Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Local Economic Impact of Cooperatives

The ability to measure the economic importance of cooperatives to communities is not purely an academic question. Policy makers, cooperative organizations, and community development practitioners are increasingly asking for such information. The most commonly used methodology is input-output analysis. The limitations of input-output analysis when applied to cooperatives have not yet been comprehensively explained in the literature, although they significantly affect the application of the model as well as the interpretation of results. We discuss five issues that need to be addressed when using input-output models and suggest additional analysis that should be completed to gain an accurate assessment of the local economic impact of cooperatives.
Radical Change, Accounting and Public Sector Reforms: A Comparison of Italian and Canadian Municipalities

NPM has been generally regarded as an administrative reform for which resilience and consequences have been mainly investigated at a country level. Although accounting played a central role in NPM reforms over the last decades, how accounting change actually took place, and through what organizational dynamics, has been under‐investigated. This paper adopts a new perspective, archetype theory, and looks into how intra‐organizational dynamics (values, interests, power, capabilities) combine with reform processes to influence the outcome of accounting change. Evidence from Italian (disruptive process) and Canadian (sedimented process) municipalities shows that radical change is associated with specific configurations of intra‐organizational dynamics.
Structural Determinants of Tau Aggregation Inhibitor Potency*

Background: Mechanistic insight into small-molecule Tau aggregation inhibitors is needed for their advancement as therapeutic agents. Results: Structure-activity relationship analysis identified polarizability as a common descriptor of inhibitor potency. Conclusion: Flat, highly polarizable ligands stabilize soluble oligomeric complexes at the expense of filamentous aggregates. Significance: The findings suggest a basis for rational improvement of ligand potency, whereas maintaining bioavailability. Small-molecule Tau aggregation inhibitors are under investigation as potential therapeutic agents against Alzheimer disease. Many such inhibitors have been identified in vitro, but their potency-driving features, and their molecular targets in the Tau aggregation pathway, have resisted identification. Previously we proposed ligand polarizability, a measure of electron delocalization, as a candidate descriptor of inhibitor potency. Here we tested this hypothesis by correlating the ground state polarizabilities of cyanine, phenothiazine, and arylmethine derivatives calculated using ab initio quantum methods with inhibitory potency values determined in the presence of octadecyl sulfate inducer under reducing conditions. A series of rhodanine analogs was analyzed as well using potency values disclosed in the literature. Results showed that polarizability and inhibitory potency directly correlated within all four series. To identify putative binding targets, representative members of the four chemotypes were added to aggregation reactions, where they were found to stabilize soluble, but SDS-resistant Tau species at the expense of filamentous aggregates. Using SDS resistance as a secondary assay, and a library of Tau deletion and missense mutants as targets, interaction with cyanine was localized to the microtubule binding repeat region. Moreover, the SDS-resistant phenotype was completely dependent on the presence of octadecyl sulfate inducer, but not intact PHF6/PH6* hexapeptide motifs, indicating that cyanine interacted with a species in the aggregation pathway prior to nucleus formation. Together the data suggest that flat, highly polarizable ligands inhibit Tau aggregation by interacting with folded species in the aggregation pathway and driving their assembly into soluble but highly stable Tau oligomers.
Does the Nominal Exchange Rate Regime Matter?

The relevance of the exchange rate regime for macroeconomic performance remains a key issue in international macroeconomics. We use a comprehensive dataset covering nine regime-types for one hundred forty countries over thirty years to examine the link between the regime, inflation, and growth. Two sturdy stylized facts emerge. First, inflation is both lower and more stable under pegged regimes, reflecting both slower money supply and faster money demand growth. Second, real volatility is higher under pegged regimes. In contrast, growth varies only slightly across regimes, though investment is somewhat higher and trade growth somewhat lower under pegged regimes. Pegged regimes are thus characterized by lower inflation but more pronounced output volatility.
Blood vessel-based liver segmentation through the portal phase of a CT dataset

