Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „I-590“

This essay explores how Gregory I (bishop of Rome, 590–604) depicted two Lombard sieges of Rome, traditionally dated to 592 and 593. These events, when they are discussed, are typically presented in a litany of disasters that befell Rome at the end of the sixth century. Plague, famine, flooding, and ultimately the “swords of the Lombards” were the depressing context of Gregory’s pontificate. However, a close examination of Gregory’s letters, the principal source for Rome in this period, reveals that the bishop’s presentation of these Lombard attacks evolved considerably between 591 and 595. Indeed, it was only in response to several controversies with the East, including criticisms by the exarch Romanus and especially the use of the title universalis episcopus (typically translated into English as ecumenical patriarch) by Patriarch John IV of Constantinople (582–95), that Gregory came to recast the Lombard campaigns as disasters for Rome and the causes of great suffering. Rome’s suffering then served as a rhetorical foil against which Gregory contrasted what he saw as the callous neglect of imperial officials and especially John’s prideful asceticism performed in the safety of Constantinople.

Статья посвящена рассмотрению судебных дел двух малоазийских клириков, обвиненных в ереси приговором Константинопольского патриарха таи подавших апелляцию папе Григорию I (590-604). Подробно разобран ход самих дел, а также вопрос о формальной каноничности действий папы Григория, посчитавшего возможным принять апелляции клириков и пересмотреть их приговоры. Выдвигается гипотеза о том, по каким причинам Константинопольские патриархи Иоанн IV Постник (582-595) и Кириак II (595-606) не высказали возражений против перевода судебных дел в папскую юрисдикцию.

Статья посвящена рассмотрению судебных дел двух малоазийских клириков, обвиненных в ереси приговором Константинопольского патриарха таи подавших апелляцию папе Григорию I (590-604). Подробно разобран ход самих дел, а также вопрос о формальной каноничности действий папы Григория, посчитавшего возможным принять апелляции клириков и пересмотреть их приговоры. Выдвигается гипотеза о том, по каким причинам Константинопольские патриархи Иоанн IV Постник (582-595) и Кириак II (595-606) не высказали возражений против перевода судебных дел в папскую юрисдикцию.

MicroRNA (miR)-590-5p has been identified as an important regulator of some signaling pathways such as cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. However, little is known about its role during viral infection. Here, we report that miR-590-5p was significantly induced by various viruses and effectively potentiated virus replication in different viral infection systems. Furthermore, miR-590-5p substantially attenuated the virus-induced expression of type I and type III interferons (IFNs) and inflammatory cytokines, resulting in impaired downstream antiviral signaling. Interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) was identified as a target of miR-590-5p. Interestingly, the role of miR-590-5p in virus-triggered signaling was abolished in IL6R knockout cells, and this could be rescued by restoring the expression of the soluble IL6R (sIL6R) but not the membrane-bound IL6R (mIL6R), suggesting that sIL6R is indispensable for miR-590-5p in modulating the host antiviral response. Furthermore, miR-590-5p down-regulated endogenous sIL6R and mIL6R expression through a translational repression mechanism. These findings thus uncover a previously uncharacterized role and the underlying mechanism of miR-590-5p in the innate immune response to viral infection.

Objective MicroRNA-590-5p (miR-590-5p) has been reported to stimulate osteoblast differentiation; however, its effect in diabetic osteoporosis remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of miR-590-5p on high glucose (HG)-suppressed osteoblast differentiation. Methods The effect of HG on MC3T3-E1 cell survival was assessed using the MTT assay. The expression levels and activities of osteoblastic proteins were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay, and immunoblotting assay. Tumor growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling in MC3T3-E1 cells was assessed using luciferase assay, qRT-PCR, and immunoblotting. Mineralized nodule formation in MC3T3-E1 cells was examined by using the mineralization assay. Results When MC3T3-E1 cells were exposed to HG conditions, there was significant downregulation of miR-590-5p and osteoblastic proteins (e.g., collagen I, Runx2, and ALP); in contrast, Smad7 was upregulated. Furthermore, miR-590-5p targeted Smad7 and inhibited its expression. Additionally, overexpression of miR-590-5p significantly promoted osteoblast growth and differentiation by upregulating TGF-β signaling in HG-treated MC3T3-E1 cells. Conclusions Collectively, the results showed that miR-590-5p was involved in osteogenesis; moreover, miR-590-5p may represent a potential target for the treatment of diabetic osteoporosis.

The purpose of this study was to specify the occurrence and prevalence of Babesia microti in hard ticks removed from dogs in Warsaw (central Poland). Among 590 collected ticks, 209 were identified as Ixodes ricinus, and 381 as Dermacentor reticulatus. B. microti DNA was detected in 11 out of 590 (1.86%) samples of ticks. The DNA of the parasite was detected only in lysates from female I. ricinus ticks (11 out of 193; 5.7%). The result of this study is the first evidence of B. microti in I. ricinus ticks in Warsaw.

Reseña de la obra / Book review: Sánchez Herrero, J. (dir.) (2007). Synodicon Baeticum I. Constituciones conciliares y sinodales del Arzobispado de Sevilla. Tomo I: años 590 al 1604. Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, 187 p. + 1 CD. ISBN 978-84-472-0940-8.

Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots capped with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) were synthesized by a facile method in aqueous solution as a ratiometric fluorescent (I_{590 nm}/I_{458 nm}) probe for curcumin.

Plasmogenes are largely located in mitochondria or plastids and they can influence the inheritance of many plant characteristics. This phenomenon is called cytoplasmic inheritance and can be detected on the basis of the expression of a trait in progeny F₁ obtained from single and reciprocal crosses. The aim of this study was to examine the cytoplasmic inheritance of <i>in vitro</i> productivity of morphogenesis in three genotypes of Fragaria x ananassa Duch., i.e. the cultivars 'Dukat', 'Teresa' and the breeding clone no. 590. Single and reciprocal crosses were done according to Griffi ng's method 3. The value of general combining ability (GCA) indicated cv. 'Teresa' as the best maternal component for crossing and 'Dukat' as the worst. The negative reciprocal cross effects (r_ij) revealed the cytoplasmic inheritance for cv. 'Dukat' as maternal form and positive r_ij for the breeding clone no. 590 indicated the nuclear inheritance of morphogenetic ability. Cv. 'Teresa', as maternal component, showed nuclear inheritance of that trait in crossing with cv. 'Dukat' and with 590 cytoplasmic inheritance. The productivity of morphogenesis in strawberry depended on the parental combination and the direction of crossing.

Partendo dal Registrum Epistolarum, ossia la raccolta delle epistole di Papa Gregorio Magno (590-604), tentare la ricostruzione della rete amministrativa dell’Italia bizantina tra la fine del VI sec. e i primissimi anni del VII sec. Avendo un passato di amministratore, Gregorio Magno conosceva bene la legislazione romana, nonché i diritti e i doveri connessi a ciascuna carica, pertanto, una volta divenuto pontefice, si avvalse della sua posizione per intervenire nelle falle della burocrazia imperiale. Attraverso l'analisi delle sue lettere, è possibile risalire ai destinatari, ricostruendone sia i ruoli rivestiti, nonché il raggio d’azione delle loro competenze. L'epistolario, di conseguenza, diventa una fonte imprescindibile per conoscere l’Italia Bizantina e i suoi protagonisti.

