Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Executive Incentives and Corporate Decisions: The Risk Management Channel

This paper provides evidence that insurance executives respond to their compensation incentives by adjusting observable risk-management policy variables – the reinsurance purchase decision, type of business conducted, and firm leverage. Executive incentives are modeled by the executive sensitivity of wealth to stock price (Delta) and stock volatility (Vega). Firms respond to increased executive incentives to bear risk by purchasing less reinsurance, but also conducting less business in long-tailed lines – a change which rewards the executive through increased market volatility. The cost of altering executive incentives to effect firm policy is much less than a similar change in firm structural variables. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Applied Economics First Advisor Greg Nini Second Advisor Scott Harrington Third Advisor John Core
Extraction and characterization of melanin from Phomopsis : A phellophytic fungi Isolated from Azadirachta indica A

A phellophytic fungus Phomopsis (Endophytic fungi residing in the Bark) of Azadirachta indica screened for the presence of melanin on their hyphae using an alkali procedure, yielded a dark brown pigment. The purified pigment was subjected to various chemical and physical tests that are diagnostic for melanin. The pigment responds positively for all the diagnostic tests for melanin. Further study on the nature of melanin was done with a bark fungus. The fungus synthesis and deposits DOPA type of melanin on their hyphae.
YXXL Motifs in SH2-Bβ Are Phosphorylated by JAK2, JAK1, and Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor and Are Required for Membrane Ruffling*

SH2-Bβ binds to the activated form of JAK2 and various receptor tyrosine kinases. It is a potent stimulator of JAK2, is required for growth hormone (GH)-induced membrane ruffling, and increases mitogenesis stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and insulin-like growth factor I. Its domain structure suggests that SH2-Bβ may act as an adapter protein to recruit downstream signaling proteins to kinase·SH2-Bβ complexes. SH2-Bβ is tyrosyl-phosphorylated in response to GH and interferon-γ, stimulators of JAK2, as well as in response to PDGF and nerve growth factor. To begin to elucidate the role of tyrosyl phosphorylation in the function of SH2-Bβ, we used phosphopeptide mapping, mutagenesis, and a phosphotyrosine-specific antibody to identify Tyr-439 and Tyr-494 in SH2-Bβ as targets of JAK2 bothin vitro and in intact cells. SH2-Bβ lacking Tyr-439 and Tyr-494 inhibits GH-induced membrane ruffling but still activates JAK2. We provide evidence that JAK1, like JAK2, phosphorylates Tyr-439 and Tyr-494 in SH2-Bβ and that PDGF receptor phosphorylates SH2-Bβ on Tyr-439. Therefore, phosphorylated Tyr-439 and/or Tyr-494 in SH2-Bβ may provide a binding site for one or more proteins linking cytokine receptor·JAK2 complexes and/or receptor tyrosine kinases to the actin cytoskeleton.
Direct Bonding of Orthodontic Brackets—a Comparative Study of Adhesives

Various materials are currently available to orthodontists for use as adhesives in the direct bonding of orthodontic brackets to teeth. In this comparative study three factors have been examined, namely the tensile bond strength of suitable adhesives in orthodontic bracket—adhesive—human enamel combinations, the effect of water immersion on the bond strength and the effect of the acid etchant on the bond strength. This work should give the practitioner an indication of the clinical merits of some of these materials.
Credit Value Adjustment

In this thesis the topic Counterparty Credit Risk in OTC derivative transactions is described and the pricing component arising from it, i.e., the Credit Value Adjustment (CVA), is discussed. The unilateral CVA and DVA are derived in the case where one party engaging in a transaction is assumed to be defaultable and bilateral CVA is derived in the case where both parties in a transaction are assumed to be defaultable. In this context hedging aspects are also examined and risk-neutral pricing of CVA is discussed. The set-up of a numerical tool for CVA computations is then described and a simple tool for computing CVA for single interest rate swaps is developed. In connection the input data needed for the computations is discussed and a method for constructing proxy CDS spread curves, where there is a lack of quoted CDS spreads referenced to a particular counterparty in the market, is described. As a second part the relation between CVA from a regulatory perspective, driven by the CVA capital charge introduced in the third Basel accord, CVA from an accounting perspective, driven by IFRS, and CVA from a market perspective, as a potentially tradeable asset, is discussed. In connection to this the standardised and the advanced approaches to computing the CVA capital charge are examined and the similarities and dierences to the market CVA are claried. The implications of implementing CVA in the pricing of OTC derivatives within a bank are nally discussed.
Identification of the ligand-binding regions in the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor extracellular domain

The c-fms gene encodes the receptor for the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), and its extracellular domain consists of five immunoglobulin-like subdomains. To identify which of the five immunoglobulin-like regions are involved in ligand binding, we polymerase chain reaction-cloned five segments of the extracellular domain of the murine c-fms gene, each starting with the normal initiation codon and containing successive additions of the immunoglobulin-like subdomains. These protein segments are designated A, B, C, D, and E and contain, from the N-terminal end, either one, two, three, four, or all five immunoglobulin-like subdomains, respectively. Each segment was expressed as a secreted soluble protein from a baculovirus expression vector in Sf9 insect cells. In addition, segments A, B, C, and E were produced as soluble alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins, as was a segment containing only the fourth and fifth immunoglobulin domains. These segments of the Fms extracellular domain were used to assess M-CSF binding by competition radioimmunoassays, plate binding immunoassays, and immunoprecipitation analyses. The results indicated that the first two N-terminal immunoglobulin-like domains did not interact with M-CSF but, in combination with the third immunoglobulin-like domain, provided high-affinity M-CSF binding. The fourth and fifth immunoglobulin-like domains near the cell membrane did not exhibit M-CSF binding and may inhibit interaction of M-CSF with the first three immunoglobulin domains. These results suggest that the three N-terminal immunoglobulin-like domains constitute the high-affinity M-CSF binding region and that the fourth and fifth immunoglobulin-like domains may perform functions other than ligand binding.
The longitudinal evolution of environmental ‘ecopreneurs’ from the 1990s: mergers and acquisitions and the waste management industry

Using the Bennett (1991) and Berle (1991) publications as a historical picture of what were considered to be “best-practice” examples of ecopreneurial businesses in the 1990s allows a longitudinal assessment of the success and failure of such businesses almost two decades on. Tracking their evolution facilitates the consideration of emerging patterns in their development, such as what happened within certain industries, whether common patterns emerge in the role of the founder ecopreneurs and how successful different firms actually were.
Social Learning Theory

Occupational health nurses can facilitate the design of more effective health promotion programs by utilizing theories of behavior change. Planning a health promotion program based on the Social Learning Theory includes an assessment of personal as well as environmental factors that influence behavior. The motivation of employees to make behavior changes can be enhanced by raising their awareness of the problem, engaging clients in the process of goal setting, and making self-satisfaction conditional on a certain level of performance. Goal setting with attainable subgoals creates and sustains self-motivation, which can lead to larger, future goals. Interpreting the consequences of health behavior can be an incentive for individuals who value the perceived effects of lifestyle changes.
Short Reduced Expression of Plakoglobin Correlates with Adverse Outcome in Patients with Neuroblastoma

Plakoglobin and its homologue b -catenin are cytoplasmic proteins that mediate adhesive functions by interacting with cadherin receptors and signaling activities by interacting with transcription factors. It has been suggested that plakoglobin can suppress tumorigenicity whereas b -catenin can act as an oncogene. We investigated the correlation between the expression pattern of N-cadherin, b -catenin, and plakoglobin and tumor behavior in primary tumors of 20 neuroblastoma patients of all stages and in 11 human neuroblastoma cell lines. N-cadherin and b -catenin were detected in 9 of 11 and 11 of 11 cell lines, respectively, whereas plakoglobin was undetectable or severely reduced in 6 of 11 cell lines. Tumor cells from 16 of 20 patients expressed N-cadherin and 20 of 20 patients expressed b -catenin at levels similar to those of normal ganglion cells. Plakoglobin was undetectable in 9 of 20 tumors. Plakoglobin deficiency in the primary tumors was significantly associated with adverse clinical outcome. Five of the patients with plakoglobin-negative tumors died whereas four patients are alive without evident disease. In contrast, all patients with plakoglobin-positive tumors are alive; 2 of 11
Mining new resources for grape resistance against Botryosphaeriaceae: a focus on Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris

X. Guan, S. Essakhi, H. Laloue, P. Nick, C. Bertsch and J. Chong* Laboratoire Vigne Biotechnologies et Environnement EA-3991, Universit e de Haute-Alsace, 33 rue de Herrlisheim, Colmar, 68000, France; College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Tianshenglu 2, Chongqing, 400716, China; and Botanical Institute, Molecular Cell Biology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstraße 2, Karlsruhe, 76128, Germany
The Effects of Wal-Mart on the Profitability and Investor Valuation of its Suppliers

The U.S. retail market exhibits increasing buyer concentration among larger retailers. As a result, the increasing clout may enable larger retailers to dictate terms from their suppliers. We utilize the major customer disclosure (SFAS 131) and focus on 150 suppliers who identify Wal-Mart as a major customer. We find that supplier gross margins increase, while return on assets deteriorates. Days' sales in inventory lengthened as expected; however, the effect was offset by an increase in days' purchases in accounts payable. We also observe negative valuation implications separate from the effects of lower earnings that are consistent with greater risk for suppliers from their Wal-Mart relationship. Supplier power mitigates some of the negative effects. The findings provide insight on financial and valuation implications of supply chain dynamics where one firm has an economic dependence upon a major customer.
A comparison of the two beta-blockers carvedilol and atenolol on left ventricular ejection fraction and clinical endpoints after myocardial infarction. a single-centre, randomized study of 232 patients.

BACKGROUND beta-Blockers have been found to reduce mortality and morbidity in postmyocardial infarction patients. However, it is not fully understood whether all beta-blockers have similar favourable cardiovascular effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of carvedilol and atenolol on global and regional left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and on predefined cardiovascular endpoints. METHODS In a single-centre, randomized, open, endpoint-blinded, parallel group study, 232 patients with acute myocardial infarction were randomized to treatment with carvedilol or atenolol. LVEF was measured by gated blood pool scintigraphy during the first week and after 12 months. The treatment was given orally within 24 h. The mean dose was 36.2 and 72.1 mg in the carvedilol and atenolol groups, respectively. RESULTS No significant difference was found between the two study groups in the mean global and regional LVEF. There tended to be fewer first serious cardiovascular events in the carvedilol compared with the atenolol group (RR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.56-1.23, p = 0.39). Cold hands and feet were observed less frequently in the carvedilol group (20 vs. 33%, p = 0.025). CONCLUSION In patients following an acute myocardial infarction, no difference in either global or regional LVEF was observed between baseline and 12 months when treatment with carvedilol was compared with atenolol.
Immunogenicity and immunoprotection of recombinant PEB1 in Campylobacter-jejuni-infected mice.

AIM To construct a prokaryotic expression vector carrying Campylobacter jejuni peb1A gene and express it in Escherichia coli. Immunoreactivity and antigenicity of rPEB1 were evaluated. The ability of rPEB1 to induce antibody responses and protective efficacy was identified. METHODS peb1A gene was amplified by PCR, target gene and prokaryotic expression plasmid pET28a (+) was digested with BamHI and XhoI, respectively. DNA was ligated with T4 DNA ligase to construct recombinant plasmid pET28a(+)-peb1A. The rPEB1 was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and identified by SDS-PAGE. BALB/c mice were immunized with rPEB1. ELISA was used to detect the specific antibody titer and MTT method was used to measure the stimulation index of spleen lymphocyte transformation. RESULTS The recombinant plasmid pET28a (+)-peb1A was correctly constructed. The expression output of PEB1 protein in pET28a (+)-peb1A system was approximately 33% of total proteins in E. coli. The specific IgG antibody was detected in serum of BALB/c mice immunized with rPEB1 protein. Effective immunological protection with a lower sickness incidence and mortality was seen in the mice suffering from massive C. jejuni infection. CONCLUSION rPEB1 protein is a valuable candidate for C. jejuni subunit vaccine.
Hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy: a mechanistic approach to optimizing regression assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance

Objectives: Neuroendocrine activation may be an important adjunctive mechanism for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) development. Controversy exists to as to whether LVH regression occurs due to blood pressure (BP) reduction alone or if adjunctive mechanisms play a role. We planned to test the hypothesis that for a similar BP reduction, LVH regression would be greater using a drug combination selected specifically to reduce neuroendocrine activity compared with one that did not. Methods: Forty-two patients with hypertension and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) proven LVH were allocated to one of two equipotent antihypertensive regimens for 6 months. Treatments were chosen on the basis of opposing mechanistic actions on the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS); one arm inhibitory (valsartan and moxonidine), the other neutral (bendroflumethiazide and amlodipine). The primary end point was absolute reduction in CMR-determined left ventricular mass (LVM). Results: All BP indices were highly comparable at the start and end of the trial (P > 0.6 between groups). BP was reduced (always P < 0.0001) by 37/17 mmHg in the valsartan and moxonidine group and 38/19 mmHg in the bendroflumethiazide and amlodipine group. CMR quantified LVM was comparable between the two groups at baseline and decreased significantly in both treatment groups (P < 0.0001). Reduction in LVM was significantly greater in valsartan and moxonidine [−25.9 g; 95% confidence interval (CI) −31.6 to −20.2] compared with bendroflumethiazide and amlodipine (−18.3 g; −23.3 to −13.4) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The magnitude of LVH regression achieved by inhibiting the RAAS and SNS neuroendocrine pathways is greater than that produced by comparable BP reduction alone. This supports the hypothesis that neuroendocrine mechanisms are important in the regression of LVH.
Dynamic changes of driver genes’ mutations across clinical stages in nine cancer types

The driver genes play critical roles for tumorigenesis, and the number of identified driver genes reached plateau. But how they act during different cancer development stages is lack of knowledge. We investigated 138 driver genes’ mutation changes across clinical stages using 3,477 cases in nine cancer types from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and constructed their temporal order relationships. We also examined the codon changes for the widely mutated TP53 and PIK3CA in tumor stages. Combinations of one to three driver genes specifically dominated in each cancer. Across the clinical stages, we categorized three patterns for the behaviors of driver genes’ mutation changes in the nine cancer types: recurrently mutated in all the stages and triggering other mutations; certain mutations lost meanwhile other mutations emerged; mutations dominated across entire stages, while other mutations gradually appeared or disappeared. We observed different codon changes dominated in different stages and revealed mutations recurrently occurring on the hotspot regions of the coding sequence may be the core factor for driver genes’ tumorigenesis. Our results highlighted the dynamic changes of oncogenesis roles in different clinical stages and suggested different diagnostic decision making according to the clinical stages of patients.
Radiofrequency leukotomy for relief of pain: coagulation of medial frontal white fibers in stages by means of inlying electrodes.

In order to avoid the serious forms of psychological deterioration which invariably followed bilateral transection of the frontal white matter in attempts to relieve otherwise intractable pain, Grantham 4 proposed bilateral electrocoagulation of the inferior medial quadrants. This he carried out by means of fine unipolar electrodes, insulated down to the terminal centimeter, which were inserted through paramedian trephine openings 6 to 7 cm. behind the glabella. The lesion was made by means of the standard operating-room electrodesiccation unit. Thereby lesions of small extent can be made, the needles withdrawn, and the transverse incision sutured. When this technique is used, it is generally necessary to reinsert electrodes of this type a number of times and increase the size of the lesion in progressive stages. Grantham and Spurling 5 reported a number of cases in which pain was well relieved without serious psychological damage or risk of other complications, such as
An econometric analysis of time-varying risk premia in large cross-sectional equity datasets

Investments in financial assets exhibit different expected excess returns because of their different risks. We can split the risk of an asset in two components: idiosyncratic and systematic risks. The investors reduce the idiosyncratic risk component by diversification, i.e., by investing in a broad range of assets. On the contrary, the systematic component represents the risk that is common to all assets and cannot be eliminated by diversification. Therefore, in equilibrium the investors ask for a financial compensation to bear this kind of risk. In linear factor models, systematic risk is represented by a set of pervasive factors. In such a setting, the absence of arbitrage opportunities implies that the asset expected excess return is equal to risk premia multiplied by factor loadings. Thus, risk premia are the rewards per unit of systematic risk borne by investors. Since systematic risk is influenced by financial and macroeconomic variables, risk premia are expected to be time-varying. A natural question that arises is how we can estimate these time-varying risk premia. In this thesis, we develop a new econometric methodology to estimate the time-varying risk premia implied by conditional linear asset pricing models. In contrast to the classical approach, we estimate risk premia from a large dataset of returns of individual stocks instead of portfolios. The aim is to avoid the potential bias and loss of information implied by sorting and grouping stocks into portfolios. When working with individual stock returns we face several econometric challenges. First, our datasets are characterized by large cross-sectional and time series dimensions, and this fact complicates the numerical implementation and the study of the statistical properties of the estimators. Second, in available datasets, we do not observe asset returns for all firms at all dates, i.e., the panel of stock returns is unbalanced. Third, data feature cross-sectional dependence because of the correlation structure in error terms. To address these challenges, we propose a new estimator that uses simple weighted two-pass regressions. Our estimation methodology accounts for the unbalanced characteristic of large panel data. We study the large sample properties of our estimators in a double asymptotics scheme that reflects the large dimensions of the dataset. In this setting, we test the asset pricing restrictions induced by the no-arbitrage assumption in large economies and we address consistent estimation of the large-dimensional variance-covariance matrix of the errors by sparsity methods. We apply our methodology to a dataset of about ten thousands US stocks with monthly returns from July 1964 to December 2009. The conditional risk premia estimates are large and volatile in crisis periods, and do not match risk premia estimates on standard sets of portfolios.
Performing color space conversions with three-dimensional linear interpolation

Three-dimensionalinterpolation is suitable for many kinds of color space transformations. We examine and analyze several linear interpolation schemes-some standard, some known, and one novel. An interpolation algorithm design is divided into three parts: packing (filling the space of the input variable with sample points), extraction (selecting from the constellation of sample points those appropriate to the interpolation of a specific input point), and calculation (using the extracted values and the input point to determine the interpolated approximation to the outputpoint). We focus on regular (periodic) packing schemes. Seven principles govern the design of linear interpolation algorithms: 1) Each sample point should be used as a vertex of as many polyhedra as possible; 2) the polyhedra should completely fill the space; 3) polyhedra that share any part of a face must share the entire face; 4) the polyhedra used should have the fewest vertices possible; 5) polyhedra should be small; 6) in the absence of information about cuivature anisotropy, polyhedra should be close to regular in shape; and 7) polyhedra should be of similar size. A test for interpolation algorithm performance in performing actual color space conversions is described, and results are given for an example color space conversion using several linear interpolation methods. The extractions from cubic, body-centered-cubic, and face-centered-cubic lattices are described and analyzed. The results confirm Kanamori's claims for the accuracy of PRISM interpolation; it comes close to the accuracy of trilinear interpolation with roughly three-quarters the computations. The results show that tetrahedral interpolation, with close to half the computational cost of tnlinear interpolation, is capable of providing better accuracy. Of the tetrahedral interpolation techniques, one diagonal extraction from cubic packing is useful as a general-purpose color space interpolator.