Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ownership Concentration, Blockholder Types and Stock Market Liquidity

We examine the relation between market liquidity and ownership concentration and the effect of different types of blockholders on stock market liquidity in Germany. For the overall sample high ownership concentration is negatively related to market liquidity as measured by an order-size-dependent volume-weighted spread measure, which is called Xetra liquidity measure (XLM). This is due to an information asymmetry problem, as large shareholders possess economies of scale in the collection of information or have access to private, value relevant information and may trade on this information to extract the private benefits of control. Our major objective is to scrutinize the effect of specific types of shareholders on market liquidity. We found that most blockholder types, but most importantly insider blockholders, have a deleterious effect on the market liquidity. However, we show that on the other hand private blockholders and majority strategic blockholders alleviate the information asymmetry. This may be due to the fact that they don't have access to private information, can't leverage economies of scale in the information acquisition, or that they simply don't engage in information based trading, as they are usually long-term investors. Hence, private and to some extent strategic blockholders are able to improve stock market liquidity. We therefore are able to show that the often propagated trade-off between liquidity benefits obtained through dispersed corporate ownership and the benefits from efficient management control achieved by some degree of ownership concentration doesn't hold for all blockholder types.
Exploring the relationships between e‐service quality, satisfaction, attitudes and behaviours in content‐driven e‐service web sites

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the relationships among e‐service quality, consumer satisfaction, attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions in the context of content‐driven web sites.Design/methodology/approach – Data from an online survey of 518 consumers were collected with the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling technique used to empirically test the model.Findings – Findings suggest that positive evaluations of e‐service quality influences positive levels of consumer satisfaction, consumer attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions within the specific service context of content‐driven professional sports web sites.Research limitations/implications – The study specifically focuses on content‐centric web sites within a single service domain being professional sport. Future research can apply the framework to other service sectors on the internet, as well as to other cultural settings.Practical implicat.
A STUDY ON ROLE OF KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT AND ITS PROGRAMMES FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Poverty diminution and economic escalation can be sustained only if there is Rural Development. Rural development can stimulate rural economies, create jobs and help maintain critical ecosystem services and strengthen and strengthen climate resilience of the rural poor. In this background present study made an attempt to study the role of Karnataka State Government in the development of rural areas. And also present study made an attempt to know the various programmes launched in the state of Karnataka for Rural Development. To achieve the aforesaid objectives data is gathered from the Economic Survey Report of Government of Karnataka. From the present study it is found that various programmes or schemes launched by the Government of Karnataka for the development of rural areas are commendable, but still lot of scope is there for effective implementation to achieve rural development.
The behavioral consequences of PC banking

This article compares users of PC‐based home banking systems with non‐users. A questionnaire study with responses from 669 bank consumers from Denmark shows that users of PC banking are more satisfied, are less price sensitive, have higher intentions to repurchase and provide more positive word‐of‐mouth than non‐users. For the banks these results indicate that, in the future, PC banking systems will become a stable source of revenue from a mass of loyal customers.
Evaluation of patient and implant characteristics as potential prognostic factors for oral implant failures.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient, implant, and treatment characteristics to identify possible prognostic factors for implant failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS Out of a database with different dental implant treatment protocols, a research database of 1 randomly selected implant per patient was created. The database consisted of 487 implants. Of these, 80 were withdrawn, 36 failed, and 371 remained successful during a 5-year follow-up period. Potential risk factors were evaluated by chi-square tests and post hoc analyses. RESULTS Significant or strongly significant differences were found regarding implant failures as a result of jawbone quality, jaw shape, implant length, treatment protocol, and combinations of jawbone-related characteristics. Responsible clinics and number of implants supporting the restoration were factors that could not be associated with implant failure. DISCUSSION Implant failures in this study were more often seen when negative patient-related factors were present. Approximately 65% of the patients with a combination of the 2 most negative bone-related factors (jawbone quality 4 and jaw shape D or E) experienced implant failure. However, only 3% of the patients had this combination. Implant length, the only implant-related factor evaluated, was also significantly correlated with the success rate, but implant length could also be regarded as a result of the jawbone volume available. Another negative patient-related factor was the treatment protocol; however, in most cases this was also indirectly or partly related to the status of the jawbone available for implant placement. CONCLUSION Patient selection appears to be of importance for increasing implant success rates.
Climate Change Futures: Health, Ecological and Economic Dimensions

ipation and additional sponsors. Corporate participants will engage as stakeholders in the process – participating in interactive workshops with the scientists and economists engaged in the scenario building process and helping to inform the recommendations. Deliverables include active participation in conferences, workshops, teleconference calls and onsite presentations. Other deliverables include audio CDs, project reports and strategic response plans. Concerns about climate change are often placed into the distant future. But the health and financial impacts of climate instability are already affecting many nations and economies. Climate change affects human health and economics via many pathways, including:
Predictors of refill non-adherence in patients with heart failure.

AIM To identify the health beliefs and patient characteristics associated with medication non-adherence in patients attending a heart failure outpatient clinic. METHODS A survey was administered to 350 consenting clinic patients. Questions focused on relevant demographic and clinical characteristics, the Health Belief Model, the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of refill non-adherence (<90%). RESULTS Refill non-adherence was found in 77 (22%) participants. Being a smoker [odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0, 5.8, P = 0.045], two or fewer medication administration times (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2, 4.6, P = 0.01), and positive response to 'Have you changed your daily routine to accommodate your heart failure medication schedule' (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2, 4.5, P = 0.01) were the independent predictors of refill non-adherence. CONCLUSION Perceptions regarding barriers to medication taking and fewer administration times could result in medication non-adherence in congestive heart failure patients. Medication regimens should be designed after accounting for patients' existing routines.
Evaluation of multidisciplinary simulation training on clinical performance and team behavior during tracheal intubation procedures in a pediatric intensive care unit

Objective: Tracheal intubation in the pediatric intensive care unit is often performed in emergency situations with high risks. Simulation has been recognized as an effective methodology to train both technical and teamwork skills. Our objectives were to develop a feasible tool to evaluate team performance during tracheal intubation in the pediatric intensive care unit and to apply the tool in the clinical setting to determine whether multidisciplinary teams with a higher number of simulation-trained providers exhibit more proficient performance. Design: Prospective, observational pilot study. Setting: Single tertiary children's hospital pediatric intensive care unit. Subjects: Pediatric and emergency medicine residents, pediatric intensive care unit nurses, and respiratory therapists from October 2007 to June 2008. Interventions: A pediatric intensive care unit on-call resident, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse, and a respiratory therapist received simulation-based multidisciplinary airway management training every morning. An assessment tool for team technical and behavioral skills was developed. Independent trained observers rated actual intubations in the pediatric intensive care unit by using this tool. Measurements and Main Results: For observer training, two independent raters (research assistants 1 and 2) evaluated a total of 53 training sessions (research assistant 1, 16; research assistant 2, 37). The correlation coefficient with the facilitator expert (surrogate standard) was . 73 for research assistant 1 and . 88 for research assistant 2 (p ≤ .001 for both) in the total score, . 84 for research assistant 1 and . 77 for research assistant 2 (p < .001 for both) in the technical domain, and . 63 for research assistant 1 (p = .009) and . 84 for research assistant 2 (p < .001) in the behavioral domain. The correlation coefficient was lower in video-based observation (.62 vs. .88, on-site). For clinical observation, 15 intubations were observed in real time by raters. The performance by a team with two or more simulation-trained members was rated higher compared with the team with fewer than two trained members (total score: 127 ± 6 vs. 116 ± 9, p = .012, mean ± sd). Conclusions: It is feasible to rate the technical and behavioral performance of multidisciplinary airway management teams during real intensive care unit intubation events by using our assessment tool. The presence of two or more multidisciplinary simulation-trained providers is associated with improved performance during real events.
Advance Selling with Interdependent Customer Valuations

Advance selling is widely used in practice, but in significantly different formats. For some products sellers offer discounts during advance selling, while for other products sellers charge a premium. Some sellers make all capacity available for advance selling, while others limit (ration) advance sales or do not offer it at all. This paper shows that interdependence of customer valuation may explain some of these differences in sellers’ strategies. We consider a seller who can offer a single product to customers twice, in advance and in spot. Customers choose whether and when to buy, but if they buy in advance, they are uncertain about their own valuations. Customers’ valuations are realized in spot and they may range from fully independent to perfectly correlated, creating different markets (different characteristics of aggregate demand) for the seller.Facing these customers, the seller chooses prices in both periods and also what portion of the total capacity to offer in advance. We describe how the optimal strategy and benefits of advance selling depend on the interdependence of customer valuation, as well as other production and market parameters such as unit cost, capacity level, advance and spot market size. We find that a change in valuation interdependence can lead to dramatically different policies for the seller. For example, when individual valuations are highly diverse and consumer population is large, the seller must offer a discount during advance selling, but she may limit the advance sales. On the other hand, when valuations are highly correlated, the seller can add a premium during advance selling. For the same valuation interdependence, the qualitative nature of the optimal strategy changes with available capacity. We show that our results are well aligned with several applications in practice.
Organisational capabilities: Antecedents and implications for customer value

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the cultural and implementation organisational capabilities that contribute to provision of superior customer values through operationalising customer value from both the business and customer perspectives.Design/methodology/approach – Two samples were developed: one for hotel managers (n=231) and the other for hotel guests (n=385). Data for the organisational capabilities were collected from managers; data for customer value were collected from both managers and customers. Two models were tested with respect to the relationship between cultural capabilities and implementation on customer value.Findings – The results indicate that, among the cultural variables, integrated market orientation and intrapreneurship are significantly and positively related to customer value. The implementation capabilities, human resources practices and innovation are significantly related to customer value as seen by managers, but none of these was significant when regressed on customer.
Usefulness of cash flow in business decision making

This research examines the relationship between free cash flows with earnings, dividend per share, depreciation, and capital expenditures. Using a sample of 100 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia between 2005 until 2010, this study applies ordinary least squares and fixed-effects method to estimate the regression model. Findings reveal that Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), Capital Expenditure and Depreciation significantly influence the Free Cash Flows. EBITDA and Capital Expenditure has shown positive relationship with free cash flow, but Depreciation reflects a negative relationship with free cash flow. These findings may provide useful information to investors and businessmen on how to plan and manage the cash flow.
A Series of Anesthesia-related Maternal Deaths in Michigan, 1985–2003

Background:Maternal Mortality Surveillance has been conducted by the State of Michigan since 1950, and anesthesia-related maternal deaths were most recently reviewed for the years 1972–1984. Methods:Records for pregnancy-associated deaths between 1985 and 2003 were reviewed to identify 25 cases associated with a perioperative arrest or major anesthetic complication. Four obstetric anesthesiologists independently classified these cases, and disagreements were resolved by discussion. Precise definitions of anesthesia-related and anesthesia-contributing maternal death were constructed. Anesthesia-related deaths were reviewed to identify the chain of medical errors or care management problems that contributed to each patient death. Results:Of 855 pregnancy-associated deaths, 8 were anesthesia-related and 7 were anesthesia-contributing. There were no deaths during induction of general anesthesia. Five resulted from hypoventilation or airway obstruction during emergence, extubation, or recovery. Lapses in either postoperative monitoring or anesthesiology supervision seemed to contribute to 5 of the 8 anesthesia-related deaths. Other characteristics common to these cases included obesity (n = 6) and African-American race (n = 6). Conclusions:The 8 anesthesia-related and seven anesthesia-contributing maternal deaths in Michigan between 1985 and 2003 illustrate three key points. First, all anesthesia-related deaths from airway obstruction or hypoventilation took place during emergence and recovery, not during the induction of general anesthesia. Second, system errors played a role in the majority of cases. Of concern, lapses in postoperative monitoring and inadequate supervision by an anesthesiologist seemed to contribute to more than half of the deaths. Finally, this report confirms previous work that obesity and African-American race are important risk factors for anesthesia-related maternal mortality.
Towards a Model of Engaging Online Students: Lessons from MOOCs and Four Policy Documents

The paper describes a model of engaging students in fully online or blended learning environments. To do this, I first discuss the notion of student engagement and how it relates to the Self-Determination Theory of motivation. Next, I reviewed a number of online learning policy guidelines from four professional councils around the world in order to elicit specific guidelines related to the design of online learning courses, and student engagement. Following that, I analyzed two most highly-rated MOOCs. I analyzed the structural features of the two MOOCs and the comments of both participants who completed the courses, and who partially completed or dropped out. Altogether, comments from 839 participants were examined. Finally, using these empirical data and the policy guidelines from the four professional organizations, I outline a rudimentary model of engaging students in online learning courses, based on six major instructional design elements.
Glucose turnover, fuel oxidation and forearm substrate exchange in patients with thyrotoxicosis before and after medical treatment

OBJECTIVE Accelerated metabolism is a hallmark of thyrotoxicosis, but the underlying bioche mical mechanisms are incompletely understood and the majority of studies have investigated normal subjects rendered only modestly hyperthyroid for a brief period of time. We have therefore studied a group of thyrotoxic patients using several different techniques.
The Effect of Sales Assistance on Purchase Decisions: An analysis using retail video data

We investigate the role of sales assistance in driving customer’s purchase decision using unique observational video data from a cosmetics retail chain. The data contain visual descriptors of customers and their in-store activities including the time they spent in interacting with salespersons ( sales assistance ), and are linked to their purchase decisions. Our empirical specification is based on the process of customer deciding to engage in sales assistance to acquire information meaningful toward purchase decision. Thus, we treat sales assistance as endogenous construct, and employ a control function approach to correct for this endogeneity using instruments pertaining to the supply of sales assistance. Our analysis quantifies the role of sales assistance in driving a customer’s purchase decision, and it shows that the effectiveness of sales assistance diminishes with its amount. In addition to highlighting the importance of sales assistance towards purchase decisions, our results also quantify how the retailer can influence sales assistance by increasing the availability of salespersons. We also examine the effect of sales assistance on in-store search carried out by the customer. Finally, we offer number of context specific insights into the heterogeneity of customers’ shopping and purchasing behavior.
Melatonin, mitochondria, and Ca 2+ homeostasis in the exocrine pancreas: an overview

Melatonin, a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan, was initially thought to be mainly produced and secreted by the pineal gland; with time, it was also found in other tissues and organs, and even in plants. Since its discovery, the study of the role of the indole in cellular homeostasis has generated impressive data, which have led researchers to a common idea regarding the positive actions of melatonin in health. The uncontrolled production of free radicals in cellular systems leads to the situation termed oxidative stress, which has been signaled as the basis of disease and aging. In the exocrine pancreas, as in other parts of the body, a daily confrontation takes place against oxidative stress. The major signaling mechanisms controlling the physiology of the gland are affected under this situation. Because a love-hate relationship involving mitochondria and oxidative stress has been considered the basis of disease, any physiological regulator that sets hands on the system as a pacemaker will be determinant for the health's fate. Here we present an overview of the recent findings regarding the protective role of melatonin on the function of the exocrine pancreas, paying attention to the role of Ca2+ signaling and the involvement of mitochondria.
Inhibition of chemical carcinogenesis by berberine in rats and mice

Berberine, an alkaloid isolated from the plant Berberis aristata, has been found to inhibit significantly the carcinogenesis induced by 20‐methylcholanthrene (200 μg/0.1 mL/mouse) or N‐nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA; 0.02% NDEA in distilled water, 2.5 mL/animal by gavage, five days a week for 20 weeks) in a dose‐dependent manner in small animals. Administration of berberine (0.5, 2.5 or 5.0 mg kg−1) could reduce significantly the incidenceof tumour in animals after an injection of 20‐methylcholanthrene and increased their life span compared with the control. When berberine (10, 25 or 50 mg kg−1) was administered simultaneously with NDEA, the markers of liver injury (liver weight, γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase activity and glutathione S‐transferase level) were reduced significantly compared with animals treated with NDEA only, which resulted in all the values being elevated. A similar decrease was noted inthe serum levels of lipid peroxide, bilirubin and glutamate pyruvate transaminase. Morphology of liver tissue and levels of marker enzymes indicated that berberine offered protection against chemical carcinogenesis.
The (5‐4) and (6‐4) Adducts of 1‐Methylthymine and Their Dewar Valence Isomers

Previous studies of the photochemical reaction of 1‐methylthymine (MeT) in frozen aqueous solution have indicated that four cyclobutane type dimers are formed. We have restudied this system and have found that, in addition to cyclobutane dimers, both a (5‐4) adduct and a (6‐4) adduct of MeT are formed in significant amounts. Upon standing in aqueous solution, the (5‐4) adduct is susceptible to reaction to form an isomeric form of the parent adduct, possibly via ring‐opening and closure reactions at C‐6 of the saturated pyrimidine ring component of the adduct. Irradiation of each of these three adducts with UVB light produces a pair of Dewar‐type adducts. The nine products were individually characterized by mass spectrometry, proton NMR spectroscopy and UV spectroscopy. A less comprehensive study showed that irradiation of thymidine in frozen aqueous solution produces a diastereomeric pair of (5‐4) adducts, along with the previously known diastereomeric pair of (6‐4) adducts.
Past, Present, and Future of Wetlands Credit Sales

In this paper we review the evolution of the wetlands credit sales program developed to support the federal wetlands permit program. Then, we explain how the regulatory rules governing the overall permit program, as well as specific rules governing credit sales, have prevented the development of robust markets in credit buying and selling. Based on this review, we identify an alternative institutional structure that would apply marketlike principles to expand the quantity of and lower the prices of credits while ensuring that wetlands credit sales help move the nation toward its goal: no net loss of wetlands acres and functions.