Constant interest rate projections without the curse of indeterminacy

Constant interest rate (CIR) projections are often criticized on the grounds that they are inconsistent with the existence of a unique equilibrium in a variety of forward-looking models. This note shows howto construct CIR projections that are not subject to that criticism, using a standard New Keynesian model as a reference framework.

Adaptive dynamics and the implementation problem with complete information

This paper studies the equilibrating process of several implementationmechanisms using naive adaptive dynamics. We show that the dynamics convergeand are stable, for the canonical mechanism of implementation in Nash equilibrium.In this way we cast some doubt on the criticism of ``complexity'' commonlyused against this mechanism. For mechanisms that use more refined equilibrium concepts,the dynamics converge but are not stable. Some papers in the literatureon implementation with refined equilibrium concepts have claimed that themechanisms they propose are ``simple'' and implement ``everything'' (incontrast with the canonical mechanism). The fact that some of these ``simple''mechanisms have unstable equilibria suggests that these statements shouldbe interpreted with some caution.

Censura gubernativa, Iglesia e inquisición en el siglo XVIII

Government censorship in Eighteenth Century Spain was another means of the Spanish Enlightenment policy. Until mid-century both powers of Church and State were balanced, from Charles III’s reign on the censorship of the Consejo de Castilla tried to control and restrict not only the traditional power of the Inquisition, but also the intellectual output of the country, either ideological -criticism on the Crown’s policy- or cultural-publishing religious Works. It is important to notice that many members of the elergy collaborated with the State in that task; and also that, after the French Revolution, the Inquisition regained its previous role. In the last decade of the Seventeenth century the irreconcilable clash between the advocates and the critics of the Inquisition became evident

Francesc Fontanella, le poète alchimiste baroque

Deux vers saisissants. Un homme qui s’arrête quelques instants à la croisée décisive des chemins. Voici en quelques mots le résumé d’un passé traumatisant qu’il faut abolir, d’un présent fugace et douloureux, d’un avenir inconnu et menaçant

Vicent Garcia, poeta europeu

Si hi ha un període postmedieval similar al nostre d’avui en la història literària catalana en el qual els nostres escriptors -trencant radicalment amb una tradició ja obsoleta (com era la del cinc-cents en la seva major part)- es posen a l’alçada dels corrents literaris europeus, aquest és el període barroc (cf. Rossich 1984 ). El text que em proposo analitzar i comparar il·lustra perfectament aquesta circumstància

Materiales para una edición crítica de las Novelas ejemplares

El artículo realiza un repaso sobre las alternativas teóricas y pragmáticas para una edición crítica de las Novelas ejemplares de Cervantes y a partir de los desarrollos más actuales de la bibliografía material se centra en varios lugares críticos del texto comentados por la tradición editorial de las Novelas.

Who are Cerverí's worst enemies?

Those who heard the piece sung at the royal court of Aragon, where it was composed, were more than likely familiar with its author, the troubadour Cerverí de Girona, one of the most significant poets of the time. If later readers knew the poem from a compilation similar to the only chansonnier that has preserved it until present times, they would have had access to at least one hundred and three other pieces by the same troubadour, which give useful clues to understand this self-referential piece

Notes sobre la tradició textual del Llibre dels àngels de Francesc Eiximenis

L’edició completa de les obres de Francesc Eiximenis és una empresa filològica que presenta dificultats objectives, no només perquè les obres tenen un pes material més que considerable, sinó també per la gran quantitat de testimonis manuscrits i impresos que cal col·lacionar. Amb l’objectiu d’ajudar a superar aquestes dificultats, ja fa alguns anys que l’Institut de Llengua i Cultura Catalanes de la Universitat de Girona ha emprès la publicació de les Obres de Francesc Eiximenis, i avui afortunadament podem afirmar que les obres d’Eiximenis, especialment les inèdites, ja tenen equips de treball que s’ocupen de la preparació de les edicions corresponents. Paral·lelament, i en la mateixa línia de treball, s’ha iniciat una nova descripció integral dels testimonis manuscrits i impresos de Francesc Eiximenis, els primers resultats de la qual es podran consultar en línia ben aviat. En el marc que acabo de descriure fa temps que un equip treballa en l’edició crítica del Llibre dels àngels (en endavant LA), escrit a València el 1392

