Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ORDER FLOWS, FUNDAMENTALS AND EXCHANGE RATES†

We examine the links between end-user order flows as seen by a major European commercial bank and macroeconomic fundamentals. We show that both exchange rate changes and flows are only weakly related to macroeconomic news announcements and hypothesise that gthe cat is already out of the bag h by the time the news is announced. Instead, order flows of financial and corporate customers reflect in real time the evolution of macroeconomies. The actions of the banks receiving the order flows in turn reveal the information to the market as a whole which prices the exchange rate accordingly. By the time the news is announced, the exchange rate already contains the majority of the information.
Takeovers, institutional investment and the persistence of profits

This paper studies the impact of takeovers on the profitability of the participating companies and the influence of institutional investors on this process. It involves an original approach to assessing the profitability impact by modelling the dynamics of corporate profitability. It is shown that the standard counterfactual assumptions made in most merger effect studies are biased against finidng profit-enhancing merger effects where acquiring firms display above average profitabiltiy prior to the merger. On the other hand, acquisition is shown to reinforce the tendency amongst companies for their profitability to move towards industry norms over time.
Changing leadership for changing times

Part 1 The context for changing leadership: changing leadership - a menu of possibilities transformational leadership as a place to begin. Part 2 Transformational school leadership: transformational leadership at Central Ontario Secondary School setting directions - vision, goals and high expectations developing people - individualized support, intellectual stimulation and modelling redesigning the organization - culture, structure, policy and community relationships. Part 3 Beyond transformational leadership - broadening and deepening the approach: the problem-solving processes of transformational leaders fostering teacher leadership building teachers' commitment to change creating the conditions for growth in teachers' professional knowledge and skill leadership for organizational learning maintaining emotional balance conclusion - future schools and leader's values.
Involvement of IRAK-M in Peptidoglycan-induced Tolerance in Macrophages*

The molecular mechanisms by which pathogen-associated molecular patterns recognized by TLR2, such as peptidoglycan (PGN), induce homotolerance are largely unknown. It was recently reported that IRAK-M negatively regulates TLR signaling. In this study, we elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tolerance induced by PGN, with a focus on the role of IRAK-M. We demonstrate that pretreatment of macrophage RAW264.7 cells with a high concentration (30 μg/ml) of PGN for 16 h effectively induces tolerance against following stimulation with 30 μg/ml of PGN; while pretreatment with a low concentration (1 μg/ml) of PGN does not. IRAK-M is induced in cells treated with the high concentration of PGN 4–24 h after PGN stimulation, but not in cells treated with the low concentration of PGN up to 24 h after stimulation. Phosphorylation of MAPKs and IκBα is inhibited after the second PGN stimulation in tolerant cells. Kinase activity of IRAK-1 and association between IRAK-1 and MyD88 are also suppressed in PGN-induced tolerant cells. Furthermore, down-regulation of IRAK-M expression by small interfering RNAs specific for IRAK-M reinstates the production of TNF-α after PGN restimulation. These results suggest that induction of IRAK-M and inhibition of kinase activity of IRAK-1 are crucial to PGN-induced tolerance in macrophages.
Colocation Patterns of Foreign-Owned Firms in a Small Open Economy: Evidence from the Netherlands

This research addresses the colocation or agglomeration patterns of foreign-owned firms in the small open economy of the Netherlands. The empirical evidence shows that foreign-owned firms exhibit different regional colocation patterns than domestic firms for the following industries: mining, construction, transport and communications, services, and trade industry across the 12 Dutch provinces. In the agriculture industry, forestry and fishing industry, and the manufacturing industry the colocation patterns of the domestics and foreign-owned firms are similar. Empirical results also validate that firm size affects the agglomeration behaviour of foreign-owned firms; large foreign companies exhibit different collocation blueprints than smaller and, medium-sized enterprises. Related to industry, large foreign-owned firms target mainly the trade industry and the manufacturing industry. Results confirm that young established foreign-owned firms exhibit similar colocation patterns around older, more experienced foreign counterparts in the host economy. Furthermore, the colocation patterns of foreign-owned firms vary also according to different home countries. Firms coming from countries in proximity with the host economy reveal different colocation patterns than firms coming from more distanced countries. Our results strengthen the theoretical argumentation line that foreign-owned firms value location attributes differently depending on firm characteristics and they also exhibit a different location pattern than domestic counterparts.
Determinants of Women's Success in Microcredit Programs

