Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SMEs and voluntary environmental initiatives: a study of stakeholders' perspectives in Hong Kong

The environmental performance of Hong Kong's businesses is currently perceived as rather poor. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are mostly unaware of the environmental impact of their business. Government and professional bodies have recently started to develop various initiatives to improve the SME sector's awareness of environmental and social issues, and external factors such as supply chain requirements, consumer preferences and energy prices are also exerting a growing influence. Based on extensive interviews with representatives of seven key stakeholder groups, this paper explores the effectiveness of such drivers to engage SMEs with environmental change and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It finds that most existing efforts, such as environmental support programmes and award schemes, do not have a great impact on the environmental and social performance of Hong Kong's SMEs.
Local Government and Service Users: Empowerment through User-Led Innovation?

Under the Best Value regime, the government requires local authorities to involve the public in determining the provision of services. Indeed, the Best Value legislation provides a legal basis for consulting citizens and the local community in relation to better management of local government functions. The guidance on Best Value also encourages local authorities to place performance management within a community strategy framework. These combined actions will, it is hoped, result in more innovative, effective and efficient provision. Arguably, however, the success of increased participation will be influenced by how and why the public are involved. This study draws on case study research to ask whether involving the public does result in innovative changes and to what extent those involved are empowered through the process, concluding that success for both the authority and service users is influenced by factors such as cost structures and whether the original intent includes careful consideration of how those involved might benefit from the process.
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease and other malignancies after pediatric cardiac transplantation: an evolving landscape

Purpose of reviewPost-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after pediatric solid organ transplantation (SOT). PTLD treatment outcomes have improved steadily over the past decade, in large part due to an enhanced understanding of the disease process, newer immunosuppression regimens, and implementation of evolving chemotherapeutic treatment protocols. Recent findingsNew therapies continue to be employed to treat PTLDs while maintaining normal allograft function in SOT recipients. These include use of immunosuppressant medications with antitumor activity (mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors), monoclonal antibody therapies, and the advent of cytotoxic T-cell therapy. Treatment methods to render latent Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-infected tumor cells more susceptible to antiviral agents continue to be investigated. SummaryPTLD remains a significant potential complication after SOT, particularly in pediatric patients who are more likely to be EBV-negative at the time of transplant and subsequently undergo EBV seroconversion. Risk for PTLD may be reduced by employing strategies such as EBV prophylaxis in seronegative patients, minimizing overall intensity of immunosuppression, and utilizing newer agents that have both immunosuppressive and antiproliferative properties. Treatment outcomes for PTLD have steadily improved over the past decade, related in part to the availability of monoclonal antibody therapies and refined chemotherapeutic regimens.
Trend Shocks and the Countercyclical U.S. Current Account

From 1960 to 2009, the U.S. current account balance has tended to decline during expansions and improve in recessions. We argue that shocks to the trend growth rate of productivity can help explain the countercyclical U.S. current account. Our framework is a twocountry, twogood business cycle model in which international asset trade is limited to a single, noncontingent bond. We identify trend and transitory shocks to U.S. productivity using generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation. The specification that best matches the data assigns a large role to trend shocks. The estimated model also captures key facts regarding international comovement.
Pyruvate protection against β‐amyloid‐induced neuronal death: Role of mitochondrial redox state

The mechanism by which β‐amyloid protein (Aβ) causes degeneration in cultured neurons is not completely understood, but several lines of evidence suggest that Aβ‐mediated neuronal death is associated with an enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative damage. In the present study, we address whether supplementation of glucose‐containing culture media with energy substrates, pyruvate plus malate (P/M), protects rat primary neurons from Aβ‐induced degeneration and death. We found that P/M addition attenuated cell death evoked by β‐amyloid peptides (Aβ25–35 and Aβ1–40) after 24 hr treatment and that this effect was blocked by α‐ciano‐3‐hydroxycinnamate (CIN), suggesting that it requires mitochondrial pyruvate uptake. P/M supply to control and Aβ‐treated neuronal cultures increases cellular reducing power, as indicated by the ability to reduce the dye 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). The early increases in ROS levels, measured by dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence, and caspase‐3 activity that follow exposure to Aβ were notably reduced in the presence of P/M. These results place activation of caspase‐3 most likely downstream of oxidative damage to the mitochondria and indicate that mitochondrial NAD(P) redox status plays a central role in the neuroprotective effect of pyruvate. Inhibition of respiratory chain complexes and mitochondrial uncoupling did not block the early increase in ROS levels, suggesting that Aβ could initiate oxidative stress by activating a source of ROS that is not accesible to the antioxidant defenses fueled by mitochondrial substrates. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The attractiveness of Portugal as a tourist destination, by mature domestic travellers

