Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of an implantable transducer to measure force in the superficial digital flexor tendon in horses at walk, trot and canter on a treadmill.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Although the main cause of injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is assumed to be high intensity loading of the tendon, to date the forces exerted on the SDFT during cantering have never been measured. OBJECTIVE To measure the force exerted on the SDFT at walk, trot and canter on a treadmill. METHODS Arthroscopically implantable force probes (AIFP) were implanted in the SDFT of the left and right forelimbs of 8 Thoroughbred horses (480-565 kg). The output of the AIFP was calibrated using the SDFT force calculated by inverse dynamics and an in vitro model of the lower forelimb at trot. The AIFP output was recorded at 1000 Hz at the walk, trot and canter (9 m/s) on a flat treadmill. RESULTS AIFP data were analysed successfully in 13 measurement sessions at the walk and trot, in the leading forelimb in 8 sessions at canter and in the trailing forelimb in 5 sessions at canter. The mean ± s.d. maximal force in the SDFT was 3110 ± 1787 N at the walk, 5652 ± 2472 N at the trot, 7030 ± 2948 N in the leading forelimb and 6453 ± 2940 N in the trailing forelimb at canter. CONCLUSIONS The force in the SDFT increases with running speed from the walk to the canter. The force in the SDFT could not be measured at the gallop. Further study is needed to determine the force in the SDFT at high speed, because it is important for preventing injuries to the SDFT to limit overloading of this tendon.
Investment Under Uncertainty in Dynamic Conflicts

This paper analyses a model in which two groups repeatedly compete with each other for a prize in every time period. We assume that there is a status quo bias: if there is a fight today, yesterday's winner is in a stronger position than the other group. Hence, a change of the status quo has long-term consequences that groups need to take into account. Important applications of this model include lobbying for legislation and political transitions through revolutions. We analyse the strategic timing of attacks on the status quo, which is similar to investment decisions under uncertainty. We find that the attack threshold is considerably lower than in a comparable one-period game, and that the expenditure level necessary to change the status quo is low in comparison to the prize; this provides a possible solution to Tullock's “rent-seeking paradox” in lobbying. Copyright 2006, Wiley-Blackwell.
The Implications of Corporate Bond Ratings Drift

Examination of the ratings of over 7000 bonds issued in the 1970-88 period reveals that some 40% to 80% of bonds initially rated BB and above can be expected to experience at least one rating change in the 1 0 years following issuance. A-rated bonds appear to be more stable than AAArated bonds. BB-rated bonds (the highest 'junk bond" category) are the least stable. Furthermore, bonds initially rated A and above have a greater tendency to be downgraded than to be upgraded. Among the investment grades, only bonds initially rated BBB tend to be upgraded more than they are downgraded. As for bonds originally rated non-investment-grade 'junk," there does not appear to be a tendency toward either upgrades or downgrades in the sample period.
[Effects of a group counseling integration program on self-determination and Internet addiction in high school students with tendency to Internet addiction].

PURPOSE In this study the effects of a Group Counseling Integration Program for students with a tendency to Internet addiction were examined. METHODS Thirty-seven students who were in a vocational high school in G city participated in a survey, which was carried out from October 12 to November 12, 2009. To test the effects of the Group Counseling Integration Program, the participants were divided into two groups, an experimental group (18) and a control group (19). The research design used in this study was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized pre-posttest quasi-experimental research design. The research tools included a self-determination scale and an internet addiction scale. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, t-test, and ANCOVA with the SPSS/WIN 14.0 program. RESULTS Significant differences were found in self-determination scores and internet addiction scores between the experimental group and the control group (F=5.99, p=.020) (t=-2.53, p=.016). CONCLUSION The results indicate that Group Counseling Integration Programs are an effective nursing intervention for improving self-determination and decreasing Internet addiction in students with a tendency to Internet addiction.
How much would US union membership increase under a policy of non‐exclusive representation?

Purpose – In light of the low‐union density and a huge representation gap in the US representation system. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the system under majority rule and to provide some empirical evidence on how much union membership would increase in the USA if a policy of non‐exclusive representation, as adopted in New Zealand, are to be implemented.Design/methodology/approach – The sample for the study consists of 227 New Zealand organizations, employing over 180,000 workers. Logistic regression is used for the analysis with the dichotomous dependent variable indicating whether there is majority union support.Findings – If the USA allowed and supported minority unionism, union membership could increase by 30 percent or more. Workers in smaller, private‐sector organizations outside healthcare, education, and manufacturing are most disadvantaged by the majority‐rule system.Practical implications – Given that many workers' needs for representation have not been addressed b.
Why Do Bidders Do Badly Out of Mergers? Some UK Evidence

This paper builds on Roll's hubris hypothesis as to why bidders overpay. It rejects the winner's curse hypothesis (which implies that the generosity of the merger terms increases the probability of a successful bid) on both theoretical and empirical grounds. The empirical study examines a bargaining theory approach: that the terms offered are determined by the parties' individual eagerness to merge. It also examines a modification of this: that the terms are dominated by the existence of a premium required by the market irrespective of synergy, thereby also dominating the decision as to whether a bid should be made. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.
A microstructural analysis of the effects of news on order flows and on price discovery in foreign exchange markets

This thesis brings together a number of studies using high frequency foreign exchange (FX) data. The first part examines the effects of scheduled, publicly released macroeconomic news, while the final chapter considers another, related, aspect of FX microstructure. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the thesis and reviews the literature in high frequency empirical FX research. In Chapter 2, I use up to ten months of FX transactions and quote data to analyse foreign exchange activity around times of scheduled news releases. The effects of news on exchange rate levels are examined, as well as the effects on spreads, trading volume and volatihty. Chapter 3 extends this analysis, asking how public information enters prices. Under rational expectations and efficient markets hypotheses, the news contained in public information announcements should be impounded directly, with there being no role for trades in this process of information assimilation. However, the results suggest that up to two thirds of the price relevant information enters via trading (order flow in particular). Chapter 4 provides an explanation why order flow is so important around public news releases and also examines the effects of news on market depths. In Chapter 5 I examine how much information is carried in trades by looking at the price impact of order flow when feedback trading is allowed. The model that is often used in the literature is proved to be misspecified when temporally aggregated data are employed and Chapter 5 introduces a method to estimate the otherwise unidentified model. Using impulse response functions, I show that trades actually carry more information than previous estimates suggest.
Inflation, real stock returns, and monetary policy

The well-documented negative relation between real stock returns and inflation is studied using data from the post-war period. The relation is found to be unstable in the sense that it is negative before 1976 and after 1982 but positive in between these years. Evidence is presented that suggests that the instability may be the result of a shift from a counter-cyclical to a pro-cyclical monetary policy in 1976 and back to a counter-cyclical policy in 1982. The evidence is consistent with hypotheses by Fama and Marshall that the negative real stock return-inflation relation often observed is spurious.
Technological Innovation and a Changing Energy Mix - A Parametric and Flexible Approach to Modeling Ontario Manufacturing

For the purposes of explaining historical trends in relative fuel usage and energy efficiency, an encompassing framework must incorporate both the influence of changing fuel prices and technological change. Schurr (1982), Rosenberg (1983), Jorgenson (1984, 1986) and Berndt (1986) have provided recent documentation of the importance of these two factors in explaining productivity growth. Moreover, these studies indicate that a key to understanding such trends is analysis at the individual industrial sector level. In ignoring the influence of technological change on interfuel substitution, modern studies (e.g., Gopalakrishnan, 1987; Moghimzadeh and Kymm, 1986) have left unaltered the approach taken in the pioneering studies of Berndt and Wood (1975), Fuss (1977), Griffin and Gregory (1976) and Halvorsen (1977).
Coal Sector Returns and Oil Prices: Developed and Emerging Countries

This paper examines the effect of oil price on coal sector stock returns. A multifactor market model is used to estimate the expected excess returns to the coal sector. A 1% increase in oil price return has a statistically significant positive impact on coal sector returns of between 0.06% and 0.20%. A 1% increase in coal price raises the return of coal sector returns by between 0.22% and 0.30%. Increased volatility in oil price return significantly reduces coal sector return. Participants in energy markets may perceive oil price as being determined globally and as providing information on demand for energy overall. Understanding the variables that affect the behaviour of the stock prices in the coal is of importance to market participants and policy makers, and is helpful in developing efficient hedging policies to deal with changes in energy prices Keywords : coal sector return; oil price; coal price JEL Classifications : G15; O13; Q4
Stochastic Choice Under Risk

An individual makes random errors when evaluating the expected utility of a risky lottery. Errors are symmetrically distributed around zero as long as an individual does not make transparent mistakes such as choosing a risky lottery over its highest possible outcome for certain. This stochastic decision theory explains many well-known violations of expected utility theory such as the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes, the discrepancy between certainty equivalent and probability equivalent elicitation methods, the preference reversal phenomenon, the generalized common consequence effect (the Allais paradox), the common ratio effect and the violations of the betweenness.
Locating Faults With High Resolution Using Single-Frequency TR-MUSIC Processing

Time-reversal multiple signal classification (TR-MUSIC) is here applied to testing cable networks in order to detect and locate soft faults. TR-MUSIC is shown to provide spatial resolution in the millimeter range while using continuous-wave (CW) test signals, even at frequencies with guided wavelengths much larger than cables length. State-of-the-art time-domain reflectometry (TDR) methods would require bandwidths in the order of hundreds of megahertz for a similar performance. As opposed to TDR, TR-MUSIC does not suffer from the ambiguity created by the existence of multiple echoes in cable networks, which can be easily misinterpreted as multiple faults, leading to false alarms. TR-MUSIC is intrinsically adapted to dealing with multiple faults, handing a direct estimate of the number of faults found in a network under test. Furthermore, the detection capabilities of TR-MUSIC are insensitive to the severity of a fault, as faults are not detected based on the intensity of their echoes as done in TDR techniques, but on a subspace approach mostly dependent on phase patterns. Accurate identification of faults from CW signals points to the possibility of designing simpler test systems, not requiring pulse generators and fast electronics. TR-MUSIC accuracy is demonstrated experimentally for locating both single as well as multiple soft faults in two cable networks. The proposed method also gives access to the reflection coefficient of each fault, thus enabling an estimate of its severity.
Factors Affecting Adoption of Long Staple Cotton Variety among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

The changing requirements of the international cotton market have created the need for continual investment in new technological innovations in developing countries. The main objective of this research was to identify factors that affect the adoption of Long Staple (LS9219) variety among smallholder cotton farmers in Matepatepa communal area of Mashonaland Central province of Zimbabwe. A total of 75 farmers were selected using stratified sampling and a structured questionnaire administered at the farm level. A binary logistic regression model was used to investigate adoption of the LS9219 variety. Results of the survey showed that the economic returns per hectare for the traditional (SZ9314) and LS9219 were not statistically different at the 5% level. Most farmers were aware of the new cotton variety. Agricultural credit was found to have a positive and significant effect on adoption. On the other hand, large farm size was negatively associated with adoption of LS9219 variety. These findings point to the need for a holistic approach in which agricultural credit and sufficient price premiums for long staple varieties are central for longterm sustainability.
Coping with shocks in rural Ethiopia

Abstract Using survey data and event history interviews undertaken in Ethiopia, we investigate which shocks trigger which coping responses and why. Relatively covariate natural and economic shocks trigger reductions in savings and in food consumption, while relatively idiosyncratic health shocks prompt reductions in savings and a reliance on borrowing. Surprisingly, across all shocks, households do not rely on gifts from family and friends, highlighting the need for formal protection systems. We argue that the insensitivity of food consumption to health shocks does not imply insurability but indicates that it is not a viable response to such a shock.
Circulating Cytokeratin 8:Anti-Cytokeratin 8 Antibody Immune Complexes in Sera of Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis

Background: It has been suggested that the humoral immune system plays a role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and pulmonary fibrosis associated with collagen vascular disorders (PF-CVD). Although circulating immune complexes in patients’ sera have been suggested, none of the antigens have been characterized. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to characterize the antigen of the immune complexes in patients’ sera of pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: As we previously established that one of the antibodies against A549 cells (lung alveolar type II cells) was anti-cytokeratin 8 (CK8), we confirmed the existence of anti-CK8 antibody in patients’ sera by Western immunoblot. In addition, we tried to demonstrate circulating CK8:anti-CK8 immune complexes in patients’ sera by Western immunoblot. Furthermore, we established an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantitate CK8:anti-CK8 immune complexes. Results: In patients with pulmonary fibrosis, anti-CK8 antibodies were clearly demonstrated in sera by Western immunoblot. In addition, circulating CK8:anti-CK8 immune complexes were also clearly demonstrated by Western immunoblot. It was possible to establish ELISA to quantitate CK8:anti-CK8 immune complexes. If the cutoff value, which was determined based on the highest value of normal volunteers, was introduced, high CK8:anti-CK8 antibody complexes were demonstrated in 9 of 31 patients (29.0%) with IPF and PF-CVD. Conclusions: This is the first study to clarify the antigen of the circulating immune complex in sera of patients with IPF. These results suggest that circulating CK8:anti-CK8 immune complexes may have played a role in the process of lung injury in pulmonary fibrosis.
Midlife obesity and risk of frailty in old age during a 22-year follow-up in men and women: the Mini-Finland Follow-up Survey.

BACKGROUND Long-term predictors of geriatric syndrome of frailty are unclear. Several obesity-related conditions are associated with frailty. This study examines the predictive role of midlife overweight and obesity on development of frailty more than 22 years of follow-up. METHODS Data are from 1,119 men and women aged 30 or older without frailty at baseline participating in a population-based Mini-Finland Health Examination Survey (1978-1980) with follow-up measurement in 2000-2001. At baseline (1978-1980), body weight and height were measured. At follow-up (2000-2001), the dependent variable prefrailty was defined as the presence of one or two of five frailty indicators (shrinking, weakness, exhaustion, slowness, and low physical activity) and frailty was defined as three or more indicators. RESULTS The mean age at the baseline was 43.6 (SD 9.7) years, and majority of the participants (95%) were 30-60 years old. Incidence of prefrailty was 5% and frailty 36%. Based on adjusted multinomial logistic regression, persons with overweight (body mass index 25-29.9kg/m(2)) and obesity (body mass index ≥ 30kg/m(2)) at baseline had increased risk of prefrailty (odds ratio 1.45, 95% CI 1.08, 1.96; odds ratio 2.36, 95% CI 1.41, 3.93) and frailty (odds ratio 2.49, 95% CI 1.22, 5.06; odds ratio 5.02, 95% CI 1.89, 13.33) at follow-up in comparison to normal-weight persons after adjusting for age, sex, lifestyle factors and chronic conditions. CONCLUSIONS Development of frailty may start already in midlife, and obesity is one of the underlying causes of frailty.
A framework for data mining‐based anti‐money laundering research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for data mining (DM)‐based anti‐money laundering (AML) research.Design/methodology/approach – First, suspicion data are prepared by using DM techniques. Also, DM methods are compared with traditional investigation techniques. Next, rare transactional patterns are further categorized as unusual/abnormal/anomalous and suspicious patterns whose recognition also includes fraud/outlier detection. Then, in summarizing the reporting of money laundering (ML) crimes, an analysis is made on ML network generation, which involves link analysis, community generation, and network destabilization. Future research directions are derived from a review of literature.Findings – The key of the framework lies in ML network analysis involving link analysis, community generation, and network destabilization.Originality/value – The paper offers insights into DM in the context of AML.
Vote Buying With Multiple Distributive Goods

Within the rich literature on distributive politics, models of vote buying treat the distributive logic of different particularistic incentives as theoretically similar. This article relaxes that assumption, focusing on how the nature of a good affects the political logic of its distribution, and then uses data from a new compilation of land transfers and rural investment projects from the 1958–1990 agrarian reform program in Venezuela to empirically test the resulting theoretical implications. By comparing the distribution of land and rural investment, the analysis demonstrates that a party may simultaneously target both swing and core groups of voters with particularistic goods, the choice being determined by the distributive good. Although land was primarily distributed in areas where political competition was highest, rural investment projects were targeted at parties’ core constituencies.
The Cognitive and Emotional Components of Behavior Norms in Outdoor Recreation

Behavioral norms consist of two components: a cognitive component of obligation that is the memory repository of social standards, and an emotional component of sanctions that are the feelings and physiological states that result when actual behavior is consistent or not consistent with the obligation. This article analyzes the cognitive and emotional components of norms identified in three studies of behaviors (littering, controlling dogs while cross country skiing, and bikers and skaters warning when passing) in outdoor recreation settings. All three studies provide data on obligations to behave a particular way and internal and informal sanctions for correct or incorrect behavior. Obligations for all the behaviors were highly crystallized and were not statistically different. Internal sanctions were shame and guilt, and informal sanction was embarrassment. The intensity of the norms was determined by summing individuals' responses for shame, guilt, and embarrassment. The power and prevalence of the norms were determined by cross tabulating obligations by intensities. Intensity, power, and prevalence were very high for littering and failing to control your dog while cross country skiing, but were very low for skaters and bikers failing to warn when passing slower users on a multiple use trail. Measuring sanctions is shown to be critical to determining the intensity, power, and prevalence of behavioral norms. Suggestions are given for ways to include sanctions in studies of social and environmental condition norms.
Director Quality and Firm Performance

Many financial economists argue that the board of directors' efficacy in the monitoring of managerial behavior depends upon the quality of the directors. Assuming that there is a link between the stock performance of target firms and the quality of their directors, we empirically categorize directors receiving additional directorships following a takeover as "above average" and "below average. " We then follow the stock performance of firms hiring new directors for three years after their hiring. We match the two categories of directors with the performance of hiring firms after a director's appointment. Accounting for other contemporaneous effects, we regress the hiring firms' post-performance on director quality and other attributes. The results indicate that directors of "above average" quality are related to hiring firms with "above average" post-performance. Copyright 2005 by the Eastern Finance Association.
Entrepreneurial and learning orientation: effects on growth and profitability in the software sector

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and learning orientation (LO) separately on two dimensions of performance (profitability and growth). Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 196 Finnish software companies is analyzed using a partial least squares approach.Findings – The paper provides evidence that the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on profitability are mediated by learning oriented behaviors. Furthermore, in contrast to expectations inherited from prior research, LO does not appear to have a similar effect on growth.Research limitations/implications – The paper refers to an empirical study of software companies in Finland. Further research in other countries and industry settings is needed to confirm and extend the results.Practical implications – The results suggest that software company managers in entrepreneurial software firms should develop a culture that includes nurturing learning, in order to support the creation.