This paper studies the determinants of women's welfare outcome in microcredit programs. These determinants are in the form of different types of characteristics of women: their own characteristics (age, schooling etc) or the characteristics of the household or village they live in. Observed effects are often biased due to correlation between some explanatory variables and unobserved ability. As finding suitable instruments of the endogenous variables are often difficult, this study finds information about unobserved ability from the marriage market. It is found that incorporating estimates of women's unobserved characteristics alleviates the problem of endogeneity. Therefore, we gain a better and reliable understanding of women's performance in the microcredit programs by combining information from both marriage market and microcredit programs.
Making Education in China Equitable and Efficient

As China consolidates its rapid economic gains and continues its drive toward a market-oriented environment, the country's international competitiveness will depend greatly on the quality of its human resources. China has made impressive gains in human resource development in the past two decades, and continuing to do so will help reduce poverty in two ways: indirectly, by increasing the productivity and efficiency of its labor force, and directly, by fostering the earning capacity of the poor. Eventually, improving human resources will spur economic growth and enhance welfare. Progress in human resource development has steadily slowed in recent years, however, because of two broad problems. First, the distribution of education services continues to discriminate against the poor, largely because they have not benefited from recent gains in economic growth and are being choked off from access to services. Second, some mechanisms and arrangements for delivering services have created targeting inefficiencies. The author argues that the government's priorities should be to improve the equity, efficiency, and quality of social services, as well as their financing.
Employee Perceptions of Leadership and Performance Management in the Botswana Public Service

Public servants in Botswana play an important role as partners in the management of the public sector and national affairs; and, during the past three decades, the country has acquired a reputation for sound development management and good governance. That reputation has been derived primarily from the behavior and performance of the country's public servants who have been motivated to fulfill their duties honestly and effectively. However, in recent years, a culture of indifference and outright laziness has crept into the public service leading to serious bottlenecks in service delivery. This article discusses and analyzes employee perceptions of leadership and performance management in the Botswana public service in light of the country's reputation with respect to the nature and functioning of its public servants.
Safety of cold polypectomy for < 10 mm polyps at colonoscopy: a prospective multicenter study

Background: Cold polypectomy techniques (without electrocautery) by means of biopsy forceps or snare are widely adopted for the removal of subcentimetric polyps. However, few data are available on the safety of this approach. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of cold polypectomy for subcentimetric polyps, as well as the rate of advanced neoplasia in these lesions. Patients and methods: In a prospective multicenter trial, consecutive patients with at least one < 10-mm polyp at colonoscopy were prospectively included. All of the < 10-mm polyps detected within the study period were removed by cold polypectomy. The rates of immediate or delayed bleeding and other complications were assessed at 7 and 30 days after cold polypectomy by telephone calls. The rate of advanced histology was also assessed. Predictive variables of postpolypectomy bleeding or advanced neoplasia were identified by multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 1015 < 10-mm polyps in 823 patients (15.5 % on antiplatelet agents) were removed. Of these, 822 (81 %) were ≤ 5 mm and 193 (19 %) were 6 – 9 mm. Immediate postpolypectomy bleeding occurred in 18 patients, corresponding to a per-patient and per-polyp bleeding rate of 2.2 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.2 % – 3.2 %) and 1.8 % (95 %CI 1 % – 2.6 %), respectively. Therapy with antiplatelet agents (odds ratio [OR] 4; 95 %CI 1.5 – 10.6) and larger polyp size (OR 2; 95 %CI 1.1 – 6.9) were independent predictors of bleeding. Bleeding was successfully treated by endoscopic hemostasis in all cases and required no further medical intervention. Advanced neoplasia prevalence in polyps ≤ 5 mm was as high as 8.7 %. Conclusions: The results from this study showed the high safety of a cold polypectomy approach for subcentimetric polyps. This was due to the low rate of postpolypectomy bleeding and to the high efficacy of endoscopic hemostasis in its treatment. The high rate of advanced neoplasia in polyps ≤ 5 mm should prompt some caution on the management of these lesions following detection at computed tomography colonography or colon capsule endoscopy.
An interferon‐sensitive response element is involved in constitutive caspase‐8 gene expression in neuroblastoma cells

