Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic Convergence Between the CEE-8 and the European Union

This paper analyzes the real economic convergence between the new EU entrants in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-8) and the EU core (EU-12 or EU-15). It includes new estimates on the speed of income-level convergence and new findings about the conformity of cyclical changes. The results offer further evidence of continuous progress in real economic convergence between Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union.
The Influence of Temperature on the Effectiveness of Filamentous Bacteria Removal from Activated Sludge by Rotifers

We investigated the feeding of the rotifer Lecane inermis on filamentous bacteria to determine if the ability of rotifers to remove filaments depends on temperature. The bacteria originated from two treatment plants, one of which was dominated by Microthrix parvicella and the other by Nostocoida limicola‐like organisms. The experiments showed that the number of rotifers increased with temperature, and thus the ability of rotifers to reduce the number of filaments also increased with temperature. At 8°C, their removal effectiveness was low, but the rotifers were able to survive at this temperature. When presented with sludge containing N. limicola‐like microorganisms at 20°C, the rotifers reduced the number of bacteria by 95%. In the case of M. parvicella, the reduction reached 50%. The results confirmed that Lecane are capable of controlling the growth of bacteria responsible for sludge bulking. This is the first report indicating that the seasonality of bulking may be the result of the activity of filamentous bacteria grazers, which is temperature dependent.
The impact of trade openness on the unemployment rate in G7 countries

Recent and ongoing literature strongly implies the existence of a significant and robust impact of trade openness (liberalisation) and globalisation on unemployment, particularly in developed economies. This paper empirically investigates the impacts of four different measures of trade openness and globalisation on the unemployment rate in an unbalanced panel framework. The analysis focuses on the G7 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Robust empirical findings from panel data estimates demonstrate that, along with macroeconomic indicators and market size, all the measures of trade openness and globalisation are significantly and negatively associated with the unemployment rate. Therefore, we conclude that the continuation of the globalisation process instead of protectionism is of great importance in reducing the unemployment rate in developed economies.
Valuing Prepayment and Default in a Fixed‐Rate Mortgage: A Bivariate Binomial Options Pricing Technique

This paper uses a bivariate binomial options pricing technique to value the prepayment and default options in a fixed-rate mortgage. The American style options are dependent on two stochastic variables: (1) house price, (2) one year spot rate. The paper uses the standard lognormal process for house price and the CIR square-root process for interest rates. By forcing the two underlying state variables to undergo transformations, two new uncorrelated variables with constant volatilities are established. With constant volatilities, a computationally simple bivariate binomial tree is formed which greatly reduces the complexity of working with two state variables and is pedagogicallyuseful. Using this procedure, the price of any real estate contingent claim whose value is dependent on the one year spot rate and house price can be determined. Results are compared with those from a finite difference model.
Comparison of partial discharge measurement and simulation results for spherical cavities within solid dielectric materials as a function of frequency using Finite Element Analysis method

Partial discharge (PD) is a discharge phenomenon that does not bridge the whole electrodes within a dielectric insulation under high field stress. The measurement of PD activity is used in the insulation diagnosis of high voltage components. A better understanding of PD may be gained from modeling of the discharge process. This paper is an extension from previous works by the same authors which have considered the modeling of PD activity in a spherical cavity within a dielectric material by using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method to study the influence of applied frequency. However, in this paper, simulation results are compared with measurement results as a function of frequency. From this, the parameters that influence PD frequency dependent behavior have been identified through comparison between experimental measurement and simulation results.
An Examination of Effects of Credibility and Congruency on Consumer Responses to Banner Advertisements

This study examined the effects of advertiser credibility and Web site reputation on consumer responses to banner advertisements. In addition, the study investigated the moderating role of product-Web site congruency in determining the effects of the two forms of source credibility on banner ad effectiveness. The results showed that, while advertiser credibility had a significant impact on consumer responses to banner ads, Web site reputation was found to exert no significant influence. Specifically, advertiser credibility appeared to positively influence perceived credibility of and attitudes toward the banner ad, the advertised brand, and the intention to purchase the brand. More interestingly, the findings suggest product-Web site content congruence effects that are contingent on advertiser credibility. That is, the persuasiveness of a banner ad is enhanced when a highly credible company advertises a product that is congruent with the Web site content. However, such congruence effects are not found for a company of low credibility.
How CFOs Determine Management Accounting Innovation: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Effects

Although management accounting innovations such as Activity-Based Costing, the Balanced Scorecard and benchmarking have received much academic interest in recent years, our understanding of why some organizations adopt and implement such new management accounting systems (MAS) and others do not, is still underdeveloped. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the role of the CFO in MAS innovation. We hypothesize that individual differences between CFOs are predictive of organizations' use of innovative MAS. In addition, we propose that CFO characteristics moderate the extent to which organizations rationally adapt to (environmental) contingencies. To examine this second prediction we compare the effects of strategy and historical performance on the adoption of innovative MAS for organizations with different types of CFOs. We test our hypotheses using a combination of archival and survey data from the public health care sector in Spain. Our results are generally supportive of our hypotheses.
PLL Grid Synchronization of the Standalone DFIG based Wind Turbine or Rotary UPS

A phase locked loop PLL is applied in the three phase power electronics converters to synchronize with grid voltage vector to obtain unity power factor. There are many concepts of synchronization which allow obtain a sinusoidal reference current in spite of the strongly distorted grid voltage. This paper presents another application of the phase synchronization. The variable speed induction generator is synchronized with the grid. Before connection to the grid it operates autonomously with output voltage vector controlled in synchronously rotated polar frame. Connection of unsynchronized rotating DFIG has an impact on the stator current. Even if the generator is unexcited, the peak of magnetizing current produces disturbances in the grid voltage. In case of the variable speed rotary UPS operating in standalone mode, the output voltage must be synchronized with the grid after the grid voltage recovery. It is necessary due to the fact, that the load supplied from the UPS must be protected from the rapid change of the voltage phase during connection of the generator to the grid. The PLL synchronization is also used to achieve a fixed amplitude and frequency of the generated voltage during standalone operation of DFIG. The use of synchronization between actual and reference voltage vector eliminates information about rotor speed or. Proposed methods were verified in 2.2 kW laboratory system.
Equity-based compensation and performance of acquisitions

We investigate how the equity-based compensation (EBC) of top executives affects the performance of acquisitions. In contrast to the results of Datta et al. (2001), we find that high EBC acquirers pay higher premiums for targets than that of low EBC acquirers. The cumulative abnormal return around the acquisition announcement is lower for acquiring firms with high EBC. However, we find that the long-run performance of acquiring firms is positively correlated with EBC. Our results suggest that high EBC acquirers experience lower sensitivity to size and momentum factors that unexpectedly lowers the cost of equity, leading to higher returns.
Electrophysiological signatures of resting state networks in the human brain

Functional neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies have documented a dynamic baseline of intrinsic (not stimulus- or task-evoked) brain activity during resting wakefulness. This baseline is characterized by slow (<0.1 Hz) fluctuations of functional imaging signals that are topographically organized in discrete brain networks, and by much faster (1–80 Hz) electrical oscillations. To investigate the relationship between hemodynamic and electrical oscillations, we have adopted a completely data-driven approach that combines information from simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using independent component analysis on the fMRI data, we identified six widely distributed resting state networks. The blood oxygenation level-dependent signal fluctuations associated with each network were correlated with the EEG power variations of delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma rhythms. Each functional network was characterized by a specific electrophysiological signature that involved the combination of different brain rhythms. Moreover, the joint EEG/fMRI analysis afforded a finer physiological fractionation of brain networks in the resting human brain. This result supports for the first time in humans the coalescence of several brain rhythms within large-scale brain networks as suggested by biophysical studies.
Currency Substitution in Developing Countries: An Introduction

This paper reviews the main policy and analytical issues related to currency substitution in developing countries. The paper discusses, first, whether currency substitution should be encouraged or not: second, how the presence of currency substitution affects the choice of nominal anchors in inflation stabilization programs; third, the effects of changes in the rate of growth of the money supply on the real exchange rate: fourth, the interaction behween inflationary finance and currency substitution; and, finnlly, issues related to the empirical verification of the currency substitution hypothesis.
Relative Age, Maturation and Physical Biases on Position Allocation in Elite-Youth Soccer

Abstract This study assessed the contribution of relative age, anthropometry, maturation, and physical fitness characteristics on soccer playing position (goalkeeper [GK], central-defender [CD], lateral-defender [LD], central-midfield [CM], lateral-midfielder [LM], and forward [FWD]) for 465 elite-youth players (U13–U18’s). U13–14 CD were relatively older than LD and CM (likely small effects). CD and GK were generally taller and heavier (likely small to very-likely moderate effects) than other players at each developmental stage and were advanced maturers at U13–14 (very-likely small to likely moderate effects). GK had inferior agility (very-likely small to likely moderate effects), endurance (very-likely small to likely moderate effects), and sprint capacities (likely small-moderate effects) vs. outfield positions at U13–14, but deficits in anaerobic phenotypes were diminished in U15–16 and U17–18. Position specific fitness characteristics were distinguished at U15–16 (likely small) and U17–18 (likely moderate), where LM were faster than their central counterparts. In summary, relative age, maturation and anthropometric characteristics appear to bias the allocation of players into key defensive roles from an early development stage, whereas position-specific physical attributes do not become apparent until the latter stages of talent development in outfield players. Given the inter-individual trajectories of physical development according to biological maturation, playing position allocation might be considered ‘plastic’ by selectors, until complete-maturity is achieved.
Economic Development, Urban Underemployment, and Income Inequality

