Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research The Book-to-Price Effect in Stock Returns: Accounting for Leverage

This paper lays out a decomposition of book-to-price (B/P) that articulates precisely how B/P “absorbs” leverage. The B/P ratio can be decomposed into an enterprise book-to-price (that pertains to operations and potentially reflects operating risk) and a leverage component (that reflects financing risk). The empirical analysis shows that the enterprise book-to-price ratio is positively related to subsequent stock returns but, conditional upon the enterprise book-toprice, the leverage component of B/P is negatively associated with future stock returns. Further, both enterprise book-to-price and leverage explain returns over those associated with Fama and French nominated factors – including the book-to-price factor – albeit negatively so for leverage. The seemingly perverse finding with respect to the leverage component of B/P survives under controls for size, estimated beta, return volatility, momentum, and default risk. The Book-to-Price Effect in Stock Returns: Accounting for Leverage Fama and French (1992) observe that book-to-price ratios (B/P) are positively correlated with subsequent stock returns, a relation that has come to be known as the book-to-price effect. In response to this empirical regularity, they specify an asset pricing model, in Fama and French (1993, 1996), that includes risk factors identified with B/P, CAPM beta, and the market value of equity (size). The nomination of B/P as a feature that loads on a risk factor is tentative, not only because it is based on empirical analysis rather than theory, but also because the empirical observation can be attributed to market mispricing rather than the pricing of risk; as Fama (1970 and 1998) explains, the interpretation of the B/P effect as rational pricing of risk (market efficiency) or abnormal returns to mispricing (market inefficiency) cannot be resolved without the specification of a model of expected returns. Researchers have not yet agreed upon such a model. However, one aspect of asset pricing is agreed upon. An elementary notion in finance views equity risk (and expected returns to equity) as determined by operating risk arising from firms’ business operations (otherwise called firm risk, enterprise risk, business risk, or asset risk) and financing risk arising from borrowing that leverages equity investment in business operations. While research has not yet identified credible measures of operating risk that are consistent with theory and robustly supported by the data, there is little disagreement about the appropriate measure of leverage and the returns associated with it. Given operating risk, average returns are increasing in leverage, with leverage measured as the market value of debt to the market value of equity (so-called market leverage). The relationship, founded on no-arbitrage assumptions, is formalized in Modigliani and Miller 1 A number of papers have challenged the Fama and French interpretation of book-to-price as a risk characteristic. See, for example, Lakonishok, Shleifer and Vishny (1994), Daniel and Titman (1997).
mActive: A Randomized Clinical Trial of an Automated mHealth Intervention for Physical Activity Promotion

Background We hypothesized that a fully automated mobile health (mHealth) intervention with tracking and texting components would increase physical activity. Methods and Results mActive enrolled smartphone users aged 18 to 69 years at an ambulatory cardiology center in Baltimore, Maryland. We used sequential randomization to evaluate the intervention's 2 core components. After establishing baseline activity during a blinded run‐in (week 1), in phase I (weeks 2 to 3), we randomized 2:1 to unblinded versus blinded tracking. Unblinding allowed continuous access to activity data through a smartphone interface. In phase II (weeks 4 to 5), we randomized unblinded participants 1:1 to smart texts versus no texts. Smart texts provided smartphone‐delivered coaching 3 times/day aimed at individual encouragement and fostering feedback loops by a fully automated, physician‐written, theory‐based algorithm using real‐time activity data and 16 personal factors with a 10 000 steps/day goal. Forty‐eight outpatients (46% women, 21% nonwhite) enrolled with a mean±SD age of 58±8 years, body mass index of 31±6 kg/m2, and baseline activity of 9670±4350 steps/day. Daily activity data capture was 97.4%. The phase I change in activity was nonsignificantly higher in unblinded participants versus blinded controls by 1024 daily steps (95% confidence interval [CI], −580 to 2628; P=0.21). In phase II, participants receiving texts increased their daily steps over those not receiving texts by 2534 (95% CI, 1318 to 3750; P<0.001) and over blinded controls by 3376 (95% CI, 1951 to 4801; P<0.001). Conclusions An automated tracking‐texting intervention increased physical activity with, but not without, the texting component. These results support new mHealth tracking technologies as facilitators in need of behavior change drivers. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://ClinicalTrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT01917812.
EEC syndrome type 3 with a heterozygous germline mutation in the P63 gene and B cell lymphoma

