Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Takeover Activity as a Response to Time-Varying Changes in Investment Opportunity Sets: Evidence from Takeover Sequences

We study takeover sequences that contain at least five acquisitions made by an individual acquirer over a period greater than 12 months with no two acquisitions separated by more than 24 months. Acquisitions made in the context of such sequences represent more than 25% of takeover activity by U.S. public firms from 1982 to 1999. Our findings suggest takeover sequences are made in the context of time-varying changes in an acquiring firm's growth opportunity set. Specifically, our results indicate that takeover sequences begin subsequent to an expansion of this opportunity set and end when this opportunity set closes off. Our evidence does not support a proposition that a low quality acquisition is what causes a takeover sequence to end.
The extent of voluntary disclosure in corporate annual reports and its association with security risk measures

Corporate annual financial statements have increased in their extent of disclosure over recent years and this trend likely to continue.The Purpose of the study was to examine whether the amount of disclosure was linked to the assesment of stock market risk. Specially, the level of disclosure was examined to see if it was associated with systematic risk д,unsystematic risk,and variance of return. The results revealed no significant association between the amount of disclosure and the level of stock market risk. Thus, although greater amounts of disclosure may be of use to the users of accounts, it is not because of its ability in assesing current and future levels of systematic risk or others types of security risk.
The inheritance of hand osteoarthritis in Iceland.

OBJECTIVE To assess the contribution of genetics to hand osteoarthritis (HOA) and its subsets in the Icelandic population. METHODS A list of 2,919 HOA patients, constituting 1% of the Icelandic population, was compiled through nationwide sources. This patient list was cross-referenced with a comprehensive Icelandic genealogy database, enabling the use of algorithms to assess familiality of HOA. Two methods were used: the average pairwise kinship coefficient (KC) of the patients, and the relative risk (RR) of HOA in relatives of patients. In each case, the results were compared with 1,000 control sets of similar composition with regard to number, age, and sex, generated from the genealogy database. RESULTS The KC for patients was significantly higher than for the control sets and was proportional to the degree of both interphalangeal (IP) and thumb base (first carpometacarpal [CMC] joint) involvement. The RR of HOA in sisters of women in the study was 2.0 (P < 0.001), while the RR in spouses was not significantly different from that in controls. The RR increased with the severity of the disease. Thus, sisters of women with severe IP HOA had an RR of 5.0 and sisters of those with severe first CMC involvement had an RR of 6.9. The increased risk also extended beyond the nuclear family, with significantly increased risk in cousins. CONCLUSION Patients seeking medical services for HOA are more related to each other than matched controls, supporting the role of a genetic component in the disease. The genetic influence in both IP and first CMC HOA appears to be similar and increases with increasing severity of the disease.
Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in manifest and premanifest Huntington disease

Objective: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated whether there is evidence for hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in manifest and/or premanifest Huntington disease (HD) by using the 13C-methionine breath test. Methods: The 13C-methionine breath test was performed within a group of 21 patients with early manifest HD without medication, 30 premanifest mutation carriers, as well as 36 healthy controls. Premanifest mutation carriers were stratified into the 2 groups preHD-A (further from predicted onset) and preHD-B (nearer) based on a calculation of the probability of estimated disease onset within 5 years. The 13C-methionine breath test was performed after an overnight fasting, breath samples were analyzed by nondispersive isotope-selective infrared spectroscopy, and results expressed as percentage dose recovered after 90 minutes of testing time. Statistical analyses comprised analysis of covariance and post hoc t tests. Results: Patients with manifest HD and mutation carriers from our preHD-B group revealed a lower amount of exhaled 13CO2 compared with healthy controls (p < 0.001 and p = 0.017, respectively). In a stepwise linear regression model, breath test results correlate to functional and cognitive scores of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale in manifest and also in premanifest HD. For all mutation carriers together, there was a weak but significant correlation of breath test results to ratio caudate volume/total intracranial volume. Conclusion: This study demonstrates for the first time in vivo a subclinical, hepatic involvement in manifest and premanifest HD.
Using Choice-Making Opportunities to Increase Activity Engagement in Individuals With Dementia

Structured choice-making procedures, referred to as preference assessments, have been frequently used to identify reinforcers for individuals with developmental disabilities; however, few studies have examined the use of preference assessments with older adults with dementia. This study evaluated the utility of 4 versions of a 2-choice preference assessment for identifying items and activities associated with high levels of engagement in clients at an adult day care program. The same 8 items were presented in 4 formats (ie, verbal, pictorial, textual, tangible), and items from each assessment were ranked with respect to the subsequent level of participant engagement with each item. Correlations were computed between the preference hierarchy and subsequent engagement levels for each format. The format with the highest correlation coefficient was subsequently used in interventions in which frequent structured choice opportunities were presented throughout the day to increase engagement. For 3 of 4 participants, the vocal modality was optimal, while the tangible modality was optimal for the fourth. Moderate to substantial increases in engagement were observed for all participants when structured choices were offered. Implications for activity engagement in adult day care programs are discussed.
The Role of External Economies in U.S. Manufacturing

This paper develops a method for joint estimation of both the degree of internal returns to scale and the extent of external economies. We apply the method in estimating returns to scale indexes for U.S. manufacturing industries at the two-digit level. Overall, we find that only three of the twenty industry categories show any evidence of internal increasing returns: (1) Primary Metals, (2) Electrical Machinery, and (3) Paper Products. More striking, however, is the very strong evidence of the existence of external economies, where external is defined as external to a given two-digit industry and internal to the U.S. According to our preferred estimates, if all manufacturing industries simultaneously raise their inputs by 10%, aggregate manufacturing production rises by 13%, of which about 5% is due to external economies. Thus, when an industry increases its inputs in isolation by 10%, its output rises by no more than 8%.
Multicultural Counseling Competencies

Given the diversity related curriculum requirements of many accrediting bodies in education and the human services to improve service delivery for those who are part of underrepresented groups in the United States, the curriculum requirements efficacy is debatable. Evidence suggest there is a disconnect between the principles of social justice and multicultural counseling competencies and the lack of application of these two principles. This chapter will emphasize these concerns and the reasons why there is such a gap with the application of these two principles using both empirical and anecdotal evidence from past research. Because the terms behavior/action and application seems to be used as synonyms, we will explore the explicit differences in these and other terms. This chapter will also highlight scenarios and give examples of what application looks like and end with recommendations to improve the application of both the multicultural counseling and social justice principles.
The Fisher effect at the borders of the European Monetary Union: evidence from post-communist countries

This article aims to shed some light on the Fisher effect in six non-eurozone post-communist economies (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania). A Fisher-type interest rate equation is analysed using the PMG panel data estimator, with an early attempt to employ the Harmonised European Consumer Surveys in quantifying inflation expectations and uncertainty. The output gap is also considered as an explanatory variable. The results of the Hausman poolability test unambiguously confirm that, despite the differences in their monetary regimes and the development levels of their financial markets, all the countries observed are homogeneous in terms of the Fisher effect. It is shown that both inflation uncertainty and expectations positively and significantly feed into nominal interest rate fluctuations. The post-communist central banks seem to be the most strongly concerned about inflation uncertainty shocks, while their interest rate elasticity with regard to expected inflation is below unity. On the other hand, they do not significantly adjust their interest rates in response to demand-side pressure, assigning only a secondary role to boosting economic activity. As a robustness check, the results obtained remain rather similar when Sweden and the UK (as the remaining non-eurozone EU members) are included in the sample.
Do Schools Make a Difference

Parents, courts, and legislatures have been struggling to define equal educational opportunity (minimum achievement level for all? minimum growth in achievement? differential growths in achievements? ). At the same time, economists, sociologists, and educators have been struggling to identify which package of school inputs is required for each type of student to equip him or her for educational growth. Most empirical attempts to identify which inputs matter have concluded that schools barely make a difference. From this conclusion has flowed a prevailing nihilism with respect to schools as an egalitarian force. We conclude, on the basis of a microeconometric examination of Philadelphia School District data, 1) that many school inputs do matter, 2) that disadvantaged students can be helped by particular types of inputs, and 3) that the use of pupil-specific data, and statistical methods appropriate to such data, account for the cheerier results of this study. Little theory, economic or otherwise, is currently available to describe the determinants of educational achievement. Casual observation, combined with the education literature, suggests that achievement (A ) is a function of a student's hard-to-disentangle genetic endowment and socioeconomic status (GSES), teacher quality (TQ), non-teacher school quality (SQ), and peer group characteristics (PG). Thus,
Sex-chromosome elimination in the bandicoot Isoodon macrourus using Y-linked markers

Cytogenetic studies have shown that the Y chromosome is eliminated from many somatic cell types of the bandicoot Isoodon macrourus, an Australian marsupial. Molecular techniques allow examination of a greater range of tissue types than that possible using cytogenetic techniques. The presence or absence of the Y chromosome was established using partial sequences of the Y-linked SRY and UBE1Y genes in I. macrourus, with the X-linked gene G6PD as a control. We show that a very small proportion of cells comprising hematopoietic tissues, and even fewer cells in peripheral blood, retain the Y chromosome. The Y chromosome is retained in most brain, liver, kidney, and lung cells and in cardiac and skeletal muscle. We also show that the bandicoot Y chromosome is retained in some cell types within tissues previously believed to completely eliminate the Y chromosome.
Where the Art is: Defining and Managing Creativity in New Media Smes

This paper examines the definition and management of creativity in the 'creative industries'. Initially the paper sets out the economic and cultural context for the emergence of the creative industries, before going on to argue that there are gaps in our understanding of the role of creativity and particularly the management of creativity within these industries. Based on research undertaken with new media SMEs in the North West of England, the paper then explores the ways in which creativity is defined and managed within this sub-sector. It is shown that the meanings attached to creativity are variable and contested and that the precise definition and management of creativity is strongly determined by the internal workplace culture, and the external social and economic conditions within which firms operate. It is further suggested that while creativity is often seen as a 'must have' attribute for new media firms it may also, conversely, be considered a barrier to commercial success. The paper concludes that if we are to understand work and production in the creative industries, and offer institutional support for firms to develop and sustain creativity for competitive advantage, it may be necessary to develop a more detailed understanding of the role of creativity and creative management as both a general and specific, socially embedded process.
Structural reliability of conjoint measurement in health care: an empirical investigation

This paper is concerned with the structural reliability of conjoint measurement when applied in a health care setting. The clinical context was the diagnosis and treatment of knee injuries. A conjoint measurement study was conducted which used the pairwise choice approach to preference elicitation. Each choice included two scenarios: a conventional treatment approach to management (arthroscopy) and an approach using magnetic resonance imaging. In order to test for structural reliability two separate conjoint measurement exercises were conducted: exercise A where scenarios were defined in terms of three attributes and exercise B where scenarios included all four attributes. The assessment of structural reliability involved a comparison of two random effects probit models, for exercises A and B. Data were collected on a total of 176 students of sports science. The results strongly indicate that the models for the two exercises are different, although the instability is limited to the constant term and a single model attribute (i.e. the avoidance of surgery). The finding of instability in the constant coefficient raises important questions about the appropriateness of labelling scenarios in conjoint measurement exercises.
Child Schooling, Child Health, and Rainfall Shocks: Evidence from Rural Vietnam

Abstract We study the effect of rainfall shocks on child schooling outcomes and on standardised height for age (a measure of child health) in rural Vietnam. We find that adverse rainfall shocks during pregnancy adversely affect children’s school entry delay and progress through school. Adverse rainfall shocks in the third year of life adversely affect both schooling and child health. These effects differ by region, as a result of constraints that reflect regional economic heterogeneity. We predict that policies that help rural families smooth income shocks will result in increases in human capital and in substantial cumulative returns over a worker’s working life.
What Holds Ethical Consumers to a Cosmetics Brand

Increasing numbers of brands position having corporate social responsibility (CSR) as their founding ideology. This article examines what makes ethical consumers develop a loyalty to CSR-led brands, using a questionnaire survey of The Body Shop consumers. Contrary to some existing work in marketing, the consumer self-brand congruence on the ethical character did not have a significant impact on brand identification, with the exception of the empathy virtue character. The structural equation modeling of the data confirms that the citizenship image of the brand is influenced by brand identification, which in turn is influenced by the empathy virtue congruence. Ironically, in the case of The Body Shop, while the empathy congruence is the most important indicator for consumer identification and citizenship image, the gap on the empathy virtue was the largest. If customers with a high-empathy character see a CSR-led brand lacking empathy, consumer loyalty will be reduced. The managerial implications of the findings are discussed.
Direct interactions of mitotic arrest deficient 1 (MAD1) domains with each other and MAD2 conformers are required for mitotic checkpoint signaling

As a sensitive signaling system, the mitotic checkpoint ensures faithful chromosome segregation by delaying anaphase onset even when a single kinetochore is unattached to mitotic spindle microtubules. The key signal amplification reaction for the checkpoint is the conformational conversion of “open” mitotic arrest deficient 2 (O-MAD2) into “closed” MAD2 (C-MAD2). The reaction has been suggested to be catalyzed by an unusual catalyst, a MAD1:C-MAD2 tetramer, but how the catalysis is executed and regulated remains elusive. Here, we report that in addition to the well-characterized middle region of MAD1 containing the MAD2-interaction motif (MIM), both N- and C-terminal domains (NTD and CTD) of MAD1 also contribute to mitotic checkpoint signaling. Unlike the MIM, which stably associated only with C-MAD2, the NTD and CTD in MAD1 surprisingly bound both O- and C-MAD2, suggesting that these two domains interact with both substrates and products of the O-to-C conversion. MAD1NTD and MAD1CTD also interacted with each other and with the MPS1 protein kinase, which phosphorylated both NTD and CTD. This phosphorylation decreased the NTD:CTD interaction and also CTD's interaction with MPS1. Of note, mutating the phosphorylation sites in the MAD1CTD, including Thr-716, compromised MAD2 binding and the checkpoint responses. We further noted that Ser-610 and Tyr-634 also contribute to the mitotic checkpoint signaling. Our results have uncovered that the MAD1NTD and MAD1CTD directly interact with each other and with MAD2 conformers and are regulated by MPS1 kinase, providing critical insights into mitotic checkpoint signaling.
Factors influencing home care nurse intention to remain employed.

AIM To identify factors affecting Canadian home care nurse intention to remain employed (ITR). BACKGROUND In developed nations, healthcare continues to shift into community settings. Although considerable research exists on examining nurse ITR in hospitals, similar research related to nurses employed in home care is limited. In the face of a global nursing shortage, it is important to understand the factors influencing nurse ITR across healthcare sectors. METHODS A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used. Focus groups were conducted with home care nurses. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS Six categories of influencing factors were identified by home care nurses as affecting ITR: job characteristics; work structures; relationships/communication; work environment; nurse responses to work; and employment conditions. CONCLUSION Findings suggest the following factors influence home care nurse ITR: having autonomy; flexible scheduling; reasonable and varied workloads; supportive work relationships; and receiving adequate pay and benefits. Home care nurses did not identify job satisfaction as a single concept influencing ITR. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Home care nursing management should support nurse autonomy, allow flexible scheduling, promote reasonable workloads and create opportunities for team building that strengthen supportive relationships among home care nurses and other health team members.
Individual differences in the allocation of visual attention during navigation.

Individual differences exist in the ability to create an accurate mental survey representation (i.e., a cognitive map) of a novel environment, yet the mechanisms underlying differences in cognitive map accuracy are still under investigation. To determine whether differences in overt attention allocation contribute to these individual differences, the current study examined whether looking times to landmarks and other objects while navigating in a dynamic virtual environment were related to cognitive map accuracy. Participants completed a battery of spatial tests; some tests assessed spatial skills prior to the navigation task (the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale and the Spatial Orientation Test), and others tested memory of the virtual environment Silcton after an exploration period (a landmark recognition task, a direction estimation task, a map-building task, and a route construction task). Individuals with inaccurate cognitive maps of Silcton, as measured by the direction estimation and map-building tasks, showed equivalent eye fixations to buildings and objects when exploring Silcton as those with accurate maps. Despite similar looking times, the inaccurate mappers were significantly worse at judgments of relative direction between landmarks in Silcton and showed poorer memory for landmarks in Silcton than accurate mappers. These findings suggest that cognitive mechanisms, such as mental perspective-taking, occurring after attention allocation underlie differences in cognitive map accuracy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Adiponectin and leptin levels in migraineurs in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Editors' Note: Contrary to the findings in the Dearborn et al. study, Nagai et al. did not find elevated adiponectin levels in migraineurs in a large Japanese cohort. The authors respond that their findings were in older male migraineurs and are not generalizable to all migraineurs. Commenting on “Preoperative factors of apathy in subthalamic stimulated Parkinson disease: A PET study,” Nirenberg argues that since post-DBS apathy may be related to the tapering of dopamine agonists vs other dopaminergic medications, future studies should distinguish between the two. —Chafic Karam, MD, and Robert C. Griggs, MD Dearborn et al.1 reported an elevation in plasma adiponectin levels, but not of …
Impact of ChinaÂ’s WTO Accession on Farm-Nonfarm Income Inequality and Rural Poverty

Many fear ChinaÂ’s accession to WTO will impoverish its rural people, via greater import competition in its agricultural markets. We explore that possibility bearing in mind that, even if producer prices of some (land-intensive) farm products fall, prices of other (labour-intensive) farm products could rise. Also, the removal of restrictions on exports of textiles and clothing could boost town and village enterprises, so demand for unskilled labour for non-farm work in rural areas may grow even if demand for farm labour in aggregate falls. New estimates, from the global, economywide numerical simulation model known as GTAP, of the likely changes in agricultural and other product prices as a result of WTO accession are drawn on to examine empirically the factor reward implications of ChinaÂ’s WTO accession. The results suggest farm-nonfarm and Western-Eastern income inequality may well rise within China but rural-urban income inequality need not. The paper concludes with some policy suggestions for alleviating any pockets of farm household poverty that may emerge as a result of WTO accession.