Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bank Capital Redux: Solvency, Liquidity, and Crisis

What is the relationship between bank capital, the risk of a financial crisis, and its severity? This article introduces the first comprehensive analysis of the long-run evolution of the capital structure of modern banking using newly constructed data for banks’ balance sheets in 17 countries since 1870. In addition to establishing stylized facts on the changing funding mix of banks, we study the nexus between capital structure and financial instability. We find no association between higher capital and lower risk of banking crisis. However, economies with better capitalized banking systems recover faster from financial crises as credit begins to flow back more readily.
Familiarity with Measures to Reduce Administrative Burdens in The Public and Private Sector in Slovenia

Measures to reduce administrative burdens are part of efforts to improve regulation quality. The aim of the research carried out in 2010 in the public and private sector was to determine whether their staff display different levels of familiarity with the measures and whether both sectors define the same groups of regulation as the most burdensome. The results indicated that information provision on measures to reduce administrative burdens in Slovenia is poor, particularly in the private sector, which is intended as the main beneficiary of these measures. Despite this, the private sector reported that regulation for small and medium-sized businesses had improved over the period in which measures to reduce administrative burdens had been implemented. The public sector assessed public procurement regulation as the most burdensome, while the private sector ranked employment regulations as the most burdensome.
Direccionamiento Estratégico: Proyección de la Innovación Tecnológica y Gestión Administrativa en las Pequeñas Empresas

espanolEl objetivo principal de esta investigacion, es establecer el nivel de innovacion en tecnologia y direccionamiento estrategico de las pequenas y medianas empresas (Pymes) de la ciudad de Barranquilla, Colombia. Para tal fin, se realizo una investigacion de caracter descriptivo, mediante una tecnica de recoleccion de datos, en la que se analizaron seis variables que determinaron el tamano de la empresa en cuanto a numero de trabajadores, el tipo de actividades innovadoras que implementan, el presupuesto que invierten en tecnologia, las preferencias en cuanto al ambito en el que innovan y las relaciones existentes entre lo que invierten y las innovaciones tecnologicas llevadas a cabo en una muestra de diez empresas de la ciudad. Los resultados de este ejercicio, demuestran que mas de la mitad de las empresas pertenecientes a la muestra son medianas empresas, y solo un 40% de ellas desarrollan actividades enfocadas a la innovacion tecnologica, preferiblemente que involucren acciones de comercializacion y diseno, invirtiendo cantidades de recursos que se reflejan en el desarrollo organizacional. EnglishThe main objective of this research is to establish the level of innovation in technology and strategic direction of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. For this purpose, a descriptive research was carried out, using a data collection technique, which analyzed six variables that determined the size of the company in terms of number of workers, the type of innovative activities they implement, the budget that invest in technology, the preferences in the area in which they innovate and the existing relationships between what they invest and the technological innovations carried out in a sample of ten companies of the city. The results of this exercise show that more than half of the companies belonging to the sample are medium-sized enterprises, and only 40% of them develop activities focused on technological innovation, preferably involving marketing and design actions, investing quantities that are reflected in the organizational development.
The Mediating Effect of Operational Performance on the Relationship of Entrepreneurship Toward Financial Performance. A case of Hand Drawn Batik Industry in East Java, Indonesia

