Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internal Control Deficiencies and Audit Pricing: Evidence from Initial Public Offerings

Prior evidence on the association between internal control deficiencies and audit fees pertains to public companies. In this study, I investigate the association between internal control deficiencies identified in initial public offering (IPO) audits and audit fees, as well as which factors drive the association. I find that IPO firms with internal control deficiencies regarding pre-IPO financial reporting are likely to pay higher IPO audit fees, which suggests that auditors adjust audit fees for the increased internal control risk. In addition, I find that the fees are positively and significantly associated with the severity of the type of deficiencies.
Effects of the Aging Process on Respiratory Function

Background: The identification of breathing patterns in healthy elderly individuals and changes in the respiratory system related to the normal aging process is important to detect and prevent respiratory dysfunction. Objectives: To assess and compare respiratory function between adults and elderly individuals according to baseline conditions. Methods: Nineteen adults aged 20–59 years (group 1), 12 elderly aged 60–69 years (group 2) and 12 elderly above 69 years of age (group 3) who were all nonsmokers, untrained and with normal pulmonary function tests were studied using calibrated respiratory inductive plethysmography to assess tidal volume (Vt), respiratory frequency (f), minute ventilation, mean inspiratory flow [Vt/inspiratory time (Ti)], inspiratory duty cycle (Ti/total cycle time), labored breathing index (an asynchrony index measurement), percentage of rib cage motion and abdominal motion. Measurements of the maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure and transcutaneous oxygen saturationwere also obtained. Results: The MIP was statistically significantly lower in group 2 (54.58 ± 32.37 cm H2O) and group 3 (54.58 ± 33.61 cm H2O) compared to group 1 (92.11 ± 43.22 cm H2O; p = 0.037). There were no significant differences between the groups regarding breathing patterns, respiratory variables and thoracoabdominal motion. No statistically significant differences between groups 2 and 3 were found for any of the investigated variables. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the aging process of the respiratory system reduces the inspiratory muscle strength but does not have a significant impact on breathing pattern variables.
Laboratory evaluations of insecticide product efficacy for control of Cimex lectularius.

A susceptible, laboratory strain of bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. , was used to determine the efficacy of insecticide products labeled or possessing a site label for bed bug control. Field strain bed bugs also were used to evaluate one insecticide product. The lethal time (LT),, values calculated for the laboratory strain bed bugs indicated that all of the pyrethroid products killed significantly faster than chlorfenapyr (0.5% [AIl; Phantom: BASF; LT50 = 10 d and 9 h). lamda-Cyhalothrin (0.03%; Demand CS; Syngenta) was the fastest acting insecticide (LT50 = 20 min), followed by bifenthrin (0.02% [AI]; Talstar One, FMC; LT50 = 53 min), deltamethrin (0.06% [AI]; Suspend SC; Bayer; LT50 = 61 min), and permethrin (0.05%; Dragnet SFR; FMC; LT50 = 88 min). The field strain bed bugs exposed to deltamethrin had an LT50 value of 14 day 8 h, indicating that the field strain was significantly less susceptible to deltamethrin than the laboratory strain. Chlorfenapyr exposure did not prevent the laboratory strain bed bugs from mating and laying eggs, nor did it prevent the eggs from hatching during the 2-wk exposure period. Surprisingly, none of the insecticides tested, including the pyrethroids, were repellent to laboratory strain bed bugs. Bed bugs rested on pyrethroid-treated panels and remained in contact with the panels until they died (2 h). Chlorfenapyr was also not repellent to bed bugs, but it caused no mortality during the 2-h test period. This study suggests that although pyrethroids were effective for controlling laboratory strain bed bugs, there is the potential for significant resistance in field strains. This study also determined that pyrethroid products were not repellent to bed bugs and would not cause bed bug aggregations to scatter or avoid treated surfaces.
PDE constrained optimization of electrical defibrillation in a 3D ventricular slice geometry

A computational study of an optimal control approach for cardiac defibrillation in a 3D geometry is presented. The cardiac bioelectric activity at the tissue and bath volumes is modeled by the bidomain model equations. The model includes intramural fiber rotation, axially symmetric around the fiber direction, and anisotropic conductivity coefficients, which are extracted from a histological image. The dynamics of the ionic currents are based on the regularized Mitchell–Schaeffer model. The controls enter in the form of electrodes, which are placed at the boundary of the bath volume with the goal of dampening undesired arrhythmias. The numerical optimization is based on Newton techniques. We demonstrated the parallel architecture environment for the computation of potentials on multidomains and for the higher order optimization techniques. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Do Macroeconomic Variables Influence Domestic Stock Market Price Behaviour in Emerging Markets? A Johansen Cointegration Approach to the Botswana Stock Market

