The impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on the real exchange rate: Evidence from the UK

The world economy has been punctuated by uncertainty as a result of the 2008 subprime crisis, the European sovereign debt crisis, Brexit, and the 2016 US presidential elections, to mention but a few of the reasons. This study explores how the UK real exchange rate reacts to economic policy uncertainty (EPU) shocks using monthly data for the period 1998 to 2020. We contribute to the literature by identifying the long-run and short-run impacts of EPU using a cointegrated ARDL model, and by studying a country that has been through periods of both relatively low and high uncertainty. Results confirm that EPU has an important effect in the long run by depreciating the exchange rate. In addition to urging policymakers and regulators to concentrate on the sometimes difficult task of keeping policy uncertainty to a minimum as a way of sustaining exchange rate stability and thus promoting long-term economic growth, further evidence is provided on exchange rate fundamentals

Essays on the relationships between political indicators, and real exchange rate and inflation

This PhD thesis re-examines a long-standing debate about the link between the exchange rate and its macroeconomic fundamentals, with particular attention to two measurements - first, instability and second, uncertainty - in explaining the dynamics of the real effective exchange rate over the past 24 years. At the same time, studies the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and inflation rate. The mission of this thesis is to address these matters of interest in three different studies as follows, the impact of stability and uncertainty on exchange rate dynamics in the first two empirical chapters and the impact of economic policy uncertainty on inflation rate in the last empirical study. The empirical applications emphasise the use of the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) and Vector Autoregression Model (VAR) in assessing the relationship between the variables under analysis. The thesis contribution to the literature can be seen in three main ways. Firstly, it applies and tests both, the Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) and Permanent Equilibrium Exchange Rate (PEER) framework in a single developed economy in order to compute currency misalignments. Secondly, it emphasises the impact of political stability and economic policy uncertainty on the UK real effective exchange rate and thirdly, links inflation rate to economic policy uncertainty in the aftermath of the 2016 UK vote to leave the EU. We conclude that our empirical results are consistent with literature findings, suggesting that the political stability indicator and the economic policy uncertainty index explain long run fluctuations in the exchange rate dynamics. The value of the inflation rate increases due to the shocks on economic policy uncertainty while the UK currency depreciates due to uncertainty shock.Esta tese de doutoramento reexamina um longo debate sobre a ligação entre a taxa decâmbio e os seus fundamentos macroeconómicos, com particular atenção duas medidas: a instabilidade política e a incerteza de política económica. Esta análise foca-se na dinâmica da taxa de câmbio efectiva real no Reino Unido nos últimos 24 anos. Adicionalmente, estudamos no mesmo contexto a relação entre a incerteza de política económica e a taxa de inflação. A tese aborda estas questões em três estudos empíricos diferentes. O impacto da estabilidade e incerteza na diâamica da taxa de câmbio será estudada nos dois primeiros capítulos empíricos, enquanto que o impacto da incerteza da política económica na taxa de inflação será o tema do último estudo empírico. As aplicações empíricas analisam a relação entre as variáveis utilizando o Modelo de Correcção de Erros Vectoriais (VECM), o Modelo Autoregressivo de Lag Distribuído (ARDL) e o Modelo Vectorial de Autoregressão (VAR). A contribuição da tese para a literatura centra-se em três pontos principais. Em primeiro lugar, aplica-se e testa-se o Modelo de Equilíbrio Comportamental (BEER) e o Modelo de Equilíbrio Permanente (PEER) numa economia desenvolvida, a fim de calcular os desalinhamentos cambiais. Em segundo lugar, sublinha-se o impacto da estabilidade política e da incerteza da política económica na taxa de câmbio efectiva real do Reino Unido. Em terceiro lugar, relaciona-se a taxa de inflação com a incerteza da política económica no rescaldo da votação de 2016 no Reino Unido para deixar a UE. Concluímos que os nossos resultados emíricos são consistentes com as conclusões da literatura, sugerindo que o indicador de estabilidade política e o índice de incerteza da política económica explicam flutuações de longo prazo na dinâmica da taxa de câmbio. O valor da taxa de inflação aumenta devido aos choques na incerteza da política económica, enquanto a moeda britânica deprecia-se devido aos choques de incerteza e de instabilidade

Laparoscopic approach of acute pancreatitis collections: a serie of four cases

Introduction: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most unpredictable pathologies of the digestive system. AP can be associated with multiple local or systemic complications. Approximately 15-20% of patients develop moderate severe or severe pancreatitis. The moderate severe form of disease is associated with local complications, as necrosis of the pancreatic and/or peripancreatic tissue and transient organ failure. One of the most common local complications in AP is the development of peripancreatic fluid collections (PFC). Proper management of PFC necessitates accurate diagnosis and treatment by a multidisciplinary team. Moreover, tratment has turned from open surgery (associated with high mortality and morbidity), therefore the latest literature shows data justifying the use of minimally invasive procedures. Case presentantion: We present a serie of 4 patients, with ages comprised between 54 and 70 years old with peripancreatic fluid collections, more precisely, walled-off necrosis (WON), infected WON in the lesser sac and one with ANC treated laparoscopically. Conclusion: Minimally invasive procedures of PFC, especially for acute necrotic collections (ANC) include radiological, endoscopic or surgical approach. Formerly, a primary necrosectomy was the frontrunner treatment, however it is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. At the present moment the step-up approach management is preferred. The main and most common issue of all minimally invasive procedures is the difficult removal of the necrotic debris and the adequate drainage of the collection in one procedure. To conclude, even though pancreatitis has an unforeseeable evolution, the minimally invasive techniques seem to be promising in the managament of PFC. Case particularities: This present paper presents a serie of four cases of AP complicated with PFC admitted to the Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cluj-Napoca. All cases were managed pure laparoscopically

