Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nucleostemin Is a Marker of Proliferating Stromal Stem Cells in Adult Human Bone Marrow

The identification of stem cell–specific proteins and the elucidation of their novel regulatory pathways may help in the development of protocols for control of their self‐renewal and differentiation for cell‐based therapies. Nucleostemin is a recently discovered nucleolar protein predominantly associated with proliferating rat neural and embryonic stem cells, and some human cancer cell lines. A comprehensive study of nucleostemin in human adult bone marrow stem cells is lacking. The aim of the study was to determine if nucleostemin is synthesized by adult bone marrow stem cells and to analyze its expression during their expansion and differentiation. Using a multipotential adherent population of stem cells, nucleostemin was localized to the nucleoli and occurred in 43.3% of the cells. There was a high level of expression of nucleostemin mRNA in bone marrow stem cells and this remained unchanged over time during cell expansion in culture. When bone marrow stem cells were stimulated to proliferate by fibroblast growth factor (FGF)‐2, nucleostemin expression increased in a dose‐dependent manner. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of nucleostemin abolished the proliferative effect of FGF‐2. When bone marrow stem cells were differentiated into chondrocytes, adipocytes, or osteocytes, nucleostemin expression was 70%–90% lower than in the undifferentiated cells retained in monolayer culture. We conclude that nucleostemin is a marker of undifferentiated human adult bone marrow stem cells and that it is involved in the regulation of proliferation of these cells.
Brand Choice Inertia as One Aspect of the Notion of Brand Loyalty

A very parsimonious first-order multibrand model of the individual consumer for frequently purchased consumer goods is developed, generalizing the zero-order multinomial model. The model incorporates the notion of brand choice inertia, which is a form of short-term loyalty. Besides the equilibrium marginal choice probabilities of the multinomial model, a single additional parameter of choice inertia is defined. A maximum likelihood estimation procedure is derived and used on individual data from a subsample of the Secodip Consumer Panel, France: 2,401 purchases of cooking oil from eighty-nine of the consumers who were in the panel for the entire 1971-1972 period are used. Through the likelihood ratio test procedure, the model is shown to significantly improve on the multinomial model. An aggregate version of the model is also developed and estimated by a minimum chi-square procedure on four independent data sets. It is compared with the linear learning model which has been preferred over other probabilistic models of brand choice in most empirical studies in the past fifteen years. On the criterion of the p-level corresponding to the chi-square procedure, the model is superior for data set one, basically equivalent for data set two and its special case of the multinomial model being best for data sets three and four. The model operationalizes in a simple way the notion of carryover effect of marketing actions: a short-term perturbation from equilibrium--due to marketing mix actions, for example--has some residual effect on future purchase occasions. Moreover, in the context of new product modeling, the inertia model is in accord with the empirical observation by Parfitt and Collins of leveling-off of repeat-buying.
Community meetings for emergency research community consultation*

Objective:To survey attendees at community meetings for an emergency research protocol and determine whether these meetings aid participants' understanding and decision to support the proposed emergency research. Design:Postmeeting questionnaire. Setting:Three community meetings for the PolyHeme study in San Antonio area. Subjects:One hundred fifty community meeting attendees. Interventions:PolyHeme research team representatives made a study presentation concerning exception to informed consent regulations. In addition, institutional review board (IRB) members attended these meetings and made a separate presentation about the IRB approval of research and the exception to informed consent in emergency research. The IRB members requested attendees to voluntarily complete an additional Community Consultation Survey assessing demographics, community meeting satisfaction, and impact of the community meeting on their attitudes toward emergency research studies. Measurements and Main Results:Feedback to the PolyHeme investigators with their validation questions indicated that 35% of the respondents objected to research without prior consent, but 82% gave approval for the study in the local community; 137 attendees completed the additional Community Consultation Survey. The average score on the adequacy of information provided about the PolyHeme study was 0.58 on a 5-point Likert scale (−2 to +2). Adequacy of IRB background information on human subjects research received an average score of 0.56, and the overall clarity of the information on community consultation was 0.91. Although 80% of respondents felt there was a potential benefit from PolyHeme, <67% would either want to participate or enroll their family members with or without prior consent. Conclusions:The majority of community meeting attendees understand basic concepts and regulations of emergency research without prior consent. Despite an 82% concurrence with the study in their community, approximately 30% of persons would not willingly choose to participate in emergency research or provide consent for their family members despite knowledge about the process.
Market Efficiency Reloaded: Why Insider Trades do not Reveal Exploitable Information

Abstract Several studies have emphasized a slow price adjustment to reported insider trades for Germany. The results presented in this paper, though, show that this is mainly caused by a subset of high arbitrage risk stocks. In fact, the abnormal return difference between the quintiles of stocks with highest and lowest idiosyncratic risk is in the range of 2.99-4.90% over a 20-day interval. These results are robust even in the context of a joint generalized least squares approach. By developing a simple zero-investment arbitrage trading strategy mimicking insider trades, it turns out that such a trading strategy, in most cases, generates significant positive returns as long as transaction costs are neglected. However, the out-performance disappears in all risk quintiles, if bid/ask spreads are taken into account.We conclude that the market’s under-reaction to reported insider trades can mainly be explained by the cost of risky arbitrage and is therefore not exploitable.
Implications of the liquidity crisis in the Baltic-Nordic region

This paper provides a more thorough empirical examination of the development and determinants of the liquidity position in the financial sector during the last financial crisis in the Baltic-Nordic region, which takes into consideration the whole economic cycle. The current study serves as an extension to an ex-ante study which was made in 2010. We look at fiscal and monetary policy implications of the liquidity problems arising in the crisis and stabilization process after that. The results show that the changes (and the speed of changes) of interest rates, GDP and money supply have occurred relatively fast, meaning that the rising area of the LM curve has been shorter than theory would predict. Market reactions took place quickly and simultaneously – there was no time for the slow restructuring, thus liquidity needs were higher than generally.
The Relationship between Earnings Yield and Market Value: Evidence from the American Stock Exchange

This paper provides new evidence on the empirical anomalies known as the earnings/price (E/P) effect and the size effect in the pricing of common stock. Previous authors have arrived at contradictory conclusions regarding the existence and relative importance of the anomalies, and the intent of this paper is to help clarify the issues. An empirical method used in a previous study of these issues is replicated and applied to a new set of firms—those traded on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). This approach assures comparability with previous results and provides a sample with different market value and E/P distributions. The results from the AMEX suggest that the size effect and the E/P effect both exist and that the size effect is predominant. These results persist even after accounting for the January effect.
Widening Differences in Italian Regional Unemployment

Regional unemployment differentials among Italian regions have widened since the mid 1980s, especially between the leading Northern and Central areas and the underdeveloped South. We suggest that the following elements are important to explain the observed phenomenon: a) employment performance in the South has worsened considerably in the presence of sustained labour force growth; b) labour mobility from the South to the NC areas has sensibly declined with the reduction in earnings differentials and with the increase in social transfers per head; c) real wages in the South are not affected by local unemployment conditions but depend on the unemployment rate prevailing in the leading areas; d) the labour share increase particularly fast in the South during the 1970s, mainly as a consequence of the elimination of institutions that allowed the presence of significant wage differentials; e) a parsimonious description of the increase in regional unemployment differentials is that the Northern and Southern areas responded in an asymmetric way both to the increase in real social transfers per head and to the reduction in the real price of energy.
The relationship between earnings per share forecast error and abnormal stock return of new accepted corporation: Evidence from Iran's capital market

This study examines the relationship between earnings per share forecast error and abnormal returns of newly listed companies on Tehran Stock Exchange in two periods of the coming year to stock exchange and one year after it. Therefore, data have been collected from 84 new companies in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period of 2003 to 2008. The results of this research have been shown using multivariate linear regression analysis. There is a significant positive relationship between earnings per share forecast error and abnormal returns of new entrants companies in the period studied, and this confirms that the estimated earnings per share have been used in an informational content. It affects the decision making of actual and potential investors, and increase or decrease the stock price. This relationship has also influenced the type of industry.
The effect of transdermal testosterone on mammographic density in postmenopausal women not receiving systemic estrogen therapy.

CONTEXT Greater mammographic density is associated with increased breast cancer risk and reduced diagnostic mammographic sensitivity and may be seen with estrogen/progestin therapy (EPT). The effects of testosterone therapy on mammographic density in postmenopausal women not on EPT are not known. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to compare effects of two doses of the testosterone transdermal patch (TTP) with placebo in postmenopausal women without concomitant EPT on mammographic density over 52 wk. DESIGN We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multinational trial. PATIENTS Patients included 279 postmenopausal women participating in a testosterone and sexual function study with paired mammograms for baseline and 52 wk/exit. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to placebo, TTP 150 microg/d, or TTP 300 microg/d, stratified by menopause type (natural or surgical). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Change from baseline to wk 52 in the percentage of dense tissue (PD) on digital mammograms. RESULTS A total of 250 women with paired mammograms for study baseline and wk 52 were included in the primary analysis. Mean age was 54.6 yr, baseline body mass index was 27.5 kg/m(2), and 78% were naturally menopausal. There were no baseline differences between groups. Mean changes from baseline (+/-SEM) in PD for placebo, TTP 150 microg/d and TTP 300 microg/d were small (0.05 +/- 0.16, 0.06 +/- 0.19, and 0.21 +/- 0.17%) and not significantly different. There were no statistically significant differences from placebo for total dense or nondense area and no significant relationships between hormone levels and PD after adjustment for body mass index. CONCLUSION TTP therapy over 52 wk appears to have no significant effect on digitally quantified absolute or percent dense mammographic area in postmenopausal women not using EPT.
Isolating effects of microscopic nonuniform distributions of (131)I on labeled and unlabeled cells.

