Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retail Stocks, Retail REITs, and Retail Real Estate

This study examines the relationship between retail REITs, retail stocks, and retail real estate during the period 1983 through 1991. Evidence of a positive contemporaneous relationship between retail stocks and retail REITs, even after controlling for the market return, is found. However, no positive evidence is found for a relationship between retail real estate and either retail REITs or retail stocks. Some evidence of a negative relationship between office and R&D office real estate and lagged retail REIT and lagged retail stock returns is found, although these results are very weak. The evidence for contemporaneous relationship between retail REITs and retail stocks suggests the presence of some shared fundamental factor (or factors) in addition to the market return. The presence of this factor(s) may be partly accounted for by overage rents. However, the lack of a relationship between retail real estate and either retail REITs or retail stocks places the significance of such factors in some doubt.
Dirty surplus accounting flows: international evidence

Abstract It has been suggested that dirty surplus accounting (violation of the clean surplus relationship (CSR)) may result in mismeasurement of performance and value, and that cross-country variation in dirty surplus accounting may cause particular problems for international comparisons. Using articulated data that are largely hand-collected, we evaluate the potential impact of dirty surplus accounting in France, Germany, the UK and the US for the period 1993-2001. First, we report summary statistics on dirty surplus accounting flows. These indicate that distributions of dirty surplus flows are often not centred on zero, and that there is significant cross-country variation in such flows. Then, we use a measure of multi-period abnormal performance to document the bias and inaccuracy, and cross-country variation therein, that would have arisen from omitting dirty surplus flows in measuring performance. Where significant bias and cross-country variation therein arise, they are largely caused by omission of goodwill-related flows, which regulators are eliminating as a dirty surplus item. In contrast, all classes of dirty surplus flow contribute to significant cross-country variation in inaccuracy. Finally, we address the issue of dirty surplus flows from the valuation perspective. We use the residual income valuation model, which relies partly on CSR, to test whether perfect-foresight forecasts of dirty surplus accounting flows explain beginning-of-interval market-to-book ratios after controlling for other inputs to the valuation model. We find little evidence to suggest that omission of dirty surplus flows from residual income value estimates would have caused systematic valuation errors in the period and countries examined.
Thermal Effects of High-Frequency Voltage on Medium Voltage Cable Terminations

Field experiences have shown that transmission systems using voltage sourced converters (VSCs) with IGBT's can produce high frequency harmonic resonances in the VSC station environment. Modern cable terminations using non-geometric stress grading can be susceptible to degradation under these harmonics. In this study a setup was designed to test cable terminations under conditions representative of high frequency harmonic resonance in the field. Six different designs were experimentally analyzed for temperature increase under power frequency, high frequency, and combined voltage conditions. Further, analysis was carried out by circulating current, to test the additional effect of heating from load current. Results show a wide variation in local temperature gradients among termination designs. These differences can be attributed to variations in termination stress grading methods.
Future HRM challenges for multinational firms in Eastern and Central Europe

This article identifies and evaluates human resource challenges for multinational companies in transitional economies in Central and Eastern European countries. The nature of transitional economies and HRM in post-socialist societies presents a range of issues. These pertain to the lingering effects of the previous institutional environment and state-directed political economies that retain influence on the type of HRM practices adopted. Challenges of talent attraction and retention, remuneration systems, diversity and cross-cultural management are considered.
The Art of the Possible: Power Sharing and Post–Civil War Democracy

This article focuses on the role that power-sharing arrangements play in making it possible for some countries to make the transition to democracy successfully after civil war. The authors hypothesize that the adoption of multiple forms of power sharing, measures constructed to end particularly difficult civil wars, facilitate the emergence of a minimalist form of democracy following some intrastate conflicts by helping to assuage warring groups’ security concerns. The authors use a bivariate probit model to account for the possibility that the decisions by wartime rivals to engage in power sharing and whether to adopt democracy or not are interrelated. Employing panel data for all civils wars concluded between 1945 and the end of 2006, they find support for their hypothesis.
Continuous improvement, quality control, and cost containment in clinical laboratory testing. Effects of establishing and implementing guidelines for preoperative tests.