Abstract

We´re surrounded by music in many different ways. Sometimes we choose the music ourselves and sometimes it’s just there. The purpose of my thesis is to illustrate the students apprehension and understanding of the teaching of music in school. Moreover, my own interest in this subject and its influence during my school years motivated me in researching my thesis. Looking back historically we discover how and why music has changed and evolved over time. The main reason behind these changes and evolution today is the powerful influence that media has on it. Through interviewing students between ages 10-12 my research has revealed an interesting phenomenoraphy. I found variations in the students’ descriptions of their music teachings and after reviewing these variations have attempted to establish relationships between them. The results of my reasearch show that what is shown on television and the music played on television is what is totally accepted. Furthermore, my research also showed that the students themselves have no influence on class curriculum. Often lessons are perceived by students to be without structure and direction. Also the students fail to understand their role in the class and how their participation matters. It´s my opinion that if you establish more participation and influence from the students, there is a greater chance that the students take more responsibility and initiative for their role in the class.

Keywords: music, students, apprehension of, phenomenoraphy,

Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det nya personlighetsformuläret Pers Q fungerar på ungdomar samt studera eventuella könsskillnader i personlighet. Vidare undersöks om bakgrundsvariablerna årskurs, syskonplacering, sociokulturell bakgrund samt självuppskattad skolprestation har samband med personligheten. Studien är ett led i utprövningen av Pers Q som mäter verifierade personlighetsfaktorer med validitet för arbetskriterier. Respondenterna består av 138 killar och 233 tjejer från gymnasiet (n=371). En explorativ principalkomponentanalys verifierade en tidigare faktorstruktur med sju personlighetsfaktorer: Omtanke om andra (alfa ,87), Noggrannhet (,84), Social förmåga (,84), Kreativitet (,82), Humörinstabilitet (,77), Stresstålighet (,76) samt Självförtroende (,72). Resultatet visar signifikanta könsskillnader i fem av sju faktorindex. Slutresultatet visar att Pers Q är ett snabbt och lätthanterligt personlighetsformulär som fungerar väl på ungdomar.

The responsiveness and sensitivity to an injection of chicken [Gln 8]-gonadotrophinreleasing hormone (GnRH-I) is lower, and the duration of increased plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) is more prolonged, in laying hens than in adult cockerels (Callus domesticus). This thesis sought to further characterise and establish an oestrogendependency of these sex differences in vivo and in vitro, and to determine the mechanism for sexual differentiation of GnRH-I-induced LH secretion. The magnitude and profile of the GnRH-I-stimulated LH response, and the sensitivity to GnRH-I were shown to be functions of the anterior pituitary gland. There was less LH in gonadotroph cells from laying hens than from adult cockerels, but no sex difference between juveniles. The low responsiveness to GnRH-I of laying hens was reproduced by oestrogen treatment of adult cockerels in vivo and pituitary cells from juvenile chickens in vitro, through depression of the total and readily releaseable pool (RRP) of pituitary LH. The secretion of LH from GnRH-I-stimulated isolated pituitary glands was biphasic, consisting of a spike and a plateau. Sexual differentiation of the magnitude of the spike of LH release was determined by the smaller RRP of LH, and the absence of an extracellular Ca2 -independent and an L-type-Ca 2 channel-dependent component of LH secretion from pituitary glands from laying hens, compared with that from adult cockerels. A decrease in spike-to-plateau phase ratio of GnRH-I-induced LH secretion was observed in vitro in pituitary glands from hens at onset of sexual matuFity. This decrease in ratio was simulated in pituitary glands from adult cockerels in vitro after incubation with 176-oestradiol. The membrane fluidity of pituitary cells from laying hens was lower than that from adult cockerels and shown to be induced in pituitary cells from juvenile chickens by treatment with 17B-oestradiol. Attempts to establish an oestrogen-dependency of the sexually differentiated sensitivity of adult chickens to GnRH-I, or to relate it to a sex difference in pituitary GnRH-receptors were unsuccessfuL The sex difference in GnRH-I-induced duration of increased plasma LH could not be reproduced in vitro and therefore depends on an extrapituitary mechanism. These sex differences became fully established after sexual maturation, with similar GnRH-I-induced LH responses being found in adult cockerels and juveniles of both sex. It is therefore concluded that sexual differentiation of these LH responses results from the maturational increase in plasma 178-oestradiol in hens.

The role of the IGF system during intestinal development of the pig, and in particular the significance of dietary IGF-I was investigated. Significant concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBP were measured in milk and colostrum and in vitro immunoaffinity chromatography studies confirmed IGF-I stability in the presence of newborn and suckled intestinal contents. Specific IGF-I receptors were identified on apical and basolateral membranes, and the cytoplasm of villus/crypt enterocytes. Receptor binding data revealed binding to a single site, with an affinity of 1nM. Receptor affinity remained constant during development but in apical microvillar membranes, IGF-I receptors were transiently up-regulated in suckled animals. The specificity of receptors was confirmed using competition binding and affinity crosslinking studies, and the functional activity of receptors demonstrated using an in vitro receptor autophosphorylation assay. In Caco-2 intestinal cells IGF-I binding and IGF-I receptor mRNA expression was significantly increased in the presence of 7 and 14 day milk, suggesting that milk-borne factors may regulate the up-regulation observed in vivo. In vivo experiments were undertaken using colostrum-fed and colostrum-deprived artificially-reared pigs. Significant differences in plasma IGF-I and IGF binding proteins were observed in the IGF- treated animals compared to controls suggesting that IGF-I remained bioactive in the intestine and was transported to the circulation. The in vivo effects of IGF-I were modulated by early nutrition. Plasma IGF-I increased in colostrum-deprived animals, whereas in colostrum-fed animals levels decreased.

AbstractAt some point before five P.M. on 25 June 1914, in the small coastal town of Lowestoft, Suffolk, 59-year old Louisa Ashby cuts her own throat with a razor and lies down on her bed. Her eight-year-old granddaughter, Dora, discovers her covered in blood, and runs back downstairs to inform her mother that ‘grandmother had cut her finger’.1 Ashby is rushed to the nearby Lowestoft and North Suffolk Hospital, where, according to the East Suffolk Police: The [hospital] matron then requested that an officer should stay and take the sole charge and responsibility of the patient. I told her we could not do that, and that two of her sons were present [for this purpose], she said, ‘They are no good, you brought her here and must take the sole charge of her, or take her away’.2

AbstractMuch has been written about how migrants may utilise social networks to access jobs. Nevertheless, gaps remain in our understanding of how skills, labour market sectors, education level, language proficiency, etc. may influence the relationship between network ties and employment opportunities. Moreover, it is important to adopt a temporal perspective to understand change over time (Ryan L, D’Angelo A, Soc Netw 53:148–158, 2018). Strategies adopted to initially access the labour market, in a new destination, may differ from how employment seeking trajectories develop as migrants become more familiar with local contexts and gain relevant work-experience. This chapter draws upon interviews with diverse migrants, in London, across varied public and private sectors jobs. Beyond a simple binary of strong versus weak ties, I build upon my analytical framework (Ryan L, Sociol Rev, 59(4):707–724, 2011; Ryan L, Sociol Rev, 64(4):951–969, 2016), I explore the relationships within ties, the flow of resources and the relative social location of the actors vertically and horizontally. In so doing, this chapter aims to contribute to understanding migrant networks in three key ways. (1) How migrants’ networks operate both directly and indirectly in job seeking strategies and career development. (2) How the role of networks may differ across varied labour market sectors. (3) How weak and strong ties can be conceptualised as a continuum of dynamic relationships.

