Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concepts Associated with the ‘True and Fair View’: Evidence from Singapore

This study investigated the differential perceptions of the ‘true and fair view’ among accountants, bank officers and managers in Singapore and examined whether ‘true and fair’ was perceived to mean compliance with GAAP and compliance with legal requirements. The survey questionnaire required respondents to evaluate simultaneously 12 phrases (including the ‘true and fair view’) using the card-sorting technique. The questionnaire was given to 300 accountants, 100 bank officers and 200 managers, yielding response rates of 73%, 64% and 81.5% respectively, and 74.33% (or 446) overall. Descriptive statistics, individual differences scaling analysis (INDSCAL) and cluster analysis were performed to analyse the data. The results showed that perceptions of the true and fair view did not differ significantly across the three groups. Further, ‘true and fair’ was clearly distinguished from compliance with GAAP and/or legal requirements. Instead, it was grouped with ‘not misleading’, ‘absence of material errors’ and ‘objective and free from bias’.
Monocyte activation in multiple sclerosis

Monocytes, macrophages, and microglia have a central role in the CNS inflammation of MS. Monocytes are important in the earliest events in MS. Peripheral blood monocytes secrete prostaglandins before MS attacks. During clinical activity monocyte activation markers increase and IL-1 and TNF-a levels are elevated. Other monocyte products such as IL-10 reduce inflammation. IL-10 mRNA in MNC is increased during stable disease. Manipulation of monokine secretion and expression of monocyte surface proteins are reasonable approaches for immune therapy of MS.
Corporate governance and dividend policy in Indonesia

Purpose – This study aims at examining the impact of corporate governance on dividend policy among Indonesian companies. There are two theories of the effect of corporate governance on dividend policy: substitution and outcome theory. Substitution theory argue that corporate governance have negative effect on dividend policy, while outcome theory argue that corporate governance have positive effect on dividend policy. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of corporate governance on dividend policy in Indonesia. This study aims at examining the impact of corporate governance on dividend policy among Indonesian companies. There are two theories of the effect of corporate governance on dividend policy: substitution and outcome theory. Substitution theory argue that corporate governance have negative effect on dividend policy, while outcome theory argue that corporate governance have positive effect on dividend policy. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of corporate governance on dividend p.
« Asymmetries with R&D-Driven Growth and Heterogeneous Firms »

This paper studies the impact of trade liberalization on the productivity growth of two asymmetric countries in a R&D driven growth model with heterogeneous firms. The Melitz’s reallocation of production induces positive but asymmetric productivity gains. Growth is also affected in an asymmetric way because trade liberalization reduces innovation incentives with a different strength in the two countries. A more productive country suffers a higher slowdown in the productivity growth rate.
Pricing defaultable bonds: a middle-way approach between structural and reduced-form models

In this paper we present a valuation model that combines features of both the structural and reduced-form approaches for modelling default risk. We maintain the cause and effect or ‘structural’ definition of default and assume that default is triggered when a state variable reaches a default boundary. However, in our model, the state variable is not interpreted as the assets of the firm, but as a latent variable signalling the credit quality of the firm. Default in our model can also occur according to a doubly stochastic hazard rate. The hazard rate is a linear function of the state variable and the interest rate. We use the Cox et al. (A theory of the term structure of interest rates. Econometrica, 1985, 53(2), 385–407) term structure model to preclude the possibility of negative probabilities of default. We also horse race the proposed valuation model against structural and reduced-form default risky bond pricing models and find that term structures of credit spreads generated using the middle-way approach are more in line with empirical observations.
Consumption as a Source of Social Change

This paper analyzes the societal impact of economic growth. I argue that, from a certain stage of development on, economic growth leads to the proliferation of consumption as a mode of social and cultural action. As a consequence, traditional forms of social and cultural practice, such as religious service attendance, become incrementally marginalized. I empirically test this hypothesis using data from official statistics and survey data from the ISSP and the ESS. Results first show that expenditures on leisure consumption significantly increase as GDP waxes. Second, I find that engagement in religious practices as well as leisure consumption activities positively affect involvement in informal social relations. Third, the results indicate that engagement in leisure consumption activities is negatively associated with participation of individuals in religious services.
An artificial immune system-inspired multiobjective evolutionary algorithm with application to the detection of distributed computer network intrusions

Today's signature-based intrusion detection systems are reactive in nature and storage-limited. Their operation depends upon catching an instance of an intrusion or virus and encoding it into a signature that is stored in its anomaly database, providing a window of vulnerability to computer systems during this time. Further, the maximum size of an Internet Protocol-based message requires the database to be huge in order to maintain possible signature combinations. In order to tighten this response cycle within storage constraints, this paper presents an innovative Artificial Immune System-inspired Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm. This distributed intrusion detection system (IDS) is intended to measure the vector of tradeoff solutions among detectors with regard to two independent objectives: best classification fitness and optimal hypervolume size. Our antibody detectors promiscuously monitor network traffic for exact and variant abnormal system events based on only the detector's own data structure and the application domain truth set, responding heuristically. Applied to the MIT-DARPA 1999 insider intrusion detection data set, our software engineered algorithm correctly classifies normal and abnormal events at a high level which is directly attributed to a detector affinity threshold.
Stability of Child‐Care Subsidy Use and Earnings of Low‐Income Families

This article explores the duration and effect of child‐care subsidy use among low‐income working mothers in Wisconsin. Using an event‐history model, the study finds that mothers are likely to cycle on and off subsidy systems and that their subsidy spells tend to end relatively quickly. Results from a Tobit model with a lagged dependent variable suggest that long‐term use of child‐care subsidies is associated with increases in mothers’ earnings.
Effect of infertility on quality of life of women: a validation study of the Turkish FertiQoL

Abstract The fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) measure specifically evaluates the impact of fertility problems in various life areas. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between FertiQoL and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) in the Turkish population. All female patients who underwent various fertility treatments in our infertility clinic from May 2011 to May 2014 were approached to participate in the study and 389 completed the questionnaires. Our results showed that the four core scales of the FertiQoL measure had a Cronbach’s α value that was between 0.70 and 0.89. Two scales (anxiety and depression) of HADS both had a Cronbach’s α value of 0.80. These values present a reliable usage of FertiQoL and HADS measures (α > 0.60). Significant negative correlations were found between the FertiQoL scales and HADS scales, ranging from −0.27 (between relational scale of FertiQoL and anxiety scale of HADS) to −0.65 (between mind–body scale of FertiQoL and depression scale of HADS). The results of this study provide supportive data to confirm that the Turkish version of FertiQol can accurately evaluate QoL in women who seek fertility treatment in Turkey.
The impact of perceived ethical intensity on audit-quality-threatening behaviours

Although there has been significant interest among researchers in audit-quality-threatening behaviours (QTBs), the decision process through which staff auditors engage in those behaviours has received relatively little attention. It seems likely that the ethical intensity of the behaviours perceived by auditors may play an important role in that process; to date, this has not been tested. This study examines the mediating role of perceived ethical intensity in the relationship between perceived ethical culture of the firm and the auditors' ethical evaluation of, and intention to engage in, three different forms of QTBs. A multi-item measure of ethical intensity is developed and the findings provide the first empirical evidence of a direct relationship between perceived ethical intensity and ethical decision-making regarding QTBs. Moreover, the findings show that perceived ethical intensity fully mediates the relationship between perceived ethical culture and ethical decision-making. Implications of the findings for accounting firms and for researchers are discussed and areas for future research on the mediating role of perceived ethical intensity are suggested in the paper.
A Theory of Income and Dividend Smoothing Based on Incumbency Rents

"Income smoothing" is the process of manipulating the time profile of earnings or earnings reports to make the reported income stream less variable. This paper builds a theory of income smoothing based on the managers' concern about keeping their position or avoiding interference, and on the idea that current performance receives more weight than past performance when one is assessing the future. When investment is added to the model, so that income reports and dividends can be set independently, we find that both dividends and income reports may be smoothed and that dividends may convey information not present in the income report.
Changes in expression levels of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) during first-line oxaliplatin-based treatment of advanced metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

520 Background: We previously reported the updated results of the FIRIS study, reconfirming the non-inferiority of IRIS (irinotecan/S-1) to FOLFIRI with progression-free survival (PFS) as the primary endpoint (ASCO2011 #3562). Moreover, in patients who had received prior oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, median OS was significantly longer in the IRIS group than in the FOLFIRI group (adjusted HR=0.755, 95% CI: 0.580-0.987). The aim of this retrospective study was to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying the better survival in the IRIS group among patients who had previously received oxaliplatin. METHODS Irinotecan-naive mCRC patients (ECOG PS 0-1, adequate organ function, resectable liver metastases) were enrolled. Resected liver metastases were available for 17 patients who had received FOLFOX and 21 patients who had received no prior oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Using laser captured microdissection and real-time RT-PCR, we analyzed mRNA expression of excision repair cross complementing group 1 (ERCC1) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), factors related to drug resistance and metabolism. RESULTS Baseline factors (sex, age, histology) of the subjects were similar in the two groups. Expression levels of nucleotide excision repair pathway gene ERCC1 and pyrimidine catabolic pathway gene DPD differed significantly between the FOLFOX group and non-oxaliplatin group. Mean expression levels of ERCC1 and DPD were respectively 1.9 and 7.4 times higher in the FOLFOX group than in the non-oxaliplatin group (ERCC1: 1.58 vs. 0.85, P=0.0005; DPD: 0.580 vs. 0.078, P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS Increased expression of ERCC1 and DPD after first-line oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is probably related to chemosensitivity to subsequent therapy. Tumor heterogeneity and clonal selection of tumor cells resistant to oxaliplatin may also be involved.
Placental ontogeny of the Australian scincid lizards Niveoscincus coventryi and Pseudemoia spenceri.

