Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What Explains European Banks Risk-Taking? A Simultaneous Equations Approach

The global financial crisis has led to an increasingly focused attention on excessive bank risk-taking. One of the consequences is that the role of internal governance mechanisms (such as the board of directors) in monitoring risk has come under greater scrutiny. In this paper we examine the impact of board structure, ownership structure, risk governance mechanisms and other bank-specific factors on bank risk-taking for a sample of 72 publicly listed European banks. Using a simultaneous equations approach, our main findings indicate that the proportion of independent directors, board size and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power (or CEO authority) negatively affect bank risk-taking during the financial crisis. On the contrary, institutional shareholders positively influence bank risk-taking and both the existence of a risk committee and a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) who is a member of the board have no significant impact. The results remain unchanged when applying both three-stage least squares (3SLS) and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimation methods as well as when all variables are winsorised. Additionally, we extend our analysis for the period before the financial crisis (proxy for “stable” periods) to test whether the impact of governance mechanisms and other determinants of risk-taking depend on environmental conditions and we conclude that it is indeed sensitive to the economic context. In fact, we find that some of governance mechanisms are relevant in crisis conditions but not in non-crisis conditions and thus, their impact depends on macroeconomic conditions.
Metabolic Imaging of the Brain Stem and Spinal Cord: Studies with Positron Emission Tomography Using 18F‐2-Deoxyglucose in Normal and Pathological Cases

A new high resolution positron emission scanner (Neuro-PET) has made possible clear visualization and quantitation of glucose metabolism in the brain stem and upper cervical cord (above C4) using 18F-2-deoxyglucose. The following mean measurements of the glucose utilization rate are based on studies of 34 normal volunteers and patients with no apparent pathology in the brain stem or cord: 5.0 ± 1.0 (SD) mg Glu 100 g min for the mesencephalon-upper pons. 3.2 ± 1.0 for the pons-medulla, and 1.7 ± 0.6 for the upper cervical cord. (The first value also includes studies done with the ECAT-II scanner.) Resolution of white-gray matter within these structures was not possible. Whenever possible, a correlation was made with autoradiographic data in monkeys, and good agreement was found. The glucose utilization in cases showing brain stem and cord pathology was altered, with marked elevation (as high as 8.2 mg 100 g min) in cases of high-grade gliomas, and reduction in cases of low-grade gliomas and one pontine hematoma.
Detection and Assessment of Chemical Hormesis on the Radial Growth in Vitro of Oomycetes and Fungal Plant Pathogens

Although plant diseases can be caused by bacteria, viruses, and protists, most are caused by fungi and fungus-like oomycetes. Intensive use of fungicides with the same mode of action can lead to selection of resistant strains increasing the risk of unmanageable epidemics. In spite of the integrated use of nonchemical plant disease management strategies, agricultural productivity relies heavily on the use of chemical pesticides and biocides for disease prevention and treatment and sanitation of tools and substrates. Despite the prominent use of fungi in early hormesis studies and the continuous use of yeast as a research model, the relevance of hormesis in agricultural systems has not been investigated by plant pathologists, until recently. A protocol was standardized for detection and assessment of chemical hormesis in fungi and oomycetes using radial growth as endpoint. Biphasic dose-responses were observed in Pythium aphanidermatum exposed to subinhibitory doses of ethanol, cyazofamid, and propamocarb, and in Rhizoctonia zeae exposed to ethanol. This report provides an update on chemical hormesis in fungal plant pathogens and a perspective on the potential risks it poses to crop productivity and global food supply.
ANALISIS VARIABEL MAKROEKONOMI TERHADAP INDEKS SAHAM SYARIAH INDONESIA DENGAN METODE PENDEKATAN VECTOR AUTOREGRESSION

This study will use empirical testing of the influence of variables of inflation, BI rate, exchange rate, money supply with Shari'ah Indonesia Stock Index. To see that effect will be made by the tests in stages Vector Autoregression. Data are obtained from the monthly time series data issued by Bank Indonesia, between the period January 2011 to December 2014. This study will use the unit root test by using Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), this test indicates the data is stationary and non-stationary on the first level differense test. On the cointegration test against variables are co integration and long-term relationship between the variables related and linked only in one direction only. So the need to proceed with further testing using VECM. ISSI short-term models affected by inflation and the Money Supply (JUB) at 90% confidence level. ISSI is affected inflation in the first lag significantly affect Indonesia Stock Index Shari'ah. ISSI also affected by the lag JUB 2. Keywords: Vector Autoregression, Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), stasioneritas, first difference, Kointegrasi, VECM
Modeling the Transient Space-Charge-Limited Current Response of Organic Semiconductor Diodes Using the Master Equation Approach

Application of the master equation approach to the space-charge-limited transient situation is considered. The transient responses of thin organic films are simulated by solving the master equation of transport coupled with the Poisson equation. Hopping of the charge carriers between sites is described by the Miller-Abrahams formula. Sites with the Gaussian energetic distribution are localized on a Cartesian lattice. The solutions are calculated using the fully coupled Newton-Raphson method. The details of implementation permitting efficient stationary and transient simulation of unipolar transport are given. This approach gives much better agreement to the experimentally observed space-charge-limited current transient responses than the widely used drift-diffusion model. It is shown that the time position of the transient peak is affected by the contact barrier height. In the case of thin strongly disordered samples, the best observability of the peak is predicted for the intermediate values of the contact barrier.
para-Nitroblebbistatin, the non-cytotoxic and photostable myosin II inhibitor.

Blebbistatin, the best characterized myosin II-inhibitor, is commonly used to study the biological roles of various myosin II isoforms. Despite its popularity, the use of blebbistatin is greatly hindered by its blue-light sensitivity, resulting in phototoxicity and photoconversion of the molecule. Additionally, blebbistatin has serious cytotoxic side effects even in the absence of irradiation, which may easily lead to the misinterpretation of experimental results since the cytotoxicity-derived phenotype could be attributed to the inhibition of the myosin II function. Here we report the synthesis as well as the in vitro and in vivo characterization of a photostable, C15 nitro derivative of blebbistatin with unaffected myosin II inhibitory properties. Importantly, para-nitroblebbistatin is neither phototoxic nor cytotoxic, as shown by cellular and animal tests; therefore it can serve as an unrestricted and complete replacement of blebbistatin both in vitro and in vivo.
Growth Differentiation Factor-9 Stimulates Proliferation but Suppresses the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone-Induced Differentiation of Cultured Granulosa Cells from Small Antral and Preovulatory Rat Follicles1

Abstract In addition to pituitary gonadotropins and paracrine factors, ovarian follicle development is also modulated by oocyte factors capable of stimulating granulosa cell proliferation but suppressing their differentiation. The nature of these oocyte factors is unclear. Because growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) enhanced preantral follicle growth and was detected in the oocytes of early antral and preovulatory follicles, we hypothesized that this oocyte hormone could regulate the proliferation and differentiation of granulosa cells from these advanced follicles. Treatment with recombinant GDF-9, but not FSH, stimulated thymidine incorporation into cultured granulosa cells from both early antral and preovulatory follicles, accompanied by increases in granulosa cell number. Although GDF-9 treatment alone stimulated basal steroidogenesis in granulosa cells, cotreatment with GDF-9 suppressed FSH-stimulated progesterone and estradiol production. In addition, GDF-9 cotreatment attentuated FSH-induced LH receptor formation. The inhibitory effects of GDF-9 on FSH-induced granulosa cell differentiation were accompanied by decreases in the FSH-induced cAMP production. These data suggested that GDF-9 is a proliferation factor for granulosa cells from early antral and preovulatory follicles but suppresses FSH-induced differentiation of the same cells. Thus, oocyte-derived GDF-9 could account, at least partially, for the oocyte factor(s) previously reported to control cumulus and granulosa cell differentiation.
Maturational Constraints on Functional Specializations for Language Processing: ERP and Behavioral Evidence in Bilingual Speakers

Changes in several postnatal maturational processes during neural development have been implicated as potential mechanisms underlying critical period phenomena. Lenneberg hypothesized that maturational processes similar to those that govern sensory and motor development may also constrain capabilities for normal language acquisition. Our goal, using a bilingual model, was to investigate the hypothesis that maturational constraints may have different effects upon the development of the functional specializations of distinct sub within language. Subjects were 61 adult Chinese/English bilinguals who were exposed to English at different points in development: 13, 46, 710, 1113, and after 16 years of age. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and behavioral responses were obtained as subjects read sentences that included semantic anomalies, three types of syntactic violations (phrase structure, specificity constraint, and subjacency constraint), and their controls. The accuracy in judging the grammaticality for the different types of syntactic rules and their associated ERPs was affected by delays in second language exposure as short as 13 years. By comparison the N400 response and the judgment accuracies in detecting semantic anomalies were altered only in subjects who were exposed to English after 1113 and 16 years of age, respectively. Further, the type of changes occurring in ERPs with delays in exposure were qualitatively different for semantic and syntactic processing. All groups displayed a significant N400 effect in response to semantic anomalies, however, the peak latencies of the N400 elicited in bilinguals who were exposed to English between 1113 and >16 years occurred later, suggesting a slight slowing in processing. For syntactic processing. the ERP differences associated with delays in exposure to English were observed in the morphology and distribution of components. Our findings are consistent with the view that maturational changes significantly constrain the development of the neural systems that are relevant for language and, further, that subsystems specialized for processing different aspects of language display different sensitive periods.
Microcirculatory alterations after orthotopic pig‐to‐baboon heart transplantation

Bauer A, Renz V, Baschnegger H, Abicht J‐M, Beiras‐Fernandez A, Brenner P, Thein E, Schmoeckel M, Reichart B, Christ F. Microcirculatory alterations after orthotopic pig‐to‐baboon heart transplantation. Xenotransplantation 2011; 18: 232–238. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
The Diffusion of Military Technology

Abstract The impact of national defense research and development spending on overall innovation depends on the extent to which the knowledge and technologies generated by defense funding diffuse. This article uses an original data-set of patents assigned to defense-servicing organizations to investigate the diffusion of military technologies. Contrary to the predictions of the prevailing scholarship, I find no difference in the rate of diffusion between civilian and military technologies. Neither do military technologies assigned to government agencies diffuse at different rates than those assigned to firms. The overall technological experience of the patent assignee is found to be a positive predictor of the diffusion of military technologies. The effect of the prevailing intellectual property rights regime is ambivalent: when US patents are included in the sample, the effect of patent protection is positive, when the US is excluded, the effect is either non-significant or negative depending on the model specification that is utilized.
ANALISIS PENGARUH MEKANISME CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TERHADAP FINANCIAL DISTRESS

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan menguji secara empiris pengaruh positif dewan direksi, kepemilikan manajerial, dan kualitas komite audit terhadap financial distress, serta untuk menaganalisis dan menguji secara empiris pengaruh negatif ukuran dewan komisaris dan kepemilikan institusi terhadap financial distress. Populasi yang dipergunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh perusahaan manufaktur yangterdaftar diBursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) pada tahun 2011-2013.sedangkan sampelnya adalah menggunakan metode purposive sampling yaitu pengambilan sampel disesuaikan dengan kriteria yang telah ditentukan sebelumnya dengan melakukan perbandingan antara perusahaan yang mengalami financial distress dan perusahaan yang tidak mengalami kondisi financial distress. Jenis data yang dipergunakan adalah data sekunder, dan mengambil data penelitian berupa sumber data yang sudah diolah seperti laporan tahunan (annual report) dan laporan keuangan perusahaan manufaktur dari tahun 2011-2013. Sumber data dalam penelitian ini di dapat dari Indonesia Stock Exchange (Bursa Efek Indonesia). Hasil penelitian dengan menggunakan regresi linier berganda adalah pengujian pada semua variabel kepemilikan manajerial, kepemilikan institusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, ukuran dewan direksi, keahlian komite audit secara bersama-sama berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap financial distress. Pengujian pada semua variabel independen (kepemilikan manajerial, kepemilikan institusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, ukuran dewan direksi, keahlian komite audit) dapat menjelaskan variabel dependen (financial distress) sebesar 24,7% sedangkan sisanya diterangkan oleh faktor yang lain yang tidak diteliti, sepertifaktor kinerja perusahaan, kebijakan deviden, kebijakan hutang, turn over, dan masih banyak yang lainnya. Pengujian pada variabel variabel ukuran dewan direksi, kepemilikan manajerial, dan kualitas komite audit berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap financial distress, sedangkan ukuran dewan komisaris dan kepemilikan institusi berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap financial distress. Kata Kunci :kepemilikan manajerial, kepemilikan institusional, ukuran dewan komisaris, ukuran dewan direksi, keahlian komite audit, financial distress, corporate governance
Behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to pulsed-wave ultrasound in unanesthetized rats.

The present experiment examined the developmental neurotoxicity of pulsed-wave (pw) ultrasound in rats, using an exposure system designed to eliminate restraint or anesthesia from the exposure conditions. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley CD rats trained to remain immobile in a water-filled ultrasound exposure tank were scanned with 3-MHz pw ultrasound at spatial peak temporal average intensities (ISPTA) of 0, 2, 20, or 30 W/cm2 on embryonic days 4-20 for approximately 10 min/day. The data showed that such insonation produced no adverse effects on maternal weight gain or reproductive outcome, nor on the postnatal growth or survival of the offspring. No exposure-related alterations in behavioral development were observed in the offspring of rats scanned with pw ultrasound during gestation. In addition, there was no consistent evidence of an ultrasound-associated change in the adult offspring behaviors tested; i.e., no treatment effects were found on measures of locomotor activity, water maze learning, and acoustic startle reactivity. An effect on tactile startle was observed on some trials in the low exposure group male offspring, but this effect was neither dose dependent nor consistent with any other finding. Overall, these results indicate that the neurobehavioral development of rats was not altered by prenatal exposure to pw ultrasound at ISPTA levels of up to 30 W/cm2.
Update of hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease

Purpose of reviewHematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a curative therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) that is utilized very rarely because of limited allogeneic donor availability, limited healthcare resources needed to expand the treatment to regions in the world where most affected individuals reside, and by a view among SCD experts that HCT lacks the evidential rigor with short and long-term toxicity profiles that together might support its broader application. Recent findingsIn this update, recent advances focused on donor selection, reduced toxicity preparation for HCT, and treatment of young adults will be presented. The current status of conventional bone marrow transplantation with a human leukocyte antigen-identical sibling donor is summarized. SummaryHCT for SCD is curative in almost all children who have a human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling donor. The future of this therapy will hinge on expanding the number of individuals who might be treated.
Apolipoprotein epsilon4 allele status, depressive symptoms, and cognitive decline in middle-aged and elderly persons without dementia.

OBJECTIVE Because the apolipoprotein epsilon4 (APOE-epsilon4) allele or depressive symptoms may increase the risk for development of Alzheimer disease (AD), the authors assessed APOE-epsilon4 status, baseline level of depressive symptoms, and subsequent cognitive decline in middle-aged and older persons without dementia. METHODS The 49 subjects (age range: 51-85 years) included 20 with and 29 without APOE-epsilon4. Baseline and follow-up neuropsychological assessments determined the degree of cognitive decline. RESULTS Baseline mild depressive symptoms were greater in APOE-epsilon4 carriers than in non-carriers. The subject groups demonstrated significant cognitive decline at follow-up. APOE-epsilon4 carriers showed a significantly greater rate of verbal memory decline than non-carriers. Baseline depressive symptoms, however, did not predict future cognitive decline. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that APOE-epsilon4 carriers may have a greater severity of depressive symptoms than non-carriers. The APOE-epsilon4 allele (but not baseline mild depressive symptoms) is associated with verbal memory decline in middle-aged and older persons. Because of the limited range of depression scores in our sample, these findings should be interpreted with caution and not be generalized to patients with syndromal depression.
Generation of Simulated Calcific Lesions in Valve Leaflets for Flow Studies.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common valvular disorder. While fluid stresses are presumed to play a role in disease progression, the valvular hemodynamic changes experienced over the course of CAVD remain largely unknown. The study aim was to develop a laboratory protocol for the fabrication of tissue valve models mimicking mild and moderate calcific stenosis, for future use in flow studies. METHODS Different hydroxyapatite (HA)-agarose mixtures were injected into porcine valve leaflets. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to quantify HA deposition volume, area fraction and regional distribution, while von Kossa staining was performed to assess tissue mineralization. Particle image velocimetry measurements were carried out in intact and injected valves subjected to in vivo-like hemodynamics to characterize the degree of valvular stenosis in terms of geometric orifice area (GOA) and peak systolic velocity. RESULTS The 5% HA-1% agarose solution (solution 1) and the 5% HA-0.5% agarose solution (solution 2) maximized the HA deposition volume. Leaflet injections with solution 1 resulted in a significant 1.9-fold increase in HA area fraction relative to solution 2 injections. While solution 1 injections generated multiple sites of high HA concentration, solution 2 injections produced smaller, discrete spots. Injections of both solution 1 and solution 2 into whole valves generated significant 47% and 32% reductions, respectively, in GOA and 1.8-fold and 1.5-fold increases, respectively, in peak systolic velocity, relative to untreated valves. CONCLUSION Tissue valve models were generated that recapitulated the structure and hemodynamics of mild and moderate valvular calcification. Those models may be used for future investigations of the native valvular hemodynamic alterations that occur during CAVD.
Maitotoxin activates a nonselective cation channel and a P 2 Z / P 2 X 7-like cytolytic pore in human skin fibroblasts

Schilling, William P., William G. Sinkins, and Mark Estacion. Maitotoxin activates a nonselective cation channel and a P2Z/P2X7-like cytolytic pore in human skin fibroblasts. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Cell Physiol. 46): C755–C765, 1999. — Maitotoxin (MTX), a potent cytolytic agent, activates Ca21 entry via nonselective cation channels in virtually all types of cells. The identity of the channels involved and the biochemical events leading to cell lysis remain unknown. In the present study, the effect of MTX on plasmalemmal permeability of human skin fibroblasts was examined. MTX produced a timeand concentration-dependent increase in cytosolic free Ca21 concentration that depended on extracellular Ca21 and was relatively insensitive to blockade by extracellular lanthanides. MTX also produced a timeand concentrationdependent increase in plasmalemma permeability to larger molecules as indicated by 1) uptake of ethidium (314 Da), 2) uptake of YO-PRO-1 (375 Da), 3) release of intracellular fura 2 (636 Da), 4) uptake of POPO-3 (715 Da), and, ultimately, 5) release of lactate dehydrogenase (relative molecular weight of 140,000). At the single cell level, uptake of YO-PRO-1 correlated in time with the appearance of large MTX-induced membrane currents carried by the organic cation, N-methylD-glucamine (167 Da). Thus MTX initially activates Ca21permeable cation channels and later induces the formation of large pores. These effects of MTX on plasmalemmal permeability are similar to those seen on activation of P2Z/P2X7 receptors in a variety of cell types, raising the intriguing possibility that MTX and P2Z/P2X7 receptor stimulation activate a common cytolytic pore.
Dickkopf‐1 (DKK‐1) stimulated prostate cancer growth and metastasis and inhibited bone formation in osteoblastic bone metastases

Osteoblastic bone metastasis is the predominant phenotype observed in prostate cancer patients and is associated with high patient mortality and morbidity. However, the mechanisms determining the development of this phenotype are not well understood. Prostate cancer cells secrete several osteogenic factors including Wnt proteins, which are not only osteoinductive but also oncogenic. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the contribution of the Wnt signaling pathway in prostate cancer growth, incidence of bone metastases, and osteoblastic phenotype of bone metastases. The strategy involved overexpressing the Wnt antagonist, DKK‐1, in the mixed osteoblastic and osteolytic Ace‐1 prostate cancer cells.