The Investment Strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds

This paper examines the direct private equity investment strategies across sovereign wealth funds and their relationship to the funds’ organizational structures. SWFs seem to engage in a form of trend chasing, since they are more likely to invest at home when domestic equity prices are higher, and invest abroad when foreign prices are higher. Funds see the industry P/E ratios of their home investments drop in the year after the investment, while they have a positive change in the year after their investments abroad. SWFs where politicians are involved have a much greater likelihood of investing at home than those where external managers are involved. At the same time, SWFs with external managers tend to invest in lower P/E industries, which see an increase in the P/E ratios in the year after the investment. By way of contrast, funds with politicians involved invest in higher P/E industries, which have a negative valuation change in the year after the investment.General Finance, Countries & Regions, Financial Services

Private Equity and Industry Performance

The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its potential impact on the economy more generally. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. Industries where PE funds have invested in the past five years have grown more quickly in terms of productivity and employment. There are few significant differences between industries with limited and high private equity activity. It is hard to find support for claims that economic activity in industries with private equity backing is more exposed to aggregate shocks. The results using lagged private equity investments suggest that the results are not driven by reverse causality. These patterns are not driven solely by common law nations such as the United Kingdom and United States, but also hold in Continental Europe.

Changing Weight Management Self-efficacy Among Obese Puerto Rican Adults: A Quantitative Study using a Health Coaching Intervention

Purpose: Obesity and associated healthcare-related issues continue to increase. The prevalence of obesity is on the rise, which has led many health professionals to find ways to improve health interventions. Health coaching can be a viable tool to reduce the obesity epidemic. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effects of an 8-weekhealth coaching intervention in obese individuals from Puerto Rico and to determine if self-esteem and body image influence weight managementself-efficacy. Method: A pretest-posttest design using a weight management self-efficacy scale helped the researcher evaluate the effectof the coaching sessions. In addition, body image was measured using the 9-figure Body Size Scale and self-esteem was analyzedwith the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Forty Hispanic adult men and women participated in the study. Results: Health coaching had a statistically significant effect on weight management self-efficacy (t (39) = -6.58, p \u3c .001). Additionally, body image and self-esteem affected weight management self-efficacy and positive health coaching outcomes were significant regardless of positive or negative perceived body image. Conclusions: These findings suggest that body image and self-esteem should be considered when creating programs for obesity and a health coaching program can be effective in increasing weight management self-efficacy

The Investment Strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds

Sovereign wealth funds have emerged as major investors in corporate and real resources worldwide. After an overview of their magnitude, we consider the institutional arrangements under which many of the sovereign wealth funds operate. We focus on a specific set of agency problems that is of first-order importance for these funds: that is, the direct involvement of political leaders in the management process. We show that sovereign wealth funds with greater involvement of political leaders in fund management are associated with investment strategies that seem to favor short-term economic policy goals in their respective countries at the expense of longer-term maximization of returns. Sovereign wealth funds face several other issues, like how best to cope with demands for transparency, which can allow others to copy their investment strategies, and how to address the problems that arise with sheer size, like the difficulties of scaling up investment strategies that only work with a smaller value of assets under investment. In the conclusion, we discuss how various approaches cultivated by effective institutional investors worldwide -- from investing in the best people to pioneering new asset classes to compartmentalizing investment activities -- may provide clues as to how sovereign wealth funds might address these issues.Harvard Business School. Division of Researc

Private Equity and Industry Performance

The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its potential impact on the economy more generally. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. Industries where PE funds have invested in the past five years have grown more quickly in terms of productivity and employment. There are few significant differences between industries with limited and high private equity activity. It is hard to find support for claims that economic activity in industries with private equity backing is more exposed to aggregate shocks. The results using lagged private equity investments suggest that the results are not driven by reverse causality. These patterns are not driven solely by common law nations such as the United Kingdom and United States, but also hold in Continental Europe.

