Do Bulls and Bears Listen to Whispers?

A post-earnings announcement drift associated with the market reaction to analyst forecasts errors remains a puzzle. This study suggests that whispers help to explain part of the puzzle. The study examines the market reaction to whispers and analysts in bull and bear markets, and finds that investors listen to whispers in the bull market and whispers help explain the post-announcement drift. In a bear market, reaction to whispers is significantly positive prior to announcement despite a down market, indicating optimism by investors who follow whispers. However, in the bear market, both whispers and analysts contribute to the post-announcement drift

Sn diffusion during Ni germanide growth on Ge1– xSnx

We report on the redistribution of Sn during Ni germanide formation on Ge1– x Sn x /〈Ge(100)〉 and its influence on the thin film growth and properties. These results show that the reaction involves the formation of Ni5Ge3 and NiGe. Sn redistributes homogenously in both phases, in which the Sn/Ge ratio retains the ratio of the as-deposited Ge1– x Sn x film. Sn continues to diffuse after full NiGe formation and segregates in two regions: (1) at the interface between the germanide and Ge1– x Sn x and (2) at the surface, which has major implications for the thin film and contact properties

Different Localization Patterns of Anthocyanin Species in the Pericarp of Black Rice Revealed by Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Black rice (Oryza sativa L. Japonica) contains high levels of anthocyanins in the pericarp and is considered an effective health-promoting food. Several studies have identified the molecular species of anthocyanins in black rice, but information about the localization of each anthocyanin species is limited because methodologies for investigating the localization such as determining specific antibodies to anthocyanin, have not yet been developed Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) is a suitable tool for investigating the localization of metabolites. In this study, we identified 7 species of anthocyanin monoglycosides and 2 species of anthocyanin diglycosides in crude extracts from black rice by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) analysis. We also analyzed black rice sections by MALDI-IMS and found 2 additional species of anthocyanin pentosides and revealed different localization patterns of anthocyanin species composed of different sugar moieties. Anthocyanin species composed of a pentose moiety (cyanidin-3-O-pentoside and petunidin-3-O-pentoside) were localized in the entire pericarp, whereas anthocyanin species composed of a hexose moiety (cyanidin-3-O-hexoside and peonidin-3-O-hexoside) were focally localized in the dorsal pericarp. These results indicate that anthocyanin species composed of different sugar moieties exhibit different localization patterns in the pericarp of black rice. This is the first detailed investigation into the localization of molecular species of anthocyanins by MALDI-IMS

Вплив попередників та строків сівби на врожайність сортів Triticum aestivum L. в умовах Центрального Лісостепу України

Мета. Визначити потенціал урожайності нових сортів пшениці озимої миронівської селекції залежно від попередників і строків сівби та встановити їх частки впливу в умовах Центрального Лісостепу України. Методи. Дослідження проводили в польовому чотирифакторному досліді на базі Миронівського інституту пшениці імені В. М. Ремесла НААН упродовж 2018/19–2020/21 рр. Результати. У результаті вивчення п’яти перспективних сортів пшениці озимої, висіяних 25 вересня та 05 жовтня після двох попередників (соя та соняшник), виявили, що незалежно від строків сівби середня врожайність для досліджуваних сортів після попередника соя була вищою і варіювала від 3,77 до 6,24 т/га у порівнянні з попередником соняшник – 3,35–5,52 т/га. Сорт ‘МІП Ювілейна’ сформував максимальну врожайність за першого строку сівби (5,52 та 6,24 т/га після попередників соняшник та соя відповідно), а сорт ‘МІП Фортуна’ – за другого (5,46 т/га після попередника соя). Висновки. Установлено потенціал урожайності сортів пшениці озимої залежно від попередників та строків сівби в умовах Центрального Лісостепу України. За результатами дисперсійного аналізу отриманих даних з’ясовано частку впливу цих факторів на врожайність культури. Максимальний внесок у дисперсію врожайності був за роком висіву (67,8%) та попередником (20,9%)

Legumes as food ingredient: characterization, processing, and applications

Editores: Jiménez-López, José Carlos (CSIC); Clemente, Alfonso (CSIC

Vasorelaxant activity of indole alkaloids from Tabernaemontana dichotoma.

The aim of this study was to search for bioactive natural products from medicinal plants targeting vasorelaxant activity and we found the methanol extract from bark of Tabernaemontana dichotoma showed vasorelaxant activity on rat aorta. We isolated eight indole alkaloids including 10-methoxyalstonerine (1), a new macroline type indole alkaloid, from bark of T. dichotoma. These were respectively identified as 10-methoxyaffinisine (2), lochnerine (3), cathafoline (4), (−)-alstonerine (5), 19,20-dehydro-10-methoxytalcarpine (6), alstonisine (7), and alstonal (8) based on spectroscopic analysis. Among them, sarpagine type (2 and 3), akuammiline type (4), and macroline oxindole type (7 and 8) showed potent vasorelaxant activity. Mechanism of action on vasorelaxant activity of 10-methoxyaffinisine (2), cathafoline (4), and alstonisine (7) was clarified. Effects of 10-methoxyaffinisine (2), cathafoline (4), and alstonisine (7) were partially mediated the NO release from endothelial cells. Furthermore, 10-methoxyaffinisine (2) and alstonisine (7) attribute to the inhibitory effect of VDC and ROC, and cathafoline (4) have inhibitory effect on Ca2+ influx via ROC. In addition, 10-methoxyaffinisine (2) as a major compound from bark of T. dichotoma showed hypotensive effect on normotensive rats in vivo

Abnormal phospholipids distribution in the prefrontal cortex from a patient with schizophrenia revealed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry

Schizophrenia is one of the major psychiatric disorders, and lipids have focused on the important roles in this disorder. In fact, lipids related to various functions in the brain. Previous studies have indicated that phospholipids, particularly ones containing polyunsaturated fatty acyl residues, are deficient in postmortem brains from patients with schizophrenia. However, due to the difficulties in handling human postmortem brains, particularly the large size and complex structures of the human brain, there is little agreement regarding the qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of phospholipids in brains from patients with schizophrenia, particularly if corresponding brain regions are not used. In this study, to overcome these problems, we employed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), enabling direct microregion analysis of phospholipids in the postmortem brain of a patient with schizophrenia via brain sections prepared on glass slides. With integration of traditional histochemical examination, we could analyze regions of interest in the brain at the micrometric level. We found abnormal phospholipid distributions within internal brain structures, namely, the frontal cortex and occipital cortex. IMS revealed abnormal distributions of phosphatidylcholine molecular species particularly in the cortical layer of frontal cortex region. In addition, the combined use of liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry strengthened the capability for identification of numerous lipid molecular species. Our results are expected to further elucidate various metabolic processes in the neural system