Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AND INCOME TAX EVIDENCE FROM GREECE

The aim of this study is to examine the question of earnings management and, specifically, how this relates to taxation. In order to determine whether there is a correlation between earnings management and taxation, we investigate the discretionary accruals aspect of total accruals, i.e. the portion of profits which can be affected by management accounting choices, as calculated by the Jones (1991) model and the modified Jones model (Dechow et. al, 1995). Furthermore, we examine to what degree a correlation may exist between discretionary accruals and tax income (consisting of current and deferred tax). Our empirical findings demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between the levels of discretionary accruals and of total, current and deferred tax. This suggests that tax in general may be employed as a means to facilitate earnings management. The findings of this study suggest that IFRS provisions regarding taxation provide firms with a scope to get involved in earning management practices.
Peripapillary scleral thickness in perfusion-fixed normal monkey eyes.

PURPOSE To characterize the thickness of the peripapillary sclera in perfusion-fixed normal monkey eyes so as to build accurate computational models of intraocular pressure (IOP)-related stress and strain within these tissues. METHODS Nine rhesus monkeys were perfusion fixed, each with one normal eye set to an IOP of 10 mm Hg by manometer. A 6-mm-diameter specimen containing the optic nerve head and peripapillary sclera was trephined from each scleral shell and cut into 4-microm serial sagittal sections across the scleral canal opening, either horizontally (four eyes) or vertically (five eyes). The thickness of the peripapillary sclera was measured on every 24th section at 100-microm intervals from the posterior scleral canal opening (PSCO) to the peripheral edge of the specimen. The data were pooled by quadrant (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal), regions within each quadrant, and distance from the PSCO, overall and for individual eyes, and subjected to analysis of variance. RESULTS In terms of distance from the PSCO, the peripapillary sclera was thinnest nearest the PSCO (201 microm, nasal; 201 microm, temporal; 240 microm, inferior; 249 microm, superior), thickened progressively to a maximum in the midperiphery approximately 600 to 1000 microm from the PSCO (326 microm, nasal; 415 microm, superior; 420 microm, temporal; 422 microm, inferior), and thinned again peripherally in all quadrants. The peripapillary sclera was thinner in the nasal quadrant when compared with the other quadrants superiorly, inferiorly, and temporally (central region means of 291 microm, nasal; 369 microm, superior; 372 microm, inferior; and 369 microm, temporal; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS In the normal monkey eye, peripapillary scleral thickness varies significantly with distance from the posterior scleral canal opening and is thinner in the nasal quadrant than in the other quadrants. These differences are substantial and are likely to affect the magnitude of IOP-related stress and strain within these tissues for a given level of IOP.
Mercury chloride decreases the water permeability of aquaporin‐4‐reconstituted proteoliposomes

Background information. Mercurials inhibit AQPs (aquaporins), and site‐directed mutagenesis has identified Cys189 as a site of the mercurial inhibition of AQP1. On the other hand, AQP4 has been considered to be a mercury‐insensitive water channel because it does not have the reactive cysteine residue corresponding to Cys189 of AQP1. Indeed, the osmotic water permeability (Pf) of AQP4 expressed in various types of cells, including Xenopus oocytes, is not inhibited by HgCl2. To examine the direct effects of mercurials on AQP4 in a proteoliposome reconstitution system, His‐tagged rAPR4 (rat AQP4) M23 was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, purified with an Ni2+‐nitrilotriacetate affinity column, and reconstituted into liposomes with the dilution method.
Enhancing Campaign Design in Crowdfunding: A Product Supply Optimization Perspective

Crowdfunding is an emerging Internet application for creators designing campaigns (projects) to collect funds from public investors. Usually, the limited budget of the creator is manually divided into several perks (reward options), that should fit various market demand and further bring different monetary contributions for the campaign. Therefore, it is very challenging for each creator to design an effective campaign. To this end, in this paper, we aim to enhance the funding performance of the newly proposed campaigns, with a focus on optimizing the product supply of perks. Specifically, given the expected budget and the perks of a campaign, we propose a novel solution to automatically recommend the optimal product supply to every perk for balancing the expected return of this campaign against the risk. Along this line, we define it as a constrained portfolio selection problem, where the risk of each campaign is measured by a multi-task learning method. Finally, experimental results on the real-world crowdfunding data clearly prove that the optimized product supply can help improve the campaign performance significantly, and meanwhile, our multi-task learning method could more precisely estimate the risk of each campaign.
International Evidence on Product Market Competition and Firm Value

Economic theory and empirical research suggests product market competition can result in both positive and negative capital market effects. Specifically, research suggests competition reduces agency costs, but also reduces profitability. I examine the relation between product market competition and firm value in an international setting, focusing on how the relation varies with firmand country-specific characteristics. I document lower values for firms in more competitive industries. However, the negative relation between competition and firm value is less pronounced for firms with higher firm-level liquidation risk, stronger country-level investor protection mechanisms, and higher firm-level transparency. These findings are consistent with an agency cost benefit resulting from product market competition.
Financial literacy and investment choice decisions: Evidence from Australian superannuation fund members

For most Australians, superannuation should be a source of financial security in retirement. However, with the increasing level of choice available in superannuation, financial literacy of the participants needs to be considered. This study assesses the financial literacy of superannuation participants through a survey of 594 fund members. We find superannuation fund members with higher levels of financial literacy, measured both objectively and subjectively, are more likely to exercise investment choice. We also find higher financial risk tolerance is positively associated with financial literacy. The research contributes to the literature on investment choice decisions in the context of the mandatory superannuation system in Australia which has implications for policy-makers and the superannuation industry.
Disclosure of insiderness. Measuring quality of care from a care ethical perspective.

The goal of this article is to report about a search to find a measure for evaluation of the quality of relationship-building in health care. First the importance of quality of relationship-building in low-threshold care is discussed. We search amongst concepts and questionnaires that have value in this context. From this overview a questionnaire is chosen that covers aspects of the quality of relationship-building best. This instrument was adapted to the care context and we collected data among 80 visitors of low-threshold addiction care facilities in four different cities. We evaluate to what extent the instrument meets our requests and explore further possibilities for application. 41680 Kuis, Esther v2.indd 36 10-10-16 15:43 2 Evaluation of relationship-building | 37
The role of forensic accounting in mitigating financial crimes

The broad objective of the study is to examine the role of forensic accounting in curbing financial crimes. The study adopts a survey research design. The method was adopted because it is likely to generate the kind of information required as well as providing good basis for the generalization of findings. The population of the study comprises of staffs of selected banks. Primary data was used for the purpose of this research. This research work employed the use of structured questionnaire in eliciting the required data needed to test the formulated hypotheses. Regression analysis was utilized as the method of data analysis and the results will be used in testing the hypotheses specified in the study. The study finding reveals that there is a need for forensic accountants in the Nigerian banking system, Forensic accounting is an effective tool for addressing financial crimes in the banking system and finally that Conventional accounting techniques are not effective in curbing financial crimes. The recommendation is that there is the need for corporations in Nigeria to engage the services of forensic accountants as forensic accounting now appears as a one of the strategic and dynamic tool for the management of all types of financial crimes. Also, they need to focus on training and up-dating the skills of the internal control and audit staffs. 
A Randomized Study Evaluating Cinacalcet to Treat Hypercalcemia in Renal Transplant Recipients With Persistent Hyperparathyroidism

Persistent hyperparathyroidism (HPT) after kidney transplantation (KTx) is associated with hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia and abnormally high levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In this randomized trial, cinacalcet was compared to placebo for the treatment of hypercalcemia in adult patients with persistent HPT after KTx. Subjects were randomized 1:1 to cinacalcet or placebo with randomization stratified by baseline corrected total serum calcium levels (≤11.2 mg/dL [2.80 mmol/L] or >11.2 mg/dL [2.80 mmol/L]). The primary end point was achievement of a mean corrected total serum calcium value <10.2 mg/dL (2.55 mmol/L) during the efficacy period. The two key secondary end points were percent change in bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and absolute change in phosphorus; 78.9% cinacalcet‐ versus 3.5% placebo‐treated subjects achieved the primary end point with a difference of 75.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.8, 87.1), p < 0.001. There was no statistical difference in the percent change in BMD at the femoral neck between cinacalcet and placebo groups, p = 0.266. The difference in the change in phosphorus between the two arms was 0.45 mg/dL (95% CI: 0.26, 0.64), p < 0.001 (nominal). No new safety signals were detected. In conclusion, hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia were effectively corrected after treatment with cinacalcet in patients with persistent HPT after KTx.
Effect of increasing doses of hypertonic saline on mucociliary clearance in patients with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cystic fibrosis are known to have decreased mucociliary clearance. It has previously been shown that inhalation of a 7.0% solution of hypertonic saline significantly improved mucociliary clearance in a group of adult patients with cystic fibrosis. The aim of this study was to measure the response to increasing concentrations of inhaled hypertonic saline. METHODS: Ten patients (seven men) of mean (SE) age 22 (4) years and mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 52.0 (6.7)% predicted completed the study. Mucociliary clearance was measured using a radioaerosol technique for 90 minutes after the interventions which comprised 0.9% NaCl + voluntary cough (control), 3.0% NaCl, 7.0% NaCl, and 12% NaCl. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the amount of activity cleared from the right lung with all concentrations of hypertonic saline (HS) compared with control. The amount cleared at 90 minutes on the control day was 12.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 9.8 to 17.2) compared with 19.7% (95% CI 13.6 to 29.5) for 3% HS, 23.8% (95% CI 15.9 to 36.7) for 7% HS and 26.0% (95% CI 19.8 to 35.9) for 12% HS. The improvement in mucociliary clearance was not solely due to coughing as the number of coughs recorded on the control day exceeded that recorded on any other day. The hypertonic saline did not induce a clinically significant change in FEV1. CONCLUSIONS: Within the range of concentrations examined in this study, the effect of hypertonic saline appears to be dose dependent. Inhalation of hypertonic saline remains a potentially useful treatment for patients with cystic fibrosis.
Design and Implementation of Code Optimizations for a Type-Directed Compiler for Standard ML.

Abstract : The trends in software development are towards larger programs, more complex programs, and more use of programs as 'component software'. These trends mean that the features of modern programming languages are becoming more important than ever before. Programming languages need to have features such as strong typing, a module system, polymorphism, automatic storage management, and higher order functions. In short, modern programming languages are becoming more important than ever before. Even though modern programming languages are becoming more important than ever before, programmers have traditionally faced a dilemma: programs written in these languages traditionally have had lower performance than programs written in more conventional, but error-prone languages. This thesis studies this problem in the context of one particular modern programming language, Standard ML. Standard ML contains all the language features mentioned previously and more. The author uses an empirical approach to understand where Standard ML programs spend their time and how to improve the performance of Standard ML programs though better optimization. The thesis contains two main results. First, it is found that a 'pay-as-you-go' compilation strategy, where programmers pay for advanced language features only when they use them, is a practical strategy for compiling Standard ML. In fact, this strategy produces better code overall than a strategy that makes advanced language features run fast at the expense of slowing down programs that do not use those language features. Second, compilers for Standard ML should focus on generating good code for the frequently-executed parts of programs.
The Impact of Interaction and Ubiquity on Trust, Benefits, and Enjoyment in Social Media Continuance Use

Social media networks are important marketing tools for the acquisition and retention of hotel guests within the intangible luxury hotel industry. Especially with the emergence of smartphones, factors such as ubiquity and interaction become increasingly important to take into account when formulating marketing strategies however, theoretical models integrating interaction and ubiquity to study hotel guests’ intention to continued usage of social media networks are scarce. The present study aims to investigate the impact of interaction and ubiquity on trust, benefits, and enjoyment in social media continuance use by UK luxury hotel guests. A total of 258 usable data were collected and analysed using a partial least square analysis. The findings show that the two social media characteristics, interaction and ubiquity, influence hotel guests’ continued social media network usage through the mediating variables of trust, benefits and enjoyment.
Non-restorative surgery in the treatment of Crohn's disease of the large bowel

This study gives detailed information on the two principal groups of patients undergoing excisional surgery with a permanent artificial stoma for Crohn's disease of the large bowel. During the years 1952-71, 64 patients were treated by total proctocolectomy and ileostomy and 26 patients by excision of the distal large bowel and colostomy. In the group of patients undergoing proctocolectomy, there were two postoperative and six late deaths. Of the 56 patients alive at the end of the follow-up period (average length of follow-up 8·1 years), four had shown evidence of recurrent disease. In each case this occurred following a staged proctocolectomy and at, or immediately proximal to, the ileostomy: the shortest interval between surgery and recurrence was just under 10 years. Among the patients treated by excision of the distal large bowel, there were two unrelated late deaths: with an average duration of follow up of 7·3 years, recurrent disease occurred in only one of the 24 patients alive at the concluding date for this study.
PENGARUH GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN YANG TERDAFTAR PADA INDEKS SRI-KEHATI

This research is meant to examine the influence of good corporate governance (include: managerial ownership, institutional ownership, the composition of the independent commissioner, and audit quality), to the firm value. Price Book Value is used as the proxy of the firm value. The samples are ten companies which are listed in the SRI-KEHATI index with a three-year study period. The method of analysis of this study is done by using multiple linear regressions. The result of this research indicates that managerial ownership, the composition of independent commissioner and the audit quality variable do not have any influence to the firm value. Whereas the institutional ownership variable has positive influence to the firm value. Keywords: Managerial Ownership, Institutional Ownership, Independent Commissioner, Audit Quality, and Firm Value
Phage displaying peptides mimic schistosoma antigenic epitopes selected by rat natural antibodies and protective immunity induced by their immunization in mice.

AIM To obtain the short peptides mimic antigenic epitopes selected by rat natural antibodies to schistosomes, and to explore their immunoprotection against schistosomiasis in mice. METHODS Adults worm antigens (AWA) were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and enzyme-linked transferred immunoblotting methods with normal SD rat sera (NRS). The killing effects on schistosomula with fresh and heat-inactivated sera from SD rats were observed. Then the purified IgG from sera of SD rats was used to biopan a phage random peptide library and 20 randomly selected positive clones were detected by ELISA and 2 of them were sequenced. Sixty female mice were immunized thrice with positive phage clones (0, 2nd), 4th wk). Each mouse was challenged with 40 cercariae, and all mice were killed 42 d after challenge. The worms and the liver eggs were counted. RESULTS NRS could specifically react to the molecules of 75,000, 47,000, 34,500 and 23,000 of AWA. Sera from SD rats showed that the mortality rate of schistosomula was 76.2%, and when the sera were heat-inactivated in vitro, the mortality rate was decreased to 41.0% after being cultured for 48 h. The specific phages bound to IgG were enriched about 300-folds after three rounds of biopanning. Twenty clones were detected by ELISA, 19 of them bound to the specific IgG of rat sera. Immunization with these epitopes was carried out in mice. Compared with the control groups, the mixture of two mimic peptides could induce 34.9% (P=0.000) worm reduction and 67.6% (P=0.000) total liver egg reduction in mice. Two different mimic peptides could respectively induce 31.0% (P=0.001), 14.5% (P=0.074) worm reduction and 61.2% (P=0.000), 35.7% (P=0.000) total liver egg reduction. The specific antibody could be induced by immunization of the mimic peptides, and the antibody titer in immunized mice reached more than 1:6,400 as detected by ELISA. CONCLUSION Specific peptides mimic antigenic molecules can be obtained by biopanning the phage random peptide library and a partially protective immunity against schistosome infection can be stimulated by these phage epitopes in mice.
The First Epidemic and New-emerging Human Fascioliasis in Kermanshah (Western Iran) and a Ten-year Follow Up, 1998-2008

Background: Fascioliasis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in Iran and other parts of the world. Although the largest epidemic of this disease has occurred in northern provinces of Iran (Guilan) during the past two decades and a few cases have also been reported in Tehran and the other provinces, there has been no evidence of its’ occurrence in western provinces of Iran such as Kermanshah before the outbreak which is being reported. Methods: The study was conducted by teamwork of infectious disease specialist, parasitologist, general practitioner, entomologist, and laboratory technician. It is an “epidemic investigation” and a cross sectional descriptive one. Clinical data and para-clinical changes are recorded considering all of the population of a village in Kangavar, one of the suburbs of Kermanshah (western Iran). Results: The mean age was 21.65, (SD=12.44). Fifty three percent were female, and all of them were farmers. Eighty two percent had a history of watercress ingestion in a period of 1-2 months before the admission and 18% consumed other vegetables. The average of eosinophils was 32.35% (SD=26). The patients’ Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Counter Current Immuno-electrophoresis (CCIE) serological tests were reported positive by the department of parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran. Treatment response to triclabendazole was excellent. A ten-year clinical and laboratory follow-up revealed no evidence of abnormality in treated patients. Conclusions: It was the first case of human fascioliasis in west Iran and was a real epidemic and an emerging infectious disease for this area at that time. The clinical symptoms were less severe compared with other reports. Health education to inhabitants and health care workers can lead to rapid detection of such outbreaks.
The Role of Non-Accounting Information in Understanding Stock Return Volatility

Uncertainty about firms' future payoffs is the dominant factor in explaining stock return volatility at the firm level. However, summary financial statement numbers such as earnings only provide a limited measure of expected payoffs, as they do not reflect firms' fundamentals on a timely basis. We demonstrate theoretically and empirically that information about firms' fundamentals contained in analysts' forecasts (which we label as "non-accounting information") is expected to influence future stock return volatility. When combined with Ohlson's (1995) linear information dynamics, the accounting version of the Campbell-Shiller model (Campbell and Shiller 1988a, 1988b; Vuolteenaho 2002) implies that if current non-accounting information is more uncertain, then future stock returns are expected to be more volatile. Our empirical evidence supports the theoretical predictions, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. Additional analysis yields some evidence that both favourable and unfavourable news from non-accounting information increases future stock return volatility. Overall, our results highlight the relevance of information in analysts' forecasts beyond what is contained in the current financial statements.
The Effect of Board Independence on the Sustainability Reporting Practices of Large U.S. Firms

As sustainability reporting becomes more commonplace, it is important to understand the factors that influence firms’ voluntary reporting decisions. This exploratory study examines whether board independence affects the sustainability reporting decisions of the 500 largest firms in the United States. We also investigate other factors that may be associated with sustainability reporting, including environmental performance and reputation. We find that firms with a greater proportion of independent board members are: 1) more likely to publish standalone sustainability reports, and 2) more likely to publish higher quality sustainability reports. This paper contributes to prior literature that reports somewhat mixed results on the effect of board independence on voluntary disclosure.