Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AN INDUSTRY STUDY OF THE PROFITABILITY OF MERGERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE of this study is to obtain evidence from monthly London Stock Exchange share prices of abnormal gains or losses to shareholders in U. K. Breweries and Distilleries sector companies as a result of mergers within the industry. A secondary purpose is to determine whether one can draw any conclusions from this evidence about the distribution of such gains or losses between shareholders in acquiring and acquired companies. In the process of analysing abnormal gains and losses, one can also expect to accumulate some evidence concerning the efficiency of the London capital market in the pricing of equities in anticipation of public information about forthcoming mergers. This is the first published study to be based upon the London Business School Data Base of monthly London Stock Exchange share prices and thus provides an early indication of some of the empirical problems associated with the characteristics of the price data. Our findings may be summarised briefly as follows:
Distribution and Potential Role of Cytosolic Water‐Soluble Phosphodiesters in Fish

The distribution of water‐soluble phosphodiesters (WSPDEs) visible by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in some intact tissues of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss walbaum) and in perchloric extracts after partial purification was examined by 31P NMR spectroscopy. The compounds of interest were serine ethanolamine phosphate (SEP), threonine ethanolamine phosphate (TEP), glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC), and glycerophosphorylethanolamine (GPE). TEP and SEP were mostly accumulated in the heart and less accumulated in the kidney of intact trout. After the extraction procedure, two additional minor resonances were visible and identified as GPC and GPE. The liver of trout contained large amounts of GPE. Similar investigations were conducted by 31P NMR on hearts and kidneys of two elasmobranchs (Scyliorhinus canicula, Raja clavata) and four teleosts (Anguilla anguilla, Sparus auratus, Dicentrarchus labrax, Scophtlhalmus maximus); comparison with the trout data showed striking interspecies differences in the identity of WSPDEs. All teleosts, except eel and turbot, accumulated predominantly TEP. However, in elasmobranchs, first GPC and then GPE were the major compounds. Whatever the studied species, the relative abundances in the heart and kidney were similar. In the last two decades, two hypotheses were proposed to explain the occurrence of high levels of cytosoluble phosphodiesters: these compounds may constitute an index of phospholipid catabolism or a protective mechanism through which phospholipid levels are kept high. To test them and elucidate the role of these compounds in membrane phospholipid regulation in fish, we investigated the effects of two physiological stresses, that is, seawater adaptation and induced myocardial ischemia, on trout cytosolic phosphodiester levels. A 32.5‐min ischemic stress caused no effect on SEP and TEP levels. On the contrary, significant osmotic stress induced changes in the PDEs levels: 2 d after transfer from freshwater to seawater or from seawater to freshwater, both tissues displayed a transient decrease of TEP; however, a 2‐d stay in seawater after transfer from freshwater caused a rise in SEP concentration, whereas a 2‐d stay in freshwater after transfer decreased SEP level. In conclusion, our experiments suggest a relationship between the high levels of cytosoluble phosphodiesters observed in some fish tissues and resistance to stress.
Unequal Exchange and Uneven Development

Arghiri Emmanuel's theory of unequal exchange is criticised for its inconsistent use of Marxian categories. An alternative theory is proposed, and interpreted, not as a single cause of uneven development, but as a contributory factor. It is more accurate to record unequal exchange as a process which keeps the rate of profit high in developed sectors of production than as a geographical transfer of value which speeds the rate of accumulation in certain areas. Empirical evidence, obtained by calculating labour values in different countries from input-output data, shows that unequal exchange is an extremely important process in terms of its magnitude. The evidence also suggests that the deviation of observed prices from prices of production may be a more important component of unequal exchange than the deviation of prices of production from values.
Developing Social Capital for Facilitating Knowledge Management Practices

Purpose - This study seeks to explore the effect of social capital (SC) on knowledge management (KM) practices. The main problem under investigation is to assess the importance of SC within an organization and to ascertain how it can ensure that knowledge activities would continue to be fitting and proper in the organization. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the notion that certain factors can affect knowledge management, this paper examines the effect of the various aspects of social capital on the knowledge management practices. The research method is descriptive and correlational. The population of the research consists of managers and senior experts of NIOPDC (National Iran Oil Product Distribution Co). A sample of 273 subjects was selected using statistical sampling. Data were collected through questionnaire consisting of 25 questions. Findings - The study has found that there are meaningful relationships between all of the dimensions of SC and KM practices. They can also facilitate knowledge management practices. The findings further suggest that among various dimensions of SC, trust has the most influential effect on KM practices. Research limitations/implications - In spite of lacking considerable empirical research investigating the correlations between KM and SC, this research not only extends the understanding of the effect of SC on KM, but also the interrelationship between various aspects of SC and their joint effects on knowledge management practices. Originality/value - Existing research has concentrated on studying the effect of SC on KM, by and large. There is little empirical research investigating the correlations between KM and SC. This paper addresses this gap and contributes understanding of how organizations can promote the effectiveness of KM practices through developing their social capital.
Attentional Capture by Deviant Sounds: A Noncontingent Form of Auditory Distraction?

The occurrence of an unexpected, infrequent sound in an otherwise homogeneous auditory background tends to disrupt the ongoing cognitive task. This “deviation effect” is typically explained in terms of attentional capture whereby the deviant sound draws attention away from the focal activity, regardless of the nature of this activity. Yet, there is theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that the attention-capture mechanism underlying this form of distraction could rather be triggered in a task-contingent fashion. The present study aimed at determining whether the auditory deviation effect reflects the action of either a stimulus-driven or a task-contingent orienting mechanism. To do so, we conducted a systematic investigation whereby the impact of verbal deviants—a letter embedded in the repetition of another letter—and spatial deviants—a sound presented contralaterally to the other sounds—on verbal and spatial short-term memory (STM) was assessed. This study established that both verbal and spatial deviants can hinder both verbal and spatial order-reconstruction (Experiment 1) and missing-item tasks (Experiment 2). Such results demonstrate that the deviation effect reflects a general form of auditory distraction as interference took place both within and across domains and regardless of the processes engaged in the focal task.
The Association Between Activity‐Based Costing and Manufacturing Performance

This study examines the association between activity‐based costing and manufacturing performance. Results using a cross‐sectional sample of manufacturing plants indicates that extensive ABC use is associated with higher quality levels and greater improvements in cycle time and quality, and is indirectly associated with manufacturing cost reductions through quality and cycle time improvements. However, on average, extensive ABC use has no significant association with return on assets. Instead, we find weak evidence that the association between ABC and accounting profitability is contingent on the plant’s operational characteristics.
Political Science Journals in Comparative Perspective: Evaluating Scholarly Journals in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom

In this article we report the results from a new survey of political scientists regarding their evaluations of journals in the political science discipline. Unlike previous research that has focused on data from the United States, we conducted an Internet survey of political scientists in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. We present data on journal evaluations, journal familiarity, and journal impact, both for our entire sample (N = 1,695) and separately for respondents from each of the three countries. We document the overall hierarchy of scholarly journals among political scientists, though we find important similarities and differences in how political scientists from these three countries evaluate the scholarly journals in the discipline. Our results suggest that there is a strong basis for cross-national integration in scholarly journal communication, though methodological differences among the three countries may be an impediment.
Cross Cultural Schemata: How Do Iranian Bloggers View the American People?

The history of Iran-U.S. relations is full of cynicism and misperceptions. As the U.S. has emerged as the sole superpower of the world and Iran is a key player in the Middle East, international news agencies have a particular focus over the dispute between the two. Intriguingly, although many works have been carried out on the political side of the relations, rarely have studies considered perceptions that people of both countries have towards their counterparts in the other nation. This paper, however, takes the second approach. Drawing on the notion of "Cross Cultural Schemata", this paper manages to reveal cross cultural schemata which Iranian bloggers have for American people. More than half of Middle Eastern Internet users are now living in Iran and it is estimated that currently there are more than 2 million Iranian bloggers. The present study distinguishes 11 cross-cultural schemata of American people in the Iranian Persian weblogs. The qualitative analysis of 1500 Persian weblogs in four main blog service tools showed that the election of Obama as U.S president has affected Iranian bloggers more than any other issues regarding American people. The schemata in this work include; (1) “Americans as Fair and Aware Voters”24%; (2) “Americans as Unaware Public”18%; (3) “Americans as Nationalist People” -14%; (4) “Americans as Nice People” – 11%; (5) “Americans as People Who Are in Control of Their Country and Government”8%; (6) “Americans as Bully People” – 7%; (7) “Americans as Highly Educated People” – 6%; (8) “Americans as Joyous People” – 4%; (9) “Americans as People Who Are Fair to Women”-3%; (10) “Americans as People Who Love Iranian Culture and People” -3%; and (11) “Americans as People Who Have no Clear Image of Middle East and Muslims” – 2%.
Structure of FitAB from Neisseria gonorrhoeae Bound to DNA Reveals a Tetramer of Toxin-Antitoxin Heterodimers Containing Pin Domains and Ribbon-Helix-Helix Motifs*

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a sexually transmitted pathogen that initiates infections in humans by adhering to the mucosal epithelium of the urogenital tract. The bacterium then enters the apical region of the cell and traffics across the cell to exit into the subepithelial matrix. Mutations in the fast intracellular trafficking (fitAB) locus cause the bacteria to transit a polarized epithelial monolayer more quickly than the wild-type parent and to replicate within cells at an accelerated rate. Here, we describe the crystal structure of the toxin-antitoxin heterodimer, FitAB, bound to a high affinity 36-bp DNA fragment from the fitAB promoter. FitA, the antitoxin, binds DNA through its ribbon-helix-helix motif and is tethered to FitB, the toxin, to form a heterodimer by the insertion of a four turn α-helix into an extensive FitB hydrophobic pocket. FitB is composed of a PIN (PilT N terminus) domain, with a central, twisted, 5-stranded parallel β-sheet that is open on one side and flanked by five α-helices. FitB in the context of the FitAB complex does not display nuclease activity against tested PIN substrates. The FitAB complex points to the mechanism by which antitoxins with RHH motifs can block the activity of toxins with PIN domains. Interactions between two FitB molecules result in the formation of a tetramer of FitAB heterodimers, which binds to the 36-bp DNA fragment and provides an explanation for how FitB enhances the DNA binding affinity of FitA.
Modelling the reasons for the use of vocational training in Australian enterprises

This paper analyses a unique data set to examine the determinants of the explicit reasons employers give for training employees in Australia. The nature of the data requires the use of multinomial logit methods to uncover how certain strategic, recruitment and organizational variables impact on the reasons employers provide for their training choices. The results highlight the complexity of training decision-making in enterprises and show that numerous reasons are cited by employers for undertaking training. The most commonly identified training drivers relate to training strategy variables capturing the status of the organization as a registered training organization (RTO), the use of a business plan and strategic importance of training. In contrast, the relatively least important drivers are the level of staff permanence, occupational structure, occupational status and the number of employees. The complexity of training decisions suggests that policy-makers should be cautious in following generic and simple solutions in trying to promote employer training.
The Influence of Bracket Base Design on the Strength of the Bracket–Cement Interface

The objectives of the study were to isolate the bracket–cement interface, and to determine the influence of bracket base morphology and orthodontic bonding agent chosen on strength of adhesion. The bracket bases evaluated included 60, 80, and 100 single mesh bases, a double mesh base, and the Dynalock™, and Mini Twin™ bases. The strength of interface provided by each of these bases with Concise™, Transbond™, Right On™, and non-encapsulated Fuji Ortho LC™ cements, was measured in tension and recorded in Mega Pascals. The single-mesh bases performed well with either Concise or Right On (11•88–22•72 MPa) and, other than the 80-mesh bracket, relatively poorly with Transbond (2•18–5•15 MPa). With Fuji Ortho LC, the single mesh bases performed well (6•05–12•19 MPa). The double mesh base performed well with Right On (13•75 MPa), and reasonably well with Concise, Transbond, and Fuji Ortho LC (6•00–9•20 MPa). The Dynalock and Mini Twin Bases performed fairly well with all cements (8•87–17•16 MPa). It was concluded that the orthodontic bonding agent selected would appear to largely determine the bond strength achieved with a particular bracket base design. A definite trend was difficult to identify in this study, and it appeared that certain combinations of bracket base and bonding agent performed optimally. Particular base designs may allow improved adhesive penetration or improved penetration of curing light. Alternatively, the dimension and distribution of resin/cement tags prescribed by one base could promote a stress distribution that is better resisted by a particular adhesive.
Gender Differences in Portfolio Risk Across Birth Cohort and Marital Status

This paper investigates gender differences in portfolio risk among Canadian men and women and finds that, controlling for a variety of personal and household characteristics, never married men, born post-1966, hold significantly higher risk portfolios relative to single women and married couples. Conversely, observed gender differences among pre-1943 birth cohorts are primarily driven by disparities in characteristics rather than gender or marital status. Previously married women, born 19551966, have remarkably high predicted portfolio risk relative to other women and men in the same cohort.
The Impact of No Child Left Behind's Accountability Sanctions on School Performance: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from North Carolina

Comparisons of schools that barely meet or miss criteria for adequate yearly progress (AYP) reveal that some sanctions built into the No Child Left Behind accountability regime exert positive impacts on students. Estimates indicate that the strongest positive effects associate with the ultimate sanction: leadership and management changes associated with school restructuring. We find suggestive incentive effects in schools first entering the NCLB sanction regime, but no significant effects of intermediate sanctions. Further analysis shows that gains in sanctioned schools are concentrated among low-performing students, with the exception of gains from restructuring which are pervasive. We find no evidence that schools achieve gains among low-performing students by depriving high-performing students of resources.
Impacts of a historical film on the destination image of South America

This study examines the destination image of South America among young North American students through the lens of a historic movie with controversial content. The results of the study reveal that South America is perceived as an affordable ecotourism destination, with emphasis on the nature, cultural and heritage attributes of the region. It is also perceived as less developed, secured and westernized than their home environment. It is found that watching the movie has not dramatically changed the destination image of South America, but rather strengthened previous perceptions. Nevertheless, an increasing desire to visit South America is evidenced among the participants. The findings of the study call for more critical and cautious analysis of the phenomenon of film tourism. In addition, it also suggests that with certain conditions even films with controversial plot may contribute to tourism industry of a destination.
Genomics and Biological Activity of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in Several Clinical Settings

Recent literature has shown that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is one of the most interesting and promising biomarkers in case of acute kidney injury. However, several studies indicated that this protein may be applied beyond the boundaries of renal pathophysiology and may be used in other pathophysiological settings since it is also expressed in neutrophils, and respiratory, bowel and prostate epithelia. In this review, we report NGAL genomics and biology and its possible use in several clinical settings. In particular, we review the genomic organization of the NGAL gene, the lipocalin family structure, the interaction between NGAL and ligands, and the induction and expression of NGAL in different conditions.
Neoliberal globalisation, the nation-state and financial crises in the semi-periphery: A comparative analysis

The process of neoliberal globalisation has been associated with successive financial crises in the context of the 1990s, raising serious doubts concerning the sustainability of rapid growth in an environment of uncontrolled movements of short-term capital. The article probes into the origins of the financial crises in the semi-periphery through a structured comparison of three key recent crises in the world economy, namely the Mexican and Turkish crises of 1994 and the Asian crises of 1997. Whilst the magnitude of the capital flows and the dimensions of the subsequent crises are strikingly different, there are nonetheless important elements common to all three cases studied. One such common element involves the overdependence of the countries concerned on the short-term financial flows, in a setting characterised by premature capital account liberalisation in the absence of adequate regulation. It is striking that, contrary to the conventional IMF wisdom, financial crises have occurred in spite of 'sound fundamental', namely fiscal equilibrium and low inflation. The recent financial crises highlights a paradoxical situation: the need for effective regulation at a time when the capacity of the nation state to undertake the type of regulation needed severely circumscribed. Hence, the establishment of an effective regulatory framework at the global level emerges as a major requirement if successive financial crises, with significant economic and social cost, are to be avoided in the future.
Nutritional status of children with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE to characterize nutritional status and variables that predict nutritional changes in children with congenital heart disease. METHOD a cross-sectional study undertaken in two health institutions between January and June 2009, using a questionnaire with questions about nutrition, applied to 132 children under two years of age who had congenital heart disease. Children who had additional serious illnesses were excluded. RESULT the predominant percentile values and Z scores were concentrated within the range of normal levels. The Z scores, however, presented negative variations with a deviation to the left. In the analysis of predictive factors, the occurrence of immediate and acute malnutrition was related to a decrease in skinfold thickness (decrease in subscapular skinfold thickness, while immediate malnutrition was related to a high Apgar score. Chronic malnutrition was related to female children with higher ages. CONCLUSION it is evidenced that it is necessary to carry out nutritional strategies which improve prognosis, so as to widen the nursing care directed at these children.
The directs costs of A-REIT IPOs

Purpose – Direct costs of Australian Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) initial public offerings (IPOs) were last reported in the literature using data to 2004. Much has occurred since then. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and include the A-REIT IPOs over the last ten years and examine the cost and the factors influencing the percentage underwriting and percentage total direct costs by A-REITs IPOs. The study also investigates specifically whether the utilization of an underwriter (who guarantees the success of the capital raising) rather than a stockbroker (who does not guarantee such success) costs significantly more. Design/methodology/approach – The study examines 87 A-REIT IPOs from January 1994 until December 2013. An OLS regression is performed to identify significant influencing factors on percentage underwriting costs and percentage total direct capital raising costs. Findings – The study finds that larger capital raisings and those with large investor or institutional involvement id.