Innovation, Public Debt and Monetization: an Empirical Analysis

This paper explores the relationship between public debt and technological innovation through panel threshold regressions on a sample of 15 industrialized countries from 2000 to 2019. It also asks what impact debt monetization (expressed as the amount of debt held at the central bank) has on this nexus. Our results show strong nonlinearities in the sense that an increase in debt above a certain threshold negatively impacts the rate of innovation, while below it has positive effects. Monetizing debt contributes positively to innovation if it is below the "debt turning point", while this becomes detrimental for debt-to-GDP ratios above the threshold. The same inverted-U-shaped relationship is found between the monetization rate and innovation rate

A Meta-Analysis on the Debt-Growth Relationship

We perform a meta-analysis on the relationship between public (government and external) debt and economic growth, coding 422 observations from 32 studies estimating cross-sectional or panel regressions. The average estimated effect size turns out to be negative (around -0.2). Heterogeneity is substantial and influenced mainly by within-studies variability. The moderators that allow to slightly mitigate it and that influence the estimate of the effect size concern the publication status, the journal ranking, the variables used as proxies, the level of wealth and development of the countries considered, the sample size, the region, and the estimation method. Publication bias arises, both as regards the direction of the estimated effect size, and the statistical significance of the results presented

The Uncertainty of Fairness: a Game Theory Analysis for a Debt Mutualization Scheme in the Euro Area

This paper aims to briefly present the fairness approach in game theory and its potential application. Fairness means that players consider not only personal payoffs but also others’ payoffs and beliefs regarding their actions. In this context, we distinguish two approaches, one based on the material payoff and the other on beliefs. We adopt the fairness approach in proposing three games for studying the strategic interaction between a hypothetical country and the European Union in proposing a debt mutualization scheme. We find that the optimal debt quota to share with the European Union is 50%; concerning the moral hazard problem, commitment to structural reforms for countries with high public debt leads to the best equilibrium, that can be preserved following an incentive strategy

Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and imaging: New approaches to the analysis of cultural heritage and its degradation

Applications of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPL) and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) to the analysis of cultural heritage are presented. Examples range from historic wall paintings and stone sculptures to 20th century iconic design objects. A detailed description of the instrumentation developed and employed for analysis in the laboratory or in situ is given. Both instruments rely on a pulsed laser source coupled to a gated detection system, but differ in the type of information they provide. Applications of FLIM to the analysis of model samples and for the in-situ monitoring of works of art range from the analysis of organic materials and pigments in wall paintings, the detection of trace organic substances on stone sculptures, to the mapping of luminescence in late 19th century paintings. TRPL and FLIM are employed as sensors for the detection of the degradation of design objects made in plastic. Applications and avenues for future research are suggested

Proteins pattern alteration in AZT-treated K562 cells detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting

In this study we report the effect of AZT on the whole protein expression profile both in the control and the AZT-treated K562 cells, evidenced by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting analysis. Two-dimensional gels computer digital image analysis showed two spots that appeared up-regulated in AZT-treated cells and one spot present only in the drug exposed samples. Upon extraction and analysis by peptide mass fingerprinting, the first two spots were identified as PDI-A3 and stathmin, while the third one was proved to be NDPK-A. Conversely, two protein spots were present only in the untreated K562 cells, and were identified as SOD1 and HSP-60, respectively

Erectile dysfunction in hyperuricemia: A prevalence meta‐analysis and meta‐regression study

AbstractBackgroundWhether and to what extent an association exists between hyperuricemia and erectile dysfunction (ED) has not yet been fully determined.ObjectiveTo define pooled prevalence estimates and correlates of erectile dysfunction in men with hyperuricemic disorders.Materials and methodsA thorough search of Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases was performed. Data were combined using random‐effects models and the between‐study heterogeneity was assessed by Cochrane's Q and I2 tests. A funnel plot was used to assess publication bias.ResultsOverall, 8 studies included gave information about 85,406 hyperuricemic men, of whom 5023 complained of erectile dysfunction, resulting in a pooled erectile dysfunction prevalence estimate of 33% (95% Confidence Interval: 13–52%; I² = 99.9%). The funnel plot suggested the presence of a publication bias. At the meta‐regression analyses, among the available covariates that could affect estimates, only type 2 diabetes mellitus was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction (β = 0.08; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.01, 0.15, p = 0.025). At the sub‐group analysis, the pooled erectile dysfunction prevalence decreased to 4% (95% Confidence Interval: 0%–8%) when only the largest studies with the lowest prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus were included and increased up to 50% (95% Confidence Interval: 17%–84%) when the analysis was restricted to studies enrolling smaller series with higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus.ConclusionsA not negligible proportion of men with hyperuricemia can complain of erectile dysfunction. While a pathogenetic contribution of circulating uric acid in endothelial dysfunction cannot be ruled out, the evidence of a stronger association between hyperuricemia and erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus points to hyperuricemia as a marker of systemic dysmetabolic disorders adversely affecting erectile function

Calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) mediates insulin-stimulated proliferation and glucose uptake.

Cellular growth and glucose uptake are regulated by multiple signals generated by the insulin receptor. The mechanisms of individual modulation of these signals remain somewhat elusive. We investigated the role of CaMKII in insulin signalling in a rat skeletal muscle cell line, demonstrating that CaMKII modulates the insulin action on DNA synthesis and the negative feedback that down regulates glucose uptake. Insulin stimulation generated partly independent signals leading to the rapid activation of Akt, Erk-1/2 and CaMKII. Akt activation was followed by Glut-4 translocation to the plasma membrane and increase of glucose uptake. Then, IRS-1 was phosphorylated at S612, the IRS-1/p85PI3K complex was disrupted, Akt was no more phosphorylated and both Glut-4 translocation and glucose uptake were reduced. Inhibition of CaMKII abrogated the insulin-induced Erk-1/2 activation, DNA synthesis and phosphorylation of IRS-1 at S612. Inhibition of CaMKII also abrogated the down-regulation of insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation, Glut-4 membrane translocation and glucose uptake. These results demonstrate that: 1 — CaMKII modulates the insulin-induced Erk-1/2 activation and cell proliferation; 2 — after the initial stimulation of the IRS-1/Akt pathway, CaMKII mediates the down- regulation of stimulated glucose uptake. This represents a novel mechanism in the selective control of insulin signals, and a possible site for pharmacological intervention

SRSF2 mutations in epithelial ovarian cancer

Resistance to platinum chemotherapy regimens represents a major obstacle in the successful treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. Among the molecular mechanism responsible for resistance to platinum, alternative splicing, which is induced upon platinum treatment, can control apoptosis by regulating the expression of apoptotic protein variants with opposite functions. Alterations in alternative splicing are found in tumors and can hinder apoptotic response. In the present study we sequenced SRSF2, a splicing factor that regulates Caspase-8 and Caspase-9 variants, in search of mutations that could possibly explain alternative mechanisms of platinum resistant in EOC