Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financial Statement Comparability and Hedge Fund Activism

Consistent with hedge fund activism enhancing firm value, prior studies have documented significant positive abnormal stock returns arising from such activism. In this paper, we argue that the use of peer information is an important aspect of activism. We first document that higher financial statement comparability is associated with higher abnormal returns around disclosures of hedge fund activism, consistent with findings that comparability enhances firm value generated from activism. Consistent with findings on the monitoring role of comparability, we find that this positive association is stronger for firms that are more prone to agency problems, which tend to attract hedge fund activism. We also find that more experienced activists are more capable of using comparable information to create value. Consistent with findings that the availability of comparable information makes costlier tactics worthwhile, we find that greater comparability is associated with a higher likelihood of activists using hostile tactics. Finally, we document that the long-run performance of the firm post-activism is superior for more comparable firms, providing further evidence that comparability facilitates value generation by activists. Our paper contributes to the literature by providing novel and comprehensive analyses of the role of financial statement comparability in helping sophisticated investors to enhance firm value.
The Effects of Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Regulations: The Contrast between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Dans cet article, l’auteur teste les effets que la réglementation des prix de l’essence mise en place au Nouveau-Brunswick et en Nouvelle-Écosse en juillet 2006 a eus sur ces prix. Grâce à un modèle de différence des différences, il montre que, après juillet 2006, les prix ont diminué (par rapport à ceux de l’échantillon témoin) seulement au Nouveau-Brunswick. Une autre analyse montre également que les prix auraient pu baisser en Nouvelle-Écosse si la réglementation avait été mieux conçue. I test for the effects on retail gasoline prices of a price regulation introduced in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in July 2006. Using a difference-in-differences empirical model, I find that prices decreased (relative to the control group) only in New Brunswick after the regulation’s introduction. Further analysis suggests that prices could also have decreased in Nova Scotia if the regulation in that province had been better designed.
Alien mink predation induces prolonged declines in archipelago amphibians

Amphibians are undergoing enigmatic global declines variously attributed to a complex web of anthropogenic forces. Alien predators pose a fundamental threat to biodiversity generally that is predicted to be most acute in island ecosystems. While amphibian eggs and tadpoles are vulnerable to aquatic predators, the effect of predators on adult, reproducing frogs, which most influence amphibian population processes, is unknown. Here, we report on the responses of amphibian populations in the outer Finnish Archipelago to a long-term, large-scale removal of American mink (Mustela vison Schreb.), an invasive predator linked to recent biodiversity loss across Europe. Removal increased both the densities and distribution of common frogs (Rana temporaria L.) but not those of common toads (Bufo bufo L.), which appear to escape mink predation because of their unpalatable skin. Importantly, the largest benefits of mink removal to frog recovery were slow to appear as frogs apparently have a delayed maturation in these harsh environments, which means we must be cautious about reliance upon short-term results.
Domestic regulation, import penetration and firm-level productivity growth

This paper shows that the impact of import penetration on firms’ productivity growth depends on firms’ distance to the efficiency frontier and on product market regulation. Using firm-level data for a substantial number of OECD countries from the late 1990s to late 2000s, the analysis reveals nonlinear effects of both sectoral import penetration and de jure product market regulation measures, depending on firms’ positions along the global distribution of productivity. Close to the technology frontier, import penetration has a strongly positive effect on firm-level productivity growth, with less stringent domestic regulation enhancing this effect substantially. However, far from the frontier, the effect of import penetration on firm-level productivity growth is much smaller and often not significant. Its interaction with domestic regulation generally has no statistically significant effect either. The heterogeneous effects of import penetration and domestic product market regulation on firm-level productivity growth are consistent with a neo-Schumpeterian view of trade and regulation.
The Impact of IFRS Adoption on Key Financial Ratios- An Analysis of Wipro

: A number of multi-national companies are establishing their businesses in various countries with emerging economies. Different accounting framework and guidelines for different countries have created confusion for users of financial statements. India, being an emerging economy calls for convergence of Indian Accounting Standards (Indian GAAP) with International Financial Reporting Standards. An attempt has been made to assess the impact of IFRS adoption upon the key financial ratios of Indian company namely Wipro Ltd. The study has been conducted from the year 2009-10 to 2014-15. Debt Equity ratio, debt to total assets ratio, current ratio, net profit ratio, return on capital employed and return on equity ratios have been used in the study to arrive at an empirical conclusion. Empirical analysis revealed that the IFRS adoption will create a significant impact on debt to total assets ratio, net profit ratio, return on capital employed ratio and return on equity owing adoption of fair value measurement, differential revenue recognition norms, differential valuation of deferred tax asset and liability etc.
Sympathetic activation decreases medium-sized arterial compliance in humans.