Abstract The Dutch Revolt, a revolution in politics and religion, was also a revolution in art and architecture. The fighting devastated hundreds of castles, residences, churches, cloisters, and civic buildings. It involved the suppression of the Catholic Church, which meant confiscation of its buildings, and art treasures, and their reallocation for civic use. The new public Church, the Reformed, adopted a totally different approach to church architecture, and adornment of churches, than its predecessor. The Revolt also led to the expansion, and enhanced status, of the civic militias which became the guardians and standard-bearers of the Revolt. It forged a new political rhetoric which demanded novel forms of civic art replacing what had gone before.

Abstract Sir, knowing how doubtfully all allegories may be construed, and this book of mine, which I have entitled The Faerie Queene, being a continued allegory, or dark conceit, I have thought good as well for avoiding of jealous* opinions and misconstructions, as also for your better light in reading thereof (being so by you commanded), to discover* unto you the general intention and meaning which in the whole course thereof I have fashioned, without expressing of any particular purposes or by-accidents* therein occasioned. The general end there­fore of all the book is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vir­tuous and gentle discipline. Which, for that I conceived should be most plausible* and pleasing, being coloured with an historical fiction, the which the most part of men delight to read, rather for variety of matter than for profit of the example: I chose the history of King Arthur as most fit for the excellency of his person, being made famous by many men's former works, and also furthest from the danger of envy and suspicion of present time.

Abstract This chapter feature the authors’ translations of excerpts from Muhammad Tahir Naqqash’s 2001, 590-page volume titled Ghaziyan-i-Saf-Shikan (Noble Warriors and Battlefronts)—a accounts of LeT’s various operations, including the 2000 fidayeen attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi and the Srinagar airport attack in October 2001. These accounts provide vivid, action-packed details of the life and adventures of various LeT mujahideen stationed in Kashmir and elsewhere in India, emphasizing both the heroism of Muslim mujahideen and the incessant victimized subject position of Muslims. Hindus are depicted as both craven but also violence-prone perpetrators. The forward was written by Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, LeT’s chief of operations and supreme commander of operations in Kashmir. Like many of the items included in this compilation, this text also belies any of Pakistan’s claims that Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (or any of its other operational names) does not engage in the production of violence.

Abstract This essay was first published in Musical Quarterly, 49 (1963), 339–55. The thread that holds this piece together is the fascinating personality of Emilio de’ Cavalieri, diplomat, administrator, impresario, composer, organist, teacher of singing, and choreographer. I recall first that he was a diplomat and administrator, because the correspondence studied here reveals him primarily in these roles, although our interest focuses on the light the letters throw on the musical life of Florence and Rome between 590 and 1602.

Abstract Steel pipelines undergo the following sequential stages prior to high pH stress corrosion cracking (HpHSCC) failure, viz., formation of environmental condition, initiation of the intergranular cracks followed by cracks coalescence to form critical crack size (Stage I), mechanically dictated crack growth with higher rate (Stage II) compared to Stage I, rapid crack propagation to failure (Stage III). From fracture mechanics perspective, the crack size reaches the critical value at the onset of stage II; consequently, stress intensity factor (K) ahead of the crack tip exceed the critical value (KISCC). Although many researches have been devoted to understanding HpHSCC behavior, the mechanical conditions that accelerate the onset of stage II remains unknown. This study investigates the mechanical loading conditions that yield to early onset of stage II with respect to the most severe loading condition in operating pipeline, underload-minor-cycle type of pressure fluctuation. In this study, several loading scenarios were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens exposed to 1 N NaHCO3-1N Na2CO3 at 40° C and −590 mVSCE. The first series of tests were conducted through applying variable amplitude loading waveforms to determine the K value below the KISCC. It was observed the crack growth rate decreases from 1.5 × 10−7 mm/s to 2.5 × 10−8 mm/s when Kmax decreases from 36 to 15 MPa·m0.5. Then, both constant amplitude and variable amplitude loading scenarios with the Kmax = 15 MPa·m0.5 were applied to pre-cracked CT specimens. It was observed that low R-ratio constant amplitude cycles yield to highest crack growth rate (3.6 × 10−7 mm/s), which was one order of magnitude higher than other waveforms. However, comparing the intergranular crack advancement per block resulted in similar crack growth rates for those waveforms containing low R-ratio cycles. These results imply that stage I of crack growth is assisted by fatigue due to low R-ratio cycles. It was observed that loading/unloading frequency of low R-ratio cycles has a direct relation with crack growth rate at stage I, i.e., high frequency cycles accelerate onset of stage II. The implication of these results for pipeline operator is that pressure fluctuation, particularly large and rapid pressure fluctuation at the sites susceptible to HpHSCC, threatens the pipeline integrity. Avoiding such pressure fluctuations, if possible, increase pipeline lifespan and prevents catastrophic damages by intergranular stress corrosion crack growth through delaying the onset of stage II of HpHSCC crack growth.

Introdução: O setor florestal foi considerado de “vocação masculina”, devido à relação com atividades desenvolvidas em campo. No entanto, cursos de engenharia florestal seguem a tendência da educação superior, com aumento da presença feminina. Ações para a divulgação de mulheres em diferentes áreas das ciências florestais e o reconhecimento de pioneiras, contribuem à educação para a igualdade de gênero e a diminuição de situações de discriminação e preconceito. Objetivo: O objetivo do projeto de extensão “Mulheres nas Ciências Florestais” da UFRRJ, foi realizar o levantamento e a divulgação da participação de mulheres atuantes na área, divulgando possibilidades de atuação profissional e valorizando as profissionais em diferentes setores. Material e métodos: A principal ação realizada foram entrevistas, a partir do levantamento de currículo, de nomes obtidos em universidades, institutos, órgaos do governo, empresas e instituições do terceiro setor. Os critérios para análise, em ordem de relevância, foram: graduação; experiência profissional; contribuições para a ciência; prêmios; ocupação de cargos relevantes; e título. A classificação possibilitou identificar nomes com maior relação à área florestal, independente do tempo de experiência. As entrevistas ocorreram por meio de plataformas gratuitas para reuniões virtuais, no período de outubro de 2020 a julho de 2021. Resultados: Foram levantados 138 nomes relevantes, sendo entrevistadas 17 mulheres no período considerado. As entrevistas editadas foram disponibilizadas no Youtube®, com vídeos acima de 30 visualizações (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvo6Fh2rWfGOg-2urcpkmOg). As redes sociais Facebook® e Instagram®, utilizadas para a divulgação das entrevistas e informações associadas ao tema, resultaram em mais de 590 seguidores, e postagens com alcance acima de mil pessoas (@mulheresnascienciasflorestais). Conclusão: O método empregado para a seleção demonstrou ser democrático, pois foi possível abranger diferentes gerações e experiências de vida, em momentos históricos distintos da área florestal. No entanto, o projeto de extensão demanda maior tempo de ação, a fim de obter uma quantidade significativa de entrevistas. Por outro lado, o alcance do público, por meio das redes sociais, foi maior do que a disponibilização dos vídeos. Portanto, embora seja válido manter o canal no Youtube®, a maior divulgação do tema ocorre através de Facebook® e Instagram®.

