Capital market inefficiencies, credit rationing and lending relationship in SME's

The financing of small-medium enterprises (SME' s) shows a great dependence on short term borrowing from banking institutions and savings banks. The causes of this situation are basically due to low credit availability at the stage of the firm' s life cycle when it requires the greatest access. A seminal paper by Fazzari, Hubbard and Petersen (1988) has served as the basis for important subsequent research. In Spain conclusions drawn by studies in this area mostly agree that the basic reason for the aboye mentioned low credit availability is high borrowing costs due to market imperfections which inevitably lead to credit ratioIÚng. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to study the roles of firm-creditor relationships (Berger and Udell, 1992,1995; Petersen and Rajan, 1994, 1995) and Loan Guarantee Associations [LGA] in reducing information asymmetries in loan contracts and, second, to attempt to ascertain whether these factors are among the determining factors of loan rates for SME's

One way Doppler extractor. Volume 1: Vernier technique

A feasibility analysis, trade-offs, and implementation for a One Way Doppler Extraction system are discussed. A Doppler error analysis shows that quantization error is a primary source of Doppler measurement error. Several competing extraction techniques are compared and a Vernier technique is developed which obtains high Doppler resolution with low speed logic. Parameter trade-offs and sensitivities for the Vernier technique are analyzed, leading to a hardware design configuration. A detailed design, operation, and performance evaluation of the resulting breadboard model is presented which verifies the theoretical performance predictions. Performance tests have verified that the breadboard is capable of extracting Doppler, on an S-band signal, to an accuracy of less than 0.02 Hertz for a one second averaging period. This corresponds to a range rate error of no more than 3 millimeters per second

Surveillance of aflatoxin content in dairy cow feedstuff from Navarra (Spain)

Aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2) are produced by the fungi Aspergillus (A. flavus and A. parasiticus) in substrates used in cattle feed manufacturing. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a major metabolite of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) which may be present in milk from animals that consume contaminated feed. Levels of aflatoxins in 78 dairy cow feedstuff samples from 40 farms located in Navarra were determined by HPLC-FLD (High Performance Liquid Chromatography with fluorescence detection) and post-column derivatization. The influence of geographical location, season and type of feeding system on aflatoxin content was studied. The climatic profile of AFB1 pointed to spring as the season with the highest aflatoxin level (0.086 μg/kg), followed by winter and summer (0.075 and 0.030 μg/kg, respectively), and to a lesser degree, autumn (0.017 μg/kg). Moreover, wet and dry TMR (Total Mixed Ration) feeding systems (i.e. AFB1: 0.076 and 0.068 μg/kg; Aflatoxin G1 (AFG1): 0.050 and 0.011 μg/kg, respectively) showed a greater content of the analyzed aflatoxins in comparison with compound feed (i.e. AFB1: 0.039 μg/kg; AFG1: 0.007 μg/kg). The fact that the majority of the samples collected were based on compound feed shows that this type was preferred by most dairy farmers. The undetectable levels of aflatoxins in the organic homemade compound feedstuff are also worth mentioning. While none of the feedstuff samples contained amounts over those permitted under European legislation (5 μg/kg), the theoretical extrapolation of the carryover rate suggested in previously published experiments of AFB1 to AFM1 in secreted cow's milk predicts that only one of the feed samples studied had a positive aflatoxin level (53.4 ng/kg) higher than the legal limit for raw cow's milk

Estimation of dietary intake and content of lead and cadmium in infant cereals marketed in Spain

