187 research outputs found
Voucher funds in transitional economies : the Czech and Slovak experience
No full textVoucher funds have arisen in the transitional economies of Eastern and Central Europe that have used voucher privatization. These funds collect vouchers from citizens and use them to buy shares in enterprises. In the Czech and Slovak Republics, voucher funds are typically organized as corporations owned by the citizens who contributed their vouchers. Recently, they have also been organized as unit trusts (either open-ended or closed). A management company manages the funds under a contract that specifies the management fee. The management company is typically owned by the initial sponsor of the fund - for example, a bank. Voucher funds can give owners a diversified and professionally managed portfolio. More important, the funds select who sits on an enterprise's governance boards (which oversee management and profitability). Although experience is limited, the funds in these two countries have probably stopped most fraud and self-serving by enterprise mangers and are beginning to encourage the restructuring needed for profitability. A few funds have replaced poorly performing or dishonest managers; more often, because qualified replacements are few, they encourage managers to improve performance. There have been complaints about funds'performance. Some have made unrealistic promises to voucher holders and have appointed poorly qualified members to management boards. There is concern about conflicts of interest in the bank-sponsored funds and excessive control of enterprises. Funds typically lack capital or expertise to undertake restructuring - but few other potential owners are likely to be better qualified. The author examines 27 regulations that have been proposed for funds. Regulations in transitional economies, unlike regulations in most western countries, should encourage funds to play a strong role in corporate governance, he contends, as few potential owners have this ability. Most important, regulations should require that funds disclose information about their operations so their owners can monitor and control fund managers. The regulatory regime, the author says, should discourage monopolies and anticompetitive behavior; create incentives for fund managers to improve fund performance; discourage self-serving or fraudulent behavior by fund managers, and conflicts of interest; and eliminate high-risk investments unacceptable to fund owners. Because there is so little experience with these funds, the regulatory regime should not be unduly restrictive. As problems arise, regulations to deal with them can be added.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Adjustment and Lending,Economic Theory&Research,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Payment Systems&Infrastructure
Measurement of the CP-violating phase \phi s in Bs->J/\psi\pi+\pi- decays
No full textMeasurement of the mixing-induced CP-violating phase phi_s in Bs decays is of prime importance in probing new physics. Here 7421 +/- 105 signal events from the dominantly CP-odd final state J/\psi pi+ pi- are selected in 1/fb of pp collision data collected at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV with the LHCb detector. A time-dependent fit to the data yields a value of phi_s=-0.019^{+0.173+0.004}_{-0.174-0.003} rad, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. No evidence of direct CP violation is found
Evidence for the decay B0→J/ψω and measurement of the relative branching fractions of meson decays to J/ψη and J/ψη′
No full textFirst evidence of the B 0 → J / ψ ω decay is found and the B s 0 → J / ψ η and B s 0 → J / ψ η ′ decays are studied using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb -1 collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. The branching fractions of these decays are measured relative to that of the B 0 → J / ψ ρ 0 decay:frac(B (B 0 → J / ψ ω), B (B 0 → J / ψ ρ 0)) = 0.89 ± 0.19 (stat) - 0.13 + 0.07 (syst),frac(B (B s 0 → J / ψ η), B (B 0 → J / ψ ρ 0)) = 14.0 ± 1.2 (stat) - 1.5 + 1.1 (syst) - 1.0 + 1.1 (frac(f d, f s)),frac(B (B s 0 → J / ψ η ′), B (B 0 → J / ψ ρ 0)) = 12.7 ± 1.1 (stat) - 1.3 + 0.5 (syst) - 0.9 + 1.0 (frac(f d, f s)), where the last uncertainty is due to the knowledge of f d / f s, the ratio of b-quark hadronization factors that accounts for the different production rate of B 0 and B s 0 mesons. The ratio of the branching fractions of B s 0 → J / ψ η ′ and B s 0 → J / ψ η decays is measured to befrac(B (B s 0 → J / ψ η ′), B (B s 0 → J / ψ η)) = 0.90 ± 0.09 (stat) - 0.02 + 0.06 (syst)
Observations of Bºs→ψ(2S)η and Bº(s)→ψ(2S)π+π- decays
No full textFirst observations of the B0s
→ψ(2S)η, B0 →ψ(2S)π
+
π
− and B0s
→ψ(2S)π
+
π
− decays are made
using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 collected by the LHCb experiment in
proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of
√
s = 7 TeV. The ratios of the branching fractions
