44,349 research outputs found
Competition in the market for takeover advisers
We investigate factors that motivate bidders to engage advisers, we model adviser selection and we test whether value-adding advisers gain market share. Our sample includes 801 attempted takeovers over 1989-1998 in Australia. Our results indicate advisers are likely to be engaged if the takeover deal is large, hostile, and includes non-cash compensation. We find deal completion is not as closely correlated with adviser rankings as does Rau (2000) but we confirm his finding that adviser ranked high on market value of deals advised do not have a comparative advantage in adding value to firms. However, we document some (limited) evidence that value- adding advisers achieve an increase in subsequent deal flow. Our results are consistent with specialization among takeover advisers
Under-utilization of antenatal care services in Timor-Leste: Results from Demographic and Health Survey 2009-2010
Background: Timor-Leste is a young country in the Asia-Pacific region with a high maternal mortality rate of 557 per 100,000 live births. As most maternal deaths can be prevented by providing quality antenatal care (ANC) and skilled assistance during childbirth, understanding the barriers to the utilization of ANC services can enhance program implementation. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with the under-utilization of ANC services in Timor-Leste. Methods: Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) 2009-2010 was a nationally representative multi-stage cross-sectional study involving 11,463 households and 9,828 childbirths. Information on last born child was recorded for 5,895 mother-child pairs. Factors influencing under-utilization of ANC were assessed using hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: Only 3311 (55.2, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 53.1 to 57.3 %) made the recommended four ANC visits, while 2584 (44.8; 95 % CI 42.7 to 46.9 %) of them reported attending three or less ANC services. Significant factors positively associated with the under-utilization of ANC were low wealth status (odds ratio (OR) 2.09; 95 % CI 1.68 to 2.60), no maternal education (OR 1.54; 95 % CI 1.30 to 1.82) or primary maternal education (OR 1.21; 95 % CI 1.04 to 1.41), no paternal education (OR 1.34; 95 % CI 1.13 to 1.60), and having a big problem in permission to visit health facility (OR 1.65; 95 % CI 1.39 to 1.96). Conclusions: Despite the apparently good progress made in re-establishing the healthcare infrastructure, 45 % of mothers remained in need of a focused intervention to increase their use of ANC services. Further prenatal care program should pay attention to women with low wealth status and those and their partners who are uneducated. Moreover, women should be encouraged to make decision on their own health
Health effects in fish of long-term exposure to effluents from wastewater treatment works
The effects of simple mixtures of chemicals, with similar mechanisms of action, can be predicted using the concentration addition model (CA). The ability of this model to predict the estrogenic effects of more complex mixtures such as effluent discharges, however, has yet to be established. Effluents from 43 U.K. wastewater treatment works were analyzed for the presence of the principal estrogenic chemical contaminants, estradiol, estrone, ethinylestradiol, and nonylphenol. The measured concentrations were used to predict the estrogenic activity of each effluent, employing the model of CA, based on the relative potencies of the individual chemicals in an in vitro recombinant yeast estrogen screen (rYES) and a short-term (14-day) in vivo rainbow trout vitellogenin induction assay. Based on the measured concentrations of the four chemicals in the effluents and their relative potencies in each assay, the calculated in vitro and in vivo responses compared well and ranged between 3.5 and 87 ng/L of estradiol equivalents (E2 EQ) for the different effluents. In the rYES, however, the measured E2 EQ concentrations in the effluents ranged between 0.65 and 43 ng E2 EQ/L, and they varied against those predicted by the CA model. Deviations in the estimation of the estrogenic potency of the effluents by the CA model, compared with the measured responses in the rYES, are likely to have resulted from inaccuracies associated with the measurement of the chemicals in the extracts derived from the complex effluents. Such deviations could also result as a consequence of interactions between chemicals present in the extracts that disrupted the activation of the estrogen response elements in the rYES. E2 EQ concentrations derived from the vitellogenic response in fathead minnows exposed to a series of effluent dilutions were highly comparable with the E2 EQ concentrations derived from assessments of the estrogenic potency of these dilutions in the rYES. Together these data support the use of bioassays for determining the estrogenic potency of WwTW effluents, and they highlight the associated problems for modeling approaches that are reliant on measured concentrations of estrogenic chemicals
Non-orthogonal multiple access schemes with partial relay selection
