Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FOMC Responses to Calls for Transparency

I apply latent semantic analysis to Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) transcripts and minutes from 1976 to 2008 in order to analyze the Fed's responses to calls for transparency. Using a newly constructed measure of the transparency of deliberations, I study two events that define markedly different periods of transparency over this 32-year period. First, the 1978 Humphrey-Hawkins Act increased the degree to which the FOMC used meeting minutes to convey the content of its meetings. Historical evidence suggests that this increased transparency reflected a response to the Act's requirement that the Fed provide greater detail in reporting with respect to its goals and objectives. Second, the 1993 decision to publish nearly verbatim transcripts also increased transparency. However, the cost was an increasing degree of conformity at each meeting, as evidenced by lower variance in content disagreement at the member level.
Localization of Endo‐Oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19) in the Rat Nervous Tissue

Abstract: The subcellular and regional distribution of endooligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19), an enzyme capable of generating enkephalin by single cleavage from enkephalin‐containing peptides, was determined by an enzymatic assay using metorphamide and by immunochemical techniques in the CNS of the rat. The rat CNS contains a membrane‐associated form of endo‐oligopeptidase, an enzyme predominantly associated with the soluble fraction of brain homogenates. Sub‐cellular fractionation showed that ∼17% of the total activity of the enzyme is associated with membrane fractions including synaptosomes. Synaptosomal membranes were prepared from neocortex, striatum, hypothalamus, medulla, spinal cord, and cerebellum. The amount of EC 3.4. 22.19 activity solubilized by 3‐([3‐cholamidopropyl]dimethylammonio)‐1‐propanesulfonate from synaptosomal membranes was similar in neocortex, striatum, and hypothalamus, being three‐ to 10‐fold greater than in spinal cord, cerebellum, and medulla. A polyclonal antibody exhibiting high affinity for endo‐oligopeptidase was raised in rabbits against the purified rat brain enzyme and used to localize endo‐oligopeptidase by Western blotting and by immunoperoxidase techniques. A strong band corresponding to the Mr of EC 3.4. 22.19 was found in solubilized proteins obtained from synaptosomal membranes prepared from hypothalamus, neocortex, and striatum when subjected to Western blotting. The immunohistochemical localization of endo‐oligopeptidase indicated that the immunoreactivity was confined to gray matter in regions known to be rich in peptide‐containing neurons such as the striatum. In the cerebellum, a region poor in peptides, no staining could be detected. The nonuniform distribution of endo‐oligopeptidase in rat brain suggests a role in neurotransmitter processing in the CNS.
Reassessing board member allegiance: CEO replacement following financial misconduct

Research summary: We examine how board members' reactions following financial misconduct differ from those following other adverse organizational events, such as poor performance. We hypothesize that inside directors and directors appointed by the CEO may be particularly concerned about their reputation following deceptive financial practices. We demonstrate that directors more closely affiliated with the CEO are more likely to reduce their support for the CEO following financial misconduct, increasing the likelihood of CEO replacement. Enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act similarly alters governance dynamics by creating a greater expectation for sound corporate governance. We demonstrate our findings in U.S. public firms that restated their financial earnings during a 12-year period before and after the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley. Managerial summary: Given past concerns about lack of oversight by boards of directors leading to firm financial misconduct, we examine how the relationship between directors and CEOs may be altered in the face of such misconduct. We argue that directors most closely tied to the CEO (inside board members and board members appointed by the CEO), typically the most supportive of the CEO, may become most concerned about their own reputation following financial misconduct. We find that CEOs receive less support from these directors, a finding in contrast to past studies demonstrating that such board members tend to shield CEOs following poor performance. These findings are accentuated following the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which places greater responsibility on the CEO for the accuracy of financial reports. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MPL1, a Novel Phosphatase with Leucine-Rich Repeats, Is Essential for Proper ERK2 Phosphorylation and Cell Motility

ABSTRACT The novel Dictyostelium phosphatase MPL1 contains six leucine-rich repeats at the amino-terminal end and a phosphatase domain at the carboxyl end. Similarly architectured phosphatases exist among other protozoa, such as Entamoeba histolytica, Leishmania major, and Trypanosoma cruzi. MPL1 was strongly induced after 5 h of development; ablation by homologous recombination led to defective streaming and aggregation during development. In addition, cyclic AMP (cAMP)-pulsed mpl1− cells showed reduced random and directional motility. At the molecular level, mpl1− cells displayed higher prestimulus and persistent poststimulus ERK2 phosphorylation in response to cAMP stimulation. Consistent with their phenotype of persistent ERK2 phosphorylation, mpl1− cells also displayed an aberrant pattern of cAMP production, resembling that of the regA− cells. Reintroduction of a full-length MPL1 into mpl1− cells restored aggregation, ERK2 regulation, random and directional motility, and cAMP production similar to wild-type cells. We propose that MPL1 is a novel phosphatase essential for proper regulation of ERK2 phosphorylation and optimal motility during development.
Implementing Sustainability in Service Operations at Scandic Hotels

The case of Scandic Hotels shows, first, that sustainable strategies and practices can be just as useful in service operations as in manufacturing operations; and second, that such strategies and practices can support a corporate turnaround effort. Scandic Hotels, Nordic Europe's biggest hotel chain, was on the verge of collapse in the early 1990s. A new CEO, Roland Nilsson, turned the company around by introducing two business principles, decentralized management and sustainable development. The company's new value system, embodied in the concept of sustainability, linked customers and employees, who were calling for more environmental responsibility. Through employee-training programs, environmental information systems, and innovative collaborations with suppliers, Scandic was revived within a few years as a profitable corporation well on the road to sustainability.
The effects of satisfaction, opportunism, and asset specificity on consumers' loyalty intention toward internet portal sites

Purpose – This study aims to develop and empirically test a model examining the antecedents of consumer loyalty toward internet portals.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected based on an internet survey in Taiwan. Self‐administered questionnaires were used for all measures.Findings – The results show that attributive satisfaction is very important in affecting consumers' overall satisfaction toward an internet portal, which in turn affects consumers' loyalty intention toward an internet portal. This study also demonstrates that consumers' specific asset investment on an internet portal exerted a positive impact on loyalty intention, whereas perceived opportunism toward an internet portal exerted a negative influence on loyalty intention.Originality/value – This study contributes to the e‐commerce service studies in two ways. First, it developed and empirically tested a model for examining the antecedents of consumer loyalty intentions toward an internet portal. Second, it incorporated the c.
A trust-region algorithm combining line search filter technique for nonlinear constrained optimization

In this paper, we propose a trust-region algorithm in association with line search filter technique for solving nonlinear equality constrained programming. At current iteration, a trial step is formed as the sum of a normal step and a tangential step which is generated by trust-region subproblem and the step size is decided by interior backtracking line search together with filter methods. Then, the next iteration is determined. This is different from general trust-region methods in which the next iteration is determined by the ratio of the actual reduction to the predicted reduction. The global convergence analysis for this algorithm is presented under some reasonable assumptions and the preliminary numerical results are reported.
The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomic Implications

We document the evolution of markups based on firm-level data for the US economy since 1950. Initially, markups are stable, even slightly decreasing. In 1980, average markups start to rise from 18% above marginal cost to 67% now. There is no strong pattern across industries, though markups tend to be higher, across all sectors of the economy, in smaller firms and most of the increase is due to an increase within industry. We do see a notable change in the distribution of markups with the increase exclusively due to a sharp increase in high markup firms. We then evaluate the macroeconomic implications of an increase in average market power, which can account for a number of secular trends in the last 3 decades: 1. decrease in labor share; 2. increase in capital share; 3. decrease in low skill wages; 4. decrease in labor force participation; 5. decrease in labor flows; 6. decrease in migration rates; 7. slowdown in aggregate output.
Computational Identification of Conserved microRNAs and Their Targets in Tea (Camellia sinensis)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of ~22 nucleotides long non coding RNA molecules which play an important role in gene regulation at the post transcriptional level. The conserved nature of miRNAs provides the basis of new miRNA identification through homology search. In an attempt to identify new conserved miRNAs in tea, previously known plant miRNAs were used for searching their homolog in a tea Expressed Sequence Tags and full length nucleotide sequence database. The sequences showing homolog no more than four mismatches were predicted for their fold back structures and passed through a series of filtration criteria, finally led us to identify 13 conserved miRNAs in tea belonging to 9 miRNA families. A total of 37 potential target genes in Arabidopsis were identified subsequently for 7 miRNA families based on their sequence complementarity which encode transcription factors (8%), enzymes (30%) and transporters (14%) as well as other proteins involved in physiological and metabolic processes (48%). Overall, our findings will accelerate the way for further researches of miRNAs and their functions in tea.
Interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control: towards a constructive procedure - Part I

Interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control is a technique that regulates the behavior of nonlinear systems assigning a desired (port-controlled Hamiltonian) structure to the closed-loop. Since the introduction of this controller design methodology five years ago (1999), many theoretical extensions and practical applications have been reported in the literature. The theoretical developments include some variations and shortcuts that are useful when dealing with particular classes of systems, and the incorporation of additional features to handle control scenarios other than just stabilization. On the application side the method has provided solutions to a wide variety of physical problems. The purpose of this paper is to review the fundamental theory of this control system design approach. Main new results and practical applications as well as current open problems and future directions are discussed in a companion paper.
The Use of Consensus Scoring in Ligand-Based Virtual Screening

A new consensus approach has been developed for ligand-based virtual screening. It involves combining highly disparate properties in order to improve performance in virtual screening. The properties include structural, 2D pharmacophore and property-based fingerprints, scores derived using BCUT descriptors, and 3D pharmacophore approaches. Different approaches for the combination of all or some of these methods have been tested. Logistic regression and sum ranks were found to be the most advantageous in different pharmaceutical applications. The three major reasons consensus scoring appears to enrich data sets better than single scoring functions are (1) using multiple scoring functions is similar to repeated samplings, in which case the mean is closer to the true value than any single value, (2) due to the better clustering of actives, multiple sampling will recover more actives than inactives, and (3) different methods seem to agree more on the ranking of the actives than on the inactives. Furthermore, consensus results are not only better but are also more consistent across receptor systems.
Efficacy of Chicory alone or combined with Dandelion leaves against induced Liver Damage

Several phytomolecules have been reported as potent hepatoprotective agents against different toxicants. Chicory and dandelion water extract was found to have protective effect on acute liver inflammation induced by CCl4 in rats. In this, study we investigated the efficacy of the hepatoprotective activity of chicory leaves alone or mixed with dandelion leaves water extracts against carbon tetrachloride induced liver intoxication in Wister albino rats. One hundred and twenty rats weighing 150-200 gm were included in the current study. Carbon tetrachloride was used as a hepatotoxic agent while, chicory and chicory/dandelion mixture leaves water extracts were used as a probable hepatoprotective agent. Rats were divided into two main groups. Group A (normal control group) and group B (liver injured group). Various biochemical parameters were studied to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of chicory alone or chicory/dandelion mixture leaves water extract. The study was also supported by histopathology of liver sections and DNA extraction of the rats livers to investigate the genomic DNA integrity. Results revealed that the serum biomarkers in carbon tetrachloride treated rats recorded elevated concentration indicating severe hepatic damage by carbon tetrachloride. The results of the serum biomarkers of chicory and its mixture with dandelion treated rats showed significant reduction indicating the effect of the plants leaves extract in restoring the normal functional ability of the hepatocytes. [Abdulrahman L. Al-Malki and Mohamed Kamel Abo-Golayel Hepatoprotective Efficacy of Chicory alone or combined with Dandelion leaves against induced Liver Damage Life Sci J.2013;10(4):140-157]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.lifesciencesite. org. 19
Synaptic proteome changes in the superior frontal gyrus and occipital cortex of the alcoholic brain

Cognitive deficits and behavioral changes that result from chronic alcohol abuse are a consequence of neuropathological changes that alter signal transmission through the neural network. To focus on the changes that occur at the point of connection between the neural network cells, synaptosomal preparations from post‐mortem human brain of six chronic alcoholics and six non‐alcoholic controls were compared using 2‐D differential in‐gel electrophoresis (DIGE). Functionally affected and spared regions (superior frontal gyrus, SFG, and occipital cortex, OC, respectively) were analyzed from both groups to further investigate the specific pathological response that alcoholism has on the brain. Forty‐nine proteins were differentially regulated between the SFG of alcoholics and the SFG of controls and 94 proteins were regulated in the OC with an overlap of 23 proteins. Additionally, the SFG was compared to the OC within each group (alcoholics or controls) to identify region‐specific differences. A selection was identified by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry revealing proteins involved in vesicle transport, metabolism, folding and trafficking, and signal transduction, all of which have the potential to influence synaptic activity. A number of proteins identified in this study have been previously related to alcoholism; however, the focus on synaptic proteins has also uncovered novel alcoholism‐affected proteins. Further exploration of these proteins will illuminate the mechanisms altering synaptic plasticity, and thus neuronal signaling and response, in the alcoholic brain.
Family consumer decision making in Israel: the role of teens and parents

This study replicated an earlier study conducted in the USA and examined Israeli families’ decision making regarding various products and decision‐making stages. The results revealed that teenage children have influence over family purchases, particularly for products relevant to them (like cereal and vacations) and during the initiation stage. Moreover, consistent with the ranking of Israel as a low power‐distance country, Israeli teens had higher influence than US teens on family decisions.
Organizational Slack and the Capability Life-Cycle

