Frog in the Pan: Continuous Information and Momentum

We test a frog-in-the-pan (FIP) hypothesis that predicts investors are inattentive to information arriving continuously in small amounts. Intuitively, we hypothesize that a series of frequent gradual changes attracts less attention than infrequent dramatic changes. Consistent with the FIP hypothesis, we find that continuous information induces strong persistent return continuation that does not reverse in the long run. Momentum decreases monotonically from 5.94% for stocks with continuous information during their formation period to –2.07% for stocks with discrete information but similar cumulative formation-period returns. Higher media coverage coincides with discrete information and mitigates the stronger momentum following continuous information

Channels of Influence

We demonstrate that simply by using the ethnic makeup surrounding a firm’s location, we can predict, on average, which trade links are valuable for firms. Using customs and port authority data on the international shipments of all U.S. publicly-traded firms, we show that firms are significantly more likely to trade with countries that have a strong resident population near their firm headquarters. We use the formation of World War II Japanese Internment Camps to isolate exogenous shocks to local ethnic populations, and identify a causal link between local networks and firm trade links. Firms that exploit their local networks (strategic traders) see significant increases in future sales growth and profitability, and outperform other importers and exporters by 5%-7% per year in risk-adjusted stock returns. In sum, our results document a surprisingly large impact of immigrants’ economic role as conduits of information for firms in their new countries

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

We provide theoretical and empirical evidence on the evolution and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. Heterogeneity in innovation, given a cost of commercialization, results in NPEs that choose to act as “patent trolls" that chase operating firms' innovations even if those innovations are not clearly infringing on the NPEs' patents. We support these predictions using a novel, large dataset of patents targeted by NPEs. We show that NPEs on average target firms that are flush with cash (or have just had large positive cash shocks). Furthermore, NPEs target firm profits arising from exogenous cash shocks unrelated to the allegedly infringing patents. We next show that NPEs target firms irrespective of the closeness of those firms' patents to the NPEs', and that NPEs typically target firms that are busy with other (non-IP related) lawsuits or are likely to settle. Lastly, we show that NPE litigation has a negative real impact on the future innovative activity of targeted firms

Investment in a Smaller World: The Implications of Air Travel for Investors and Firms

A large literature reports that proximity influences investment. We extend the measurement of proximity beyond distance and report that air travel reduces local investment bias. This result is confirmed using the initiation of connecting flights through recently opened air hubs because investment at destinations served by these connecting flights increases after, not before, their initiation. Air travel also broadens the investor base of firms and lowers their cost of equity by approximately 1%. Overall, air travel improves the diversification of investor portfolios and lowers the cost of equity for firms

Volatility Clustering and the Bid-ask Spread: Exchange Rate Behaviour in Early Renaissance Florence

Abstract This paper investigates the nature and behavior of the domestic (local) currency market that existed in Florence (Italy) during the late 14th and early 15th centuries (a.k.a. the Early Renaissance). We find that the extant volatility and microstructure models developed for modern asset markets are able to describe the statistical volatility properties observed for the denaro-florin exchange rate. Volatility is clustered and is related to the bid-ask spread. This supports the notion that, although there are huge social, industrial and technological differences between capitalism then and now, individuals trading financial assets in an organized venue behave in a similar manner

Investigating the Role of Islet Cytoarchitecture in Its Oscillation Using a New β-Cell Cluster Model

The oscillatory insulin release is fundamental to normal glycemic control. The basis of the oscillation is the intercellular coupling and bursting synchronization of β cells in each islet. The functional role of islet β cell mass organization with respect to its oscillatory bursting is not well understood. This is of special interest in view of the recent finding of islet cytoarchitectural differences between human and animal models. In this study we developed a new hexagonal closest packing (HCP) cell cluster model. The model captures more accurately the real islet cell organization than the simple cubic packing (SCP) cluster that is conventionally used. Using our new model we investigated the functional characteristics of β-cell clusters, including the fraction of cells able to burst fb, the synchronization index λ of the bursting β cells, the bursting period Tb, the plateau fraction pf, and the amplitude of intracellular calcium oscillation [Ca]. We determined their dependence on cluster architectural parameters including number of cells nβ, number of inter-β cell couplings of each β cell nc, and the coupling strength gc. We found that at low values of nβ, nc and gc, the oscillation regularity improves with their increasing values. This functional gain plateaus around their physiological values in real islets, at nβ∼100, nc∼6 and gc∼200 pS. In addition, normal β-cell clusters are robust against significant perturbation to their architecture, including the presence of non-β cells or dead β cells. In clusters with nβ>∼100, coordinated β-cell bursting can be maintained at up to 70% of β-cell loss, which is consistent with laboratory and clinical findings of islets. Our results suggest that the bursting characteristics of a β-cell cluster depend quantitatively on its architecture in a non-linear fashion. These findings are important to understand the islet bursting phenomenon and the regulation of insulin secretion, under both physiological and pathological conditions

PERENCANAAN FDD-LTE MENGGUNAKAN FREKUENSI 1800MHZ PADA PERANCANGAN INDOOR BUILDING COVERAGE DI YOGYA KEPATIHAN BANDUNG

Material sebuah gedung merupakan salah satu penyebab dari terjadinya fading sehingga menghambat sinyal masuk ke dalam gedung yang mengakibatkan sinyal didalam gedung tersebut lemah. Pada gedung Yogya Kepatihan memiliki masalah terhadap kualitas jaringan didalamnya sehingga butuh dilakukannya perencanaan Indoor untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut. Berdasarkan hasil analisis dilakukannya walk test diperoleh nilai rata-rata dari RSRP sebesar -96 dBm dan SINR sebesar 8 dB, sedangkan drivetest sekitaran Gedung memperoleh hasil RSRP sebesar -72 dBm dan SINR sebesar 5 dB. Penerapan Indoor Building Coverage (IBC) ini menggunakan sistem Distributed Antenna System (DAS) dengan teknik FDD-LTE pita frekuensi 1800 MHz, untuk simulasinya menggunakan Radiowave Propagation Software (RPS) dengan model propagasi Cost-231 Multi-Wall Indoor. Operator Telkomsel menjadi kasus dalam penerapan ini. Walktest di dalam gedung menggunakan Nemo handy, sedangkan drivetest menggunakan GnetTrack Pro. Setelah mendapatkan data lalu dilanjutkan perhitungan capacity planning dan coverage planning sehingga mendapatkan perhitungan untuk jumlah antena yang akan di simulasikan ke dalam software RPS untuk mendapatkan hasil parameter yang sesuai dengan standar Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Operator Telkomsel yaitu RSRP > -85 dBm dan SINR > 10 dB. Dari hasil simulasi ini, diperoleh peningkatan nilai rata-rata RSRP > -76 dBm sebanyak 81,95% dan rata-rata nilai SINR > 26 sebanyak 71,56%. Kata Kunci: LTE, FDD, IBC, DAS, RPS

Through-needle all-optical ultrasound imaging in vivo: a preclinical swine study

This work was funded through a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC-2012-StG, Proposal 310970 MOPHIM), an Innovative Engineering for Health award from the Wellcome Trust (WT101957) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (NS/A000027/1), and the EPSRC and European Union project FAMOS (FP7 ICT, Contract 317744). This work was partially funded by National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre and the National Institute for Health Research Barts and the London Biomedical Research Unit