Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Post-Exit Operating Performance of Buy-and-Build Firms

This thesis studies the impact of the exit route on operating performance of buy-and-build firms after the private equity firm has exited. I analyse an unique dataset of 127 European buy-andbuild firms that are exited through an IPO, secondary buyout, or strategic sale between 2000 and 2015, using information on private equity firm and portfolio company characteristics, as well as debt and equity market conditions. Although operating performance improves following buy-and-build strategies relative to industry-median firms, I find no evidence of superior postexit operating performance using a propensity score matched sample of non-buy-and-build firms as a benchmark. I find that the post-exit operating performance of buy-and-build firms does not depend on the chosen exit route. My results show that a buy-and-build strategy significantly increases the probability to be sold to another private equity firm relative to a sale to a strategic buyer. JEL classification: G24, G34
Multi-Agents Systems for Cartographic Generalization: Feedback from Past and On-going Research

Cartographic generalization is a highly local and contextual process where decisions are taken locally to better adjust the transformations used to the local geography. Thus, carto-graphic generalization fits well with the multi-agents paradigm that promotes decentralized and autonomous decision-making. The past years of research in cartographic generalization showed several successful attempts to use multi-agents systems, and this paper provides a feedback on these attempts. We extracted a core modeling of a multi-agents system for generalization and highlighted its main components. Previous propositions of multi-agents generalization processes are described in relation to this core modeling, and feedbacks from experimentations with these processes are discussed to define a research agenda in multi-agents modeling for generalization.
Evidence on Internet Communication Management Strategies for Luxury Brands

Luxury brands and the Internet communication media seem to be inconsistent at first sight. On the one hand, luxury brands have to maintain the control of their elitism and their image; on the other hand, Internet is defined as a mass media of communication that is basically not selective. However, some years ago, all the luxury brands started to set up their own websites and some of them have gone as far as opening online shops. Then, regarding these paradoxes and a literature review, the purpose of this article is to analyze how luxury brands can manage scarcity and the use of Internet. To answer this question, a structural semiotic methodology on luxury brands and their communication is used. The purpose is to bring about a better understanding of how luxury brands use Internet in their communication strategy and how this media may or may not fit into a luxury brandâ€™s management of the values of rarity. The methodology analyses factors that can impact the success or the failure of Internet communication for luxury brands. The results show that Internet is not entirely incompatible with luxury. It all depends on how it is used. Internet can strengthen the core values of brands thanks to original and interactive applications. But sometimes if not enough attention is paid, Internet may dilute the brand values. So many precautions have to be taken to avoid the dilution of brand narratives and some managerial implications are developed in this article, especially concerning e-shopping.
A very limited role of tropospheric chlorine as a sink of the greenhouse gas methane

Abstract. Unexpectedly large seasonal phase differences between CH4 concentration and its 13C ∕ 12C isotopic ratio and their inter-annual variations observed in southern hemispheric time series have been attributed to the Cl + CH4 reaction, in which 13CH4 is discriminated strongly compared to OH + CH4, and have provided the only (indirect) evidence of a hemispheric-scale presence of oxidative cycle-relevant quantities of tropospheric atomic Cl. Our analysis of concurrent New Zealand and Antarctic time series of CH4 and CO mixing and isotope ratios shows that a corresponding 13C ∕ 12C variability is absent in CO. Using the AC-GCM EMAC model and isotopic mass balancing for comparing the periods of presumably high and low Cl, it is shown that variations in extra-tropical Southern Hemisphere Cl cannot have exceeded 0.9 × 103 atoms cm−3. It is demonstrated that the 13C ∕ 12C ratio of CO is a sensitive indicator for the isotopic composition of reacted CH4 and therefore for its sources. Despite ambiguities about the yield of CO from CH4 oxidation (with this yield being an important factor in the budget of CO) and uncertainties about the isotopic composition of sources of CO (in particular biomass burning), the contribution of Cl to the removal of CH4 in the troposphere is probably much lower than currently assumed.
Effect of non-linearities on beam dynamics in the SNS accumulator ring

Uncontrolled beam losses lead to excessive radioactivation in high-intensity proton rings. Designing a successful high-intensity ring therefore requires a good understanding of the sources of such beam losses. This paper presents, for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accumulator ring, dynamic aperture studies in which we explore the effect of non-linearities arising from kinematic terms and various magnet imperfections. We also discuss the impact on the design of the SNS accumulator ring.
Flux balance modeling to predict bacterial survival during pulsed-activity events

