Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Loan Loss Reserves Behave like Capital ? Evidence from Recent Bank Failures

Regulatory capital guidelines allow for loan loss reserves to be added back as capital. The evidence in this paper suggests that the influence of loan loss reserves added back as regulatory capital (hereafter referred to as “add-backs”) on bank risk cannot be explained by either economic principles underlying the notion of capital, or accounting principles underlying the recording of reserves. Specifically, we observe that in sharp contrast to the economic notion of capital as a buffer against bank failure risk, add-backs are positively associated with the risk of bank failure during the recent economic crisis. Further the positive association of add-backs with bank failure risk is concentrated among cases in which the add-backs are highly likely to increase a bank’s total regulatory capital. The evidence cannot thus be fully explained by accounting principles either, since the role of loan loss reserves according to those principles does not depend on whether the reserves generate a regulatory capital increase. Additional analysis suggests that the observed influence of loan loss reserves on bank failure risk may be an unintended consequence of their regulatory treatment as capital.
The duplicated Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene SSM1 encodes a eucaryotic homolog of the eubacterial and archaebacterial L1 ribosomal proteins

A previously unknown Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, SSM1a, was isolated by screening for high-copy-number suppressors of thermosensitive mutations in the RNA14 gene, which encodes a component from the polyadenylation complex. The SSM1 a gene codes for a 217-amino-acid protein, Ssm1p, which is significantly homologous to eubacterial and archaebacterial ribosomal proteins of the L1 family. Comparison of the Ssm1p amino acid sequence with that of eucaryotic polypeptides with unknown functions reveals that Ssm1p is the prototype of a new eucaryotic protein family. Biochemical analysis shows that Ssm1p is a structural protein that forms part of the largest 60S ribosomal subunit, which does not exist in a pool of free proteins. SSM1 a is duplicated. The second gene copy, SSM1b, is functional and codes for an identical and functionally interchangeable Ssm1p protein. In wild-type cells, SSM1b transcripts accumulate to twice the level of SSM1a transcripts, suggesting that SSM1b is responsible for the majority of the Ssm1p pool. Haploid cells lacking both SSM1 genes are inviable, demonstrating that, in contrast with its Escherichia coli homolog, Ssm1p is an essential ribosomal protein. Deletion of the most expressed SSM1b gene leads to a severe decrease in the level of SSM1 transcript, associated with a reduced growth rate. Polysome profile analysis suggests that the primary defect caused by the depletion in Ssm1p is at the level of translation initiation.
The role of life history variables in male competitive behaviour

Evolutionary psychology suggests that predispositions toward many behaviours exist because they were adaptive in the evolutionary environment. Adaptive behaviours are often sex differentiated due to biological differences in reproduction. Men are typically more competitive than women due to their innate motivation to compete for access to a greater quantity of mates which then typically decreases as reproductive resources are acquired. However, in the ancestral environment, this reproductive strategy was not adaptive for women therefore this variation in the competitiveness of women should not be evident. Research into the effect of reproductive resources on competitiveness is in its early stages and predominantly uses niche samples of highly competitive individuals. This thesis therefore aimed to explore this phenomenon using more representative samples of men and more accessible measures of competitiveness than those used in previous research. In a novel, online, behavioural measure of competitiveness, single non-fathers were shown to be more competitive than committed fathers, consistent with the evolutionary explanation of the origins of competitiveness. Furthermore, this variation in competitiveness was not evident in women. Fluctuating levels of testosterone have previously been implicated as supporting mate acquisition behaviours in men. Although this finding was not evident in the current research, testosterone levels did predict the competitive motivation of men in committed relationships consistent with self-reported interests in pursuing mates. Female mate preferences corroborated these findings showing women prefer for men to evidence a decrease in mating effort as relationship commitment increases. Finally, there was no evidence that priming cues relevant to reproductive success influenced competitiveness. Overall, the results provide some support for the evolutionary ii account of competitiveness in men, consistent with the suggestion that it reflects mating motivations and varies adaptively to promote reproductive success.
The relationship between skilled labor and technical change

This study investigates whether capital-skill complementarity is the explanation for skill-biased technical change. For this to be the case, capital-skill complementarity must exist in the first place and, secondly, all technical change must be embodied in nature, i.e. embedded in new capital equipment. To test if these conditions are satisfied, a capital-age adjusted translog production function incorporating both embodied and disembodied technical change is implemented on a 14-industry panel for Swedish manufacturing 1985-95. The findings cast doubt on the claim that capital-skill complementarity can explain skill-biased technical change. In several industries, the capital-skill complementarity hypothesis is not supported. Moreover, it is found that the demand for skilled labor is affected by both disembodied and embodied technical change. An additional important result is that there is a negative skill-bias associated with embodied technical change.
THE INFLUENCE OF PIANO TRAINING ON COGNITIVE AND NEURAL FUNCTIONING IN OLDER ADULTS

by SARAH ANNA THORNE (Under the Direction of Billy R. Hammond) ABSTRACT Introduction: This study investigated the effects of a piano training intervention on neural and cognitive functioning in healthy older adults. Method: 20 healthy older adults (age 65-85) who had no prior musical experience were recruited. Participants were either randomized into an experimental group that underwent six months of piano training or into a music listening control group. In order to evaluate the effects of training, behavioral cognition testing and high-density electroencephalography (based on evaluating the mismatch negativity, MMN) were conducted. Results: Between-subjects analyses at six months found that the piano group exhibited better performance on tasks of inhibition and verbal memory. Within subjects analyses revealed that the piano group improved in verbal memory and reasoning. The piano group also had a greater response to pitch changes as reflected by the MMN. Conclusion: Short-term piano training influences verbal memory, executive functioning, and preattentive processing of sounds in older adults.
Augusta Webster’s Mother and Daughter and the only child debate

Abstract The enduring debate about family size has roots in Victorian England, most notably in literary works addressing the issue of balancing motherhood and a writing career. One Victorian writer and activist, Augusta Webster (1837–1894), directly addressed the issue of family size in her uncompleted sonnet sequence Mother and Daughter (1895), which she began when her only child was a newborn. In this posthumous series of 14-line poems, Webster defends her decision to have one child and, in doing so, challenges popular assumptions that only women with multiple children could be considered ‘complete’, socially-acceptable mothers. Despite her efforts, however, and despite the rising popularity of one-child families, the results of numerous scientific studies and the lingering critiques of mommy blogs make it clear that challenges to mothers of ‘onlies’ remain.
A delayed proximal gradient method with linear convergence rate

This paper presents a new incremental gradient algorithm for minimizing the average of a large number of smooth component functions based on delayed partial gradients. Even with a constant step size, which can be chosen independently of the maximum delay bound and the number of objective function components, the expected objective value is guaranteed to converge linearly to within some ball around the optimum. We derive an explicit expression that quantifies how the convergence rate depends on objective function properties and algorithm parameters such as step-size and the maximum delay. An associated upper bound on the asymptotic error reveals the trade-off between convergence speed and residual error. Numerical examples confirm the validity of our results.
A Neutralizing Anti-gH/gL Monoclonal Antibody Is Protective in the Guinea Pig Model of Congenital CMV Infection

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of congenital virus infection. Congenital HCMV infection occurs in 0.2–1% of all births, and causes birth defects and developmental abnormalities, including sensorineural hearing loss and developmental delay. Several key studies have established the guinea pig as a tractable model for the study of congenital HCMV infection and have shown that polyclonal antibodies can be protective [1]–[3]. In this study, we demonstrate that an anti-guinea pig CMV (GPCMV) glycoprotein H/glycoprotein L neutralizing monoclonal antibody protects against fetal infection and loss in the guinea pig. Furthermore, we have delineated the kinetics of GPCMV congenital infection, from maternal infection (salivary glands, seroconversion, placenta) to fetal infection (fetus and amniotic fluid). Our studies support the hypothesis that a neutralizing monoclonal antibody targeting an envelope GPCMV glycoprotein can protect the fetus from infection and may shed light on the therapeutic intervention of HCMV congenital infection in humans.
Contextual, Procedural and Behavioral Determinants of Innovation Performance: An Examination of the Literature

This paper examines the variables affecting innovation processes performance through the analysis of 315 papers and books in management, engineering, software development, and design and architecture. Through an integrative literature review, and inductive research process, we cluster research findings around common contributions, and synthesize them into fifty six different schemas for explaining innovation performance. We later clustered these schemas into twelve major dimensions affecting innovation process performance. Three of these dimensions relate to firm-level strategic context; eight are associated to within-process, operational or task-related factors; and one responds to team dynamics. As result, we propose a construct that relates these dimensions and their associated variables, and propose an explanation of the mechanisms by which they affect innovation process performance. Across the management literature, innovation process performance is explained as resulting from strategic factors and senior management leadership; the technical capabilities and creative potential of individuals, and communications within team members; and process formalization and task partitioning. We find a beginning acknowledgement in the relevance of social cognition as mediating mechanism for enhancing the technical capabilities of teams and, hence, increasing innovation performance. We propose to understand innovation as a learning process that is discovery-driven, enabled by empathy and fueled by failure. In this context, we highlight the role of individuals' cognitive and emotional powers as basic input for building a team's capacity for learning. Thus, we proposed that better understanding about the dynamics of collective action, shared cognition and emotional endurance for learning through feedback, evaluation and sense making would enable teams to better respond to the technical and procedural challenges when facing risky, ambiguous, and uncertain fast-paced environments. Finally, we suggest further research paths based on open questions, less explored paths, and conflicts and paradoxes.
Investigating the extent to which on the job training influences job satisfaction and examining other contributory Factors in the Irish retail sector

This study investigates the extent to which on-the-job training influences job satisfaction within the Irish retail sector. Training is a tactical approach to improving individual's deficiencies and enhances work effectiveness. Data was generated through questionnaires and analysed by exploring relationships between variables using Pearson correlation and testing differences between variables using Mann -Whitney U Test and Krutch-Wallis test as depending on the need. The study reveals a strong negative relationship between on the job training and job satisfaction signified by negative correlation (-.73). Organisational culture and communication revealed the strong positive association of (+ .75) and (+.76) respectively with satisfaction. This suggests that although some literature argues that on the job training is associated with job satisfaction, there may be other factors contributing to the satisfaction that employees' exhibit which may not really be as a result of the training they got. The study shows no significant difference between males and female's satisfaction in relation to training. The study used a quantitative and cross-sectional method. Probability and random sampling approach were used. 100 participants took part in the study by completing the questionnaire but only 98 fill the age section and of which 51 were male and 47 were females with mean age 24.42 and standard deviation of 1.83. The main findings are; (a) on the job training is not has a negative association with job satisfaction and hence may not be behind the satisfaction employees exhibit in their work. (b)Good organisational culture impacts employees positively (c) Effective communication flow contributes positively to employee's level of job satisfaction. (d) The longer an employee work in a particular organisation the less satisfied they become. (e)There is a significant difference in departmental group's satisfaction with on the job training. Therefore, the effectiveness of on the job training lies in how much organisations attend to other important factors than investing only in on the job training and ignoring other contributory factors. Employers should invest more in human capital because employees are assets toward organisational growth.
How Digital Is Communication in Your Organization? a Metrics and an Analysis Method

Novel innovations in the area of digital media are changing the ways we communicate and organize. However, few practical measures exist for analysing the digitalisation of organizational communication as an intermediate factor in the initiatives to adopt new information and communication technologies (ICT). Building upon the genre theory of organizational communication, a categorization of communication forms, and quantitative measures we suggest such metrics and a measurement method. A case study applying them in an industrial organization suggests the method and metrics to be applicable for quantifying how new information systems affect to organizational communication as well as for anticipating their digitalisation impact prior to the implementation. The metrics provide a basis for further work on analysing correlation between organizational performance and adoption of information and communication technology.
Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis.

nMost contemporary achievement goal conceptualizations consist of a performance goal versus mastery goal dichotomy. The present research offers an alternative framework by partitioning the performance goal orientation into independent approach and avoidance motivational orientations. Two experiments investigated the predictive utility of the proposed approach-avoidance achievement goal conceptualization in the intrinsic motivation domain. Results from both experiments supported the proposed framework; only performance goals grounded in the avoidance of failure undermined intrinsic motivation. Task involvement was validated as a mediator of the observed effects on intrinsic motivation. Ramifications for the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation and future research avenues are discussed. Achievement motivation theorists focus their research attention on a particular class of behaviors, those involving competence. Individuals may aspire to attain competence or may strive to avoid incompetence, and this approach-avoidance distinction was explicitly incorporated into the earliest achievement motivation conceptualizations. Two independent motivational orientations, the desire for success and the desire to avoid failure, were identified by Lewin and colleagues as critical determinants of aspiration behavior (Hoppe, cited in Lewin, Dembo, Festinger, & Sears, 1944). In his nascent achievement motivation theory, McClelland ( 1951 ) proposed that "there are at least two kinds of achievement motivation, one of which appears to be oriented around avoiding failure and the other around the more positive goal of attaining success" (p. 202).
Period Doubling Cascades in a Predator-Prey Model with a Scavenger

The dynamics of the classic planar two-species Lotka--Volterra predator-prey model are well understood. We introduce a scavenger species that scavenges the predator and is also a predator of the common prey. For this model, we analytically prove that all trajectories are bounded in forward time, and numerically demonstrate persistent bounded paired cascades of period-doubling orbits over a wide range of parameter values. Standard analytical and numerical techniques are used in the analysis of this model, making it an ideal pedagogical tool. We include exercises and an open-ended project to promote mastery of these techniques.
Frontal control of attentional capture in visual search

Lavie and colleagues recently suggested that cognitive control functions that are mediated by frontal cortex provide goal-directed control of selective attention, serving to minimize interference by goal-irrelevant distractors. Here we provide new evidence for this claim from an attentional capture paradigm. An event-related fMRI experiment shows that the presence (vs. absence) of an irrelevant colour singleton distractor in a visual search task was not only associated with activity in superior parietal cortex, in line with a psychological attentional capture account, but was also associated with frontal cortex activity. Moreover, behavioural interference by the singleton was negatively correlated with frontal activity, suggesting that frontal cortex is involved in control of singleton interference. Behavioural tests confirmed that singleton interference depends on availability of cognitive control to the search task: Singleton interference was significantly increased by high working memory load. These results demonstrate the important role of frontal cognitive control of attention by working memory in minimizing distraction.
Altered Antioxidant-Oxidant Status in the Aqueous Humor and Peripheral Blood of Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis Pigmentosa is a common form of hereditary retinal degeneration constituting the largest Mendelian genetic cause of blindness in the developed world. It has been widely suggested that oxidative stress possibly contributes to its pathogenesis. We measured the levels of total antioxidant capacity, free nitrotyrosine, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation, extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) activity, protein, metabolites of the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway, heme oxygenase-I and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in aqueous humor or/and peripheral blood from fifty-six patients with retinitis pigmentosa and sixty subjects without systemic or ocular oxidative stress-related disease. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that retinitis pigmentosa alters ocular antioxidant defence machinery and the redox status in blood. Patients with retinitis pigmentosa present low total antioxidant capacity including reduced SOD3 activity and protein concentration in aqueous humor. Patients also show reduced SOD3 activity, increased TBARS formation and upregulation of the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in peripheral blood. Together these findings confirmed the hypothesis that patients with retinitis pigmentosa present reduced ocular antioxidant status. Moreover, these patients show changes in some oxidative-nitrosative markers in the peripheral blood. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between these peripheral markers and retinitis pigmentosa.
Confirmation of persistent radio jets in the microquasar LS 5039

We present here new observations conducted with the EVN and MERLIN of the persistent microquasar LS 5039 discovered by Paredes et al. (2000) with the VLBA. The new observations confirm the presence of an asymmetric two-sided jet reaching up to ∼1000 AU on the longest jet arm. The results suggest a bending of the jets with increasing distance from the core and/or precession. The origin and location of the high-energy gamma-ray emission associated with the system is discussed and an estimate of the magnetic field at the base of the jet given. Our results suggest a well collimated radio jet. We also comment on new observing strategies to be used with satellites and forthcoming detectors, since this persistent source appears to be a rather good laboratory to explore the accretion/ejection processes taking place near compact objects.
Genome scan of glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria: the HyperGEN study.

BACKGROUND Albuminuria and reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are markers of renal dysfunction associated with hypertension. We performed genome-wide scans to detect loci impacting these parameters in 1251 African American (AAs) and 1129 European American (EAs) hypertensive siblings from the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network study. METHODS GFR, estimated by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation, and albuminuria, measured as albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR), were adjusted for gender, age, centre, mean blood pressure, anti-hypertensive medication class and diabetes status using SOLAR. Since albuminuria and abnormal GFR often coexist, we conducted bivariate linkage analyses to investigate the presence of pleiotropy. RESULTS The phenotypic correlation between ACR and GFR was not significant in EAs (r = 0.04) and significantly negative in AAs (r = -0.17). Univariate analyses of ACR showed suggestive evidence of linkage on chromosomes 8, 16 and 17 (LOD: 2-2.8) in AAs, on chromosomes 18 and 19 (LOD = 2) in EAs, and on chromosome 19 (LOD = 2.6) when combining AAs and EAs. For GFR, suggestive linkage was found on chromosomes 7, 14 and 19 (LOD: 2.2-2.9) in AAs and on chromosomes 14, 15 and 16 (LOD: 2.1-3.3) in the combined group. Also, bivariate analyses showed a LOD score of 3.4 at 133 cM on chromosome 7 in AAs. CONCLUSIONS Suggestive evidence for linkage to GFR and ACR was observed at many loci. The findings are consistent with previous studies. Also, indication of a pleiotropic locus was detected in chromosome 7 in AAs.
Placing Wellbeing: Anthropological Perspectives on Wellbeing and Place

In this thematic issue we offer anthropologically-informed snapshots of the different forms that wellbeing takes when approached from place-based perspectives. We are interested in highlighting and engaging with the undermining of place in the literature on wellbeing, which has produced a lack of appreciation for the role that culture plays in forming and informing different discourses, understandings and practices of wellbeing, as well as wellbeing scholarship itself. Our articles examine place as part of a project that aims at generating new contexts from which to ‘think otherwise’ about social policy, politics, the creation of knowledge, and, ultimately, existence.