Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of the Host Defense System in the Development of Cerebral Vasospasm: Analogies between Atherosclerosis and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Similar to atherosclerosis, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, a major growth factor for vascular smooth muscle cells, is produced in arterial walls to repair arteries after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). On review of a series of research articles that focus on defensive host responses to SAH, PDGF-BB is identified as a spasmogen, based on the following findings: (1) foreign substances injected into the subarachnoid space cause persistent constriction of cerebral arteries with a time course and histological features almost identical to those seen after SAH; (2) persistent constriction induced by SAH or a foreign substance is dependent on the complement system; (3) the complement system, which stimulates platelets, macrophages and endothelial cells to secrete PDGF-BB, is activated in both the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma immediately after SAH; (4) PDGF-BB levels in the CSF are significantly elevated in patients with delayed cerebral ischemia; (5) the immunodensity of PDGF-BB in the arterial walls correlates well with the severity of cerebral vasospasm; (6) intracisternal injection of PDGF-BB induces persistent constriction of cerebral arteries in a dose-dependent manner; (7) prolonged contact with blood clots promotes the contractile response of cerebral arteries to PDGF-BB, and (8) administration of an antagonist of PDGF-BB function suppresses the development of cerebral vasospasm.
Child Labour and the Global Financial Crisis: An Issues Paper

Recent years have seen a sustained progress in the fight against child labour. The current global economic and financial crisis can potentially reverse the positive trends observed in several countries and further aggravate the problem in regions such as Sub Saharan Africa where the phenomenon of child labour has been particularly resistant to policy and programmed measures. In this working paper author try to identify the main channels through which the global economic and financial crisis is likely to affect child labour and schooling decisions of households. Author will briefly discuss what they know and what they would need to know better in order to design adequate mitigation policies. As underlined above, the outcomes will largely depend on policy choices; therefore it is urgent to identify the main knowledge gaps and to establish a solid monitoring system.
Auditory nerve terminals in the cochlear nucleus magnocellularis: Differences between low and high frequencies

Primary auditory nerve fibers were labelled in the barn owl by localized horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injections into the cochlear nucleus angularis. They were followed to their terminal sites in the hearing organ (basilar papilla), confirming that they were auditory, and to the cochlear nucleus magnocellularis. The terminal sites of low‐frequency fibers within nucleus magnocellularis always included an area previously described as the lagenar part, i.e., an area receiving primary input which is probably only vestibular. Furthermore, a number of differences were recognized between these low‐frequency (up to 0.64 kHz) and the high‐frequency (1.8 kHz and above) auditory nerve projections to nucleus magnocellularis. Most importantly, the collaterals given off by low‐frequency fibers into the nucleus typically showed multiple terminal branching, with both en passant and terminal bouton‐like swellings. High‐frequency fiber collaterals, in contrast, terminated unbranched in a single endbulb of Held. Nucleus magnocellularis is the first station in a brainstem auditory pathway processing stimulus timing information, coded through neuronal phase locking. The prominent difference in terminal shape found between its low‐ and high‐frequency input fibers is interpreted as reflecting different requirements of the absolute temporal precision for significant phase locking. Terminals in the shape of endbulbs of Held are probably a specialization to improve the temporal precision of synaptic transmission, allowing phase locking to higher frequencies. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Synergy with Sales: Reexamining the Study of Personal Selling in Business Communication

For over a decade, personal selling has been identified as an important aspect of business communication (Carmichael, 1996). However, selling has received minimal attention from business communication scholars. With increasing demands for the development of sales education programs by industry constituents and students, personal selling is an attractive line of workplace communication for scholars in our field to engage. Observations and propositions for actionable steps toward generating personal selling research are explored for purposes of encouraging business communication scholars to reconsider personal selling as an important and complementary line of research.
Investigating the Drivers of Innovation and New Product Success: A Comparison of Strategic Orientations*

