Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes of brain activity in the neural substrates for theory of mind during childhood and adolescence

Abstract Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute independent mental states, such as beliefs, preferences and desires, to the self and others. Neuroimaging studies of normal adults have consistently demonstrated the importance of particular brain regions for ToM, the superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporal pole (TP) and the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). However, there are little data showing how ToM develops during childhood and adolescence. Such data are important for understanding the development of social functioning and its disorders. The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study age‐related changes in brain activity associated with ToM during childhood and early adolescence (9–16 years). Normally developed children and adolescents demonstrated significant activation in the bilateral STS, the TP adjacent to the amygdala (TP/Amy) and the MPFC. Furthermore, the authors found a positive correlation between age and the degree of activation in the dorsal part of the MPFC; in contrast, a negative correlation was found for the ventral part of the MPFC. The authors also found a positive correlation between the Z coordinate of the peak activation in the MPFC and age. The data indicated that activity in the MPFC associated with ToM shifted from the ventral to the dorsal part of the MPFC during late childhood and adolescence. No age‐related changes were found in the STS and the TP/Amy regions. The authors consider that the age‐related brain activity observed in the present study may be associated with the maturation of the prefrontal cortex and the associated development of cognitive functions.
Information Technology Related Professional Development Needs of Louisiana Agriscience Teachers

This study addressed the information technology related professional development needs of Louisiana agriscience teachers. The study found that Louisiana 's agriscience teachers value information technology, however, they have inadequate general and software specific knowledge and shill. This is especially true with the newer technologies such as Internet/World Wide Web, video conferencing, and compressed video. Teachers’ perceived that information technology in program and instructional management was of moderate usefulness. The studyfound that, over the past three years, either agriscience teachers have placed less reliance on information technology training offered by universities than by other providers, and/or universities have not offered information technology training desired by teachers. There is a continuing trend toward teachers’ dependence on self-directed learning as a primary source of information technology training. Most agriscience teachers have computers available in their office or classroom. However, most do not have the latest information technology resources such as multimedia capabilities, World Wide Web, andelectronic mail. There was a lowpositive relationship between teachers' perceivedvalue of information technology and the following variables: availability of computer technology, whether the teacher teaches at the middle/junior high school level, information technology knowledge and skills, software knowledge and skills, whether school is connected to the Internet, training received on information technology, and participation in the AVA convention. There is a low negative relationship between teachers' perceived value of information technology and four variables, namely, number of state vocational conferences attended age, years teaching experience, and whether the respondent taught at the high school level only.
Interstate Professional Associations and the Diffusion of Policy Innovations

Although scholars have found that policy innovations diffuse across states in a systematic manner, they generally have not examined the role that individuals and institutions play in promoting diffusion. I posit that interstate professional associations provide institutional foundations for the development and dissemination of innovations by state officials with jurisdiction over particular policy areas. I test this hypothesis by examining the determinants of state adoption of the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Model Act, a comprehensive set of regulations developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). My central finding is that states whose insurance commissioner participated in the NAIC’s Accident and Health Insurance Committee, which has jurisdiction over HMO regulation, were more likely than other states to adopt the Model Act. This result provides evidence that associations can affect policy diffusion. It also sharpens the conventional wisdom by highlighting a specific institutional arrangement—a committee system—through which participation in associations can facilitate the adoption of innovations.
Corporate environmental claims: a game theory model with empirical results

Purpose - – This paper aims to examines whether firms’ eco-friendly advertising claims are supported by environmentally friendly behavior. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper develops a game theory model to determine the circumstances under which firms’ environmental claims will be supported by the adoption of best environmental practice. Least squares regression is used to test major theoretical implications. Findings - – The theoretical model suggests that the credence good nature of un-monitored environmental claims prohibits consumer validation; firms have an incentive to advertise green but no incentive to adopt best environmental practice. Third-party monitoring transforms the game, making eco-friendly outcomes possible. Empirical models based on North American data suggest that firm profit rates are related to verifiable environmental claims and to easily accessible external ratings of environmental performance. Originality/value - – Unlike previous game theoretical models for similar goods, the eco-friendly outcome does not require a repeated game. The importance of the single period game is that continued patronage is not required for the firm to produce goods containing the desired attributes.
Firm Valuation, Market Responses, And Accounting Conservatism

This study examines whether the components of accounting conservatism as described in Watts (2003a): contracting, litigation, regulation, and taxation, provide insight on the value relevance of financial information. During the years 1993 through 2009, we explore whether these four factors are value relevant in capturing information in contemporaneous stock returns and prices and whether the trends in value relevance for these drivers vary across time. Specifically, our study aids in helping to reconcile the competing results of Balachandran and Mohanram (2011), who state that there is no compelling evidence that firms with higher levels of accounting conservatism exhibit decreasing levels of value relevance, and Lev and Zarowin (1999), who suggest that accounting conservatism is a factor causing a decline in the usefulness of financial information over time. Our results provide evidence that the level of contracting, litigation, and regulation are associated with returns and prices and their value relevance has not decreased over time, findings which differ from Lev and Zarowin (1999), and support Balachandran and Mohanram (2011), such that the expectation of these drivers are associated with value relevance. In addition, we find less consistent evidence that the taxation explanation of accounting conservatism is associated with value relevance.
Effects of catalase and 1400W on the number of interleukin-4 and interferon-γ secreting spleen cells in mice injected with ovalbumin and alum

Context: Alum is thought to induce inflammation resulting in the release of danger signals such as uric acid (UA) which in turn enhances the immune response to an antigen. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is produced as a byproduct in the purine catabolic pathway that leads to the production of UA. In addition, serum nitric oxide (NO) levels are increased in inflammation. Objective: To further explore the mechanism of action of alum, this study was designed to determine the effects of catalase and 1400W on the number of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secreting spleen cells in mice given ovalbumin (OVA) with alum. Materials and methods: Groups of BALB/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with alum + OVA, alum, OVA, catalase, or 1400W. Other groups were treated with catalase or 1400W and given alum + OVA. The number of IL-4 and IFN-γ secreting spleen cells were determined at days 4 and 7 postinjection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT). Results: Catalase and 1400W caused a decrease in the number of IL-4 secreting spleen cells induced by alum + OVA. 1400W caused a decline in the IFN-γ secreting spleen cells induced by alum + OVA. Catalase caused an increase in IFN-γ secreting spleen cells. Discussion and conclusion: It appears that H2O2 and NO are needed for alum-induced production of a T-helper 2 cytokine. NO also appears to be needed, whereas H2O2 appeared to inhibit an alum-induced production of a T-helper 1 cytokine. These results might explain why alum is mainly a promoter of a T-helper 2 response.
The International Diversification Puzzle is Worse than You Think

Although international financial markets are highly integrated across the more well-developed countries, investors nevertheless hold portfolios that consist nearly exclusively of domestic assets. This violation of the predictions of standard theories of portfolio choice is known as the 'international diversification puzzle. ' In this paper, we show that the presence of nontraded risk associated with variations in the return to human capital has dramatic implications for the optimal fraction of domestic assets in an individual's portfolio. Our analysis suggests that the returns to human capital are highly correlated with the returns to domestic financial assets. Hedging the risk associated with nontraded human capital involves a short position in national equities in an amount approximately 1.5 times the value of the national stock market. Thus optimal and value- weighted portfolios very likely involve a short position in domestic marketable assets.
The role of alliances in the early development of high-growth firms

Rapid growth is sought after but may overstretch a firm's resources. Can alliances supply compensating support for rapidly growing firms? Longitudinal data on firms in a technology cluster are used to investigate rapid growth in relation to alliances and other factors known to be associated with firm growth. Rapid firm growth appears beneficial in terms of higher survival rates and earlier attainment of mid-size, but is rarely sustained. Alliances are predictors of rapid growth, as are international operations. Venture capital is not directly associated with firm growth in the findings, but there is a high incidence of alliances among venture capital-backed firms. Copyright 2014 The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved. , Oxford University Press.
Identifying the determinants of corporate managers’ perceived social obligations

Explores the determinants of perceived social obligations of corporate managers focusing on managerial and personal demographics. A survey of Australian corporate managers revealed that there is a significant relationship between the level of education, training status and religiosity of managers and their perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings indicate that managerial commitment to CSR is linked with the acquired qualities (education and training) rather than their inherent physical maturity (age). Furthermore, modernity reflected in achievement via hard work, rather than mere belief in luck, determines the pattern of managerial perception of CSR. Religious metaphors seem to influence managers’ perception of social commitment suggesting that theology is also an important determinant of the ethical perceptions of Australian corporate managers. These findings have important implications for personnel policies of socially responsive corporations. Addresses the limitations of the study and explores potential areas of further research.
A simple approach to valuing a multinational firm's tax shields

We consider a multinational firm that seeks to maximize its total amount of interest tax shield while following a constant debt ratio policy on a global level. The firm's total interest tax shield can then be considered as a piecewise-linear increasing function that is concave with respect to the firm's value. As a result, the expected interest tax shield can be much safer than the firm's free cash flow, depending on the firm's current value. With a simple no-arbitrage model, we derive the discount factor to apply to the total interest tax shield expected by the multinational firm. We show that this formula generalizes standard results of the literature on interest tax shields valuation.
SPLIT-SAMPLE TESTS OF "DON'T KNOW" AND "INDIFFERENT" RESPONSES IN AN ATTRIBUTE BASED CHOICE MODEL

1 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; fenichel@msu.edu 2 Department of Agricultural Economics, and Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1039; Lupi@msu.edu. 3 Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824; Hoehn@msu.edu 4 Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222. Kaplowit@msu.edu
The Role of Uncertainty in Investment: An Examination of Competing Investment Models Using Commercial Real Estate Data

Neoclassical investment decision criteria suggest that only the systematic component of total risk affects the rate of investment, as channeled through the built-asset price. Alternatively, option-based investment models suggest a direct role for total uncertainty in investment decisionmaking. To sort out uncertainty's role in investment, we specify and empirically estimate a structural model of asset-market equilibrium. Commercial real estate time-series data with two distinct measures of asset price and uncertainty are used to assess the competing investment models. Empirical results generally favor predictions of the option-based model and hence suggest that irreversibility and delay are important considerations to investors. Our findings also have implications for macroeconomic policy and for forecasts of cyclical investment activity. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Organizational Learning and International Competition: The Skill-Base Hypothesis

Since the 1970s a persistent feature of the US economy has been increasing income inequality, to the point where the United States now has the most unequal distributions of income among the advanced industrial economies (Atkinson et al., 1995). Sustainable prosperity — the spreading of the benefits of economic growth to more and more people over a prolonged period of time — appears to have become an elusive objective. At the same time, in the late 1990s, after more than two decades of intense competitive challenges, the United States retains international leadership in a range of science-based industries such as computer electronics and pharmaceuticals as well as in service sectors related to such things as finance and food. The US economy appears capable of innovation, but incapable of sustainable prosperity
ANALISA PERGERAKAN SUKU BUNGA DAN LAJU EKSPEKTASI INFLASI UNTUK MENENTUKAN KEBIJAKAN MONETER DI INDONESIA

Inflation has become a problem in the Indonesian economy. There are several ways the government has attempted to overcome the economic crisis. The government has often used tight money policies by raising interest rates in Indonesia. For that reason, interest rates are important, because they can be used to evaluate expectations of inflation. This analysis uses regression and cointegration to test the short-run and the long-run relationships between inflation spreads and interest rate spreads. Based on the results, the spreads which can explain inflation expectations in the short-run are the 12-1 month interest-rate spread; the 12-3 month interest rate spread; the 12-6 month interest rate spread; the 6-1 month interest rate spread; and the 6-3 month interest rate spread. In the long-run, only one interest rate spread is found to significantly explain the expected inflation path, the 12-3 month interest rate spread. Because of that, it is suggested that the government or economic participants in Indonesia use the 12-3 month interest rate spread to analyze expected inflation in Indonesia, since this spread can be used in both the short and long-run. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Inflasi telah menjadi masalah besar dalam perekonomian Indonesia. Ada berbagai cara dilakukan oleh pemerintah untuk mengatasi krisis yang terjadi. Pemerintah Indonesia sering menggunakan kebijakan uang ketat dengan menaikkan suku bunga. Karena itu, tingkat suku bunga menjadi penting, karena bisa digunakan untuk menganalisa ekspektasi inflasi. Analisa ini menggunakan regresi dan kointegrasi untuk menguji hubungan jangka pendek maupun jangka panjang antara spread inflasi dengan spread suku bunga. Dari hasil yang diperoleh untuk jangka pendek, spread yang mampu menjelaskan ekspektasi inflasi adalah spread suku bunga deposito 12-1 bulan; spread deposito 12-3 bulan; spread deposito 12-6 bulan; spread deposito 6-1 bulan; dan spread deposito 6-3 bulan. Sedangkan untuk jangka panjang hanya ada satu spread deposito yang dapat menjelaskan pergerakan ekspektasi inflasi, yaitu spread deposito 12-3 bulan. Karena itu, disarankan agar pemerintah maupun para pelaku ekonomi di Indonesia menggunakan spread suku bunga deposito 12-3 bulan untuk menganalisa ekspektasi inflasi di Indonesia, karena spread tersebut dapat digunakan dalam jangka pendek maupun dalam jangka panjang. Kata kunci: inflasi, suku bunga, ekspektasi, kointegrasi, regresi.
Annual Reports of Non-profit Organizations (NPOs): An Analysis ∗

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Malaysia are not subjected to statutory requirement to follow the accounting standards when preparing their annual reports. This study analyzed the annual reports of 100 NPOs registered with the Registry of Society (ROS) under the charity and religious categories. The objectives of this study are: (1) to determine the current state of reporting practices by NPOs; and (2) to describe the contents of a set of annual reports and the financial statement presentation of NPOs. This study found that there were variations in reporting practices among the charity and religious categories of NPOs. On average, the results show that NPOs do not focus on the disclosing information required by the ROS, the governing body of NPOs. This indicates that the regulators need to strongly practice enforcement to strengthen the compliance of the annual reports submission. Overall, the findings of this study provide useful information to regulators as a basis for preparing and presenting NPOs’ annual report framework in the future.
A Comparison of A Creel Census to Modeled Access-Point Creel Surveys on Two Small Lakes Managed as Put-and-Take Rainbow Trout Fisheries

Access-point creel surveys are assumed to represent actual angler harvest, pressure, and other parameters. A full creel census was conducted on two small lakes managed as put and-take Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fisheries to evaluate this assumption. Modeled results based on standard methods from full (40 h/week), one-half (20 h/week), and one-third (12 h/week) surveys, were compared to actual census values. The confidence intervals for angling pressure in all survey scenarios included the actual census values, with the exception of the full survey in one lake. Confidence intervals for total catch also included the census values, except for the full and onethird survey in one lake. In all cases, both Rainbow Trout catch and harvest point estimates were not significantly different among any of the scenarios and census. Census values for party size were not included in the confidence intervals in the one-third surveys at both lakes, and the one-half survey at one lake. Trip length confidence intervals included the actual census value only in the full survey for one lake; all other point estimates of trip length in the other survey scenarios were significantly different from the census values. In general, confidence limits increased as the simulated survey efforts decreased. Using standard access-point creel survey methods, managers of small water bodies stocked with catchable trout should be able to achieve relatively reliable creel survey estimates of angling pressure, catch, and harvest with considerably less effort than a full survey.
Anti-Hyaluronidase Oligosaccharide Derived from Chondroitin Sulfate A Effectively Reduces Polyspermy During In Vitro Fertilization of Porcine Oocytes1

Abstract The present study was conducted to examine the effects of chondroitin sulfate A-derived oligosaccharide (ChSAO) on hyaluronidase activity and in vitro fertilization (IVF) parameters. The activity of hyaluronidase extracted from preincubated boar sperm was completely blocked by ChSAO at concentrations of 10 μg/ml or higher. After in vitro maturation of porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes, some oocytes were freed from their cumulus cells, and cumulus-intact or cumulus-free oocytes were inseminated with sperm in IVF medium containing various concentrations of ChSAO (0.1–100 μg/ml). In cumulus-intact oocytes, the penetration and the polyspermy rates (39% and 28%, respectively) were significantly decreased by treatment with 100 μg/ml ChSAO compared with those of oocytes treated without ChSAO (63% and 52%, respectively). On the contrary, in cumulus-free oocytes, the addition of 10–100 μg/ml ChSAO significantly reduced the polyspermy rate compared with the control (25–30% versus 53%, respectively), whereas ChSAO had no effect on sperm penetration. Interestingly, ChSAO added to IVF medium significantly decreased the number of sperm bound to the zona pellucida (ZP) of cumulus-free oocytes in a concentration-dependent manner between 0.1 and 100 μg/ml. However, ChSAO had no effect on the time course change in ZP modification after oocyte activation by electrostimulation and the incidence of the acrosome-reacted sperm. Treatment with 100 μg/ml ChSAO during IVF of cumulus-free oocytes significantly increased the proportion of development to the blastocyst stage after in vitro insemination. Therefore, the present findings indicate that hyaluronidase-inhibitory ChSAO is an efficient probe for promoting normal fertilization process in terms of an effective decrease in the incidence of polyspermy during IVF of porcine oocytes.