Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneities in the Interest Rate Transmission Mechanism

This paper differentiates itself from the existing literature by testing for the presence of intra and inter-bank heterogeneities in the UK interest rate transmission mechanism. Using a large disaggregated sample of monthly deposit and loan rates 1993-2004 for seven key products, an error correction model is adopted to measure long run pass-through, mark up and the short run speed of adjustment. Overall, the prediction that the official and retail rates move together in the long run is supported. However, financial institutions were found to adjust their rates in significantly different ways following changes in the official rate, which could hinder the achievement of policy objectives. Consumer responses to Bank of England official rate changes could therefore be phased and intricate. Heterogeneity in adjustment is found to be linked to menu costs and key financial ratios (e.g. ROE) under managerial control.
Lack of augmenting effect of interferon‐γ on dengue virus multiplication in human peripheral blood monocytes

The effect of interferon—γ (IFN‐γ) on dengue virus multiplication in human peripheral blood mono‐cytes was investigated. Enriched monocytes were treated with IFN‐γ and then infected with dengue virus type 2 either directly or in the presence of optimal infection‐enhancing levels of antibodies. Pretreatment of monocytes from dengue‐immune donors with 100 IU/ml of IFN‐γ caused 12‐ to 97‐fold and 13‐ to 137‐fold reduction of virus yields at 24 hr after infection in the absence and presence of an anti‐flavivirus monoclonal antibody, respectively. IFN‐γ also diminished virus yields when infection of monocytes from a donor who lacked anti‐dengue antibody was enhanced 40‐fold. The percentage of infected monocytes in IFN‐γ‐pretreated cultures was similarly reduced. Dominance of the antiviral effect of IFN‐γ in monocytes is in contrast to an augmenting effect previously observed in the promonocytic cell line U937. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
DESIRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN FIRST-GENERATION HISPANIC COLLEGE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

DESIRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN FIRST-GENERATION HISPANIC COLLEGE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM Tamara Olive Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center Empirical studies have examined first-generation college students, individuals whose parents have not attended college. Their personality characteristics, cognitive development, academic preparation, and performance have been topics of research. However, there appears to be little in the literature exploring the motivation of these individuals to seek higher education. The purpose of this study was to conduct a phenomenological examination of the desire to attend college among first-generation Hispanic students enrolled in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, a federally funded TRIO program designed to increase the attainment of terminal degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society. As there are few studies examining students enrolled in the McNair Program, this research offers insights regarding the desire for advanced higher education among these individuals. One-hour taped interviews were conducted with five volunteer participants enrolled in the McNair Program at a Texas university designated as a Hispanic-serving institution. Meaning units and constituents were extracted, and a general structure was developed using the descriptive phenomenological method (Giorgi, 1985). This general
Treatment of Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis With Tinidazole

BACKGROUND: Recurrent bacterial vaginosis is a difficult clinical condition. In women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis, relapses are common, even after prolonged courses of maintenance therapy. Because of its spectrum of activity, tinidazole was used in a patient with recurrent bacterial vaginosis. CASE: A 23-year-old woman taking oral contraceptives had a single sexual partner. She was treated for recurrent bacterial vaginosis with multiple courses of metronidazole gel 0.75%, including regimens of maintenance therapy. The patient experienced repeated recurrences shortly after stopping treatment. A single course of oral tinidazole resulted in a prolonged period where she was free of bacterial vaginosis. CONCLUSION: Treatment options for recurrent bacterial vaginosis are currently limited. Tinidazole may be a useful option in women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.
Valuation Effects of Cancelled Debt Offerings

Abstract We examine the price behavior of the firm's common stock associated with cancelled straight debt offerings. Excluding utilities, we find negative excess returns associated with offering and cancellation announcements. Further, the stronger withdrawal reactions we find, when the funds were to be used for capital expenditures, may signal a decline in profitable investment opportunities. These results are consistent with Miller and Rock's (1985) hypothesis.
Induction of Specific Chromosomal Aberrations by Adenovirus Type 12 in Human Embryonic Kidney Cells

