The Economic Consequences of Increased Disclosure: Evidence From International Cross-Listings

We examine market behavior around earnings announcements to understand the consequences of the increased disclosure that non-U.S. firms face when listing shares in the U.S. We find that absolute return and volume reactions to earnings announcements typically increase significantly once a company cross-lists in the U.S. Furthermore, these increases are greatest for firms from developed countries and for firms that pursue over-the-counter listings or private placements, which do not have stringent disclosure requirements. Additional tests support the hypothesis that it is changes in the individual firm\u27s disclosure environment, rather than changes in its market liquidity, ownership, or trading venue, that explain our findings

Theory on quench-induced pattern formation: Application to the isotropic to smectic-A phase transitions

During catastrophic processes of environmental variations of a thermodynamic system, such as rapid temperature decreasing, many novel and complex patterns often form. To understand such phenomena, a general mechanism is proposed based on the competition between heat transfer and conversion of heat to other energy forms. We apply it to the smectic-A filament growth process during quench-induced isotropic to smectic-A phase transition. Analytical forms for the buckling patterns are derived and we find good agreement with experimental observation [Phys. Rev. {\bf E55} (1997) 1655]. The present work strongly indicates that rapid cooling will lead to structural transitions in the smectic-A filament at the molecular level to optimize heat conversion. The force associated with this pattern formation process is estimated to be in the order of $10^{-1}$ piconewton.Comment: 9 pages in RevTex form, with 3 postscript figures. Accepted by PR

Supporting Family Adaptation to Presymptomatic and "Untreatable" Conditions in an Era of Expanded Newborn Screening

Objective As technology advances, newborn screening will be possible for conditions not screened today. With an expansion of screening, strategies will be needed to support family adaptation to unexpected and possibly uncertain genetic information provided shortly after birth. Method Although candidate conditions for expanded newborn screening will typically be associated with increased morbidity or mortality, for most there is no proven medical treatment that must be implemented quickly. Many will have clinical features that gradually emerge and for which the severity of impact is not predictable. Parents will seek guidance on information, support, and treatment possibilities. This article summarizes issues evoked by expanded newborn screening and suggests strategies for supporting families of identified children. Results We propose four components necessary to support family adaptation to pre-symptomatic and “untreatable” conditions in an era of expanded newborn screening: (1) accurate and understandable information; (2) formal and informal support; (3) active surveillance; and (4) general and targeted interventions. We argue that no condition is “untreatable” and that a well-designed program of prevention and support has the potential to maximize benefit and minimize harm. Conclusions Pediatric psychologists can play important roles in an era of expanded newborn screening by helping families understand genetic information, make informed decisions about genetic testing, and cope with the potential psychosocial consequences of genetic information

Development of a modular and scalable data acquisition system for calorimeters at a linear collider

A data acquisition (DAQ) system has been developed which will read out and control calorimeters serving as prototype systems for a future detector at an electron-positron linear collider. This is a modular, flexible and scalable DAQ system in which the hardware and signals are standards-based, using FPGAs and serial links. The idea of a backplaneless system was also pursued with a commercial development board housed in a PC and a chain of concentrator cards between it and the detector forming the basis of the system. As well as describing the concept and performance of the system, its merits and disadvantages are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted by JINST. Version updated accounting for comments from journal referee

Microrheology with optical tweezers: data analysis

We present a data analysis procedure that provides the solution to a long-standing issue in microrheology studies, i.e. the evaluation of the fluids' linear viscoelastic properties from the analysis of a finite set of experimental data, describing (for instance) the time-dependent mean-square displacement of suspended probe particles experiencing Brownian fluctuations. We report, for the first time in the literature, the linear viscoelastic response of an optically trapped bead suspended in a Newtonian fluid, over the entire range of experimentally accessible frequencies. The general validity of the proposed method makes it transferable to the majority of microrheology and rheology techniques

Clustering of smoking, alcohol drinking and cannabis use in adolescents in a rapidly developing country

