Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grey Relational Analysis and Neural Network Forecasting of REIT returns

This study employs the Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to measure the impact of key elements on the forecasting performance of real estate investment trust (REIT) returns. To manage risks from a real estate price bubble, the findings of GRA suggest that the REIT is best influenced by industrial production index, lending rate, dividend yield, stock index and its own lagged performance. Consequently, this paper adjusts the parameters from GRA and inserts the key elements into the fitted ANN model by comparing the learning effect of the Back-propagation Neural Network (BPN). This study found that the ranking provided by the GRA is significant in correcting prediction errors using the learning outcome of the BPN. The neural network model proved to minimize error function and was able to adjust weighted values in order to enhance prediction accuracy.
Dominance by birthright: entry of prior radio producers and competitive ramifications in the U. S.

The U.S. television receiver industry evolved to be an oligopoly dominated by firms that produced radios prior to TVs. Data on the experience of all U.S. radio manufacturers and on the length of survival and rate of innovation of all U.S. TV entrants are collected to analyze how radio experience influenced entry, firm performance, and the evolution of market structure in the TV industry. Consistent with a model of the evolution of an oligopolistic industry, more experienced radio firms were more likely to enter TV manufacturing, had higher innovation rates, and in turn had greater market shares and longer survival, suggesting that firm capabilities and the evolution of the TV industry's market structure were critically shaped by firms' experience prior to entry. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Entrepreneurial motivations of women: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates

This article explores the entrepreneurial motivations of women entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates. It analyses the impact of macro social forces and cultural values on the motivation for entrepreneurship and explores how post-materialism, legitimation and dissatisfaction theories may explain these motives. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with local women entrepreneurs and analyzed using an interpretive approach. The results illustrate how Emirati women entrepreneurs navigate the patriarchy of their society, socio-economic realities, and structural and attitudinal organisational barriers to construct and negotiate their entrepreneurial motivations. The findings also illustrate how the entrepreneurial motivations of Emirati women unfold in a complex interplay between pull and push motivational factors within the Arab patriarchal and Islamic contexts, thus lending credence to the post-materialism, legitimation, and dissatisfaction theories, which collectively help explain the entrepreneurial motives of women in this context.
Effects of feeding two RRR‐&agr;‐tocopherol formulations on serum, cerebrospinal fluid and muscle &agr;‐tocopherol concentrations in horses with subclinical vitamin E deficiency

BACKGROUND Alpha-tocopherol (α-TP) supplementation is recommended for the prevention of various equine neuromuscular disorders. Formulations available include RRR-α-TP acetate powder and a more expensive but rapidly water-dispersible liquid RRR-α-TP (WD RRR-α-TP). No cost-effective means of rapidly increasing serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-TP with WD RRR-α-TP and then sustaining concentrations with RRR-α-TP acetate has yet been reported. OBJECTIVES To evaluate serum, CSF and muscle α-TP concentrations in an 8-week dosing regimen in which horses were transitioned from WD RRR-α-TP to RRR-α-TP acetate. STUDY DESIGN Non-randomised controlled trial. METHODS Healthy horses with serum α-TP of <2 μg/mL were divided into three groups and followed for 8 weeks. In the control group (n = 5), no α-TP was administered. In the second group (Group A; n = 7), 5000 IU/day RRR-α-TP acetate was administered. In the third group (Group WD-A; n = 7), doses of 5000 IU/day of WD RRR-α-TP were administered over 3 weeks, followed by a 4-week transition from WD RRR-α-TP to RRR-α-TP acetate, and a final 1 week of treatment with RRR-α-TP acetate. Serum samples were obtained weekly; muscle biopsies were obtained before, at 2.5 weeks and after supplementation. CSF samples were obtained before and after the 8-week period of supplementation. RESULTS Serum α-TP increased significantly in Group WD-A at week 1 and remained significantly higher than in Group A and the control group throughout the transition, with inter-individual variation in response. Serum α-TP increased significantly by week 7 in Group A. CSF α-TP increased significantly in Group WD-A only. Muscle α-TP concentrations did not differ significantly across groups. Serum and CSF α-TP were closely correlated (r = 0.675), whereas serum and muscle-α-TP concentrations were not correlated. MAIN LIMITATIONS The study duration was short and data on pre-transition CSF was lacking. CONCLUSIONS The administration of 5000 IU/day of water-dispersible RRR-α-TP rapidly increases serum α-TP. Serum and CSF α-TP concentrations are sustained with a gradual transition to 5000 IU/day of RRR-α-TP acetate. Periodic evaluation of serum α-TP concentrations is recommended because responses vary among individuals.
Corporate Investment and Financing Under Asymmetric Information

We develop a dynamic model of corporate investment and financing decisions in which corporate insiders have superior information about the firm's growth prospects. We show that firms with positive private information can credibly signal their type to outside investors using the timing of corporate actions and their debt-equity mix. Using this result, we show that asymmetric information induces firms with good prospects to speed up investment, leading to a significant erosion of the option value of waiting to invest. Additionally, we demonstrate that informational asymmetries may not translate into a financing hierarchy or pecking order over securities. Finally, we generate a rich set of testable implications relating firms' investment and financing strategies, abnormal announcement returns, and external financing costs to a number of managerial, firm, and industry characteristics.
Increased disclosure and investment efficiency

This paper investigates the relation between increased disclosure level and capital investment efficiency. We hypothesize that increased disclosure level can reduce information asymmetry, which in turn improves capital investment efficiency. Consistent with our hypothesis, we document a significantly negative association between disclosure level and measures of inefficient investments, such as level of investment inefficiency, overinvestment, and underinvestment, indicating that firms increased disclosure level are found to improve investment efficiency. These results are robustness after using various measures for level of investment inefficiency and increased disclosure and considering different types of disclosure such as voluntary disclosure. Overall, our findings suggest that through reducing information asymmetry, increased disclosure level induces managers to act in the best interest of shareholders, which improves capital investment efficiency.
An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries

Firms are able to reduce Þnancing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. We provide insights into the performance of surveyed Þrms across key components of working capital management by using the CFO magazineOs annual Working Capital Management Survey. We discover that signiÞcant differences exist between industries in working capital measures across time. In addition, we discover that these measures for working capital change signiÞcantly within industries across time.
Transurethral electrovaporization of the prostate--a possible alternative to transurethral resection: a one-year follow-up of a prospective randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy, safety and durability of transurethral electrovaporization of the prostate (TUVP) with standard transurethral resection (TURP) in a prospective randomized trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 104 consecutive men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) admitted for surgery who were randomized to TUVP or TURP. The variables evaluated included the duration of surgery, catheterization and hospital stay, the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), a quality-of-life assessment (QOL), the maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and the postvoid residual urine volume (PVR). RESULTS Both groups showed a comparable significant and maintained decline in the mean IPSS, from 26.5 to 4.4 (TUVP) and from 26.6 to 5.9 (TURP), and increase in mean Qmax, from 8.6 to 20.8 mL/s [corrected] (TUVP) and 8.6 to 22.8 mL/s (TURP) after 1 year. However, there were significant differences in the mean duration of catheterization (TUVP 20.9 h, TURP 46.6 h, P<0.001), hospital stay (TUVP 2.2 day, TURP 3.1 days, P<0.001), and the duration and volume of post-operative irrigation (TUVP none, TURP 18.1 h with 17.5 L of saline). Two patients in each group developed urethral strictures (4%) and two patients in each group required re-operation for residual adenoma (4%); two patients undergoing TURP had a bladder neck stricture (4%). CONCLUSION The results suggest that TUVP is as effective as standard TURP in the treatment of moderate-sized BPH. TUVP offers the advantage of using established instruments, has excellent peri-operative haemostasis and requires a shorter hospital stay.
Continuous Gradations among Primary Carbonatitic, Kimberlitic, Melilititic, Basaltic, Picritic, and Komatiitic Melts in Equilibrium with Garnet Lherzolite at 3–8 GPa

Multianvil melting experiments in the system CaO–MgO–Al2O3– SiO2–CO2 (CMAS–CO2) at 3–8GPa, 1340–1800 � C, involving the garnet lherzolite phase assemblage in equilibrium with CO2-bearing melts, yield continuous gradations in melt composition between carbonatite, kimberlite, melilitite, komatiite, picrite, and basalt melts. The phase relations encompass a divariant surface in P–T space. Comparison of the carbonatitic melts produced at the low-temperature side of this surface with naturally occurring carbonatites indicates that natural magnesiocarbonatites could be generated over a wide range of pressures >2� 5GPa. Melts analogous to kimberlites form at higher temperatures along the divariant surface, which suggests that kimberlite genesis requires more elevated geotherms. However, the amount of water found in some kimberlites has the potential to lower temperatures for the generation of kimberlitic melts by up to 150 � C, provided no hydrous phases are present. Compositions resembling group IB and IA kimberlites are produced at pressures around 5–6GPa and 10GPa, respectively, whereas the compositions of some other kimberlites suggest generation at higher pressures still. At pressures <4GPa, an elevated geotherm produces melilitite-like meltinthe CMAS–CO2system ratherthan kimberlite. Even when a relatively CO2-rich mantle composition containing 0� 15 wt % CO2 is assumed, kimberlites and melilitites are produced by <1% melting and carbonatites are generated by even smaller degrees of melting of <0� 5%.
Race, Ethnicity, Religious Affiliation, and Education Are Associated With Gay and Bisexual Men’s Religious and Spiritual Participation and Beliefs: Results From the One Thousand Strong Cohort

Objectives: This study examined the rates of spirituality, religiosity, religious coping, and religious service attendance in addition to the sociodemographic correlates of those factors in a U.S. national cohort of 1,071 racially and ethnically diverse HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Method: Descriptive statistics were used to assess levels of spirituality, religiosity, religious coping, and religious service attendance. Multivariable regressions were used to determine the associations between sociodemographic characteristics, religious affiliation, and race/ethnicity with four outcome variables: (1) spirituality, (2) religiosity, (3) religious coping, and (4) current religious service attendance. Results: Overall, participants endorsed low levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping, as well as current religious service attendance. Education, religious affiliation, and race/ethnicity were associated with differences in endorsement of spirituality and religious beliefs and behaviors among gay and bisexual men. Men without a 4-year college education had significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious coping as well as higher odds of attending religious services than those with a 4-year college education. Gay and bisexual men who endorsed being religiously affiliated had higher levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping as well as higher odds of religious service attendance than those who endorsed being atheist/agnostic. White men had significantly lower levels of spirituality, religiosity, and religious coping compared to Black men. Latino men also endorsed using religious coping significantly less than Black men. Conclusions: The implications of these findings for future research and psychological interventions with gay and bisexual men are discussed.
What we know, what we do not know, and where are we heading? Efficacy and acceptability of psychological interventions for depression

In the past several decades, increasing evidence supports the efficacy of psychotherapies for depression. The vast majority of findings from meta-analyses, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and naturalistic studies have demonstrated that well-established psychotherapies (behavioural activation, problem-solving therapy, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy and emotion-focused therapy) are superior to no-treatment and control conditions, and are in most cases equally effective in treating depression. However, despite this abundant support for psychotherapies, studies have also consistently shown high drop-out rates, high percentages of non-respondent patients who experience treatment failures, and mixed findings regarding the enduring effects of psychotherapy. Thus, there is a need to develop more personalised treatment models tailored to patients’ needs. A new integrative sequential stepwise approach to the treatment of depression is suggested.
The Role of the Melanocortin‐3 Receptor in Cachexia

Abstract: Cachexia refers to a synergistic combination of a dramatic decrease in appetite and an increase in metabolism of fat and lean body mass. This combination is found in a number of chronic diseases and is an important determinant of mortality. In this paper, we provide evidence that in both acute and chronic disease models, blockade of the MC4‐R results in a dramatic attenuation of cachexia. We have also demonstrated that blockade of the melanocortin‐3 receptor (MC3‐R) leads to enhanced disease‐associated cachexia. Ultimately, this work may lead to investigation of drug therapy for this widespread medical problem.
Entrepreneurial behaviour in the Greek public sector

Purpose – While the term “entrepreneurship” was almost exclusively associated with private sector, it is now found with increasing frequency in the literature on the public sector and public administration. However, research on public entrepreneurs remains restricted to top and middle managers and elected politicians and focuses on policy promotion and initiatives concerning public sector transformation. The perpose of the present article is to extend earlier research to the empirical assessment of entrepreneurial behaviour among front line staff in the Greek public sector.Design/methodology/approach – A scale of entrepreneurial behaviour was assessed. A short, self‐report questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 237 public servants working at prefecture level, which is the second level of government in Greece. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the entrepreneurial behaviour scale contributed to the formation of a hierarchical factor structure with a super‐ordinate entrepreneurial.
Estimating the Loss from the Disposition Effect: A Simulation Study

The disposition effect is the tendency of investors to sell winners too early and hold losers too long. We use a simulation model to estimate the loss attributable to the disposition effect using historical data from five different stock markets around the world in four time periods. We find that loss increases with the relative unwillingness to sell losers, and is not reduced by trading more often. We also find that delaying the sale of winning stocks, and applying a selling discipline that sells off stocks once they cross preset thresholds, can reduce the loss attributable to the disposition effect.
Work-Family Experiences and the Insights of Municipal Government Employees: A Case Study

This qualitative case study brings the work-family concerns of the municipal work force to the fore by sharing the insights employees in one city government have about their paid work and family experiences and about strategies that could create work environments that are more supportive of their multiple roles. A review of the literature indicated that while much is known about employees' work-family relationships in the private sector, the city government workplace has been neglected in work-family scholarship. A work-family spillover model and an organizational analysis framework guided this exploratory study. Findings from 12 focus groups with a total of 96 participants suggest that municipal government employees face several challenges in managing their work and caregiving responsibilities and that they can best meet these challenges by having flexible schedules, supervisor support, and an organizational culture that is responsive to employees' needs. Additional work-family insights that emerged from the focus groups were that public sector employees have a high level of commitment to voluntary work in their community, that “family friendly” means a work environment that embodies the positive qualities of a nurturing family system, that there is a strong demand for elder care, that employees want to have the prerogative to individualize and identify their own list of family members for whom Family and Medical Leave Act time off can be used, and that a work-family advocate should be employed to help supervisory staff create and maintain a more family friendly workplace culture. Such findings form a foundation for future work-family research in local government settings and provide useful strategies other public sector workplaces could consider.
Impact of Vitamin A Supplementation on Disease Progression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND Many studies have shown that active vitamin A derivatives suppress the formation of pathogenic T cells in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of the present study is to determine the impact of vitamin A on disease progression in MS patients. METHODS A total of 101 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients were enrolled in a 1-year placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. The treated group received 25000 IU/d retinyl palmitate for six month followed by 10000 IU/d retinyl palmitate for another six month. The results of the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFC) were recorded at the beginning and the end of the study. The relapse rate was recorded during the intervention. Patients underwent baseline and follow up brain MRIs. RESULTS The results showed "Mean ± SD" of MSFC changes in the treated group was (-0.14 ± 0.20) and in the placebo group was (-0.31 ± 0.19). MSFC was improved significantly (P < 0.001) in the treatment group. There were no significant differences between the "Mean ± SD" of EDSS changes in the treated (0.07 ± 0.23) and placebo (0.08 ± 0.23) groups (P = 0.73). There were also no significant differences between the "Mean ± SD" of annualized relapse rate in the treated group (-0.36 ± 0.56) and placebo (-0.53 ± 0.55) groups (P = 0.20). The "Mean ± SD" of enhanced lesions in the treatment (0.4 ± 1.0) and in the placebo (0.2 ± 0.6) groups were not significantly different (P = 0.26). Volume of T2 hyperintense lesions "Mean ± SD" was not significantly different between treatment (45 ± 137) and placebo (23 ± 112) groups after intervention (P = 0.23). CONCLUSION Vitamin A improved total MSFC score in RRMS patients, but it did not change EDSS, relapse rate and brain active lesions.
Expression of L‐selectin (CD62L) discriminates Th1‐ and Th2‐like cytokine‐producing memory CD4+ T cells

Human memory (CD45RO+) CD4+ T cells can be distinguished into two subpopulations on the basis of expression of the lymph node homing receptor, L‐selectin (CD62L). In a prior study we showed that human L‐selectin‐positive memory T‐helper (Th) cells promote the maturation of IgG‐ and IgA‐producing cells by naive B cells. To further elucidate the contribution of memory CD4+ T cells to B‐cell differentiation, human memory CD4+ T cells with or without L‐selectin expression were evaluated for production of cytokines that participate in regulation of immunoglobulin production. It was found that L‐selectin‐positive human memory CD4+ T cells produce mainly interleukin (IL)‐4 and IL‐5, whereas L‐selectin‐negative CD4+ T cells produce mainly interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ). This profile of cytokine expression coincides with the profile that distinguishes Th1 and Th2 subsets. In contrast to the murine system, IL‐10 production was similarly contributed by human L‐selectin‐positive and ‐negative memory CD4+ T‐cell subpopulations. These results suggest that the human L‐selectin‐negative and ‐positive subpopulations of human memory CD4+ T cells contain Th1‐like and Th2‐like cytokine‐producing cells, respectively.
Hemolysin patterns of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

The secreted hemolytic activities produced by the reference strains and field isolates of the 12 serotypes and 2 subtypes of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae were analyzed. Serotype 1 produced a Ca2(+)-inducible hemolysin, which was previously characterized as a 105-kilodalton protein and was named hemolysin I (HlyI). Serotypes 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 produced a different hemolytic activity that was not inducible by Ca2+ but required this ion for its activity. The hemolytic activity produced by these serotypes was much weaker than that found in serotype 1 and was not neutralized by rabbit antibodies against HlyI. It was, however, neutralized by serum from pigs that were experimentally infected with a serotype 2 strain and was called hemolysin II (HlyII). Serotypes 5a, 5b, 9, 10, and 11 produced both HlyI and HlyII. In these strains, HlyI was the major contributor to the hemolytic activity. The remaining serotypes, 3 and 12, produced a very weak hemolytic activity, which was not further analyzed. Immunoblot analysis of the culture supernatants from all 12 serotypes with rabbit polyclonal antibodies directed against HlyI revealed reactions with a protein in the 105-kilodalton size range for all serotypes, indicating that HlyI and HlyII might be serologically related. Strains producing active HlyI seem to belong to serotypes that are generally considered to be virulent types and that are frequently isolated from pigs in severe pleuropneumonia outbreaks.
Demographischer Wandel und Bildungsausgaben: empirische Evidenz fr die westdeutschen Lnder

Der Beitrag untersucht fur die Bundesrepublik Deutschland unter Verwendung eines Panel-Datensatzes fur die westdeutschen Lander die Fragen, wie flexibel der Ressourceneinsatzim Bildungssystem an demographische Veranderungen - insbesondere sich verandernde Schulerzahlen - angepasst werden kann und ob es Hinweise dafur gibt, dass Verschiebungen zwischen den Altersgruppen im Zuge des demographischen Wandels Verteilungskonflikte induzieren. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass die absoluten Bildungsausgaben nur sehr geringfugig auf die Veranderung der Bevolkerungsgruppen im bildungsrelevanten Alter reagieren. Fur einen Verteilungskonflikt lies sich nur eine schwache Evidenz finden.