Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liquidity, volume and volatility in US electricity futures: the case of Palo Verde

Previous research on liquidity has studied the relationships between liquidity, trading activity and volatility, mostly with data from US Treasury securities, stocks and foreign exchange spot markets. Liquidity in futures markets, especially electricity futures, has received little attention. However, liquidity in futures is expected to behave differently to that in spot markets because of the unique asymmetries in futures markets. Liquidity in electricity markets is of interest in countries where these markets are being deregulated. This study estimates these relationships for the Palo Verde electricity futures contract. The results show positive relations between all three pairs of key variables.
Association between Ownership Structure and Public Announcements' Disclosures

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: The impact of ownership structure on annual report disclosures and overall disclosure quality has received some attention in previous literature, but no study has examined it in the context of public announcements. This paper investigates the issue by using a disclosure score based on six disclosure quality attributes and by employing two quantitative disclosure measures in the context of three European emerging capital markets in the Baltics – the Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius Stock Exchanges. Research Findings/Results: In line with expectations, public announcement disclosure quality had a negative association with ownership concentration and foreign ownership and a positive association with institutional ownership. In terms of other company characteristics, sales growth and size of entry barriers exhibited positive associations with disclosure as expected. Unlike in previous research, statistically significant negative associations between size and announcement length were supported. This is due to the sample used, which included several firms from the Vilnius Stock Exchange with short announcements for the pre-2003 period. Theoretical Implications: This paper presents possibilities for employing information theory in the context of finance for determining possible disclosure quality attributes that could be used in the creation of a disclosure quality score. Practical Implications: Empirical tests reveal the importance of ownership structure in determining the disclosure choice of companies that, in turn, may provide information about the types of companies that need more effective regulative enforcement.
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors Cooperate to Regulate Neural Progenitor Properties in the Developing Midbrain and Hindbrain

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) secreted from the midbrain–rhombomere 1 (r1) boundary instruct cell behavior in the surrounding neuroectoderm. For example, a combination of FGF and sonic hedgehog (SHH) can induce the development of the midbrain dopaminergic neurons, but the mechanisms behind the action and integration of these signals are unclear. We studied how FGF receptors (FGFRs) regulate cellular responses by analyzing midbrain–r1 development in mouse embryos, which carry different combinations of mutant Fgfr1, Fgfr2, and Fgfr3 alleles. Our results show that the FGFRs act redundantly to support cell survival in the dorsal neuroectoderm, promote r1 tissue identity, and regulate the production of ventral neuronal populations, including midbrain dopaminergic neurons. The compound Fgfr mutants have apparently normal WNT/SHH signaling and neurogenic gene expression in the ventral midbrain, but the number of proliferative neural progenitors is reduced as a result of precocious neuronal differentiation. Our results suggest a SoxB1 family member, Sox3, as a potential FGF-induced transcription factor promoting progenitor renewal. We propose a model for regulation of progenitor cell self-renewal and neuronal differentiation by combinatorial intercellular signals in the ventral midbrain.
Scrotal gray‐scale and color Doppler sonographic findings in genitourinary Brucellosis

Brucellosis is an enzootic disease that is frequently transmitted from Brucella‐infected animals and their products to humans through the gastrointestinal tract. Genitourinary complications are seen in 2–10% of cases. We used sonography to investigate such complications in patients from a Brucella‐endemic area.
Impact of a pay-for-performance incentive on support for smoking cessation and on smoking prevalence among people with diabetes

Background: Many people with diabetes continue to smoke despite being at high risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined the impact of a pay-for-performance incentive in the United Kingdom introduced in 2004 as part of the new general practitioner contract to improve support for smoking cessation and to reduce the prevalence of smoking among people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. Methods: We performed a population-based longitudinal study of the recorded delivery of cessation advice and the prevalence of smoking using electronic records of patients with diabetes obtained from participating general practices. The survey was carried out in an ethnically diverse part of southwest London before (June–October 2003) and after (November 2005–January 2006) the introduction of a pay-for-performance incentive. Results: Significantly more patients with diabetes had their smoking status ever recorded in 2005 than in 2003 (98.8% v. 90.0%, p <0.001). The proportion of patients with documented smoking cessation advice also increased significantly over this period, from 48.0% to 83.5% (p < 0.001). The prevalence of smoking decreased significantly from 20.0% to 16.2% (p < 0.001). The reduction over the study period was lower among women (adjusted odds ratio 0.71, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.95) but was not significantly different in the most and least affluent groups. In 2005, smoking rates continued to differ significantly with age (10.6%–25.1%), sex (women, 11.5%; men, 20.6%) and ethnic background (4.9%–24.9%). Interpretation: The introduction of a pay-for-performance incentive in the United Kingdom increased the provision of support for smoking cessation and was associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence among patients with diabetes in primary health care settings. Health care planners in other countries may wish to consider introducing similar incentive schemes for primary care physicians.
Visualizing hydrophobic domains in silicone hydrogel lenses with Sudan IV.

PURPOSE A lipophilic dye is used to investigate the degree to which the surface and bulk hydrophobic domains of the lenses can be imaged and to identify specific changes in the availability of those domains after in vitro wear and cleaning conditions. The effect of a multipurpose solution (MPS), OPTI-FREE RepleniSH, on lens hydrophobic domains was also investigated. METHODS Hydrophobic domains were determined using a saturated solution of Sudan IV. Staining periods of 30 minutes and 16 hours were used to determine surface versus bulk hydrophobic domains. Four types of silicone hydrogel lens materials were tested. The degree of staining was visually documented by photography and quantitatively determined by extraction and analysis of the total amount of dye adsorbed. RESULTS Specific differences in staining were found for all control lenses. Exposure to in vitro wear conditions significantly decreased the staining response for all lens types as compared with unworn lenses (P = 0.001). However, the trend of staining remained the same: balafilcon A > galyfilcon A > senofilcon A > lotrafilcon B. MPS decreased the extent of staining; the degree of its effect varied with lens type. CONCLUSIONS Hydrophobic staining with Sudan IV visualized domains on and within silicone hydrogel lenses. Differences in staining response after exposure to wear and cleaning conditions indicate the potential for protein and lipid deposition on the different lens types and the ability of MPS to affect that deposition. Hydrophobic staining may be useful for determining differences in surface modification and lipophilicity of silicone hydrogel lenses.
Diversity Issues and Public Relations

Perceptions of diversity issues and implications for public relations were explored within the theoretical framework of organizational culture and requisite variety. Qualitative interviews with 28 practitioners and 5 executives revealed a continuum that ranged from organizations with no commitment to those with a fully integrated diversity strategy. Examples of effective diversity management illustrated the connection between diversity and the strategic management of public relations. We discuss the findings in relation to diversity integration and propose that a final stage not mentioned by participants--diversity as social responsibility--may represent the juncture where public relations and diversity are linked most meaningfully.
The Effect of National Standard and Curriculum- Based Exams on Achievement

Our review of the evidence suggests that the claims of the advocates of standards and examination based reform of American secondary education may be right. The countries and Canadian provinces with such systems outperform other countries at comparable levels of development. In addition, New York State, the only state with a CBEEE, does remarkably well on the SAT test when student demography is held constant (Bishop 1996). CBEEEs are not, however, the most important determinant of achievement levels. CBEEEs are common in developing nations where achievement levels are often quite low [eg. Columbia and Iran]. Belgium, by contrast, has a top quality education system without having a CBEEE. More research on the effects of CBEEEs is clearly in order.
Organizational barriers to adapting infrastructure assets to climate change: evidence from coastal councils in Australia

The frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as floods, storm surges, droughts, bushfires and cyclones, are forcing public organizations to look at their strategies for safeguarding their infrastructure assets. The organizational challenges facing local councils worldwide in the context of climate change have not been adequately developed or understood. This article addresses this gap in knowledge with a model that identifies the organizational barriers to adapting infrastructure to climate change. Managers can use the model to also assess the vulnerability of their infrastructure to climate change.
The Impact of Household Structure on Female Autonomy in Developing Countries

Abstract Joint household structures in which several generations co-reside in a single house are common across developing countries. Such households may confer benefits on all the family members through household public goods with the patriarch exercising greater control over resources. Therefore, the household structure may affect the bargaining power of its members. This paper estimates the effect of joint versus nuclear household structure in India on the autonomy of women and their labour force participation and the heterogeneity in the effects by income, caste, and region. I use an instrumental variable approach and find that women living in nuclear households have greater decision-making power.
An international comparison of hospital efficiency: does institutional environment matter?

The consensus among many health economists is that no meaningful performance differences exist among for-profit and non-profit hospitals in the US, but this topic has continued to be a matter of academic, judicial, and public policy interest. A similar debate has ensued internationally, regarding the potential efficiency gains from privatization of public enterprises. In this paper, we examine empirical evidence from the public, highly regulated Norwegian hospital sector and the private, highly competitive and unregulated California hospital sector to ascertain whether institutional environment and level of market competition significantly affect the degree of productive efficiency in hospitals. We compare and discuss the productive efficiency of four similar sets of hospitals operating in different institutional and competitive environments. The four samples are carefully matched in the dimensions of sample size, hospital size, and average lengths of stay. Heterogeneity in output definition is used to control for other dimensions (casemix, age distribution of patients). We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate and compare average long-run as well as short-run efficiency measures across groups. We find that scale and scope regulation of Norwegian hospitals improves long-run efficiency, primarily due to better utilization of capital.
Remittances and Currency Crisis: The Case of Developing and Emerging Countries

Employing the first-generation currency crisis model of Flood and Garber (1984), I explore the financial effects of migrants' remittances on the economies of developing and emerging countries in a currency crisis. The model implies that remittances can contribute to a reduction in the likelihood of a currency crisis and appreciation in foreign exchange rates via the promotion of foreign exchange reserves. Panel estimation with twelve developing and emerging countries that previously experienced financial crises confirms the implications, suggesting that migrants' remittances can play a significant role in mitigating financial constraints and thus contribute to financial stability.
3,3′‐Diindolylmethane attenuates LPS‐mediated acute liver failure by regulating miRNAs to target IRAK4 and suppress Toll‐like receptor signalling

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a severe and potentially lethal clinical syndrome. 3,3′‐Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a natural plant‐derived compound with anti‐cancer activities. Recently, DIM has also been shown to have anti‐inflammatory properties. Here, we tested the hypothesis that DIM would suppress endotoxin‐induced ALF.
Private Sector Engagement in Adaptation to Climate Change: Approaches to Managing Climate Risks

There is growing international interest in the planning, financing and implementation of adaptation to climate change. However, the discussion to date has primarily focused on the public sector’s role, with the private sector viewed primarily as a source of funding or financing. Relatively little attention has been paid to how the private sector is responding to the risks and opportunities from climate change. In this context, this analysis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of private sector’s role. This paper examines the private sector’s progress in adapting to climate change by considering information from sixteen case studies, drawn from a range of industries across the private sector. This is complemented by a high-level analysis of broader private sector adaptation based on responses to the 2009 Carbon Disclosure Project questionnaire. The case studies provide insight into companies’ awareness of potential climate risks and vulnerabilities, their progress in assessing specific impacts on their businesses and possible ways to respond to them, and their implementation of adaptation measures and strategies to manage these risks. The analysis also examines how companies are taking advantage of new business opportunities arising from climate change. The paper explores companies’ motivations for implementing adaptation measures, and establishes common factors which can affect companies’ capacities to adapt, their incentives for action, and their perspectives on the need to adapt. The analysis considers how these factors can both encourage and impede adaptation, and assesses potential public sector roles for eliminating barriers to action, encouraging engagement and incentivising private sector investment in adaptation.
Volume, Volatility and Momentum in Financial Markets

In this paper we will discuss the relationship among volume, volatility and return momentum in global financial markets. It turns out that when the volatility is large i.e. the difference between the daily high price and the daily low price is large then the trading volume is also large. We also found that a momentum strategy on volume perform on par with a momentum return investment strategy. A significant amount of positive serial correlation was also found in the volatility and volume.
The effectiveness of TQM: A stimulator for knowledge distribution?

The aim of this research paper is to investigate the impact of six TQM dimensions on knowledge distribution from the perspective of middle-level managers. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 1000 middle-level managers working in Malaysian firms, of which 127 responded. The findings gained by utilising the structural equation modelling method supported the positive influence of TQM practices, such as leadership, strategic planning, human resource management, and information and analysis, in which human resource management is the most significant determinant of knowledge distribution in a firm. It was also found that customer focus and process management do not have a significant impact on knowledge distribution in the manufacturing organisations surveyed. This research study can be used by managers in the manufacturing sector to evaluate the effectiveness of TQM practices in knowledge distribution in their companies. The results of this study proposed that three dimensions are instrumental for firms to increase their efficiency in knowledge distribution. They are human resource focused, having a good leadership and strategic planning as well as possessing an adequate level of information and analysis. The majority of TQM dimensions such as leadership, strategic planning, human resource management, and information and analysis appeared to have influences on knowledge distribution in Malaysian manufacturing firms, thus filling the gap in the literature on TQM and knowledge distribution.
Intersession repeatability of humphrey perimetry measurements in patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE To determine the relationship between intersession test repeatability in static perimetry and the degree of local sensitivity reduction in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). METHODS Visual field data were obtained from 27 patients with RP using FASTPAC 30-2 of the Humphrey Field Analyzer and stimulus sizes III and V. Each test was repeated at two subsequent visits after an initial practice session. An intersession sensitivity difference was defined for each patient at each measured point in the visual field by subtracting the sensitivity value obtained during session 2 from the value obtained during session 3 at the corresponding test location. In addition, the mean sensitivity value for sessions 2 and 3 was determined at each location for each patient. RESULTS Bland-Altman plots of intersession sensitivity differences as a function of mean sensitivities showed that test-retest variability was greatest at test regions with sensitivities of approximately 10 dB, with lower variability at locations with higher or lower sensitivity. The pattern of findings was similar for sizes III and V stimuli. The mean intersession sensitivity difference was +0.26 dB for stimulus size III and +0.45 dB for stimulus size V, representing a small improvement in sensitivity from session 2 to session 3. CONCLUSIONS Intersession repeatability of visual field measurements in patients with RP is nonmonotonically related to the magnitude of the sensitivity loss. Therefore, apparent changes in visual field sensitivity as a result of time or treatment should be evaluated in light of the degree of the expected variability at particular sensitivity levels.
Coagglomeration of Formal and Informal Industry: Evidence from India

A large and growing informal sector is a major feature of developing countries. This paper analyzes coagglomeration patterns between formal and informal manufacturing enterprises in India. It studies (a) the causes underlying these patterns and (b) the positive externalities, if any, on the entry of new firms. The analysis finds that buyer-supplier and technology linkages explain much of formal-informal coagglomeration. Also, within-industry coagglomeration matters mostly to small- and medium-sized formal firm births. Traditional measures of agglomeration remain important in explaining new industrial activity, whether in the formal or the informal sector.
Psychological empowerment and turnover intent: a study of software professionals in India

India has emerged as a global hub for IT industry with the segment having undergone rapid transformation and a phase of accelerated growth. Despite the recent downturn, the IT sector in India has managed to secure a double digit growth rate. With intense global competition, the companies are operating in an environment encompassed by technological innovation and change. Empowering and retaining employees are major challenge for an IT company because when opportunities and challenges are numerous, flow of employees between one company and another becomes commonplace. Therefore, attrition continues to plague the industry making it one of the foremost concerns of the sector today. Studies have shown that empowering employees not only makes a significant difference in their performance and outlook towards work but is also a means of creating greater effectiveness. Although, there have been studies analysing the impact of various factors (including empowerment) on turnover intention, studies of such nature are few in the Indian context. This study, therefore, aims to explore the influence of psychological empowerment on turnover intent of software professionals in IT product and services companies in India.
External Debt and International Trade: Another Mismatch

Currency mismatch makes a debtor country suffer from domestic depreciation by magnifying the burden of its external debt. Because external debt can be repaid by exporting more than importing, a crucial channel for inducing recovery is net exports. However, the argument that domestic depreciation correspondingly boosts net exports is not warranted if currency compositions differ substantially between debt and trade. This study examines the association between the debt revaluation and trade competitiveness gain effects of exchange rate fluctuations for middle- and low-income countries. The empirical results suggest that currency-compositional discord between debt and trade has significant welfare implications.