Country and industry equity risk premia in the euro area: an intertemporal approach

This paper provides new evidence on the dynamics of equity risk premia in euro area stock markets across country and industry portfolios. We develop and estimate a conditional intertemporal CAPM where returns on aggregate euro area, country and industry portfolios depend on the market risk as well as on the risk that the investment opportunity set changes over time. Prices of risks are time-varying, according to a Kalman filter approach. We find that both market and intertemporal risks are significantly priced. When we include country and industry-specific risk factors they turn out to be not significantly priced for most industries, suggesting that euro area equity markets are well integrated. Overall, the analysis indicates that omitting the intertemporal factor leads to mispricing and misleading conclusions regarding the degree of financial integration across sectors and countries. JEL Classification: G12, F37, C32conditional asset pricing, financial integration, intertemporal risk, Kalman filter, multivariate GARCH

Fair value accounting and financial stability

Accounting standard setters are considering the wider use of fair value accounting. This paper focuses on the financial stability implications of a move in the banking sector from the current accounting framework to full fair value accounting. A simulation exercise is performed on how various external shocks affect the balance sheet of an average European bank under the two frameworks. The paper further investigates the impact of the alternative framework on the main balance sheet items, and the interaction with banks’ risk management, supervisory tools and statistical requirements. It also examines how the application of fair value accounting to banks’ trading book has impacted their share price volatility. It is concluded that the introduction of full fair value accounting could have a significant effect in terms of income volatility, procyclicality of bank lending and more generally financial stability. Hence, any move towards this alternative accounting framework should be gradual.accounting, banks, fair value, financial regulation, financial reporting, financial stability, risk management.

Un approdo per Ercolano

Il saggio e gli apparati grafici sono relativi al progetto di tesi di laurea in progettazione architettonica dal titolo "Un approdo per Ercolano" che è stata giudicata meritevole della dignità di stampa. Il progetto propone un ingresso dal mare agli scavi dell'antica città di Ercolano, di cui è stato messo in luce l'originario fronte a mare. Il percorso dal mare agli scavi trova la sua giustificazione semantica nella ricorrenza dell'asse mare-Vesuvio individuabile nelle architetture monumentali della costa vesuviana (ville borboniche e Reggia di Portici). Il percorso la cui matrice geometrica si individua nel prolungamento ideale del III cardo di Ercolano antica è strutturato come sequenza di "recinti tematici" che riprendono la misura delle insulae dell'impianto di fondazione ed è inquadrato da una "porta di Mare" riconoscibile nel profilo della costa

Lung Ultrasound and Clinical Progression of Acute Bronchiolitis: A Prospective Observational Single-Center Study

Background and Objectives:Recent literature suggests that lung ultrasound might have a role in the diagnosis and management of bronchiolitis. The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between an ultrasound score and the clinical progression of bronchiolitis: need for supplemental oxygen, duration of oxygen therapy and hospital stay.Materials and Methods:This was a prospective observational single-center study, conducted in a pediatric unit during the 2017-2018 epidemic periods. All consecutive patients admitted with clinical signs of acute bronchiolitis, but without the need for supplemental oxygen, underwent a lung ultrasound in the first 24 h of hospital care. The lung involvement was graded based on the ultrasound score. During clinical progression, need for supplemental oxygen, duration of oxygen therapy and duration of hospital stay were recorded.Results:The final analysis included 83 patients, with a mean age of 4.5 +/- 4.1 months. The lung ultrasound score in patients that required supplemental oxygen during hospitalization was 4.5 +/- 1.7 (range: 2.0-8.0), different from the one of the not supplemented infants (2.5 +/- 1.8; range: 0.0-6.0;p< 0.001). Ultrasound score was associated with the need for supplemental oxygen (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.5-3.3;p< 0.0001). Duration of oxygen therapy was not associated with LUS score (p> 0.05). Length of hospital stay (coef. = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.2-0.7;p< 0.0001) correlates with LUS score.Conclusion:Lung ultrasound score correlates with the need of supplemental oxygen and length of hospital stay in infants with acute bronchiolitis

Metformin administration in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome who receive gonadotropins for in vitro fertilization cycles: 10-year experience in a large infertile population

The study aim was to evaluate our personal experience regarding the use and the reproductive effect of metformin administration in a large population of infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing gonadotropins ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Infertile patients with PCOS undergoing gonadotropins ovarian stimulation with (metformin group, n = 191) or without (control group, n = 187) metformin and IVF were evaluated. Treatment characteristics, patients' data and reproductive outcomes were evaluated. In all cases, metformin with an immediate-release formulation was administered, and in most of cases it was given as pre- and co-treatment (74.9%) and at a dosage of 1700 mg/day (59.7%). Stimulation length and gonadotropins doses were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in metformin group than in control group. The number of dominant follicles on day of ovarian maturation triggering and peak oestradiol levels were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in metformin group than in control group. Cycle cancellation rate under metformin resulted significantly influenced by interaction with body mass index (BMI), age and basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Notwithstanding, metformin use in infertile PCOS patients who receive gonadotropins for IVF is not standardized, it seems to modulate the ovarian response to stimulation. This effect may benefit or harm on the basis of ovarian reserve and patients' characteristics

Mollusk allergy in shrimp-allergic patients: Still a complex diagnosis. An Italian real-life cross-sectional multicenter study

Introduction: Shellfish allergy is an important cause of food allergies worldwide. Both in vivo and in vitro diagnostics failure nowadays is caused by the poor quality of the extracts associated with the scarce availability of allergenic molecules in the market. It is known that not all patients with shellfish allergies experience adverse reactions to mollusks. It is still unclear how to detect and diagnose these patients correctly.Aim: To investigate the features of shrimp-allergic patients either reactive or tolerant to mollusks, with the currently available diagnostic methods.Methods: Nineteen centers, scattered throughout Italy, participated in the real-life study, enrolling patients allergic to shrimp with or without associated reactions to mollusks. Patients underwent skin tests using commercial extracts or fresh raw and cooked shrimp and mollusks, and IgE reactivity to currently available allergenic extracts and molecules was measured in vitro.Results: Two hundred and forty-seven individuals with a self reported adverse reactions to shrimp participated in the study; of these 47.8% reported an adverse reaction to mollusks ingestion (cephalopod and/or bivalve). Neither of the tests used, in vivo nor in vitro, was able to detect all selected patients. Accordingly, a great heterogeneity of results was observed: in vivo and in vitro tests agreed in 52% and 62% of cases. Skin tests were able to identify the mollusk reactors (p < 0.001), also using fresh cooked or raw food (p < 0.001). The reactivity profile of mollusk reactors was dominated by Pen m 1, over Pen m 2 and Pen m 4 compared to tolerant subjects, but 33% of patients were not detected by any of the available molecules. Overall, a higher frequency of IgE rectivity to shrimp was recorded in northern Italy, while mollusk reactivity was more frequent in the center-south.Conclusion: The current diagnostic methods are inadequate to predict the cross-reactivity between crustaceans and mollusks. The detection of mollusks hypersensitivity should still rely on skin tests with fresh material. The exclusion of mollusks from shrimp allergic patients' diets should occur when clinical history, available diagnostic instruments, and/or tolerance tests support such a decision