“Stock PIKs”- Taking a firm by its tails

Payment-in-kind bonds (PIKs) make interest payments in the form of an issue of additional bonds rather than cash. This research provides a rationale for the recent PIK issuance by firms with low credit ratings. PIKs offer a financially constrained firm in need of restructuring both an immediate automatic stay and a prepackaged bankruptcy procedure, features that make PIKs better than alternative debt instruments. In many instances PIKs are structured to facilitate a contingent transfer of control to PIK holders, and provide an avenue of obtaining equity in the firm whether the firm value is high or low in the future. The barbell strategy of acquisition that involves a deal with the equity holders (if the firm prospects improve), and a deal with the debt holders (if the firm defaults) dominates the cost of acquisition before the firm defaults, or after the firm goes bankrupt.Monetary Policy, Stock Market, Economic Development

Margins, Liquidity and the Cost of Hedging

http://web.mit.edu/ceepr/www/publications/workingpapers.htmlRecent financial reforms, such as the Dodd-Frank Act in the U.S. and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, encourage greater use of clearing and therefore increased margining of derivative trades. They also impose margining requirements on OTC derivative dealers. One question arising out of the debates over these reforms is, does a margin mandate increases the cost of hedging by non-financial corporations—the so-called end-users of derivatives? Our answer is, No. We show that a non-margined derivative is equivalent to a package of (i) a margined derivative, and (ii) a contingent line of credit. A margin mandate merely requires that this package be marketed as two distinct products, but it does not change the total financing or capital that the non-financial corporation requires to back its hedging. Nor does it raise the cost to banks or other dealer of offering the package, at least not directly. There may be an indirect effect if the clearing mandate succeeds in lowering systemic risk, but indirect macro effects such as this are beyond the scope of this paper. We also explore how accounting rules and bank regulations may treat the implicit credit embedded in the non-margined derivative differently from an explicit line of credit. This is important to understanding business and banker reaction to details of the proposal. Finally, we place the current debate in the context of the historical evolution of margin practices and regulations from the earliest trading of derivatives in the U.S. in the 1860’s to the present

Dispositivos de seguridad pública y procesos de urbanización en favelas de Rio de Janeiro: nuevos conflictos en el espacio urbano

A partir del trabajo de campo realizado en la favela Santa Marta, buscaremos aquí evidenciar la dimensión de los conflictos generados por los procesos de regularización urbanística y por la substitución gradual de prácticas “informales” de acceso a los servicios, desde la implementación de las Unidades de Policía Pacificadora (UPPs). Buscaremos, del mismo modo, llamar la atención sobre las implicaciones de tales acciones sobre el proceso de formalización y reconocimiento de una dirección en la ciudad. Se pretende, desde esta perspectiva, asociar la dimensión de las identidades y de las representaciones sociales con el proceso más amplio de reestructuración urbana en curso en la ciudad de Rio de Janeiro, buscando discutir los efectos de las políticas de Seguridad Pública, implementadas en distintas favelas, sobre la vida cotidiana de sus habitantes en el contexto de importantes eventos internacionales, como la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2014 y los Juegos Olímpicos de 2016. Palabras claves: favelas; seguridad pública; conflictos; procesos de urbanización; Rio de Janeiro. Abstract Based on field research carried out in the Santa Marta favela (slum) of Rio de Janeiro, this article focuses on the conflicts generated by urban regulation as well as the gradual substitution of “informal” ways of accessing public services. It also shows the implications of such actions for the formalization and recognition of an address in the city. From this perspective it is argued that identities and social representations are connected to a broader process of urban restructuring taking place in Rio de Janeiro. The analysis focuses on public policies regarding security implemented in different favelas and their effects on the everyday lives of their inhabitants in the context of important international events such as the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games of 2016. Key words: favelas; public security; conflict; urbanization; Rio de Janeiro

Spatial distribution of wood volume in brazilian savannas

Here we model and describe the wood volume of Cerrado Sensu Stricto, a highly heterogeneous vegetation type in the Savanna biome, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, integrating forest inventory data with spatial-environmental variables, multivariate regression, and regression kriging. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the factors that affect the spatial distribution of the wood volume of this vegetation type as well as allowing better representation of the spatial heterogeneity of this biome. Wood volume estimates were obtained through regression models using different environmental variables as independent variables. Using the best fitted model, spatial analysis of the residuals was carried out by selecting a semivariogram model for generating an ordinary kriging map, which in turn was used with the fitted regression model in the regression kriging technique. Seasonality of both temperature and precipitation, along with the density of deforestation, explained the variations of wood volume throughout Minas Gerais. The spatial distribution of predicted wood volume of Cerrado Sensu Stricto in Minas Gerais revealed the high variability of this variable (15.32 to 98.38 m3 ha-1) and the decreasing gradient in the southeast-northwest direction914COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESSem informaçã

Ultrasound-assisted drying of orange peel in atmospheric freeze-dryer and convective dryer operated at moderate temperature

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Ronaldo E. Mello, Alessia Fontana, Antonio Mulet, Jefferson Luiz, G. Correa & Juan A. Cárcel (2020) Ultrasound-assisted drying of orange peel in atmospheric freeze-dryer and convective dryer operated at moderate temperature, Drying Technology, 38:1-2, 259-267, DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2019.1645685 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07373937.2019.1645685[EN] Atmospheric freeze-drying (AFD) at -10 degrees C and moderate temperature convective drying (MTD) at 50 degrees C without and with ultrasound application (20.5 kW/m(3)) were carried out. Alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) and its swelling capacity (SC), water retention capacity (WRC) and fat retention capacity (FRC) were measured in the dried product. Ultrasound significantly shortened the drying time in both processes, the intensification effect being more significant in atmospheric freeze-drying (57% and 27% reduction in atmospheric freeze-drying and convective drying, respectively). As regards AIR and WRC, no effect was observed of either the drying temperature or ultrasound application. On the contrary, SC was significantly lower in AFD samples. The FRC of MTD samples was similar to that of the fresh ones and higher than the values obtained for atmospheric freeze-dried samples. Therefore, convective drying at moderate temperature preserved the AIR properties better than atmospheric freeze-drying.The authors acknowledge the financial support of INIA-ERDF through project RTA2015-00060-C04-02. We are also grateful for the economic support of the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Brasil (Capes)- Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) and Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).Mello, RE.; Fontana, A.; Mulet Pons, A.; Correa, J.; Carcel, JA. (2020). Ultrasound-assisted drying of orange peel in atmospheric freeze-dryer and convective dryer operated at moderate temperature. Drying Technology. 38(1-2):259-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2019.1645685S259267381-2Freire, F. B., Atxutegi, A., Freire, F. B., Freire, J. T., Aguado, R., & Olazar, M. (2016). An adaptive lumped parameter cascade model for orange juice solid waste drying in spouted bed. Drying Technology, 35(5), 577-584. doi:10.1080/07373937.2016.1190937Tasirin, S. M., Puspasari, I., Sahalan, A. Z., Mokhtar, M., Ghani, M. K. A., & Yaakob, Z. (2014). Drying ofCitrus sinensisPeels in an Inert Fluidized Bed: Kinetics, Microbiological Activity, Vitamin C, and Limonene Determination. Drying Technology, 32(5), 497-508. doi:10.1080/07373937.2013.838782Zielinska, M., Sadowski, P., & Błaszczak, W. (2015). Combined hot air convective drying and microwave-vacuum