Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Farmers' Producer Companies in India: A New Concept for Collective Action?

Producer companies can help smallholder farmers participate in emerging high-value markets, such as the export market and the unfolding modern retail sector in India. As elsewhere in the developing world, in India, small farmers' livelihoods are being threatened due to the liberalization and privatization of Indian agriculture and the increasing interest of private capital in the agribusiness sector. The withdrawal of the state from productive and economic functions, and changes in the organization of marketing channels, present new challenges for small-scale farmers. In this environment of greater instability and competition, organization and collective action can help to enhance farmers' competitiveness and increase their advantage in emerging market opportunities. We build on the ideas of value-chain governance and collective-action literature and introduce the functions and organizational structure of producer companies in India within this context. On the basis of a case study of a specific producer company in Maharashtra, which produces and markets mango and cashew nuts, we discuss the potential benefits for rural communities and the reempowering effect of this form of farmer organization.
Investment Duration and Corporate Governance

This paper analyzes the relation between institutional investment duration and corporate governance using a new metric of investment duration that accounts for firm-specific investment durations of each institution. We conjecture that institutional investors that hold a firm’s shares for a longer duration have greater incentives and ability to influence the firm’s governance structure. Consistent with this conjecture, a broadly defined index of corporate governance increases with the duration of institutional ownership. We also show that the relation between investment duration and corporate governance varies across different types of institutions and across firms with different levels of stock market liquidity.
Anticardiolipin Antibodies in Infections are Heterogenous in Their Dependency on β 2-Glycoprotein I: Analysis of Anticardiolipin Antibodies in Leprosy

We studied the effect of β 2-GPI on binding of antibodies in sera from patients with leprosy and patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) to CL in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Increased levels of IgG aCL were detected in 59 of 61 leprosy patients' sera by the standard aCL-ELISA in the presence of bovine β2-GPI and in 60 of the 61 leprosy patients' sera by the modified aCL-ELISA without β2-GPI. When tested by both aCL-ELISAs on the same plate, 10/31 leprosy sera and 9/10 APS sera bound better in the standard aCL-ELISA, 16/31 leprosy sera bound better in the modified aCL-ELISA and in five leprosy and one APS sera the difference was not significant. A dose-dependent enhancing effect of β2-GPI on the leprosy and APS sera binding to CL was confirmed using purified human β 2-GPI. Enhanced binding was seen if β2-GPI was added either before or together with the test serum. In 11/61 leprosy sera increased levels of IgG antibodies against β2-GPI were found by ELISA. Leprosy anti-β2-GPI antibodies appear to be a separate antibody population recognizing only β2-GPI adsorbed on the ELISA plate. These results demonstrate heterogeneity of leprosy aCL with respect to their β 2-GPI requirement for binding to CL.
Overeducation on the Belgian labour market: evaluation and analysis of the explanatory factors through two types of approaches

This paper examines the incidence and determinants of overeducation in the Belgian private sector. Two different approaches are used to define overeducation by means of data on characteristics of employees and employers. Using the 1995 Structure of Earnings Survey, between 22% and 24% of the workforce is found to be overeducated. Results support the idea that employers view labour market experience as a substitute for formal education. They also show that male workers and people employed in state‐owned firms are less affected by overeducation. Further results suggest that the size of the establishment has a very weak (negative) impact on overeducation.
The Reform of EU Merger Control - Fundamental Reversal or Mere Refinement?

EU Merger Control is currently undergoing its most profound reform to date, central to which is the more economic approach. This chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the legislative and non-legislative changes including a description of the historical background. On this basis, a preliminary assessment is made, thereby highlighting remaining problems and open questions. The new Merger Control Regulation, which entered into force on May 1, 2004, brought inter alia changes in jurisdiction, procedural modifications and a shift in the prohibition criterion from market dominance to significant impediment to effective competition (SIEC). The new criterion receives concrete form in the likewise new Horizontal Merger Guidelines. As a general tendency, concepts from modern industrial organization theory as well as sophisticated econometric estimations are increasingly used. On the non-legislative side the Competition Directorate-General was reorganized and the position of Chief Competition Economist established. Taken together the evidence suggests that the new more economic approach represents a fundamental reversal rather than a mere refinement of EU Merger Control. While the intended improvement of the economic underpinnings is welcomed in principle, the detailed scrutiny of its effects yields differentiated results. Administrative costs are found to rise and predictability to decline, whereas the effects on decision quality remain ambiguous. In addition, institutional aspects such as the growing participation of economic experts, the potential for political interventions and the separation of functions merit attention. Taken together a more comprehensive view of a more economic approach is necessary. From this perspective superior courses of action can be inferred, such as the establishment of an independent competition authority and the stronger orientation of merger control to (more) general rules.
SPATIAL INEQUALITY AND LOCATION OF PRIVATE R&D ACTIVITIES IN BELGIAN DISTRICTS

