Corporate governance, companies’ disclosure practices, and market transparency:a cross country study

We examine the link between corporate governance, companies’ disclosure practices and their equity market transparency in a study of more than 5,000 listed companies in 23 countries covering the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2008. Our results confirm the belief that better-governed firms make more frequent disclosures to the market. We also find greater disclosure in common law relative to code law countries. However firms with better governance in both code and common law countries make more frequent disclosures. We measure market transparency by the timeliness of prices. In contrast to single country studies, results show, for the 23 countries collectively, better corporate governance is associated with less timely share prices. This would suggest that a firm substitutes better corporate governance for transparency. We are thus led to the conclusion that even if information is disclosed more frequently by better-governed firms, it does not necessarily follow that information is reflected in share prices on a timelier basis

Ag nanoparticles/PPV composite nanofibers with high and sensitive opto-electronic response

The novel Ag nanoparticles/poly(p-phenylene vinylene) [PPV] composite nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning. The transmission electron microscope image shows that the average diameter of composite fibers is about 500 nm and Ag nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed in the PPV matrix with an average diameter of about 25 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectra suggest that there could be a coordination effect to a certain extent between the Ag atom and the π system of PPV, which is significantly favorable for the dissociation of photoexcitons and the charge transfer at the interface between the Ag nanoparticle and the PPV. The Au top electrode device of the single Ag/PPV composite nanofiber exhibits high and sensitive opto-electronic responses. Under light illumination of 5.76 mW/cm2 and voltage of 20 V, the photocurrent is over three times larger than the dark current under same voltage, which indicates that this kind of composite fiber is an excellent opto-electronic nanomaterial

Research progress of extracellular vesicles and exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases

There is growing evidence that mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles and exosomes can significantly improve the curative effect of oxidative stress-related diseases. Mesenchymal stem cell extracellular vesicles and exosomes (MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos) are rich in bioactive molecules and have many biological regulatory functions. In this review, we describe how MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos reduce the related markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in various systemic diseases, and the molecular mechanism of MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos in treating apoptosis and vascular injury induced by oxidative stress. The results of a large number of experimental studies have shown that both local and systemic administration can effectively inhibit the oxidative stress response in diseases and promote the survival and regeneration of damaged parenchymal cells. The mRNA and miRNAs in MSC-EVs and MSC-Exos are the most important bioactive molecules in disease treatment, which can inhibit the apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress of lung, heart, kidney, liver, bone, skin and other cells, and promote their survive and regenerate

Corporate governance, companies’ disclosure practices, and market transparency:a cross country study

We examine the link between corporate governance, companies’ disclosure practices and their equity market transparency in a study of more than 5,000 listed companies in 23 countries covering the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2008. Our results confirm the belief that better-governed firms make more frequent disclosures to the market. We also find greater disclosure in common law relative to code law countries. However firms with better governance in both code and common law countries make more frequent disclosures. We measure market transparency by the timeliness of prices. In contrast to single country studies, results show, for the 23 countries collectively, better corporate governance is associated with less timely share prices. This would suggest that a firm substitutes better corporate governance for transparency. We are thus led to the conclusion that even if information is disclosed more frequently by better-governed firms, it does not necessarily follow that information is reflected in share prices on a timelier basis

Property rights and competing for the affections of Demos: the impact of the 1867 Reform Act on stock prices

Democracy, Franchise extension, Property rights, Britain, Stock market, G10, K00, N23, N43, P14,

Recent progress in small molecule CCR5 antagonists as potential HIV-1 entry inhibitors

Currently the long-term usage of traditional anti-HIV drugs, such as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs), eventually leads to the emergence of drug resistance and severe side effects. Thus it is imperative to design and develop more promising HIV-1 inhibitors to overcome these drawbacks. Fortunately, with the identification of some fascinating targets in the entry process of viral life cycle, HIV-1 entry inhibitors (EIs) with low cytotoxicity and mild side effects turned out as novel and effective anti-HIV agents. Especially, of these potent EIs, small molecule CCR5 antagonist maraviroc was approved by US FDA in 2007, which significantly increased the therapeutic options for the clinical treatment of HIV-infected patients. Subsequently, as promising anti-HIV drug candidates, kinds of small molecule CCR5 antagonists have been synthesized and evaluated in clinical trials. In this article, current progress in the development of novel small molecule CCR5 antagonists will be reviewed on the basis of their chemical structures with a special attention to their discovery stories. Simultaneously, binding mode analysis based on molecular modeling studies will also be introduced.status: publishe

Hierarchical NiO@N‐Doped Carbon Microspheres with Ultrathin Nanosheet Subunits as Excellent Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

Achieving highly efficient hierarchical photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is always challenging. Herein, hierarchical mesoporous NiO@N-doped carbon microspheres (HNINC) are successfully fabricated with ultrathin nanosheet subunits as high-performance photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. The unique architecture of N-doped carbon layers and hierarchical mesoporous structures from HNINC could effectively facilitate the separation and transfer of photo-induced electron-hole pairs and afford rich active sites for photocatalytic reactions, leading to a significantly higher H₂ production rate than NiO deposited with platinum. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the migration path of the photo-generated electron transfer is from Ni 3d and O 2p hybrid states of NiO to the C 2p state of graphite, while the photo-generated holes locate at Ni 4s and Ni 4p hybrid states of NiO, which is beneficial to improve the separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Gibbs free energy of the intermediate state for hydrogen evolution reaction is calculated to provide a fundamental understanding of the high H₂ production rate of HNINC. This research sheds light on developing novel photocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution.Ministry of Education (MOE)This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21671085 and 21701063), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20161160), the Qing Lan Project and the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and the Postgraduate Research and Practical Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX18_2018). This research is also supported by the Singapore Academic Research Fund (RG5/16, RG11/17 and RG114/17)

Selective wet-chemical etching to create TiO₂@MOF frame heterostructure for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Close heterojunction interface, open diffusion channel and the reactivity of the exposed facet are three key factors that affect the photocatalytic activity of porous heterojunction materials. It is significant to study the influence of these three factors on the photocatalytic activity of metal-organic framework (MOF)-based heterojunction systems. Herein, we synthesized the TiO2@NH2-MIL-125(Ti) frame structure (TiO2@MOF FS) by in-situ self-sacrificial hydrolytic etching approach with directional chemical protection, where four exposed facets are all active NH2-MIL-125(Ti) {100} facets. According to the structural characteristics of NH2-MIL-125(Ti) {100} facets, tannic acid was selected as the directional protective agent, and NH2-MIL-125(Ti) was etched from the inside out by the hydrolysis method. The obtained TiO2@MOF FS possessed tight heterojunction interface between TiO2 and NH2-MIL-125(Ti), while maintaining the open diffusion channels of NH2-MIL-125(Ti). Benefited from the improved electrical conductivity, open diffusion channels and high reactivity of the exposed facets, the obtained TiO2@MOF FS showed excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency under sun light illumination, without the deposition of any noble metal co-catalyst. This work provides a novel research idea for the fabrication of highly efficient MOF-based photocatalysts.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21671085 and 21701063), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20161160 and BK20191466), the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and the Jiangsu Overseas Visiting Scholar Program for University Prominent Yong & Middle-Aged Teachers and Presidents. It was also supported by the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) AME IRG grant (A1783c0007)