Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can Takeover Targets be Identified by Statistical Techniques?: Some UK Evidence

Summary. This paper examines the proposition that takeover targets may be forecasted by using similar methods as bankruptcy prediction which has been very successful in both the USA and the UK. The study shows that they cannot be predicted simply by using published accounting data as inputs into these models. It also examines the possibility of combining such data with anticipatory share price changes, which are also publicly available information, but this did not improve the predictive accuracy. These results support the efficient capital market hypothesis in the semi-strong form-that the market may not be beaten by using publicly available information alone. The fact that there are anticipatory price changes suggests that the market may not be efficient in the strong form.
Leadership behaviour and employee engagement: a Kuwaiti services company

This paper examines the impact of three types of leadership behaviour on work engagement within a Kuwaiti services company. Quantitative methodology, through a survey, was utilised to gather data from 231 participants. The results indicated a significant but small positive relationship between both transactional and transformational leadership behaviours and work engagement, and a significant negative relation between laissez-faire leadership behaviour and work engagement. These interesting results appear to reflect a transnational organisational culture, characterised by shorter-term employment and commitment by managers, whose leadership behaviours are conditioned by their relationship to the ‘employer’ culture and their rewards expectations.
Psychological biases and the capital structure decisions: a literature review

Each decision-making process is an important cognitive and emotional process which is open to the emotional effect. Individuals decide to make a decision about a future uncertainty that makes them feel good, or maximally good by minimizing the loss to gain ratio. Recent researches in finance have argued that the capital structure decisions and firms’ funding and strategic choices deviate from the traditional neoclassical paradigm. However there is a nascent empirical literature that has exposed interesting evidence of the effects of managerial behavioral biases. In this context, managers’ decisions, that to create the capital structure, have a vital importance for the company. The behavioral finance (BF) approach may be revealed useful results in the process of solving decision-makers’ behaviors and thoughts. In this context the purpose of this study is to reveal if the managers are affected by their behavioral characteristics in the process of the financing decision-making, based on the findings of studies in the literature. From this point of view behavioral finance literature, which is about the financing and capital structure decisions, is investigated. As a result, theoretical and empirical analyses, in the literature, show that managers’ biases play an important role to explain the capital structure choice.
On an integral operator on the unit ball in

Let denote the space of all holomorphic functions on the unit ball. In this paper, we investigate the integral operator,,, where and is the radial derivative of. The operator can be considered as an extension of the Cesàro operator on the unit disk. The boundedness of the operator on-Bloch spaces is considered.
Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 in Tunisian children.

BACKGROUND Primary hyperoxaliuria type 1 is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by increasing urinary excretion of calcium oxalate, recurrent urolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, and accumulation of insoluble oxalate throughout the body. This inborn error of metabolism appears to be a common cause of end stage renal disease in Tunisia. AIMS To review the clinical, biological and radiological futures of primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and to correlate these aspects with the development of end-stage renal disease. METHODS we retrospectively reviewed 44 children with Primary hyperoxaliuria type I who were treated in our department during a period of 15 years between 1995 and 2009. The diagnosis was established by quantitative urinary oxalate excretion. In patient with renal impairment, the diagnosis was made by infrared spectroscopy of stone or by renal biopsy. RESULTS Male to female ratio was 1.2. The median age at diagnosis was 5.75 years. About 43 % of those were diagnosed before the age of 5 years. Initial symptoms were dominated by uraemia. Four patients were asymptomatic and diagnosed by sibling screening of known patients. Nephrocalcinosis was present in all patients. It is cortical in 34%, medullary in 32% and global in 34%. At diagnosis, twelve children were in end-stage renal disease (27%). Pyridoxine response, which is defined by a reduction in urine oxalate excretion of 60% or more, was found in 27%. CONCLUSION In the majority of patients, the clinical expression of Primary hyperoxaliuria type 1 is characterized by nephrocalcinosis, urolithiasis and renal failure. Pyridoxine sensitivity is associated with better outcome.
Entrepreneurship as an Urban Event? Empirical Evidence from European Cities

Bosma N. and Sternberg R. Entrepreneurship as an urban event? Empirical evidence from European cities, Regional Studies. This paper investigates whether urban areas are more entrepreneurial than other parts of countries and to what extent the observed differences between cities are caused by individual characteristics and context effects. Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data from 47 urban areas in 22 European Union member states, it is found that in particular opportunity-motivated (instead of necessity-motivated) entrepreneurship tends to be higher in urban areas. Adopting a multilevel framework focusing on 23 urban areas in 12 European Union countries, it is found that urban regions with high levels of economic growth and diversity of economic activities exhibit higher levels of opportunity-motivated entrepreneurial activity than their counterparts.
Franchising – multifaceted form of entrepreneurship

The present study takes an entrepreneurship viewpoint toward franchising. To create a theoretical framework, past franchising literature was reviewed and prior studies considering franchising as entrepreneurial activity were analysed. The literature analysis showed that prior franchising studies have rarely regarded franchising as a form of entrepreneurship. Likewise, theories explaining the birth, growth and survival of franchising are rather distant from entrepreneurship. However, recent franchising enquiries have taken an approach that comes closer to entrepreneurship. Franchising is a rapidly growing form of business in several countries around the world. This increasing importance in the global economy demands further scholarly research into the phenomenon.
Gendered Activism

Despite an established tradition of comparative research that focuses on gender differences in the amount of protest, relatively little cross-national research examines gender differences in the kinds of protest. This study examines gender differences in types of protest using data from seven advanced capitalist democracies in the 1994–2004 waves of the World Values Surveys. Multinomial logistic regression models indicate that while men and women have similar levels of protest activity, there are gender differences in the forms of protest in which they participate. Specifically, women are more likely than men to engage in nonconfrontational activities. By contrast, men are more likely to be involved with forms of activism that involve confrontational activities. The results also suggest gender ideology plays a crucial role in creating the conditions that foster gendered forms of activism. In egalitarian contexts, women are more likely than men to participate in a wide array of protest activities. Evidence of gendered activism reinforces the argument that gender organizes protest politics in ways that undermine political equality.
Modelling information use, image, and perceived risk with intentions to travel to East Asia

This research empirically tested a tourism behaviour model explaining tourists' intentions to vacation for the first time in selected countries extending image research by Baloglu and McCleary [(1999). U.S. international pleasure travelers’ images of four Mediterranean destinations: A comparison of visitors and nonvisitors. Journal of Travel Research, 38(2), 144–152; A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4), 868–897] and more recently Kaplanidou and Vogt [(2007). The interrelationship between sport event and destination image and sport tourists’ behaviors. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12(3–4), 183–206]. Key factors that remain untested in modelling international travel propensity were identified as: information sources, cognitive and affective destination image, and perceived risk. On-site surveys were conducted in two US metropolitan areas with a purposive convenience sample. Data were analysed with structural equation modelling for three destination countries (China, Japan, and South Korea) so that positioning strategies were illustrated through empirical evidence. Modelling results supported previous research showing that stronger positive cognitive and affective destination images and lower perceived risks for vacationing in a destination positively influenced intentions to travel to the countries of interest. Of greater interest are findings on information usage influencing cognitively held images, particularly cultural experiences, but information use was found not to directly influence the affective component of image. Intent to travel to each of the three countries was heightened by different factors – for China it was affective image, for Japan cognitive image, and South Korea a reduction in perceived risks. Destination marketers can use this model to understand the use of information sources, in general or specific types, to influence cognitive images held and perceived risks associated with a foreign country, and to ultimately modify affective image and intent to visit a destination for the potential first-time visitors.
Characterization of type IV pilus genes in plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas putida WCS358

In a search for factors that could contribute to the ability of the plant growth-stimulating Pseudomonas putida WCS358 to colonize plant roots, the organism was analyzed for the presence of genes required for pilus biosynthesis. The pilD gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which has also been designated xcpA, is involved in protein secretion and in the biogenesis of type IV pili. It encodes a peptidase that processes the precursors of the pilin subunits and of several components of the secretion apparatus. Prepilin processing activity could be demonstrated in P. putida WCS358, suggesting that this nonpathogenic strain may contain type IV pili as well. A DNA fragment containing the pilD (xcpA) gene of P. putida was cloned and found to complement a pilD (xcpA) mutation in P. aeruginosa. Nucleotide sequencing revealed, next to the pilD (xcpA) gene, the presence of two additional genes, pilA and pilC, that are highly homologous to genes involved in the biogenesis of type IV pili. The pilA gene encodes the pilin subunit, and pilC is an accessory gene, required for the assembly of the subunits into pili. In comparison with the pil gene cluster in P. aeruginosa, a gene homologous to pilB is lacking in the P. putida gene cluster. Pili were not detected on the cell surface of P. putida itself, not even when pilA was expressed from the tac promoter on a plasmid, indicating that not all the genes required for pilus biogenesis were expressed under the conditions tested. Expression of pilA of P. putida in P. aeruginosa resulted in the production of pili containing P. putida PilA subunits.
Asset poverty in Korea: Levels and composition based on Wolff's definition

Kim K-S, Kim YM. Asset poverty in Korea: levels and composition based on Wolff's definition The main purpose of the study was to lay the groundwork for establishing a more effective asset-building policy through accurate measurement and analysis of the level and composition of the asset-poor Korean population. We defined four asset poverty lines according to the concepts of basic needs, limited period of time and wealth-type resources from Wolff's operational definition. The size of the Korean asset-poor population, when considered from the perspectives of net assets and liquid assets, was found to remain around 12.7–13.2 and 32.8–36.5 per cent respectively. This study suggests that it is necessary to establish a differentiated asset-building policy by age group and to prepare more realistic alternatives to solve housing problems, while empirically verifying the need for an accurate asset poverty line which reflects the definition of asset poverty.
Psychological Similarities and Differences between Women and Men across Cultures

Most research looking at psychological similarities and differences between women and men has been carried out in North America and Western Europe. In this paper, I review a body of cross-cultural evidence showing that it is precisely in these Western countries that women and men differ the most in terms of personality, self-construal, values, or emotions. Much less-pronounced gender differences are observed, if at all, in Asian and African countries. These findings are unexpected from the perspectives of the two most influential frameworks applied to sex differences coming from evolutionary psychology and social role theory. However, recent research related to social comparison and self-categorization theories suggests a promising approach to explain why more egalitarian societies can paradoxically create greater psychological differences between women and men.
Case Studies of Four Teachers: The Openness of the Tasks They Implement, the Adaptations They Make, and the Rationales They Offer for Adapting

Research has demonstrated that open literacy tasks--assignments that are authentic, collaborative, challenging, student-directed, and sustained--are beneficial for students' motivation and learning. Researchers contend that teachers must be adaptive when using open instruction. However, little research has examined the relationship between tasks and adaptations. Researchers have further suggested adaptive teaching is a characteristic of effective literacy teachers, and many teacher educators advocate adaptive instruction in teacher preparation programs. Nevertheless, little research has examined how or why teachers adapt their instruction. Therefore, this study examines the openness of the tasks teachers implemented, the adaptations they made, the rationales they offered for adapting, and the relationships among these phenomena. I used collective case studies to examine four third-grade teachers' instruction. I observed these teachers' literacy instruction to identify tasks and adaptations and conducted post-lesson interviews to ascertain teachers' rationales for adapting. The openness of the task was rated using a rubric. Adaptations and rationales were coded to categorize how and why teachers adapted. I used a rubric to rate the thoughtfulness of both adaptations and rationales. Through this research I found statistically significant differences in the openness of the tasks teachers implemented and in the thoughtfulness of their adaptations and rationales across closed, moderately open, and open tasks. Teachers adapted more when using open tasks, and adaptations as well as rationales were more thoughtful when teachers used open tasks. Implications for theory, practice, policy, and future research are discussed.
The Perversity of Preferences: The Generalized System of Preferences and Developing Country Trade Policies, 1976-2000

Industrial countries maintain special tariff preferences, namely the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), for imports from developing countries. Critics have highlighted the underachieving nature of such preferences, but developing countries continue to place the GSP at the heart of their agenda in multilateral negotiations. What effect do such preferences have on a recipient's own trade policies? Ozden and Reinhardt develop and test a simple theoretical model of a small country's trade policy choice, using a dataset of 154 developing countries from 1976 through 2000. They find that countries removed from the GSP adopt more liberal trade policies than those remaining eligible. The results, corrected for endogeneity and robust to numerous alternative measures of trade policy, suggest that developing countries may be best served by full integration into the reciprocity-based world trade regime rather than continued GSP-style special preferences. This paper - a product of Trade, Development Research Group - is part of a arger effort in the group to study global trade regimes.
Incubation Push or Business Pull? Investigating the Geography of U.S. Business Incubators

The primary purposes of this article are to present new data on the geographic distribution of U.S. business incubators and to explore the geographically bounded factors that influence the location of business incubators. The authors’ data show that U.S. business incubators are unevenly distributed across urban/rural divisions, states, and counties. Factor analysis identifies three common factors from 28 demographic, social, and economic variables drawn from publicly available data at the county level. These factors include agglomeration, welfare, and business/entrepreneurship. The results of binomial logistic regressions suggest that incubators are more likely to be found in counties with high levels of agglomeration but low levels of existing business development. Our findings suggest support for the incubation push hypothesis over the business pull hypothesis on the location of business incubators based on the regional configuration of incubator presence.
The anatomy of an angel investing network: Tech Coast Angels