drying of blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosumL.): Drying kinetics and quality characteristics. Drying Technology, 34(6), 665-684. doi:10.1080/07373937.2015.1070358Moreno, C., Brines, C., Mulet, A., Rosselló, C., & Cárcel, J. A. (2017). Antioxidant potential of atmospheric freeze-dried apples as affected by ultrasound application and sample surface. Drying Technology, 35(8), 957-968. doi:10.1080/07373937.2016.1256890Garcia-Perez, J. V., Ortuño, C., Puig, A., Carcel, J. A., & Perez-Munuera, I. (2011). Enhancement of Water Transport and Microstructural Changes Induced by High-Intensity Ultrasound Application on Orange Peel Drying. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 5(6), 2256-2265. doi:10.1007/s11947-011-0645-0Do Nascimento, E. M. G. C., Mulet, A., Ascheri, J. L. R., de Carvalho, C. W. P., & Cárcel, J. A. (2016). Effects of high-intensity ultrasound on drying kinetics and antioxidant properties of passion fruit peel. Journal of Food Engineering, 170, 108-118. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2015.09.015Martins, M. P., Cortés, E. J., Eim, V., Mulet, A., & Cárcel, J. A. (2018). Stabilization of apple peel by drying. Influence of temperature and ultrasound application on drying kinetics and product quality. Drying Technology, 37(5), 559-568. doi:10.1080/07373937.2018.1474476García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., Riera, E., & Mulet, A. (2009). Influence of the Applied Acoustic Energy on the Drying of Carrots and Lemon Peel. Drying Technology, 27(2), 281-287. doi:10.1080/07373930802606428Blasco, M., García-Pérez, J. V., Bon, J., Carreres, J. E., & Mulet, A. (2006). Effect of Blanching and Air Flow Rate on Turmeric Drying. Food Science and Technology International, 12(4), 315-323. doi:10.1177/1082013206067352Garau, M. C., Simal, S., Femenia, A., & Rosselló, C. (2006). Drying of orange skin: drying kinetics modelling and functional properties. Journal of Food Engineering, 75(2), 288-295. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.04.017Garau, M. C., Simal, S., Rosselló, C., & Femenia, A. (2007). Effect of air-drying temperature on physico-chemical properties of dietary fibre and antioxidant capacity of orange (Citrus aurantium v. Canoneta) by-products. Food Chemistry, 104(3), 1014-1024. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.01.009Beigi, M. (2015). Hot air drying of apple slices: dehydration characteristics and quality assessment. Heat and Mass Transfer, 52(8), 1435-1442. doi:10.1007/s00231-015-1646-8Santos, P. H. S., & Silva, M. A. (2008). Retention of Vitamin C in Drying Processes of Fruits and Vegetables—A Review. Drying Technology, 26(12), 1421-1437. doi:10.1080/07373930802458911Gallego-Juárez, J. A., Riera, E., de la Fuente Blanco, S., Rodríguez-Corral, G., Acosta-Aparicio, V. M., & Blanco, A. (2007). Application of High-Power Ultrasound for Dehydration of Vegetables: Processes and Devices. Drying Technology, 25(11), 1893-1901. doi:10.1080/07373930701677371Santacatalina, J. V., Ahmad-Qasem, M. H., Barrajón-Catalán, E., Micol, V., García-Pérez, J. V., & Cárcel, J. A. (2014). Use of Novel Drying Technologies to Improve the Retention of Infused Olive Leaf Polyphenols. Drying Technology, 33(9), 1051-1060. doi:10.1080/07373937.2014.982251Silva, V. M., & Viotto, L. A. (2010). Drying of sicilian lemon residue: influence of process variables on the evaluation of the dietary fiber produced. Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, 30(2), 421-428. doi:10.1590/s0101-20612010000200020Garcia-Amezquita, L. E., Tejada-Ortigoza, V., Campanella, O. H., & Welti-Chanes, J. (2018). Influence of Drying Method on the Composition, Physicochemical Properties, and Prebiotic Potential of Dietary Fibre Concentrates from Fruit Peels. Journal of Food Quality, 2018, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2018/9105237Abou-Arab, E. A., Mahmoud, M. H., & Abu-Salem, F. M. (2017). Functional Properties of Citrus Peel as Affected by Drying Methods. American Journal of Food Technology, 12(3), 193-200. doi:10.3923/ajft.2017.193.200Ghanem Romdhane, N., Bonazzi, C., Kechaou, N., & Mihoubi, N. B. (2015). Effect of Air-Drying Temperature on Kinetics of Quality Attributes of Lemon (Citrus limoncv. lunari) Peels. Drying Technology, 33(13), 1581-1589. doi:10.1080/07373937.2015.101226