of each of the ψ(2S) modes with respect to the corresponding J/ψ decays are
B(B0s
→ψ(2S)η)
÷
B(B0s
→J/ψη)
= 0.83± 0.14 (stat)±0.12 (syst) ±0.02 (B),
;
B(B0→ψ(2S)π
+
π
−
)
÷
B(B0→J/ψπ
+
π
−
)
= 0.56± 0.07 (stat)±0.05 (syst)± 0.01 (B),
;
B(B0s
→ψ(2S)π
+
π
−
)
÷
B(B0s
→J/ψπ
+
π
−
)
= 0.34± 0.04 (stat)±0.03 (syst)± 0.01 (B),
where the third uncertainty corresponds to the uncertainties of the dilepton branching fractions of the J/ψ
and ψ(2S) meson decays
Prompt charm production in pp collisions at √<span style="text-decoration:overline">s</span>=7 TeV
No full textCharm production at the LHC in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector. The decays D0→K−π+, D+→K−π+π+, D⁎+→D0(K−π+)π+, D+s→ϕ(K−K+)π+, Λ+c→pK−π+, and their charge conjugates are analysed in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 15 nb−1. Differential cross-sections dσ/dpT are measured for prompt production of the five charmed hadron species in bins of transverse momentum and rapidity in the region 0<pT<8 GeV/c and 2.0<y<4.5. Theoretical predictions are compared to the measured differential cross-sections. The integrated cross-sections of the charm hadrons are computed in the above pT-y range, and their ratios are reported. A combination of the five integrated cross-section measurements gives
σ(cc¯)pT<8 GeV/c,2.0<y<4.5=1419±12(stat)±116(syst)±65(frag) μb,
where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the fragmentation functions
Measurement of the inclusive φ cross-section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV
No full textThe cross-section for inclusive φ meson production in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV has been measured with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The differential cross-section is measured as a function of the φ transverse momentum pT and rapidity y in the region 0.6< pT <5.0 GeV/c and 2.44< y <4.06. The cross-section for inclusive φ production in this kinematic range is σ(pp→φX)=1758±19(stat) +43−14(syst)±182(scale) μb, where the first systematic uncertainty depends on the pT and y region and the second is related to the overall scale. Predictions based on the Pythia 6.4 generator underestimate the cross-section
Measurement of the branching fraction
No full textThe B
0
s
→ J/ψK
0
S
branching fraction is measured in a data sample corresponding to 0.41 fb−1
of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to
the penguin contributions affecting the sin 2β measurement from B
0
→ J/ψK
0
S
. The time-integrated
branching fraction is measured to be B(B
0
s
→ J/ψK
0
S
) = (1.83±0.28)×10−5
. This is the most precise
measurement to date
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B0→K∗0γ )/B(B0s→φγ ) and the directCP asymmetry inB 0→K∗0γ
No full textThe ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0→K⁎0γ and B0s→ϕγ has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV. The value obtained is
B(B0→K⁎0γ)B(B0s→ϕγ)=1.23±0.06(stat.)±0.04(syst.)±0.10(fs/fd),
where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for B(B0→K⁎0γ), the branching fraction B(B0s→ϕγ) is measured to be (3.5±0.4)×10−5.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0→K⁎0γ decays has also been measured with the same data and found to be
ACP(B0→K⁎0γ)=(0.8±1.7(stat.)±0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the previous experimental results and theoretical expectations
Consumo e balanço de minerais em dietas de caprinos no sertão do Rio Grande do Norte.
No full textEsse trabalho foi realizado com base em dois experimentos, onde objetivou-se quantificar e avaliar a contaminação mineral proveniente da saliva na extrusa de caprinos no período seco, transição e chuvoso. Os períodos de coletadas de dados se deram em novembro de 2014 a abril de 2015. Os minerais avaliados foram: Sódio (Na), Fósforo (P), Potássio (K), Cálcio (Ca), Magnésio (Mg), Enxofre (S), Ferro (Fe), Manganês (Mn), Zinco (Zn), Cobre (Cu), Selênio (Se), Cromo (Cr), Molibdênio (Mo) e Cobalto (Co). Foram coletadas extrusas de animais fistulados no rúmen. Em cada período, foi realizado o esvaziamento do rúmen e fornecido o pasto nativo, com parte já separada para análises e por meio da diferença se obteve a contaminação (%). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com fatorial, 3x2. As contaminações em % MS foram (P<0,05) para P (394,27%; 342,98%; 745,34%) e Na (493,43%; 440,49%; 2759%) nos períodos seco, transição e chuvoso respectivamente dentro de cada mineral, Ca (122,55% e 51,17%) nos períodos seco e transição respectivamente, S (31,96%) no período seco. O Mg, com valores decrescentes de 29,69% e 18,13% nos períodos transição e chuvoso respectivamente, K com valores abaixo do pasto 29,69% e 18,13% (% MS) períodos seco e transição respectivamente. A contaminação foi (P<0,05) para Cu (138,18%; 133,87%; 91,99%), Zn (201,02%; 92,25%; 75,34%), Se (94,36%; 52,02%; 244,84%) e Mo (319,66; 196,35; 160,85) nos períodos seco, transição e chuvoso para cada mineral, Mn (34,62%) no período chuvoso, Fe (215,77%) no período seco, Cr (204,19%) no