Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of cigarette smoking and CRP levels with DNA methylation in α-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency and tobacco smoking are confirmed risk factors for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. We hypothesized that variable DNA methylation would be associated with smoking and inflammation, as reflected by the level of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in AAT-deficient subjects. Methylation levels of 1,411 autosomal CpG sites from the Illumina GoldenGate Methylation Cancer Panel I were analyzed in 316 subjects. Associations of five smoking behaviors and CRP levels with individual CpG sites and average methylation levels were assessed using non-parametric testing, linear regression and linear mixed effect models, with and without adjustment for age and gender. Univariate linear regression analysis revealed that methylation levels of 16 CpG sites significantly associated with ever-smoking status. A CpG site in the TGFBI gene was the only site associated with ever-smoking after adjustment for age and gender. No highly significant associations existed between age at smoking initiation, pack-years smoked, duration of smoking, and time since quitting smoking as predictors of individual CpG site methylation levels. However, ever-smoking and younger age at smoking initiation associated with lower methylation level averaged across all sites. DNA methylation at CpG sites in the RUNX3, JAK3 and KRT1 genes associated with CRP levels. The most significantly associated CpG sites with gender and age mapped to the CASP6 and FZD9 genes, respectively. In summary, this study identified multiple potential candidate CpG sites associated with ever-smoking and CRP level in AAT-deficient subjects. Phenotypic variability in Mendelian diseases may be due to epigenetic factors.
Does a Management Degree Do the Business for Women in the Graduate Labour Market

The increasing dominance of an economic ideology of higher education, that its principal role is to contribute to national competitiveness, has increased focus on the employability of graduates and their transition into the labour market. Drawing on a major study of the early career paths of 1995 graduates from 38 UK higher education institutions, this paper looks specifically at graduates from business and management programmes. Such graduates would apparently be attractive to employers seeking to recruit degree holders with specific transferable skills who might be expected to ‘hit the ground running’ once in organisations. The paper seeks to address the question of what effect holding a business degree has on the employment outcomes in comparison with other degree disciplines and whether or not there is any gender effect upon relative success in the labour market. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
A Clinical and Molecular Genetic Study of Autosomal-Dominant Stromal Corneal Dystrophy in British Population

Aims: To identify the underlying mutations in our British families and sporadic patients with different types of corneal dystrophies (CDs) and to establish a phenotype-genotype correlation. Methods: Twenty-nine patients, 9 sporadic and 20 patients from 7 families were subjected to both clinical and genetic examination. Slit lamp examination was performed for all patients who participated in the study to assess their corneal phenotype. Genomic DNA was extracted from 10 ml venous blood, and the BIGH3 gene was amplified exon by exon to perform heteroduplex analysis. Exons that displayed double bands were then analysed by direct bi-directional sequencing and restriction digest analyses. Results: Clinically our patients showed three distinct phenotypes of CD: 16 with Thiel-Behnke corneal dystrophy or corneal dystrophy of Bowman layer type 2 (CDB2), 8 with granular CD (GCD), and 5 with lattice CD type I (LCDI). Three different missense mutations have been detected in the coding region of BIGH3 gene, R555Q, in 16 CDB2 patients, R555W in 8 GCD patients, and R124C in 5 LCDI patients. These mutations were the same as to those previously reported in patients from other ethnic origins. Also,we identified seven nucleotide substitutions that did not change the amino acid sequence of the encoded protein of which four were novel. Conclusions: In our patients of British origin, each phenotype of CD has been linked to a particular point mutation of the BIGH3 gene. Our study also highlights the importance of codons 124 and 555 as mutation hot spots in the BIGH3 gene in the British population.
The Importance of the Chief Audit Executive's Communication: Experimental Evidence on Internal Auditors' Judgments in a ‘Two Masters Setting’

The position of an internal audit function (IAF) as a ‘servant of two masters’ (i.e., management and the audit committee) may lead to a conflict of priorities. In this setting, the tone at the top set by the Chief Audit Executive (CAE) plays a critical role in balancing the potentially competing priorities of the ‘two masters’. We test two hypotheses in a mixed experimental design with the communicated preferences of the CAE to subordinates (cost reduction vs. effectiveness of internal controls) as a between‐subjects factor, and levels of ambiguity (low, medium, high) manipulated within‐subjects. Findings suggest that the emphasis in the CAE's message can influence internal auditors' judgments, and such influence is more pronounced when task ambiguity is high, resulting in the elimination of a significantly greater number of internal controls and the design of less effective processes. We discuss implications of our results for modern IAFs and the role of the CAE.
National and Office-Specific Measures of Auditor Industry Expertise and Effects on Audit Quality

Our paper examines whether audit quality is higher for industry audit specialists at the national and city‐office levels using the framework developed in Ferguson et al. [2003] and Francis et al. [2005]. We find that auditors who are both national and city‐specific industry specialists have clients with the lowest abnormal accruals, suggesting that joint national and city‐specific industry specialists have the highest audit quality. In addition, we find some evidence that abnormal accruals of firms audited by city‐industry specialists alone (without also being national specific industry specialists) are lower than those audited by nonindustry specialists. Using alternative measures of audit quality, we find that when the auditor is both a national and a city‐specific industry specialist, its clients are less likely to meet or beat analysts' earnings forecasts by one penny per share and more likely to be issued a going‐concern audit opinion. Together these results provide consistent evidence that audit quality is higher when the auditor is both a national and city‐specific industry specialist, suggesting that auditors' national positive network synergies and the individual auditors' deep industry knowledge at the office level are jointly important factors in delivering higher audit quality.
Sectoral Differences in English Bank Asset Structures and the Impact of Mergers, 1860-1913

This article presents new, half-yearly time series on commercial bank asset ratios, broken down by types of commercial bank, 1860-1913. The new estimates highlight the degree of heterogeneity present in bank asset structures and they reveal differences in both trends and short-term movements in the asset ratios across different types of bank. The significance of these findings on the heterogeneity of commercial bank balance sheets derives from the fact that, over time, the London banks became more significant (and the provincial less so) as a consequence of bank mergers and sharply increased market concentration. The role of mergers in this process is examined directly in the article by comparing the balance sheet composition of a sample of both predator and prey banks around the time of merger. The findings have implications for the interpretation of the role of commercial banks in economic development in the period.
Discovering health social work in New Zealand in its published work: Implications for the profession

Social work in health care has been a significant field of practice within social work in New Zealand since the 1940s. This paper reports on a project inspired by a fruitless search for a current discussion on the development of health social work in New Zealand. Analysis of a bibliographic search reveals an interesting history of health social work, as it emerged as an extension of the nursing role. Five distinct periods of development are identified through analysis of the literature. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of challenges and opportunities for health social work.
Organizational climate, trust and knowledge sharing: insights from Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of organizational climate and trust (TR) on knowledge-sharing (KS) behaviour in selected multinational firms in an emerging market – Malaysia. Two dimensions of KS – knowledge collecting (KC) and knowledge donating (KD) – were separately studied for this research. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 231 participants from 25 multinational firms. Multivariate analysis was used to assess the research model. Findings – The research findings indicate that organizational climate dimension, affiliation, is positively related to both KD and KC, while fairness dimensions of organizational climate are not positively related to KD and KC. Among the two dimensions of TR (cognitive and affective), it was found that cognitive TR is positively related to KD, while affective TR is positively related to KC. Research limitations/implications – The sampling was confined to the Klang Valley area of Malaysia. Practical implications – Th.
Differential Microring Modulators for Intensity and Phase Modulation: Theory and Experiments

We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a ring-assisted Mach–Zehnder interferometer modulator for intensity and phase modulation, leveraging both Mach–Zehnder modulator and single microring modulator. Differential drive of two microring modulators nested in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer offers several advantages for both intensity modulation and phase modulation. We first present a complete theoretical study of this differential ring modulator, including the operation principles, high-speed characteristics, system performance, and energy consumption. We then experimentally verify that this differential ring modulator provides low-chirp, low drive voltage, and large extinction ratio for intensity modulation, and low-chirp, low drive voltage, and drive-voltage insensitivity for phase modulation.
Determinants of Banking System Fragility: A Case Study of Mexico

This paper tests empirically the proposition that bank fragility is determined by bank-specific factors, macroeconomic conditions, and potential contagion effects. The methodology allows the variables that determine bank failure to differ from those that influence banks' time to failure (or survival rate). Based on the indicators of fragility of individual banks, we construct an index of fragility for the banking system. The framework is applied to the Mexican financial crisis that began in 1994. For Mexico, bank-specific variables and contagion effects explain the likelihood, whereas macroeconomic variables largely determine the timing, of bank failure.
The solvability conditions for inverse eigenproblem of symmetric and anti‐persymmetric matrices and its approximation

The problem of generating a matrix A with specified eigen‐pair, where A is a symmetric and anti‐persymmetric matrix, is presented. An existence theorem is given and proved. A general expression of such a matrix is provided. We denote the set of such matrices by 𝒮𝒜𝒮En. The optimal approximation problem associated with 𝒮𝒜𝒮En is discussed, that is: to find the nearest matrix to a given matrix A* by A∈𝒮𝒜𝒮En. The existence and uniqueness of the optimal approximation problem is proved and the expression is provided for this nearest matrix. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Why Does Household Investment Lead Business Investment over the Business Cycle?

