Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Earnings Management and Cultural Values

Using theory and empirical data from social psychology to measure for cultural differences between countries, we study the effect of individualism as defined by Hofstede (1980) and egalitarianism as defined by Schwartz (1994, 1999, 2004) on earnings management. We find a significant influence of both cultural measures. In line with Licht et al. (2004), who argue that individualistic societies may be less susceptible to corruption, we find that countries scoring high on individualism tend to have lower levels of earnings management. In addition, we find that egalitarianism, defined as a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power, is negatively related with earnings management. Our results are robust to different specifications and controls. The main message of this paper is that besides formal institutions, cultural differences are relevant to explain earnings management behaviour. We think that our work adds to the understanding of the importance of cultural values in managerial behaviour across countries contributing to the literature on earnings management and law and institutions.
Immunohistochemical evidence for Zic1 coexpression with β-catenin in the myofibroblast of Dupuytren disease

The active cellular component in Dupuytren disease (DD) is the α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) containing myofibroblast. The underlying regulatory processes in activation of myofibroblasts resemble the pathophysiology of certain types of cancer. Accumulation of β-catenin has been shown in many fibroproliferative processes, including DD and, recent findings attributed a possible role to the Zic1 transcription factor. To assess Zic1 expression in DD and investigate its relation with the accumulation of β-catenin, neighbouring tissue samples in 20 patients with DD were stained immunohistochemically with monoclonal antibodies for β-catenin, α-SMA, and Zic1. Histological appearance was staged according to Luck. Cell-rich areas with accumulation of β-catenin in myofibroblasts that stained for α-SMA and showed apparent Zic1 coexpression were obvious. This coexpression seemed independent of proliferative or involutional histological staging. We found only Zic1 expression in residual stages. A different pattern of expression of protein in the residual stage may support earlier suggestions of a cellular heterogeneity with the existence of different cell (sub-)populations in nodules and cords. On the other hand coexpression of Zic1 and β-catenin may indicate a relation between Zic1 and the Wnt-pathway. Further studies are needed to elucidate cellular origin, potential heterogeneity and activity of the myofibroblasts in DD, and to define the exact role of Zic1 in fibroproliferative processes, wound healing, and cancer. The fibroblast in DD is an interesting model for future experiments.
Evaluations and Grades: A Simultaneous Framework

Using a simultaneous framework and on the basis of data for a single institution, the author concludes that the “oft reported positive effect of student's expected grades on [student evaluation of teaching] in a single equation regression has been misinterpreted” and that “the link between grades and [student evaluations] works in the opposite direction: better faculty improve student performance. ”
QoS-aware replanning of composite Web services

Run-time service discovery and late-binding constitute some of the most challenging issues of service-oriented software engineering. For late-binding to be effective in the case of composite services, a QoS-aware composition mechanism is needed. This means determining the set of services that, once composed, not only will perform the required functionality, but also will best contribute to achieve the level of QoS promised in service level agreements (SLAs). However, QoS-aware composition relies on estimated QoS values and workflow execution paths previously obtained using a monitoring mechanism. At run-time, the actual QoS values may deviate from the estimations, or the execution path may not be the one foreseen. These changes could increase the risk of breaking SLAs and obtaining a poor QoS. Such a risk could be avoided by replanning the service bindings of the workflow slice still to be executed. This paper proposes an approach to trigger and perform composite service replanning during execution. An evaluation has been performed simulating execution and replanning on a set of composite service workflows.
Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS) Shapes the Processing of Rapidly Changing Auditory Information

Neural oscillations in the gamma range are the dominant rhythmic activation pattern in the human auditory cortex. These gamma oscillations are functionally relevant for the processing of rapidly changing acoustic information in both speech and non-speech sounds. Accordingly, there is a tight link between the temporal resolution ability of the auditory system and inherent neural gamma oscillations. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) has been demonstrated to specifically increase gamma oscillation in the human auditory cortex. However, neither the physiological mechanisms of tRNS nor the behavioral consequences of this intervention are completely understood. In the present study we stimulated the human auditory cortex bilaterally with tRNS while EEG was continuously measured. Modulations in the participants’ temporal and spectral resolution ability were investigated by means of a gap detection task and a pitch discrimination task. Compared to sham, auditory tRNS increased the detection rate for near-threshold stimuli in the temporal domain only, while no such effect was present for the discrimination of spectral features. Behavioral findings were paralleled by reduced peak latencies of the P50 and N1 component of the auditory event-related potentials (ERP) indicating an impact on early sensory processing. The facilitating effect of tRNS was limited to the processing of near-threshold stimuli while stimuli clearly below and above the individual perception threshold were not affected by tRNS. This non-linear relationship between the signal-to-noise level of the presented stimuli and the effect of stimulation further qualifies stochastic resonance (SR) as the underlying mechanism of tRNS on auditory processing. Our results demonstrate a tRNS related improvement in acoustic perception of time critical auditory information and, thus, provide further indices that auditory tRNS can amplify the resonance frequency of the auditory system.
A FINITE VOLUME METHOD FOR THE LAPLACE EQUATION ON ALMOST ARBITRARY TWO-DIMENSIONAL GRIDS

We present a finite volume method based on the integration of the Laplace equation on both the cells of a primal almost arbitrary two-dimensional mesh and those of a dual mesh obtained by joining the centers of the cells of the primal mesh. The key ingredient is the definition of discrete gradient and divergence operators verifying a discrete Green formula. This method generalizes an existing finite volume method that requires "Voronoi-type" meshes. We show the equivalence of this finite volume method with a non-conforming finite element method with basis functions being P 1 on the cells, generally called "diamond-cells", of a third mesh. Under geometrical conditions on these diamond- cells, we prove a first-order convergence both in the H 1 norm and in the L 2 norm. Superconvergence results are obtained on certain types of homothetically refined grids. Finally, numerical experiments confirm these results and also show second-order convergence in the L 2 norm on general grids. They also indicate that this method performs particularly well for the approximation of the gradient of the solution, and may be used on degenerating triangular grids. An example of application on non- conforming locally refined grids is given.
Detection, Subgroup Specificity, and Genotype Diversity of Rotavirus Strains in Children with Acute Diarrhea in Paraguay

ABSTRACT Of a total of 220 stool specimens from children with acute diarrhea, mostly under the age of 3 years, collected in Paraguay between January 1999 and March 2000, 70 (31.8%) were found positive for rotaviruses (RV). Positive samples were characterized by electropherotyping and subgrouping. Sixty-one (87.1%) were classified as group A, subgroup II; one (1.4%) was classified as group A, subgroup I; six (8.6%) were group A, non-I non-II; and two (2.9%) were not tested. RV strains were G and P genotyped by reverse transcription-PCR. The following G types were detected: G4 (34.3%), G1 (21.4%), G2 (1.4%), and G9 (5.7%). Mixtures of human and animal genotypes were detected in 15 (21.4%) samples, and 11 samples (15.7%) were nontypeable. The following P types were detected: P[8] (48.6%), P[4] (1.4%), and P[1] (1.4%). A mixed type was found in 10% of samples, and an unexpectedly high percentage (38.6%) of nontypeable samples was found. The common human G- and P-type combinations P[8], G4 (15.7%) and P[8], G1 (14.2%) were detected. Mixed human and animal genotypes were observed as the following combinations: G4 + G5, G4 + G5 + G10, and G1 + G10 for G types and P[8]-P[1] for P types. The emerging G9 genotype was detected in four samples. These results show for the first time the diversity of RV circulating among children in Paraguay and contribute to the knowledge of this pathogen required to devise strategies to prevent diarrheal illness in this country. The finding of mixed genotypes may indicate interspecies transmission of RV between humans and animals.
Epidermal growth factor inhibits growth of A431 human epidermoid carcinoma in serum-free cell culture

A medium consisting of a rich basal nutrient mixture supplemented with bovine insulin (10 micrograms/ml), human transferrin (10 micrograms/ml), human cold-insoluble globulin (5 micrograms/ml), and ethanolamine (0.5 mM) supported the growth of the A431 human epidermoid cell line in the absence of serum with a generation time equal to that of cells in serum-containing medium. Addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to this culture medium at concentration mitogenic for other cell types resulted in a marked inhibition of A431 cell growth. Inhibitory effects of EGF were observed at 1 ng/ml and near-maximal effects were observed at 10 ng/ml. The inhibitory effect of EGF could be reversed by the omission of EGF in subsequent medium changes and could be prevented by the addition of anti-EGF antibody to the culture medium. Inhibition of A431 cell growth by EGF also could be demonstrated in serum-containing medium.
Quantized Thermal Conductance of Dielectric Quantum Wires

Using the Landauer formulation of transport theory, we predict that dielectric quantum wires should exhibit quantized thermal conductance at low temperatures in a ballistic phonon regime. The quantum of thermal conductance is universal, independent of the characteristics of the material, and equal to ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2}{k}_{B}^{2}T/3h$ where ${k}_{B}$ is the Boltzmann constant, $h$ is Planck's constant, and $T$ is the temperature. Quantized thermal conductance should be experimentally observable in suspended nanostructures adiabatically coupled to reservoirs, devices that can be realized at the present time.
The Effect of Aortic Valve Replacement on Survival

We retrospectively studied 252 operated and 47 unoperated patients with isolated aortic valve disease. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) was recommended to all patients based on clinical and hemodynamic data. Preoperative hemodynamic and angiographic data were similar in operated and unoperated cohorts. Seventy-one percent of patients received a Bjork-Shiley prosthesis. Operative mortality was 7% for the entire surgical series. For patients with predominant aortic stenosis (AS), survival at 3 years was 87% in operated and 21% in unoperated patients (p < 0.001). For patients with predominant aortic insufficiency (Al), the 5-year survival rate was 86% in operated and 87% in unoperated patients (NS). AVR improved long-term survival inpatients with AS who had normal or impaired left ventricular (LV) function.In patients with Al and normal LV function, survival was not improved after AVR, but those with LV dysfunction who were operated on tended to survive longer (NS). Long-term survival of unoperated patients with AI was better than that in unoperated patients with AS. We conclude that AVR improves long-term survival in patients with AS who have normal or abnormal LV function, and that AVR does not change long-term survival in patients with Al, although those with LV dysfunction tended to survive longer.
Anthropology, Interviewing, and Communicability in Contemporary Society

Developing an anthropology of interviewing could provide a rich focus for ethnographies of the contemporary and illuminate how anthropologists’ modes of knowledge production intersect with practices that play crucial roles in the media, corporations, electoral politics, state bureaucracies, and a wide range of professions. Interviewing is informed by ideological constructions of discourse production, circulation, and reception, communicable cartographies that are widely shared by anthropologists and nonanthropologists. The capacity of interview‐based texts to project maps of their purported sources, processes of encoding, modes of circulation, recipients, and legitimate modes of reception naturalizes interviewing, simultaneously imbuing interviews with power and shielding them from critical scrutiny. Analyses of David Stoll’s attack on the veracity of I, Rigoberta Menchú, Américo Paredes’s critique of ethnographic work on Mexican‐Americans, and the author’s interviews with Venezuelan women convicted of infanticide illustrate this process. An anthropology of interviewing has potential for illuminating such issues as the spatialization and temporalization of ethnography, the doubling of ethnography “in the field” and at “the desk,” questions of scale, the science wars in anthropology, and the ways in which anthropologists mirror and are mirrored by other “expert” knowledge makers.
Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts

Significance Most recent analyses of the environmental impact of natural gas have focused on production, with very sparse information on emissions from distribution and end use. This study quantifies the full seasonal cycle of methane emissions and the fractional contribution of natural gas for the urbanized region centered on Boston. Emissions from natural gas are found to be two to three times larger than predicted by existing inventory methodologies and industry reports. Our findings suggest that natural-gas–consuming regions may be larger sources of methane to the atmosphere than is currently estimated and represent areas of significant resource loss. Methane emissions from natural gas delivery and end use must be quantified to evaluate the environmental impacts of natural gas and to develop and assess the efficacy of emission reduction strategies. We report natural gas emission rates for 1 y in the urban region of Boston, using a comprehensive atmospheric measurement and modeling framework. Continuous methane observations from four stations are combined with a high-resolution transport model to quantify the regional average emission flux, 18.5 ± 3.7 (95% confidence interval) g CH4⋅m−2⋅y−1. Simultaneous observations of atmospheric ethane, compared with the ethane-to-methane ratio in the pipeline gas delivered to the region, demonstrate that natural gas accounted for ∼60–100% of methane emissions, depending on season. Using government statistics and geospatial data on natural gas use, we find the average fractional loss rate to the atmosphere from all downstream components of the natural gas system, including transmission, distribution, and end use, was 2.7 ± 0.6% in the Boston urban region, with little seasonal variability. This fraction is notably higher than the 1.1% implied by the most closely comparable emission inventory.
Keeping Kids on Track: Impacts of a Parenting-Focused Early Head Start Program on Attachment Security and Cognitive Development

Research Findings: The home-based Early Head Start program in this local study aimed to promote children's early attachment and cognitive development by establishing supportive relationships with parents and guiding responsive parenting and positive parent–child play interactions. To test the effectiveness of this approach, we studied the development of secure base behavior and cognitive skills in infants and toddlers from low-income families in northern Utah and southern Idaho who had been randomly assigned to the program or a comparison group. Analyses covaried the main risk factors of low maternal education (associated with the children's lower cognitive scores) and maternal depression (associated with both lower cognitive scores and lower attachment security scores). Significant impacts of this Early Head Start program over and above earlier assessments and risk variables were evident by 18 months in children's attachment security scores and by 36 months in children's cognitive standard scores. Practice or Policy: The results of this study support the effectiveness of focusing on parenting to support children's early development. Home-visiting programs such as this one can keep children's early development on track by providing parenting-focused home visits that help parents support their children's early development.
Parse's Research Methodology with an Illustration of the Lived Experience of Hope

Research traditions unique to the discipline of nursing are beginning to grow; there are now several extant research methodologies unique to nursing science. This paper sets forth one nursing research methodology and discusses the relationship of ontologies to methodologies in building research traditions. The nursing methodology presented here evolved from the theory of man-living-health. It is a hypothesis-generating qual itative methodology congruent with the ontology. Although there are many similarities with qualitative methodologies used in other disci plines, this method focuses on lived experience of health and leads specifically to the concepts of the nursing theory in the analysis process. The entities for study are universal lived experiences of health as defined in the man-living-health theory. The focus is on the study of the human being's participative experience in cocreating health. The processes of the method, participant selection, dialogical engagement, extraction- synthesis, and heuristic interpretation are described in detail, as are implications for refinement of the method. The report of a research study using this emerging method in uncovering the structure of the lived experience of hope is included.
Effect of Financial Costs on Caregiving Burden of Family Caregivers of Older Adults

This study examined the effects of perceived financial costs on caregiving burden experienced by family caregivers. The target population was family caregivers for older adults who were 65 years of age and older in Calgary, Alberta. Telephone interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire, with a random sample of 340 family caregivers. The financial costs associated with family caregiving were a significant factor in caregiving burden, both for the male and female caregivers, even when controlled for most of the demographic characteristics of the caregivers, and the demographics, health, and caregiving needs of the care receivers. While caregiving is creating burden and financial consequences for family caregivers, the effects of financial costs should not be understood only in financial terms. Policies and programs to alleviate the financial burden and to provide social and financial support for these family caregivers are equally important for both family caregivers and their care receivers.
Parental stress increases the detrimental effect of traffic exposure on children's lung function.

RATIONALE Emerging evidence indicates that psychosocial stress enhances the effect of traffic exposure on the development of asthma. OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that psychosocial stress would also modify the effect of traffic exposure on lung function deficits. METHODS We studied 1,399 participants in the Southern California Children's Health Study undergoing lung function testing (mean age, 11.2 yr). We used hierarchical mixed models to assess the joint effect of traffic-related air pollution and stress on lung function. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Psychosocial stress in each child's household was assessed based on parental response to the perceived stress scale (range, 0-16) at study entry. Exposures to nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and total oxides of nitrogen (NOx), surrogates of the traffic-related pollution mixture, were estimated at schools and residences based on a land-use regression model. Among children from high-stress households (parental perceived stress scale > 4) deficits in FEV1 of 4.5 (95% confidence interval, -6.5 to -2.4) and of 2.8% (-5.7 to 0.3) were associated with each 21.8 ppb increase in NOx at homes and schools, respectively. These pollutant effects were significantly larger in the high-stress compared with lower-stress households (interaction P value 0.007 and 0.05 for residential and school NOx, respectively). No significant NOx effects were observed in children from low-stress households. A similar pattern of association was observed for FVC. The observed associations for FEV1 and FVC remained after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and after restricting the analysis to children who do not have asthma. CONCLUSIONS A high-stress home environment is associated with increased susceptibility to lung function effects of air pollution both at home and at school.
Childhood sexual abuse among girls and determinants of sexual risk behaviours in adult life in sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between child sexual abuse and sexual risk behaviours as well as its potential mediators. Design/methodology/approach – This cross-sectional study used data from a cross-sectional study from 12,800 women between 15 and 49 years of age included in the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to assess the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and sexual risk behaviours. Findings – The authors found that CSA was directly associated with sexual risk behaviours. In addition, the association between CSA and sexual risk behaviour was also partially mediated by alcohol and cigarette use. Research limitations/implications – The results show that being abused in childhood is important for the subsequent development of sexual risk behaviours in adulthood and the association is mediated by alcohol and cigarette use. Practical implications – The results may be helpful for policy makers.
The isomorphism problem for circulant graphs via Schur ring theory

This paper concerns the applications of Schur ring theory to the isomorphism problem of circulant graphs (Cayley graphs over cyclic groups). A digest of the most important facts about Schur rings presented in the first sections provides the reader with agentie self-eontained introduction to this area. The developed machinery allows us to give proofs of two eonjectures (Zibin' 1975 and Toida 1977) about necessary conditions on isomorphisms of the cireulants. These new results together with a few new proofs of some known facts show the feasibility of the teehnique of Schur rings in algebraic combinatorics. The eoncluding section contains a short historical and bibliographical survey of various results related to the isomorphism problem for Cayley graphs.