Who Failed to Go Public with Best Efforts Offerings

This paper presents evidence on the failed initial public offerings that used best efforts contracts. Out of 732 best efforts IPOs attempted in 1980-84, 186 IPOs (about one fourth) failed to meet minimum sales requirement and were subsequently withdrawn. Offerings with greater uncertainty about their true value failed more frequently. The failure rate was not significantly different between “all or none” type offerings and “minimum and maximum” type offerings. Regional investment bankers managed the most of best efforts IPOs and the average underpricing of their offerings was smaller than that of offerings managed by submajor bracket investment bankers. It is noteworthy that bankers with a record of failed offerings did not seem to lose their future business and relatively small issuing firms continued to rely on these bankers to go public

Determinants of the persistence of malaria in Rwanda

Background Malaria has a considerable impact on the health of the populations of developing countries; indeed, the entire population of Rwanda is at risk of contracting the disease. Although various interventions to control malaria have been implemented in Rwanda, the incidence of malaria has increased since 2012. There is an interest in understanding factors driving its persistence in Rwanda. This study aims at evaluating the effect of socio-economic and environmental factors, seasonality and the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) on malaria persistence in Rwanda. Methods This study analysed data from the 2014–2015 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey of 11,202 households members composed of children under the age of 5 and women aged between 15 and 49. Bivariate analysis was performed between the outcome and each covariate including wealth, altitude, education level, place of residence, and use of ITNs generating percentages. Chi square test was performed to compare malaria negatives and positives on each covariate. Significant variables were subjected to logistic regression analysis to evaluate factors that are significantly associated with malaria at P < 0.05. The analysis was performed in R x64 3.6 and QGIS3.6 was used to map geographical distribution of malaria cases. Results The lowest wealth category was associated with the incidence of malaria [AOR] = 1.54, 95% CI (1.78–2.03). Having a place of residence < 1700 m above sea level (asl) and non-use of ITNs were significantly associated with the incidence of malaria (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.93, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.94–4.42 and [AOR] = 1.29, 95% C.I (1.03–1.60), respectively). Season and type of residence were not significantly associated with malaria prevalence while women had lower risk of contracting malaria than children. Conclusion Increased malaria prevalence was associated with lower income, non-compliance with bed-net usage and living below 1700 m of altitude. In addition to current malaria control strategies, potential interventions in individuals with lower income and areas at low altitudes should be taken into consideration when formulating malaria-control strategies, Also use of ITNs to control the spread of malaria should be emphasized

A genome-wide Asian genetic map and ethnic comparison: The GENDISCAN study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic maps provide specific positions of genetic markers, which are required for performing genetic studies. Linkage analyses of Asian families have been performed with Caucasian genetic maps, since appropriate genetic maps of Asians were not available. Different ethnic groups may have different recombination rates as a result of genomic variations, which would generate misspecification of the genetic map and reduce the power of linkage analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We constructed the genetic map of a Mongolian population in Asia with CRIMAP software. This new map, called the GENDISCAN map, is based on genotype data collected from 1026 individuals of 73 large Mongolian families, and includes 1790 total and 1500 observable meioses. The GENDISCAN map provides sex-averaged and sex-specific genetic positions of 1039 microsatellite markers in Kosambi centimorgans (cM) with physical positions. We also determined 95% confidence intervals of genetic distances of the adjacent marker intervals.</p> <p>Genetic lengths of the whole genome, chromosomes and adjacent marker intervals are compared with those of Rutgers Map v.2, which was constructed based on Caucasian populations (Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) and Icelandic families) by mapping methods identical to those of the GENDISCAN map, CRIMAP software and the Kosambi map function. Mongolians showed approximately 1.9 fewer recombinations per meiosis than Caucasians. As a result, genetic lengths of the whole genome and chromosomes of the GENDISCAN map are shorter than those of Rutgers Map v.2. Thirty-eight marker intervals differed significantly between the Mongolian and Caucasian genetic maps.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The new GENDISCAN map is applicable to the genetic study of Asian populations. Differences in the genetic distances between the GENDISCAN and Caucasian maps could facilitate elucidation of genomic variations between different ethnic groups.</p

The association between new graphic health warning labels on tobacco products and attitudes toward smoking among south Korean adolescents: a national cross-sectional study

