Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Slack‐resources hypothesis: a critical analysis under a multidimensional approach to corporate social performance

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to test the slack‐resources hypothesis in corporate social performance (CSP). Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the technique of panel data in a sample of 624 American listed companies from 2001 to 2007. The literature review builds on the contradictions between the instrumental stakeholder theory and the slack‐resources hypothesis to argue that both concepts are not fully compatible.Findings – The results indicate that prior financial performance, measured as market value added, positively affects CSP. The results further confirm that slack resources are assigned to specific areas of involvement of CSP (product issues, community relations, environmental issues, employee relations and diversity of the work force), rather than to a unified conception of CSP.Research limitations/implications – The current trend in social responsibility regards Friedman's arguments as old‐fashioned and assumes the instrumental stakeholder to be true. The results presented here .
Outer Bounds on the Sum Rate of the K-User MIMO Gaussian Interference Channel

This paper derives outer bounds on the sum rate of the K-user MIMO Gaussian interference channel (GIC). Three outer bounds are derived, under different assumptions of cooperation and providing side information to receivers. The novelty in the derivation lies in the careful selection of side information, which results in the cancellation of the negative differential entropy terms containing signal components, leading to a tractable outer bound. The overall outer bound is obtained by taking the minimum of the three outer bounds. The derived bounds are simplified for the MIMO Gaussian symmetric IC to obtain outer bounds on the generalized degrees of freedom (GDOF). The relative performance of the bounds yields insight into the performance limits of multiuser MIMO GICs and the relative merits of different schemes for interference management. These insights are confirmed by establishing the optimality of the bounds in specific cases using an inner bound on the GDOF derived by the authors in a previous work. It is also shown that many of the existing results on the GDOF of the GIC can be obtained as special cases of the bounds, e.g., by setting K=2 or the number of antennas at each user to 1.
[Prediction of mortality, mobility and admission to long-term care after hip fractures].

INTRODUCTION Surgical treatment, discharge planning and rehabilitation procedures are rarely based upon defined assessment procedures. It might therefore be useful to develop simple and reliable screening tools to identify patients for early discharge, intensified rehabilitation and limited treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS 234 patients were initially contacted. From these 217 gave informed consent. The reported study included the 134 home dwelling elderly. All patients could be contacted or died after six month. Thus,data from more than 90% could be used for the analysis. The six month mortality was 10%. A population based cohort of elderly patients referred to five local hospitals was tested. Mortality, institutionalisation and mobility were defined as major outcome criteria. Only information that was available during the first week of treatment was used in the model. Predictors expressed as odd ratios (OR) were calculated using logistic regression with variable selection. RESULTS The most important predictors for institutionalisation were age, inability to eat without assistance, postoperative night time confusion, stroke history, cognitive deficit and fear of falling. Outdoor mobility was strongly associated to the preoperative ADL performance measured as the Barthel-Index, history of malignancy and fear of falling. Six month mortality was associated with male sex, the Barthel-Index and fear of falling. DISCUSSION It seems feasible to improve postoperative resource allocation by predictor led stratification. This need to be tested in intervention trials under the specific condition of the German health care system.
Job Tenure and Pension Coverage

Commentators constantly cite an increase in labor mobility as a major reason for the shift in the private sector from defined benefit to defined contribution plans. But while most casual observers accept such a phenomenon, economists have been hard pressed to find any significant change over time. Only in recent years have the data indicated that mobility might have increased for some groups. This pattern suggests that the advent of 401(k) plans led to an increase in mobility rather than an increase in mobility leading to the proliferation of 401(k)s. This paper attempts to sort out this "chicken and egg" issue using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the 1984 through 2001 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).
A Note on Endogenous Growth with Public Capital

This paper develops a two sector model of endogenous economic growth with public capital where private goods and public investment goods are produced with different production technologies. The government buys public investment goods produced by private producers; and the government is a monopsonist in this market to determine the price. However, growth rate maximising buying price of public investment good is not identical with the competitive price of the final good and the growth rate maximising income tax rate in the steady state equilibrium is independent of the technology in public good production. It is also shown that the welfare maximising solution is not necessarily identical to the growth rate maximising solution even in the steady state equilibrium.
Religiosity is Associated with Affective Status in Symptomatic HIV-infected African-American Women

This study examined the relationship between religiosity and the affective and immune status of 33 HIV-seropositive mildly symptomatic African-American women (CDC stage B) in a replication of a prior study that reported an association between religiosity and affective and immune status in HIV-seropositive gay men. All women completed an intake interview, a set of psychosocial questionnaires, and provided a venous blood sample. Consistent with prior work, factor analysis of 12 religious-oriented response items revealed two distinct aspects to religiosity: religious coping and religious behavior. Religious coping (e.g. placing trust in God, seeking comfort in religion) was significantly associated with lower depression and anxiety. Regression analyses revealed the association between religious coping and depressive symptoms appears to be mediated by an active coping style. However, the association between religious coping and anxiety does not appear to be mediated by either active coping or sense of self-efficacy in these women. In contrast to prior work, neither religious coping nor religious behavior was significantly associated with immune status as measured by T helper-inducer (CD41) cell counts.
Candidate Race, Partisanship, and Political Participation

