Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bankrupt accountants and lawyers: Transition in the rise of professionalism in Victorian Scotland

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the incidence, impact, and consequences of accountant and lawyer bankruptcies in Victorian Scotland. The paper examines these bankruptcies in the context of an emerging profession separating from an established legal profession as part of the rise of professionalism in the Victorian Age. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports data describing 135 accountant and 361 lawyer bankruptcies declared between 1855 and 1904. It uses theories of the rise of professionalism, signals of movement to occupational ascendancy, and social attitudes to money to provide explanations of the incidence, impact, and consequences of these bankruptcies. The paper also examines bankruptcy and the early disciplinary codes of professional accountancy associations. Findings - Despite a trend of general decline in total, accountant, and lawyer bankruptcies in Scotland through the Victorian Age, there is no consistency over time between accountant and lawyer bankruptcies and economic conditions. Bankrupt accountants were typically unregulated as professionals in contrast with bankrupt lawyers who were usually regulated. Accountant and lawyer bankruptcies predominantly involved experienced practitioners, location in major cities, and administration by professional accountants. Bankruptcy was associated with criminal activity in a minority of cases in each profession. There was inconsistency in the post-bankruptcy disciplining of bankrupt accountants and lawyers, and post-bankruptcy loss of economic status in both professions. Practical implications - The paper contributes to the Victorian history of institutionalised professions such as accounting and law. It demonstrates the presence of marginal practitioners in emerging and established professions, the need to study professionalisation in social context, and the impact of bankruptcy on discipline in an emerging profession. Originality/value - The paper represents the first contextualised study of bankruptcy among professionals generally and accountants and lawyers, particularly in the Victorian Age.
Job Satisfaction Among Early Labor Force Participants: Unexpected Outcomes in Public and Private Sector Comparisons

This study presents a systematic investigation of the level of job satisfaction among a national cross-section of early labor force participants in the public and private employment sectors in the late 1980s. While the conventional wisdom would suggest that there is a "crisis" in the level of job satisfaction among public sector employees—due to extensive "bureaucrat bashing" and the alienative internal dynamics of working within overly rigid and rule-bound organizations—the findings presented here suggest that public sector employees manifest sig nificantly higher levels of job satisfaction than their private sector counterparts. After control ling for a variety of background, personal, and situational factors, the higher level of public sector job satisfaction remains. The empirical evidence utilized in this study is from the National Longitudinal Survey's Youth Cohort.
Intraspinal Adenosine Induces Spinal Cord Norepinephrine Release in Spinal Nerve-ligated Rats but not in Normal or Sham Controls

Background Intrathecal adenosine is antinociceptive under conditions of central sensitization, but not in response to acute stimuli in normals. The reasons for this selective circumstance of action remain unclear, but some evidence links adenosine's antinociceptive effects to release of norepinephrine by terminals in the spinal cord. The purpose of this study was to test whether spinal adenosine induces norepinephrine release selectively in settings of hypersensitivity. Methods Rats randomly assigned to spinal nerve ligation, sham operation, or no operation were anesthetized. A microdialysis fiber was implanted in the spinal cord dorsal horn at the L5–L6 level and perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid. After washout and a baseline sample period, adenosine at various concentrations was infused through the fiber for 150 min, and samples were collected every 15 min. Results In ligated, but not in sham or normal animals, adenosine perfusion increased norepinephrine in spinal cord microdialysates in a concentration-dependent manner. The effects of adenosine plateaued after 75 min and remained stable until the end of the experiment. Intravenous injection of selective adenosine A1 and A2 receptor antagonists revealed that adenosine's effect on spinal norepinephrine release was A1 receptor mediated. Conclusions This is the first study to provide direct evidence that adenosine is able to release norepinephrine in spinal cord dorsal horns in living animals. However, this effect was only seen in animals after spinal nerve ligation. These data are consistent with behavioral studies demonstrating that adenosine's antinociceptive effects in rats after spinal nerve ligation is totally dependent on intact spinal noradrenergic terminals and can be blocked by spinal &agr;2-adrenergic receptor antagonists.
Clinical Utility of Immunohistochemistry in the Diagnoses of Urinary Bladder Neoplasia

Urothelial carcinomas demonstrate diverse morphologic and immunologic features that frequently lead to diagnostic challenges. Recent advances have identified a number of immunohistochemical stains that, when used in the context of a panel, can be a valuable tool in properly classifying primary urothelial carcinoma and carcinomas secondarily involving the urinary bladder. In addition, new biomarkers prove helpful in the staging of bladder carcinoma. In this article, we review the clinical utility of immunohistochemistry in a series of diagnostic scenarios, including flat urothelial lesions with atypia, rare variants of urothelial carcinoma, primary adenocarcinoma versus secondary colorectal tumors, distinguishing prostate from urothelial carcinoma, and the utility of smoothelin in staging bladder carcinoma. Emphasis is placed on panels of commonly used biomarkers to establish diagnoses.
Evaluation of Updated Interpretative Criteria for Categorizing Klebsiella pneumoniae with Reduced Carbapenem Susceptibility

ABSTRACT We studied the accuracy of various susceptibility testing methods, including the 2009, 2010, and updated 2010 CLSI recommendations, to identify Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems associated with different mechanisms of resistance. Forty-three wild-type (WT) strains, 42 extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers, 18 ESBL producers with outer membrane porin protein loss (ESBL/Omp strains), and 42 bla KPC-possessing K. pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) isolates were evaluated. Imipenem (IPM), meropenem (MEM), ertapenem (ERT), and doripenem (DOR) were tested by broth microdilution (BMD), Etest, and disk diffusion (DD), and the modified Hodge test (MHT) was performed using IPM and MEM disks. Results were interpreted according to original as well as recently updated interpretative criteria. MHT was positive for all 42 KPC-Kp isolates and 10 of 18 ESBL/Omp strains and therefore had poor specificity in differentiating between KPC-Kp and ESBL/Omp isolates. Based on the updated CLSI standards, phenotypic susceptibility testing by BMD and DD differentiated most carbapenem-susceptible from carbapenem-nonsusceptible K. pneumoniae isolates without the need for MHT, while the Etest method characterized many KPC-Kp isolates as susceptible, and breakpoints may need to be lowered for this method. However, both the original and updated CLSI criteria do not adequately differentiate between isolates in the KPC-Kp group, which are unlikely to respond to carbapenem therapy, and those in the ESBL/Omp group, which are likely to respond to carbapenem therapy if MICs are within pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets. Further studies are required to determine if there is a clinical need to differentiate between KPC-Kp and ESBL/Omp groups.
Audit Committee Composition and Shareholder Actions: Evidence from Voting on Auditor Ratification

Recent actions related to audit committees by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reflect the Commission's belief that the composition of audit committees can influence the monitoring of auditor‐client relationships, and thereby influence shareholder perceptions about auditor independence and overall audit performance. The SEC has also suggested that shareholder perceptions about the auditor will influence shareholder actions, including voting on ratifying the auditor selected by management. This paper examines the association between audit committee composition and shareholder actions, using auditor ratification data from 199 companies. The results indicate that, in companies with high nonaudit fee ratios, shareholders are less likely to vote against auditor ratification if the audit committee has solely independent directors. These results provide empirical support to the assertions of the SEC and others that audit committee composition can impact investors' perceptions and actions. However, th.
Attracting Applicants for In-House and Outsourced Internal Audit Positions: Views from External Auditors

SYNOPSIS: While the internal audit function (IAF) plays a critical role in organizations, it faces challenges in finding sufficient numbers of high-quality job applicants to fill its ranks. The results of two experiments suggest that practicing external auditors are twice as likely to apply for positions that are labeled as accounting positions rather than either in-house or outsourced internal audit positions. The results also suggest that external auditors have negative perceptions of the profession and work environment of internal auditors—especially in-house internal auditors relative to outsourced internal auditors—and are more likely to recommend that mediocre rather than top students apply to work in internal auditing. We also provide survey results from experienced external auditors about aspects of internal auditing that may be improved to make it a more attractive career option. Taken together, the results suggest internal auditing faces significant hiring challenges, but also offer ways to miti.
Key Factors Considered in Compiling Tender Prices for China’s Public Works Projects

AbstractRecent decades have witnessed the evolution of tender evaluation approaches from using a sole parameter to using multiple criteria in the construction industry. The changes in the evaluation approach call for continuous improvement in tender pricing practices. Notwithstanding a large volume of existing studies, the way to price tenders properly in China’s public work sector has not been explored explicitly. Using a mix of research methods, such as a literature review, interviews, and a questionnaire survey, this study found seven factors critically important for contractors to price public work contracts in China. The research findings indicate that the key factors are characterized by the attributes of public works and national socioeconomic background and facilitate contractors in determining tender prices in due ways. While this study is situated in China’s public construction sector, it offers useful references for similar examinations of other construction contexts.
The Origins and Effects of Corporate Diversity Programs

Corporations have implemented a wide range of equal opportunity and diversity programs since the 1960s. This chapter reviews studies of the origins of these programs, surveys that assess the popularity of different programs, and research on the effects of programs on the workforce. Human resources managers championed several waves of innovations, from corporate equal opportunity policies and recruitment and training programs in the 1960s; to bureaucratic hiring and promotion policies and grievance mechanisms in the 1970s; to diversity training, networking, and mentoring programs in the 1980s; to work/family and sexual harassment programs in the 1990s and beyond. It was those managers who designed equal opportunity and diversity programs, not lawyers or judges or government bureaucrats. Corporate take-up of these programs remains very uneven. Statistical analyses of time-series data on the effects of corporate diversity measures reveal several patterns. Initiatives designed to quash managerial bias, through diversity training, diversity performance evaluations, and bureaucratic rules, have been broadly ineffective. By contrast, innovations designed to engage managers in addressing slow progress on workforce integration, through mentoring programs, diversity taskforces, and full time diversity staffers, have led to increases in diversity in the most difficult job to integrate, management. The research has clear implications for corporate and public policy.
Training older employees: what is effective?

Purpose - – Employees older than 55 years of age have a much lower share in training than other employees. The purpose of this paper is to propose that one of the reasons for this phenomenon that has not been taken into account so far is that their training is less effective. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper shows that training of older employees indeed is less effective in the self-assessment of training participants. Training effectiveness is measured with respect to key dimensions such as career development, earnings, adoption of new skills, flexibility or job security. Besides age a broad range of explanatory variables is included as covariates in a large linked employer-employee data set. Findings - – The paper finds that main reason for the differences in training effectiveness during the life cycle is that firms do not take into account differences in training motivation. Older employees get higher returns from informal and directly relevant training and from training contents that can be mainly tackled by crystallised abilities. Training incidence in the more effective training forms is, however, not higher for older employees. Given that other decisive variables on self-assessed effectiveness such as training duration, financing and initiative are not sensitive to age, the wrong allocation of training contents and training forms therefore is the critical explanation for the lower effectiveness of training. Originality/value - – This paper therefore shows to human resource managers why old employees rate training effectiveness lower and indicates what can be done in order to improve training effectiveness of old employees. It uses a large and detailed data set entailing more than 6,000 employees from about 150 establishments.
Theme park employee satisfaction and customer orientation

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between front-line employee job satisfaction and customer orientation. Data for this study were collected through the use of a survey instrument completed by 146 front-line employees of a regional theme park in the southeast United States. Simple Linear Regression analysis was used to test the relationships under review. Results of this study showed that employees who are more satisfied with the relationship they enjoy with co-workers have a higher customer orientation. Significant relationships were not found between any other dimension of job satisfaction (including overall job satisfaction) and employee customer orientation. In addition, no significant relationship was found between any demographic characteristics reviewed and customer orientation. Results found in this study run contrary to previous results of studies conducted in non-recreation-related work environments. The results of this study suggest that employees of recreation-related organizations respond differently to job satisfactions as they relate to customer orientation rather than employees of other business types. Results of this study may help theme park managers better facilitate customer orientation through improved relationships between front-line employees.
The linkage between corruption and shadow economy size: does geography matter?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of corruption on the size of the shadow economy in countries that differ with respect to income level or geographical location. The underlying idea is that the primary manifestation of corruption might be associated with country characteristics and that different types of corruption might have different consequences. Design/methodology/approach - IV regressions and bootstrapping are applied to a cross-section of countries to show that geographical location of a country impacts on the relationship between corruption and the shadow economy. An interaction term of the level of corruption and geography is used to capture the differences in the types and consequences of corruption between countries. Findings - Corruption does not seem to affect the size of the shadow economy outside the tropics. Instead, the higher the tropical area fraction of a country, the more a certain level of corruption enlarges the unofficial economy. Moreover, corruption and the shadow economy seem to be substitutes in the tropics. Research limitations/implications - Different types of corruption may have different consequences. Originality/value - Unlike most of the previous literature, the paper accounts for the fact that some corrupt practices tend to be commonplace in some parts of the world, while other countries may be plagued by other types of corruption. Therefore, the consequences of corruption might also differ.
Congenital heart disease Cardiovascular manifestations in men and women carrying a FBN 1 mutation

CLINICAL RESEARCH Congenital heart disease
Circulating tumor cells detection has independent prognostic impact in high‐risk non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer

High‐risk non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) progresses to metastatic disease in 10–15% of cases, suggesting that micrometastases may be present at first diagnosis. The prediction of risks of progression relies upon EORTC scoring systems, based on clinical and pathological parameters, which do not accurately identify which patients will progress. Aim of the study was to investigate whether the presence of CTC may improve prognostication in a large population of patients with Stage I bladder cancer who were all candidate to conservative surgery. A prospective single center trial was designed to correlate the presence of CTC to local recurrence and progression of disease in high‐risk T1G3 bladder cancer. One hundred two patients were found eligible, all candidate to transurethral resection of the tumor followed by endovesical adjuvant immunotherapy with BCG. Median follow‐up was 24.3 months (minimum–maximum: 4–36). The FDA‐approved CellSearch System was used to enumerate CTC. Kaplan–Meier methods, log‐rank test and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis was applied to establish the association of circulating tumor cells with time to first recurrence (TFR) and progression‐free survival. CTC were detected in 20% of patients and predicted both decreased TFR (log‐rank p < 0.001; multivariable adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.92 [95% confidence interval: 1.38–6.18], p = 0.005), and time to progression (log‐rank p < 0.001; HR 7.17 [1.89–27.21], p = 0.004). The present findings provide evidence that CTC analyses can identify patients with Stage I bladder cancer who have already a systemic disease at diagnosis and might, therefore, potentially benefit from systemic treatment.
Economic Failures in French Recreational Fishing Management

In France, freshwater recreational fishing management does not sufficiently satisfy anglers. Fishing effort is too high creating congestion costs and environmental quality is low while there is a positive willingness-to-pay for improvements. These inefficiencies are explained by three phenomena. First, private property rights are attenuated under institutional pressure. Second, recreational fishing is managed as an open access resource over the whole territory. Finally, halieutic policies focus on the protection of environmental resources and are inefficient at maximizing the social rent provided by recreational fisheries. Fishing effort regulation and environmental services provision following the beneficiary-pays principle could improve collective welfare. Social pricing could ensure equity in access to the resource.
Differential regulation of Escherichia coli topoisomerase I by Fis

We previously reported that the P1 promoter of topA encoding topoisomerase I of Escherichia coli is activated in response to oxidative stress, in a Fis‐dependent manner. Here we show that Fis regulation of topA varies with the intracellular concentrations of Fis. Thus, when Fis levels are low, hydrogen peroxide treatment results in topA activation, whereas at high Fis levels hydrogen peroxide treatment renders topA P1 inactive. In vivo DMS footprinting indicates that only at low Fis levels, when exposed to the stress, the region of the topA promoter changes and P1 becomes active. Potassium permanganate experiments indicate that low levels of Fis activate P1 transcription by facilitating the formation of open complexes, while high levels of this protein shut off the promoter. DNase I footprinting show that Fis binds the promoter region of topA at eight sites with different affinities. One low affinity site overlaps the −10, −35 hexamers of RNA polymerase. We propose that in response to oxidative stress, when present at low levels, Fis binds the promoter region of topA at its high affinity sites, thereby facilitating the recruitment of RNA polymerase to P1, while at high levels, Fis occupies the low affinity sites as well, and thus prevents the binding of RNA polymerase. Our results indicate that the oxidative stress response varies in response to changes in growth phase and nutritional environment.
The emergence of local non-profit – government partnerships and the role of intermediary organizations in Japan

Abstract This contribution explores the implications of the current emergence in Japan of local partnerships between non-profits 1 and local governments and the role of intermediary organizations. In particular, it focuses on the impact of contractual relationships on the organizational changes of the non-profits and examines some cases of local intermediary organizations from the perspective of co-governance. This work identifies Japanese situations; lessons for other countries concerning relationships between non-profits and government; and three key issues for intermediary organizations that play a distinct role in the co-governance model of partnership. The issues are: (1) developing a mixed resource strategy; (2) establishing representative and networking structures; (3) strengthening political functions such as advocacy and the mobilization of collective influence on government policy.