Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beliefs About the Health Effects of “Thirdhand” Smoke and Home Smoking Bans

OBJECTIVE. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Thirdhand smoke is residual tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette is extinguished. Children are uniquely susceptible to thirdhand smoke exposure. The objective of this study was to assess health beliefs of adults regarding thirdhand smoke exposure of children and whether smokers and nonsmokers differ in those beliefs. We hypothesized that beliefs about thirdhand smoke would be associated with household smoking bans. METHODS. Data were collected by a national random-digit-dial telephone survey from September to November 2005. The sample was weighted by race and gender within Census region on the basis of US Census data. The study questions assessed the level of agreement with statements that breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of children. RESULTS. Of 2000 eligible respondents contacted, 1510 (87%) completed surveys, 1478 (97.9%) answered all questions pertinent to this analysis, and 273 (18.9%) were smokers. Overall, 95.4% of nonsmokers versus 84.1% of smokers agreed that secondhand smoke harms the health of children, and 65.2% of nonsmokers versus 43.3% of smokers agreed that thirdhand smoke harms children. Strict rules prohibiting smoking in the home were more prevalent among nonsmokers: 88.4% vs 26.7%. In multivariate logistic regression, after controlling for certain variables, belief that thirdhand smoke harms the health of children remained independently associated with rules prohibiting smoking in the home. Belief that secondhand smoke harms the health of children was not independently associated with rules prohibiting smoking in the home and car. CONCLUSIONS. This study demonstrates that beliefs about the health effects of thirdhand smoke are independently associated with home smoking bans. Emphasizing that thirdhand smoke harms the health of children may be an important element in encouraging home smoking bans.
Risk Aversion and the Martingale Property of Stock Prices

gale property has received theoretical support from recent work by Samuelson [10]. 2 However, Samuelson's result depends on the assumption that investors require an exogenously given expected rate of return. It is natural to inquire whether the martingale property can be derived when the assumption of a given expected rate of return is relaxed. That question will be discussed in this paper. It is no longer assumed that the expected rate of return may be taken as given. thien it becomes necessary to consider how the expected rate of return is determined, and this involves analyzing the relation between the riskiness of stock and the risk-aversion of investors. We are led to consider models of portfolio selection of the type developed by Tobin [13], [14] and Markowitz [6], and the associated models of capital market equilibrium of Sharpe [12] and Lintner [5], since these deal explicitly with this question. However, it is apparent that models of the Sharpe-Lintner type, though they do relate the expected rate of return to the optimizing behavior of risk-averse investors, can cast no light on the martingale question. This is so because these models assume a one-period framework, with the expected value and variance of the next-period price being taken as given, and therefore cannot generate an intertemporal probability distribution. It is necessary somehow to dynamize the Sharpe-Lintner model; i.e., to modify the model so that it generates an intertemporal distribution of asset prices. In order to do this it is assumed that investors bid for a financial asset ("stock") which constitutes a claim to a random intertemporal stream of earnings with known probability distribution, rather than for a security which matures in the next period as in the Sharpe-Lintner one-period portfolio models. It is assumed that investors have a choice between risky stock and a riskless asset earning a constant exogenous rate of return, as in the one-period portfolio models. In Section 2 such a model is developed, though only for a restricted class of
Affiliated Mutual Funds and the Allocation of Initial Public Offerings

We examine how investment banks use initial public offerings (IPOs) in relation to their affiliated mutual funds. The dumping ground hypothesis predicts that the lead underwriter allocates cold IPOs to its affiliated funds so that more deals can be completed when demand for these IPOs is weak. Affiliated funds may also receive more cold IPOs because the lead underwriter uses allocations of hot IPOs to unaffiliated funds to gain trading commission business. The nepotism hypothesis predicts that the lead underwriter allocates hot IPOs to its affiliated funds to boost their performance and thus attract more money. We find little evidence supporting the dumping ground hypothesis, although there is some evidence supporting the nepotism hypothesis, especially during the internet bubble period of 1999-2000.
Estrogen is More Than just a “Sex Hormone”: Novel Sites for Estrogen Action in the Hippocampus and Cerebral Cortex

For decades estrogen was thought of only as a "sex hormone," as it plays a fundamental role in regulating behavioral and physiological events essential for successful procreation. In recent years, estrogen has been shown to exert effects on the structure and function of the hippocampus and cortex. The discovery of a new estrogen receptor (ER-beta) and localization of ER-alpha and ER-beta mRNAs in the pyramidal cells of the rat hippocampus and ER-beta mRNA in rat cortex have provided new insight into how estrogen may directly modulate the structure and function of these neurons. Moreover, recent in vivo (125)I-estrogen binding studies have shown that nuclear estrogen binding sites are widely distributed in the pyramidal cells throughout CA1-3 of the hippocampus and laminae II-VI of the isocortex, demonstrating that ER mRNAs are translated into biologically active protein. The functional impact of estrogen receptor localization in the cortex and hippocampus may prove relevant to the emerging role for estrogen as a protective factor in neurodegenerative injury. This potential role is further highlighted by the recent findings that the expression of ER-alpha and ER-beta changes following ischemic brain injury and that these changes correlate with the hormonal modulation of protective factors. These data provide the first evidence that the expression of ERs in the adult cortex is not static, but instead, responsive to neuronal injury and perhaps additional factors that influence the cortical environment and status of these neurons. Together, these data indicate that estrogen has a far greater effect on the hippocampus and isocortex than previously thought. Furthermore, these new findings challenge our current thinking about steroid hormones and their mechanism(s) of action in regions associated with learning and memory and affected by the neurodegenerative conditions of aging.
Use of educational data mining to identify distance learning students' profiles and patterns of participation

The Educational Data Mining allows to identify and cluster students by certain characteristics that are specified through the needs and problems raised by the teachers and course coordinators. In this context, this research aims to apply data mining techniques for the identification of profiles and participation patterns of students in a course of higher distance course resulting in the prediction of the chances of each student's approval. The result was the identification of 4 clusters that designate the profiles and types of participation of the students, namely: active, medium, inconstant and absent.
CD19 CAR-T cells of defined CD4+:CD8+ composition in adult B cell ALL patients.

BACKGROUND T cells that have been modified to express a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) have antitumor activity in B cell malignancies; however, identification of the factors that determine toxicity and efficacy of these T cells has been challenging in prior studies in which phenotypically heterogeneous CAR-T cell products were prepared from unselected T cells. METHODS We conducted a clinical trial to evaluate CD19 CAR-T cells that were manufactured from defined CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets and administered in a defined CD4+:CD8+ composition to adults with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia after lymphodepletion chemotherapy. RESULTS The defined composition product was remarkably potent, as 27 of 29 patients (93%) achieved BM remission, as determined by flow cytometry. We established that high CAR-T cell doses and tumor burden increase the risks of severe cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. Moreover, we identified serum biomarkers that allow testing of early intervention strategies in patients at the highest risk of toxicity. Risk-stratified CAR-T cell dosing based on BM disease burden decreased toxicity. CD8+ T cell-mediated anti-CAR transgene product immune responses developed after CAR-T cell infusion in some patients, limited CAR-T cell persistence, and increased relapse risk. Addition of fludarabine to the lymphodepletion regimen improved CAR-T cell persistence and disease-free survival. CONCLUSION Immunotherapy with a CAR-T cell product of defined composition enabled identification of factors that correlated with CAR-T cell expansion, persistence, and toxicity and facilitated design of lymphodepletion and CAR-T cell dosing strategies that mitigated toxicity and improved disease-free survival. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01865617. FUNDING R01-CA136551; Life Science Development Fund; Juno Therapeutics; Bezos Family Foundation.
What should the value of lambda be in the exponentially weighted moving average volatility model?

Forecasting volatility is fundamental to forecasting parametric models of value-at-risk. The exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) volatility model is the recommended model for forecasting volatility by the Riskmetrics group. For monthly data, the lambda parameter of the EWMA model is recommended to be set to 0.97. In this study, we empirically investigate if this is the optimal value of lambda in terms of forecasting volatility. Employing monthly realized volatility as the benchmark for testing the value of lambda, it is found that a value of lambda of 0.97 is far from optimal. The tests are robust to a variety of test statistics. It is further found that the optimal value of lambda is time varying and should be based upon recent historical data. The article offers a practical method to increase the reliability and accuracy of value-at-risk forecasts that can be easily implemented within an Excel spreadsheet.
Comparative corporate governance and international portfolios

The impact of foreign investor protection on portfolio choices negatively depends on the degree of domestic investor protection enjoyed by the investor. The coefficient of foreign countries’ investor protection scaled by world average is therefore not constant across investing countries. The ratio foreign to domestic investor protection rights index is shown instead to be a plausible common driver of international portfolios. Phrased differently, domestic investor protection replaces the world average corporate governance in the construction of the relevant measure driving international portfolio choice. If the weight attached to the domestic factor in the construction of the average measure is large enough it can determine, almost completely, the world average corporate governance. This outcome is consistent with a setting in which the investor, strongly hit by information constraints, places a disproportionally large weight on domestic information considered as more reliable because observed at a higher precision.
THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

One of the most important factors to explain the sudden relevance of entrepreneurship, was the importance of creativity as a new source of competitiveness. Psychologists argue that being creative means to create something new, original and appropriate reality. Creative is characterized by originality and expressiveness, is imaginative, generative, pathfinder, invention, innovation etc. Increasing effects of globalization leads to the need creative approach in a market with a high level of opportunity and competition. Entrepreneurial factors overlap with many creative features such as curiosity, self-confidence, a high level of energy, responsibility and vision. As a highly complex mental formation, creativity is characterized by a multitude of ways such as productivity, usability, efficiency, value, ingenuity, innovation and originality. The impact of entrepreneurial creativity extends to the whole life of an entrepreneur, and not just during business. Success is stimulated by the use of juxtaposition and combination of different ideas that often but not related to the impact on decision making. Entrepreneurial Creativity should be seen as a competitive force and portfolio of skills. Adopting a creative entrepreneurial approach protects us from uncertainty and ambiguity in decision making in the external environment.
Tiebout Hypothesis and Migration-Impact of Local Fiscal Policies

A model of individual migration behavior, incorporating local government fiscal structure, is developed and estimated using 1981 Canadian census data. Estimated tax differentials and selectivity-bias corrected welfare (and income) gains are incorporated in the equation. The results provide further evidence in support of the Tiebout hypothesis. Considering only two policy variables (tax and welfare differential), the author finds that people prefer low-taxed and high welfare-spending areas, with marginal propensity to migrate varying with age. When additional migration factors are considered, people are more attracted in their locational choice by higher welfare benefits than lower property taxes.
Trends in neighborhood-level unemployment in the United States: 1980 to 2000

Although the average rate of unemployment across U.S. metropolitan areas declined between 1980 and 2000, the geographic concentration of the unemployed rose sharply over this period. That is, residential neighborhoods throughout the nation's metropolitan areas became increasingly divided into high- and low-unemployment areas. This paper documents this trend using data on more than 165,000 U.S. Census block groups (neighborhoods) in 361 metropolitan areas over the years 1980, 1990, and 2000; it also examines three potential explanations: (i) urban decentralization, (ii) industrial shifts and declining unionization, and (iii) increasing segregation by income and education. The results offer little support for either of the first two explanations. Rising residential concentration of the unemployed shows little association with changes in population density, industrial composition, or union activity. It does, however, show a significant association with both the degree of segregation according to income as well as education, suggesting that decreases in the extent to which individuals with different levels of income and education live in the same neighborhood may help account for this trend.
Motivational and Behavioral Profiling of Visitors to Forest-based Recreational Destinations in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry plays a key role in regional and destination development. As negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts of mass tourism become more common, the appeal of alternative forms of tourism, especially ecotourism, continues to increase. With rising demand, ecotourism operators are facing the task of meeting expectations of diverse consumers of ecotourism products. Accordingly, the need to define and distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists has become important. The importance of using a behavioral approach to distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists is emphasized by tourism scholars. This study developed distinct motivational and behavioral profiles of visitors to forest-based ecotourism sites in Sri Lanka. Results identified four different types of tourists based on their behavioral and motivational characteristics: ecotourists, picnickers, egoistic tourists, and adventure tourists. Broad implications of visitor profiling are also discussed. This approach can help ecotourism operators to better tailor marketing strategies and increase visitor satisfaction.
A reassessment of the relationship between job specialization, job rotation and job burnout: example of Taiwan's high-technology industry

This study applies the concept of job specialization and job rotation based on early principles of job design in solving employees' perception of job burnout, using employees of Taiwan's high-technology industry as targets for re-examination. In past management systems of traditional industries, job rotation was adopted to address employees' feelings of monotony, boredom and fatigue as a result of job simplification and specialization. However, with the advancement of technology, shortening of technical life cycles and changes in job characteristics, the relationship between job rotation, job specialization and job burnout is now different from in the past. The results from 304 valid samples collected from employees of Taiwan's high-technology industry reveal that the adoption of job specialization in high-tech industry in fact raises professional efficacy and reduces employees' feeling of job burnout, which is opposed to the benefits of job design purported in past management systems. Therefore, this paper seeks to re-examine the relationship between the three variables. By implementing job rotation or job specialization systems as means to address issues related to employees' job burnout, organizations should not only consider the benefits to job management, but also adjust according to technology and environmental changes. Only by doing so could organizations release the maximum potential from human resources management systems.
Mapping Part of the Functional Epitope for Ligand Binding on the Receptor for Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator by Site-directed Mutagenesis*

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is a glycolipid anchored multidomain member of the Ly-6/uPAR protein domain superfamily. Studies by site-directed photoaffinity labeling, chemical cross-linking, and ligand-induced protection against chemical modification have highlighted the possible involvement of uPAR domain I and particularly loop 3 thereof in ligand binding (Ploug, M. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 16494–16505). Guided by these results we have now performed an alanine scanning analysis of this region in uPAR by site-directed mutagenesis and subsequently measured the effects thereof on the kinetics of uPA binding in real-time by surface plasmon resonance. Only four positions in loop 3 of uPAR domain I exhibited significant changes in the contribution to the free energy of uPA binding (ΔΔG ≥ 1.3 kcal mol−1) upon single-site substitutions to alanine (i.e. Arg53, Leu55, Tyr57, and Leu66). The energetic impact of these four alanine substitutions was not caused by gross structural perturbations, since all monoclonal antibodies tested having conformation-dependent epitopes on this domain exhibited unaltered binding kinetics. These sites together with a three-dimensional structure for uPAR may provide an appropriate target for rational drug design aimed at developing new receptor binding antagonists with potential application in cancer therapy.
Statistical contributions to bioinformatics: Design, modelling, structure learning and integration

The advent of high-throughput multi-platform genomics technologies providing whole- genome molecular summaries of biological samples has revolutionalized biomedical research. These technologiees yield highly structured big data, whose analysis poses significant quantitative challenges. The field of bioinformatics has emerged to deal with these challenges, and is comprised of many quantitative and biological scientists working together to effectively process these data and extract the treasure trove of information they contain. Statisticians, with their deep understanding of variability and uncertainty quantification, play a key role in these efforts. In this article, we attempt to summarize some of the key contributions of statisticians to bioinformatics, focusing on four areas: (1) experimental design and reproducibility, (2) preprocessing and feature extraction, (3) unified modelling and (4) structure learning and integration. In each of these areas, we highlight some key contributions and try to elucidate the key statistical principles underlying these methods and approaches. Our goals are to demonstrate major ways in which statisticians have contributed to bioinformatics, encourage statisticians to get involved early in methods development as new technologies emerge, and to stimulate future methodological work based on the statistical principles elucidated in this article and utilizing all available information to uncover new biological insights.
Tumor Angiogenesis and Dynamic CT in Lung Adenocarcinoma: Radiologic–Pathologic Correlation

Purpose The purpose of this work was to evaluate the correlation of tumor angiogenesis and dynamic CT in lung adenocarcinoma. Method Thirty-five consecutive patients with lung adenocarcinoma underwent dynamic chest CT. Maximum attenuation of dynamic CT was compared with microvessel densities (MVDs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression by immunohistochemistry. Results The mean peak attenuation (APA) of lung adenocarcinoma correlated with MVD (r = 0.689, p < 0.0001). VEGF positiveness of lung adenocarcinoma was 63%. There was a significant difference in APA between VEGF-positive and -negative lung adenocarcinomas (39.9 ± 3.9 and 24.3 ± 2.3; p < 0.05). The mean MVDs of VEGF-positive adenocarcinomas were significantly higher than those of negative ones (82.5 ± 5.9 and 49.2 ± 7.1; p < 0.05). The mean APA of VEGF-positive lung adenocarcinomas correlated positively with MVD (r = 0.707, p < 0.0001). Conclusion The APA value of dynamic CT reflects MVD in lung adenocarcinoma. The APA value of dynamic CT might be an index for VEGF-related tumor angiogenesis.