período de transição e Co (474,53% e 262,64) no período seco e transição respectivamente. Os minerais tiveram seus teores alterados quando o alimento entrou em contato com a saliva. No segundo experimento, objetivou-se determinar o balanço de minerais na dieta de caprinos em Caatinga, em três épocas do ano. Foram realizadas coletas de extrusa ruminal e nesta determinada os balanços de: Sódio (Na), Fósforo (P), Potássio (K), Cálcio (Ca), Magnésio (Mg), Enxofre (S), Ferro (Fe), Manganês (Mn), Zinco (Zn), Cobre (Cu), Selênio (Se), Cromo (Cr), Molibdênio (Mo) e Cobalto (Co). Os minerais deficientes, com os respectivos balanços negativos na dieta, na época seca foram: P (0,46 g.d-1); S (0,43 g.d-1); Cu (14,56 mg.d-1); Se (0,17 mg.d-1); Mo (0,66 mg.d-1); Co (0,03 mg.d-1); Zn (1,29 mg.d-1). Na época de transição: P (0,33 g.d-1); Cu (11,58 mg.d-1); Se (0,190 mg.d-1); Mo (0,51 mg.d-1). Na época chuvosa: Na (0,48 g.d-1); Cu (8,72 mg.d-1); Se (0,25 mg.d-1); Mo (0,25 mg.d-1). Além da deficiência dietética dos minerais, foi observado desequilíbrio na relação entre minerais, a exemplo do Ca:P, 19:1. Os resultados deixam claro que a disponibilidade dos minerais na forragem da Caatinga é dependente de época. Conclui-se que ao se elaborar os suplementos minerais essas deficiências específicas da região, bem como a relação entre os minerais, devem ser observadas. Abstract: Aiming to determine and quantify the mineral contamination of saliva on goat?s extrusa, two experiments were done from November 2014 to April 2015. The minerals evaluated were: Sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S ), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and cobalt (Co). The extrusas were collected indoor from rumen fistulated animals, in three periods of the year (dry, rainy and transition). In each period, the animals were kept in individual pens and had their rumen evacuated, when received native pasture with mineral profile known The difference between the contend of offered pasture and its respective extrusa was assigned as contamination. The experimental design was completely randomized with factorial 3x2 (3 periods and two samples ? offered and extusa). The contaminations in % of MS were: P (394.27%, 342.98%, 745.34%) and Na (493.43%, 440.49%, 2759%) in dry, transition and rainy periods respectively; Ca (122.55% and 51.17%) in dry and transition periods respectively; S (31.96%) in the dry season; Mg with decreasing values of 29.69% and 18.13% in transition and rainy respectively; K with values lower than the pasture 29.69% and 18.13% (% MS) in the dry and transition periods respectively. Regarding trace minerals, the contaminations were: Cu (138.18%, 133.87%, 91.99%), Zn (201.02%, 92.25%, 75.34%), Se (94 , 36%, 52.02%, 244.84%) and Mo (319.66; 196.35; 160.85) in dry, transition and rainy periods; Mn (34.62%) in the rainy season; Fe (215.77%) in the dry season; Cr (204.19%) during the transition period and Co (474.53% and 262.64) in the dry period and transition respectively. Minerals had changed their levels when the forage came in contact with saliva. The second experiment aimed to determine the mineral balance in the goat?s diet grazing Caatinga in the same three periods. Rumen extrusa were used to determine mineral contend of the diet, which after discount of contamination were compared to requirements to reach the balance for: Sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), iron (Fe), manganese ( Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and cobalt (Co). The minerals found deficient and their negative balance in the diet, in the dry season were: P (0.46 g.d-1), S (0.43 g.d-1), Cu (14.56 mg.d-1), Se (0.17 mg.d-1), Mo (0.66 mg.d-1), Co (0.03 mg.d-1), Zn (1.29mg.d-1); in the transition period: P (0.33 g.d-1), Cu (11.58 mg.d-1), If (0.190 mg.d-1), Mo (0.51 mg.d-1). In the rainy season: in (0.48 g.d-1), Cu (8.72 mg.d-1), If (0.25 mg.d-1), Mo (0.25 mg.d-1). It was observed imbalance in the ratio Ca:P, reaching values as high as 19:1. The results make it clear that the availability of minerals in the forage Caatinga is dependent of the season and when developing mineral supplements these specific deficiencies in the region, as well as the ratio between minerals, must be observed.Dissertação (Mestrado em Zootecnia) - Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú, Sobral. Orientador: Marco Aurélio Delmondes Bomfim (CNPC)
Measurement of the polarization amplitudes and triple product asymmetries in the B0s → Φ Φ decay
No full text<p>Using 1.0 fb−1 of pp collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7 TeV with the LHCb detector, measurements of the polarization amplitudes, strong phase difference and triple product asymmetries in the B0s→ϕϕ decay mode are presented. The measured values are</p>
<p>|A0|2=0.365±0.022(stat)±0.012(syst),|A⊥|2=0.291±0.024(stat)±0.010(syst),cos(δ∥)=−0.844±0.068(stat)±0.029(syst),AU=−0.055±0.036(stat)±0.018(syst),AV=0.010±0.036(stat)±0.018(syst).</p>
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