Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Demand Attributes of Assurance Services Providers and the Role of Independent Accountants

This study reports on desirable attributes of assurance services providers for assurance services based on responses from a sample of Dutch senior accounting and financial officers. In general, overall expertise and objectivity are perceived as the most important attributes for selecting an assurance service provider. Cost is perceived as the least important attribute. In general, accountants are perceived as more likely to be the preferred service provider for assurance over information systems and/or when professional reputation and integrity is important for providing a service. These attributes are in line with the projected image of the profession. An accountant is less likely to be the preferred provider when cost and independence are not important. We interpret this result as an indication that independence in the audit is important and, thus, other services are acceptable only when independence is not an issue.
Prophylactic Etoricoxib Is Effective in Preventing “First of Ramadan” Headache: A Placebo‐Controlled Double‐Blind and Randomized Trial of Prophylactic Etoricoxib for Ritual Fasting Headache

Background. — Religious fasting is associated with headache. This has been documented as “Yom Kippur headache” and “first of Ramadan headache. ” Etoricoxib, a Cox‐2 inhibitor with a 22‐hour half‐life, has been shown effective in preventing fasting headache when taken just prior to the 25‐hour Yom Kippur fast. We hypothesized that etoricoxib would also be effective in preventing headache during Ramadan, despite the different characteristics of the fast.
Economic Cycle Volatility in the World Economy and Prospects for Global Economic Equilibrium Recovery

The article examines the problems of cyclical economic development in the world economy. The trends in economic development and the degree of economic cycle volatility in the world during the 1970-2010 are analyzed. The phenomenon of the Great Moderation as a period of achieving the long-term relative equilibrium in the global economy on methodological and empirical level is represented. On the basis of correlation and regression modeling the trends of real GDP and changes in consumer prices for economies are identified, on which nowadays predominantly the restoration of economic equilibrium depends in view of maintaining the existing global economic order. Scenarios of restoring the global economic equilibrium within the neoclassical and neokeynesian vision are outlined and alternative modern concepts of global economy transformation in the context of attempts to solve the problem of worsening cyclical economic development and economic instability are presented.
Proportional Versus Majoritarian Ethnic Conflict Management in Democracies

What kinds of democratic institutions manage ethnic strife most effectively? What environmental conditions increase the propensity for friction and, consequently, increase the conflict-management burden of political institutions? To answer these questions, a brief theoretical argument and some empirical tests of hypotheses derived from the theory will illustrate the superiority of proportional to majoritarian institutions of ethnic conflict management. These tests analyze various forms of ethnic conflict, over a 45-year period, among ethnic groups living under democratic rule. Ted Robert Gurr's minorities at risk, which consist of 233 ethnic groups in 100 countries, are the units of analysis.
The Challenge of Governance in Regional Waste Planning

Over the last 15 years profound changes have taken place within the policy and institutional context of strategic planning for waste management in the United Kingdom. In addition to the significant influence of the sustainability discourse on policy innovation and the reconfiguration of institutional arrangements and policy networks, there have been growing political and public interest, and tensions, in the regionalisation of waste management, as represented by the establishment of the Regional Technical Advisory Bodies (RTABs) for waste. Drawing on concepts developed within urban-regime theory and debates on institutional capacity building, the authors argue that if RTABs are to be seen as a new form of governance for waste planning, the development of their capacity to meet the challenge of ‘collective action’ depends on the quality of their governance relations and, in particular, on the existence and amplification of four forms of capital: intellectual, social, material, and political. The first stage of the research which, by the time of writing (April 2004), included around sixty semistructured interviews with RTAB members throughout the English regions, has identified a number of potential barriers and enablers that affect the ability of RTABs to develop such a capacity. In conclusion, the authors provide an overall assessment of RTABs and draw a tentative picture of their possible future.
Age at onset of first episode and time to treatment in in-patients with bipolar disorder

Summary This study aimed to investigate the relationship between age at onset and time to first pharmacological treatment in patients with either bipolar I or II disorder. A total of 146 consecutive in-patients acutely admitted from the same catchment area were included. Patients were divided into four age groups: 0–12 years (23%); 13–18 years (32%); 19–29 years (26%); and 30 years (18%). Mean age at first affective episode was 20.2 years (s.d.=11.8). This represents a similar pattern to the age at onset seen in out-patients in the USA. Early age at onset predicted a longer time to first pharmacological treatment (ρ =0.695, P <0.01).
Modulation of Cardiac Ryanodine Receptors by Sorcin*

