Capital Age and Labor Investment Efficiency

This study examines how capital age affects the efficiency of corporate labor investments. Using a sample of 1,588 US firms from 1991 to 2016, we find that the efficiency of labor investments increases as technology ages. Subsample analysis on labor investment efficiency suggests that old capital decreases labor over- and underinvestment. Our results remain robust to alternative specifications and restricted to small firms and industries requiring high labor skills. These findings add to the growing literature examining how learning affects a variety of phenomena in finance. Managers\u27 increased understanding of their capital over time facilitates the efficiency of corporate labor investments

RESILIENCE TO CRUDE OIL: AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE ON LITIGATION FUNDING

Using daily data from January 2011 to November 2020, this study examines the return shocks between crude oil and litigation funding in Australia. Based on Diebold and Yilmaz’s (2012) return spillover effects, we find evidence that litigation funding and the crude oil market share a lower degree of return shocks connectedness, relative to the overall stock market. Further, the oil price crashes (including the COVID-19-induced oil price crash) are also weakly correlated to the return shocks connectedness between litigation funding and the crude oil market. Our findings suggest that litigation funding is mainly immune from economic disruptions. These findings are of interest to policymakers, market participants, and crude oil investors in comprehending the spillover effects of crude oil on other sectors of the economy.&nbsp

Content adaptive single image interpolation based super resolution of compressed images

Image Super resolution is used to upscale the low resolution Images. It is also known as image upscaling .This paper focuses on upscaling of compressed images based on Interpolation techniques. A content adaptive interpolation method of image upscaling has been proposed. This interpolation based scheme is useful for single image based Super-resolution (SR) methods .The presented method works on horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions of an image separately and it is adaptive to the local content of an image. This method relies only on single image and uses the content of the original image only; therefore the proposed method is more practical and realistic. The simulation results have been compared to other standard methods with the help of various performance matrices like PSNR, MSE, MSSIM etc. which indicates the preeminence of the proposed method

Does Absorptive Capacity Protect Shareholder Wealth in Times of Crisis? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

R&D capital increases firms’ ability to identify, absorb, and utilize new external information. Firms with absorptive capacity become resilient to external shocks while providing an opportunity to protect shareholder wealth during a crisis period. This study examines the role of firms’ absorptive capacity in protecting shareholder wealth around the COVID-19-induced stock market crisis. Our findings report that firms’ absorptive capacity is positively related to stock returns of US firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This positive relationship exists irrespective of investor attention and is robust to the propensity-score-matching approach. Overall, the results imply that R&D capital makes firms resilient to external shocks

Abnormally invasive placenta: an overview of diagnosis and management options

Background: Abnormally invasive placenta, also known as morbidly adherent placenta, is a broad term that describes abnormal adherence of placenta to the underlying myometrium. Clinical risk factors include placenta previa and prior uterine surgery, including caesarean delivery. The diagnosis and management of women at risk is not only based on clinical parameters, but also driven by imaging, namely ultrasound and more recently magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging.Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 10 cases of abnormally invasive placenta undertaken at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot.Results: Hysterectomy done in six cases and uterus was preserved in four cases. Foetal outcome was on average side. Four foetal losses noted two because of prematurity and two due to excessive blood loss admitted with intra uterine foetal death. Two babies needed NICU care but successfully discharged.Conclusions: Newer approaches should be considered investigational until larger prospective series to become available, until then hysterectomy should remain the stay of treatment specially when the family is complete and there is life threatening Haemorrhage

