How financial liberalization in Indonesia affected firms'capital structure and investment decisions

How did financial liberalization affect Indonesian firms? The authors analyzed real and financial indicators for the establishments in their panel of Indonesian manufacturing establishments for 1981-88. Their sample was not representative, but their evidence shows that economic reform had favorable effect on the performance of smaller firms. Liberalization helped reallocate domestic credit toward smaller firms to a level roughly proportionate to their contribution to value-added. Moreover, other firms were successful in replacing expensive domestic credit with cheaper foreign credit, releasing some domestic credit to establishments that lacked access to it. Nominal and real interest rates rose to very high levels, but real returns to capital assets remain high and have increased substantially for small and medium-size exporting establishments. For all groups, higher rates of financial leverage gave rise to extremely high returns on owned equity. Medium-size firms - both conglomerate and non-conglomerate - have had the highest rates of return to capital, financial leverage, and returns to equity. Financial reform has had a significant impact on firm's real and financial choices. Shifting from administrative allocations of credit to market-based allocations has increased borrowing costs, particularly for smaller firms, but it has also widened access to finance. The net effect appears to have been a decrease in the degree of market segmentation and a relaxation of financial constraints to the benefit of investment activity.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Economic Theory&Research,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring

On the intersection of the curves through a set of points in P^2

Given a set of points in P^2, we consider the common zeros of the set of curves of a given degree passing through those points. For general sets of points, these zero sets have the expected dimension and are smooth. In fact, given graded Betti numbers, for any arrangement of points whose ideal has those graded Betti numbers, general among such arrangements, the zero sets have the expected dimension and are smooth.Comment: minor changes; final version, to appear in JPA

The science of improvement in teacher preparation

Due to new United States (U.S.) Federal Regulations and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation standards focusing on K-12 student outcomes, teacher education providers are facing the challenge of gaining access to data on their graduates. Our College of Education (COE) has taken strategic steps to secure post-graduation data access for program completers with the primary purpose of using it for program improvement. To do this, we needed a disciplined process for employing data as the driver for improvement. Improvement science provides a methodology for accelerating the process of learning to improve through disciplined inquiry. Central to this approach are gradual, iterative cycles that focus on evidence related to specific problems of practice and the influence of system factors on the implementation of change. Working within networked communities, practitioners engage in rapid cycles of learning through a plan-do-study-act process that seeks to build shared knowledge and ownership within the improvement process. Using the improvement science model as our guide, we started by focusing our work to be problem specific and user-centered. Specifically, we needed to better align our candidate intake, assessment, and graduation processes across five teacher education programs. We also sought to learn more about variations between program processes. We used our exploration to align around clear action steps serving an overall COE goal. Through this process, we have learned that the tools and processes of improvement science offer a way for teacher education providers to build capacity and drive innovative improvement initiatives

Global Voices on Campus: Why the Symposium Matters

https://ecommons.udayton.edu/global_voices_2/1004/thumbnail.jp

Low-carbohydrate diets and men's cortisol and testosterone: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Low-carbohydrate diets may have endocrine effects, although individual studies are conflicting. Therefore, a review was conducted on the effects of low- versus high-carbohydrate diets on men's testosterone and cortisol. Methods: The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021255957). The inclusion criteria were: intervention study, healthy adult males, and low-carbohydrate diet: ≤35% carbohydrate. Eight databases were searched from conception to May 2021. Cochrane's risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. Random-effects, meta-analyses using standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals, were performed with Review Manager. Subgroup analyses were conducted for diet duration, protein intake, and exercise duration. Results: Twenty-seven studies were included, with a total of 309 participants. Short-term (<3 weeks), low- versus high-carbohydrate diets moderately increased resting cortisol (0.41 [0.16, 0.66], p < 0.01). Whereas, long-term (≥3 weeks), low-carbohydrate diets had no consistent effect on resting cortisol. Low- versus high-carbohydrate diets resulted in much higher post-exercise cortisol, after long-duration exercise (≥20 min): 0 h (0.78 [0.47, 1.1], p < 0.01), 1 h (0.81 [0.31, 1.31], p < 0.01), and 2 h (0.82 [0.33, 1.3], p < 0.01). Moderate-protein (<35%), low-carbohydrate diets had no consistent effect on resting total testosterone, however high-protein (≥35%), low-carbohydrate diets greatly decreased resting (−1.08 [−1.67, −0.48], p < 0.01) and post-exercise total testosterone (−1.01 [−2, −0.01] p = 0.05). Conclusions: Resting and post-exercise cortisol increase during the first 3 weeks of a low-carbohydrate diet. Afterwards, resting cortisol appears to return to baseline, whilst post-exercise cortisol remains elevated. High-protein diets cause a large decrease in resting total testosterone (∼5.23 nmol/L)

