HEDGE FUND ACTIVISM: IMPACT ON FINANCIAL MARKETS

This thesis is an attempt to contribute towards the ongoing debate about the long-term impact of hedge fund activism. Hedge fund activism has been on a rampage in recent times, with activists turning up the heat in their quest to improve corporate governance. While existing studies have examined the ability of hedge fund activists to create value, most of these studies analyse the stock market reaction to activist engagements. Furthermore, few studies have examined the long-term impact of hedge fund activism. Even fewer studies have compared the ability of hedge fund activists to create value to the ability of other shareholder activists such as mutual funds and pension funds. Using a comprehensive hand-collected database of activist campaigns from 1994 to 2016, this thesis aims to contribute to the existing literature on hedge fund activism by analysing the long-term impact of hedge fund activism as well as by testing the efficiency of hedge fund activists compared to other shareholder activists. The findings of this thesis suggest that while there was limited evidence of a positive long-term impact of hedge fund activist-initiated takeovers, activist hedge funds were more than capable of playing the long-term game by increasing managerial focus through corporate divestitures. Furthermore, there was no evidence of activist hedge funds destroying value of either their target firms or the financial markets by employing derivatives, though they were more effective without employing derivatives. Finally, hedge fund activists are more efficient compared to other shareholder activists in creating long-term value to their target firms. Overall, the findings of this thesis urge other shareholder activists to collaborate with activist hedge funds rather than undertaking their own activist engagements, which has now been found out to be value destroying. It also urges policymakers to evaluate their goals, while seeking to regulate activist hedge funds

Investors Activism and the Gains from Takeover Deals

We examine whether activists add value to the shareholders of targets and their acquirers. Several findings emerge. First, acquirers of targets that have activists outperform acquirers of other targets in both the short and long term. Second, the premium received by the shareholders of targets is not affected by activism. Third, superior gains achieved by the acquirers of targets with activists are driven by non-cash deals, while the average target benefits more from cash deals

MULTI-ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF EXTRACT FROM PONGAMIAPINNATA

Heavy metals are found to be an important micronutrient for plants, humans, and animals provided the level is within the limit hence it is necessaryto determine its concentration. The extract from the seeds of Pongamia pinnata was derived by acid digestion using H2SO4. The extract was furtherclarified and filtered using standard filter papers. The clarified extract was diluted and the diluted extract was analyzed for the presence of heavymetals such as Zn, Mn, Mg, Fe, and K using atomic absorption spectrometry. The analysis revealed that the concentrations of certain metals were inacceptable levels and concentrations of certain other metals were in unacceptable levels which will have considerable impact on the engine's life andthe environment when the extract from it is used for biodiesel production.Keywords: Pongamia pinnata, Heavy metals, Atomic absorption spectrometry, Impacts, Engine, Environment

Circadian regulation of olfaction and an evolutionarily conserved, nontranscriptional marker in Caenorhabditis elegans

Circadian clocks provide a temporal structure to processes from gene expression to behavior in organisms from all phyla. Most clocks are synchronized to the environment by alternations of light and dark. However, many organisms experience only muted daily environmental cycles due to their lightless spatial niches (e.g., caves or soil). This has led to speculation that they may dispense with the daily clock. However, recent reports contradict this notion, showing various behavioral and molecular rhythms in Caenorhabditis elegans and in blind cave fish. Based on the ecology of nematodes, we applied low-amplitude temperature cycles to synchronize populations of animals through development. This entrainment regime reveals rhythms on multiple levels: in olfactory cued behavior, in RNA and protein abundance, and in the oxidation state of a broadly conserved peroxiredoxin protein. Our work links the nematode clock with that of other clock model systems; it also emphasizes the importance of daily rhythms in sensory functions that are likely to impact on organism fitness and population structure

Single-cell transcriptomics and cell-specific proteomics reveals molecular signatures of sleep

Every day, we sleep for a third of the day. Sleep is important for cognition, brain waste clearance, metabolism, and immune responses. The molecular mechanisms governing sleep are largely unknown. Here, we used a combination of single-cell RNA sequencing and cell-type-specific proteomics to interrogate the molecular underpinnings of sleep. Different cell types in three important brain regions for sleep (brainstem, cortex, and hypothalamus) exhibited diverse transcriptional responses to sleep need. Sleep restriction modulates astrocyte-neuron crosstalk and sleep need enhances expression of specific sets of transcription factors in different brain regions. In cortex, we also interrogated the proteome of two major cell types: astrocytes and neurons. Sleep deprivation differentially alters the expression of proteins in astrocytes and neurons. Similarly, phosphoproteomics revealed large shifts in cell-type-specific protein phosphorylation. Our results indicate that sleep need regulates transcriptional, translational, and post-translational responses in a cell-specific manner

The Pentose Phosphate Pathway Regulates the Circadian Clock

The circadian clock is a ubiquitous timekeeping system that organizes the behavior and physiology of organisms over the day and night. Current models rely on transcriptional networks that coordinate circadian gene expression of thousands of transcripts. However, recent studies have uncovered phylogenetically conserved redox rhythms that can occur independently of transcriptional cycles. Here we identify the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), a critical source of the redox cofactor NADPH, as an important regulator of redox and transcriptional oscillations. Our results show that genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the PPP prolongs the period of circadian rhythms in human cells, mouse tissues, and fruit flies. These metabolic manipulations also cause a remodeling of circadian gene expression programs that involves the circadian transcription factors BMAL1 and CLOCK, and the redox-sensitive transcription factor NRF2. Thus, the PPP regulates circadian rhythms via NADPH metabolism, suggesting a pivotal role for NADPH availability in circadian timekeeping.Peer reviewe

Rhythmic glucose metabolism regulates the redox circadian clockwork in human red blood cells.

Circadian clocks coordinate mammalian behavior and physiology enabling organisms to anticipate 24-hour cycles. Transcription-translation feedback loops are thought to drive these clocks in most of mammalian cells. However, red blood cells (RBCs), which do not contain a nucleus, and cannot perform transcription or translation, nonetheless exhibit circadian redox rhythms. Here we show human RBCs display circadian regulation of glucose metabolism, which is required to sustain daily redox oscillations. We found daily rhythms of metabolite levels and flux through glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). We show that inhibition of critical enzymes in either pathway abolished 24-hour rhythms in metabolic flux and redox oscillations, and determined that metabolic oscillations are necessary for redox rhythmicity. Furthermore, metabolic flux rhythms also occur in nucleated cells, and persist when the core transcriptional circadian clockwork is absent in Bmal1 knockouts. Thus, we propose that rhythmic glucose metabolism is an integral process in circadian rhythms