Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
T11TS Treatment Augments Apoptosis of Glioma Associated Brain Endothelial Cells, Hint Toward Anti‐Angiogenic Action in Glioma

Malignant glioma continues to be a clinical challenge with an urgent need for developing curative therapeutic intervention. Apoptosis induction in tumor‐associated endothelial cells represent a central mechanism that counteracts angiogenesis in glioma and other solid tumors. We previously demonstrated that intraperitoneal administration of sheep erythrocyte membrane glycopeptide T11‐target structure (T11TS) in rodent glioma model inhibits PI3K/Akt pathway and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling in glioma‐associated brain endothelial cells. In the present study, we investigated whether T11TS treatment influence apoptosis signaling in vivo in glioma‐associated brain endothelial cells. Annexin‐V/PI staining showed that T11TS treatment in glioma‐induced rats increases apoptosis of glioma‐associated endothelial cells within glioma milieu compared to brain endothelial cells in glioma induced and control groups. Flowcytometric JC‐1 assay revealed that T11TS administration triggers loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in glioma‐associated brain endothelial cells. Flowcytometry, immunoblotting, and in situ immunofluoresecnt imaging were employed to investigate the effect of T11TS on apoptotic regulatory proteins in brain endothelial cells. T11TS treatment‐upmodulated expression of p53, Bax, Fas, FasL, and FADD in glioma associated endothelial cells and downregulated Bcl‐2 protein. T11TS therapy induced cytochrome‐c release into cytosol, activated caspase −9, 8, 3, and cleaved Bid in glioma associated brain endothelial cells. The study demonstrates that T11TS induces apoptosis in glioma‐associated brain endothelial cells via p53 accumulation and activation of intrinsic as well as Fas‐dependent extrinsic pathway. The pro‐apoptotic action of T11TS on glioma‐associated endothelial cells provides crucial insight into how T11TS exerts its anti‐angiogenic function in glioma. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 526–539, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Are women better leaders than men

Purpose – Examines some of the reasons women remain under-represented at the top of organizations, despite developments in management thinking that appear to reward areas where women traditionally excel. Design/methodology/approach – Looks at some of the research into leadership skills and draws conclusions regarding the paucity of women in management. Findings – Considers some of the obstacles to women becoming managers to be: the attitudes of male managers, the lack of suitable role models for women, women’s reticence to network, and lack of confidence. Practical implications – Urges organizations to work harder to reduce the significance of these obstacles. Social implications – Shows how organizations – and through them society as a whole – would benefit from having more women in top jobs. Originality/value – Argues that having more women in leadership positions – that is, more positive role models – would help to give women more confidence in their ability to be great leaders and would encourage more.
Employee Participation in Continuous Improvement Programs: The Interaction Effects of Accounting Information and Control

The design of management accounting control systems (MACS) is an important factor affecting the extent and success of employee involvement in continuous improvement (CI) programs. The results of an experiment reported here indicate that the combination of Activity-Based Cost (ABC) information and an emphasis on idea generation are both important in determining the number of recommendations received. Cost information is important in determining the overhead reduction associated with those recommendations. Furthermore, results-based control leads to less overhead reduction when Volume-Based Cost information (VBC) is provided, but greater average overhead reduction per recommendation when ABC information is provided.
Seroprevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection in the general French population

Background: In spite of the large prevalence and growing incidence of herpes simplex infection (HSV-1 and HSV-2), relatively few large serological surveys are available worldwide and it is still difficult compare frequencies of HSV contaminations in various countries. We present the results of HERPIMAX, the first epidemiological inquiry on HSV prevalence in the general French population. Methods: Of a cohort of 12 735 presumed healthy adult volunteers included in the prospective study SU.VI. MAX, designed to assess the relation between nutritional supplementations and degenerative diseases, HERPIMAX randomly selected 4412 subjects (females 66.5%, males 33.5%). All serum samples were assessed for HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG antibodies with a HSV type specific, enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA). Equivocal result were retested with another HSV type specific immunoblot assay combined with a type common HSV IgG EIA in order to give a definitive interpretation. Results: The mean seroprevalence was 67% for HSV-1 and 17.2% for HSV-2. For HSV-2 the seroprevalence was higher in females (17.9%) compared with males (13.7%) (p <0.001). For both HSV types, there was no significant difference in prevalence as regards age distribution in males and females, whereas prevalence increased significantly with age in females for HSV-1. Univariate analysis showed a significant association between HSV-1 prevalence and education level in males and females (p <0.001) and between HSV-2 prevalence and marital status in both sexes (p <0.001). There were geographical disparities, with a higher HSV-2 prevalence in the south of France as well as in Paris. Conclusion: These results confirm a high prevalence of HSV infection in France. They are also in agreement with previous results of other survey carried out in other developed countries as regards higher prevalence of HSV-2 infection in women, the stability of seroprevalence for both HSV types after 35 years of age in females and 45 years of age in males.
Relative validity of fruit and vegetable intake estimated from an FFQ, using carotenoid and flavonoid biomarkers and the method of triads

The aim of the present study was to validate the intakes of fruit, juice and vegetables from an FFQ. In sub-study I (n 147), intakes from the FFQ were evaluated against 7 d weighed food records (WR) and plasma carotenoid concentrations, whereas in sub-study II (n 85), the intakes were evaluated against plasma carotenoid concentrations and amounts of flavonoids in 24 h urine samples. Relative validity was evaluated by comparing median intakes, estimating correlation coefficients and validity coefficients using the method of triads. In sub-study I, we observed no significant difference in daily median fruit intake between the FFQ and the WR, whereas the intake of vegetables was higher from the FFQ than from the WR. The correlations between intakes from the FFQ and the WR ranged from 0·31 to 0·58. In sub-study II, the intakes of fruit and vegetables correlated significantly with plasma carotenoid concentrations and urinary flavonoids. The validity coefficients for the intakes of fruit and vegetables from the FFQ ranged from 0·61 to 0·88 in sub-study I and from 0·60 to 0·94 in sub-study II. In summary, based on the associations observed between intakes from the FFQ and the biomarkers and the FFQ validity coefficients, the FFQ was found valid and suitable for ranking individuals according to their usual intake of fruit, juice and vegetables.
An empirical analysis of real exchange rate movements in the euro

This study uses a long-run Structural Vector Autoregressive (SVAR) approach to identify the sources of real exchange rate fluctuations in the euro. The empirical results indicate that real shocks play a dominant role in explaining the real exchange rate fluctuations in the euro. This implies that the best approach for policymakers toward improving the competitiveness of the EU is to focus on improvements in the real economy, such as improvements in efficiency, technologies and productivity.
Capital Market Effi ciency: A Reinterpretation

In Fama’s classic definition, capital markets are effi cient if asset prices fully reflect available information. One implementation of this definition identifies effi ciency with the condition that future excess returns are unforecastable. The result of this paper is that, in a broad class of models, this condition is satisfied if conditional variances of shocks are constant across states. This result occurs even if agents are risk averse, in contrast to the situation that obtains when effi ciency is identified with returns rather than excess returns. A model that exemplifies the result is discussed.
The cost of a child, mother's employment behavior and economic insecurity in Europe

The past two decades in Western European societies have been marked by a decline in fertility rates together with an increase in women's work-force participation. This has given rise to a massive transformation in traditional patterns of relationships, especially in gender roles and family size. This paper will examine the outcome of the birth of a child and link this outcome to specific family policies in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The outcome of the birth of a child will be measured in the data by comparing the pre-child-birth income and its sources to the post-child-birth income and its sources. How does the financial impact of having a child differ in different countries? What is the impact of the compensation provided by the state in terms of transfer benefits for families? What is the impact on women's labor force activity? What are the changes in the wage income of the family members? This research uses the Consortium of Household panels for European socio-economic Research (CHER) longitudinal panel from 1990 to 2001 in the 10 European countries. Data provide for a detailed cross-national comparison before and after the birth of a child for market work, wage income, and public transfer income, including family benefits. The results indicate that there are important differences among the European countries studied.
Men, women, and the environment: An examination of the gender gap in environmental concern and activism

Abstract Relatively little information yet exists regarding gender differences in environmental concern and activism. What information is available has so far provided a mixed picture, with some studies indicating men to be more concerned than women, others indicating women to be more concerned, and still others finding no significant differences. This study provides additional evidence from national survey data. From these data, women were found to express greater concern for the environment than men before and after applying multivariate controls for age, education, labor force/homemaker status, and other variables. However, the magnitude of the differences was not great. Gender differences in environmental activism provided an ironic contrast. Even though women indicated somewhat greater concern, rates of environmental activism for women were substantially lower than for men. Furthermore, these differences were greater than differences in rates of general political participation and persisted in spite .
Environmental Information and Market Reactions to Environmental Legislation

