Does sovereign creditworthiness affect bank valuations in emerging markets?

We analyse the impact of sovereign rating actions by S&P, Moody's and Fitch on bank valuations in emerging markets. We find strong evidence of a rating channel for the transmission of sovereign risk to bank valuations. Collateral and guarantee channels play modest roles, but are more relevant to countries that experienced positive actions. Positive sovereign actions by S&P have the strongest impact on bank valuations. Both negative and positive new rating information, outlook and watch actions are associated with strong market impact. The findings identify clear evidence of links between emerging market governments� external credit standing and banks� market valuation

Evaluation of African-bred maize germplasm lines for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation

Aflatoxins, produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, contaminate maize grain and threaten human food and feed safety. Plant resistance is considered the best strategy for reducing aflatoxin accumulation. Six maize germplasm lines, TZAR101–TZAR106, were released by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-Southern Regional Research Center (IITA-SRRC) maize breeding collaboration for use in African National Programs and U.S. maize breeding programs. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate aflatoxin reduction by these lines in a U.S. environment. As germplasm lines, resistance was demonstrated by the lines tested in 2010 and 2014 trials. In 2010, TZAR106 was among the lines with the lowest toxin accumulation, and in 2014, along with TZAR102, supported low aflatoxin. When evaluated as single cross hybrids in 2012, 2013 and 2014, several crosses involving IITA-SRRC lines accumulated low toxin. In 2012, TZAR103 × HBA1 was one of 4 lines with the lowest concentration of aflatoxin. In 2014, five IITA-SRRC hybrids were among the lowest with TZAR102 × Va35 and TZAR102 × LH132 being the two lowest. Results demonstrate significant aflatoxin reduction by IITA-SRRC lines in a U.S. aflatoxin-conducive environment (at Mississippi State University). Further testing in different locations and environments is needed to further evaluate the potential usefulness of these germplasm lines

Holographic Lithography

This review summarises the work of the Durham-Sheffield, UK team working on Holographic Lithography over the last decade. It collates progress in 3D resolution and overall scale of the substrate wiring patterns designed and considers a range of approaches and applications

Causal mechanisms in the clinical course and treatment of back pain

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in studying causal mechanisms in the development and treatment of back pain. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of our current understanding of causal mechanisms in the field. In the first section, we introduce key concepts and terminology. In the second section, we provide a brief synopsis of systematic reviews of mechanism studies relevant to the clinical course and treatment of back pain. In the third section, we reflect on the findings of our review to explain how understanding causal mechanisms can inform clinical practice and the implementation of best practice. In the final sections, we introduce contemporary methodological advances, highlight the key assumptions of these methods, and discuss future directions to advance the quality of mechanism-related studies in the back pain field

Photon and Z induced heavy charged lepton pair production at a hadron supercollider

We investigate the pair production of charged heavy leptons via photon-induced processes at the proposed CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Using effective photon and Z approximations, rates are given for $L^+L^-$ production due to $\gamma \gamma$ fusion and $Z \gamma$ fusion for the cases of inelastic, elastic and semi-elastic $pp$ collisions. These are compared with the corresponding rates for production via the gluon fusion and Drell-Yan mechanisms. Various $\gamma \gamma$ and $Z \gamma$ differential luminosities for $pp$ collisions are also presented.Comment: 22 pages, RevTex 3.0, 6 uuencoded and compressed postscript figures included. Reference to one paper changed from the original preprint number to the published version. Everything else unchange

Support for the higher-order factor structure of the WHODAS 2.0 self-report version in a Dutch outpatient psychiatric setting

Purpose Previous studies of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) interview version suggested a second-order model, with a general disability factor and six factors on a lower level. The goal of this study is to investigate if we can find support for a similar higher-order factor structure of the 36-item self-report version of the WHODAS 2.0 in a Dutch psychiatric outpatient sample. We aim to give special attention to the differences between the non-working group sample and the working group sample. Additionally, we intend to provide preliminary norms for clinical interpretation of the WHODAS 2.0 scores in psychiatric settings. Methods Patients seeking specialized ambulatory treatment, primarily for depressive or anxiety symptoms, completed the WHODAS 2.0 as part of the initial interview. The total sample consisted of 770 patients with a mean age of 37.5 years (SD = 13.3) of whom 280 were males and 490 were females. Several factorial compositions (i.e., one unidimensional model and two second-order models) were modeled using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Descriptive statistics, model-fit statistics, reliability of the (sub)scales, and preliminary norms for interpreting test scores are reported. Results For the non-working group, the second-order model with a general disability factor and six factors on a lower level, provided an adequate fit. Whereas, for the working group, the second-order model with a general disability factor and seven factors on a lower level seemed more appropriate. The WHODAS 2.0 36-item self-report form showed adequate levels of reliability. Percentile ranks and normalized T-scores are provided to aid clinical evaluations. Conclusion Our results lend support for a factorial structure of the WHODAS 2.0 36-item self-report version that is comparable to the interview version. While we conjecture that a seven-factor solution might give a better reflection of item content and item variance, further research is needed to assess the clinical relevance of such a model. At this point, we recommend using the second-order structure with six factors that matches past findings of the interview form.Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa

Sensitivity and Estimation of Flying-Wing Aerodynamic, Propulsion, and Inertial Parameters Using Simulation

This paper explores the difficulties of aircraft system identification, specifically parameter estimation, for a rudderless aircraft. A white box method is used in conjunction with a nonlinear six degree-of-freedom aerodynamic model for the equations of motion in order to estimate 33 parameters that govern the aerodynamic, inertial, and propulsion forces within the mathematical model. The analysis is conducted in the time-domain of system identification. Additionally, all the parameters are estimated using a single flight rather than a series of shorter flights dedicated to estimating specific sets of parameters as is typically done. A final flight plan is developed with a mixture of lateral maneuvers interspersed throughout the flight to accentuate the significance of the lateral parameters during estimation. Certain parameters were ill-conditioned for parameter estimation using the mathematical model and final flight plan derived in this paper. The gradient-based optimization technique used in the estimation algorithm struggled to accurately estimate all 33 in a single flight due to the abundance of local minima within the solution space. The results of this work may provide a few insights for parameter estimation. First, to understand why system identification is performed the way it is currently done through multiple different flight maneuvers. Second, to gain some visual insight to the behavior of the nonlinear six degree-of-freedom aerodynamic model that describes the motion of fixed wing aircraft. This work may also be helpful in determining which parameters might likely be estimated together and which may struggle due to coupled dynamic relations within the mathematical model

PolyEDA: Combining Estimation of Distribution Algorithms and Linear Inequality Constraints

Algorithmus , Linearität , Ungleichhei