Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Explaining Investment Dynamics in U.S. Manufacturing: A Generalized (S,S) Approach

In this paper we derive a model of aggregate investment that builds from the lumpy microeconomic behavior of firms facing stochastic fixed adjustment costs. Instead of the standard (S,s) bands, firms' optimal adjustment policies are probabilistic, with a probability of adjusting (adjustment hazard) that grows smoothly with firms' disequilibria. Depending upon the specification of the distribution of fixed adjustment costs, the adjustment hazards approach encompasses models ranging from the very non-linear (S,s) model to the linear partial adjustment model. Except for the latter extreme, the processes for aggregate investment obtained from adding up the actions of firms subject to aggregate and idiosyncratic shocks, is highly non-linear. Estimating the aggregate model by maximum likelihood, we find clear evidence supporting non-linear models over linear ones for postwar sectoral U.S. manufacturing equipment and structures investment. For a given sequence of aggregate shocks, the nonlinear model estimated generates brisker expansions and - to a lesser extent - sharper contractions than its linear counterpart. These features fit well the observed positive skewness and large kurtosis of U.S. manufacturing sectoral investment/capital ratios.
Derailing Presidential Fast-Track Authority: The Impact of Constituency Pressures and Political Ideology on Trade Policy in Congress

This article explores the relative impact of constituency, political ideology, and labor strength on support for presidential fast-track trade authority in 1991 and 1997. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of legislators' positions shows that constituency factors have increased in importance while political ideology explains less of the variation in support for fast-track over time. The stronger constituency basis of legislators' positions reflects both the impact of NAFTA on Democrats' stances toward free trade and the growing divide among Republicans on trade issues. Future presidential bids for fast-track authority must center on specific trade agreements and will require grassroots support to surmount congressional opposition.
Risk factors for single crowns supported by short (6‐mm) implants in the posterior region: A prospective clinical and radiographic study

BACKGROUND The use of short implants is still not a consensus for challenging clinical situations, such as unfavorable crown-to-implant (C/I) ratio. PURPOSE This prospective study evaluated the rates of prosthetic complications and implant failure, the mean marginal bone loss of 6-mm dental implants with single crowns in posterior regions and the potential risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-six dental implants, 6-mm long and 4.1-mm wide, were placed in the posterior region in 20 patients. Patients were clinically and radiographically examined after the restoration with single crowns and on a yearly basis. Potential risk factors (arch, bruxism, maximum bite force, anatomical and clinical C/I ratios, and occlusal table area) were analyzed according to the following outcomes: implant survival, bone loss, and prosthetic complications. RESULTS The mean follow-up time was 45 ± 9 (16-57) months. There was no early loss of implants. After prosthetic loading, 4 implants were lost (2 in the mandible and 2 in the maxilla; 91.3% survival), and there were 13 prosthetic complications (28.3%), yielding a 65.2% success rate. The frailty term showed a 95% greater chance of loss in the mandible than the maxilla. Mean peri-implant bone loss was of 0.2 ± 0.4 mm, 0.1 ± 0.2 mm, 0.1 ± 0.3 mm, and 0.2 ± 0.4 mm in the first, second, third, and fourth years, respectively, with a mean cumulative loss of 0.3 ± 0.5 mm at 48 months. In the multilevel model, the effects of the clinical C/I ratio and time were significant for bone loss (P < .001). It was estimated that a mean bone loss of 0.1 mm is associated with both a one-unit increase in time (12 months) and a 0.1 increase in the clinical C/I ratio. The other potential risk factors showed no significant relationship with the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The 6-mm implants supporting single crowns performed well, but the mandible shows a higher risk of failure. The time and clinical C/I ratio are predictors for bone loss.
Joint Tests of Signaling and Income Smoothing Through Bank Loan Loss Provisions