This paper aims to ascertain the attractiveness of a tourist destination for mature domestic travellers, analyse the relation between this attractiveness and their socio-demographic characteristics and identify groups in line with the perceived attractiveness. A theoretical framework is proposed based on an attractiveness-based theory perspective which integrates attributes and products of attraction as relevant external forces which attract tourists to a destination. The results show that there are six different groups, five of which have a positive view of the destination's attractiveness, and one group with a negative view. Furthermore, a direct relation was found between the attractiveness of the tourist destination and some of the socio-demographic characteristics of the surveyed subjects.
Communities of Creation: Managing Distributed Innovation in Turbulent Markets

A new model for managing distributed innovation, the community of creation is a governance mechanism for managing innovation that lies between the hierarchybased (closed) mechanism and the market-based (open) mechanism for innovation management. The community-centric model shifts the locus of innovation beyond the boundaries of the firm, to a community of individuals and firms that collaborate to create joint intellectual property. A community of creation requires an identified sponsor, a set of ground rules for participation, and a system for managing intellectual property rights. The community of creation model allows innovation to proceed in a complex environment by striking a balance between order and chaos. This article presents detailed case studies from the computer industry to highlight the differences among the different approaches to innovation management. It also discusses the opportunities and the unresolved issues of the community of creation model for practitioners as well as for academics.
Industrial Organization in the European Union: Structure, Strategy, and the Competitive Mechanism

This book fills an important gap in our knowledge of the organization of EU manufacturing industry. At the empirical level, it draws on a newly constructed micro-level database (the European market share matrix) to present the first ever comprehensive picture of the concentration, integration, multinationality, and diversification of EU industry and firms. However, its purpose is not primarily descriptive. At the theoretical level, it develops a new way of integrating the insights of international trade, industrial organization, international business, and corporate strategy. A central thesis is that by understanding the reasons for the industrial structure we observe, much can be understood about the underlying competitive process that generated this structure in the context of current European integration. In this, R&D, advertising, and government intervention each play important and pervasive roles. The insights from an econometric analysis of the various dimensions of industrial structure are applied to address policy-relevant questions such as: is the industrial organization of the member states integrated at the EU level? Are diversification and multinationality random, or do they follow an industrial logic? Which industries and firms pose the most serious potential problems for competition policy? How do the largest EU firms achieve their size? Do certain member states dominate the ownership or location of production?
Twenty-two years of Japanese institutional forecasts

This paper evaluates accuracy and rationality of real GDP forecasts made by 38 Japanese private institutions over the past 22 years. It finds that about 80% of current-year forecasts and year-ahead forecasts made by them pass various tests for rationality. Moreover, the encompassing test reveals the following results: (a) All of these forecasts outperform the naïve forecasts; (b) About half of their current-year forecasts are inferior to the corresponding forecast of VAR, VECM, or the Japanese government; (c) Almost all of their year-ahead forecasts are significantly superior to the corresponding forecast of VAR or the Japanese government, but one-third of them are significantly inferior to VECM forecast; (d) The consensus forecast outperforms typical institution's forecast.
Financial Instrument Fair Values and Nonfinancial Firms

This study examines whether financial instrument fair values help explain the cross-sectional variation in nonfinancial firms' equity values. Regressions of equity values on recognized financial statement components and SFAS No. 107 fair value disclosures are estimated for a random sample of 1992 through 1995 nonfinancial firms. Full sample results indicate that for 1993 and 1995 liability fair values are associated with equity values, years in which fair and book value differences are substantial and in average loss positions. Further analysis reveals that in each year explanatory power is consistently lower for industries whose returns exhibit low covariation with observed interest rate changes. This latter finding is consistent with concerns that the value-relevance of nonfinancial firms' SFAS No. 107 financial instrument fair values is limited in the absence of consideration of nonfinancial instrument fair values.
The Determinants of Labor Absence: Economic Factors and Workgroup Norms across Countries

The authors analyze causes of absence from work using data from a survey distributed in 1988 to workers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The results indicate that workgroup cohesion (the degree to which employees work together closely and harmoniously) was associated with low levels of absence if job satisfaction was high, but with high levels of absence if job satisfaction was low. Some employee characteristics associated with lower rates of absence were male gender, short tenure, part-time status, and high wages; shiftwork, sick leave entitlements, and low unemployment rates were associated with higher rates of absence. The authors also find that the determinants of whether a worker was absent at least once in a given year are distinct from the determinants of the frequency and duration of absences among those workers who were absent at least once.
Prediction of cortical responses to simultaneous electrical stimulation of the retina