Household investment leads nonresidential business fixed investment over the U.S. business cycle. Because real business cycle theory has not been able to account for this observation, it represents a potent challenge to the view that transitory productivity disturbances are the main source of aggregate fluctuations. This paper reconciles RBC theory with the investment dynamics by extending the traditional home production model to make household capital complementary to business capital and labor in market production. Empirical evidence suggesting that household capital is a complementary input in market production is also presented.
Financial behaviours of consumers in credit counselling

Positive financial behaviours of consumers are examined using a national sample of consumers who use credit counselling services in the US from a behavioural economic perspective. The findings indicate that consumers in credit counselling may follow a hierarchical pattern in their financial behaviours, paying off debts and adjusting spending before considering saving. Consumers who are older, have a part-time job (vs. the unemployed), and report a more secure retirement, a better family relationship, and a higher score of self-evaluation of financial behaviours are likely to report more positive financial behaviours. Reporting more financial behaviours and a higher score of self-evaluation of financial behaviours, along with several demographic and perception variables, tend to reduce financial stress and increase financial satisfaction among consumers who use credit counselling services.
Reverse Supply Chains for Commercial Returns

The flow of product returns is becoming a significant concern for manufacturers. Typically, these returns have been viewed as a nuisance, resulting in reverse supply chains that are designed to minimize costs. These minimum cost reverse supply chains often do not consider product return speed. The longer it takes to retrieve a returned product, the lower the chances that there are financially attractive reuse options. Unlike forward supply chains, design strategies for reverse supply chains are unexplored and largely undocumented. The most influential product characteristic for reverse supply chain design is the marginal value of time. Responsive reverse supply chains are the appropriate choice when the marginal value of time for products is high, and efficient reverse supply chains are the proper choice when the marginal value of time for products is low. Product returns and their reverse supply chains represent a potential value stream and deserve as much attention as forward supply chains.
Tapping the Liabilities' Side — Austrian Evidence for Private Equity Investor Involvement, Growth and The Internationalisation of Firms

This paper aims to close one of the most persistent gaps in international business (IB) and strategic management (SM) research by advocating a systematic extension of our research perspective to a more finance-based "liabilities' approach". As such, it responds to the recent work of prominent scholars such as Agmon (2006) and Bowe, Filatotchev and Marshall (2010). We challenge the prevailing "finance follows" mindset and â€“ using Private Equity (PE) investors as an illustrative example â€“ we demonstrate how an integrated approach may improve existing theories and open up entirely new avenues of research. We present confirmatory as well as exploratory findings on the impact of investors, suggesting that a company's ownership not only determines a company's financial strength but also has a number of less obvious implications for growth and internationalization. Our findings suggest that investors may be a strategic asset and can serve as catalysts for a company's growth at several levels of involvement.
Vitamin D levels and risk of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective cohort study.

RATIONALE Low blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) have been associated with a higher risk of respiratory infections in general populations and higher risk of exacerbations of lung disease in people with asthma. We hypothesized that low blood levels of 25(OH)D in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would be associated with an increased risk of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). OBJECTIVES To determine if baseline 25(OH)D levels relate to subsequent AECOPD in a cohort of patients at high risk for AECOPD. METHODS Plasma 25(OH)D was measured at baseline in 973 participants on entry to a 1-year study designed to determine if daily azithromycin decreased the incidence of AECOPD. Relationships between baseline 25(OH)D and AECOPD over 1 year were analyzed with time to first AECOPD as the primary outcome and exacerbation rate as the secondary outcome. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS In this largely white (85%) sample of North American patients with severe COPD (mean FEV(1) 1.12L; 40% of predicted), mean 25(OH)D was 25.7 ± 12.8 ng/ml. A total of 33.1% of participants were vitamin D insufficient (≥20 ng/ml but <30 ng/ml); 32% were vitamin D deficient (<20 ng/ml); and 8.4% had severe vitamin D deficiency (<10 ng/ml). Baseline 25(OH)D levels had no relationship to time to first AECOPD or AECOPD rates. CONCLUSIONS In patients with severe COPD, baseline 25(OH)D levels are not predictive of subsequent AECOPD. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials. gov (NCT00119860).
Interval valued neutrosophic sets and multi-attribute decision-making based on generalized weighted aggregation operator

Neutrosophic sets are powerful logics designed to facilitate understanding of indeterminate and inconsistent information; many types of incomplete or complete information can be expressed as interval valued neutrosophic sets (IVNSs). This paper proposes improved aggregation operation rules for IVNSs, and extends the generalized weighted aggregation (GWA) operator to work congruently with IVNS data. The aggregated results are also expressed as IVNSs, which are characterized by truthmembership degree, indeterminacy-membership degree, and falsity-membership degree. The proposed method is proved to be the maximum approximation to the original data, and maintains most of the information during data processing. Then, a method is proposed to determine the ranking orders for all alternatives according to their comparative advantage matrices based on their general score, degree of accuracy and degree of certainty expressed by the aggregated IVNSs. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed approach.
Consistent Cytotoxic-T-Lymphocyte Targeting of Immunodominant Regions in Human Immunodeficiency Virus across Multiple Ethnicities

ABSTRACT Although there is increasing evidence that virus-specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses play an important role in the control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in vivo, only scarce CTL data are available for the ethnic populations currently most affected by the epidemic. In this study, we examined the CD8+-T-cell responses in African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Caribbean populations in which clade B virus dominates and analyzed the potential factors influencing immune recognition. Total HIV-specific CD8+-T-cell responses were determined by enzyme-linked immunospot assays in 150 HIV-infected individuals by using a clade B consensus sequence peptide set spanning all HIV proteins. A total of 88% of the 410 tested peptides were recognized, and Nef- and Gag-specific responses dominated the total response for each ethnicity in terms of both breadth and magnitude. Three dominantly targeted regions within these proteins that were recognized by >90% of individuals in each ethnicity were identified. Overall, the total breadth and magnitude of CD8+-T-cell responses correlated with individuals' CD4 counts but not with viral loads. The frequency of recognition for each peptide was highly correlated with the relative conservation of the peptide sequence, the presence of predicted immunoproteasomal cleavage sites within the C-terminal half of the peptide, and a reduced frequency of amino acids that impair binding of optimal epitopes to the restricting class I molecules. The present study thus identifies factors that contribute to the immunogenicity of these highly targeted and relatively conserved sequences in HIV that may represent promising vaccine candidates for ethnically heterogeneous populations.
Cellular retinol-binding protein expression and breast cancer.

BACKGROUND The biologic activity of vitamin A depends, in part, on its metabolism to active nuclear receptor ligands, chiefly retinoic acid. The cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) binds vitamin A with high affinity and is postulated to regulate its uptake and metabolism. In this report, we analyze the expression of CRBP in normal and malignant breast tissues. METHODS We evaluated CRBP expression by in situ hybridization in six reduction mammoplasty specimens and 49 human breast carcinoma specimens by use of digoxigenin-labeled RNA probes and in nine cultured mammoplasty specimens by northern or western blot analysis. Statistical significance was evaluated with the chi(2) test or Fisher's exact test if the sample sizes were small. All P values are from two-sided tests. RESULTS CRBP was expressed in all 15 mammoplasty specimens (normal breast tissue) and in 33 of 35 available specimens of normal tissue adjacent to carcinoma. In contrast, 12 (24%) of 49 carcinoma lesions were uniformly negative for CRBP (P =.023 for comparison with adjacent normal breast tissue). The loss of CRBP expression was as frequent in ductal carcinoma in situ (six [27%] of 22) as in invasive lesions (six [22%] of 27), suggesting that it is a relatively early event in carcinogenesis and not associated with patient age, tumor grade, and expression of steroid receptors or c-Myc. Preliminary experiments did not find an association between CRBP and retinoic acid receptor beta loss, but most (four of five) CRBP-negative tumors were also retinoic acid receptor beta negative. CONCLUSION CRBP is underexpressed in 24% (95% confidence interval = 12.5%-36.5%) of human breast carcinomas, implying a link between cellular vitamin A homeostasis and breast cancer. We hypothesize that the loss of CRBP restricts the effects of endogenous vitamin A on breast epithelial cells.
Merger Announcements and Insider Trading Activity: An Empirical Investigation

This paper provides evidence of excess returns earned by investors in acquired firms prior to the first public announcement of planned mergers. The study is distinguished from earlier merger studies in its use of daily holding period returns for the 194 firms sampled. The results confirm statistically what most traders already know. Impending merger announcements are poorly held secrets, and trading on this nonpublic information abounds. Specifically, leakage of inside information is a pervasive problem occurring at a significant level up to 12 trading days prior to the first public announcement of a proposed merger.