Financial Crisis and the Supply of Corporate Credit

This dissertation consists of three essays that study the relationship between distress and credit and the role this relationship has in determining corporate investment and economic activity. The first essay studies the supply of credit during the recent financial crisis. It shows that distress in the banking sector led to bank credit rationing, which a portion of nonfinancial borrowers palliated by migrating to the public market for credit. The overall reduction in credit, however, was followed by a severe drop in corporate investment, which in time led to a fall in the levels of aggregate production. The second essay examines how distress in the banking sector affects credit supply in two separate events: the credit crunch of early 1990s and the financial crisis of late 2000s. While the former is broadly thought of as a relatively mild crisis when compared with the latter, the fall in bank credit that they carried is comparable by certain measures. Government intervention, the paper argues, accounts for the comparatively short duration of and fast recovery from the second crisis. The third essay investigates the role of aggregate economic distress on the maturity of debt, which ultimately affects investment in long-term assets. The paper predicts and shows that increases in the aggregate distress lead lenders to prefer shorter maturities. This effect can be empirically observed in changes in maturity of new debt issues. Moreover, it is strong enough to modify the temporary financial structure of nonfinancial corporations

How Is the Internet Changing Labor Market Arrangements? Evidence from Telecommunications Reforms in Europe

This paper exploits variations in the timing of telecommunications reforms across Europe to analyze the relationship between the rise of alternative work arrangements and the emergence of the Internet. The paper evaluates whether sectors that are technologically more dependent on information and communications technologies experienced disproportionately larger changes in their employment outcomes after telecommunications reforms were introduced. The main results point to a disproportionate increase in total employment, parttime work, and home-based work among information and communications technologies–intensive sectors after the implementation of telecommunications reforms. The analysis does not find a link between the incidence of temporary employment, selfemployment, second job holding, and telecommunications reforms. The main results are robust to several specifications.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS

How Is the Internet Changing Labor Market Arrangements? Evidence from Telecommunications Reforms in Europe

This paper exploits variations in the timing of telecommunications reforms across Europe to analyze the relationship between the rise of alternative work arrangements and the emergence of the Internet. The paper evaluates whether sectors that are technologically more dependent on information and communications technologies experienced disproportionately larger changes in their employment outcomes after telecommunications reforms were introduced. The main results point to a disproportionate increase in total employment, parttime work, and home-based work among information and communications technologies–intensive sectors after the implementation of telecommunications reforms. The analysis does not find a link between the incidence of temporary employment, selfemployment, second job holding, and telecommunications reforms. The main results are robust to several specifications.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS

Computational Spectral Imaging: A Contemporary Overview

Spectral imaging collects and processes information along spatial and spectral coordinates quantified in discrete voxels, which can be treated as a 3D spectral data cube. The spectral images (SIs) allow identifying objects, crops, and materials in the scene through their spectral behavior. Since most spectral optical systems can only employ 1D or maximum 2D sensors, it is challenging to directly acquire the 3D information from available commercial sensors. As an alternative, computational spectral imaging (CSI) has emerged as a sensing tool where the 3D data can be obtained using 2D encoded projections. Then, a computational recovery process must be employed to retrieve the SI. CSI enables the development of snapshot optical systems that reduce acquisition time and provide low computational storage costs compared to conventional scanning systems. Recent advances in deep learning (DL) have allowed the design of data-driven CSI to improve the SI reconstruction or, even more, perform high-level tasks such as classification, unmixing, or anomaly detection directly from 2D encoded projections. This work summarises the advances in CSI, starting with SI and its relevance; continuing with the most relevant compressive spectral optical systems. Then, CSI with DL will be introduced, and the recent advances in combining the physical optical design with computational DL algorithms to solve high-level tasks

Preparation and characterization of α-Fe nanowires located inside double wall carbon nanotubes

Capillary effect was used to fill double wall carbon nanotubes (DWCNT) with iron. The samples are characterized by Mössbauer and Raman spectroscopies, TEM, SAED, and magnetization. The experimental results indicate the presence of a-Fe nanowires inside the DWCNTs. The samples are ferromagnetic at room temperature. There are three striking results due to the confinement effects on the physical behavior of a-Fe: the hyperfine fields increase, the Debye temperature decreases and Raman modes are observed

A PORTABLE AND INEXPENSIVE DO-IT-YOURSELF TEMPERATURE SENSOR

Nowadays it is important to have commercial solutions to be used in teaching and research laboratories for the needs. We can have different equipment according to the necessary parameters of control being related to the influence of parameters internal or external to the laboratory practice. However they can't be straightforward to use, their costs can be considerable.  In this context, the do-it-yourself approach is an interesting alternative. In this paper we report the construction of a temperature sensor made by students. Based on a probe taken from a deactivated equipment, the sensor development and validation encompassed its design and building up, the establishment of a connection to a personal computer via USB, the setup of computer-controlled processes, which included remote control, graphical and numerical displaying and signal acquisition, and finally its testing. Tests were performed in water containers with different temperatures, namely boiling, room and ice. The obtained results are comparable to those from a commercial thermometer. This student experiment project allowed not only to contact different disciplines such as chemistry, electronics, and programming but also to gain competencies that can be used outside the class context. We proved it is possible to build tailor-made electronic devices capable of providing useful measurements to chemical purposes old equipment in an inexpensive and trustworthy way