Objective. Simultaneous electrical stimulation of multiple electrodes has shown promise in diversifying the responses that can be elicited by retinal prostheses compared to interleaved single electrode stimulation. However, the effects of interactions between electrodes are not well understood and clinical trials with simultaneous stimulation have produced inconsistent results. We investigated the effects of multiple electrode stimulation of the retina by developing a model of cortical responses to retinal stimulation. Approach. Electrical stimuli consisting of temporally sparse, biphasic current pulses, with amplitudes sampled from a bi-dimensional Gaussian distribution, were simultaneously delivered to the retina across a 42-channel electrode array implanted in the suprachoroidal space of anesthetized cats. Visual cortex activity was recorded using penetrating microelectrode arrays. These data were used to identify a linear–nonlinear model of cortical responses to retinal stimulation. The ability of the model to generalize was tested by predicting responses to non-white patterned stimuli. Main results. The model accurately predicted two cortical activity measures: multi-unit neural responses and evoked potential responses to white noise stimuli. The model also provides information about electrical receptive fields, including the relative effects of each stimulating electrode on every recording site. Significance. We have demonstrated a simple model that accurately describes cortical responses to simultaneous stimulation of a suprachoroidal retinal prosthesis. Overall, our results demonstrate that cortical responses to simultaneous multi-electrode stimulation of the retina are repeatable and predictable, and that interactions between electrodes during simultaneous stimulation are predominantly linear. The model shows promise for determining optimal stimulation paradigms for exploiting interactions between electrodes to shape neural activity, thereby improving outcomes for patients with retinal prostheses.
Secondary corpora lutea induced by HCG treatment enhanced demi-embryo survival in lactating high-yielding dairy cows.

Using a novel in vivo model considering a low developmental competence embryo (demi-embryo) and a subnormal fertility recipient (lactating high-yielding dairy cow), this experiment evaluated the effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) treatment at embryo transfer (ET) on embryonic size at implantation, embryonic survival and recipient plasma progesterone (P4 ) and bovine pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB) concentrations until day 63 of pregnancy. Embryos were bisected and each pair of demi-embryos was bilaterally transferred to recipients (n = 61) on day 7 of the oestrous cycle. At ET recipients were randomly assigned to treatment with 1500 IU hCG or to untreated controls. Higher (p < 0.01) pregnancy rates on days 25, 42 and 63, and embryo survival rate on day 63 were observed in hCG-treated cows with secondary CL than in hCG-treated cows without secondary CL and in untreated cows. Pregnancy rates and embryo survival rate were similar in hCG-treated cows without secondary CL and untreated cows. Embryonic size on day 42 was not affected by treatment with hCG, presence of secondary CL and type of pregnancy (single vs twin). Presence of secondary CL increased (p < 0.05) plasma P4 concentrations of pregnant cows on days 14, 19 and 25 but not thereafter and of non-pregnant cows on days 14-21. Treatment with hCG and presence of secondary CL had no effect on plasma PSPB concentrations, which were higher (p < 0.05) in twin than in single pregnancies. In conclusion, secondary CL induced by hCG treatment at ET significantly increased plasma P4 concentrations, the survival rate of demi-embryos and the pregnancy rate of high-yielding lactating dairy cows. Embryos were rescued beyond maternal recognition of pregnancy, but later embryonic survival, growth until implantation and placental PSPB secretion until day 63 of pregnancy were not affected by treatment or presence of secondary CL.
‘Moments of disruption’ and the development of expatriate TESOL teachers

TESOL teachers, like mainstream teachers, often experience key incidents in their professional development. In expatriate TESOL however, unfamiliar cultural and linguistic contexts may disrupt teachers’ sense of both professional and personal identity. In this paper, narratives constructed from interviews of teacher experiences document a selection of critical events and discuss their implications for professional development in TESOL. Teachers reported that deep reflection on their experiences led to a re-conceptualisation of their professional and cultural identities. The analysis of their reflections may have significant implications for TESOL work in the context of the global and the local.
Mutagenesis and Modeling of the Neurotensin Receptor NTR1

