The Impact of Credit Ratings on Financial Performance (ROA) and Value Creation (Tobin’s Q)

This study employs a bibliometric and systematic approach to examine the impact of credit ratings as a measure of financial performance for companies listed in the S&P 500 index.The study identified a knowledge gap as only two researches were found,one suggesting and another using credit ratings to measure financial performance.Most researches use leverage,profitability,liquidity,and Share Return measures to explain financial performance.The empirical analysis uses the data of 2,398 observations of 240 companies rated by S&P Global Ratings for the period 2009-2013,applying a Generalized Method of Moments(GMM)methodology to estimate the models due to its ability to address potential endogeneity issues.The study considers Return on Assets(ROA)and Tobin’s Q as dependent variables.It incorporates credit ratings(CRWLTA)along with variables such as Total Debt to Total Assets(TDTA),Total Shareholder Return(TSR),EBITDA Interest coverage(EBITDAICOV),Quick Ratio(QR),Altman’s Z-Score(AZS),as well as macroeconomic factors like Gross Domestic Product(GDP)growth,inflation(Consumer Price Index-CPI),and the Federal Reserve Interest Rate(FDRI)as independent variables.The study argues that credit ratings,which incorporate historical data and confidential information about companies’strategies,provide reliable forward-looking creditworthiness assessments to the market.It is supported by specialized rating agencies that employ their methodologies.However,the findings suggested that CRWLTA,had a negative relationship with Q Tobin,although it was not statistically significant,and a negative relationship with ROA that was on the verge of significance.

Study on the Attack of Molten Silicates on Plasma-Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings

Thermal barrier coating (TBC) revolutionized the industry by allowing higher operating temperatures for equipment, such as gas turbines in the aeronautical industry. However, at high temperatures, the TBC is exposed to the attack of molten silicates, known as CMAS (Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate), which are particles from the environment that infiltrate the TBC, causing delamination. In this study, samples coated with TBC by thermal spray and covered with CMAS were evaluated at temperatures of 1200˚C and 1250˚C. For each temperature, exposure times of 1 h and 5 h were used. Samples with longer exposure time had a considerable volume increase. The main contribution of this work was to demonstrate the non-wettability of the CMAS, even in the 5-h heat treatments, which prevented its infiltration in the deeper regions. The conditions to guarantee the formation of the silicate and its consequent wettability are also discussed.

Stone Claddings in the Corporate Real Estate Enterprises Citicorp Center and RochaveráCorporate Towers in Sao Paolo,Brazil

This article deepens the theme treated in other1 that approaches the evolution of the productive chain and of the technology of application of stone cladding in Sao Paulo,Brazil.For the study of this productive chain it is noticed that there takes place growing improvement of the quality of these claddings.Now two important buildings are analyzed:Citicorp Center(1986)and RochaveráCorporate Towers(2012).This work is in the context of extensive research for realization of the thesis of doctorate of the author in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Mackenzie Presbyterian University,Sao Paulo,Brazil,2 where is valued the quality of contemporary projects,executed in the last 30 years,which adopted claddings with stone plates in his facades and relevant aspects of the productive chain of the industry of the rocks.

Integration of Fogo Player and SAGE (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) for 8K UHD Video Exhibition

After 4K, 8K UHD resolution can be considered the new challenge for film, visualization and television. Due to the dimension of 8K image, the remote micro and macro images are considered appropriate for visualization with scientific and educational purposes. This article describes the implementation of the 8K video plug-in to play UHD videos into the SAGE, a collaborative environment for the advancement of scientific research and education developed by EVL (Electronic Visualization Laboratory), upgrading its current resolution for video playing. It also presents the challenges of producing 8K content, the development of the code and introduces the features to view 8K ultra high definition videos in multiple tiles through the use of low cost computer clusters. The SAGE 8K video plug-in implementation was made possible because of the previous development of the Fogo Player, a system to run 4K and 8K content. The results were successfully presented at the CineGrid International Workshop 2013 in San Diego.