Blood vessels are dispersed throughout the human body organs and carry unique information for each person. This information can be used to delineate organ boundaries. The proposed method relies on abdominal blood vessels (ABV) to segment the liver considering the potential presence of tumors through the portal phase of a CT dataset. ABV are extracted and classified into hepatic (HBV) and nonhepatic (non-HBV) with a small number of interactions. HBV and non-HBV are used to guide an automatic segmentation of the liver. HBV are used to individually segment the core region of the liver. This region and non-HBV are used to construct a boundary surface between the liver and other organs to separate them. The core region is classified based on extracted posterior distributions of its histogram into low intensity tumor (LIT) and non-LIT core regions. Non-LIT case includes normal part of liver, HBV, and high intensity tumors if exist. Each core region is extended based on its corresponding posterior distribution. Extension is completed when it reaches either a variation in intensity or the constructed boundary surface. The method was applied to 80 datasets (30 Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) and 50 non-MICCAI data) including 60 datasets with tumors. Our results for the MICCAI-test data were evaluated by sliver07 [1] with an overall score of 79.7, which ranks seventh best on the site (December 2013). This approach seems a promising method for extraction of liver volumetry of various shapes and sizes and low intensity hepatic tumors.
Fisher Hypothesis in Japan: Analysis of Long-Term Interest Rates Under Different Monetary Policy Regimes

This paper investigates the validity of the Fisher hypothesis in Japanese long-term interest rates (two, three, four, five, seven and ten years) using non-stationary time series models. Initially, the entire sample period (October 1987–June 2006) is investigated. Then the samples, divided into three segments depending on each period's monetary policy regimes, are investigated. Thus, the asymmetric impacts of inflation expectation on Japanese long-term interest rates can be investigated. The first period examined is from October 1987–June 1991. The second period is from July 1991–July 2000. The third period is from March 2001–June 2006. In the first period monetary policy is tightening, but in the second and third periods it is easing. Thus it is concluded that the Fisher hypothesis is valid only in all maturities of long-term interest rates in the first period. However, it does not hold in any of the maturities in the entire sample period or in the second and third periods.
Purifying Islamic equities: the interest tax shield

Purpose - – This paper aims to add to the debate regarding the appropriate methodology to purify tainted components from Design/methodology/approach - – Based on the Findings - – Purification is a pivotal element of the Islamic investment process, yet Standard 21 permits a loose interpretation which causes portfolios to be under-purified. Standard 21 also makes no mention of the interest tax shield from debt even though the benefits are at odds with the principles of social justice in Islam. That there is no mention of the interest tax shield from debt in the (limited) literature on the purification of Islamic equities is puzzling. Practical implications - – This paper has implications for the Islamic funds industry and for devout Muslim investors. Originality/value - – The specific contribution of this paper is the identification of the interest expense tax shield (well-established in the corporate finance literature) as a significant non-compliant
Inequality, Self-Interest, and Public Support for “Robin Hood” Tax Policies

Influential economic models predict that as inequality increases, the public will demand greater redistribution. However, there is limited research into the determinants of support for redistributive tax increases because such proposals have been so rare in America in recent decades. We use Washington State’s Proposition 1098 to examine how economic self-interest, concerns about inequality, and partisanship influence support for redistributive taxation. The results show that all of these factors influenced support, with strong support among the lower income, indicating that when the distributional implications of policies are clear, citizens can translate their self-interest and broad attitudes into congruent redistributive preferences.
Mediator MED23 regulates basal transcription in vivo via an interaction with P-TEFb

The Mediator is a multi-subunit complex that transduces regulatory information from transcription regulators to the RNA polymerase II apparatus. Growing evidence suggests that Mediator plays roles in multiple stages of eukaryotic transcription, including elongation. However, the detailed mechanism by which Mediator regulates elongation remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that Mediator MED23 subunit controls a basal level of transcription by recruiting elongation factor P-TEFb, via an interaction with its CDK9 subunit. The mRNA level of Egr1, a MED23-controlled model gene, is reduced 4–5 fold in Med23−/− ES cells under an unstimulated condition, but Med23-deficiency does not alter the occupancies of RNAP II, GTFs, Mediator complex, or activator ELK1 at the Egr1 promoter. Instead, Med23 depletion results in a significant decrease in P-TEFb and RNAP II (Ser2P) binding at the coding region, but no changes for several other elongation regulators, such as DSIF and NELF. ChIP-seq revealed that Med23-deficiency partially reduced the P-TEFb occupancy at a set of MED23-regulated gene promoters. Further, we demonstrate that MED23 interacts with CDK9 in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, these results provide the mechanistic insight into how Mediator promotes RNAP II into transcription elongation.
Gender, race, pay and promotion in the British nursing profession: estimation of a generalized ordered probit model

We analyse job grading within the UK National Health Service nursing profession, using 1994 survey data. We start from the ordered probit model, for which we develop and apply appropriate specification tests. Threshold constancy and covariate exogeneity are rejected, with important consequences for estimates of the influence of gender, ethnicity, training and career interruptions. We find little evidence of disadvantage for females relative to males, but significant differences in speed of promotion between ethnic groups, implying non-negligible differences in lifetime earnings. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stentablation of an underexpanded stent in a heavily calcified lesion using rotational atherectomy

To the Editor Adjunctive technologies such as high-speed mechanical rotational atherectomy [(Rotablator), Boston Scientific Corporation, Natick, Massachusetts, USA] are useful in augmenting the results of percutaneous coronary intervention in certain situations. Although data from randomized prospective trials are scarce, it is generally accepted that Rotablator therapy can be useful in preparation of
Molecular mechanisms of metastasis

The mechanism of metastasis is a complex set of events that build upon each other to achieve successful growth in organ sites beyond the primary tumor. The cumulative events for metastasis of different cancers have both common and specific cancer specific events. This review discusses several key factors in different cancers that are responsible in metastasis, which includes epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes, functional activity of tumor‐related chemokine receptors, and circulating tumor cells. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011;103:508–517. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chinese international students in Australia: An insight into their help and information seeking manners

Understanding the manners in which international students seek information and help in the country of education is an essential step to improve academic, social, cultural and welfare support for this student cohort. However there is a dearth of the literature that documents the ways international students in the vocational education sector adopt to seek help and information. This paper aims to fill out this gap in the existing scholarly research. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 Chinese international students in Diploma and Associate Degree programs in Australia, this research shows that the ways in which Chinese international students seek help, prior to their departure and after their arrival at the host country, largely depend on the nature of the issues with which they are concerned. Empirical data also reveals that students’ use of education agents’ consultancy and service is not only limited to the pre-departure stage as indicated by the existing literature, but also throughout their journey in the host country. Notably, the role of agents has become increasingly important in Chinese international students’ decision-making process during their transition from Diploma to Associate Degree and higher education programs. 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Light Industrial Property Valuation

This paper uses statistical regression techniques to develop a model to explain both warehouse asking prices and warehouse quoted lease rates. In developing the statistical models, the paper provides a useful comparison between ordinary least squares (OLS), and weighted least squares (WLS) techniques. The results indicate that the market for industrial property is rational and that property characteristics determine the majority of the building value. The results also indicate the presence of a clientele effect between the market for industrial property listed for sale and property listed for lease.
A head with two tales: trade unions' influence on temporary agency work in Belgian and German workplaces

This paper investigates local trade union influence on temporary agency work (TAW) in four Belgian and German workplaces. It argues that the union's capacity to influence the job conditions of agency workers is heterogeneous. Societal differences between systems of workplace representation and the different structures of collective bargaining are used to explain the heterogeneity of local union practices and their effect on the working conditions of agency workers. The practices that unions adopt locally in response to human resource management and TAW strategies are also important factors that aid understanding with regard to the labour use of TAW. These societal differences intersect with the socio-economic conditions of the firm to generate local unions' responses to the management's use of agency workers.
OPEC and World Crude Oil Markets from 1973 to 1994: Cartel, Oligopoly, or Competitive?

This study investigates the existence of a dominant producer in the world crude oil market for the period 1973 to 1994. Contrary to the literature, the results show that neither OPEC nor the OPEC core can be characterized as a dominant producer. Using statistical tests, we also investigate whether OPEC, the OPEC core, or Saudi Arabia fit the competitive model or the Cournot model. The statistical results reject all models except the dominant firm model for Saudi Arabia. New user cost estimates are introduced and included in the models. An alternative explanation of high OPEC profits in the 1973-82 period is also developed as part of a statistical test of the effect of the US oil price regulation on world oil demand and supply. An estimate of the wealth transfer from price regulation is also calculated.
Technology diffusion, spatial effects and productivity growth in the Chinese provinces

This paper investigates spatial spillover effects of productivity in China. We set up a model in which a Chinese province achieves productivity growth by taking advantage of productivity spillovers from the world frontier and from other Chinese provinces. By using fixed effects and GMM panel data methods, we show that productivity growth in an inland province in China can be partly attributed to productivity spillover effects of other provinces. We also show that provincial human capital plays an important role in determining the magnitude of these spillover effects.
Macroinformation and the Variability of Stock Market Prices

