Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Institutional Investors for Corporate Governance in China

This paper explores the relationship between institutional ownership and corporate governance in China. In order to study the role of institutional investors in corporate governance, the author first studies the relation between institutional ownership and corporate performance. The empirical results show that institutional ownership is not only positively correlated with current corporate performance, but also with last periods’ corporate performance. In a certain extent, it confirms the arguments that institutional investors play a fiduciary role in corporate governance. The result also finds the institutional ownership is positively correlated with the next periods’ corporate performance. The author further investigates the relationship between institutional ownership and corporate governance. The empirical results show that institutional investors can improve corporate governance. The findings are consistent with the view that institutional investors play a positive governance role than merely play a fiduciary role for corporate governance in China
Cells Treated Chronically with Interleukin-6 Expression of Prostate-Specific Antigen in Prostate Cancer Independent − p 300 Regulates Androgen Receptor

Prostate cancer is the most frequent non–skin cancer in men. Although the mechanisms involved in the progression of prostate cancer are not entirely understood, androgen receptor has been shown to play an important role. Androgen receptor is expressed in both early and late-stage prostate cancer. Also, androgen-regulated pathways are thought to be active as evidenced by elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). In addition, several androgen receptor coactivators and cytokines are involved in prostate cancer progression. In this regard, we have shown previously that the coactivator p300 plays a major role in the androgenindependent activation of PSA by interleukin 6 (IL-6), a cytokine involved in late-stage prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated the role of p300 and its homologue CREBbinding protein in prostate cancer cells treated chronically with IL-6. We found that p300 but not CREB-binding protein induced activation of PSA in these cells and that the histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 was critical. This effect was independent of the presence of androgens or antiandrogens. Moreover, we found markedly reduced levels of androgen receptor in these cells and p300 transfection did not affect those levels, suggesting that the p300 effect on PSA could be bypassing the androgen receptor. Transfection with exogenous androgen receptor showed minimal response of PSA to androgens but higher response to p300. We found similar effects of p300 on the androgen response element III, which mediates the androgen receptor–dependent activation of PSA. Finally, we showed that p300 alone regulates expression of the endogenous PSA gene in the IL-6–treated cells. These findings reveal a new insight in the progression of prostate cancer, suggesting that coactivators, such as p300, play more important roles in late-stage prostate cancer, and could regulate androgen-dependent genes in the absence or with very low levels of androgen receptor. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(13): 5965-73)
Adaptation of Drosophila to a novel laboratory environment reveals temporally heterogeneous trajectories of selected alleles

The genomic basis of adaptation to novel environments is a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology that has gained additional importance in the light of the recent global change discussion. Here, we combined laboratory natural selection (experimental evolution) in Drosophila melanogaster with genome-wide next generation sequencing of DNA pools (Pool-Seq) to identify alleles that are favourable in a novel laboratory environment and traced their trajectories during the adaptive process. Already after 15 generations, we identified a pronounced genomic response to selection, with almost 5000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP; genome-wide false discovery rates < 0.005%) deviating from neutral expectation. Importantly, the evolutionary trajectories of the selected alleles were heterogeneous, with the alleles falling into two distinct classes: (i) alleles that continuously rise in frequency; and (ii) alleles that at first increase rapidly but whose frequencies then reach a plateau. Our data thus suggest that the genomic response to selection can involve a large number of selected SNPs that show unexpectedly complex evolutionary trajectories, possibly due to nonadditive effects.
THE N-DIM APPROACH TO CREATING DESIGN SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Creating practical design support systems is a complex design endeavor. We approach it with an evolutionary process, one that studies the design information flow then builds and tests information management support systems. Through our experience with industrial partners we have evolved this process into a set of methods and tools that support these methods. We have evolved an infrastructure called n-dim, that is composed of a small number of building blocks that can be composed in ways that match the complexity of design contexts and work. We have developed this infrastructure to be highly flexible so as to allow us to conduct this evolutionary process in a practical project setting.
A low-power/high-resolution dual-mode analog-to-digital converter for wireless sensor applications

A successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with an integrating resolution booster (IRB) is proposed and experimentally verified to provide the capability of dual-mode operation, that is, low-power and high-resolution modes. This dual-mode architecture corresponds to a kind of hybrid ADC architecture, combining a low-power SAR ADC and a high-resolution integrating-type ADC together. A prototype ADC design is fabricated in a 0. 18µm CMOS process, and its dual-mode operation is experimentally verified. The total power consumption in the low-power mode was only 8µW with the resolution of 6bits, and the high-resolution mode achieved an additional resolution of 4bits by activating the IRB, consuming the instant power of 380µW.
Atractylochromene Is a Repressor of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Colon Cancer Cells

Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was mutated in about 90% of the sporadic and hereditary colorectal cancers. The abnormally activated β-catenin increases the cancer cell proliferation, differentiation and metastasis through increasing the expression of its oncogenic target genes. In this study, we identified an inhibitor of β-catenin dependent Wnt pathway from rhizomes of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidzumi (Compositae). The active compound was purified by activity-guided purification and the structure was identified as 2,8-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-2-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-2H-chromene (atractylochromene, AC). AC suppressed β-catenin/T-cell factor transcriptional activity of HEK-293 reporter cells when they were stimulated by Wnt3a or inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase-3β. AC down-regulated the nuclear level of β-catenin through the suppression of galectin-3 mediated nuclear translocation of β-catenin in SW-480 colon cancer cells. Furthermore, AC inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cell. Taken together, AC from A. macrocephala might be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of human colon cancer.
COSMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF LARGE-SCALE FLOWS 1

Cosmological implications of the observed large-scale peculiar velocities are reviewed, alone or combined with redshift surveys and CMB data. The latest version of the POTENT method for reconstructing the underlying three-dimensional velocity and mass-density fields is described. The initial fluctuations and the nature of the dark matter are addressed via statistics such as bulk flow and mass power spectrum. The focus is on constraining the mass density parameter Ω, directly or via the parameter β which involves the unknown relation between galaxies and mass. The acceptable range for Ω is found to be 0.4 − 1.0. The range of β estimates is likely to reflect non-trivial features in the galaxy biasing scheme, such as scale dependence. Similar constraints on Ω and Λ from global measures are summarized.
Analysis of the limiting spectral measure of large random matrices of the separable covariance type

Consider the random matrix $\Sigma = D^{1/2} X \widetilde D^{1/2}$ where D and $\widetilde D$ are deterministic Hermitian nonnegative matrices with respective dimensions N × N and n × n, and where X is a random matrix with independent and identically distributed centered elements with variance 1/n. Assume that the dimensions N and n grow to infinity at the same pace, and that the spectral measures of D and $\widetilde D$ converge as N, n → ∞ towards two probability measures. Then it is known that the spectral measure of ΣΣ* converges towards a probability measure μ characterized by its Stieltjes transform. In this paper, it is shown that μ has a density away from zero, this density is analytical wherever it is positive, and it behaves in most cases as $\sqrt{\vert x-a \vert}$ near an edge a of its support. In addition, a complete characterization of the support of μ is provided. Aside from its mathematical interest, the analysis underlying these results finds important applications in a certain class of s.
A Conceptual Modelling Approach to Software Variability

OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY P. O. BOX 1000, FI-02015 TKK http://www.tkk. fi/ Author Timo Asikainen Name of the dissertation Manuscript submitted January 10, 2008 Manuscript revised June 24, 2008 Date of the defence August 1, 2008 Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Monograph Faculty Department Field of research Opponent(s) Supervisor Instructor
Incentives in Managerial Pay and Voluntary Turnover

We study the retention and allocation of managerial talent by examining the effect of equitybased compensation and promotionbased tournament incentives on voluntary turnover among non-CEO managers. We use a unique hand-collected dataset of nearly 3,000 managerial turnovers about a third of which are voluntary resignations and find that higher stock-based alignment incentives aid in retaining managers, whereas higher tournament incentives appear to increase turnover. We also find that firms with greater inequality in their compensation schemes are more likely to experience higher resignations, and that managers take into account their compensation relative to their peers in the firm and outside the firm in making their resignation decisions. Our results indicate that pay inequity aversion on the part of managers is an important consideration for retaining managers.
Synthesis, Novel Crystal Structure, and β-Amyloid Binding Property of Re(I) (tricarbonyl)+ EHIDA Analogue

A neutral compound Re(CO)3(L) (L: 2-((2-(2,6-diethylphenylamino)-2-oxoethyl)(2-ethoxy-2-oxoethyl)amino)acetic acid, an IDA analogue) has been synthesized and evaluated for in vitro imaging probes of β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregates. Results of X-ray measurement of Re(CO)3(L) demonstrated that the coordination mode of Re(CO)3(L) was different from that of classical Re/Tc(I) (tricarbonyl)-IDA analogues; the structure of Re(CO)3(L) was confirmed by means of infrared spectrum, HPLC-UV, TOF MS, and X-ray measurements (Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre number is 732731): monoclinic P21/c, a = 15.6636 (12) Å, b = 10.9360 (8) Å, c = 27.756 (2) Å, α = 90.000 (0)°, β = 90.783 (5)°, γ = 90.000 (0)°, and Z = 8. The binding affinity for β-amyloid plaques was assessed by in vitro binding assay using preformed synthetic Aβ (1–40) aggregates. The neutral compound Re(CO)3(L) showed binding affinity to Aβ aggregates at micromolar level by fluorescence spectroscopy, and this work will encourage for further exploration of imaging agents labeled by 99mTc(CO)3 + center as probes for β-amyloid plaques in vivo.
Determinants and Impact of Credit Ratings : Australian Evidence

This paper examines the credit ratings assigned to Australian firms by Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s. The study focuses on the quantitative determinants of credit ratings with reference to the financial ratios for the companies. The model also provides forecast ratings to some firms, which are not rated. The analysis is further extended to assess the impact of a rating change on the firms’ stock returns. The main finding of this paper is that profitability, size and leverage ratios carry a significant weight in the determination of credit ratings. The results also indicate that previous evidence pertaining to the impact of rating changes whereby only rating downgrades impact on the market, cannot be applied to all the rating agencies.
Un commento alla riforma Monti-Fornero

This paper gives an overview of the recent labor market reform in Italy. We focus on the trade-off underlying the spirit of the reform: to increase the use of open-ended contracts the reform reduced the opportunity of (mis)using of temporary contracts and concurrently reduced the costs of individual firings.Furthermore the unemployment subsidy system and the temporary short-time work scheme (Cassa Integrazione) was vastly overhauled. We provide the details of the debate that followed some of the most controversial points of the reform and show some preliminary evidence of the potential problems facing its implementation
Fréchet integration and adaptive metric selection for interpretable covariances of multivariate functional data

For multivariate functional data recorded from a sample of subjects on a common domain, one is often interested in the covariance between pairs of the component functions, extending the notion of a covariance matrix for multivariate data to the functional case. A straightforward approach is to integrate the pointwise covariance matrices over the functional time domain. We generalize this approach by defining the Frechet integral, which depends on the metric chosen for the space of covariance matrices, and demonstrate that ordinary integration is a special case where the Frobenius metric is used. As the space of covariance matrices is nonlinear, we propose a class of power metrics as alternatives to the Frobenius metric. For any such power metric, the calculation of Frechet integrals is equivalent to transforming the covariance matrices with the chosen power, applying the classical Riemann integral to the transformed matrices, and finally using the inverse transformation to return to the original scale. We also propose data-adaptive metric selection with respect to a user-specified target criterion, such as fastest decline of the eigenvalues, establish consistency of the proposed procedures, and demonstrate their effectiveness in a simulation. The proposed functional covariance approach through Frechet integration is illustrated by a comparison of connectivity between brain voxels for normal subjects and Alzheimer's patients based on fMRI data.
Ustekinumab Treatment and Improvement of Physical Function and Health‐Related Quality of Life in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis

To examine the effects of ustekinumab on patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) in PSUMMIT 1 and PSUMMIT 2 patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were methotrexate (MTX) naive, MTX experienced, or anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) experienced.
Jujuy Province (NW Argentina): STR Markers Unveil Microgeographic Differentiation Over a Steep Mountainous Landscape

This study explores potential signals of microdifferentiation on the gene pool of three high-altitude populations from Jujuy province (NW Argentina) using highly polymorphic markers. These human communities are characterized by extreme living conditions and very low population densities owing to considerable height above sea level and steep orography. A set of autosomal STRs located at chromosome 6 (6p21.3) was typed in samples from Quebrada estimated through the observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities, and the haplotype diversity. Analyses of the molecular variance (AMOVA) and population differentiation tests based on allele and haplotype frequencies were performed to assess genetic heterogeneity among subgroups. No deviation from HWE expectations was detected for each separate subpopulation; yet, significant departures were detected in the analysis considering the whole area (D6S2792 and D6S105 loci). Overall, genetic diversity showed a decreasing trend as the altitude increases. Thus, allele and haplotype frequencies showed the most significant differences between Puna and Quebrada Baja, which are the populations sited at the edges of the altitude range. The trend to the reduction of the heterozygosity with altitude proves to be compatible with historical patterns of colonization, interregional migration trends, population density, and genetic admixture. The main consequence of the complex mountainous landscape of Jujuy would be an imbalance in the interplay gene flow-genetic drift favoring the latter. The combined effect of restricted gene flow with intense genetic drift would have promoted local genetic differentiation between Jujuy highlands' subpopulations, leading to spatial patterning of the allele frequencies not entirely attributable to geographic distance. Our findings corroborate the effectiveness of STRs to identify microevolutionary changes. Genomic markers of quite different nature have been used to identify microevolutionary changes in human populations. Among them, polymorphisms from noncoding DNA regions are assumed to be selectively neutral, so their evolution in populations can be mostly explained by the interplay between gene flow and genetic drift. Because of their hypervariable nature, microsatellite or short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphisms have been extensively analyzed in various fields of population genetics. Microsatellites feature comparatively high mutation rates that range between 3.3 x 10-4 per locus per generation (Forster et al., 2000) and 15.2 x 10-4 per locus per generation (Zhivotovsky et al., 2004), considering generations of 25 years. The high mutation rate of human STRs may thus provide valuable genetic information for the elucidation of human population history and for studying genetic The timing of early human dispersal in South …
Hygiene and health: systematic review of handwashing practices worldwide and update of health effects.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the global prevalence of handwashing with soap and derive a pooled estimate of the effect of hygiene on diarrhoeal diseases, based on a systematic search of the literature. METHODS Studies with data on observed rates of handwashing with soap published between 1990 and August 2013 were identified from a systematic search of PubMed, Embase and ISI Web of Knowledge. A separate search was conducted for studies on the effect of hygiene on diarrhoeal disease that included randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised trials with control group, observational studies using matching techniques and observational studies with a control group where the intervention was well defined. The search used Cochrane Library, Global Health, BIOSIS, PubMed, and Embase databases supplemented with reference lists from previously published systematic reviews to identify studies published between 1970 and August 2013. Results were combined using multilevel modelling for handwashing prevalence and meta-regression for risk estimates. RESULTS From the 42 studies reporting handwashing prevalence we estimate that approximately 19% of the world population washes hands with soap after contact with excreta (i.e. use of a sanitation facility or contact with children's excreta). Meta-regression of risk estimates suggests that handwashing reduces the risk of diarrhoeal disease by 40% (risk ratio 0.60, 95% CI 0.53-0.68); however, when we included an adjustment for unblinded studies, the effect estimate was reduced to 23% (risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.32-1.86). CONCLUSIONS Our results show that handwashing after contact with excreta is poorly practiced globally, despite the likely positive health benefits.
Cloning and expression of human vascular endothelial growth factor gene and inhibition of its expression by antisense in prokaryotic system

Background and the purpose of the study Angiogenesis is an important process in physiology and disease pathogenesis and is controlled in a healthy body by a number of stimulatory and inhibitory factors. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of antisense transcript on the sense transcript of the endothelial growth factor (EGF) gene in bacterial system as an approach for the gene regulation in tumors. Methods The hepatoma cell line (HepG2) was stimulated by PMA. VEGF mRNA was used for RT-PCR. VEGF cDNA was synthesised and cloned into T-vector pTZ57R, then sense fragment of VEGF subcloned into pACYC Duet-1 expression vector and antisense VEGF subcloned into pCDNA3 expression vector. Recombinant plasmids were transforemed into BL21 bacterial cells. Expression of recombinant plasmid was analysed by western blot technique. Results The recombinant pCDNA3-VEGF (pYZantiVEGF) was successfully expressed in BL21 cells. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of VEGF decreased significantly in the cells transfected with VEGF antisense RNA compared with the pACYCDUET-1-VEGF (pYZsenseVEGF) transfected and control. Major conclusions The expression of VEGF in BL21 cells was strong. In vitro, antisense of VEGF inhibited VEGF expression significantly in BL21 cells.
Parkinson’s Disease Subtypes Show a Specific Link between Dopaminergic and Glucose Metabolism in the Striatum

Background Previous studies have shown different clinical and imaging pattern in tremordominant and akinetic-rigid Parkinson’s disease (PD) subtypes. The association between dopaminergic and glucose metabolism has in contrast not been investigated yet. Therefore, this study compared PD subtypes with respect to clinical and imaging findings with the aim of establishing a relationship between clinical subtypes, dopamine and glucose metabolism. Methods Two groups of a total of 64 idiopathic PD patients (42 male, 22 female, mean age 56±10.9 years) were analysed: akinetic-rigid (AR, n = 32) and tremor-dominant (TD, n = 32) patients. Both were compared with respect to differential involvement of local striatal dopamine and glucose metabolism using [18F]-fluoro-L-dopa (F-dopa) and [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET. Results The analysis of PD subgroups showed significant differences in the F-dopa uptake in the anterior putamen. Using the results of the local striatal dopamine difference as a volume of interest for the FDG-analysis, analysis of AR patients revealed a significantly lower normalised cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (nCMRGlc) within the ventral striatum. Conclusions The dual tracer study illlustrates clear differences between TD and AR subtypes in the ventral striatum. In accordance with previous FP-CIT-SPECT studies, it discloses congruent results for the presynaptic dopaminergic system and extends the knowledge about an additional involvement of local metabolic activity in the caudate and anterior putamen. The findings corroborate the specific role of distinct PD subtypes within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical-circuits. Multitracer PET imaging may thus enhance the knowledge about the clinical segregation into subtypes.
Real Exchange Rates Over the Past Two Centuries: How Important is the Harrod-Balassa-Samuelson Effect?

Using data since 1820 for the US, the UK and France, we test for the presence of real effects on the equilibrium real exchange rate (the Harrod-Balassa-Samuelson, HBS effect) in an explicitly nonlinear framework and allowing for shifts in real exchange rate volatility across nominal regimes. A statistically significant HBS effect for sterling-dollar captures its long-run trend and explains a proportion of variation in changes in the real rate that is proportional to the time horizon of the change. There is significant evidence of nonlinear reversion towards long-run equilibrium and downwards shifts in volatility during fixed nominal exchange rate regimes. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2008.