Determinants of the development of corporate bond markets in Argentina: survey to firms and investors

Conventional theory leads to expect bonds to be a financing vehicle for large firms because of economies of scale and contracting costs. In this paper we present the results for Argentina of a survey of firms and of investors on the use of corporate bonds. The result of these surveys supports the idea that for Argentine firms, bonds are a financing vehicle of choice only for firms above a certain (large) size. This is independent of the criteria used for firm size. This result is similar to results in other countries such as the United Sates.debt structure, leverage, short-term debt, corporate bonds, firm size, firm value

El árbol del CHOC

En este trabajo ofrecemos el estudio de un producto muy interesante, procedente de Yucatán, denominado árbol de Choc, de cuya corteza se obtenían unos polvos útiles en el tratamiento de las fiebres intermitentes. Las primeras noticias que de se tienen en España corresponden a 1777. Reconocido y experimentado en la Corte por el doctor Lafarga, médico de Cámara del rey Carlos III, considera su efecto muy superior al de la quina ( producto estrella en ese momento) y obrando con más rapidez. Se ordenó proteger y potencias su cultivo en aquellas tierras, enviar plantas y semillas para su aclimatación y remesas de corteza para la Real Botica. Se estudia, también, el conocimiento del árbol en la época precolombina, sus noticias a través de los cronistas de Indias y su clasificación botánica, en el siglo XVIII, por dos relevantes naturalistas mejicanos: La Llave y Lejarza.In this work we offer the study of a very interesting product from Yucatan named «Árbol del Choc», from whose barks, some powders helpful for the treatment of discontinuous fevers were obtained. The first news in Spain was in 1777. It was recognized and experienced in the Spanish Court by Doctor Lafarge, Chamber Doctor of King Charles the third. He considered that its effects were rather more superior than the effects of “the Quina” (the most used product in that age), and that it also worked faster. Then, it was ordered to protect and to promote its cultivation in Yucatan in order to send plants and seeds for their acclimatization as well as the barks to The Royal Pharmacy. In this work, it is also studied the knowledge of this tree in the Pre-Columbian Age, its news through the Indian chroniclers and its classification in the 8th Century by two relevant Mexican naturalists: La Llave y Lejarza

Discrete analysis of dividend payments in a non-life insurance portfolio

The process of free reserves in a non-life insurance portfolio as defined in the classical model of risk theory is modified by the introduction of dividend policies that set maximum levels for the accumulation of reserves. The first part of the work formulates the quantification of the dividend payments via the expectation of their current value under different hypotheses. The second part presents a solution based on a system of linear equations for discrete dividend payments in the case of a constant dividend barrier, illustrated by solving a specific case.dividend policies, expected present value

The 12 prophets dataset

The "Ajeijadinho 3D" project is an initiative supported by the University of S\~ao Paulo (Museum of Science and Dean of Culture and Extension), which involves the 3D digitization of art works of Brazilian sculptor Antonio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho. The project made use of advanced acquisition and processing of 3D meshes for preservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage. The dissemination occurs through a Web portal, so that the population has the opportunity to meet the art works in detail using 3D visualization and interaction. The portal address is http://www.aleijadinho3d.icmc.usp.br. The 3D acquisitions were conducted over a week at the end of July 2013 in the cities of Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil and Congonhas do Campo, MG, Brazil. The scanning was done with a special equipment supplied by company Leica Geosystems, which allowed the work to take place at distances between 10 and 30 meters, defining a non-invasive procedure, simplified logistics, and without the need for preparation or isolation of the sites. In Ouro Preto, we digitized the churches of Francisco of Assis, Our Lady of Carmo, and Our Lady of Mercy; in Congonhas do Campo we scanned the entire Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos and his 12 prophets. Once scanned, the art works went through a long process of preparation, which required careful handling of meshes done by experts from the University of S\~ao Paulo in partnership with company Imprimate.Comment: Full dataset online at http://aleijadinho3d.icmc.usp.br/data.htm