Addressing Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Hungarian American Populations: A Cultural Exploration of Transdisciplinary Health Promotion

Hungarian Americans share a unique culture of food traditions associated with their value system and way of life. Researchers, health care providers, and nutrition professionals counseling and treating a Hungarian-American population should develop a baseline of cultural understanding to achieve successful and long-lasting behavior change outcomes. The leading causes of death among Hungarians include ischemic heart disease (21.3%), stroke (13.4%), and cirrhosis (5.8%); all are directly or indirectly attributed to a traditional Hungarian diet coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. Health behaviors among Hungarian Americans can be partially explained by the Health Belief Model’s value-expectancy construct. Understanding cultural expectations and their associated values serve as a foundation for health promotion programming to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and comorbidities. This review explored numerous facets of Hungarian-American dietary habits in psychosocial, economic, historical, and cultural contexts. Health education and health promotion considerations were also examined

Pain Is the Primary Factor Associated With Satisfaction With Symptoms for New Patients Presenting to the Orthopedic Clinic

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to (1) determine the percentage of new orthopedic patients reporting their symptoms to be acceptable at presentation, as measured by the Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) question, and (2) evaluate whether patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), including Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) or Upper Extremity, Pain Interference (PI), and Depression (D), or sociodemographic factors are associated with acceptable symptoms at presentation. METHODS: Between February 7, 2020, and March 16, 2020, new orthopedic patients who completed PROMs were identified. Patient records were reviewed for those who also completed the PASS question, a yes/no question about whether a patient\u27s current symptom state is satisfactory. Bivariate analysis was conducted to compare patient characteristics, such as area deprivation index (ADI), between those reporting acceptable symptoms and those who did not. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with acceptable symptoms at presentation. RESULTS: A total of 570 patients were included, with one-fourth (n = 143 [25%]) reporting acceptable symptoms at presentation. In multivariable regression analysis, only pain, as measured by the PROMIS PI, was associated with acceptable symptoms at presentation (non-upper extremity patient regression: PROMIS PI: odds ratio [OR], 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-0.90, P \u3c .01; upper extremity patient regression: PROMIS PI: OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.98, P \u3c .01). In both multivariable regression analyses, insurance type (private, Medicare, Medicaid, other), visit subspecialty (sports, hand, joints, foot and ankle, spine, other), PROMIS PF, PROMIS D, and national ADI were not associated with acceptable symptoms at presentation (all P \u3e .05). CONCLUSIONS: One-fourth of new orthopedic patients reported their symptoms to be acceptable at presentation. Of those who considered their symptom state unsatisfactory, pain-not functional status, mental health, or sociodemographic factors-was the primary determinant. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, diagnostic

Immigrant Families: Welfare Reform Restricts Programs that Support Working Families

A key goal of the 1996 welfare law is to provide incentives and support that will help low-income people join the workforce, and become financially secure. Yet for many working-poor immigrant families, the law has had the opposite effect. It has restricted their eligibility for programs that can promote upward mobility, such as health care coverage, food stamps, and other safety-net programs of special importance to low-wage, working families. This paper provides a statistical portrait of changes in well being among immigrants and their children, examples of state strategies, and implications of these changes for federal policy

Towards energy resolution at the statistical limit from a negative ion time projection chamber

We make a proof-of-principle demonstration that improved energy resolution can be obtained in a negative-ion time projection chamber, by individually counting each electron produced by ionizing radiation.Comment: Submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth.

Effects of Exercise on Appetite-Regulating Hormones, Perceived Hunger, and Energy Intake: A Narrative Overview

Controlling appetite, perceived hunger, and energy intake are important factors in weight management. This narrative review examines the effect of different forms, intensities and duration of exercise on the appetite-regulating hormones leptin, acylated ghrelin, glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide tyrosine tyrosine3-36 (PYY3-36), perceptions of hunger, and energy intake in overweight/obese, and normal weight populations. The studies reviewed compared exercise intensities- low, moderate, and high intensity, and modes of exercise- aerobic and resistance training. The studies selected in this narrative review included participants that ranged in age from 13-57 years old, male and female, previously sedentary and physically active, and normal weight and overweight/obese individuals- defined by body mass index standards (BMI). The primary benefits of exercise on appetite regulation are seen with moderate to high-intensity aerobic exercise; with the most notable relative energy deficit resulting from an exercise bout (at any intensity) that expends the most energy. Further research is warranted to determine if there exists a tendency to overcompensate for energy expended during exercise in certain populations