Determinants of global income inequality: concerns and evidence about the neoliberal paradigm

This paper analyses the main drivers of global income inequality while testing some of the most relevant economic theories on inequality evolution. We run xed e ects regressions on four di erent income inequality measures, using a panel of 157 countries, for the period 1960-2015. We nd evidence that, while labor market reforms and unemployment were two upturning drivers of inequality, governments have an important rebalancing role, despite their decreased size. Furthermore, al- though social and political globalization reduced inequality, overall globalization and the widening of nancial systems increased inequality. These ndings suggest that the 1980s transition from post-war regulated capitalism to neoliberal capitalism led to a worldwide upsurge of inequality within countries. The e ect of liberalization on inequality is con rmed when we perform a causal analysis using the European Eastern Bloc transition of the 1990s as a quasi-experiment

Development of Antifouling Strategies for Marine Applications

Marine biofouling is an undeniable challenge for aquatic systems since it is responsible for several environmental and ecological problems and economic losses. Several strategies have been developed to mitigate fouling-related issues in marine environments, including developing marine coatings using nanotechnology and biomimetic models, and incorporating natural compounds, peptides, bacteriophages, or specific enzymes on surfaces. The advantages and limitations of these strategies are discussed in this review, and the development of novel surfaces and coatings is highlighted. The performance of these novel antibiofilm coatings is currently tested by in vitro experiments, which should try to mimic real conditions in the best way, and/or by in situ tests through the immersion of surfaces in marine environments. Both forms present their advantages and limitations, and these factors should be considered when the performance of a novel marine coating requires evaluation and validation. Despite all the advances and improvements against marine biofouling, progress toward an ideal operational strategy has been slow given the increasingly demanding regulatory requirements. Recent developments in self-polishing copolymers and fouling-release coatings have yielded promising results which set the basis for the development of more efficient and eco-friendly antifouling strategies

ICObench ratings and Initial Coin Offerings’ success

Initial coin offerings (ICOs)–commonly referred to as token sales or token offerings– are assisted by blockchain technology. This financing tool helps entrepreneurs finance early-stage ventures on a decentralized, global scale. Researchers have previously called for more research to be carried out vis-à-vis the role of information intermediaries in the ICO ecosystem. The main goal of this study was to analyze the correlation between ICO ratings and the financing success of ICOs. As a result, secondary microdata on 5,581 ICOs were collected from the ICObench website. The results reveal that ICO ratings issued by third parties have a positive influence on the fundraising campaign of these offerings. ICO ratings thus appear to function as an effective signal to buyers and to reduce information asymmetry between sellers and investors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of facial expressions in consumer purchase decision

Facial expressions of emotion cannot be controlled voluntarily, they simply reflect our emotional state. When an individual is lying or hiding something, there might be incongruencies between his speech and facial expressions. Today a few studies have explored if an incongruency in a product advertisement has an impact in the consumer purchase decision. We hypothesize that an incongruency might have a negative impact in the consumer purchase decision, focusing in incongruences between spoked language and facial expressions of emotion. To that purpose, we recorded an advertisement video containing a congruent or incongruent expression. Moreover, to test the impact of the advertiser, three spokespersons were selected: a celebrity, an expert and a general consumer. The advertising shows a spokesperson tasting an orange juice and expressing that it is delicious with a congruent happiness facial expression, or with an incongruent disgust facial expression. Both facial emotions were validated using FaceReader software. In order to test the main hypothesis, we recruited 81 individuals. When visualizing the videos, participants were monitored with eye-tracking technology and after visualization were invited to fill a survey. This strategy allowed to investigate the levels of trust, perceived quality, attention and word-of-mouth intentions. After statistical analysis, a structural equation model using PLS-SEM showed that the congruency has a pivotal effect in purchase decision, as well as in the previously mentioned variables. Therefore, we conclude that an incongruency between spoked and non-spoked language have a negative impact in the consumer decision and opinion about the product.As expressões faciais não podem ser controladas voluntariamente, simplesmente refletem o nosso estado emocional. Quando alguém mente ou esconde alguma informação, podem haver incongruências entre o que ele diz e o que a sua expressão facial mostra. Atualmente não é claro se uma incongruência num anúncio de um produto tem impacto na decisão de compra do consumidor. Foi lançada a hipótese de que a incongruência tem um impacto negativo na decisão de compra do consumidor, sendo que o foco foram as incongruências entre linguagem verbal e as expressões faciais. Para tal, foram gravados anúncios publicitários contendo uma expressão congruente e incongruente. Além disso, para testar o impacto do anúncio, três tipos de atores foram selecionados: uma celebridade, um expert e um consumidor. O anúncio mostra o ator a provar um sumo de laranja, dizendo que é delicioso com uma expressão congruente de felicidade, ou com uma expressão incongruente de nojo. Ambas as expressões foram validadas recorrendo a um software de analise – FaceReader. Para testar as hipoteses, 81 participantes foram recrutados. Durante a visualização dos vídeos, os mesmos foram monitorizados com um equipamento de eyetracking, respondendo a um questionário no fim. Através da análise estatística em PLSSEM, verificamos que a incongruência é um fator determinante para a intenção de compra. Assim, concluímos que uma incongruência entre a linguagem verbal e a expressão facial durante um anúncio publicitário tem um impacto negativo na decisãode compra do consumidor, assim como na sua opinião sobre o produto

The Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure and Multi-tracer II: redshift space and realistic tracers

We extend the multi-tracer (MT) formalism of the effective field theory of large-scale structure to redshift space, comparing the results of MT to a single-tracer analysis when extracting cosmological parameters from simulations. We used a sub-halo abundance matching method to obtain more realistic multi-tracer galaxy catalogs constructed from N-body simulations. Considering different values for the sample shot noise and volume, we show that the MT error bars on $A_s$, $\omega_{\rm cdm}$, and $h$ in a full-shape analysis are approximately $50\%$ smaller relative to ST. We find that cosmological and bias coefficients from MT are less degenerate, indicating that the MT parameter basis is more orthogonal. We conclude that using MT combined with perturbation theory is a robust and competitive way to accommodate the information present in the mildly non-linear scales.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure

New approaches for the control of the pine wood nematode : Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus

O nematode da madeira do pinheiro (NMP) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus é o agente etiológico da doença do nemátode da madeira do pinheiro em Pinus pinaster. Não existe ainda um método eficiente para controlar e/ou eliminar este agente patogénico. O quitosano é um produto extraído da parede celular de alguns fungos ou da desacetilação da quitina, um produto amigo do ambiente e amplamente usado como agente antimicrobiano. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de testar a influência do quitosano no aumento da defesa da planta contra o NMP e também compreender as bases fisiológicas de ação deste composto a múltiplos níveis: efeito na população de nemátodes na planta, na produção de compostos de defesa e na modulação da carga microbiana no nemátode. Também se testou o quitosano como agente de esterilização da madeira comparando também este composto com outros métodos como o tratamento térmico em estufa e por microondas. Para este trabalho de investigação infetaram-se pinheiros com NMP onde 75 pinheiros foram mantidos em solo sem quitosano e 75 em solo com quitosano. Verificou-se que até aos 28 dias após a infeção o quitosano evitou a morte dos pinheiros e o número total de nemátodes foi inferior ao número de nemátodes dos pinheiros mantidos em solo sem quitosano e idêntico ao longo de todo o tempo experimental. Este composto aumentou a produção de carotenoides, (53.8 ± 4.6 mol/g-1 aos 21 dai para 111.5 ± 11.9 mol/g-1 aos 28 dai) antocianinas (63.4 ± 5.5 mol.g-1 para 142.3 ± 20.4 mol.g-1 aos 28 dai), polifenóis totais (2.70 ± 0.1 μg.g-1 aos 7 dai para 3.2 ± 0.7 μg.g-1 aos 14 dai) e lenhina (0.7 ± 0.1mg.g-1 aos 14 dai para 1.5± 0.1 mg.g-1 aos 28 dai) demonstrando a sua capacidade para aumentar os mecanismos de defesa da planta. Foi estudada também a influência do quitosano nas bactérias associadas ao nemátode na planta e Enterobacter sp. foi o género predominante encontrado ao longo do tempo, o que sugere que as bactérias deste género estejam associadas à doença. De forma a se compreender se as bactérias obtidas no estudo anterior provinham realmente do nemátode ou se teriam sido transmitidas a este pela planta realizou-se um estudo “in vitro” do efeito do quitosano no NMP. Verificou-se que Stenotrophomonas sp., Bacillus sp., Kluyvera sp., Buttiauxella sp., Klebsiella sp. e Paenibacillus sp. não foram encontrados associados com o nematode mantido em cultura no laboratório, o que pode indicar que estas bactérias são transmitidas pela planta. Para a comparação do quitosano com outros métodos de controlo, como o tratamento térmico através de uma estufa e de energia microondas, utilizou-se serrim de madeira de pinheiro infetado com NMP. Este estudo demonstrou que o tratamento térmico com estufa e com micro-ondas tiveram uma maior capacidade nematicida quando comparado com soluções de quitosano a diferentes concentrações. Este estudo permitiu concluir que o quitosano apresenta-se com um potencial método de prevenção da doença do NMP aumentando a defesa da planta contra este agente patogénico e evitando a evolução da doença e consequente morte do pinheiro. O quitosano influencia a carga microbiana do nematode, mas mais testes têm que ser realizados para perceber qual o efeito na evolução da doença. Este composto apresenta um efeito limitado nematicida em serrim quando comparado com outros métodos de tratamento.The pine wood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is the causal agent of the pine wood disease (PWD) in Pinus pinaster. There isn’t an effective method for control and/or elimination of this pathogen. Chitosan is a product extracted from the cell wall of some fungi or deacetylation of chitin, an environment friendly product, widely used as an antimicrobial agent. The objective of this study was to test the influence of chitosan in the increase of plant defence against the PWN and also understand the physiological bases of action of this compound at multiple levels: effect on the population of nematodes in the plant, production of defence compounds and modulation the microbial load in the nematode. Chitosan was also tested as a wood sterilizing agent and compared with other methods such as heat-treatment by kiln-drying and microwave radiation. For this research project trees were infected with PWN and 75 were kept in soil without chitosan and 75 trees were kept in soil with chitosan. It was found that up to 28 days after infection chitosan prevented the death of pine trees and the total number of nematodes was below the number of nematodes of pine trees kept in soil without chitosan. This compound increased the production of carotenoids, (from 53.8 ± 4.6 mol / g-1 at 21 dai to 111.5 ± 11. 9 mol / g-1 at 28 dai) anthocyanins (from 63.4 ± 5.5 mol g-1 to 142.3 ± 20.4 mol g-1 at 28 dai), total polyphenols ( from 2.7 ± 0.1 μg.g-1 at 7 dai to 3.2 ± 0.7 μg.g-1 at 14 dai) and lignin (rising from 0.7 ± 0.1 mg. g-1 at 14 dai to 1.5 ± 0.1 mg.g-1 at 28 dai) demonstrating its ability to increase the defence mechanisms of the plant. The influence of chitosan on the bacteria associated with the nematodes was also studied in the plant, and Enterobacter sp. was the predominant genus found over time, suggesting that bacteria of this type are associated with the disease. In order to understand if the bacteria obtained actually came from the nematode or was transmitted to the nematode by the plant, an “in vitro” study was performed, were the effect of chitosan on the PWN kept in laboratory culture conditions was studied. It was found that Stenotrophomonas sp., Bacillus sp., Kluyvera sp., Buttiauxella sp., Klebsiella sp. and Paenibacillus sp. were not found associated with the nematode, which may indicate that these bacteria were transmitted by the plant. To compare chitosan with other control methods, such as heat- treatment through kiln-drying and microwave energy, wood chips infected with PWN were used. The heat-treatment by kiln-drying and microwave energy had a higher nematicide capacity when compared to chitosan solutions with different concentrations. This study found that chitosan is a potential prevention method for the PWD increasing plant defence against this pathogen and preventing disease progression and consequent death of the tree. Chitosan influences the microbial load of the nematode but more tests have to be performed to understand the effect on the progression of the disease. This compound has a limited nematicide effect on wood chips when compared with other treatment methods

