Cross-listing in the U.S. and domestic investor protection

Using the change in ordinary dividend payout as a proxy for improved governance, I show that cross-listing in the U.S. is associated with enhanced protection for the minority ordinary shareholders of exchange listed non-U.S. firms. These firms substitute dividends for enhanced governance. I find no such effect for Rule 144a firms. Interestingly, I document evidence inconsistent with the legal bonding hypothesis for Level 1 firms. I believe that their ability to pay lower dividends post-listing is primarily due to their ability to credibly commit to fair treatment of thek minority investors, given their record for equitable treatment of their ordinary shareholders. They achieve this reputation by consistently paying out a sizable proportion of their earnings as dividends. I find that the firm-level governance of Level 1 firms, as measured by the number of closely held shares improves in the post-listing period. I find no such effect for Rule 144a traded firms. My results also have important implications for the agency models of dividends.Cross-listing, legal bonding, dividend policy

Is there a cross listing premium for non-exchange traded depositary receipts?

In this paper, I examine the valuation effects of trading in the U.S. as non-exchange issues i.e. Level 1 and 144 firms for non-U.S. firms. The study is motivated by two facts; first, while the number of new Level 2/3 issues has fallen 2001, Level 1 issues have remained an attractive listing option for non-U.S. firms. Second, while on theoretical grounds, firms from low-disclosure regimes have most to gain from exchange listing; these firms tend to list in the U.S. as non-exchange issues. Here, I examine whether the continuing attractiveness of, and the tendency of firms to choose a Level l/144a listing is value enhancing. My results suggest that the tendency on the part of firms from low-disclosure regimes to choose non-exchange issues is justified. Relative to their high-disclosure peers, these firms tend to gain most from trading in the U.S. However, for Rule 144a issues, the valuation gains are short-lived.Cross listing, Level 1, Rule 144a, Tobin's q

Mining whole sample mass spectrometry proteomics data for biomarkers: an overview

In this paper we aim to provide a concise overview of designing and conducting an MS proteomics experiment in such a way as to allow statistical analysis that may lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers. We provide a summary of the various stages that make up such an experiment, highlighting the need for experimental goals to be decided upon in advance. We discuss issues in experimental design at the sample collection stage, and good practise for standardising protocols within the proteomics laboratory. We then describe approaches to the data mining stage of the experiment, including the processing steps that transform a raw mass spectrum into a useable form. We propose a permutation-based procedure for determining the significance of reported error rates. Finally, because of its general advantages in speed and cost, we suggest that MS proteomics may be a good candidate for an early primary screening approach to disease diagnosis, identifying areas of risk and making referrals for more specific tests without necessarily making a diagnosis in its own right. Our discussion is illustrated with examples drawn from experiments on bovine blood serum conducted in the Centre for Proteomic Research (CPR) at Southampton University

Molecular mechanisms of self-mated hydrogel friction

Self-mated hydrogel contacts show extremely small friction coefficients at low loads but a distinct velocity dependence. Here we combine mesoscopic simulations and experiments to test the polymer-relaxation hypothesis for this velocity dependence, where a velocity-dependent regime emerges when the perturbation of interfacial polymer chains occurs faster than their relaxation at high velocity. Our simulations reproduce the experimental findings, with speed-independent friction at low velocity, followed by a friction coefficient that rises with velocity to some power of order unity. We show that the velocity-dependent regime is characterized by reorientation and stretching of polymer chains in the direction of shear, leading to an entropic stress that can be quantitatively related to the shear response. The detailed exponent of the power law in the velocity dependent regime depends on how chains interact: We observe a power close to $1/2$ for chains that can stretch, while pure reorientation leads to a power of unity. Our simulations quantitatively match experiments and show that the velocity dependence of hydrogel friction at low loads can be firmly traced back to the morphology of near-surface chains.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, includes supplementary materia

Rocaglates induce gain-of-function alterations to eIF4A and eIF4F

Rocaglates are a diverse family of biologically active molecules that have gained tremendous interest in recent years due to their promising activities in pre-clinical cancer studies. As a result, this family of compounds has been significantly expanded through the development of efficient synthetic schemes. However, it is unknown whether all of the members of the rocaglate family act through similar mechanisms of action. Here, we present a comprehensive study comparing the biological activities of >200 rocaglates to better understand how the presence of different chemical entities influences their biological activities. Through this, we find that most rocaglates preferentially repress the translation of mRNAs containing purine-rich 5' leaders, but certain rocaglates lack this bias in translation repression. We also uncover an aspect of rocaglate mechanism of action in which the pool of translationally active eIF4F is diminished due to the sequestration of the complex onto RNA.P50 GM067041 - NIGMS NIH HHS; R24 GM111625 - NIGMS NIH HHS; R35 GM118173 - NIGMS NIH HHSPublished versio

Descriptive Analysis of a Baseline Concussion Battery Among U.S. Service Academy Members: Results from the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium

Introduction The prevalence and possible long-term consequences of concussion remain an increasing concern to the U.S. military, particularly as it pertains to maintaining a medically ready force. Baseline testing is being used both in the civilian and military domains to assess concussion injury and recovery. Accurate interpretation of these baseline assessments requires one to consider other influencing factors not related to concussion. To date, there is limited understanding, especially within the military, of what factors influence normative test performance. Given the significant physical and mental demands placed on service academy members (SAM), and their relatively high risk for concussion, it is important to describe demographics and normative profile of SAMs. Furthermore, the absence of available baseline normative data on female and non-varsity SAMs makes interpretation of post-injury assessments challenging. Understanding how individuals perform at baseline, given their unique individual characteristics (e.g., concussion history, sex, competition level), will inform post-concussion assessment and management. Thus, the primary aim of this manuscript is to characterize the SAM population and determine normative values on a concussion baseline testing battery. Materials and Methods All data were collected as part of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. The baseline test battery included a post-concussion symptom checklist (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT), psychological health screening inventory (Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and neurocognitive evaluation (ImPACT), Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), and Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC). Linear regression models were used to examine differences across sexes, competition levels, and varsity contact levels while controlling for academy, freshman status, race, and previous concussion. Zero inflated negative binomial models estimated symptom scores due to the high frequency of zero scores. Results Significant, but small, sex effects were observed on the ImPACT visual memory task. While, females performed worse than males (p < 0.0001, pη2 = 0.01), these differences were small and not larger than the effects of the covariates. A similar pattern was observed for competition level on the SAC. There was a small, but significant difference across competition level. SAMs participating in varsity athletics did significantly worse on the SAC compared to SAMs participating in club or intramural athletics (all p’s < 0.001, η2 = 0.01). When examining symptom reporting, males were more than two times as likely to report zero symptoms on the SCAT or BSI-18. Intramural SAMs had the highest number of symptoms and severity compared to varsity SAMs (p < 0.0001, Cohen’s d < 0.2). Contact level was not associated with SCAT or BSI-18 symptoms among varsity SAMs. Notably, the significant differences across competition level on SCAT and BSI-18 were sub-clinical and had small effect sizes. Conclusion The current analyses provide the first baseline concussion battery normative data among SAMs. While statistically significant differences may be observed on baseline tests, the effect sizes for competition and contact levels are very small, indicating that differences are likely not clinically meaningful at baseline. Identifying baseline differences and significant covariates is important for future concussion-related analyses to inform concussion evaluations for all athlete levels