Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Evolution of Leveraged Buyouts and Recent Overheated LBO Market

This empirical study is believed to be the first study that comprehensively investigates the significant changes in deal characteristics and value sources of leveraged buyout (LBO) over an extended and recent period (1985-2005). Unlike previous studies that consider LBOs as homogenous irrespective of the type of initiator, this study separates leveraged management-led buyouts (LMBOs) from leveraged institution-led buyouts (LIBOs) and includes both LMBOs and LIBOs as two sub-samples. Using a sample of 177 completed U.S. LMBOs and 72 completed LIBOs in the U.S., this study finds that LIBOs and LMBOs became significantly different in terms of the deal characteristics and value sources in the 2000s. The overall LIBO deal characteristics and value sources remained unchanged over time, while LMBO deal characteristics and value sources had greatly changed over 19852005. More importantly, the findings of this study imply that LBO, especially LMBO market, in recent years has overheated like it did in the late 1980s. This study further provides practical insight into the potential impacts of the burst of debt bubble in the U.S. on the correct of LBO evaluation.
Financial Characteristics, Corporate Governance and the Propensity to Pay Cash Dividends of Chinese Listed Companies

Employing 1056 A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2001 to 2007, we analyse empirically the influence of financial characteristics and corporate governance on propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. The result shows that in the related indexes of the financial characteristics of companies, the company size, cash flow, asset liquidity, profitability as well as whether cash dividends are paid in the previous year are positively correlated with propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. Investment opportunity and debt ratio are negatively correlated with the propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. Growth has uncertain influence on the propensity to pay cash dividends. In the corporate governance characteristics, existence of controlling shareholders, stateowned shareholder as the largest shareholder, the size of the board of directors, top-management compensation and listing factors in other markets are positively correlated with the propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. Tradable share ratio and CEO duality factor are negatively correlated with the propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. Independent director factor has uncertain influence on the propensity to pay cash dividends of companies. In general, financial characteristics shows that Chinese listed companies have the capability to pay cash dividends, but the corporate governance factors have negative influence on the cash dividend payment of listed companies. Key words: The propensity to pay cash dividends; The company factor; Financial characteristics; Corporate governance
Time analysis for temporary gravitational capture - Stable orbits

In a previous work, Vieira Neto & Winter (2001) numerically explored the capture times of particles as temporary satellites of Uranus. The study was made in the framework of the spatial, circular, restricted three- body problem. Regions of the initial condition space whose trajectories are apparently stable were determined. The criterion adopted was that the trajectories do not escape from the planet during an integration of 10 5 years. These regions occur for a wide range of orbital initial inclinations (i). In the present work it is studied the reason for the existence of such stable regions. The stability of the planar retrograde trajectories is due to a family of simple periodic orbits and the associated quasi-periodic orbits that oscillate around them. These planar stable orbits had already been studied (H enon 1970; Huang & Innanen 1983). Their results are reviewed using Poincar e surface of sections. The stable non-planar retrograde trajectories, 110 o i< 180 o , are found to be tridimensional quasi-periodic orbits around the same family of periodic orbits found for the planar case (i = 180 o ). It was not found any periodic orbit out of the plane associated to such quasi-periodic orbits. The largest region of stable prograde trajectories occurs at i =6 0 o . Trajectories in such region are found to behave as quasi-periodic orbits evolving similarly to the stable retrograde trajectories that occurs at i = 120 o .
Customer Loyalty and its Determinants in a Banking Services Environment

The present paper presents the methodology and the main results of a quantitative study applied on a sample of 1010 respondents, in the Romanian banking industry. The aim of the study was to research the customer level of loyalty toward Romanian organizations acting in the retail banking sector. According to similar researches in the field, loyalty is a complex construction, which comprises both psychological and behavioural components, fact also proved by the results of the present research. As the survey results show, Romanian customers remain in relationships with banks due to the existence of both favourable attitudes or positive motivations (representing 46,36% of the total retention motivations) and constraint factors or inertia (representing 52,44% of the total retention motivations). At the same time, the results prove that the level of loyalty stated by customers is supported not only by the level of satisfaction, but also by factors like: bank’s attitude towards its own customers, the level of customer trust toward the organization or its employees in ensuring the financial interests of clients, and also by the level of customer commitment. Customer switching behaviour is determined in 58% of cases by the high level of dissatisfaction toward the banks’ policy of price.
EFFECT OF CYCLOSPORIN-A AS AN IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUG ON ISLET CELLS TRANSPLANTATION IN MICE

Transplantation of normal isolated islets of langerhans for the treatment of diabetes remains an elusive goal in clinical practice. Perhaps the major problem preventing clinical islet transplantation has been limited by the inability to prevent islet allograft or xenograft rejection. Cyclosporin A is an immunosuppressive agent that improves survival of transplant. This exciting immunosuppressive agent was first used clinically in renal transplantation in 1978 (Ferguson and Fidlus 1982). The aim of this study was the isolation , purification and transplantation of hamster pancreatic islet as xenograft transplantation for the treatment of diabetic mice. It is also aimed to study the effect of cyclosporin A as an immunosuppressive agent on some biochemical parameters e.g blood glucose and blood insulin levels to induce maximum suppression of mice immune system and consequently realizing maximum survival of transplanted islets. A total of 30 streptozotocin induced mice were randomized to receive islets xenografts from golden syrian hamsters by three different approaches ,the first group of ten mice received islets only in the renal subcapsular space, the 2 of ten mice received islets in the renal subcapsular space and was given cyclosporin A in a dose of 15 mg/kg/day for three days.The 3 group of ten mice were received islets in the renal subcapsular space and were given cyclosporin A orally every day at a dose of 15 mg/kg/day for three days which was gradually decreased to 5 mg/kg/day. Non of the mice of group 1 became normoglycemic. All mice of group 2 became normoglycemic for 11±4 ( range 6-18 days) . only mice of group 3 enjoyed normoglycemic as long as cyclosporin-A was administrated. Consequantly, prolonged survival of islets xenografts may be achieved with administration of cyclosporin-A.
Alcohol Consumption among College Students Attending Healthcare Courses in an Institution in the South of Brazil

Objective: To know the socioeconomic profile and compare the patterns of alcohol consumption among freshmen and juniors attending healthcare courses at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), in Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive study. The sample comprised 351 college students attending Biological Sciences (both teaching degree and bachelor’s degree), Physical Education, Nursing, Medicine and Psychology. Data were collected by a socio-demographic questionnaire and by the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and underwent descriptive analysis, analysis of variance, G-test and contingency tables. Results: Alcohol consumption was higher among women. Even though their drinking pattern was considered lowrisk level, students engaged in binge drinking and had occasional blackouts after the intake of alcoholic beverages. Conclusion: It is important to plan and implement educational programs with the students in order to clarify the National Alcohol Policy and warn them about the limits of low-risk drinking.
Clinical Effectiveness of Two Commercial Fluoride Varnish Formulations on the Control of White Spot Lesion in Primary Teeth: A Pilot Study

Objective: To evaluate the in vivo clinical effectiveness of two commercial fluoride varnish formulations. Material and Methods: The sample consisted of seven children aged 2-5 years for a total of 24 active white spot lesions (WSL) in primary teeth. Children were randomly divided into two groups in accordance with the varnish used: G1 - Duraphat® - DR (n = 14 WSL); and G2 - Duofluorid XII® - DF (n = 10 WSL). Children were submitted to treatment with varnishes applied once a week for four consecutive weeks. Maximum mesiodistal and incisogengival dimensions were measured with a periodontal probe at the beginning of treatment and on the fifth week of treatment. The average between the two dimensions represented the value of the WSL dimension. The comparison of the mean final values of WSL dimensions between groups of fluoride varnishes tested was analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test. The significance level adopted was 5%. Results: After five weeks, most WSL were ranked as inactive (G1 = 71.4% and G2 = 40%). No significant difference between G1 and G2 in relation to lesion activity was observed (p = 0.124). There was a significant decrease of 24% between initial (3.12 mm ± 1.49 mm) and final WSL dimension (2.35 mm ± 1.06 mm) (p = 0.012) in G1. In G2, there was a significant reduction of 40% in lesion dimension with initial value of 5.7 mm (± 3.82 mm) and final value of 3.4 mm (± 3.35 mm) (p = 0.013). Regarding the reduction in the WSL dimension, no significant difference between groups was observed (p = 0.931). Conclusion: Both fluoride varnish formulations tested had similar effect on the control of active white spot lesions in primary teeth.
Structural changes underlying the diffuse dielectric response in AgNbO 3

Structural differences in the so-called M polymorphs of ${\text{AgNbO}}_{3}$ were analyzed using combined high-resolution x-ray diffraction, neutron total scattering, electron diffraction, and x-ray absorption fine-structure measurements. These polymorphs all crystallize with $Pbcm$ symmetry and lattice parameters $\ensuremath{\surd}2{a}_{c}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\ensuremath{\surd}2{a}_{c}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4{a}_{c}$ (where ${a}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}4\text{ }\text{\AA{}}$ corresponds to the lattice parameter of an ideal cubic perovskite) which are determined by a complex octahedral tilt system $({a}^{\ensuremath{-}}{b}^{\ensuremath{-}}{c}^{\ensuremath{-}})/({a}^{\ensuremath{-}}{b}^{\ensuremath{-}}{c}^{+})$ involving a sequence of two in-phase and two antiphase rotations around the $c$ axis. Our results revealed that, similar to ${\text{KNbO}}_{3}$, the Nb cations in ${\text{AgNbO}}_{3}$ exhibit local off-center displacements correlated along Nb-Nb-Nb chains. The displacements appear to be present even in the high-temperature ${\text{AgNbO}}_{3}$ polymorphs where the Nb cations, on average, reside on the ideal fixed-coordinate sites. The onset of the $({a}^{\ensuremath{-}}{b}^{\ensuremath{-}}{c}^{\ensuremath{-}})/({a}^{\ensuremath{-}}{b}^{\ensuremath{-}}{c}^{+})$ tilting in the M polymorphs lifts the symmetry restrictions on the Nb positions and promotes ordering of the local Nb displacements into a long-range antipolarlike array. This ordering preserves the average $Pbcm$ symmetry but is manifested in electron diffuse scattering and corroborated by other local-structure sensitive techniques. Structural states previously identified as the ${\text{M}}_{3}$ and ${\text{M}}_{2}$ phases represent different stages of displacive ordering rather than distinct thermodynamic phases. Rietveld refinements indicated intimate coupling between the displacive behavior on the oxygen, Nb, and Ag sublattices. The $Pbcm$ symmetry of the octahedral framework precludes a complete ordering of Nb displacements so that some positional disorder is retained. This partial disorder likely gives a source to the dielectric relaxation which, according to previous spectroscopic studies, is the origin of the diffuse dielectric response exhibited by M-type ${\text{AgNbO}}_{3}$ at $\ensuremath{\approx}250\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{C}$.
Bank consolidation and financial stability revisited: Evidence from Indonesia

This paper extends prior literature on the link between consolidation and stability in banking using a single country setting. From a sample of Indonesian commercial banks over the 2010-2015 time span, we construct the Lerner index as a measure of bank market power due to consolidation. Our empirical results document that higher bank market power tends to reduce insolvency risk and increase capital ratios. A deeper analysis however reveals that higher market power is detrimental for financial stability in state-owned banks and small private-owned banks. We therefore highlight that although consolidation among state-owned banks reduces cost inefficiency as in Hadad et al. (2013), further efforts to reduce state-owned banks' market power are necessary after consolidation. This paper also suggests that strengthening market power in large private-owned banks, but encouraging competition in small private-owned banks to reduce market power, are of particular importance for financial stability. JEL Code: G21, G28
Photodynamic ability of silver nanoparticles in inducing cytotoxic effects in breast and lung cancer cell lines

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress. com/permissions.php International Journal of Nanomedicine 2014:9 3771–3780 International Journal of Nanomedicine Dovepress
Is Youth Entrepreneurship a Necessity or an Opportunity?: A First Exploration of Household and New Enterprise Surveys in Latin America

This paper highlights the importance of youth entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by young entrepreneurs. The authors analyze the differences between youth who become entrepreneurs by necessity or by opportunity, and also review the scope and quality of policies and programs that governments, development agencies and civil societies are implementing to support both groups of young entrepreneurs. The first step in the analysis was to estimate the magnitude the youth entrepreneurship, based on a database of household surveys for 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries covering 80 percent of the population in the region.
Changing ideas about the evolution and functional morphology of Machairodontine felids

Sabre-toothed felids, the machairodontines, have attracted much attention among palaeontologists for many decades, not only because of their spectacular morphology but also because they are a striking example of convergent evolution that is most probably linked to strong selective pressures. In this paper we provide a summary of the changing interpretations of their functional anatomy and evolution, from early hypotheses proposing a stabbing mode of attack and a pleiotropic control of the complex of machairodont morphologies, to the current views favouring the canine shear-bite model and a mosaic evolution of anatomical features.
Mutual fund flows: an analysis of the main macroeconomic factors

This paper analyzes whether some macroeconomic factors (country risk, IBrX volatility and Interbank Certificate of Deposit) are related to mutual fund flows for the period between January 2005 and August 2014. In order to investigate whether the flow series behaved differently during this period, the Chow test was conducted for September 2008 (the month in which the Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed). The regressions were performed and the parameters were estimated through the OLS method for both periods, the first running from January 2005 to August 2008 and the second from September 2008 to August 2014. For the period between January 2005 and August 2008, all the variables, except for the Interbank Certificate of Deposit, proved significant, at a significance level of 10%. For the subsequent period, none of the variables proved significant and the R² was very low, which may merely indicate that investors failed to analyze the main macroeconomic variables for mutual fund allocations or redemptions and simply considered other aspects, such as manager performance. Keywords: Investment Funds. Flow. Macroeconomic Factors.
Towards modelling X-ray reverberation in AGN: piecing together the extended corona

Models of X-ray reverberation from extended coronae are developed from general relativistic ray tracing simulations. Reverberation lags between correlated variability in the directly observed continuum emission and that reflected from the accretion disc arise due to the additional light travel time between the corona and reflecting disc. X-ray reverberation is detected from an increasing sample of Seyfert galaxies and a number of common properties are observed, including a transition from the characteristic reverberation signature at high frequencies to a hard lag within the continuum component at low frequencies, as well a pronounced dip in the reverberation lag at 3keV. These features are not trivially explained by the reverberation of X-rays originating from simple point sources. We therefore model reverberation from coronae extended both over the surface of the disc and vertically. Causal propagation through its extent for both the simple case of constant velocity propagation and propagation linked to the viscous timescale in the underlying accretion disc is included as well as stochastic variability arising due to turbulence locally on the disc. We find that the observed features of X-ray reverberation in Seyfert galaxies can be explained if the long timescale variability is dominated by the viscous propagation of fluctuations through the corona. The corona extends radially at low height over the surface of the disc but with a bright central region in which fluctuations propagate up the black hole rotation axis driven by more rapid variability arising from the innermost regions of the accretion flow.
New geophysical insight into the origin of the Denali volcanic gap

SUMMARY Volcanic gaps are segments of subduction zones that lack the volcanic activity usually found at these convergent margins. They are regions where the necessary conditions to produce melt may appear favourable, but where volcanoes are surprisingly absent from the surface. In this study, we present a new model that can explain the occurrence of such volcanic gaps. It is based on seismic imaging and geodynamic modelling of the Denali volcanic gap, a ∼400-km-wide region at the eastern end of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone. Here, the thick crust of the Pacific Plate and Yakutat terrane subduct at shallow angle beneath North America. A high-resolution seismic profile clearly images the subducting crust undergoing progressive dehydration between 50 and 120 km depth, and a negative subhorizontal velocity contrast at 60 km depth in the overlying mantle wedge. We interpret this 60 km discontinuity as marking the top of a layer of partial melt that pools at the base of the overriding plate. In steadystate subduction models, melt accumulates at the apex of a vaulted mantle wedge, the ‘pinch zone’, from where it may break through the overlying lithosphere to the surface. Beneath the Denali volcanic gap, the pinch zone is absent (or greatly reduced) because shallow subduction of the Yakutat terrane progressively cools the system, and causes the slab to advance and replace the hot core of the mantle wedge. This regime can be seen as the opposite of subduction rollback. It prevents the formation of a pinch zone, reduces the length of the melting column and causes melt to pool at the base of the overriding plate, thus inhibiting magma generation and extraction.
The effects of mergers and acquisitions : evidence from China

This paper studies 437 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals initiated by Chinese companies listed on either the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 1997 and 2007. By examining the wealth effects and firm performance of Chinese M&A, we attempt to investigate the underlying motives behind Chinese corporate acquisitions. We find that shareholders of the acquiring firms realize significantly positive abnormal returns in the short term around the announcement of the deal, contrary to most findings in the U.S. market. Our results suggest that Chinese acquisitions are mainly driven by synergy motives. Our findings suggest that, in the long term, the operating performance of acquiring firms does not improve after the acquisition, although shareholders who buy and hold the acquiring firm's stock realize positive returns. Furthermore, results of cross-sectional regressions of abnormal returns around the announcement date show that acquisitions by highly profitable firms result in reduced shareholder wealth, while friendly acquisitions and acquisitions of joint-venture targets tend to increase shareholder wealth. We find some evidence that industry relatedness increases shareholder wealth which is consistent with prior U. S. studies. However, methods of payment, acquirers with State ownership and cross-border acquisitions have insignificant effects. While Chinese M&A show positive gains for the acquirers, the evidence on the determinants of these gains is mixed.
Trade, Poverty and Employment: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

This study investigates the development effects of trade liberalization in Pakistan over the period 1970-2006. The empirical analysis builds on four indicators of economic development that are per capita GDP, inequality, poverty and employment. Since these indicators have simultaneity problem, the model has been estimated with General Method of Moments (GMM) econometrics technique. The results show that the effect of trade liberalization on per capita GDP is insignificant though sign is positive while its effect on employment is negative. Although trade theory predicts that trade openness is the potential source of economic growth that in turn spills over its positive effects on labor market but this study reveals jobless-openness phenomenon in Pakistan. It is also found that trade liberalization has increased income inequalities because it creates winners and losers simultaneously and the net welfare impact is negative. As far as eradication of poverty is concerned, it has been found that trade accentuates, not ameliorates, and that it intensifies, not diminishes, poverty in case of Pakistan. The role of human capital emerged as a most favorable factor in enhancing PGDP and eradication of poverty. The central message of this study is that trade liberalization is not pro development in case of Pakistan and investment in human capital is the effective tool for development and fight against poverty.