Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Explaining the relationship between firm performance and corporate governance of Dutch non-life insurance companies: Dutch mutual and commercial companies compared

ABSTRACT Comparing the performance of mutual and commercial insurance companies in the Netherlands between 2008 and 2012, this paper gives insight into the relationship between performance and corporate governance. We specifically focused on ownership in relationship with diversification and scale within the perspective of financialization. Although regulators promote commercial, publicly-listed companies do not outperform mutual companies. They even have a significantly worse combined ratio and a tendency for higher acquisition costs. Surprisingly, stock listed insurers do not have lower cost ratios, despite the assumed shareholder push. We found evidence for economies of scale in acquisition costs, but not in company costs. The sample covers 125 observations in the Dutch non-life insurance market between 2008 and 2012. The insights are of great relevance for a sector in the midst of a rapid reform, where questions regarding consolidation reign supreme.
A Cochlear Cell Line as an in vitro System for Drug Ototoxicity Screening

Aminoglycoside antibiotics, loop diuretics, antineoplastic agents and other commonly used pharmacological drugs are ototoxic. Understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying drug ototoxicity, however, has been hampered by the limited availability of inner ear tissues and drug side effects on laboratory animals. Immortalized cell lines derived from the auditory sensory organ, sensitive to ototoxic drugs and growing in environments that can be systematically manipulated, would facilitate the research directed at elucidating these mechanisms. Such immortalized cell lines could also be used to discover novel therapeutic agents for preventing drug-induced sensorineural hearing loss. Here, we report a conditionally immortalized organ of Corti-derived epithelial cell line, which shows evidence of activation of apoptosis when exposed to known ototoxic drugs. This cell line may be an excellent in vitro system to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in ototoxicity and for screening of the potential ototoxicity or otoprotective properties of new pharmacological drugs.
Impact of Consumer Loans on Inflation and Current Account Deficit: A Toda Yamamoto Causality Test for Turkey

This study aims to investigate the causality relationship between consumer loans and inflation, and consumer loans and current account deficit in Turkey. In this scope, Toda Yamamoto causality test is used for the periods between 1994:1 and 2015:3. According to test results, we found that there is no causal relationship between consumer loans and inflation rate, and consumer loans and current account deficit. In other words, changes in consumer loans do not lead neither high current account deficit rates nor high inflation rates in Turkey. Therefore, limiting consumer loans is not the solution for inflation and current account deficit problems of Turkey and policy makers should apply some other effective policies to solve high CA deficit and high inflation problems.
Acute neuromuscular and endocrine responses to two different compound exercises: squat versus deadlift.

Anecdotally, it is believed that the deadlift exercise brings about greater levels of central fatigue than other exercises; however no empirical evidence exists to support this view. Additionally, little is known about the acute endocrine response to heavy deadlift exercise and how this may differ to other similar compound exercises. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify and compare the acute, neuromuscular and endocrine responses to squat and deadlift exercise. Ten resistance trained males completed 8 sets of 2 repetitions at 95 % of one repetition maximum. Maximum voluntary isometric knee extensor force (MVIC), along with measures of central (voluntary activation (VA) and surface electromyography (EMG)) and peripheral (electrically evoked control stimulus) fatigue were made prior to and 5 and 30 min post-exercise. Additionally, salivary testosterone and cortisol were measured at these same time points. MVIC was reduced after the completion of both exercises (p = 0.007) however no difference between exercises was evident. Similarly, although VA changed over time (p = 0.0001) no difference was observed between exercises. As a measure of peripheral fatigue, force from the control stimulus changed over time (p = 0.003) with a greater decrease evident after the squat (p = 0.034). EMG was reduced over time (p = 0.048) but no difference was seen between exercises. No change was seen in testosterone and cortisol. Even though a greater absolute load and larger volume-load was completed for the deadlift, no difference in central fatigue was evident between the two compound exercises. The greater peripheral fatigue observed after squat exercise may be due to the greater work completed by the quadriceps with this exercise. These results suggest that separate periodization, tapering and programming considerations may be unnecessary when using the squat and deadlift to develop muscular strength.
Church attendance, faith and the allocation of time: Evidence from Australia

Purpose To examine the determinants of church attendance and the formation of ‘religious human capital’ using a Becker-inspired allocation-of-time framework. Design/methodology/approach Data derived from three waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey were used to estimate a reduced form two-equation system where the endogenous variables were frequency of attendance at religious services and intensity of faith. Findings Our results indicate that while the hourly wage rate accounts for some of the variation in our attendance and faith regressions (i.e., higher wages lead to lower levels of attendance and faith), ‘allocation of time’ variables like working long hours also influence these dimensions. Our findings also suggest that the decision to attend or not or to have any faith at all is generally independent from economic factors. However, once the decision to attend or to have faith is made, an individual’s wage influences the degree of attendance or faith to a significant level. Originality/value Our study contributes to this embryonic body of empirical literature by providing – to the best of our knowledge – the first results for Australia.
Impact of the Information and Communication Technologies on workers' behaviors : An experimental investigation

This dissertation explores the impact of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on employees’ behaviors. While the neoclassical growth theory considers ICT as an input used in the production process, we relied on a literature in the organizational economic field which states that technologies have two different key aspects. Information technologies push down the decision making at the employee level while Communication technologies centralize the decision making. We addressed the issue of the more efficient technologies for workers’ performance, the costs generated by using the most efficient type of technologies and how the technology-based monitoring may be useful to reduce those costs. We used the experimental methodology since the collection of individuals and team's production is hard with survey data. Our results show that employees prefer information technologies and those who use it are more productive than others. We also show that work organization and technologies which push down the decision making at the employee level could entail some substantial costs for the firm. Indeed, employees are more willing to engage on time wasting activities in order to influence the principal’s decision when they can participate to the decision making process. However IT monitoring is quite successful at reducing those costs. Technology monitoring implies a disciplining effect at the beginning when the sanction is available but this effect lessens over time. Our results show that employees are more productive when they spend more time on internet. Giving constant heightened feedbacks provided by ICT to employees about their productivity should be the better way to sensitize them about the extent of technology monitoring in order to increase their performance.
The relationship between management’s commitment and effective safety and health committees in Malaysia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between management’s commitment and effective occupational safety and health committees (OSHCs), which are a form of representative employee involvement in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a survey of 231 manufacturing companies in Malaysia, the study empirically examines both passive and active management commitment and its relationships with the perceived effectiveness of OSHCs. Findings Respondents to the survey, who were members of OSHCs, felt that both passive and active management commitments had significant, positive relationships with OSHCs’ perceived effectiveness, with active management commitment having a stronger relationship with the dependent variable – the effectiveness of OSHCs. All three variables were perceived to be at the medium level, with active management commitment recording the lowest mean value. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the fact that it is cross-sectional. However, this allows its findings to be placed in the context of past research, underpinned by Malaysia’s manufacturing sector and legislative framework. Practical implications This paper provides suggestions for how the perceived effectiveness of OSHCs can be improved in the Malaysian context. Originality/value This study conceptualises management’s commitment in terms of passive and active commitment, given the context of the current legislative framework, and it addresses the relationships between both types of management commitment and the effectiveness of OSHCs, in the heretofore-unexamined Malaysian manufacturing context.
Macroeconomic Management When Policy Space is Constrained; A Comprehensive, Consistent and Coordinated Approach to Economic Policy

The recovery in GDP growth since the global financial crisis has been halting and weak. Concern is widespread that countercyclical policies have run out of space or lack the power to raise growth or deal with the next negative shock. This note argues that room exists for effective policies and that it should be used if appropriate. The most promising route involves a comprehensive, consistent, and coordinated approach to policy making. Comprehensive policy actions within a country exploit synergies, making the whole greater than the sum of parts. Consistent policy frameworks anchor long-term expectations while allowing decisive short- to medium-term accommodation whenever necessary. Coordinated policies across major economies amplify the helpful effects of individual policy actions through positive cross-border spillovers. The findings of this paper indicate that policy coordination adds particular value if the current approach falls short of reviving growth, or in the event of a further downward shock.
Cell lineages of the embryo of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Embryogenesis of the free-living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans produces a juvenile having about 550 cells at hatching. We have determined the lineages of 182 cells by tracing the divisions of individual cells in living embryos. An invariant pattern of cleavage divisions of the egg generates a set of stem cells. These stem cells are the founders of six stem cell lineages. Each lineage has its own clock--i.e., an autonomous rhythm of synchronous cell divisions. The rhythms are maintained in spite of extensive cellular rearrangement. The rate and the orientation of the cell divisions of the cell lineages are essentially invariant among individuals. Thus, the destiny of cells seems to depend primarily on their lineage history. The anterior position of the site of origin of the stem cells in the egg relates to the rate of the cell cycle clock, suggesting intracellular preprogramming of the uncleaved egg. We used a technique that allows normal embryogenesis, from the fertilized egg to hatching, outside the parent under a cover glass. Embryogenesis was followed microscopically with Nomarski interference optics and high-resolution video recording.
Transformational Leadership and Change: How Leaders Influence Their Followers’ Motivation Through Organizational Justice

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the past decade, the reform of Québec's healthcare establishments has resulted in a reduction in the number of institutions through mergers and closures. In this report, we investigate the consequences of reform by looking at managers’ motivations and related mitigating factors. We examine the influence that transformational leaders have on their employees’ motivation through organizational justice. Using a survey of 253 healthcare managers, we describe how the positive impact of transformational leadership on motivation is fully mediated via different aspects of organizational justice. The results indicate that while transformational leaders influence each type of organizational justice, followers’ motivation is affected primarily by procedural and interpersonal justice and little by distributive justice.
Brief Report: Seminal Plasma Anti-HIV Antibodies Trigger Antibody-dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Implications for HIV Transmission

Abstract:Recent evidence from HIV vaccine trials in humans and non-human primates suggests that nonneutralizing antibody functions, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), are an important component of vaccine-mediated protection. Whether anti-HIV ADCC antibodies are present in seminal fluid, however, is not known. We assessed whether anti-HIV antibodies within seminal plasma mediate ADCC and activate natural killer (NK) cells. Using matched blood and seminal plasma samples, we detected anti-HIV IgG within samples from all 11 HIV-infected donors. Furthermore, anti-HIV antibodies within the seminal plasma triggered detectable ADCC in 9 of 11 donors and activated NK cells in 6 of 11 donors. The ability of seminal plasma-derived IgG to activate NK cells in an anti-HIV antibody-dependent manner was enhanced when IgG were enriched and other seminal plasma components were removed. These observations have relevance for understanding natural immunity to HIV infection and provide assistance with HIV vaccine design.
The Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom) Natural Genetic Variation Rg1 and the DELLA Mutant Procera Control the Competence Necessary to Form Adventitious Roots and Shoots

Despite the wide use of plant regeneration for biotechnological purposes, the signals that allow cells to become competent to assume different fates remain largely unknown. Here, it is demonstrated that the Regeneration1 (Rg1) allele, a natural genetic variation from the tomato wild relative Solanum peruvianum, increases the capacity to form both roots and shoots in vitro; and that the gibberellin constitutive mutant procera (pro) presented the opposite phenotype, reducing organogenesis on either root-inducing medium (RIM) or shoot-inducing medium (SIM). Mutants showing alterations in the formation of specific organs in vitro were the auxin low-sensitivity diageotropica (dgt), the lateral suppresser (ls), and the KNOX-overexpressing Mouse ears (Me). dgt failed to form roots on RIM, Me increased shoot formation on SIM, and the high capacity for in vitro shoot formation of ls contrasted with its recalcitrance to form axillary meristems. Interestingly, Rg1 rescued the in vitro organ formation capacity in proRg1 and dgtRg1 double mutants and the ex vitro low lateral shoot formation in pro and ls. Such epistatic interactions were also confirmed in gene expression and histological analyses conducted in the single and double mutants. Although Me phenocopied the high shoot formation of Rg1 on SIM, it failed to increase rooting on RIM and to rescue the non-branching phenotype of ls. Taken together, these results suggest REGENERATION1 and the DELLA mutant PROCERA as controlling a common competence to assume distinct cell fates, rather than the specific induction of adventitious roots or shoots, which is controlled by DIAGEOTROPICA and MOUSE EARS, respectively.
Fragility Fractures in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis Compared with the General Population

Objective. To determine the rate ratios of hip and distal radius fractures in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), hip osteoarthritis (OA), and knee OA. Methods. Cohort study using healthcare data (1998–2012) covering the entire population of the Skåne region of Sweden. Results. We found an increased rate of hip fracture in both female [standardized fracture rate ratio (SFR) 1.54, 95% CI 1.40–1.70] and male patients with RA (SFR 1.81, 95% CI 1.51–2.17). The hip fracture rate in female OA was reduced by 10–20%, and trochanteric fracture tended to have a higher rate ratio compared with the cervical. Conclusion. The 50–80% increased rate of hip fracture adds to the total burden of RA while the shifted distribution of cervical/trochanteric fractures in OA is in support of subchondral bone alterations.
Dissociation between serum neutralizing and glycoprotein antibody responses of infants and children who received inactivated respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

The serum antibody response of infants and children immunized with Formalin-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine 20 years ago was determined by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific for the RSV fusion (F) and large (G) glycoproteins and a neutralization assay. Twenty-one young infants (2 to 6 months of age) developed a high titer of antibodies to the F glycoprotein but had a poor response to the G glycoprotein. Fifteen older individuals (7 to 40 months of age) developed titers of F and G antibodies comparable to those in children who were infected with RSV. However, both immunized infants and children developed a lower level of neutralizing antibodies than did individuals of comparable age with natural RSV infections. Thus, the treatment of RSV with Formalin appears to have altered the epitopes of the F or G glycoproteins or both that stimulate neutralizing antibodies, with the result that the immune response consisted largely of "nonfunctional" (i.e., nonneutralizing) antibodies. Subsequent natural infection of the vaccinees with wild-type RSV resulted in enhanced pulmonary disease. Despite this potentiation of illness, the infected vaccinees developed relatively poor G, F, and neutralizing antibody responses. Any or all of three factors may have contributed to the enhancement of disease in the RSV-infected vaccinees. First, nonfunctional antibodies induced by the inactivated RSV vaccine may have participated in a pulmonary Arthus reaction during RSV infection. Second, the poor antibody response of infants to the G glycoprotein present in the Formalin-inactivated vaccine may have been inadequate to provide effective resistance to subsequent wild-type virus infection. Third, the relatively reduced neutralizing antibody response of the infant vaccinees to wild-type RSV infection may have contributed to their enhanced disease by delaying the clearance of virus from their lungs.
Identification of a Peroxisomal ATP Carrier Required for Medium-Chain Fatty Acid β-Oxidation and Normal Peroxisome Proliferation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT We have characterized the role of YPR128cp, the orthologue of human PMP34, in fatty acid metabolism and peroxisomal proliferation inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. YPR128cp belongs to the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) of solute transporters and is localized in the peroxisomal membrane. Disruption of theYPR128c gene results in impaired growth of the yeast with the medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) laurate as a single carbon source, whereas normal growth was observed with the long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) oleate. MCFA but not LCFA β-oxidation activity was markedly reduced in intact ypr128cΔ mutant cells compared to intact wild-type cells, but comparable activities were found in the corresponding lysates. These results imply that a transport step specific for MCFA β-oxidation is impaired in ypr128cΔ cells. Since MCFA β-oxidation in peroxisomes requires both ATP and CoASH for activation of the MCFAs into their corresponding coenzyme A esters, we studied whether YPR128cp is an ATP carrier. For this purpose we have used firefly luciferase targeted to peroxisomes to measure ATP consumption inside peroxisomes. We show that peroxisomal luciferase activity was strongly reduced in intact ypr128cΔ mutant cells compared to wild-type cells but comparable in lysates of both cell strains. We conclude that YPR128cp most likely mediates the transport of ATP across the peroxisomal membrane.
Information and Knowledge for Water Governance in the Networked Society

: In the last few years, parallel evolutionary processes in the socio-political, governmental and technological arenas have been providing new pathways for the collaborative generation, coordination and distribution of polycentric information. From a technological perspective, the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has boosted the availability of information about our planet, along with its storage, processing and dissemination capabilities. The Worldwide Web and satellite and electronic sensors combined with smart phone technologies have also opened new means for social, political and scientific innovation. From a socio-political standpoint, the implementation of policies that encourage the reutilisation of data and protect the right to information of interested parties, together with growing social demands for transparency, have resulted in an increasing number of governments drawing strategies to open up public data. In this context, this paper addresses two main topics that we deem will be key drivers for improved water governance in the near future. First, it discusses new practices of collaborative and distributed generation and disclosure of information for water governance, and the resulting challenges and opportunities afforded by the use of ICTs. Second, it looks at the interplay between the uptake of ICTs and institutional frameworks, social dynamics and technological structures within which they operate to understand the extent to which ICTs affect decision-making processes and contribute to creating alternative spaces for the production of common services or alternative discourses. Despite the advances in open data policies, findings suggest that there remain significant challenges to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by ICTs, mostly derived from the structural conditions of existing models of decision-making, and information generation and management. It seems that the potentialities of ICTs as transformative tools are conditioned by the regeneration of the context within which decisions are made, that is, the democratic process itself.
Pathways to doubled haploidy: chromosome doubling during androgenesis

Production of doubled haploid (DH) plants through androgenesis induction is a promising and convenient alternative to conventional selfing techniques for the generation of pure lines for breeding programs. This process comprises two main steps: induction of androgenesis and duplication of the haploid genome. Such duplication is sometimes indirectly induced by the treatments used to promote androgenic development. But usually, an additional step of direct chromosome doubling must be included in the protocol. Duplication of the haploid genome of androgenic individuals has been thought to occur through three mechanisms: endoreduplication, nuclear fusion and c-mitosis. In this review we will revise and analyze the evidences supporting each of the proposed mechanisms and their relevance during androgenesis induction, embryo/callus development and plant regeneration. Special attention will be devoted to nuclear fusion, whose evidences are accumulating in the last years.