Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Credit valuation adjustment and wrong way risk

We propose a copula function approach to evaluate credit valuation adjustment (CVA) under the assumption of wrong way risk, that is, dependence between the underlying asset and the default risk of the counter party. The model is applied to interest rate swap contracts that represent a huge share of the worldwide over-the-counter derivatives market. The model extends the seminal Sorensen and Bollier approach that was based on the assumption of independence between market and credit risk. Using copulas grants maximum flexibility with the choice of both term structure and credit risk models, as well as the dependence between the two. Closed-form hedging and pricing formulas are obtained for extreme dependence assumptions and for copula functions of the Fréchet family, that is, mixture copulas of the perfect dependence and the independence copulas. An illustrative application shows that dependence affects both the level and the slope of the CVA spreads.
Performance management and corporate social responsibility: the strategic connection

Business performance is examined and critically discussed, incorporating a framework by linking measurement and its management operationally and strategically in order to create an impetus for success. Corporate social responsibility is defined and placed in its contemporary business context, highlighting the importance of stakeholder dialogue for the development of the added value dimensions, both in economic and societal terms. The synergy and relationship between strategic performance and corporate social responsibility, in a good ethical climate, are expounded and exposed as a vehicle for galvanizing management action leading to business excellence and stakeholder satisfaction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gut Microbiome Associates With Lifetime Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profile Among Bogalusa Heart Study Participants.

RATIONALE Few studies have systematically assessed the influence of gut microbiota on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between gut microbiota and lifetime CVD risk profile among 55 Bogalusa Heart Study participants with the highest and 57 with the lowest lifetime burdens of CVD risk factors. METHODS AND RESULTS 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing was conducted on microbial DNA extracted from stool samples of the Bogalusa Heart Study participants. α Diversity, including measures of richness and evenness, and individual genera were tested for associations with lifetime CVD risk profile. Multivariable regression techniques were used to adjust for age, sex, and race (model 1), along with body mass index (model 2) and both body mass index and diet (model 3). In model 1, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for each SD increase in richness, measured by the number of observed operational taxonomic units, Chao 1 index, and abundance-based coverage estimator, were 0.62 (0.39-0.99), 0.61 (0.38-0.98), and 0.63 (0.39-0.99), respectively. Associations were consistent in models 2 and 3. Four genera were enriched among those with high versus low CVD risk profile in all models. Model 1 P values were 2.12×10(-3), 7.95×10(-5), 4.39×10(-4), and 1.51×10(-4) for Prevotella 2, Prevotella 7, Tyzzerella, and Tyzzerella 4, respectively. Two genera were depleted among those with high versus low CVD risk profile in all models. Model 1 P values were 2.96×10(-6) and 1.82×10(-4) for Alloprevotella and Catenibacterium, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The current study identified associations of overall microbial richness and 6 microbial genera with lifetime CVD risk.
Over the Hedge: Do Exporters Practice Selective Hedging?

What determines exporters’ exchange rate hedging decisions and do exporters attempt to “time the market”? We use a unique unit record longitudinal administrative dataset on firm exports to find the determinants of exporters’ currency hedging choices. Determinants include financial fragility, prior hedging experience, and natural hedge opportunities. In addition, firms alter their hedging ratios when the currency has recently trended in one direction. We test whether such behaviour reflects firm characteristics (such as pricing power). We find that these responses are ubiquitous for all but large firms and for all times other than when the exchange rate is near its extreme high or low historical values. These results are consistent with most firms practicing selective hedging (market timing) behaviour that reflects a belief in exchange rate momentum effects. However, this behaviour appears sub-optimal since momentum effects are statistically absent from the underlying exchange rate data.
Industrial Structure and Capital Flows

This paper provides a new theory of international capital flows. In a framework that integrates factor-proportions-based trade and financial capital flows, a novel force emerges: capital tends to flow toward countries that become more specialized in capital-intensive industries. This "composition" effect competes with the standard force that channels capital toward the location where it is scarcer. If the composition effect dominates, capital flows away from the country hit by a positive labor force/productivity shock - a flow "reversal. " Extended to a quantitative framework, the model generates sizable current account imbalances between developing and developed countries broadly consistent with the data.
The Market Valuation of Share Repurchases in Europe. A Cross Country Analysis

We analyze a uniquely constructed data set of open market share repurchases across a sample of European firms. We find that the announcement date market reaction is lower than that in the US, mainly because of (i) the relatively large number of recurring announcements which generate significantly lower returns than the initial announcements of intention to repurchase shares; (ii) the rather low market reaction in France, due probably to specific governance and corporate cultural issues; and (iii) the regulatory reform that allowed UK firms to keep the repurchased shares as treasury stock, which decreased their market impact. Across our countries, taxation, shareholder protection, and the European Union’s Market Abuse Directive do not affect significantly the market valuation of repurchases. Our results imply that ultimately, domestic institutional specificities and reforms play significant roles in the market valuation and popularity of share repurchases.
Exploring experiences of and attitudes towards mental illness and disclosure amongst health care professionals: a qualitative study

Abstract Background: The literature suggests that many health professionals hold stigmatising attitudes towards those with mental illness and that this impacts on patient care. Little attention has been given to how these attitudes affect colleagues with a mental illness. Current research demonstrates that stigma and discrimination are common in the UK workplace and impact on one’s decision to disclose mental illness. Aims: This study aims to explore health professionals’ experiences of and attitudes towards mental illness and disclosure in the workplace. Methods: This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 24 health professionals employed by an NHS (National Health Service) trust. 13 of these worked in mental health, and 11 in other health fields. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis was used to identify themes. Results: Five key themes were identified from the data: personal experiences and their effect in changing attitudes; perceived stigmatising views of mental illness in other staff members; hypothetical disclosure: factors affecting one’s decision; attitudes towards disclosure; support in the workplace after disclosure; and, applying only to those working outside of the mental health field, mental illness is not talked about. The results indicated that participants had a great deal of experience with colleagues with a mental illness and that support in the workplace for such illnesses is variable. Attitudes of participating health professionals towards colleagues with a mental illness appeared to be positive, however, they did report that other colleagues held negative attitudes. Deciding to disclose a mental illness was a carefully thought out decision with a number of advantages and disadvantages noted. In particular, it was found that health professionals’ fear stigma and discrimination from colleagues and that this would dissuade participants from disclosing a mental illness. Conclusion: In many respects, this research supports the findings in other workplaces. Such findings need to be investigated further to identify the degree to which these experiences and attitudes can be applied to other health professionals in other healthcare settings to determine what intervention is necessary. Importantly, this study has also indicated that the level of support available to NHS health professionals with a mental illness is variable, suggesting the need to identify and replicate positive practice.
A WEAK HUMAN MLR LOCUS MAPPING AT THE RIGHT OF A CROSSING‐OVER BETWEEN HLA‐D, Bf AND GLO

An unexpected MLR reaction has been observed between three HLA‐identical sibs; it consists of a bidirectional positive MLR between identical female twins and a sister. No argument for a lymphoid mosaic could be found, although twins were frequent in the family; similary no HLA‐A/B or HLA‐B/D recombinant could be demonstrated.
National Parliamentary Control of EU Policy: The Challenge of Supranational Institutional Development

The history of the EU is characterised by rapid and complex institutional development. This leaves European Affairs Committees (EACs) in national parliaments with a moving target problem in their endeavours to control the government's EU policies. This paper investigates how EACs react to this challenge. Building on the rational delegation literature, it is argued that EACs are likely to adapt control instruments in tandem with institutional changes at the supranational level. Using McCubbins and Schwartz (1984, American Journal of Political Science, 28, 165–179), it is further argued that EACs are likely to want to impose both police patrol and fire alarm control on the government. These arguments are investigated in the case of Denmark during the 50-year period since the first Danish application for EU membership in 1961, and considerable support is found for the authors' hypotheses.
Can there be short-period deterministic cycles when people are long lived?

This paper considers whether short-period deterministic cycles can exist in a class of stationary overlapping generations models with long- (but finite-) lived agents. It shows that if agents discount the future positively, then as life spans get large, nonmonetary cycles will disappear. Further, neither constant monetary steady states nor stationary monetary cycles can exist. It also shows that if agents discount the future negatively, then there are robust examples in which constant monetary steady states as well as stationary monetary cycles (with undiminished amplitude) can occur no matter how long agents live.
Entropy statistics and information theory

Entropy measures provide important tools to indicate variety in distributions at particular moments in time (e.g., market shares) and to analyse evolutionary processes over time (e.g., technical change). Importantly, entropy statistics are suitable to decomposition analysis, which renders the measure preferable to alternatives like the Herfindahl index in cases of decomposition analysis. There are several applications of entropy in the realms of industrial organisation and innovation studies.
Easy come, easy go. Retention of blood donors

Retention of blood donors has benefits over recruitment of new blood donors. Retention is defined as preventing donors from lapsing and eventually becoming inactive. This review paper discusses literature on the importance of efforts to retain donors, specifically new donors, since lapsing is most common before the fifth donation. Studies have found that intention to donate, attitudes towards blood donation and self‐efficacy (does one feel capable of donating blood) are predictors of blood donation. Feelings of ‘warm glow’ predict donation behaviour better than altruism. The existing literature further suggests that first time donors can be retained by paying extra attention to adverse events (vasovagal reactions and fatigue). These events could be reduced by drinking water and muscle tension exercises. Feelings of anxiety (in regular donors) and stress can further prevent donors from returning. Planning donations amongst busy lives can help retention, and suggestions are given on which interventions might be helpful.
Whole-Exome Sequencing Analyses of Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Associated Colorectal Cancers.

BACKGROUND & AIMS A long duration of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk for colorectal cancer. Mutation analysis of limited numbers of genes has indicated that colorectal tumors that develop in patients with IBD differ from those of patients without IBD. We performed whole-exome sequencing analyses to characterize the genetic landscape of these tumors. METHODS We collected colorectal tumor and non-neoplastic tissues from 31 patients with IBD and colorectal cancer (15 with ulcerative colitis, 14 with Crohn's disease, and 2 with indeterminate colitis) and performed whole-exome sequencing analyses of the microdissected tumor and matched nontumor tissues. We identified somatic alterations by comparing matched specimens. The prevalence of mutations in sporadic colorectal tumors was obtained from previously published exome-sequencing studies. RESULTS Two specimens had somatic mutations in the DNA proofreading or mismatch repair genes POLE, MLH1, and MSH6 and the tumor cells had a hypermutable phenotype. The remaining tumors had, on average, 71 alterations per sample. TP53 was the most commonly mutated gene, with prevalence similar to that of sporadic colorectal tumors (63% of cases). However, tumors from the patients with IBD had a different mutation spectrum. APC and KRAS were mutated at significantly lower rates in tumors from patients with IBD than in sporadic colorectal tumors (13% and 20% of cases, respectively). Several genes were mutated more frequently or uniquely in tumors from patients with IBD, including SOX9 and EP300 (which encode proteins in the WNT pathway), NRG1 (which encodes an ERBB ligand), and IL16 (which encodes a cytokine). Our study also revealed recurrent mutations in components of the Rho and Rac GTPase network, indicating a role for noncanonical WNT signaling in development of colorectal tumors in patients with IBD. CONCLUSIONS Colorectal tumors that develop in patients with IBD have distinct genetic features from sporadic colorectal tumors. These findings could be used to develop disease-specific markers for diagnosis and treatment of patients with IBD and colorectal cancer.
HRM, Strategic Climate and Employee Outcomes in Hospitals: HRM Care for Cure?

textabstractThe hospital sector – and more broadly the healthcare sector - is increasingly under pressure to operate more efficiently and effectively and has to respond to the challenges of increased market orientation, changed legislation and providing demand driven care. The most crucial factor in taking up these challenges involves the people (managers, professionals, specialists, nurses etc.) working in this sector. Although policy makers in healthcare increasingly recognize that a well-motivated, appropriate skilled and deployed workforce is crucial for the success of health system delivery, empirical research focused on the added value of HRM in healthcare remains scarce. This thesis aims to fill this gap and is focused on enhancing our understanding of the process through which Human Resource Management influences performance in hospitals. The thesis builds on the strategic HRM literature, HRM process models, and climate literature and bridges ‘macro’ (organizational level) and ‘micro’ (individual level) research. More specifically, the thesis is focused on the mediating role of strategic climate in the relationship between HRM and outcomes. According to the strategic climate approach a strategic climate should encourage employees to respond and behave in ways that support the strategic objectives of the organization. The results in this thesis show that multiple strategic climate types can be distinguished (i.e. climate for quality, safety, and innovation) across the participating hospitals. Moreover, the results show that employee perceptions of the HR system help to create strategic climate perceptions, which in turn affect relevant employee outcomes. In order to take into account the specific characteristics of the hospital context, and to bridge the gap between research and practice, a contextually based research approach is applied.
THIN TRADING AND THE ESTIMATION OF BETAS: THE EFFICACY OF ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUES

Infrequent trading induces biased estimates of the beta risk coefficient. This paper reports on the efficacy of approaches that seek to correct for this bias and documents the extent of thin trading among New Zealand securities. Parameter estimates free of the thin-trading bias are obtained. These are compared with estimates obtained using ordinary least squares (OLS) applied in the conventional manner to nonsynchronous data, with and without bias-correcting procedures. OLS beta estimates are found to be less biased, more efficient, and as consistent when compared with Dimson or Scholes-Williams estimators. Lower beta estimates are associated with lower trading frequencies.
The effects of relational bonds on online customer satisfaction

The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the effects of relational bonds on online customer satisfaction using gender and time horizon as moderators. The findings are three-fold. First, the financial and structural bonds have positive impacts on online shoppers’ satisfaction; however, the social bond does not. Second, the financial, social, and structural bonds have more positive impacts on female, than male, customer satisfaction. Third, the financial bond is more successful in strengthening customer satisfaction for short-term than for long-term customers; however, the structural bond is more important for long-term than for short-term customers.
Lysophosphatidic acid stimulates PC‐3 prostate cancer cell matrigel invasion through activation of RhoA and NF‐κB activity

This study was performed to determine the relationship of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) stimulation and increased Ras homolog A (RhoA) activity to nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) activity, and the role of these factors in regulating prostate cancer cell invasion. PC‐3 high invasive cells demonstrated constitutively increased RhoA, NF‐κB, and in vitro Matrigel invasion which were further induced by LPA stimulation or transfection with constitutively active RhoA Q63E mutant. LPA treatment rapidly and transiently induced RhoA activity followed by maximally increased DNA binding of NF‐κB at 1 h and AP‐1 at 4 h. The LPA‐induced NF‐κB DNA binding was preceded by transient IκBα phosphorylation, and decreased total IκBα levels. Further demonstrating the relationship between RhoA and NF‐κB activation, PC‐3 cells stably transfected with constitutively active RhoA Q63E demonstrated constitutively increased phospho‐IκBα, while PC‐3 cells transfected with dominant negative RhoA N19 exhibited decreased phospho‐IκBα levels. The LPA‐induced Matrigel invasion and NF‐κB DNA binding activity were both inhibited by expression of the RhoA inhibitor C3 exoenzyme or dominant negative mutant NF‐κB inhibitor IκBα S32/36A. Similarly, transfection with dominant negative IκBα S32/36A inhibited PC‐3 RhoA Q63E cell in vitro invasion. Treatment of PC‐3 high invasive and RhoA Q63E cells with sodium salicylate or lactacystin inhibited NF‐κB and invasion, while pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) treatment of PC‐3 high invasive cells inhibited NF‐κB only. Each inhibitor blocked LPA‐induced invasion while PDTC inhibited LPA‐induced NF‐κB and invasion to the greatest extent. These results point to a model where LPA stimulates RhoA and increased PC‐3 prostate cancer cell invasion activity through an NF‐κB‐dependent pathway. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Trade Imbalance and Domestic Market Competition Policy

This study investigates the effect of a country's suppression of competition in its market for nontradables. It assumes that the initial equilibrium is stationary and demonstrates that if competition is suppressed in a small country, the country's trade surplus increases in the short run. In the large country case, the same change creates an excess demand for future tradables and affects the relative price between present and future tradables. Using a two-country model, the study shows that this price change redistributes real wealth from the country with a trade deficit to the country with a trade surplus.
It's not just about anatomy: In vivo bioluminescence imaging as an eyepiece into biology

Among the newly described tools that enable analyses of cellular and molecular events in living animals, in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) offers important opportunities for investigating a wide variety of disease processes. BLI utilizes luciferase as an internal biological light source that can be genetically programmed to noninvasively “report” the presence or activation of specific biological events. Applications of BLI have included the use of luciferase to demonstrate expression of cell‐ and tissue‐specific promoters, label cell populations, guide detection by other imaging modalities, and detect protein‐protein interaction. These applications of BLI technology have allowed quantitative measurements of tumor burden and treatment response, immune cell trafficking, and detection of gene transfer. Spatiotemporal information can be rapidly obtained in the context of whole biological systems in vivo, which can accelerate the development of experimental therapeutic strategies. This paper provides a review of the biological applications in which in vivo BLI has been utilized to nondestructively monitor biological processes in intact small animal models, and highlights some of the advancements that will increase the versatility of BLI as a molecular imaging tool. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;16:378–387. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.