Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Information in Accruals About the Quality of Earnings

We extend the analysis in Sloan (1996) to identify the source of information in accruals about earnings quality. Our results indicate that information in accruals about earnings quality is not limited to the current accruals analyzed by Sloan, but extends to non-current accruals. We also show that while information in accruals originates almost exclusively from asset accruals, liability accruals play a useful role in helping to isolate information in asset accruals about earnings quality. Finally, we show that information in accruals about earnings quality originates from both growth in the scale of operations and deterioration in the efficiency of asset usage. Overall, our results indicate that total accruals, defined as the difference between earnings and free cash flows, provide an intuitive, robust and parsimonious measure of earnings quality. Contrary to existing studies, our results also indicate that the information in accruals about earnings quality is not attributable to a single factor, such as 'discretionary' accruals or firm growth.
Pediatric Thrombolysis: A Practical Approach

The incidence of pediatric venous thromboembolic disease is increasing in hospitalized children. While the mainstay of treatment of pediatric thrombosis is anticoagulation, reports on the use of systemic thrombolysis, endovascular thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy have steadily been increasing in this population. Thrombolysis is indicated in the setting of life- or limb-threatening thrombosis. Thrombolysis can rapidly improve venous patency thereby quickly ameliorating acute signs and symptoms of thrombosis and may improve long-term outcomes such as postthrombotic syndrome. Systemic and endovascular thrombolysis can result in an increase in minor bleeding in pediatric patients, compared with anticoagulation alone, and major bleeding events are a continued concern. Also, endovascular treatment is invasive and requires technical expertise by interventional radiology or vascular surgery, and such expertise may be lacking at many pediatric centers. The goal of this mini-review is to summarize the current state of knowledge of thrombolysis/thrombectomy techniques, benefits, and challenges in pediatric thrombosis.
Beyond "social protocols": multi-user coordination policies for co-located groupware

The status quo for co-located groupware is to assume that "social protocols" (standards of polite behavior) are sufficient to coordinate the actions of a group of users; however, prior studies of groupware use as well as our own observations of groups using a shared tabletop display suggest potential for improving groupware interfaces by incorporating coordination policies - direct manipulation mechanisms for avoiding and resolving conflicts. We discuss our observations of group tabletop usage and present our coordination framework. We conclude with example usage scenarios and discuss future research suggested by this framework.
The Design of an Adaptive Multiple Agent Constraint-Based Controller for aComplex Hydraulic

In this paper, we present a complete design framework for an adaptive multiple agent fuzzy constraint-based controller based on fuzzy penumbra constraint processing in each fuzzy constraint subnetwork collaborating with a connected constraint network and its corresponding semantic modeling in a rst-order predicate calculus (FOPC) language, with application to a complex hydraulic system. The concept of \multiple agent" and \fuzzy constraint subnetwork" in a complex control system is introduced and some basic deenitions of penumbra fuzzy constraint processing in a constraint subnetwork and the collaboration with an overall connected constraint network and its semantic modeling are addressed. As a result, a human agent interacts with system agents and allows the constraints to be added or deleted on-line according to the constraints imposed from the outside environment. Near-optimal system performance is accomplished by restricting all the penumbra constraints to be satissed in each constraint subnetwork simultaneously which are interconnected as a result of constraints that exist between each of them. Following the principle of constraint satisfaction and fuzzy local propagation reasoning, each individual system agent is now constrained to behave in a certain fashion as dictated by the overall constraint network. In addition, the constraint network in MAFCC system provides an update strategy which makes a real time adaptive hydraulic control for all 20 cities possible.
Assessment of Life Satisfaction in Children as a Means of Prevention and Identification of Risks

Children today are faced with risks which can adversely affect their shortand long-term functioning across important areas of their lives. There is a need for school-based assessment which focuses on prevention and early identification of potential risks. For children, high levels of Life Satisfaction have been correlated with optimal mental health including academic success, attachment with parents and peers, and positive selfconcept. In contrast, low levels of Life Satisfaction have been associated with adverse outcomes for children including internalizing and externalizing behaviors, peer alienation, familial discord, difficulties at school, and low self-appraisal. The Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994) is an ideal tool for school-based assessment of risks because it explores satisfaction in life domains in children which parallel areas where risk may occur (i.e., School, Family, Self, Living Environment, and Friends domains). The current study examined the relationship between 3rd and 4th grader’s judgments of their Life Satisfaction, as measured by MSLSS, and parent and guardian report of potential risks in their child’s life. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between children’s motivation for school and levels of satisfaction in the School domain. Gender differences were illuminated with girls endorsing higher total satisfaction and higher satisfaction with school compared to boys. Strengths and limitations of the project are addressed and implications of the findings including future directions for research are discussed. Degree Type Dissertation
How to Make the Metropolitan Area Work? Neither Big Government, Nor Laissez-Faire

We study how administrative boundaries and tax competition among asymmetric jurisdictions interact with the labor and land markets to determine the economic structure and performance of metropolitan areas. Contrary to general belief, cross-border commuting need not be welfare-decreasing in the presence of agglomeration economies that vary with the distribution of firms within the metropolitan area. Tax competition implies that the central business district is too small and prevents public policy enhancing global productivity to deliver their full impact. Although our results support the idea of decentralizing the provision of local public services by independent jurisdictions, they highlight the need of coordinating tax policies and the importance of the jurisdiction sizes within metropolitan areas.
Electric fields as a means of controlling thin film flow over topography

Gravity-driven, steady-state flow of a thin liquid film over a substrate containing topography in the presence of a normal electric field is studied numerically. The liquid is assumed to be a perfect conductor and the air above it an ideal dielectric. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a new depth-averaged approximation that is capable of analyzing film flows with inertia with the flow coupled to the electric field via a Maxwell normal stress term that results from the solution of Laplace’s equation for the electric potential above the film. The latter is solved analytically using separation of variables and Fourier series. The coupled solver is used to analyse the interplay between inertia and electric field effects for flow over one-dimensional step and trench topographies and to predict the effect of an electric field on three-dimensional Stokes flow over a two-dimensional trench topography. Sample results are given which investigate the magnitude of the electric fields needed to suppress free surface disturbances induced by topography in each of the cases considered.
Spontaneous Ultra-Weak Photon Emission from Human Hands Is Time Dependent

Ultra-weak photon emission in the visible range was measured on palm and dorsal side of left and right hand by means of a low noise photomultiplier system. To study the dynamics of this photon emission in a 24 h period photon emission was recorded in 2 h intervals in 5 experiments, utilizing strict protocols for dark adaptation and recording of subjects. Fluctuations in photon emission in the course of 24 h period were demonstrated for each anatomic location. Mean photon emission over the 24 h period differed both between subjects and hand locations. To detect a pattern in the fluctuations the mean value for each location of each subject in each experiment was utilized to calculate fluctuations during the course of 24 h for each anatomical location. The fluctuations in photon emission in the course of 24 h were more at dorsal sides than palm sides. The correlation between fluctuations in palm and dorsal side was not ap- parent. During the 24 h period a change in left-right symmetry occurred for the dorsal side but not for the palm of the hands. Photon emission at the left dorsal location was high at night, while the right dorsal side emitted most during the day. It is concluded that a daily rhythm in photon emission can be recorded from both the dorsal and palm sides of the hands.
Psychosocial Functioning in the Elderly: An Assessment of Self-concept and Depression

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between self-concept and depression in elderly people living in Residential Aged Care (RAC) settings. Forty-five residents, comprising 17 males and 28 females (M = 82.64 years, SD = 8.38 years), were recruited from 10 low-care, RAC facilities in Melbourne, Australia. Participants completed the Geriatric Depression Scale – Short Form and the Tennessee Self Concept Scale: 2. The results revealed that all self-concept domains were significantly lower in RAC residents in comparison to norms drawn from community dwelling samples (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant inverse relationship between depression and self-concept domains (p < 0.05) was observed in RAC residents, with 28.8% of the variance in depression scores accounted for by Physical Self Concept. These findings identify self-concept, particularly physical self-concept, as an important predictor of psychosocial well-being in elderly RAC residents. Further research is needed to examine the efficacy of psychosocial and rehabilitative interventions to optimise self-concept in RAC residents.
A decentralized control for cascaded PV inverter system in grid-connected mode

This paper presents a decentralized control for grid-connected cascaded PV inverter system. The system is composed of a number of PV units in series and then connected to utility grid. The topology of this type is meaningful for low voltage (LV) devices to integrate into medium voltage (MV) or high voltage (HV) grid. The proposed decentralized control ensures independent control of each PV unit without communication, and PVs in the cascaded system operate as current controlled voltage sources (CCVS), achieving maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of each PV unit and synchronizing the frequency with the utility grid all the time, regardless of the random change of PV output current. System stability and dynamic performance are analyzed via small signal modeling. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed control is validated by simulation results.
Yeast Rpb9 Plays an Important Role in Ubiquitylation and Degradation of Rpb1 in Response to UV-Induced DNA Damage