Lines of evidence have recently indicated a relationship between mutations in the P63 gene and ectrodactyly‐ectodermal dysplasia‐clefting (EEC) syndrome type 3 (EEC3). The p63 gene (P63) has homology to P53 known as a tumor‐suppressor gene, but biological function of its protein has not yet been known well. There have been two reported patients who had EEC syndrome associated with malignant lymphoma. However, they did not undergo sequencing analysis of P63. Here, we present with a Japanese girl who had EEC3 and developed diffuse large B‐cell type non‐Hodgkin lymphoma. In this patient, we documented a heterozygous germline mutation, Asp312Gly, in P63. We speculated that p63 may exert a biological function as a tumor suppressor. Malignant lymphoma should be considered as an important complication of EEC3. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor is Related to Platelet Reactivity but not to Genetic Polymorphisms within BDNF Encoding Gene in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum concentrations of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), platelet reactivity and inflammatory markers, as well as its association with BDNF encoding gene variants in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM) during acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) therapy. Material/Methods This retrospective, open-label study enrolled 91 patients. Serum BDNF, genotype variants, hematological, biochemical, and inflammatory markers were measured. Blood samples were taken in the morning 2–3 h after the last ASA dose. The BDNF genotypes for selected variants were analyzed by use of the iPLEX Sequenom assay. Results In multivariate linear regression analysis, CADP-CT >74 sec (p<0.001) and sP-selectin concentration (p=0.03) were predictive of high serum BDNF. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, CADP-CT >74 sec (p=0.02) and IL-6 concentration (p=0.03) were risk factors for serum BDNF above the median. Non-significant differences were observed between intronic SNP rs925946, missense SNP rs6265, and intronic SNP rs4923463 allelic groups and BDNF concentrations in the investigated cohort. Conclusions Chronic inflammatory condition and enhanced immune system are associated with the production of BDNF, which may be why the serum BDNF level in T2DM patients with high platelet reactivity was higher compared to subjects with normal platelet reactivity in this study.
State of Software Risk Management Practice

Despite the fact that risk management has been with us for some time, little has been reported about its industrial status, its co-existence with the development models, and its compliance to standard risk management process models. In this paper, we explore the domain of risk management practice within 37 software organizations. We do this by first comparing the industrial status against a process model that is synthesized from a set of current standard risk management process models. We then investigate how the companies studied have integrated their risk management with software development. Regarding the state of industrial risk management practice, our results show that there are some discrepancies between the industrial practice and the standard models studied. The industrial organizations have not implemented all the important activities as prescribed by the standard models. The standard models, on the other hand, have failed to identify some of the important risk management phases and activities. Hence, this paper suggests a list of issues that need be addressed in both the standards and the industry. Regarding the integration practice, our results recognize that process integration in this domain is still in its infancy.
Tegaserod (Zelnorm) for the treatment of constipation in Parkinson's disease

We performed a double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled pilot study to determine the efficacy of tegaserod (Zelnorm) in treating constipation in 15 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). There was a trend for improvement in the Subject's Global Assessment (SGA) of satisfaction with bowel habits (NS) and the total SGA (including abdominal discomfort, bothersome constipation, and satisfaction; NS). © 2005 Movement Disorder Society
Relationship between Eurasian large-scale patterns and regional climate variability over the Black and Baltic Seas

Using a NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis dataset and the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis approach we studied interannual to decadal variabilities of the sea-level air pressure (SLP) and the surface air temperature (SAT) fields over Eurasiaduring the 2nd part of the 20th century. Our results agree with those of the previous studies, which conclude that Eurasian trends are the result of storm-path changes driven by the interdecadal behaviour of the NAO-like meridional dipole pattern in the Atlantic. On interannual and decadal time scales, significant synchronous correlations between correspondent modes of SAT and SLP EOF patterns were found. This fact suggests that there is a strong and stable Eurasian interrelationship between SAT and SLP large-scale fields which affects the local climate of two sub-regions: the Black and Baltic Seas. The climate variability in these sub-regions was studied in terms of Eurasian large-scale surface-temperature and air-pressure patterns responses. We concluded that the sub-regional climate variability substantially differs over the Black and Baltic Seas, and depends on different Eurasian large-scale patterns. We showed that the Baltic Sea region is influenced by the patterns arising primary from NAOlike meridional dipole, as well as Scandinavian patterns, while the Black Sea’s SAT/SLP variability is influenced mainly by the second mode EOF (eastern Atlantic) and large scale tropospheric wave structures.
Circulating serum microRNAs as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance

Multiple myeloma still remains incurable in the majority of cases prompting a further search for new and better prognostic markers. Emerging evidence has suggested that circulating microRNAs can serve as minimally invasive biomarkers for multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. In this study, a global analysis of serum microRNAs by TaqMan Low Density Arrays was performed, followed by quantitative real-time PCR. The analyses revealed five deregulated microRNAs: miR-744, miR-130a, miR-34a, let-7d and let-7e in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, newly diagnosed and relapsed multiple myeloma when compared to healthy donors. Multivariate logistical regression analysis showed that a combination of miR-34a and let-7e can distinguish multiple myeloma from healthy donors with a sensitivity of 80.6% and a specificity of 86.7%, and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance from healthy donors with a sensitivity of 91.1% and a specificity of 96.7%. Furthermore, lower levels of miR-744 and let-7e were associated with shorter overall survival and remission of myeloma patients. One-year mortality rates for miR-744 and let-7e were 41.9% and 34.6% for the ‘low’ expression and 3.3% and 3.9% for the ‘high’ expression groups, respectively. Median time of remission for both miR-744 and let-7e was approximately 11 months for the ‘low’ expression and approximately 47 months for the ‘high’ expression groups of myeloma patients These data demonstrate that expression patterns of circulating microRNAs are altered in multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and miR-744 with let-7e are associated with survival of myeloma patients.
Development of WHO guidelines on generalized cost-effectiveness analysis.

The growing use of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to evaluate specific interventions is dominated by studies of prospective new interventions compared with current practice. This type of analysis does not explicitly take a sectoral perspective in which the costs and effectiveness of all possible interventions are compared, in order to select the mix that maximizes health for a given set of resource constraints. WHO guidelines on generalized CEA propose the application of CEA to a wide range of interventions to provide general information on the relative costs and health benefits of different interventions in the absence of various highly local decision constraints. This general approach will contribute to judgements on whether interventions are highly cost-effective, highly cost-ineffective, or something in between. Generalized CEAs require the evaluation of a set of interventions with respect to the counterfactual of the null set of the related interventions, i.e. the natural history of disease. Such general perceptions of relative cost-effectiveness, which do not pertain to any specific decision-maker, can be a useful reference point for evaluating the directions for enhancing allocative efficiency in a variety of settings. The proposed framework allows the identification of current allocative inefficiencies as well as opportunities presented by new interventions.
Using a profile of a modified Brief ICF Core Set for chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain with qualifiers for baseline assessment in interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation

Aim To describe the use of a “workable” visual profile of function and disability, based on a modified Brief International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for chronic widespread pain, for initial assessments in a clinical setting of interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation teams. Method The Brief ICF Core Set was slightly adapted to meet the needs of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation medicine team working in a university outpatient clinic and admitting patients referred from primary care. The Core Set categories were made measurable by means of eg, assessment instruments and clinical investigations. The resulting profile was given a workable shape to facilitate rapid understanding of the initial assessment outcome. Results Individual patients showed different profiles of problems and resources, which facilitated individual rehabilitation planning. At the level of the study group, the profiles for the Core Set component Body Functions showed that most patients had severe impairment in the sensation of pain and exercise tolerance categories of function, but most had resources in the motivation and memory categories of function. Likewise, for the component Activities, most patients had limitations in lifting and carrying objects and remunerative employment, but most had resources in intimate relationships and family relationships. At first, the use of the modified Brief ICF Core Set in the team conference was rather time consuming, but after a couple of months of experience, the team assessment took approximately 30 minutes to complete per patient. Conclusion The profile of the modified Brief ICF Core Set for chronic widespread pain served as a common platform, facilitating cooperation between the rehabilitation team members and providing a uniform language, which helped in structuring the clinical work. The profile also provided an easily accessible, overall view of the patient’s problems and resources, which helped in understanding the functioning situation of the patient.
A Physiological Function of Inflammation-Associated SerpinB2 Is Regulation of Adaptive Immunity

SerpinB2 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-2) is widely described as an inhibitor of urokinase plasminogen activator; however, SerpinB2−/− mice show no detectable increase in urokinase plasminogen activator activity. In this study, we describe an unexpected immune phenotype in SerpinB2−/− mice. After immunization with OVA in CFA, SerpinB2−/− mice made ≈6-fold more IgG2c and generated ≈2.5-fold more OVA-specific IFN-γ–secreting T cells than SerpinB2+/+ littermate controls. In SerpinB2+/+ mice, high inducible SerpinB2 expression was seen at the injection site and in macrophages low levels in draining lymph nodes and conventional dendritic cells, and no expression was seen in plasmacytoid dendritic, B, T, or NK cells. SerpinB2−/− macrophages promoted greater IFN-γ secretion from wild-type T cells in vivo and in vitro and, when stimulated with anti-CD40/IFN-γ or cultured with wild-type T cells in vitro, secreted more Th1-promoting cytokines than macrophages from littermate controls. Draining lymph node SerpinB2−/− myeloid APCs similarly secreted more Th1-promoting cytokines when cocultured with wild-type T cells. Regulation of Th1 responses thus appears to be a physiological function of inflammation-associated SerpinB2; an observation that may shed light on human inflammatory diseases like pre-eclampsia, lupus, asthma, scleroderma, and periodontitis, which are associated with SerpinB2 polymorphisms or dysregulated SerpinB2 expression.
Paraoxonase and Arylesterase Activities in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate serum paraoxonase (PON) and arylesterase (ARE) activities as well as lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We also investigated serum total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidative status (TOS) to reveal whether there is an association between the PON/ARE activities and oxidative stress. Our hypothesis is that PON and ARE activities which related to the risk of developing coronary artery disease are low in RA patients. Patients and Methods: Twenty-five patients with RA and 26 healthy controls were included in the study. Serum PON and ARE activities were measured spectrophotometrically. LOOH levels were measured by ferrous oxidation with xylenol orange assay. TAS, TOS levels were determined by using a novel automated methods. Results: Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were significantly lower in patients with RA, LOOH levels were significantly higher (p<0.001, p =0.02, p =0.006, respectively) in patients with RA than in healthy controls. In patients with RA, serum TOS was higher and serum TAS was lower when compared with those of healthy controls (p < 0.001). PON was negatively correlated with LOOH (r = -0.356, p = 0.01), ARE was positively correlated with TAS (r = 0.429, p = 0.002), LOOH was negatively correlated with TAS (r = -0.585, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Our results show that PON and ARE activities, which have antiatherogenic capability, are decreased in patients with RA. PON and ARE activities may be affected by oxidative stress which contribute to the pathogenesis of RA. (Rheumatism 2007; 22: 132-6)
A graph-oriented object database model

A simple, graph-oriented database model, supporting object-identity, is presented. For this model, a transformation language based on elementary graph operations is defined. This transformation language is suitable for both querying and updates. It is shown that the transformation language supports both set-operations (except for the powerset operator) and recursive functions.
Observations of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation at the Labrador Sea surface layer

We present an analysis of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates in the upper ocean using in situ measurements collected by a coherent Doppler sonar in the Labrador Sea during summer 2004. The sonar recorded horizontal velocity fluctuations of the upper 2 m with an uncommonly small spatial resolution of 0.8 cm, allowing direct calculations of wavenumber spectra and the application of Kolmogorov theory to obtain turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates for the first time in this area. The project presented a unique opportunity for the study of air–sea exchange during a phytoplankton bloom, being the first time a specialized air–sea interaction spar buoy was deployed during such particular event. An additional uniqueness of this experiment resulted from being the first turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate observations obtained at higher latitudes, coincidentally in a well-known region of dense water formation, with a fundamental role in both global circulation and forecasting studies of global climate change. Focusing on the relationship between turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates and wave phase in the upper 2 m, we estimated O ( 10 − 4 ) turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates, consistent with previous estimates obtained through similar devices and methods. A T-test between dissipation rates calculated at the crest and at the trough of waves showed no dependency of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates on the wave phase at 2 m depth, coinciding with many of the earlier findings available. a comparison with previous research showing conflicting results with our values is also discussed here linking them to the relative roles of experimental design variations, diverse dynamical frames, and particular environmental conditions.
Complete DNA Sequence of Yersinia enterocolitica Serotype 0:8 Low-Calcium-Response Plasmid Reveals a New Virulence Plasmid-Associated Replicon

ABSTRACT The complete nucleotide sequence and organization of theYersinia enterocolitica serotype 0:8 low-calcium-response (LCR) plasmid, pYVe8081, were determined. The 67,720-bp plasmid encoded all the genes known to be part of the LCR stimulon except for ylpA. Eight of 13 intact open reading frames of unknown function identified in pYVe8081 had homologues in Yersinia pestis plasmid pCD1 or inY. enterocolitica serotype 0:9 plasmid pYVe227. A region of approximately 17 kbp showed no DNA identity to pCD1 or pYVe227 and contained six potential new genes, a possible new replicon, and two intact insertion sequence (IS) elements. One intact IS element, ISYen1, was a new IS belonging to the IS256 family. Several vestigial IS elements appeared different from the IS distribution seen in the other LCR plasmids. The RepA proteins encoded by Y. enterocoliticaserotype 0:8 pYVeWA and pYVe8081 were identical. The putative pYVe8081 replicon showed significant homology to the IncL/M replicon of pMU407.1 but was only distantly related to the replicons of pCD1 and pYVe227. In contrast, the putative partitioning genes of pYVe8081 showed 97% DNA identity to the spy/sopABC loci of pCD1 and pYVe227. Sequence analysis suggests thatYersinia LCR plasmids are from a common ancestor but that Y. enterocolitica serotype 0:8 plasmid replicons may have evolved independently via cointegrate formation following a transposition event. The change in replicon structure is predicted to change the incompatibility properties of Y. enterocolitica serotype 0:8 plasmids from those of Y. enterocolitica serotype 0:9 and Y. pestis LCR plasmids.