Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissonance in other-regarding preferences : preference changes and the act of choice

This thesis examines whether other-regarding choices feed back into and modify other-regarding preferences. Chen and Risen’s (2010) adaptation of the free-choice paradigm is used to identify preference changes specifically induced by the act of choice. People are presented choice between two monetary distributions between themselves and someone else; varying the timing of this decision between treatments controls for the information revealed by choice. Other-regarding preferences are conceptualized in terms of social value orientations (SVOs), being established using the SVO Slider Measure of Murphy, Ackermann, and Handgraaf (2011). Choice-induced preference changes seem to be present in other-regarding preferences, with individuals who face the difficult decision before the second elicitation of preferences being more likely to adjust their preferences than those who do so afterwards. Dissonance reduction appears to manifest differently than is commonly hypothesized for self-regarding preferences. In particular, individuals do not necessarily adjust their preferences consistent with their choice. Self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988) best describes the findings, with decisions potentially threatening one’s self-concept. Choices modify other-regarding preferences, although the psychological processes responsible for these preference changes remain to be explored.
Information disclosure and the market for acquiring technology companies

The market for acquiring technology companies is rife with information frictions. Although such frictions can stifle trading activity, they also provide room for strategic gain. We investigate this dual role of information frictions by exploiting an institutional reform that releases technological information to the public domain. Leveraging cross-sectoral variation in the magnitude of disclosure, we find an increase in acquisition activity and in the technological distance between matched pairings. In line with predictions from strategic factor market theory, however, we also find a disproportionate decline in acquirer returns on average. Our findings suggest that information disclosed through the reform facilitated exchange in the takeover market yet had a leveling effect on the returns to acquirers.
Benzaldehyde Lyase Catalysed Carboligation of 2-Furaldehyde into ( R )-2 , 2 ’-Furoin in Non-Conventional Media

Benzaldehyde lyase from Pseudomonas fluorescens Biovar I. (BAL, EC 4.1.2.38) is a versatile catalyst for the organic synthesis of chiral α-hydroxy ketones. To allow rapid and convenient activity assessment of BAL, a new, robust, and easy-to-handle activity assay based on direct spectrophotometry was developed. The carboligation of 2-furaldehyde into αhydroxyketone (R)-2,2’-furoin was used as a model reaction. The development of nonconventional media such as supercritical fluids and organic solvents was investigated for BAL catalysed reactions. In view of the low solubility and stability of many substrates and products and the prospect of downstream processing, supercritical fluids were explored as alternative solvents in view of the residual stability, activity, and selectivity of the enzymes in such media. Water activity and enzyme preparation (pH of the lyophilisate) were the main influence parameters. Activity increased with increasing water activity, but stability decreased. Furthermore, non-carbon dioxide supercritical fluids such as fluoroform, ethane, and sulphur hexafluoride gave better results in view of stability, activity, and enantioselectivity. Furthermore, the use of the organic solvent 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran as a co-solvent increased the activity and stability of BAL. However, as a second phase in an aqueous-organic system, 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran caused rapid deactivation. Therefore, immobilised BAL (polyvinyl alcohol-entrapped BAL) was used for the two-phase system. The poor solubility of the product in n-hexane caused blockage and deactivation of BAL. n-­‐ Hexane gave the highest productivity in both the batch and continuous systems, but only within the first hours of the reaction. Meanwhile, cyclopentyl methyl ether gave higher stability and better activity in terms of yield and long-­‐term productivity, relative to the use of n-­‐hexane as the solvent in batch operation. Finally, a mixture of n-­‐hexane and cyclopentyl methyl ether successfully provided a good yield and productivity as a compromise between single solvents.
ime-varying predictive content of financial variables in forecasting DP growth in the G-7 countries

The predictive association between financial markets and the real economy has proven unstable and transitory over time. This study reexamines empirical evidence regarding the predictive content of financial variables for GDP growth in light of the changed economic circumstances in the G-7 countries in the 2000s. We explicitly address time variations in the predictive power of financial variables for GDP growth. The results indicate that the behavior of the forecasting ability contains a considerable amount of temporal dominance and time persistence, which often vary contemporaneously among the G-7 countries. The forecasting content is clearly connected to unsettled economic conditions. © 2018 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Exposure to 15 % oxygen in vivo upregulates cardioprotective SUR 2 A without affecting ERK 1 / 2 and AKT

SUR2A is an ‘atypical’ ABC protein that forms sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K (KATP) channels by binding to inward rectifier Kir6.2. Manipulation with SUR2A levels has been suggested to be a promising therapeutic strategy against ischaemic heart diseases and other diseases where increased heart resistance to stress is beneficial. Some years ago, it has been reported that high-altitude residents have lower mortality rates for ischaemic heart disease. The purpose of this study was to determine whether SUR2A is regulated by mild-to-severe hypoxic conditions (15% oxygen; oxygen tension equivalent to 3000 m above sea level) and elucidate the underlying mechanism. Mice were exposed to either to 21% (control) or 15% concentration of oxygen for 24 hrs. Twenty-four hours long exposure to 15% oxygen decreased partial pressure of O2 (PO2), but did not affect blood CO2 (PCO2), haematocrit nor levels of ATP, lactate and NAD+/NADH in the heart. Cardiac SUR2A levels were significantly increased while Kir6.2 levels were not affected. Hypoxia did not induce phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) or protein kinase B (Akt), but triggered phosphorylation of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK). AICAR, an activator of AMPK, increased the level of SUR2A in H9c2 cells. We conclude that oxygen increases SUR2A level by activating AMPK. This is the first account of AMPK-mediated regulation of SUR2A.
1-29-2018 Gene-Based Association Study for Lipid Traits in Diverse Cohorts Implicates BACE 1 and SIDT 2 Regulation in Triglyceride Levels

Plasma lipid levels are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death worldwide. While many studies have been conducted on lipid genetics, they mainly focus on Europeans and thus their transferability to diverse populations is unclear. We performed SNPand gene-level genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of four lipid traits in cohorts from Nigeria and the Philippines and compared them to the results of larger, predominantly European meta-analyses. Two previously implicated loci met genome-wide significance in our SNP-level GWAS in the Nigerian cohort, rs34065661 in CETP associated with HDL cholesterol (P = 9.0×10−10) and rs1065853 upstream of APOE associated with LDL cholesterol (P = 6.6× 10−9). The top SNP in the Filipino cohort associated with triglyceride levels (rs662799; P = 2.7× 10−16) and has been previously implicated in other East Asian studies. While this SNP is located directly upstream of well known APOA5, we show it may also be involved in the regulation of BACE1 and SIDT2. Our gene-based association analysis, PrediXcan, revealed decreased expression of BACE1 and decreased expression of SIDT2 in several tissues, all driven by rs662799, significantly associate with increased triglyceride levels in Filipinos (FDR < 0.1). In addition, our PrediXcan analysis implicated gene regulation as themechanism underlying the associations ofmany other previously discovered lipid loci. Our novel BACE1 and SIDT2 findings were confirmed using summary statistics from the Global Lipids Genetic Consortium (GLGC) meta-GWAS. Subjects Computational Biology, Genetics, Genomics
The Effects of Prior Experience on the Success of Major Strategic Reorientation

In this paper, we examine the extent to which various sources of firm experience, including a firm? s change experience, can be helpful to firms undergoing major strategic change or strategic reorientation. The strategic reorientations we analyze are, on average, more extensive than those typically studied, since they are situations in which firms shift the bulk of their resources (change primary industry) from one industry domain to another domain across one-digit industrial sectors. These are sector changes, such as a move from basic manufacturing to retail trade or finance. When attempting extensive changes to less familiar markets, firms are presumed to have little relevant experience on which to draw to increase post-change success. Nevertheless, we empirically test the efficacy of several possible sources of experience. Specifically, we examine the firm? s (1) direct experience with the new activity; (2) indirect experience obtained by operating in related activities; (3) imported experience obtained by acquiring a firm in a new activity; and (4) change experience acquired through past market entries. We find that the only source of experience that has a positive effect on firm performance after a strategic reorientation is change experience obtained by firms in the course of prior market entry. The results suggest that as a firm accumulates change experience, it may be able to apply that experience to improve firm performance during a major strategic reorientation. J lcodes:M19,The Effects of Prior Experience on the Success of Major Strategic Reorientation
Reply to reviewers for manuscript (esurf-2019-20) submission to Earth Surface Dynamics: Introducing PebbleCounts: A grain-sizing tool for photo surveys of dynamic gravel-bed rivers – Purinton and Bookhagen

Grain-size distributions are a key geomorphic metric of gravel-bed rivers. Traditional measurement methods include manual counting or photo sieving, but these are achievable only at the 1–10 m scale. With the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles ::::: drones : and increasingly high-resolution cameras, we can now generate orthoimagery over hectares at sub-cm ::: mm :: to :: cm : resolution. These scales, along with the complexity of high-mountain rivers, necessitate different approaches for photo sieving. As opposed to other image segmentation methods that use a watershed approachto automatically segment entire images, 5 our open-source algorithm, PebbleCounts, relies on k-means clustering in the spatial and spectral domain and rapid manual selection of well-delineated grains. The result is improved :::: This :::::::: improves grain-size estimates for complex river-bed imagery, without any post processing. In a second step, we :: We :::: also : develop a fully automated method, PebbleCountsAuto, that relies on edge detection and filtering suspect grains, without the k-means clustering or manual selection steps. The algorithms are tested in controlled indoor conditions on three arrays of pebbles and then applied to 12 × 1 m orthomosaic clips of high-energy 10 mountain rivers collected with a camera-on-mast setup (akin to a low-flying drone). A 20-pixel b-axis length lower truncation is necessary for attaining accurate grain-size distributions. For the k-means PebbleCounts approach, average percentile bias and precision are 0.03 and 0.09 ψ, respectively, for∼1.16 mm/pixel images, and 0.07 and 0.05 ψ for one 0.32 mm/pixel image. The automatic approach has higher bias and precision of 0.13 and 0.15 ψ, respectively, for∼1.16 mm/pixel images, but similar values of −0.06 and 0.05 ψ for one 0.32 mm/pixel image. For the automatic approach, only at best 70% of the grains are 15 correct identifications, and typically around 50%. PebbleCounts operates most effectively at the 1 m :::: patch : scale, where the algorithm can be rapidly : it :::: can :: be : applied in ∼5 minutes in many small areas :::: 5–10 :::::: minutes ::: on ::::: many :::::: patches : to acquire accurate grain-size data over 10–100 m areas. These data can be used to validate PebbleCountsAuto applied at the scale of entire survey sites (10–10 m). We synthesize results and recommend best practices for image collection, orthomosaic generation, and grain-size measurement using both algorithms. 20
Time-series Momentum in the Cryptocurrency Market

This thesis investigates the time-series momentum anomaly in the cryptocurrency market. Timeseries momentum is the anomaly that the prior returns of an asset itself can be predictive for the future returns of the asset. To investigate the existence of the anomaly in the cryptocurrency market, three different time-series trading strategies are used: the simple TSMOM strategy, the filter strategy and the percentage price oscillator. The trading signals created by the different strategies are used to create equally-weighted momentum portfolios that are rebalanced daily. The returns of the equallyweighted momentum portfolios are compared to two custom-made benchmarks and the CCI30 index. This is done to create excess returns. Significant positive excess returns are found for 85% of the long-only portfolios. However, for the long-short portfolios no significant positive returns were found. Therefore, at least to some extent, evidence is provided that the momentum anomaly does exist in the cryptocurrency market.
Deposited in DRO : 03 October 2018 Version of attached le : Accepted Version Peer-review status of attached

Clinical data, such as evaluations, treatments, vital sign and lab test results, are usually observed and recorded at hospital systems. Making use of such data to help physicians evaluating the mortality risk of in-hospital patients provides an invaluable source of information which ultimately help improving the health-care services. Therefore, quick and accurate prediction of mortality can be critical for physicians to make intervention decisions. In this work, we introduce a predictive Deep Learning model aiming to evaluate the mortality risk of in-hospital patients. Stacked Desoising Autoencoder (SDA) is trained using a unique time-stamped dataset (King Abdullah International Research Center KAIMRC) which is naturally imbalanced. The work is compared to common deep learning approaches using different methods for data balancing. The proposed model demonstrated here to overcome the problem of imbalanced data and outperform common deep learning approaches with an accuracy of 77.13% for the Recall macro.
TEACHER EFFICACY FOR INCLUSIVE PRACTICES SCALE 3 Rasch Validation of the Arabic Version of the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices

The aim of this study was to examine the construct validity of the Arabic version of the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale. Rasch analysis was used to examine the psychometric properties of the scale. Participants were 312 teachers in Saudi Arabia. Rasch analysis did not support the 18-item TEIP unidimensionality to measure teacher-perceived selfefficacy. Disordered thresholds were detected in five items. The scale did not meet the requirement of unidimensionality. After 5 items were removed because of response dependency, the 13-item TEIP scale demonstrated good internal consistency (person separation index = 0.88) and fulfilled all the requirements of the Rasch model. The 18-item scale was not supported by the Rasch analysis as a unidimensional measure. However, the 13-item Arabic TEIP could be a useful tool to measure teacher-perceived self-efficacy in inclusive education. Further studies with different samples are warranted to confirm the study findings.
Shrink to fit : adapting the strategic plan in an academic library as a coping response to risk

In this study, we intend to observe how a strategic plan can be used as a risk management tool, in the scope of academic libraries. Risk is perceived by individuals and institutions when faced with environmental changes which threaten stability or integrity. In libraries, these changes show in structural alterations, that is, in decreasing human, material and financial resources, and this implies having to develop strategies to accommodate new situations. Inspired by concepts from the fields of management and psychology, this paper analyses risk management and strategic planning as an adaptive response to change. This idea is furthered with the case study of a university library, which shows how adapting to such challenges is possible. We report a management strategy which includes a SWOT analysis about the performance of the library, and the subsequent reorganization of fields of action and redefinition of goals and tasks. The strategy comprises all the efforts made by the library to deal with specific demands, both internal and external, which triggered stress situations and coping with them, revealing a successful adaptation in light of change. The study concludes that reducing and concentrating efforts is one way to respond to everyday organizational challenges, looked upon as risks. This case can serve as an example and source of inspiration for other libraries dealing with diminished resources.
MicroRNA-16 sensitizes drug-resistant breast cancer cells to Adriamycin by targeting Wip1 and Bcl-2

Clinical evidence indicates that drug resistance is a major obstacle in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). Drug resistance results in the disease being uncontrollable, and leads to high mortality rates. The aim of the present study was to investigate the chemosensitizing effect of microRNA (miR)-16 on Adriamycin (ADM)-resistant BC cells and the associated mechanisms. BC tumors from 40 patients were collected and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to examine the expression of miR-16. ADM-sensitive (MCF-7/S) and -resistant (MCF-7/A) BC cell lines were used to determine the expression of miR-16 prior to and following transfection with miR-16 mimics or inhibitor. The effects of increased and decreased miR-16 expression on the chemosensitivity of BC cells to ADM was analyzed using MTT, colony survival and flow cytometry assays. miR-16 was found to regulate wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) and Bcl-2 expression, as confirmed by western blotting, immunofluorescence staining and luciferase reporter assays. miR-16 expression in drug-resistant tumor tissues and cells was decreased, compared with that the drug-sensitive equivalents. Overexpression of miR-16 in MCF-7/A was associated with a sharp downregulation of Wip1 and Bcl-2 expression, leading to increased ADM-induced cell apoptosis and sensitization of MCF-7/A cells to ADM treatment. Taken together, the results demonstrate that miR-16 may serve as an effective chemosensitizing target to enhance the effects of chemotherapy in drug-resistant BC cells with high Wip1 and Bcl-2 expression. This provides a novel approach to improving the chemotherapeutic efficacy in drug-resistant BC via regulation of miRs.
Pembrolizumab in a Patient With a Metastatic CASTLE Tumor of the Parotid

Carcinoma showing thymus-like elements (CASTLE) is a rare tumor, most commonly found in the thyroid gland. Here we report a case of CASTLE tumor localized to the parotid gland, recognized in retrospect after a late manifestation of symptomatic pleural carcinomatosis. The original tumor in the parotid gland was treated by surgery followed by radiotherapy. Ten years later, a metastatic disease with recurrent pleural effusions occurred. Pleural carcinomatosis was strongly positive for CD5, CD117, and p63 as was the original tumor of the parotid, which allowed the diagnosis of a CASTLE tumor. Additionally, the pleural tumor expressed high levels of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), and the patient underwent treatment with the monoclonal PD-L1 inhibitor pembrolizumab achieving a partial remission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first patient with a metastatic CASTLE tumor treated with a PD-L1 inhibitor.
Arachidonic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Metabolites in the Airways of Adults With Cystic Fibrosis: Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by genetic mutations in CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein. Several reports have indicated the presence of specific fatty acid alterations in CF patients, most notably decreased levels of plasmatic and tissue docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the precursor of specialized pro-resolving mediators. We hypothesized that DHA supplementation could restore the production of DHA-derived products and possibly contribute to a better control of the chronic pulmonary inflammation observed in CF subjects. Sputum samples from 15 CF and 10 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subjects were collected and analyzed by LC/MS/MS, and blood fatty acid were profiled by gas chromatography upon lipid extraction and transmethylation. Interestingly, CF subjects showed increased concentrations of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), when compared with COPD patients, whereas the concentrations of DHA metabolites did not differ between the two groups. After DHA supplementation, not only DHA/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio and highly unsaturated fatty acid index were significantly increased in the subjects completing the study (p < 0.05) but also a reduction in LTB4 and 15-HETE was observed, together with a tendency for a decrease in PGE2, and an increase in 17-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid (17OH-DHA) levels. At the end of the washout period, LTB4, PGE2, 15-HETE, and 17OH-DHA showed a trend to return to baseline values. In addition, 15-HETE/17OH-DHA ratio in the same sample significantly decreased after DHA supplementation (p < 0.01) when compared with baseline. In conclusion, our results show here that in CF patients, an impairment in fatty acid metabolism, characterized by increased AA-derived metabolites and decreased DHA-derived metabolites, could be partially corrected by DHA supplementation.