How is moral hazard related to financing R&D and innovations?

This study investigates which corporate governance and firm-specific characteristics lead firms to be prone to ex-post moral hazard by misallocating the funds that they specifically borrowed for financing their R&D activities. We study 106 firms that received a specially designed loan by a Turkish government to be invested only in R&D and technological innovations. We find that as the size of the loan increases firms are less prone to moral hazard. For family firms our results support the agency theory. For large shareholders, initially our results are aligned with the agency theory but after controlling for the loan size our results hold for the stewardship theory. We also find that as amount of the loans increases relative to size of firms, the performance of projects financed by these loans plummets. Finally, we show that moral hazard related to R&D and innovation activities varies across industries.peer-reviewe

Are there really bubbles in oil prices?

The aim of this paper is to identify bubbles in oil prices by using the ‘‘exponential fitting’’ methodology proposed by Watanabe et al. (2007) [28,29].Weuse the daily US dollar closing crude oil prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) covering the 1986:01:02–2013:07:09 and the Brent for the 1987:05:20–2013:07:09 periods. The distinguishing feature of this study from the previous studies is that this is the first study in the literature showing the existence of bubbles in crude oil prices. We found that there are four distinct periods of persistent bubbles in the crude oil prices since 1986. Two of these persistent bubbles are before 2000 and two of them are after 2000. We conclude that further research is needed to understand better how futures markets may impact the oil price formation.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/physahb201

Farklı tipteki aljinat dental ölçü maddelerinin sitotoksisite yönünden değerlendirilmesi

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the cytotoxicity of different types of alginate impression materials. Material and Method: Cavex CA37, A3KROM, ALGINPLUS FAST ve ORALGHINE alginate impression materials were used. According to the manufacturer’s instructions, alginates were mixed with serum physiological to obtain alginate specimens. Specimens were performed in sterile with ethylene oxide gas and then placed on to the L929 fibroblast cell culture. According to the 1999 ISO 10993-5 protochols, cytotoxicity were determined by means of agar overley test. Results: According to the lisis of the cells, ORALGH<NE and Cavex CA37; 4-4-4-5-5, ALGINPLUS and A3KROM; 2-3-3-3-2 were determined. Values of the cytotoxicity were determined 4,4 for ORALGH<NE and Cavex CA37, whereas 2,6 for ALGINPLUS and A3KROM. Conclusion: Cytotoxicity degree of the alginates were different because of the composition of the alginates. It was determined that ORALGHINE and Cavex CA37 were severely cytotoxic, ALGINPLUS and A3KROM were moderately cytotoxic. ÖZET Amaç: Bu in vitro çalışmanın amacı, farklı tipteki aljinat ölçü maddelerini sitotoksisite yönünden değerlendirmektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Farklı tipteki dört aljinat, Cavex CA37, A3KROM, ALGINPLUS FAST ve ORALGHINE, üretici firmaların talimatlar doğrultusunda belirtilen oranlarda, serum fizyolojik ile karıştırılarak aljinat numuneleri hazırlandı. Hazırlanan numuneler etilen oksit gazıyla steril edildi ve L929 fibroblast hücre serisi kullanılarak elde edilen kültüre yerleştirildi. Agar overley testi kullanılarak sitotoksisitenin belirlenmesinde ISO 1999 yıl 10993-5 numaral protokolü takip edildi. Bulgular: Hücrelerin lizis miktarına göre yapılan puanlama değerleri ORALGHINE ve Cavex CA37 için; 4-4-4-5-5, ALGINPLUS ve A3KROM için; 2-3-3-3-2 olarak tespit edildi. Sitotoksisite değerleri de ORALGHINE ve Cavex CA37 için 4.4, ALGINPLUS ve A3KROM için ise 2.6 olarak bulundu. Sonuçlar: İçerik farklılığına bağlı olarak aljinatlarn sitotoksisite değerleri farklılık göstermiştir. ORALGHINE ve Cavex CA37’nin belirgin derecede sitotoksik olduğu, ALGINPLUS ve A3KROM’ un ise makul derecede sitotoksik olduğu belirlendi. Anahtar kelimeler: Sitotoksisite, aljinat

LPPLS bubble indicators over two centuries of the S&P 500 index

The aim of this paper is to present novel tests for the early causal diagnostic of positive and negative bubbles in the S&P 500 index and the detection of End-of-Bubble signals with their corresponding confidence levels. We use monthly S&P 500 data covering the period from August 1791 to August 2014. This study is the first work in the literature showing the possibility to develop reliable ex-ante diagnostics of the frequent regime shifts over two centuries of data. We show that the DS LPPLS (log-periodic power law singularity) approach successfully diagnoses positive and negative bubbles, constructs efficient End-of-Bubble signals for all of the well-documented bubbles, and obtains for the first time new statistical evidence of bubbles for some other events. We also compare the DS LPPLS method to the exponential curve fitting and the generalized sup ADF test approaches and find that DS LPPLS system is more accurate in identifying well-known bubble events, with significantly smaller numbers of false negatives and false positives.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/physa2017-09-30hb2016Economic

The design and fabrication of supramolecular semiconductor nanowires formed by benzothienobenzothiophene (BTBT)-conjugated peptides

π-Conjugated small molecules based on a [1]benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene (BTBT) unit are of great research interest in the development of solution-processable semiconducting materials owing to their excellent charge-transport characteristics. However, the BTBT π-core has yet to be demonstrated in the form of electro-active one-dimensional (1D) nanowires that are self-assembled in aqueous media for potential use in bioelectronics and tissue engineering. Here we report the design, synthesis, and self-assembly of benzothienobenzothiophene (BTBT)–peptide conjugates, the BTBT–peptide (BTBT-C3–COHN-Ahx-VVAGKK-Am) and the C8-BTBT–peptide (C8-BTBT-C3–COHN-Ahx-VVAGKK-Am), as β-sheet forming amphiphilic molecules, which self-assemble into highly uniform nanofibers in water with diameters of 11–13(±1) nm and micron-size lengths. Spectroscopic characterization studies demonstrate the J-type π–π interactions among the BTBT molecules within the hydrophobic core of the self-assembled nanofibers yielding an electrical conductivity as high as 6.0 × 10−6 S cm−1. The BTBT π-core is demonstrated, for the first time, in the formation of self-assembled peptide 1D nanostructures in aqueous media for potential use in tissue engineering, bioelectronics and (opto)electronics. The conductivity achieved here is one of the highest reported to date in a non-doped state

Comparison of Survival Rates, Tumor Stages, and Localization in between Obese and Nonobese Patients with Gastric Cancer

Purpose. In this study we tried to determine the association between body-mass index (BMI), survival rate, and the stage of tumor at the time of diagnosis in patients with gastric cancer. Methods. A total of 270 gastric cancer patients’ hospital records were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were grouped according to their BMI at the time of tumor diagnosis. Tumor stages at admission were compared according to their BMI values. Results. There were no differences in OS among BMI subgroups (p=0.230). The percent of patients with stage III tumor was significantly higher in nonobese while the percent of stage IV tumor was surprisingly higher in obese patients (p was 0.011 and 0.004, resp.). Percent of patients who did not have any surgical intervention was significantly lower in overweight and obese patients than normal and/or underweight patients. Conclusions. At the time of diagnosis, obese patients had significantly higher percent of stage IV tumor than nonobese patients. Despite of that, there were no differences in survival rates among BMI subgroups. Our study results are consistent with “obesity paradox” in gastric cancer patients. We also did not find any relationship between BMI and localization of gastric tumor

Incidence, hospital costs and in-hospital mortality rates of surgically treated patients with traumatic cranial epidural hematoma

Background: In this study, the patients who were operated in two clinics due to traumatic cranial epidural hematoma (EDH) were assessed retrospectively and the factors that increase the costs were tried to be revealed through conducting cost analyses. Methods: The patients who were operated between 2010 and 2016 with the diagnosis of EDH were assessed in terms of age, sex, trauma etiology, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) at admission, the period from trauma to hospital arrival, trauma-related injury in other organs, the localization of hematoma, the size of hematoma, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), length of antibiotherapy administration, number of consultations conducted, total cost of in-hospital treatments of the patients and prognosis. Results: Distribution of GCS were, between 13-15 in 18 (36%) patients, 9-13 in 23 (46%) patients and 3-8 in 9 (18%) patients. The reasons for emergency department admissions were fall from high in 29 (58%) patients, assault in 11 (22%) patients and motor vehicle accident in 10 (20%) patients. The average cost per ICU stay was 2838 $(range=343-20571$). The average cost per surgical treatment was 314 $. ICU care was approximately 9 times more expensive than surgical treatment costs. The mortality rate of the study cohort was 14% (7 patients). Conclusion: The prolonged period of stay in the ICU, antibiotherapy and repeat head CTs increase the costs for patients who are surgically treated for EDH

Incidence, hospital costs and in-hospital mortality rates of surgically treated patients with traumatic cranial epidural hematoma

Background: In this study, the patients who were operated in two clinics due to traumatic cranial epidural hematoma (EDH) were assessed retrospectively and the factors that increase the costs were tried to be revealed through conducting cost analyses.Methods: The patients who were operated between 2010 and 2016 with the diagnosis of EDH were assessed in terms of age, sex, trauma etiology, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) at admission, the period from trauma to hospital arrival, trauma-related injury in other organs, the localization of hematoma, the size of hematoma, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), length of antibiotherapy administration, number of consultations conducted, total cost of in-hospital treatments of the patients and prognosis.Results: Distribution of GCS were, between 13-15 in 18 (36%) patients, 9-13 in 23 (46%) patients and 3-8 in 9 (18%) patients. The reasons for emergency department admissions were fall from high in 29 (58%) patients, assault in 11 (22%) patients and motor vehicle accident in 10 (20%) patients. The average cost per ICU stay was 2838 $(range=343-20571$). The average cost per surgical treatment was 314 $. ICU care was approximately 9 times more expensive than surgical treatment costs. The mortality rate of the study cohort was 14% (7 patients).Conclusion: The prolonged period of stay in the ICU, antibiotherapy and repeat head CTs increase the costs for patients who are surgically treated for EDH

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely