An Examination of Informed Traders and the Market Microstructure of Real Estate Investment Trusts

A significant body of research exists documenting that REITs perform differently from other types of equity securities, although the reasons for these differences are unclear. This study examines the intraday trading behavior of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Specifically, intraday REIT returns, volume, trading activity, and bid/ask spread are examined in an attempt to better understand the patterns of intraday information flow for a sample of REITs trading on the NYSE. After controlling for differences in market capitalization, share price, and institutional holdings, this paper analyzes differences between REITs and non-REITs, and between REITs that are widely held by institutions and those that are not. The results suggest that, as a group, REITs exhibit lower average volumes and number of trades than do similar non-REITs. In addition, the findings suggest that mortgage REITs trade at spreads that are wider. Surprisingly, the analysis of institutional ownership suggests that equity REITs that are widely held by institutions exhibit the largest divergence from non-REITs in terms of both intraday trading activity and volume, but at the same time trade closer to non-REITs in terms of bid/ask spread. Overall, the results of this study confirm that REITs are treated differently by investors than similar non-REITs, and the institutional ownership findings suggest that trading activity is less important as a determinant of REIT performance than is the level of institutional ownership.

REIT Pricing Efficiency; Should Investors Still Be Concerned?

This study examines the impact of the REIT boom on the market microstructure of REIT common stocks. We analyze NYSE-traded REITs during the pre-boom period (1992) and the post-boom period (1994), and find significant reductions in bid/ask spreads over the period. We also find that the bid/ask spread differential between REITs and non-REITs has been roughly halved between 1991 and 1994. These reductions provide a direct benefit to REIT investors in terms of reduction in transaction costs and improved liquidity, and suggest that the level of uncertainty on the part of the REIT specialist has been reduced.

The ODIN project: Development of food-based approaches for prevention of vitamin D deficiency throughout life

Abstract Vitamin D deficiency has significant implications for human health throughout life and impacts on healthy growth and development and successful ageing. Persistent knowledge gaps are barriers to developing and implementing a safe and effective public health strategy to prevent vitamin D deficiency and maintain nutritional adequacy throughout the year. The European Commission-funded ODIN project (Food-based solutions for optimal vitamin D nutrition and health through the life cycle) will provide the evidence base to prevent vitamin D deficiency and improve nutrition and public health through food. ODIN will deliver the first internationally comparable dataset of vitamin D status and report the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency across Europe for the first time. In a series of dose-response randomised controlled trials, ODIN will estimate dietary requirements for vitamin D in pregnant women, children, adolescents and adults of South Asian and East African origin resident in Northern European countries. Using clinically validated, diseasespecific cohorts with standardised 25(OH)D data, ODIN will investigate associations between vitamin D status and perinatal outcomes, atopic disease and bone growth in children, and cardiovascular and mortality risk in older adults. We will publish estimates of the distribution of vitamin D intake and serum 25(OH)D concentration resulting from changes in vitamin D in the food supply, accounting for latitude, sun exposure and diet. Utilising advanced food production systems and targeted animal and human feeding studies, ODIN will propose safe, novel and effective food-based strategies to eradicate vitamin D deficiency that are inclusive, sustainable and affordable

Loop colostomies are safe in anorectal malformations

Aim of the study: Divided colostomy (DC) has been recommended in anorectal malformations (ARMs) with previously reported advantages of decreasing overflow into the distal limb and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Skin bridge loop colostomy (LC) is a technically easier alternative without an increase in these complications. We report our institutional experience of LC in ARM. Methods: Retrospective study (Institution-approved Clinical Audit) reviewing the clinical records of all patients with ARM undergoing stoma formation in a single UK tertiary pediatric surgical center (2000–2015). Data collected included type of ARM, associated anomalies, type and level of colostomy, time to stoma closure, complications and UTIs. Results: One hundred and eighty-two (95 female) patients underwent colostomy formation for ARM. The vast majority (171/ 94%) underwent LC; 9 (5%) had a divided colostomy (DC) and 2 (1%) had no available data. The spectrum of defects in girls included rectovestibular (62/65%), rectovaginal (4/4%) and cloaca (29/31%). In boys, 71 (82%) had a fistula to the urinary tract and 16 (18%) presented with a perineal fistula. Urological abnormalities coexisted in 87 (47.8%) patients. Thirty five (21%) patients developed UTIs. Among the 19 girls who developed UTI, 8 had rectovestibular fistula and 11 had cloaca. Of the 16 boys who developed UTI, 14 had a fistula to the urinary tract and 11 had an independent urological abnormality. The mean time from stoma formation to stoma closure was 10 (3–52) months. Complications were reported in 22 (12%) LCs. Fifteen patients (9%) developed a stoma prolapse following LC with 10 (6%) requiring surgical revision. Conclusions: This is the largest reported series of outcomes following LC for ARM. LC is easier to perform and to close, requiring minimal surgical access, with comparable complications and outcomes to those published for DC. Type of study: Retrospective comparative study. Level of evidence: III

