Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative analyses of evolutionary rates reveal different pathways to encephalization in bats, carnivorans, and primates

Variation in relative brain size is commonly interpreted as the result of selection on neuronal capacity. However, this approach ignores that relative brain size is also linked to another highly adaptive variable: body size. Considering that one-way tradeoff mechanisms are unlikely to provide satisfactory evolutionary explanations, we introduce an analytical framework that describes and quantifies all possible evolutionary scenarios between two traits. To investigate the effects of body mass changes on the interpretation of relative brain size evolution, we analyze three mammalian orders that are expected to be subject to different selective pressures on body size due to differences in locomotor adaptation: bats (powered flight), primates (primarily arboreal), and carnivorans (primarily terrestrial). We quantify rates of brain and body mass changes along individual branches of phylogenetic trees using an adaptive peak model of evolution. We find that the magnitude and variance of the level of integration of brain and body mass rates, and the subsequent relative influence of either brain or body size evolution on the brain–body relationship, differ significantly between orders and subgroups within orders. Importantly, we find that variation in brain–body relationships was driven primarily by variability in body mass. Our approach allows a more detailed interpretation of correlated trait evolution and variation in the underlying evolutionary pathways. Results demonstrate that a principal focus on interpreting relative brain size evolution as selection on neuronal capacity confounds the effects of body mass changes, thereby hiding important aspects that may contribute to explaining animal diversity.
The Employment-Real Wage Relationship: An International Study

The neoclassical and Keynesian theories of employment both predict an inverse relationship between employment and real wages in the short run. The observed correlation between employment and real wages, however, has usually failed to conform to this prediction. Dunlop (1938) and Tarshis (1939) reported a positive correlation between real and money wages which, given procyclical movement of money wages, was interpreted as evidence against the theoretical prediction; the statistical significance of these results was, however, challenged by Ruggles (1940) and Tobin (1948). More recent studies by Kuh (1966) and Bodkin (1969) failed to detect a significant relationship between real wages and employment. These findings stimulated a series of contributions by Solow and Stiglitz (1968), Barro and Grossman (1971, 1976), and others, developing alternative models not apparently refuted by the evidence. Barro and Grossman recast macro theory under the assumption that markets did not clear; Modigliani (1977) argued that the observed relationship between employment and real wages could be accounted for in an oligopolistic model of firm behavior. Thus both the competitive and equilibrium assumptions of the classical model were diagnosed as the sources of its apparent empirical refutation.
Export Barriers

What are the factors that impede firms’ international expansion? Does a firm with marginal export activity perceive the same export barriers as a company wholly devoted to the export market? This article addresses these and other questions through data collected from a total of 286 exporting and non-exporting small and medium-sized firms in the Spanish wine industry. The results show that decision makers’ perceptions of export barriers–regardless of the type of barrier considered–decrease as the firm moves further in the export development process, even when pre-export stages are taken into account. The main implications of this research work, together with its limitations, are presented in the ‘Discussion and Conclusions’ section of the article.
Firm Size or Firm Age? The Effect on Wages Using Matched Employer-Employee Data

This paper uses matched employer-employee data set for Sweden to study the relationship between firm age and wages, systematically addressing a variety of possible explanations for observing a firm age-wage effect. Results show considerable heterogeneity across years, along segments of the firm age distribution and across industries. For 1995, a positive relationship is found between firm age and wages. This relationship is robust to inclusion of variables that might affect results. Taking into account that larger firms are also older firms, results show that inclusion of firm age does not alter the positive effect of firm size on wages.
Hemorrheological variables in critical limb ischemia.

BACKGROUND Impaired hemorrheological properties may worsen the tissue hypoxia distal to an arterial narrowing in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in red blood cell rigidity, blood viscosity and plasma viscosity as contributing factors in the development of hypoxia in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). METHODS Forty patients with critical limb ischemia and 40 healthy subjects were included in the study. The subjects included in the study were non-diabetic with blood pressure measurements within the normal range. Compound known to interfere with hemorrheological parameters were not taken by the patients for at least 7 days prior to investigation. Routine blood counts (WBC, RBC, Hb, Hct), plasma fibrinogen levels, plasma total cholesterol levels, red blood cell rigidity, blood and plasma viscosity were determined in both groups. Statistical evaluation of the results of both groups was compared by student's "t"-test. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS Blood viscosity at a shear rate of 6.00 sec(-1) was found to be significantly lower in the CLI group (p<0.001), whereas no significant difference was encountered when blood viscosity was measured at a shear rate of 225 sec(-1). Plasma viscosity and plasma fibrinogen levels were comparable. Plasma total cholesterol levels were found to be significantly higher in the CLI group (p<0.05) and red blood cell rigidity significantly lower (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS These findings may provide new insights into the role of blood viscosity in patients with CLI contrary to the previous reports in the literature. Therapies that address red blood cell rigidity more directly may decrease tissue hypoxia distal to arterial narrowing by preventing hemolysis, improving microcirculation, and increasing oxygen carrying capacity and may be more beneficial for these patients.
Government Expenditure and Poverty Reduction in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study has empirically investigated the impact of public expenditure on poverty reduction in Nigeria using Ado – Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State as a case study. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were distributed in the Local Government (10 in each ward) to collect data, out of which the researcher was able to recover one hundred and fifteen (115) copies. The descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentage were used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents while the Chi-square (X 2 ) test was used to analyze each of the hypothesis at 5 percent level of significance. The result of thee Chi-square test revealed that public expenditure on education, health and agriculture has significant impact on poverty reduction. The study therefore recommends that government should increase its expenditure on infrastructure, such as in transport and communication sector, road and power, since it would reduce the cost of doing business as well as raise the profitability of firms. The government should also encourage education, health and agricultural sector through increased funding as well as ensuring that the resources are properly managed in order to raise thee production capacity and accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty. Keywords: Government Expenditure, Poverty Profile, Ekiti State
A Global Investigation into the Cultural and Individual Antecedents of Banner Advertising Effectiveness

This study introduces and tests a framework to show the influence of national-level cultural and sociodemographic variables on banner advertising effectiveness. The authors analyze online survey data from 7775 respondents from 34 countries using hierarchical linear modeling and also analyze click-through rates from 2192 users from 26 countries. The findings show that banner advertising effectiveness in terms of attitudes toward banner advertising and intention to click on banner ads varies along Hofstede's cultural dimensions of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity. In particular, consumers from individualist countries show less acceptance of banner advertising than those from collectivist countries. The acceptance of Web banner advertising is related to the consumers’ click behavior. Individual-level variables contribute only marginally to explain banner advertising effectiveness, which strengthens the significance of the direct effects of national-level cultural variables. The findings suggest that marketers should view banner advertising, though largely standardized when targeting a global audience, as a culture-specific issue.
Cut-off values for total serum immunoglobulin E between non-atopic and atopic children in north-west Croatia

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to determine cut-off values for total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) between non-atopic and atopic children with respiratory symptoms. Children of 0–16years of age were evaluated for respiratory symptoms of >4-week duration. Methods: Children were divided into two groups: non-atopic children (n=3355) who were non-IgE-sensitized with undetectable allergen-specific IgE (<0.35kIUA/L), and atopic children (n=4620) who were sensitized to ≥1 allergens (specific IgE ≥0.35 kIUA/L). Upper and lower centiles were determined and cut-off values calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Serum total IgE increased with age in both groups, although at a variable level and rate, and reached a plateau at 9 and 10years in non-atopic and atopic children, respectively. Atopic children had on average 14-fold higher serum total IgE compared to non-atopic children. In both groups, the median was lower than the corresponding mean and the distribution skewness was always positive (group I, 0.87; group II, 0.91). In almost all age groups, the 95th percentile for non-atopic children corresponded to the calculated cut-off values, whereas the 10th percentile for atopic children corresponded to the respective cut-off values only until the age of 8years, after which greater differences between the cut-off values and the 10th percentile were recorded. Cut-off values for total serum IgE in children up to 16years were determined with diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve of 96%, 91% and 0.950, respectively. Conclusions: The 95th percentile for total IgE in non-atopic children and the 10th percentile in atopic children could be taken as cut-off values in children up to 8years of age, after which significant percentile discrepancies between non-atopic and atopic children were recorded. Since atopic subjects show a more irregular centile distribution, cut-off values are best determined by ROC analysis.
Achieving teamwork in stroke units: The contribution of opportunistic dialogue

