95 research outputs found
Board Interlocks and Their Impact on Corporate Governance: The Indian Experience - Coping with Corporate Cholesterol
Board interlocks occur when a director of one organization sits on the board of directors of another organization. The causes and consequences of these interlocks have been much debated in the western literature but comparatively little is known about interlocks in Indian corporate boards. Board interlocks are essentially analogous to cholesterol. Both are facts of life. Like good cholesterol, there are aspects of interlocking directorates that are beneficial and there are others that are detrimental to the corporation and its stakeholders and their respective interests. In this study, we find that board interlocks are quite widespread in India. Taking a (numerically) small but nevertheless (in terms of market capitalization) an important slice of available corporate data, we observed that in 2010, âhighly boardedâ directors (defined as those on the board of 5 or more listed NSE companies) who constitute just 6 percent of the overall pool of directors among NSE100 companies are associated with 486 NSE listed companies which account for a whopping 66 percent of the total market capitalization of all NSE listed companies. Interestingly, there appears to be a marked increase in market capitalization of these âhighly boardedâ companies, which these âhighly boardedâ directors are linked to over the last several years. For instance, for the 3 years from 2001 to 2003, the market capitalization of âhighly boardedâ companies ranged between 33 percent to 43 percent; it moved up to peak of 70 percent in 2007 and was at 66 percent in 2010 (the latest year in the study period). The substantive rise in market capitalization of these âhighly boardedâ companies has coincided with only a marginal increase (from 5% to 6%) in the proportion of âhighly boardedâ directorships. These trends suggest that despite the well-intentioned regulatory reforms (a) the extent of over-boarding/interlocking among directors has not come down (there is actually a marginal increase) and (b) there appears to be increasing concentration of power among key individuals. Given the general view that concentration of power in a few individuals or entities is not desirable in the larger interests of society, it would appear that the observed trends in the concentration of power among a handful of the countryâs corporate elite is a matter for substantive public policy concern. Finally, the regression analysis indicates a positive impact on Return on Assets (ROA) for âhighly boardedâ directors signifying a negation of the agency centric conceptualization on the role of multiple directors. Instead, connectedness variables (Eigen vector) which proxy for the Resource dependency hypothesis are quite strongly supported. In a nutshell, from public policy perspective, the analysis potentially reflects the âbad cholesterolâ elements of multiple directorships in terms of a tiny segment of âhighly boardedâ directors controlling a significant portion of the countryâs economic prowess, whereas the positive influences on company performance provide some evidence of the âgood cholesterolâ.
Symplectic potentials and resolved Ricci-flat ACG metrics
We pursue the symplectic description of toric Kahler manifolds. There exists
a general local classification of metrics on toric Kahler manifolds equipped
with Hamiltonian two-forms due to Apostolov, Calderbank and Gauduchon(ACG). We
derive the symplectic potential for these metrics. Using a method due to Abreu,
we relate the symplectic potential to the canonical potential written by
Guillemin. This enables us to recover the moment polytope associated with
metrics and we thus obtain global information about the metric. We illustrate
these general considerations by focusing on six-dimensional Ricci flat metrics
and obtain Ricci flat metrics associated with real cones over L^{pqr} and
Y^{pq} manifolds. The metrics associated with cones over Y^{pq} manifolds turn
out to be partially resolved with two blowup parameters taking special
(non-zero)values. For a fixed Y^{pq} manifold, we find explicit metrics for
several inequivalent blow-ups parametrised by a natural number k in the range
0<k<p. We also show that all known examples of resolved metrics such as the
resolved conifold and the resolution of C^3/Z_3 also fit the ACG
classification.Comment: LaTeX, 34 pages, 4 figures (v2)presentation improved, typos corrected
and references added (v3)matches published versio
Nernst branes in gauged supergravity
We study static black brane solutions in the context of N = 2 U(1) gauged
supergravity in four dimensions. Using the formalism of first-order flow
equations, we construct novel extremal black brane solutions including examples
of Nernst branes, i.e. extremal black brane solutions with vanishing entropy
density. We also discuss a class of non-extremal generalizations which is
captured by the first-order formalism.Comment: 44 pages, 3 figures, v2: added appendix B and references, minor
typographic changes, v3: added some clarifying remarks, version published in
JHE
Machine-Part cell formation through visual decipherable clustering of Self Organizing Map
Machine-part cell formation is used in cellular manufacturing in order to
process a large variety, quality, lower work in process levels, reducing
manufacturing lead-time and customer response time while retaining flexibility
for new products. This paper presents a new and novel approach for obtaining
machine cells and part families. In the cellular manufacturing the fundamental
problem is the formation of part families and machine cells. The present paper
deals with the Self Organising Map (SOM) method an unsupervised learning
algorithm in Artificial Intelligence, and has been used as a visually
decipherable clustering tool of machine-part cell formation. The objective of
the paper is to cluster the binary machine-part matrix through visually
decipherable cluster of SOM color-coding and labelling via the SOM map nodes in
such a way that the part families are processed in that machine cells. The
Umatrix, component plane, principal component projection, scatter plot and
histogram of SOM have been reported in the present work for the successful
visualization of the machine-part cell formation. Computational result with the
proposed algorithm on a set of group technology problems available in the
literature is also presented. The proposed SOM approach produced solutions with
a grouping efficacy that is at least as good as any results earlier reported in
the literature and improved the grouping efficacy for 70% of the problems and