ABSTRACT Rpb9, a nonessential subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II), has multiple transcription-related functions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including transcription elongation and transcription-coupled repair (TCR). Here we show that, in response to UV radiation, Rpb9 also functions in promoting ubiquitylation and degradation of Rpb1, the largest subunit of Pol II. This function of Rpb9 is not affected by any pathways of nucleotide excision repair, including TCR mediated by Rpb9 itself and by Rad26. Rpb9 is composed of three distinct domains: the N-terminal Zn1, the C-terminal Zn2, and the central linker. The Zn2 domain, which is dispensable for transcription elongation and TCR functions, is essential for Rpb9 to promote Rpb1 degradation, whereas the Zn1 and linker domains, which are essential for transcription elongation and TCR functions, play a subsidiary role in Rpb1 degradation. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis suggests that almost the full length of Rpb9 is required for a strong interaction with the core Pol II: deletion of the Zn2 domain causes dramatically weakened interaction, whereas deletion of Zn1 and the linker resulted in undetectable interaction. Furthermore, we show that Rpb1, rather than the whole Pol II complex, is degraded in response to UV radiation and that the degradation is primarily mediated by the 26S proteasome.
Entire spacelike hypersurfaces of prescribed Gauss curvature in Minkowski space

Abstract 1. Introduction In this paper we are concerned with spacelike convex hypersurfaces of positive constant (Κ-hypersurfaces) or prescribed Gauss curvature in Minkowski space ℝ n, 1 (n ≧ 2). Any such hypersurface may be written locally as the graph of a convex function x n+1 = u(x), x ε ℝ n satisfying the spacelike condition (1.1) |Du| < 1 and the Monge-Ampère type equation (1.2) where ψ is a prescribed positive function (the Gauss curvature). Our main purpose is to study entire solutions on ℝ n of (1.1)–(1.2). For ψ = 1 a well known entire solution of (1.1)–(1.2) is the hyperboloid (1.3) which gives an isometric embedding of the hyperbolic space ℍ n into ℝ n, 1. Hano and Nomizu [J. Hano and K. Nomizu, On isometric immersions of the hyperbolic plane into the Lorentz-Minkowski space and the Monge-Ampère equation of a certain type, Math. Ann. 262 (1983), 245–253. ] were probably the first to observe the non-uniqueness of isometric embeddings of ℍ2 in ℝ2, 1 by constructing other (geometrically distinct) entire solutions of (1.1)–(1.2) for n = 2 (and ψ ≡ 1) using methods of ordinary differential equations. Using the theory of Monge-Ampère equations, A. -M. Li [A. -M. Li, Spacelike hypersurfaces with constant Gauss-Kronecker curvature in the Minkowski space, Arch. Math. 64 (1995), 534–551. ] studied entire spacelike Κ-hypersurfaces with uniformly bounded principal curvatures, while the Dirichlet problem for (1.1)–(1.2) in a bounded domain Ω ⊂ ℝ n was treated by Delanoë [Ph. Delanoë, The Dirichlet problem for an equation of given Lorentz-Gaussian curvature, Ukrainian Math. J. 42 (1990), 1538–1545. ] when Ω is strictly convex, and by Guan [B. Guan, The Dirichlet problem for Monge-Ampère equations in non-convex domains and spacelike hyper-surfaces of constant Gauss curvature, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 350 (1998), 4955–4971. ] for general (non-convex) Ω. In this paper we are interested in entire spacelike Κ-hypersurfaces, and more generally hypersurfaces of prescribed Gauss curvature, without a boundedness assumption on principal curvatures.
Perfil Neuropsicológico no Neupsilin-Inf de Crianças com Dificuldades de Leitura

The aim of this research was to compare the performance of children with and without reading disabilities in the Child Neuropsychological Assessment Instrument NEUPSILIN-INF. Performance on neuropsychological functions of both groups, i.e., with reading disabilities (n = 19) and skilled readers (n = 65), was compared using ANCOVA, controlling for age, IQ (Raven) and Conners 'Scale (hyperactivity and attention deficits). The clinical group had significantly lower performances in orientation, working memory, oral language and literacy, arithmetic and visuo-constructive abilities and executive functions. These findings partially support the hypothesis of phonological processing deficit (phonological memory and phonological awareness), because the group with reading disabilities also showed low performance in other abilities, such as arithmetic, visuo-constructive and executive functions. The largest effect sizes were in written language (reading and writing of words/pseudowords). The results suggest evidence of criterion validity of NEUPSILIN-INF.
A PILOT EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPERAMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN 12â€“18 YEAR-OLD CHILDREN BORN AT EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT

This pilot study was aimed at exploring the temperament and psychopathology distribution amongst adolescents born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW), i.e. < 1000g. ELBW adolescents (N = 15) completed the Revised Cheek and Buss Scale and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0. 0 (M.I.N.I.), while their legal guardians completed a biographical questionnaire. The median age of the sample was 13 SD = 2.526 years (60% male) and all participants spoke English. The results suggest that being born at ELBW is associated with shyness in adolescence. Anxieties, mood and hyperactivity symptoms were prevalent. Planning of interventions for ELBW individuals should therefore include strategies to prevent or mitigate the effects of these factors in adolescence.
Introduction to Early Childhood Education

INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, 7th Edition, provides a comprehensive overview of early childhood education that is solidly based on current research and theories. Grounded in constructivist theory but also covering other perspectives, the book focuses on developmentally appropriate practices for infants and toddlers, preschoolers, early elementary schoolchildren, and children with disabilities. The majority of the text examines curriculum and the fostering of creativity as well as physical, cognitive, language, and social development--every facet of early childhood education is examined and explained This edition has been extensively revised and includes standards (both DAP and NAEYC) and accountability in the field of early childhood education, an expanded emphasis on working with children from diverse backgrounds, the latest brain-based research, and discussions of the role of families and forms of parent communication. With a strong emphasis on defining the components of high-quality early childhood programs, along with completely updated references, examples from practitioners, and new video offerings, this book is the most comprehensive resource available.
Syntactic Awareness and Arithmetic Word Problem Solving in Children With and Without Learning Disabilities

Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in elementary education were formed: children with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD), children with reading learning disabilities (RLD), and children with comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD). Mediation analysis confirmed that SA was a mediator variable for both groups of children with reading disabilities when solving AWPs, but not for children in the ALD group. All groups performed below the control group in the problem solving task. When SA was controlled for, semantic structure and position of the unknown set were variables that affected both groups with ALD. Specifically, children with ALD only were more affected by the place of the unknown set.
Microglial precursors derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

Microglia are resident immune cells of the central nervous system. They can be directly isolated from the brain or from mixed postnatal glial cultures. Isolation of primary microglia is inefficient due to low yield. The cell line BV2 was used as a substitute for primary microglia, but BV2 are oncogenically transformed cells. Here, we established a protocol to generate microglial precursor lines from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Microglial precursor cells were obtained from murine ES cells by differentiation of embryoid bodies to microglia within a mixed brain culture. Several independent ES cell‐derived microglial precursor (ESdM) lines were generated and characterized by flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and functional assays. All ESdM showed expression of IBa1, CD11b, CD45, F4/80, CD49d, and CD29, but were negative for cKit and CD34. Stimulation with interferon‐γ or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) demonstrated upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine gene transcription including nitric oxide synthase‐2, interleukin‐1β, and tumor necrosis factor‐α at levels comparable to primary microglia. The ESdM showed efficient and rapid phagocytosis of microsphere beads, which was increased after stimulation with LPS. ESdM expressed the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 and demonstrated directed migration toward the ligand CX3CL1. After in vivo transplantation into postnatal brain tissue, ESdM showed engraftment as cells with a microglial phenotype and morphology. Thus, ESdM are stable proliferating cells substantially having most characteristics of primary microglia and therefore being a suitable tool to study microglial function in vitro and in vivo. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characterization of fetal heart rate irregularity using approximate entropy and wavelet filtering

Approximate entropy (ApEn) has been used by several researchers as a means to characterize the irregularity of fetal heart rate (FHR), a major contributor to fetal risk assessment. The present work starts by analyzing the influence of accelerative and decelerative (AD) components of the FHR signal in the computation of ApEn. Having shown that the AD components may completely distort the ApEn evaluation we proceed to present two methods of eliminating the influence of the AD components: wavelet filtering; AD detection using specific algorithms based on well-established physiological criteria. We obtained good results with the first method when applied to simulated signals; however it proved unreliable in the practical application of discriminating normal from pathological fetal FHR. With the second method we were able to achieve this discrimination with high statistical significance.
Spred-2 Suppresses Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros Hematopoiesis by Inhibiting MAP Kinase Activation

In midgestation mouse embryos, the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region generates hematopoietic stem cells and definitive hematopoiesis is regulated by cell–cell interaction and signaling molecules. We showed that a Ras/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling-specific inhibitor and a dominant negative mutant Ras blocked the production of CD45+ hematopoietic cells in embryonic day 11.5 AGM culture, indicating an essential role for the MAP kinase pathway in AGM hematopoiesis. Overexpression of the Ras/MAP kinase pathway regulator, Spred-2, in the AGM culture significantly reduced the number of CD45+ cells. In contrast, production of CD45+ cells from the AGM region of Spred-2–null mice was up-regulated as compared with wild-type littermates. Furthermore, Spred-2–deficient mice exhibited elevated hematopoietic colony formation from vascular endothelial-cadherin+ cells. These data indicate that Spred-2 functions as a negative regulator of AGM hematopoiesis by inhibiting hematopoietic cytokine signaling.