Social media effect, investor recognition and the cross-section of stock returns

Investor recognition affects cross-sectional stock returns. In informationally incomplete markets, investors have limited recognition of all securities, and their holding of stocks with low recognition requires compensation for being imperfectly diversified. Using the number of posts on the Chinese social media platform Guba to measure investor recognition of stocks, this paper provides a direct test of Merton’s investor recognition hypothesis. We find a significant social media premium in the Chinese stock market. We further find that including a social media factor based on this premium significantly improves the explanatory power of Fama-French factor models of cross-sectional stock returns, and these results are robust when we control for the mass media effect and liquidity effect. Finally, we find that investment strategies based on the social media factor earn sizable risk-adjusted returns, which signifies the importance of the social media premium in portfolio management

Charge transfer between lead halide perovskite nanocrystals and single-walled carbon nanotubes

© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry. A charge transfer study between lead halide-based perovskite nanocrystals and single-walled carbon nanotubes (PNC@CNT nanocomposite) was performed. Solution-processed MAPbX3 PNCs displayed very bright luminescence, but it quenched in the presence of CNTs. This was attributed to the electron transfer from PNCs to CNTs. The detailed changes in fluorescence lifetime were investigated through time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), which suggested mixed static and dynamic quenching along with a decrease in the lifetime. Morphological changes were investigated via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and attributed to the incorporation of PNCs on long CNTs. Also, the PNC@CNT nanocomposite was explored for photoinduced current response, which indicated an ∼3 fold increase in photoconductivity under light illumination (with a 1 mV bias). This electron transfer study between PNCs and CNTs contributes to the exploration of charge dynamics

Augmenting Sports Videos with VisCommentator

Visualizing data in sports videos is gaining traction in sports analytics, given its ability to communicate insights and explicate player strategies engagingly. However, augmenting sports videos with such data visualizations is challenging, especially for sports analysts, as it requires considerable expertise in video editing. To ease the creation process, we present a design space that characterizes augmented sports videos at an element-level (what the constituents are) and clip-level (how those constituents are organized). We do so by systematically reviewing 233 examples of augmented sports videos collected from TV channels, teams, and leagues. The design space guides selection of data insights and visualizations for various purposes. Informed by the design space and close collaboration with domain experts, we design VisCommentator, a fast prototyping tool, to eases the creation of augmented table tennis videos by leveraging machine learning-based data extractors and design space-based visualization recommendations. With VisCommentator, sports analysts can create an augmented video by selecting the data to visualize instead of manually drawing the graphical marks. Our system can be generalized to other racket sports (e.g., tennis, badminton) once the underlying datasets and models are available. A user study with seven domain experts shows high satisfaction with our system, confirms that the participants can reproduce augmented sports videos in a short period, and provides insightful implications into future improvements and opportunities

Impact of commuting mode on obesity among a working population in Beijing, China: Adjusting for air pollution

© 2020 Liu et al. Background: Few studies have considered the interplay between commuting mode and air pollution on obesity. The aim of this study was to examine whether workplace air pollutants exposure modifying the associations between different commuting mode and obesity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of workers in Beijing was conducted in 2016. The study sample comprised 10,524 participants aged 18 to 65 years old. Outcomes were defined as overall obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2) and abdominal obesity (WC ≥ 85 cm in men and WC ≥ 80 cm in women). Commuting modes were divided into walking, cycling, bus, subway, and car or taxi. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios relating commuting mode to overall and abdominal obesity and stratified by gender, controlling for covariates. Results: The association between commuting mode and obesity was more strongly in men than women. In the fully adjusted models, compared with car or taxi commuters, cycling (men: OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.20 to 0.68) or bus (men: OR=0.58, 95% CI=0.36 to 0.94) counterparts had a lower risk of overall obesity. Compared with car or taxi commuters, walking (men: OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.36 to 0.91), bus (men: OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.39 to 0.89), or subway (men: OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.39 to 0.89) counterparts had a lower risk of abdominal obesity. We observed significant interactions between exposure PM10 and cycling on overall obesity in men. After adjusting for air pollutants, the association between commuting mode and obesity was slightly strengthened. Conclusion: This study findings indicate that active (walking or cycling) or public (bus or subway) commuting modes were protected factors for overall and abdominal obesity among men. Air pollutants do not obscure the benefits of active or public commuting for obesity. These associations support the policy for increasing active or public commuting as a strategy to reduce the prevalence of obesity

Combined evaluation of arterial stiffness, glycemic control and hypertension for macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes

Background: Arterial stiffness, glycemic control and blood pressure are risk factors of macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the combined association of arterial stiffness, glycemic control and hypertension status with the occurrence of diabetic macrovascular complication. Methods: A total of 1870 patients of diabetes were enrolled from Beijing Health Management Cohort between 2008 and 2018 as baseline, and then followed for macrovascular complication onset. We proposed a composite risk score (0 – 4) by arterial stiffness severity, pool glycemic control and hypertension status. Cox model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI). Results: The mean age (SD) of this population was 59.90 (12.29) years. During a median follow-up of 4.0 years, 359 (19.2 %) patients developed macrovascular complication. Compared to the normal arterial stiffness and good glycemic control group, patients with severe arterial stiffness and pool glycemic control had the highest risk of macrovascular complications (HR: 2.73; 95 % CI: 1.42 – 5.25). Similarly, those of severe arterial stiffness and hypertension had the highest risk (HR: 2.69; 95 % CI: 1.61 – 4.50). Patients of the composite score \u3e 2 had a significantly increased risk of macrovascular complication. Conclusion: This study suggested the clinical importance of combined evaluation of arterial stiffness, glycemic control and hypertension status for the risk stratification and management of macrovascular complication of type 2 diabetes

Mutual effect of homocysteine and uric acid on arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk in the context of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine

Background: Arterial stiffness is a major risk factor and effective predictor of cardiovascular diseases and a common pathway of pathological vascular impairments. Homocysteine (Hcy) and uric acid (UA) own the shared metabolic pathways to affect vascular function. Serum uric acid (UA) has a great impact on arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk, while the mutual effect with Hcy remains unknown yet. This study aimed to evaluate the mutual effect of serum Hcy and UA on arterial stiffness and 10-year cardiovascular risk in the general population. From the perspective of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3PM), we assumed that combined assessment of Hcy and UA provides a better tool for targeted prevention and personalized intervention of cardiovascular diseases via suppressing arterial stiffness. Methods: This study consisted of 17,697 participants from Beijing Health Management Cohort, who underwent health examination between January 2012 and December 2019. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was used as an index of arterial stiffness. Results: Individuals with both high Hcy and UA had the highest baPWV, compared with those with low Hcy and low UA (β: 30.76, 95 % CI: 18.36 – 43.16 in males; β: 53.53, 95 % CI: 38.46–68.60 in females). In addition, these individuals owned the highest 10-year cardiovascular risk (OR: 1.49, 95 % CI: 1.26 – 1.76 in males; OR: 7.61, 95 % CI: 4.63 – 12.68 in females). Of note, males with high homocysteine and low uric acid were significantly associated with increased cardiovascular risk (OR: 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.15 – 1.47), but not the high uric acid and low homocysteine group (OR: 1.02, 95 % CI: 0.90 – 1.16). Conclusions: This study found the significantly mutual effect of Hcy and UA on arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk using a large population and suggested the clinical importance of combined evaluation and control of Hcy and UA for promoting cardiovascular health. The adverse effect of homocysteine on arteriosclerosis should be addressed beyond uric acid, especially for males. Monitoring of the level of both Hcy and UA provides a window opportunity for PPPM/3PM in the progression of arterial stiffness and prevention of CVD. Hcy provides a novel predictor beyond UA of cardiovascular health to identify individuals at high risk of arterial stiffness for the primary prevention and early treatment of CVD. In the progressive stage of arterial stiffness, active control of Hcy and UA levels from the aspects of dietary behavior and medication treatment is conducive to alleviating the level of arterial stiffness and reducing the risk of CVD. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical effect of Hcy and UA targeted intervention on arterial stiffness and cardiovascular health

IgG glycosylation profile and the glycan score are associated with type 2 diabetes in independent Chinese populations: A case-control study

Background. The relationship between the IgG glycan panel and type 2 diabetes remains unclear in Chinese population. We aimed to investigate the association of the IgG glycan profile and glycan score with type 2 diabetes. Methods. In the discovery population, 162 individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 162 matched controls from Beijing health management cohort were included. We analyzed the IgG glycan profile and composed a glycan score for type 2 diabetes. Findings were validated in the replication population from Beijing Xuanwu community cohort (280 cases and 508 controls). Area under curve (AUC) using 10-fold and bootstrap validation, net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination index (IDI) were calculated for the glycan score. Results. In the discovery population, 5 initial IgG glycans and 7 derived traits were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes after Bonferroni correction and Lasso selection, which were validated in the replication population subsequently. The glycan score composed of these IgG glycans and traits showed a strong association with type 2 diabetes (combined odds ratio (OR): 3.78) and its risk factors. In the replication population, AUC of the model involving clinical traits improved from 0.74 to above 0.90, and the values of NRI and IDI were 0.35 and 0.42, respectively, with the glycan score added. Conclusions. IgG glycosylation profiles were associated with type 2 diabetes and the glycan score may be a novel indicator for diabetes which reflected a proinflammatory status

Identification and validation of IgG N-glycosylation biomarkers of esophageal carcinoma

