Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Searching for Determinants of Pay or Not to Pay Cash Dividend in Indonesia

One of the primary subjects of corporate finance is the firm’s dividend policy, which has usually been considered in association with a firm’s financing and investment decisions. The relation amongst these two decisions has arised essential questions: Should companies pay cash dividend? How much should they pay as cash dividend? What are the variables that affect pay or not to pay cash dividend? Researchers have attempted to provide answers to those questions but still, consistent answers remains undiscovered. Lintner (1956) claims that firms target their dividend payout ratio in consequence of current earnings and past dividends, so that firms have stable dividend policies. Miller and Modigliani (1961) on the contrary state that dividend policy is irrelevant to firm value based on rigid assumptions of market perfections, zero transaction costs, and indifferent behaviour of investors. However, Miller and Scholes (1982) argue that in the real world, dividend decision is determined more by high taxes on dividends than capital gains and the imperfections of capital market. This research becomes an alternative research for studies of deteminant of dividend policy, that have been done in several emerging countries. Boanyah et al. (2013) evaluates variables that affect dividend pay out policy for all 10 manufacturing companies listed on Searching for Determinants of Pay or Not to Pay Cash Dividend in Indonesia
Crisis and opportunity: Varieties of capitalism and varieties of crisis responses in Estonia and Slovenia

A growing literature has analysed capitalist institutions in Slovenia and Estonia, two countries often viewed as representing very different varieties of capitalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Slovenia has been unique in the region, given its highly centralized wage bargaining and the importance of corporatist institutions, notably the tripartite Economic and Social Council; it is thus an exception to the general pattern of weak unions and ‘illusory corporatism’ across the region. By contrast, Estonia is commonly viewed as a prime example of a liberal market economy, in which industrial relations are decentralized. This article analyses how these distinctive institutional configurations have shaped the two countries’ responses to the global economic crisis beginning in 2007–2008. It explores whether these institutions have undergone changes as a result of the crisis, and also seeks to identify lessons from this experience for the future prospects for corporatism and tripartism, and also for the revitalization of trade unions and progressive politics in Central and Eastern Europe more generally.
The Reform of the EU Data Protection Framework: Outlining Key Changes and Assessing Their Fitness for a Data-Driven Economy

This article analyzes the recent data protection reform of the European Union (EU). It introduces the drivers of the reform, in particular by looking at a few seminal judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU. Against this backdrop, the article highlights the key changes that the new General Data Protection Regulation brings about, assesses their implications, and seeks to situate them in the wider context of the digital economy and its governance, in particular with regard to the free cross-border flow of data.
Stiripentol: Efficacy and Tolerability in Children with Epilepsy

Summary: Purpose: Stiripentol (STP) is a new antiepileptic drug (AED) that inhibits cytochrome P450′ resulting in increased plasma concentrations of concomitant AEDs. The efficacy and tolerability of STP as an add‐on therapy in children were assessed.
Hydroxysafflor Yellow A Suppresses MRC-5 Cell Activation Induced by TGF-β1 by Blocking TGF-β1 Binding to TβRII

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is an active ingredient of Carthamus tinctorius L. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of HSYA on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced changes in proliferation, migration, differentiation, and extracellular matrix accumulation and degradation in human fetal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5), to explore the mechanisms whereby HSYA may alleviate pulmonary fibrosis. MRC-5 cells were incubated with various doses of HSYA and/or the TGF-β receptor type I kinase inhibitor SB431542 and then stimulated with TGF-β1. Cell proliferation was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfo-phenyl)-2H-tetrazolium inner salt assay. Cell migration was detected by wound-healing assay. Protein levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I α 1 (COL1A1), and fibronectin (FN) were measured by immunofluorescence. Protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2, TGF-β type II receptor (TβRII), and TGF-β type I receptor were detected by western blotting. TβRII knockdown with siRNA interfered with the inhibitory effect of HSYA on α-SMA, COL1A1, and FN expression, and TGF-β1-induced Sma and Mad protein (Smad), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway activation. The antagonistic effect of HSYA on the binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate-TGF-β1 to MRC-5 cell cytoplasmic receptors was measured by flow cytometry. HSYA significantly suppressed TGF-β1-induced cell proliferation and migration. HSYA could antagonize the binding of FITC-TGF-β1 to MRC-5 cell cytoplasmic receptors. Also HSYA inhibited TGF-β1-activated cell expression of α-SMA, COL1A1, and FN and phosphorylation level of Smad2, Smad3, and ERK by targeting TβRII in MRC-5 cells. These findings suggest that TβRII might be the target responsible for the inhibitory effects of HSYA on TGF-β1-induced pathological changes in pulmonary fibrosis.
The nutritive value of silages Digestion of organic matter, gross energy and carbohydrate constituents in the rumen and intestines of sheep receiving diets of grass silage or grass silage and barley

Two experiments were conducted to study the digestion of organic matter, gross energy and carbohydrate constituents in the rumen, small intestine and caecum and colon of sheep given grass silage diets. Three silages made from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) with formic acid as an additive were used. One was made from first-harvest grass in the spring and the others from regrowth grass cut from a single sward in either early autumn or late autumn. Expt I involved a comparison between the spring silage given alone or supplemented with barley (silage:barley, 4:I dry matter (DM) basis). Expt 2 involved a comparison between the early-cut and late-cut autumn silages. In Expt I, supplementation of the silage with barley resulted in a non-significant (P > 0.05) reduction in the proportion of digestible energy (DE) and digestible organic matter digested in the rumen and an increase in the proportions digested in the small intestine. There were also pronounced effects of barley on ruminal cellulolysis and the proportion of digestible cellulose broken down in the rumen was reduced (P < 0.05) from 0.90 to 0.77. There was an increased passage of α-linked glucose polymers to the duodenum but even with the supplemented diet 0.91 of the dietary polymers were digested in the rumen. The molar proportion of propionic acid in the rumen tended to be reduced and there were increases in the proportions of butyric acid (P < 0.01) and acetic acid. In Expt 2, the digestibility of organic matter, gross energy and cellulose in the early-cut silage was higher (P < 0.01) than in the late-cut silage but there were no significant (P < 0.05) differences between silages in the sites of digestion of these constituents. However, the molar proportion of acetic acid in the rumen was higher (P < 0.01) and the molar proportion of propionic acid was lower (P < 0.01) with the late-cut silage than with the early-cut silage. The results are discussed in relation to the voluntary intake and utilization of high-digestibility silages.
Infrared laser spectroscopy for online recording of exhaled carbon monoxide—a progress report

Despite the growing number of reports on breath CO measurements, the development of rapid and sensitive analysis techniques for measurements of this breath constituent still remains a challenge. We demonstrate the application of infrared laser spectroscopy for exhaled CO analysis. The breath samples are analyzed in real-time during single exhalations by means of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. This is an ultra-sensitive laser-based method for the analysis of trace gases with precision on the ppb level (parts per billion). The noise-equivalent CO level of this method is 7 ppb Hz−1/2; the time resolution is around 1 s. The expirograms were recorded with exhalation flow rates varying from 4 l min−1 up to 50 l min−1. Alveolar phase (phase III) of expiration shows a remarkable flow-rate dependence. Also, expirograms were recorded after a breath holding time between 0 s and 60 s. The normalized slope of the alveolar plateau (Sn) was determined, which is between 0.004 l−1 and 0.15 l−1.
Bidirectional changes in water-maze learning following recombinant adenovirus-associated viral vector (rAAV)-mediated brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the rat hippocampus

Alterations in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression have been implicated in the pathogenesis of emotional and cognitive dysfunction. Here, we induced BDNF overexpression in the rat hippocampus using recombinant adenovirus-associated viral (rAAV) vectors, and studied its long-term (2 months postinduction) effects on anxiety-related behaviour, exploration in the open field, and spatial learning in the water maze. Although the treatment successfully led to substantial elevation of hippocampal BDNF levels, its effect on spatial learning was bidirectional: a subset of rAAV-induced BDNF-overexpressing rats performed well above control level, whereas the rest were clearly impaired. This behavioural distinction corresponded to two markedly different levels of BDNF overexpression. The increase in dorsal hippocampal BDNF content achieved in the ‘water-maze-impaired’ subgroup was twice that attained in the ‘water-maze-improved’ rats. Although neither subgroup of rAAV-induced BDNF-overexpressing rats differed from controls in the open field, the ‘water-maze-impaired’ subgroup also showed a significant anxiolytic effect. Our results suggest that hippocampal BDNF elevation significantly affects cognitive and emotional behaviours, but the direction and magnitude of the effects critically depend on the precise levels of overexpression. This factor must be taken into account in future studies examining the functional consequences of hippocampal BDNF overexpression.
Shortened telomere length in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a higher rate of premature death compared to the general population, suggesting a phenotype of premature senescence in SLE. Telomere length can be used to assess overall biologic aging. This study was undertaken to address the hypothesis that patients with SLE have reduced telomere length. METHODS Telomere length was measured cross-sectionally in whole blood from SLE patients and age-matched healthy female controls, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. SLE-related and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed. RESULTS We compared telomere length in 63 SLE patients and 63 matched controls with a median age of 50.8 years (interquartile range [IQR] 37-59 years) and 49.9 years (IQR 32-60 years), respectively. The median relative telomere length in SLE patients was 0.97 (IQR 0.47-1.57), compared to 1.53 (IQR 0.82-2.29) in controls (P = 0.0008). We then extended our cohort to measure telomere length in 164 SLE patients. Shorter telomere length was associated with Ro antibodies (β ± SE -0.36 ± 0.16; P = 0.023), and longer telomere length was associated with steroid therapy (0.29 ± 0.14; P = 0.046). We also noted an association of longer telomere length with increasing body mass index (β ± SE 0.07 ± 0.01; P < 0.0001) and tobacco smoking (0.64 ± 0.26; P = 0.016), as well as with the presence of carotid plaque (0.203 ± 0.177; P = 0.032). CONCLUSION Telomere length is shortened in SLE patients compared to controls and does not appear to be a reflection of disease activity or immune cell turnover. Subsets of patients such as those positive for Ro antibodies may be particularly susceptible to premature biologic aging. The predictive value of telomere length as a biomarker of future risk of damage/mortality in SLE requires longitudinal evaluation.
Current research in empirical therapy for febrile neutropenia in cancer patients: what should be necessary and what is going on

