Multiethnic Meta-Analysis Identifies RAI1 as a Possible Obstructive Sleep Apnea-related Quantitative Trait Locus in Men.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common heritable disorder displaying marked sexual dimorphism in disease prevalence and progression. Previous genetic association studies have identified a few genetic loci associated with OSA and related quantitative traits, but they have only focused on single ethnic groups, and a large proportion of the heritability remains unexplained. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is a commonly used quantitative measure characterizing OSA severity. Because OSA differs by sex, and the pathophysiology of obstructive events differ in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep, we hypothesized that additional genetic association signals would be identified by analyzing the NREM/REM-specific AHI and by conducting sex-specific analyses in multiethnic samples. We performed genome-wide association tests for up to 19,733 participants of African, Asian, European, and Hispanic/Latino American ancestry in 7 studies. We identified rs12936587 on chromosome 17 as a possible quantitative trait locus for NREM AHI in men (N = 6,737; P = 1.7 × 10 <sup>-8</sup> ) but not in women (P = 0.77). The association with NREM AHI was replicated in a physiological research study (N = 67; P = 0.047). This locus overlapping the RAI1 gene and encompassing genes PEMT1, SREBF1, and RASD1 was previously reported to be associated with coronary artery disease, lipid metabolism, and implicated in Potocki-Lupski syndrome and Smith-Magenis syndrome, which are characterized by abnormal sleep phenotypes. We also identified gene-by-sex interactions in suggestive association regions, suggesting that genetic variants for AHI appear to vary by sex, consistent with the clinical observations of strong sexual dimorphism

Corporate Governance and Asset Sales: The Effect of Internal and External Control Mechanisms

We investigate firms that sell assets to determine whether corporate governance mechanisms are effective at controlling agency problems. Our evidence shows that these firms have lower managerial ownership and are more likely to make unrelated acquisitions, suggesting weak internal controls. Analysis of insider trading activity shows that, on average, net buying increases before the asset sale and shareholders benefit more when this occurs. Results suggest that how managers reach a given level of ownership provides more information about incentive alignment than just the level of ownership. Our results also highlight the dynamic nature of corporate restructuring as firms acquire and then sell assets. Copyright 2006, The Eastern Finance Association.

The international surface temperature initiative global land surface databank: monthly temperature data release description and methods

Described herein is the first version release of monthly temperature holdings of a new Global Land Surface Meteorological Databank. Organized under the auspices of the International Surface Temperature Initiative (ISTI), an international group of scientists have spent three years collating and merging data from numerous sources to create a merged holding. This release in its recommended form consists of over 30 000 individual station records, some of which extend over the past 300 years. This article describes the sources, the chosen merge methodology, and the resulting databank characteristics. Several variants of the databank have also been released that reflect the structural uncertainty in merging datasets. Variants differ in, for example, the order in which sources are considered and the degree of congruence required in station geolocation for consideration as a merged or unique record. Also described is a version control protocol that will be applied in the event of updates. Future updates are envisaged with the addition of new data sources, and with changes in processing, where public feedback is always welcomed. Major updates, when necessary, will always be accompanied by a new journal paper. This databank release forms the foundation for the construction of new global land surface air temperature analyses by the global research community and their assessment by the ISTI's benchmarking and assessment working group