Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantification of Cerebral A1 Adenosine Receptors in Humans using [18F]CPFPX and PET

Adenosine is an important neuromodulator. Basic cerebral effects of adenosine are exerted by the A1 adenosine receptor (A1AR), which is accessible in vivo by the novel ligand [18F]8-cyclopentyl-3-(3-fluoropropyl)-1-propylxanthine ([18F]CPFPX) and positron emission tomography (PET). The present study investigates the applicability of kinetic models to describe the cerebral kinetics of [18F]CPFPX in order to quantify A1AR density in vivo. Six healthy volunteers underwent dynamic PET scanning and arterial blood sampling after bolus injection of [18F]CPFPX. For quantitative analysis, a standard two-tissue compartment model (2TCM) was compared with a one-tissue compartment model (1TCM) and Logan's graphical analysis (GA). The 2TCM described the cerebral kinetics of [18F]CPFPX significantly better than the 1TCM (in all regions and subjects examined). The estimated values of the regional total distribution volumes (DVt) correlated strongly between the 2TCM and GA (linear regression r2 = 0.99, slope: 1.007). The DVt correlation between the 2TCM and the 1TCM was comparably high, but there was a significant bias towards lower DVt estimates given by the 1TCM (r2: 0.99, slope: 0.929). It is concluded that a 2TCM satisfactorily accounts for the cerebral kinetics of [18F]CPFPX. GA represents an attractive alternative method of analysis.
The Effect of Audit Committees on Earnings Return Association: Evidence from Foreign Registrants in the United States

This study offers important insights to foreign firms listed in the US. As the choice not to form an audit committee may increase the cost of capital in the US, but save the cost of establishment in home market, the managers of foreign registrants should weigh the costs and benefit of the options and make a choice accordingly. Our empirical results suggest that foreign registrants that have chosen to establish audit committees have better earnings return associations. This implies that the effectiveness of the audit committee in resolving agency problems is applicable to foreign companies, even though their home countries adopt non-Anglo-American corporate governance systems. Our empirical results indicate that earnings return associations for foreign registrants without audit committees are significantly lower compared with those of their US-matched firms which are required to establish audit committees. This result is even more pronounced after the introduction of new audit committee rules in 1999 aimed at increasing the responsibilities of audit committees. In addition, earnings return associations of foreign registrants are found to increase following the establishment of audit committees. Overall, our results are consistent with the idea that the establishment of audit committees may be related to higher earnings return associations. This study examines whether foreign registrants that choose not to establish audit committees in the US have generally lower earnings return associations. Empirical this study examines whether foreign registrants that choose not to establish audit committees in the US have generally lower earnings return associations. Our empirical results indicate that earnings return associations for foreign registrants without audit committees are significantly lower compared with those of their US-matched firms which are required to establish audit committees. This result is even more pronounced after the introduction of new audit committee rules in 1999 aimed at increasing the responsibilities of audit committees. In addition, earnings return associations of foreign registrants are found to increase following the establishment of audit committees. Overall, our results are consistent with the idea that the establishment of audit committees may be related to higher earnings return associations. Our empirical results suggest that foreign registrants that have chosen to establish audit committees have better earnings return associations. This implies that the effectiveness of the audit committee in resolving agency problems is applicable to foreign companies, even though their home countries adopt non-Anglo-American corporate governance systems. This study offers important insights to foreign firms listed in the US. As the choice not to form an audit committee may increase the cost of capital in the US, but save the cost of establishment in home market, the managers of foreign registrants should weigh the costs and benefit of the options and make a choice accordingly.
Multiple Justiciable Problems: Common Clusters and Their Social and Demographic Indicators

Justiciable problems do not always occur in isolation. However, little empirical research has examined multiple problems in depth by identifying common clusters of problems, their extent, and those who experience them. The Legal Services Research Centre's Periodic Survey of Justiciable Problems is a large-scale survey undertaken in England and Wales, documenting 5,611 respondents’ experience of 21 discrete problem categories. Having assessed the overall incidence and overlap of problem types, hierarchical cluster analysis, based on each respondent's experience of these categories, was used to identify clusters. We then established social and demographic predictors of each cluster using mixed-effects Poisson regression and examined each problem type's likelihood of overlapping with further problems, both within and between identified clusters. We highlight policy implications of our findings, particularly concerning developing “joined-up” solutions to multiple “joined-up” problems.
Capital Mobility, Foreign Aid, and Openness: A Reappraisal

Payne and Kumazawa (2005) examine the effect of domestic savings, foreign aid, the evolution of capital mobility over time, and openness on investment rates using a panel of sub-Saharan African countries. They find that capital mobility has increased over time and that foreign aid and openness positively impact investment. We extend their work by accounting for business cycle effects and endogeneity issues. Accounting for these factors does not qualitatively change their findings except that we find a substantially larger impact of foreign aid in supporting domestic investment.
An International Analysis of Dividend Payment Behavior

This study investigates patterns in dividend payment across nine common law and sixteen civil law countries over 1994-2007. We begin by examining whether the recent decline in the number of dividend payers is solely a US phenomenon or part of a more global trend. We find that at the beginning of our sample period, 72% of our sample firms pay dividends, but by 2007, this percentage decreases to 55%, with the decline more acute in common law countries. Our analysis further shows that the growing incidence of non-dividend paying firms can be explained by an increase in the percentage of firms that have never paid dividends. We find that common law firms are less likely to initiate new dividend programs than those in civil law nations, although they tend to have more abundant growth opportunities. We further establish that this global decline in the propensity to pay dividends is more pronounced in firms incorporated in common law jurisdictions. Finally, we find that both the percentage increase in aggregate dividends and the dividend payout ratio is higher in civil law countries. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
On the Measurement of Intra-Industry Trade

countries (or more specifically newly industrialising countries) increased in importance as exporters of manufactures over this period, some 6o % of the overall expansion of trade in manufactures comprised trade within Western Europe and North America. ' A phenomenon which appears to have increased in importance as a consequence of the growth of trade between manufacturing nations is intra-industry trade, i.e. the simultaneous import and export of commodities classified in the same 'industry' or product group. Although there are considerable difficulties associated with the computation of a meaningful summary statistic of the importance of intra-industry trade, relative to total trade, a substantial amount of evidence now exists to suggest that intra-industry trade has increased in importance to the point where it may account for in excess of 6o % of total trade in most developed market economies.2 Intra-industry trade is important for at least two reasons. First, accurate measurement of pure intra-industry trade can give some indication of the importance of determinants of international exchange other than relative factor proportions. Recent work has, for example, emphasised the role of preference diversity and decreasing costs. Despite attempts to generalise the HeckscherOhlin model, neither of these factors can be comfortably accommodated. Consequently, the Heckscher-Ohlin postulate (that countries specialise in and export commodities which use their abundant factor intensively) is of little value in explaining intra-industry exchange. Secondly, there is a possibility that adjustment to trade expansion may be easier when the expansion takes the form of an increase in intra- as opposed to inter-industry exchange.3 In order to explore either of these issues empirically or to test any of the models of intraindustry exchange which have emerged in recent years,4 intra-industry trade has to be measured as accurately as possible. The principal complication with measurement is the unknown influence of categorical aggregation. This paper discusses alternative approaches to assessing the influence of categorical aggre
Sustainability criteria : compensation preferences and WTP to avoid future oil spills in Spain

This thesis explores the theoretical debate regarding the pursuit of weak versus strong sustainability (SS). It is argued that the choice between these paradigms needs better scientific information plus knowledge of citizen preferences in order to be resolved. The novelty of this research lies in providing an empirical test of Aldred (2002) and Turner (2007) who claim that investment in social capital such as schools and hospitals may be an adequate compensation measure when environmental damages occur. Following Pearce et al. (2006) and Atkinson et al. (1997) the benefits of preserving natural capital are also analysed through a contingent valuation (CV) study in which environmental damages of different sizes and consequences are depicted. The main research questions are: Are the views of elites and citizens as regards sustainability similar? Do citizens exhibit strong sustainability preferences with regards to compensation schemes? Can the use of CV help substantiate the case for strong sustainability? These research questions are answered undertaking a mixed methodological approach. Elite interviews, focus groups and a survey explore expert and non-expert views on sustainability. Statistical analyses confirm Aldred’s (2002) and Turner’s (2007) claim. However, a significant number of respondents choose natural capital as the preferred compensation option. Multinomial logit models used show the main characteristics that determine the likelihood of choosing a given compensation option. Answers to the compensation question leads to the expectation that respondents to the valuation question will pay significantly more to avoid larger environmental damages. This expectation is confirmed by the statistical analyses undertaken. Interval data models provide information on the variables that determine willingness to pay. The results are encouraging as they signal scope sensitivity but doubts remain over whether CV can adequately capture preferences when evaluating environmental losses as willingness to pay amounts are not proportional to the damages described.
The Effects of Industrial Structure and Resources upon the Distribution of Fast-growing Small Firms among US Urbanised Areas

The organisational structure of a community, especially the local mix of industries and the stock of organisations able to provide resources useful to small firms, affects the community's ability to generate and to sustain small, fast-growing business firms. Several business magazines identify 'top' small public firms annually. This paper uses tobit analysis to compare the number of such firms generated within each of 208 urbanised areas during the 1980s. The number of new 'top' firms in an urbanised area increases with industrial diversity, the extent of growth industries, economic growth, overall economic size and the extent of local venture capital. Urbanised areas with a major university, with a highly-educated population, or with sports organisations also have more 'top' firms. Thus diverse aspects of the community's mix of organisations help to explain the generation and the growth of additional small business organisations.
Systemic cytokine administration alters the histology of the eruption of lymphocyte recovery

The eruption of lymphocyte recovery occurs after marrow ablative antineoplastic chemotherapy, with the earliest reappearance of lymphocytes in the peripheral circulation. The typical histopathologic findings are not specific, consisting of a perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate in the upper dermis with mild overlying epidermal changes. Since the initial report, 21 additional biopsy specimens from eruptions of lymphocyte recovery were obtained at our institution. Of these specimens, 18 displayed the expected findings while 3 specimens contained a relatively heavy lymphocytic infiltrate with nuclear pleomorphism and hyperchromasia. The majority of lymphocytes from the heavily inflamed tissues expressed CD3 and CD4; rare CD8+ cells were observed. The cells with large irregular nuclear contours displayed an “activated” phenotype, consisting of CD30, HLA‐DR, and CD25, accounting for roughly 50% of the total infiltrate. The three patients from whom these specimens were obtained had received human recombinant cytokines in pharmacologic doses (2 granulocyte‐macrophage colony stimulating factor, 1 inter‐leukin‐3). Three patients in this series also received human recombinant cytokines, but developed eruptions with the typical scant infiltrate of small lymphocytes. These findings extend the histologic spectrum of the eruption of lymphocyte recovery and suggest that the administration of human recombinant cytokines prior to marrow recovery may alter the appearance and phenotype of lymphocytes migrating into the skin.
Activation of the Transcription Factor Nuclear Factor-Kappa B in Uterine Luminal Epithelial Cells by Interleukin 1 Beta 2: A Novel Interleukin 1 Expressed by the Elongating Pig Conceptus1

ABSTRACT Conceptus mortality is greatest in mammals during the peri-implantation period, a time when conceptuses appose and attach to the uterine surface epithelium while releasing proinflammatory molecules. Interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), a master proinflammatory cytokine, is released by the primate, rodent, and pig blastocyst during the peri-implantation period and is believed to be essential for establishment of pregnancy. The gene encoding IL1B has duplicated in the pig, resulting in a novel gene. Preliminary observations indicate that the novel IL1B is specifically expressed by pig conceptuses during the peri-implantation period. To verify this, IL1B was cloned from mRNA isolated from Day 12 pig conceptuses and compared with IL1B cloned from mRNA isolated from pig peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). The pig conceptuses, but not the PBLs, expressed a novel IL1B, referred to here as interleukin 1 beta 2 (IL1B2). Porcine endometrium was treated with recombinant porcine interleukin 1 beta 1 (IL1B1), the prototypical cytokine, and IL1B2 proteins. Immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR were used to measure activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NFKB) and NFKB-regulated transcripts, respectively, within the endometrium. Both IL1B1 and IL1B2 activated NFKB in the uterine luminal epithelium within 4 h. The NFKB activation and related gene expression, however, were lower in endometrium treated with IL1B2, suggesting that the conceptus-derived cytokine may have reduced activity within the uterus. In conclusion, the peri-implantation pig conceptus expresses a novel IL1B that can activate NFKB within the uterine surface epithelium, likely creating a proinflammatory microenvironment during establishment of pregnancy in the pig.
School Leadership that is Informed by Students’ and Teachers’ Voices of Hope: Reclaiming Our Lost Ways from an Australian Perspective

This article1 provides both a critique and a more hopeful alternative to the current direction in school leadership. The central framing argument, written from an Australian perspective, is that dominant regimes of school leadership within current school reform approaches are failing because of their inability to listen to the voices of students and teachers. Illustrations are presented from Australian research indicating that when school leadership and improvement are conceptualized and enacted around student learning rather than around management, testing, fear, punishment, and accountability, then genuine change is possible, particularly for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. For this to happen, however, there needs to be a courageous paradigm shift and the development of a “vocabulary of hope” with which to conceive of, and think about, schools. For this kind of leadership reform to become widespread, there must be a willingness to confront and question for whom schools primarily exist.
The LACIS Experiment in November ( LExNo ) campaign was conducted in November 2005 at the Atmospheric Composition Change the European Network of Excellence ( ACCENT ) site Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator ( LACIS )

[1] The LACIS Experiment in November (LExNo) campaign was conducted in November 2005 at the Atmospheric Composition Change the European Network of Excellence (ACCENT) site Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS). The goal of LExNo was to provide deeper insight into the activation properties of coated soot particles imitating aged combustion aerosol particles. The aerosols were prepared by starting with spark‐generated soot particles. In some experiments the soot particles were compacted by exposure to propanol vapor; in others this step was bypassed. The soot was thermally coated with ammonium sulfate, levoglucosan, or a mixture of both ammonium sulfate and levoglucosan. The synthesized particles were investigated using aerosol mass spectrometry, a Hygroscopicity Tandem differential mobility analyzer, two Wyoming static diffusion cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) instruments, a Droplet Measurement Technologies continuous flow CCN instrument, and LACIS. A close correlation between the hygroscopic growth factor at 98% relative humidity and the critical supersaturation of CCN activation was observed. Closure between hygroscopic growth, CCN activation, and chemical composition of the investigated particles was achieved with two different single‐parameter Köhler model approaches and with a third approach, a standard Köhler model using as input parameter the soluble mass as determined by aerosol mass spectrometry.
Compact and Low Loss Dual-Band Bandpass Filter Using Pseudo-Interdigital Stepped Impedance Resonators for WLANs

In this letter, pseudo-interdigital stepped impedance resonators (PI-SIRs) are used to design the bandpass filter (BPF) with dual-band response. By tuning the impedance ratio (K) and physical length of SIRs, the BPF has good dual-passband performances at 2.4/5.2GHz and high isolation between the two passbands. It is shown that the dual-band BPF has a smaller area and lower insertion loss in comparison of previous works. Good agreement is shown between the full-wave electromagnetic simulation and the measurement
A mismatch between kinesthetic and visual perception in Parkinson's disease

Kinesthesia may be defective in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and this defect conceivably has a role in parkinsonian hypokinetic symptoms. In the present study, PD patients used kinesthetic perception to estimate the amplitude of passive angular displacements of the index finger about the metacarpophalangeal joint and to scale them as a percentage of a reference stimulus. The reference stimulus was either a standard kinesthetic stimulus preceding each test stimulus (task K) or a visual representation of the standard kinesthetic stimulus (task V). In task V, the PD patients' underestimation of the amplitudes of finger perturbations was significantly greater than that of normal subjects, but not for task K. PD patients' underestimation was also greater in task V than in task K; the difference between the underestimations was significantly greater than for normal subjects. These results suggest that, when kinesthesia is used to match a visual target, distances are perceived to be shorter by the PD patients. Assuming that visual perception is normal, kinesthesia is “reduced” in PD patients. This reduced kinesthesia, when combined with the well‐known reduced motor output and probably reduced corollary discharges, implies that the sensorimotor apparatus is “set” smaller in PD patients than in normal subjects.
A high-Q birdbath resonator gyroscope (BRG)

We report a three-dimensional (3-D) micro-scale shell gyroscope made of fused silica (FS), called the birdbath resonator gyroscope (BRG). The BRG operates at 10.45 kHz, far above most environmental noise frequencies, and offers high mechanical quality factor (Qn=2 = 249 k) and low stiffness and damping anisotropy (Δfn = 2 = 14 Hz, Δ1/τn=2 = 4.1 mHz). The birdbath (BB) resonator can be fabricated with good structural symmetry because its anchor is self-aligned to the rest of the structure. The BB resonator also has large frequency separation between the n=2 wineglass modes and the closest parasitic mode (|fparasitic - fn=2|/fn=2 = 0.3), which makes the gyro less sensitive to vibration. The BRG is fabricated using a 3-D μ-blow-torching process and assembly on an electrode substrate made with the Silicon-On-Glass (SOG) process. The BRG is operated in the force-rebalance mode at <;1 mTorr vacuum and room temperature, and has a scale factor of 27.9 mV/(deg/sec), a full-scale range >400 deg/sec, an angle random walk (ARW) of 0.106 deg/√hr and a bias stability of 1 deg/hr.
Behavioral Criteria for Grounding Entrepreneurship Education and Training Programs: A Validation Study*

The entrepreneurship literature lacks a systematically developed and validated framework to ground educational programs. We previously developed behavioral observation scales (BOS) consisting of 9 dimensions and 47 behaviors. In this study, we validated the BOS using 12 performance measures and a national survey of 149 entrepreneurs. The BOS were found to be valid. All 9 BOS dimensions, as well as the total score on the BOS, correlated significantly with many of the 12 nonbehavioral performance measures. These BOS provide entrepreneurship education and educators with a validated and systematically developed instrument that can be used to appropriately ground education programs.
Switching Costs and Adverse Selection in the Market for Credit Cards: New Evidence

To explain persistence of credit card interest rates at relatively high levels, Calem and Mester (AER, 1995) argued that informational barriers create switching costs for high-balance customers. As evidence, using data from the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances, they showed that these households were more likely to be rejected when applying for new credit. In this paper, they revisit the question using the 1998 and 2001 SCF. Further, they use new information on card interest rates to test for pricing effects consistent with information-based switching costs. The authors find that informational barriers to competition persist, although their role may have declined. ; Also issued as Payment Cards Center Discussion Paper No. 05-09