IAS/IFRS mandatory adoption and cross-border M&A

This study investigates the effect of the mandatory implementation of IAS/IFRS on cross-border M&A activity. I test the hypothesis that the improvement in the comparability of financial statements among the adopting countries facilitates crossborder transactions. According to the expectations, I find support for enhanced crossborder M&As following the mandatory adoption of IFRS due to a likely increase in the comparability of financial reports. Additionally, listed targets from IFRS adopting countries do experience stronger positive influence on foreign M&A transactions than unlisted target from adopting countries and listed targets from IFRS non-adopting countries.

Cross sectional default probabilities in european corporate bonds

This study attempts to identify basis-trading opportunities in the European banking sector by comparing two different measures for the market’s assessment of risk: market-observed CDS spreads and model-implied Z-spreads. Using a sample of 10 banks, over a period of 3 years following the European banking crisis, it can be concluded that there were arbitrage opportunities in the sector, as evidenced by the derived negative bases.

Conception and first results of a cross-sectional national study on the demography, disease characteristics and socioeconomics status of the Portuguese patients with multiple sclerosis : the PORT-MS study

RESUMO: Introdução e objetivos: Não existia um estudo multicêntrico que descrevesse as características dos doentes com EM, da doença em si, ou do seu tratamento, em Portugal.Métodos: Doentes McDonald 2010 positivos foram sequencialmente recrutados em 7 centros entre Maio e Novembro 2014. Aplicou-se um Caderno de Recolha de Dados incidindo na demografia, doença, educação e emprego (estudo PORT-MS). Resultados: 561 doentes incluídos. Primeiros sintomas aos 30,2±10,5 anos (RRMS 29,2±10, PPMS 39,4±11,7, p<0,001); diagnóstico 3,2±5,3 anos depois (RRMS 3,0±5,1, PPMS 4,9±2,5, p=0,002); tempo de doença após diagnóstico 9,4±7,2 anos (semelhante RRMS no diagnóstico e PPMS); idade atual 42,9±12,4 anos (grupo RRMS no diagnóstico 42,0±12,1, PPMS 52,5±11,3, p<0,001); EDSS atual 2,5 (RRMS 2.0, PPMS 6.0); proporção feminino:masculino é 2,5:1 (RRMS semelhante, PPMS 1,1:1, p<0,05); no diagnóstico RRMS 90,6%, SPMS 0,9%, PPMS 8,6%; 9,5% dos RRMS encontravam-se em SP na inclusão (nomeadamente os com mais idade no diagnóstico e/ou atualidade ou tempo de doença mais prolongado). PPMS mais frequente em doentes diagnosticados mais tardiamente (p<0,001), onde aumenta também ligeiramente a proporção de mulheres na PPMS. Nas últimas décadas: novos casos mostram estabilidade na proporção de géneros e tipos de doença; idade nos primeiros sintomas e no diagnóstico aumentou ligeiramente, tempo entre eles diminuiu ligeiramente. Proporção sob DMT (Maio 2014): global 84,5%; atualmente RRMS 90,4%; SPMS 70,8%; PPMS 36,8%; progressivas agregadas 48%. Tipo de DMT, amostra global: interferões 56,5%, GA 18,4%, Natalizumab 11,6%, Fingolimod 9,7%. Global: economicamente ativos 61,5%, desemprego 13,5%, 74,1% dos não activos estão reformados por doença. Gravidezes após diagnóstico em 15% mulheres. Casos com história familiar positiva 7,8%. Discussão e conclusões: Incluída cerca de 10% da população portuguesa. Resultados congruentes com dados internacionais. Elevada proporção sob DMT, mesmo EDSS alto e formas progressivas. Terapêuticas de segunda linha sub representadas. Doentes jovens e com doença ligeira com vida económica ativa; restantes essencialmente reformados por doença.---------------- ABSTRACT : Background/aims: In Portugal, there wasn’t a multicentric study on the general characteristics (demography, disease milestones, DMT, socioeconomic status) of Multiple Sclerosis patients. Methods: Patients fulfilling McDonald 2010 criteria were sequentially recruited from May to November 2014 in 7 centers and data was systematically collected. Results: 561 patients included. First symptoms occurred at 30,2±10,5 years-old (RRMS 29,2±10, PPMS 39,4±11,7, p<0,001); diagnosis 3,2±5,3 years later (RRMS 3,0±5,1, PPMS 4,9±2,5, p=0,002); 9,4±7,2 years elapsed since diagnosis (similar for those is RRMS at diagnosis and PPMS); current age 42,9±12,4 years-old (group RRMS at diagnosis 42,0±12,1, PPMS 52,5±11,3, p<0,001); current EDSS 2,5 (RRMS 2.0, PPMS 6.0); females to males 2,5:1 (RRMS similar, PPMS 1,1:1, p<0,05); at diagnosis RRMS 90,6%, SPMS 0,9%, PPMS 8,6%; 9,5% of RRMS reached SP at inclusion (those older at diagnosis, in actuality, or with longer follow-up). PPMS more frequente in patients diagnosed at older ages (p<0,001), also slight increase in females. Along the last decades: new cases have showed stable proportions of gender and disease types; age at first symptoms and diagnosis slightly increased, time between them slightly decreased. Proportion on DMT (May 2014): 84,5% of all; 90,4% of currently in RRMS; 70,8% of SPMS; 36,8% of PPMS; 48% of progressive forms together. Type of DMT, all patients: interferons 56,5%, Glatiramer Acetate 18,4%, Natalizumab 11,6%, Fingolimod 9,7%. Economically active 61,5% of all, unemployment 13,5%, 74,1% of non-active are retired due to disease. Females pregnant after diagnosis 15%. Positive family cases in 7,8%. Discussion/Conclusions: 10% of the national MS population collected. Data generally consistente with international reports. Proportion under DMT relatively high in all disease types, but second line therapies underrepresented. Young patients with mild disease have an active economic life. Those not active are essentially retired due to disease.