The ability of the stock market to reflect real economic activities through fundamental macroeconomic variables in emerging markets remains paramount considering the role of stock markets in the financial system. This paper explores the long-term equilibrium relationship between the Botswana stock market price and selected domestic and global macroeconomic variables using quarterly data for the period 1998 to 2012. The selected macroeconomic variables included Gross Domestic Product (GDP), long and short-term interest rates, money supply, foreign reserves, inflation, diamond price index, exchange rate, US share price index and 10 Year US government bond yield. The paper employs VECM framework following Johansen’s cointegration technique. The analysis revealed that macroeconomic variables and the stock market price are cointegrated, hence, a long-run equilibrium relationship existed between them. The results showed that in the long run, real GDP, short-term interest rates, inflation and diamond index are positively related with stock market price. However, long-term real interest rate, money supply, foreign reserves, exchange rate, US share price index and US government bond yield are negatively related with stock market price in the long run.
Cytochrome c Oxidase Subassemblies in Fibroblast Cultures from Patients Carrying Mutations in COX10, SCO1, or SURF1*

Cytochrome c oxidase contains two redox-active copper centers (CuA and CuB) and two redox-active heme A moieties. Assembly of the enzyme relies on several assembly factors in addition to the constituent subunits and prosthetic groups. We studied fibroblast cultures from patients carrying mutations in the assembly factors COX10, SCO1, or SURF1. COX10 is involved in heme A biosynthesis. SCO1 is required for formation of the CuA center. The function of SURF1 is unknown. Immunoblot analysis of native gels demonstrated severely decreased levels of holoenzyme in the patient cultures compared with controls. In addition, the blots revealed the presence of five subassemblies: three subassemblies involving the core subunit MTCO1 but apparently no other subunits; a subassembly containing subunits MTCO1, COX4, and COX5A; and a subassembly containing at least subunits MTCO1, MTCO2, MTCO3, COX4, and COX5A. As some of the subassemblies correspond to known assembly intermediates of human cytochrome c oxidase, we think that these subassemblies are probably assembly intermediates that accumulate in patient cells. The MTCO1·COX4·COX5A subassembly was not detected in COX10-deficient cells, which suggests that heme A incorporation into MTCO1 occurs prior to association of MTCO1 with COX4 and COX5A. SCO1-deficient cells contained accumulated levels of the MTCO1·COX4·COX5A subassembly, suggesting that MTCO2 associates with the MTCO1·COX4·COX5A subassembly after the CuA center of MTCO2 is formed. Assembly in SURF1-deficient cells appears to stall at the same stage as in SCO1-deficient cells, pointing to a role for SURF1 in promoting the association of MTCO2 with the MTCO1·COX4·COX5A subassembly.
Dietary Palmitic Acid (16:0) Enhances High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor mRNA Abundance in Hamsters

Abstract In order to examine the qualitative effect of different fats and specific fatty acids on plasma lipids and lipoprotein metabolism, six low fat, cholesterol-free diets were fed to young male hamsters (10/group) for a 4-week period. Fat blends were formulated with coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, high oleic acid safflower oil, butter, corn oil, and canola oil. Diets contained 13% energy as fat and dietary polyunsaturate/saturate ratios ranged from 0.12 to 1.04, one of which incorporated the American Heart Association-recommended concentrations of saturates, monoenes, and polyenes and another reflected the current American Fat Blend. In three diets the polyunsaturate/monounsaturate/saturate ratio was held constant while only the 12:0, 14:0, and 16:0 were varied. Plasma lipoproteins and apoproteins were assessed in conjunction with the abundance of specific hepatic and intestinal mRNA for the low density lipoproteins (LDL) receptor and various apolipoproteins associated with cholesterol metabolism. The plasma cholesterol response was lowest with the American Heart Association blend and equally elevated by the more saturated, low polyene diets (polyunsaturate/saturate, 0.12–0.38). Replacing 12:0 plus 14:0 from coconut oil with 16:0 as palm oil induced a significant increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol with a trend toward decreased LDL. These shifts in lipoprotein cholesterol were corroborated by measures of the LDL/HDL ratio, the plasma apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1 ratio, and differences in the synthesis of apolipoproteins and the LDL receptor based on estimates of the mRNA for these proteins in the liver and gut, using specific cDNA probes for apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein E, and the LDL receptor. Although it has been suggested that dietary polyenes lower total plasma cholesterol, including HDL, and that saturated fat increases both these pools of cholesterol, the current data represent the first evidence that a specific saturated fatty acid, i.e., palmitic acid, may enhance HDL production.
Experimental osteoarthritis models in veterinary medicine - relevance, potential and challenges.

