Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A model of intermarriage involving attribute exchange

The increasing pace of globalization has significantly affected our lives in many profound ways. One of the consequences of globalization is the rise of intermarriage, i.e., the marriage between couples of different nationalities or different social, economic, religious, or racial backgrounds. Since our understanding of intermarriage is limited, this paper attempts to shed lights on intermarriage by developing a formal model based on attribute exchange. After examining the motivation and micro and macro consequences of intermarriages, our model shows that different value systems regarding marital attributes among different groups drive individuals with attributes valued lower in their group to seek intermarriage. As a result, the essence of intermarriages is the movement of attributes from groups in which such attributes are relatively abundant to groups where the same attributes are relatively scarce. Thus, intermarriage makes individuals with attributes valued lower in their original groups better off. At the inter‐societal (or inter‐group) level, the equilibrium of intermarriage is determined by the relative scarcity of marital attributes in different groups (societies). In the long run, intermarriages converge different groups in terms of their value systems regarding marriage.
Influence of weight function nonorthogonality on performance of sampling and reconstruction with internal filtering

Novel sampling and reconstruction techniques with internal filtering have been proposed and described in earlier papers by the authors. Properties of these techniques are determined by their weight functions. Practical requirements for these functions and mathematical restrictions imposed on them are discussed in this paper. The attention is focused on the weight functions used for sampling because they should satisfy more challenging requirements. Qualitative and quantitative analysis has shown that, on the one hand, adequately selected weight functions allow radical improvement of dynamic range and other parameters of the equipment where sampling with internal antialiasing filtering is used; on the other hand, it is very difficult to satisfy practical requirements for the weight functions due to their complexity and contradictoriness. Therefore, multiple tradeoffs are necessary for the weight function implementation. At the same time, mathematical restrictions imposed on these functions are so loose that virtually any physically realizable weight function satisfies these restrictions. In particular, it is shown that the weight functions should not necessarily be orthogonal or even meet less restraining Riesz conditions. The looseness of the mathematical restrictions is caused by the fact that, in practice, sampling frequency is always higher than the Nyquist rate. As a result, many imperfections of antialiasing filtering within the passband can be compensated after analog-to-digital conversion
Incremental Innovation and Business Performance: Small and Medium‐Size Food Enterprises in a Concentrated Industry Environment

Past studies have analyzed issues pertaining to the definition of innovation, methods of measuring innovation and the relationship between organizational characteristics and innovation orientation. Extant studies have adopted a large business or a technologically intense context of study. By studying the adoption of new products, methods, systems, markets, and supply sources in small and medium‐size seafood retail enterprises, this study reviews innovation and the adoption of innovation in a broader and novel context. Seafood retailers in this study operate in a concentrated industry environment where two large supermarket chains account for more than 70 percent of national food retail sales. The seafood retailers operate in a highly competitive environment, the industry is maturing, the firms are not very advanced technologically, and the sector has a disproportionately large number of firms owned and operated by persons of non‐English speaking backgrounds. The results of the study indicate that incremental innovation offers substantial competitive advantages to small and medium‐size firms, that incremental innovations can be adopted and operationalized rapidly by entrepreneurs with different cultural backgrounds and skills, and that small and medium‐size firms that focus on sales and marketing innovations are profitable and are able to compete successfully with large businesses.
Psychometric properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and its short-form (GAI-SF) in a clinical and non-clinical sample of older adults

ABSTRACT Background: The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory is a 20-item geriatric-specific measure of anxiety severity. While studies suggest good internal consistency and convergent validity, divergent validity from measures of depression are weak. Clinical cutoffs have been developed that vary across studies due to the small clinical samples used. A six-item short form (GAI-SF) has been developed, and while this scale is promising, the research assessing the psychometrics of this scale is limited. Methods: This study examined the psychometric properties of GAI and GAI-SF in a large sample of 197 clinical geriatric participants with a comorbid anxiety and unipolar mood disorder, and a non-clinical control sample (N = 59). Results: The internal consistency and convergent validity with other measures of anxiety was adequate for GAI and GAI-SF. Divergent validity from depressive symptoms was good in the clinical sample but weak in the total and non-clinical samples. Divergent validity from cognitive functioning was good in all samples. The one-factor structure was replicated for both measures. Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses indicated that the GAI is more accurate at identifying clinical status than the GAI-SF, although the sensitivity and specificity for the recommended cutoffs was adequate for both measures. Conclusions: Both GAI and GAI-SF show good psychometric properties for identifying geriatric anxiety. The GAI-SF may be a useful alternative screening measure for identifying anxiety in older adults.
Party Polarization and Legislative Gridlock

