Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
European Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive: Potential Impacts on European Systemic Important Financial Institutions

The great recession heralded in by the subprime mortgage crisis, took a dramatic turn for worse as a result of collapse of the Lehman Brothers bank in September 2008. The crisis deemed to be the most devastating after the Great Depression of 1929, had a debilitating effect on world economies, developing and advanced alike. The extent of its devastation which is still being felt in Europe and many parts of the globe reminds us the interconnectedness of financial institutions, particularly those tagged TBTF or SIFIs. Policy makers scrambled to curtail the ugly effect of the crisis by rescuing the SIFIs within their jurisdiction largely through bailout mechanism and provision of implicit guarantee for the debts of failing/failed institutions. As soon as the tide is stemmed, they cast their gaze on new crisis resolution and recovery measures that could rein in systemic risks associated with SIFIs, prevent future crises and reduce the concomitant moral hazards in the current resolution measures. The objective of this paper is to assess ex ante the potential impacts of implementing the new Banking recovery and resolution directives on Europe’s TBTF banks.
Self-Reported and Actual Savings in a Water Conservation Campaign

Data from a survey questionnaire and from water utility billing records are used to compare self-reported and actual water savings for 471 households during a conservation campaign. Self-reports are only weakly related to actual changes in water consumption. Errors are widespread, and not wholly random: The accuracy of self-reports increases with household socioeconomic status and with the extent of conservation behavior. The large and nonrandom error component makes self-reports questionable as a proxy for objective measures of overall water savings in conservation research. Because knowledge about water use is both generally low and related to conservation behavior, informational feedback may be a particularly effective strategy for increasing conservation. The effectiveness of this feedback may increase with social class, however.
Modeling potentiometric measurements in topological insulators including parallel channels

The discovery of spin-polarized states at the surface of three-dimensional topological insulators (TI) like Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 motivates intense interests in possible electrical measurements demonstrating unique signatures of these unusual states. Here we show that a three-terminal potentiometric set-up can be used to probe them by measuring the voltage change of a detectingmagnet upon reversing itsmagnetization.Wepresent numerical results using a nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF)-based model to show the corresponding signal quantitatively in various transport regimes. We then provide an analytical expression for the resistance (the measured voltage difference divided by an applied current) that agrees with NEGF results well in both ballistic and diffusive limits. This expression is applicable to TI surface states, two-dimensional electrons with Rashba spin-split bands, and any combination of multiple channels, including bulk parallel states in TI, which makes it useful in analyzing experimental results.
Transforming growth factor‐β1 polymorphisms and the outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a medical procedure used to treat malignant and nonmalignant haematological diseases, congenital immunodeficiency syndromes, solid tumours and metabolic diseases. Despite its usefulness, several major complications, such as graft‐versus‐host disease, can negatively affect patients treated with HSCT. Apart from clinical factors well known to affect the outcome of HSCT, patient and donor genetics have been shown to play an important role in the susceptibility to post‐transplant complications. Histocompatibility as determined by the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system has been a major genetic determinant of the success of HSCT. Non‐HLA immunogenetics are increasingly recognized to play a part in the events related to transplantation. Cytokine genes, and their receptors, bear a considerable amount of polymorphism. One of the genes that may play an important role on the outcome of allogeneic HSCT is TGFB1, which encodes transforming growth factor, βeta 1 (TGF‐β1). TGF‐β1 is a pleiotropic cytokine, which plays a central role in the development, homeostasis and responses of the immune system. Several functional polymorphisms in TGFB1 have been identified, and these are known to cause alterations in cytokine secretion in several settings. The present review will focus on the current knowledge surrounding the effect of polymorphisms within TGFB1 on the outcome of HSCT.
Overvalued Equity, Benchmark Beating and Unexpected Accruals

type="main" xml:id="acfi12077-abs-0001"> We investigate the extent to which the overvaluation hypothesis provides incentives for managers to beat earnings benchmarks, and whether this benchmark beating can be reliably interpreted as evidence of earnings management. We carefully identify firms immediately above earnings benchmarks that have a priori, overvaluation-based incentives to achieve the benchmark. We therefore focus on benchmark-beating observations where manipulation is most likely, providing a more powerful test of the existence of opportunistic financial reporting. Consistent with overvaluation-related incentives encouraging earnings management, we find that overvalued firms that just exceed levels-related earnings benchmarks have higher unexpected accruals than firms with less extreme valuations.
Modelling companies’ debt and dividend decisions with company accounts data