Improving the nutrition of people has always been one of the main tasks of people. If a person eats junk food, then he has a metabolic disorder, the functional ability of the digestive, cardiovascular, nervous and other body systems. Demographic difficulties, frequent stresses, an increase in the number of people suffering from various diseases, deterioration in the health of children, etc., all these factors necessitate the introduction of additional raw materials that increase the nutritional and biological value of food products, in particular bread and bakery products.

In this working paper, I ask whether or not whites could and should write about concerns of People of Color. To this end, I deal with Hannah Arendt’s controversial article “Reflections on Little Rock” from winter 1958/59. In her article, Arendt comments on the de-segregation of black school children in the USA and the associated unrests in Little Rock (Arkansas) and Charlotte (North Carolina) on September 4, 1957. My analysis of her article is initiated by a confrontation of two other texts. In the first, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race Reni Eddo-Lodge argues that white people are not able to understand the point of view of people of color. In the second, On Kant’s Political Philosophy Hannah Arendt advocates for the contrary that people can understand each other’s point of view when training their imagination to take visits. Since Arendt’s “Reflections on Little Rock” is considered to be a failure, especially in regards of grasping the problems of people of color in the USA, my general question is whether Eddo-Lodge is right, and whether there is no understanding possible or if Arendt missed a crucial step in her own attempt to go visiting? To clarify this, my analysis focuses on Arendt’s use of the term “discrimination”.

We bring together the largest meta-analysis ever conducted in the macroeconomic literature to investigate the effects of central bank credibility on monetary policy. With nearly 1,200 surveyed effects, we first confirm that: (i) conventional policy significantly affects inflation and output, and (ii) unconventional policy significantly affects capital flows and the exchange rate. We next evaluate if different measures of credibility amplify these effects. Our findings indicate that central bank transparency has the largest payoff, as it increases policy effectiveness by 69% when dealing with foreign exchange intervention, by 59% when dealing with capital inflows, and by 14% when dealing with conventional policy. An alternative measure, medium and long-term anchoring in inflation expectations, is the runner up, increasing effectiveness by 31%, 9%, and 10%, respectively. Other measures, such as central bank independence and short-term anchoring in inflation expectations have lower and in some cases null effects.

As a student undertaking a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC)1 based in a GP practice in a rural community in the North of Scotland, I have been lucky to be given responsibility and my own clinic lists. Every day I conduct consultations that change my practice: the challenge of clinically applying the theory I have studied, controlling a consultation and efficiently exploring a patient's problems, empathising with and empowering them to play a part in their own care2 – and most difficult I feel – dealing with the vast amount of uncertainty that medicine, and particularly primary care, presents to both clinician and patient. I initially consulted with a lady in her 60s who attended with her husband, complaining of severe lower back pain who was very difficult to assess due to her pain level. Her husband was understandably concerned about the degree of pain she was in. After assessment and discussion with one of the GPs, we agreed some pain relief and a physio assessment in the next few days would be a practical plan. The patient had one red flag, some leg weakness and numbness, which was her ‘normal’ on account of her multiple sclerosis. At the physio assessment a few days later, the physio felt things were worse and some urgent bloods were ordered, unfortunately finding raised cancer and inflammatory markers. A CT scan of the lung found widespread cancer, a later CT of the head after some developing some acute confusion found brain metastases, and a week and a half after presenting to me, the patient sadly died in hospital. While that was all impactful enough on me, it was the follow-up appointment with the husband who attended on the last triage slot of the evening two weeks later that I found completely altered my understanding of grief and the mourning of a loved one. The husband had asked to speak to a Andrew MacFarlane Year 3 ScotGEM Medical Student 2 doctor just to talk about what had happened to his wife. The GP decided that it would be better if he came into the practice - strictly he probably should have been consulted with over the phone due to coronavirus restrictions - but he was asked what he would prefer and he opted to come in. I sat in on the consultation, I had been helping with any examinations the triage doctor needed and I recognised that this was the husband of the lady I had seen a few weeks earlier. He came in and sat down, head lowered, hands fiddling with the zip on his jacket, trying to find what to say. The GP sat, turned so that they were opposite each other with no desk between them - I was seated off to the side, an onlooker, but acknowledged by the patient with a kind nod when he entered the room. The GP asked gently, “How are you doing?” and roughly 30 seconds passed (a long time in a conversation) before the patient spoke. “I just really miss her…” he whispered with great effort, “I don’t understand how this all happened.” Over the next 45 minutes, he spoke about his wife, how much pain she had been in, the rapid deterioration he witnessed, the cancer being found, and cruelly how she had passed away after he had gone home to get some rest after being by her bedside all day in the hospital. He talked about how they had met, how much he missed her, how empty the house felt without her, and asking himself and us how he was meant to move forward with his life. He had a lot of questions for us, and for himself. Had we missed anything – had he missed anything? The GP really just listened for almost the whole consultation, speaking to him gently, reassuring him that this wasn’t his or anyone’s fault. She stated that this was an awful time for him and that what he was feeling was entirely normal and something we will all universally go through. She emphasised that while it wasn’t helpful at the moment, that things would get better over time.3 He was really glad I was there – having shared a consultation with his wife and I – he thanked me emphatically even though I felt like I hadn’t really helped at all. After some tears, frequent moments of silence and a lot of questions, he left having gotten a lot off his chest. “You just have to listen to people, be there for them as they go through things, and answer their questions as best you can” urged my GP as we discussed the case when the patient left. Almost all family caregivers contact their GP with regards to grief and this consultation really made me realise how important an aspect of my practice it will be in the future.4 It has also made me reflect on the emphasis on undergraduate teaching around ‘breaking bad news’ to patients, but nothing taught about when patients are in the process of grieving further down the line.5 The skill Andrew MacFarlane Year 3 ScotGEM Medical Student 3 required to manage a grieving patient is not one limited to general practice. Patients may grieve the loss of function from acute trauma through to chronic illness in all specialties of medicine - in addition to ‘traditional’ grief from loss of family or friends.6 There wasn’t anything ‘medical’ in the consultation, but I came away from it with a real sense of purpose as to why this career is such a privilege. We look after patients so they can spend as much quality time as they are given with their loved ones, and their loved ones are the ones we care for after they are gone. We as doctors are the constant, and we have to meet patients with compassion at their most difficult times – because it is as much a part of the job as the knowledge and the science – and it is the part of us that patients will remember long after they leave our clinic room. Word Count: 993 words References 1. ScotGEM MBChB - Subjects - University of St Andrews [Internet]. [cited 2021 Mar 27]. Available from: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/subjects/medicine/scotgem-mbchb/ 2. Shared decision making in realistic medicine: what works - gov.scot [Internet]. [cited 2021 Mar 27]. Available from: https://www.gov.scot/publications/works-support-promote-shared-decisionmaking-synthesis-recent-evidence/pages/1/ 3. Ghesquiere AR, Patel SR, Kaplan DB, Bruce ML. Primary care providers’ bereavement care practices: Recommendations for research directions. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2014 Dec;29(12):1221–9. 4. Nielsen MK, Christensen K, Neergaard MA, Bidstrup PE, Guldin M-B. Grief symptoms and primary care use: a prospective study of family caregivers. BJGP Open [Internet]. 2020 Aug 1 [cited 2021 Mar 27];4(3). Available from: https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101063 5. O’Connor M, Breen LJ. General Practitioners’ experiences of bereavement care and their educational support needs: a qualitative study. BMC Medical Education. 2014 Mar 27;14(1):59. 6. Sikstrom L, Saikaly R, Ferguson G, Mosher PJ, Bonato S, Soklaridis S. Being there: A scoping review of grief support training in medical education. PLOS ONE. 2019 Nov 27;14(11):e0224325.

