Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Audit tenure and earnings quality – do auditor’s industry specialisation matter? Evidence from Tunisia

Prior studies suggest that auditor's industry specialisation are associated with highly earnings quality because the increase of client-specific knowledge. However, the effect of audit tenure on earnings quality is mixed. In this study, we examine whether auditor's industry specialisation affect the association between auditor tenure and earnings quality. Our empirical findings suggest that auditor's industry specialisation improve earnings quality than non-specialists audit firms. Additionally, results support the assumption that medium auditor tenure (auditors in their fourth, fifth, and sixth year with a client) is the best period of audit mission. By comparing the relative effects of audit industry specialisation on the association between audit tenure and earnings quality, we suggest that audit-firm specialisation plays a key role in determining the quality of earnings.
Strategic technology sourcing in corporate ventures: A study of Taiwanese pharmaceutical firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic technology outsourcing of corporate ventures from an integrated perspective.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed model argues that technology sourcing modes are jointly determined by the technological regime, industry‐specific factors and resource‐based view (RBV), as well as firm‐specific factors. Four Taiwanese top publicly traded pharmaceutical companies dedicated to biotechnology are studied.Findings – This paper demonstrates that firms most likely to outsource technology are characterized by the following technological regime factors: reliant on external sources of innovation, tight IPR protection, path independent from the existing technology trajectory, less complexity, easy to codify and having resource‐based (RB) factors: irrelevant to the core competence, weak complementary assets, and autonomous innovation.Practical implications – Current approaches generally focus on technology sourcing with a single strategic theory. New ve.
Sustainability marketing in the emerging markets: imperatives, challenges, and agenda setting

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight the imperatives for sustainability marketing (SM) adoption in the emerging markets (EMs), identifies challenges that are encumbering them from adopting SM orientation, and proposes research agenda for better understanding of the construct in the EMs.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from literature and experiential knowledge of the author in the EMs to address the objective of the paper.Findings – Pressure from the global market system, incidence of poverty in the EM, and unsupportive local conditions are argued to be inimical to the adoption of SM orientation in the EMs.Research limitations/implications – Given the heterogeneity of EMs, the conclusions in this paper may apply to various EMs differently. This must be borne in mind when generalizing the conclusions.Practical implications – This paper emphasizes the urgent need to modify existing public policies in EMs and to equally redirect the attention of organizations and consumers in EMs to foster sus.
Combination of efalizumab and acitretin in chronic plaque psoriasis

1 Formigon M, Alsina MM, Mascaro JM, Rivera F. Becker’s nevus and ipsilateral breast hypoplasia – androgen-receptor study in two patients. Arch Dermatol 1992; 128: 992–993. 2 Ro YS, Ko JY. Linear congenital Becker nevus. Cutis 2005; 75: 122–124. 3 Rathi S. Becker’s nevus on the lower extremity: an uncommon site. J Dermatol 2002; 29: 461–462. 4 de Almeida HL Jr, Happle R. Two cases of cephalic Becker nevus with asymmetrical growth of beard or scalp hair. Dermatology 2003; 207: 337–338. 5 Happle R, Koopman RJJ. Becker nevus syndrome. Am J Med Genet 1997; 68: 357–361. 6 Agrawal S, Garg VK, Sah SP, Agarwalla A. Acne in Becker’s nevus. Int J Dermatol 2001; 40: 583–585.
Boosting for Named Entity Recognition

This paper presents a system that applies boosting to the task of named-entity identification. The CoNLL-2002 shared task, for which the system is designed, is language-independent named-entity recognition. Using a set of features which are easily obtainable for almost any language, the presented system uses boosting to combine a set of weak classifiers into a final system that performs significantly better than that of an off-the-shelf maximum entropy classifier.
Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Children With Prenatal Drug Exposure

This study aimed to evaluate cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of children with prenatal drug exposure in a clinical context. A hospital-based cohort of 10- to 14-year-old children, prenatally exposed to alcohol, opioids, and polysubstances, and a group of sex- and age-matched controls were examined with cerebral MRI. Scans obtained from 34 exposed children and 40 controls were scored based on the presence and degree of pathology by an experienced pediatric neuroradiologist blinded to the participants’ background. Overall visual detectable MRI pathology was found in 35% of the exposed children and 33% of the controls (odds ratio = 1.08; 95% confidence interval = 0.36-3.25). No specific imaging pattern following prenatal drug exposure was seen by the means of simple visual analysis of cerebral MRI scans. Although cerebral MRI is feasible, it is probably of limited value in the clinical assessment of children with prenatal drug exposure.
Molecular basis of spinal muscular atrophy in Chinese.

To the Editor: Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by degeneration of the anterior horn cells, leading to symmetrical muscle weakness and wasting of voluntary muscles (Dubowitz 1978; Pearn 1982). SMA affects 1/10,000 live births and has an estimated carrier frequency of 1/40 (Roberts et al. 1970; Pearn 1973; Pearn et al. 1978). Affected individuals are classified into three groups, depending on the age at onset and progression of the disease, and all three forms of SMA are linked to the same set of genetic markers in the chromosome (Brzustowicz et al. 1990; Gilliam et al. 1990; Melki et al. 1990a, 1990b). Lefebvre et al. (1995) and Roy et al. (1995) have reported two candidate genes responsible for SMA. Both genes isolated by these scientists have been found be defective in SMA patients. According to Lefebvre et al., two highly homologous survival motor neuron (SMN) genes, one centromeric and the other telomeric, were isolated as candidate genes of SMA. Both alleles of the telomeric SMN gene were either lacking or interrupted in 226 (98.6%) of 229 patients. The few patients retaining this gene (3 of 229) carried either a point mutation or short deletion in the consensus splice sites of introns 6 and 7 of one allele and lacked the telomeric SMN gene on the other allele. Another candidate gene for SMA has been called "neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein" (NAIP) by Roy et al. The first two coding exons of the NAIP gene are deleted in -67% of type I SMA chromosomes, and reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR analysis revealed internally deleted and mutated forms of the NAIP transcript in type I SMA patients. The percentage of deletion of exons 5 and 6 in type II and type III SMA patients was estimated at 42%, which is much lower than that in type I SMA patients and suggests a possible correlation with disease severity. In our series, we took blood samples from 42 different families with SMA patients in Taiwan. Forty-eight cases of SMA were found in these families, comprising 11 cases (10 families) of type I, 25 cases (21 families) of type II, and 12 cases (11 families) of type III SMA. All patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of proximal SMA defined by the International SMA Consortium (Munsat and Davies 1992). Blood samples were also collected from 60 normal individuals (>65 years of age) as negative controls. The DNA was extracted according to standard procedures. We amplified exons 7 and 8 of the SMN genes from genomic DNA by a modified PCR protocol (Chiou et SMIA 111 SMA I
Lipocalin-2 in Fructose-Induced Fatty Liver Disease

The intake of excess dietary fructose most often leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Fructose is metabolized mainly in the liver and its chronic consumption results in lipogenic gene expression in this organ. However, precisely how fructose is involved in NAFLD progression is still not fully understood, limiting therapy. Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a small secreted transport protein that binds to fatty acids, phospholipids, steroids, retinol, and pheromones. LCN2 regulates lipid and energy metabolism in obesity and is upregulated in response to insulin. We previously discovered that LCN2 has a hepatoprotective effect during hepatic insult, and that its upregulation is a marker of liver damage and inflammation. To investigate if LCN2 has impact on the metabolism of fructose and thereby arising liver damage, we fed wild type and Lcn2−/− mice for 4 or 8 weeks on diets that were enriched in fructose either by adding this sugar to the drinking water (30% w/v), or by feeding a chow containing 60% (w/w) fructose. Body weight and daily intake of food and water of these mice was then measured. Fat content in liver sections was visualized using Oil Red O stain, and expression levels of genes involved in fat and sugar metabolism were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. We found that fructose-induced steatosis and liver damage was more prominent in female than in male mice, but that the most severe hepatic damage occurred in female mice lacking LCN2. Unexpectedly, consumption of elevated fructose did not induce de novo lipogenesis or fat accumulation. We conclude that LCN2 acts in a lipid-independent manner to protect the liver against fructose-induced damage.
Immediate Reactions to More Than 1 NSAID Must Not Be Considered Cross-Hypersensitivity Unless Tolerance to ASA Is Verified.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Individuals who develop drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) to chemically unrelated nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are considered cross-hypersensitive. The hallmark for this classification is that the patient presents a reaction after intake of or challenge with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Whether patients react to 2 or more NSAIDs while tolerating ASA remains to be studied (selective reactions, SRs). Objective: To identify patients with SRs to 2 or more NSAIDs including strong COX-1 inhibitors. METHODS Patients who attended the Allergy Service of Hospital Infanta Leonor, Madrid, Spain with DHRs to NSAIDs between January 2011 and December 2014 were evaluated. Those with 2 or more immediate reactions occurring in less than 1 hour after intake were included. After confirming tolerance to ASA, the selectivity of the response to 2 or more NSAIDs was demonstrated by in vivo and/or in vitro testing or by controlled administration. RESULTS From a total of 203 patients with immediate DHRs to NSAIDs, 16 (7.9%) met the inclusion criteria. The patients presented a total of 68 anaphylactic or cutaneous reactions (mean [SD], 4.2 [2.1]). Most reactions were to ibuprofen and other arylpropionic acid derivatives and to metamizole. Two different NSAIDs were involved in 11 patients and 3 in 5 patients. CONCLUSIONS Patients with NSAID-induced anaphylaxis or urticaria/angioedema should not be considered cross-hypersensitive unless tolerance to ASA is verified.
Economic Development, Vertical Intra-Industry Trade and Gains from Trade

This paper investigates the impact of economic development on international trade and sources of gains from trade based on a theoretical model that considers consumers’ preference diversity for quality and economies of scale in production. We confirm that both the volume of trade and the share of intra-industry trade increase with increases in the level of economic development in the region. We also find that the intra-industry trade share increases as the technology levels of the two countries become similar. Additionally, we find that both countries can gain from trade and that those gains come from three sources: internal economies of scale, more consumption, and more variety of goods.
Innovation, Market Structure, and Firm Size

The hypothesis that the relative innovative advantage between large and small firms is determined by market concentration, the extent of entry barriers, the composition of firm size within the industry, and the overall importance of innovation activity is tested. The authors find that large firms tend to have the relative innovative advantage in industries that are capital intensive, concentrated, highly unionized, and produce a differentiated good. The small firms tend to have the relative advantage in industries that are highly innovative, utilize a large component of skilled labor, and tend to be composed of a relatively high proportion of large firms. Copyright 1987 by MIT Press.
Auditor changes and tendering: UK interview evidence

