Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Risk and Return Profile of Asian Real Estate Stocks

AbstractThis research examines the risk and return profile of Asian real estate stocks from an American investor’s point of view. Our results indicate that Asian real estate security markets have not produced high levels of compound returns relative to the US REIT and UK real estate stock markets since the 90’s. They have also experienced a higher level of volatility compared to their USA and UK counterparts. Asset allocations using meanvariance optimization are difficult to carry out, as many of the Asian property stock markets are not normally distributed. In addition, Asian real estate stocks have been able to provide diversification benefits in international investing that includes the US and UK security portfolios. However, the case for separate allocations to international real estate is weakened by the high correlations that are found in Asian markets between the real estate stock and broader market indexes.
Experimental Study of Anode Activities in High Current Vacuum Arc Subjected to Axial Magnetic Fields Under Different Conditions

In this paper, high current vacuum arc (HCVA) characteristics and anode melting pool (AMP) flow phenomena under different conditions are researched and analyzed. Particularly, rotation phenomena of AMP are observed and analyzed. First, the influence of different arc currents on arc column and anode activities is researched. Experimental results show that the rotation phenomena of AMP become more significant when arc currents are very high. Then, the influence of electrode configurations on the AMP rotation is investigated. For larger h/D value electrode, vacuum arc can become more unstable and uncontrollable, the rotation of anode melting region cannot be found; for smaller h/D, the vacuum arc is more stable and the vacuum arc is controlled effectively by the axial magnetic field (AMF), also significant rotation of AMP has been found. For a smaller anode electrode, anode melting and rotation of AMP is more serious, which is due to the same energy inputs smaller electrode. Finally, the influence of pure Cu and CuCr30 electrode on anode melting and flow is compared and analyzed. Experimental results show that AMP rotation with pure Cu material is more significant than that with CuCr30 material for the same arc current interruption. Liquid macroparticles' diameters with pure Cu electrode are significantly larger than that with CuCr30 materials.
Trust transfer and the effect of service quality on trust in the healthcare industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of service quality (interaction, physical environment, and outcome quality) on trust, to investigate the trust transfer in the healthcare industry, to explore the moderating effects of image congruence and switching costs on the trust transfer, and to assess the effect of trust on patients’ willingness of recommendation. Design/methodology/approach – The research model was tested using data collected from 483 inpatients in 15 medium-to-large hospitals in Taiwan. Structure equation modeling with the latent interaction effect was employed to verify and validate the research model. Findings – The outcomes show that interaction quality and outcome quality positively influence patients’ trust in the original hospital. But the effect of environment quality on trust is not significant. Patients’ trust in the original hospital positively affects their trust in its allied hospitals. Furthermore, image congruence positively moderates the trust transfer. H.
Network Eects in the Governance of Biotech Strategic Alliances

We argue that the stock of prior alliances between participants in the biotechnology sector forms a network that serves as a governance mechanism in inter-firm transactions. To test how this network substitutes for other governance mechanisms, we examine how equity participation and pledged funding in strategic alliances vary with two features of the way alliance participants are positioned in the network of past deals: (i) proximity, and (ii) centrality, which measures how deeply a firm is embedded in the network. As centrality and proximity increase, equity participation (measured by size and propensity) diminish, while pledged funding increases.
A maximum-likelihood approach to image segmentation by texture

This paper addresses the problem of segmenting an image by texture. Specifically, we are concerned with estimating the trajectory of the boundary between two regions characterized by different two-dimensional autocorrelation functions. An algorithm is developed which is an approximation to a maximum-likelihood estimator based on the assumption of Gaussian random fields with known mean and covariance. Preliminary experimental results are given.
Does Diversification Increase or Decrease Bank Risk and Performance? Evidence on Diversification and the Risk-Return Tradeoff in Banking

Conventional wisdom in banking argues that diversification tends to reduce bank risk and improve performance, but the recent financial crisis suggests that aggressive diversification strategies may have resulted in increased risk taking and poor performance. This paper addresses this important question by evaluating the empirical relationship between diversification strategies and the risk-return tradeoff in banking. Our data set covers Russian banks during the 1999-2006 period and finds somewhat mixed results. Specifically, we find that banks’ performance tends to be non-monotonically related to their diversification strategy. The marginal effects of focus indices (inverse measures of diversification) on performance are nonlinearly associated with the level of risk and foreign ownership. A focused strategy is found to be associated with increased profit and decreased risk only up to a certain threshold. Additionally, when foreign ownership is either very high or very low, banks tend to benefit more from being diversified. This analysis provides important strategic and policy implications for bank managers and regulators in Russia as well as in other emerging economies.
CARDIAC MUSCLE

Cardiac muscle fibers of the hummingbird and finch have no transverse tubules and are smaller in diameter than those of mammalian hearts. The fibers are connected by intercalated discs which are composed of desmosomes and f. adherentes; small nexuses are often interspersed. As in cardiac muscle of several other animals, the junctional SR of the couplings is highly structured in these two birds but, in addition, and after having lost sarcolemmal contact, the junctional SR continues beyond the coupling to extend deep into the interior of the cells and to form belts around the Z-I regions of the sarcomeres. This portion of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which we have named "extended junctional SR," and which is so prominent and invariant a feature of cardiac cells of hummingbirds and finches, has not been observed in chicken cardiac cells. The morphological differences between these species of birds may be related to respective differences in heart rates characteristic for these birds.
Shareholder Influence on CSR: A Study of the Swedish Corporate Sector

There is a growing expectation that shareholders can foster corporate social responsibility (CSR) through engagement activities. The aim of this study is therefore to explore the influence that shareholders have on corporations in terms of CSR. The study, which is set in Sweden, finds that corporations themselves do not perceive shareholders to have a significant direct influence on how they address CSR. At the same time, corporations find socially minded shareholders to be legitimate and important stakeholders. Corporations find that shareholders amplify general stakeholder pressure in the area of CSR, and that they can function as a catalyst for CSR by adding legitimacy to the work of CSR professionals. The one area where shareholders stand out as having a direct influence on CSR is with regard to corporate transparency and CSR reporting.
The hierarchy of mobile phone incorporation among older users

Older people use mobile telephones extensively, yet little is known about the relevant domestication processes. Employing usage variety as an indicator, this study explores levels of mobile phone incorporation among older users, based on an online cross-European survey of 1,039 individuals aged 60 and up. Results displayed a four-level pyramid structure of mobile phone incorporation with voice calling at its base, proceeding through basic functions and Internet-based functions to media player at its apex. The two upper levels were negatively associated with reported “old” media use (e.g., television, radio) and positively correlated with use of more advanced technology-based media. Younger age, higher education and income, work force participation, and residence in Italy or Israel predicted higher levels of mobile phone incorporation. The findings suggested that the incorporation phase of mobile phone domestication by older Internet users comprises various subphases and that level of incorporation depends on one’s personal and cultural background. Furthermore, results demonstrated that mobile phones replace old media to some extent and complement the use of other new media.
The effects of market orientation on effectiveness and efficiency: the case of automotive distribution channels in Finland and Poland

Explores the effect of market orientation on operating effectiveness and cost efficiency using data drawn from automotive distribution channels in Finland and Poland. The results indicate that market orientation is positively associated with measures of effectiveness such as service quality and overall customer service level. Market orientation also has a positive influence on measures of cost efficiency, such as productivity and sales per employee. In addition, profitability measures were highly associated with operating effectiveness and cost efficiency. Additional analysis suggests that market orientation has a greater effect on operating effectiveness, such as service quality, in Poland, a less‐developed country, than in Finland, a more‐developed country. Based on the findings, important managerial and research implications are proferred.
Thumbnails as online product displays: How consumers process them

Thumbnails are typically miniature product images displayed on one page of a Web site and hyperlinked to other pages in the site. As a type of online product display, thumbnails are used to attract Web surfers to enter the internal environment (i.e., internal pages) of a virtual store. Thumbnails are often organized in rectangular arrays; when consumers view such an array, the rectangular configuration is likely to activate an eye-movement (scanning) routine in the consumers’ memory that causes them to scan the array in a manner similar to their reading of text. The presence of the routine and its influence on consumers’ scanning of thumbnails are supported by the results of an eye-tracking experiment reported in this article. The experiment shows that consumers process information in the middle and left regions of a thumbnail array to a greater extent than they do in the right regions, and that they can find a particular product more quickly if it is placed in the middle and left regions. As expected, the results are consistent with the dominant reading direction of the participants in the experiment. In demonstrating differing levels of processing for items located across an array, the findings have significant marketing implications.
A logical approach to grammar description

In the tradition of Model Theoretic Syntax, we propose a logical approach to the description of grammars. We combine in one formalism several tools that are used throughout computer science for their power of abstraction: logic and lambda calculus. We propose then a high-level formalism for describing mildly context sensitive grammars and their semantic interpretation. As we rely on the correspondence between logic and finite state automata, our method combines con-ciseness with effectivity. We illustrate our approach with a simple linguistic model of several interleaved linguistic phenomena involving extraction. The level of abstraction provided by logic and lambda calculus allows us not only to use this linguistic model for several languages, namely English, German, and Dutch, but also for semantic interpretation.
Message framing strategies for new and mature products

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of message framing and source credibility on attitudes, intentions and beliefs about attributes of teeth whitening products. Although each of these variables, message framing and credibility, has been explored individually, few attempts have been made to investigate them jointly. This study aims to base itself on a full factorial design that allows for testing of interaction effects. Similar investigations in marketing limit their inquiries primarily to attitudes and intentions as dependent variables. This study goes further in that it also aims to investigate the effect of framing and credibility on the salient attributes of products. Third, the market for whitening products is maturing, resulting in a target market that is gaining knowledge about these products. Thus, the paper seeks to use knowledge as a covariate in the above investigation to determine if the communication strategy should be changed as the product moves from introduction to ma.
Literacy is an independent risk factor for vision impairment and poor visual functioning.

PURPOSE People with limited literacy are at increased risks of chronic systemic conditions. The authors therefore investigated the independent contribution of limited literacy on visual impairment and visual function in a large eye survey in Singapore. METHODS The authors undertook a population-based, cross-sectional study of Asian Malays (≥ 40 years old). Visual impairment was defined as logMAR (logarithm of minimal angle of resolution) visual acuity > 0.30 in the better-seeing eye. Information regarding reading and writing literacy levels and other independent variables, including sociodemographic measures (e.g., education, income), were obtained from a standardized interview. Visual functioning was assessed using a modified and validated version of the Vision-Specific Functioning Scale using Rasch analysis. RESULTS Of the 3280 participants, 553 (16.9%) had inadequate reading literacy and 688 (21.0%) had inadequate writing literacy. In multivariate analysis, persons with inadequate reading literacy were more likely to have presenting visual impairment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.91 to 3.72; P < 0.001), best-corrected visual impairment (OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.70 to 3.96; P < 0.001), and poorer visual functioning (β coefficient = 0.58; 95% CI = 1.57 to 3.02; P < 0.001), even controlling for education, income, and other patients' characteristics. Similar associations were found for inadequate writing literacy. CONCLUSIONS Inadequate literacy is independently associated with visual impairment and poorer visual functioning. Interventions that address literacy may help to reduce socioeconomic disparities in visual impairment.
Recombinant EPO production--points the nephrologist should know.

Why should the nephrologist be familiar with EPOs and biosimilars? The administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) and its analogues provides enormous benefit in the prevention and reversal of anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD), malignancy and AIDS, and it supports autologous blood collection. rhEPO-type substances represent the largest market of a class of biopharmaceuticals, with global estimated sales of � 10 10 euro per annum. The key process patents for the first-generation of rhEPOs have expired in the EU and other regions, opening the market for biosimilar follow-on products. In addition, confronted with imminent patent expiration, the manufacturers of the innovative compounds have developed second-generation products with improved pharmacokinetic properties. Thus, the clinician will be faced with a panoply of different erythropoiesisstimulating biopharmaceuticals, and it will be important for him to be familiar with their molecular biology. The complexities of EPO formation in mammalian cells rhEPO is produced with the use of cells transfected with either the human EPO gene or EPO cDNA (the coding sequence of the gene) linked to an expression vector (‘recombinant DNA’), which are integrated into the genome of the host cell and stably expressed over time. The present therapeutic rhEPO preparations are manufactured in mammalian host cells, because EPO is a complex glycoprotein of 165 amino acids to which four glycans (carbohydrate side chains) are attached. Transfected bacteria such as Escherichia coli are useful as hosts for the production of non-glycosylated recombinant proteins (Figure 1). Yeast and filamentous fungi glycosylate proteins differently from mammalian cells, adding for example high mannose-type N-glycans. The synthesis of human N-glycans is a complicated process. It starts in the cytosol with the addition of distinct sugar molecules to dolichol, from which the glycan is transferred to the growing polypeptide in the endoplasmic reticulum. After several sugars have been trimmed from the protein, it is folded and moved to the Golgi complex, where further mannose elimination occurs before N-acetylglucosamine, galactose and sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) are finally added.
“4 × 4 vasovasostomy”: A simplified technique for vasectomy reversal

Objectives: An ideal vasovasostomy procedure requires precise mucosal approximation with a watertight anastomosis. The standard two-layer microdot technique requires multiple sutures within each layer and is a technically difficult operation to perform. We describe a two-layered technique which adheres to the principles of tubular anastomosis, but is simpler and provides excellent results. Materials and Methods: Patients with secondary infertility following a previous vasectomy underwent the modified two-layered vasovasostomy. Two 8-0 polyamide sutures were placed at 5 and 7 o’clock positions in the sero-muscular layer to approximate the two ends of the vas. Next, four double-armed, 10-0 polyamide sutures were sequentially placed, inside out in the mucosa of the vasal ends, at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock positions and tied. Two additional sero-muscular sutures were placed at 1 and 11 o’clock positions to complete the anastomosis. Patients with a suspected proximal block in the epididymis underwent a vasoepididymostomy. Semen analysis was performed at 6 weeks after surgery. Results: Between the period February 2008 and August 2009, eight men underwent vasectomy reversal using the 4 × 4 technique. The procedure was performed bilaterally in six men whereas two patients underwent a two-suture, longitudinal intussusception vasoepididymostomy on the second side. Mean operative time was 90 min per patient. All men had sperm in the ejaculate at the first semen analysis. There were no complications. Conclusions: The “4 × 4” modified two-layer vasovasostomy is a simple technique that can be performed in quick time with excellent results. It may allow a common ground between the complex microdot two-layer technique and the over-simplified single-layer procedure.
Overinvestment when Control Separates from Ownership

In this paper, we study how separation of control from ownership affects overinvestment by presenting a simple model extended from La Porta et al. (2002). We find that firms with controlling shareholders whose control is more separated from ownership are likely to overinvest more, even if controlling shareholders expropriate funds for purpose of other than investment. Using over 1000 public listed companies in China from 2004-2007, we confirm this result, which points to possible inefficiency in the high investment in China’s recent history.
An experimental test of the habitat-amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles in a forested region.

The habitat-amount hypothesis challenges traditional concepts that explain species richness within habitats, such as the habitat-patch hypothesis, where species number is a function of patch size and patch isolation. It posits that effects of patch size and patch isolation are driven by effects of sample area, and thus that the number of species at a site is basically a function of the total habitat amount surrounding this site. We tested the habitat-amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles and their habitat of dead wood by using an experiment comprising 190 plots with manipulated patch sizes situated in a forested region with a high variation in habitat amount (i.e., density of dead trees in the surrounding landscape). Although dead wood is a spatio-temporally dynamic habitat, saproxylic insects have life cycles shorter than the time needed for habitat turnover and they closely track their resource. Patch size was manipulated by adding various amounts of downed dead wood to the plots (~800 m³ in total); dead trees in the surrounding landscape (~240 km2 ) were identified using airborne laser scanning (light detection and ranging). Over 3 yr, 477 saproxylic species (101,416 individuals) were recorded. Considering 20-1,000 m radii around the patches, local landscapes were identified as having a radius of 40-120 m. Both patch size and habitat amount in the local landscapes independently affected species numbers without a significant interaction effect, hence refuting the island effect. Species accumulation curves relative to cumulative patch size were not consistent with either the habitat-patch hypothesis or the habitat-amount hypothesis: several small dead-wood patches held more species than a single large patch with an amount of dead wood equal to the sum of that of the small patches. Our results indicate that conservation of saproxylic beetles in forested regions should primarily focus on increasing the overall amount of dead wood without considering its spatial arrangement. This means dead wood should be added wherever possible including in local landscapes with low or high dead-wood amounts. For species that have disappeared from most forests owing to anthropogenic habitat degradation, this should, however, be complemented by specific conservation measures pursued within their extant distributional ranges.
Point-of-purchase displays, product organization, and brand purchase likelihoods

Can point-of-purchase (POP) displays cause a decrease in sales of the featured brand? In an actual test-market promotion, the use of special POP displays led to a decrease in sales of featured wines from a specific U.S. region. Moreover, sales of regularly shelved wines from competitive regions actually increased. The results of a laboratory experiment supported the explanation that the POP displays essentially reorganized the wines into region categories within the stores, making it easier for consumers to compare alternatives by region. As a result, sales of wines from preferred regions increased and sales of wines from disliked regions decreased relative to when the wines were displayed by variety categories on regular shelf space. Further evidence indicated that reorganizing products by levels of a given attribute influences purchase likelihoods mainly when the attribute is otherwise low rather than high in salience and when brands have normally high rather than low purchase likelihoods.