Debt, information asymmetry and bankers on board

We provide evidence that the presence of bankers in the board of directors reduce information asymmetry between credit markets and firms. We show that the impact of the presence of bankers on leverage is driven by firms with low level of debt. This effect is amplified the more connected the bankers are to the corporate world. Additionally the results are more pronounced for less transparent firms. Our findings suggest that the connectedness of bankers play a key role in reducing information asymmetry.N/

Primordial feature constraints from BOSS+eBOSS

Understanding the universe in its pristine epoch is crucial in order to obtain a concise comprehension of the late-time universe. Although current data in cosmology are compatible with Gaussian primordial perturbations whose power spectrum follows a nearly scale-invariant power law, this need not be the case when a fundamental theoretical construction is assumed. These extended models lead to sharp features in the primordial power spectrum, breaking its scale invariance. In this work, we obtain combined constraints on four primordial feature models by using the final data release of the BOSS galaxies and eBOSS quasars. By pushing towards the fundamental mode of these surveys and using the larger eBOSS volume, we were able to extend the feature parameter space (i.e. the feature frequency $\omega$) by a factor of four compared to previous analyses using BOSS. While we did not detect any significant features, we show that next-generation galaxy surveys such as DESI will improve the sensitivity to features by a factor of 7, and will also extend the parameter space by a factor of 2.5.Comment: 28 + 4 pages, 16 figure

Susceptibility Amplitude Ratios Near a Lifshitz Point

The susceptibility amplitude ratio in the neighborhood of a uniaxial Lifshitz point is calculated at one-loop level using field-theoretic and $\epsilon_{L}$-expansion methods. We use the Schwinger parametrization of the propagator in order to split the quadratic and quartic part of the momenta, as well as a new special symmetry point suitable for renormalization purposes. For a cubic lattice (d = 3), we find the result $\frac{C_{+}}{C_{-}} = 3.85$.Comment: 7 pages, late