The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in Guyanas economic development by contributing 21.15% of gross domestic product (GDP). However, the share of the agricultural sector has been gradually decreasing over the years. This monograph offers an update of the OCDEs Producer Support Estimate (PSE) methodology applied to Guyana for 2015-2019. The PSE approach focuses on two main elements of support: (i) the effect of government policy on prices received by agricultural producers, and (ii) the support provided through budgetary transfers to the sector. The market price support (MPS) remained Guyanas main PSE component. Expressed as a share of the total PSE, Guyanas MPS averaged 59% between 2015 and 2018. Following the end of Government transfers to GuySuCo in 2019, which led to a sharp decline in budget transfers to the agricultural sector, it rose to 96%. The main driver of Guyanas MPS remained the import duties in place to protect domestic producers of poultry meat. This report also documents the evolution of agricultural policies-related greenhouse gas emissions in Guyana for the first time. The poultry subsector, which receives most of the policy support in Guyana, emits little. Sugar and rice, on the other hand, are the commodities with the highest GHG emissions per hectare. To conclude, several policy recommendations are presented.

Previous research has identified several likely causes of eligible non-participation in the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), including awareness, financial exclusion, and administrative barriers. This study expands on that research, with a particular focus on the role of tax-filing as an administrative obstacle to accessing the CLB. I present results from an online survey of low and modest income parents (n=466) conducted in 2021. We find that, even among parents reporting they have received the CLB (46%), a majority (51%) report low confidence in their familiarity with the program, and more than one in six (17%) are unaware of the need to file tax returns to maintain eligibility for annual CLB payments. Self-reported regular tax-filing is associated with a 59% increase in the probability of accessing the CLB, even when controlling for a range of parental characteristics. This study confirms previous work by Harding and colleagues (2019) that non-filing may explain some share of eligible non-participation in education savings incentives. Tax-filing services may be an important pathway to improve CLB access. Low and modest income parents show substantial diversity in their preferred filing methods and outreach efforts cannot be concentrated in only one avenue if they are to be successful. The study also tests a small ‘nudge’ to address gaps in awareness and finds that information-only approaches to outreach are likely to have limited success, even with motivated populations.

Plant pathogenic fungi have various life styles and different plant infection strategies. Hemibiotrophs like Magnaporthe grisea and Colletotrichum species develop specialized structures during plant infection. The goal of this study was to identify, characterize, and compare genes required for plant infection in M. grisea and C. gloeosporioides. Specific objectives are to: 1) further characterize genes identified in the preliminary studies of C. gloeosporioides and M. grisea;2) identify and characterize additional fungal genes tagged by GFP; and 3) identify in planta growth and appressorium-specific genes by subtractive hybridization and transcript profiling by the LongSAGE method. In this study, the PI and Co-PI collaborated closely on studies in M. grisea and C. gloeosporioides. In M. grisea, REMI and ATMT were used to transform the wildtype with promoter-less EGFP constructs. A total of 28 mutants defective in different plant infection processes or expressing EGFP during plant infection were identified. Genes disrupted in five selected mutants have been identified, including MG03295 that encodes a putative Rho GTPase. In transformant L1320, the transforming vector was inserted in the MIRI gene that encodes a nuclear protein. The expression of MIRI was highly induced during infection. Deletion and site-directed mutagenesis analyses were used to identify the promoter regions and elements that were essential for induced in planta expression of MIRI. This was the first detailed characterization of the promoter of an in planta gene in M. grisea and the MIRI promoter can be used to monitor infectious growth. In addition, the Agilent whole-genome array of M. grisea was used for microarray analyses with RNA samples from appressoria formed by the wild-type shain and the pmkl and mstl2 mutants. Over 200 genes were downregulated in the mst I 2 and pmkl mutants. Some of them are putative transcription factors that may regulate appressorium formation and infectious hyphal growth. In C. gloeosporioides, various REMI mutants showing different pathogenic behavior were identified and characterized. Mutants N3736 had a single insertion and was hyper-virulent. The gene disrupted in mutant3736 (named CgFMOI) encodes a FAD-dependent monooxygenase. Expression analyses linked the expression of the CgFMOI gene with the necrotrophic phase of fungal infection, and also suggest that expression of CgFMOl is unnecessary for the first stages of infection and for biotrophy establishment. All CgFMOl-silenced mutants had reduced virulence. In REMI mutant N159, the tagged gene encodes a putative copper transporter that is homologue of S. cerevisiae CTR2. In yeast, Ctr2 is a vacuolar transporter for moving copper from the vacuole to the cytoplasm. The gene was therefore termed CgCTR2. In addition to characterization of CgCTR2, we also conducted comparative analyses in M. grisea. The M. grisea CgCTR-2 homolog was isolated, knockout strains were generated and characterized and the M. grisea was used to complement the Nl 59 C. gloeosporioides mutant. Overall, we have accomplished most of proposed experiments and are in the process of organizing and publishing other data generated in this project. For objective 3, we used the microarray analysis approach. Several genes identified in this study are novel fungal virulence factors. They have the potential to be used as targets for developing more specific or effective fungicides. In the long run, comparative studies of fungal genes, such as our CgCTR2 work, may lead to better disease control strategies.

Objectives. To update the evidence on benefits and harms of cannabinoids and similar plant-based compounds to treat chronic pain using a living systematic review approach. Data sources. Ovid® MEDLINE®, PsycINFO®, Embase®, the Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS® databases; reference lists of included studies; and submissions received after Federal Register request were searched to April 4, 2022. Review methods. Using dual review, we screened search results for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies of patients with chronic pain evaluating cannabis, kratom, and similar compounds with any comparison group and at least 1 month of treatment or followup. Dual review was used to abstract study data, assess study-level risk of bias, and rate the strength of evidence (SOE). Prioritized outcomes included pain, overall function, and adverse events. We grouped studies that assessed tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD) based on their THC to CBD ratio and categorized them as comparable THC to CBD ratio, high-THC to CBD ratio, and low-THC to CBD ratio. We also grouped studies by whether the product was a whole-plant product (cannabis), cannabinoids extracted or purified from a whole plant, or a synthetic product. We conducted meta-analyses using the profile likelihood random effects model and assessed between-study heterogeneity using Cochran’s Q statistic chi square test and the I2 statistic. Magnitude of benefit was categorized as no effect or small, moderate, and large effects. Results. From 3,283 abstracts, 21 RCTs (N=1,905) and 8 observational studies (N=13,769) assessing different cannabinoids were included; none evaluated kratom. Studies were primarily short term, and 59 percent enrolled patients with neuropathic pain. Comparators were primarily placebo or usual care. The SOE was low unless otherwise noted. Compared with placebo, comparable THC to CBD ratio oral spray was associated with a small benefit in change in pain severity (7 RCTs, N=632, 0 to10 scale, mean difference [MD] −0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.95 to −0.19, I2=39%; SOE: moderate) and overall function (6 RCTs, N=616, 0 to 10 scale, MD −0.42, 95% CI −0.73 to −0.16, I2=32%). There was no effect on study withdrawals due to adverse events. There was a large increased risk of dizziness and sedation, and a moderate increased risk of nausea (dizziness: 6 RCTs, N=866, 31.0% vs. 8.0%, relative risk [RR] 3.57, 95% CI 2.42 to 5.60, I2=0%; sedation: 6 RCTs, N=866, 8.0% vs. 1.2%, RR 5.04, 95% CI 2.10 to 11.89, I2=0%; and nausea: 6 RCTs, N=866, 13% vs. 7.5%, RR 1.79, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.77, I2=0%). Synthetic products with high-THC to CBD ratios were associated with a moderate improvement in pain severity, a moderate increase in sedation, and a large increase in nausea (pain: 6 RCTs, N=390, 0 to 10 scale, MD −1.15, 95% CI −1.99 to −0.54, I2=48%; sedation: 3 RCTs, N=335, 19% vs. 10%, RR 1.73, 95% CI 1.03 to 4.63, I2=28%; nausea: 2 RCTs, N=302, 12.3% vs. 6.1%, RR 2.19, 95% CI 0.77 to 5.39; I²=0%). We also found moderate SOE for a large increased risk of dizziness (2 RCTs, 32% vs. 11%, RR 2.74, 95% CI 1.47 to 6.86, I2=40%). Extracted whole-plant products with high-THC to CBD ratios (oral) were associated with a large increased risk of study withdrawal due to adverse events (1 RCT, 13.9% vs. 5.7%, RR 3.12, 95% CI 1.54 to 6.33) and dizziness (1 RCT, 62.2% vs. 7.5%, RR 8.34, 95% CI 4.53 to 15.34); outcomes assessing benefit were not reported or insufficient. We observed a moderate improvement in pain severity when combining all studies of high-THC to CBD ratio (8 RCTs, N=684, MD −1.25, 95% CI −2.09 to −0.71, I2=58%; SOE: moderate). Evidence (including observational studies) on whole-plant cannabis, topical or oral CBD, low-THC to CBD, other cannabinoids, comparisons with active products or between cannabis-related products, and impact on use of opioids was insufficient to draw conclusions. Other important harms (psychosis, cannabis use disorder, and cognitive effects) were not reported. Conclusions. Low to moderate strength evidence suggests small to moderate improvements in pain (mostly neuropathic), and moderate to large increases in common adverse events (dizziness, sedation, nausea) with high- and comparable THC to CBD ratio extracted cannabinoids and synthetic products during short-term treatment (1 to 6 months); high-THC to CBD ratio products were also associated with increased risk of withdrawal due to adverse events. Evidence for whole-plant cannabis and other comparisons, outcomes, and plant-based compounds was unavailable or insufficient to draw conclusions. Small sample sizes, lack of evidence for moderate and long-term use and other key outcomes, such as other adverse events and impact on use of opioids during treatment, indicate that more research is needed.

