Brief communication: Gender differences in publication and citation counts in librarianship and information science research

An analysis is presented of the publications by, and citations to, 57 male and 48 female academics in five departments of librarianship and information science. After taking account of differences in subject and differences in numbers of academics, it is shown that male academics publish significantly more papers on average than do female authors, but that there is no significant difference in the numbers of citations to published papers

How Does Personal Bankruptcy Law Affect Start-ups?

We analyze the effect of changes in U.S. state personal exemptions on the financing structure and performance of a representative sample of start-ups. An increase in the amount of borrower’s personal wealth protected in bankruptcy reduces the availability of bank credit to all start-ups. Owners of unlimited liability businesses, who benefit from the increase in wealth insurance, offset the reduction in bank credit by investing more money in the firm. We find no such response for start-ups whose entrepreneurs’ personal wealth is already protected by limited liability. Consequently, corporations experience lower growth rates and higher failure rates, while proprietorships performance is not negatively affected.Debtor protection;bankruptcy;start-ups;credit availability;agency problems

Lending to Small Businesses: The Role of Loan Maturity in Adressing Information Problems

We investigate what determines the maturity of loans to small, informationally opaque businesses.We find that longer maturities are associated with collateral pledges, better financial condition, good credit history, and less informational opacity of the borrower.However, we do not find a positive association between stronger firm-creditor relationships (which can attenuate these information asymmetries) and longer maturities.The evidence suggests that creditors use shorter maturities to induce more frequent renegotiation of contract terms, thus enforcing closer monitoring of more informationally opaque and risky borrowers.Overall, our results are consistent with shorter loan maturities mitigating the consequences of borrower-lender informational asymmetries.small business;bank lending;loans;information

Determinants of Banking System Fragility: A Regional Perspective

Abstract: Banking systems are fragile not only within one country but also within and across regions. We study the role of regional banking system characteristics for regional banking system fragility. We find that regional banking system fragility reduces when banks in the region jointly hold more liquid assets, are better capitalized, and when regional banking systems are more competitive. For Asia and Latin-America, a greater presence of foreign banks also reduces regional banking fragility. We further investigate the possibility of contagion within and across regions. Within region banking contagion is important in all regions but it is substantially lower in the developed regions compared to emerging market regions. For cross-regional contagion, we find that the contagion effects of Europe and the US on Asia and Latin America are significantly higher compared to the effect of Asia and Latin America among themselves. Finally, the impact of cross-regional contagion is attenuated when the host region has a more liquid and more capitalized banking sector.Banking system stability;cross-regional contagion;financial integration

On the track of Bursaphelenchus pinophilus Brzeski and Baujard, 1997 (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) in Portugal

This is the first report and characterization of Bursaphelenchus pinophilus in Portugal. This species was isolated from a young dying Pinus pinaster tree located in Valverde, in the Alentejo region. Nematodes were identified using several morphological diagnostic characters for this species (male spicule structure, number of lateral incisures, number and distribution of the male papillae, presence of female vulval flap and female tail shape) and confirmed using RFLP analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA

Letras galegas "María Mariño". Unha análise da recepción da obra da poeta

Cada 17 de maio dende 1963 (coincidindo co centenario da publicación de Cantares gallegos de Rosalía de Castro) a literatura galega celebra o Día das Letras Galegas, homenaxeando a un escritor ou escritora que xa finara (aínda que polo momento só foron tres as mulleres honradas con esta distinción). 2007 foi a quenda da terceira autora: María Mariño. Tal distinción non estivo exenta dunha certa polémica, por dous motivos ben diferentes: o cuestionamento que a celebración está a vivir nos últimos anos e, sobre todo, a sombra das dúbidas que aínda se cernen ao redor da propia María Mariño. Este artigo céntrase neste segundo factor, analizando a produción crítica que se xerou en torno á poeta, tentando dilucidar en qué medida a enxurrada de publicacións que se lle dedicaron dende que a Real Academia Galega anunciara o 2007 como o "seu" ano supuxo non só un avance cuantitativo, senón tamén e, sobre todo, unha mellora cualitativa no coñecemento da súa obra

Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) associated with Hylobius sp. from Pinus pinaster in Portugal

Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. is described and illustrated. Dauer juveniles were isolated from the body of the large pine weevil, Hylobius sp., collected from maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) stumps, in Portugal. Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. was reared and maintained in P. pinaster wood segments and on Petri dish cultures of the fungi Botrytis cinerea and Monilinia fructicola. The new species is characterised by a relatively small body length of ca 583 μm (females) and 578 μm (males), a lateral field with two incisures, presence of a small vulval flap and a conoid female tail with a rounded or pointed terminus. Males have stout spicules with a disc-like cucullus and seven caudal papillae arranged as a single midventral precloacal papilla, one precloacal pair and two postcloacal pairs. In the character of the lateral field, B. antoniae sp. n. comes close to B. abietinus, B. rainulfi and B. hylobianum, whilst spicule characters place it within the piniperdae-group sensu Ryss et al. Morphologically, B. antoniae sp. n. is closest to B. hylobianum; the spicules of these two species having flattened, wing-like, alae on the distal third of the lamina. Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. is distinguished from B. hylobianum on the arrangement of the caudal papillae (two vs three pairs). ITS-RFLP profiles and the failure to hybridise support the separation of the two species. Phylogenetic analysis of the new species, based on the 18S rDNA sequence, supports the inclusion of this new species in the B. hylobianum-group sensu Braasch. Sequence analysis of the 28S rDNA D2/D3 domain did not place the new species in a definite group

Detailed morphobiometric studies of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and characterisation of other Bursaphelenchus species (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) associated with Pinus pinaster in Portugal

Detailed studies on Bursaphelenchus xylophilus are provided in this contribution. Comparative observations between field and cultured populations of this species demonstrated significant size differences: cultured specimens overall displayed larger size in all morphometric parameters. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the individuals undergoing moulting allowed their separation in four groups namely J2-J3, J3-J4, J4F-F, and J4M-M; gonad length mean values of these four groups made possible to distinguish the non-moulting groups J2, J3, J4F, J4M and adults. Seven Bursaphelenchus species (B. hellenicus, B. leoni, B. pinasteri, B. sexdentati, B. teratospicularis, B. tusciae and B. xylophilus), associated with Pinus pinaster in Portugal, were charaterized, including biometrical measurements and ratios as well excised spicules observed under SEM; furthermore, B. hellenicus, B. pinasteri, B. sexdentati, B. tusciae and B. xylophilus were characterised on the basis of their ITS-RFLP profiles. B. sexdentati and B. xylophilus were the only species found in high numbers in some of the samples

Determinants of banking system fragility: A regional perspective.

Banking systems are fragile not only within one country but also within and across regions. We study the role of regional banking system characteristics for regional banking system fragility. We find that regional banking system fragility reduces when banks in the region jointly hold more liquid assets, are better capitalized, and when regional banking systems are more competitive. For Asia and Latin-America, a greater presence of foreign banks also reduces regional banking fragility. We further investigate the possibility of contagion within and across regions. Within region banking contagion is important in all regions but it is substantially lower in the developed regions compared to emerging market regions. For cross-regional contagion, we find that the contagion effects of Europe and the US on Asia and Latin America are significantly higher compared to the effect of Asia and Latin America among themselves. Finally, the impact of cross-regional contagion is attenuated when the host region has a more liquid and more capitalized banking sector.banking system stability; cross-regional contagion; financial integration;