The Existence and Effectiveness of Price Support Activities in Germany: A Note

The overallotment or greenshoe option has become very popular in the German IPO market since its introduction in 1995 and is nowadays an important tool to stabilize IPOs or to issue additional shares in the case of excess demand. Besides providing evidence for the prevalence of price support activities by the underwriter we show that the greenshoe option which seems to be used to support overpriced offerings in the secondary market is not very effective in propping up aftermarket prices. Additionally, the market seems to decide quite early which firms are ?losers? and which are ?winners? in terms of stock market performance. --Initial Public Offerings (IPO),Price Support,Overallotment Option

Effects of ocean acidification on metabolic performance in coral reef fishes

Given the dramatic changes in atmospheric conditions over the 400MY evolutionary history of the fishes, physiological tolerance to elevated CO2 may not be unexpected. However, the most speciose genera of coral reef fishes radiated relatively recently (23MYA) – during a period of low CO2. And, although based on only a few studies so far, the physiological effects of elevated CO2 on coral reef fishes are mixed. In some species, metabolic performance is negatively affected by near-future CO2 levels. However, other species exhibit either no change or even enhanced scope for aerobic performance. The reasons for this variation could be related to differences in lifestyle and habitat use, which could influence CO2 tolerance. Another possibility is that whole organism responses in some species may not be sensitive enough to pick up the fine-scale adjustments made at the tissue and cellular levels. Identifying changes at key sites related to oxygen transport, oxygen consumption, and energy production in response to elevated CO2 over both acute and prolonged timescales linking back to the organism’s life history are crucial. Mechanisms that may be influencing physiological changes at the whole organism level could be potential targets of natural selection and adaptation to future ocean conditions

IPO Pricing and the Relative Importance of Investor Sentiment: Evidence from Germany

The underpricing phenomenon of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) has been widely studied across different stock markets around the world and has often been explained to be as a result of asymmetrically distributed information and ex-ante uncertainty. However, as Ritter and Welch (2002) argue to the contrary, these theories are unlikely to explain the persistent pattern of high initial returns during the first trading day as well as other features of the returns data. This paper add some further alternative explanations to the traditional theory while focusing on German IPOs during the 1997 to 2001 period and covering a sample of 410 firms. Using time series regressions the cyclical behaviour of the issue activity is examined and we report, using VAR analysis, that lagged underpricing and IPO volume influence the decision to go public. The cross-sectional regression analysis, using both censored and uncensored data, shows that the initial returns are mainly influenced by investor sentiment and demand, and less by ex-ante uncertainty, especially during the dot-com boom. --Initial Public Offerings (IPO),Underpricing,Investor Sentiment,Hot-issue Markets,Ex-ante Uncertainty

Effects of ocean acidification on metabolic performance in coral reef fishes

Given the dramatic changes in atmospheric conditions over the 400MY evolutionary history of the fishes, physiological tolerance to elevated CO2 may not be unexpected. However, the most speciose genera of coral reef fishes radiated relatively recently (23MYA) – during a period of low CO2. And, although based on only a few studies so far, the physiological effects of elevated CO2 on coral reef fishes are mixed. In some species, metabolic performance is negatively affected by near-future CO2 levels. However, other species exhibit either no change or even enhanced scope for aerobic performance. The reasons for this variation could be related to differences in lifestyle and habitat use, which could influence CO2 tolerance. Another possibility is that whole organism responses in some species may not be sensitive enough to pick up the fine-scale adjustments made at the tissue and cellular levels. Identifying changes at key sites related to oxygen transport, oxygen consumption, and energy production in response to elevated CO2 over both acute and prolonged timescales linking back to the organism’s life history are crucial. Mechanisms that may be influencing physiological changes at the whole organism level could be potential targets of natural selection and adaptation to future ocean conditions

A Reliability Study of a Teleoperated Robotic System with Application to the Next Generation Munitions Handling System

The United States Air Force is currently developing an Advanced Technology Demonstrator (ATD) for the Next Generation Munitions Handling System (NGMH). The NGMH/ATD system is being designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a teleoperated robotic manipulator. In this research, a reliability model for a general telerobotic manipulator is developed including: (1) human, (2) software, (3) hardware, and (4) kinematic components. Each of these components contributes towards the reliability of the system, where reliability is defined as the probability of the end-effector of the manipulator being within a certain error bound. The model provides a comparative measure of reliability based on a combination of two underlying models. A semi-Markov model is used for the human, software, and hardware components, while the kinematic reliability estimates are obtained through a separate simulation. The reliability model developed is not intended to be a predictive model, rather to provide a means of comparing different configurations of a telerobotic system

What if you can't sense your enemy... and your enemy is an invasive predator?

It turns out that the lionfish—an invasive fish species that is especially plaguing western Atlantic waters these days—is even more of a threat than we originally thought. Some of its prey species, like small coral reef fishes, cannot identify the lionfish as a threat

Development of a simple, self-contained flight test data acquisition system

The flight test system described combines state-of-the-art microprocessor technology and high accuracy instrumentation with parameter identification technology which minimize data and flight time requirements. The system was designed to avoid permanent modifications of the test airplane and allow quick installation. It is capable of longitudinal and lateral-directional stability and control derivative estimation. Details of this system, calibration and flight test procedures, and the results of the Cessna 172 flight test program are presented. The system proved easy to install, simple to operate, and capable of accurate estimation of stability and control parameters in the Cessna 172 flight tests

Physiology can contribute to better understanding, management, and conservation of coral reef fishes

Coral reef fishes, like many other marine organisms, are affected by anthropogenic stressors such as fishing and pollution and, owing to climate change, are experiencing increasing water temperatures and ocean acidification. Against the backdrop of these various stressors, a mechanistic understanding of processes governing individual organismal performance is the first step for identifying drivers of coral reef fish population dynamics. In fact, physiological measurements can help to reveal potential cause-and-effect relationships and enable physiologists to advise conservation management by upscaling results from cellular and individual organismal levels to population levels. Here, we highlight studies that include physiological measurements of coral reef fishes and those that give advice for their conservation. A literature search using combined physiological, conservation and coral reef fish key words resulted in similar to 1900 studies, of which only 99 matched predefined requirements. We observed that, over the last 20 years, the combination of physiological and conservation aspects in studies on coral reef fishes has received increased attention. Most of the selected studies made their physiological observations at the whole organism level and used their findings to give conservation advice on population dynamics, habitat use or the potential effects of climate change. The precision of the recommendations differed greatly and, not surprisingly, was least concrete when studies examined the effects of projected climate change scenarios. Although more and more physiological studies on coral reef fishes include conservation aspects, there is still a lack of concrete advice for conservation managers, with only very few published examples of physiological findings leading to improved management practices. We conclude with a call to action to foster better knowledge exchange between natural scientists and conservation managers to translate physiological findings more effectively in order to obtain evidence-based and adaptive management strategies for the conservation of coral reef fishes

Thrown Object Hazards in Forest Operations

Mechanized equipment for forest operations provide better operator protection in this hazardous work environment. However operators of forestry cutting machines are now exposed to new hazards from the high-energy cutting devices used to cut trees and process logs. Anecdotal reports of thrown objects document a risk of injury and fatality. Two new ISO standards have been developed after a program of basic research by both US and Swedish research organizations. The chainshot hazard may be reduced by implementation of guarding systems that block or divert broken chains. Failed sawteeth are difficult to block at the cutting device and a new standard for protective cab glazing may be the most effective approach. This report describes the research tests and development of the new standards