Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Audit committee effectiveness, audit quality and earnings management: a meta-analysis

Purpose – Many researchers, in several contexts, have investigated the influence of audit committee effectiveness and audit quality variables on reducing the extent of earnings management, and empirical evidence is rather inconsistent. Design/methodology/approach – The aim of this paper is to meta-analyze the results of 58 prior studies that examined whether differences in results are related to moderating effects associated with corporate governance mechanisms or measures of earnings management. Findings – The findings show that the meta-analysis identifies many significant relationships. The independence of the audit committee, its size, expertise and the number of meetings have a negative relationship with earnings management. Similar negative relationships exist between auditor size, specialization and earnings management. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the corporate governance literature. Further, recognizing the function of an audit committee and audit quality shows th.
Performing WeChat Recording Tasks in Mixed-Ability Study Abroad Content Courses

This case study explores the use of WeChat’s recording tool as a solution to the challenges of teaching mixed-ability students in content courses offered in study abroad programs. The tool successfully reduced anxiety and boredom, created opportunities for students to engage in personalized learning tasks in real time, enabled instructors to provide individualized feedback, and helped course curriculums stay on track. Data was collected from an online survey, email interview, and students’ recordings of topics and instructor’s feedback. The study determined that using WeChat’s recording function to complete linguistic tasks is a useful instructional tool for a mixed-ability classes in study abroad, despite limited technical difficulties. 摘要:本案例研究旨在探索以微信录音功能完成语言任务,作为解 决学生水平差异较大之教学问题的一个有效办法。 微信录音可减少焦 虑、厌烦之情绪,提供个性化的口语练习,收到个性化反馈,以助学 生更好地学习专业内容课程。 数据来自网上及笔头调查,学生及教师 的微信录音。 虽然微信录音技术有些缺陷,但它却可以成为海外混合 程度班的成功教学工具之一。
Gastric feeding in critically ill children: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Provision of enteral nutrition via the gastric route is a common nursing procedure in pediatric intensive care units. Little research, however, has focused on children's tolerance of different types of gastric feeding regimens. OBJECTIVES To examine the relationship between 2 gastric feeding regimens, continuous and intermittent, and children's tolerance as measured by the number of stools and prevalences of diarrhea and vomiting. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted in an Australian pediatric intensive care unit; 45 children were randomly assigned to either the continuous or the intermittent gastric feeding groups. Participants remained in the assigned feeding group for the duration of the study, and values of variables used to monitor patients' tolerance were recorded. RESULTS Both feeding groups were similar with respect to Pediatric Index Mortality score, age, weight, sex, diagnosis, and use of pharmacological agents known to affect the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, the 2 groups did not differ in study duration or the daily volume of administered enteral formula per kilogram of body weight. The number of stools per day and the prevalences of diarrhea and vomiting did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. DISCUSSION Continuous and intermittent gastric feeding regimens have similar outcomes with respect to the number of stools per day and the prevalence of diarrhea and vomiting in pediatric intensive care patients. Further gastric feeding studies and the development of enteral feeding guidelines for critically ill children are needed.
Positive blood cultures and diagnosis of bacterial meningitis in cases with negative culture of cerebrospinal fluid

The diagnosis of bacterial meningitis may be established through positive blood cultures in cases with negative culture of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, information is sparse regarding how often the aetiological diagnosis is determined by blood culture alone. Therefore, we undertook a retrospective study of patients with meningitis and a blood culture-based bacterial diagnosis in North Jutland County, Denmark in 1997–2005. Patients were included if they had 1) a microscopy- and culture-negative CSF specimen with a leukocyte count ≥100×106/l and an erythrocyte count ≤10,000×106/l and 2) a positive blood culture within an interval of 3 d. A total of 20 patients fulfilled these criteria: 7 with Streptococcus pneumoniae, 4 with Neisseria meningitidis, 4 with Staphylococcus aureus, and 5 with miscellaneous bacteria. Suitable antibiotic therapy was delayed up to 48 h after lumbar puncture, and in-hospital mortality was 25%. A discharge diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was missing in 6/20 cases, and 12/20 cases had not been reported to Danish health authorities. Thus, patients with CSF-culture negative bacterial meningitis are at risk of delayed therapy, a poor outcome, and incomplete notification to health authorities.
Factors Influencing Pricing Decisions

In this paper, we look at factors that affect how marketers set price. The final price for a product might be influenced by numerous factors, which can be categorized into two main groups, internal factors and external factors, both areas are discussed in further detail in this paper. In addition to discussing the factors that influence international marketing channels, which are the channels within which goods and services pass to reach their foreign customers. This suggests that manufacturers and consumers must be located in either the producers or customers country or having presence in both countries. Lastly, the paper will discuss standardized advertising versus localized advertising in an international market.
Why Do Emerging Economies Accumulate Debt and Reserves?

Reserve accumulation has the benefit of decreasing external vulnerability but it comes with a high cost. Emerging economies have been accumulating reserves without reducing their levels of debt. This behavior is puzzling because these economies could also decrease their vulnerability by decreasing their debt. In this paper I construct a stochastic dynamic equilibrium model of a small open economy with non contingent debt and reserve assets. Reserves have the benefit of smoothing consumption when the country is in autarky, after defaulting. Once we assume the asymmetric default costs of Arellano (2008), the results show that the optimal policy is to accumulate positive levels of debt and reserves in equilibrium. These economies accumulate reserves without decreasing debt because it decreases the cost of autarky after they default. For governments to accumulate reserves and debt simultaneously they need to be patient enough to save but still have positive probability of default, the asymmetric default costs generate that.
Porous-coated total hip replacement.

Fifteen years of clinical experience with porous-coated prostheses demonstrated the durability of this type of fixation. This experience was documented by clinical follow-up study of the 393 cases treated by the senior author before 1985. Only six of these femoral components have been revised: three for loosening, two for stem breakage, and one for infection. Thus, the revision rate for the porous-coated stems was 1.5%. Porous-coated acetabular components were used in 227 of the arthroplasties. Five of these porous-coated cups have been revised: four for malposition leading to dislocation and one for late loosening secondary to osteolysis. Thus, the revision rate for these porous-coated acetabular components was 2.2%. Twenty bipolar and 146 cemented acetabular components were used in the remaining 166 cases treated before 1985. Eleven (7.5%) of the cemented acetabular components were revised. Revisions of the porous-coated components were rare in the first ten postoperative years. The clinical data were supplemented with analysis of postmortem specimens from 15 patients. Mechanical testing of the femoral specimens showed the relative micromotion at the porous surface to be exceptionally small (less than 40 microns). Seven of these postmortem retrievals involved cases with unilateral arthroplasties. In these cases, the contralateral normal femur also was removed, and a prosthesis identical to that in the in vivo implanted side was inserted to simulate the immediate postoperative condition. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) of the seven paired femora demonstrated that bone remodeling can be expected to produce a 5%-52% loss of periprosthetic bone mineral content, with the greatest loss occurring in the more osteoporotic patients. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Physical Explanation for Particle Spin

CONTEXT The spin of a particle is physically manifest in multiple phenomena. For quantum mechanics (QM), spin is an intrinsic property of a point particle, but an ontological explanation is lacking. In this paper we propose a physical explanation for spin at the sub-particle level, using a non-local hidden-variable (NLHV) theory. APPROACH Mechanisms for spin were inferred from the Cordus NLHV theory, specifically from theorised structures at the sub-particle level. RESULTS Physical geometry of the particle can explain spin phenomena: polarisation, Pauli exclusion principle (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox), excited states, and selective spin of neutrino species. A quantitative derivation is provided for electron spin g-factor g = 2, and a qualitative explanation for the anomalous component. IMPLICATIONS NLHV theory offers a candidate route to new physics at the sub-particle level. This also implies philosophically that physical realism may apply to physics at the deeper level below QM. ORIGINALITY The electron g-factor has been derived using sub-particle structures in NLHV theory, without using quantum theory. This is significant as the g-factor is otherwise considered uniquely predicted by QM. Explanations are provided for spin phenomena in terms of physical sub-structures to the particle.
Influence of an Initiating Microsplit on the Resistance to Compression-Induced Rupture of the Articular Surface

Cartilage-on-bone samples from bovine patellae containing a defined stellar or linear initiating split in the articular surface were incrementally loaded in direct compression with intervening rehydration, until articular surface rupture occurred. All patellae were either normal or exhibited a mild level of surface fibrillation. In all cases the actual loading site was free of disruption. The average rupture stress of the healthy cartilage was significantly higher than that of the mildly degenerate cartilage, and in both tissue categories average rupture stresses were lower for the linear split morphology than for the stellar. We propose that this contrasting rupture behavior is explained by differences in both secondary lineal surface strains associated with the depth of compressive indentation and in the ability of the fibrillar network within the surface layer to re-arrange itself in the localized regions of stress concentration around the initiating split.
THE FORECAST ACCURACY OF INDIVIDUAL ANALYSTS - EVIDENCE OF SYSTEMATIC OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM

O'Brien [1990] examines the annual earnings forecast accuracy of individual analysts reporting to the Institutional Brokers Estimate System (IBES) of Lynch, Jones and Ryan during July 1975-September 1982. Using a regression model which adjusts for average firm and year effects, O'Brien finds no evidence of differential forecast accuracy. Comparing individual analysts' earnings forecasts to median consensus forecasts during 1983-86, we also find no statistically significant evidence of differential analyst forecast accuracy. Our result, however, does not mean that one analyst's forecasts are much like another's. We find that analysts are persistently optimistic or pessimistic relative to consensus forecasts. We examine this persistent behavior and its effect on measures of forecast accuracy over a sample
Shock wave therapy applied to rat bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells enhances formation of cells stained positive for CD31 and vascular endothelial growth factor.

BACKGROUND This study tested the hypothesis that shock wave (SW) therapy applied to bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMDMNCs) enhances the formation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and positively stained CD31 (CD31+) cells, an endothelial phenotype. METHODS AND RESULTS The BMDMNCs (approximately 1.2 x 10(6) cells/2 femoral bones) were obtained from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats and SW therapy was applied once to BMDMNCs in group I (140 SW: defined as 140 shots in total, given at 0.09 mJ/mm2), group II (280 SW), and group III (560 SW). Group IV was not treated by SW and served as the control group. Six experiments were done in each group. The BMDMNCs were cultured following SW therapy and the supernatants were collected on days 1, 3, 7 and 14 for assessment of VEGF levels. Immunocytochemical staining and flow cytometric measurement were performed on days 0 and 14. Experimental results demonstrated that VEGF levels were significantly higher in groups I-III than in group IV, and in group II than in group I at all intervals, and in group II than in group III on day 14 (all p values <0.005). Additionally, the number of positively stained VEGF cells on days 1, 3 and 14 and the number of newly formed CD31+ cells on day 14 were significantly higher in group II than in group IV (all p values <0.001). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that application of SW to BMDMNCs significantly enhanced VEGF production and promoted differentiation of BMDMNCs into endothelial phenotype cells.
In vitro activities of inulin fermentation products to HCT-116 cells enhanced by the cooperation between exogenous strains and adult faecal microbiota

Abstract Inulin was fermented by adult faecal microbiota and 10 exogenous strains for 24 or 48 h. The contents of acetate, propionate, butyrate and lactate were quantified in the fermented products, and the growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects on a human colon cell line (HCT-116 cells) were assessed. Most of these strains increased contents of acetate, propionate and butyrate, and promoted lactate conversion. Correlation analysis suggested that butyrate and lactate in the fermentation products were positively and negatively correlated with the measured inhibition ratios (p < .05). The results were mostly consistent with the verification trial results using standard acid solutions. The fermentation products could cause apoptosis via inducing DNA fragmentation and increasing total apoptotic populations in the treated cells. Moreover, the fermentation products with higher growth-inhibitory activities demonstrated the increased apoptosis-inducing properties. In conclusion, these strains could cooperate with adult faecal microbiota to confer inulin fermentation products with higher anti-colon cancer activity.
Cross‐National Governance Research: A Systematic Review and Assessment

Manuscript Type Review Research Question/Issue Using a systematic literature review approach, we survey 192 cross-national comparative studies published in 23 scholarly journals in the fields of accounting, economics, finance, and management for the period 2003 to 2014. The purpose is to synthesize and appraise the extant empirical research on the interplay between country- and firm-level governance mechanisms and the effects on firm outcomes. Particular focus is placed on studies that examine firm economic performance. Research Findings/Results We identify and distinguish between two groups of cross-national governance studies. The first type compares macro, country-level outcomes and the second compares three different firm-level outcomes: economic performance, governance mechanisms, and strategic decisions. We compare the theoretical frameworks used and further analyze the country-level factors and firm-level governance attributes that have been combined to investigate their interplay and the effects on firm outcomes. We find substantial variation in the use and measurement of country-level factors as well as a variety of causal forms used to explain the combined effects of country- and firm-level governance mechanisms. This wide variability precludes comparison, and consequently prevents identifying consistent patterns of influence between country-level governance factors and firm-level governance mechanisms and/or performance. We identify research gaps and provide fruitful directions for future research on this topic. Theoretical Implications The cross-national governance research has been guided mainly by an economic perspective focusing on international differences in the effectiveness of specific governance mechanisms. Few comparative studies have integrated an institutional perspective or examined the external forces that drive the diffusion and use of specific governance mechanisms. Such integrative framework would improve the understanding of cross-national differences in the salient dimensions of country-level governance factors and how they mediate the effectiveness of firm-level governance mechanisms. Practitioner Implications Our results reveal that firm- and country-level governance mechanisms have been interacted and combined, either to address various agency problems or to compensate for a weak national environment. This calls for regulators and investors to consider national governance factors when assessing firm-level governance practices.
Bioinformatics analysis of miRNA expression profile between primary and recurrent glioblastoma.

