Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between CEO incentive rewards and earnings management: Do institutional features matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not there is a link between CEO incentive-based compensation and earnings management and to examine how institutional environment's features influence such link. Design/methodology/approach – To test the predictions, the authors use a panel of 1,500 American, Canadian, British, and French firm-year observation over the period 2004-2008. Findings – The authors find a significant association between earnings management and CEO incentive-based compensation. Moreover, the analysis provides evidence that institutional factors are strong determinants of this association. Specifically, the results show that firms from countries within the Anglo-American corporate governance model, which provides greater protection of shareholder rights, ensures strict enforcement of law, and scores high on board oversight, tend to have lower level of earnings management. The analysis shows however, that beside the formal corporate governance quality, it is relevant.
Recent Progress in Chaplaincy-Related Research

In light of the continued growth of chaplaincy-related research this paper presents an overview of important findings. The review summarizes research in six broad areas: what chaplains do; the importance of religion and spiritual care to patients and families; the impact of chaplains’ spiritual care on the patient experience; the impact of chaplain care on other patient outcomes; spiritual needs and chaplain care in palliative and end of life care; and chaplain care for staff colleagues. It concludes with a description of several innovative and important new studies of chaplain care and notes areas for future investigation.
Ankle Muscle Activation When Using the Both Sides Utilized (BOSU) Balance Trainer

Laudner, KG and Koschnitzky, MM. Ankle muscle activation when using the Both Sides Utilized (BOSU) balance trainer. J Strength Cond Res 24(1): 218-222, 2010-The use of the Both Sides Utilized (BOSU) balance trainer has become increasingly popular among fitness and medical personnel. Many fitness facilities, physical therapy clinics, and athletic training rooms routinely use this piece of equipment for strengthening, balance training, functional assessments, and rehabilitating various injuries. However, there are currently little data describing the effectiveness of this balance device. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine which side of the BOSU balance trainer would generate a greater amount of tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, or medial gastrocnemius muscle activity using electromyography (EMG). Twenty, healthy, collegiate male subjects participated (age = 21.4 ± 1.4 years; height = 179.4 ± 8.6 cm; mass = 80.0 ± 12.1 kg). Each subject performed 3 single-leg stance trials on each side of the BOSU balance trainer. The average EMG data from these trials were compared with maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) measures and represented an average percentage of these MVICs. We found no significant differences in EMG data for any muscle between conditions (p > 0.54). With regard to ankle muscle activity, both sides of the BOSU balance trainer produce similar difficulty during a balance training task. Therefore, no particular side of this device would provide any increase in muscle activity compared with the other side when used for improvements in balance or during the rehabilitation of lower extremity injuries.
Conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRC) methodology does not allow the in vitro expansion of patient‐derived primary and metastatic lung cancer cells

Availability of tumor and non‐tumor patient‐derived models would promote the development of more effective therapeutics for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRC) methodology demonstrated exceptional potential for the expansion of epithelial cells from patient tissues. However, the possibility to expand patient‐derived lung cancer cells using CRC protocols is controversial. Here, we used CRC approach to expand cells from non‐tumoral and tumor biopsies of patients with primary or metastatic NSCLC as well as pulmonary metastases of colorectal or breast cancers. CRC cultures were obtained from both tumor and non‐malignant tissues with extraordinary high efficiency. Tumor cells were tracked in vitro through tumorigenicity assay, monitoring of tumor‐specific genetic alterations and marker expression. Cultures were composed of EpCAM+ lung epithelial cells lacking tumorigenic potential. NSCLC biopsies‐derived cultures rapidly lost patient‐specific genetic mutations or tumor antigens. Similarly, pulmonary metastases of colon or breast cancer generated CRC cultures of lung epithelial cells. All CRC cultures examined displayed epithelial lung stem cell phenotype and function. In contrast, brain metastatic lung cancer biopsies failed to generate CRC cultures. In conclusion, patient‐derived primary and metastatic lung cancer cells were negatively selected under CRC conditions, limiting the expansion to non‐malignant lung epithelial stem cells from either tumor or non‐tumor tissue sources. Thus, CRC approach cannot be applied for direct therapeutic testing of patient lung tumor cells, as the tumor‐derived CRC cultures are composed of (non‐tumoral) airway basal cells.
Stock Price Kinetics

A kinetic model of stock price returns is presented for the description of the stock price dynamics through an impact of the information signals on investor behaviours. The model incorporates behavioural processes of the influence of the private or public information on the exchange of cash and shares flows. Using an analytical approach and simulation technique of the stock prices, we analyze the price rate dynamics for a perfectly competitive market. We show that the stock price is indifferent to the trading volume for the competitive market conditions. The model potentially explains the mechanism of the impact of the information signals on the stock price. The proposed kinetic schemes and analytical approaches may be used for the intraday trading analysis of the stock price dynamics and for the simulation of the hedging strategies.
Nicotine excites VIP interneurons to disinhibit pyramidal neurons in auditory cortex