Collaborative interdisciplinary working is central to contemporary health policy. The specialized and co-ordinated multidisciplinary care provided in stroke units is considered to contribute to improved patient outcomes in such units. However, how stroke unit teams co-ordinate their work is not clearly understood. This paper reports on a grounded theory study which explains how health professionals in two stroke units in northern England achieved teamwork. Data were generated through 220 hours of participant observation and 34 semi-structured interviews. Interviews were undertaken during and following participant observations. A basic social process common to teamworking in both units was identified; this was termed “opportunistic dialogue”. The division of labour in respect of rehabilitation activities was negotiated through this interactional process. Co-location of most team members led to repeated engagement in sharing patient information and in exploring different perspectives. Opportunistic dialoguing contributed to mutual learning and explained the shift in thinking and team culture as team members moved from concern with discrete disciplinary actions to dialogue and negotiations focused on meeting patients' needs. The findings indicate that routinely incorporating periods of joint working in which team members articulate the reasoning for their decisions and interventions, contributes to achieving interdisciplinary teamworking in rehabilitation settings.
Time-variant power spectrum analysis for the detection of transient episodes in HRV signal

A time-variant algorithm of autoregressive (AR) identification is introduced and applied to the heart rate variability (HRV) signal. The power spectrum is calculated from the AR coefficients derived from each single RR interval considered. Time-variant AR coefficients are determined through adaptive parametric identification with a forgetting factor which obtains weighted values on a running temporal window of 50 preceding measurements. Power spectrum density (PSD) is hence obtained at each cardiac cycle, making it possible to follow the dynamics of the spectral parameters on a beat-by-beat basis. These parameters are mainly the LF (low-frequency) and the HF (high-frequency) powers, and their ratio, LF/HF. These together account for the balanced sympatho-vagal control mechanism affecting the heart rate. This method is applied to subjects suffering from transient ischemic attacks. The time variant spectral parameters suggest an early activation of LF component in the HRV power spectrum. It precedes by approximately 1.5-2 min the tachycardia and the ST displacement, generally indicative of the onset of an ischemic episode. <<ETX>>
Privatization and regulation in Turkey: An assessment

This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the privatization policy that has been implemented in Turkey between 1987 and 1991. After a brief discussion of the problems of the state economic enterprises (SEES) which have led to introduction of the privatization practice in Turkey, the paper focuses on major implications of privatization in the country, including a detailed exposition of sale methods, share ownership and the role of the capital market. The highest objectives of privatization are to promote competition and improve efficiency of public enterprises, to develop the capital markets in Turkey and to ensure wider distribution of shares. However, the following points have been raised in the paper: first, in the course of privatization the selling strategy favoured block sales to domestic and foreign institutions rather than individuals where the basic goal of wider share ownership envisaged by the government has been overlooked. Secondly, Turkey has been very cautious in preserving a ‘golden share’ in a number of the privatized enterprises. Thirdly, the size and depth of the capital market has remained restricted and has been dominated by the public sector securities. By and large, investors in Turkey seem to focus on dividends and interest income rather than on capital gains or equity shares. Despite some positive trends in stocks trading in recent years, this has been achieved by governmental intervention in the stock market and the money market. It is expedient for the government to reduce the interest rates on bank deposits and the interbank interest rates, and to control more effectively the rising internal borrowing of the public sector. Fourthly, it is concluded that the question of regulation has been rather overlooked in the privatization of the airport service company which had previously enjoyed considerable monopoly power. There is a need for a ‘regulatory body’ to control monopolistic behaviour and to regulate pricing policies of private monopolies. Finally, implementation of privatization has been constrained because of the presence of chronic inflation, high interest rates and mounting internal and external debts.
Who Wants You When You're Old and Poor? Exploring the Economics of Media Pricing

This article explores the underlying causes and implications of the relationship between the demographics of a magazine's readership base and its advertising rates. The analysis generates three central insights. First, not unexpectedly, magazines with a disproportionate fraction of readers who are young or affluent or both command a significant premium over other magazines of comparable size. Second, the magnitude of the premium paid for magazines with a disproportionate fraction of young or affluent or both readers is so large that it cannot solely be explained by standard economic explanations of media valuation. Third, if the size and demographic composition of a magazine's readership has a significant impact on a magazine's revenue stream, then there is an economic incentive to skew editorial content to readers that are more "valuable" to advertisers. This article provides some empirical evidence of the strength of these influences.
Putting Out the Fires: Will Higher Taxes Reduce the Onset of Youth Smoking?

