Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lump-Sum Distributions from Retirement Saving Plans: Receipt and Utilization

One of the central issues in evaluating the ongoing shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension plans is the degree to which assets in DC plans will be withdrawn before plan participants reach retirement age. The annual flow of withdrawals from such plans, which are known as lump sum distributions and which are frequently but not always associated with employment changes, has exceeded $100 billion in recent years. This flow is substantially greater than the flow of new contributions to IRAs and other targeted retirement saving programs. This paper draws on data from the 1993 Current Population Survey and the Health and Retirement Survey to summarize the incidence and disposition of lump sum distributions. We find that while less than half of all lump sum distributions are rolled over into IRAs or other retirement saving plans, large distributions are substantially more likely to be saved than smaller ones are. Consequently, more than half of the dollars paid out as lump sum distributions are reinvested. We also explore the correlation between various individual characteristics and the probability of rolling over a lump sum distribution. This is a first step toward developing a model that can be used to evaluate the long- term effects of lump sum distributions, or policies that might affect them, on the financial status of elderly households.
Adjusting for Recall Bias in “ How Many X ’ s Do You Know ? ” Surveys

Recalling errors project a commonly documented limitation of ‘How many X’s do you know? ’ type surveys (see Killworth et al. (2003) for example). These errors often come from respondents’ tendency to under-report the number of their acquaintances in larger sub-populations. A calibration curve that corrects for under-recalling is proposed based on the results of Zheng et al. (2006). A description of how to apply this correction to the Zheng et al. (2006) type of model is also discussed.
A Cross-Sectional Examination of Non-Big 4 Firms’ Reliability

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of service-related independence impairments on perceptions of local and regional non-Big 4 Firms’ financial reporting reliability. This study is motivated by recent public policy, which proposes that service-related independence impairments may improve financial reporting reliability. Design/methodology/approach - – Commercial lending officers respond to a within-subjects experiment. The variables of interest are client importance, expertise and their related interaction. These variables are regressed on the perceived reporting reliability of local and regional firms. Findings - – Client importance is positively and significantly associated with the lenders’ selection of non-Big 4 firms, which supports Taylor Practical implications - – Client importance is significantly associated with regional firms only, which suggests that cross-sectional differences exist among non-Big 4 firms. The negative association between regional firms and client importance confirms Goldman and Barlev’s (1974) concerns that large firms are not exempt from client pressure. Client importance is also significantly (and positively) associated with lenders’ selection of the type of non-Big 4 firm to perform the engagement, which supports recent public policy’s proposal for joint attest and non-attest services (Exposure Draft for Statement for Accounting and Review Services No. 18). Originality/value - – The study overcomes within-subjects design limitations to provide a natural environment to understand lending officers’ perceptions of non-Big 4 firms. The results continue to fill the void in the literature which examines cross-sectional differences in non-Big 4 firm quality.
Relationship of ISO 9001:2000 quality system certification with operational and business performance

Purpose – This research paper aims to explore the relationship between ISO 9000 certification and organisational performance by developing an ISO 9000 relationship model.Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument was used for quantitative data collection based on a global survey in collaboration with the Anderson School of Business, UCLA. All items were measured on a five point modified Likert scale. The data were analysed statistically by means of Statistical Package for Social Scientists. Factor analysis was performed. Multiple regressions was used to test the hypotheses. Both validity and reliability of the measures were checked in order to reduce measurement error.Findings – The results show a positive and significant relationship between certification practices (implementation, organisational commitment and planning) with operational performance. However, the relationship between these practices with business performance was found to be positive but not significant of the variables we studied,.
Serum total cholesterol and risk of hospitalization, and death from respiratory disease.

BACKGROUND In earlier studies, serum total cholesterol was inversely associated with death due to respiratory diseases. METHODS Relationships of cholesterol with risk of respiratory diseases were examined between 1978 and 1993 in a health maintenance organization in Northern California (48,188 men, 55,276 women, about 60% white, age range 25-89). Incident and fatal endpoints were ascertained using hospital discharge diagnostic codes and underlying cause of death, respectively. RESULTS An inverse association of cholesterol level with pneumonia/influenza hospitalization was found among men and women except that, contrary to hypothesis, a positive association was seen in women under 55 years of age. Inconsistent inverse associations were found in men, but not women, between cholesterol level and hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hospitalization for asthma was unrelated to cholesterol level. An inverse association existed between cholesterol level and hospitalization for miscellaneous respiratory diseases among men, but not women. Exclusion of early hospitalizations tended to attenuate risk for cholesterol level below 4.14 mmol/l, but not the risk gradient across higher cholesterol levels. For deaths, cholesterol level was statistically significantly inversely associated only with COPD. CONCLUSIONS Cholesterol had graded inverse associations with some respiratory diseases, but not others, tending to be stronger in men than in women, and in older than in younger participants. Associations varied for hospitalizations compared to deaths. More epidemiological and basic research is needed to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying the observed associations.
LETTERS North Pacific Decadal Climate Variability since 1661

Climate in the North Pacific and North American sectors has experienced interdecadal shifts during the twentieth century. A network of recently developed tree-ring chronologies for Southern and Baja California extends the instrumental record and reveals decadal-scale variability back to 1661. The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is closely matched by the dominant mode of tree-ring variability that provides a preliminary view of multiannual climate fluctuations spanning the past four centuries. The reconstructed PDO index features a prominent bidecadal oscillation, whose amplitude weakened in the late l700s to mid-1800s. A comparison with proxy records of ENSO suggests that the greatest decadal-scale oscillations in Pacific climate between 1706 and 1977 occurred around 1750, 1905, and 1947.
MEASURING POST-MERGER SUCCESS: INTEGRATION PROCESSES AND HUMAN FACTORS

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are arguably the most popular and influential form of business investment. So much so, that in the last 10 years the level of M&A activity in the UK construction industry has increased significantly as companies seek to gain competitive advantage. Whilst the majority of additional M&A activity has been undertaken with emphasis on growth, the reality is that only approximately 37% of M&As achieve the level of success forecast at initial outset. It is well understood that few, if any, corporate resource decisions can change the value of companies as quickly or dramatically as major M&As, however often too much emphasis is placed on the pre acquisition stage - due diligence. Companies often fail to realise the importance of the post merger stage, integration, which can be detrimental to deals. While stakeholders involved in M&As will focus on effectiveness, efficiency, growth potential and increased profitability, recent research shows that companies are now concentrating more on the less documented, human factors which can affect M&A performance and the success of M&A transactions. Based on a literature review across various disciplines, both nationally and internationally, the ongoing doctorate study focuses on the human factors and processes which affect post-acquisition integration and success of M&As. Whilst the future research direction is still under development, the objective is to develop a framework, which will enable the measurement/benchmarking of human integration performance in future M&A.
04 01 00 1 v 1 3 1 D ec 2 00 3 Chapter 1 CMB OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUES AND RECENT RESULTS

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) consists of photons that were last created about 2 months after the Big Bang, and last scattered about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The spectrum of the CMB is very close to a blackbody at 2.725 K, and upper limits on any deviations from of the CMB from a blackbody place strong constraints on energy transfer between the CMB and matter at all redshifts less than 2 million. The CMB is very nearly isotropic, but a dipole anisotropy of ±3.346(17) mK shows that the Solar System barycenter is moving at 368 ± 2 km/sec relative to the observable Universe. The dipole corresponds to a spherical harmonic index l = 1. The higher indices l ≥ 2 indicate intrinsic inhomogeneities in the Universe that existed at the time of last scattering. While the photons have traveled freely only since the time of last scattering, the inhomogeneities traced by the CMB photons have been in place since the inflationary epoch only 10 sec after the Big Bang. These intrinsic anisotropies are much smaller in amplitude than the dipole anisotropy, with ∆T ≤ 100 μK. Electron scattering of the anisotropic radiation field produces an anisotropic linear polarization in the CMB with amplitudes ≤ 5 μK. Detailed studies of the angular power spectrum of the temperature and linear polarization anisotropies have yielded precise values for many cosmological parameters. This paper will discuss the techniques necessary to measure signals that are 100 million times smaller than the emission from the instrument and briefly describe results from experiments up to WMAP.
Mcl 1 regulates the terminal mitosis of neural precursor cells in the mammalian brain through p 27 Kip 1

INTRODUCTION During mammalian nervous system development, neural stem cells give rise to committed progenitor cells that divide sequentially to produce neurons followed by macroglial cells. In the mouse cortex, the neurogenic period extends from embryonic day (E) 11-17 (Angevine and Sidman, 1961). The total number of neural stem cells and progenitor cells, collectively known as neural precursor cells (NPCs), determines the overall number of neurons and ultimately the size of the brain (Joseph and Hermanson, 2010; Mitsuhashi and Takahashi, 2009). As more neurons are generated from committed progenitor cells, the six distinct cortical layers are formed in an inside-out manner (Molyneaux et al., 2007). As a result, the laminar fate of differentiated neurons depends on the timing of their cell cycle exit. Whether an NPC proliferates or exits the cell cycle is decided during the G1 phase. Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors (CKIs), and specifically members of the CIP/KIP family p27
Diversity of Bacteria Contaminants in Tissues of Fish Cultured in Organic Waste-Fertilized Ponds: Health Implications