This study investigates the implications of bank managers' discretion over their loan loss provision. It empirically assesses whether discretionary loan loss provision contains both signaling and income smoothing components. To do so, the study identifies different environments in which either signaling or income smoothing or both motivations exist. The results indicate that relative undervaluation plays a critical role in motivating bank managers to use discretionary loan loss provision to signal their private information about future bank performance. The analysis also demonstrates that the level of current performance relative to the industry median is a key determinant of managers' decisions to smooth income.
Dividend, liquidity and firm valuation: evidence from China AB share markets

This article examines the relevance of cash dividend from the theoretical and empirical perspective by taking market liquidity into account. We construct an economic model that demonstrates that the effect of cash dividend on firm valuation depends on the status of market liquidity. The hypotheses derived from our model are strongly supported by data from A- and B-share markets in China. Our results from the dynamic panel regression demonstrate that the price premium of B-share relative to A-share is positively correlated to the level of cash dividend, and this relationship becomes even stronger when the relative liquidity of B-share is in a low status. In addition, this price premium is positively affected by the relative liquidity and firm profitability. The results are robust under alternate liquidity and dividend measures. The subsequent analysis based on the event study approach further reveals a more positive (negative) response to the announcement of cash dividend initiation (omission) in the B-share market. In particular, this positive response on the initiation is negatively correlated with the relative liquidity.
Effects of Shareholder Information on Corporate Decisions and Capital Market Equilibrium

This paper examines the effect that imperfectly informed capital market agents have on the equilibrium paths of output, investment, and asset prices of value maximizing firms. Though information is imperfect, rational expectations is imposed as an equilibrium condition. It is found that both asset prices and corporate decisions are simultaneously affected in such a way that the efficiency-optimality relationship between them is pre- served. The effect of a fuller information structure is to move the economy from one efficient markets equilibrium to another. elaborated. Extant beliefs regarding accounting information are crystallized at two polar extremes. Policy-making bodies like the SEC and the FASB and most prac- titioners believe that investors are naive in processing information, and are principally concerned with the earnings per share figure as reported by accoun- tants. Investor decision rules are invariant to the rules for computing income, and therefore if the "right" or "proper" measure of income were not adopted, investors would be misled. In recent years stock price researchers have rapidly accumulated evidence against this naive investor hypothesis and in favor of the efficient markets hypothesis. For example, Kaplan and Roll (12) demonstrated that firms switching from the deferral method to the flow-through method for investment credit and firms switching from accelerated to straight-line deprecia- tion, in each case increasing their reported income, did not experience abnormal price increases. Sunder (23) found that firms switching from the FIFO to the LIFO method of inventory valuation, thereby decreasing their reported income, did not suffer in stock price performance. These findings raise a serious question. Do accounting statements have any informational impact on security prices at all? Several studies tested and rejected the null hypothesis that the periodic financial statements issued by corporations have no information content for capital market agents. Ball and Brown (1) tested for information content of the annual earnings report and found that foreknowledge of the earnings number could be used to generate excess returns. Brown and Kennelly (5) replicated the
Vascular perfusion of choroidal melanoma by 3.0 tesla magnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE Because signal-to-noise performance improves with increased magnetic field strength, the quality of magnetic resonance images is greater at 3.0 tesla (T) than at 1.5 T. Because of the longer T1 values at higher field strength, intravenously administered magnetic resonance contrast agents provide improved T1 enhancement at 3.0 T. We have used these factors to obtain high-quality contrast-enhanced imaging of small intraocular lesions using a standard head radiofrequency volume coil. Specifically, we have examined lesion size and magnitude of maximum contrast enhancement in a series of intraocular melanomas before and during therapy. METHODS Eighteen patients with intraocular masses were examined by 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including intravenous contrast enhancement. Precontrast images were acquired through the orbits followed by sequential postcontrast images at 1-minute intervals for 5 minutes. The magnitude of contrast enhancement of the lesion, extraocular muscles, and brain parenchyma was measured as a percentage increase in magnetic resonance signal over the preenhancement signal intensity. RESULTS Lesions demonstrated different levels of enhancement ranging up to 130%. Three patterns of enhancement--0% to 20%, 20% to 50%, and >50%-were identified. Brain parenchyma, benign lesions, and responsive tumors following brachytherapy with 125I demonstrated enhancement of less than 20%. Four choroidal melanomas showed intermediate (20% to 50%) levels of enhancement. Four malignant lesions (three melanomas, one metastatic tumor), as well as the extraocular muscles, showed strong, rapid enhancement (>50%). Four patients who had MRI studies before and following plaque brachytherapy ultimately demonstrated a decline in the contrast enhancement following treatment. CONCLUSIONS Contrast enhancement of intraocular lesions measured by 3.0 T MRI demonstrates different patterns of enhancement that may be useful for indicating the degree of malignancy and in monitoring response to therapy.
Phosphorylation status modulates Bcl‐2 function during glucocorticoid‐induced apoptosis in T lymphocytes

