Credit cycles and macro fundamentals

We study the relation between the credit cycle and macro economic fundamentals in an intensity based framework. Using rating transition and default data of U.S. corporates from Standard and Poor’s over the period 1980–2005 we directly estimate the credit cycle from the micro rating data. We relate this cycle to the business cycle, bank lending conditions, and financial market variables. In line with earlier studies, these variables appear to explain part of the credit cycle. As our main contribution, we test for the correct dynamic specification of these models. In all cases, the hypothesis of correct dynamic specification is strongly rejected. Moreover, accounting for dynamic mis-specification, many of the variables thought to explain the credit cycle, turn out to be insignificant. The main exceptions are GDP growth, and to some extent stock returns and stock return volatilities. Their economic significance appears low, however. This raises the puzzle of what macro-economic fundamentals explain default and rating dynamics. JEL Classification: G11, G2

A STUDY ON THE CHALLENGES OF HIV POSITIVE CHILDREN IN DAKSHINA KANNADA

Human Immuno-deficiency Virus and Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic carries with it the forces of destructions. Children are infected with HIV/AIDS through their parents by birth. Children are brought in the families where the situation is such either their parents are ill or they are single parent or orphan. Parents no longer hold jobs, families lose their breadwinners and they use their time and money to care for ill members. This situation has effects on the children’s education leads them to discontinue education because of the financial needs of the family. Same situation has been faced by the HIV negative children affected by HIV. Both infected and affected children have to face discrimination from various angles. The main aim of this research is to study the challenges faced by HIV positive children. And the objectives are to study the condition and the problems faced by the positive children and the measures to overcome the difficulties are discussed by the researcher. The information collected by using both from primary and secondary method. Interview is conducted and selected 50 samples and 10 case studies. (1, 3

A Pilot Case Study on Innovative Behaviour: Lessons Learned and Directions for Future Work

Context: A case study is a powerful research strategy for investigating complex social-technical and managerial phenomena in real life settings. However, when the phenomenon has not been fully discovered or understood, pilot case studies are important to refine the research problem, the research variables, and the case study design before launching a full-scale investigation. The role of pilot case studies has not been fully addressed in empirical software engineering research literature. Objective: To explore the use of pilot case studies in the design of full-scale case studies, and to report the main lessons learned from an industrial pilot study. Method: We designed and conducted an exploratory case study to identify new relevant research variables that influence the innovative behaviour of software engineers in the industrial setting and to refine the full-scale case study design for the next phase of our research. Results: The use of a pilot case study identified several important research variables that were missing in the initial framework. The pilot study also supported a more sophisticated case study design, which was used to guide a full-scale study. Conclusions: When a research topic is has not been fully discovered or understood, it is difficult to create a case study design that covers the relevant research variables and their potential relationships. Conducting a full-scale case study using an untested case design can lead to waste of resources and time if the design has to be reworked during the study. In these situations, the use of pilot case studies can significantly improve the case study design

APAC Nova Lima: Projeto de ação social

Este projeto de extensão visa desenvolver um trabalho de cunho social, que parte de uma ação de envolvimento de toda a comunidade da APAC - Associação de Proteção e Assistência aos Condenados - sediada em Nova Lima/MG, recuperandos, familiares, funcionários e diretores, na configuração de programas de necessidades espaciais identificados a partir das demandas da própria comunidade. A metodologia para concepção e desenvolvimento de projetos de arquitetura deverá abrigar atividades de caráter social. Lidar com tema desta natureza impõe ao grupo envolvido nesse processo, professores, estudantes, e a comunidade da APAC, reflexões de naturezas diversas, vinculadas ao campo social, antropológico, bem como técnico e científico. Estas reflexões, discussões coletivas e trocas de experiências entre todos os agentes envolvidos darão subsídios para o acompanhamento e o desenvolvimento de projetos de arquitetura que abrigarão as atividades, cujas demandas ainda serão identificadas. A pesquisa aplicada ao projeto e vinculada a uma realidade a ser potencialmente transformada por meio da ação do planejamento, configura o caráter indissociável entre ensino, pesquisa e extensão

