Bank Liquidity Creation: A New Global Dataset for Developing and Emerging Countries

The pre-Global Financial Crisis build-up, followed by the post-crisis collapse, in bank liquidity creation in developed countries is well-documented (Berger and Bowman, 2009). Comparable analyses on developing and emerging countries (DECs) have been severely hindered by the lack of detailed bank-by-bank balance sheet data. This paper proposes a new, high-frequency, Aggregate Bank Liquidity Creation (A-BLC) measure for 114 DECs on a comparable cross-country basis, which relies on macroeconomic, country-wide, banking systems’ balance sheet data. The A-BLC database allows us to assess the extent of bank fragility arising from illiquidity associated with intermediation at the banking system level for every DEC, at a monthly frequency over the period 2001-2016. Our measure captures more accurately than other measures proposed in the literature the evolution of bank liquidity creation in the DECs. Stylised facts and panel-regression analysis suggest a sharp pre-crisis build-up and post-crisis fall in liquidity creation in DECs, larger then that observed for developed countries. In addition, financial depth and stability appear as particularly important drivers of A-BLC in DECs

Sticky/Citron kinase maintains proper RhoA localization at the cleavage site during cytokinesis.

In many organisms, the small guanosine triphosphatase RhoA controls assembly and contraction of the actomyosin ring during cytokinesis by activating different effectors. Although the role of some RhoA effectors like formins and Rho kinase is reasonably understood, the functions of another putative effector, Citron kinase (CIT-K), are still debated. In this paper, we show that, contrary to previous models, the Drosophila melanogaster CIT-K orthologue Sticky (Sti) does not require interaction with RhoA to localize to the cleavage site. Instead, RhoA fails to form a compact ring in late cytokinesis after Sti depletion, and this function requires Sti kinase activity. Moreover, we found that the Sti Citron-Nik1 homology domain interacts with RhoA regardless of its status, indicating that Sti is not a canonical RhoA effector. Finally, Sti depletion caused an increase of phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain at the cleavage site in late cytokinesis. We propose that Sti/CIT-K maintains correct RhoA localization at the cleavage site, which is necessary for proper RhoA activity and contractile ring dynamics

Lot Sizing Heuristics Performance

Each productive system manager knows that finding the optimal trade‐off between reducing inventory and decreasing the frequency of production/ replenishment orders allows a great cut‐back in operations costs. Several authors have focused their contributions, trying to demonstrate that among the various dynamic lot sizing rules there are big differences in terms of performance, and that these differences are not negligible. In this work, eight of the best known lot sizing algorithms have been described with a unique modelling approach and have then been exhaustively tested on several different scenarios, benchmarking versus Wagner and Whitin’s optimal solution. As distinct from the contributions in the literature, the operational behaviour has been evaluated in order to determine which one is more suitable to the characteristics of each scenario

Too Big to Manage: US Megabanks’ Competition by Innovation and the Microfoundations of Financialization

Disagreements over the systemic implications—the future—of financialization can be traced in part to the absence of sustained attention to the role of banking firms in driving this secular shift forward. That is, the financialization literature lacks an adequate microfoundation. Accounting for the drivers of financialization processes solely at the macro level overlooks the problems of how these processes came about and whether they are sustainable. This paper addresses this explanatory gap, arguing that a key independent microeconomic driver of increasing financialization did exist: the incessant efforts by money-centre banks in the USA to break out of Depression-era restrictions on their size, activities, and markets. These banks’ growth strategies in turbulent times led to an institutional (meso) shift—the rise of a megabank-centred shadow banking system—that now shapes global financial architecture even while operating in ways that are unsustainable. In short, too-big-to-manage megabanks are at the heart of the fragility and instability of the economy today

Sticky/Citron kinase maintains proper RhoA localization at the cleavage site during cytokinesis

In many organisms, the small guanosine triphosphatase RhoA controls assembly and contraction of the actomyosin ring during cytokinesis by activating different effectors. Although the role of some RhoA effectors like formins and Rho kinase is reasonably understood, the functions of another putative effector, Citron kinase (CIT-K), are still debated. In this paper, we show that, contrary to previous models, the Drosophila melanogaster CIT-K orthologue Sticky (Sti) does not require interaction with RhoA to localize to the cleavage site. Instead, RhoA fails to form a compact ring in late cytokinesis after Sti depletion, and this function requires Sti kinase activity. Moreover, we found that the Sti Citron-Nik1 homology domain interacts with RhoA regardless of its status, indicating that Sti is not a canonical RhoA effector. Finally, Sti depletion caused an increase of phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain at the cleavage site in late cytokinesis. We propose that Sti/CIT-K maintains correct RhoA localization at the cleavage site, which is necessary for proper RhoA activity and contractile ring dynamics

Nessun Dorma, a novel centralspindlin partner, is required for cytokinesis in Drosophila spermatocytes

Nessun Dorma is a component of the ring canal with a polysaccharide-binding domain, which is important for cytokinesis during male meiosis

HIPK2 and extrachromosomal histone H2B are separately recruited by Aurora-B for cytokinesis

