Public Credit Programmes and Firm Performance in Brazil

Credit rationing is a common phenomenon faced by firms, one that has negative implications for longâ term investments. In Brazil, public credit plays a key role in supporting firms: stateâ owned banks account for almost half of the outstanding credit. Public credit programmes aim at reducing credit restrictions, increasing competitiveness and job creation for small and medium enterprises. This article analyzes the effectiveness of the credit lines managed by two main public institutions in Brazil. Results show that access to public credit lines has a significant positive impact on firmsâ employment growth and exports, while no effect was found on wage differential. The impact on exports is driven by the increase in volumes among exporting firms rather than the probability of becoming an exporter.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138401/1/dpr12250_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138401/2/dpr12250.pd

Berberine: A Potential Inhibitor of Dihydrofolate Reductase- Thymidylate Synthase (DHFR-TS) for Malaria

The goal of this study was to genetically link natural materials derived from Tinospora crispa L with Berberine to dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Method: The ligand berberine (CID: 2353) was obtained from Pubchem, while the protein DHFR-TS (PDB ID 2bl9) was obtained from Protein Data Bank. The ligands and proteins interacted with HEX 8.0.0.0 and were visualized with Discovery Studio. The researchers discovered a positive interaction between berberine and DHFR-TS, observed at four amino acid residues that bind to the protein TYR125, ILE121, LEU45, and MET54. Van der Waals interactions, hydrogen bonds, Pi-Sulfur, Pi-Alkyl, and Pi-Stalked interactions all contribute to strength and stability. In conclusion, berberine has the potential to act as a DHFR-TS inhibitor and thus prevent malaria.ABSTRAK: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah memanfaatkan bahan alam yang berasal dari Tinospora crispa L dengan kandungan utama Berberin dengan dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) secara genetik. Metode, Ligan berberin (CID: 2353 ) diperoleh dari Pubchem sedangkan protein DHFR-TS (PDB ID 2bl9) diperoleh dari Protein Data Bank, ligan dan protein diinteraksikan menggunakan HEX 8.0.0.0 dan divisualisasikan menggunakan discovery studio. Ditemukan interaksi positif antara berberin dan DHFR-TS yang menunjukkan interaksi pada empat residu asam amino yang berikatan dengan protein. Mereka adalah TYR125, ILE121, LEU45 dan MET54. Beberapa interaksi yang dilakukan Van der Waals, ikatan hidrogen, Pi-Sulfur, Pi-Alkyl dan Pi-Stalked juga memberikan dukungan dalam rangka meningkatkan kekuatan dan stabilisasi. Kesimpulannya, berberin memiliki potensi fungsi sebagai penghambat DHFR-TS dan mengarah pada malaria

Etching of random solids: hardening dynamics and self-organized fractality

When a finite volume of an etching solution comes in contact with a disordered solid, a complex dynamics of the solid-solution interface develops. Since only the weak parts are corroded, the solid surface hardens progressively. If the etchant is consumed in the chemical reaction, the corrosion dynamics slows down and stops spontaneously leaving a fractal solid surface, which reveals the latent percolation criticality hidden in any random system. Here we introduce and study, both analytically and numerically, a simple model for this phenomenon. In this way we obtain a detailed description of the process in terms of percolation theory. In particular we explain the mechanism of hardening of the surface and connect it to Gradient Percolation.Comment: Latex, aipproc, 6 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of 6th Granada Seminar on Computational Physic

The mPower Study, Parkinson Disease Mobile Data Collected Using Researchkit

Current measures of health and disease are often insensitive, episodic, and subjective. Further, these measures generally are not designed to provide meaningful feedback to individuals. The impact of high-resolution activity data collected from mobile phones is only beginning to be explored. Here we present data from mPower, a clinical observational study about Parkinson disease conducted purely through an iPhone app interface. The study interrogated aspects of this movement disorder through surveys and frequent sensor-based recordings from participants with and without Parkinson disease. Benefitting from large enrollment and repeated measurements on many individuals, these data may help establish baseline variability of real-world activity measurement collected via mobile phones, and ultimately may lead to quantification of the ebbs-and-flows of Parkinson symptoms. App source code for these data collection modules are available through an open source license for use in studies of other conditions. We hope that releasing data contributed by engaged research participants will seed a new community of analysts working collaboratively on understanding mobile health data to advance human health

Directing reaction pathways via in situ control of active site geometries in PdAu single-atom alloy catalysts

The atomic scale structure of the active sites in heterogeneous catalysts is central to their reactivity and selectivity. Therefore, understanding active site stability and evolution under different reaction conditions is key to the design of efficient and robust catalysts. Herein we describe theoretical calculations which predict that carbon monoxide can be used to stabilize different active site geometries in bimetallic alloys and then demonstrate experimentally that the same PdAu bimetallic catalyst can be transitioned between a single-atom alloy and a Pd cluster phase. Each state of the catalyst exhibits distinct selectivity for the dehydrogenation of ethanol reaction with the single-atom alloy phase exhibiting high selectivity to acetaldehyde and hydrogen versus a range of products from Pd clusters. First-principles based Monte Carlo calculations explain the origin of this active site ensemble size tuning effect, and this work serves as a demonstration of what should be a general phenomenon that enables in situ control over catalyst selectivity

1951 Ruby Yearbook

A digitized copy of the 1951 Ruby, the Ursinus College yearbook.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ruby/1053/thumbnail.jp

The importance of comparative phylogeography in diagnosing introduced species: a lesson from the seal salamander, Desmognathus monticola

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In most regions of the world human influences on the distribution of flora and fauna predate complete biotic surveys. In some cases this challenges our ability to discriminate native from introduced species. This distinction is particularly critical for isolated populations, because relicts of native species may need to be conserved, whereas introduced species may require immediate eradication. Recently an isolated population of seal salamanders, <it>Desmognathus monticola</it>, was discovered on the Ozark Plateau, ~700 km west of its broad continuous distribution in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. Using Nested Clade Analysis (NCA) we test whether the Ozark isolate results from population fragmentation (a natural relict) or long distance dispersal (a human-mediated introduction).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite its broad distribution in the Appalachian Mountains, the primary haplotype diversity of <it>D. monticola </it>is restricted to less than 2.5% of the distribution in the extreme southern Appalachians, where genetic diversity is high for other co-distributed species. By intensively sampling this genetically diverse region we located haplotypes identical to the Ozark isolate. Nested Clade Analysis supports the hypothesis that the Ozark population was introduced, but it was necessary to include haplotypes that are less than or equal to 0.733% divergent from the Ozark population in order to arrive at this conclusion. These critical haplotypes only occur in < 1.2% of the native distribution and NCA excluding them suggest that the Ozark population is a natural relict.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our analyses suggest that the isolated population of <it>D. monticola </it>from the Ozarks is not native to the region and may need to be extirpated rather than conserved, particularly because of its potential negative impacts on endemic Ozark stream salamander communities. Diagnosing a species as introduced may require locating nearly identical haplotypes in the known native distribution, which may be a major undertaking. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering comparative phylogeographic information for locating critical haplotypes when distinguishing native from introduced species.</p