The success of related diversification is not a given. Although synergies between a firm's businesses may exist, problems can arise in the sharing of key resources and capabilities as the firm attempts to exploit the synergies. To achieve success in related diversification, firms often leverage their organizational slack, or resources and capabilities that are in excess of the level demanded by their normal operations. However, sharing is difficult when firms have insufficient organizational slack, and this can lead to an overstretching of shared resources. Through case study methodology, this paper investigates how one technological SME managed its limited organizational slack while engaged in related diversification. Particular attention is given to the mechanisms that contribute to diversification failure. Consideration is also given to how the capability life-cycle may affect capability sharing in related diversification efforts.
Competitive intelligence practices of South African and Belgian exporters

Purpose – The objective of the study was to compare competitive intelligence (CI) practices of exporters in South Africa and Belgium.Design/methodology/approach – An e‐mail and postal survey in a sample of 292 Belgian and 309 South African exporting companies was carried out in which CI‐practices and opinions and attitudes towards CI were measured.Findings – Most respondents report a “CI culture” in their companies. South African and Belgian exporters are, however, not yet well equipped and not very active to conduct effective CI, especially in the areas of planning, process and structure, data collection, data analysis, and especially skills development. In both countries CI‐activities are usually not organized in a separate department and, if they are, CI is mostly done in the marketing and sales department. Managers from both countries consider similar types of information important, and they rely on similar sources of information. Although the responsibility for CI is more a top management issue in Fl.
Supply chain risk management in India – practical insights

This paper reviews the supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature to identify as well as to discuss and elaborate on the impact and origin of major supply chain risk factors in an Indian context. Through a combination of existing literature and a survey instrument, we identify major SCRM issues including underlying supply chain risks and thereafter identify gaps, issues and opportunities for further research. SCRM has become a popular research topic, in part owing to increased globalisation of business. Moreover competitive factors such as shorter product life cycles, technological innovations and changing government policies have brought this topic more sharply into focus. We carried out a survey among Indian supply chain professionals, based on supply chain risk constructs developed from a literature review. Statistical analysis utilised exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to determine the major risk factors in the Indian supply chain sector. We found a range of supply chain risks prevalent in Indian supply chains, classified here as cultural, operational, infrastructure, economic, forecasting and supplier-related risks. However, for a variety of reasons and as discussed in the paper, the implications can vary considerably. Based on the findings we provide a future SCRM research agenda from an Indian perspective. As international supply chains increasingly have Indian partners and domestic firms within India seek to be globally competitive, the risks need to be better understood. This is the first detailed study on SCRM practices in an Indian context.
Mindfulness-acceptance-commitment program for athletes and exercisers : an action research case study

Doğan Umut, 2016. Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment Program for Athletes and Exercisers: An Action Research Case Study. Master’s Thesis in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Department of Sport Sciences. University of Jyväskylä. 74p. Control-based psychological skills training (PST) practices have been widely capitalized on in sport for the past few decades, despite inconsistent empirical evidence of their efficacy on sport performance. The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) program has preliminary support as an additional approach in performance enhancement, however, there is very limited research involving its implementation especially within group settings. Current study was aimed at planning, implementation, and evaluation of a seven-session MAC program among a diverse group of active athletes and regular exercisers (n=16). This study was an educational action research case study with a mixed method design. Perspective of a novice instructor and information upon the implementation of the sessions were reflected through an elaborate narrative case description compiled based on researcher’s log and participants’ feedback. Participants also filled in the following performance and wellbeing-related scales before and after the intervention: Athlete’s Performance Self-Rating Scale (Hasker, 2010), The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ; Hayes et al., 2004), The White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI; Wegner & Zanakos, 1994), and The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer, et al., 2006). Qualitative data was analyzed through narrative and content analyses, while quantitative data was analyzed via Paired Sample t-Test. Based on the qualitative analyses, participants benefited from student centered and interactive ways of teaching (metaphors, games, videos, focus group discussions and exercises) used as part of the program. Participants also tended to prefer more active tasks like various informal mindfulness exercises as opposed to paper-based exercises. Based on the quantitative analysis, participants improved on perceived performance, thought suppression, acceptance and committed action. This study showed that it was possible for a novice instructor to adapt and apply the MAC program to a group of athletes and exercisers successfully. Future research can focus on certain sports, certain groups and include a control group and other performance-related measures, in addition to incorporating more action-oriented exercises within the program.