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nutritional Therapy in the McClelland Teaching Clinic at the University of Worcester

Introduction: NT is an evidence-based complementary therapy, which applies nutrition and lifestyle science to underlying pathophysiology, resulting in personalized health improvement advice. Efficacy depends on establishing a quality relationship between therapist and client. The aim of the pilot study was to measure the effectiveness of NT at the UoW teaching clinic using the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR) and a symptom-specific outcome measure, Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile 2 (MYMOP2). Methods: The interventional, before-and-after, within group pilot study used MYMOP2 to evaluate client symptoms, activity and wellbeing, and WAI-SR to evaluate therapist and client working relationship. Fifty-five clients and 22 students participated. Measures were taken at initial and follow-up consultation. Twenty completed measures were statistically analyzed using non-parametric tests. Results: Clients presented with a range of symptoms, particularly digestive issues (27.3%) and low energy (20%). A statistically significant improvement was seen in Symptom 1 (z=-3.69, p<.001, r=.82), Symptom 2 (z=-3.32, p<.001, r=.74), Activity (z=-2.07, p<.001, r=.7), WAI-SRT (z=3.18, p<.05, r=.7) and WAI-SRC (z=2.19, p<.001, r=.5) with large effect sizes, and no significant improvement in Wellbeing. Strong, positive relationships were found between combined Symptom 1 and Activity, and Wellbeing at initial (r=.5, n=20, p<.05) and follow-up (r=.6, n=20, p<.05). A strong therapist and client working alliance was evident at initial and follow-up consultation. Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest NT practice is effective in reducing client symptoms and improving health and activity. This may be facilitated by a strong therapist and client working alliance. Further larger-scaled research would support findings with more robust analysis

A multicriteria resource allocation model for the redesign of services following birth

Background Many healthcare services are under considerable pressure to reduce costs while improving quality. This is particularly true in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service where postnatal care is sometimes viewed as having a low priority. There is much debate about the service’s redesign and the reallocation of resources, both along care pathways and between groups of mothers and babies with different needs. The aim of this study was to develop a decision support tool that would encourage a systemic approach to service redesign and that could assess the various quality and financial implications of service change options making the consequent trade-offs explicit. The paper describes the development process and an initial implementation as a preliminary exploration of the possible merits of this approach. Methods Other studies have suggested that combining multicriteria decision analysis with programme budgeting and marginal analysis might offer a suitable basis for resource allocation decisions in healthcare systems. The Postnatal care Resource Allocation Model incorporated this approach in a decision support tool to analyse the consequences of varying design parameters, notably staff contacts and time, on the various quality domains and costs. The initial phase of the study focussed on mapping postnatal care, involving interviews and workshops with a variety of stakeholders. This was supplemented with a literature review and the resultant knowledge base was encoded in the decision support tool. The model was then tested with various stakeholders before being used in an NHS Trust in England. Results The model provides practical support, helping staff explore options and articulate their proposals for the redesign of postnatal care. The integration of cost and quality domains facilitates trade-offs, allowing staff to explore the benefits of reallocating resources between hospital and community-based care, and different patient-categories. Conclusions The main benefits of the model include its structure for assembling the key data, sharing evidence amongst multi-professional teams and encouraging constructive, systemic debate. Although the model was developed in the context of the routine maternity services for mothers and babies in the days following birth it could be adapted for use in other health care services

