Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Theorizing accounting and other [calculative] practices in private equity: Experimenting with Schatzki’s ‘site’ ontology

This thesis contributes to social studies of finance and accounting (Vollmer, Mennicken, & Preda, 2009) and the practice theory literatures (Feldman & Orlikowski, 2011) by experimenting (Baxter & Chua, 2008) with concepts developed by Theodore Schatzki and demonstrating their relevance and usefulness in theorizing and explaining accounting and other organizational phenomena. Influenced by Schatzki, I have undertaken a sociological investigation of the practices, arrangements, and nexuses forming (part of) the social ‘site’ of private equity (PE). I have examined and explained the organization of practices within the PE industry. More specifically, I have sought to throw light on the practice organizations animating various PE practices. I have problematized a particular aspect of Schatzki’s practice organization framework: ‘general understanding’, which has so far been poorly understood and taken for granted in the accounting literature. I have tried to further explore the concept to clarify important definitional issues surrounding its empirical application. In investigating the forms of accounting and control practices in PE firms and how they link with other practices forming part of the ‘site’, I have sought to explain how the ‘situated functionality’ of accounting is ‘prefigured’ by its ‘dispersed’ nature. In doing so, this thesis addresses the recent calls for research on accounting and control practices within financial services firms. This thesis contributes to the social studies of finance and accounting literature also by opening the blackbox of investment [e]valuation practices prevalent in the PE industry. I theorize the due diligence of PE funds as a complex of linked calculative practices and bring to fore the important aspects of ‘practical intelligibility’ of the investment professionals undertaking investment evaluation. I also identify and differentiate the ‘causal’ and ‘prefigurational’ relations between investment evaluation practices and the material entities ‘constituting’ those practices. Moreover, I demonstrate the role of practice memory in those practices. Finally, the thesis also contributes to the practice theory literature by identifying and attempting to clarify and/or improve the poorly defined and/or underdeveloped concepts of Schatzki’s ‘site’ ontology framework.
Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies

Preface Introduction Shift of Resolve Roadmap Pieces of the Puzzle Opening Closed Doors Mandatory Arrest and Restraining Orders Domestic Violence Prototype Teaching, Enforcement, and Mediation The Winds of Change Afterword Appendix The National Institute of Justice Studies Family Disputes Police Policy and Procedure Domestic Violence Policy Involving Law Enforcement Personnel A Clear Concise Policy Massachusetts General Law C.209 A Massachusetts General Law 265 S.43, Stalking Definition of Terms Bibliography Index
The Interacting Dwarf Galaxy NGC 3077: The Interplay of Atomic and Molecular Gas with Violent Star Formation

We present a comprehensive multiwavelength study of the nearby interacting dwarf galaxy NGC 3077 (member of the M81 triplet). High-resolution VLA H I observations show that most of the atomic gas (∼90%) around NGC 3077 is situated in a prominent tidal arm with a complex velocity structure. Little H I (∼5 × 107 M⊙) is associated with NGC 3077 itself. High-resolution Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) observations of the molecular component (CO) reveal the presence of 16 molecular complexes near the center of NGC 3077 (total mass: ∼1.6 × 106 M⊙). A virial mass analysis of the individual complexes yields a lower CO-to-H2 conversion factor in NGC 3077 than the Galactic value—a surprising result for a dwarf galaxy. The lower conversion factor can be explained by extreme excitation conditions and the metallicity of the molecular gas. The total (atomic and molecular) gas content in the center of NGC 3077 is displaced from the stellar component of NGC 3077—this implies that not only the gas at large galactocentric radii is affected by the interaction within the triplet but also the center. We speculate that the starburst activity of NGC 3077 was triggered by this redistribution of gas in the center: Hα, as well as Paα, images show the presence of violent central star formation, as well as dramatic ionized supershells reaching galactocentric distances of ∼1 kpc. Some of these supershells are surrounded by neutral hydrogen. In a few cases, the rims of the ionized supershells are associated with dust absorption. The most prominent star-forming region in NGC 3077 as probed by Paα observations is hidden behind a dust cloud that is traced by the molecular complexes. Correcting for extinction we derive a star-forming rate of 0.05 M⊙ yr-1; i.e., given the reservoir in atomic and molecular gas in NGC 3077, star formation may proceed at a similar rate for a few times 108 yr. The efficiency of forming stars out of molecular gas in NGC 3077 is similar to that in M82.
The Ability of BDNF to Modify Neurogenesis and Depressive-Like Behaviors Is Dependent upon Phosphorylation of Tyrosine Residues 365/367 in the GABAA-Receptor γ2 Subunit

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a potent regulator of neuronal activity, neurogenesis, and depressive-like behaviors; however, downstream effectors by which BDNF exerts these varying actions remain to be determined. Here we reveal that BDNF induces long-lasting enhancements in the efficacy of synaptic inhibition by stabilizing γ2 subunit-containing GABAA receptors (GABAARs) at the cell surface, leading to persistent reductions in neuronal excitability. This effect is dependent upon enhanced phosphorylation of tyrosines 365 and 367 (Y365/7) in the GABAAR γ2 subunit as revealed using mice in which these residues have been mutated to phenyalanines (Y365/7F). Heterozygotes for this mutation exhibit an antidepressant-like phenotype, as shown using behavioral-despair models of depression. In addition, heterozygous Y365/7F mice show increased levels of hippocampal neurogenesis, which has been strongly connected with antidepressant action. Both the antidepressant phenotype and the increased neurogenesis seen in these mice are insensitive to further modulation by BDNF, which produces robust antidepressant-like activity and neurogenesis in wild-type mice. Collectively, our results suggest a critical role for GABAAR γ2 subunit Y365/7 phosphorylation and function in regulating the effects of BDNF.
Autophagic and apoptotic mechanisms of curcumin-induced death in K562 cells

Curcumin (1), a natural polyphenolic compound, has shown strong antioxidant and anticancer activities. Several molecular mechanisms have been attributed to its inhibitory effects on a wide range of tumor cells. In this study, the response of the chronic myeloid leukemia cell line K562 cells to 1 is investigated. Curcumin inhibited the viability of K562 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, curcumin-induced cell death was associated with the formation of the apoptosome complex, the collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and caspase-3 activation. Curcumin treatment also induced Bid cleavage and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 protein. Surprisingly, even with these molecular features of apoptosis, we showed that 1 stimulated autophagy, which was evidenced by microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) immunoreactivty. Curcumin also increased the protein levels of beclin 1 and membrane form LC3 (LC3-II). Autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A1 and the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk suppressed curcumin-induced K562 cell death. Overall, these results suggest that curcumin induces autophagic and apoptotic death of K562 cells. These findings suggest that both apoptotic and autophagic mechanisms contribute to the curcumin-induced K562 cell death.
Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Nasal Polyp and Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

BACKGROUND Nasal inflammatory disorders such as chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyp are among the most prevalent complications with high socioeconomic costs. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) plays a key role in angiogenesis and cell proliferation. In the present study the effect of VEGF on the development and prognosis of chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyp was investigated. METHODS This cross sectional study was performed on the nasal histological specimens of two groups of patients suffering from nasal polyp or chronic rhinosinusitis, and the expression of VEGF in the two groups was compared immunohistochemically. Based on the percentage of VEGF-positive cells the specimens were classified into four scores. Furthermore, the relations between the VEGF expression and some demographic characteristics were evaluated. RESULTS The VEGF immunohistochemistry findings indicated a significantly higher expression of VEGF in nasal polyp group compared to chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyp group. In terms of VEGF-expression scoring, in both groups most of the specimens were classified as score-2, namely indicating 10-50% of VEGF-positive epithelial cells. In both groups no significant relation between VEGF expression and age or sex of the patients could be seen. CONCLUSION Local modulation of VEGF expression might be taken as a putative therapeutic strategy in management of sinunasal inflammatory disorders, especially nasal polyps.
Effective impulse detector based on rank-order criteria

A new impulsive noise detection technique is presented here. Preserving edges and details in the process of impulsive noise filtering is an important problem. To avoid image smoothing, only corrupted pixels must be filtered. In order to identify the corrupted pixels, a new impulse detector is proposed. This detector is based on a comparison of signal samples within a narrow rank window by both rank and absolute value. It is efficient, very fast, and can be used with any filter (even iteratively), without smoothing an image.
Analysis of the Audible Noise of Three-Phase Squirrel-Cage Induction Motors Supplied by Inverters

One of the major problems in inverter-fed motors is the high level of audible noise produced by harmonic current and voltage components. To analyze these phenomena the field in the machine airgap is calculated using the rotating field theory together with the Maxwell stress theorem. This analysis yields a way for predicting the spectrum components produced by the motor and for relating it to the airgap flux density distribution time harmonics caused by the nonsinusoidal supply. The theoretical approach is used for calculating the airgap flux density distribution and the frequency spectrum components of a small three-phase squirrel-cage induction motor fed by a six-step voltage source inverter (VSI) and by a pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) inverter. The theoretical results are compared with experiments.
Testing Stage-Specific Effects of a Stage-Matched Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial Targeting Physical Exercise and Its Predictors

Health education interventions can be tailored toward stages of change. This strategy is based on theories that predict at which stage which variables are indicative of subsequent behavior change processes. For example, planning is regarded as being effective in intenders. However, rather few studies have tested whether matched interventions are more successful for stage transitions than mismatched ones. Also very few previous studies have identified specific variables as targets of stage-matched interventions. A 2 (condition) × 2 (stages) experimental study tested the effects of stage-matched interventions for 226 participants. The stage-matched intervention moved significantly more individuals forward to action than did the control condition. Stage-specific effects were found to corroborate 78% of the assumptions. Multiple mediator analyses revealed stage-specific mechanisms, indicating that intention and planning facilitated behavior change in intenders. Thus, health behavior interventions should take stages of change into account.
Motives for and barriers to household adoption of small-scale production of electricity: examples from Sweden

Abstract A new electricity-production concept attracted massive media attention in Sweden during 2008 when companies began marketing small-scale photovoltaic panels (PVs) and microwind turbines. The products were launched by their simplicity: the components are so easy to install that anyone can do it. How, then, do households perceive these products? Why would households choose to buy them? What do households think about producing their own electricity? Analysis of material from in-depth interviews with members of twenty households reveals that environmental concerns are the main motive for adopting PVs or microwind turbines. Some households have ecologically aware lifestyles and adoption represents a way to reduce fossil-fuel use. For others, this investment is symbolic and provides a way to display environmental consciousness or to set an example. For still others, adoption is a protest against “the system,” with its large dominant companies, or a step toward self-sufficiency. Moreover, some households reject these microgeneration installations because of financial considerations, respect for neighbors who might object, and/or difficulties finding an appropriate site.
Indicators of working conditions in the European Union

The goal of the report is to develop social indicators for the working environment in Europe on the basis of existing working environment statistics. Social indicators (chapter 2) contain information about the social situation in a country or international community. They give information about policy and about policy effects. It shows also what the level is of certain fundamental social needs develop over the time. Indicators on the working environment (chapter 3) give information about the level of social needs in the field of working environment. The social indicators which have been created for the working environment are about the following working environment variables: physical exposure, chemical exposure, biological exposure, psycho-social job demands (work organization, working times etcetera), musculoskeletal job demnds, the use of protective measures, safety health output.
Conditional KIAA1549:BRAF mice reveal brain region‐ and cell type‐specific effects