Indonesia has been well known for it’s beautiful batik. In fact UNESCO has been awarded batik Indonesia as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity. UNESCO insisted that Indonesia must preserve its heritage. Batik has been part of creative economy in Indonesia. Jawa Timur province had many batik industrial center spreaded in several city, such as Madura, Sidoarjo, Tuban, Tulungagung, etc. Batik, especially hand drawn batik company in Indonesia usually run by entrepreneur of small company. The success of financial performance in hand drawn batik industry was supposedly the result of entrepreneurship of batik company owner / manager, and good operational performance in their internal business process. This study focused on the mediating effect of operational performance on the relationship of entrepreneurship toward financial performance in batik hand drawn industry in East Java Province in Indonesia. This study used quantitative approach. The sample of this study was 111 small business batik company, and analyzed using Warp PLS. Result of the study showed that operational performance mediated the relatioship between entrepreneurship and financial performance. The result of this study contributed input to the policy maker in East Java Province government abot developing sustainable and successful batik industry to boost creative economic activity in East Java Province. This study also gave a contribution in management accounting area especialy about factor that giving impact to financial performance in batik industry. Keywords–entrepreneurship; operational performance; financial performanc; hand drawn batik industry.
Australian Bank Mortgage Price-Setting Behaviour Pre- and Post-GFC: Does International Funding Cost Matter?

This study is motivated by an ongoing controversy over banks’ interest rate setting conduct in the Australian mortgage market. We examine heterogeneity in the response of variable interest rates on owner-occupied housing loans to the ‘cost of funds’ rates, including the cash rate and the cost of overseas borrowing. The stability of the pass-through mechanism in the post-crisis period is further evaluated in comparison with the pre-crisis epoch. Our results highlight that Australian banks set their mortgage interest rates on funding costs. We also confirm a declining transmission of the cash rate after the GFC consistent with previous studies. Importantly, the close alignment of mortgage rates and international funding cost exists before and after the crisis. Banks partially transmit changes in the cost of offshore funding to their home-loan rates in both short and long term. Short-term pass-through coefficients of the offshore funding cost are heterogeneous, while the long-term traverses are fairly homogeneous. The fuller sizes of these long-term coefficients in the post-crisis subsample signify that Australian banks’ mortgage price-setting practices have been relatively stable after the crisis.
Leadership in Estonia

The present paper concentrates on the subject of leadership during the years of Estonian economy transformation, i.e. the first fifteen years of re-established independence. The research question was – what are the characteristics of the Estonian manager/leader during the transformational period. The hypotheses of current research the leadership style practiced in Estonia during the period from re-establishing the independence till joining the EU can be named transformational found support as the global visionary/value based leadership style is different from Estonian visionaryvalue/team oriented leadership style. Extra characteristics (e.g., administratively effective, being information source, team orientation and communicator), which belong to this style, support the conclusion that it can be called transformational.
Effects of Primary Alcohols on Airway Smooth Muscle

Background The investigation examined whether primary alcohols could be used as tools to explore the mechanism of anesthetic actions in airway smooth muscle (ASM). The hypothesis was that, like volatile anesthetics, the primary alcohols relax intact ASM by decreasing intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and by inhibiting agonist-induced increases in the force developed for a given [Ca2+]i (Ca2+ sensitivity). Method The effects of butanol, hexanol, and octanol on isometric force in canine tracheal smooth muscle were examined. The effects of hexanol on [Ca2+]i (measured with fura-2) and the relationship between force and [Ca2+]i were studied during membrane depolarization provided by KCl and during muscarinic stimulation provided by acetylcholine. Results The primary alcohols relaxed ASM contracted by KCl or acetylcholine in a concentration-dependent manner, with potency increasing as chain length increased. The alcohols could completely relax the strips, even during maximal stimulation with 10 &mgr;m acetylcholine (median effective concentrations of 28 ± 12, 1.3 ± 0.4, and 0.14 ± 0.05 mm [mean ± SD] for butanol, hexanol, and octanol, respectively). Hexanol decreased both [Ca2+]i and force in a concentration-dependent manner. Hexanol decreased Ca2+ sensitivity during muscarinic stimulation but had no effect on the force–[Ca2+]i relationship in its absence. Conclusions Primary alcohols produce reversible, complete relaxation of ASM, with potency increasing as chain length increases, by decreasing [Ca2+]i and inhibiting increases in Ca2+ sensitivity produced by muscarinic receptor stimulation. These actions mimic those of volatile anesthetics on ASM, a circumstance suggesting that the primary alcohols may be useful tools for further exploring mechanisms of anesthetic effects on ASM.
ANATOMICAL AND CLINICAL INSIGHT OF VARIANT MORPHOLOGIES OF PSOAS MINOR MUSCLE: A CASE REPORT

Psoas minor is long, slender and functionally weak muscles that assist psoas major in flexing the trunk and spinal column. Psoas minor at its origin lies just in front of the psoas major muscle has small belly and long tendon like plantaris and palmaris longus muscle. Psoas minor receives its nerve supply from the ventral rami of L1 spinal nerves, which after piercing through the psoas major muscle enter into the muscular belly. In the present case, psoas minor muscle was found bilaterally in a 60 years old male formalin fixed cadaver. Bilaterally, the muscle depicted absence of fusion with adjacent psoas major and was found to exist independently. The distal insertion of the muscle was variable when compare to the contralateral peer. Moreover, in contrast to the muscular portion, the tendinous portion was remarkably lengthier. As the muscle is closely related to important neurovascular structures of retroperitoneum, it may compress them during its involvement in psoas minor syndrome and psoas abscess; yielding myriads of clinical signs and symptoms. The incidence and morphometric parameters of this inconsistent muscle are highly variable and had been frequently correlated with ethnic and racial characteristics. The current report reveals a case of bilateral existence of psoas minor and disparity in its morphometric attributes on either side. Against this background, analysis of deviation in structural architecture and its distribution in population has been attempted. To consolidate the scattered pieces of information about variability in different parameters of this muscle and reemphasize its significant role in radiographic and surgical procedures, a review of literature is constructed to appraise the medical persons working in related fields.
Pathology of the central nervous system in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): a Report of 252 autopsy cases from Brazil

The central nervous system (CNS) was studied in 252 HIV‐infected patients from the States of Rio de Janeiro and Sgo Paulo in Brazil, the regions with the highest incidence of AIDS in the country. We compared the frequency and morphology of opportunistic infections and CNS changes caused by the HIV, with those described in other series and briefly analysed the risk factors involved in our cases. There were CNS lesions in 230 cases (91.3%), 30 (11.9%) with multiple infections and/or turnours. Most infections were opportunistic (65.4%), including 15.4% viral and 50% bacterial, fungal or protozoal infections. The most frequent was toxoplas‐mosis (34.1%), followed by cryptococcosis (13.5%), cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (7.9%) and nodular encephalitis (6.7%). Primary lymphomas were observed in 4% of the cases and HIV encephalitis or leukoencephalopathy in 10.7%. Other opportunistic and HW associated lesions were present in a limited number of cases and there were also vascular and non‐specific lesions. Our study confirms the high frequency of CNS lesions in HIV infected patients. They are morphologically similar to those previously described. However, the higher incidence of toxoplasmosis and cryptococcosis, a lower incidence of viral opportunistic and HIV‐associated lesions, and the presence of rarer lesions such as histoplasmosis and chagasic encephalitis, differ from other series, and may reflect geographical and/or socio‐economic factors.
Phenotype and genotype variation in primary carnitine deficiency

Purpose: Primary carnitine deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder of fatty acid oxidation resulting from defective carnitine transport. This disease is caused by mutations in the carnitine transporter gene SLC22A5. The objective of this study was to extend mutational analysis to four additional families with this disorder and determine whether recurrent mutations could be found.Methods: The SLC22A5 gene encoding the OCTN2 carnitine transporter was sequenced, and the missense mutations identified were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.Results: DNA sequencing revealed four novel mutations (Y4X; dup 254–264, 133X; R19P; R399Q). Alleles introducing premature STOP codons reduced the levels of OCTN2 mRNA. Carnitine transport in CHO cells expressing the R19P and R399Q mutations was reduced to < 5% of normal. The 133X mutation was found in two unrelated European families. Two patients within the same family, both homozygous for the same mutation (R399Q) had completely different clinical presentation.Conclusions: Heterogeneous mutations in the SLC22A5 gene cause primary carnitine deficiency. Different presentations are observed even in children with identical mutations.
Knowledge Inhibition and N400: A Study with Words that Look Like Common Words

