Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Index Futures Trading and Asymmetric Volatility: Evidence from Asian Stock Markets *

Empirical studies have suggested that information inefficiency is one of the causes of the asymmetric response of volatility to news. This paper questions whether the introduction of index futures trading will improve information efficiency and reduce volatility asymmetry in Asian stock markets. This article re-examines the impact of index futures trading on five Asian spot markets, accounting for asymmetric volatility using the GARCH, GJRGARCH and APGARCH models. From the analysis, the asymmetry volatility is prevalent in Asian stock markets. The impact of index futures trading increases asymmetry volatility due to some speculative activities. Consequently, the results imply that the role of index futures trading in Asian stock markets is not related to the improvement of information efficiency.
Investment Decisions in a Developing Economy: A Case Study of Insurance Business in Nigeria

It has been hypothesized that the overall investment decision of the insurance industry is a positive function of their level of funds mobilization (represented by total premiums), capital base, rate of economic growth, rate of return on Government treasury investments, level of investment in the previous years, and profitability of operations.The inclusion of the rates on Government treasury investment is predicated on the fact that much of insurance funds are restricted by law from being plunged into Government securities in the money market. Our approach in this study, however, is to relax investment provisions instead of reducing the minimum requirements which would encourage active participation in insurance business, discourage the insurers from thriving on illegality and possibility of making secrete profits.
Customer assets and customer equity: Management and measurement issues

In spite of the current focus on marketing accountability and the growing body of research into customer equity and customer lifetime value, the finance community has not shown any noticeable interest in these increasingly well established marketing metrics and, in fact, few companies have adopted them. There is a problem here: marketing has failed to find credibility in the very field it intends to address, which is the accountability of marketing and its contribution to shareholder value. A root cause of this failure is the prevailing confusion among marketing academics about the difference between customer assets and customer equity. In this paper, we argue for a clear distinction between the management of customer assets and the measurement of customer equity. We demonstrate the advantages for external stakeholders of including the drivers of and components of customer equity in management commentaries to financial reporting; and show how this could be done using a Customer Equity Scorecard.
Is membrane transport of FFA mediated by lipid, protein, or both? An unknown protein mediates free fatty acid transport across the adipocyte plasma membrane.

[Figure][1] J. Patrick Kampf Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, San Diego, California ! [Figure][1] Alan M. Kleinfeld Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, San Diego, California akleinfeld{at}tpims.org The mechanism of free fatty acid (FFA)
Quality of Life After Gastrectomy for Adenocarcinoma: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background:Gastrectomy remains a major operation with potential for significant deterioration in patients' health-related quality of life (QOL). This study assessed differences in QOL among patients after distal (DG), proximal (PG), or total (TG) gastrectomy. Methods:We prospectively enrolled patients undergoing gastrectomy at our institution between 2002 and 2007. Participants completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer cancer (QLQ-C30) and gastric (QLQ-STO22) questionnaires preoperatively and at 5 postoperative intervals up to 18 months. We compared changes from baseline in patients based on extent of resection (proximal, distal, or total) using generalized linear models, adjusting for age, stage of disease, and (neo)adjuvant therapy. We converted QOL raw scores to reflect the proportion of patients with clinically significant deterioration based on the minimal important difference. Results:We included 134 patients: 82 DG, 16 PG, and 36 TG. In the immediate postoperative period, 55% of patients suffered significant impairment in their global QOL. This improved in most patients by 6 months, although 20% to 35% continued to have substantially worse QOL than before surgery. Patients who underwent PG suffered from significantly more clinical reflux [70% vs 35% (DG), 40% (TG)], nausea/vomiting (60% vs 25%, 30%), and global QOL impairment (60% vs 30%, 30%) than patients who underwent DG or TG, whose QOL scores were similar. These differences persisted up to 18 months postoperatively. Conclusions:Surgeons should discuss expectations of QOL impairment with their patients before gastrectomy and reassure them that most symptoms resolve by 6 months after operation. Patients who undergo PG suffer from worse QOL impairment than patients who undergo DG or TG.
The Ubiquitin Ligases c-Cbl and Cbl-b Negatively Regulate Platelet-derived Growth Factor (PDGF) BB-induced Chemotaxis by Affecting PDGF Receptor β (PDGFRβ) Internalization and Signaling*

Protein ubiquitination controls protein stability and subcellular localization of tyrosine kinase receptors, hence affecting signaling both quantitatively and qualitatively. In this report, we demonstrate that, after ligand stimulation, the PDGF β receptor (PDGFRβ) becomes ubiquitinated in a manner requiring both the c-Cbl and Cbl-b ubiquitin ligases. Simultaneous depletion of c-Cbl and Cbl-b resulted in reduced ligand-induced PDGFRβ clearance from the cell surface because of reduced endocytosis of the receptor. Cbl-b formed a complex with c-Cbl, as well as with the PDGFRβ, in response to PDGF-BB stimulation. We were unable to find a direct interaction between the receptor and c-Cbl, raising the possibility that Cbl-b is necessary for c-Cbl to interact with PDGFRβ. Phosphorylated Tyr-1021 in PDGFRβ was the primary interaction site for Cbl-b, with some contribution from Tyr-1009. Depletion of c-Cbl and Cbl-b led to an increased ligand-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the receptor. Several tyrosine residues with elevated phosphorylation (i.e. Tyr-579, Tyr-581, Tyr-1009, and Tyr-1021) have previously been shown to interact with Src kinases and PLCγ. Indeed, in cells depleted of c-Cbl and Cbl-b, both Src and PLCγ phosphorylation were enhanced, whereas activation of other pathways, such as Erk1/2 MAP kinase and Akt, were not affected. In addition, Stat3 phosphorylation, which has been connected to Src activity, was also elevated in cells lacking c-Cbl and Cbl-b. Functionally, we found that cells depleted of c-Cbl and Cbl-b were more prone to migrate toward PDGF-BB, whereas no reproducible effect on cell proliferation could be observed. In conclusion, internalization as well as signaling via PDGFRβ are controlled by ubiquitination.
Concomitant radiation therapy and targeted cisplatin chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced pyriform sinus carcinoma: Disease control and preservation of organ function

Squamous cell carcinoma of the pyriform sinus is an unfavorable disease which frequently presents in advanced stages. Despite aggressive “standard treatment” involving debilitating surgery and postoperative radiation therapy treatments, the survival and functional outcome for pyriform sinus carcinoma remains poor. Hence, we reviewed our experience in the management of advanced pyriform sinus carcinoma using “organ preservation” chemoradiation therapy.
A comparison of collaborative problem solving using face to face versus desktop video conferencing

A small field experimental study was undertaken to ascertain the applicability of desktop video conferencing (DVC) for a University Extension Office. Subjects (county extension agents and a faculty expert in dairy nutrition) engaged in a "ration balancing" task for herds of dairy cows, using DVC and face-to-face collaborative meetings. Subjects preferred DVC over face-to-face collaboration, presumably because DVC allowed them more freedom to manipulate computer-generated solutions.
Yoga for chronic low back pain: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of yoga as an intervention for chronic low back pain (CLBP) using a meta-analytical approach. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined pain and⁄or functional disability as treatment outcomes were included. Post-treatment and follow-up outcomes were assessed. METHODS A comprehensive search of relevant electronic databases, from the time of their inception until November 2011, was conducted. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated and entered in a random-effects model. RESULTS Eight RCTs met the criteria for inclusion (eight assessing functional disability and five assessing pain) and involved a total of 743 patients. At post-treatment, yoga had a medium to large effect on functional disability (d=0.645) and pain (d=0.623). Despite a wide range of yoga styles and treatment durations, heterogeneity in post-treatment effect sizes was low. Follow-up effect sizes for functional disability and pain were smaller, but remained significant (d=0.397 and d=0.486, respectively); however, there was a moderate to high level of variability in these effect sizes. DISCUSSION The results of the present study indicate that yoga may be an efficacious adjunctive treatment for CLBP. The strongest and most consistent evidence emerged for the short-term benefits of yoga on functional disability. However, before any definitive conclusions can be drawn, there are a number of methodological concerns that need to be addressed. In particular, it is recommended that future RCTs include an active control group to determine whether yoga has specific treatment effects and whether yoga offers any advantages over traditional exercise programs and other alternative therapies for CLBP.
Student Athlete Retention and Financial Aid

Abstract This study assesses the effectiveness of financial aid combinations of the Oklahoma Higher Education Learning Access Program (OHLAP) and the two most popular federal financial aid programs, Pell grants and Stafford loans, in predicting persistence among intercollegiate athletes at postsecondary institutions in Oklahoma, with special attention to minority groups. The evidence in this study suggests that various financial aid packages impact student athlete retention differently by class level, income, and race/ethnicity. Whereas White student athletes benefit the most from financial aid packages, the likelihood of increased retention for low-income minority student athletes increases with financial aid in the form of grants. In addition, the OHLAP program is very effective in promoting retention among student athletes in Oklahoma when combined with Pell grants or Stafford loans. In sum, based on the results studying student athletes in Oklahoma, it is clear that athlete student persistence is significantly influenced by financial aid on top of athletic scholarships.
Activity analysis of trade firm by IDEF0-methodology

The new conditions of society and economic development require efficient solutions of management problems for enterprises and firms of different types. These problems can be decided by using powerful methods of system analysis, research methods, a complete design technique, and software for their realization. Activity analysis of trade firms in this case is carried out in the IDEF0 methodology. IDEF0 is used for creating a functional model which structurally reflects system functions and information and objects connecting these functions. The firm's model is built by the IDEF0 methodology and it can be considered as the first step towards the definition and realization of various technical and organizational decisions which allow improvement of the efficiency of a business. The model includes a full structural functional model of a business. The IDEF0 methodology allows one to solve problems of business organization, to determine and accomplish various technical decisions, to describe a firm's work as "a single body", and to make time and cost expense calculations for business processes. In addition, the IDEF0 methodology allows one to use functional cost analysis. With a functional model, we can solve certain problems, such as: financial resource management, reserves management, production, sales and supply planning, maintenance, personnel management, and so on.
Cultural obstacles to market orientation

Begins with a review and critical analysis of the literature surrounding the obstacles or barriers to the development of organization‐wide market orientation. Suggests that, though valiant attempts have been made to identify individual barriers, a diversity of academic opinion appears to prevail. Consequently, presents a preliminary framework for the study of barriers, which revolves around the application of a broad definition of organizational culture to orientation inhibitors. Then applies the framework of assumptions, values, artefacts and symbols to a company case study and discusses the issues involved. Draws managerial recommendations and outlines implications for further study.
Assessing attribute importance: a comparison of six methods

Six methods of measuring attribute importance were evaluated for convergent validity. The methods were (1) an open-ended elicitation approach, (2) an information-search approach based on Jacoby's behavioral process technology, (3) direct ratings of importance, (4) conjoint measurement, (5) indices based on Jaccard's subjective probability approach, and (6) a paired comparison approach. The convergent validity of importance methods was investigated for two product classes: birth control and cars. Results indicated relatively low levels of convergence among measures.
The S ignaling Role of Promotions: Further Theor y and Empirical Evidence (CRI 2009-008)

An extensive theoretical literature investigates the role of promotions as a signal of worker ability. In this paper we extend the theory by focusing on how the signaling role of promotion varies with a worker’s education level, and then investigate the resulting predictions using a longitudinal data set that contains detailed information concerning the internal-labor-market history of a medium-sized firm in the financial-services industry. Our results support signaling being both a statistically significant and economically significant factor in promotion decisions. The paper also contributes to the extensive literature on the role of education as a labor-market signal.
The psychopharmacological era: notes toward a history

Cultural and economic influences on the psychopharmacological era are reviewed, in an attempt to bring into focus what has been happening in psychopharmacology for the past thirty years. It is argued that the belief that clinical advances are made through the heroic achievements of disinterested scientists is a simplistic view that may militate against future significant discoveries. Such discoveries, it is argued, still come about for the most part serendipitously, despite a widespread belief that psychopharmacology has become a rational science.
Early stage Parkinson's disease patients and normal volunteers: Comparative mechanisms of sequence learning

Early‐stage nondemented Parkinson's disease (PD(es)) patients can learn short but not long sequences as well as controls. We have previously shown that to achieve normal performance, PD(es) patients activated the same right‐sided cortical regions as controls plus the homologous left sided cortex and bilateral cerebellum. In this study, we evaluated two related hypotheses to explain the behavioral abnormalities and the increased bilateral brain activation observed in the PD(es) group. Hypothesis 1 proposed that PD(es) patients recruit regions from a normal bilateral network specialized for sequence learning that healthy controls would activate if performing difficult tasks. Thus, PD(es) patients can learn short sequences as well as controls. Hypothesis 2 proposed that information processing within the network in the PD(es) group is impaired. Thus, PD(es) patients cannot learn as difficult a sequence as controls. To test hypothesis 1, we increased task difficulty and statistical power in the control group and showed that the control and the PD(es) groups activated the same regions. To test hypothesis 2, we analyzed the equal performance data using two partial least squares (PLS) multivariate analyses. The task‐PLS analysis showed that to perform equally with controls, the PD(es) group expressed the normal bilateral network more than the control group. The behavior‐PLS analysis showed that the correlation between learning performance and regional activation was significantly different between the groups. We conclude that PD(es) patients have near normal learning if task difficulty is moderate because they can recruit additional regions from a normal bilateral network specialized for sequence learning. However, when a difficult task would normally require bilateral activation, PD(es) patients fail to learn because information processing within the network is impaired. Hum. Brain Mapp. 20:246–258, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction of Mobile Services in Yemen

The aim of this study is to find out the customer’s satisfaction with Yemeni Mobile service providers. This study examined the relationship between perceived quality, perceived value, customer expectation, and corporate image with customer satisfaction. The result of this study is based on data gathered online from 118 academic staff in public universities in Yemen. The study found that the relationship between perceived value, perceived quality and corporate image have a significant positive influence on customer satisfaction, whereas customer expectation has positive but without statistical significance.
Yeast Prp2 liberates the 5′ splice site and the branch site adenosine for catalysis of pre-mRNA splicing

The RNA helicase Prp2 facilitates the remodeling of the spliceosomal Bact complex to the catalytically activated B* complex just before step one of splicing. As a high-resolution cryo-EM structure of the B* complex is currently lacking, the precise spliceosome remodeling events mediated by Prp2 remain poorly understood. To investigate the latter, we used chemical structure probing to compare the RNA structure of purified yeast Bact and B* complexes. Our studies reveal deviations from conventional RNA helices in the functionally important U6 snRNA internal stem–loop and U2/U6 helix Ib in the activated Bact complex, and to a lesser extent in B*. Interestingly, the N7 of U6–G60 of the catalytic triad becomes accessible to DMS modification in the B* complex, suggesting that the Hoogsteen interaction with U6–A52 is destabilized in B*. Our data show that Prp2 action does not unwind double-stranded RNA, but enhances the flexibility of the first step reactants, the pre-mRNA's 5′ splice site and branch site adenosine. Prp2 therefore appears to act primarily as an RNPase to achieve catalytic activation by liberating the first step reactants in preparation for catalysis of the first step of splicing.
Searching for internal and external factors that determine working capital management for manufacturing firms in Pakistan

This paper searches for important endogenous and exogenous factors that have an influence on working capital management of manufacturing firms in Pakistan. The topic has been examined by researchers around the world and needs to be inquired for firms in Pakistan. Following Shulman and Cox (1985), working capital management of a manufacturing business firm is measured by net liquidity balance and working capital requirements. Determinants for working capital are separated as endogenous or exogenous to a manufacturing firm, similarly they are viewed as firm-specific or macroeconomic depicting the general conditions of the economy. The determinants that may have an effect on working capital of manufacturing business firms derived from literature are business cycles, firm growth, leverage, cash flows, return on assets, size of the firm, real gross domestic product, and unemployment rate. Proxies for efficient working capital are developed and are called as working capital requirement and net liquid balance. These two proxies are used as dependent variables in the models. In Pakistan, data on many endogenous variables that may impact working capital practice is not easily available. The same is not true for heavily invested manufacturing firms. A subjective sampling procedure is exercised to select 20% of firms from each of the four sectors namely Engineering, Sugar, Chemicals, and Fuel and Energy. Top 20% capital intensive firms for the period of 2000 to 2008 are sampled from each of the four sectors for the analysis. Descriptive findings show that Chemical firms are managing their working capital requirements and liquidity balances more efficiently. Findings do indicate that poor economic conditions affect working capital requirements and put firms under significant pressure of more efficient management practice. This suggests that working capital requirements and liquidity needs increase for firms when the economy is in poor economic conditions or is in recession. The study also concludes that all sectors are not able to remain equally efficient with their working capital policies as they are differently affected by macroeconomic conditions. The study could not identify any uniform micro or macro determinants across all selected sectors.
A comparison of two design methods for MRI magnets

Designs of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) main magnets obtained from both a functional method and a genetic algorithm method have been compared. While most features in the two approaches are similar, there are several important differences. The functional method leads to fewer coil bundles and a reduced total current, i.e., total ampere turns, (e.g., 6-8 MA) that can be as much as 70% of the total current found with the genetic analysis. While the conclusion about stress is that it is a sensitive function of the choice of wire current density, the designs found with the functional method have a larger hoop stress than that of the genetic design, which may require new or refined manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the functional approach requires much less computing power (i.e., a personal computer is quite sufficient) while the genetic algorithm method in general demands massively parallel computing techniques. However, in order to search for the optimal magnetic resonance design at a given field strength, it is likely that a combination of these two methods will lead to the best results.