This study used a precise noninvasive method in normotensive humans to determine the effects of sympathetic activation on arterial compliance. A recently developed, high-resolution echo-tracking system capable of measuring systolic/diastolic variations of arterial diameter was coupled to a Finapres system and used to calculate instantaneous systolic/diastolic pressure-diameter and compliance-pressure curves for a muscular medium-sized artery, the radial artery. Two standardized tests of sympathetic system activation, a cold pressor test (2 min) and a mental stress test (2 min of mental arithmetic), were performed at an interval of 8 days in random order in nine healthy volunteers [30 +/- 9 (SD) yr]. Radial arterial parameters were recorded every 30 s for 9 min, which included 2 min of cold pressor test or mental stress test. During both tests, radial arterial mean diameter did not change despite t he increase in mean arterial pressure (P < 0.001); stroke change in diameter decreased (P < 0.01), whereas pulse pressure increased (P < 0.01). Arterial compliance, calculated for the instantaneous level of mean arterial pressure, decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Compliance (C) calculated at 100 mmHg (C100) was arbitrarily chosen as a reference point for comparing compliance among the different periods of the test. C100 decreased significant (P < 0.05) during both tests (from 2.93 +/- 1.27 to 2.04 +/- 0.94 and from 3.29 +/- 1.73 to 2.63 +/- 1.55 mm2.mmHg-1.10(-3) during mental stress and the cold pressor test, respectively). These results indicate that sympathetic activation is able to decrease radial arterial compliance in healthy subjects. The reduction in arterial compliance probably resulted from complex interactions between changes in distending blood pressure and changes in radial arterial smooth muscle tone.
Neighborhood Segregation and Black Entrepreneurship

We examine the causal effect of neighborhood segregation on black entrepreneurship. We address neighborhood sorting by analyzing city averages and omitted variable bias by instrumenting for segregation using historical railroad configurations. We find that segregation has a significant positive effect: a 10 percentage point increase in the dissimilarity index decreases the racial gap by about 3.3 percentage points. To minimize the effect of cross-city sorting, we use a narrower sample constructed from outcomes of young adults and find a similar effect. Our findings are important because historically, entrepreneurship has been an avenue out of poverty, and entrepreneurship has been promoted as a way to decrease welfare and unemployment.
First microscopical and molecular-based characterization of Leishmania major within naturally infected Phlebotomus salehi (Diptera; Psychodidae) in Fars province, southern Iran

Abstract Zoonotoc cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in several parts of Iran. Jahrom district is one of the most important endemic foci of leishmaniasis located in Fars province, southern Iran. To identify the vectors of leishmaniasis in this area, a total of 349 sandflies were collected during May to August 2009. They were caught from outdoors in five regions of Jahrom district including villages of Mousavieh, Ghotb-Abad, Heydar-Abad, Fath-Abad and Jahrom County. Eleven species of Phlebotomine (three Phlebotomus spp. and eight Sergentomyia spp.) were detected. To determine the sandflies naturally infected by Leishmania spp. , 122 female sandflies were dissected and evaluated microscopically using Giemsa-stained slides. Natural infection of 2 out of 38 (5·26%) P. papatasi and 1 out of 8 (12·5%) P. salehi to Leishmania major was confirmed in the region. Sequencing and nested polymerase chain reaction-based detection of Leishmania were carried out to confirm the microscopic findings. Five (13·16%) P. papatasi and two (25%) P. salehi were positive in nested polymerase chain reaction assay. All positive samples were shown 72–76% similarity with L. major Friedlin. On the basis of our knowledge, this is the first molecular detection of L. major within naturally infected P. salehi in this region in southern Iran.
Regional vs Systemic Antivenom Administration in the Treatment of Snake Venom Poisoning in a Rabbit Model: A Pilot Study

Objective To develop a model that compares 2 different routes of antivenom administration (standard intravenous [IV] administration vs regional administration below a tourniquet) to assess their ability to limit muscle necrosis in a rabbit model of rattlesnake venom poisoning. Methods New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to 4 groups. All animals underwent general anesthesia and were then injected intramuscularly (IM) with a sublethal dose of western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) venom in the right thigh and a similar volume of normal saline (NS) control in the left thigh. Thirty minutes later, standard treatment group animals (n = 4) received 1 vial of reconstituted Antivenin (Crotalidae) Polyvalent (ACP) and 10 mL of NS through an ear vein. Experimental treatment group animals (n = 4) had their lower extremities exsanguinated and isolated by arterial tourniquets. One vial of ACP was then given through a distal IV in the envenomed extremity, and 10 mL of NS was given through an IV in the sham extremity. Tourniquets were removed 30 minutes later. Positive control group animals (n = 2) similarly had their lower extremities exsanguinated and isolated by tourniquets. They then received 10 mL of NS through distal IVs in each lower extremity. Tourniquets were again removed after 30 minutes. Negative control group animals (n = 2) received 2 doses of NS only (10 mL each) through an ear vein. Serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels were drawn at baseline and 48 hours following venom injection. At 48 hours, the animals were injected with technetium pyrophosphate. Two hours later, they were euthanized, and the lower extremities were scanned to determine levels of radionucleotide uptake in envenomed muscles compared to contralateral sham-injected muscles. The anterior thigh muscle groups were then removed, fixed, stained, sectioned, and analyzed in a blinded fashion by a veterinary pathologist for muscle necrosis grading. Results There was no evidence of statistically significant differences in changes in serum CPK levels (from baseline to 48 hours), technetium pyrophosphate uptake ratios (right leg/left leg), or muscle necrosis indices in any 2-group analysis. Conclusions Results of this pilot study do not suggest any beneficial effect of ACP, in the dose and routes used, in limiting local muscle necrosis following IM rattlesnake venom poisoning in the rabbit model.
Multicultural leadership characteristics of a school director in an educational setting in South Korea: A case study