Risk Seeking Behavior in Anticipation to Volatility Mean Reversal:A Case Study Using Bitcoin and SKEW

The traditional finance approach to decision analysis,based on neo-classical economics,assumes self-interested,utility maximizing approach,and risk aversion.This essay points to a situation that investment in a risky asset(Bitcoin)is directly related to an increase in market risk,measured by SKEW index.This contradicts the traditional approach and aligns to several findings of behavioral finance.More specifically,it shows that investors may be risk seeking actors in anticipation to a belief that volatility will return to normal levels.

Stock Price Forecasting with Artificial Neural Networks Long Short-Term Memory: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review

This study maps the academic literature on Stock Price Forecasting with Long-Term Memory Artificial Neural Networks—RNA LSTM. The objective is to know if it is suitable for time series studies, especially for stock price projection. Through bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review, it is observed that 333 authors wrote on the topic between 2018 and March 2022, and the journals Expert Systems with Applications, IEEE Access, Big Data Journal and Neural Computing and Applications, published the most relevant articles. Of the 99 articles published in this period, 43 are associated with Chinese institutions, the most cited being that of Kim and Won, who studies the volatility of returns and the market capitalization of South Korean stocks. The basis of 65% of the studies is the comparison between the RNN LSTM and other artificial neural networks. The daily closing price of shares is the most analyzed type of data, and the American (21%) and Chinese (20%) stock exchanges are the most studied. 57% of the studies include improvements to existing neural network models and 42% new projection models.

The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on the Life of Family Caregivers: A Phenomenological View

The objectives of this study are to describe the perception of caregivers about the process of caring for elders with Alzheimer’s disease, analyze the impact of the care process on the caregiver’s life from the biological and emotional aspects, and discuss the changes in the caregiver’s life in the light of Gestalt Therapy. This was a qualitative and descriptive study with a phenomenological analysis. The results showed that family caregivers are in a vulnerable situation because they are usually women who are also aging or are already elderly, who do not receive the necessary support to meet their needs. Because of the demands of providing care for Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers fail to consider their own issues and develop more mechanized ways of relating to their situation, using crystallization as a defense mechanism. Stress and isolation can adversely affect the physical and mental health of caregivers.

A self-employed taxpayer experimental study on trust,power,and tax compliance in eleven countries

The slippery slope framework explains tax compliance along two main dimensions,trust in authorities and power of authorities,which influence taxpayers’compliance attitudes.Through frequentist and Bayesian analyses,we investigated the framework’s assumptions on a sample of 2786 self-employed taxpayers from eleven post-communist and non-post-communist countries doing business in five economic branches.After using scenarios that experimentally manipulated trust and power,our results confirmed the framework’s assumptions regarding the attitudes of the self-employed taxpayers;trust and power fostered intended tax compliance and diminished tax evasion,trust boosted voluntary tax compliance,whereas power increased enforced tax compliance.Additionally,self-employed taxpayers from post-communist countries reported higher intended tax compliance and lower tax evasion than those from non-post-communist countries.Our results offer tax authorities insights into how trust and power may contribute to obtaining and maintaining high tax compliance levels amid global economic challenges,downturns,and increasing tax compliance costs.

Distance Interventions for Children with Sleep Problems: A Review

Sleep problems in childhood are frequent and may cause damage to the children and their families;however,parental orientation appears to be effective in its many new formats,such as the distance treatment.This study aimed to review the literature about behavioral intervention performed by distance to sleep problems in childhood and summarize the main characteristics of such interventions.Searches were performed up to November 2021 in BVS Psicologia ULAPSI Brasil,SCOPUS,and PsycINFO,using the key words:sleep problems,insomnia,nighttime fears,behavioral intervention,behavioral treatment,treatment,intervention,sleep,behavior,child,children,infant,mobile phones,smartphone,app,telephone,online,internet,bibliotherapy.We included 14 studies.The main results indicate that interventions were implemented between 2 and 12 weeks,the most reported procedure was pre-sleep routines,and semi-presential interventions that required some presential contact were the most frequent.Written educational information about sleep through bibliotherapy and telephone contacts were the most used tools to implement the remote component of interventions.Ten studies indicated improvements on children’s sleep,and secondary results(parental sleep and/or mental health)were also reported among studies.Therefore,our findings suggest that distance interventions for childhood sleep problems are promising,but future research is still needed.

