Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of the shared epitope in arthralgia with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP), and its effect on anti-CCP levels

Objectives: Patients presenting with both arthralgia and antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) have an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To further characterise this patient group and shed more light on its relationship with clinically manifest early arthritis and established RA, an immunogenetic and serological analysis was performed. Methods: In a group of 111 patients with anti-CCP-positive arthralgia, anti-CCP levels and shared epitope (SE) status were determined. Data were compared with 125 and 128 patients with anti-CCP-positive early arthritis and established RA respectively. Results: In patients with anti-CCP-positive arthralgia, the frequency of SE allele positivity is significantly lower when compared with anti-CCP-positive early arthritis and established RA (58% vs 80%, and 58% vs 92%, respectively, both p<0.001). Median anti-CCP levels were higher in the group of patients with SE-positive arthralgia compared with the group of patients with SE-negative arthralgia (p = 0.02). Median anti-CCP levels were similar in the groups of patients with SE-positive arthralgia and arthritis. Conclusions: The lower frequency of SE positivity in patients with arthralgia compared with patients with RA indicates that, compared with patients who were SE positive, patients who were SE negative as a group go through a longer arthralgia phase, or alternatively have a lower risk for transition from anti-CCP positive arthralgia to RA. Furthermore, the present results suggest that in this early stage the effect of the SE on disease risk may be mediated through higher anti-CCP levels.
Principal-Agent Dilemma in China’s Social Media Sector? The Party-State and Industry Real-Name Registration Waltz

Since the late 1990s, the Chinese party-state has increasingly delegated responsibility from the bureaucracy to new media companies across the spectrum of the ICT business sector to monitor deviant user behavior. This article argues that businesses comply with the party-state’s control policies only conditionally and analyzes a specific principal-agent dilemma embedded into state regulation and the policy implementation chain of social control. It contends that the party-state has only temporarily solved this dilemma by maintaining the risk of sanctions for the industry while rewarding compliant businesses with policy rewards. The analysis finds that emerging cracks in cadre-capitalist cooperation are contingent on the state’s continued negotiations on policy.
Risk and Return of Value Stocks

The authors find that value stocks are riskier because they are usually firms under distress, have high financial leverages, and face substantial uncertainty in future earnings. These risk characteristics are as powerful as are size and book-to-market in explaining cross-sectional differences in return in Pacific Rim markets. Value stocks offer reliably higher returns in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, corresponding to the higher risk, but not in the high-growth markets of Taiwan and Thailand because the spread of risk between small high-book-to-market stocks and big low-book-to-market stocks is small. Copyright 1998 by University of Chicago Press.
Acylhomoserine Lactone Synthase Activity of the Vibrio fischeri AinS Protein

ABSTRACT Acylhomoserine lactones, which serve as quorum-sensing signals in gram-negative bacteria, are produced by members of the LuxI family of synthases. LuxI is a Vibrio fischeri enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone from an acyl-acyl carrier protein andS-adenosylmethionine. Another V. fischeri gene,ainS, directs the synthesis ofN-octanoylhomoserine lactone. The AinS protein shows no significant sequence similarity with LuxI family members, but it does show sequence similarity with the Vibrio harveyi LuxM protein. The luxM gene is required for the synthesis ofN-(3-hydroxybutyryl)-l-homoserine lactone. To gain insights about whether AinS and LuxM represent a second family of acylhomoserine lactone synthases, we have purified AinS as a maltose-binding protein (MBP) fusion protein. The purified MBP-AinS fusion protein catalyzed the synthesis ofN-octanoylhomoserine lactone fromS-adenosylmethionine and either octanoyl-acyl carrier protein or, to a lesser extent, octanoyl coenzyme A. With the exception that octanoyl coenzyme A served as an acyl substrate for the MBP-AinS fusion protein, the substrates for and reaction kinetics of the MBP-AinS fusion protein were similar to those of the several LuxI family members previously studied. We conclude that AinS is an acylhomoserine lactone synthase and that it represents a second family of such enzymes.
Contribution of a haplotype in the HLA region to anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody positivity in rheumatoid arthritis, independently of HLA-DRB1.