General practitioners’ perspectives on campaigns to promote rapid help-seeking behaviour at the onset of rheumatoid arthritis

Objective. To explore general practitioners’ (GPs’ ) perspectives on public health campaigns to encourage people with the early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to seek medical help rapidly. Design. Nineteen GPs participated in four semistructured focus groups. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. GPs recognised the need for the early treatment of RA and identified that facilitating appropriate access to care was important. However, not all held the view that a delay in help seeking was a clinically significant issue. Furthermore, many were concerned that the early symptoms of RA were often non-specific, and that current knowledge about the nature of symptoms at disease onset was inadequate to inform the content of a help-seeking campaign. They argued that a campaign might not be able to specifically target those who need to present urgently. Poorly designed campaigns were suggested to have a negative impact on GPs’ workloads, and would “clog up” the referral pathway for genuine cases of RA. Conclusions. GPs were supportive of strategies to improve access to Rheumatological care and increase public awareness of RA symptoms. However, they have identified important issues that need to be considered in developing a public health campaign that forms part of an overall strategy to reduce time to treatment for patients with new onset RA. This study highlights the value of gaining GPs’ perspectives before launching health promotion campaigns

meCLICK-Seq, a Substrate-Hijacking and RNA Degradation Strategy for the Study of RNA Methylation.

The fates of RNA species in a cell are controlled by ribonucleases, which degrade them by exploiting the universal structural 2'-OH group. This phenomenon plays a key role in numerous transformative technologies, for example, RNA interference and CRISPR/Cas13-based RNA editing systems. These approaches, however, are genetic or oligomer-based and so have inherent limitations. This has led to interest in the development of small molecules capable of degrading nucleic acids in a targeted manner. Here we describe click-degraders, small molecules that can be covalently attached to RNA species through click-chemistry and can degrade them, that are akin to ribonucleases. By using these molecules, we have developed the meCLICK-Seq (methylation CLICK-degradation Sequencing) a method to identify RNA modification substrates with high resolution at intronic and intergenic regions. The method hijacks RNA methyltransferase activity to introduce an alkyne, instead of a methyl, moiety on RNA. Subsequent copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction with the click-degrader leads to RNA cleavage and degradation exploiting a mechanism used by endogenous ribonucleases. Focusing on N6-methyladenosine (m6A), meCLICK-Seq identifies methylated transcripts, determines RNA methylase specificity, and reliably maps modification sites in intronic and intergenic regions. Importantly, we show that METTL16 deposits m6A to intronic polyadenylation (IPA) sites, which suggests a potential role for METTL16 in IPA and, in turn, splicing. Unlike other methods, the readout of meCLICK-Seq is depletion, not enrichment, of modified RNA species, which allows a comprehensive and dynamic study of RNA modifications throughout the transcriptome, including regions of low abundance. The click-degraders are highly modular and so may be exploited to study any RNA modification and design new technologies that rely on RNA degradation.UKRI (BBSRC DTP scholarships to S.M. and H.K.C) and the Jardine Foundation and Cambridge Trust (PhD scholarship to M.E.H.)

