Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do IFRS adoption, financial analysts and earnings quality affect the informativeness of stock price?Evidence from the UK

This thesis consists of two studies. The first study examines whether the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) affects stock price informativeness, as measured by the extent to which firm-specific information is capitalised into the stock price. Using a sample of 6,367 firm-year observations from 970 publicly listed UK firms during the period from 1990 to 2013, the results show that the mandatory adoption of IFRS does make the stock price more informative. In particular, the results suggest a significant negative relationship between IFRS adoption and the stock price synchronicity. This indicates that the increased transparency following the mandatory adoption of IFRS facilitates the incorporation of firm-specific information into the stock price, leading to more informative stock prices. In this study, the effect of financial analysts’ activities on the relationship between IFRS adoption and stock price informativeness is also considered. The regressions results show that, within the IFRS adopters, the firms followed by a higher number of financial analysts have a higher stock price synchronicity than those followed by a lower number of financial analysts, suggesting that the IFRS adoption increases financial analysts’ ability to incorporate market-wide and industry-wide information into the stock price. Furthermore, these results indicate that the financial analysts’ activities attenuate the synchronicity-reducing effect of mandatory IFRS adoption. The second study, examines the effect of earnings quality on the informativeness of the stock price, using a sample of 5,214 firm-year observations, collected from 880 UK firms for the period from 1994 to 2013. The findings suggest that higher earnings quality encourages the investors to collect and process more firm-specific information, which in turn facilitates the incorporation of this information into the stock price, leading to less synchronous and more informative stock price. In addition, the effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on the relationship between earnings quality and stock price informativeness is examined. Contrary to expectations, the results suggest that the mandatory adoption of IFRS does not have a significant impact on the relationship between earnings quality and stock price informativeness.
Sound propagation in colloidal systems

We study the propagation of sound in complex colloidal systems. By combining Brillouin scattering with ultrasonic techniques, we measure the dispersion in the acoustic propagation over three decades in frequency. Acoustic propagation is sensitive to the bulk compressibility of the medium, and probes new structural and dynamic properties of the colloidal system. We study two colloidal systems. The first is a system of inverted micelles or microemulsions, where the droplet size is significantly smaller than the wavelength of the sound. By measuring the dispersion of the sound velocity as a function of droplet volume fraction, we identify an increased rigidity of the system at high frequencies. The increase in the modulus scales as (O-O C ) τ , where O is the volume fraction of droplets and O C is a critical volume fraction. This is consistent with rigidity percolation. The second system we study consists of a suspension of hard sphere colloids whose diameter is comparable to the wavelength of sound. We measured the dispersion curve for the phonons in this system at different volume fractions of spheres. A new acoustic excitation is found when the wavelength of the sound is comparable to the sphere diameter. This acoustic excitation possesses unusual properties and is attributed to a surface excitation that can propagate coherently between adjacent spheres
Clinical aspects of the MASA syndrome in a large family, including expressing females

We have evaluated, both clinically and by linkage analysis, a large family with 22 known affected males with the MASA syndrome (McKusick 303300). Clinical findings varied widely amongst the affected family members, with some appearing initially to have the MASA syndrome and others to have X‐linked hydrocephalus (HSAS) (McKusick 307000). Important findings included the presence of adducted thumbs in two obligate carriers, learning problems or mild mental retardation in three females, two of whom were obligate carriers, and hydrocephalus with neonatal death in three females born to obligate carriers. X‐inactivation analysis in lymphocytes from the two women with adducted thumbs revealed preferential inactivation of one X chromosome, suggesting that nonrandom X‐inactivation may be responsible for clinical expression in females. The presence of HSAS in some individuals of this family and the MASA syndrome in others further supports the hypothesis that these two conditions are the result of a mutation in the same gene.
An Examination of Leader-Member Exchange and Job Embeddedness of High Performing Development Officers in Higher Education

Private giving to higher education has increased every year since 2010 and the need for private support has been steadily increasing as cuts to state appropriations have become the norm. Increasing tuition has become highly scrutinized and higher education institutions are favoring private support to solve the gap in funding. The average tenure for a development officer stays in their job is roughly 16 months. Development positions are becoming more crucial for the financial success of a higher education institution and keeping talented development personnel is an increasingly important challenge. In this study, high performing development officers from around the country were interviewed about their relationships with their current and former supervisors and the development officers shared the factors that have led to them staying with their institution. The findings of this study can help leaders in university advancement settings better understand the effects of exchange relationships on employee engagement and the factors that high performing development officers take into consideration when gauging their satisfaction with their position and organization. In this study, the researcher found that individualized career paths are necessary for the engagement and long-term satisfaction of development officers. Additionally, management should work alongside development officers in the goal-setting and evaluation processes and learn more about the personal and professional factors their high performers are using to determine their career paths. This paper highlights the various factors that can affect a development officer’s level of satisfaction in their role and at their organization.
Robust fuzzy PSS design using ABC

This paper presents an Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm to tune optimal rule-base of a Fuzzy Power System Stabilizer (FPSS) which leads to damp low frequency oscillation following disturbances in power systems. Thus, extraction of an appropriate set of rules or selection of an optimal set of rules from the set of possible rules is an important and essential step toward the design of any successful fuzzy logic controller. Consequently, in this paper, an ABC based rule generation method is proposed for automated fuzzy PSS design to improve power system stability and reduce the design effort. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on a 3-machine 9-bus standard power system in comparison with the Genetic Algorithm based tuned FPSS under different loading condition through ITAE performance indices.
Spectral-estimation-based acquisition for frequency-hopping spread-spectrum communications in a nonfading or Rayleigh-fading channel

Acquisition of frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FH/SS) signals based on autoregressive spectral estimation is addressed for nonfading and Rayleigh-fading channels. The hopped frequency is synthesized using a linear feedback shift register (LFSR). The most significant bit (MSB) of the frequency estimate is loaded into the LFSR. A new acquisition logic is devised for the acquisition scheme that employs the autoregressive spectral-estimation acquisition technique (ASEAT). To characterize the statistical distributions of the frequency estimation error, the truncated Gaussian and uniform distributions are considered. The probability of the MSB error and the mean acquisition time of the acquisition logic are derived. For the ASEAT with the acquisition logic, the acquisition scheme that uses multiple antennas is also addressed. Numerical results for the probability of the MSB error and the corresponding mean acquisition time are illustrated for the performance evaluation of both cases.
Performance analysis of supply chain on saroo model shoes products using SCOR model

The purpose of this study was to measure the performance of Supply Chain Management in a company engaged in the shoe industry. Shoe model which is used as object in this research is model of Sarro which is model of shoes which most in demand by consumer. The method of measuring the performance of Supply Chain Management used in this research is SCOR (Supply Chain Operation Reference) method which can integrate three main elements in management that is business process reengineering, benchmarking and measurement process. The result of this is to evaluate the performance of Supply Chain Management network on the company to three important components which become the main basis of assessment on SCOR method so that this will have implication to strategy that can be done by company in order to increase sales of shoes product so that can compete in market.
Induction of the Early Growth Response 1 Gene by Epstein-Barr Virus Lytic Transactivator Zta

ABSTRACT Early growth response 1 (Egr-1) is a cellular transcription factor involved in diverse biologic functions. Egr-1 has been associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, but it is still unknown whether any EBV protein regulates Egr-1 expression. In this study, we first showed that EBV reactivation is involved in upregulation of Egr-1 and that Egr-1 can be induced by Zta, an EBV lytic transactivator. Zta not only binds to the Egr-1 promoter but also activates the ERK signaling pathway to trigger binding of Elk-1 to the Egr-1 promoter. In addition, knockdown of Egr-1 significantly reduces the spontaneous expression of Zta and Rta in EBV-infected 293 cells, suggesting that a positive-feedback network involving Egr-1 is required for EBV reactivation. This study also implies that Zta has the potential to affect expression of certain genes through Egr-1.
bFGF and JAGGED1 regulate alkaline phosphatase expression and mineralization in dental tissue‐derived mesenchymal stem cells

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and Notch signaling play critical roles in various cell behaviors. Here, we investigated the influence of bFGF and Notch signaling in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression and mineralization process in human periodontal ligament‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (PDLSCs) and stem cells isolated from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs). PDLSCs and SHEDs were cultured in osteogenic medium supplemented with bFGF or on the immobilized Notch ligands, JAGGED1. The ALP mRNA and protein expression were measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and enzymatic activity assay, respectively. Mineral deposition was determined using alizarin red S staining. The results showed that the addition of bFGF resulted in the decrease of ALP mRNA expression and enzymatic activity. In addition, the attenuation of mineralization was noted. These phenomenons were blocked by the addition of a fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitor (SU5402) or a MEK inhibitor (PD98059). Interestingly, bFGF supplementation also decreased the Notch signaling component mRNA levels. Thus, to evaluate effect of Notch signaling in mineralization process, PDLSCs and SHEDs were exposed to JAGGED1 modified surface. The ALP mRNA and protein expression were significantly upregulated and the mineral deposition was markedly increased. These results could be reversed by the addition of a γ‐secretase inhibitor. In addition, bFGF could attenuate the Notch‐signaling‐induced mineralization in both PDLSCs and SHEDs. These results suggest that mineralization was enhanced by Notch signaling but attenuated by bFGF signaling. This knowledge can be further utilized to control PDLSCs and SHEDs mineralization for tissue regeneration purpose. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 2551–2561, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Exploring the Relationship between Family Social Capital and Utilization of Well Child Preventative Health Care Services

Background: Passage of the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 increased insurance coverage for children, however possession of health care insurance doesn’t always equate to effective use of health care services. Misuse and underutilization of health care homes is associated with higher costs, fragmentation of health care, and poor health outcomes across the lifespan. Along with reliance upon the health care system, child health and well-being are dependent upon social factors such as interactions with caregivers and communities. Family social capital (FSC) addresses the interrelated nature of child health and family interaction while also promoting family cohesion as currency to stimulate wellness. While high levels of social capital correlate with improved health outcomes including physical health, longer life expectancy, and psychosocial well-being; little is known about the impact of family social capital upon child health care utilization. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between family social capital and utilization of preventative well-child health care services within a sample of cases of healthy children aged 0-5 years old from the California data within the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) 2016.
Gabapentin Normalizes Spinal Neuronal Responses That Correlate with Behavior in a Rat Model of Cancer-induced Bone Pain

Background: Cancer-induced bone pain is a major clinical problem for which current treatments lack full efficacy. Gabapentin is licensed for use in neuropathic pain yet is also effective against inflammatory stimuli in animals. Methods: A rat model of cancer-induced bone pain using the MRMT-1 cell line injected into the tibia was established to investigate the efficacy of acute (10, 30, 100 mg/kg) and chronic (30 mg/kg) systemic gabapentin on electrophysiological superficial dorsal horn neuronal responses to natural and noxious electrical stimuli, as well as on pain-related behavior. Results: In electrophysiological studies gabapentin worked both acutely (100 mg/kg) and chronically (30 mg/kg) to normalize the hyperexcitable superficial dorsal horn neuronal response, significantly reducing electrical-evoked and mechanical-evoked but not thermal-evoked responses. The behavioral study showed that chronic gabapentin (30 mg/kg) significantly attenuated pain behavior in MRMT-1 rats, restoring responses to preoperative baseline degrees, and that this attenuation was accompanied by a reversion to normal (non-MRMT-1) wide-dynamic-range: nociceptive specific superficial dorsal horn neuronal profiles. Conclusions: Pain-related behavior in this rat model of cancer-induced bone pain is strongly linked to hyperexcitability of a population of superficial dorsal horn neurones. Gabapentin normalizes the cancer-induced bone pain induced dorsal horn neuronal changes and attenuates pain behavior. It may therefore provide a novel clinical treatment for cancer-induced bone pain.
Subcellular localization of S100A11 (S100C) in LLC‐PK1 renal cells: Calcium‐ and protein kinase c–dependent association of S100A11 with S100B and vimentin intermediate filaments

The subcellular localization of the Ca2+‐modulated protein, S100A11, was investigated in the renal cell line LLC‐PK1 by immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy under varying experimental conditions. In control cells, S100A11 was detected on the plasma membrane, where the protein co‐localized with annexin I (ANXA1) at discrete sites, and found diffusely in the cytoplasm. Elevation of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration by means of the Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin, caused a significant fraction of S100A11 to associate with vimentin intermediate filament (IF)‐bound S100B, another member of the S100 protein family. Under these conditions, ANXA1 underwent a quite different kind of relocation. Translocation of S100A11 onto vimentin IF‐bound S100B was also observed upon activation of protein kinase C (PKC). Under these conditions, S100A11 appeared to associate directly with vimentin IFs at cell sites displaying low or no abundance of S100B such as cell processes, and, again, S100A11 and ANXA1 underwent a different relocation. Our data suggest the possibility that the intracellular Ca2+ level might regulate the subcellular localization of S100A11 and its interaction with definite target proteins, and that S100A11 might serve the function of modulating S100B activities. Interestingly, in spite of the known ability of S100A11 to form heterotetramers with ANXA1, the two proteins underwent a different relocation on elevation of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration or activation of PKC, pointing to different regulatory activities of individual proteins in renal cells. Microsc. Res. Tech. 60:639–651, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Determination of Vitamin C in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Using the Dye-titration and Microfluorometric Methods

