Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Government Interventions in the Financial Sector on Banking Competition and the Evolution of Zombie Banks

We investigate how government interventions such as blanket guarantees, liquidity support, recapitalizations, and nationalizations affect banking competition. These issues are critical for stability, access to finance, and economic growth. Exploiting cross-country and cross-time variation in the timing of interventions and accounting for their nonrandomness, we document that liquidity support, recapitalizations, and nationalizations trigger large increases in competition. We also find some more nuanced evidence that zombie banks’ market shares in crisis countries evolve together with interventions. A higher frequency of interventions coincides with greater zombie bank presence, and increases in competition are larger when zombie banks occupy bigger market shares.
Does bureaucracy facilitate the effect of information technology (IT)?

This study examines the interdependent relationship between bureaucracy and information technology (IT) in public organizations. Few studies have analyzed how bureaucracy affects IT in organizations. First, this study analyzes how IT influences (1) the effectiveness of bureaucratic organizations with regard to short-term outputs (e.g., utilization, time-saving, and decision-making quality) and (2) structural changes in the bureaucracy as a long-term outcome (e.g., centralization, de-red tape, and de-sectarianism). Second, this study analyzes how bureaucratic characteristics – such as hierarchy, technical competence and red tape, concepts that have been discussed by Max Weber, Carl Friedrich and Robert Merton – influence and interfere with IT’s impact on organizational structure and effectiveness in bureaucracy.
Empirical Testing of the CAPM on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Fama’s (1970) efficient market hypothesis (EMH) and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) jointly ascribed to Markowitz (1952), Treynor (1961), Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) remain the foundation of most finance and investment courses. This is surprising, given the sustained criticism of the model and its assumptions, and is a reflection of the elegance and parsimony of the theory over the empirical evidence.On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), several authors have examined and noted significant inadequacies relating to the single factor CAPM, particularly with regard to the dual nature (resources versus industrial shares) which characterises this bourse. Van Rensburg and Slaney (1997) advocate the use of a two factor arbitrage pricing theory (APT) model, but show that (at least for industrial shares) additional parameters are required (van Rensburg, 2001). We revisit this ground using an improved methodology and data set over the period 31 December 1986 to 31 December 2011. We find that portfolios constructed on the basis of ranked beta exhibit a monotonic, inverse relationship to what the CAPM prescribes, for most of the time-series. The use of the single beta CAPM is therefore inappropriate in the context of asset pricing.
Disentangling neighbourhood problems: area-based interventions in Western European cities

Urban policies in Western Europe have increasingly taken a territorial focus in addressing social problems through area-based initiatives (ABIs). Policy discourses emphasise the role of the residential environment in the social economic deprivation. However, a territorial focus that tackles both place-based issues and people-based problems would only make sense either when a ‘critical representation’ of the target population resides in several areas in an already divided city, or when neighbourhood effects take place. In the European context, the existence of either scenario is not a matter of fact. Our overview of four urban policies reveals that even though the rhetoric makes multiple allusions to the existence of the two scenarios, there is no convincing evidence. Moreover, in some cases the evidence refutes policy assumptions. This means that the policies are merely tackling unrelated problems: people-based social economic deprivation and place-based liveability and housing issues. In addition, urban policies stand against a backdrop of social and cultural integration debates. It is unknown what the territorial focus will do for integration, but it is unlikely that ABIs will be successful in effectively tackling social economic deprivation in European societies.
Maintaining the Status Quo: How Institutional Norms and Practices Create Conservative Water Organizations

Water managers are falling behind in the race to resolve mounting troubles. Adverse environmental and social consequences of past management practices are evidenced by endangered species' lost habitats, the billions of people without access to clean water or sanitation services, and fierce competition among advocates for the use of diminishing water resources. Observers of these and other water problems have been predicting and often advocating fundamental changes in the way we manage water resources. Such extreme stress on water organizations would seem to be the appropriate context for innovation, and water analysts have suggested a number of techno-scientific, legal, and behavioral modifications that could be adopted in managing water resources. Advances in water metering and pricing could enable water utilities to reduce water demands. Water transfers could ensure that scarce water is used for its highest value. Privatization of water utilities and the substitution of markets for public agency control could introduce economic discipline into water use. Such advances could postpone expensive and environmentally damaging infrastructure construction or even make it unnecessary. We found in our research, however, that existing U.S. water organizations' responses to mounting stressors have been timid experiments with incremental and marginal innovation. Left in place are the longstanding norms and practices that have brought us to the current condition. Many challenges have been met not with technical, legal, or behavioral innovations but with changes in organizational linkages and relationships so that risks inherent in unstable political and physical environments are spread across a wider range of organizations and stakeholders. These new arrangements leave much of the water agencies' structure and behavior unchanged and many problems unresolved. In the Parts that follow, we explain the methodology we used to explore institutional norms of water agencies in three geographically separate regions. A description of the traditional response of water agencies to what were perceived as ordinary or tame problems will follow. The notion of extraordinarily complex or "wicked" problems will be introduced along with a description of three distinctive strategies for addressing these challenges. The article concludes by assessing the consequences of the strategies that agencies have adopted to respond to changing pressures and constituents.
A Comparison of Capital Structure Determinants: The United States and The Republic of Korea

This paper investigates the determinants of the capital structure of large corporations headquartered in the United States and Korea. We consider five explanatory variables: profit, company size, non‐debt tax shields, growth, and business‐risk, along with several industry indicator variables as independent variables and examine, for each country, the relationship to market value based leverage ratio. With our rigid criteria for inclusion in the study, we study the top thirteen companies (by size) in each of seven industries. The majority of our findings indicate that we can generalize to Korea what has been found for Japanese companies/industries relative to the U.S.
The aerodynamics of Argentavis, the world's largest flying bird from the Miocene of Argentina

We calculate the flight performance of the gigantic volant bird Argentavis magnificens from the upper Miocene (≈6 million years ago) of Argentina using a computer simulation model. Argentavis was probably too large (mass ≈70 kg) to be capable of continuous flapping flight or standing takeoff under its own muscle power. Like extant condors and vultures, Argentavis would have extracted energy from the atmosphere for flight, relying on thermals present on the Argentinean pampas to provide power for soaring, and it probably used slope soaring over the windward slopes of the Andes. It was an excellent glider, with a gliding angle close to 3° and a cruising speed of 67 kph. Argentavis could take off by running downhill, or by launching from a perch to pick up flight speed. Other means of takeoff remain problematic.
The formation of the tourist's loyalty to the tourism distribution channel: how does it affect price discounts?

Given that distribution agents who wish to maximize long-term business profits should not only attract new consumers but also keep them loyal, this study analyses the variables that determine the consumer's loyalty to distribution agents for tourism. Although retailers in the service industry employ price discounts on products to motivate short-term sales, they often establish promotional policies without considering their effect on the long-term business results. This paper presents an empirical study of the effect of price promotions on tourists who travelled with a package tour. The results indicate that price discounts do not erode consumer loyalty directly, and that the key to obtaining loyal consumers is to offer package tours that customers perceive as providing high-quality service. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy: Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

Objective:To evaluate the association of HIV infection and cumulative exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with the presence and extent of coronary artery calcification (CAC). Design:A cross-sectional study of 947 male participants (332 HIV-seronegative, 84 HAART-naive and 531 HAART-experienced HIV-infected) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Methods:The main outcome was CAC score calculated as the geometric mean of the Agatston scores of two computed tomography replicates. Presence of CAC was defined as calcification score above 10, and extent of CAC by the score for those with CAC present. Multivariable regression was used to evaluate the association between HIV infection and HAART and presence and extent of calcification. Results:Increasing age was most strongly associated with both prevalence and extent of CAC for all study groups. After adjustment for age, race, family history, smoking, high-density lipoprotein-C, low-density lipoprotein-C and hypertension, HIV infection (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.70, 2.61) and long-term HAART use (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.87, 2.05) increased the odds for presence of CAC. In contrast, after adjustment for these covariates, the extent of CAC was lower among HAART users. Among those not taking lipid-lowering therapy, HAART usage of at least 8 years was associated with significantly reduced CAC scores (relative CAC score, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.24, 0.79). Conclusion:HAART use may have different effects on the presence and extent of coronary calcification. Although prevalence of calcification was marginally increased among long-term HAART users, the extent of calcification was significantly reduced among HAART users compared with HIV-seronegative controls.
The Gfi-1B Proto-Oncoprotein Repressesp21WAF1 and Inhibits Myeloid Cell Differentiation

