Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Turf War or Collusion: An Empirical Investigation of Conflict of Interest between Large Shareholders

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Question/Issue Does the smaller blockholder monitor or collude with a larger counterpart in a two-blockholder firm? Does the larger blockholder prefer not to share private benefits with the smaller blockholder or partially yield control to the smaller counterpart in a coalition? What are the contingent factors that influence the conflict of interest among large shareholders? Research Findings/Insights In two-blockholder firms, the voting power of the larger blockholder negatively impacts the presence of the cumulative voting rule, even if the rule is positively associated with firm value and provides the smaller blockholder a better opportunity to elect directors despite the competition from the larger blockholder. Voting power concentration negatively impacts the adoption of the cumulative voting rule in two-blockholder firms. The more voting power a smaller blockholder can employ to contest the largest blockholder, the more likely the two-blockholder firm will observe the cumulative voting rule. Two-blockholder firms are more likely to observe the cumulative voting rule when a coalition of blockholders has voting power that falls far below a threshold that warrants control of the firm. Theoretical/Academic Implications The empirical analysis of the paper suggests that the larger blockholder is willing to defend the control of the firm and the ability to pursue private benefits at the cost of firm value. The smaller blockholder is more likely to yield to the power of the larger blockholder and choose to collude rather than compete with the largest blockholder. The motivation and ability of a smaller blockholder to monitor the larger blockholder is contingent upon the voting power balance of the two blockholders. Practitioner/Policy Implications Minority investors should be alert to potential collusion among large shareholders. Regulators should consider enforcing the cumulative voting rule more widely to facilitate shareholder democracy and improve firm value.
Genetic polymorphisms of ADH2 and ALDH2 association with esophageal cancer risk in southwest China.

AIM To evaluate the impact of alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) polymorphisms on esophageal cancer risk. METHODS One hundred and ninety-one esophageal cancer patients and 198 healthy controls from Yanting County were enrolled in this study. ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes were examined by polymerase-chain-reaction with the confronting-two-pair-primer (PCR-CTPP) method. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS Both ADH2 1 allele and ALDH2 1/ 2 allele showed an increased risk of developing esophageal cancer. The adjusted OR (95% CI) for ADH2 1 allele compared with ADH2 2/ 2 was 1.65 (95% CI = 1.02-2.68) and 1.67 (95% CI = 1.02-2.72) for ALDH2 1/ 2 compared with ALDH2 1/ 1. A significant interaction between ALDH2 and drinking was detected regarding esophageal cancer risk, the OR was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.13-2.95). Furthermore, when compared with ADH2 2/ 2 and ALDH2 1/ 1 carriers, ADH2 1 and ALDH2 2 carriers showed an elevated risk of developing esophageal cancer among non-alcohol drinkers (OR = 2.46, 95% CI = 0.98-6.14), and a significantly elevated risk of developing esophageal cancer among alcohol drinkers among alcohol drinkers (OR = 9.86, 95% CI = 3.10-31.38). CONCLUSION ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes are associated with esophageal cancer risk. ADH2 1 allele and ALDH2 2 allele carriers have a much higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, especially among alcohol drinkers.
Acute Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury After Isogeneic Kidney Transplantation Is Mitigated in a Rat Model of Chronic Renal Failure

The influence of chronic renal failure on renal susceptibility to an acute ischemic insult was evaluated. Recipient Lewis rats were randomly assigned to undergo 5/6 nephrectomy (chronic renal failure, CRF) or sham operation (normal renal function, NRF). After 11 weeks, normal kidneys of Lewis donor rats were transplanted in the recipients. The outcome of the isografts was assessed. Filtration capacity of the isografts in the CRF rats was preserved to approximately one‐quarter of its normal capacity on the 1st day post‐transplantation, whereas it fell to 0 in the NRF rats. This was reflected by a significantly higher increase in serum creatinine in the latter group. The isografts in the CRF rats had a significantly lower degree of acute tubular necrosis and no increase in the number of macrophages and T lymphocytes in the first 24 h in contrast to the NRF rats. Epithelial regeneration and repair started earlier in the CRF group. In conclusion, the present study indicated that CRF blunted ischemia/reperfusion injury of a transplanted kidney, and that its regeneration capacity was certainly not hampered by the presence of chronic uremia. These results will be the basis for studies on modulation of early leukocyte–endothelial interactions resulting from immunological disturbances inherent to the uremic environment.
Experimental allergic conjunctivitis in inbred guinea pig strains with high respectively low bronchial allergic reactivity

Inbred guinea pigs selected for high (IMM/S) respectively low (IMM/R) responsiveness to ovalbumin (OA) as measured by induced respiratory anaphylaxis, were investigated for atopic immune responses of their conjunctival mucosa. IMM/S animals sensitized either by inhalation of OA, or by instillation of antigen into the conjunctival sac, developed regularly an acute ocular inflammatory response to topical (conjunctival) challenge with the allergen. A minimum of 1 μg OA dropped repeatedly into the conjunctival sac was enough for both ocular and systemic sensitization of the animals, but the minimal dose of effective challenge was considerably higher. In IMM/R animals, ocular hypersensitivity was not achieved by inhalation of OA, but after topical administration of the antigen some of the IMM/R strains could be challenged to ocular anaphylactic responses of the same intensity as observed in IMM/S animals. The conjunctivae of both IMM/S and IMM/R animals could be sensitized passively by intraperitoneal injection of guinea pig sera containing homocytotropic antibodies to OA, but topical administration of such sera had no effect.
Combined use of SSRIs and NSAIDs increases the risk of gastrointestinal adverse effects.

AIMS To investigate the relationship between the use of antidepressants with or without NSAIDs and the risk of gastrointestinal side-effects. METHODS This was a population-based cohort study. Medication data of 180,000 patients from 16 pharmacies in The Netherlands were studied. The subjects were a group of 15 445 new users of antidepressants with or without NSAIDs. A review of patient profiles for cases of gastrointestinal adverse effects caused by first time use of antidepressants with or without NSAIDs was carried out. The number of first prescriptions for peptic ulcer drugs (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification A02B) in the period from day 2 after starting antidepressants with or without NSAIDs until 10 days after the last dose was the main outcome measure. RESULTS In the reference group of 619 new users of nonselective antidepressants (TCAs), the incidence of first prescriptions for peptic ulcer drugs was 0.051 (95% confidence interval 0.021, 0.105). The use of SSRIs (n = 1181) caused a slightly higher incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.2 (0.5, 2.8). The combined use of SSRIs and NSAIDs (n = 86) increased the IRR to 12.4 (3.2, 48.0). In contrast, the combination of nonselective antidepressants and NSAIDs (n = 74) increased the IRR to 2.5 (0.3, 20.3). CONCLUSIONS SSRIs increase the risk of gastrointestinal adverse effects in first time users as compared with nonselective antidepressants. The combined use of SSRIs and NSAIDs strongly increases the risk of gastrointestinal adverse effects and should be avoided. The combination of nonselective antidepressants and NSAIDs does not have this effect.
Characterization of coagulase-negative staphylococci from urinary tract specimens

Species of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from urine specimens submitted from both inpatients and outpatients to the clinical microbiology laboratory of a teaching hospital were identified with a biotyping system, with species then correlated by clinical features and antimicrobial susceptibility. Of 145 isolates, 102 (70%) were Staphylococcus epidermidis, 24 (17%) were Staphylococcus saprophyticus, 7 (4.7%) were Staphylococcus haemolyticus, 4 (2.8%) were Staphylococcus hominis, 3 (2.1%) were Staphylococcus simulans, and 5 (3.4%) were other species. Features characterizing persons with bacteriuria with S. saprophyticus compared with bacteriuria with any other species included female sex (95% versus 52%), young age (median age, 22 years versus 61 years), ambulatory status (hospital outpatients, 86% versus 23%), and absence of indwelling catheters (4.5% versus 49%). All other coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated in a setting suggesting nosocomial acquisition, were more frequently resistant to common antimicrobial agents (42% multiply resistant versus 4.2% of S. saprophyticus), and were not distinguished by clinical features. Novobiocin susceptibility, with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 96%, provided a simple and reliable test for differentiation of S. saprophyticus from other coagulase-negative staphylococci and should be routinely used for urinary tract specimens in the clinical laboratory.
A conceptual comparison of firefly algorithm, bat algorithm and cuckoo search

There are various mathematical optimization problems that can be effectively solved by metaheuristic algorithms. The advantage of these algorithms is that they perform iterative search processes which efficiently perform exploration and exploitation in the domain space containing local and global optima. In this context, three types of metaheuristic algorithms called firefly algorithm, bat algorithm and cuckoo search algorithm were used to find optimal solutions. Firefly is inspired by behavior of flies, bat algorithm is based on the echolocation behavior of bats while in cuckoo search, a pattern corresponds to a nest and similarly each individual attribute of the pattern corresponds to a cuckoo-egg. A series of computational experiments using each algorithm were conducted. Experimental results were analyzed and it is observed that firefly algorithm seems to perform better than bat algorithm and cuckoo search.
Effect of ketanserin in primary aldosteronism.

Serotonin is known to have aldosterone-stimulating properties in humans, which are counteracted by the serotonin-antagonist metergoline. Suppression of aldosterone levels by cyproheptadine in patients with idiopathic aldosteronism has also been shown. Since ketanserin, a more specific 5-HT2-serotoninergic (5-HT2) antagonist, has been shown to affect aldosterone secretion in essential hypertension, we have further investigated this mechanism by injecting ketanserin (10 mg i.v.) in 10 patients with primary aldosteronism (four adenoma, six idiopathic aldosteronism). A transient decrease (20% when compared with the basal levels) of plasma aldosterone was seen at 30 min. A concomitant decrease of plasma cortisol was also noticed, whereas plasma renin activity and potassium did not change. Blood pressure decreased in all cases. These observations suggest that ketanserin acts directly at the adrenal level by interfering with a possible modulatory activity of serotonin. However, an adrenocorticotropic hormone-mediated effect cannot be completely ruled out at the present time.
An empirical analysis of behavioral finance theories in international equity markets

Financial markets play a key role in modern economies and are thus subject to a huge amount of theoretical and empirical research. Yet there is little evidence that standard neoclassical, rational models explain determinants of financial market movements, let alone forecast these movements. Therefore, new theories have been put forward under the roof of "behavioral finance" that aim at a better description of real-world behavior of investors who do not confine to the ideal of the rational decision-maker due to psychological and information-processing constraints. The five chapters of this dissertation empirically test several key concepts of behavioral finance and investigate, whether the hypothesis of non-rational decision making is helpful for understanding the behavior of financial market movements and the behavior of investors. Summarizing the evidence, two major conclusions can be drawn from the empirical results presented here. First, it is found that behavioral biases matter for asset prices and investment behavior. This conclusion is rooted in all five chapters and manifests itself through the predictive power of investor sentiment for expected long-horizon returns, the empirical success of myopic loss aversion for explaining the cross-section of expected stock returns and the systematic portfolio biases of laymen and professionals. A second conclusion can be drawn for the role of institutional versus individual investors. As the results document, there is a significant difference between the two investor groups. Whereas institutions seem to be more in line with the ideal of rational investors who collect and aggregate fundamental information, individuals are more heavily plagued by systematic biases in their investment behavior and seem to represent a source of noise trader risk in financial markets.
Bilateral Ocular Abnormalities in a Wild Stranded Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandica) Suggestive of Anterior Segment Dysgenesis and Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous

Abstract: A male yearling harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) stranded and was brought to Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration's Seal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. The seal presented with a bilateral pendular vertical nystagmus, negative menace response, and a positive palpebral response. Ophthalmological examination by slit lamp biomicroscopy revealed perilimbal corneal edema, excessive iridal surface structures, pupils that appeared to be shaped improperly (dyscoria), and suspected cataracts. Attempts to dilate the pupils with both dark-lighted conditions and repeated dosages of 10% phenylephrine and 1% atropine ophthalmic solution in each eye (OU) were unsuccessful. Ocular ultrasonography findings suggested bilateral cataracts with flattened anterior-posterior (A-P) diameter and possible persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous. It is possible that these structural congenital abnormalities could produce further ocular complications for this seal including uveitis, secondary glaucoma, retinal detachment, and/or vitreal hemorrhage in the future. This case demonstrates the importance of a thorough ophthalmological examination in stranded wild animals, especially if their symptoms appear neurological.
High Correlation Between Clearance of Renal Protein‐Bound Uremic Toxins (Indoxyl Sulfate and p‐Cresyl Sulfate) and Renal Water‐Soluble Toxins in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is characterized by a slow continuous removal of solutes. Traditionally, dialysis adequacy is quantified by referring to the kinetics of urea nitrogen (UN) and creatinine (Cr) clearance. The efficacy of middle molecular substances and protein‐bound solutes as markers for peritoneal dialysis adequacy is not clear. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate correlations between the clearance of indoxyl sulfate (IS), p‐cresyl sulfate (PCS), UN, and Cr in the peritoneum and kidneys and to compare the overall clearances of IS and PCS between non‐anuric and anuric groups in PD patients. We recruited a total of 175 patients who had been undergoing continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) or automated PD (APD) for at least 4 months. We measured total IS and PCS concentrations in serum, dialysate, and urine samples. Free IS and PCS concentrations were measured in all serum samples. IS and PCS clearances via both kidney and peritoneum were measured. The mean concentration of IS in the urine samples was 9.2‐fold higher than that in the dialysate samples, and concentration of PCS in the urine samples was 8.5‐fold higher than that in the dialysate samples. Peritoneal UN and Cr clearances were not correlated with peritoneal PCS clearance (P > 0.05) but were mildly correlated with peritoneal IS clearance. The peritoneal IS and PCS clearances in the different peritoneal equilibration test groups were similar. The renal UN and Cr clearances were strongly correlated with renal PCS and IS clearances (P > 0.89, P < 0.001). In addition, non‐anuric patients showed better elimination of total PCS (10.3 mg/day [range, 1.6–19.8] vs. 5.2 mg/day [range, 0–14]; P < 0.001] and IS (37.9 mg/day [range, 25.6–56.7] vs. 24.8 mg/day [range, 17.1–41.6]; P < 0.001) than anuric patients. This cross‐sectional study showed that peritoneal clearance of water‐soluble solutes is not correlated with that of PCS but is mildly correlated with that of IS. However, the renal clearances of IS and PCS show strong positive correlation with the renal clearances of UN and Cr. This study confirms the important role of residual renal function in the removal of protein‐bound uremic toxins.
The Influence of Robotic Guidance on Different Types of Motor Timing

ABSTRACT Robotic guidance as a means to facilitate motor learning and rehabilitation has received considerable attention during the last few years. However, mixed outcomes suggest that the benefits might be restricted to certain movement characteristics. The authors investigate the effects of robotic guidance on different kinds of motor timing. Two groups of participants performed 2 variants of a circle drawing task in a synchronization-continuation paradigm. One variant was continuous circle drawing (emergent timing), the other variant was intermittent circle drawing (event-based timing). The total duration of movement cycles (absolute timing) and the relative duration of submovements (relative timing) were measured. Half of the participants in each group were guided by a robot device during synchronization (robot-guided group), the other half of the participants received no guidance (control group). Guided participants had superior performance during the synchronization phase with both timing tasks. During continuation there were no benefits of haptic guidance anymore with the continuous circle drawing task. In contrast, with the intermittent circle drawing task guided participants were more accurate in their relative timing than control participants already in the first few trials, and this advantage did not increase in the course of practice. The benefit is thus rather immediate and not cumulative. This finding is consistent with the notion that movement characteristics such as relative timing, which are hard to demonstrate visually or verbally, profit from robotic guidance because of the more accurate demonstrations of the correct movements.
An economic production quantity model with imperfect production processes and corrective maintenance under allowable shortages

This purpose of the research presented in this article is to examine an imperfect production system with shortages. The method to carry out the deterioration process was using the Markov chain is a discrete-time process. We also prove that the model has a unique optimal lot size. In search of the bounds for the optimal lot size by mean of the proposed algorithm. Computational results using created data instances are presented to illustrate the performance of our proposed model. It is shown that significant cost savings can be achieved by our model. Therefore, our proposed model shows better performance than previous production lot size models by incorporating the effects of system deterioration, corrective maintenance and considering allowable shortages on lot sizing policies. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of optimal solution with respect to the effects of the model parameters is also carried out.
NMDA and AMPA receptor expression and cortical neuronal death are associated with p38 in glutamate‐induced excitotoxicity in vivo

Early overstimulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), such as the N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) and α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionate (AMPA) receptors, produces excitotoxicity in several brain regions. The molecular composition of those receptors and their regulation by intracellular signaling systems could be determinants in the development of progressive neurodegenerative mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS). Studies of p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, morphologic changes including cell number, and the expression of the NR1 and GluR2 subunits, by reverse transcriptase‐PCR were evaluated at early postnatal ages (postnatal day [PD]8–14) in cerebral cortex of rats treated with monosodium glutamate (MSG; 4 mg/g body weight) administered subcutaneously on PD1, 3, 5, and 7. An important increase in p38 activity at PD8 and loss of cortical cell number were observed from PD8–14 in animals treated with MSG, together with significant morphologic changes characterized by cell shrinkage, nuclear hyperchromatism, and cytoplasmic vacuolation. These morphologic changes were prevented by SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 signaling, at PD8–14. No change in cerebral cortex thickness was observed among experimental or control rats. A significant increase in NR1 subunit expression was observed in response to MSG from PD8–14. GluR2 expression increased from PD8–12, but at PD14, its expression was reduced to 54% with respect to controls. SB203580 prevented alone the decreased in GluR2 expression induced by MSG. These results suggest that initial neuronal death (at PD8 and 10) in cerebral cortex may be due to an excessive Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptors, whereas the further damage process could be mediated by AMPA receptors through p38 signaling. This could represent a determinant mechanism to decide whether nerve cells survive or die. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.