Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An index method for measurement of customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction (CS) has become an important issue for commercial and public service organisations. Companies win or lose based on what percentage of their customers they can keep. Success is largely about retention of customers, which again depends on CS level. It would be a great help to be able to comprehensively measure the quality of product and service, by relating the measures of quality to real customer behaviour. Some companies get feedback about CS through the percentage of complaints, some through non‐systematic surveys, again some do not measure CS at all, because “the system would not add anything useful and is very time‐consuming”. Give three managers in the same company the same objective: to improve CS, however it may be measured, and they will come up with three distinctly different and incompatible plans. CS requires a number of ingredients, all of which need to be considered. Aims to develop and simplify measurement systems by using a general formula that makes quantitative measur.
Do corporate governance mechanisms influence environmental reporting practices? Evidence from an emerging country

This study seeks to examine the potential links between corporate governance mechanisms and environmental reporting practices from the perspective of agency theory. A content analysis has been conducted to gather relevant information from the annual reports of the 100 leading Malaysian public-listed companies covering a three-year period, i.e., from 2009 to 2011. The relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and environmental reporting practices is then tested using regression analysis. The results generally indicate that there was an improved trend in environmental reporting among the companies over the three-year period and offer preliminary insights into the influence of corporate governance on environmental reporting. A positive significant relationship was found between board size and environmental reporting. Other corporate governance mechanisms including board independence, ownership concentration and female directorship were not associated with the environmental reporting practices of companies. The findings provide new insights into the potential strategies in relation to corporate governance towards encouraging greater environmental reporting from the perspective of an emerging country.
Performances evaluation of textile electrodes for EMG remote measurements

This work focus on the evaluation of textile electrodes for EMG signals acquisition. Signals have been acquired simultaneously from textile electrode and from gold standard electrodes, by using the same acquisition system; tests were done across subjects and with multiple trials to enable a more complete analysis. This research activity was done in the frame of the European Project Interaction, aiming at the development of a system for a continuous daily-life monitoring of the functional performance of stroke survivors in their physical interaction with the environment.
Comparison between autogenous brachial-basilic upper arm transposition fistulas and prosthetic brachial-axillary vascular accesses for hemodialysis.

AIM The aim of this paper was to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing autogenous brachial-basilic upper arm transposition fistulas (BBAVF) with prosthetic brachial-axillary vascular accesses (BAPTFE) at immediate and medium follow-up. METHODS Retrospective analysis of the aforementioned accesses performed in a single-center from 2003 to 2007. Transposition was used in all BBAVF performed. Conic prostheses were used in the BAPTFE. Primary and secondary patency, patient survival, types of complications and its rates were assessed during follow-up. RESULTS Thirty-six BBAVF and 40 BAPTFE were performed. Both groups were well matched for age, gender and comorbidity. BBAVF primary patency was 93.5%, 50.4%, 45.8% and 45.8% compared to 80.6%, 64.3%, 46.2% and 31.6% of the BAPTFE group at 1, 12, 24 and 36 months of follow-up (P=0.719). BBAVF secondary patency was 93.5%, 50.4%, 45.8% and 45.8% compared to 80.6%, 67.7%, 54.2% and 35.1% of the BAPTFE at the same periods (P=0.902). Patient survival was 97.2%, 97.2%, 93.2% and 86.5 for BBAVF in contrast to 97.2%, 94.4%, 84.1% and 79.9% for BAPTFE in the same months (P=0.386). 13.8% of the BBVAF had accessibility problems while only 5% of the BAPTFE presented them (P=0.174). Infection was more frequent in BAPTFE (0% vs 10%), being the only complication near the statistical signification (P=0.071). CONCLUSION BBAVF offer patency and accessibility rates similar to BAPTFE, but lower infectious complications. Thus, we consider them as the preferred hemodialysis access when fistulas using the cephalic vein have failed or are not possible.
Cigarette smoking, major depression, and other psychiatric disorders among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To examine cross-sectionally and prospectively relationships of cigarette smoking with major depressive disorder (MDD), controlling for comorbidity in a community sample of adolescents. METHOD A representative sample of 1,709 adolescents (aged 14 through 18 years) was assessed by using semistructured diagnostic interviews on two occasions, approximately 1 year apart. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine cross-sectionally and prospectively the relationships between smoking and each psychiatric disorder, while statistically controlling for the other disorders. RESULTS Cross-sectional analyses revealed significant relationships of drug abuse/dependence and disruptive behavior disorders with adolescent smoking, even after the co-occurrence of all other disorders was controlled. Prospectively, smoking was found to increase the risk of developing an episode of MDD and drug abuse/dependence, after adjusting for other disorders. Finally, only lifetime prevalence of MDD remained a significant predictor of smoking onset, after controlling for other disorders. Gender did not moderate any of the relationships between psychopathology and smoking. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest important relationships between cigarette smoking and psychiatric disorders among adolescents, particularly with regard to MDD, drug abuse/dependence, and disruptive behavior disorders. These findings have important clinical implications, both for psychiatric care and for smoking prevention and cessation efforts with adolescents.
An empirical study on the transaction sector within rail firms

In general, there is a growing debate on transaction costs in regard to vertical separation of rail infrastructure from train operations, but there is still only little or almost no systematic work on their measurement in railways. This article applies a top–down approach to transaction cost measurement to reveal the size of the transaction sector within train operation and rail infrastructure firms. It aims to estimate the resulting transaction costs and their share in total operating costs for the first time. The results reveal differences in the relative size of the transaction sector at the firm level, supporting, in general, the argument that complete vertical separation results in relatively higher transaction costs. However, their level is substantially less decisive than suggested by earlier studies and the lower transaction costs of partially integrated rail firms are to some extent offset by more parent company support and the level of rail system-wide transaction costs.
Influence of extracellular potassium on energetics of resting heart muscle.

The effects of various extracellular K concentrations ([K]e) on energy expenditure and their relationship to ionic exchange mechanisms under quiescent conditions were investigated in the arterially perfused rat heart. The increase in [K]e (from 6 to 12, 24, or 50 mM K) leads to a rapid increase (results are given per gram dry weight) in resting energy expenditure (+5.9 +/- 0.9, +13.6 +/- 1.1, and +30.0 +/- 2.0 mW/g, respectively) followed by a slow decrease toward a new steady rate of heat production but higher (+2.8 +/- 0.7, +6.3 +/- 0.6, and +10.5 +/- 1.1 mW/g) than that observed under control conditions (21.1 +/- 0.7 mW/g). The increase in [K]e from 6 to 50 mM also induced an increase in K influx (calculated from 86Rb uptake and efflux experiments) of approximately 0.25 mumol.g-1.s-1. If this increased K influx is driven by the Na-K pump, an increase in steady resting heat production of approximately 10 mW/g would be expected. This represents 95% of the increase in steady heat production measured for 50 mM K intervention. The simultaneous increase in the cellular Ca flux (+0.1 mumol.g-1.min-1) can only explain (if driven by the sarcolemmal Ca pump) less than 1% of the steady increase in heat production. The work also shows that the initial, transitory increase in resting heat production induced by increasing [K]e is caffeine sensitive and may be at least partially attributable to a transitory enhanced activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
Numerical Procedures for Implementing Term Structure Models II

In the last issue ofthislournal we explained a new procedure fOr building trinomial trees for one-fctor no-arbitrage models o f the term structure. The procedure is appropriate for models where there is some function, x , o f the short rate, r, that follows a mean-reverting arithmetic process. It is relatively simple and computationally more eflcient than previously proposed procedures. In this article we extend the new tree-building procedure in two ways. First, we show how it can be used‘to model the yield curves in two dguent countries simultaneously Second, we show how to develop a variety ofMarkov two-factor models. In order to model the yield curves in ,two dgerent countries simultaneously, wefirst build a tree for each ofthe yield curves separately. The trees are then adjusted so that they are both constructed >om the viewpoint of a risk-neutral investor in the country in which the cashJows are realized. We then combine the two trees on the assumption that there is no correlation. In the final step we induce the required amount of correlation by adjusting the probabilities on the branches emanatingfrom each node. The two-jactor Markov models o f the term structure that we consider incorporate a stochastic reversion level. They have the property that they can accommodate a much wider range o f volatility structures than the one-jactor models considered in our earlier article. In particular, they can give rise to a volatility “hump” similar to that observed in the cap market. We show that one version o f the two-factor models is somewhat analytically tractable.
Pathways to care in a New Zealand first-episode of psychosis cohort.

OBJECTIVES To present the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients referred to a New Zealand early intervention for psychosis service and to describe the pathways to care for these patients. METHOD Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were examined in 200 patients consecutively admitted to an early psychosis service over a 5-year period. Assessment measures included DSM-IV diagnosis, the Quality of Life Scale, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and information on pathways to care. RESULTS The majority of patients were young (mean age = 22.35), single (90.1%), male (72.5%), of New Zealand European descent (63.7%), living in the parental home (60.2%) and on a government benefit (60.2%). Overall, 40.8% of patients were initially diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 36.4% with a mood disorder and 22.8% were classified as 'other psychoses' (substance-induced psychosis, brief psychotic disorder, etc.). Those with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder had a median duration of untreated psychosis of 120 days compared with 29 days for other diagnoses. Overall, 64.1% of referrals came from the Inpatient Service, 36.3% of patients had a compulsory admission under the Mental Health Act, and 41.8% had contact with police in 6 months prior to referral to the service. No differences in inpatient admission rates, police involvement or compulsory admission were evident for ethnicity or diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS The pathways to care, clinical and sociodemographic descriptors of the present sample are somewhat different to those previously reported in international cohorts. This reflects the inclusion of patients with affective psychoses, the age range of 18-30 years and New Zealand's distinctive healthcare system. Examination of the sociodemographic characteristics and pathways to care in the present cohort suggests that service reconfigurations are required to optimize the experience of inpatient admission, given the substantial proportion of clients with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders that present acutely for treatment.
Optimal hedge ratio and hedging effectiveness of stock index futures: evidence from India

In a free capital mobile world with increased volatility, the need for an optimal hedge ratio and its effectiveness is warranted to design a better hedging strategy with future contracts. This study analyses four competing time series econometric models with daily data on NSE Stock Index Futures and S&P CNX Nifty Index. The effectiveness of the optimal hedge ratios is examined through the mean returns and the average variance reduction between the hedged and the unhedged positions for 1-, 5-, 10- and 20-day horizons. The results clearly show that the time-varying hedge ratio derived from the multivariate GARCH model has higher mean return and higher average variance reduction across hedged and unhedged positions. Even though not outperforming the GARCH model, the simple OLS-based strategy performs well at shorter time horizons. The potential use of this multivariate GARCH model cannot be sublined because of its estimation complexities. However, from a cost of computation point of view, one can equally consider the simple OLS strategy that performs well at the shorter time horizons.
Comparison of Single- and Multilocus Sequence Typing and Toxin Gene Profiling for Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT We compared three novel methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) genotyping methods with multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing to assess their utility for routine strain typing. The new methods were femA and nuc sequence typing and toxin gene profiling (TGP), using a multiplex-PCR-based reverse line blot assay to detect 13 pyrogenic superantigen and exfoliative toxin genes. Forty-two well-characterized MRSA strains, representing 15 MLSTs or 9 clonal clusters (CCs), were genotyped by all methods. Twenty-two spa, nine femA, and seven nuc sequence types were identified. The femA sequence types correlated exactly with CCs; nuc sequences types were less discriminatory but generally correlated well with femA types and CCs. Ten isolates contained none of 13 toxin genes; TGPs of the remainder comprised 1 to 5 toxin genes. The combination of spa typing and TGPs identified 26 genotypes among the 42 strains studied. A combination of two or three rapid, inexpensive genotyping methods could potentially provide rapid MRSA strain typing as well as useful information about clonal origin and virulence.
Research and Development Activity and Profitability: A Distributed Lag Analysis

There are at least three ways in which profits and R & D may be related. First, profits may influence subsequent R & D. Second, R & D may influence subsequent profits. And third, it is possible that R & D and profits are influenced simultaneously by some third factor. For example, government support or exogenous surges in demand could increase both at the same time. Although the first two of these relations involve influences of one variable on another over time, the problem of distinguishing between a simultaneous and a recursive relation has not been tackled in previous work. The current study employs distributed lag techniques with pooled time-series and cross-section data to discriminate among the alternative types of time relations. A sample of seven industries containing 111 firms covering the 1950-65 period was used to test these relations. The results indicate a tendency for R & D to influence future profitability and to be influenced by past profitability.
“Brain Abuse”, or the Devaluation of Immigrant Labour in Canada

Many professional and skilled Canadian immigrants suffer from de-skilling and the nonrecognition of their foreign credentials. Consequently, they are underrepresented in the upper segments of the Canadian labour market. Rather than accepting this devaluation of immigrant labour as a naturally occurring adjustment period, I suggest that regulatory institutions actively exclude immigrants from the upper segments of the labour market. In particular, professional associations and employers give preference to Canadian-born and educated workers and deny immigrants access to the most highly desired occupations. Pierre Bourdieu's notion of institutionalised cultural capital and his views of the educational system as a site of social reproduction provide the entry point for my theoretical argument. I find that the nonrecognition of foreign credentials and dismissal of foreign work experience systematically excludes immigrant workers from the upper segments of the labour market. This finding is based on data from interviews with institutional administrators and employers in Greater Vancouver who service or employ immigrants from South Asia and the former Yugoslavia.
The violation of the Stokes–Einstein relation in supercooled water

By confining water in nanopores, so narrow that the liquid cannot freeze, it is possible to explore its properties well below its homogeneous nucleation temperature TH≈ 235 K. In particular, the dynamical parameters of water can be measured down to 180 K, approaching the suggested glass transition temperature Tg≈ 165 K. Here we present experimental evidence, obtained from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering spectroscopies, of a well defined decoupling of transport properties (the self-diffusion coefficient and the average translational relaxation time), which implies the breakdown of the Stokes–Einstein relation. We further show that such a non-monotonic decoupling reflects the characteristics of the recently observed dynamic crossover, at ≈225 K, between the two dynamical behaviors known as fragile and strong, which is a consequence of a change in the hydrogen bond structure of liquid water.
High-Resolution Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Increased Life Span in Drosophila melanogaster

Limited life span and senescence are near-universal characteristics of eukaryotic organisms, controlled by many interacting quantitative trait loci (QTL) with individually small effects, whose expression is sensitive to the environment. Analyses of mutations in model organisms have shown that genes affecting stress resistance and metabolism affect life span across diverse taxa. However, there is considerable segregating variation for life span in nature, and relatively little is known about the genetic basis of this variation. Replicated lines of Drosophila that have evolved increased longevity as a correlated response to selection for postponed senescence are valuable resources for identifying QTL affecting naturally occurring variation in life span. Here, we used deficiency complementation mapping to identify at least 11 QTL on chromosome 3 that affect variation in life span between five old (O) lines selected for postponed senescence and their five base (B) population control lines. Most QTL were sex specific, and all but one affected multiple O lines. The latter observation is consistent with alleles at intermediate frequency in the base population contributing to the response to selection for postponed senescence. The QTL were mapped with high resolution and contained from 12 to 170 positional candidate genes.
Then and Now: Disability Legislation and Employers' Practices in the UK

Using a longitudinal research design, this article considers employers' human resource management practices in respect of disability equality: in 1995 under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act and in 2003 under the Disability Discrimination Act. The article analyses whether there has been a change to employers' practices and whether or not this change is associated with increased employment of disabled persons. The findings show that proactive HR measures to encourage disabled employment, including positive discrimination, had a significant impact on disabled employment in 1995, whereas HR measures centring on managerial responsibilities and making adaptations had a similar result in 2003. We argue that, for optimum effectiveness, HR departments should employ the full range of HR measures that are available, including positive discrimination, and that this approach should be underpinned by a range of enforcement measures.
Bankruptcy Costs and the Financial Leasing Decision

The theory of financial leasing views financial leases as substitutes for secured debt. Empirical studies have reported a high positive correlation between lease ratios and debt ratios and that lessors earn higher rates of return than lenders. These results contradict traditional leasing theory. They are explained in this paper by recognizing the role bankruptcy costs play in the lease/borrow decision and the nature of the assets to be acquired by a firm. Leasing is shown to involve lower bankruptcy costs than borrowing. Our empirical analysis shows that lessee firms have lower retained earnings relative to total assets, higher growth rates, lower coverage ratios, higher debt ratios, and higher operating risk than non-lessee firms. Lessee firms also have significantly lower Altman Z-scores, a measure of bankruptcy potential. Overall, our results indicate that as bankruptcy potential increases, lease financing becomes an increasingly attractive financing option. We also find evidence to support an industry clientele effect in financial leasing.
LIBOR Manipulation – Empirical Analysis of Financial Market Benchmarks Using Benford's Law

The London inter-bank offered rate (LIBOR) serves as a benchmark for many financial transactions worldwide today. These rates have been subject to manipulative conduct, false reporting and collusion. In forensic accounting, the Benford test has been implemented to successfully detect manipulated data. In this paper, we develop an approach to enable the application of the Benford method to LIBOR and other financial market benchmarks. The test results for all 150 LIBOR rates show a concentration of notably high deviations from the Benford distribution in single periods and currencies. Moreover, we find that the LIBOR quotes deviate much more than the banks’ credit default swap spreads. We conclude that all banks are presumably involved in the submission of manipulated data. Furthermore, we show that other financial benchmarks are worthy of closer scrutiny.
Panel Unit-Root Tests of OECD Stochastic Convergence

This paper uses three panel unit-root tests and finds that real per capita GDP for OECD countries and a European subsample converge stochastically for the period 1948-87 but not for the entire sample of 1900-87. For the postwar period, the differential in income gaps or speed of adjustment is eliminated at an annual rate of 4-8% for OECD economies, and 6-9% for European economies. Copyright 2001 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.