Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Trophic Effects of Purines and Purinergic Signaling in Pathologic Reactions of Astrocytes

This article reviews the effects of extracellular purine bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides as intracellular signaling molecules with trophic effects on cells after insults to the brain and spinal cord. Astrocytes are the principal source of extracellular purines in brain after injury, ischemia, or trauma. In vitro and in vivo extracellular purines have both immediate and long-term trophic effects, including stimulation of astrocyte and neuronal differentiation, mitosis, morphogenesis, apoptosis, and stimulation of growth and trophic factor synthesis. The effects of the nucleoside adenosine and the nucleotide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) are mediated principally via specific receptors on the cell surface coupled to a series of signaling cascades. Unlike adenosine and ATP, guanosine and guanosine triphosphate (GTP) do not act at classical purine receptors. However, they exert similar effects on astrocytes, apparently by causing the astrocytes to release large amounts of adenosine and ATP over prolonged periods. The release of adenosine and ATP may be related to the effects of guanosine on the purine nucleoside transporters in the cell membrane, whereas the release of ATP may be due to the effects of GTP on the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins. Physiologically, the effects of guanosine are important because this nucleoside, unlike adenosine, remains elevated for prolonged periods after brain injury.
Total Quality Management in Ghana: Critical Success Factors and Model for Implementation of a Quality Revolution

In this study, the authors aim to identify the critical success factors and challenges of total quality management (TQM) implementation and propose a model for the successful implementation of a quality revolution in Ghana. The approach in this study was to review existing literature followed by case studies of 15 firms. Three employees (quality manager/director and any two “ordinary employees”) were interviewed to identify the critical success factors that would be appropriate for the implementation of a quality revolution in Ghana as well as the main challenges of quality management they face. Findings revealed that top management commitment, empowerment and involvement of employees, resource availability, competition and increased customer awareness, and a well-functioning quality network are the major factors that are critical and essential if any TQM program is to be successful. Three main problems—management resistance, employee resistance, and resource paucity—were identified as principal impediments to TQM programs.
Corporate Governance and Firms Value in Emerging Markets

Abstract This paper empirically explores the relationship between the identity and concentration of different block holders and firm value for 89 industrial and service firms listed at the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) over the period 1998–2001. The paper examines the role of block holders (institutional investors who are not on the board of directors, the institutional investors who are on the board of directors, the ownership of the board of directors, and the financial policy of the firm, such as the capital structure) in controlling the managerial actions which leads, on average, to better firm valuation in the emerging market of Jordan. The paper employs a simple regression and the piecewise regression specification methodology. The results of our simple regression shows a significant and positive relationship between the ownership of the board of directors and firm value. Also, the paper found a positive and significant relationship between firm value and ownership by institutional investors whether or not they are on the board of directors. However, there is no significant relationship between ownership by management and firm value. The results of the piecewise regression analysis indicate a positive and significant relationship among the ownership of securities above 25% by the board of directors, institutional investors on the board of directors, the institutional investors not on the board of directors, and firm value. There is no significant relationship between the above-mentioned ownership and firm value for ownership below 25%. The results also indicate a significant and negative relationship between ownership by the CEO below 5% and firm value. Therefore, it seems that low ownership by management does not give them incentives to work for the interest of shareholders. Dividends are still positively and significantly related to firm value. Leverage is significantly and positively related to firm value when we relate ownership to institutional investors not on the board of directors and firm value. This might imply that creditors work as complementary monitors of value along with institutional investors who are not on the board of directors. The paper concludes that block holders are important monitors of firm value especially if they own large amounts of securities to justify the high cost of monitoring.
The “INCOTERMS” challenge: using multi‐media to engage learners

This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the changing roles for teachers and learners in the light of evolving new technologies. A backdrop of successive government policies to widening participation is provided to show the current rationale for higher education institutions encouraging staff to move towards on‐line learning. At institution level, this paper discusses the potential issues in the classroom that arise by asking both staff and students to change from more traditional ways of learning. Then the second part of the paper details the teaching problem behind the “INCOTERMS challenge” and covers the development of the multimedia tool. The final section of the paper reviews the evaluation of the tool by the students and discusses the findings in relation to the issues raised in the literature review.
Public policy and the creation of active venture capital markets

