EAD calibration for corporate credit lines

Managing the credit risk inherent to a corporate credit line is similar to that of a term loan, but with one key difference. For both instruments, the bank should know the borrower's probability of default (PD) and the facility's loss given default (LGD). However, since a credit line allows the borrowers to draw down the committed funds according to their own needs, the bank must also have a measure of the line's exposure at default (EAD). Our study, which is based on a census of all corporate lending within Spain over the last 20 years, provides the most comprehensive overview of corporate credit line use and EAD calculations to date. Our analysis shows that defaulting firms have significantly higher credit line usage rates and EAD values up to five years prior to their actual default. Furthermore, we find that there are important variations in EAD values due to credit line size, collateralization, and maturity. While our results are derived from data for a single country, they should provide useful benchmarks for further academic, business and policy research into this underdeveloped area of credit risk management.Commercial loans ; Bank loans ; Credit

How does competition impact bank risk-taking?

A common assumption in the academic literature and in the actual supervision of banking systems worldwide is that franchise value plays a key role in limiting bank risk-taking. As the underlying source of franchise value is assumed to be market power, reduced competition has been considered to promote banking stability. Boyd and De Nicolo (2005) propose an alternative view where concentration in the loan market could lead to increased borrower debt loads and a corresponding increase in loan defaults that undermine bank stability. Martinez-Miera and Repullo (2007) encompass both approaches by proposing a nonlinear relationship between competition and bank risk-taking. Using unique datasets for the Spanish banking system, we examine the empirical nature of that relationship. After controlling for macroeconomic conditions and bank characteristics, we find that standard measures of market concentration do not affect the ratio of non-performing commercial loans (NPL), our measure of bank risk. However, using Lerner indexes based on bank-specific interest rates, we find a negative relationship between loan market power and bank risk. This result provides evidence in favor of the franchise value paradigm.Bank competition

Ambipolar Graphene Field Effect Transistors by Local Metal Side Gates

We demonstrate ambipolar graphene field effect transistors individually controlled by local metal side gates. The side gated field effect can have on/off ratio comparable with that of the global back gate, and can be tuned in a large range by the back gate and/or a second side gate. We also find that the side gated field effect is significantly stronger by electrically floating the back gate compared to grounding the back gate, consistent with the finding from electrostatic simulation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

SISTEMAS DE PRODUCCIÓN DE ACUACULTURA CON RECIRCULACIÓN DE AGUA PARA LA REGIÓN NORTE, NORESTE Y NOROESTE DE MÉXICO

Aquaculture is expanding and developing in practically all the regions of the world. The demand of the world-wide population by aquatic products is increasing, whereas the production from capture of fisheries has been being reduced, reaching many of them their maximum productive potential. As result of, sustaining fish supplies from capture fisheries it will not be possible to meet the growing global demand for aquatic food. Therefore, the aquaculture seems to have the potential to make a significant contribution to the production of these foods, in order to meet the growing population demand. Nevertheless, in order to accomplish it, the producer faces critical challenges. The development of these activities intensifies substantially, and requires to be diversified, producing new species and creating new systems and practices of production. The production systems of aquatic animals, particularly those based on technologies of water recirculation, appears to be an excellent alternative for producing, in regions of the North of Mexico, in where the water is scarce.Aquaculture, word wide population, aquatic food., Agribusiness,

A Probabilistic Model and Capturing Device for Remote Simultaneous Estimation of Spectral Emissivity and Temperature of Hot Emissive Materials

Estimating the temperature of hot emissive samples (e.g. liquid slag) in the context of harsh industrial environments such as steelmaking plants is a crucial yet challenging task, which is typically addressed by means of methods that require physical contact. Current remote methods require information on the emissivity of the sample. However, the spectral emissivity is dependent on the sample composition and temperature itself, and it is hardly measurable unless under controlled laboratory procedures. In this work, we present a portable device and associated probabilistic model that can simultaneously produce quasi real-time estimates for temperature and spectral emissivity of hot samples in the [0.2, 12.0μm ] range at distances of up to 20m . The model is robust against variable atmospheric conditions, and the device is presented together with a quick calibration procedure that allows for in field deployment in rough industrial environments, thus enabling in line measurements. We validate the temperature and emissivity estimates by our device against laboratory equipment under controlled conditions in the [550, 850∘C ] temperature range for two solid samples with well characterized spectral emissivity’s: alumina ( α−Al2O3 ) and hexagonal boron nitride ( h−BN ). The analysis of the results yields Root Mean Squared Errors of 32.3∘C and 5.7∘C respectively, and well correlated spectral emissivity’s.This work was supported in part by the Basque Government (Hazitek AURRERA B: Advanced and Useful REdesign of CSP process for new steel gRAdes) under Grant ZE-2017/00009

Knowledge, Capabilities and Human Capital Formation in Economic Growth

This monograph, which has been prepared as a Research Report to the New Zealand (New Zealand) Treasury, undertakes three main tasks: (1) describing the various forms of tangible and intangible human capital, their relationship to "capabilities" affecting human well-being, and the channels through which they may contribute to economic growth; (2) reviewing the major theoretical and empirical findings on the microeconomic determinants, and macroeconomic growth effects of investment in human capital; (3) reviewing salient general implications for policies affecting human capital, and indicating measures specifically germane to the situation of the New Zealand economy. For these purposes, the concept of human capital is defined comprehensively, so that it embraces capacities for interpreting flows of sensory data and structured information required for goal-directed individual actions and inter-personal transactions, and for providing various physical labour service- inputs in ordinary production processes. More conventionally, it subsumes the creative faculties for generating new scientific and technological knowledge, the cognitive basis of entrepreneurship, and the competences for managing market and non-market production as well as household consumption activities. The report is organised in three main Parts that address the three major objectives, taking each in its turn. A detailed Table of Contents and an Executive Summary precede the text, which is followed by extensive bibliographic references. A unifying conceptual framework is developed to (a) identify the micro-level processes involved in human capital formation; (b) implicitly aggregate the resulting qualities and capabilities of individuals belonging to successive population cohorts; (c) trace the interrelated influences that the forms of human capital have upon macroeconomic performance. The review of empirical evidence at the macroeconomic level features a discussion of the deficiencies of data and methods in many of the international cross-section studies, and contrasts recent econometric findings on the role of education in economic growth among the developed economies with the conclusions derived through more detailed analyses of their historical experiences. Significant policy implications do emerge from the modern macroeconomic growth literature, but these are very broad in nature and not particularly germane to the situation of small, open economies that may lack a substantial industrial base or the extensive human and institutional infrastructure required to generate the knowledge-base needed for their peoples' well-being and their firms' competitive success in international markets. Nor does the received literature adequately treat the implications of such economies' potential to rapidly alter their respective human resource endowments through differential population migration. Consideration of human capital policies geared more closely to the specific challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand's economy leads to the formulation of a number of novel proposals. These would reform tax treatment of education and training investments by residents and immigrants alike; subsidise new voluntary institutions developing on-the-job training programs under industry sponsorship; undertake public information infrastructure investments in order to reduce the costs of effective access to global knowledge bases in science and technology. Proposals also are considered for integrated government programmes to accelerate the closing of persistent socio-economic disparities within New Zealand society, such as those between Maori and non-Maori.human capital; capabilities; knowledge; education; on-the-job training; R&D; productivity; macroeconomic growth theory; investment taxation and subsidies

A Case Study of Small Scale Structure Formation in 3D Supernova Simulations

It is suggested in observations of supernova remnants that a number of large- and small-scale structures form at various points in the explosion. Multidimensional modeling of core-collapse supernovae has been undertaken since SN1987A, and both simulations and observations suggest/show that Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during the explosion is a main driver for the formation of structure in the remnants. We present a case study of structure formation in 3D in a \msol{15} supernova for different parameters. We investigate the effect of moderate asymmetries and different resolutions of the formation and morphology of the RT unstable region, and take first steps at determining typical physical quantities (size, composition) of arising clumps. We find that in this progenitor the major RT unstable region develops at the He/OC interface for all cases considered. The RT instabilities result in clumps that are overdense by 1-2 orders of magnitude with respect to the ambient gas, have size scales on the level of a few % of the remnant diameter, and are not diffused after the first $\sim30$ yrs of the remnant evolution, in the absence of a surrounding medium.Comment: 59 pages, 34 figure

Contribution of common and rare variants to bipolar disorder susceptibility in extended pedigrees from population isolates.

