Post-merger operational performance of ICT companies in North America and Europe

This thesis analyses operational performance of ICT companies in North America and Europe after mergers completed from 2000 to 2011. The measure of operational performance is EBITDA returns on the market value of assets, which is not dependent on the methods of financing the transaction or merger accounting. European merged companies demonstrate considerably lower abnormal returns on assets than North American firms, though the present study does not reach statistical significance of the American abnormal return coefficient due to the small sample. The results hold after control-ling for the price-to-book ratios of the target and the acquirer, value of transaction, method of pay-ment, relative value of the target to the acquirer, and cross-border nature of acquisitions. In addition, they are robust to equity fluctuations during the time studied and variance in industry definitions. Furthermore, there is a strong positive correlation between efficiency improvements after acquisi-tions and stock price returns around the merger announcements. The underperformance of Europe-an companies may be explained by the differences in telecom industry regulation between the EU member states as well as cross-border cultural differences

Теоретико-методологические аспекты развития локальных инновационных систем

В статье рассматриваются теоретико-методологические аспекты территориального инновационного развития на локальном и региональном уровнях экономики. Для стимулирования сельской инновационной активности предлагается создание и развитие местных инициативных групп

Технологическая перспектива цифровизации сельского хозяйства через призму зарубежного опыта

В статье рассматриваются ключевые аспекты технологического прогресса в цифровом сельском хозяйстве. Приемы, базирующиеся на искусственном интеллекте, и анализ больших массивов данных способны существенно повысить эффективность сельскохозяйственного производства

Analysis of the Effects of Polymorphism on Pollen Profilin Structural Functionality and the Generation of Conformational, T- and B-Cell Epitopes

An extensive polymorphism analysis of pollen profilin, a fundamental regulator of the actin cytoskeleton dynamics, has been performed with a major focus in 3D-folding maintenance, changes in the 2-D structural elements, surface residues involved in ligands-profilin interactions and functionality, and the generation of conformational and lineal B- and T-cell epitopes variability. Our results revealed that while the general fold is conserved among profilins, substantial structural differences were found, particularly affecting the special distribution and length of different 2-D structural elements (i.e. cysteine residues), characteristic loops and coils, and numerous micro-heterogeneities present in fundamental residues directly involved in the interacting motifs, and to some extension these residues nearby to the ligand-interacting areas. Differential changes as result of polymorphism might contribute to generate functional variability among the plethora of profilin isoforms present in the olive pollen from different genetic background (olive cultivars), and between plant species, since biochemical interacting properties and binding affinities to natural ligands may be affected, particularly the interactions with different actin isoforms and phosphoinositides lipids species. Furthermore, conspicuous variability in lineal and conformational epitopes was found between profilins belonging to the same olive cultivar, and among different cultivars as direct implication of sequences polymorphism. The variability of the residues taking part of IgE-binding epitopes might be the final responsible of the differences in cross-reactivity among olive pollen cultivars, among pollen and plant-derived food allergens, as well as between distantly related pollen species, leading to a variable range of allergy reactions among atopic patients. Identification and analysis of commonly shared and specific epitopes in profilin isoforms is essential to gain knowledge about the interacting surface of these epitopes, and for a better understanding of immune responses, helping design and development of rational and effective immunotherapy strategies for the treatment of allergy diseases. [EN]This study was supported by the following European Regional Development Fund co-financed grants: MCINN BFU 2004-00601/BFI, BFU 2008-00629, BFU2011-22779, CICE (Junta de Andalucía) P2010-CVI15767, P2010-AGR6274 and P2011-CVI-7487, and by the coordinated project Spain/Germany MEC HA2004-0094. JCJ-L thanks Spanish CSIC and the European Marie Curie research program for his I3P-BPD-CSIC, and PIOF-GA-2011-301550 grants, respectively.Peer reviewe

Economic assessment of climate-related disaster losses in the forestry sector in Belarus: current status and areas for improvement based on international experience

This report has been drawn up within the study “Assessing the current losses and improving the economic analysis of the costs of the on-going climate related catastrophic forestry events based on international experience” funded by The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). This report was largely encouraged by the need to support the forest sector of Belarus to recover from the forestry catastrophic event of 2016 and to increase the resillience of Belarusian forests to future windblows and other adverse weather effects. The goal of the study was to improve economic assessment of the impact of catastrophic weather events on Belarusian forests. The study was carried out based on analysis of available research from the countries that have considerably advanced in this area, and were developed with regard to the practices existing in the forest sector of the Republic of Belarus. The work involved meetings with the authorities and professionals of the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus, visits to forestry enterprise with relevant study of methods for economic assessment of costs and the recovery operations after natural disasters