Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential Effects of Fair Value Accounting on US Bank Regulatory Capital

For many years the regulatory capital of commercial banks in the United States has been based on the book value of assets and liabilities. That has changed with the implementation of Fair Value Measurements in FAS 157. Now banks and regulators must view capital from a Fair Value perspective. This could have a profound adverse affect on commercial banks when interest rates change. Banks that have shifted from “originate and hold” loans to “originate and distribute” loans suddenly may find themselves “undercapitalized,” particularly if interest rates rise. Smaller banks that rely on cumulative gap and maturity gap analysis for interest rate risk assessment would expect increases in interest rates to result in increases in net interest income and equity. More sophisticated measures, based upon discounted net cash flow calculations associated with portfolio durations, might show the opposite effect. In addition, as regulators focus more on interest rate loss distributions associated with market risk assessments under economic capital requirements, they may well increase regulatory capital requirements at the same time that banks experience a decrease in the Fair Value of their capital. As a result, banks accustomed to maintaining adequate capitalization levels may find it increasingly difficult to do so.
Comparison of recalcitrance to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin exhibited by Pseudomonas aeruginosa bofilms displaying rapid-transport characteristics

Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to measure transport of the fluoroquinolones (FQs) ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin into Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Biofilms were exposed to each FQ at dose levels of 100, 250, and 500 microg/ml for 30 min. A mathematical transport model was used to extract the diffusion coefficient, binding site density, and adsorption and desorption rates for each experiment. Recalcitrance of the biofilms toward each FQ was evaluated by comparison of efficacies with planktonic bacteria. By this criterion, biofilms were found to exhibit more recalcitrance toward levofloxacin than ciprofloxacin under the experimental conditions. These results cannot be explained by the more hindered transport of levofloxacin, implicating the domination of physiological factors.
Risk of anaphylaxis after vaccination of children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the risk of anaphylaxis after vaccination of children and adolescents. METHODS The study population consisted of children and adolescents who were enrolled at 4 health maintenance organizations that participated in the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project. For the period 1991-1997, we identified potential cases by searching for occurrences of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 995.0 (anaphylactic shock), E948.0 through E948.9 (adverse reaction from bacterial vaccines), and E949.0 through E949.9 (adverse reaction from other vaccines and biological substances). At 1 study site, we also included a range of other allergy codes. We restricted to diagnoses on days 0 to 2 after vaccination (ICD-9 995.0) or day 0 (all other ICD-9 codes). We then reviewed the medical record to confirm the diagnosis. RESULTS We identified 5 cases of potentially vaccine-associated anaphylaxis after administration of 7 644 049 vaccine doses, for a risk of 0.65 cases/million doses (95% confidence interval: 0.21-1.53). None of the episodes resulted in death. Vaccines that were administered before the anaphylactic episodes were generally given in combination and included measles-mumps-rubella, hepatitis B, diphtheria-tetanus, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and oral polio vaccine. One case of anaphylaxis followed measles-mumps-rubella vaccine alone. At the site at which we reviewed additional allergy codes, we identified 1 case after 653 990 vaccine doses, for a risk of 1.53 cases/million doses (95% confidence interval: 0.04-8.52). CONCLUSIONS Patients and health care providers can be reassured that vaccine-associated anaphylaxis is a rare event. Nevertheless, providers should be prepared to provide immediate medical treatment should it occur.
Cardiovascular management of septic shock.

This review will cover septic shock as a manifestation of severe sepsis. The reader is referred to other articles, which review the myriad multisystem dysfunctions associated with severe sepsis (1– 4), and is reminded that as in all patients with sepsis early initiation of appropriate antibiotics and adequate source control are key components of septic shock treatment. Ascertaining the incidence of septic shock is limited by the variability in definitions used in epidemiologic studies, the analysis of septic shock as a subset of patients with severe sepsis, and shortcomings of methods used to calculate the incidence of severe sepsis. In five recent large clinical trials that enrolled a total of 5,461 patients with severe sepsis (criteria evidence of infection, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and at least one organ dysfunction/hypoperfusion), the incidence of septic shock ranged from 52% to 71% of patients with severe sepsis, with a mean of 58% (5–9). A recent study used International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 hospital diagnostic codes for infection and acute organ dysfunction to estimate 751,000 cases of severe sepsis per annum in the United States (10). Taking the incidence of septic shock in severe sepsis from the five studies above, septic shock would, therefore, be predicted to occur annually in 435,580 patients in the United States. The mortality of septic shock can be estimated more reliably. Table 1 shows a compilation of septic shock mortalities drawn from the placebo arms of clinical trials (8, 9, 11–22). Figure 1 shows improvement in septic shock mortality over time (23). Historical Perspective The word sepsis is derived from the Greek language (24). Pepsis was good, embodying the natural processes of maturation and fermentation. Sepsis, however, was bad and synonymous with putrefaction as characterized by bad smell. It was thousands of years later before Pasteur conclusively linked putrefaction to a bacterial cause. The word shock has its derivation from the French root “choquer,” meaning “to collide with. ” Based on our current understanding of the pathophysiology of septic shock, the collision of the body’s defenses with the invading organism, this seems to be particularly appropriate terminology.
Do Rating Agencies Fully Understand Information in Earnings and its Components?

This paper examines whether credit rating agencies fully understand the implications of earnings and its components for future performance. After establishing that earnings are more relevant to the rating process than cash flows, we find that future rating changes can be predicted using current earnings information. This finding suggests that rating agencies underreact to earnings information. When earnings are decomposed into accruals and cash flows, credit rating agencies do not distinguish the differential persistence of these two components of earnings. This inefficiency in ratings with respect to earnings information increases with information uncertainty, the contractual use of ratings, and potential conflicts of interest. Interestingly, the predictability of future rating changes by current earnings has disappeared in the post-crisis period as regulation of the rating industry has been tightened.
Comparative study of rumen ciliates in buffalo, cattle and sheep in Egypt.

Rumen ciliates species and composition of the sheep, Friesian-cattle and water buffaloes in Egypt were surveyed. As a result, 7 genera with 18 species and 6 formae in sheep, 10 genera with 28 species and 11 formae in cattle and 12 genera with 29 species and 7 formae in water buffaloes were detected. Twenty-two species were common in both cattle and buffaloes, while 12 species in sheep were common with the other ruminants. Entodinium spp. , such as E. simplex, E. nanellum and E. exigum, appeared most frequently in every host. In general, Egyptian domestic ruminants had the rumen ciliate composition similar to that of domestic ruminants in temperate zone, though the water buffaloes had several tropical species such as Entodinium longinucleatum forma spinonucleatum. The ciliate density was estimated as 10(5)/ml in every host species.
Predicting Consumer Willingness-to-Purchase Value-Added Products at Direct Agricultural Markets

Abstract Consumers who have 3 or more children 18 years of age or younger were found to be less likely to purchase value-added products at farmers' markets. While consumers who are 35 years of age or younger are more likely to purchase value products, the results indicate that younger individuals with at least some graduate education are less likely to purchase value-added products. Individuals who expect prices at farmers' markets to be lower than those at other retail outlets are more likely to purchase value-added products.
Dollar Appreciation in 2008: Safe Haven, Carry Trades, Dollar Shortage and Overhedging

This feature argues that a combination of factors caused the surprising US dollar appreciation in the second half of 2008. Both the global flight to safety into US Treasury bills and the reversal of carry trades amidst the crisis were sources of dollar strength. In addition, the surge in dollar funding costs in the interbank and FX swap markets provided price incentives for corporates to draw on non-dollar funding to pay down existing dollar debt. Finally, dollar asset writedowns left European banks and institutional investors outside the United States with overhedged dollar books. The squaring of their positions, which required dollar purchases, also boosted the currency.
Zinc-Regulated Biosynthesis of Immunodominant Antigens from Aspergillus spp

ABSTRACT ASPND1 and ASPF2 are immunodominant antigens from Aspergillus nidulans and A. fumigatus, respectively, that are readily synthesized in infections in the human host, as demonstrated by their reactivity with more than 80% of sera from patients with aspergilloma or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. We demonstrate here that both antigens are exclusively produced under situations of low bioavailability of free Zn2+. Addition of micromolar concentrations of Zn2+ to the culture medium strongly stimulated Aspergillus growth but totally inhibited ASPND1 or ASPF2 production. This effect was specific, since other divalent metals had no effect. Removal of endogenous Zn2+ by a chelator also stimulated ASPND1 production, and the effect was specifically reversed by Zn2+. These results suggest a possible role of these antigens in the survival of the fungus in the lungs.
Do reading processes differ in transparent versus opaque orthographies? A study of acquired dyslexia in Welsh/English bilinguals

In English, the relationship between the written and spoken forms of words is relatively opaque, leading to proposals that skilled reading requires two procedures: (a) a sublexical grapheme/phoneme conversion process allowing the correct reading of regular words (CAT) and new or pseudowords (ZAT); (b) a lexical process necessary to read irregular words accurately (TWO) and assumed to be the dominant process for familiar words. However, it has been argued that the sublexical process may be sufficient in highly transparent languages such as Welsh. If this is the case, damage to the sublexical process may lead to more severe deficits in transparent languages due to the lack of an alternative lexical process. To test this hypothesis, we compared Welsh and English oral reading and written-word recognition and comprehension in seven bilingual stroke participants with comparably impaired pseudoword reading in English and Welsh. Performance was remarkably similar across languages. Irrespective of the language tested, words were read more accurately than pseudowords. Lexical decision and word comprehension were as accurate in Welsh and in English, and when imageability effects were present they were of a similar size in both languages. This study does not support the hypothesis that orthographic transparency determines the nature of cognitive reading processes, but rather suggests that readers develop a sight vocabulary through reading experience irrespective of orthographic transparency.
Pengaruh Kualitas Pelayanan, Harga dan Nilai Pelanggan terhadap Kepuasan Pelanggan Pengguna Jasa Servis Bengkel Ahass 0002 Semarang Honda Center

