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IntroductionA recent increase in interest rates has raised doubts about the stability of micro-finance institutions (MFI) A recent increase in interest rates has raised doubts about the stability of MFI in many countries. This has compelled governments to consider some MFI practices unethical.MethodsThis paper studies the MFI interest rates by using a dynamic panel method to identify the determining factors of the viability, financial, and social execution of microfinance firms. The research shows that the long-term interest rate evolution depends on the anticipation of loan loss rates (LLR), profit, or macroeconomic factors like inflation and the short-term current interest rate. The Study used database of 897 microfinance institutions in 106 countries and six geographic regions with a representative sample size of 5,075 observations between 2008 and 2020. The external factors considered are the market structure (Competition), economics (inflation), cultural and technological political conditions, and banking regulations in effect (regulation). Financial costs, operational costs, the write-off rate, and the average size of the loan are the most important determinant factors in MFI interest rate fluctuations.ResultsThe research find that other factors like gender, legal status, and regulations also contribute to the MFI interest rate variation. The research also discovered that there is a threshold effect in the relationship between women borrowers (WB) and the interest rate. Another important finding of this study is that MFIs do not anticipate inflation in the definition of the interest rate.DiscussionFrom an institutional point of view, it is necessary to promote competition, as the study shows that well-regulated competition helps to keep interest rates at a reasonable level.

2,4,5-Trichloro-6-((2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)amino)isophthalonitrile (SYD007) is a small molecule compound that was synthesized according to the structure of diarylamine. In this study, we evaluated the anti-bladder activities of SYD007, and determined its cytotoxic mechanism. We found that SYD007 exerted cytotoxicity to bladder cancer cells. Furthermore, SYD007 induced bladder cancer cell early apoptosis and arrested cell cycle. Mechanistically, SYD007 suppressed phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) (Tyr705) level in parallel with increases of p-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p-AKT. SYD007 significantly inhibited insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)-induced STAT3 activation through down-regulation of total IGF-1R level. No dramatic changes in IGF-1R mRNA levels were observed in SYD007-treated cells, suggesting that SYD007 acted primarily at a posttranscriptional level. Using molecular docking analysis, SYD007 was identified as an IGF-1R inhibitor. In summary, we reported that SYD007 exerted anti-bladder activities, and these effects were partially due to inhibition of IGF-1R/STAT3 signaling.

An assessment of simulations of the interannual variability of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) and its association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), as well as a subsequent diagnosis for possible causes of model biases generated from simulated large-scale climate conditions, are documented in the paper. The model experiments are carried out by the Hurricane Work Group under the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Research Program (CLIVAR) using five global climate models (GCMs) with a total of 16 ensemble members forced by the observed sea surface temperature and spanning the 28-yr period from 1982 to 2009. The results show GISS and GFDL model ensemble means best simulate the interannual variability of TCs, and the multimodel ensemble mean (MME) follows. Also, the MME has the closest climate mean annual number of WNP TCs and the smallest root-mean-square error to the observation. Most GCMs can simulate the interannual variability of WNP TCs well, with stronger TC activities during two types of El Niño—namely, eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Niño—and weaker activity during La Niña. However, none of the models capture the differences in TC activity between EP and CP El Niño as are shown in observations. The inability of models to distinguish the differences in TC activities between the two types of El Niño events may be due to the bias of the models in response to the shift of tropical heating associated with CP El Niño.

During boreal summer, convective activity over the eastern Pacific (EPAC) inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) exhibits vigorous intraseasonal variability (ISV). Previous observational studies identified two dominant ISV modes over the EPAC, i.e., a 40-day mode and a quasi-biweekly mode (QBM). The 40-day ISV mode is generally considered a local expression of the Madden-Julian Oscillation. However, in addition to the eastward propagation, northward propagation of the 40-day mode is also evident. The QBM mode bears a smaller spatial scale than the 40-day mode, and is largely characterized by northward propagation. While the ISV over the EPAC exerts significant influences on regional climate/weather systems, investigation of contemporary model capabilities in representing these ISV modes over the EPAC is limited. In this study, the model fidelity in representing these two dominant ISV modes over the EPAC is assessed by analyzing six atmospheric and three coupled general circulation models (GCMs), including one super-parameterized GCM (SPCAM) and one recently developed high-resolution GCM (GFDL HIRAM) with horizontal resolution of about 50 km. While it remains challenging for GCMs to faithfully represent these two ISV modes including their amplitude, evolution patterns, and periodicities, encouraging simulations are also noted. In general, SPCAM and HIRAM exhibit relatively superior skill in representing the two ISV modes over the EPAC. While the advantage of SPCAM is achieved through explicit representation of the cumulus process by the embedded 2-D cloud resolving models, the improved representation in HIRAM could be ascribed to the employment of a strongly entraining plume cumulus scheme, which inhibits the deep convection, and thus effectively enhances the stratiform rainfall. The sensitivity tests based on HIRAM also suggest that fine horizontal resolution could also be conducive to realistically capture the ISV over the EPAC, particularly for the QBM mode. Further analysis illustrates that the observed 40-day ISV mode over the EPAC is closely linked to the eastward propagating ISV signals from the Indian Ocean/Western Pacific, which is in agreement with the general impression that the 40-day ISV mode over the EPAC could be a local expression of the global Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). In contrast, the convective signals associated with the 40-day mode over the EPAC in most of the GCM simulations tend to originate between 150°E and 150°W, suggesting the 40-day ISV mode over the EPAC might be sustained without the forcing by the eastward propagating MJO. Further investigation is warranted towards improved understanding of the origin of the ISV over the EPAC.

To evaluate the traffic safety management level of the road traffic safety management facilities comprehensively, objectively and accurately is concerned to many complex and uncertain factors. This paper adopted fuzzy mathematics theory to evaluate the efficacies of road traffic safety management facilities. To reduce the negative effects of human subjective factors on determination of the weight coefficients, its weight coefficients were defined by grey correlation degree analysis. A district of Shanghai was taken as an example, results show that the evaluation method presented can reflect the management level of road traffic safety management facilities in a more comprehensive and objective manner.