Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are Sin Stocks Paying the Price for Accounting Sins?

Recent empirical evidence suggests that sin stocks—publicly traded stocks in the gaming, tobacco, alcohol, and adult entertainment industries—are neglected by stock market participants because of social norms, regulatory scrutiny, and litigation risk. Consequently, these firms experience low institutional ownership, low analyst following, and higher expected returns. This paper examines whether higher information risk in the form of poor financial reporting quality offers an explanation for the higher expected returns of sin firms. Inconsistent with this explanation, we find that the financial reporting quality of sin firms is superior relative to a variety of control groups along two dimensions: predictability of earnings for future cash flows and timely loss recognition. These results imply that, despite superior returns and higher financial reporting quality, investors are willing to neglect sin stocks and instead bear a financial cost in order to comply with societal norms and reflect non-financial tastes in their portfolio.
Collectivism and Corruption in Commercial Loan Production: How to Break the Curse?

Recent research suggests that collectivism breeds corruption in bank lending. This finding, together with the stickiness of culture, poses a direct challenge to economic growth in collectivist societies. In this paper, we address this grim outlook by examining the types of firms that are susceptible to the detrimental effect of collectivism on lending integrity and the formal institutions that can help alleviate such effect. We find that the adverse effect of collectivism on bank corruption is more severe in small and medium-sized firms, privately owned firms, and non-exporting firms, while it is considerably weaker in countries with more effective private monitoring, a higher (lower) fraction of foreign-owned (government-owned) banks, a more competitive banking sector, better information sharing, and stronger legal and political institutions. Our findings are robust to using alternative measures of collectivism and alternative dependent variables. These results highlight how firm-level characteristics and formal institutions interact with collectivism in affecting firms’ access to bank credit.
The role of decision-making ability in HIV/AIDS: Impact on prospective memory

Background: Prospective memory (ProM), a form of episodic memory related to execution of future intentions, is important for everyday functioning. Among persons living with HIV (PLWH), executive dysfunction is implicated in ProM impairments. However, specific subcomponents of executive functioning involved in ProM deficits remain poorly understood. Unlike more “traditional” neurocognitive (NC) measures of executive functioning associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (i.e., conceptual reasoning, abstraction), those associated with medial orbitofrontal/ventromedial prefrontal (mOF/vmP) cortex (i.e., decision making, inhibitory control, goal-oriented behavior) have yet to be examined in ProM. Method: This study characterized ProM ability in a sample of 89 HIV-seropositive adults and examined the unique role of decision-making ability in ProM. Participants completed a standard NC battery, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; a decision-making measure), and the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST; a ProM measure). Results: Correlational analyses revealed that both traditional executive functioning measures and the IGT were associated with ProM. Regression analyses revealed that the IGT significantly predicted ProM, even after accounting for NC measures. Among all NC measures, only executive functioning significantly contributed to ProM. Discussion: Further examination of mOF/vmP-sensitive executive dysfunction within this population is needed as PLWH may require more tailored treatment recommendations due to specific decision-making difficulties that can impact medication management.
Identification of a pheA Gene Associated with Streptococcus mitis by Using Suppression Subtractive Hybridization

ABSTRACT We performed suppression subtractive hybridization to identify genomic differences between Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Based on the pheA gene, a primer set specific to S. mitis detection was found in 18 out of 103 S. mitis-specific clones. Our findings would be useful for discrimination of S. mitis from other closely related cocci in the oral environment.
Leadership Experiences of Students of Color

Using phenomenological interviewing to preserve students' voices and their lived experiences, researchers at a large public research institution and a midsized comprehensive public institution explored the experiences of student leaders of color. Themes of their experiences included: disdain for the label of leader; the personal costs of holding leadership positions; the different experiences in predominantly White, multiracial, or same-race groups; group loyalty over individual needs; gender differences in leadership experiences; and lack of campus staff and faculty role models
Tapering from Methadone or Buprenorphine during Pregnancy: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Norway 1996-2009

Background: The tapering of methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy is an understudied and controversial issue. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent women tapered their opioid medication dose during pregnancy and what the neonatal outcomes were for those who tapered compared to the women who did not. Methods: The study was a mixed prospective/retrospective national cohort study of 123 Norwegian women in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) during pregnancy and their neonates. A standardized questionnaire was administered to the women and medical information that could be used for verification was collected from hospitals and municipalities. Results: Two of the women came off the OMT-medication during pregnancy and another 15% tapered their OMT-medication dose more than 50%. The birth weights of methadone-exposed neonates of the women who tapered more than 50% were significantly higher than for the methadone-exposed neonates of the women tapering between 11 and 50%. No other significant differences were found. Conclusion: Pregnant women in OMT who taper their OMT-medication dose should be monitored closely. We need studies that document the maternal well-being and fetal safety of maternal tapering of the OMT-medication during pregnancy.
Toward a Theory of the Press

The major social problem we face today is how to control the political process that is destroying the free enterprise market system. Although I am pessimistic that we will in fact ever obtain a solution to this problem, we will surely never solve it unless we develop a viable positive theory of the political process. Such a political theory will not be complete until we also have developed a theory that explains why we get the results we do out of the mass media.
Affect of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship on the career choice decision of students: A study of Uttarakhand state, India

In this study we have tried to evaluate the affect of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship on the career choice intentions of students with special reference to taking up entrepreneurship as a career choice. It is a quantitative study wherein we have taken data of 530 young students studying in the final year of various professional courses of Uttarakhand state of India. The results confirmed relationship between the strength of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship and their decision to take up entrepreneurship as a preferred career choice. A relationship was also established between the personality type of student and his strength of perceived barriers.
Trade, investment and fragmentation of the global market: is Latin America lagging behind?

This document has the purpose of contributing to the analysis of trends and prospects of Latin America's insertion into the new global scenario, characterized by a growing integration of national economies – through trade, investment, finance, etc. – and the increasing internationalization of the so-called global value chains (GVCs). The opportunities and challenges presented by this GVC phenomenon are different and their effects not always homogeneous. In this paper, we study their impact on the developing economies, focusing particularly on Latin America. The insertion into the GVCs may help diversify exports, create new jobs and acquire new technological capabilities in keeping with the best international practices, which will strengthen the competitiveness of lagging countries. However, distributive effects and spillovers to domestic economies – and therefore, in more general terms – their impact on development – are less clear. Admitting that we are speaking of a heterogeneous reality, the present situation proves to be “unsatisfactory”, taking into account that some countries play a minor role in the GVCs, while others, more inserted into them, show, in general terms, relatively small spillovers. Factors behind these trends are evaluated and some political lessons that help improve the region's positioning in today's global scenario are drawn. The document is structured as follows: in the second section, we present information on trade and FDI worldwide trends, particularly in terms of their relation to the GVC phenomenon. Also, we briefly introduce a conceptual framework to analyze such trends and its impacts. Section III discusses available data on the way Latin America is inserted into worldwide trends of trade and investment and the participation (or not) of the continent in international production systems. In section IV we look into the reasons for the region's weak role in GVCs and of the scarce positive impacts resulting from its present integration manner into the trends of trade and FDI. In section V, we present the main conclusion and political lessons. * This document was submitted at the Seminar The New Agenda for International Trade Relations as the Doha Round Draws to an End" (OBREAL/WTO), organized by OBREAL on January 29-30 2007, Barcelona, Spain (www.obreal.org)"
Measuring Deal Premiums in Takeovers

type="main"> We investigate whether the merger announcement dates provided in the Securities Data Corporation (SDC) database are handled correctly by researchers performing event studies. We find that in 24.1% of deals, the popular choice of using the SDC's “Date Announced” field as the event date leads to biased estimates of target firm abnormal returns because of earlier abnormal price movements due to merger-related events such as merger rumors or search-for-buyer types of announcements. We hand collect the merger-related events from news sources and make the complete data set publicly available at the Financial Management website.
Can Hybrid Tourism be Sustainable? White Water Rafting in Songpraek Village, Thailand

The paper reports a study from Southern Thailand where white water rafting (WWR) has produced significant community development benefits to Ban Songpraek Village; yet the future is challenging. This study investigates the origins, growth and management of the WWR enterprises and the perceived impacts of tourism on the village. Using qualitative and quantitative methods the results show a complex situation as tourism benefits accrued to the village and the residents' response to these benefits creates dependency. The village is a rear example of partial empowerment of the indigenous community yet to achieve sustainability; the study suggests that villages need to be further empowered to determine the preferred level of tourism growth in the village. To achieve this, the integration of WWR tourism with other resource-based activities and the regulation of the tourism activities is required.
Asset Prices in an Economy Where Volatility Comes with the Intensity of Rare Disaster