OBJECTIVE Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant brain tumor with rapid relapse. The goal of this study is to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in recurrent GBM. MATERIALS AND METHODS miRNA transcription profile data (GSE32466) were downloaded, including 12 primary GBM samples and 12 recurrent GBM samples. Then, limma package was utilized to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) with the criteria of false discovery rate < 0.05 and |log2 fold change| ≥ 1. Thereafter, miTarget and TargetScan databases were used to predict the potential target genes of DEMs. Regulatory co-expression network was constructed based on co-expressed genes and potential miRNA-gene pairs, and then, pathway analysis was conducted. Furthermore, database miRWalk was used to screen out known GBM-associated miRNAs from the identified DEMs. RESULTS A total of 71 DEMs were identified between primary and recurrent GBM samples, and 2684 potential target genes were found. Besides, regulatory co-expression network was constructed, including 12 DEMs and 81 potential target genes. These genes significantly enriched in ECM-receptor interaction, ribosome, and focal adhesion pathways, and DEMs like hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-139-5p, has-miR-128, hsa-miR-140-5p, and hsa-miR-146b-5p had high degree. Notably, 7 DEMs in network were known GBM-associated miRNAs recorded in database miRWalk. CONCLUSIONS DEMs like hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-139-5p, has-miR-128, hsa-miR-146b-5p, hsa-let-7c, hsa-miR-128, and hsa-let-7a might participate in recurrent GBM. These results would pave ways for further study of recurrent GBM mechanism, and for the prevention and treatment of recurrent GBM. However, more experimental verifications are required to prove these predictions.
Psychiatric disorders in long-term sickness absence — a population-based cross-sectional study

Aims: The study estimates the incidence of psychiatric disorders in long-term sickness absence (LSA; more than eight weeks of continuous sickness absence) over one year. The study is the first accounting for everybody on LSA by linking a psychiatric assessment for all persons on LSA to public registers. Methods: In a Danish population of 120,000 inhabitants all 2,414 incident persons on LSA within one year were posted a questionnaire, of whom 1,121 (46.4%) responded. In a two phase design the 1,121 sick-listed persons were screened for psychiatric disorders. Phase 2 consisted of 844 people with predefined scores on CMD-SQ of whom 423 were randomly invited to a psychiatric examination and 329 participated. A further 11 who did not fulfil the predefined criteria were invited, of whom eight participated. The examination included a diagnostic interview by Present State Examination. Results: The 329 examined persons in Phase 2 showed by binomial tests the following frequencies: any psychiatric disorder 57%, any depression 42%, and any anxiety 18%. In Phase 1, representative for everyone on LSA, the frequencies were 48% for any psychiatric disorder, 35% for any depression, 15% for any anxiety, and 7% for any somatoform disorder. Multivariable analyses showed that female sex and unemployment were predictors of a psychiatric disorder, whereas living with children below 18 years and being a skilled worker carried a reduced risk of a psychiatric disorder. Conclusions: The high frequency of psychiatric disorders necessitates further population-based studies documenting the efficiency of screening and psychiatric examinations in LSA.
Developmental up‐regulation of MnSOD in rat oligodendrocytes confers protection against oxidative injury

Periventricular leukomalacia, the predominant pathological lesion underlying cerebral palsy in premature infants, is thought to be the result of hypoxic–ischemic injury to the cerebral white matter. The main cell type injured is the developing oligodendrocyte (OL), which has been shown to be more sensitive than mature OLs to both excitotoxic and oxidative mechanisms of injury. A maturation dependence of OL vulnerability to cystine deprivation‐induced glutathione depletion has been previously demonstrated in culture. We hypothesized that mitochondria could be involved in this toxicity by generating superoxide and that increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in mature OLs may account for their greater resistance. Cystine deprivation toxicity was found to be associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and intracellular superoxide accumulation in developing OLs. CuZnSOD protein expression and enzyme activity was similar along the OL lineage. In contrast, MnSOD was up‐regulated in mature OLs, as manifested by a 53% increase in its expression and a four‐fold increase in its activity. Overexpressing MnSOD in developing OLs was associated with a protective effect on mitochondrial membrane potential and a decrease in cell death induced by mild cystine deprivation. The greater challenge presented by total cystine deprivation was resistant to MnSOD overexpression and appeared to be related to hydrogen peroxide toxicity. These data suggest a primary involvement of superoxide in glutathione depletion toxicity in developing OLs, and suggest an important role for MnSOD in the resistance observed in mature OLs.