Bank valuation using multiples in US and Europe: an historical perspective

We investigate the performance of relative valuation for US and European banks over the period 1990- 2017. While the literature on the use of multiples is well developed, the relative valuation of financial institutions has received scant attention. We study the distribution and the main properties of each multiple’s valuation errors, assessing which multiples work best and should be preferred when valuing banks. Our results show that on average high levels of accuracy are achieved by two years forward P/E. Moreover, diluted earnings not including extraordinary items should be preferred when computing trailing earnings multiples and, interestingly, P/BV consistently outperforms P/TBV. Dividends’ multiples are not among the best performers, anyway, it is preferable to consider only common dividends when computing them. Most of the times P/Deposits and P/Revenues deliver poor performances, therefore it is advisable not to use them as main valuation approach

Characterization of Sea Urchin Transglutaminase, a Protein Regulated by Guanine/Adenine Nucleotides

Transglutaminases (TGs) are calcium-dependent enzymes that catalyze the transamidation of glutamine residues to form intermolecular isopeptide bonds. Nine distinct TGs have been identified in mammals, and three of them (types 2, 3, and 5) are regulated by GTP/ATP and are able to hydrolyze GTP, working as bifunctional enzymes. We have isolated a cDNA clone encoding a TG from a cDNA library prepared from the blastula stage of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (PlTG). The cDNA sequence has an open reading frame coding for a protein of 738 amino acids, including a Cys active site and two other residues critical for catalytic activity, His and Asp. We have studied its expression pattern by in situ hybridization and have also demonstrated that the in vitro expressed PlTG had GTP- and ATP-hydrolyzing activity; moreover, GTP inhibited the transamidating activity of this enzyme as it does that of human TG2, TG3, and TG5

Qualidade do emprego e condições de vida dos trabalhadores rurais nas culturas do café e da cana-de-açúcar na mesorregião do Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba entre 2000 e 2010.

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação)Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar a qualidade do emprego e as condições de vida dos empregados rurais da mesorregião do Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba (TMAP). Para isso, foram selecionados grupos de empregados com e sem carteira assinada, nas atividades cafeeira e canavieira. Considerando os processos de modernização e mecanização que acontecem nas culturas, causando uma redução dos postos de trabalho agrícolas desqualificados e em contrapartida aumentando os postos qualificados, juntamente com expansão da produção na cultura da cana-de-açúcar que alterou a dinâmica da mesorregião, buscamos analisar como isso impacta no mercado de trabalho, comparando os anos 2000 e 2010 e destacando se a qualidade do emprego e as condições de vida para estes empregados melhoram durante a década. Para a construção dos indicadores parciais, do Índice de Qualidade do Emprego (IQE) e do Índice de Condições de Vida (ICV) foram utilizados dados do Censo Demográfico de 2000 e de 2010 do IBGE. Os resultados obtidos demonstram, a partir da evolução dos índices IQE e ICV, que os empregados do final do período, na maioria dos casos mais qualificados, não necessariamente são os que têm a melhor qualidade do emprego e as melhores condições de vida, principalmente em decorrência do desempenho dos indicadores de rendimento, que tiveram queda quase sempre, ao longo do período

A crise da hora marcada: transformações nos hábitos de assistir televisão

Acompanha as transformações nos hábitos de assistir TV ao longo da história. Também procura-se investigar as mudanças sofridas pela TV aberta e TV por assinatura diante de uma nova realidade de consumo de conteúdo. A monografia delimita como audiência tem escolhido atrações de maneira individualizada e tem se fragmentado em diversas plataformas de streaming. Além de pontuar quem são produtores e consumidores de conteúdo em uma cultura participativa. O projeto também apresenta a resposta da TV a esse cenário através da criação de suas próprias plataformas on demand. Pretende-se justamente estabelecer um comparativo dos novos mercados com os mercados tradicionais

Enhanced connectivity and mobility in liquid water : implications for the high density liquid structure and its onset

In this work, we investigate simulated liquid water at ambient pressure in both stable and metastable supercooled conditions by means of a new order parameter we recently proposed, namely the node total communicability (NTC), based on graph theory concepts. We show that this order parameter is able to identify the two liquid states differing in density, the LDL- and HDL-like states, in simulation conditions at which both states coexist. We also show that NTC is able to capture both the structural and dynamic differences between the two states, being correlated with both the local density and the mobility of water molecules within the network. In addition, we further investigate the high connectivity patches we previously identified as characteristic of the HDL-like states. We show that these extended patches are composed of molecules with an increased local density and mobility, packed in a highly connected network. The formation of these highly connected networks is characterized by a fast dynamics, with mobile molecules entering and exiting the patches. Interestingly, we observe small highly connected patches also at low temperatures, where the prevailing states is LDL-like. We show that the small-to-large patches transition is related to the Widom line crossing and we suggest that the small highly connected patches at low temperatures might function as initial sites for the formation of extended HDL-like regions characteristic of the highest temperatures