Bacterial populations contaminating various tissues of fish cultured in fish ponds fertilized with different or- ganic wastes have been studied. Twenty-five genera of bacteria were identified as associated with the fish tissues. The identified bacteria included one genus of spiral and curved bacteria, one genus of Gram-negative aerobic rod, sixteen gen- era of Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods, one Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, three Gram-positive cocci, two endospore-forming rods, and one Actinomycete. The bacterial contaminants were isolated from all tissues of the cultured fish. Higher bacterial contamination was associated with the gills, gut and skin than the blood and muscle. Although Pseudomonas sp. was most abundant species in the organic waste fertilized ponds and was present in considerable quanti- ties in the five fish tissues, Salmonella sp. was the most important contaminant of the gills, muscle and skin. The presence of high diversity of bacteria in the fish tissues presents health hazards to both consumers and fish farm workers. Handling and cleaning of the fish can result in contamination of hands of farm workers and through them to their family members and others. The digestive tract and intraperitoneal fluid of fish in this study showed high concentrations of pathogens, such as Salmonella in fish cultured in the organic waste fertilized ponds, but lower concentrations in fish cultured in non- fertilized pond. Public health must therefore be of prime concern when dealing with fish farming and its products in coun- tries, such as Ghana, with less restriction on release of waste into water bodies, and the use of untreated wastewater for aquaculture.
Evaluation of new online automated embolic signal detection algorithm, including comparison with panel of international experts.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The clinical application of Doppler detection of circulating cerebral emboli will depend on a reliable automated system of embolic signal detection; such a system is not currently available. Previous studies have shown that frequency filtering increases the ratio of embolic signal to background signal intensity and that the incorporation of such an approach into an offline automated detection system markedly improved performance. In this study, we evaluated an online version of the system. In a single-center study, we compared its performance with that of a human expert on data from 2 clinical situations, carotid stenosis and the period immediately after carotid endarterectomy. Because the human expert is currently the "gold standard" for embolic signal detection, we also compared the performance of the system with an international panel of human experts in a multicenter study. METHODS In the single-center evaluation, the performance of the software was tested against that of a human expert on 20 hours of data from 21 patients with carotid stenosis and 18 hours of data from 9 patients that was recorded after carotid endarterectomy. For the multicenter evaluation, a separate 2-hour data set, recorded from 5 patients after carotid endarterectomy, was analyzed by 6 different human experts using the same equipment and by the software. Agreement was assessed by determining the probability of agreement. RESULTS In the 20 hours of carotid stenosis data, there were 140 embolic signals with an intensity of > or =7 dB. With the software set at a confidence threshold of 60%, a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 88.9% for detection of embolic signals were obtained. At higher confidence thresholds, a specificity >95% could be obtained, but this was at the expense of a lower sensitivity. In the 18 hours of post-carotid endarterectomy data, there were 411 embolic signals of > or =7-dB intensity. When the same confidence threshold was used, a sensitivity of 95.4% and a specificity of 97.5% were obtained. In the multicenter evaluation, a total of 127 events were recorded as embolic signals by at least 1 center. The total number of embolic signals detected by the 6 different centers was 84, 93, 108, 92, 63, and 78. The software set at a confidence threshold of 60% detected 90 events as embolic signals. The mean probability of agreement, including all human experts and the software, was 0.83, and this was higher than that for 2 human experts and lower than that for 4 human experts. The mean values for the 6 human observers were averaged to give P=0.84, which was similar to that of the software. CONCLUSIONS By using the frequency specificity of the intensity increase occurring with embolic signals, we have developed an automated detection system with a much improved sensitivity. Its performance was equal to that of some human experts and only slightly below the mean performance of a panel of human experts
Focus on European Environmental Law

In an attempt to clarify existing laws and provide guidance for future directions, this guide explains how best the environment can be preserved, how environmental laws can be enforced, who pays for environmental pollution and how complaints can be lodged against suspected breaches of policy. Chapters include information on the right to a healthy environment, EC environmental policy, the direct effect of EC environmental directives, the elaboration of EC environmental legislation, the enforcement of environmental law and Directive 90/313 regarding access to environmental information.
Melanocortin-1 Receptor Signaling Markedly Induces the Expression of the NR4A Nuclear Receptor Subgroup in Melanocytic Cells*

The melanocortin-1 receptor (MCIR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor expressed primarily in melanocytes and is known to play a pivotal role in the regulation of pigmentation in mammals. In humans MC1R has been found to be highly polymorphic with several functional variants associated with the phenotype of red hair color and fair skin, cutaneous UV sensitivity, and increased risk of developing melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Recent evidence suggests that MC1R plays a photo-protective role in melanocytes in response to UV irradiation. Relatively few genetic targets of MC1R signaling have been identified independent of the pigmentation pathway. Here we show that MC1R signaling in B16 mouse melanoma cells and primary human melanocytes rapidly, and transiently, induces the transcription of the NR4A subfamily of orphan nuclear receptors. Furthermore, primary human melanocytes harboring homozygous RHC variant MC1R alleles exhibited an impaired induction of NR4A genes in response to the potent MC1R agonist (Nle4,D-Phe7)-α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Using small interference RNA-mediated attenuation of NR4A1 and NR4A2 expression in melanocytes, the ability to remove cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers following UV irradiation appeared to be impaired in the context of MC1R signaling. These data identify the NR4A receptor family as potential mediators of an MC1R-coordinated DNA damage response to UV exposure in melanocytic cells.
Functional Genomic and Advanced Genetic Studies Reveal Novel Insights into the Metabolism, Regulation, and Biology of Haloferax volcanii

The genome sequence of Haloferax volcanii is available and several comparative genomic in silico studies were performed that yielded novel insight for example into protein export, RNA modifications, small non-coding RNAs, and ubiquitin-like Small Archaeal Modifier Proteins. The full range of functional genomic methods has been established and results from transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic studies are discussed. Notably, Hfx. volcanii is together with Halobacterium salinarum the only prokaryotic species for which a translatome analysis has been performed. The results revealed that the fraction of translationally-regulated genes in haloarchaea is as high as in eukaryotes. A highly efficient genetic system has been established that enables the application of libraries as well as the parallel generation of genomic deletion mutants. Facile mutant generation is complemented by the possibility to culture Hfx. volcanii in microtiter plates, allowing the phenotyping of mutant collections. Genetic approaches are currently used to study diverse biological questions–from replication to posttranslational modification—and selected results are discussed. Taken together, the wealth of functional genomic and genetic tools make Hfx. volcanii a bona fide archaeal model species, which has enabled the generation of important results in recent years and will most likely generate further breakthroughs in the future.
Establishing an Anthropogenic Nitrogen Baseline Using Native American Shell Middens

Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, has been heavily influenced by anthropogenic nutrients for more than 200 years. Recent efforts to improve water quality have cut sewage nitrogen (N) loads to this point source estuary by more than half. Given that the bay has been heavily fertilized for longer than monitoring programs have been in place, we sought additional insight into how N dynamics in the system have historically changed. To do this, we measured the N stable isotope (δ15N) values in clam shells from as early as 3000 BP to the present. Samples from Native American middens were compared with those collected locally from museums, an archaeological company, and graduate student thesis projects, during a range of time periods. Overall, δ15N values in clam shells from Narragansett Bay have increased significantly over time, reflecting known patterns of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. Pre-colonization midden shell δ15N values were significantly lower than those post-European contact. While there were no statistical differences among shells dated from the late 15th Century to 2005, there was a significant difference between 2005 and 2015 shells, which we attribute to the higher δ15N values in the effluent associated with recent sewage treatment upgrades. In contrast, the δ15N values of shells from the southern Rhode Island coast remained constant through time; while influenced by human activities, these areas are not directly influenced by point-source sewage discharge. Overall, our results show that this isotope technique for measuring δ15N values in clam shells provides useful insight into how N dynamics in coastal ecosystems have changed during thousands of years, providing managers vital historical information when setting goals for N reduction.
The Four-Moment CAPM and Non-Linear Market Models in Momentum and Size Strategies

A growing literature shows evidence that supports higher-moment CAPM. We conduct cross-sectional tests of the four-moment CAPM on returns of portfolios formed from combining stocks in international markets and portfolios invested locally in the U.K. and the U.S. We find that coskewness and cokurtosis are significant in explaining the cross-section of returns of beta-gamma-delta sequential sorts, one-way and two-way momentum and size portfolios. Secondly, we investigate whether higher-moment-CAPM nonlinear market models can explain and predict time-series of portfolio returns. We find that non-linear market terms are significant in explaining time-series returns of the winner and smallest size deciles and that the quadratic market model has the smallest prediction error among models.