Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An examination of voluntary financial instruments disclosures in excess of mandatory requirements by UK FTSE 100 non‐financial firms

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address “the existing literature gap on the information content of derivatives reporting”. Prior work finds failings in compliance with mandatory reporting requirements in respect of financial instruments and derivative financial instruments. Instead of identifying weaknesses in compliance the paper identifies where firms over-comply or in other words, where firms voluntarily disclose Design/methodology/approach - The paper reviews the financial instruments disclosures of the FTSE 100 non-financial IFRS 7 compliant firms. Based on these results, on a case-by-case basis the authors address potential causes and rationale for this extra disclosure. Findings - Prior research suggests that it is counter intuitive to argue that firms will provide voluntary disclosure in a mandatory reporting environment because information of this sort tends to be proprietary and competition sensitive, not to mention costly to prepare. However, it is found that firms have voluntarily published information in excess of the requirements and the authors suggest that this extra detail is most commonly associated with a legitimation strategy. Originality/value - In spite of the importance of derivatives usage and management in addition to the increased and often complex reporting requirements, the authors are not aware of any previous study of this type.
Promising Practices in Preservice Teacher Preparation: The Ball State University Urban Semester

/ ostering preservice teachers' multicultural development is critically germane to teacher education programs. While populations of ethnic minorities are growing rapidly in the United States, diversity among preservice educators remains minimal. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2003), while ethnic minorities made up 39 percent of elementary and secondary students, only 15 percent of preservice educators who graduated in the 1999-2000 school year represented a minority group. With increasing societal diversity, it is paramount that educators are prepared to embrace multiculturalism and construct just and equitable learning environments. Alarmingly, research suggests that European American preservice teachers in the latter half of the 20th century evidenced more negative attitudes toward American subcultures than had been found in the past 60 years (Law & Lane, 1987). A body of research confirms that many European American preservice teachers hold significantly different expectations for racially and economically diverse students than for majority group students (Baron, Tom, & Cooper, 1985; Dusek & Joseph, 1985; Marguerite & Mark, 2000). Such belief systems are the foundations upon which teachers build their pedagogy and base their interactions with students. Compelling research over the last 35 years on the effects of such attitudes on student achievement (Baron, Tom, & Cooper, 1985; Brophy & Good, 1970; Crano & Mellon, 1978; Dusek & Joseph, 1985; Gollub & Sloan, 1978; Rist, 1970; Rosenthal, 1976; Rosenthal &Jacobson, 1968; Schrank, 1968; Sutherland & Goldschmid, 1974) necessitates change in the systems that prepare our future educators. According to Clifton (1982), "If teachers set expectations which are based upon the ethnic background of students rather than upon the students' intellectual ability, academic performance, and educational plans, then equality of educational opportunity may be threatened (p. 32). Examining teacher education pedagogy is paramount if the worth, potential, and subsequent achievement of all students are to be realized. Research supports the premise that a majority of preservice teachers in the United States hold stereotypical views of urban education environments (Aaronsohn, Carter, & Howell, 1995; Astin, 1989; Gomez, 1996; Law & Lane, 1987; Moultry, 1988). Student expectations of inner-city schools are generally negative (Aaronsohn et al., 1995), and 82 percent of preservice teachers surveyed nationally expressed a desire to work in "majority settings" (Zimpher, 1989). Urban Semester
Prenatal development of GABA‐ergic neurons in the neocortex of the rat

The present study shows that in the prenatal rat neocortex the GABA immunoreactive neurons are not limited to the marginal, subplate, and intermediate zones, but are also found in all fetal zones of the cerebral anlage. The first GABA‐ergic cells are observed on embryonic day 14 in the plexiform primordium. On embryonic day 15, a second population of GABA‐ergic cells is observed in the intermediate zone. Beginning on day 16 of gestation and continuing throughout gestation, GABA‐ergic neurons are observed in the marginal zone, the subplate zone, the cortical plate, and the ventricular and subventricular zones. Furthermore, while the number of GABA‐ergic cells in the cortical plate increases, GABA‐ergic neurons in the intermediate zone and subventricular zone decrease in number after embryonic day 19.
The HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir down-regulates RET signaling and induces apoptosis in medullary thyroid cancer cells.