This article investigates how parties affect legislative gridlock-the inability of government to enact significant proposals on the policy agenda. Conventional accounts suggest that divided party control of govemment causes such stalemate. I offer an alternative partisan model of gridlock that incorporates party polarization, party seat division, and the interaction between these two factors. Using an original data set of major legislative proposals considered between 1975 and 1994, I find that divided govemment does not affect gridlock once party polarization and party seat division are taken into account. Instead, I find that higher party polarization increases the likelihood of encountering gridlock on a given proposal, but that the magnitude of this increase diminishes to the extent that a party is close to having enough seats to thwart filibusters and vetoes.
THE MECHANICS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH CAPITAL ACCUMULATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS

This study develops a model wherein capital is used in final goods production and research and development (R&D) activities. This arrangement generates changes of the equilibrium capital allocation corresponding to capital endowment, which engenders a regime change from capital based growth with decreasing returns to R&D based perpetual growth. These two growth phases account for the polarization of economies. The model also engenders multiple equilibria on capital allocation—which emerge during the middle stages of capital accumulation—accounting for leapfrogging and the instability of the economic growth of developing countries with medium capital accumulation.
Consequences of combining strength and endurance training regimens.

A common belief among many clinicians and trainers is that intensive simultaneous training for muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance is counterproductive. To test this premise, 14 healthy, untrained men trained four days per week for 20 weeks on a bicycle ergometer for endurance (END Group, n = 4), on an isokinetic device for increased torque production (ITP Group, n = 5), or on both devices (COMBO Group, n = 5). The ITP and COMBO groups had equal torque gains throughout the study (234 +/- 45 and 232 +/- 23 N.m, respectively). After 11 weeks, both END and COMBO groups had similar gains in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) (in milliliters per kilogram of body weight per minute). During the last half of the study, however, the END Group had a significant gain in VO2max (p less than .05) of 4.7 +/- 1.2 mL.kg-1.min-1, whereas the COMBO Group had a nonsignificant gain (p greater than .05) of 1.8 +/- 0.6 mL.kg-1.min-1. In harmony with this finding, the END Group showed a significant increase (p less than .05) in citrate synthase activity (15.5 +/- 7.9 mumol.g-1.min-1), whereas the COMBO Group had no significant increase. The authors concluded that simultaneous training may inhibit the normal adaptation to either training program when performed alone. The extent of the interference probably depends on the nature and intensity of the individual training program. [Nelson AG, Arnall DA, Loy SF, et al: Consequences of combining strength and endurance training regimens.
Ibuprofen inhibits skeletal muscle hypertrophy in rats.

PURPOSE We sought to determine whether cyclooxygenase (COX) activity is necessary for overload-induced growth of adult rat skeletal muscle, and whether nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity is involved in upregulation of COX messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in skeletal muscle. METHODS Unilateral surgical removal of the gastrocnemius and soleus was performed on the right hindlimb of 16 female Sprague-Dawley rats (approximately 230 g) to induce chronic overload (OL) of the plantaris for 14 d, with sham surgeries performed on the contralateral leg as a normally loaded (NL) control. Half of the rats were treated with the nonspecific COX inhibitor, ibuprofen (0.2 mg.mL(-1) in drinking water; approximately 20 mg.kg(-1). d(-1)). In a second experiment, the plantaris was unilaterally overloaded for 5 or 14 d in male rats (approximately 350 g; N = 16 rats per time point) and half of the animals were treated with the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME (0.75 mg.mL(-1) in drinking water; approximately 90 mg.kg(-1). d(-1)). RESULTS Ibuprofen treatment inhibited plantaris hypertrophy by approximately 50% (P < 0.05) following 14 d of OL, as did L-NAME treatment (P < 0.05). COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA did not differ between any groups at 5 d. At 14 d, however, L-NAME caused a 30-fold increase in plantaris COX-1 mRNA expression independent of loading condition. Additionally, OL induced a 20-fold increase in COX-2 mRNA expression compared with NL (P < 0.05) at 14 d, without affecting COX-1 mRNA level. L-NAME treatment significantly inhibited OL-induced expression of COX-2 mRNA. CONCLUSION COX activity is important for in vivo muscle hypertrophy, and plantaris overload is associated with NOS activity-dependent COX-2 expression.
Cortical Reorganization for Response Regulation With Unilateral Thalamic Stroke Detected by Functional MRI