The aim of the present review is to summarise, classify and outline the benefits and disadvantages of the models for reproducing osteoarthritis, most commonly used in experimental veterinary orthopaedics (spontaneous, chemical and physical). The potential for application of a given experimental model is related to its specific research target – evaluation of pain, role of inflammation, sex, age, motility and overweight, as well as provision of a solid background for testing of modern pharmacological and physical means of disease control. With this regard, the experimental reproduction of osteoarthritis does not focus on model unification, but is a scientific and practical field developing towards broadening and revealing new heuristic and clinical diagnostic horizons related to improving the quality of life in both human and animal patients with osteoarthritis.
Why Asia and China have lower urban concentration and urban primacy

ABSTRACT Asia is densely populated and home to most of the world's megacities. However, its urban primacy and urban concentration, especially those of developing Asia, are much lower than their counterparts in the rest of the world. This is an important puzzle that has not been addressed in the literature. Motivated by a theory of Krugman and Livas Elizondo, this paper attributes the lower urban concentration and urban primacy to higher levels of trade openness in Asia. Empirical evidences are provided using panel data from developing countries in Asia, from the rest of the developing world, and from China.
Gallbladder polyps: factors affecting surgical decision.

AIM To determine the factors affecting the decision to perform surgery, and the efficiency of ultrasonography (USG) in detecting gallbladder polyps (GP). METHODS Data for 138 patients who underwent cholecystectomy between 1996 and 2012 in our clinic with a diagnosis of GP were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, clinical presentation, principal symptoms, ultrasonographic and histopathological findings were evaluated. Patients were evaluated in individual groups according to the age of the patients (older or younger than 50 years old) and polyp size (bigger or smaller than 10 mm) and characteristics of the polyps (pseudopolyp or real polyps). χ(2) tests were used for the statistical evaluation of the data. RESULTS The median age was 50 (26-85) years and 91 of patients were female. Of 138 patients who underwent cholecystectomy with GP diagnosis, only 99 had a histopathologically defined polyp; 77 of them had pseudopolyps and 22 had true polyps. Twenty-one patients had adenocarcinoma. Of these 21 patients, 11 were male, their median age was 61 (40-85) years and all malignant polyps had diameters > 10 mm (P < 0.0001). Of 138 patients in whom surgery were performed, 112 had ultrasonographic polyps with diameters < 10 mm. Of the other 26 patients who also had polyps with diameters > 10 mm, 22 had true polyps. The sensitivity of USG was 84.6% for polyps with diameters > 10 mm (P < 0.0001); however it was only 66% in polyps with diameters < 10 mm. CONCLUSION The risk of malignancy was high in the patients over 50 years old who had single polyps with diameters > 10 mm.
Labor Unions as Activist Organizations: A Union Power Approach to Estimating Union Wage Effects

Abstract:Amid the long decline of US unions, research on union wage effects has struggled with selection problems and inadequate theory. I draw on the sociology of labor to argue that unions use non-market sources of power to pressure companies into raising wages. This theory of union power implies a new test of union wage effects: does union activism have an effect on wages that is not reducible to workers' market position? Two institutional determinants of union activity are used to empirically isolate the wage effect of union activism from labor market conditions: increased union revenue from investment shocks and increased union activity leading up to union officer elections. Instrumental variable analysis of panel data from the Department of Labor shows that a 1 percent increase in union spending increases a proxy for union members' wages between 0.15 percent and 0.30 percent. These wage effects are larger in years of active collective bargaining, and when unions increase spending in ways that could pressure companies. The results indicate that non-market sources of union power can affect workers' wages and that even in a period of labor weakness unions still play a role in setting wages for their members.
On the Trade-Off Between Communication and Control Cost in Event-Triggered Dead-Beat Control

We consider a stochastic system where the communication between the controller and the actuator is triggered by a threshold-based rule. The communication is performed across an unreliable link that stochastically erases transmitted packets. To decrease the communication burden, and as a partial protection against dropped packets, the controller sends a sequence of control commands to the actuator in each packet. These commands are stored in a buffer and applied sequentially until the next control packet arrives. In this context, we study dead-beat control laws and compute the expected linear-quadratic loss of the closed-loop system for any given event-threshold. Furthermore, we provide analytical expressions that quantify the trade-off between the communication cost and the control performance of event-triggered control systems. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Molecular Characterization of Five Medicinally Important Species of Typhonium (Araceae) through Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

The interrelationship of five medicinally important species of Typhonium (Araceae) including T. venosum, which was previously placed under the genus Sauromatum, was inferred by analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). DNA from pooled leaf samples was isolated and RAPD analysis was performed using 20 decamer oligonucleotide primers. Out of a total of 245 bands amplified, 12 were found to be monomorphic while 233 bands were polymorphic including 86 species-specific bands. The genetic similarities were analyzed from the dendrogram constructed by the pooled RAPD data using a similarity index. The dendrogram showed two distinct clades, one containing T. roxburghii, T. trilobatum and T. venosum and the other containing the remainder two species, i.e. T. diversifolium and T. flagelliforme. Both the clusters shared a common node approx. at 23.7% level of similarity. The maximum similarity of 31.2% was observed between T. venosum and T. trilobatum. In view of its close genetic similarity with other members of Typhonium, transfer of Sauromatum venosum to the genus Typhonium and merger of the two genera was supported.
Forest and trees: Shade management, forest proximity and pollinator communities in southern Costa Rica coffee agriculture