CONTEXT Mutations of RET tyrosine kinase are associated with the development of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The heat shock protein (HSP) 90 chaperone is required for folding and stability of RET mutants. HSP90 is a molecular target for the HIV protease inhibitor nelfinavir (NFV). OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that treatment with NFV may lead to the inhibition of RET signaling and induction of apoptosis in MTC cells. DESIGN Two human MTC cell lines, TT and MZ-CRC-1, which harbor endogenous C634W or M918T RET mutations, respectively, were exposed to clinically achievable concentrations of NFV. JC-1 staining and caspase-3 cleavage assays were performed to measure mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis. Activation of RET signaling was examined by Western blot. Autophagy was monitored by the detection of the light-chain 3BII. Expression of HSP90 and LC3B were examined in 36 human MTCs. RESULTS At a therapeutic serum concentration (10 μM), NFV inhibited the viability of TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells by 55% and 10%, respectively. In a dose-dependent manner, NFV inhibited cyclin D1 and caused caspase-3 cleavage. NFV decreased the level of RET protein and blocked the activation of RET downstream targets (phosphorylated ERK, phosphorylated AKT, and p70S6K/pS6). NFV induced metabolic stress, activated AMP-activated protein kinase and increased autophagic flux. Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy (chloroquine) augmented NFV-inducible cytotoxicity, suggesting that autophagy was protective in NFV-treated cells. NFV led to mitochondrial membrane depolarization and induced both oxidative stress and DNA damage. An antioxidant (n-acetylcysteine) attenuated DNA damage and prevented NFV-inducible apoptosis. HSP90 overexpression was found in 17 of 36 human MTCs and correlated with metastases and RET mutations. LC3B was detected in 20 of 36 human MTCs. CONCLUSIONS NFV has a wide spectrum of activity against MTC cells, and its cytotoxicity can be augmented by inhibiting autophagy. Expression of NFV molecular targets in metastatic MTC suggests that NFV has a potential to become a thyroid cancer therapeutic agent.
Single-Incision Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Review and a Critical Appraisal.

BACKGROUND Single-incision laparoscopic surgery has attracted a great deal of interest in the surgical community in recent years, including bariatric surgery. Single-incision laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SILSG) has been proposed as an alternative to the multiport laparoscopic procedure; however, it has yet to meet wide acceptance and application. OBJECTIVE We aim to summarize existing data on SILSG and check the procedure's feasibility, technical details, safety, and, if possible, outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS We checked the most important databases for studies concerning SILSG and included all these that summarized the criteria placed and contained the data needed for this review. We excluded case reports. RESULTS Nineteen studies complied with the criteria of our review, containing a total of 1679 patients. Their mean age has been 38.91 years and the mean preoperative body mass index has been 41.8 kg/m2. In majority of cases (60.5%), a left upper quadrant incision has been preferred and in 97.6%, a commercially available multiport system has been picked. A wide variety of instruments have been used and mean operating time has been 94.6 minutes. One conversion to open surgery has been reported and 7.4% required the placement of additional ports. There was a complication rate of 7.38% (most common being bleeding with a rate of 2.5%) and a reoperation rate of 2.8%. Mean excess weight loss for a follow-up of 1 year was achieved in 53.7% of patients and was 70.06%. A tendency for less analgesia and better wound satisfaction has been reported. CONCLUSIONS SILSG is safe and feasible. However, there is insufficient evidence to recommend it as the new gold standard for sleeve gastrectomy in the place of conventional laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Randomized controlled trials are needed to analyze the results and the possible benefits of this technique.
Ex Ante Cost of Equity Estimates of S&P 500 Firms: The Choice between Global and Domestic CAPM

We estimate ex ante expected returns for a sample of S&P 500 firms over the period 1983-1998. The ex ante estimates show a better overall fit with the domestic version of the single-factor CAPM than with the global version, but the difference is small. This finding has no trend in time and is consistent across groups formed on the basis of relative foreign sales. The findings suggest that for estimating the cost of equity, the choice between the domestic and global CAPM may not be a material issue for many large US firms.
Psychological risk factors for cardiac events: could there be just one?

There is abundant evidence that depression, anxiety, and anger increase the risk for cardiac events in patients with coronary heart disease. Denollet and Brutsaert1 are to be commended for contributing a generally well-conducted study of psychological predictors of cardiac end points to this rapidly growing literature. They have found that the combination of “negative affectivity” and social inhibition predicts cardiac events independently of established medical risk factors. Prospective studies such as theirs, in which potential confounders are adequately measured and cardiac end points carefully documented, are needed to substantiate the effects of psychological factors on medical outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Unfortunately, the authors may have gone beyond their data in asserting that they have identified a personality trait that both predicts cardiac events and explains why such disparate mood states as depression, anxiety, and anger predict cardiac events as well. It is not at all clear that they have substantiated this claim or that it is time to abandon research on depression, anxiety, and anger in favor of this personality trait. Absent from the authors’ discussion is any reference to an established theory of personality. It is by no means universally accepted among personality theorists that a single trait accounts for every negative mood state (cf Cloninger et al2 ) or that the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition defines a persistent “distressed personality type. ” In this light, it makes more sense to conclude simply that patients with coronary heart disease who are both emotionally distressed and socially inhibited …
Limited Attention, Marital Events, and Hedge Funds

We explore the impact of limited attention by analyzing the performance of hedge fund managers who are distracted by marital events. We find that marriages and divorces are associated with significantly lower fund alpha, during the six-month period surrounding and the two-year period after the event. Busy managers who manage multiple funds and who are not part of a team are more affected by marital transitions. Inattentive managers place fewer active bets relative to their style peers, load more on index stocks, exhibit higher R-squareds with respect to systematic factors, and are more prone to the disposition effect.
Identifying with fun and family in the time of changes and downsize

Title: Identifying with fun and family in the time of changes and downsize. Seminar date: June 1st, 2009 Course: Masters thesis in Business Administration Programme for Managing People, Knowledge and Change, 15 University Credit Points (15 ECTS). Author: Ellert Orn Erlingsson and Elvar Olafsson Advisor: Sara Louise Muhr Key words: Cultural family metaphor, Resistance, Cynicism, Organizational identity, Purpose: To explore identification within a small office where employees emphasize family ideology and whether they use cynicism to cope with other organizational changes made in the financial crises. Methodology: We have studies our empirical material by using reflective pragmatic approaches such as hermeneutics and critical theory. Theoretical perspectives: This study main structure derives from the use of three main topics; the cultural family metaphor, organizational identity and the use of cynicism in resistance. Empirical foundation: Empirical data was gathered through qualitative open-ended interviews of employees from a small freight office in Sweden. The employees was interviewed one at a time by the two researchers, who followed list of topics that where to be covered in the interviews. Conclusions: Employees at Shipper use the family metaphor to tighten them together in several ways in this hard times and they all identify them self as proud employees due to the good family environment within the office. But due to the fluid and unstable concept of the organizational identity it may be necessary to try to focus the identity construction of the employees to reflect on what they do. We have identified examples where the employees use cynicism to protect and/or justify themselves in situations where they are powerless.
Macroeconomic co-ordination as an economic policy concept : opportunities and obstacles in the EMU

This paper traces the euro zone’s inadequate macroeconomic performance in recent years back to the predominance of a restrictive macroeconomic policy mix based on a ‘new monetarist’ approach to economic policy. An approach based on a (post-)Keynesian analysis is presented as a growth and employment-oriented alternative to this restrictive policy mix. Contrary to the strict assignment of macroeconomic goals to the macroeconomic policy actors and their instruments in the ‘new monetarist’ approach, the alternative requires the co-ordination of monetary, fiscal and wage policies in order to achieve growth, high employment and price stability. The paper examines the opportunities for and the obstacles to macroeconomic co-ordination given by the institutional framework of the European Monetary Union.
CD44 increases the efficiency of distant metastasis of breast cancer

Metastasis is the predominant cause of death from cancer yet we have few biomarkers to predict patients at increased risk of metastasis and are unable to effectively treat disseminated disease. Analysis of 448 primary breast tumors determined that expression of the hylauronan receptor CD44 associated with high grade (p = 0.046), ER- (p = 0.001) and PR-negative tumors (p = 0.029), and correlated with increased distant recurrence and reduced disease-free survival in patients with lymph-node positive or large tumors. To determine its functional role in distant metastasis, CD44 was knocked-down in MDA-MB-231 cells using two independent shRNA sequences. Loss of CD44 attenuated tumor cell adhesion to endothelial cells and reduced cell invasion but did not affect proliferation in vitro. To verify the importance of CD44 to post-intravasation events, tumor formation was assessed by quantitative in vivo imaging and post-mortem tissue analysis following an intra-cardiac injection of transfected cells. CD44 knock-down increased survival and decreased overall tumor burden at multiple sites, including the skeleton in vivo. We conclude that elevated CD44 expression on tumour cells within the systemic circulation increases the efficiency of post-intravasation events and distant metastasis in vivo, consistent with its association with increased distant recurrence and reduced disease-free survival in patients.
Cities and Sustainability

Polycentric theory, as applied to sustainability policy adoption, contends that municipalities will act independently to provide public services that protect the environment. Our multilevel regression analysis of survey responses from 1,497 municipalities across the United States challenges that notion. We find that internal drivers of municipal action are insufficient. Lower policy adoption is explained by capacity constraints. More policy making occurs in states with a multilevel governance framework supportive of local sustainability action. Contrary to Fischel’s homevoter hypothesis, we find large cities and rural areas show higher levels of adoption than suburbs (possibly due to free riding within a metropolitan region).
Tax Evasion, Concealment and the Optimal Linear Income Tax

This paper incorporates tax evasion into the analysis of optimal linear income taxation. Tax evaders can influence the probability of being caught, if audited, through expenditures on concealment. It is proved that tax evasion can make a given tax system more as well as less progressive depending on the 'concealment technology. ' The paper derives and interprets simple formulas for characterizing the optimal tax rate and audit probability. It also gives sufficient conditions under which tax evasion lowers the optimal tax rate, while showing that an increase in the optimal tax rate is also possible. Copyright 1994 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Role of parkin mutations in 111 community‐based patients with early‐onset parkinsonism

Early‐onset parkinsonism is frequently reported in connection with mutations in the parkin gene. In this study, we present the results of extensive genetic screening for parkin mutations in 111 community‐derived early‐onset parkinsonism patients (age of onset <50 years) from Germany with an overall mutation rate of 9.0%. Gene dosage alterations represented 67% of the mutations found, underlining the importance of quantitative analyses of parkin. In summary, parkin mutations accounted for a low but significant percentage of early‐onset parkinsonism patients in a community‐derived sample.
Studies of the Diabetogenic Action of Streptozotocin.∗

Summary Streptozotocin is a highly effective cytotoxic agent for pancreatic B-cells. After intravenous administration of 65 mg streptozotocin per kg, damage to B-cells is apparent as early as one hour after intravenous administration of the drug. Frank necrosis associated with phagocytosis is best seen after 7 hours, when pancreatic insulin release and hypoglycemia are also noted. By 24 hours, pancreatic insulin content is reduced to 5% of normal or less. While the B-cytotoxic effects of streptozotocin resemble those of alloxan, their specificity is very much greater, as demonstrated by the wide margin between diabetogenic dose and general toxicity.
Comparison of Intramuscular Dexmedetomidine and Midazolam Premedication for Elective Abdominal Hysterectomy

The purpose of this study was to compare the periop-erative effects of the intramuscular (IM) α2 agonist, dexmedetomidine (DEX), and midazolam (MID) premedication. The study comprised 192 women (64 per group) scheduled for abdominal hysterectomy. The doses of the study drugs were chosen to obtain equal sedative effects. The three groups were: 1) IM DEX (2.5 μ/kg) and intravenous (IV) placebo (DexPla group), 2) IM DEX and IV fentanyl (FENT) (1.5 μg/kg) (DexFent group), and 3) IM MID (0.08 mg/kg) and IV FENT (MidFent group). IM drugs were administered 45–90 min before induction of anesthesia. Preoperative sedation and anxiolysis after DEX was comparable to that after MID. The maximum arterial blood pressure response to endotracheal intubation was blunted in the DexFent group, while in the two other groups blood pressure increased 30–34 mm Hg after endotracheal intubation. The mean isoflurane concentration during surgery was 0.14% in the DexFent group, 0.24% in the DexPla group, and 0.34% in the MidFent group (P < 0.001). During surgery, bradycardia (heart rate < 40 bpm) was observed in 6.2% of DEX patients, and no MID patients, whereas postoperatively 14.1% of DEX patients and 1.6% of MID patients had bradycardia. Fewer patients suffered from postoperative shivering after DEX (10%) than after MID (52%). We conclude that DEX has many desirable effects, but side effects such as bradycardia may limit its routine use in ASA physical status 111 patients.
Towards an international expert consensus for defining treatment response, remission, recovery and relapse in obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Marked inconsistencies exist in how treatment response, remission, recovery and relapse are defined in clinical trials for obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). This impairs the comparability of results and communication in the field. Empirical methods (e.g., signal detection analyses) have been used to calculate the optimal amount of symptom improvement to classify an individual as a “responder” or “remitter”, both in adults1, 2, 3, 4 and children5 with OCD. Unfortunately, this has led to different recommendations.
Survival of Childhood Cancer Patients in Italy, 1978–1989

In the framework of the ITACARE project, a cooperative investigation conducted on the data from the Italian population-based cancer registries, survival of patients with childhood malignant neoplasms was studied. The study included 1,768 cases diagnosed at age 0–14 plus 29 osteosarcoma cases diagnosed at age 15–19. Cases were collected over the period 1978–1989, or more limited periods for some participating registries. A total of 1,138 cases were from the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont and 659 from the registries operating in the provinces of Varese, Parma, Modena, Forlì and Ravenna, Florence, Latina, Ragusa and in the cities of Genova and Torino (the last contributed only for bone neoplasm diagnosed at age 15–19). Overall 5-year survival was 54% for malignancies diagnosed in 1978–1981, 60% for the period 1982–1985, and 69% for the period 1986–1989. The range among registries of 5-year survival for cases diagnosed in 1986–1989 was 55–78%. Most diagnostic categories presented an improved prognosis for the cases diagnosed more recently. For cases diagnosed in 1986–1989, 5-year survival was: 74% for acute lymphatic leukaemia, 40% for acute non-lymphatic leukaemia, 65% for central nervous system neoplasms (76% for astrocytoma, 75% for ependymoma and 85% for medulloblastoma), 66% for osteosarcoma, 55% for Ewing's sarcoma, 87% for Hodgkin's disease, 64% for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 74% for rhabdomyosarcoma, 64% for neuroblastoma, 78% for nephroblastoma and 100% for retinoblastoma. Italian survival was similar to that observed in other population-based surveys in the UK and USA.
B2C Barriers and Strategies: A Case Study of Top B2C Companies in China

ABSTRACT Researchers have raised several concerns about developing Internet-based business-to-consumer (B2C) applications for developing markets such as China. Although both the economy and the Internet population have grown rapidly in China, the potential of the online market there has been questioned because of three important barriers–consumers' preference for face-to-face transactions, the lack of an efficient transportation infrastructure, and an underdeveloped credit payment system. Nonetheless, the Internet B2C sector has seen much growth in China and several companies have successfully incorporated the Internet into their business. This paper examines the strategies that leading Chinese Internet firms adopted to overcome these three barriers. Besides providing insights into e-commerce development in China, the results are useful for western firms attempting to market to consumers in China and other developing countries.