found immensely useful to both industry practitioners and researchers.Comment: 18 pages,3 table, 4 figure
Unique cellular immune signatures of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
The clinical presentation of MIS-C overlaps with other infectious/non-infectious diseases such as acute COVID-19, Kawasaki disease, acute dengue, enteric fever, and systemic lupus erythematosus. We examined the ex-vivo cellular parameters with the aim of distinguishing MIS-C from other syndromes with overlapping clinical presentations. MIS-C children differed from children with non-MIS-C conditions by having increased numbers of naĂŻve CD8(+) T cells, naĂŻve, immature and atypical memory B cells and diminished numbers of transitional memory, stem cell memory, central and effector memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, classical, activated memory B and plasma cells and monocyte (intermediate and non-classical) and dendritic cell (plasmacytoid and myeloid) subsets. All of the above alterations were significantly reversed at 6â9 months post-recovery in MIS-C. Thus, MIS-C is characterized by a distinct cellular signature that distinguishes it from other syndromes with overlapping clinical presentations. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrial.gov. No: NCT04844242
Combination therapy with oral treprostinil for pulmonary arterial hypertension. A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial
Rationale: Oral treprostinil improves exercise capacity in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but the effect on clinical outcomes was unknown.
Objectives: To evaluate the effect of oral treprostinil compared with placebo on time to first adjudicated clinical worsening event in participants with PAH who recently began approved oral monotherapy.
Methods: In this event-driven, double-blind study, we randomly allocated 690 participants (1:1 ratio) with PAH to receive placebo or oral treprostinil extended-release tablets three times daily. Eligible participants were using approved oral monotherapy for over 30 days before randomization and had a 6-minute-walk distance 150 m or greater. The primary endpoint was the time to first adjudicated clinical worsening event: death; hospitalization due to worsening PAH; initiation of inhaled or parenteral prostacyclin therapy; disease progression; or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response.
Measurements and Main Results: Clinical worsening occurred in 26% of the oral treprostinil group compared with 36% of placebo participants (hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.56â0.97; Pâ=â0.028). Key measures of disease status, including functional class, Borg dyspnea score, and N-terminal proâbrain natriuretic peptide, all favored oral treprostinil treatment at Week 24 and beyond. A noninvasive risk stratification analysis demonstrated that oral treprostinilâassigned participants had a substantially higher mortality risk at baseline but achieved a lower risk profile from Study Weeks 12â60. The most common adverse events in the oral treprostinil group were headache, diarrhea, flushing, nausea, and vomiting.
Conclusions: In participants with PAH, addition of oral treprostinil to approved oral monotherapy reduced the risk of clinical worsening.
Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01560624)
Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transientâs position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta
Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems
Robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping the world, changing healthcare, food production and biodiversity management. While they will play a fundamental role in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated opportunities and threats are yet to be considered systematically. We report on a horizon scan evaluating robotics and autonomous systems impact on all Sustainable Development Goals, involving 102 experts from around the world. Robotics and autonomous systems are likely to transform how the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved, through replacing and supporting human activities, fostering innovation, enhancing remote access and improving monitoring. Emerging threats relate to reinforcing inequalities, exacerbating environmental change, diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions and reducing freedom and privacy through inadequate governance. Although predicting future impacts of robotics and autonomous systems on the Sustainable Development Goals is difficult, thoroughly examining technological developments early is essential to prevent unintended detrimental consequences. Additionally, robotics and autonomous systems should be considered explicitly when developing future iterations of the Sustainable Development Goals to avoid reversing progress or exacerbating inequalities
Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later
designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through
gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray
burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ⌠1.7 {{s}} with respect to
the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was
initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a
luminosity distance of {40}-8+8 Mpc and with
component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses
were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 {M}ÈŻ
. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the
electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical
transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC
4993 (at ⌠40 {{Mpc}}) less than 11 hours after the merger by the
One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The
optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an
hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment.
Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded
within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward
evolution over âŒ10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and
radio emission were discovered at the transientâs position ⌠9
and ⌠16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and
radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct
from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No
ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with
the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support
the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron
stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and
a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process
nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.</p
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