Do letters to shareholders inform or mislead? Insights from insider trading

2018 ◽  
pp. 73-109
Author(s):  
Elena Beccalli ◽  
Saverio Bozzolan ◽  
Enrico Laghi ◽  
Marco Mattei

Empirical studies consistently provide evidence that investors perceive qualitative disclosures as useful because they have significant effects on analysts' forecast revisions and a firm's share price. But these results leave unanswered the question of whether managers write qualitative disclosures to inform or mislead investors. Based on the signaling theory, we consider two actions by the same manager: one (insider trading) is a costly signal whilst the other (qualitative disclosure) is the cheap signal. We then verify whether they are coherent. We investigate the content and the verbal tone of the Letter of Shareholders and the insider trading from its author before and after the letter's date of release and find that the costly signal (the insider trading) is not coherent with the cheap signal (the disclosure). This finding indicates that managers do not use qualitative disclosures to offer incremental information but that they might use them to mislead investors.

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2232-2235
Author(s):  
Marius Moga ◽  
Mark Edward Pogarasteanu ◽  
Antoine Edu

The role of arthroscopy in incipient and mild arthrosis, even combined with proximal tibial ostetomy, is well known and well documented. On the other hand, its role in the treatment of advanced arthrosis of the large joints, especially the knee, is a subject of controversy. The proponents of the use of arthroscopy in advanced arthrosis claim that meniscectomy, synovectomy, ostophytectomy, chondral lesion stabilization, arthroscopic release, plica and loose body removal greatly improve the quality of life for most patients, especially if followed by the use of viscoelastic injection, by diminishing pain and improving joint range of motion. The opponents claim that, even though the advantages are clear in the cases that refuse arthroplasty, in all the other cases the surgical indication should be total knee arthroplasty, as the clinical relief is temporary, but with all the risks of a surgical intervention. We have conducted an overview of the recent literature, in order to find objective evidence to sustain either point of view. We focused on articles published that included an objective measurement of before and after clinical status through clinical scores and objective measurements. We also focused on the follow-up period and on the evolution of the pathology after arthroscopy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2081-2088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alin Alexandru Odor ◽  
Edwin Sever Bechir ◽  
Deborah Violant ◽  
Victoria Badea

Moderate and severe periodontitis represents a challenge in the non-surgical periodontal therapy. Due to the lack of evidence regarding the antimicrobial effectiveness of 940 nm diode laser in periodontal treatment, this study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) photolysis performed with 940 nm diode laser in the treatment of moderate and severe periodontitis. Twenty-five patients with 100 teeth were selected for this pilot study. The test teeth were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups: Group 1: scaling and root planning (SRP) (control group); and the following experimental groups: Group 2: H2O2; Group 3: 940 nm diode laser therapy; Group 4: 940 nm diode laser therapy and H2O2. Clinical examinations, like probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were performed before and after the treatment. The microbiological evaluation, effectuated before and after the treatment, included nine periodontal bacteria species and investigated by means of real-time PCR assay. The clinical and bacterial differences in the tested groups, was assessed between control group and the other three experimental groups, as well as between the experimental groups. The total bacteria load was reduced for all four studied groups. Group 4 (diode laser + H2O2) showed significant bacterial reduction of the major periodontal bacteria like Pg., Tf., Td., Pi., Pm., Fn (p[0.001) than the other 3 groups (p]0.001). Also the periodontal clinical parameters, like PD, CAL and BOP showed a significant reduction after the photolysis of H2O2 with the 940 nm diode laser (p[0.001). Differences between tested groups showed a significant beneficial results in regard to Group 4.It is suggested that the photoactivation of H2O2 with the 940 nm diode laser can be used successfully in adjunctive to the non-surgical periodontal treatment as a bactericidal tool.


Südosteuropa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-431
Author(s):  
Irena Petrović ◽  
Marija Radoman

AbstractThe authors analyze the changes in value patterns—patriarchy, authoritarianism and nationalism—in Serbia in the context of the social changes that have marked the postsocialist transformation period. They focus on the extent and intensity of two sub-patterns within each of these three basic value patterns: private and public patriarchy, general and specific authoritarianism, organic (natural) and ethnic nationalism. The conclusions about changes in these value patterns are drawn on the basis of three empirical studies conducted in 2003, 2012, and 2018. They show the prevalence of private patriarchy, general authoritarianism, and organic (natural) nationalism over their counterparts. Private patriarchy has weakened, which is largely to be explained by the significant structural changes in Serbia. On the other hand, support of general authoritarianism and organic (natural) nationalism has been on the rise, which clearly mirrors the unfavorable economic and political situation in the country.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Sneha Dani ◽  
Savitha A.N ◽  
Kenneth Tan ◽  
Anand Naik ◽  
Charan Chhatrala ◽  
...  