We previously identified a 1.2 Kb DNA element (P‐1161/+16), 5′ to caspase‐8 exon‐1, that acts as promoter in caspase‐8‐positive, but not in caspase‐8‐negative neuroblastoma (NB) cells. The P‐1161/+16 DNA element regulates both constitutive and interferon IFN‐γ‐inducible caspase‐8 expression. Two GAS (IFN‐activated sequence, STAT‐1 binding site) and two ISRE (interferon sensitive response element, IRF binding site) were present in P‐1161/+16. Deletion studies indicated that elements essential for promoter activity in NB cells were present in a 167 bp region 5′ flanking exon‐1 (P‐151/+16), which contains an ISRE at position −32. The transcription initiation site was mapped by 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE) at position −20 from caspase‐8 cDNA reference sequence. Disruption of the ISRE‐32 indicated that it is required for both constitutive and IFN‐γ‐inducible caspase‐8 expression. IRF‐1 and IRF‐2 transcription factors bind to the (−151/+16) DNA fragment in vitro. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that IRF‐1 and IRF‐2 bind to the DNA region at the 5′ of caspase‐8 gene in NB cells, which show constitutive expression but not in caspase‐8 negative cells. In these last cells, up‐regulation of caspase‐8 by IFN‐γ was associated to induction of IRF‐1 and IRF‐2 binding to caspase‐8 promoter and increased histone acetylation. Moreover, RNA interference experiments also supported the involvement of IRF‐1 and IRF‐2 in constitutive caspase‐8 expression in NB cells. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Eigendecomposition of Domain Decomposition Interface Operators for Constant Coefficient Elliptic Problems

In this paper the authors derive the exact eigendecomposition of the interface operators arising in domain decomposition methods for general five-point discretizations to constant coefficient elliptic equations on rectangular domains. The special case of convection-diffusion problems is studied in some detail, including both central and upwind differencing for the convection term and flows normal and tangential to the interface. It is shown that preconditioners based on the diffusion operator alone may give very slow convergence when the cell Reynolds number is of order $O(1)$.
Firm-Specific Human Capital as a Shared Investment

The standard analysis of firm-specific human capital argues that the cost of and the return to the investment will be shared by the worker and the employer. By sharing the investment, the parties reduce the likelihood of either party unilaterally terminating the employment relationship and imposing on the other party a loss in his return. This argument, originally advanced by Gary Becker (pp. 10-15), has become accepted almost as a theorem. ' The sharing decision is particularly important in determining the shape of the wage profile and the behavior of labor turnover in the labor market. The exact decision process involved in determining the sharing arrangement, however, appears to have received little attention in the literature.2 In this paper, a formal statement of the sharing model is presented. The model allows a systematic analysis of the incentive to share the investment in firm-specific human capital. My analysis reveals that whether or not the investment is shared depends on the existence in the post-investment years of costs of evaluating and agreeing on the worker's productivities in the firm and elsewhere. This paper and two others (my 1979 article and my article with Ben Yu) demonstrate the usefulness of the sharing model. My 1979 article develops and tests the hypothesis that the ubiquitous bonus payments in Japan can be understood as payments for the returns to firm-specific human capital. The paper with Yu extends the analysis of firm-specific human capital by considering the incentives for introducing wage flexibility in employment contracts. Various dismissal and quitting rules are also compared in that paper. In this paper, I use the model in its simplest form to offer a formalization of Becker's hypothesis concerning the sharing of the gains and costs of specific training. In so doing, I demonstrate that the Becker hypothesis can be viewed as a direct application of the Coase Theorem. Implications of the model for the experience-earnings profile are also discussed. This paper also clears up some confusion in the literature about the validity of the sharing hypothesis (see fn. 1).
T235 variant of the angiotensinogen gene and blood pressure in the Chilean population

