Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
19‐Nortestosterone influences neural stem cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the rat brain

Abuse of androgenic anabolic steroids can affect brain function leading to behavioural changes. In this study, the effects of the testosterone analogue, 19‐nortestosterone, on rat neural stem cells was examined. The androgen receptor is expressed by cultured embryonic and adult neural stem cells, and is also present in the ventricular epithelium during development and in the adult brain in, among others, dentate gyrus. In neural stem cells stimulated with epidermal growth factor, nandrolone reduced cell proliferation, especially in adult ones. The decrease was abolished by flutamide, a receptor antagonist. Nandrolone also decreased the BrdU labelling of neural stem cells in the dentate gyrus, demonstrating an effect of the hormone on cell proliferation in vivo. The effect of nandrolone was observed with both female and male rats but it was more pronounced in pregnant rats, indicating an involvement of oestrogen in nandrolone action. Nandrolone also decreased the number of newly born neuronal cells in the dentate gyrus of male rats. The results show that nandrolone has important effects on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells expressing the cognate androgen receptor. The data show that the use of nandrolone may severely affect the formation of neural stem cells and could therefore have long‐term negative consequences in the brain.
Calcium retention and hormone levels in black and white women on high‐ and low‐calcium diets

Black‐white differences in calcium metabolism are sought because they may reveal why blacks have higher bone mass than whites. Comparative studies of calcium absorption in blacks and whites are not available. In this study, we compare fractional calcium retention, an index of calcium absorption, and calcium regulating hormone levels in black and white women on a high‐calcium diet and after adaptation to a low‐calcium diet. A total of 30 healthy women (15 black and 15 white) had measurements of fractional 47Ca retention and calcium regulating hormone levels after 8 weeks on a 2000 mg calcium diet and, subsequently, after 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks on a 300 mg calcium diet. By 2 weeks after the diet change, fractional 47Ca retention, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25‐(OH)2D] had reached a plateau at higher levels, urine calcium at a low level, and serum calcium at the same level (repeated‐measures ANOVA). Fractional 47Ca retention, serum calcium, and PTH were similar on both diets in blacks and whites. Blacks had higher levels of 1,25‐(OH)2D on both diets (e.g., 125.1 ± 53.5 SD versus 73.4 ± 19.0 pmol/liter, P = 0.003 on low‐calcium diet) and a greater increase in 1,25‐(OH)2D after the diet change (33.9 ± 30.1 SD versus 11.8 ± 17.9 pmol/liter, P = 0.021). Serum phosphorus was lower in blacks throughout. For hormone levels and fractional calcium retention to stabilize after a diet change, 2 weeks was needed. Similar levels of fractional retention in black and white women despite higher levels of 1,25‐(OH)2D in blacks suggest that blacks may have a gut resistance to the action of 1,25‐(OH)2D.
A Novel Arsenate Reductase from the Arsenic Hyperaccumulating Fern Pteris vittata1

Pteris vittata sporophytes hyperaccumulate arsenic to 1% to 2% of their dry weight. Like the sporophyte, the gametophyte was found to reduce arsenate [As(V)] to arsenite [As(III)] and store arsenic as free As(III). Here, we report the isolation of an arsenate reductase gene (PvACR2) from gametophytes that can suppress the arsenate sensitivity and arsenic hyperaccumulation phenotypes of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) lacking the arsenate reductase gene ScACR2. Recombinant PvACR2 protein has in vitro arsenate reductase activity similar to ScACR2. While PvACR2 and ScACR2 have sequence similarities to the CDC25 protein tyrosine phosphatases, they lack phosphatase activity. In contrast, Arath;CDC25, an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) homolog of PvACR2 was found to have both arsenate reductase and phosphatase activities. To our knowledge, PvACR2 is the first reported plant arsenate reductase that lacks phosphatase activity. CDC25 protein tyrosine phosphatases and arsenate reductases have a conserved HCX5R motif that defines the active site. PvACR2 is unique in that the arginine of this motif, previously shown to be essential for phosphatase and reductase activity, is replaced with a serine. Steady-state levels of PvACR2 expression in gametophytes were found to be similar in the absence and presence of arsenate, while total arsenate reductase activity in P. vittata gametophytes was found to be constitutive and unaffected by arsenate, consistent with other known metal hyperaccumulation mechanisms in plants. The unusual active site of PvACR2 and the arsenate reductase activities of cell-free extracts correlate with the ability of P. vittata to hyperaccumulate arsenite, suggesting that PvACR2 may play an important role in this process.
Deep convective cloud-top heights and their thermodynamic control during CRYSTAL-FACE

[1] Infrared (11 μm) radiances from GOES-8 and local radiosonde profiles, collected during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) in July 2002, are used to assess the vertical distribution of Florida-area deep convective cloud-top height and test predictions as to its variation based on parcel theory. The highest infrared tops (Z11) reached approximately to the cold point at 15.4 km, though these are uncertain by about 1 km due to unknown cloud-environment temperature differences. Since lidar shows that visible “tops” are generally 1 km or more above Z11, visible cloud tops frequently penetrated the lapse-rate tropopause (∼15 km). Further, since tropospheric ice concentrations were typically present up to ∼1 km above the visible tops, lofting of moisture through the mean cold point was probably common. Morning clouds, and those near Key West, rarely penetrated the tropopause. As in previous studies, nonentraining parcel theory fails to explain either of these results, though it does show promise in explaining day-to-day variations over the peninsula. Moisture variations above the boundary layer account for much of the day-to-day Z11 variability, especially over the oceans. In all locations a 20% increase in mean mixing ratio between 750 and 500 hPa was associated with about 1 km deeper maximum cloud penetration, other things being equal. This sensitivity is too large to explain by simple dilution of parcel buoyancy through mixing, implying microphysical or dynamical feedbacks on cloud development. The evident influence of midtropospheric humidity on the depth of the tropical troposphere suggests an interesting climate feedback possibility for stabilizing midtropospheric relative humidity.
Which Companies Deliver on the Dividend Promise? New Evidence on Dividend Smoothing and Dynamic Dividend Behavior

This paper uses differences in corporate governance and ownership structure to explain the time series properties of dividends (in particular, dividend smoothing). I show that the implicit dividend promise is sustainable in the presence of weak monitoring. The reason is that weakly governed managers face increased pressure from shareholders and the market to comply with the observable dividend policy. I find that weakly governed managers make fewer dividend cuts, engage in more dividend smoothing, and adopt small regular dividend increases. The effect of governance on dividend changes is concentrated in firms with significant cash flow increases. The paper's empirical strategy accounts for potential endogeneity of corporate governance and financial decisions. The dividend findings are robust to the use of overall payout. Persistent dividends exhibit a partial substitution with debt.
Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings? Revisited

Following Angrist and Krueger (1991) this paper investigates whether compulsory schooling laws are still effective and if so, to what extent compulsory schooling laws continue to impact the educational attainment as well as earnings in the 2005 American Community Survey. Differences in quarter of birth create a natural experiment that enables us to study the effect of school compulsion on schooling and earnings. Hence, individuals born in the beginning of the year usually start school at an older age than that of their classmates, they are allowed to drop out of school after attaining less education. I implement instrumental variable strategy to estimate the impact of compulsory schooling on earnings using quarter of birth as an instrument. We observe that for the older cohorts, compulsory schooling laws still explain differences in the educational attainment across individuals. However, it appears that these laws are no longer binding for more recent cohorts and therefore does not serve as a mechanism that helps us to exploit educational attainment across individuals.
From podium to press: The 10-year publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the Quebec Urological Association (QUA).

INTRODUCTION Our objective was to determine the proportion of publications arising from abstracts presented at the Quebec Urological Association (QUA). We wanted to analyze differences in publication rates according to certain parameters, and to examine the quality of publications using journal impact factors. METHODS All abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the QUA between 2000 and 2010 were obtained from the QUA archives and searched using the PubMed database. Variables included: institute, number of abstracts presented, year of presentation and publication, impact factor of publishing journal (according to 2010 Thomson Reuters report), time to publication (months), research type, presenter and location of research. Kaplan Meier methods were used for analysis. RESULTS By May 2012, 248 out of 439 abstracts (QUA 2000 to 2010) were published in peer-reviewed journals, resulting in a publication rate of 56%. There were significant differences in publication rates according to institution, research type and location of research. Researchers from non-Quebec institutions were twice as likely to publish compared to those from Quebec institutions (Cox HR 2.13, CI 1.20-3.76, p < 0.01). DISCUSSION The QUA publication rate was considerably higher than previously studied by the American Urological Association (37.8%) and British Association of Urological Surgeons (≈42%); however length of follow-up and presentation types differed. Research conducted outside Quebec was more likely to be published, reflecting the multi-institution robust study designs and higher level of evidence. Factors influencing publication deserve further attention, and clinicians are encouraged to conduct research with intent to publish.
When Does Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Curb Resource Extraction? Evidence from China

We examine whether internal control over financial reporting (internal control) reduces the expropriation of resources from the firm by managers and controlling shareholders. Although we have ample evidence from prior literature that internal controls reduce errors in financial reports, it is less clear that they can curb resource extraction, as management may simply override these controls. We exploit a rich Chinese dataset to distinguish between the design and implementation of internal controls. On average we find some evidence that internal controls curb resource extraction, but further investigation reveals that many firms with documented internal controls fail to implement these controls, or simply override them (i.e., form over substance), and these firms’ controls do not curb resource extraction. We find that internal controls are most likely to be form over substance when they are policy-driven instead of voluntarily adopted, and also when there are more severe agency problems (and thus an increased likelihood of control override). Although the analysis is conducted with Chinese data, the spirit of our findings should generalize to all settings. In particular, our findings suggest that management can use the “form” of internal control procedures while still engaging in the undesirable behavior.
Evaluating the Impact of DSS, Cognitive Effort, and Incentives on Strategy Selection

Decision support system (DSS) researcher- have long debated whether or not the provision of a DSS would lead to greater decision-making effectiveness, efficiency, or both. The work described in thi- paper examine- how DSS designer- can guide user- toward- employing more normative decision strategies. Working from notion- of restrictiveness and decisional guid- ance (Silver 1990) supplemented by the cost-benefit framework of cognition, we explain how DSS capabilitie- influence decision behavior and performance through the manipulation of effort. The result- of thi- work should assist DSS developer- to devise directed or nondirected approache- to effect desired behaviors.
Corporate disclosure and research opportunities in China

Abstract This article is developed from the authors’ keynote speeches at the Second Research Conference of the China Journal of Accounting Studies in November 2014 in Beijing, sponsored by the Accounting Society of China. We first discuss the importance of corporate disclosure and the importance of disclosure research in the US. We then discuss the opportunities of disclosure research in the Chinese setting and provide advice.
Isotropization in Brane Gas Cosmology

Brane Gas Cosmology (BGC) is an approach to unifying string theory and cosmology in which matter is described by a gas of strings and branes in a dilaton gravity background. The Universe is assumed to start out with all spatial dimensions compact and small. It has previously been shown that in this context, in the approximation of neglecting inhomogeneities and anisotropies, there is a dynamical mechanism which allows only three spatial dimensions to become large. However, previous studies do not lead to any conclusions concerning the isotropy or anisotropy of these three large spatial dimensions. Here, we generalize the equations of BGC to the anisotropic case, and find that isotropization is a natural consequence of the dynamics.
The mediating effect of brand image and information search intentions on the perceived risks associated with online purchasing on a generically-branded website

Against the background of the slow adoption of the Internet as a channel of retail distribution, the primary objective of this study was to investigate perceived risks associated with intention to purchase online on a generically-branded website. A secondary objective was to examine the influence of brand image and information search behaviour on perceived risk, by investigating whether these two variables can act as intervening variables in influencing consumer intention to purchase on a generically-branded website. Of the different types of risk perceptions investigated in this study, only performance risk influenced the intentions to purchase on a generically-branded website. The study also found that brand image mediated the influence of performance risk on intentions to purchase on a generically-branded website. Enhancing the brand image would thus lower concerns about the performance risk associated with a generically-branded website. Information search intentions did not, however, mediate the influence of performance risk on intentions to purchase on a generically-branded website. Thus, adding additional information on the website that consumers may find useful will not reduce performance risk or increase intentions to buy.
Endogenous transport costs and firm agglomeration in new trade theory

Departing from the exogenous treatment of transport costs, this study examines endogenous transport costs and their impact on firm location in new trade theory. Previous studies argue that, if exogenous transport costs in a large country are sufficiently higher than in a small country, then the home market effect disappears. In our model, national governments control domestic transport costs via public infrastructure investment. Our study presents persuasive findings that a large country always collects more tax revenue for public investment than a small country, which results in lower domestic transport costs, and hence, the home market effect always prevails.
DIFFERENCES IN FORAGING LOCATION OF MEXICAN AND CALIFORNIA ELEPHANT SEALS: EVIDENCE FROM STABLE ISOTOPES IN PUPS

Female northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, from Ano Nuevo (AN) in central California feed offshore in mid-latitude waters (40°–55°N). Migratory patterns and foraging locations of seals from Mexico are unknown. Rookeries on San Benitos (SB) islands in Baja California Sur, Mexico, are ∼1,170 km south of AN. Although the colonies are similar in size, seals from SB begin breeding earlier and have an earlier breeding birthing peak than seals from AN. To determine if the foraging location of seals from Mexico was similar to that of seals from California, we measured δ13C and δ15N values in the hair of 48 suckling pups at SB and 37 from AN, assuming that their isotopic signatures reflected those of mothers' milk, their exclusive diet. The mean δ13C and δ15N values for SB pups (−16.1‰± 0.9‰ and 17.7‰± 0.9‰, respectively) were significantly higher than those for AN pups (−17.6‰± 0.4‰ and 15.6‰± 1.0‰, respectively). From data on environmental isotope gradients and known behavior of SB and AN populations, we hypothesize that the isotope differences are due to females in the SB colony foraging ∼8° south of seals from AN. This hypothesis can be tested by deployment of satellite tags on adult females from the SB colony.
Business Cycle Dynamics and Firm Heterogeneity. Evidence for Austria Using Survey Data

