Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distal bimelic amyotrophy (DBMA): Phenotypically distinct but identical on cervical spine MR imaging with brachial monomelic amyotrophy/Hirayama disease

Our objective was to characterize the MR imaging features in a large and distinct series of distal bimelic amyotrophy (DBMA) from India. We utilized a retrospective and prospective study on 26 cases. Results demonstrated that upper limb distal muscle wasting and weakness was predominantly symmetrical in onset. Mean age at onset was 20.9 ± 7.0 years, mean duration 83.0 ± 102.6 months. MRI carried out in 22 patients with flexion studies showed forward displacement of posterior dura in 19 (86.4%). Crescent shaped epidural enhancement on contrast was seen in 20/24 cases (83.3%), and bilateral T2W hyperintensities of cord in17 (65.4%) – symmetrical in15 cases. Maximum hyperintensity was noted at C5–C6, C6–C7 levels. Cord atrophy was noted in 24 (92.3%) cases (most affected: C5–C6, C6–C7) – symmetrical atrophy in 21cases. Cervical spine straightening occurred in six (23.1%) cases and reversal of lordosis in 15 (57.7%). In conclusion, this study confirms that DBMA is phenotypically distinct but pathophysiologically the same as brachial monomelic amyotrophy (BMMA) on MR imaging. Typical MRI features were seen in all. It is important to differentiate this disorder from ALS, which could present at a younger age as often seen among Indians. The clinical and MR imaging features are highly suggestive that DBMA, as with BMMA/Hirayama disease, occurs due to dynamic alterations at the cervical spine level.
The Role of Accounting Conservatism in Mitigating Bondholder-Shareholder Conflicts over Dividend Policy and in Reducing Debt Costs

Using both a market‐based and an accrual‐based measure of conservatism, we find that firms facing more severe conflicts over dividend policy tend to use more conservative accounting. Furthermore, we document that accounting conservatism is associated with a lower cost of debt after controlling for other determinants of firms' debt costs. Our collective evidence is consistent with the notion that accounting conservatism plays an important role in mitigating bondholder‐shareholder conflicts over dividend policy, and in reducing firms' debt costs.
THE IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT ON BANK SURVIVAL

A number of financial institutions have collapsed or experienced financial problems due to inefficient credit risk management systems. The study seeks to evaluate the extent to which failure to effectively manage credit risk led to Zimbabwe’s banks’ demise in 2003/2004 bank crisis. It also seeks to establish other factors that led to the banking crisis and to outline the components of an effective credit risk management system. The study found that the failure to effectively manage credit risk contributed to a greater extent to the banking crisis. The research also identified poor corporate governance, inadequate risk management systems, ill planned expansion drives, chronic liquidity challenges, foreign currency shortages and diversion from core business to speculative non-banking activities as other factors that caused the crisis. There is also need for banks to develop and implement credit scoring and assessment methodologies, review and update the insider lending policies and adopt prudential corporate governance practices.
Simulations of atomic-scale sliding friction.

Simulation studies of atomic-scale sliding friction have been performed for a number of tip-surface and surface-surface contacts consisting of copper atoms. Both geometrically very simple tip-surface structures and more realistic interface necks formed by simulated annealing have been studied. Kinetic friction is observed to be caused by atomic-scale stick and slip which occurs by nucleation and subsequent motion of dislocations preferably between close-packed $111% planes. Stick and slip seems to occur in different situations. For single crystalline contacts without grain boundaries at the interface the stick and slip process is clearly observed for a large number of contact areas, normal loads, and sliding velocities. If the tip and substrate crystal orientations are different so that a mismatch exists in the interface, the stick and slip process is more fragile. It is then caused by local pinning of atoms near the boundary of the interface and is therefore more easily observed for smaller contacts. Depending on crystal orientation and load, frictional wear can also be seen in the simulations. In particular, for the annealed interface necks which model contacts created by scanning tunneling microscope/ atomic force microscope tip indentations the sliding process involves breaking contacts leaving tip material behind on the substrate.
CEO characteristics and audit report timeliness: do CEO tenure and financial expertise matter?