The notion of producing innovations and achieving new product success has received a great deal of attention. Though many have investigated these effects in marketing and various fields within management, there has been little cross-fertilization between fields of study to explain the basis for this superior performance. Though research has examined the resource-based view (RBV) and market orientation individually, none has evaluated and compared their effect on firm innovation and new product success in one study. Furthermore, although empirical work has been conducted between market orientation and organizational learning, comparatively less research has been conducted to evaluate the relationship between organizational learning and the RBV to examine their combined effects on a firm's ability to innovate and succeed. Subsequently, the purpose of the present article is to investigate whether a focus on the customer (i.e., market orientation) or the firm (i.e., RBV) will drive the ability to (1) innovate within the firm and (2) succeed in terms of new product success, financial performance, market share, and customer value. The present article examines the relationship between organizational learning and the RBV and market orientation. It presents an empirically testable framework that investigates the relationship that RBV and market orientation have with performance outcomes. Data were collected from 249 senior executives. LISREL was applied to evaluate the relationships. Confirmatory factor analysis and related techniques were applied to assess the robustness of the measures used. Findings show that organizational learning is strongly associated with market orientation, which in turn impacts various performance outcomes including customer value. The RBV had a significant relationship with new product success. These results suggest that managers seeking innovation and new product success should focus less on the provision of customer value. Instead they should look toward developing their resources within the firm, including investing in human resources, to ultimately provide value to the firm. Findings indicate that this unique offering—innovations—will have an indirect effect on customer value and financial performance. In contrast, those in pursuit of positive financial performance and customer value should focus on the development of market orientation. Even though this will not necessarily lead to the development of innovative processes and new product success according to the present study, this approach may lead to a greater market share in the long term. This article reviews theoretical and managerial implications in more depth, providing an impetus for further research.
Primary renal lymphoma: an unusual finding following radical nephrectomy

Secondary kidney involvement by disseminated non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is quite common and is estimated to approach 30 – 60% in NHL patients. However, primary renal lymphoma is exceedingly rare and estimated to make up less than 1% of all kidney masses. We report a case of primary renal NHL presenting with profound hypercalcemia and renal failure recalcitrant to medical management, ultimately treated with urgent radical nephrectomy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of primary renal lymphoma presenting in this acute fashion.
Return Forecast Models and Out-of-Sample Portfolio Optimization: Evidence for Industry Portfolios

Several studies suggest that prediction models better forecast stock returns than historical averages allowing for more efficient asset allocations and providing the investor with higher risk adjusted returns. While earlier studies mostly focus on predicting the U.S. equity market risk premium, we analyze the predictability of industry returns. We hypothesize that forecasting returns on industry level rather than on aggregate stock market level allows for superior asset allocation. Moreover, we add to the literature by extending the commonly tested dataset of predictive variables by additional macro variables, reflecting the business cycle and technical indicators using information on investor behavior. We analyze industry return forecasts in-sample and out-of-sample and analyze the economic benefits of industry level predictions in an asset allocation framework based on the Black-Litterman model. We first analyze the predictive power of individual variables using bivariate regressions and then examine multivariate predictive regression models including OLS, a regularization technique (LASSO), predictive regressions based on principal components, a target-relevant latent factor approach (3PRF), as well as forecast combinations. Our results suggest that return forecast models predict future returns better than historical averages for most industries. Moreover, our results indicate that asset allocations based on return predictions outperform asset allocations based on historical averages as well as passive equally weighted (1/N) portfolios. Most importantly using industry return predictions results in more efficient asset allocations providing higher risk adjusted returns to investors. Current Version: November 27, 2014
The Relevance of Accounting and Auditing Standards in Corporate Financial Reporting in Nigeria; Emphasis on Compliance

Accounting and auditing practices are regulated with standards worldwide. They have been developed over the years even though their history of development is of a shorter period than the accountancy profession self. The need for the development of accounting and auditing standards arose from the birth of joint stock companies in 1844, which was accompanied with separation of control and ownership. The separation requires that managers should report to the owners how they (managers) had faired with the stewardship and the resources entrusted into their hands on periodic basis. This resulted in divergent accounting system and published accounts. Unfortunately there were no defined accounting methods and standards for published accounts, as a result directors who managed the business manipulated accounts to suit their own personal interest. For instance, Mathews and Perera (1996:13) noted, most corporate officials took the view that so long as they acted in good faith, it was up to them what disclosure- to provide in financial statements. Hence the need arose to protect the interest of investors who could not take part in the day-to-day running of the business by regulating the accounting practices of these managers.
Customer service understanding: gender differences of frontline employees

Purpose – Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of employees to the success of service firms, research into how well frontline service staff understand service remains scarce. This study aims to investigate what constitutes good customer service from the viewpoint of frontline service employees and to explore gender differences in particular.Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from 876 frontline employees across a wide range of service industries. An automated text analysis using Leximancer explored general and gender‐specific patterns in employees' customer service understanding.Findings – Irrespective of gender, frontline service staff share the perception that the pillars of good customer service are listening skills, making the customer happy, and offering service. Males have a more functional, outcome‐oriented interpretation of customer service; females focus more on the actual service interaction and emotional outcomes.Practical implications – By acknowledging gender.
Alliances, R&D and Profitability of Software Firms

Like all digital products, software is fungible, has low marginal replication costs, and has a relatively high fixed cost of initial investment in development. As larger segments of economic goods become digitized, it is important to understand how software-producing firms can protect and leverage value from their R&D investments. We consider alliances as a mechanism for protecting and leveraging value from R&D investments in the software context. We use a panel of data on 464 firms in the software (IT-producing) industries, spanning the 14 year period from 1996 to 2009. We examine the economic returns to R&D as software firms form alliances with other IT-producing firms as well as with IT-consuming firms, i.e., firms in all other industries. Our findings yield insights into how IT-producing firms should position themselves within a network, through alliances with potential rivals (i.e., other IT-producing firms) or with potential clients (i.e., IT-consuming firms).
Business and IT Capabilities for Cloud Platform Success

The growing proliferation of cloud platform ecosystems demands a deeper understanding of the capabilities that help existing and emerging platform providers to be successful by creating and appropriating value. This multiple case study of four cloud platform providers (three large, one SME) instantiates Rai and Tang’s (2014) framework of dyadic IT and network IT capabilities for a cloud platform context and extends it by exploring previously undertheorized cloud platform business capabilities. We further build on this extended framework by employing a configurational perspective to elucidate the complementary role of the three proposed business capabilities (incentives and rules, ecosystem marketing and sales, partner development and support) for relevant value creation and appropriation mechanisms. In addition to providing a capability framework catered to the cloud platform context, our findings are summarized in a set of four propositions that jointly contribute to emerging cloud platform research in IS.
Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding

The internal marketing concept specifies that an organisation’s employees are its first market. Themes such as ‘internal advertising’ and ‘internal branding’ have recently entered the marketing lexicon. One component of internal marketing that is still underdeveloped is ‘employer branding’ and specifically ‘employer attractiveness’. Employer attractiveness is defined as the envisioned benefits that a potential employee sees in working for a specific organisation. It constitutes an important concept in knowledge-intensive contexts where attracting employees with superior skills and knowledge comprises a primary source of competitive advantage. In this paper, we identify and operationalise the components of employer attractiveness from the perspective of potential employees. Specifically we develop a scale for the measurement of employer attractiveness. Implications of the research are discussed, limitations noted and future research directions suggested.
Foreign Competition and Small-Firm Entry in US Manufacturing

In our increasingly globalized economy, the growth and profit prospects of domestic firms, especially small firms, seem clearly impacted by competitive pressures from foreign firms. This article analyzes annual data for 1989-1998 for 140 3-digit SIC manufacturing industries and for 1998-2004 for 86 4-digit NAICS industries on establishment -- plant-level -- births by small firms in several size categories. The major finding is that international pressures, in the form of import share weighted exchange rate appreciation, seem to lead to reduced rates of smallest-firm entry in manufacturing, though the magnitudes of these effects are smaller than sometimes discussed (and there is the suggestion that dollar appreciation may actually benefit small firm entry through access to cheaper inputs where the final product import threat is weak).
Integrating Graph Partition and Matching with Editing

