Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effectiveness of Internal Control and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Capital Market

From the perspective of the effectiveness of internal control, according to the Stakeholder Theory, Principal-Agent Theory and Reputation Theory, this paper analyzes comparatively the influences of internal control on the assumption of corporate social responsibility (SCPS) from the accrual basis, and the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSRF) from the cash flow system respectively. Using a sample of 1767 firms listed in China between 2011 and 2016, we find that effective internal control has significantly promoted enterprises to assume social responsibilities. Meanwhile, effective internal control substantially improves the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility. This study overcomes the current situation that the two concepts of assumption and fulfillment of corporate social responsibility have not been distinguished in previous literature. We suggest that, in the economic transition period, the positive role of internal control in corporate governance should be promoted to protect the legitimate rights and interests of stakeholders; the adverse impact of the principal-agent relationship between shareholders and management on corporate governance should be avoided, building high-quality internal control; enterprises achieve steady and sustainable development process by the positive reputation value and robust external monitoring mechanism. This research is of practical importance to strengthen the subsequent construction of the internal control system and the long-term practice of corporate social responsibility.
Two Plasminogen Activators, Streptokinase and Urokinase, Stimulate Human Sperm Motility

Summary: The stimulatory effects of two plasminogen activators, namely streptokinase and urokinase, were measured with a trans‐membrane migration method. Both drugs induced maximal motility increase at a concentration of 200 international unit/ml; the amplitude of maximal motility increase ranged from 17% to 19% of control. Although their stimulatory effects were much less than those of calcium regulating agents, the clinical application of these two drugs for improving the successful rate of artificial insemination deserves further investigation because the action site is seminal plasma rather than sperm.
Immunotherapy for Melanoma: Current Status and Perspectives

Immunotherapy is an important modality in the therapy of patients with malignant melanoma. As our knowledge about this disease continues to expand, so does the immunotherapeutic armamentarium. Nevertheless, successful preclinical models do not always translate into clinically meaningful results. The authors give a comprehensive analysis of most recent advances in the immune anti-melanoma therapy, including interleukins, interferons, other cytokines, adoptive immunotherapy, biochemotherapy, as well as the use of different vaccines. We also present the fundamental concepts behind various immune enhancement strategies, passive immunotherapy, as well as the use of immune adjuvants. This review brings into discussion the results of newer and older clinical trials, as well as potential limitations and drawbacks seen with the utilization of various immune therapies in malignant melanoma. Development of novel therapeutic approaches, along with optimization of existing therapies, continues to hold a great promise in the field of melanoma therapy research. Use of anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 antibodies, realization of the importance of co-stimulatory signals, which translated into the use of agonist CD40 monoclonal antibodies, as well as activation of innate immunity through enhanced expression of co-stimulatory molecules on the surface of dendritic cells by TLR agonists are only a few items on the list of recent advances in the treatment of melanoma. The need to engineer better immune interactions and to boost positive feedback loops appear crucial for the future of melanoma therapy, which ultimately resides in our understanding of the complexity of immune responses in this disease.
Genetic Polymorphisms of Flavin Monooxygenase 3 in Sulindac-Induced Regression of Colorectal Adenomas in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

Sulindac is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug with a chemopreventive effect in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). In vivo, the active form of sulindac is sulindac sulfide, which is inactivated by the hepatic microsomal enzyme, flavin monooxygenase 3 (FMO3). In humans, numerous polymorphisms exist in FMO3, which alter enzymatic activity and subsequent substrate metabolism. We recently showed that certain polymorphic forms of FMO3 with reduced activity were associated with a more favorable response to sulindac in preventing the formation of adenomas in patients with FAP without polyps at baseline. Here, we determined whether these FMO3 polymorphisms correlated with the ability of sulindac to regress polyposis in patients with FAP who had polyps prior to treatment. Nineteen patients were treated with 150 mg sulindac twice a day for 6 months. The size and number of polyps in each patient was assessed at baseline (prior to the administration of sulindac), and at 3 and 6 months. Genotyping was done on seven established FMO3 polymorphisms with functional significance—M66I, E158K, P153L, V257M, E305X, E308G, and R492W. Statistical analyses were done with Wilcoxon rank sum test. Of the loci examined, only E158K and E308G showed polymorphic changes. Six patients exhibited polymorphisms in both E158K and E308G loci and were designated as genotype combination 1. The remaining patients were designated as genotype combination 2. Over the course of treatment, patients with genotype combination 1 had a greater reduction in both the size and number of polyps than those with genotype combination 2. These results suggest that combined polymorphic changes in the E158K and E308G alleles may protect against polyposis in patients with FAP treated with sulindac.
New Strategies for BMT, Organ Transplantation, and Regeneration Therapy

Abstract Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is becoming a powerful strategy for the treatment of hematologic disorders, congenital immunodeficiencies, metabolic disorders and also autoimmune diseases. We have previously found using various animal models for spontaneous autoimmune diseases, that allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo BMT) can be used to prevent and treat various autoimmune diseases. In addition, we have found that autoimmune diseases are stem cell disorders. However, in MRL/lpr mice, which are radiosensitive (<8.5 Gy), we found that conventional BMT had only a transient effect on autoimmune diseases, which were found to recur. Therefore, we concentrated on discovering new strategies to prevent and treat autoimmune diseases in the radiosensitive and chimeric-resistant MRL/lpr mouse. Using MRL/lpr mice, we established a new method for allo BMT. In this method, whole bone marrow cells (BMCs), containing a small number of T cells and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), were directly injected into the bone marrow cavity (intra-bone marrow [IBM]-BMT). MRL/lpr mice treated with IBM-BMT survived more than 2 years without showing the symptoms of autoimmune diseases. To apply this BMT method to humans, we have also established a new method for BMC harvesting using cynomolgus monkeys. In this method, BMCs are harvested from the long bones using a "Perfusion Method" (PM) and the whole BMCs (including MSCs) are then injected directly into the IBM. We believe that this new method will become a powerful strategy for the treatment of various intractable diseases, including age-associated diseases such as osteoporosis.
Analysis of colorectal tumor progression by microdissection and comparative genomic hybridization

This investigation aimed to identify patterns of copy number change in colorectal tumor progression from adenoma to liver metastasis. Fifty‐three microdissected sub‐regions from 17 cases of colorectal cancer were assigned to one of six histopathologically defined categories: coexisting adenoma, tumor above the muscularis layer, tumor within the muscularis layer, tumor extending through the bowel wall to serosal fat, lymph node metastasis, and liver metastasis. Microdissected samples were treated by a microwave processing step and then used as templates for universal PCR amplification. PCR products were fluorophore labeled and subjected to comparative genomic hybridization. Copy number changes were found in all samples, and every chromosome arm (excluding acrocentric short arms) was affected. More losses than gains were detected, but there were no significant differences between the numbers of changes seen in each category. Each individual sample revealed unique changes, additional to those shared within each case. The most frequently observed gains were of X and 12q. The most common losses were of 8p, 16p, 9p, 15q, 18q, and 10q. Nominally significant associations were observed between metastatic tumor and loss of 12q24.1 or 10p13–14, non‐metastatic tumor and loss of 8q24.1, tumor extending to serosal fat and loss of 6q24–25 or gain of 4q11–13, tumor extending to serosal fat and metastatic lesions and loss of 4q32–34 or 22q11–12, and adenoma and loss of 15q24. Loss of 4q32–34 remained highly significant after correction for multiple testing. Adenoma was the only category not to show loss of 17p. These data reveal a genetically heterogeneous picture of tumor progression, with a small number of changes associated with advanced disease. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
[Effects of chronic alcohol drinking on mouth mucosa. A morphometric study].

BACKGROUND Chronic alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for oral and pharyngeal cancer. Besides other mechanisms a toxic effect of ethanol and/or its metabolite acetaldehyde on the oral mucosa and a resulting increased cell regeneration seem to play an important role in tumor promotion. METHODS In the present study the effect of chronic ethanol consumption on the morphology of the oral mucosa of 20 male wistar rats that had been fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing 36% of total calories either as ethanol or isocaloric carbohydrates for six months was investigated. RESULTS Morphometric analysis showed that in the ethanol rats, the size of the basal cell nuclei of the oral mucosa from the floor of the mouth, the edge of the tongue, and the base of the tongue was significantly increased (p < 0.001). The size of the basal cell layer in these rats was increased, and the stratification of the cells was altered. Mean epithelial thickness of the mucosa from the floor of the mouth was significantly reduced in the ethanol rats (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, our results indicate that chronic ethanol consumption causes oral mucosa atrophy associated with hyperregeneration, which may result in an enhanced susceptibility of the mucosal epithelium to chemical carcinogens.
Capital Structure and a Firm's Workforce

While businesses require funding to start and grow, they also rely on human capital, which affects how they raise funds. Labor market frictions make financing labor different than financing capital. Unlike capital, labor cannot be owned and can act strategically. Workers face unemployment costs, can negotiate for higher wages, are protected by employment regulations, and face retirement risk. I propose using these frictions as a framework for understanding the unique impact of a firm's workforce on its capital structure. For instance, high leverage often makes managing labor more difficult by undermining employees’ job security and increasing the need for costly workforce reductions. But firms can also use leverage to their advantage, such as in labor negotiations and defined benefit pensions. This research can help firms account for the needs and management of their workforce when making financing decisions.
Decision making under uncertainty and mood induction: further evidence for liberal acceptance in schizophrenia

Background Cognitive biases, especially jumping to conclusions (JTC), are ascribed a vital role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This study set out to explore motivational factors for JTC using a newly developed paradigm. Method Twenty-seven schizophrenia patients and 32 healthy controls were shown 15 classical paintings, divided into three blocks. Four alternative titles (one correct and three lure titles) had to be appraised according to plausibility (0–10). Optionally, participants could decide for one option and reject one or more alternatives. In random order across blocks, anxiety-evoking music, happy music or no music was played in the background. Results Patients with schizophrenia, particularly those with delusions, made more decisions than healthy subjects. In line with the liberal acceptance (LA) account of schizophrenia, the decision threshold was significantly lowered in patients relative to controls. Patients were also more prone than healthy controls to making a decision when the distance between the first and second best alternative was close. Furthermore, implausible alternatives were judged as significantly more plausible by patients. Anxiety-evoking music resulted in more decisions in currently deluded patients relative to non-deluded patients and healthy controls. Conclusions The results confirm predictions derived from the LA account and assert that schizophrenia patients decide hastily under conditions of continued uncertainty. The fact that mood induction did not exert an overall effect could be due to the explicit nature of the manipulation, which might have evoked strategies to counteract their influence.
The influence of website design on customer online trust and perceived risk towards purchase intention: a case of O2O commerce in Indonesia

PT. XYZ is the first example of e-commerce providing an online-to-offline or offline-to-online (O2O) shopping system in Indonesia. However, PT.XYZ customers still experience trust issues regarding their purchase intention within this new business model. Hence, the aims of the research reported here are to establish to what extent website design influences customer trust in and perceived risk towards purchase intention. The respondents of this research were potential e-commerce customers who have visited PT. XYZ's site in Jakarta. This study involved a quantitative approach with the data being processed through an SEM analysis. This study found that both information design and visual design positively influence customer trust. The researcher suggests that new e-commerce ventures should focus on increasing the value of information design and visual design in order to gain customer trust. This approach would reduce perceived risk and increase customer willingness to make e-commerce purchases.
Optimization of Power Allocation and Relay Position in Multihop Relay Networks Over Generalized Fading Channels

This paper addresses optimizations of both power allocation (PA) and relay position (RP), PA-only, and RP-only in multihop relay networks under a generalized model of fading channels. By adopting a parameterized model of fading distributions in the high-signal-to-noise-ratio region, we formulate the optimization problems in a unified framework, which are applicable to most of fading channels and solved with the Lagrange multiplier method. The optimal solutions are derived in explicit forms that facilitate the analysis on the performance of multihop networks. The analysis shows that the diversity order of the end-to-end performance is governed by the hop with the maximum diversity order in the cases of the joint optimization of PA and RP and optimization of RP-only while it is governed by the hop with the minimum diversity order in the case of the optimization of PA-only. Henceforth, the optimization of RP, improving both the diversity order and coding gain, leverages the system performance more significantly than that of PA, improving only the coding gain. By improving the diversity order and coding gain simultaneously, the joint optimization of RP and PA shows the best performance.
Radiofrequency Ablation with an Internally Cooled Electrode for Twin Reversed Arterial Perfusion Sequence

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with an internally cooled electrode for twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence. Methods: From April 2008 through December 2014, we retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent RFA with an internally cooled electrode for TRAP sequence at 3 tertiary referral centers in Japan. Results: Twenty-five monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies underwent RFA with an internally cooled electrode for TRAP sequence at 16-27 weeks of gestation. In all cases, umbilical cord blood flow cessation in the acardiac twin was confirmed by ultrasonography with color Doppler. There were 2 cases of procedure-related complications: 1 case of unintentional septostomy and 1 case of anemia in a pump twin. Fetal demise of the pump twin occurred in 3 (12%) cases. Twenty-two (88%) of 25 pump twins were delivered alive. The median gestational age at delivery was 36 + 3 weeks (range 25 + 2-40 + 5 weeks). There were 14 cases (64%) of premature deliveries before 37 weeks and 5 (23%) before 32 weeks. Conclusion: RFA with an internally cooled electrode is a feasible and effective procedure for the treatment of TRAP sequence.
Challenges and Promise of Health Equity for Native Hawaiians

Health equity, the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, is yet to be realized for many populations in the United States. Health equity focuses on diseases and health care services, but is also broadly linked to social determinants, such as socioeconomic status, the physical environment, discrimination, and legislative policies. For one population, Native Hawaiians, the indigenous people of Hawai‘i, the elusiveness of health equity is reflected in the excess burden of health and social disparities. DISCUSSION PAPER
Energy 'access' for sustainable development : enabling modern energy practices in rural communities

Modern energy services are a foundation for sustainable development. As recently acknowledged by the multilaterally supported UNDP’s ‘energy access for all’ objective, it is a missing cog for the socio-economic, empowerment, livelihood enhancement and sustainability of more than 2 billion people in developing and less developed countries. Efforts to provide modern energy services, however, face pervasive challenges reflective of wider development efforts, establishing the imperative for greater understanding of their underlying dimensions as a basis for enhancing sustainable development pathways. The thesis pursues this through ethnographic studies of innovative and contrasting energy access pathways in remote areas of Nepal. These were supported by preliminary site visits, semi-structured interviews, participant observation and observant participation with a range of key development actors, led by a reflexive, multi-sited research approach. The research reveals that the challenges and opportunities of effective energy access and sustainable development are embedded in under-recognised social routines and contexts that subsume essential dimensions of daily life. These are dynamic, multi-actor and interconnected through routinised codes, performances and institutions for which social emotions, meanings and relations are integral. Interventions, technologies and impacts interdepend on these mundane interactions and structures, signifying the vital role of social agency and conventions in everyday life. ‘Access’ is a constant (re)negotiation of these within a socio-technical context. The findings demonstrate the value of integrating these dimensions into development approaches through being attentive to, and co-produced by, the plurality of actors, settings and routines. A practice theory informed approach supported the analysis to signify further distinctive policy, research and pathway implications. The thesis thus demonstrates the potential of a social practice approach for enabling a more sensitive and effective framework for enabling energy access for sustainable development.
Picture Yourself at the Polls

The present research demonstrates that the visual perspective—own first-person versus observer's third-person—people use to picture themselves engaging in a potential future action affects their self-perceptions and subsequent behavior. On the eve of the 2004 U.S. presidential election, registered voters in Ohio were instructed to use either the first-person or the third-person perspective to picture themselves voting in the election. Picturing voting from the third-person perspective caused subjects to adopt a stronger pro-voting mind-set correspondent with the imagined behavior. Further, this effect on self-perception carried over to behavior, causing subjects who were instructed to picture voting from the third-person perspective to be significantly more likely to vote in the election. These findings extend previous research in autobiographical memory and social judgment linking the observer's perspective with dispositional attributions, and demonstrate the causal role of imagery in determining future behavior.
Identification of a prostate cancer susceptibility locus on chromosome 7q11–21 in Jewish families

Results from over a dozen prostate cancer susceptibility genome-wide scans, encompassing some 1,500 hereditary prostate cancer families, indicate that prostate cancer is an extremely heterogeneous disease with multiple loci contributing to overall susceptibility. In an attempt to reduce locus heterogeneity, we performed a genomewide linkage scan for prostate cancer susceptibility genes with 36 Jewish families, which represent a stratification of hereditary prostate cancer families with potentially increased locus homogeneity. The 36 Jewish families represent a combined dataset of 17 Jewish families from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center-based Prostate Cancer Genetic Research Study dataset and 19 Ashkenazi Jewish families collected at Johns Hopkins University. All available family members, including 94 affected men, were genotyped at markers distributed across the genome with an average interval of <10 centimorgans. Nonparametric multipoint linkage analyses were the primary approach, although parametric analyses were performed as well. Our strongest signal was a significant linkage peak at 7q11–21, with a nonparametric linkage (NPL) score of 3.01 (P = 0.0013). Simulations indicated that this corresponds to a genomewide empirical P = 0.006. All other regions had NPL P values ≥0.02. After genotyping additional markers within the 7q11–21 peak, the NPL score increased to 3.35 (P = 0.0004) at D7S634 with an allele-sharing logarithm of odds of 3.12 (P = 0.00007). These studies highlight the utility of analyzing defined sets of families with a common origin for reducing locus heterogeneity problems associated with studying complex traits.