Purpose - – This paper aims to hypothesise that demographic characteristics of managers play a significant role in performing their duties amongst which is financial reporting. This study aims to examine whether CEO characteristics, namely, tenure and financial expertise, are associated with audit report timeliness. Design/methodology/approach - – Data from companies listed on the Oman capital market between 2007 and 2011 and three proxies for audit report timeliness are used. Findings - – CEO tenure and CEOs with financial expertise are reported to be associated with timely audit reports. Supplementary tests also confirmed this result. In addition, it is suggested and documented that there is an interaction effect between CEO tenure and financial expertise concerning the timeliness of audit reports. The use of a two-stage least square analysis also supported the main results. Research limitations/implications - – Hypotheses were tested using data from Oman with a relatively small sample size. Therefore, only a few characteristics of the CEO were considered and a more sophisticated approach of testing managers’ effect on company policies was unable to be used. In addition, the generalisability of the study findings should be made carefully. Originality/value - – This paper differs from prior studies, in that it extends the audit report timeliness literature by examining whether the CEO tenure and CEOs with financial expertise are associated with audit report timeliness. Findings demonstrate that CEO characteristics are important factors for a timely audit report.
Examining Preservice Science Teacher Understanding of Nature of Science: Discriminating Variables on the Aspects of Nature of Science

This study examined the understanding of nature of science among participants in their final year of a 4-year undergraduate teacher education program at a Midwest liberal arts university. The Logic Model Process was used as an integrative framework to focus the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of the data for the purpose of (1) describing participant understanding of NOS and (2) to identify participant characteristics and teacher education program features related to those understandings. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire form C (VNOS-C) was used to survey participant understanding of 7 target aspects of Nature of Science (NOS). A rubric was developed from a review of the literature to categorize and score participant understanding of the target aspects of NOS. Participants’ high school and college transcripts, planning guides for their respective teacher education program majors, and science content and science teaching methods course syllabi were examined to identify and categorize participant characteristics and teacher education program features. The R software (R Project for Statistical Computing, 2010) was used to conduct an exploratory analysis to determine correlations of the antecedent and transaction predictor variables with participants’ scores on the 7 target aspects of NOS. Fourteen participant characteristics and teacher education program features were moderately and significantly (p < .01) correlated with participant scores on the target aspects of NOS. The 6 antecedent predictor variables were entered
Return-Based and Range-Based (Co)Variance Estimation - with an Application to Foreign Exchange Markets

This paper analyzes and compares range-based and return-based variance/covariance estimates. We provide new results on the relative efficiency of the range. We show that the use of the range is compatible with time varying volatilities and we extend the range to a multivariate setup. A new estimator for the covariance, termed co-range, which is based on high and low prices, is proposed. The main properties of the new estimator are derived. Empirically, we find that range-based measures of variance, standard deviation, co-variance and correlation possess a much higher degree of persistence compared to conventional measures based on open/close prices.
L'intégration de l'information dans le prix des actifs financiers

This PhD dissertation mainly focuses on the information processing of financial markets. It consists in five different contributions. The first three of them focus on the econometrics of asset pricing models. (1) First, I propose a new methodology to estimate the subjective distribution implicit in interest rate futures. I show how to use it to investigate the market participants' perception of the expected monetary policy over 2006. (2) Then, using both options and futures on the European Carbon market, I document the impact of the May 2006 information disclosure regarding alloted carbon emission quotas on the risk aversion implicit in market prices. (3) Next, building on the assumption of an exponential affine pricing kernel, I show how to price options for conditionally Generalized Hyperbolic distributed returns under the historical measure. I provide empirical tests that indicate that the model yields very low mis-pricing errors when compared to the existing literature. Lastly, I present new results regarding the term structure impact of news on the bond market. (4) First, I show how neglecting the US influence over the Euro bond market leads to a misleading diagnostic about European market mover figures. (5) Then, I show how American macroeconomic announcements produce a term structure effect over the US curve that strongly depends on the business cycle.
Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Performance in Insurance Sector

There has been an increase in the interest in the concept of emotional intelligence in different organizations in past two decades. This is due to increase in research in this area after Daniel Goleman's work in 1995. People started realizing the importance of non-cognitive intelligence in their lives. According to researchers, Emotional intelligence is an ability of an individual which results into increased work performance. This is an attempt to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and work performance of the front-line executives in Indian Insurance sector. This is an empirical study, conducted by collecting data from 100 executives on two parameters: Emotional Intelligence and Work Performance. Correlation and Regression analysis was conducted to find out the relationship and the results signify the role of emotional intelligence in work performance of executives in insurance industry. The findings of this study can have great implication for insurance organizations, HR professionals, trainers and researchers.
Distributed cognition in Search and Rescue: loosely coupled tasks and tightly coupled roles

Abstract The perceptual cycle model (PCM) underpins much Ergonomics research, particularly in a team context, for example in its theoretical underpinning of distributed situation awareness. Despite this, the PCM framework it has not been explicitly applied to explore team processes, which is surprising given the prevalence of teamwork in safety critical systems. This paper explores team processes in the context of search and rescue (SAR) by applying the PCM and an association classification scheme with a network analysis approach utilising the event analysis of systemic teamwork (EAST) method. Data were collected via observations and communication recordings during training flights with SAR crews and were amalgamated into a representative case study. The analysis demonstrates how the SAR team function within a distributed perceptual cycle whereby the actions of one team member become world information for another team member. Advancements to the EAST method are proposed and the implications of the research are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This paper explores the perceptual cycle interactions of SAR crews using a novel EAST approach. The analysis demonstrates how the crew function as a distributed cognitive unit and applications in terms of training and design are discussed.
Effect of FXIII on Monocyte and Fibroblast Function

Factor XIII is a plasma transglutaminase that participates in the final stage of the coagulation cascade. Thrombin-activated FXIII (FXIIIa) catalyzes the formation of covalent crosslinks between γ-glutamyl and ε –lysyl residues on fibrin molecules to yield the mature clot. In addition to its role in hemostasis, FXIIIa was previously shown by us to stimulate endothelial cells to exhibit pro-angiogenic activity. In this work, we studied the effect of FXIIIa on other cells that participate in angiogenesis and tissue repair, such as monocytes and fibroblasts. FXIIIa significantly enhanced migration and proliferation, and inhibited apoptosis of monocytes and fibroblasts. Similar to our previous observations with endothelial cells, the stimulating effect of FXIIIa on monocytes and fibroblasts was elicited via its binding to α vβ 3 integrin leading to cJun upregulation and TSP-1 downregulation. Since monocytes and fibroblasts are essential components of the tissue repair process, the results of this study, together with the proangiogenic activity of FXIIIa, further substantiate a significant role of FXIII in tissue repair.
Immunohistochemical distribution of early pregnancy factor in ovary, oviduct and placenta of pregnant gilts

Abstract Early pregnancy factor (EPF) is an immunosuppressant that promotes maternal immune system tolerance of the allogenic fetus. Little is known about localization of this factor in different tissues and nothing has been reported about localization in swine reproductive and placental tissues. We determined the concentration of EPF in serum of gilts and porcine placenta conditioned medium (PPCM). We also analyzed the expression of EPF in different reproductive tissues of pregnant gilts at 10, 30, 60 and 90 days of pregnancy. EPF concentration in serum and PPCM was determined by western blot and densitometry. EPF expression in reproductive tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The highest concentration of EPF was observed at 30 days in serum and PPCM; the concentration was higher in PPCM than in serum at the stages we evaluated. All reproductive tissues from the gestational stages analyzed showed specific labeling of EPF, but this labeling did not appear in non-pregnant gilts. At 30 days pregnancy, the EPF expression in the ovary was predominantly in follicular lutein cells, probably owing to its function as a luteotrophic factor. In the oviduct, EPF was expressed in unciliated secretory epithelial cells and in the cilia of ciliated cells. In the placenta, EPF was expressed in the fetal portion (mesoderm chorioallantois and epithelium of endoderm). EPF acts as an autocrine and paracrine growth factor for the trophoblast during the peri-implantation period.
Holding the Line: Human Rights Defenders in the Age of Terror

Human rights defenders have received renewed attention in the current period owing to new institutional and normative developments at the international level and renewed targeting by states at the domestic level. Human rights NGOs have begun to argue more forcefully that human rights defenders are more at risk from attack by their governments under the guise of the ‘war on terror’, an assertion that is supported by the fact that an increasing number of states have enacted anti-terror legislation. Using a cross-national data set of 195 countries for the period 1997 to 2003, this article explores the main factors that account for the cross-national variation in acts of abuse against human rights defenders in the post 9/11 era, including the presence of anti-terror legislation. In addition to the examination of the effects of democracy, economic development, intra-state war, population size and US overseas aid, the analysis shows that while reported abuse against human rights defenders has indeed increased since 2001, this increase is not attributable to the enactment of anti-terror legislation, a finding that is further mediated by the fact that just over half of the countries that have enacted such legislation are democracies.
Dimensions of International Diversification

Abstract This study assesses the joint effects of country diversification, regional diversification, and product diversification on firm performance. Findings from this study suggest that their joint effects are curvilinear. At low levels of regional diversification, product diversification has a positive effect on firm performance, but the effect turns negative at high levels of regional diversification. Similarly, with low regional diversification, country diversification has a positive effect on firm performance, but the effect becomes negative with high regional diversification. At low levels of country diversification, product diversification has a negative effect on firm performance. However, the effect may not necessarily turn positive at high levels of country diversification.
The CYP4A Isoforms Hydroxylate Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acids to Form High Affinity Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor Ligands*

Cytochromes P450 of the CYP2Cand CYP4A gene subfamilies metabolize arachidonic acid to 5,6-, 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and to 19- and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), respectively. Abundant functional studies indicate that EETs and HETEs display powerful and often opposing biological activities as mediators of ion channel activity and regulators of vascular tone and systemic blood pressures. Incubation of 8,9-, 11,12-, and 14,15-EETs with microsomal and purified forms of rat CYP4A isoforms led to rapid NADPH-dependent metabolism to the corresponding 19- and 20-hydroxylated EETs. Comparisons of reaction rates and catalytic efficiency with those of arachidonic and lauric acids showed that EETs are one of the best endogenous substrates so far described for rat CYP4A isoforms. CYP4A1 exhibited a preference for 8,9-EET, whereas CYP4A2, CYP4A3, and CYP4A8 preferred 11,12-EET. In general, the closer the oxido ring is to the carboxylic acid functionality, the higher the rate of EET metabolism and the lower the regiospecificity for the EET ω-carbon. Analysis of cis-parinaric acid displacement from the ligand-binding domain of the human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α showed that ω-hydroxylated 14,15-EET bound to this receptor with high affinity (K i = 3 ± 1 nm). Moreover, at 1 μm, the ω-alcohol of 14,15-EET or a 1:4 mixture of the ω-alcohols of 8,9- and 11,12-EETs activated human and mouse peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α in transient transfection assays, suggesting a role for them as endogenous ligands for these orphan nuclear receptors.
Emergent discourses of construction competitiveness: localized learning and embeddedness

Research is described that sought to understand how senior managers within regional contracting firms conceptualize and enact competitiveness. Existing formal discourses of construction competitiveness include the discourse of ‘best practice’ and the various theories of competitiveness as routinely mobilized within the academic literature. Such discourses consistently underplay the influence of contextual factors in shaping how competitiveness is enacted. An alternative discourse of competitiveness is outlined based on the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. Two case studies of regional construction firms provide new insights into the emergent discourses of construction competitiveness. The empirical findings resonate strongly with the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. The case studies illustrate the importance of de‐centralized structures which enable multiple business units to become embedded within localized markets. A significant degree of autonomy is essential to facilitate localized entrepreneurial behaviour. In essence, sustained competitiveness was found to depend upon the extent to which de‐centralized business units enact ongoing processes of localized learning. Once local business units have become embedded within localized markets the essential challenge is how to encourage continued entrepreneurial behaviour while maintaining a degree of centralized control and coordination. Of key importance is the recognition that the capabilities that make companies competitive transcend organizational boundaries such that they become situated within complex networks of relational ties.
Long-Term Health Experience of Jet Engine Manufacturing Workers: I. Mortality From Central Nervous System Neoplasms

Objective: In response to an unusual occurrence of glioblastoma at one jet engine manufacturing facility located in North Haven (NH), Connecticut (CT), we examined mortality rates from central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms at NH and seven other company facilities. Methods: Subjects were 223,894 workers ever employed in one or more of the company’s eight CT manufacturing facilities from 1952 to 2001. Vital status was determined through 2004 for 99% of subjects and cause of death for 95% of 68,701 deaths. We computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) based on US and CT state rates and modeled internal relative risks (RRs). Results: State comparisons revealed overall deficits in deaths from all CNS neoplasms (606 deaths, SMR = 0.84, confidence interval [CI] = 0.78 to 0.91), including all malignant (462 deaths, SMR = 0.87, CI = 0.79 to 0.95), all benign (23 deaths, SMR = 0.65, CI = 0.41 to 0.98), and all unspecified (121 deaths, SMR = 0.79, CI = 0.65 to 0.94). Not statistically significant excesses in deaths from all malignant brain neoplasms were found among subjects who worked only at NH (49 deaths, SMR = 1.11, CI = 0.82 to 1.47) or partly at NH (24 deaths, SMR = 1.04, CI = 0.67 to 1.55) compared with deficits in non-NH plant groups. In the combined NH plant groups, we found not statistically significant higher risks of malignant brain neoplasms for salaried workers, older hires and the most recent time period, but no association with duration of employment or time since first employment. Conclusions: Total cohort mortality rates for malignant, benign or unspecified CNS neoplasms were not elevated relative to the US and CT general populations. The malignant brain neoplasm excesses in certain subgroups of workers from NH may reflect external occupational factors, nonoccupational factors or workplace factors unique to NH that were not measured in the current study. We will explore reasons for the NH excesses and examine specific types of brain neoplasms (eg, glioblastoma) in our companion cancer incidence, case–control and exposure assessment studies.