Lead and cadmium have become highly toxic metallic elements. There is an obvious 5 toxicological impact of these elements on infants since their intestinal absorption is 6 significantly higher than in adults, thus it is desirable to quantify lead and cadmium levels in 7 commonly consumed infant foods. Zeeman background correction, transversely heated 8 graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, was used to determine both the lead and 9 cadmium content of 91 Spanish infant cereals. Cereals were assessed in terms of different 10 types, cereal predominant in formulation and whether it was obtained organically or 11 conventionally. Preliminary analysis revealed a noticeably higher content of lead and 12 cadmium (median, Q1-Q3) in organic cereals (n = 17, Pb: 26.07; 21.36-51.63; Cd: 18.52; 16.56-28.50 μg kg-1 13 ) in relation to conventional ones (n =74, Pb: 10.78; 6.43-19.33; Cd: 7.12; 4.40-11.77 μg kg-1 14 ). Three formulations exceeded European lead maximum levels. Added 15 ingredients (milk, cocoa, fruit and honey) to the cereal base provide lead enrichment. For 16 cadmium, this pattern was observed by cereal based on cocoa, but also the raw materials 17 contributed with a dilution phenomenon, decreasing the final cadmium concentration in infant 18 cereal. Apart from several organically produced cereals, lead content showed a narrow 19 variation, where gluten-free cereals provide lower cadmium content than formulations 20 containing gluten. Dietary intakes of both elements were assessed in comparison with the 21 reference intake values proposed by the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain. 22 Organic infant cereals based on honey and cocoa supplied the highest risk intakes of lead and 23 cadmium, respectively. In accordance with the actual state of knowledge on lead and 24 cadmium toxicity and attending to the upper limits calculated from risk intake values set by 25 EFSA, it seems prudent to call for a revision of both heavy metals content regulated by EC to set a maximum guideline values for infant cereal at 55 and 45 μg kg-1 26 , respectively

Survey of total mercury and arsenic content in infant cereals marketed in Spain and estimated dietary intake.

Due to the fact that infants and children are especially sensitive to mercury and arsenic 7 exposure, predominantly through diet, a strict control of the most widely consumed 8 infant foods, especially infant cereals, is of paramount importance. Levels of both total 9 mercury and arsenic in 91 different infant cereals from ten different manufacturers in 10 Spain were determined by flow injection adapted to cold vapor and hydride generation 11 atomic absorption spectrometry, respectively. Cereals were assessed in terms of the 12 different types, the predominating cereal in the formulation, the added ingredients, and 13 whether the cereal was organically or conventionally obtained. In general, the content of 14 toxic elements (median (Q1;Q3)) found in infant cereals based on conventionally obtained raw materials (n=74, Hg: 2.11 (0.42;4.58), As: 21.0 (9.4;50.9) μg·Kg-1 15 ) was 16 lower than in cereals produced by organic methods (n= 17, Hg: 5.48 (4.54;7.64), As: 96.3 (87.5;152.3) μg·Kg-1 17 ). Mercury content in infant cereals shows the higher values in 18 those formulations with ingredients susceptible to particulate contamination such as 19 gluten-free or cacao-based cereals. The highest arsenic content appears in the rice-based 20 cereals. The mercury and the inorganic arsenic dietary intakes for infants fed on the 21 infant cereals studied were assessed, taking into account the different stages of growth. 22 Organic infant cereals based on cocoa showed the highest risk intakes of mercury, very 23 close to exceeding the intake reference. Just the opposite, 95% of the organically 24 produced infant cereals and 70% of the conventional gluten-free infant cereals showed 25 an inadmissible risk of arsenic intake. Thus, it seems prudent to call for continued 26 efforts in standardizing routine quality control and in reducing arsenic levels in infant 27 cereals; in addition it is essential that relevant legislation be established and regulated 28 by EC regarding these two toxic elements

Taxon abundance, diversity, co-occurrence and network analysis of the ruminal microbiota in response to dietary changes in dairy cows

We thank Mari Talvisilta and the staff in the metabolism unit at Natural Resources Institute Finland for technical support, care of experimental animals and assistance in sample collection. We thank Paula Lidauer for ruminal cannulation surgeries, Richard Hill from Aberystwyth University, UK for performing qPCR and Aurélie Bonin from Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, CNRS, France for preparing archaea amplicon libraries for sequencing. Kevin J. Shingfield passed away before the submission of the final version of this manuscript. Ilma Tapio accepts responsibility for the integrity and validity of the data collected and analyzed. Funding: Study was funded by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as part of the GreenDairy Project (Developing Genetic and Nutritional Tools to Mitigate the Environmental Impact of Milk Production; Project No. 2908234). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD