Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ownership concentration and audit fees: do auditors matter most when investors are protected least ?

This study examines whether auditors are employed as a monitoring mechanism to mitigate agency problems between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders (named Type II agency conflict). In a context of ownership concentration and poor investor protection, controlling shareholders can easily expropriate minority shareholders and profit from private benefits of control. However, this agency conflict has been rarely studied, as the most commonly assumed agency conflict resides between managers and shareholders (Type I). Using an audit fees model derived from Simunic (1980), we study the impact of type I and type II agency conflicts on audit fees in high vs. low investor protection countries. We then focus on two countries (Germany and France) providing a lower investor protection level, and two countries (the USA and UK) providing a higher investor protection level (La Porta et al. 1998, 2000). Our results show 1) a negative relation between audit fees and managerial shareholding, which is stronger for strong than for low investor protection countries; 2) a curvilinear (concave) relation between audit fees and controlling shareholding for low investor protection countries; 3) a lower Type II conflict in the strong investor protection countries. These results illustrate the mixed effects of the legal environment and both agency conflicts on audit fees.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in childhood and adolescence is an impairing condition, associated with a specific set of distressing symptoms incorporating repetitive, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and distressing, time-consuming rituals (compulsions). This review considers current knowledge of causes and mechanisms underlying OCD, as well as assessment and treatment. Issues relating to differential diagnosis are summarised, including the challenges of distinguishing OCD from autism spectrum disorders and tic disorders in youth. The recommended treatments, namely cognitive behaviour therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibiting/selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications, are outlined along with the existing evidence-based and factors associated with treatment resistance. Finally, novel clinical developments that are emerging in the field and future directions for research are discussed.
Better than least squares: comparison of objective functions for estimating linear-nonlinear models

This paper compares a family of methods for characterizing neural feature selectivity with natural stimuli in the framework of the linear-nonlinear model. In this model, the neural firing rate is a nonlinear function of a small number of relevant stimulus components. The relevant stimulus dimensions can be found by maximizing one of the family of objective functions, Renyi divergences of different orders [1, 2]. We show that maximizing one of them, Renyi divergence of order 2, is equivalent to least-square fitting of the linear-nonlinear model to neural data. Next, we derive reconstruction errors in relevant dimensions found by maximizing Renyi divergences of arbitrary order in the asymptotic limit of large spike numbers. We find that the smallest errors are obtained with Renyi divergence of order 1, also known as Kullback-Leibler divergence. This corresponds to finding relevant dimensions by maximizing mutual information [2]. We numerically test how these optimization schemes perform in the regime of low signal-to-noise ratio (small number of spikes and increasing neural noise) for model visual neurons. We find that optimization schemes based on either least square fitting or information maximization perform well even when number of spikes is small. Information maximization provides slightly, but significantly, better reconstructions than least square fitting. This makes the problem of finding relevant dimensions, together with the problem of lossy compression [3], one of examples where information-theoretic measures are no more data limited than those derived from least squares.
Expression Profiling of Rat Femur Revealed Suppression of Bone Formation Genes by Treatment with Alendronate and Estrogen but Not Raloxifenes⃞

