Rationale, Study Design, and Cohort Characteristics for the Markers for Environmental Exposures (MEE) Study.

Environmental factors have been linked to many diseases and health conditions, but reliable assessment of environmental exposures is challenging. Developing biomarkers of environmental exposures, rather than relying on self-report, will improve our ability to assess the association of such exposures with disease. Epigenetic markers, most notably DNA methylation, have been identified for some environmental exposures, but identification of markers for additional exposures is still needed. The rationale behind the Markers for Environmental Exposures (MEE) Study was to (1) identify biomarkers, especially epigenetic markers, of environmental exposures, such as pesticides, air/food/water contaminants, and industrial chemicals that are commonly encountered in the general population; and (2) support the study of potential relationships between environmental exposures and health and health-related factors. The MEE Study is a cross-sectional study with potential for record linkage and follow-up. The well-characterized cohort of 400 postmenopausal women has generated a repository of biospecimens, including blood, urine, and saliva samples. Paired data include an environmental exposures questionnaire, a breast health questionnaire, dietary recalls, and a food frequency questionnaire. This work describes the rationale, study design, and cohort characteristics of the MEE Study. In addition to our primary research goals, we hope that the data and biorepository generated by this study will serve as a resource for future studies and collaboration

The Impact of Brand Quality on Shareholder Wealth

This study examines the impact of brand quality on three components of shareholder wealth: stock returns, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk. The study finds that brand quality enhances shareholder wealth insofar as unanticipated changes in brand quality are positively associated with stock returns and negatively related to changes in idiosyncratic risk. However, unanticipated changes in brand quality can also erode shareholder wealth because they have a positive association with changes in systematic risk. The study introduces a contingency theory view to the marketing-finance interface by analyzing the moderating role of two factors that are widely followed by investors. The results show an unanticipated increase (decrease) in current-period earnings enhances (depletes) the positive impact of unanticipated changes in brand quality on stock returns and mitigates (enhances) their deleterious effects on changes in systematic risk. Similarly, brand quality is more valuable for firms facing increasing competition (i.e., unanticipated decreases in industry concentration). The results are robust to endogeneity concerns and across alternative models. The authors conclude by discussing the nuanced implications of their findings for shareholder wealth, reporting brand quality to investors, and its use in employee evaluation

On the properties of analysts' forecasts

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Equity analysts and the market's assessment of risk

The traditional view of equity analysts is that they are a source of new information about future cash flows. We broaden this view by demonstrating that equity analysts are also a substantive source of new information about priced risk. In particular, we document that, when announced, changes in analyst risk ratings distinctly and significantly affect equity returns, and are generally followed by significant changes in Fama-French factor loadings. Also, while less frequent than credit rating changes, equity risk rating changes are timelier, and with a larger overall stock price impact than credit rating changes

What Makes a Stock Risky? Evidence from Sell-Side Analysts\u27 Risk Ratings

We examine the determinants and the informativeness of financial analysts\u27 risk ratings using a large sample of research reports issued by Salomon Smith Barney, now Citigroup. We find that the cross-sectional variation in risk ratings is largely explained by variables commonly viewed as risk proxies such as idiosyncratic risk, size, book-to-market and leverage. In addition, earnings-based measures of risk such as earnings quality and accounting losses also contribute to explaining the cross-sectional variation in the risk ratings. Finally, we document that the risk ratings can be used to predict future return volatility after controlling for other predictors of future volatility. We conclude that analysts play an important role as providers of information about investment risk

What Makes a Stock Risky? Evidence from Sell-Side Analysts\u27 Risk Assessments

We examine the determinants and the informativeness of financial analysts\u27 risk ratings using a large sample of research reports issued by Salomon Smith Barney, now Citigroup, over the period of 1997 to 2003. We find that the cross-sectional variation in risk ratings is largely explained by variables commonly viewed as measures of risk such as idiosyncratic risk, size, book-to-market and leverage. In addition, earnings-based measures of risk such as earnings quality and accounting losses also contribute to explaining the cross-sectional variation in the risk ratings. Finally, we document that the risk ratings can be used to predict future return volatility after controlling for other predictors of future volatility. We conclude that analysts play an important role as providers of information about investment risk

Pollen Lipidomics: Lipid Profiling Exposes a Notable Diversity in 22 Allergenic Pollen and Potential Biomarkers of the Allergic Immune Response

