21,186 research outputs found
On the uniqueness of community banks
To the public, all banks seem alike. But banking insiders make important distinctions between community banks and all other banks. Policymakers worry that community banks’ unique characteristics threaten their survival in the face of industry consolidation. However, despite dramatic regulatory and technological changes in the industry in the past two decades, community banks have not only survived but often prospered. ; This article explores the differences between community banks and larger banks to discover what makes community banks unique. Large banks engage primarily in transactional banking—the provision of highly standardized intermediation services, such as gathering deposits and extending loans, that require little human input to manage. Community banks, in contrast, typically focus on relationship banking, which requires more human input, more detailed credit evaluation, and localized decision making. ; Examining profit and risk measures for the 1998–2002 period for both community banks and large banking organizations, the authors find evidence that small banks were generally profitable. In all but the smallest size category, community banks have performed as well as, and often better than, large banks in managing net interest margins, aggregate profits, and credit risk. Also, community banks are more likely to adopt Subchapter S tax status, which allows them to avoid direct federal income taxation and pass tax benefits on to shareholders. These institutions typically have relatively higher returns on both equity and assets than larger banks do. Whether community banks will be able to sustain this good performance will depend, the authors conclude, on how well managers find valuable relationship lending niches, invest bank capital, and balance asset quality with growth.Community banks
Observations on the Overwintering Potential of the Striped Cucumber Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Southern Minnesota
The striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma vittatum (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is an important pest of cucurbit crops. However, the overwinter- ing capacity of this pest in temperate regions is poorly understood. In this study, the in-field survival of A. vittatum was examined during three consecutive winters. In addition, the supercooling points of A. vittatum were determined as an index of cold hardiness for adults. During each winter, the survival of adults decreased significantly through time, with no individuals surviving until spring. By comparing the supercooling points and in-field survival of adults to soil temperatures, it appears that winter temperatures in Minnesota are cold enough to induce freezing of the beetles. Moreover, a considerable amount of mortality occurred before minimum monthly soil temperatures dropped below the supercooling point of overwintering individuals, suggesting the occurrence of prefreeze mortality. An improved understanding of the response of A. vittatum to winter temperatures in temperate regions may aid in early season management of this pest
General approach for studying first-order phase transitions at low temperatures
By combining different ideas, a general and efficient protocol to deal with
discontinuous phase transitions at low temperatures is proposed. For small
's, it is possible to derive a generic analytic expression for appropriate
order parameters, whose coefficients are obtained from simple simulations. Once
in such regimes simulations by standard algorithms are not reliable, an
enhanced tempering method, the parallel tempering -- accurate for small and
intermediate system sizes with rather low computational cost -- is used.
Finally, from finite size analysis, one can obtain the thermodynamic limit. The
procedure is illustrated for four distinct models, demonstrating its power,
e.g., to locate coexistence lines and the phases density at the coexistence.Comment: 5 page
COST725 – establishing a European phenological data platform for climatological applications: major results
Interaction-assisted propagation of Coulomb-correlated electron-hole pairs in disordered semiconductors
A two-band model of a disordered semiconductor is used to analyze dynamical
interaction induced weakening of localization in a system that is accessible to
experimental verification. The results show a dependence on the sign of the
two-particle interaction and on the optical excitation energy of the
Coulomb-correlated electron-hole pair.Comment: 4 pages and 3 ps figure
Pair tunneling through single molecules
By a polaronic energy shift, the effective charging energy of molecules can
become negative, favoring ground states with even numbers of electrons. Here,
we show that charge transport through such molecules near ground-state
degeneracies is dominated by tunneling of electron pairs which coexists with
(featureless) single-electron cotunneling. Due to the restricted phase space
for pair tunneling, the current-voltage characteristics exhibits striking
differences from the conventional Coulomb blockade. In asymmetric junctions,
pair tunneling can be used for gate-controlled current rectification and
switching.Comment: 4+ pages, 4 figures; minor changes, version published in Phys. Rev.
Let
The Seagrasses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast of the United States
The mid-Atlantic region of the United States includes four states: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. It is characterized by numerous estuaries and barrier- island coastal lagoons with expansive salt marshes and seagrass beds in most shallow-water areas. There are no rocky shores . Hard substrates are either man-made [rock jetties and riprap or wood pilings) or biogeniclly generated [oyster and worm reefs). Sediments are predominantly quartz sand in shallow exposed areas with finer grain sediments in deeper or well-protected areas . Marsh peat outcroppings or cohesive sediments are sometimes found in the subtidal areas adjacent to eroding marshes. Climatic variations are large with air temperatures ranging from - 10°C to 40°C and water temperatures ranging from 0°C to 30°C. Tides are equal and semi-diurnal but relatively small in range (maximum of 1.3 m during spring tides).https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1159/thumbnail.jp
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