Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Levered Returns and Capital Structure Imbalances

We revisit the relation between equity returns and financial leverage through the lens of a trade-off model with costly capital structure rebalancing. The model provides a “lookalike” Modigliani-Miller equation that predicts that expected equity returns depend on whether a firm’s leverage is above or below its target leverage. The data support the model predictions. Controlling for leverage, overlevered (underlevered) firms earn higher (lower) returns. Controlling for target leverage the textbook positive relationship between leverage and returns is restored, while target leverage is negatively related to returns.
Like What You Like or Like What Others Like? Conformity and Peer Effects on Facebook

Users of the social networking service Facebook have the possibility to post status updates for their friends to read. In turn, friends may react to these short messages by writing comments or by pressing a Like button to show their appreciation. Making use of five Swedish accounts, we set up a natural field experiment to study whether users are more prone to Like an update if someone else has done so before. We distinguish between three different treatment conditions: (i) one unknown user Likes the update, (ii) three unknown users Like the update and (iii) one peer Likes the update. Whereas the first condition had no effect, both the second and the third increased the probability to express a positive opinion by a factor of two or more, suggesting that both number of predecessors and social proximity matters. We identify three reasonable explanations for the observed herding behavior and isolate conformity as the primary mechanism in our experiment.
Geometrical splitting technique to improve the computational efficiency in Monte Carlo calculations for proton therapy.

PURPOSE To present the implementation and validation of a geometrical based variance reduction technique for the calculation of phase space data for proton therapy dose calculation. METHODS The treatment heads at the Francis H Burr Proton Therapy Center were modeled with a new Monte Carlo tool (TOPAS based on Geant4). For variance reduction purposes, two particle-splitting planes were implemented. First, the particles were split upstream of the second scatterer or at the second ionization chamber. Then, particles reaching another plane immediately upstream of the field specific aperture were split again. In each case, particles were split by a factor of 8. At the second ionization chamber and at the latter plane, the cylindrical symmetry of the proton beam was exploited to position the split particles at randomly spaced locations rotated around the beam axis. Phase space data in IAEA format were recorded at the treatment head exit and the computational efficiency was calculated. Depth-dose curves and beam profiles were analyzed. Dose distributions were compared for a voxelized water phantom for different treatment fields for both the reference and optimized simulations. In addition, dose in two patients was simulated with and without particle splitting to compare the efficiency and accuracy of the technique. RESULTS A normalized computational efficiency gain of a factor of 10-20.3 was reached for phase space calculations for the different treatment head options simulated. Depth-dose curves and beam profiles were in reasonable agreement with the simulation done without splitting: within 1% for depth-dose with an average difference of (0.2 ± 0.4)%, 1 standard deviation, and a 0.3% statistical uncertainty of the simulations in the high dose region; 1.6% for planar fluence with an average difference of (0.4 ± 0.5)% and a statistical uncertainty of 0.3% in the high fluence region. The percentage differences between dose distributions in water for simulations done with and without particle splitting were within the accepted clinical tolerance of 2%, with a 0.4% statistical uncertainty. For the two patient geometries considered, head and prostate, the efficiency gain was 20.9 and 14.7, respectively, with the percentages of voxels with gamma indices lower than unity 98.9% and 99.7%, respectively, using 2% and 2 mm criteria. CONCLUSIONS The authors have implemented an efficient variance reduction technique with significant speed improvements for proton Monte Carlo simulations. The method can be transferred to other codes and other treatment heads.
Effects of nC24 and nC27 petroleum spray oils on oviposition and egg survival of Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) and Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) adults on maize plants

Abstract The study determined the effectiveness of nC24 and nC27 petroleum spray oils (PSOs) to reduce oviposition of Ostrinia nubilalis and survival of O. nubilalis eggs and Trichogramma brassicae adults. Under choice and no-choice tests, maize treated with 3, 5 and 10% (v/v) of both oils deter O. nubilalis oviposition on maize. The study also showed that treatment of 1 – 3-day-old O. nubilalis eggs with 1 and 2% (v/v) nC24 oil caused 6% mortality compared with 99.5% when treated with 3, 5 and 10% (v/v) oil. In contrast, treatment with 1 – 10% (v/v) nC27 oil caused 99% mortality. Trichogramma brassicae is a major parasitoid of O. nubilalis. The mortality of T. brassicae 24 h after exposure to maize sprayed with 2% (v/v) nC24 and nC27 oils was 8.3 and 12.7%, respectively. At 5% (v/v), the mortalities were 24.9 and 23.5%, respectively. Therefore, application of 3% (v/v) PSO may deter O. nubilalis egg lay, egg mortality and survival of T. brassicae on maize.
Long‐term government debt and household portfolio composition

