Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intellectual Capital of Nations — for Future Wealth Creation

This paper focuses on the concept of Intellectual Capital (IC) of Nations and the need for a change of perspectives from financial to intellectual values. Although the paper briefly describes the concept of IC within business, the principal focus is on IC of Nations. IC of a Nation includes the hidden values of individuals, enterprises, and institutions, communities and regions that are the current and potential sources for wealth creation. It is proposed that every nation should start a process in visualising and measuring IC as a complement to traditional state finances. The present paper also examines the ongoing prototyping within Sweden, Israel and Austria that was initiated in 1996. In addition, the paper describes one of the tools — the IC Navigator for Nations — that can be used to present a pedagogical and holistic view and bring balance between intellectual and financial capital. Examples of indicators of IC for Sweden and Israel are described.
ADAM15 Is Functionally Associated with the Metastatic Progression of Human Bladder Cancer

ADAM15 is a member of a family of catalytically active disintegrin membrane metalloproteinases that function as molecular signaling switches, shed membrane bound growth factors and/or cleave and inactivate cell adhesion molecules. Aberrant metalloproteinase function of ADAM15 may contribute to tumor progression through the release of growth factors or disruption of cell adhesion. In this study, we utilized human bladder cancer tissues and cell lines to evaluate the expression and function of ADAM15 in the progression of human bladder cancer. Examination of genome and transcriptome databases revealed that ADAM15 ranked in the top 5% of amplified genes and its mRNA was significantly overexpressed in invasive and metastatic bladder cancer compared to noninvasive disease. Immunostaining of a bladder tumor tissue array designed to evaluate disease progression revealed increased ADAM15 immunoreactivity associated with increasing cancer stage and exhibited significantly stronger staining in metastatic samples. About half of the invasive tumors and the majority of the metastatic cases exhibited high ADAM15 staining index, while all low grade and noninvasive cases exhibited negative or low staining. The knockdown of ADAM15 mRNA expression significantly inhibited bladder tumor cell migration and reduced the invasive capacity of bladder tumor cells through MatrigelTM and monolayers of vascular endothelium. The knockdown of ADAM15 in a human xenograft model of bladder cancer inhibited tumor growth by 45% compared to controls. Structural modeling of the catalytic domain led to the design of a novel ADAM15-specific sulfonamide inhibitor that demonstrated bioactivity and significantly reduced the viability of bladder cancer cells in vitro and in human bladder cancer xenografts. Taken together, the results revealed an undescribed role of ADAM15 in the invasion of human bladder cancer and suggested that the ADAM15 catalytic domain may represent a viable therapeutic target in patients with advanced disease.
Does the Annual General Meeting involve the release of relevant information in non-common law markets? Evidence from Spain

ABSTRACT Although the investigation of the effects of corporate events on stock prices is a well- established line of research in accounting and finance, only a limited attention has been devoted to one of the most important corporate events: the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The current empirical evidence is not only scarce, but is also limited to the US and the UK, countries whose legal tradition is based on the common law. In these countries the AGM has been found to involve the release of relevant information to the market. Nevertheless, since the influential paper by La Porta et al. (1998), evidence reported in common law countries cannot be automatically extrapolated to countries with a different legal tradition. In this paper, we have investigated the effects of AGM on stock returns, volatility and trading volumes, in the Spanish stock market. As expected, our results indicate that the information content of the AGM is lower in Spain than in common law countries. In fact, the AGM does not have any significant effect in any of the three indicators. After examining possible explanations, we conclude that no relevant information seems to be released to the market during AGM, thus having zero impact on returns, volatility and trading volumes. Nevertheless, the behaviour of cumulative returns and trading volumes suggests that market participants expect the release of relevant information during these meetings.
Immunohistochemical assessment of respiratory viruses in necropsy samples from lethal non-pandemic seasonal respiratory infections

Background/aim Acute respiratory infections are an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality throughout the world, and viruses have often been reported to be an aetiological agent. This study aimed to identify respiratory viruses in paraffin-embedded samples of paediatric lung necropsy specimens, using immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray slides. Methods Retrospective study in 200 lung tissue samples from children who had died from severe respiratory infections during 1985–2005. Immunoperoxidase assay was performed to detect the viruses that were most commonly associated with respiratory tract infections: influenza virus A (FLU A), influenza virus B (FLU B), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (AdV) and parainfluenza virus (PIV) types 1, 2 and 3. Results Viruses were detected in 71 (35.5%) cases. Most positive cases were observed in children younger than 6 months. In 42.3% of cases, only one virus was detected: 11 (36.7%) RSV; 7 (23.3%) AdV; 4 (13.3%) PIV2; 3 (10%) FLU A; 2 (6.7%) FLU B; 2 (6.7%) PIV3; and 1 (3.3%) PIV1. Co-infection with more than one virus was observed in 41 (57.7%) cases. No positive correlations were observed between the presence of viral antigens and seasonality of the infection, sex, age or histopathological findings. Conclusions Non-pandemic seasonal respiratory viruses are involved in a significant number of deaths in paediatric patients; these findings highlight the importance of laboratory investigation of these agents in patients hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infections.
Trust, Participation and Performance