Sorcin is a widely expressed, 22-kDa Ca2+-binding protein initially identified in multidrug-resistant cells. In the heart, sorcin localizes to the dyadic junctions of transverse tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum and coimmunoprecipitates with the Ca2+ release channel/ryanodine receptor (RyR) (Meyers, M. B., Pickel, V. M., Sheu, S.-S., Sharma, V. K., Scotto, K. W., and Fishman, G. I. (1995)J. Biol. Chem. 270, 26411–26418). We have investigated a possible functional interaction between sorcin and cardiac RyR using purified recombinant sorcin in [3H]ryanodine binding experiments and single channel recordings of RyR. The open probability of single RyR was decreased significantly by the addition of sorcin to the cytoplasmic side of the channel (IC50 ∼ 480 nm). In addition, sorcin completely inhibited [3H]ryanodine binding with an IC50 ∼ 700 nm. Inhibition occurred over a wide range of [Ca2+], and sorcin-modulated RyR remained Ca2+-dependent. Furthermore, caffeine-activated RyRs were also inhibited by sorcin at low [Ca2+] (pCa 7), suggesting that Ca2+ is not an obligatory factor for sorcin inhibition of RyR. Comparisons of these inhibitory effects with those of calmodulin and calpain, proteins structurally related to sorcin, suggested that the interaction of sorcin with cardiac RyR was distinct from and independent of either of these modulatory proteins. Phosphorylation of sorcin with the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A significantly decreased the ability of sorcin to modulate RyR. These results suggest that sorcin may modulate RyR function in a normal cell environment and that the level of modulation is in turn influenced by signaling pathways that increase protein kinase A activity.
Reevaluation of level of genic heterozygosity in natural population of Drosophila melanogaster by two-dimensional electrophoresis.

We have found the two-dimensional electrophoretic technique of O'Farrell to be highly efficient in the detection of charge-change substitutions in a large number of proteins. We have applied this method to determine the level of heterozygosity of the most abundant proteins in Drosophila melanogaster adults from a natural population. The estimate of per-locus heterozygosity obtained from approximately 54 loci screened was 4% with 6 loci polymorphic. This is much lower than overall estimates obtained by standard gel electrophoresis but is not different from estimates for "Group I" enzymes--i.e., those utilizing a narrow spectrum of substrates of intracellular origin. We consider these data to throw open the question of the level of genetic variability in nature.
Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Southern Saudi Arabia

Objectives to study the incidence of hospitalisation, causes, and outcomes of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) in southern Saudi Arabia. Design and methods prospective study of patients admitted with AUGIB to a large district hospital in Abha City, southern Saudi Arabia, between 1991 and 1993. All patients had upper endoscopy within 24 hours of admission. Results AUGIB was the indication for upper endoscopy in 240 (8.9%) of all upper gastrointestinal endoscopies (2,702). The patients' mean age was 44.3 years (SD 18.1; range 20–85 years). The annual hospital admission rate for AUGIB was calculated as 31 per 100,000 population over the age of 20. The commonest causes were oesophageal varices (30%), gastritis and erosions (25%) and duodenal ulcers (22%); gastric ulcers and malignancy were relatively uncommon. Liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis B and C viruses was the main cause of bleeding oesophageal varices. Patients with variceal bleeding were younger and had a higher mortality rate than non-variceal bleeders. Conclusions bleeding oesophageal varices are the commonest cause of AUGIB in Saudi Arabia owing to the endemicity of viral hepatitis B and C. The mortality from both variceal and non-variceal bleeding was lower than in western countries probably because the patients are younger and because of the relative rarity of malignancy and of the consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Empirical Linkages Between Democracy and Economic Growth

Using cross-sectional and pooled data for up to 125 countries over the period from 1960 to 1985, this article evaluates the two-way linkages between democracy and economic growth. The effects of income on democracy are found to be robust and positive. The effects of several measures of democracy and personal freedoms on growth are assessed in a comparative growth framework in which growth of GDP per adult depends negatively on initial income levels, as implied by the convergence hypothesis, and positively on rates of investment in physical and human capital. Adjusting for the simultaneous determination of income and democracy makes the estimated partial effect of democracy on subsequent economic growth negative but insignificant. This nonsignificant negative effect is in any case counterbalanced by the positive indirect effect that democracy exerts on growth via education and investment. The general result of the growth analysis is that it is still not possible to identify any systematic net effects of democracy on subsequent economic growth.
Firm location and earnings management: Korean evidence

