Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is CSR Really Profitable? Evidence From Korea

We empirically investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is really profitable in Korea. Specifically, we examine whether a potential measurement problem of CSR score measured by KEJI (Korea Economic Justice Institute) index affects the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP). The empirical results regarding the relationship between CSR and CFP in prior studies have been inconsistent. Although some studies (e.g. Waddock & Graves, 1997) point out that the potential measurement problem of CSR score is likely to be an important factor to resolve the issue of mixed results, CSR measurement problem to date draws little attention from researchers particularly in Korea setting. We suspect that prior studies that report positive relationship between CSR and CFP using KEJI index is biased upward due to potential measurement problem of KEJI index that includes operating performance component. To examine this issue, we employ an adjusted CSR score which excludes operating performance component included in the unadjusted CSR score to mitigate measurement problem that can show a positive upward bias in the relationship between CSR and CFP in the prior studies. We employ the sample data of 1,301 firm-year observations of manufacturing firms listed in Korea Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market during 2005-2010. Using adjusted CSR score, we find that the positive CSR-CFP relationship significantly weakens compared to unadjusted CSR score. This result remains robust after we perform various sensitivity tests. This study suggests that CSR measurements problem is likely to distort the relationship between CSR and CFP in Korea setting. This study’s main contribution is to provide evidence on the measurement problem of KEJI CSR score in the study on the relationship between CSR and CFP.
Effect of Temperature on the Heart and Ventilation Rates in the Agamid Lizard Uromastyx microlipes (the Dhubb) in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia

The effect of body warming and cooling on the heart and breathing rates has been studied in the agamid lizard Uromastyx mi- crolipes. Electrocardiograph (ECG) of Uromastyx microlipes consists of P, QRS, and T components similar to those in mammals. Heart rate increases with body temperature. During warming the heart rate ranged from 7-134 beat/min, while during cooling ranged from 2-73 beat/min. The mean of heart rate during warming and cooling was not significantly different except at body temperatures of 20oC and 35oC. In two lizards heart rate was higher during warming than cooling for all temperatures. Both breathing types (thoracic and buccal) increased in frequency with body temperature. The range of thoracic breathing rates during both warming and cooling was 0-20 breath/min. Buccal breathing rate was 0-24 breath/min during warming, and 0-26 breath/ min during cooling.
The Effect of Novel Attributes on Product Evaluation : Explaining Consumer Resistance to Technological Innovation

Many technological innovations introduce attributes that are novel or completely unknown to a large number of consumers. For example, recently introduced attributes such as GPS in cars or I-Link in computers are likely to have been novel to many consumers. Past research suggests that the addition of novel attributes is likely to improve product evaluation and sales, since consumers interpret these attributes as additional benefits provided by the manufacturer. However, this article demonstrates that the positive effect of novel attributes holds only in the case of low-complexity products. In the case of high-complexity products, the addition of novel attributes can actually reduce product evaluation because of negative learning-cost inferences about these attributes. Further, the positive and negative effects of novel attributes on product evaluation are accentuated by external search for information when the information discovered through search is ambiguous in nature. Finally, it is shown that the negative effect of novel attributes on the evaluation of high-complexity products can persist even after consumers are given explicit information about the benefits of novel attributes. A key marketing implication of these findings is that novel attributes may contribute to technophobia, or consumer resistance toward technological innovation. Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.
Category Constrained Learning Model for Scene Classification

We present a novel model, named Category Constraint-Latent Dirichlet Allocation (CC-LDA), to learn and recognize natural scene category. Previous work had to resort to additional classifier after obtaining image topic representation. Our model puts the category information in topic inference, so every category is represented in a different topics simplex and topic size, which is consistent with human cognitive habit. The significant feature in our model is that it can do discrimination without combined additional classifier, during the same time of getting topic representation. We investigate the classification performance with variable scene category tasks. The experiments have demonstrated that our learning model can get better performance with less training data.
Stratification of lakes

Many lakes show vertical stratification of their water masses, at least for some extended time periods. Density differences in water bodies facilitate an evolution of chemical differences with many consequences for living organisms in lakes. Temperature and dissolved substances contribute to density differences in water. The atmosphere imposes a temperature signal on the lake surface. As a result, thermal stratification can be established during the warm season if a lake is sufficiently deep. On the contrary, during the cold period, surface cooling forces vertical circulation of water masses and removal of gradients of water properties. However, gradients of dissolved substances may be sustained for periods much longer than one annual cycle. Such lakes do not experience full overturns. Gradients may be a consequence of external inflows or groundwater seepage. In addition, photosynthesis at the lake surface and subsequent decomposition of organic material in the deeper layers of a lake can sustain a gradient of dissolved substances. Three more geochemical cycles, namely, calcite precipitation, iron cycle, and manganese cycle, are known for sustaining meromixis. A limited number of lakes do not experience a complete overturn because of pressure dependence of temperature of maximum density. Such lakes must be sufficiently deep and lie in the appropriate climate zone. Although these lakes are permanently stratified, deep waters are well ventilated, and chemical differences are small. Turbulent mixing and convective deep water renewal must be very effective. As a consequence, these lakes usually are not termed meromictic. Permanent stratification may also be created by episodic partial recharging of the deep water layer. This mechanism resembles the cycling of the ocean: horizontal gradients result from gradients at the surface, such as differential cooling or enhanced evaporation in adjacent shallow side bays. Dense water parcels can be formed which intrude the deep water layer. In the final section, stratification relevant physical properties, such as sound speed, hydrostatic pressure, electrical conductivity, and density, are discussed. The assumptions behind salinity, electrical conductance, potential density, and potential temperature are introduced. Finally, empirical and theoretical approaches for quantitative evaluation from easy to measure properties conclude this contribution.
Do Shareholders Value Green Information Technology Announcements?

: Using the natural resource-based view ( NRBV) and signaling theory, we conducted an event study using the Fama-French four-factor (FFM4) model to determine how shareholders react to company announcements about adopting information technology (IT) to address environmental issues. We found that green IT announcements generate positive abnormal returns and increase share trading volume. Initiatives that use IT to support decision making (ITDSS) cause positive stock market reactions. Firms with good environmental performance records enjoy positive market returns from ITDSS and direct IT assets and infrastructure (ITASSETS) announcements. In contrast, shareholders react negatively to announcements regarding sustainable products and services (SPDTSVC). Combining the NRBV with signaling theory provides deeper theoretical insights than either theory alone. The findings could serve as the basis for further research and theory development on the different types of green IT and impacts on market value. The results help explain how firm characteristics and different types of green IT announcements impact market value, and they have significant implications for how firms plan and allocate their resources to support green initiatives.
Severe Myxoedema Presenting with Chondrocalcinosis and Polymyositis 1

A case is described of severe hypothyroidism presenting with joint pains, severe polymyositis and chondrocalcinosis. While both polymyositis and chondrocalcinosis have been described as complications of hypothyroidism, this is the first report of their simultaneous occurrence in a case ofmyxoedema. The case is also unusual in that the polymyositis, which was substantiated by biopsy, responded to treatment of the myxoedema.
The Effect of Social Factors on Service Encounters Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

This study investigates the direct effect of social factors (namely, social regard social comfort, and friendship) on customer satisfaction, and the indirect effect of these factors on customer loyalty, through the mediating effect of customers’ satisfaction, in hair salons in Jordan. In addition, the study analyzed the moderating role of customers’ gender and age on the effects of social factors on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Quantitative data was collected, through a questionnaire instrument, from a convenience sample of 528 customers while they are in hair salons. Statistical analysis of the study's model was conducted using structural equation modeling technique (AMOS software). Empirical test of the model’s hypotheses has indicated that customers' satisfaction toward hair salons services is depend on friendship, social comfort, and social regard respectively, while customers' loyalty to service provider depend on customer satisfaction. The effect of social regard on customer satisfaction was significant for younger customers, while social comfort was significant for older customers. The findings of this study provide several recommendations for future research.
Innovation Performance of Firms in Manufacturing Industry: Evidence from Belgium, Finland and Germany in 1998-2000

The objective of this study is to study whether the R&D expenditures in Finnish firms generate better innovation output than in Belgian and German firms following the studies of Mohnen et al. (2006) and Mohnen and Dagenais (2001) and using CIS 3 data on manufacturing firms in 1998â€“2000. First, we use generalised tobit model to scrutinise what factors impact the firm's propensity to innovate and the amount of innovation output, the share of sales in innovative products. Second, we construct an innovation indicator based on the estimates of pooled regression and compare the expected innovation output to the observed innovation output in sample countries and industries. We find that innovativeness is overall largest in Germany whereas the results of Belgium and Finland are nearly equal. The most surprising country differences are found in the effects of public funding, which do not have any significant impact on innovation output in Finland, have a negative impact in Belgium and positive in Germany.
Cultural influence on loyalty tendency and evaluation of retail store attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural influences on young consumers' loyalty tendency and evaluations of the relative importance of apparel retail store attributes in Taiwan and the USA.Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of apparel retail store image attributes. Pillai's Trace multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to examine the hypotheses.Findings – Results of the study showed that American consumers have significantly greater collectivistic characteristics than Taiwanese. The paper also found that country of residence is a significant and stronger indicator in predicting loyalty tendency than individualism and collectivism dimensions. The results of the study showed that evaluation of the relative importance of retail store attributes was influenced by culture. Among the five apparel retail store attribute dimensions ide.
Simple pattern-mixture models for longitudinal data with missing observations: analysis of urinary incontinence data.