In this paper, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) in amplify-and-forward relay systems with partial relay selection (PRS) is investigated. More specifically, new exact closed-form expressions for the outage probabilities at two users are derived, based on which an asymptotic analysis at high signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) is carried out. Additionally, in order to investigate the performance gap between the NOMA and orthogonal multiple access (OMA) schemes, a closed-form approximate expression at high SNR for the sum rate is derived. Furthermore, relying on our results, the impact of the PRS on the sum rate and outage probability of the proposed NOMA scheme is examined. In particular, the derived asymptotic expressions show that the proposed scheme can improve over the traditional OMA not only the sum rate but also the user fairness. Finally, simulation results are presented to corroborate the analytical results
Stochastic Lorentz forces on a point charge moving near the conducting plate
The influence of quantized electromagnetic fields on a nonrelativistic
charged particle moving near a conducting plate is studied. We give a
field-theoretic derivation of the nonlinear, non-Markovian Langevin equation of
the particle by the method of Feynman-Vernon influence functional. This
stochastic approach incorporates not only the stochastic noise manifested from
electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations, but also dissipation backreaction on a
charge in the form of the retarded Lorentz forces. Since the imposition of the
boundary is expected to anisotropically modify the effects of the fields on the
evolution of the particle, we consider the motion of a charge undergoing
small-amplitude oscillations in the direction either parallel or normal to the
plane boundary. Under the dipole approximation for nonrelativistic motion,
velocity fluctuations of the charge are found to grow linearly with time in the
early stage of the evolution at the rather different rate, revealing strong
anisotropic behavior. They are then asymptotically saturated as a result of the
fluctuation-dissipation relation, and the same saturated value is found for the
motion in both directions. The observational consequences are discussed. plane
boundary. Velocity fluctuations of the charge are found to grow linearly with
time in the early stage of the evolution at the rate given by the relaxation
constant, which turns out to be smaller in the parallel case than in the
perpendicular one in a similar configuration. Then, they are asymptotically
saturated as a result of the fluctuation-dissipation relation. For the
electron, the same saturated value is obtained for motion in both directions,
and is mainly determined by its oscillatory motion. Possible observational
consequences are discussed.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figure
Prelacteal Feeding of Newborns in Postconflict Timor-Leste
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of prelacteal feeding and its associated factors in Timor-Leste using updated data from the national survey. Methods: Complex sample analysis was undertaken to account for the 2-stage cluster design of the Demographic and Health Survey 2009–2010. Backward stepwise logistic regression was conducted to ascertain factors associated with the prevalence of prelacteal feeding. Results: A total of 4821 mother–infant pairs were included in the analysis. The prevalence of prelacteal feeding was 12.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.1–13.5). The most popular prelacteal food was plain water (50.7%), followed by glucose/sugar water (32.5%) and milk other than breast milk (22.7%). Older mothers (35–49 years), mothers with upper socioeconomic status, those who perceived their newborns as small size, and those residing in urban areas were approximately 1.5 times more likely to give prelacteal feeds, whereas women who followed religions other than Roman Catholic had twice the risk (adjusted odds ratio 1.98; 95% CI 1.16–3.41). Conclusions: Antenatal and postnatal counselling sessions that promote exclusive breast-feeding and discourage prelacteal feeding are needed that specifically target these vulnerable subgroups of Timorese mothers
Dark Energy in an Axion Model with Explicit Z(N) Symmetry Breaking
We point out that a well known axion model with an explicit Z(N) symmetry
breaking term predicts both dark energy and cold dark matter. We estimate the
parameters of this model which fit the observed densities of the dark
components of the universe. We find that the parameters do not conflict with
any observations.Comment: 5 pages, minor change
Distinguishing sequences for partially specified FSMs
Distinguishing Sequences (DSs) are used inmany Finite State Machine (FSM) based test techniques. Although Partially Specified FSMs (PSFSMs) generalise FSMs, the computational complexity of constructing Adaptive and Preset DSs (ADSs/PDSs) for PSFSMs has not been addressed. This paper shows that it is possible to check the existence of an ADS in polynomial time but the corresponding problem for PDSs is PSPACE-complete. We also report on the results of experiments with benchmarks and over 8 * 106 PSFSMs. © 2014 Springer International Publishing
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