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3

Introducción En 2023 el Banco de la República celebra 100 años de su fundación. Este es un aniversario de gran significado, el cual ofrece la oportunidad de resaltar el aporte que el Banco ha hecho al desarrollo del país. Su trayectoria como garante de la estabilidad monetaria lo ha consolidado como la institución estatal independiente que genera mayor confianza entre los colombianos por su transparencia, capacidad de gestión y el cumplimiento efectivo de las funciones de banca central y culturales encomendadas en la Constitución y la Ley. En una fecha tan importante como esta, la Junta Directiva del Banco de la República (JDBR) hace un reconocimiento a las generaciones de directivos y funcionarios que con su compromiso y dedicación contribuyeron a engrandecer esta institución1. El mandato del Banco de la República se consolidó en la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente de 1991, para cuya integración los ciudadanos tuvieron la oportunidad de elegir a las setenta personas que tendrían como tarea redactar una nueva constitución. Los dirigentes de los tres movimientos políticos más votados fueron elegidos presidentes de la Asamblea, y esta presidencia tripartita reflejó la pluralidad y la necesidad de consenso entre las diferentes fuerzas políticas para sacar adelante la reforma. Entre los asuntos considerados, la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente le otorgó especial importancia a la estabilidad monetaria. Por esta razón decidió incluir el tema de banca central y dotar al Banco de la República de la autonomía necesaria para utilizar los instrumentos a su cargo sin injerencia de otras autoridades. El constituyente entendió que velar por la estabilidad de precios es un deber del Estado y que la entidad responsable de este cometido debe estar consagrada en la Constitución y contar con la capacidad técnica y autonomía institucional necesaria para adoptar las decisiones que considere pertinentes para alcanzar este objetivo fundamental, en coordinación con la política económica general. En particular, el artículo 373 estableció que “el Estado, por intermedio del Banco de la República, velará por el mantenimiento de la capacidad adquisitiva de la moneda”, disposición que coincidía con el esquema de banca central adoptado por países exitosos en el control de la inflación. En 1999, mediante sentencia 481, la Corte Constitucional indicó que “el deber de mantener la capacidad adquisitiva de la moneda no solo se predica de la autoridad monetaria, crediticia y cambiaria, esto es de la Junta del Banco de la República, sino también de quienes tienen responsabilidades en la formulación y ejecución de la política económica general del país” y que “la finalidad constitucional básica del Banco de la República es la protección de la moneda sana, pero esa autoridad debe tomar en consideración en sus decisiones los otros objetivos económicos de la intervención del Estado, como el pleno empleo, pues sus funciones deben coordinarse con la política económica general.” La reforma al Banco de la República concertada en la Constituyente de 1991 y en la Ley 31 de 1992 se puede resumir en los siguientes aspectos: i) asignó al Banco un mandato específico: mantener la capacidad adquisitiva de la moneda, en coordinación con la política económica general; ii) designó a la JDBR como autoridad monetaria, cambiaria y crediticia; iii) otorgó al Banco y a su Junta Directiva un importante grado de independencia frente al Gobierno; iv) prohibió al Banco otorgar crédito al sector privado distinto del financiero; v) estableció que para otorgar crédito al Gobierno se requería del voto unánime de su Junta Directiva, a menos que se trate de operaciones de mercado abierto; vi) determinó que el legislador, en ningún caso, podrá ordenar cupos de crédito a favor del Estado o de los particulares; vii) designó al Congreso, en representación de la sociedad, como principal destinatario del ejercicio de rendición de informes del Banco; y viii) delegó en el presidente de la República la función de inspección, vigilancia y control sobre el Banco de la República. Los miembros de la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente entendieron claramente que los beneficios de una inflación baja y estable se extienden a toda la sociedad y contribuyen al buen funcionamiento del sistema económico. Entre los más importantes cabe mencionar que una inflación baja promueve el uso eficiente de los recursos productivos, al permitir que los precios relativos guíen de mejor forma la asignación de recursos, lo cual promueve el crecimiento económico y aumenta el bienestar de la población. Igualmente, una inflación baja reduce la incertidumbre sobre la rentabilidad esperada de la inversión y sobre el precio futuro de los activos, lo que aumenta la confianza de los agentes económicos, facilita la financiación de largo plazo y estimula la inversión. Una inflación baja evita redistribuciones arbitrarias del ingreso y la riqueza, debido a que los estratos de ingresos bajos de la población no pueden protegerse de la inflación mediante la diversificación de sus activos, y concentran una elevada proporción de su ingreso en la compra de alimentos y otros bienes básicos, ítems que generalmente son los más afectados por los choques inflacionarios2. Por otra parte, una baja inflación facilita las negociaciones salariales, lo cual crea un buen clima laboral y reduce la volatilidad del nivel de empleo. Finalmente, una inflación baja contribuye a que el sistema de impuestos sea más transparente y equitativo, al evitar las distorsiones que la inflación introduce sobre el valor de los activos y de los ingresos que componen la base tributaria. Desde el punto de vista de la autoridad monetaria, uno de los beneficios más relevantes de una inflación baja es la credibilidad que los agentes económicos adquieren en la meta de inflación, lo que la convierte en un ancla nominal efectiva sobre el nivel de precios. Al recibir su mandato, y en uso de su autonomía, el Banco de la República empezó a anunciar metas puntuales de inflación anual a partir de 1992. Si bien en esta primera etapa las metas de inflación propuestas no se lograron cumplir de forma precisa, sí se consiguió imprimirle a la inflación una tendencia descendente, que la llevó desde un nivel del 32,4% en 1990 al 16,7% en 1998. Para aquella época la tasa de cambio se mantenía dentro de una banda, lo cual limitaba la efectividad de la política monetaria, que buscaba cumplir simultáneamente una meta de inflación y un objetivo de tasa de cambio. La crisis asiática se contagió a las economías emergentes y afectó de manera importante a la economía colombiana. La tasa de cambio presentó una fuerte presión a la depreciación al cerrarse el acceso al financiamiento externo en condiciones de un elevado desequilibrio externo. Lo anterior, junto con la falta de flexibilidad cambiaria, impidió hacer una política monetaria contracíclica, lo que condujo a una contracción del PIB del 4,2% en dicho año. En este contexto de desaceleración económica, la inflación anual se redujo al 9,2% a finales de 1999, situándose por debajo de la meta del 15% que se había fijado para ese año. Este episodio reveló plenamente lo costoso que podría ser, en términos de actividad económica, el tener simultáneamente metas para la inflación y para la tasa de cambio. Hacia finales de 1999 el Banco de la República anunció la adopción de un nuevo régimen de política monetaria que denominó Esquema de Inflación Objetivo. Este régimen, conocido internacionalmente como ‘Inflation Targeting,’ venía ganando creciente aceptación en países desarrollados, al haber sido adoptado a partir de 1991 por Nueva Zelanda, Canadá e Inglaterra, entre otros, logrando importantes avances en el manejo de la inflación, sin incurrir en costos en términos de actividad económica. En América Latina, Brasil y Chile también lo acogieron en 1999. En el caso colombiano, el último requisito pendiente por cumplir para adoptar dicho esquema de política era la flexibilidad de la tasa de cambio, la cual se materializó hacia septiembre de 1999, cuando la JDBR decidió abandonar las bandas cambiarias para permitir que la tasa de cambio se determinara libremente en el mercado. De forma coherente con el mandato constitucional, el objetivo fundamental de este nuevo esquema de política consistía en “el cumplimiento de una meta de inflación que contribuya a mantener un crecimiento del producto alrededor de su capacidad potencial”3. Dicha capacidad potencial se entendía como aquel crecimiento del PIB que la economía puede obtener si utiliza plenamente sus recursos productivos. Para cumplir este objetivo la política monetaria debe cumplir necesariamente un papel contracíclico en la economía. Ello porque cuando la actividad económica está por debajo de su potencial y existen recursos ociosos, la autoridad monetaria puede reducir la tasa de interés ante la ausencia de presiones inflacionarias para estimular por esa vía la economía y, de manera inversa, cuando el producto supera su capacidad potencial. Este principio de política, que está inmerso en los modelos para guiar la postura de política monetaria, hace que, en el mediano plazo, sean totalmente compatibles los objetivos del cumplimiento de la meta de inflación y de un nivel de actividad económica compatible con su capacidad productiva. Para alcanzar este propósito, en el esquema de inflación objetivo se utiliza la tasa de interés del mercado monetario (a la cual el banco central suministra liquidez primaria a los bancos comerciales), como el instrumento primordial de política. Con ello se sustituyó la cantidad de dinero como meta intermedia de política monetaria, que el Banco de la República, al igual que varios otros bancos centrales, utilizaron por mucho tiempo. En el caso colombiano, el objetivo del nuevo esquema de política monetaria implicaba, en términos prácticos, que la recuperación de la economía, luego de la contracción ocurrida en 1999, debía lograrse al tiempo que se cumplían las metas