Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative study of the cuticle in some aquatic oligochaetes (Annelida: Clitellata)

An examination of the cuticle of six aquatic oligochaete species using transmission electron microscopy revealed a larger morphological variation than previously known. Three freshwater species, Aulodrilus pluriseta, Spirosperma ferox (both Tubificidae), and Pristina breviseta (Naididae), and three marine species, Clitellio arenarius, Heterochaeta costata (both Tubificidae), and Paranais litoralis (Naididae), were investigated. The arrangement of the collagen fibers in the cuticle differs among the studied species. Only S. ferox shows an “orthogonal grid,” i.e., layers of parallel fibers perpendicular to each other, as earlier described for lumbricids and enchytraeids. Clitellio arenarius and H. costata have fibers arranged in layers, while A. pluriseta and P. litoralis have irregularly distributed fibers. Pristina breviseta lacks cuticular fibers. The matrix surrounding the collagen fibers (when present) continues outside the fiber layer, making up a thin epicuticle, which has a unique banding in each of the studied species. The external surface of the epicuticle is covered with epicuticular projections. Their number, shape, and attachment to the epicuticle vary among the studied species. Furthermore, a distinctive internal substructure of the projections was observed in H. costata, A. pluriseta, S. ferox, and P. breviseta. Microvilli, extensions from the epidermal cells, penetrate the cuticle and terminate at its outer surface. In three species microvilli were observed to pinch off the epicuticular projections. The size, number, and shape of the latter vary; no typical microvilli were observed in S. ferox. J. Morphol. 248:185–195, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Speculation or Insider Trading: Informed Trading in Options Markets Preceding Tender Offer Announcements

In our sample of 305 cash tender offers occurring between 1993 and 1998, we find evidence that the options market has become the preferred trading venue for informed traders. Given this result, we analyze individual call option contracts for those tender offer targets with traded options, identifying the one optimal insider contract which maximizes the returns to insiders with perfect knowledge of a pending tender offer. This analysis allows us to test the competing market anticipation and insider trading theories of pre-bid stock price and volume run-ups using the trading patterns of options which should be preferred by insiders and those preferred by speculators. Our individual contract analysis is consistent with both theories as we find trading in both insider-preferred and speculator-preferred contracts drives aggregate call option volume run-ups. However, heavy trading in the optimal insider contract occurs on heavy volume days for all contracts. These results support the notion of Easley, O'Hara, and Srinivas (1998) that a substitution effect exists whereby informed traders prefer to trade in options markets when possible and that insiders will hide their trades within those of speculators.
Estimation of wave parameters from HF radar using different methodologies and compared with wave buoy measurements at the Wave Hub

The high-quality backscattered spectra provided by the WERA HF radar systems in the Wave Hub area are used to estimate different wave parameters at the location of a wave buoy. The HF radar estimations are done using three different wave estimation algorithms: the standard WERA software, the software provided by Actimar and the software provided by Seaview Sensing. The data obtained with each methodology is validated against the data measured from an in situ instrument followed by a discussion to compare results obtained from each methodology and identify strengths and limitations. In general, all three methodologies provided good estimations of wave parameters. Differences between methods are found mostly in the data availability which is attributed to the type of method and to the quality criterion thresholds. From all wave parameters compared, estimation of significant wave height provides the best combination of data quality and availability.
Importer relationship performance in Latin America: the role of trust and commitment

Firms from emerging markets are increasingly developing relationships with foreign suppliers, although international relationships are difficult to manage due to differences between countries. Relationship marketing research has focused mainly on the export marketing activities of firms and much less attention has been given to the import side of the exchange process. Furthermore, most research has been conducted in developed countries; therefore, more research is needed in emerging markets for a wider generalization of relationship marketing theory. Thus, the objective of this study is to empirically examine the antecedents of importer relationship performance in a Latin American context. A conceptual model that includes the antecedents and outcomes of trust and commitment was developed and tested. The data was collected from a survey of Chilean importers. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to develop the construct measures and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the driving forces of trust and commitment and their influence on importing firms' performance in a Latin American developing country perspective
LRIG‐1 Provides a Novel Prognostic Predictor in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin: Immunohistochemical Analysis for 38 Cases

The LRIG-1 gene (formerly LIG-1) encodes a type 1 transmembrane glycoprotein with an extracellular region of 15 leucine-rich repeats and 3 immunoglobulin-like domains. LRIG-1 interacts with ErbB receptors, down-regulating the downstream signals. Because ErbB signaling is disrupted in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), we examined LRIG-1 expression in cutaneous SCC. Objective To analyze the differential expression of LRIG-1 and to investigate whether LRIG-1 is useful as a prognostic indicator in SCC of the skin. Methods LRIG-1 expression in 38 cases of cutaneous SCC patients was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results LRIG-1 expression was highest in well-differentiated lesions of cutaneous SCC. The cases studied here were categorized into 23 cases (60.5%) of high expression and 15 cases (39.5%) of low expression of LRIG-1. There was a significant correlation (p= .000018) of LRIG-1 expression intensity of tumor cells with histologic differentiation of SCC. Furthermore, we found a significant inverse correlation with metastatic rate (p= .02). When the overall survival of SCC patients was statistically compared between high and low LRIG-1 expression groups, a significant survival benefit for the patients in the former group was found (p= .03). Conclusion LRIG-1 expression is an excellent candidate for a prognostic indicator of cutaneous SCC.
Gut microbiota, epithelial function and derangements in obesity

Abstract The gut epithelium is a barrier between the ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ world. The major function of the epithelium is to absorb nutrients, ions and water, yet it must balance these functions with that of protecting the ‘inside’ world from potentially harmful toxins, irritants, bacteria and other pathogens that also exist in the gut lumen. The health of an individual depends upon the efficient digestion and absorption of all required nutrients from the diet. This requires sensing of meal components by gut enteroendocrine cells, activation of neural and humoral pathways to regulate gastrointestinal motor, secretory and absorptive functions, and also to regulate food intake and plasma levels of glucose. In this way, there is a balance between the delivery of food and the digestive and absorptive capacity of the intestine. Maintenance of the mucosal barrier likewise requires sensory detection of pathogens, toxins and irritants; breakdown of the epithelial barrier is associated with gut inflammation and may ultimately lead to inflammatory bowel disease. However, disruption of the barrier alone is not sufficient to cause frank inflammatory bowel disease. Several recent studies have provided compelling new evidence to suggest that changes in epithelial barrier function and inflammation are associated with and may even lead to altered regulation of body weight and glucose homeostasis. This article provides a brief review of some recent evidence to support the hypothesis that changes in the gut microbiota and alteration of gut epithelial function will perturb the homeostatic humoral and neural pathways controlling food intake and body weight.
Quantification of Facial Movements by Surface Laser Scanning

Quantification of facial mimic ability represents a need for comparative investigation in facial medicine and surgery. The aim of the current study was to develop a simple, noninvasive, repeatable three-dimensional method for measuring facial mobility in clinical and research setup.The faces of 20 healthy adult subjects (10 men and 10 women) and 12 primary school children (6 boys and 6 girls), without craniofacial pathologic injuries or previous treatments, were captured by a Cyberware 3030RGB laser scanner (Cyberware, Inc, Monterey, CA) in rest position and during voluntary movements. Data were processed by Cyberware Echo (Cyberware, Inc) and Inus Rapidform 2004 software (INUS Technologies Inc, Seoul, South Korea). Each movement was assigned a main landmark. The facial movements were described for surface displacement using clearance vector mapping and three-dimensional tracing of the skin landmarks. The mean landmark displacement vector was also calculated for every movement.The study showed that movements were characterized by similar displacement in the same facial areas in all subjects. Minor differences were recorded between adult subjects and children. Descriptive statistics concerning the amount and direction of movements were provided.A case of unilateral postsurgical nerve palsy was prospectively analyzed to test applicability of the method in clinical investigation. A numerical scale based on the mean movements was constructed and used to monitor recovery of function.The method developed seems easy, noncontact, and effective to quantify facial movements in normal and pathologic conditions. It may be usefully applied to the investigation and the clinical monitoring of different medical and surgical pathologic conditions.
Product and environmental social performance: Varying effect on firm performance

Corporate social performance (CSP) consists of actions in different domains that vary in the information they provide stakeholders, and hence, in their effect on firm performance. To demonstrate this, the authors examine the impact of CSP on firm performance in two areas—the product and the environment, referred to as product social performance (PSP) and environmental social performance (ESP), respectively. PSP has a stronger positive impact on firm performance compared to ESP. The findings using disaggregated measures of PSP and ESP indicate negativity bias in that PSP weakness has a stronger negative impact on firm performance compared to PSP strength. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Olfactory improvement after endoscopic sinus surgery

Purpose of reviewOlfactory dysfunction is a common complaint in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The purpose of this article is to review the current evidence on the impact of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) on CRS-related olfactory dysfunction. Recent findingsThe recent literature suggests that olfactory outcomes after ESS are challenging to predict. Some evidence supports a positive impact of ESS on improving olfactory outcomes in patients with preoperative nasal polyposis and anosmia. However, despite improvements in smell, most of these patients remain with severe hyposmia. One study suggests ESS has no impact on olfactory outcomes. SummaryCRS-related olfactory dysfunction is a complex clinical scenario and it is challenging to predict improvement following ESS. CRS patients with anosmia and nasal polyposis preoperatively may have a higher likelihood of olfactory improvement following ESS.
Web Surveys versus other Survey Modes: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Response Rates

Web surveys are often discussed as a supplement, sometimes also as an alternative to traditional survey modes where response rates are tending to decline (e.g. de Leeuw & de Heer 2002; Roster et al . 2004; Evans & Mathur 2005). However, also in web surveys there is the problem of non-response (Couper 2000; Vehovar et al . 2002). For example, over-surveying internet users may negatively impact on their willingness to participate. The activity of direct marketers with their unsolicited email practices (spam) may also have a negative influence on responses to web surveys. In addition, the methodology of web surveys is probably still not sufficiently developed to take full advantage of the possibilities available, although extensive research efforts are being made in this direction (e.g. Frick et al . 1999; Tuten et al . 1999/2000; Dillman 2000).
Corporate Governance in Korea: A Decade after the Financial Crisis

Korea has significantly improved its quality of corporate governance since the 1997 financial crisis. Most notable are improved corporate transparency, better alignment of managerial incentives to shareholder value, and more effective oversight by the board. A number of players also have emerged as key external monitors and enforcers of good governance. There remain, however, substantial differences between non-chaebol and chaebol affiliated firms and also across chaebol. This paper describes these differences and the current state of Korean corporate governance.
Interobserver Variability Between Expert Urologic Pathologists for Extraprostatic Extension and Surgical Margin Status in Radical Prostatectomy Specimens

Accurate Gleason score, pathologic stage, and surgical margin (SM) information is critical for the planning of post-radical prostatectomy management in patients with prostate cancer. Although interobserver variability for Gleason score among urologic pathologists has been well documented, such data for pathologic stage and SM assessment are limited. We report the first study to address interobserver variability in a group of expert pathologists concerning extraprostatic soft tissue (EPE) and SM interpretation for radical prostatectomy specimens. A panel of 3 urologic pathologists selected 6 groups of 10 slides designated as being positive, negative, or equivocal for either EPE or SM based on unanimous agreement. Twelve expert urologic pathologists, who were blinded to the panel diagnoses, reviewed 40× whole-slide scans and provided diagnoses for EPE and SM on each slide. On the basis of panel diagnoses, as the gold standard, specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy values were high for both EPE (87.5%, 95.0%, and 91.2%) and SM (97.5%, 83.3%, and 90.4%). Overall κ values for all 60 slides were 0.74 for SM and 0.63 for EPE. The κ values were higher for slides with definitive gold standard EPE (κ=0.81) and SM (κ=0.73) diagnoses when compared with the EPE (κ=0.29) and SM (κ=0.62) equivocal slides. This difference was markedly pronounced for EPE. Urologic pathologists show good to excellent agreement when evaluating EPE and SM. Interobserver variability for EPE and SM interpretation was principally related to the lack of a clearly definable prostatic capsule and crush/thermal artifact along the edge of the gland, respectively.
Trading Away Our Rights: Women Working in Global Supply Chains

Summary Introduction 1. Employed, yes - but precariously Facing precarious employment Hidden costs beyond the workplace 2. Squeezed down the supply chain The rise of global sourcing companies Employers' strategies down the chain Governments' strategies on labour laws and practices 3. Clothing the world Worldwide manufacturers face retailer and brand power Hemmed in: pressure down the supply chain Factory managers: passing it on the workers 4. Injustices in the fields Worldwide growers face supermarket superpowers Freshly squeezed: pressure down the supply chain Farm managers: passing it on to workers 5. Making trade work for women as workers Recommendations Appendix Notes
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for public-private partners in infrastructure delivery in Nigeria

Public-private partnership (PPP) is basically the collaboration between a public and a private organisation in order to achieve a specific goal. This paper examines the capabilities of partners and the environment in which they operate in Nigeria using a case-study approach. Data for the study were collected from written documents, inter alia company's business brochures, official reports, unpublished performance data on resources and operations; interviews were also conducted with 8 professionals from public and private parties. Data analysis was done using analytical induction, content and logical analysis. The study revealed that diversity and multidisciplinary attributes, and ready access to consultants are among the major strengths of the public partners, while its weakness is insufficiency of arm. The passing of relevant laws was seen as an opportunity by both parties, while lack of understanding of roles by ministries, and an unfavourable banking climate were identified as threats by the public partner. The private partner identified creativity and innovativeness, high knowledge of business and superb negotiation ability among its strengths and saw poor federal influence as a major weakness with poor local understanding of PPP as a threat. The study concluded that the success of partnerships depends much on cordial relationships between partners.
Market Depth in Lean Hog and Live Cattle Futures Markets

