502 research outputs found
The valuation of European financial firms
We extend the recent literature concerning accounting based valuation models to investigate financial firms from six European countries with substantial financial sectors: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Not only are these crucial industries worthy of study in their own right, but unusual accounting practices, and inter-country differences in those accounting practices, provide valuable insights into the accounting-value relationship. Our sample consists of 7,714 financial firm/years observations from 1,140 companies drawn from 1989-2000. Sub-samples include 1,309 firm/years for banks, 650 for insurance companies, 1,705 for real estate firms, and 3,239 for investment companies. In most countries we find that the valuation models work as well or better in explaining cross-sectional variations in the market-to-book ratio for financial firms as they do for industrial and commercial firms in the same countries, although Switzerland is an exception to this generalization. As expected, the results are sensitive to industrial differences, accounting regulation and accounting practices. In particular, marking assets to market value reduces the relevance of earnings figures and increases that of equity
The growth companies puzzle: can growth opportunities measures predict firm growth?
While numerous empirical studies include proxies for growth opportunities in their analyses, there is limited evidence as to the validity of the various growth proxies used. Based on a sample of 1942 firm-years for listed UK companies over the 1990-2004 period, we assess the performance of eight growth opportunities measures. Our results show that while all the growth measures show some ability to predict growth in company sales, total assets, or equity, there are substantial differences between the various models. In particular, Tobin's Q performs poorly while dividend-based measures generally perform best. However, none of the measures has any success in predicting earnings per share growth, even when controlling for mean reversion and other time-series patterns in earnings. We term this the 'growth companies puzzle'. Growth companies do grow, but they do not grow in the key dimension (earnings) theory predicts. Whether the failure of 'growth companies' to deliver superior earnings growth is attributable to increased competition, poor investments, or behavioural biases, it is still a puzzle why growth companies on average fail to deliver superior earnings growth
Peroxynitrite Inhibits Glutamate Transporter Subtypes
The reuptake of glutamate in neurons and astrocytes terminates excitatory signals and prevents the persistence of excitotoxic levels of glutamate in the synaptic cleft. This process is inhibited by oxygen radicals and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Here we show that another biological oxidant, peroxynitrite (ONOO-), formed by combination of superoxide (O2-) and nitric oxide (NO), potently inhibits glutamate uptake by purified or recombinant high affinity glutamate transporters reconstituted in liposomes. ONOO- reduces selectively the Vmax of transport; its action is fast (reachingor = 90% within 20 s), dose-dependent (50% inhibition at 50 microM), persistent upon ONOO- (or by product) removal, and insensitive to the presence of the lipid antioxidant vitamin E in the liposomal membranes. Therefore, it likely depends on direct interaction of ONOO- with the glutamate transporters. Three distinct recombinant glutamate transporters from the rat brain, GLT1, GLAST, and EAAC1, exhibit identical sensitivity to ONOO . H2O2 also inhibits reconstituted transport, and its action matches that of ONOO- on all respects; however, this is observed only with 5-10 mM H202 and after prolonged exposure (10 min) in highly oxygenated buffer. NO, released from NO donors (up to 10 mM), does not modify reconstituted glutamate uptake, although in parallel conditions it promotes cGMP formation in synaptosomal cytosolic fraction. Overall, our results suggest that the glutamate transporters contain conserved sites in their structures conferring vulnerability to ONOO- and other oxidants
Reading among grade six learners in Namibia and Norway : an investigation of reading habits and attitudes of learners in the Khomas and Oshana regions of Namibia and the Hedmark region in Norway
English: A joint research project was conducted by Hedmark University
College in Norway and the University of Namibia and Ongwediva College of
Education in Namibia. The project was considered as a pilot for a possible larger
survey later. The aim of the research was to investigate reading habits, preferences
and attitudes of Namibian and Norwegian learners, teachers and student
teachers. The data were gathered during October and November of 2006.
Although data was collected for learners, teachers and student teachers, this
report focuses mainly on the research results as obtained from the learners.
The research project was part of the SIU/NORAD financed project: Teacher
Education, South-North of which the overall aim was to enhance the quality of
teacher education, mainly in the South. However, it was anticipated that insight
into the Namibian context could also improve the quality of Norwegian teacher
education. Against this background the joint research project was meant to give
valuable information and experience to all parties involved.
