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This paper shows that brand reputation alone may not be sufficient to help firms successfully issue green bonds and that they may need superior corporate social responsibility performance in the form of high ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores to unlock the full potential of their brand reputation. Using a sample of 338 international green bond issues across 108 unique firms, we found significant positive effects of ESG disclosure score and its interaction brand reputation on the issuance of green bonds while controlling for other variables, such as fixed effects of industry, region, and time. We also show that it is the S (Social) component of ESG and the interactions of its E (Environmental) and G (Governance) components with brand reputation which drive successful green bond issuance. Besides extending the current research on the impact of brand reputation and ESG on green bonds, these results also have important managerial implications for analysts, fund managers, and firms planning to raise green capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting the staggered deregulation of short sales in China as a quasi‐experiment, we investigate whether firms change investor relations (IR) strategy when they face short‐selling pressure. We document significant increases in IR efforts as measured by the frequency of company visits when firms' stocks become shortable in the market. Our cross‐sectional tests further reveal that pilot firms' engagements of such IR activities vary with their ex‐ante operating performance, accounting quality, short‐selling threat and ownership structure. Moreover, we find that pilot firms with higher IR efforts experience fewer subsequent short sales. We further document that corporate IR efforts are associated with more positive media coverage and facilitate subsequent external financing and capital investment. In addition to the site visits, we also find that pilot firms increase their response rates on online IR platforms. Collectively, results are consistent with our prediction that firms take proactive IR actions as strategic signaling to assist investor communication and discourage short sellers. The findings also suggest that IR activities are effective to reconstruct market perceptions and mitigate downside impacts on firms' operations produced by short sales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antihypertensive medications are commonly prescribed and well‐studied. Given the widespread use and potential side effects, various theories have been made about the relationship between antihypertensives and malignancy, including melanoma. This review describes the current understanding of the most commonly prescribed antihypertensives and their associations with melanoma. The literature demonstrates that diuretics, specifically hydrochlorothiazide and indapamide, may increase the risk of melanoma. While there is no evidence that antihypertensives have a role in melanoma prevention, non‐selective β‐blocker therapy has been associated with a decreased risk of disease progression and recurrence and may also improve outcomes in patients undergoing immunotherapy. In addition, experimental studies reveal that angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and calcium channel blockers have anti‐tumor effects, meriting further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many species use dormant stages for habitat selection by tying recovery to informative external cues. Other species have an undiscerning strategy in which they recover randomly despite having advanced sensory systems. We investigated whether elements of a species' habitat structure and life history can bar it from developing a discerning recovery strategy. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has a dormant stage called the dauer larva that disperses between habitat patches. On one hand, C. elegans colonization success is profoundly influenced by the bacteria found in its habitat patches, so we might expect this to select for a discerning strategy. On the other hand, C. elegans' habitat structure and life history suggest that there is no fitness benefit to varying recovery, which might select for an undiscerning strategy. We exposed dauers of three genotypes to a range of bacteria acquired from the worms' natural habitat. We found that C. elegans dauers recover in all conditions but increase recovery on certain bacteria depending on the worm's genotype, suggesting a combination of undiscerning and discerning strategies. Additionally, the worms' responses did not match the bacteria's objective quality, suggesting that their decision is based on other characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2019, a new plant‐derived purified cannabidiol preparation, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, became commercially available for patients ≥2 years old with Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome. Among our patients who were prescribed the new cannabidiol formulation, we observed several cases of thrombocytopenia and therefore embarked on this study. We conducted a single‐center systematic chart review of all pediatric patients (<21 years old) who were prescribed cannabidiol from January to August 2019. We evaluated salient features of the patients' epilepsy syndrome, age, concurrent medications, and surveillance laboratory results before and after cannabidiol initiation. Among 87 patients, nine (10%) developed thrombocytopenia (platelet nadir range = 17 000‐108 000) following initiation of cannabidiol. Each of these nine children was on combination therapy of cannabidiol with valproic acid. Whereas no children on cannabidiol without valproic acid (0/57) developed thrombocytopenia, nine of 23 treated with combination valproic acid and cannabidiol developed platelets < 110 000/µL (P <.0001). We report a novel and clinically important side effect of thrombocytopenia in one‐third of patients treated concurrently with cannabidiol and valproic acid. If this finding is confirmed, clinicians should perform close monitoring for thrombocytopenia when adding cannabidiol to a regimen that includes valproic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granular cell tumor (GCT), despite its putative neural origin, commonly occurs in extraneural sites; only six single case reports of intraneural GCT have been described. We report an unique case as the only one with motor dysfunction, the longest duration of symptoms, and largest tumor size with resultant muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration. Upon review of these cases, the striking feature of intraneural GCT lies in its histologic variety, ranging from benign GCT, through plexiform, hybrid GCT and perineurioma to malignant GCT, encompassing the full spectrum of extraneural GCT. As the immunophenotypes of schwannoma and GCT are not exactly identical, together with evidence from ultrastructural studies, the more reasonable and likely possibility is that GCT originates from undifferentiated mesenchymal cells acquiring partial schwannian differentiation. Such postulation by virtue of the widespread occurrence of mesenchymal cells in the soft tissue, better explains the topographic distribution of GCT in extraneural and intraneural location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1993, foreign institutional investors (strategic and corporate) have been permitted to invest in Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong as H-shares. We examine the impact of strategic and corporate investors on H-shares before, during, and after their IPOs. We observe that strategic and corporate investors select their investment candidates based on specific pre- IPO firm characteristics. The certification effect of corporate investors generates a significantly positive effect on outside investor demand. In addition, the presence of foreign institutional investors, particularly strategic investors, and post- IPO performance are positively related. Overall, we document a positive effect of foreign institutional investors on H-firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with recent terminology, it is proposed that malignant mesenchymoma should be renamed 'composite sarcoma' and defined as 'a sarcoma composed of two or more cellular types each of which is sufficiently differentiated to permit clear recognition of its histogenetic type microscopically, immunohistochemically or ultrastructurally; excluding fibrosarcomatous and high-grade pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcomatous component, dedifferentiated sarcoma and the combination of osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma which is regarded as a single histogenetic type'. Four cases of primary osseous composite sarcoma ( POCS) were identified among 928 primary bone sarcomas. Their age ranged from 10 to 87 years, peak incidence in the second decade with equal sex distribution. Most presented with pain, commonest in the knee, affecting the metaphysis, appearing radiologically as expansile infiltrative osteolytic lesions with cortical erosion, periosteal reaction, variable extent of osteoblastic areas and soft tissue extension. All contained variable amounts of conventional high-grade osteosarcoma with or without chondrosarcoma component; the other constituents were liposarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. In all cases, Ki67 proliferative index was over 35%, there was no CDK4 and MDM2 amplification. The absence of low-grade component supported the de novo origin of POCS rather than derivation from divergent dedifferentiation. The two older patients with hitherto undescribed osteoleiomyosarcoma died 2 and 10 months after operation, whereas the two younger with osteorhabdomyosarcoma and osteoliposarcoma enjoyed disease-free survival at 16 and 6 years after chemotherapy despite the latter showing lung metastasis at presentation. Identification of the different lines of differentiation together with their approximate amounts and histological grades is therefore mandatory for POCS as multi-agent chemotherapy catered for each sarcoma component might offer hope for long-term disease-free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We aimed to determine the diagnostic yield of continuous monitoring with video electroencephalography ( cVEEG) for pediatric inpatients with paroxysmal vital sign changes ( PVSCs), and to identify risk factors for the PVSCs being seizures, based on clinical information available before cVEEG initiation. We hypothesized that PVSCs without nonautonomic symptoms ( NAS) were unlikely to be seizures, and also that patients' clinical characteristics would alter the risk of recording seizures. Methods We performed a single-center chart review of 324 cVEEG studies that were obtained for differential diagnosis of PVSCs. We examined the type of PVSCs that prompted cVEEG, associated NAS, and patient characteristics, and whether the target events or seizures were recorded. We performed logistic regression analyses to determine which patient and semiologic features altered the risk of the PVSCs being seizures, and which patient characteristics altered the risk of recording any seizures. Results Target PVSCs were recorded in 52% (N = 169). Seizures were recorded in 21% (N = 69) of the studies, often unrelated to the PVSCs (N = 39). When examining only PVSCs without NAS, only 4% (3/75) of studies obtained for apnea and 2.1% (1/48) of studies obtained for oxygen desaturation revealed the target events to be seizures. No studies recorded ictal hypertension (0/26), hypotension (0/16), or bradycardia (0/18). In univariate analysis, there was a decreased risk that the events were seizures when PVSCs lacked NAS (odds ratio [ OR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 0.08-0.65). The risk was increased when the patient had received an antiseizure medication (2.9, 1.3-6.5), the target PVSC was apnea (3.5, 1.5-8.5), and in particular, apnea with NAS (8.7, 3.7-20.8). In adjusted analyses, only apnea with associated NAS independently increased the risk of the PVSCs being seizures (7.7, 3.2-18.5). Significance PVSCs in the absence of NAS are rarely due to seizures. Ideally, cVEEG should be reserved for children with additional risk factors for seizures, beyond isolated PVSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isocitrate dehydrogenase catalyzes the first oxidative and decarboxylation steps in the citric acid cycle. It also lies at a crucial bifurcation point between CO2-generating steps in the cycle and carbon-conserving steps in the glyoxylate bypass. Hence, the enzyme is a focus of regulation. The bacterial enzyme is typically dependent on the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. The monomeric enzyme from Corynebacterium glutamicum is highly specific towards this coenzyme and the substrate isocitrate while retaining a high overall efficiency. Here, a 1.9 Å resolution crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with its coenzyme and the cofactor Mg2+ is reported. Coenzyme specificity is mediated by interactions with the negatively charged 2'-phosphate group, which is surrounded by the side chains of two arginines, one histidine and, via a water, one lysine residue, forming ion pairs and hydrogen bonds. Comparison with a previous apoenzyme structure indicates that the binding site is essentially preconfigured for coenzyme binding. In a second enzyme molecule in the asymmetric unit negatively charged aspartate and glutamate residues from a symmetry-related enzyme molecule interact with the positively charged arginines, abolishing coenzyme binding. The holoenzyme from C. glutamicum displays a 36° interdomain hinge-opening movement relative to the only previous holoenzyme structure of the monomeric enzyme: that from Azotobacter vinelandii. As a result, the active site is not blocked by the bound coenzyme as in the closed conformation of the latter, but is accessible to the substrate isocitrate. However, the substratebinding site is disrupted in the open conformation. Hinge points could be pinpointed for the two molecules in the same crystal, which show a 13° hinge-bending movement relative to each other. One of the two pairs of hinge residues is intimately flanked on both sides by the isocitrate-binding site. This suggests that binding of a relatively small substrate (or its competitive inhibitors) in tight proximity to a hinge point could lead to large conformational changes leading to a closed, presumably catalytically active (or inactive), conformation. It is possible that the small-molecule concerted inhibitors glyoxylate and oxaloacetate similarly bind close to the hinge, leading to an inactive conformation of the enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By analysing archival data of 5451 Chinese listed companies, this investigation offers insights into how the relational demographic differences between the highest ranking executives (chairperson and general manager) may affect corporate performance in a Chinese cultural context. Overall, the findings derived from the regression analyses reveal that, for status-laden demographic attributes such as age and title possession, relational-norm-consistent demographic differences lead to better corporate performance. In addition, the findings highlight that relational demographic homogeneity in terms of title possession also boosts corporate performance. Furthermore, this investigation provides empirical evidence for the significant moderating effect of industry sales growth on the relationship between the relational demographic difference in title possession and corporate performance. The finding suggests the importance of adopting a contingent approach to appoint the chairperson and general manager in line with relevant industry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which identifies the mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase genes IDH1 and IDH2 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) utilizing high resolution melting (HRM) analysis. The study used the HRM analysis and direct sequencing to test the mutations of IDH1 and IDH2 in 168 AML patients. The results showed that HRM analysis is a quick and efficient method if screening patients for IDH1 and IDH2 mutations and can be a useful alternative for detecting other recurrent mutations.

Wilson disease associated protein (ATP7B) is essential for copper transport in human cells. Mutations that affect ATP7B function result in Wilson's disease, a chronic copper toxicosis. Disease-causing mutations within the N-domain of ATP7B (WND) are known to disrupt ATP binding, but a high-resolution X-ray structure of the ATP-binding site has not been reported. The N-domain was modified to delete the disordered loop comprising residues His1115-Asp1138 (WNDΔ1115-1138). Unlike the wild-type N-domain, WNDΔ1115-1138 formed good-quality crystals. Synchrotron diffraction data have been collected from WNDΔ1115-1138 at the Canadian Light Source. A native WNDΔ1115-1138 crystal diffracted to 1.7 Å resolution and belonged to space group P42212, with unit-cell parameters a = 39.2, b = 39.2, c = 168.9 Å. MAD data were collected to 2.7 Å resolution from a SeMet-derivative crystal with unit-cell parameters a = 38.4, b = 38.4, c = 166.7 Å. The WNDΔ1115-1138 structure is likely to be solved by phasing from multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive data on corporate announcements of Chinese firms allows us to examine the preference for, and determinants of, cash and stock dividends. The results indicate that Chinese public investors prefer stock dividends over cash dividends, which are preferred by large state and legal person shareholders generally. Stock dividends, which do not require an explicit cash outflow from a firm, are found to be positively related to higher earnings, supporting the signalling hypothesis of dividend policy. In an imperfect market, these results have some implications for government regulation of financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land cover changes alter the near surface weather and climate. Changes in land surface properties such as albedo, roughness length, stomatal resistance, and leaf area index alter the surface energy balance, leading to differences in near surface temperatures. This study utilized a newly developed land cover data set for the eastern United States to examine the influence of historical land cover change on June temperatures and precipitation. The new data set contains representations of the land cover and associated biophysical parameters for 1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992, capturing the clearing of the forest and the expansion of agriculture over the eastern United States from 1650 to the early twentieth century and the subsequent forest regrowth. The data set also includes the inferred distribution of potentially water-saturated soils at each time slice for use in the sensitivity tests. The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System, equipped with the Land Ecosystem-Atmosphere Feedback (LEAF-2) land surface parameterization, was used to simulate the weather of June 1996 using the 1992, 1920, 1850, and 1650 land cover representations. The results suggest that changes in surface roughness and stomatal resistance have caused present-day maximum and minimum temperatures in the eastern United States to warm by about 0.3°C and 0.4°C, respectively, when compared to values in 1650. In contrast, the maximum temperatures have remained about the same, while the minimums have cooled by about 0.1°C when compared to 1920. Little change in precipitation was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether insiders (directors) exploit information advantage of their firms by trading stocks before the simultaneous earnings and dividend announcements in Hong Kong. Our findings show that there are significant net-insider-buying activities before the announcements of good news (‘Earnings-Dividend Increase’) and significant net-insider-selling activities before bad news (‘Earnings-Dividend Decrease’ and ‘Earnings Decrease-Dividend Zero’). In addition, our regression results provide some support for the hypothesis that there is a predictive relation between pre-event insider trading activity and the abnormal return of the announcements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The herpes simplex virus (HSV)-derived amplicon vector has evolved into a promising gene transfer platform for widespread DNA delivery in gene replacement strategies and vaccine development given its ease of molecular manipulation, large transgene capacity, and transduction efficiencies of numerous cell types in vivo. The recent development of helper virus-free packaging methodologies bodes well for this vector system in its eventual implementation as a clinically viable therapeutic modality. For realization of clinical application, efforts have been made to enhance yields and quality of helper-free amplicon stocks. Hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), a hybrid polar compound that exhibits stimulatory activity of HSV-1 immediate-early gene expression, has been employed as a standard reagent in helper virus-free packaging given its purported mode of action on virus gene expression kinetics. Unexpectedly, we have found that HMBA exhibits no titer-enhancing activity; in contrast, the compound enhances the proportion of amplicon virions that are non-expressive. Omission of HMBA during vector packaging led to a marked reduction in the ratios of vector genome-transducing to transgene-expressing virions. This effect was neither packaging-cell-specific nor amplicon-promoter-dependent. Analysis of resultant vector stocks indicated amplicon genome replication/concatenation was unaffected, but the level of particle-associated ICP0 was reduced in stocks packaged in the presence of HMBA. Inclusion of a co-transfected, ICP0-expressing plasmid into the packaging process led to significant rescue of amplicon expression titers, indicating that regulation of ICP0 concentrations is critical for maintenance of the amplicon genome expressive state. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a global ranking of accounting research and examine the elite degree and elite affiliation effect. Based on 24 accounting journals during the period 1991–2005, the top 5 most productive countries in accounting research are in the following order: the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong. We find a significant elite degree effect, indicating that authors who graduated from elite accounting programmes have a disproportionate share of publications in top-notch journals. The same conclusion is also supported by the elite affiliation effect in which leading accounting journals have higher concentration of authors who are affiliated with elite institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique market setting in Hong Kong, where (i) all firms release earnings and dividend information in the same announcement; (ii) corporate transparency is low; (iii) dividend income is non-taxable and (iv) corporate ownership is highly concentrated, we re-examine the corroboration effects of earnings and dividends. We use the control firm approach to avoid the return estimation bias resulting from observation clustering. We also add in variables and use econometric procedure to control for the potential impacts of earnings management, special dividends and heteroskedasticity. Our findings show that there exists a corroboration effect between the jointly announced signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both monomeric and dimeric NADP+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) belong to the metal-dependent β-decarboxylating dehydrogenase family and catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation from 2R,3S-isocitrate to yield 2-oxoglutarate, CO2, and NADPH. It is important to solve the structures of IDHs from various species to correlate with its function and evolutionary significance. So far, only two crystal structures of substrate/cofactor-bound (isocitrate/NADP) NADP+-dependent monomeric IDH from Azotobacter vinelandii (AvIDH) have been solved. Herein, we report for the first time the substrate/cofactor-free structure of a monomeric NADP+-dependent IDH from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgIDH) in the presence of Mg2+. The 1.75 Å structure of CgIDH-Mg2+ showed a distinct open conformation in contrast to the closed conformation of AvIDH-isocitrate/NADP+ complexes. Fluorescence studies on CgIDH in the presence of isocitrate/or NADP+ suggest the presence of low energy barrier conformers. In CgIDH, the amino acid residues corresponding to the Escherichia coli IDH phosphorylation-loop are α-helical compared with the more flexible random-coil region in the E. coli protein where IDH activation is controlled by phosphorylation. This more structured region supports the idea that activation of CgIDH is not controlled by phosphorylation. Monomeric NADP+-specific IDHs have been identified from about 50 different bacterial species, such as proteobacteria, actinobacteria, and planctomycetes, whereas, dimeric NADP+-dependent IDHs are diversified in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We have constructed a phylogenetic tree based on amino acid sequences of all bacterial monomeric NADP+-dependent IDHs and also another one with specifically chosen species which either contains both monomeric and dimeric NADP+-dependent IDHs or have monomeric NADP+-dependent, as well as NAD+-dependent IDHs. This is done to examine evolutionary relationships. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate net buying pressure in the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index options market during the Asian financial crisis from July 1997 to August 1998. Our findings suggest that during this period, the dramatic changes in volatility overwhelmed the dynamics of supply and demand in the options market. The extremely high realized volatility drove market participants' expectations about future market volatility in the early months of the crisis. Findings during the late-crisis, pre-crisis, and post-crisis periods are consistent with the net buying pressure hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of option trading activity on implied volatility changes to returns in the index futures option market. Controlling for option moneyness, delta-to-option-premium ratio, and liquidity, we find that net buying pressure, profit-maximization behavior, and liquidity are interrelated and affect asymmetric responses of implied volatilities to returns. Implied volatilities of options with more liquidity, a higher exercise price, and a higher delta-to-option-premium ratio have the most profound asymmetric response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actinobacillus succinogenes can produce, via fermentation, high concentrations of succinate, an important industrial commodity. A key enzyme in this pathway is phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK), which catalyzes the production of oxaloacetate from phosphoenolpyruvate and carbon dioxide, with the concomitant conversion of adenosine 5′-diphosphate to adenosine 5′-triphosphate. 1.85 and 1.70 Å resolution structures of the native and a pyruvate/Mn2+/ phosphate complex have been solved, respectively. The structure of the complex contains sulfhydryl reducing agents covalently bound to three cysteine residues via disulfide bonds. One of these cysteine residues (Cys285) is located in the active-site cleft and may be analogous to the putative reactive cysteine of PCK from Trypanosoma cruzi. Cys285 is also part of a previously unreported conserved motif comprising residues 280–287 and containing the pattern NXEXGXY(/F)A(/G); this new motif appears to have a structural role in stabilizing and positioning side chains that bind substrates and metal ions. The first few residues of this motif connect the two domains of the enzyme and a fulcrum point appears to be located near Asn280. In addition, an active-site Asp residue forms two coordinate bonds with the Mn2+ ion present in the structure of the complex in a symmetrical bidentate manner, unlike in other PCK structures that contain a manganese ion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China Securities Regulatory Commission requires all listed firms to make earnings announcements by the end of April each year. This requirement creates a unique opportunity for us to evaluate the timing of earnings announcements in a four-month cluster. Firms, which are willing to make early announcements, tend to surprise the market, as indicated by the higher volume and price reactions. Later announcements are more predictable, as indicated by the lower volume and price reactions. These results indicate that an information asymmetry exists between early and late earnings announcements in Mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the implied volatilities, options premiums, and options trading profits at various time-intervals across five different moneyness categories of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI) options. To evaluate the net buying pressure hypothesis of researchers N.P.B. Bollen and R. Whaley regarding the shapes of implied volatility function (IVF) in the Hong Kong index options market. It is well documented that IVF exhibits a "smile" or "smirk" across different options exercise prices. Through trading simulations, they find a significantly positive abnormal return by selling S&P 500 index options while at the same time hedging delta risk. The trading strategy is most profitable for selling deep out-of-the-money put index options. Given that Hong Kong began trading index options in 1993, an examination of the implied volatilities will shed some light on the maturity of a young index options market. According to Bollen and Whaley, it is the net buying pressure of the options market that drives the index options prices to be higher. Specifically, Bollen and Whaley contend that, in the S&P 500 index options market, institutional investors usually purchase large quantities of out-of-the-money index put options in hedging their underlying cash positions.

Chow LTC, Kumta SM. Primary osteochondrorhabdomyosarcoma (malignant mesenchymoma) of the fibula: a rare tumour in an unusual site– Case report and review of the literature. APMIS 2004;112:617–23.Malignant mesenchymoma, defined by Stout as sarcomas comprising two or more unrelated differentiated tissue elements other than a fibrosarcoma component, is rare. We report a case of primary malignant mesenchymoma of the proximal fibula in a 10-year-old female student who presented with pain and swelling of the right knee for 2 months. Initial biopsy showed features of rhabdomyosarcoma only, but the resected specimen revealed additional osteosarcomatous and chondrosarcomatous elements. The patient remained well more than 5 years after initial presentation. Including our present patient, 16 cases of primary malignant mesenchymoma of bone are found in the English literature, affecting mainly adolescents and young adults, with a slight male predominance and predilection for the metaphysis of long bones, especially around the knee. More than 60% of the patients develop metastasis, almost invariably to the lung, but occasionally to the brain. About 60% of the patients, all with metastasis, died mostly within one year of diagnosis. The clinical features of primary malignant mesenchymoma of bone thus resemble those of conventional osteosarcoma. Moreover, our case illustrates that, with combination chemotherapy targeted for individual elements, the prognosis of this rare tumour might be much improved, as in osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on stock exchange markets. Numerous stock exchanges all over the world open and close their futures and spot markets at different times. he global view of the advantages and disadvantages of futures trading has been changing during the last two decades. price fluctuations in futures contracts are considered to have an undesirable effect on the cash market. However, the effects of extending the trading hours of index futures are multidimensional and go beyond that of providing convenience to investors.

Chow LTC, Ho PC, Kumta SM. Papillary endothelial hyperplasia within synovial haemangioma of the flexor tendon sheath of the wrist. APMIS 2004;112:314–18. A 60-year-old housewife presented with a painful and slowly enlarging swelling in the left wrist for 3 months. Plain X-ray showed mild soft tissue swelling and ultrasonography tenosynovitis of the flexor tendons. Exploration revealed a vascular growth involving the synovium of the flexor tendon sheath of the left little finger. Synovectomy and excision of the entire growth led to the diagnosis of synovial haemangioma with areas of recent haemorrhage and florid papillary endothelial hyperplasia. The recent haemorrhage corresponded to the sudden increase in size, while the papillary endothelial hyperplasia accounted for the persistence and gradual enlargement of the lesion. The patient made an uneventful recovery and remained well more than 2 ½ years after the operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary. In normal bone marrow, WT1 expression is restricted to CD34+ cells. We assessed WT1 mRNA expression levels with quantitative, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in normal, myelodysplastic (MDS) and secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (sAML) bone marrow subfractions, based on differentiation status. The highest WT1 expression was observed in the primitive CD34+ rhodamine-123 (rho) dull cells, both in healthy donors and MDS or sAML patients. In contrast to normal CD34-negative bone marrow cells, WT1 was present in CD34-negative bone marrow cells in 12 out of 13 MDS patients and two sAML samples. Further analysis of this aberrant WT1 expression was performed in the CD34-negative subfractions of three MDS patients. In one of these, WT1 expression was found exclusively in the erythroid cells. This patient was completely transfusion dependent and showed morphological dyserythropoiesis. In another MDS patient, WT1 expression was found in a non-erythroid compartment. We conclude that abnormal WT1 expression may contribute to the disturbed differentiation of haematopoietic cells in MDS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the short-term persistence in the performance of the mutual fund industry in Hong Kong, China. The authors focus on the performance of fund houses instead of on individual equity funds. The authors use average monthly returns of all equity funds from mutual fund houses to investigate whether there exists a hot hand phenomenon among the fund houses in Hong Kong. As one of the major financial centers in Asia, billions of dollars are being invested in financial securities in Hong Kong and many international investment bankers are striving for success in this competitive market. The substantial amount of assets invested in different mutual funds sold in Hong Kong is managed by about 400 investment management professionals. All the mutual funds in Hong Kong are either front or back end loaded. Historically the total expenses including advisory and non-advisory fees and other administrative expenses range from five percent to as high as eight percent.

The objective of this paper is to propose a positive means of encouraging the use of public transit, through the creation and utilization of incentives aimed at stimulating demand. A tax incentive is proposed and examined as a form of revenue source subsidy which can be coupled with a congestion toll/gasoline tax policy to accomplish this demand stimulation, and is examined in light of the associated public policy issues. Taken into account are the typology of subsidy, the justification for subsidy, the sources of subsidy and the impact of different types of subsidy on economic factors, such as price and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that at the time of a takeover announcement, target firm shareholders receiving cash earn larger abnormal returns than those receiving stock. Our work confirms that cash targets receive larger direct payments from bidders and that the size of target firm abnormal returns is related to the relative size of this direct payment. Once we control for the size of the payment, however, we find the target firm abnormal returns to be unrelated to the payment method. Thus the relationship between payment method and target firm abnormal returns is indirect. This finding is important because it casts doubt on the signaling (asymmetric information) hypothesis. That is, cash offers do not seem to be valued by the market as a means of reducing this uncertainty. Something else, such as the tax implication differences between cash and stock offers, drives cash target firms to demand larger payments from bidding firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the price premium paid by international bidders to their corresponding U.S. targets. Past research on international acquisitions focused on the benefits of diversification of U.S. acquiring firms. Due to data limitations, the sample is confined to takeover transactions for international bidders and U.S. targets with a minimum price of $100 million. A sample of 70 takeover events from 13 countries was examined. Researchers examined the summary statistics of several takeover characteristics. They found that international bidders seem to prefer related acquisitions. However, these related takeovers do not result in higher premiums or higher abnormal returns for the targets. They believe that the differences in takeover duration is a consequence of different perceptions of political risk in acquiring U.S. targets by international bidders. Both the analysis of variance and the regression analysis indicate that British bidders are able to pay a lower premium than bidders from other countries. This lower premium does not lead to a lower abnormal return for their U.S. targets. The British bidders' ability to pay a lower premium to their understanding of the U.S. business environment and to their sophistication in takeover activities. In addition, the abnormal returns of the U.S. targets tend to vary with the country of the bidder. Also, the abnormal returns of the targets are found to be positively related to the premium they received. On average, international bidders do not take more time to complete a transaction than U.S. bidders. Furthermore, they believe that the higher abnormal returns received by U.S. targets in international takeovers are not necessarily due to overpayment but probably due to the type of takeovers and other determinants like payment methods.

This article examines the wealth effects of the divesting firm's shareholders during the creation of a unit management buyout (UMB). One reason that could explain a selling firm's positive abnormal returns is that UMB may improve allocation or use of corporate resources. When the unit managers purchase the unit, they now have an equity-ownership incentive in the unit which may permit them to improve the unit's performance. If the price paid is more than the value of the assets to the parent firm, the parent firm gains from the sale. For the selling firm to receive a premium, the managers of the unit should believe that the unit is more valuable to them than to the selling firm.' Every firm or unit within a firm can be viewed as a unique set of contracts and assets. A particular set of assets may be more valuable to one owner than to another, given their contractual arrangements. If the managers of the unit find the assets more valuable to them than to the selling firm, they may pay more than the value of the assets to the selling firm. Hence, selling firm shareholders earn abnormal returns. However, every transaction involves negotiation. The final settlement of the negotiations depends upon many factors, such as the relative bargaining strength of the parent firm and the unit.

Our results for buyers and sellers are consistent with those found in prior research. Sellers gain in voluntary selloff transactions, and buyers gain only slightly. A combination of buyers and sellers in value-weigh ted portfolios, however, wipes out these announcement period gains because the value-weighted portfolio reflects the weighted combination of abnormal returns. Apparently losses to some buyers offsets seller gains. The portfolios only gain if there is synergy created by the selloff (and purchase) of the assets. Since 89 out of 182 (49 percent) portfolios lose in our matched-pair tests, our results cast doubt on the conclusion that selloff activity is generally synergistic. Synergy does appear to be created in 93 out of our 182 (51 percent) selloff portfolios. Only 25 percent of our sample portfolios gain when both the seller and buyer shareholders gain. In 54 percent of the portfolios there is an opposite price effect between buyers and sellers. These results lend some support to the wealth transfer hypothesis. However, the wealth transfers go from buyer to seller 51 times and from seller to buyer 47 times. Roll's (1986) Hubris hypothesis implies that overbidding would transfer wealth from buyer to seller. Our results do not find overwhelming support for this hypothesis since the wealth transfer often occurs in the other direction. Our results only test the market's perception of the synergy to be created by the selloff. In an efficient market this perception should be unbiased, but it would be necessary to trace these companies through time to actually determine if the transactions are synergistic. Past research has shown that sellers gain and that buyers (may) gain, with the conclusion that selloffs create synergy. The existing size difference between buyers and sellers in this study, however, shows that equally-weighted results can be biased. In 87 percent of our portfolios there is a large size difference between buyers and sellers. Large buyers win more often than small buyers. Small sellers win more often than large sellers. We conclude, therefore, that while some selloffs are synergistic, there are others in which a wealth transfer occurs between buyers and sellers. Future research should focus on the factors and characteristics of the buyers, the sellers, and the portfolios which lead to synergistic or non-synergistic selloffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]