Diversification, size and risk: The case of bank acquisitions of nonbank financial firms

We investigate the risk effects of bank acquisitions of insurance companies and securities firms between 1991 and 2012 using a newly constructed dataset of M&A deals. We examine risk changes before and after deal announcements by decomposing risk into systematic and idiosyncratic components. Subsequently, we investigate the relationship between risk and diversification by modelling the determinants of risks. We find that bank combinations with securities firms yield higher risks than combinations with insurance companies. Bank size is an important and consistent determinant of risk whereas diversification is not. Our results inform the continuing debate on diversification versus functional separation of bank activities.

The making of Channel 4

An analysis of the early years of Channel 4 drawing on the recollections of those directly involved.

Deep-Sea ecosystem model of the Condor seamount

Dissertação de Mestrado, Estudos Integrados dos Oceanos, 25 de Julho 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Orientalism and Imperialism in French West Africa. Considerations on travel literature, colonial tourism, and the desert as a “commodity” in Mauritania

In this article we intend to make a summary overview of the influence that literary production, originated under colonial mapping missions or later in travel writing, had in the construction and establishment of a discourse to advertise and promote tourism in Mauritania. To this end we will draw on travel narratives that are illustrative of different periods and that correspond in some way to discourses of otherness. In this specific case, such discourses relate to the “Moors” of the West African coast and were produced in various historical contexts. We will also consider the discourse present in the tourism promotion materials of the colonial period and we will demonstrate to what extent it can be engaged in a dialogue with 19th and 20th centuries’ Western colonial literature.

The effects of gramicidin on the structure of phospholipid assemblies /

Gramicidin is an antibiotic peptide that can be incorporated into the monolayers of cell membranes. Dimerization through hydrogen bonding between gramicidin monomers in opposing leaflets of the membrane results in the formation of an iontophoretic channel. Surrounding phospholipids, with various associated mechanical properties, have been shown to influence the gating properties of this channel. Conversely, gramicidin incorporation has been shown to affect the structure of spontaneously formed lipid assemblies. Using small-angle x-ray diffraction and model systems composed of phospholipids and gramicidin, the physical effects incurred by gramicidin incorporation were measured. The reverse hexagonal (H^) phase composed of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) monolayers decreased in lattice dimension with increasing incorporation of gramicidin. This indicated that gramicidin was adding negative curvature to the monolayers. In this system, gramicidin was measured to have an apparent intrinsic radius of curvature (Rop*™") of -7. 1 A. The addition of up to 4 mol% gramicidin in mixtures with DOPE did not result in the monolayers becoming stiffer, as indicated by unaltered bending moduli for each composition. Dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) alone forms the lamellar (LJ phase when hydrated, but undergoes a transition into the H^ phase when mixed with gramicidin. The lattice repeat dimension decreases systematically with increased gramicidin content. Again, this indicated that gramicidin was adding negative curvature to the monolayers. At 12 mol% gramicidin in mixtures with DOPC, the apparent radius of intrinsic curvature of gramicidin (Rop*"^) was measured to be -7.4 A. This mixture formed monolayers that were very resistant to bending under osmotic pressure, with a measured bending modulus of 1 15 kT. The measurements made in this study demonstrate that peptides are able to modulate the spontaneous curvature and other mechanical properties of phospholipid assemblies.

Biogeochemistry of trace metals in the Indian EEZ of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

The present study has been initiated to unravel the distribution of trace metals and its geochemical behavior in the Indian EEZ of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Trace metal accumulation in aquatic consumers is of interest to ecologists and environmentalists so as to understand the fate and effect of contaminants in the food web dynamics and the biogeochemical cycling of trace metals. It is well established that oceanic distribution of macronutrients such as nitrate, phosphate and silicate provide critical to biological growth and related geochemical processes. In this study it can be inferred, that there is a need for a better understanding of background informations on trace metal concentrations with respect to space and time and their fluctuations in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal zooplankton. Without a sound knowledge on spatio-temporal fluctuations, it will be impossible to differentiate anthropogenic metal inputs from natural background concentrations with a routine biomonitoring programme. Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd & Pb showed a slight enrichment in zooplankton from the Arabian Sea during spring intermonsoon compared to intermonsoon fall. The relative enrichment of Fe, Cu & Zn in zooplankton from the Arabian Sea during intermonsoon spring than intermonsoon fall was due to favourable bioaccumulation factors of these elements during this season. Nevertheless this study can be looked upon as a starting point for further investigations on these biogeochemically important processes, which are vital in addressing the dynamics of productivity of waters.

Characteristics of SST over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

Evolution of mini warm pool in the Arabian Sea just before the onset of southwest monsoon and behavior of SST in the vicinity of weather systems formed during the premonsoon, southwest monsoon and post monsoon seasons were studied using TMI SST data. The Arabian Sea mini warm pool is formed about three weeks ahead of onset of southwest monsoon. Maximum SST is found about one week ahead of monsoon onset and then the warm pool gradually dissipated. Generally, a low-pressure system is formed when the SST exceeds a certain threshold value for the formation of the system. Daily SST values are examined both in Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal to bring out the quantity of increase in SST just before the formation of the system, quantity of rapid decrease in SST during the formation of the system and the number of days required for returning to normal SST. Many cases were examined for pre-monsoon, southwest monsoon and post monsoon seasons to understand the behavior of SST pattern. It is found that the SST increases about 3° C just before the formation of the system and decreases about 4° C during the formation within 2 to 3 days and takes about 4 to 6 days to return to normal SST pattern. However, the SST pattern depends on the weather system

Actinomycete Isolates from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal: Biochemical, Molecular and Functional Characterization

The thesis is comprised of seven chapters. Chapter 1 gives a general introduction to marine actinomycetes; Chapter 2 gives an account on the morphological, biochemical and physiological characterization of marine actinomycetes. Comprehensive description of molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of actinomycetes is dealt with in Chapter 3. The antimicrobial property with special reference to antivibrio activity is described in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 explores the melanin production ability of marine actinomycetes, characterization of melanin and evaluation of its bioactivity. Chapter 6 illustrates the study on chitinolytic Streptomyces as antifungal and insecticidal agents. Summary and Conclusion of the study is presented in Chapter 7, followed by References and Appendices.The present study provides an insight into the various actinomycetes occurring in the sediments of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Streptomyces was found to be the dominant group followed by Nocardiopsis. Eventhough generic level identification is possible by traditional phenotypic methods, species level identification necessitate a polyphasic approach including both phenotypic and genotypic characterization. Antibiotic production coupled with biogranulation property helped in the effective utilization of the actinomycetes for the control of vibrios. Melanin from Streptomyces bikiniensis was proved to be a promising antioxidant and photoprotectant. Marine actinomycetes were found to be a good source of hydrolytic enzymes and the chitinolytic isolates could be explored as biocontrol agents in terms of antifungal and insecticidal property. The present study explored the potential of marine actinomycetes especially Streptomycetes as a promising source of bioactive molecules for application in aquaculture and pharmaceutical industry.

INFO2009 Group 21 - A Poster and set of Resources on Computer Security

This contains a poster advertising the resources. The resource is a profile folder on five topics, as well as a website, a quiz, and an interactive game.

Neurobiology of expectancy effects and omission of reinforcement on behavior

The reinforcement omission effects have been traditionally interpreted in terms of: behavioral facilitation after reinforcement omission induced by primary frustration or behavioral suppression after reinforcement delivery induced by postconsummatory states. The studies reviewed here indicate that amygdala is involved in modulation of these effects. However, the fact that amygdala lesions, extensive or selective, can eliminate, reduce and enhance the omission effects makes it difficult to understand how it is the exact nature of their involvement. The amygdala is related to several functions that depend on its connections with other brain systems. Thus, it is necessary to consider the involvement of a more complex neural network in the modulation of the reinforcement omission effects. The connection of amygdala subareas to cortical and subcortical structures may be involved in this modulation since they also are linked to processes related to reward and expectancy.

Towards a population ecology of stressed environments: the effects of zinc on the springtail Folsomia candida

1. To understand population dynamics in stressed environments it is necessary to join together two classical lines of research. Population responses to environmental stress have been studied at low density in life table response experiments. These show how the population's growth rate (pgr) at low density varies in relation to levels of stress. Population responses to density, on the other hand, are based on examination of the relationship between pgr and population density. 2. The joint effects of stress and density on pgr can be pictured as a contour map in which pgr varies with stress and density in the same way that the height of land above sea level varies with latitude and longitude. Here a microcosm experiment is reported that compared the joint effects of zinc and population density on the pgr of the springtail Folsomia candida (Collembola). 3. Our experiments allowed the plotting of a complete map of the effects of density and a stressor on pgr. Particularly important was the position of the pgr= 0 contour, which suggested that carrying capacity varied little with zinc concentration until toxic levels were reached. 4. This prediction accords well with observations of population abundance in the field. The method also allowed us to demonstrate, simultaneously, hormesis, toxicity, an Allee effect and density dependence. 5. The mechanisms responsible for these phenomena are discussed. As zinc is an essential trace element the initial increase in pgr is probably a consequence of dietary zinc deficiency. The Allee effect may be attributed to productivity of the environment increasing with density at low density. Density dependence is a result of food limitation. 6. Synthesis and applications. We illustrate a novel solution based on mapping a population's growth rate in relation to stress and population density. Our method allows us to demonstrate, simultaneously, hormesis, toxicity, an Allee effect and density dependence in an important ecological indicator species. We hope that the approach followed here will prove to have general applicability enabling predictions of field abundance to be made from estimates of the joint effects of the stressors and density on population growth rate.

The effects of paeonol on the electrophysiological properties of cardiac ventricular myocytes

Previous studies have shown that "Mudanpi", a Chinese herbal medicine, has a significant cardioprotective effect against myocardial ischaemia. Based on these findings we hypothesised that paeonol, the main component of Mudanpi, might have an effect on the cellular electrophysiology of cardiac ventricular myocytes. The effects of paeonol on the action potential and ion channels of cardiac ventricular myocytes were studied using the standard whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from the hearts of adult guinea-pig by enzymic dispersion. The myocytes were continuously perfused with various experimental solutions at room temperature and paeonol applied in the perfusate. Action potentials and membrane currents were recorded using both current and voltage clamp modes of the patch-clamp technique. Paeonol, at concentrations 160 mu M and 640 mu M, decreased the action potential upstroke phase, an action associated with the blockade of the voltage-gated, fast sodium channel. The effects of paeonol on both action potential and Na+ current were concentration dependent. Paeonol had a high affinity for inactivated sodium channels. Paeonol also shortened the action potential duration, in a manner not associated with the blockade of the calcium current, or the enhancement of potassium currents. These findings suggest that paeonol, and therefore Mudanpi, may possess antiarrhythmic activity, which may confer its cardioprotective effects. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

The Namib Sand Sea digital database of aeolian dunes and key forcing variables

A new digital atlas of the geomorphology of the Namib Sand Sea in southern Africa has been developed. This atlas incorporates a number of databases including a digital elevation model (ASTER and SRTM) and other remote sensing databases that cover climate (ERA-40) and vegetation (PAL and GIMMS). A map of dune types in the Namib Sand Sea has been derived from Landsat and CNES/SPOT imagery. The atlas also includes a collation of geochronometric dates, largely derived from luminescence techniques, and a bibliographic survey of the research literature on the geomorphology of the Namib dune system. Together these databases provide valuable information that can be used as a starting point for tackling important questions about the development of the Namib and other sand seas in the past, present and future.

The impact of resolution on the adjustment and decadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in a coupled climate model

Variations in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) exert an important influence on climate, particularly on decadal time scales. Simulation of the MOC in coupled climate models is compromised, to a degree that is unknown, by their lack of fidelity in resolving some of the key processes involved. There is an overarching need to increase the resolution and fidelity of climate models, but also to assess how increases in resolution influence the simulation of key phenomena such as the MOC. In this study we investigate the impact of significantly increasing the (ocean and atmosphere) resolution of a coupled climate model on the simulation of MOC variability by comparing high and low resolution versions of the same model. In both versions, decadal variability of the MOC is closely linked to density anomalies that propagate from the Labrador Sea southward along the deep western boundary. We demonstrate that the MOC adjustment proceeds more rapidly in the higher resolution model due the increased speed of western boundary waves. However, the response of the Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) to MOC variations is relatively robust - in pattern if not in magnitude - across the two resolutions. The MOC also excites a coupled ocean-atmosphere response in the tropical Atlantic in both model versions. In the higher resolution model, but not the lower resolution model, there is evidence of a significant response in the extratropical atmosphere over the North Atlantic 6 years after a maximum in the MOC. In both models there is evidence of a weak negative feedback on deep density anomalies in the Labrador Sea, and hence on the MOC (with a time scale of approximately ten years). Our results highlight the need for further work to understand the decadal variability of the MOC and its simulation in climate models.

Harvesting the sea: the exploitation of marine resources in the Roman Mediterranean

Harvesting the Sea provides the first systematic treatment of the exploitation of various marine resources, such as large-scale fishing, fish salting, salt and purple-dye production, and oyster and fish-farming, in the Roman world and its role within the ancient economy. Bringing together literary, epigraphic, and legal sources, with a wealth of archaeological data collected in recent years, the book shows that these marine resources were an important feature of the Roman economy and, in scope and market-oriented production, paralleled phenomena taking place in the Roman agricultural economy on land. The book also examines the importance of technological innovations, the organization of labour, and the use of the existing legal framework in defence of economic interests against competitors for the same natural resource.