crimes makes it difficult for the government to act solely and without the compliance of financial institutions. Although national security and the protection of the global economy are urgent priorities, all legislative actions or considerations need to be sensitive to personal privacy. This Note examines the criminal activity and legislative history that has necessitated the proposal of such regulations, the burdens that compliance places on financial institutions, and the technology that aids these financial institutions in their compliance efforts. As a result of these compliance obligations and the potential penalties for non-compliance, customer privacy is not always guaranteed. Existing privacy laws do not sufficiently ensure that customer financial information is adequately protected; rather, these privacy laws allow privacy invasions for the sake of compliance with anti-money laundering legislation and, as a result, are often inadequate and insufficient when compared to international privacy schemes. It is important to find a balance between the need to protect national security, the requirements placed on financial institutions, and the rights customers have to financial privacy. The global nature of financial networks and of these illicit activities warrants concerted efforts by governments domestically and abroad to ensure that compliance does not result in unwarranted financial privacy invasions. Until a global system can be established, this Note proposes that the currently proposed regulations be amended to mandate privacy programs within financial institutions. Financial institutions should develop privacy policies and procedures that will work with their already existing anti-money laundering compliance programs and should ensure that their compliance and privacy focused personnel coordinate their efforts so that regulatory compliance neither detrimentally impacts the way they conduct their business nor betrays their customers’ right to privacy

Porting a Network Cryptographic Service to the RMC2000: A Case Study in Embedded Software Development

This paper describes our experience porting a transport-layer cryptography service to an embedded microcontroller. We describe some key development issues and techniques involved in porting networked software to a connected, limited resource device such as the Rabbit RMC2000 we chose for this case study. We examine the effectiveness of a few proposed porting strategies by examining important program and run-time characteristics

A personalized intervention to prevent depression in primary care based on risk predictive algorithms and decision support systems: protocol of the e-predictD study

The predictD is an intervention implemented by general practitioners (GPs) to prevent depression, which reduced the incidence of depression-anxiety and was cost-effective. The e-predictD study aims to design, develop, and evaluate an evolved predictD intervention to prevent the onset of major depression in primary care based on Information and Communication Technologies, predictive risk algorithms, decision support systems (DSSs), and personalized prevention plans (PPPs). A multicenter cluster randomized trial with GPs randomly assigned to the e-predictD intervention + care-as-usual (CAU) group or the active-control + CAU group and 1-year follow-up is being conducted. The required sample size is 720 non-depressed patients (aged 18–55 years), with moderate-to-high depression risk, under the care of 72 GPs in six Spanish cities. The GPs assigned to the e-predictD-intervention group receive brief training, and those assigned to the control group do not. Recruited patients of the GPs allocated to the e-predictD group download the e-predictD app, which incorporates validated risk algorithms to predict depression, monitoring systems, and DSSs. Integrating all inputs, the DSS automatically proposes to the patients a PPP for depression based on eight intervention modules: physical exercise, social relationships, improving sleep, problem-solving, communication skills, decision-making, assertiveness, and working with thoughts. This PPP is discussed in a 15-min semi-structured GP-patient interview. Patients then choose one or more of the intervention modules proposed by the DSS to be self-implemented over the next 3 months. This process will be reformulated at 3, 6, and 9 months but without the GP–patient interview. Recruited patients of the GPs allocated to the control-group+CAU download another version of the e-predictD app, but the only intervention that they receive via the app is weekly brief psychoeducational messages (active-control group). The primary outcome is the cumulative incidence of major depression measured by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview at 6 and 12 months. Other outcomes include depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) and anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), depression risk (predictD risk algorithm), mental and physical quality of life (SF-12), and acceptability and satisfaction (‘e-Health Impact' questionnaire) with the intervention. Patients are evaluated at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. An economic evaluation will also be performed (cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis) from two perspectives, societal and health systems.Spanish Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health Carlos IIIThe European Regional Development Fund Una manera de hacer Europa (grant references: PI15/00401PI15/01035, and PI15/01021), the Andalusian Council of Health (grant reference: AP-0095-2016);Prevention and Health Promotion Research Network redIAPP (RD16/0007/0010RD16/0007/0005, RD16/0007/0003, and RD16/0007/0001), Ministry of Health of Andalusia (PS-0330- 2016)The Chronicity, Primary Care, and Prevention and Health Promotion Research Network RICAPPS (RD21/0016/0012RD21/0016/0005, RD21/0016/0010, and RD21/0016/0001)The Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Institute of Health Carlos III (SCIII)The European Funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and by the EU funds Next-Generatio

Panorama actual de la postcosecha de granos

En la presente comunicación se analizan diferentes aspecto de la etapa de postcosecha de granos en el país y los nuevos métodos creados para un mejor aprovechamiento de la cosecha desde el sector económico e industrial.Trabajo galardonado con el Premio "Bolsa de Cereales", versión 1999Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinari

NADPH Oxidase-Dependent Superoxide Production in Plant Reproductive Tissues

In the life cycle of a flowering plant, the male gametophyte (pollen grain) produced in the anther reaches the stigmatic surface and initiates the pollen–pistil interaction, an important step in plant reproduction, which ultimately leads to the delivery of two sperm cells to the female gametophyte (embryo sac) inside the ovule. The pollen tube undergoes a strictly apical expansion characterized by a high growth rate, whose targeting should be tightly regulated. A continuous exchange of signals therefore takes place between the haploid pollen and diploid tissue of the pistil until fertilization. In compatible interactions, theses processes result in double fertilization to form a zygote (2n) and the triploid endosperm. Among the large number of signaling mechanisms involved, the redox network appears to be particularly important. Respiratory burst oxidase homologs (Rbohs) are superoxide-producing enzymes involved in a broad range of processes in plant physiology. In this study, we review the latest findings on understanding Rboh activity in sexual plant reproduction, with a particular focus on the male gametophyte from the anther development stages to the crowning point of fertilization. Rboh isoforms have been identified in both the male and female gametophyte and have proven to be tightly regulated. Their role at crucial points such as proper growth of pollen tube, self-incompatibility response and eventual fertilization is discussed. [EN]European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-financed grants: BFU2008-006292, BFU2011-22779, CSIC-201540E065, and RECUPERA2020-3.1.4.Peer reviewe