Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deficits in Category Learning in Older Adults: Rule-Based Versus Clustering Accounts

Memory research has long been one of the key areas of investigation for cognitive aging researchers but only in the last decade or so has categorization been used to understand age differences in cognition. Categorization tasks focus more heavily on the grouping and organization of items in memory, and often on the process of learning relationships through trial and error. Categorization studies allow researchers to more accurately characterize age differences in cognition: whether older adults show declines in the way in which they represent categories with simple rules or declines in representing categories by similarity to past examples. In the current study, young and older adults participated in a set of classic category learning problems, which allowed us to distinguish between three hypotheses: (a) rule-complexity: categories were represented exclusively with rules and older adults had differential difficulty when more complex rules were required, (b) rule-specific: categories could be represented either by rules or by similarity, and there were age deficits in using rules, and (c) clustering: similarity was mainly used and older adults constructed a less-detailed representation by lumping more items into fewer clusters. The ordinal levels of performance across different conditions argued against rule-complexity, as older adults showed greater deficits on less complex categories. The data also provided evidence against rule-specificity, as single-dimensional rules could not explain age declines. Instead, computational modeling of the data indicated that older adults utilized fewer conceptual clusters of items in memory than did young adults.
Naming Your Own Price Mechanisms: Revenue Gain or Drain?

We experimentally study the profitability of pricing mechanisms that allow customers to quote their own prices, such as Priceline.com's "Name-Your-Own-Price" (NYOP). Presumably firms find this sales method profit-maximizing despite the concerns that NYOP websites can cannibalize profit from standard distribution channels. Using a laboratory experiment we compare outcomes between NYOP and posted-price settings. We find that NYOP mechanisms that do not conceal information about products increase profit and consumer surplus. When NYOP channels conceal information about products there is no significant change in profit unless the threshold above which bids are accepted is set near marginal cost, whereby profit decreases.
Anatomy and significance of the subarachnoid space in the fallopian canal.

OBJECTIVE To describe the anatomic variations of the subarachnoid space (SAS) in the facial nerve canal from human temporal bone specimens. BACKGROUND The SAS in the facial canal usually is assumed to terminate in the petrosal segment of the canal. This temporal bone study indicates that in 12% of temporal bones the SAS extends laterally into or beyond the tympanic segment of the facial canal. METHODS Histologic sections through the petrosal and tympanic segments of the facial canal were examined by light microscopy in 1 fetal (30 weeks) and 163 adult human temporal bones. The arachnoidal membrane of the SAS was judged to fall into three types according to its lateral extension in the fallopian canal. RESULTS One hundred forty-four (88%) of the adult temporal bones contained an SAS limited to the petrosal fallopian canal (type I). Thirteen temporal bones (8%) demonstrated an SAS that extended into the tympanic or geniculate portions of the facial nerve (type II). There were six temporal bones (4%) in which the SAS extended lateral to the tympanic facial nerve or into a separate bony compartment (type III). CONCLUSIONS Most (88%) temporal bones contain an SAS that is limited to the petrosal fallopian canal. In 12% of temporal bones, however, the SAS may extend laterally in the fallopian canal and present clinically as an asymptomatic enlargement of the canal by computed tomography or as cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea.
Feedbacks between plant N demand and rhizosphere priming depend on type of mycorrhizal association.

Ecosystem carbon (C) balance is hypothesised to be sensitive to the mycorrhizal strategies that plants use to acquire nutrients. To test this idea, we coupled an optimality-based plant nitrogen (N) acquisition model with a microbe-focused soil organic matter (SOM) model. The model accurately predicted rhizosphere processes and C-N dynamics across a gradient of stands varying in their relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees. When mycorrhizal dominance was switched - ECM trees dominating plots previously occupied by AM trees, and vice versa - legacy effects were apparent, with consequences for both C and N stocks in soil. Under elevated productivity, ECM trees enhanced decomposition more than AM trees via microbial priming of unprotected SOM. Collectively, our results show that ecosystem responses to global change may hinge on the balance between rhizosphere priming and SOM protection, and highlight the importance of dynamically linking plants and microbes in terrestrial biosphere models.
Mises, Hayek and Corruption

Using the arguments of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich August von Hayek, I argue that private ownership solves the economic problem of corruption. Since private ownership discourages entrepreneurs from rent-seeking, and privately owned media provide objective and unbiased information to citizens, any legal reform establishing and enforcement of private ownership also solves the corruption problem.
Combining Operations and Marketing to Manage Capacity and Demand in Services