We assess the effectiveness of different public policy instruments for the creation of active venture capital markets. Our methodology focusses on ’innovation ratios,’ defined to be the shares of high-tech, and of early stage, venture capital investments. We study a unique panel of data for 14 European countries between 1988 and 2001. We have several novel findings. First, we find no evidence of a shortage of supply of venture capital funds in Europe, a result which questions the effectiveness of the most widely used policy for fostering active venture capital markets. We also find other policies to be effective. In particular, the opening of stock markets targeted at entrepreneurial companies has a positive, large effect on the innovation ratios. Reductions in the corporate capital gains tax rate increase the share of both high-tech and early stage investment. A reduction in labor regulation also results in a higher share of high-tech investments. Finally, we find no evidence of an effect of increased public R&D spending on the innovation ratios. Forthcoming, Journal of Public Economics ∗We thank Giulio de Caprariis at Confindustria, Didier Guennoc at EVCA, and Tim Rice, Roderick Roman, and Angela Vuono at Ernst&Young for providing us with data. Douglas Cumming, Heather Gibson, Leon de Haan, Ulf von Kalckreuth, Josh Lerner, Dima Leshchinskii, Javier Suarez, Reinhilde Veugelers, and two anonymous referees provided useful suggestions. We also benefitted from comments from participants at the American Economic Association 2005 Meetings, at the ECB-CFS Third Workshop on Capital Markets and Financial Integration, at the 6th Bundesbank Spring Conference, at the European Finance Association 2004 Meetings, at the European Commission, at the EconChange London 2004 workshop, and at seminars at Gerzensee and St.Gallen. Antonella Borra and Marina Di Giacomo provided excellent research assistance. Financial support from the European Commission (grant HPSE-CT-2002-00140) and from Turin University is gratefully acknowledged. We remain responsible for all errors.
Effet de l'assurance complémentaire santé sur les consommations médicales, entre risque moral et amélioration de l'accès aux soins

La theorie economique conduit a supposer que l’assurance sante accroit les consommations medicales en generant du risque moral ex-post, c'est-a-dire l’achat par les individus de soins dont la valeur est faible au regard de leur cout total. Certains economistes soulignent que tout ou partie de ce surplus de consommation peut resulter egalement d’une solvabilisation de la demande de soins du fait des remboursements, traduisant ainsi un meilleur acces aux soins. Comprendre lequel de ces effets predomine represente un enjeu important en termes d’equite et d’efficience du systeme de sante. Cette these vise a mesurer l’ampleur de l’effet de l’assurance complementaire sante sur les consommations medicales en France et a en comprendre la nature en s’appuyant sur trois articles. Le premier article analyse l’effet du fait d’etre couvert par une complementaire sante sur le recours aux medecins, le second evalue l’impact de la CMU-C sur les consommations medicales de ses beneficiaires, enfin le troisieme etudie l’effet d’une surcomplementaire sante permettant de completer les remboursements du contrat de base d’une mutuelle de fonctionnaire. En se focalisant sur l’assurance complementaire et surcomplementaire, ces articles permettent d’etudier l’effet d’une variation a la marge du niveau de couverture sur differentes categories de population.
Causal Relation between Life Insurance Funds and Economic Growth: Evidence from Malaysia

The life insurance sector has been growing rapidly in Malaysia with enlarged pooled funds that allowed the sector to participate actively in portfolio investments. It reflects a possible growth impact, which has not gained much attention from the current research. This study aims to examine the existence of a causal relation between the life insurance sector and the growth of the Malaysian economy. This study applies the Johansen cointegration test, and the Granger causality test based on the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to demonstrate the possible causal relation. The results provide sufficient evidence to support a long-run relationship between the life insurance indicator (the total assets of Malaysian life insurance sector) and the real GDP, and also a short-run causal relation from the real GDP to the life insurance indicator (the total assets of Malaysian life insurance sector). The findings suggest that the life insurance sector of Malaysia could potentially be an effective financial intermediation to generate long-term savings to finance capital investments and eventually could strengthen the country's economic growth.
International industrial policy experiences and the lessons for the UK

The present study reviews a diverse set of countries with the most successful industrial policy experiences since the Second World War – namely, the US, Germany, Japan, Italy, Finland, (South) Korea, Singapore, China, and Brazil – with a view to deriving lessons for the UK. In Section 1 an industrial competitiveness benchmarking analysis opens by tracking long term countries’ trajectories and revealing the current alarming state of UK’s manufacturing. Section 2 discusses some of the key theoretical issues in the debate on industrial policy, namely: (a) different definitions of industrial policy and problems related to the standard distinction between ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ measures; (b) the special role of the manufacturing sector in the overall economy, especially as the source of productivity growth, innovation, learning, and resilience; (c) main theoretical justifications for certain widely adopted industrial policy tools and institutions. Section 3, then, reviews the industrial policy experiences of the nine comparator countries. While historical material dating back from the 18th century is covered when appropriate, the focus is more on the recent period, since the 1980s or the 1990s. In Section 4, we draw lessons for the UK’s industrial policy from the nine country experiences that we review in Section 3, filtered through the theoretical discussions provided in Section 2. We draw the lessons along several dimensions: (a) the role of ‘vision’; (b) institutional settings and policy coordination; (c) finance and corporate governance; (d) promotion of innovation; (e) management of transnational corporations; (f) support for SMEs; (g) skills and training. Finally, section 5 looks ahead for the future of the UK’s manufacturing sector and policies, taking into account our theoretical discussions, country case reviews, and the lessons we have drawn from those discussions.
The Role of Decision Making Processes in the Correlation Between Wealth and Health

There are many pathways explaining the relationship between socioeconomic status and health; one possibility is that some normally unobservable characteristic causes people to invest both in their financial well-being and their health. Here we consider the possibility that the decision making processes are similar across domains and that the steps individuals take to make decisions can help to explain the correlation in outcomes across domains. We focus particularly on retirement savings decisions and decisions in the health domain. Choices in both domains have long-term consequences and therefore require foresight and the ability to process complex information. Our results suggest that up to 44% of the correlation between wealth and health is due to the processes that people use to make these choices.
THE ECONOMIC RECESSION AND WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT OF COMPANIES IN POLAND

Working capital is the most liquid and dynamic component of total assets. Working capital management, as the core content of short-term corporate finance, is vital to enterprises' survival and development. This article aims to highlight the impact of the economic recession in the economy at the enterprises' working capital and strategy of its management. It is suggested that working capital requirements and liquidity needs increase for firms when the economy is in poor economic conditions or is in recession. This article focuses on the analysis of the changes in working capital management and based on financial data of companies in Poland.
A Midterm Review of Lesser Toe Arthrodesis With an Intramedullary Implant

Lesser toe deformities are one of the most common conditions encountered by podiatric surgeons. When conservative treatments fail surgical correction is indicated. Many surgical options have been described to address the complex nature of these deformities but no perfect solution has been reported to date. However, with the continued advancement of internal fixation technology, interphalangeal joint (IPJ) arthrodesis with an intramedullary implant may be a good option. This retrospective study presents patient reported outcomes and complications at 6 months and 3 years following lesser toe proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) arthrodesis with a polyketone intrameduallary implant (Toe Grip, Orthosolutions, UK). Between September 2011 and November 2012, a total of 38 patients attended for second toe PIPJ arthrodesis by means of the Toe Grip device. At 6 months postoperation, 94.7% of patients and at 3 years postoperation, 92.8% of patients felt that their original complaint was better or much better. Health-related quality of life scores continued to improve overtime as measured by the Manchester Oxford Foot Questionnaire. Complications were generally observational and asymptomatic. The most common complications were floating toes (17.8%), mallet deformities (14.2%), metatarsalgia (17.8%), and transverse plane deformity of the toe (10.7%). This study demonstrates excellent patient-eported outcomes with minimal symptomatic complications making the “Toe Grip” implant a safe and effective alternative fixation device for IPJ arthrodesis when dealing with painful digital deformities. Levels of Evidence: Therapeutic, Level IV: Case series
States of awareness during general anaesthesia. Preliminary communication.

Ten patients were exposed during deep surgical anaesthesia to a suggestion indicative of an anaesthetic crisis. One month later the patients were hypnotized and regressed to the operation. Four were able to reproduce the words spoken by the anaesthetist. Four became anxious and woke from hypnosis. Two did not reproduce the suggestion.
The Source of Innovation: Boundary Spanner

Abstract There appears to be a consensus that organizational integration across functional and disciplinary specialties drives superior firm capabilities. The basic assumption is that new practices and concepts emerge from the interaction of individuals engaged in different functional departments. However, communication across functional boundaries is often difficult. As such, Tushman & Scanlan suggested that functional boundaries can be spanned effectively only by boundary spanners who understand the coding schemes that are attuned to the contextual information on both sides of the boundary. The study of boundary spanners has significant performance implications to firms. Compared to its importance, theoretical development and empirical inquiries into this phenomenon are relatively scant. Thus, this study explores the factors that determine who becomes a boundary spanner and examines boundary spanners' performance implications. A Taiwanese company provided the context for our study. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to test the theoretical model. The results imply that a company needs to have an appropriate mixture of boundary spanners and non-boundary spanners, because boundary spanners have higher innovative performance.
Sinking Budgets and Ballooning Prices: Recent Developments Connected to Military Spending

Military spending in the West generally declined after the Cold War. Given the economic pressures that many of these states confronted, they can be said to have experienced a fortuitous conjunction of lessening security demands with stable if not rising pressures to allocate more resources to social purposes. However, with declining financial resources a good part of military capital in these countries was reduced and most of what remains is growing obsolete. The excessive rise in relative prices associated with major military capital items, a rise only partially associated with an increase in real effectiveness, poses a challenge for many of these states if they are to retain their capacity to provide in some meaningful way for their own military defense.
Affirmative Action and Corporate Compliance in South Korea

Abstract The Affirmative Action Act was introduced in South Korea in 2006 to increase female employment and correct discriminatory hiring practices. Using the combined data sets of survey and the Act's implementation plan, this paper provides logit estimation results to examine empirically how political perceptions or attitudes of firms influence corporate noncompliance with the Act. According to a corporate personnel manager survey, affirmative action was initially pursued as a campaign pledge by the liberal party (the Korea Democratic Party) to attract women's votes, and took on a looser shape as the government compromised with the business sector after an election. A weak enforcement structure ultimately diluted the effects of the Act. A logit analysis indicates that noncompliance is more probable in companies that perceive affirmative action as part of a design to achieve political goals, and compliance is more probable in companies that feel it is likely to improve corporate management.
Soil water retention curve analysis using radial basis function network

The soil water retention curve (SWRC) shows the relationship between soil suction pressure and water content, which is one of the key hydraulic properties to study the flow and solute transports in unsaturated zone. A radial basis function network (RBFN) was developed to describe the SWRC with the observed soil suction pressure and simultaneous soil water content derived from laboratory test with the soil sampled in Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang Province, China. Comparing with some widely used empirical equations of SWRC in the research about unsaturated zone hydrological process, and the RBFN can more accurately describe soil water retention curve.
Asset Specificity, Industry Driven Recovery Risk and Loan Pricing

This paper examines the relationship between a firmâ€™s exposure to industry downturns that we call industry risk and bank loan pricing. We measure industry risk based on the relationship between a firmâ€™s stock returns and industry returns conditional on an industry downturn. We find industry risk is significantly related to the recovery rates in bankruptcy and the likelihood of the firm experiencing financial distress when its peers are also in distress. More importantly, we find that the spreads on unsecured bank loans are positively related to industry risk measures. These relationships are stronger for firms with more industry-specific assets.
Residential Demand for Electricity Under Inverted Block Rates: Evidence From a Controlled Experiment

Block-rate structures are used extensively in public-utility pricing, including residential electricity. Estimating price elasticities in this context is complicated by the resulting nonlinearity of the consumer's budget constraint. This article estimates the demand for electricity under inverted block rates using data from a residential rate experiment. The study provides an opportunity to obtain short-run price elasticities in an experimental setting and to compare alternative estimators developed for nonlinear budget constraints. Elasticities of demand with respect to individual components of the block rate are developed using a modification of the structural maximum likelihood estimator.
in context : a qualitative study of the social and subjective dimensions of manuscript review in biomedical publishing

Peerand editorial review of research submitted to biomedical journals ('manuscript review') is frequently argued to be essential for ensuring scientific quality and the dissemination of important ideas, but there is also broad agreement that manuscript review is often unsuccessful in achieving its goals. Problems with manuscript review are frequently attributed to the social and subjective dimensions of the process (e.g. bias and conflict of interest). While there have been numerous efforts to improve the process, these have had limited success. This may be because these efforts do not account sufficiently for all of the social and subjective dimensions of the process. We set out, therefore, to characterise the most salient social and subjective dimensions of the manuscript review process, from the perspective of practising reviewers and editors. Openended interviews were carried out with 35 journal editors, and peer reviewers in the UK, USA and Australia. It emerged from these interviews that reviewers and editors were conscious of a number of social and subjective influences on the review process including: a wide variety of motivations for participation, complex relations of power, epistemic authority and moral responsibility, and unavoidable prejudice and intuition. Importantly, these social and subjective influences were often viewed positively and were seen as expressions of, rather than threats to, editors' and reviewers' epistemic authority and expertise. From this we conclude that the social and subjective dimensions of biomedical manuscript review should be made more explicit, accommodated and even encouraged, not only because these dimensions of human relationships and judgements are unavoidable, but because their explicit presence is likely to enrich, rather than threaten the manuscript review process. We suggest a 'dialectical' model which can simultaneously accommodate, and embrace, all dimensions of the manuscript review process.