The Eurozone Crisis: Institutional Setting, Structural Vulnerability, and Policies

The unfolding of the crisis in the Eurozone can be explained by the interaction of institutional features and policy failures, and by their interconnection with real and financial imbalances. The crisis has shown that internal divergence in the EZ is based on important structural components which are unsustainable in the long run. Indeed, the crisis has magnified the gap between the vulnerable peripheral member countries and a more resilient core. The paper analyses those factors that opened the way to the diffusion of the financial and economic crisis in the Eurozone. It also discusses the structural consequences of these events and critically analyses the institutional and political reforms which the Eurozone is facing in order to enhance its capability to cope with external shocks.Eurozone; European Union; European Monetary Union; euro; Common fiscal parameters; Real convergence; Productivity

Measuring the business environment for entrepreneurship in fragile states

This paper aims towards better understanding the role of entrepreneurship in fragile states, which despite the practical interest and relevance has been somewhat disregarded in academic research. Given the necessity to support policy formulation with appropriate and relevant measurement of entrepreneurship and the business environment, the primary focus in this paper is to scrutinize existing international indicators, in particular the World Bank's Doing Business (DB) indicators and ask whether they are able to capture entrepreneurial dynamics and constructively guide policy-making towards entrepreneurship in fragile state

Commensurability of hyperbolic Coxeter groups: theory and computation

For hyperbolic Coxeter groups of finite covolume we review and present new theoretical and computational aspects of wide commensurability. We discuss separately the arithmetic and the non-arithmetic cases. Some worked examples are added as well as a panoramic viewto hyperbolic Coxeter groups and their classification

In vivo metabolic imaging of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Complex alterations in cerebral energetic metabolism arise after traumatic brain injury (TBI). To date, methods allowing for metabolic evaluation are highly invasive, limiting our understanding of metabolic impairments associated with TBI pathogenesis. We investigated whether 13C MRSI of hyperpolarized (HP) [1-13C] pyruvate, a non-invasive metabolic imaging method, could detect metabolic changes in controlled cortical injury (CCI) mice (n = 57). Our results show that HP [1-13C] lactate-to-pyruvate ratios were increased in the injured cortex at acute (12/24 hours) and sub-acute (7 days) time points after injury, in line with decreased pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity, suggesting impairment of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. We then used the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor PLX5622 to deplete brain resident microglia prior to and after CCI, in order to confirm that modulations of HP [1-13C] lactate-to-pyruvate ratios were linked to microglial activation. Despite CCI, the HP [1-13C] lactate-to-pyruvate ratio at the injury cortex of microglia-depleted animals at 7 days post-injury remained unchanged compared to contralateral hemisphere, and PDH activity was not affected. Altogether, our results demonstrate that HP [1-13C] pyruvate has great potential for in vivo non-invasive detection of cerebral metabolism post-TBI, providing a new tool to monitor the effect of therapies targeting microglia/macrophages activation after TBI

How to chose innovation policies to foster SMEs growth. A region - industry - firm type approach

This paper aimed at defining a common methodological framework for the evaluation and decision regarding innovation policy instruments, suitable for an international comparative approach. It may be useful in empirical analysis and operative projects. In particular, the originality of the methodology are the interdisciplinary approach, considering all three main factors affecting innovation systems, especially when thinking to SMEs: the territorial, the technological and the entrepreneurship dimension. In addition, the methodology has adopted a demand driven approach, based on the precise identification of the needs of services, by analysing them according to different dimensions: industries/technologies, firms and regions. Thus, the study has adopted a strategic perspective and it indicates that the identification of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is facilitating the identification of the actual needs and demand of technology transfer services in a given region. The methodology is also characterized for having analysed a wide variety of the instruments, which can be used in innovation policies ranging from a top-down, governmental approach to a bottom-up and market approach. This model allows to support decision makers in measuring in a more rigorous and quantitative way the complementarities and the trade-offs of these innovation policy instruments, while aiming to respond to various and interdependent needs, which may have a different priority in various industries, firms and regions. This is clearly also an effective approach to investigate on regional attractiveness factors and it is a new method of evaluation when applying the model reversely, as well as it is useful to identify most suitable initiatives to apply to enhance the competitiveness of a territory.SMEs, Innovation Policies, Technology Trasfer, Regional Developement

LUNA: Nuclear Astrophysics Deep Underground

Nuclear astrophysics strives for a comprehensive picture of the nuclear reactions responsible for synthesizing the chemical elements and for powering the stellar evolution engine. Deep underground in the Gran Sasso laboratory the cross sections of the key reactions of the proton-proton chain and of the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle have been measured right down to the energies of astrophysical interest. The salient features of underground nuclear astrophysics are summarized here. The main results obtained by LUNA in the last twenty years are reviewed, and their influence on the comprehension of the properties of the neutrino, of the Sun and of the Universe itself are discussed. Future directions of underground nuclear astrophysics towards the study of helium and carbon burning and of stellar neutron sources in stars are pointed out.Comment: Invited review, submitted to Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Scienc