A sizable literature in American politics documents increased levels of voter turnout among black citizens when coracial candidates are on the ballot or hold office. However, due to a paucity of black Republican candidates, existing research has been unable to identify whether increased participation occurs irrespective of the candidate’s partisanship. Using data from the 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we find that, while the presence of a black Democratic House candidate was associated with increased black voter turnout, there was no association between black Republican candidates and black turnout. These results are robust to model specification, issues of statistical power, and contextual differences across districts. We report further evidence that black citizens’ perceptions of black candidates’ ideologies and character traits differed substantially based on the candidate’s party. Our results have implications for understanding how citizens engage in politics when salient political identities come into conflict. The results further suggest that Republican efforts to recruit black candidates are unlikely to mobilize black voters.
Cdk 4 disruption renders primary mouse cells resistant to oncogenic transformation , leading to Arf / p 53-independent senescence

A large number of human cancers display alterations in the Ink4a/cyclin D/Cdk4 genetic pathway, suggesting that activation of Cdk4 plays an important role in oncogenesis. Here we report that Cdk4-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts are resistant to transformation in response to Ras activation with dominant-negative (DN) p53 expression or in the Ink4a/Arf-null background, judged by foci formation, anchorage-independent growth, and tumorigenesis in athymic mice. Cdk4-null fibroblasts proliferate at normal rates during early passages. Whereas Cdk4Ink4a/Arf cells are immortal in culture, Cdk4Ink4a/Arf cells undergo senescence during continuous culture, as do wild-type cells. Activated Ras also induces premature senescence in Cdk4Ink4a/Arf cells and Cdk4 cells with DNp53 expression. Thus, Cdk4 deficiency causes senescence in a unique Arf/p53-independent manner, which accounts for the loss of transformation potential. Cdk4-null cells express high levels of p21 with increased protein stability. Suppression of p21 by small interfering RNA (siRNA), as well as expression of HPV-E7 oncoprotein, restores immortalization and Ras-mediated transformation in Cdk4Ink4a/Arf cells and Cdk4 cells with DNp53 expression. Therefore, Cdk4 is essential for immortalization, and suppression of Cdk4 could be a prospective strategy to recruit cells with inactive Arf/p53 pathway to senescence.
Doxorubicin Activates ATM-dependent Phosphorylation of Multiple Downstream Targets in Part through the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species*

The requirement for the serine/threonine protein kinase ATM in coordinating the cellular response to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation has been studied extensively. Many of the anti-tumor chemotherapeutics in clinical use today cause DNA double strand breaks; however, few have been evaluated for their ability to modulate ATM-mediated pathways. We have investigated the requirement for ATM in the cellular response to doxorubicin, a topoisomerase II-stabilizing drug. Using several ATM-proficient and ATM-deficient cell lines, we have observed ATM-dependent nuclear accumulation of p53 and ATM-dependent phosphorylation of p53 on seven serine residues. This was accompanied by an increased binding of p53 to its cognate binding site, suggesting transcriptional competency of p53 to activate its downstream effectors. Treatment of cells with doxorubicin led to the phosphorylation of histone H2AX on serine 139 with dependence on ATM for the initial response. Doxorubicin treatment also stimulated ATM autophosphorylation on serine 1981 and the ATM-dependent phosphorylation of numerous effectors in the ATM-signaling pathway, including Nbs1 (Ser343), SMC1 (Ser957), Chk1 (Ser317 and Ser345), and Chk2 (Ser33/35 and Thr68). Although generally classified as a topoisomerase II-stabilizing drug that induces DNA double strand breaks, doxorubicin can intercalate DNA and generate reactive oxygen species. Pretreatment of cells with the superoxide scavenger ascorbic acid had no effect on the doxorubicin-induced phosphorylation and accumulation of p53. In contrast, preincubation of cells with the hydroxyl radical scavenger, N-acetylcysteine, significantly attenuated the doxorubicin-mediated phosphorylation and accumulation of p53, p53-DNA binding, and the phosphorylation of H2AX, Nbs1, SMC1, Chk1, and Chk2, suggesting that hydroxyl radicals contribute to the doxorubicin-induced activation of ATM-dependent pathways.
Circadian rhythm of enolase in suprachiasmatic nucleus depends on mitochondrial function