Dhvar5-chitosan nanogels and their potential to improve antibiotics activity

Infection is one of the main causes of orthopedic implants failure, with antibiotic-resistant bacteria playing a crucial role in this outcome. In this work, antimicrobial nanogels were developed to be applied in situ as implant coating to prevent orthopedic-device-related infections. To that regard, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide, Dhvar5, was grafted onto chitosan via thiol-norbornene "photoclick" chemistry. Dhvar5-chitosan nanogels (Dhvar5-NG) were then produced using a microfluidic system. Dhvar5-NG (1010 nanogels (NG)/mL) with a Dhvar5 concentration of 6 μg/mL reduced the burden of the most critical bacteria in orthopedic infections - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - after 24 h in medium supplemented with human plasma proteins. Transmission electron microscopy showed that Dhvar5-NG killed bacteria by membrane disruption and cytoplasm release. No signs of cytotoxicity against a pre-osteoblast cell line were verified upon incubation with Dhvar5-NG. To further explore therapeutic alternatives, the potential synergistic effect of Dhvar5-NG with antibiotics was evaluated against MRSA. Dhvar5-NG at a sub-minimal inhibitory concentration (109 NG/mL) demonstrated synergistic effect with oxacillin (4-fold reduction: from 2 to 0.5 μg/mL) and piperacillin (2-fold reduction: from 2 to 1 μg/mL). This work supports the use of Dhvar5-NG as adjuvant of antibiotics to the prevention of orthopedic devices-related infections.The authors B. Costa, P.M. Alves and D. R. Fonseca would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (Refs. SFRH/BD/147027/2019, SFRH/BD/145471/2019 and SFRH/BD/146890/2019), FCT/MCTES (Ref. CEECIND/01921/2017). C. Monteiro Thanks FCT by her contract-program (art. 23 of Law no. 57/2016 & 57/2017). Paula Gomes thanks FCT/MCTES for financial support to the LAQV-REQUIMTE Research Unit (UIDB/50006/2020; DOI 10.54499/UIDB/50006/2020) through national funds. A. Gomes thanks FCT/MCTES for Junior Researcher Contract 2022.08044.CEECIND/CP1724/CT0004 (DOI:10.54499/2022.08044.CEECIND/CP1724/CT0004). M.C.L. Martins also acknowledges FCT (LA/P/0070/2020) and MOBILIsE Project, which has received funding from the European Union’’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 951723

Environmental Aspects of Production Management of Services in The Amazon

Environmental degradation is one of the most discussed topics today, but organizations also consider it a source of competitive advantage. This study is qualitative and uses the Case Study Method. Data were collected in a pest control company located in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. As its main topic, it takes aspects of environmental management in a pest control company´s production process in the city of Porto Velho. Its specific goals are to (1) identify which tools and sustainable production methods are used by the company in its production process; (2) highlight the competitive advantages arising from the incorporation of aspects of environmental management in production processes; and (3) indicate the innovation process that best contributes to the improvement of the company´s environmental management. Assessing the environmental aspects of the company´s production management revealed satisfactory results. The company is engaged in sustainable development and is gradually pursuing improvements to its methods of maintaining and conserving the environment. The subsidies mentioned allow the degree of sustainability demanded by contemporary society, which benefits from the environmental services offered. This study is a university´s research contribution to managers and stakeholders who want to learn more about the applicability of concepts of an environmental management system in pest control companie

Nanoscale temperature measurements using non-equilibrium Brownian dynamics of a levitated nanosphere

Einstein realised that the fluctuations of a Brownian particle can be used to ascertain properties of its environment. A large number of experiments have since exploited the Brownian motion of colloidal particles for studies of dissipative processes, providing insight into soft matter physics, and leading to applications from energy harvesting to medical imaging. Here we use optically levitated nanospheres that are heated to investigate the non-equilibrium properties of the gas surrounding them. Analysing the sphere's Brownian motion allows us to determine the temperature of the centre-of-mass motion of the sphere, its surface temperature and the heated gas temperature in two spatial dimensions. We observe asymmetric heating of the sphere and gas, with temperatures reaching the melting point of the material. This method offers new opportunities for accurate temperature measurements with spatial resolution on the nanoscale, and a new means for testing non-equilibrium thermodynamicsComment: 5 pages, 4 figures, supplementary material available upon reques