Innovation and financial performance of companies doing business in Brazil

In this paper,we analyze the relationships among innovation efforts,the impacts of these innovations,and the financial performance of Brazilian companies.We hypothesize that innovation efforts do not directly translate into financial performance.Due to the inherent uncertainty of innovative projects,such efforts must first lead to effective innovation results or impacts before they are capable of contributing to a company's financial performance.Using the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics'(IBGE)comprehensive official databases on innovation and performance,we study 5,025 firms using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.The results suggest that efforts in innovation possibly generate impacts;however,these impacts do not necessarily imply better financial performance.Therefore,although firms'efforts may lead to new products,they will not contribute to financial gains in the short term,reflecting the risky and costly nature of innovation.The study aims to contribute to the discussion on firm-level impacts of innovation from the context of a large developing country,since empirical results of the literature are mixed.

Homeopathy for COVID-19 in primary care:A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled trial(COVID-Simile study)

Background:Different homeopathic approaches have been used as supportive care for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)cases,but none has been tested in a clinical trial.Objectives:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of the homeopathic medicine,Natrum muriaticum LM2,for mild cases of COVID-19.Design,setting,participants,and interventions:A randomized,double-blind,two-armed,parallel,singlecenter,placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted from June 2020 to April 2021 in S?o-Carlos,Brazil.Participants aged>18 years,with influenza-like symptoms and positive result from a real-time polymerase chain reaction test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 were recruited and randomized(1:1)into two groups that received different treatments during a period of at-homeisolation.One group received the homeopathic medicine Natrum muriaticum,prepared with the second degree of the fifty-millesimal dynamization(LM2;Natrum muriaticum LM2),while the other group received a placebo.Outcome measures:The primary endpoint was time until recovery from COVID-19 influenza-like symptoms.Secondary measures included a survival analysis of the number and severity of COVID-19 symptoms(influenza-like symptoms plus anosmia and ageusia)from a symptom grading scale that was informed by the participant,hospital admissions,and adverse events.Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate time-to-event(survival)measures.Results:Data from 86 participants were analyzed(homeopathy,n=42;placebo,n=44).There was no difference in time to recovery between two groups among participants who were reporting influenzalike symptoms at the beginning of monitoring(homeopathy,n=41;placebo,n=41;P=0.56),nor in a sub-group that had at least 5 moderate to severe influenza-like symptoms at the beginning of monitoring(homeopathy,n=15;placebo,n=17;P=0.06).Secondary outcomes indicated that a 50%reduction in symptom score was achieved significantly earlier in the homeopathy group(homeopathy,n=24;placebo,n=25;P=0.04),among the participants with a basal symptom score≥5.Moreover,values of restricted mean survival time indicated that patients receiving homeopathy might have improved0.9 days faster during the first five days of follow-up(P=0.022).Hospitalization rates were 2.4%in the homeopathy group and 6.8%in the placebo group(P=0.62).Participants reported 3 adverse events in the homeopathy group and 6 in the placebo group.Conclusion:Results showed that Natrum muriaticum LM2 was safe to use for COVID-19,but there was no statistically significant difference in the primary endpoints of Natrum muriaticum LM2 and placebo for mild COVID-19 cases.Although some secondary measures do not support the null hypothesis,the wide confidence intervals suggest that further studies with larger sample sizes and more symptomatic participants are needed to test the effectiveness of homeopathic Natrum muriaticum LM2 for COVID-19.Trial registration:UMIN Clinical Trials Registry ID:JPRN-UMIN000040602.