Evaluación del sesgo en las clasificaciones taxonómicas del índice cefálico

El índice cefálico (ic) ha sido ampliamente utilizado para establecer categorías taxonómicas humanas. Aunque su significado biológico ha sido discutido, pocos trabajos han analizado la relación numérica del índice y sus clasificaciones. Aquí se aborda uno de los sesgos introducidos por la transformación en categorías de clase (braquicefalia, mesocefalia y dolicocefalia) de la distribución continua del ic, se analiza el efecto que tiene en la varianza poblacional y en la densidad de los datos. Por medio de la Howells World Data Set recurrimos al coeficiente de determinación como estimador de la cantidad de información que se conserva posterior a la trans- formación categórica del ic. Nuestros resultados indican que las clasificaciones del ic son un reducto de la variabilidad biológica craneal de las poblaciones humanas. La adopción de modelos no lineales hiperdimensionales y multivariados representa un mejor acercamiento a la covariación de las formas biológicas.The cephalic index (ic) has been widely used as one of the higher profile tools to establish human taxonomy categories. Although it has been discussed the biological sense of the cephalic index, few studies analyzed the mathematics relations of the ratio and their classifications. In this paper, we address one of the biases introduced by the transformation into class categories (brachycephaly, mesocephaly and dolichocephaly) of the continuous distribution of IC, analyzing the effect in the population variance and the density of the data. Thus, we used Howells World Data Set for determination coefficient as an estimate of amount of information retained after processing IC categories. Our results indicate that the ratings of the IC are a haven of cranial biological variability of human populations. The adoption of hyperdimensional non-linear and multivariate models represents a better approach to the covariance of biological forms.Fil: Gomez Valdes, Jorge A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Quinto Sanchez, Mirsha Emmanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin

In vitro activity of bedaquiline against rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria

Bedaquiline (BDQ) has been proven to be effective in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. We hypothesized that BDQ could be a potential agent to treat nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro activity of BDQ against rapidly growing mycobacteria by assessing the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against 18 NTM strains. For MIC determination we performed the resazurin microtitre assay broth dilution, and for the MBC the c.f.u. was determined. BDQ exhibited a strong inhibitory effect against most NTM tested; however, for some NTM strains the MBC was significantly higher than the MIC. A new finding is that Mycobacterium flavescens has a mutation in the gene atpE associated with natural resistance to BDQ. These preliminary promising results demonstrate that BDQ could be potentially useful for the treatment of NTM

Entre la consolidación del proyecto confesional y las estructuras jerárquicas de género: los sodomitas condenados en el Compendio del jesuita Pedro de León (Andalucía, 1578-1616)

The article will analyze, from a gender perspective, the criminal construction of the sodomy during the period of consolidation of the confessional project of the Hispanic Monarchy, during the late 16th century and early 17th century. We propose there was a relationship between the need to discipline the sodomite body and the consolidation of the confessional project in the Iberian Peninsula. The secular violence applied to the sodomite body constituted, from this perspective, one of the aspects of the establishment of confessional monarchies, since the requirement of political and religious uniformity demanded homogeneity in the sexual and gender behavior of their subjects. As a hypothesis, we suggest that as the confessional royal power was instituted, it needed to build gender structures in accordance with the political and religious project it sought to consolidate. In consequence, the sodomite body became an object of punishment. The nefarious sin, therefore, had to be eradicated, since it not only undermined the natural order, but also the gender hierarchy that sustained the power structures. Our arguments will be considered analyzing the cases of those condemned to death for sodomy who were accompanied at the royal prison of Seville by the Jesuit priest Pedro de León between 1578 and 1616.El artículo analiza, desde una perspectiva de género, la construcción criminal de la sodomía durante la consolidación del proyecto confesional de la monarquía hispánica a finales del siglo XVI y principios del XVII. Sugerimos que existió una relación entre el disciplinamiento del cuerpo sodomita y la consolidación del proyecto confesional en la Península Ibérica. La violencia secular sobre el cuerpo sodomita constituyó, desde este punto de vista, una de las aristas de la cristalización de las monarquías confesionales. La pretensión de uniformidad política y religiosa exigía una homogeneidad en los comportamientos sexuales y de género de los súbditos. Consideramos de manera hipotética que, a la par que el poder regio confesional se establecía, necesitaba conformar estructuras de género acordes al proyecto político y religioso que se buscaba consolidar. De esta manera, el cuerpo sodomita se convertía en objeto de castigo. El pecado nefando, por lo tanto, debía extirparse, ya que no solo atentaba contra el orden natural sino también contra la jerarquía de géneros que sustentaba las estructuras de poder. Estos argumentos se ponen en consideración a partir del estudio de los casos de condenados a muerte por sodomía que el sacerdote jesuita Pedro de León acompañó en la cárcel real de Sevilla entre 1578 y 1616