International transmission of shocks under the classical Gold Standard (1880-1914): The role of Depositor Confidence as a source of amplification

En esta tesis se explora el papel de la confianza de los depositantes como fuente de amplificación y propagación de los choques internacionales a las tenencias de oro, centrándose principalmente en las crisis de 1893 y 1907. Mediante la obtención de respuestas dinámicas para diferentes momentos durante el clásico patrón oro (1880-1914), en particular haciendo la diferencia entre episodios de 'calma' y 'pánico', es posible caracterizar cambios en el impacto dinámico de estos choques, y ello se realiza a través de la estimación de un modelo FAVAR con parámetros que cambian en el tiempo. Asimismo, también se analizan los cambios a lo largo del tiempo en las volatilidades de los principales factores, con el fin de capturar los cambios dinámicos en el conjunto de información de los agentes económicos. En general, la lección principal es que incluso en la era clásica del patrón oro hubo cambios de régimen basados en el flujo de información, y esto es útil para explicar los cambios en el mecanismo de transmisión de los choques internacionales del oro.The role of depositor confidence as a source of amplification and propagation of International Gold shocks is explored in this paper, focusing principally on the panics of 1893 and 1907. By obtaining dynamic responses for different points in time during the classical Gold Standard (1880-1914), in particular making the difference between ‘calm’ and ‘panic’ episodes, it is possible to characterize changes in the dynamic impact of these shocks, and this task is performed through an estimated Time-Varying FAVAR model. Besides, changes over time in volatilities of main factors are also analyzed in order to capture the dynamic changes in the information set of economic agents. Overall, the main lesson is that even in the classical Gold Standard era there were regime changes based on the flow of information, and this is useful to explain changes in the transmission mechanism of International Gold shocks

Endogenous Rho-kinase signaling maintains synaptic strength by stabilizing the size of the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles

Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) regulates neural cell migration, proliferation and survival, dendritic spine morphology, and axon guidance and regeneration. There is, however, little information about whether ROCK modulates the electrical activity and information processing of neuronal circuits. At neonatal stage, ROCK is expressed in hypoglossal motoneurons (HMNs) and in their afferent inputs, whereasROCK is found in synaptic terminals on HMNs, but not in their somata. Inhibition of endogenousROCKactivity in neonatal rat brainstem slices failed to modulate intrinsic excitability of HMNs, but strongly attenuated the strength of their glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic inputs. The mechanism acts presynaptically to reduce evoked neurotransmitter release. ROCK inhibition increased myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, which is known to trigger actomyosin contraction, and reduced the number of synaptic vesicles docked to active zones in excitatory boutons. Functional and ultrastructural changes induced by ROCK inhibition were fully prevented/reverted by MLC kinase (MLCK) inhibition. Furthermore, ROCK inhibition drastically reduced the phosphorylated form of p21-associated kinase (PAK), which directly inhibits MLCK. We conclude that endogenous ROCK activity is necessary for the normal performance of motor output commands, because it maintains afferent synaptic strength, by stabilizing the size of the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles. The mechanism of action involves a tonic inhibition of MLCK, presumably through PAK phosphorylation. This mechanism might be present in adults since unilateral microinjection of ROCK or MLCK inhibitors into the hypoglossal nucleus reduced or increased, respectively, whole XIIth nerve activity

Safety and efficacy of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in patients with acute ischaemic stroke in Spain (IBIS trial): a phase 2, randomised, open-label, standard-of-care controlled, multicentre trial