The evolution of inequality in permanent income is investigated during the course of a less developed country's transformation from a primarily agricultural to a primarily urban-industrial economy. The source of inequality is market luck in obtaining employment in the protected urban "formal sector" versus employment in the unprotected urban "informal sector. " It is shown that with development the log variance measure of inequality in this country tends to follow an "inverted U": it rises when urbanization is low and consequent pressure on the land keeps rural incomes low, making agents willing to incur high risks of "underemployment" in the urban informal sector, and eventually falls after urbanization and consequently rural incomes has increased sufficiently to allow agents to make better than even bets in the industrial sector. These results in combination with new empirical evidence suggest that rather than being an unimportant artifact of the design of inequality indices, inverted-U behavior of inequality may be driven by the important social phenomenon of mass urban underemployment.
The ‘inverse relationship’ between social capital and sport: a qualitative exploration of the influence of social networks on the development of athletes

Sport players' likelihood to fulfil their career expectations is influenced by both technical and non-technical aspects, including self-drive, self-confidence and access to high-quality coaching and to positive learning environments. Among other factors, belonging in the ‘right’ social networks may help players to gain access to critical resources that can ultimately have a significant impact on their career prospects. This includes social capital. Drawing on an empirical qualitative study of women's soccer in South Australia, this paper seeks to provide a broader conceptual and methodological framework to further investigate the ‘inverse relationship’ between sport and social capital, that is, social capital as a component of sport and athlete development. In particular, this paper makes the case for a qualitative approach to explore the influence of social networks and social capital on the career of athletes. The paper draws on primary data from interviews and surveys with players, coaches, administrators and parents and argues that social capital is an important matter to consider when looking at athlete development. Importantly, the paper recognises that social capital may also have negative consequences for the advancement of athletes' careers.
A Comparison of Nicotine Biomarkers and Smoking Patterns in Daily and Nondaily Smokers

Background: Nondaily or intermittent smokers (ITS) are increasingly common, but how much nicotine, if any, ITS take in and how quickly they metabolize it has not yet been studied. Methods: We compared carbon monoxide (CO), urinary cotinine, and nicotine metabolism [nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR): 3-hydroxycotinine:cotinine] in 224 ITS and 222 daily smokers (DS). Effects of gender and ethnicity were examined. Results: DS had higher cotinine concentrations than ITS (1,396 ± 69 vs. 478 ± 44 ng/mL), attributable to higher cigarettes per day (CPD). In both groups, cotinine rose more slowly as CPD increased. There were no differences in cotinine between White (WH) and African American (AA) DS; among ITS, AA cotinine was over twice that of WH. Among DS, CO was significantly higher among WH than AA smokers, but significantly lower among WH ITS than AA ITS. Although AA ITS smoked more than WH ITS (CPD: 4.13 ± 0.55 vs. 3.31 ± 0.41), this did not account for the observed cotinine nor CO differences. There were no differences in NMR by group or race, nor any gender effects. Conclusions: At comparable CPD, DS' and ITS' intake of nicotine per cigarette was similar, as were their rates of nicotine metabolism. Among ITS, AA smokers smoke more and take in more nicotine per cigarette than WH ITS, consistent with the view of ITS as a heterogeneous group. Impact: Differences in nicotine intake per cigarette and metabolism likely cannot account for differences in DS and ITS smoking. Future studies should explore ethnic differences in ITS smoking. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(7); 1264–72. ©2014 AACR.
Impact of fit, involvement, and tenure on job satisfaction and turnover intention

This study examined the interactive effects of need–supplies fit, job involvement, and job tenure on service sector employees' job satisfaction and turnover intention in Turkey. Survey data collected from 252 employees who worked in three different banks and one logistics company operating in Istanbul, Turkey, confirm the three-way interaction in predicting employees' turnover intention. In particular, the effect of needs–supplies fit on turnover intention was found to be more strongly positive for longer tenured, highly involved employees. Results also reveal that while the three-way interaction does not predict job satisfaction, the two-way interaction between needs–supplies fit and job involvement is significant. Specifically, needs–supplies fit had a stronger effect on the job satisfaction of highly job-involved employees than those with lower levels of involvement. Certain implications of these results, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed.
The South Pacific stock exchange: is it a market or status symbol?