Borges: fervor de Dante

Ya son más de una docena los estudios dedicados a la asimilación de Dante en la obra de Borges, pero la dispersión bibliográfica y la carencia de una edición crítica de los textos borgesianos pueden suponer un obstáculo serio para quien pretenda estudiar este aspecto de forma sistemática. Por ello, en este artículo se ofrece una síntesis de los problemas que entraña la presencia de Dante en Borges (cronología de su presencia, tendencias de la crítica y significado de Dante en la poética del escritor argentino). También se ofrece un corpus, ordenado y completo, de las menciones de Dante en las narraciones, ensayos y poemas del bonaerense, que incluye los ensayos que este dedicó a la Comedia, los recuerdos autobiográficos que le conciernen, las menciones generales y precisas, y los comentaristas de Dante que citó a lo largo de sus textos

Avaluació de revistes i avaluació de la recerca en humanitats i ciències socials a Catalunya: aproximació a un problema

The evaluation of the quality and impact of journals as a starting point to systematise the quality of research is an indirect method commonly used for obtaining information for systematic and major evaluation efforts, such as those needed for public tenders to aid projects and research groups. Nevertheless, this method runs into an important obstacle: preparing rankings of journals in the humanities and social sciences is considerably more complex than for those on experimental, biomedical or technological sciences. Cultural, linguistic and territorial components of research in the humanities and social sciences radically question the international rankings. Within this context, the article presents the experience of a study-in-progress whose intention is to evaluate the rankings of journals in the humanities and social sciences published in 1997 by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Even thought an attempt was made to bring this type of titles closer to the Catalan community of researchers, the initiative has been frequently surrounded by controversy and criticism and, at the present, does not enjoy the needed recognition of the Catalan academic sector.

Le prêt à intérêt dans l'Antiquité préchrétienne : Jérusalem, Athènes, Rome : étude juridique, philosophique et historiographique

Le prêt à intérêt était pratiqué par tous les peuples de l'Antiquité préchrétienne, à l'exception du peuple d'Israël. L'auteur examine d'abord l'interdiction du prêt à intérêt dans l'Ancien Testament. Il expose ensuite la pratique du prêt à intérêt en Grèce, avant de détailler les critiques d'Aristote. Enfin, l'auteur retrace l'évolution du prêt (mutuum) et de la réglementation de l'intérêt à Rome, des origines à Constantin. Il met l'accent sur trois grandes controverses parmi les romanistes modernes (XVIe - XXIe s.) : sur le nexum, sur la centesima et, surtout, sur le mystérieux fenus unciarium, le taux d'intérêt fixé par les Douze Tables, pour lequel l'éventail des interprétations va de 1 à 100 % par an ! L'auteur recense les opinions de plus de 400 juristes et historiens, discute les plus importantes et propose sa conclusion. The loan at interest was used by all the peoples of pre-Christian Antiquity, excepting the people of Israel. The author first focuses on the prohibition of lending at interest in the Old Testament. He then explores the use of loans at interest in Greece before examining Aristotle's criticism. Eventually, the author follows the evolution of loan (mutuum) and interest regulation in Rome, from the origins to Constantine. Three great controversies among modern Roman law scholars (16th - 21th) are considered: nexum, centesima and above all, the mysterious fenus unciarium, the interest rate defined by the Twelve Tables, for which the range of interpretations varies between 1 and 100% per year! The author gives an inventory of more than 400 opinions expressed by jurists and historians, discusses the most important ones and suggests a solution.

