The Effect of the Number of Lending Banks on the Liquidity Constraints of Firms: Evidence From a Quasi-Experiment

We empirically explore whether firms have a target for the number of banks from which they borrow, and whether having multiple bank relationships has an impact on firms’ liquidity situation. A bank merger in Chile provides a quasi-experiment as it constitutes an exogenous reduction in the number of lenders for firms that were previously borrowing from both merging banks. We find that a significant percentage of firms whose number of bank relationships was reduced by the merger regain their original number of lenders. In particular, firms whose number of bank lending relationships was reduced from two to one as a result of the merger have a 23% higher probability of adding a new bank lending relationship in the five years following the merger than similar firms unaffected by the merger. Overall, we find that a reduction in firms’ number of bank lenders resulting from the merger reduced firms’ access to credit. In particular, a reduction from two to one bank lending relationships generated, on average, a 14.4% decrease in loan size for the affected companies compared to firms unaffected by the merger.

To what extent do natural and anthropogenic factors determine the distribution of bats in an atlantic forest in Serra da Mantiqueira, southeastern Brazil?

Bats are the second speciose group of mammals in the Neotropics and are responsible for different ecosystem services, from seed dispersal to pollination, and the control of insect populations. Despite their ecological relevance, several knowledge gaps still exist for this megadiverse group, like which natural factors drive species distribution. Our goal was to determine to what extent natural and/or anthropogenic factors may explain the distribution of bats in one of the largest mountain ranges in South America: the Serra da Mantiqueira, one of the largest remaining of highland Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. We compiled data from 110 bat inventories carried out there along 20 years (1998-2018). Based on the presence/absence of the 56 bats pecies and 46 explanatory variables, we used Favorability Function as a modeling algorithm to predict species richness and distribution. Models were obtained for 38 (86.6% of our compiled species) species based on 10 best variables, being the three most important the spatial component (84.2%, and contributed positively), pasture (34.2%, and contributed negatively) and presence and extension of roads (31.6%, and contributed positively), respectively. As Serra da Mantiqueira contains some of the largest remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we also analyzed the distribution of bats across the existing protected areas and priority áreas for nature conservation. We found that only 38% of the area with 10 or more species have more tan 70% of their surface protected, while others 62% are either not protected or have< 10% protected. Despite the large protected areas network along the Serra da Mantiqueira, bats are mainly affected by the proportion of pasture in the landscape, mainly located in the lower areas (< 1,000 m a.s.l.). However, 21.9% of the areas with greater favorability are still lacking protection. Ecological corridors, coupled with ecological restoration throughout the region, are extremely necessary.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya

The Himalaya are world-renowned for their exquisite mountain scenery, ancient traditions, and diverse ethnic groups that tenaciously inhabit this harsh yet sublime landscape. Home to the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest, and some of its deepest gorges, the region is a trove of biological and cultural diversity. Providing a panoramic overview of contemporary land and life in the Earth’s highest mountains, the Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya is the first full-color, comprehensive atlas of the geography, economics, politics, and culture of this spectacular area. Drawing from the authors’ twenty-five years of scholarship and field experience in the region, the volume contains a stunning and unique collection of maps utilizing state-of-the-art cartography, exquisite photography, and engagingly-written text to give accurate coverage of the Himalaya. The volume covers the entire 2,700-kilometer length of the mountain range, from the Indus Valley in northern Pakistan and India, across Nepal and Bhutan, to the hidden realms of northeast India. The Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya not only offers detailed explanations of geological formations, climate, vegetation, and natural resources but also explores the human dimension of the region’s culture and economy. The authors devote special attention to discovery and travel, including exploration, mountaineering, and trekking. Packed with over 300 easy-to-read, custom designed full color maps and photographs and detailed text and map indexes, the Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya is a superb collector’s volume and an essential reference to this vast and complex mountain region. “This is a magnificent full-color comprehensive atlas of the contemporary life and land of the Earth’s highest mountains.” -- Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and Environment An outstanding introduction to the geography and people of these mountains. -- Himalayan Watch Winner of the 2006 National Outdoor Book Award. [These are] [. . .] beautiful, stunning, and often thought-provoking black and white photographs of the sacred places of the Himalayan regions [. . .] -- Asian Affairshttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_asian_studies/1004/thumbnail.jp