OBJECTIVE To develop guidelines for laboratory tests ordered before admission for elective surgery. DESIGN A seven-step continuous quality improvement process. SETTING The Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Surgery, and Anesthesia of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, a 384-bed, teaching, tertiary-care facility. PARTICIPANTS Core group of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and the Laboratory Medical Advisory Committee. INTERVENTION Guidelines were developed for laboratory tests ordered before elective surgery. They were divided into four major groups as well as by age and gender. After an intense educational effort, consent was obtained from the majority of surgeons, who agreed to delegate the ordering of tests to the nurses and anesthesiologists who examine patients before surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Charts chosen at random by the medical records department for the period prior to implementation of guidelines were reviewed and compared with records 1 and 2 years later. RESULTS Reductions of 50% and 60% in the first and second years, respectively, in the overall number of tests ordered per patient were demonstrated. An improvement in the appropriateness of tests was also documented: 81% in the first year and 86% in the second year, compared with 65% appropriateness prior to implementation of guidelines. A 1-year savings of $66,981 and an overall 2-year savings of $75,995 were documented. CONCLUSIONS We have described an approach that involves a sustained educational effort and collaboration of nurses and physicians and have presented specific guidelines for preoperative testing. A major decrease in the number of tests ordered, an increase in their appropriateness, and marked fiscal savings were documented.
The Effect of Legislated Minimum Wage Increases on Employment and Hours: A Dynamic Analysis

We present a dynamic policy simulation analysing what would have happened to wages, employment, and total hours had the federal minimum wage increased in September 1998, a year after the last actual increase in our data. Prior work suggests that employment responses take 6 years to play out. Using a time-series model for 23 low-wage industries, we find a positive response of average wages over 54 months following an increase in the minimum wage, but neither employment nor hours can be distinguished from random noise. Ignoring confidence intervals, the adjustment of hours is complete after 1 year, the adjustment of employment after no more than two and one half years.
Assessing the association of walking with health services use and costs among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults.

BACKGROUND The costs of physical inactivity are beginning to be recognized. Research to pinpoint these costs will provide needed information for researchers and policy-makers to develop cost-effective physical activity promotion programs. We present the association of walking with health services use and costs within a sample of 695 older, urban primary care patients. METHODS A survey provided most data, but utilization and cost data were obtained from a medical records system. Multivariate models were developed to assess the association of walking with health services use and costs, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, chronic disease, health status, and previous utilization. RESULTS Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported walking 0 minutes per week, 49% walked 1 to 119 minutes, and 13% walked 120 minutes or more. In the multivariate analyses, a report of walking 120 or more minutes was associated with a lower risk of emergency room visit and hospital stay in the subsequent year. No association was found between walking and primary care visits and total cost. CONCLUSION These analyses suggest an association of walking 120 minutes or more with decreased emergency room visits (OR = 0.5, P = 0.046) and hospital stays (OR = 0.6, P = 0.034). This suggests that physical activity promotion among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults has the potential to provide cost savings. This will not be known, however, until physical activity can be promoted and maintained among these adults.
Prevalence of prostate cancer and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in Caucasian Mediterranean males: An autopsy study

The prevalence of carcinoma of the prostate gland (CaP) and high‐grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) was assessed in a Spanish population, representative of the Caucasian Mediterranean (CM) ethnic group. Data were compared with those described in populations from other geographical regions and in other ethnic groups.
The Intraday Behavior of Information Misreaction Across Various Categories of Investors in the Taiwan Options Market

This study adopts a unique dataset that includes the complete history of transactions in the Taiwan options market to investigate the misreaction patterns for marketwise observations and the transactions of four different categories of investors in the high-frequency framework. Using the results from model-free tests as benchmarks, we find that model-based tests incorrectly indicate the existence of investor misreaction and show the differences of misreaction degree among investor categories. Our findings are robust to alternative observation frequencies and duration definitions.
Evaluating Willingness‐to‐Pay for Bison Attributes: An Experimental Auction Approach

"Domestic bison herds in Canada and the United States have grown rapidly over the past decade. For this growth to be sustainable, viable markets for bison meat products are necessary. Bison products are available at the retail level to only a limited extent in some localized markets. Very little is known about consumer preferences for bison in Canada. A consumer research study was conducted across five Canadian locations. An experimental auction was used to evaluate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for bison versus beef, plus the marginal WTP for bison with additional health-related attributes. Bison products verified to be lower in fat than beef, and bison verified to have been produced without the use of growth hormones were evaluated. Results suggest that there was no significant WTP for bison over beef, either with or without the additional quality assurances. Delivering a positive eating experience to consumers was more important than the health-related attributes "per se". Distinct market segments with significantly different WTP for bison are identified. Some regional differences are also apparent. The industry cannot rely solely on the touted health benefits of bison to deliver a competitive advantage over beef. While some consumers may be willing to pay more for these health-related attributes, consumers in general are unlikely to compromise eating experience. " Copyright 2006 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
Taking on the CosmoCorps? Experiments in Transnational Labor Organization

AbstractThis paper revisits the argument that globalization necessarily undermines trade union organization. In addition to heightened competition for investment and the threat of social dumping, the internationalization of capital can also bring workers into closer contact with each other. Working class nationalism and internationalism are both possible outcomes of economic globalization. By exploring the history of labor internationalism and the current development of European Works Councils (EWCs), this paper urges caution in assuming that globalization necessarily threatens labor organization. Contemporary experience suggests that, in some instances, the changing world economy poses new opportunities for workers to organize across national boundaries. I draw on preliminary research into the development of EWCs in the United Kingdom to suggest that they offer real opportunities for new forms of labor internationalism, and as such, EWCs are emblematic of the possibilities and problems facing workers as .
Test structures for stepwise deformation sensing on super-flexible strain sensors

Developing MEMS sensors with a high strain sensing range (up to 0.6) and a stepwise sensing mechanism could enable widespread downstream applications, by allowing intimate, mechanically conformable integration with soft biological tissues. Most approaches to date focus on challenges to associate the sensing mechanism with high peak strains under large deformation. By designing and characterizing test structures with multi-switching electrodes on super-flexible substrates, this research has established a strategy for stepwise strain-sensing mechanism based on elastic instabilities. The growing and co-existence of wrinkles and creases on multiple electrodes with different dimensions are observed under lateral strains ranging between 0.3 and 0.6. Initial electrical measurements of the multi-switching mechanism has been demonstrated with a two stage resistance value change observed under changing compressive strain. Further investigation will focus on the device optimization and mechano-electrical signal processing.
Demonstrating the likely neutron star nature of five M31 globular cluster sources with Swift-NuSTAR spectroscopy

We present the results of a joint Swift-NuSTAR spectroscopy campaign on M31. We focus on the five brightest globular cluster X-ray sources in our fields. Two of these had previously been argued to be black hole candidates on the basis of apparent hard-state spectra at luminosities above those for which neutron stars are in hard states. We show that these two sources are likely to be Z-sources (i.e. low magnetic field neutron stars accreting near their Eddington limits), or perhaps bright atoll sources (low magnetic field neutron stars which are just a bit fainter than this level) on the basis of simultaneous Swift and NuSTAR spectra which cover a broader range of energies. These new observations reveal spectral curvature above 6-8 keV that would be hard to detect without the broader energy coverage the NuSTAR data provide relative to Chandra and XMM-Newton. We show that the other three sources are also likely to be bright neutron star X-ray binaries, rather than black hole X-ray binaries. We discuss why it should already have been realized that it was unlikely that these objects were black holes on the basis of their being persistent sources, and we re-examine past work which suggested that tidal capture products would be persistently bright X-ray emitters. We discuss how this problem is likely due to neglecting disk winds in older work that predict which systems will be persistent and which will be transient.
Antibody-based therapy in Alzheimer's disease