Convex central configurations of the 4-body problem with two pairs of equal masses

Agraïments: The first and third authors are partially supported by FAPEMIG grant APQ-001082/14. The third author is partially supported by CNPq grant 472321/2013-7 and by FAPEMIG grant PPM-00516-15. The second and third autors are supported by CAPES CSF-PVE grant 88881.030454/2013-01.MacMillan and Bartky in 1932 proved that there is a unique isosceles trapezoid central configuration of the 4--body problem when two pairs of equal masses are located at adjacent vertices. After this result the following conjecture was well known between people working on central configurations: The isosceles trapezoid is the unique convex central configuration of the planar 4--body problem when two pairs of equal masses are located at adjacent vertices. We prove this conjecture

Classification and regression tree (CART) model to predict pulmonary tuberculosis in hospitalized patients

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health issue worldwide. The lack of specific clinical symptoms to diagnose TB makes the correct decision to admit patients to respiratory isolation a difficult task for the clinician. Isolation of patients without the disease is common and increases health costs. Decision models for the diagnosis of TB in patients attending hospitals can increase the quality of care and decrease costs, without the risk of hospital transmission. We present a predictive model for predicting pulmonary TB in hospitalized patients in a high prevalence area in order to contribute to a more rational use of isolation rooms without increasing the risk of transmission. Methods: Cross sectional study of patients admitted to CFFH from March 2003 to December 2004. A classification and regression tree (CART) model was generated and validated. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were used to evaluate the performance of model. Validation of the model was performed with a different sample of patients admitted to the same hospital from January to December 2005. Results: We studied 290 patients admitted with clinical suspicion of TB. Diagnosis was confirmed in 26.5% of them. Pulmonary TB was present in 83.7% of the patients with TB (62.3% with positive sputum smear) and HIV/AIDS was present in 56.9% of patients. The validated CART model showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 60.00%, 76.16%, 33.33%, and 90.55%, respectively. The AUC was 79.70%. Conclusions: The CART model developed for these hospitalized patients with clinical suspicion of TB had fair to good predictive performance for pulmonary TB. The most important variable for prediction of TB diagnosis was chest radiograph results. Prospective validation is still necessary, but our model offer an alternative for decision making in whether to isolate patients with clinical suspicion of TB in tertiary health facilities in countries with limited resources.Fogarty/NIHFogarty/NIH [3 D43 TW000018-16S3, 5 U2R TW006883-02]CNPq [504162/2008-0, 308889/2007-0]CNP

Origanum majorana Essential Oil Lacks Mutagenic Activity in the Salmonella/Microsome and Micronucleus Assays

The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro mutagenic activity of Origanum majorana essential oil. The most abundant compounds identified by GC-MS were -terpinene (25.73%), -terpinene (17.35%), terpinen-4-ol (17.24%), and sabinene (10.8%). Mutagenicity was evaluated by the Salmonella/microsome test using the preincubation procedure on TA98, TA97a, TA100, TA102, and TA1535 Salmonella typhimurium strains, in the absence or in the presence of metabolic activation. Cytotoxicity was detected at concentrations higher than 0.04 L/plate in the absence of S9 mix and higher than 0.08 L/plate in the presence of S9 mix and no gene mutation increase was observed. For the in vitro mammalian cell micronucleus test, V79 Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts were used. Cytotoxicity was only observed at concentrations higher than or equal to 0.05 g/mL. Moreover, when tested in noncytotoxic concentrations, O. majorana essential oil was not able to induce chromosome mutation. The results from this study therefore suggest that O. majorana essential oil is not mutagenic at the concentrations tested in the Salmonella/microsome and micronucleus assays