UNLABELLED Radiopharmaceuticals are generally distributed nonuniformly in tissue. At the microscopic level, only a fraction of the cells in tissue are labeled. Consequently, the labeled cells receive an absorbed dose from radioactivity within the cell (self-dose) as well as an absorbed dose from radioactivity in surrounding cells (cross-dose). On the other hand, unlabeled cells only receive a cross-dose. This work uses a novel approach to examine the lethal effects of microscopic nonuniformities of (131)I individually on the labeled and unlabeled cells. METHODS A multicellular tissue model was used to investigate the lethality of microscopic nonuniform distributions of (131)I. Mammalian cells (V79) were dyed with CFDA-SE (carboxy fluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester) and labeled with (131)I-iododeoxyuridine ((131)IdU). The dyed labeled cells were then mixed with equal numbers of unlabeled cells, and 3-dimensional tissue constructs (4 x 10(6) cells) were formed by centrifugation in a small tube. This resulted in a uniform distribution of (131)I at the macroscopic level but nonuniform distribution at the multicellular level, wherein 50% of the cells were labeled. The multicellular clusters were maintained at 10.5 degrees C for 72 h to allow (131)I decays to accumulate. The clusters were then dismantled and the labeled (dyed) and unlabeled (undyed) cells were separately seeded for colony formation using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. RESULTS The unlabeled cells, which received only a cross-dose, exhibited a mean lethal dose D(37) of 4.0 +/- 0.3 Gy. In contrast, the labeled cells received both a self-dose and a cross-dose. Isolating the effects of the self-dose resulted in a D(37) of 1.2 +/- 0.3 Gy, which was about 3.3 times more toxic per unit dose than the cross-dose. The reason for these differences appears to be primarily related to the higher relative biological effectiveness of the self-dose delivered by (131)IdU compared with the cross-dose. Theoretical modeling of the killing of labeled and unlabeled cells was achieved by considering the cellular self-doses and cross-doses. CONCLUSION Cellular self-doses and cross-doses play an important role in determining the biological response of tissue to microscopic nonuniform distributions of (131)I. Prediction of the biological response requires that both self-doses and cross-doses be considered along with their relative lethality per unit dose.
One‐Time Cash Flow Announcements and Free Cash‐Flow Theory: Share Repurchases and Special Dividends

The leading explanation for the positive price response surrounding tender offer share repurchase and specially designated dividend (SDD) announcements is the information signaling hypothesis. This paper reexamines these announcements to determine if Jensen's free cash-flow theory also has explanatory power. Lang and Litzenberger's (1989) findings suggest an important role for the free cash-flow theory in explaining the market's reaction to dividend changes. In contrast, they find the market's reaction to share repurchases and SDDs is approximately the same for both high-Q and low-Q firms. They thus have an empirical puzzle: If Jensen's free cash-flow theory applies to dividend changes, it is difficult to see why it does not also apply to the analogous events examined here. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.
Consumers WTP for Wine with Certified Origin: Preliminary Results from Latent Classes Based on Attitudinal Responses

This article investigates preference heterogeneity of wine consumers by using latent class models based on attitudinal questions. Such responses turn out to be an important source of additional information when the goal is to identify different groups of people with a similar wine preference structure. We assume that preferences are latent and the responses to attitudinal questions are the visible effect of this latent heterogeneity. In this study evidence is found of four different classes of respondents with similar response patterns. We focus on preferences for a well-known wine, the Prosecco, and use a sample of the population in the area of production. For each preference-class we estimate a class-specific WTP (willingness to pay) equation for this wine, so as to estimate the class responsiveness of WTP to various determinants. Estimates for a four-class model are discussed in detail to illustrate the potential of this approach in characterizing the preferences of local consumers for the two most common certifications of origin.
Characterization of lincRNA expression in the human retinal pigment epithelium and differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells

Long intervening non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) are increasingly being implicated as important factors in many aspects of cellular development, function, and disease, but remain poorly understood. In this study, we examine the human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) lincRNA transcriptome using RNA-Seq data generated from human fetal RPE (fRPE), RPE derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS-RPE), and undifferentiated iPS (iPS). In addition, we determine the suitability of iPS-RPE, from a transcriptome standpoint, as a model for use in future studies of lincRNA structure and function. A comparison of gene and isoform expression across the whole transcriptome shows only minimal differences between all sample types, though fRPE and iPS-RPE show higher concordance than either shows with iPS. Notably, RPE signature genes show the highest degree of fRPE to iPS-RPE concordance, indicating that iPS-RPE cells provide a suitable model for use in future studies. An analysis of lincRNAs demonstrates high concordance between fRPE and iPS-RPE, but low concordance between either RPE and iPS. While most lincRNAs are expressed at low levels (RPKM < 10), there is a high degree of concordance among replicates within each sample type, suggesting the expression is consistent, even at levels subject to high variability. Finally, we identified and annotated 180 putative novel genes in the fRPE samples, a majority of which are also expressed in the iPS-RPE. Overall, this study represents the first characterization of lincRNA expression in the human RPE, and provides a model for studying the role lincRNAs play in RPE development, function, and disease.
Banking reform and economic development in post-1978 China : towards a synthesis of competing theoretical perspectives

This thesis presents a detailed analysis of China’s banking reforms and their interactive relationship with economic development, starting in 1978. Developing a synthesized analytical framework, this thesis examines and verifies the applicability and feasibility of several competing theoretical perspectives within the Chinese context. These include the aspects of monetization, financial liberalization, allocative efficiency view of finance (according to the neoclassical doctrine), and productive efficiency view of finance (from the Keynesian–Schumpeterian view of endogenous credits creation). This thesis argues that these perspectives consider only one dimension of China’s financial development, and that such a generalized view is unsuitable. Additionally, as China’s transitional economy still has strong market-supplanting attributes, studying China’s financial development and its interactive role with real sector development post-1978 from a purely neoliberal, market-criteria lead to bias and distortion. This thesis investigates China’s evolving financial reform primarily from the aspects of monetization, financial liberalization, and functional view of finance. It emphasizes the interactions between the function of resources allocation, which draws on the existence of market frictions found in the mainstream doctrine, and the function of credit creation, found in the post-Keynesian endogenous finance theory of development. This thesis undertakes both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of China’s financial sector. This thesis finds that it is the complementarity of the productive efficiency and the allocative efficiency that explains the seemingly confusing phenomenon that an inefficient financial system, according to purely commercial criteria, has successfully supported China’s economic development over the last 30 years.
Banks and income smoothing: an empirical analysis

The income smoothing hypothesis is examined for large banks that reported their earnings over the period 1981–1991. It is analysed whether banks use loan-loss provisions to manipulate earnings. Results suggest that banks with close relationships between their loan-loss provisions and their earnings before loan-loss provisions but after taxes do tend to have smooth earnings. This conclusion is statistically significant within the 5% level. An examination of the influence of firm-specific conditions on the time-series behaviour of the provisions for loan losses reveals that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 does not have an impact on income smoothing. We find that banks with low growth, low book-to-asset ratio, high loans-to-deposit ratio, high debt-to-asset ratio, low market-to-book value ratio, low return on assets, high loan-loss provisions to gross loans ratio and low assets are likely to smooth their earnings. Our analysis indicates that the stock market perceives the income-smoothing behaviour of banks.
Inflation, financial market incompleteness and long-run TFP-growth

This paper demonstrates a negative relation between inflation and long-run productivity growth. Inflation generates long-run real eects due to a link from the short-run interplay between nominal and financial frictions to a firm’s qualitative investment decision. First, we employ country panel data to investigate the robustness of a negative causal eect of inflation on long-run TFP-growth. Second, we develop an endogenous growth model whose key ingredients are (i) a nominal short-run portfolio choice for households, (ii) an agency problem which gives rise to financial market incompleteness, (iii) a firmlevel technology choice between a return-dominated but secure and a more productive but risky project. In this framework, inflation increases the costs of corporate insurance against productive but risky projects and hence a firm’s choice of technology. It follows that economies (time periods) that feature a higher level of inflation are predicted to exhibit lower TFP-growth in the long-run. That is, each level of inflation is associated with a dierent long-run balanced growth path as long as financial markets are incomplete. Finally, we apply industry as well as U.S. firm level dynamic panel data to test the relevance of our specific microeconomic mechanism. The firm-level results demonstrate that smaller U.S. firms with riskier cash-flows and higher R&D investments systematically adjust the composition of their asset and investment portfolios in periods of higher inflation. In particular, we find that (i) they insure systematically against risky R&D investments by means of corporate liquidity holdings, measured by the ratio of cash and marketable securities to total assets, (ii) periods of higher inflation restrain firm-level R&D investments by reducing corporate liquidity holdings.