Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Accounting Expertise in Audit Committees on Non-GAAP Earnings Exclusions

SYNOPSIS: U.S. stock exchanges and lawmakers rely on audit committees to help safeguard the accuracy and reliability of corporate GAAP and non-GAAP financial information. However, there are gaps in our knowledge of how audit committees perform, especially with respect to companies' non-GAAP financial information. Unlike companies' GAAP-based financial measures, non-GAAP numbers are voluntary, not well defined, and unaudited. Non-GAAP measures thus provide a particularly rich setting to examine the efficacy of audit committee performance. In this study we examine the association between audit committee appointments of accounting experts (relative to appointments of nonaccounting experts) and the company's non-GAAP earnings numbers. We find a larger decline in non-GAAP earnings exclusions following the appointment of accounting (rather than nonaccounting) experts to audit committees. We also find that accounting experts are associated with higher-quality post-appointment non-GAAP earnings exclusions. JEL Cl.
Dodging a Malthusian bullet in the 21st Century

The linear historic global crop yield trends found in this study, when extended, trace future rates of yield gain that are well below the recent growth in food demand. Fortunately for consumers, the population growth rates have also fallen after exponential growth, on average, for at least 2 centuries. Global food demand growth may exceed yield growth for several decades, bringing higher commodity prices that are necessary to draw land and other conventional resources into food production © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Emerging Profiles of Polish Outward Foreign Direct Investment

In this study, the authors identify the emerging profiles of Poland's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) at the macro- and micro-levels and propose relevant policy measures. They also set up a theoretical framework for further investigation of the identified trends and patterns. Both types of analysis—macro and micro—point to a regional focus of Poland's OFDI on Europe and to a sectoral concentration on services, followed by manufacturing. At the same time, the micro-analysis reveals a dominant role of a few largest Polish multinationals in the country's OFDI.
Adverse effects of exposure to armed conflict on pregnancy: a systematic review

Introduction Exposure to armed conflict has manifold implications for both military and civilian populations. Prenatal stress has detrimental effects on both obstetric outcomes, fetal development and the development of an individual later in life. As well as causing stress to the mother, armed conflicts can decimate local infrastructures making it increasingly difficult to access antenatal and general healthcare. The present review is particularly salient in light of the many ongoing current conflicts. It examines the impacts of exposure to armed conflicts on the pregnancy outcomes. Methods A thorough literature search was carried out on three databases using MeSH and truncation terms. 13 studies were included in the final analysis relating to mothers exposed to armed conflicts since 1990. Results The studies include data from 1 172 151 patients: mothers from Libya, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Israel, Palestine, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Nepal, Somalia, Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. There is evidence of an increased risk of mothers giving birth to babies of low birth weight as reported in nine included studies. All have a degree of bias, with four at lower and five at higher risk of bias, either not adjusting for confounders or not employing robust measures of exposure to conflict. Further evidence suggested an increase in the incidence of miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, congenital abnormalities, miscarriage and premature rupture of membranes among mothers exposed to armed conflict. Conclusion Despite the varying degrees of bias which must be considered for the available evidence, the data with the lowest risk of bias suggest a relationship between exposure to armed conflict and low birth weight. In light of the current level of displacement experienced by such populations, the identification of pregnancies at risk could improve the efficacy of antenatal care. Clinicians should consider additional ultrasound scanning where appropriate to monitor for restricted growth in such pregnancies.
Africa's Growth Tragedy: A Retrospective, 1960-89

Africa's economic history since 1960 fits the classical definition of tragedy: potential unfulfilled with disastrous consequences. The authors use one mehthodology - cross-country regressions - to account for sub-Saharan Africa's growth performance over the past 30 years and to suggest policies to promote growth over the next 30 years. They statistically quantify the relationship between long-run growth and a wider array of factors than any previous study. They consider such standard variables as initial income to capture convergence effects, schooling, political stability and indicators of monetary, fiscal, trade, exchange rate, and financial sector policies. They also consider such new measures as infrastructure development, cultural diversity, and economic spillovers from neighbors'growth. Their analysis: 1) improves substantially on past attempts to account for the growth experience of sub-Saharan African countries; 2) shows that low school attainment, political instability, poorly developed financial systems, large black-market exchange-rate premia, large government deficits, and inadequate infrastructure are associated with slow growth; 3) finds that Africa's ethnic diversity tends to slow growth and reduce the likelihood of adopting good policies; 4) identifies spillovers of growth performance between neighboring countries. The spillover effects of growth have implications for policy strategy. Improving policies alone boosts growth substantially, but if neighboring countries act together, the effects on growth are much greater. Specifically, the results suggest that the effects of neighbor's adopting a policy change is 2.2 times greater than if a single country acted alone.
Molecular studies of bronchial asthma, sarcoidosis and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor‐induced cough

The role of genetic factors was reviewed with respect to the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma, sarcoidosis and cough induced by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor administration. The so‐called ‘atopy gene’ in 11q13 is not linked to atopy but is associated with serum IgE levels. The β 2‐adrenergic receptor gene on 5q32–33 was found to have polymorphism by Ban I and to be related to β 2‐receptor function; a defect of a 2.3 kb allele is related to lowered sensitivity to β 2‐agonists. This defect is also related to higher prevalence on non‐atopic bronchial asthma. The occurrence of amino acid mutation (Arg16 to Gly) of β 2‐receptors was lower and G1n27 to Glu mutation is extremely rare in the Japanese population compared with Caucasians. There is polymorphism of ACE genotypes among normal subjects and patients with sarcoidosis, II, ID and DD. The genotype is a significant determinant of serum ACE activity and may determine the prognosis of sarcoid patients. Genotype II has a higher incidence of coughing induced by ACE inhibitors.
Market Reforms and Commodity Price Volatility: The Case of East African Coffee Market

type="main" xml:id="twec12124-abs-0001"> The goal of this paper is to examine the impact of commodity market reforms on producer price volatility using evidence from the East African coffee market. The results, based on time-varying volatility models and key summary statistics, show that coffee market reforms in the East African Community (EAC) are associated with changes in producer price volatility and volatility persistence at both country and regional levels. However, reforms were not the only cause of changes in price volatility. The study further shows that reforms had different effects on prices volatilities of Arabica and Robusta varieties of coffee grown in individual EAC countries. These findings have wider implication for commodity market reforms and producer price stabilisation policies in the EAC and coffee producing countries in sub-Sahara Africa.
Employers’ Investment in Skills: Test of Skills Portability Argument

Literature argues that propensity of firm-sponsored training depends on portability of skills. The paper seeks to test this hypothesis with the data from 5th European Social Survey that includes 21 EU Member State, Norway and Switzerland. Becker (1993) argued that employers will only invest in training that is of no use to other firms. The data does not support this hypothesis: European firms frequently invest in training that is highly valuable to other firms. Literature on labour market frictions argues that firms are likely to fund training, if the costs of switching employers’ are high. Data suggests that the reverse might be true: if individual have many outside options, the odds of receiving firm-sponsored training increases. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.ss. 84.2. 7488
Why do executives serve as non-executives? Pre-Cadbury evidence from UK non-financial companies

Abstract This paper examines the extent to which executives in the largest UK non-financial companies served as non-executives in other companies prior to the governance reforms of the mid-1990s. The paper also seeks to identify factors that affected the holding of additional directorships by executives. The results reported here suggest that possession of non-executive directorships by executives was not widespread. The average number of additional directorships held by each executive was 0.15 with CEOs being the principal holder of such positions possessing an average of 0.33. Indeed, 89.5% of executives (76.4% of CEOs) held no additional directorships. The holding of additional directorships was positively related to the level of non-executive representation on the board of the executive's company, executive tenure and company size but negatively related to executive ownership. The presence of CEO duality had a positive impact on the holding of additional directorships by CEOs.
Did Easy Money in the Dollar Bloc Fuel the Global Commodity Boom?

Among the various explanations for the runup in oil and commodity prices of recent years, one story focuses on the role of monetary policy in the United States and in developing economies. In this view, developing countries that peg their currencies to the dollar were forced to ease their monetary policies after reductions in U.S. interest rates, leading to economic overheating, excess demand for oil and other commodities, and rising commodity prices. We assess that hypothesis using the Federal Reserve staff’s forward-looking, multicountry, dynamic general equilibrium model, SIGMA. We find that even if many developing country currencies were pegged to the dollar, an easing of U.S. monetary policy would lead to only a transitory runup in oil prices. Instead, strong economic growth in many developing economies, as well as shortfalls in oil production, better explain the sustained runup in oil prices observed until earlier this year. Moreover, a closer look at exchange rates and interest rates around the world suggests that the monetary policies of many developing economies, including in East Asia, are less closely influenced by U.S. policies than is frequently assumed.
The poor and their money

This work describes how poor people in developing countries manage their money. It attempts to contribute to the improvement in microfinancing by showing how a study of the poor managing their own money can lead to the designing of better quality financial services. The book is intended for secondary school level and undergraduate training courses in microfinance and development, and has been selected as a text for the microfinance training programme, at The Economics Institute, Colorado.
If at First You Don't Succeed: An Investigation of the Effect of the Option to Resolicit on Corporate Takeovers and the Provision of Public Goods

This paper models, and experimentally simulates, the free-rider problem in a takeover when the raider has the option to "resolicit," that is, to make a new offer after an offer has been rejected. In theory, the option to resolicit, by lowering offer credibility, increases the dissipative losses associated with free riding. In practice, the outcomes of our experiment support the overall predictions of theory. Although in resolicitation treatments, raider offers generally exceeded equilibrium predictions, shareholder tendering probabilities were less than predicted by either actual or equilibrium offers. The net effect of higher-than-predicted raider offers and lower-than-predicted shareholder tendering was negative. Thus, as predicted by theory, the option to resolicit increased the total dissipative costs associated with free riding, and reduced raider gains to less than three percent of synergy value. Key words: corporate takeovers, experimental economics, resolicit
Calculating Quantile‐Based Risk Analytics with L‐Estimators

Quantile‐based measures of risk, e.g., value at risk (VaR), are widely used in portfolio risk applications. Increasing attention is being directed toward managing risk, which involves identifying sources of risk and assessing the economic impact of potential trades. This article compares the performance of two quantile‐based VaR estimators commonly applied to assess the market risk of option portfolios and the credit risk of bond portfolios.
Interleukin-10-819 Promoter Polymorphism Associated with Gastric Cancer among Asians

Studies investigating the association between interleukin-10-819 promoter polymorphism and gastric cancer risk report conflicting results. This study aimed to summarize quantitatively the evidence for such a relationship. Two investigators independently searched the Medline (January 1966 – January 2009) and Embase (January 1980 – January 2009) databases for eligible studies to be included in a meta-analysis. Six case-control studies, which included 681 gastric cancer cases and 1621 control subjects were selected. Combined results for all studies showed that there was no significant difference in genotype distribution (TT, TC or CC) between gastric cancer patients and control subjects. When stratifying for race, results were similar except that Asian patients with gastric cancer had a significantly lower frequency of TT and a higher frequency of TC than Asian control subjects. When stratifying by location and Lauren's classification of gastric cancer, there was no significant difference in genotype distribution between patients with gastric cancer and control subjects. This meta-analysis suggests that the interleukin-10-819 promoter polymorphism may be associated with gastric cancer in Asians.
The 2011-12 pilot European Sentinel Registry of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: in-hospital results in 4,571 patients.

AIMS The aim of this prospective multinational registry is to assess and identify predictors of in-hospital outcome and complications of contemporary TAVI practice. METHODS AND RESULTS The Transcatheter Valve Treatment Sentinel Pilot Registry is a prospective independent consecutive collection of individual patient data entered into a web-based case record form (CRF) or transferred from compatible national registries. A total of 4,571 patients underwent TAVI between January 2011 and May 2012 in 137 centres of 10 European countries. Average age was 81.4±7.1 years with equal representation of the two sexes. Logistic EuroSCORE (20.2±13.3), access site (femoral approach: 74.2%), type of anaesthesia and duration of hospital stay (9.3±8.1 days) showed wide variations among the participating countries. In-hospital mortality (7.4%), stroke (1.8%), myocardial infarction (0.9%), major vascular complications (3.1%) were similar in the SAPIEN XT and CoreValve (p=0.15). Mortality was lower in transfemoral (5.9%) than in transapical (12.8%) and other access routes (9.7%; p<0.01). Advanced age, high logistic EuroSCORE, pre-procedural ≥grade 2 mitral regurgitation and deployment failure predicted higher mortality at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Increased operator experience and the refinement of valve types and delivery catheters may explain the lower rate of mortality, stroke and vascular complications than in historical studies and registries.
The Influence of Unanticipated Money Growth on Real Output: Some Cross-Country Estimates

Two MAJOR PROPOSITIONS can be deduced from the theories of the business cycle developed in [4, 14, 15, 161: (1) monetary growth affects real output only if it is unanticipated; (2) the impact on output of unanticipated monetary growth declines the more unpredictable monetary growth becomes. Proposition 1 has been tested on U.K. data in [2, 3S, on U.S. data in [5, 6, 7], and on Canadian data in [ 19] . The best-known but somewhat informal test of proposition 2 is contained in [15] on data from a cross section of eighteen countries.l In this paper we apply the method described in [3] to test proposition 1 using data from a range of countries. Furthermore we develop and discuss a formal method of testing proposition 2 and apply that method to the same data. Our main conclusion is that neither proposition can be decisively rejected.
Health-related quality of life in acromegalic subjects: data from AcroBel, the Belgian registry on acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE To assess the impairment of quality of life (QoL), evaluated by the acromegaly QoL (AcroQoL) questionnaire, in patients with controlled and uncontrolled acromegaly. DESIGN Cross-sectional evaluation of AcroBel, a national observational registry of acromegalic patients newly diagnosed or in follow-up. METHODS Disease perception by the patients was evaluated by the disease-specific signs and symptoms score (SSS) and QoL was assessed by the AcroQoL questionnaire. Hormonal status was determined by central measurements of GH and IGF-I. RESULTS Patients (n = 291) had a median GH of 1.43 mug/l (0.65-3.03; IQR), a median IGF-I of 231 mug/l (150-367), and a mean IGF-I z-score of +1.91 (s.d. 2.21). The AcroQoL total score in the whole group was 67.1 (51.1-78.4), with a score of 65.6 (43.8-78.1) for the physical dimension, 67.9 (53.6-80.4) for the psychological dimension, 78.6 (64.3-89.3) for personal relations and 57.1 (39.3-75) for appearance. The median SSS was 3 (1-5). There was a negative correlation between both questionnaires (r = -0.478; P < 0.001). There was no correlation between AcroQoL score and biochemical markers of disease activity. When subdividing patients into groups of biochemical control according to GH and IGF-I levels, no difference could be established for either SSS or AcroQoL scores. CONCLUSIONS The AcroQoL results from the AcroBel registry confirm the marked impairment of the patients' QoL, especially in relation with appearance. A negative correlation between AcroQoL and SSS was confirmed. There was, however, no correlation between AcroQoL and biochemical markers of disease activity.
Antitussive Profile of the NOP Agonist Ro-64-6198 in the Guinea Pig