Formal dynamic analyses of household portfolio choice in the literature focus on holdings of equity and a risk‐free asset or bonds of different maturities, neglecting the interdependence of the decisions to invest in equity, short‐term and long‐term bonds made by households. Data from the Survey of Consumer Finances is used to derive stylized facts about participation in the long‐term government‐debt market and conditional portfolio shares. To explain the mechanisms underlying these facts, I draw on a life‐cycle model in which investors have access to three financial assets—equity, long‐term debt, and a riskless short‐term bond—and are exposed to uninsurable idiosyncratic risk through nonfinancial income as well as aggregate risk through the asset returns. An application shows that the low Treasury returns observed in the US between 2009 and 2013 have quantitatively significant yet transitory effects on the composition of household portfolios. In combination with the observed rise in stock returns, they lead to persistent changes in the participation rate, the conditional portfolio shares, and the distribution of wealth.
How to grow our own: An evaluation of preceptorship in New Zealand graduate nurse programmes

Abstract Effective preceptorship has consistently been identified as an essential support process for graduate nurses in their first year of practice. Quality preceptorship supports a new graduate to develop confidence and competence and is seen as a critical component of any new graduate programme. This paper provides an overview of nurse entry to practice (NETP) programmes within New Zealand, along with key findings from a commissioned evaluation study during 2007–2009 that focused on preceptorship support for new graduate nurses. Findings from the evaluation identified access to preceptors, the importance of the preceptor/new graduate relationship, preceptor preparation for their role and the overall culture of support as important. Nursing leadership is additionally identified as a critical component to support effective preceptorship in any new graduate nursing programme.
The use and evaluation of primary data in 29 trichloroethylene carcinogen risk assessments.

This paper reports the results from a detailed study on how risk assessments of chemicals are actually made. The study is performed by comparing 29 cancer risk assessments made of one and the same chemical substance, namely, trichloroethylene. In this paper, the conclusions that are drawn in these risk assessment documents are described, and differences between the conclusions are explored. This is made within the framework of a proposed cancer risk assessment index. The selection of scientific data for risk assessment purposes is analyzed and the different risk assessors' interpretations and evaluations of individual primary data are compared. It is concluded that the data sets utilized by the trichloroethylene risk assessors are surprisingly incomplete and that biased data selection may have influenced some of the risk assessors' conclusions. Different risk assessors often interpret and evaluate one and the same study in different ways. There are also indications of both interpretation bias and evaluation bias for some of the risk assessors.
Role of Inhibition in Respiratory Pattern Generation

Postsynaptic inhibition is a key element of neural circuits underlying behavior, with 20–50% of all mammalian (nongranule) neurons considered inhibitory. For rhythmic movements in mammals, e.g., walking, swimming, suckling, chewing, and breathing, inhibition is often hypothesized to play an essential rhythmogenic role. Here we study the role of fast synaptic inhibitory neurotransmission in the generation of breathing pattern by blocking GABAA and glycine receptors in the preBötzinger complex (preBötC), a site essential for generation of normal breathing pattern, and in the neighboring Bötzinger complex (BötC). The breathing rhythm continued following this blockade, but the lung inflation-induced Breuer–Hering inspiratory inhibitory reflex was suppressed. The antagonists were efficacious, as this blockade abolished the profound effects of the exogenously applied GABAA receptor agonist muscimol or glycine, either of which under control conditions stopped breathing in vagus-intact or vagotomized, anesthetized, spontaneously breathing adult rats. In vagotomized rats, GABAAergic and glycinergic antagonists had little, if any, effect on rhythm. The effect in vagus-intact rats was to slow the rhythm to a pace equivalent to that seen after suppression of the aforementioned Breuer–Hering inflation reflex. We conclude that postsynaptic inhibition within the preBötC and BötC is not essential for generation of normal respiratory rhythm in intact mammals. We suggest the primary role of inhibition is in shaping the pattern of respiratory motor output, assuring its stability, and in mediating reflex or volitional apnea, but not in the generation of rhythm per se.
Surfactant Metabolism in the Neonate

With the use of stable isotope-labeled intravenous precursors for surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis, it has been shown that the de novo synthesis rates in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are very low as are turnover rates. This is consistent with animal data. Surfactant therapy does not inhibit endogenous surfactant synthesis, and prenatal corticosteroids stimulate it. With the use of stable isotope-labeled PC given endotracheally, surfactant pool size was estimated. It turned out to be low in RDS, as expected. Similar studies were performed in term neonates with severe lung diseases. In general, patients with lung injury show a lower surfactant synthesis. The controversy around surfactant in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) persists: studies on CDH with and without extracorporeal membrane oxygenation yielded different results. In severe meconium aspiration syndrome surfactant synthesis was found to be decreased but surfactant pool size was maintained. It is possible and safe to study surfactant metabolism in human neonates with the use of stable isotopes. This can help in answering clinical questions and has the potential to bring new in vitro and animal findings about surfactant metabolism to the patient.
Neutrophil NADPH‐oxidase activation by an annexin AI peptide is transduced by the formyl peptide receptor (FPR), whereas an inhibitory signal is generated independently of the FPR family receptors

