Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical investigations of equity market anomalies in corporate bond and firm returns

In this thesis I examine two questions related to corporate debt markets. First, how do corporate bond prices react to firm specific information? Second, are the size and book-to-market premiums found in the cross-section of equity returns due to capital structure risk or asset risk? I utilize a unique set of corporate bond returns from Merrill Lynch to provide answers to both questions. In Chapter 1 I describe the bond data and establish that weekly return distributions derived from the Merrill Lynch prices are similar to both pure transaction data and data from a different pricing service. In Chapter 2 I provide evidence that the Merrill Lynch prices reflect firm specific information and the firm specific information in bond prices contains more information about the mean of the firm’s cash flows than the variance. I find a positive relationship between weekly bond and stock returns using time-series regressions after controlling for market returns. I also examine cumulative abnormal bond returns around earnings surprises and find that bonds react as predicted given the asymmetric nature of their payoff. Bonds with higher relative credit risk react more to earnings surprises. In addition, bonds react more to negative surprises than positive surprises. Stock prices incorporate the information in earnings surprises relatively faster than bonds do and the relative reaction of bonds to stocks around surprises is small. The demonstration of the bond prices adjusting to firm level information validates their use at the monthly level to build a bond return model.
A Constraint-Aware Heuristic Path Planner for Finding Energy-Efficient Paths on Uneven Terrains

Motions of mobile robots need to be optimized to minimize their energy consumption to ensure long periods of continuous operations. Shortest paths do not always guarantee the minimum energy consumption of mobile robots. Moreover, they are not always feasible due to climbing constraints of mobile robots, especially on steep terrains. We utilize a heuristic search algorithm to find energy-optimal paths on hilly terrains using an established energy-cost model for mobile robots. The terrains are represented using grid-based elevation maps. Similar to A*-like heuristic search algorithms, the energy-cost of traversing through a given location of the map depends on a heuristic energy-cost estimation from that particular location to the goal. Using zigzag-like path patterns, the proposed heuristic function can estimate heuristic energy-costs on steep terrains that cannot be estimated using traditional methods. We proved that the proposed heuristic energy-cost function is both admissible and consistent. Therefore, the proposed path planner can always find feasible energy-optimal paths on any given terrain without node revisits, provided that such paths exist. Results of tests on real-world terrain models presented in this paper demonstrate the promising computational performance of the proposed path planner in finding energy-efficient paths.
A systematic study of variability in a sample of ultraluminous X-ray sources

We present results from a study of short-term variability in 19 archival observations by XMM– Newton of 16 ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). Eight observations (six sources) showed intrinsic variability with power spectra in the form of either a power-law or broken powerlaw-like continuum and in some cases quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). The remaining observations were used to place upper limits on the strength of possible variability hidden within. Seven observations (seven sources) yielded upper limits comparable to, or higher than, the values measured from those observations with detectable variations. These represented the seven faintest sources, all with fx < 3 × 10 −12 erg cm −2 s −1 . In contrast, there are four observations (three sources) that gave upper limits significantly lower than both the values measured from the ULX observations with detectable variations, and the values expected by comparison with luminous Galactic black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the observed frequency bandpass (10 −3 –1 Hz). This is the case irrespective of whether one assumes characteristic frequencies appropriate for a stellar mass (10 M� )o r an intermediate mass (1000 M � ) black hole, and means that in some ULXs the variability is significantly suppressed compared to bright BHBs and AGN. We discuss ways to account for this unusual suppression in terms of both observational and intrinsic effects and whether these solutions are supported by our results.
Mdma Annual Literature Review

Research into the effects of MDMA in humans and in nonhuman animals continues to take place. None of the published reports appearing between December, 2008 and November, 2009 require a change in risk/benefit analysis in relation to trials with MDMA in a clinical setting. Two reports lend support to the existence of hypothesized therapeutic effects of MDMA. This review covers clinical trials of MDMA administration in humans, a naturalistic study of the effects of ecstasy (material represented as containing MDMA) and studies of ecstasy users. Ten clinical trials of MDMA were published in the review period, including investigations into the behavioral effects, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of MDMA, either alone or in combination with other intoxicants. Dumont and colleagues reported elevated blood oxytocin after administering 100 mg MDMA versus placebo in 12 men and 3 women (average age = 21.1 years) in a randomized, double-blind crossover study, with this large elevation in oxytocin peaking at 1.5 hours post-drug and returning to baseline 4 hours later (Dumont et al. 2009c). They found increased self-reported prosocial feelings (friendliness and gregariousness) in people with greater elevations of oxytocin, a hormone involved in physiological and social processes, including lactation and parturition, affiliation, bonding and trust (Bartz and Hollander 2006; Kosfeld et al. 2005). Bedi and colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain activity after placebo, 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg MDMA in seven men and two women (average age = 24 years) when viewing angry, fearful (frightened) and happy faces. Both doses of MDMA in this randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study reduced amygdalar activity in response to angry faces, especially in the left amygdala, but only 1.5 mg/kg produced a significant reduction in amygdalar activity. (Bedi et al. 2009). It is notable that lower left amygdalar activity after 1.5 mg/kg MDMA was reported in a previous imaging study that did not involve viewing facial expressions (Gamma et al. 2000). Ventral striatal response to happy faces was greater after both doses of MDMA than placebo, though significant differences were only observed after the lower dose. Neither dose affected brain activity in response to fearful faces. Bedi and colleagues also assessed mood with Profile of Mood State (POMS) and subjective effects with visual analog scales, reporting increased self-reported sociability in both measures after both doses of MDMA. Taken together, both the studies above support changes in emotional or attentional response to others' emotional expressions and prosocial …
Identification of serum sirtuins as novel noninvasive protein markers for frailty

Frailty has emerged as a major health issue among older patients. A consensus on definition and diagnosis is yet to be achieved. Various biochemical abnormalities have been reported in frailty. Activation of sirtuins, a conserved family of NAD‐dependent proteins, is one of the many mimics of calorie restriction which improves lifespan and health in experimental animals. In this cross‐sectional study, we assessed the circulating sirtuin levels in 119 (59.5%) nonfrail and 81 (40.5%) frail individuals, diagnosed by Fried's criteria. Serum SIRT1, SIRT2, and SIRT3 were estimated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and Western blot. Serum sirtuins level in mean+SD; SIRT1 (nonfrail –4.67 ± 0.48 ng/μL; frail – 3.72 ± 0.48 ng/μL; P < 0.0001), SIRT2 (nonfrail – 15.18 ± 2.94 ng/μL; frail – 14.19 ± 2.66 ng/μL; P = 0.016), and SIRT3 (nonfrail‐7.72 ± 1.84 ng/μL; frail – 6.12 ± 0.97 ng/μL; P < 0.0001) levels were significantly lower among frail patients compared with the nonfrail. In multivariable regression analysis, lower sirtuins level were significantly associated with frailty after adjusting age, gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cognitive status (Mini Mental State Examination scores) and number of comorbidities. For detecting the optimum diagnostic cutoff value a ROC analysis was carried out. The area under curve for SIRT1 was 0.9037 (cutoff – 4.29 ng/μL; sensitivity – 81.48%; specificity – 79.83%) and SIRT3 was 0.7988 (cutoff – 6.61 ng/μL; sensitivity – 70.37%; specificity – 70.59%). This study shows that lower circulating SIRT1 and SIRT3 levels can be distinctive marker of frailty.
Biodegradable polymer microneedles: fabrication, mechanics and transdermal drug delivery

To overcome skin's barrier properties that block transdermal delivery of most drugs, we and others have microfabricated arrays of microscopic needles, primarily out of silicon or metal. This study addresses microneedles made of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, which are expected to improve safety and manufacturability. To make biodegradable polymer microneedles with sharp tips, we adapted microelectromechanical masking and etching to produce beveled-tip and chisel tip microneedles and developed a new fabrication method to produce tapered-cone microneedles using an in-situ lens-based lithographic approach. To replicate microfabricated master structures, PDMS micromolds were generated and a novel vacuum-based method was developed to fill the molds with polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid and their copolymers. Mechanical testing of the resulting needles measured the force at which needles broke during axial loading and found that this failure force increased with Young's modulus of the material and needle base diameter and decreased with needle length. Failure forces were generally much larger than the forces needed to insert microneedles into skin, indicating that biodegradable polymers can have satisfactory mechanical properties for microneedles. Finally, arrays of polymer microneedles were shown to increase permeability of human cadaver skin to a low-molecular weight tracer, calcein, and a macromolecular protein, bovine serum albumin, by up to three orders of magnitude. Altogether, these results indicate that biodegradable polymer microneedles can be fabricated with an appropriate geometry and sufficient strength to insert into skin, and thereby dramatically increase transdermal transport of molecules.
Cognitive Load Measurement as a Means to Advance Cognitive Load Theory

In this article, we discuss cognitive load measurement techniques with regard to their contribution to cognitive load theory (CLT). CLT is concerned with the design of instructional methods that efficiently use people's limited cognitive processing capacity to apply acquired knowledge and skills to new situations (i.e., transfer). CLT is based on a cognitive architecture that consists of a limited working memory with partly independent processing units for visual and auditory information, which interacts with an unlimited long-term memory. These structures and functions of human cognitive architecture have been used to design a variety of novel efficient instructional methods. The associated research has shown that measures of cognitive load can reveal important information for CLT that is not necessarily reflected by traditional performance-based measures. Particularly, the combination of performance and cognitive load measures has been identified to constitute a reliable estimate of the mental efficiency of instructional methods. The discussion of previously used cognitive load measurement techniques and their role in the advancement of CLT is followed by a discussion of aspects of CLT that may benefit by measurement of cognitive load. Within the cognitive load framework, we also discuss some promising new techniques.
Influence of p53 and genetic background on prenatal oogenesis and oocyte attrition in mice.

BACKGROUND Meiotic progression, and the number of oocytes surviving to birth, determine the ovarian reserve, yet the control of prenatal oogenesis is poorly understood. We investigated the effects of genetic background and p53 upon oogenesis in mice. METHODS Fetal and neonatal ovaries were analysed in B6CBf1 and B6CBf2 mice from 15.5 to 21 days post-coitum (dpc) and p53 (a tumour suppressor gene) knockout, heterozygous and wild-type mice from 15.5 to 16 dpc. Oocytes in meiotic prophase I (MPI) were identified by labelling synaptonemal complex protein 3, and the specific stage of MPI was classified by the appearance of axial elements. Apoptosis and DNA breaks were assessed by cleaved poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1) and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL), respectively. RESULTS The leptotene, zygotene and pachytene stages were earlier in f1 than f2 generations with significant differences at all stages (P< or =0.002). The p53(-/-) oocyte populations and those with the presence of p53 gene differed significantly in terms of: (i) the proportion of oocytes reaching specific stages of MPI on 15.5 and 16 dpc and (ii) the proportion of oocytes having observed abnormalities in synaptonemal complexes (P < 0.001). The absence of p53 resulted in faster progression of oocytes and more with compressed and abnormal axial elements. We observed significant differences between p53(-/-), p53(+/-) and p53(+/+) mice in terms of cleaved PARP-1 staining and TUNEL. CONCLUSION Genotype has an important impact on prenatal meiosis and oocyte apoptosis. p53 affects the speed of oocyte development and may influence the oocyte selection through apoptosis during MPI.
Dynamics of the Intermediate-Age Elliptical LMC Cluster NGC 1978

In this paper we investigate the internal dynamics of the LMC cluster NGC 1978 through the use of Photometric (CCD images) and kinematic (stellar radial velocities) data. We apply a variety of dynamical models to this data, including multi-mass King-Michie models and rotating and non-rotating oblate spheroid models. We discuss the cluster mass-to-light ratio and place constraints on the cluster mass function.
The neural correlates of word position and lexical predictability during sentence reading: evidence from fixation-related fMRI

ABSTRACT By means of combining eye-tracking and fMRI, the present study aimed to investigate aspects of higher linguistic processing during natural reading which were formerly hard to assess with traditional paradigms. Specifically, we investigated the haemodynamic effects of incremental sentence comprehension – as operationalised by word position – and its relation to context-based word-level effects of lexical predictability. We observed that an increasing amount of words being processed was associated with an increase in activation in the left posterior middle temporal and angular gyri. At the same time, left occipito-temporal regions showed a decrease in activation with increasing word position. Region of interest (ROI) analyses revealed differential effects of word position and predictability within dissociable parts of the semantic network – showing that it is expedient to consider these effects conjointly.
Charismatic Leadership Impact on Employee Psychological Engagement: Evidence from Travel Companies

منذ وقت طویل والباحثین فى السلوک التنظیمى مهتمین باکتشاف کیفیة تأثیر رؤیة العاملین وقناعتهم بمدیریهم على ارتباطهم بالعمل وسلوکیاتهم. الدراسة الحالیة تهدف لاختبار تأثیر نموذج الإدارة الکاریزمیة على ارتباط العاملین النفسى بالعمل بشرکات السیاحة. وقد تم تجمیع بیانات هذه الدراسة من خلال استخدام استمارة استقصاء تم ملئها بواسطة 339 موظف یعملون بشرکات السیاحة، وقد تم تصمیم الاستمارة باستخدام Conger Kanungoمودیل لقیاس سلوک القیادة الکاریزمیة واستخدام مقیاس Utrechtلقیاس الارتباط النفسى الوظیفى، وقد أشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى وجود علاقة ارتباط إیجابیة بین الإدارة الکاریزمیة والارتباط النفسى للعاملین بوظائفهم بالشرکة بدرجة معنویة (α < 0,05). بالإضافة إلى وجود علاقة تنبؤیة بین سلوک الإدارة الکاریزمیة والارتباط النفسى للعاملین بوظائفهم بمستوى 54,9% وبدرجة معنویة (α < 0,05). کما أن النتائج کشفت أن المدیرین الذین لدیهم شعور عالى "باحتیاجات العاملین " یکون لهم تأثیر فى تحسین مستویات ارتباط العاملین النفسیة بالشرکات بالإضافة إلى ذلک فقد أوضحت النتائج أن مقیاس "استیعاب العاملین" أکثر المقاییس ارتباطا ویمکن التنبؤء به من خلال القیادة الکاریزمیة. وفى النهایة ناقشت هذه الدراسة بعض التطبیقات الإداریة وقدمت عدد من التوصیات وکذلک المقترحات للدراسات المستقبلیة.
The Trautman-Bondi mass of hyperboloidal initial data sets

We give a definition of mass for conformally compactifiable initial data sets. The asymptotic conditions are compatible with existence of gravitational radiation, and the compactifications are allowed to be polyhomogeneous. We show that the resulting mass is a geometric invariant, and we prove positivity thereof in the case of a spherical conformal infinity. When R(g) – or, equivalently, trgK – tends to a negative constant to order one at infinity, the definition is expressed purely in terms of three-dimensional or two-dimensional objects.
Aspiration and a good life among white working-class boys in London

White British pupils often maintain lower aspirations than other ethnic groups in the United Kingdom and are the least likely to remain in full-time education. Furthermore, underachievement is more prevalent among boys than girls in the lowest performing ethnic group. As a result, central to the United Kingdom’s education policy is the goal of raising aspirations,although this approach has not been empirically researched. This article explores the processes and negotiations of White working-class boys in the United Kingdom regarding their conceptions of aspiration. The study participants included a group of 23 working-class boys from South London,aged 14-16 years. The research critically considers persistent educational underachievement among this group relative to neoliberal rhetoric, which uses the label “low aspirations” or attributes no aspirations at all to these students. The research method involved a school-based qualitative protocol and included interviews, focus groups, and visual methods. I explore the study’s findings in the context of how dominant, neoliberal discourse,which values competitive, economic and status-based aspiration, shapes the subjectivities of these young males.
Occupational segregation and gender inequality in job quality: a multi-level approach

Gender differences in perceived quality of employment (achievement, content, job insecurity, time autonomy and physical and emotional conditions) are examined. The study asks whether women’s occupations provide better conditions in areas that facilitate their dual role in society, as a trade-off for low monetary rewards. Specifically, it examines the association of women’s concentration in broader occupational categories, embedded in particular national contexts, with gender differences in job quality. Utilizing the 2005 ISSP modules on work orientation shows that women lag behind men on most dimensions of job quality, countering the hypothesis that women’s occupations compensate for their low wages and limited opportunities for promotion by providing better employment conditions. However, as women’s relative share in occupations grows the gender gap narrows in most job quality dimensions. The implications of these results are discussed.
The Employment Effects of Credit Market Disruptions: Firm-level Evidence from the 2008–9 Financial Crisis

This article investigates the effect of bank lending frictions on employment outcomes. I construct a new data set that combines information on banking relationships and employment at 2,000 nonfinancial firms during the 2008-9 crisis. The article first verifies empirically the importance of banking relationships, which imply a cost to borrowers who switch lenders. I then use the dispersion in lender health following the Lehman crisis as a source of exogenous variation in the availability of credit to borrowers. I find that credit matters. Firms that had precrisis relationships with less healthy lenders had a lower likelihood of obtaining a loan following the Lehman bankruptcy, paid a higher interest rate if they did borrow, and reduced employment by more compared to precrisis clients of healthier lenders. Consistent with frictions deriving from asymmetric information, the effects vary by firm type. Lender health has an economically and statistically significant effect on employment at small and medium firms, but the data cannot reject the hypothesis of no effect at the largest or most transparent firms. Abstracting from general equilibrium effects, I find that the withdrawal of credit accounts for between one-third and one-half of the employment decline at small and medium firms in the sample in the year following the Lehman bankruptcy. JEL Codes: E24, E44, G20. Copyright 2014, Oxford University Press.
Association of the KLF14 rs4731702 SNP and Serum Lipid Levels in the Guangxi Mulao and Han Populations

The objective of the present study was to detect the association of the rs4731702 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and serum lipid levels in the Guangxi Mulao and Han populations. A total of 727 subjects of Mulao and 740 subjects of Han Chinese were included. Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein (Apo) B levels were higher in Mulao than in Han (P < 0.05). The T allele carriers had higher serum LDL-C and ApoAI levels in Mulao, whereas they had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and ratio of ApoAI to ApoB in Han (P < 0.05) than the T allele noncarriers. Subgroup analyses showed that the T allele carriers had higher HDL-C, LDL-C, and ApoAI levels in Mulao males and lower ApoAI levels and ratio of ApoAI to ApoB in Han males than the T allele noncarriers. The subjects with TT genotype in Han females also had higher total cholesterol, LDL-C, ApoAI, and ApoB levels than the subjects with CT or CC genotype. Serum lipid parameters were also correlated with several environmental factors in both ethnic groups. The differences in the association of KLF14 rs4731702 SNP and serum lipid levels between the two ethnic groups might partly result from different gene-environmental interactions.
Trade, Firms, and Wages: Theory and Evidence

How does trade liberalization affect wages? This is the first paper to consider in theory and data how the impact of final and intermediate input tariff cuts on workers' wages varies with the global engagement of their firm. Our model predicts that a fall in output tariffs lowers wages at import-competing firms, but boosts wages at exporting firms. Similarly, a fall in input tariffs raises wages at import-using firms relative to those at firms that only source locally. Using highly detailed Indonesian manufacturing census data for the period 1991 to 2000, we find considerable support for the model's predictions.