The Effects of Bank Lobbying and Elections Surprises

This paper examines the stock market reaction to banks that lobby relative to banks that did not lobby in the period around the November 9, 2016, U.S. presidential election. Using three different methods of event studies to calculate the cumulative average return, we find that lobbying in banks has a meaningful relationship to an abnormal increase in those firm’s stock prices. Then we attempt to control for both the systemic importance and size of these institutions by performing cross-sectional regressions that include matched size, and the systemic nature of the banks. The results suggest that a heavily regulated industry such as banking, can see a noteworthy impact from a strong lobbying strategy

Evaluating quaternary glacial till sheet volume and duration of grounding events using sediment flux calculations in the Eastern basin paleotroughs, Ross Sea, Anarctica

A sequence of three seismically-resolvable, back-stepping grounding zone wedges (GZWs) within the Glomar-Challenger Basin paleo-ice-stream trough is conventionally interpreted to have been deposited by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). For this to be true, there would have to have been voluminous GZW deposition via fast moving ice streams with high sediment flux during the short timeframe since the WAIS retreat began at 11 Ka 14C BP and when the WAIS moved south of Roosevelt Island at 3.2 Ka BP. In contrast to this interpretation of how the near-surface stratigraphy relates to post-LGM retreat of the WAIS, foraminiferal radiocarbon dates from Bart and Cone (2012) suggest that the youngest back-stepped GZW corresponds to the culmination of erosion and deposition during the LGM. If so, the older GZWs currently assigned to the post LGM time frame would need to be reassigned to pre-LGM glacial cycles. To test which of these interpretations is correct, the duration of the Brown Unit, the second of the three backstepped GZWs, was investigated in detail. Five seismic surveys from eastern Ross Sea were used to map the extent and thickness of the Brown Unit. Two end-member durations were deduced using 3D sediment flux values that would have existed were the WAIS in retreat mode versus advance mode. Utilizing the retreat-mode flux, a 5.12 ± 1 ky grounding event duration was calculated for the Brown Unit GZW. However, a 512.88 ± 100 ky grounding event duration was determined using the advance-mode sediment flux. Given the durations previously calculated for the Gray Unit (the youngest post-LGM GZW) from Bart and Owolana (2012) and the grounding event duration recently calculated for the Red Unit (the oldest post-LGM GZW) by Bowles (2013) suggests that the near surface stratigraphy must represent the amalgamation of erosion and deposition from many cycles of WAIS advance and retreat. In particular, the Brown Unit is tentatively assigned to time elapsed between MIS5 and MIS8

GABAergic compensation in connexin36 knock-out mice evident during low-magnesium seizure-like event activity

Gap junctions within the cerebral cortex may facilitate cortical seizure formation by their ability to synchronize electrical activity. To investigate this, one option is to compare wild-type (WT) animals with those lacking the gene for connexin36 (Cx36 KO); the protein that forms neuronal gap junctions between cortical inhibitory cells. However, genetically modified knock-out animals may exhibit compensatory effects; with the risk that observed differences between WT and Cx36 KO animals could be erroneously attributed to Cx36 gap junction effects. In this study we investigated the effect of GABAA-receptor modulation (augmentation with 16 μM etomidate and blockade with 100 μM picrotoxin) on low-magnesium seizure-like events (SLEs) in mouse cortical slices. In WT slices, picrotoxin enhanced both the amplitude (49% increase, p = 0.0006) and frequency (37% increase, p = 0.005) of SLEs; etomidate also enhanced SLE amplitude (18% increase, p = 0.003) but reduced event frequency (25% decrease, p < 0.0001). In Cx36 KO slices, the frequency effects of etomidate and picrotoxin were preserved, but the amplitude responses were abolished. Pre-treatment with the gap junction blocker mefloquin in WT slices did not significantly alter the drug responses, indicating that the reduction in amplitude seen in the Cx36 KO mice was not primarily mediated by their lack of interneuronal gap junctions, but was rather due to pre-existing compensatory changes in these animals. Conclusions from studies comparing seizure characteristics between WT and Cx36 KO mice must be viewed with a degree of caution because of the possible confounding effect of compensatory neurophysiological changes in the genetically modified animals

Microbial electrocatalysis with Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilm on stainless steel cathodes

Stainless steel and graphite electrodes were individually addressed and polarized at−0.60V vs. Ag/AgCl in reactors filled with a growth medium that contained 25mM fumarate as the electron acceptor and no electron donor, in order to force the microbial cells to use the electrode as electron source. When the reactor was inoculated with Geobacter sulfurreducens, the current increased and stabilized at average values around 0.75Am−2 for graphite and 20.5Am−2 for stainless steel. Cyclic voltammetry performed at the end of the experiment indicated that the reduction started at around −0.30V vs. Ag/AgCl on stainless steel. Removing the biofilm formed on the electrode surface made the current totally disappear, confirming that the G.sulfurreducens biofilm was fully responsible for the electrocatalysis of fumarate reduction. Similar current densities were recorded when the electrodes were polarized after being kept in open circuit for several days. The reasons for the bacteria presence and survival on non-connected stainless steel coupons were discussed. Chronoamperometry experiments performed at different potential values suggested that the biofilm-driven catalysis was controlled by electrochemical kinetics. The high current density obtained, quite close to the redox potential of the fumarate/succinate couple, presents stainless steel as a remarkable material to support biocathodes

Potential of an alkaline-stabilized biosolid to manage nematodes: case studies on soybean cyst and root-knot nematodes

The use of treated biosolids for pest management and soil nutrient augmentation is not a new practice, but it has increased in the last two decades, primarily in the United States (22). In the late 1970s, the first land application regulations were formulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in response to the Clean Water Act (44). Land application of sewage sludge for soil amendment and land reclamation has increased over time as a result of the ban on ocean dumping of wastewater residuals (Ocean Disposal Ban Act of 1988). The Act also minimizes other disposal options, such as land-filling or incineration. In 1993, the Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge (Code of Federal Regulations Title 40, Part 503) was created (45,46). Part 503 (as it is commonly called) set pollutant limits, operational standards for human/animal pathogen and vector-attraction reduction, management practices, and other provisions intended to protect public health and the environment from any reasonably anticipated adverse effects from chemical pollutants and pathogenic organisms. In 1995, the EPA promoted the terminology “biosolids” rather than “sewage sludge” and defined biosolids as “the primarily organic solid product yielded by municipal wastewater treatment processes that can be beneficially recycled as soil amendments and meets the standards of Part 503”. Although the term is sometimes controversial (33), we will use biosolid in reference to the product tested in this research