A simple construction of virtually free Abelian triangles of finite groups

AbstractA virtually torsion free, non-positively curved polygon of finite groups has virtual cohomological dimension two. In this paper, the assumption of non-positive curvature is dropped, and a simple construction is used to obtain a triangle of finite groups which is virtually Zk,2<k<∞

A descriptive analysis of select input bases of the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Preference input provided the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on select projects is examined to describe salient characteristics of that input. A research design is developed for describing any systematic groupings or relationships of input preferences, and any changes in groupings or relationships across projects. Correlational evidence is generated for describing any alignment between particular input preferences and FASB policy decisions. The data base can be summarized as follows. Of the various topics considered by the Board since its inception, nine primary topics are selected for analysis. Within those topics, responses only to the discussion memoranda are examined in all but one case. Exposure draft responses are analyzed for one topic because no discussion memorandum was issued. The analysis is limited to the responses of all those respondents who provided comments on at least seven of the nine projects. Finally, a set of policy questions is generated for each project. The respondents' positions on the policy questions are extracted from their submissions to the Board, and form the data base for the statistical techniques. Two statistical techniques are employed to evaluate the data base, multidimensional scaling (MBS) and discriminant analysis (DA). The techniques produce similar results. Both techniques indicate a moderate degree of preference homogeneity for two broad groups of respondents: preparers of financial statements, and attestors to financial statements. No other homogeneous groups are present based on similar preferences. The techniques also indicate similar findings regarding the FASB's relational position among the respondents. In the MDS maps, the majority of the time the FASB takes on an outlying position. The DA results convey that no consistent alignment is present for any particular group over all the projects. The techniques jointly refute any conclusion that the FASB's decisions consistently mirror either preparer or attestor preferences. These findings are of interest to several policy bodies. The FASB analyses are usually conducted on a project-by-project basis. On an ex post basis, this research provides an overview of a portion of its constituency base. The descriptive analysis provides the PASS with an indication of its responsiveness to particular parties interested in the accounting standards-setting process. The findings are also of Interest to Congress. Recently, certain committees in Congress have questioned the ability of the FASB to operate as an independent policy body. Nonalignment of FASB decisions with any group preferences can be interpreted as supportive of the Board's attempt to operate as an independent policy body.Accountin

Neighbors Matter: Causal Community Effects and Stock Market Participation

This paper establishes a causal relation between an individual's decision of whether to own stocks and average stock market participation decision of the individual's community. We instrument for the average ownership of an individual's community with lagged average ownership of the states in which one's non-native neighbors were born. Combining this instrumental variables approach with controls for individual and community fixed effects, a broad set of time-varying individual and community controls, and state-by-year effects, rules out alternative explanations. To further establish that word-of-mouth communication drives this causal effect, we show that the results are stronger in more sociable communities.

A biomechanical analysis of the heavy sprint-style sled pull and comparison with the back squat

This study compared the biomechanical characteristics of the heavy sprint-style sled pull and squat. Six experienced male strongman athletes performed sled pulls and squats at 70% of their 1RM squat. Significant kinematic and kinetic differences were observed between the sled pull start and squat at the start of the concentric phase and at maximum knee extension. The first stride of the heavy sled pull demonstrated significantly (

The Geography of Stock Market Participation: The Influence of Communities and Local Firms

This paper is the first to investigate the importance of geography in explaining equity market participation. We provide evidence to support two distinct local area effects. The first is a community ownership effect, that is, individuals are influenced by the investment behavior of members of their community. Specifically, a ten percentage-point increase in equity market participation of the members of one's community makes it two percentage points more likely that the individual will invest in stocks. We find further evidence that the influence of community members is strongest for less financially sophisticated households and strongest within peer groups' as defined by age and income categories. The second is that proximity to publicly-traded firms also increases equity market participation. In particular, the presence of publicly-traded firms within 50 miles and the share of U.S. market value headquartered within the community are significantly correlated with equity ownership of individuals. These results are quite robust, holding up in the presence of a wide range of individual and community controls, instrumental variables estimation, the inclusion of individual fixed effects, and specification checks to rule out that the relations are driven solely by ownership of the stock of one's employer.

Carboplatin/taxane-induced gastrointestinal toxicity: a pharmacogenomics study on the SCOTROC1 trial

Carboplatin/taxane combination is first-line therapy for ovarian cancer. However, patients can encounter treatment delays, impaired quality of life, even death because of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. A candidate gene study was conducted to assess potential association of genetic variants with GI toxicity in 808 patients who received carboplatin/taxane in the Scottish Randomized Trial in Ovarian Cancer 1 (SCOTROC1). Patients were randomized into discovery and validation cohorts consisting of 404 patients each. Clinical covariates and genetic variants associated with grade III/IV GI toxicity in discovery cohort were evaluated in replication cohort. Chemotherapy-induced GI toxicity was significantly associated with seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the ATP7B, GSR, VEGFA and SCN10A genes. Patients with risk genotypes were at 1.53 to 18.01 higher odds to develop carboplatin/taxane-induced GI toxicity (P&#60;0.01). Variants in the VEGF gene were marginally associated with survival time. Our data provide potential targets for modulation/inhibition of GI toxicity in ovarian cancer patients

Semiclassical charged black holes with a quantized massive scalar field

Semiclassical perturbations to the Reissner-Nordstrom metric caused by the presence of a quantized massive scalar field with arbitrary curvature coupling are found to first order in \epsilon = \hbar/M^2. The DeWitt-Schwinger approximation is used to determine the vacuum stress-energy tensor of the massive scalar field. When the semiclassical perturbation are taken into account, we find extreme black holes will have a charge-to-mass ratio that exceeds unity, as measured at infinity. The effects of the perturbations on the black hole temperature (surface gravity) are studied in detail, with particular emphasis on near extreme ``bare'' states that might become precisely zero temperature ``dressed'' semiclassical black hole states. We find that for minimally or conformally coupled scalar fields there are no zero temperature solutions among the perturbed black holes.Comment: 19 pages; 1 figure; ReVTe