Lande g-tensor in semiconductor nanostructures

Understanding the electronic structure of semiconductor nanostructures is not complete without a detailed description of their corresponding spin-related properties. Here we explore the response of the shell structure of InAs self-assembled quantum dots to magnetic fields oriented in several directions, allowing the mapping of the g-tensor modulus for the s and p shells. We found that the g-tensors for the s and p shells show a very different behavior. The s-state in being more localized allows the probing of the confining potential details by sweeping the magnetic field orientation from the growth direction towards the in-plane direction. As for the p-state, we found that the g-tensor modulus is closer to that of the surrounding GaAs, consistent with a larger delocalization. These results reveal further details of the confining potentials of self-assembled quantum dots that have not yet been probed, in addition to the assessment of the g-tensor, which is of fundamental importance for the implementation of spin related applications.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Inteligencia emocional y TDAH: Un análisis comparativo en estudiantes de Lima Metropolitana

The following study aims to identify statistically significant differences between adolescent students with and without Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity (ADHD) in emotional intelligence skills. The study sample was composed of 44 students with ADHD diagnosis and 192 students without ADHD; both groups were obtained by an intentional process. The participants were evaluated with the Emotional Intelligence Inventory of BarOn ICE: NA, Peruvian adaptation and standardization (Ugarriza & Pajares, 2003). The results showed that there are statistically significant differences in intrapersonal skills (U = 3306.50, z = -2.25, p = .024, r = -.15) and positive impression (U = 3369.00, z = -2.10, p = .036, r = -.14) of emotional intelligence between students with ADHD and students without ADHD. Thus, the first group got higher scores than the second one in both aspects.El presente estudio busca identificar diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los estudiantes adolescentes con y sin Trastorno de Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH) en las capacidades de la Inteligencia emocional. La muestra del estudio estuvo compuesta por 44 alumnos con diagnóstico TDAH y 192 estudiantes sin dicho trastorno; ambas unidades de análisis se obtuvieron mediante un procedimiento intencional. Los participantes fueron evaluados con el Inventario de Inteligencia Emocional de BarOn ICE: NA, adaptación y estandarización peruana (Ugarriza & Pajares, 2003). Los resultados evidenciaron que existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la Capacidad intrapersonal (U = 3306.5, z = -2.25, p = .024, r = -.15) e Impresión positiva (U = 3369.0, z = -2.10, p = .036, r = -.14) de la Inteligencia emocional entre estudiantes con y sin TDAH, obteniendo mayores puntuaciones el primer grupo en ambos aspectos, a diferencia de sus pares sin dicho trastorno

Inteligencia emocional y TDAH: Un análisis comparativo en estudiantes de Lima Metropolitana

The following study aims to identify statistically significant differences between adolescent students with and without Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity (ADHD) in emotional intelligence skills. The study sample was composed of 44 students with ADHD diagnosis and 192 students without ADHD; both groups were obtained by an intentional process. The participants were evaluated with the Emotional Intelligence Inventory of BarOn ICE: NA, Peruvian adaptation and standardization (Ugarriza & Pajares, 2003). The results showed that there are statistically significant differences in intrapersonal skills (U = 3306.50, z = -2.25, p = .024, r = -.15) and positive impression (U = 3369.00, z = -2.10, p = .036, r = -.14) of emotional intelligence between students with ADHD and students without ADHD. Thus, the first group got higher scores than the second one in both aspects.El presente estudio busca identificar diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los estudiantes adolescentes con y sin Trastorno de Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH) en las capacidades de la Inteligencia emocional. La muestra del estudio estuvo compuesta por 44 alumnos con diagnóstico TDAH y 192 estudiantes sin dicho trastorno; ambas unidades de análisis se obtuvieron mediante un procedimiento intencional. Los participantes fueron evaluados con el Inventario de Inteligencia Emocional de BarOn ICE: NA, adaptación y estandarización peruana (Ugarriza & Pajares, 2003). Los resultados evidenciaron que existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la Capacidad intrapersonal (U = 3306.5, z = -2.25, p = .024, r = -.15) e Impresión positiva (U = 3369.0, z = -2.10, p = .036, r = -.14) de la Inteligencia emocional entre estudiantes con y sin TDAH, obteniendo mayores puntuaciones el primer grupo en ambos aspectos, a diferencia de sus pares sin dicho trastorno

Real-Time fusion of visual images and laser data images for safe navigation in outdoor environments

[EN]In recent years, two dimensional laser range finders mounted on vehicles is becoming a fruitful solution to achieve safety and environment recognition requirements (Keicher & Seufert, 2000), (Stentz et al., 2002), (DARPA, 2007). They provide real-time accurate range measurements in large angular fields at a fixed height above the ground plane, and enable robots and vehicles to perform more confidently a variety of tasks by fusing images from visual cameras with range data (Baltzakis et al., 2003). Lasers have normally been used in industrial surveillance applications to detect unexpected objects and persons in indoor environments. In the last decade, laser range finder are moving from indoor to outdoor rural and urban applications for 3D imaging (Yokota et al., 2004), vehicle guidance (Barawid et al., 2007), autonomous navigation (Garcia-Pérez et al., 2008), and objects recognition and classification (Lee & Ehsani, 2008), (Edan & Kondo, 2009), (Katz et al., 2010). Unlike industrial applications, which deal with simple, repetitive and well-defined objects, cameralaser systems on board off-road vehicles require advanced real-time techniques and algorithms to deal with dynamic unexpected objects. Natural environments are complex and loosely structured with great differences among consecutive scenes and scenarios. Vision systems still present severe drawbacks, caused by lighting variability that depends on unpredictable weather conditions. Camera-laser objects feature fusion and classification is still a challenge within the paradigm of artificial perception and mobile robotics in outdoor environments with the presence of dust, dirty, rain, and extreme temperature and humidity. Real time relevant objects perception, task driven, is a main issue for subsequent actions decision in safe unmanned navigation. In comparison with industrial automation systems, the precision required in objects location is usually low, as it is the speed of most rural vehicles that operate in bounded and low structured outdoor environments. To this aim, current work is focused on the development of algorithms and strategies for fusing 2D laser data and visual images, to accomplish real-time detection and classification of unexpected objects close to the vehicle, to guarantee safe navigation. Next, class information can be integrated within the global navigation architecture, in control modules, such as, stop, obstacle avoidance, tracking or mapping.Section 2 includes a description of the commercial vehicle, robot-tractor DEDALO and the vision systems on board. Section 3 addresses some drawbacks in outdoor perception. Section 4 analyses the proposed laser data and visual images fusion method, focused in the reduction of the visual image area to the region of interest wherein objects are detected by the laser. Two methods of segmentation are described in Section 5, to extract the shorter area of the visual image (ROI) resulting from the fusion process. Section 6 displays the colour based classification results of the largest segmented object in the region of interest. Some conclusions are outlined in Section 7, and acknowledgements and references are displayed in Section 8 and Section 9.projects: CICYT- DPI-2006-14497 by the Science and Innovation Ministry, ROBOCITY2030 I y II: Service Robots-PRICIT-CAM-P-DPI-000176- 0505, and SEGVAUTO: Vehicle Safety-PRICIT-CAM-S2009-DPI-1509 by Madrid State Government.Peer reviewe

The CBRB regulon: Promoter dissection reveals novel insights into the CbrAB expression network in Pseudomonas putida

CbrAB is a high ranked global regulatory system exclusive of the Pseudomonads that responds to carbon limiting conditions. It has become necessary to define the particular regulon of CbrB and discriminate it from the downstream cascades through other regulatory components. We have performed in vivo binding analysis of CbrB in P. putida and determined that it directly controls the expression of at least 61 genes; 20% involved in regulatory functions, including the previously identified CrcZ and CrcY small regulatory RNAs. The remaining are porines or transporters (20%), metabolic enzymes (16%), activities related to protein translation (5%) and orfs of uncharacterised function (38%). Amongst the later, we have selected the operon PP2810-13 to make an exhaustive analysis of the CbrB binding sequences, together with those of crcZ and crcY. We describe the implication of three independent non-palindromic subsites with a variable spacing in three different targets; CrcZ, CrcY and operon PP2810-13 in the CbrAB activation. CbrB is a quite peculiar σN—depen-dent activator since it is barely dependent on phosphorylation for transcriptional activation. With the depiction of the precise contacts of CbrB with the DNA, the analysis of the multi-merisation status and its dependence on other factors such as RpoN o IHF, we propose a model of transcriptional activation.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2014-57545-