Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Poissonian Count Rate Function for the Followers of a Twitter Account Making Directional Forecasts of the Stock Market

We derive expressions of use in the maximum likelihood estimation of a parameterized growth rate where the quantity growing is a Poissonian count rate parameterized in such a manner as to make it suitable to measure the number of Twitter accounts following an account that makes directional forecasts of the stock market. We use these expressions to estimate the model for data collected for a forecasting system publicised during the Spring of 2009. We find a positive correlation between success and an increase in the number of followers, and use the maximum likelihood ratio test to reject the null hypothesis (of no correlation) with a confidence of better than 95%.
The Effect of Credit Ratings on Credit Default Swap Spreads and Credit Spreads

This article investigates empirically the relationship between credit spreads and credit default swap spreads and how these spreads react to changes in credit ratings. The authors’ findings suggest a clear relationship between the two spreads and that credit rating and macroeconomic factors add significant information to this relationship. Furthermore, both spreads react to changes in credit ratings, and in particular to downgrades. The authors discover anticipated and lagged effects of changes in credit rating and differences between investment grades. Interestingly, the CDS market seems to react faster and more significantly than the bond market to changes in credit ratings.
Determinants of eLearning adoption among instructors in Ugandan public universities

Information systems (IS) projects, as a result of wide spread usage of the Internet, have been initiated in public Universities and other institutions of learning in developing countries over the past decade as an attempt to improve on public service delivery by investing million of United States (US) dollars in IT infrastructural development. By adopting the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, this study was aimed at investigating the determinants of electronic learning or technology enhanced learning (TEL) adoption by adopting a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional research designs. We analyzed the data using Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) to evaluate the strength of the hypothesized relationships, among the constructs, which include the seven (7) TOE factors mentioned above and eLearning adoption as the dependent variable. The findings of this study implied that the TOE can be used to analyze eLearning adoption in Universities in Uganda.
Flexible Exchange Rates, Prices, and the Role of "News": Lessons from the 1970s

This paper analyzes the key issues and lessons from the experience with flexible exchange rates during the 1970s. It analyzes the efficiency of the foreign-exchange market and the volatility of exchange rates, as well as the relationships between exchange rates and interest rates. A key distinction is made between anticipated and unanticipated events, and it is shown that the key factor affecting exchange rates has been "news. " The analysis then proceeds to analyze the relationship between exchange rates and prices. The deviations from purchasing power parities are being interpreted in terms of the modern asset-market approach to the exchange rate.
Use of The Internet for Trip Planning: A Generational Analysis

ABSTRACT With recent developments in social media and mobile computing, little is known regarding how different travel segments within the general traveler population actually use the Internet for travel planning. In particular, this study examined various aspects of Internet use among four generational groups including the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y over a six-year period. Findings show a high adoption rate of the Internet among all generations but there are important differences related to information search, trip planning activities, and websites used for online booking. This study provides a timely analysis of information technology use for travel planning and offers meaningful insights for the development of communication strategies for destinations and tourism businesses.
Towards a contingent model of key staff retention: The new psychological contract reconsidered

Theories and evidence of widespread changes in employment relationships abound in literature. The organisational environment is increasingly characterised by mandates of flexibility, reorganisation, reengineering and downsizing. As a result, traditional perceptions of what is owed between an employee and an organisation are subject to reappraisal. Such perceptions are encapsulated by the concept of the ‘psychological contract’. Evidence suggests that in the transient global business environment, the psychological contract of employees and organisational representatives may be shifting towards a far more transactional paradigm. Transactional contracts describe perceptions that employment obligations are more short-term, work content based and less relational. However in the case of key employee groups, such transactional relationships may conflict with an organisation’s need to retain its core skills and knowledge that form one of its only truly sustainable competitive advantages. Therefore divergent and varied psychological contracts increase the difficulty of decisions regarding the long-term retention of key employees. An explanatory model is therefore presented here, allowing for the various permutations and effects on key staff retention that may arise from such differing perceptions. Organisational solutions and research propositions are suggested for future research.
Intertemporal portfolio optimization with small transaction costs and stochastic variance

The solution to the intertemporal optimal portfolio selection and consumption rule with small transaction costs is derived via the use of perturbation analysis for the two assets portfolio, one risky and one riskfree. This methodology allows us to apply a broader specification for the function of utility. The additional feature of stochastic variance is also included.
Performance Comparisons and Dynamic Incentives

It is well known that comparative performance information (CPI) can enhance efficiency in static principal‐agent relationships by improving the trade‐off between insurance and incentives in the design of explicit contracts. In dynamic settings, however, there may be implicit as well as explicit incentives, for example, managerial career concerns and the ratchet effect in regulation. We show that the dynamic effects of CPI on implicit incentives can either reinforce or oppose the familiar (static) insurance effect and in either case can be more important for efficiency. The overall welfare effects of CPI are thus ambiguous and can be characterized in terms of the underlying information structure.
Human corticotropin‐releasing hormone and thyrotropin‐releasing hormone modulate the hypercapnic ventilatory response in humans

Human corticotropin‐releasing hormone (hCRH) and thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) are known to stimulate ventilation after i.v. administration in humans. In a placebo‐controlled, single‐blind study we aimed to clarify if both peptides act by altering central chemosensitivity. Two subsequent CO2‐rebreathing tests were performed in healthy young volunteers. During the first test 0.9% NaCl was given i.v. ; during the second test 200 μg of hCRH (n = 12) or 400 μg of TRH (n = 6) was administered i.v. Nine subjects received 0.9% NaCl i.v. during both rebreathing manoeuvres. The CO2–response curves for the two tests were compared within the same subject. In the hCRH group a marked parallel shift of the CO2–response curve to the left was observed after hCRH (P < 0.01). The same effect occurred following TRH but was less striking (P = 0.05). hCRH and TRH caused a reduction in the CO2 threshold. The CO2–response curves in the control group were nearly identical. The results indicate an additive effect of both releasing hormones on the hypercapnic ventilatory response in humans, presumably independent of central chemosensitivity.
Malignant Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pancreas

Abstract Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) arising in the pancreas is exceedingly rare, with only 11 cases reported in the English literature. All cases described thus far have exhibited benign histology. We report the first case of malignant SFT of the pancreas. The patient was a 52-year-old woman who presented with obstructive jaundice and a 15-cm pancreatic head mass. The mass showed areas with typical histologic features for SFT including small fibroblastlike cells arranged in the well-characterized “patternless pattern” of architecture, hemangiopericytomalike vessels, areas with dense collagen and infrequent mitoses (0–2 per 10 high-power fields [HPFs]). In addition, multiple areas with an overtly sarcomatous morphology were present, containing large spindle and epithelioid cells with nuclear pleomorphism, marked cellularity, up to17 mitoses per 10 HPFs, and necrosis. Immunohistochemical stains were positive for CD34 and B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) in both benign and malignant components and showed strong, diffuse p53 and p16 staining in the malignant component. At last follow-up (40 months), the patient was alive and well without evidence of disease. However, given that the presence of a malignant component in extrapancreatic SFT has been associated with recurrence/metastasis and death, complete surgical resection and close long-term follow-up is required.
Criminal Justice Act 2003

2 Warrants to enter and search In section 16 of the 1984 Act (execution of warrants), after subsection (2) there is inserted— “(2A) A person so authorised has the same powers as the constable whom he accompanies in respect of— (a) the execution of the warrant, and (b) the seizure of anything to which the warrant relates. (2B) But he may exercise those powers only in the company, and under the supervision, of a constable. ”
The Year of the Woman? Candidates, Votes and the 1992 Elections

The struggle for political power has been long and difficult for women in the United States. The barriers to participation in politics have been both legal and cultural, overt and subtle. In colonial America there were few direct limits on women's participation. However, the combination of franchise restrictions based on property ownership and the overwhelming propensity for property to be held in a man's name meant that few women participated in electoral politics as either voters or officeholders. ' In one of the great ironies in American political history, the war for national independence led directly to the overt disenfranchisement of women in the United States. The national constitution left the determination of voter eligibility to the newly formed states. The revolution, with its emphasis on political rights, created pressure for moving away from property-based eligibility for suffrage. In being forced in the writing of their constitutions and their voting laws to confront de jure property-based restrictions, states also had to confront the de facto prohibi-
The efficacy of flecainide versus digoxin in the management of fetal supraventricular tachycardia

Fetal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) can be successfully treated transplacentally, but in cases where fetal hydrops develops there is considerable morbidity and mortality. The present study was carried out to establish whether the introduction of flecainide altered obstetric management and fetal outcome. A retrospective analysis took place of 51 singleton pregnancies which were referred to the division of prenatal diagnosis because of fetal tachycardia between 1982 and 1993. SVT was documented in 50 out of 51 fetuses, one of which displayed a combination of extensive rhabdomyomas and severe hydrops and died shortly after referral. In the other fetus ventricular tachycardia was diagnosed. Of the remaining 49 fetuses, 14 did not receive any prenatal treatment, but nine needed postnatal treatment. Transplacental treatment of SVT took place in 35 fetuses, of which 22 presented without hydrops and 13 with hydrops. These subsets differed significantly with respect to restoration of normal sinus rhythm (73% vs. 30%; p<0.001) and mortality (0% vs. 46%; p<0.001). Digoxin was effective in restoring sinus rhythm in 55 per cent of the non‐hydropic fetuses but in only eight per cent of the hydropic fetuses. Flecainide was effective in restoring sinus rhythm in all non‐hydropic fetuses where digoxin treatment failed, and in 43 per cent of hydropic fetuses. Administration of flecainide resulted in a significantly reduced mortality (p<0.001) compared with digoxin treatment. No adverse effects were seen. Postnatal anti‐arrhythmic treatment was necessary in 23 infants. Treatment could be withdrawn within one year in all cases but one.
Full CSI selection combining for multi-relay cooperative diversity systems

In this paper, a cooperative diversity system having a source, multiple relays, and a destination is considered. Conventional selection combining schemes failed to include the effect of source-to-relay channels in the error analysis of cooperative diversity systems; hence its performance is not optimum. In this paper, we have proposed a full channel state information (CSI) selection combining which effectively utilizes the CSI of all channels in the error analysis; thereby giving optimum performance. The end-to-end symbol error probability (SEP) of a full CSI selection combining scheme for such a system, with decode and forward relaying and binary phase-shift keying in a flat Rayleigh fading environment, is derived in closed form. This scheme has been compared with conventional selection combining scheme. Results show that proposed scheme offers a substantial signal-to-noise ratio gain over conventional selection combining.
The Process of Manufacturing Strategy: Some Empirical Observations and Conclusions

Manufacturing strategy has become a subject of increasing importance to practice and research. It involves two elements: content and process. The content of manufacturing strategy has recently received considerable attention. The process of manufacturing strategy has not received the same level of emphasis. There is little prescriptive literature on the subject, and even less literature of an empirical nature. It is argued that effective manufacturing strategy is inseparable from an effective process for the development of manufacturing strategy. This article provides some beginnings with regard to the process of manufacturing strategy by (1) exploring and drawing out concepts and methodologies in existing literature which can contribute to the process of manufacturing strategy, (2) reporting on an empirical study of the process of manufacturing strategy involving 53 manufacturing executives within organisations primarily from the midwest region of the USA, and (3) developing implications for future pract.
Tests of Mediation: Paradoxical Decline in Statistical Power as a Function of Mediator Collinearity

Increasing the correlation between the independent variable and the mediator (a coefficient) increases the effect size (ab) for mediation analysis; however, increasing a by definition increases collinearity in mediation models. As a result, the standard error of product tests increase. The variance inflation caused by increases in a at some point outweighs the increase of the effect size (ab) and results in a loss of statistical power. This phenomenon also occurs with nonparametric bootstrapping approaches because the variance of the bootstrap distribution of ab approximates the variance expected from normal theory. Both variances increase dramatically when a exceeds the b coefficient, thus explaining the power decline with increases in a. Implications for statistical analysis and applied researchers are discussed.
Control and Performance in International Channels: Autos in an Emerging Market

This study concerns the relationship between foreign automobile manufacturers and their respective dealers in the emerging market of Kuwait. A questionnaire was sent to the dealer population, two thirds of whom replied. Constructs relating to the extent and type of control by manufacturers and the dealers' performance were developed and tested. The study found manufacturers practicing substantial control, mostly of the process type, over their dealers. The study also found a positive but moderate association between the type of control and subjective performance and a negative association between the extent of control and objective performance. The study discusses its limitations.
Corporate accountability in the context of sustainability – a conceptual framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate the context of sustainability in a framework for greater corporate accountability. Design/methodology/approach – Applied conceptual research. Findings – This literature review shows that current corporate accountability frameworks forces companies to focus on a narrow source for value creation based on imperfect economic theories inadequate response to societal issues and misleading measurement systems. The current conceptual accountability frameworks are dramatically inadequate in the context of escalating sustainability issues and needs of both society and business. The business responses, through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, voluntary sustainability reports and industry standards are only a poor attempt to address the fundamental sustainable development challenges. Economic theory has defined externalities as residual to the market and as market failure requiring government intervention. Practical implications – This paper propos.
Clp Protease Complexes from Photosynthetic and Non-photosynthetic Plastids and Mitochondria of Plants, Their Predicted Three-dimensional Structures, and Functional Implications*

Tetradecameric Clp protease core complexes in non-photosynthetic plastids of roots, flower petals, and in chloroplasts of leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana were purified based on native mass and isoelectric point and identified by mass spectrometry. The stoichiometry between the subunits was determined. The protease complex consisted of one to three copies of five different serine-type protease Clp proteins (ClpP1,3-6) and four non-proteolytic ClpR proteins (ClpR1-4). Three-dimensional homology modeling showed that the ClpP/R proteins fit well together in a tetradecameric complex and also indicated unique contributions for each protein. Lateral exit gates for proteolysis products are proposed. In addition, ClpS1,2, unique to land plants, tightly interacted with this core complex, with one copy of each per complex. The three-dimensional modeling show that they do fit well on the axial sites of the ClpPR cores. In contrast to plastids, plant mitochondria contained a single ∼320-kDa homo-tetradecameric ClpP2 complex, without association of ClpR or ClpS proteins. It is surprising that the Clp core composition appears identical in all three plastid types, despite the remarkable differences in plastid proteome composition. This suggests that regulation of plastid proteolysis by the Clp machinery is not through differential regulation of ClpP/R/S gene expression, but rather through substrate recognition mechanisms and regulated interaction of chaperone-like molecules (ClpS1,2 and others) to the ClpP/R core.
Internuclear neurons in the ocular motor system of frogs

Medial and lateral rectus motoneurons of frogs were localized after retrograde labeling with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injected in the medial rectus muscle or applied on the cut end of the abducens nerve. Coordinates of these cell columns were used as target areas for the injection of small amounts of HRP (20–60 nl) and [3H]leucine (25–40 nl) and as search areas for retrogradely and anterogradely labeled internuclear neurons (INT) in in vivo and in vitro experiments.
Comparison of Three Methods to Recover Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) From Perianal and Environmental Samples Collected During A Hospital Outbreak of VRE

Objective: To establish an efficient and sensitive technique for recovering vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) from perianal and environmental samples collected during implementation of control measures for an outbreak of VRE. Design: Perianal and environmental samples were collected in triplicate on sterile swabs. One swab was used to inoculate a selective broth medium containing 6 μg of vancomycin and 8 μg of ciprofloxacin per mL, one to inoculate Campylobacter agar containing 10 μg/mL of vancomycin, and one to inoculate Enterococcosel agar containing 8 μg/mL of vancomycin. Setting: Samples were collected in the intensive care units of a 600-bed university hospital over a period of 2 months. Sample Selection: Patients and their immediate environment were sampled if they resided in a ward with a patient known to be colonized or infected with VRE. Results: Of the 88 perianal samples obtained from 63 patients, 37 were positive for VRE by broth culture, with 36 also recovered on both types of solid media (sensitivity, 97.3%; negative predictive value, 98.1%). Of the initial samples collected from each of the 63 patients, 20 were positive for VRE by all methods. Of the 500 environmental samples cultured, 139 were positive for VRE in broth, with only 33 recovered on Campylobacter agar (sensitivity, 23.7%; negative predictive value, 77.2%) and 22 on Enterococcosel agar (sensitivity, 15.8%; negative predictive value, 75.2%). Conclusions: Our data indicate that, when performing surveillance cultures during an outbreak of VRE, use of an enrichment broth medium is required to recover VRE contaminating environmental surfaces; however, direct inoculation to selective solid medium is adequate to recover VRE in patient perianal specimens.
Activity Control of the ClpC Adaptor McsB in Bacillus subtilis

ABSTRACT Controlled protein degradation is an important cellular reaction for the fast and efficient adaptation of bacteria to ever-changing environmental conditions. In the low-GC, Gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis, the AAA+ protein ClpC requires specific adaptor proteins not only for substrate recognition but also for chaperone activity. The McsB adaptor is activated particularly during heat stress, allowing the controlled degradation of the CtsR repressor by the ClpCP protease. Here we report how the McsB adaptor becomes activated by autophosphorylation on specific arginine residues during heat stress. In nonstressed cells McsB activity is inhibited by ClpC as well as YwlE.
Working capital and firm value in an emerging market

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital efficiency and firm value and the influence of financing constraints on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach - – Data from 192 firms spanning a period of ten years (1999-2008) are used for this purpose and analyzed using the ordinary least squares regression technique. Findings - – The study finds that improvements in working capital efficiency through reduction in working capital investment results in higher firm value. However, this relationship is influenced by the financing constraints faced by a firm. For financially constrained firms, working capital efficiency significantly increases firm value but it is found to be insignificant for unconstrained firms. Originality/value - – To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study on the value of working capital in Malaysia or in any emerging market. Most studies on working capital valuation concentrate on developed countries and that too are only a handful. Hence this study contributes to the scarce literature on the valuation of working capital. This study also uses the model by Fama and French (1998) to evaluate the relationship between working capital and firm value, which has hardly been used in studies on working capital valuation.