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, age-dependent, neurodegenerative disorder being the most common cause of dementia. The pathological hallmarks are extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing hyperphosphorylated tau. Stunning results in vaccination trials in transgenic animals led to an antibody-based approach to develop immunotherapeutics for AD. Thus, several monoclonal antibodies raised against Aβ as well as polyclonal antibodies are currently in clinical testing and some of them already entered Phase III clinical trials. New upcoming experimental approaches like antibodies recognizing specific conformational epitopes, single-chain variable fragment antibodies, or intrabodies give hope of further drug development for this incurable disease. Areas covered: The rationale and putative mode of action of antibody-based immunotherapy in AD and delineates correlations for other neurodegenerative diseases. Current clinical trials and recent results of therapeutic antibodies in AD are presented. Expert opinion: Antibodies against Aβ will not only broaden the therapeutic repertoire but also our knowledge about the pathology in AD. Further results of the clinical trials and new antibody-based approaches will shed light on the importance of Aβ and its removal in AD.
The impact of New Zealand's disclosure reform on differential managerial disclosure behaviour for good news versus bad news firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the introduction of New Zealand's statutory‐backed continuous disclosure regime enacted in December 2002 on the differential disclosure behaviour of New Zealand firms with good and bad earnings news.Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the level of information disclosure, analyst forecast error and forecast dispersion, abnormal returns and abnormal volumes for firms with good and bad news earnings announcements in a sample period surrounding reforms to New Zealand's continuous disclosure regime.Findings – The authors find evidence that the pre‐announcement information flow was poorer prior to the reform for bad news firms compared to good news firms, in terms of greater analysts' forecast dispersion and a larger abnormal price reaction to the actual earnings announcement. Second, the reform reduced the asymmetry of information flow between good and bad news firms, with the differences in analysts' forecast dispersion and abno.
Training and Synchrony in the Motor System

Two monkeys trained for >5 years to perform 12 finger and wrist movements had both a greater prevalence of motor cortex neurons with significant effects in spike-triggered averages and a greater ratio of synchrony effects to pure postspike effects than a monkey trained <1 year to perform six movements. By comparison, stimulus-triggered averages were generally similar in all three monkeys, indicating that the increased prevalence of synchrony in spike-triggered averages was a feature of voluntary motor system activity in the monkeys trained for a longer period of time. Synchronization among neurons with relatively direct connections to spinal α-motoneuron pools, including motor cortex neurons, may increase as a repertoire of skilled movements is acquired and practiced during long-term training.
Effect of exercise on protein kinase C activity and localization in human skeletal muscle

To investigate the effect of exercise on protein kinase C (PKC) activity and localization in human skeletal muscle, eight healthy men performed cycle ergometer exercise for 40 min at 76 ± 1% the peak pulmonary O2 uptake , with muscle samples obtained at rest and after 5 and 40 min of exercise. PKC expression, phosphorylation and activities were examined by immunoblotting and in vitro kinase assays of fractionated and whole tissue preparations. In response to exercise, total PKC activity was slightly higher at 40 min in an enriched membrane fraction, and using a pSer‐PKC‐substrate motif antibody it was revealed that exercise increased the serine phosphorylation of a ∼50 kDa protein. There were no changes in conventional PKC (cPKC) or PKCθ activities; however, atypical PKC (aPKC) activity was ∼70% higher at 5 and 40 min, and aPKC expression and Thr410/403 phosphorylation were unaltered by exercise. There were no effects of exercise on the abundance of PKCα, PKCδ, PKCθ and aPKC within cytosolic or enriched membrane fractions of skeletal muscle. These data indicate that aPKC, but not cPKC or PKCθ, are activated by exercise in contracting muscle suggesting a potential role for aPKC in the regulation of skeletal muscle function and metabolism during exercise in humans.
Effect of bread dough mixing method on rye bread quality

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sourdough (indirect bread dough mixing method) on the quality of rye/wheat bread (TYPE 500 wheat flour and whole grain rye flour - 60:40) and determine its advantages over the straight dough method. Three bread dough mixing methods were used: I - indirect bread dough mixing using flour scalding; II - indirect bread dough mixing without flour scalding; III - straight dough mixing. The study involved the monitoring of the following: microbial characterristics of the flour and dough (yeasts and lactic acid bacteria) and of the bread (presence of Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and moulds); chemical properties of the dough and the bread (pH and degree of acidity); organoleptic attributes of bread (volume, porosity according to Dallman, crumb elasticity, pore structure fineness, bread crumb score, external appearance, crumb appearance, flavour of both the crust and the crumb). The results showed the highest counts of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in the indirect bread dough mixing method using rye flour scalding. The rye/wheat bread made with sourdough had a mild sourish flavour, an intense aroma, a prolonged shelf life, and reduced crumbliness. The study suggests that the technological process of sourdough-type rye/wheat bread making is an important requirement in improving bread quality and assortment that can be used in any bakery facility. [ Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31057 i br. III 46009]
Applying the Varieties of Capitalism Approach to Higher Education: comparing the internationalisation of German and British universities

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems.