1,036 research outputs found
Is rated debt arm's length? : evidence from mergers and acquisitions
In this paper we challenge the view that corporate bonds are always armâs length debt. We analyze the effect of bond ratings on the stock price return to acquirers in M&A transactions, which tend to have significant effects on creditor wealth. We find acquirers abnormal returns to be higher if they are unrated, controlling for a wide variety of other effects identified in the literature. Tracing the difference in returns to distinct managerial decisions, we find that, everything else constant, rated firms increase their leverage in takeover transactions by less than their unrated counterparts. Consistent with a significant role for rating agencies, we find monitoring effects to be strongest when acquirer bonds are rated at the borderline between investment grade and junk. Finally, we are able to empirically exclude a large number of alternative explanations for the empirical regularities that we uncover. JEL Classification: G21, G24, G32, G34 Keywords: Acquisitions, Credit Ratings, Mergers and Acquisitions, Armâs Length Debt, Abnormal Return
Weakly-supervised localization of diabetic retinopathy lesions in retinal fundus images
Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) show impressive performance for image
classification and detection, extending heavily to the medical image domain.
Nevertheless, medical experts are sceptical in these predictions as the
nonlinear multilayer structure resulting in a classification outcome is not
directly graspable. Recently, approaches have been shown which help the user to
understand the discriminative regions within an image which are decisive for
the CNN to conclude to a certain class. Although these approaches could help to
build trust in the CNNs predictions, they are only slightly shown to work with
medical image data which often poses a challenge as the decision for a class
relies on different lesion areas scattered around the entire image. Using the
DiaretDB1 dataset, we show that on retina images different lesion areas
fundamental for diabetic retinopathy are detected on an image level with high
accuracy, comparable or exceeding supervised methods. On lesion level, we
achieve few false positives with high sensitivity, though, the network is
solely trained on image-level labels which do not include information about
existing lesions. Classifying between diseased and healthy images, we achieve
an AUC of 0.954 on the DiaretDB1.Comment: Accepted in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Image Processing
(ICIP), 201
Frequency of neuroimaging for pediatric minor brain injury is determined by the primary treating medical department
To investigate the use of neuroimaging in children and adolescents with minor brain injury in pediatric and non-pediatric departments.In this observational cohort study data were extracted from a large German statutory health insurance (AOK Plus Dresden âŒ3.1 million clients) in a 7-year period (2010-2016). All patients with International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code S06.0 (concussion; minor brain injury; commotio cerebri) aged †18 years were included. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis for associations with the use of CT and MRI (independent variables: gender, age, length of stay, pediatric vs non-pediatric department, university vs non-university hospital).A total of 14,805 children with minor brain injuries (mean age 6.0â±â5.6; 45.5% females) were included. Treatment was provided by different medical departments: Pediatrics (Nâ=â8717; 59%), Pediatric Surgery (Nâ=â3582, 24%), General Surgery (Nâ=â2197, 15%), Orthopedic Trauma Surgery (Nâ=â309, 2.1%). Patients admitted to pediatric departments (Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery) underwent head CT-imaging significantly less frequently (3.8%) compared to patients treated in non-pediatric departments (18.5%; Pâ<â.001; General Surgery: 15.6%; Orthopedic Trauma Surgery: 39.2%). Logistic regression confirmed a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for the use of cranial CT by the non-pediatric departments (OR: 3.2 [95-%-CI: 2.72-3.76]).CT was significantly less frequently used in pediatric departments. Educational efforts and quality improvement initiatives on physicians, especially in non-pediatric departments may be an effective approach to decreasing rates of CT after minor traumatic brain injuries
Grenzen der klassischen Störaussendungs- und Störfestigkeitsmessungen: Beeinflussung des Störspektrums durch nichtlineare Elemente
Ein zu prĂŒfendes System wird als elektromagnetisch vertrĂ€glich bezeichnet, wenn es zufriedenstellend in seiner vorgesehenen elektromagnetischen Umwelt arbeitet und dort nur in einem zulĂ€ssigen MaĂ zum Störgeschehen beitrĂ€gt. [1] Der Beitrag zum Störgeschehen wird mit Störaussendungsmessungen nachgewiesen, welche je nach PrĂŒfling und Umgebung, z.B. durch CISPR-Normen, vorgegeben sind. Auf gleiche Weise sind Störfestigkeitsmessungen definiert, welche die PrĂŒfbedingungen, zum Nachweis der ausreichenden Festigkeit gegenĂŒber einwirkenden StörgröĂen, vorschreiben. Besteht das zu prĂŒfende System beide Messungen gemÀà der zugehörigen Vorschrift, gilt es als elektromagnetisch vertrĂ€glich bezĂŒglich der Umgebung, fĂŒr die es vorgesehen ist. Darauf aufbauend kann der Hersteller in der EU eine CE-Kennzeichnung an seinem System anbringen und es innerhalb der EuropĂ€ischen Union vertreiben. Störaussendungs- und Störfestigkeitsmessungen werden separat durchgefĂŒhrt. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass die Ergebnisse ĂŒberlagert weiterhin ihre GĂŒltigkeit behalten. AuĂerhalb des PrĂŒflabors liegen allerdings andere Bedingungen vor und zusĂ€tzliche Effekte des PrĂŒflings können zum Vorschein kommen. Zum Beispiel gibt die Störfestigkeitsnorm [2] nur einzelne StörtrĂ€gerfrequenzen vor, welche mit einer 1 kHz Sinuswelle und einer Tiefe von 80 % amplitudenmoduliert sind. TatsĂ€chlich muss damit gerechnet werden, dass heute eine Vielzahl von Störfrequenzen, ggf. mit diversen unterschiedlichen Modulationstypen, zeitgleich auf das System einwirken. Dies kann, wenn nichtlineare Elemente im System verbaut sind, zu Wechselwirkungen der einwirkenden Einzelfrequenzen fĂŒhren. Dies sind zum Beispiel Harmonische des Grundstörsignals oder Intermodulationsprodukte (IM). Diese Mischprodukte können nicht nur das System selbst, sondern ebenfalls die Umgebung beeinflussen und ggf. Störungen verursachen. Eine allgemeine Betrachtung des PrĂŒflings als Koppel- oder Mischelement ist in den PrĂŒfnormen bis auf wenige Ausnahmen unĂŒblich. Diese Arbeit prĂ€sentiert Ergebnisse, welche die beschriebenen Wechselwirkungen aufzeigen. Es wird das verwendete Messverfahren erlĂ€utert und die Probleme, welche bei der Messung von nichtlinearen Effekten auftreten können, aufgezeigt. Bei den verwendeten PrĂŒflingen handelt es sich um handelsĂŒbliche USB-Schaltnetzteile. Diese beinhalten eingangsseitig eine B2 Gleichrichter-BrĂŒcke mit angeschlossenem Kondensator um die anliegende 230 V-Netzwechselspannung gleichzurichten
âClickingâ fragment leads to novel dual-binding cholinesterase inhibitors
Cholinesterase inhibitors are potent therapeutics in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Among them, dual binding ligands have recently gained a lot of attention. We discovered novel dual-binding cholinesterase inhibitors, using âclickableâ fragments, which bind to either catalytic active site (CAS) or peripheral anionic site (PAS) of the enzyme. Copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition allowed to effectively synthesize a series of final heterodimers, and modeling and kinetic studies confirmed their ability to bind to both CAS and PAS. A potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor with IC50 = 18 nM (compound 23g) was discovered. A target-guided approach to link fragments by the enzyme itself was tested using butyrylcholinesterase
BusyBee Web : towards comprehensive and differential composition-based metagenomic binning
Despite recent methodology and reference database
improvements for taxonomic profiling tools, metagenomic assembly and genomic binning remain important pillars of metagenomic analysis workflows. In
case reference information is lacking, genomic binning is considered to be a state-of-the-art method
in mixed culture metagenomic data analysis. In this
light, our previously published tool BusyBee Web implements a composition-based binning method efficient enough to function as a rapid online utility. Handling assembled contigs and long nanopore generated reads alike, the webserver provides a wide range
of supplementary annotations and visualizations.
Half a decade after the initial publication, we revisited existing functionality, added comprehensive visualizations, and increased the number of data analysis customization options for further experimentation. The webserver now allows for visualizationsupported differential analysis of samples, which is
computationally expensive and typically only performed in coverage-based binning methods. Further,
users may now optionally check their uploaded samples for plasmid sequences using PLSDB as a reference database. Lastly, a new application programming interface with a supporting python package was
implemented, to allow power users fully automated
access to the resource and integration into existing
workflows
Symmetry Tests of the Electroweak Interaction from Muon Capture on 3He
Precision measurements in muon capture on 3He to the triton channel provide
for interesting tests of the charged electroweak interaction, whether within
the Standard Model or beyond it. Based on the statistical capture rate and the
triton asymmetry, both the object of recent and on-going experiments using
polarised 3He targets, examples of such tests are presented, and shown to lead
to stringent complementary constraints for which further dedicated experimental
as well as theoretical efforts are required.Comment: 13 pages, uses Elsevier's LaTeX packag
Recommended from our members
Advancing Pharmacist Collaborative Care within Academic Health Systems.
INTRODUCTION:The scope of pharmacy practice has evolved over the last few decades to focus on the optimization of medication therapy. Despite this positive impact, the lack of reimbursement remains a significant barrier to the implementation of innovative pharmacist practice models. SUMMARY:We describe the successful development, implementation and outcomes of three types of pharmacist collaborative care models: (1) a pharmacist with physician oversight, (2) pharmacist-interprofessional teams and (3) physician-pharmacist teams. The outcome measurement of these pharmacist care models varied from the design phase to patient volume measurement and to comprehensive quality dashboards. All of these practice models have been successfully funded by affiliated health systems or grants. CONCLUSIONS:The expansion of pharmacist services delivered by clinical faculty has several benefits to affiliated health systems: (1) significant improvements in patient care quality, (2) access to experts in specialty areas, and (3) the dissemination of outcomes with national and international recognition, increasing the visibility of the health system
-pairing as a mechanism of superconductivity in models of strongly correlated electrons
We consider extended versions of the Hubbard model which contain additional
interactions between nearest neighbours. In this letter we show that a large
class of these models has a superconducting ground state in arbitrary
dimensions. In some special cases we are able to find the complete phase
diagram. The superconducting phase exist even for moderate repulsive values of
the Hubbard interaction .Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, ITP-SB-94-18, 1 PS figure appende
- âŠ