Credit rating agencies (CRAs) are less likely and slower to downgrade firms with performance-sensitive debt (PSD) if these downgrades increase borrowing costs. This effect is stronger when CRAs rate their most profitable clients and is not driven by selection into PSD contracts, by borrowers adjusting their leverage, or by borrowers hiding information. Originating banks price the CRAs’ conflicts of interest and sell loans with more embedded conflicts more frequently. In contrast, secondary market participants do not price conflicts of interest to the same extent. The recent settlements between the major CRAs and the U.S. government do not prevent rating inflation.

To explore molecular targets for regulating glucose metabolism in carnivorous fish, the glucose tolerance test (GTT) was carried out on the Paralichthys olivaceus. The concentration of glucose and insulin in serum were measured at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 24, and 48h after intraperitoneal (IP) injecting. The concentration of insulin was the lowest after 3h of glucose injection, and that of glucose reached the highest after 5h. Therefore, 0h (IP0) was chosen as control group, 3h (IP3) and 5h (IP5) were selected as experimental groups, which the liver samples in three time points were used to high-throughput sequencing. Although, there were no significant KEGG and GO functional enrichment, the differential genes including MAPK binding protein 1 (MAPKBP1), glycosyltransferase (FNG), suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBP-α) were closely related to glucose metabolism, among which SOCS3 was worthy of further explore. The full-length cDNA sequence of SOCS3 gene was cloned and the open reading frame (ORF) of SOCS3 encoded 225 amino acids including conserved domains SH2 and SOCS3-box. The results of tissue differential expression showed that SOCS3 was highly expressed in liver and intestine. The SOCS3 was knocked down by specific siRNA in the primary hepatocyte of P. olivaceus. Results showed that the gene expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), protease B1 (AKT1), glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), pyruvate kinase (PK) and glucokinase (GK) increased significantly after knocking down SOCS3. Meanwhile, the phosphatidylinositol-3-hydroxykinase (PI3K) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) decreased significantly. The results of this study indicated that siSOSC3 enhanced the sensitivity of the insulin signaling pathway to promote glucose transport, thereby affecting gluconeogenesis and glycolysis to maintain glucose homeostasis.

A simple application of urn models is useful in spelling out the way in which, in abstraction, if the parents are distributed in Hardy-Weinberg form, that form is reproduced in offspring with nonrandom mating. A measure of divergence from random mating is proposed and illustrated by numerical examples. The scope of urn models of stochastic processes in population genetics theory is set out.

The correct author and date for the family-group name Heriadini (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae: Megachilinae) are discussed. A brief discussion of available family-group names associated with Osmiini Newman, 1834 is provided.

Three-dimensional computed tomography provides an accurate interpretation of anomalous coronary arteries and related anatomy, which helps determine the ideal surgical approach in rare cases.

Following the Sasanian conquest of Bactria-Tukhāristān in the third century CE, Kushan cultic traditions centred on the veneration of anthropomorphic divine images continued to thrive under the new Persian rulers. Rather than imposing aniconic Zoroastrian practices, the Sasanians actively patronised local religious customs, commissioning statues of Persian deities such as Anāhitā while incorporating Bactrian gods into their visual and ritual repertoire. Numismatic and architectural evidence reflects this synthesis: Kushano-Sasanian coinage preserves the Kushan pantheon, with deities depicted in novel forms, including enthroned figures and busts emerging from fire altars, while temples at Surkh Kotal and Dilberjin combined divine statues with the veneration of the sacred fire. The coexistence of Bactrian and Middle Persian in inscriptions suggests a broader process of cultural adaptation. The persistence of these practices under subsequent Hunnic rule, and their later diffusion into Sogdiana, demonstrates their long-term impact on the religious landscape of Central Asia. The Kushano-Sasanian period thus marks the emergence of a distinctive cultic tradition, shaped by the cultic fusion, which continued to influence the region long after the decline of Sasanian rule.