This empirical paper focuses on the unequal spatial pattern of R&D activities in private business enterprises at the district (NUTS 3) level in Belgium in 2001. From the OECD R&D survey, we use both R&D expenditures and the number of R&D establishments to stress the importance of the appropriate indicator when describing a region's attractiveness for R&D activities. Inclusion of the specific economic structure of a region enables us to consider endogenous strengths. The presence of public knowledge generating organisations and transport infrastructure proved to be positive elements in a region's R&D activities. The first both in terms of R&D expenditures and number of R&D establishments. The latter only in terms of R&D expenditures. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.
Assessment of air-gap flux variation to short-circuit current of generator excitation windings

This paper presents a fault monitoring method of a synchronous generator that exploits the variation and sensitivity of the air-gap flux for short-circuit operation modes. The electromagnetic transient analyses of the generator under the various short-circuit conditions in field windings are performed by an EM software package. The effect of the fault currents on the air-gap flux variation is investigated in terms of the Signal to Noise ratio and the Percentage Contribution of Taguch's design of experiment method on the basis of a healthy operation mode. Finally it is revealed that the proposed method can be a powerful strategy for monitoring and diagnosis of the field windings of large-scaled synchronous generators.
All Giraffes Have Female-Specific Properties: Influence of Grammatical Gender on Deductive Reasoning About Sex-Specific Properties in German Speakers

Grammatical gender is independent of biological sex for the majority of animal names (e.g., any giraffe, be it male or female, is grammatically treated as feminine). However, there is apparent semantic motivation for grammatical gender classes, especially in mapping human terms to gender. This research investigated whether this motivation affects deductive inference in native German speakers. We compared German with Japanese speakers (a language without grammatical gender) when making inferences about sex-specific biological properties. We found that German speakers tended to erroneously draw inferences when the sex in the premise and grammatical gender of the target animal agreed. An over-generalization of the grammar-semantics mapping was found even when the sex of the target was explicitly indicated. However, these effects occurred only when gender-marking articles accompanied the nouns. These results suggest that German speakers project sex-specific biological properties onto gender-marking articles but not onto conceptual representations of animals per se.
A Comparitive Study of the Use of Financial Graphs in the Corporate Annual Reports of Major U.S. and U.K. Companies

The use of graphs to disclose information in corporate annual reports represents a significant dimension in financial disclosure management. Surprisingly, no inter-country comparative analysis of this area of voluntary disclosure has been conducted. This study compares the graphical reporting practices in the 1990 annual reports of 176 leading U.S. and U.K. industrial companies. Ninety-two per cent of U.S. companies use graphs compared with 80% of U.K. companies; the mean number of graphs per company being 13.0 and 7.7, respectively. Sales, an earnings measure, earnings per share and dividends per share are the four most frequently graphed aggregate financial performance variables in both countries. Significant differences in several of the variables graphed are found and explained in terms of environmental factors. In both countries, evidence of graphical information manipulation exists in the form of selectivity, measurement distortion, and presentational enhancement. Moderate evidence supports the hypothesis that U.K. companies are more likely than U.S. companies to adopt interpretative shading. Regulators need to clarify the responsibilities of directors and auditors by setting graphical guidelines.
Antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from slaughtered and retail chickens in South Africa

Animal feed is increasingly being supplemented with antibiotics to decrease the risk of epidemics in animal husbandry. This practice could lead to the selection for antibiotic resistant micro‐organisms. The aim of this study was to determine the level of antibiotic resistant bacteria present on retail and abattoir chicken. Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella and isolates from total aerobic plate count were tested for resistance to vancomycin, streptomycin, methicillin, tetracycline and gentamicin using the disc diffusion susceptibility test; resistance to penicillin was determined using oxacillin. Results from the antibiotic code profile indicated that many of the bacterial strains were displaying multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR). A larger proportion of resistance to most antibiotics, except for vancomycin, was displayed by the abattoir samples, therefore suggesting that the incidence of MAR pathogenic bacteria was also higher in the abattoir samples. This resistance spectrum of abattoir samples is a result of farmers adding low doses of antibiotics to livestock feed to improve feeding efficiency so that the animals need less food to reach marketable weight. The lower incidence of MAR pathogenic bacteria in the retail samples is a result of resistance genes being lost due to lack of selective pressure, or to the fact that the resistant flora are being replaced by more sensitive flora during processing. The use of subtherapeutic levels of antibiotics for prophylaxis and as growth promoters remains a concern as the laws of evolution dictate that microbes will eventually develop resistance to practically any antibiotic. Selective pressure exerted by widespread antimicrobial use is therefore the driving force in the development of antibiotic resistance. This study indicated that a large proportion of the bacterial flora on fresh chicken is resistant to a variety of antibiotics, and that resultant food‐related infections will be more difficult to treat.
DEMOCRATIZATION AND ECONOMIC REFORM