Cytokinesis, the final phase of cell division, is necessary to form two distinct daughter cells with correct distribution of genomic and cytoplasmic materials. Its failure provokes genetically unstable states, such as tetraploidization and polyploidization, which can contribute to tumorigenesis. Aurora-B kinase controls multiple cytokinetic events, from chromosome condensation to abscission when the midbody is severed. We have previously shown that HIPK2, a kinase involved in DNA damage response and development, localizes at the midbody and contributes to abscission by phosphorylating extrachromosomal histone H2B at Ser14. Of relevance, HIPK2-defective cells do not phosphorylate H2B and do not successfully complete cytokinesis leading to accumulation of binucleated cells, chromosomal instability, and increased tumorigenicity. However, how HIPK2 and H2B are recruited to the midbody during cytokinesis is still unknown. Here, we show that regardless of their direct (H2B) and indirect (HIPK2) binding of chromosomal DNA, both H2B and HIPK2 localize at the midbody independently of nucleic acids. Instead, by using mitotic kinase-specific inhibitors in a spatio-temporal regulated manner, we found that Aurora-B kinase activity is required to recruit both HIPK2 and H2B to the midbody. Molecular characterization showed that Aurora-B directly binds and phosphorylates H2B at Ser32 while indirectly recruits HIPK2 through the central spindle components MgcRacGAP and PRC1. Thus, among different cytokinetic functions, Aurora-B separately recruits HIPK2 and H2B to the midbody and these activities contribute to faithful cytokinesis

On farm agronomic and first environmental evaluation of oil crops for sustainable bioenergy chains.

Energy crops, and in particular oil crops, could be an important occasion for developing new non food production rows for a new multi-functional agriculture in Italy. In this view, the use of local biomass is a fundamental starting point for the development of a virtuous energy chain that should pursue not only agricultural profitability, but also chain sustainability and that is less dependent on the global market, characterized by instability in terms of biomass availability and price. From this perspective, particular attention must be paid to crop choice on the basis of its rusticity and of its adaptability to local growing conditions and to low input cropping systems. In this context, alike woody and herbaceous biomasses, oil crops such as sunflower and rapeseed should be able to support local agricultural bioenergy chain in Italy. In addition, in a local bioenergy chain, the role of the farmers should not be limited just to grain production; but also grain processing should be performed at farm or consortium level in oilseed extraction plants well proportioned to the cropped surface. In this way, by means of a simple power generator, farmer could thus produce its own thermal and electric energy from the oil, maximizing his profit. This objective could also be achieved through the exploitation of the total biomass, including crop residues and defatted seed meals, that may be considered as fundamental additional economic and/or environmental benefits of the chain. This paper reports some results of three-years on-farm experiments on oil crop chain carried out in the framework of "Bioenergie" project, that was focused to enhance farmers awareness of these criteria and to the feasibility at open field scale of low-input cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower and Brassica carinata in seven Italian regions. In several on-farm experiences, these crops produced more than 800 kg ha-1 of oil with good energy properties. Defatted seed meals could be interesting as organic fertilizers and, in the case of B. carinata, as a biofumigant amendment that could offer a total or partial alternative to some chemicals in agriculture. Furthermore, biomass soil incorporation could contribute to C sequestration, catching CO2 from atmosphere and sinking a part in soil as stable humus. Finally, four different open field experiences carried out again in the second year of the project, have been analysed in order to evaluate their energy and greenhouse gasses balance after cultivation phase

Phosphorylation by Aurora B kinase regulates caspase-2 activity and function

Abstract: Mitotic catastrophe (MC) is an important oncosuppressive mechanism that serves to eliminate cells that become polyploid or aneuploid due to aberrant mitosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that the activation and catalytic function of caspase-2 are key steps in MC to trigger apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest of mitotically defective cells. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate caspase-2 activation and its function are unclear. Here, we identify six new phosphorylation sites in caspase-2 and show that a key mitotic kinase, Aurora B kinase (AURKB), phosphorylates caspase-2 at the highly conserved residue S384. We demonstrate that phosphorylation at S384 blocks caspase-2 catalytic activity and apoptosis function in response to mitotic insults, without affecting caspase-2 dimerisation. Moreover, molecular modelling suggests that phosphorylation at S384 may affect substrate binding by caspase-2. We propose that caspase-2 S384 phosphorylation by AURKB is a key mechanism that controls caspase-2 activation during mitosis

Orientation dependent molecular electrostatics drives efficient charge generation in homojunction organic solar cells

Organic solar cells usually utilise a heterojunction between electron-donating (D) and electron-accepting (A) materials to split excitons into charges. However, the use of D-A blends intrinsically limits the photovoltage and introduces morphological instability. Here, we demonstrate that polycrystalline films of chemically identical molecules offer a promising alternative and show that photoexcitation of α-sexithiophene (α-6T) films results in efficient charge generation. This leads to α-6T based homojunction organic solar cells with an external quantum efficiency reaching up to 44% and an open-circuit voltage of 1.61 V. Morphological, photoemission, and modelling studies show that boundaries between α-6T crystalline domains with different orientations generate an electrostatic landscape with an interfacial energy offset of 0.4 eV, which promotes the formation of hybridised exciton/charge-transfer states at the interface, dissociating efficiently into free charges. Our findings open new avenues for organic solar cell design where material energetics are tuned through molecular electrostatic engineering and mesoscale structural control