Objective: In recent years, advances in technique as well as a growing public interest in developing and maintaining a healthy and attractive smile, has resulted in a greater understanding of the interrelationships between periodontics and orthodontics. The primary objective of periodontal therapy is to restore and maintain the health and integrity of the attachment apparatus of teeth. In adults, the loss of teeth or periodontal support can result in pathological teeth migration involving either a single tooth or a group of teeth. This may result in the development of a diastema, incisal proclination, rotation with collapse of the posterior occlusion.Materials and methods: This case report is of a 32 year old female patient who reported with swollen gums, generalized spacing between the teeth and extruded upper anterior tooth. Periodontal therapy followed by fixed orthodontic therapy was planned.Results: At the end of 2 years a stable healthy periodontium was established that was both functional and esthetic.Conclusion: Adjunctive orthodontic therapy is often necessary for successful restoration of periodontal health. On the other hand, successful orthodontic treatment will depend on the periodontal preparation before and after treatment and the maintenance of periodontal health throughout all phases of mechano-therapy.


1990 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 880-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Jones ◽  
C. G. Lane ◽  
P. M. O'Byrne

Airway hyperresponsiveness after inhaled ozone in dogs may occur as a result of thromboxane release in the airway. In this study, two thromboxane receptor antagonists, L-655,240 and L-670,596, were used in doses that inhibit the response to an inhaled thromboxane mimetic, U-46619, to determine further the role of thromboxane in ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness. Dogs were studied on 2 days separated by 1 wk. On each day, the dogs inhaled ozone (3 ppm) for 30 min. On one randomly assigned day, 10 dogs received an infusion of L-655,240 (5 mg.kg-1.h-1) and 5 dogs received an infusion of L-670,596 (1 mg.kg-1.h-1); on the other day dogs received a control infusion. Airway responses to doubling doses of acetylcholine were measured before and after inhalation of ozone and were expressed as the concentration of acetylcholine giving a rise in resistance of 5 cmH2O.l-1.s from baseline (acetylcholine provocation concentration). The development of airway hyperresponsiveness after ozone was not inhibited by the thromboxane antagonists. The mean log difference in the acetylcholine provocative concentration before and after ozone on the L-655,240 treatment day was 0.62 +/- 0.12 (SE) and on the control day was 0.71 +/- 0.12 (P = 0.48); on the L-670,596 treatment day the mean log difference was 0.68 +/- 0.15 (SE) and on the control day it was 0.75 +/- 0.19 (P = 0.45). These results do not support an important role for thromboxane in causing ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness.


1972 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-410
Author(s):  
Aharon Yoran

It is submitted that even if the hapless outsider cannot bring an action for damages because of the existing state of the law regarding fiduciary duties and breach of statutory duties, he still has an equitable remedy of rescission of the contract based on quasi-contractual principles. The crime of fraud, under secs. 13 and 54, respectively, would be made the basis of setting the contract (of sale or purchase) aside. To support this proposition we shall explore the quasi-contractual principles which enable one contracting party, the victim of a crime committed by the other party in entering the contract, to defeat this contract.In Browning v. Morris, in an oft-quoted statement by Lord Mansfield, the following principle was declared: But, where contracts or transactions are prohibited by positive statutes, for protecting one set of men from another set of men; the one, from their situation and condition, being liable to be oppressed or imposed upon by the other; there, the parties are not in pan delicto; and in furtherance of these statutes, the person injured, after the transaction is finished and completed, may bring an action and defeat the contract.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schredl ◽  
Arthur Funkhouser ◽  
Nicole Arn

Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. The present study investigated the frequency and emotional tone of dreams of truck drivers. On the one hand, the findings of the present study partly support the continuity regarding the time spent with driving/being in the truck and driving dreams and, on the other hand, a close relationship was found between daytime mood (feelings of stress, job satisfaction) and dream emotions, i.e., different dream characteristics were affected by different aspects of daytime activity. The results, thus, indicate that it is necessary to define very clearly how this continuity is to be conceptualized. The approach of formulating a mathematical model (cf. [1]) should be adopted in future studies in order to specify the factors and their magnitude in the relationship between waking and dreaming.