Current evidence from case/control studies indicates that genetic risk for psychiatric disorders derives primarily from numerous common variants, each with a small phenotypic impact. The literature describing apparent segregation of bipolar disorder (BP) in numerous multigenerational pedigrees suggests that, in such families, large-effect inherited variants might play a greater role. To identify roles of rare and common variants on BP, we conducted genetic analyses in 26 Colombia and Costa Rica pedigrees ascertained for bipolar disorder 1 (BP1), the most severe and heritable form of BP. In these pedigrees, we performed microarray SNP genotyping of 838 individuals and high-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 449 individuals. We compared polygenic risk scores (PRS), estimated using the latest BP1 genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics, between BP1 individuals and related controls. We also evaluated whether BP1 individuals had a higher burden of rare deleterious single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and rare copy number variants (CNVs) in a set of genes related to BP1. We found that compared with unaffected relatives, BP1 individuals had higher PRS estimated from BP1 GWAS statistics (P = 0.001 ~ 0.007) and displayed modest increase in burdens of rare deleterious SNVs (P = 0.047) and rare CNVs (P = 0.002 ~ 0.033) in genes related to BP1. We did not observe rare variants segregating in the pedigrees. These results suggest that small-to-moderate effect rare and common variants are more likely to contribute to BP1 risk in these extended pedigrees than a few large-effect rare variants

beta(2 -> 1) chicory and beta(2 -> 1)-beta(2 -> 6) agave fructans protect the human intestinal barrier function in vitro in a stressor-dependent fashion

Dietary fibers such as fructans can protect the intestinal epithelial barrier integrity, but the mechanisms underlying this protection are not completely understood. We aimed to study the protective effect of β(2→1)-β(2→6) branched graminan-type fructans (GTFs) on gut epithelial barrier function that was disrupted by three different agents which impact the barrier function via different cellular mechanisms. The effects of GTFs were compared with those of linear β(2→1) inulin-type fructans (ITFs). T84 intestinal epithelial monolayers were incubated with GTFs and ITFs. Afterwards, the monolayers were challenged with the barrier disruptors calcium ionophore A23187, 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and deoxynivalenol (DON). Transepithelial resistance was measured with an electric cell-substrate impedance sensing system. All fructans studied prevented the barrier disruption induced by A23187. ITF II protected from the disruptive effects of PMA. However, none of the studied fructans influenced the disruption induced by DON. As a measure of disruption-induced inflammation, interleukin-8 (IL-8) production by the intestinal epithelium was determined by ELISA. The production of IL-8 induced by A23187 was decreased by all fructans, whereas IL-8 production induced by DON decreased only upon pre-treatment with ITF II. None of the studied fructans prevented PMA induced IL-8 production. GTFs just like ITFs can influence the barrier function and inflammatory processes in gut epithelial cells in a structure-dependent fashion. These distinct protective effects are dependent on the different signaling pathways that lead to gut barrier disruption

High Entropy Alloys for Energy Conversion and Storage: A Review of Grain Boundary Wetting Phenomena

This research was funded by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 075-15-2021-945 grant no. 13.2251.21.0013). Support from the University of the Basque Country (project GIU19/019) and from the Basque Government (project IT1714-22) is also acknowledged.The multicomponent alloys with nearly equal concentration of components, also known as high entropy alloys (HEAs), were first proposed 22 years ago. The HEAs quickly became very important in materials science due to their unique properties. Nowadays, the HEAs are frequently used in energy conversion and storage applications. HEAs can consist of five, six or more components. Plasma cladding permits coating of the large surfaces of cheap substrates with (often expensive) HEAs and to enlarge, in such a way, their application area. The large-area coatings deposited by plasma cladding possess multiple advantages such as low thermal distortion, very high energy density, as well as low dilution of the substrate material. Plasma cladding ensures good metallurgical bonding between coating and substrate. The costs of operation and equipment are also very attractive. During plasma cladding, the mixed powders are blown by carrier gas into a plasma torch or are positioned on a substrate. This powder mixture is then melted in or under the plasma torch. The plasma torch, in turn, sequentially scans the substrate. After finalizing the crystallization process, the solid polycrystal appears which contains few residual melts. This remaining melt can completely or incompletely wet the grain boundaries (GBs) in solid phase of the polycrystal. These completely or incompletely wetted GBs can strongly influence the microstructure of HEA coatings and their morphology. In this review we analyze the GB wetting HEAs containing one phase in HEAs with two, three and more phases, as well as in HEAs reinforced with particles of carbides, nitrides, borides, or oxides. We also analyze the microstructure of the rather thick coatings after plasma cladding after additional laser remelting and observe how GB wetting changes over their thickness.--//-- Published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 075-15-2021-945 grant no. 13.2251.21.0013); University of the Basque Country (project GIU19/019); Basque Government (project IT1714-22); Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020- WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2