Background Graphic health warning labels (GHWLs) on tobacco products are more effective than text warnings for communicating the risk of smoking. The implementation of GHWLs can prevent adolescents from initiating smoking. Therefore, this study examined the association between GHWLs newly implemented on December 23, 2016, in South Korea and attitudes toward smoking among adolescents. Methods This post-implementation cross-sectional analysis examined the responses of 62,276 students (31,624 boys and 30,652 girls) who participated in the 2017 Web-based Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was completed anonymously as a self-administered questionnaire by middle and high school students. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to explore the attitudes toward smoking among the youth (13–18 years old) who have been exposed to GHWLs in order to identify relationship of exposure to the GHWLs with smoking initiation and awareness of the danger of smoking. Results Six months after implementation, 69.4% of adolescents reported having been exposed to GHWLs in the previous 30 days. Among those exposed to GHWLs both boys and girls in grade 7 were significantly more likely than grade 12 high school students to decide not to start smoking (boys: AOR = 3.96, 95% CI 3.31–4.75, p < 0.001; girls: AOR = 2.76, 95% CI 2.32–3.30, p < 0.001) and to think that smoking was dangerous to their health (boys: AOR = 3.01, 95% CI 2.52–3.58, p < 0.001; girls: AOR = 2.42, 95% CI 2.03–3.88, p < 0.001) after seeing GHWLs. These associations were greater for adolescents who had experienced smoking-prevention education or had been exposed to anti-tobacco advertisements. However, those who smoked, used e-cigarettes, or experienced secondhand smoking were significantly less likely to decide not to smoke and to view smoking as dangerous. Conclusions To maintain the perception of the harm of tobacco from childhood through adolescence, the government should implement both comprehensive tobacco controls, including smoking-prevention education in schools, and measures to encourage a smoke-free environment in homes.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (No. 2020R1C1C1012562)

Developmental trajectories of tobacco use and risk factors from adolescence to emerging young adulthood: a population-based panel study

Abstract Background Adolescence to young adulthood is a critical developmental period that determines lifelong patterns of tobacco use. We examined the longitudinal trajectories of tobacco use, and risk factors for its use, and explored the association between the trajectories of mobile phone dependency and smoking throughout the life-course among adolescents and young adults. Methods Data of 1,723 subjects (853 boys and 870 girls) were obtained from six waves of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (mean age = 13.9–19.9years). To identify trajectories of smoking and mobile phone dependency, group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) was conducted. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the characteristics of the trajectory groups. Results GBTM identified four distinct smoking trajectories: never smokers (69.1%), persistent light smokers (8.7%), early established smokers (12.0%), and late escalators (10.3%). Successful school adjustment decreased the risk of being an early established smoker (odds ratio [OR] 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27–0.78). The number of days not supervised by a guardian after school was positively associated with the risk of being an early established smoker (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.23–3.13). Dependency on mobile phones throughout the life-course was positively associated with the risk of being a persistent light smoker (OR 4.04, 95% CI 1.32–12.34) or early established smoker (OR 8.18, 95% CI 4.04–16.56). Conclusions Based on the group-based modeling approach, we identified four distinctive smoking trajectories and highlight the long-term effects of mobile phone dependency, from early adolescence to young adulthood, on smoking patterns

Characterization for Binding Complex Formation with Site-Directly Immobilized Antibodies Enhancing Detection Capability of Cardiac Troponin I

The enhanced analytical performances of immunoassays that employed site-directly immobilized antibodies as the capture binders have been functionally characterized in terms of antigen-antibody complex formation on solid surfaces. Three antibody species specific to cardiac troponin I, immunoglobulin G (IgG), Fab, and F(ab′)2 were site-directly biotinylated within the hinge region and then immobilized via a streptavidin-biotin linkage. The new binders were more efficient capture antibodies in the immunoassays compared to randomly bound IgG, particularly, in the low antibody density range. The observed improvements could have resulted from controlled molecular orientation and also from flexibility, offering conditions suitable for binding complex formations

Harmful alcohol use among mothers of under-five child: findings from the Panel Study on Korean Children

Background Harmful alcohol use in young mothers as a primary caregiver has a profound impact on their own health and interaction with the child. We studied the epidemiology of harmful alcohol use among Korean mothers and their partners of under-five children. Methods We used a longitudinal data of 2,150 Korean mothers of the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC). We assessed temporal trend and risk factors for harmful alcohol use in mothers using generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. To estimate the impact of maternal harmful alcohol use on the child, the association between neurodevelopment of the child measured by the Korean-Ages & Stages Questionnaire (K-ASQ) and maternal harmful alcohol use was analyzed using GEE and generalized linear mixed model. We included mothers age, education, preterm, year of the survey and time-varying covariates (including maternal working status, monthly household income, plan for additional childbirth, psychological stress related with childcare, current smoking, and partners harmful alcohol use) in the model. Results Mean age of mothers at the baseline was 31.3 years. Annual prevalence of harmful alcohol use increased from 0.7% in the 1st year to 2.6% in the 4th year (P for linear trend < 0.001). Prevalence of harmful alcohol use increased by 48% per year among the mothers (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22, 1.78). Lower education than college or university graduation was associated with higher odds of harmful alcohol use (2.52, 95% CI: 1.43, 4.45). Current smoking (7.44, 95% CI: 3.00, 18.45), harmful use of alcohol of partner (2.66, 95% CI: 1.57, 4.49) were associated with higher risk of harmful alcohol use in mothers. The association between low K-ASQ score and maternal harmful alcohol use was toward positive which did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions In a cohort of Korean mothers participating in the PKSC, risk of harmful alcohol use increases over time and is associated with harmful alcohol use of their partners. We suggest an approach targeting both parents can be more effective in controlling the harmful alcohol use of mothers.This research was supported by a Korea University Grant (K2022961) and a Korea University Medical Center Grant (K2025301). This funding source had no role in study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the article for publica‑tion. The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the ofcial views of the sponsoring organizatio