Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CEO Power and Mergers and Acquisitions

We find CEO power in acquiring firms can explain the occurrence of both large value creation and destruction deals in M&A. Specifically, we find firms with powerful CEOs make fewer deals and the returns on those deals are less dispersed. Firms with powerful CEOs are also less likely to do all cash deals and use a larger proportion of stocks in payments. We relate this to the incentive of powerful CEOs to avoid making big salient mistakes in major firm decisions to protect them from adverse career consequences. However, we also find that firms with powerful CEOs are more reluctant to withdraw deals given negative market reactions to the announcements of the deals, which suggests that powerful CEOs do pursue deals that increase their private benefits of control while avoiding deals with high ex ante uncertainty. Our evidence offers a new perspective on M&A deals with extreme returns and CEO objectives.
Popularization of Putonghua.

The three goals of language reform, (1) simplification of characters, (2) the popularization of Putonghua, and (3) the creation and popularization of a national phonetic alphabet are related in many ways, but one important way is that they represent stages on a continuum of development that will have Chinese throughout the nation using Putong hua, and writing in the Pinyin system of romanization. I will confine my remarks to the second and third of these features, which are related by the fact that the romaniza tion is one important vehicle for the popularization of the new standard language, Putonghua (hereafter PTH).
Change in coronary‐prone behaviors in the recurrent coronary prevention project.

&NA; The Recurrent Coronary Preventive Project (RCPP) demonstrated that the addition of Type A counseling to standard cardiac counseling resulted in significant reductions in Type A behavior and in a 44% reduction in reinfarction in post‐myocardial infarction patients. The purpose of the present study was to describe the specific behavioural and psychosocial changes that occurred during this Type A treatment. Patients undergoing Type A counseling showed significant reductions not only in Type A behavior, but also in the Type A components of hostility, time urgency, and impatience, when compared with patients in the cardiac control group. They also showed significant decreases in depression and anger, and gains in self‐efficacy, and marginally significant gains in social support and well‐being. Type A counseling resulted in a dose‐response relationship with most psychosocial outcomes, such that an increasing amount of treatment contacts was associated with increasing change. These data are important in that they specify a range of psychosocial factors that were influenced by treatment. These factors can be considered to be among the possible explanations for the efficacy of the RCPP treatment on the reduction of cardiac recurrences.
International Subcontracting Evolution of India

Outsourcing is an old practice, but offshore outsourcing is relatively new. Problems related to outsourcing abroad have entered the core stages of the globalization process. Overseas service outsourcing is the result of national economic and technological development. This is gaining popularity in India after the process of economic liberalization. This article seeks to provide a unified basis for understanding subcontracting, including the evolution of subcontracting, theoretical development, and future trends. This article compares the strengths and weaknesses of current subcontractors with a comprehensive framework for outsourcing in India and an important aspect of outsourcing. Keywords: outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, BPO, KPO Copyright
Automatic Retrieval of Newly Instructed Cue-Task Associations Seen in Task-Conflict Effects in the First Trial after Cue-Task Instructions

Novel stimulus-response associations are retrieved automatically even without prior practice. Is this true for novel cue-task associations? The experiment involved miniblocks comprising three phases and task switching. In the INSTRUCTION phase, two new stimuli (or familiar cues) were arbitrarily assigned as cues for up-down/right-left tasks performed on placeholder locations. In the UNIVALENT phase, there was no task cue since placeholder’s location afforded one task but the placeholders were the stimuli that we assigned as task cues for the following BIVALENT phase (involving target locations affording both tasks). Thus, participants held the novel cue-task associations in memory while executing the UNIVALENT phase. Results show poorer performance in the first univalent trial when the placeholder was associated with the opposite task (incompatible) than when it was compatible, an effect that was numerically larger with newly instructed cues than with familiar cues. These results indicate automatic retrieval of newly instructed cue-task associations.
Geoepidemiology, Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for PBC

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is the most paradigmatic autoimmune liver disease with still several controversial issues in epidemiology, diagnosis, causation, and therapy. Although we are witnessing an enormous increase in the quantum of our basic knowledge of the disease with an initial translation in clinical practice, there are still a number of key open questions in PBC. Among them are the following questions: Why are there vast geographical variations in disease frequency? What are the reasons for female preponderance? Why do only small-size bile ducts get affected: What is the real role of genetics and epigenetics in its development? In particular, the prevalence of PBC is known to vary both on an international and a regional level, suggesting the existence of substantive geographical differences in terms of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. New theories on potential environmental triggers, such as chemical xenobiotics, which lead to the breaking of self-tolerance within a unique immunological milieu of the liver, have been suggested. On the other hand, new and solid data on the genetic architecture of PBC are now obtained from recent high-throughput studies, together with data on sex chromosomes defects, and epigenetic abnormalities, thus strongly suggesting a role of genetic and epigenetic factors in the triggering and perpetuation of the autoimmune aggression in PBC. Based on these evidences, a number of novel drugs directed against specific immune-related molecules are currently under development. In this paper, we review a comprehensive collection of current epidemiological reports from various world regions. We also discuss here the most recent data regarding candidate genetic and environmental risk factors for PBC.
Exploring the Effects of Building Environments on the Use of Bike Sharing: Case Study of Shenzhen, China

In this paper, the effects of built environments on the use of sharing bikes were investigated, based on the weekend and weekend data of sharing bikes at street level in Shenzhen, China. The explanatory variables of built environments included: population, population density, area of each street, number of bus stops, density of bus stops, number of metro stations, road length, density of road length, and areas of various land use. The dependent variables included weekend demand of sharing bikes, weekend demand of sharing bikes, weekend peak-hour demand of sharing bikes, and weekend peak-hour demand of sharing bikes. It was found that the sharing bikes were mainly used as the accessibility and feeder tools for metro service. The weekend and weekend peak-hour demand are significantly influenced by industrial area.
The changing profile of the cardiovascular patient and the future of cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention: British Columbia as an example.

Address for correspondence: Andrew P. Ignaszewski, MD, FRCPC, Clinical Professor and Head, University of British Columbia Division of Cardiology at St. Paul’s Hospital, 180-1081 Burrard St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6Y 1Y6, tel: 604 806 8605, fax: 604 806 8596, e-mail: aignaszewski@providencehealth.bc. ca The changing profile of the cardiovascular patient and the future of cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention: British Columbia as an example
A novel human leukaemic cell line, CTS, has a t(6;11) chromosomal translocation and characteristics of pluripotent stem cells

A novel human leukaemic cell line, designated CTS, was established from the peripheral blood of a 13‐year‐old girl suffering from acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) in relapse. CTS cells expressed CD7, CD13, CD33, CD34 and HLA‐DR antigens, and showed ultrastructural myeloperoxidase activity. In addition, CTS cells showed DNA rearrangements of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene and the light κ chain gene, and deletions of the T‐cell receptor δ1 gene. Cytogenetic analysis revealed a human female diploid karyotype with a t(6;11)(q27;q23) chromosomal translocation. Molecular studies demonstrated a DNA rearrangement of the MLL gene, the expression of a truncated 11.0 kb MLL mRNA and the detection of the MLL/AF‐6 fusion transcript in CTS cells. To our knowledge, this cell line is the first report of a human leukaemic cell line with a t(6;11) chromosomal translocation. CTS cells showed no significant proliferative response to the cytokines, IL‐2, IL‐3, IL‐6, IL‐11, GM‐CSF, G‐CSF, EPO, SCF, but were induced to differentiate to the T‐cell, B‐cell, erythroid or megakaryocytic lineage in the presence of particular cytokines. This CTS cell line may provide a useful tool in the study of the oncogenesis of mixed lineage leukaemia with 11q23 abnormalities and for the analysis of growth and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.
What explains low adoption of digital payment technologies? Evidence from small-scale merchants in Jaipur, India

The availability of digital payment technologies (such as internet banking, mobile money, and credit/debit cards) has rapidly increased in the developing world, and is a cornerstone for financial inclusion initiatives in developing countries. Despite significant efforts to promote digital payments, rates of adoption remain modest in some low-income countries. In particular, the rate of adoption in India remains low despite significant efforts to promote adoption. In this paper, we consider possible reasons for the low rates of adoption among merchants in Jaipur, India with small fixed-location store enterprises. Using survey data for 1,003 merchants, we find little evidence that supply-side barriers to obtaining necessary infrastructure or meeting prerequisite requirements to adopt digital payments explain the low level of adoption. Merchants are able to obtain infrastructure to transact digitally (such as bank accounts and smart phones), fees on digital platforms are affordable, and merchants are sufficiently literate to be able to use digital payment systems. We conclude that adoption is both feasible and inexpensive. Therefore, low rates of adoption do not appear to be the result of supply-side barriers, but due rather to demand-side factors or taxes. We find direct evidence of such demand-side factors, such as a perceived lack of customers wanting to pay digitally, and concerns that records of mobile payments might increase tax liability. Our results thus suggest that simply lowering the costs associated with adopting these technologies is unlikely to be successful in increasing adoption of digital payments.
Alcohol intake and renal cell cancer in a pooled analysis of 12 prospective studies.

BACKGROUND The association between alcohol intake and risk of renal cell cancer has been inconsistent in case-control studies. An inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of renal cell cancer has been suggested in a few prospective studies, but each of these studies included a small number of cases. METHODS We performed a pooled analysis of 12 prospective studies that included 530,469 women and 229,575 men with maximum follow-up times of 7-20 years. All participants had completed a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline. Using the primary data from each study, the study-specific relative risks (RRs) for renal cell cancer were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models and then pooled using a random-effects model. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS A total of 1430 (711 women and 719 men) cases of incident renal cell cancer were identified. The study-standardized incidence rates of renal cell cancer were 23 per 100,000 person-years among nondrinkers and 15 per 100,000 person-years among those who drank 15 g/day or more of alcohol. Compared with nondrinking, alcohol consumption (> or = 15 g/day, equivalent to slightly more than one alcoholic drink per day) was associated with a decreased risk of renal cell cancer (pooled multivariable RR = 0.72, 95% confidence interval = 0.60 to 0.86; P(trend)<. 001); statistically significant inverse trends with increasing intake were seen in both women and men. No difference by sex was observed (P(heterogeneity) = . 89). Associations between alcohol intake and renal cell cancer were not statistically different across alcoholic beverage type (beer versus wine versus liquor) (P = .40). CONCLUSION Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of renal cell cancer among both women and men in this pooled analysis.
Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in the Thrace region of Turkey

CONTAGIOUS caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae , is listed by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) as a list B disease due to the serious economic effects it can have on goat production. It can be distinguished from other goat
Issues In Food Assistance - Reducing Food Insecurity In The United States: Assessing Progress Toward A National Objective

This issues brief assesses progress toward the U.S. Government's Healthy People 2010 objective of reducing the prevalence rate of food insecurity in the Nation to half of its 1995 level by 2010. It describes methods used to measure and monitor food security, trends in food insecurity and hunger from 1995 to 2000, the extent to which the strong economic growth during the period was responsible for the improvements in food security, and characteristics of food-insecure households.
A technique for identifying RTL and gate-level correspondences

In this paper, we consider the mapping problem of identifying correspondences between a signal in a high-level specification and a net in a lower-level implementation for a given design. Conventional techniques use shared names to associate a signal with a net whenever possible. However, given that a synthesis flow may not preserve names, solutions to the above problem eventually take recourse to expensive alternatives such as formal verification. This paper provides a robust framework for identifying RTL signal to gate-level net correspondences for a given design. Our technique exploits the observation that circuit diagnosis provides a convenient means for locating faults in a gate-level network. Since our problem requires locating gate-level nets corresponding to RTL signals, we formulate the mapping problem as a query whose solution is provided by a circuit diagnosis engine. Our experimental work with industrial designs for many mapping cases shows that our solution to the mapping problem is (i) fast, and (ii) precise in identifying the gate-level equivalents (the number of nets returned by our mapping engine for a query is typically or 2 even for designs with tens of thousands of VHDL lines).
Development of low cost supernumerary robotic fingers as an assistive device

This paper presents the development of new type of wearable robot namely Supernumerary Robotic Finger (SRF) as an assistive robot for healthy people or people with hemiparesis or hemiplegia. SRF comprises of two manipulators attached in user's wrist. Three flex sensors are utilized to measure the finger bending of the user's finger. The posture of SRF is driven by modified glove sensor. The kinematics of both robotic thumb (RT) and robotic finger (RF) is studied using D-H parameter method and RoboAnalyzer software in order to understand the kinematic behavior of this robot. Each of RT and RF has three degrees of freedom (DOF). The posture of RT and RF is controlled using bending angles of thumb and finger from the user that are read by flex sensor. Based on the experimental results for people with healthy hand, the proposed SRF can assist object manipulation task in grasping, holding, and manipulating an object by using single hand when normally it only can be done by using two hands. From the experimental results on a person with healthy hand, the proposed of SRF can be employed as an assistive device for people with hemiparesis or hemiplegia. This device will enable people with diminished hand function work more independently.
Farm characteristics and calf management practices on dairy farms with and without diarrhea: A case-control study to investigate risk factors for calf diarrhea

Abstract Calf diarrhea is one of the most important problems in calf rearing on dairy farms worldwide. Besides pathogens, several noninfectious management factors, especially management around birth, colostrum management, calf housing, feeding, and hygiene are important in the pathogenesis of diarrhea. To date, few data are available concerning calf rearing management on small and medium-sized dairy farms that are typical for Austria and the alpine region. Consequently, the objectives of this case-control study were to evaluate routine calf management practices on Austrian dairy farms and to examine differences in management between farms with and without the presence of calf diarrhea to identify risk factors. Overall, 100 dairy farms were visited. Of these farms, 50 were chosen based on the history and presence of calf diarrhea (case farms). Another 50 farms with no presence of calf diarrhea were chosen to serve as a standard of comparison (control farms). On farms, management was evaluated by face-to-face interview, and health status and hygiene were surveyed. Several calf rearing management procedures were similar on all of the visited farms, especially in areas regulated by national and European law. These factors include colostrum management and feeding. Consequently, no influence of these factors on the appearance of calf diarrhea could be detected. In contrast, other areas such as hygiene measures differed between farms and showed a partial association with the presence of calf diarrhea on farm. Variables related to diarrhea on farm were farm size; that is, the number of cows on farm. Farms with diarrhea cases were larger (median 40 cows, interquartile range 24.5 to 64.0) compared with farms with no presence of diarrhea (median 28 cows, interquartile range 18.8 to 44.0). Other risk factors that influenced the presence of diarrhea were the presence of other farm animal species on the farm [odds ratio (OR) 26.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.64 to 273.5], frequency of cleaning of the calving area (OR 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.79), the placement of individual calf housings (barn vs. outdoors; OR 0.02, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.47), and the presence of respiratory tract disease (OR 52.49, 95% CI: 1.26 to 2,181.83). The possible influence of these factors on the appearance of calf diarrhea should be considered when farmers are advised.
TDP-43 Is a Transcriptional Repressor

TDP-43 is an evolutionarily conserved ubiquitously expressed DNA/RNA-binding protein. Although recent studies have shown its association with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, the function of TDP-43 remains poorly understood. Here we address TDP-43 function using spermatogenesis as a model system. We previously showed that TDP-43 binds to the testis-specific mouse acrv1 gene promoter in vitro via two GTGTGT-motifs and that mutation of these motifs led to premature transcription in spermatocytes of an otherwise round spermatid-specific promoter. The present study tested the hypothesis that TDP-43 represses acrv1 gene transcription in spermatocytes. Plasmid chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that TDP-43 binds to the acrv1 promoter through GTGTGT motifs in vivo. Reporter gene assays showed that TDP-43 represses acrv1 core promoter-driven transcription via the N-terminal RRM1 domain in a histone deacetylase-independent manner. Consistent with repressor role, ChIP on physiologically isolated germ cells confirmed that TDP-43 occupies the endogenous acrv1 promoter in spermatocytes. Surprisingly, however, TDP-43 remains at the promoter in round spermatids, which express acrv1 mRNA. We show that RNA binding-defective TDP-43, but not splice variant isoforms, relieve repressor function. Transitioning from repressive to active histone marks has little effect on TDP-43 occupancy. Finally, we found that RNA polymerase II is recruited but paused at the acrv1 promoter in spermatocytes. Because mutation of TDP-43 sites caused premature transcription in spermatocytes in vivo, TDP-43 may be involved in pausing RNAPII at the acrv1 promoter in spermatocytes. Overall, our study shows that TDP-43 is a transcriptional repressor and that it regulates spatiotemporal expression of the acrv1 gene during spermatogenesis.
Salmonella enterica Virulence Genes Are Required for Bacterial Attachment to Plant Tissue

ABSTRACT Numerous Salmonella enterica food-borne illness outbreaks have been associated with contaminated vegetables, in particular sprouted seeds, and the incidence of reported contamination has steadily risen. In order to understand the physiology of S. enterica serovar Newport on plants, a screen was developed to identify transposon mutants that were defective in attachment to alfalfa sprouts. Twenty independent mutants from a pool of 6,000 were selected for reduced adherence to alfalfa sprouts. Sixty-five percentage of these mutants had insertions in uncharacterized genes. Among the characterized genes were strains with insertions in the intergenic region between agfB, the surface-exposed aggregative fimbria (curli) nucleator, and agfD, a transcriptional regulator of the LuxR superfamily, and rpoS, the stationary-phase sigma factor. Both AgfD and RpoS have been reported to regulate curli and cellulose production and RpoS regulates other adhesins such as pili. The intergenic and rpoS mutants were reduced in initial attachment to alfalfa sprouts by 1 log unit compared to the wild type. Mutations of agfA, curli subunit, and agfB in S. enterica serovar Enteritidis differentially affected attachment to plant tissue. The agfA mutation was not reduced in ability to attach to or colonize alfalfa sprouts, whereas the agfB mutation was reduced. Thus, agfB alone can play a role in attachment of S. enterica to plant tissue. These results reveal that S. enterica genes important for virulence in animal systems are also required for colonization of plants, a secondary host that can serve as a vector of S. enterica from animal to animal.
The Logistics of Information in Customer Service of Online Clothing Shops

The primary objective of this article is to present information logistics as a crucial component of servicing the customers of online clothing stores. The article assesses the relationship between store-transferred information transferred and the rating given by customers. Furthermore, the article explicates the necessity to treat information as a resource, outlines the logistics of information and its influence on the functioning of e-commerce, focusing on the most prominent characteristics of e-trade in Poland, especially in the clothing sector.