BACKGROUND: Smoking, alcohol drinking and cannabis use ("risk behaviors") are often initiated at a young age but few epidemiological studies have assessed their joined prevalence in children in developing countries. This study aims at examining the joint prevalence of these behaviors in adolescents in the Seychelles, a rapidly developing country in the Indian Ocean. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey in a representative sample of secondary school students using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire (Global Youth Tobacco Survey). The questionnaire was completed by 1,321 (92%) of 1,442 eligible students aged 11 to 17 years. Main variables of interest included smoking cigarettes on ≥1 day in the past 30 days; drinking any alcohol beverage on ≥1 day in the past 30 days and using cannabis at least once in the past 12 months. RESULTS: In boys and girls, respectively, prevalence (95% CI) was 30% (26–34)/21% (18–25) for smoking, 49% (45–54)/48% (43–52) for drinking, and 17% (15–20)/8% (6–10) for cannabis use. The prevalence of all these behaviors increased with age. Smokers were two times more likely than non-smokers to drink and nine times more likely to use cannabis. Drinkers were three times more likely than non-drinkers to smoke or to use cannabis. Comparison of observed versus expected frequencies of combination categories demonstrated clustering of these risk behaviors in students (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Smoking, drinking and cannabis use were common and clustered among adolescents of a rapidly developing country. These findings stress the need for early and integrated prevention programs

Transverse Beam Spin Asymmetries in Forward-Angle Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering

We have measured the beam-normal single-spin asymmetry in elastic scattering of transversely-polarized 3 GeV electrons from unpolarized protons at Q^2 = 0.15, 0.25 (GeV/c)^2. The results are inconsistent with calculations solely using the elastic nucleon intermediate state, and generally agree with calculations with significant inelastic hadronic intermediate state contributions. A_n provides a direct probe of the imaginary component of the 2-gamma exchange amplitude, the complete description of which is important in the interpretation of data from precision electron-scattering experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters; shortened to meet PRL length limit, clarified some text after referee's comment

A zebrafish functional genomics model to investigate the role of human A20 variants in vivo

Germline loss-of-function variation in TNFAIP3, encoding A20, has been implicated in a wide variety of autoinflammatory and autoimmune conditions, with acquired somatic missense mutations linked to cancer progression. Furthermore, human sequence data reveals that the A20 locus contains ~ 400 non-synonymous coding variants, which are largely uncharacterised. The growing number of A20 coding variants with unknown function, but potential clinical impact, poses a challenge to traditional mouse-based approaches. Here we report the development of a novel functional genomics approach that utilizes a new A20-deficient zebrafish (Danio rerio) model to investigate the impact of TNFAIP3 genetic variants in vivo. A20-deficient zebrafish are hyper-responsive to microbial immune activation and exhibit spontaneous early lethality. Ectopic addition of human A20 rescued A20-null zebrafish from lethality, while missense mutations at two conserved A20 residues, S381A and C243Y, reversed this protective effect. Ser381 represents a phosphorylation site important for enhancing A20 activity that is abrogated by its mutation to alanine, or by a causal C243Y mutation that triggers human autoimmune disease. These data reveal an evolutionarily conserved role for TNFAIP3 in limiting inflammation in the vertebrate linage and show how this function is controlled by phosphorylation. They also demonstrate how a zebrafish functional genomics pipeline can be utilized to investigate the in vivo significance of medically relevant human TNFAIP3 gene variants.Daniele Cultrone, Nathan W. Zammit, Eleanor Self, Benno Postert, Jeremy Z. R. Han, Jacqueline Bailey ... et al

Strange Quark Contributions to Parity-Violating Asymmetries in the Forward G0 Electron-Proton Scattering Experiment

We have measured parity-violating asymmetries in elastic electron-proton scattering over the range of momentum transfers 0.12 < Q^2 < 1.0 GeV^2. These asymmetries, arising from interference of the electromagnetic and neutral weak interactions, are sensitive to strange quark contributions to the currents of the proton. The measurements were made at JLab using a toroidal spectrometer to detect the recoiling protons from a liquid hydrogen target. The results indicate non-zero, Q^2 dependent, strange quark contributions and provide new information beyond that obtained in previous experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure