Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Philanthropy as Strategy

Scholars and practitioners alike indicate a movement in corporate philanthropy toward “strategic” giving, for example, giving that improves the firm's strategic position (ultimately the “bottom line”) while it benefits the recipient of the philanthropic act. Although the existence of this trend is widely accepted, it is represented in the literature most often by anecdotal evidence. This article presents the findings of a survey of corporate giving managers of U.S. firms that have had an established giving program of at least 5 years, with annual giving totaling at least $200,000 each year. The data show that corporate giving managers believe their firms are becoming increasingly strategic in their philanthropic activities. The findings also indicate that institutional-, firm-, and individual-level influences combine to precipitate strategic philanthropy. These findings lend support to the belief that the nature of corporate philanthropy is evolving to fit a more competitive marketplace.
Sino‐foreign joint ventures: from exogamy to endogamy

Purpose – This research aims to demonstrate that most of the current Sino‐foreign joint ventures are exogamic partnerships and to analyze the resources pooled by allies in Sino‐foreign joint ventures, the objectives pursued by each ally and how this mix has evolved since the first days of the open door policy.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an extensive literature review and data collection into 67 Sino‐foreign joint ventures. Data were collected into joint ventures employing more than 100 employees and primarily based around Shanghai. A semi‐structured questionnaire was administered mostly with Chinese managers. A set of 21 different resources and 15 different objectives were examined.Findings – Three main conclusions emerge: partners of Sino‐foreign joint ventures contribute with differentiated sets of idiosyncratic and non‐substitutable resources that are distinctively under the control of each partner with Chinese bringing locally rooted resources and country‐specific knowledge and.
Comparison of the Antiarrhythmic Efficacy of Disopyramide and Mexiletine Against Stimulus‐Induced Ventricular Tachycardia

Programmed ventricular stimulation was used to assess the effect of oral disopyramide (600 mg/day), mexiletine (600–1000 mg/day), and a combination of both drugs in a randomized cross-over study on 12 patients with documented ventricular tachycardia and/or fibrillation. In two cases, all three types of treatment were ineffective in that ventricular tachycardia could still be initiated under the same conditions. In four cases, disopyramide and mexiletine alone were ineffective or the change in inducibility was only slight. However, when both drugs were administered in combination, ventricular tachycardia was more difficult to induce or was no longer inducible. In two other cases, disopyramide was the more effective drug. In the remaining four patients, all three types of treatment were similarly effective. In patients whose ventricular tachycardia remained inducible its rate decreased from 188 ± 45 bpm (control) to 170 ± 40 bpm on disopyramide, 172 ± 31 bpm on mexiletine, and 146 ± 39 bpm on disopyramide plus mexiletine. Long-term therapy was based on the results of acute testing. Seven patients received both disopyramide and mexiletine and tolerated this therapy well during a follow-up of 42 ± 23 weeks. Two sudden deaths occurred, one possibly due to dose reduction and one in a patient in whom short bursts of ventricular tachycardia remained inducible during acute testing. We conclude that the combined administration of disopyramide and mexiletine is effective and safe in patients with ventricular tachycardia. It is tolerated without major side effects even during long-term therapy.
Controls on short-term variations in Greenland glacier dynamics

Abstract Short-term ice-dynamical processes at Greenland’s Jakobshavn and Kangerdlugssuaq glaciers were studied using a 3 day time series of synthetic aperture radar data acquired during the 2011 European Remote-sensing Satellite-2 (ERS-2) 3 day repeat campaign together with modelled meteorological parameters. The time series spans the period March–July 2011 and captures the first ∼30% of the summer melting season. In both study areas, we observe velocity fluctuations at the lower ∼10 km of the glacier. At Jakobshavn Isbræ, where our dataset covers the first part of the seasonal calving-front retreat, we identify ten calving episodes, with a mean calving-front area loss of 1.29 ± 0.4 km2. Significant glacier speed-up was observed in the near-terminus area following all calving episodes. We identify changes in calving-front geometry as the dominant control on velocity fluctuations on both glaciers, apart from a <15% early-summer speed-up at Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier during a period of calving-front advance, which we attribute to enhanced surface melt-induced basal lubrication. Our 3 day velocity maps show new spatial characteristics of the ice melange flow variability in the Jakobshavn and Kangerdlugssuaq fjord systems, which are primarily controlled by calving-front dynamics and fjord geometry.
The Political Economy of Voter Support for School Property Taxation

Like a number of other states, Wisconsin places revenue limits on its local school districts. This paper explores the factors that lead school boards to hold referenda to override the limits, and voters to approve the referenda. To account for this two-stage decision process, we estimate a Heckman Sample Selection model using a panel dataset of Wisconsin’s school districts. We find that some socio-economic characteristics of the median voter are important in the decision of school districts to hold referendum. The fund balances of the school districts and the amount of non-school property taxes that voters must pay also influence school board decisions. The success of neighboring school districts in passing override referenda encourages both school board decisions and the success of override referenda. Introduction Marika Cabral and Caroline Hoxby (2012) have characterized the property tax as a “hated” tax. Over many decades, public aversion to the property tax has clearly motivated efforts in most states to reduce reliance on the property tax or to limit its growth. Despite the continued adoption of new property tax limitations, the property tax continues to provide approximately four out of every five dollars of locally-raised public school revenue. In fact, since the early 1980s, the share of total public school revenue from the property tax has remained quite stable at near 35 percent (McGuire, Papke, and Reschovsky, 2015). One reason for the staying power of the property tax is the lack of growth of alternative sources of revenue. While there has been a modest growth in the federal government’s role in financing public education over the past decade, this growth has been more than offset by a reduction in the share of public school funding coming from state governments. At the local level, school districts have chosen not to increase their use of fees and other forms of non-tax revenues as a means of substituting for property tax revenue (Downes and Killeen, 2014). Since 1995, there has been a rapid growth in revenue from school supporting non-profits, such as parent teacher organizations; however, on a per pupil basis these revenues remain very low (Nelson and Gazley, 2014). The cyclical stability of property tax revenues may also reflect the fact that in practice, many property tax limitations allow for the continued, but limited, growth of property tax revenues. In this paper we focus on property tax levy limits. In general, levy limits place a dollar or percentage cap on the annual change in property tax levies of local governments. While the design of levy limits varies across states, many are similar to Proposition 21⁄2, passed by Massachusetts voters in 1980. The annual increase in the allowable property tax levy is limited to the lesser
Measuring the Value of Corporate Web Sites

ABSTRACT As marketing executives respond to increased pressure to measure the impact of their activities, corporate Web sites can be a useful tool in measuring marketing performance. This study presents the results of a series of interviews with Web site managers aimed at describing the most common methods of determining the value contribution of corporate Web sites. However, despite the availability of large amounts of site usage data, Web site performance measurement tends to be performed ad hoc by most organizations, and there is little assessment of the relationship between the performance of a company's external Web site and overall corporate results or increase in shareholder value.
Pharmacokinetic drug evaluation of ceftobiprole for the treatment of MRSA

ABSTRACT Introduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), while decreasing in overall incidence, is still a prominent concern world-wide. New agents coming to market in the last 10 years allow practitioners to optimize treatment for MRSA infections. Ceftobiprole is a cephalosporin agent with MRSA activity, currently approved in selected countries for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Areas covered: Relevant literature regarding spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and clinical trials will be discussed. Expert opinion: Ceftobiprole is an addition to a growing number of antimicrobials with activity against MRSA. Concern for appropriate dosing in critically ill patients remains due to its ineffectiveness for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). While ceftobiprole has activity against gram-negative organisms, the allowance for use of an additional agent for gram-negative infections in clinical trials limits recommendations for monotherapy for empirical treatment of HAP. Ceftobiprole’s place in therapy will lie in its activity against gram positive organisms, such as Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp.
On the Existence of Nonoptimal Equilibria in Dynamic Stochastic Economies

Abstract The question of the existence of the stationary equilibrium for distorted versions of the standard neo-classical growth model is addressed in this paper. The conditions presented guaranteeing the existence of nontrivial equilibrium for the class of economies under study are simple and intuitively appealing, while the existence proof developed is elementary. Examples are given illustrating that economies with distortional taxation, endogenous growth with externalities, and monopolistic competition can all fit into the framework provided. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C62, E30, E60.
Infarcts of undetermined cause: The NINCDS stroke data bank

In a prospective study of 1,805 hospitalized patients in the Stroke Data Bank of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, the 1,273 with infarction were classified into diagnostic subtypes. Diagnosis was based on the clinical history, examination, and laboratory tests including computed tomography, noninvasive vascular imaging, and where safe and relevant, angiography. Five hundred and eight cases (fully 40%) were labeled as infarcts of undetermined cause (IUC), of which 138 (27%) were evaluated with both computed tomography and angiography. The clinical syndrome and computed tomographic and angiographic findings in 91 (65.9%) of these 138 IUC cases were clearly not attributable to large‐artery thrombosis and could permit reclassification of the infarct as due to some form of embolism. Failure to define a source of embolus kept them in the category of IUC. Thirty‐one cases (22.5%) could be reclassified as due to stenosis or thrombosis of a large artery, and 16 (11.6%) as lacunar infarction. To determine if those selected for angiography among the IUC patients differed from those with other final diagnoses, a stepwise multiple logistic model was used. The most important characteristics were young age, presence of a superficial infarct, prior transient ischemic attack, low weakness score, and presentation with a nonlacunar syndrome. The results of the model suggest that angiography use was determined by clinical characteristics uniformly across centers and not by final diagnosis. Continued use of the category IUC may help clarify risk factors and stroke subtypes, allow new mechanisms of ischemic stroke to be uncovered, and prevent classification categories of stroke used in clinical trials from becoming too broad.
Enhancing outcome for potential treatment failures: Therapist–client feedback and clinical support tools

