We propose and test a catering theory of earnings guidance. As predicted by our model, managers cater to reference point-dependent investor preferences by issuing excessively optimistic earnings forecasts if their investors have experienced poor stock returns. Moreover, earnings guidance is most biased when managers strongly discount future outcomes, when the stock’s payoff uncertainty is high, and when managers face low costs for issuing inaccurate forecasts. Catering via earnings guidance succeeds in moving stock market prices and induces mispricing which is partially corrected around the corresponding final earnings announcement.

We consider quasilinear Schrödinger equations in $\mathbb {R}^N$ of the form $-\Delta u+V(x)u-u\Delta (u^2)=g(u)$, where the potential V is allowed to be sign-changing and the nonlinearity g is sublinear at zero. Except for being subcritical, no additional condition is imposed on $g(u)$ for $|u|$ large. We obtain a sequence of solutions with negative energy and converging to zero via Clark’s theorem. We also obtain a similar result for fourth-order quasilinear Schrödinger equations in $\mathbb {R}^N$ of the form $\Delta ^2u-\Delta u+ V(x)u-u\Delta (u^2)=g(u)$.

Hydrated sodium and magnesium sulfates are fairly common minerals. This study is focused on löweite from the fumaroles of the Tolbachik volcano in Kamchatka. The crystal structure of löweite was refined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the hydrogen atoms were localized for the first time. In situ single-crystal (temperature range –173 to 227°C) and powder (temperature range –173 to 900°C) X-ray studies were performed. Both techniques show that löweite remains stable up to ∼220°C without showing any signs of potential phase transitions. The mineral is also stable under a vacuum of ∼600 Pa. The following transformation sequence for löweite was observed upon heating: löweite → metathénardite + vanthoffite + ‘x-phase’ → metathénardite + periclase.

The thermal expansion of löweite demonstrates two distinct patterns in two temperature ranges. There is virtually no expansion in the structure until –93°C. Following this, the structure rapidly expands, exhibiting a highly anisotropic behaviour. Shear deformations of the soft S–O–Mg and S–O–Na hinges explain the structural flexibility and adaptability of löweite to changes in physicochemical environments.

Money and Edinburgh go back a long way. The Bank of Scotland was founded in 1695, just a year after the Bank of England. Three centuries later, the first edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (in 2007) confirmed what everyone had always assumed: second only to London in the UK, sixth in Europe. But how? This small city, its population only topping 500,000 in the twenty-first century, was far from the centers of power and finance, with only a modest trading and manufacturing base of its own. This paper marries fresh oral history from the city’s mid-twentieth century financial elite—that is, an Edinburgh before the Global Financial Crash—with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus in the relatively new paradigm of Historical Organisation Studies, treating the industry as a single unit across banking, life assurance, and investment management. This reveals their personal characteristics and demonstrates the “symbolic violence” which socialized them into absorbing and embracing both the values and practices of the organizations where they worked and the external structures, including professional bodies and, not least, the Church of Scotland, which helped maintain some of those values.

This article examines an overlooked aspect of Xenophon’s philosophy: the crucial role of lower body training in his conception of physical fitness as an essential component of education for both humans and animals. Three key questions guide this investigation. Why does Xenophon appear to prioritize physical over intellectual education? Why does he emphasize lower body training for humans, hounds and horses? What unifying concepts connect Xenophon’s ideas about physical fitness and education? The article argues that the parallels between the physical education of Spartan children, Socrates’ shoelessness and the training of hounds and horses suggest shared physical characteristics across certain species, leading to similar methods for developing bodily vigour. Moreover, it contends that ideal education (paideia) must not only begin with but also maintain continuous emphasis on strengthening the body’s support structure—feet and legs—hence the focus on exercises like walking and running. The analysis reveals recurring foundational concepts: toil (πόνος), endurance (καρτερία)—two core principles of Socratic ethics—good health (ὑγίεια), exercise (ἄσκησις/μελέτη), gymnastics (γύμνασις) and good physical disposition (τοῦ σώματος εὐεξία). This pattern, present in both Socratic and non-Socratic works, offers new insights into Xenophon’s coherent vision of the relationship between physical fitness and education.

This article presents an overview of the life histories of reared-apart twins from the Philippines. One twin always knew he was a twin, but for the other twin the discovery at age 15 came as a shock. This essay is followed by summaries of recent twin research of interest. Topics include twin discordance for multisystem inflammatory syndrome, in vitro fertilization (IVF) twins and possible associations with impaired hearing, the writings of monozygotic (MZ) twins, and an update on MZ twins with Feingold syndrome whom I have covered in a previous issue of this journal. This essay concludes with several twin-related human interest stories, namely conjoined twin girls from Sri Lanka, conjoined twin boys from Papua, New Guinea, recent information concerning conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel, a twin sentenced for criminal activities, and accurate identification of an identical twin culprit by DNA sequencing.

We determine the convergence regions of certain local integrals on the moduli spaces of curves in neighborhoods of fixed stable curves with rational components in terms of the combinatorics of the corresponding graphs.

Marsupials have been the subject of experimental and natural parasitological studies on helminths in the Americas. Brazil has a significant proportion of the American marsupial fauna, with approximately 15 genera and 69 species out of 95 extant. Helminths have been reported for approximately one-third of the Brazilian marsupial species. Consequently, an update of this information is necessary to ensure the correct identification of the species. This work represents the first comprehensive review of the helminths of the Brazilian marsupials, including taxonomic information on both parasites and hosts. The data were extracted and compiled from references published from 1819 to 2023 and organised according to the classification of the helminths by the host name of the original description, followed by the updated host species nomenclature, geographical distribution, site of infection, and references. In total, 1,047 records of helminths parasitising 22 marsupial species in Brazil were compiled. The list included 93 identified species, including five of the phylum Acanthocephala, 58 of the phylum Nematoda, and 30 of the phylum Platyhelminthes. In addition, 51 other morphospecies were reported. This work may serve as a reference for future studies.