Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Power of the Pen and Executive Compensation

We examine the press' role in monitoring and influencing executive compensation practice using more than 11,000 press articles about CEO compensation from 1994 to 2002. Negative press coverage is more strongly related to excess annual pay than to raw annual pay, suggesting a sophisticated approach by the media in selecting CEOs to cover. However, negative coverage is also greater for CEOs with more option exercises, suggesting the press engages in some degree of "sensationalism. " We find little evidence that firms respond to negative press coverage by decreasing excess CEO compensation or increasing CEO turnover.
Building Machines that Learn and Think for Themselves: Commentary on Lake et al., Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2017

We agree with Lake and colleagues on their list of key ingredients for building humanlike intelligence, including the idea that model-based reasoning is essential. However, we favor an approach that centers on one additional ingredient: autonomy. In particular, we aim toward agents that can both build and exploit their own internal models, with minimal human hand-engineering. We believe an approach centered on autonomous learning has the greatest chance of success as we scale toward real-world complexity, tackling domains for which ready-made formal models are not available. Here we survey several important examples of the progress that has been made toward building autonomous agents with humanlike abilities, and highlight some outstanding challenges.
Peritonitis Associated with Vancomycin-ResistantLactobacillus rhamnosus in a Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Patient: Organism Identification, Antibiotic Therapy, and Case Report

ABSTRACT A case of Lactobacillus rhamnosus-associated peritonitis in a patient undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is reported. The patient was treated with vancomycin after isolation of glycopeptide-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci. After a skin rash developed, vancomycin was discontinued and replaced with teicoplanin. Seven weeks after the glycopeptide therapy was discontinued, a Lactobacillus strain was isolated in pure cultures. The isolate was identified first incorrectly as L. acidophilus but later correctly as L. rhamnosus. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that the isolate was resistant to glycopeptides but susceptible to several other antibiotics. The antibiotic treatment was then switched to imipenem and was successful.
New Antifungal Cholestane and Aldehyde Derivatives from the Red Alga Laurencia papillosa

The chloroform/methanol extract of the red alga, Laurencia papillosa, collected from the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, was found to contain two cholestane derivatives: 3α, 6α-dihydroxy-5β-cholestan-12-one (1) and the known, 6β-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one (2), which was isolated separately in a pure form for the first time. In addition to these compounds, a new aldehyde derivative, (E)-2-{(E) tridec-2-en-2-yl} heptadec-2-enal (3), was isolated. The structures of all compounds were established based on extensive spectroscopic (1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR) and mass spectrometric studies. All compounds, except 2, were tested for their antifungal activity. Significant activities were associated with 1 and 3 against Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and A. flavus.
Direct effect of chronic hypoxia in suppressing large conductance Ca2+‐activated K+ channel activity in ovine uterine arteries via increasing oxidative stress

Chronic hypoxia has a direct effect in down‐regulating the BKCa channel β1 subunit and inhibiting the BKCa channel activity in uterine arteries of pregnant sheep. Oxidative stress plays a causal role in hypoxia‐mediated suppression of BKCa channel function. The steroid hormone‐induced effect on BKCa channels is a target of hypoxia‐mediated oxidative stress. Inhibition of oxidative stress ameliorates the adverse effect of hypoxia both ex vivo and in vivo in pregnant sheep exposed to long‐term high‐altitude hypoxia. Our findings provide novel evidence of a causative role of oxidative stress in hypoxia‐mediated inhibition of the BKCa channel activity in uterine arteries and new insights in understanding and alleviating pregnancy complications associated with gestational hypoxia such as pre‐eclampsia and fetal growth restriction.
Preterm births in a resource constrained setting: sociobiologic risk factors and perinatal outcomes

Background : To determine maternal risk factors and perinatal outcomes of preterm births in south-western Nigeria. Methods : A retrospective study of preterm and term deliveries in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. The delivery records were reviewed and case files of preterm births were identified and retrieved. Perinatal outcomes were determined by review of the postnatal and special care baby unit records. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to determine factors independently associated with preterm births. Adjusted odds ratios and confidence intervals were determined. Results : The preterm birth rate was 5.7%. Prelabour rupture of membranes was the leading cause of preterm birth, while a third of them were unexplainable. Age >35yrs (AOR 2.16(1.36-3.42)), the unbooked status (AOR 2.52(1.76-3.61)), Previous history of preterm delivery (AOR 6.41(2.48-16.60)), pre-labour rupture of membranes (AOR 11.08(6.01-18.56)), antepartum haemorrhage (AOR 10.91(4.94-24.09)), multiple gestations (AOR 32.23(13.07-79.50)) and hypertension in pregnancy(AOR6.42(3.79-10.88)) were independently associated with preterm delivery. Low birthweight, asphyxia, neonatal intensive care unit admission and perinatal mortality were common among preterm births. The perinatal mortality rate among the preterm neonates was 14.5%. Conclusion : Preterm birth remains a significant cause of perinatal deaths. Strategies addressing potentially modifiable risk factors will reduce the incidence and improve the perinatal outcomes associated with preterm births. Keywords : preterm delivery, prematurity, perinatal mortality, Nigeria.
A neuro-computational intelligence analysis of the US retailers' efficiency

Purpose – Understanding efficiency levels is crucial for understanding the competitive structure of a market and/or segments of a market. The purpose of this paper is to assess the market performance of the top retailers in the USA using 2007 operating data. It also aims to benchmark the performance of neuro‐intelligence models against traditional statistical techniques.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses neuro‐intelligence models to classify the relative efficiency of top USA retailers. Accuracy indices derived from the application of a non‐parametric data envelopment analysis approach are used to assess the classification accuracy of the models.Findings – Results indicate that the neuro‐intelligence models are superior to traditional statistical methods. The paper also shows that the neuro‐intelligence models have a great potential for the classification of retailers' relative efficiency due to their robustness and flexibility of modeling algorithms.Originality/value – The paper contributes pr.
Natural Experiments in Mobile Phone Regulation: Estimated Effects of Prohibiting Handset Bundling in Finland and Belgium

Vertical restrictions have theoretically ambiguous efficiency effects. Marketplace evidence is therefore required to reveal the presence of anti-competitive foreclosure. The bundling of mobile phones with cellular network service offers one such market test. Two European nations — Finland and Belgium — prohibited tying arrangements for mobile service and mobile devices (handsets) in wireless broadband (3G) markets. These rules were abandoned in 2006 and 2010, respectively, creating natural experiments.This article compares 3G subscribership in European countries from 2003 through 2012. Finland and Belgium, while banning bundles, exhibited 3G penetration levels only about a third of the EU 15 average. Following their respective regime switches, relative 3G penetration levels improved markedly in these countries — Finland, in fact, became an EU leader. Regressions adjusting for market specific factors quantify the effects. The data are consistent with the view that carrier handset subsidies, which are strongly supported by bundling services with hardware, help internalize network effects that, if unsupported by the network carriers, may go unrealized. Vertical integration here appears to assist in productive ecosystem creation, not anti-competitive foreclosure.
Continuously generated H2O2 stimulates the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts

Numerous studies have shown that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) inhibits proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation in bone‐like cells. Human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PLF) are capable of differentiating into osteoblasts and are exposed to oxidative stress during periodontal inflammation. However, the cellular responses of PLF to H2O2 have not been identified. In this study, we examined how H2O2 affects the viability and proliferation of PLF by exposing the cells to glucose oxidase (GO) or direct addition of H2O2. We also explored the effects of GO on the osteoblastic differentiation of PLF and the mechanisms involved. The viability and proliferation in PLF were increased with the addition of 10 mU/ml GO but not by volumes greater than 15 mU/ml or by H2O2 itself. GO‐stimulated DNA synthesis was correlated with the increase in cyclin E protein levels in the cells. Osteoblastic differentiation of PLF was also augmented by combined treatment with GO, as evidenced by the increases in alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization, collagen synthesis, and osteocalcin content in the cells. The inductions of runt‐related transcription factor 2 and osterix mRNA and proteins were further increased in PLF incubated in combination with GO compared to those in untreated cells. These results demonstrate that the continuous presence of H2O2 stimulates the proliferation of PLF and augments their potential to differentiate into osteoblasts through the up‐regulation of bone‐specific transcription factors. Collectively, we suggest that H2O2 may elicit the functions of PLF in maintaining the dimensions of the periodontal ligament and in mediating a balanced metabolism in alveolar bone. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 1426–1436, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Efficient and consistent transaction processing in wireless data broadcast environments

Hybrid, i.e., push and pull-based, data delivery is likely to become a method of choice for the distribution of information to a large user population in many new mobile and stationary applications. One of the major issues in hybrid data delivery networks is to provide clients with a consistent and current view on the data delivered by the server through a broadband broadcast channel and a set of dedicated narrowband unicast channels while minimizing the users’ response times. Another complementary problem in hybrid data delivery is the caching policy of the clients that needs to solve the mismatch between the server’s broadcast schedule and the individual user’s access pattern, to compensate for the sequential access characteristics of the air-cache, and to function as a last-resort source for non-current object versions that have been physically evicted from the server storage facilities. In this doctoral thesis, we first discuss the various wireless network types currently available to provide data communication services and show that the majority of them exhibit asymmetry in the bandwidth capacity (i.e., those networks which have a significantly higher bandwidth available from servers to clients than in the reverse direction), data volume, and service load. We then argue that hybrid data delivery which integrates the traditional pull and the rather novel push techniques is an attractive communication mode to create highly scalable and flexible data services. A brief overview of the environmental and system-immanent constraints of mobile computing systems follows and we reason that providing good system throughput results along with strong semantic guar-
Development of a Surface Adhesion Immunofluorescent Technique for the rapid detection of Salmonella spp. from meat and poultry

A rapid method based on bacterial adhesion was developed for the detection of Salmonella in an enriched meat system. Minced beef samples inoculated with Salm. enteritidis (10 cfu g−1) were incubated overnight (18 h) at 37 °C in buffered peptone water. Salmonella enteritidis cells were isolated from the enriched meat sample by surface adhesion onto a polycarbonate membrane attached to a glass slide. The organisms attached to this polycarbonate membrane were subsequently visualized using immunofluorescent microscopy. The technique had a detection level of log10 3·5 Salmonella ml−1. The surface adhesion immunofluorescent technique correlated well with Salmonella plate counts (r2 = 0·99). Application of the rapid method to retail beef and poultry samples (n = 100) confirmed the correlation between this technique and traditional microbiological procedures. Thirty‐one retail samples were reported positive for Salmonella species. No false positives or negatives were recorded for the rapid method.
Autosomal dominant cataracts and Peters anomaly in a large Australian family

Peters anomaly is a congenital corneal opacity with underlying defects in the posterior stroma, Descemets membrane and corneal endothelium. It is a disorder resulting from abnormal migration or function of neural crest cells and may include abnormalities of other anterior segment structures, such as the lens and iris. We report a family in which anterior segment abnormalities, including Peters anomaly and cataracts, were inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. Although the PAX6 gene on chromosome 11 has been shown to be involved in some cases of anterior segment developmental defects, we found no evidence that the condition in this family is linked to the PAX6 gene. Identification of this gene will indicate another gene with major involvement in the development of the anterior segment of the eye.
Mesograzers in Posidonia oceanica meadows: an update of data on gastropod-epiphyte-seagrass interactions

Information on dietary habits of mesograzers in Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows is scarce and restricted to a few species. Here we provide data on the most likely food sources for eight gastropod species inferred from stable isotope data. We observed very similar isotopic signals for all species regardless of trophic guild category, indicating similar consumption behaviour with a main diet contribution from epiphytes. We also review the state of knowledge on gastropod-epiphyte-seagrass interactions, with particular emphasis on the scarcity of studies derived from Mediterranean systems. Laboratory experiments showed that under moderately nutrientenriched conditions, two species of gastropods (Bittium reticulatum and Jujubinus striatus) were controlling epiphyte biomass at high grazer densities, with no consequences for seagrass performance. Finally, the results of a long-term in situ fertilisation experiment showed that the d15N signal for seagrass, epiphytes and gastropods reflects experimentally induced eutrophication, thus cascading up nutrient effects throughout the food web.
The parasympathetic pathways to internal eye muscles.

The sphincter iridae and ciliary muscles of the alert monkey differ in their frequency response to intracranial electrical stimulation of the third nerve. Unilateral pupil constriction falls off when stimulation frequencies exceed 100 Hz. , but brisk accommodation responses are obtained up to at least 1,000 Hz. Electrical stimulation of the short ciliary nerves in the anesthetized monkey produces good responses in both sphincter iridae and ciliary muscles to frequencies of at least 1,000 Hz. Local application of nicotine to the ciliary ganglion abolishes pupil constriction, but not accommodation, on electrical stimulation of the third cranial nerve proximal to the ciliary ganglion. It is concluded that the motor pathway for accommodation does not have a synapse in the ciliary ganglion while that for pupil constriction does.
Electrocrystallization of CaCO3 Crystals Obtained through Phosphorylated Chitin

A phosphorylated chitin (Chi-P) derivative was synthesized and its chemical structure was verified with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric techniques (TGA). The influence of Chi-P used as a solid template through in vitro electrocrystallization (EC) supported on an indium zinc oxide (ITO) surface on the growth of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was studied. CaCO3 crystals through EC essays were also compared with crystals obtained with the gas diffusion (GD) method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), chronopotentiometry, Raman, and powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) characterized all resultant inorganic particles. Our findings revealed that the EC method selectively controlled the coexistence of truncate calcite and the metastable phase of vaterite. The crystals’ morphology reflects the electrostatic interaction of phosphate moieties from Chi-P onto CaCO3 crystals through both EC and GD crystallization methods. We believe that the EC method represents a viable electrochemical approach for studying different inorganic minerals and could be useful as an in vitro classical crystallization method for the design of advanced inorganic materials with desirable shapes and properties.
Concise Review: Humanized Models of Tumor Immunology in the 21st Century: Convergence of Cancer Research and Tissue Engineering

Despite positive testing in animal studies, more than 80% of novel drug candidates fail to proof their efficacy when tested in humans. This is primarily due to the use of preclinical models that are not able to recapitulate the physiological or pathological processes in humans. Hence, one of the key challenges in the field of translational medicine is to “make the model organism mouse more human. ” To get answers to questions that would be prognostic of outcomes in human medicine, the mouse's genome can be altered in order to create a more permissive host that allows the engraftment of human cell systems. It has been shown in the past that these strategies can improve our understanding of tumor immunology. However, the translational benefits of these platforms have still to be proven. In the 21st century, several research groups and consortia around the world take up the challenge to improve our understanding of how to humanize the animal's genetic code, its cells and, based on tissue engineering principles, its extracellular microenvironment, its tissues, or entire organs with the ultimate goal to foster the translation of new therapeutic strategies from bench to bedside. This article provides an overview of the state of the art of humanized models of tumor immunology and highlights future developments in the field such as the application of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies to further enhance humanized murine model systems. Stem Cells 2015;33:1696–1704
Prevalence of FVR506Q and Prothrombin 20210A Mutations in the Navarrese Population

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Apprentissage automatique pour la prise de décisions

La prise de decision strategique concernant des ressources de valeur devrait tenir compte du degre d'aversion au risque. D'ailleurs, de nombreux domaines d'application mettent le risque au cœur de la prise de decision. Toutefois, ce n'est pas le cas de l'apprentissage automatique. Ainsi, il semble essentiel de devoir fournir des indicateurs et des algorithmes dotant l'apprentissage automatique de la possibilite de prendre en consideration le risque dans la prise de decision. En particulier, nous souhaiterions pouvoir estimer ce dernier sur de courtes sequences dependantes generees a partir de la classe la plus generale possible de processus stochastiques en utilisant des outils theoriques d'inference statistique et d'aversion au risque dans la prise de decision sequentielle. Cette these etudie ces deux problemes en fournissant des methodes algorithmiques prenant en consideration le risque dans le cadre de la prise de decision en apprentissage automatique. Un algorithme avec des performances de pointe est propose pour une estimation precise des statistiques de risque avec la classe la plus generale de processus ergodiques et stochastiques. De plus, la notion d'aversion au risque est introduite dans la prise de decision sequentielle (apprentissage en ligne) a la fois dans les jeux de bandits stochastiques et dans l'apprentissage sequentiel antagoniste.