Introduction: Fever is an important complication in neutropenic patients and standard of care calls for empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics, followed by ‘empirical' antifungal therapy in persisting fever. Emergence of infections due to resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives, and usefulness of empirical antifungal therapy represent the major concerns in this field. Areas covered: Clinical trials registered in 5 international databases were referred for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of empirical antibacterial therapy or empirical antifungal therapy in neutropenic cancer patients. The majority of RCTs compared antibiotics without major differences in the spectrum of activity, especially in the wake of the present epidemiology with an increase of infections and mortality due to resistant Gram-negatives; oral therapy and home care were analyzed in 3 RCTs. As regards empirical antifungal therapy, 1 ongoing study is comparing ‘standard' empirical treatment vs diagnostic-driven approach. Expert opinion: In an era of increasing antibiotic resistance the comparison of different strategies more than that of different drugs will probably represent the future in studies in this field. The next future will tell us if a diagnostic-driven approach is safe for fungal infections, or if we should continue to treat them only on the basis of the persistence of febrile neutropenia.
Female Labor Supply

To gain insight on factors that impede economic independence of women, this book concentrates on female labor supply in relation to child care, male-female wage differentials, the division of unpaid labor, and marital conflicts between women and men. It may very well be that restrictions on the optimal allocation of time lead to marital conflicts. This question, amongst others, is addressed in using neo-classical economic theory and social-psychology.
Gait Training Strategies Utilized in Poststroke Rehabilitation: Are We Really Making a Difference?

Abstract Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Restoration of walking continues to be a major goal of rehabilitation for persons with stroke. The concept of a minimal change in performance to be considered important or significant has recently been addressed in the field of stroke rehabilitation. We examine some of the changes in locomotor function in poststroke individuals. None of the neurofacilitation approaches have shown significant improvement in walking performance after stroke. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can be performed by stimulating over the muscle, intra-muscularly, or over the peripheral nerve that innervates a muscle providing insufficient force for gait. To date, no form of artificial stimulation can match natural activation for precision or fatigue resistance. Body weight—supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is thought to contribute substantially to the reorganization of neural circuitry and has been shown to restore gait of nonambulatory individuals. Despite the promising recovery suggested by BWSTT, the time and physical demands on therapists have prevented it from wide clinical acceptance. Thus various robotic devices have been developed to provide such “mechanical” stepping assistance. The magnitude of changes induced with robotic devices does not appear to be any greater than that achieved with more traditional approaches or as compared to task-specific BWSTT.
Overexpression of mitochondrial GPAT in rat hepatocytes leads to decreased fatty acid oxidation and increased glycerolipid biosynthesis Published, JLR Papers in Press, April 21, 2004. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M400010-JLR200

Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) catalyses the first committed step in glycerolipid biosynthesis. The mitochondrial isoform (mtGPAT) is mainly expressed in liver, where it is highly regulated, indicating that mtGPAT may have a unique role in hepatic fatty acid metabolism. Because both mtGPAT and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 are located on the outer mitochondrial membrane, we hypothesized that mtGPAT directs fatty acyl-CoA away from β-oxidation and toward glycerolipid synthesis. Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of murine mtGPAT in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes increased mtGPAT activity 2.7-fold with no compensatory effect on microsomal GPAT activity. MtGPAT overexpression resulted in a dramatic 80% reduction in fatty acid oxidation and a significant increase in hepatic diacylglycerol and phospholipid biosynthesis. Following lipid loading of the cells, intracellular triacylglycerol biosynthesis was also induced by mtGPAT overexpression. Changing an invariant aspartic acid residue to a glycine [D235G] in mtGPAT resulted in an inactive enzyme, which helps define the active site required for mammalian mtGPAT function. To determine if obesity increases hepatic mtGPAT activity, two models of rodent obesity were examined and shown to have >2-fold increased enzyme activity. Overall, these results support the concept that increased hepatic mtGPAT activity associated with obesity positively contributes to lipid disorders by reducing oxidative processes and promoting de novo glycerolipid synthesis.
Antibodies Against Human Tissue Transglutaminase and Endomysium in Diagnosing and Monitoring Coeliac Disease