decrecientes de inflación establecidas por la JDBR. De manera notable este propósito se cumplió. En la primera mitad de la década del 2000 la actividad económica logró una recuperación importante, hasta alcanzar un crecimiento del 6,8% en 2006. Entretanto, la inflación fue descendiendo gradualmente, en línea con las metas de inflación. Fue así como la tasa de inflación se redujo desde el 9,2% en 1999 al 4,5% en 2006, cumpliendo con la meta de inflación establecida para ese año, mientras que el PIB alcanzó su nivel potencial. Después de lograrse este equilibrio en 2006, la inflación repuntó al 5,7% en 2007, por encima de la meta del 4% fijada para ese año, debido a que el crecimiento del PIB del 7,5% superó su capacidad potencial4. Luego de comprobarse la eficacia del esquema de inflación objetivo en sus primeros años de operación, este régimen de política continuó consolidándose a medida que la JDBR y el equipo técnico ganaron experiencia en su manejo y se incorporaron modelos económicos de última tecnología para diagnosticar el estado presente y futuro de la economía, y evaluar la persistencia de los desvíos de la inflación y sus expectativas con respecto a la meta de inflación. A partir de 2010 la JDBR estableció la meta de inflación anual de largo plazo del 3%, que continúa vigente en la actualidad. La menor inflación ha contribuido a crear un entorno macroeconómico más estable, que ha favorecido el crecimiento económico sostenido, la estabilidad financiera, el desarrollo del mercado de capitales y el funcionamiento de los sistemas de pagos. Gracias a ello se lograron reducciones en la prima por riesgo inflacionario y menores tasas de interés de los TES y de crédito. A su vez, la duración de la deuda interna pública aumentó de forma importante pasando de 2,27 años en diciembre de 2002 a 5,86 años en diciembre de 2022 y la profundización financiera, medida como el nivel de la cartera como porcentaje del PIB, pasó de cerca del 20% a mediados de la década de los noventa a valores superiores al 45% en años recientes, en un contexto saludable de los establecimientos de crédito. Los logros tangibles alcanzados por el Banco de la República en el manejo de la inflación al haber contado con la autonomía que le otorgó la Constitución para cumplir con el mandato de preservar el poder adquisitivo de la moneda, junto con los importantes beneficios que se derivaron del proceso de llevar la inflación a su meta de largo plazo, hacen que el reto que actualmente enfrenta la JDBR de retornar la inflación a la meta del 3% sea aún más exigente y apremiante. Como es bien conocido, a partir de 2021, y especialmente en 2022, la inflación en Colombia volvió a convertirse en un serio problema económico, con elevados costos de bienestar. El fenómeno inflacionario no ha sido exclusivo de Colombia y es así como muchos otros países desarrollados y emergentes han visto alejarse sus tasas de inflación de las metas propuestas por sus bancos centrales5. Las razones de este fenómeno se han analizado en los recientes Informes al Congreso, y en esta nueva entrega se profundiza al respecto con información actualizada. La sólida base institucional y técnica que soporta el esquema de inflación objetivo bajo el cual opera la estrategia de política monetaria le da a la JDBR los elementos necesarios para enfrentar con confianza este difícil reto. Al respecto, en su comunicado del 25 de noviembre la JDBR reiteró su compromiso con la meta de inflación del 3,0%, la cual prevé alcanzar hacia finales de 20246. La política monetaria continuará enfocada en cumplir este objetivo, al tiempo que velará por la sostenibilidad de la actividad económica, tal y como lo ordena la Constitución. Las encuestas a analistas llevadas a cabo en marzo mostraron un incremento importante (del 32,3% en enero al 48,5% en marzo) en el porcentaje de respuestas que sitúan las expectativas de inflación a dos años o más en un rango entre el 3% y 4%. Este es un indicativo claro de recuperación de credibilidad en la meta de inflación a mediano plazo, lo cual guarda coherencia con el anuncio de la JDBR de noviembre pasado. La moderación de la tendencia alcista de la inflación que se observó en enero, y especialmente en febrero, contribuirá a reforzar esta revisión de expectativas de inflación, y ayudará a cumplir los objetivos propuestos. Luego de registrarse una inflación del 5,6% a finales de 2021, la inflación mantuvo una tendencia alcista a lo largo de 2022 debido a las presiones inflacionarias tanto de origen externo, asociadas con las secuelas de la pandemia y las consecuencias del conflicto bélico en Ucrania, como de origen interno, resultantes de: el fortalecimiento de la demanda local; los procesos de indexación de precios estimulados por el aumento de las expectativas de inflación; las afectaciones a la producción de alimentos provocadas por el paro de mediados de 2021, y el traspaso de la depreciación a los precios. Los aumentos del salario mínimo del 10% en 2021 y del 16% en 2022, que en ambos casos superaron la inflación observada y el incremento de la productividad, acentuaron los procesos de indexación al haber establecido un elevado referente de ajuste nominal. De esta forma, la inflación total aumentó al 13,1% a finales 2022. La variación anual de alimentos, que subió del 17,2% al 27,8% entre esos dos años, fue el factor que más influyó en la aceleración del Índice de Precios al Consumidor (IPC). Otro rubro que contribuyó de manera importante a las alzas de precios fue el de regulados, cuya variación anual aumentó del 7,1% en diciembre de 2021 al 11,8% a finales de 2022. Por su parte, la medida de inflación básica sin alimentos ni regulados subió del 2,5% al 9,5% entre finales de 2021 y finales de 2022. El aumento sustancial de la inflación básica muestra que la presión inflacionaria se extendió a la mayoría de los rubros de la canasta familiar, lo cual es característico de procesos inflacionarios con una indexación de precios generalizada, como ocurre en Colombia. La política monetaria empezó a reaccionar tempranamente a estas presiones inflacionarias. Fue así como a partir de su sesión de septiembre de 2021 la JDBR inició un cambio progresivo de la postura de la política monetaria a partir del mínimo histórico del 1,75% de la tasa de interés de política al cual se había llegado para estimular la recuperación de la economía. Este proceso de ajuste prosiguió sin interrupción a lo largo de 2022 y hasta inicios de 2023, cuando la tasa de política monetaria alcanzó el 12,75% en enero pasado, con lo cual acumuló un incremento de 11 puntos porcentuales (pp). El público y los mercados se han mostrado sorprendidos de que la inflación continuara aumentando, a pesar de los significativos incrementos de la tasa de interés. Pero como lo ha explicado la JDBR en sus diversas comunicaciones, la política monetaria actúa con rezago. Así como en 2022 la actividad económica se recuperó hasta alcanzar un nivel superior al de prepandemia, impulsada, entre otros factores, por el estímulo monetario otorgado durante el período de pandemia y de los meses subsiguientes, así también los efectos de la actual política monetaria restrictiva se irán dando paulatinamente, lo que permite esperar que hacia finales de 2024 la tasa de inflación converja hacia el 3%, como es el propósito de la JDBR. Los resultados de la inflación en enero y febrero de este año mostraron incrementos marginales decrecientes (13 pb y 3 pb respectivamente), en comparación con la variación observada en diciembre (59 pb). Esto sugiere que se aproxima un punto de inflexión en la tendencia de la inflación. En otros países de América Latina, como Chile, Brasil, Perú y México, la inflación llegó a su techo y ha empezado a descender lentamente, aunque con algunos altibajos. Es previsible que en Colombia ocurra un proceso similar durante los próximos meses. El descenso previsto de la inflación en 2023 obedecerá, entre otros factores, a las menores presiones de costos externos por cuenta de la progresiva normalización de las cadenas de suministro, a la superación de los choques de oferta por razones de clima y por los bloqueos viales de años anteriores, lo que se reflejará en menores ajustes en los precios de los alimentos, como ya se observó en los primeros dos meses del año y, por supuesto, al efecto rezagado de la política monetaria. El proceso de convergencia de la inflación a la meta será gradual y se extenderá más allá de 2023. Dicho proceso se facilitará si se revierten las presiones a la devaluación, para lo cual resulta esencial que se continúe consolidando la sostenibilidad fiscal y se eviten mensajes en diferentes frentes de la política pública que generan incertidumbre y desconfianza. _______________________________________ 1 Este Informe al Congreso contiene el recuadro 1 que resume la trayectoria del Banco de la República en estos 100 años. Adicionalmente, con auspicio del Banco, varios libros que profundizan diversos aspectos de la historia de esta institución fueron publicados en años recientes. Véase, por ejemplo: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República : 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 Es por ello que una menor inflación se ha reflejado en la reducción de la desigualdad del ingreso medida a través del coeficiente de Gini al pasar de 58,7 en 1998 a 51,3 en el año previo a la pandemia. 3 Véase Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borrador de Economía, núm. 202, marzo, disponible en: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 Véase López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando y Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “La estrategia de inflación objetivo en Colombia. Una visión histórica”, Borrador de Economía, núm. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 Según el FMI, la variación porcentual de los precios al consumidor entre 2021 y 2022 pasó del 3,1 % al 7,3 % para las economías avanzadas, y del 5,9 % al 9,9 % para las economías de mercados emergentes y en vías de desarrollo. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3