A POPULAR TOPIC FOR empirical research in financial markets has been the distribution of stock market prices. The most widely accepted finding is that security price changes in competitive securities markets tend to be intertemporally independent, that is, that securities markets are "weak-form" efficient as that term is used by Fama (1970) and others. '2 A second hypothesis, apparently widely held, is that a stock's price changes in efficient markets will be drawn from a fixed, stationary distribution. This second hypothesis is implicitly or explicitly assumed in most empirical applications involving the Capital Asset Pricing Model, and in most studies of stock price distributions based upon ARIMA models, spectral analysis, or any specific distribution such as the normal, t, or infinite variance stable paretian distributions. However, the stationary distribution hypothesis is neither an implication of intertemporal independence of price changes nor borne out independently by other empirical evidence. This paper is concerned with the hypothesis that efficient markets and random changes in the public information set jointly will tend to generate observed distributions of price changes which will not generally be characterized by the "simple" distributions frequently discussed in the literature. In particular, we argue that the variability of the daily market factor is an increasing function of the rate of arrival of information of broad economic impact. We also are interested in ascertaining whether markets in an aggregate sense are efficient processors of "macroinformation. " In the next section we briefly review previous work and discuss the time series used here to proxy the market factor. The empirical behavior of the market factor is similar to that of most highly traded assets; that is, the empirical distribution is "fat-tailed," weakly autocorrelated and nearly symmetric. Another interesting finding is that there is substantial variation in the variability of the daily market factor during the 1973-1977 period. We then observe that the empirical distribution of the market factor resembles an information driven subordinated stochastic process. This is equivalent to saying that the variance of the process governing the behavior is itself stochastic, and that it is the arrival of new macroinformation which to a great extent determines the changing variability of the market factor. The fluctuating variability of the market factor, in turn, can * University of Washington. ' Lucas (1978) has developed a model of security prices in a pure exchange economy which identifies a set of sufficient conditions for the Martingale property to obtain. 2 It is frequently argued that "efficiency" implies "rational expectations" and "competitive equilibrium" (but not the converse), given assumptions sufficient for the competitive equilibrium to exist.
Disease burden of COPD in China: a systematic review

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the main contributors to the global burden of disease. The aim of this systematic review was to quantify the disease burden of COPD in China and to determine the risk factors of the disease. The number of studies included in the review was 47 with an average quality assessment score of 7.70 out of 10. Reported COPD prevalence varied between 1.20% and 8.87% in different provinces/cities across China. The prevalence rate of COPD was higher among men (7.76%) than women (4.07%). The disease was more prevalent in rural areas (7.62%) than in urban areas (6.09%). The diagnostic rate of COPD patients in China varied from 23.61% to 30.00%. The percentage of COPD patients receiving outpatient treatment was around 50%, while the admission rate ranged between 8.78% and 35.60%. Tobacco exposure and biomass fuel/solid fuel usage were documented as two important risk factors of COPD. COPD ranked among the top three leading causes of death in China. The direct medical cost of COPD ranged from 72 to 3,565 USD per capita per year, accounting for 33.33% to 118.09% of local average annual income. The most commonly used scales for the assessment of quality of life (QoL) included Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire, Airways Questionnaire 20, SF-36, and their revised versions. The status of QoL was worse among COPD patients than in non-COPD patients, and COPD patients were at higher risks of depression. The COPD burden in China was high in terms of economic burden and QoL. In view of the high smoking rate and considerable concerns related to air pollution and smog in China, countermeasures need to be taken to improve disease prevention and management to reduce disease burdens raised by COPD.
The Implementation and Sustainability of Village Conservation Agreements Around Kerinci Seblat National Park, Indonesia

We investigated the implementation and sustainability of village conservation agreements and village conservation grants facilitated by an integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) around the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia, 5 years after the project closed. Forty-three percent of agreement actions (n = 180) and 30% of grant activities (n = 74) were sustained. Informants identified numerous factors influencing success, but statistical tests failed to detect simple explanations. Conservation-livelihood agreements have a greater chance of success when preexisting factors are understood and the purpose of the agreement itself is clearly defined.
Pengaruh Investasi terhadap Pertumbuhan Ekonomi dan Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Serta Kesejahteraan Masyarakat di Provinsi di Indonesia

This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of investment on economic growth, labor absorption and social welfare at province in Indonesia. The study period was five years i.e. from 2006 to 2010 by using secondary data provided by Central Bureau of Statistics in the form of combination between times series data (from 2006 to 2010) and cross-sectional data (33 province in Indonesia) also known as panel data. Hypothesis testing in this study is conducted by using Path Analysis Model under SPSS 17.0. Test of 5 (five) hypothesis with level of significance α = 0.05 obtained the following results: First, investment has a negative but not significance effect on economic growth. Second, investment has a positive and significance effect on labor absorption. Third, economic growth has a positive but not significance effect on labor absorption. Fourth, economic growth has a positive but not significance effect on social welfare. Fifth, labor absorption has positive but not significance effect on social welfare. Keywords: Investment, Economic Growth, Labor Absorption and Social Welfare