The pharmacological preservation of bone in the ovariectomized rat by estrogen, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), and bisphosphonates has been well described. However, comprehensive molecular analysis of the effects of these pharmacologically diverse antiresorptive agents on gene expression in bone has not been performed. This study used DNA microarrays to analyze RNA from the proximal femur metaphysis of sham and ovariectomized vehicle-treated rats, and ovariectomized rats treated for 35 days with maximally efficacious doses of 17-α ethinyl estradiol, the benzothiophene SERM, raloxifene, the benzopyran SERM, (S)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyl-2-[4-[2-(1-piperidinyl)ethoxy]phenyl]-2H-1-benzopyran-7-ol (EM652), and the aminobisphosphonate, alendronate. Ovariectomy resulted in 644 significant probe set changes relative to sham control rats (p < 0.05), whereas E2, raloxifene, EM652, and alendronate regulated 613, 765, 652, and 737 probe sets, respectively, relative to ovariectomized control rats. An intersection of these data sets yielded 334 unique genes that were altered after ovariectomy and additionally changed by one or more antiresorptive treatment. Clustering analysis showed that the transcript profile was distinctly different for each pharmaceutical agent and that raloxifene maintained more genes at sham levels than any other treatment. In addition, E2 and alendronate suppressed a cluster of genes associated with bone formation activity below that of sham, whereas raloxifene had little effect on these genes. These data indicate stronger suppressive effects of E2 and alendronate on bone formation activity and that ovariectomy plus raloxifene resembles sham more closely than ovariectomized animals treated with E2, EM652, or alendronate.
Intrinsic monitoring of learning success facilitates memory encoding via the activation of the SN/VTA-Hippocampal loop

Humans constantly learn in the absence of explicit rewards. However, the neurobiological mechanisms supporting this type of internally-guided learning (without explicit feedback) are still unclear. Here, participants who completed a task in which no external reward/feedback was provided, exhibited enhanced fMRI-signals within the dopaminergic midbrain, hippocampus, and ventral striatum (the SN/VTA-Hippocampal loop) when successfully grasping the meaning of new-words. Importantly, new-words that were better remembered showed increased activation and enhanced functional connectivity between the midbrain, hippocampus, and ventral striatum. Moreover, enhanced emotion-related physiological measures and subjective pleasantness ratings during encoding were associated with remembered new-words after 24 hr. Furthermore, increased subjective pleasantness ratings were also related to new-words remembered after seven days. These results suggest that intrinsic—potentially reward-related—signals, triggered by self-monitoring of correct performance, can promote the storage of new information into long-term memory through the activation of the SN/VTA-Hippocampal loop, possibly via dopaminergic modulation of the midbrain. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.17441. 001
Regulation of Innate Immune Function in Bovine Oviduct Epithelial Cells in Culture: The Homeostatic Role of Epithelial Cells in Balancing Th1/Th2 Response

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the role of epithelial cells in regulating innate immunity in bovine oviduct epithelial cell (BOEC) culture. We studied the effect of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its interaction with ovarian steroids, estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4), and luteinizing hormone (LH) at concentrations observed during the preovulatory period on immune responses in BOEC culture. Immunohistochemistry of oviduct tissue showed intensive expression of Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and TLR-2 in epithelial cells. A dose of 10 ng/ml LPS stimulated TLR-4, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor kappa B inhibitor A (NFKBIA), interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) expression, indicating an early pro-inflammatory response. A dose of 100 ng/ml LPS did not induce expression of these genes but stimulated TLR-2, IL-10,IL-4 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) expression and PGE2 secretion, indicating an anti-inflammatory response. Ovarian steroids and LH completely block LPS (10 ng/ml)-induced TLR-4, IL-1β and TNF-α expression as well as LPS (100 ng/ml)-induced TLR-2 expression. Taken together, this study suggests the existence of an early signaling system to respond to infection in the BOEC. In addition, ovarian steroids and LH may play a critical role in inducing homeostasis and in controlling hyperactive pro-inflammatory responses detrimental to epithelial cells, sperm and the embryo.
Increased platelet:RBC ratios are associated with improved survival after massive transfusion.

BACKGROUND Several recent military and civilian trauma studies demonstrate that improved outcomes are associated with early and increased use of plasma-based resuscitation strategies. However, outcomes associated with platelet transfusions are poorly characterized. We hypothesized that increased platelet:red blood cells (RBC) ratios would decrease hemorrhagic death and improve survival after massive transfusion (MT). METHODS A transfusion database of patients transported from the scene to 22 Level I Trauma Centers over 12 months in 2005 to 2006 was reviewed. MT was defined as receiving ≥ 10 RBC units within 24 hours of admission. To mitigate survival bias, 25 patients who died within 60 minutes of arrival were excluded from analysis. Six random donor platelet units were considered equal to a single apheresis platelet unit. Admission and outcome data associated with the low (>1:20), medium (1:2), and high (1:1) platelet:RBC ratios were examined. These groups were based on the median value of the tertiles for the ratio of platelets:RBC units. RESULTS Two thousand three hundred twelve patients received at least one unit of blood and 643 received an MT. Admission vital signs, INR, temperature, pH, Glasgow Coma Scale, Injury Severity Score, and age were similar between platelet ratio groups. The average admission platelet counts were lower in the patients who received the high platelet:RBC ratio versus the low ratio (192 vs. 216, p = 0.03). Patients who received MT were severely injured, with a mean (± standard deviation) Injury Severity Score of 33 ± 16 and received 22 ± 15 RBCs and 11 ± 14 platelets within 24 hours of injury. Increased platelet ratios were associated with improved survival at 24 hours and 30 days (p < 0.001 for both). Truncal hemorrhage as a cause of death was decreased (low: 67%, medium: 60%, high: 47%, p = 0.04). Multiple organ failure mortality was increased (low: 7%, medium: 16%, high: 27%, p = 0.003), but overall 30-day survival was improved (low: 52%, medium: 57%, high: 70%) in the high ratio group (medium vs. high: p = 0.008; low vs. high: p = 0.007). CONCLUSION Similar to recently published military data, transfusion of platelet:RBC ratios of 1:1 was associated with improved early and late survival, decreased hemorrhagic death and a concomitant increase in multiple organ failure-related mortality. Based on this large retrospective study, increased and early use of platelets may be justified, pending the results of prospective randomized transfusion data.
Preprocessing and Normalization for Automatic Evaluation of Machine Translation

Evaluation measures for machine translation depend on several common methods, such as preprocessing, tokenization, handling of sentence boundaries, and the choice of a reference length. In this paper, we describe and review some new approaches to them and compare these to state-of-the-art methods. We experimentally look into their impact on four established evaluation measures. For this purpose, we study the correlation between automatic and human evaluation scores on three MT evaluation corpora. These experiments confirm that the tokenization method, the reference length selection scheme, and the use of sentence boundaries we introduce will increase the correlation between automatic and human evaluation scores. We find that ignoring case information and normalizing evaluator scores has a positive effect on the sentence level correlation as well.
Improved SNR estimation for BPSK and QPSK signals

A novel non-data-aided SNR estimation technique for BPSK and QPSK modulations in complex additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) is proposed. It uses the constant amplitude property of in-phase and quadrature components of these modulations to achieve an improved performance. Its complexity is shown to be lower while its accuracy supersedes the popular moments-based estimator, approaching closely to the Cramer-Rao lower bound.
Rethinking convective quasi-equilibrium: observational constraints for stochastic convective schemes in climate models

Convective quasi-equilibrium (QE) has for several decades stood as a key postulate for parametrization of the impacts of moist convection at small scales upon the large-scale flow. Departures from QE have motivated stochastic convective parametrization, which in its early stages may be viewed as a sensitivity study. Introducing plausible stochastic terms to modify the existing convective parametrizations can have substantial impact, but, as for so many aspects of convective parametrization, the results are sensitive to details of the assumed processes. We present observational results aimed at helping to constrain convection schemes, with implications for each of conventional, stochastic or ‘superparametrization’ schemes. The original vision of QE due to Arakawa fares well as a leading approximation, but with a number of updates. Some, like the imperfect connection between the boundary layer and the free troposphere, and the importance of free-tropospheric moisture to buoyancy, are quantitatively important but lie within the framework of ensemble-average convection slaved to the large scale. Observations of critical phenomena associated with a continuous phase transition for precipitation as a function of water vapour and temperature suggest a more substantial revision. While the system's attraction to the critical point is predicted by QE, several fundamental properties of the transition, including high precipitation variance in the critical region, need to be added to the theory. Long-range correlations imply that this variance does not reduce quickly under spatial averaging; scaling associated with this spatial averaging has potential implications for superparametrization. Long tails of the distribution of water vapour create relatively frequent excursions above criticality with associated strong precipitation events.
The Potent Adjuvant Activity of Archaeosomes Correlates to the Recruitment and Activation of Macrophages and Dendritic Cells In Vivo1

The unique glycerolipids of Archaea can be formulated into vesicles (archaeosomes) with potent adjuvant activity. We studied the effect of archaeosomes on APCs to elucidate the mechanism(s) of adjuvant action. Exposure of J774A.1 macrophages to archaeosomes in vitro resulted in up-regulation of B7.1, B7.2, and MHC class II molecules to an extent comparable to that achieved with LPS. Similarly, incubation of bone marrow-derived DCs with archaeosomes resulted in enhanced expression of MHC class II and B7.2 molecules. In contrast, conventional liposomes made from ester phospholipids failed to modulate the expression of these activation markers. APCs treated with archaeosomes exhibited increased TNF production and functional ability to stimulate allogenic T cell proliferation. More interestingly, archaeosomes enhanced APC recruitment and activation in vivo. Intraperitoneal injection of archaeosomes into mice led to recruitment of Mac1α+, F4/80+ and CD11c+ cells. The expression of MHC class II on the surface of peritoneal cells was also enhanced. Furthermore, peritoneal cells from archaeosome-injected mice strongly enhanced allo-T cell proliferation and cytokine production. The ability of archaeosome-treated APCs to stimulate T cells was restricted to Mac1αhigh, B220− cells in the peritoneum. These Mac1αhigh cells in the presence of GM-CSF gave rise to both F4/80+ (macrophage) and CD11c+ (dendritic) populations. Overall, the activation of APCs correlated to the ability of archaeosomes to induce strong humoral, T helper, and CTL responses to entrapped Ag. Thus, the recruitment and activation of professional APCs by archaeosomes constitutes an efficient self-adjuvanting process for induction of Ag-specific responses to encapsulated Ags.
The Temporal Profile of Inflammatory Markers and Mediators in Blood after Acute Ischemic Stroke Differs Depending on Stroke Outcome

Background: Early inflammation has been suggested as an important factor contributing to unfavorable prognosis after acute ischemic stroke. The present study aimed to clarify the temporal dynamics of discrete inflammatory markers/mediators for future mechanism-targeting anti-inflammatory strategies in ischemic brain damage. Methods: Blood samples of 69 patients with transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke were taken upon admission and at time points 6, 12 and 24 h, as well as 3 and 7 days after symptom onset for analysis of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and the brain damage marker S100B. Clinical scores (modified Rankin Scale, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) were assessed on day 90. Results: MCP-1, MMP-9, TIMP-1, IL-6, CRP and S100B showed significantly different time courses depending on stroke outcome. While the levels of IL-6, MCP-1 and MMP-9 increased already a few hours after symptom onset, CRP and S100B gradually rose commencing at 12–24 h. TIMP-1 demonstrated an extended plateau. By multiple linear regression analysis IL-6, MCP-1, TIMP-1 and S100B were determined to be independently related to clinical outcome scores at specific time points. Conclusions: Our data show important differences in the early time course of several potential markers for the complex network of inflammation and brain damage after ischemic stroke depending on stroke outcome. This must be considered for any therapeutical approach using anti-inflammatory treatment.
Scales of Disconnection: Mismatches Shaping the Geographies of Emerging Energy Landscapes

Abstract The networked nature of energy systems produces geographies of connection, but the focus of this paper is on geographies of disconnection, exploring the multi-scalar processes which shape the context in which energy landscapes emerge. It does so, first, by presenting a case study of farmers' attitudes to perennial energy crops in south-west Scotland. Their strong antipathy to converting farmland to short-rotation coppice, and the reasons for their negative attitudes, exemplify some of the wider mismatches and disconnects which the paper goes on to discuss. These include socio-political and socio-cultural mismatches, and a range of essentially geographical disconnects which are scalar in nature, such as the familiar local-global tension and the mismatch between the scales (both temporal and spatial) at which environmental and human systems organise and function. The discussion shows how these disjunctions not only affect energy geographies but also raise far-reaching questions about the ability of current governance structures and liberal democratic systems to respond swiftly and effectively to global challenges. The way that these mismatches are negotiated will mould both the character of future energy landscapes and the speed at which they take shape.
The temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and dementia: a community-based prospective study.

BACKGROUND The temporal relationship between the appearance of depressive symptoms and the clinical onset of dementia and Alzheimer disease was evaluated in a community sample. METHODS An original sample of 1366 subjects aged 65 years or older, selected randomly from a rural Pennsylvania community, was cognitively screened at study entry and every 2 years thereafter. A subset of 954 survivors of this cohort without dementia was screened for depressive symptoms at the second and subsequent data-collection waves. A "depression cluster" was identified by the presence of 5 or more depressive symptoms, including depressed mood, at the time of screening. Cognitively impaired subjects and a sample of unimpaired controls underwent standardized clinical evaluation to determine the presence of incident dementia (by DSM-III-R criteria) and probable or possible Alzheimer disease (by criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association) and to estimate the clinical onset of dementia symptoms. RESULTS A highly increased probability of the depression cluster developing existed among subjects following the onset of dementia (15.4% [6/39]) and Alzheimer disease (17.6% [6/34]) compared with subjects without dementia (3.2% [23/712]). The odds ratios, after adjustment for age, sex, education level, and self reported memory loss, for the development of depression were 6.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-19.1) in subjects with Alzheimer disease and 5.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.8-15.2) in subjects with overall dementia. Depressive symptoms did not confer a significantly increased relative risk of dementia (1.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-2.93) or Alzheimer disease (1.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.51-3.20). CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms appeared to be early manifestations, rather than predictors, of Alzheimer disease in this community sample.
Ovine Progressive Pneumonia Virus Capsid Antigen as Found in CD163- and CD172a-Positive Alveolar Macrophages of Persistently Infected Sheep

In situ detection of ovine progressive pneumonia virus (OPPV) and the phenotypic identification of the cells that harbor OPPV have not been described for the OPPV-affected tissues, which include lung, mammary gland, synovial membranes of the carpal joint, and choroid plexus of the brain. In this study, the authors first developed a single enzyme-based automated immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis for detection of OPPV capsid antigen (CA) on OPPV-affected tissues, using 2 anti-CAEV CA monoclonal antibodies, 5A1 and 10A1, and 2 enzyme-based IHC systems. Out of 10 naturally and persistently OPPV-infected ewes, OPPV CA was detected in intercellular regions of the carpal synovial membrane of 1 ewe, in cells resembling alveolar macrophages and pulmonary interstitial macrophages in lung tissue of 3 ewes, and in mammary alveolar cells of 1 ewe. Furthermore, dual enzyme-based automated IHC analyses revealed that OPPV CA was predominantly detected in CD172a- or CD163-positive alveolar macrophages of the lungs and mammary gland. That anti-inflammatory (CD163) and downregulatory (CD172a) types of alveolar macrophage harbor OPPV CA leads to the possibility that during persistent infection with OPPV, the host alveolar macrophage might serve to limit inflammation while OPPV persists undetected by the host adaptive immune response in the lung and mammary gland.
Optimal Magnitude and Probability of Fines

The economic literature on crime and punishment focuses on the trade-off between probability and severity of punishment, and suggests that detection probability and fines are substitutes. In this paper it is shown that, in presence of substantial underdeterrence caused by costly detection and punishment, these instruments may become complements. When offenders are poor, the deterrent value of monetary sanctions is low. Thus, the government does not invest a lot in detection. If offenders are rich, however, the deterrent value of monetary sanctions is high, so it is more profitable to prosecute them.