Reliable empirical models of company financial decisions have proved hard to construct using aggregate data. This paper uses company specific data drawn from the published accounts of a large sample of UK companies to estimate a model of debt and dividend decisions. An attempt is made to assess the relative importance of costs of funds, the tax system, the balance sheet and profitability of the company, and of statutory controls in determining these key financial decisions. Diversity of behaviour is analysed by allowing for unobserved company–specific effects and by examining subsets of the full sample.
In Search for Factors that Drive Hantavirus Epidemics

In Europe, hantaviruses (Bunyaviridae) are small mammal-associated zoonotic and emerging pathogens that can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Puumala virus, the main etiological agent carried by the bank vole Myodes glareolus is responsible for a mild form of HFRS while Dobrava virus induces less frequent but more severe cases of HFRS. Since 2000 in Europe, more than 3000 cases of HFRS have been recorded, in average, each year, which is nearly double compared to the previous decade. In addition to this upside long-term trend, significant oscillations occur. Epidemic years appear, usually every 2–4 years, with an increased incidence, generally in localized hot spots. Moreover, the virus has been identified in new areas in the recent years. A great number of surveys have been carried out in order to assess the prevalence of the infection in the reservoir host and to identify links with different biotic and abiotic factors. The factors that drive the infections are related to the density and diversity of bank vole populations, prevalence of infection in the reservoir host, viral excretion in the environment, survival of the virus outside its host, and human behavior, which affect the main transmission virus route through inhalation of infected rodent excreta. At the scale of a rodent population, the prevalence of the infection increases with the age of the individuals but also other parameters, such as sex and genetic variability, interfere. The contamination of the environment may be correlated to the number of newly infected rodents, which heavily excrete the virus. The interactions between these different parameters add to the complexity of the situation and explain the absence of reliable tools to predict epidemics. In this review, the factors that drive the epidemics of hantaviruses in Middle Europe are discussed through a panorama of the epidemiological situation in Belgium, France, and Germany.
A Dynamic Analysis of Entry Regulations and Productivity in Retail Trade

Quantifying possible inefficiencies stemming from regulation is important to both policymakers and researchers. We use a dynamic structural model to evaluate the role of local market entry regulations in the productivity of retail trade. Our model is flexible with respect to how local market regulations influence store productivity and controls for demand in local markets. We combine the structural approach with detailed data on all stores in the Swedish retail industry. The results show that more liberal entry regulations increase future productivity and that the increase in productivity is larger for small stores and small markets than for large stores and large markets.
Impact of Burnout on Employees' Performance: An Analysis of Banking Industry

The study is conducted to assess the impact of burnout on performance of the employees working in sales departments of banking industry in Pakistan. Data was collected from 322 sales officers working in banks. Regression analysis was used to assess the impact of burnout on performance and relationship between intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, their intention to leave, role conflict, role ambiguity, burnout and performance of the sales officers. The result shows that burnout had a significant positive impact on the performance of sales officers. Performance, satisfaction and intention to leave were positively related to each other; however these variables had negative relationships with intention to leave, burnout, role conflict and role ambiguity. It is recommended that the management of banks should; formulate clear job descriptions, specify unity in chain of command, assign achievable targets to employees according to their capabilities, recognise performance through rationalised incentives and provide trainings to new entrants. The research can be replicated in other industries and by increasing the sample size for generalisation of the results.
Analysing The Difference Between Forward And Futures Prices For The UK Commercial Property Market

The paper analyses the differences between forward and futures prices for the UK commercial property market, using both time series and panel data. A first battery of tests establishes that the observed differences are statistically significant. Further analysis considers the modelling of this difference using mean-reverting models. The proposed models are then estimated with a number of alternative estimation methods and second stage statistical tests are implemented in order to decide which model and estimation method best represent the data.
Dynamics of circadian fluctuations in serum concentration of cortisol and TNF-alpha soluble receptors in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

The objective of the study was to investigate the dynamic changes of cortisol and soluble TNF-alpha p-55 and p-75 receptors in serum of advanced cancer patients during 24 h. The examined group consisted of 42 patients suffering from advanced gastrointestinal neoplasms (colorectal, gastric and pancreatic cancer). Serum levels of cortisol, TNF-alpha and both receptors in cancer patients were measured using ELISA type kits 6 times a day (8.00 a.m., 2.00 p.m., 6.00 p.m., 10.00 p.m., 2.00 a.m. and again 8.00 a.m.) as well as in healthy controls. The levels of cortisol, TNF-alpha and its soluble receptors were substantially increased in examined group and displayed statistically significant circadian fluctuations. Cortisol peak was found typically at 8.08 a.m., the minimum value appeared at 6 p.m. The presence of circadian rhythm of the cytokine was proved (acrophase -00.36 a.m.), however no diurnal rhythm of soluble TNF receptors was observed. The concentration of p-55 receptor was distinctly lower then p-75. The peak p-55 value appeared at 10.00 p. m. while the p-75 reached its minimum level at the same time. Although there was no statistical correlation between the receptor concentrations the shapes of both curves remained in inversely proportional manner to each other. The present results may suggest the presence of complex self-regulation mechanisms in advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients. There was no correlation observed between cortisol and TNF-alpha soluble receptor concentration.
Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Adolescent Schoolchildren in Galle District, Sri Lanka