The illusion of competency versus the desirability of expertise: Seeking a common standard for support professions in sport

In this paper we examine and challenge the competency-based models which currently dominate accreditation and development systems in sport support disciplines, largely the sciences and coaching. Through consideration of exemplar shortcomings, the limitations of competency-based systems are presented as failing to cater for the complexity of decision making and the need for proactive experimentation essential to effective practice. To provide a better fit with the challenges of the various disciplines in their work with performers, an alternative approach is presented which focuses on the promotion, evaluation and elaboration of expertise. Such an approach resonates with important characteristics of professions, whilst also providing for the essential ‘shades of grey’ inherent in work with human participants. Key differences between the approaches are considered through exemplars of evaluation processes. The expertise-focused method, although inherently more complex, is seen as offering a less ambiguous and more positive route, both through more accurate representation of essential professional competence and through facilitation of future growth in proficiency and evolution of expertise in practice. Examples from the literature are also presented, offering further support for the practicalities of this approach

The transformative potential of international service-learning at a university with a Christian foundation in the UK

This article draws upon the findings of a study at Liverpool Hope University (LHU) into the transformative nature of International Service-Learning (ISL) experiences for student participants. This research is concerned with the implications of these findings for professional practice, in particular how ISL is constructed in Higher Education policy and practice. Recognising the problematic nature of this endeavor, this article responds to a call for discussion around pedagogical approaches underpinning counter-cultural and critical service programmes aligned with the radical principles of the Catholic social teaching. This study is grounded in a holistic conceptualisation of transformative learning that demands looking beyond an epistemological process that involves shifts in worldview and habits of mind to an ontological process that accounts for changes to our being in the world. It investigated how LHU students describe their ongoing experience of ISL and explored the conditions for learning and the associated transformative processes and outcomes in this context. Data analysis involved phenomenological description, constant comparative thematic analysis followed by a critical, hermeneutical analysis. This article will explicate the themes of moral and spiritual learning that emerged as part of a broader framework. In particular, it was found that the development of authentic relationships between travelling companions, accompanying tutors and partners overseas is central to learning that is reciprocated and provides a model of the transformative process in this context. This article concludes that this presents a pedagogical approach grounded in social justice that enables ISL to reach its transformative potential

Food fortification and biofortification as potential strategies for prevention of vitamin D deficiency

Hypovitaminosis D (vitamin D deficiency) is widespread throughout the world. The cutaneous production of vitamin D through sunlight can be limited by several factors (e.g. skin pigmentation, sunscreen usage and, increasingly, indoor lifestyle). Thus, diet has become an important strategy to increase vitamin D intake and status {blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]}. However, there are a limited number of foods that naturally contain vitamin D, and concentrations can vary significantly between and within species. The need for vitamin Dfortified foods (including via direct fortification and biofortification) to support the adequacy of vitamin D status is a corollary of several limitations to synthesise vitamin D from sunlight. Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) can be found in some mushrooms and animalderived foods, respectively. Evidence has shown vitamin D3 is more effective than vitamin D2 at raising 25(OH)D blood concentrations. The vitamin D metabolite, 25(OH)D3, is present in animal-derived foods (e.g. meat, eggs and fish), and several intervention trials have shown 25(OH)D3 to be more effective at raising blood 25(OH)D concentrations than vitamin D3. In addition, 25(OH)D3 supplements may prove to be preferable to vitamin D3 for patients with certain clinical conditions. However, there is limited evidence on the effects of 25(OH) D3-fortified foods on human vitamin D status and health, both in the general population and patients with certain conditions, and long-term randomised controlled trials are needed in this area

17 ways to say yes:Toward nuanced tone of voice in AAC and speech technology

People with complex communication needs who use speech-generating devices have very little expressive control over their tone of voice. Despite its importance in human interaction, the issue of tone of voice remains all but absent from AAC research and development however. In this paper, we describe three interdisciplinary projects, past, present and future: The critical design collection Six Speaking Chairs has provoked deeper discussion and inspired a social model of tone of voice; the speculative concept Speech Hedge illustrates challenges and opportunities in designing more expressive user interfaces; the pilot project Tonetable could enable participatory research and seed a research network around tone of voice. We speculate that more radical interactions might expand frontiers of AAC and disrupt speech technology as a whole