Glucocorticoids are known to induce apoptosis in lymphoid cells, and Bcl‐2 overexpression can block the apoptosis‐inducing action of glucocorticoids. Since phosphorylation of Bcl‐2 is implicated in regulating Bcl‐2 function, we considered the role of Bcl‐2 phosphorylation in protecting lymphoid cells from glucocorticoidinduced cell death. Five stably transfected cell lines of WEHI 7.1 cells expressing either wild‐type Bcl‐2 or alanine mutants of Bcl‐2 at amino acids threonine 56, serine 70, threonine 74, or serine 87 were created. Expression of the mutant Bcl‐2 proteins was documented by flow cytometry and Western blot analysis. Mutation of Bcl‐2 on T56 and S87 eliminated the ability of Bcl‐2 to inhibit glucocorticoid‐induced cell shrinkage, mitochondrial depolarization, DNA fragmentation, and cell death. Mutation of T74 only partially impaired the ability of Bcl‐2 to block glucocorticoid‐induced apoptosis whereas mutation of S70 in Bcl‐2 did not alter its ability to block glucocorticoidinduced apoptosis. —Huang, S. ‐T. J., Cidlowski, J. A. Phosphorylation status modulates Bcl‐2 function during glucocorticoid‐induced apoptosis in T lymphocytes. FASEB J. 16, 825–832 (2002)
Economic Dynamics and Forest Clearing: A Spatial Econometric Analysis for Indonesia

This paper uses a large panel database to investigate the determinants of forest clearing in Indonesian kabupatens since 2005. Our study incorporates short-run changes in prices and demands for palm oil and wood products, as well as the exchange rate, the real interest rate, land-use zoning, forest protection, the estimated opportunity cost of forested land, the quality of local governance, the poverty rate, population density, the availability of communications infrastructure, transport cost, local rainfall and terrain slope.
A Semiparametric Hedonic Pricing Model of Ontario Wines

Our study is the first to examine the pricing of wines produced in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Using a sample of 337 Ontario dry red wines, we construct both parametric and semiparametric hedonic pricing models. We find that our semiparametric model yields a superior fit to its parametric counterpart. We also estimate separate hedonic price functions for higher and lower priced wines which indicate that the term “Reserve” on the label and the vintage year information are important for consumers of lower priced wines whereas these attributes are not important for consumers of higher priced wines. Unlike other studies, we include both environmental and quantity variables resulting in improved fits. Thus, our results suggest that future studies should consider semiparametric hedonic pricing models and include both the quantity and environmental variables in the analysis. Finally, our results indicate that Canadian consumers for the most part look for the same attributes in wine as their counterparts in other countries do but they also look at the viticulture techniques used in the cultivation of the grapes. La presente etude est la premiere du genre a se pencher sur l’etablissement des prix des vins produits dans la province d’Ontario, au Canada. A partir d’un echantillon de 337 vins rouges secs ontariens, nous avons bâti des modeles parametriques et semi-parametriques de fixation hedoniste des prix. Nos resultats ont montre que notre modele semi-parametrique offrait une adequation statistique superieure a celle de notre modele parametrique. Nous avons egalement estime des fonctions de prix hedonistes distinctes pour les vins chers et les vins abordables et selon les resultats, l’inscription du mot « Reserve » et du millesime sur les etiquettes revet davantage d’importance pour les consommateurs de vins abordables que pour les consommateurs de vins chers. Contrairement a d’autres etudes, nous avons inclus des variables environnementales et quantitatives qui ont ameliore l’adequation statistique. Nos resultats autorisent a penser que les futures etudes devraient envisager l’utilisation de modeles semi-parametriques de fixation hedoniste des prix et inclure des donnees environnementales et quantitatives. D’apres nos resultats, la plupart des consommateurs de vin au Canada recherchent les memes attributs que les consommateurs de vin d’autres pays, en plus de s’interesser aux techniques viticoles utilisees par les vignerons.
Organizational differences in managerial compensation and benefits in Chinese firms

