The Role of Banks in the Transmission of Monetary Policy in the Baltics

The paper empirically investigates the monetary transmission mechanism in the Baltic States. The analysis of the transmission channels through which monetary policy shocks are transmitted is particularly important for the European Central Bank that makes monetary policy in an enlarged European Monetary Union. The paper focuses on the bank lending channel of monetary transmission due to the importance of banks in the financial system of the Baltic countries. The existence of this transmission channel is tested by using a panel structural approach that distinguishes banks according to size, capitalization, liquidity and ownership structure. The results indicate that a bank lending channel is present in the Baltic States and mainly caused by differences in liquidity. --Monetary Transmission,Bank Lending Channel,Transition Countries

The Role of Banks in the Transmission of Monetary Policy in the Baltics

The paper empirically investigates the monetary transmission mechanism in the Baltic States. The analysis of the transmission channels through which monetary policy shocks are transmitted is particularly important for the European Central Bank that makes monetary policy in an enlarged European Monetary Union. The paper focuses on the bank lending channel of monetary transmission due to the importance of banks in the financial system of the Baltic countries. The existence of this transmission channel is tested by using a panel structural approach that distinguishes banks according to size, capitalization, liquidity and ownership structure. The results indicate that a bank lending channel is present in the Baltic States and mainly caused by differences in liquidity

Sports Activity After Short-Stem Hip Arthroplasty

Background: No data are available about the sports activity of patients with bone-conserving short-stem hip implants. Hypothesis: Patients can return to a good level of sports activity after implantation of a short-stem hip implant. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: The sports activity level of 68 patients (76 hips) after short-stem hip arthroplasty was assessed for a minimum of 2 years after implantation. In addition to the clinical examination, a detailed evaluation of the patients’ sports pattern was obtained. Furthermore, the results were analyzed with regard to gender (female and male) and age (55 years). Results: After a mean of 2.7 years, patients showed a Harris Hip Score (HHS) of 93.6, a Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score of 9.5, and a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) activity score of 7.6, with each individual participating on average in 3.5 different disciplines after surgery compared with 3.9 before surgery. High-impact activities decreased significantly postoperatively, whereas low-impact activities increased significantly. The duration of the sports activities remained stable, while the frequency actually increased. In contrast, men participated preoperatively in more sports than women (4.3 men vs 3.3 women). However, because of a pronounced decrease in high-impact activities by men, both genders participated in an equal number of sports postoperatively (3.5 men vs 3.5 women). Finally, 45% (n = 31) reported at least one activity that they missed. Most of them were disciplines with an intermediate- or high-impact level. Conclusion: Patients with a short-stem hip implant can return to a good level of activity postoperatively. Participation in sports almost reached similar levels as preoperatively but with a shift from high- to low-impact activities. This seems desirable from a surgeon’s point of view but should also be communicated to the patient before hip replacemen

Wintertime grassland dynamics may influence belowground biomass under climate change: a model analysis

Rising temperatures and changes in snow cover, as can be expected under a warmer global climate, may have large impacts on mountain grassland productivity limited by cold and long winters. Here, we combined two existing models, the multi-layer atmosphere-SOiL-VEGetation model (SOLVEG) and the BASic GRAssland model (BASGRA), which accounts for snow, freeze–thaw events, grass growth, and soil carbon balance. The model was applied to simulate the responses of managed grasslands to anomalously warm winter conditions. The grass growth module considered key ecological processes under a cold environment, such as leaf formation, elongation and death, tillering, carbon allocation, and cold acclimation, in terms of photosynthetic activity. Input parameters were derived for two pre-Alpine grassland sites in Germany, for which the model was run using 3 years of data that included a winter with an exceptionally small amount of snow. The model reproduced the temporal variability of observed daily mean heat fluxes, soil temperatures, and snow depth throughout the study period. High physiological activity levels during the extremely warm winter led to a simulated CO2 uptake of 100 gC m−2, which was mainly allocated into the belowground biomass and only to a minor extent used for additional plant growth during early spring. If these temporary dynamics are representative of long-term changes, this process, which is so far largely unaccounted for in scenario analysis using global terrestrial biosphere models, may lead to carbon accumulation in the soil and/or carbon loss from the soil as a response to global warming

Fatty acid composition of Turbatrix aceti and its use in feeding regimes of Coregonus maraena (Bloch, 1779): is it really a suitable alternative to Artemia nauplii?

