Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of cash flows and accruals in explaining security returns: evidence for the UK

The assessment of earnings usefulness in returns studies has been at the forefront of accounting research since the seminal work of Ball and Brown (1968). Recently, regulatory bodies worldwide have paid increased attention to cash flow reporting. Empirical research provides evidence that earnings information dominates cash flows in market-based accounting research. This study extends the growing empirical literature on the association of earnings and cash flows with security returns. We hypothesize that the association of cash flows with security returns improves (i) the smaller the absolute magnitude of aggregate accruals, (ii) the longer the measurement interval and (iii) the shorter the firm's operating cycle. The dataset consists of all UK firms included in the Global vantage database for the period 1984–1992. This study provides evidence that cash flows play a more important role in the marketplace when the operating cycle, magnitude of accruals and the measurement interval are taken into considerati.
FormResNet : Formatted Residual Learning for Image Restoration 1

In this paper, we propose a deep CNN to tackle the image restoration problem by learning the structured residual. Previous deep learning based methods directly learn the mapping from corrupted images to clean images, and may suffer from the gradient exploding/vanishing problems of deep neural networks. We propose to address the image restoration problem by learning the structured details and recovering the latent clean image together, from the shared information between the corrupted image and the latent image. In addition, instead of learning the pure difference (corruption), we propose to add a “residual formatting layer” to format the residual to structured information, which allows the network to converge faster and boosts the performance. Furthermore, we propose a cross-level loss net to ensure both pixel-level accuracy and semantic-level visual quality. Evaluations on public datasets show that the proposed method outperforms existing approaches quantitatively and qualitatively.
Who are the Europeans and how does this matter for politics

Who are the Europeans and how does this matter for politics? * Neil Fligstein Department of Sociology University of California Berkeley, Ca. U.S.A December 2007 *Paper prepared for a volume edited by Peter Katzenstein and Jeff Checkel entitled European Identities: Beyond Misplaced Polarities of Cosmopolitanism and Location, forthcoming Cambridge University Press. I would like to thank Svein Andersen, Jeff Checkel, Peter Katzenstein, Thomas Risse, and Ulf Sverdrup for comments. I would also like to thank the rest of the authors of this book who participated in discussions of this paper at two separate meetings.
Scientometric approach of productivity in scholarly economics and business

Some scientometric studies attempt to explain the factors affecting a country’s scientific output, which is usually measured by proxy variables such as the number of articles and citations in internationally-renowned journals. This paper highlights the main drivers for scientific output in economics and business, namely, financing of education and research, population size, the number of scholarly journals and English as the official language. We use multiple OLS regressions and data provided by Web of Knowledge and the World Bank covering 56 nations. The study also highlights the relationship between scientific output and the efficiency in using the research funding. The rankings of sample countries show that there is a learning process at national level, the output being doubled by efficiency.
An Evaluation of Foreign Exchange Intervention and Monetary Aggregates in Nigeria (1986- 2003)

The paper investigates the impact of foreign exchange intervention in the Nigerian foreign exchange market using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) modeling approach. Quarterly time series data spanning 1986:1 to 2003:4 are used and a number of statistical tools are employed to verify this hypothesis. The study examines stochastic characteristics of each time series by testing their stationarity using Phillip Perron (PP) test. This is followed by performing cointegration test using Johansen technique. The existence of co-integration motivates us to estimate the error correction model for broad money, M2. The overall finding from all the techniques employed is that foreign exchange intervention in Nigeria is sterilized because the cumulative aid, which constitute part of foreign exchange inflows, and net foreign assets variables, which are proxies for intervention, are not significant. Thus, paper concludes by recommending, among others, that the use of stock of external reserves to support the exchange rate through increased funding of the foreign exchange market should be encouraged.
Swiss diet types for cattle: how accurately are they reflected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default values?

In Switzerland, a considerable part of the country is mountainous. Forage-based diets dominate, as crop production and feed import are limited. Long winter periods require large amounts of conserved feeds. This results in diet types where the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default values for enteric and manure-derived methane may not be fully appropriate. In 10 experiments carried out in Switzerland, methane emission data were obtained from various forage-based diet types. This included enteric (open-circuit respiratory chambers) and manure-derived methane (various techniques). In dairy cows and suckler cow–calf pairs, the methane-conversion rate (Y m, methane energy, % of gross energy intake) was 7.1% (5.9–8.0) and 8.1% (7.8–8.5), respectively (IPCC default value: 6.5%). In fattening bulls, Y m increased from 4.5% to 5.4% during fattening (default: 6.5%). In the slurry of fattening bulls and dairy cows, the methane-conversion factor (% of maximum slurry-methane emission potential realised) was 0.9% and 5.3% on average when incubated at 14 and 27°C (means of 7 and 14 weeks storage), respectively (default: 15% and 48%). Accordingly, IPCC default values overestimate enteric methane emissions of Swiss forage-based fattening bulls and underestimate those of suckler beef cow–calf pairs. For dairy cows, Y m remained within the current uncertainty range given by IPCC.
Rectenna Application of Miniaturized Implantable Antenna Design for Triple-Band Biotelemetry Communication

