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The role of the European Central Bank (ECB) has expanded substantially in recent years due to subsequent crises. As a result, its accountability has been a matter of growing concern. This paper focuses on recent monetary policy decisions (specifically, the 2020–21 monetary policy strategy review and the Transmission Protection Instrument) and the evolving accountability practices of the ECB. After discussing three relevant key dimensions of central bank design (independence, discretion and accountability) and their relationship over time, the article shows that the highlighted recent developments will lead to a much greater degree of discretion on the part of the ECB, and that accountability practices have not evolved in a commensurate manner. The article concludes by making specific proposals to improve, to some degree, the accountability of the ECB to the European Parliament, and address the current imbalance between independence, discretion and accountability.

Analizar si existe mayor prevalencia de trastornos del sueño y desórdenes en su higiene en los pacientes con enuresis monosintomática (ENM) con respecto a la población general y a los pacientes con ENM corregida. Valorar la utilidad de la escala de cribado de trastornos del sueño en la infancia BEARS en la ENM.

Valorar el rendimiento diagnóstico de los patrones de micción disfuncional asociados al reflujo vesicoureteral (RVU) en niños mayores de 3 años, en función del resultado del primer tratamiento endoscópico (T1END), agrupados en una clasificación diseñada por nuestro grupo (CMD.URI-La Fe) y su comparación con otras clasificaciones existentes como la de Van Batavia et al.

The honey bee, Apis melliferaL. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is a model organism for pollinators in risk assessment frameworks globally. The acute toxicity tests with adult honey bees for contact and oral exposure are part of the requirements for pesticide registration and are typically conducted with the active ingredient. A question often asked is if the typical end-use product (TEP) is more toxic than the technical grade active ingredient (TGAI) to honey bees. We explored this question by mining publicly available databases from regulatory agencies worldwide, where testing with the TEP is required. The objective of this study was to determine whether TEPs are comparable in toxicity to the TGAI. The dataset was analyzed via a 3 × 3 contingency table with toxicity categories, as the data cannot be computed for regression analysis. Of the 151 active ingredients with reported endpoints for contact exposure, 28 were classified as either moderately or highly toxic, 123 were classified as practically nontoxic, and 3 were inconclusive. Only two (1.3%) were reclassified from nontoxic to moderately toxic as the TEP. Of the 141 active ingredients with reported endpoints for oral exposure, 23 were classified as moderately or highly toxic, 113 were classified as practically nontoxic, and 5 were inconclusive. Only five (3.6%) were reclassified from nontoxic to moderately toxic as the TEP. Fewer than 5% of the total TEPs evaluated (contact and oral) were shown to be more toxic than the TGAI, suggesting that the risk assessments of TGAIs would be sufficiently protective to pollinators at the screening laboratory level.

Transcription of handwritten documents is an important research topic for multiple applications, such as document classification or information extraction. In the case of historical documents, their transcription allows to preserve cultural heritage because of the amount of historical data contained in those documents. The transcription process can employ state-of-the-art handwritten text recognition systems in order to obtain an initial transcription. This transcription is usually not good enough for the quality standards, but that may speed up the final transcription of the expert. In this framework, the use of collaborative transcription applications (crowdsourcing) has risen in the recent years, but these platforms are mainly limited by the use of non-mobile devices. Thus, the recruiting initiatives get reduced to a smaller set of potential volunteers. In this paper, an alternative that allows the use of mobile devices is presented. The proposal consists of using speech dictation of handwritten text lines. Then, by using multimodal combination of speech and handwritten text images, a draft transcription can be obtained, presenting more quality than that obtained by only using handwritten text recognition. The speech dictation platform is implemented as a mobile device application, which allows for a wider range of population for recruiting volunteers. A real acquisition on the contents of a Spanish historical handwritten book was obtained with the platform. This data was used to perform experiments on the behaviour of the proposed framework. Some experiments were performed to study how to optimise the collaborators effort in terms of number of collaborations, including how many lines and which lines should be selected for the speech dictation.

Evaluar la necesidad de la realización de la gammagrafía renal en el diagnóstico de la displasia renal multiquística (DRMQ), así como la seguridad de su tratamiento conservador.