OBJECTIVE To examine the risk of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody positivity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients carrying certain haplotypes in the HLA region. METHODS A total of 1,389 Japanese patients with RA were genotyped for 30 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HLA region using commercial oligonucleotide arrays (from Perlegen or Affymetrix) as well as for HLA-DRB1 alleles using a sequence-specific polymerase chain reaction method. Stepwise logistic regression was used to select from among the 30 SNPs the ones that represented a risk of anti-CCP antibody positivity. Haplotypes of the selected SNPs were inferred using an expectation-maximization algorithm. Associations of individual SNPs were evaluated with the Cochran-Armitage test for trend. DRB1 alleles and haplotypes were evaluated with the chi-square test. Heterogeneities of risks among the shared epitope (SE) and non-SE HLA-DRB1 alleles were examined using the exact test. Haplotype associations that were independent of individual HLA-DRB1 alleles were evaluated using the likelihood ratio test. RESULTS Significant associations were found for 9 SNPs (smallest P value being 2.4x10(-8)) and in 4 HLA-DRB1 alleles (smallest P value being 2.0x10(-10) in DRB1*0405). Stepwise logistic regression selected 4 SNPs (rs9262638, rs7775228, rs4713580, and rs9277359). Among the 16 inferred haplotypes of these 4 SNPs, 6 indicated significant associations (smallest P value being 1.9x10(-11)). Risks among SE and non-SE alleles were significantly heterogeneous (P=0.0095 and P=9.8x10(-9), respectively), indicating the importance of stratification with individual DRB1 alleles rather than SE alleles. Conditional analysis of the risk associated with individual DRB1 alleles identified a risk haplotype that was independent of DRB1 (odds ratio 2.00 [95% confidence interval 1.44-2.79], P=2.6x10(-5)). CONCLUSION Heterogeneous risks of anti-CCP antibody positivity were confirmed among SE and non-SE alleles in our patient population. A risk haplotype in the HLA region that is independent of HLA-DRB1 was confirmed.
Value versus growth in the Asian equity markets

There has been considerable empirical research on style investment in the United States and a fair amount in Europe but relatively little published research in the Asian markets. It is commonly believed that fundamental stock valuation and style analysis works only in developed markets like the United States and that more qualitative methods should be used in inefficient markets such as Asia (including developed economies and emerging economies in Asia). We therefore determine whether style investment strategies can be applied consistently in the Asian Equity Markets. Our study encompasses markets in developed Asia which includes Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as markets in emerging Asia comprising Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. We also investigate the significance of the theoretical drivers behind the valuation ratios which are used as proxies for classifying value and growth stocks. The traditional valuation ratios, which are influenced by the 'Price' factor, may contain systematic errors and may not reflect the underlying intrinsic valuations of both value and growth' companies. This raises the question whether they are valid ratios for screening value and growth stocks. We therefore analyse a style investment strategy using a combination of theoretical drivers of the proxies based on historical data or a mix of historical and forecast data. We also investigate the reasons behind the existence of 'value-growth premiums'. We focus on elements of behavioural finance based on expectational error to explain the superior performance of value strategies. There may be many different sources of expectational error which range from investors and analysts extrapolating past earnings/sales growth too far into the future, to reliance on analysts' earnings forecasts, to portfolio flows or various cognitive errors/research biases. To date, there has not been a consensus on the sources of extreme expectations. Our thesis determines whether extreme expectations are driven by extrapolation of past performance, portfolio flows and/or analysts' forecast errors to explain the value/growth effect. The results of the thesis aim to provide a deeper understanding of style investment in the Asian Equity Markets and enable a fund manager to better implement active style strategies.
Asian Americans and Education

The communities that constitute the racialized category of Asian Americans consist of approximately 20 million people in the United States, or about 5% of the total population. About 20% or 4 million are of primary or secondary school age, and over 1.1 million are in higher education. Both in popular and academic discourse, “Asian American” generally refers to people who have ethnic backgrounds in South Asia (e.g., Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (e.g., Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), and East Asia (e.g., China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan). As “Asian American” is an umbrella term used to categorize a very diverse, heterogeneous, and transnational set of populations, Asian Americans as a group present various challenges to education and research in and about the United States. These challenges can concern paradigms of achievement, citizenship, family involvement, access (e.g., higher education, bilingual education), language and culture, race and ethnicity, and school community.
Organizational perspectives on co-teaching triads participating in a science and engineering professional development program

Co-teaching triads composed of grades 3-5 cooperating/student teacher dyads and an engineering graduate student were formed; triads met once per week to collaboratively plan and implement science and engineering lessons. Sharp distinctions in elementary school classroom teaching experience and knowledge of science and engineering content were present in these triads. The purpose of this dissertation was to better understand how participants’ educational and professional backgrounds interacted in the context of the classroom. Research on co-teaching dyads may inform studies of the performance and relational aspects of co-teaching triads, but may not be fully capable of addressing the potential complexities related to three-person group dynamics and asymmetries in distribution of knowledge and skill. In the first study, literature from the areas of research in co-teaching and small group dynamics was synthesized to create a conceptual framework for understanding the nature of co-teaching triad structure and tasks and internal and external factors that may impact triad performance. The second study investigated the roles played by members of the science and engineering co-teaching triads using a multiple case study approach. Data for this study was collected in participant interviews and during observations of collaborative planning meetings and co-taught lessons. Results of this study indicate that triad members took on roles related to their identity within their triads. Conflicting understandings of the role of teachers and content knowledge in elementary science and engineering education may have led to role conflict in some triads. Further, opportunities for participant professional growth may have been impacted by the unique composition of the triads.
The Privatization Origins of Political Corporations

We show how the sale of state owned firms in dictatorships may lead to the creation of political corporations operating in democracies. Using several novel datasets, we characterize the privatizations of the Pinochet regime in Chile using a data driven algorithm, confirming that some state owned firms were sold underpriced to politically connected individuals. We then show how firms with crooked privatization processes grew and benefited from Pinochet and in democracy formed political connections, financed political campaigns, and were more likely to appear in the Panama Papers. These results reveal how authoritarian regimes can influence a subsequent democracy and document a way in which political corporations are created.
The Effects of Parenting Styles on Behavioral Problems in Primary School Children: A Cross-Cultural Review

This review examines the literature regarding the effects of parenting styles on children’s behavioural problems in different cultures. An initial literature search yielded 941 articles. Subsequent screening of titles and abstracts identified 86 potentially relevant studies. These were stored in full text for additional checks in order to further verify if they corresponded to the purposes of the review. Inclusion criteria yielded 21 studies from the following twelve countries: USA, Canada, UK, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Finland, Croatia, Iran, China, Taiwan and Pakistan. Results indicate that parenting styles have an impact on children’s behavioural problems. Specifically, children from parents showing contributory factors such as “involvement with the child”, “monitoring the child” and other positive dimensions tended to have low levels of behaviour problems. Based on the literature review we conclude that this impact of parenting styles may vary across societies. However, a number of methodological limitations were noted which may have contributed towards some inconsistency of the findings. Further cross-cultural research is needed in order to be able to compare the effect of parenting styles more reliably.
Knowledge, risk perceptions and condom usage in male sex workers from three Australian cities

The study identifies factors associated with knowledge and perception of risk of HIV/AIDS, as well as attitudes to and usage of condoms by a sample of male sex workers (MSW). One hundred and eighty-five male sex workers completed a self-reported questionnaire, including knowledge about HIV transmission, attitudes to condom use and perceptions and personal susceptibility to HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk, and a two-week diary recording use of condom during commercial sex encounters. The findings reveal that condom use was found in 77.7% of the encounters with clients and the majority of the respondents perceived themselves to be at no risk for HIV because of sex work. Independent sex workers from Melbourne and workers who owned their place of residence used condoms in a significant lower proportion. Generally speaking, knowledge about the risks associated with AIDS was high, with respondents showing lower knowledge about the risks associated with unprotected receptive or active oral sex. Participants held a positive attitude to condom use; most considered the provisions of condoms to be their responsibility rather than clients; and they were more worried about contracting an STI than HIV. Those who scored higher on the knowledge scale had more positive attitudes to condom use and those who had a more positive attitude to condom use recorded a perceived lower risk of contracting STI but not HIV. The study discusses the relevance of these findings for public health risk reduction and sexual health education campaigns.
Secondhand smoke exposure, smoking hygiene, and hospitalization in the first 18 months of life.

BACKGROUND Recognizing the suboptimal public health effects of a complete cessation strategy for parents and child caregivers who smoke, some researchers have called for a harm reduction approach; however, the evidence remains scanty and controversial. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of secondhand smoke and smoking hygiene on infant health and related health care costs during the first 18 months of life. METHODS We conducted prospective follow-up on 8327 newborns during April and May of 1997 for 18 months in a population-based birth cohort of infants from Hong Kong, China. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of hospital admissions, adjusted odds ratios for ever hospitalization for each secondhand smoke exposure variable, and corresponding population attributable risks. RESULTS Most secondhand smoke exposure came from fathers and other household contacts, whereas only 2.8% of mothers smoked postpartum. The odds ratio of ever hospitalization due to all illnesses combined for infants living in a household with any (maternal, paternal, or other) smoker who was smoking at least 3 m away from the infant, as reported by a parent, was 1.00 (95% confidence interval, 0.88-1.13) compared with those in a smoke-free household. The corresponding odds ratio for infants living with any smoker at home with poor smoking hygiene (<3 m away) was 1.28 (95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.52), which translated into 2.8% of all inpatient episodes in the first year of life, representing an additional 616 admissions. CONCLUSIONS Hospital admission was significantly more likely among infants exposed to secondhand smoke if it was accompanied by poor smoking hygiene. Harm reduction strategies should be rigorously adhered to when complete cessation is not possible.
Impacts of situational factors on buying decisions in shopping malls: An empirical study with multinational data

Purpose – To investigate the impact of situational factors on mall shoppers' buying decisions.Design/methodology/approach – Based on Belk's framework on situational factors in a sales situation, the study employed a dataset of mall shoppers in the USA, China and Hong Kong and logistic regression for analysis.Findings – It is found that, whether in the combined sample or in the individual samples, nine of the 13 situational factors considered significantly affected shoppers' purchases of food or non‐food products. However, situational influences on purchases varied according to the types of products bought. More importantly, the findings on the impact of some factors were consistent across three or two samples, suggesting that their external validity may be extended to certain conditions.Research limitations/implications – The study had a limitation in the selection of the malls where the interviews were conducted, so some of the findings may be mall‐specific rather than representative of the general popul.
Report on Avian Influenza in the Eastern Hemisphere During 1997–2002

Abstract Since the Fourth International Symposium on Avian Influenza (AI) there has been considerable AI activity in the Eastern Hemisphere. The higher profile of AI resulting from the human infections with H5N1 and H9N2 viruses in Hong Kong, in 1997 and 1999, respectively, resulted in increased reporting and active surveillance. There have been three reported incidents of high-pathogenicity (HP) AI: H5N2 in northeastern Italy in 1997 (eight outbreaks); H5N1 in Hong Kong in 1997 recurring in 2001 and 2002; H7N1 in northeastern Italy resulting in 413 outbreaks in 1999–00. The Italian HPAI outbreaks were preceded by 199 H7N1 low-pathogenicity (LP) AI outbreaks in 1999, and this virus continued to cause some problems after the eradication of HPAI. During the second half of the 1990s outbreaks of LPAI due to H9N2 subtype have been reported in Germany, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Hungary, Korea, China, Hong Kong, countries of the Middle East, Iran, and Pakistan. The continued presence of virus of this subtype in the Middle and Far East may mean it is becoming an established endemic disease in those regions. Other more restricted outbreaks in poultry have resulted in the isolation of LPAI viruses of H5, H6, H7, and H10 subtypes.
R&D ACTIVITIES IN EAST ASIA BY JAPANESE, EUROPEAN, AND US MULTINATIONALS

We contribute to the expanding literature on the internationalization of R&D by providing evidence on the extent and pattern of R&D activities by European, Japanese, and US multinational firms in 10 Asian countries and regions : PR China, India, the Asian NIEs (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore),. and the ASEAN countries Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia. We examine European patent application data of 186 top R&D spending firms in the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering, IT and electronics industries during 1996-2003. It is shown that R&D activities by these firms in Asia are still very limited, although all indicators show a continuous increase. Only 35 out of 186 firms had patent applications based on inventions in the Asian regions, and the share of patents originating from Asia for the 186 firms reach 0,7 percent in 2003. Leading R&D performers in Asia are electronics and engineering firms such as Thomson, Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Matsushita Electric, and Philips, while chemical firms and in particular pharmaceutical firms are much less active. The multinationals are still responsible for a sizeable share (20-50 percent) of host country patenting activity in electronics related sectors in Singapore, Thailand, India, and Malaysia. The influence of these firms in contrast is almost negligible in South Korea and very small in Taiwan. An econometric analysis of the number of patents originating in different host countries and industries applied for by the 186 firms showed positive impacts of host country technological strength, market attractiveness, and the strength of the IPR protection regime, with the latter suggesting that policies to strengthen IPR protection can be effective in attracting R&D investments by multinational firms. Controlling for host country and firm factors, foreign R&D was found to be less extensive in the most recent period (2000-2003), suggesting that there has certainly not been a structural change in firm behavior favoring foreign R&D. Furthermore, R&D in Asia was found to show a distinctive pattern : it was shown to be much less sensitive to market attractiveness variables, but was found to be structurally higher than in other host countries. These findings are in line with the view that R&D in Asia is also largely driven by cost considerations, and only partially by market considerations.
The Practice of Dividend-Yield Strategies in the Greater China Region

Studies have shown that, under equally-weighted portfolio returns, dividend-yield strategies often exhibit anomalies in U.S. and European markets. However, Fama (1998) argued that long-term abnormal returns would disappear or shrink considerably if value-weighted returns are adopted. This study is the first to use an equally-weighted measure to show that this phenomenon is prevalent in the broad Chinese markets, covering China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. While adopting the three-factor model and value-weighted measure, the differences between the returns of dividend yield portfolio and the market index still remain significantly positive. Further, the results remain largely unchanged after accounting for market liquidity. This phenomenon occurs during the two-year period immediately following dividend-announcements and gradually disappears in subsequent years.