Liquidity costs in futures markets are not observed directly because bids and offers occur in an open outcry pit and are not recorded. Traditional estimation of these costs has focused on bidask spreads using transaction prices. However, the bid-ask spread only captures the tightness of the market price. As the volume increases measures of market depth which identify how the order flow moves prices become important information. We estimate market depth for lean hogs and live cattle markets using a Bayesian MCMC method to estimate unobserved data. While the markets are highly liquid, our results show that cost- and risk-reducing strategies may exist. Liquidity costs are highest when larger volumes are traded at distant contracts. For hogs the market becomes less liquid prior to the expiration month. For cattle this occurs during the expiration month when the liquidity risk is also higher. For both markets this coincides with periods of low volume. For the nearby contract highest trading volume occurs at the beginning of the month prior to expiration and lowest trading volume occurs in the expiration month. For both commodities the cumulative effect of volume on price change may lead to liquidity costs higher than a tick.
The Internationalization of Chinese Firms

The rise of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has resulted in an increasing number of research studies. A variety of firm, industry and country-related factors have been examined largely in an isolated fashion. This thesis adopts an integrated approach in conceptual development and addresses three empirical questions surrounding the internationalization of Chinese firms. Based on productivity heterogeneity theory and the strategic tripod framework (integrating resource-based view, industry-based view and institution theory), the first study carries out a multi-dimensional analysis to examine the factors driving exporting firms to engage in OFDI as part of their internationalization strategy. Hypotheses are tested using a recent survey of Chinese privately-owned enterprises. The second study attempts to answer two questions: what are the nature of the specific strategic resources that are sought after by Chinese acquirers and whether a partnering approach is a viable strategy for post-CBMAs? Draws on multiple case studies of Chinese firms’ cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs), it is revealed that, possessed with resource advantages in terms of domestic developed technological know-how and abundant international experience, Chinese firms are likely to engage in CBMAs to seek well-known brands, advanced technologies, established distribution networks and management know-how possessed by developed economy (DE) firms. For Chinese firms, being the new players in international markets, the partnering approach is a viable strategy for securing strategic resources, reducing the unintended consequences of traditional integration and maintaining the strategic resources of the foreign firms. Drawing on the entry mode literature and the strategic tripod framework, the third study investigates whether firms that used hybrid entry mode (a combination of exporting and OFDI) performed better than exporting-only ones. The dataset used is the same survey used in the first study and it is found that employing OFDI entry mode does not improve an exporting firm’s performance.
Research on Impact of Financial Restatement on Firm Value in Chinese Listed Firms

We examine the association between financial restatement and firm value, based on a sample of firms that restated financial statement in Chinese listed firms between January 2005 and December 2009. Using Tobin’s Q as a proxy for firm value in the end of restatement year, we find firm value in restating firm is significantly lower than firm value in non-restating firm, showing that uncertainties arise and management integrity declines after restatement announcement, which indicate that adverse consequences caused by financial restatement is beyond short term, long-lasting actually. Besides, we study several characteristics in restatement sample and find there exist an inversed U-shaped relation between firm value and unsigned restatement amount, that is to say, as unsigned restatement amount increases, firm value ascends first then descends. However, we don’t find that decreasing firm value caused by financial restatement is more pronounced for firms with core account (income decreasing) restatement than for firms with other account (income increasing) restatement.
Multi-Product Exporters: Diversification and Micro-Level Dynamics

Recent developments in trade theory, especially research on multi-product firms, have not been matched by similar progress on the empirical front. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a novel set of stylized facts on firm-product dynamics observed during an export boom. This exercise is possible thanks to a unique firm-product level dataset covering about 85 percent of Mexican industrial output for the period 1994-2003. The main findings are as follows. First, thereis a substantial degree of product turnover at the firm-product level in response to declining trade costs. Second,"core competencies"- the fact that firms have a cost advantage or greater expertise at manufacturing some of their products - are the main driver of firms'decision to introduce or drop export products. Third, new exporters tend to"start small"in terms of both values and number of exported products. Fourth, even if the expansion in the number of exported products played a role in stimulating Mexican exports, the growth in volume of pre-existing products was the main driver of the export boom. Finally, the introduction of new export products is preceded by a surge in investment. These findings are in line with many, but not all, predictions of recent theoretical work.