Using 7245 firm-year observations from Korean listed companies over 2000–2004, we find that firms located in Seoul (the capital city of Korea) or its surrounding metropolitan area (i.e. urban areas) are more likely to manage earnings than firms located in other areas (i.e. rural areas). Discretionary accruals are larger for urban firms than rural firms after controlling for variables that affect the level of accruals. Our findings suggest that due to greater attention from large numbers of investors and other market participants, urban firms face greater pressure to manipulate earnings to satisfy market expectations. However, we fail to find evidence of an association between firm location and increased earnings management for firms audited by Big 4 auditors or firms followed by analysts, which are likely to be more closely monitored by investors and other market participants. These findings are robust in various sensitivity analyses.
Microfinance, labour markets and poverty in Africa: a study of six institutions

We examine a range of six African microfinance institutions with a view to assessing and if possible enhancing their poverty impact. The impact of microfinance loans is variable between institutions, with a tendency in particular for savings services to be taken up by people well below the poverty line, especially in South Africa and Kenya. However, many benefits to the poor from microfinance programmes, in Africa at least, are likely to come via an indirect route, via 'wider impacts' or 'spin-offs', rather than by through direct impacts on borrowers. We examine, here, three of these indirect routes: (i) Microcredit to the nonpoor can reduce poverty by sucking very poor people into the labour market as employees of microfinance clients. This mechanism is important in three of our survey countries in particular (South Africa, Uganda and Kenya); (ii) Microcredit, whether or not the proximate recipient is poor, often enhances human capital through increased expenditures on education and related improvements in health, which may then extend to poor individuals through intrahousehold and inter-generational effects. (iii) Microcredit, whether or not the proximate recipient is poor, often improves the household's risk management capacity through the enhancement of social capital, partly achieved by deliberate training and capacity-building efforts and partly through fungibility of loan proceeds into the building up of social networks. This in turn may lead to 'poverty externalities' through the extension of credit groups to include poor people, and through the stabilisation of village income, which reduces the vulnerability of the poorest to risk. In all of our case studies, many male and female beneficiaries are members of farmer groups and|or business associations; they share information on markets, prices and technology and cut costs by pooling resources for transporting goods to and from markets and by sharing storage facilities; often borrowers invest in this form of social capital, on which drawings can be made by poor people outside the borrower population, using the proceeds of their loan. We examine, in a non-rigorous way, the magnitude of these 'wider impacts', and in a concluding section examine how they may be developed and expanded by means of institutional and policy initiatives. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CEO Inside Debt and Audit Fees

We examine the impact of CEO inside debt on audit fees. Prior research finds that managerial ownership of debt (such as defined‐benefit pensions and other deferred compensation) reduces debtholders' demand for accounting conservatism. One consequence of using less conservative accounting is an increased likelihood of GAAP violation, which in turn increases audit effort and audit fees. Thus the level of CEO inside debt may be positively associated with audit fees. However, to the extent that inside debt mitigates stockholder‐debtholder conflicts, it is also possible that inside debt leads to decreased audit risk and lower audit fees. We find significant positive relations between inside debt and audit fees, suggesting that auditors consider inside debt as a factor that requires additional audit effort.
Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade? Revisited

In this study, we revisit a recent study that examined the role of GATT/WTO membership on trade flows. With this aim, we re-examine Rose (2004a)s study and extend the data until 2007. Furthermore, we alternatively estimate the role of the organization, GATT/WTO, on trade by including more control variables that are believed to influence bilateral trade such as a defense pact (military alliance), military disputes, joint democracy and policy similarity. Empirical results clearly demonstrate that GATT/WTO membership does have a significant positive effect on trade.
A randomized trial of patching regimens for treatment of moderate amblyopia in children.

OBJECTIVE To compare 2 hours vs 6 hours of daily patching as treatments for moderate amblyopia in children younger than 7 years. METHODS In a randomized multicenter (35 sites) clinical trial, 189 children younger than 7 years with amblyopia in the range of 20/40 to 20/80 were assigned to receive either 2 hours or 6 hours of daily patching combined with at least 1 hour per day of near visual activities during patching.Main Outcome Measure Visual acuity in the amblyopic eye after 4 months. RESULTS Visual acuity in the amblyopic eye improved a similar amount in both groups. The improvement in the visual acuity of the amblyopic eye from baseline to 4 months averaged 2.40 lines in each group (P =.98). The 4-month visual acuity was at least 20/32 and/or improved from baseline by 3 or more lines in 62% of patients in each group (P>.99). CONCLUSION When combined with prescribing 1 hour of near visual activities, 2 hours of daily patching produces an improvement in visual acuity that is of similar magnitude to the improvement produced by 6 hours of daily patching in treating moderate amblyopia in children aged 3 to 7 years.
Productivity, Machinery and Skills in the United States and Western Europe

