Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Birth Order and Risky Adolescent Behavior

It is commonly believed that birth order is an important determinant of success. However, previous studies in this area have failed to provide convincing evidence that birth order is related to test scores, education, or earnings. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth--1979, we investigate the association between birth order and adolescent behaviors such as smoking, drinking, marijuana use, sexual activity, and crime. Our estimates show that middle borns and last borns are much more likely to use substances and be sexually active than their firstborn counterparts. These results provide the strongest evidence to date that birth order is related to measurable behaviors. (JEL I12, J12, J13) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Mutual to Stock Conversion, Information Cost, and Thrift Performance

In the 1980s, a large number of thrifts converted from the mutual to the stock form of ownership. The literature has noted that investors in those conversions earned abnormally high short-term returns. However, over the long run the converters earned very poor returns. The major reason for the poor returns was the extra noninterest operational costs associated with the stock form of ownership. Since those extra operational costs were predictable, the stock offerings may have been overpriced, ex ante as well as ex post. Copyright 1997 by MIT Press.
H∞ Strongly Stabilizing Bandpass Controllers for Flexible Systems

In this paper, a MIMO control law for active vibration control for flexible systems is considered. The proposed strategy minimizes an H∞ index, and results in a stable stabilizing controller with bandpass frequency shape due to the presence of zeros at the origin. The closed-form solution is obtained, thus avoiding numerical calculation of Riccati equations. As a by-product, the H2 case is also derived, and the explicit equations of the parametrization of both the H∞ and H2 controllers are also given. The controller turns out to be well suited for active noise and vibration reduction, even for large order structures. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed approach and its robustness
Japanese central bank interventions and the dispersion of individual exchange rate expectations: differential impact on four moment characteristics

We investigate the influence of Japanese central bank interventions on market participants' opinions about the future path of exchange rates. Based on a survey of individual forecasts made by 31 analysts, we investigate the sensitivity of the change, dispersion, directionality and flatness of expectation distributions between January 1995 and December 2004. In line with previous findings, we provide evidence that exchange rate market volatility is positively linked to the degree of dispersion among market participants' expectations. Only large and transparent central bank interventions have a significant influence on market participants' opinions about the future path of exchange rates. Uncertainty is exclusively reduced among 12-month forecasts. It should be stressed furthermore that for these forecasts positive interest rate spreads and interventions are shown to have an asymmetric impact on heterogeneity: they tend to increase the degree of consensus among forecasters who attach more weight to a stronger yen and to increase the degree of disagreement among the others.
Lactate and Pyruvate Are Major Sources of Energy for Stallion Sperm with Dose Effects on Mitochondrial Function, Motility, and ROS Production1

ABSTRACT Stallion sperm rely primarily on oxidative phosphorylation for production of ATP used in sperm motility and metabolism. The objective of the study was to identify which substrates included in Biggers, Whitten, and Whittingham (BWW) media are key to optimal mitochondrial function through measurements of sperm motility parameters, mitochondrial oxygen consumption, and cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. It was expected that mitochondrial substrates, pyruvate and lactate, would support sperm motility and mitochondrial function better than the glycolytic substrate, glucose, due to direct utilization within the mitochondria. Measurements were performed after incubation in modified BWW media with varying concentrations of lactate, pyruvate, and glucose. The effects of media and duration of incubation on sperm motility, ROS production, and oxygen consumption were determined using a linear mixed-effects model. Duplicate ejaculates from four stallions were used in three separate experiments to determine the effects of substrate availability and concentration on sperm motility and mitochondrial function and the relationship of oxygen consumption with cellular ROS production. The present results indicate that lactate and pyruvate are the most important sources of energy for stallion sperm motility and velocity, and elicit a dose-dependent response. Additionally, lactate and pyruvate are ideal for maximal mitochondrial function, as sperm in these media operate at a very high level of their bioenergetic capability due to the high rate of energy metabolism. Moreover, we found that addition of glucose to the media is not necessary for short-term storage of equine sperm, and may even result in reduction of mitochondrial function. Finally, we have confirmed that ROS production can be the result of mitochondrial dysfunction as well as intense mitochondrial activity.
Intervention in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis: a review and future directions.

OBJECTIVE Over the last 15 years, a focus on early intervention in psychotic disorders has emerged. Initially, the early psychosis movement focused on timely recognition and phase-specific treatment of first-episode psychosis. However, early psychosis researchers suspected that pushing the point of intervention even further back to the prodromal phase of psychotic disorders may result in even better outcomes. This article reviews intervention research in the ultra-high-risk phase of psychotic disorders. DATA SOURCES A literature search of intervention trials with ultra-high-risk cohorts published after 1980 was conducted on PubMed with the search terms prodrome and intervention. STUDY SELECTION All published intervention trials with ultra-high-risk cohorts. DATA SYNTHESIS The first generation of intervention trials indicated that both pharmacologic and psychological intervention strategies may be of value in terms of symptom reduction and delay or prevention of onset of threshold psychotic disorder. CONCLUSIONS Further controlled intervention trials with larger sample sizes are required in order to confirm and extend these findings. We argue that the clinical staging model provides a framework for the rationale and design of such studies, with simpler, safer, and more benign interventions being better candidates for first-line treatment, while more complex and potentially harmful treatments should be reserved for those cases in which response has failed to occur. Recent evidence indicates that neuroprotective agents, such as essential fatty acids, may be a suitable form of intervention for the ultra-high-risk phase of psychotic disorders, with a positive risk-benefit balance. Ethical aspects have become more salient given the recently observed declining transition rate in ultra-high-risk samples. We outline the key questions for the next generation of ultra-high-risk intervention trials.
Federal Crop Insurance and the Disincentive to Adapt to Extreme Heat

Despite significant progress in average yields, the sensitivity of corn and soybean yields to extreme heat has remained relatively constant over time. We combine county-level corn and soybeans yields in the United States from 1989-2013 with the fraction of the planting area that is insured under the federal crop insurance program, which expanded greatly over this time period as premium subsidies increased from 20 percent to 60 percent. Insured corn and soybeans are significantly more sensitive to extreme heat that uninsured crops. Insured farmers do not have the incentive to engage in costly adaptation as insurance compensates them for potential losses.
Priorities of First and Second Year Teachers of Agriculture in Missouri.

The priorities which agriculture teachers set for the use of their time have been studied by agricultural educators. Studies have also been conducted which revealed that the use of time was related to why teachers leave the profession. Coggin (1953), Goode and Stewart (1981), Hicks (1937), Iverson and McGuire (1977), and Lockwood (1976) have cited the use of time by teachers as a major professional concern. Lockwood, Iverson and McGuire, and Goode and Stewart used similar instruments to ascertain priorities for the use of time by teachers of agriculture. The instruments included items related to personal and community activities as well as professional activities of teachers. The situation has evidently not changed since Lockwood (1976) stated: We seem to make more demands on instructor's time every year. In Iowa during the last 18 years, we have added at least eight new time-consuming activities in our vocational agriculture departments. A beginning teacher is faced with the very frustrating task of deciding what he will be forced to leave undone (p. 249).
The Audit Committee: Management Watchdog or Personal Friend of the CEO?

ABSTRACT: To ensure that audit committees provide sufficient oversight over the auditing process and quality of financial reporting, legislators have imposed stricter requirements on the independence of audit committee members. Although many audit committees appear to be “fully” independent, anecdotal evidence suggests that CEOs often appoint directors from their social networks. Based on a 2004 to 2008 sample of U.S.-listed companies after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we find that these social ties have a negative effect on variables that proxy for oversight quality. In particular, we find that firms whose audit committees have “friendship” ties to the CEO purchase fewer audit services and engage more in earnings management. Auditors are also less likely to issue going-concern opinions or to report internal control weaknesses when friendship ties are present. On the other hand, social ties formed through “advice networks” do not seem to hamper the quality of audit committee oversight. Data Availability: All d.
Mayors in Seven European Countries: Part II – Performance and Analysis

Abstract Western European countries differ according to the ways in which they organise the selection and the statutory positions of mayors, as was described in Part I of this study. The question to be answered now is: ‘To what extent is mayoral performance affected by selection procedures and the statutory position of the mayoral office? ’. It will become clear that there are huge differences in mayoral performance. Several factors influencing that performance will be identified. The most important conclusion is that mayoral selection procedures and statutory positions do affect mayoral performance, although not as much as expected. Other factors are at stake.
The frequency of small saccades during fixation is age independent in children between 5 and 16 years of age

Fixational eye movements are necessary for maintaining normal vision by preventing a stabilized image on the retina that would result in visual fading. The movements can be divided into tremor, drifts and saccades that may be related to movements of gaze and to fixation. It has previously been shown that the frequency of fixational saccades with an amplitude larger than 3° depends on age. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether other parameters describing fixational saccades also depend on age which necessitates age correction in studies of fixation during visual development.
Usefulness of procalcitonin levels in community-acquired pneumonia according to the patients outcome research team pneumonia severity index.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate the usefulness of procalcitonin serum levels as a predictor of etiology and prognosis in adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) when they are stratified according to severity. DESIGN One-year, population-based, prospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS All adult patients who received a diagnosis of CAP throughout the study period. INTERVENTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS An extensive noninvasive microbiological workup was performed. In patients who gave informed consent, a blood sample was collected at the time the diagnosis of CAP was established to measure biological markers. Procalcitonin levels were measured by a commercially available monoclonal immunoluminometric assay (limit of detection, 0.1 microg/L). Patients were classified according to microbial diagnosis, Patients Outcome Research Team pneumonia severity index (PSI), and outcome measures, and procalcitonin levels were compared among groups. RESULTS Of 240 patients who received a diagnosis of CAP during the study period, procalcitonin concentrations were measured in 185 patients (77.1%). Levels were higher in patients with high-severity risk classes (PSI classes III-V) [p = 0.01] and in those with complications (p = 0.03) or death (p < 0.0001). Among patients classified into PSI low-severity risk classes (classes I-II), levels tended to be higher in those with bacterial etiology (p = 0.08); in this group, a serum procalcitonin level > or = 0.15 microg/L was more frequently found in patients with bacterial pneumonia than in those with nonbacterial pneumonia (p = 0.03). In patients with higher-severity risk classes, no significant differences were observed in procalcitonin levels among etiologic groups, but higher concentrations were associated with development of complications (p = 0.01) and death (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Procalcitonin contribution to the evaluation of CAP varies according to severity. While procalcitonin may have a role to predict the microbial etiology in patients with a low PSI score, in patients classified within high PSI risk classes, it is a prognostic marker rather than a predictor of etiology.
An inverse relationship between plasma glutathione concentration and fasting glycemia in patients with coronary artery disease and concomitant type 2 diabetes: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND There have been occasional reports indicating that plasma concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) may be associated in some way with blood glucose. This relationship, however, has not hitherto been explored in the blood plasma of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate potential associations of fasting glycemia and peripheral blood plasma GSH concentrations in CAD-free and CAD-affected subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS In blood samples obtained from patients with CAD, defined by coronary angiography and/or echocardiography, and from an age-matched control group of patients with a confirmation of no coronary artery occlusion and with no history of cardiovascular events, plasma concentrations of glucose and reduced glutathione were analyzed by routine laboratory diagnostic methods and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. RESULTS The results showed that in the CAD patients, but not in the non-CAD controls, fasting glycemia is negatively associated with plasma levels of GSH (r = -0.328; p = 0.011). Moreover, in the CAD-affected subjects (but not in the controls) the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus significantly discriminated plasma levels of GSH (rP = -0.125; p = 0.350, between GSH and glucose adjusted for the occurrence of diabetes). CONCLUSIONS The study suggests that GSH may be an important factor contributing to glucose metabolism in CAD patients. Hence, it may be considered a significant therapeutic target in strategies aimed at improving glycemic control in CAD-affected subjects.
The State of Synapses in Fragile X Syndrome

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of mental retardation and a leading genetic cause of autism. There is increasing evidence in both FXS and other forms of autism that alterations in synapse number, structure, and function are associated and contribute to these prevalent diseases. FXS is caused by loss of function of the Fmr1 gene, which encodes the RNA binding protein, fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Therefore, FXS is a tractable model to understand synaptic dysfunction in cognitive disorders. FMRP is present at synapses where it associates with mRNA and polyribosomes. Accumulating evidence finds roles for FMRP in synapse development, elimination, and plasticity. Here, the authors review the synaptic changes observed in FXS and try to relate these changes to what is known about the molecular function of FMRP. Recent advances in the understanding of the molecular and synaptic function of FMRP, as well as the consequences of its loss, have led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for FXS.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Patient involvement in decision making during patient-physician interactions has been shown to have positive effects on healthcare outcomes. However, despite the widespread adoption of technology-mediated medical diagnosis and treatment, the nature of pati ents’ involvement in decision making on telemedicine platforms remains ambiguous. This study investigates the factors that affect patient involvement in the context of telemedicine. Drawing from Social Presence Theory, we theorize that patients’ involvemen t increases when their perception of social presence through the platform is high and that the effect of social presence is mediated by patient empowerment. We also theorize that the effect of social presence increases when the patient shows high degree of mindfulness. Using survey method, we aim to measure the research variables in a TeleStroke system in which patient-physician interactions play an essential role in delivering healthcare in a timely manner.
Detrimental role of delayed antibiotic administration and penicillin-nonsusceptible strains in adult intensive care unit patients with pneumococcal meningitis: The PNEUMOREA prospective multicenter study*

Objective:To identify factors associated with mortality and morbidity among adults admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) for pneumococcal meningitis, particularly the impact of delayed antibiotic administration. Design:We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational study of 156 consecutive adults hospitalized for pneumococcal meningitis. We analyzed parameters associated with 3-month survival. Setting:Fifty-six medical and medical-surgical ICUs in France. Intervention:None. Results:Of the 148 strains isolated, 56 (38%) were nonsusceptible to penicillin G. At 3 months after ICU admission, the mortality rate was 33% (51/156), and 34% of survivors (36/105) had neurologic sequelae. Multivariate analysis identified three variables as independently associated with 3-month mortality: Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (odds ration [OR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.072–1.153; p = .002); isolation of a nonsusceptible strain (OR, 6.83; 95% CI, 2.94–20.8; p < 10−4), and an interval of >3 hrs between hospital admission and administration of antibiotics (OR, 14.12; 95% CI, 3.93–50.9; p < 10−4). In contrast, a cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte count >103 cells/&mgr;L had a protective effect (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10–0.944; p = 0.04). Conclusions:Independent of severity at the time of ICU admission, isolation of penicillin-nonsusceptible strains and a delay in antibiotic treatment following admission were predictors of mortality among patients with pneumococcal meningitis.
The Ecb's Money Pillar: An Assessment

This paper discusses the case for a money pillar in the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy strategy. Time-series evidence for industrial countries based on frequency-domain and unobserved-components analysis suggests that money can play a useful role in gauging and constraining long-run risks to price stability. Moreover, the specter of asset price bubbles and some of the area's institutional features, which may impart considerable persistence to area-wide inflation, caution against shifting to conventional inflation targeting. But the time series evidence also seems to point to a relatively loose connection between variations in nominal money growth and inflation in the short to medium run. As a consequence, effective communication of the ECB's monetary policy decisions from the point of view of the present money pillar is likely to remain a challenging task.
Kinetic Properties of “Soluble” Adenylyl Cyclase

“Soluble” adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is a widely expressed source of cAMP in mammalian cells that is evolutionarily, structurally, and biochemically distinct from the G protein-responsive transmembrane adenylyl cyclases. In contrast to transmembrane adenylyl cyclases, sAC is insensitive to heterotrimeric G protein regulation and forskolin stimulation and is uniquely modulated by bicarbonate ions. Here we present the first report detailing kinetic analysis and biochemical properties of purified recombinant sAC. We confirm that bicarbonate regulation is conserved among mammalian sAC orthologs and demonstrate that bicarbonate stimulation is consistent with an increase in the V max of the enzyme with little effect on the apparent K m for substrate, ATP-Mg2+. Bicarbonate can further increase sAC activity by relieving substrate inhibition. We also identify calcium as a direct modulator of sAC activity. In contrast to bicarbonate, calcium stimulates sAC activity by decreasing its apparentK m for ATP-Mg2+. Because of their different mechanisms, calcium and bicarbonate synergistically activate sAC; therefore, small changes of either calcium or bicarbonate will lead to significant changes in cellular cAMP levels.
Empirical Studies on Legitimation Strategies: A Case for International Business Research Extension

The paper focuses on legitimation and legitimation strategies applied by companies. Following the process of systematic review, we analyse empirical studies exploring legitimation and legitimation strategies from different theoretical perspectives. Using the key findings by reconnoitering and comparing the theoretical background, approaches, methodologies and findings of these empirical studies, we outline potential directions for research in the legitimation strategies of firms engaged in international business operations.
Decisions of domestic equity fund investors: determinants and search costs

In the present study, we confirm the asymmetry of the performance-flow relationship documented in the literature, but with the particularities of the sample of Spanish funds. Thus, we conclude that mid-performers show no significant influence on investor decisions. The panel data analysis also allows us to conclude that custodial and management fees and the size of the fund have a negative impact on the flows into funds. Empirical evidence is provided on the differential response of investors to the decision factors depending on the market states.