AFM macro-probes to investigate whole 3D cardiac spheroids

In its many applications, the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is a promising tool in cardiac mechanobiology because it can unravel the viscoelastic and mechano-dynamic properties of individual cardiomyocytes. However, the biophysical investigation of more accurate 3D models is hampered by commercial probes, which typically operate at the cell sub-compartmental resolution. We have previously shown how flat macro-probes can overcome these limitations by extending the AFM mechanical measurements to multicellular aggregates. Such macro-probes are fabricated by standard micromachining and carry a flat polymeric wedge to offset the AFM mounting tilt. Therefore, the AFM is upgraded to a micro-parallel plate rheometer with unmatched force range and sensitivity. In this article, we show how these macro-probes can be applied to reveal the global rheology of primary cardiomyocytes spheroids, by performing stress-relaxation tests. More importantly, we demonstrate that these macro-probes can be used as passive sensors capable of monitoring the spheroid beating force and beating pattern, and to perform a “micro-CPR” on the spheroid itself

A longitudinal study of multicultural curriculum in medical education

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate impact a multicultural interclerkship had on students\u27 perception of knowledge, interview skills, and empathy towards serving culturally diverse populations and role student demographics played in learning. METHODS: Data extracted from students\u27 self-reported course evaluations and pre/post questionnaires during multiculturalism interclerkship across 11 academic years. Inquired students\u27 opinion about four areas: effectiveness, small group leaders, usefulness, and overall experience. Subscale and item ratings were compared using trend tests including multivariate analyses. RESULTS: During studied years, 883 students completed course evaluation with high overall mean rating of 3.08 (S = 0.45) and subscale mean scores ranging from 3.03 to 3.30. Trends in three of four subscales demonstrated clear uptrend (p \u3c 0.0001). Positive correlations between ratings of leaders and usefulness were observed (p \u3c 0.0001). Pre/post matched dataset (n = 967) indicated majority of items (19/23) had statistically significant higher post interclerkship ratings compared to pre scores with nine of 19 having statistically significant magnitudes of change. Questionnaire had high overall reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.8), and item-to-group correlations ranged from 0.40 to 0.68 (p \u3c 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: By increasing students\u27 exposure and interaction with diverse patients, their knowledge, attitude, and skills were increased and expanded in positive manner. These findings might inform those who are interested in enhancing this important competence. This is especially true given increasing scrutiny this global topic is receiving within and across healthcare professions around the world

Advisor/Mentor Role in Guiding Future Primary Care Physicians

One component of UMMS’s mission is to provide affordable, high-quality medical education to state residents and to increase the number of PCPs practicing in underserved areas of the state. This study responds to our growing need to recruit future PCPs by investigating differences in relationships with advisors/mentors between those students who pursue a primary care residency and those who do not. Presented at the AAMC (Association of American Colleges) Annual Meeting, RIME (Research in Medical Education) Program, November 2009

Atomic force spectroscopy-based essay to evaluate oocyte postovulatory aging

Postovulatory aging is a process occurring in the mature (MII) oocyte leading the unfertilized ones to apoptosis. The optimal time window of fertility for different mammalian species after oocytes maturation depends on its timeliness: the higher the time elapsed from the accomplishment of the MII stage, the lower are the chances of fertilization and of development of a viable embryo. In the in vitro fertilization, the selection of competent oocytes for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is mostly made by the visual inspection of the MII oocyte morphology, which does not allow to determine the oocyte postovulatory age. On the other hand, more specific tests usually involve some kind of staining, thus compromising the viability of the oocyte for reproductive purposes. Hence, the need of a noninvasive analysis of oocyte aging to improve the success rate of in vitro fertilization procedures. Here, we exploit atomic force microscopy to examine the evolution of the mechanical properties of mouse oocytes during in vitro postovulatory aging. Three hours before the occurrence of any visual morphological feature related to degradation, we observe a sudden change of the mechanical parameters: the elastic modulus doubles its initial value, while the viscosity decreases significantly. These mechanical variations are temporally correlated with the release of the cortical granules, investigated by fluorescence microscopy. Interestingly, the oocyte mechanics correlates as well with the yield of embryo formation, evaluated up to the blastocyst formation stage. These results demonstrate that minimally invasive mechanical measurements are very sensitive to the aging of the oocyte and can be used as a label-free method to detect the age of the postovulatory oocytes