effort to keep relationships among customers, service quality is the key to maintain customers and gi v e high value through customer ’s value. Customers will compare between the services quality provided a nd price which is charged for servicing. The customer s’ desired compatibility to the AHASS 0002 ’s will create customer satisfaction. This research aimed to find out the effect of service quality, price and customer value to customer satisfaction of AHASS 0002 Repair Shop Semarang Honda Center. The population in this research is the service customer users who served in AHASS 0002 Semarang Honda Center. The 100 respondents was taken as the research sample and the sampling technique used is the purposive sampling. Measurement scale using Likert scale. In data analysing using simple linear regression and multiple regression test helped with SPSS 16.00. Based on the results of data analysis, known that the service quality, price, and customer value has positive effect on customer satisfaction, either partially or simultaneously. Simultaneously, variable of service quality, price, and customer value affect on customer satisfaction at 69.5 percent. This means the better service quality, the suitable expected prices of the customers, the high value of customer, the high customer satisfaction.
Export Performance and Credit Constraints in China

We investigate how the export performance of firms in China is influenced by credit constraints. Using panel data from Chinese customs for 1997-2007, we show that credit constraints restrict international trade flows and affect the sectoral composition of firms’ activity. We confirm that credit constraints provide an advantage to Foreign-owned firms and joint ventures over private domestic firms as their export performance is systematically greater in sectors with higher levels of financial vulnerability measured in a variety of ways. We however find that financial sector liberalization has partially reduced these distortions in exports over the period.
Effect of angiotensin receptor blockade on insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in abdominally obese hypertensive patients with impaired fasting glucose.

AngII (angiotensin II) may contribute to cardiovascular risk in obesity via adverse effects on insulin sensitivity and endothelial function. In the present study, we examined the effects of ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker) therapy (losartan, 100 mg/day) on insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in 53 subjects with stage I hypertension, abdominal obesity and impaired fasting glucose. The study design was a randomized double-blinded parallel design placebo-controlled multi-centre trial of 8 weeks duration. We used the hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp technique to measure insulin sensitivity (expressed as the 'M/I' value) and RH-PAT (reactive hyperaemia-peripheral arterial tonometry) to measure endothelial function. Additional measures included HOMA (homoeostasis model assessment)-B, an index of pancreatic β-cell function, and markers of inflammation [e.g. CRP (C-reactive protein)] and oxidative stress (e.g. F2-isoprostanes). ARB therapy did not alter insulin sensitivity [5.2 (2.7) pre-treatment and 4.6 (1.6) post-treatment] compared with placebo therapy [6.1 (2.9) pre-treatment and 5.3 (2.7) post-treatment; P value not significant], but did improve the HOMA-B compared with placebo therapy (P=0.05). ARB therapy also did not change endothelial function [RH-PAT, 2.15 (0.7) pre-treatment and 2.11 (0.7) post-treatment] compared with placebo therapy [RH-PAT, 1.81 (0.5) pre-treatment and 1.76 (0.7) post-treatment; P value not significant]. Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were not significantly changed by ARB therapy. In conclusion, ARB therapy did not alter peripheral insulin sensitivity or endothelial function in this cohort of patients with essential hypertension, abdominal obesity and impaired fasting glucose, but did improve pancreatic β-cell function.
VALVULAR AND STRUCTURAL HEART DISEASES Original Studies Difference in Outcome Among Women and Men After Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty

Objective: To analyze the differences in anatomical, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of women and men undergoing PMV and to evaluate the relationship between sex, PMV success, and immediate and long-term clinical outcome. Background: Rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) is predominantly a disease of middle-aged women. Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) has become the standard of care for suitable patients. However little is known about the relationship between sex, PMV success, and procedural outcome. Methods and results: We evaluated measures of procedural success and clinical outcome in consecutive patients (839 women and 176 men) who underwent PMV. Despite a lower baseline echocardiographic score (7.476 2.15 vs. 8.026 2.18, P5 0.002), women were less likely to achieve PMV success (69% vs. 83%, adjusted OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.27–0.74, P 5 0.002), and had a smaller post-procedural MV area (1.866 0.7 vs. 2.076 0.7 cm, P < 0.001). Overall procedural and in-hospital complication rates did not differ significantly between women and men. However, women were significantly more likely to develop severe MR immediately post PMV (adjusted OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.0–5.83, P 5 0.05) and to undergo MV surgery (adjusted HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.03–2.3, P 5 0.037) after a median follow-up of 3.1 years. Conclusions: Compared to men, women with rheumatic MS who undergo PMV are less likely to have a successful outcome and more likely to require MV surgery on long-term follow-up despite more favorable baseline MVanatomy. VC 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The impact of governance and productivity on stock returns in European industrial companies

