Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of the Therapeutic and Reactivating Efficacy of Newly Developed Oximes (K117, K127) and Currently Available Oximes (Obidoxime, Trimedoxime, HI-6) in Tabun-Poisoned Rats and Mice

The potency of newly developed bispyridinium compounds (K117, K127) to reactivate tabun-inhibited acetylcholinesterase and reduce tabun-induced lethal toxic effects was compared with currently available oximes (obidoxime, trimedoxime, oxime HI-6) by using in vivo methods. A study that determined the percentage of reactivation of tabun-inhibited blood and tissue acetylcholinesterase in poisoned rats showed that the reactivating efficacy of newly developed oxime K127 is comparable with obidoxime and trimedoxime in blood but lower than the reactivating potency of trimedoxime and obidoxime in the diaphragm and brain. The potency of another newly developed K117 to reactivate tabun-inhibited acetylcholinesterase is comparable with obidoxime or trimedoxime in the diaphragm, but it is significantly lower than the reactivating potency of trimedoxime and obidoxime in the blood and brain. The oxime, K127, was also found to be relatively effective in reducing lethal toxic effects in tabun-poisoned mice. Its therapeutic efficacy is consistent with the therapeutic potency of obidoxime. On the other hand, the potency of the oxime, K117, to reduce acute toxicity of tabun is significantly lower compared to trimedoxime and obidoxime. The therapeutic efficacy of K117 and K127 corresponds to their potency to reactivate tabun-inhibited acetylcholinesterase, especially in the diaphragm and brain. Contrary to obidoxime and trimedoxime, the oxime, HI-6, is not an effective oxime in the reactivation of tabun-inhibited acetycholinesterase and in reducing the lethal effects of tabun. The reactivating and therapeutic potency of both newly developed oximes does not prevail over the effectiveness of currently available obidoxime and trimedoxime and, therefore, they are not suitable for their replacement of commonly used oximes for the treatment of acute tabun poisoning.
Sex and Gender Related Health Status Differences in Ancient and Contemporary Skeletal Populations

Human skeletal and dental remains are an invaluable source of information for interpreting the way of life of past people and also provide the only direct evidence of non-living populations’ health status. This research paper discusses the sex-related health differences observed in two skeletal populations from Greece, an ancient and a modern, by employing multiple health indicators, and aims at determining the biological and possible social factors that contribute to this variation. Particular emphasis is given to the importance of hypotheses-driven, population-based studies of human remains as the most effective means of reconstructing life in the past. The results showed that fracture ( ancient : females 0.08%, males 0.12%; modern : females 0.38%, males 0.19%) and osteoarthritis ( ancient : females 0.7%, males: 3.0%; modern : females 4.4%, males 3.2%) frequencies were higher for male individuals than females in the ancient population, which can be explained by greater engagement in strenuous and risky activity. Dental caries ( ancient : females 1.2%, males 1.8%; modern : females 23.6%, males 17.4%) and ante-mortem tooth loss ( ancient : females 12.3%, males 7.7%; modern : females 69.5%, males 49.5%) rates were higher for females than males (with the exception of the almost equal caries rates for the ancient population), most likely due to hormonal fluctuations, saliva content and flow, because female teeth erupt earlier and also perhaps as a result of differences in dietary habits. Periodontitis levels were more elevated in males ( ancient : females 9.6%, males 30.1%; modern : females 29.1%, males 38.3%), possibly due to poor oral hygiene practices and excessive masticatory loading. Dental enamel defects rates showed that in the ancient population, males had more chances of surviving childhood stress than females (females 19.5%, males 20.0%), whereas, in the modern population, the exact opposite was the case (females 6.1%, males 22.7%).
Investor-Paid Credit Ratings and Stock Price Informativeness