Models for the evolution of placentation among squamate reptiles have been strongly influenced by early work on one lineage of Australian scincid lizards: one of three lineages that include species with specialized allantoplacentation. The discovery of two types of complex allantoplacentae among species currently assigned to the Eugongylus species group led Weekes ([1935] Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 2:625-645) to propose that a graded evolutionary sequence was exemplified by the morphological series of allantoplacental types that existed among Australian skinks. One of the model's strengths is the incorporation of testable inferences of the relationship between placental structure and function. However, descriptions of placental structure for some species are incomplete and subsequent taxonomic revisions have resulted in confusion concerning the species studied. One of the ambiguities is the identity of Lygosoma weekesae (Kinghorn [1929] Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 54:32-33), one of two species for which the most specialized type of allantoplacenta was defined. The distinguishing characteristic of this placental type is the presence of a structure known as a placentome. Subsequent to the original species description, Lygosoma weekesae was named a synonym for Pseudemoia spenceri (Rawlinson [1974] Mem. Natn. Mus. Vict., 35:87-96), yet the placental description (Weekes [1929] Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 54:34-60) is thought to be of Niveoscincus coventryi (Rawlinson [1975] Mem. Natn. Mus. Vic., 36:1-16). We describe placental ontogeny of N. coventryi and P. spenceri as a contribution to study of comparative placentation among lygosomatine skinks. We conclude that the placental description for L. weekesae could not have been N. coventryi, because a placentome is not a component of the allantoplacenta of N. coventryi. Further, the allantoplacenta of this species does not conform to previously defined categories for Eugongylus group skinks. The allantoplacenta of P. spenceri contains a placentome that is structurally congruous with the original description of placentation for L. weekesae (Weekes [1929] Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 54:34-60). Comparison of extraembryonic membrane and placental structure among the four viviparous and one oviparous species of Eugongylus group skinks for which data are available shows that each species exhibits characters that distinguish it from other species, while additional characters are shared among all, or some, species. Based on a recent phylogenetic hypothesis, the distribution of allantoplacental types among these species does not support Weekes' ([1935] Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 2:625-645) model of a graded sequence for the evolution of squamate placentation.
Asymmetric pass-through and risk of interest rate: an empirical exploration of Taiwan and Hong Kong

This study employs the asymmetric threshold cointegration test suggested by Enders and Siklos (2001) and creates asymmetric EC-EGARCH(1, 1)- M model to investigate the pass-through of money-market rate to banking retail rates in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It further explores the impact of interest volatility on interest rates. Over the period of February 1988 to December 2004, we find that the interest pass-through mechanism of these two markets is noncomplete. In addition, based on the asymmetric threshold cointegration test, we discover the existence of asymmetric cointegration relationship between retail rates and market rate in both markets. In particular, while employing asymmetric EC-EGARCH (1, 1)-M model to test for the influence of money-market rate adjustment and volatility on retail rates in short-run, we find robust evidence that there exist the upward rigidity in deposit rate and the downward rigidity in lending rate in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. This finding supports the hypothesis of the collusive pricing arrangements. Furthermore, interest volatility should cause a smaller margin of variation for Taiwan's deposit/lending rates and wider margin for Hong Kong's lending rate.
Changes in U.S. Streamflow and Western U.S. Snowpack

Hydroclimatological records are increasingly examined for evidence of trends and shifts that may assist in prediction of future climate change scenarios. This study investigates the trend and step changes in U.S. streamflow over a 52-year period (1951–2002) using data from 639 unimpaired streamflow stations categorized according to the hydrologic unit codes. This is particularly relevant since the issue of climate change is of interest to many, and studies have indicated an abrupt change in climate around the year 1976/77. Trends were evaluated using three statistical tests: Spearman’s rho, Mann-Kendall, and linear regression, and step changes were evaluated using the rank sum and student’s t test. The temporal resolution used for the study included water year (Oct–Sept), autumn–winter (Oct–Mar), and spring–summer (Apr–Sept) periods. Additionally, April 1 snow-water equivalent (SWE) data for 121 SNOTEL stations for the period 1941 to 2004 were used to test for the trends in the western U.S. The multiple s.
An Assessment of Sample-Based Estimators of Tree Species Richness in Two Wet Tropical Forest Compartments in Panama and India

SUMMARY We assessed the performance of ten incidence-based estimators of tree species richness in simulated simple random sampling with fixed-area plots. Stem diameter-limited tree species and location data came from two species-rich wet tropical forest compartments in Panama and India. Lower limits of stem diameter were 1 cm and 30 cm, respectively. Estimators varied widely in their estimates of richness and their rankings changed frequently across sites and sample designs. A gamma-Poisson estimator was overall best according to a performance score of three accuracy statistics and sample size. However, until corroborated by further studies, Chao's 1981 non-parametric estimator is recommended for forest inventories with fixed-area plots.
Determinants of Corporate Leasing Policy

The existing finance literature assumes the real operating cash flows from leasing or owning are invariant to the ownership of the asset and focuses on tax-related incentives for corporate leasing policy. Our analysis suggests that taxes are important in identifying potential lessees and lessors, but are less important in identifying the specific assets leased. We provide a unified analysis of the various incentives affecting the lease-versuspurchase decision. We then show how these incentives explain the use of contractual provisions such as maintenance clauses, deposits, options to purchase the asset, and metering. WHEN A FIRM BUYS AN ASSET, it obtains both the right to the services of that asset over the period it is owned plus the right to sell the asset at any future date. With a lease, the firm acquires only the right to the asset's services for a period specified in the contract. The existing finance literature analyzing corporate leasing policy concentrates on the tax-related incentives to lease or buy (e.g., see Miller and Upton [19], Myers et al. [21], Lewellen et al. [13], Franks and Hodges [11], and Brealey and Young [4]). We believe that taxes play an important role in explaining certain dimensions of leasing policy, for example, the choice between manufacturer and third-party leasing. However, taxes provide only a limited explanation of why specific assets are leased rather than owned, and for the choice of provisions in lease contracts. In this paper, we want to accomplish two things: (1) to provide a unified analysis of the various incentives affecting the lease-versus-buy decision and (2) to employ that analysis to explain observed variation in corporate leasing policy. In deriving testable hypotheses about the characteristics of lessees, lessors, the assets leased, and provisions in lease contracts, we extend the standard leaseversus-buy analysis found in corporate finance textbooks (e.g., Brealey and Myers
The Impact of Open-Market Share Repurchases on Long-Term Stock Returns: Evidence from the Taiwanese Market

This study examines long-term stock returns following open-market share repurchases of listed firms in Taiwan. The empirical results based on event-time cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) and buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHARs) show that announcing firms do not experience significant positive long-term return relative to the control firms. Moreover, using the calendar-time portfolio approach, we find the abnormal returns are significantly negative over twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six months, suggesting stocks of firms that repurchase their shares are underperformed in the postannouncement period. The implication from our results is that in Taiwan, share repurchases are mainly used to stabilize stock price during a market downturn rather than to signal a firm's future prospects.
Initiation and Synergistic Fibrillization of Tau and Alpha-Synuclein

Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) and tau polymerize into amyloid fibrils and form intraneuronal filamentous inclusions characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases. We demonstrate that α-syn induces fibrillization of tau and that coincubation of tau and α-syn synergistically promotes fibrillization of both proteins. The in vivo relevance of these findings is grounded in the co-occurrence of α-syn and tau filamentous amyloid inclusions in humans, in single transgenic mice that express A53T human α-syn in neurons, and in oligodendrocytes of bigenic mice that express wild-type human α-syn plus P301L mutant tau. This suggests that interactions between α-syn and tau can promote their fibrillization and drive the formation of pathological inclusions in human neurodegenerative diseases.
Ex Ante Basis Risk in the Live Hog Futures Contract: Has Hedgers' Risk Increased?

Basis behavior can have a direct affect on hedging and pricing decisions. Here, ex ante basis risk for selected live hog cash markets is analyzed from 1985 through 1994. One and five month ahead econometric, time series, and naive forecasts are used to construct measures of basis risk based on mean squared forecast errors and market timing ability. The findings suggest that basis risk has not increased nor has basis predictability declined relative to historical levels. The recent decline in demand for futures contracts is likely attributable to other structural changes in the industry.
Enhancing privacy in collaborative scenarios utilising a flexible proxy layer

In this paper we present our approach for a flexible proxy layer, allowing the parallel use of anonymous and direct network communication depending on specific scenarios or user preferences. The requirements are derived from scenarios from the european research project di. me, targeting to support end users in keeping control of their personal data and digital footprints. In the targeted scenarios, the use of anonymous network communication is an essential prerequisite for certain use cases (e.g. like pseudonymous communication), because of the special architecture, where each user has its own server holding his private data. Especially, the presented approach solves linkability which could arise when using SSL certificates/x.509 certificates and addresses various potential attacks. A detailed specification is given and important implementation details are addressed.