Competitive pressures in the audit market have led to aggressive fee renegotiation and tendering by companies. This paper reviews microeconomic tender theory and finds it to be of limited value in the audit context. Content analysis of semi‐structured interviews conducted with the finance directors of 12 UK listed companies which had recently tendered and/or changed auditor are used to investigate the tender/change process. Contrary to popular belief, fee levels do not necessarily dominate the decision to change auditors, rather changes within the client company, audit staffing, and auditor’s professionalism and competency issues dominate. Nor is the selection of a tender “winner” generally based solely on price, as predicted by tender theory and as would be expected when the consequences of audit failure do not fall on the directors. However, consistent with economic theory, the winning bid appears frequently to be too low, resulting in attempts by auditors to subsequently increase fees and resentment by the finance director. Directors generally appear to view the audit tender as relating to not only the attest function per se, but to a larger package of services concerning the financial reporting function. The relative importance of price versus non‐price competition in auditor choice is found to vary across companies. Auditor choice is influenced strongly by both economic and behavioural factors, in particular, by directors’ assessment of the quality of non‐attest services and the expected quality of working relationships, in addition to price and audit quality.
The effects of culture and HRM practices on firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of organizational culture and human resource management (HRM) effectiveness on financial performance of a sample of Singapore‐based companies involved in mergers and acquisition activities.Design/methodology/approach – The study used the method of content analysis to collect information on cultural values and HRM effectiveness, using Kabanoff's content analysis dictionary. Culture profiles were then assigned to organizations in the sample following the results from cluster analysis. Various financial ratios were used to measure organizational performance. Finally, regression analysis was performed to test various hypotheses.Findings – The key finding of the study is that organizations with either elite or leader value profile, when complemented by human resource effectiveness, had a better financial performance as compared to organizations with meritocratic or collegial value profiles. It thus follows that, to achieve better financial results .
The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Funneliformis mosseae Alters Bacterial Communities in Subtropical Forest Soils during Litter Decomposition

Bacterial communities and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) co-occur in the soil, however, the interaction between these two groups during litter decomposition remains largely unexplored. In order to investigate the effect of AMF on soil bacterial communities, we designed dual compartment microcosms, where AMF (Funneliformis mosseae) was allowed access (AM) to, or excluded (NM) from, a compartment containing forest soil and litterbags. Soil samples from this compartment were analyzed at 0, 90, 120, 150, and 180 days. For each sample, Illumina sequencing was used to assess any changes in the soil bacterial communities. We found that most of the obtained operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from both treatments belonged to the phylum of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. The community composition of bacteria at phylum and class levels was slightly influenced by both time and AMF. In addition, time and AMF significantly affected bacterial genera (e.g., Candidatus Solibacter, Dyella, Phenylobacterium) involved in litter decomposition. Opposite to the bacterial community composition, we found that overall soil bacterial OTU richness and diversity are relatively stable and were not significantly influenced by either time or AMF inoculation. OTU richness at phylum and class levels also showed consistent results with overall bacterial OTU richness. Our study provides new insight into the influence of AMF on soil bacterial communities at the genus level.
Early Development and Tissue Distribution of Pseudoloma neurophilia in the Zebrafish, Danio rerio

The early proliferative stages of the microsporidian parasite, Pseudoloma neurophilia were visualized in larval zebrafish, Danio rerio, using histological sections with a combination of an in situ hybridization probe specific to the P. neurophilia small‐subunit ribosomal RNA gene, standard hematoxylin‐eosin stain, and the Luna stain to visualize spores. Beginning at 5 d post fertilization, fish were exposed to P. neurophilia and examined at 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h post exposure (hpe). At 12 hpe, intact spores in the intestinal lumen and proliferative stages developing in the epithelial cells of the anterior intestine and the pharynx and within hepatocytes were observed. Proliferative stages were visualized in the pancreas and kidney at 36–48 hpe and in the spinal cord, eye, and skeletal muscle beginning at 72 hpe. The first spore stages of P. neurophilia were observed at 96 hpe in the pharyngeal epithelium, liver, spinal cord, and skeletal muscle. The parasite was only observed in the brain of larval fish at 120 hpe. The distribution of the early stages of P. neurophilia and the lack of mature spores until 96 hpe indicates that the parasite gains access to organs distant from the initial site of entry, likely by penetrating the intestinal wall with the polar tube.
Participation's Not a Paradox: The View from American Activists

Political participation has long been a puzzle for political science analysis. The logic of collective action suggests that activity to achieve collective goals is irrational; yet citizens are active. In this article, we approach the subject from the point of view of political activists, using survey data to consider their own interpretations of why they took part. The data show that participants recall many gratifications from their activity and that the patterns differ substantially across modes of participation. These rewards tend to be ‘political’ in that activists cite both civic gratifications and the desire to achieve collective goals more frequently than would be expected on the basis of rational choice approaches. The variations among acts with respect to the nature of the retrospective interpretations of the rewards they provide – in conjunction with open-ended responses about the issues behind activity – lend credence to respondents' accounts. The results call into question the applicability of narrow rational choice approaches to political activity.
International Technology Diffusion: Effects of Trade and FDI

There has been little analysis of the effect of inward FDI on international R&D diffusion, especially in LDCs, although FDI has become the core of international production and LDCs have been receiving an increasing share of world FDI over the past few decades. Using data from 57 countries from 1988 to 2001, we find that both FDI and trade serve as important channels of international technology diffusion. However, there exist heterogeneous effects of FDI in DCs and LDCs. For inward FDI to promote technology diffusion in LDCs, a certain threshold of human capital has to be reached.
Citizens’ support for government spending on science and technology

This paper analyses public support for government spending on science and technology (S&T) and its determinants. It constructs hypotheses based on previous findings from two streams of research: public preferences for government spending and public understanding of science. Using data from a large national survey in Spain, it develops multivariate models to test the relevance of various predictors of public support for government spending on S&T. Findings identify several variables that are clear and consistent predictors of public support for government spending on S&T: the respondent’s educational level, interest and participation in science, knowledge of science, and positive values and views of S&T. However, the effects of other variables also related to general attitudes towards science are less clearly associated with support for government spending on S&T.
Endoscopic necrosectomy as primary therapy in the management of infected pancreatic necrosis.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Open pancreatic necrosectomy is the standard treatment for infected pancreatic necrosis but is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stay. Percutaneous or endoscopic necrosectomy are alternative techniques. We evaluated the use of endoscopic necrosectomy for treatment of patients with necrosis that could be accessed through the posterior wall of the stomach. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the indication, patient status according to acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) 2 severity score, and success of endoscopic necrosectomy as primary treatment, in selected patients with localized infected pancreatic necrosis, who presented between May 2002 and October 2004. After the necrosis cavity had been accessed, with the assistance of endoscopic ultrasound, a large orifice was created and necrotic debris was removed using endoscopic accessories under radiological control. Follow-up was clinical and radiological. RESULTS 13 patients (nine men, four women, mean age 53 years), 11 with positive bacteriology, underwent attempted endoscopic necrosectomy. Median APACHE 2 score on presentation was 8 (range 1-18). Four patients needed intensive therapy unit care and one other patient required (nonventilatory) high-dependency unit care only. Necrosis was successfully treated endoscopically in 12 patients, requiring a mean of 4 endoscopic interventions (range 1-10); one patient required open surgery; two underwent additional percutaneous necrosectomy and one required laparoscopic drainage. Two patients died of complications unrelated to the procedure. The 11 survivors have a median (range) follow-up of 16 (6-38) months. CONCLUSION Endoscopic necrosectomy is a safe method for treatment of infected pancreatic necrosis. Multiple procedures are usually needed. It may be combined with other methods of surgical intervention. Larger prospective studies will more precisely define its role.
Stochastic Dominance vs. Mean-Variance Portfolio Analysis: An Empirical Evaluation

Most of the work in portfolio theory in the past decade has been based on the principle of utility maximization where either the investor's utility function is assumed to be a second degree polynomial with a positive first derivative and a negative second derivative, or the probability functions are assumed to be normal. If at least one of these conditions holds, it can be shown that choosing among risky assets on the basis of their mean and variance only is consistent with the von Neumann-Morgenstern utility maximization model. ' Thus, given the above assumptions, the incorporation of higher moments of a distribution and the adoption of alternative approaches to portfolio selection have largely been ignored in favor of the more familiar mean-variance approaches.