El diseño de la quilla de una bandeja tibial es fundamental para la transmisión de la mayor parte de las cargas a las estructuras óseas periféricas, las cuales tienen mejores propiedades mecánicas reduciendo, de este modo, el riesgo de aflojamiento. El objetivo de este estudio es comparar el comportamiento de diferentes diseños de bandeja tibial ante cargas de torsión. Se modelizaron 4 componentes tibiales diferentes. La reconstrucción 3D se llevó a cabo con el programa MIMICS. Los sólidos se generaron en SolidWorks. Se realizó el estudio por elementos finitos mediante Unigraphics.

Valorar la relación entre la aparición de dolor en punta de vástago tibial con una disminución de la resistencia ósea preoperatoria mediante microindentación ósea. En segundo lugar, conocer la utilidad potencial de la algometría de presión en el diagnóstico y seguimiento de este grupo de pacientes.

The purpose of this study was to compare the short-term changes in quality of life for patients younger than 80 years with those 80 years and older undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). It was hypothesized that patients 80 years and older had a similar quality of life after TKA compared with those younger than 80 years.All consecutive patients undergoing primary TKA were enrolled in this prospective, comparative, prognostic (level I evidence) study and were stratified into 2 groups based on their age (younger than 80 years and 80 years and older). Data on quality of life assessed using the Short Form 36 health survey were obtained preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively (short-term follow-up) and were compared between groups. A total of 328 (83.89%) patients younger than 80 years (mean age, 70.7 years) and 63 (16.11%) patients 80 years and older (mean age, 82.1 years) were included. No significant differences in preoperative quality of life were observed between groups. Postoperative physical function, vitality, social function, and physical component summary were lower in patients 80 years and older. Older patients had a lower difference between pre- and postoperative values in Short Form 36 physical function and role–emotional scores.Patients 80 years and older had a similar improvement in quality of life 1 year after TKA compared with patients younger than 80 years. Therefore, changes in quality of life justify TKA as a treatment option for elderly patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis.

Supracondylar femoral fracture is a complex complication after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). One potential complication of retrograde locked nailing is malunion in extension of the femoral prosthetic component—produced by an overly posterior nail entry point in the intercondylar notch. The aim of this study was to determine the repercussion of this deformity on the midterm radiological and functional outcomes of TKA.

Although very different in many respects, the EU and Canada nevertheless confront common problems in certain areas. One such common problem is how to manage inter-state regulatory diversity within a federal (or federal-like), multinational system. This paper compares the different ways in which the EU and Canada have chosen to address the problem of national barriers to trade within their internal markets, and the consequences of these choices. It is somewhat counterintuitive for EU lawyers that a full-fledged state may have an internal market that is less integrated than that of the EU; and yet that is the case in Canada. The comparison is illuminating as to the different possible approaches of federal polities to the problem of state regulatory choices and barriers to trade, the paramount importance of institutional choice, and the significance of historical and political circumstances.

Certificate validation is much more complex in mobile ad hoc networks than in conventional networks because online access to trusted authorities is not always guaranteed. For this reason, we require new solutions to overcome both the lack of infrastructure and the limited capabilities of several user devices. In this article we study the application of different mechanisms for certificate validation in MANETs and present a cooperative mechanism for certificate validation suitable for MANETs.

Abstract: We carried out a multicentre study to compare the postoperative femorotibial radiographic axis in two total knee replacement groups; one using manual instrumentation and the other using navigation. In the latter group, three navigation systems were used: Stryker, Orthopilot and Navitrack. The prior circumstances of patients in terms of age, weight, aetiology, epicondylar perimeter, patellar tendon length and knee deformity was similar in both groups. The duration of the operation was longer in the group with navigation (16.7 min). A normal femorotibial axis was more frequently obtained in the group with a navigator compared to the manual group (48.1% and 30%, respectively). A varus axis was most common in the manual group (42.2 and 26.9%, respectively). When we analysed the final postoperative radiographic axis, taking 180° to be a normal result, we noted that cases where manual instrumentation was used deviated by 1.19° more than those carried out with navigation, with this difference being statistically significant (P<0.001). No significant differences were found in the final angle of the extremity with the different navigation systems. The navigation systems used in this study improve the frontal angle of the arthroplasty.