Nonrandom chromosomal breaks in chromosomes 1 and 17 were provoked in human embryonic kidney cells 24 hr after infection with adenovirus type 12. These chromosomal changes disappeared in persistently infected cultures. Neutralization of the virus with type-specific antiviral serum prior to infection prevented the occurrence of chromosomal aberrations. No viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, as determined by autoradiography, was seen in metaphases containing adenovirus type 12-induced chromosomal aberrations. Ultraviolet irradiation of the virus reduced chromosomal aberrations linearly. This reduction in aberrations was fourfold slower than the inactivation of viral infectivity. At 24 hr after infection of cells with purified 3H-labeled adenovirus type 12, the isotope was found to be associated with the nuclei. The uptake of isotope was reduced ninefold when the labeled virus was neutralized with type-specific antiviral serum. This difference is considered to account for neutralization of labeled virions. In metaphases infected with labeled viruses, most of the clustered grains were seen only on one arm of the chromatid, even after 72 hr. Isochromatid labeling was found, however, in a small percentage of chromosomes, and increased with time after infection. This increase was threefold between 24 and 72 hr after infection, whereas the mean grain counts decreased twofold during the same period. This has been tentatively interpreted to mean that most of the viral DNA molecules or parts thereof are merely attached to cellular chromatin, but a small fraction of them becomes gradually integrated as time proceeds. Certain chromosomal sites appeared to be preferentially labeled when chromosome 2 was used as a model for evaluation.
Analyzing Preservice Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development in the Context of a Multidimensional Teacher Preparation Program

Abstract In this quantitative study, correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development of 299 preservice teachers in response to the technology preparation they received during their initial teacher licensure program. Survey data were analyzed to determine the extents to which preservice teachers' knowledge increased in response to technology preparation and to determine the contribution of individual knowledge components, including technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological pedagogical knowledge, to the development of TPACK. Findings revealed that individual knowledge components made statistically significant and unique contributions to preservice teachers' TPACK. Findings from this work help explicate the significant contributions of individual knowledge components to TPACK development and have implications for teacher preparation programs on the use of technology.
SPERMIOGENESIS AND SPERMATOZOON ULTRASTRUCTURE OF NICOLLA WISNIEWSKII (DIGENEA: OPECOELIDAE), AN INTESTINAL PARASITE OF BROWN TROUT SALMO TRUTTA (PISCES: TELEOSTEI)

Spermiogenesis and ultrastructure of spermatozoon of Nicolla wisniewskii (Digenea, Opecoelidae), an intestinal parasite of Salmo trutta, were studied by electron microscopy. Spermiogenesis follows the general pattern found in the Digenea. It begins with the formation of a differentiation zone, including striated rootlets associated with 2 centrioles and an intercentriolar body. The flagella undergo a rotation of greater than 90°. Then, their fusion with the median cytoplasmic process is proximodistal and asynchronous. A peculiarity was observed before the fusion of flagella, i.e., the attachment zones joined as 2 pairs by an electron-dense bridge. The mature spermatozoon is characterized by 2 axonemes, cortical microtubules, a nucleus, 2 mitochondria, external ornamentation, and spinelike bodies. At the posterior end of flagella, the spermatozoon is also characterized by the presence of a central element of the axoneme and without the 9 microtubule doublets. These results were compared with those of the other digeneans and, in particular, with other species of Opecoelidae. It appears that the number of cortical microtubules and their localization in the spermatozoon may be an interesting feature of their phylogeny.
Exploring E-Government in the UK: Challenges, Issues and Complexities

Information and communication technology facilities offered by the Internet have encouraged not only business enterprises, but also governments around the globe to invest significantly into electronic service delivery in the form of e-government. While the numbers of the different national e-government initiatives have rapidly increased in the last three years, the success of these will largely depend on whether the services they offer will be used by the citizens of the respective countries. Initial efforts to deploy e-government in the UK suggest that many local boroughs are lagging behind the nationalexpectations for e-government due to various social and technical challenges.This paper will identify and examine the impact of these challenges on realising e-government through the results of an exploratory study in one of the largest local boroughs (Hillingdon-London) in the UK. The results of this study found that from a social perspective, while issues such as lack of awareness, trust, language barriers and lack of access to the Internet were impeding citizens from using e-government services, financial and political constraints were thwarting the government from fully implementing the concept. These social challenges are further compounded by technical complexities such as the need to integrate processes and technology across different government agencies to facilitate the efficient and effective delivery of e-services
The geographic accessibility of retail clinics for underserved populations.

BACKGROUND The extent to which retail clinics provide access to care for underserved populations remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether retail clinics tend to be located in census tracts with higher medical need. METHODS The locations of retail clinics as of July 1, 2008, were mapped and linked to the 2000 US Census and 2008 Health Resources and Services Administration data. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression models with random effects were used to compare the characteristics of census tracts with and without retail clinics. To determine whether retail clinics followed the underlying distribution of chain stores, the location of clinics conditional on there being a chain store was analyzed in 6 counties. RESULTS Of the 932 retail clinics, 930 were successfully mapped. Eighteen states had no retail clinics, and 17 states had 25 or more clinics. Within counties with at least 1 retail clinic, census tracts with retail clinics had a lower black population percentage, lower poverty rates, and higher median incomes and were less likely to be medically underserved areas/populations compared with census tracts without retail clinics. Similarly, stores with retail clinics were less likely to be located in medically underserved areas compared with stores without retail clinics. CONCLUSION Retail clinics are currently located in more advantaged neighborhoods, which may make them less accessible for those most in need.
Comorbidities and predictors of health‐related quality of life in Dravet syndrome

Purpose: Health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) has emerged as a widely accepted measure to evaluate how chronic disease impacts on an individual’s physical, social, and mental well‐being. There is a paucity of data focusing on HRQOL in specific epilepsy syndromes and their associated needs. In this study our aim was to describe the comorbidities and disease‐related predictors for HRQOL in Dravet syndrome, an epileptic encephalopathy, with defined genetic etiology. We anticipate that this will help us to better recognize and understand the needs of children and families and aid treatment planning in this severe epilepsy syndrome.
Soft power in Turkish foreign policy

This article examines to what extent Turkey's foreign policy identity has transformed from being a ‘hard power’ to a ‘soft power’ over the last few years. In doing so, this article also contends that there is a close relationship between the degree of securitisation of issues and whether the power used to deal with them is hard or soft in nature. If issues of concern were securitised, the tendency to use hard power would increase. Another argument is that the main difference between these two types of power stems from the kind of ‘logic of action’ that governs the behaviour of agents. If an instrumental logic of action were in play, meaning if the goal were to force others to make a cost-benefit analysis through coercing or coaxing strategies, then one could talk about hard power. If the goal were to ensure that others would automatically follow the lead of the power-holder due to the power of attraction the latter has in the eyes of the former, then one could refer to the existence of soft power. The main conclusion of this article is that recent internal and external developments have contributed to Turkey's soft power potential.
The Civil-military ‘gap’ in Britain

The civil-military ‘gap’, identified by the TISS report for the United States, is also to be found in the United Kingdom. But it is less a new phenomenon than the result of a selective view of the past. Compulsory military service has been the exception in Britain, but that is what has softened the divide between the armed forces and society. It follows that the abolition of conscription was a bigger change for civil–military relations than the end of the Cold War thirty years later. Since then the practices of the forces, justified by the claim that they are necessary for operational effectiveness, have deepened the divide. But professionalism has also rendered Britain's armed services of greater utility: casualty aversion has not been a significant constraint on recent deployments. The use of mercenaries could be one way to address the services manpower problems, but another would be a more concerted effort to target higher socio-economic groups as possible recruits. Some possible devices for easing the ‘gap’ include more open public debate, the exploitation of links with higher education, and the restructuring of the reserve forces in order to enhance their regional identity.
Association of higher rheumatoid arthritis disease activity during pregnancy with lower birth weight: results of a national prospective study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the outcome of pregnancy in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to disease activity and medication use during the pregnancy. METHODS In a prospective study, pregnant women with RA were evaluated before conception (when possible), during each trimester of the pregnancy, and postpartum. Clinical characteristics, disease activity, medication use, and pregnancy outcome were analyzed. To examine the independent influence of prednisone use and disease activity on birth weight, regression analyses were performed, with adjustments for gestational age of the child at delivery, the sex of the newborn, and the mother's smoking status, education level, parity, and use of an assisted reproduction technique. Kaplan-Meier curve analyses were performed to examine the association between medication use and gestational age at delivery. RESULTS Data from 152 Caucasian RA patients with singleton pregnancies were available. Both the mean +/- SD birth weight (3,379 +/- 564 gm) and the mean +/- SD birth weight standard deviation score (SDS; +0.1 +/- 1.1), which is the birth weight adjusted for the gestational age and sex of the newborn, were comparable with those in the general population. On multiple linear regression analyses of birth weight and birth weight SDS, both of which were adjusted for covariates, only disease activity was associated with lower birth weight (P = 0.025). The gestational age at delivery was significantly lower in women who were taking prednisone (38.8 versus 39.9 weeks; P = 0.001), and their delivery was more often premature (<37 weeks; P = 0.004). CONCLUSION Pregnancy outcome in women with well-controlled RA is comparable with that in the general population. The effect of prednisone on birth weight is mediated by a lower gestational age at delivery, whereas a higher level of disease activity independently influences birth weight negatively, suggesting an immune-mediated mechanism.
General versus Specific Skills in Labor Markets with Search Frictions and Firing Costs