We measure pre- and post-tax income inequality in Moscow Province in 1811. We collect new data on incomes for 7,399 asset-holding households, including all registered aristocrats and merchants. We estimate the average incomes of 21 additional social groups using financial records from government and private businesses. Combining this data, we construct a social table and measure top-tier income concentration, Gini coefficient, and the Extraction Ratio. Our findings reveal that serfdom resulted in high inequality and extraction levels as well as low social mobility despite of low levels of enforcement by the state. We compare our results with those for 1904 and find that, in spite of emancipation, inequality remained high during the nineteenth century. Those findings are emblematic of deep historical roots and the persistence of high inequality levels in Russia.

The Pliocene marine mammal fauna is the best sampled and most intensely studied in the world, preserving many modern genera of cetaceans. Today, harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena Linnaeus, 1758) as well as other extant genera of odontocetes (Tursiops, Stenella, Lagenorhynchus, Physeter, Pseudorca, Globicephala) inhabit the western North Atlantic. Many similar forms were reported from the early Pliocene Yorktown Formation—except for porpoises (Phocoenidae), which are key members of modern marine ecosystems, but surprisingly absent from the fossil record in this region. Hence, there are unresolved questions concerning the dispersal and biogeography of this group. In this study, we report the first fossil Phocoenidae from the western North Atlantic, a series of four isolated periotics of Phocoena sp. from Pliocene strata near Charleston, South Carolina, USA, and describe the bony labyrinth of one of these. The periotics show several external anatomical characters diagnostic for phocoenids, and we used μCT scanning to reconstruct a three-dimensional model of the bony labyrinth to further test this interpretation. We performed 13 measurements on the model surface and compared those with a sampling of other phocoenid specimens. By assessing the taxonomic affinity of the fossils, we gain a better understanding of marine ecosystems through a dynamic interval of the Neogene and shed light on the origins and dispersal of a major odontocete clade.

This article demonstrates that Evelyn Underhill’s 1920s shift from voluntarist mysticism to christocentric participation reflects a modern Anglican retrieval of Augustine’s doctrine of grace. Drawing on her books, letters, and revisions to Mysticism, it argues that wartime disillusionment and Friedrich von Hügel’s guidance reoriented her from Neoplatonic aspiration toward divine initiative, ecclesial emphasis and christological mediation. Underhill emerges as a constructive theologian of grace whose mature outlook challenges accounts that centre religious progress in human effort, insisting instead on God’s prior action and the mediating work of Christ.

In this paper, we consider asymptotic behaviours of multiscale multivalued stochastic systems with small noises. First of all, for general, fully coupled systems for multivalued stochastic differential equations of slow and fast motions with small noises in the slow components, we prove an averaging principle in the strong convergence sense. Moreover, a convergence rate is given in a special case. Next, for these systems, we establish the large deviation principle by the weak convergence approach. Then, for a special case, the rate function is explicitly characterized. Finally, we explain our results with an example.

High-temperature short-time (HTST, 72°C, 15 s) pasteurization can be successfully used for human milk (HM) preservation. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different HTST heating methods: microwave (MHTST) and standard convective (CHTST) on macronutrients, fatty acids (FAs), lactoferrin (LF), vitamin C, lysozyme (LZ), α-amylase (α-A) activity, lipid oxidation and antioxidant properties of HM. Regardless of the heating methods, the macronutrients and FA content, LZ activity and antioxidant properties of HM proved to be insensitive to HTST treatment, while the concentration of vitamin C decreased by 42.6% and 50.2%, and the activity of α-A by 6.0 and 7.2% when using MHTST and CHTST, respectively. LF content changed significantly only when CHTST was used (42.3% reduction). There were no negative effects of microwave heating under controlled conditions on the HM components. Satisfactory results regarding the impact of MHTST on HM composition and potential economic benefits suggest that this technology can be applied in HM banks to ensure adequate safety and quality.