Many computer vision tasks can be posed as either a graph part itioning (segmentation) problem or a graph matching (correspondence) problem. In this paper, we present an integrated solution for simultaneous graph partition and matching with graph editing. Our object ive is to find and match an unknown number of common graph structures (objects) in two images – a problem a rising in recent object recognition research, such as object categorization and unsupervised learning. U like previous segmentation and correspondence problems motivated by large motion or wide baseline stereo, the scenes and objects in the two images may have quite different appearance but share similar graphic s tru tures. Given two images, we first extract their primal sketches [11] as attributed graphs which repre sent both textures (by key points) and structures (by line segments and primitives). The points, line segment s, and primitives are vertices of the graphs. Both graphs are partitioned into K + 1 layers of subgraphs so that K pairs of subgraphs are matched and the remaining layer contains unmatched background. Eac h p ir of matched subgraphs represent a common object under geometric deformations and structural editing with graph operators. We design a data-driven Markov Chain Monte Carlo (DDMCMC) algorithm to explore the joint partition and matching space effectively. It has two iterative components: (i) A Sw endsen-Wang Cut component in the partition space that can flip, in each step, a chunk (connected componen t) of the graph where the vertices are often strongly coupled due to proximity and similar appeara nce; (ii) A Gibbs sampling step for matching some connected components to the other graph. To prune the ma tching space, we grow a number of vertices to form some connected components so that each conn e ted component has a small number of candidate matches. We apply the algorithm to a number of appl ications with comparison to the state of the art methods: (i) multi-object wide-baseline matching (und erlying both rigid and non-rigid motions) with occlusions , (ii) automatic detection and recognition of co mmon objects from templates, and (iii) human articulate motion analysis between images from a video sequ ence. Index Terms Graph Matching, Graph Partitioning, DDMCMC, Motion Analys is, Swendsen-Wang Cut. This manuscript is submitted to IEEE Trans. on PAMI. A short version was published in CVPR2007 [14]. email contacts: llin@lotushill.org, xbliu@lotushill.orgxbliu@lotushill.org, sczhu@stat.ucla. edu
THE IMPACT OF NEW REGULATIONS ON EARNINGS QUALITY AMONG MALAYSIAN FIRMS

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the establishment of the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) on audit effort and the effect of the introduction of provisions 317A and 320A of the Capital Markets and Services Act (CMSA) and earnings management. Specifically, it is argued that the monitoring role of the AOB leads to auditors being more rigorous in conducting audits so as to achieve high compliance with auditing standards. Thus, auditors have to put in more effort, which requires them to increase audit fees to compensate the increase in hours spent on an engagement. This study hypothesizes that an increase in audit effort should mitigate earnings management due to consequent higher detection of earnings management. As for Sections 317A and 320A of the CMSA, the objective is to ensure the independent directors are more effective in discharging their monitoring roles. It is also hypothesized that the level of earnings management should be reduced as a result of the more effective monitoring by independent boards of directors and audit committees. The data sample comprises 2,124 observations collected from the annual reports of 708 firms for three years from 2009–2011, which covers the periods before and after the establishment of the AOB. The results indicate that there is an increase in audit effort from pre- to post-AOB. This suggests that the monitoring role of the AOB makes auditors more proper in carrying out the audit process and in collating supporting documentation. The regression analyses reveal the role of board independence in reducing earnings management after the new regime was enforced. This study contributes to the corporate governance literature by examining the effect on financial reporting quality after the changes in rules and legislation, especially in respect of the audit regulatory system with the establishment of the AOB and the issuance of Sections 317A and 320A of the CMSA.
SIMULATION COMPARISON OF EVAPORATIVE PADS AND FOGGING ON AIR TEMPERATURES INSIDE A GROWING SWINE BUILDING

Evaporative pads and fogging were compared with regards to resulting air temperatures inside a growing swine building and reduction of apparent growing swine heat stress. Four strategies were studied via simulation, namely: strategy ‘a’ = no cooling, strategy ‘b’ = use of evaporative pads, strategy ‘c’ = use of fogging with the same amount of water evaporating as within the evaporative pads, and strategy ‘d’ = use of fogging with the necessary water evaporating so as to result in the same intensity of heat stress as strategy ‘b’. Indices such as the THI, the number of hours that the THI was above 85, and the duration and intensity of heat stress were used. Among all, strategy ‘b’ was considered the most effective, because it resulted in smaller daily inside dry-bulb temperature variation, maximum reduction of apparent heat stress intensity, and lower total consumption of water.
The treatment of acute obstruction or perforation with carcinoma of the colon and rectum

THE surgical treatment of uncomplicated carcinoma in various segments of the colon is now fairly stereotyped and the immediate and late results obtained are often excellent. The position is quite different with colonic growths complicated by the occurrence of acute obstruction or perforation, for there is as yet no complete unanimity of opinion regarding their treatment ; the mortality following operation remains disappointingly high despite the present-day ancil-laries of surgery