The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence and associations of mental health problems (MHPs) among adolescent schoolchildren in Sri Lanka 8 months after the tsunami disaster. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the Galle Municipality area, Sri Lanka. The study instrument consisted of a self-administered questionnaire and the validated Sinhalese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The prevalence of MHPs in the study population was 32.2% (confidence interval [CI] = 28.44% to 35.96%). Direct experience of the tidal wave (odds ratio [OR] = 2.93, P = .013), perception of being affected by tsunami (OR = 1.79, P = .0014), and impact of rumors (OR = 1.85, P < .001) were significantly associated with MHPs. Not having a close friend (OR = 1.79, P = .04), being criticized by teachers (OR = 1.66, P = .008), and adolescents being not satisfied with their academic achievements (OR = 2.42, P = .02) were also significantly associated with MHPs. Even 8 months after the tsunami, MHPs among adolescent schoolchildren in the affected areas are still very high.
A 12-Gb/s Multichannel I/O Using MIMO Crosstalk Cancellation and Signal Reutilization in 65-nm CMOS

A crosstalk cancellation and signal reutilization (XTCR) analog front-end implemented with infinite impulse response (IIR) networks dramatically improves signal integrity across multiple closely-spaced single-ended PCB traces. The XTCR technique has been designed to address multiple high-speed I/Os from the ground up. To verify this technique a 4 channel prototype was implemented in 65 nm CMOS. This 4 channel prototype design handles crosstalk cancellation for single-ended I/Os operating at 12 Gb/s. At this speed, the prototype XTCR design improves the measured average horizontal and vertical-eye openings by 37.5% and 26.4% at 10-8 BER, while consuming only 0.96 pJ/b/lane.
Darkness causes myopia in visually experienced tree shrews.

PURPOSE To examine the effect of a period of continuous darkness on the refractive state and vitreous chamber depth of normal light-reared juvenile tree shrew eyes, and to learn whether eyes that developed myopia in response to monocular minus-lens wear will recover in darkness. METHODS Starting at 16 days of visual experience (VE), the refractive state of five dark-treatment tree shrews was measured daily to confirm that it was stable and nearly emmetropic. After corneal and ocular component dimension measures, the animals were placed into continuous darkness for 10 days. On removal of the animals from darkness, corneal and ocular component measures were repeated, and daily refractive measures were resumed. The refractive state of the dark-treatment group was compared with that of a normal-lighting group (n = 5) that received standard colony lighting throughout the measurement period. Five dark-recovery animals wore a monocular -5-D lens for 11 days to induce myopia before they were placed into continuous darkness for 10 days. RESULTS The animals in the normal-lighting group completed the emmetropization process, stabilizing at approximately (mean +/- SEM) 0.7 +/- 0.3 D of hyperopia (noncycloplegic refraction, corrected for the small eye artifact) at 60 days of VE. Dark-treatment group eyes shifted toward myopia (mean +/- SEM, -4.3 +/- 0.5 D) in the dark. The vitreous chamber became elongated by 0.09 +/- 0.02 mm relative to normal eyes. Corneal power showed a small, near-normal decrease (1.4 +/- 0.3 D). Four of five myopic eyes in the dark-recovery group became more myopic (-2.2 +/- 0.9D) in darkness, and all the fellow control eyes shifted toward myopia (-2.8 +/- 0.5 D). CONCLUSIONS Maintaining emmetropia is an active process. After eyes have achieved emmetropia or have compensated for a minus lens, continued visual guidance is necessary to maintain a match between the axial length and the focal plane or for recovery to occur. Absence of light is myopiagenic in tree shrews that have developed with normal diurnal lighting. This result contrasts with the apparent absence of a darkness effect in tree shrews reared in the dark from before normal eye opening.
Academic Research and Standard Setting: The Case of Other Comprehensive Income

SYNOPSIS: This paper links academic accounting research on comprehensive income reporting with the accounting standard-setting efforts of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). We begin by discussing the development of reporting other comprehensive income, and we identify a significant weakness in the FASB's Conceptual Framework, in the lack of a cohesive definition of any subcategory of comprehensive income, including earnings. We identify several attributes that could help allocate comprehensive income between net income, other comprehensive income, and other subcategories. We then review academic research related to remaining standard-setting issues, and identify gaps in academic research where hypotheses could be developed and tested. Our objectives are to (1) stimulate standard-setters to better conceptualize what is meant by other comprehensive income and to distinguish it from earnings, and (2) stimulate researchers to develop and te.
Physical activity assessment methods in the Jackson Heart Study.