ABSTRACT Gfi-1 is a cellular proto-oncogene that was identified as a target of provirus integration in T-cell lymphoma lines selected for interleukin-2 (IL-2) independence in culture and in primary retrovirus-induced lymphomas. Gfi-1 encodes a zinc finger protein that functions as a transcriptional repressor. Here we show that Gfi-1B, a Gfi-1 related gene expressed in bone marrow and spleen, also encodes a transcriptional repressor. IL-6-induced G1 arrest and differentiation of the myelomonocytic cell line M1 were linked to the downregulation of Gfi-1B and the parallel induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 WAF1 . Experiments addressing the potential mechanism of the apparent coordinate regulation of these genes revealed that Gfi-1B represses p21WAF1 directly by binding to a high-affinity site at −1518 to −1530 in thep21WAF1 promoter. Forced expression ofGfi-1B, but not of Gfi-1B deletion mutants lacking the repressor domain, blocked the IL-6-mediated induction of p21 WAF1 and inhibited G1 arrest and differentiation. We conclude that Gfi-1B is a direct repressor of thep21WAF1 promoter, the first such repressor identified to date, and that sustained expression of Gfi-1B blocks IL-6-induced G1 arrest and differentiation of M1 cells perhaps because it prevents p21 WAF1 induction by IL-6.
UK Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Rates Continue to Decline: 2012-2014.

Authors: Helen Peters, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Kate Francis, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Rebecca Sconza, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Anna Horn, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Catherine Peckham, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Pat A Tookey, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK Claire Thorne, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Trends in Recognition and Treatment of Dementia in France Analysis of the 2004 to 2010 Database of the National Health Insurance Plan

Dementia is considered as underdiagnosed. We examined whether the proportion of persons aged 65 years and older who had been diagnosed as demented has changed over a 7-year period. The study population was constituted by a cohort of about 70,000 persons who were representative of the French elderly covered by the national health care insurance plan. Data about all health care consumptions were extracted from the national insurance database. Patients using an antidementia drug, having a special dementia-related coverage status, or both were identified. Annual age-standardized and sex-standardized proportions of recognized dementia cases were estimated. Between 2004 and 2010, the overall standardized proportion of persons recognized as having dementia increased slightly but significantly (P<0.004) from 3.68% to 4.20%. The proportion of persons recognized as demented increased strongly with age. In 2010, it increased from 1.44% at age 70-74 to 10% at age more than 90 in men and from 1.30% to 17.0% in women. The proportion of cholinesterase inhibitor users decreased after the age of 85 years, whereas memantine use continued to increase. Our study suggested that, in 2010, >75% of the demented persons had been recognized and received pharmacological or/and nonpharmacological therapies for dementia.
CO2 Prices, Energy and Weather

One of the main objectives of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme is the establishment of a market price level for allowances that show to European CO2 emitting installations the environmental impact of their polluting activities. The aim of this paper is to focus on the daily price changes during 2005 in an attempt to examine the underlying rationality of pricing behaviour. Specifically, we study the effect of those weather and non-weather variables that academic and market agents consider as the major determinants of the of CO2 price levels. The results show that the energy sources are the principal factors in the determination of CO2 price levels, and that only extreme temperatures influence them.
Use of Video and Audio Texts in EFL Listening Test

The study aims to discover whether audio or video modality in a listening test is more beneficial to test takers. In this study, the posttest-only control group design was utilized and quantitative data were collected in order to measure participant performances concerning two types of modality (audio or video) in a listening test. The participants, first grade students from an ELT program, were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups: audio-only text (AOT) (n=30) and video-only text (VOT) (n=27). Audio-only text (AOT) and video-only text (VOT) posttests were administered to the two randomly selected groups. Based on the results, the spread of the scores was wide in the post tests. In a nutshell, apart from texts 1 and 2, the AOT group performed significantly higher than the VOT group, despite the visual elements of the video. When considered all twenty items of the four texts, the significant difference found indicates that the audio modality was more favorable. This study examined differences in the effects of video listening text or audio-only listening text in terms of their effect on L2 test-taker performance. The quantitative results showed significantly higher success for AOT test takers. In other words, a consistent pattern presented in the listening comprehension test towards audio modality. However, the findings of the current research are not conclusive since various elements may have affected the outcome, such as motivation, physical factors, and topic familiarity, note-taking habits, and initial preference for audio or video. Therefore, further empirical research comparing AOT and VOT listening comprehension assessments is suggested to take into account these variables.
Role of Virtues and Perceived Life Stress in Affecting Psychological Symptoms Among Chinese College Students

Abstract Objective: This study explored the relationship among virtues, self-perceived life stress, and psychological symptoms. Participants: A total of 235 undergraduates participated in the study in March 2013. Methods: The participants were recruited to complete the Life Stress Rating Scale for College Students, the Chinese Virtues Questionnaire that measures 3 virtues (relationship, vitality, and conscientiousness), and the Symptom Checklist-90. Results: Regression analyses indicated that the perceived stress from minor events explained approximately 35.00% of the variance of psychological symptoms. Both vitality and conscientiousness contributed to another 6.00% of psychological symptoms. Perceived stress from minor events mediated the relationship between vitality and psychological symptoms, whereas conscientiousness directly affected psychological symptoms regardless of the perceived stress level. Conclusion: This study clarified the positive role of virtues in stressful situations among Chinese undergraduates. The results benefit the college health professionals in attending strengths of their clients in practice both in Eastern and Western countries.
Mentoring in retailing: a tool for success?

