Preterm nutritional intake and MRI phenotype at term age: a prospective observational study

Objective: To describe (1) the relationship between nutrition and the preterm-at-term infant phenotype, (2) phenotypic differences between preterm-at-term infants and healthy term born infants and (3) relationships between somatic and brain MRI outcomes. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: UK tertiary neonatal unit. Participants: Preterm infants (<32 weeks gestation) (n=22) and healthy term infants (n=39) Main outcome measures: Preterm nutrient intake; total and regional adipose tissue (AT) depot volumes; brain volume and proximal cerebral arterial vessel tortuosity (CAVT) in preterm infants and in term infants. Results: Preterm nutrition was deficient in protein and high in carbohydrate and fat. Preterm nutrition was not related to AT volumes, brain volume or proximal CAVT score; a positive association was noted between human milk intake and proximal CAVT score (r=0.44, p=0.05). In comparison to term infants, preterm infants had increased total adiposity, comparable brain volumes and reduced proximal CAVT scores. There was a significant negative correlation between deep subcutaneous abdominal AT volume and brain volume in preterm infants (r=−0.58, p=0.01). Conclusions: Though there are significant phenotypic differences between preterm infants at term and term infants, preterm macronutrient intake does not appear to be a determinant. Our preliminary data suggest that (1) human milk may exert a beneficial effect on cerebral arterial vessel tortuosity and (2) there is a negative correlation between adiposity and brain volume in preterm infants at term. Further work is warranted to see if our findings can be replicated and to understand the causal mechanisms.

Long-term performance of mergers and acquisitions in ASEAN countries

The study looks at mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in ASEAN countries and examines the post-M&A performance using data from 2001 to 2012. The industry-adjusted operating performance tends to decline in the 3 years following an M&A. Yet, the results suggest that M&As completed during the financial crisis are more profitable than those implemented before and/or after the crisis. We argue that this is mainly due to the synergies created between the firms’ resources during the crisis which augur well for firms’ economic performance. We find that, during the crisis, certain characteristics of the firms like the relative size of the target, cross-border nature of deals, acquirer's cash reserves and friendly nature of deals are important determinants of long-term post-M&A operating performance. However, for M&As during the crisis, there appears to be no relationship between performance and firms’ characteristics linked to M&A activity such as payment method, industry relatedness and percentage of target's share acquired.