Desarrollo y evaluación de microesfera de seda Fibroin cargado de isoniacida

Aim: Current experimental investigation is dedicated to prepare microspheres with small size and good sphericity by Phase Separation method using Isoniazid (INH) as model drug. Silk fibroin has unique intrinsic qualities like biodegradability, biocompatibility or release properties and their tunable drug loading capacity. The delivery loading proficiency of the drug molecules in silk spheres be contingent on their charge, and hydrophobicity or subsequent in altered drug release profiles. Methods: In the present work Isoniazid loaded silk fibroin microsphere was prepared by using phase separation method. Microsphere was evaluated for Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, Entrapment efficiency, Scanning electron microscopy Studies. Results: Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that Isoniazid Loaded Silk Fibroin Microspheres were spherical. Entrapment Efficiency of Isoniazid loaded Microspheres of different Formulation from F1 to F5 was in range of 53 to 68 %. F3 showed 68.47 % entrapment Efficiency and the optimized formulation drug release was 93.56 % at 24 hours. Conclusion: Experimental report disclosed a new aqueous based formulation method for silk spheres with controllable shape or size and sphere. Isoniazid loaded silk microspheres may act as ideal nano formulation with elaborated studies.Objetivo: La investigación experimental en curso está dedicada a la preparación de microesferas de pequeño tamaño y buena esfericidad mediante el método de separación de fases con isoniazida (INH) como fármaco modélo. La fibroina de seda tiene cualidades intrínsecas únicas como la biodegradabilidad, biocompatibilidad o propiedades de liberación y su capacidad de carga de fármacos ajustable. La aptitud de entrega de carga de las moléculas de fármaco en las esferas de seda estar supeditada a su carga, y la hidrofobicidad o subsiguiente alteración en los perfiles de liberación de fármacos. Métodos: En el presente trabajo la microesfera de fibroina de seda cargada de isoniazida fue preparada utilizando el método de separación de fases. La microesfera fue evaluada por espectroscopia ultravioleta-visible, espectroscopia infrarroja con transformado de Fourier, se midió la eficiencia de atrapamiento y se estudios mediante microscopia electrónica de barrido. Resultados: Estudios con el microscopio de escaneo de electrones revelaron que las microesferas de fibroina cargada de isoniazida eran esféricas. La eficacia de atrapamiento de las microesferas de formulación diferente de F1 a F5 estuvo en el rango de 53 a 68 %. F3 mostró un 68,47 % de eficiencia de atrapamiento y tras optimizar la formulación de liberación de fármacos fue de 93,56 %, a las 24 horas. Conclusión: Esta investigación reveló una nueva formulación de base acuosa para las esferas de seda con forma controlable o la forma y el tamaño de la esfera. Las microesferas de seda cargadas de isoniazida pueden actuar como ideal formulación nano con estudios elaborados

Chymotrypsin protease inhibitor gene family in rice: genomic organization and evidence for the presence of a bidirectional promoter shared between two chymotrypsin protease inhibitor genes

Protease inhibitors play important roles in stress and developmental responses of plants. Rice genome contains 17 putative members in chymotrypsin protease inhibitor (ranging in size from 7.21 to 11.9 kDa) gene family with different predicted localization sites. Full-length cDNA encoding for a putative subtilisin-chymotrypsin protease inhibitor (OCPI2) was obtained from Pusa basmati 1 (indica) rice seedlings. 620 bp-long OCPI2 cDNA contained 219 bp-long ORF, coding for 72 amino acid-long 7.7 kDa subtilisin-chymotrypsin protease inhibitor (CPI) cytoplasmic protein. Expression analysis by semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that OCPI2 transcript is induced by varied stresses including salt, ABA, low temperature and mechanical injury in both root and shoot tissues of the seedlings. Transgenic rice plants produced with OCPI2 promoter-gus reporter gene showed that this promoter directs high salt- and ABA-regulated expression of the GUS gene. Another CPI gene (OCPI1) upstream to OCPI2 (with 1126 bp distance between the transcription initiation sites of the two genes; transcription in the reverse orientation) was noted in genome sequence of rice genome. A vector that had GFP and GUS reporter genes in opposite orientations driven by 1881 bp intergenic sequence between the OCPI2 and OCPI1 (encompassing the region between the translation initiation sites of the two genes) was constructed and shot in onion epidermal cells by particle bombardment. Expression of both GFP and GUS from the same epidermal cell showed that this sequence represents a bidirectional promoter. Examples illustrating gene pairs showing co-expression of two divergent neighboring genes sharing a bidirectional promoter have recently been extensively worked out in yeast and human systems. We provide an example of a gene pair constituted of two homologous genes showing co-expression governed by a bidirectional promoter in rice

