Evaluation of incidental findings on MRI of the central nervous system: part 1

During the course of routine neuroradiologic imaging evaluation, various abnormalities are occasionally identified that may be considered "incidental findings." The significance of these is not always clear, and additional evaluation may be necessary. This article presents a series of magnetic resonance (MR) images to illustrate a number of "incidental findings," describes possible significance, and where additional evaluation or follow-up may be required.     

The Role of Private Equity in Life Sciences

In a roundtable published in this journal a year ago, there was a clear consensus that the R&D function in big pharma was inefficient and in need of major restructuring, possibly through increased investments by venture capital and private equity firms. In this discussion, an accomplished group of industry practitioners begins by looking at the prospects for both venture capital and private equity to play meaningful roles in financing early- and mid-stage drug development. In so doing, they explore questions like the following:

• • Are there ways for big pharma and biotech to reduce “science risk” and make R&D funding more profitable and attractive to venture capital and private equity—and perhaps even hedge funds?
• • What roles do you see for specialty PE firms like Symphony Capital and Paul Capital, which are now bundling mid-stage development assets and securitizing royalties?

Then the panelists turn to the broader life sciences industry and consider the outlook for leveraged private equity transactions involving marketed products, late-stage development, and services. Here they consider issues like the following:

• • Will PE be attracted to less-R&D-intensive activities like medtech and generics?
• • Have the recent consolidation through mergers and reorganization of big pharma into decentralized business units created opportunities for carve-outs of certain businesses?

For big pharma and life sciences companies in general, the answers to such questions point to greater specialization and focus achieved partly through strategic alliances with venture capital, private equity, and even hedge funds, and involving marketed products and services as well as early-stage drug development.     

An analysis of the impact of timberland, farmland and commercial real estate in the asset allocation decisions of institutional investors

We examine the effects of including timberland, farmland and commercial real estate in a mixed asset portfolio with stocks, government bonds and T-Bills. Using both smoothed and unsmoothed returns (as per Geltner [Geltner, D. (1993). Estimating market values from appraised values without assuming an efficient market. Journal of Real Estate Research, 8, 25-345.]) and both constrained and unconstrained allocation assumptions (as per Eichhorn, Gupta and Stubbs [Eichhorn, D., Gupta, F., & Stubbs, E. (1998). Using constraints to improve the robustness of asset allocation. Journal of Portfolio Management, Spring, 41-48.]), we employ Markowitz portfolio optimization and find widely varying allocation outcomes. However, timberland entered nearly all portfolios, accounting for large percentages in several scenarios, while farmland entered only low-risk portfolios. At lower risk levels, commercial real estate dominates the real estate allocation but as acceptable risk levels rise, timberland supplants commercial real estate as the primary component of the portfolio's real estate allocation.     

The impact of business group affiliation on stock price informativeness: Evidence from an emerging market

This paper examines the relationship between business group affiliation and stock price informativeness in an emerging market setting. We use stock price synchronicity as a measure, and study the impact of group affiliation ‐specifically the extent of affiliation, ownership structure and existence of group bank‐ on firm specific information content. Results reveal that the amount of firm‐specific information capitalized into stock prices tends to be lower (higher) when the firm is group‐affiliated (unaffiliated), indirectly (directly) owned, and affiliated group has (does not have) a group bank. Additionally, the extent of group affiliation maintains a non‐linear relationship with synchronicity, suggesting that the perception of higher versus lower levels of group ownership differs.     

The existence of a real value-added function in the Canadian manufacturing sector

Sims (1969), Gordon (1969), and Arrow (1972) have demonstrated that the capability of using real value-added to measure the output of a sector when material inputs are employed in the production process rests upon primary factor inputs being weakly separable from material inputs. In Canada, the double deflation technique is used by Statistics Canada to measure the real value-added output of an industry; this technique assumes strong separability. This paper tests both of these separability hypotheses for the Canadian manufacturing sector using data from 1950 to 1972 and a translogarithmic production function. Our tests lead us to reject both the strong and weak separability hypotheses. Furthermore, our estimates of the Allen partial elasticity of substitution of capital for labor are radically different from the results of previous Canadian studies.     

Every flow has its ebb: The impact of flow on work–family conflict and adjustment in global careers

Despite an increase in research in psychology on the mental state of flow, little is known within the area of organisational studies about its “dark side.” Although prior organisational studies literature suggests that flow leads to generally positive work outcomes, we use conservation of resources theory to argue that expatriates in the state of flow can accumulate resources that lead to work adjustment but at the same time may experience unintended negative work–family conflict consequences. Specifically, we argue that being in the state of flow can improve expatriates' work adjustment because they can concentrate on the task at hand in an unencumbered way. Yet the exclusive concentration on work tasks and the distortion of time while in the state of flow may reduce psychological and time resources available to the family, resulting in work–family conflict. We explore whether flow theory needs to be altered to discover potentially negative work–family conflict outcomes inherent in the complex work regimes associated with global careers. Structural equation modelling analyses based on a sample of 230 expatriates in the United States and 169 expatriates in Brazil revealed that flow increased both work–family conflict and work adjustment.     

Instrumental variables and wavelet decompositions

The application of wavelet analysis provides an orthogonal decomposition of a time series by time scale, thereby facilitating the decomposition of a data series into the sum of a structural component and a random error component. The structural components revealed by the wavelet analysis yield nearly ideal instrumental variables for variables observed with error and for co-endogenous variables in simultaneous equation models. Wavelets also provide an efficient way to explore the path of the structural component of the series to be analyzed and can be used to detect some specification errors. The methodology described in this paper is applied to the errors in variables problem and simultaneous equations case using some simulation exercises and to the analysis of a version of the Phillips curve with interesting results.     

Cultural Distance and Future Entry Mode Choice of Brazilian MNEs

We analyze the relationship between current cultural distance (CD) and future entry mode choice of Brazilian multinational enterprises (MNEs). We use the GLOBE Project in order to extend the distance literature into the entry mode context. Results demonstrate that high levels of CD have a negative impact on future expansions via acquisition and a positive impact on exporting. These relationships are moderated by size, such that large firms are affected less by CD than small firms. Finally, CD values have a greater impact on future entry mode preference than CD practices.     

Parenting Orientations as Antecedents of Children's Violent Videogame Play

The study investigates caregiver influence on children's playing of violent videogames. Based on theory, the investigation develops and tests a model that links parental socialization tendencies to children's violent videogame play. Results from a national sample of 237 caregiver–child dyads suggest that while the primary caregivers' tendencies toward warmth and restrictiveness likely lessen children's play levels of violent videogames, their predispositions toward anxious emotional involvement tend to increase play. Moreover, results suggest that these relationships are mediated by caregiver mediation of videogames.