To understand neural reorganization of response regulation after stroke, a 54-year-old woman with a chronic left thalamic stroke performed a task requiring decisions about the directionality of an arrow during cerebral functional magnetic resonance imaging. Her performance was compared to 13 matched healthy control subjects. Her behavioral responses were slower but as accurate. Bilateral frontal activations were observed in the right medial frontal gyrus (BA 9), left superior frontal gyrus (BA 45), and left frontal rectus gyrus (BA 11). Activation in the right medial frontal gyrus, along with activity in close proximity to the anterior cingulate cortex, was observed, which may reflect reorganization of activity after the loss of function of the anterior cingulate cortex.
Performance comparison of Islamic (participation) banks and commercial banks in Turkish banking sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt to compare the performance of Islamic banks against conventional banks in Turkey. This comparison is much more distinctive and significant in Turkey when compared to other countries, as Turkey stands as a model for the world in interest-free banking system. Design/methodology/approach – The comparative performance analysis was conducted by means of logistic regression method during the period of 2001-2009. The CAMELS approach is utilized to assess the managerial and financial performance of banks. Findings – The results signify that Islamic banks operating in Turkey perform better in profitability and asset management ratios compared to conventional banks but lag in sensitivity to market risk criterion. These findings might mainly be ascribed to the fact that these banks allow lower provisional losses compared to conventional banks and have some tax advantages. Research limitations/implications – Utilizing a more recent and consistent data set, the analyse.
Earnings Management: The Effect of Ex Ante Earnings Expectations

SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt has recently expressed concerns about the use of earnings management to meet Wall Street earnings expectations set by analysts' forecasts. We investigate whether managers aim to “meet or beat” analysts' forecasts and examine the influence of analysts' forecast dispersion on this aim. Our results are consistent with managers aligning earnings with market expectations established by analysts' forecasts. Additionally, our evidence is consistent with managers behaving as though they have greater incentives to increase income in settings where the dispersion in analysts' forecasts is low.
THE RELUCTANT LANDLORDS? A HISTORY OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN AUSTRALIA

This paper explores the history of public housing in Australia. Four key phases are identified. In each phase I examine the degree of support Commonwealth, State and Local governments have given to public housing, and the various pressures that have helped shape the formation of public housing policies. The paper takes as its point of departure the popular view that the golden age in public housing was the period from 1945 to 1956, during which time the first Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) is said to have laid the foundation for a large scale, viable public housing system. A succession of CSHAs since that time are said to have crippled the history of public housing in this country, with the emphasis of housing policy being shifted toward support for home ownership. This paper takes issue with this view. By following the quite different paths of development of the State Housing Authorities, we see that the decade to 1956 was neither as significant as some claim it to be, nor was ita decade to .
Rapid dynamics of polyomavirus type BK in renal transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND Polyomavirus type BK-associated nephropathy (PVAN) is an emerging cause of early renal transplant failure. No specific antiviral treatment has been established. Current interventions rely on improving immune functions by reducing immunosuppression. In patients with PVAN, a high BK virus (BKV) load is detectable in plasma. However, the relationship between BKV replication and disease is not well understood. METHODS In a retrospective analysis of BKV plasma load in renal transplant recipients undergoing allograft nephrectomy (n = 3) or changes in immunosuppressive regimen (n = 12), we calculated viral clearance rates and generation times and estimated the loss of BKV-infected renal cells. RESULTS After nephrectomy, BKV clearance was fast (viral half-life [t(1/2)], 1-2 h) or moderately fast (t(1/2), 20-38 h), depending on the sampling density, but it was independent of continued immunosuppressive regimens. After changing immunosuppressive regimens, BKV was cleared with a t(1/2) of 6 h-17 days. Using the basic reproductive ratio, the efficacies of intervention ranged from 7% to 83% (mean, 28%; median, 22%). CONCLUSION The results emphasize that high-level BKV replication is a major pathogenetic factor that may have implications for genome rearrangements, immune evasion, and antiviral resistance.
A 1.05 M☉ COMPANION TO PSR J2222−0137: THE COOLEST KNOWN WHITE DWARF?

The recycled pulsar PSR J2222−0137 is one of the closest known neutron stars (NSs) with a parallax distance of pc and an edge-on orbit. We measure the Shapiro delay in the system through pulsar timing with the Green Bank Telescope, deriving a low pulsar mass (1.20 ± 0.14 M☉) and a high companion mass (1.05 ± 0.06 M☉) consistent with either a low-mass NS or a high-mass white dwarf. We can largely reject the NS hypothesis on the basis of the system's extremely low eccentricity (3 × 10−4)—too low to have been the product of two supernovae under normal circumstances. However, despite deep optical and near-infrared searches with Southern Astrophysical Research and the Keck telescopes we have not discovered the optical counterpart of the system. This is consistent with the white dwarf hypothesis only if the effective temperature is <3000 K, a limit that is robust to distance, mass, and atmosphere uncertainties. This would make the companion to PSR J2222−0137 one of the coolest white dwarfs ever observed. For the implied age to be consistent with the age of the Milky Way requires the white dwarf to have already crystallized and entered the faster Debye-cooling regime.
DNA sequence and structure requirements for cleavage of V(D)J recombination signal sequences

Purified RAG1 and RAG2 proteins can cleave DNA at V(D)J recombination signals. In dissecting the DNA sequence and structural requirements for cleavage, we find that the heptamer and nonamer motifs of the recombination signal sequence can independently direct both steps of the cleavage reaction. Proper helical spacing between these two elements greatly enhances the efficiency of cleavage, whereas improper spacing can lead to interference between the two elements. The signal sequences are surprisingly tolerant of structural variation and function efficiently when nicks, gaps, and mismatched bases are introduced or even when the signal sequence is completely single stranded. Sequence alterations that facilitate unpairing of the bases at the signal/coding border activate the cleavage reaction, suggesting that DNA distortion is critical for V(D)J recombination.
The Information Content of Plant Closing Announcements: Evidence From Financial Profiles and the Stock Price Reaction

This study demonstrates that a plant closing announcement provides information not just for the plant being closed but also for other operations and the firm as a whole. An examination of changes in firm financial condition following the announcement indicates problems that are firm-wide, not just plant-specific. Firms announcing plant closings experience a decline in profitability during the announcement year and the following year as well as declines in employment, asset acquisition, and dividend growth for the years following the announcement. The stock price reaction to closing announcements is found to be negative and statistically significant with a greater negative reaction for plants that are more closely related to firm operations, and for plants that comprise a larger portion of the firm's operations.
Number One Country, Number One Currency?

This paper assesses the prospects for renminbi internationalisation, arguing that the process will encounter significant challenges. Some of these are familiar: the Chinese economy, while large, remains poor; China’s financial markets lack depth and liquidity; encouraging international use of the renminbi will require substantial capital account liberalisation, in the course of which things can go wrong. In addition, I highlight a less familiar challenge: China’s political system may be an obstacle to renminbi internationalisation. Since the early nineteenth century, the leading international currency or currencies have been those of countries with democratic political systems where there are constraints on the executive, which have built durable alliances, and where creditors are well represented. This is not a prediction that China must have a Democratic Spring before the renminbi becomes a leading international and reserve currency. But it does suggest that the country will have to contemplate significant political reform.
Globalizing Ethics: Social Technologies of Private Regulation and the South African Wine Industry

This paper discusses of some key issues arising from South African experience of the UK-based Ethical Trading Initiative’s (ETI) pilot project in the monitoring of compliance codes of conduct for product sourcing. The paper argues that the experience of ‘local stakeholder participation’ in the ETI’s pilot project in the South African wine industry raises serious questions about the appropriateness and efficacy of ‘ethical sourcing’ as a vehicle for creative global–local engagement. It explores key elements of the globalizing ‘technologies of ethics’ deployed by projects like the ETI, and argues that these may simply normalize and regularize power relations in trade between North and South. These limitations are particularly serious in light of the course of labour market restructuring in South Africa, which has reshaped agricultural employment in ways that limit the ability of employment standards to address real difficulties faced by agricultural workers. This does not render ‘ethical sourcing’ irrelevant, nor does it mean that it can be read as simply securing retailer interests. It does mean, however, that a key question facing ‘Southern’ organizations and their allies is how to increase the scope for engagement and contestation around the implementation of such initiatives.
Political marketing: conceptualisation, dimensions and research agenda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine political marketing with regard to its different conceptualisations and dimensions, and to suggest cognate areas for empirical research efforts, especially in Sub‐Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approach – Perspectives from relevant extant literature on meaning and dimensions of political marketing are examined, and empirical examination of these perspectives in developing countries suggested.Findings – It was found that political marketing has many conceptualisations and dimensions, and its practice may be coloured by environmental issues, especially in developing economies with weak democratic infrastructure.Research limitations/implications – Empirical investigations of political marketing in developing economies, as suggested in this paper, may be constrained by secrecy, lack of secondary data, and aparty on the part of relevant party executives, among others.Practical implications – Party executives will benefit from the conceptualisations and dimen.
Board Training and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan

Do firms with board training make a difference in firm performance? Using handcollected data, the empirical results show that board training has a significant positive impact on the accounting-based measures of ROA, ROE, and the cash-based measure of cash-flow to assets, and no eminent effect on sales-based measures of the sales-to-equity ratio and profit margin. It is also found that board training has no significant effect on the market-based measures of Tobin’s Q and stock returns after controlling for several firm and board characteristics. In addition, accounting and finance training courses undertaken by board members are positively related to ROE.