Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estrogen plus Progestin and Risk of Benign Proliferative Breast Disease

Women with benign proliferative breast disease are at increased risk of subsequent breast cancer. Estrogens and progesterone exert proliferative effects on mammary epithelium, and combined hormone replacement therapy has been associated with increased breast cancer risk. We tested the effect of conjugated equine estrogen plus progestin on the risk of benign proliferative breast disease in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized controlled trial. In the WHI trial of estrogen plus progestin, 16,608 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned either to 0.625 mg/day of conjugated equine estrogen plus 2.5 mg/day of medroxyprogesterone acetate or to placebo. Baseline and annual breast exams and mammograms were required. The trial was terminated early (average follow-up, 5.5 years). We identified women who had had a biopsy for benign breast disease, and subjected histologic sections from the biopsies to standardized review. Overall, 178 incident cases of benign proliferative breast disease were ascertained in the estrogen plus progestin group and 99 in the placebo group. The use of estrogen plus progestin was associated with a 74% increase in the risk of benign proliferative breast disease [hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.35-2.25]. For benign proliferative breast disease without atypia the hazard ratio was 2.00 (95% CI, 1.50-2.66), while for atypical hyperplasia it was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.38-1.52). The risk varied little by levels of baseline characteristics. The results of this study suggest that the use of estrogen plus progestin may increase the risk of benign proliferative breast disease. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(9):2337–43)
A choice-theoretic and information-oriented approach to the short-run characteristics of real and nominal interest rates

The paper adopts a choice-theoretic, information-oriented approach to the issue of stationarity of real interest rates. It is shown that a constant real rate of interest, even for short run and within the context of a simple two-market framework, requires overly demanding assumptions which are unlikely to be satisfied if efficient market hypothesis is explicitly considered. Such a model which indirectly supports the short-run variability of real interest rates in response to random information signals is tested empirically by utilizing multiple time series models for the 1959-87 observation period. The empirical results suggest a favourable interpretation of the model.
Research on Risks of Chinese Commercial Banks’Independent Innovation

Since the 90s in last century, financial innovation tends to be different under the condition of loose regulation and the revolutionary progress of information technology. The competition in the finance industry becomes severe and financial institutions lay more stresses on innovations, not only concerning the product innovation but also the services. However, risks come. The bankruptcy of many American financial institutions in last year deserves more attentions from China’s commercial banks that should emphasize on financial innovations. Only by strengthening the internal and external supervision and regulation, can it reduce commercial banks’ innovation risk.
‘Complexity’ and ‘Congruence’ in Australian Labour Regulation

It is asserted that much of the literature on changing labour regulation in Australia only provides a partial analysis of recent tends. In particular, it is contended that researchers have neglected issues of complexity and congruence in the regulatory structure. In this paper we define these important dimensions of labour regulations, demonstrate their importance and attempt to explain how their omission arises from the theoretical and methodological foundations of previous research. We conclude by advocating the inclusion of these concepts in future research.
Convertible Debt: Corporate Call Policy and Voluntary Conversion

This paper examines why, in contrast to the predictions of finance theory, firms do not call convertible debt when the conversion price exceeds the call price. The empirical results suggest that the principal reason is because some firms enjoy an advantage of paying less in after-tax interest than they would pay in dividends were the bond converted. This cash flow incentive is the inverse of an investor's incentive to convert voluntarily if the converted dividends are greater than the bond's coupon. Because of taxation, however, the decisions by investors and firms are not symmetric, and there exist bonds which the firm may not call and an investor will not convert. The results also find that voluntary conversion is significantly related to both the conversion price and the differential between the coupon and the dividends on the converted stock. Copyright 1991 by American Finance Association.
Retinoic Acid Receptor β Controls Development of Striatonigral Projection Neurons through FGF-Dependent and Meis1-Dependent Mechanisms