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations triggered by extreme rainfall and agricultural practices (eastern Michoacan, Mexico)

"The study of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) in Mexico is scarce; therefore, their localization and causes are highly overlooked. The present paper examines the characterization of the DSGSD of Jungapeo and Las Pilas in eastern Michoacan state, currently active and endangering their inhabitants. An integrated study, including detailed lithology, morpho-structural inventories, analysis of land use, and pluviometric regime, was performed and complemented with differential global positioning system monitoring networks. Both landslides developed over highly weathered volcano-sedimentary rocks. On the one hand, the Jungapeo landslide has an estimated volume of 990,455 m3 with steady decreasing velocity rates from 41 to 15 cm/month in the first monitoring period to 13–3 cm/month in the last one. On the other hand, the Las Pilas landslide estimated volume is about 1,082,467 m3 with a stable velocity rate of 1.3 to 0.1 cm/month. Despite the multi-storeyed style of activity, two behaviors of instability were distinguished: slow deformation and secondary landslide stages. The conditioning factors for slow deformation in both DSGSD are the combination of weathered lithology with clay- and sand-rich content, and the shift toward intensive monoculture. The triggering factor is related to excess water produced by an inefficient flood-irrigation system that also generates an atypical acceleration behavior in both landslides during the dry season. The DSGSD activity thus predisposes the generation of tension cracks and secondary scarps from which the collateral landslides are triggered by atypical rainfall, such as that of 2010.

Could Probiotic Supplements Be an Effective Intervention to Reduce Hypertension? A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction Pathogenesis of high blood pressure or hypertension is associated with microbial imbalance or dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. Previous research suggests probiotic consumption may reduce elevated blood pressure, possibly through manipulation of the gut microbiome, and may offer a future potential therapy for hypertension. The aim of this research was to critically evaluate current research evidence to assess whether probiotic supplements may reduce high blood pressure and formulate recommendations regarding their use as an intervention to support hypertensive clients in a Nutritional Therapy context. The objectives were to outline the possible association between gut dysbiosis and hypertension, and to explore possible mechanisms by which probiotics may influence blood pressure. Methods A systematic review of the literature based upon PRISMA protocol was conducted. Four databases were searched: Cochrane Library (Central), CINAHL, Medline and TRIP from January 2014 until July 2020. Five eligible randomised controlled trials, including 453 participants, were identified and critically appraised to assess the quality of their evidence. Results Of the three highest quality studies, two supported probiotic supplements to be effective in reducing blood pressure, one study reported no effect. The remaining two studies were appraised to be of lesser methodological quality so were given less weighting for quality of evidence. This research study found moderate evidence that probiotic supplementation can significantly reduce blood pressure in individuals with borderline hypertension. No effect was reported in normotensives. Conclusion Probiotic supplementation may offer a convenient and effective adjunct for hypertensives to reduce high blood pressure alongside other dietary/lifestyle/medical interventions. Recommendation Further large-scale trials of longer duration on hypertensives are recommended to establish functional pathways, bacterial strain, dosage and required timescale

Gauss Composition for P^1, and the universal Jacobian of the Hurwitz space of double covers

We investigate the universal Jacobian of degree n line bundles over the Hurwitz stack of double covers of P^1 by a curve of genus g. Our main results are: the construction of a smooth, irreducible, universally closed (but not separated) moduli compactification of this universal Jacobian; a description of the global geometry and moduli properties of these stacks; and a computation of the Picard groups of these stacks in the cases when n-g is even. An important ingredient of our work is the parametrization of line bundles on double covers by binary quadratic forms. This parametrization generalizes the classical number theoretic correspondence between ideal classes of quadratic rings and integral binary quadratic forms, which in particular gives the group law on integral binary quadratic forms first discovered by Gauss.Comment: mathematical and expositional updates and improvements, 29 pages, 5 figure