Collateral and Debt Maturity Choice. A Signaling Model

This paper derives optimal loan policies under asymmetric information where banks offer loan contracts of long and short duration, backed or unbacked with collateral. The main novelty of the paper is that it analyzes a setting in which high quality firms use collateral as a complementary device along with debt maturity to signal their superiority. The least-cost signaling equilibrium depends on the relative costs of the signaling devices, the difference in firm quality and the proportion of good firms in the market. Model simulations suggest a non-monotonic relationship between firm quality and debt maturity, in which high quality firms have both long-term secured debt and short-term secured or non-secured debt.

Law professors want hearing, vote on Garland

Dear Senator Fischer and Senator Sasse, We write this as citizens, but we all teach at the University of Nebraska College of Law. We hold different political viewpoints and disagree frequentIy with each other on political and legal issues. As law professors, however, we share a deep commitment to the rule of law and an impartial judiciary. We therefore urge you to hold confirmation hearings and a vote on President Obama\u27s Supreme Court nominee, Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland

Determinantes Nacionais e Setoriais da Estrutura de Capital na América Latina

This study identified the role of the national environment (the Macroeconomy, Financial Development and Institutional Quality) and industry characteristics (Munificence, Dynamism, Concentration, Life Cycle, Technological Efficiency Dispersion, Product Quality Dispersion, Customer Bargaining Power and Supplier Bargaining Power) on debt of 612 listed companies from 7 Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela). For comparison purposes, the analysis is also extended to 847 U.S. companies. The period of study is 1996-2009 and the analysis employed a Hierarchical Linear Model, which controls the effects according to the level of the variables (country, industry, time and firm). The results suggest that Financial Development eases access to external funds and Institutional Quality is negatively related to firm Leverage. The research also finds evidence that institutional quality can promote asymmetrical development between stock markets and credit markets

Time course study of oxidative and nitrosative stress and antioxidant enzymes in K(2)Cr(2)O(7)-induced nephrotoxicity

BACKGROUND: Potassium dichromate (K(2)Cr(2)O(7))-induced nephrotoxicity is associated with oxidative and nitrosative stress. In this study we investigated the relation between the time course of the oxidative and nitrosative stress with kidney damage and alterations in the following antioxidant enzymes: Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD), Mn-SOD, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and catalase (CAT). METHODS: Nephrotoxicity was induced in rats by a single injection of K(2)Cr(2)O(7). Groups of animals were sacrificed on days 1,2,3,4,6,8,10, and 12. Nephrotoxicity was evaluated by histological studies and by measuring creatinine clearance, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and urinary excretion of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and total protein. Oxidative and nitrosative stress were measured by immunohistochemical localization of protein carbonyls and 3-nitrotyrosine, respectively. Cu, Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, and CAT were studied by immunohistochemical localization. The activity of total SOD, CAT, GPx, and GR was also measured as well as serum and kidney content of chromium and urinary excretion of NO(2 )(-)/NO(3)(-). Data were compared by two-way analysis of variance followed by a post hoc test. RESULTS: Serum and kidney chromium content increased reaching the highest value on day 1. Nephrotoxicity was made evident by the decrease in creatinine clearance (days 1–4) and by the increase in serum creatinine (days 1–4), BUN (days 1–6), urinary excretion of NAG (days 1–4), and total protein (day 1–6) and by the structural damage to the proximal tubules (days 1–6). Oxidative and nitrosative stress were clearly evident on days 1–8. Urinary excretion of NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(- )decreased on days 2–6. Mn-SOD and Cu, Zn-SOD, estimated by immunohistochemistry, and total SOD activity remained unchanged. Activity of GPx decreased on days 3–12 and those of GR and CAT on days 2–10. Similar findings were observed by immunohistochemistry of CAT. CONCLUSION: These data show the association between oxidative and nitrosative stress with functional and structural renal damage induced by K(2)Cr(2)O(7). Renal antioxidant enzymes were regulated differentially and were not closely associated with oxidative or nitrosative stress or with kidney damage. In addition, the decrease in the urinary excretion of NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(- )was associated with the renal nitrosative stress suggesting that nitric oxide was derived to the formation of reactive nitrogen species involved in protein nitration