Low‐grade brain tumors (pilocytic astrocytomas) that result from a genomic rearrangement in which the BRAF kinase domain is fused to the amino terminal of the KIAA1549 gene (KIAA1549:BRAF fusion; f‐BRAF) commonly arise in the cerebellum of young children. To model this temporal and spatial specificity in mice, we generated conditional KIAA1549:BRAF strains that coexpresses green fluorescent protein (GFP). Although both primary astrocytes and neural stem cells (NSCs) from these mice express f‐BRAF and GFP as well as exhibit increased MEK activity, only f‐BRAF‐expressing NSCs exhibit increased proliferation in vitro. Using Cre driver lines in which KIAA1549:BRAF expression was directed to NSCs (f‐BRAF; BLBP‐Cre mice), astrocytes (f‐BRAF; GFAP‐Cre mice), and NG2 progenitor cells (f‐BRAF; NG2‐Cre mice), increased glial cell numbers were observed only in the cerebellum of f‐BRAF; BLBP‐Cre mice in vivo. The availability of this unique KIAA1549:BRAF conditional transgenic mouse strain will enable future mechanistic studies aimed at defining the developmentally–regulated temporal and spatial determinants that underlie low‐grade astrocytoma formation in children. genesis 51:708–716. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The theory and practice of public- sector R&D economic impact analysis

As this volume demonstrates, a wide variety of methodologies exist to evaluate particularly the objectives and outcomes of research and development programs. These include surveys, statistical and econometric estimations, patent analyses, bibliometrics, scientometrics, network analyses, case studies, and historical tracings. Contributors divide these and other methods and applications into four categories – economic, non-economic, hybrid and data-driven – in order to discuss the many factors that affect the utility of each technique and how that impacts the technological, economic and societal forecasts of the programs in question.
Introduction to Stochastic Calculus Applied to Finance

INTRODUCTION DISCRETE-TIME MODELS Discrete-time formalism Martingales and arbitrage opportunities Complete markets and option pricing Problem: Cox, Ross and Rubinstein model OPTIMAL STOPPING PROBLEM AND AMERICAN OPTIONS Stopping time The Snell envelope Decomposition of supermartingales Snell envelope and Markov chains Application to American options BROWNIAN MOTION AND STOCHASTIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS General comments on continuous-time processes Brownian motion Continuous-time martingales Stochastic integral and Ito calculus Stochastic differential equations THE BLACK-SCHOLES MODEL Description of the model Change of probability: Representation of martingales Pricing and hedging options in the Black-Scholes model American options Implied volatility and local volatility models The Black-Scholes model with dividends and call/put symmetry Problems OPTION PRICING AND PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS European option pricing and diffusions Solving parabolic equations numerically American options INTEREST RATE MODELS Modeling principles Some classical models ASSET MODELS WITH JUMPS Poisson process Dynamics of the risky asset Martingales in a jump-diffusion model Pricing options in a jump-diffusion model CREDIT RISK MODELS Structural models Intensity-based models Copulas SIMULATION AND ALGORITHMS FOR FINANCIAL MODELS Simulation and financial models Introduction to variance reduction methods Computer experiments APPENDIX Normal random variables Conditional expectation Separation of convex sets BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Exercises appear at the end of each chapter.
Fourier Dissection of Early-Type Galaxy Bars

This paper reports on a near-infrared survey of early-type galaxies designed to provide information on bar strengths, bulges, disks, and bar parameters in a statistically well-defined sample of S0-Sa galaxies. Early-type galaxies have the advantage that their bars are relatively free of the effects of dust, star formation, and spiral structure that complicate bar studies in later type galaxies. We describe the survey and present results on a detailed analysis of the relative Fourier intensity amplitudes of bars in 26 early-type galaxies. We also evaluate the "symmetry assumption" of these amplitudes with radius, used recently for bar-spiral separation in later type galaxies. The results show a wide variety of radial Fourier profiles of bars, ranging from simple symmetric profiles that can be represented in terms of a single Gaussian component to both symmetric and asymmetric profiles that can be represented by two overlapping Gaussian components. More complicated profiles than these are also found, often due to multiple barlike features including extended ovals or lenses. Based on the gravitational bar torque indicator Qb, double-Gaussian bars are stronger on average than single-Gaussian bars, at least for our small sample. We show that published numerical simulations in which the bar transfers a large amount of angular momentum to the halo can account for many of the observed profiles. The range of possibilities encountered in models seems well-represented in the observed systems.
Ligand-binding site prediction of proteins based on known fragment–fragment interactions

Motivation: The identification of putative ligand-binding sites on proteins is important for the prediction of protein function. Knowledge-based approaches using structure databases have become interesting, because of the recent increase in structural information. Approaches using binding motif information are particularly effective. However, they can only be applied to well-known ligands that frequently appear in the structure databases. Results: We have developed a new method for predicting the binding sites of chemically diverse ligands, by using information about the interactions between fragments. The selection of the fragment size is important. If the fragments are too small, then the patterns derived from the binding motifs cannot be used, since they are many-body interactions, while using larger fragments limits the application to well-known ligands. In our method, we used the main and side chains for proteins, and three successive atoms for ligands, as fragments. After superposition of the fragments, our method builds the conformations of ligands and predicts the binding sites. As a result, our method could accurately predict the binding sites of chemically diverse ligands, even though the Protein Data Bank currently contains a large number of nucleotides. Moreover, a further evaluation for the unbound forms of proteins revealed that our building up procedure was robust to conformational changes induced by ligand binding. Availability: Our method, named ‘BUMBLE’, is available at http://bumble.hgc. jp/ Contact: kasahara@cb.k. u-tokyo.ac. jp Supplementary information: Supplementary Material is available at Bioinformatics online.
Variable Inclusion and Shrinkage Algorithms

The Lasso is a popular and computationally efficient procedure for automatically performing both variable selection and coefficient shrinkage on linear regression models. One limitation of the Lasso is that the same tuning parameter is used for both variable selection and shrinkage. As a result, it typically ends up selecting a model with too many variables to prevent overshrinkage of the regression coefficients. We suggest an improved class of methods called variable inclusion and shrinkage algorithms (VISA). Our approach is capable of selecting sparse models while avoiding overshrinkage problems and uses a path algorithm, and so also is computationally efficient. We show through extensive simulations that VISA significantly outperforms the Lasso and also provides improvements over more recent procedures, such as the Dantzig selector, relaxed Lasso, and adaptive Lasso. In addition, we provide theoretical justification for VISA in terms of nonasymptotic bounds on the estimation error that suggest it should exhibit good performance even for large numbers of predictors. Finally, we extend the VISA methodology, path algorithm, and theoretical bounds to the generalized linear models framework.
High intention to fall asleep causes sleep fragmentation

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intention to fall asleep on sleep quality in good sleepers using polysomnographic and subjective nap parameters. We hypothesized that high intention to sleep would lead to arousal, worsening sleep quality. A counterbalanced 2 × 2 experimental design with one intra‐individual (neutral versus motivating instruction) and one inter‐individual (instruction sequence) variable was used. Thirty‐three good sleepers (22 females; mean age: 24.1 ± 8.4 years) each attended two 1‐h daytime polysomnographic recording sessions in the laboratory. When providing motivating instruction, the experimenter insisted on the importance of falling asleep as quickly as possible and promised a financial reward. Compared with neutral instruction, motivating instruction was associated with increased waking after sleep onset, number of awakenings and arousal index during napping. No relationship between instruction and subjective nap appraisal was found. The effect of high intention on sleep fragmentation remained significant after controlling for habitual napping, depression, anxiety and sleepiness. Thus, our findings suggest that high intention to fall asleep worsened sleep quality, especially in terms of sleep fragmentation, in good sleepers.