Real Estate Asset Allocations and International Real Estate Markets

In this paper we examine the institutional real estate ownership patterns of life insurance companies for 10 countries over the period 1986-96. The countries included are ustralia, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We find that most institutional investors worldwide have shifted out of real estate assets and into stocks and bonds over the last decade. We then investigate whether this behavior is the result of changing investor perceptions or a shift in stock market apitalization. To test this hypothesis, the paper derives measures of ex ante real estate returns following previous empirical work in finance. The results indicate that only a small proportion of what is driving institutional investors' real estate portfolio decisions is actually explained by changing investor perceptions and lagged unexpected excess returns.Institutions, International Investment, Portfolio Diversification

Major Outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation Patients with One Risk Factor: Impact of Time in Therapeutic Range

BACKGROUND: The benefits and harms of oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy in patients with only one stroke risk factor (i.e. CHA2DS2-VASc= 1 in males, or 2 in females) has been subject of debate. METHODS: We analysed all patients with only one stroke risk factor from the merged datasets of SPORTIF III and V trials. Anticoagulation control was defined according to time in therapeutic range (TTR). RESULTS: Of the original trial cohort, 1,097 patients had only one stroke risk factor. Stroke/systemic thromboembolic event had an incidence of 0.9 per 100 patient-years, with an incidence of 1.6 per 100 patient-years for all-cause death and 2.3%/patient-years for the composite outcome of stroke/systemic thromboembolic event/all-cause death. There were no significant differences in the risk for stroke/systemic thromboembolic event between sexes, nor between the different stroke risk factors amongst these atrial fibrillation patients with only one stroke risk factor. Cox regression analysis in patients treated with warfarin only found TTR to be inversely associated with stroke/systemic thromboembolic event (p=0.034) and all-cause death (p=0.015). Chronic heart failure was significantly associated with the outcome of all-cause death (p=0.0019) and the composite outcome of stroke/systemic thromboembolic event/all-cause death (p=0.021). There was a significant inverse linear association between TTR and the cumulative risk for both stroke/systemic thromboembolic event and all-cause death (both p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In atrial fibrillation patients with only one additional stroke risk factor (i.e. CHA2DS2-VASc= 1 in males or 2 in females), rates of major adverse events (stroke/systemic thromboembolic event, mortality) were high, despite anticoagulation. TTR in warfarin-treated patients was inversely associated with the occurrence of both stroke/systemic thromboembolic event and all-cause death

Music and dance as a coalition signaling system

Evidence suggests that humans have neurological specializations for music processing, but a compelling adaptationist account of music and dance is lacking. The sexual selection hypothesis cannot easily account for the widespread performance of music and dance in groups (especially synchronized performances), and the social bonding hypothesis has severe theoretical difficulties. Humans are unique among the primates in their ability to form cooperative alliances between groups in the absence of consanguineal ties. We propose that this unique form of social organization is predicated on music and dance. Music and dance may have evolved as a coalition signaling system that could, among other things, credibly communicate coalition quality, thus permitting meaningful cooperative relationships between groups. This capability may have evolved from coordinated territorial defense signals that are common in many social species, including chimpanzees. We present a study in which manipulation of music synchrony significantly altered subjects’ perceptions of music quality, and in which subjects’ perceptions of music quality were correlated with their perceptions of coalition quality, supporting our hypothesis. Our hypothesis also has implications for the evolution of psychological mechanisms underlying cultural production in other domains such as food preparation, clothing and body decoration, storytelling and ritual, and tools and other artifacts

Optimizing outcomes in ADHD treatment: From clinical targets to novel delivery systems

Our knowledge and understanding of the underlying neurobiology and symptomatic expression of ADHD has advanced dramatically over the past decade. Associated with these advances has been a similar explosion of new treatment options to individualize treatment for our patients.This article will:∙review strategies to measure ADHD symptoms and functional difficulties while seeking to achieve full symptomatic remission throughout the day∙summarize recent findings regarding the management and prioritization of ADHD and comorbid conditions and∙discuss the various pharmacologic treatment options with a focus on recently developed molecules and novel delivery systems</jats:p

Multivariate Realized Stock Market Volatility

We present a new matrix-logarithm model of the realized covariance matrix of stock returns. The model uses latent factors which are functions of both lagged volatility and returns. The model has several advantages: it is parsimonious; it does not require imposing parameter restrictions; and, it results in a positive-definite covariance matrix. We apply the model to the covariance matrix of size-sorted stock returns and find that two factors are sufficient to capture most of the dynamics. We also introduce a new method to track an index using our model of the realized volatility covariance matrix.Econometric and statistical methods; Financial markets

Revisiting the hydrogen storage behavior of the Na-O-H system

Solid-state reactions between sodium hydride and sodium hydroxide are unusual among hydride-hydroxide systems since hydrogen can be stored reversibly. In order to understand the relationship between hydrogen uptake/release properties and phase/structure evolution, the dehydrogenation and hydrogenation behavior of the Na-O-H system has been investigated in detail both ex- and in-situ. Simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis coupled to mass spectrometry (TG-DTA-MS) experiments of NaH-NaOH composites reveal two principal features: Firstly, an H2 desorption event occurring between 240 and 380 °C and secondly an additional endothermic process at around 170 °C with no associated weight change. In-situ high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction showed that NaOH appears to form a solid solution with NaH yielding a new cubic complex hydride phase below 200 °C. The Na-H-OH phase persists up to the maximum temperature of the in-situ diffraction experiment shortly before dehydrogenation occurs. The present work suggests that not only is the inter-phase synergic interaction of protic hydrogen (in NaOH) and hydridic hydrogen (in NaH) important in the dehydrogenation mechanism, but that also an intra-phase Hδ+… Hδ– interaction may be a crucial step in the desorption process

The Monetary Origins of Asymmetric Information in International Equity Markets

Existing studies using low-frequency data show that macroeconomic shocks contribute little to international stock market covariation. Those studies, however, do not account for the presence of asymmetric information, where sophisticated investors generate private information about the fundamentals that drive returns in many countries. In this paper, the authors use a new microstructure data set to better identify the effects of private and public information shocks about U.S. interest rates and equity returns. High-frequency private and public information shocks help forecast domestic money and equity returns over daily and weekly intervals. In addition, these shocks are components of factors that are priced in a model of the cross-section of international returns. Linking private information to U.S. macroeconomic factors is useful for many domestic and international asset-pricing tests.Financial markets; International topics; Market structure and pricing

Combining simultaneous with temporal masking

Simultaneous and temporal masking are two frequently used techniques in psychology and vision science. Although there are many studies and theories related to each masking technique, there are no systematic investigations of their mutual relationship, even though both techniques are often applied together. Here, the authors show that temporal masking can both undo and enhance the deteriorating effects of simultaneous masking depending on the stimulus onset asynchrony between the simultaneous and temporal masks. For the task and stimuli used in this study, temporal masking was largely unaffected by the properties of the simultaneous mask. In contrast, simultaneous masking seems to depend strongly on spatial grouping and was strongly affected by the properties of the temporal mask. These findings help to identify the nature of both temporal and simultaneous masking and promote understanding of the role of spatial and temporal grouping in visual perception