The runaway black hole GRO J1655-40

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the motion in the sky and compute the galactocentric orbit of the black hole X-ray binary GRO J1655-40. The system moves with a runaway space velocity of $112\pm 18$ km s$^{-1}$ in a highly eccentric ($e = 0.34\pm 0.05$) orbit. The black hole was formed in the disk at a distance greater than 3 kpc from the Galactic centre and must have been shot to such an eccentric orbit by the explosion of the progenitor star. The runaway linear momentum and kinetic energy of this black hole binary are comparable to those of solitary neutron stars and millisecond pulsars. GRO J1655-40 is the first black hole for which there is evidence for a runaway motion imparted by a natal kick in a supernova explosion.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 5 pages, 2 color figures. Color figure and animation can be found at http://www.iafe.uba.ar/astronomia/mirabel/mirabel.html or ftp://ftp.cea.fr/incoming/y2k01/mirabe

Third-party aggression and emotion work among nurses: Testing a moderated mediation model

Client aggression is increasingly a stressor in the workplace. This study aims to analyze how and why these experiences may trigger burnout. Focusing on health care workers, we tested a moderated mediation model of the relationship between exposure to third-party (patients and/or relatives) verbal aggression and burnout with the goal of assessing the mediation effects of emotion work and the moderating effects of personal resources (i.e., perceived self-efficacy in communication with patients) and job resources (job control, role clarity, social support by colleagues and by supervisors) on this relationship. A purposive sample of 356 nurses was recruited from four hospitals in northern Italy. A structured, self-report questionnaire was used to collect data. Mediated and moderated mediation regression models with PROCESS were used to test the hypotheses. As postulated, emotion work mediated the relationship between patient third-party aggression and nurses’ burnout. Role clarity and supervisors’ support were found to reduce the harmful effects of emotion work triggered by third-party aggression. Unexpectedly, perceived self-efficacy in communication did not have a buffering effect in the tested model. These results offer a novel approach to designing preventive actions aimed at cultivating resources to counter the impact of perceived exposure to client aggression on well-being

Restoration of euthyroidism accelerates bone turnover in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism: a randomized controlled trial

This study evaluated the effect of physiological l-thyroxine (L-T4) treatment on bone metabolism in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Sixty-six women with subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH 11.7±0.8mIU/l) were randomly assigned to receive L-T4 or placebo for 48weeks. Sixty-one of 66 patients completed the study. Individual L-T4 replacement (mean dosage 85.5±4.3μg/day) was performed targeting euthyroid thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. The primary outcome measure was 24- and 48-week change in markers of bone formation (total and bone alkaline phosphatase [ALP, bone ALP], osteocalcin [OC]) and resorption (pyridinoline [PYD] and deoxypyridinoline [DPD], C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide type I [CTX]). Secondary outcomes were 48-week changes in bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and hip, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Compared with placebo, l-thyroxine (n=31) resulted in significant activation of bone turnover. Overall, a significant treatment effect was observed for DPD (between-group difference 16.0%; 95%CI, 10.9 to 21.1), CTX (29.9%; 95%CI, 23.3 to 36.5), and bone ALP (13.2%; 95%CI, 6.6 to 19.7) after 24weeks. At the end of the study, lumbar BMD in the both treatment groups differed by 1.3% (95%CI, −2.9 to 0.5) with lower levels in l-thyroxine treated women. Significant difference in BMD between groups was also observed at the trochanter. We conclude that physiological l-thyroxine treatment accelerates bone turnover reflecting early activation of bone remodeling units in the initial replacement of subclinical hypothyroidism. The observed bone loss could be interpreted as an adaptive mechanism on decreased bone turnover in preexistent hypothyroidism, and not as l-thyroxine-induced clinically important bone loss. However, long-term studies are needed to confirm this assumptio

Third-party aggression and emotion work among nurses: Testing a moderated mediation model

Client aggression is increasingly a stressor in the workplace. This study aims to analyze how and why these experiences may trigger burnout. Focusing on health care workers, we tested a moderated mediation model of the relationship between exposure to third-party (patients and/or relatives) verbal aggression and burnout with the goal of assessing the mediation effects of emotion work and the moderating effects of personal resources (i.e., perceived self-efficacy in communication with patients) and job resources (job control, role clarity, social support by colleagues and by supervisors) on this relationship. A purposive sample of 356 nurses was recruited from four hospitals in northern Italy. A structured, self-report questionnaire was used to collect data. Mediated and moderated mediation regression models with PROCESS were used to test the hypotheses. As postulated, emotion work mediated the relationship between patient third-party aggression and nurses’ burnout. Role clarity and supervisors’ support were found to reduce the harmful effects of emotion work triggered by third-party aggression. Unexpectedly, perceived self-efficacy in communication did not have a buffering effect in the tested model. These results offer a novel approach to designing preventive actions aimed at cultivating resources to counter the impact of perceived exposure to client aggression on well-being