This paper assesses the incidence and contribution that mentoring has to the career development of retail managers. Previous research has identified the benefits that mentoring relationships have for the protege, the mentor and the organisation, although none have compared the experiences and attitudes towards mentoring within the retail environment. Drawing on a sample of 132 UK retail managers, this research found that half the sample had experienced being a protege in a mentoring relationship. No significant differences were found between a respondent’s sex, age, position in the organisation and whether they have been mentored. Mentoring was found to play an important role in the development of a protege’s current job, career and self development. It was less apparent whether the incidence of mentoring affected retail managers’ ultimate career ambitions. However, it appears that the advantages of mentoring as a management development tool far outweigh any disadvantages for the protege.
Medical Care for Children: Public Insurance, Private Insurance, and Racial Differences in Utilization

Data from two waves of the Child-Mother module of the National Longitudinal Surveys are used to examine the medical care received by children. We compare those covered by Medicaid, by private health insurance and those with no insurance coverage at all. We find there are substantial differences in the impact of public and private health insurance and these effects also differ between blacks and whites. White children on Medicaid tend to have more doctor checkups than any other children and white children on Medicaid or a private insurance plan have a higher number of doctor visits for illness. In contrast, for black children, neither Medicaid nor private insurance coverage is associated with any advantage in terms of the number of doctor visits for illness. Furthermore, black children with private coverage are no more likely than those with no coverage to have doctor checkups; black Medicaid children are more likely than either group to have checkups although the gap is not precisely estimated. We exploit the longitudinal dimension of the data in order to take account of potential selection and thus include child specific fixed effects in the models. The results are robust to the inclusion of these controls for unobserved heterogeneity. They suggest that private and public health insurance mean different things to different children, and that national insurance coverage will not equalize utilization of care.
Modulation of cell-associated plasminogen activator activity by cocultivation of a stem cell and its tumorigenic descendant

The effect of the presence of one cell type on the plasminogen activator activity of another cell type was studied. The cell types, AC and D, were isolated from a rat neuroblastoma (I. Imada and N. Sueoka, Dev. Biol. 66:97-108, 1978). AC cells are stem cells capable of multipotential differentiation in vitro and have little or no cell-associated plasminogen activator activity. D cells are tumorigenic and have high levels of cell-associated plasminogen activator activity. When AC cells were cocultivated with D cells, the plasminogen activator activity of the D cells was dramatically inhibited. The presence of as few as 1,250 AC cells inhibited 70% of the plasminogen activator activity of 20,000 D cells, as determined by a highly quantitative assay. The amount of inhibition by AC cells was proportional to the number of AC cells present. At increasing numbers of AC cells and a constant number of D cells, the Vmax for the activation of plasminogen proportionately decreased and the Km remained constant, implying that AC cells did not alter the structure or concentration of plasminogen. Inhibition was not mediated by a soluble inhibitor secreted by AC cells. Rather, attachment of AC cells adjacent to D cells, i.e., cell-to-cell contact, seemed to be required for inhibition. The substratum-attached material of AC cells, that which remained on the microwell surface after removal of AC cells with EDTA, inhibited D cell plasminogen activator activity. If plasminogen activator activity is involved in metastasis, then regulation of the plasminogen activator activity of one cell type by another cell type may be involved in determining which cells in a tumor can metastasize and where secondary tumors can arise.
Determinants of capital structure of aluminium industry in India: a post liberalisation period analysis

This study attempts to examine the influence of six determinants on capital structure - asset collateral, life of firm, business risk, growth rate, profitability, non-tax shield - of listed aluminium companies of India for the 17 years from 1991-1992 to 2007-2008. The result reveals that the major determinants of capital structure in Indian aluminium industry are tangibility, profitability, life, growth, volatility and non-debt tax shield (NDTS). The asset composition, life and growth are found to have a statistically positive relationship with debt-equity ratio which supports many earlier research findings and profitability and NDTS have significant negative relations with leverage. But, only one factor, volatility, does not seem to have any significant impact on capital structure.