Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric quantile analysis of the Swedish mortgage price discovery process

Based on Swedish banking data we discover robust and significantly positive Asymmetric Price Transmission (APT) effects over all analysed regression quantiles of our mortgage interest rates, with even larger positive APT for the higher percentiles. The analysis was enabled through unique access to a Swedish bank's (SEB) own records of their true borrowing costs. Our central contribution is that there is a higher propensity for the bank to rapidly increase its mortgage interest rates for customers following an increase in its borrowing costs, compared with the propensity for the bank to decrease its customers’ mortgage rates subsequent to a corresponding borrowing cost decrease.
Income groups and long term investment

Laibson (1997) suggests the present bias problem as one of the driving forces of excessive borrowing. Shefrin and Thaler (1988) suggest that self-control underlies national borrowing/savings rate. We conduct a survey with 65 people between the ages of 21 and 56 to check for present bias as well as self-control problems among individuals in Turkey using a quasi-hyperbolic discounting model. Our findings show that different income groups have similar discount factors, i.e., impatience levels, but very different degrees of dynamic inconsistencies, i.e. present bias levels. In particular, 32.2% of low-income individuals exhibit present bias whereas this is down to 5.9% for high-income individuals. This result does not depend on a particular assumption of a utility function. Using the parameters we elicit through the surveys, policymakers can design appropriate commitment devices for time-inconsistent individuals to ensure a sustainable level of aggregate saving and financial investment.
EXCHANGE RATE PASS-THROUGH TO DOMESTIC INFLATION IN HONG KONG

This paper estimates pass-through of exchange rate changes to domestic inflation in Hong Kong in a two-step approach. We first estimate exchange rate pass-through to import prices and then from import price to domestic inflation using a Phillips-Curve model. We find that Hong Kongi¦s exchange rate pass-through to import prices is relatively high compared to the OECD average, although Hong Kong also witnessed a decline of pass-through after 1991. With respect to exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices, we find that a 10% depreciation of the US dollar against all currencies except for the Hong Kong dollar would lead domestic prices to increase by 0.82 and 1.61 percent in the short run and medium run, respectively. These results are also broadly consistent with those obtained from a calibration exercise that estimates exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices via channels of the tradable and non-tradable goods.
Start-up Factors for Small and Medium-sized Accommodation Businesses in Sabah, Malaysia: Push and Pull Factors

This article identifies start-up factors for small and medium-sized accommodation (SMSA) businesses. Using the Heider theory, it explains the push and pull factor start-up motives in SMSA businesses. The purpose of this research was to indentify the underlying motivational factors and the primary motivational factors of SMSA operators. This topic was chosen owing to the fact that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play an important role as key drivers of employment and economic growth in most countries, especially in Malaysia. The results show there is a wide range of these start-up factors related to the tradition of business operation, resources, location, market opportunities and the desires of individuals. The findings show that key start-up factors are driven by pull factors – namely, family business, availability and readiness of resources (land, building), market potential and opportunity of accommodation business, strategic location, the influence of friends and family, and profitability. Conversely, the key start-up factors related to push factors that emerged in this study include personal attitude, previous working experience in the accommodation business, personal interest and retirement. The findings provide an insight into the understanding of the start-up factors for small and medium-sized accommodation businesses, and add to the existing literature on start-up factors for small and medium-sized accommodation businesses from pull and push factors. They implicate the growth of small and medium-sized accommodation businesses in Sabah and, subsequently, may affect the SMEs' development policies in accommodation businesses.
The leaky mathematics pipeline for girls: A motivational analysis of high school enrolments in Australia and the USA

Purpose – Why do girls and women progressively opt out of maths‐related study and careers? This study aims to examine motivations influencing female adolescents' choices for maths participation during high school, which has implications for their long‐term careers.Design/methodology/approach – Two longitudinal samples were included from different contexts – one from Sydney, Australia (N=459), and the other from Southeastern Michigan, USA (N=266). Both samples involved adolescents from upper middle‐class backgrounds, from coeducational government schools, and data in both settings were collected in the mid 1990s. Australian data spanned a three‐year period through grades 9 to 11; while the US sample spanned a five‐year period, with data from grades 8, 10, 11, and 12. The Expectancy‐Value model of Eccles (Parsons) et al., framed structural equation modelling analyses for the influences of maths ability‐related beliefs and values on boys' and girls' subsequent choices for senior high maths participation.Find.
Modes of Interaction and Performance of Human Service Networks

Abstract Performance in health and human service networks requires mutual adjustment between participating organizations with different competencies. In this article the impact of group modes of interaction concerning administration and steering and direct service delivery upon different dimensions of network performance and client outcomes is tested in a sample of eighty-three local networks of refugee resettlement support in Sweden. The results show that networks with group modes of interaction concerning both issues generally perform best, but the effect varies across performance dimensions, is modified by availability of needed competence in the network and does not easily translate to client outcomes.
The moderating effect of business strategy on the relationship between operations strategy and firms' results

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine empirically from a contingency perspective the influence of business strategy on the relationship between operations strategy and business results.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis is carried out on a sample of 76 Spanish ceramic tile firms. Data on strategies are gathered by means of a postal survey addressed to operations managers and information on firms' results is drawn from secondary sources. Operations strategy is represented by competitive priorities and business strategy is based on Miles and Snow's typology. Relationships are modelled in regression equations including interaction terms in order to test for the existence of a moderating effect.Findings – Existence of a moderating effect of business strategy on the relationship between operations strategy and firms' results is demonstrated. Specifically, in defender firms, the cost and quality priorities influence positively, whereas priorities of delivery and flexibility have a negative effect. No influe.
Tuberculin as Intralesional Therapy for Viral Warts —Single-Blind, Split, Placebo, Controlled Study

Background: BCG vaccine as an antigen has proved its effectiveness as an immunotherapy for viral warts. Tuberculin is an antigenic extract of M. tuberculosis capable of eliciting an immunological skin reaction. Objective: To assess the efficacy of tuberculin intralesional injection in the treatment of viral warts. Patients and Methods: This single ,blind, placebo controlled study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq from March 2010 to July 2011.Forty-one patients with different types of viral warts were enrolled in this study; tuberculin test was done to patients prior to instillation of intralesional treatment. Then the patients treated by intralesional tuberculin in each lesion located on the right side of the body, and intralesional distilled water in each lesion located on the left side of to a maximum of 3 injections, at 2 weeks interval or until full resolution of these lesions. Patients were evaluated every 2 weeks to assess the regression of their lesions and to record any local and systemic adverse effects. The response to treatment was evaluated by decrease in size and reduction in number of warts. Scoring of response to treatment was as follow: 1) Responders: including patients who showed complete cure or those with good response (>50% reduction). 2) Non responders: including patients who showed minimal response ( The follow up period lasted up to 2 months after the last dose. Results: Thirty out of 41 patients had completed the study, of them 14 (46.66%) patients showed response of their lesions on the right side of the body that were treated with tuberculin; 15 patients showed no response, 1 patient showed minimal response, 7 patients showed good response and 7 patients showed complete cure (23.33%). Regarding the lesions treated with intralesional distilled water, 25 patients showed no response, 3 patients showed minimal response, 2(6.66) patients showed good response and no patient showed complete cure of their warts. Of the 14 responder patients to intralesional tuberculin, 10 patients were tuberculin tested positive, and 4 patients were tested negative, and of the 16 non responder patients to intralesional tuberculin, 3 patients were tuberculin tested positive, and 13 patients were tuberculin tested negative which was statistically significant difference. No side effects reported from tuberculin therapy apart from mild pain at site of injection. Conclusion: Intralesional injection of tuberculin is an effective therapy for viral warts when compared with control, possibly through its local immunological action and had no systemic immunological response. Patients with previous BCG vaccine showed better response to tuberculin injection.
Gender-Specific Spatial Interactions on Dutch Regional Labour Markets and the Gender Employment Gap

Noback I. , Broersma L. and van Dijk J. Gender-specific spatial interactions on Dutch regional labour markets and the gender employment gap, Regional Studies. This paper analyses gender-specific employment rates and the gender employment gap in Dutch municipalities for 2002. The novelty of this analysis is that it takes into account the extent to which gender-specific education, income, and unemployment influence the male and female employment rates and gender gap. Men and women often do not compete for the same jobs, but rather it is found that high male unemployment has an indirect, positive significant effect on female employment rates. The gender employment gap narrows with female education and in urban areas and it widens with the care-prone age composition of the municipal population.
Incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus in patients with cystic fibrosis undergoing lung transplantation before and after lung transplantation *

Abstract: Cystic fibrosis (CF) related diabetes mellitus (DM) occurs in 15% of adult pancreatic insufficient CF patients. Lung transplantation is a treatment option for end‐stage CF. We hypothesized that the prevalence of DM increases after lung transplantation. The study population included adult patients undergoing lung transplantation from March 1988 to March 2002 for end‐stage CF at the University of Toronto. Demographic data, exocrine pancreatic function, presence of DM before and after transplant, as well as timing of its development after transplant were collected. Eighty‐six patients met the study criteria; 77 of 86 (89.5%) of patients were pancreatic insufficient and were further analyzed. Median follow‐up post‐transplant was 3.3 yr (interquartile range: 1.2–7.2). Their mean age was 29.7 ± 8.1 yr and 46 of 77 (59.7%) were male. The prevalence of DM increased from 22 of 77 (28.6%) before transplant to 38 of 77 (49.4%) after transplant (p = 0.008). The median time of DM development after transplant was 80 d (range: 13–4352). Sixteen of 55 (29.1%) of pancreatic insufficient patients who were non‐diabetic prior to transplant, developed DM after transplant. DM is common in CF patients undergoing lung transplantation and the prevalence increases after transplant.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Protects Cardiomyocytes against Hypoxic Injury through Attenuation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

ABSTRACT Oxygen deprivation leads to the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), causing ER stress. Under conditions of ER stress, inhibition of protein synthesis and up-regulation of ER chaperone expression reduce the misfolded proteins in the ER. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulatory enzyme involved in energy homeostasis during hypoxia. It has been shown that AMPK activation is associated with inhibition of protein synthesis via phosphorylation of elongation factor 2 (eEF2) in cardiomyocytes. We therefore examined whether AMPK attenuates hypoxia-induced ER stress in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. We found that hypoxia induced ER stress, as assessed by the expression of CHOP and BiP and cleavage of caspase 12. Knockdown of CHOP or caspase 12 through small interfering RNA (siRNA) resulted in decreased expression of cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase following exposure to hypoxia. We also found that hypoxia-induced CHOP expression and cleavage of caspase 12 were significantly inhibited by pretreatment with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxyamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), a pharmacological activator of AMPK. In parallel, adenovirus expressing dominant-negative AMPK significantly attenuated the cardioprotective effects of AICAR. Knockdown of eEF2 phosphorylation using eEF2 kinase siRNA abolished these cardioprotective effects of AICAR. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that activation of AMPK contributes to protection of the heart against hypoxic injury through attenuation of ER stress and that attenuation of protein synthesis via eEF2 inactivation may be the mechanism of cardioprotection by AMPK.
Impact of advocacy on the tuberculosis management practices of private practitioners in Chennai City, India.

BACKGROUND Innovative schemes to ensure the participation of private practitioners (PPs) in the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) are necessary to identify and treat all patients with tuberculosis (TB). We developed a novel public-private mix (PPM) model to encourage PPs to practise DOTS and participate in the RNTCP while retaining their patients. METHODS The Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health (REACH) developed and implemented the programme in partnership with the Chennai local health authority and the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai, India. PPs were sensitised to the RNTCP and DOTS through a one-to-one approach or group meetings, and were assisted in referring patients. Surveys were carried out at baseline and at the completion of the study to assess changes in attitudes and practices. RESULTS Six hundred PPs underwent sensitisation about the RNTCP, after which the proportion of PPs adopting DOTS increased significantly (P < 0.001), and the majority (72.8%) used sputum testing for diagnosing TB. The proportion of PPs who used X-ray alone for diagnosis declined to 16.0% from a baseline of 45.4%. CONCLUSIONS This PPM model, which emphasises sustained advocacy for DOTS and allows PPs to retain private patients, looks promising and needs to be tested at other sites.
ZNF423: Transcriptional modulation in development and cancer

Krüppel-like zinc finger proteins are versatile players in biology that have been implicated in mammalian development and disease. Among these proteins, ZNF423 and its mouse ortholog Zfp423 were initially implicated in midline patterning of the central nervous system but have emerged as critical transcriptional modulators in cancer. Epigenetically uncurbed ZNF423 interferes with lymphopoiesis by sequestration of the essential early B-cell factor 1 (EBF1) causing B-cell maturation arrest, a hallmark of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Conversely, its presence in neuroblastoma, a primitive neuroectodermal tumor of childhood, allows retinoic acid-induced differentiation and is associated with a favorable outcome of neuroblastoma patients. Such opposing effects may be explained by the cellular context, but also by the multifunctionality of ZNF423 that is mediated by 30 zinc fingers forming various functional domains. This review summarizes current knowledge of ZNF423, focusing on its role in development and cancer.
Characteristics and determinants of informal investment in Singapore

Abstract Since Wetzel (1982, 1983) identified the business angel as a primary source of risk capital, there has been increased interest in the role of informal investors in the formation of new business ventures in the developed OECD countries. However, there remains little known about informal investors in developing or newly industrialized economies such as Singapore. Based on data collected using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) methodology (Reynolds et al., 2002), this paper examines the characteristics of informal investors in Singapore, and analyses the key determinant factors that differentiate individuals who become informal investors from those who do not make informal investments. In particular, we examine if these factors differ depending on the relationship between the investor and entrepreneur. We also investigate the differences between determinants of higher and lower value investment propensities. The findings reveal that knowing entrepreneurs personally was the factor with the strongest influence on informal investing propensity in Singapore. Other findings suggest that informal investing propensity in Singapore is less influenced by demographic factors and income, and more by prior entrepreneurial experience and self-perceived skills with new business formation.
Incidence and mortality of acute pancreatitis

SIR,-Professor J N Morris and his colleagues in their article "Diet and heart: a postscript" (19 November, p 1307) state that short men are at greater risk of suffering coronary heart disease (CHD) than tall men. A similar clinical impression' prompted me to record the heights of patients with confirmed CHD in my practice and to compare them with those of a random sample. It was found that of the 60 patients with CHD (43 men and 17 women), 44 were below average in height, their height being, on average, approximately 5 cm (2 in) below the mean height of the random sample. One aspect of these findings is particularly interesting-the possible implication of a metabolic effect of growth hormone (GH) deficiency. Clearly, certain persons of short stature must have been deficient in GH before full growth was attained," and it is reasonable to assume that GH deficiency continues into adult life in such persons. Although the exact function of GH in adults is not understood,2 its metabolic functions are well established and if these are compared with the known facts concerning CHD we find: (1) GH stimulates triglyceride breakdown: established association between CHD and raised serum lipids; (2) GH plays a vital role in control of blood sugar: high incidence of CHD among diabetics; (3) GH deficient among persons of short stature: reported higher incidence of CHD in short persons; (4) GH injection reported to reduce serum cholesterol :3 hypercholesterolaemia long associated with CHD; (5) GH deficiency much more common among boys :2 CHD much more common in men. As the cause of CHD is still largely a mystery I submit that further study of the possible relationship between it and short stature, with particular reference to the effects of GH deficiency, may be fruitful.
The managerial, regulatory, and financial determinants of bank merger premiums

This paper analyzes the managerial, regulatory, and financial determinants of U.S. bank merger premiums. The author uses both individual acquirer and target bank characteristics. He also examines state regulation of acquirer and target banks from a geographically dispersed population, allowing him specifically to te st the effect of a varied state regulatory menu. The study finds merger premiums to be related to the characteristics of both acquirer and target banks and the regulatory environments in both acquirer and target bank states. The author also finds evidence that the separati on of ownership and control in acquirer and target banks has a signific ant effect on merger premiums. Copyright 1993 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Reversible denaturation of oligomeric human chaperonin 10: Denatured state depends on chemical denaturant

Chaperonins cpn60/cpn10 (GroEL/GroES in Escherichia coli) assist folding of nonnative polypeptides. Folding of the chaperonins themselves is distinct in that it entails assembly of a sevenfold symmetrical structure. We have characterized denaturation and renaturation of the recombinant human chaperonin 10 (cpn10), which forms a heptamer. Denaturation induced by chemical denaturants urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) as well as by heat was monitored by tyrosine fluorescence, far‐ultraviolet circular dichroism, and cross‐linking; all denaturation reactions were reversible. GuHCl‐induced denaturation was found to be cpn10 concentration dependent, in accord with a native heptamer to denatured monomer transition. In contrast, urea‐induced denaturation was not cpn10 concentration dependent, suggesting that under these conditions cpn10 heptamers denature without dissociation. There were no indications of equilibrium intermediates, such as folded monomers, in either denaturant. The different cpn10 denatured states observed in high [GuHCl] and high [urea] were supported by cross‐linking experiments. Thermal denaturation revealed that monomer and heptamer reactions display the same enthalpy change (per monomer), whereas the entropy‐increase is significantly larger for the heptamer. A thermodynamic cycle for oligomeric cpn10, combining chemical denaturation with the dissociation constant in absence of denaturant, shows that dissociated monomers are only marginally stable (3 kJ/mol). The thermodynamics for co‐chaperonin stability appears conserved; therefore, instability of the monomer could be necessary to specify the native heptameric structure.