Although profitability is generally increased when services do well at matching demand and capacity, service managers continue to struggle in this area. This article summarises major demand and capacity management literature from both operations and marketing fields with the view to combine the knowledge into a pragmatically based framework. The primary focus is on services that cannot schedule customers (e.g., banks, supermarkets), since these provide the greatest challenge for demand management. Narrowing this further, the article gives preference to work that has information useful to promote future modelling efforts.
Latent Membrane Protein 1 Regulates STAT1 through NF-κB-Dependent Interferon Secretion in Epstein-Barr Virus-Immortalized B Cells

ABSTRACT Constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) is a distinctive feature of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-immortalized B cells (lymphoblastoid cell lines [LCLs]). The expression of STAT1 in these cells is modulated by the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), but the mechanism of STAT1 activation has remained unclear. We demonstrate that the tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT1 in LCLs results from an indirect pathway encompassing an NF-κB-dependent secretion of interferons (IFNs). The cell culture supernatant of LCLs induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT1 in cells with no constitutively activated STAT1. Moreover, removal of supernatant from LCLs was sufficient to decrease the phosphorylation of STAT1. Inhibition of NF-κB activity by different pharmacological inhibitors (i.e., parthenolide, MG132 and BAY 11-7082) and by overexpressed mutated IκBα prevented the activation of STAT1. To identify the factors involved, we performed macroarray cDNA profiling with or without inhibition of NF-κB. The expression of several cytokines was NF-κB dependent among those alpha and gamma IFNs (IFN-α and IFN-γ), known activators of STAT1. By real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay we show that IFN-α and IFN-γ are expressed and released by LCLs in an NF-κB-dependent manner. Finally, the blocking of the IFN-α and IFN-γ by neutralizing antibodies led to the complete inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT1. Taken together, our results clearly show that LMP1-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT1 is almost exclusively due to the NF-κB-dependent secretion of IFNs. Whether this response, which is usually considered to be antiviral, is in fact required for the persistence of the virus remains to be elucidated.
Out-of-Court Restructuring versus Formal Bankruptcy in a Non-Interventionist Bankruptcy Setting

We investigate debt restructurings in Germany for a sample of 116 financially distressed companies. About half of the firms succeed in restructuring their debt in a workout while the others file for bankruptcy. Our evidence suggests that firms which have higher leverage, owe more debt to banks, and exhibit higher going concern values are more likely to conduct a workout. Bankruptcy is more likely for firms with deficient lender coordination and a high fraction of collateralized debt. An analysis of stock returns suggests that the market uses similar information to predict workouts. 84% of the bankrupt firms were ultimately liquidated. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.
Measuring Human Resource Value: An Analysis Based on the Hotel Industry

The importance and value of employees in service industries has been recognised by senior executives for many decades and they are aware that the service provided by human resources is the key to competitive advantage in the market place. This is particularly true of the hotel industry where employees form an integral part of the “hospitality product”. In labour intensive industries human resources are also costly to develop and maintain and increasing global competition in the 1980s followed by a world‐wide recession in the early 1990s has focused attention more acutely on the effectiveness of investments made in human resources. This had led to the rediscovery of human resource costing and accounting as a means by which organisations can monitor the impact of their employment practices on business performance. This article discusses the findings from research on the human resource accounting practices of hotel companies operating in the UK. The research indicates that very few hotel companies studied undertook any systematic analysis of their human resource investments and the economic contribution of employees remains unknown. This raises questions regarding the extent to which human resources are truly “valued” by hotel organisations and how much time and effort is devoted to ensuring that human resource investments and employment practices add value to the business.
Changes in bite force and dentoskeletal morphology in prognathic patients after orthognathic surgery.

OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the changes in bite force and dentoskeletal morphology in prognathic patients after orthognathic surgery. STUDY DESIGN Twenty-four patients underwent orthognathic surgery to correct Class III skeletal and dental malocclusions. Ten patients who underwent Le Fort I and bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy of the mandible (ie, surgical correction of 2 jaws) and 14 patients who underwent only bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (ie, surgical correction of 1 jaw) were compared. Bite force was measured preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. The dentoskeletal morphology was assessed through lateral cephalograms obtained preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS Twelve months postoperatively, the bite force was significantly greater in the patients who underwent surgery on 1 jaw than in the patients who underwent surgery on 2 jaws. Significant decreases in the gonial angle, occlusal plane angle, and anterior facial height were observed postoperatively in the patients with 1 surgically corrected jaw, but not in the patients with 2 surgically corrected jaws. Patients with 2 surgically corrected jaws experienced a greater increase in the Frankfort mandibular plane angle and a greater decrease in the posterior facial height than did those with 1 surgically corrected jaw. CONCLUSION The difference in the preoperative-to-postoperative change in dentoskeletal morphology between the 2 groups is one of the factors responsible for the significant difference in postoperative bite force between the 2 groups.
The Factor Structure of Time-Varying Discount Rates

Discount rate variation is driven by a short run business cycle component and a longer run trend component. This leads to state variable hedging of these two components and ICAPM logic implies a three factor model for expected returns. One factor represents cash flow news and the two other factors represent short term and long term discount rate news. News about both these discount rate components is important in describing the cross section of stock returns. Consistent with the predictions of leading asset pricing models, long run discount rate news is priced consistently across different samples and specifications and commands a higher risk premium than short run discount rate news.
*Imbrication of Representations: Risk and Digital Technologies

Though emerging from different venues and backgrounds, risk management and digital applications are both based on sophisticated techniques of representation. This paper tracks the multiple overlappings and convergence between these two streams of representations. Initially digital technologies play a background role, as a tool to execute the algorithms of risk calculus. Then, they are useful in managing surveys and data analysis for those areas where risk management needs to store data on, for example, accidents. With the extension of markets for trading risk, computers and networks (or Information and Communication Technologies, ICT) become the tools of choice to allow the efficient functioning of industries like insurance. In other industries, like banking, where 'the business' is a vast archipelago of applications running on systems and networks, it is apparent that these integrated systems are inherently exposed to risk. Hence, these humble tools become both the infrastructure of the risk industry, and also the source of new, often incalculable risks; they move from a clear-cut subordinate relationship (as tool) to that of "imbrication". Risk representations become more calculable and formalized, but this is obtained at the price of an incalculability of the risks of the infrastructure itself. The analysis of the multiple patterns of imbrication of representations between risk and digital technologies is applied to a range of empirical domains: from software engineering and information systems (the subservient infrastructure); to operational risk in banking; and finally to the future scenario of the democratization of finance, whereby Global Risk Information Databases (GRIDs), become gigantic machines to represent, compute, and trade all sorts of individual and social risks. -super-[1] Overall, the paper seeks to characterize the multiple links between risk and digital technologies in organizations and draws in part on the phenomenology of representation and Heidegger's studies of Care and Concern and his later work on the essence of modern technology. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2006.
Efectos de la volatilidad del tipo de cambio sobre las exportaciones : caso colombiano 2000-2012

This paper investigates empirically the impact of exchange rate volatility on Colombia’s exports to its major trading partners under the floating exchange rate regime for the period 2000 to 2012. Estimates of the co-integrating relations are obtained using Johansen s technique, and the estimates of the short run dynamics are obtained utilizing and error correction model. The findings indicate that increases in exchange rate volatility has a negative effect on exports, fact that repeats with its largest trading partner but not with the other countries here proposed for both short and long term.
Slow Cities: Sustainable Places in a Fast World

ABSTRACT: This article examines the Slow Food and Slow City movement as an alternative approach to urban development that focuses on local resources, economic and cultural strengths, and the unique historical context of a town. Following recent discussions about the politics of alternative economic development, the study examines the Slow City movement as a strategy to address the interdependencies between goals for economic, environmental, and equitable urban development. In particular, we draw on the examples of two Slow Cities in Germany—Waldkirch and Hersbruck, and show how these towns are retooling their urban policies. The study is placed in the context of alternative urban development agendas as opposed to corporate-centered development. We conclude the article by offering some remarks about the institutional and political attributes of successful Slow Cities and the transferability of the concept.
Trade liberalization and environmental tax in differentiated oligopoly with consumption externalities

This paper investigates the environment tax and trade liberalization with different market structures (pure oligopoly or mixed oligopoly) juxtaposing the substitutability of the goods (homogenous goods and differentiated goods), wherein environmental damage is associated with consumption. It shows that the environmental tax in mixed oligopoly is higher than in pure oligopoly irrespective of the properties of goods. In addition, it demonstrates that when the domestic market increases its openings, the tariff reduction does not always bring positive effects on the environment in mixed oligopoly but, in pure oligopoly with homogeneous goods, the tariff reduction is bad for the environment.
Trace metals in tissues of the six most common fish species in the Black Sea, Turkey

Concentrations of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, As, Se, Cd, Ag and Pb in scale, skin, muscle, gills, liver and the gonads of Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Black Sea salmon (Salmo trutta labrax), Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), Red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and Whiting (Merlangius merlangius euxinus) from the Black Sea, in Turkey, were investigated. Elemental analyses were performed with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after sample preparation by microwave digestion. Mean metal concentrations in different tissues were in the following ranges: Mn 0.09–23.1, Fe 0.58–326, Co 0.01–0.22, Ni 0.03–1.34, As 0.13–3.40, Se 0.13–4.42, Ag 0.01–0.18, Cd 0.32–6.25, Pb 0.02–0.38 mg kg−1 wet weight. Metal concentrations in the muscles of the examined species were generally lower than those in scale, skin, gills, liver and the gonads. The described method was validated by analysis of Dogfish Liver-certified reference material, DOLT-4.
An Interactional Approach to Organizations’ Success in Socializing Their Intern Newcomers: The Role of General Self-Efficacy and Organizational Socialization Inventory

Using an interactionist approach, this study examined the effects of the general self-efficacy (GSE) and the organizational socialization inventory (OSI) domains, as well as the GSE × OSI domains on tourism and hospitality organizations’ success—newcomer perceived general job satisfaction (GJS) and intent to return (ITR)—in socializing their intern newcomers. The sample included 352 senior tourism and hospitality undergraduates from two institutions of higher education in tourism and hospitality in China’s Hainan Island who just experienced organizational socialization in their respective placement organizations. Results indicated that intern newcomers’ GJS and ITR can be significantly predicted by GSE and all OSI domains, respectively; that GJS can be incrementally explained by all the interactions between GSE and the four OSI domains, except for the GSE × OSI_training; and that ITR can be incrementally explained by the interactions of GSE × OSI_training and GSE × OSI_future prospect. The study’s findings as well as their theoretical and practical implications are discussed within the context of organizational socialization research, GSE-related social cognitive career theory and core self-evaluation theory, and human resource development practices in tourism and hospitality organizations.
The Value Relevance of Alternative Earnings Measures: A Comparison of Pro Forma, GAAP, and I/B/E/S Earnings

This article explores whether pro forma earnings, GAAP earnings, and I/B/E/S earnings are value relevant and, more important, which in comparative terms has the greatest value relevance. In addition to using actual pro forma measures contained in earnings press releases of Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 firms, our design employs both traditional price and returns association models and incorporates both current and future measures of earnings. We find for the full period, 2000 through 2004, that all three earnings measures are value relevant. We further find that pro forma earnings are significantly more value relevant than Institutional Broker's Estimate System (I/B/E/S) earnings, which in turn are more value relevant than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) earnings. These results are robust to several alternate model specifications as well as to controlling for measures of opportunistic reporting.
Changing urban housing markets in advanced economies

For decades, the main distinguishing feature of urban housing markets in advanced economies has been suburbanization. Many people with middle and higher incomes have left the city and settled in the suburbs. The spending power associated with the city centre is lost to the suburbs, which have become increasingly prosperous. The Americans have a word for the legacy of this trend. They call it the ‘doughnut city’: empty buildings, derelict areas, crime, and vandalism in the centre; and wealth, happiness, and family life in the suburbs. In the post‐industrial arena, we can observe a process of re‐urbanization which is leading to a revival of the urban economy. This revitalization can be explained by the transformation from industrialization to knowledge‐intensive business services stimulated by the ICT revolution. In this paper we examine the different views and the evidence on the impact of ICT on housing functions and on urban configurations. We contend that a change is occurring in the temporal and spatial relationship between housing and employment and that network cities and urban networks seem an obvious perspective for many urban areas in the decades to come. We describe this strategic urban transformation and the changing urban housing markets and present the approach adopted by the Dutch government: urban restructuring and re‐differentiation of the housing stock in less popular urban districts. We sketch the impact of the changing urban and regional economy for urban planners and housing officials. As a result of urban revitalization we see new opportunities for urban housing markets and urban developments, and new challenges for urban and housing policies.
Inversión en infraestructuras, crecimiento y convergencia regional

En este trabajo se presentan algunas estimaciones de la contribucion de la inversion en infraestructuras al crecimiento del producto y el empleo en Espana y sus regiones y se analiza el impacto de este factor sobre el proceso de convergencia regional en renta per capita durante el periodo 1965-2004.
Consumer acceptance of GM food: a basis for segmentation

Not all consumers are opposed to GM food. Results from quantitative research in Belgium reveal five different consumer segments based on beliefs and attitudes towards GM (food): the Food Neophobics; Enthusiasts; Balancers; Cautious; Green Opponents. Only the Food Neophobics and the Green Opponents, who together make up about 50%, feel reluctant towards GM food. Consumer attitudes from the Balancers, the Cautious and the enthusiasts range from slightly positive to very positive. Each of these segments can be further characterised by: knowledge; general attitudes towards science technology, nature, food, health premium brands purchase intentions of generic and premium branded GM food products; information demand; socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender and education. For effective communication about GM food, all these differences between the consumer segments must be taken into account. This asks for the development of a segmented communication policy.