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Demonstrated Ability (demonstrated + ability)
Selected AbstractsMorgan Stanley Roundtable on Private Equity and Its Import for Public CompaniesJOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 3 2006Article first published online: 4 OCT 200 The role of private equity in global capital markets appears to be expanding at an extraordinary rate. Morgan Stanley estimates that there are now some 2,700 private equity funds that either have raised, or are in the process of raising, a total of $500 billion. With this abundance of available equity capital, the willingness of private equity firms to participate in "club" deals, and the leverage that can be put on top of the equity, private equity buyers now appear able and willing to pay higher prices for assets than ever before. And thanks in part to this new purchasing power, private equity transactions reportedly account for a quarter of all global M&A activity as well as a third of the high yield and IPO markets. The stock of capital now devoted to private equity reflects the demonstrated ability of at least the most reputable buyout firms to produce consistently high rates of returns for their limited partners. Although a talent for identifying and purchasing undervalued assets may be part of the story, the ability to produce such returns on a consistent basis implies an ability to add value, to improve the performance of the operating companies they invest in and control. And in this round-table, a small group of academics and practitioners address two main questions: How does private equity add value? And are there lessons for public companies in the success of private companies? According to the panelists, the answer to the first question appears to have changed somewhat over time. The consensus was that most of the value added by the LBO firms of the,80s was created during the initial structuring of the deals, a process described by Steve Kaplan as "financial and governance engineering," which includes not only aggressive use of leverage and powerful equity incentives for operating managements, but active oversight by a small, intensely interested board of directors. In the past ten years, however, these standard LBO features have been complemented by increased attention to "operational engineering," to the point where today's buyout firms feel obligated, like classic venture capitalists, to acquire and tout their own operating expertise. In response to the second of the two questions, Michael Jensen argues that much of the approach and benefits of private equity-particularly the adjustments of financial policies and stronger managerial incentives-can be replicated by public companies. And although some of these benefits have already been realized, much more remains to be done. Perhaps the biggest challenge, however, is finding a way to transfer to public companies the board-level expertise, incentives, and degree of engagement that characterize companies run by private equity investors. [source] Regulation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activity and Phosphorylation at Ser19 and Ser40 via Activation of Glutamate NMDA Receptors in Rat StriatumJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2000Niklas Lindgren Abstract: The activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of dopamine, is stimulated by phosphorylation. In this study, we examined the effects of activation of NMDA receptors on the state of phosphorylation and activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in rat striatal slices. NMDA produced a time-and concentration-dependent increase in the levels of phospho-Ser19 -tyrosine hydroxylase in nigrostriatal nerve terminals. This increase was not associated with any changes in the basal activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, measured as DOPA accumulation. Forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase, stimulated tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation at Ser40 and caused a significant increase in DOPA accumulation. NMDA reduced forskolin-mediated increases in both Ser40 phosphorylation and DOPA accumulation. In addition, NMDA reduced the increase in phospho-Ser40 -tyrosine hydroxylase produced by okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A, but not by a cyclic AMP analogue, 8-bromo-cyclic AMP. These results indicate that, in the striatum, glutamate decreases tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation at Ser40 via activation of NMDA receptors by reducing cyclic AMP production. They also provide a mechanism for the demonstrated ability of NMDA to decrease tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine synthesis. [source] Tendon-selective genes identified from rat and human musculoskeletal tissuesJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010Scott A. Jelinsky Abstract Mesenchymal stems cells have a demonstrated ability to differentiate into muscle, bone, and fat. Determining whether these same cells have the ability to differentiate into tendon-like fibroblasts has been hampered by the lack of specific tendon cell marker genes. In order to identify molecular markers of mature tendon, expression profiling was used to identify genes expressed in adult rat and human tendon tissue compared to other musculoskeletal tissues. Using this technique, approximately 1,600 transcripts appeared to be selectively expressed in rat tendon tissue and approximately 300 transcripts appeared to be selectively expressed in human tendon tissue, with ,20 genes selectively expressed in both human and rat tendon tissue. Of these common tendon-selective genes, thrombospon-din-4 (THBS4) and tenomodulin (TNMD) were found to have the highest tendon-selective expression compared to other tissues examined. Interestingly, expression of these tendon-selective genes, which are present in primary tendon fibroblasts, is lost when these cells are placed in two-dimensional culture systems. In conclusion, this study has defined a set of tendon-selective genes present in both adult rat and human tendons. Identification of tendon-selective genes provides potential molecular tools to facilitate a better understanding of tendon development and tendon repair. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 28:289,297, 2010 [source] Discursive identity: Assimilation into the culture of science and its implications for minority studentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2004Bryan A. Brown This study examined how, in some instances, participation in the cultural practices of high school science classrooms created intrapersonal conflict for ethnic minority students. Discourse analysis of videotaped science classroom activities, lectures, and laboratories was the primary methodology employed for analyzing students' discursive identity development. This analysis demonstrated differential appropriation of science discourse as four significant domains of discursive identities emerged: Opposition status, Maintenance status, Incorporation status, and Proficiency status. Students characterized as Opposition Status avoided use of science discourse. Students who exhibited Maintenance Status illustrated a commitment to maintaining their normative discourse behavior, despite a demonstrated ability to appropriate science discourse. Students characterized as Incorporation Status made active attempts to incorporate science discourse into their normative speech patterns, while Proficiency Status students demonstrated a fluency in applying scientific discursive. Implications for science education emerging from the study include the illumination of the need to make the use of specific scientific discourse an explicit component of classroom curriculum. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 810,834, 2004 [source] | ||||||||||