Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power and Influence in the US Investment Banking Industry – a Case Study of Lehman Brothers

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Factors Influencing Low Utilization of Health Facility during Labor and Delivery: The Case of Ethiopia

I Acknowledgement . III CHAPTER ONE: BACK GROUND INFORMATION . 1 Geography . 1 Demographic Data. 1 Ethnicity and Religion . 1 Economy . 1 Education . 2 Healthcare System . 2 Health Status . 2 Maternal Health . 3 CHAPTER TWO: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM, OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY . 4 Statement of the problem . 4 Justification. 5 Objectives . 6 General Objective . 6 Specific Objectives . 6 Methodology . 7 Search Strategy . 7
Acceleration of Poor Women Capability in Increasing Income Through Self-Help Group

This study analyzed the impact of the acceleration of women capabilities in creating family income through self-help group based micro credit. The analysis unit of this study are the members of UP2K-PKK (Efforts to Increase Family Income). They are poor women who run productive business. The samples of this research are 177 members of the UP2K-PKK in West Semarang. The data is collected using a questionnaire that is delivered directly to the respondents along with in-depth interview. The analysis tool used is multiple linear regressions. This research tests the model that is the family income as the dependent variable and the development capability through self-help group based micro credit as the independent variable. The acceleration of capability through self-help group based micro credit includes microcredit, training, partnerships, technical assistance , membership. The poor women have individual capabilities (initial endowment) including education, business experience, and membership. To know that the capability development through self-help group accelerates the development of individual capabilities, then the multiplicative variables are inserted.The results of this research show that capability development through self-help group accelerates the impact of micro credit and initial endowment in creating the family income.
Are Audit Partners Rewarded for Selling Consulting Services to Audit and Non-Audit Clients?

Are audit partners rewarded for the revenues they generate by selling consulting services? The question is relevant because of the concern that audit firms have focused on consulting services that are more lucrative and have higher margins than auditing, and that the profit orientation may have impaired audit quality. Using novel data on the revenue streams that partners generate by selling consulting services to non-audit clients as well as to audit clients and their personal income, we are the first to shed light on this question. Specifically, we use partner level data and examine whether partners that generate higher revenues from consulting services to non-audit clients and to audit clients are better compensated while at the same time accounting for audit revenues obtained from audit clients and other control variables. A positive relation between partners' income and revenues from consulting indicate that audit firms prioritize consulting by rewarding partners for sales of consulting services. The results, based on 641 partner-year observations from Norwegian Big-5 firms, show that partners' compensation is positively associated with revenues from consulting services to non-audit clients, but not those to audit clients. We acknowledge that endogeneity is a major challenge for this type of studies, which suggests that results should be interpreted with caution.
The Examination of Factors Influencing Saudi Small Businesses’ Social Media Adoption, by Using UTAUT Model

Social media is becoming a major development in electronic commerce among a wide range of sectors, for example, education, government, health care, and business. In Saudi Arabia, a major movement toward social media has taken place, especially among small business entrepreneurs, due to its low cost and the powerful role it can play in globalization.The goal of this paper is to add to the theoretical knowledge base regarding the adoption of social media among Saudi small businesses, by applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to examine the influences of Saudi small businesses’ social media adoption. An empirical study was carried out using online survey research among 73 Saudi business entrepreneurs. The major findings of the paper are that Saudi small business entrepreneurs tend to use social media for the major constructs of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. However, although the moderator of gender proved to be effective on the construct of effort expectancy, the effects of the moderators of age, gender, and experience on the other major constructs were not salient.It is believed that the findings will be useful for understanding adoption phenomena better, to help business entrepreneurs to make superior decisions based on them.
High-dimensional regression with unknown variance

We review recent results for high-dimensional sparse linear re- gression in the practical case of unknown variance. Different sparsity settings are covered, including coordinate-sparsity, group-sparsity and variation- sparsity. The emphasis is put on nonasymptotic analyses and feasible pro- cedures. In addition, a small numerical study compares the practical perfor- mance of three schemes for tuning the lasso estimator and some references are collected for some more general models, including multivariate regres- sion and nonparametric regression.
THE EDGE EFFECT AND ECOTONAL SPECIES: BIRD COMMUNITIES ACROSS A NATURAL EDGE IN SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA

Ecotones have been considered as unique environments, and the concepts of edge effect and ecotonal species have been widely used, especially in avian community ecology. We studied the patterns of bird densities across heath-wood edges at replicated sites in three locations in southeastern Australia. Multivariate analysis showed that the bird community in the ecotone was intermediate between the heath and wood communities, indicating that the ecotone contained a mixing of species rather than a unique bird com- munity. ANOVA showed a modest increase in bird density at the wood side of the ecotone, which may be partly due to sampling biases rather than to some inherent habitat value in the ecotone. The outstanding pattern was that bird density and species richness in the wood habitat were twice as high as in the heath habitat. Of a total of 86 species, 31 occurred in sufficient numbers to categorize according to their habitat association (generalist, or heath or wood specialist) and their density at the ecotone (ecotone neutral, ecotone shy, or ecotone conspicuous). Three of these were habitat-generalist-ecotone-neutral. Fourteen species were ecotone neutral but were habitat specialists on either the wood (13 spp.) or the heath (1 sp.). Three species were ecotone shy. Although 11 species were ecotone conspicuous, they also occurred in either heath or wood or both. Thus, no species could be categorized as entirely ecotonal. We conclude that there is little evidence from this or other studies of avian communities to support an edge effect of increased density and species richness, and no evidence of entirely ecotonal species.
Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in Nursing Home Men

Previous studies have shown the normal range of plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) for independent community men over 60 years old to be 30–200 μg/dL. In human adults, low levels of plasma DHEAS have been correlated with a high mortality rate. In rodents, dehydroepiandrosterone, the precursor of DHEAS, has exhibited antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, neurotropic, and memory‐enhancing effects. We have now measured plasma DHEAS in 50 independent community men age 55–94 and in 61 nursing home men age 57–104. Mean DHEAS was significantly lower in the nursing home men than in the community men. Plasma DHEAS was subnormal (less than 30 μg/dL) in 40% of the nursing home residents and in only 6% of the community subjects. In both groups, DHEAS was inversely related to age. In the nursing home men, additionally, plasma DHEAS was inversely related to the presence of an organic brain syndrome and to the degree of dependence in activities of daily living. Plasma DHEAS was subnormal in 80% of the nursing home men who required total care. There was no significant correlation between the plasma concentrations of DHEAS and testosterone, or between plasma DHEAS and one‐year mortality rate.
The influence of psychotic parents on their children's development.

A comparison of the psychological and intellectual development of children whose parents were mentally ill and children of normal parents disclosed significant differences between the two groups. The authors believe the former group should be viewed as a population at risk; serious consideration should be given to their needs, and services—including the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with stable adults—should be provided for them.
Innovativeness in Thai Family SMEs: An Exploratory Case Study

Over the past decade, academic research has revealed innovativeness to be one of the core components effecting SME performance. This research aims to study the linkage between innovativeness and “familiness” in family SMEs. The paper employs a qualitative approach and exploratory case studies, in collecting data on three categories of firms manufacturing, trading and servicing companies in order to identify how “familiness” effects the innovativeness of their family SMEs. To identify how “familiness” either accelerates or decelerates innovativeness in family SMEs, we adopted the F-PEC scale as a tool to study the connection between family and business values and also the impact of family commitments to the company. We found that power, experience and culture accelerate innovativeness in family SMEs. The paper illustrates the important role of family in firm innovativeness and how this can bring competitive advantage and success to family SMEs.
Contribution of individual projections alone and in combination for radiographic detection of ankle fractures.

OBJECTIVE We wanted to determine whether the standard three-view ankle radiographic series could be replaced by a two-view combination, and if so, which two-view combination (anteroposterior with lateral or mortise with lateral) would be superior. MATERIALS AND METHODS During a 12-month period, we retrospectively reviewed 556 consecutive ankle radiographic studies consisting of anteroposterior, mortise, and lateral views. One hundred twenty patients with at least one ankle fracture were paired with 140 healthy control subjects. Each image in the three-view examination was separated and sorted by view and studied independently; all images were reviewed by two skeletal radiologists and two orthopedic surgeons. Each radiograph was evaluated for fracture of the medial, lateral, and posterior malleoli and the foot using a five-point confidence rating. Performance of each view and modeled two- and three-view combinations of views was evaluated with modified receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS The data provide little support for preferring either two-view combination (anteroposterior-lateral or mortise-lateral) for any type of fracture. The three-view combination does detect significantly more fractures than some two-view combinations in some locations, and there is a statistically significant cost in diagnostic accuracy for eliminating the anteroposterior or mortise view. CONCLUSION Reducing the ankle radiographic series from three to two views would result in a small but significant decrease in the detection of fractures of the ankle and foot. Both two-view combinations are equivalent for fracture detection.
Large-Scale Characterization of Natural Ligands Explains the Unique Gluten-Binding Properties of HLA-DQ21

Celiac disease is an enteropathy caused by intolerance to dietary gluten. The disorder is strongly associated with DQA1*0501/DQB1*0201 (HLA-DQ2) as ∼95% of celiac patients express this molecule. HLA-DQ2 has unique Ag-binding properties that allow it to present a diverse set of gluten peptides to gluten-reactive CD4+ T cells so instigating an inflammatory reaction. Previous work has indicated that the presence of negatively charged amino acids within gluten peptides is required for specific binding. This, however, only partly explains the scale of the interaction. We have now characterized 432 natural ligands of HLA-DQ2 representing length variants of 155 distinct sequences. The sequences were aligned and the binding cores were inferred. Analysis of the amino acid distribution of these cores demonstrated that negatively charged residues in HLA-DQ2-bound peptides are favored at virtually all positions. This contrasts with a more restricted presence of such amino acids in T cell epitopes from gluten. Yet, HLA-DQ2 was also found to display a strong preference for proline at several anchor and nonanchor positions that largely match the position of proline in gluten T cell epitopes. Consequently, the bias for proline at p6 and p8 facilitates the enzymatic conversion of glutamine into glutamic acid in gluten peptides at p4 and p6, two important anchor sites. These observations provide new insights in the unique ability of HLA-DQ2 to bind a large repertoire of glutamine- and proline-rich gluten peptides. This knowledge may be an important asset in the development of future treatment strategies.
Reconsidering the Mandate of the Audit Committee: Evidence from Corporate Governance in Israel

We investigate the association between attributes of the audit committee of a firm and the likelihood of negative events occurring in the firm’s life in Israel. The mandate of the audit committee in Israel is substantially different from its mandate in the US. The responsibilities of the committee in the US are divided between two committees in Israel, one of which deals with reviewing the financial statements and the other one, titled “audit committee,” is in charge of the remaining tasks of the US-type audit committee. This allows us a unique opportunity to focus on the roles of the audit committee other than reviewing the financial statements. Using hand-collected data on firms traded on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2010–2014, we find that the larger the audit committee size, the larger the likelihood of negative events, consistent with the cumbersome workings and potential conflicts of interests characterizing a large committee. The percentage of directors with accounting and financial expertise on the audit committee is associated with a lower likelihood of negative events, in line with the value of such experts in tasks beyond reviewing the financial statements. The fraction of independent directors on the audit committee is not found to be significantly related to the likelihood of negative events. This is consistent with the notion that some independent directors are independent in form but not necessarily in substance, which is surprising in light of the comprehensive regulation regarding audit committee independence imposed by the Israeli regulator.
Accuracy of Needle Placement into the Intra-Articular Space of the Knee

Background: To achieve their potential therapeutic benefit, hyaluronic acid derivatives should be injected directly into the knee joint space and not into the anterior fat pad or the subsynovial tissues. In the absence of a knee effusion, reproducible needle placement into the intra-articular space presents a challenge to the clinician.Methods: The accuracy of needle placement was assessed in a prospective series of 240 consecutive injections in patients without clinical knee effusion. The injections were performed by one orthopaedic surgeon using a 2.0-in (5.1-cm) 21-gauge needle through three commonly employed knee joint portals: anteromedial, anterolateral, and lateral midpatellar. Accuracy rates for needle placement were confirmed with fluoroscopic imaging to document the dispersion pattern of injected contrast material.Results: Of eighty injections performed through an anterolateral portal, fifty-seven were confirmed to have been placed in the intra-articular space on the first attempt (an accuracy rate of 71%). Sixty of eighty injections performed through an anteromedial approach were intra-articular on the first attempt (75% accuracy rate), as were seventy-four of eighty injections performed through a lateral midpatellar portal (93% accuracy rate). Conclusions: Using real-time fluoroscopic imaging with contrast material, we demonstrated the difficulty of accurately placing a needle into the intra-articular space of the knee when an effusion is not present. This study revealed that a lateral midpatellar injection (an injection into the patellofemoral joint) was intra-articular 93% of the time and was more accurate than injections performed by the same orthopaedic surgeon using either of the other two portals. This study highlights the need for clinicians to refine injection techniques for delivering intra-articular therapeutic substances that are intended to coat the articular surfaces of the knee joint.
Exploring the anteceding impact of personalised social media advertising on online impulse buying tendency

Online impulse buying is a critical factor that can result in desired outcomes for online retailers and advertisers. Personalisation is progressively being used in marketing practices on social media. However, largely unexplored is the potential relationship between personalisation and online impulse buying tendency on social media. This study provides insights about the significance of personalisation on social media as an antecedent of customer's online impulse tendency, an especially important topic for online retailers. Specifically, this study develops and tests a conceptual model using different factors to determine the predictive power of perceived personalisation of social media ads on online impulse buying tendency. A noteworthy finding from the survey was the positive influence of perceived personalisation of social media ads on perceived relevance, which subsequently predicted customer's online impulse buying tendency. Results also indicate the impact of perceived personalisation on perceptions of value, relevance and novelty of social media ads. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Investigational factor Xa inhibitors for thrombosis and acute coronary syndromes

Introduction: A number of new oral anticoagulant drugs that selectively and directly inhibit factor Xa (FXa) appear as promising alternatives to the existing anticoagulant agents. These compounds present a convenient route of administration with predictable pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics that allow fixed dosing regimens without requiring coagulation monitoring. Rivaroxaban is the first of this new class of drugs that was approved for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after elective total hip replacement or total knee replacement surgery in the EU, Canada and several other countries. Clinical trials with rivaroxaban in patients with acute VTE and in patients with atrial fibrillation have been recently completed. Numerous other compounds are under different developing stages (apixaban, edoxaban, otamixaban, LY517717, PRT-054021, YM150). Areas covered: This review provides an overview of the two oral anti-FXa drugs at the most advanced stage of development (rivaroxaban and apixaban) and briefly describes and comments on the results of the most important studies. Expert opinion: Undoubtedly, these new drugs will offer several advantages over the previous compounds, but a number of issues still require some attention during the phase of translation from clinical trials into daily clinical practice.
New agents for treatment of invasive aspergillosis.

this disease. This approach has left unanswered major questions regarding the efficacy of new agents, including lipid formulations of AmB, especially with regard to their use as primary therapy for this often lethal disease. Given this background, it is easy to see that Bowden et al. [5] should be congratulated on the completion of a randomized trial in which a lipid formulation of AmB (amphotericin B colloidal dispersion [ABCD]; Amphotec) was compared with AmB for use as primary therapy for invasive aspergillosis. The primary end point of efficacy in the study was assessed by use of an evaluable patient population who met the following criteria: diagnosis of proved or probable invasive aspergillosis and receipt of therapy for 17 days. In addition, successful responses to therapy were classified as complete response, partial response, or stable disease. By use of these parameters, successful responses occurred in 26 (52%) of 50 patients who received ABCD, 6 mg/kg/day, compared with 27 (51%) of 53 patients who received AmB. In addition, toxicity rates that required study drug discontinuation were similar in the 2 treatment groups (22% for the ABCD group vs. 24% for the AmB group). Of note, less nephrotoxicity was seen with the use of the lipid formulation, although greater infusional toxicities also
State and trait negative affect as predictors of objective and subjective symptoms of respiratory viral infections.

State and trait negative affect (NA) were measured in healthy people immediately before an illness was induced through exposure to a respiratory virus. State NA, disease-specific health complaints (e.g., runny nose, congestion, and sneezing), and an associated objective marker of disease severity (mucus secretion weights) were assessed daily during the illness. Baseline trait and state NA were both associated with increased numbers of subsequent complaints. Although greater numbers of complaints among people high in state NA were explicable in terms of greater disease severity, the association of trait NA and symptoms was independent of objective disease. The trait NA complaint association was also independent of state NA and hence not attributable to trait-elicited state affect. Greater trait NA was associated with biases in complaining during but not before illness. This suggested failure to discriminate between symptoms rather than increased sensitivity or hypochondriacal response.
On a Conjecture of Godsil Concerning Controllable Random Graphs

It is conjectured by Godsil that the relative number of controllable graphs compared to the total number of simple graphs on n vertices approaches one as n tends to infinity. We prove that this conjecture is true. More generally, our methods show that the linear system formed from the pair (W, b) is controllable for a large class of Wigner random matrices W and deterministic vectors b. The proof relies on recent advances in Littlewood-Offord theory developed by Rudelson and Vershynin.