Unlike issuer-paid credit rating agencies (CRAs), investor-paid CRAs are compensated by investors for their rating services. This paper documents that the coverage of an investor-paid rating agency (the Egan Jones Ratings, EJR) increases rated firms’ stock price informativeness. To alleviate endogeneity concerns, I rely on two quasi-natural experiments that shock the importance of EJR for investors’ information acquisition. EJR coverage increases price informativeness through two channels, namely, by producing incremental information and by disciplining managerial information disclosure. Moreover, the positive effect of EJR’s coverage on price informativeness is more pronounced when the conflict of interest faced by issuer-paid rating agencies is more severe. Lastly, the coverage of an issuer-paid CRA (Standard &amp; Poor’s) is not associated with changes in price informativeness. I conclude that investor-paid CRAs function as a type of effective information intermediary to discipline firm managers and improve corporate transparency.
Camouflaged Indicators of Earnings Management

We argue that, in response to increased scrutiny and greater attention to accruals versus sales, firms become more likely to engage in accrual conversion (AC) cash management aimed at aligning cash and accruals with earnings and sales (e.g., by factoring of receivables). In doing so, they reduce the statistical power of standard indicators of accrual-based earnings management—in effect, camouflaging their earnings management activity. This proposition is of interest because many influential papers on earnings management have utilized accrual-based indicators to reach their conclusions. Our results indicate that firms indeed became more likely to engage in AC cash management after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and that this tendency was particularly pronounced among firms with strong incentives (or enhanced ability) to perform and hide earnings management. In particular, our findings suggest that the post-SOX decrease in standard measurements of accrual-based earnings management, identified in prior research, is partially attributable to firms’ increased engagement in AC cash management activity.
The shell-eyes of the chiton Acanthopleura granulata (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) use pheomelanin as a screening pigment

Certain species of chiton (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) have hundreds of small (< 100 µm) eyes embedded in their dorsal shell plates. These eyes each contain a retina, a layer of screening pigment, and a lens. Previously, we demonstrated that the eyes of chitons provide spatial vision. As in other camera-type eyes, the screening pigments in the eyes of chitons absorb off-axis light in order to preserve the contrast of images formed on the retina. Our results indicate that the red-brown, alkali-soluble screening pigment associated with the eyes of the chiton Acanthopleura granulata (Gmelin, 1791) is pheomelanin. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, we find that degrading A. granulata’s screening pigment with alkaline hydrogen peroxide produces 6-(2-amino-2-carboxyethyl)-2-carboxy-4-hydroxybenzothiazole (BTCA), a diagnostic marker of pheomelanin. Chitons are the first molluscs demonstrated to use pheomelanin as a screening pigment in their eyes. Our results suggest that the image-forming eyes of chitons may have evolved separately from eyes that employ different types of screening pigment, such as those of most other invertebrates. Further, we hypothesize that change in the expression pattern of tyrosinase – an enzyme responsible for melanin synthesis in many other metazoans – may have contributed to the origin of screening pigments in chitons, a critical step in the evolution of their eyes.
Modeling Financial Market Movement with Winning Streaks: Sticky Maximum Process

Winning streaks appear frequently in all financial markets including equity, commodity, foreign exchange, real estate, etc. Most stochastic process models for financial market data in the current literature focus on stylized facts such as fat-tailedness relative to normality, volatility clustering, mean reversion. However, none of existing financial models captures the pervasive feature of persistent extremes: financial indices frequently report record highs or lows in concentrated periods of time. The lack of persistent extremes in a quantitative model for asset pricing can have grave impact on the valuation and risk management of financial instruments. The new model in this paper enables us to measure and assess the impact of persistent extremes on financial derivatives and to more accurately predict option values. In addition, the model in this paper reveals a paradox that investors who bet on the growth of financial market may be worse off with pervasive winning streaks in the market. This model in this paper describes the phenomenon of market overreaction at the macro level, which complements existing behavior finance literature on this subject that explain market reactions by psychological reasoning and evidence. The paper also explores the possibility of using the model for measuring the tendency of overbought stocks and indices.
Balancing Empowerment and Control: The Combined Roles of Team Leadership and Performance Evaluations in Creative Teams

In this paper we analyze the joint effect of transformational team leadership and performance evaluations based on pre-set measures (objective performance evaluations, OPE) in generating creative team performance. In explaining this effect, we argue for a key role of team potency, i.e. the belief of team members in the team’s collective capabilities for being successful. We propose that the effect of OPE on team potency (which itself is considered a main driver of creative performance) depends on whether OPE is combined with a transformational leadership style or not. While the team leader’s use of OPE has a negative main effect on team potency, this negative effect is offset when the team leader exhibits a transformational leadership style. We test the proposed model with data collected from 101 teams and 372 individuals in 53 marketing agencies.
Molecular mapping and validation of Rlm1 gene for resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans in canola (Brassica napus L.)

Abstract. European winter canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars harbour genes for durable resistance to the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans, which causes blackleg disease under Australian environmental conditions. Previous studies have shown that resistance in winter-type cultivars Maxol and Columbus is controlled by two genes, Rlm1 and Rlm3, which have been mapped using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers onto chromosome A7. We mapped a doubled-haploid population that consisted of 101 lines from a cross between Maxol*1 and Westar-10 using diversity arrays technology and simple sequence repeat (SSR)-based markers. Two SSR marker loci, Xol12-e03 and Xra2-a05b, flanked the Rlm1 locus at an interval of 6.7 cM, which corresponds to ∼3.2 Mb of the Brassica rapa genomic sequence; this region contains several genes encoding putative kinase and leucine-rich repeat-type disease-resistance proteins. SSR markers were further tested for their linkage with the Rlm1 locus in an independent population derived from Columbus*3/Westar-10. Our results showed that SSR markers linked to Rlm1 can be useful for monitoring Rlm1 gene introgression in breeding populations derived from Maxol and Columbus.
Does Cybersecurity Slow Down Digitization? A Natural Experiment of Security Breach Notification Laws

We analyze whether cybersecurity, as an associated cost attached to digitization, slows down the digital economy. Our identification strategy exploits the staggered adoption of security breach notification laws (SBNLs) in 47 US states, which require companies to publicly disclose data breaches. We study the impact of SBNLs toward the employment by IT service providers, the main suppliers of the digital economy. We find that the enactment of SBNLs leads to reduction in employment by mature and large IT service providers, but not for younger and smaller firms. The results hold under various robustness and falsification tests. This study provides fresh evidence related to the unintended and broader impacts of cybersecurity legislation.
Monetary Policy, Income Inequality, and Inflation — What’s the Link?

<br>This paper studies the link in Canada between monetary policy, income inequality, and inflation. What are the effects of monetary policy on income inequality? and why and how does inflation play a role? <br><br>Income inequality largely increased from the time the Bank of Canada began targeting inflation, through the late 1990s to the early 2000s, and flattened or decreased after the 2008 financial crisis. On the whole, income inequality today is greater than it was when the Bank of Canada became an inflation-targeting central bank. Against this backdrop, our analysis shows that expansionary monetary policy shocks, triggered by a lower than expected bank rate, lead to increasing income inequality, while contractionary monetary policy shocks reduce income inequality. We then show that these effects are asymmetric with expansionary shocks having a greater impact on income inequality than contractionary shocks. Expansionary monetary policy shocks result in a higher share of national income shifting to higher income households, who consume less as a percentage of their income, dampening the increase in aggregate demand, and, therefore, inflation. <br><br>Our results lead to one particularly important conclusion for monetary policy: namely, that the Bank of Canada needs to account for the impact of income inequality when modeling how inflation will respond to a change in the overnight rate.
Doubling Up: A Gift or a Shame? Multigenerational Households and Parental Depression of Older Europeans

The Great Recession has brought along a rearrangement of living patterns both in the U.S. and in Europe. This study seeks to identify the consequences of the "doubling up" of two or more generations of adults into the same household. In particular, a difference-in-difference (DID) propensity score matching approach is employed to target the causal effect of a change in geographical closeness of respondents and their children — either moving together (doubling up) or apart (splitting up) — on the well-being of the older generation, proxied by their depression score. We find that, although heterogeneous across European regions, in no case does doubling up pose a negative effect to the quality of life of older Europeans. The opposite is true for central and southern Europe, where a double up seems to be followed by a significant reduction in the depression level of the older generation. Our results highlight that, although a negative connotation has usually been attached to multigenerational living arrangements in the post-WWII era, its benefits are evident and, in a time marked by increasing demographic aging, can lead to significant improvements in the quality of life of older Europeans.
Nesting Success of Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus forficatus) at a Wind Farm in Northern Texas

Abstract We investigated indirect effects of wind turbines on nesting success of scissor-tailed flycatchers (Tyrannus forficatus). We tracked the fate of 32 nests at Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC, Cooke County, Texas, during the breeding season in 2009. Overall rates of predation on nests were high, reproductive success was low, daily rates of survival were only 93.5%, only 16% of nests fledged ≥1 offspring, and nests had only a 13.3% chance of survival from initiation to fledging. Amount of canopy cover and distance to nearest turbine best predicted success or failure of nests; nests with less canopy cover that were closer to a wind turbine had a higher daily rate of survival than nests with more canopy cover farther away. Less canopy cover might be associated with fewer terrestrial or arboreal predators on nests, while proximity to turbines might reduce aerial predation on nests. Resumen Investigamos los efectos indirectos de las turbinas de viento en el éxito reproductivo del papamoscas tijereta (Tyrannus forficatus). Rastreamos los fines de 32 nidos en Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC, condado de Cooke, Texas, durante la temporada reproductiva del 2009. Las tasas de depredación de nidos en general fueron altas y el éxito reproductivo fue bajo, con las tasas de sobrevivencia por día de sólo 93.5%, sólo 16% de los nidos produjeron ≥1 crías, y los nidos tuvieron una oportunidad de sobrevivir desde el inicio del nido hasta la salida de los volantones de sólo 13.3%. La cantidad de la cobertura del dosel y la distancia a la turbina más próxima predijeron mejor el éxito o el fracaso del nido; nidos con menos cobertura del dosel y más cerca a la turbina más próxima tuvieron una tasa de sobrevivencia por día más alta que los que construyeron más lejos y con más cobertura del dosel. Menos cobertura del dosel puede estar asociada con menos depredadores terrestres o arbóreos del nido, mientras que la proximidad a la turbina puede reducir la frecuencia de los depredadores aéreos del nido.
Detection and differentiation of two morphologically identical species of Entamoeba

Background: Infection with Entamoeba histolytica is a worldwide public health problem. Diagnosis of this parasite by conventional microscopy is almost impossible, because it is morphologically indistinguishable from E. dispar , which is non pathogenic. Objective: To detect and differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar by PCR technique and to determine the prevalence of trophozoites and cysts of E. histolytica /E. dispar by microscopy of fresh stool specimen among out patients of Jimma University Hospital to provide baseline data for further study. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from Feb. 24 – Mar. 23, 2003 in Jimma University Hospital among patients with clinical signs and symptoms of intestinal complaints. The stool samples were examined microscopically and by PCR and Solution Hybridization Enzyme Linked Immuno assay (SHELA). Results: Out of 228 stool specimens collected, 30(13.2%) E. histolytica/E. dispar were observed by microscopic examination of which 6(2.6%) were trophozoite and 24 (10.5%) were cysts. From the total 30(13.2%) microscopically observed E. histolytica /E. dispar , PCR-SHELA detected 28(12.3%) E.dispar while no E.histolytica DNA was found. Infections with one or more intestinal parasites were common, 151 (66.2 %). By far the most common intestinal parasitic infection was Ascaris lumbricoides , 87 (38.2%) followed by Trichuria trichiura , 53(23.3%). Conclusion: Infection with E. histolytica was not found in all the stool samples examined. Neither the trophozoites nor the quadrinucleated cysts reported by microscopy were those of E. histolytica . Our finding suggests that among the patients studied, the commonly reported trophozoites and cysts belong to the non-pathogenic E. dispar , which requires no treatment at all. Therefore, the commonly reported complaints of diarrhea require alternative explanation since the routine diagnostic microscopy of amebiasis is unsatisfactory. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2004;18(2):121-124]
Estimating Loan-to-Value Distributions

We estimate a model of house prices, combined loan-to-value ratios (CLTVs), and trade and foreclosure behavior. House prices are only observed for traded properties, and trades are endogenous, creating sample-selection problems for existing approaches to estimating CLTVs. We use a Bayesian filtering procedure to recover the price path for individual properties and produce selection-corrected estimates of historical CLTV distributions. Estimating our model with transactions of residential properties in Alameda, CA, we find that 35% of single-family homes are underwater, compared to the 19% estimated by existing approaches. Further, our results reduce the index revision problem and have applications for pricing mortgage-backed securities.
Integrative suppression ― a way to detect homologies between the Escherichia coli chromosome and cloned DNA fragments

An Escherichia coli dnaAts mutation is integratively suppressed by pBR322-derived plasmids carrying DNA inserts homologous to the bacterial chromosome. The findings that the relation between the length of the homologous region and the level of integrative suppression is linear, allows to calculate the extent of homology between the bacterial chromosome and any DNA fragment inserted into pBR322.
Buy High, Sell Low: How Listed Firms Price Asset Transfers in Related Party Transactions

We examine a sample of 254 related party and arms' length acquisitions and sales of assets in Hong Kong during 1998-2000. Our analysis shows that publicly listed firms enter deals with related parties at unfavorable prices compared to similar arms' length deals. Firms acquire assets from related parties by paying a higher price compared to similar arms' length deals. In contrast, when they sell assets to related parties, they receive a lower price than in similar arms' length deals. With the exception of audit committees, corporate governance characteristics have limited impact on transaction prices. Firms with audit committees on their boards pay lower prices to related parties for acquisitions and receive higher prices from related parties from divestments.
Hierarchical GARCH

There is strong empirical evidence that the GARCH estimates obtained from panels of financial time series cluster. In order to capture this empirical regularity, this paper introduces the Hierarchical GARCH (HG) model. The HG is a nonlinear panel specification in which the coefficients of each series are modeled as a function of observed series characteristic and an unobserved random effect. A joint panel estimation strategy is proposed to carry out inference for the model. A simulation study shows that when there is a strong degree of coefficient clustering panel estimation leads to substantial accuracy gains in comparison to estimating each GARCH individually. The HG is applied to a panel of U.S. financial institutions in the 2007-2009 crisis, using firm size and leverage as characteristics. Results show evidence of coefficient clustering and that the characteristics capture a significant portion of cross sectional heterogeneity. An out-of-sample volatility forecasting application shows that when the sample size is modest coefficient estimates based on the panel estimation approach perform better than the ones based on individual estimation.
Dams

The construction of large dams is one of the most costly and controversial forms of public infrastructure investment in developing countries, but little is known about their impact. This paper studies the productivity and distributional effects of large dams in India. To account for endogenous placement of dams we use GIS data and the fact that river gradient affects a district's suitability for dams to provide instrumental variable estimates of their impact. We find that, in a district where a dam is built, agricultural production does not increase but poverty does. In contrast, districts located downstream from the dam benefit from increased irrigation and see agricultural production increase and poverty fall. Overall, our estimates suggest that large dam construction in India is a marginally cost-effective investment with significant distributional implications, and has, in aggregate, increased poverty.