The variables that seemed to have the greatest impact on reading habits and attitudes
in this study was gender, availability of reading materials at home, the telling
of stories and reading by parents, primary home language. Girls show a more
positive attitude than boys, the same is the case with learners which came from
homes with good access to reading material and with parents that read to them.
Learners with English or Oshiwambo as their primary home language display
more positive reading attitude than other learners. In addition, the study reveals substantial differences between the three study regions. In general the Namibian
learners have more positive reading habits and attitudes than the Norwegian
learners.Norsk: Høgskolen i Hedmark, Ongwediva College of Education og Universitetet
i Namibia har gjennomført et forskningsprosjekt. Prosjektet er del av
et større prosjekt Teacher Education South North. Målsettingen med forskningsprosjektet
er å undersøke lesevaner, preferanser og holdninger til namibiske og
norske 6. klassinger. Dataene ble samlet inn i oktober og november 2006.
Dette er en pilot som skal følges opp med en større undersøkelse senere og
res-ultatene må derfor leses med forsiktighet. De variablene som synes å ha
størst innvirkning på lesevaner og leseholdninger er kjønn, tilgang på litteratur
i hjem-met, i hvilken grad foreldrene fortalte historier og leste for barna da
de var små og morsmål. Jenter er mer positive til å lese enn gutter det samme
gjelder elever som kommer fra hjem med god tilgang på litteratur. At foreldrene
leser for barna og fortelle dem historier mens de er små viser seg også å ha en
positiv innflytelse på holdinger til å lese hos 6.klassinger. Det viser seg også at
elever fra Namibia har mer positive holdninger til å leser enn elever fra Norge.SIU/NORAD, Hedmark University College, University of Namibia, Ongwediva College of Educatio
Target company cross-border effects in acquisitions into the UK
We analyse the abnormal returns to target shareholders in crossborder and domestic acquisitions of UK companies. The crossborder effect during the bid month is small (0.84%), although crossborder targets gain significantly more than domestic targets during the months surrounding the bid. We find no evidence for the level of abnormal returns in crossborder acquisitions to be associated with market access or exchange rate effects, and only limited support for an international diversification effect. However, the crossborder effect appears to be associated with significant payment effects, and there is no significant residual crossborder effect once various bid characteristics are controlled for
Abundance estimates for sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea from acoustic line-transect surveys
Open access journal. This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the International Whaling Commission via the URLs in this record.The Mediterranean sub-population of sperm whales is believed to be isolated and is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Although there is evidence to suggest the population is declining, there is a lack of abundance data. A series of acoustic line-transect surveys to estimate abundance were conducted between 2004 and 2013. In 2004, 3,946km of acoustic effort was conducted in the southern Western Mediterranean basin, resulting in the detection of 159 sperm whales. While in 2007 and 2013, 10,276km of acoustic effort was conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, resulting in the detection of 24 sperm whales.
A pooled detection function gave an effective strip half-width of 9.8km. A correction for availability bias was made for each block based on published simulations using data on sperm whale acoustic behaviour: estimates of g(0) were 0.95-0.96. Estimated abundances were: Southern Western Mediterranean block 634 animals [374-1,077] (95% log-normal confidence interval), Hellenic Trench block 41 [17-100], Central Aegean Sea block 33 [5-203], Herodotus Rise block 5 [1-28] and Southern Adriatic Sea block 2 [0-12], estimates for all other blocks were zero. The density of sperm whales in the surveyed Southern Western Mediterranean block was over 17 times higher than for the surveyed Eastern Mediterranean (2.12 and 0.12 whales per 1,000km² respectively).