Environmental issues have attracted national attention and are becoming a focus at many firms. This paper examines the relation between stock price reactions to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 and environmental information. We include alternative information sources in a test of the value relevance of environmental data. We find some evidence that chemical firms with more extensive environmental disclosures included in their 10-K reports had a less negative reaction to SARA, while firms with greater exposure to Superfund costs (based on EPA data) had a more negative market reaction. A primary contribution of our research is the finding that both financial statement environmental disclosures and estimated Superfund costs have incremental value relevance.
The Role of Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Identifying and Estimating Linear Triangular Systems, with Applications to Asset Pricing Models that Include a Mismeasured Factor

SUMMARY A new estimator is proposed for linear triangular systems, where identification results from the model errors following a bivariate and diagonal GARCH(1,1) process with potentially time‐varying error covariances. This estimator applies when traditional instruments are unavailable. I demonstrate its usefulness on asset pricing models like the capital asset pricing model and Fama–French three‐factor model. In the context of a standard two‐pass cross‐sectional regression approach, this estimator improves the pricing performance of both models. Set identification bounds and an associated estimator are also provided for cases where the conditions supporting point identification fail. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Essays in Law and Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays in the area of Law and Economics. The first essay explores the effect of judicial discretion on racial disparities in federal sentencing after the Federal Sentencing Guidelines were struck down in United States v. Booker (2005). Using data on the universe of federal defendants, I find that black defendants are sentenced to almost two months more in prison compared to their white counterparts, a 4% increase. To identify the sources of racial disparities, I construct a dataset linking judges to over 400,000 defendants. Exploiting the random assignment of cases to judges, I find that racial disparities are greater among judges appointed after Booker. Prosecutors also respond to increased judicial discretion by charging black defendants with longer mandatory minimums. The second essay estimates the impact of increased judicial discretion on inter-judge disparities, another potential source of unwarranted disparity in the federal criminal justice system. Relying on the random assignment of cases to judges, I find that inter-judge disparities have increased significantly after the Guidelines became advisory using a random effects model. A defendant who is randomly assigned a one standard deviation “harsher” judge in the district court received a 2.6 month longer prison sentence before Booker, but received a 5.3 month longer sentence following Booker. The third essay analyzes the differential impact of state versus federal regulation of OSHA programs on the use of traditional enforcement tools, nonfatal injury rates and fatalities, as well as wages and employment. I find that certification of a state regulated OSHA program leads to an increased use of inspections per capita and issuance of violations per capita. State regulated programs that adopted stringent standards beyond the federal program are associated with significantly lower fatalities, compared to all other states. A case study on the 2000 California penalty reform reveals that greater magnitude of sanctions and prosecution are potentially effective enforcement tools in promoting greater workplace safety and reducing fatalities. Finally, I find that there is a compensating differential for workplace safety.
Do TV Viewers Value Uncertainty of Outcome? Evidence from the Australian Football League

Despite many studies investigating the relationship between match uncertainty and the demand for sport (in particular, attendance), the evidence is mixed. Even fewer studies have focused on TV audiences as an important segment of the consumer market. This paper bridges this gap by testing the uncertainty-of-outcome hypothesis on television viewing of Australian Football League games. After controlling for plausible influences on TV ratings of match broadcasts, it is shown that greater television audience demand is strongly associated with higher match uncertainty at all conventional levels of statistical significance.
Local Political Corruption: Potential structural malfunctions at the central–local, local–local and intra-local levels

Abstract Despite growing preoccupation on the part of both the public and researchers with the concept of political corruption and the ‘corruption eruption’ phenomenon, research studies addressing corruption in local government are few and far between. This exploratory research offers a theoretical conceptualization of institutionalized corruption in local government, and identifies structural factors that lead to such corruption. Further, this study empirically assesses institutional corruption at the local level and its correlation to attitudes and characteristics of local authorities and their populations, based on a survey of 1,709 residents of 156 local authorities in Israel and data on the local authorities from a separate database. This article proposes a model according to which local corruption arises from structural factors at three levels: the central–local level (relations between local authorities and the central government); the local–local level (competition between local authorities) and the intra-local level (factors relating to the performance of local councils and local democracy). Our analyses reveal correlations among characteristics of the local authority and community, residents' perceptions of local performance and perceptions of local corruption. Implications of the findings in light of strategies conventionally employed against corruption in local government are discussed.
Discussion of The Roles of Performance Measures and Monitoring in Annual Governance Decisions in Entrepreneurial Firms

In the paper presented at the 2001 JAR Conference, Engel, Gordon, and Hayes [EGH, 2001] identified an important and difficult problem, which is how CEO incentives change in the years following an IPO. To address this question, they gather a sample of 800 firm-year observations for 464 IPOs from 1996 to 1999. A distinguishing feature of the sample is that it includes 244 firm-year observations on 216 internet IPOs. They examine this problem with four measures of incentives: (1) the incentives to increase the stock price provided by the CEO's stock portfolio (median value $11.7 million); (2) the incentives to increase the stock price provided by the median CEO's option portfolio (value not tabulated); (3) the incentives provided by variation in the median CEO's annual post-IPO total pay (median value $0.5 million); and (4) the incentives provided by variation in the CEO's future pay caused by changes in the likelihood that the CEO will be fired. '
Psychiatric morbidity among West Africans and West Indians living in London

synopsis All West Africans and West Indians living in Camberwell who made a psychiatric contact between 1 January 1965 and 31 December 1968 were selected using the Camberwell Psychiatric Register as a sampling frame. Inception rates of psychiatric illness were then calculated using the 1966 10% census figures for West Africans and West Indians in Camberwell. The rates found were compared to those among the British living in Camberwell. For each major diagnostic category, with the exception of reactive depression and paranoid states, the inception rates are significantly higher among West Africans than West Indians. They are also significantly higher among West Indians than the British. However, the differences in inception rates are generally greater between West Africans and West Indians than between the latter and the British.
Financial development and economic growth in Singapore: demand-following or supply-leading?

Two competing hypotheses regarding financial development and economic growth are empirically investigated, in the context of supply-leading and demand-following finance. The focus is on Singapore as a country which has implemented financial restructuring strategies that, arguably, amount to a ‘supply-leading finance’ experiment. By drawing on some developments in economic theory over the last three decades, hypotheses are formulated within a statistical framework, namely a bivariate vector autoregressive (BVAR) model. A battery of econometric techniques are applied to test for stationarity, cointegration, exogeneity and Granger-causality. The evidence largely supports the supply-leading hypothesis only when broad monetary aggregates and a monetization variable are used as surrogates for financial development. It is concluded that there is a plausible case for those economies which intend to adopt a financial restructuring strategy driven by a supply-leading policy stance that involves enhanced monetizatio.
Multiphasic helical computerized tomography for the assessment of microscopic hematuria: a prospective study.

PURPOSE We evaluated multiphasic helical computed tomography for the detection and characterization of lesions responsible for hematuria not diagnosed on prior urological surveillance studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 393 men and 207 women with recurrent microscopic hematuria but negative urological surveillance studies were examined at 4 participating institutions by multiphasic helical computerized tomography, consisting of pre-enhancement, arterial corticomedullary, parenchymal and excretory phase sequences generating 2 to 5 mm slices through the kidney and lower pelvis. RESULTS The cause of microscopic hematuria was established in 256 of 600 patients with prior negative urological surveillance examinations with 0.91 sensitivity and 0.94 specificity. The diagnosis was correct in all subsequently proven cases of calculous and renal vascular disease. A total of 67 of 70 inflammatory kidney lesions, 24 of 25 renal neoplasms, 15 of 16 bladder neoplasms, 27 of 35 inflammatory bladder conditions and 21 of 23 ureteral lesions were also correctly diagnosed. The diagnosis of renal medullary and papillary necrosis, and neoplastic lesions of the kidney and bladder allowed the early institution of medical therapy or appropriate surgery. CONCLUSIONS Multiphasic helical computerized tomography diagnosed lesions responsible for microhematuria in 42.6% of 600 patients with negative urological surveillance examinations. This relatively low cost and low co-morbidity examination is advocated for patients with negative urological surveillance examinations or even as a first examination.
Making Their Mark: The Effects of Neighbourhood and Upper Secondary School on Educational Achievement

This study contributes to the literature on neighbourhood and school effects on individual educational outcomes by asking whether and to what extent adolescent educational achievement in metropolitan Sweden is determined by neighbourhood and upper secondary school characteristics net of observed individual-level background attributes. Extensive cross-classified multilevel regression analyses of comprehensive leaving certificate data for around 26,000 upper secondary school students show that characteristics attributable to upper secondary schools matter much more for the variability in achievement than do neighbourhoods. There are also indications of contextual effects of neighbour and schoolmate characteristics that operate above and beyond the impact of observed individual-level background attributes. Since the estimated effects of concentrations of (dis)advantage and immigrant density at neighbourhood and school level point in different directions, this study demonstrates the benefits of analysing the effects of neighbourhood and school on individual educational outcomes at the same time.
The Market Reaction To Straight Debt Issues: The Effects Of Free Cash Flow

In this paper we measure the market reaction to 937 straight debt issues between 1983 and 1993. We find a negative and significant market reaction to a straight debt announcement. In addition, we find that the market reaction to a straight debt issue is directly related to the issuing firm's level of existing cash and inversely related to the issuing firm's investment opportunities.