Evaluation of cadmium, lead, nickel and zinc status in biological samples of smokers and nonsmokers hypertensive patients

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between trace and toxic elements zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in biological samples (scalp hair, blood and urine) of smoker and nonsmoker hypertensive patients (n=457), residents of Hyderabad, Pakistan. For the purpose of comparison, the biological samples of age-matched healthy controls were selected as referents. The concentrations of trace and toxic elements were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer prior to microwave-assisted acid digestion. The validity and accuracy of the methodology were checked using certified reference materials and by the conventional wet acid digestion method on the same certified reference materials and real samples. The recovery of all the studied elements was found to be in the range of 97.8–99.3% in certified reference materials. The results of this study showed that the mean values of Cd, Ni and Pb were significantly higher in scalp hair, blood and urine samples of both smoker and nonsmoker patients than in referents (P<0.001), whereas the concentration of Zn was lower in the scalp hair and blood, but higher in the urine samples of hypertensive patients. The deficiency of Zn and the high exposure of toxic metals as a result of tobacco smoking may be synergistic with risk factors associated with hypertension

Elemental composition of vegetables cultivated over coal-mining waste

ABSTRACT We assessed elemental composition of the liver in mice subjected to one-time or chronic consumption of the juice of vegetables cultivated in a vegetable garden built over deposits of coal waste. Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce), Beta vulgaris L. (beet), Brassica oleracea L. var. italica (broccoli) and Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala (kale) were collected from the coal-mining area and from a certified organic farm (control). Elemental composition was analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method. Concentrations of Mg, S, and Ca of mice subjected to one-time consumption of broccoli and concentrations of these same elements plus Si of mice receiving kale were higher in the coal-mining area. Concentrations of P, K, and Cu were increase after chronic consumption of lettuce from the coal-mining area, whereas the levels of Si, P, K, Fe, and Zn were higher in the group consuming kale from the coal-mining area. Our data suggests that people consuming vegetables grown over coal wastes may ingest significant amounts of chemical elements that pose a risk to health, since these plants contain both essential and toxic metals in a wide range of concentrations, which can do more harm than good

The Effects of the Bank-Internal Ratings on the Loan Maturity

The paper focuses on the effects of three different internal bank ratings - Risk-, Property- and Creditworthiness-Rating - on the loan maturity. We use a sample of about 5,000 loans given to sole proprietors and corporate borrowers by two German banks from January 2003 till July 2005. The estimation results for corporate borrowers are consistent with Diamond's (1991) predictions of non-monotonic relationship between ratings and maturity. The best rated and the worst rated loans tend to have shorter maturities than loans with an intermediate rating. However, our results for sole proprietors conflict with the predictions of Diamond and with the majority of the empirical literature. We find a negative association between ratings and maturity of the loans given to sole proprietors

Cadmium-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptotic Changes in the Testis of Freshwater Crab, Sinopotamon henanense

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most toxic environmental and industrial pollutants, is known to exert gonadotoxic and spermiotoxic effects. In the present study, we examined the toxic effect of Cd on the testis of freshwater crab, Sinopotamon henanense. Crabs were exposed to different Cd concentrations (from 0 to 116.00 mg·L−1) for 7 d. Oxidative stress and apoptotic changes in the testes were detected. The activities of SOD, GPx and CAT initially increased and subsequently decreased with increasing Cd concentrations, which was accompanied with the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2 content in a concentration-dependent manner. Typical morphological characteristic and physiological changes of apoptosis were observed using a variety of methods (HE staining, AO/EB double fluorescent staining, Transmission Electron Microscope observation and DNA fragmentation analysis), and the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were increased in a concentration-dependent manner after Cd exposure. These results led to the conclusion that Cd could induced oxidative damage as well as apoptosis in the testis, and the apoptotic processes may be mediated via mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway by regulating the activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9