Earnings forecasts of female CEOs: quality and consequences

This study examines the voluntary disclosure of earnings forecasts by female CEOs. We find that in the backdrop of increased pressure to perform from investors and other stakeholders, female CEOs tend to issue more earnings forecasts than male CEOs, and those forecasts are more accurate. We also find that while financial analysts generally prefer to follow companies headed by male CEOs, female CEOs’ efforts to issue accurate earnings forecasts pay off, as these efforts help them close the analyst coverage gap. We provide complementary evidence on the disclosure efforts of female CEOs with regard to updates to the forecast and the 10-K report. Lastly, we show that financial analysts rely more on the earnings forecasts of female CEOs, possibly because they recognize female CEOs’ superior forecasting quality. Our results are robust to the use of alternative research designs, including difference-in-difference, propensity score matching, and entropy balancing. Overall, our study documents gender differences in voluntary disclosure by senior management.

Response to winter pressures in acute services: analysis from the Winter Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit

Background There is increased demand for urgent and acute services during the winter months, placing pressure on acute medicine services caring for emergency medical admissions. Hospital services adopt measures aiming to compensate for the effects of this increased pressure. This study aimed to describe the measures adopted by acute medicine services to address service pressures during winter. Methods A survey of acute hospitals was conducted during the Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit, a national day-of-care audit, on 30th January 2020. Survey questions were derived from national guidance. Acute medicine services at 93 hospitals in the United Kingdom completed the survey, evaluating service measures implemented to mitigate increased demand, as well as markers of increased pressure on services. Results All acute internal medicine services had undertaken measures to prepare for increased demand, however there was marked variation in the combination of measures adopted. 81.7% of hospitals had expanded the number of medical inpatient beds available. 80.4% had added extra clinical staff. The specialty of the physicians assigned to provide care for extra inpatient beds varied. A quarter of units had reduced beds available for providing Same Day Emergency Care on the day of the survey. Patients had been waiting in corridors within the emergency medicine department in 56.3% of units. Conclusion Winter pressure places considerable demand on acute services, and impacts the delivery of care. Although increased pressure on acute hospital services during winter is widely recognised, there is considerable variation in the approach to planning for these periods of increased demand.

The Digitalization of Pakistan's Universities?

Higher educational institutes today need to focus on identifying the requirements of industry as well as the market, so that they can help students develop the necessary skills and enable them to work with intelligent machines in today's era of the 4th industrial revolution which is also termed digitalization. Digitalization has increased pressure on educational institutions to update their existing curricula and course contents. It is important to note that, while industry as well as educational institutions in the developed world are rather quick on embracing such trends, developing economies often lag behind. Universities in developed countries are mostly on the path towards a hybrid way of teaching, while those in developing countries, such as Pakistan, frequently struggle to make these changes. This chapter seeks to provide suggestions and recommendations for the higher education sector, including universities and policymakers. It identifies the role that the higher education sector must play in preparing and upskilling future employees for Pakistan's digital future.

Comparative Study on Pressure Reduction of Sprinkler Piping Systems with an Orifice

The recent increase in the number of high-rise buildings has led to increased pressure on sprinkler piping systems. This overpressure results in the supply of large quantities of water to a small number of open sprinkler heads due to the aging of buildings or malfunctioning of sprinkler heads. This induces significant water damage during incidents such as fires, resulting in long-term restoration needs of electrical and infrastructure facilities. Therefore, this study intends to mitigate this damage by introducing an orifice in sprinkler piping systems to reduce the water pressure at sprinkler head openings. Various types of data values were calculated by increasing the pressure and simultaneously varying the orifice specifications for each type of pipe. Currently, there are no test data of this kind, rendering the obtained data useful in the design and construction of orifices for pressure reduction in sprinkler piping systems.

Human intrinsic choroidal neurons do not alter the expression of intrinsic markers in response to pressure