[Background] Pilot clinical trials have shown the safety of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) in stroke. However, the efficacy of different doses of intra-arterial BMMNCs in patients with acute stroke has not been tested in a randomised clinical trial. We aimed to show safety and efficacy of two different doses of autologous intra-arterial BMMNC transplantation in patients with acute stroke.[Methods] The IBIS trial was a multicentre phase 2, randomised, controlled, investigator-initiated, assessor-blinded, clinical trial, in four stroke centres in Spain. We included patients (aged 18–80 years) with a non-lacunar, middle cerebral artery ischaemic stroke within 1–7 days from stroke onset and with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 6–20. We randomly assigned patients (2:1:1) with a computer-generated randomisation sequence to standard of care (control group) or intra-arterial injection of autologous BMMNCs at one of two different doses (2 × 106 BMMNCs/kg or 5 × 106 BMMNCs/kg). The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale scores of 0–2 at 180 days in the intention-to-treat population, comparing each BMMNC dose group and the pooled BMMNC group versus the control group. The primary safety endpoint was the proportion of serious adverse events. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02178657 and is completed.[Findings] Between April 1, 2015, and May 20, 2021, we assessed 114 patients for eligibility. We randomly assigned 77 (68%) patients: 38 (49%) to the control group, 20 (26%) to the low-dose BMMNC group, and 19 (25%) the high-dose BMMNC group. The mean age of participants was 62·4 years (SD 12·7), 46 (60%) were men, 31 (40%) were women, all were White, and 63 (82%) received thrombectomy. The median NIHSS score before randomisation was 12 (IQR 9–15), with intra-arterial BMMNC injection done a median of 6 days (4–7) after stroke onset. The primary efficacy outcome occurred in 14 (39%) patients in the control group versus ten (50%) in the low-dose group (adjusted odds ratio 2·08 [95% CI 0·55–7·85]; p=0·28), eight (44%) in the high-dose group (1·89 [0·52–6·96]; p=0·33), and 18 (47%) in the pooled BMMNC group (2·22 [0·72–6·85]; p=0·16). We found no differences in the proportion of patients who had adverse events or dose-related events, but two patients had a groin haematoma after cell injection in the low-dose BMMNC group.[Interpretation] Intra-arterial BMMNCs were safe in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, but we found no significant improvement at 180 days on the mRS. Further clinical trials are warranted to investigate whether improvements might be possible at different timepoints.The Andalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies through the Andalusian Progress and Health Public Foundation is the study sponsor. We acknowledge all the participants of the trial and the investigators. We thank the funding bodies Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the projects PI18/01414, PI15/01197, RD16/0019/0015 (INVICTUS+), and RD21/0006/0015 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund “A way to make Europe” and by the European Social Fund [FSE] “The FSE invests in your future”), Mutua Madrileña grant, and the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia, who financed the costs incurred by participating hospitals and the Andalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies through the Andalusian Progress and Health Public Foundation. MM-R has a Rio Hortega grant (CM21/00096). We acknowledge the Methodological and Statistical Support Unit from the Andalusian Public Foundation for Health Research Management in Seville (FISEVI) for their support in the statistical analysis.Peer reviewe

Resultados Semilleros de Investigación 2009-2010

La publicación recoge los doce informes finales de investigación presentados por los estudiantes de ocho Semilleros 1 y cuatro Semilleros 2, correspondientes a la convocatoria 2009–2010 y se constituye en el Número 25 de la Serie de Investigaciones en Construcción, si bien este es el primer Número publicado en formato digital que UNIJUS se permite poner a disposición no sólo de la comunidad universitaria, sino también de la sociedad colombiana e internacional, interesada en los temas estudiados por los jóvenes investigadores de la Facultad de Derecho, Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Congreso Internacional de Responsabilidad Social Apuestas para el desarrollo regional.

Congreso Internacional de Responsabilidad Social: apuestas para el desarrollo regional [Edición 1 / Nov. 6 - 7: 2019 Bogotá D.C.]El Congreso Internacional de Responsabilidad Social “Apuestas para el Desarrollo Regional”, se llevó a cabo los días 6 y 7 de noviembre de 2019 en la ciudad de Bogotá D.C. como un evento académico e investigativo liderado por la Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios -UNIMINUTO – Rectoría Cundinamarca cuya pretensión fue el fomento de nuevos paradigmas, la divulgación de conocimiento renovado en torno a la Responsabilidad Social; finalidad adoptada institucionalmente como postura ética y política que impacta la docencia, la investigación y la proyección social, y cuyo propósito central es la promoción de una “sensibilización consciente y crítica ante las situaciones problemáticas, tanto de las comunidades como del país, al igual que la adquisición de unas competencias orientadas a la promoción y al compromiso con el desarrollo humano y social integral”. (UNIMINUTO, 2014). Dicha postura, de conciencia crítica y sensibilización social, sumada a la experiencia adquirida mediante el trabajo articulado con otras instituciones de índole académico y de forma directa con las comunidades, permitió establecer como objetivo central del evento la reflexión de los diferentes grupos de interés, la gestión de sus impactos como elementos puntuales que contribuyeron en la audiencia a la toma de conciencia frente al papel que se debe asumir a favor de la responsabilidad social como aporte seguro al desarrollo regional y a su vez al fortalecimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

