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We find that between 20 and 25 percent of the negative covariance between excess returns and inflation is explained by shocks to monetary policy variables. The finding is robust to changes in the monetary policy rule that have occured during the 1966-1998 period. The result contradicts the theory that money supply shocks induce a positive correlation between inflation and returns. Our findings also cast doubt on models that explain the negative correlation in a money-neutral environment (Boudoukh, Richardson, and Whitelaw (1994)), and on models that account for this correlation as being due solely to money demand shocks (Fama (1981), Marshall (1992)). We argue that contractionary monetary policy lowers excess stock market returns through various channels. Furthermore, if the Fed has some private information about future inflation, then a contractionary monetary shock will be followed by an increase in inflation, in the short run. The combined effect is a negative inflation/excess returns correlation. The results lend support to the argument that if asset pricing models are to capture the observed negative correlation, they must incorprate monetary policy effects.

• Corporate pension policies involve conflicting motives—shifting vs. managing risk. • Corporate governance affects how risk-shifting impacts future underfunding and R&D. • We use foreign ownership and stable ownership to gauge corporate governance quality. • Well-governed firms use risk-shifting to finance R&D and improve shareholder values. • Risk-shifting by poorly-governed firms increases pension deficits but not shareholder values. This study examines how corporate governance affects pension plan sponsors' conflicting motives—risk-shifting vs. risk management—and their future pension funding status, R&D investments, and shareholder values. We focus on managers' discretionary choices of expected rates of return on plan assets and discount rates for pension liabilities to capture risk-shifting motives and measure corporate governance quality through foreign equity ownership (strong monitoring) and stable equity ownership (weak monitoring). The evidence shows that well-governed firms use managerial risk-shifting to finance R&D and increase shareholder values. Risk-shifting by poorly-governed firms results in larger pension underfunding without increasing shareholder values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Coronectomy is performed when contact between the mandibular third molar apex and the inferior alveolar nerve is suspected. The efficacy of coronectomy compared with conventional tooth extraction has been recognized in recent years. However, few studies have reported the postoperative prognosis of roots remaining in the bone or surrounding tissue. Therefore, a clinical evaluation was performed with dental computed tomographic imaging of the coronectomy sites 1 year after the procedure. Patients and Methods: This study investigated 101 patients (116 teeth) who underwent a coronectomy from March 2006 through December 2009. They were recalled 1 year later for a clinical evaluation and dental computed tomographic imaging of the coronectomy sites. The clinical evaluation was based on palpation and macroscopic findings. Results: In 99.2% (115 teeth) of the studied cases, the soft tissue distal to the mandibular second molar was healthy and the retained roots were covered by bone. In 1 case (0.8%), an eruption of roots into the oral cavity was observed; however, no inflammation was observed in the nearby soft tissue. In all 116 teeth, no transmission images indicative of periapical lesions, which usually result from necrosis of the pulp, were observed in the apical area of the retained roots. Conclusions: The absence of transmission images indicative of periapical lesions and the presence of bone covering more than 99.2% (115 teeth) of the retained roots showed a safe postoperative course at the 1-year follow-up after coronectomy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Existing studies suggest that stocks with lottery-like characteristics tend to underperform, especially when they attract retail trades, and that the degree of underperformance is closely related to investors' forgiving (vs. forbidding) attitude toward gambles/lotteries embedded in their religious norms. We examine how lottery-like stocks are valued in Saudi Arabia where stock trades are dominated by Muslim individuals who have never experienced gambles/lotteries. We find significant underperformance of lottery-like stocks in Saudi Arabia, especially among those with high stock turnover. We discuss a few channels through which investors in Saudi Arabia overpay for lottery-like characteristics despite their strong moral oppositions to gambles/lotteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some firms time their share issuances/repurchases using their private information while others do not. We identify successful timers by comparing a cash-flow-based measure of net share issuance (NSI) with a share-based measure. Recent successful timers—only a small fraction (23%)—drive the known return predictability of NSI in the following year. The evidence suggests that the stock market underreacts to the persistence of managerial market-timing, providing significant opportunities for investors to mimic successful market-timing in their investment strategies. A value-weighted NSI hedge portfolio formed only on recent successful timers earns a six-factor alpha of 11.8% a year after transaction costs. • The net share issuance (NSI) effect is the known return predictability of NSI. • Timing return is a measure of successful market timing in share issues/repurchases. • Only 23% of firms are successful market-timers with positive timing returns. • Recent successful market-timers drive the majority of the subsequent NSI effect. • The stock market seems to underreact to the persistence of successful market-timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the protective effect of administering Lactobacillus casei I-5 cells to mice that had been challenged by pathogenic Escherichia coli Juhl. According to the authors, Lactobacillus casei I-5 effectively prevented infection by pathogenic Esherichia coli possibly through the activation of peritoneal macrophages. The authors also investigated the effects of lactic acid bacteria on the cellular and humoral immune responses in mice and rats.