Human capital investments are not independent of the aggregate state of labor markets: frictions and slackness of the labor market raise the returns to specific human capital investments relative to general investments. We build a macroeconomic model with two pure strategy regimes. In the pure G-regime, workers invest in general skills. This occurs when they face high turnover labor markets and in the absence of employment protection. The pure 5-regime in which workers invest in skills specific to their job appears when employment protection is high enough. Implications for a characterization of Europe-United States differences are provided in conclusion. (JEL: J63, J30)
The early life courses of Canadian men: analysis of timing and sequences of events

This paper focuses on the transition to adulthood of Canadian men born from 1916 to 1975. Through a life course framework, six early life events - school completion, work start, home-leaving, cohabitation, first marriage, and first birth - are examined using data from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey of the Family. The trends in the timing and spread of each event, the length of transition to adulthood, and the trajectories to marriage indicate that the early life courses of Canadian men have changed tremendously with more diversified family behaviours and significant increases in ages at school completion and at start of regular work.
Pricing orientation, pricing capabilities, and firm performance

Purpose – How do pricing methods affect firm performance? From both an academic as well as a managerial perspective this question is important. The literature is silent on the relationship between pricing approach and company performance. The aim of this paper is to address this research gap.Design/methodology/approach – To address this practical and theoretical deficit, the authors surveyed 1,812 professionals involved in pricing to measure the influence of pricing approach on firm performance.Findings – The authors find a positive relationship between value‐based pricing (but not competition‐based pricing) and firm performance. Furthermore, the authors find that the three pricing orientations differently influence firm pricing capabilities, which in turn are positively related to firm performance. This paper is thus the first paper documenting a positive relationship between value‐based pricing and firm performance through a quantitative research design.Originality/value – These findings have important .
The rationalization of quality in the construction industry: Some empirical findings

The industry's attempt to rationalize construction quality is examined. Two schools of thought are identified. While the determinist school of thought envisages a belief that every construction element can be quantified and accounted for in writing, the indeterminist school, on the other hand, suggests otherwise. The socio-political effects on quality as well as the technical safeguards taken by both the contractor and the employer are investigated. Emphasis is then directed towards workmanship and the relevance of Quality Assurance as a management process for achieving quality standards in the construction industry. The empirical results of a field study from six building sites in the West Midlands, England are presented to highlight the salient factors which influence respondents’ perceptions and attitudes towards construction quality. The findings from this study tend to mirror the existence of both the rational and irrational approaches to quality in the construction industry. The industry needs to re.
The Role of Defined Benefit Pension Plans in Executive Compensation

Abstract Although defined benefit (DB) pension plans constitute a significant portion of both annual compensation and firm-related wealth for many CEOs, prior studies of CEO compensation contracts generally exclude these plans from their analyses due to lack of data. Taking advantage of recently increased disclosure requirements, we analyse the role of DB pension plans in these contracts. We find that firms with CEO DB pension plans grant the CEO annual compensation that is larger than predicted by economic determinants. We also find that more powerful CEOs, identified by their extraordinary pension benefits, receive higher total pay in addition to the pension benefits. We find no evidence that CEO pension benefits contribute to the pay-for-performance sensitivity of the annual pay.
Is faith‐based investing rewarding? The case for Malaysian Islamic unit trust funds

Purpose – The growing demand for alternative investment vehicle which adheres to shari'a principles has prompted other measures to boost the Islamic capital market. Unit trust funds in Malaysia have been growing exponentially and their existence signifies the extent of development in the Malaysian financial market. For foreign and domestic investors who have low risk tolerance and wish to diversify, unit trust funds offer the opportunity to invest. The increasing relevance of unit trust funds as an investment instrument has driven us to analyze the fund's performance. This paper addresses these issues.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the comparative performance of Malaysian unit trust funds vis‐a‐vis their non‐Islamic counterparts using a variety of measures, such as Sharpe, Treynor, Jenson and Fama's selectivity, net selectivity and diversification. The paper also examines the persistence of performance using Carhart's four‐factor pricing models. Lastly, the paper employs an analysis of c.