Ensayos sobre macroeconometría estructural

Descargue el texto completo en el repositorio institucional de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/119323Esta tesis trata sobre la estimación estructural de modelos macroeconómicos a través de métodos Bayesianos y las implicancias económicas derivadas de sus resultados. El primer capítulo proporciona un método general para la estimación de modelos VAR estructurales. El segundo capítulo aplica dicho método y proporciona una medida de la posición de política monetaria de la Reserva Federal para los últimos cuarenta años. Se utiliza una variedad de instrumentos y se tienen en cuenta las prácticas recientes denominadas políticas no convencionales. Se muestra cómo el mecanismo de transmisión de la política monetaria ha cambiado a través del tiempo, centrando la atención en el período posterior a la gran recesión. El tercer capítulo desarrolla un modelo de determinación del tipo de cambio con información dispersa y cambios de régimen, y tiene el propósito de capturar la dispersión observada en datos de encuestas de expectativas de Japón. El modelo realiza un buen trabajo en términos de ajuste de los datos.This thesis is concerned with the structural estimation of macroeconomic models via Bayesian methods and the economic implications derived from its empirical output. The first chapter provides a general method for estimating structural VAR models. The second chapter applies the method previously developed and provides a measure of the monetary stance of the Federal Reserve for the last forty years. It uses a pool of instruments and taking into account recent practices named Unconventional Monetary Policies. Then it is shown how the monetary transmission mechanism has changed over time, focusing the attention in the period after the Great Recession. The third chapter develops a model of exchange rate determination with dispersed information and regime switches. It has the purpose of fitting the observed disagreement in survey data of Japan. The model does a good job in terms of fitting the observed data.España. Universitat Pompeu Fabr

Essays in structural macroeconometrics

This thesis is concerned with the structural estimation of macroeconomic models via Bayesian methods and the economic implications derived from its empirical output. The first chapter provides a general method for estimating structural VAR models. The second chapter applies the method previously developed and provides a measure of the monetary stance of the Federal Reserve for the last forty years. It uses a pool of instruments and taking into account recent practices named Unconventional Monetary Policies. Then it is shown how the monetary transmission mechanism has changed over time, focusing the attention in the period after the Great Recession. The third chapter develops a model of exchange rate determination with dispersed information and regime switches. It has the purpose of fitting the observed disagreement in survey data of Japan. The model does a good job in terms of fitting the observed data.Esta tesis trata sobre la estimación estructural de modelos macroeconómicos a través de métodos Bayesianos y las implicancias económicas derivadas de sus resultados. El primer capítulo proporciona un método general para la estimación de modelos VAR estructurales. El segundo capítulo aplica dicho método y proporciona una medida de la posición de política monetaria de la Reserva Federal para los últimos cuarenta años. Se utiliza una variedad de instrumentos y se tienen en cuenta las prácticas recientes denominadas políticas no convencionales. Se muestra cómo el mecanismo de transmisión de la política monetaria ha cambiado a través del tiempo, centrando la atención en el período posterior a la gran recesión. El tercer capítulo desarrolla un modelo de determinación del tipo de cambio con información dispersa y cambios de régimen, y tiene el propósito de capturar la dispersión observada en datos de encuestas de expectativas de Japón. El modelo realiza un buen trabajo en términos de ajuste de los datos

Estimating overidentified, nonrecursive, time-varying coefficients structural VARs

This paper provides a method to estimate time varying coefficients structural VARs which are non-recursive and potentially overidentified. The procedure allows for linear and non-linear restrictions on the parameters, maintains the multi-move structure of standard algorithms and can be used to estimate structural models with different identification restrictions. We study the transmission of monetary policy shocks and compare the results with those obtained with traditional methods