Twelve adult New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups. In group 1, 30% of the central mass of the right patellar tendon was removed. In group 2, 60% was removed. The left knees served as controls. The animals were killed 1 year later. The patella–patellar tendon–tibial tuberosity units of all knees were studied using histological and morphometric analysis. In both groups, the tendons had lengthened. Lengthening average was 2.50 mm in group 1 and 8.17 mm in group 2. In both groups, histology revealed poor alignment of the collagen fibres and high cellularity, although the findings in group 1 were nearer the normal histological pattern. The results suggest that removal of significant portions of the patellar tendon leads to lengthening of the resulting tendon. In clinical practice, it seems prudent to pay attention to the dimensions of the patellar tendon when harvesting a graft.

Phytophthora citrophthorais the most widely spread oomycete plant pathogen over all the citrus growing areas and represents one of the major causes of crop losses. Constitutive over-expression of genes encoding proteins involved in plant defence mechanisms to disease is one of the strategies proposed to increase plant tolerance to oomycete and fungal pathogens. P23 (PR-5), a 23-kDa pathogenesis-related protein similar to osmotins, is induced in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill. cv. Rutgers) plants when they are infected with citrus exocortis viroid, and its antifungal activity has been demonstrated in in vitroassays. We have successfully produced transgenic orange (Citrus sinensisL. Obs. cv. Pineapple) plants bearing a chimeric gene construct consisting of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and the coding region of the tomato pathogenesis-related PR-5. Nine regenerated transgenic lines constitutively expressed the PR protein. They were challenged with Phytophthora citrophthorausing a detached bark assay. A significant reduction in lesion development was consistently observed in one transgenic line in comparison to the control plants. This same line achieved plant survival rates higher than control plants when transgenic trees were inoculated with oomycete cultures. These results provide evidence for the in vivoactivity of the tomato PR-5 protein against Phytophthora citrophthora, and suggest that this may be employed as a strategy aimed at engineering Phytophthoradisease resistance in citrus.

The purpose of this article is to report the treatment and short-term results of a combined fracture of the talus treated arthroscopically. A 29-year-old man sustained an anterolateral osteochondral grade III fracture of the talus dome associated with a coronal fracture of the body of the talus. This injury was reduced and fixed arthroscopically using cannulated screws. The patient returned to his daily style of living after 3 months time. One year later, the patient remains asymptomatic. Radiography showed neither signs of osteonecrosis nor osteoarthritis of the talus at the 1-year follow-up. Therefore, arthroscopic surgery could be an alternative treatment for this kind of talus fracture.

We transferred the trapezius with its bone insertion to the proximal humerus in 6 patients for treatment of a paralytic shoulder secondary to traumatic lesions of the brachial plexus. After 1 year, the shoulder abduction was improved from average 13° (0°-30°) preoperatively to 76° (50°-100°) postoperatively, and the shoulder flexion from 18° (0°-40°) to 78° (45°-110°) postoperatively. All the patients were satisfied with the outcome.We consider that transfer of the trapezius in a paralytic shoulder after brachial plexus injury gives a better outcome than shoulder fusion.

The surface properties of single crystalline Fe3Si(100) have been characterized by AES, UPS, LEED, ISS and XPS measurements. The ideal Fe3Si(100) surface may exhibit two possible terminations: pure Fe or mixed Fe/Si (1:1). XPS shows that the thermally equilibrated surface has a larger concentration of Si in the top layers than in the bulk. The thickness of the Si-enriched region is of the order of 2 ML. The segregated overlayer is ordered according to LEED. It corresponds to a metastable phase with the structure of the CsCl and an FeSi composition, stabilized by epitaxy on top of the substrate. The corresponding surface electronic structure, as revealed by UPS, is in good agreement with theoretical calculations. ISS and CO titration experiments support the presence of both Si and Fe at the external surface, the former giving rise to a c(2 × 2) surface reconstruction composed of Si adatoms.