These results, combined with an acoustic survey of the northern Ionian Sea in 2003 and aerial surveys in the northern Western Mediterranean basin in 2010-11, covered approximately 57% of the likely sperm whale habitat in the Western Mediterranean and 75% in the Eastern Mediterranean. Approximate total estimates of sperm whale abundance in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean basins based on extrapolation to the unsurveyed areas are 1,678 and 164 whales respectively. This gives an estimate for the whole Mediterranean Sea of 1,842 animals.The research presented in this paper was conducted and funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare
N-Methyl-D-aspartic Acid (NMDA) in the nervous system of the amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>NMDA (<it>N</it>-methyl-D-aspartic acid) is a widely known agonist for a class of glutamate receptors, the NMDA type. Synthetic NMDA elicits very strong activity for the induction of hypothalamic factors and hypophyseal hormones in mammals. Moreover, endogenous NMDA has been found in rat, where it has a role in the induction of GnRH (Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone) in the hypothalamus, and of LH (Luteinizing Hormone) and PRL (Prolactin) in the pituitary gland.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we show evidence for the occurrence of endogenous NMDA in the amphioxus <it>Branchiostoma lanceolatum</it>. A relatively high concentration of NMDA occurs in the nervous system of this species (3.08 ± 0.37 nmol/g tissue in the nerve cord and 10.52 ± 1.41 nmol/g tissue in the cephalic vesicle). As in rat, in amphioxus NMDA is also biosynthesized from D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) by a NMDA synthase (also called D-aspartate methyl transferase).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given the simplicity of the amphioxus nervous and endocrine systems compared to mammalian, the discovery of NMDA in this protochordate is important to gain insights into the role of endogenous NMDA in the nervous and endocrine systems of metazoans and particularly in the chordate lineage.</p
A Mathematical model for Astrocytes mediated LTP at Single Hippocampal Synapses
Many contemporary studies have shown that astrocytes play a significant role
in modulating both short and long form of synaptic plasticity. There are very
few experimental models which elucidate the role of astrocyte over Long-term
Potentiation (LTP). Recently, Perea & Araque (2007) demonstrated a role of
astrocytes in induction of LTP at single hippocampal synapses. They suggested a
purely pre-synaptic basis for induction of this N-methyl-D- Aspartate (NMDA)
Receptor-independent LTP. Also, the mechanisms underlying this pre-synaptic
induction were not investigated. Here, in this article, we propose a
mathematical model for astrocyte modulated LTP which successfully emulates the
experimental findings of Perea & Araque (2007). Our study suggests the role of
retrograde messengers, possibly Nitric Oxide (NO), for this pre-synaptically
modulated LTP.Comment: 51 pages, 15 figures, Journal of Computational Neuroscience (to
appear
Reduction of EEG Theta Power and Changes in Motor Activity in Rats Treated with Ceftriaxone
The glutamate transporter GLT-1 is responsible for the largest proportion of total glutamate transport. Recently, it has been demonstrated that ceftriaxone (CEF) robustly increases GLT-1 expression. In addition, physiological studies have shown that GLT-1 up-regulation strongly affects synaptic plasticity, and leads to an impairment of the prepulse inhibition, a simple form of information processing, thus suggesting that GLT-1 over-expression may lead to dysfunctions of large populations of neurons. To test this possibility, we assessed whether CEF affects cortical electrical activity by using chronic electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings in male WKY rats. Spectral analysis showed that 8 days of CEF treatment resulted in a delayed reduction in EEG theta power (7–9 Hz) in both frontal and parietal derivations. This decrease peaked at day 10, i.e., 2 days after the end of treatment, and disappeared by day 16. In addition, we found that the same CEF treatment increased motor activity, especially when EEG changes are more prominent. Taken together, these data indicate that GLT-1 up-regulation, by modulating glutamatergic transmission, impairs the activity of widespread neural circuits. In addition, the increased motor activity and prepulse inhibition alterations previously described suggest that neural circuits involved in sensorimotor control are particularly sensitive to GLT-1 up-regulation
Rhinacanthus nasutus Extracts Prevent Glutamate and Amyloid-β Neurotoxicity in HT-22 Mouse Hippocampal Cells: Possible Active Compounds Include Lupeol, Stigmasterol and β-Sitosterol
The Herb Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kurz, which is native to Thailand and Southeast Asia, has become known for its antioxidant properties. Neuronal loss in a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s disease is thought to result, in part, from oxidative stress. Glutamate causes cell death in the mouse hippocampal cell line, HT-22, by unbalancing redox homeostasis, brought about by a reduction in glutathione levels, and amyloid-β has been shown to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Here in, we show that ethanol extracts of R. nasutus leaf and root are capable of dose dependently attenuating the neuron cell death caused by both glutamate and amyloid-β treatment. We used free radical scavenging assays to measure the extracts antioxidant activities and as well as quantifying phenolic, flavonoid and sterol content. Molecules found in R. nasutus, lupeol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol are protective against glutamate toxicity
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