Informational efficiency in distressed markets: The case of European corporate bonds

This paper investigates the effect of the 2008 financial crisis on informational efficiency by carrying out a long-memory analysis of European corporate bond markets. We compute the Hurst exponent for fifteen sectorial indices to scrutinise the time-varying behaviour of long-range memory, applying a shuffling technique to avoid short-term correlation. We find that the financial crisis has uneven effects on the informational efficiency of all corporate bond sectors, especially those related to financial services. However, their vulnerability is not homogeneous and some nonfinancial sectors suffer only a transitory effect.Fil: Fernández, Aurelio. Universitat Rovira I Virgili; EspañaFil: Guercio, María Belén. Universidad Provincial del Sudoeste; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, Lisana Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Provincial del Sudoeste; Argentin

First come, first served: an analysis of pioneer and follower firms' market and nonmarket actions in the European mobile telephone industry

This study examines the relationship between erosion of the first-mover's market share and the differences in competitive behaviour of pioneer firms and followers. Particularly, we pay particular attention to market actions related to innovation, pricing and promotion, and to non-market actions related to judicial issues. The empirical study has been carried out with companies that are present in a dynamic context, such as the European mobile telephone industry. Our results show that when followers take more non-market actions than pioneers the negative effect on the firstentrant's advantage is more significant. On the contrary, we have not found a significant impact of innovating and pricing actions

Behavioral modeling of PWL analog circuits using symbolic analysis

Behavioral models are used both for top-down design and for bottom-up verification. During top-down design, models are created that reflect the nominal behavior of the different analog functions, as well as the constraints imposed by the parasitics. In this scenario, the availability of symbolic modeling expressions enable designers to get insight on the circuits, and reduces the computational cost of design space exploration. During bottom-up verification, models are created that capture the topological and constitutive equations of the underlying devices into behavioral descriptions. In this scenario symbolic analysis is useful because it enables to automatically obtain these descriptions in the form of equations. This paper includes an example to illustrate the use of symbolic analysis for top-down design.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC97-058

Accounting research in Spain: second half of the 20th century.

Este trabajo aborda el análisis de la literatura contable en España, limitado temporalmente a la segunda mitad del siglo XX y algo más. This paper deals with accounting literature in Spain, though mainly limited to the second half of the 20th century or slightly beyond.España, contabilidad, publicaciones, investigación, teoría, auditoría, contabilidad de costes, desde 1950. Spain, accounting, publications, research, theory, auditing, cost accounting, beginning with 1950.

Evolución de la tipología arquitectónica y caracterización paisajística de los grandes equipamientos urbanos

Este trabajo aborda la relación existente entre la tipología arquitectónica de los grandes equipamientos urbanos y el grado de referenciación de los mismos. Para ello se procede al estudio de la evolución de la tipología arquitectónica de los grandes equipamientos, así como su caracterización, con el objeto de poder identificar y reconocer estos elementos del paisaje en el espacio urbano. El artículo se detiene especialmente en el caso de la ciudad de MálagaThis paper addresses the relationship between the architectural style of the great urban facilities and their references degree. This study deals whith the evolution of the architectural style of the great facilities and further characterization, in order to identify and reconigze these landscape elements in urban areas. This article especially focused on the case of Malag

Optimization of the anaerobic co-digestion of pasteurized slaughterhouse waste, pig slurry and glycerine

The feasibility of co-digestion of blends of two different animal by-products (pig manure and pasteurized slaughterhouse waste) and recovered glycerine was studied in mesophilic conditions. Experiments were performed in a lab-scale CSTR along 490 days, with a hydraulic retention time of 21–33 days and with a step-wise increased organic loading rate, by adding and/or changing the wastes ratio, from 0.8 to 3.2 kgCOD m-3 d-1. The best methane production rate (0.64 Nm3CH4 m-3 d-1) represented an increment of 2.9-fold the initial one (0.22 Nm3CH4 m-3 d-1 with pig manure solely). It was attained with a ternary mixture composed, in terms of inlet volatile solids, by 35% pig slurry, 47% pasteurized slaughterhouse waste and 18% glycerine. This blend was obtained through a stepwise C/N adjustment: this strategy led to a more balanced biodegradation due to unstressed bacterial populations through the performance, showed by the VFA-related indicators. Besides this, an improved methane yield (+153%) and an organic matter removal efficiency (+83%), regarding the digestion of solely pig slurry, were attained when the C/N ratio was adjusted to 10.3.Postprint (author's final draft

Studies of the thioredoxin system in redox signaling and oxidative stress

Reactive oxygen species exert reversible posttranslational modifications in proteins containing redox sensitive thiols, thereby affecting several cellular processes and protein functions. Reductive enzyme systems, such as the thioredoxin system, can reverse most of these cysteine modifications. Therefore, a tight control between oxidizing and reducing events is the central principle of redox signaling. The studies within this thesis have covered several aspects of the Trx system in the modulation of cellular signaling pathways. In Paper I, we evaluated how b-AP15, a small inhibitor of proteasome-associated DUB, exerts redox perturbations in tumor cells. It is known that b-AP15triggers an increase level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proteotoxic stress in can- cer cells. However, its efficacy inducing apoptosis diminished by antioxidants. To identify the precise mechanism by which b-AP15 induces redox perturbations, we generated cells deprived of mitochondrial DNA. We found that in cells lacking mitochondria, the oxidative stress generated by b-AP15 was completely abrogated. Furthermore, to exclude that the observed increase in the levels of oxidative stress were due to an inhibition of TrxR1, we evaluated a number of proteasome asso- ciated DUBs inhibitors that did not inhibit TrxR1. Similarly, to b-AP15 all the inhibitors tested induced oxidative stress and the expression of HO-1. In parallel, we observed mitochondrial dysfunction, measuring the levels of COX5b and TOMM34, in both cases their respective levels decreased in those cells treated with b-AP15. Based in all the results we could conclude that the source of ROS in cells treated with b-AP15 was of mitochondrial origin. In Paper II, we performed a drug-screen of compounds sharing a common enone motif with b-AP15 and many natural products with antineoplastic effect. Through biochemical and structural analyses, we could demonstrate the binding of the enone containing compounds to the proteasome-associated cysteine deubiquitinase, USP14, inhibiting its activity. Additionally, we further analyzed a subset of those compounds in a zebrafish embryo model where they showed antineoplastic activity. These findings suggest that DUB inhibition is a relatively common mode of action by cytotoxic compounds containing motifs and it helps to explain the antineoplastic effects of natural products containing such functional group. In Paper III, we identified HRI as a redox-regulated protein, which becomes oxidized when activated upon As(III) exposure. TrxR1 associates with HRI in cells and together with TRP14 and Trx1 reduces HRI in vitro. Moreover, several specific inhibitors of TrxR1 lead to HRI-dependent eIF2α phosphorylation, trans- lation suppression and stress granule formation. Based on our finding that HRI- mediated translation suppression is essential for cellular survival under conditions of high As(III), we revealed the Trx system as a regulator of the HRI dependent translational stress response. In Paper IV, we evaluated the role of TRP14 in the regulation of different redox- regulated transcriptional factors using our unique tool pTRAF (plasmid for tran- scription factor reporter activation based upon fluorescence). We discovered that using TRP14 knockdown HEK293 cells, NRF2 activation increased upon treat- ment with auranofin, we also uncovered that TRP14 is crucial for HIFactivation upon TNF-α stimulation in hypoxic conditions. Furthermore, endogenous TRP14 levels increased under hypoxia or TNF-α treatment, suggesting that TRP14 could itself be regulated by NFκB and HIF, which is compatible with the presence of the corresponding response elements in the proximal TXNDC17 promoter region. Surprisingly, using TRP14 knockout HEK293 cells we found that global protein translation was reduced, which could be reverted with methionine or N- acetylcysteine supplementation. TRP14 knockout cells were also, in contrast to controls, highly sensitive to PPG. We conclude that TRP14 has several roles in control of redox signaling pathways, and that TRP14 is the main intracellular reductase for liberation of cysteine from cystine. In Paper V, we de novo synthesized eight vinyl sulfone compounds and evalu- ated their capacity to activate NRF2, NFκB and HIF1 in comparison with DMF using our previously mention tool pTRAF. We selected a set of compounds that activate NRF2 more selectively than DMF and characterize their downstream effects using in vitro and in vivo models. Our selected compounds display a more selective oligodendrocyte associated effect which could be explore in the future as a regenerative drug in demyelinating disorders

The design of migrant integration policies in Spain: discourses and social actors

Spain is one of the countries with the lowest social spending within the EU-15, and its welfare state has developed later and with less intensity. At the end of the 20th century, Spain became an immigration country, reaching 5.7 million immigrants in 2011. This article explores how the definition of migrant "integration" is based more on a concept of universal rights and social cohesion by the main actors (political parties, trade unions, third sector organizations and immigrant associations) than on a notion of a cultural type. We will also analyze how the influence of European policies and restrictive liberalism have led to the implementation of programmes which aim to make civic integration compulsory for the renewal of residence and work permits. The empirical evidence for this article stems from 60 qualitative interviews with social actors in migrant integration policies during 2010 and 2011. The impact of the economic crisis on the foreign population, especially regarding its position in the labor market, will also be considered, explaining the reduction of specific and general policies targeting the migrant population. This cut in social spending has involved a deinstitutionalization of this particular policy field

La dama de blanco: Marian Halcombe, o jaque mate al empoderamiento de la mujer

Wilkie Collins’s fraudulent rhetoric of protest against patriarchal Victorian oppression is manifested through his manipulation of Marian Halcombe’s character: she does not represent an attainable example of women’s empowerment but rather of women’s subordination. Marian confronts Victorian patriarchal discourse through the doomed, symbolic games of chess she plays with Fosco and Collins, but she is inevitably disciplined, tamed, and transformed into the perfect “Angel in the House.” When the novel concludes, neither gender roles will have been changed nor equality attained, and feminine readers will have been lured into accepting that resignation, sacrifice and submission are the only alternatives.La retórica fraudulenta de Wilkie Collins contra la opresión patriarcal Victoriana se manifiesta a través de la utilización que éste haceel personaje de Marian Halcombe, quien no representa un modelo alcanzable del empoderamiento femenino, sino de la subordinación de la mujer. Marian, que se enfrenta al discurso patriarcal Victoriano jugando un simbólico juego de ajedrez con Fosco y Collins, acaba siendo inevitablemente disciplinada, domada y transformada en el perfecto “Ángel de la Casa.” Al término de la novela, ni los roles de género han cambiado ni se ha alcanzado la igualdad, sino que se ha inducido a las lectoras femeninas a aceptar que la resignación, el sacrificio y la sumisión son las únicas alternativas posibles