OBJECTIVES Physical activity measures used in exam 1 of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), including the diet and physical activity substudy (DPASS), are described. DESIGN The JHS physical activity (PAC) survey instrument was administered by interview. Accelerometer data, pedometer step counts, and additional questionnaire data were collected from volunteer subsamples of the cohort, including the DPASS. OUTCOME MEASURES The PAC assessed four different domains of physical activity (active living, work, home and garden, and sport and exercise indexes). The 24-hour accelerometer and pedometer monitoring provided objective measures for validation of cohort survey responses. The DPASS past week activity (PWA) questionnaire assessed time spent in moderate and vigorous activity during the previous seven days. Pedometer step counts for three days before three DPASS visits provided additional data for the DPASS. RESULTS 5296 respondents completed the PAC, 423 completed 24-hour accelerometer monitoring, and 499 completed the DPASS measures; 85 completed both 24-hour monitoring and DPASS measures. Initial analyses of leisure and sports activity items showed similar distributions for men and women and for the cohort and DPASS participants, in a bimodal distribution, with similar proportions reporting infrequent and frequent activity. The physical activity measures from the JHS can provide unique information about the association between physical activity, other risk factors, and cardiovascular disease in African Americans.
To improve investors' valuation of accounting earnings in emerging markets: evidence from Taiwan†

The valuation of accounting earnings is related to the level of earnings management used by the firm. In emerging markets where earnings management is typically pervasive, investors lose confidence in accounting earnings and thus tend to under-value earnings. Using data from Taiwan, we show that better governance characteristics are associated with improved investor valuation of accounting earnings. Under weaker governance structures, such as excessive control on the part of majority shareholders, small board size, and chief executive officer/chairman of the board duality, the market tends to under-value accounting earnings. Reducing controlling shareholders' ownership, increasing board size, and reinforcing the monitoring function of the board improves investors' ability to value accounting earnings. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. L'evaluation des benefices comptables est liee a la gestion des resultats utilisee par l'entreprise. Dans les marches emergents ou la gestion des resultats est generalement omnipresente, les investisseurs ne croient pas aux benefices comptables, ce qui entraine une sous-evaluation des benefices. Dans cet article, nous montrons que la bonne gouvernance est liee a une meilleure evaluation, par les investisseurs, des benefices comptables. Dans les structures de gouvernance moins rigides marquees par un controle excessif des actionnaires majoritaires, un conseil d'administration de taille reduite et la dualite President-directeur general/ president du conseil d'administration, le marche tend a sous-evaluer ces benefices. La reduction des parts des actionnaires dominants, l'accroissement du conseil d'administration et le renforcement du pouvoir de controle du conseil ameliorent la capacite des investisseurs a les evaluer. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Reaction of Private Interests to the 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act

In recent research on the 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA), there has been no examination of the reaction of private actors to the RTAA. Did producer groups and investors in 1934 believe the Democratic RTAA was the solution to Republican protectionism, as institutional analyses of the RTAA claim, or did they realize the RTAA was no “magic bullet” against a return of protectionism, as skeptics argue? Archival data suggests that many producer groups believed the RTAA would result in durable liberalization, but that fewer understood the likely effects of its specific features. An event study of investor reaction to the RTAA reveals that export-dependent firms experienced a significant, positive stock return increase on news of the RTAA, while heavily tariff-protected firms experienced a significant stock decline, albeit several months later.
The impacts of acquiring ISO 9000 certification on the performance of SMEs in Tehran

Purpose – Small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute 90 percent of all enterprises in Iran. Thus they have an important role in the development of the country. SMEs need to utilise management systems, especially quality systems such as the ISO 9000 series, in their operations. The purpose of this paper is to address the following questions: to what extent do the performances of SMEs change before and after acquiring the ISO 9000 certification and how far do they differ from non‐ISO certified companies? Design/methodology/approach – The authors have studied a sample of SMEs, comprising those that have acquired the ISO 9000 certification after the end of September 2004 and were located in Greater Tehran. Based on the literature review, the authors designed the following methodology to survey the selected SMEs: they developed a questionnaire containing 27 questions relevant to advantages of acquiring ISO certification and sent the same to the selected SMEs; then analysed the responses and performed n.