The Italian Stabilization of 1947: Domestic and International Factors

The paper examines the 1947 monetary stabilization in Italy, tracing the domestic and international political dynamics that allowed ideas and theoretical concepts developed within the Bank of Italy to be applied in a successful action to subdue spiraling inflation. The combination of events and circumstances necessary for the good outcome in a critical juncture of Italian economic history was the fruit of the efforts made by Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi in both the domestic and international political arenas and of the collaboration he received from Luigi Einaudi and Donato Menichella. The Government’s economic action in this crucial episode constitutes perhaps the first outstanding example of cooperation between politicians and experts in the annals of the Italian Republic.Economic history; Stabilization; Italy; United States; De Gasperi; Menichella; 1947

Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy: principles and applications

The study of photophysical and photochemical processes crosses the interest of many fields of research in physics, chemistry and biology. In particular, the photophysical and photochemical reactions, after light absorption by a photosynthetic pigment-protein complex, are among the fastest events in biology, taking place on timescales ranging from tens of femtoseconds to a few nanoseconds. Among the experimental approaches developed for this purpose, the advent of ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy has become a powerful and widely used technique.[1,2] Focusing on the process of photosynthesis, it relies upon the efficient absorption and conversion of the radiant energy from the Sun. Chlorophylls and carotenoids are the main players in the process. Photosynthetic pigments are typically arranged in a highly organized fashion to constitute antennas and reaction centers, supramolecular devices where light harvesting and charge separation take place. The very early steps in the photosynthetic process take place after the absorption of a photon by an antenna system, which harvests light and eventually delivers it to the reaction center. In order to compete with internal conversion, intersystem crossing, and fluorescence, which inevitably lead to energy loss, the energy and electron transfer processes that fix the excited-state energy in photosynthesis must be extremely fast. In order to investigate these events, ultrafast techniques down to a sub-100 fs resolution must be used. In this way, energy migration within the system as well as the formation of new chemical species such as charge-separated states can be tracked in real time. This can be achieved by making use of ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. The basic principles of this notable technique, instrumentation, and some recent applications to photosynthetic systems[3] will be described. Acknowledgements M. Moreno Oliva thanks the MINECO for a “Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” research contract. References [1] U. Megerle, I. Pugliesi, C. Schriever, C.F. Sailer and E. Riedle, Appl. Phys. B, 96, 215 – 231 (2009). [2] R. Berera, R. van Grondelle and J.T.M. Kennis, Photosynth. Res., 101, 105 – 118 (2009). [3] T. Nikkonen, M. Moreno Oliva, A. Kahnt, M. Muuronen, J. Helaja and D.M. Guldi, Chem. Eur. J., 21, 590 – 600 (2015).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

La Ebla Tardo Amorrea vista desde Alalah

The Tell Atchana-Alalakh VII archives have preserved some interesting data about the city of Ebla in 1700-1600 B.C. Although they are only short records in administrative documents, this information sheds light on the Ebla-Alalakh contacts under the Amorite domination over Syria, when both capitals pertained to the powerful state of Yamhad. In order to get a more complete picture of our research object in this paper, we have tried to connect these Alalakh records to the archaeological and epigraphic finds of contemporary Ebla. Provisional conclusions are advanced in the light of the epigraphic data from Tell Atchana.Los archivos de Tell Atchana-Alalah VII han conservado algunas referencias de sumo interés sobre la Ebla de 1700 a 1600 a.C. Aunque se trata de breves anotaciones en documentos de carácter administrativo, dichas pruebas dejan vislumbrar algunas de las claves de las relaciones que Ebla y Alalah sostenían en tiempos de la dominación amorrea de Siria, cuando ambas capitales formaban parte del poderoso estado de Yamhad. Para obtener un cuadro más completo de nuestro objeto de estudio, estas pruebas se intentan poner en consonancia con los resultados que han proporcionado las investigaciones arqueológicas y epigráficas sobre la contemporánea Ebla. Se avanzan algunas conclusiones provisionales en virtud de los testimonios epigráficos de Tell Atchan

Global Imbalances in a World of Inflexible Real Exchange Rates and Capital Controls

This paper addresses the issue of international payments in a stock-flow framework, by capturing the interaction between the current account balance and international assets portfolios of domestic and foreign investors. It is argued that the stability of such interaction may be affected by shifts in the preferences of investors, by the relative rate of return of different assets, and—more in general—by institutional settings. The model is then used for policy analysis purposes to derive the conditions for the existence of dynamic equilibria, and if they can be attained, under the assumption of market-distorting policy choices.global economic imbalances; international payments; exchange rates; capital controls; current account balance; international assets portfolios

Direct healthcare costs of diabetes mellitus patients in Spain

Objectives. To estimate the healthcare resources spent by diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002. Methods. The present work is a cost-of-illness study. Direct healthcare costs were estimated using rates of DM, based on primary and secondary sources of information. A range of prevalence from 5% to 6% of the adult population was determined. The total cost was composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents; other drugs; disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles and syringes); hospitalization; primary care visits; visits to specialists. Results. The estimated direct cost of DM during the year 2002 ranges from (euros)2.4 billion to (euros)2.67 billion. Hospital costs had the highest weight ((euros)933 million) in the total, followed by non-insulin, non-hypoglycemic-agent drugs ((euros)777-932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents ((euros)311 million), primary care visits ((euros)181-272 million), specialized visits ((euros)127-145 million) and disposable elements ((euros)70-81 million). The per-diabetic, per-year cost ranges between (euros)1,290 to 1,476. Discussion. Despite our rather conservative approach to the issue, our findings demonstrate the high direct healthcare costs of diabetic patients. Likewise, they illustrate the magnitude of the costs of treatment of DM-related complications

DIRECT HEALTHCARE COSTS OF DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS IN SPAIN

Objectives. To estimate the healthcare resources spent by diabetic patients in Spain during the year 2002. Methods. The present work is a cost-of-illness study. Direct healthcare costs were estimated using rates of DM, based on primary and secondary sources of information. A range of prevalence from 5% to 6% of the adult population was determined. The total cost was composed of six items: insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents; other drugs; disposable and consumable goods (glucose test strips, needles and syringes); hospitalization; primary care visits; visits to specialists. Results. The estimated direct cost of DM during the year 2002 ranges from € 2.4 billion to € 2.67 billion. Hospital costs had the highest weight (€ 933 million) in the total, followed by non-insulin, non-hypoglycemic-agent drugs (€ 777-932 million). Much lower are the costs of insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents (€ 311 million), primary care visits (€ 181-272 million), specialized visits (€ 127-145 million) and disposable elements (€ 70-81 million). The per-diabetic, per-year cost ranges between € 1,290 to € 1,476. Discussion. Despite our rather conservative approach to the issue, our findings demonstrate the high direct healthcare costs of diabetic patients. Likewise, they illustrate the magnitude of the costs of treatment of DM-related complications.

Community : la hibridación de géneros a través de la metaficción y el homenaje

En cualquier proceso comunicativo (literatura, cine, televisión) siempre ha surgido la necesidad de encasillar cada obra para un mejor análisis, pero, con las narrativas del siglo XXI, se complica esta categorización, pues hace tiempo que una obra pertenece a más de un solo género. El género puro resulta imposible encontrar en la ficción, incluso en relatos cinematográficos. y las series cada vez buscan ser más originales para fidelizar a su público, por lo que se experimenta con nuevos formatos y situaciones alejados de lo ya existente, pero con varios referentes dispersos. Se le da nuevo significado a lo conocido y se reformulan los elementos para crear algo nuevo. Así, en estas últimas décadas nacen nuevas formas de narrar y fragmentar el relato, y el medio crece, evoluciona y se adapta, tomando todas las bases necesarias para crear nuevas obras, que reconfiguran los conceptos existentes y dan pie a nuevos modos de ver el género, con formatos que nacen cada vez más hibridados.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Comunicación Audiovisual y Publicida

An Appraisal of Ekalte 11 (MBQ-T 65): 34 from Tall Munbāqa (Syria)

The Akkadian text from Tall Munbāqa-Ekalte (Syria): Ek 11 (MBQ-T 65) contains on its line 34 a rather bizarre passage which still remains without a coherent translation since the Ekalte texts were published. Although this document uses a similar legal phraseology generally employed in the Ekalte documents, it shows an interesting difference in using the logogram Ì.LÁ.E and the penalty clause. These are expressed through a different clause pattern. The clear economic nature of the context assures in any case that Ì.LÁ.E is not used in this text in its normal position in the apodosis formula, but in the protasis. The aim of the present paper is to investigate this problematic context and to offer some new perspectives on trying to understand this difficult passage in the Akkadian of EkalteEl texto acadio de Tell Mumbāqa-Ekalte (Siria): Ek 11 (MBQ-T 65) contiene en su línea 34 un pasaje sumamente raro que todavía permanece sin traducción coherente desde que se publicó este archivo. Aunque este documento emplea una fraseología legal similar a la de otros textos de Ekalte, muestra una diferencia interesante en la utilización del logograma Ì.LÁ.E y su cláusula de penalización. Éstos –logograma y cláusula de penalización– se expresan mediante un patrón desconocido. El claro contexto económico del pasaje asegura, en cualquier caso, que Ì.LÁ.E no se usa en este texto en su posición normal en la apodosis, sino claramente en la prótasis. El objetivo de esta contribución es investigar este problemático contexto del acadio de Ekalte y ofrecer nuevas perspectivas de interpretació