Ectoparasite affects choice and use of roost sites in the great tit, Parus major

Many diurnal bird species roost at night in holes. As a regular visitor of a hole they are therefore a welcome host for several species of ectoparasites. The interactions of ectoparasites with the behaviour, life-history traits and population demography of their hosts are largely unknown. In the present study the effects of the haematophagous hen flea, Ceratophyllus gallinae , on the great tit's choice of winter roost site were investigated experimentally. Three experiments tested (1) whether great tits prefer a clean nestbox to one containing an old, but parasite-free nest, (2) whether they prefer a parasite-free nestbox to one infested with the haematophagous hen flea, and (3) whether they prefer not to use a nestbox when there is only an infested box available in their territory. In the first experiment there was no discrimination and both kinds of boxes were used equally often. In the second experiment the great tits clearly preferred to roost in the box without ectoparasites. In the third experiment a significantly higher proportion of the infested nestboxes were not used for roosting compared with the parasite-free boxes. Recently the validity of the conclusions drawn from nestbox studies where the naturally occurring detrimental ectoparasites are eliminated by the routine removal of old nests between breeding seasons has been questioned. This study shows that ectoparasites affect host behaviour and therefore lends support to that criticism.

Neurocutaneous sural flap in paraplegic patients.

Neurocutaneous flaps have been demonstrated to be a reliable option in different groups of patients but it remains unclear if distally-based sural flaps can be safely used in paraplegic patients because they suffer from significant nervous system alterations. The aim of this proof-of-concept study is to demonstrate that these flaps are reliable in paraplegic patients. We prospectively analysed a group (n=6) of paraplegic patients who underwent reversed sural flap surgery for ulcers on the lateral malleolus. Measurement of area and photographic documentation techniques have been employed to quantify the defect area. Sural nerve biopsies have been analysed histologically with several different staining techniques to assess the neurovascular network and the myelinisation of the nerve. The patients showed uneventful wound healing, except one case that suffered a partial flap necrosis that healed by secondary intention. Histologic analysis revealed an intact neurovascular network and myelinated nerve fibres. In this small series of paraplegic patients that underwent a distally-based sural flap, the complication rate was low, with only one case of superficial partial necrosis demonstrating the reliability and safety of the flap in this subset of patients. Histologic evaluation of sural nerve biopsies revealed an almost normal morphology. A possible explanation of this phenomenon is that the dorsal root ganglia remain intact in paraplegic patients and can preserve neural characteristics in the peripheral sensory nerve system.

Tumors of the caruncle: a clinicopathologic correlation

PURPOSE: To determine the types and incidence of caruncular lesions and to investigate the correlation between clinical and histologic diagnosis. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. METHODS: Records of patients with a lesion of the caruncle that was excised and submitted to our ocular pathology department between January 1979 and May 2005 were reviewed. Lesions were classified by histologic type and correlated with patient age, gender, and preoperative clinical diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 195 consecutive caruncular lesions from 191 patients were identified. Twenty-four different types of lesions were identified; the most common were nevi (n = 92, 47%) and papillomas (n = 29, 15%). One keratoacanthoma was identified. One hundred eighty-three lesions (93.8%) were benign, six (3.1%) were premalignant, and five (2.6%) were malignant. Preoperative clinical diagnosis corresponded to postexcision histologic diagnosis in 73 cases (37.4%). Suspected malignancy was a common reason for excision (61 cases, 31.3%), but malignancy was confirmed in only three (4.9%) of 61 cases. Two of the five malignant lesions were clinically thought to be benign. CONCLUSIONS: We hereby report the first caruncular keratoacanthoma. The rarity and variety of caruncular lesions make clinical diagnosis difficult. Malignancy is clinically overestimated, and some malignant lesions can take a benign aspect, justifying close photographic follow-up of all lesions. Because caruncular malignant melanoma is associated with poor prognosis, pigmented lesions should be monitored carefully. In the absence of clear criteria for malignancy, any change in color, size, or vascularization of a caruncular lesion should hasten excision.