Tender offers in South America: Are abnormal returns really high?

Diferentes estudios realizados en mercados de capital desarrollados han revelado tasas de retorno positivas inusuales de por lo menos 15% durante la fecha de anuncio de la oferta pública de adquisición de acciones. Aunque casi no se han llevado a cabo estudios sobre los mercados bursátiles en Sudamérica, algunos estudios han reportado tasas de retorno positivas inusuales en un rango del 25% al 50%, las cuales están relacionadas con el anuncio de la primera oferta de adquisición. En el presente estudio, se argumenta que las tasas de retorno positivas inusuales estimadas en los mercados emergentes son altas porque los estudios se han basado en un mercado de capitales totalmente segmentado aplicando el modelo de mercado y utilizando un índice del mercado bursátil local. Al considerar la integración parcial entre los cinco mercados emergentes en Sudamérica, se demuestra que efectivamente existen tasas de retorno positivas inusuales antes, durante y después de la fecha de anuncio de la primera oferta de adquisición. Sin embargo, el retorno positivo inusual asociado a la fecha del anuncio se encuentra en el orden del 8%. Utilizando un modelo de mercado que considere la integración parcial y el riesgo a la baja, se obtiene una tasa de retorno inusual ligeramente mayor. Estos resultados señalan una menor tasa de retorno positiva inusual en la muestra de las empresas sudamericanas incluidas en el estudio.

Imaging of activated complement using ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (USPIO) - conjugated vectors: an in vivo in utero non-invasive method to predict placental insufficiency and abnormal fetal brain development.

In the current study, we have developed a magnetic resonance imaging-based method for non-invasive detection of complement activation in placenta and foetal brain in vivo in utero. Using this method, we found that anti-complement C3-targeted ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles bind within the inflamed placenta and foetal brain cortical tissue, causing a shortening of the T2* relaxation time. We used two mouse models of pregnancy complications: a mouse model of obstetrics antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and a mouse model of preterm birth (PTB). We found that detection of C3 deposition in the placenta in the APS model was associated with placental insufficiency characterised by increased oxidative stress, decreased vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor levels and intrauterine growth restriction. We also found that foetal brain C3 deposition was associated with cortical axonal cytoarchitecture disruption and increased neurodegeneration in the mouse model of APS and in the PTB model. In the APS model, foetuses that showed increased C3 in their brains additionally expressed anxiety-related behaviour after birth. Importantly, USPIO did not affect pregnancy outcomes and liver function in the mother and the offspring, suggesting that this method may be useful for detecting complement activation in vivo in utero and predicting placental insufficiency and abnormal foetal neurodevelopment that leads to neuropsychiatric disorders.

'Abnormal vertical growth' : A disorder threatening the viability of the Australian macadamia industry

'Abnormal vertical growth' (AVG) was recognised in Australia as a dysfunction of macadamia (Macadamia spp.) in the mid-1990s. Affected trees displayed unusually erect branching, and poor flowering and yield. Since 2002, the commercial significance of AVG, its cause, and strategies to alleviate its affects, has been studied. The cause is still unknown, and AVG remains a serious threat to orchard viability. AVG affects both commercial and urban macadamia. It occurs predominantly in the warmer-drier production regions of Queensland and New South Wales. An estimated 100,000 orchard trees are affected, equating to an annual loss of $ 10.5 M. In orchards, AVG occurs as aggregations of affected trees, affected tree number can increase by 4.5% per year, and yield reduction can exceed 30%. The more upright cultivars 'HAES 344' and '741' are highly susceptible, while the more spreading cultivars 'A4', 'A16' and 'A268' show tolerance. Incidence is higher (p<0.05) in soils of high permeability and good drainage. No soil chemical anomaly has been found. Fine root dry weight of AVG trees (0-15 cm depth) was found lower (p<0.05) than non-AVG. Next generation sequencing has led to the discovery of a new Bacillus sp. and a bipartite Geminivirus, which may have a role in the disease. Trunk cinctures will increase (p<0.05) yield of moderately affected trees. Further research is needed to clarify whether a pathogen is the cause, the role of soil moisture in AVG, and develop a varietal solution.

Social engagement and adaptive functioning during early childhood: Identifying and distinguishing among subgroups differing with regard to social engagement

This study tested the hypothesis that social engagement (SE) with peers is a fundamental aspect of social competence during early childhood. Relations between SE and a set of previously validated social competence indicators, as well as additional variables derived from observation and sociometric interviews were assessed using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches (N = 1453, 696 girls) in 4 samples (3 U.S.A., 1 Portuguese). Directly observed SE was positively associated with broad-band measures of socially competent behavior, peer acceptance, being a target of peers' attention, and also with broad-band personality dimensions. Using individual Q-items significantly associated with SE in 3 of our 4 samples, a hierarchical cluster analysis yielded a 5-cluster solution that grouped cases efficiently. Tests on relations between cluster membership and the set of social competence and other variables revealed significant main effects of cluster membership in the full sample and within each individual sample, separately. With the exception of tests for peer negative preference, children in the lowest SE cluster also had significantly lower overall social competence, personality functioning scores than did children in higher SE clusters.

Social engagement and adaptive functioning during early childhood: Identifying and distinguishing among subgroups differing with regard to social engagement

Materia Suplementar disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000142.supp

Short Term Outcome of Neonates Born With Abnormal Umbilical Cord Arterial Blood Gases

Background: Umbilical arterial blood gas (UABG) analysis is more objective than other methods for predicting neonatal outcome. Acidemic neonates may be at risk for unfavorable outcome after birth, but all neonates with abnormal arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis do not always have poor outcome. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the short term outcome of the neonates born with an abnormal ABG. Patients and Methods: In a cohort prospective study 120 high risk mother-neonate pairs were enrolled and UABG was taken immediately after birth. All neonates with an umbilical cord pH less than 7.2 were considered as case group and more than 7.2 as controls. Outcomes like need to resuscitation, admission to newborn services and/or NICU), seizure occurrence, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), delayed initiation of oral feeding and length of hospital stay were recorded and compared between the two groups. P value less than 0.05 was considered as being significant. Results: Comparison of short term outcomes between normal and abnormal ABG groups were as the fallowing: need for advanced resuscitation 4 vs. 0 (P = 0.001), NICU admission 16 vs. 4 (P = 0.001), convulsion 2 vs. 0 (P = 0.496), HIE 17 vs. 4 (P = 0.002), delay to start oral feeding 16 vs. 4 (P = 0.001), mean hospital stay 4 vs. 3 days (P = 0.001). None of the neonates died in study groups. Conclusions: An umbilical cord PH less than 7.2 immediately after birth can be used as a prognostic factor for unfavorable short term outcome in newborns.

Does mortality vary between Asian subgroups in New Zealand: an application of hierarchical Bayesian modelling

The aim of this paper was to see whether all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates vary between Asian ethnic subgroups, and whether overseas born Asian subgroup mortality rate ratios varied by nativity and duration of residence. We used hierarchical Bayesian methods to allow for sparse data in the analysis of linked census-mortality data for 25-75 year old New Zealanders. We found directly standardised posterior all-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates were highest for the Indian ethnic group, significantly so when compared with those of Chinese ethnicity. In contrast, cancer mortality rates were lowest for ethnic Indians. Asian overseas born subgroups have about 70% of the mortality rate of their New Zealand born Asian counterparts, a result that showed little variation by Asian subgroup or cause of death. Within the overseas born population, all-cause mortality rates for migrants living 0-9 years in New Zealand were about 60% of the mortality rate of those living more than 25 years in New Zealand regardless of ethnicity. The corresponding figure for cardiovascular mortality rates was 50%. However, while Chinese cancer mortality rates increased with duration of residence, Indian and Other Asian cancer mortality rates did not. Future research on the mechanisms of worsening of health with increased time spent in the host country is required to improve the understanding of the process, and would assist the policy-makers and health planners.

Something normal in a very, very abnormal environment – Nursing work to honour the life of dying infants and children in neonatal and paediatric intensive care in Australia

The majority of deaths of children and infants occur in paediatric and neonatal intensive care settings. For nurses, managing an infant/child's deterioration and death can be very challenging. Nurses play a vital role in how the death occurs, how families are supported leading up to and after the infant/child's death. This paper describes the nurses' endeavours to create normality amidst the sadness and grief of the death of a child in paediatric and neonatal ICU. Focus groups and individual interviews with registered nurses from NICU and PICU settings gathered data on how neonatal and paediatric intensive care nurses care for families when a child dies and how they perceived their ability and preparedness to provide family care. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis: (1) respecting the child as a person; (2) creating opportunities for family involvement/connection; (3) collecting mementos; and (4) planning for death. Many of the activities described in this study empowered parents to participate in the care of their child as death approached. Further work is required to ensure these principles are translated into practice.

Online mining abnormal period patterns from multiple medical sensor data streams

With the advanced technology of medical devices and sensors, an abundance of medical data streams are available. However, data analysis techniques are very limited, especially for processing massive multiple physiological streams that may only be understood by medical experts. The state-of-the-art techniques only allow multiple medical devices to independently monitor different physiological parameters for the patient's status, thus they signal too many false alarms, creating unnecessary noise, especially in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). An effective solution which has been recently studied is to integrate information from multiple physiologic parameters to reduce alarms. But it is a challenge to detect abnormalities from high frequently changed physiological streams data, since abnormalities occur gradually due to the complex situation of patients. An analysis of ICU physiological data streams shows that many vital physiological parameters are changed periodically (such as heart rate, arterial pressure, and respiratory impedance) and thus abnormalities are generally abnormal period patterns. In this paper, we develop a Mining Abnormal Period Patterns from Multiple Physiological Streams (MAPPMPS) method to detect and rank abnormalities in medical sensor streams. The efficiency and effectiveness of the MAPPMPS method is demonstrated by a real-world massive database of multiple physiological streams sampled in ICU, comprising 250 patients' streams (each stream involving over 1.3 million data points) with a total size of 28 GB data.

Nonparametric discovery and analysis of learning patterns and autism subgroups from therapeutic data

The spectrum nature and heterogeneity within autism spectrum disorders (ASD) pose as a challenge for treatment. Personalisation of syllabus for children with ASD can improve the efficacy of learning by adjusting the number of opportunities and deciding the course of syllabus. We research the data-motivated approach in an attempt to disentangle this heterogeneity for personalisation of syllabus. With the help of technology and a structured syllabus, collecting data while a child with ASD masters the skills is made possible. The performance data collected are, however, growing and contain missing elements based on the pace and the course each child takes while navigating through the syllabus. Bayesian nonparametric methods are known for automatically discovering the number of latent components and their parameters when the model involves higher complexity. We propose a nonparametric Bayesian matrix factorisation model that discovers learning patterns and the way participants associate with them. Our model is built upon the linear Poisson gamma model (LPGM) with an Indian buffet process prior and extended to incorporate data with missing elements. In this paper, for the first time we have presented learning patterns deduced automatically from data mining and machine learning methods using intervention data recorded for over 500 children with ASD. We compare the results with non-negative matrix factorisation and K-means, which being parametric, not only require us to specify the number of learning patterns in advance, but also do not have a principle approach to deal with missing data. The F1 score observed over varying degree of similarity measure (Jaccard Index) suggests that LPGM yields the best outcome. By observing these patterns with additional knowledge regarding the syllabus it may be possible to observe the progress and dynamically modify the syllabus for improved learning.

Reputation and stock abnormal returns

A relação entre reputação organizacional e desempenho nanceiro das empresas tem sido alvo de estudo ao longo dos últimos anos. Empresas com elevados padrões de reputação apresentam maior probabilidade de manter um elevado e sustentado desempenho ao longo do tempo. Seguindo esta linha de pensamento, acionistas que investem em empresas com elevada reputação exigem menos rendibilidades, uma vez que, à partida, o risco a que estão sujeitos é menor. Com o intuito de estudar se empresas com elevada reputação, medida pela presença no ranking de 2015 World's Most Admired Companies da revista Fortune, rejeitam a hipótese das rendibilidades anormais serem iguais a zero, garantindo, por sua vez, um risco inferior, foram utilizados dados em painel que incluem 24,486 observações, entre 26 de dezembro 2014 e 1 de janeiro 2016, de uma amostra total de 462 empresas norte americanas cotadas nos índices bolsistas NYSE e NASDAQ.

Abnormal primary and permanent dentitions with ectodermal symptoms predict WNT10A deficiency

BACKGROUND: The WNT10A protein is critical for the development of ectodermal appendages. Variants in the WNT10A gene may be associated with a spectrum of ectodermal abnormalities including extensive tooth agenesis. METHODS: In seven patients with severe tooth agenesis we identified anomalies in primary dentition and additional ectodermal symptoms, and assessed WNT10A mutations by genetic analysis. RESULTS: Investigation of primary dentition revealed peg-shaped crowns of primary mandibular incisors and three individuals had agenesis of at least two primary teeth. The permanent dentition was severely affected in all individuals with a mean of 21 missing teeth. Primary teeth were most often present in positions were succedaneous teeth were missing. Furthermore, most existing molars had taurodontism. Light, brittle or coarse hair was reported in all seven individuals, hyperhidrosis of palms and soles in six individuals and nail anomalies in two individuals. The anomalies in primary dentition preceded most of the additional ectodermal symptoms. Genetic analysis revealed that all seven individuals were homozygous or compound heterozygous for WNT10A mutations resulting in C107X, E222X and F228I. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that tooth agenesis and/or peg-shaped crowns of primary mandibular incisors, severe oligodontia of permanent dentition as well as ectodermal symptoms of varying severity may be predictors of bi-allelic WNT10A mutations of importance for diagnosis, counselling and follow-up.

Behavioural differences between EEG-defined subgroups of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: This study investigated the presence and nature of EEG clusters within a clinically-referred sample of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), and whether behavioural differences exist between clusters.

Method: Participants were 155 boys with AD/HD and 109 age- and gender-matched controls. EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition and Fourier transformed to provide estimates for total power, and relative delta, theta, alpha, and beta. EEG data were grouped into 3 regions, and subjected to Cluster Analysis. Behavioural data for each cluster were compared against the remaining AD/HD subjects.

Results: Four EEG clusters were found. These were characterised by (a) elevated beta activity, (b) elevated theta with deficiencies of alpha and beta, (c) elevated slow wave with less fast wave activity, and (d) elevated alpha. An exploratory analysis of behavioural correlates with these EEG subtypes indicated the presence of interesting trends that need further investigation.

Conclusions: This study found that the AD/HD EEG profiles reported in past studies are robust and not substantially affected by the inclusion of children with other comorbid conditions. The observed group differences in behavioural profiles indicated that different patterns of EEG activity have importance in determining behaviour.

Significance: This is the first study to link behavioural profiles of children with AD/HD to specific EEG abnormalities.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy has no effect on disease activity but improves quality of life in subgroups of patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated usefulness of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in managing distress in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, few have focused on IBD course. The present trial aimed to investigate whether adding CBT to standard treatment prolongs remission in IBD in comparison to standard therapy alone. METHODS: A 2-arm parallel pragmatic randomised controlled trial (+CBT - standard care plus either face-to-face (F2F) or online CBT over 10 weeks versus standard care alone (SC)) was conducted with adult patients in remission. IBD remission at 12 months since baseline was the primary outcome measure while the secondary outcome measures were mental health status and quality of life (QoL). Linear mixed-effect models were used to compare groups on outcome variables while controlling for baseline. RESULTS: Participants were 174 patients with IBD (90 +CBT, 84 SC). There was no difference in remission rates between groups, with similar numbers flaring at 12 months. Groups did not differ in anxiety, depression or coping at 6 or 12 months (p >0.05). When only participants classified as 'in need' (young, high baseline IBD activity, recently diagnosed; poor mental health) were examined in the post-hoc analysis (n = 74, 34 CBT and 40 controls), CBT significantly improved mental QoL (p = .034, d = .56) at 6 months. Online CBT group had a higher score on Precontemplation than the F2F group, which is consistent with less developed coping with IBD in the cCBT group (p = .045). CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should direct psychological interventions to patients 'in need' and attempt to recruit larger samples to compensate for significant attrition when using online CBT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol was registered on 21/10/2009 with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ID: ACTRN12609000913279).

Exploring the effectiveness of true abnormal data elimination in context-aware web services recommendation

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in context-aware recommender system (CARS), which explores the impact of context factors on personalized Web services recommendation. Basically, the general idea of CARS methods is to mine historical service invocation records through the process of context-aware similarity computation. It is observed that traditional similarity mining process would very likely generate relatively big deviations of QoS values, due to the dynamic change of contexts. As a consequence, including a considerable amount of deviated QoS values in the similarity calculation would probably result in a poor accuracy for predicting unknown QoS values. In allusion to this problem, this paper first distinguishes two definitions of Abnormal Data and True Abnormal Data, the latter of which should be eliminated. Second, we propose a novel CASR-TADE method by incorporating the effectiveness of True Abnormal Data Elimination into context-aware Web services recommendation. Finally, the experimental evaluations on a real-world Web services dataset show that the proposed CASR-TADE method significantly outperforms other existing approaches.