Nicotine activates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and improves cognitive and sensory function, in part by its actions in cortical regions. Physiological studies show that nicotine amplifies stimulus‐evoked responses in sensory cortex, potentially contributing to enhancement of sensory processing. However, the role of specific cell types and circuits in the nicotinic modulation of sensory cortex remains unclear. Here, we performed whole‐cell recordings from pyramidal (Pyr) neurons and inhibitory interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SOM), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in mouse auditory cortex, in vitro. Bath application of nicotine strongly depolarized and excited VIP neurons, weakly depolarized Pyr neurons, and had no effect on the membrane potential of SOM or PV neurons. The use of receptor antagonists showed that nicotine's effects on VIP and Pyr neurons were direct and indirect, respectively. Nicotine also enhanced the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) in Pyr, VIP, and SOM, but not PV, cells. Using Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs), we show that chemogenetic inhibition of VIP neurons prevents nicotine's effects on Pyr neurons. Since VIP cells preferentially contact other inhibitory interneurons, we suggest that nicotine drives VIP cell firing to disinhibit Pyr cell somata, potentially making Pyr cells more responsive to auditory stimuli. In parallel, activation of VIP cells also directly inhibits Pyr neurons, likely altering integration of other synaptic inputs. These cellular and synaptic mechanisms likely contribute to nicotine's beneficial effects on cognitive and sensory function.
Empathy and Expertise: Case Workers and Immigration/Asylum Applicants in London

Under recent reforms, the UK government has eroded state funding for civil legal aid. Funding cuts affect asylum and immigration law as produced, practiced, and mediated in the course of interactions between case workers and their clients in legal-aid-funded Law Centers in South London. The article explores the contradictory character of one-on-one relationships between case workers and clients. Despite pressure to quantify their work in “value for money” terms, the empathy that often motivates case workers drives them to provide exceptional levels of aid to their clients in facing an arbitrary bureaucracy. Such personalized commitment may persuade applicants to accept the decisions of that bureaucracy, thus reinforcing a hegemonic understanding of the power of the law. The article, however, challenges the assumption that, in attempting to shape immigrant/refugees as model—albeit second-class—citizens, case worker/client interactions necessarily subscribe to the categories and assumptions that underpin UK immigration and asylum law.
Potential of a Quarter Individual Milking System to Reduce the Workload in Large-Herd Dairy Operations

ABSTRACT Large-herd dairy operations utilize parlor milking systems that reduce the physical workload in comparison to tethering systems. Nevertheless, the number of musculoskeletal disorders among workers on dairy farms is not decreasing. In response, a study was carried out to measure the workload focusing on the impact of working height and weight of the milking unit. In this article a new quarter individual milking unit without claw and using single-tube guidance is compared with a light (1.4 kg) conventional unit. A significant reduction of muscular load as well as the reduction of process time was measured using the quarter individual system. Body posture was also recorded using video-based motion analysis. Based on these results, the new system is expected to significantly improve the work place in modern milking parlors by reducing extreme postures as well as the physical and static musculoskeletal load.
Tamoxifen Provides Structural and Functional Rescue in Murine Models of Photoreceptor Degeneration

Photoreceptor degeneration is a cause of irreversible vision loss in incurable blinding retinal diseases including retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and atrophic age-related macular degeneration. We found in two separate mouse models of photoreceptor degeneration that tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator and a drug previously linked with retinal toxicity, paradoxically provided potent neuroprotective effects. In a light-induced degeneration model, tamoxifen prevented onset of photoreceptor apoptosis and atrophy and maintained near-normal levels of electroretinographic responses. Rescue effects were correlated with decreased microglial activation and inflammatory cytokine production in the retina in vivo and a reduction of microglia-mediated toxicity to photoreceptors in vitro, indicating a microglia-mediated mechanism of rescue. Tamoxifen also rescued degeneration in a genetic (Pde6brd10) model of RP, significantly improving retinal structure, electrophysiological responses, and visual behavior. These prominent neuroprotective effects warrant the consideration of tamoxifen as a drug suitable for being repurposed to treat photoreceptor degenerative disease. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Photoreceptor degeneration is a cause of irreversible blindness in a number of retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and atrophic age-related macular degeneration. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator approved for the treatment of breast cancer and previously linked to a low incidence of retinal toxicity, was unexpectedly found to exert marked protective effects against photoreceptor degeneration. Structural and functional protective effects were found for an acute model of light-induced photoreceptor injury and for a genetic model for RP. The mechanism of protection involved the modulation of microglial activation and the production of inflammatory cytokines, highlighting the role of inflammatory mechanisms in photoreceptor degeneration. Tamoxifen may be suitable for clinical study as a potential treatment for diseases involving photoreceptor degeneration.
A categorizing associative memory using an adaptive classifier and sparse coding

This paper proposes a neural network that stores and retrieves sparse patterns categorically, the patterns being random realizations of a sequence of biased (0,1) Bernoulli trials. The neural network, denoted as categorizing associative memory, consists of two modules: 1) an adaptive classifier (AC) module that categorizes input data; and 2) an associative memory (AM) module that stores input patterns in each category according to a Hebbian learning rule, after the AC module has stabilized its learning of that category. We show that during training of the AC module, the weights in the AC module belonging to a category converge to the probability of a "1" occurring in a pattern from that category. This fact is used to set the thresholds of the AM module optimally without requiring any a priori knowledge about the stored patterns.
The International Classification of Headache Disorders Revised Criteria for Chronic Migraine—Field Testing in a Headache Specialty Clinic

In the absence of a biological marker and expert consensus on the best approach to classify chronic migraine (CM), recent revised criteria for this disease has been proposed by the Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society. This revised criteria for CM is now presented in the Appendix. Herein we field test the revised criteria for CM. We included individuals with transformed migraine with or without medication overuse (TM+ and TM-), according to the criteria proposed by Silberstein and Lipton, since this criterion has been largely used before the Second Edition of the International Classification of the Headache Disorders (ICHD-2). We assessed the proportion of subjects that fulfilled ICHD-2 criteria for CM or probable chronic migraine with probable medication overuse (CM+), as well as the revised ICHD-2 (ICHD-2R) criteria for CM (≥15 days of headache, ≥8 days of migraine or migraine-specific acute medication use—ergotamine or triptans). We also tested the ICHD-2R vs. three proposals. In proposal 1, CM/CM+ would require at least 15 days of migraine or probable migraine per month. Proposal 2 required ≥15 days of headache per month and at least 50% of these days were migraine or probable migraine. Proposal 3 required ≥15 days of headache and at least 8 days of migraine or probable migraine per month. Of the 158 patients with TM-, just 5.6% met ICHD-2 criteria for CM. According to the ICHD-2R, a total of 92.4% met criteria for CM (P < 0.001 vs. ICHD-2). The ICHD-2R criterion performed better than proposal 1 (47.8% of agreement, P < 0.01) and was not statistically different from proposals 2 (87.9%) and 3 (94.9%). Subjects with TM+ should be classified as medication overuse headache (MOH), and not CM+, according to the ICHD-2R. Nonetheless, we assessed the proportion of them who had ≥8 days of migraine per month. Of the 399 individuals with TM+, just 10.2% could be classified as CM+ in the ICHD-2. However, most (349, 86.9%) had ≥8 days of migraine per month and could be classified as MOH and probable CM in the ICHD-2R (P < 0.001 vs. ICHD-2). We conclude that the ICHD-2R addresses most of the criticism towards the ICHD-2 and should be adopted in clinical practice and research. In the population where use of specific acute migraine medications is less common, the agreement between ICHD-2R CM and TM may be less robust.
Competition or Compensation: Supplier Incentives Under the American and Japanese Subcontracting Systems

Two fundamentally different subcontracting systems arise as distinct solutions to the quality control problem facing an input buyer. The 'American' system involves competitive bidding on each contract, large orders, and inspections. The 'Japanese' system involves repeat purchases from a supplier who earns a premium, small orders, and no inspections. Both systems may coexist as local solutions, but the global optimum is determined by the ratio of set-up to inspection costs. This suggests that the adoption of flexible manufacturing equipment and rising product complexity may be responsible for the shift from the American to the Japanese system observed in many industries. Copyright 1997 by American Economic Association.
An empirical taxonomy of hospital governing board roles.

OBJECTIVE To develop a taxonomy of governing board roles in U.S. hospitals. DATA SOURCES 2005 AHA Hospital Governance Survey, 2004 AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals, and Area Resource File. STUDY DESIGN A governing board taxonomy was developed using cluster analysis. Results were validated and reviewed by industry experts. Differences in hospital and environmental characteristics across clusters were examined. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS One-thousand three-hundred thirty-four hospitals with complete information on the study variables were included in the analysis. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Five distinct clusters of hospital governing boards were identified. Statistical tests showed that the five clusters had high internal reliability and high internal validity. Statistically significant differences in hospital and environmental conditions were found among clusters. CONCLUSIONS The developed taxonomy provides policy makers, health care executives, and researchers a useful way to describe and understand hospital governing board roles. The taxonomy may also facilitate valid and systematic assessment of governance performance. Further, the taxonomy could be used as a framework for governing boards themselves to identify areas for improvement and direction for change.
Choline uptake, choline acetyltransferase and the acetylation of choline in chick and rat brain [proceedings].

PHI-Choline accumulated by high affinity uptake is acetylated less efficiently in brain slices from 7 day-old rats (45%) than in samples from adults (90%). The deficiency of a basic choline acetyltransferase (ChA) in immature rat brain may account for this difference (Atterwill & Prince, 1977). Acetylations of 50% in squid optic lobe synaptosomes (Barker, Dowdall & Mittag, 1975) support this view, since squid ChA is exclusively acidic (Polsky & Schuster, 1976). The recent report (Suszkiw & Pilar, 1976) that PHIcholine, accumulated at low concentrations by high affinity uptake, is also inefficiently acetylated (45%) in chick iris prompted an investigation of ChA and choline uptake in chick brain tissue. High speed supernatants of brains from 1-3 day-old chicks and adult hens (Light Sussex, 10% w/v homogenates in 50 mm sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, 100,000 g x 30 min) were analysed by isoelectric focusing (Atterwill & Prince, 1977; pH gradients 5 to 8) without further treatment, or after partial purification (40-60% saturation ammonium sulphate, pH 7.0). The ChA was notably more acidic than rat ChA. High speed supernatants of chick brain contained essentially a single, acidic ChA (pl 5.6, 48% recovered activity) with minor components focused at pH 6 to 8. Mature brains yielded several components, pl 5.6 to 7.1 (88% recovered activity, pH 6 to 8). Similar heterogeneity was obtained, however, with ammonium sulphate-treated high speed supernatants from chick brain, and refocusing, or treatment with sodium perchlorate (0.7 M, 8 mins, 300C) (Houslay & Tipton, 1973) shifted the ChA towards the more acidic focus (pH 5 to 6). These results suggest a single, highly acidic form ofChA in chicks and adults. The sodium-dependent high affinity uptake of P3HIcholine (0.5 gM) by small slices of frontal cortex from 7-14 day-old chicks, was measured in Krebsbicarbonate medium (10 min, 37°C). Corrections were made for sodium-independent, low affinity uptake. Radiolabel retained by the tissue was extracted (Toru & Aprison, 1966). [3HI-Choline and ACh were separated by high voltage electrophoresis (Potter & Murphy, 1967). High affinity uptake accounted for approximately 58% of the total uptake and 41% of the choline accumulated by the high affinity process was acetylated. These results further support the suggestion that where ChA is acidic, the intrasynaptosomal acetylation of choline is less efficient than where ChA is basic. The basic form of rat ChA has an appreciable affinity for synaptosomal membrane fragments (Fonnum & Malthe-S! renssen, 1973). Its preferential distribution adjacent to the plasma membrane of nerve terminals, resulting in the juxtaposition of the high affinity uptake sites and ChA, may well, therefore, ensure the efficient acetylation of incoming choline. Where this organisation is lacking, in squid and chicks, the intrasynaptosomal acetylation of choline reflects the characteristics of simple, kinetically coupled processes.
Quadriceps muscle strength in scoliosis

Quadriceps muscle weakness is an important component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We hypothesised that quadriceps weakness would also be a feature of restrictive lung disease due to scoliosis. We studied 10 patients with severe scoliosis (median (interquartile range (IQR)) forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) 35.3 (11)% predicted), 10 patients with severe COPD (FEV1 26.5 (9.0)% pred) and 10 healthy age-matched adults. We measured quadriceps strength, exercise capacity and analysed quadriceps muscle biopsies for myosin heavy-chain (MyHC) isoform expression and the presence of oxidative stress. Both groups exhibited quadriceps weakness with median (IQR) maximal voluntary contraction force being 46.0 (17.0) kg, 21.5 (21.0) kg and 31.5 (11.0) kg, respectively (p = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively, for each patient group against controls). Oxidative stress was significantly greater in the quadriceps of both restrictive and COPD patients. The scoliosis patients exhibited a decrease in the proportion of MyHC type I compared with controls; median (IQR) 35.3 (18.5)% compared with 47.7 (9.3)%, p = 0.028. The scoliosis patients also showed an increase in MyHC IIx (26.3 (15.5)% compared with 11.3 (13.0)%, p = 0.01. Quadriceps weakness is a feature of severe scoliosis; the similarities between patients with scoliosis and patients with COPD suggest a common aetiology to quadriceps weakness in both conditions.