Truncation of the N‐terminal part of the calcium‐regulated and phospholipid‐binding protein annexin AI has been shown to change the functional properties of the protein and to generate immunoregulatory peptides. Proinflammatory as well as anti‐inflammatory signals are triggered by these peptides, and the two formyl peptide receptor (FPR) family members expressed in neutrophils, FPR and FPR‐like 1 (FPRL1), have been suggested to transduce these signals. We now report that an annexin AI peptide (Ac9–25) activates, as well as inhibits, the neutrophil release of superoxide anions. Results obtained from experiments with receptor antagonists/inhibitors, desensitized cells, and transfected cells reveal that the Ac9–25 peptide activates the neutrophil reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase through FPR but not through FPRL1. The Ac9–25 peptide also inhibits the oxidase activity in neutrophils triggered, not only by the FPR‐specific agonist N‐formyl‐Met‐Leu‐Phe but also by several other agonists operating through different G protein‐coupled receptors. Our data show that the two signals generated by the Ac9–25 peptide are transmitted through different receptors, the inhibitory signal being transduced by a not‐yet identified receptor distinct from FPR and FPRL1.
BCAS1 expression defines a population of early myelinating oligodendrocytes in multiple sclerosis lesions

BCAS1 expression identifies newly formed and actively myelinating oligodendrocytes in development, adulthood, and disease. Mapping active myelination with BCAS1 Neuronal axon demyelination causes motor and cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating disorders. Although remyelinating strategies have been proposed, the lack of markers to detect areas of active myelination hampers the development of effective therapies. Fard et al. show that myelinating oligodendrocytes constitute a unique population expressing breast carcinoma amplified sequence 1 (BCAS1) in rodent and human brain tissue. In brain samples from deceased MS patients, BCAS1+ cells are present around lesions, suggesting that remyelination might occur during MS and that BCAS1 expression could be used to track responses to remyelinating compounds for treating demyelinating disorders. Investigations into brain function and disease depend on the precise classification of neural cell types. Cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage differ greatly in their morphology, but accurate identification has thus far only been possible for oligodendrocyte progenitor cells and mature oligodendrocytes in humans. We find that breast carcinoma amplified sequence 1 (BCAS1) expression identifies an oligodendroglial subpopulation in the mouse and human brain. These cells are newly formed, myelinating oligodendrocytes that segregate from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells and mature oligodendrocytes and mark regions of active myelin formation in development and in the adult. We find that BCAS1+ oligodendrocytes are restricted to the fetal and early postnatal human white matter but remain in the cortical gray matter until old age. BCAS1+ oligodendrocytes are reformed after experimental demyelination and found in a proportion of chronic white matter lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) even in a subset of patients with advanced disease. Our work identifies a means to map ongoing myelin formation in health and disease and presents a potential cellular target for remyelination therapies in MS.
Impairment in quality of life among patients seeking surgery for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating): preliminary results.

BACKGROUND The present paper describes the initial stages of the development and administration of a short, disease-specific, health related questionnaire to assess the impact of suffering from hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) on the Quality of Life (QoL) of patients who are anticipating surgery for this disorder. METHOD The study was performed in two stages: 1. The life domains in which the condition impairs QoL were assessed by in-depth interviews with 10 patients suffering from hyperhidrosis. 2. A questionnaire covering five life domains was built based on these interviews. 3. This questionnaire was administered to 48 patients, 30 females and 18 males between the ages 15 and 48. RESULTS Results showed that subjective QoL was significantly lower among females in four of the five life areas and that duration of the condition correlates with a lower quality of life. A regression analysis showed that the subjective suffering of the patients was explained mainly by social aspects. CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire is a novel attempt to assess QoL in a disorder with strong esthetic and social consequences and could improve communication between patients and their physicians.
Severe Hyperbilirubinemia in a Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase-Deficient Preterm Neonate: Could Prematurity Be the Main Responsible Factor?

We report on a premature infant with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and severe hyperbilirubinemia. In this patient, all known potential hemolytic agents were excluded and no findings of hemolysis were observed. The crucial role of prematurity in the pathogenesis of this type of jaundice is discussed.
Renin-angiotensin system genes and exercise training-induced changes in sodium excretion in African American hypertensives.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensinogen (ACT) genotypes could predict changes in urinary sodium excretion in response to short-term aerobic exercise training (AEX). DESIGN Longitudinal intervention. SETTING The study was conducted at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Baltimore, and the University of Pittsburgh General Clinical Research Center. PARTICIPANTS 31 (age 53 +/- 2 years) sedentary, hypertensive (146 +/- 2/88 +/- 2 mm Hg) African Americans. INTERVENTION Aerobic exercise training (AEX) consisted of seven or eight consecutive days, 50 minutes per day, at 65% of heart rate reserve. Participants underwent a 24-hour period of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring and urine collection at baseline and 14-18 hours after the last exercise session. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Angiotensiongen (AGT) M235T and ACE I/D genotype and sodium excretion and ambulatory BP. RESULTS Average sodium excretion for the entire group independent of genotype increased after AEX (108 +/- 9 vs 143 +/- 12 mEq/day, P=.003). Sodium excretion significantly increased after exercise training in the ACE II (114 +/- 22 vs 169 +/- 39 mEq/day, P=.04), but not in the ID (100 +/- 8 vs 133 +/- 17 mEq/day, P=.12) or DD (113 +/- 18 vs 138 +/- 11 mEq/day, P=.13) genotype groups. In the II genotype group, the increase in sodium excretion was significantly and inversely correlated with decreases in 24-hour diastolic (r= -.88, P=.02) and mean (r= -.95, P=.004) BP. The ACT TT and MT+MM genotype groups similarly increased their sodium excretion by 34 +/- 16 (P=.05) and 37 +/- 17 (P=.05) mEq/day respectively. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that African American hypertensives with the ACE II genotype may be more susceptible to sodium balance and BP changes with exercise training compared with those with the ID and DD genotypes.
Separation and Identification of Furanic Compounds in Fruit Juices and Drinks by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Photodiode Array Detection

An HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous separation and identification of furanic compounds as the possible degradation products of sugars and ascorbic acid on heating. 5-(Hydroxymethyl)furfural (5-HMF), furfural, 2-furoic acid, 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone (DMHF), 2-acetylfuran, and six unknown compounds were separated and detected in fruit juice concentrates with or without added vitamin C, wine, beer, and beverage samples. 5-HMF, furfural, and 2-furoic acid were detected in all samples analyzed. DMHF was detected in all samples except the cola. In contrast, 2-acetylfuran was detected in the cola sample only. In the fruit juice concentrates with added vitamin C, the contents of furfural, 2-furoic acid, and DMHF were higher than in all other samples. Keywords: Furanic compounds; fruit juices and drinks; identification; HPLC
Six-minute walk test and health status assessment in sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND The 6-min walk test has proved useful in assessing impairment and prognosis in various lung diseases. METHODS A prospective study of 142 sarcoidosis patients seen during a 6-week period at one tertiary sarcoidosis clinic. All patients completed spirometry, 6-min walk testing, St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), fatigue assessment scale, and dyspnea score. Parameters assessed included the 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and the initial and lowest oxygen saturations during the test. RESULTS One hundred three of 142 patients had extrapulmonary manifestations, 10 patients had left ventricular dysfunction, and 14 patients had documented pulmonary hypertension. Seventy-three patients (51%) completed a 6MWD < 400 m, and 32 patients (22%) walked < 300 m. The 14 patients with documented pulmonary hypertension had a shorter 6MWD (median, 280 m; range, 61 to 404) than those without documented pulmonary arterial hypertension (median, 411 m; range, 46 to 747; p < 0.0001). Several components of the pulmonary function and quality of life correlated with 6MWD. Using a stepwise multiple regression analysis, only SGRQ activity component (t = - 7.498, p < 0.0001), FVC (t = 4.415, p < 0.0001), and lowest oxygen saturation (t = 2.55, p < 0.02) were independent predictors of 6MWD. CONCLUSIONS 6MWD was reduced in the majority of sarcoidosis patients. Several factors were associated with a reduced 6MWD, including FVC, oxygen saturation with exercise, and self-reported respiratory health. Both 6MWD and quality of life measures are useful in assessing the functional status of sarcoidosis patients.
Luxury brands in consumer lives: conceptualising and exploring the consumption of luxury brand meanings

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The So-Called “Partial Horner Syndrome” in Cluster Headache. An Editorial

The presence of this syndrome has been taken to be proof of a sympathetic deficiency. Evidence that such a constellation of signs is really caused by a sympathetic dysfunction has been obtained by verified lesions of the sympathetic: the pupillary constriction seems to be most pronounced following operative procedures on the 7th and 8th cervical and 1st thoracic roots, and the lower cervical ganglion. Indirect proof that the presence of pupillary signs in a given patient is indeed secondary to a sympathetic dysfunction may be obtained from utilization of sympathomimetic drugs. Both indirectly and directly working substances are useful. Positive tests with these drugs further indicate that not only is the sympathetic lesioned: noradrenaline seems to be implicated in the dysfunction. Active substances other than noradrenaline may be present in the sympathetic fibres, and part of the symptomatology of a sympathetic lesion may be accounted for by