Factors Determining the Use of Guaranteed Loans by U.S. Commercial Banks

Financial Economics,

ANALYSIS OF BORROWER AND LENDER USE OF INTEREST ASSISTANCE ON FSA GUARANTEED FARM LOANS

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 made permanent the interest assistance program for the Farm Service Agency's guaranteed loans, authorized a significant increase in funding for the program, and targeted funding for beginning farmers and ranchers. The research presented here provides a basic descriptive analysis of past use. In particular, borrower data for Federal fiscal years 1985 through 2002 are examined in several dimensions. These dimensions include geographic, borrower type, lender type, interest rate differentials, percent guarantee, and the status of the loan as to whether a loss claim was paid or the loan remained active. Even though the program has been in existence for more than 15 years, little is known about its impact and utilization. This research is an initial step in documenting usage of the program.Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance,

Femtosecond pulses and dynamics of molecular photoexcitation: RbCs example

We investigate the dynamics of molecular photoexcitation by unchirped femtosecond laser pulses using RbCs as a model system. This study is motivated by a goal of optimizing a two-color scheme of transferring vibrationally-excited ultracold molecules to their absolute ground state. In this scheme the molecules are initially produced by photoassociation or magnetoassociation in bound vibrational levels close to the first dissociation threshold. We analyze here the first step of the two-color path as a function of pulse intensity from the low-field to the high-field regime. We use two different approaches, a global one, the 'Wavepacket' method, and a restricted one, the 'Level by Level' method where the number of vibrational levels is limited to a small subset. The comparison between the results of the two approaches allows one to gain qualitative insights into the complex dynamics of the high-field regime. In particular, we emphasize the non-trivial and important role of far-from-resonance levels which are adiabatically excited through 'vertical' transitions with a large Franck-Condon factor. We also point out spectacular excitation blockade due to the presence of a quasi-degenerate level in the lower electronic state. We conclude that selective transfer with femtosecond pulses is possible in the low-field regime only. Finally, we extend our single-pulse analysis and examine population transfer induced by coherent trains of low-intensity femtosecond pulses.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure

Scabies: Application of the Novel Identify-Isolate-Inform Tool for Detection and Management

Scabies is a highly contagious, globally prevalent, parasitic skin infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis, also known as the itch mite. There have been outbreaks not only in the developing world, but also in the developed world among refugees and asylum seekers. Once infested with scabies mites, symptomatic patients, as well as asymptomatic carriers, quickly spread the disease through direct skin-to-skin contact. Typically, symptoms of scabies are characterized by an erythematous, papular, pruritic rash associated with burrows. Treatment of scabies involves using topical or systemic scabicides and treating secondary bacterial infections, if present. Given the prevalence and contagiousness of scabies, measures to prevent its spread are essential. Through application of the novel Identify-Isolate-Inform (3I) Tool, emergency medical providers can readily identify risk factors for exposure and important symptoms of the disease, thus limiting its spread through prompt scabicide therapy; isolate the patient until after treatment; and inform local public health authorities and hospital infection prevention, when appropriate. Ultimately, these three actions can aid public health in controlling the transmission of scabies cases, thus ensuring the protection of the general public from this highly contagious skin infestation

Models of Farm Service Agency Guaranteed Loan Loss Claim Rates in the U.S. for 1990-1998

The Farm Service Agency guaranteed loan program is an important source of credit for family-sized farming operations in Arkansas and the other states of the U.S. This program provides loan guarantees to borrowers who are otherwise unable to obtain credit from traditional lenders at reasonable rates and terms. This study identifies those factors related to the program’s loss claim rate performance over the years fiscal 1989 through 1998 using state-level data from forty states. For both the operating loan and farm ownership loan programs, farm operator financial variables, interest rates, and commercial bank characteristics are found to be statistically significant variables in explaining loss claim rate variation

Cotunneling thermopower of single electron transistors

We study the thermopower of a quantum dot weakly coupled to two reservoirs by tunnel junctions. At low temperatures the transport through the dot is suppressed by charging effects (Coulomb blockade). As a result the thermopower shows an oscillatory dependence on the gate voltage. We study this dependence in the limit of low temperatures where the transport through the dot is dominated by the processes of inelastic cotunneling. We also obtain a crossover formula for intermediate temperatures which connects our cotunneling results to the known sawtooth behavior in the sequential tunneling regime. As the temperature is lowered, the amplitude of thermopower oscillations increases, and their shape changes qualitatively.Comment: 9 pages, including 4 figure