The vitamin C content of 19 types of fresh fruits and 24 vegetables was determined by the official AOAC methods of dye-titration and microfluorometry. As expected, values obtained by the latter method, which estimated ascorbic acid plus dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA), were clearly higher than those given by the titration method, which determined only ascorbic acid. There were considerable differences in the values obtained by the two methods, depending on the concentration of DHAA in the foods. Larger differences were obtained for the vegetables. The mean recovery value obtained by the dye-titration method was significantly higher than that given by the fluorometric method (p < 0.01). Reproducibility studies showed that the two methods did not give significantly different variances (p < 0.05). If only ascorbic acid values were required, the titrimetric procedure would give good results, and it may be carried out rapidly using simple laboratory equipment. If a fluorometer was available, total vitamin C values, which would be more useful from the nutritional point of view, could be determined.
Escherichia coli strains with multiple DNA repair defects are hyperinduced for the SOS response

Escherichia coli strains defective for the repair of apurinic/apyrimidinic sites and for the UvrABC excision repair pathway could be constructed if they also carried a mutation in ung, which encodes uracil glycosylase, or sulA, which encodes an SOS-inducible inhibitor of septation. The resultant strains were sensitive to alkylation damage and hyperinduced for the SOS response, but had unpredictable spontaneous mutation rates.
Improvement of Science Process Skills Through Sound Variable Intensity Level Tool Kit

Science process skills (SPS) are essential to assist the learning of senior high school students according to the 2013 curriculum, which prioritizes a scientific approach. The learning method that supports SPS is experiment methods. Nevertheless, learning with experimental methods is still rarely applied in schools, especially in the sound intensity level concept. The reason is the limited number and variant of experiment tool kits to support learning in schools. This study aims to develop a sound variable intensity level sound tool kit based on development procedures proposed by Jan van de Akker (2006). Sound variable intensity level kit was developed based on tool kit, which was developed before by Fikri Habibi. Sound variable intensity level experiment kit was evaluated by several learning media and learning material experts before being tested on high school students in several stages, including the one-on-one evaluation stages, small group evaluations, and field tests. The researcher revised the sound variable intensity level kit based on suggestions from the experts and the students. After being revised, the sound variable intensity level kit was tested on summative evaluation. Based on the results of summative evaluations, the sound variable intensity level kit becomes a successful, practical, and effective learning support tool kit for improving the science process skills of the student in the concept of sound intensity level.
Applications of Microwave Heating in Agricultural and Forestry Related Industries

Microwave frequencies occupy portions of the electromagnetic spectrum between 300 MHz to 300 GHz. The full range of microwave frequencies is subdivided into various bands (Table 1). Because microwaves are also used in the communication, navigation and defence industries, their use in thermal heating is restricted to a small subset of the available frequency bands. In Australia, the commonly used frequencies include 434 ± 1 MHz, 922 ± 4 MHz, 2450 ± 50 MHz and 5800 ± 75 MHz [1]. These frequencies have been set aside for Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) applications. All these frequencies interact to some degree with moist materials.
Implant-supported mandibular overdentures: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the clinical outcome and patient satisfaction in subjects treated with mandibular overdentures supported by two implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and fifty-nine patients, who received restorative therapy in the edentulous mandible consisting of a bar-retained overdenture supported by two osseointegrated implants in a private clinic in Italy, were recalled for a clinical and radiographic examination. One hundred and forty-one subjects with 280 implants attended the examination. The average follow-up time was 3.9 years. The radiographic examination included assessments of the distance between the implant margin and the most coronal position of bone-to-implant contact at the mesial and distal aspects of each implant. A questionnaire regarding comfort, satisfaction with the treatment, aesthetics, speaking capacity and efficiency in chewing was obtained from each subject. Biological and technical complications were recorded and the number of visits due to complications between the delivery of the prostheses and the re-examination was determined. RESULTS The results from the examination revealed that the number of lost implants was small and the average marginal bone level around the implants was 0.67 mm apical of the implant margin. The most frequently observed complication was hyperplasia of the mucosal tissue under the bar construction. Few patients experienced loosening of retention. The vast majority of patients reported to be satisfied in relation to the restorative therapy from both functional and aesthetic points of view. CONCLUSION Patients with edentulous mandibles may be successfully rehabilitated by means of two implants supporting a bar-retained overdenture.