Countercyclical contingent capital (CCC): possible use and ideal design

Contingent capital – any debt instrument that converts into equity when a predefined event occurs – has received increasing attention as a viable tool for allowing banks to raise capital when needed at relatively more affordable prices than common equity. While the debate has focused on contingent capital for systemically important financial institutions, this paper concentrates on its possible use for covering capital needs arising from the implementation of countercyclical buffers. We propose the introduction of countercyclical contingent capital (CCC) based on a double trigger. The interaction of the two triggers would determine a quasi-default status. Conversion would be required when the financial system is simultaneously facing aggregate problems and the individual bank – while still in a going concern status – shows weaknesses. Building on this proposal, the paper tests how different double triggers would have worked in the past and discusses the optimal design of the conversion mechanism and prudential treatment.Basel 2, capital buffer, procyclicality, contingent capital, financial crisis, reforms

Multi-Value Numerical Modeling for Special Di erential Problems

2013 - 2014The subject of this thesis is the analysis and development of new numerical methods for Ordinary Di erential Equations (ODEs). This studies are motivated by the fundamental role that ODEs play in applied mathematics and applied sciences in general. In particular, as is well known, ODEs are successfully used to describe phenomena evolving in time, but it is often very di cult or even impossible to nd a solution in closed form, since a general formula for the exact solution has never been found, apart from special cases. The most important cases in the applications are systems of ODEs, whose exact solution is even harder to nd; then the role played by numerical integrators for ODEs is fundamental to many applied scientists. It is probably impossible to count all the scienti c papers that made use of numerical integrators during the last century and this is enough to recognize the importance of them in the progress of modern science. Moreover, in modern research, models keep getting more complicated, in order to catch more and more peculiarities of the physical systems they describe, thus it is crucial to keep improving numerical integrator's e ciency and accuracy. The rst, simpler and most famous numerical integrator was introduced by Euler in 1768 and it is nowadays still used very often in many situations, especially in educational settings because of its immediacy, but also in the practical integration of simple and well-behaved systems of ODEs. Since that time, many mathematicians and applied scientists devoted their time to the research of new and more e cient methods (in terms of accuracy and computational cost). The development of numerical integrators followed both the scienti c interests and the technological progress of the ages during whom they were developed. In XIX century, when most of the calculations were executed by hand or at most with mechanical calculators, Adams and Bashfort introduced the rst linear multistep methods (1855) and the rst Runge- Kutta methods appeared (1895-1905) due to the early works of Carl Runge and Martin Kutta. Both multistep and Runge-Kutta methods generated an incredible amount of research and of great results, providing a great understanding of them and making them very reliable in the numerical integration of a large number of practical problems. It was only with the advent of the rst electronic computers that the computational cost started to be a less crucial problem and the research e orts started to move towards the development of problem-oriented methods. It is probably possible to say that the rst class of problems that needed an ad-hoc numerical treatment was that of sti problems. These problems require highly stable numerical integrators (see Section ??) or, in the worst cases, a reformulation of the problem itself. Crucial contributions to the theory of numerical integrators for ODEs were given in the XX century by J.C. Butcher, who developed a theory of order for Runge-Kutta methods based on rooted trees and introduced the family of General Linear Methods together with K. Burrage, that uni ed all the known families of methods for rst order ODEs under a single formulation. General Linear Methods are multistagemultivalue methods that combine the characteristics of Runge-Kutta and Linear Multistep integrators... [edited by Author]XIII n.s

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and the viral infection

Exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a widespread highly toxic environmental contaminant, suppresses immune response and leads to an increased susceptibility to infectious agents. In particular, several studies have provided evidence that TCDD decreases resistance to numerous viruses. Indeed, in vivo and in vitro investigations showed that the presence of TCDD is able to interfere with the replication of both human and animal viruses, such as influenza A viruses, coxsackie virus B3, immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex II, and bovine herpesvirus 1. Moreover, TCDD could induce an exacerbation of latent infection produced by HIV-1, CMV or Epstein-Barr virus. In this review, we first describe the general effects of TCDD exposure on mammalian cells, then we focus on its influence on the viral infections. Overall, the available data support the concept that TCDD exposure may act as an additional risk factor in promoting of viral diseases

Heterogeneous Organizational Arrangements in Agrifood Chains: A Governance Value Analysis Perspective on the Sheep and Goat Meat Sector of Italy

