ECB Unconventional Monetary Policy and SME Access to Finance

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for two-thirds of employment in the euro area which makes them a priority for the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy. SMEs in Europe experienced a credit crunch following the sovereign debt crisis. Over the period 2014–2019, the European Central Bank (ECB) engaged in unconventional monetary policy (UMP) to restore funding conditions in the euro area, to support stronger economic growth and higher inflation. We use the ECB/EC Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises to examine the relationship between monetary policy and SME access to finance in countries that were most affected by the crisis as follows: Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. We show that the implementation of UMP increases the probability that firms with higher debt-to-assets ratio remain credit constrained in stressed countries, although this effect becomes insignificant in non-stressed countries. Our findings suggest that monetary policy is transmitted unevenly to leveraged SMEs across jurisdictions. Additionally, we find little evidence that risky firms are credit constrained during periods of UMP, when risk is measured from the firms’ own viewpoint. However, our heterogenous analysis shows that smaller and younger firms—which are also considered to be risky—remain credit constrained over this period. Policy should ensure that UMP trickles down to SMEs regardless of their size, age or location. Tweetable line: Leveraged SMEs in stressed countries are more likely to remain credit constrained even when monetary policy is expansionary. Policy must do more to support small and young firms’ access to credit to facilitate higher investment and growth

Steps towards collective sustainability in biomedical research

The optimism surrounding multistakeholder research initiatives does not match the clear view of policies that are needed to exploit the potential of these collaborations. Here we propose some action items that stem from the integration between research advancements with the perspectives of patient-advocacy organizations, academia, and industry

Comparative study of harmonic scalpel haemorrhoidectomy versus conventional (milligan and morgan) haemorrhoidectomy

Background: Haemorrhoids are dilated veins occurring in relation to the anus. There are various treatment modalities for haemorrhoids and among them surgical treatment is considered to be most effective one. Harmonic scalpel hemorrhoidectomy was compared with conventional in terms of symptomatic relief and complications.Methods: The aim of our study was to compare harmonic scalpel haemorrhoidectomy with conventional in terms of various intraoperative and postoperative factors for the treatment of grade III and IV haemorrhoids.Results: In our case study of 25 patients average time taken was 17.68 ± 2.84 minutes, while it was 28.44 ±3.69 minutes in control group. The mean blood loss was 8.96 ± 2.15 ml, 31.72 ± 3.28 ml in the case and control group respectively. Postoperative pain with VAS in case group on the first postoperative day was 5.92 ± 0.72, while it was 8.52 ± 0 in the control group. The dose of analgesia was less in case group. The postoperative wound site soakage was less in case study, early ambulation and return to normal work was faster in case study group.Conclusions: Harmonic scalpel haemorrhoidectomy is a simple, bloodless, safe and effective procedure in terms of blood loss, postoperative pain early return to routine work because of less lateral thermal injury

Role of PPAR-δ in the development of zymosan-induced multiple organ failure: an experiment mice study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-beta/delta is a nuclear receptor transcription factor that regulates gene expression in many important biological processes. It is expressed ubiquitously, especially white adipose tissue, heart, muscle, intestine, placenta and macrophages but many of its functions are unknown. Saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids activate PPAR-beta/delta, but physiological ligands have not yet been identified. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of PPAR-beta/delta activation, through the use of GW0742 (0,3 mg/kg 10% Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) i.p), a synthetic high affinity ligand, on the development of zymosan-induced multiple organ failure (MOF).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Multiple organ failure (MOF) was induced in mice by administration of zymosan (given at 500 mg/kg, i.p. as a suspension in saline). The control groups were treated with vehicle (0.25 ml/mouse saline), while the pharmacological treatment was the administration of GW0742 (0,3 mg/kg 10% DMSO i.p. 1 h and 6 h after zymosan administration). MOF and systemic inflammation in mice was assessed 18 hours after administration of zymosan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with GW0742 caused a significant reduction of the peritoneal exudate formation and of the neutrophil infiltration caused by zymosan resulting in a reduction in myeloperoxidase activity. The PPAR-beta/delta agonist, GW0742, at the dose of 0,3 mg/kg in 10% DMSO, also attenuated the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome caused by zymosan. In pancreas, lung and gut, immunohistochemical analysis of some end points of the inflammatory response, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitrotyrosine, poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR), TNF- and IL-1as well as FasL, Bax, Bcl-2 and apoptosis, revealed positive staining in sections of tissue obtained from zymosan-injected mice. On the contrary, these parameters were markedly reduced in samples obtained from mice treated with GW0742</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we have shown that GW0742 attenuates the degree of zymosan-induced non-septic shock in mice.</p