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to discover the multicultural leadership characteristics that are intrinsically necessary amongst a School Director at an international Christian elementary school in South Korea. The theory guiding this study was the Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura as it explains the relationship of children modeling behavior and the importance of administrators along with their staff modeling principles that encourage multicultural understanding and acceptance of others. This study addresses the following questions: 1) What themes emerge in regards to leadership and multicultural leadership characteristics in the case of a school director of a Korean Christian school? ; 2) How do specific leadership characteristics facilitate multicultural education in an international elementary school? ; and 3) How does utilizing certain teaching curriculums and/or activities help to facilitate multicultural education in a private school in South Korea? Data was collected through the following means; an online demographic questionnaire, assessments, administration of an open-ended questionnaire protocol via in-person interviews, open-ended multicultural questionnaires and artifacts. The findings seem to support the application of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and the principles of Transformational Leadership in that both the students and the teachers take cues from the Director of School Korea. Additionally, several leadership characteristics that the Director possesses or was said to possess are characteristics associated with Transformational Leadership, which has been associated with multicultural environments. Prevalent themes that evolved during the course of this research are: diversity, multicultural issues, leadership, and classroom curriculum.
Cross-reactivity of outer membrane proteins of Campylobacter species with cholera toxin

Campylobacter jejuni is a foodborne pathogen and a leading cause of diarrhoea worldwide. It is believed that a cholera toxin-like toxin (CTLT) produced by C. jejuni may mediate watery diarrhoea. However, the production of a CTLT by C. jejuni is controversial. A cholera toxin gene (ctx) homologue has not been identified in Campylobacter species. We investigated the identity of the CT cross-reactive antigen from Campylobacter species previously and the results are reviewed here. Filtrates of C. jejuni grown in four different liquid media, reported to promote CTLT production, were tested by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell elongation assay for functional toxin and for reactivity with CT antibody using GM1 ganglioside ELISA (GM1 ELISA) and immunoblotting. Protein sequence of the CT antibody-reactive band was determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI TOF-TOF). Non-jejuni species (C. coli, C. lari, C. foetus, C. hyointestinalis and C. upsaliensis) were investigated by CHO cell assay and immunoblotting. Filtrates from seven C. jejuni reference strains reported to produce CTLT and from 80 clinical strains were negative in the CHO cell assay. However, filtrates from three reference strains and 16 clinical strains were positive by GM1 ELISA. All strains irrespective of GM1 ELISA reactivity, possessed a 53-kDa protein which reacted with CT antibody by immunoblotting. This band was identified as the major outer membrane protein (PorA) of C. jejuni. CT antibody reacted with a C. jejuni recombinant PorA on immunoblotting. All non-C. jejuni strains were negative by CHO cell assay, but the common 53-kDa proteins reacted with CT antibody on immunoblots. The cross-reactivity of PorAs of Campylobacter species with CT may lead to the erroneous conclusion that Campylobacter species produce a functional CTLT.
Comparing estimates of climate change impacts from process-based and statistical crop models

The potential impacts of climate change on crop productivity are of widespread interest to those concerned with addressing climate change and improving global food security. Two common approaches to assess these impacts are process-based simulation models, which attempt to represent key dynamic processes affecting crop yields, and statistical models, which estimate functional relationships between historical observations of weather and yields. Examples of both approaches are increasingly found in the scientific literature, although often published in different disciplinary journals. Here we compare published sensitivities to changes in temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide (CO2), and ozone from each approach for the subset of crops, locations, and climate scenarios for which both have been applied. Despite a common perception that statistical models are more pessimistic, we find no systematic differences between the predicted sensitivities to warming from process-based and statistical models up to +2 °C, with limited evidence at higher levels of warming. For precipitation, there are many reasons why estimates could be expected to differ, but few estimates exist to develop robust comparisons, and precipitation changes are rarely the dominant factor for predicting impacts given the prominent role of temperature, CO2, and ozone changes. A common difference between process-based and statistical studies is that the former tend to include the effects of CO2 increases that accompany warming, whereas statistical models typically do not. Major needs moving forward include incorporating CO2 effects into statistical studies, improving both approaches’ treatment of ozone, and increasing the use of both methods within the same study. At the same time, those who fund or use crop model projections should understand that in the short-term, both approaches when done well are likely to provide similar estimates of warming impacts, with statistical models generally requiring fewer resources to produce robust estimates, especially when applied to crops beyond the major grains.
Reducing Inequality in Childcare Service Use across European Countries: What (if any) Is the role of Social Spending?

Childcare services are increasingly put forward as one of the most important policy levers to combat poverty and inequality. However, higher income families use childcare services to a much larger extent than lower income families. Almost all European countries increased expenditures on childcare over the past years, but has an ever-increasing public spending on childcare provision led to more equality in its use? In this article, the relationship between spending and childcare use as well as between spending and inequality in childcare use over the period 2006–12 is empirically analyzed using a random effects model drawing on country-level panel data (n = 156), derived from the EU-SILC and OECD SOCX databases. Since governments can spend money in different ways, it is discussed whether a public or a market-based strategy to subsidize childcare provision is related to more equality. The results suggest that more spending leads to higher levels of childcare use, but not directly to lower levels of inequality. For achieving equity in childcare use, government investment should lead to an expansion of childcare places across the income distribution. The findings allow the formulation of new hypotheses regarding the role of the private market in childcare services provision.
A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study of Postpartum Wrist Pain in an Urban Chinese Population: Its Prevalence and Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND Wrist pain after childbirth is commonly encountered in clinical practice. Little is known about the prevalence of this musculoskeletal disorder which is important to overall maternal health. OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of and risk factors for de novo wrist pain in women after childbirth. STUDY DESIGN A pilot cross-sectional survey. SETTING A telephone interview was conducted 2 months after childbirth among women who delivered at a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong. METHODS The prevalence of de novo wrist pain was recorded; its severity was rated using the numerical rating scale and Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) with pain and functional subscale scores. RESULTS In total, 259 women aged 32.8 ± 4.0 years participated; 149 women (57.5%) developed wrist pain after childbirth and 125 (84%) had persistent wrist pain 2 months postpartum. The majority had moderate (43.5%) to severe (21%) wrist pain. Bilateral involvement was common (56.8%), with most of the pain (59.3%) located on the radial side of the wrist. Primiparity was associated with wrist pain development (odds ratio 2.62, 95% confidence interval 1.33 - 5.16, P = 0.01); pain intensity was negatively correlated with the baby's birth weight (beta = -1.059, P = 0.013). Mean PRWE pain and function scores were 22.8 ± 10.3 and 15.6 ± 10.7, respectively. LIMITATIONS Cross-sectional survey is prone to volunteer bias, though recent literature indicates that the bias may not substantially affect the internal validity of the study. CONCLUSIONS Wrist pain is prevalent after childbirth; future studies may consider looking into its exact pathology, long-term consequences, and overall effect on maternal health. KEY WORDS Wrist pain, DeQuervain disease, postpartum, childbirth, mothers, prevalence, cross sectional study, survey.
Predicting postconcussion syndrome after minor traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND Up to 50% of patients with minor traumatic brain injury (mTBI) develop postconcussion syndrome (PCS). A decision rule to stratify risk for PCS is needed. OBJECTIVE To identify mTBI patients at low and high risk of PCS by comparing the predictive values of variables generated by logistic regression (LR) and recursive partitioning (RP). METHODS This was a prospective, observational study of 69 mTBI patients aged >16 years presenting to the emergency department of a university teaching hospital. Minor TBI was defined as loss of consciousness <10 minutes or amnesia, Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS) of 15, no skull fracture on physical examination, nonfocal neurologic exam, and no brain injury on computed tomography if one was done. Clinical/demographic data and the results of a brief neurobehavioral test battery were collected for all patients. The presence of PCS was determined by a validated telephone questionnaire at one month after initial presentation. All variables were subjected to both LR and RP. RESULTS Fifty-eight percent had PCS at one month after initial presentation. Low risk: PCS occurred in 9% of men scoring >24 on the Hopkins Verbal Learning A (HVLA) (by LR) and in 9% of those injured in sports scoring >22 on HVLA (RP). High risk: PCS occurred in 89% of women scoring <9 on the Digit Span test (LR) and in 92% of those injured via falls or motor vehicle collision scoring <11.5 on HVLB2 (RP). CONCLUSIONS Despite the high incidence of PCS, we were able to identify a low-risk subgroup with an average PCS risk of <10% and a high-risk subgroup with a PCS risk of approximately 90%. Combining results from LR and RP expanded the number of patients able to be classified as high/low risk. Prospective validation is necessary.