2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim S. Silva ◽  
Francisco C. Rego ◽  
Stefano Mazzoleni

This paper presents a study where soil water content (SW) was measured before and after an experimental fire in a shrubland dominated by Erica scoparia L. in Portugal. Two plots were established: one was kept as a control plot and the other was burned by an experimental fire in June 2001. Measurements were taken before fire (2000), and after fire (2001, 2002, and 2003) at six depths down to 170 cm, from June to December. Measurements before fire allowed comparison of the two plots in terms of the SW differential, using 2000 as a reference. Results for 2001 showed that SW decreased less during the drying season (June–September) and increased more during the wetting season (October–December) in the burned plot than in the control plot. The magnitude of these effects decreased consistently in 2002 and 2003, especially at surface layers. The maximum gain of SW for the total profile in the burned plot was estimated as 105.5 mm in 2001, 70.2 mm in 2002, and 35.6 mm in 2003. The present paper discusses the mechanisms responsible for the increase in SW taking into account the characteristics of the plant community, including the root distribution, and the results of other studies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Gielerak ◽  
Paweł Krzesiński ◽  
Ewa Piotrowicz ◽  
Ryszard Piotrowicz

Aim. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an important part of heart failure (HF) treatment. The aim of this paper was to evaluate if thoracic fluid content (TFC) measured by impedance cardiography (ICG) is a useful parameter for predicting the outcome of CR.Methods. Fifty HF patients underwent clinical and noninvasive haemodynamic (TFC) assessments before and after 8-week CR.Results. As a result of CR, the patients’ exercise tolerance improved, especially in terms of peak VO2(18.7 versus 20.8 mL × kg−1× min−1;P=0.025). TFC was found to identify patients with significantly improved peak VO2after CR. “High TFC” patients (TFC > 27.0 kOhm−1), compared to those of “low TFC” (TFC < 27.0 kOhm−1), were found to have more pronounced increase in peak VO2(1.3 versus 3.1 mL × kg−1× min−1;P=0.011) and decrease in TFC (4.0 versus 0.7 kOhm−1;P<0.00001). On the other hand, the patients with improved peak VO2(n=32) differed from those with no peak VO2improvement in terms of higher baseline TFC values (28.4 versus 25.3 kOhm−1;P=0.039) and its significant decrease after CR (2.7 versus 0.2 kOhm−1;P=0.012).Conclusions. TFC can be a useful parameter for predicting beneficial effects of CR worth including in the process of patients’ qualification for CR.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88
Author(s):  
Dean Radin ◽  
Helané Wahbeh ◽  
Leena Michel ◽  
Arnaud Delorme

An experiment we conducted from 2012 to 2013, which had not been previously reported, was designed to explore possible psychophysical effects resulting from the interaction of a human mind with a quantum system. Participants focused their attention toward or away from the slits in a double-slit optical system to see if the interference pattern would be affected. Data were collected from 25 people in individual half-hour sessions; each person repeated the test ten times for a total of 250 planned sessions. “Sham” sessions designed to mimic the experimental sessions without observers present were run immediately before and after as controls. Based on the planned analysis, no evidence for a psychophysical effect was found. Because this experiment differed in two essential ways from similar, previously reported double-slit experiments, two exploratory analyses were developed, one based on a simple spectral analysis of the interference pattern and the other based on fringe visibility. For the experimental data, the outcome supported a pattern of results predicted by a causal psychophysical effect, with the spectral metric resulting in a 3.4 sigma effect (p = 0.0003), and the fringe visibility metric resulting in 7 of 22 fringes tested above 2.3 sigma after adjustment for type I error inflation, with one of those fringes at 4.3 sigma above chance (p = 0.00001). The same analyses applied to the sham data showed uniformly null outcomes. Other analyses exploring the potential that these results were due to mundane artifacts, such as fluctuations in temperature or vibration, showed no evidence of such influences. Future studies using the same protocols and analytical methods will be required to determine if these exploratory results are idiosyncratic or reflect a genuine psychophysical influence.


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