We have previously shown that N/OFQ, the endogenous peptide ligand for the ‘opioid-like’ NOP receptor, inhibits cough in guinea pigs and cats. In the present study we sought to continue our characterization of the cough-suppressant effects of NOP stimulation by profiling the pulmonary and antitussive effects of a novel non-peptide NOP agonist, Ro-64-6198, in guinea pigs. In receptor-binding assays, we confirmed that Ro-64-6198 selectively binds to NOP receptors over other opioid receptors. The Ki values for Ro-64-6198 at NOP, MOP, KOP and DOP receptors was 0.3, 36, 214 and 3,787 nmol/l, respectively. In GTPγS-binding assays, Ro-64-6198 displayed >900-fold functional selectivity at NOP relative to MOP receptors. We evaluated the effects of Ro-64-6198 (3 and 10 µmol/l) in isolated guinea pig nodose ganglia cells on the increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration evoked by capsaicin stimulation (1 × 10–8–1 × 10–6 mol/l). Similar to previously reported data with N/OFQ, Ro-64-6198 (3 and 10 µmol/l) significantly attenuated Ca2+ responses in nodose ganglia cells produced by exposure to capsaicin. The effect of Ro-64-6198 (3 µmol/l) on capsaicin-induced intracellular Ca2+ responses was blocked by the NOP antagonist, J113397 (3 µmol/l). In guinea pig in vivo studies, aerosolized capsaicin (10–300 µmol/l) produced a dose-dependent increase in cough number. Ro-64-6198 given i.p. significantly inhibited cough due to capsaicin (300 µmol/l) exposure. In a duration study we found that the maximum antitussive effect (42 ± 8% inhibition) of Ro-64-6198 (3 mg/kg) was observed at 1 h after i.p. administration. Also at 1 h after administration, Ro-64-6198 (0.003–3.0 mg/kg, i.p.) produced a dose-dependent inhibition of cough. The antitussive effect of Ro-64-6198 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) was blocked by J113397 (12 mg/kg, i.p.) but not by the classical opioid antagonist naltrexone (10 mg/kg, i.p.). Although the antitussive action of Ro-64-6198 may be mediated by a central and/or a peripheral site of action, we hypothesize that selective oral NOP agonists that do not penetrate the blood-brain barrier may provide a novel approach for the treatment of cough. Moreover, because these drugs do not interact at MOP receptors, they may be devoid of codeine-like side effects such as respiratory depression, sedation, constipation or proclivities for addictive liabilities.
Democratic Communication and the Role of Special Advisers in Northern Ireland’s Consociational Government

This article examines the role of ministerial special advisers (SpAds) in Northern Ireland’s government communication. Using data gathered from elite interviews with SpAds, government information officers, and political journalists, we argue that the role of the SpAd is influenced by the post-conflict political culture in Northern Ireland and the consociational structure of government. The article suggests that current theorizing of the role of SpAds in democratic societies must also take account of how they operate within mandatory coalitions such as those found in Northern Ireland. We call for more research into their communication role in post-conflict consociational environments.
An Automotive Onboard 3.3-kW Battery Charger for PHEV Application

An onboard charger is responsible for charging the battery pack in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). In this paper, a 3.3-kW two-stage battery charger design is presented for a PHEV application. The objective of the design is to achieve high efficiency, which is critical to minimize the charger size, charging time, and the amount and cost of electricity drawn from the utility. The operation of the charger power converter configuration is provided in addition to a detailed design procedure. The mechanical packaging design and key experimental results are provided to verify the suitability of the proposed charger power architecture.
Correlated evolution of life history and host range in the nonphotosynthetic parasitic flowering plants Orobanche and Phelipanche (Orobanchaceae)

Most members of the nonphotosynthetic parasitic genera Orobanche and Phelipanche (Orobanchaceae) have narrow host ranges, and, as they grow on perennial hosts, are (at least potentially) perennial themselves. A few species, however, have wide host ranges and grow on annual hosts, and are thus (at least facultatively) annuals themselves. Among the latter are the weedy species, which include economically important pest taxa such as Orobanche crenata or Phelipanche aegyptiaca. Using a phylogenetically based maximum likelihood approach, which takes phylogenetic and branch length uncertainty into account, we can show that the life trait host range and life history evolve in a correlated fashion. This supports the hypothesis that parasite specialization is associated with predictable resources (i.e. long‐lived hosts) and generalism with unpredictable ones (i.e. short‐lived hosts), a pattern often found in animal parasites. The mechanisms and temporal sequence of the life trait changes and their interrelations remain speculative.