By incorporating the free-swimming nematode Turbatrix aceti into early feeding regimes of the European whitefish Coregonus maraena, the suitability of this nematode species was investigated as an alternative to Artemia nauplii. During a 14-day feeding trial in a total of 25 aquaria each 1.7 L (each treatment n = 5, 255 larvae/tank) T. aceti was used either as the sole live food or in combination with Artemia nauplii or microdiet to determine the effect of T. aceti on growth performance and survival rate of C. maraena. By analysing the fatty acid composition of T. aceti prior to and after enrichment with INVE spresso® it was investigated whether the amount of n3-polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3-PUFA) in T. aceti could be further enhanced. Supplementation of Artemia nauplii with T. aceti increased growth significantly within the first 5 days of rearing in comparison to the non-supplemented food treatments (14.39 ± 0.15 mm compared to 13.44 ± 0.18 mm; mean ± SE). However, growth and survival of juvenile C. maraena on nematode-supplemented Artemia nauplii did not differ significantly from non-supplemented Artemia nauplii at the end of the 14-day rearing period (15.22 ± 0.15 mm compared to 14.86 ± 0.24 mm). All feeding treatments containing Artemia nauplii showed significantly higher growth and lower mortality at the end of the experiment in comparison to diets containing only the microdiet or T. aceti or a combination thereof. The overall low performance of T. aceti alone can most likely be explained by an insufficient capacity of C. maraena to digest this nematode species efficiently. Enrichment with INVE spresso® successfully increased the proportion of DHA in the T. aceti tissue. The results reveal that T. aceti cannot be considered a full alternative to Artemia nauplii, at least not in the rearing of C. maraena, but might be a useful vector of essential fatty acids within the early rearing period of this and potentially other fish species when provided as live food along with Artemia nauplii

Asymptotic normality for random simplices and convex bodies in high dimensions

Central limit theorems for the log-volume of a class of random convex bodies in $\mathbb{R}^n$ are obtained in the high-dimensional regime, that is, as $n\to \infty$. In particular, the case of random simplices pinned at the origin and simplices where all vertices are generated at random is investigated. The coordinates of the generating vectors are assumed to be independent and identically distributed with subexponential tails. In addition, asymptotic normality is also established for random convex bodies (including random simplices pinned at the origin) when the spanning vectors are distributed according to a radially symmetric probability measure on the $n$-dimensional $\ell _p$-ball. In particular, this includes the cone and the uniform probability measure

Environmental change impacts on the C- and N-cycle of European forests: a model comparison study [Discussion paper]

Forests are important components of the greenhouse gas balance of Europe. There is considerable uncertainty about how predicted changes to climate and nitrogen deposition will perturb the carbon and nitrogen cycles of European forests and thereby alter forest growth, carbon sequestration and N2O emission. The present study aimed to quantify the carbon and nitrogen balance, including the exchange of greenhouse gases, of European forests over the period 2010–2030, with a particular emphasis on the spatial variability of change. The analysis was carried out for two tree species: European beech and Scots pine. For this purpose, four different dynamic models were used: BASFOR, DailyDayCent, INTEGRATOR and Landscape-DNDC. These models span a range from semi-empirical to complex mechanistic. Comparison of these models allowed assessment of the extent to which model predictions depended on differences in model inputs and structure. We found a European average carbon sink of 0.160 ± 0.020 kgC m−2 yr−1 (pine) and 0.138 ± 0.062 kgC m−2 yr−1 (beech) and N2O source of 0.285 ± 0.125 kgN ha−1 yr−1 (pine) and 0.575 ± 0.105 kgN ha−1 yr−1 (beech). The European average greenhouse gas potential of the carbon source was 18 (pine) and 8 (beech) times that of the N2O source. Carbon sequestration was larger in the trees than in the soil. Carbon sequestration and forest growth were largest in central Europe and lowest in northern Sweden and Finland, N. Poland and S. Spain. No single driver was found to dominate change across Europe. Forests were found to be most sensitive to change in environmental drivers where the drivers were limiting growth, where changes were particularly large or where changes acted in concert. The models disagreed as to which environmental changes were most significant for the geographical variation in forest growth and as to which tree species showed the largest rate of carbon sequestration. Pine and beech forests were found to have differing sensitivities to environmental change, in particular the response to changes in nitrogen and precipitation, with beech forest more vulnerable to drought. There was considerable uncertainty about the geographical location of N2O emissions. Two of the models BASFOR and LandscapeDNDC had largest emissions in central Europe where nitrogen deposition and soil nitrogen were largest whereas the two other models identified different regions with large N2O emission. N2O emissions were found to be larger from beech than pine forests and were found to be particularly sensitive to forest growth

Role of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-1 In Murine Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND: While the impact of inflammation as the substantial driving force of atherosclerosis has been investigated in detail throughout the years, the influence of negative regulators of pro-atherogenic pathways on plaque development has remained largely unknown. Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 potently restricts transduction of various inflammatory signals and, thereby modulates T-cell development, macrophage activation and dendritic cell maturation. Its role in atherogenesis, however has not been elucidated so far. METHODS AND RESULTS: Loss of SOCS-1 in the low-density lipoprotein receptor deficient murine model of atherosclerosis resulted in a complex, systemic and ultimately lethal inflammation with increased generation of Ly-6C(hi) monocytes and activated macrophages. Even short-term exposure of these mice to high-cholesterol dieting caused enhanced atherosclerotic plaque development with accumulation of M1 macrophages, Ly-6C positive cells and neutrophils. CONCLUSION: Our data not only imply that SOCS-1 is athero-protective but also emphasize the fundamental, regulatory importance of SOCS-1 in inflammation-prone organisms