University of North Carolina at Charlotte

About: University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a education organization based out in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 8772 authors who have published 22239 publications receiving 562529 citations. The organization is also known as: UNC Charlotte & UNCC.

The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis

Abstract: Do shareholders gain when managers disperse corporate resources through activities classified as corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Strategy scholars have recently developed a theoretical model that links such activities to shareholder value when a firm suffers a negative event; we test key portions of this theory of the ‘insurance-like’ property of CSR activity. We posit that such activity leads to positive attributions from stakeholders, who then temper their negative judgments and sanctions toward firms because of this goodwill. We extend the risk management model by theorizing that some types of CSR activities will be more likely to create goodwill and offer insurance-like protection than other types. We delineate several firm and event specific characteristics that we expect to influence the link between CSR activities and an insurance effect. We then test our model using an event study of 178 negative legal/regulatory actions against firms throughout the 11 years from 1993–2003. We find that participation in institutional CSR activities—those aimed at a firm's secondary stakeholders or society at large—provides an ‘insurance-like’ benefit, while participation in technical CSRs—those activities targeting a firm's trading partners—yields no such benefits. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings for future theorizing and research into the economic value of CSR engagement. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An integrated map of structural variation in 2,504 human genomes

Abstract: Structural variants are implicated in numerous diseases and make up the majority of varying nucleotides among human genomes. Here we describe an integrated set of eight structural variant classes comprising both balanced and unbalanced variants, which we constructed using short-read DNA sequencing data and statistically phased onto haplotype blocks in 26 human populations. Analysing this set, we identify numerous gene-intersecting structural variants exhibiting population stratification and describe naturally occurring homozygous gene knockouts that suggest the dispensability of a variety of human genes. We demonstrate that structural variants are enriched on haplotypes identified by genome-wide association studies and exhibit enrichment for expression quantitative trait loci. Additionally, we uncover appreciable levels of structural variant complexity at different scales, including genic loci subject to clusters of repeated rearrangement and complex structural variants with multiple breakpoints likely to have formed through individual mutational events. Our catalogue will enhance future studies into structural variant demography, functional impact and disease association.

Intestinal Inflammation Targets Cancer-Inducing Activity of the Microbiota

Abstract: Inflammation alters host physiology to promote cancer, as seen in colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we identify the intestinal microbiota as a target of inflammation that affects the progression of CRC. High-throughput sequencing revealed that inflammation modifies gut microbial composition in colitis-susceptible interleukin-10-deficient (Il10(-/-)) mice. Monocolonization with the commensal Escherichia coli NC101 promoted invasive carcinoma in azoxymethane (AOM)-treated Il10(-/-) mice. Deletion of the polyketide synthase (pks) genotoxic island from E. coli NC101 decreased tumor multiplicity and invasion in AOM/Il10(-/-) mice, without altering intestinal inflammation. Mucosa-associated pks(+) E. coli were found in a significantly high percentage of inflammatory bowel disease and CRC patients. This suggests that in mice, colitis can promote tumorigenesis by altering microbial composition and inducing the expansion of microorganisms with genotoxic capabilities.

Ecosystem Decay of Amazonian Forest Fragments: a 22-Year Investigation

Abstract: We synthesized key findings from the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, the world's largest and longest-running experimental study of habitat fragmentation. Although initially designed to assess the influence of fragment area on Amazonian biotas, the project has yielded insights that go far beyond the orig- inal scope of the study. Results suggest that edge effects play a key role in fragment dynamics, that the matrix has a major influence on fragment connectivity and functioning, and that many Amazonian species avoid even small ( � 100-m-wide) clearings. The effects of fragmentation are highly eclectic, altering species richness and abundances, species invasions, forest dynamics, the trophic structure of communities, and a variety of ecological and ecosystem processes. Moreover, forest fragmentation appears to interact synergistically with ecological changes such as hunting, fires, and logging, collectively posing an even greater threat to the rainforest biota. Descomposicion del Ecosistema en Fragmentos de Bosque Amazonico, Una Investigacion de 22 Anos Resumen: Sintetizamos resultados clave del proyecto sobre Dinamicas Biologicas de Fragmentos de bosque, el estudio experimental sobre fragmentacion del habitat mas largo y de mayor trayectoria del mundo. A pesar de que inicialmente el proyecto se diseno para evaluar la influencia del area de fragmentos en biotas del Amazo- nas, ha proporcionado un entendimiento que va mas alla del proposito original del estudio. Los resultados sugieren que los efectos de borde juegan un papel clave en las dinamicas de los fragmentos, que la matriz tiene una influencia mayor sobre la conectividad y el funcionamiento del fragmento y que muchas de las especies del Amazonas evitan areas taladas pequenas (de hasta � 100 m de ancho). Los efectos de la fragmentacion son al- tamente eclecticos, alterando la riqueza y abundancia de especies, las invasiones de especies, las dinamicas del bosque, la estructura trofica comunitaria y una variedad de procesos ecologicos y del ecosistema. Mas aun, la fragmentacion del bosque aparentemente interactua sinergisticamente con cambios ecologicos como lo son la caza, los incendios y la tala, representando colectivamente una gran amenaza sobre la biota del bosque lluvioso.

Evolutionary algorithms for constrained parameter optimization problems

Abstract: Evolutionary computation techniques have received a great deal of attention regarding their potential as optimization techniques for complex numerical functions. However, they have not produced a significant breakthrough in the area of nonlinear programming due to the fact that they have not addressed the issue of constraints in a systematic way. Only recently have several methods been proposed for handling nonlinear constraints by evolutionary algorithms for numerical optimization problems; however, these methods have several drawbacks, and the experimental results on many test cases have been disappointing. In this paper we (1) discuss difficulties connected with solving the general nonlinear programming problem; (2) survey several approaches that have emerged in the evolutionary computation community; and (3) provide a set of 11 interesting test cases that may serve as a handy reference for future methods.