RESUMENEste art?culo parte de analizar la evoluci?n del sistema monetario internacional desde la introducci?n de los tipos de cambio flotantes en 1973 hasta la actualidad y la controversia a que ha dado lugar el comportamiento del r?gimen de flexibilidad cambiar?a, as? como la conveniencia o no de establecer un sistema de tipos de cambio m?s estable. Despu?s de hacer referencia a algunas de las propuestas que se han formulado para dotar de m?s estabilidad al sistema, se analiza la influencia de la mayor movilidad de los capitales y las ense?anzas que en este sentido puede ofrecer la reciente crisis del Sistema Monetario Europeo.

Medir la tolerancia del estudio urodinámico (EUD) en el paciente pediátrico, mediante una escala visual analógica. Analizar qué variables clínicas y relacionadas con el EUD influyen en la percepción del dolor.

Solitary neurofibromas of the genitourinary tract are rare; rarer still are neurofibromas of the urinary tract associated with the neurofibromatosis of von Recklinghausen's disease. We report the unusual occurrence of neurofibromatosis of the bladder in one child. The literature is reviewed.

The aim of this study was to assess the utility of pressure algometry (PA), to measure pain relief in the medial part of the knee after a closing-wedge high tibial osteotomy (CWHTO).

Pain quantification is essential for diagnostic and pain monitoring purposes in disorders around the knee. Pressure algometry is a method described to determine pressure pain threshold (PPT) by applying controlled pressure to a given body point. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of this method when it was applied to the medial part of the proximal tibia metaphysis and to evaluate the PPT levels between genders.

Cirrospilus vittatus is a generalist parasitoid detected on the invading Phyllocnistis citrella 1 yr after the introduction of this pest into Spain in 1993. In this study, the influence of temperature on parasitoid development, survival, and some selected life history parameters was determined. Development times shortened as the temperature increased from 15 to 30°C, but increased between 30 and 35°C. Larval development times varied the greatest over the range of temperatures, whereas egg development varied the least. The estimated upper and lower development thresholds were 38.2 and 8.2°C, respectively, and the maximal developmental rate (8.75 d−1) occurred at 31.5°C. The thermal constant was 275.1 ± 4.6 degree-days. Cirrospilus vittatus appeared to be a synovigenic species. Mean fecundity at 25°C was 39.17 eggs per female, and the oviposition rate fluctuated around five eggs per day. Superparasitism was quite common (42.8%), but fertility was high (85.6%). Immature C. vittatus survival was 58.1%. From these results, an intrinsic rate of increase of 0.126 females per female per day was estimated. Although under typical Mediterranean climatic conditions, development of C. vittatus could continue throughout the year, its reproductive fitness at 25°C is lower than other leafminer parasitoids attacking P. citrella in Spain. These results could account for the progressive displacement observed in field populations occurring between C. vittatus and the predominant indigenous parasitoids of P. citrella, Cirrospilus sp. near lyncus.

Cirrospilus vittatus is a generalist parasitoid detected on the invading Phyllocnistis citrella 1 yr after the introduction of this pest into Spain in 1993. In this study, the influence of temperature on parasitoid development, survival, and some selected life history parameters was determined. Development times shortened as the temperature increased from 15 to 30°C, but increased between 30 and 35°C. Larval development times varied the greatest over the range of temperatures, whereas egg development varied the least. The estimated upper and lower development thresholds were 38.2 and 8.2°C, respectively, and the maximal developmental rate (8.75 d-1) occurred at 31.5°C. The thermal constant was 275.1 ± 4.6 degree-days. Cirrospilus vittatus appeared to be a synovigenic species. Mean fecundity at 25°C was 39.17 eggs per female, and the oviposition rate fluctuated around five eggs per day. Superparasitism was quite common (42.8%), but fertility was high (85.6%). Immature C. vittatus survival was 58.1%. From these results, an intrinsic rate of increase of 0.126 females per female per day was estimated. Although under typical Mediterranean climatic conditions, development of C. vittatus could continue throughout the year, its reproductive fitness at 25°C is lower than other leafminer parasitoids attacking P. citrella in Spain. These results could account for the progressive displacement observed in field populations occurring between C. vittatus and the predominant indigenous parasitoids of P. citrella, Cirrospilus sp. near lyncus.