Information about Serious ADRs Explored by Pharmacovigilance Approaches

BACKGROUND: Serious adverse events in relation to drugs may be life-threatening or fatal, may require hospitalization, can also result in significant, persistent, or permanent disability and impairment. These drug related events may also cause damage or disruption in the patient's body function/structure, affect physical activities or may result in congenital anomalies, leaving a transient or permanent affect on quality of life. In India, Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) has a classification system for the analysis of ADRs which has been suggested based on dose relation, timing, and patient susceptibility. Despite all efforts, ADR monitoring and reporting activity is still poor in India. Data about serious ADRs is deficient so this study was planned as a preliminary initiative to contribute to PvPI.AIM: To study incidence of serious ADRs at a Tertiary care hospital.MATERIAL AND METHODS: This prospective observational study was carried out for duration of six months i.e. from July, 2014 to January, 2015 on patients admitted in a Medical College of North India. Data regarding the patient demographics and ADRs were collected by serial patient interviews in the Tertiary care Hospital collaborated by information in respective patient file. No changes in treatment decision, schedule or duration were made as part of study. The incidence rate of each ADR was calculated.RESULTS: A total of 66 serious ADRs were reported during this duration in 60 patients (27 males, 33 females). Mean age of patients was 46.90 years. ADR incidence was found to be 1.11 per patient. The average number of drugs prescribed was 1.64 per patient. The most common drug leading to Serious Adverse Drug Reaction was Phenytoin (13%) followed by Paclitaxel (10%). The most common ADR noted was Rash leading to hospitalization (31.18%) and Steven Johnson Syndrome (31.18%), followed by Fever (16.60%), Anaphylactic Reactions (5%), DRESS (5%) and Toxic epidermal necrolysis (5%). Patients suffering from serious ADRs had presented with diagnosis of seizures (20.75%) followed by ALL (7.73%).CONCLUSION: Most common serious ADRs reported were Rash and Steven Johnson Syndrome (31.18%)

Genome-wide analysis of rice ClpB/HSP100, ClpC and ClpD genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>ClpB-cyt/HSP100 protein acts as chaperone, mediating disaggregation of denatured proteins. Previous studies have shown that ClpB-cyt/HSP100 gene belongs to the group class I Clp ATPase proteins and ClpB-cyt/HSP100 transcript is regulated by heat stress and developmental cues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nine ORFs were noted to constitute rice class I Clp ATPases in the following manner: 3 ClpB proteins (ClpB-cyt, Os05g44340; ClpB-m, Os02g08490; ClpB-c, Os03g31300), 4 ClpC proteins (ClpC1, Os04g32560; ClpC2, Os12g12580; ClpC3, Os11g16590; ClpC4, Os11g16770) and 2 ClpD proteins (ClpD1, Os02g32520; ClpD2, Os04g33210). Using the respective signal sequences cloned upstream to GFP/CFP reporter proteins and transient expression studies with onion epidermal cells, evidence is provided that rice ClpB-m and Clp-c proteins are indeed localized to their respective cell locations mitochondria and chloroplasts, respectively. Associated with their diverse cell locations, domain structures of OsClpB-c, OsClpB-m and OsClpB-cyt proteins are noted to possess a high-level conservation. <it>OsClpB-cyt </it>transcript is shown to be enriched at milk and dough stages of seed development. While expression of <it>OsClpB-m </it>was significantly less as compared to its cytoplasmic and chloroplastic counterparts in different tissues, this transcript showed highest heat-induced expression amongst the 3 ClpB proteins. OsClpC1 and OsClpC2 are predicted to be chloroplast-localized as is the case with all known plant ClpC proteins. However, the fact that OsClpC3 protein appears mitochondrial/chloroplastic with equal probability and OsClpC4 a plasma membrane protein reflects functional diversity of this class. Different class I Clp ATPase transcripts were noted to be cross-induced by a host of different abiotic stress conditions. Complementation assays of <it>Δhsp104 </it>mutant yeast cells showed that <it>OsClpB-cyt</it>, <it>OsClpB-m</it>, <it>OsClpC1 </it>and <it>OsClpD1 </it>have significantly positive effects. Remarkably, <it>OsClpD1 </it>gene imparted appreciably high level tolerance to the mutant yeast cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rice class I Clp ATPase gene family is constituted of 9 members. Of these 9, only 3 belonging to ClpB group are heat stress regulated. Distribution of ClpB proteins to different cell organelles indicates that their functioning might be critical in different cell locations. From the complementation assays, OsClpD1 appears to be more effective than OsClpB-cyt protein in rescuing the thermosensitive defect of the yeast <it>ScΔhsp104 </it>mutant cells.</p

A Survey on Wireless Network Simulators

The Network simulator helps the developer to create and simulate new models on an arbitrary network by specifying both the behavior of the network nodes and the communication channels. It provides a virtual environment for an assortment of desirable features such as modeling a network based on a specific criteria and analyzing its performance under different scenarios. This saves cost and time required for testing the functionality and the execution of network. This paper has surveyed various Wireless Network Simulators and compared them