This paper proposes a regime-switching asset pricing equilibrium model where volatility and the intensity of a rare disaster comove with MSM(Markov Switching Multifractal, a generalization of two-state regime-switching of Hamilton (1989) into multifrequencies) dynamics. Using monthly returns from 1927 to 2011, I estimate the joint evolution of volatility and the intensity of a rare disaster with five frequencies, generating a sizable amount of risk premium with a reasonable level of risk aversion as well as excessive volatility of market returns and predictability of long-horizon returns through price to dividend ratio. Yield curve of dividend strips reveals investor's forecasts on the future path of volatility. With in inflation jump in the event of rare disaster, the model demonstrates features of nominal bond return predictability documented in Fama and Bliss (1987) and Cochrane and Piazzesi (2005). Jumps due to regime-switching and rare disaster explain the substantial size of Variance Risk Premium. Deep out-of-the-money puts are highly priced as hedging instruments for downside tail-risk, yielding a smirk on the implied volatility surface.
The Rapidly Acting Antidepressant Ketamine and the mGlu2/3 Receptor Antagonist LY341495 Rapidly Engage Dopaminergic Mood Circuits

Ketamine is a rapidly acting antidepressant in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully established, inquiry to date has focused on the triggering of synaptogenesis transduction pathways via glutamatergic mechanisms. Preclinical data suggest that blockade of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu2/3) receptors shares many overlapping features and mechanisms with ketamine and may also provide rapid efficacy for TRD patients. Central dopamine circuitry is recognized as an end target for mood regulation and hedonic valuation and yet has been largely neglected in mechanistic studies of antidepressant-relevant effects of ketamine. Herein, we evaluated the changes in dopaminergic neurotransmission after acute administration of ketamine and the mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 [(2S)-2-amino-2-[(1S,2S)-2-carboxycycloprop-1-yl]-3-(xanth-9-yl) propanoic acid ] in preclinical models using electrophysiologic, neurochemical, and behavioral endpoints. When given acutely, both ketamine and LY341495, but not the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram, increased the number of spontaneously active dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), increased extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, and enhanced the locomotor stimulatory effects of the dopamine D2/3 receptor agonist quinpirole. Further, both ketamine and LY341495 reduced immobility time in the tail-suspension assay in CD1 mice, which are relatively resistant to SSRI antidepressants. Both the VTA neuronal activation and the antidepressant phenotype induced by ketamine and LY341495 were attenuated by the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo- (9CI)-benzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide, indicating AMPA-dependent effects. These findings provide another overlapping mechanism of action of ketamine and mGlu2/3 receptor antagonism that differentiates them from conventional antidepressants and thus support the potential rapidly acting antidepressant actions of mGlu2/3 receptor antagonism in patients.
If Osha is so Bad, Why is Compliance so Good?

Since its inception more than twenty years ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been the subject of an intense public debate on its effectiveness. This article analyzes the determinants of establishment-level compliance with specific safety and health standards as a means of assessing the agency's effectiveness. The empirical results suggest that OSHA has had large impacts on business compliance behavior, despite its low regulatory profile. These results indicate that government regulatory agencies can substantially change private-sector behavior, even given limited regulatory resources.
Characterization of Sialidase from an Influenza A (H3N2) Virus Strain: Kinetic Parameters and Substrate Specificity

Neuraminidase (NA) of influenza A (H3N2) viruses was characterized after purification by gel filtration and proteolytic treatment, using the X-31 variant strain that is a reassortment between the influenza A/Victoria/3/75 (responsible for the 1975 pandemic) and the influenza A/PR/8/34 virus samples, as a model. In the purification process, NA heads, that is the spike responsible for the virus sialidase activity, were purified by filtration through a Bio-Gel polyacrylamide column. The enzyme activity was determined by periodic acid/thiobarbituric acid assay and high-performance thin-layer chromatography. The sialidase showed preference for the α-2,3-linkage over the α-2,6-linkage of sialyllactoses (Km of 1.8 and 5.2 × 10–4M, respectively) at pH 5.2. The enzyme acted on natural and synthetic substrates at different hydrolysis rates, as well as on human erythrocytes (A group, Rh+) and yeast (Candida albicans) cells. The active NA produced by gel filtration was characterized by different parameters of its sialidase activity, also showing to be a suitable tool for the identification of natural sialocompounds and for the screening of antisialidase drugs to treat influenza virus infections.
Strategic voting in Britain

Formal political theory has raised serious doubts about the existence of strategic voting, and this in turn has challenged the prevailing wisdom in comparative politics about phenomena like "squeezing" and the effect of the "wasted vote. " This paper attempts to set out the conditions for strategic voting and to test for it using data from the 1970 British General election. The results from both an aggregate and a survey analysis indicate that individuals are more likely to vote for their second preference when they perceive that their first choice has little chance of winning. This effect is particularly strong when the next best party is at a margin of under five percent.
Assessing the efficacy and external validity of interventions promoting calcium or dairy intake in young adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Calcium and dairy products have a role in the prevention of chronic diseases and attainment of peak bone mass, during adolescence to young adulthood. However, intakes are often suboptimal and interventions to improve consumption of food sources are needed. This systematic review aimed to investigate the efficacy and external validity of interventions promoting calcium or dairy foods among young adults. Eight databases were searched from inception to identify relevant studies. Inclusion criteria included those aged 18 to 35 years in an intervention promoting calcium or dairy food intake. The mean age of the participants was 19.9 ± 1.4 years. Of the 16 studies that met the selection criteria, five studies were included in the meta-analyses for calcium (pooled effect size 0.35, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.67) and three studies for dairy (pooled effect size 0.31, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.50). The quality of the body of evidence was determined using the GRADE system, and was of overall low quality with high risk of bias. Our review suggests young adults respond favorably to interventions but the effect size is small.
Book‐Tax Difference and Value Relevance of Taxable Income: Malaysian Evidence

