Is tax return information useful to equity investors?

In this study, I examine whether tax return information is incrementally useful to equity investors relative to publicly-available information, such as financial statements. To test this relation, I exploit unique features of the syndicated loan market, as prior literature shows that lenders obtain tax returns from borrowers, and that lenders’ private information is transmitted to equity markets when institutional investors are part of a loan syndicate. I find economically significant increases in tax expense valuation and decreases in tax-related market anomalies following the issuance of institutional syndicated loans, consistent with equity investors finding information about firm performance in tax returns that is useful for their trading decisions. I also document that tax returns are a valuable information source that can motivate institutional investor participation in loan syndicates. This study informs the important, ongoing policy debate over public disclosure of corporate tax return information and extends prior research by showing that investors use information from tax returns incremental to information in financial statements

School Personnel and Leadership Collaboration Model for Ideal Work Contexts

This article describes the school personnel and leadership collaboration (SPLC) model, a shared-responsibility framework for faculty, staff, and administrators. Prior research consistently demonstrates the need for (a) administrative support for teachers and other school personnel and (b) collegial support among staff. The SPLC model represents an amalgamation of this research and, moreover, integrates personnel support for leadership. In the managerial sciences, leader–member exchange (LMX) is a well-known relationship-based leadership approach that focuses on a dyadic or two-way relationship between supervisors and their employees. Though managers are responsible for overseeing operations, personnel contribute ideas, participate in decision-making, and follow through with their responsibilities. LMX is associated with positive work experiences and job performance outcomes. In contrast, schools are often run with a top–down leadership approach that solicits little to no input from staff, leading to low morale, high attrition rates, and negative school climate. Thus, the SPLC model was inspired by LMX and emphasizes practices, such as shared decision-making, staff autonomy, and shared responsibilities. Detailed examples of ways schools may apply the SPLC model to their practices are included

Analysis of the FGF gene family provides insights into aquatic adaptation in cetaceans

Cetacean body structure and physiology exhibit dramatic adaptations to their aquatic environment. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of essential factors that regulate animal development and physiology; however, their role in cetacean evolution is not clearly understood. Here, we sequenced the fin whale genome and analysed FGFs from 8 cetaceans. FGF22, a hair follicle-enriched gene, exhibited pseudogenization, indicating that the function of this gene is no longer necessary in cetaceans that have lost most of their body hair. An evolutionary analysis revealed signatures of positive selection for FGF3 and FGF11, genes related to ear and tooth development and hypoxia, respectively. We found a D203G substitution in cetacean FGF9, which was predicted to affect FGF9 homodimerization, suggesting that this gene plays a role in the acquisition of rigid flippers for efficient manoeuvring. Cetaceans utilize low bone density as a buoyancy control mechanism, but the underlying genes are not known. We found that the expression of FGF23, a gene associated with reduced bone density, is greatly increased in the cetacean liver under hypoxic conditions, thus implicating FGF23 in low bone density in cetaceans. Altogether, our results provide novel insights into the roles of FGFs in cetacean adaptation to the aquatic environment.ope

MACSE: Multiple Alignment of Coding SEquences Accounting for Frameshifts and Stop Codons

Until now the most efficient solution to align nucleotide sequences containing open reading frames was to use indirect procedures that align amino acid translation before reporting the inferred gap positions at the codon level. There are two important pitfalls with this approach. Firstly, any premature stop codon impedes using such a strategy. Secondly, each sequence is translated with the same reading frame from beginning to end, so that the presence of a single additional nucleotide leads to both aberrant translation and alignment

Noteworthy records for six species of Bats from 13 texas couNties aNd the first Voucher specimeNs from sites with Pseudogymnoascus destructans

Diseases that result in a regional loss of both species richness and genetic diversity highlight the importance of managing and building upon natural history collections. Occurrence data and specimen vouchers can supplement information regarding distribution and genetic diversity prior to the potential expansion into Texas of the emerging disease known as white-nose syndrome. Herein, six species of bats from 13 counties in Texas are reported. A total of 10 new county records were documented for four species ( Myotis ve lifer, Perimyotis subflavus, Eptesicus fuscus, and Corynorhinus townsendii). Noteworthy winter observations were recorded for two additional species ( Myotis austroriparius and C. rafinesquii). In addition to documenting occurrence records of bat species in the state of Texas, the first voucher specimens are provided from three sites positive for Pseudogymnoascus destructans , the causative agent of white-nose syndrome

Noteworthy records for six species of Bats from 13 texas couNties aNd the first Voucher specimeNs from sites with Pseudogymnoascus destructans

Diseases that result in a regional loss of both species richness and genetic diversity highlight the importance of managing and building upon natural history collections. Occurrence data and specimen vouchers can supplement information regarding distribution and genetic diversity prior to the potential expansion into Texas of the emerging disease known as white-nose syndrome. Herein, six species of bats from 13 counties in Texas are reported. A total of 10 new county records were documented for four species ( Myotis ve lifer, Perimyotis subflavus, Eptesicus fuscus, and Corynorhinus townsendii). Noteworthy winter observations were recorded for two additional species ( Myotis austroriparius and C. rafinesquii). In addition to documenting occurrence records of bat species in the state of Texas, the first voucher specimens are provided from three sites positive for Pseudogymnoascus destructans , the causative agent of white-nose syndrome