BackgroundThe choroid is densely innervated by all parts of the autonomic nervous system and further harbours a network of local nerve cells, the intrinsic choroidal neurons (ICN). Their function in ocular control is currently unknown. While morphological data assume a role in intraocular pressure regulation, we here test if increased pressure on isolated choroids may activate ICN.MethodsDonor tissue was transferred into a pressurisable tissue culture chamber, and nasal and temporal choroid halves incubated for 1 or 4 hours, with pressures set to 15 or 50 mm Hg, followed by qRT-PCR expression analysis of the ICN-specific markers VIP, UCN, NOS1, UCH-L1. POL2-normalised data in the different pressure settings, incubation times and localisations were statistically analysed.ResultsThe presence of the ICN-specific markers VIP, UCN, NOS1, UCH-L1 was confirmed using immunohistochemistry, and mRNA of all markers was detected in all experimental conditions. Marker analysis revealed no significant changes of mRNA expression levels between 15 and 50 mm Hg in the different incubation times. When comparing all samples over all experimental conditions, a significant increase of VIP and NOS1 mRNA was detected in temporal versus nasal choroids.ConclusionIn this functional analysis of human ICN in vitro, higher amounts of VIP and NOS1 mRNA were detected in the temporal choroid, that is, the choroidal site with ICN accumulation. Further, our data indicate that elevated pressure is apparently not able to trigger ICN responses via the investigated markers. Alternative markers and stimuli need to be investigated in upcoming studies in order to unravel ICN function.

Impact of growth media and pressure on the diversity and antimicrobial activity of isolates from two species of hexactinellid sponge

Access to deep-sea sponges brings with it the potential to discover novel antimicrobial candidates, as well as novel cold- and pressure-adapted bacteria with further potential clinical or industrial applications. In this study, we implemented a combination of different growth media, increased pressure and high-throughput techniques to optimize recovery of isolates from two deep-sea hexactinellid sponges, Pheronema carpenteri and Hertwigia sp., in the first culture-based microbial analysis of these two sponges. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing for isolate identification, we found a similar number of cultivable taxa from each sponge species, as well as improved recovery of morphotypes from P. carpenteri at 22–25 °C compared to other temperatures, which allows a greater potential for screening for novel antimicrobial compounds. Bacteria recovered under conditions of increased pressure were from the phyla Proteobacteria , Actinobacteria and Firmicutes , except at 4 %O2/5 bar, when the phylum Firmicutes was not observed. Cultured isolates from both sponge species displayed antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli .

Tensile and Hardness Properties of Cast 6063 Aluminium Rods produced from Sand and Squeeze Casting Moulds

This work presents experimental analysis to determine the effect of sand and squeeze casting methods on the Tensile and Hardness properties of AA6063 Aluminium. Sand and squeeze cast moulds were fabricated and used to produce Aluminium rods. The test samples from cast rods were subjected to Tensile and Hardness tests. The results obtained showed better Tensile and Hardness properties, in the squeeze cast samples that were produced under varied pressure. The hardness of squeeze casting varied from 72.9 to 82.3Hv, while that of sand casting had 70.0Hv. Also, Ultimate Tensile Strength increased with increased pressure in squeeze castings from 178.01 to 194.04MPa and 161.97 in sand castings. Conversely, the mechanical properties of the cast products improved from those of sand casting to squeeze casting. Therefore, squeeze cast products could be used in as-cast condition in engineering applications requiring high quality parts while sand casting may be used in as-cast condition for non- engineering applications or engineering applications requiring less quality parts

Optimizing Backrest Geometry to Minimize Interfacial Pressure Concentrations in the Mid-To-Lumbar Region During Leg Press Resistance Training

The leg press is a resistance training (RT) exercise common to both weight- and powerlifting, where spine-related injuries remain prevalent. Here, the elevated loading has the potential to result in increased pressure on vertebral bodies and introduce the risk of spinal injury. This study therefore investigates back interfacial pressure under leg press loading conditions and offers design recommendations to minimize spatial pressure concentrations. A pressure mat was used to assess the back-backrest interfacial pressure distribution of 15 subjects executing RT leg-presses at 50% bodyweight, over 16 different back-support geometries. Real-time forces, knee angles, and pressures were captured. The resulting data show that more prominent (?2.1 cm) back-supports, positioned 19cm above the seat pan typically produced greater peak pressures (41.8±7.2 kPa). Conversely, less prominent supports (~0.7 cm) generally achieved lower peak pressures (with greater distribution). Our data suggest that the most prudent choice for fixed-shape backrests to best distribute interfacial pressure on leg-press devices is to incorporate shallow convex supports (~0.7 cm), and locate them away from P=19 cm. The result is surprising as this prominence location is a common ergonomic feature. If an adjustable backrest is considered, peak pressures may be reduced by up to 26±8% (9.7±3.1 kPa) compared to flat geometries.

Prospects for cybersecurity to end-2022

Subject Prospects for cybersecurity in 2022. Significance The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified multiple cybersecurity issues that are likely to be salient in 2022 and beyond. Organisations face increased pressure to provide security for remote workers, prevent phishing and ransomware attacks, and deploy new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) systems safely. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions in cyberspace have also intensified, particularly since the damaging cyberattacks against prominent US targets by Russian and Chinese state actors and criminal hackers.