Relationship lending within a bank-based system: evidence from European small business data.

This paper adds to the relationship lending debate by investigating detailed contract information obtained from examining nearly eighteen thousand bank loans. The beneficiaries all were very small firms that operate within the continental European bank-based system. That is, with data gathered for Belgium, we investigate price and non-price terms of the loan contract. We test for the possibility of intertemporal rent shifting by banks. The empirical evidence shows two opposing effects. On the one hand, the length of a bank-firm relationship increases the loan rate. On the other hand, widening the relationship by buying other information sensitive products from a bank decreases the loan rate. Thus the effect on the price operates more through the dimension of the relationship than through the length of the relationship. We also find that the length of the financial relationship slightly negatively influences the probability of pledging collateral.

Validation of the determination of the B isotopic composition in Roman glasses with laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

The applicability of laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) for the determination of the B isotopic composition in Roman glasses was investigated. The delta B-11 values thus obtained provide information on the natron flux used during the glass-making process. The glass samples used for this purpose were previously characterized using pneumatic nebulization (PN) MC-ICP-MS. Unfortunately, this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive and consumes some 100 mg of sample, which is a rather high amount for ancient materials. Therefore, the use of the less invasive and faster LA-MC-ICP-MS approach was explored. In this work, the results for 29 Roman glasses and 4 home-made glasses obtained using both techniques were compared to assess the suitability of LA-MC-ICP-MS in this context. The results are in excellent agreement within experimental uncertainty. No difference in overall mass discrimination was observed between the Roman glasses, NIST SRM 610 reference glass and B6 obsidian. The expanded uncertainty of the LA-MC-ICP-MS approach was estimated to be <2%., which is similar to that obtained upon sample digestion and PN-MC-ICP-MS measurement

The objective assessment of cough frequency: accuracy of the LR102 device

BACKGROUND: The measurement of cough frequency is problematic and most often based on subjective assessment. The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of the automatic identification of cough episodes by LR102, a cough frequency meter based on electromyography and audio sensors. METHODS: Ten adult patients complaining of cough were recruited in primary care and hospital settings. Participants were asked to wear LR102 for 4 consecutive hours during which they were also filmed. RESULTS: Measures of cough frequency by LR102 and manual counting were closely correlated (r = 0.87 for number of cough episodes per hour; r = 0.89 for number of single coughs per hour) but LR102 overestimated cough frequency. Bland-Altman plots indicate that differences between the two measurements were not influenced by cough frequency. CONCLUSIONS: LR102 offers a useful estimate of cough frequency in adults in their own environment, while significantly reducing the time required for analysi

Geochemical heterogeneity of sand deposits and its implications for the provenance determination of Roman glass

During the production of natron glass most features of the raw materials are lost and only some bulk geochemical characteristics have potential as provenance indicators. To determine the primary origin of archaeological glass artefacts, suitable sand raw materials have to be accurately characterised. In this respect, information about the possible variation in geochemical properties within a silica source is also vital to account for potential (partial) overlap of different sources. In this study, it is shown that the variation in major and minor elemental composition of beach sand on a local scale is smaller than the variation in Roman natron glass. Therefore, a single sand deposit can be seen as a relatively homogeneous source of silica for glass production. Nd isotopic signatures are identical for all samples analysed. The isotopic composition of Sr however varies considerably due to local variations in the relative proportions of carbonates and silicates (mostly feldspar).status: publishe

High-resolution X-ray diffraction with no sample preparation

It is shown that energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) implemented in a back-reflection geometry is extremely insensitive to sample morphology and positioning even in a high-resolution configuration. This technique allows high quality X-ray diffraction analysis of samples that have not been prepared and is therefore completely non-destructive. The experimental technique was implemented on beamline B18 at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron in Oxfordshire, UK. The majority of the experiments in this study were performed with pre-characterized geological materials in order to elucidate the characteristics of this novel technique and to develop the analysis methods. Results are presented that demonstrate phase identification, the derivation of precise unit-cell parameters and extraction of microstructural information on unprepared rock samples and other sample types. A particular highlight was the identification of a specific polytype of a muscovite in an unprepared mica schist sample, avoiding the time-consuming and difficult preparation steps normally required to make this type of identification. The technique was also demonstrated in application to a small number of fossil and archaeological samples. Back-reflection EDXRD implemented in a high-resolution configuration shows great potential in the crystallographic analysis of cultural heritage artefacts for the purposes of scientific research such as provenancing, as well as contributing to the formulation of conservation strategies. Possibilities for moving the technique from the synchrotron into museums are discussed. The avoidance of the need to extract samples from high-value and rare objects is a highly significant advantage, applicable also in other potential research areas such as palaeontology, and the study of meteorites and planetary materials brought to Earth by sample-return missions

Transatlantic connections in colonial and post-colonial Haiti: archaeometric evidence for taches noires glazed tableware imported from Albissola, Italy to Fort Liberté, Haiti.

This paper presents the first archaeometrical data on colonial glazed wares (taches noires) imported in Haiti (Fort Liberté). The analysis evidenced the exclusive presence of Italian taches noires products, dated before 1820 and related to the colonial era. The presence of English wares next to colonial materials demonstrated continuity in the use of landscape after the Independence and the establishment of international trade relationships between the state of Haiti and the British Empire. Results are an important step forward in the understanding of production and movement of the Taches noires ware, which were exported globally between the eighteenth and nineteenth centurie

Antimony as a raw material in ancient metal and glass making: provenancing Georgian LBA metallic Sb by isotope analysis

Sb was frequently used as a raw material, both in ancient glass-making (as an opacifier and decolouriser) and metallurgy (either as an alloying element or as a pure metal). Despite this ubiquity, antimony production has only occasionally been studied and questions concerning its provenance are still not satisfactorily answered. This study evaluates the suitability of Sb isotope analysis for provenance determination purposes, as experiments under lab conditions have revealed fractionation occurring during redox processes in oxidising stibnites and in making opacified glasses. The results of this paper help to evaluate the possible influence of the pyrotechnological processes on the antimony isotope composition of glass artefacts. This paper focuses on the Caucasus as case study by applying mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic analysis to Georgian ores (mainly from the Racha-Lechkumi district) and Late Bronze Age (LBA; 15th–10th century BCE) metallic Sb objects found at the sites of Brili and Chalpiragorebi