Stocks, Flows and Valuation Effects of Foreign Assets and Liabilities: Do They Matter?

Large holdings of foreign assets and liabilities, along with increasing relevance of valuation effects—capital gains or losses—have characterized global financial integration. In this paper, we assess empirically the implications of stocks, flows and valuation adjustments in external crises (current-account reversals, sudden stops and currency crises), sovereign credit ratings and the longrun real exchange rates (RER), in both industrial and developing economies. We find support for the view that foreign assets and liabilities are rather distinctive external holdings with different implications in the occurrence of external crisis. Valuation adjustments have an impact on crises, although quantitatively not very large. Portfolio liabilities (particularly equity) increase the probability of current-account reversals and currency crises, while the likelihood of sudden stops increases with the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) assets. In the case of sovereign credit ratings, we find a noteworthy effect of the stock and flows of FDI liabilities on improving sovereign ratings. Finally, as for the RER, gross assets and liabilities appear equally important, but components of external holdings have considerably different effects. While the cumulative current account is associated with real depreciation, the valuation effect is strongly linked with real currency appreciations in developing economies.

Micropropagation of Salvia wagneriana Polak and hairy root cultures with rosmarinic acid production

Salvia wagneriana Polak is a tropical species native to Central America, well adapted to grow in the Mediterranean basin for garden decoration. Micropropagation has been assessed from axillary shoots of adult plants using a Murashige and Skoog basal medium, with the addition of 1.33-μM 6-benzylaminopurine for shoot proliferation; the subsequent rooting phase occurred in plant growth regulator-free medium. The plants were successfully acclimatised with high survival frequency. Hairy roots were induced after co-cultivation of leaf lamina and petiole fragments with Agrobacterium rhizogenes and confirmed by PCR. The establishment and proliferation of the selected HRD3 line were obtained in hormone-free liquid medium and the production of rosmarinic acid (RA) was evaluated after elicitation. The analysis of RA was performed by LC-ESI-DAD-MS in the hydroalcoholic extracts. The addition of casein hydrolysate increased the RA production, whereas no enrichment was observed after the elicitation with jasmonic acid

Establishment of in vitro tissue cultures from Echinacea angustifolia D.C. adult plants for the production of phytochemical compounds

SUMMARY The establishment of in vitro cultures of Echinacea angustifolia D.C. was obtained directly from sections of flower stalks of adult plants. The shoot formation was obtained from this plantmaterial placed on a modified MS basal medium named CH supplemented with 0.5 mg L1 6 benzylaminopurine (BA). The in vitro propagation procedure of E. angustifolia consisted of three distinct phases: an initial regeneration phase fromstalk sections (IP shoots on basal mediumwith 0.25 mg L1 BA), an elongation phase on active charcoal and an axillary proliferation of the shoots (AP shoots on basal medium with 0.5 mg L1 BA).Regenerating calli were established from leaves of in vitro shoots cultured on CH medium supplemented with 3 mg L1 BA and 0.5 mg L1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Developed shoots from the callus cultures were subcultured on the CH medium with 0.5 mg L1 BA (leaf regenerated shoots: LR shoots). The secondary metabolite content of the in vitro plant material was compared with that of the greenhouse growing plants. The quali-quantitative LC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis on the extracts from axillary proliferation shoots (AP shoots) showed significant production of caffeic acid derivatives while leaf callus and LR shoots, accumulated mainly alkamides. These results showed that the proper choice of the procedures for in vitro multiplication allowed us to obtain plant biomass able to produce the active compounds typical of E. angustifolia plants

Un modello di analisi dei rischi ai sensi del D.Lgs. 231/01 applicato a un'azienda farmaceutica

Il D.Lgs. n. 231 dell’8 Giugno 2001 “Disciplina della responsabilità amministrativa delle persone giuridiche, delle società e delle associazioni anche prive di personalità giuridica, a norma dell’art. 11 della legge 29 settembre 2000, n. 300” scardina l’antico dogma societas delinquere non potest per far posto ad un nuovo principio secondo cui societas delinquere et puniri potest. In sintesi, se un dipendente commette un reato tra quelli previsti, nell’ipotesi che esso sia compiuto nell’interesse o a vantaggio dell’azienda di appartenenza, questa può essere ritenuta responsabile dell’illecito e può incorrere, se viene dimostrata l’inidoneità degli strumenti di prevenzione adottati, in sanzioni così pesanti che potrebbero pregiudicarne la continuità. Questa tesi illustra il progetto di adeguamento a quanto previsto dal Decreto in un’industria farmaceutica. Il settore farmaceutico, vista la complessità e la tipologia di mercato in cui opera, richiede alle aziende un’analisi particolarmente estensiva delle proprie operazioni ai fini dell’applicazione del Decreto. In particolare viene qui affrontata la definizione del Modello di Organizzazione, Gestione e Controllo, strumento da adottare per ottenere un efficace grado di prevenzione e controllo sulle attività dell’azienda, a partire dall’analisi dei rischi connessi alla commissione dei reati previsti. Decree 231 of June 8, 2001, “Administrative liability of juridical persons, corporations, and associations, even without juridical personalities, according to Art. 11 of Law n. 300 dated September 29, 2000 [translated by author],” replaces the old societas delinquere non potest dogma with the new societas delinquere et puniri potest principle. Briefly, in the event that an employee commits a crime as established by the law in the company’s interest or advantage, the company itself can be held responsible for said crime with possible penal sanctions so heavy that could suspend its activity if it is proven that the crime prevention instruments put in place were not adequate. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the conceptual design and the implementation of the instruments foreseen in such law in a pharmaceutical company. Given its complexity and the characteristics of its market, the pharmaceutical industry offers an excellent opportunity to observe a complete application of the tools foreseen in such law. In particular the thesis defines the Organisation, Management and Control Model, an instrument that can be implemented for an effective level of prevention and control of company activity, beginning with a risk analysis of the foreseen crimes

Daidzein Production and HeLa Cytotoxicity of Bituminaria bituminosa hairy root Cultures

Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C.H. Stirt is a perennial species widely distributed in the Mediterranean basin and the Canary Islands. This species is used in folk medicine and currently has considerable pharmaceutical interest for its content in phenylpropanoids, furanocoumarins and pterocarpans. In vitro cultures (shoots and hairy roots) have been performed to obtain plant material useful for the production of these metabolites. Hairy root cultures were successfully established after inoculation of hypocotyls with the LBA 9402 A. rhizogenes strain. The HRPB3 line was selected for further analysis and elicited with chitosan and salicylic acid. All the HRPB3 cultures showed higher polyphenol content and greater DPPH-antioxidant activity than shoots cultured in vitro. The presence of isoflavone daidzein was detected in the hairy root extracts. The cytotoxic effect of HR extracts has been further tested on HeLa cells: the salicylic acid elicited HR exhibited good antiproliferative effects

Phytochemical Characterization of Citrus-Based Products Supporting Their Antioxidant Effect and Sensory Quality

The increasing attention on the impact of food on human and environmental health has led to a greater awareness about nutrition, food processing, and food waste. In this perspective, the present work deals with the investigation of the chemical non-volatile and volatile profiles of two Citrus-based products, produced through a conscious process, using Citrus peels as natural gelling agents. Moreover, the total polyphenol content (TPC) and the antioxidant properties were evaluated, as well as their sensorial properties. Chemical and antioxidant results were compared with those of Citrus fresh fruits (C. reticulata, C. sinensis, and C. limon). Concerning the non-volatile fingerprint, the two samples showed a very similar composition, characterized by flavanones (naringenin, hesperetin, and eriodyctiol O-glycosides), flavones (diosmetin and apigenin C-glucosides), and limonoids (limonin, nomilinic acid, and its glucoside). The amount of both flavonoids and limonoids was higher in the Lemon product than in the Mixed Citrus one, as well as the TPC and the antioxidant activity. The aroma composition of the two samples was characterized by monoterpene hydrocarbons as the main chemical class, mainly represented by limonene. The sensorial analysis, finally, evidenced a good quality of both the products. These results showed that the most representative components of Citrus fruits persist even after the transformation process, and the aroma and sensorial properties endow an added value to Citrus preparations

Speculative Currency Attacks: Role of Inconsistent Macroeconomic Policies and Real Exchange Rate Overvaluation

This paper provides a critical analysis of Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999) (KR), perhaps the most prominent empirical paper on causes of currency crises. After dealing with problems present in this paper, it proposes an aggregate leading indicator of crisis. The proposed indicator performs better than a composite index based on the best six individual indicators of KR, both in terms of accuracy and predictive capacity, and represents a unified version of the currency crises approach that emphasizes the role of inconsistent macroeconomic policies as an explanation of currency crises, and the approach that emphasizes the role of tradeoffs among policymakers decisions as the main cause of these crises. Variables included in the proposed leading indicator are: the deviation of the actual stock of international reserves from an estimated demand for international reserves; the real growth of domestic credit; the ratio of domestic credit to M2; and the behavior of both the real exchange rate and industrial production as a measure of overvaluation of the real exchange rate.

Physiological and Biochemical Adaptive Traits in Leaves of Four Citrus Species Grown in an Italian Charterhouse

Citrus trees are a very important crops that are cultivated worldwide, but not much knowledge is known about the ecophysiological responses to climatic changes in trees under natural conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate their adaptive capacity in response to seasonal phenological and environmental changes. The trial included Citrus trees (sweet orange, bitter orange, lemon, mandarin) growing under non-regular cropping conditions in a Monumental Charterhouse in Tuscany, in a subtropical Mediterranean climate with hot summer conditions. During a 1-year field trial, we determined the variations in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and leaf biochemical traits (content of chlorophylls and carotenoids, total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total non-structural carbohydrates). In all Citrus spp., interspecific mean values of photochemical efficiency peaked during the summer, while a marked photoinhibition occurred in the winter in concomitance with higher interspecific mean values of leaf TPC, TAC, and non-structural carbohydrates. The trees showed the pivotal role played by photosynthetic acclimation as a survival strategy to tolerate abiotic stress in the climate change hotspot of Mediterranean environment. This study is included in a wider project aimed at a new valorization of Citrus trees as genetic resource and its by-products with added-value applications for innovative functional foods

Production of Curcuminoids in different in vitro organs of Curcuma longa.

Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) is one of the most important spice and safe food additives. Its main constituents, curcuminoids, showed anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant effects. In the present work, an in vitro propagation method was developed to achieve selected plant organs with quantified curcuminoid content. I n vitro plants were obtained from sprouting buds as primary explants. The major curcuminoid constituents, such as curcumin (CUR), demethoxycurcumin (DEM), and bis-demethoxycurcumin (bis-DEM) were examined in different organs by LC-DAD-ESI-MS. A significant production of curcumin (more than 260 μg g−1fresh weight) was obtained from in vitro microrhizomes, especially grown in a Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with kinetin (0.1 mg L−1), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, 1 mg L−1), sucrose (6%), agar (5%) and activated charcoal (0.1%). The analyzed microrhizomes showed reduced amounts of DEM and bis-DEM in comparison with CUR levels. In addition a shoot culture line was suitable to biosynthesize curcuminoids, in a ratio very similar to that identified in the fresh rhizomes of parent plants. This study represents the first direct quantification of curcuminoids in turmeric in vitro shoots and microrhizomes to be used in dietary supplements

Auge y caída de precios de commodities y su impacto sobre precios domésticos: Comparación internacional.

This paper compares domestic food, energy and core inflation in a sample of 44 countries during the recent commodities price boom-and-bust cycle, and explains differences across countries. In particular, it explores the role of structural and cyclical factors in explaining cross-country differences. Structural factors are essential in explaining cross-country differences in food and energy inflation. Differences in both price levels and domestic price regulations are key and significant. About half of the difference between the increase in domestic food prices in Chile from 2007 to 2008, and the average food inflation for the whole sample of countries, was explained by these factors. Even though the unexplained component of food and energy inflation in Chile is positive and greater than that of other countries during the boom, actual core inflation was less than expected inflation using the model. This is evidence contrary to the de-anchoring of inflation expectations hypothesis.