Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Signals Outside Directors Send to Foreign Investors: Evidence from Korea

This study suggests several practical implications, prompting growing interest in the role of outside directors as one of the most effective vehicles for improving corporate governance and symbolic management. In addition, it offers insights to policy makers interested in establishing and updating guidelines that inform firms of desirable board composition according to their strategic demands. Our theoretical perspective and supportive findings suggest that the role of outside directors is not confined to implementing the tasks stipulated as a corporate governance mechanism; they also can be signals that inform a market audience (foreign investors in our study) of the extent to which outside directors may provide a firm with a knowledge base, social status, and decision control. Using archival data from a panel sample of 96 large Korean firms between 2000 and 2003, our analysis shows that the growth of foreign ownership is positively affected if a higher proportion of outside directors hold advanced foreign degrees, if a higher proportion of outside directors have former or current affiliations with governmental organizations, or if a higher proportion of outside directors have job experience in the same industry. This study explores a signaling role of the demographic composition of a firm's outside director by examining how the composition influences the growth of foreigners' investment in the firm. This study explores a signaling role of the demographic composition of a firm's outside director by examining how the composition influences the growth of foreigners' investment in the firm. Using archival data from a panel sample of 96 large Korean firms between 2000 and 2003, our analysis shows that the growth of foreign ownership is positively affected if a higher proportion of outside directors hold advanced foreign degrees, if a higher proportion of outside directors have former or current affiliations with governmental organizations, or if a higher proportion of outside directors have job experience in the same industry. Our theoretical perspective and supportive findings suggest that the role of outside directors is not confined to implementing the tasks stipulated as a corporate governance mechanism; they also can be signals that inform a market audience (foreign investors in our study) of the extent to which outside directors may provide a firm with a knowledge base, social status, and decision control.
Management of high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia with etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin D, cyclophosphamide, vincristine chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin D, cyclophosphamide and vincristine (EMA-CO) chemotherapy for the treatment of high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). STUDY DESIGN Thirty-five patients with high-risk GTN were treated with 196 cycles of EMA-CO between 1997 and 2006. Twenty-nine patients received EMA-CO in the primary setting and another 6 after failure of single-agent chemotherapy. Salvage chemotherapy was offered to selected patients. RESULTS Of the 29 patients treated with EMA-CO in the primary setting, 22 (75.8%) had a complete clinical response, 5 (17.1%) progressed, and 2 (7.1%) had early deaths. Three patients relapsed after achieving initial complete response. Five were treated with salvage chemotherapy, of which only 2 survived. This translated to overall survival rate of 71% in the primary setting. Five of the 6 patients treated with EMA-CO as second line are survivors. Life threatening toxicity was not seen after EMA-CO. Nine subsequent normal pregnancies were reported after EMA-CO. CONCLUSION EMA-CO was highly effective for the management of high-risk GTN, and the toxicities were minimal. Reproductive outcome after treatment with EMA-CO was excellent.
Inhibitory effect of 3,4‐dichloropropionaniline on cytokine production by macrophages is associated with LPS‐mediated signal transduction

Our previous studies demonstrated that both in vivo and in vitro 3,4‐dichloropropionanilide (propanil) exposure inhibited interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production by adherent thioglycollate‐elicited peritoneal cells (macrophages) after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. In this study, we report that IL‐6 and TNF‐α message is reduced by propanil in a concentration‐dependent pattern, yet the stability of cytokine mRNA is not affected. In addition, exposure of macrophages to propanil after a relatively short period of LPS stimulation significantly reduced the production of IL‐6 and TNF. Determination of the intracellular Ca2+ levels demonstrates that LPS‐induced Ca2+ release is abrogated in propaniltreated macrophages. However, the binding of LPS to macrophages is not affected. Measurement of inositol 1,4,5‐triphosphate (IP3) demonstrates that propanil significantly increases the level and the duration of IP3 in macrophages. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of propanil on macrophage cytokine production is associated with the early stages of LPS‐mediated signal transduction in macrophages. J. Leukoc. Biol. 61: 745–752; 1997.
The International Politics of Ireland's EU/IMF Bailout

Abstract:In 2010 Ireland's financial crisis threatened the stability of the global financial system, precipitating an international rescue package of €85 billion. This article analyses the bailout from an international relations perspective in order to gain a deeper insight into the nature of the political pressures that forced the negotiators to compromise over the design and content of Ireland's programme of financial support. It does so by drawing on recent academic research on the politics of IMF decision-making. The lessons from this literature can help to shed light on one of the most important events in post-Independence Ireland.
Information, Blockbusters and Stars? A Study of the Film Industry

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of stars and other potential informational signals in the movie business. In the first part of the paper, we explore two alternative economic explanations for the role of stars in motion pictures. The first approach is a signaling view; namely that informed insiders signal project quality by selecting an expensive star. The second approach is the 'rent capture' hypothesis, i.e. that stars receive their marginal value. These two approaches have different implications regarding stars' pay, movie revenues and return on investment. The second part of the paper contains an extensive empirical investigation of a sample of movies produced in the 90's. Univariate analysis seems to show that star-studded films bring in more revenues than other films. However, regression analysis only supports the notion that any big budget investment increases revenues. Sequels, highly visible films and 'family oriented' ratings also contribute to revenues. However, when we measure return on investment, we find that stars or big budgets are not associated with profits; if anything, low budget films seem to do better. This supports again, the 'rent capture' hypothesis. We identify some additional variables that are associated with profitable films.
Homocysteine in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia with and without IUGR: a comparison with normotensive pregnant women with isolated IUGR and healthy pregnant women

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze homocysteine levels in maternal serum in women with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and/or IUGR. Patients and methods: The study was carried out on 49 pregnant patients with normotensive pregnancies complicated by intrauterine fetal growth restriction (group IUGR), 31 patients with preeclampsia complicated by IUGR (group PRE-IUGR), and 35 preeclamptic patients with appropriate-for-gestational-age weight fetuses (group PRE). The control group consisted of 47 healthy normotensive pregnant patients with singleton uncomplicated pregnancies and with proper intrauterine fetal growth. Results: We revealed higher levels of maternal serum homocysteine in the group of pregnant patients with isolated fetal intrauterine growth restriction in comparison with the control subjects. The concentrations of homocysteine were also higher in both groups of patients with pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia with and without IUGR. The highest levels of homocysteine were observed in preeclamptic women with appropriate-for-gestational-age fetal growth. The mean values were 9.004 +/– 2.820 umol/L in the IUGR group, 10.815 +/– 3.785 umol/ L in the group PRE, 9.808 +/– 2.543 umol/L in the group PRE-IUGR and 7.639 +/– 2.728 umol/L in the control group. Conclusions: Increased levels of homocysteine are involved in pathogenesis IUGR and preeclampsia and may contribute to endothelial cells activation or dysfunction observed in these pregnancy disorders. Further studies are needed to explain these aspects in order to improve the management and therapeutic strategies for pregnancies complicated by IUGR and/or preeclampsia.
Calendar Anomalies and Turkish Real Estate Investment Trusts ( REITs )

This study investigates the presence of calendar anomalies (January Effect; Day of the Week Effect; Turn of the Month Effect) on the daily returns at Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) real estate investment trusts (REIT) market. Although there have been numerous studies in the finance literature on the existence of calendar anomalies in common stocks but a few studies of anomalies in the markets for REITs. The research covers the period of January 4, 2000 to December 31, 2010, and the empirical study applies the ordinary least squares (OLS) model with dummy variables to investigate the calendar effects. The results prove that the daily returns of ISE REIT Index in January shows a statistically significant difference from other months. For the day of the week anomalies, statistics indicate that ISE-REIT Index daily returns on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are significantly higher than the returns on Monday. This provides evidence of a day of the week effect in the market. On the other hand, the average return in turn of the month trading days is significantly higher than the average return in non turn of the month trading days and that is the existence of the turn of the month effect. In addition, there is no any previous study analyzing the calendar anomalies in REIT market. At this point, this paper is the first academic study that investigates anomalous behavior in REIT returns in Turkey.
Early Versus Delayed Initiation of Concurrent Palliative Oncology Care: Patient Outcomes in the ENABLE III Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE Randomized controlled trials have supported integrated oncology and palliative care (PC); however, optimal timing has not been evaluated. We investigated the effect of early versus delayed PC on quality of life (QOL), symptom impact, mood, 1-year survival, and resource use. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between October 2010 and March 2013, 207 patients with advanced cancer at a National Cancer Institute cancer center, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and community outreach clinics were randomly assigned to receive an in-person PC consultation, structured PC telehealth nurse coaching sessions (once per week for six sessions), and monthly follow-up either early after enrollment or 3 months later. Outcomes were QOL, symptom impact, mood, 1-year survival, and resource use (hospital/intensive care unit days, emergency room visits, chemotherapy in last 14 days, and death location). RESULTS Overall patient-reported outcomes were not statistically significant after enrollment (QOL, P = .34; symptom impact, P = .09; mood, P = .33) or before death (QOL, P = .73; symptom impact, P = .30; mood, P = .82). Kaplan-Meier 1-year survival rates were 63% in the early group and 48% in the delayed group (difference, 15%; P = .038). Relative rates of early to delayed decedents' resource use were similar for hospital days (0.73; 95% CI, 0.41 to 1.27; P = .26), intensive care unit days (0.68; 95% CI, 0.23 to 2.02; P = .49), emergency room visits (0.73; 95% CI, 0.45 to 1.19; P = .21), chemotherapy in last 14 days (1.57; 95% CI, 0.37 to 6.7; P = .27), and home death (27 [54%] v 28 [47%]; P = .60). CONCLUSION Early-entry participants' patient-reported outcomes and resource use were not statistically different; however, their survival 1-year after enrollment was improved compared with those who began 3 months later. Understanding the complex mechanisms whereby PC may improve survival remains an important research priority.
Expenditure and ecotourism: predictors of expenditure for whale shark tour participants

Whale shark tourism is an icon industry in Western Australia and a prominent example of successful ecotourism. In 2006, whale shark tour participants spent $6.0 million in the Ningaloo Coast region of Western Australia and added between $2.4 million and $4.6 million to the regional economy in direct expenditure. However, to date no research has been conducted on the predictors of whale shark tour participants' expenditure. In this article, we assess the importance of visitor expenditure for ecotourism, assess the predictors of the expenditure of whale shark tour participants and discuss how this information can contribute towards ecotourism goals. The data analysed here were collected through a survey distributed to participants between April and June 2006. We assess a range of variables for their relationship to individual expenditure per trip and determine that the duration of stay, household income, age, staying in a hotel, trip motivation and being from North America or Southeast Asia positively correlate with individual expenditure per trip. Group size and originating from Germany or the United Kingdom and Ireland negatively correlate with expenditure. In addition to identifying future steps, we also discuss the relevance of our finding that more motivated participants have a higher expenditure for ecotourism.
Reconstitution of the Vital Functions of Munc18 and Munc13 in Neurotransmitter Release

Reconstituting Synaptic Vesicle Fusion Membrane fusion reactions have been reconstituted in vitro, but often the reconstituted reactions have not directly mirrored the requirements for synaptic vesicle fusion in vivo. Previous work generally used only N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein SNAP receptors (SNAREs) and one or two additional components and could not explain why deletion of Munc18-1 or Munc13 abolishes neurotransmitter release completely, yielding the severe disruptions of synaptic vesicle release in knockout mouse. Ma et al. (p. 421, published online 20 December; see the Perspective by Hughson) now present a faithful reconstitution of synaptic vesicle fusion. Membrane fusion required Munc18-1 and Munc13 when the reconstitution experiments included all eight key components (three SNAREs, Munc18-1, Munc13, synaptotagmin-1, NSF, and α-SNAP). A model of neurotransmitter release explains why two proteins not needed for membrane fusion in vitro are needed in vivo. [Also see Perspective by Hughson] Neurotransmitter release depends critically on Munc18-1, Munc13, the Ca2+ sensor synaptotagmin-1, and the soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein (SNAP) receptors (SNAREs) syntaxin-1, synaptobrevin, and SNAP-25. In vitro reconstitutions have shown that syntaxin-1–SNAP-25 liposomes fuse efficiently with synaptobrevin liposomes in the presence of synaptotagmin-1–Ca2+, but neurotransmitter release also requires Munc18-1 and Munc13 in vivo. We found that Munc18-1 could displace SNAP-25 from syntaxin-1 and that fusion of syntaxin-1–Munc18-1 liposomes with synaptobrevin liposomes required Munc13, in addition to SNAP-25 and synaptotagmin-1-Ca2+. Moreover, when starting with syntaxin-1–SNAP-25 liposomes, NSF–α-SNAP disassembled the syntaxin-1–SNAP-25 heterodimers and abrogated fusion, which then required Munc18-1 and Munc13. We propose that fusion does not proceed through syntaxin-1–SNAP-25 heterodimers but starts with the syntaxin-1–Munc18-1 complex; Munc18-1 and Munc13 then orchestrate membrane fusion together with the SNAREs and synaptotagmin-1-Ca2+ in an NSF- and SNAP-resistant manner.
Disposition of clozapine in man: lack of association with debrisoquine and S-mephenytoin hydroxylation polymorphisms.

A large interindividual variability has previously been demonstrated in the bioavailability, steady-state plasma concentrations and clearance of clozapine, an atypical neuroleptic drug. To evaluate the importance of genetic factors in the metabolism of clozapine, its disposition after a single oral dose of 10 mg was studied in 15 healthy Caucasian volunteers. Five of the subjects were poor metabolisers (PM) of debrisoquine, five were PM of S-mephenytoin, and the remaining five were extensive metabolisers (EM) of both probe drugs. There was a 10-fold interindividual variation in Cmax and a 14-fold variation in AUC(0, 24) of clozapine among the 15 subjects studied. The mean (s.d.) Cmax was 117 (81) nmol l-1 and the mean AUC(0,24) value was 890 (711) nmol l-1 h. The value of t1/2,z varied 3-fold with a mean (s.d.) of 13.3 (5.0) h. There were no significant differences in the plasma concentrations or any of the pharmacokinetic parameters of clozapine between PM and EM of debrisoquine, or between the two S-mephenytoin hydroxylation phenotypes. We conclude that neither of the major genetic polymorphisms of oxidative drug metabolism contribute to the large interindividual variability in clozapine pharmacokinetics.
Theory of mind deficit in adult patients with congenital heart disease

This article provides the first assessment of theory of mind, that is, the ability to reason about mental states, in adult patients with congenital heart disease. Patients with congenital heart disease and matched healthy controls were administered classical theory of mind tasks and a semi-structured interview which provides a multidimensional evaluation of theory of mind (Theory of Mind Assessment Scale). The patients with congenital heart disease performed worse than the controls on the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale, whereas they did as well as the control group on the classical theory-of-mind tasks. These findings provide the first evidence that adults with congenital heart disease may display specific impairments in theory of mind.
The Behaviour of Implied Volatility Surface: Evidence from Crude Oil Futures Options

AbstractIn this chapter, I investigate implied volatility surface patterns for call options on crude oil futures. Instead of studying the power of the large number of explanatory factors inherent in oil markets, I focus on the common characteristics of option prices. By using quadratic implied volatility functions (IVFs), I aim to establish a mapping from implied volatilities to the option's intrinsic characteristics, i.e. moneyness and time to expiration, and to test the capacity of these functions to provide a good forecast of option prices. I found that the profile of crude oil implied volatility is too complex to be fully explained by IVFs. The main aim to the chapter is to perform an econometric explanatory analysis on a high volatile market, the petroleum market.
Succession Decision-Making Outcomes Reported by Private Family Companies

This study explores the internal and external environmental characteristics of private family companies associated with succession decision-making outcomes (i.e. the propensity of family firms to report whether the board has established clear-cut objective criteria, specifying when the current Chief Executive Officer [CEO] should retire; whether the CEO has a successor in mind; and whether a succession plan has been approved by family members). Multivariate logistic regression analysis detected that the life cycle dynamics of the CEO and family dynamics were associated with the selected outcomes. The presence of a non-executive director was found to be positively associated with selected outcomes. Business performance was found to be positively associated with two outcomes, but negatively associated with another. External environmental conditions were associated with the dependent variables. In addition, results were found to be sensitive to the employment size of the company. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
International fragmentation of production in the Portuguese economy: What do different measures tell us?

This paper analyses the relevance and the characteristics of the international fragmentation of production in the Portuguese economy. The empirical trade literature suggests different measures of fragmentation, changing the scope of the concept and using alternative sets of information. The existing measures can be broadly divided in those that make use of Input-Output matrices together with international trade data and those that look at specific elements of international transactions, namely trade in parts and components and outward-inward processing trade. In this paper, we survey the different measures of international fragmentation of production and apply them to Portuguese data. Our results of Input-Output based measures point to a substantial increase of the vertical linkages in the Portuguese economy, in particular since the nineties. Nevertheless, it seems that the pace of vertical specialization has been somewhat modest in international terms. The share of exports of parts and components in total trade has almost doubled in the last two decades, while the import share of these goods has remained nearly stable. Processing trade represents a very low share of Portuguese international trade
Extreme Governance: An Analysis of Dual-Class Companies in the United States

We construct and analyze a comprehensive list of dual-class firms in the United States and use this list to investigate the relationship between insider ownership and firm value. Our data has two useful features for this valuation analysis. First, since dual-class stock separates cash-flow rights from voting rights, we can separately identify the impact of each. Second, we address endogeneity concerns by using exogenous predictors of dual-class status as instruments. While other data sets have provided one of these features, our data set is the first to provide both. In single-stage regressions, we find strong evidence that firm value is increasing in insiders' cash-flow rights and decreasing in insider voting rights. In instrumental-variable regressions, the point estimates remain the same sign and magnitude, but the significance levels are lower.
Naïve Cronyism and Neutral Competence: Patronage, Performance, and Policy Agreement in Executive Appointments

Much of the bureaucratic literature suggests that, when staffing the bureaucracy, executives want agents who are both responsive to their political needs and possess the competence needed to fulfill their directives. However, institutional barriers — such as the requirement for legislative confirmation — exist that may make pursuing a strategy of responsive competence difficult, if not impossible. Here, I examine a model of bureaucratic appointments that allows for informationally imperfect agencies. I show that when legislative assent is required, tradeoffs between ideology and either patronage or agency performance — or both — are often required to ensure legislative confirmation. The same dynamics are not present for unilateral appointments. Finally, using a dataset that incorporates the ideologies of federal program managers, the performance of federal programs, and whether program managers were patronage appointees, I conduct a series of empirical tests that support the model’s predictions.