This study investigates the gap between financial accounting income and taxable income (i.e. book‐tax difference) and the value relevance of corporate taxable income in providing information on the quality of reported earnings for Malaysian listed firms during the tax years 2000 to 2004. The large gap between the financial accounting income and taxable income resulting from tax planning activities is reflected in firms’ effective tax rates (ETRs), a proxy for firms’ actual tax burdens. Thus, lower ETRs indicate high tax planning activities undertaken by the sample firms, and vice‐versa for firms with higher ETRs. This study uses a tax‐based earnings quality indicator, that is, the ratio of after‐tax taxable income to reported income (ATTI) to investigate the quality of corporate earnings. The study provides empirical evidence that firms report higher financial accounting income to shareholders and lower taxable income to tax authorities during the years 2000 to 2004. The significant and positive relation statistical results between firms’ after‐tax taxable income (ATTI) and market value of equity provided indicate the value relevance of taxable income as both an earnings quality indicator and a performance measure. Thus, the empirical results suggest investors appear to fully comprehend the quality‐related information in taxable income. This study concludes that first, tax planning activities contribute to a large gap between financial accounting income and taxable income; and second, taxable income contains useful information on the quality of reported earnings.
Increased Serum Levels of Fetal Tenascin-C Variants in Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension: Novel Biomarkers Reflecting Vascular Remodeling and Right Ventricular Dysfunction?

Pulmonary vascular remodeling is a pathophysiological feature that common to all classes of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right ventricular dysfunction, which is the major prognosis-limiting factor. Vascular, as well as cardiac tissue remodeling are associated with a re-expression of fetal variants of cellular adhesion proteins, including tenascin-C (Tn-C). We analyzed circulating levels of the fetal Tn-C splicing variants B+ and C+ Tn-C in serum of PH patients to evaluate their potential as novel biomarkers reflecting vascular remodeling and right ventricular dysfunction. Serum concentrations of B+ and C+ Tn-C were determined in 80 PH patients and were compared to 40 healthy controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical, laboratory, echocardiographic, and functional data were correlated with Tn-C levels. Serum concentrations of both Tn-C variants were significantly elevated in patients with PH (p < 0.05). Significant correlations could be observed between Tn-C and echocardiographic parameters, including systolic pulmonary artery pressure (B+ Tn-C: r = 0.31, p < 0.001, C+ Tn-C: r = 0.26, p = 0.006) and right atrial area (B+ Tn-C: r = 0.46, p < 0.001, C+ Tn-C: r = 0.49, p < 0.001), and laboratory values like BNP (B+ Tn-C: r = 0.45, p < 0.001, C+ Tn-C: r = 0.42, p < 0.001). An inverse correlation was observed between Tn-C variants and 6-minute walk distance as a functional parameter (B+ Tn-C: r = −0.54, p < 0.001, C+ Tn-C: r = −0.43, p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, B+ Tn-C, but not C+ Tn-C, was found to be an independent predictor of pulmonary hypertension. Both fetal Tn-C variants may represent novel biomarkers that are capable of estimating both pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular load. The potential beneficial impact of Tn-C variants for risk stratification in patients with PH needs further investigation.
Islamic banks' risk, profitability and risk disclosure

Islamic banks operate in a different manner from conventional banks, particularly in adopting profit loss sharing contracts, resulting in arguably different risks and profitability rofiles. Drawing from the Islamic principle of full disclosure, stakeholder and signalling theories, this research examines whether there is a relationship between risk, profitability measures and the level of risk disclosure. Using a sample of Islamic banks in Asia, the Middle East and Europe for the period between 2006 and 2009, the results from a panel data analysis confirm a positive association between return on equity and risk disclosure. There is modest evidence of a negative association between risk (as measured by leverage and proportion of loan to total asset) and risk disclosure. The results generally support the signalling theory rather than the stakeholder theory. A major policy implication is that risk disclosure should be mandatory as voluntary disclosure cannot be expected.