Background The angiotensinogen gene has recently been linked to essential hypertension. A variant within this gene, encoding threonine rather than methionine at amino acid position 235, was associated with essential hypertension. However, results of new studies have not confirmed this association, suggesting that ethnic differences may explain the different results. Objective To evaluate whether the T235 variant is associated with a higher incidence of essential hypertension among Hispanics (a group that has scarcely been evaluated) and to determine whether T235 is associated with variations in the plasma renin activity or the serum aldosterone level. Patients and method We studied 64 patients with essential hypertension and 62 normotensives, matched for age and sex. We obtained samples for determinations of plasma renin activity, serum aldosterone level and genome DNA from all subjects. The genomic DNA was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction technique and digested by the restriction enzyme streptococcus faecalis (Sfa NI) which cuts M235 only, not T235. Results The patients with essential hypertension had a higher prevalence of the risk variant T235 (alleles 77/128 = 60.2%) than did the normotensive controls (alleles 65/124 = 52.4%), but the difference was not statistically significant (χ2 = 1.53, P = 0.22). The plasma renin activity levels in hypertensives were not statistically different for homozygous T235, heterozygous and homozygous M235 (1.0 ± 0.96, 2.0 ± 2.25 and 1.55 ± 1.49 ng/ml per h, respectively, P = 0.5 1). However, when we considered those hypertensives with low plasma renin activity levels (< 1 ng/ml per h), we found a high prevalence (72.7%) of subjects homozygous for the T235 variant. We found no association between the T235 variant and the serum aldosterone levels in hypertensive and normotensive subjects. Conclusions We demonstrated that there is a high prevalence of T235 variant in our Hispanic population. The slight difference between prevalences of T235 variant among hypertensive and normotensive subjects that we found was not statistically significant and did not permit us to establish an association between T235 variant and essential hypertension. We believe that only studying a larger cohort of subjects could show whether there is a quantitative effect of the T allele on plasma renin activity levels.
Acute myocardial infarction. V: Left and right ventricular haemodynamics in cardiogenic shock.

The poor prognosis ofpatients in acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock can be improved by mechanical assistance to the heart and by emergency coronary surgery. In this group ofpatients quantitative assessment of myocardialfunction is necessary for the early recognition of their prognosis. In 42 patients left and right ventricular haemodynamics have been studied in the early phase of infarction. Three main results can be presented. i) Left ventricular function is greatly reduced in cardiogenic shock, which is characterized by a low cardiac index, stroke volume, left ventricular stroke work, and a raised left ventricular filling pressure, compared to non-shock patients. Left ventricular contractility as estimatedfrom the relation of mean systolic ejection rate to left ventricular end-diastolic pressure is diminished immediately after myocardial infarction and improves in the next 2 days. 2) As a consequence of the site of the necrosis in the left ventricle haemodynamic alterations of the right ventricle follow secondarily the insufficiency of the left chamber, with increasing pressures in the pulmonary circulation and accordingly increasing right ventricular pressure and stroke work. Localization of infarction had no significant effect on the development of right heart failure. 3) To estimate the prognosis of seriously ill patients with myocardial infarction haemodynamic assessment is necessary. A single parameter has not been proved to be sufficient. Patients with a left ventricular enddiastolic pressure exceeding I7 mmHg in the presence of a cardiac index below i *8 1. /minIm2 had a mortality of about 70 per cent. When left ventricular stroke work index/left ventricular end-diastolic pressure declined below I . 2 g M/M2 mmHg, 8o per cent had an immediate poor prognosis. Using a new shock index, survivors could be separated from non-survivors at the level of o 3 with a probability of 78 per cent.
Culture and service-related positive disconfirmations