In addition to their own representations, low frequency words, such as BRIBE, can covertly activate the representations of higher frequency words they look like (e.g., BRIDE). Hence, look-alike words can activate knowledge that is incompatible with the knowledge corresponding to accurate representations. Comparatively, eccentric words, that is, low frequency words that do not look as much like higher frequency words, are less likely to activate incompatible knowledge. This study focuses on the hypothesis that the N400 component of the event-related potential reflects the inhibition of incompatible knowledge. This hypothesis predicts that look-alike words elicit N400s of greater amplitudes than eccentric words in conditions where incompatible knowledge is inhibited. Results from a single item lexical decision experiment are reported which support the inhibition hypothesis.
Risk Factors of Poor Outcomes after Admission for a COPD Exacerbation: Multivariate Logistic Predictive Models

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to identify a multivariate model to predict poor outcomes after admission for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We performed a multicenter, observational, prospective study. Patients admitted to hospital for COPD were followed up for 3 months. Relevant clinical variables at admission were selected. For each variable, the best cut-offs for the risk of poor outcome were identified using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Finally, a stepwise logistic regression model was performed. A total of 106 patients with a mean age of 71.1 (9.8) years were included. The mean maximum expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1)(%) was 45.2%, and the mean COPD assessment test (CAT) score at admission was 24.8 (7.1). At 3 months, 39 (36.8%) patients demonstrated poor outcomes: death (2.8%), readmission (20.8%) or new exacerbation (13.2%). Variables included in the logistic model were: previous hospital admission, FEV1 < 45%, Charlson ≥ 3, hemoglobin (Hb)<13 g/L, PCO2 ≥ 46 mmHg, fibrinogen ≥ 554 g/L, C-reactive protein (CRP)≥45 mg/L, leukocyte count < 9810 × 109/L, purulent sputum, long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) and CAT ≥ 31 at admission. The final model showed that Hb < 13 g/L (OR = 2.46, 95%CI 1.09–6.36), CRP ≥ 45 mg/L (OR = 2.91, 95%CI: 1.11–7.49) and LTOT (3.07, 95%CI: 1.07–8.82) increased the probability of poor outcome up to 82.4%. Adding a CAT ≥ 31 at admission increased the probability to 91.6% (AUC = 0.75; p = 0.001). Up to 36.8% of COPD patients had a poor outcome within 3 months after hospital discharge, with low hemoglobin and high CRP levels being the risk factors for poor outcome. A high CAT at admission increased the predictive value of the model.
Use of biochar to enhance constructed wetland performance in wastewater reclamation

Constructed wetlands are established efficient technologies and provide sustainable solution for wastewater treatment. Similarly, biochar, which is an organic material, produced by means of pyrolysis, offers simple and low cost techniques to treat water and reduce carbon footprint. Combining both of these technologies can greatly augment the efficiency of the system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of constructed wetlands by using biochar as media. Horizontal wetland beds with dimension (1 m × 0.33 m × 0.3 m) were prepared using gravels and biochar, and cultivated with the Canna species. Synthetic wastewater was passed through these beds with average flow rate of 1.2 × 10-7 ㎥/sec achieving a retention time of three days. Pollutant removal performance was compared between the controlled and experimental wetland beds. This study reveals that the wetland with biochar were more efficient as compared to the wetland with gravels alone with average removal rate of 91.3% COD, 58.3% TN, 58.3% NH₃, 92% NO₃-N, 79.5% TP, and 67.7% PO₄.
SRY (sex determining region Y)-box2 (Sox2)/poly ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (Parp1) complexes regulate pluripotency