The two neurotensin receptor subtypes known to date, NTR1 and NTR2, belong to the family of G-protein-coupled receptors with seven putative transmembrane domains (TM). SR 48692, a nonpeptide neurotensin antagonist, is selective for the NTR1. In the present study we attempted, through mutagenesis and computer-assisted modeling, to identify residues in the rat NTR1 that are involved in antagonist binding and to provide a tentative molecular model of the SR 48692 binding site. The seven putative TMs of the NTR1 were defined by sequence comparison and alignment of bovine rhodopsin and G-protein-coupled receptors. Thirty-five amino acid residues within or flanking the TMs were mutated to alanine. Additional mutations were performed for basic residues. The wild type and mutant receptors were expressed in COS M6 cells and tested for their ability to bind125I-NT and [3H]SR 48692. A tridimensional model of the SR 48692 binding site was constructed using frog rhodopsin as a template. SR 48692 was docked into the receptor, taking into account the mutagenesis data for orienting the antagonist. The model shows that the antagonist binding pocket lies near the extracellular side of the transmembrane helices within the first two helical turns. The data identify one residue in TM 4, three in TM 6, and four in TM 7 that are involved in SR 48692 binding. Two of these residues, Arg327 in TM 6 and Tyr351 in TM 7, play a key role in antagonist/receptor interactions. The former appears to form an ionic link with the carboxylic group of SR 48692, as further supported by structure-activity studies using SR 48692 analogs. The data also show that the agonist and antagonist binding sites in the rNTR1 are different and help formulate hypotheses as to the structural basis for the selectivity of SR 48692 toward the NTR1 and NTR2.
Network simplification preserving bandwidth and routing capabilities

We introduce structural transformations that allow simplifying a given network while preserving its original “bandwidth” and “routing” capabilities, transparently to specific allocations. We minimize a certain objective such as the aggregate capacity of network links, number of nodes, or number of links, in such a way that all the bandwidth that could be routed in the original network can also be routed in the reduced one. This improves cost-efficiency for both inter- and intra-datacenter connections and simplifies network management. We also identify a fundamental tradeoff between extra added capacity and simplicity of representation for a given network. Our analytic results are supported by extensive simulation results on hundreds of real network topologies. One result is that by adding 10–30% extra capacity to evaluated real-world networks one can simplify them down to a star topology with a single switch, while all routing and bandwidth allocation decisions on the simplified topology can be mapped back to the original network. This is an important step towards simplifying network management via a reduced virtualized network infrastructure.
Traffic scheduling and power allocations for mobile data offloading via dual-connectivity

In this paper, we investigate how the mobile users (MUs) can effectively offload traffic by taking advantage of the capability of dual-connectivity, which enables an MU to simultaneously communicate with a macro base station (BS) and a small-cell access point (AP) via two radio-interfaces. We formulate an optimization problem that jointly determines each MU's traffic schedule (between the BS and AP) and power allocations (between two radio-interfaces), with the objective to minimize all MUs' total cost. We first propose an effective scheme to characterize the feasibility of the joint optimization problem. Then, by exploiting the layered structure, we propose an efficient layered scheme to solve it. Numerical results are provided to validate the proposed schemes and show the performance gain via properly offloading MUs' traffic via dual-connectivity.
Reduction, Stasis, and Expansion of Budgets in Advanced Democracies

This article investigates changes within national budget by examining actors’ behavioral predilections and the institutional constraints under which they operate. The article presents three theoretical propositions about the influence of attention and institutions on all magnitudes of programmatic budget changes ranging from large cuts to massive expansions. Using quantile regression, the author is able to uncover which distinct processes bear on cuts, stasis, and expansion across spending categories within a budget. An examination of budgetary data from Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States from 1964 to 1999 leads to the conclusion that attention shifts lead to contractions and expansions of budgetary items, whereas preference-based explanations have marginal support. In addition, institutional costs involved in budgetary politics amplify budgetary shifts. The author closes the article by discussing the implications of the findings for partisan theories of government and institutional theories.
A Cat Bond Premium Puzzle?

Catastrophe bonds, the payouts of which are tied to the occurrence of natural disasters, offer insurers and corporate entities the ability to hedge events that could otherwise impair their operations to the point of insolvency. At the same time, cat bonds offer investors a unique opportunity to enhance their portfolios with an asset that provides a high-yielding return that is uncorrelated with the market. Despite the attractive nature of these investments, spreads in this market remain considerably higher than the spreads for comparable speculative-grade debt. This article uses behavioral economics to explain the reluctance of investment managers to invest in these products. Finally, we use simulations to illustrate the attractiveness of cat bonds under a wide range of outcomes, including the possible effects of model uncertainty on investor appetite for these securities.