Abstract Enhancing treatment outcomes for clients who are predicted to deteriorate before leaving treatment has important implications for quality of client care. The effects of three interventions aimed at reducing client deterioration were examined in a sample of 1,374 clients whose outcome was contrasted across experimental groups and with a no-feedback/archival control group consisting of data from 1,445 clients. Results indicated that feedback to therapists reduced deterioration rates and improved outcome across clients, especially those predicted to be treatment failures. Therapist feedback effects were enhanced by the use of prompts to action based on a clinical support tools manual but not by the provision of direct feedback to clients.
Interaction of the Adipocyte Fatty Acid-binding Protein with the Hormone-sensitive Lipase

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP/aP2) forms a physical complex with the hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) and AFABP/aP2-null mice exhibit reduced basal and hormone-stimulated lipolysis. To identify the determinants affecting the interaction fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging was used in conjunction with a mutagenesis strategy to evaluate the roles AFABP/aP2 fatty acid binding and HSL phosphorylation have in complex formation as well as determine the HSL binding site on AFABP/aP2. The nonfatty acid binding mutant of AFABP/aP2 (R126Q) failed to form a FRET-competent complex with HSL either under basal or forskolin-stimulated conditions, indicating that lipid binding is required for association. Once bound to HSL and on the surface of the lipid droplet, YFP-AFABP/aP2 (but not YFP-HSL) exhibited energy transfer between the fusion protein and BODIPY-C12-labeled triacylglycerol. Serine to alanine mutations at the two PKA phosphorylation sites of HSL (659 and 660), or at the AMPK phosphorylation sites (565), blocked FRET between HSL and AFABP/aP2. Substitution of isoleucine for lysine at position 21 of AFABP/aP2 (K21I), but not 31 (K31I), resulted in a non-HSL-binding protein indicating that residues on helix αI of AFABP/aP2 define a component of the HSL binding site. These results indicate that the ligand-bound form of AFABP/aP2.interacts with the activated, phosphorylated HSL and that the association is likely to be regulatory; either delivering FA to inhibit HSL (facilitating feedback inhibition) or affecting multicomponent complex formation on the droplet surface.
High‐Level Quinolone Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae; A Report of Two Cases

Background and Objectives: Fluoroquinolones are widely used oral agents for treating Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Resistance to these agents is sporadic and usually at a low level. Two instances of high-dose ciprofloxacin regimens failing in the treatment of gonococcal infection, caused by strains with high-level quinolone resistance, are reported. Study Design: This is a case report. Conclusion: High-level resistance to quinolone antibiotics resulting in treatment failure was observed in two distinct gonococcal isolates from patients infected in the Philippines (ciprofloxacin; minimal inhibitory contribution = 16 mg/l). Continued monitoring of the quinolone sensitivity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is appropriate and prudent.
Legal foundations of capitalism

In what has universally been recognized as a classic of institutional economics, John R. Commons combined the skills of a professional economist, the sensibilities of an American historian, and the passion of an active participant in the conflicts of individuals, self-interest of groups, and function of voluntary associations. The aim of this volume is to work out an evolutionary and behavioral theory of value. In order to do so thoroughly, Commons examines the decisions of the courts. Doing so compelled an examination of what the courts mean by reasonable value. Commons found that the answer was tied up with a notion of reasonable conduct. It was Commons who carried the study of the habits and customs of social life to the next stage: the decisions of the courts that are based on custom and that profoundly impact the nature and function of the economic system as such. Reviewing Legal Foundations of Capitalism, Wesley Mitchell declared that Commons carried this "analysis further along his chosen line than any of his predecessors. Into our knowledge of capitalism he has incorporated a great body of new materials which no one else has used adequately. " And writing in the same American Economic Review twenty-one years later, Selig Perlman noted that "To Commons the workingmen were not abstract building blocks out of which a favored deity called History was to shape the architecture of the new society, but concrete beings with legitimate ambitions for a higher standard of living and for more dignity in their lives. " This edition is graced with a special introduction that places Commons in proper academic as well as intellectual context.
Progressive Taxation, Tax Exemption, and Irreversible Investment under Uncertainty

We analyze the impact of progressive taxation on irreversible investment under uncertainty. We show that if tax exemption is lower than sunk cost, higher tax rate will decelerate optimal investment by increasing the optimal investment threshold, while if tax exemption exceeds sunk cost, three different regimes arise. For “small” volatilities the optimal investment threshold is a positive function of volatility, but independent of tax rate. For “medium” volatilities it is independent of both tax rate and volatility. Finally, for “high” volatilities the optimal investment threshold depends positively on volatility, but negatively on tax rate so that we have “tax paradox”.
Molecular analysis of the neurogenic locus Enhancer of split of Drosophila melanogaster

Enhancer of split [E(spl)], one of the neurogenic loci of Drosophila, is located in bands 96F8‐13. One hundred and fifty kilobases of genomic DNA, spanning the E(spl) locus, were cloned by chromosomal walking. DNA heterogeneities associated with eleven E(spl) mutations, including three Pr alleles, were mapped to a region of 36 kb, and an additional one outside of this region. One of these mutations is a deletion of ˜34 kb that causes severe neural hyperplasia of homozygous embryos with complete penetrance. Mutations associated with DNA polymorphisms mapping within smaller regions do not lead to a fully penetrant neurogenic phenotype. The 36‐kb region encodes 11 major transcripts, which exhibit distinct temporal and/or spatial patterns of expression. The expression of one of these transcripts is modified in two different mutants. In addition, one of the mutants [E(spl)D] shows another transcript, which is not present in the wild‐type and co‐exists with the remaining transcripts. We suggest that more than one of the 11 transcripts are necessary for a normal function of the E(spl) locus. The spatial distribution of four of these RNAs, which exhibit almost identical patterns of expression, strongly suggests that the encoded proteins are required for the process of segregation of neural and epidermal lineages.
Economic Retrospective Voting in American National Elections: A Micro-Analysis*

A number of recent studies examine the traditional hypothesis that the electoral fortunes of the incumbent president's party rise and fall in direct relation to fluctua- tions in the state of the national economy. Typically these studies employ a longitudi- nal design in which a party's aggregate congressional vote serves as the dependent variable, and various economic indicators serve as independent variables. On balance. the election returns appear to bear some relation to economic conditions, although various disagreements exist. Using data from the 1956 to 1974 SRC election studies this paper attempts to uncover an individual-level basis for the macro-relationship found by earlier studies. Specifically, do citizens vote for or against the incumbent president's party as a function of their personal economic condition? The survey data permit us to conclude that a citizen's personal economic condition affects his presi- dential vote. For congressional voting, however, the findings are positive until 1960 and negative thereafter. And contrary to some previous research, we find no system- atic relationship between a citizen's personal economic condition and his decision to vote or abstain.
Growing Out of Stress: The Role of Cell- and Organ-Scale Growth Control in Plant Water-Stress Responses[OPEN]

This review focuses on defining the processes that regulate root system growth and the mechanisms acting during water-deficit stresses that affect growth at the cellular- and organ-wide levels. Water is the most limiting resource on land for plant growth, and its uptake by plants is affected by many abiotic stresses, such as salinity, cold, heat, and drought. While much research has focused on exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular signaling events governing water-stress responses, it is also important to consider the role organismal structure plays as a context for such responses. The regulation of growth in plants occurs at two spatial scales: the cell and the organ. In this review, we focus on how the regulation of growth at these different spatial scales enables plants to acclimate to water-deficit stress. The cell wall is discussed with respect to how the physical properties of this structure affect water loss and how regulatory mechanisms that affect wall extensibility maintain growth under water deficit. At a higher spatial scale, the architecture of the root system represents a highly dynamic physical network that facilitates access of the plant to a heterogeneous distribution of water in soil. We discuss the role differential growth plays in shaping the structure of this system and the physiological implications of such changes.
Cartesian stiffness for wrist joints: analysis on the Lie group of 3D rotations and geometric approximation for experimental evaluation

This paper is concerned with the analysis and the numerical evaluation from experimental measurements of the static, Cartesian stiffness of wrist joints, in particular the human wrist. The primary aim is to extend from Euclidean spaces to so(3), the group of rigid body rotations, previous methods for assessing the end-point stiffness of the human arm, typically performed via a robotic manipulandum. As a first step, the geometric definition of Cartesian stiffness from current literature is specialised to the group so(3). Emphasis is placed on the choice of the unique, natural, affine connection on so(3) which guarantees symmetry of the stiffness matrix in presence of conservative fields for any configuration, also out of equilibrium. As the main contribution of this study, a coordinate-independent approximation based on the geometric notion of geodesics is proposed which provides a working equation for evaluating stiffness directly from experimental measurements. Finally, a graphical representation of the stiffness is discussed which extends the ellipse method often used for end-point stiffness visualisation and which is suitable to compare stiffness matrices evaluated at different configurations.