Papel y regulación de las nuevas variantes de splicing sst5TMD4 e In1-ghrelina en cáncer de mama

El cáncer, en sus múltiples formas, es uno de los mayores retos a los que se enfrenta la sociedad actual. Una de las mayores limitaciones en la investigación del cáncer es la gran heterogeneidad existente entre las diferentes patologías tumorales e incluso entre pacientes con un mismo tipo de cáncer. A pesar de esto, estudios recientes han definido un conjunto de características comunes compartidas por los diferentes tipos de cáncer entre los que se encuentran la alteración del splicing alternativo. En concreto, el splicing alternativo es un mecanismo molecular por el que los organismos eucariotas pueden aumentar exponencialmente la cantidad de transcritos diferentes partiendo de un mismo genoma, a través de la reorganización de los diferentes elementos (exones e intrones) que componen los genes. Entre las diferentes patologías tumorales, llama especialmente la atención el cáncer de mama ya que constituye uno de los tipos de cáncer más importante en términos de incidencia tumoral pero también en términos de mortalidad [1]. Este tipo de cáncer también se caracteriza por una desregulación de los procesos de splicing alternativo y, por lo tanto, por un perfil alterado de ciertas variantes de splicing. Así, nuestro grupo de investigación ha identificado la presencia de determinadas variantes de splicing de los ejes neuroendocrinos constituidos por las hormonas somatostatina (SST), cortistatina (CORT) y ghrelina y sus receptores (ssts y GHSRs), especialmente la variante de splicing In1-ghrelina y el receptor truncado sst5TMD4, en este tipo de patologías. En concreto, la variante de splicing del receptor 5 de SST denominada sst5TMD4 codifica un receptor truncado de 4 dominios transmembrana (TMDs) que está sobreexpresado en diversos tipos tumorales (tumores hipofisarios y neuroendocrinos, así como en cáncer de tiroides y de mama), mientras que su expresión en tejidos sanos es muy reducida o nula. Además, la expresión del sst5TMD4 en estas patologías se asocia con una mayor malignidad tumoral, con una menor respuesta al tratamiento con análogos de SST y con un peor pronóstico clínico. Por otro lado, la In1-ghrelina, descubierta recientemente por nuestro grupo y que se genera gracias a un proceso de retención intrónica, presenta importantes implicaciones patológicas en tumores hipofisarios, neuroendocrinos y de mama donde se ha encontrado sobreexpresada y asociada a procesos de malignización tumoral. Sin embargo, los mecanismos moleculares implicados en la regulación de la expresión de sst5TMD4 e In1-ghrelina, así como el papel preciso y las implicaciones clínicas de estas variantes de splicing en cáncer de mama no se han explorado aún con suficiente detalle. Por este motivo, el objetivo principal de esta Tesis Doctoral era profundizar en el conocimiento de los sistemas y/o mecanismos de regulación que determinan la expresión diferencial de las variantes de splicing sst5TMD4 e In1-ghrelina, así como el papel y las implicaciones clínicas que ambas variantes juegan en la fisiopatología del cáncer de mama. Para alcanzar este objetivo general se planteó el estudio de estas variantes de splicing desde una perspectiva multidisciplinar que incluyera estudios sobre muestras humanas, modelos preclínicos de ratón, líneas celulares y aproximaciones moleculares in vitro e in silico

Classe de Ciências

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Discovering Rehabilitation trends in Spain: A bibliometric analysis

The main purpose of this study is to offer an overview of the rehabilitation research area in Spain from 1970 to 2018 through a bibliometric analysis. Analysis of performance and a co-word science mapping analysis were conducted to highlight the topics covered. The software tool SciMAT was used to analyse the themes concerning their performance and impact measures. A total of 3,564 documents from the Web of Science were retrieved. Univ Deusto, Univ Rey Juan Carlos and Basque Foundation for Science are the institutions with highest relative priority. The most important research themes are IntellectualDisability, Neck-Pain and Pain