University of Virginia

About: University of Virginia is a education organization based out in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 52543 authors who have published 113268 publications receiving 5220506 citations. The organization is also known as: U of V & UVa.

The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market Value

Abstract: This paper examines the use of foreign currency derivatives (FCDs) by a sample of 720 large U.S. nonfinancial firms between 1990 and 1995 and its potential impact on firm value. Using Tobin's Q as an approximation of a firm's market valuation, we find a positive relationship between firm value and the use of FCDs. The hedging premium is statistically and economically significant mostly after 1993 and is on average 5.7\% of firm value. This result is robust to a) controls for size, profitability, leverage, growth opportunities, ability to access financial markets, industrial and geographical diversification, credit quality, industry classification (4-digit SIC), year-dummies and firm fixed-effects; b) the use of a weight-adjusted industry Tobin's Q and other measures of value, such as the market to book and the market to sales ratios; and, c) alternative estimation techniques that handle the potential impact of outliers. Using the ratio of foreign currency derivatives to foreign sales as a proxy for the percentage of exposure that a firm hedges, we observe a significant dispersion in our measure of the hedge ratio. In univariate tests we find a nonlinear relationship between Q and our proxy. However, firm-specific factors explain this relationship in multivariate tests and it appears that firms are hedging optimally.

Voriconazole compared with liposomal amphotericin B for empirical antifungal therapy in patients with neutropenia and persistent fever

Abstract: Background Patients with neutropenia and persistent fever are often treated empirically with amphotericin B or liposomal amphotericin B to prevent invasive fungal infections. Antifungal triazoles offer a potentially safer and effective alternative. Methods In a randomized, international, multicenter trial, we compared voriconazole, a new second-generation triazole, with liposomal amphotericin B for empirical antifungal therapy. Results A total of 837 patients (415 assigned to voriconazole and 422 to liposomal amphotericin B) were evaluated for success of treatment. The overall success rates were 26.0 percent with voriconazole and 30.6 percent with liposomal amphotericin B (95 percent confidence interval for the difference, –10.6 to 1.6 percentage points); these rates were independent of the administration of antifungal prophylaxis or the use of colony-stimulating factors. There were fewer documented breakthrough fungal infections in patients treated with voriconazole than in those treated with liposomal a...

Apoptotic cell clearance: basic biology and therapeutic potential

Abstract: Prompt removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes is important for maintaining tissue homeostasis. The molecular and cellular events that underpin apoptotic cell recognition and uptake, and the subsequent biological responses are increasingly better defined. The detection and disposal of apoptotic cells generally promote an anti-inflammatory response at the tissue level, as well as immunological tolerance. Consequently, defects in apoptotic cell clearance have been linked with a variety of inflammatory diseases and autoimmunity. Conversely, under certain conditions such as killing tumour cells by specific cell death inducers, the recognition of apoptotic tumour cells can promote an immunogenic response and anti-tumour immunity. Here, we review the current understanding of the complex process of apoptotic cell clearance in physiology and pathology, and discuss how this knowledge could be harnessed for new therapeutic strategies.

Tax Reporting Aggressiveness and its Relation to Aggressive Financial Reporting

Abstract: We investigate the association between aggressive tax and financial reporting and find a strong, positive relation. Our results suggest that insufficient costs exist to offset financial and tax reporting incentives, such that nonconformity between financial accounting standards and tax law allows firms to manage book income upward and taxable income downward in the same reporting period. To examine the relation between these aggressive reporting behaviors, we develop a measure of tax reporting aggressiveness that statistically detects tax shelter activity as least as well as, and often better than, other measures. In supplemental stock returns analyses, we confirm that the market overprices financial reporting aggressiveness. We also find that the market overprices tax reporting aggressiveness, but only for firms with the most aggressive financial reporting.