Xanthan gum as an alternative to replace fat for coating and flavoring the extruded snacks

Food industries adapt their products and processes to the needs and desires of consumers. Extruded snacks include 10–20% fat sprinkled to fix flavors, seasonings, and salt. Considering the need to flavor snacks and simultaneously reduce the intake of calories, a polysaccharide is proposed in this study as a fat replacer. Impact of aqueous xanthan gum (Xg) solutions (0.25, 0.5, 1.0%) under two pH conditions (3.5 and 7.0) on structural and sensory characteristics of extruded snacks was analyzed. Rheological features of the coating solutions, as flow behaviour and viscoelastic profile (storage and loss moduli), were assessed. Texture analysis, to evaluate the snacks firmness and moisture content, water activity, retraction, and agglomeration index of the coated snacks, were also evaluated. Results for the aqueous Xg coatings were very encouraging showing good coating properties, not damaging the texture of the extrudates or causing agglomeration. Sensory analysis reflected a good overall acceptability of these snacks, as compared to oil-coated snacks. Therefore, xanthan gum should be used by the industry, to replace fat, on extruded snacks flavor coating solutionsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lysine-based surfactants in nanovesicle formulations: the role of cationic charge position and hydrophobicity in in vitro cytotoxicity and intracellular delivery

Understanding nanomaterial interactions within cells is of increasing importance for assessing their toxicity and cellular transport. Here, we developed nanovesicles containing bioactive cationic lysine-based amphiphiles, and assessed whether these cationic compounds increase the likelihood of intracellular delivery and modulate toxicity. We found different cytotoxic responses among the formulations, depending on surfactant, cell line and endpoint assayed. The induction of mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and apoptosis were the general mechanisms underlying cytotoxicity. Fluorescence microscopy analysis demonstrated that nanovesicles were internalized by HeLa cells, and evidenced that their ability to release endocytosed materials into cell cytoplasm depends on the structural parameters of amphiphiles. The cationic charge position and hydrophobicity of surfactants determine the nanovesicle interactions within the cell and, thus, the resulting toxicity and intracellular behavior after cell uptake of the nanomaterial. The insights into some toxicity mechanisms of these new nanomaterials contribute to reducing the uncertainty surrounding their potential health hazards

Global Burden of Double Malnutrition: Has Anyone Seen It?

Background. Low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) are believed to be characterized by the coexistence of underweight and overweight. It has also been posited that such coexistence is appearing among the low socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative samples of 451321 women aged 20–49 years drawn from 57 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1994 and 2008. Body Mass Index (BMI in $kg/m^2$), was used to define underweight and overweight following conventional cut-points. Covariates included age, household wealth, education, and residence. We estimated multinomial multilevel models to assess the extent to which underweight $(BMI<18.5 kg/m^2)$ and overweight $(BMI≥25.0 kg/m^2)$ correlate at the country-level, and at the neighborhood-level within each country. Results. In age-adjusted models, there was a strong negative correlation between likelihood of being underweight and overweight at country- (r = −0.79, p<0.001), and at the neighborhood-level within countries (r = −0.51, P<0.001). Negative correlations ranging from −0.11 to −0.90 were observed in 46 of the 57 countries at the neighborhood-level and 29/57 were statistically significant $(p\leq 0.05)$. Similar negative correlations were observed in analyses restricted to low SES groups. Finally, the negative correlations across countries, and within-countries, appeared to be stable over time in a sub-set of 36 countries. Conclusion. The explicitly negative correlations between prevalence of underweight and overweight at the country-level and at neighborhood-level suggest that the hypothesized coexistence of underweight and overweight has not yet occurred in a substantial manner in a majority of LMICs