Determinants of current account in the EU: the relation between internal and external balances in the new members

This paper considers the major determinants of the current account in the new members of the EU. It examines the long-run and short-run impact of real exchange rate, investment, private and public savings on current account. The bounds testing autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration is used and the results indicate that twin deficit exists; in another words, government budget deficit shocks have led to deficit in current accounts in Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia for the considered period. At the same time, empirical evidence was found that private savings, investment and real exchange rate are key variables as well, causing changes in the current account in the long-run as well as in the short-run. Finally, stability tests were applied to the model indicating no evidence of any structural instability in the model of these countries

Determinants of the Current Account in the Eu and PIIGS

This paper investigates the relationship between current account balance and national savings, investment, budget deficit, and real exchange rate. These determinants of the current account are studied empirically by applying the Generalized Method of Moments for a sample of 24 European countries. The sample data are divided into three different groups, PIIGS, EU-PIIGS, and EU in order to study the group-specific estimations. The main result of the paper is that the determinants of our model are capable of accurately explaining past movements in current accounts for all selected groups. Additionally, current account determinants in the economically weak members, PIIGS, behave slightly differently from the rest of the EU

Current trends in cannulation and neuroprotection during surgery of the aortic arch in Europe†‡

OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey across European cardiac centres to evaluate the methods used for cerebral protection during aortic surgery involving the aortic arch. METHODS All European centres were contacted and surgeons were requested to fill out a short, comprehensive questionnaire on an internet-based platform. One-third of more than 400 contacted centres completed the survey correctly. RESULTS The most preferred site for arterial cannulation is the subclavian-axillary, both in acute and chronic presentation. The femoral artery is still frequently used in the acute condition, while the ascending aorta is a frequent second choice in the case of chronic presentation. Bilateral antegrade brain perfusion is chosen by the majority of centres (2/3 of cases), while retrograde perfusion or circulatory arrest is very seldom used and almost exclusively in acute clinical presentation. The same pumping system of the cardio pulmonary bypass is most of the time used for selective cerebral perfusion, and the perfusate temperature is usually maintained between 22 and 26°C. One-third of the centres use lower temperatures. Perfusate flow and pressure are fairly consistent among centres in the range of 10-15 ml/kg and 60 mmHg, respectively. In 60% of cases, barbiturates are added for cerebral protection, while visceral perfusion still receives little attention. Regarding cerebral monitoring, there is a general tendency to use near-infrared spectroscopy associated with bilateral radial pressure measurement. CONCLUSIONS These data represent a snapshot of the strategies used for cerebral protection during major aortic surgery in current practice, and may serve as a reference for standardization and refinement of different approache

Adakite-like granitoid porphyries in the Eastern Pontides, NE Turkey: Potential parental melts and geodynamic implications

The tectonic setting of the Eastern Pontides during the late Mesozoic to early Cenozoic remains a subject of debate. Petrogenesis of adakite-like granitoid porphyries plays a critical role in determining the nature of the lower continental crust and mantle dynamics during orogenic processes in the region. Here we describe, for the first time, the late Paleocene to early Eocene adakite-like granitoid porphyries from the northern part of the Eastern Pontides although their counterparts in the southern part have recently been found. The adakitic porphyries, which emplaced into the subduction-related Turonian-Santonian volcanics from northern part of the region, consist of I-type calc-alkaline quartz monzonite-tonalite (Si