Metabolic activity in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a center of biological rhythm, is higher during the daytime than at night. The rhythmic oscillation in the SCN is feedback controlled by the CLOCK/BMAL1 heterodimer binding to the E‐box in target genes (e.g., Arg‐ vasopressin). Similar transcriptional regulation by NPAS2/BMAL1 heterodimer formation operates in the brain, which depends on the redox state (i.e., NAD/NADH). To clarify the metabolic function of SCN in relation to the redox state, two‐dimensional electrophoresis was carried out on the mitochondrial fraction of SCN, obtained from rats kept under a light:dark cycle and constant under dim light. The electrophoretic pattern with TOF‐mass spectrometry analysis revealed that enolase catalyzes the interconversion of 2‐phosphoglycerate and phosphoenolpyruvate. The enolase activity, coupled with lactate dehydrogenase, was higher during the light period than that in the dark. However, enolase mRNA, analyzed by RT‐PCR, showed higher levels during the dark period than in the light. The clock gene products Per2, Bmal1, Rev‐erbα, and AVP mRNA in the mitochondrial fraction of SCN developed a circadian rhythm showing almost the same peak time as that in whole SCN. These mRNA rhythms ran free except for that of Rev‐erbα mRNA. The results indicate that, in the glycolysis‐related energy pathway, enolase might be involved in higher metabolic activity during the day than at night, at least in part. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The indoor environment in relation to people with dementia

SUMMARY There are currently about 6 million people with dem entia in the European Union. With ageing, a number of sensory changes occur. Dementia exacerbates the effects of these sensory changes and alters perception of stimuli. People with dementia have an increased sensitivity for indoor environmental conditions, which can induce problematic behaviour that form a burden for carers day and night. Building technologies can help create supportive and comfortable homes for community-dwelling people with dementia and their carers. This paper, based on literature review, provides an overview of the indoor environment in relation to the ageing senses and dementia syndrome, the responses by people with dementia and the impact on carers. Glare and excess noise may induce troublesome problem behaviours. The range of tolerance or preference of the indoor climate may be narrow or very broad compared to non-demented counterparts. Also, the paper states how to create an optimal indoor environment for people with dementia and their carers by active and passive means, as people with dementia have difficulty controlling equipment, and require higher levels of indoor light.
Political Consultancy Overseas: The Internationalization of Campaign Consultancy

The work of campaign consultants in elections outside of their countries of origin is a relatively recent phenomenon. Joe Napolitan is credited as becoming the first international consultant in modern times when, in 1969, he worked on the successful reelection bid of Ferdinand Marcos. As recently as 1972, Napolitan wrote of a certain reticence in some countries toward using non-native campaign consultants A decade later, Larry Sabato (1981) saw evidence that use of non-native consultants was becoming a more accepted practice in campaigns worldwide. By the end of the 1990s, according to David Swanson and Paolo Mancini (1996), consultants from the U.S., Germany, France, and Britain were becoming increasingly active in elections outside their own countries. Since the use of non-native campaign consultants is likely to increase into the forseeable future, I would like to use this article to set forth the beginnings of a research agenda, to present an outline of a project worth pursuing, for determining how and why foreign consultants are being, can be, or should be used. The article has three parts. First, I present an overview, based on available evidence, of the nature of overseas work by campaign consultants. Second, I explore some possible explanations for the rise of this phenomenon. Third, I assess the main institutional factors affecting the internationalization of consultancy.
Some challenges of studies aiming to relate the Exposome to human health

If we date the origins of molecular epidemiology (defined as the reliance on tools of molecular biology in epidemiology, in particular, but not only, to assess exposures) to the publication, in 1993, of the book carrying this title,1 then this research field could be considered as having now reached the age of adulthood. While this young adult has some achievements already and has developed real strengths and recognition, many challenges lie ahead. The article by Lenters et al 2 offers an opportunity to discuss one of the most promising challenges, namely, the one related to the application of the Exposome concept. The Exposome encompasses lifetime environmental exposures from the prenatal period onwards.3 Although sometimes limited to exposures that can be assessed through biomarkers (the ‘internal Exposome)’, the Exposome should consider all exposures regardless of their most relevant mode of assessment, including lifestyle factors and factors assessed through questionnaires, environmental measurements and models. Consequently, this notion extends beyond the borders of molecular epidemiology. A first embodiment of the Exposome concept is the literature on biomonitoring, which provides a description of the levels of biomarkers of exposures to as many as several hundred environmental contaminants in population samples from some areas of the world, as illustrated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the USA.4 This research vein can allow identifying patterns of co-varying exposures or behaviours, as is already carried out in dietary studies with the grouping of individuals sharing specific dietary patterns (eg, Mediterranean diet or fast-food type eating behaviours). It offers the perspective of identification of population subgroups simultaneously exposed to numerous adverse exposures, and of studying if these correlate with sociodemographic factors; to this extent, this research vein is connected to the issue of environmental equity,5 in which the focus is …
CAB: An Energy-Based Speaker Clustering Model for Rapid Adaptation in Non-Parallel Voice Conversion

In this paper, a new energy-based probabilistic model, called CAB (Cluster Adaptive restricted Boltzmann machine), is proposed for voice conversion (VC) that does not require parallel data during the training and requires only a small amount of speech data during the adaptation. Most of the existing VC methods require parallel data for training. Recently, VC methods that do not require parallel data (called non-parallel VCs) have been also proposed and are attracting much attention because they do not require prepared or recorded parallel speech data, unlike conventional approaches. The proposed CAB model is aimed at statistical non-parallel VC based on cluster adaptive training (CAT). This extends the VC method used in our previous model, ARBM (adaptive restricted Boltzmann machine). The ARBM approach assumes that any speech signals can be decomposed into speaker-invariant phonetic information and speaker-identity information using the ARBM adaptation matrices of each speaker. VC is achieved by switching the source speaker’s identity into those of the target speaker while retaining the phonetic information obtained by decomposition of the source speaker’s speech. In contrast, CAB speaker identities are represented as cluster vectors that determine the adaptation matrices. As the number of clusters is generally smaller than the number of speakers, the number of model parameters can be reduced compared to ARBM, which enables rapid adaptation of a new speaker. Our experimental results show that the proposed method especially performed better than the ARBM approach, particularly in adaptation.
QUANTO LOOKBACK OPTIONS

The lookback feature in a quanto option refers to the payoff structure where the terminal payoff of the quanto option depends on the realized extreme value of either the stock price or the exchange rate. In this paper, we study the pricing models of European and American lookback options with the quanto feature. The analytic price formulas for two types of European‐style quanto lookback options are derived. The success of the analytic tractability of these quanto lookback options depends on the availability of a succinct analytic representation of the joint density function of the extreme value and terminal value of the stock price and exchange rate. We also analyze the early exercise policies and pricing behaviors of the quanto lookback options with the American feature. The early exercise boundaries of these American quanto lookback options exhibit properties that are distinctive from other two‐state American option models.
Does Hospitalization Predict the Disease Course in Ulcerative Colitis? Prevalence and Predictors of Hospitalization and Re-Hospitalization in Ulcerative Colitis in a Population-based Inception Cohort (2000-2012).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Limited data are available on the hospitalization rates in population-based studies. Since this is a very important outcome measure, the aim of this study was to analyze prospectively if early hospitalization is associated with the later disease course as well as to determine the prevalence and predictors of hospitalization and re-hospitalization in the population-based ulcerative colitis (UC) inception cohort in the Veszprem province database between 2000 and 2012. METHODS Data of 347 incident UC patients diagnosed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010 were analyzed (M/F: 200/147, median age at diagnosis: 36, IQR: 26-50 years, follow-up duration: 7, IQR 4-10 years). Both in- and outpatient records were collected and comprehensively reviewed. RESULTS Probabilities of first UC-related hospitalization were 28.6%, 53.7% and 66.2% and of first re-hospitalization were 23.7%, 55.8% and 74.6% after 1-, 5- and 10- years of follow-up, respectively. Main UC-related causes for first hospitalization were diagnostic procedures (26.7%), disease activity (22.4%) or UC-related surgery (4.8%), but a significant percentage was unrelated to IBD (44.8%). In Kaplan-Meier and Cox-regression analysis disease extent at diagnosis (HR extensive: 1.79, p=0.02) or at last follow-up (HR: 1.56, p=0.001), need for steroids (HR: 1.98, p<0.001), azathioprine (HR: 1.55, p=0.038) and anti-TNF (HR: 2.28, p<0.001) were associated with the risk of UC-related hospitalization. Early hospitalization was not associated with a specific disease phenotype or outcome; however, 46.2% of all colectomies were performed in the year of diagnosis. CONCLUSION Hospitalization and re-hospitalization rates were relatively high in this population-based UC cohort. Early hospitalization was not predictive for the later disease course.
Getting on or getting by?

Recent speculation about the impact on family life of contemporary patterns of work has prompted considerable and concerted social research activity in which the workplace and household have figured prominently. This article extends these studies to examine employment in prototypical new sectors of the economy, namely call centres and software, which at the time of the study were enjoying spectacular growth. Employees in both sectors reported spillover from work to home, though the extent, nature and intensity of spillover varied significantly between the sectors. The study identified the different and hitherto unexplored ways in which employees in these different sectors attempt to cope with complex articulations between home and work, and the varying resources which they bring to bear in doing so. Contemporary work settings indicate little change from more established sectors in that gender, status and labour market strength are important factors in offering work boundary discretion.