Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Colonic mucus: secretion and turnover in relation to dietary fibre intake

The colon is subjected to a myriad of potentially damaging agents that may reside within the lumen for 1–2 d. Its first line of defence against these agents is the protective mucus bilayer that lines the entire colonic mucosa. This bilayer acts as a physical barrier to mucosal aggressors and also reduces shear stress to the mucosa. These actions are dependent on the unstimulated (‘resting’) colonic mucus thickness, and also on the rate that this layer can be replenished. The colonic mucus layer is altered in a number of colonic diseases that have been linked to a deficiency of fibre in the diet. The action of fibre intake on colonic mucus thickness and secretion is unknown. Using an in vivo rat model it has been demonstrated that: (1) fibre deficiency leads to a decreased protective potential of the mucus layer (e.g. the mean resting mucus thickness of the fibre-deficient group (429 μm) was significantly lower than its respective control (579 μm; P< 0.001), as was its total mucus secretion over 6 h (270 μm v. 541 μm; P<0.01); (2) specific fibre types in the diet alter the secretion dynamics of colonic mucus (e.g. a cellulose-based diet reduces total mucus secretion over 6 h compared with its control (175 μm v. 463 μm). Analysis of the diets suggested a necessity for both soluble and insoluble fibre types in the diet to increase mucosal protection.
On the Persistence of Leadership or Leapfrogging in International Trade

When two countries starting from different quality levels (reflecting different conditions on domestic market demands) open to trade, two possible equilibria arise. In the first, the quality leader maintains its position. In the second, leapfrogging occurs. However, the latter is possible only if the initial quality gap is not too wide. Further, when the risk dominance criterion is used, only the former equilibrium is selected. These results suggest that initial conditions (such as domestic market size or home demand preferences) are important factors in determining relative competitiveness of firms in international markets.
The Impact of Cyclical Demand Movements on Collusive Behavior

Recent work by Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) investigates the effect of the business cycle on optimal collusive pricing by specifying that demand is subject to i.i. d. shocks. An implication of the i.i. d. assumption is that firms' expectations on future demand are unrelated to the current level of demand. We put forth a model that allows for both the level of current demand and firms' expectations on future demand to change over time; thus it captures two important properties of the business cycle. Our analysis reveals that while the gain to deviating from a collusive agreement is greatest during booms, firms find it most difficult to collude during recessions, as the forgone profits from inducing a price war are relatively low. An implication of this effect for pricing behavior is that at the same level of demand, price is lower when demand is declining than when demand is rising. Consistent with previous theoretical work, we find that firms price countercyclically for a range of values for the discount factor. However, numerical simulations reveal a greater tendency for firms to price countercyclically during recessions than during booms.
The impact of environmental management on firm performance

Environmental management has the potential to play a pivotal role in the financial performance of the firm. Many individuals suggest that profitability is hurt by the higher production costs of environmental management initiatives, while others cite anecdotal evidence of increased profitability. A theoretical model is proposed that links strong environmental management to improved perceived future financial performance, as measured by stock market performance. The linkage to firm performance is tested empirically using financial event methodology and archival data of firm-level environmental and financial performance. Significant positive returns were measured for strong environmental management as indicated by environmental performance awards, and significant negative returns were measured for weak environmental management as indicated by environmental crises. The implicit financial market valuation of these events also was estimated. Cross-sectional analysis of the environmental award events revealed differences for first-time awards and between industries. First-time award announcements were associated with greater increases in market valuation, although smaller increases were observed for firms in environmentally dirty industries, possibly indicative of market skepticism. This linkage between environmental management and financial performance can be used by both researchers and practitioners as one measure of the benefits experienced by industry leaders, and as one criterion against which to measure investment alternatives.
The asset growth of firms and stock price momentum

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The purpose of this thesis is to see whether large asset growth expansions or contractions are related to momentum effect. In momentum strategy, past winner stocks are bought and past loser stocks are sold in order to profit from momentum anomaly. DATA AND METHODOLOGY Data is retrieved from the ThomsonReuter Datastream/WorldScope database. The sample covers all firms that have existed during July 1985 and June 2015 from particular stock markets of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom as well as Canada and Japan. Two-tailed t-tests are conducted in Stata to measure the return differences of different stock portfolios formed from this data. In the first test, stock portfolios are sorted into three groups (low, middle, high) based on prior asset growth for countries in order to see if the returns are lower in high asset growth groups. In the second test, stock portfolios are sorted into three groups (low, middle, high) based on past 11-month returns for countries in order to see whether the past winners (high group) outperform the past losers (low group). In the third test, stocks are grouped into asset growth groups (low, middle, high) in order to see is there momentum effect present in the low and high asset growth groups. Finally, OLS regressions are conducted for each country with the aggregate momentum profits as the dependent variable and lagged aggregate asset growth rate as the explanatory variable. FINDINGS OF THE STUDY The results show that there is an asset growth effect present in most of the countries of the sample but the momentum effect was not significantly present. The key finding is that, there are significant momentum profits in the highest asset growth rate group and often in the low asset growth rate groups as well. This is in line with Nyberg and Pöyry (2014), who find that the momentum effect is strong when there are large asset expansions and contractions. Large balance sheet asset growth rate changes do seem to be related to the momentum effect.
Quadriceps Muscle Atrophy After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection Involves Increased mRNA Levels of Atrogin-1, Muscle Ring Finger 1, and Myostatin

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the mRNA levels of atrogin-1, muscle ring finger 1, and myostatin in rat quadriceps after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) transection. DesignWistar rats were randomized into three different groups: ACL (surgery and ACL transection), sham (surgery without ACL transection), and control. Vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis muscles were harvested at 1, 2, 3, 7, and 15 days after ACL transection. The mRNA levels of atrogin-1, muscle ring finger 1, and myostatin, as well as the ubiquitinated protein content, muscle mass, and cross-sectional area of the muscle fibers, were evaluated. ResultsElevated levels of atrogin-1, muscle ring finger 1, and myostatin mRNA were detected in all tested muscles at most time points. The ubiquitinated protein content was increased at 3 days in the ACL and sham groups. The muscle mass of the ACL group was reduced at 3, 7, and 15 days (vastus lateralis and vastus medialis) and at 7 and 15 days (rectus femoris), whereas it was reduced in the sham group at 3 and 7 days (vastus lateralis and vastus medialis) and at 7 days (rectus femoris). The cross-sectional area of vastus medialis was reduced at 3, 7, and 15 days in the ACL group and at 3 and 7 days in the sham group. The cross-sectional area of the vastus lateralis was reduced at 7 and 15 days in the ACL group and at 7 days in the sham group. Whereas muscle mass and cross-sectional area recovery was noted in the sham group, no recovery was observed in the ACL group. ConclusionsQuadriceps atrophy after ACL transection involves increased levels of myostatin, atrogin-1, and muscle ring finger 1 mRNA and the accumulation of ubiquitinated protein.
Macroeconomic Variables, Financial Sector Development and Capital Structure of Indian Private Corporate Sector during the Period 1981-2007

Assuming that firms operate in a perfect and frictionless capital market, Modigliani and Miller (1958) argue that the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. But other researchers argue that financial leverage depends on firm, industry and country-specific factors. As an economy transforms itself from an agro-based one to an industry and services-based one, the orientation of its financial system may also change. The orientation of the financial system and macroeconomic variables are expected to affect the sources of finance and the costs and benefits associated with different forms of financing. This paper examines the effect of the financial system and macroeconomic variables on the financial leverage of the Indian non-financial private corporate sector during the period 1981-2007. It is found that financial leverage is negatively related to stock market development and positively related to banking sector development, rate of inflation and effective rate of corporate tax.
The Role of Exosystems in Output Regulation

In this technical note we study the role of the exosystem in the theory of output regulation for linear infinite-dimensional systems. The main result of this technical note shows that a stabilizing autonomous controller that achieves output tracking of an almost periodic reference signal is also capable of tracking any signal generated by a full exosystem. Moreover, given an almost periodic reference signal, we present a method for constructing a minimal exosystem generating this signal.
Kernel regression for real-time building energy analysis

This study proposes a new technique for real-time building energy modelling and event detection using kernel regression. We show that this technique can exceed the performance of conventional neural network algorithms, and do so by a large margin when the available training dataset is small. Furthermore, unlike the synapse weights in a neural network, the parameters of our kernel regression models are amenable to human interpretation and can give useful information about the building being studied. We extensively test our proposed algorithms using a new dataset consisting of 1.5 years of power and environmental measurements for four buildings, in addition to benchmarking against the ASHRAE Predictor Shootout dataset. On the new dataset, our kernel regression algorithm gave the best prediction performance in three of four cases and significantly outperformed neural networks (the nearest competitor) with training sets of 1/2 a year or less.
Applying recurrent event analysis to understand the causes of changes in firm credit ratings

This study applies recurrent event analysis to examine the determinants of changes in firm credit ratings. This study uses two extended Cox proportional hazard models to examine upgrade and downgrade data separately. Explanatory variables are taken from financial ratios in Z-score (Altman, 1968) and AR-score (Altman and Rijken, 2004) models. The empirical results first suggest that sales to asset ratio and market equity to book debt ratio are the key explanatory variables for the sample comprising credit rating upgrade firms examined using Z-scores specification. Next, the sample of credit rating upgrade firms examined using AR-score variables reveals that the first rating of young firms is generally underestimated. Additionally, analysis of sample comprising credit downgrade firms examined using Z-score specification identifies working capital to asset ratio and market equity to book debt ratio as the key explicative variables. Furthermore, analysis of sample of credit downgrade firms examined using AR-score model reveals that larger firms are not easily downgraded, and old firms are more likely to be downgraded because of their ratings typically having initially been overestimated. Finally, high q firms with high retained earnings may suffer from underinvestment problem. Consequently, credit agencies may be reluctant to upgrade such firms.
Mast cell count in oral reactive lesions: A histochemical study

Background: The aim of this study was to quantify the number of mast cells in focal reactive hyperplastic lesions of the oral cavity and to compare these two number of mast cells in normal gingival tissues and to correlate their presence with the state of connective tissue changes in reactive lesions and probably suggest a role for mast cells in these lesions. Materials and Methods: Patient records were retrieved during a 10 year period from 2001 to 2010. Data of all reactive hyperplasias namely focal fibrous hyperplasia, pyogenic granuloma (PG), peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) and peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) were reviewed and 10 cases seen in the gingiva were selected for each category and stained with 1% toluidine blue for mast cells. Statistical analysis was applied to see the significant differences between the groups and with the normal gingival tissue. One-way ANOVA-F and unpaired t-test was applied and significant differences were seen between the groups at 5% level of significance. Results: In this study, mast cell count was maximum in POF and fibrous hyperplasia (FH) followed by cases of PG and PGCG. Conclusion: The number of mast cells was more numerous in POF and FH suggesting that mast cell activation is a characteristic feature of chronic inflammation, a condition that may lead to fibrosis as a result of increased collagen synthesis by fibroblasts.
Spatial competition and spatial price discrimination

The analysis of spatial competition under conditions of free entry, which derives its major impetus from the seminal work of Losch (1954), has been conducted, in general, on the assumption that the competitive firm will adopt an f.o. b. pricing scheme-see, for example, Capozza and van Order (1978), and Holahan (1978). Greenhut (1956) does consider some of the implications of discriminatory pricing within competitive markets, but his analysis adopts an essentially short-run view, and provides little rationale for the choice of such a pricing policy by competitive firms. This is in contrast with developments in the analysis of spatial monopoly. The early work of Singer (1937) and Hoover (1937) and subsequent developments by, for example, Greenhut (1956), Beckmann (1976), Beckmann and Ingene (1976), Greenhut and Greenhut (1977), Holahan (1975) and Norman (1977), indicate that the spatial monopolist should adopt a discriminatory spatial pricing policy (where spatial price discrimination is taken, conventionally, to mean that delivered prices do not follow an f.o.b. scheme, but that all concumers equidistant from a particular supplier pay the same price). It is rarely, however, that the results generated by the analysis of spatial monopoly are reconsidered in the analysis of spatial competition. In particular, although we know that spatial price discrimination will, in general, increase a monopolist's profit, the assumption that profit maximising, spatially competitive, firms will adopt f.o. b. pricing schemes has rarely been questioned, and has not been questioned within the Loschian competitive framework; Greenhut and Ohta (1975a), Chapter 8 and Chapter 8, Appendix I, are notable exceptions, but in both cases they depart from the Loschian scheme. The first objective of this paper is, therefore, to show that, when Loschian competitive firms are allowed the option of discriminatory pricing, i.e. are free of institutional constraints which require f.o. b. pricing, they will be forced to exercise that option in order to maintain normal profits. Secondly, we shall show that, if competitive conditions change, the form of price discrimination will also change, and that under certain competitive conditions the degree of discrimination will increase with the degree of competition, leading eventually to uniform pricing. Thirdly, we compare two competitive cases with multi-plant monopoly and derive the spatial analogue of the conventional, spaceless, monopoly/perfect competition comparison. The monopolist's plants will be larger, in area and total output, than each competitive firm, but will supply less per consumer at a higher average price. Welfare comparisons are less clear-cut, in that they are dependent upon the type of competition we assume. We show, however, that welfare maximisation requires marginal cost pricing, where marginal cost includes transport costs, and so requires f.o. b. pricing. If there are economies of scale to production it follows that welfare maximisation will require production subsidy.
Two paths to diversification: Performance implications of related diversification across two dimensions in professional service firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of related diversification across service offerings and industry domains for professional service firms (PSFs) in emerging economies by integrating the reputational and economies of scope perspectives of diversification. The paper also provides insights into how related diversification impacts small and medium sized firms differently. Design/methodology/approach – Using unique data from the Indian Information Technology industry, the authors examine the impact of related diversification along service offerings and industry domains on export performance of firms. Findings – The results show that related diversification across specializations and industry domains impact performance differently across different firm sizes. While the authors find that related diversification across service offerings has an inverted U shape with performance for the medium sized firms, they do not impact performance for small sized firms. Performance of small firms ha.
An Alternative Valuation Model for Contingent Claims

The fundamental valuation equation of Cox, Ingersoll and Ross was expressed in terms of the indirect utility of wealth function. As closed-form solution for the indirect utility is generally unobtainable when investment opportunities are stochastic, existing contingent claims models involving general stochastic processes were almost all derived under the restrictive log utility assumption. An alternative valuation equation is proposed here that depends only on the direct utility function. This alternative valuation approach is applied to derive closed-form solutions for bonds, bond options, individual stocks, and stock options under both power utility and exponential utility functions. Allowable processes for aggregate output, firms' dividends, and state variables are quite general and empirically plausible. The resulting interest rate and stock price dynamics have many empirically plausible properties. Our bond and stock option pricing models with stochastic volatility and stochastic interest rates have most existing models nested. The stock option pricing model is also shown to have the ability to reconcile certain puzzling empirical regularities such as the volatility smile.
Language, immigration and nationalism : comparing the Basque and Catalan cases

Through a comparison between Catalan and Basque nationalism, this thesis describes two patterns of nationalism: inclusive and exclusive, cohesive and fragmented. These are related to the core values of national identity chosen by nationalist elites. However, this choice cannot be arbitrary, but is based on pre-existing cultural material. As language is the key value of most European nationalisms, the degree of language maintenance has a direct influence on the patterns of nationalist mobilization. These two patterns are tested against the different attitudes towards immigrants: early Basque nationalism was isolationist and exclusive, early Catalan nationalism was more integrationist and inclusive. However, during Francoism, Basque nationalism changed its focus from race/religion to language and action, although nationalists never agreed on which one of these was crucial. The result was a more inclusive form of nationalism. Finally, the thesis relates the two models to the rise and spread of political violence. It is argued that ideological infighting and fragmented constituencies are potentially more conducive to violent forms of nationalism. In turn, such ideological frictions are related to cultural discontinuities, including partial assimilation into the dominant culture. However, for this violent potential to fully emerge, there must intervene a second variable, namely state repression. It is argued that the effects of state repression have been different in the two cases: in Catalonia, it encouraged people to mobilize around language and related cultural endeavours; in the Basque Country it provided a powerful catalyst for further violent confrontation and for the 'militarization' of nationalism.
Benefits and challenges of crop rotations in maize-based conservation agriculture (CA) cropping systems of southern Africa

Conservation agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, crop rotations and associations are being promoted in southern Africa to reverse the decline in soil fertility and crop productivity. While agronomic benefits of rotations are known, farm level benefits of rotations in CA systems and how they fit in the smallholder farming systems have not been sufficiently addressed. This paper summarizes agronomic results from 2005 to 2011 of maize in rotation and association with different crops in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Rotation with or without legumes improved water infiltration (between 70 and 238%), soil moisture, soil carbon, macro-fauna and crop productivity. However, due to poor market conditions, rotations with legumes were less profitable than maize during the study period. Farmers have fewer difficulties to abandon tillage and there is scope to retain crop residues in situ in areas of limited crop–livestock competition but the adoption of rotations and associations is constrained by socio-economic factors that need to be addressed before all principles of CA can be applied.