Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bubbles in assets with finite life

We study the speculative value of a finitely lived asset when investors disagree and short sales are limited. In this case, investors are willing to pay a speculative value for the resale option they obtain when they acquire the asset. Using martingale arguments, we characterize the equilibrium speculative value as a solution to a fixed point problem for a monotone operator $$\mathbb F$$F. A Dynamic Programming Principle applies and is used to show that the minimal solution to the fixed-point problem is a viscosity solution of a naturally associated (non-local) obstacle problem. Combining the monotonicity of the operator $${\mathbb {F}}$$F and a comparison principle for viscosity solutions to the obstacle problem we obtain several comparison of solution results. We also use a characterization of the exercise boundary of the obstacle problem to study the effect of an increase in the costs of transactions on the value of the bubble and on the volume of trade, and in particular to quantify the effect of a small transaction (Tobin) tax.
Morphological-Histochemical study of intestinal carcinoids and K-ras mutation analysis in appendiceal carcinoids

Intestinal carcinoids are potentially malignant neoplasms. Their histogenesis and pathogenesis are currently uncertain. The morphological and histochemical characteristics of twenty intestinal carcinoids are studied. The primary sites of three mucin-producing tumors were examined by electron microscope. Furthermore 11 appendiceal carcinoids were analysed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of ras and p53 point mutations. Microscopically all carcinoids were of mixed type. Focal mucin production was evident in three carcinoids that metastasised to regional lymph nodes. HID-Alcian blue staining proved that mucin in both primary and secondary foci did not belong to the sulphated group. The secretory granules and mucin droplets found in a single neoplastic cell suggest that carcinoids of the small intestine and some of the appendix arise from the endoderm. Neither ras nor p53 mutations were detected. It seems that ras oncogenes are probably not involved in the pathogenesis of appendiceal carcinoids.
The Impact of Corporate Governance on Risk Disclosure: Jordanian Evidence

This study explores the impact of Corporate Governance (CG) attributes on risk disclosure for a sample of Jordanian listed firms. The study employs two types of disclosure (voluntary and mandatory) and analyzed the firms’ annual reports for the period of 2008-2015 to extract risk-related disclosure information and CG variables. The study utilizes the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to carry out the current investigation. The findings indicate that CG attributes (including board size and independent board (non-executive directors), the separation of duties and audit committee meetings) have a statistically positive impact on Voluntary Risk Disclosure (VRD), while this was not the case with the managerial ownership attribute. Further, the results reveal that independent directors have had a significantly positive influence on Mandatory Risk Disclosure (MRD), and audit committee size has had a positive significant, effect on MRD. Finally, the findings show that leverage and profitability are among the determining factors of RD. The results suggest that firms’ managers, which exhibit greater compliance with mandatory regulations, have a greater propensity to publish RD.
MR assessment of normal fetal lung volumes: a literature review.

OBJECTIVE Fetal lung volume can be assessed from MR images by planimetric measurement and comparison with normal values. We review 10 MRI articles that report normal fetal lung volumes based on gestational age to assess reproducibility and application of data. CONCLUSION The articles were analyzed for differences in methodology and disparities in reported normal lung volumes by gestational age. Overall, there is substantial variability among studies regarding reported normal fetal lung volumes as measured on MRI.
Evaluating Interpretive Inquiry: Reviewing the Validity Debate and Opening the Dialogue

Designing and carrying out effective and valid research are the desired goals of all researchers, and demonstrating the trustworthiness of one’s dissertation research is a requirement for all doctoral candidates. For qualitative researchers, reaching the desired goal and meeting the requirement of trustworthiness become particularly problematic due to the considerable debate about what it means to do valid research in the field of qualitative inquiry. This article reviews the various approaches to the validity problem in the hope of turning this debate into a dialogue. Validity is traced from its origins in the realist ontology and foundational epistemology of quantitative inquiry to its reformulations within the lifeworld ontology and non-foundationalism of interpretive human inquiry. Various recent qualitative approaches to validity are considered, and interpretive reconfigurations of validity are reviewed. Interpretive approaches to validity are synthesized as ethical and substantive procedures of validation.
Social value, content value, and brand equity in social media brand communities

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture, personality, and motivation on social and content value, which in turn affect brand equity in social media brand community (SMBC) setting. ,Online surveys were conducted with 595 SMBC participants in China and the USA. AMOS is used in SEM analysis. ,Consumers with collectivistic, extroverted, and extrinsic orientation experience social value through social media participation. In contrast, consumers with individualistic and intrinsic orientation demonstrate content value. Furthermore, Chinese consumers show more social value and the US consumers more content value. Accordingly, the effect of social value (content value) on brand equity is stronger for Chinese (US) consumers. ,Culture was assessed only by individualism/collectivism, personality by extroversion/introversion and motivation by extrinsic/intrinsic. Future research should verify external generalizability beyond China and the USA. ,Enhanced social and content value through consumers’ social media participation can increase brand equity. Thus, companies should motivate consumers to experience more value via social media participation, and, cultivate a multicultural climate and facilitate the exchange of culture. ,First, this research redefines customer value into two components: social and content value. Second, this paper is the first to investigate the antecedents (i.e. culture, personality, and motivation) and the consequence (i.e. brand equity) of customer value in social media community settings. Third, this study illustrates differences in social media customer value experiences of Chinese vs US consumers.
Risk factors for avascular necrosis of bone in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Is there a role for antiphospholipid antibodies?