To gain insight into mechanisms controlling SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (Sox2) protein activity in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), the endogenous Sox2 gene was tagged with FLAG/Hemagglutinin (HA) sequences by homologous recombination. Sox2 protein complexes were purified from Sox2/FLAG/HA knockin ESCs, and interacting proteins were defined by mass spectrometry. One protein in the complex was poly ADP-ribose polymerase I (Parp1). The results presented below demonstrate that Parp1 regulates Sox2 protein activity. In response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling, Parp1 auto-poly ADP-ribosylation enhances Sox2-Parp1 interactions, and this complex inhibits Sox2 binding to octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4)/Sox2 enhancers. Based on these results, we propose a unique mechanism in which FGF signaling fine-tunes Sox2 activity through posttranslational modification of a critical interacting protein, Parp1, and balances the maintenance of ESC pluripotency and differentiation. In addition, we demonstrate that regulation of Sox2 activity by Parp1 is critical for efficient generation of induced pluripotent stem cells.
Entrepreneurial activity under ‘transition’

With this chapter, I present a short overview of the theoretical explanation for the development of bottomup entrepreneurship in those economies and societies that are most often characterized as ‘transitional’. This involves sharing and drawing upon my own experience of more than 20 years of sociological research into entrepreneurial activities, as well as the development of smalland mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), in Central and Eastern European (CEE) and the states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Overall, after more than two decades of systemic transition, the state and performance of entrepreneurial activity in these countries seems to be less encouraging than expected in the early 1990s. When the transition process started, most experts were rather enthusiastic about the prospects of private entrepreneurship, market economies and democracy in CEE and the CIS. It appeared evident that de novo ‘Schumpeterian’ entrepreneurship would be booming, which was seen as inevitable condition for the modernization of economies and societies. The privatization of state enterprises and organizations was judged to be a precondition for private sector development, and the transfer of Western experiences in SME policy and support was assumed to support the rapid development of de novo startups and small businesses. I shared these hopes at the beginning of the 1990s, too. However, by the mid1990s it became clear that, first, the intensity of entrepreneurship development as a whole was much lower than expected in most of these countries. Second, experts recognized that privatization did not necessarily lead to a widening of possibilities for bottomup ‘Schumpeterian’ entrepreneurship. In many postSocialist economies it rather resulted in assetcapture, either by the former ‘nomenclature’ or by transnational big companies. In other words, the phenomenon of socalled ‘predatory entrepreneurship’ arose during the initial transition phase (Feige 1997; Scase 2003; Spicer
Intrinsic Temperature Sensitivity of Fiber Bragg Gratings in PMMA-Based Optical Fibers

Thermal response of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in polymethyl methacrylate-based optical fibers doped with trans-4-stilbenemethanol is studied at 0% relative humidity (RH) from -20°C to 60°C. The Bragg wavelength is found to negatively shift upon heating in a nonlinear manner. The higher the temperature, the larger the magnitude of wavelength shift is. The absolute value of calculated temperature sensitivity also increased with temperature. The sensitivity at room temperature is about -1 pm/°C, which is one order of magnitude lower than that measured at constant RH for polymer FBGs and that of silica FBGs. Such low temperature sensitivity challenges the common notion of high temperature sensitivity of polymer FBGs. In addition, it is found that the dependence of Bragg wavelength of the polymer FBGs on RH is nonlinear. Below 30% RH, the Bragg wavelength shift upon RH increase is minimal compared to that above 30% RH.
The moderating effects of organizational programs and supervisor support on work - family balance : evidence from Brazil

Research on work-family balance has received increasing attention by academicians and practitioners alike. The present study identifies some of the antecedents to work-family balance and the intervening factors that foster the work-family balance. Data was collected from 125 individuals (using a structured instrument) and interviews with a group of 13 individuals from the employees of a public sector institution of the Brazilian Federal Government. The hierarchical regression results indicated that organizational support programs, supervisor support moderated the relationship between type of work, workweek, number of children and age of children, whereas spouse support did not moderate the relationship. The implications for management and suggestions for future research are discussed.