Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust estimation of distance effects and sub‐optimality in mixed use buildings

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate whether buyers and sellers appears to take distance to the capital business district (CBD) into account in their valuation for acquisition or disposition. Design/methodology/approach - Under a mono-centric model conceptualization, applicable to the central area of many European cities, location can be represented by distance to the city center. The effect of several distance measures on selling price is investigated for income properties with mixed residential and commercial components – geometric distances, driving distance and time, and time by subway. Exponential and multiplicative models are considered and estimated using a robust estimation method. Findings - The findings indicate the mono-centric model to be a useful conceptualization, that buyers and sellers of income properties do take distance into account, and that a number of buildings operate under a suboptimal split between residential and commercial components. Research limitations/implications - In social science even when a model shows good statistical fit, one will not know if it is correct, but only that it represents observed relationships well. Several models, however, may fit the data. The authors chose ones used by other researchers in similar investigations in past decades. Variable definition and measurement are always issues. In the present case “time by subway” is a mix of walking-waiting-riding and minutes in each activity would not be equivalent, involving inter-personal comparisons of utility. The variable “effective age” based upon the assessment concept of “value year” may not fully capture age-related effects on price. Practical implications - The key implications are that the multiplicative model may well be a suitable functional form for these types of analyses and that robust methods are important to prevent outliers in the data from having an undue influence on the estimation. Originality/value - The authors used robust estimation methods for the price models. The authors defined and studied a sub-optimality ratio of residential area to commercial area in the mixed use buildings.
Clinical Pharmacodynamics of Meropenem in Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

ABSTRACT Studies of β-lactam pharmacodynamics in infected patients are sparse. In this study, classification and regression tree (CART) and logistic regression analyses were used to identify which pharmacodynamic indices and magnitudes were significant predictors of meropenem efficacy for 101 adult patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Using demographic data, a validated population pharmacokinetic model was employed to predict pharmacokinetic parameters and free serum concentrations in the studied patients. Pharmacodynamic indices [percentage of the dosing interval that free drug concentrations remain above the MIC (% fT > MIC), f(maximum concentration of drug in serum) (fCmax)/MIC, fCmin/MIC, and f(area under the concentration-time curve) (fAUC)/MIC] were calculated based on the baseline pathogen with the highest drug MIC for each patient. The median (range) of percent fT > MIC, fCmax/MIC, fCmin/MIC, and fAUC/MIC were 100% (0 to 100%), 728.8 (0.8 to 15,777), 19.9 (0.01 to 278), and 3,605.4 (2.7 to 60,865.9), respectively. CART identified the following breakpoints as significant predictors for microbiological response: >54% fT > MIC, a fCmax/MIC > 383, and a fCmin/MIC > 5; fCmin/MIC > 5 was the only significant predictor of clinical response. Due to 100% fT > MIC achieved in the majority of LRTI patients, fCmin/MIC was the statistically significant parameter associated with meropenem clinical and microbiological response in the adults with LRTI. The findings for LRTI patients can be applied to optimize meropenem dose regimens to achieve clinical success and microbiological eradication in clinical practice.
Governance and Trust in Family Firms: An Introduction

We provide an overview of the articles and commentaries devoted to theories of family enterprise in this special issue and link them to the concept of trust. Trust is a governance mechanism and theoretical construct of particular relevance for family firms, encapsulating some of their advantages and disadvantages. Trust is also linked to theoretical frameworks such as agency theory, stewardship theory, social capital theory, and transaction cost economics that are often used in family business studies, including those found in this special issue. Consequently, we advance trust as a bridging concept to reconcile and enhance our understanding of family firms as a unique organizational form.
Discrepancies in historical emissions point to a wider 2020 gap between 2 °C benchmarks and aggregated national mitigation pledges

Aggregations of greenhouse gas mitigation pledges by countries are frequently used to indicate whether resulting global emissions in 2020 will be ‘on track’ to limit global temperature increase to below specific warming levels such as 1.5 or 2 °C. We find that historical emission levels aggregated from data that are officially reported by countries to the UNFCCC are lower than independent global emission estimates, such as the IPCC SRES scenarios. This discrepancy in historical emissions could substantially widen the gap between 2020 pledges and 2020 benchmarks, as the latter tend to be derived from scenarios that share similar historical emission levels to IPCC SRES scenarios. Three methods for resolving this discrepancy, here called ‘harmonization’, are presented and their influence on ‘gap’ estimates is discussed. Instead of a 3.4–9.2 GtCO2eq shortfall in emission reductions by 2020 compared with the 44 GtCO2eq benchmark, the actual gap might be as high as 5.4–12.5 GtCO2eq (a 22–88% increase of the gap) if this historical discrepancy is accounted for. Not applying this harmonization step when using 2020 emission benchmarks could lead to an underestimation of the insufficiency of current mitigation pledges.
Comments on Article “Applying Mode-of-Action and Pharmacokinetic Considerations in Contemporary Cancer Risk Assessments: An Example with Trichloroethylene” by Clewell and Andersen