BACKGROUND Avascular necrosis of bone (AVN) is a well known complication in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of antiphospholipid antibody status (IgM and IgG anticardiolipin antibodies and lupus anticoagulant) with adjustment for corticosteroid use as risk factors for the development of AVN. METHODS A cohort of 265 patients receiving long term follow up in our SLE clinic from 1978 to 1998 was analysed. Patients with AVN complications were detected and then matched for age, sex, ethnicity, duration of disease, and organ disease with two other patients with SLE. A further 31 patients were chosen at random for the analysis. RESULTS Eleven patients had AVN, giving a point prevalence of 4%. There were no significant differences demonstrable in the presence of individual antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) or their combination between the group with AVN or the two control groups. CONCLUSION Incorporating an adjustment for corticosteroid use we were unable to show a link between the presence of aPL and the development of AVN in patients with SLE.
Prevalence of noise induced hearing loss among traffic police personnel of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

BACKGROUND Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major preventable occupational health hazard. OBJECTIVE To measure permanent threshold shift in traffic police personnel due to noise exposure and to examine whether it was associated with duration of noise exposure, years of work and risk factors. METHODS Cross sectional, descriptive study conducted at Dhulikhel hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital in 110 responding traffic police personnel. Detailed history and clinical examination of ear, impedence audiometry and pure tone audiometry was performed. RESULTS Mean age group was 29.82 years; 82(74.5%) were males and 28 (25.5%) were females. Mean duration of service is 11.86 years. Twenty six (23.6%) had tinnitus and 39(35.5%) had blocked sensation in ear. Sixty five (59.1%) worked between 10- 19 years. Alcohol and smoking shows positive impact on NIHL (p value =0.00). Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were 4.481 (1.925-10.432) and 6.578 (2.306- 18.764) respectively. Among 73(66.4%) noise induced hearing loss positive cases, bilateral involvement was seen in 45 (40.9%) and unilateral in 28(25.4 %) cases. Among unilateral cases most were left sided. Hearing threshold at 4 kHz increased according to age and duration of service. CONCLUSION Traffic police personnel are in constant risk of noise induced hearing loss. Screening for hearing loss is recommended for people exposed to noise.
Prions and peripheral nerves: A deadly rendezvous

The infectious particle causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), a fatal neurodegenerative disease of humans and animals, has been termed prion. Its major component is an aggregated variant of the cellular prion protein, PrPC. The main target of prion pathology is the central nervous system (CNS), yet most prion diseases are initiated or accompanied by prion replication at extracerebral locations, including secondary lymphoid organs, muscle and, in some instances, blood. How do prions travel from the periphery into the CNS? Is this an active or a passive process and does neuronal prion transport explain the long incubation times in prion diseases? Alternatively, if prion infectivity arises spontaneously in the CNS, as believed from sporadic Creutzfeldt‐Jakob patients, how do prions manage to travel from the CNS into the periphery (e.g., spleen, muscle) of the infected host? The mechanisms of neuronal prion transport from the periphery into the CNS or vice versa are heavily investigated and debated but poorly understood. Although research in the past has accumulated knowledge on prion progression from the periphery to the brain, we are far from understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuronal prion transport. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The impact of market orientation, top management support, use of e-marketing and technological opportunism on the firm performance: a mediated-moderation and moderated-mediation analysis

Understanding the effective use of technological innovation’s, for instance eMarketing, is debatably considered as the vital challenge faced by the businesses. The past studies indicated that the association among organizational factors and firm performance is mediated by the influence of the adopted innovation like e-Marketing uses. Though, the antecedents of e-Marketing to enhance firm performance have received little attention. Drawing on the Resource Based View and diffusion of innovation theory, this article has empirically examined the effect of Market Orientation (MO), top management support (TMS), Technological Opportunism (TOP) and mediating effect of use of e-Marketing (UEM) on textile performance by using SmartPLS 3.0 with a sample size of 278 textile firms in Pakistan. A moderated mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between MO and UEM is moderated by top management support and the mediated moderation analysis revealed that technological opportunism moderates the relationship between use of eMarketing and performance of textile firms. The direct hypothesis also found significant showing the positive relationships. Implications for theory and practice are discussed regarding bundling of IV and moderators in order to increase both UEM and firm performance.
Is it safe on deck? Fatal and non-fatal workplace injuries among Alaskan commercial fishermen.