This paper reexamines whether higher cigarette taxes will substantially reduce youth smoking. We study the impact of taxes during exactly the period in adolescence in which most smokers start their habits. We find weak or nonexistent tax effects in models of the onset of smoking between eighth and twelfth grades, models of the onset of heavy smoking between eighth and twelfth grades, and discrete‐time hazard models that include state fixed effects. We also provide a new perspective on the relationship between smoking and schooling: students who eventually drop out of school are already more likely to smoke in the eighth grade.
Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism, phylogeography, and conservation genetics of the brown bear Ursus arctos in Europe

Some small European populations of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) are threatened by the risk of extinction in the near future. The reinforcement of these populations with bears from other regions might provide a solution to their future survival. However, before any population transfer, the different conservation units must be identified. The phylogeographic approach has been advocated for this purpose. The different European populations were assayed for mitochondrial (mt) DNA polymorphism. A remarkable degree of concordance was found between the geographic distribution and the mtDNA haplotypes. Two clearly distinct lineages differing by more than 7% in mtDNA control region sequences were found and, furthermore, the western lineage appears to be organized into two clades which correspond to two different ancestral refugia. The potential conservation units can be deduced from these results, and a management policy can consequently be inferred. This study clearly demonstrates the relevance of the molecular phylogeographic approach to the identification of conservation units.
Ultrafine PEG-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles formulated by hydrophobic surfactant-assisted one-pot synthesis for biomedical applications

A novel method was developed for the one-pot synthesis of ultrafine poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs), using an emulsion solvent evaporation formulation method. Using either cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or poly(ethylene glycol)-distearyl phosphoethanolamine (PEGPE) as an oily emulsifier during the emulsion process, produced PLGA particle sizes of less than 50 nm, constituting a breakthrough in emulsion formulation methods. The yield of ultrafine PLGA NPs increased with PEGPE/PLGA ratio, reaching a plateau at around 85%, when the PEGPE/PLGA ratio reached 3:1. The PEGPE–PLGA NPs exhibited high drug loading content, reduced burst release, good serum stability, and enhanced cell uptake rate compared with traditional PLGA NPs. Sub-50 nm diameter PEG-coated ultrafine PLGA NPs show great potential for in vivo drug delivery systems.
Financial restatements, litigation and implied cost of equity

We re-examine the effect of financial restatements on the cost of equity vis-a-vis litigation risk. Specifically, we study the effect of litigation on post-restatement financing costs and whether market anticipates litigation before restatement announcement as evident from its effect on financing costs. In a sample of 91 restatements, although we find that the cost of equity increases subsequent to a financial restatement for all restating firms, the increase is substantially greater for firms facing litigation as a result of the restatement. We also find that investors do not adjust for the cost of equity before the announcement of a financial restatement for firms facing post-restatement litigation. Overall, our findings suggest that most of the increase in the cost of equity after restatement is concentrated in sued sub-sample and that the cost of equity is an important channel through which litigation associated with financial restatement is priced. The economic effect of post-restatement litigation is approximately 259 basis points increase in the firm’s cost of equity.
Environmental Costing: A path to Implementation

Environmental strategies and their related costs have received little formal attention from Australian accountants. Yet, internationally as well as in Australia, green strategies and their related costs are now being recognised by a range of corporations. In this paper, international corporate examples are reviewed. Environmental cost categories and potential classifications and approaches for decision and control purposes are proposed. The paper offers recommendations for the initial development of environmental costing practices at the corporate level and argues for the importance of developing relevant cost management systems that support environmental strategies and management.
The Nature of Entrepreneurship in the Informal Sector: Evidence from England

Mirroring the representation of informal workers in a third world context as displaying entrepreneurial qualities, recent years have witnessed the emergence of a similar view of the informal sector in western nations as a hidden enterprise culture. Until now, however, few attempts have been made to analyze the nature and motives of informal entrepreneurs in western economies. Instead, it has been widely assumed that those engaged in entrepreneurship in the informal sector are those marginalized from the formal economy and driven out of necessity into this endeavor as a last resort. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically this "marginalization thesis". Reporting the findings of face-to-face structured interviews with 130 informal entrepreneurs in England, the conventional representation of these entrepreneurs as necessity-driven, as well as an emergent depiction of them as opportunity-driven, is transcended. Instead, a richer and more textured understanding of informal entrepreneurship is developed that replaces such either/or thinking by a both/and approach that depicts how the majority are concurrently both necessity- and opportunity-driven. The paper then concludes by exploring the public policy implications of this rereading of the nature of informal entrepreneurship in western economies.