Background: Coeliac disease (CD) patients often present a variety of uncharacteristic symptoms and therefore sensitive and specific screening tests are needed as an aid in making an accurate diagnosis. A recently developed ELISA, using human recombinant tissue transglutaminase (tTG) as antigen, was evaluated for its significance in the diagnosis of CD. The patient's compliance to a gluten-free diet and the serological reaction during gluten challenge were also monitored. The results were compared with IgA-endomysium antibody (EMA) results. Methods: Sera previously collected from 365 patients (0.4-76 years) with jejunal biopsy on a gluten-containing diet and from 41 patients on a gluten-free diet or challenge were tested for IgA anti-human tTG antibodies (IgA tTG ab) with Celikey ® (Pharmacia Diagnostics). The study population comprised 208 CD patients and 157 controls. The diagnostic performance and cut-off for the assay were estimated with ROC analysis. EMA was analysed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy on cryostat sections of monkey oesophagus. Results: 200/208 patients with CD had positive IgA tTG ab (median >100 U/ml), while only 1/157 of the control patients were positive (median 1.67 U/ml). The area under the ROC curve was 98.3% and the sensitivity and specificity of the test were 96% and 99% for the study population. Only 4/365 patients (1%) presented discordant IgA tTG ab and EMA results, 2 of them had only IgA tTG ab and 2 only EMA. The IgA tTG ab levels and the EMA titres were closely correlated to the duration of gluten-free diet and gluten challenge, respectively. Conclusion: IgA tTG ab can be used as an accurate observer-independent alternative to EMA in diagnosing or monitoring CD.
Confirmation by FRET in individual living cells of the absence of significant amyloid β-mediated caspase 8 activation

When cells are exposed to death-inducing molecules such as tumor necrosis factor-α or Fas, caspase 8 is activated and cleaves an apoptotic facilitator, Bid, that is a member of the Bcl-2 family. After additional modification, the C-terminal moiety of Bid is translocated to the mitochondria and induces the release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm. In an attempt to directly observe the cleavage of Bid and the following events in living cells, we constructed a vector that encoded Bid fused with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) (YFP-Bid-CFP). On expression of YFP-Bid-CFP in mammalian cells, we were able to observe the efficient transfer of energy from excited CFP to YFP within the YFP-Bid-CFP molecule and, importantly, the fusion protein YFP-Bid-CFP was fully functional in cells. When YFP-Bid-CFP was cleaved by caspase 8, on activation by anti-Fas Abs but not by Aβ or tunicamycin, no such transfer of energy was detected. To our knowledge, this is the first report of (i) visualization of the activation of Bid by proteolytic cleavage, with direct observation of the cleavage of YFP-Bid-CFP in the cytoplasm and subsequent translocation of the cleaved Bid to mitochondria and (ii) the absence of Aβ- or tunicamycin-mediated significant activation of caspase 8 in individual living cells.
Site Selectivity of Competitive Antagonists for the Mouse Adult Muscle Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

The muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has two nonidentical binding sites for ligands. The selectivity of acetylcholine and the competitive antagonists (+)-tubocurarine and metocurine for adult mouse receptors is known. Here, we examine the site selectivity for four other competitive antagonists: cisatracurium, pancuronium, vecuronium, and rocuronium. We rapidly applied acetylcholine to outside-out patches from transfected BOSC23 cells and measured macroscopic currents. We have reported the IC50 of the antagonists individually in prior publications. Here, we determined inhibition by pairs of competitive antagonists. At least one antagonist was present at a concentration producing ≥67% receptor inhibition. Metocurine shifted the apparent IC50 of (+)-tubocurarine in quantitative agreement with complete competitive antagonism. The same was observed for pancuronium competing with vecuronium. However, pancuronium and vecuronium each shifted the apparent IC50 of (+)-tubocurarine less than expected for complete competition but more than expected for independent binding. The situation was similar for cisatracurium and (+)-tubocurarine or metocurine. Cisatracurium did not shift the apparent IC50 of pancuronium or vecuronium, indicating independent binding of these two pairs. The data were fit to a two-site, two-antagonist model to determine the antagonist binding constants for each site, Lαϵ and Lαδ. We found Lαϵ/Lαδ = 0.22 (range, 0.14-0.34), 20 (9-29), 21 (4-36), and 1.5 (0.3-2.9) for cisatracurium, pancuronium, vecuronium, and rocuronium, respectively. The wide range of Lαϵ/Lαδ for some antagonists may reflect experimental uncertainties in the low affinity site, relatively poor selectivity (rocuronium), or possibly that the binding of an antagonist at one site affects the affinity of the second site.