Abstract This article studies the possible impact of citizen and worker participation in decision making (PDM) in the Israeli National Insurance Institute (INI) on the perceived performance of this organization, and trust in it. Such an impact is expected according to the rationales suggested by the New Public Management (NPM) approach. The findings show that customers and employees of the INI correlate trust with performance and outcomes much more than with participation in decision-making processes. We suggest a potential explanation for the weak relationship between PDM and trust based on the idea of alternative politics and segments of the political culture.
Procalcitonin Kinetics and Nosocomial Pneumonia in Older Patients

BACKGROUND: Early identification of treatment failure for nosocomial pneumonia remains a major challenge. The goal of this study was to test whether procalcitonin kinetics can be used to assess the clinical efficacy in older critically ill patients with nosocomial pneumonia. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted with 60 subjects (≥ 65 y old) admitted to the ICU with severe nosocomial pneumonia. Serum procalcitonin was measured on days 0, 3, and 7 and at the end of treatment. The procalcitonin time course was analyzed according to the therapeutic efficacy. RESULTS: Procalcitonin levels were elevated in all subjects (n = 60) on day 0, and the median level (range) was 2.5 (0.85–42.7) μg/L. There were no differences in procalcitonin between the improved subjects (n = 41) and those without improvement (n = 19) on day 0 (P > .05). However, lower procalcitonin levels on days 3 and 7 and at the end of treatment (all P < .05) and greater rates of procalcitonin decline between days 0 and 3 (ΔPCTd3%; 29.5 ± 10.8% vs 15.1 ± 5.9%, P = .009) were observed in the improved subjects compared with those with no improvement. ΔPCTd3% was the best single predictor of efficacy (area under the curve of 0.79, P < .001) and had a sensitivity of 75.7% and a specificity of 72.0% with a threshold of 26.2%. By comparison, traditional parameters and absolute procalcitonin failed to predict treatment response (P > .05). Indeed, the combination of ΔPCTd3% > 26.2% and a modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score of < 6 points improved the predictive value (area under the curve of 0.89, sensitivity of 81.3%, specificity of 86.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Procalcitonin levels were not influenced by aging, and procalcitonin kinetics might help to identify treatment failure. ΔPCTd3% in combination with the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score has been shown to be a marker of clinical efficacy at an earlier stage.
Resistance to Replication of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Challenge in SCID-Hu Mice Engrafted with Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Nonprogressors Is Mediated by CD8+T Cells and Associated with a Proliferative Response to p24 Antigen

ABSTRACT High levels of resistance to challenge with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 SF162 were observed in animals engrafted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells of four long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs). Resistance was abrogated by depletion of CD8+ T cells in vivo and was observed only in LTNPs with proliferative responses to p24. In a subgroup of nonprogressors, CD8+ T cells mediated restriction of challenge viruses, and this response was associated with strong proliferative responses to p24 antigen.
Development and brain drain: a review of Vietnamese labour export and skilled migration

Despite a growing body of research assessing the impacts of the 1986 Renovation (Đổi Mới) Policy on labour migration, little is known about how this policy influenced the evolution of labour export and professional migration policies in Vietnam. Based on the limited literature and secondary media sources available, this article aims to sketch the landscape of work migration from Vietnam, which is the result of the government’s attempt to participate in the international arena. In attempting to map out the research landscape through a review of work migration since 1986, this paper argues that the mobilities of recent Vietnamese work migrants have been shaped by social, economic and political conditions in Vietnam. Market socialism and multilateralism dictated by the Đổi Mới and subsequent policies have encouraged an outflow of labour migration as an emerging export industry managed by the government, and self-initiated professional migration as the government’s development tool for human capacity building. While politicians claim that Vietnam’s development is compromised by brain drain, little is known about the mobilities of skilled Vietnamese migrants as well as the extent to which the outflows of work migrants bring back forces for development. As there is a tendency to include labour export and self-initiated skilled migration as an amorphous group, this article points out five ‘myths’ in the research profile of Vietnamese work migration.
Field of Study and Transition into a Stable Job: The Case of a University in Southern Italy

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between a graduate’s field of study and probability of finding a stable job in a labor market which is flexible as regards atypical jobs but highly protective regarding stable jobs. We apply a discrete-time hazard model, taking into account unobservable heterogeneity, to analyze the transition to a stable job of students who graduated from the University of Calabria in 2004, at one, three and five years distance. Main findings indicate that, after controlling for a wide range of characteristics, Engineering graduates have a higher probability of finding a stable job than graduates in Economics and Business followed by those with a degree in Sciences, Political Science, and Humanities. These results confirm that, even in a deprived area, investing in occupational specific human capital can be seen as an “insurance” against the risk of unemployment or an unstable job.
Port Economics, Policy and Management: Review of an Emerging Research Field

Abstract This paper reviews research in port economics, policy and management during the period 1997–2008. In an increasingly international economy, research interest in ports is gradually emerging. This paper examines the developments, themes and characteristics of this research, by reviewing a comprehensive database consisting of all the 395 relevant journal papers on ports that were published during the period 1997–2008. With the use of quantitative and qualitative bibliometric tools, the paper identifies the characteristics of the port research community (such as the authors’ country of affiliation, number of authors involved and international collaboration rates). It also identifies the main characteristics of this emerging scientific research field (such as research approaches, units of analysis, samples of the ports examined and commodities analysed). Finally, the paper develops a content classification that distinguishes the main research subfields, identifies leading papers for these subfields and uses a cross‐citation analysis to analyse the coherence of the port research field.
The Devaluation of Life

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been the target of two recent controversies involving the devaluation of life - the 2003 use of a senior discount for the value of statistical life for those over age 65 and the 2008 downward reassessment of the value of statistical life by the EPA Air Office. Even though these new values of statistical life were still among the highest used in the Federal government, there was a strong negative public reaction to each. The public outcry over the EPA policies appears to have stemmed from an irrational response to decreases in the value of statistical life. Proposed congressional legislation that purportedly seeks to reform the valuations would politicize benefit assessments. A sounder approach is to establish a peer reviewed scientific advisory panel to advise agencies on the value of statistical life.
Separating Recognition Processes of Declarative Memory via Anodal tDCS: Boosting Old Item Recognition by Temporal and New Item Detection by Parietal Stimulation

There is emerging evidence from imaging studies that parietal and temporal cortices act together to achieve successful recognition of declarative information; nevertheless, the precise role of these regions remains elusive. To evaluate the role of these brain areas in declarative memory retrieval, we applied bilateral tDCS, with anode over the left and cathode over the right parietal or temporal cortices separately, during the recognition phase of a verbal learning paradigm using a balanced old-new decision task. In a parallel group design, we tested three different groups of healthy adults, matched for demographic and neurocognitive status: two groups received bilateral active stimulation of either the parietal or the temporal cortex, while a third group received sham stimulation. Accuracy, discriminability index (d’) and reaction times of recognition memory performance were measurements of interest. The d’ sensitivity index and accuracy percentage improved in both active stimulation groups, as compared with the sham one, while reaction times remained unaffected. Moreover, the analysis of accuracy revealed a different effect of tDCS for old and new item recognition. While the temporal group showed enhanced performance for old item recognition, the parietal group was better at correctly recognising new ones. Our results support an active role of both of these areas in memory retrieval, possibly underpinning different stages of the recognition process.
The effect of time and frequency of static stretching on flexibility of the hamstring muscles.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Frequency and duration of static stretching have not been extensively examined. Additionally, the effect of multiple stretches per day has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal time and frequency of static stretching to increase flexibility of the hamstring muscles, as measured by knee extension range of motion (ROM). SUBJECTS Ninety-three subjects (61 men, 32 women) ranging in age from 21 to 39 years and who had limited hamstring muscle flexibility were randomly assigned to one of five groups. The four stretching groups stretched 5 days per week for 6 weeks. The fifth group, which served as a control, did not stretch. METHODS Data were analyzed with a 5 x 2 (group x test) two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures on one variable (test). RESULTS The change in flexibility appeared to be dependent on the duration and frequency of stretching. Further statistical analysis of the data indicated that the groups that stretched had more ROM than did the control group, but no differences were found among the stretching groups. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION The results of this study suggest that a 30-second duration is an effective amount of time to sustain a hamstring muscle stretch in order to increase ROM. No increase in flexibility occurred when the duration of stretching was increased from 30 to 60 seconds or when the frequency of stretching was increased from one to three times per day.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH BEEF COWS BECOME PREGNANT AFTER CALVING IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Michael McGowan, Kieren McCosker, Geoffry Fordyce, Dave Smith, Nigel Perkins, Peter O’Rourke, Tamsin Barnes, Louise Marquart, Don Menzies, Tom Newsome, Di Joyner, Nancy Phillips, Brian Burns, John Morton and Sandi Jephcott. 1 The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343. 2 NT Dept of Primary Industry and Fisheries, Katherine, NT 0851. 3 QAAFI, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072. 4 Dept Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Charters Towers, Qld 4820. 5 AusVet Animal Health Services, Toowoomba, Qld 4350. 6 Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Qld 4029. 7 Universal Resource Management, Rockhampton, Qld 4700. 8 Outcross Performance Pty Ltd, Armidale, NSW 2350. 9 Jemora Pty Ltd, Geelong, Vic 3220. 10 PO Box 11, Surat 4417 Queensland Australia
A Prospective Evaluation of C-reactive Protein Levels and Colorectal Adenoma Development

Background: Inflammation is hypothesized to play a role in colorectal tumorigenesis. Circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a serologic marker of the inflammatory response, have been positively associated with colorectal cancer development in some studies; however, there are limited data on the relation of CRP with colorectal adenomas, established precursors of colorectal cancer. Methods: A nested case–control investigation of CRP levels and incident colorectal adenoma was conducted in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, a randomized trial of 154,942 individuals designed to test the efficacy of flexible sigmoidoscopy on colorectal cancer mortality when performed once, and then repeated 3 to 5 years later. Serum CRP levels were measured in baseline blood specimens from participants who were free of polyps in the left-sided colorectum at the baseline screening procedure, but who were found at the subsequent screen to have at least one colorectal adenoma (n = 356), and in a set of polyp-free, frequency-matched controls (n = 396). Results: In a multivariable logistic regression model that included established colorectal adenoma risk factors, a 1-unit increase in log CRP level was associated with a 15% reduction in risk of developing colorectal adenoma (OR = 0.85, 95% CI, 0.75–0.98, Ptrend = 0.01). This association did not differ according to body size, smoking behavior, gender, use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or adenoma location. Conclusions: High circulating CRP levels may be protective against colorectal adenoma development. Impact: Though at contrast with mechanistic data on inflammation and colorectal tumorigenesis, this finding is not inconsistent with prior results on CRP and colorectal adenoma and warrants further investigation. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(3); 537–44. ©2011 AACR.
Toward Better Risk Forecasts

Volatility forecasts crucial to many financial applications usually assume implicitly that the frequency of the data should match the forecast horizon; portfolio managers typically rely on risk models estimated using monthly data to produce monthly volatility forecasts, for example. For longer–term forecasts, this practice has two drawbacks: Volatility estimates can be based on stale data; and return events occurring within long sampling intervals are obscured, confounding estimation. Monthly volatility risk measures constructed using higher–frequency data seem to be more robust than those using low–frequency data. Microstructure effects can explain the differences in estimates.
Scott's “Zomia,” or a Populist Post-modern History of Nowhere

These days there is a recognisable form of academic folie de grandeur, whereby as one gets older, an individual begins to regard him/herself as an all-purpose cultural commentator. Having started modestly, reporting the findings from a particular fieldwork location, the academic in question arrives finally at a stage where s/he feels able to redefine the whole theoretical approach to ‘‘his/her’’ research area, perhaps even the wider discipline itself, or to invent an entire region, as in the book reviewed here, James C. Scott’s The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Southeast Asia (2009). Not the least satisfying aspect of this career progression, seen from the viewpoint of the academic concerned, is that it mimics all the acts of imperial conquest: a foreign territory is acquired, its resources looted and property seized, and clients are placed upon its throne. In the nineteenth century, imperialism renamed portions of the globe without reference to the wishes of the people who lived there. Having planted a flag on a piece of land that did not belong to them, imperialists declared that henceforth it would be known by a name of their own choosing. At the start of the twenty-first century, it can be argued that a similar kind of renaming occurs, but this time by academics of portions of the globe they study, again without reference to those who occupy the spaces in question. From a campus usually located in a western capitalist nation, the identity of an existing Third World country is declared to be invalid, and its current designation henceforth to be replaced with a more ‘‘authentic’’ one. In each instance, an overriding pronouncement either accompanies or amounts to an act of conquest: the earlier one a material colonisation, the later one merely an intellectual occupation of an ‘‘other’’ space. According to Scott (p. 13), ‘‘Zomia’’ is a new name for the ‘‘largest remaining nonstate space in the world,’’ a vast area extending from north-eastern India, via the Central Highlands of Vietnam, to the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and
The use of Codes of Ethics in New Zealand Marketing Research and effects on ethical behaviour

X CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. RESEARCH CONTEXT 1 1.2. RESEARCH PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE 4 1.3. INTENDED AUDIENCE 5 1.4. ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS 7 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 8 SECTION I – MARKETING RESEARCH ETHICS 8 2.