It has long been understood in the service sector that positive disconfirmations of expectations drive customer satisfaction. Using a sample of 334 consumers’ travel blog postings that describe positive disconfirmations of international hotel guests, this research finds that a traveler’s home country culture influences whether or not the positive disconfirmation is service-related. Specifically, travelers from individualistic countries and low power distance countries experience a greater proportion of service-related positive disconfirmations than those from collective or high power distance nations. From a theoretical perspective, this research extends the emerging body of research that demonstrates the various influences of culture on consumer satisfaction.
Decisões de Investimento e Rentabilidade Futura: Estudo Empírico Com Companhias Abertas Não Financeiras

Investimentos sao decisoes estrategicas das empresas que devem ser tomadas a luz do melhor interesse dos acionistas de modo a maximizar o retorno do capital investido. E, portanto, devem ser avaliadas como informacoes relevantes para os acionistas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi conhecer a relacao entre o investimento realizado e a rentabilidade futura da empresa, mensurado por duas medidas de desempenho: ROA e o coeficiente Q de Tobin. Este e um estudo empirico-analitico com tratamento quantitativo dos dados por um modelo de regressao linear. A amostra foi coletada na base de dados da Economatica®, e foram selecionadas as empresas brasileiras nao financeiras, listadas na BM&FBOVESPA, que apresentaram demonstracoes financeiras no periodo de 2000 a 2010. Para a realizacao da pesquisa, o periodo de analise foi dividido em periodo de investimento e periodo de desempenho, com o objetivo de comparar investimento e rentabilidade futura. O modelo de regressao, que utiliza a rentabilidade mensurada pelo ROA, relacionou positivamente a rentabilidade do periodo de desempenho ao investimento do periodo de desempenho, bem como a rentabilidade do periodo de investimento. O modelo de regressao que utiliza a rentabilidade pelo Q de Tobin relacionou positivamente a rentabilidade do periodo de desempenho a rentabilidade do periodo de investimento.
Impaired retinal function and vitamin A availability in mice lacking retinol‐binding protein

Retinol‐binding protein (RBP) is the sole specific transport protein for retinol (vitamin A) in the circulation, and its single known function is to deliver retinol to tissues. Within tissues, retinol is activated to retinoic acid, which binds to nuclear receptors to regulate transcription of >300 diverse target genes. In the eye, retinol is also activated to 11‐cis‐retinal, the visual chromophore. We generated RBP knockout mice (RBP−/−) by gene targeting. These mice have several phenotypes. Although viable and fertile, they have reduced blood retinol levels and markedly impaired retinal function during the first months of life. The impairment is not due to developmental retinal defect. Given a vitamin A‐sufficient diet, the RBP−/− mice acquire normal vision by 5 months of age even though blood retinol levels remain low. Deprived of dietary vitamin A, vision remains abnormal and blood retinol declines to undetectable levels. Another striking phenotype of the mutant mice is their abnormal retinol metabolism. The RBP−/− mice can acquire hepatic retinol stores, but these cannot be mobilized. Thus, their vitamin A status is extremely tenuous and dependent on a regular vitamin A intake. Unlike wild‐type mice, serum retinol levels in adult RBP−/− animals become undetectable after only a week on a vitamin A‐deficient diet and their retinal function rapidly deteriorates. Thus RBP is needed for normal vision in young animals and for retinol mobilization in times of insufficient dietary intake, but is otherwise dispensable for the delivery of retinol to tissues.
Is there a unit root in the inflation rate? New evidence from panel data models with multiple structural breaks

In this article, we examine whether or not the inflation rate for 17 OECD countries can be modelled as a stationary process. We find that (1) conventional univariate unit root tests without any structural breaks generally reveal that the inflation rate contains a unit root; (2) the KPSS univariate test with multiple structural breaks reveals that for 10 out of 17 countries inflation is stationary; and (3) the KPSS panel unit root test reveals strong evidence for stationarity of the inflation rate for panels consisting of countries which were declared nonstationary by univariate tests.