Bcr/Abl Interferes with the Fanconi Anemia/BRCA Pathway: Implications in the Chromosomal Instability of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant clonal disorder of the hematopoietic system caused by the expression of the BCR/ABL fusion oncogene. Although it is well known that CML cells are genetically unstable, the mechanisms accounting for this genomic instability are still poorly understood. Because the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is believed to control several mechanisms of DNA repair, we investigated whether this pathway was disrupted in CML cells. Our data show that CML cells have a defective capacity to generate FANCD2 nuclear foci, either in dividing cells or after DNA damage. Similarly, human cord blood CD34+ cells transduced with BCR/ABL retroviral vectors showed impaired FANCD2 foci formation, whereas FANCD2 monoubiquitination in these cells was unaffected. Soon after the transduction of CD34+ cells with BCR/ABL retroviral vectors a high proportion of cells with supernumerary centrosomes was observed. Similarly, BCR/ABL induced a high proportion of chromosomal abnormalities, while mediated a cell survival advantage after exposure to DNA cross-linking agents. Significantly, both the impaired formation of FANCD2 nuclear foci, and also the predisposition of BCR/ABL cells to develop centrosomal and chromosomal aberrations were reverted by the ectopic expression of BRCA1. Taken together, our data show for the first time a disruption of the FA/BRCA pathway in BCR/ABL cells, suggesting that this defective pathway should play an important role in the genomic instability of CML by the co-occurrence of centrosomal amplification and DNA repair deficiencies

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

CUNOŞTINŢELE ŞI ATITUDINILE MEDICILOR DE FAMILIE ŞI FARMACIŞTILOR CU PRIVIRE LA UTILIZAREA ADECVATĂ A ANTIBIOTICELOR

INTRODUCTION: The unprecedented multiplication of infection rates with antibiotic-resistant germs currently represents a complex problem that doctors face, driven by closely linked factors. The antibiotic resistance rate of microbial agents is unknown, however, it is provided by various factors such as the knowledge of microbiology of general practitioners and pharmacists, as well as patient self-medication. The purpose of this study was to investigate the way antibiotics are prescribed by general practitioners and the way they are released by pharmacists. Another aim was to update the knowledge about the appearance of multiresistant microorganisms to antibiotics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a questionnaire consisting of 33 questions on the knowledge of general practitioners and pharmacists about antibiotic therapy and antibiotic resistance. RESULTS: Most general practitioners considered that antibiotic resistance was a matter of practice, while pharmacists regarded it a national problem. In the view of the respondents, the important causes of antibiotic resistance are excessive prescriptions/ release of antibiotics (68.5%), unnecessary prescription/ release of antibiotics (63.8%), inappropriate duration of the antibiotic treatment (49.1%). The most important factor for prescribing/ release of proper antibiotics is the correct diagnosis of the infection with resistant germs. Important criteria also include the restrictive use of antibiotics in targeted therapy against resistant bacteria and the correct duration of drug administration. CONCLUSIONS: The main causes affecting antibiotic resistance are determined by professionalism and the lack of an effective national program to combat antibiotic resistance, or the lack of educational programs for the population, but also due to insufficient medical knowledge in the general population, which inevitably leads to self-medication with antibiotics without a medical examination and a microbiological diagnosis.   Keywords: Antibiotics, general practitioners, pharmacists, antibiotic resistance, knowledge and attitudesINTRODUCERE: Creșterea fără precedent a ratei infecțiilor cu germeni rezistenți la antibiotice reprezintă o problemă de actualitate cu care se confruntă medicii, fiind o problemă complexă, determinată de factori strâns interconectați. Rata rezistenței agenților microbieni la antibiotice rămâne o necunoscută, ea fiind dată de variați factori precum cunoștințele în materie de microbiologie ale medicilor de familie și farmaciștilor sau automedicația pacientului. SCOPUL LUCRĂRII a fost de a studia modul de prescriere a reţetelor cu antibiotice de către medicii de familie şi eliberarea acestor reţete de către farmacişti. S-a dorit actualizarea cunoştinţelor despre modul de apariţie a germenilor multirezistenţi la antibiotice. MATERIAL ȘI METODĂ: Am aplicat un chestionar format din 33 de întrebări legate de cunoștințele medicilor de familie și a farmaciștilor despre antibioticoterapie și antibioticorezistență. REZULTATE: Majoritatea medicilor de familie au considerat antibioticorezistența o problemă de practică medicală, pe când farmaciștii o problemă națională. În opinia respondenților, cauzele importante ale antibioticorezistenței sunt: prescrieri/eliberări excesive de antibiotice (68.5%), prescrieri/eliberări ale antibioticelor fără să fie nevoie (63.8%), durata inadecvată a antibioterapiei (49.1%). Cel mai important factor pentru prescrierea/eliberarea corectă a antibioticelor este reprezentat de diagnosticul corect al infecțiilor cu germeni rezistenți. Utilizarea restrictivă a antibioticelor care se administrează țintit bacteriilor rezistente respectiv durata corectă a terapiei, reprezintă de asemenea,  criterii importante. CONCLUZII: Principalele cauze care influențează antibioticorezistența sunt de natură profesională, de natură organizatorică, prin lipsa unui program național eficient de combatere a antibioticorezistenței sau lipsa unor programe educaționale pentru populație, dar și datorate unor cunoștințe medicale insuficiente a populației generale, ce duce la automedicație cu antibiotice în lipsa unui consult medical și a unui diagnostic de certitudine microbiologic.   Cuvinte cheie: antibiotice, medici de familie, farmaciști, antibioticorezistența, cunoștințe și atitudin