We study the (macroeconomic) consistency of individual firm-level business tendency survey responses and take firm-level heterogeneity explicitly into account. Adding firm-level, industry- and region-specific structural characteristics allows controlling for additional microeconomic heterogeneity. The dataset we use are the business tendency survey micro data for Austrian manufacturing covering the time period 1996 to 2012. Our results show that firm-specific information embedded in the qualitative survey questions is relevant to understand aggregate business cycle dynamics. For example, the assessment of firms' order book levels, their current degree of capacity utilisation and their production expectations as well as obstacles in their production activities due to insufficient demand show evidence of a significant effect in explaining a firm's change in current production output. However, we do not find clear results with respect to firm size, nor do we find explanatory power of the industry affiliation of a firm and with respect to regional characteristics. We are able to identify heterogeneity in behaviour for cyclical up- and downswings as well as between large and small firms.
Interactive effects of oligofructose and obesity predisposition on gut hormones and microbiota in diet‐induced obese rats

Oligofructose (OFS) is a prebiotic that reduces energy intake and fat mass via changes in gut satiety hormones and microbiota. The effects of OFS may vary depending on predisposition to obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of OFS in diet‐induced obese (DIO) and diet‐resistant (DR) rats.
Enough Is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication

In an effort to build long-term, profitable relationships, many companies systematically engage in multichannel relational communication—personalized messages sent to existing customers through various channels as part of a broader relationship marketing strategy. In this research, the authors examine three key drivers of relational communication effectiveness: volume of communication, mix of communication channels, and alignment of those channels with customers’ preferences. They hypothesize that customer response to relational communication follows a continuum in which reciprocity explains response to lower levels of communication, the classic ideal point describes a transition phase, and reactance explains response to higher levels of communication. They empirically test the theoretical framework by examining the impact of multichannel communication on repurchase over a three-year period. The results indicate that after the ideal level of communication is exceeded, customers react negatively. This negative response can be exacerbated by the use of multiple channels but attenuated by aligning channels with customer preferences. The findings suggest that the complex effects of multichannel communication can actually drive customers away from rather than closer to a company.
Corporate Governance, Performance and CEO Pay

Corporate governance continues to be one of the main stories in the last five years as a result of the recent corporate scandals. In this paper, we attempt to investigate the relationship (and causality) between various corporate governance mechanisms, CEO pay and corporate performance. Using data on Canada's largest corporations, we cast a significant doubt on this assumed causality between governance and performance and subsequently performance and CEO pay. Good governance seem to have little, if any relation with firm performance and CEO pay seems to be determined more by size than performance. Based on these results, we wonder if the heavy emphasis placed by various regulatory bodies on governance environment may be misplaced. This increased emphasis may reduce corporate scandals but it may do little to improve corporate performance.
GLOBAL INTEGRATION AND INNOVATION CAPABILITIES IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: EVIDENCE FROM THE INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

This study examines sources of firm-level innovation capabilities in emerging economies in the post-liberalization era characterized by institutional changes and global competition. Drawing from evolutionary economics, we develop a model incorporating the role of internationally acquired knowledge on indigenous innovation capabilities. We empirically test the hypothesized relationships on longitudinal data on 206 Indian pharmaceutical firms from 1995-2004. Our results show that while participation in global resource and product markets independently influence innovation capabilities, the relationship between resource internationalization and innovation is partially mediated by product market internationalization. This supports recent articulations in evolutionary economics regarding the iterative effects of knowledge accumulation and assimilation as sources of economic growth in emerging economies. More fine grained analysis of firms in our data set also suggests the conditioning role of business group affiliation on the relationships between sources of knowledge and innovation capabilities. In particular, we find that for firms affiliated with business groups, accessing international technology resources through imports, by itself leads to enhances innovation capabilities and experiential learning through product market internationalization plays a negligible role. On the other hand, for independent firms that do no have access to the business group related institutional infrastructure, product market internationalization fully mediates between resource internationalization and innovation capabilities, i.e., firms use international resources to pursue product market internationalization, and it is through this combination of technology acquisition and experiential knowledge in global markets that they are able to build innovation capabilities.