Why are US firms using more short-term debt?

We show that corporate use of long-term debt has decreased in the US over the past three decades and that this trend is heterogeneous across firms. The median percentage of debt maturing in more than 3 years decreased from 53% in 1976 to 6% in 2008 for the smallest firms but did not decrease for the largest firms. The decrease in debt maturity was generated by firms with higher information asymmetry and new firms issuing public equity in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, we show that demand-side factors do not fully explain this trend and that public debt markets' supply-side factors play an important role. Our findings suggest that the shortening of debt maturity has increased the exposure of firms to credit and liquidity shocks

Equity in five Mediterranean countries

Public education systems ought to be equitable, ensuring equal opportunities to all students, irrespective of the socioeconomic status of their families. This political desideratum is based upon, not only on ethical considerations, but also – and mainly – by the need of fostering economic development and progress. To develop, at maximum, the potential of each and every individual in a community, it is imperative to reduce human resource lost and, consequently, to improve wealth creation. However, there exists the belief that the more equitable an education system is, the poorer it behaves in terms of learning standards. In fact, relevant empirical evidence points on the opposite direction: according to PISA – Programme for International Student Assessment, countries like Korea, Finland, Canada and Japan, “combine high average performance with equity and have a large proportion of top-performing students, which demonstrates that excellence and equity can go together”. According to OECD, “Equity in education has two dimensions. The first is fairness, which implies ensuring that personal and social circumstances – for example gender, socioeconomic status or ethnic origin – should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential. The second is inclusion, which implies ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all – for example that everyone should be able to read, write and do simple arithmetic.”. The present research lies on the utilization of a set of indicators to encompass different factors and sources of inequity. To understand these factors, four groups of students were identified, considering the economic, social and cultural status of their families (low or high) and the performance (low or high) they exhibit in the PISA mathematics tests (in 2003 and 2012), Taking into consideration the percentage of each one of these groups it is possible to perform a risk analysis (calculating relative risks, attributable risks, and odds ratio). This research aims at improving the understanding of the factors which affect the performance of education systems, in particular, those related with (i) unequal distribution of school resources, (ii) differences between public and private schools, and (iii) dissimilar conditions between rural and urban schools. In this research a set of variables were selected and analysed in order to study three different levels of analysis: individual (gender, grade repetition, and immigrant status), family (economic, social and cultural status), and school (public/private, location, class size, and resources), for five Mediterranean countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the potential of using Marine-Derived Ingredients: From the extraction to Cutting-Edge Cosmetics

The growing understanding and knowledge of the potential of marine species, as well as the application of “blue biotechnology” have been motivating new innovative solutions in cosmetics. It is widely noted that that marine species are important sources of compounds with several biological activities that are yet to be discovered. This review explores various biological properties of marine-derived molecules and briefly outlines the main extraction methods. Alongside these, it is well known the legislative and normative framework of cosmetics is increasingly being developed. In this research segment, there is a growing concern with sustainability. In this sense, “blue biotechnology”, together with the use of invasive species or marine waste products to obtain new active ingredients, haven been emerging as innovative and sustainable solutions for the future’s cosmetics industry. This review also examines the regulatory framework and focus on the recent advancements in “blue biotechnology” and its relevance to the sustainable development of innovative cosmetics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização de acessos de Paspalum notatum Fluegge por meio da análise de componentes principais.

A espécie Paspalum notatum e altamente cosmopoljta, tendo sido encontrados diversos ecótipos adaptados a regiões específicas. 0 objetivo é a identificação dos descritores morfológicos vegetativos e reprodutivos principais na caracterização de oito acessos de P.notatum e um acesso de Paspalum sp. coletados em deferentes regiões brasileiras. 0 trabalho foi desenvolvido na Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste localizada em São Carlos-SP, onde se encontra o Banco Ativo de Germoplasma do gênero Paspalum. Na coleta de dados foi utilizada uma lista de 1068 descritores morfológicos vegetativos e reprodutivos. Realizou-se a análise de componentes principais que, além da dispersão gráfica da divergência entre genótipo, possibilita a identificação dos caracteres majs representativos para explicar a variância total. Na análise foi utilizado o programa SAS/STAT 6.03. Previamente os descritores foram divididos em grupos de relação. A primeira seleção eliminou descritores cujas características não apresentavam variação entre os acessos, diminuindo-os para 272. A segunda seleção analisou a correlação entre os 272 descritores, dentro de cada grupo. Utilizaram-se as componentes com acúmulo de variância a 80%. Nos componentes foram selecionados os descritores de major valor absoluto, resultando em 81 descritores principais. Os caracteres descontínuos que se destacaram foram os de comprimento e largura do requis e lamina floral. Do grupo Planta/Inflorescência/Ráquis os principais foram a pilosidade do Ráquis e a forma da Inflorescência. Os da Lamina foliar foram 05 de pilosidade. Descritores de destaque do grupo Lígula e Bainha foram à pilosidade da lígula e da bainha e os do grupo Espigueta/Pedúnculo foram de pilosidade do Pedúnculo. 0 grupo Flor/ Antêcio pode ser caracterizado pelo tamanho do Lema Fértil e Lema Estéril em relação a Gluma e translucidez do Lema Estéril. Por fim, os descritores principais da Gluma são a forma, cor e translucidez da Prjmeira Gluma. A metodologia utilizada foi eficiente na detecção da presença de variabilidade intraespecífica de Paspalum notatum

Caracterização morfológica do acesso BRA-008311 de Paspalum chacoense Parodi.

A espécie Paspalum notatum e altamente cosmopolita, tendo sido encontrados diversos ecótipos adaptados a regiões especificas. O objetivo e a identificação dos descritores morfológicos vegetativos e reprodutivos principais na caracterização de oito acessos de P.notatum e um acesso de Paspalum sp. coletados em diferentes regiões brasileiras. O trabalho foi desenvolvido na Embrapa Pecuárja Sudeste localizada em São Carlos-SP, onde se encontra o Banco Ativo de Germoplasma do gênero Paspalum. Na coleta de dados foi utilizada uma lista de 1068 descritores morfológicos vegetativos e reprodutivos. Realizou-se a análise de componentes principais que, além da dispersão gráfica da divergência entre genótipo, possibilita a identificação dos caracteres mais representativos para explicar a variância total. Na análise foi utilizado o programa SAS/STAT 6.03. Previamente os descritores foram divididos em grupos de relação. A primeira seleção eliminou descritor cujas características não apresentavam variação entre 05 acessos, diminuindo-os para 272. A segunda seleção analisou a correlação entre os 272 descritores, dentro de cada grupo. Utilizaram-se as Componentes com acúmulo de variância a 80%. Nos Componente foram Selecionados os descritores de major valor absoluto, resultando em 81 descritores principais. Os caracteres descontínuos que se destacaram foram os de comprimento e largura do ráquis e lâmina foliar foram . Do grupo Planta/lnflorescencia/Raquis os principais foram a pilosidade do Raquis e a forma da Inflorescência. Os da Lamina foliar foram os de pilosidade. Descritores de destaque do grupo lígula e Bainhas foram a pilosidade da lígula e da bajnha e os do grupo Espigueta/Pedunculo foram de pilo5jdade do Pedúnculo. O grupo Flor/ Antécio pode ser caracterizado pelo tamanho do Lema Fértil e Lema Estéril em relação á Gluma e translucidez do Lema Estéril. Por fim, os descritore5 principais da Gluma são a forma, cor e translucidez da Primeira Gluma. A metodologia utilizada foi eficiente na detecção da presença de variabilidade intraespecífica de Paspalum notatum

Seasonal modulation of oceanic seismicity in the azores

The analysis of an 11-year (2008-2018) seismic catalogue of the Azores suggests the existence of secondary cyclic influences on the seismicity rate of the oceanic region, with more earthquakes observed during the summer months, from May to August, than in winter. Statistical testing based on Monte-Carlo simulations and a Jack-Knife methodology indicate that the seasonal modulation affects earthquakes with magnitudes M3.3-4.5, well above the magnitude of completeness. Here, we investigate the seasonal variations of earthquake rate considering both the whole Azores oceanic domain and four separate sub-regions, corresponding to four regional clusters identified by previous authors. The analysis shows that the seasonal modulation is particularly observed near the Triple Junction region between the Faial Island and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. To identify possible mechanisms driving the seasonal modulation, we apply Singular Spectral Analysis to the seismicity rate and to time-series of plausible external triggers, in order to investigate possible common periodicities. We find significant correlations between the earthquake rate, sea level anomaly rate, GRACE satellite anomalies and ocean bottom pressure, suggesting that water load may modulate the Azores oceanic seismicity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evidence of earthquake seasonality in the Azores Triple Junction

This work presents evidence of seasonal and inter-annual variations of the earthquake occurrence rate in the Azores Triple Junction, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Annual cycles in microearthquakes are relatively common in intraplate continental regions afected by large hydrological loads, but this is the frst time that earthquake seasonality is recognized near mid-ocean ridges. First, we benchmark the methodology by matching the published results of earthquake seasonality in the intraplate New Madrid Seismic Zone (USA). Next, we analyze the Azores earthquake catalogue, from 2008 to 2018, separately for oceanic and island regions. The results demonstrate that the seasonal modulation of the seismicity rate is only observed in the ocean, especially in the vicinity of the triple junction, with more earthquakes occurring during the summer months from May to August. Monte Carlo simulations show that the probability of observing such seasonality by chance is less than 1% for the magnitude band from 3.3 to 4.5, well above the detection threshold and magnitude of completeness of the seismic catalogue. The methodology includes a Jack-Knife approach, which shows that the oceanic seasonality is not the consequence of abnormal or extreme events. Although we speculate about possible earthquake triggering processes, it remains a challenge to defnitely establish the mechanism responsible for the observed earthquake seasonal modulation in the Azores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio