Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pyruvate Improves Deleterious Effects of High Glucose on Activation of Pentose Phosphate Pathway and Glutathione Redox Cycle in Endothelial Cells

In our previous study (Diabetes 44:520–526, 1995), endothelial cells cultured in high glucose condition showed impairment of an oxidant-induced activation of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and a reduced supply of NADPH to the glutathione redox cycle. To gain insight into the mechanisms of this impairment, the protective effect of pyruvate was studied in human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured in either 5.5 mmol/l glucose (normal glucose [NG] condition) or 33 mmol/l glucose (high glucose [HG] condition). Through pretreatment of cells with 0.2 mmol/l pyruvate for 5–7 days in the HG condition, glucose oxidation through the PPP and total cellular NADPH content in the presence of 0.2 mmol/l H2O2 were increased by 54 (P < 0.05) and 34%, respectively, and glutathione-dependent degradation of H2O2 in HG cells was enhanced by 41% (P < 0.01), when compared with those cells to which pyruvate was not added. The addition of pyruvate significantly reduced the fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FDP) content and free cytoplasmic NADH/NAD ratio, estimated by increased pyruvate/lactate ratio in NG and HG cells exposed to H2O2. Furthermore, the addition of pyruvate also showed a 46% reduction (P < 0.01) of endothelial cell damage induced by H2O2 in HG cells. These results indicate that abnormalities in PPP activation and glutathione redox cycle activity induced by H2O2 in HG cells are compensated, and that the accentuated reductive stress is improved by an addition of pyruvate. These pyruvate effects are associated with protection against an oxidant-induced endothelial cell injury in the high glucose condition.
Inapproximability of Treewidth and Related Problems

Graphical models, such as Bayesian Networks and Markov networks play an important role in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Inference is a central problem to be solved on these networks. This, and other problems on these graph models are often known to be hard to solve in general, but tractable on graphs with bounded Treewidth. Therefore, finding or approximating the Treewidth of a graph is a fundamental problem related to inference in graphical models. In this paper, we study the approximability of a number of graph problems: Treewidth and Pathwidth of graphs, Minimum Fill-In, and a variety of different graph layout problems such as Minimum Cut Linear Arrangement. We show that, assuming Small Set Expansion Conjecture, all of these problems are NP-hard to approximate to within any constant factor in polynomial time. This paper is an extended abstract of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research [Wu et al., 2014].
The Estimated Economic Impact of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin on New York Dairy Farms for the Years 2994 through 1997

Data from New York dairy farms for the years 1994 through 1997 were used to estimate whether recombinant bovine Somatotropin (rbST) generated profits for adopters. Results show that the estimated profit impact of rbST, although generally positive, was statistically zero. Herd average milk production per cow clearly increased with rbST use.
Service quality, trust, specific asset investment, and expertise: Direct and indirect effects in a satisfaction-loyalty framework

This study proposes an integrated framework explaining loyalty responses in high-involvement, high-service luxury product markets. The model is rooted in the traditional (attribute satisfaction)-(overall satisfaction)-(loyalty) chain but explicitly incorporates facility versus interactive service quality, trust, specific asset investment (SAI), and product-market expertise. The authors focus on disentangling the direct versus indirect effects of model constructs on attitudinal versus behavioral loyalty responses. The results support the traditional chain but also show loyalty can be increased by building a trustworthy image and creating exchange-specific assets. The authors found that overall satisfaction is the precursor both to loyalty and to building SAI. Finally, consumers have different costs in reducing adverse selection problems with information, and thus the negative effect of product-market expertise on behavioral loyalty needs to be controlled if the direct versus indirect effects of model constructs on loyalty are to be disentangled.
Public Oversight of Audit Firms: The Slippery-Slope of Enforcing Regulation

This study uses the slippery-slope framework to understand how an oversight regulator’s enforcement style influences audit firms’ compliance actions. Using data from interviews with audit regulators and senior audit partners (including partners responsible for audit quality control) in Australia, we find that audit partners’ perceive that the regulator’s enforcement style has shifted from collaborative to coercive. As the regulator’s enforcement style became more coercive, it inhibited the development of trust and an antagonistic compliance climate emerged. In response, firms mandated strategies to increase the visibility of compliance (e.g., increasing mandatory use of checklists that focus on demonstrating form over substance). The results highlight the importance of a regulator’s enforcement style as a determinant of how audit firms manage inspection risk. An important conclusion is that audit partners are concerned that oversight of the profession is near a tipping point such that there is an increasing risk that continued coercive enforcement could increase compliance but simultaneously reduce audit quality.
Earnings Quality and Auditor Independence: An Examination Using Non-audit Fee Data

The SEC and capital market participants are concerned that the increasing amounts of fees companies pay to their auditors for non-audit services may give auditors economic incentives to compromise their independence, resulting in lower quality audits and, thus, lower quality earnings. Using recent proxy statement disclosures of audit and non-audit fees, and controlling for variables known to be related to earnings management, we find that client firms paying high proportions of non-audit fees have income-increasing discretionary and total accruals. This suggests that auditors may be less diligent in curbing income-increasing earnings management for client firms from which they receive high proportions of non-audit fees.Our results are robust to alternative specifications of accrual models, surrogate measures of high non-audit fees, and the inclusion of additional explanatory variables.
Hydration of carrot seeds in relation to osmotic potential of solution and conditioning method

The objective of this study was to monitor carrot seed hydration in water and osmotic solutions to define appropriate conditions for priming treatment. Two Brasilia cultivar carrot seed lots were used. Seeds were imbibed in -1.0 and -1.2 MPa PEG 6000 osmotic solutions and in distilled water, in an incubator BOD at 20oC, using two different hydration methods: imbibition in moistened paper towel sheets and in aerated solutions. The imbibition curves for each seed lot were drawn after determining seed moisture content at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 hours hydration in water and after 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168, 192, 216, 264, 312 hours hydration in PEG 6000 solutions. Seed hydration in distilled water was faster than in PEG 6000 solutions; the primary root protrusion occurred at 48 hours imbibition as seeds reached 54% moisture content. Osmotic conditioning of carrot seeds should be performed by imbibition in PEG 6000 -1.0 or -1.2 MPa solutions to attain 40% and 45% moisture content (moistened paper) or 40% and 45% (aerated solutions).
Improving SVM-Based Nontechnical Loss Detection in Power Utility Using the Fuzzy Inference System

This letter extends previous research work in modeling a nontechnical loss (NTL) framework for the detection of fraud and electricity theft in power distribution utilities. Previous work was carried out by using a support vector machine (SVM)-based NTL detection framework resulting in a detection hitrate of 60%. This letter presents the inclusion of human knowledge and expertise into the SVM-based fraud detection model (FDM) with the introduction of a fuzzy inference system (FIS), in the form of fuzzy IF-THEN rules. The FIS acts as a postprocessing scheme for short-listing customer suspects with higher probabilities of fraud activities. With the implementation of this improved SVM-FIS computational intelligence FDM, Tenaga Nasional Berhad Distribution's detection hitrate has increased from 60% to 72%, thus proving to be cost effective.
Entrenched Knowledge Structures and Consumer Response to New Products

Although diffusion models have been successfully used to predict the adoption patterns of new products and technologies, little research has examined the psychological processes underlying the individual consumer's adoption decision. This research uses the knowledge transfer paradigm, studied often in the context of analogies, to demonstrate that both existing knowledge and innovation continuity are major factors influencing the consumer's adoption process. In two experiments, the authors demonstrate that the relationship between expertise and adoption is relatively complex. Specifically, their findings indicate that, compared with novices, experts report higher comprehension, more net benefits, and therefore higher preferences for continuous innovations. However, for discontinuous innovations, experts' entrenched knowledge is related to lower comprehension, fewer perceived net benefits, and lower preferences compared with that of novices. Only when this entrenched knowledge is accompanied by relevant information from a supplementary knowledge base are experts able to understand and appreciate discontinuous innovations. These findings have implications for segmentation, media planning, and the creation of product/brand loyalty.
MEKANISME PENGENDALIAN KONFLIK KEAGENAN ANTARA PEMEGANG SAHAM MAYORITAS DAN MINORITAS STUDI EMPIRIS DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

A highly concentrated ownership structure in non-financial companies in Indonesia creates an agency conflict between majority and minority shareholders. This research examines the agency conflicts and their control mechanisms, and tests the sensitivity of ownership types to the relation between the ownership concentration of majority shareholders and firm value. This study employs 456 firm-year observations of non-financial companies on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2010 as a sample of overall companies, and 263 firm-year observations as a sample group of firms that have low investment opportunities and high free cash flows. This research utilizes the piecewise regression model to find entrechment or expropriation effect by majority shareholders. Furthermore, the interaction regression model or the hierarchical regression model are used to test the control mechanisms for the agency conflict between majority and minority shareholders through ownership concentration of blockholders, independent second largest blockholders, debt policy, dividend policy, and the ownership types of majority shareholders (i.e., foreign versus domestic, market investors versus stable investors or inside investors, and government). Using the piecewise regression model with Estimated Generalized Least Squares (EGLS), I find that the behavior of shareholders is not consistent, with the expropriation effect by majority shareholders being at the ownership level above 70% for the first sample group and 60% for the second. Using the interaction regression model or the hierarchical regression model with EGLS, I also find that debt policy, foreign ownership, market investors, and government are moderating variables, whereas independent second largest blockholders is a predictor variable, functioning as the control mechanisms for the agency conflict between majority and minority shareholders in Indonesia. Furthermore, devidend policy is considered a control mechanism for management, but not effective as a control mechanism for the agency conflict between majority and minority shareholders in Indonesia. Eventually, this study substantiates the agency theory especially the second type, the free cash flows agency theory, the partial benefits of corporate control theory, and the rent extraction hypothesis.
A dual-system approach to understanding “generation Y” decision making

Purpose – We do not yet have a good understanding of how generation Y makes decisions. Since this segment will soon wield greater influence in the market place, the purpose of this paper is to carry out an exploratory analysis and develop a framework on generation Y decision making. Design/methodology/approach – The dual-system approach states that individuals use a heuristic-based process (system 1) and/or an analytic-based process (system 2) to make decisions. Evidence from six focus group discussions with generation Y is integrated with this approach. Findings – Generation Y has an active heuristic-based system 1. However, they tend not to evaluate options on their own, i.e. system 2 is “lazy”. Instead, friends, family and digital media play the role of a “proxy” system 2. Research limitations/implications – A limitation is that the study uses data from a small sample of individuals in one country and uses only one methodological approach. Practical implications – Digital media is a vital component of .
Internet Payment and Banks

In the context of the development of e-commerce on the Internet, a lot of electronic payment systems have been set up in order to secure online payments. To understand the success of Internet payment systems it is necessary to analyze the strategies of e-commerce players: consumers, "cyber merchants", managers of networks (telecommunications and payment), suppliers of electronic payment services and banks.Our results provide objective explanations of the success factors of Internet payment systems, and the domination of SSL card payment in the market (Treese and Stewart, 1998; Sahut, 2001; Turban and alii, 2006). Moreover, unsuccessful experiences show that it is necessary to consider network effects (Shapiro and Varian, 1998; Shy, 2001) and which business models to implement in order to avoid killing a new Internet payment system before it is even launched.This article also investigates the stakes for the banking environment of the Internet paymentsystems and the problem of money creation.
Satisfaction in Relation to the Metrics of Quality Constructs in South African Manufacturer- Supplier Relationships

Trust, commitment, and satisfaction are three important commonly identified constructs in establishing close manufacturer-supplier business relationships in competitive markets. There is, however, a lack of consensus on how these three constructs relate to one another. This study aims at testing whether satisfaction plays an important mediating role between commitment and trust, and whether satisfaction influences the three important outcomes in business relationships; namely: cooperation, coordination, and continuity. Data was collected from organizations that are part of the 500 largest companies in South Africa using computer-assisted telephone interviews. The findings support the proposed conceptual framework of the study, which show that trust and commitment are positively related to satisfaction; and that satisfaction is positively related to coordination, cooperation, and continuity. An important contribution is made by this study regarding the understanding of the nomo-logical network of quality constructs in manufacturer-supplier relationships. The results support the importance of developing trusting and committed relationships that increase satisfaction as precursors for ensuring coordination, cooperation, and continuity of business relationships.
Are Small Business Critical Success Factors Same in Different Countries

This paper considers critical success factors exhibited by small businesses in China. Comparisons are made to similar prior studies performed in the US and Mexico. The information from China is further examined for changes in critical success factors through firm life cycle. Critical success factors have more similarities than differences. Critical Success Factors found in common with Mexican Small Business are Marketing Effort and Competitive Forces. The study finds that there are differences in the factor structure of the critical success factors and that the key difference is concerning meeting the financial needs and location of the small firm in China. Also a lack of support is found for a life cycle effect on the importance of the critical success factors. This new critical success factor is unique to small business in China, without counterpart in North American prior work. There is an absence of persuasive support for a variation in critical success factors with business age in China. Findings and anomalies are discussed.
A miniaturized ultrasonic power delivery system

A pair of 4.4mm diameter lead zirconium titanate (PZT) discs were employed for ultrasonic power delivery across biological tissue. The overall system, including the biological tissue and matching layers, was analyzed and modeled as a two-port network with an associated scattering matrix. The matrix coefficients were obtained experimentally in order to determine the maximum available gain (MAG) and optimal operating frequency of the system. The results were validated against finite element analysis simulations, and together they suggest that the miniaturized ultrasonic power delivery system has higher power transfer efficiency than a comparably-sized inductively coupled design at coupling distances greater than 9.5-15.5mm depending on the medium.
Reflections on Security Dynamics: Core Constructs, Psychological Mechanisms, Relational Contexts, and the Need for an Integrative Theory

primes are used, there is no guarantee that a person's semantic network does not move from that prime to idiographic memories of a particular attach ment figure who instantiates those abstract qualities. This presents a sizeable challenge to researchers-to find a way (perhaps using specific priming or brain imaging techniques) to delineate differences in the ef fects of abstract and concrete security primes. Psychological Mechanisms Involved in Security Priming The commentaries contain several ideas about how security priming leads to the positive outcomes we have documented. For example, Saribay and Andersen suggest that person-specific primes activate mental rep resentations of one particular person, which include or trigger related feelings and expectations that can be transferred to other people, as long as those peo ple's actual or presumed qualities allow the transfer ence (i.e., if there is no salient contradictory informa tion to render the transference awkward or impossible). Baldwin suggests that security priming may influence early stages of information processing, such as atten tion and perception, which in turn reduce a person's sensitivity to rejection cues and increase his or her re sponsiveness to positive aspects of other people and social situations. Winterheld and Simpson suggest that security priming strengthens a person's self-regulatory capacities, making the person more "aware of why [he or she acts in a certain way] and learn how to sup press or transform. potentially destructive interac tion patterns. " Mallinckrodt as well as Winterheld and Simpson mention changes in a primed person's rela tional behavior that may induce positive changes in the person's partner's behavior, creating positive feed back that gradually improves both sides of the relation ship. Holmes and Murray imagine a "psychological switch" by which security-related mental representa tions move a person from self-protective motivation to more relationship-promoting motivation. We find all of these suggestions congenial and have organized them to form a heuristic model to guide further research (see Figure 1). In the first step of the model, sample security primes are listed: Providing a foundation for activation of other behavioral systems (e.g., exploration, caregiving) Spreading of / "Transference" of activation to |activated elements | Security Prime: Atvioof* feelings *groups and positive Security Prime: Activation of ~~* memories P_changes in relational * names security-related | selfbehaviors ? pictures ~mental * p ures * representations representations * words (abstract or person* self-regulatory * guided imagery specific, semantic or strategies Changesin episodic) emotionCesi in regulation *attentiveness to strategies positive aftributes of people and \ situations Lowering defenses and fosterng less distorted perceptions Figure 1. The theoretical cascade of processes initiated by security priming.
Larval Morphology of Chrysomya nigripes (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a Fly Species of Forensic Importance

Abstract The morphology of all instars of Chrysomya nigripes Aubertin, a blow fly species of forensic importance, is presented with the aid of both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Morphological features of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, anterior spiracle, posterior spiracle, and dorsal spines between the prothorax and mesothorax are highlighted. No consistent features were found, even using SEM, for distinguishing the first instar of C. nigripes from that of Chrysomya megacephala (F.) or Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), two other commonly associated blow fly species in corpses in Thailand. Several features observed in second and third instars proved to be valuable characteristics for separating these species.
Portfolio Choice with Illiquid Assets

The present Paper investigates the effects of incorporating illiquidity in a standard dynamic portfolio choice problem. Lack of liquidity means that an asset cannot be immediately traded at any point in time. We find the portfolio share of financial wealth invested in illiquid assets given the liquidity premium. Benchmark calibrations imply a portfolio share of 2-6% in cash. These numbers are in line with survey data and also with portfolio recommendations by practitioners. We also find that long horizon investors invest more in illiquid assets. Overall, our results suggest that differences between asset classes unrelated to standard price risk may influence portfolio shares.
Decision Making within Groups of Friends: An Exploratory Study

This paper presents an exploratory interpretive study of decision making within groups of friends. First, characteristics that make groups of friends unique as a decision making unit are highlighted. Next, four major steps in the decision process are identified and discussed, i.e., suggestion, discussion and evaluation of alternatives, distribution of tasks and roles, and post-experience evaluation. The paper also explores potential conflicts and methods of resolving them.
A Study on Trust in Online Shopping in Pune: A Comparative Study between Male and Female Shoppers

Online shopping is very new to India, but is catching up very fast in recent days. In less than 5 years it has reached to around 2 percent of the total retail. The growth rate is more than double as compared to the organized retailing India. What could be the reasons? As per the review of literature one of the main reasons is trust of the shoppers in e-retailing. The online vendors have successfully established their brands in the minds of the online shoppers. The question arise does males and females equally having the trust in online shopping, especially in Pune city? In the current paper, the researchers tried to find out the answer to the above question. Independent samples of males and females have been tested through independent sample t-test. 205 is the sample size. Two components of trust- Integrity and Benevolence (intention/willingness) have been taken into account for the current study. It has been found that there is no difference of trust between the male and female shoppers of Pune.