Introduction: Altered Immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycosylation is associated with aging, inflammation, and diseases status, while its effect on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. As far as we know, this is the first study to explore and validate the association of IgG N-glycosylation and the carcinogenesis progression of ESCC, providing innovative biomarkers for the predictive identification and targeted prevention of ESCC. Methods: In total, 496 individuals of ESCC (n=114), precancerosis (n=187) and controls (n=195) from the discovery population (n=348) and validation population (n=148) were recruited in the study. IgG N-glycosylation profile was analyzed and an ESCC-related glycan score was composed by a stepwise ordinal logistic model in the discovery population. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with the bootstrapping procedure was used to assess the performance of the glycan score. Results: In the discovery population, the adjusted OR of GP20 (digalactosylated monosialylated biantennary with core and antennary fucose), IGP33 (the ratio of all fucosylated monosyalilated and disialylated structures), IGP44 (the proportion of high mannose glycan structures in total neutral IgG glycans), IGP58 (the percentage of all fucosylated structures in total neutral IgG glycans), IGP75 (the incidence of bisecting GlcNAc in all fucosylated digalactosylated structures in total neutral IgG glycans), and the glycan score are 4.03 (95% CI: 3.03-5.36, P \u3c 0.001), 0.69 (95% CI: 0.55-0.87, P \u3c 0.001), 0.56 (95% CI: 0.45-0.69, P \u3c 0.001), 0.52 (95% CI: 0.41-0.65, P \u3c 0.001), 7.17 (95% CI: 4.77-10.79, P \u3c 0.001), and 2.86 (95% CI: 2.33-3.53, P \u3c 0.001), respectively. Individuals in the highest tertile of the glycan score own an increased risk (OR: 11.41), compared with those in the lowest. The average multi-class AUC are 0.822 (95% CI: 0.786-0.849). Findings are verified in the validation population, with an average AUC of 0.807 (95% CI: 0.758-0.864). Discussion: Our study demonstrated that IgG N-glycans and the proposed glycan score appear to be promising predictive markers for ESCC, contributing to the early prevention of esophageal cancer. From the perspective of biological mechanism, IgG fucosylation and mannosylation might involve in the carcinogenesis progression of ESCC, and provide potential therapeutic targets for personalized interventions of cancer progression

Acute effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in Beijing, China: A time-series study

Background Air pollution and cardiovascular disease are increasing problems in China. However, the short-term association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not well documented. The purpose of this study is to estimate the short-term effects of PM2.5 on CVD admissions in Beijing, China. Methods In total, 460,938 electronic hospitalization summary reports for CVD between 2013 and 2017 were obtained. A generalized additive model using a quasi-Poisson distribution was used to investigate the association between exposure to PM2.5 and hospitalizations for total and cause-specific CVD, including coronary heart disease (CHD), atrial fibrillation (AF), and heart failure (HF) after controlling for the season, the day of the week, public holidays, and weather conditions. A stratified analysis was also conducted for age (18–64 and ≥ 65 years), sex and season. Results For every 10 μg/m3 increase in the PM2.5 concentration from the previous day to the current (lag 0–1) there was a significant increase in total CVD admissions (0.30, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.39%), with a strong association for older adults (aged ≥65 years), CHD (0.34, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.45%) and AF (0.29, 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.55%). However, the observed increased risk was not statistically significant for HF hospitalizations. The associations in the single-pollutant models were robust to the inclusion of other pollutants in a two-pollutant model. No differences were found after stratification by sex and season. Conclusions Exposure to PM2.5 increased the risk of hospitalizations from CVD, especially for CHD, and appeared to have more influence in the elderly. Precautions and protective measures and efforts to reduce exposure to PM2.5 should be strengthened, especially for the elderly

A competing-risk-based score for predicting twenty-year risk of incident diabetes: the Beijing Longitudinal Study of Ageing study

Few risk tools have been proposed to quantify the long-term risk of diabetes among middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. The present study aimed to develop a risk tool to estimate the 20-year risk of developing diabetes while incorporating competing risks. A three-stage stratification random-clustering sampling procedure was conducted to ensure the representativeness of the Beijing elderly. We prospectively followed 1857 community residents aged 55 years and above who were free of diabetes at baseline examination. Sub-distribution hazards models were used to adjust for the competing risks of non-diabetes death. The cumulative incidence function of twenty-year diabetes event rates was 11.60% after adjusting for the competing risks of non-diabetes death. Age, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, health status, and physical activity were selected to form the score. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.76 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.72–0.80), and the optimism-corrected AUC was 0.78 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.69–0.87) after internal validation by bootstrapping. The calibration plot showed that the actual diabetes risk was similar to the predicted risk. The cut-off value of the risk score was 19 points, marking mark the difference between low-risk and high-risk patients, which exhibited a sensitivity of 0.74 and specificity of 0.65