Strengthening to seismic action of reinforced columns with rectangular cross-section

The first part of this research work regards the assessment of the mathematical modelling of reinforced concrete columns confined with carbon fibre (CFRP) sheets under axial loading. The purpose was to evaluate existing analytical models, contribute to possible improvements and choose the best model(s) to be part of a new model for the prediction of the behaviour of confined columns under bending and compression. For circular columns, a wide group of authors have proposed several models specific for FRP-confined concrete. The analysis of some of the existing models was carried out by comparing these with several tested columns. Although several models predict fairly the peak load only few can properly estimate the load-strain and dilation behaviour of the columns. Square columns confined with CFRP show a more complex interpretation of their behaviour. Accordingly, the analysis of two experimental programs was carried out to propose new modelling equations for the whole behaviour of columns. The modelling results show that the analytical curves are in general agreement with the presented experimental curves for a wide range of dimensions. An analysis similar to the one done for circular columns was this turn carried out for square columns. Few models can fairly estimate the whole behaviour of the columns and with less accuracy at all levels when compared with circular columns. The second part of this study includes seven experimental tests carried out on reinforced concrete rectangular columns with rounded corners, different damage condition and with confinement and longitudinal strengthening systems. It was concluded that the use of CFRP confinement is viable and of effective performance enhancement alone and combined with other techniques, maintaining a good ductile behaviour for established threshold displacements. As regards the use of external longitudinal strengthening combined with CFRP confinement, this system is effective for the performance enhancement and viable in terms of execution. The load capacity was increased significantly, preserving also in this case a good ductile behaviour for threshold displacements. As to the numerical nonlinear modelling of the tested columns, the results show a variation of the peak load of 1% to 10% compared with tests results. The good results are partly due to the inclusion of the concrete constitutive model by Mander et al. modified by Faustino, Chastre & Paula taking into account the confinement effect. Despite the reasonable approximation to tests results, the modelling results showed higher unloading, which leads to an overestimate dissipated energy and residualdisplacement.

Does direct cash flow presentation help in predicting future operating cash flow?

Research literature and regulators are unconditional in pointing the disclosure of operating cash flow through direct method a section of unique information. Besides the intuitive facet, it is also consistent in forecasting future operating cash flows and a cohesive piece to financial statement puzzle. Bearing this in mind, I produce an analysis on the usefulness and predictive ability on the disclosure of gross cash receipts and payments over the disclosure of reconciliation between net income and accruals for two markets with special features, Portugal and Spain. Results validate the usefulness of direct method format in predicting future operating cash flow. Key

The determinants of mutual fund performance: A cross-country study

We use a new data set to study the determinants of the performance of open–end actively managed equity mutual funds in 27 countries. We find that mutual funds underperform the market overall. The results show important differences in the determinants of fund performance in the USA and elsewhere in the world. The US evidence of diminishing returns to scale is not a universal truth as the performance of funds located outside the USA and funds that invest overseas is not negatively affected by scale. Our findings suggest that the adverse scale effects in the USA are related to liquidity constraints faced by funds that, by virtue of their style, have to invest in small and domestic stocks. Country characteristics also explain fund performance. Funds located in countries with liquid stock markets and strong legal institutions display better performance.

The flow-performance relationship around the world

We use a new dataset to study how mutual fund flows depend on past performance across 28 countries. We show that there are marked differences in the flow-performance relationship across countries, suggesting that US findings concerning its shape do not apply universally. We find that mutual fund investors sell losers more and buy winners less in more developed countries. This is because investors in more developed countries are more sophisticated and face lower costs of participating in the mutual fund industry. Higher country-level convexity is positively associated with higher levels of risk taking by fund managers.

Understanding how dentritic cell glycans affect antitumor immune responses

RESUMO: As células dendríticas (DCs) têm a capacidade única de induzir respostas imunitárias contra as células tumorais, fagocitando antigénios tumorais e apresentando-os às células T, provocando respostas imunitárias específicas que conduzem à eliminação de células de tumorais. Por induzirem memória imunológica de longa duração, as DCs são uma estratégia atrativa para o tratamento e/ou prevenção do cancro. No entanto, os resultados terapêuticos obtidos em ensaios clínicos com DCs são escassos e pouco eficientes. O nosso grupo demonstrou que ácidos siálicos que contêm glicanos desempenham um papel funcional importante em DCs geradas ex vivo. Com o objetivo de estabelecer um modelo in vitro para avaliar a resposta anti-tumoral específica realizou-se um tratamento enzimático a DCs derivadas de monócitos (moDCs) com sialidase, enzima que cliva ácidos siálicos na superfície celular. O perfil de maturação de moDCs foi caracterizado por citometria de fluxo e expressão de citocinas. Os resultados mostram que a sialidase pode regular positivamente a expressão de moléculas co-estimuladoras na superfície de moDCs estimuladas com agonistas de Toll like receptors (TLRs). Para percebermos se o tratamento com sialidase afeta a sinalização dos TLRs foram usadas células HEK transfectadas de forma estável com TLRs 2, 4 and 7/8. Os dados mostraram que a desialilação não afeta a sinalização através estes recetores. Para investigar o impacto funcional da sialidase na capacidade de moDCs em apresentar um antigénio e ativar células T, moDCs foram tratadas, ou não, com sialidase e cultivadas com clones de células T CD8+ específicas para os péptidos derivados do antigénio tumoral gp100. Os resultados mostram que DCs HLA*02:01+ desialiladas exibem maior cross-presentation do péptido gp100280-288 às células T CD8+ específicas. Além disso o tratamento com sialidase também aumenta a capacidade de DCs de induzir a proliferação de células T CD4+. Em conjunto, os resultados indicam que moDCs com menos ácidos siálicos na superfície, têm melhor potencial imuno-estimulador, com maior capacidade de induzir respostas imunes anti-tumorais.--------------------- ABSTRACT: Dendritic cells (DCs) have a unique capacity to induce immune responses against tumor cells. They can phagocyte tumor antigens, maturate and present them to T cells, triggering antigen-specific immune responses that may lead to the elimination of tumor cells. Since they induce long-lasting immunological memory, DCs become an attractive strategy as cellular targets for vaccines in the treatment and/or prevention of cancer. However, the therapeutic results obtained in clinical trials with DCs are scarce and only few patients effectively respond to the DC vaccines. Our group has shown that sialic acid containing glycans play an important functional role in ex vivo generated DC. Here we aimed to establish an in vitro model to assess specific antitumor responses. To achieve this, an enzymatic treatment of monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) was performed using sialidase to cleave surface sialic acids. The maturation profile of the moDCs was characterized by flow cytometry and cytokine expression. The results show that sialidase treatment can upregulate co-stimulatory molecules on surface of moDCs stimulated with Toll like receptor (TLR) agonists. To understand whether sialidase treatment affected the TLR signaling, we have used HEK cells stably transfected with TLRs 2, 4 and 7/8. The data showed that desialylation of moDCs does not affect the signaling via these receptors. To investigate the functional impact of sialidase treatment in the capacity of moDCs to present antigen and to activate antigen specific T cells, sialidase treated and untreated moDCs were co-cultured with CD8+ T cell clones specific for peptides derived from the gp100 tumor antigen. Our results show that desialylated HLA02:01+ DCs are superior in cross-presentation of the peptide to gp100280–288 specific CD8+ T cells. In addition, sialidase treatment also increased the DC capacity to induce CD4+ T cells proliferation. Together, these data indicate that moDCs with altered cell surface sialic acids, through a sialidase treatment, have a better immunostimulatory potential which could improve anti-tumor immune responses.

Socio-demographic correlates of physical activity of European adults: A cross-sectional study from the European Social Survey

ABSTRACT - Background: From a public health perspective, the study of socio-demographic factors related to physical activity is important in order to identify subgroups for intervention programs. Purpose: This study also aimed to identify the prevalence and the socio-demographic correlates related with the achievement of recommended physical activity levels. Methods: Using data from the European Social Survey round 6, physical activity and socio-demographic characteristics were collected from 39278 European adults (18271 men, 21006 women), aged 18-64 years, from 28 countries in 2012. Meeting physical activity guidelines was assessed using World Health Organization criteria. Results: 64.50% (63.36% men, 66.49% women) attained physical activity recommended levels. The likelihood of attaining physical activity recommendations was higher in age group of 55-64 years (men: OR=1.22, p<0.05; women: OR=1.66, p<0.001), among those who had completed high school (men: OR=1.28, p<0.01; women: OR=1.26, p<0.05), among those who lived in rural areas (men: OR=1.20, p<0.001; women: OR=1.10, p<0.05), and among those who had 3 or more people living at home (men: OR=1.40, p<0.001; women: OR=1.43, p<0.001). On the other hand, attaining physical activity recommendations was negatively associated with being unemployed (men: OR=0.70, p<0.001; women: OR=0.87, p<0.05), being a student (men: OR=0.56, p<0.001; women: OR=0.64, p<0.01), being a retired person (men: OR=0.86, p<0.05) and with having a higher household income (OR=0.80, p<0.001; women: OR=0.81, p<0.01). Conclusion: This research helped clarify that, as the promotion of physical activity is critical to sustain health and prevent disease, socio-demographic factors are important to consider when planning the increase of physical activity.

A type system for value-dependent information flow analysis

Information systems are widespread and used by anyone with computing devices as well as corporations and governments. It is often the case that security leaks are introduced during the development of an application. Reasons for these security bugs are multiple but among them one can easily identify that it is very hard to define and enforce relevant security policies in modern software. This is because modern applications often rely on container sharing and multi-tenancy where, for instance, data can be stored in the same physical space but is logically mapped into different security compartments or data structures. In turn, these security compartments, to which data is classified into in security policies, can also be dynamic and depend on runtime data. In this thesis we introduce and develop the novel notion of dependent information flow types, and focus on the problem of ensuring data confidentiality in data-centric software. Dependent information flow types fit within the standard framework of dependent type theory, but, unlike usual dependent types, crucially allow the security level of a type, rather than just the structural data type itself, to depend on runtime values. Our dependent function and dependent sum information flow types provide a direct, natural and elegant way to express and enforce fine grained security policies on programs. Namely programs that manipulate structured data types in which the security level of a structure field may depend on values dynamically stored in other fields The main contribution of this work is an efficient analysis that allows programmers to verify, during the development phase, whether programs have information leaks, that is, it verifies whether programs protect the confidentiality of the information they manipulate. As such, we also implemented a prototype typechecker that can be found at http://ctp.di.fct.unl.pt/DIFTprototype/.

Reporting cash flow evidence from campanies listed in the Euronext Lisbon

Based on the 2013 and 2014 consolidated statements of cash flows of companies listed in Euronext Lisbon, this Work Project analyses the cash flow disclosures, namely if they are in accordance with International Accounting Standards 7, specifically the format, the choice of classification interests, dividends paid and received and the composition of cash and cash equivalents. Additionally, quality of income ratio is analyzed due to its importance for users of financial statements. The results show evidence of uniformity and consistency in the use of the direct method for reporting operational activities in both years, but there are some differences regarding the disclosure of interests and dividends, paid and received, respectively.

Conflict in cross-functional teams

The present study is a qualitative analysis of the tensions that occur in cross-functional teams (CFTs) and the way in which they can affect the teams' accomplishments. The research is focused on a single case, COHTTEC 2005, a program aimed at transforming new technologies into businesses that took place in Lisbon, Portugal, starting March 2005. In this program, participants were organized in cross-functional teams that included researchers and management students. Semi-structured interviews were made to a sample of 17 participants. These interviews were recorded and transcribed. A table was then elaborated based on the primary data provided by the subjects and these data were classified in different categories. A three-stage model of group dynamics is proposed. The major findings of this project point to the role of interpersonal relationships on group outcomes. More specifically, several patterns associated with team malfunction were uncovered, the clearest ones being autocratic decision-making and arrogant behavior from some team members, as well as escalation in relationship conflict. Implications from these results are discussed, both for future research and for practice.