A novel antenna design that effectively covers three bands (the medical implant communications service (MICS) band at 402 MHz, and the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band at 433 MHz and 2.45 GHz) using a π-shaped radiator with a stacked and spiral structure is described. The antenna has compact size of 254 mm 3 (10 mm by 10 mm by 2.54 mm). The proposed design is effective for triple-band biotelemetry with data telemetry (402 MHz), wireless powering transmission (433 MHz), and wake-up controller (2.45 GHz). An experimental prototype of the compact stacked rectenna was fabricated on a Roger 3210 substrate. This antenna was used in a rectenna (rectifying antenna) for 433 MHz wireless powering transmission, and provided a conversion efficiency of 86% when 11 dBm microwave power was received at 433 MHz with a 5 kΩ load. The optimal antenna was fabricated and tested in a minced front leg of pork. The simulated and measured bandwidths were 86 MHz and 113 MHz in the MICS band, and 60 MHz and 70 MHz in the ISM band, respectively.
Importance of Atrial Compliance in Cardiac Performance

Effects of changes in atrial compliance on cardiac performance were analyzed using a circulatory analog model. The atrium was assumed to be a noncontracting chamber with a constant compliance. It connected the venous return system, which was represented by mean circulatory filling pressure and a venous return resistance in accordance with Guyton's concept, with the ventricle, which was characterized by a time-varying elasticity. Atrial compliance was increased from near zero to a value at which atrial volume was twice ventricular stroke volume, while the parameters of ventricular contractility were kept unchanged. Cardiac output increased from 2,400 to 3,240 ml/min with increases in atrial compliance from 0.1 to 20 ml/mm Hg (venous return resistance 0.1 mm Hg sec/ml), whereas mean atrial pressure simultaneously decreased from 3.0 to 2.2 mm Hg. This result indicates that cardiac performance in terms of the cardiac output-mean atrial pressure relationship was markedly improved by increases in atrial compliance in spite of constant ventricular contractility. The analysis of the model strongly suggests that natural atrial compliance in situ, by pooling venous return flow during systole and supplying it to the ventricle during diastole, facilitates the transformation of the continuous venous return flow into the intermittent ventricular filling flow.
Rank Transformations and the Prediction of Corporate Failure

Rank transformation of observations has been shown to be useful in linear modeling because the models so constructed are less sensitive to outliers and/or non-normal distributions than are models constructed using standard methods. In the present study, we apply rank transformations to financial ratios to improve the predictive usefulness of standard failure prediction models. Kane, Richardson, and Graybeal (1996) have shown that failure prediction can be improved by conditioning accounting-based statistical models on the occurrence of recession. Our results suggest that rank- transformed data models show additional improvement in prediction without the added cost of having to predict recession for the companies undergoing testing for potential failure.
Resident intimal dendritic cells and the initiation of atherosclerosis

Purpose of review To highlight the fact that regional differences in the normal arterial intima are critical to atherosclerotic lesion formation driven by systemic risk factors. Recent findings At arterial curvatures, bifurcations and branches unique hemodynamics influence endothelial cell signaling and gene expression patterns, which create a proinflammatory environment, with low-grade recruitment of monocytes and accumulation of cells with dendritic features in the intima. Upon induction of hypercholesterolemia, these resident intimal dendritic cells initiate atherosclerosis by rapidly engulfing lipid and becoming the first foam cells in nascent lesions. This step precedes endothelial cell activation and increased monocyte recruitment. Summary The unique features of the arterial intima at atherosclerosis-susceptible sites do not lead to disease under normal physiological conditions, but this intimal environment promotes the initiation of atherogenesis upon induction of systemic risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia.
The impact of foreign debt on economic growth in Malawi

This study analysed the impact of foreign debt on economic growth in Malawi using time series. Data for the period 1975–2003 from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, the IMF and the National Statistical Office was regressed in basic time series analysis. The dependent variable was economic growth and independent variables included level of foreign debt as the main variable. Other variables considered are the inflation rate, exchange rate and the prime lending rate, private and public investment. The results show a statistically insignificant and negative relationship between foreign debt and economic growth for the case of Malawi. The country should strive to provide incentives to local manufacturers who would want to export rather than relying on borrowing for growth inducement. Of interest was the relationship between inflation and economic growth which was positive.
Sensitivity to acute cerebral ischemic injury in migraineurs

Objective: Migraine, particularly with aura, is a risk factor for ischemic stroke. Recent data in migraine mutant mice suggest that cerebral hyperexcitability associated with migraine accelerates recruitment of ischemic penumbra into the core, resulting in faster infarct growth compared with wild type. We hypothesized that individuals with a history of migraine are more likely to exhibit increased recruitment of ischemic tissue into the infarct in acute stroke. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, we identified participants with reliably documented migraine history, measured lesion volumes on diffusion-weighted and perfusion-weighted MRI obtained within 72 hours of symptom onset, calculated the proportion of ischemic tissue on perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) hyperintense on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and compared the proportion of patients with no-mismatch pattern defined as DWI lesion >83% of PWI lesion. Results: Migraineurs (n = 45) were younger, more often female, less likely to have vascular risk factors, and more often had cervical artery dissection, but otherwise did not differ from controls (n = 27). A significantly larger proportion of migraineurs had no-mismatch pattern, indicating that the entire perfusion defect was recruited into the infarct by the time of MRI (22% vs 4% of migraineurs and controls, respectively; p = 0.044). The difference was even more prominent in migraineurs with aura (36% vs 4%, p = 0.019). The association between migraine and no-mismatch pattern persisted after adjustment for time to MRI (p = 0.041). Conclusions: This case-control study supports the hypothesis that a history of migraine, particularly with aura, is associated with a no-mismatch pattern during acute ischemic stroke, consistent with data obtained in migraine mutant mice.
The Impact of a Business School on Regional Economic Development: a Case Study

This paper investigates the impact of a major extension to Lancaster University's Management School on the North West regional economy. It differs from earlier university impact studies since the estimated impact is not confined to backward linkage effects but focuses specifically on the forward linkage effects that will occur as a result of greater engagement with firms in the region's SME sector. The paper demonstrates that the expansion of the university sector can have far greater beneficial effects on their regional economies than is indicated by conventional impact studies. Specifically, the provision of business advice to SMEs can be a significant factor in increasing their sales volume.
European Approaches to Security Sector Reform: Examining Trends through the Lens of Afghanistan

Abstract Since its emergence in the late 1990s, the security sector reform model has come to be accepted as an indispensable element of democratic transitions and state-building projects. Europe has been an incubator for the concept, which is rooted in the notion of human security. While the model's normative framework has reached an advanced stage of development, it has produced few clear successes, revealing a ‘conceptual–contextual divide’. Placed under new pressure due to a shift in security thinking following 11 September 2001, the model faces an identity crisis. The Afghanistan process, above all, has demonstrated the need for new debate in Europe and elsewhere on the direction and structure of the model.
Do Wealth Fluctuations Generate Time-Varying Risk Aversion? Italian Micro-Evidence on Household Asset Allocation

Data from the Italian Survey of Households Income and Wealth (SHIW) are used to study portfolio allocations change in response to fluctuations in wealth. In particular I test for the prediction of models with habit formation that changes in liquid wealth will affect households' risk aversion and risky asset investment. After controlling for the decision to enter and leave the risky asset market, I find, in contrast with other studies (Brunnermeier and Nagel, 2008 and Chiappori and Paiella, 2008), that changes in wealth do help to explain changes in asset allocation.
CVA for Bilateral Counterparty Risk under Alternative Settlement Conventions

We depart from the usual methods for pricing contracts with the counterparty credit risk found in most of the existing literature. In effect, typically, these models do not account for either systemic effects or at-first-default contagion and postulate that the contract value at default equals either the risk-free value or the pre-default value. We propose instead a fairly general framework, which allows us to perform effective Credit Value Adjustment (CVA) computations for a contract with bilateral counterparty risk in the presence of systemic and wrong or right way risks. Our general methodology focuses on the role of alternative settlement clauses, but it is also aimed to cover various features of margin agreements. A comparative analysis of numerical results reported in the final section supports our initial conjecture that alternative specifications of settlement values have a non-negligible impact on the CVA computation for contracts with bilateral counterparty risk. This emphasizes the practical importance of more sophisticated models that are capable of fully reflecting the actual features of financial contracts, as well as the influence of the market environment.
Application of loglinear modelling to inpatient data for temporomandibular joint disorder claimants

The primary purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the application of loglinear modelling to the analysis of inpatient hospital claims data for TMD claimants. The database of a major medical insurer was used to study 1,819 patients who were diagnosed and treated for TMD along with their Non-TMD matches. Using loglinear modelling, it was found that Major Diagnostic Categories and TMD were not independent variables. Further, three categories were significantly related to patients with TMD Neoplasmand Pregnancy showed a significant inverse relationship while Digestive System showed a significant direct relationship. These findings provide healthcare providers with a better understanding of TMD and its relationship to disorders that lead to patient hospitalisation.
Inequality, Grievances, and Civil War

© Lars-Erik Cederman, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, and Halvard Buhaug 2013. This book argues that political and economic inequalities following group lines generate grievances that in turn can motivate civil war. Lars-Erik Cederman, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, and Halvard Buhaug offer a theoretical approach that highlights ethnonationalism and how the relationship between group identities and inequalities are fundamental for successful mobilization to resort to violence. Although previous research highlighted grievances as a key motivation for political violence, contemporary research on civil war has largely dismissed grievances as irrelevant, emphasizing instead the role of opportunities. This book shows that the alleged non-results for grievances in previous research stemmed primarily from atheoretical measures, typically based on individual data. The authors develop new indicators of political and economic exclusion at the group level, and show that these exert strong effects on the risk of civil war. They provide new analyses of the effects of transnational ethnic links and the duration of civil wars, and extended case discussions illustrating causal mechanisms.
On Measuring Partisanship in Roll Call Voting:The U.S. House of Representatives, 1877-1999

We propose a method of assessing party influence, based on a spatial model. Our method provides the first test of whether observed values of the widely used Rice index of party dissimilarity are consistent with a "partyless" null model. It also avoids problems that beset previous estimators. Substantively, we find evidence of party influence in all but one Congress since 1877. Moreover, our indicator of party pressure is systematically higher for the sorts of roll calls that party theorists believe are more pressured-procedural, organizational and label-defining votes. Our results refute the widespread notion that parties in the House have typically had negligible influence on roll call voting behavior. They also document important changes in party influence associated with the packing of the Rules Committee in 1961 and the procedural reforms of 1973.
Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease with Special Reference to Apolipoprotein E Genotype

The aim of this study was to define the co-occurrence of behavioural symptoms and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in relation to apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. Probable AD patients from the Alzheimer’s Day Clinic (n = 139) were assessed with the ‘Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease’ rating scale, and their APOE genotype was determined. This study demonstrated no relationship between presence of the APOE Ε4 allele and any of the behavioural symptoms assessed, including delusions, hallucinations, depression, activity disturbances, aggressiveness and anxiety. Activity disturbances, delusions, hallucinations and aggressiveness paralleled the severity of AD, increasing in frequency with the severity of the dementia. The prevalence of delusions, hallucinations, aggressiveness and depression were found to be associated with lower levels of education.
Nonlinearities in Regional Growth: A Nonparametric Approach

This paper analyses the determinants of regional economic growth in the European Union adopting a non-parametric approach. Although the local-linear kernel estimator applied does not explicitly take into account the spatial dimension of the data, it is found to be consistent in our context. In addition, the geographically weighted regression turns out to be less efficient. We obtain evidence of a non-linear relationship between regional growth and its determinants in the form of parameter heterogeneity and threshold effects. These non-linearities mainly affect the initial productivity of labour, the human capital endowment and, as a novelty, the level of infrastructures.
Competitiveness in the European dairy industries

International competitiveness has gained high importance for national food sectors in European countries, particularly initiated by the completion of the European Common Market, the rapid expansion of international business activities of private companies, and the accelerated concentration of food industries. Due to increasing interest in the competitive situation of these industries, the paper investigates the international competitiveness of European dairy sectors. After a description of important structural features in the milk production, milk processing and food retailing sectors in European countries and the discussion of different approaches to measure international competitiveness, the analysis is carried out at the meso-economic level by using “Revealed Comparative Advantage Indicators” to determine the competitive position of the German dairy industry. In comparison with other EU countries, the German dairy sector seems to have international competitive advantages in fresh, dried, and evaporated milk products. The results obtained verify the predominantly qualitative results found in the literature on the international competitiveness of this sector. lEconLit cite: L190r © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sinus lift procedure of the maxilla in patients with inadequate bone for dental implants: radiographic appearance.

OBJECTIVE Dental implants have gained popularity for treating edentulism, but some patients develop jaw atrophy, which leaves insufficient bone for implants. To treat these patients, the sinus lift procedure, which augments bone, was developed. Altered anatomy from this procedure has an unusual radiographic appearance, confusing those unfamiliar with it. We describe the sinus lift procedure and its radiographic appearance. CONCLUSION With knowledge of this surgery and some of its pitfalls, radiographs can be more easily and accurately interpreted.