This paper describes the Tech Coast Angels, an alliance of three angel networks in California. The investment process is described. Companies complete an online application. These are pre-screened by small groups of members with appropriate experience. The best applications go forward to an 'all hands' screening meeting. Any company which attracts an investor champion is then subject to detailed due diligence. Due diligence reports are made available to all members on the website. Once a term-sheet has been negotiated by the due diligence team and one member has agreed to invest, the company may present to a monthly investment meeting. Investment meetings in the three networks are scheduled on consecutive nights monthly, allowing qualified companies to present over 200 TCA members in one week.
Business and Cultural Aspects of Psychic Distance and Complementarity of Capabilities in Export Relationships

Psychic distance is a key element in the field of international marketing. Unfortunately, the literature exhibits a lack of consistency with respect to its effects. To help increase understanding of the influence of psychic distance, the authors investigate business and cultural psychic distance as separate constructs. They develop a model in which an export manager's business and cultural psychic distance influences the structuring of the export relationship (i.e., whether it has complementarity of capabilities) and explore whether business and cultural psychic distance enhances or dampens the leveraging of complementary capabilities to increase an export manager's satisfaction with export performance. The results, based on a survey of 151 U.S. export managers, indicate that when export managers perceive greater business psychic distance, they select export partners with fewer complementary capabilities. Although more complementarity of capabilities results in greater satisfaction with export performance, this relationship is moderated by psychic distance. Specifically, greater cultural psychic distance enhances the positive influence of partner complementarity of capabilities on satisfaction with export performance, whereas greater business psychic distance dampens the positive influence of partner complementarity of capabilities on satisfaction with export performance.
Resetting of circadian melatonin and cortisol rhythms in humans by ordinary room light

THE present study was designed to investigate whether a weak photic stimulus can reset the endogenous circa- dian rhythms of plasma melatonin and plasma cortisol in human subjects. A stimulus consisting of three cycles of 5 h exposures to ordinary room light (∼180 lux), centered 1.5 h after the endogenous temperature nadir, significantly phase-advanced the plasma melatonin rhythm in eight healthy young men compared with the phase delays observed in eight control subjects who underwent the same protocol but were exposed to darkness (p ≤ 0.003). After light-induced phase advances, the circadian rhythms of plasma melatonin and plasma cortisol maintained stable temporal relationships with the endogenous core body temperature cycle, consistent with the conclusion that exposure to ordinary indoor room light had shifted a master circadian pacemaker.
Sequencing and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Gloydius saxatilis (Squamata: Viperidae: Crotalinae)

Abstract The mitochondrial genome sequence of Gloydius saxatilis is analyzed and presented for the public for the first time. The genome was 17,218 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and 2 control regions. The overall base composition was A (32.3%), C (28.9%), T (25.8%), and G (13.0%). The base compositions presented clearly the A-C skew, which was most obviously in the protein-coding genes. The extended termination-associated sequence domain, the central conserved domain and the conserved sequence block domain are defined in the mitochondrial genome control region of G. saxatilis. Mitochondrial genomes analyses based on MP, ML, NJ and Bayesian analyses yielded identical phylogenetic trees, indicating a close phylogenetic affinity of the thirteen Crotalinae species. It appeared that no less than two major phyletic lineages were present in Crotalinae. The main clades within the Crotalinae supported are: A clade including the Protobothrops. A clade (G. brevicaudus, G. ussuriensis, G. intermedius, G. saxatilis) with the Ovophis as the sister taxon to Protobothrops and was supported by bootstrap values of 88%. The four Gloydius species formed a paraphyletic group with the high bootstrap value (100%) in all examinations.
Direct interaction of the Polycomb protein with Antennapedia regulatory sequences in polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster.

The Polycomb (Pc) gene is responsible for the elaboration and maintenance of the expression pattern of the homeotic genes during development of Drosophila. In mutant Pc‐ embryos, homeotic transcripts are ectopically expressed, leading to abdominal transformations in all segments. From this it was suggested that PC+ acts as a repressor of homeotic gene transcription. We have mapped the cis‐acting control sequences of the homeotic Antennapedia (Antp) gene regulated by Pc. Using Antp P1 and P2 promoter fragments linked to the E. coli lacZ reporter gene we show different expression patterns of beta‐galactosidase (beta‐gal) in transformed Pc+ and Pc‐ embryos. In addition we are able to visualize by immunocytochemical techniques on polytene chromosomes the direct binding of the Pc protein to the transposed cis‐regulatory promoter fragments. However, short Antp P1 promoter constructs which are–due to position effects–ectopically activated in salivary glands, do not reveal a Pc binding signal.