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This paper analyses the joint association of tax incentives and tax law enforcement strictness on private firms' earnings and balance sheet properties. It answers a call for additional research on why "here is (…) substantial within-country variation in managers' incentives to [manage] earnings" [LaFond et al., (2007), p.14]. There is evidence that tax laws in practice are enacted to a different extent within a country's homogenous legal framework. The key results are that stricter tax law enforcement impairs managers' ability or willingness to engage in income-decreasing accrual earnings management. On the downside, managers instead seem to resort to real earnings management choices which are associated with potentially negative long-term real business impact but generally covered by the business judgement rule.

Prior immunological exposure to dengue virus can be both protective and disease-enhancing during subsequent infections with different dengue virus serotypes. We provide here a systematic, longitudinal analysis of B cell, T cell, and antibody responses in the same patients. Antibody responses as well as T and B cell activation differentiate primary from secondary responses. Hospitalization is associated with lower frequencies of activated, terminally differentiated T cells and higher percentages of effector memory CD4 T cells. Patients with more severe disease tend to have higher percentages of plasmablasts. This does not translate into long-term antibody titers, since neutralizing titers after 6 months correlate with percentages of specific memory B cells, but not with acute plasmablast activation. Overall, our unbiased analysis reveals associations between cellular profiles and disease severity, opening opportunities to study immunopathology in dengue disease and the potential predictive value of these parameters.

The analysis of use-residues on tools using methods drawn from microscopy, biochemistry, radiocarbon dating and molecular biology results in information which can be at least as informative as excavation-based reconstructions of past cultures. The analysis of a collection of tools from a now destroyed site in north-western Canada yields species identification of the residues, the age and task association of the tools, and necessitates a change to the reconstruction of the subsistence and economy of the late prehistoric period in the region.

We investigate the impact of an informal social attribute on cost behavior. More specifically, we examine the effect of generalized trust (trust in others) on cost stickiness. Using a large international sample from 44 countries, we find that generalized trust significantly increases cost stickiness. Important rationales for this result are that managers in more trusting societies are more optimistic and are committed to stable, long-term employment relationships. This study makes a significant contribution in understanding cost stickiness differences across the globe. Our results further complement prior research which has found, to the contrary, that trust and cost stickiness are negatively associated at the local level. Hence, our study corroborates the importance of distinguishing between local social capital and global generalized trust concerning their effects on economic outcomes.

Human antibody SIgN-3C neutralizes dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) differently. DENV:SIgN-3C Fab and ZIKV:SIgN-3C Fab cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) complex structures show Fabs crosslink E protein dimers at extracellular pH 8.0 condition and also when further incubated at acidic endosomal conditions (pH 8.0–6.5). We observe Fab binding to DENV (pH 8.0–5.0) prevents virus fusion, and the number of bound Fabs increase (from 120 to 180). For ZIKV, although there are already 180 copies of Fab at pH 8.0, virus structural changes at pH 5.0 are not inhibited. The immunoglobulin G (IgG):DENV structure at pH 8.0 shows both Fab arms bind to epitopes around the 2-fold vertex. On ZIKV, an additional Fab around the 5-fold vertex at pH 8.0 suggests one IgG arm would engage with an epitope, although the other may bind to other viruses, causing aggregation. For DENV2 at pH 5.0, a similar scenario would occur, suggesting DENV2:IgG complex would aggregate in the endosome. Hence, a single antibody employs different neutralization mechanisms against different flaviviruses.

Forecasts the developments in the United States' construction industry for 2000. Data provided by FMI Corp.; Increase in the number of the single-family home construction; Growth of nonresidential construction contracts.