In longitudinal studies each subject is observed at several different times. Longitudinal studies are rarely balanced and complete due to occurrence of missing data. Little proposed pattern-mixture models for the analysis of incomplete multivariate normal data. Later, Little proposed an approach to modelling the drop-out mechanism based on the pattern-mixture models. We advocate the pattern-mixture models for analysing the longitudinal data with binary or Poisson responses in which the generalized estimating equations formulation of Liang and Zeger is sensible. The proposed method is illustrated with a real data set.
Alcohol Consumption and Lung Cancer According to Ile349Val Polymorphism in ADH3 Gene: Beyond the Tobacco Smoking Effect

Objectives: Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. However, several studies have suggested other factors such as alcohol consumption could also play a role through polymorphisms associated with alcohol metabolism. We investigated the association between alcohol consumption and lung cancer according to the Ile349Val polymorphism in the alcohol dehydrogenase 3 ADH3 gene. Methods: We carried out a hospital-based case-control study, a total of 402 incident cases of lung cancer and 383 controls were genotyped for the Ile349Val polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Alcohol consumption and other variables were measured using questionnaires in personal interviews. We used multiple logistic regressions to estimate adjusted odd ratios using and 95% confidence intervals. Results: In multivariate analysis, an increased risk of lung cancer was observed for the highest category of alcohol consumption (≥30 g/day), although it does not reach statistical significance (OR=1.60, 95% CI: 0.91-2.83). Besides, an increased risk of lung cancer was observed in the highest category of alcohol consumption for the Ile/Val genotype compared with the Ile/Ile genotype (OR=2.35, 95% CI: 1.04-5.33). Conclusions: This study suggests that beyond smoking consumption, a high consumption of alcohol might increase the risk of lung cancer. No clear association was found between alcohol consumption and lung cancer according to the Ile349Val polymorphism in ADH3 gene.
Effects of MAPK signaling on 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D‐mediated CYP24 gene expression in the enterocyte‐like cell line, Caco‐2

We examined the role of the extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERK) in 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3)‐induced gene expression in the differentiated Caco‐2 cells. 1,25(OH)2D3‐regulated expression of the 25‐hydroxyvitamin D, 24‐hydroxylase (CYP24) gene (both natural gene and promoter construct) was strongly modulated by altering ERK activity (i.e., reduced by MEK inhibitors and dominant negative (dn) ERK1 and ERK2, activated by epidermal growth factor) but ERK inhibition had no effect on 1,25(OH)2D3‐regulated expression of the transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 6 (TRPV6). ERK5‐mediated phosphorylation of the transcription factor Ets‐1 enhanced 1,25(OH)2D3‐mediated CYP24 gene transcription in proliferating but not differentiated Caco‐2 cells due to reduced levels of ERK5 and Ets‐1 (total and phosphoprotein levels) in differentiated cells. MEK inhibition reduced 1,25(OH)2D3‐induced 3X‐VDRE promoter activity but had no impact on the association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) with chromatin suggesting a role for co‐activator recruitment in ERK‐modulation of vitamin D‐regulated CYP24 gene activation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that the ERK1/2 target, mediator 1 (MED1), is recruited to the CYP24, but not the TRPV6, promoter following 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment. MED1 phosphorylation was sensitive to activators and inhibitors of the ERK1/2 signaling and MED1 siRNA reduced 1,25(OH)2D3‐regulated human CYP24 promoter activity. This suggests ERK1/2 signaling enhances 1,25(OH)2D3 effects on the CYP24 promoter by MED1‐mediated events. Our data show that there are both promoter‐specific and cell stage‐specific roles for the ERK signaling pathway on 1,25(OH)2D3‐mediated gene induction in enterocyte‐like Caco‐2 cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 219: 132–142, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale.

Soil microbial communities control critical ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil organic matter formation. Continental scale patterns in the composition and functioning of microbial communities are related to climatic, biotic, and edaphic factors such as temperature and precipitation, plant community composition, and soil carbon, nitrogen, and pH. Although these relationships have been well explored individually, the examination of the factors that may act directly on microbial communities vs. those that may act indirectly through other ecosystem properties has not been well developed. To further such understanding, we utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate a set of hypotheses about the direct and indirect effects of climatic, biotic, and edaphic variables on microbial communities across the continental United States. The primary goals of this work were to test our current understanding of the interactions among climate, soils, and plants in affecting microbial community composition, and to examine whether variation in the composition of the microbial community affects potential rates of soil enzymatic activities. A model of interacting factors created through SEM shows several expected patterns. Distal factors such as climate had indirect effects on microbial communities by influencing plant productivity, soil mineralogy, and soil pH, but factors related to soil organic matter chemistry had the most direct influence on community composition. We observed that both plant productivity and soil mineral composition were important indirect influences on community composition at the continental scale, both interacting to affect organic matter content and microbial biomass and ultimately community composition. Although soil hydrolytic enzymes were related to the moisture regime and soil carbon, oxidative enzymes were also affected by community composition, reflected in the abundance of soil fungi. These results highlight that soil microbial communities can be modeled within the context of multiple interacting ecosystem properties acting both directly and indirectly on their composition and function, and this provides a rich and informative context with which to examine communities. This work also highlights that variation in climate, microbial biomass, and microbial community composition can affect maximum rates of soil enzyme activities, potentially influencing rates of decomposition and nutrient mineralization in soils.
Respiratory muscle perfusion and energetics during exercise.

The oxygen cost of breathing and blood flow requirements of the respiratory muscles during exercise are discussed along with the implications for limitation of locomotor muscle and exercise performance. Findings show that the oxygen cost of the hyperpnea achieved during very heavy exercise may approach 15% or more of VO2max under conditions that require extraordinary levels of ventilatory work. These conditions include those in the highly trained endurance athlete (at VE > 150 l.min-1), the older athlete at VE of 110-120 l.min-1), and athletic cursorial mammals at VO2max--all of whom experience significant expiratory flow limitation and sometimes even complete ventilatory limitation during heavy or maximum exercise. Rates of blood flow to the respiratory muscles under these peak exercise conditions may equal or exceed those to the limb locomotor muscles. The hypothesis is advanced that excessive requirements of ventilatory work (and therefore VO2 and blood flow) during heavy exercise may cause reflex vasoconstriction of locomotor muscles resulting in curtailment of endurance exercise performance.
Cellular prion protein (PrPC) protects neuronal cells from the effect of huntingtin aggregation

The effect of normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) on abnormal protein aggregation was examined by transfecting huntingtin fragments (Htt) into SN56 neuronal-derived cells depleted of PrPC by RNA interference. PrPC depletion caused an increase in both the number of cells containing granules and the number of apoptotic cells. Consistent with the increase in Htt aggregation, PrPC depletion caused an decrease in proteasome activity and a decrease in the activities of cellular defense enzymes compared with control cells whereas reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased more than threefold. Therefore, PrPC may protect against Htt toxicity in neuronal cells by increasing cellular defense proteins, decreasing ROS and increasing proteasome activity thereby increasing Htt degradation. Depletion of endogenous PrPC in non-neuronal Caco-2 and HT-29 cells did not affect ROS levels or proteasome activity suggesting that only in neuronal cells does PrPC confer protection against Htt toxicity. The protective effect of PrPC was further evident in that overexpression of mouse PrPC in SN56 cells transfected with Htt caused a decrease in both the number of cells with Htt granules and the number of apoptotic cells, whereas there was no effect of PrPC expression in non-neuronal NIH3T3 or CHO cells. Finally, in chronically scrapie (PrPSc)-infected cells, ROS increased more than twofold while proteasome activity was decreased compared to control cells. Although this could be a direct effect of PrPSc, it is also possible that, since PrPC specifically prevents pathological protein aggregation in neuronal cells, partial loss of PrPC itself increases PrPSc aggregation.
Statins reduce all-cause mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Recently, a number of observational studies have suggested that use of statins reduces mortality in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To obtain a more valid assessment, we update the meta-analysis of the effect of statins on COPD exacerbation and mortality. We searched for eligible articles using PubMed, Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Databases and Web of Science between January 2006 and February 2017, with no restrictions. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plot and Begg's test. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Twenty studies with a total of 303,981 patients were included. Thirteen articles provided data on all-cause mortality (165,221 participants), and the pooled hazard ratio of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.57–0.74, P < 0.001). Nine cohorts involving 155,435 patients reported data for COPD exacerbation with or without hospitalization, and they gave a HR of 0.58(95%CI: 0.48–0.72, P < 0.001). Our systematic review of exclusively observational studies showed a clear benefit of statins for patients suffering from COPD.