Entangled Photon Pair Source Demonstrator using the Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit System

We report the first demonstration of using the Quantum Instrumentation and Control Kit (QICK) system on RFSoCFPGA technology to drive an entangled photon pair source and to detect the photon signals. With the QICK system, we achieve high levels of performance metrics including coincidence-to-accidental ratio exceeding 150, and entanglement visibility exceeding 95%, consistent with performance metrics achieved using conventional waveform generators. We also demonstrate simultaneous detector readout using the digitization functional of QICK, achieving internal system synchronization time resolution of 3.2 ps. The work reported in this paper represents an explicit demonstration of the feasibility for replacing commercial waveform generators and time taggers with RFSoC-FPGA technology in the operation of a quantum network, representing a cost reduction of more than an order of magnitude

Characterization of the GBoV1 Capsid and Its Antibody Interactions

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) has gained attention as a gene delivery vector with its ability to infect polarized human airway epithelia and 5.5 kb genome packaging capacity. Gorilla bocavirus 1 (GBoV1) VP3 shares 86% amino acid sequence identity with HBoV1 but has better transduction efficiency in several human cell types. Here, we report the capsid structure of GBoV1 determined to 2.76 Å resolution using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and its interaction with mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and human sera. GBoV1 shares capsid surface morphologies with other parvoviruses, with a channel at the 5-fold symmetry axis, protrusions surrounding the 3-fold axis and a depression at the 2-fold axis. A 2/5-fold wall separates the 2-fold and 5-fold axes. Compared to HBoV1, differences are localized to the 3-fold protrusions. Consistently, native dot immunoblots and cryo-EM showed cross-reactivity and binding, respectively, by a 5-fold targeted HBoV1 mAb, 15C6. Surprisingly, recognition was observed for one out of three 3-fold targeted mAbs, 12C1, indicating some structural similarity at this region. In addition, GBoV1, tested against 40 human sera, showed the similar rates of seropositivity as HBoV1. Immunogenic reactivity against parvoviral vectors is a significant barrier to efficient gene delivery. This study is a step towards optimizing bocaparvovirus vectors with antibody escape properties

Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Patients With Primary Immune Regulatory Disorders (PIRD): A Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium (PIDTC) Survey.

Primary Immune Regulatory Disorders (PIRD) are an expanding group of diseases caused by gene defects in several different immune pathways, such as regulatory T cell function. Patients with PIRD develop clinical manifestations associated with diminished and exaggerated immune responses. Management of these patients is complicated; oftentimes immunosuppressive therapies are insufficient, and patients may require hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) for treatment. Analysis of HCT data in PIRD patients have previously focused on a single gene defect. This study surveyed transplanted patients with a phenotypic clinical picture consistent with PIRD treated in 33 Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium centers and European centers. Our data showed that PIRD patients often had immunodeficient and autoimmune features affecting multiple organ systems. Transplantation resulted in resolution of disease manifestations in more than half of the patients with an overall 5-years survival of 67%. This study, the first to encompass disorders across the PIRD spectrum, highlights the need for further research in PIRD management

CIRSE Vascular Closure Device Registry

The conclusion of this registry of closure devices with an anchor and a plug is that the use of this device in interventional radiology procedures is safe, with a low incidence of serious access site complications. There seems to be no difference in complications between antegrade and retrograde access and other parameters

A network analysis to identify mediators of germline-driven differences in breast cancer prognosis.

Identifying the underlying genetic drivers of the heritability of breast cancer prognosis remains elusive. We adapt a network-based approach to handle underpowered complex datasets to provide new insights into the potential function of germline variants in breast cancer prognosis. This network-based analysis studies ~7.3 million variants in 84,457 breast cancer patients in relation to breast cancer survival and confirms the results on 12,381 independent patients. Aggregating the prognostic effects of genetic variants across multiple genes, we identify four gene modules associated with survival in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and one in ER-positive disease. The modules show biological enrichment for cancer-related processes such as G-alpha signaling, circadian clock, angiogenesis, and Rho-GTPases in apoptosis