Are democratization and economic reform in tension with each other, or are they mutually supportive processes? A survey of new democracies in Latin America, Southern Europe, and the postsocialist world suggests that the answer varies by region. In the postsocialist cases, the relationship is positive and robust; in the other two regions, the relationship is negligible. Region, however, cannot serve as the explanation. Instead, what emerge as critical—and what happen to vary by region—are three factors that shape the relationship between democratization and economic reform: the timing of democratization, the agenda of transformation, and variations in governing mandates.
Internal and external antecedents of SMEs' innovation ambidexterity outcomes

Purpose – Prior studies have suggested that organizational and environmental antecedents are influential to the development of a balance dimension of innovation ambidexterity, which are proposed to be central to superior firm performance. However, little is known about how such antecedents affect the shaping of innovation ambidexterity in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and how these innovations go on to shape firm performance. This paper aims to examine internal and external antecedents of SMEs' innovation ambidexterity outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The research used a survey method to investigate the 1,000 small‐and medium sized enterprises in Scotland. Firms were randomly selected from the FAME database. Of this sample, 265 firms (26.5 percent) responded to the survey.Findings – The data analysis reveals that internal organizational structures in a highly dynamic environment stimulate the appearance of innovation ambidexterity. Moreover, it is found that the relationship between organ.
Evaluation of average amount of cerebral blood flow measured by brain perfusion index in patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

We used the brain perfusion index (BPI), an indicator of the average amount of cerebral blood flow (CBF), to evaluate the usefulness of the average amount of CBF for neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE). Of the seventy three SLE patients examined in this study (total 100 scans), 16 patients (23 scans) had already been diagnosed with NPSLE based on clinical symptoms indicative of central nervous system involvement. In addition, 12 patients (17 scans) exhibited the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS). BPI is significantly influenced by age and we therefore used the BPI ratio (ratio of age predicted BPI to measured BPI value) for each assessment. The mean BPI value of 100 scans was 11.2 + 2.79, and the mean BPI ratio was 0.99 + 0.24 in all SLE patients. The mean BPI ratio among NPSLE (0.84 + 0.19) was significantly lower than that of the non-NPSLE patients (1.04 + 0.24) (P, 0.0005). However, there was no difference in the mean BPI ratio between APS patients (0.98 + 0.24) and non-APS patients (0.99 + 0.25). These results indicate that the mean CBF assessed by the BPI ratio using SPECT is of use in the evaluation of central nervous system involvement in SLE patients.
Sublingual ‘Oral Tolerance’ Induction with Antigen Conjugated to Cholera Toxin B Subunit Generates Regulatory T Cells that Induce Apoptosis and Depletion of Effector T Cells

Sublingual (s.l.) immunotherapy has in the last decade emerged as an effective approach to desensitize patients with pollen, food and insect sting allergies. This treatment has recently also attracted interest as a potential modality to control self‐reactive T‐cell responses associated with autoimmune disorders. Here, we show that s.l. administration of ovalbumin (OVA) conjugated to cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) (OVA/CTB) can efficiently suppress peripheral effector T (Teff) cell responses to OVA in mice that had adoptively received OVA‐specific T‐cell receptor (TCR) transgenic CD4+ T cells, and that the suppression was associated with the development of OVA‐specific Foxp3+CD25+CD4+ regulatory T (Treg) cells as well as with apoptosis (Annexin V+) and depletion of OVA‐specific Teff cells in peripheral lymph nodes. The induction of Teff cell apoptosis by s.l. OVA/CTB administration was found to be critically dependent on CD25+ Treg cells but independent of IL‐10 production. Our results suggest that s.l administration of a CTB‐conjugated antigen can efficiently induce peripheral Teff cell tolerance through the induction of antigen‐specific Treg cells that both inhibit Teff cell proliferation and cytokine production and induce Teff cell apoptosis and depletion.
A Beta-logistic Model for the Analysis of Sequential Labor Force Participation by Married Women

In this paper, we discuss statistical problems that arise in studying sequences of quantal responses (e.g., labor force participation) in panel data on heterogeneous populations (i.e., populations in which there is unobserved variation in response probabilities). Assuming that response probabilities are governed by a beta distribution, we derive a generalization on of the cross-section logit model to enable it to deal with sequences of discrete events in panel data. This model is applied to panel data on labor force participation of married women. One of our findings is that the distribution of participation probabilities is U shaped, indicating that most women have participation probabilities near zero or near one.
The Ultimate Ownership of Western European Corporations

We analyze the ultimate ownership and control of 5,232 corporations in 13 Western European countries. Typically firms are widely held (36.93%) or family controlled (44.29%). Widely held firms are more important in the UK and Ireland,family controlled firms in continental Europe. Financial and large firms are more likely widely held,while non-financial and small firms are more likely family controlled. State control is important for larger firms in certain countries. Dual class shares and pyramids enhance the control of the largest shareholders,but overall there are significant discrepancies between ownership and control in only a few countries. r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G32
Coase V. The Coasians

The Coase theorem implies that, in a world of positive transaction costs, any of a number of strategies, including judicially enforced private contracts, judicially enforced laws, or even government regulation, may be the cheapest way to bring about efficient resource allocation. Unfortunately, some Coasians have ignored the possibility that the last of these strategies may sometimes be the best. This paper compares the regulation of financial markets in Poland and the Czech Republic in the 1990s, when the judicial systems remained underdeveloped in both countries. In Poland, strict enforcement of the securities law by an independent Securities and Exchange Commission was associated with rapid development of the stock market. In the Czech Republic, hands-off regulation was associated with a near collapse of the stock market. These episodes illustrate the centrality of law enforcement in making markets work, and the possible role of regulators in law enforcement.
Different Paths to Neo‐Liberalism? Comparing Australia and New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are best known for their systems of industrial relations based on compulsory arbitration. However, recent years have seen trends in both countries toward neo-liberalism—trends that represent the end of compulsory arbitration. This paper traces the path taken toward neo-liberalism, the speed of the journey, and the destination reached in both countries. In attempting to explain the differences between them, it is institutional factors—industrial and political—that are given highest priority.
Role of early enteral feeding and acute starvation on postburn bacterial translocation and host defense: Prospective, randomized trials

ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of: a) starvation during the preburn period and b) immediate postburn enteral nutrition on the permeability of the gut to microorganisms and the ability of the host to kill translocated bacteria. DesignProspective, randomized, experimental trials. SettingLaboratory. SubjectsBalb/c mice and Hartley guinea pigs. InterventionsIn the first experiment, mice were starved for 0, 6, 12, 18, or 24 hrs before receiving gavage with 1010 14C-labeled Escherichia coli and a 20% burn injury. In the second experiment, guinea pigs received a 40% burn injury and were randomized to receive a complete enteral diet (175 kcal/kg/day) or infusion of an equal volume of lactated Ringer's solution via a previously placed gastrostomy for 6, 24, or 48 hrs. After each feeding period, 1010 10C Escherichia coli were infused intragastrically. In both experiments, the animals were killed 4 hrs after gavage, and mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, lungs, peritoneal fluid, and blood were harvested aseptically. MeasurementsFor each tissue or fluid, the number of viable E. coli and radionuclide counts of the 14C E. coli were measured and the percentage of translocated bacteria that remained alive was calculated. Main ResultsIn mice, 18 and 24 hrs of preburn starvation increased translocation only to the mesenteric lymph nodes, but it also enhanced bacterial killing in all tested tissues. Guinea pigs that were fed enterally for 6, 24, and 48 hrs postburn had significantly lower bacterial translocation in all tissues compared with animals infused with lactated Ringer's solution. Additionally, enhanced killing of translocating organisms was observed after 24 and 48 hrs of feeding. ConclusionsStarvation preburn has different consequences than starvation postburn on translocation and bacterial killing. Postburn enteral nutrition decreases the load of viable bacteria in the tissues via a double mechanism: an initial decreased translocation and a subsequent improved ability to kill bacteria that do translocate. (Crit Care Med 1994; 22:265–272)
IgE-dependent Activation of Sphingosine Kinases 1 and 2 and Secretion of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Requires Fyn Kinase and Contributes to Mast Cell Responses*

Engagement of the high affinity receptor for IgE (FcϵRI) on mast cells results in the production and secretion of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a lipid metabolite present in the lungs of allergen-challenged asthmatics. Herein we report that two isoforms of sphingosine kinase (SphK1 and SphK2) are expressed and activated upon FcϵRI engagement of bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC). Fyn kinase is required for FcϵRI coupling to SphK1 and -2 and for subsequent S1P production. Normal activation of SphK1 and -2 was restored by expression of wild type Fyn but only partly with a kinase-defective Fyn, indicating that induction of SphK1 and SphK2 depended on both catalytic and noncatalytic properties of Fyn. Downstream of Fyn, the requirements for SphK1 activation differed from that of SphK2. Whereas SphK1 was considerably dependent on the adapter Grb2-associated binder 2 and phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase, SphK2 showed minimal dependence on these molecules. Fyn-deficient BMMC were defective in chemotaxis and, as previously reported, in degranulation. These functional responses were partly reconstituted by the addition of exogenous S1P to FcϵRI-stimulated cells. Taken together with our previous study, which demonstrated delayed SphK activation in Lyn-deficient BMMC, we propose a cooperative role between Fyn and Lyn kinases in the activation of SphKs, which contributes to mast cell responses.