Essays in banking and international finance

This thesis consists of three chapters, two in banking and one in international finance. The first two chapters examine how bank business models and foreign ownership structures affect bank-firm lending relationships. In particular, the first chapter reveals that foreign banks can overcome their informational disadvantage and lend to the same clientele as domestic banks with asset-based lending, shorter maturities, and credit scoring models, while domestic banks rely on relationship lending. The second chapter presents empirical evidence that relationship lending serves as a liquidity insurance for firms in distress, tolerating temporary bad results, yet extracting rents in the long run. The last chapter provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of Central and Eastern European equity markets from the mid-1990s until now and evaluates the value of investing in these markets for global investors

Foreigners vs. Natives: Bank Lending Technologies and Loan Pricing

Can distance-related information asymmetries in credit markets be overcome with contract design and credit scoring models? To answer this question, we explore differences in foreign and domestic banks’ credit contract terms and pricing models. Using a sample of firms that borrow from both domestic and foreign banks in the same month, we show that foreign banks are more likely to demand collateral and grant shorter maturity loans than domestic banks. Foreign banks also base their pricing on internal credit ratings and collateral pledges, while domestic banks price according to the length, depth and breadth of their relationship with a firm. These findings confirm that foreign banks can overcome informational disadvantages using contract design and credit scoring models. However, we also show that there are limitations, with foreign banks facing higher default rates and lower returns on lending if not using collateral and short maturity as disciplining tools

RESPIRATION AND MICROBIAL BIOMASS IN SOIL UNDER DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF USE

The respiration and microbial biomass are important biological indicators of the soil quality. Therefore, the present work had as objective to evaluate the influence of four systems of soil use on the basal respiration (BR) and substrate induced respiration (SIR) and, also, soil microbial biomass (SMB). The studied areas belong to the Sector of Agrarian Sciences of the UFPR: Cassia (grouping of Senna pendula), Forest (arboreal species), Pasture (grasses) and Agroecology (agroecologic culture of vegetables). The samples were collected in the depth of 0-10 cm, and determined by titulometric measurements the BR, SIR and the SMB (glucose addition). Were not observed diferences amoung the studies areas relatively to SIR with sugar cane and SMB. However, the BR in Agroecology, Pasture and Forest, and the SIR with maize in Cassia and Agroecology were majors. The addition of maize and sugar cane residues increased the BR, mainly in the SIR with maize, because your lowest C/N relation.A biomassa e a respiração microbiana são importantes indicadores biológicos da qualidade do solo. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência de quatro sistemas de uso do solo sobre a respiração basal (RB) e induzida pelo substrato (RIS) e, também, sobre a biomassa microbiana do solo (BMS). As áreas estudadas pertencem ao Setor de Ciências Agrárias da UFPR sendo: Cássia (agrupamento de Senna pendula), Bosque (espécies arbóreas), Pastagem (gramíneas) e Agroecologia (cultivo agroecológico de olerícolas). As amostras foram coletadas na profundidade de 0-10 cm, e determinadas por titulometria a RB, a RIS e a BMS (adição de glicose). Não se constatou diferença entre as áreas em termos de RIS (com silagem de cana) e BMS verificando-se, porém, maior RB nas áreas de Agroecologia, Pastagem e Bosque e maior RIS (com grão de milho) nas áreas de Cássia e Agroecologia.  A adição de resíduos de milho e de cana-de-açúcar elevou a RB sendo obtido aumento mais expressivo com milho

Single-cell profiling of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma reveals RAS pathway inhibitors as cell-fate hijackers with therapeutic relevance

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a group of pediatric cancers with features of developing skeletal muscle. The cellular hierarchy and mechanisms leading to developmental arrest remain elusive. Here, we combined single-cell RNA sequencing, mass cytometry, and high-content imaging to resolve intratumoral heterogeneity of patient-derived primary RMS cultures. We show that the aggressive alveolar RMS (aRMS) subtype contains plastic muscle stem-like cells and cycling progenitors that drive tumor growth, and a subpopulation of differentiated cells that lost its proliferative potential and correlates with better outcomes. While chemotherapy eliminates cycling progenitors, it enriches aRMS for muscle stem-like cells. We screened for drugs hijacking aRMS toward clinically favorable subpopulations and identified a combination of RAF and MEK inhibitors that potently induces myogenic differentiation and inhibits tumor growth. Overall, our work provides insights into the developmental states underlying aRMS aggressiveness, chemoresistance, and progression and identifies the RAS pathway as a promising therapeutic target

Hybrid cosmic ray measurements using the IceAct telescopes in coincidence with the IceCube and IceTop detectors

IceAct is a proposed surface array of compact (50 cm diameter) and cost-effective Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes installed at the site of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole. Since January 2019, two IceAct telescope demonstrators, featuring 61 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) pixels have been taking data in the center of the IceTop surface array during the austral winter. We present the first analysis of hybrid cosmic ray events detected by the IceAct imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes in coincidence with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, including the IceTop surface array and the IceCube in-ice array. By featuring an energy threshold of about 10 TeV and a wide field-of-view, the IceAct telescopes show promising capabilities of improving current cosmic ray composition studies: measuring the Cherenkov light emissions in the atmosphere adds new information about the shower development not accessible with the current detectors, enabling significantly better primary particle type discrimination on a statistical basis. The hybrid measurement also allows for detailed feasibility studies of detector cross-calibration and of cosmic ray veto capabilities for neutrino analyses. We present the performance of the telescopes, the results from the analysis of two years of data, and an outlook of a hybrid simulation for a future telescope array

Potently neutralizing and protective human antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to global health1 for which there are limited medical countermeasures2,3. Moreover, we currently lack a thorough understanding of mechanisms of humoral immunity4. From a larger panel of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting the spike (S) glycoprotein5, we identified several that exhibited potent neutralizing activity and fully blocked the receptor-binding domain of S (SRBD) from interacting with human ACE2 (hACE2). Competition-binding, structural, and functional studies allowed clustering of the mAbs into classes recognizing distinct epitopes on the SRBD as well as distinct conformational states of the S trimer. Potent neutralizing mAbs recognizing non-overlapping sites, COV2-2196 and COV2-2130, bound simultaneously to S and synergistically neutralized authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus. In two mouse models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, passive transfer of either COV2-2196 or COV2-2130 alone or a combination of both mAbs protected mice from weight loss and reduced viral burden and inflammation in the lung. In addition, passive transfer of each of two of the most potently ACE2 blocking mAbs (COV2-2196 or COV2-2381) as monotherapy protected rhesus macaques from SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results identify protective epitopes on SRBD and provide a structure-based framework for rational vaccine design and the selection of robust immunotherapeutics

Practices of Writing in Ethnographic Work

Although the practice of writing is key to the production of ethnographic knowledge, the topic remains understudied. Using material from our own ethnographic research in the fields of air travel and cultural heritage as data, we develop a reflexive account of ethnographic writing. We examine in detail the practices of jotting down observations, writing field notes, analytic annotating, ordering and rearranging, and drafting and revising papers. The article takes a praxeological stance, conceptualizing writing as a practice that is simultaneously cognitive, embodied, and material. Our analysis finds that writing influences and shapes all stages of ethnographic work, from orienting perception by setting an appropriate mode of attention to organizing the work itself, e.g., by keeping to-do lists. Writing does not simply communicate ethnographic insights, but—as a result of the activity of texts—it also generates them.Peer Reviewe

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