Abstract. Desert biological soil crusts (BSCs) are cyanobacteria-dominated surface soil microbial communities common to plant interspaces in arid environments. The capability to significantly dampen their metabolism allows them to exist for extended periods in a desiccated dormant state that is highly robust to environmental stresses. However, within minutes of wetting, metabolic functions reboot, maximizing activity during infrequent permissive periods. Microcoleus vaginatus, a primary producer within the crust ecosystem and an early colonizer, initiates crust formation by binding particles in the upper layer of soil via exopolysaccharides, making microbial dominated biological soil crusts highly dependent on the viability of this organism. Previous studies have suggested that biopolymers play a central role in the survival of this organism by powering resuscitation, rapidly forming compatible solutes, and fueling metabolic activity in dark, hydrated conditions. To elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon and provide a basis for future modeling of BSCs, we developed a manually curated, genome-scale metabolic model of Microcoleus vaginatus (iNJ1153). To validate this model, gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy (LC–MS) were used to characterize the rate of biopolymer accumulation and depletion in in hydrated Microcoleus vaginatus under light and dark conditions. Constraint-based flux balance analysis showed agreement between model predictions and experimental reaction fluxes. A significant amount of consumed carbon and light energy is invested into storage molecules glycogen and polyphosphate, while β -polyhydroxybutyrate may function as a secondary resource. Pseudo-steady-state modeling suggests that glycogen, the primary carbon source with the fastest depletion rate, will be exhausted if M. vaginatus experiences dark wetting events 4 times longer than light wetting events.
A finiteness theorem for representability of quadratic forms by forms

Abstract In this article, Conway-Schneeberger’s and Bhargava’s results on representability of positive integers by positive definite integral quadratric forms are fully generalized as follows: for any infinite set S of positive definite integral quadratic forms of bounded rank, there is a finite subset S 0 of S such that any positive definite integral quadratic form that represents every element of S 0 represents all elements of S.
Geochemical evidence for gas hydrate in sediment near the Chile Triple Juction

Coring at ODP Sites 859, 860, and 861 near the Chile Triple Junction failed to recover anticipated gas hydrate that was inferred to be present from two lines of geophysical evidence: pre-cruise observation of a weak to strong bottom simulating reflector (BSR) marking the predicted base of the gas-hydrate stability zone, and post-cruise interpretation of the velocity and resistivity logs at Site 859 that suggests the presence of gas hydrate. In contrast to other gas-hydrate occurrences observed during previous DSDP and ODP drilling, this Chile Margin sediment is very low in contents of total organic carbon (TOC 200) and δ1 C, values (<-60‰) show little evidence that the methane came from deeper thermogenic sources. Pore-fluid freshening does, however, suggest that gas hydrate is present, disseminated thinly and heterogeneously throughout the stability zone, and occupies less than 25% of the available pore space. The environment of the gas hydrate in sediment near the Chile Triple Junction has unique characteristics relative to known gas-hydrate occurrences elsewhere.
Genetic sex determination supports the Gulf of California as an important habitat for male and female sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus )

1 Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), La Paz, B.C. S. , Mexico, 23090. 2 Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Service, La Jolla, CA, USA 92037. 3 Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA 92093-0203. 4 Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur México, Dep. Biología Marina, La Paz, U.A. B.C.S. , Mexico 23081. 5 The Institute of Environmental and Human Health Texas Tech University and TTU, Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas, USA 79416. 6 Ocean Alliance, Lincoln, MA, USA 01773. * Corresponding author: Nadia T. Rubio-Cisneros – Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA 92037. E-mail: nrubio@ucsd.edu. 7 Mangels, K. and Gerrodette, T. (1994) Report of cetacean sightings during a marine mammal survey in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California aboard the NOAA ships Mc Arthur and David Starr Jordan, July 28-November 6, 1993. NOAA TM-NMFSSWFSC-211, US Department of Commerce, Seattle, WA, USA. 8 Godard, C. , Clark, R. , Harper, C. , Mesnick, S. , Moore, M. , Payne, R. , Rubio-Cisneros, N. and Stegeman, J. (2003) CYP1A1 expression in sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus skin biopsies show site but not sex differences. Page 60 in Abstracts, 15th Biennial conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 14-19 December, Greensboro, NC, USA. GENETIC SEX DETERMINATION SUPPORTS THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA AS AN IMPORTANT HABITAT FOR MALE AND FEMALE SPERM WHALES (PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS)
GENERAL & APPLIED ECONOMICS | RESEARCH ARTICLE Comparative analysis of tomato value chain competitiveness in selected areas of Malawi and Mozambique

This paper discusses tomato value chain performance in Malawi and Mozambique using data collected from a market study commissioned by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture as part of a regional research on con- servation agriculture in maize-based farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results show that Malawi has a slightly higher competitive advantage in the pro- duction of tomato compared to Mozambique. Malawi's relative competitiveness in tomato is mainly due to slightly higher productivity and the cost advantage in labor (low wages) and irrigation costs. The paper proposes policy implications aimed at raising the productivity and trade competitiveness of tomato, as this will ensure the overall productivity of the maize-based smallholder farming systems in the two
Assessment of knowledge of school teachers regarding epilepsy

The unpredictable nature of epilepsy means that teachers may unexpectedly, without warning, have to react to a seizure as school children with seizure disorder spend most of their daytime socializing and interacting with their teachers. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge on Epilepsy among 97 school teachers working in selected schools of Panchkula, Haryana using a structured knowledge questionnaire. The findings show that, majority (88.7%) of the school teachers had ever heard of epilepsy; none of the teacher had attended any training programme on Epilepsy. All the teachers were having poor level of knowledge (0-24) i.e below 50%. About 28.9% were not aware of any symptom of the Epilepsy and 15.5% answered that something (alcohol, ether, leather) should be given to smell during a seizure. Only 45.4% school teachers were aware that a person with seizure disorder/epilepsy should seek treatment from a neurologist. It can be concluded that knowledge is inadequate among the school teachers on concept, symptoms and management of epilepsy. There is an urgent need to train school teachers regarding Epilepsy and its management.
Dying to find the source – the use of rhodamine WT as a proxy for soluble point source pollutants in closed pipe surface drainage networks

Abstract. Rhodamine WT (RWT), a xanthene dye, may serve as a proxy for soluble pollutants within quantitative tracing studies investigating point source contaminant transport. This study quantified the effects of altering the concentration, pH, temperature and salinity of a RWT solution on the detected fluorescence of RWT within the laboratory prior to a field release of RWT within a closed pipe urban drainage network. All RWT solutions exhibited stability and
Knowledge of Occupational Hazards and Post Exposure Prohylaxis by Hospital Cleaners to HIV and Other Blood Borne Pathogens: Findings from Ten Hospitals in Abakaliki, Nigeria

Background: Medical wastes unlike other waste products constitute a serious health hazard to its handlers, patients and the community at large. Objective: This study assessed the level of awareness of hospital cleaners on occupational hazards, safety measures and post exposure prophylaxis to HIV in 10 hospitals in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted on ninety hospital cleaners working in ten public and privately owned hospitals in Abakaliki. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection and data analysis was done with SPSS version 19. Results: This showed that out of 90 respondents sampled, 68 questionnaires were available for analysis. This gave a response rate of 75.6%. It was observed that knowledge of occupational hazards was fairly high (82.4%) among the participants; this was due to training on hospital waste management and experience from the Job. Safety measures to mitigate occupational hazard was inconsistently and incorrectly used by the respondents. A fairly significant proportion of participants were aware of their HIV (72.1%), Hepatitis B (47.1%) and C viruses (48.5%) status. Only half (50%) were immunized for Hepatitis B virus and as well as had knowledge of post- exposure prophylaxis for HIV. Conclusion: Occupational exposure of health care providers to hazardous hospital waste is a significant public health problem. Therefore, healthcare managers and policy makers should institute astute measures to improve the knowledge of occupational hazards, as well as provide personal protective device to hospital waste handlers. Post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV should be domiciled in healthcare centre for the benefit of exposed individuals.
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETITIVENESS IN THE EU FISH MARKET

The aim of this paper is to estimate the competitive level of fresh fish exports among the Euro-Mediterranean countries. "Revealed Competitive Advantage" (RCA), indices of the Italian, French, Greek, Portuguese and Spanish fresh fish e.xports are estimated, in order to gain new insights regarding the position of these products in the market of the European Union, in terms of competitiveness. In addition, this study investigates the dynamic linkages among countries and the way that their competitive level is affected, using Cointegration and Innovation Accounting analysis. The esr~utated RCA indices reveal that there is a wide range of competitiveness among Euro-Mediterranean countries. In addition, the investigation of the dynamic characteristics of competitiveness reveals that the competitive position for each country is affected at different levels by different factors, constituting a dynamic market that can be easily influenced by changes in the volatile marketing environment.
Tax Evasion in Switzerland: The Roles of Deterrence and Tax Morale

The traditional economic approach to tax evasion does not appear to be particularly successful in explaining the extent of tax compliance. We argue instead that a psychological tax contract which establishes a fiscal exchange between the state and the citizens shapes tax compliance to a large extent. In that respect, a case study of Switzerland is useful because the small size of the cantons and their direct democratic political systems procedurally establish a close exchange relationship between taxpayers and tax authorities. In this paper, evidence is discussed on how tax evasion and tax morale in Switzerland evolved over time. In addition, the impact of economic, legal, socio-demographic, psychological and institutional factors on Swiss tax evasion is discussed.
Copepods as microbial hotspots in the ocean: effects of host feeding activities on attached bacteria

Through ingestion a copepod introduces rich organic substrates into its guts and fecal pellets, where dense bacteria may exploit them and show fast growth. Thus, a copepod and its fecal pellets may be regarded as microbial hotspots in the ocean. This study investigated the effects of copepods' feeding activities on the associated bacteria, using the Most Probable Number (MPN) method. Starved Acartia tonsa (calanoid copepod) carried a background bacteria population of 10 3 to 10 4 copepod -1 . When fed axenic cultures of algae Rhodomonas salina or Dunaliella tertiolecta, the bacterial abundance increased curvilinearly with the copepods' ingestion rates. When fed axenic cultures of diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, the bacterial abundance showed a hump-shaped response to the ingestion rate. These observations support a conceptual model of a balance between bacteria growth stimulated by the host's feeding and bacteria loss through the host's defecation. The equivalent bacterial population density associated with the copepods was orders of magnitude higher than typical population density of marine free-living bacteria. In a time series experiment, bacteria inside the copepods' bodies increased significantly after 3 d of feeding, and the estimated bacterial growth rate was 0.89 d -1 , higher than the average growth rate for free-living pelagic bacteria. The copepods released a significant amount of bacteria via defecation when food was present, and the equivalent bacterial abundance associated with fecal pellets was 6.5 × 10 8 bacteria ml -1 . Bacteria recovered from A. tonsa feeding on different diets showed different growth kinetics in enrichment cultures, suggesting that diet types may be a selective force for different bacterial communities inside the host's body.
Transient Analysis of a kout-of-n : G System with N-Policy , Repairmen ’ s Multiple Vacations , and Redundant Dependency

This paper analyzes a k-out-of-n:G repairable system with N-policy, repairmen’s multiple synchronous vacations, and redundant dependency. When there is no failed component in the system, the repairmen leave for a vacation, the duration of which follows a phase type distribution. Upon returning from vacation, they should take another vacation if there are less thanN failed components waiting in the system.This pattern continues until at least N failed components are waiting. Moreover, the redundant dependency which is a special kind of failure dependency is taken into account in the multicomponent system. Under such assumptions, the availability, the rate of occurrence of failures, and the reliability of the system are derived in transient regime by applying the quasibirth-and-death process. Furthermore, the Runge-Kutta method is carried out to numerically discuss the time-dependent behavior of the system reliability measures. Finally, a special case of the system is presented to show the validity of our model.
Interactive comment on “Impact of an extremely large magnitude volcanic eruption on the global climate and carbon cycle estimated from ensemble Earth System Model simulations” by J. Segschneider et al

Authors assess the effect of a large volcanic eruption on the climate and the carbon cycle response using the MPI-ESM. This is an ordinary manuscript that does not come out as strong on analysis and new insights, but rather appears to be more of a sensitivity study as also pointed out by the other reviewer. At the very least, the additional analysis suggested by other reviewer will help to improve the paper. The description of models, in particular the terrestrial carbon cycle model, appears insufficient at times which makes it difficult to draw inferences about “why”. The description of the simulation protocols is also weak. I suggest that the authors strongly consider the suggestion
THE GENERIC STRUCTURE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN PERSIAN DISSERTATIONS

Acknowledgments are vital since students/researchers can demonstrate their genuine appreciation through them and more importantly shape their (local/global) academic identity. In line with this significance, the present study examined the move patterns of 503 Persian dissertation acknowledgements from two major universities in Iran, from 1981 to 2014 and from sixteen various disciplines including soft and hard science disciplines. Overall, 65,323 words were analyzed. By and large, a careful examination and analysis of the corpus indicated that Iranian university students follow a three-tier moves pattern in writing a dissertation acknowledgments, namely a “Framing move” (including six micro steps), a main “Thanking move” (consisting of nine micro steps), and a “Closing move” (containing four micro steps). Moreover, the results indicated that the longest and shortest acknowledgments were 986 and 4 words respectively. The results also indicated that there was a significant difference in the complexity of acknowledgments in hard and soft science disciplines. The results of this study can hold valuable implications for both university students and professors who aspire an appropriate, coherent, and to the point display of scholarly competence and academic identity.
Shapley Cost Allocation Coincides With Relative Status: The Case of Skyscrapers

Empirical evidence shows that the value of units in a building generally rises with their floor level due to features such as the better view and lesser noise experienced in higher stories. We adopt a theoretical approach for examining the value of units in different floors based on the allocation of land and construction cost among the stories of the building. Relying on cooperative game theory analysis, we propose the Shapley value approach as a mechanism for allocating these costs. We examine the allocation mechanism and derive several closed-form properties by which the value pattern of stories in a building is rationalized. Furthermore, following Lakoff and Johnson (1980), we argue that agents achieve greater status from occupying higher stories because of inherent cognitive motives. We thus constitute the Relative L&J Status function and formally show that its properties coincide with those of the difference between the costs allocated to any two stories in the building, thereby, derive a new property to the Shapley solution. Finally, we empirically test the derived Shapley cost allocation properties and the attained results are consistent with our major predictions.