The mammalian striatum controls sensorimotor and psychoaffective functions through coordinated activities of its two striatonigral and striatopallidal output pathways. Here we show that retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) controls development of a subpopulation of GABAergic, Gad65-positive striatonigral projection neurons. In Rarb−/− knock-out mice, concomitant reduction of Gad65, dopamine receptor D1 (Drd1), and substance P expression at different phases of prenatal development was associated with reduced number of Drd1-positive cells at birth, in contrast to normal numbers of striatopallidal projection neurons expressing dopamine receptor D2. Fate mapping using BrdU pulse-chase experiments revealed that such deficits may originate from compromised proliferation of late-born striosomal neurons and lead to decreased number of Drd1-positive cells retaining BrdU in postnatal day (P) 0 Rarb−/− striatum. Reduced expression of Fgf3 in the subventricular zone of the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) at embryonic day 13.5 may underlie such deficits by inducing premature differentiation of neuronal progenitors, as illustrated by reduced expression of the proneural gene Ascl1 (Mash1) and increased expression of Meis1, a marker of postmitotic LGE neurons. In agreement with a critical role of FGF3 in this control, reduced number of Ascl1-expressing neural progenitors, and a concomitant increase of Meis1-expressing cells, were observed in primary cell cultures of Rarb−/− LGE. This defect was normalized by addition of fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Such data point to role of Meis1 in striatal development, also supported by reduced neuronal differentiation in the LGE of Meis1−/− embryos. Our data unveil a novel mechanism of development of striatonigral projection neurons involving retinoic acid and FGF, two signals required for positioning the boundaries of Meis1-expressing cells. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We provide the first evidence that retinoic acid signaling controls development of striatonigral projection neurons, which constitute one of the two major output pathways of the striatum. Our data point to retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) as novel determinant of striatonigral pathway development, and indicate that such activities of RARβ are mediated by abnormal FGF3 and Meis1 signaling, but do not involve Isl1, Ctip2, or Ebf1, the only factors known so far to control development of these neurons. Furthermore, present data support possibility that lateral ganglionic eminence development is controlled by gradients of fibroblast growth factor and RA signaling.
Failed Cooperation in Heterogeneous Industries Under the National Recovery Administration

A case study, a formal model, and an anaLysis of Census of Manufactures data support a conclusion that cost heterogeneity was a major source of the “compliance crisis” affecting a number of National Recovery Administration “codes of fair competition. ” Key elements of the argument are assumptions that progressives at the NRA allowed majority coalitions of small, high-cost finns to impose codes in heterogeneous industries, and that these codes were designed by the high-cost firms under an ultimately erroneous belief that they would be enforced by the NRA.
Land Use Issues: The Last Settler's Syndrome

In the last settler's syndrome, each new settler wants the area to remain as it was on their arrival. Newcomers' preferences often differ from long-term residents, and conflicts arise. To explore land use issues among various groups, a survey of opinions on mountain views was developed and administered to Watauga County residents in western North Carolina. Watauga County provides an interesting case study, because it is a growing area with an influx of newcomers along with long-time residents. The results suggest that agreements can be achieved on some land use issues, whereas disagreements will arise on others.
THE IMPACT AND EFFICIENCY OF INSTITUTIONAL NET TRADING IMBALANCES

THE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR STUDY (hereafter IIS) of the Securities and Exchange Commission [10] found that the trading of large institutions tends to predominate on one side of the market in a particular stock at a particular time, thereby creating net trading imbalances among institutional investors. Possible explanations why these net trading imbalances occur would include: (1) institutions pattern their trading after that of certain leader institutions; (2) institutions rely on the same broker-dealers as a source of external research information; or (3) institutions' internal analysts have the same data available to them and interpret it similarly. The purpose of this study is to analyze the risk-adjusted returns of securities involved in the large aggregate quarterly trading imbalances of investment companies over a ten-year period. ' Specifically, the study will attempt to ascertain: (1) what impact large net trading imbalances have on abnormal security returns during the months of the trading; (2) whether fund managers participating in the trading imbalances are possibly influenced by past price movements; and (3) whether fund managers have any ability to forecast future relative price changes or possibly influence subsequent price changes by their consensus trading activity. The latter topic directly addresses the question of market efficiency. Investment company managers expend considerable amounts of time, effort, and money to search out and identify undervalued and overvalued securities. If successful in their consensus decisions, the large net purchases should achieve positive, abnormal returns in subsequent periods while the net sales would subsequently achieve negative, abnormal returns. This would, of course, be possible only if the market was inefficient due to these fund managers having access to information either not available to, or before, other investors, or having the unique ability to use public information to make superior predictions concerning future news events. The other possibility that the occurrence of large net buying (selling) imbalances themselves cause subsequent price behavior to be favorable (unfavorable) will not be distinguishable from that of market inefficiency. The methodology of analyzing the return behavior of the securities involved in the large net trading imbalances is explained in section II and the empirical results provided in section III. Section IV offers the conclusions of the study.
Financial and non-financial variables in predicting failure of small business reorganisation

The objective of this study is to predict the failures of small entrepreneurial firms re-organised according to the Finnish Company Reorganisation Act (FCRA). The purpose of FCRA is to assist temporarily financially distressed firms that are expected to make a viable recovery and able to pay their debts. The research sample consists of 80 legally reorganised firms for which reorganisation plans were confirmed by a court in 2000. These are small entrepreneurial firms with, on average, two to five employees. They are generally less than 20 years old and fall into different industrial categories. The purpose is to assess the importance of financial and non-financial variables in predicting their survival or failure in the reorganisation process. This importance is assessed by the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, using the binary logistic regression analysis as a benchmark. In all, 38 (47.5%) of the sample firms went to bankrupt during the reorganisation programme. The results show that pre-filing financial variables are not efficient in predicting failure. However, non-financial variables (such as the use of active reorganisation actions) prove to be efficient predictors of failure. In classification accuracy, the Cox regression model is outperformed by the logistic regression model.
Pediatric validity assessment.

BACKGROUND Youth have been assumed historically to be less capable of deception than adults, even though acts of deception in childhood are not uncommon. Relatively little attention has focused on how frequently they feign or exaggerate during healthcare evaluations. PURPOSE The current article reviews the literature relevant to using validity tests in children and adolescents, as well as provides a case example of a young adolescent providing noncredible effort and exaggerated symptomatology during neuropsychological evaluation after a mild traumatic brain injury. CONCLUSION Numerous case reports and case series have documented clearly that medical and neuropsychological noncredible presentations occur in children, likely more often than many practitioners believe. Thus far, research has found that the base rates of pediatric noncredible presentations are highest in children seen frequently by rehabilitation providers (i.e., children with persistent problems after mild traumatic brain injury and children from families seeking disability benefits on their behalf). Subjective clinical judgment is apt to be ineffective in consistently detecting noncredible presentations. Fortunately, recent research supports the use of several stand-alone validity tests in identifying noncredible pediatric data including the Test of Memory Malingering, Word Memory Test, and Medical Symptom Validity Test. If feigning and exaggeration are not considered in work-ups by rehabilitation practitioners, mismanagement and iatrogenic harm to the child can result.
Target Price Rumor and Its Effect on Market Efficiency

The past decade has seen remarkable worldwide development in telecommunications and information technology. This process has occurred in the financial markets as well during the same period, manifesting as a significantly increased number of rumors reaching the Internet, which undoubtedly affected investors. This study focuses on a distinct, specific event—namely, target price rumors (TPR)—and examining investors’ responses to such rumors. This study consists of two main tests. The first test involves a general observation of investors’ behavior in relation to TPR. The second test observes whether or not market behavior may be predicted for the post-publicity period, based on companies’ performance prior to that period. The first test’s results suggest that the rumor was mostly effective for a five-day period, beginning three days prior to publicity and ending the day thereafter. The second test’s results indicate an inverse trend between companies’ performance prior to publication and thereafter.
Trypanosoma cruzi: characterization and isolation of a 57/51,000 m.w. surface glycoprotein (GP57/51) expressed by epimastigotes and bloodstream trypomastigotes.

We have recently described the application of a purified glycoprotein of 25,000 Mr (GP25) of Trypanosoma cruzi in serodiagnosis of Chagas' disease. Purified GP25 lacks appreciable immunogenicity in some animal species, in spite of being generally antigenic to parasitized hosts. The underlying cause for these contrasting observations has not been determined, but it may relate to the drastic extraction conditions used in the original isolation procedure, and possible damage inflicted to the native form of this antigen. This report describes the molecular properties of a GP25-related primary antigen, and a fast performance liquid chromatographic (FPLC) procedure to attain its isolation under gentle conditions. The expression of GP25-related antigen by epimastigotes or bloodstream forms was investigated with a high-affinity monoclonal antibody to GP25, SC11G10, as well as with monospecific antisera to GP25. Immunochemical analysis of Nonidet P-40 lysates supplemented with protease inhibitors indicated that GP25 is not synthesized as such; instead, a 57,000 Mr component (GP57) was identified as the primary antigen product. Partial enzymatic conversion to GP25 was observed when inhibitors were deliberately omitted from cell extracts. Most significantly, GP57 was established as the primary biosynthetic product in [35S]-labeled bloodstream trypomastigotes after immunoprecipitation with SC11G10 antibody. This analysis when applied to metabolically labeled epimastigotes has consistently revealed a minor antigen component of 51,000 Mr (GP51), in addition to GP57. The former was identified as the antigenically related product exposed at the parasite cell surface after external radioiodination of viable trypanosomes. Access to the native form of this widely distributed surface glycoprotein should stimulate the investigation of functional and structural aspects of its immunologic activity.
Factor Analysis of a Large DSGE Model

We study the workings of the factor analysis of high-dimensional data using artificial series generated from a large, multi-sector dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. The objective is to use the DSGE model as a laboratory that allow us to shed some light on the practical benefits and limitations of using factor analysis techniques on economic data. We explain in what sense the artificial data can be thought of having a factor structure, study the theoretical and finite sample properties of the principal components estimates of the factor space, investigate the substantive reason(s) for the good performance of diffusion index forecasts, and assess the quality of the factor analysis of highly dissagregated data. In all our exercises, we explain the precise relationship between the factors and the basic macroeconomic shocks postulated by the model.
Optimal inventory policies for substitutable commodities with stochastic demand

In this article we consider a stochastic model for two products which have a single‐period inventory structure and which can be used as substitutes for each other should the need arise. Substitution will occur with probability one, but at perhaps a different revenue level. We prove that the expected profit function is concave, allowing us to find optimal stocking levels for the two products. We compare optimum inventory levels for the case of single substitution with that where there is no substitution. It is demonstrated for the case of single substitution that total optimum order quantities can actually increase or decrease with the substitution revenue.
Competition and the Dynamics of Issue Convergence

Issue convergence theory suggests that candidates should respond to their opponents by discussing the same issues whereas issue divergence theory posits that candidates should instead ignore each other and discuss different issues. Recent studies tend to find evidence in favor of issue convergence, but these results may be inaccurate because the analyses that generated them tested dynamic campaign behavior using cross-sectional methods. Using a dynamic modeling strategy along with television advertising data drawn from 93 U.S. Senate campaigns in 44 states, 5 election years, and on 51 issues, I show that candidates increase the attention they devote to issues as their opponents’ emphasis of these same issues increases and that candidates do so to a greater extent in competitive than in noncompetitive elections. This analysis is the first to account for the dynamic nature of issue emphasis and provides support for issue convergence theory.
Virulent Properties of Russian Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Strains in Experimentally Infected Calves

The results of experimental study of three noncytopathic and two cytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) strains isolated from cattle in the Siberian region and belonging to the type 1 (subtypes 1a, 1b, and 1d) have been presented. All investigated strains caused the development of infectious process in the seronegative 4–6-month-old calves after aerosol challenge with the dose of 6 log10 TCID50. The greatest virulence had noncytopathic strain and cytopathic strain related to the subtypes 1d and 1b, respectively. All strains in infected calves caused some signs of moderate acute respiratory disease and diarrhea: depression 3–5 days postinfection (p.i.), refusal to food, severe hyperthermia to 41.9°С, serous exudate discharges from the nasal cavity and eyes, transient diarrhea with blood, leukopenia (up to 2700 cells/mm3), and macroscopic changes in the respiratory organs and intestine. The infected animals recovered from 12 to 15 days p.i. and in 90% cases formed humoral immune response 25 days p.i. (antibody titers to BVDV: 1 : 4–1 : 16). Our results confirmed the presence of virulent BVDV1 strains and showed the need for researches on the molecular epidemiology of the disease, development of more effective diagnostic systems, and optimization of control programs with use of vaccines.
The influence of e-word-of-mouth on travel decision-making: consumer profiles

The emergence of Web 2.0 in recent years has significantly affected tourism information sources. This paper attempts to confirm how Travel 2.0 applications have influenced tourist decision-making behaviour. The results of the study show that tourists continue to be influenced to a greater extent by the comments and opinions of friends and relatives (word-of-mouth, WOM) when arranging travel than by other Internet users (eWOM). The study demonstrates that official travel destination websites are the most widely used online platform among tourists seeking information, followed by travel blogs and travel social network sites. Finally, different groups of tourists are classified according to their socio-demographic characteristics to explain the degree to which these information sources influence travel decisions.
Urban regeneration and community development in Scotland: converging agendas for action

Devolution is having a marked effect on policy design and delivery in Scotland. In particular, it is possible to identify a focus on a distinctive Scottish agenda, and in the priorities for action. Intervention is directed in particular at the community, in terms of its general well-being, and in promoting positive discrimination for disadvantaged areas and groups. Community planning and Social Inclusion Partnerships are the vehicles for this approach. Significantly, the theme of leadership runs through these measures, and this may yet enable a more stable programme for community development to be sustained into the future. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.
Assessing Participation in Youth Community Action Projects: Opportunities and Barriers

This study examined the extent of youth participation in community service, community development, and other types of community projects. Adult leaders (n = 70) of Youth Community Action (YCA) projects in New York State completed a survey about the activities of youth and barriers to participation. Overall, the youth were highly involved in project planning, decision making, leadership, and implementation activities but less involved in aspects of publicity and the organizational infrastructure such as financing and organizing meetings. Time was the most frequently mentioned barrier to youth participation. Some differences based on the age of participating youth were noted. Recommendations include identifying ways youth can take on greater roles and responsibilities, providing resources and support to adult leaders and youth, and finding ways for older and younger youth to work together. Topics for further research are suggested.