In the Italian agrifood sector, one observes heterogeneity in the types of quality certification processes. This heterogeneity cannot be explained by standard governance theories like transaction costs economics (TCE). We use the governance value analysis (GVA) perspective that synthesizes TCE and a resources-based view (RBV), to suggest that the observed heterogeneity in organizational forms is a result of heterogeneous differentiating strategies that farms have pursued in the face of competitive pricing pressures. To empirically test GVA, data are obtained using a survey methodology on lamb meat produced by local farms in the Abruzzo region of Italy, challenged by price-costs squeeze. Our empirical test evidences the relevance of the adopted approach, enlightening different organizational arrangements, strictly linked to both the strategic positioning and to the farms’ resources and core competencies

MG-132 reduces virus release in Bovine herpesvirus-1 infection

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) can provoke conjunctivitis, abortions and shipping fever. BoHV-1 infection can also cause immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections, leading to pneumonia and occasionally to death. Herein, we investigated the influence of MG-132, a proteasome inhibitor, on BoHV-1 infection in bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Infection of MDBK cells with BoHV-1 induces apoptotic cell death that enhances virus release. Whereas, MG-132 inhibited virus-induced apoptosis and stimulated autophagy. Protein expression of viral infected cell protein 0 (bICP0), which is constitutively expressed during infection and is able to stimulate Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), was completely inhibited by MG-132. These results were accompanied by a significant delay in the NF-κB activation. Interestingly, the efficient virus release provoked by BoHV-1-induced apoptosis was significantly reduced by MG-132. Overall, this study suggests that MG-132, through the activation of autophagy, may limit BoHV-1 replication during productive infection, by providing an antiviral defense mechanism

Involvement of FOXO Transcription Factors, TRAIL-FasL/Fas, and Sirtuin Proteins Family in Canine Coronavirus Type II-Induced Apoptosis

n our previous study, we have shown that canine coronavirus type II (CCoV-II) activates both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathway in a canine fibrosarcoma cell line (A-72 cells). Herein we investigated the role of Sirtuin and Forkhead box O (FOXO) families in this experimental model using Nortern Blot and Western Blot analysis. Our results demonstrated that mitochondrial SIRT3 and SIRT4 protein expression increased from 12 and 24 h post infection (p.i.) onwards, respectively, whereas the nuclear SIRT1 expression increased during the first 12 h p.i. followed by a decrease after 36 h p.i., reaching the same level of control at 48 h p.i. Sirtuins interact with/and regulate the activity of FOXO family proteins, and we herein observed that FOXO3A and FOXO1 expression increased significantly and stably from 12 h p.i. onwards. In addition, CCoV-II induces a remarkable increase in the expression of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), while we observed a slight up-regulation of FasL/Fas at 36 p.i. with a decrease of both proteins at the end of infection. Furthermore, we found that virus infection increased both bax translocation into mitochondria and decreased bcl-2 expression in cytosol in a time-dependent manner

Whole blood transcriptome analysis in ewes fed with hemp seed supplemented diet

the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa L.) has a long tradition of being used for many di erent purposes such as industry, medicine and nutrition. In particular, because hemp seed (HS) is rich in oil protein and considerable amounts of dietary ber, vitamins and minerals that are particularly suitable also for animal nutrition. Di erent studies have evaluated HS on qualitative and quantitative properties of livestock products but as of today, nobody has investigated the molecular pathway behind HS supplementation in farm animals. Thus, in this study, we will report the rst RNA sequencing of the whole-blood transcriptome of ewes fed either with a controlled diet (CTR, n = 5) or with a diet supplemented with 5% of hemp seed (HSG, n = 5). Applying a false discovery rate (FDR) <0.05 and a log2FC either higher than 0.5 or lower than −0.5, we identi ed 314 di erentially regulated genes in the HS-supplemented group compared to the CTR group. Several genes encoding for di erent subunits belonging to the complex I, II, III, IV and ATP-synthase were up-regulated making oxidative phosphorylation (FDR: 3.05e-19) and thermogenesis (FDR: 2.17e-16) the highest up-regulated pathways in our study. Moreover, we found up-regulation in di erent genes involved in lactose biosyntheses such as GALK1 and PGM1 and, as a result, we observed a statistically higher lactose percentage in the HSG group (p < 0.05). These results indicate that HS supplementation positively a ects the energy production pathway in lactating ewes conferring them also more resistance to adverse climatic conditions such as low temperature. Finally, the higher milk lactose content makes the derived dairy products more pro table