Listing on a stock exchange is one of the most significant events in a company's life cycle. Using a case study approach we examine why companies in Fiji list on a stock exchange. The various factors that have been found to motivate companies to list include enhancing their image and reputation, increasing the firm's value and introducing better financial and managerial practices. Importantly, the accessing of new sources of finance has not been a determinant of a company's listing decision. The findings imply that in emerging economies, stock exchange listing can be perceived as a status symbol.
An analysis of textbooks series based on English as international language

This study aims to analyze a textbook series in terms of its depiction of English as an International Language (EIL). To achieve the set objective, the following criteira were employed: Reference to Inner Circle countries, reference to Outer and Expanding Circle countries, conversation in non-English speaking countries. Six English instructors were interviewed. The study revealed that the textbooks is mainly attached to Inner English speaking culture.
Incomplete Contracts, Risk, and Ownership

This paper develops a model of ownership based on incomplete contracts, specific investments, and risk and tests the model using data on industrial subcontracting in Mexico. The choice of ownership structure involves a trade-off between minimizing holdup risk and spreading natural risk. Concentrating ownership under one party reduces her exposure to holdup but increases her exposure to environmental uncertainty. Using data on Mexican apparel subcontracting, the author finds evidence that supports the model: the share of production subcontracted is high in market segments where demand is highly variable and low in market segments where manufacturers make large relationship-specific investments. Copyright 1995 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
An experimental study of tinea pedis and onychomycosis of the foot.

So much has been written about the subject of athlete's foot that one can hardly add still another paper to an already mountainous pile without some justification. We thought we could gain some fresh appreciation of this disease by studying it experimentally in a prison population. With this group it was possible to do a number of things which would otherwise have been rather difficult. Rigid control over the subjects, adult males in the age range of 20-50 years, offered many experimental advantages. Total Mycological Survey of the Foot The first part of the study had two objectives: (a) the setting up of reliable clinical criteria of infection; and (b) establishing correlations between interdigital, plantar, and nail infections on the same foot. Both feet of 100 consecutive subjects chosen without selection were examined; in each case particular attention was paid to the interdigital
Acute Toxicities of Betel Nut: Rare but Probably Overlooked Events

Background: Betel nut chewing has long been a social habit in Taiwan and other Asian and tropical countries. It produces various autonomic and psychoneurologic effects including tachycardia, flushing, warmth, cholinergic activation, alertness, and euphoria. Although the oral carcinogenic effects are well known, data concerning its acute toxicity are few. To better understand the toxicity of betel nut, cases reported to the Taiwan Poison Control Center as probable or possible betel nut–related toxicity (January 1988–June 1998) were reviewed. In the 17 cases suitable for review (14 males, 3 females, age 21 to 60 years), the most common manifestations were tachycardia/palpitations ; tachypnea/dyspnea ; hypotension and sweating ; vomiting, dizziness, and chest discomfort ; abdominal colic, nausea, numbness, and coma ; and acute myocardial infarction and related manifestations . The reported quantity of betel nut used was low (1 to 6 nuts), except an extract of 100 betel nuts was used in 1 case and 66 chewed in another. Most cases recovered within 24 hours after the exposure. One patient developed probable acute myocardial infarction and ventricular fibrillation and died despite repeated cardiac defibrillation. Although betel nut chewing is widespread, significant toxicity as reported to a poison center is rare. Because most betel nut–related effects are transient and mild in nature, the incidence of such events is likely to be underreported. Nevertheless, betel nut chewing can produce significant cholinergic, neurological, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal manifestations. It is possible that it may aggravate cardiac diseases in susceptible patients but this hypothesis must be further investigated. Treatment is symptomatic. With timely support, rapid and complete recovery is anticipated but a small risk of major complications cannot yet be discounted.
Common Factors in Corporate Capital Structure

This paper reexamines the controversy over capital structure adjustment speed. We show that firms move leverage towards target much faster than generally understood. To do this we use reduced rank regressions to extract 4 common factors for corporate leverage using 146 variables, including value weighted aggregates of standard firm attributes, and macroeconomic variables. Firm specific factor loadings on all of these are estimated. The model provides estimates of time varying leverage targets. More than half of the leverage variation by the median firm is explained, and there is significant predictive ability for several years out-of-sample. Firms actively adjust both debt and equity to move leverage in the direction of the estimated targets. A straw man null hypothesis of purely random financing actions is easily rejected. Slow speeds of adjustment reported in previous studies may reflect the use of static leverage targets while firms actually care about time varying targets.