In their 2004 article, Clewell and Andersen provide their perspective on the application of mode-of-action (MOA) and pharmacokinetic considerations in contemporary cancer risk assessment using trichloroethylene (TCE) as a case example. TCE is a complex chemical toxicologically, with multiple metabolites, multiple sites of observed toxicity, and multiple potential MOAs. As scientists who are responsible for revising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's draft risk assessment of TCE, we welcome input of the quality to which the Agency is held accountable. However, in our view, Clewell and Andersen do not present a sufficiently current, complete, accurate, and transparent review of the pertinent scientific literature. In particular, their article would need to incorporate substantial recently published scientific information, better support its conclusions about MOA and choice of linear or nonlinear dose-response extrapolation, and increase its transparency as to quantitative analyses in order to make a significant contribution to the scientific discussion of TCE health risks.
Measurement of MnSOD and CuZnSOD Activity in Mammalian Tissue Homogenates

Three basic forms of mammalian SODs exist and they are distinguished by their sizes and locations. SOD enzyme activity is not easily monitored by direct measurement because the substrate disappearance is very rapid at physiological pH. Activity can be measured as described in this unit by a number of indirect competitive inhibition assays based on the principle that the superoxide anion radical will reduce an inhibitory substrate [such as nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) or cytochrome c] and SOD activity will reduce the rate of reduction in a competitive fashion. The SOD‐mediated inhibition of the indicator substrate reduction can then be quantitated and plotted as a function of the quantity of protein added to the reaction to construct an inhibition curve.
SOCIAL‐CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL INFLUENCES ON THE USE OF JAPANESE LAWYERS

Social‐cultural and structural arguments have been used to explain why Japan's legal culture is different than other industrialized nations; however, both arguments lack data about client usage. This paper examines the use of Japanese lawyers by businesses in Japan. Senior executives from 572 Japanese and foreign businesses responded to a survey about their use of legal services. Japanese businesses are found to retain lawyers more frequently for legal action and corporate procedural matters, but foreign businesses are more likely to retain lawyers for government compliance activities. While both theoretical arguments help to explain Japan's legal culture, the common denominator is the small number of Japanese lawyers.
Leptin regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, tumor necrosis factor, and uncoupling protein-2 expression in adipose tissues.

It has previously been reported that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of leptin induced adipose tissue apoptosis in addition to influencing lipid metabolism. The objective of the present study was to determine if the expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR gamma), uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha) were influenced by in vivo leptin treatment. Expression of PPAR gamma, UCP2, and TNF alpha in epididymal fat tissue was examined by Western immunoblot and in situ immunocytochemical analysis after 5 days of i.c. v. leptin treatment. Young and old rats (3 and 8 months old) were treated with or without 5 micrograms/d leptin. Leptin treatment increased PPAR gamma expression by 70-80% (P < 0.01) in both age groups. Leptin treatment decreased the expression of UCP2 (P < 0.01) in young rats, whereas it increased UCP2 expression (P < 0.01) in old rats. Leptin treatment also decreased TNF alpha expression by 40% (P < 0.01) in young rats but did not influence its expression in old rats. The basal level of expression of PPAR gamma was greater in 3-month-old rats than in 8-month-old rats. The basal level of UCP2 and TNF alpha expression was not different between the two age groups. These immunoblotting data were further confirmed by in situ immunocytochemical analysis. The present study suggests that expression of PPAR gamma may be directly involved in the leptin-induced adipocyte apoptosis signal pathway, whereas UCP2 and TNF alpha may play roles in the leptin-induced lipolysis process.
Correlation of power Doppler sonography with vascularity of the synovial tissue of the knee joint in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To examine the significance of power Doppler sonography (PDS) in the diagnosis of synovial hypertrophy of the knee joint by verifying and comparing the PDS findings with histopathologic findings of synovial membrane vascularity. METHODS The knee joints of 23 patients who were undergoing arthroplasty of the knee joint because of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis were examined with ultrasound before arthroplasty. The vascularity of the synovial membrane was classified semiquantitatively using PDS. A sample of synovial tissue was obtained during the arthroplasty, and the vascularity of the synovial tissue was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (factor VIII) and was graded qualitatively by a pathologist who was unaware of the PDS findings. The visual qualitative grading by the examiner was controlled by analyzing PDS images and histologic samples using a digital image evaluation system. RESULTS The correlation between the qualitative PDS results and the qualitative grading of the vascularity by the pathologist was 0.89 by Spearman's rho (P < 0.01). The Pearson correlation coefficient between the digital analysis of the PDS images and the digital analysis of the tissue sections was 0.81 (P < 0.01). Digital image analysis and qualitative grading by the examiner had a correlation of 0.89 by Spearman's p (P < 0.01) for the PDS images. The correlation between the qualitative estimation of vascularity by the pathologist and the digital image analysis was 0.88 by Spearman's rho (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION In the present study, PDS proved to be a reliable diagnostic method for qualitative grading of the vascularity of the synovial tissue. In clinical practice, PDS allows further differentiation of the hypertrophic synovium.
Improved Accountability Disclosures by Canadian Universities

Canadian university disclosures have been tracked from 1988 to 2000 using the modified accountability disclosure (MAD) index developed by Coy, Dixon, and Tower (1993) and Coy, Tower, and Dixon (1993) in their study of New Zealand universities. During the first eight years of the period under investigation, there was very little change in accountability disclosures. However, for the periods ending in 1997 through 2000, there has been a statistically significant annual improvement. This paper examines the reasons for these changes as indicated in the interviews with the presidents, or their designates, of Canadian universities. Factors include increased fund raising by the universities and pressures by the public and governments for universities to become more accountable, while a change in accounting pronouncements appears to have had little effect.
ON FINITE DIMENSIONAL REALIZATIONS OF TWO‐COUNTRY INTEREST RATE MODELS

This paper explores how consistent two‐dimensional families of forward rate curves can be constructed on an international market. Applying the approach in Björk and Christenssen (1999) and Björk and Svensson (2001) , we study when a system of inherently infinite dimensional domestic and foreign forward rate processes in a two‐country economy with spot (forward) exchange rate possesses finite dimensional realizations. In the system with the forward exchange rate, the forward interest rate equations are supplemented by a third infinite dimensional stochastic differential equation representing the forward exchange rate dynamics. We construct and fit consistent families to observed Euro and USD yields as well as the forward (spot) EUR/USD exchange rate.
Forecast Accuracy Uncertainty and Momentum

We demonstrate that stock price momentum and earnings momentum can result from uncertainty surrounding the accuracy of cash flow forecasts. Our model has multiple information sources issuing cash flow forecasts for a stock. The investor combines these forecasts into an aggregate cash flow estimate that has minimal mean-squared forecast error. This aggregate estimate weights each cash flow forecast by the estimated accuracy of its issuer, which is obtained from their past forecast errors. Momentum arises from the investor gradually learning about the relative accuracy of the information sources and updating their weights. Empirical tests validate the model's prediction of stronger momentum in stocks with large information weight fluctuations and high forecast dispersion. We also identify return predictability attributable to changes in the information weights.
NF-kappaB/I-kappaB pathway during ischemia reperfusion injury of rat liver.

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of the NF-kappaB/I-kappaB pathway during ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury to rat liver. METHODS A group of rats underwent partial hepatic ischemia and reperfusion. The left and median lobe of the liver was subjected to ischemia for 90 minutes followed by reperfusion for previously specified periods. NF-kappaB activity was analyzed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). The protein level of I-kappaB was assessed using Western blot analysis. A semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze TNF-alpha and ICAM-1 mRNA levels. RESULTS During liver I/R injury, NF-kappaB activation was induced in a time-dependent fashion. NF-kappaB was activated within 1 hour and 2 hours after the initiation of reperfusion and decreased afer 4 hours. The I-kappaB protein level was decreased in the cytoplasm after 2 hours, and the messenger RNA expression of TNF-alpha and ICAM-1 were increased simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that I-kappaB protein was degraded during hepatic I/R injury, NF kappaB was released and bound to special sequence in the promoters of budget genes, which regulated the expression of TNF-alpha and ICAM-1 mRNA. This provides evidence that the NF-kappaB/I-kappaB pathway plays an important modulating role in the expression of proinflammatory genes relevant to the development of ischemia reperfusion injury.
The growth of the Italian economy, 1861-1913: Preliminary second-generation estimates

This article presents new estimates of aggregate production in postunification Italy: the first since the original Istat-Vitali estimates of some forty years ago not to recombine their component series, and to be based entirely on new research. The new 1911-price GDP series incorporates the recent Federico series for agriculture, the author's recent series for industry, and newly derived series for services that extrapolate the recent Zamagni estimates of their value added in 191 1. The new time series for the il sectors specified by the original estimates often differ widely from their predecessors. The new aggregate yields a long-term growth rate well above that of the original series, but not as high as that of Maddison's revision. The end-of-the-century acceleration that characterised all the earlier aggregates disappears: total production followed in muted form the long swing in industrial production, which in turn reflected a simple investment cycle. The implications of the new series in the context of the ongoing debates in the literature are also briefly discussed. Italy was among the very first countries to boast a complete set of historical national accounts, from Unification (1861) on. As was soon pointed out, however, the estimates for the initial half-century were based on very poor data, and appeared seriously to misrepresent the path of total product. Quantitative historians have devoted considerable effort to the reconstruction of the national accounts' basic building blocks; and enough material is now available to permit the first thoroughgoing recalculation of Italy's aggregate product from Unification to the First World War.
Rapid isolation of long cDNA clones from existing libraries.

Obtaining full-length or even near full-length cDNA clones has been a time-consuming and labor-intensive step in the analysis of cloned genes. Recent methods which use PCR as a preparative tool for cloning (1,2) have made this step considerably more rapid, but may introduce sequence errors in the resulting clones due to numerous sequential rounds of in vitro replication. We describe a method for identifying long cDNA clones from existing cDNA libraries using PCR purely as a diagnostic tool.
Bargaining regimes, variable pay and financial participation: some survey evidence on pay determination

This exploratory paper provides preliminary evidence on the distribution of various forms of variable pay-by-pay determination structure. Data is drawn from the CRANET survey of company human resource practices, and is used for 13 countries. These countries are divided into two regimes, those where pay determination is predominantly centralized and those where it is generally decentralized. The use of variable pay is compared between the two. The results are consistent with both institutional and resource-based perspectives.
Are Shareholders Adequately Represented in the Corporate Governance Process

In this assignment the author, attempts to express the opinion that the shareholders are adequately represented in the corporate governance process by using the banking industry among others to enforce that hypothesis. Because of the absence of moral purpose in the banking industry [1], Lord Myners, Gordon Brown's City minister, has turned to the more actual matter of how best to inspire more active shareholders oversight of businesses [2]. Lord Myners's proposed that long-term shareholders should be allowed greater voting rights than short-term speculators; this proposal has been criticized as foolish and unfeasible by his colleagues, short-term investors and the banking sector. Consequently, it should not be a shock to see the rights of shareholders trampled on, when creative, ethical and sensible ideas are shot down by the people who should be looking after the interest of their investors and citizens [3].
Semantic classification of scenes and places with omnidirectional vision

This paper presents a novel approach for semantic classification of scenes and places with omnidirectional images. The objective of scene classification is to segment and classify different regions in the image whereas place recognition assigns a single category to the entire image. In scene classification image regions are classified into categories floor, vertical planar surfaces and isolated objects e.g. furniture. The semantic segmentation extracts multiple heterogeneous visual features at the superpixel-level that are labeled by randomized decision trees. The place recognition relies on a global image representation (GIST) and two local densely extracted shape and appearance representations(HOG, dense SIFT). A support vector machine predicts place categories such as room, corridor, doorway and open space from these visual features.
Ownership Structure, Leverage, and Firm Value: The Case of Leveraged Recapitalizations

A comprehensive empirical examination of a relatively new form of leverage-increasing transaction known as a leveraged recapitalization (LR) is presented. Although similar to a leveraged buyout, the LR differs from LBOs in that the firm remains public instead of going private. We find significant positive abnormal returns to equity-holders, without losses to existing bondholders. We examine the financial characteristics of LR firms and find evidence in support of Jensen's free cash flow hypothesis.
Asset Pricing Models and Financial Market Anomalies

This article develops a framework that applies to single securities to test whether asset pricing models can explain the size, value, and momentum anomalies. Stock level beta is allowed to vary with firm-level size and book-to-market as well as with macroeconomic variables. With constant beta, none of the models examined capture any of the market anomalies. When beta is allowed to vary, the size and value effects are often explained, but the explanatory power of past return remains robust. The past return effect is captured by model mispricing that varies with macroeconomic variables. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
EMU as Europeanization: Convergence, Diversity and Contingency

This article examines the effects of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as a case study of Europeanization of EU Member States. Emphasis is placed on what these effects are, how they take place, and who is affected. The stress is on the diversity of these effects within a framework of powerful systemic pressures for convergence and on the different strategies and constructions placed on EMU by domestic elites. The extent of policy convergence is seen as contingent on the dynamic interactions between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ aspects of EMU. How EMU affects states is pictured as a combination of ‘thick’ effects (captured by constructivism) and ‘thin’ effects (highlighted by rationalist approaches). The thick effects are confined to a small transnational policy community. But EMU has strengthened the domestic power of actors involved with this community. The article considers the implications for problems of conflict between elite and public discourse about Europe; for a differential Europe; and for the form of relationship amongst European states (semi-sovereignty and competition for cognitive leadership). A key shift is from adapting to a German monetary hegemony under the ERM to a more open competition for cognitive leadership, offering to small states new scope for influence.