Background/Aim: Pollen grains are the male gametophytes that deliver sperm cells to female gametophytes during sexual reproduction of higher plants. Pollen is a major source of aeroallergens and environmental antigens. The pollen coat harbors a plethora of lipids that are required for pollen hydration, germination, and penetration of the stigma by pollen tubes. In addition to proteins, pollen displays a wide array of lipids that interact with the human immune system. Prior searches for pollen allergens have focused on the identification of intracellular allergenic proteins, but have largely overlooked much of the extracellular pollen matrix, a region where the majority of lipid molecules reside. Lipid antigens have attracted attention for their potent immunoregulatory effects. By being in close proximity to allergenic proteins on the pollen surface when they interact with host cells, lipids could modify the antigenic properties of proteins.Methodology/Principal Findings: We performed a comparative pollen lipid profiling of 22 commonly allergenic plant species by the use of gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, followed by detailed data mining and statistical analysis. Three experiments compared pollen lipid profiles. We built a database library of the pollen lipids by matching acquired pollen-lipid mass spectra and retention times with the NIST/EPA/NIH mass-spectral library. We detected, identified, and relatively quantified more than 106 lipid molecular species including fatty acids, n-alkanes, fatty alcohols, and sterols. Pollen-derived lipids stimulation up-regulate cytokines expression of dendritic and natural killer T cells co-culture.Conclusions/Significance: Here we report on a lipidomic analysis of pollen lipids that can serve as a database for identifying potential lipid antigens and/or novel candidate molecules involved in allergy. The database provides a resource that facilitates studies on the role of lipids in the immunopathogenesis of allergy. Pollen lipids vary greatly among allergenic species and contain many molecules that have stimulatory or regulatory effects on immune responses.</p

Pollen Lipidomics: Lipid Profiling Exposes a Notable Diversity in 22 Allergenic Pollen and Potential Biomarkers of the Allergic Immune Response

<div><p>Background/Aim</p><p>Pollen grains are the male gametophytes that deliver sperm cells to female gametophytes during sexual reproduction of higher plants. Pollen is a major source of aeroallergens and environmental antigens. The pollen coat harbors a plethora of lipids that are required for pollen hydration, germination, and penetration of the stigma by pollen tubes. In addition to proteins, pollen displays a wide array of lipids that interact with the human immune system. Prior searches for pollen allergens have focused on the identification of intracellular allergenic proteins, but have largely overlooked much of the extracellular pollen matrix, a region where the majority of lipid molecules reside. Lipid antigens have attracted attention for their potent immunoregulatory effects. By being in close proximity to allergenic proteins on the pollen surface when they interact with host cells, lipids could modify the antigenic properties of proteins.</p> <p>Methodology/Principal Findings</p><p>We performed a comparative pollen lipid profiling of 22 commonly allergenic plant species by the use of gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, followed by detailed data mining and statistical analysis. Three experiments compared pollen lipid profiles. We built a database library of the pollen lipids by matching acquired pollen-lipid mass spectra and retention times with the NIST/EPA/NIH mass-spectral library. We detected, identified, and relatively quantified more than 106 lipid molecular species including fatty acids, n-alkanes, fatty alcohols, and sterols. Pollen-derived lipids stimulation up-regulate cytokines expression of dendritic and natural killer T cells co-culture.</p> <p>Conclusions/Significance</p><p>Here we report on a lipidomic analysis of pollen lipids that can serve as a database for identifying potential lipid antigens and/or novel candidate molecules involved in allergy. The database provides a resource that facilitates studies on the role of lipids in the immunopathogenesis of allergy. Pollen lipids vary greatly among allergenic species and contain many molecules that have stimulatory or regulatory effects on immune responses.</p> </div

Distribution of Unsaturated Fatty Acids Identified and Quantitated by GC-MS in Pollen of 22 Species.

a, b, c,<p>and <b>^d</b> are described in the legend for <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0057566#pone-0057566-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>.</p

Effect of different lipid stimuli on TNF-α response of T cells.

<p>For analysis of cytokines by intracellular staining, conventional T cells harvested after culture <i>in vitro</i> were stimulated with 1 µg/ml lipid molecules for 24 to 36 hours in 6-well plates. After treatment with 10 µg/mL GolgiPlug, a protein transport inhibitor containing brefeldin A (eBiosciences) during the final 6 to 12 hours of stimulation, the cells were stained for surface markers and anti-mouse TNF-α as described in Materials and Methods. Flow cytometry was performed on a FACSCanto II instrument (BD Biosciences) and analyzed using FlowJo software (Tree Star).</p