Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beta-adrenergic blockade alters whole-body leucine metabolism in humans.

This study examined the effects of a nonselective beta-blocking agent on whole-body leucine metabolism in humans. Five normal, healthy subjects (4 male, 1 female) underwent a 6-h primed, constant-rate infusion of L-[1-13C]leucine after 5 days of twice daily oral use of 80 mg propranolol and a placebo. Leucine turnover was determined by tracer dilution and leucine oxidation by 13C enrichment of the expired CO2. Propranolol decreased the total daily energy expenditure from 1,945 +/- 177.5 to 1,619 +/- 92.5 kcal/day (P less than 0.05). A fasting associated decrease in blood glucose and an attenuated rise in free fatty acids and ketones were observed during beta-blockade. Propranolol also increased plasma leucine concentrations (73.1 +/- 8.7 to 103.4 +/- 7.3 mumol/l; P less than 0.05) and leucine oxidation (13.2 +/- 1.2 to 17.1 +/- 1.3 mumol.kg-1.h-1; P less than 0.05), although leucine turnover was not significantly altered (100.5 +/- 7.3 vs. 126.0 +/- 12.3 mumol.kg-1.h-1). In addition, the urinary urea nitrogen-to-creatinine ratio was greater during propranolol administration (0.24 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.34 +/- 0.02 mol/g; P less than 0.05). These data suggest that the beta-adrenergic system plays a role in the modulation of whole-body leucine metabolism in humans. Whether these changes are the result of a direct effect on skeletal muscle or an indirect effect mediated by altering the fuel supply to skeletal muscle cannot be discriminated by the present study.
Investigating Consumers' Purchase Incidence and Brand Choice Decisions Across Multiple Product Categories: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

We propose a framework to investigate consumers' brand choice and purchase incidence decisions across multiple categories, where both decisions are modeled as an outcome of a consumer's basket utility maximization. We build the model from first principles by theoretically explicating a general model of basket utility maximization and then examining the reasonable restrictions that can be placed to make the solution tractable without sacrificing its flexibility. Comparing with prior models, we show why prior multicategory purchase incidence models overemphasize the role of the cross effects of a market mix of brands in other categories on the purchase incidence decision of a given category. Additionally, we show that prior single-category models are a special case of the proposed model when further restrictions are placed on the basket utility structure. We estimate the model on household basket data for the laundry family of categories. We show i why prior single-category and multicategory models would systematically bias the estimates of the own-and cross-price/promotional purchase incidence elasticities; and ii how the market mix of each brand in each category affects the purchases across all categories, which can help retailers make promotional decisions across a portfolio of products.
Hydrogen sulfide as an oxygen sensor/transducer in vertebrate hypoxic vasoconstriction and hypoxic vasodilation

SUMMARY How vertebrate blood vessels sense acute hypoxia and respond either by constricting (hypoxic vasoconstriction) or dilating (hypoxic vasodilation) has not been resolved. In the present study we compared the mechanical and electrical responses of select blood vessels to hypoxia and H2S, measured vascular H2S production, and evaluated the effects of inhibitors of H2S synthesis and addition of the H2S precursor, cysteine, on hypoxic vasoconstriction and hypoxic vasodilation. We found that: (1) in all vertebrate vessels examined to date, hypoxia and H2S produce temporally and quantitatively identical responses even though the responses vary from constriction (lamprey dorsal aorta; lDA), to dilation (rat aorta; rA), to multi-phasic (rat and bovine pulmonary arteries; rPA and bPA, respectively). (2) The responses of lDA, rA and bPA to hypoxia and H2S appear competitive; in the presence of one stimulus, the response to the other stimulus is substantially or completely eliminated. (3) Hypoxia and H2S produce the same degree of cell depolarization in bPA. (4) H2S is constitutively synthesized by lDA and bPA vascular smooth muscle. (5) Inhibition of H2S synthesis inhibits the hypoxic response of lDA, rA, rPA and bPA. (6) Addition of the H2S precursor, cysteine, doubles hypoxic contraction in lDA, prolongs contraction in bPA and alters the re-oxygenation response of rA. These studies suggest that H2S may serve as an O2 sensor/transducer in the vascular responses to hypoxia. In this model, the concentration of vasoactive H2S in the vessel is governed by the balance between endogenous H2S production and its oxidation by available O2.
Is there an association between intellectual capital disclosure, underpricing and long‐run performance?

Purpose – Excessive initial trading day returns (termed underpricing (UP)) and poor long‐run performance (LRP) are two well‐documented anomalies associated with initial public offerings (IPOs). The primary objective of this study is to empirically test the association between the extent of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure in the prospectus of an unseasoned IPO and: UP and LRP.Design/methodology/approach – Ex ante uncertainty surrounding IC – recognized as the pivotal resource underlying a firm's future value creation and sustainable competitive advantage in the “new economic” era – is likely to be high. Unseasoned IPOs world‐wide are increasing with many IPOs heavily IC‐reliant. Given ex ante uncertainty surrounding IC, there is an escalating need to understand how disclosure of information related to IC can reduce an IPO's cost of capital (i.e. UP) and provide an indication of LRP. The analysis is based on a sample of 228 Singapore IPOs listing during the period 1997‐2003. IC disclosure (ICDisc) in IP.
Workplace risks and wages: Canadian evidence from alternative models

Three alternative models of compensating wage premiums for risk are estimated: the conventional OLS wage regression; an endogenous risk model that accounts for the simultaneity that may occur if workers of high potential earnings prefer safer jobs; and a self-selection model to account for the possibility that workers sort into jobs based on unobserved tolerance for risk that affects their productivity in dangerous work environments. The results suggest that the existing Canadian estimates, which have been based on the basic model, may seriously underestimate the wage premium for risk and hence the implied cost of fatal and non-fatal injuries.
Openness and Growth in North Korea: Evidence from Time-Series Data

New growth theories suggest that an economy's increased openness raises domestic productivity, and hence must have a positive effect on the living standards of a nation. The North Korean economy, isolated from world trade for several decades and its economy devastated, provides a test for this implied causality. The possibility that the ultimate source of declining real gross national product since 1974 is a decrease in trade liberalization of the North Korean economy cannot be rejected. The results are more definitive when the sample is split into two subperiods, pre-1974 and post-1974. These findings are generally consistent with the conventional model in which free trade stimulates economic growth.
The impact of HR practices, HR effectiveness and a ‘strong HR system’ on organisational outcomes: a stakeholder perspective

This paper explores the general hypothesis that effectiveness of human resource (HR) practices will help to explain the well-documented association between human resource management and performance. This paper adopts a stakeholder perspective, hypothesising that the ratings of HR effectiveness of senior line managers will be more strongly associated with the outcomes than those of HR managers. Furthermore, building on Bowen and Ostroff's concept of consensus as part of a ‘strong’ HR system, it is hypothesised that shared perceptions of (high) effectiveness will be associated with higher performance. This study is based on a sample of 237 matched pairs of senior line managers and HR managers, and measures a range of subjective and objective outcomes. The analysis confirms the association both between more HR practices and higher HR effectiveness and a range of performance outcomes. The associations are mostly stronger for HR effectiveness. There are low levels of agreement between HR and line managers about HR effectiveness and where agreement exists, it is not associated with superior outcomes. This study, therefore, confirms the importance of HR effectiveness, but fails to support any impact of consensus.
Estimating DSGE Models under Partial Information

Most DSGE models and methods make inappropriate asymmetric information assumptions. They assume that all economic agents have full access to measurement of all variables and past shocks, whereas the econometricians have no access to this. An alternative assumption is that there is symmetry, in that the information set available to both agents and econometricians is incomplete. The reality lies somewhere between the two, because agents are likely to be subject to idiosyncratic shocks which they can observe, but are unable to observe other agents’ idiosyncratic shocks, as well as being unable to observe certain economy-wide shocks; however such assumptions generally lead to models that have no closed-form solution. This research aims to compare the two alternatives - the asymmetric case, as commonly used in the literature, and the symmetric case, which uses the partial information solution of Pearlman et al. (1986) using standard EU datasets. We use Bayesian MCMC methods, with log-likelihoods accounting for partial information. The work then extends the data to allow for a greater variety of measurements, and evaluates the effect on estimates, along the lines of work by Boivin and Giannoni (2005).
What Has the Invisible Hand Achieved

This paper was commissioned for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Information for Better Capital Markets Conference held on 19-20 December 2005. It evaluates the effect of the market on financial reporting recognising that financial reporting and accounting are only parts of a general reporting. financing and governance equilibrium. That equilibrium is affected by the political process, as well as by capital and other markets. 1 explain how and why both market and political forces have influenced accounting and financial reporting and provide examples of those influences. Further. I draw implications for accounting standard-setting bodies that desire to change the nature of accounting and financial outcomes. Finally. I predict the effects of the radical standard-setting changes proposed by the FASB and IASB.
Serial Passage through Human Glioma Xenografts Selects for a Δγ134.5 Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Mutant That Exhibits Decreased Neurotoxicity and Prolongs Survival of Mice with Experimental Brain Tumors

ABSTRACT Previous studies have described in vitro serial passage of a Δγ134. 5 herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) strain in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells and selection of mutants that have acquired the ability to infect and replicate in this previously nonpermissive cell line. Here we describe the selection of a mutant HSV-1 strain by in vivo serial passage, which prolongs survival in two separate experimental murine brain tumor models. Two conditionally replication-competent Δγ134. 5 viruses, M002, which expresses murine interleukin-12, and its parent virus, R3659, were serially passaged within human malignant glioma D54-MG cell lines in vitro or flank tumor xenografts in vivo. The major findings are (i) viruses passaged in vivo demonstrate decreased neurovirulence, whereas those passaged in vitro demonstrate a partial recovery of the neurovirulence associated with HSV-1; and (ii) vvD54-M002, the virus selected after in vivo serial passage of M002 in D54-MG tumors, improves survival in two independent murine brain tumor models compared to the parent (unpassaged) M002. Additionally, in vitro-passaged, but not in vivo-passaged, M002 displayed changes in the protein synthesis profile in previously nonpermissive cell lines, as well as early US11 transcription. Thus, a mutant HSV-1 strain expressing a foreign gene can be selected for enhanced antitumor efficacy via in vivo serial passage within flank D54-MG tumor xenografts. The enhanced antitumor efficacy of vvD54-M002 is not due to restoration of protein synthesis or early US11 expression. This finding emphasizes the contribution of the in vivo tumor environment for selecting novel oncolytic HSV specifically adapted for tumor cell destruction in vivo.
The Closed–End Fund Puzzle

Academic research has focused specifically on the enigmatic behavior of their discounts, known in the literature as the closed-end discount puzzle. The extant evidence suggests that closed-end funds are issued at a premia with respect to their net asset value, that discounts fluctuate widely over time and also across funds, and that closed-end fund prices converge to their net asset values when they are either liquidated or open-ended. Some of the theories that have been advanced attempting to explain the puzzle are efficient market based explanations and the Investor Sentiment Hypothesis. None of the theories, either individually or collectively, provide a sufficient explanation for the pricing of closed-end funds and, therefore, the enigma continues.
Birds of the Same Feather Tweet Together. Estimating Policy Positions Using Twitter Data.

Parties, candidates, and voters are becoming increasingly engaged in political conversations through the micro-blogging platform Twitter. In this paper I explore whether the structure of the social networks in which they are embedded has the potential to become a source of information about policy positions. Under the assumption that social networks are homophilic (McPherson et al., 2001), this is, the propensity of users to cluster along partisan lines, I develop a Bayesian Spatial Following model that scales Twitter users along a common ideological dimension based on who they follow. I apply this network-based method to estimate ideal points for Twitter users in the US, the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands. The resulting positions of the party accounts on Twitter are highly correlated with o ine measures based on their voting records and their manifestos. Similarly, this method is able to successfully classify individuals who state their political orientation publicly, and a sample of users from the state of Ohio whose Twitter accounts are matched with their voter registration history. To illustrate the potential contribution of these estimates, I examine the extent to which online behavior is polarized along ideological lines. Using the 2012 US presidential election campaign as a case study, I find that public exchanges on Twitter take place predominantly among users with similar viewpoints.
The Logic of Force: The Dilemma of Limited War in American Foreign Policy

This study examines the disparities between the two dominant American political-military approaches to the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy. The first approach argues that if force is employed, it should be used at whatever level necessary to achieve decisive military objectives. The second approach argues that certain limits to the use of force may be necessary and acceptable. Case studies illustrate how the basic disagreements between the two approaches influence policy-making and military decisions. Included in the text is discussion of Vietnam, Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia and the former Yugoslavia.
The perception of ethics in auditing profession in Nigeria

The purpose of the study is to provide evidence on ethics, legitimacy of auditing profession and the future outlook of the profession in Nigeria by obtaining responses from external auditors, industry and academic accountants as well as auditing students. In spite of the existence of research pointing to the link between corporate scandal and loss of public confidence, there is paucity of research focused on the future of the profession in the midst of these challenges in Nigeria. Using a survey design, the questions that were raised in the study were tested with the use of statistical tools for population means and level of significance tests. In essence, analysis of variance was carried out on the responses of the groups of respondents which were surveyed. Findings from the study show that there is no significant difference in the perception of respondent groups on the need for auditors to abide by high ethical standard and the need to shape the views of new entrants to the profession. However, respondents have different perception on the decline of core values which attracted them to the profession. The study suggests that there is the need for the profession to gear its effort towards shaping the views of new entrants to the profession in Nigeria, ensure adherence and enforcement of high ethical standard. Regulation of the profession should be targeted towards restoring the confidence of users of financial statements in financial reporting in Nigeria. Key words: Auditing profession, ethics, public confidence, legitimacy, Nigeria.
Up-Regulation of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and Chemokine Production in Avian Influenza H9N2 Virus-Infected Human Lung Epithelial Cell Line (A549)

ABSTRACT Influenza H9N2 virus mostly infects avian species but poses a potential health risk to humans. Little is known about the mammalian host immune responses to H9N2 virus. To obtain insight into the innate immune responses of human lung epithelial cells to the avian H9N2 virus, the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokine in the human airway epithelial cells infected with avian H9N2 virus were examined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). H9N2 virus was able to cultivate in the human lung epithelial cell line (A549) and stimulate production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6) and chemokine (IL-8). Expressions of cytokine genes were up-regulated to a significantly higher level for IL-1β (p < 0.01), IL-6 (p < 0.01 after 12 hours and p < 0.05 after 24 hours) and IL-8 (p < 0.01 after 12 hours and p < 0.001 after 24 hours) in virus-cultured A549 cells as compared with non-virus-cultured cells. The amount of IL-6 and IL-1β proteins secreted into the culture medium was also increased after virus culture infection of A549 cell line compared to non-virus-cultured A549 cells and were significant in both IL-1β (p < 0.05 in 18 hours and p < 0.001 in 24–48 hours harvested supernatant) and IL-6 (p < 0.001). Silencing the p65 component of NF-κB in A549 cells suppressed the stimulatory effects of influenza virus on secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokine. The findings in this study will broaden our understanding of host innate immune mechanisms and the pathogenesis of H9N2 influenza viruses in human respiratory epithelium.
Perspective: The Role of Numeracy in Health Care

Numeracy, the “ability to understand and use numbers in daily life” is an important but understudied component of literacy. Numeracy-related tasks are common in health care and include understanding nutrition information, interpreting blood sugar readings and other clinical data, adjusting medications, and understanding probability in risk communication. While literacy and numeracy are strongly correlated, we have identified many patients with adequate reading ability but poor numeracy skills. Better tools to measure numeracy and more studies to assess the unique contribution of numeracy are needed. This research can contribute to developing interventions to improve outcomes for patients with poor numeracy.
Do Portfolio Distortions Reflect Superior Information or Psychological Biases?

Abstract Using a demographics-based proxy for smartness, we show that the portfolio distortions of “smart” investors reflect an informational advantage, while the distortions of “dumb” investors reflect psychological biases. Specifically, smart investors outperform dumb investors by about 3% annually on a risk-adjusted basis. Furthermore, among investors with high portfolio distortions, smart investors outperform passive benchmarks by 2%, and the smart-dumb performance differential is 5%. At the stock level, a portfolio of stocks with smart investor clientele outperforms the dumb clientele portfolio by 3.50% annually. These findings suggest that behavioral and information-based explanations for portfolio distortions apply to distinct subsets of investors.
Could inter-agency working reduce emergency department attendances due to alcohol consumption?

Background: Excess alcohol consumption and associated harms in terms of health, crime and disorder have been highlighted by the government and media, causing considerable public concern. This study quantified the number of patient attendances at an urban adult and children’s emergency department (ED) directly attributable to alcohol intoxication, and investigated ways in which the inter-agency sharing of anonymised information could be used to design, implement and monitor interventions to reduce these harms. Methods: Intoxicated patients attending either the adult or children’s ED were prospectively identified by qualified nursing staff and anonymised data collected by a dedicated researcher. Collaboration and data sharing between health, police, social services, university experts and local authorities was achieved through the establishment of steering and operational groups with agreed objectives and the formation of a shared anonymised database. Results: The proportion of patients attending the ED as a result of alcohol intoxication was 4% in adults and <1% in children. 70% of patients were male, with a mean age of 30 years, and 72% attended between 20.00 and 08.00 h. The most common reason for ED attendance was accident (34%), followed closely by assault (30%). 27% of patients had done most of their drinking at home, 36% in a pub and 16% in a nightclub. Inter-agency collaboration proved highly successful: pooling of anonymised data created a much clearer picture of the extent of the problem and immediately suggested strategies for intervention. Conclusions: The initiative to achieve inter-agency collaboration and data sharing was highly successful, with clear potential for the development and implementation of interventions that will reduce ED attendance due to excess alcohol consumption.