Vodafone - Kabel Deutschland Merger

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Zon-Optimus merger: Case study

The present Work Project was performed as a Case Study, analysing the merger between Zon, a leading Portuguese Pay TV operator and Optimus, the third largest mobile company in Portugal. The Case Study was developed with the purpose of understanding the value creation of the Zon-Optimus merger, being analysed the: (i) industry trends, (ii) parties’ contribution, (iii) pre-merger events, (iv) merger rationale, (v) deal structure and valuation, (vi) competition authority decision and (vii) competitive advantages and future strategy. Was also attached a Teaching Note where synergies, implied valuations, exchange ratios, shareholder agreements, swot analysis, among others, were duly analysed.

Trend- und Natursport als System

Zusammenfassung: Freizeitaktivitäten wie Mountainbiking, Sportklettern, Drachen- und Gleitschirmfliegen oder Windsur-fen sind relativ neue Erscheinungen der letzten fünfzehn bis fünfundzwanzig Jahre. Ihre Entwicklung und Ausdifferenzierung beschränkt sich vor allem auf Gesellschaften westlich-industrieller Prägung, deren Grundlage ein funktional differenziertes Gesellschaftssystem ist. Mit Hilfe des Beobachtungsin-strumentes der neueren soziologischen Systemtheorie wird zunächst das Aufkommen und die immer fortschreitende Ausdifferenzierung von Trend- und Natursportarten analysiert und gedeutet. Es zeigt sich, daß diese neuen Freizeitaktivitäten über den Zugriff auf die eigene Körperlichkeit in hohem Ma-ße zur Identitätsfindung der Individuen solcher Gesellschaftssysteme beitragen.Aus geographischer Sicht stellt sich die Frage nach der Bedeutung dieser Entwicklung für die Land-schaft. Dabei wird Landschaft explizit nicht als etwas verstanden, daß 'an sich' existiert, sondern als etwas, das 'erlebt' oder 'begriffen', also immer wieder aufs Neue im Auge des Betrachters konstru-iert wird. Für die Sporttreibenden von Trend- und Natursportarten ist der Blick auf die Welt durch ihre Sportart strukturiert. Jedenfalls immer dann, wenn es darum geht, eine Sportstätte für ihre jeweilige Sportausübung auszuwählen. Die Naturlandschaft (oder auch Kulturlandschaft) wird damit zur 'Sportlandschaft'. Der Begriff der 'Landschaft' erscheint dann im Sinne Werlens 'alltäglichen Geo-graphie-Machens' als eine permanent neu zu erstellende und damit sich auch ständig verändernde Perspektive auf die Objektwelt. So kann sich im Auge der Sporttreibenden von Trend- und Natur-sportarten jedes Objekt und jede Landschaft, wenn man so will: die Welt, als ein einziger großer Sportplatz darstellen.Wenn also alles potentiell eine Sportstätte sein kann, stellt sich die Frage, wie es zur Herausbildung sogenannter Top Spots kommt, also zu jenen Sportstätten, die innerhalb der jeweiligen Sportart von herausragender Bedeutung sind - sozusagen die oberste Sprosse der Karriereleiter erklommen haben - und an der jeder gewesen sein muß, der innerhalb der sportartspezifischen Szene etwas gelten will. Dieser Frage wird anhand eines Fallbeispiels nachgegangen. Als Grundlage wurde ein Untersu-chungsgebiet gewählt, das sich bereits in einem fortgeschrittenen Stadium der Entwicklung zu einem Top Spot befindet - eine Landschaft also, die bereits eine 'Karriere als Sportlandschaft' aufzuweisen hat. Die peripher gelegene US-amerikanische Kleinstadt Moab in Südost-Utah (ca. 5.000 Einwohner) hat sich seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre zu einem internationalen Szene-Treffpunkt für Mountainbiking entwickelt. Zu dem wichtigsten Mountainbike-Trail (dem Slickrock Bike Trail) kommen pro Jahr al-lein mehr als 200.000 Mountainbike-TouristInnen. Neben dem Mountainbiking spielt River Rafting eine bedeutende Rolle im Tourismus und es hat sich dort in den letzten Jahren außerdem eine kleine Sportkletter-Szene etabliert, die in den nächsten Jahren sicherlich noch an Bedeutung zunehmen wird.

Evaluating the use of IT by the third party logistics in South East Asia to achieve competitive advantage and its future trend

As the number of using 3PL providers are increasing rapidly in recent years, 3PL providers play a major role in the logistics industry. Due to customers demands are raising and changing, it has facilitated 3PL providers to invest IT systems that could meet customer requirements and create competitive advantage. The use of IT systems could assist 3PL providers to achieve supply chain visibility and enhance supply chain collaboration with business partners. In this paper, it is mainly focus on the Europe and Far East 3PL providers in terms of current and future IT systems, IT motivators and barriers, as well as the future supply chain demands that address by IT systems. The common IT system that implemented in both regions is information technology, which is mainly used to collaborate and share information with supply chain partners. Some of the common motivations and barriers were existed and 3PL providers need to be understood. Given the future demands of IT implementation and supply chain collaboration, IT systems such as RFID and integration systems would be strongly focus in the future. The suggestion about the advanced integration system such as business process management (BPM) could be the next key IT systems in the future logistics industry. © 2012 AICIT.

Pipkiiα Is Widely Expressed In Hematopoietic-derived Cells And May Play A Role In The Expression Of Alpha- And Gamma-globins In K562 Cells.

Characterized for the first time in erythrocytes, phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIP kinases) belong to a family of enzymes that generate various lipid messengers and participate in several cellular processes, including gene expression regulation. Recently, the PIPKIIα gene was found to be differentially expressed in reticulocytes from two siblings with hemoglobin H disease, suggesting a possible relationship between PIPKIIα and the production of globins. Here, we investigated PIPKIIα gene and protein expression and protein localization in hematopoietic-derived cells during their differentiation, and the effects of PIPKIIα silencing on K562 cells. PIPKIIα silencing resulted in an increase in α and γ globins and a decrease in the proliferation of K562 cells without affecting cell cycle progression and apoptosis. In conclusion, using a cell line model, we showed that PIPKIIα is widely expressed in hematopoietic-derived cells, is localized in their cytoplasm and nucleus, and is upregulated during erythroid differentiation. We also showed that PIPKIIα silencing can induce α and γ globin expression and decrease cell proliferation in K562 cells.

Genetic trend estimates of meat quality traits in a male broiler line

The present research was conducted to estimate the genetic trends for meat quality traits in a male broiler line. The traits analyzed were initial pH, pH at 6 h after slaughter, final pH, initial range of falling pH, final range of falling pH, lightness, redness, yellowness, weep loss, drip loss, shrink loss, and shear force. The number of observations varied between 618 and 2125 for each trait. Genetic values were obtained by restricted maximum likelihood, and the numerator relationship matrix had 107,154 animals. The genetic trends were estimated by regression of the broiler average genetic values with respect to unit of time (generations), and the average genetic trend was estimated by regression coefficients. Generally, for the traits analyzed, small genetic trends were obtained, except for drip loss and shear force, which were higher. The small magnitude of the trends found could be a consequence of the absence of selection for meat quality traits in the line analyzed. The estimates of genetic trends obtained were an indication of an improvement in the meat quality traits in the line analyzed, except for drip loss.

Prolactin May Not Play a Role in Primary Antiphospholipid (Hughes') Syndrome

The relationship between prolactin (PRL) and the immune system has been demonstrated in the last two decades and has opened new windows in the field of immunoendocrinology. However, there are scarce reports about PRL in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (pAPS). The objective of this study was to evaluate PRL levels in patients with pAPS compared to healthy controls and to investigate their possible clinical associations. Fifty-five pAPS patients according to Sapporo criteria were age- and sex-matched with 41 healthy subjects. Individuals with secondary causes of hyperprolactinemia (HPRL) were excluded; demographic, biometric, and clinical data, PRL levels, antiphospholipid antibodies, inflammatory markers, and other routine laboratory findings were analyzed. PRL levels were similar between pAPS and healthy controls (8.94 +/- 7.02 versus 8.71 +/- 6.73 ng/mL, P = .876). Nine percent of the pAPS patients and 12.1% of the control subjects presented HPRL (P = .740). Comparison between the pAPS patients with hyper- and normoprolactinemia revealed no significant differences related to anthropometrics, clinical manifestations, medications, smoking, and antiphospholipid antibodies (P > .05). This study showed that HPRL does not seem to play a role in clinical manifestations of the pAPS, differently from other autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Estimates of genetic trend for carcass traits in a commercial broiler line

Data from the slaughter of 24,001 chickens that were part of a selection program for the production of commercial broilers were used to estimate genetic trend for absolute carcass (CW), breast meat (BRW), and leg (LW) weights, and relative carcass (CY), breast meat (BRY), and leg (LY) weights. The components of (co) variance and breeding values of individuals were obtained by the restricted maximum likelihood method applied to animal models. The relationship matrix was composed of 132,442 birds. The models included as random effects, maternal additive genetic and permanent environmental for CW, BRW, LW, CY, and BRY, and only maternal permanent environmental for LY, besides the direct additive genetic and residual effects, and as fixed effects, hatch week, parents' mating group and sex. The estimates of genetic trend were obtained by average regression of breeding value on generation, and the average genetic trend was estimated by regression coefficients. The genetic trends for CW (+ 6.0336 g/generation), BRW (+ 3.6723 g/generation), LW (+ 1.5846 g/generation), CY (+ 0.1195%/generation), and BRY (+ 0.1388%/generation) were positive, and they were in accordance with the objectives of the selection program for these traits. The genetic trend for LY(-0.0019%/generation) was negative, possibly due to the strong emphasis on selection for BRY and the negative correlations between these two traits.

Genetic Variation among Major Human Geographic Groups Supports a Peculiar Evolutionary Trend in PAX9

A total of 172 persons from nine South Amerindian, three African and one Eskimo populations were studied in relation to the Paired box gene 9 (PAX9) exon 3 (138 base pairs) as well as its 5' and 3' flanking intronic segments (232 bp and 220 bp, respectively) and integrated with the information available for the same genetic region from individuals of different geographical origins. Nine mutations were scored in exon 3 and six in its flanking regions; four of them are new South American tribe-specific singletons. Exon3 nucleotide diversity is several orders of magnitude higher than its intronic regions. Additionally, a set of variants in the PAX9 and 101 other genes related with dentition can define at least some dental morphological differences between Sub-Saharan Africans and non-Africans, probably associated with adaptations after the modern human exodus from Africa. Exon 3 of PAX9 could be a good molecular example of how evolvability works.

Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Blaberoidea: Blaberidae), a cockroach with a possible association with the ant Brachymyrmex cordemoyi Forel, 1895 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and which may be exhibiting a domiciliation trend.

In the present paper, we report on the occurrence of the cockroach Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Brachymyrmex cordemoyi Forel, 1895 nests, indicating a possible symbiosis between these two species. Also, the finding of intradomicile P. surinamensis nymphs may indicate this species is extending its habitat to human habitations, i.e. changing its ecological category from peridomestic to domestic.

Physiological demands of match-play in elite tennis: A case study

The physiological and perceptual demands together with match notation of a four-set tennis match were studied in two elite professional players during the preparation for the 2008 Davis Cup. The design of this case report is unique in that it is the first to describe the demands of prolonged match-play (197 min) over four sets in ecologically valid conditions. The variables measured before and after each set included blood lactate and glucose concentrations, body mass, and perception of effort. Stroke count for each rally and heart rate were recorded during each set while salivary cortisol concentration was determined before and after the match. The rally length decreased as the match progressed. The results showed significant physiological stress, with each player losing greater than 2.5% of body mass (as fluid) and having elevated salivary cortisol concentrations after the match. Heart rate and perception of effort were also increased following each set indicating increasing stress. However, blood lactate decreased following the fourth set while blood glucose was maintained. The results also suggest that elite players may adjust work rates or tactics to cope with the increased perception of effort. This report shows that four sets of tennis are associated with increasing stress and fatigue.

THE MONTHLY RAINFALL IN THE RIO DE JANEIRO STATE, BRAZIL: SEASONALITY AND TREND

The objective of this work was to carry a descriptive analysis in the monthly precipitation of rainfall stations from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, using data of position and dispersion and graphical analyses, and to verify the presence of seasonality and trend in these data, with a study about the application of models of time series. The descriptive statistics was to characterize the general behavior of the series in three stations selected which present consistent historical series. The methodology of analysis of variance in randomized blocks and the determination of models of multiple linear regression, considering years and months as predictors variables, disclosed the presence of seasonality, what allowed to infer on the occurrence of repetitive natural phenomena throughout the time and absence of trend in the data. It was applied the methodology of multiple linear regression to removal the seasonality of these time series. The original data had been deducted from the estimates made by the adjusted model and the analysis of variance in randomized blocks for the residues of regression was preceded again. With the results obtained it was possible to conclude that the monthly rainfall present seasonality and they don`t present trend, the analysis of multiple regression was efficient in the removal of the seasonality, and the rainfall can be studied by means of time series.

Stromal cells play a role in cervical cancer progression mediated by MMP-2 protein

Metalloproteinases, especially metal loprotemase-2 (MMP-2), are known for their role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix. Nevertheless, a thorough understanding of MMP-2 expression in neoplastic lesions of the uterine cervix has yet to be accomplished. This study aimed to analyze the MMP-2 expression in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia III (CIN3) and in cervical squamous cell carcinoma, in tumor cells and adjacent stromal cells. MMP-2 expression was assessed by an immunohistochernical technique. MMP-2 expression was greater in the stromal cells of invasive carcinomas than in CIN3 (p < 0.0001). MMP-2 expression in stromal cells correlates with the clinical stage, gradually increasing as the tumor progresses (p = 0.04). This study corroborates that stromal cells play an important role in tumor invasion and progression, mediated by the progressive enhancement of MMP-2 expression from CIN3 to advanced invasive tumor. The intense MMP-2 expression most probably is associated with poor tumor prognosis.

Does Cyclophosphamide Play a Protective Role Against Neuronal Loss in Chronic T. cruzi Infection?

In this study, we verified the possible role of cyclophosphamide (CY) in protecting or not against neuronal losses in young and aged male Calomys callosus chronically infected with the MORC-1 strain of Trypanosoma cruzi through numerical quantification of neurons from the myenteric plexus of the colon and quantification of nitric-oxide concentration (NO) during the acute and chronic phase of infection. For this purpose, groups of young C. callosus were infected with the MORC-1 strain of T. cruzi. A group of infected animals received i.p. 0.2 mg/ml genuxal dissolved in distilled water treatment with CY. NO concentration in aged animals displayed reduced levels when compared to those found in young animals. No significant alterations in the number of neurons were observed in young animals, but for aged ones, a protective role of CY in reducing neuron loss was noted, in addition to enhancing the neuronal volume, area, and perimeter. These results suggest that CY administration, depending on the dose and time span, can act as a protective agent against neuronal losses.