In two very different industries—biscuit manufacturing and precision engineering—US leadership in labour productivity relative to Western European countries is found to depend heavily on greater opportunities for scale-economies of production. Inter-country differences in the age and sophistication of machinery contribute only very partially to relative productivity performance but the US does benefit from higher levels of physical capital per worker. In terms of human capital, American enterprises are well-served by access to a relatively large supply of technical graduates which helps to compensate for deficiencies at lower levels of vocational education and training. The comparisons suggest that the present development of a US-style mass higher education system in Britain could make a positive contribution to British productivity performance. However, the traditional ‘American model’ of production organisation based on a semi-skilled shopfloor workforce is not relevant to the current and future skill needs of most British manufacturing employers.
Diffusion of Diaspora Enfranchisement Norms

States have increasingly granted voting rights to their citizens overseas. Traditional accounts of franchise extension suggest that governments’ motivations are either political (new voters are expected to support the incumbent government) or, in the case of citizens abroad, materialist (a fortified link to migrants encourages remittance flows). Although these factors doubtless matter, they overlook the tendency for liberal norms to diffuse through the international system, as competition with and learning from neighbors motivate the adoption of relevant policies and institutions. We use large-N cross-national hazard models to examine whether a similar pattern holds for diaspora enfranchisement and find that neighbors’ recent enactment of overseas voting nearly doubles the chance that a country will enfranchise its own diaspora. This suggests a role for international norms in determining national voting policies.
The business model in the practice of strategic decision making: insights from a case study

Purpose – Traditionally, management scholars have conceptualized the business model as a locus of innovation, planning tool, heuristic logic, or market device. However, so far, little is known about how the model is being applied in practice. To address this gap, this study aims to introduce a strategy‐as‐practice perspective and to explore the implications and limitations of applying the business model as a strategizing device.Design/methodology/approach – A single‐case study design was selected to explore the implications and limitations of using the business model as a strategizing device in a high‐tech firm.Findings – The business model provides a valuable structural template for mapping the current business model of a firm. However, in developing and discussing strategic options, it acts more as a symbolic artifact stimulating a creative decision‐making process than as an analytic tool with a clear sequence of steps.Practical implications – When working with the business model concept in practice, it.
Undervaluation, private information, agency costs and the decision to go private

There is widespread anecdotal evidence that poor stock market performance is an important reason for taking a company private. The results support the perceived undervaluation hypothesis. The finding also applies to management buy-outs, which indicates that the management of these firms had private information. It is also found that firms going private had non-optimal governance structures, higher board and institutional ownership. The last finding is consistent with going private transactions providing institutions with a means of existing firms with poor market valuation, particularly during a time of very limited pressure from the market for corporate control.
C-reactive protein and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women from the Framingham Heart Study.

BACKGROUND Determination of C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been suggested to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment. This study examines the utility of CRP levels to assess CVD risk in a community setting. METHODS We performed a prospective observational cohort study on a community population sample. A total of 1949 men and 2497 women without CVD from the Framingham Heart Study underwent CVD risk factor assessment. Initial CVD events during 8 years of follow-up were recorded. RESULTS There were 283 major CVD and 160 major coronary heart disease incident events. Age-, sex-, and multivariable-adjusted analyses generally used CRP level categories of less than 1, 1 to 3, and greater than 3 mg/L. In age- and sex-adjusted models, the traditional risk factors and elevated CRP levels indicated increased risk. The age- and sex-adjusted relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of CRP level greater than 3 mg/L for major CVD was elevated (RR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.19-2.14), with evidence of attenuation (RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.90-1.66) in multivariable models. The C statistic, a measure of the discriminatory capability of the prediction models, was 0.74 for prediction of major CVD with age and CRP level. In multivariable models that included traditional risk factors, the C statistic was 0.78, a value that was unchanged with the addition of CRP to the multivariable model. Similar relations were noted for major coronary heart disease events. CONCLUSION Elevated CRP level provided no further prognostic information beyond traditional office risk factor assessment to predict future major CVD and major coronary heart disease in this population sample.
Explaining Cross-Country Productivity Differences in Retail Trade

Many macroeconomists argue that productivity is low in developing countries because of frictions that impede the adoption of modern technologies. I argue that in the retail trade sector, developing countries rationally choose technologies with low measured labor productivity. My theory is that the adoption of modern retail technologies is optimal only when household ownership of complementary durable goods, such as cars, is widespread. Because income is low in the developing world, households own few such durables. The theory implies that policies that increase measured retail productivity do not necessarily increase welfare.