More than two decades of economic reforms have brought profound changes in human resource management practices in both the state and non-state sectors in China. This study focuses on the impact of organizational factors on compensation and benefits for Chinese managers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), publicly listed firms (PLFs), and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). The empirical investigation of 465 firms located in three major Chinese cities, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, provides evidence that organizational factors, such as ownership, firm size, firm age, location and industrial sector, have significant impacts on the variances in Chinese managers' compensation levels, compensation structures and benefits. The trends in the development of compensation and benefits for Chinese managers are also discussed as the Chinese economy moves closer to a more globalized, highly dynamic economy after China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.
The Effect of Organisational Culture Perceptions on the Relationship Between Budgetary Participation and Managerial Job-Related Outcomes

We examine the impact of managers' perceptions of their organisational culture (OC) on the relationship between budgetary participation (BP) and managerial job-related outcomes, operationalised as managerial performance and job-related tension (JRT). Does the relationship between BP and job-related outcomes would depend on managers' perceptions of innovation and attention to detail? Data supported predictions that increasing BP would lower JRT for managers perceiving a high emphasis on innovation within their OC, regardless of their perceptions of an emphasis on attention to detail. When managers perceived low innovation, however, their perception of level of attention to detail had a significant effect on the relationship between BP and JRT. More specifically, increasing BP was found to decrease JRT for managers who perceived low innovation and low attention to detail. For managers who perceived low innovation and high attention to detail, however, this effect was attenuated. Finally, the positive relationship between BP and managerial performance was not found to he affected significantly by managers' OC perceptions.
The malpighian tubules of Drosophila melanogaster: a novel phenotype for studies of fluid secretion and its control.

The insect renal (Malpighian) tubule has long been a model system for the study of fluid secretion and its neurohormonal control (Maddrell, 1981; Maddrell and O’Donnell, 1992). Classical physiology suggests a model for tubular secretion of iso-osmotic fluid in most insects, in which ions are thought to enter basally either through a series of ion channels (Na+, K+ and Cl2) or through a bumetanide-sensitive Na+/K+/2Cl2 cotransport. Apical fluxes are energised by a plasma-membrane H+-pumping V-ATPase, driving secretion of Na+ or K+ through one or more exchangers, at least one of which is amiloride-sensitive and appears to be closely similar to the Na+/H+ exchanger of vertebrates (Maddrell and O’Donnell, 1992). Cl2 follows passively, perhaps through apical Cl2 channels. Water follows the major ions, and haemolymph solutes diffuse across the tubule wall passively via a paracellular route. There are also transcellular active transport processes for certain metabolites or toxins, such as acylamides (Maddrell et al. 1974) and plant alkaloids (Maddrell, 1976; O’Donnell et al. 1983). To extend studies of ion transport beyond that revealed by the techniques of classical physiology, it is necessary to adopt a molecular genetic approach, in which the relevant genes are identified, characterised and mutated. However, the generalised molecular genetic dissection of the major genes responsible for a stimulus–secretion pathway in any vertebrate epithelium remains a daunting task, as the genetic tools available are relatively unsophisticated. Encouraged by previous physiological work on the larger, but less well genetically mapped, Drosophila hydei (Bertram et al. 1991; Wessing and Eichelberg, 1978; Wessing et al. 1987), we have investigated the feasibility of adapting the established tubule secretion assay to the study of tubules of larval and adult Drosophila melanogaster. The results (i) demonstrate that these Malpighian tubules, to
Herd Behavior and Investment

This paper examines some of the forces that can lead to herd behavior in investment. Under certain circumstances, managers simply mimic the investment decisions of other managers, ignoring substantive private information. Although this behavior is inefficient from a social standpoint, it can be rational from the perspective of managers who are concerned about their reputations in the labor market. The authors discuss applications of the model to corporate investment, the stock markets, and decision-making within firms. Copyright 1990 by American Economic Association.
Detection of Human Papillomavirus Type 31-Neutralizing Antibodies from Naturally Infected Patients by an Assay Based on Intracellular Assembly of Luciferase-Expressing Pseudovirions

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop a highly sensitive human papillomavirus type 31 (HPV31) neutralization assay based on the production of pseudovirions carrying luciferase. Neutralizing antibodies against HPV31 were investigated in a set of HPV31 monoclonal antibodies and in women with evidence of HPV31 infection. Neutralizing antibodies were detected in 78% of subjects with a positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Responses of Chinese Consumers to Sex Appeals in International Advertising: A Test of Congruency Theory

ABSTRACT While the use of sex appeal is on the rise in China to advertise products ranging from beer to cars, their effect on Chinese consumers is largely unknown and may be incongruent with the Chinese culture. This study adopts the congruency theory to examine the effects of sex appeal in international advertising and proposes several testable hypotheses. In an experiment, we adopt a three × two design including three levels of sex appeal and two models (Chinese and Caucasian) and test the advertisements with a group of Chinese consumers. The results suggest that the subjects respond more favourably to advertisements with non-sex appeal than those using sex appeal in terms of their attitudes toward the advertisement (A ad ) and brand (A b ), and buying intention (BI). Chinese consumers also prefer advertisements featuring Chinese models to those using Caucasian models, even when strong sex appeal is used. Thus, international advertisers are cautioned with standardized strategies in advertising to Chinese consumers using sex appeal and Caucasian models.
How People Respond to Contingent Valuation Questions: A Verbal Protocol Analysis of Willingness to Pay for an Environmental Regulation

Abstract This paper investigates what a respondent is thinking when answering a willingness-to-pay question in a contingent valuation, using a "think aloud" technique from psychology called verbal protocol analysis. The willingness-to-pay responses we observed seem to be constructed from a variety of considerations, including an obligation to pay a fair share of the cost of the solution and signaling concern for a larger set of environmental issues. The finding that respondents seem to construct their values at the time they are asked, rather than reporting a more well-defined value, is seen as consistent with over two decades of research on the psychology of decision making. Potential uses of verbal protocols in contingent valuation studies are also discussed.
Keeping the Wheels Turning: The Dynamics of Managing Networks of Practice

Intra-organizational networks of practice (NOPs) confront managers with a dilemma: they must manage NOPs to reap benefits from integrating geographically dispersed knowledge, but the inherently emergent nature of NOPs implies that management control may frustrate practice-related knowledge to be shared. Based on a case study of 22 NOPs in a geographically dispersed development organization (‘TDO’), we develop a model that disentangles the dynamics underlying this dilemma, helping to better understand it. Specifically, four dynamic relationships are interrelated and involve four kinds of embeddedness (organizational, in practice, relational, and structural) that relate dynamically to knowledge sharing in NOPs. Interventions in both the content shared in the network and the connections among network members can influence each of these relations. This study contributes to theoretical and practical understanding of how to manage NOPs without killing them.