The target of our research is focused on the measurement of the impact of a Country Governance Index and of a Corporate Productivity Index on the total annual investment returns of stocks of a large sample of European Industrial Companies from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2008. The authors take into account an innovative database of observations of corporations belonging to a large number of European euro and not euro countries. In order to achieve this target, the paper juxtaposes the Fama and French (1992, 1993) three factors model, with the studies of Doidge et al. (2007) and Gompers et al. (2003), analyzing governance and the index suggested by Parhizgari and Aburachis (2003) in order to measure the impact of corporate productivity on stock returns. Empirical evidence suggests that the Country Governance Index is negatively correlated with the total annual investment return of stocks of the listed industrial companies of our sample, meanwhile the more productive firms are characterized by higher stock returns.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Lactoferrin plus health education versus total dose infusion (TDI) of low-molecular weight (LMW) iron dextran for treating iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial

We, the Editor and Publisher of the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, have retracted the following article: A. M. Darwish, H. A. Fouly, W. H. Saied & E. Farah (2019) Lactoferrin plus health education versus total dose infusion (TDI) of low-molecular weight (LMW) iron dextran for treating iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 32:13, 2214–2220, DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2018. 1429396. Since publication, significant concerns have been raised about the integrity of the data and the reported results in the article. Concerns have also been raised about unexplained overlap between this article and another study published previously (online in 2017) by the same corresponding author: A. M. Darwish, E. E. Khalifa, E. Rashad & E. Farghally (2019) Total dose iron dextran infusion versus oral iron for treating iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 32:3, 398–403, DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2017. 1379988. Specifically, these two studies contain 27 identical values in the baseline table and 38 identical values in the outcome tables. Upon query, the authors have not provided responses to our concerns or supplied their original data for review. As significant concerns about the integrity of the article remain, we are therefore retracting the article. The authors have been notified of the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.
An iodine record of Paleoproterozoic surface ocean oxygenation

Constraining oxygen levels in the early Precambrian surface ocean has been a longstanding goal, but efforts have been challenged by the availability of suitable proxies. Here we present a novel approach, iodine geochemistry, which broadens our perspective by providing constraints on shallow, carbonate-dominated marine settings. Iodate (IO 3 – ) persists exclusively in oxic waters and is the sole iodine species incorporated into carbonate minerals, allowing iodine-to-calcium ratios (I/Ca) in shallow carbonates to be used as a paleoredox indicator. Our data from a series of Mesoarchean through Paleoproterozoic carbonates deposited under shallow-marine conditions reveal a progressive surface ocean oxygenation in the early Paleoproterozoic. These data seem to indicate that a largely anoxic surface ocean extended throughout the Archean until the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) at ca. 2.4 Ga, implying that previous inferences of pre-GOE oxygen production may reflect oxygen oases, transient oxidation events, or oxygen levels below those required for IO 3 – accumulation. The data suggest formation and persistence of IO 3 – and, consequently, surface ocean oxygen concentrations of at least 1 μM during the GOE. Following the initial rise of oxygen, carbonate-associated iodine in globally extensive carbonate units deposited during the Lomagundi positive carbon isotope excursion at ca. 2.22–2.1 Ga suggests a widespread aerobic iodine cycle beyond that operating prior to the event, synchronous with high relative rates of organic carbon burial and apparent expansion of oxidative conditions.
Capital Gains Tax and Ex-Dividend Day Trading on the Jse Securities Exchange

Following the introduction of capital gains tax in South Africa, I examine the impact of the tax reform to test the null tax hypothesis that ex-day premiums and returns will not be affected by the reforms. I find that ex-day price drops are minimal and not related to dividends and that returns are very small. The evidence suggests that tax effects are not the main determinants of price behaviour on the exchange. I also examine ex-day volume behaviour to find evidence of short-term trading in the pre- and post-reform periods. I find evidence of analogous abnormal volumes in low and high yield securities but it appears more prevalent in low than high yield securities. Further analysis reveals a switch in preoccupation with low to high yield in the post-reform period. Overall, I find that short term trading is a factor in the JSE Securities Exchange and that evidence of tax effects in the spirit of tax clientele theory is not convincing but cannot rule out tax effects entirely.