BACKGROUND Commercial fishing in Alaska accounts for an occupational fatality rate that is 28 times the rate for all U.S. workers. Most deaths are attributed to vessel sinking or capsizing. However, many deaths and most non-fatal injuries are not related to vessel loss. This paper describes injuries that occur on the dock or on the fishing vessel. METHODS Data from fishing fatalities and non-fatal injuries between 1991-1998 were analyzed using the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System and the Alaska Trauma Registry. RESULTS There were 60 workplace deaths unrelated to vessel loss; most from falls overboard, others from trauma caused by equipment on deck. There were 574 hospitalized injuries, often from falls on deck, entanglement in machinery, or being struck by an object. SUMMARY Fishing boats are hazardous working environments. Further efforts are required to prevent falls overboard and on deck, and to redesign or install safety features on fishing machinery and equipment.
An AEAD cryptographic framework and TinyAEAD construct for secure WSN communication

A new cryptographic framework called Joint Cypher Mode (JCM) is introduced. JCM provides an authenticated-encryption with associated data (AEAD) cryptographic service in packet-based communication protocols. JCM is utilised to design a resourceful block cipher-based, light-weight construct named TinyAEAD. TinyAEAD is benchmarked in comparison with standardised block cipher-based AEAD schemes, used in contemporary wireless sensor network (WSN) communication protocols. Results of the software simulation benchmark indicate that, TinyAEAD exhibits advantageous performance regarding processing latency, processing throughput and processing efficiency for practical WSN communicated data frame lengths.
The Relationship Between Core requirements of Knowledge Management Implementation and Organizational performance

Knowledge management is a lifeline for contemporary organizations. It has been used prominently since 1990s as a tool to achieve superior performance. However, the implement of knowledge management is still at the infancy, and has been the subject of much discussion by several researchers. Yet, there is still a lack of studies, as indicated by the knowledge management implementation literature. The complexity of the implementation of knowledge management has been increased due to not find any integrated framework in this area. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the core requirements of knowledge management implementation that lead to improve organizational performance (including financial perspective metrics, customer perspective metrics, internal process perspective metrics and learning and growth perspective metrics). As a result, the paper finds that core requirements of knowledge management implementation (including critical successes factors of knowledge management, knowledge management strategies and knowledge management processes) can be in place to pave the way to ensure the successful implementation of knowledge management, which is reflected in the organizational performance improvement
ZincMetalloproteinases and Amyloid Beta-Peptide Metabolism : The Positive Side of Proteolysis in Alzheimer ’ s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by an accumulation of toxic amyloid beta(Aβ-)peptides in the brain causing progressive neuronal death. Aβ-peptides are produced by aspartyl proteinase-mediated cleavage of the larger amyloid precursor protein (APP). In contrast to this detrimental “amyloidogenic” form of proteolysis, a range of zinc metalloproteinases can process APP via an alternative “nonamyloidogenic” pathway in which the protein is cleaved within its Aβ region thereby precluding the formation of intact Aβ-peptides. In addition, other members of the zinc metalloproteinase family can degrade preformed Aβ-peptides. As such, the zinc metalloproteinases, collectively, are key to downregulating Aβ generation and enhancing its degradation. It is the role of zinc metalloproteinases in this “positive side of proteolysis in Alzheimer’s disease” that is discussed in the current paper.
Bayesian Analysis of Population-Genetic Mixture and Admixture

Biologists regularly encounter populations of organisms with disparate ancestries. Untangling the composition of such populations is a problem for conservation biologists and wildlife managers. In many cases the population under question is known to consist of individuals from two different subpopulations and their hybrids. This occurs, for example, in hybrid zones between two species or in regions recently colonized by exotics capable of reproducing with resident inhabitants. This paper develops techniques using multilocus genetic data for Bayesian clustering of individuals to purebred or genetically-mixed categories. The method relies on a novel application of the forwardbackward recursions in a two-component, finite mixture model. Though developed in the context of the genetic admixture problem, these calculations are relevant more generally to Bayesian inference in finite mixtures; they may potentially improve mixing of the Gibbs sampler in such contexts. The technique is applied to genetic data on the Scottish wildcat, Felis sylvestris, a protected species whose distinctness from domestic housecats has been questioned. A high proportion (≈ .60) of the wild-living cats from which the sample was drawn are arguably purebred F. sylvestris. Using the Bayes factor, we compare our new model, which allows for both purebred and admixed individuals, to a model in which all individuals are assumed genetically admixed to some degree. It is difficult to accurately compute the marginal likelihood directly in these models, so we compute the Bayes factor by reversible-jump MCMC. The approach follows from the original MCMC formulation of the problem, and should help to illustrate ways in which reversible-jump methods may be implemented for comparisons between a small set of closely-related models.
Weight Gain and Metabolic Syndrome Among Young Patients on Antipsychotic Medication: What do we Know and Where do we go?

Objective: Childhood obesity and its sequelae, including metabolic syndrome, are reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. Young people treated with antipsychotic medication are particularly at risk as they experience significant weight gain as a side effect of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) with consequent increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular morbidity and metabolic syndrome. However, surveillance for these side effects is not carried out nor intervention offered in routine clinical prctice. This paper examines the current state of evidence on this topic and suggests directions for future research and clinical practice. Conclusions: Systematic monitoring and preventative programs aimed at weight gain and metabolic side effects should form an integral part of the comprehensive management of adolescents on SGAs.
Under price ceilings and quality floors for agricultural inputs in cash crop sectors in developing countries

Under price ceilings and quality floors for agricultural inputs in cash crop sectors in developing countries where credit markets are weak, imperfect information on the ability of farmers to pay for their inputs at the end of the cropping season may lead the decentralized production of those inputs by risk averse private input providers to be inefficient. A coordinating agency and/or subsidies for new farmers could help to produce and distribute more agricultural inputs, thereby increasing the profits for input providers while also enabling more farmers to produce the crops that are key to their livelihood.
Rapid microwave hydrothermal synthesis of GaOOH nanorods with photocatalytic activity toward aromatic compounds

GaOOH nanorods were synthesized from Ga(NO3)3 via a facile microwave hydrothermal method. The obtained sample was characterized by x-ray diffraction, N2 sorption–desorption, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron spin resonance, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results revealed that the as-synthesized sample was consisted of rod-like particles. It possessed a surface area of 14.3 m2 g − 1, and a band gap of 4.75 eV. The photocatalytic property of GaOOH nanorods was evaluated by the degradation of aromatic compounds (such as benzene and toluene) in an O2 gas stream under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The results demonstrated that GaOOH nanorods exhibited superior photocatalytic activity and stability as compared to commercial TiO2 (P25, Degussa Co.) in both benzene and toluene degradation. In the extended (35 h) reaction test toward benzene, GaOOH maintained a high activity, and no obvious deactivation was observed. A possible mechanism of the photocatalysis over GaOOH is proposed.
Transcription Factor Stat5 Knockdown Enhances Androgen Receptor Degradation and Delays Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression In vivo

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (Stat5) plays an important role in the transition of prostate cancer (PCa) to its castrate-resistant state. Pharmacologic targeting of Stat5 is a rational approach to delay castrate-resistant progression, in part, because Stat5 cooperates with the androgen receptor (AR) to promote PCa progression. Immunostaining of tissue microarrays was used to correlate Stat5 expression with Gleason grade and to characterize changes in treatment-naive and androgen-deprived human PCa. Potency of a Stat5 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) on Stat5 knockdown, cell growth, and apoptosis was assessed in LNCaP, C4-2, and DU145 cells. Effects of Stat5 knockdown on AR activity and stability was assessed using a PSA transactivation-luciferase assay and cyclohexamide plus MG132 treatment, respectively. LNCaP tumor-bearing mice were castrated and randomly assigned to treatment with Stat5-ASO or controls. Here, we show that the frequency of Stat5 expression is significantly increased in high Gleason grade as well as in hormone-treated PCa. Also, specific knockdown of Stat5 with ASO abrogates androgen-induced AR nuclear translocation and PSA transactivation despite R1881 stimulation. Moreover, Stat5 knockdown destabilizes AR, which leads to AR degradation via the proteasome. Shown for the first time as a preclinical proof-of-principle, Stat5 knockdown with Stat5-ASO significantly delays CRPC tumor progression in vivo. Thereby, we are able to recapitulate our in vitro results by reducing serum PSA and expression levels of target proteins in the xenograft tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(2); 347–59. ©2011 AACR.
Integrated marketing communications, brand equity, and business performance in micro-finance institutions: An emerging market perspective

ABSTRACT The study investigates the role of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and its effect on brand equity (BE) and business performance (BP) in Ghana’s microfinance institutions (MFIs). A total of 407 key staff of MFIs were surveyed using a questionnaire. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select respondents. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to test the hypothesised relationships between the constructs in the study. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between IMC and BE on one hand; IMC and BP on the other; and BE and BP. Finally, the study found that BE mediates the relationship between IMC and BP. The study provides a useful guide to strategy in marketing communications by delineating the crucial role that IMC plays in brand performance.