Abstract Sustained pollinator services within coffee farms depend substantially on a diverse bee community. While studies have been conducted to understand the impacts of forest proximity and farm level management on pollinators, few have examined the interaction between these two spatial scales. We surveyed pollinator communities within 18 sites on a large organic farm surrounded by native forest in southern Costa Rica. We selected sites 0, 50 and 150 m from the forest edge within shaded and sparsely-shaded (sun) portions of the farm to quantify the influence of both shade management and distance to contiguous forest on pollinator communities. Contrary to similar studies, native bees dominated the composition of pollinators on this farm. Overall, pollinator diversity and activity did not differ significantly neither between the shade management types nor among the sites 0, 50 or 150 m from the forest edge. However, pollinator diversity was found to be significantly higher at sun sites near forest (0 m) compared with further away, whereas the diversity was the same for the shade sites regardless of forest proximity. We found that greater numbers of coffee flowers within each site increased bee abundance and flower visitation frequency. Bee abundance was greater in sites with less ground cover and bee diversity and visitation frequencies were higher in sites with greater amounts of shade canopy cover and trees in flower. Based on our results, we suggest including flowering shade trees that provide high levels of canopy cover, maintaining or re-establishing forested areas within or surrounding farms, and eliminating or reducing agrochemical use to increase native pollinator activity and diversity within coffee farms.
Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities

&NA; Attitudes toward people with disabilities are learned, emotionally toned predispositions. This study compares such attitudes held by nursing faculty, beginning nursing students, graduating nursing students, registered nurses, and people with disabilities. Results of the study indicate that persons with disabilities were significantly more positive in their attitudes. Faculty held the least positive attitude, closely followed by graduating nursing students.
Improving executive function deficits by playing interactive video-games: secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial for individuals with chronic stroke.

BACKGROUND Executive function deficits negatively impact independence and participation in everyday life of individuals with chronic stroke. Therefore, it is important to explore therapeutic interventions to improve executive functions. AIM The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 3-month interactive video-game group intervention compared to a traditional motor group intervention for improving executive functions in individuals with chronic stroke. DESIGN This study is a secondary analysis of a single-blind randomized controlled trial for improving factors related to physical activity of individuals with chronic stroke. Assessments were administered pre and post the intervention and at 3-month follow-up by assessors blind to treatment allocation. METHODS Thirty-nine individuals with chronic stroke with executive function deficits participated in an interactive video-game group intervention (N.=20) or a traditional group intervention (N.=19). The intervention included two 1-hour group sessions per week for three months, either playing video-games or performing traditional exercises/activities. Executive function deficits were assessed using The Trail Making Test (Parts A and B) and by two performance-based assessments; the Bill Paying Task from the Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT) and the Executive Function Route-Finding Task (EFRT). RESULTS Following intervention, scores for the Bill Paying Task (EFPT) decreased by 27.5% and 36.6% for the participants in the video-game and traditional intervention, respectively (F=17.3, P<0.000) and continued to decrease in the video-game group with small effect sizes. Effect size was small to medium for the TMT-B (F=0.003, P=0.954) and EFRT (F=1.2, P=0.28), without any statistical significance difference. CONCLUSIONS Interactive video-games provide combined cognitive-motor stimulation and therefore have potential to improve executive functioning of individuals with chronic stroke. Further research is needed. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT These findings highlight the potential of utilizing interactive video-games in a small group for keeping these individuals active, while maintaining and improving executive functioning especially for individuals with chronic stroke, who have completed their formal rehabilitation.
Toward an understanding of online information processing in e-tourism: does national culture matter?

ABSTRACT Tourism is undoubtedly among the industries that better reflect the effects of globalization, technological advances (i.e. the Internet) being one of the most relevant drivers. Given the current market saturation of this sector, a better understanding of how tourists from different cultures process online information and forge their attitudes and behavioral intentions is called for. Nevertheless, national culture may have a major influence on the effectiveness of online tourist marketing activities. This study contributes to the extant body of knowledge via the analysis of the influence of perceived risk on how tourists process the information while browsing a tourist destination website, form their attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the destination. The effect of national culture on such antecedents is examined via a cross-cultural research to compare Spanish and British cultures. A theoretical model is proposed to integrate the effect of perceived risk and variables regarding technology acceptance on tourist responses.